Tag Archive for 'Prevention'

BCBSNC launches new program to fight the rise of childhood obesity and diabetes

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on June 22, 2010
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) have recently introduced the national commencement of the Good Health Club Physician Toolkit to fight obesity and diabetes. This toolkit, which was initially created and tested in five states including North Carolina, will become accessible to pediatricians in North Carolina and communities throughout the U.S. The toolkit was designed with materials that were used with great results by BCBSNC and augmented in consultation with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The toolkit is obtainable in both English and Spanish and is composed of tip sheets, physician reference materials, wall posters, tracking sheets and brochures with educational information.

The Good Health Club Physician Toolkit presents messages from the “Good Health Club, ” which is a group of friendly animal characters that motivates children to:

* Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day

* Curb screen time to 2 hours or less each day

* Exercise at least 1 hour each day

* Eliminate sweetened drinks

Dr. Don Bradley, senior vice president and chief medical officer at BCBSNC, and Dr. Edie Bernosky, Chapel Hill pediatrician, are both pleased and optimistic about the new program.

In the last 20 years, type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing incidence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in three U.S. children born in 2000 could get diabetes during their lifetime and the pervasiveness of obesity in children aged 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years, rising from 6.5 percent in 1980 to an astounding 17 percent in 2006.

Since 1999, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has developed an assortment of programs in our community that focus on healthy lifestyles. The lifestyle modification program, called Health Lifestyle Choices, gave customers the support and instruments they needed to reach and maintain a healthy weight. In 2005, BCBSNC converted into one of the very first insurers to label obesity as a medical condition and cover nutritionist visits. Since 2007, they have augmented model tool-kits to assist families in getting routine exercise and taking control of managing their health and well-being.

To take a look at the Good Health Club Physician Toolkit and to get more information about what the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are accomplishing in their communities to fight childhood obesity and diabetes, please visit www.bcbs.com/goodhealthclub.

Potential liver damage with two weight-loss pills

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on June 1, 2010
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Federal health officials from the FDA are warning consumers that two weight loss pills, called Alli and Xenical, could cause sever liver damage in rare cases.

The Food and Drug Administration said recently that it has put a warning concerning the risk on the label of the drug Alli. Alli is sold over-the-counter by GlaxoSmithKline. The prescription version Xenical is manufactured and marketed by Roche.

The FDA has identified 13 cases of liver damage associated with these two drugs.

Curb your caffeine if you are pregnant

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on June 1, 2010
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Pregnant and need that extra cup of jo to get you going in the morning? Well, you have most likely been told that pregnant women should decrease or eliminate their caffeine intake so they can reduce their chances of premature delivery, low-birth-weight babies and miscarriage. Many wonder if they should give up the all caffeine during pregnancy?

Well, British researchers have recently worked on determining if there is a safe amount to consume each day. They found that women who had more than 300 milligrams of caffeine (from coffee, tea, soft drinks or chocolate) were more likely to have lower-birth-weight babies than women who only had 30 mg. each day. The average cup of coffee has about 40 mg.

One cup of coffee, tea or soft drink a day will most likely be O.K. but you should check with your doctor first. It may be safer to give up the stimulant completely for those important nine months.

Norovirus illness can be prevented easily

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on May 12, 2010
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Health officials around the Carolinas are trying their best to persuade people to prevent the spread of viruses by simply washing their hands often with soap and water. This winter there were norovirus outbreaks on a cruise ship out of Charleston and also at a teen conference in Raleigh.

Unfortunately, noroviruses are very common and contagious. They can cause a uncomfortable gastrointestinal illness which may result in quite a bit of vomiting and some diarrhea. This type of virus is spread through direct contact with a person who already has the virus. This occurs when someone touches a contaminated surface or eats or drinks contaminated food or water.

It usually spreads easily in schools, long-term care facilities, child care centers, restaurants and other settings where there are numerous amounts of people. That’s why it is so common for children to get this illness. It is very important to inform children of the necessity to frequently wash hands.

The symptoms that come with the illness include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Some people may also get a fever, chills, headache and muscle aches. The short-lived illness begins very suddenly and usually only lasts from 1 to 2 days. The elderly and young children can easily and quickly get dehydrated and may need medical care. Extreme cases may even require hospitalization. For this reason, it is very important to make sure a person with this illness gets plenty of fluids.

