Health News

June 30, 2006

The recently approved cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil may become mandatory for all girls before they enter a certain grade in school. It is believed that the vaccine may prevent up to 70% of cervical cancer cases.

The suggestion that this vaccine become mandatory comes from a team of federal scientists. Now this proposal is working its way towards legislation, which would result in mandatory vaccines. Much of the controversy surrounding this proposal stems from the disease being sexually transmitted; it is not something than children can just get in school.

Gardasil is said to protect women from four strains of HPV, two of which lead to most cancer cases. The other two strains cause genital warts. Almost one quarter of teens acquire HPV, and symptoms usually lay dormant for months or even years.

Currently the Pap test is the best preventative measure women can take to monitor cervical cancer development.

June 29, 2006

The Food and Drug Administration is holding off on approving a new oral contraceptive drug called Lybrel. Wyeth, the company who created the contraceptive, hopes to offer Lybrel to women as an alternative to traditional oral contraceptives.

Lybrel had been designed to eliminate women's monthly periods. Traditional oral contraceptives require women to take placebo pills for one week in the monthly cycle which causes a menstruation period. Lybrel could be a preferred alternative for some women who could avoid the monthly bloating, cramps and bleeding associated with having a period.

The FDA is looking to receive additional data on the contraceptive and where is it manufactured before they approve the drug.

Read the Full Story >>

June 28, 2006

Beta-blockers are often prescribed to treat high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. New finding suggest that beta-blockers may in fact increase a persons risk of developing diabetes. The newer drugs that are not beta-blockers are better at treating hypertension help protect against heart attack and stroke and are not prone to causing diabetes.

About 40% of adults have high blood pressure. For a person with diabetes, high blood pressure is twice as likely to develop. When high blood pressure is not treated it can lead to heart disease and stroke due to damaged veins and arteries.

June 27, 2006

A procedure developed by Dr. A. Lee Dellon of the Dellon Institutes may prevent more than 80,000 amputations per year. People who suffer from diabetic neuropathy, a complication that comes from diabetes, develop severe pain and numbness in their limbs, and are at risk of amputation. There are 90,000 amputations yearly in the United States.

Surgical treatment of nerve compression usually involves decompression (neurolysis) of the nerves that are being compressed. The surgeon opens the tight area through which the nerve passes by dividing a ligament or fibrous band that crosses the nerve. This gives the nerve more room, allows proper blood flow, and permits the nerve to glide easily with movements of nearby joints. The surgery is done as an outpatient procedure, and the patient walks immediately after surgery in a bulky supportive bandage.

For more information visit DellonInstitutes.com.

June 27, 2006

A rather disturbing article published today in the Herald Sun says that x-ray breast exams may actually increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. If a woman has a family history of breast cancer, the radiation from the x-ray exam may increase her chance of developing the disease by fifty percent.

The risk is highest for those women who have had several x-ray exams and young women who have been given x-rays repeatedly to diagnose other health conditions.

In Britain's Journal of Clinical Oncology, cancer specialists said women genetically predisposed to developing the disease should consider asking for MRI scans, which do not use radiation, instead of mammograms.

June 27, 2006

Coffee continues to pop up in health stories as offering health benefits and sometimes health risks. Today the coffee health buzz is in regards to diabetes. Yes, it is now being suggested that coffee may help reduce a person's risk of developing diabetes. This most recent coffee report was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Although this study is not the first health story to make an association between coffee intake and diabetes, this is the first to announce the effects of coffee that can be seen across different age groups and body weights. When it comes to diabetes and coffee caffeine does not seem to be the deciding factor. Decaffeinated coffee appears to be as effective in reducing diabetes risk, if not more, than regular coffee.

The coffee ingredients responsible for the possible protective effect remain unclear. Two coffee components, magnesium and phytate, did not account for the association seen. Caffeine intake from all sources, including soft drinks, also had no bearing on diabetes risk. Although this news is positive for those at risk of developing diabetes, the first line of prevention for diabetes is exercise and diet.

June 26, 2006

A recent study of chemicals in everyday products such as weed killers and fly sprays found users were almost twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Most of the fruits and vegetables that we eat are grown using pesticides.

Environmental campaigners warn that not enough is known about the dangers of the pesticide chemicals that we use in our homes and gardens. Pesticides attack the neurological systems of insects. If pesticides are good at killing a pest, thought must be given to affect it would have on humans.

It appears as though individuals that have exposure to pesticides have a 70 percent increased chance of developing Parkinson's than those who were not exposed.

