Driving Convertibles Is Bad for Hearing

Cruising down the highway with the top of your convertible down may feel great, but it can also permanently damage your hearing. A new study recorded noise levels in convertibles being driven at 50 to 70 mph on a par with construction sites and nearing the volume of an ear-pounding pneumatic drill. Wind noise, driving speed, road surface and traffic congestion all contributed to the ear-splitting volume. Consistent readings were recorded in the 88 to 99 decibel range with the noise level rising as speed increased. Repeated exposure to sounds over 85 decibels are widely recognized to raise the risk of permanent hearing loss. MORE>>>>>>>>>>

Chinese Herbs May Help Prevent Diabetes

A number of traditional Chinese herbs may help control blood sugar levels in people at high risk of diabetes, a new research review suggests.

The review, which examined 16 clinical trials of 15 different herbal formulations, found that the herbs generally helped lower blood sugar levels in people with "pre-diabetes" -- those with impaired blood-sugar control that can progress to full-blown type 2 diabetes.

When the researchers pooled data from eight of the studies, they found that adding an herbal remedy to lifestyle changes doubled the likelihood of participants' blood sugar levels returning to normal.

What's more, people using the remedies were two-thirds less likely to progress to diabetes during the studies, which ran for an average of nine months.

The findings appear in the Cochrane Library, which is published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Green Tea May Curb Cancer Risk

Drinking green tea may lower your risk of developing certain blood cancers, but it will take about 5 cups a day, according to a study from Japan.

Drinking green tea has been associated with lower risk of dying and heart disease deaths, Dr. Toru Naganuma, at Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan told Reuters Health in an email correspondence.

The current study, Naganuma said, suggests drinking green tea may have a favorable effect "for particular cancers."

After gathering information on the diets and green tea drinking habits of a large group of Japanese adults aged 40 to 79 years old, Naganuma and colleagues followed the group for development of blood and "lymph system" cancers. The lymph system is a major component of the body's immune system.

The 19,749 men and 22,012 women who participated in the study had no previous history of cancer, Naganuma and colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

During 9 years of follow up, 157 blood, bone marrow, and lymph system cancers developed in the study group.

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Chocolate, Water Blunt Pain

Chocolate activates a part of the brain that blunts pain and makes it difficult to stop eating, a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience has found.

But drinking water has the same effect and does not contribute to the growing problem of obesity, according to the study led by University of Chicago neurology professor Peggy Mason and neurobiology research associate Hayley Foo.

Mason and Foo gave rats either a chocolate chip to eat or water to drink as they lit a lightbulb underneath their cages.

The heat from the bulb normally caused the rodents to lift their paws.

But when the rats ate chocolate or drank water, their pain response to the heat was dulled and they did not lift their paws as quickly as when they were not eating. They also kept on eating.

Mason said that eating stimulates a system in the part of the brain that controls subconscious responses, which is known to blunt pain.

The natural form of pain relief may help animals in the wild avoid distraction while eating scarce food, but in modern-day humans, it could be contributing to over-eating and obesity.

"Nature provided for it being difficult to stop eating by making food scarce, particularly energy-dense, high-fat, high-calorie food. But in the modern world, we've completely messed that up," Mason told AFP.

"The cheapest thing you can get is energy-dense food and once it's readily available and you've got it nearby, you're going to eat it and you're not going to stop.

"You're destined to do that because it's a brainstem-mediated effect," she said.

Previous studies have indicated that only sugary substances had a pain-dulling effect, but the response in the rats in the University of Chicago study was the same regardless of whether they were nibbling chocolate or drinking water.

That led Mason to suggest that doctors change the way they calm patients' nerves.

"Stop giving patients lollipops," she said.

"Ingestion is a painkiller but we don't need the sugar. Water blunts pain, too," Mason said.

Two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, while about a third of US children are overweight and one in six are obese.

Mortality Rate 52 Percent Lower at Top Hospitals

The largest annual study of patient outcomes at each of the nation's 5,000 nonfederal hospitals found a wide gap in quality between the nation's best hospitals and all others. According to the study, issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, patients at highly rated hospitals have a 52 percent lower chance of dying compared with the U.S. hospital average, a quality chasm that has persisted for the last decade even as mortality rates, in general, have declined.

The study also found that hospitals that have received the Stroke Certification from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) had an eight percent lower risk-adjusted mortality rate than hospitals that have not received this certification.

