Monthly Archive for January, 2009

New study indicates no connection between vaccines and autism

Published on January 28, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

A mercury-based preservative that was previously used in lots of vaccines doesn’t harm children, according to a recent study that was done in Italy. This just adds to the already substantial amount of evidence that there appears to be no link between the two.

Thousands of healthy Italian babies in a whopping cough study received two varying amounts of the preservative thimerosal while getting their routine shots. Ten years later, a series of brain function tests were performed on 1,403 of these children. Minor disparities were found in only two of 24 measurements by researchers and those might be just due to chance. There was only one case of autism discovered, and that was from the group that received the lesser amount of thimerosal.

Some patients should not receive certain cancer drugs

Published on January 28, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

According to a recent recommendation from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, many patients who have advanced colon cancer should not use some of the most advanced medicine that is used to combat the disease.

Even though it doesn’t sound right for a team of doctors treating cancer to hold back on a popular treatment for lots of patients, it is more important in cancer research to determine what patient’s health will most likely improve on these cancer drugs. These drugs are not only expensive but can be quite harmful.

Patients whose tumors have specific mutations in a gene called KRAS should not get a class of drugs including Erbitux, which is co-marketed in this country by Eli Lily and Bristol-Myers Squibb, as well as Amgen’s Vectibix.

Studies have revealed that patients having these mutations, 35% in this immense study, do not benefit from these drugs. A savings of about $600 million a year could be made by not using Erbitux for these patients, the WSJ reports. Amgen proclaimed that the information called for a label change for Vectibix. The WSJ was told by a British spokesman that Bristol and Lilly positively anticipate working with the FDA.

Blood-flow test can prevent overuse of stents for heart patients

Published on January 28, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Stents are being used too much on people who have clogged arteries, according to a recent study. It was discovered that a basic blood-flow test can help ward off nonessential care.

When doctors used the blood-flow test to conclude when these stents were truly needed, less of these diminutive artery props were used, which resulted in less deaths, heart attacks and repeat procedures. The results were posted in the January 15 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

In past years, there have been reports that have indicated that stents and artery-opening angioplasty procedures were used too much in non-emergency cases, many times without giving medicine time to work. Complications using stents has also caused doctors to be more careful about elective angioplasty.

Although the blood-flow test has existed for years, it is only used in around 10 percent of angioplasties. In the U.S., there are more than 1 million angioplasties performed annually. About half of these cases are of the non-emergency kind like in this study, which encompass people who have two or more heart arteries that have narrowed.

The study, which was performed in the U.S. as well as Europe, consisted of 1,005 people who had chest pains due to decreased blood flow to the heart or who were on the mend from a moderate heart attack, was scheduled for all of the people in the study. An angioplasty was scheduled for all the people involved in the test. During this test, a special dye is injected into the patient’s arteries. The arteries that have narrowed are revealed on an X-ray called an angiogram.

Using only  angiograms as a pre-screening measure, angioplasty and stents were used on half of the people in the study. A blood-flow test was used on the other half. During this test, doctors insert a wire into the artery and determine the pressure in forefront and beyond the area that has narrowed. This reveals if a significant amount of blood is being prevented from getting to the heart. In this category of people, angioplasties and stents were used only on narrowed arteries that had serious disruption of blood flow. People who received the blood-flow test got an average of two stents, versus three for the other half in the study.

One year later, a mere 13 percent of the group who received the blood-flow test had died, had a heart attack or needed additional artery treatment as compared to 18 percent of those who were treated according to angiograms alone. After a year, the rates of pain in the chest were shown to be about the same.s

Study finds cleaner air helps increase life span

Published on January 23, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

clean_airA federally funded study has revealed that cleaner air during the past twenty years has heightened the average life span  in for Americans by increasing it by almost 5 months.

This is the only study so far that has shown that decreasing air pollution helps people to live longer.

The average life span expanded to almost three years, from age 74 to 77, and around 4.8 months of that can be credited to cleaner air, according to researchers from Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health. These findings were reported in the January 22 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

Some experts, such as Dr. Joel Kaufmann, have hailed the increase as remarkable. He said that our country’s endeavor to curb air pollution has been worth the costs.

For a long time, scientists have been aware that the fragments found in polluted air can get caught in the lungs and increase the likelihood of getting lung disease, strokes and heart attacks. The fragments or grit, which comes from dust, soot and other chemicals, is poured out from power plants, factories and diesel-powered vehicles.

The Environmental Protection Agency was given the power to place and execute national standards to shield people from pollutants such as particulate matter and carbon monoxide in 1970 when Congress passed an altered Clean Air Act.

Improving the air quality in the U.S. is attributed to this law and has been accomplished by adding things like catalytic converters to cars and scrubbers at new factories.

