Back-to-School Checklist Includes More Than Just Pencils and Paper

Parents across the U.S. are about to get their children geared up for the upcoming school year. In cities and towns everywhere, school starts in a matter of days or weeks, and parents want their children have everything they need for a successful school year. But getting your child ready for school involves more than just school supplies and new clothes. It also includes things like vaccinations and healthy school-day meals.
Immunizations

Making sure your child is up to date on immunizations helps to insure a healthy school year. Not only do children who are about to head back into the classroom need flu shots, but they also may need to be immunized for whooping cough, hepatitis B, and chickenpox, or need to receive the Tdap vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

Most schools require parents to provide an up-to-date immunization record prior to enrolling a student, meaning that before school starts, is imperative that a child have all necessary vaccines. For a complete listing of vaccines or boosters that children may need, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued updated guidelines for childhood and teen immunizations.
Breakfast

Back-to-school breakfast planning is also important. Starting a child’s day off with a nutritious breakfast will help them remain focused, as well as promote improved overall academic performance. Research has shown that children who regularly ate breakfast had better standardized test scores, better behavior, and were less hyperactive than children who skipped breakfast. But this doesn’t mean that cooking a big breakfast is crucial to your child’s educational welfare. There are a number of whole grain cereals that will pack the positive punch necessary for academic success. Another good example of a healthy breakfast to kick-start your child’s day is one egg, with a slice of whole grain toast, a piece of fruit, and a glass of low-fat milk.

Lunch

If you are a parent who packs your child’s lunch, there are some new health concerns to be aware of. According to a recent Texas study that tested over 700 lunch packs of preschoolers, less than 2 percent of the meats, vegetables and dairy products contained in those lunches were still in the safe temperature zone by lunchtime. The study was performed on sack lunches about an hour and a half before lunchtime, and even though 45 percent of the lunches included an ice pack, and another 12 percent were kept in refrigerators, nearly all of the perishable foods were too warm and considered to be in the danger zone.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), perishable foods kept between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 60 degrees Celsius) for more than two hours are no longer safe to eat. This is due to conditions being right for bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella to quickly multiply. The CDC estimates that about 48 million people become sick due to food-borne illnesses each year, with about 3,000 of them losing their lives.

Keeping your child’s lunch safe can be achieved by packing the lunch with multiple icepacks, and having your child remove the lunch from its container and put it in a refrigerator once they get to school. For kid-friendly lunch options, Healthy Eating columnist Susan Brady penned “Making School Lunches Healthy (Again),” or as an alternative, parents can choose to buy school lunches.

The pressures of school are tough enough without the added concerns of illness, and lack of nutritional fuel to promote brain power. Help your child get off to a successful start by providing them with the health tools, in addition to the educational tools that they need.

CDC Releases Annual Flu Vaccine Recommendation

The Centers for Disease Control considers the annual flu a “serious and contagious disease,” and has issued precautions to avoid the contagion, which includes vaccination.

Vaccination remains the cornerstone of influenza prevention, thwarting the contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza virus strains. According to the FDA, between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population develops influenza each year, leading to more than 200,000 hospitalizations from related complications. Influenza-related deaths vary yearly, ranging from a low of about 3,000 to a high of 49,000 people.

In July, the FDA announced approval of the 2011-12 influenza vaccine, which protects against the three virus strains that surveillance indicates will be most common during the upcoming season (influenza A H3N2 virus, influenza B virus, and the H1N1 virus).

While there is no expectation that there will be a repeat of the virulent outbreak of H1N1 that we saw in 2009, the CDC urges you to take the following actions to protect yourself and others from influenza:

Vaccination: Even if you were vaccinated during the previous flu season, the effectiveness of the vaccine declines over time and can leave you unprotected. Everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the flu. Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.

Prevention: Wash your hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or the crook of your elbow when you cough or sneeze. Try to avoid contact with people who are sick.

Follow-Through: Get a prescription for and take the whole dosage of antiviral medication. Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and prevent serious flu complications.

The New School Year: Making It Special for Your Child

The first thing that comes to mind when we hear “back to school” is school supplies. Images of commercials about buying the perfect pencil or backpack invade our thoughts. As parents, it’s a time of mixed emotions: we’ll miss the freedom of sunny days at the pool, relaxed bedtimes and ice cream treats; at the same time it’ll be nice to be back to a routine and schedule.

For the kids, it’s also a mixed blessing. They too will miss the easiness of summer. They’ll look forward to time with new and old friends, as well as new adventures in the coming school year. As you prepare for all the logistics and schedule changes—remember to pack their “emotional backpack” too.

Here are three simple suggestions of things you can do to help ease your kids back into the rhythm of school life:

• Talk: Take a moment towards the end of summer to sit down with your children individually and talk about the coming year. What are their thoughts? What’s one thing they’re nervous about and one thing they are looking forward to? Share yours, too. Kids love to hear what’s going on in your mind and crave alone time with Mom or Dad.
• Share Memories: Talk about positive or funny memories from years past. Maybe for the kids it’s reconnecting with a friend who they lost touch with over the summer, or about one of their favorite books or projects from the prior year. For you, think back and recall a great story or find an old photograph and talk about your experiences. When I was little my mom always bought me a new outfit for the first day of school. I have a picture of the first day from fifth grade. I’m on my back deck drinking a Pepsi after school and I have some pink searsucker-type pants and bright shiny white new sneakers—my kids definitely get a kick out of this.
• Create traditions: Think about how you might want this year to be special. Take the time to count how many first days your child has had. How many left? This may give you some perspective and gratitude for the event and passing of time. Maybe you can come up with a tradition, like pizza parties on the first Friday of the month where each child gets to invite a friend over. Maybe it’s something with getting ready in the morning to a certain song or having a dance party when they get home. Maybe it’s around birthdays or other milestones. Get creative.
  

Decline in Hormone Therapy Use Linked to Drop in Mammography Rates

The dramatic drop in hormone therapy use over the last decade, following research that revealed the treatment’s association to breast cancer, has also paved the way for a sharp decline in mammography rates. According to a new study

, the decrease in the number of mammograms among older women may be the result of fewer doctor visits.

According to lead study author Nancy Breen, an economist with the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the study found that hormone therapy use plummeted from 41 percent to 16 percent between 2000 and 2005 among women ranging in age from 50 to 64, findings also revealed that the same age group dropped their mammogram use from 78 percent to 73 percent. “We found those two drops were associated,” she said.

Breen speculated that the decline in mammography may be due to women having no further need for obtaining hormone therapy medication prescriptions, which equates to fewer doctor visits.

Following a 2002 report from the Women’s Health Initiative showing a link between hormone therapy use and an increased risk of breast cancer, use of hormone therapy dropped drastically. Then in 2005, U.S. data showed a first-time decline in mammography rates.

The duel decline prompted Breen and her colleagues to research the possibility of a link. With the use of the biggest population-based national sample of mammography use known as the National Health Interview Survey, the research team analyzed data on a total of 14,512 women who were 50 years of age or older. Among the women, 7,125 were interviewed in 2000 and 7,387 were interviewed in 2005.

Findings revealed that among women aged 50 to 64 were, recent mammograms were reported most often by those still using hormone therapy, or those having visited their doctor within the past year. Other factors affecting mammography use included education and amount of health insurance.

Curiously, the decline in hormone therapy was not found to be linked to the decrease in mammography use among women ages 65 and older. Although fewer than 10 percent of the older women continued to use hormone therapy in 2005, a drop of about 20 percent from five years earlier, no significant drop in mammogram rates were found by the research.

