Swine flu vaccines delayed, US CDC says
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Delivery of some swine flu vaccines has been delayed because companies cannot make as much as they had hoped, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.
The CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat said while 40 million doses had been anticipated for the end of October, only about 28 to 30 million doses would be available.
“Yields for vaccine are lower than would be hoped,” Schuchat said in a telephone briefing.
She also said deaths from H1N1 swine flu were above the epidemic threshold in some U.S. cities and states. H1N1 flu activity was widespread in 41 states, she said.
Be overweight and live longer
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Contrary to what was previously assumed, overweight is not increasing the overall death rate in the German population. Matthias Lenz of the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Natural Sciences of the University of Hamburg and his co-authors present these and other results in the current issue of Deutsches Ärtzeblatt International (Dtsch Artzebl Int 2009; 106[40]: 641ԃ).
Most Germans are overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2. About 20% are obese (BMI of 30 or over), with age- and gender-related differences. The authors systematically evaluated 42 studies of the relationships between weight, life expectancy, and disease.
The Sƃddeutsche Zeitung published an advance notice of the report (http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/140/489526/text/), which shows that overweight does not increase death rates, although obesity does increase them by 20%. As people grow older, obesity makes less and less difference.
Substance abuse diagnostic test for teens can also predict high risk sexual behavior
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Alcohol and drug use are known contributors to adolescents engaging in dangerous sexual activity; leading to substantial health risks such as unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted illnesses, drug overdoses and alcohol poisonings. Yet, research suggests that fewer than half of pediatricians report screening patients for substance use and at-risk sexual behavior. CRAFFT, the diagnostic test developed and currently being employed at Children’s Hospital Boston, allows primary care physicians to accurately screen teens for high risk drug and alcohol use in a matter of minutes. Now, according to a new study appearing in the Journal of Adolescent Health, Children’s researchers have established that the CRAFFT diagnostic test can also identify teens that are more likely to be engaging in high risk sexual behaviors.
The studies researchers found that teens who screened positive for substance use had significantly greater odds of having sexual contact after using drugs or alcohol. According to the findings, these teens were more likely to have unprotected sex, multiple sexual partners and even a sexually transmitted illness.
The cross-sectional survey consisted of 305 adolescents from ages 12- to 18-years-old in 3 different urban clinics. Participants were asked the CRAFFT questions, and also completed a self-administered questionnaire about high risk sexual behaviors. Of those who screened positive, 42.6% reported having sexual contact without a condom, 26.1% after drinking alcohol, 15.6% after drug use and 21.7% with a partner who had been drinking alcohol.
Growing up with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
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Saint Louis University researchers in the department of family and community medicine have received an $880,000, three-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to develop and test a new program aimed at helping older children and young adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) successfully transition into adulthood.
The new program will focus on teaching important life skills, such as how to cope with new situations and minimize disruptive behaviors that could lead to loss of employment or trouble with the law.
According to Leigh Tenkku, Ph.D., assistant professor of family and community medicine at Saint Louis University, while the effects of FASD are life-long, currently there are very few support systems in place to help these individuals and their families as they get older.
Is the person next to you washing with soap?
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People are more likely to wash their hands properly after using the toilet if they are shamed into it or think they are being watched, scientists said on Thursday.
Handwashing is the cheapest way of controlling disease but less than one third of men and two thirds of women wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet, a British study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed.
But when prompted by an electronic message flashing up on a board asking—“Is the person next to you washing with soap?”—around 12 percent more men and 11 percent more women used soap.
Heart Test Found Safe for Pre-Transplant Kidney Patients
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A screening test that measures whether a patient’s heart is healthy enough for a kidney transplant is not as dangerous as once thought, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings indicate that the test, called coronary angiography, does not cause a decline in kidney function for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and can help determine when to schedule a patient for transplantation.
CKD may contribute to the development of heart disease, so physicians keep a close eye on CKD patients’ heart health. However, they are reluctant to perform coronary angiography—which uses dye and x-rays to show the inside of the heart’s arteries—in CKD patients, who are thought to have an increased risk of experiencing complications from the procedure. This is unfortunate because coronary angiography can help determine whether a patient is healthy enough to undergo a kidney transplant.
To determine the true risks of the test for patients with advanced CKD, Nicky Kumar, MBChB, MRCP (West London Renal and Transplant Centre, Imperial College Kidney and Transplant Institute, London), and her colleagues analyzed 76 patients with late stage CKD who were potential transplant recipients seen at their clinics from 2004 to 2007.
U-M researchers find those with severe H1N1 at risk for pulmonary emboli
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University of Michigan researchers have found that patients with severe cases of the H1N1 virus are at risk for developing severe complications, including pulmonary emboli, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
A pulmonary embolism occurs when one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked. The condition can be life-threatening. However, if treated aggressively, blood thinners can reduce the risk of death.
“The high incidence of pulmonary embolism is important. Radiologists have to be aware to look closely for the risks of pulmonary embolism in severely sick patients,” said Prachi P. Agarwal, M.D., assistant professor of radiology at the U-M Medical School and lead author of the study.
