Category Archives: Cancer

Childhood ADHD tied to obesity decades later

Boys who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in elementary school are more likely to grow up to be obese adults than those who don't have the condition, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed two groups of 41-year-old men and found those with a history of ADHD were 19 pounds heavier than their non-ADHD counterparts, on average. The findings are consistent with past studies that looked only at children or only at adults and linked ADHD to extra pounds, researchers said. “There's definitely been enough research now where it does appear there is some connection between these two disorders,” said Sherry Pagoto, who has studied ADHD and obesity at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Data for the new study came from 207 white boys with ADHD who were referred to a research clinic at around age eight and followed as they grew up. Ten years later another group of teenage boys without ADHD, who were otherwise similar to the original participants, were added to the study. By the time they were asked to report their weight at age 41, 111 men from each group were still in the study. On that survey, men with a history of ADHD reported weighing 213 pounds, on average, and 41 percent of them were obese. In comparison, men without ADHD weighed in at an average of 194 pounds, and 22 percent qualified as obese, Dr. F. Xavier Castellanos from the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York and his colleagues wrote in Pediatrics. “As we learn more about the regions of the brain that may be implicated in obesity, they overlap with brain regions implicated in ADHD,” Castellanos told Reuters Health. “The reward system seems to be relevant to both conditions.” In addition, he added, “There is the speculation that the obesity is at least partly reflecting some of the impulsivity, poor planning and the difficulty in making choices” that come with ADHD. Pagoto, who was not involved in the new research, agreed that young people with the disorder could be more impulsive when it comes to their food choices and may also spend more time in front of screens than their peers. “Parents of children who have ADHD should pay special attention to how that child's weight is changing over time, knowing that they may be at greater risk for becoming obese,” she told Reuters Health. “If they're at higher risk of obesity, that may bring other things with it,” such as type 2 diabetes, she added. Contrary to the study team's hypothesis, they found that men who no longer had their childhood ADHD symptoms were especially likely to be obese - not those who still had persistent attention and hyperactivity problems. Pagoto agreed that finding was unexpected and said the study may simply have been too small to tease out reliable differences among adults with a history of ADHD. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, parents report that close to one in ten kids and teenagers has been diagnosed with ADHD. Boys are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed as girls. Castellanos recommended parents of children with ADHD make sure their kids are getting enough exercise and help them cut back on sugary drinks and other high-calorie food choices.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/childhood-adhd-tied-to-obesity-decades-later/

Genetic testing guidelines under fire

If you underwent a genetic test for a heart condition, but the test also revealed that you have a high risk of colon cancer, would you want to know? A respected scientific society says your doctor should tell you, but the group is receiving criticism for its recommendation that “incidental findings” of genetic tests be shared with patients. Incidental findings are unexpected results, unrelated to the reason for testing. What to do with these findings has been a controversial issue for adults undergoing genetic testing, as well as children. In March, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released guidelines saying that when patients receive genetic testing for any medical reason, they should be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes, including mutations that strongly increase the risk of breast, ovarian and colon cancer. The ACMG argues that doctors have an obligation to look for and report these mutations because there are ways that people can act to reduce their of developing a medical disorder. However, some researchers and bioethicists say the new recommendations go too far, and take away patients' rights to refuse medical information they do not wish to know. Informed consent A crucial part of genetic testing ethics is ensuring that patients understand what a test might find, and what those findings could mean for future treatment. Under the new recommendations, a patient who consents to any genetic test is consenting to be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes. Some bioethicists take issue with this approach, because patients may not wish to know their results for all of these genes. A positive result for any one of these mutations may increase patients' anxiety, or cause them to live their life differently, said Susan Wolf, a professor of law, medicine and public policy at the University of Minnesota. Under the new guidelines, “unless they are willing to have this extra analysis done, the only option is to walk away from the sequencings altogether,” Wolf said. “It's all or nothing.” Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University School of Medicine's Division of Medical Ethics, agreed that patients should have an opportunity to refuse. “People do not have any obligations to accept any findings that they hadnt been expecting,” Caplan said. And even calling such findings “incidental” is a misnomer, Wolf said, because under the new guidelines, researchers have to actively test for these gene mutations. What about kids? Earlier this year, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AMCG advised that children not be screened for genetic conditions that occur in adulthood (such as breast cancer), unless some action in childhood can lower the risk of disease or death. Children should wait until they are at least 18 years old to decide if they want to know their risk, the guidelines say. But under the new recommendations, children should be informed about any findings from the extra screening, including those that relate to adult disorders. Supporters of the new recommendations say that they are not at odds with earlier guidelines. Dr. Robert Green, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, wrote in the May 16 issue of the journal Science that if doctors are screening a child for a genetic disease that occurs in adulthood, the child would presumably have a family history of the disease. With incidental findings, no other family members, including the child, would be known to be at risk. So reporting an incidental finding could alert the child, as well as other family members including adults, to their risk of a certain condition, Green said. But others disagree, saying the new recommendations contradict earlier guidelines, and are not in children's best interest. “You've deprived the child of their own choice later as an adult,” Wolf said. Practical issues The guidelines also say that patients should be counseled about the implications of genetic testing before the test is ordered. But some argue that discussing all 57 genes would be demanding. “That is going to be a rather time consuming process,” said Dr. Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Wolf and others are calling on the AMCG to reconsider the new guidelines. The AMCG says that the guidelines will be reviewed yearly and updated in light of new evidence. But in the meantime, doctors are in a bind about what to do when screening patients. “It really creates a big dilemma because, when an organization like the AMCG makes a recommendation, it's seen as establishing a standard of care,” Ostrer said. If doctors don't follow the guidelines, patients could sue for malpractice if it turns out they are a carrier of a mutation that the additional screening would have caught, Ostrer said. Ostrer said he would like to see more evidence about how patients respond to being told about incidental findings. Studies looking at this question are being carried out now, he said. 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/2013/05/20/genetic-testing-guidelines-under-fire/

