Category Archives: Cancer News

How gold nanoparticles can help fight ovarian cancer

The discovery is detailed in the current online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "This study identifies a novel mechanism that protects ovarian cancer cells by preventing the cell death or apoptosis which should occur when they encounter positively charged nanoparticles," say the senior authors of this study, Priyabrata Mukherjee, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular biologist, and Y. S. Prakash, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and physiologist…

5 reasons the government is not prepared to handle ObamaCare

The recent turn of events with the Obama Administration and a lack of transparency are a significant red flag to the impending catastrophe of how the proposed changes under the Affordable Care Act could be the next ensuing disaster. 1. Is the IRS capable of fairly enforcing penalties? A major part of the Affordable Care Act is providing insurance for those who don’t have it, or can’t afford it.  The assumption, originally, was that savings would be obtained by coaxing individuals to buy insurance sooner, and prevent the rising cost of catastrophic illness. The hope was that individuals would feel the pain of a financial penalty, enforced by the IRS, and hence opt-in for insurance as opposed to paying the fine.   But recent events, and the follies of the IRS, in using their authority to overstep the boundaries of fairness and jurisdiction, should cause concern.  How effective and unbiased can the IRS truly be in accurately indentifying those individuals who have not complied with the law and enforcing the penalties? …

Babies who share bed with parents 5 times more likely to die of cot death

Babies sharing beds with their parents face a five-fold risk of dying of cot death, even if their parents are not smokers, new research shows. The increased risk of death extends to babies previously thought to be at low risk because they are breastfed and the mother has not taken alcohol or drugs, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal Open. The findings come after 1472 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) cases and 4679 control cases from Australasia, the U.K. and Europe were analyzed in the largest ever study of cot death. The SIDS rate would plummet if parents avoided bed sharing and public healthy messages were more forceful about the dangers for babies under three months, the authors, led by Professor Robert Carpenter, said. “Eighty-eight percent of the deaths that occurred while bed sharing would probably not have occurred had the baby been placed on its back in a cot by the parents' bed,’’ the authors concluded. The risk of SIDs while bed sharing decreased as the baby gets older. Bed sharing has increased “markedly’’ over the last decade, the study found. Parents who endorse the practice are active on the Internet and Facebook. Murdoch University associate professor Catherine Fetherson said research shows between 30 and 50 percent of parents share a bed with their babies at some time. She believes a blanket message against bed sharing is driving parents underground. “They are continuing to do it, even though people are being warned against it and so what is happening is they are shutting down all communication with health professionals,’’ she said. Click for more from news.com.au.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/babies-who-share-bed-with-parents-5-times-more-likely-to-die-cot-death/

Sleep-deprived teen drivers more likely to crash

Too little sleep increases the risk of car crashes for young drivers, a new study confirms. In the study, drivers ages 17 to 24 who reported sleeping six or fewer hours per night were about 20 percent more likely to be involved in a car crash over a two-year period, compared with those who slept more than six hours a night. Car crashes among the sleep-deprived were more likely to occur between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. than at other hours. The findings held even after the researchers took into account factors that affect people's risk of a car crash, such as age, the number of driving hours per week, risky driving behavior such as speeding and a history of car crashes. Sleep deprivation is known to be a risk factor for car crashes it's estimated that drowsy driving is responsible for 20 percent of all car crashes in the United States, the researchers say. However, most studies to date have not focused on young people. Young drivers should be a focus of education efforts to prevent drowsy driving “because this group experiences more impairment in alertness, mood and physical performance compared with older age groups with similar sleep deprivation,” the researchers said. The new study involved more than 19,000 young, newly licensed drivers living in New South Wales, Australia, who answered questions about their sleep habits, including how many hours they slept on weeknights and weekends. Researchers then tracked the participants for two years, and obtained police reports to document car crashes. Among drivers who reported getting six or fewer hours of sleep a night, 9.4 percent were involved in a crash, compared with 6.9 percent of those who reported more than six hours of sleep a night. The new findings “may help increase awareness of the impact of reduced sleep hours on crash risk and highlight subgroups of young drivers and times of day for targeted intervention,” the researchers write in the May 20 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers noted that participants were only asked about their sleep habits once during the study, and the exact number of hours participants slept on the day before they were involved in a crash is not known. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience.Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/sleep-deprived-teen-drivers-more-likely-to-crash/