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Whole Grains May Ward Off High Blood Pressure

Eating lots of whole grains could ward off high blood pressure, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the study, men with the highest whole-grain consumption were 19 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than men who ate the least amount of whole grains.

While refining grains removes their outer coating, whole grains retain their bran and germ, so they are richer in many nutrients, Dr. Alan J. Flint of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues note in their report.

The most recent US guidelines recommend that people get at least 3 ounces, or 85 grams, of whole grains daily, and that they consume at least half of their grains as whole grains.

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Eating Licorice Can Affect Pregnant Moms Babies

Moms who eat lots of licorice while they are pregnant may affect their child�s intelligence as well as behavior. An eight-year study of children whose moms ate large amounts of licorice during their pregnancy didn�t perform as well on intelligence tests as other children. In addition, they were more likely to have short attention spans and suffer from ADHD and other disruptive behavior.

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2 quick ways to lower health-care costs

To anti-capitalists, "profit" is a dirty word. Karl Marx hated profit, which he considered to be "surplus value from the exploited proletariat." Despite the spectacular collapse of the Soviet Union, a nation constructed on Marx's theory, there are still people who think "profit" is a dirty word. Many of these people are in Washington, D.C.

Sen. John Rockefeller issued a statement claiming that "… insurance companies are awash in profits." In reality, the health insurance industry stands 35th among Fortune magazine's profitability rankings, with an average profit of 2.2 percent.

Sen. Chuck Schumer doesn't think much of profit, either. He has proposed fees (taxes) that will extract $75 billion from private insurance companies over the next decade. Since taxes, or fees, are a cost of doing business that is simply passed along to the consumer, Schumer's idea is nothing more than an indirect tax that individuals will have to pay. But by applying the tax to insurance companies, Obama's promise not to increase taxes for people earning less than $250,000 can go unchallenged.

It is clear that Rockefeller, Schumer and the majority of Democrats want to reduce the cost of health care by squeezing profit out of the health insurance industry. This, of course, would kill the health insurance industry and leave the task of providing health-care services up to the government. This is the ultimate goal. Whether it's called "public option," "co-op exchange," or "single-payer," the goal is the same: Get rid of the profit private companies earn, and let government provide the service.

Don't miss the August edition of Whistleblower magazine: "Medical Murder: Why Obamacare could result in the early deaths of millions of baby boomers"

Conservatives in the Senate, in the House of Representatives and across the country know that the solution to the rising cost of health insurance is more competition. Obama and his congressional minions claim that some form of a government-controlled "public option" will increase competition.

What nonsense! Government-controlled or government-subsidized not-for-profit organizations offering health insurance is not competition; it is confiscation of the industry. Government does not level the playing field for private competitors; it levels the competitors. Unlike private insurers, a government program does not have to cover costs to stay in business. Examine other government programs, the Postal Service or Amtrak, for example. When the costs of operation exceed the revenue, Congress ups the national debt limit, borrows more money, and the government-run program continues.

Medicare and Medicaid are often held up by Democrats as great examples of government-run health-care programs that all Americans want. They are in fact an excellent example of government's ineptness at operating a business that should be left to the private sector. According to the calculations of the Medicare Trustees, Medicare is operating at a deficit every year, and to fund the program over the next 75 years at the current level of service would require $38 trillion – that's with a "T" – which amounts to 260 percent of GDP.

(Column continues below)

Karl Marx would love this plan!

There is a way to increase competition among health insurance companies that would reduce the cost of health care almost immediately, with virtually no cost to the government or to the taxpayer. Simply let all health insurance companies compete across state lines. Costs would fall before breakfast!

Health-care costs would decline significantly if Congress would limit awards in malpractice cases. The cost of malpractice insurance – which has to be passed on to the patient – has skyrocketed beyond all reason, as the direct result of ambulance-chasing trial lawyers manufacturing outrageous payoffs in medical cases. A baby doctor in a metropolitan area may pay as much as $250,000 per year for malpractice insurance. Just to cover this insurance cost, charging $100 per patient, the doctor would have to see 69 patients per day, 365 days per year.

Congress could reduce health-care costs immediately with no cost to the taxpayer by implementing these two changes.

Obama has said he can save $500 billion by squeezing waste, fraud and abuse out of Medicare and Medicaid. Hooray! Go to it! This money could be used to provide a tax credit when low income families choose to buy health insurance.

