Farrah Fawcett's Anal Cancer: Fighting the Stigma

The iconic photo of Farrah Fawcett smiling in a red swimsuit marked her as the face of sexy, natural beauty in the 1970s.

American actor and model Farrah Fawcett smiling while sitting outdoors in blue jeans and a mauve blouse. Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer -- a rare and stigmatized disease -- in 2006.

(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Now, after her death Thursday at age 62 from anal cancer, her fight against the illness may help give a face to a potentially stigmatizing condition that can be the result of infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection.

"This does not mean that she was promiscuous," noted Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of the department of hematology and oncology at Ochsner Clinic Foundation and Hospital in Baton Rouge, La. "It simply means that she, at some point in her life, was probably exposed to the human papilloma virus."

Indeed, estimates for the percentage of anal cancers as a result of infection with HPV ranges from 45 to 90 percent. Although the exact cause of anal cancer is not known, the American Cancer Society reports that most anal cancers seem to be linked to HPV infection.

Research Disputes FDA Claim that BYETTA Increase Risk of Acute Pancreatitis

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published strong warnings that the type 2 diabetes drug exenatide (trade name Byetta) might increase risk of acute pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. The FDA's action came in the wake of reports that 30 exenatide users had come down with pancreatitis and that six of them had died from the condition.

Now, however, a study published by researchers from Medco Health Solutions, Inc., says that exenatide users run no greater risk of developing pancreatitis than type 2s who take neither drug.

The study results, presented at the recent 69th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), showed that only 0.44 percent of exenatide users experienced an episode of acute pancreatitis. Among sitagliptin users, only 0.28 percent had such episodes. Among the control group of type 2s, however, who had never taken either drug, the rate of incidence was 0.39 percent.

The study results were based on tracking the pharmacy and medical claims of 123,621 non-insulin-using type 2s for 540 days and observing which ones came down with pancreatitis:

• 9,260 patients were exenatide users
• 2,143 patients were on sitagliptin
• 112,218 patients, the control group, used neither drug but were taking a medication designed to control blood glucose
• No patient in the study had a history of pancreatitis, hepatitis or alcohol abuse
• The patients' ages ranged from 18 to 63 years

The Medco study is the first to lend scientific support to Eli Lilly and Co., Byetta's maker. Lilly has questioned the FDA's statistical reasoning, citing the extremely low percentage of pancreatitis cases associated with the drug.

For more information on the study, visit Medco

Teen Acne Linked to Heart Health

There may be a payoff for all of those years of teenage angst caused by acne. The same high levels of male hormones that can trigger acne during adolescence may protect sufferers from heart disease as adults.

Researchers in the United Kingdom investigated the link between male hormones, called androgens, and acne. Almost 10,000 men participated in health checks between the years of 1948 and 1968 when they were students, and any history of acne was noted. The scientists found that 18 percent of the men reported having acne.

Years later, the men were traced through the United Kingdom’s National Health Service Registry. Researchers found that the men who had a history of acne as adolescents had a 33 percent reduced risk of dying from heart disease than the men who didn’t have acne. MORE>>>>>>>>>

Green Tea Slows Prostate Cancer

Active compounds in green tea may slow the progression of prostate cancer, according to a new study published in Cancer Prevention Research.

The study, which was conducted at Louisiana State University, also showed that green tea might lower the incidence of prostate cancer in the first place.

Editor’s Note: <>

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Maine marks new anti-obesity measures

AUGUSTA, Maine—Even as state lawmakers produced a leaner budget this year, they are still looking to trim some fat -- this time from Maine's waistlines.

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It started Wednesday when lawmakers and Gov. John Baldacci marked the passage of three bills, all aimed at promoting health and combatting obesity.

The most significant new law replicates efforts nationwide that require chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus, menu boards and drive-thrus.

Baldacci hosted a signing ceremony for the measures, which also call for schools to record the heights and weights of Maine school children and encourage elementary schools to promote physical activity and physical education.

Participation in the body mass indexing project will be voluntary and data, which is to be kept confidential, will be transmitted to the Maine Center for Disease Control.

"We used to think that it was a good thing to see a child with chubby cheeks," Rep. Helen Rankin, a longtime school nutritionist, said in a statement. "But now we're talking about kindergartners who already are at risk of type II diabetes and a shortened lifespan because they are carrying too much weight."

The governor said an estimated 30 percent of youth in Maine are overweight or obese.

Baldacci, seconded by House Speaker Hannah Pingree, hailed the newly enacted pieces of legislation as important advances in public health.

According to Pingree's office, the rate of obese and overweight Maine adults has doubled and the rate among Maine children has tripled in the last 20 years.

At Wednesday's ceremony in Baldacci's office, Pingree noted that calorie posting has come up for discussion in the context of federal health care reform.

"Overweight and obesity are now overtaking tobacco as the number one threat to public health," Denise Whitley, Maine advocacy director of the American Heart Association, said in prepared remarks.

The Legislature gave final approval to the statewide menu labeling law sponsored by Pingree a week ago as this year's regular session drew toward a close.

The legislation mandates that chain restaurants with 20 or more establishments and at least one in Maine must post calorie data, effective Feb. 1, 2011.

Supporters cited similar ordinances in New York City, Seattle and Portland, Ore. They pointed to California and Massachusetts policies to begin next year. Lawmakers in Connecticut and Oregon have enacted similar legislation this year.

Maine's new law makes exceptions for salad bars and buffets, exempts movie theaters, grocery stores and hotels and does not apply to menu items that are offered for less than 90 days.

New Evidence: Vinegar May Be Fat Fighter

Researchers in Japan are reporting new evidence that the ordinary vinegar — a staple in oil-and-vinegar salad dressings, pickles, and other foods — may live up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as a health promoter.

They are reporting new evidence that vinegar can help prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain. Their study is scheduled for the July 8 issue of the bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Tomoo Kondo and colleagues note that vinegar has been used as a folk medicine since ancient times. People have used it for a range of ills. Modern scientific research suggests that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, may help control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and fat accumulation. MORE>>>>>

Some Video Games Can Make Children Kinder

Some video games can make children kinder and more likely to help other people.

That's the conclusion of new research published in the June issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, a top-tier, peer-reviewed academic journal.