Swine virus confirmed in Iowa, Indiana hog herds

Farms in two of the nation's leading pork producing states have tested positive for the potentially fatal porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), U.S. pork industry veterinarian official said Monday. Three farms in Iowa and one Indiana operation have confirmed cases of the virus, said Dr Lisa Becton, director of swine health information and research for the National Pork Board. The cases in Iowa were located on farms “all across the state, not in one specific area,” Becton said. PEDV does not pose a food safety or health risk to humans and the pork is safe eat. Other animals cannot contract the swine-only virus. Still, this marks the first time PEDV had been found in the United States, and poises yet another challenge for hog farms still recovering from record-high feed costs from last summer's historic drought. “The severity of the outbreak is not yet known, but we're hoping to have a better assessment soon,” Becton told Reuters. Iowa is the nation's leading hog producer with more than 20 million hogs and Indiana is No. 5 with 3.65 million, according to USDA. Agriculture Department officials are pulling together an agricultural epidemiologic survey, and plan to send the questionnaire out to swine veterinarians in the coming days, to try to determine how the virus was introduced into the nation's pork production chain and see how it spread, Becton said. Swine veterinarians across the U.S. are collecting samples from pork farms that have reported possible cases and sending them in for testing at National Veterinary Service Laboratories and other sites. Some veterinarians are also sending in samples of animal feed for testing, to see whether the virus was spread that way, said Dr. Keith Roehr, Colorado's state veterinarian. “There's a lot of biosecurity and prevention measures in place that prevent the spread of disease. That's what's so puzzling in this case. To be in different states, and to have crossed between different swine operations and between different owners, all of which are painstakingly kept separate to prevent the spread of disease - that's unusual,” said Roehr. There is no cure or vaccine for PEDV, which causes diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration in hogs and could result in deaths - particularly in baby pigs whose immune system can be weak. The virus is similar in some ways to transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) where mortality can range from 50 percent to 100 percent among pigs that are a week old or younger, Becton said. Older pigs can be affected but will recover in a matter of a few weeks after contracting the disease. There is no effective treatment for PEDV other than good care, warm housing and adequate water to combat dehydration. Strict bio-security and quarantine measures can help to slow the spread of the virus. PEDV also is sensitive to heat and sunlight, which may help curtail the spread of the outbreak as the weather turns warmer in the Midwest, veterinarians say. While this marks the first appearance of PEDV in the U.S., the virus dates back to the 1970s. Over the years, it has cropped up on pork operations in England, Canada, China and South Korea and Japan, said Becton. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed it had detected the virus in hog populations in Iowa on Friday, and noted that the disease may have spread to other hog producing states. The virus is also not expected to threaten U.S. pork exports, said Becton, who explained USDA does not consider PEDV a reportable disease to the World Organization for Animal Health, so no trade restrictions are expected. Roughly 23 percent of U.S. domestic pork production, which last year totaled 5.383 billion pounds worth $6.322 billion (U.S.) is earmarked for export.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/swine-virus-confirmed-in-iowa-indiana-hog-herds/