These ideas have been advanced over and over again in Congress. Democrats have blocked every effort to pursue these solutions to the health-care cost dilemma. It would appear that their goal is not to reduce the cost of health care, but to destroy another major segment of our capitalist system in order to expand government's control over the economy – and American citizens.

Fructose Tied to Higher Blood Pressure

A diet high in a form of sugar found in sweetened soft drinks and junk food raises blood pressure among men, according to research likely to mean more bad news for beverage companies and restaurant chains.

One of two studies released on Wednesday provided the first evidence that fructose helps raise blood pressure. It also found that the drug allopurinol, used to treat gout, can alleviate the effect by reducing uric acid levels in the body.

The second study, which measured fructose intake in mice, suggested that people who consume junk foods and sweetened soft drinks at night could gain weight faster than those who don't.

"These results suggest that excessive fructose intake may have a role in the worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes," said Dr. Richard Johnson of the University of Colorado-Denver, who studied the link between blood pressure and men.

The findings provide the latest evidence of ties between sugar-rich diets and health problems that have prompted some experts to call for a tax on sugary soft drinks. MORE>>>>>>>>

Chemical Pollutants Lead to Fewer Female Births

High exposure to certain now-banned industrial chemicals may lead to fewer female births, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the journal Environmental Health, add to evidence that the two groups of related chemicals -- polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) -- may affect human reproduction.

PBBs were once widely used as flame retardants in plastics, electronic and textiles, while PCBs were used in everything from appliances and fluorescent lighting to insulation and insecticides.

While the chemicals were banned in the 1970s as potential health hazards, they remain a public-health concern because they linger in the environment and accumulate in the fat of fish, mammals and birds.

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Traffic Noise Raises Blood Pressure

Traffic noise raises blood pressure. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health have found that people exposed to high levels of noise from nearby roads are more likely to report suffering from hypertension.

Theo Bodin worked with a team or researchers from Lund University Hospital, Sweden, to investigate the association between living close to noisy roads and having raised blood pressure. He said, "Road traffic is the most important source of community noise. Non-auditory physical health effects that are biologically plausible in relation to noise exposure include changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of stress hormones. We found that exposure above 60 decibels was associated with high blood pressure among the relatively young and middle-aged, an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke".

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A cornucopia of drugs will soon be on sale to improve everything from our memories to our trust in others

On 6th December 2004 a baby girl named Yan was born. Her father, an internet entrepreneur, is called Shen Tong. Yan was Shen’s first child, and you might have expected him to have an excitable, sleepless night. But oddly the opposite occurred. He slept better than he had done for 15 years, six months and two days. It’s possible to be exact about the timing because 15 years, six months and two days earlier was 4th June 1989 and on that day Shen had been on a boulevard just off Tiananmen Square in Beijing. He was a 20-year-old student, and like thousands of others he was demonstrating in favour of political reform.

After martial law was declared, Shen watched as the army drove through the city. Between outbursts of shooting, students tried to reason with the military. Shen approached a truckload of soldiers; he wanted, he says, to calm the surrounding crowd. Suddenly an officer pulled out a pistol. Parts of the rest of the story are hazy. Shen was dragged back by others. A shot was fired, and a female student, roughly Shen’s age and standing just behind him, was hit in the face. She died. Shen remembers her covered in blood. He is convinced that the bullet was intended for him. Shen moved to the US, but violent images recurred in his dreams for many years—until, that is, the arrival of Yan. Not only did he sleep well that night, but the following night, and the night after that.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can occur after a distressing event. It involves a traumatic memory which comes back to mind repeatedly and involuntarily. It’s associated with chronic anxiety and hyper vigilance. The numbers affected are contentious. By one mid-range estimate tens of thousands of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from it. As do British veterans of the Falklands war—more of whom have committed suicide than died in active service. The Pentagon has sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into PTSD research. But of course, as Shen Tong knows, you don’t have to be a soldier to experience it.

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A history of healing herbs

I now know you can't judge a book by its cover. I almost managed to overlook my review copy of "Backyard Medicine"by Julie Bruton-Seal and...

By MAUREEN GILMER

Scripps Howard News Service

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SHNS PHOTO / COURTESY MAUREEN GILMER

The hedgerows of England are rich in hawthorne.

