Causes of weight loss

Sunday, June 10, 2012

In China, 1 in 10 TB cases are drug-resistant

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Drug-resistant gonorrhoea on the rise, warns WHO

Drug-resistant gonorrhoea on the …

The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday of a spreading resistance to drugs used to treat the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea.

Millions of people with the condition may be at risk of running out of treatment options unless urgent action is taken, the United Nations agency said.

Several countries, including Australia, Britain, France, Japan, Norway, and Sweden have reported cases of resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics -- the last treatment option against gonorrhoea, which affects an estimated 106 million people.

The WHO has called for greater vigilance on the correct use of antibiotics and more research into alternative treatments.

Resistance can be caused by the overuse and poor quality of antibiotics.

"We are very concerned," said Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, from the WHO's reproductive health unit, "as there are no new therapeutic drugs in development."

"If gonococcal infections become untreatable, the health implications are significant."

Untreated gonorrhoea can cause infertility in both men and women.

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Lifestyle vies with heredity in centenarian stakes

Reuters – 3 hrs ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - Genetics may be the best predictor of longevity, but lifestyle choices, including staying connected with family and friends, are key components to reaching the age of 100, according to a new poll released on Wednesday.

More than 80 percent of 100 men and women who have already hit the milestone said being socially active had helped them get there, and a similar number of baby boomers believe it will help them reach their 100th birthday.

"Scientifically we know that the formula, the best predictor, for how long someone will live has traditionally been how long their immediate relatives have lived, so we know genetics is a strong factor," said Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare, which conducted the survey.

"But we are seeing more and more that lifestyle choices -- physical exercise, diet, staying engaged, having a social purpose -- are becoming a stronger and stronger influence," she said in an interview.

Like their children and grandchildren, centenarians have turned to the Internet to stay connected.

About a quarter of 100-year-olds questioned in the telephone survey said they had access to the Web, double the number just a year ago. Of those, more than half use the Internet to view and share photos, and nearly as many send and receive email and search the Internet for information.

Centenarians were also almost as likely as baby boomers to have used an online dating service -- 6 percent of boomers, compared with 4 percent of the oldest generation.

"They are all realizing that the keys to longevity are around mental, physical and emotion health," said Randall.

About 10 percent of the 100-year-olds have watched a video on YouTube or listened to music on an iPod, according to the poll, but only 3 percent have used Facebook, and just one of them has used Twitter.

PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Centenarians, along with the over-65 group, are the fastest-growing segment of the population. More than 10,000 boomers will turn 65 every day for the next decade, according to U.S. Census Bureau predictions.

Many of the boomers will help to swell the number of U.S. centenarians to 600,000 by 2050 from an estimated 72,000 at the end of 2010, the Census Bureau said.

Boomers aiming to reach 100 could take some cues from the older generation, who know the importance of exercise and a healthy diet, along with a strong, active mind.

For nearly half of 100-year-olds, walking is their favorite physical activity, but 11 percent practice yoga, Tai Chi or something similar. Eight percent ride a bicycle regularly, 5 percent still jog, and 2 percent play a sport such as tennis.

"We are seeing more of a diversification in the types of exercise people are getting," said Randall.

Centenarians can also teach their younger counterparts a thing or two about staying healthy. More than 80 percent of the oldest generation say they eat nutritiously balanced meals, compared with 68 percent of boomers.

Seventy one percent of 100-year-olds sleep eight hours or more each night, but only 38 percent of boomers are getting that much rest.

Both groups say they are politically active, and nearly three-quarters of centenarians said they would be heading to the polls in November to vote in the presidential election.

Boomers and centenarians also agree on the importance of lifestyle: Both groups rate it higher than heredity as having a greater impact on lifespan.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Christine Kearney and Lisa Von Ahn)

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Ex-NFL players join to sue league on head injuries

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More Hispanics die waiting for a heart transplant

GenVec's cattle vaccine gets conditional approval, shares up

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No link seen between bone drugs, colon cancer

Reuters – 59 mins ago NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use certain bone-building drugs may not have a decreased risk of colon cancer, a new study finds -- despite prior evidence suggesting the drugs might offer some protection.