To do the study, government data was utilized for over twenty years to trace particulate pollution levels in 51  U.S. cities. Life expectancies, which were determined from death records and census information, were compared with these changes. The results were adapted to consider other aspects that could affect life expectancy, like income, smoking habits and education.

In the cities that were studied, the particulate matter levels decreased from 21 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 14 micrograms on average. During this time, people living in America lived an average of 2.72 years longer.

According to a Brigham Young epidemiologist, areas that had more reductions in air pollution had more increases in life spans. The most advancements in achieving cleaner air were seen in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, N.Y., which saw increases in life spans by almost 10 months. A life expectancy of almost 5 months was seen in Indianapolis, Los Angeles and St. Louis.

It was reported last year by government researchers that the life expectancy in the U.S. has exceeded 78 years for the first time. The researchers attributed the increase of descending mortality rates for 9 of the 15 leading causes of death, which include heart disease, cancer, accidents and diabetes.

Checklist for surgeons prevents patient deaths

Published on January 23, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

checklistThe amount of deaths and complications was reduced by mote than a third when surgeons and their associates went by a checklist in the operating room, such as marking part of the patient’s body where it will be operated on, conversing about any patient allergies and making sure that all surgical items are checked. This was all determined through a project that involved eight countries over a period of a year.

Apparently, surgeons are now realizing what airline pilots having been doing for years: That a person’s brain can not remember all things, so it’s much more beneficial to concentrate on the perplexing problems, and have a handy checklist for simple but important things that need to be checked routinely.

There are more than 234 million surgeries done each year in the world. Between 3 and 17 percent of these results in major complications, like an infection that is life threatening. The average complication due to surgery can cost $12,000 or more to treat, but according to studies performed during the past 15 years, about half of these are preventable.

A checklist appears to be an automatic must, but it is obvious that it needs to be used in more operating rooms. Now that the use of a checklist has proven to save lives, it will most likely be adopted by more surgeons.

This checklist, developed by the World Health Organization, idea could have huge financial benefits, because it is not costly or too technical. Calculations by the authors revealed that the U.S. alone could save as much as $15 to $25 billion a year in the amount of money it costs to treat preventable complications, if every U.S. operating room followed the surgical checklist.

During the one -year pilot study using 7,600 patients, the hospitals observed that the amount of substantial complications went from 11 to 7 percent. Also, inpatient deaths fell by more than 40 percent all together.

More recalls of foods containing peanut butter due to salmonella scare

Published on January 23, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

peanut-butterThe FDA is trying to tackle a salmonella outbreak while the amount of peanut butter products being recalled continues to increase. So far, more than 470 have become sick within 43 states and at least 6 people have died.

The source of the outbreak has been tracked down to a factory in Blakely, Ga, which is owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. During the weekend, the company’s recall spread out to consist of all peanut butter and paste that was made at the plant since way back of July 1, according to the Associated Press.

The impact of this salmonella scare has had a substantial effect on the food industry. The Peanut Corporation of America supplies institutions like long-term care facilities, cafeterias and food manufacturers with peanut butter and paste. It doesn’t sell any products straight to the public. Products to be cautious of encompass crackers, cookies, candy, cereal and ice cream that have peanut butter in them.

On January 19, Clif and Lane nutrition bars were added to the list. Chief national brands of jarred peanut butter are not included in the recall list at this time. For a list of products that have been recalled, you can go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration home page and click on recalls of products containing peanut butter.

If your product that you are concerned about is not listed on the FDA’s site, the agency recommends calling the toll-free number that should be listed on the product’s packaging, or you can go to the company’s web site for information.

As many lose their jobs, healthcare continues to hire

Published on January 14, 2009 in Site News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Due to the economy crisis, many business jobs are getting cut left and right all over the country, but healthcare is actually hiring.

Even though the amount of employees on nonfarm payrolls fell by more than 2 million between December ’07 and December ’08, the healthcare portion added an astonishing 30,000 jobs.

These numbers included more than 14,000 jobs in ambulatory healthcare services, almost 12,000 hospital jobs, 5000 jobs in home and health services and 5,500 in residential care facilities and nursing homes.

Because of the population getting older and new federal money being brought in to support healthcare, the growth is expected to continue.

Using Vicks VaporRub on infants could be harmful

Published on January 14, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

vicksFor many years, Vicks VapoRub has been used on children to ease their coughs and congestion, but researchers have recently warned that it could be dangerous to children aged 2 and younger.

The researchers, who reported on January 13 in the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, said that using the ointment to help control coughing and congestion in younger children might cause serious breathing problems. It seems this ointment tends to increase mucus production and inflammation.

