Health & WellnessS


Pills

People with HIV living longer, study shows

Michael Kahn
Canada.com/Reuters
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:49 UTC
People with HIV in the developed world are no more likely to die in the first five years following infection than men and women in the general population, British researchers said on Tuesday.

The risk for people infected through sex creeps up after that, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that highlights the power of AIDS drugs introduced in the mid-1990s.
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Health

Hospitals in northeastern Greece on alert after woman dies of tick-borne fever


International Herald Tribune/Associated Press
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:35 UTC
Health authorities say hospitals in northeastern Greece have been put on alert after a woman died of a form of insect-carried fever.
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Pills

Big Pharma Is in a Frenzy to Bring Cannabis-Based Medicines to Market

Paul Armentano
AlterNet
Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00 UTC
The US government's longstanding denial of medical marijuana research and use is an irrational and morally bankrupt public policy. On this point, few Americans disagree. As for the question of "why" federal officials maintain this inflexible and inhumane policy, well that's another story.
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Health

Study suggests serotonin plays a role in SIDS

Wendy Hansen
Los Angeles Times
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:39 UTC
Mice genetically engineered to overproduce the brain chemical serotonin died at an early age after developing symptoms similar to those of sudden infant death syndrome, suggesting improper regulation of serotonin may cause SIDS in humans.

Most of the mice died after being unable to regulate their heart rate and body temperature, scientists reported Friday in the journal Science.
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People

Flashback Family stress and child's temper extremes contribute to anxiety and depression in children and young people


Norwegian Public Institute of Health
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:16 UTC
Small children who grow up in a family where the mother has psychological distress, the family is exposed to stress or is lacking social support, are at higher risk of developing anxious and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Girls are more vulnerable than boys, and very timid or short-tempered children are more vulnerable than others to develop emotional problems. This is shown in a new doctorate study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental problems for children and adolescents.

Contributing factors to the development of symptoms of anxiety and depression while growing up is the key focus in the doctorate project by Evalill Karevold at the NIPH.

10-20% of all children and young people will, in the course of growing up, display enough symptoms of anxiety and depression to qualify for a diagnosis.
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Recycle

Sick abuse of an 11-year-old: UK girl whose beauty treatments cost £300 a month to make her look like Barbie

Jenny Johnston
The Daily Mail
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:48 UTC
She wore her first set of false eyelashes at eight, and her beauty treatments cost £300 a month. A sick abuse of an 11-year-old? 'No', insists Sasha's mother, 'I just want her to be famous...'

At 11, Sasha Bennington is too young to remember the days when Jordan was just a country and being branded 'fake' was something to be ashamed of.

But maybe the youngster's biggest tragedy is that her mother, Jayne, 31, is in no hurry to paint a picture of how it used to be.

Image
©Unknown
All about the look: Sasha Bennington is just 11 but her mother loves the way she looks
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Magic Wand

Canada: Woman aquires new accent after stroke


McMaster University
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:30 UTC
A woman in southern Ontario is one of the first cases in Canada of a rare neurological syndrome in which a person starts speaking with a different accent, McMaster University researchers report in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences.

The puzzling medical phenomenon known as foreign-accent syndrome (FAS) arises from neurological damage, and results in vocal distortions that typically sound like the speaker has a new, "foreign" accent.

This particular case, however, is even more unusual because the English-speaking woman did not acquire an accent that sounds foreign but one that instead sounds like Maritime Canadian English.
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Syringe

Red Cross: AIDS epidemic a global disaster


BBC / Tehran Times
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:53 UTC


Image
©Unknown

The Aids epidemic in some countries is so severe that it should be classified as a disaster, the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) has warned.

The crisis fits the UN definition of a disaster as an event beyond the scope of any single society to cope with, says the IFRC.

The IFRC's annual report on world disasters usually focuses on specific natural disasters such as earthquakes.

The report says much of the money spent on Aids is not reaching those in need.

This year, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is departing from tradition with its world disasters report, to focus on what it says is one of the most long term and complex problems facing the world: the HIV/Aids epidemic.

Comment: There is more to the AIDS epidemic issue than initially meets the eye. Read here for more.

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Health

Some food from Mexico to face testing


CNN
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:20 UTC
WASHINGTON -- Starting Monday, health inspectors will halt and check the shipment of ingredients common to Mexican cuisine from Mexico to the United States, sources familiar with the salmonella poisoning investigation said.

The inquiry, which initially focused solely on tomatoes, has expanded to include cilantro, jalapeño peppers, Serrano peppers, scallions and bulb onions, said Tommy Thompson, former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who said he has been informed of the plan.

Image
©Getty Images
Since April, more than 900 people have contracted the same strain of salmonella, but its source is unclear.
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Health

Salmonella signs point to peppers

Jonathan D. Rockoff
Baltimore Sun
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:28 UTC
WASHINGTON - Investigators are seeing more signs that the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes might have been caused by tainted jalapeño peppers and have begun collecting samples from restaurants and from the homes of those who have been sickened, according to health officials involved in the probe.

New interviews with those who became infected found that many had eaten jalapeño peppers, often in salsa served with Mexican food, according to two state health officials. So far, none of the jalapeños taken from restaurants and from the homes of those who became ill have tested positive for Salmonella saintpaul.
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