Monthly Archive for November, 2010

Study finds marijuana can damage young brains

Published on November 17, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , .

According to a Harvard study, smoking marijuana habitually before age 16 can cause changes in the brain, making it harder for a young person to focus, learn from their mistakes and to think abstractly.

When brain scans were analyzed, activation was seen in regions of the brain of the youngest pot smokers that was not seen in the smokers who started after age 16. Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital found that this indicates early exposure to marijuana can cause neural changes. Early and habitual users of marijuana did not do well on tests of cognitive functions such as mental flexibility.

Study author Staci Gruber, the director of the cognitive and clinical neuroimaging core at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. claims that research on how marijuana changes a developing brain is very important, because it is the most frequently used illegal drug in the United States. A 2009 study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that around 16 percent of eighth graders have tried marijuana, and the amount continues to increase to about 42 percent by 12th grade.

The HPV vaccine for girls

Published on November 17, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

HPV stands for the Human Papillomavirus and it is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Each year, there are six million new cases of HPV. Among these, 75 percent occur in people from age 15 to 24. Most cases are asymptomatic and eventually clear up own their own. This said, some cases can turn into cervical cancer. There are 3,900 deaths due to cervical cancer each year in the U.S.

Precancerous lesions of the cervix and cervical cancer are caused by the high risk strains of the virus. The low-risk strains can cause anogenital warts and juvenile respiratory papillomatosis.

There are currently two vaccines that protect against HPV. Gardisil protects agains four types of HPV and is approved for females ages 9-26. These four strains are the culprits behind 75 percent of all cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts cases. It is also approved for the prevention of genital warts in males.

Cervarix is the other vaccine and it protects against two strains of HPV. It is approved for the prevention of cervical cancer in female patients.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that girls get immunized for cervical caner around age 11 or 12. Even though this seems very young, studies have shown that HPV is a problem for 25 percent of girls ages 14-19 years old. Early vaccination is important to acquire the most protection.

HPV vaccines are safe according to the FDA. Gardasil has been linked to fainting within 15 minutes after an injection, but fainting has also occurred after blood is drawn or other injections have been given to this age group, so it may not be specific only to Gardasil. For more information you can go to www.cdc.gov or make an appointment to see your child’s healthcare provider.

Last years are often afflicted by arthritis

Published on November 16, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

A new study has found that pain from arthritis is often suffered during the last few years of life. In one-quarter of the people studied, with the pain from arthritis taking precedence over the pain that can come with cancer.

Because of its ability to damage the quality of life, the authors of the research said that the study indicates arthritis should be considered a serious disease.

In the study, data was analyzed from interviews of 4,703 women and men who were aged 50 and older and died while enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, a continuous longitudinal study that is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.

Twenty-five percent of the participants had substantial pain in the last two years of life, but fifty percent had pain in the last four months of life. The commonness of pain in the last month of life was sixty percent among patients who had arthritis, as compared to twenty-six percent among the patients who did not have arthritis. Surprisingly, the cause of death, like heart disease or cancer, is many times not what bothers the patient the most.

The authors of the new study suggest that doctors need to pay close attention to the different causes of pain in sick, older patients and refer them to hospices or pain clinics that can calm their suffering. They wrote, “despite increasing recognition that pain in later life constitutes a major public health issue, older persons are dramatically under-represented in specialty pain clinics.”

The study was published in the November 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Breast cancer after hormone therapy usually more advanced

Published on November 16, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Most people already know that hormone treatment after menopause can raise the risk for breast cancer. What many may not know is that researchers are now saying that it usually causes the cancer to be more advanced and deadly.

A recent study was performed on the most commonly prescribed hormone replacement pill called Prempro. It consists of estrogens from horse urine and a synthetic cousin of the hormone progesterone.

In the past few years women have been warned to scale down their hormone use, and these new findings seem to back up that advice. The article concerning this can be found in the October 18 week issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, an author and oncologist who treats breast cancer patients at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, says that too many doctors believe that women can safely take hormones for menopause symptoms such as hot flashes for 4 or 5 years. He says that doctors should not think this anymore and patients should try to stop hormone therapy after a year or two. He also says it is still not known exactly how long these hormones can be taken without increasing one’s breast cancer risk.

The new findings come from a follow-up of 12,788 women who were part of the Women’s Health Initiative, a major federally financed study that compared women taking hormones with a group taking placebos.In 2002, 3 years ahead of schedule, the study was shut down because researchers discovered that hormones were creating small but notable increases in the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, strokes and blood clots in the lungs.

