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Survey: 25% of Israelis suffering from mental distress

Meital Yasur-Beit Or
Yedioth Internet
Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:47 UTC
Study shows about quarter of population experienced mental problems, but only half sought professional help

About a quarter of the population in Israel had suffered from mental distress in 2007, but only about half of those who experienced problems reported seeking professional help, a new report on the subject published by the Myers JDC Brookdale Institute revealed.

The survey aimed at examining the patterns of seeking care ahead of the reform of the mental-health system under which it will transfer responsibility for providing mental-health services to the health plans.

The study showed that the rates of mental distress were particularly high among the Arab population (38%), the chronically ill (33%), low-income respondents (33%), the elderly (33%), and women (31%).
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Bulb

Autism: It's the Environment, Not Just Better Diagnosis

Marla Cone
San Francisco Chronicle
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:20 UTC
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California's sevenfold increase in autism cannot be explained by changes in doctors' diagnoses and most likely is due to environmental exposures, University of California scientists reported Thursday.

The scientists who authored the new study advocate a nationwide shift in autism research to focus on an array of potential factors in the environment that babies and fetuses are exposed to, including pesticides, viruses and chemicals in household products.

"It's time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an epidemiology professor at University of California, Davis who led the study.
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Health

Parkinson's linked to high levels of pesticide in the body

Kate Devlin
Telegraph.co.uk
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:27 UTC
Parkinson's sufferers are more likely to have significant levels of a pesticide in their body than healthy people, a new study has found.

Researchers believe that the chemical could act as a "trigger" to people already prone to develop the disease.

They hope that testing for the pesticide in the blood could someday identify patients at risk of developing the devastating neurological condition.

Around 120,000 people in Britain have Parkinson's, which occurs when nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle movement become damaged or die.

Researchers found the pesticide beta-HCH in 76 per cent of people with Parkinson's, compared with 40 percent of healthy controls and 30 percent of those with Alzheimer's.
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Cell Phone

Israeli study sees link between oral cancer, cell phones

Dan Even
Haaretz.com
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:38 UTC
cell phone use
© Photo: Abraham Hyhatt / flickrIsraeli researchers are linking increased cases of salivary gland cancer to the use of cell phones
A recent study documents a sharp rise in the incidence of salivary gland cancer in Israel that researchers believe may be linked to the use of mobile phones.

The study was commissioned by the Israel Dental Association and directed by Avi Zini of the community dentistry department at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. The study included examination of the incidence of oral cavity cancers in Israel from 1970 to 2006. Among salivary gland cancer cases, researchers found a worrying rise in the number of cases of malignant growth in parotid glands - the salivary gland located under the ear, near the location where cell phones are held during conversations.

By contrast, the incidence of salivary cancers in glands of the lower mouth - the so-called submandular and sublingual salivary glands - remained stable. From 1980-2002 the number of cases of parotid salivary cancer held steady at around 25 per year. The number of cases rose dramatically in the five years after to 70 cases per year.
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Health

Fetuses have short term memory at 30 weeks of development

Shara Yurkiewicz
Los Angeles Times
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:36 UTC
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© Aramando Babani / EPA
Fetuses can remember, potentially long enough to shed light on their neural development.

Dutch researchers have found that, at 30 weeks of development, fetuses have a memory of 10 minutes. At 34 weeks old, they can remember events for four weeks. The findings help explain central nervous system development -- and how fetuses may react if that growth is abnormal.

In the study, researchers in the Netherlands applied a sound-and-vibration stimulus to the abdomens of 93 pregnant women. The stimulus lasted for one second and was repeated every 30 seconds, at a location just above the fetus' leg. The fetuses ranged from 30 weeks to 38 weeks.

At first, the fetus would make a startled-like movement, says study coauthor Dr. Jan Nijhuis, director of the Centre for Genetics, Reproduction and Child Health at Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Eventually though, it would stop reacting. The researchers then counted the number of stimuli before the fetus stopped responding.
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Health

Studies About Relations Between Alzheimer's and Omega-3s, Alcohol

Raquel Hecker
ABC News
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:22 UTC
"Good Morning America" medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson has broken down brand new studies on Alzheimer's disease. and wants you to know what they mean. Find out his thoughts on the new research below.

Alzheimer's and Omega Three Fatty Acids

The findings from an 18-month, government-backed study suggest taking supplements of docosahexenoic acid, or DHA -- an omega-3 fatty acid -- does not arrest Alzheimer's in people who have already developed the mind-robbing disease.
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Health

How to Detox Fluorides from Your Body

Paul Fassa
NaturalNews
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:39 UTC
You can rid you body of most fluorides with some easy natural remedies. Fluorides have been linked to a variety of severe chronic, even acute health issues. First a quick review summary of fluoride.

Fluoride Toxicity

Fluoride is a soluble salt, not a heavy metal. There are two basic types of fluoride. Calcium fluoride appears naturally in underground water sources and even seawater. Enough of it can cause skeletal or dental fluorosis, which weakens bone and dental matter. But it is not nearly as toxic, nor does it negatively affect so many other health issues as sodium fluoride, which is added to many water supplies.
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Health

Fluoridated water in tap water and bottled water unsafe for infants, children, adults, and elderly

Angela Schnaubelt
The Examiner
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:25 UTC
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© Angela Schnaubelt
Decades of research have been conducted on the dangers of fluoride to human health. The ingredient in toothpaste is pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride. Even toothpaste tube labels have a warning to call the Poison Control Center if ingested. Fluoride is the poison.

Hydrofluorosilicic acid is what is added to drinking water. It is untreated toxic waste from the phosphate fertilizer industry added to city tap water, and has trace amounts of other toxins in the waste including arsenic and heavy metals. Fluoride is classified as a neurotoxin, just as harmful as lead and aluminum to the human developing brain.
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Heart

Coconut Oil is the Antiviral of Nature

Kim Evans
Natural News
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:55 UTC
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In a time when strange viruses are making headlines around the world, perhaps it's time you knew about the most powerful natural antiviral around: coconut oil. The antiviral activity in coconut oil is remarkable, even among the most resistant viruses, and the best part is, if it's virgin and organic, there isn't a man-made chemical in the mix.
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Ambulance

Alzheimer's Gene Carriers Show Memory Loss May Begin Before 60

Anne Ferrer
Bloomberg
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:13 UTC
People carrying a gene linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease have a higher risk of subtle memory loss as early as their 50s, far sooner than mental decline shows up from normal aging, a study found.

Tests given to 815 research participants in Arizona found 317 carried one or two copies of the gene, known as apolipoprotein E or APOE e4. Memory and IQ tests given over five years showed some of those with two copies of the gene had a higher risk of subtle memory changes as soon as their 50s compared with people who didn't carry the gene. Those with one gene copy started showing a higher risk of mental decline in their 60s, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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