Currently there are no special medicines that can treat norovirus. Protect yourself by washing hands often. It is particularly important to wash hands after using the restroom and before preparing, serving or eating food or drinks. Do not prepare food if you are sick and for at least 48 hours after you have been sick.

One-third of breast cancer cases may be avoidable

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on May 1, 2010
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Supporters of eating less and exercising have won yet again as results from a new study have been divulged. According to researchers, around a third of all breast cancer cases in Western countries could possibly be avoided if women consumed less food and exercised more.

Even though early diagnosis, mammograms and better treatments have helped to slow the disease, experts are now focusing on changing unhealthy behaviors like overeating and being too sedentary.

This new study only adds to a string of existing findings that lifestyle changes in areas such as smoking, eating, exercising and sun exposure can have a crucial effect on all kinds of cancer rates.

The head of epidemiology, Carlo La Veechia, emphasized the importance of  taking these findings seriously when he said “what can be achieved with screening has been achieved. We can’t do much more. It’s time to move on to other things.” He spoke last month at a European breast cancer conference in Barcelona.

Michelle Holmes, a cancer expert at Harvard University, warned that people might mistakenly believe that their likelihood of getting cancer leans more on their genes than on their lifestyle.

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer among women. In Europe, around 421,000 new cases and almost 90,000 deaths occurred in 2008. Last year in the United States, there were more than 190,000 new cases  and  40,000 deaths.

During an average woman’s lifetime, her chance of developing breast cancer is around one in eight. According to a 2006 study by British researchers, obese women are up to 60 percent more likely to develop any cancer than normal-weight women.

Numerous breast cancers are encouraged by estrogen, which is a hormone manufactured in fat tissue. This is why experts believe that the more fat a woman has, the more estrogen she is likely to produce, which could initiate breast cancer. This said, even slim women can help reduce their cancer risk with exercise by converting more of the body’s fat into muscle.

The American Cancer Society now recommends that women get 45 to 60 minutes of physical activity for five or more days a week to reduce their chances of getting breast cancer.

Some good news for women who have survived breast cancer and want children; a separate study has found that breast cancer survivors who have children later, do not seem to be at any more risk for dying from cancer. For a long time, doctors have been troubled that pregnancy could ignite hormonal changes which could cause the disease to return. For this reason, many women have been told to avoid getting pregnant after they recover from cancer. The European breast cancer conference had experts who announced that cancer survivors who get pregnant are safe and it does not appear to be linked to the disease’s recurrence.

Colon cancer deaths can be reduced by special procedure

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on May 1, 2010
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On April 29, British researchers announced that a procedure called a sigmoidoscopy performed between the ages of 55 and 64 can decrease colorectal cancer deaths by an astounding 43 percent.

These results, which were taken from the first major randomized trial of sigmoidoscopy, reveal that it is even more effective screening than mammography for breast cancer or PSA tests for prostate cancer.

This reaffirms current U.S. guidelines that recommend regular sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy to check for colorectal cancer.

During a sigmoidoscopy, a bendable tube equipped with a tiny camera is inserted into the rectum to scan the lower third of the bowel. More than 50 percent of bowel cancers happen in this area of the colon. All of the large intestine is examined during a colonoscopy.

This test finds tumors in their early stages of development, when the cure rate is almost 90 percent. It also spots and enables removal of polyps that could grow into tumors later.

At this time, only around 13 percent of all tumors are detected at that stage. Sadly, once symptoms develop, the cure rate is less than 50 percent.

Currently, colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer in the U.S.  It is diagnosed in about 147,000 people every year and kills almost 50,000. However, only around half of the qualified people in the U.S. get screened for it, according to the American Cancer Society.

Upper body pain can come from too much texting

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on April 23, 2010
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3772984885_e453a2cb30The increasing use of cell phones is resulting in a new type of pain for some people, according to Dr. Mark Sobor of ChicagoHealers.com.

Neck, shoulder, hand and arm pain and similar kinds of repetitive motion injuries can come from texting and using computer keyboards a lot. Believe it or not, cell phones were not originally designed for all that texting.