The article presents the findings of three separate studies, conducted in different countries with different age groups, and using different scientific approaches. All the studies find that playing games with so-called "prosocial" content causes players to be more helpful to others after the game is over. MORE>>>>>

Better Sex Makes Better Workers

Good sex and emotional support at home can ease stress and improve life in the workplace, according to a new Swedish study.

“Either you come home to something that gives you a possibility to rewind and recover, or you have a relationship that makes you more troubled,” study author Ann-Christine Andersson Arntén told The Local, an English language publication in Sweden.

“If that’s the case then you cannot recover, and your whole system physically and mentally will become unbalanced,” said Arntén, who is a psychology doctoral student from the University of Gothenburg. “It will start to become more and more unhealthy and could end up in depression, anxiety, or sleeping problems.” MORE>>>>>

Chemical in Food Containers Linked to Heart Disease

A chemical commonly used in coatings on the inside of food and beverage cans and in the manufacturing of clear plastic bottles may be harmful to the heart, especially in women. According to a new study by the University of Cincinnati, the chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), may cause arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats.

BPA is found in a vast array of everyday items including baby bottles, bottle tops, and dental fillings and sealants. It has been in use for over 50 years, and is a key component of epoxy resins used to line cans, and also of polycarbonate plastics used to make bottles. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Laptops Could Snare Men in Web of Infertility

Young men who are wired now could end up infertile later because of heat their laptops generate, says a reproductive specialist at Loyola University Health System.

That heat can "impact sperm production and development making it difficult to conceive down the road," said Dr. Suzanne Kavic, MD, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology at the university and associate professor at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "However,

Kavic recommends placing laptops on tops to prevent damaging sperm and decreasing counts and motility. Other tips to protect male fertility include: MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ignored Form of Cholesterol Blamed for Heart Attacks

Danish researchers said on Tuesday they have found the strongest evidence yet that an often ignored form of cholesterol can cause heart attacks.

They said people with higher levels of a little-understood form of cholesterol called lipoprotein (a), which varies up to a thousand fold from one person to another, were also more likely to have heart attacks.

Statins -- taken by millions to cut heart attack and stroke risk -- do not affect lipoprotein (a) but the findings may encourage the development of new cholesterol-lowering drugs, said Borge Nordestgaard of Copenhagen University Hospital, who led the study.

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FDA Releases List of Potential Drug Risks

U.S. regulators on Thursday listed two dozen drugs, including weight-loss medicines and sleep disorder pills, that it is reviewing for potential safety problems.

Many of the issues have been disclosed previously, but the Food and Drug Administration continues to review them.

The FDA is checking Pfizer Inc.'s smoking cessation drug Chantix for possible risk of accidental injury, vision impairment and other issues, and Cephalon Inc.'s sleep disorder drugs Nuvigil and Provigil for a potential of serious skin reactions.

Other drugs listed included orlistat, a weight-loss drug that Roche Inc. sells as the prescription product Xenical and GlaxoSmithKline Plc sells as the over-the-counter drug Alli. The FDA said it is continuing to evaluate liver toxicity reports for orlistat. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Turmeric May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s

Turmeric, which is called the spice of life in ancient Indian lore, might help fight Alzheimer’s, according to initial stages of a study.

The spice is an integral ingredient in curry, and tests on laboratory rats have provided evidence that curry helps prevent dementia.

A human clinical trial is under way in California.

Murali Doraiswamy, director of the mental fitness laboratory at the Duke University Medical Center's psychiatry department, told a conference that curcumin, an element of turmeric, appears to prevent the accumulation of amyloid plaques. The plaques are toxic proteins found in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims and are a key characteristic of the disease. The plaques are thought to interfere with the electrical signals between brain cells. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cherry Juice May Be New Sports Drink

Drinking cherry juice could help ease the pain for people who run, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference in Seattle, Wash.

The study showed that people who drank tart cherry juice while training for a long-distance run reported significantly less pain after exercise than those who didn't. Post-exercise pain often can indicate muscle damage or debilitating injuries. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Vitamin D May Make Seniors Smarter

Getting more of the "Sunshine vitamin" may make you brighter later in life, according to a study that bolsters evidence vitamin D may help older people stay mentally fit.

The findings also raise the prospect that people who do not get enough of the vitamin could use supplements to keep the brain fully functioning as they age, David Lee and colleagues at the University of Manchester reported in their study, published Thursday in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

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Certain foods may thwart age-related vision loss

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that older adults who eat diets rich in citrus fruits, leafy greens and fish oil, but low in "glycemic index," may have a lower risk of age-related macular degeneration -- the leading cause of vision loss among older U.S. adults.

AMD, also known as "age-related macular degeneration" refers to gradual damage to the macula, a structure in the retina that allows for seeing fine detail. The condition affects more than 1 million Americans, usually after the age of 65.

A number of studies have suggested that individual nutrients, including the antioxidants lutein, vitamin C and vitamin E, can help protect against AMD. This latest study, published in the journal Ophthalmology, looked at the overall diet patterns of 4,000 older adults and the links to AMD risk.

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Ancient Drug Kava Could Be Safe and Effective

Australian researchers have found that a traditional preparation of the South Pacific herbal medicine Kava, an ancient drug long used for treating stress and insomnia, is safe and effective. A University of Queensland research team conducted a placebo-controlled, world-first clinical trial. It showed that Kava prepared by the traditional method, which uses water, is safe for treating anxiety and improving mood, while the modern European method of preparation, which uses acetone and ethanol, may be responsible for the ill side effects associated with it. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Smoking May Boost Fat-Fighting Gene

Offering clues to why smokers often gain weight after quitting, a new study suggests that smoking enhances the activity of a gene that helps break down body fat.

Researchers found that compared with non-smokers, a group of healthy smokers showed greater activity in a gene called AZGP1 in cell samples taken from their airways.

Because the gene is thought to be important in breaking down fat and controlling weight, the findings point to one possible reason that smokers tend to weigh less than non-smokers -- and why people often put on pounds after quitting. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Formaldehyde Raises Risk of Deadly Cancers

Industrial workers who are exposed to the chemical formaldehyde may have a significantly higher risk of dying from blood and lymphatic cancers, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday.

A study of more than 25,000 workers at industrial plants that produced formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin found workers with the highest exposures had a 37 percent increased risk of death compared to those with the lowest exposure levels, they reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Put on Your Broccoli: Juice Better Than Sunscreen

An extract made from broccoli sprouts can help protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays, according to researchers at the John Hopkins School of Medicine.

