- "Health reform is challenging the entire system to deliver improved care through insight driven health"
- "We see an increasing number of physicians leaving private practice to join hospital systems, which will force all stakeholders to revise and refine their business models, product offerings and service strategies"
- Formaldehyde found in plywood, particle board, mortuaries and hair salons.
- Styrene found in boats, bathtubs and in disposable foam plastic cups and plates.
“Industry held this report up for four years,” said Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They have tried to create the impression that there was real scientific uncertainty here, but there’s not.”
shares down 2.4 percent, to $39.25
comments:
"It is barbaric. Just because some religion practices it doesn't change that fact and doesn't make one anti Semitic.
funny how we all agree that female genital mutilation is wrong but we accept male genital mutilation."
"Anything seen as remotely offensive to Jews is always overreacted to. They do, after all, own most of Hollywood, and any dissenting opinions about israel, or traditions are seen as anti Semitic, even though a barbaric tradition has nothing to do with race and everything to do with tradition."
"I don't agree with circumcision, but I understand why Crowe would apologize for offending anyone. His popularity is directly proportional to his income."
"Unlike religion, there are multiple upsides for foreskin."
Old NYTimes article:
[ City Questions Circumcision Ritual After Baby Dies ]
"The practice is known as oral suction, or in Hebrew, metzitzah b'peh: after removing the foreskin of the penis, the practitioner, or mohel, sucks the blood from the wound to clean it.
It's believed fierce winds kicked up by the twister blew infected dirt directly onto people’s skin
In Berlin, the Robert Koch Institute said the rate of new illnesses was declining in the deadly E. coli outbreak. It said 2,808 people have been sickened in Germany, 722 of whom are suffering from a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. But it was not clear whether the epidemic was waning, or people were just successfully shunning fruit and vegetables.
The World Health Organization says 97 others have fallen sick in 12 other European countries, as well as three in the United States.
The debate about cellphone safety was reignited yet again last week when a panel of the World Heath Organization declared that it was "possible" the phones could cause cancer. This is the first time a major health organization has suggested such a link, and it was promptly disputed by many scientists, who have been saying for years that there is scant evidence cellphones cause cancer and that it is biologically implausible to think they could.
[ nytimes ]
Generic chemotherapy drugs are in particularly tight supply at the nation's hospitals, including mainstay cancer treatments such as cisplatin, doxorubicin, cytarabine and leucovorin.
"These are chestnuts. These are not old-fashioned drugs. They remain incredibly important drugs which serve as the backbone for treating many of the most common and treatable cancers," said Dr. Robert Mayer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and a past president of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) which held its annual meeting in Chicago this week.
[ reuters.com ]
Many Americans turn to friends and family for support and advice when they have a health problem. This report shows how people’s networks are expanding to include online peers, particularly in the crucible of rare disease.
The most striking finding of the national survey is the extent of peer-to-peer help among people living with chronic conditions. One in four internet users living with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, lung conditions, cancer, or some other chronic ailment (23%) say they have gone online to find others with similar health concerns. By contrast, 15% of internet users who report no chronic conditions have sought such help online.
The internet has changed people’s relationships with information. Our data consistently show that doctors, nurses, and other health professionals continue to be the first choice for most people with health concerns, but online resources, including advice from peers, are a significant source of health information in the U.S.
- 80% of internet users have looked online for information about any of 15 health topics such as a specific disease or treatment. This translates to 59% of all adults.
- 34% of internet users, or 25% of adults, have read someone else’s commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website, or blog.
- 25% of internet users, or 19% of adults, have watched an online video about health or medical issues.
- 24% of internet users, or 18% of adults, have consulted online reviews of particular drugs or medical treatments.
- 18% of internet users, or 13% of adults, have gone online to find others who might have health concerns similar to theirs.
- 16% of internet users, or 12% of adults, have consulted online rankings or reviews of doctors or other providers.
- 15% of internet users, or 11% of adults, have consulted online rankings or reviews of hospitals or other medical facilities.
Of those who use social network sites (62% of adult internet users, or 46% of all adults):
- 23% of social network site users, or 11% of adults, have followed their friends’ personal health experiences or updates on the site.
- 17% of social network site users, or 8% of adults, have used social networking sites to remember or memorialize other people who suffered from a certain health condition.
- 15% of social network site users, or 7% of adults, have gotten any health information on the sites.
The study concludes that the average 10-year-old today is far weaker physically than his counterpart just a decade ago. His arm strength has fallen by 26%, he can do 27% less sit-ups, and he is less likely to be able to hold his weight hanging from a bar.
Citing data from market-research firms, Eddie Williams, head of Novo Nordisk’s biopharmaceutical business in the U.S., said 72% of U.S. doctors own a smartphone, and 95% of them use it to download medical applications. Novo Nordisk has several other applications available on iTunes, including one that helps doctors calculate blood-sugar levels.
