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Cannabis use associated with lower blood sugar

A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine has revealed a potential benefit from the use of cannabis. The article, entitled “The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance among U.S. Adults,” investigated the blood sugar-related effects of cannabis use among participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2010. In several other studies of large populations, lower rates of both obesity and diabetes have been noted among users of cannabis, as compared with non-users. This curious fact encouraged the three primary authors of the study to examine cannabis use among the 4657 participants in the national survey. The researchers noted that although cannabis smokers generally consume more calories than non-users, they paradoxically live with lower body mass indexes (BMIs) and reduced rates of both obesity and diabetes. Of the participants in the national survey, 579 were currently using cannabis and 1975 had previously used cannabis. To assess blood glucose, insulin resistance and other factors among cannabis users, the authors organized survey participants into three groups – those who had never used cannabis, those who had used cannabis but not within 30 days, and those who were current users. The authors put study participants through tests for fasting blood sugar levels, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) testing, and assessments of blood pressure, BMI and waist circumference. The researchers found that subjects who were current cannabis users had lower levels of fasting insulin, lower levels of insulin resistance, smaller waist circumference, and higher levels of HDL cholesterol, which is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This supported findings from earlier studies in which cannabis users showed improved weight, improved insulin resistance, and reduced incidence of diabetes, as compared with non-users. While the potential relationship between cannabis and improved body mass and blood sugar has yet to be fully understood, it is believed that cannabis acts on the cannabinoid 1 and 2 receptors in the brain, enhancing the activity of adiponectin. This hormone helps to regulate blood sugar and plays a role in controlling weight and reducing the tendency toward diabetes.   Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, with approximately 17 million regular users. Medical marijuana has been legalized in 19 states plus the District of Columbia, and two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized cannabis outright. A number of states have effectively decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis and its use. This fundamental shift in legal status has drawn more researchers to investigate cannabis for any possible health benefits. This study strikes at the heart of two major epidemics: obesity and diabetes. Based on results reported in this study and supported by other epidemiological surveys, it is possible that cannabis use helps to reduce the tendency toward both obesity and type 2 diabetes. Thus, the substance that induces “the munchies” may hold hope for two epidemic diseases arising from overeating.Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide. His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at& MedicineHunter.com.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/cannabis-use-associated-with-lower-blood-sugar/

The DSM-5 is here: What the controversial new changes mean for mental health care