Faulty gene may explain sudden deaths in epilepsy
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A common gene that can cause abnormal heart rhythms can also trigger epileptic seizures in the brain and may explain the sudden, unexplained deaths that often occur in people with epilepsy, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
Testing epileptics for a mutation in this gene could give doctors the information they need to prevent some of these deaths, said Dr. Jeffrey Noebels of Baylor College of Medicine, whose study appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Doctors have long known that patients with a mutation in the gene KvLQT1—which makes structures called ion channels that regulate electrical activity in the heart—have a greater risk of sudden death from abnormal heart rhythms.
Study charts links between mobile phones, tumors
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Studies on whether mobile phones can cause cancer, especially brain tumors, vary widely in quality and there may be some bias in those showing the least risk, researchers reported on Tuesday.
So far it is difficult to demonstrate any link, although the best studies do suggest some association between mobile phone use and cancer, the team led by Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung of South Korea’s National Cancer Center found.
Myung and colleagues at Ewha Womans University and Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul and the University of California, Berkeley, examined 23 published studies of more than 37,000 people in what is called a meta-analysis.
Relaxation Methods
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For some people, relaxing is the last thing they have on their minds. They are too busy to take the time to relax. There are not enough hours in the day to allow the time to relax. Relaxation has gotten a bad name in the recent years. People tend look at relaxing as the lazy person’s activity. But in fact, relaxation is an important part of the regenerating process for the body. Most people lead very busy lives and feel that they can’t just sit down and relax even for fifteen minutes. They work each day, take care of a family and a home or go to school. Then they need to cook, clean, shop and enjoy a social life. When do they possibly have time to relax?
Relaxation does not have to take up a large portion of your day. By giving yourself just ten to fifteen minutes each day to relax, you are boosting your health. Relaxation does not mean napping. Many people confuse the two and believe that in order to relax, you need to take a nap. Relaxation means allowing yourself a few minutes to recoup and focus on you.
There are a lot of ways in which a person can relax. What works for you might not work for the next person. Try various methods and see what you like and what you don’t.
Do Mobile Phone Radiations Affect the Human Body
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Millions of Americans use the Mobile phone handsets as an integral part of their life. These Mobile Phones use the Electromagnetic Radio waves as the means of communication. There are several claims of these waves being energetic and harmful to the body. This article tries to gain further insight.
How Radio Waves Affect our Body: The Radio waves are placed on the extreme right corner of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is because they are the least energetic electromagnetic waves. Research shows that exposure to radio waves for long duration can only heat up the body tissues. The process of Thermoregulation in our body is competent enough to bring back the normalcy quickly. Apart from this aspect of mobile phone radiation, all the claims made are mostly speculations without credible research facts to substantiate. This fact is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) too. However, it is keeping a close look on this topic of Mobile Phone Radiation and Human Health. It established the International Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Project to gather more scientific evidence on the possible health effects of electromagnetic waves on humans.
Personalized Telephone Counselling Helps Teens Kick the Butt
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Intervention programmes dedicated to eliminating cigarette smoking among teenagers have shown promising results with the impact rate of six-month continuous quitting, say researchers.
The trial launched by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center could successfully recruit and retain a large number of adolescent smokers from the general population.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study involved 2,151 teenage smokers. Half of the schools were randomly assigned to the experimental intervention; teens in these schools were invited to take part in confidential, personalized telephone counseling designed to help motivate them to quit.
Why Are Most Nobel Laureates Americans? Or Are They Really?
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Cash-rich US researchers have again dominated this year’s Nobel awards, but it seems identifying the nationality of laureates is not an exact science, and change may be on the way.
On the face of things, the United States would top an Olympic-style medals table of Nobel prize wins. Eleven of this year’s 13 laureates are citizens of the United States, winning five of the six Nobel awards up for grabs.
Even President Barack Obama pocketed a medal.
White House blasts health insurance sector report
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The White House Monday blasted a report from the health insurance industry that said Senate healthcare legislation would lead to increases in annual insurance premiums of as much as $4,000 by 2019.
The report for the industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans represented a shot across the bow at Democratic plans to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system as President Barack Obama has been gaining momentum on the issue.
A top goal of Obama in seeking to revamp healthcare is to rein in costs that have soared in recent decades. The report, prepared by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers and posted on the industry group’s website over the weekend, said costs would increase for Americans rather than decline.
Tiny chip can measure estrogen in breast tissue
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A new pocket-sized device may allow doctors to check a woman’s breast cancer risk in minutes with just droplets of blood or a sliver of breast tissue, Canadian researchers said on Wednesday.
They said the microchip device can measure levels of the hormone estrogen using far smaller samples than conventional methods, making it possible to quickly screen for breast cancer risk or check to see if breast cancer treatments are working.
“The new device is compatible with extremely small samples—around 1,000 times smaller than the amount needed for conventional analyses,” said Aaron Wheeler of the University of Toronto, whose study appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