Regarding the study results, Breen said, “Our research corroborates that a doctor's recommendation is an important step in getting a mammogram and it shows that when circumstances change—such as evidence about HRT—it can upset the balance and lead to unanticipated and undesirable changes in mammography use.” She noted that in this case, there are fewer reminders to schedule breast exams.

The researchers are concerned that the alarming decrease in mammogram rates could lead to a higher number of tumors, as well as more-advanced tumors being diagnosed later. Breen pointed out that missed mammograms could also account for a small portion of the initial decline recently seen in breast cancer rates.

About 1 in 8 women in the United States (12 percent) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer were estimated to be diagnosed among women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. Although less than 1 percent of new breast cancer cases occur among men, about 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer were estimated to be diagnosed in men in 2010.
Having routine mammograms, in combination with clinical breast exams performed by your doctor, is the most effective way to detect breast cancer early. Finding breast cancer early greatly improves the chances for successful treatment.

Researchers Pinpoint Cause of ALS

The actual cause of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has long been elusive but new research out of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has pinpointed the cause of this deadly degenerative disease. If such is the case, the findings will improve chances of both quicker identification, as well as allow for development of treatment options.

ALS, technically known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to die, leading to paralysis and death. ALS affects approximately 5 out of every 100,000 people worldwide.

According to a press release from Northwestern University, the new research found that the “basis of the disorder is a broken down protein recycling system in the neurons of the spinal cord and the brain. Optimal functioning of the neurons relies on efficient recycling of the protein building blocks in the cells. In ALS, that recycling system is broken. The cell can’t repair or maintain itself and becomes severely damaged.”

This dysfunctional recycling process linked to protein ubiquilin2 could be found in all versions of ALS.

There are two main types of ALS. Sporadic ALS and Familial ALS. The Sporadic version is the most common, occuring in approximately 90 percent of all ALS patients, some of which suffer from dementia as well. For approximately 25 percent of the sporadic group, ALS is preceded by Progressive Bulbar Palsy (PBP), which is centralized in the mouth and neck area and affects chewing and swallowing. PBP eventually leads to full-blown ALS.

Familial ALS occurs when a person inherits ALS genetics from a family member. This is much more rare, with an incidence rate of about 10 percent of all ALS cases. In addition there are several variant forms of ALS which effects a specific world region (Western Pacific ALS), age group (Juvenile ALS) or gender (Hiramaya Disease).

There has been no single effective treatment or cure for ALS, rather patients are treated for symptoms and disabilities occurring from the disease.

“Supermoms” Have Greater Risk for Depression

New research suggests that women who buy into the whole “supermom” myth are at a greater risk for depression than those family matriarchs who admit they can’t do it all.

According to the new study, working mothers who think they can live up to the “supermom” image by doing it all, both at home and in the workplace, suffer from higher levels of depression than do moms who admit to having limitations.

Lead study author Katrina Leupp, a University of Washington sociology graduate said, “Women are sold a story that they can do it all, but most workplaces are still designed for employees without child-care responsibilities.”

However, Leupp pointed out that striking a healthy balance can be accomplished by stating, “In reality, juggling home and work lives requires some sacrifice, such as cutting back on work hours, and getting husbands to help more. You can happily combine child-rearing and a career if you’re willing to let some things slide.”

For the study, the researchers reviewed survey responses of 1,600 women who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which was administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Participants included both working mothers and stay-at-home moms from across the United States who were all age 40 and married.

The research team analyzed past survey responses to questions regarding balancing work and home life. In answering survey questions as young adults, the women were asked to rank their level of agreement with statements such as “Working wives lead to more juvenile delinquency,” “A woman is happiest if she can stay at home with her children,” and “A woman who fulfills her family responsibilities doesn’t have time for a job outside the home.”

How women answered the questions at an earlier age enabled Leupp to measure their levels of depression at age 40. She found that stay-at-home moms suffered more symptoms of depression than did the working moms. Leupp noted, “Employment is ultimately beneficial for women’s health, even when differences in marital satisfaction and working full or part time are ruled out.” The results of the study mirrors the findings of other similar studies, leading Leupp to note her agreement with the old adage, “Stay-at-home moms have the hardest job in the world.”

But the study also looked at the other side of the work versus non-work coin and found that among working women having the “supermom” attitude that they could effortlessly combine caring for their family and job responsibilities, the risk of suffering from depression was greater. In comparison, working mothers who were realistic in their expectations of themselves were at a much lower risk for depression. “Employed women who expected that work-life balance was going to be hard are probably more likely to accept that they can’t do it all,” Leupp said.

Mothers who realize their limitations are typically more comfortable making allowances in the workplace to manage home life, such as leaving work early to pick up the kids from school. These trade-offs help balance their home and job responsibilities, and ward off depression.

However, women who aspire to be “supermoms” may suffer depression when they begin suffer feelings of guilt because they are not meeting their own high expectations. “Supermoms have higher expectations for fairness, so it makes sense that they would be more frustrated with the division of household chores,” Leupp said.

As for whether or not it is better for women to work outside the home, Leupp said, “Employment is still ultimately good for women’s health, but for better mental health, working moms should accept that they can’t do it all.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 19 million Americans suffer from depression. It is estimated that 10 percent to 25 percent of women, and 5 percent to 12 percent of men will become clinically depressed at some point in their lives. Depression is so rampant that it is often called the common cold of mental illness. Add in the state of the economy, and the fragile job market, and a recipe for depression is made among working mothers.

Help is available for people with depression. If you believe you are suffering from depression, consult your healthcare provider to discuss the options available for relief of symptoms of depression to let you get on with your life in a more positive light.

New Research Gains Ground in Understanding Infertility

For many, a substantial part of the American Dream is to marry, settle down, and have a family. But for an estimated 10 percent of couples, a part of their dream becomes a nightmare when they find themselves unable to have children due to infertility issues of either or both prospective parents. However, new hope for forward advancement in battling infertility has sprung from the research of an international team that has discovered how a human egg catches a sperm in the fertilization process.

Results of the new study, led by Professor Anne Dell from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, have shown that a sugar chain called the sialyl-lewis-x sequence, or SLeX, is responsible for egg/sperm binding since it is highly abundant on the egg's outer coat.

The sugar molecule makes the outer layer of the egg “sticky,” which allows the egg and sperm to bind. Dell was joined in the research by a team of researchers from the college, as well as teams from the University of Missouri, the University of Hong Kong, and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Although researchers have known for years that proteins on the head of sperm are able to find and identify an egg by a variety of sugars contained in the egg’s outer coating, until now it has remained unclear as to which specific sugar molecule led to an egg match, allowing the outer surfaces to bind together before merging, and leading to the sperm releasing its DNA to fertilize the egg.

Regarding the breakthrough, Dell said, “Unraveling the composition of the sugar coat that shrouds the human egg is the culmination of many years of painstaking research by mass spectrometry colleagues at Imperial.” She commended the team of researchers by saying, “This endeavor was an enormously difficult task because human eggs are very tiny—about the size of a full stop—so we didn’t have much material to work with.”

Couples facing infertility can experience extreme emotional and physical stress, and the inability to start a family can wreak havoc on a marriage. Women who are unable to conceive suffer depression, and may feel shame because they are unable to do what millions of other women do so easily—have a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that among women ages 15 to 44, about 7.3 million (11.8 percent) have an impaired ability to have children and have turned to infertility services in hopes of conceiving a child. The number of married women in the same age group who are considered infertile (unable to get pregnant for at least 12 consecutive months) totals approximately 2.1 million (7.4 percent).