I now know you can't judge a book by its cover. I almost managed to overlook my review copy of "Backyard Medicine"by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal (Skyhorse Publishing, 2009); however, one evening I sat down to give it a look and was pleasantly surprised to discover a first-class read.

I learned it was originally published in Britain as "Hedgerow Medicine,"a tome devoted to helping readers find real medicine in the plants of both the gardens and weeds of wayside places.

What the British knew about useful plants our colonists inherited to apply in the New World, and therein lies the root of our American herbal traditions — the value of eons of ancient English cottage herbalism.

As I browsed through, I found a lovely blend of superior photography, close-up details that tell a deeper story and wonderful old botanical prints. These all help to augment a running text that, unlike other herb books, deals with the facts, not remnants of old herbalism based on magic and philosophy. Furthermore, the language is both concise and conversational.

The sidebars featuring specific plants are particularly striking, packed with interesting and useful tidbits. Included in the plant information are the botanical descriptions, habitat, distribution, related species and the parts used. The useful bullet points make it easy to extract information, such as maladies treated by the plant. Special tips and boxes that warn against toxicity, allergy and other such caveats are found in contrasting ink. Quotes from English herbalists who solidified the foundation of modern botanical medicine provide vital context and link the contemporary text with its historic roots.

I was also happy to see mullein discussed in these pages; it's one of my favorite herbs. According to this book, mullein leaves were popular as toilet paper and were traditionally grown outside pits or privies. The leaves, often the size of a human foot, were also used to ease the pain of plantar fasciitis, a painful inflammation of the muscles of the foot. Layering a mullein leaf inside a shoe became one of the first medicated orthotics.

Even more admirable are the recipes throughout the book that discuss how to harvest and prepare the plants for use as medicine — too many publications lack these important how-to details. For mullein, the instructions include detailed descriptions of how to make dried mullein tea for coughs and colds. It challenges the reader with the more complex recipe of mullein-flower oil as an earache remedy. There's also a how-to on making and using a mullein poultice to draw out splinters.

The book covers an astonishing variety of plants. One of the best sections addresses common elder, detailing uses of its flower and berries. Other extensive write-ups deal with commonly found wayside weeds such as red clover, nettle, wormwood, mallow, dandelion and dock. Some widely cultivated garden plants common in English hedgerows include hawthorn, briar rose and St. John's wort.

"Backyard Medicine"is an affordable starter book for the new gardener or first-time homeowner, and it makes a superior foraging guide for the gutsy urbanite. Whether you grow your plants or gather from field, fen or roadside, every page is highly useful.

And there are great ideas for herbal holiday gifts made from free wayside weeds.

Don't let the rather pedestrian cover throw you, because the wisdom of the ages is beautifully shared inside.

Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist. Her blog, the MoZone, offers ideas for cash-strapped families. Read the blog at www.MoPlants.com/blog. E-mail her at mogilmer@yahoo.com.

scientists turn liposuction leftovers into embryonic-like stem cells

In medicine's version of winning the daily double, Stanford University researchers took ordinary fat cells and transformed them into what are effectively embryonic stem cells — those versatile cellular building blocks that can morph into a variety of tissues.

Scientists warn it's too soon to use excess fat to cure disease. But in theory, it would allow people to grow personalized replacement parts for ailing organs. And it avoids the use of embryos, which has embroiled the field in political and ethical debates.

"Thirty to 40 percent of adults in this country are obese," said cardiologist Joseph Wu, senior author of the paper published in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"But all of us have fat in our bodies," he said. "We just need a little bit."

In 2007, Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University in Japan made a landmark discovery by turning skin cells into embryoniclike stem cells, sending waves of relief through a field that had faced much resistance. Because these cells don't come from embryos, they are called "induced pluripotent stem cells," or IPS cells.

Stanford researchers took a similar approach. But fat cells seem more flexible and versatile than skin cells, so they can be reprogrammed more quickly and easily, making them potentially more useful in building colonies of IPS cells.

The procedure is not yet ready for clinical application because it relies on genetically engineered

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Prostate Cancer Caused By a Virus?

Researchers reporting online in yesterday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences think prostate cancer may be related to a virus. Scientists at Columbia University and the University of Utah have determined that a virus that's already known to cause certain other cancers in animals is present in human prostate cancer cells.

