African mining may be driving TB epidemic: study
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Poor living and working conditions for miners of gold, diamonds and other precious metals have contributed significantly to tuberculosis (TB) epidemics across Africa, scientists said on Tuesday.
Researchers from Britain and the United States said their study suggested that crowded living and working conditions, dust in mines, and the spread of HIV mean Africa’s mining industry may figure in up to 760,000 new cases of TB each year.
Men travelling from afar to work in mines, such as from Botswana to South Africa, are at the greatest risk of getting TB, the researchers wrote in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Exercise During and After Cancer Treatment Now Encouraged
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Cancer patients who’ve been told to rest and avoid exercise can – and should – find ways to be physically active both during and after treatment, according to new national guidelines. Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will present these guidelines at an educational session at the 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, aimed at making cancer exercise rehabilitation programs as common as those offered to people who have had heart attacks or undergone cardiac surgery. (Exercise Testing and Prescription for Cancer Survivors: Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine)
Schmitz, whose previous research reversed decades of cautionary exercise advice given to breast cancer patients with the painful arm-swelling condition lymphedema, led a 13-member American College of Sports Medicine expert panel that developed the new recommendations after reviewing and evaluating literature on the safety and efficacy of exercise training during and after cancer therapy.
New Cutting-edge Surgery Provides Relief for People with Foot Drop
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A new surgery that involves an expendable, functioning muscle from the top of the leg and a nerve below the knee can give people with foot drop a new bounce in their step.
“Foot drop is a condition where there is weakness in the muscles that raise the foot up at the ankle,” said Dr. Kevin Varner, an orthopedic surgeon with The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “People with foot drop are unable to clear their foot from the ground when swinging the foot forward. This condition is often very embarrassing and is usually caused by trauma such as a knee dislocation or penetrating injury that damages the nerve.”
People with foot drop can wear a brace that help pick their foot up, but it is often cumbersome. Another treatment is a tendon transfer, which involves moving the tendon from the back of the leg to the front and re-routing tendon function.
Family fights brain tumor, looks for support
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As the month of May wraps up, so does Brain Cancer Awareness Month. But one Merrill couple wants to spread the word about the common disease all year long.
Just over a year ago, Steve & Amy Rajek’s world turned upside down. On Steve’s way to work, he’s hit with the worst headache of his life.
“There was a lot of pressure on this one particular side. I thought, they make Tylenol for that stuff and I’ll be able to treat it myself.” Steve says, “Then I thought, maybe I should go get the doctors advice.”
HST on fitness just promotes obesity
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The implementation of the HST will do two things. The first will be the fattening of the government accounts. The second will be the increase in obesity of both children and adults or possibly some other illness due to lack of activity.
How is this possible, you might ask? First, we all need to understand that many of us do not have easy access to parks or a large enough yard to play in with our kids, so we sign them up as well as ourselves for activities and gym memberships, anything that will help promote our health.
With all the job losses we have seen, many parents are struggling to afford these activities and now the government wants us to pay even more. Our government implemented the Children’s Fitness Tax in 2007, recognizing the need to promote health and fitness in our children.
Diabetes can be a hereditary disease Just Released
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Learn the basic information on History Of Diabetes and definition and characteristics of Diabetes. More information can be found at the overview of History Of Diabetes.
Hobart, Washington USA (site) May 31, 2010
History Of Diabetes has just released a new section from their website that consist a lot of information in relation to History Of Diabetes. This is a portion of a new organization website that is all about Diabetes. Come on and visit us free on the History Of Diabetes page at: http://HistoryOfDiabetes.org/.
Here is an excerpt from the History Of Diabetes information webpage:
Researchers find gene linked to birth defects
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An international group of researchers has identified the genetic cause of an inherited condition that causes severe foetal abnormalities.
The work, co-led by geneticists at the University of Leeds, together with colleagues from institutes and universities in Paris, Rome and San Diego, should allow couples at risk of conceiving babies with the profoundly disabling Meckel-Gruber and Joubert syndromes to be identified beforehand through genetic screening.
Their findings, which show how the disease gene stops cells’ finger-like antennae or ‘cilia’ from detecting and relaying information, may ultimately lead to treatments for more common related disorders, such as spina bifida and polycystic kidney disease. The paper is published in Nature Genetics today.
After a point, more omega-3s don’t help the heart
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Memo to adults with heart disease: If you’re already eating a fair amount of fish and taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, the extra boost may not be doing much to help your heart.
New research suggests that only patients with very low daily intake of certain omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and some plants and nuts, are likely to reduce their risk of heart attacks or death if they take more supplements rich in these fatty acids.
