New Scientist – OBESITY kills, everyone knows that. But is it possible that we’ve been looking at the problem in the wrong way? It seems getting fatter may be part of your body’s defence against the worst effects of unhealthy eating, rather than their direct cause. This curious insight comes at the same time as several studies distancing obesity itself from a host of diseases it has long been blamed for, including heart disease and diabetes. Read Article
AP — Too many pregnant women who want to avoid a repeat cesarean delivery are being denied the chance, concludes a government panel that urged doctors to rethink litigation-spurred policies that have swung the pendulum back toward the days of “once a C-section, always a C-section.” Fifteen years ago, nearly 3 in 10 women who had a first C-section were able to deliver their next baby vaginally, a trend called VBAC for “vaginal birth after cesarean.” Read Article
ScienceDaily — What began as research into how diabetics could possibly preserve their eyesight has led to findings that could prolong the vision of children afflicted with retinoblastoma. Dolores Takemoto, a Kansas State University professor of biochemistry who was researching protein kinase C gamma in the lens of the human eye, found her work taking a fascinating turn when she discovered a correlation between the protein Coonexin46 and hypoxia — a deficiency of oxygen which kills normal tissue cells. Read Article
BBC – Children with behavioural problems are twice as likely to suffer chronic pain as adults than others, say researchers. Scientists at Aberdeen University, who followed the lives of more than 19,000 children, think faulty hormone signals in the brain may play a key role. Read Article
Reuters – The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects. The high court agreed to hear a Pennsylvania case involving a lawsuit by the parents of a child who suffered seizures after her third dose of a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine. They sued the vaccine manufacturer, Wyeth, which Pfizer Inc purchased last year. Read article
Daily Telegraph – One third of people who were caught up in the 7/7 London bombings suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers have said. However, only four per cent of them were referred by their GP for specialist treatment, it has been found. A study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, conducted in the aftermath of the 2005 bombings traced survivors of the attacks, which killed 52 and injured 700. Read Article
Medical News Today – University of Michigan scientists have identified a new reservoir for hidden HIV-infected cells that can serve as a factory for new infections. The findings, which appear online March 7 in Nature Medicine, indicate a new target for curing the disease so those infected with the virus may someday no longer rely on AIDS drugs for a lifetime. “Antiviral drugs have been effective at keeping the virus at bay. However once the drug therapy is stopped, the virus comes back,”… Read Article
Ed. – “Important new research by U-M has discovered that bone marrow, previously thought to be resistant to the virus, can contain latent forms of the infection.”
No, bone marrow stem cells have been known to become infected with HIV, as far back as 2007: “So far, the method involves removing HIV-infected stem cells from a patient’s bone marrow, growing new versions tweaked to fight HIV, and then returning the rejigged cells to the patient.” Read More 2007
ScienceDaily — Some anti-depressant drugs are associated with an increased chance of developing cataracts, according to a new statistical study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and McGill University. The study, … showed statistical relationships between a diagnosis of cataracts or cataract surgery and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as between cataracts and specific drugs within that class. Read article
CBS News – Doctors and parents in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are blaming a sharp increase in the number of birth defects on the highly sophisticated weapons U.S. troops have used in the city during the war. The BBC reported Thursday the staggering statistic from doctors in the city that the number of heart defects found in newborn babies is 13 times the number of similar birth defects in Europe. U.S. troops carried out a major offensive in the city in 2004. Military spokesman Michael Kilpatrick told the news organization it takes public health concerns “very seriously.” Read article
Daily Telegraph – Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, is planning to tackle the American fondness for sugary soft drinks with a so -called ’soda tax’. Mr Bloomberg, whose administration has already targeted unhealthy trans fats in food and banned smoking from many public areas, has urged New York state legislators to impose a tax of a cent per ounce on the sugary drinks. Read article
ScienceDaily — Breast cancer patients with early stage disease that has spread to only one lymph node may not benefit from radiation after mastectomy, because of the low present-day risk of recurrence following modern surgery and systemic therapy, a finding that could one day change the course of treatment for thousands of women diagnosed each year, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer. Read Article
Daily Telegraph – The so-called sunshine vitamin, which can be obtained from food or manufactured by human skin exposed to the sun, plays a key role in boosting the immune system, researchers believe. In particular it triggers and arms the body’s T cells, the cells in the body that seek out and destroy any invading bacteria and viruses. Read Article
Ed. – The study might be new, but that Vit. D plays a vital role in keeping a healthy immune system is NOT. e.g. From Vit. D information on the NIH website: “Vitamin D has other roles in human health, including modulation of neuromuscular and immune function and reduction of inflammation.” Vit. D is also known for it’s role in bone health.
