"We are beginning to see some declines in influenza activity around the country, but there is still a lot of influenza everywhere," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during an afternoon press conference.

"Asthma has been identified as a significant risk factor for admission with pandemic H1N1 influenza, present in 21 percent to 30 percent in the larger samples," wrote Dr. Upton Allen and fellow researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Though SARMs offer promise for the treatment of a number of diseases -- including osteoporosis, sarcopenia, benign prostatic hyperplasia and cancer cachexia (a wasting syndrome) -- none of the agents have yet been approved for use in patients, according to background information in the study.

Researchers in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute analyzed data on funeral industry workers who died between 1960 and 1986. Information about the workers' work practices and exposure to formaldehyde throughout their lifetime was collected through interviews with family members and co-workers.

U.S. researchers analyzed 26,852 prescriptions filled for 395 drugs between 2000 and 2005, and found that patients who bought a three-month supply instead of a one-month supply saved an average 29 percent in out-of-pocket costs. After the researchers factored in third-party payers such as Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies, total savings averaged 18 percent.

The researchers came to their conclusion by statistically analyzing a female skeleton. They report their findings in the December issue of the journal Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society.

A protein called Glypican-1 is crucial to the development of mad cow disease, researchers from England now report, and understanding its role could help scientists figure out how to stop the illness from progressing.

Previous studies have found that performing breast MRI scans during the follicular phase (days 3 to14) of the menstrual cycle minimizes breast tissue enhancement.

Scientists in the Netherlands found that testicular stem cells can be cultured and multiplied, potentially creating sperm. This raises the prospect that men made infertile by childhood cancer treatments could impregnate women by having the cells implanted in their testicles.

Researchers surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers (smokers and nonsmokers) in the United States and 13 other countries. They found that 74 percent of employees who smoke and 87 percent of employers said the workplace should be smoke-free.

A firestorm set off this week by a federal task force recommendation against "routine screening" of women under 50 is not likely to spur hasty changes in coverage policies, experts say.

In the new report, published online Nov. 19 in The Lancet, researchers pointed out that it can be difficult to find treatment.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5623/using-cell-phones-internet-battle-eating-disorders Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5621/managing-gestational-diabetes Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, resulting in high blood sugar levels that can pose dangers for mom and baby.

The National Diabetes Clearinghouse offers suggestions about possible treatments for gestational diabetes:

Now women are being told that they should get their first screening for cervical cancer -- including a Pap test -- at age 21. The recommendation appears in guidelines released Nov. 20 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

So how do you know if your little one has another type of headache, or is suffering from a migraine?

However, the study did find a difference in response among blacks.

The findings, reported in the Nov. 20 issue of The Lancet, could lead to treatments that build on the existing use of cell therapy to help burn patients recover from injuries.

Each day in the United States, there are five to 10 incorrect surgical procedures performed, some with devastating effects, the researchers noted. Typical problems are surgery performed on the wrong site or wrong side of the body, using an incorrect procedure or using it on the wrong patient.

The study of 100 kidney transplant recipients found that 25 percent had moderate to severe sleep apnea, a rate similar to that seen in kidney disease patients on dialysis awaiting a transplant. This means that both types of patients who have the breathing-related sleep disorder should be considered at high risk for serious heart-related complications, the study authors noted.

The research was conducted in mice that were genetically engineered to have a condition similar to Down syndrome, a genetic disorder. It is still not clear if humans would benefit from the findings.

Obesity and diabetes "are basically the two conditions of greatest concern for U.S. adults right now," said study lead author Edward Gregg, chief of epidemiology and statistics in the CDC's division of diabetes translation.

The study included 749 acute chest pain patients at 16 emergency rooms who were randomly assigned to receive either coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) or standard screening with myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).

Prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AARP and the American Medical Association, the report also lays out ways to improve the health of these adults by increasing the breadth of preventive services.

The type of alcohol -- beer, wine or spirits -- made no difference, the researchers reported in the Nov. 19 online issue of Heart. The Spanish analysis used 10-year data on 15,500 men and nearly 26,000 women who were participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study.