Although a commercial product is still in the early stages of development, it would have definite advantages over sunscreens:

First, the natural product would not contain cancer-causing chemicals found in typical sunscreens. Second, it would not interfere with the body’s production of vitamin D. Sunscreens now block sunlight from the skin, thus keeping the body from making vitamin D.

MORE>>>>>>>

Older People Need More Sun to Curb Heart Ills, Diabetes

Spending more time in the sunshine could help older people reduce their risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

Older people are more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency because of the natural aging process and changes in lifestyle, but exposure to sunlight stimulates vitamin D in the skin.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated significantly with metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical and metabolic disorders that increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to researchers at the University of Warwick near Coventry, England.

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Trial drugs 'reverse' Alzheimer's

US scientists say they have successfully reversed the effects of Alzheimer's with experimental drugs.

The drugs target and boost the function of a newly pinpointed gene involved in the brain's memory formation.

In mice, the treatment helped restore long-term memory and improve learning for new tasks, Nature reports.

The same drugs - HDAC inhibitors - are currently being tested to treat Huntington's disease and are on the market to treat some cancers.

They reshape the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain.

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Late motherhood boosts family lifespan

Women who have babies naturally in their 40s or 50s tend to live longer than other women. Now, a new study shows their brothers also live longer, but the brothers' wives do not, suggesting the same genes prolong lifespan and female fertility, and may be more important than social and environmental factors.

University of Utah demographer Ken R. Smith led a new study confirming that women who have their last baby after age 45 live longer than women who have their last baby at younger ages, and also showing that their brothers live longer too. That suggests the same genes promote both prolonged fertility in women and longevity in both sexes. Credit: Jason Smith, University of Utah

"If women in your family give birth at older ages, you may well have a chance of living longer than you would otherwise," says the study's lead author, demographer Ken R. Smith, a professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah. "If you have a female relative who had children after age 45, then there may be some genetic benefit in your family that will enhance your longevity."

For descendants of the Utah and Quebec pioneers studied, "you may be able to look at the ages when your female ancestors gave birth - rather than just their longevity - in estimating how long you may live," says Smith, whose study will be published online May 4 and in the June 10 print issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences.

The researchers examined high-quality genealogical records from the Utah Population Database at the University of Utah with its records of 1.6 million Utah Mormon pioneers and their descendants. They also used the University of Montreal's Program on Demographic History Research, which has records on 400,000 people who lived in heavily Catholic Quebec between 1608 and 1850.

Specifically, the study involved the records of 11,604 Utah men who were born between 1800 and 1869 and who had at least one sister who lived at least to age 50; and the records of 6,206 Quebec men who lived between 1670 and 1750, and had at least one sister who lived to 50 or older. The key findings:

• Women who had "late fertility" - a birth at age 45 or older - were 14 percent to 17 percent less likely to die during any year after age 50 than women who did not deliver a child after age 40. That confirmed earlier studies. But those studies did not determine if the women gave birth later and lived longer because of genes or because of social and environmental factors such as good nutrition or healthy living.
  
• Brothers who had at least three sisters, including at least one sister who gave birth at age 45 or later, were 20 percent to 22 percent less likely to die during any year after age 50 than brothers who had no "late fertile" sisters. That indicates what earlier studies did not, namely, the same genes may influence the lifespan of both sexes and women's ability to give birth at older ages.
  
• The brothers' wives didn't have longer lives, suggesting any environmental or social factors that influence lifespan had only a weak influence, and that genes may explain why brothers lived longer when they had a sister who gave birth in her 40s.

The study didn't address how much longevity is due to genetics, but Smith says scientists believe genes account for up to 25 percent of differences in longevity.

Fish Prevents Heart Attacks

Grill That SalmonStudy suggests eating fatty fish weekly protects the heart Holy mackerel. A new Swedish study suggests that a weekly serving of fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, whitefish and char) increases men's protection from heart failure by 12 percent. The men who consumed a moderate amount of fish oil (marine omega-3) also showed increased protection from heart failure.

Print or bookmark this handy fish chart to learn which fish contain the most omega-3, a heart-healthy fatty acid.

The Swine Flu and Diabetes

The Swine Flu and Diabetes

Experts have been warning of a worldwide outbreak of a horrific influenza ever since 1997, when the first human cases of so-called H5N1 avian influenza were reported in Hong Kong. Read more...

China's secret tea revealed as fat-busting wonder cuppa by scientists

A DAILY cup of special tea may combat the obesity epidemic, scientists will say today.
An extract of white tea prevents new fat cells from forming and helps to burn off mature ones, according to research.

Nutritionist Marc Winnefeld said: "In the industrialised countries, the rising incidence of obesity-associated disorders including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes constitutes a growing problem.

"We have shown that white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances." Mr Winnefeld and colleagues at German multinational Beiersdorf AG, which makes personal-care products, studied the biological effects of the extract – the least processed version of the tea plant Camellia Sinensis.

They grew human fat cells in the laboratory and found that after treating them with the white tea compound, the amount of fat in them was reduced.

Mr Winnefeld, whose findings are published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, said: "The extract solution induced a decrease in the expression of genes associated with the growth of new fat cells, while also prompting existing adipocytes (fat cells] to break down the fat they contain."

Obesity is a growing problem in Scotland, which now just trails the US for overweight people among countries in the developed world.

Currently, 25 per cent of the adult population in Scotland are obese, ahead of 24 per cent in England and Wales, but still a long way behind America's 32.2 per cent.

White tea is made from the buds and first leaves of the plant used to make green tea and the black tea most commonly drunk in Britain and other Western countries.

It is less processed than the other teas and contains more of the ingredients thought to be active on human cells which the researchers believe to be responsible for many of the fat-busting effects seen in their study.

For hundreds of years, the Chinese have kept the extremely beneficial properties of white tea a secret.

Some scientists have dubbed it the ultimate health drink.

As well as being an aid to weight loss, it has been shown to inhibit cancer cells and prevent the formation of new ones.

White tea is also said to be very effective in giving radiant, problem-free skin. The abundant antioxidants help fight off "free radicals" – agents responsible for wrinkles and ageing.