"In everyday life you mostly use your left hand to touch things on the left side of the world, and your right hand for the right side of the world – for example when picking up a glass of water on your right side you generally use your right hand," he said.
- "Crossing your hands causes a mismatch and this makes the processing of pain more difficult.
- "It works for other stimuli. The sensitivity of the brain is reduced. It is not a huge analgesic but we are testing it on people with chronic pain in their hands."
[ latimes.com ]
Scientists studying the effects of prenatal exposure to pesticides on the cognitive abilities of children have come to a troubling conclusion: Whether pregnant mothers are exposed to organophosphate pesticides in California fields or New York apartments, the chemicals appear to impair their children’s mental abilities.
[ e360.yale.edu ]
[ bbc.co.uk ]
New research into flame retardants shows that one of the chemicals is prevalent in baby’s products made with polyurethane foam, including nursing pillows, car seats and highchairs.
[ nytimes.com ]
The study tested 49 products from popular brands like Laura Mercier, MAC, L'Oreal, Mary Kay, and Sephora and found that 100 percent of the products contained nickel, 96 percent contained lead and 90 percent contained beryllium. Only one product, Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust (Solar), was found to not contain a single metal of most concern.
[ treehugger.com ]
We think of pain as a symptom, but there are cases where the nervous system develops feedback loops and pain becomes a terrifying disease in itself. Starting with the story of a girl whose sprained wrist turned into a nightmare, Elliot Krane talks about the complex mystery of chronic pain, and reviews the facts we're just learning about how it works and how to treat it.
[ Video ] [ ted.com ]
Increases in obesity and diet-related diseases are major public health problems. These problems may be worse in some U.S. communities because access to affordable and nutritious foods is diffi cult. Previous studies suggest that some areas and households have easier access to fast food restaurants and convenience stores but limited access to supermarkets. Limited access to nutritious food and relatively easier access to less nutritious food may be linked to poor diets and, ultimately, to obesity and diet-related diseases.
[ PDF ] [ www.ers.usda.gov ]
[ online.wsj.com ]
Info-graphic [ npr.org ]
"It's kind of a tongue-in-cheek campaign," Daigle said. "We were talking about hurricane preparedness and someone bemoaned that we kept putting out the same messages." While metrics for the post are not yet available, Daigle said it has become the most popular CDC blog entry in just two days. "People are so tuned into zombies," he said. "People are really dialed in on zombies. The idea is we're reaching an audience or a segment we'd never reach with typical messages."
[ blogs.cdc.gov ]
He is clearing the way for legal waivers to allow hospitals and doctors offices to better handle a surge of new patients.
» Rx Blog [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
People who do not believe in vaccinating children have never had much sway over Leslie Wygant Arndt. She has studied the vaccine debate, she said, and came out in favor of having her 10-month-old daughter inoculated against childhood diseases. But there is something different about the vaccine for the H1N1 flu, she said.
Swine Flu (H1N1 Virus)“I have looked at the people who are against it, and I find myself taking their side,” said Ms. Wygant Arndt, who lives in Portland, Ore. “But then again I go back and forth on this every day. It’s an emotional topic.”
» NY Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Want to reduce your risk of skin cancer? Wear sun screen, of course. But two new studies suggest that choosing your relatives carefully could also be helpful.
One found that having an identical twin with melanoma increased a person's own risk of developing the disease much more than having a fraternal twin with this type of skin cancer. The other found that having a sibling or parent with one of several different types of non-melanoma skin cancer increased risk as well.
Several studies have suggested melanoma and other skin cancers run in families, but it can be difficult to tease out the difference between the influence of genes and environment. In the Australian study, Dr. Sri N. Shekar of the University of Queensland in Brisbane and his colleagues attempted to do so by looking at twin pairs in which at least one sibling had been diagnosed with melanoma.
» Reuters [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Pandemic H1N1 influenza "is here . . . in virtually the entire country," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Swine flu is widespread in 37 states now, up from 27 states last week, she said.
The figures suggest that a leveling-off observed last week was an aberration. Some reports have suggested that certain places hit particularly hard in the spring, such as New York City, might not suffer as severely this winter. The CDC has been looking at 50 such locations, and many are seeing significant increases in flu activity now.
» LA Times / CDC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Scientists have pinpointed a gene linked to more than half of all breast cancers. The gene, NRG1 (neuregulin-1), is also thought to play a role in many bowel, prostate, ovarian and bladder tumours. The University of Cambridge team said the breakthrough should provide "vital information" about how cancer spreads.