The study supports research which has shown that, after a certain point, omega-3 supplements may not do much for the heart. It also comes as a new U.S. Government Accountability Office urged more authority for the Food and Drug Administration to inspect the quality and safety of supplements, whose manufacturers often make claims not supported by data.
An Environment-Wide Association Study (EWAS) on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
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Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and other chronic diseases are caused by a complex combination of many genetic and environmental factors. Few methods are available to comprehensively associate specific physical environmental factors with disease. We conducted a pilot Environmental-Wide Association Study (EWAS), in which epidemiological data are comprehensively and systematically interpreted in a manner analogous to a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS).
Methods and Findings
We performed multiple cross-sectional analyses associating 266 unique environmental factors with clinical status for T2D defined by fasting blood sugar (FBG) concentration ≥126 mg/dL. We utilized available Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohorts from years 1999 to 2006. Within cohort sample numbers ranged from 503 to 3,318. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, and an estimate of socioeconomic status (SES). As in GWAS, multiple comparisons were controlled and significant findings were validated with other cohorts. We discovered significant associations for the pesticide-derivative heptachlor epoxide (adjusted OR in three combined cohorts of 1.7 for a 1 SD change in exposure amount; p<0.001), and the vitamin γ-tocopherol (adjusted OR 1.5; p<0.001). Higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) such as PCB170 (adjusted OR 2.2; p<0.001) were also found. Protective factors associated with T2D included β-carotenes (adjusted OR 0.6; p<0.001).
Dieting alone cannot help cure type 2 diabetes
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Dieting to shed weight is on its own not enough to stave off diabetes in people with sarcopenia — low skeletal muscle mass and strength, a study has claimed.
Sarcopenia is often found in obese people and older adults and it has been hypothesized that it puts individuals at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.
To gauge the effect of sarcopenia on insulin resistance (the root cause of Type 2 diabetes) and blood glucose levels in both obese and non-obese people, UCLA researchers performed a cross-sectional analysis of data on 14,528 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III.
WHO seeks clampdown on tobacco ads targeting women
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The World Health Organisation called on Friday for more action against tobacco advertising that targets women and girls, especially in developing countries.
Females represent the biggest potential growth market for tobacco products and are being subjected to aggressive campaigns linked to fashion, sports events and entertainment, the United Nations agency said.
“The industry’s market strategy is having its desired impact,” Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s tobacco free initiative, said at a news briefing. “More and more girls are starting to light up. This is a serious red flag.”
Actor Gary Coleman dead at 42: reports
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Former child star Gary Coleman, who shot to fame on television sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” but suffered personal and financial woes as an adult, has died in a Utah hospital after being taken off life support, according to media reports on Friday.
Celebrity website RadarOnline.com said Coleman, 42, was taken off life support on Friday, and similar reports were filed by showbiz site TMZ.com and by CNN, citing a spokeswoman at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah.
The spokeswoman, who earlier issued a statement saying the actor had been put on life support following a brain hemorrhage this week, was not immediately available for confirmation.
Text messages save pregnant Rwandan women
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At midnight Valentine Uwingabire’s back began to hurt. Her husband ran to tell Germaine Uwera, a community health worker in their village in the fertile foothills of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
Equipped with a mobile phone from the local health center, Uwera sent an urgent SMS text message and within a quarter of an hour, an ambulance had whisked Valentine to hospital. Minutes later Uwingabire’s third child was born.
“We called our child Manirakoze, which means ‘Thank God’,” she told reporters, sitting outside her mud and bamboo house pitched in the shadow of Karisimbi volcano, home to some of the world’s few remaining highland mountain gorillas.
Botox may quiet chronic cough
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Botox could help some people with nagging chronic coughs that haven’t responded to standard treatment, according to a new report on four patients.
Botox, or botulinum toxin type A, is perhaps best known as a wrinkle-filler, but it has medical uses including treating spastic muscles in patients with cerebral palsy and drying up excessive sweating.
The new findings suggest that Botox might also help quiet coughs, although it is not FDA-approved for this use. And the study’s authors caution that the toxin should not be seen as a “panacea.”
National Agenda for Public Health Action: A National Public Health Initiative on Diabetes and Women’s Health
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What do we want?
The National Agenda for Action is founded on a realistic vision and on specific and attainable goals. These are consistent with the framework of Healthy People 2010, which establishes national targets that address primary prevention of diabetes and prevention of complications related to the disease.
Our Vision
* Diabetes among women can and should be prevented or at least delayed whenever possible.
* The families and communities of women at risk for diabetes can and should be informed and provided the support they need to prevent or delay diabetes and its complications.
* Appropriate care and management of diabetes can and should be promoted among women across the life stages.
* The complications of diabetes among women can and should be prevented, delayed, or minimized.