The most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has arrived, and the latest changes have caused divisions among those in the psychiatric community.   Often touted as the psychiatrist’s “Bible,” the DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association and establishes the almost universal standard by which doctors classify, diagnose and ultimately treat mental disorders – making it an essential part of the psychiatric profession.  The DSM is utilized not only by clinicians, but researchers and health insurance companies as well. Even government officials take interest in the DSM’s criteria in order to determine grant funding, insurance coverage and new health care policies. The latest version is the DSM’s fifth edition, and it is the manual’s first major revision in nearly 20 years since the publication of the DSM-IV in 1994.  The DSM-5’s release brings some radical new changes, which have been met with both praise and disgust from mental health professionals. Some of the most highly debated changes include the elimination of Asperger’s disorder and the addition of a few new controversial conditions such as cannabis withdrawal, gambling addiction and the highly contested disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMD). So what do these changes mean for those currently dealing with mental health disorders?  Read on to learn more about the DSM-5’s biggest changes and the possible impact they may have on mental health care. Combination of autism spectrum disorders into single category One of the most publicized changes in the DSM-5 involves grouping all of the subcategories of autism into a single category known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  This move effectively eliminates previously separate diagnoses of autism – including autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive development disorder “not otherwise specified” (PDD-NOS). This merging of categories creates a “sliding scale” for autism, meaning individuals will be diagnosed somewhere along the autism spectrum, given the personal severity of their symptoms. Many parents and health care providers have speculated that this transformation may end up excluding some of those already diagnosed with an autism disorder, like Asperger’s or PDD-NOS. “I think (exclusion from the spectrum) frankly yet to be determined, but if anything, the specificity is going to go up, meaning the false positives are going to be less likely,” Dr. Alexandar Kolevzon, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told FoxNews.com. “This universe of people with PDD-NOS – it’s possible that some of those patients may no longer meet those criteria.  Some of the debate revolves around Asperger’s, but it seems to me that most people diagnosed with Asperger’s will still be on the autism spectrum.” Over the past decade, the United States has seen a striking increase in the amount of autism diagnoses, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that one in 88 children suffers from an autism spectrum disorder.  According to Kolvezon, numerous epidemiological studies have found that the majority of children accounting for this incidence are those with PDD-NOS – a diagnosis given to those with communication issues and pattern behavior but who do not meet the full criteria for autism or another pervasive developmental disorder. Kolevzon said it’s possible that over-diagnosis of PDD-NOS has led to this increase in autism spectrum disorder cases. “What happens in the community is that the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder virtually guarantees a whole host of therapies – such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, and potentially physical therapy,” Kolevzon said. “Theoretically, it’s possible that community providers and clinicians are incentivized to label kids with PDD-NOS, because it would make it more likely to receive appropriate services.” The autism spectrum disorder scale will further refine the way providers diagnose autism, Kolevzon said, by recognizing differences from person to person rather than trying to generalize them into one of four categories. The creation of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder Within the past decade, more and more children as young as 2 years old have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, leading to the prescription of powerful antipsychotic medication that can be quite intense for children at such a young age. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, hospital stays for childhood bipolar disorder have increased by 434 percent from 1997 to 2010.   The trend began in the mid-1990s, when doctors from Harvard University stated that bipolar disorder presented differently in children than that of adults. However, recent studies have found that many of these diagnoses were false, causing what many have described as the “false epidemic.” To combat this trend, the DSM-5 is eliminating the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder and creating a brand new category called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), described as intense outbursts and irritability beyond normal temper tantrums in young children. While the move is meant to address an established problem, many are worried that the category will be applied too liberally. “My concern is this category will be applied to individuals where the reason for these blow ups is for something else.  You can see it in kids with anxiety disorders and ADHD….Even the head of the DSM committee asked, ‘Are we going to label kids with temper tantrums?’” Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, told FoxNews.com. “The thing is we have to make sure people are going to be rigorous in application and not just apply to any kid with temper tantrums or sleep deprivation.” ‘Dependence’ to ‘addiction,’ cannabis withdrawal and gambling disorders The DSM’s chapter on substance abuse has also undergone changes, now being called the Substance Use Disorders chapter.  The diagnostic criteria for these conditions have been expanded, but one of the biggest changes deals with the swapping of two seemingly similar words when describing these disorders: the term “dependence” is out and the term “addiction” is in. According to Dr. Yasmin Hurd, professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai, the change is subtle but necessary. “It was quite confusing, especially with the term dependence,” Hurd told FoxNews.com.  “It had association with severe psychological dependencies, generating a lot of confusion.  Now the DSM-5 just talks about addiction, in context, being about the compulsive nature of the disorder.” For example, patients being prescribed pain medication may wind up hooked on the drug, but they are still taking the medication under the guidance of a physician.  They aren’t necessarily seeking out the medication by themselves, but if they are taken off the drug they may still have psychological withdrawal. In this case, they aren’t dependent on the drug, but they are addicted - according to the new guidelines. In addition to the word swap, new controversial categories of gambling disorders and cannabis withdrawal have been created in the DSM-5 – decisions based on multiple human and animal studies. “Experts in the field know that people who have severe cannabis use – they’ll go through cannabis withdrawal,” Hurd said. “There is a misnomer in our society that people can’t get addicted to marijuana.  That’s not true.  There are more people that meet the criteria for abuse of cannabis than any other illicit drug.” Similar to the changes made to the autism spectrum disorders, substance use disorders will also be categorized more on a sliding scale, depending on the severity of each patient’s symptoms. “You’re going to have many people with alcohol and cannabis addiction who have mild addiction, but very few heroin addicts are going to be mild,” Hurd said. Other major changes Along with the more controversial changes, the DSM-5 is also refining the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), including a subtype for PTSD in preschool children.  The diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is also getting a revision, with the elimination of a previously required symptom and the changing of the required age of onset from age 7 to age 12. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), once categorized under anxiety disorders, is now getting its own category of Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.  Along with OCD, this category includes Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Trichotillomania (TTM, or hair pulling) and a brand new disorder called Hoarding Disorder. The DSM-5 incorporates many more changes that have psychiatrists locked in heated debate, but Wiznitzer noted that these tensions will always exist as long as doctors continue to learn more about the human brain. “Homosexuality used to be in the DSM as a psychiatric disorder; that was two versions ago,” Wiznitzer said. “Autism wasn’t even in the first two versions of the DSM, it was childhood schizophrenia.  Then we changed the criteria over time.  Basically anytime you change something, it’s always met with resistance.” Click for more information on the DSM-5.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/dsm-5-is-here-what-controversial-new-changes-mean-for-mental-health-care/