White tea has also been shown to have anti-bacterial and antiviral properties similar to honey, with specific natural chemicals that have the unique ability to kill bugs.

And research has shown that people who drank white tea were more likely to have stronger bones compared to those who did not.

Meanwhile, white tea lowers the "bad" cholesterol level in the body through a class of antioxidants called catechins.

These help maintain the correct amount of cholesterol required by the body.

Mr Winnefeld added: "This plant extract is an ideal natural source to modulate the adipocyte life cycle at different stages and to induce anti-obesity effects."

Medical breakthrough! Help for chemo side effects

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Logo for Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

A research and development company has announced a new treatment for cancer patients that has been shown in trials to reduce dramatically the hardship from side effects of chemotherapy, allowing a more normal life while the body engages cancer in a war.

Officials for Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc. told WND that some patients given their Davanat product have seen significant improvements even during treatments that otherwise had been marred by side effects such as weakness, mucositis, low blood counts and other typical secondary problems.

"Our goal is to improve the clinical benefit for patients by extending their survival, improving their quality of life and reducing the rising costs of health care. The data from the cancer patients in our clinical trials indicates Davanat improves efficacy and reduces the side effects associated with chemotherapy regimens," company CEO Theodore Zucconi said in a recent statement about a clinical trials update.

George Macricostas, a businessman and company investor, told WND his wife benefitted greatly from the treatment before she eventually succumbed to cancer last year.

Macricostas, whose financial involvement with the company started before his wife began treatments with Davanat and expanded later, said she had had difficulties with traditional chemotherapy treatments because they caused her blood count to plummet.

She discontinued a low dose of chemotherapy in late 2007 because her blood work was so bad, he reported.

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Another attempt at the treatment was begun in February 2008, but after two days at a 20 percent dose of the Insulin Potentiated Therapy his wife, Beth, needed two units of blood.

Then permission was obtained to use the Davanat in combination with chemo, and he reported on the sudden change.

"Beth did not need any more blood transfusions after March 2008, and she was able to discontinue her Procrit shots in June 2008, as her body was able to tolerate the treatment thanks to the Davanat protecting her health cells," he said in a report.

She also was able to discontinue use of painkillers, and even though one tumor had caused a hairline fracture in her hip socket, creating considerable pain and requiring her to use a walker, the fracture healed. She was able to walk without even a cane within weeks of beginning the treatment.

The hospital bed was returned to the rental company, and "Beth was able to take Advil for slight pain and discomfort," Macricostas reported.

She even drove to go shopping and to visit relatives 120 miles away, he said.

Beth eventually succumbed to a new cancer in her liver that had been undetected earlier, he said.

The company says Davanat works by using carbohydrates to bind to lectins on tumor cells, but not lectins on surrounding healthy tissue, and carry with it the lethal chemicals that attack the cancer in chemotherapy.

"Proteins on the surface of all cells, including cancer cells, are able to attach to certain kinds of carbohydrates. These carbohydrate receptors, known technically as 'lectins,' are very specific: a given lectin will bind only a particular kind of carbohydrate," the company explains.

"Davanat is formulated to attach to lectins on tumor cells rather than the lectins on surrounding healthy tissue," it says.

Since 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted permission for some patients to use the investigational drug under special cases.

Macricostas told WND as a result of the chemotherapy treatment, possible because of the minimization of the side effects, he and his wife saw "the scans all going in the right directions. … Anything visible was shrinking, a number of them had disappeared completely."

In a company announcement just days ago, Pro-Pharmaceuticals said a review of data from Phase One and Two clinical trials revealed no mucositis or serious adverse events from among 100 patients treated with Davanat in combination with chemo.

Up to 40 percent of cancer patients being treated with the 5-FU type of chemotherapy get the side effect, which is characterized by intestinal tissue destruction throughout the GI tract, including painful mouth ulcerations and severe gastrointestinal symptoms interfering with nutrition and treatment.

Since there are no currently effective treatments, patients suffering debilitating mouth sores may need morphine or other narcotics to deal with it.

But with Davanat, there were no "events," even in patients with more than 100 cycles of treatments with 5-FU and Davanat.

A statement a month earlier from the company said a trial revealed that the combination of treatments for end-stage colorectal cancer patients extended median survival by 29 weeks after all other treatments were exhausted.

Board chairman Jim Czirr told WND the basic procedure of the treatment puts more of the treatment chemicals in the tumor and less in the liver, kidney or lungs.

"The incredible irony here is after keeping a hideously toxic chemical in a patient's blood three times longer, there are huge decreases in side effects," he said.

Dr. Peter Traber, president emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told WND he joined the board of Pro-Pharmaceuticals only recently, at least partly because of the potential he sees for the treatment.

Since chemo treatments address rapidly dividing cells, they frequently attack the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which is lined with the cells. The result is side effects ranging from mouth sores to nausea to vomiting and diarrhea.

"It's a significant problem in cancer patients," he told WND. "There's a lot of discomfort."

A treatment that reduces the impact on the GI tract, he said, "can be very beneficial with more chemo targeting the cancer while protecting the tissues."

---

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Bob Unruh is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.

Long-Acting Byetta Tops Two Other Diabetes Drugs in Direct Comparison

Results from DURATION-2, a 26-week test comparing the diabetic drugs Januvia, Actos, and experimental long-acting Byetta (Byetta LAR) show that Byetta produced lower A1c's and more weight loss than the other two drugs.

Sponsored by Byetta's co-manufacturers, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Eli Lilly and Co., the randomized, double-blind study tracked 491 type 2 patients over a six-month period. Patients received either Byetta LAR (exenatide), Januvia (the brand name for Merck & Co., Inc.'s sitagliptin), or Actos (the brand name for Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd's pioglitazone).

Patients taking Byetta LAR reduced their baseline A1c by 1.7%, compared to 1.4% for patients on Actos and 1.0% for those on Januvia.

Over the 26 weeks, Byetta LAR recipients lost an average of 6.2 pounds, versus a 1.9-pound loss for Januvia patients. Those on Actos experienced a weight gain that averaged 7.4 pounds.

Researchers conducting the study said that in general, the patients were not obese, a factor that made the weight loss associated with Byetta impressive.

The most common adverse responses for both Byetta LAR and Januvia patients were nausea and diarrhea. Actos users reported upper respiratory tract infection and peripheral edema as the most common side effects.