What do we eat? New food map will tell us

Do your kids love chocolate milk? It may have more calories on average than you thought. Same goes for soda. Until now, the only way to find out what people in the United States eat and how many calories they consume has been government data, which can lag behind the rapidly expanding and changing food marketplace. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are trying to change that by creating a gargantuan map of what foods Americans are buying and eating. Part of the uniqueness of the database is its ability to sort one product into what it really is - thousands of brands and variations. Take the chocolate milk. The government long has long classified chocolate milk with 2 percent fat as one item. But the UNC researchers, using scanner data from grocery stores and other commercial data, found thousands of different brands and variations of 2 percent chocolate milk and averaged them out. The results show that chocolate milk has about 11 calories per cup more than the government thought. The researchers led by professor Barry Popkin at the UNC School of Public Health, are figuring out that chocolate milk equation over and over, with every single item in the grocery store. It's a massive project that could be the first evidence of how rapidly the marketplace is changing, and the best data yet on what exact ingredients and nutrients people are consuming. That kind of information could be used to better target nutritional guidelines, push companies to cut down on certain ingredients and even help with disease research. Just call it “mapping the food genome.” “The country needs something like this, given all of the questions about our food supply,” says Popkin, the head of the UNC Food Research Program. “We're interested in improving the public's health and it really takes this kind of knowledge.” The project first came together in 2010 after a group of 16 major food companies pledged, as part of first lady Michelle Obama's campaign to combat obesity, to reduce the calories they sell to the public by 1.5 trillion. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation agreed to fund a study to hold the companies accountable, eventually turning to UNC with grants totaling $6.7 million. Aided by supercomputers on campus, Popkin and his team have taken existing commercial databases of food items in stores and people's homes, including the store-based scanner data of 600,000 different foods, and matched that information with the nutrition facts panels on the back of packages and government data on individuals' dietary intake. The result is an enormous database that has taken almost three years so far to construct and includes more detail than researchers have ever had on grocery store items - their individual nutritional content, who is buying them and their part in consumers' diets. The study will fill gaps in current data about the choices available to consumers and whether they are healthy, says Susan Krebs-Smith, who researches diet and other risk factors related to cancer at the National Cancer Institute. Government data, long the only source of information about American eating habits, can have a lag of several years and neglect entire categories of new types of products - Greek yogurt or energy drinks, for example. With those significant gaps, the government information fails to account for the rapid change now seen in the marketplace. Now more than ever, companies are reformulating products on the fly as they try to make them healthier or better tasting. While consumers may not notice changes in the ingredient panel on the back of the package, the UNC study will pick up small variations in individual items and also begin to be able to tell how much the marketplace as a whole is evolving. “When we are done we will probably see 20 percent change in the food supply in a year,” Popkin says. “The food supply is changing and no one really knows how.” For example, the researchers have found that there has been an increase in using fruit concentrate as a sweetener in foods and beverages because of a propensity toward natural foods, even though it isn't necessarily healthier than other sugars. While the soda and chocolate milk have more calories on average than the government thought, the federal numbers were more accurate on the calories in milk and cereals. Popkin and his researchers are hoping their project will only be the beginning of a map that consumers, companies, researchers and even the government can use, breaking the data down to find out who is eating what and where they shop. Is there a racial divide in the brand of potato chips purchased, for example, and what could that mean for health? Does diet depend on where you buy your food - the grocery store or the convenience store…