The researchers are hopeful that their findings will lead to a better understanding of what causes infertility, and that they will lead to the creation of more effective fertility drugs in the long-term that will help childless couples to conceive.

“We hope that our study will open up new possibilities for understanding and addressing the fertility problems that many couples face,” said senior study author Dr. Poh-Choo Pang, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. Pang then added, “Although clinical treatments are still a way off, we are very excited about the new research into fertility that we hope will now be possible, building on our work.”

While the new research brings hope to millions of childless couples, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) points out that many factors can affect a woman’s ability to conceive that range from age, smoking history, and presence of sexually transmitted infections, to whether they are overweight or underweight. In addition, a recent U.S. study found that 20 percent of infertile women suffered from some type of eating disorder.

However, couples who are unable to conceive right away need not panic. According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, among women aged 35, approximately 94 out of every 100 who have regular unprotected sexual intercourse will get pregnant within 3 years. Yet, as women age, the percentages of success decline. For example, at the age of 38, only 77 out of every 100 women who regularly have unprotected sex will conceive.

Strength Training for Kids: Is it Safe?

For years the fitness industry has recommended that children refrain from weight training until after puberty. There was concern that resistance training would damage the body’s growth plates and stunt a child’s musculoskeletal development. Recent research, however, has shown that kids actually benefit from a strength-training program.

Still not convinced? Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine support youth strength training—as long as it’s done correctly.

A well-crafted strength-training program can improve a young athlete’s performance on the field or on the court. But what’s most exciting to me, as a kids’ fitness crusader, are the benefits non-athletic kids can receive from a basic strength-training program. Here’s what a well-designed program can do for your child:

• Increase muscular strength and endurance
• Strengthen bones
• Boost metabolism
• Improve self-esteem and body image

Young children can increase their muscular strength and endurance by using their own body weight. Push-ups, wall-sits, and hanging from the monkey bars are a few examples. But when is a child ready for weight training?

Since kids develop differently, there isn’t a set age to make this determination. So here is your first guideline: Once kids demonstrate enough body awareness to understand the concept of proper form, external weight can be added. Proper form is the fundamental first step of weight training for both kids and adults. It prevents injuries and ensures that you get the most out of the exercise. Before I give my students exercise tubing for bicep curls, I have them demonstrate what bicep curls look like without the added resistance.

After kids have mastered proper form, the next rule for youth weight training is to not confuse it with weight-lifting. Boys especially will want to push the (heavy) envelope. They often want to compete with their friends to see who can lift the most weight. Your child must have the maturity to understand that the goal is to lift a reasonable amount of weight correctly, not strain to lift the most weight possible.

When I ran a youth program at a gym, I often had to educate parents on this issue. Too many parents wanted to set their teens free in the gym environment when they weren’t ready.

When kids understand proper form and have the maturity to determine their reasonable amount of resistance, they are ready for a strength-training program. It’s important, though, that all kids engaging in weight training have a well-informed adult as a workout partner. Often called a spotter, this adult ensures that the exercises are done properly. If you have experience with strength straining, you could be your child’s spotter. What a cool way to bond with your child!

I view weight training as another tool in my arsenal of healthy activities for kids. In my work with ElectriKids, I empha modes of exercise that don’t require a team of players or a scheduled game. Done correctly, weight training can become a healthy habit that lasts a lifetime.

Calories, Sugar Reduced in Flavored Milk for Kids

Good news for milk-pushing moms this September: kid-favorite flavored milks will have less calories and sugar,

flavored milk cartons will contain fewer than 150 calories and 22 grams of total sugar on average this school year.

Milk provides calcium, vitamin D and potassium that is critical for children's development but in short supply in kids' diets, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Milk is the number one food source in America for these essential nutrients.

Cartons of flavored milk will carry just 31 more calories than white milk as the result of a five-year process of industry reformulations aiming to "provide nutritious new products with the same great taste kids love,"

The healthy trend among milk processors will reduce added sugar in fat-free and low-fat chocolate milk by 38 percent.

"There are a lot of kids that don't want to drink plain white milk; they really love drinking flavored milk and that's very important for the essential nutrients in milk," said Vivien Godfrey. "It's a happy balance between some added sugars but making sure that the kids actually drink the milk as opposed to taking the white milk on the lunch line and not in fact drinking it."But flavored milk has been the subject of some debate in the national conversation over child nutrition.

But flavored milk has been the subject of some debate in the national conversation over child nutrition.

Nearly one in three kids in the country is obese or overweight, children's diets today score 55.9 out of 100.

Some school districts have removed flavored milk as part of efforts to reduce consumption of unhealthy drinks such as sugary soda. Such drinks are responsible for nearly half of sugar in kids' daily diet, and flavored milk represents only 3 percent, according to Godfrey.

But research has shown that when flavored milk is taken away, many students will not drink milk at all. A study of 58 elementary and secondary schools found that an average of 35 percent less milk gets consumed when students do not have the colored milk option.

The School Nutrition Association released their "State of School Nutrition 2011," Thursday, which found that 98 percent of all school districts nationwide offer fat-free, skim or 1% milk options and 95.4 percent offer flavored milk.

"Changes are huge because milk is so important and we sell probably 70 percent of our milk to students," said SNA President Elect Sandra Ford. "To take away that chocolate milk to those students would be devastating to a children's calcium intake, so we like that producers have responded by reducing the sugar themselves."

one of 18 agricultural "check off" programs, said Godfrey, meaning that all U.S. milk processors, excluding companies too small to qualify, are Congressionally mandated to pay into a marketing pool for the industry run

Nature’s Pharmacy Provides Visual Clues to Good Health

Before we were even born, nature was busy providing us with the essential ingredients we need to keep our bodies healthy and functioning at optimum levels. We have all heard about at least a few homegrown remedies that have been passed down from great-grandparents and grandparents to our own parents for curing ills. But we use what nature provides us to prevent maladies in ways other than applying such old adages as “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Not only does Mother Nature provide us with everything we need to stay healthy, but she also provides us with clues as to which parts of our bodies certain fruits and vegetables can best serve by simply observing their physical appearance. As an example, when looking at a sliced carrot you will note that the pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye, and as most of us already know, carrots promote eye health by greatly enhancing blood flow and improving overall eye function.

When it comes to matters of the heart, look at a tomato, which just like our hearts, is red and has four chambers. Research shows that tomatoes are loaded with lycopene, which is excellent for the blood and heart. Proponents of lycopene claim that it lowers the risk of heart disease, macular degenerative disease, and lipid oxidation, which is damage to normal fat molecules that can cause inflammation and disease. Lycopene is also known to lower LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and to enhance the body’s defenses against illness and diseases, including certain cancers, such as cancer of the lung, stomach, colon and rectum, breast, esophagus, prostate, cervix, mouth and pancreas.

Also of great benefit to the heart, are grapes. If you look closely, you will notice that grapes hang in a heart-shaped cluster, and that each grape looks like a blood cell. Coinciding with their appearance, grapes are said to be a profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

It is not just coincidence that a walnut looks like a little brain, having both left and right hemispheres, as well as upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even what appear to be wrinkles and folds on the walnut look just like the neo-cortex of the human brain. Studies have shown that eating walnuts can help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for improved brain function.

For improved bone health, celery, bok choy, and rhubarb not only look like bones, but these vegetables also specifically target bone strength. Diets lacking sufficient sodium will result in the body pulling sodium from the bones, which makes them weak. But these amazing vegetables are 23 percent sodium, just as bones are; which makes eating them an excellent way to replenish the skeletal sodium needs of the body. As a cure for ailments, the Chinese have known about the healing properties of Rhubarb for centuries, dating back to 2700 BC, when it was first cultivated in China for medicinal purposes.