One crucial result was that there were no reported cases of pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas among Byetta LAR patients in the study. Among the estimated 700,000 users of the current version of Byetta, a twice-daily drug that has been on the market for four years, there have been 30 reported incidents of pancreatitis, including six fatalities. Although there is no evidence that the drug caused the disease, the FDA made Amylin and Lilly rewrite the warning labels on the drug.

The possible connection between Byetta use and pancreatitis has also made FDA scrutiny of Byetta LAR more intense. The drug, which is now before the agency for marketing approval, uses injectable time-release capsules to provide a continuous does of the drug over a seven-day period.

Byetta's makers are hoping that the long-acting form of the drug will nudge sales, which have been flat over the past year, by appealing to users who want the convenience of once-a-week injections instead of having to remember to inject the drug every morning and evening at mealtimes.

Sex and Diabetes

Welcome to Diabetes Health's new column on sex and diabetes, by David Spero RN and Aisha Kassahoun. Once a month, we'll publish questions submitted by our readers, along with David and Aisha's responses. Send your questions to love@diabeteshealth.com and watch for their answers to appear in this column.

Dear David and Aisha,

My husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes seven years ago and put on oral medication. We've had some sexual problems since then, and lately there has been no sex at all. He says that he doesn't want it or need it. We had a very good sex life before this. What can I do? I think we all need intimacy in our lives. At least I do. I don't feel that it is fair to me to be left high and dry, and I want to do something to help him.

High and Dry in Tennessee

Dear H and D,

Yours is a sad and very common story. Diabetes can impact our sex and love lives physically and emotionally. But there are ways of maintaining and even improving sex and intimacy with diabetes.

Here are some possibilities to consider:

• How good is your husband's diabetes control? High sugars can drag a person down so he doesn't feel like doing anything physical, including sex. If his glucose is up, he probably won't be down for loving.

• How physically active is he otherwise? Maybe he needs to get his body moving. Exercise can make him feel more positive, improve his blood sugar control, and increase his sexual desire.

• He might be depressed. Is he being treated for that, and if so, how? Depression kills desire, and sometimes antidepressant medicines (especially the SSRIs) can knock out sex drive. Blood pressure medicines can also have sexual side effects.

• Quite possibly he is reacting to erection problems by withdrawing, without admitting that's the reason. Diabetes can make erections (and lubrication in women) more difficult. Some men will say "I don't want to" when they really mean "I'm afraid I can't."

• His testosterone level may be low. Many men and women with diabetes are low in testosterone and consequently have low sex drive.

• Other relationship issues and other emotions might be involved. There may be anger, grief, fear, or disagreements in your lives that interfere with his wanting you. These feelings could be his, yours, or both of yours.

Read More....

Health Buzz: Fitness Ball Recall and Other Health News

Fitness

Balls Recalled Because of Risk of Injury

New York-based EB Brands has recalled about 3 million fitness balls because they may suddenly burst while being used after overinflation, and that can cause people using a ball to fall and injure themselves, the Associated Press reports. Forty-seven incidents have been logged so far of the balls bursting unexpectedly, resulting in one fracture and many bruises. The balls are 55, 65, and 75 centimeters in diameter and come in various colors. They are labeled with a Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, or Valeo logo, according to the AP. The balls were sold by department stores and fitness retailers from May 2000 to February 2009 for between $15 and $30. Consumers who own the balls can get updated safe inflation instructions online or can call EB Brands at (800) 624-5671 in order to have a copy of the instructions sent to them.

Read More.........

OPINION: Health care in the offing

Of all President Barack Obama's transformative domestic policy proposals, none is more far-reaching and less transparent than health care. What most Washington policy people mean when they talk about his health care proposal was described in the first two paragraphs of Robert Pear's meticulous article in The New York Times on April 1:

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When Doctors Opt Out

Here's something that has gotten lost in the drive to institute universal health insurance: Health insurance doesn't automatically lead to health care. And with more and more doctors dropping out of one insurance plan or another, especially government plans, there is no guarantee that you will be able to see a physician no matter what coverage you have.

Consider that the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reported in 2008 that 28% of Medicare beneficiaries looking for a primary care physician had trouble finding one, up from 24% the year before. The reasons are clear: A 2008 survey by the Texas Medical Association, for example, found that only 38% of primary-care doctors in Texas took new Medicare patients. The statistics are similar in New York state, where I practice medicine.

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Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Inflammation

Vitamin D deficiency, already blamed for retarding immune function and cardiovascular health and increasing cancer risk, also may be tied to inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.

Increased concentrations of serum TNF-?, an inflammatory marker, were found in women who had insufficient vitamin D levels, according to a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency. This study is the first to find an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and concentrations of TNF-? in a healthy, non-diseased population. This may explain the vitamin's role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

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Spray for 'six times longer' sex

A spray can help men with premature ejaculation problems prolong the length of time they have sex by six times.

Men who used the treatment five minutes before having intercourse extended their love-making from half a minute to almost four minutes, trials showed.

The spray, developed at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, contains local anaesthetics that numb the penis.

A British Journal of Urology International study says it could be available in the next couple of years.

Up to 40% of men experience premature ejaculation at some time in their lives, experts estimate.

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Researchers suspect oral sex to blame for rise in tonsil cancer

The incidence of tonsil cancer has tripled in the city of Stockholm since the 1970s and doctors at the world-famous Karolinska Institute there think they know why.

Oral sex. Or perhaps French kissing. And changes in sexual behavior that took place 20 or 30 years ago, says Tina Dalianis, a professor of tumor virology at Karolinska.

Her research has directly linked the increase in tonsil cancers to the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 different types of HPV, some of which cause cancer. One, for example, is responsible for 99.7% of all cervical cancers.

The study found that patients with HPV in their mouths are much more likely to get tonsil cancer than patients who don’t have it. In fact for patients who are HPV-positive, the rate of tonsil cancer has gone up seven times since the '70s, Dalianis says. It takes between 20 and 30 years for an HPV infection to result in cancer, so the people getting sick now were infected in the '70s and '80s.

“It’s an epidemic,” she says.