Newer whooping cough vaccine not as protective

A newer version of the whooping cough vaccine doesn't protect kids as well as the original, which was phased out in the 1990s because of safety concerns, according to a new study. During a 2010-2011 outbreak of whooping cough in California, researchers found that youth who had been vaccinated with the newer, so called acellular vaccine were six times more likely to catch whooping cough than those who had received a series of the older whole-cell vaccine. “This is an ongoing saga,” said Dr. H. Cody Meissner, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. The rate of whooping cough, or pertussis, has been climbing in recent years, he said - to the point where “we're worried about losing control of pertussis in the United States.” The pertussis vaccine is given in combination with vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. Originally the shot contained whole pertussis bacteria, which triggered reactions in some babies - including prolonged crying, fever and a “shock-like state,” said Meissner, who wasn't involved in the new research. So in the 1990s, the U.S. switched over to an acellular version of the vaccine, which has reduced the rate of side effects. “But the price we've paid to get more safety is that we have less effectiveness,” Meissner told Reuters Health. “It doesn't protect as well against pertussis.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends four doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTaP) be given to babies between two and 18 months, and a fifth dose by age six. A booster was recently added to the vaccine schedule for 11- to 12-year-olds. For the new study, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health system compared the vaccination history of 138 teenagers and preteens who tested positive for whooping cough and about 55,000 who did not during the state's 2010-2011 outbreak. Over the course of the outbreak, 78 out of every 100,000 adolescents were infected per year. Almost all of the kids had received the newer acellular vaccine as their fifth DTaP dose. But Dr. Nicola Klein and her colleagues found that teens who'd been vaccinated with the acellular version for each of their first four doses as well were six times more likely to contract whooping cough than those who'd received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine. Each extra acellular rather than whole-cell dose increased a child's risk of later developing whooping cough by about 40 percent, the researchers reported Monday in Pediatrics. Klein said there seem to be some differences in the initial immune response to the whole-cell vaccine versus the acellular vaccine, which may persist as children get older. Her team's study, she said, suggests there needs to be more of a focus on developing a third pertussis vaccine. But any new shot for whooping cough that could address both safety and effectiveness concerns is still years away, Meissner said. “So now we're confronted with this difficult problem,” he said. “It's very hard to recommend a vaccine that is known to be associated with more side effects than another vaccine that's safer, even though the first vaccine gives better protection. It's a dilemma.” The findings do not mean parents shouldn't get their children fully vaccinated against pertussis, the researchers agreed. “In the short run, we have to keep vaccinating kids on the recommended schedule because that's definitely the best way to protect kids,” Klein told Reuters Health. “The acellular vaccine does work, it just doesn't last as long as we hoped,” she said. “It's the best tool we have right now to protect against pertussis.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/newer-whooping-cough-vaccine-not-as-protective/