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? …

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/

Women, break the trend: Take care of yourself

Women’s health care has a big problem, and we women are the cause of it.  That sounds like a broad statement, but I believe for the majority of women it is the truth.   When it comes to women’s health care, we have a pretty easy time talking about the big picture. We discuss statistics and trends and how women don’t receive the same levels of service as men when it comes to research studies and early diagnosis in the United States. But that kind of talk doesn’t get down to the nitty-gritty problem that each one of us faces when it comes to our health.  I’m not saying there is one universal condition or illness, as we each have unique issues to confront.  But as a gender, we women just don’t put the same effort into caring for ourselves as we put into caring for our families. As a women’s health advocate, that raises a giant red flag for me – and it for all of us. One of the first symptoms of this problem is that we don’t take ownership of our own health. We put it into the hands of others and hope for the best.  When we actually get around to going to the doctor, we don’t tell him or her the complete truth.  Sometimes it’s an accident, as we just don’t remember to talk about certain things or we don’t realize something might be significant. Other times – and these are the worst – we choose not to talk about things because we are embarrassed or afraid of what the doctor will say.   We see this kind of thing on EmpowHer.com all the time.  Women come to us and post anonymous questions about being gassy or bloated or incontinent.  They know they might have a problem, but for whatever reason, they don’t want to talk to the doctor about it. Don’t get me wrong: Anonymous questions are always welcome. In fact, we encourage our visitors to choose screen names that don’t give away who they really are.  But the fact that women are ashamed or afraid to have a one-on-one conversation with their doctors about these issues is a symptom of how we collectively don’t do everything we can to safeguard our own health.   Stress is another issue for us as women.  We know that stress taxes every aspect of our bodies – from our hormones to our cells.  But instead of doing things for ourselves to relieve stress, we try to be wonder-women and take on the weight of the world.  And in the process, we put our own health at risk and potentially damage our ability to take care of our families. Of course, some types of stress can’t be avoided.  I’m thinking in particular of financial concerns.  When money is tight, we women often cut our own “indulgences” so we can keep funding the things our families enjoy doing. Ladies, listen up when I tell you that going to the doctor is not an indulgence.  Getting your annual exam is not something extra that you should put off until it’s convenient or until you have some extra money lying around.  Don’t let the economy dictate your health.   It’s a simple fact that no matter how much disposable income you have, you cannot buy your way out of being sick.  There isn’t enough money in the world to buy your way out of a hard diagnosis like cancer.  And there isn’t enough money in the world to turn back the clock to get an earlier diagnosis or restore treatment options if you waited too long to get tested. It’s time for women in this country to stand up for themselves, and if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your mother or your sister, your best friend or your daughter.  Be the brave one, or the smart one.  Be the one who sets the example of taking care of your family by taking care of yourself.   And don’t stop with yourself.  Share this with other women you care about and encourage them to take better care of themselves.  Your family and everyone who loves you will be glad you did.Michelle King Robson (pronounced robe-son) is one of the nation's leading women's health and wellness advocates. She is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of EmpowHER, one of the fastest-growing and largest social health companies dedicated exclusively to women's health and wellness. & In 2011 EmpowHER reached more than 60 million women onsite and through syndication expects to reach more than 250 million in 2012.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/women-break-trend-take-care-yourself/

