Public Health
American Pain Society Presents 2010 Achievement Awards
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The American Pain Society (APS), http://www.ampainsoc.org, today announced the winners of its prestigious annual achievement awards during the organization’s annual scientific meeting.
Every year, APS rewards excellence in the field of pain management by presenting six separate awards for career achievement, pain scholarship, education and public service, advocacy on behalf of children, outstanding service to APS, and early career achievements.
“Through its achievement awards, the American Pain Society recognizes excellence in improving the understanding of pain management among health care professionals and the general public,” said APS President Charles E. Inturrisi, PhD, professor of pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical Center. “We congratulate these individuals and pay tribute to their dedication and service on behalf of those with chronic and acute pain.”
Diabetes body hires public affairs chief
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The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has appointed a new head of public affairs and campaigns following a major parliamentary drive in the run up to the general election.
Laura Vallance joined from The Kennel Club last week, after working as public affairs manager there for four years.
Vallance will work with public affairs officer Sarah Astles to deliver a government relations campaign, reporting to director of comms and policy Sarah Johnson.
Obesity Silent Killer in India
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A new study released by the Registrar General of India indicates that obesity-related diseases have joined malnutrition as leading causes of death.
As India’s economy grows, so does the temptation for many people to eat more and do less. Tired and home late? Fatty food is just a phone call away.
Overweight, but eager to get married? Now there’s overweightshadi.com, an Indian dating site exclusively for obese people.
Is the UK’s obesity problem spiralling out of control?
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While many countries watch their financial debts mount, there is another ticking timebomb walking the streets, says obesity expert Professor Tony Leeds.
In this week’s Scrubbing Up, he warns that obesity could cost countries trillions in ill health and corrective surgery, and that for many, the problem is already so large that it’s too late for focusing on prevention.
The UK’s obesity problem has grown so much now that nearly a million obese Britons may be eligible for weight-reduction surgery. But it will take a bold government to treat them all – because the cost will exceed a staggering £9.1bn.
Obesity rate worrying military
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Seventeen-year-old Bryan Aguilar did not want to be a chubby Marine. But when he started high school a few years back, it was a real possibility.
During his sophomore year at West Ashley High School, Aguilar weighed nearly 200 pounds. That’s when he decided to fight the fat. By running, lifting weights and changing his diet, Aguilar morphed into a lean-and-mean ROTC machine. He headed to boot camp this summer after graduation.
He’s also the exception among kids in South Carolina.
2010 “Suntelligence: How Sun Smart is Your City?” Fact Sheet
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The American Academy of Dermatology’s (Academy) “Suntelligence: How Sun Smart is Your City?” survey polled adults in 26 U.S. cities and ranked them based on residents’ answers to a range of questions testing their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward preventing and detecting skin cancer.
The rankings of the 26 U.S. metropolitan cities are as follows:
No. 1 - Hartford
No. 2 - Salt Lake City
No. 3 - Denver
No. 4 - Tampa
No. 5 - Boston
No. 6 - Phoenix
No. 7 - Atlanta
No. 8 - Philadelphia
No. 9 - Portland
No. 10 - Baltimore
No. 11 - Dallas
Obesity Silent Killer in India
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A new study released by the Registrar General of India indicates that obesity-related diseases have joined malnutrition as leading causes of death.
As India’s economy grows, so does the temptation for many people to eat more and do less. Tired and home late? Fatty food is just a phone call away.
Overweight, but eager to get married? Now there’s overweightshadi.com, an Indian dating site exclusively for obese people.
Weighing in on obesity : Alaina’s Story
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Alaina Lopez is a healthy, confident 6th grader. But a year-and-a half ago, it was a different story.
Alaina’s mother, Carrie, remembers a visit to the pediatrician’s office when Alaina shared what some students were saying about her.
“Alaina was having some issues at school with kids calling her fat.”
Alaina’s pediatrician referred her to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital’s weight management clinic.
