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Oropharyngeal cancer, which affects the throat, tongue, soft palate, and tonsils, has become increasingly common among men in the U.S. Because a distinct form of it is caused primarily by HPV (human papillomavirus), a recent study set out to determine the prevalence of oral HPV infection.

While much of the recent media surrounding cancer screening has focused on new research and guidelines suggesting that less frequent screening may be beneficial, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that too many Americans are not getting screened at all.

For nursing home residents, a trip to the emergency room may actually worsen their health rather than improve it. According to the results of a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the rate of new acute respiratory or GI infections within a week of an ER visit among residents of long-term care facilities was 5 percent, compared to just 2 percent in those who stayed at the nursing home.

Here may be another reason to lose weight: Recent research has found evidence linking obesity to acne. The latest study, published in The Archives of Dermatology, looked at the relationship between weight and skin condition among 3,600 teens. After accounting for age, puberty, and diet, researchers found that overweight and obese adolescents, particularly females, were significantly more likely to develop acne.

The U.S. teenage birth rate remains the highest in the developed world, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports: 400,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years gave birth each year, on average, between 2004 and 2008.

What s the largest source of salt in our diets? Is it potato chips? French fries? Neither of these, says a recent report form the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Actually, bread and rolls provide us with the greatest amount of salt in our diets.

Though soda has received much flak for its high sugar content and alleged adverse health effects, a new study is targeting diet soda too, claiming that consuming too much can lead to vascular events.

When we talk about vaccinations, we usually focus on children. However, a new report by the CDC shows that too many adults are shirking the immunizations that they need. As the CDC report notes, about 45,000 Americans die every year from vaccine-preventable illnesses. The authors suggest that a lack of information, as well as infrequent visits to a doctor, are most likely responsible for the low rates of important adult immunizations.

[E]xclusive use of DTPs [dissolvable tobacco products] would greatly reduce risk for smoking caused disease compared with regular use of cigarettes. While we at ACSH make this point on a regular basis, this time, this statement actually comes from an FDA advisory panel.

Traveling to a high altitude destination and prone to getting sick? A recent study found that ibuprofen may help prevent symptoms of altitude sickness, which can include headaches, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting.

We ve recently reported on the troubling rise in the incidence of cavities among children, which may largely be avoided by ensuring that kids teeth are exposed to the proper amount of fluoride. One easy way to accomplish this is to make sure kids are drinking tap water, which has been fluoridated for decades in many areas of the country, for just this purpose.

Losing weight is an extremely difficult task. But a new study provides some good news for individuals struggling to lose excess weight but trying to reduce their cardiovascular risk: Keeping fit, even in the absence of losing weight, still benefits cardiovascular health.

Here is yet another example of the media vastly mischaracterizing the results of a scientific study: While the data show no relationship between levels of BPA (bisphenol-A) and heart disease, a new report is actually being spun in the news under headlines that suggest the opposite, such as BPA chemical may be tied to heart disease.

Jennifer Sass can't face off against the American Council on Science and Health, or any expert, when it comes to science, so she has taken to her blog yet again to say anyone who supports science must be a paid shill, this time from the pesticide manufacturer Syngenta.

Could obesity impact a man s fertility? To explore this possibility, a new meta-analysis, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine included nearly 10,000 men to determine whether obesity had any adverse affect on sperm count.

Up until the early 1980s, a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the most common form of childhood leukemia was considered a death sentence. Now a new study finds that five-year survival rates for kids with ALL rose to 90 percent in the period 2000 to 2005.

ACSH would like to give a special thanks to Gerald Baron, author of CrisisBlogger, for his latest blog entry alerting readers to our publication Scared to Death. As Baron points out, [ACSH s] focus seems to be combating junk science and situations where politics and public opinion intervenes [sic] in good policy making relating to science and health.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest s (CSPI) renewed war against a caramel coloring ingredient in sodas, known as 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), is making headlines again, unfortunately. (Although we do appreciate that at least Reuters had the good sense to emphasize the FDA s refutation of CSPI s latest claims.)To refresh your memory: Last year, CSPI petitioned the FDA to declare 4-MI a carcinogen and ban it from sodas.

The dangers of unregulated supplements have attracted renewed attention following the recent deaths of two U.S. soldiers who were reportedly taking an amphetamine-like substance that is marketed as a dietary supplement. Yet as ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross and Medpage Today editor Dr.

According to a paper in yesterday's Journal of Clinical Oncology, the 5 year survival rate of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (the most common form) has continued its upward trajectory, and now stands at 90 percent--fairly amazing considering that it was almost always fatal as recently as the 1960s.

Women who have a history of endometriosis may be at risk of certain types of ovarian cancer, suggests a new study in The Lancet Oncology. Endometriosis occurs when cells from the lining of the uterus grow in other parts of the body a relatively common condition that occurs in about 10 percent of women during their childbearing years. It can lead to pain, difficulties conceiving, and irregular bleeding.

Two bills proposing a ban on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging were introduced in France last year by the French Socialist party at the National Assembly. Slated to be approved by the end of this month, following an examination by the French senate, the bills would require that manufacturers operating in France alter their packaging at a high cost.

Over half a million middle school students and three million high school students smoke, announced U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin while presenting the office s first report on youth smoking since 1994. Nine in 10 smokers pick up the habit before their 18th birthday, thus prompting Dr. Benjamin to declare youth smoking an epidemic that requires a renewed effort to prevent teens from smoking.

Josh Bloom, Medical Progress Today 3/20/12
The Land of the Free, and the Home of the Neurotic

On the topic of unnecessary screenings, a recent personal vignette in the Archives of Internal Medicine explores the issue of overuse of PSA testing for prostate cancer from a deeply personal perspective. Dr. Charles Bennett, an oncologist who specializes in prostate cancer, tells the story of his own experience with PSA testing, as well as his regrets about this screening and the consequences that followed.