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/

Up to 1 in 5 children suffer from a mental disorder, CDC says

Up to 20 percent of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number of kids diagnosed with one has been rising for more than a decade, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the agency's first-ever study of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17, researchers found childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five kids and cost $247 billion per year in medical bills, special education and juvenile justice. Children with mental disorders - defined as “serious deviations from expected cognitive, social, and emotional development” - often have trouble learning in school, making friends, and building relationships later in life, the report said. They are more likely to have other chronic health problems, such as asthma and diabetes, and are at risk for developing mental illnesses as adults. “This is a deliberate effort by CDC to show mental health is a health issue. As with any health concern, the more attention we give to it, the better. It's parents becoming aware of the facts and talking to a healthcare provider about how their child is learning, behaving, and playing with other kids,” Dr. Ruth Perou, the lead author of the study, said in an interview. “What's concerning is the number of families affected by these issues. But we can do something about this. Mental health problems are diagnosable, treatable and people can recover and lead full healthy lives,” Perou added. The study cited data collected between 1994 and 2011 that showed the number of kids with mental disorders is growing. The study stopped short of concluding why, but suggested improvements in diagnoses as one possible explanation “Changes in estimated prevalence over time might be associated with an actual change in prevalence, changes in case definition, changes in the public perception of mental disorders, or improvements in diagnosis, which might be associated with changes in policies and access to health care,” the study said. Perou said more research was needed to determine the specific causes of mental disorders, and that greater awareness could lead to an uptick in diagnoses. A host of environmental factors, including chemical exposure and poverty, can also affect a child's mental health, she said. Lead, for example, is known to be “one of the biggest toxins to impact behavior and learning,” Perou said. Poor children are at a higher risk for developing certain conditions, according to the study. The most prevalent mental health diagnosis, as reported by parents, was Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects 6.8 percent of children. Also common were behavioral conduct problems (3.5 percent), anxiety, which consists mostly of fears and phobias (3 percent), depression (2.1 percent) and autism spectrum disorders (1.1 percent). Many of these disorders occur together, the report said. Boys were found more likely to have most of the listed disorders except for depression and alcohol abuse, which affect more girls. The study also noted that suicide, which can be precipitated by an untreated mental illness, was the second leading cause of death (after accidents) among children 12 to 17 years old. The CDC report was based on multiple other studies that collected data and interviewed children and their guardians about their diagnoses, habits, behaviors and other factors.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/17/up-to-1-in-5-children-suffer-from-mental-disorder-cdc-says/