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Perchlorate found in infant formula -- CDC

Samples of powdered infant formula contain trace levels of a rocket fuel ingredient, a federal study has found.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested infant formula for traces of perchlorate because of concerns that the chemical can damage thyroid function. Their findings were published last month in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

Perchlorate has been found in the drinking water of at least 35 states and the District of Columbia. The chemical can inhibit the thyroid gland's iodine uptake, interfering with fetal development.
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Doctors say kidney stones in kids are on the rise

CHICAGO – Doctors are puzzling over what seems to be an increase in the number of children with kidney stones, a condition some blame on kids' love of cheeseburgers, fries and other salty foods.

Kidney stones are usually an adult malady, one that is notorious for causing excruciating pain — pain worse than childbirth. But while the number of affected children isn't huge, kids with kidney stones have been turning up in rising numbers at hospitals around the country.

At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the number of children treated for kidney stones since 2005 has climbed from about 10 a year to five patients a week now, said Dr. Pasquale Casale.

Johns Hopkins Children Center in Baltimore, a referral center for children with stones, used to treat one or two youngsters a year 15 or so years ago. Now it gets calls about new cases every week, said kidney specialist Dr. Alicia Neu.

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The Dark Side of Vegetarianism

WEDNESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Despite its proven health benefits, a vegetarian diet might in fact be masking an underlying eating disorder, new research suggests.

The study, in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that twice as many teens and nearly double the number of young adults who had been vegetarians reported having used unhealthy means to control their weight, compared with those who had never been vegetarians. Those means included using diet pills, laxatives and diuretics and inducing vomiting to control weight.

There's a dark side to vegetarianism, said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. He had no role in the research.

"Adolescent vegetarians [in the study] were more prone to disordered eating and outright eating disorders," Katz said. "This is not due to vegetarianism but the other way around: Adolescents struggling to control their diets and weight might opt for vegetarianism among other, less-healthful efforts."

Vegetarianism, or a mostly plant-based diet, can be recommended to all adolescents, Katz said. "But when adolescents opt for vegetarianism on their own, it is important to find out why because it may signal a cry for help, rather than the pursuit of health," he said.

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ADHD Drugs Don't Help Children Long Term

Stimulant drugs like Ritalin that are used to treat ADHD don't improve children's symptoms long term, according to new research published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. That may come as a surprise to parents, but ADHD researchers have been arguing for the past 10 years over the findings of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. Called the MTA study, it is the largest study conducted to compare the benefits of medication to behavioral interventions.

This latest report from the MTA study tracked 485 children for eight years and found those still taking stimulant medication fared no better in the reduction of symptoms such as inattention and hyperactivity or in social functioning than those who hadn't. Most of the children who had taken medication for the first 14 months were no longer taking it. This, the researchers wrote, raises "questions about whether medication treatment beyond two years continues to be beneficial or needed at all." Earlier reports found that children taking stimulants alone or combined with behavioral treatment did better in the first year than children who got no special care or who got behavioral treatment alone.

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How safe is the cervical cancer jab? Five teenagers reveal their alarming stories

t has been hailed as the wonder jab that will prevent thousands of young women suffering the same terrible fate as Jade Goody. But as parents across Britain rush to have their daughters vaccinated, others are adamant that it has triggered alarming side-effects...

Amanda Steel is flicking through last year's diary, trying to pinpoint when this nightmare began. It was the summer holidays when she first noticed that Carly, her eldest daughter, was seriously out of sorts.

'Anyone who knew Carly before will tell you what a chatterbox she was. She had so much energy she drove us mad. But suddenly, she was a different girl. It was heartbreaking to watch,' says Amanda.

'I struggled to wake her in the mornings and she barely spoke all day.'

Carly Steel, 13, has aching joints and suffers from blackouts. She has not attended school since September

By August, 13-year-old Carly, was barely ever awake. Consumed with exhaustion and complaining of dizziness, she was confined to the bed or the sofa, and had to grip the furniture to steady herself whenever she took a few steps.

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Shocking cancer treatment may also yield weapon A technique thought to be a promising cancer treatment

A technique thought to be a promising cancer treatment is also being investigated as the basis for a Taser-like weapon that stuns for longer, New Scientist has learned.

The technology involves short, nanosecond-long pulses of extreme voltage.

Microsecond pulses have been used for years to punch temporary holes in cell membranes, to shove genes or drugs into cells. But the nanosecond pulses have similar effects on individual organelles inside a cell, such as the nucleus.

For reasons as yet unknown, this can cause a cell to destroy itself in a process known as apoptosis, something being investigated as a cancer treatment. But the nanosecond pulses are also being researched as a way to temporarily disable human muscles.

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Depression pill OK'd for kids but probe goes on

NEW YORK - Just weeks after prosecutors accused Forest Laboratories Inc. of illegally marketing its anti-depressants Celexa and Lexapro to children and paying pediatricians kickbacks, U.S. health regulators have approved Lexapro for depression in kids.

Forest said Lexapro, its biggest product with annual sales of more than $2 billion, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat major depressive disorder in adolescents aged 12 to 17 and as a maintenance therapy, meaning to maintain control of symptoms. It is already approved for adults.

But federal prosecutors have said that Lexapro and Celexa have long been used improperly to treat depression in children.

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Foodies Celebrate White House Veggie Garden

Bringing fresh food from the farm to the plate for a healthy dinner isn't easy at the end of a busy day, but the Obama family has a plan

Foodies and environmentalists are thrilled about the Obamas' plans to break ground today on a new White House vegetable garden in their yard.

"A garden like this is one of those small gestures that is powerfully symbolic," Michael Pollan, author of "Omnivores Dilemma" and vocal advocate for agricultural reform, told ABC News.

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Sugar Is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled, is enjoying a

Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled, is enjoying a second act, dressed up as a natural, healthful ingredient.

From the tomato sauce on a Pizza Hut pie called “The Natural,” to the just-released soda Pepsi Natural, some of the biggest players in the American food business have started, in the last few months, replacing high-fructose corn syrup with old-fashioned sugar.

ConAgra uses only sugar or honey in its new Healthy Choice All Natural frozen entrees. Kraft Foods recently removed the corn sweetener from its salad dressings, and is working on its Lunchables line of portable meals and snacks.

The turnaround comes after three decades during which high-fructose corn syrup had been gaining on sugar in the American diet. Consumption of the two finally drew even in 2003, according to the Department of Agriculture. Recently, though, the trend has reversed. Per capita, American adults ate about 44 pounds of sugar in 2007, compared with about 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup.