After a decade, global AIDS program looks ahead

The decade-old law that transformed the battle against HIV and AIDS in developing countries is at a crossroads. The dream of future generations freed from epidemic is running up against an era of economic recovery and harsh budget cuts. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief grew out of an unlikely partnership between President George W. Bush and lawmakers led by the Congressional Black Caucus. It has come to represent what Washington can do when it puts politics aside - and what America can do to make the world a better place. President Barack Obama, speaking at the recent dedication of Bush's presidential library, praised the compassion Bush showed in “helping to save millions of lives and reminding people in some of the poorest corners of the globe that America cares.” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said of Bush in a statement that “while many events may distinguish his presidency, his devotion to combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS will certainly define his legacy.” The AIDS program's future, however, is uncertain. Obama has upped the stakes, speaking in his State of the Union address this year of “realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation.” But funding for the relief plan's bilateral efforts has dipped in recent years and it's doubtful that Congress, in its current budget-cutting mood, will reverse that trend when the current five-year program expires later this year. The AIDS program is also trying to find a balance between its goals of reaching more people with its prevention and treatment programs and turning over more responsibility to the host nations where it operates. “This has been an incredible achievement,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., a senior Congressional Black Caucus member who played major roles both in passing the original 2003 act and its 2008 renewal that significantly increased funding for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis treatment in Africa and other areas of the developing world. She spoke of the more than 5 million people now receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment and 11 million pregnant women who received HIV testing and counseling last year. “But I'm worried that with any type of level-funding or cuts we'll go backward,” she said. The 2008 act more than tripled funding from the 2003 measure, approving $48 billion over five years for bilateral and global AIDS programs, malaria and tuberculosis. It also ended U.S. policy making it almost impossible for HIV-positive people to get visas to enter the country. The AIDS program was the largest commitment ever by a nation to combat a single disease internationally. According to the U.N.'s UNAIDS and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2011 the United States provided nearly 60 percent of all international AIDS assistance. A decade ago, almost no one in sub-Saharan Africa was receiving antiretroviral treatment. By 2008, the AIDS program had boosted that number to 1.7 million. As of last year it was 5.1 million. The State Department says the program last year also helped provide treatment to some 750,000 HIV-positive pregnant women, allowing about 230,000 infants to be born HIV-free, supported 2 million male circumcisions and directly supported HIV testing and counseling for 46.5 million. “This is a remarkable story that the American people should know about,” Kimberly Scott of the Institute of Medicine, which recently completed an evaluation of the AIDS program, said at a forum sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the CSIS Global Health Policy Center. According to UNAIDS, the number of people living with HIV has leveled off, standing at about 34 million at the end of 2011. New infections that year reached 2.5 million, down 20 percent from 2001. AIDS-related deaths were 1.7 million, down from 2.3 million in 2005. Jennifer Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at Kaiser, said most countries where the program operates have yet to reach the “tipping point,” where new infections occurring in a year are less than the increase in people receiving treatment. Among the success stories were Ethiopia, where the 40,000 going on treatment in 2011 was almost four times the new infections. Still with a long way to go was Nigeria, which that year had 270,000 new HIV infections and a 57,000 increase in those getting treatment. Chris Collins, director of public policy at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, also warned of potential repercussions as the AIDS program shifts from being an emergency response to the AIDS epidemic to a more supportive role for country-based health programs. “The countries themselves largely are avoiding the important role that key populations play in epidemics,” he said, referring to gay men, those injecting drugs and sex workers. These groups face discrimination and criminal charges in many cases, and 90 percent of the money to help them now comes from external sources. Collins also spoke of the “huge mismatch” between the positive science and rhetoric on fighting AIDS and the money available. Since 2009 the funding for bilateral and global HIV and AIDS programs has largely stalled. Kaiser's Kates said that while there's still bipartisan support for the AIDS program in Congress, “the big question is will the financing be there to reach the goals” of treating more people and advancing toward that AIDS-free generation. “The challenge right now is that the global economic climate is different, the U.S. climate is different, but the need is still great.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/after-decade-global-aids-program-looks-ahead/

Tunisia announces 3 cases of coronavirus, 1 death

Tunisia's Health Ministry says a 66-year-old man has died after being infected by the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia. The ministry's statement reported that his son and daughter were also diagnosed with the virus but have been treated and since recovered. The cases are the first for Tunisia and indicate that the virus is slowly trickling out of the Middle East, where more than 30 cases have been reported. There have been at least 20 deaths from the virus worldwide. The Tunisian, a diabetic, had been complaining since his return from a trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and died from acute respiratory distress at a hospital in Monastir. The new coronavirus is related to SARS, which killed about 800 people in 2003, mostly in Asia.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/tunisia-announces-3-cases-coronavirus-1-death/