Comparing more than 200 human prostate cancers to more than 100 non-cancerous prostate-tissue samples, they found that 27 percent of the cancers contained the virus known as XMRV, which was found in only 6 percent of the benign tissues. XMRV has been under investigation for its potential role in causing cancer for some time; this new study strengthens the link and also dispels the previous belief that certain people with genetic mutations are more susceptible than others the XMRV infection.

There's no evidence yet that XMRV causes prostate cancer. But should such a relationship emerge, the discovery might lead to new ways to diagnose, treat or even prevent the disease, which affects nearly 200,000 men each year in the U.S.

Other viruses are known to cause cancer in humans. For instance, the human papillomavirus, or HPV, causes cervical cancer in women. The Gardasil vaccine targets HPV and thus wards off that form of cancer.

A prostate cancer vaccine is still a distant prospect, though. And researchers point out that much remains to be learned about XMRV. Does it affect women? Is it sexually transmitted? How common is it? And does it cause cancer elsewhere in the body, other than in the prostate?

"We have many questions right now," said lead researcher Ila Singh of the University of Utah in a press release, "and we believe this merits further investigation."

Competition Vital for Success of Health Plan

"Choice, competition, reducing costs -- those are the things that I want to see accomplished in this health reform bill," President Barack Obama told talk-show host Michael Smerconish last week.

Choice and competition would be good. They would indeed reduce costs. If only the president meant it. Or understood it.

In a free market, a business that is complacent about costs learns that its prices are too high when it sees lower-cost competitors winning over its customers. The market -- actually, the consumer -- holds businesses accountable and keeps them honest. No "public option" is needed. MORE>>>>>>

Sunscreens May Be Linked to Alzheimer’s

Millions of Americans use sunscreen regularly to protect their skin against the sun’s damaging rays. But a chilling possibility that the same sunscreens used to protect skin from cancer could possibly cause Alzheimer’s disease is being investigated by scientists from the University of Ulster.

The European Union has awarded ?350,000 to two experts from the University of Ulster to explore possible links between sunscreens and the brain disease. They will look at whether nanoparticles present in the chemicals used in sunscreens can cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Baby Boomers Still Getting High

Middle aged baby boomers are still turning on to illegal drugs forty years after Woodstock, doubling the rates of illicit drug use by the previous generation, according to a government study released on Wednesday.

The rates of people aged 50 to 59 who admit to using illicit drugs in the past year nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007 while rates among all other age groups are the same or decreasing, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported. MORE>>>>>>>>

Diabetes Drug Increases Death Risk

Rosiglitazone, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, is associated with an increased risk of heart failure and death among older patients compared to a similar drug (pioglitazone), concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

As such, the researchers say it is difficult to advocate continued use of rosiglitazone for most patients.

Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone belong to a class of drugs called thiazolidinediones and are widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. They help to control blood sugar levels, but both drugs can also cause side effects including weight gain, fluid retention and heart failure.

Heart Disease Death Risk Lowered by Multivitamins

Multivitamins taken regularly over a long period of time may lower the risk of death from heart disease by 16 percent, according to a new study out of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington. The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, also showed that daily supplements of vitamin E over a 10-year period were tied to a 28 percent decrease in the risk of death from heart disease.

The new study goes against two older studies, one of them a much-debated 2004 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that said multivitamins and vitamin E in particular actually increased the risk of all-cause mortality. The other prior study, published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene could increase the risk of death by as much as 16 percent.

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Credit Crunch Will Worsen Obesity Epidemic

As wallets become leaner, people could become fatter, researchers concluded after a study involving 9,000 people.

The researchers, whose findings are in the open access journal BMC Public Health, blame the obesity trend on two factors: the high price of healthy food and the tendency of people worried about debt to eat for comfort.

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Red Wine May Fight Inflammation in the Body

Drinking red wine may help fight inflammation in the body, according to research published on Sunday by scientists at the University of Glasgow.

Researchers found that resveratrol, an anti-oxidant found in red wine, protected mice when they were exposed to a strong inflammatory agent.

Mice that were not pre-treated with resveratrol developed a serious reaction similar to the inflammatory disorder sepsis.

The study found that it blocks two major proteins in the body that trigger inflammation.

"Strong acute inflammatory diseases such as sepsis are very difficult to treat and many die every day due to lack of treatment," said Alirio Melendez of the University of Glasgow.

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Heavy Drinkers Face Significantly Higher Cancer Risk

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers.