For those who suffer from kidney problems, there is a good reason that kidney beans look just like a human kidney; as these dark red beans have been found to actually heal and help maintain kidney function. Although most of the items in nature’s pharmacy are more effective when eaten raw, cooking kidney beans is advised prior to using them in your favorite recipe
.

Women can improve their health with a walk down the produce aisle, where they can add to their grocery cart such items as avocadoes, eggplants, pears and olives. Looking just like the parts of the female body they target, these foods improve the health and function of the womb, ovaries and cervix. Research has shown that eating just one avocado per week balances a woman’s hormones, helps to shed unwanted birth weight, and promotes the prevention of cervical cancer.

A truly interesting and amazing fact is that it takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. Another surprising truth is that there are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods, even though modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them. For women hoping to conceive, the ovary-shaped olive should be on their plate to assist in promoting the health and function of the ovaries.

More good things for women’s health can be found in oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits that look just like mammary glands. All of these fruits assist the overall health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Men who are experiencing problems with sperm count can also benefit from nature’s pharmacy by eating figs. Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow, mimicking the part of the male body that they target by increasing the mobility and numbers of male sperm to help overcome male sterility.

If you are a diabetic or know someone who is, loading up on sweet potatoes is highly advisable. There is a good reason sweet potatoes look like a pancreas—they actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Last, but not least by any means, are onions and garlic, which are two mainstay staples of kitchens across the country. Onions look like the body’s cells, and research shows these pungent veggies help clear waste materials from cells throughout the body, including the tear ducts. Garlic does more than keep vampires away, it also helps to eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

The next time you are strolling through the produce section at your local grocery store, remember that you are in the middle of nature’s pharmacy—where good health comes in a broad variety of tastes and textures.

A woman's body melts,melts and melts like butter!!

A Chinese woman suffering from a rare disease, known for Doctors as "neurofibromatosis" .She became more like an alien creature.Tissues of her body are being eroded she even lost to live a normal life, which did not exceed 43 years.A dark colour has begung to appear on he skin at her twinties, which is in the twenty-year-old woman was not interested in this shift in the tissues of skin, and then began to lose their flexibility and interweave Rkhutea.

Scientists have observed the growth of tissues and they escalate is growing at 20 kilograms, where the women lost a long time to get treatment, the question remains: Is there a possible way to restore a woman's body intact.

Neurofibromatosis (usually abbreviated NF) is a genetic disorder in which nerve tissue grows to form tumors (ie, neurofibroma), which may be harmful or can cause serious damage by pressure on nerves and other tissues.

The disorder affects all neural cells of the summit (Schwann cells, melanocytes, and fibroblasts within Naoria).

The cellular elements of these species to reproduce excessively throughout the body and form tumors, and pigmented cells are abnormal, leading to skin pigmentation disorder.

Living With Insomnia: Get a Good Night's Sleep

Daytime Fatigue: The Cost of Insomnia

Most people know the dangers of drinking and driving, but think nothing of getting behind the wheel after a sleepless night. The daytime effect of no sleep can hinder your driving skills to the point where you're impaired the same as if you've had too much to drink.

According to experts, chronic insomnia affects one in 10 people. And while insomnia can affect your safety and the quality of life during the hours you're awake, it can also increase your risk for a variety of other health problems. In addition to causing daytime fatigue, insomnia increases your risk for other health problems, including:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Infections
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Pain
• Intestinal problems
• Early death

People with insomnia are twice as likely as well-rested people to have a car crash due to fatigue. They’re eight times more likely to have an accident at work. If they have an injury, insomnia can slow their recovery. In addition, people with insomnia are more likely to:

• Miss work
• Make bad decisions
• Take more risks
• Have trouble concentrating
• Be irritable
• Be depressed
• Eat foods high in calories

You Don’t Know What You’re Missing

Sleep affects our ability to think, react, remember, and solve problems. One study showed that people who slept six hours or fewer at night for two weeks did just as poorly on mental tests as people who hadn’t slept at all for two nights. The catch is that we may develop some tolerance to lack of sleep and aren’t aware how much our alertness and performance is really suffering.

“Fatigue” vs. “Sleepiness”

It’s important to distinguish insomnia-related daytime fatigue from excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The terms are often used interchangeably, even among medical researchers. There are distinct differences, however.

People with EDS feel very drowsy during the day. They’ll typically fall asleep during the day if they’re in a boring or sedentary situation. They might fall asleep while stopped at a stoplight or sitting in a waiting room. EDS is usually caused by sleep apnea, sedatives, or narcolepsy.

People with daytime fatigue don’t fall asleep during the day, but they are very tired. They struggle to get through a normal day’s activities. Symptoms of daytime fatigue include:

• Weariness, weakness, and/or depleted energy
• Lack of motivation
• Poor performance
• Memory problems
• Lack of productivity
• Prone to errors and mistakes
• Depression
• Low interest in being social

Fatigue is a more accurate description of what people with insomnia experience. Although they’re sleep deprived, they tend to feel more tired than sleepy. If you have insomnia, you might find it hard to nap. People with insomnia usually see a doctor because of fatigue and poor daytime functioning, not because they have trouble falling or staying asleep.

Put Fatigue to Bed

Your first step to getting rid of daytime fatigue is to figure out what’s causing it. In addition to insomnia, many other health problems can cause fatigue. These include other sleep disorders, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and chronic fatigue syndrome.



Fatigue is also a side effect of certain medications. Make an appointment with your doctor so that he or she can assess your symptoms. If you have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, tell the doctor. There are effective treatments for insomnia including cognitive behavioral therapy and medication. These can greatly improve how you feel and function during the day.

Is Calcium Test the Best Way to Check Heart Risk?

Study Shows CAC Testing May Help Identify Patients Who Could Benefit From Statin Drugs

An imaging test that identifies calcium in the coronary arteries of the heart is a more accurate indicator of heart attack risk in seemingly healthy people than a widely used test that measures inflammation, a new study shows.

Researchers say coronary artery calcium (CAC) testing can better identify people with normal cholesterol who could benefit from treatment with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs than the C-reactive protein (CRP) blood test.

Statins were once prescribed only to people with high cholesterol, but that changed following the publication of a practice-changing study known as the JUPITER trial in 2006.

JUPITER found that patients with normal cholesterol benefited from treatment with statins when they had elevated levels of inflammation, as measured by CRP.

Patients in the study with normal cholesterol and elevated CRP who took statins had fewer heart attacks than patients with the same characteristics who did not take the drugs.

Based on the findings, it was estimated that an additional 6.5 million adults in the U.S. might benefit from treatment with statins.

But the new study suggests that far fewer patients would actually benefit.

The study included 950 participants in another trial followed for an average of just under six years who also had normal cholesterol and elevated CRP levels.

All the participants underwent CT scans to look for evidence of calcium in the coronary arteries, which is an indicator of possible plaque buildup and heart disease.
Checking for Heart Risk With CAC Testing

Even though all of the study participants would have been candidates for statins under the JUPITER guidelines, CAC testing indicated that about half had a very low risk for heart attack or stroke.

Three out of four heart attacks, strokes, or other blood-clot-related events over the follow-up period occurred in the 25% of patients with the highest CAC scores, and almost all heart attacks (95%) occurred in people with some measurable level of calcium in their coronary arteries.