‘Who’ Cares: Roger Daltrey helps teens with cancer

As the legendary front man of The Who, Roger Daltrey has been entertaining fans across the globe for decades – but his latest project goes beyond the music, and into the lives of some very special fans here in America: Cancer patients. “I've been supporting a charity called Teenage Cancer Trust, which was started by my doctor, who recognized, within our system of medical care, that the age group from 13-25 are very, very specific,” Daltrey told FoxNews.com. “They are not children, and they are not adults – and if they are unfortunate enough to get cancer, they tend to suffer some of the most aggressive cancers.” I had the incredible opportunity to sit down and talk with Daltrey about his efforts with Teenage Cancer Trust the UK for more than 15 years, and how he’s bringing that same passion ‘across the pond’ with Teen Cancer America. Here in the U.S., many patients under the age of 18 end up in children’s hospitals when they are diagnosed with cancer. And while we do have some of the best children’s hospitals in the world, for teens and young adults – their treatment regimen may need some tweaking for the best outcome. “When you look at children's hospitals, to be honest, you have fabulous medicine here (in the U.S.), you have fabulous hospitals, and I've looked around quite a few now, and I've found it very difficult to find anything that is actually teenage-friendly,” said Daltrey. “And so it's our ambition and our mission, to, to make Teen Cancer America a gold standard – a stamp of approval.” Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK and Teen Cancer America work with hospitals to provide physical and psychological support to patients going through treatment for various forms of cancer. And since the program started 23 years ago in the UK, doctors have seen the benefits of making treatment programs age-appropriate. As a practicing physician, I believe there are two basic components to successful health and healing. One of them is physical medicine – whether you're talking about surgery, drugs, etc. – and the other part of it is the patient’s mindset. If a patient is not in an environment that puts him or her in a positive mindset, the outcome often suffers drastically. “It's the quality of life that we should be worrying about – not just the cure,” said Daltrey. “And while you're going through it, especially for this age group, um, because they've got educational problems, they're right in the middle of their exams, you know, they're whole future's kind of been taken away from them – it's enormous pressures.” Teen Cancer Trust has already opened up 25 centers throughout the UK and is currently working on nine others. Here in the U.S., with the help his bandmate, Pete Townshend, Daltrey opened the first U.S. facility at UCLA Medical Center.   “It's a very different system than you've got here where um, the ones that we have got, they've given us space in hospitals and we've then provided the services,” Daltrey told FoxNews.com. “So when you look at the kind of finances of this, it's a cheap end, it's a cheap outlay for a very big result.” Daltrey noted that some medical centers like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children’s Hospital of Cleveland are in talks with Teen Cancer America to bring teen facilities to their cancer centers, and Yale Cancer Center has already started an outpatient service for teens. For more information visit TeenCancerAmerica.org.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/who-cares-roger-daltrey-helps-teens-with-cancer/

Bunions should be blamed on genes, not shoes, study shows

Bunions are likely inherited and not caused by faulty footwear, Counsel and Heal reported. Bunions are a painful foot condition characterized by bony bumps that form on the joint at the base of the big toe.  Earlier research indicates that 23 percent of people 18 to 65 years of age and 36 percent of people over the age of 65 have bunions. The new study, published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research, analyzed information from 1,370 people, with an average age of 66 years old, who were enrolled in the Framingham Foot Study. Each participant received a foot exam between 2002 and 2008 to screen for bunions, toe deformities or plantar soft tissue atrophy, a breakdown of the fatty “cushion” under the ball of the foot, Counsel and Heal reported. The study found that 31 percent of participants had bunions and 30 percent had toe deformities like “hammer toes,” both of which were highly inheritable, depending on age and sex, especially among people of European descent. Twenty-eight percent had plantar soft tissue atrophy, but this condition was not found to inheritable.                 “Our study is the largest investigation of the heritability of common foot disorders in older adults, confirming that bunions and lesser toe deformities are highly inheritable in Caucasian men and women of European descent,” Dr. Marian Hannan from Hebrew SeniorLife and Harvard Medical School in Boston said in a news release. “These new findings highlight the importance of furthering our understanding of what causes greater susceptibility to these foot conditions, as knowing more about the pathway may ultimately lead to early prevention or early treatment,” she concluded. Click for more from Counsel and Heal.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/bunions-should-be-blamed-on-genes-not-shoes-study-shows/