Money-saving tips to stretch the shelf life of your food

The average family throws out nearly 122 pounds of food per month and wastes $590 per year on food that eventually spoils. However, many common perishables remain safe way past their sell-by dates. From milk and eggs to produce, find out which storage tips will do the trick and try these tips to make food last longer. And for an easy reference you can keep on your fridge, download the Make Food Last Longer Guide. Fresh Herbs DO: Wrap in paper towels to absorb moisture, and place in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. DON'T: Refrigerate basil, which is damaged by the cold; stand it in water on a sunny windowsill. Eggs DO: Store eggs in their original container on a refrigerator shelf. This will make them last for three to four weeks past the sell-by date. DON'T: Store eggs on the door, where eggs are vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. Lunch meat DO: Store meat in the meat compartment—it is specially designed to keep cool air in and can help meat last three to five days past the sell-by date. DON'T: Forget to reseal the package. Tomatoes DO: Store cherry and grape tomatoes in their original containers in the refrigerator. Ripen large varieties on the counter—cold temperatures halt color, flavor, and nutrient development. Once bright red, store them in the fridge. DON'T: Place ripe tomatoes near vegetables, as they give off ethylene. Hard Cheese DO: Wrap in moisture-proof plastic or foil. This will help it keep two to four months past the sell-by date. DON'T: Throw it away at the first site of mold. If the outside of hard cheese has visible mold, trim off the mold and a half-inch area of cheese below it. Yogurt DO: Store yogurt at around 39 degrees F, an appropriate temp for your fridge. This will help it keep 10 to 14 days past its sell-by date. DON'T: Be deterred by separation—simply stir and enjoy. Milk DO: Hit the dairy aisle right before checking out to minimize the amount of time milk is left unrefrigerated, and store it on a shelf pushed far back, where the air is coldest. DON'T: Store it closer to or on the door; the air tends to be warmer there. Alliums (onions, shallots, garlic) DO: Store in a warm, dry place like your countertop. DON'T: Place them near ripening fruits; alliums contain strong sulfur compounds, which taint other produce when kept in close vicinity. Also, don’t store them in the fridge—exposing them to cold and moisture will initiate rotting and rooting. Watermelon DO: Ripen on your countertop for about a week, which nearly doubles the melon’s lycopene and beta-carotene levels, according to a USDA study. Pop it in the fridge a day before eating. DON'T: Store it near other fruits. Watermelon is easily damaged by ethylene, a gas released by fruits that speeds up deterioration. (Ever wonder which is the healthiest summer fruit, strawberries or watermelon? Click here to find out.) Mushrooms DO: Place unwashed mushrooms in a paper bag in your refrigerator. Keeping them cold and dry disfavors bacterial growth and the paper bag protects against dehydration. DON'T: Wash prior to storage. Stone Fruits (nectarines, cherries, plums, peaches) DO: Ripen on the counter and transfer to the refrigerator. To prolong the life of stone fruits, remove their pits and boil the fruits in simple syrup for a few minutes, cool, and store in an airtight container in the freezer. DON'T: Refrigerate these fruits while they’re still firm or they’ll never ripen. Grapes DO: Store in their original ventilated plastic bag, remove bruised or damaged fruit, and wrap with paper towel to absorb excess moisture that promotes mold growth. DON'T: Wash until right before eating; doing so in advance encourages mold development. Leafy greens DO: Pat them dry before storing, as excess moisture contributes to decay. Wrap in paper towels, place in a plastic bag, and store in the crisper. DON'T: Keep them in close proximity to ethylene-producing fruits like tomatoes. Berries DO: Store in their original clamshell containers, which increase ventilation. Remove bruised or moldy berries from the batch; they’ll speed up decay among the rest. DON'T: Wash berries prior to storage for the same reason as grapes. Apples DO: Store in plastic bags in the refrigerator crisper to lock in moisture. Puréed apples mixed with sugar keep well in the freezer, as do slices of apple that have been sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning. DON'T: Store near vegetables, which can be damaged easily by the ethylene the apples produce. Potatoes DO: Keep baking potatoes like Yukon Golds or Russets in a cool, dark place and store smaller varieties like red potatoes in the fridge. DON'T: Store baking potatoes near direct sunlight, which stimulates the growth of a toxin that can be dangerous in large amounts. Also keep smaller-size potatoes away from apples and pears, which will take on the tuber’s earthy flavor. Asparagus DO: Refrigerate them upright with the bottoms wrapped in a damp paper towel and a plastic bag loosely covering them. DON'T: Submerge these green sprigs in water; this method actually increases bacteria growth, hastening decay. Click here for 8 Awesome Asparagus Recipes. Carrots DO: Remove leafy tops to prolong storage. Peeled baby carrots can go anywhere in the fridge, but larger carrots with skins are much more sensitive to ethylene. DON'T: Store large carrots next to fruit—after a week or two they’ll become bitter and nearly inedible due to the ethylene from the fruits. Which packaged goods aren’t packed with preservatives? Find out the 100 Cleanest Packaged Foods.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/money-saving-tips-to-help-stretch-shelf-life-your-food/