"The JUPITER trial suggested that all of the people in our patient population should be treated with statins, but our analysis suggests that half are at very low risk," cardiologist and study researcher Michael J. Blaha, MD, of Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Preventive Cardiology Center,

Blaha believes CAC imaging will prove to be a better test for assessing cardiovascular risk than CRP in generally healthy patients for whom treatment decisions are unclear.

He adds that a trial like JUPITER is needed to determine if patients treated with statins based on CAC findings have fewer heart attacks and strokes.

Cardiologist Robert Bonow, MD, who is a past president of the American Heart Association (AHA), says until such a trial is done it will not be clear if coronary calcium screening influences treatment and changes outcomes.

The AHA does not recommend coronary artery calcium screening for patients with a low or high risk of heart disease, but it concludes that the test may be of use in average-risk patients who are not having symptoms such as chest pain.

Bonow, who is a professor of medicine at Chicago's Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, says one potential downside to the screening test is that it might lead to even more testing and potentially unnecessary invasive treatments like angioplasty.

"It is human nature to want to do something about a blockage when it is found, even if that blockage is not causing any symptoms," he says.

Blaha believes this concern is unfounded.

"CAC should be used to establish risk, but it should play no part in driving more testing," he says, adding that angioplasty should be considered only in patients with chest pain or other symptoms indicative of heart disease.

Whey Protein May Beat Casein After Workouts

Amino Acid Leucine Also Boosts Muscle Recovery After Exercise, Researchers Find

Eating or drinking protein after exercise can help muscle recovery and growth, experts agree. What's still debated is which proteins work best.

Whey protein appears to be better than casein protein, according to new research that looked at exercisers doing resistance training.

"A whey protein shake would probably be better than a casein protein shake," says researcher Daniel W.D. West, a PhD student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

And a separate study shows that protein that includes a higher concentration of the amino acid leucine works better than protein with lower concentrations. It looked exercisers who did aerobic workouts.

"It appears more leucine is beneficial in the context of muscle recovery," says researcher Stefan M. Pasiakos, PhD, a research physiologist with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.
Why Protein After Exercise?

As you exercise, muscles undergo a cycle of breakdown during the workout followed by remodeling and growth afterward.

Recently, high-protein drinks have become more popular. They are used during and after exercise to get the best muscle growth and recovery.

Researchers have been studying which combination of proteins is most helpful.
Protein After Resistance Exercise

West and his colleagues wanted to see if one large dose of whey protein taken right after a workout would be better than several smaller doses, spaced out over time.

The smaller doses of whey taken over a longer time period made the protein behave more like another protein, casein, he says. Both whey are casein are found in milk.

''Casein is digested slowly," West

"whereas whey is digested very rapidly."

They used the smaller doses of whey to mimic the casein. So the one-time dose of whey was compared to several doses of whey.

The researchers gave both the one-time dose and the repeated doses to eight men, average age 22, during two different workouts. The men took the protein after doing eight sets of eight to 10 repetitions on a leg extension machine.

''What we did in this study is compare whey -- 25 grams -- like [what is in] a typical protein shake -- and compare it to 25 grams of whey, but ingested in little 2.5 gram shots.''

Taking the large dose right after the workout worked better. The amino acid concentrations in the blood were higher after one big dose.

West speculates as to why. "Whey is high in leucine and the fact that it is rapidly digested means there is a rapid appearance of essential amino acids, including leucine," he says. Those amino acids, he says, act as a signal to elevate muscle protein synthesis -- crucial for ongoing growth, repair, and maintenance of muscles.

Protein After Aerobic Exercise

In the second study, Pasiakos and his team also looked at seven men and one woman. All were active duty military. The average age was 24.

On two occasions, they rode an exercise bike for an hour at moderate intensity.

During both workouts, they drank a high-protein beverage with 10 grams of protein. The concentration of the amino acid leucine in the drink was different for the two sessions. "One drink had about 19% leucine, the other 35%."

The muscle response to the higher concentration was 33% better, he says.
Protein After Exercise: Advice for Exercisers

The findings should be repeated in other research, says Felicia Stoler, RD, a nutritionist and exercise physiologist. She reviewed the study findings but was not involved in either study.

The findings, she says, are not a reason to overdo protein after exercise. "Some protein for repair is good but not excess. I always have to caution about protein. People think they need way more than they do."

daily protein for endurance and strength-trained athletes ranges from 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight. A 120-pound person would need about 60 grams or more. A 150-pound person would need 75 grams or more.

A serving of whey protein powder has about 23 grams of protein.

Vitamins May Lower Risk of Birth Complication

Study Shows Daily Multivitamin May Cut Risk of Preterm Births, Low Birth Weight, Neural Tube Birth Defects

Women who take a multivitamin every day around the time of conception appear to have a reduced risk for delivering low-birth-weight babies, a new study shows.

Daily multivitamin use was also associated with a lower preterm birth risk among normal-weight, but not overweight, women.

Since about half of pregnancies are unplanned, taking a multivitamin every day could prove to be an important intervention for improving birth outcomes, especially among women who are not actively trying to conceive a child, study leader Janet M. Catov, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, tells

“Just like folic acid supplementation, multivitamin use immediately before and after conception may be a simple strategy for lowering pregnancy risk,” she says.
Vitamins and Birth Risk

In earlier research, Catov and colleagues found that taking a multivitamin in the months before and after conception decreased the risk for developing the pregnancy-related condition preeclampsia, which can lead to stroke and even death.

That study and the newly published one included close to 36,000 Danish women enrolled in a national birth registry who were asked about their use of multivitamins in the weeks before and after conception.

About 60% of the women reported taking multivitamins during this period.

After adjusting for risk factors for preterm birth -- including smoking, obesity, and age -- normal-weight and underweight women who took multivitamins had a 16% reduction in preterm delivery risk compared to women who did not take the supplements.

Catov says it is not clear why a similar association was not seen in overweight women.

Multivitamin use in the weeks before conception was associated with a 10% to 20% reduction in low birth weight, regardless of the weight of the mother-to-be. Taking multivitamins regularly in the weeks after conception was associated with a 33% reduction in risk.
More Than Just Folic Acid

The benefits of taking the vitamin-B supplement folic acid around the time of conception and eating folate-rich foods are well established. The vitamin is known to reduce the risk for preterm births, low birth weight, and neural tube birth defects.

Most multivitamins contain folic acid, but the researcher says other nutrients in the vitamins -- including zinc, and vitamins C and E -- may also contribute to better birth outcomes.

No evidence of harm associated with multivitamin use was seen in the study, but Catov says the researchers will continue to study this.

“We need to look more closely at the potential for adverse outcomes before recommending multivitamin use as a strategy for lowering pregnancy risk,” she says.

Ob-gyn Jennifer Wu, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, already recommends multivitamins that contain calcium to her patients when they tell her they are trying to conceive.

“Taking a multivitamin is a good habit to get into because many women have nutritional deficiencies that we want to correct, ideally before conception,” she tells
“It is not just about pregnancy. Many younger women don’t get enough calcium and these women are missing out on bone building that will help protect them in their 60s and 70s.”

FDA Approves New Drug for Lymphoma

Adcetris Treats 2 Types of Lymphoma, Including Hodgkin's Lymphoma

The FDA has approved the drug Adcetris to treat two types of lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and a rare type of the disease known as systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).

It's the first new drug approved to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma in nearly 35 years and the first lymphoma drug specifically indicated for ALCL.

"Early clinical data suggest that patients who received Adcetris for Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic lymphoma experienced a significant response" to the drug, says Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a news release.

Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, a network of lymph nodes connected by vessels that transport lymph fluid. Symptoms of lymphoma include swollen lymph nodes, fever, weight loss, and fatigue.