Dr. Sobor said that people are prone to hunch over as they work, which puts considerable strain on their neck and upper backs. Most use only one thumb to type, causing strain to occur on one side. Also, repeated motions of some muscles deprives them of oxygen, which can lead to spasms.

So if you are one of those who is texting more than talking, there are some things you can do to prevent this kind of unwelcome pain. First of all, get yourself ready for texting by warming up and stretching your muscles. Furthermore, mother was right when she said “sit up straight.” Improving your posture while texting can help prevent pain. Try to put your phone or PDA on an area where you will not have to strain your neck and upper back by bending over to see the screen. Also, it is important to give yourself plenty of breaks. Between texts, put the phone down and get up and move around a little. As often as you can, open and close your fingers and stretch them. You can stretch your forearm muscles by extending your arm with your palm facing up and use your other hand to pull your palm down toward the floor. Hold this position for 15 seconds and repeat 2 or 3 times for each arm. Another tip to try is to use both thumbs to text and try to keep your messages short and sweet.

Glaxo’s rotavirus vaccine is temporarily suspended by FDA

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on April 23, 2010
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4150560901_2350ce120bIn March, pediatricians were told by U.S. health officials to temporarily stop using one of the two vaccines used to prevent a leading cause of diarrhea in infants. This was done after they found doses of Glaxo-Smith-Kline’s Rotavirus contaminated with a benign pig virus.

Millions of children around the world have been vaccinated with Glaxo’s vaccine with no safety issues and the pig virus is not known to cause any type of illness in people or animals according to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, who is the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

The Rotavirus causes extreme diarrhea and is the leading killer of children in developing countries. About 55,000 children in the U.S. were hospitalized for rotavirus infections before vaccination began with the Merck’s vaccine in 2006 and Glaxo’s in 2008.

Glaxo said that regulators abroad have decided not to alter how Rotarix is used as scientists research the importance of this new finding.

The oral vaccine, Rotarix, is created from a diluted strain of human rotavirus that is grown inside living cells before it is purified into a vaccine dose. Glaxo uses a line of monkey kidney cells or vero cells. According to Hamburg, the pig virus DNA fragments have been found in Glaxo’s cell bank. This means that they were there from the earliest development of the vaccine. It is not yet known how the contamination happened but an investigation is being performed.

The rotavirus vaccine created by Merck is made by a completely different process.

Drug for menstrual cramps is being developed

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on April 6, 2010
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3153325402_7a2c7bfac0Well there is finally some good news for every woman out there who has experienced the excruciating menstrual cramps that can come with getting your period; the pain that no man can truly understand and that most all women endure to some degree every month.

There is a British company that is striving to create a medication that is aiming against the exact cause of menstrual cramps. Recently at a medical conference, the researchers revealed data from a clinical trial.

Contractions of the uterus and an escalation of the hormone vasopressin are what generate menstrual cramps. The purpose of this innovative medicine, called VA111913, is to shut off this hormone. The usual treatments women currently use for help with painful cramps are pain medicine and birth control pills. These do help, but they only deal with the symptoms of menstrual cramps, not the actual cause.

About 50 percent of all women undergo some type of menstrual cramps, but there are 10 to 20 percent who have a severe condition called dysmenorrhea. This condition is one of the main reasons for women to miss school and work in America.

Diet may have strong affect on depression

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on March 5, 2010
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Here’s yet another reason to listen to your mother when she says to make sure you eat your fruits and vegetables. A new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found that those who regularly eat fish, fruit, and vegetables decrease their chances for developing depression.

About 3,500 British civil servant’s diets were observed by scientists at London’s University College. Five years later they evaluated the individuals symptoms of depression. These researchers pointed out the beneficial effect of a whole-food healthy diet that seemed to protect those who consumed it. On the flip side, they found that those who ate a poor diet consisting of sweets, processed meats, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy foods appeared to make them more vulnerable to depression.

The study drew attention to a link between diet and depression. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a poor diet definitely causes depression, but these results are compelling. So what is most likely giving the protection for good mental health? The researchers suggested a variety of possibilities. Maybe it could be the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables believed to protect cells from harm, the folic acid found in leafy greens that affects brain tissue, or the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that are found in specific brain membranes. Or they theorized that the benefits could be from a combination of all of these factors.

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