Measles surge in Britain years after vaccine/autism scare

More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of a vaccine scare that raised the specter of autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease. This year, the U.K. has had more than 1,200 cases of measles, after a record number of nearly 2,000 cases last year. The country once recorded only several dozen cases every year. It now ranks second in Europe, behind only Romania. Last month, emergency vaccination clinics were held every weekend in Wales, the epicenter of the outbreak. Immunization drives have also started elsewhere in the country, with officials aiming to reach 1 million children aged 10 to 16. “This is the legacy of the Wakefield scare,” said Dr. David Elliman, spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, referring to a paper published in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues. That work suggested a link between autism and the combined childhood vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, called the MMR. Several large scientific studies failed to find any connection, the theory was rejected by at least a dozen major U.K. medical groups and the paper was eventually retracted by the journal that published it. Still, MMR immunization rates plummeted across the U.K. as fearful parents abandoned the vaccine - from rates over 90 percent to 54 percent. Nearly 15 years later, the rumors about MMR are still having an impact. Now there's “this group of older children who have never been immunized who are a large pool of infections,” Elliman said. The majority of those getting sick in the U.K. - including a significant number of older children and teens - had never been vaccinated. Almost 20 of the more than 100 seriously ill children have been hospitalized and 15 have suffered complications including pneumonia and meningitis. One adult with measles has died, though it's unclear if it was the disease that killed him. The first measles vaccines were introduced in the 1960s, which dramatically cut cases of the rash-causing illness. Since 2001, measles deaths have dropped by about 70 percent worldwide; Cambodia recently marked more than a year without a single case. Globally, though, measles is still one of the leading causes of death in children under 5 and kills more than 150,000 people every year, mostly in developing countries. Measles is highly contagious and is spread by coughing, sneezing and close personal contact with infected people; symptoms include a fever, cough, and a rash on the face. Across the U.K., about 90 percent of children under 5 are vaccinated against measles and have received the necessary two doses of the vaccine. But among children now aged 10 to 16, the vaccination rate is slightly below 50 percent in some regions. To stop measles outbreaks, more than 95 percent of children need to be fully immunized. In some parts of the U.K., the rate is still below 80 percent. Unlike in the United States, where most states require children to be vaccinated against measles before starting school, no such regulations exist in Britain. Parents are advised to have their children immunized, but Britain's Department of Health said it had no plans to consider introducing mandatory vaccination. Last year, there were 55 reported cases of measles in the United States, where the measles vaccination rate is above 90 percent. So far this year, there have been 22 cases, including three that were traced to Britain. In previous years, the U.K. has sometimes exported more cases of measles to the U.S. than some countries in Africa. Portia Ncube, a health worker at an East London clinic, said the struggle to convince parents to get the MMR shot is being helped by the measles epidemic in Wales. “They see what's happening in Wales, so some of them are now sensible enough to come in and get their children vaccinated,” she said. Clinic patient Ellen Christensen, mother of an infant son, acknowledged she had previously had some “irrational qualms” about the MMR vaccine. “But after reading more about it, I know now that immunization is not only good for your own child, it's good for everyone,” she said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/measles-surge-in-britain-years-after-vaccineautism-scare/

Swine flu found in elephant seals

The H1N1 virus strain that caused a 2009 swine flu outbreak in humans was detected in northern elephant seals off the coast of central California. Scientists say this is the first time marine mammals have been found to carry the H1N1 flu strain, which originated in pigs. The seals seem to have picked up the virus while at sea, but it's unclear how this happened. “We thought we might find influenza viruses, which have been found before in marine mammals, but we did not expect to find pandemic H1N1,” Tracey Goldstein, an associate professor with the UC Davis One Health Institute and Wildlife Health Center, said in a statement. [10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species] “H1N1 was circulating in humans in 2009,” Goldstein added. “The seals on land in early 2010 tested negative before they went to sea, but when they returned from sea in spring 2010, they tested positive. So the question is where did it come from?” Contact with humans carrying the virus is unlikely when the elephant seals are at sea, because the creatures spend most of their time looking for food in a remote part of the northeast Pacific Ocean off the continental shelf. Exposure could have occurred through feces dumped out of shipping vessels passing through this area. The researchers noted in their report in the journal PLOS ONE this week that H1N1 has been detected in stool samples of hospital patients. Another possible avenue of transmission might have been contact with aquatic birds, thought to be reservoirs for other flu viruses, the researchers say. Goldstein and colleagues tested nasal swabs from more than 900 Pacific marine mammals from 10 different species from Alaska to California between 2009 and 2011. The elephant seals that were studied had been satellite tagged and tracked so that researchers could tell where they had been before and after they were tested for disease. H1N1 was detected in two northern elephant seals within days of their return to land after they went out to sea to forage for a few months. Antibodies to the virus were found in another 28 elephant seals. None of the seals had any signs of illness, which means marine mammals can be infected with zoonotic pathogens but be asymptomatic, the researchers said. The report recommends that people working with and around marine mammals need to take proper biosafety precautions to prevent exposure to diseases that could be quite harmful in humans, even if they don't cause illness in seals. The new research on marine mammals is part of an effort to understand emerging viruses in animals and people by the Centers of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance program, funded by the National Institutes of Health. “The study of influenza virus infections in unusual hosts, such as elephant seals, is likely to provide us with clues to understand the ability of influenza virus to jump from one host to another and initiate pandemics,” Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, a professor of microbiology, said in a statement. Garcia-Sastre directs of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine, which collaborated with the team from UC Davis on the study. 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/2013/05/20/swine-flu-found-in-elephant-seals/