The two main types of lymphomas are Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that nearly 9,000 new cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma will be diagnosed in 2011 and about 1,300 people will die from the disease.

Systemic ALCL is a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that can appear in several parts of the body including the lymph nodes, skin, bones, and soft tissues.
How Adcetris Works

Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) combines an antibody and drug that allows the antibody to direct the drug to a target on lymphoma cells known as CD30.

The drug is designed to be used in people with Hodgkin's lymphoma whose disease has progressed after treatment with bone marrow stem cell transplant or those who have had two chemotherapy treatments and are not eligible for transplant.

In people with ALCL, the drug is approved for treatment in people whose disease has progressed after one prior chemotherapy treatment.

The FDA based its approval on a study of 102 people with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Seventy-three percent of those treated with Adcetris experienced either a complete or partial cancer shrinkage response to the drug for an average of about six months.

In people with ALCL, the drug was evaluated in a study involving 58 people. Eighty-six percent of those who took Adcetris had a full or partial response to the drug for an average of more than 12 months.

The most common side effects associated with Adcetris were a decrease in disease-fighting white blood cells, nerve damage, fatigue, nausea, anemia, upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, fever, cough, vomiting, and low blood platelet levels.

The FDA says pregnant women should be aware that Adcetris might cause harm to their unborn child.
Adcetris is marketed by Seattle Genetics of Bothell, Wash.

Healthy Behaviors Will Help You Live Longer: CDC

Don't smoke, eat healthy meals, exercise regularly and limit alcohol, researchers say

A healthy lifestyle helps you live longer, a new U.S. study confirms.

Researchers looked at long-term data from Americans aged 17 and older and found that those who embraced four healthy behaviors -- not smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity and avoiding excessive alcohol use -- were 63 percent less likely to die early from any cause than those with none of those healthy habits.

Not smoking offered the most protection from dying young.

Compared to those who didn't engage in any of the healthy behaviors, those who practiced all four healthy habits were 66 percent less likely to die early from cancer, 65 percent less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and 57 percent less likely to die early from other causes.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said that 47.5 percent of the people in the study had never smoked, 51 percent were moderate drinkers (no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women), 40.2 percent got enough physical activity, and 39.3 percent had a healthy diet.

Rates of healthy behaviors were about the same for men and women. Mexican-Americans had more healthy behaviors than whites or blacks.

The findings are from an analysis of data in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Mortality Study, which included people recruited from 1988 to 1994 and followed through 2006.

While studies show that only a small percentage of Americans have adopted all four of these healthy behaviors, the number of smokers has decreased significantly, the researchers noted in a CDC news release.

Health care providers and public health officials should encourage people to adopt these healthy behaviors, the researchers said.

Don't Skip This Year's Flu Shot: CDC

Formulation meant to protect against seasonal flu and H1N1

The 2011-12 flu vaccine protects against seasonal flu and H1N1, just like last year's, but that doesn't mean it's OK to skip your yearly flu shot, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn.

"All people aged 6 months and older should be vaccinated," said Dr. Carolyn Bridges, an associate director for adult immunization at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Protection wanes over the course of a year, so "even people who got a flu vaccine last year should get one again to make sure they are optimally protected," she said.

The fact that the vaccines are identical does change things slightly for children aged 6 months to 8 years. In general, children in this age range should get two doses of the flu shot administered at least four weeks apart, but they will only need one dose of the 2011-2012 vaccine if they received at least one dose in 2010-2011.

Children in that age range who did not get the flu vaccine last year need two doses this season.

The vaccine formulation was recommended by the World Health Organization, and six manufacturers have been chosen to produce and distribute the vaccines for the United States.

The brand names and manufacturers of the vaccines are: Afluria, CSL Limited; Fluarix, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals; FluLaval, ID Biomedical Corporation; FluMist, MedImmune Vaccines Inc.; Fluvirin, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited; and Fluzone, Fluzone High-Dose and Fluzone Intradermal, Sanofi Pasteur Inc.

New this year is an intradermal flu vaccine, Fluzone Intradermal, which will be available for adults aged 18 through 64 years. This vaccine is delivered into the skin, rather than the muscle, using a very small needle, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved it in May.

Last month, the CDC said the targeted flu strains for 2011-2012 are:

• A/California/7/09 (H1N1)-like virus (pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus
• A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus
• B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus

Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, an epidemiologist at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, stressed the importance of getting the 2011-2012 flu vaccine. "If we are looking on an individual basis, we can't tell how quickly antibodies will decay after the vaccine, but we do know that immune response will drop over the course of a year," she said. "You can't count on that vaccine protecting you for a second season."

Thin Children Have More Energy-Burning 'Brown Fat'

Teens with the lowest body mass index have more of this 'good' fat, study shows

Brown fat, also known as "good fat," burns more energy in active, thinner children and may help fight against obesity and diabetes, according to a new study.

Unlike white fat, which stores energy and appears to promote inflammation, brown fat actually burns energy.

These findings could help develop medications as well as drug-free ways to boost brown fat activity in overweight children, according to researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center and Children's Hospital Boston.

Being able to evaluate brown fat's activity through non-invasive PET imaging "may possibly provide insights into the treatment of childhood obesity," the study's first author, Dr. Laura Drubach, of the Children's Hospital program in nuclear medicine and molecular i

maging, said in a Joslin news release.

After conducting PET scans on 172 study participants ranging in age from 5 to 21 years, the researchers detected active brown fat in 44 percent of the children. They pointed out that boys and girls had roughly the same amount.

Children aged 13 to 15 years old had the highest levels of brown fat and brown fat activity. Those with the lowest body mass index (the thinnest teens) showed the most energy-burning activity in their "good fat."

The study authors said the inverse relationship between body mass index and levels of brown fat activity -- and the increase in brown fat activity from childhood into adolescence -- suggests "good fat" may play a significant role in children's metabolism, energy balance and weight regulation.

And contrary to previous studies that showed brown fat in adults was more active in cold weather, the researchers found outdoor temperatures had no effect on brown fat in children.

The researchers concluded that their findings could help develop ways to combat obesity by boosting brown fat activity in children, such as lowering indoor temperatures in homes where obese children live. They noted, however, that more research is needed to explain whether thin children have more brown fat because they are thin or whether having more brown fat makes them thin.

"That's the billion dollar question," concluded the study's senior author, Dr. Aaron Cypess, assistant investigator and staff physician at Joslin. "But we do know that brown fat is a core component of pediatric and likely adult metabolism," he said in the news release.

Overweight Women Believe Loved Ones Judge Them More Harshly Than They Do

Obesity carries health risks, but the stigma associated with it also causes suffering, researchers say

Overweight women may still feel stigmatized about their weight even if their family and friends don't judge them negatively, according to a new study.

The findings suggest that mass media marketing may have more influence than social circles on women's feelings of weight-related stigma, Arizona State University social science researchers said.

"We found that women generally missed the mark when estimating what their friends and family thought about their weight," study co-author and cultural anthropologist Daniel Hruschka said in a university news release. "Women were a bit more attuned to the views of close friends and family, but even then, they generally perceived the judgments of others inaccurately."

The stu

dy, included 112 women aged 18 to 45 in Phoenix and 823 of their family members and friend

Obesity is a major medical and public health issue, but the stigma associated with being overweight also causes suffering, the researchers said.

"Fat is understood culturally to represent profound personal failing and the attendant moral messages attached to it include laziness, lack of self-control and being undesirable or even repulsive," the authors wrote. "So powerful and salient are these anti-fat messages that some Americans say they would rather die years sooner or be completely blind than be thought of as obese."