People in the highest consumption category increased their risk of developing esophageal cancer sevenfold, colon cancer by 80 percent, and even lung cancer by 50 percent, the researchers said.

They found statistically significant relationships between heavy consumption of beer and spirits and six different cancers. Moderate drinking (i.e. less than daily) and wine consumption did not show the same effects, however. MORE>>>>>>>>>

Dental Woes May Herald Chronic Ills

Our modern dental woes have a lot do to with modern whole-body ills like heart disease and diabetes, according to the author of a review of decades' worth of studies on diet and health.

The culprit in both cases? The so-called fermentable carbohydrates forming the foundation of the modern diet, says Dr. Philippe P. Hujoel of the University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle. These include sugars and starchy foods that break down into sugars in the mouth, as well as tropical fruits and dried fruits. MORE>>>>>>>

Probiotics May Prevent Children's Colds

Bacteria that are present in the body naturally and sometimes are added to food or dietary supplements might help ward off children's colds, researchers say.

A study done in China found that small children who drank a mixture of such bacteria known as probiotics in milk twice a day during the winter and spring had fewer colds, needed fewer antibiotics, and missed fewer days of school than children who drank plain milk.

Researchers have shown in some studies that probiotics can benefit those who are already ill with various conditions, and the bacteria are thought to boost the immune system's response to invaders. Whether they were effective at preventing sickness, however, was unclear.

The study in China involved 326 children, ages 3 to 5, who were assigned randomly to three groups: one given milk with a bacterium called Lactobacillus acidophilus mixed in, another that received the same organism along with a strain of another bacterium, Bifidobacterium animalis, and a third that received just milk with placebo. MORE>>>>>>>>>>

Calcium-Rich Dairy Foods May Prolong Life

Although many shun calcium-rich dairy products as a source of artery-clogging cholesterol, consuming them in childhood may add years to one's life in some cases, reported a study released Tuesday.

A 65-year follow-up to a 1930s survey of more than 1,300 families in England and Scotland showed that a diet high in milk, cheese, and butter did not lead to higher rates of cardiovascular disease.

Moreover, children with the largest intake of calcium from dairy products enjoyed a lower death rate from strokes, according to the study, published in the British Medical Journal.

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Childhood Radiation Ups Risk of Breast Cancer

The results of a study confirm that girls who undergo radiation for cancer in childhood have an increased long-term risk of developing breast cancer, regardless of their age at the time of treatment.

When such treatment included a high dose to the ovaries, however, women seemed to be protected against future breast cancer risk.

Radiation is a common, and highly effective, treatment for cancers such as Hodgkin's lymphoma, and adolescents and adults who receive such treatments are known to be at higher risk of developing breast cancer late in life, Dr. Peter D. Inskip of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues note in their report.

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Minimally Invasive Treatment Relieves Rotator Cuff Pain

A minimally invasive procedure to treat tendonitis in the rotator cuff of the shoulder provides immediate symptom relief to the patient, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology. The study found that ultrasound-guided nonsurgical therapy significantly reduces pain from calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff and restores lasting mobility after treatment.

"With this treatment, we were able to establish a single inexpensive and effective treatment for calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff. This has never happened before," said co-author Luca M. Sconfienza, M.D., from the Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan School of Medicine in Milan, Italy. "Symptoms improved in patients treated with our procedure compared to non-treated patients."

Calcific tendonitis is a condition that causes the formation of small calcium deposits within the tendons of the rotator cuff in the shoulder. It is most common in adults in their 40s. In most cases, the deposits become painful and can restrict mobility of the shoulder. In minor cases, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications may be sufficient to address the problem until the calcifications break apart spontaneously. In severe cases, patients may require shockwave treatment or open surgery to remove the calcium. Open surgery requires a hospital stay and rehabilitation and, on rare occasions, may result in major complications, such as tendon rupture.

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Weight Loss Surgery May Cut Cancer Risk

Weight-loss or "bariatric" surgery appears to cut the increased risk of cancer in obese women, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Severely "obese women are at incredible risk for multiple cancers, primarily breast and (uterus) cancer but also colorectal and other gynecologic cancers," Dr. Susan C. Modesitt told Reuters Health via e-mail. "I hope that physicians begin to be proactive in evaluating these women for cancer promptly when indicated."