Prevent Alzheimer’s? No evidence you can: US panel
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Fish oil, exercise and doing puzzles may all be good for the brain but there is no strong evidence that any of these can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, an expert panel concluded on Wednesday.
Nor can any other supplements, drugs or social interaction, the independent panel meeting at the National Institutes of Health outside Washington concluded.
The group of experts looked at the dozens of studies that have suggested ways to prevent Alzheimer’s - a devastating and incurable breakdown of the brain - and found none were strong enough to constitute proof.
Australia seeks plain packaging for tobacco products
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Australia will force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging, removing all colour and branding logos within two years, in a world-first move aimed at reducing smoking-related deaths, government sources said.
Laws to be in force by January 2012 will prohibit tobacco companies from using any tobacco industry images and promotional text, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, the centre-left government will announce later on Wednesday.
The government believed the move, expected to be confirmed by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, would reduce the attractiveness of tobacco packaging and its potential to mislead particularly young people.
Few Chinese lung diseased workers get redress: report
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Over 10,000 workers in China are diagnosed with a deadly lung disease each year from breathing in dust from cutting gemstones and drilling rocks, but only a few manage to get compensation, said a rights organisation.
The China Labour Bulletin (CLB) said some pneumoconiosis victims receive small sums that cover their medical costs for a few years, but many get nothing at all for the incurable disease.
“Pneumoconiosis is the number-one occupational disease in China, accounting for around 90 percent of all cases,” CLB said, adding that many victims cannot even manage to get an official diagnosis.
Potentially deadly fungus spreading in US, Canada
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A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia, researchers reported yesterday.
The airborne fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, usually only infects immunocompromised patients, but the new strain is genetically different, the researchers said.
“This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people,” said Dr. Edmond Byrnes of Duke University in North Carolina, who led the study.
Study launched on health impact from mobile phones
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A new decades-long study examining the link between the use of mobile phones and long-term health problems such as cancer and neurological diseases launched on Thursday across five European countries.
Organisers said the Cohort Study on Mobile Communications (COSMOS) would be the largest of its kind, examining more than 250,000 people aged 18 to 69 in Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.
Professor Paul Elliott, the Principal Investigator at the Imperial College London on the British study, said previous research examining the health link had so far been reassuring but pointed out these had often only lasted around 10 years.
HSP-90 and vasoregulation in portal hypertension
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Neural vasoregulation represents a rapid and potent mode of altering vascular tone but has not been investigated thoroughly during portal hypertension. Heat shock protein-90 (HSP-90) is well-known to act as a molecular chaperone optimizing endothelial and neural NO-synthase (eNOS, nNOS) enzyme activity and thus, NO production. Although HSP-90 has been shown to mediate in large parts the enhanced eNOS-dependent NO overproduction in the splanchnic circulation during portal hypertension, it is not clear what role HSP-90 plays in nNOS-mediated vasorelaxation in this scenario.
A research article to be published on April 21, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. This research relates to the utilization of the McGregor preparation enabling physiological and pharmacological testing of the whole mesenteric vasculature in its original anatomy and innervations. In contrast to arterial strips, this ensures testing of neural vasoregulation at close to in vivo conditions.
The investigators for the first time demonstrate a critical role of HSP-90 for nNOS-mediated vasorelaxation and furthermore, can provide evidence for this interaction being responsible in large parts for the well-accepted pronounced nNOS-dependent vasodilatation in portal hypertension.
Childhood obesity program should start early, say experts
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US First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign must include interventions that target pregnant women, infants, and pre-school-age children, and they should start as early as possible, say UCSF experts.
Janet Wojcicki, PhD, MPH, UCSF assistant professor of pediatrics, and Melvin Heyman, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics and chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at UCSF Children’s Hospital, discuss how “Let’s Move” might have the greatest impact on reversing the childhood obesity epidemic in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Their piece will appear in the April 21, 2010, issue of the journal.