Because of the strength of those messages, the researchers said that urging family and friends to be less judgmental may do little to ease the stigma.

"The question this leaves us with is: 'If it isn't the opinions of friends and family that make us feel so bad about being overweight, then what does?' What seems most likely is that media and pop cultural messages are so pervasive and powerful that even the most loving support of those closest to us provides only limited protection against them," lead author Alexandra Brewis, a biological anthropologist and director of ASU's Center for Global Health, said in the news release.

Test for Calcium Buildup May Spot Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

Scan may help predict which patients deemed at moderate risk would benefit from statins: study

A calcium test performed with the assistance of a CT scanner seems to provide insight into the likelihood that certain patients at moderate risk of heart problems will have a heart attack or stroke, researchers say.

The test to detect coronary calcium can help physicians determine whether the patients should take cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce their cardiovascular risks, the study authors explained.

At issue are people who fall into the middle area between those who are at high risk of heart problems due to factors like high blood pressure and those who are at low risk. People in the so-called "gray zone" may have risk factors, such as being overweight or having high blood sugar levels, but they aren't considered in great danger.

The question is: Should those in the middle range of risk -- an estimated 6 million people in the United States -- be prescribed the anticholesterol drugs known as statins, which often work well but have side effects?

The study

sought to determine whether a test of calcium in the arteries is more helpful at estimating risk than a blood test that examines levels of C-reactive protein.

The researchers tracked 2,083 people for six years. They found that 13 percent of those with the highest levels of calcium in their arteries had a heart attack or stroke during that time period. But just 2 percent of those with high levels of C-reactive protein -- and no calcium buildup -- had a heart attack or stroke.

Not everyone needs a calcium test, said lead study author Dr. Michael J. Blaha, a cardiology fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. However, he stated in a Hopkins news release, "we believe looking for calcification in coronary vessels in certain patients makes sense in order to predict who may benefit from statin therapy, because the test gets right to the heart of the disease we want to treat."

"Our data support recent American Heart Association guidelines, which say it is reasonable to order a coronary calcium scan for adults who are considered to be at intermediate risk of a heart attack over the next 10 years. A high coronary calcium score would indicate that statin therapy would likely be a useful strategy to lower that person's cardiovascular risk," study co-investigator Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at Johns Hopkins University, said in the news release.

Commenting on the study, cardiologist Dr. Vijay Nambi, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, said that most insurance companies don't cover the calcium tests, which cost in the range of $200-$400. "Sometimes people have to pay for it out of pocket," said Nambi, who thinks it's a useful test. "It helps physicians in a lot of respects."

Test results can also help patients make decisions when they're worried about taking anticholesterol drugs, Nambi added.

Ground turkey salmonella toll climbs to 111

At least 111 people in 31 states have been sickened with salmonella in an ongoing outbreak of food poisoning tied to ground turkey manufactured by meat giant Cargill. One person has died.

The new total reflects cases reported between Feb. 27 and Aug. 9 with both an original outbreak strain of salmonella and a second closely related strain, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States with the highest number of victims include Texas, with 15 cases, Illinois with 14 cases and Michigan with 12 cases.

On Aug. 3, Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. of Springdale, Ark., recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey manufactured and sold in forms from 10-pound "chubs" to ground turkey patties. Retailers include grocers Kroger, Safeway and Giant Eagle, among others. For a full list of recalled products

The meat appears to be contaminated with the original outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg and a second, closely related strain identified through so-called genetic fingerprint tests. The strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to several common antibiotics, making infections more difficult to treat. Of 73 patients who've provided complete information, 27 people, or more than a third, have been hospitalized because of their infections, CDC said.

Patients range in age from younger than 1 to 89, with a median age of 21. The person who died was a woman from Sacramento, Calif., who was older than 65, state health officials said.

Stores nationwide continue to recall the affected items, but the meat products main remain in consumers' homes. CDC officials urge consumers not to eat the products.

Consumers should return suspect turkey products to grocery stores or discard the meat, CDC suggests. People should use good food handling techniques, including washing hands and surfaces with hot, soapy water. Cooking ground turkey to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the bacteria.

1 in 10 US kids has ADHD, study finds

Increase in diagnoses due to more awareness, rise of cases in minority and poor children

Nearly one in 10 children in the United States is being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a new government study.

That’s an increase of more than 2 percent in ADHD diagnoses compared to a decade ago, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

The new findings don’t necessarily mean that more kids are developing ADHD, said the study’s lead author Dr. Lara Akinbami, a medical officer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

“This change is reflected in numerous national data sets,” Akinbami explained. “It’s robust and real. But we can’t say whether it’s a true increase in prevalence or just better detection.”

For her part, Akinbami suspects that health professionals and parents are just more tuned in to the diagnosis. “It probably indicates that children have a better opportunity to get diagnosed now, rather than a huge change in the numbers of children with ADHD,” she said.

The new data are from a national survey that included approximately 40,000 households per year, Akinbami explained. From that survey, researchers collected information on 8,000 to 12,000 children each year in a nationally representative sample.

Akinbami and her colleagues found that ADHD diagnoses rose almost equally in boys and girls between 1998 and 2009. Diagnoses in girls climbed from 3.6 percent to 5.5 percent, as compared to 9.9 percent to 12.3 percent in boys.

The biggest surprise for Akinbami and her colleagues was the rise in diagnoses in minority and poor children, who, with the exception of Mexican children, have more than caught up with the rest of the population.

One finding that has the researchers puzzled is the continued low rate of ADHD in the Western states, where the diagnosis has ranged from 5.4 percent to 5.8 percent over the last decade.

“I really don’t know quite what to make of it,” Akinbami said. “It does match trends for several other chronic conditions which have lower prevalence in the west. Also, it may be related to a greater proportion of children being made up of Mexican children who have lower prevalence rates.”

An ADHD expert, Dr. Bradley Peterson, agreed that the new findings most likely indicate an increase in diagnosis rather than an increase in the actual occurrence of the disorder.

“A lot of things will affect diagnosis,” said Peterson, chief of child psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center. “That can be anything from an increasing awareness of the condition to increasing access to health care – doctors can’t diagnose a child with ADHD if the child doesn’t get to see the doctor.”

Still, Peterson said, other studies that have rigorously examined the issue have determined that the actual prevalence of ADHD is somewhere between 3 to 5 percent.

So why are we seeing such large numbers of children diagnosed?

Some of the increase may also be due to our changing expectations for children’s behavior, Peterson said.

“We are increasingly more academically, cerebrally, and intellectually focused than we were two, three, five decades ago,” he explained. “And our requirements for kids to do well in school – having to sit still, stay focused, and attuned – have changed over time. I think the tolerance and threshold for saying a particular child is too fidgety, too distracted, has likely changed over time, too.”

So, today we may be seeing kids with milder symptoms getting a diagnosis they wouldn’t have received ten years ago, Peterson said. And, there may be some children being diagnosed with ADHD who have another issue and don’t actually have the disorder.

Ultimately, Peterson said, treatment for ADHD will help even those with milder symptoms. And the medications “have a good margin of safety,” he said. “So they are unlikely to do a great deal of harm if they are given for an incorrect diagnosis.”

Single people may die younger, new study finds

Single men could die about a decade earlier than married men. Single women don't fare much better, new research finds

It's great being single, isn't it? You get to sleep on either side of the bed; you never have to wait for the bathroom; you've got all that "me time." Except, well, you may be one of the unlucky singles who keel over about one decade earlier than your married friends

Although many studies point to the fact that singles just don’t fare as well in terms of health and longevity compared to the married, this new research shows “just how poorly the singles do,” explains lead author David Roelfs, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Louisville, Ky.

