In order to expand upon research that shows smoking raises bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowers good cholesterol (HDL), a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health recruited 1,500 smokers. The investigators report that among the 36 percent of the smokers who had successfully quit a year later, an average increase of about 5 percent in HDL cholesterol was noted, even though the group that quit smoking gained an average of approximately 10 pounds.
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A new study from the medical clearinghouse Cochrane Database indicates that zinc-containing medications may shed days off cold symptoms compared to a placebo, but the jury is still out on the best formulation recommended for consumers.
In a disconcerting trend, there has been an increase in the number of women experiencing precancerous growths on the genitals. As reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, the number of women who have had these growths has increased fourfold between 1973 and 2000, with women in their 40s the most affected.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley took up his Pouring on the Pounds campaign once again yesterday to coincide with the nation s first Food Day, which its organizers purport promotes healthy food and eating habits. Though he was previously accused by his own staff members of exaggerating the adverse health effects associated with consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), Dr.
Two recent news stories take a look at innovative means of handling the serious nicotine addiction that haunts cigarette smokers. The first, a New York Magazine feature that gives its readers the lowdown on e-cigarettes, conveys much of what anyone trying to quit cigarettes should know about this option.
We previously reported on the ongoing critical drug shortage crisis, but now the problem has garnered the attention of President Obama, who issued an executive order Monday in hopes of resolving the issue or at least improving it.
The only ones still urging consumers to strive to drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day are the bottled water companies, argues Dr. Margaret McCartney in a British Medical Journal commentary. Dr.
Efforts to improve the healthfulness of school lunches are increasingly evident, from upping kids portions of fruits and vegetables to (rather unfathomably) removing chocolate milk from the cafeteria. Still, a news story from Colorado reminds us that there is still a ways to go.
In a drug trial that would prove an advance for both HIV prevention and biotech, European scientists are testing the efficacy of an anti-HIV antibody that was cultivated via a genetically modified tobacco plant. The biological product, produced by the EU-funded Pharma Plant, would be used as a vaginal microbicide to prevent sexual transmission of HIV; it is currently being tested in 11 healthy women in Britain.
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology analyzed the medical records of almost 92,000 U.S. adults and concluded that taking cholesterol-controlling statins is not associated with a higher risk of cancer. But whoever said there was such a link to begin with? asks ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross.
Two recent studies offer a strong incentive for patients at risk of a heart attack to quit smoking and keep taking their daily dose of aspirin. An Italian study, led by Dr. Furio Colivicchi of San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome and just published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found that the resumption of smoking after a heart attack can raise a patient s risk of dying as much as five-fold.
For the first time, FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg is publicly addressing the growing problem of monitoring the safety of imported food, drugs, and medical devices in her new report, Pathway to Global Safety and Quality. Currently, more than 80 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) sold in the U.S. are manufactured overseas, and in 2008, government officials estimated it would take the FDA 13 years to inspect each foreign drug manufacturing plant. Dr.
Epidemiologically speaking, having your doctor write a prescription for your lover may be preferable to sending a love letter. It is now legal in 27 states for a physician to write a prescription for a patient s unnamed sexual partner when the patient himself has been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The practice is called expedited partner therapy (EPT), and it s proving to be an effective means of reducing the rates of sexually transmitted diseases that can be treated with antibiotics.
On the heels of the new graphic cigarette warning labels comes a proposed law in Australia that aims to institute plain packaging for all cigarette brands. The Australian government plans to ban company logos on cigarette packs while requiring they be sold in plain dark olive packaging. In addition, all brand names must appear in the same size and style of font; health warning labels will supplant traditional trademark logos.
In a co-authored commentary for the Archives of Internal Medicine, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley and Dr. Lynn Silver, director of the Office of Science and Policy, call on the FDA to provide consumers with a public, product-specific national nutritional database containing information similar to what can now be found on individual products in the grocery or supermarket. Because obesity and other food-related ailments, including diabetes, are on the rise, Dr.
For those who wish to adhere to the new U.S. dietary guidelines, a new study published in the journal Health Affairs finds that eating the recommended amount of nutrients such as potassium, fiber, and vitamin D can add a substantial amount to the yearly grocery bill.
Glaucoma is a threat to vision caused by elevated fluid pressure in the eye. The most common type, open-angle glaucoma, affects more than two million people annually and can lead to optic nerve damage. Now, a study just published in the Archives of Ophthalmology has found that more frequent visual tests result in earlier discovery thus allowing earlier treatment of the progression of glaucoma.
Dr. Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, is tired of opening the paper only to read about yet another new study describing the purported health benefits of various vitamins, supplements, or lifestyle habits. In an article for The New York Times, Dr. Gutting explains to readers the differences between observational studies and randomized controlled trials.
African farmers face great hardship as they must choose between protecting their agrarian livelihood or protecting themselves and their children against malaria, according to an article in yesterday's The New York Times.
As the swimming season approaches, it s worth taking a look at these simple steps provided by The Los Angeles Times for avoiding the unpleasant experience of swimmer s ear, a common malady that accounted for 2.4 million health care visits in 2007, according to the CDC. While the infection largely affects children between the ages of five and nine, adults are susceptible, too.
Allergan Inc., maker of the weight loss device Lap-Band, is seeking FDA approval to extend the use of the device to obese teenagers. The Lap-Band is a silicon ring fitted around the stomach to reduce food intake. Clinical trials on teens have already been initiated, and the company believes that because an estimated one-in-three U.S. adolescents is obese or overweight, the procedure should be available to them.
An article in the current issue of TIME magazine poses the question, How Safe is Tobacco that Melts in Your Mouth? They are referring, of course, to new dissolvable tobacco products currently being assessed by the FDA. Since R.J.
In one month, it will become increasingly difficult to find a sugar-sweetened beverage in any city-owned building in Boston. And in the meantime, to prime residents for this phase-out ordered by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a $1 million federally funded campaign will urge them to reduce their consumption of these beverages. The city-wide media campaign is funded by the U.S.
Radical environmentalists have pointed to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates as “toxins” responsible for causing obesity, cancer, and even male infertility due to decreased sperm counts. As proof, they cite a 1992 study by a group of Danish researchers that claimed sperm counts declined by 50 percent worldwide from 1938 to 1991. However, their research was heavily criticized for its many flaws, methodological problems, and biases.
A series of studies published in the journal Health Affairs offers both hopeful and discouraging news on the vaccine front.
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