Modesitt and her colleagues at the University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, studied 1,482 severely obese women who underwent bariatric surgery at the university and compared them with a population of severely obese women who did not undergo surgery.

Overall, 53 bariatric surgery patients (3.6 percent) developed cancer, including 15 with breast cancer and nine with uterus cancer, the authors report.

Most cases were diagnosed and treated before bariatric surgery (34 women, 64.1 percent), while 32 percent (17 women) were diagnosed after bariatric surgery.

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Baking Soda for Kidney Health?

A daily dose of sodium bicarbonate baking soda, already used for baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn, and more slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients' nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits," comments Magdi Yaqoob, MD (Royal London Hospital).MORE>>>>>>>

Aloe Vera Helps Teeth and Gums

The aloe vera plant has a long history of healing power. Its ability to heal burns and cuts and soothe pain has been documented as far back as the 10th century. Legend has it that Cleopatra used aloe vera to keep her skin soft. The modern use of aloe vera was first recognized the 1930s to heal radiation burns. Since then, it has been a common ingredient in ointments that heal sunburn, minor cuts, skin irritation, and many other ailments. Recently, aloe vera has gained some popularity as an active ingredient in tooth gel. Similar to its use on skin, the aloe vera in tooth gels is used to cleanse and soothe teeth and gums, and is as effective as toothpaste to fight cavities, according to the May/June 2009 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Probiotics Help Gastric Bypass Patients Lose Weight

Gastric bypass patients may want to add probiotics the so-called "good" bacteria found in yogurt and dietary supplements to their daily routine to help lose weight faster after surgery, researchers say.

In addition, the dietary supplement also helped patients avoid becoming deficient in a crucial B vitamin, according to researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Probiotics help maintain a healthy, natural balance of organisms in the intestines, which helps in the digestion of food. MORE>>>>>>>>>

High Fructose Diets Impair Memory in Rats

Researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose � a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages � impaired the spatial memory of adult rats.

Amy Ross, a graduate student in the lab of Marise Parent, associate professor at Georgia State's Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, fed a group of Sprague-Dawley rats a diet where fructose represented 60 percent of calories ingested during the day.

She placed the rats in a pool of water to test their ability to learn to find a submerged platform, which allowed them to get out of the water. She then returned them to the pool two days later with no platform present to see if the rats could remember to swim to the platform's location. MORE>>>>>>

Docs, Nurses Use and Recommend Diet Supplements

Doctors and nurses commonly take vitamin, mineral, and other dietary supplements themselves, and recommend the same to their patients, results of a survey indicate.

Yet, most of the 900 physicians and 277 nurses surveyed admitted having no formal education or training on the use of dietary supplements, according to a report in the Nutrition Journal, an online publication of BioMed Central.

Dr. Annette Dickinson, from Dickinson Consulting, LLC in St. Paul, Minnesota and colleagues found that 72 percent of the doctors and 89 percent of the nurses use some sort of dietary supplement regularly, occasionally, or seasonally. Moreover, 79 percent of the physicians and 82 percent of the nurses recommend dietary supplements to their patients. MORE>>>>>

Retail Watch: California calorie law alters chains' fare

As California restaurants begin handing out state-mandated calorie counts, some menu favorites are undergoing extreme makeovers.

Two chains with Sacramento-area stores have already announced menu changes, shifting to lower calorie-count options. Others could follow suit, in an effort to be more palatable to consumers while meeting California's new requirements, which apply to restaurant chains with more than 20 outlets.

Romano's Macaroni Grill, with four locations in the region, has managed to squeeze a whopping 880 calories out of just one salad, as the chain's menu undergoes a massive revamp under new ownership.

In June, Denny's rolled out its "Better for You" menu, which will be available at all 1,550 Denny's restaurants, including 400 in California. One of its signature items on that menu getting a calorie cut: The Grand Slam.

Even though studies have indicated that menu-labeling will alter some diners' choices, the healthy changeover in restaurant offerings wasn't anticipated, said Sacramento County Public Health Officer Glennah Trochet.

"If indeed they are adding lower-calorie options, it will give more variety and give people healthier options," she said.

At Denny's, the traditional Grand Slam breakfast accounts for as much as a quarter of revenue for the value-oriented chain, according to CEO Nelson Marchioli. He said the company's dinner and late-night business is struggling but the breakfast crowd remains strong for the value-oriented chain.