» BBC [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Three U.S. scientists who discovered key aspects of how cells and animals age and how cancer cells become immortal will share the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Elizabeth Blackburn of UC San Francisco, Carol W. Greider of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Jack W. Szostak of Harvard Medical School share the $1.4-million award for their discovery of telomeres, small sections of DNA that protect the integrity of cellular DNA as animals and most other organisms age. They also discovered telomerase, the enzyme that manufactures telomeres and gives cancer cells their eternal life.
» LA Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Like every other country in Europe, Switzerland guarantees health care for all its citizens. But the system here does not remotely resemble the model of bureaucratic, socialized medicine often cited by opponents of universal coverage in the United States.
Swiss private insurers are required to offer coverage to all citizens, regardless of age or medical history. And those people, in turn, are obligated to buy health insurance.
» NY Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
One hundred expectant mothers infected with the pandemic H1N1 influenza were hospitalized in intensive care units in the first four months of the outbreak, and 28 have died, federal officials say.
In a reminder that the new strain of H1N1 influenza may be more dangerous than originally thought, federal health officials reported Thursday that 100 pregnant women infected with the virus were hospitalized in intensive care units in the first four months of the outbreak, and 28 have died.
"What we are seeing is quite striking," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. She is helping direct the government's response to the pandemic.
» LA Times [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
An experimental vaccine prevented HIV infections for the first time, a breakthrough that has eluded scientists for a quarter century.
A U.S.-funded study involving more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand found that a combination of ALVAC, made by Paris- based Sanofi-Aventis SA, and AIDSVAX, from VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, cut infections by 31.2 percent in the people who received it compared with those on a placebo, scientists said today in Bangkok. Neither vaccine had stopped the virus that causes AIDS when tested separately in previous studies.
[ PDF ] Sanofi-Aventis Press Release
Blame your brain for sabotaging your efforts to get back on track after splurging on an extra scoop of ice cream or that second burger during Friday night’s football game.
Findings from a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggest that fat from certain foods we eat makes its way to the brain. Once there, the fat molecules cause the brain to send messages to the body’s cells, warning them to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin, hormones involved in weight regulation.
“What we’ve shown in this study is that someone’s entire brain chemistry can change in a very short period of time. Our findings suggest that when you eat something high in fat, your brain gets ‘hit’ with the fatty acids, and you become resistant to insulin and leptin,” Dr. Clegg said. “Since you’re not being told by the brain to stop eating, you overeat.”
» Southwestern Medical Center [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
It is with deepest sadness and regret that I inform you of the loss of one of our students today at Cayuga Medical Center. Warren J. Schor, 20, died of complications related to H1N1 influenza. The university has been in close contact with Warren's family, and we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to them and to his many friends. Please keep them in your thoughts in the following days.
More than 500 students have come down with flu-like symptoms in recent week, university health officials said.
» Cornell [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
The new H1N1 swine flu is estimated to have infected about 800,000 people in New York City in the spring, a top U.S. health official said on Sunday, citing a study due to be released later this week.
Dr. Thomas Frieden, who heads the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said surveys suggested the virus was widely spread around the city. Frieden was New York City's health commissioner before taking the top CDC job in June.
"In New York City where we had a lot of H1N1 this last spring the estimate is about 800,000 people, about 10 percent of New York City residents, got infected with the flu," Frieden said in an interview with C-SPAN television aired on Sunday.
"That's a lot of people."
» Reuters [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Successful trials raise hopes for end to inherited human disorders. Scientists are on the verge of ridding inherited diseases from future generations with a new technique for swapping genes between unfertilised human eggs before the resulting IVF embryos are implanted into the womb.
The technique has been successfully tested on laboratory monkeys and researchers believe it is now safe enough to apply for clinical trials on the many thousands of women at risk of giving birth to babies with some of the most debilitating inherited disorders.
Such a procedure would break new ground and raise fresh ethical concerns over the direction of IVF research because it would lead to permanent changes to the genetic make-up of children that would be passed on to subsequent generations of the same families.
» The Independent UK [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
Swine flu, also known as H1N1, may infect as much as half of the population and kill 30,000 to 90,000 people, double the deaths caused by the typical seasonal flu, according to the planning scenario issued yesterday by the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. Intensive care units in hospitals, some of which use 80 percent of their space in normal operation, may need every bed for flu cases, the report said.
“This is a planning scenario, not a prediction,” according to the report. “But the scenario illustrates that an H1N1 resurgence could cause serious disruption of social and medical capacities in our country in the coming months.”
» President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
“We have run out of bed space, we have run out of nurses,” Shaw, 47, said after working in the ICU and being on- call for 185 hours over 11 days. “There will be people who die because they were denied access to other treatments.”
Health officials call it the swine flu paradox. As the new H1N1 strain spreads, the majority of patients recover within days and the number of deaths is a fraction of the seasonal flu toll. Those statistics mask an alarming reality: the pandemic has strained intensive care units and a resurgence of the virus in the fall could bring a public health disaster, experts say.
» Bloomberg [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
