When an outbreak of the H1N1 virus (otherwise known as swine flu) was first reported in April of 2009, fears of a global pandemic were raised by its genetic similarity to the devastating epidemic of 1918-1919. However, the 2009 epidemic turned out to be much less intense, owing in part to a massive accelerated campaign to produce and distribute specific anti-H1N1 vaccine. But now swine flu is back although the latest strain has so far hit pigs harder than humans.
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The annual ranking of states by obesity rate is out, following the CDC s release this Monday of 2011 data. But before we get into the best and worst of the rankings (which have stayed just about the same in relation to one another), let us point out that the more critical part of the story is the skepticism that s been raised about the CDC s method of data collection.
Pregnancy should be a joyful experience. Thus, the discovery of a breast lump while pregnant comes as an especially fearful development, and if the subsequent biopsy report confirms a malignant growth, depression even panic may occur. The natural fear for one s own health is multiplied by concern for how treatment might harm or even end the new life in the womb.
In March 2011, Japan was shaken by a once-in-a-lifetime earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami, resulting in the destruction and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. At the time, officials were concerned that nearby residents may have been harmed by low levels of radiation, but now, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, should help to allay those fears.
It is well established that women with certain genetic mutations known as BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Now, a study published in BMJ has found that procedures involving radiation to the chest, such as mammograms or chest X-rays, may significantly increase the already high risk of breast cancer these women face.
The full-body X-ray scanners used to screen airport passengers could potentially account for one new cancer per 10 million exposures over a person's lifetime, according to a recent study published in the journal Radiology. It is also true, however, that, the amount of radiation that a person receives from a scanner is equivalent to the amount of radiation exposure from just a few minutes of flying time.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections have become a serious problem and, as ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom points out in his latest op-ed in the New York Post, they are no longer limited to the hospital: Out of the 50 antibiotics once used to treat gonorrhea, only one remains effective (and barely that). But as serious as antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea is, it represents a larger-scale problem:
Josh Bloom, The New York Post September 5, 2012 , "The coming gonorrhea epidemic"
Gonorrhea is becoming untreatable. This common and potentially serious sexually transmitted disease was once easily cured. But now, of the 50 antibiotics once used to treat the infection, only one drug works and just barely.
Last month, the United States Preventive Services Task Force an group of 16 independent experts who are charged with objectively evaluating evidence regarding medical tests and procedures issued its recommendation against screening healthy women of any age for ovarian cancer.
California s Proposition 65, which since 1986 has mandated this may cause cancer warnings on a multitude of everyday products, has provided nothing in the way of consumer protection but heaps in the way of consumer anxiety.
When so-called tan-a-holic mother of four Patricia Krentcil made headlines for allegedly taking her five-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, the story elicited mostly disgust nationwide both for her mistreatment of a child as well as her uncanny resemblance to burnt toast. Krentcil even became the focus of an SNL skit where her look was described as Wile E. Coyote after something blows up in his face.
With California getting ready to vote on Proposition 37, the fear-mongering ballot initiative that would require the labeling of certain foods made with genetically modified ingredients, a column in Forbes warns that the supposed grassroots movement is not what it seems.
Unless you live under a rock it would have been impossible to miss this week's big story about vitamins preventing cancer in men. A paper by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital concluded: "Daily multivitamin supplementation modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer."
Cholesterol trends seem to be moving in the right direction, according to a new study published in JAMA. Total cholesterol as well as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL, or bad cholesterol) was down, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, or good cholesterol) was up.
Dr. Bruce Chassy, an ACSH advisor and professor emeritus of food and nutrition at the University of Illinois, was wary when producers for the Dr. Oz Show approached him about appearing on a recent episode about genetically modified food and California s Proposition 37. In the end, he had a family conflict and couldn t appear thankfully, it turns out. Dr. Chassy has written an open letter to two Dr. Oz producers to say he s appalled they gave a platform to a one Mr.
It has long been suggested that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a decreased risk of numerous cardiovascular events, and previous studies have suggested that, if obtained from dietary sources, these fatty acids may indeed have some beneficial effects.
The scales will soon fall from your eyes when it comes to the calorie count of your McDonald s order. Or maybe, actually, the scale will feature quite prominently in your thoughts when, by the end of 2013, the number of calories in every item offered by the ubiquitous restaurant will be listed next to it on the menu.
Although in the U.S. the age at which someone can legally consume alcohol is set at 21, it is quite clear that many adolescents start drinking much sooner. In light of these facts, then, parents often face a difficult decision: At what age is it appropriate to introduce their children to alcohol?
An estimated 170 million people worldwide, including 3 to 5 million Americans, are infected with the hepatitis C virus, which can sit dormant for years before causing serious liver damage. As many as three quarters of those with the disease don t know they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The virus is spread by shared needles, blood transfusions administered before 1992, and unprotected sex with someone who has the virus.
The headlines were breathless: A company is developing a smart bra that could detect breast cancer and maybe even replace mammograms.
A fear campaign has dissuaded some parents from vaccinating their children with Gardasil, one of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, a Merck product on the market since 2006.
A hat tip to Lori Newman, whose article on electronic cigarettes is now online at LifeScript. In it, Newman discusses the benefits of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation device, aided by our own Dr. Gilbert Ross, as well as ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Michale Siegel, a tobacco researcher and professor of community healthsciences at Boston University s School of Public Health.
The World Health Organization s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is scheduled to take up the issue of e-cigarettes at its meeting next month in Seoul and it appears as though the deck is stacked against advocates of tobacco harm reduction. This means more bad news for addicted smokers.
People even many doctors think of heart attacks as something that strike mostly men, which may be one reason why women who suffer symptoms sometimes get delayed medical treatment, with deadly consequences. According to a presentation at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, women are over twice as likely to die in a hospital from a heart attack than men.
In its first official report on organic foods, the American Academy of Pediatrics said this week that organic and conventionally produced foods are nutritionally equivalent.
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