The drugs, called bisphosphonates, include brands like Fosamax, Boniva, Reclast and Actonel, along with generic versions.

They are used to prevent and treat the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, which mainly strikes older women. The drugs can also be used to help treat cancer that has spread to the bone from other sites in the body.

Bisphosphonates have been tied to both good and bad side effects.

Research has found after years of use, the drug may, in rare cases, actually weaken the bones and lead to thighbone fractures or a painful breakdown of the jaw bone.

On the other hand, several studies have suggested women who use bisphosphonates may have a decreased risk of developing breast or colon cancer.

But this latest study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found no evidence that women on the medications had lower odds of colon cancer.

Of more than 86,000 U.S. nurses followed for over a decade as part of a large health study, 801 developed colon cancer. The risk was no different among women who didn't use bisphosphonates, versus users -- regardless of how many years they had been on the medications.

"It is not clear whether bisphosphonates have any role in treatment of colorectal cancer, and our data does not support its routine use as a (prevention) agent for colorectal cancer," lead researcher Dr. Hamed Khalili, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in an email.

Since evidence suggests bisphosphonate users have a lower risk of certain cancers, researchers have been interested in whether the drugs might help prevent those tumors in people who are particularly at risk.

In the case of colon cancer, risk factors include inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease) and having a strong family history of the cancer.

According to Khalili, there is evidence women on bisphosphonates have a lower risk of breast cancer -- though that does not mean the drugs are the reason.

There has been less research on colon cancer. One study last year found women who used bisphosphonates had a 59 percent lower chance of developing colon cancer than non-users (see Reuters Health story of February 14, 2011).

But that study was designed differently than the current one, Khalili pointed out. In the earlier report, researchers compared colon cancer patients with a group of women who were free of the disease.

Khalili's study, in contrast, followed a large group of initially cancer-free women over time. Thus, the researchers were able to collect information on women's health and lifestyle habits before their cancer diagnosis, Khalili said.

That's important because women on bisphosphonates may, for example, be more likely than other women to get screened for colon cancer.

Bisphosphonate users are also likely to be taking vitamin D and calcium to help protect their bones -- and those nutrients have been linked to lower colon cancer risk themselves, Khalili added.

When Khalili's team first looked at its data, there was in fact some weak evidence that women on bisphosphonates might have a slightly lower colon cancer risk than non-users.

But the link got even weaker when the researchers accounted for colon cancer screening and which women were taking calcium and vitamin D.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in 19 men develops colorectal cancer at some point, and slightly fewer women do. The disease is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.

The best way to lower your chances of developing colon cancer, the ACS says, is to get screened. Screening helps doctors detect and remove any pre-cancer growths.

In general, colon cancer screening is recommended for people age 50 to 75. That can be done with any of several tests, or a combination of them -- including tests that look for hidden blood in the stool, or procedures like colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/LBg7LJ Journal of Clinical Oncology, online May 29, 2012.

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Health Tip: Easing Heel Pain

HealthDay – 54 mins ago (HealthDay News) -- Heel pain can be triggered by a number of factors, from bone spurs to a "fallen" arch that causes the foot to pronate inward.

The American Podiatric Medical Association offers these suggestions to help ease heel pain:

Make sure shoes fit well and have plenty of support in the heel, sole and arch.Wear the correct shoes for each activity.Get rid of shoes with worn soles or heels.Warm up before, cool down after and pace yourself during exercise.Give your body plenty of rest and good nutrition.Lose any excess weight.

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Exercise Controls Weight in White Girls Better Than in Black Girls: Study

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Skin Cells Turned Into Brain Cells in Lab Study

HealthDay – 54 mins ago THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists who reprogrammed skin cells into brain cells say their research could lay the groundwork for new ways to treat Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

The team at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco transferred a gene called Sox2 into both mouse and human skin cells. Within days, the skin cells transformed into early-stage brain stem cells called induced neural stem cells.