The researchers analyzed the data from some 90 previous studies, which included about 500 million people, and compared the risk of mortality for singles from those studies — defined as those who never married — to that of a married group, excluding those who are divorced or widowed.

The researchers found the risk of death was 32 percent higher across a lifetime for single men compared to married men. Single women face a 23 percent higher mortality risk, compared to married women.

In real numbers, “under the worse-case scenario,” single men could die about eight to 17 years earlier than their married male friends, says Roelfs, citing that nearly all of the data was gleaned from studies conducted in the last 60 years. Women don't fare much better. They could die seven to 15 years earlier than their married female counterparts.

The researchers speculate their longevity findings could be tied to poorer health benefits, meager public assistance and less income for singles. And some singles may not have the same social support that married couples have “by default,” explains Roelfs.

“If you’re a couple, a spouse may be after you to eat better and go the doctor,” he says. “Sometimes it’s just easier to be healthier and less of a risk taker when you’re married.” Though single people can get some of that same support from parents, siblings and friends, he says.

There is some good news for the spouseless: Singles who survive their younger years actually fare well over a lifespan. The relative risk of death for singles aged 30 to 39-years-old was 128 percent greater than among married people of the same age, but decreased to about 16 percent for single 70-year-olds when compared to 70-year olds in wedded bliss, according to the study.

And other research points to the fact that although the married still have better health than singles, the mortality gap between singles and the married is closing, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

So before all single ladies (and dudes) run screaming to the nearest justice of the peace to hook up, it's worth noting that, while the new research looked at mortality risk from a very large group, the study results are about “probabilities, not certainties,” says Roelfs. “The last thing we want is for some single person to say ‘Oh my God, I’m going to die young.’”

Still, not everyone accepts the premise that wedlock imparts any special healing effects.

“I think there is a marriage bias,” says social psychologist Bella DePaulo, author of "Singled Out: How Singles are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After." Too many studies, she believes, look at singles versus married people, without counting the divorced or widowed among the married cohort, skewing the numbers.

“You can’t say that single people would live longer if they got married, based on this research, because the researcher is only counting the people who got married and are still currently married.

Divorced and widowed people got married at one time, too,” says DePaulo, a visiting professor in social psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Of course, the perfect study to answer the thorny question of whether marriage really does impart health benefits would be, well, unethical: randomly assigning people to stay single or to get married, and then following them throughout their lives.

Then there’s the question of the quality of marriage — good, bad, indifferent — and its effect on longevity.

“I don’t think you need a study to tell people that a lousy marriage is going to be bad for someone’s health,” Roelfs says.

New Drug May Put the Squeeze on Heart Failure

In early trials, medication appears safer than current treatments, researchers say

An experimental heart failure drug may change the way doctors treat this vexing condition, researchers say.

Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, occurs when the heart can no longer pump strongly enough for blood to the reach the rest of the body. About 5.7 million people in the United States have heart failure, and 300,000 people die from it each year, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. While no cure exists, treatments focus on improving quality of life and helping people live longer.

A new drug -- omecamtiv mecarbil, which is being developed by Cytokinetics Inc. in San Francisco -- may someday offer an alternative to current treatments, according to the results of two clinical trials

"It improves heart function in a completely new and unique manner," said Dr. John R. Teerlink, a cardiologist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and author of one of the new studies.

"The drug directly increases the activation of certain heart muscle proteins, effectively recruiting 'more hands on the rope' with each heartbeat," he said. "By improving the efficiency and performance of the heart, it is our hope that patients with heart failure will actually feel better with fewer symptoms of fatigue and shortness of breath, and perhaps even live longer," he said.

However, it is too early to draw any sweeping conclusions, as the drug -- called a cardiac myosin activator -- is in the early stages of clinical trials.

The currently available heart failure drugs, such as milrinone (Primacor) and dobutamine (Dobutrex), indirectly increase heart function, and can cause dangerous, even deadly, heart rhythm abnormalities, Teerlink said. "These drugs are 'necessary evils' because they are the only currently available pharmacologic means to increase heart function," he said.

Teerlink's study involved 34 healthy men who received the drug intravenously once a week for one month. It was designed to determine the optimal dosing regimen for the new drug.

The other study, conducted at the University of Hull in East Yorkshire, England, marks the first time that the agent was studied in people with heart failure. The researchers said omecamtiv mecarbil safely improved cardiac function in 45 people with heart failure who were already receiving standard treatment.

Dr. Ronald Zolty, director of the heart failure program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, is cautiously optimistic about the new heart failure drug.

"It is a promising drug, but we have been down this road before," he said.

"When you have heart failure, the pumping action of the heart is weak, so not enough blood gets to the body, and you feel short of breath, sleep a lot and your kidneys don't work," Zolty explained.

Existing drugs do improve the "squeeze," but they also increase mortality, he said.

Dr. Michele Hamilton, director of the heart failure program at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, agreed with Zolty on the need for a new heart failure drug.

"The major problem we face in treating heart failure is how can we make the heart squeeze harder," she said. To date, no medications have proven effective or safe, and as a result, doctors focus on getting rid of excess fluid buildup and reducing stress on the heart, she said.

Medications that make the heart squeeze harder put more stress on the heart, and the patients die sooner. "It is akin to whipping a tired horse as it goes uphill," she said.

"It's great to see a new medication being tested and developed," Hamilton said. But, "we are far away from the finish line."

Photo: Baby born with TWO heads in indonesia

Spokesman said that a medical hospital in Indonesia's Riau Islands in western Indonesia has witnessed the birth of a rare case of a child with two heads.

The director of the hospital that conducted the process of birth, the child was basically a Siamese twins.

Explaining that it is impossible to separate the child's heads, which are on the same body.He pointed out that the child, who has not been named is now in a good health, explaining that the child has two hands, two feet ,two kidneys, two lungs and two hearts one is small and one is normal size, and the length of the child 43 cm and weighs 3200 grams.

He added that a number of the inhabitants of the Riau Islands rushed to the hospital to see the rare child who currently is being taken care of by doctors at the hospital.

U.S. Women Using Dangerous Weight-Loss Pill 2 Years After Recall

Pai You Guo supplement contains drugs banned in U.S. for increasing stroke, cancer, heart attack risk

Many women in the United States continue to use a Chinese weight-loss supplement that's been recalled due to dangerous ingredients, a new study indicates.

Pai You Guo contains the pharmaceuticals sibutramine and phenolphthalein, both of which are banned in the United States because they increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of Pai You Guo in 2009 but it appears to have had little effect on the number of women using the weight-loss product, this study suggests.

Harvard Medical School researchers surveyed more than 550 women who were born in Brazil and live in greater Boston and found that nearly one-quarter of them have used or currently use Pai You Guo. Most of the women using the supplement have experienced side effects such as insomnia, palpitations, fainting and addiction to the product.

The researchers also found that women who used the tainted supplement were three times more likely to purchase it in local stores than over the Internet.

"A strikingly high number of women are using weight-loss supplements marketed as all-natural products that are actually a dangerous mix of banned pharmaceuticals. This could have real public health consequences," study author Dr. Pieter Cohen, a general internist at Cambridge Health Alliance and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a health alliance news release.

"Even when the supplements are known to be hazardous, the FDA lacks the ability to remove them from store shelves," he noted.

Until there are stronger regulations in the United States, people should not use any supplement that claims to help them lose weight, the researchers said.