Six million American women had been on the hormone treatments, but the amount rapidly decreased to around half of that. The breast cancer rate also started to fall, so many researchers link the decrease with the reduction in hormone use. The researchers noticed small but substantial increases in harmful effects in women who were on the hormones. As the study had shown earlier, women taking hormones are more likely to acquire invasive breast cancer. Their rate of the disease was 0.43% per year, as compared with the placebo group, which was 0.34% per year.

In the group of women with breast cancer, the women who had taken hormones were more likely to develop cancerous lymph nodes, which is an ominous sign of a more advanced disease – 23.7% versus 16.2% in the placebo group.

There were also more women who had taken hormones that died from breast cancer – 0.03% per year, versus 0.01% in the placebo group. That comes down to 2.6 deaths per 10,000 women each year in the hormone taking group, which is two times as many as the 1.3 deaths per 10,000 in the placebo group.

BCBSNC releases new product offering lower premiums and most-requested benefits

Published on November 16, 2010 in BCBSNC. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Have you been searching for a lower-cost health plan? Well if you live in North Carolina, you now have new options to think about from N.C.’s top health insurer. BCBSNC has revealed a new product that has low premiums and streamlined benefits. It is called Blue Advantage Saver. Not only does it have low premiums, but it provides peace of mind to its consumers because they know they are covered if they encounter a tragic health event.

BCBSNC President and CEO Brad Wilson explains that “many consumers have told us they want a plan that offers a low premium, gives them some ongoing value and protects them financially from an unexpected health event. He said “Blue Advantage Saver is a bridge between the rich benefits of our traditional PPO plan, Blue Advantage, and the customer accountability of Blue Options HSA.”

There are three plan designs to choose from in the Blue Advantage Saver and they all cover preventive care at 100 percent with no cost sharing. Consumers are now able to purchase Blue Advantage Saver to get coverage that is effective January 1, 2022.

All three of the Blue Advantage Saver plans give the customer protection from unforeseen medical expenses, but the customer’s share of the cost differs with each plan. Here is a brief description of each plan design:

Blue Advantage Saver 1 – Customers can have unlimited non-preventive visits to a primary care physician, with a $25 co-payment each time.

Blue Advantage Saver 2 - Customers can go to a primary care physician for up to four non-preventive visits per year, paying a $25 co-payment each time (extra visits would be subject to deductible and coinsurance).

Blue Advantage Saver 3 – There is no limit on non-preventive visits, but each visit is subject to deductible and coinsurance.

ER visits, urgent care visits and specialist visits are all subject to deductible and coinsurance on all three Blue Advantage Saver plans. With Blue Advantage Saver 2 and 3, customers can get generic drugs for only $10, but it does not offer coverage for brand-name drugs. Blue Advantage Saver 1 does have coverage for brand-name drugs, but they are subject to deductible and co-payments or coinsurance.

Currently Blue Advantage Plan B is BCBSNC’s most popular individual plan. Compared to Blue Advantage Plan B, the Blue Advantage Saver 2 can save customers around 30 to 38 percent on their monthly premium. Blue Advantage Saver 1 could save customers around 13 to 19 percent. Deductibles for Blue Advantage Saver plans range from $1,000 to $20,000.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in providing unprecedented health care products, services and information to more than 3.7 million members. For 77 years, they have offered health insurance at a competitive price and have also served the people of N.C. through support of community organizations and programs and events that encourage good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. You can obtain BCBSNC online at BCBSNC.com.

Consumers interested in the new Blue Advantage Saver plan can now get a free quote for the plan that is best for their needs by visiting NC Healthcare Coverage.

Food allergies in kids are increasing

Published on November 1, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Many elementary teachers are noticing that more and more children have food allergies. Well, it is a fact that food allergies among children are definitely increasing. In fact, between 1997 and 2007, the amount of children with food allergies has increased by an astounding 18 percent.

Some people believe it is because of the ever increasing awareness of food allergy signs and symptoms. There is also more food allergy testing available to the public.

There is some evidence that these increasing amounts of food allergies is an actuality and not perceived, as some have believed in the past. A study from the Children’s Hospital of Boston reported that pediatric emergency room visits because of food allergies has doubled between 2001 and 2006. Currently, it is believed that 4 percent of U.S. children have food allergies.

It is not known why food allergies are rising. There are many explanations.