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Old age begins at 27: Scientists reveal new research into ageing

Getting old already? 27-year-old singer Beyonce Knowles is already past her mental peak according to new research

Old age is often blamed for causing us to misplace car keys, forget a word or lose our train of thought.

But new research shows that many well-known effects of ageing may start decades before our twilight years.

According to scientists, our mental abilities begin to decline from the age of 27 after reaching a peak at 22.

The researchers studied 2,000 men and women aged 18 to 60 over seven years. The people involved – who were mostly in good health and well-educated – had to solve visual puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols.

Similar tests are often used to diagnose mental disabilities and declines, including dementia.

The research at the University of Virginia, reported in the academic journal Neurobiology Of Aging, found that in nine out of 12 tests the average age at which the top performance was achieved was 22.

The first age at which performance was significantly lower than the peak scores was 27 – for three tests of reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualisation. Memory was shown to decline from the average age of 37. In the other tests, poorer results were shown by the age of 42.

Professor Timothy Salthouse said the results suggested that therapies designed to prevent or reverse age-related conditions may need to start earlier, long before people become pensioners.

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Chocolate should be taxed to control obesity epidemic, doctors are told

More Big Brother......

Dr David Walker said chocolate used to be a treat, but has become a harmful addiction, causing weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain.

Consumers are often eating more than half a day's worth of calories when they polish off a bag of chocolates in front of the television, he claimed.

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Bite From Brown Recluse Spider Helps Paraplegic to Walk for First Time in 20 Years !!!

	Bite From Brown Recluse Spider Helps Paraplegic to Walk for First Time in 20 Years 03-14-2009 7:42 am - KOVR-TV Dateline: Manteca, CA "When they zapped my legs, I felt the current, I was like 'whoa' and I yelled."

Mom Was Right: Eat Your Broccoli

Study finds substance in sprouts cuts inflammation linked to asthma, heart disease

THURSDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- A compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may help prevent respiratory inflammation linked to diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a University of California, Los Angeles, study.

The compound sulforaphane stimulates increased production of antioxidant enzymes in the airway that protect against the large amounts of tissue-damaging free radicals humans breathe in every day in polluted air, pollen, diesel exhaust and tobacco smoke. This tissue damage can lead to inflammation.

The study included 65 people who received varying doses of either broccoli or alfalfa sprout preparations for three days. Broccoli sprouts are the richest natural source of sulforaphane, while alfalfa sprouts don't contain the compound.

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The Worlds Oldest People -Buster, is 100, SMOKES and DRINKS!

Makes you wonder how much BS we are taught from modern "science"!!!!!!

New Prostate Enlargement Treatment In Final Stage of Trials

The Breast Cancer that gives no warning!!!!

Living to 100 -- Easier Than You Think?

CHICAGO (AP) - Living to 100 is easier than you might think.

Research shows that Americans are living longer than ever, to an average age of 78. But we may be even to live even longer.

(PhotoDisc)

Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.

"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.

Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he writes that it might be thanks to doctors who aggressively treat these older folks' health problems, rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they wouldn't benefit.

For the study, Boston University researchers did phone interviews and health assessments of more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100. They found that roughly two-thirds of them had avoided significant age-related ailments.

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Nothing to sneeze at — decoding the common cold

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer - Fri Feb 13, 3:53 AM PST

WASHINGTON - Scientists have unraveled the genetic code of the common cold — all 99 known strains of it, to be exact. But don't expect the feat to lead to a cure for the sniffling any time soon. It turns out that rhinoviruses are even more complicated than researchers originally thought.

Preventing & Treating A Cold

In fact, the genetic blueprints showed that you can catch two separate strains of cold at the same time — and those strains then can swap their genetic material inside your body to make a whole new strain.

It's why we'll never have a vaccine for the common cold, said biochemist Ann Palmenberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the three teams that assembled the family tree of the world's rhinoviruses.

"No vaccine, but maybe a drug," she said.

Why? The outside of these viruses — the part your body's immune system must recognize — are hugely variable, making it hard to envision a vaccine that would work against very many strains. But the inside components, what Palmenberg calls the guts of the virus, are remarkably similar from strain to strain, offering targets for therapy.

Adults typically get two to four colds a year, while schoolchildren may get as many as 10. But they do more than cause a runny nose. Rhinoviruses can trigger asthma attacks and play a role in sinusitis, certain ear infections and pneumonia.

Yet these viruses are remarkably mysterious for such a common bug. It was only in the past two years that scientists discovered there aren't two main groups of the viruses but three_ and this new "Group C" collection is nasty, tending to lodge deep in the lungs, Palmenberg said.

Wisconsin researchers paired with teams at the University of Maryland and J. Craig Venter Institute to decipher the genetic sequences of all known Group A and B rhinovirus strains and see how they're related to the newer Group C strains.

The resulting cold family tree, reported online Thursday by the journal Science, organizes human rhinoviruses into 15 distinct branches that evolved over time. Now the hunt is on to define the viral commonalities on each branch, in the quest for anti-cold drugs.

Are You Wasting Money on Multivitamins?

By Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. - Posted on Wed, Feb 11, 2009, 3:28 pm PST

Behind the Headlines
by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition

Advertisements with tantalizing promises of improved health, prevention of cancer and heart disease, and greater energy have lured millions of Americans to spend billions of dollars on the purchase of multivitamins.

An article in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reported that multivitamin use did not protect the 161,808 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Study from common forms of cancer, heart attacks, or strokes. And the numbers of deaths during the 8 years of the study were the same in vitamin users as in non-users. Still, it is important to recognize that this was an observational study, not a more meaningful clinical trial. Although these findings apply only to women, other studies have failed to show benefits of multivitamins in older men.

These results are not at all surprising for several reasons. No large study has shown that multivitamins significantly benefit healthy men and women. In addition, for some years physicians prescribed folic acid and vitamins B12 and B6 in the hopes of preventing heart attacks and strokes by lowering blood levels of homocysteine. (High blood levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of coronary and other vascular diseases.) A number of recent studies, however, have shown that, while these vitamins do lower homocysteine levels, they do not prevent heart attacks or strokes.

Many doctors have also prescribed the antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Alas, studies have now proven that these supplements are not protective--and may even be harmful.

No one denies that an adequate intake of vitamins is essential; however, vitamins can and should be obtained from eating enough healthy foods rather than from swallowing vitamin supplements.