Even though the label on Vicks VapoRub says not to use on children who are younger than 2, many parents either don’t read the label or think it is safe, because it was used on them as a child, so they use it anyway.

The ointment was first created in 1891 in Greensboro, N.C. It’s active ingredients are camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil. Previous studies have not revealed any medicinal benefit from using the ointment. It is believed that the menthol in it clings to cold receptors in the throat, which gives the patient a feeling that they are breathing better.

The awareness of the ointment’s risk was raised when an 18 month old infant girl’s respiratory infection suddenly worsened. If was revealed that her symptoms became noticeable after her grandparents put Vicks VapoRub under her nose.

At that time, the researchers were observing ferrets to study infant respiratory problems. The ointment raised mucus production by a whopping 59 percent in cultured cells. The ointment increased secretion in the airways of healthy animals by 14 percent and by 8 percent in animals with inflamed airways. Since infants’ airways are much smaller than adults, an increase in inflammation or mucus can cause them to become too narrow which could result in breathing difficulties and could be extremely dangerous.

Social isolation can have an adverse effect on health

Published on January 14, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

The connections that you have with other people may just be the key to a long and healthy life. A neuroscientist, John Cacioppo, at the University of Chicago and co-author of a new book called “Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection” has done research on how our relationships can affect our physical health.

He worked on a study to try to understand how important our social interactions are to our biology. We know that in early human history, our survival demanded the protection of families. Back then, isolation usually meant death. Loneliness is a painful feeling that urges us to reconnect with others.

In the study, loneliness was found to affect stress hormones, immune function and cardiovascular function. Lonely adults tend to drink more alcohol and exercise less than those who are not lonely. They usually have a diet that is higher in fat, their sleep is not as solid, and they tend to be more tired during the day. Also, loneliness can disrupt the regulation of cellular processes deep inside the body, which can make the body more vulnerable to premature aging.

Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple as having lots of people around us. Some people can be surrounded by lots of people but feel completely alone, because they don’t have any strong connections. So, in human beings, feeling isolated is more serious than physical isolation.

Cacioppo says that there are things we can do to combat our feelings of loneliness such as making positive everyday comments to people such as “It’s a beautiful day isn’t it!?” Comments like these can usually bring us a friendly response that makes us feel good.

He also says that we don’t have to be liked by everyone to not feel lonely. One to three good friend is all some of us really need. Having 5000 friends on Facebook is not a guarantee that you will not be lonely. He says that virtual connections such as Facebook can sometimes even make you lonelier, unless of course it is your only means of connecting due to being disabled.

John Cacioppo says there are three main ways that we are linked with each other. First of all, people need to be together up close and personal. This is usually seen in marriage, but people who don’t marry can still find connections in other ways. Secondly, we have a strong desire for a broader group of friends and family, but we all know that this is often a bittersweet endearment. And thirdly, there is belonging to a bigger group. This may be why people who go to church regularly tend to live longer. They feel in touch with the group, the church and to God.

Sadly, a large number of us fail to consider the collective part of social connection until there is an event or tragedy such as 9-11, when we feel more like we are part of something huge or magnificent.

Get plenty of sleep to avoid colds

Published on January 13, 2009 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

sleepSimilar to what your grandmother may have said, getting plenty of sleep may prevent one from getting a cold.

Healthy adults were paid $800 each from researchers to have cold viruses sprayed in their noses. They then waited five days in a hotel while they waited to see if they would get sick. Sleepers that were used to getting eight-hours of sleep at night were shown to be less prone to get sick than those who got less than seven hours or who didn’t sleep well.

Lead author Sheldon Cohen, who studies the health effects of stress at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, says that the more sleep you get, the better and the less prone you are to get colds.

Past research has indicated that sleep improves immunity at the cell level. This new research is the first to reveal little interruptions raise the threat of getting sick, according to Dr. Michael Irwin, who studies immune response at the University of California, Los Angeles but was not connected with the study.

This study, featured in the Archives of Internal Medicine, exposed test subjects to the rhinovirus, which is a common cold virus. It was found that people in the study that slept less than several hours a night during the weeks prior to being exposed were three times more prone to getting a cold than those who slept for eight or more hours.

In the study, 78 men and 75 women who were of ages 21 to 55 were chosen by researchers. For two weeks, they kept specific tabs on them. Then they moved the participants to a hotel where they ejected the virus into their noses. Five days later, the virus had infected 135 out of the 153 people in the study. This said, only 54 became sick.

It was found that not sleeping well was connected to making the participants more at risk for getting a cold. Those who slept spasmodically more than 8 percent of the time were five times more prone to get sick than those who were not sleeping 2 percent of the time.

Unexpectedly, feeling rested was not connected to staying healthy.