These cells began to self-renew and soon matured into neurons capable of transmitting electrical signals. Within a month, these new neurons had developed into neural networks, according to the research published online June 7 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

These transformed cells could provide better models for testing new drugs to treat Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, the researchers said.

"Many drug candidates -- especially those developed for neurodegenerative diseases -- fail in clinical trials because current models don't accurately predict the drug's effects on the human brain," Gladstone investigator Dr. Yadong Huang, who is also an associate professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a Gladstone news release.

"Human neurons -- derived from reengineered skin cells -- could help assess the efficacy and safety of these drugs, thereby reducing risks and resources associated with human trials," Huang explained.

About 5.4 million people in the United States have Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to triple by 2050., the release notes. Currently, there are no approved drug treatments to prevent or reverse the disease.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about Alzheimer's disease.

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Health Highlights: June 7, 2012

HealthDay – 54 mins ago Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Children's Vaccines Often Stored at Wrong Temperature: Report

Many providers of immunizations for low-income children store vaccines at improper temperatures, which could make them ineffective, says a U.S. government investigation.

A team from Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General checked the offices of 45 providers in five states who provided free immunizations under the federal government's Vaccines for Children program, ABC News reported.

The investigators found that 76 percent of the providers stored the vaccines at temperatures that were either too hot or too cold, and 13 percent of the providers stored expired vaccines with nonexpired vaccines.

Improper storage could reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines and put children at risk of contracting serious diseases, ABC News reported.

Nationwide, about 44,000 offices and clinics participate in the Vaccines for Children program.

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Introvale Birth Control Pills Recalled

Ten lots of Introvale birth control pills are being recalled after a consumer reported that the white placebo tablets were in the wrong row, drug maker Sandoz announced Wednesday.

The consumer found that the placebo tablets were in the ninth row (labeled "Week 9") of the 13-row blister card, rather than in the correct position in the 13th and final row.

While it is easy to distinguish the white placebo pills from the peach-colored active pills, there is the potential risk for an unintended pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The numbers of the recalled lots are: LF00478C, LF00479C, LF00551C, LF00552C, LF00687C, LF00688C, LF00763C, LF00764C, LF00765C and LF01261C. The lots were distributed only in the U.S. between January 2011 and May 2012.

Consumers who find a white placebo pill in any position other than the 13th and final row should immediately being using a non-hormonal form of birth control and contact their doctor, the FDA said.

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Sheryl Crow Has Benign Brain Tumor

After being diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow described it as a "bump in the road" and told fans not to worry about her.

"Please don't worry about my 'brain tumor,' it's a noncancerous growth. I know some folks can have problems with this kind of thing, but I want to assure everyone I'm OK," Crow wrote on her Facebook page, CNN reported.

She was diagnosed with meningioma a few months ago. She doesn't require surgery for this common type of brain tumor but will have periodic brain scans to monitor its growth.

"It's a tumor that typically grows between the outer layer of the brain and the brain itself. So it's not actually inside the brain," explained CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta.

Depending on the size, some people have this type of tumor removed immediately while others may never need surgery or treatment, Gupta said.

Crow is a breast cancer survivor.

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'Pink Slime' Rejected by Most School Districts

A beef product widely referred to as "pink slime" is off the menu in most school districts across the United States.

The vast majority of states that participate in the National School Lunch Program have decided to order ground beef that doesn't contain the filler product known as lean finely textured beef, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The USDA said only three states -- Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota -- ordered beef that may contain the filler, the Associated Press reported.

After a public outcry early this year, the USDA said in March that it would change its policy and offer schools the choice to purchase beef without the filler for the 2012-13 school year.

Lean finely textured beef is made of fatty beef chunks that are heated and then treated with ammonia to kill bacteria. The USDA says it's a safe, affordable and nutritious product, the AP reported.

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Belly 'Membrane' May Regulate Immune System, Mouse Study Finds

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