Then what about vitamins being a great source of energy? Some multivitamin ads do indeed claim that their supplements boost energy; and some professional athletes gobble handfuls of vitamin pills to increase their energy and strength. But researchers proved long ago that energy comes from calories, not vitamins. The highly touted cholesterol-lowering effects of substances added to some multivitamin supplements? Still unproven.

All this is not to say that specific vitamins supplements are never desirable. Vitamins can be valuable in certain situations:

• Folic acid supplements in women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant can help to prevent serious neural-tube defects that affect the baby's brain and spine.
• Supplements that contain more vitamin D and calcium than is present in regular multivitamin pills can help older men, and especially women, avoid osteoporosis and bone fractures.
• Supplements of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper may slow the progression of vision loss in people with early macular degeneration.

And multivitamins are beneficial for some entire groups of people:

• those on a very-low-calorie weight-loss diet
• strict vegetarians
• heavy alcohol drinkers
• individuals who are not getting an adequate diet because they are too sick or too poor--or live by themselves and are unable to prepare proper meals for themselves

I also agree with a comment made by one of the coauthors of the Archives of Internal Medicine article about postmenopausal women mentioned above. An 8-year follow-up period may not be long enough to show that multivitamins protect against cancers that take many years to develop.

All the same, the results of the studies on vitamins so far point to one conclusion: Healthy people who eat enough calories from a varied diet do not benefit from multivitamin supplements.

Stogie News: Smoking Cigars Can Improve Your Health?

Thanks to politicians, self-interested health organizations, and biased doctors, most of us probably don’t fully understand the many advantages of tobacco. It may surprise you to learn that smoking cigars poses some serious health benefits. That’s right. Benefits.

I discovered some of tobacco’s benefits when a letter from Dr. William Campbell Douglass II came across my desk this week. Once voted “Doctor of the Year” by the National Health Federation, Dr. Douglass says, “When practiced in moderation, smoking can load you up with health benefits you never imagined possible.”

The letter, which likely dates back to 2004 when Dr. Douglass’ The Health Benefits of Tobacco was published, says the author is not on Big Tobacco’s payroll and does not advocate smoking in excess. But he does say “mountains of evidence” suggest smoking and health are not necessarily at odds.

According to Dr. Douglass, smoking can:

• Slash your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
• Improve your memory and concentration
• Help prevent thyroid, breast, and skin cancer
• Produce new blood vessel growth around blocked arteries

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Feds will help with COBRA payments

The federal government will subsidize 65 percent of the cost of health insurance through COBRA for workers who lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009.

The provision was included in the economic stimulus package signed into law Feb. 17. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, enacted in 1985, currently allows individuals to retain their company insurance coverage for up to 18 months after they leave their employer. Individuals who elect COBRA coverage pay both the employee’s and the employer’s share of the premiums, plus a 2 percent administrative charge.

Business groups are relieved the final stimulus bill didn’t include a broader expansion of COBRA. The original House bill would have allowed former employees who are 55 or older, or who have been with a company for 10 years, to receive health coverage through COBRA until they are eligible for Medicare at 65.

Business groups said covering this age group through COBRA would have cost employers more than what the former employees would have paid for it, especially since individuals 55 and over tend to have more serious health issues than younger workers.

For more information about COBRA, see www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm .

Drug Improves Mobility in Some MS Patients

FRIDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The drug fampridine improves walking ability in some people with multiple sclerosis.

In a phase III study that included 301 patients, aged 18 to 70, the participants were randomly assigned to receive either 10 milligrams of fampridine or a placebo twice a day for 14 weeks. The patients' walking speed was assessed after two weeks, six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks.

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The number of timed walk responders -- those who achieved a faster walking speed in at least three of the four assessments while on treatment compared to when they weren't on treatment -- was 78 out of 224 (35 percent) in the fampridine group and six out of 72 (8 percent) in the placebo group. The patients in the fampridine group also showed greater improvement in leg strength.

Eleven patients (5 percent) in the fampridine group had to withdraw from the study due to adverse events, but only two serious adverse events (focal seizure and severe anxiety) were considered to be connected with the drug, according to Andrew Goodman, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, and colleagues. But they added that the risk of seizure noted in previous studies seems to increase in a dose-dependent way with fampridine.

"Treatment with fampridine produces clinically meaningful improvement in walking ability in some people with multiple sclerosis, irrespective of disease course type or concomitant treatment with immunomodulators," the researchers concluded.

The study was published in this week's edition of The Lancet.

MS patients suffer a progressive decline in mobility, but there are few treatment options available to complement physiotherapy. While it has been suggested that fampridine may improve visual function, strength, walking ability, fatigue and endurance in MS patients, there are questions about the drug's efficacy and safety.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about multiple sclerosis.

Documents on Seroquel show drugmaker

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Internal AstraZeneca reports and e-mails written by company officials show they knew a decade ago that their psychiatric drug Seroquel caused diabetes and major weight gain, plaintiffs' lawyers said Friday after releasing dozens of the previously sealed documents.

"They not only failed to warn about the risk of diabetes, but they marketed it as not having that risk," said Houston attorney Ed Blizzard, one of the lead attorneys representing roughly 15,000 plaintiffs suing the British drugmaker.

The plaintiffs claim Seroquel, approved for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, caused diabetes, weight gain and related health problems, from kidney failure and heart attacks to amputations and damage to the pancreas, which makes insulin.

AstraZeneca spokesman Tony Jewell said plaintiffs' lawyers are "mischaracterizing that we knew that it caused diabetes." He said it remains unresolved whether Seroquel causes diabetes, and that AstraZeneca PLC has shared all relevant and required data with the Food and Drug Administration, both before and after the FDA approved Seroquel as safe and effective in 1997.

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Bypass or Stents?

Some experts say the choice is up to you

Results from a new study may make it easier for heart patients and their doctors to decide on a surgical treatment for dangerously blocked arteries. Researchers compared two groups: people who had bypass surgery and those who had angioplasty with stenting. While interpretations of the study results differ, some experts say the pros and cons of the procedures balance out, suggesting that the ultimate choice is up to the patient.

Plus: Breathing exercises before heart surgery may speed recovery and reduce pneumonia risk afterward. Consider asking your heart doctor if breathing workouts could help you.