New cancer tools allow patients to reconsider chemo

After decades of using one-size-fits-all therapies to combat cancer, doctors are using new tools to help decide when their patients can skip chemotherapy or other harsh treatments. An approach to oncology that has been in place for decades is beginning to yield to an arsenal of long-term clinical studies, genetic tests and novel drugs that target cancer cells and their infrastructure. “What is happening is a combination of new technology and more-targeted cancer drugs,” said Dr Sandra Swain, medical director of the Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). “We've tried the approach of big, nonspecific treatments ... We have found that throwing chemo at patients has not (necessarily) cured them.” Traditional chemotherapy drugs work by interfering with the entire body's system of cell replication, causing harsh side effects like fatigue and hair loss. Since the completion of the human genome project in 2003, scientists have made progress in unlocking the genetic basis of a range of diseases, including cancer. That has paved the way for genetic testing as well as drugs that block specific pathways that cancer cells use to grow and reproduce. Such targeted cancer drugs, which sometimes preclude the need for chemotherapy, are being sold by companies ranging from Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, to Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc, which early this year launched its first drug, to treat leukemia. At the same time, large-scale studies that look at whether some types of patients are better off with less treatment are giving doctors more confidence to hold off on using traditional cancer drugs. Laurie Levin, now 64, was successfully treated in her 20s for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but faced a dilemma after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 since the earlier radiation and chemotherapy had already raised her risk of developing heart problems or leukemia. A $4,000 genetic test showed that her breast cancer was unlikely to return, providing the confidence to undergo a lumpectomy and avoid chemotherapy. “It was like someone handed me my life back when I got those results,” she said. Use of the Oncotype DX test, which analyzes genes involved in tumor recurrence, has cut the use of chemotherapy in U.S. breast cancer patients by 20 percent over the past eight years, according to its maker, Genomic Health Inc. The company recently launched a similar test designed to measure whether men with prostate cancer need to undergo surgery or radiation. Tests and studies can clarify treatment, but costs remain on the upswing because the newest drugs are very expensive, with monthly price tags often in the thousands of dollars. By 2016 annual global sales of cancer drugs will nearly triple, to $88 billion from a decade earlier, according to IMS Health. 'RIGHT-SIZING TREATMENT' The “less is more” approach to cancer will be one highlight of ASCO's annual meeting in Chicago that begins at the end of this month. On Wednesday, ASCO released thousands of abstracts on new clinical trials of cancer treatments. One large, long-term study found that most men diagnosed with early-stage seminoma, a common type of testicular cancer, did fine with no treatment following surgery to remove the tumors. Cure rates for the disease have always been quite high. Several European countries, including Denmark where the study was conducted, monitor seminoma patients for any relapse before further treatment. In the United States, about half of early-stage patients are still given radiation or chemotherapy, according to ASCO. “Opting for surveillance spares patients, most of whom are young men, from the harmful side effects of chemotherapy and radiation without diminishing their chances for a long and healthy life,” said ASCO's incoming president, Dr Clifford Hudis, in a statement. Physicians say it is difficult to quantify in statistics, but there is growing recognition that less is more in terms of potentially toxic cancer treatments. The approach is especially important for young patients who will have many years ahead of them after beating an initial bout of cancer. “We are right-sizing treatment,” said Dr. James Mohler, chair of the department of urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. He pointed to recent national guidelines calling for “active surveillance” of older men diagnosed with slower-growing prostate cancer. A study presented earlier this year at an ASCO meeting in Florida found similar survival rates for men with high-risk prostate cancer who received radiation and either 18 or 36 months of hormone therapy. The findings suggest the therapy, which causes significant side effects, could be given for less than the current standard of 24 to 36 months. Another recent study out of the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina, found that survival odds for women with early-stage breast cancer who underwent breast-preserving surgery such as lumpectomy were as good as, or even better than, the odds for women who had mastectomies. “We are going to see reevaluations of very successful therapies to determine whether or not we can achieve the same results using less treatment,” said Dr Armand Keating, director of the hematology division at the University of Toronto and president of the American Society of Hematology. The first-ever study showing that a type of leukemia could be cured without using chemotherapy was released in December. The Italian-German study found that a combination of a derivative of vitamin A, known as ATRA, and arsenic trioxide, a newer drug, worked as well as ATRA and chemotherapy in patients newly diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). “APL used to be one of the most dreaded strains of cancer, but with ATRA and chemo the results are very gratifying,” Keating said. “Now we have two agents that are not chemo agents ... That to me is a milestone. I can't see any reason why this wouldn't become the standard of care.” A recent trial conducted in France found that omitting standard chemotherapy, which has been linked to heart damage, from the initial treatment of a type of childhood leukemia did not reduce survival outcomes. “The nice thing is you have omitted a potentially toxic agent that contributes to morbidity and maybe mortality down the road,” Keating said. The priciest therapies are designed to take advantage of genetic mutations associated with cancer cells, some of them found only in a small percentage of patients. A new drug for melanoma, BRAF inhibitor Zelboraf from Roche Holding AG, is designed to work by targeting a specific genetic mutation found in about half of all melanomas. Patients are first tested to see if they have it. Pfizer's lung-cancer drug Xalkori, which targets a mutation in the ALK gene, works in about 4 percent of lung cancer patients. It also has been effective as a treatment for a rare but aggressive type of childhood lymphoma. “We've been really trying for years to be more precise about who needs treatment ... Now we are more able to achieve it,” said Swain.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/16/new-cancer-tools-allow-patients-to-reconsider-chemo/