WHO: Saudi Arabia has another case of new coronavirus

Saudi Arabia has reported another case of infection in a concentrated outbreak of a new strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and spread into Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. In a disease outbreak update issued from its Geneva headquarters, the WHO said the latest patient is an 81-year-old woman with multiple medical conditions. She became ill on April 28 and is in a critical but stable condition. Worldwide, there have now been 41 laboratory-confirmed infections, including 20 deaths, since the new coronavirus was identified by scientists in September 2012. The novel coronavirus, which had been known as by the acronym nCoV but which some scientific journals now refer to as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, belongs to the same family as viruses that cause common colds and the one that caused a deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. MERS cases have so far been reported in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Britain, Germany and France, but Saudi Arabia has had the vast majority of cases. The WHO said that latest patient was in the same clinic in eastern Saudi Arabia that has seen 22 cases, nine of them fatal, since April 8. WHO experts visiting Saudi Arabia to consult with the authorities on the outbreak have said it seemed likely the new virus could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged, close contact.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/who-saudi-arabia-has-another-case-new-coronavirus/

Consumer group flags high SPF ratings on sunscreen as misleading

WASHINGTON – & Sunbathers headed to the beach this summer will find new sunscreen labels on store shelves that are designed to make the products more effective and easier to use. But despite those long-awaited changes, many sunscreens continue to carry SPF ratings that some experts consider misleading and potentially dangerous, according to a consumer watchdog group. A survey of 1,400 sunscreen products by the Environmental Working Group finds that most products meet new federal requirements put in place last December. The rules from the Food and Drug Administration ban terms like “waterproof,” which regulators consider misleading, and require that sunscreens filter out both ultraviolet A and B rays. Previously some products only blocked UVB rays, which cause most sunburn, while providing little protection against UVA rays that pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles. Despite that broader protection, one in seven products reviewed by the watchdog group boasted sun protection factor, or SPF, ratings above 50, which have long been viewed with skepticism by experts. In part, that's because SPF numbers like 100 or 150 can give users a false sense of security, leading them to stay in the sun long after the lotion has stopped protecting their skin. Many consumers assume that SPF 100 is twice as effective as SPF 50, but dermatologists say the difference between the two is actually negligible. Where an SPF 50 product might protect against 97 percent of sunburn-causing rays, an SPF 100 product might block 98.5 percent of those rays. “The high SPF numbers are just a gimmick,” says Marianne Berwick, professor of epidemiology at the University of New Mexico. “Most people really don't need more than an SPF 30 and they should reapply it every couple of hours.” Berwick says sunscreen should be used in combination with hats, clothing and shade, which provide better protection against ultraviolet radiation. Some dermatologists say there may be some rationale for using higher SPF sunscreens, since users often don't apply enough of the lotion to get its full effect. “The challenge is that beyond 50 the increase in UV protection is relatively small,” says Dr. Henry Lim, chair of dermatology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The SPF number indicates the amount of sun exposure needed to cause sunburn on sunscreen-protected skin compared with unprotected skin. For example, a SPF rating of 30 means it would take the person 30 times longer to burn wearing sunscreen than with exposed skin. There is a popular misconception that the SPF figure relates to a certain number of hours spent in the sun. However this is incorrect, since the level of exposure varies by geography, time of day and skin complexion. The FDA itself said in 2011 that “labeling a product with a specific SPF value higher than 50 would be misleading to the consumer.” At the time the agency proposed capping all SPF values at 50 because “there is not sufficient data to show that products with SPF values higher than 50 provide greater protection for users.” But regulators have faced pushback from companies, including Johnson & Johnson, which argue that higher SPF products provide measurable benefits. As a result, the FDA says it is still reviewing studies and comments submitted by outside parties, and there is no deadline for the agency to finalize an SPF cap. It took the agency decades to put in place last year's sunscreen changes. FDA first announced its intent to draft sunscreen rules in 1978 and published them in 1999. The agency then delayed finalizing the regulations for years until it could address concerns from both industry and consumers. The FDA is also reviewing the safety of effectiveness of spray-on products, which use different formulations from other sun-protection solutions. Among other concerns, the agency is looking at whether the sprays can be harmful when inhaled. The survey by the Environmental Working Group found that one in four sunscreens sold in the U.S. is a spray product. “People like the sprays because they are quick to put on and cover a lot of area,” said Dr. Darrell Rigel, a dermatologist in New York.  ”The downside is that you usually have to apply two coats.” More than 76,000 men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with melanoma this year and 9,480 are expected to die from the aggressive form of skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. The disease, which is often linked to ultraviolet exposure, is usually curable when detected early.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/consumer-group-flags-high-spf-ratings-on-sunscreenas-misleading/