The Australian – PHARMACEUTICAL giant Merck is being urged to settle with hundreds of Australian heart attack victims after a Federal Court judge found the company’s blockbuster drug Vioxx doubled the risk of cardiac arrest. In a landmark decision with international ramifications, judge Christopher Jessup ruled the anti-inflammatory drug was not “reasonably fit” to be on the market and the selling of it by Merck’s Australian subsidiary breached the Trade Practices Act. Read Article
ABC – SHANE MCLEOD: Some believe the structure of the modern pharmaceutical industry means cases like Vioxx are inevitable. Dr Peter Mansfield is a GP (general practitioner) who founded the group Healthy Skepticism that campaigns for changes to the way drugs are marketed. He’s also a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide. He joins me on the line now. Read transcript/listen to audio.
msnbc – Too much boob tube also makes you weaker, research shows. You’ve accepted the idea that TV makes you dumber. You know there are lots of more edifying things you could be doing with your time than cheering on the contestants on “Survivor.” And unless you’re working out to an exercise video, you know those hours sprawled out in front of the screen are going to make you fatter — not to mention the impact of all that junk food you’ve been tempted to scarf down during the commercial breaks. But you’ll be surprised to learn the host of other bad things TV can do to you. Read Article
Daily Mail – Vaccines given to dogs are making them ill, a pet charity claimed yesterday. Profit-hungry drug companies and vets are ‘frightening’ dog owners into inoculating their pets more often than necessary, according to Canine Health Concern. Some puppies have developed conditions including autism and epilepsy after a raft of injections, it warns. Read Article
Ed. – Lyme Disease in dogs can be a very nasty, very debilitating condition. Canine Lyme Disease occurs in the US, Australia, parts of Europe, China and Japan. More in Source; Coronavirus Infection–Dogs: Causes vomiting and diarrhea; puppies are susceptible to fatalities. More in Source; bordetella = kennel cough
AP – Germs in the gut may help drive appetite, says new research into the link between obesity and bacteria. Previous studies have shown that overweight people and normal-weight people harbor different types and amounts of microbes that naturally live in the intestine. To determine why, scientists are peering into mice. Read Article
Wall Street Journal – Canada’s First Nations peoples chastised Royal Bank of Canada (RY) for not doing enough to prevent “an environmental holocaust,” at the bank’s annual meeting in Toronto Wednesday. Four aboriginal groups appealed to Canada’s biggest bank to use its corporate heft and political influence to stop Enbridge Inc. (ENB) from building a 725-mile pipeline to carry oil from Alberta’s tar sands through northern British Columbia to Kitimat, where it would be loaded on tankers for shipment to the U.S. west coast or Asia. Read Article
Drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks has been linked to an increase in new cases of diabetes and heart disease. More people now drink soft, sport and fruit drinks daily, and the increase has led to thousands more diabetes and heart disease cases over the past decade, according to research presented to the American Heart Association’s annual conference. Read Article
PhysOrg.com – The increased risk of colorectal cancer associated with obesity may be largely restricted to tumors that have no or low microsatellite instability (MSI), a common condition in most colorectal cancers, according to a new study published online March 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read article
Doctors have known that low levels of vitamin D are linked to certain kinds of cancers as well as to diabetes and asthma, but new research also shows that the vitamin can kill human cancer cells. The results fall short of an immediate cancer cure, but they are encouraging, medical professionals say. Read article
Reuters) – Foodborne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion in health-related expenses each year, far more than prior estimates, according to a study released by consumer and public health groups on Wednesday. Food safety advocates are hoping the study will boost efforts in Congress to overhaul the nation’s antiquated food safety system that has seen consumer confidence plunge. Read article
ABC – Scientists on Queensland’s Gold Coast say a traditional Indigenous treatment is as effective as aspirin for migraine relief. The remedial qualities of a type of native lemongrass found in parts of the Northern Territory have been researched by scientists at the Glycomics Institute at Griffith University. Institute spokesman Dr Darren Grice says it is one of a number of traditional treatments listed in Indigenous records passed on to early settlers. Read Article
BBC – Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion.The city witnessed fierce fighting in 2004 as US forces carried out a major offensive against insurgents. Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe. The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area. Read Article
Ed – To read more about the most commonly used weapon of mass detruction, depleted uranium, CLICK HERE
Science Daily — Frequent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among 13-year-olds is associated with an increased risk of future blood vessel hardening and greater risks of other heart disease factors, according to new research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association. Read Article
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