June 16, 2006

An article on EarthTimes.org reports that nearly 24 percent of diseases are caused by avoidable environmental exposures.The major diseases caused by poor environmental conditions are diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, various forms of unintentional injuries and malaria. Measures that can be initiated to reduce the burden of these diseases include promotion of safe household water storage and better hygienic measures, use of cleaner and safer fuels, increased safety of the built environment, more judicious use and management of toxic substances in the home and workplace and better water resource management.

Read the full article >>

June 16, 2006

A recent study has found that maternal diabetes may increase the risk of infant death and birth defects. Infant death risks appear to quadruple while birth defects may double. Doctors already knew that maternal diabetes can pose major health risks for fetuses and newborns, but the new study has illustrated exactly how serious the threat is.

Read the full story >>

June 15, 2006

The American Medical Association is requesting that the government force pharmaceutical companies to not immediately advertise new prescription drugs to consumers. The AMA would like there to be a holding period after a new drug is approved so physicians can study the safety and effectiveness. This new rule would require that a certain amount of time would have tp pass after the drugs approval before a consumer ad-campaign began.

Read the full story >>

June 15, 2006

Raised levels of a protein in the blood can provide early warning signs of developing type 2 diabetes. Recent research suggests that testing for levels of the protein RBP4 may help identify those at risk of developing the disease. This blood test would give patients a warning before symptoms become apparent.

Drugs that reduce RBP4 levels may also help reduce the risk of diabetes.

Read the full story >>

June 13, 2006

Xanthohumol, a product of one of the main ingredients in beer, may help prevent prostate cancer. US researchers have found that the cancer-fighting antioxidants found in hops offers beer a health benefit. Unfortunately beer does not have as potent a dose of xanthohumol that would be medicinal, which means you would need to drink a lot of beer to get the health benefits.

It would be possible to make pills that contain the concentrated doses of xanthohumol. German scientists are already brewing a beer that contains ten times as much xanthohumol than is found in most beer recipes. This would be a "healthy" German beer.

June 13, 2006

A new study suggests drinking coffee may help protect the liver against alcoholic cirrhosis. Although coffee may help protect the liver against this disease, coffee is not a way to prevent liver cirrhosis and other diseases.

Those who drank as little as one cup of coffee daily were 20 percent less likely to have alcoholic cirrhosis compared to those who did not drink coffee. The risk of the liver disease decreased as coffee drinking increased, according to the study funded by a grant from the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute.

Tea was not associated with a reduced risk, indicating caffeine may not be the link, the study in Archives of Internal Medicine concluded.

The study, led by researchers at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California followed more than 125,000 people between 1978 and 1985. In the study was published in the June 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

June 12, 2006

Folic acid is most commonly known as the nutrient that helps prevent birth defects, but new research suggests that folic acid may also help prevent cancer of the larynx.

In a study of people with precancerous lesions called leukoplakia, researchers found that the precancerous lesions disappeared in 28 percent of participants. 44 percent of participants experienced at least a partial shrinking of their lesions. All of the participants took 5 milligrams of folic acid three times a day for six months.

The study authors said the new research is just an initial look at folic acid's possible cancer-preventing properties. It being only the first of this tpwe of study means no major rewards can be claimed.

Results of the study appear in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer.

Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with head and neck cancers, including cancer of the larynx, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. These types of cancer are most common in people older than 50, and tobacco use is the number-one risk factor for these malignancies, according to the NCI. Unlike most other cancers, laryngeal cancer hasn't seen any improvement in five-year survival rates during the past 30 years, according to background information in the study.

June 9, 2006

Urinary tract infections mostly affect women. Seniors and diabetics are at greater risk for developing urinary tract infections.

These infections usually occur when bacteria enters the urinary tract. This can happen during sexual intercourse. Infections can also occur during pregnancy or menopause according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Urinary tract infections are also bought on by kidney stones, an enlarged prostate, lack of fluids, or insertion of a catheter during a medical procedure.

The most common symptoms of a urinary tract infection include a constant feeling of needing to urinate, and a burning sensation while urinating. Pain during intercourse, cloudy or bloody urine, or urine with a strong smell may also indicate an infection.

Treatment usually includes a round of antibiotics. Without proper treatment, the infection could advance to the kidneys and cause other serious complications.

June 6, 2006

Recommendations published in the magazine Consumer Reports this week urge women to avoid eating any canned tuna while pregnant because of the risk of mercury contamination to developing fetuses.