How not to gain too much pregnancy weight

For many women, the extra calories that are vital for a healthy pregnancy often become a green light to indulge and give into cravings. In fact, more than 30 percent of women who have a normal weight before becoming pregnant gain more than the recommended amount during pregnancy, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. If you’re overweight or obese before getting pregnant, or you gain too much weight during pregnancy, you and your baby’s health could be compromised. For starters, there’s an increased risk of high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. There’s also a greater chance that you could have a miscarriage, a stillborn baby, deliver early or be required to have a cesarean section. Your baby could also develop birth defects and detecting them with an ultrasound can be tricky if you’re obese, according to Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and co-author of V is for Vagina. During labor and delivery, there’s also a higher chance for blood clots, C-section infection, and difficulty administering anesthesia. You might also have a larger baby, and studies show overweight women also have problems breastfeeding. Plus, losing weight after delivery could be tough too. Several rat studies also indicate that babies born to overweight moms might actually have permanent changes in their brain structures and genetic preferences that could put them at risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. “It is possible that we’re creating a generation of kids who are more likely to be obese, and as they grow up and have children, it creates more and more of a genetic problem,” said Melinda Johnson, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Babies born to overweight mothers are also more likely to be overweight themselves, but it’s not clear if it’s because they have the same eating habits as their moms or if it’s just plain genetics, according to Johnson. Regardless, “pregnancy is a great time for future mothers to start learning better habits, because we definitely know those habits play a huge role in the health of their children,” she said. If you’re planning to get pregnant or you already are, find out what you can do to have a healthy weight.   Know the guidelines Even if you’re already overweight, weight loss should never be your goal during pregnancy, according to Dweck.  Instead, follow the Institute of Medicine’s guidelines for pregnancy weight gain, which are based on your body mass index (BMI). So if your BMI is normal, aim to gain 25 to 35 pounds; if you’re overweight stay within 15 to 25 pounds, and if you’re obese, 11 to 20 pounds. Take your vitamins To make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients, look for a prenatal vitamin with 1 milligram of folic acid, iron and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A good prenatal should also have 1200 milligrams of calcium and 600 to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin D. Eat a balanced diet It’s important to eat regular meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar steady and your energy levels up. Johnson recommended eating every two to four hours depending on how hungry you are.  It’s OK to give into your cravings, but try to put the focus on eating lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy. Instead of eating foods loaded with saturated fats, opt for those with heart healthy fats like salmon, avocado, nuts and seeds. Drink plenty of water and nix soda, juice and sugary drinks. “Those are empty calories; they’re never going to make you feel full,” Dweck said. Talk to an expert If you’re worried about your weight or your diet, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about nutrition and exercise – ideally before you get pregnant.  Pregnancy is not the time to start an exercise program, Dweck said. Don’t look at the scale Is the number on the scale creeping higher every week despite your best efforts? Don’t fret, said Johnson, who noted that your weight doesn’t matter if you’re making healthy choices, paying attention to portion sizes and exercising. “If women follow that advice, they can save themselves a lot of stress,” she said.Julie Revelant is a freelance writer specializing in parenting, health, food and women's issues and a mom. Learn more about Julie at revelantwriting.com.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/19/how-not-to-gain-too-much-pregnancy-weight/