Milk, eggs, nuts, soy, fish and wheat are the most common allergenic foods. Some people think that bringing these foods into a child’s diet too early might lead to a food allergy. On the flip side, some experts believe that delaying the introduction of these foods could be the reason. Family history can also come into play.

Parents will definitely continue to hear confusing advice about prevention of these food allergies, until scientists finally are able to discover the reason for these allergies to occur. At the moment, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests breast-feeding only until six months of age. Following this advice has been proven in studies to bring down the occurrence of food allergies and eczema.

After an infant has turned six months old, the AAP doesn’t recommend holding off on introducing any particular type of food group. This said, be sure to check with your doctor about specific advice about the introduction of solid foods if your infant has eczema, asthma, known food allergies or a family history of food allergies.

Embryonic stem-cell therapy has begun

Published on November 1, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

In the very first authorized test of this type of technology in the U.S., stem cells obtained from human embryos, are being utilized to treat a patient who has acute spinal cord injuries. The patient was treated in early October at Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital for spinal-cord injury patients in Atlanta, Geron Corp.

The study is devised to test the safety and tolerability of Geron’s stem-cell therapy in patients who have spinal cord injuries resulting in loss of mobility or sensation. In July, the FDA granted the bio-pharmaceuticals company the green light to begin the study after hesitating for about a year over safety issues.

For over ten years, scientists have pushed for studies on stem cells to acquire treatments for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and diabetes. Since stem cells can grow into any type of tissue, they have the possibility to mend cells and speed up treatments.

When Geron first started to work with human embryonic stem cells back in 1999, many people thought that it would be many decades before cell therapy would be approved for human clinical trials. Thomas Okarma, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said the news symbolizes “a milestone for the field.”

Geron has unfolded a process that makes embryonic stem cells into glial cells, a type of nerve cell that assists in sustaining the work of neurons. After a spinal cord injury, nerve cells are unable to send information down the spine, which results in paralysis.

Geon’s clinical trial will first focus on patients who have severely damaged, not severed, their spinal cords in the region that begins below the neck, according to the company. The procedure will let the company inject a small amount of stem cells, then increase the dosage in subsequent patients.

Caffeine and alcohol drink: A dangerous combination

Published on November 1, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

We’ve all heard of people who have taken caffeine while drinking alcohol. Recently though, a breakout of cases where students, as well as others, have ended up the hospital after they had drinks that contained both caffeine and alcohol in the same can. College and health officials are very alarmed and concerned by these occurrences.

Doctors report that the drinks are dangerous, because the caffeine conceals the effects of the alcohol, preventing those who drink them to feel just how intoxicated they really are.

There is a brand in particular, called Four Loko, a fruit-flavored malt beverage with an alcohol content of 12 percent containing as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, that has come under specific criticism. Students at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. and Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, drank it and wound up in emergency rooms, some with very elevated levels of alcohol poisoning.

Dr. Michael Reihart, an emergency room doctor in Lancaster, Pa., said it “is one of the most dangerous new alcohol concoctions I have ever seen.” He has treated more than twelve teenagers and adults in the last three months who came to him after drinking Four Loko. He said it is a deadly recipe because your body naturally wants to sleep, but it is tricked by the caffeine.

After 18 attorney generals urged that the drinks be examined, the Food and Drug Administration is looking into whether or not the drinks are safe. The FDA has never approved of adding caffeine to alcohol. In July, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the FTC to investigate if the drinks are especially designed to appeal to underage drinkers. It is a fact that the drinks have colorful packaging and flavors such as watermelon, blue raspberry and lemon-line.

Even though no legislation has passed yet, several states have tried to ban the drinks.

The president of Ramapo College, Dr. Peter Mercer, banned Four Loko and other energy drinks that contain caffeine and alcohol after 6 students ended up in the hospital after drinking Four Loko. One of the students said he had 3 three cans of Four Loko and a couple of shots of tequila in only one hour. He had a blood alcohol level of .400 after this.

The co-founder and managing partner of Phusion Projects, which is the 5-year-old Chicago company that owns Four Loko, said that the drink, introduced in August of 2008, was being unfairly scrutinized. According to him, the company takes measures to try to keep minors from being able to obtain the drink. Also, Phusion Projects wonders why a police investigation into the Central Washington University incident had centered on Four Loko, when the police report claimed that several other alcoholic drinks, including beer, were also discovered at the party where the students became sick.