"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.Thanks for visiting!

( Herbal Arnica gels and ointments may also help to soothe arthritic pain when … many of the conditions discussed, treatment with prescription or over the …

Rheumatoid Arthritis Causes, Diagnosis, Information, Symptoms, and …
(more…)

Great article in the NY Times about China’s pollution, a country where cancer is now the leading cause of death. As the article mentions, China unlike any of the industrialized nations will be forced to deal with this extremely serious problem while they are still a poor country. The catch 22 is that this may curb China’s development and hence also its future. This NY Times feature article includes additional audio and visual material. Below are some highlights from the article:

(more…)

Wired magazine has a fascinating piece from last month on the “ultimate medical diagnostic device” which is being developed in collaboration with the private sector. It is by Thomas Goetz who runs his own blog: Epidemix. Excerpts below:

“Our inability to diagnose and track infectious disease quickly and accurately remains a serious problem…The problem with cultures is that they take a long time — three weeks or more — to produce a definitive result. In those three weeks, antibiotics may be fortifying the bacteria’s resistance rather than curing the patient. In those three weeks, a TB patient goes back into the population and spreads disease. In those three weeks, the bacteria have enough time to escape our grasp. What’s needed, then, is a new way to diagnose the disease: one at least as fast as the sputum microscopy test, as accurate as the culture, and refined enough to differentiate between garden-variety bacteria and drug-resistant strains. What’s needed is nothing less than a new gold standard…Those tests might finally be at hand. There is a crop of diagnostic tools on the horizon… Dozens of companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop these new tools.”

(more…)

The 26-year-old Paris Hilton continues to expand her empire, american heiress, author, singer, perfume designer and reality-TV star met a crowd of fans at the Los Angeles event. She emerged from a black SUV dressed in a gold sequin mini-dress to greet a throng of fans who spilled into the street, it happened as Hilton was at a boutique unveiling her clothing line at Kitson boutique on Thursday.
(more…)

Plants of the American continent with antiulcer activity.: Phytomedicine. 2007 Sep 27; Authors: Falcão HS, Mariath IR, Diniz MF, Batista LM, Barbosa-Filho JM

Peptic ulcer is a chronic and appalling disease. Today, it is dominant among the diseases that affect the world’s population. The principal factors causing this disease are inadequate dietetic habits, prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stress and infection by Helicobacter pylori, in addition to other factors of genetic origin. The present work is a literature survey of plant extracts from the American continent that have been reported to show antiulcer activity. This review refers to 58 plants with their families, parts used, type of extract used, model bioassays and their activity. This work intends to aid the researchers in the study of natural products appropriate to the treatment of stomach and intestinal diseases, in general, and peptic ulcer in particular.

(more…)

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 3 — The FDA has clarified reports by some major media suggesting that the agency has plans for new regulations on over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children.

In an unusual press release, the agency pointed out that the recommendations it posted on its Website, as part of a 356-page briefing document, were merely unvarnished views of staffers. They were drafted in preparation for deliberations a couple of weeks hence by the FDA’s Nonprescription Drug Advisory Committee on over-the-counter cough and cold medications.

Contrary to the impression conveyed by the press reports, the FDA said, nothing had happened yet. The staff recommendations to discourage decongestant use by children younger than two years old, and antihistamines by those younger than six, were essentially talking points for a meeting that hasn’t happened.

(more…)

BOSTON, Oct. 3 — The Gleason score of 7 for localized prostate cancer may be a moving prognostic target, according to investigators here. Action Points
Explain to patients that the Gleason score, consisting of the sum of two tissue patterns in prostate tissue, is a reliable tool for predicting the aggressiveness of tumors and the time to PSA progression after treatment.

Point out that this study suggests that adding information from a tertiary pattern can provide useful information for treatment planning.

By relying on the two most prevalent biopsy patterns, and adding up the scores (4 + 3 or 3+ 4), clinicians may be missing critical prognostic information from a tertiary pattern, reported Abhijit A. Patel, M.D., Ph.D., of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute here, and colleagues, in the Oct. 3 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

(more…)

LONDON, Oct. 3 — Five-year survival rates for liver transplant patients 60 and older matched rates for younger patients and the older patients had fewer rejection episodes, researchers here found. Action Points
Explain to interested patients that this study found that patients 60 and older when selected with limited comorbidities did just as well after liver transplant as younger patients and had fewer rejection episodes.

Point out that the excellent survival in the older patients could reflect a higher proportion of chronic biliary cirrhosis compared to younger patients, lower MELD score, and extensive cardiovascular screening prior to transplant.

(more…)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3–Most Medicare patients will pay $2.90 more per month in Part B premiums next year — to $96.40.

Medicare officials also announced that deductibles for hospital admissions and doctors’ visits also will increase. (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp)

A majority of patients could also face hikes of $5 to $10 in monthly premiums for Part D, the Medicare prescription drug program, unless they enroll in less expensive plans.

The Part B increase of 3.1% is the lowest since 1999-2000, but will provide only temporary relief for seniors. The smaller-than-usual hike is artificially low next year for two reasons.

(more…)

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 3 — Influenza vaccination reduces older adults’ risk of hospitalization and mortality, researchers affirmed, despite lingering questions.Action Points
Explain to interested patients that the study supports at least a 33% reduction in death from any cause for older adults who receive flu shots.

Note that the CDC recommends annual influenza vaccination for all adults 65 and older.

Even in the most extreme sensitivity analysis, vaccination was associated with a statistically significant 7% decrease in risk of hospitalization and a 33% reduction in all-cause mortality risk, reported Kristin L. Nichol, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., of the VA Medical Center here, and colleagues, in the Oct. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

(more…)