The new Grand Slam – two eggs, two sausages, two bacon slices and pancakes – is a build-your-own option with substitutions such as chicken instead of pork, egg whites, turkey bacon and whole wheat pancakes. For another 49 cents, add-ons such as yogurt are available.

With the healthier options, the Grand Slam drops from 882 calories to 546, not to mention a 70 percent drop in fat grams.

Other menu changes are coming in the fall.

But traditionalists, fear not. The Moons Over My Hammy – 780 calories – is still on the Denny's menu.

Starting this month, California required all chain restaurants with more than 20 stores to provide calorie information in brochures available to customers. Starting in 2010, the calorie counts must appear on menus or menu boards.

According to health officials, the average American adult should only be eating 2,000 calories a day.

The menu changes are in response to growing public interest, as much as to any government mandates, Marchioli said.

"The industry is trying to find a common ground. We do believe strongly it's the right thing to do and we've worked to bring alternatives to the public," he said.

At Macaroni Grill, the company's new CEO, who came on board after the chain was sold in December, has been working the past six months to boost same-store sales, primarily by retooling the menu.

"We had a new vision from the beginning ... an Italian-Mediterranean vision that is fresh, simple and authentic," said CEO Brad Blum, who previously helped run Burger King and Olive Garden.

The revamped menu already appears on Macaroni tables in California and is expected to roll out nationwide by the end of August, Blum said.

Providing nutritional information is the "right thing to do," he said.

The new CEO, who says he's overseeing the taste-testing himself, is primarily focused on boosting food quality.

For example, the chain's mozzarella alla caprese salad was not usually made with "high-quality" tomatoes, he said, but now uses vine-ripened tomatoes. The dish also dropped 110 calories.

The chain's scallops and spinach salad, formerly a 1,270-calorie offering, is now slimmed down to 390 calories. Blum won't disclose how, except to say the dish had more fat than was necessary.

In spite of the salad's calorie reduction, consumers have "enjoyed it better than before," Blum said.

HRT Increases Risk of Ovarian Cancer

New research suggests that no matter how hormone replacement therapy is given, it increases the risk of ovarian cancer.

Hormone replacement therapy, consisting of estrogen, progesterone, or both, and used to relieve the symptoms of menopause, has been linked to breast cancer, Dr. Lina Steinrud Morch, from Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues note in their study. Some studies have suggested that it could raise the risk of ovarian cancer.

Morch's team studied more than 900,000 Danish women who were 50 to 79 years of age from 1995 to 2005. None of them had tumors that grew in response to hormones, and none had had their ovaries removed during a hysterectomy or for other reasons. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Asian Spice May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

Women who have taken a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy increase their risk of developing breast cancer. But curcumin, an Asian spice, may reduce their risk.

A study at the University of Missouri found that curcumin decreased the incidence of progestin-accelerated breast tumors in animals. It also delayed onset of the disease and reduced the incidence of multiple tumors.

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Pesticide Linked to Parkinson's Disease

People with Parkinson’s disease have significantly higher blood levels of a particular pesticide than healthy people or those with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

In a study appearing in the July issue of Archives of Neurology, researchers found the pesticide beta-HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) in 76 percent of people with Parkinson’s, compared with 40 percent of healthy controls and 30 percent of those with Alzheimer’s.

The finding might provide the basis for a beta-HCH blood test to identify individuals at risk for developing Parkinson’s disease. The results also point the way to more research on environmental causes of Parkinson’s. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>

Scientists Fear Mad Cow Disease From Farm-Raised Fish

Scientists are worried that people who eat farmed fish that are fed cattle byproducts could get mad cow disease, according to an article in the new issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) is known as Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. It is untreatable and always fatal.

Most nations have outlawed feeding cattle byproducts to other cattle because the disease spreads easily within the same species. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Heavy Drinking May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk

Men who drink heavily may be raising their risk of developing prostate cancer, researchers reported Monday.

What's more, their study found, the drug finasteride, which can help lower a man's risk of the disease, appears unable to undo the damage of heavy drinking.

The findings come from a clinical trial of nearly 11,000 men looking at whether finasteride lowered the risk of prostate cancer over seven years. Of the men, 2,219 were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 8,791 remained cancer-free throughout the study.

The researchers found that men who drank heavily -- four or more drinks per day, on at least five days out of the week -- were twice as likely as non-drinkers to develop aggressive prostate tumors.

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