The recommendations are stricter than the federal government's advice issued two years ago by the FDA. The FDA advised women and young children to limit the consumption of canned tuna because of contamination.

But Consumer Reports' experts say women should avoid canned tuna altogether. FDA data shows that some canned tuna may have higher mercury levels than once thought.

Canned tuna and most other fish and seafood contain some amount of toxic mercury that has worked its way through the food chain because of industrial pollution. In adequate doses, the metal can damage the developing nervous system in fetuses and children.

The FDA specifically warns against the consumption of shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tile fish -- which have high levels of mercury -- by women who are nursing or women who are pregnant or of childbearing age; the FDA warning also applies to young children.

June 5, 2006

The cervical cancer vaccine that is expected to receive approval in the United States this week also appears to protect women against vulvar and vaginal cancers.

According to Finnish research presented Monday the Gardasil vaccine was 100 percent effective against vulvar and vaginal pre-cancerous lesions caused by HPV types 16 and 18. The vaccine is also 81 percent effective against all HPV types.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancers and is present in 80 percent of the 6,000 cases of vaginal and vulvar cancers diagnosed in the United States each year. Although less common than cervical cancer, vulvar and vaginal cancers are becoming more common in young women.

The Gardasil vaccine, made by Merck & Co., was developed to target four strains of HPV, two of which (HPV 16 and 18) are linked to cervical cancer and two (HPV 6 and 11) which cause anogenital warts. Last month, an advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that it be approved, which is expected to happen June 8.

Researchers also presented Phase III results of a second HPV vaccine, this one made by GlaxoSmithKline. All women in the study group demonstrated antibody response against HPV 16 and 18. The vaccine is very similar to Gardasil but does not target any HPV types other than 16 and 18.

For more on vaginal cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute.

June 2, 2006

Restaurants offering heaping portions - and doggie bags for the leftovers - may be a thing of the past. If health officials get their way, portions will become smaller.

The government is trying to enlist the help of the nation's eateries in fighting obesity. One of the first things on their list: cutting portion sizes.

With burgers, fries and pizza the Top 3 eating-out favorites in this country, restaurants are in a prime position to help improve people's diets and combat obesity. At least that's what is recommended in a government-commissioned report released today.

Today, 64 percent of Americans are overweight, including the 30 percent who are obese, according to the report. It pegs the annual medical cost of the problem at nearly $93 billion.

The report, requested and funded by the Food and Drug Administration, lays out ways to help people manage their intake of calories from the growing number of meals prepared away from home, including at the nation's nearly 900,000 restaurants and other establishments that serve food.

Consumer advocates increasingly have heaped some of the blame on restaurant chains like McDonald's, which bristles at the criticism while offering more salads and fruit. The report does not explicitly link dining out with the rising tide of obesity, but does cite numerous studies that suggest there is a connection.

Bundling meals with more fruits and vegetables also could improve nutrition. And letting consumers know how many calories are contained in a meal also could guide the choices they make, according to the report. Just over half of the nation's 287 largest restaurant chains now make at least some nutrition information available, said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

June 1, 2006

If you are a woman, just few extra pounds can increase your risk of acid reflux, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study published on Wednesday.

Excessive weight gain has been known to bring on heartburn and other symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, which occurs when stomach contents are regurgitated.

But this new study showed a correlation between even modest weight gain and reflux disease.

A 5-foot 2-inch woman weighing 123 to 136 pounds had a 38 percent greater chance of reflux than a woman weighing 110 to 122 lb, the study found. Both of those weight ranges are considered to be normal.

From 137 to 192 pounds, the risk more than doubled. At 192 pounds, the risk nearly tripled for a person of that height. The study was led by Brian Jacobson of the Boston University School of Medicine.

Factors such as diet, smoking or diabetes did not appear to influence the risk.

Reflux affects 20 to 30 percent of adults at least once a week. In severe cases, the condition can cause nighttime choking and lead to cancer. Doctors typically treat it with drugs that suppress the production of stomach acid.

June 1, 2006

Researchers in the U.S. say a chemical used in plastic products such as baby bottles and microwave cookware permanently altered genes in newborn lab rats.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Cincinnati. The study found the changes in the animals from exposure to the chemical, used in making hard, polycarbonate plastics, affect the development of prostate glands. Such glands could be precursors to the most common form of cancer in males.

Prostate cancer in men has gone up in the last 30 years, says the study whose findings were reported Thursday in the journal Cancer Research.

The researchers cautioned the study was done on rats, which sometimes react differently to chemicals than humans.