In a study linking sounds to what is called spatial memory, researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago showed 50 objects on a screen to study participants and played corresponding sounds, like a cat meowing and a tea kettle whistling. Then they played some of the sounds as participants napped.

PSD502 -- which combines the drugs lidocaine and prilocaine -- is sprayed on the head of the penis before intercourse.

Dr. Timothy Wilt, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, defended the recommendation that most women don't need to get mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at age 50.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5609/task-force-member-defends-mammography-guidelines Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5606/great-american-smokeout-09-time-quit The less you smoke, the more birthdays you'll have, says the American Cancer Society as it encourages smokers to quit on Thursday, the day of the 34th Great American Smokeout.

Research shows that smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy, and those who quit at 55 gain about five years. Even long-time smokers who quit at age 65 gain three years.

Among all the illicit drugs, marijuana is the most widely used by teens, with nearly 42 percent of high school seniors having tried it, according to the study authors.

If you have a newborn younger than 3 months, call your child's pediatrician at the first sign of diarrhea, the agency advises.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers this list of what moms who have delivered by cesarean can expect:

Cognitive function refers to the ability to think, remember, plan and organize information.

Their study of 52 toddlers (aged 2 to 5) and 107 adolescents (aged 9 to 18) found an association between the amount of secondhand smoke exposure and a marker of vascular injury in toddlers. This link was two times greater in obese toddlers, the study authors noted.

As a matter of fact, even when it's not causing an outbreak, the virus is shedding tiny bits of itself in the genital tract.

But the researchers, whose findings were published online Nov. 18 in Neurology, also reported that pregnant women with MS were not more likely than other women to develop such conditions as preeclampsia or premature rupture of membranes.

The study included healthy people over age 65 -- without chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure -- who were recruited from another study in which they'd been reporting their weekly physical activity for the previous 15 to 25 years.

The thiazide-type diuretic chlorthalidone outshone three other treatments -- a calcium channel blocker, an ACE inhibitor and an alpha-receptor blocker -- in most areas, especially in lowering the incidence of stroke and heart failure, according to the most current data from a large ongoing study known as ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial).

In one study, dabigatran etexilate (marketed as Pradax in Canada and Pradaxa in Europe; it is not yet approved in the United States) proved to be safe in preventing blood clots when patients were treated for acute coronary syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that might indicate a heart attack.

Every day in the United States, more than 900 of these "late preterm" births occur, adding up to 333,461 a year, according to the report, Born A Bit Too Early: Recent Trends in Late Preterm Births, issued by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Researchers found that hospitals in the province of Ontario didn't do a better job of treating heart patients after report cards were released.

The papers, scheduled to be presented Wednesday at an international cancer conference in Boston, also demonstrate how preventing opiates from reaching lung cancer cells reduces cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration.

Every community should have an organized system of emergency care for heart attacks, including programs to identify patients before they get to hospitals and strategies for getting them to medical centers equipped to perform artery-opening procedures, say the guidelines issued by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

Preeclampsia develops in the second half of pregnancy and can cause serious problems such as extremely high blood pressure. The causes aren't clear, but may have something to do with high levels of proteins in the body.

Critics such as the American Cancer Society vowed to stand by its advice that annual screening begin at age 40 for women of average risk. The American College of Radiology agreed.

The 18-month study of 145 Baltimore-area men and women over age 65 found no measurable difference in arterial wall thickness reductions between those who took 1,500 milligrams a day of extended-release niacin plus a statin and those who took only a statin.

You can't always prevent bunions, but you can take steps to reduce your risk. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these suggestions:

In most cases, you can fill out an organ donor card or simply sign the back of your driver's license to make your wishes known, says the National Women's Health Information Center.

Though ARBs are known to benefit people with heart failure, the study focused on whether dose level makes a difference. The findings were to be presented during the American Heart Association's annual meeting, Nov. 14 to 18, in Orlando, Fla., and were published online Nov. 17 in The Lancet.

And it doesn't help that many obese or overweight Americans still consider their weight "normal," as one study found.

Modern-day imaging techniques have unearthed hardening of the arteries -- or atherosclerosis, which causes heart attacks and stroke -- in mummies up to 3,500 years old.