Health & Wellness

US: New Tick-Borne Disease Found in Upper Midwest

John Gever
Medpage Today
Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:47 UTC

A previously unknown species of the tick-borne Ehrlichia bacterium was responsible for mysterious infections affecting four people in Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2009, researchers reported in the Aug. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Culturing, serological testing, and DNA analysis confirmed that the four individuals, all of whom recovered, were infected with a still unnamed Ehrlichia species distinct from E. chaffeensis and E. ewingii, the most common pathogens responsible for ehrlichiosis in the U.S., according to Dr. Bobbi S. Pritt of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and colleagues.

Currently designated as Ehrlichia Wisconsin HM543746, the new species appears most closely related to E. muris, which until recently was thought to be confined to eastern Europe and parts of Asia. Pritt and colleagues found the two species to be 98 percent genetically similar.

Study: U.S. Hospitals Poor at Breast-feeding Support

David Beasley
Reuters
Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:42 UTC

© Reuters/Carlos Barria/Files
A nursing mother holds her son in front of the Delta airlines counter during a protest over breastfeeding on Delta planes at Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida

U.S. hospitals are not doing enough to encourage mothers to breast-feed their newborns, raising the risk of childhood obesity, diabetes and other conditions, according to a federal study released on Tuesday.

Less than 4 percent of the country's hospitals fully support breast-feeding, said a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In nearly 80 percent of hospitals, healthy babies who are being breast-fed are given formula even when there is no medical need for it, making it more difficult to continue breast-feeding at home, the report says.

Smoke, Drink, Eat the Wrong Food and Live to 100...If You've Inherited the Right Genes

Fiona Macrae
The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:53 UTC

Smoking, drinking and eating fast food will not stop you living to a ripe old age - if you have the right genes.

A study of hundreds of centenarians revealed they were just as likely to have vices as other people - and in some cases they indulged in them more.

Some of them had smoked for 85 years, others got through more than two packets of cigarettes a day. They also exercised less than their shorter-lived counterparts but were less likely to become obese.

The bad news is it is almost impossible to be sure if you are one of the lucky few blessed with the longevity genes.

This means, say the American researchers, that there is no excuse for not taking care of your health.

Study links asthma to magnetic-field exposure of pregnant moms

Carly Weeks
Globe and Mail
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:08 UTC

Can magnetic fields from power lines, computers and even common household appliances lead to health problems down the road?

A new study suggests that pregnant women with the highest levels of exposure to magnetic fields are more likely to have a child who develops asthma, compared to pregnant women with low exposure levels.

The study was conducted by the same researcher who made waves in 2002 with a study that suggested magnetic fields could boost a woman's chances of miscarriage.

But many experts aren't convinced the risks are real and the medical field remains sharply divided over the presence of a link between health problems and exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Are You Taking Pills You Don't Need?

Martha Rosenberg
Epoch Times
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:51 UTC

Some reasons why

Most people blame direct-to-consumer advertising, especially on TV, for elevating everyday anxiety to depression, depression to bipolar disorder, childhood behavior problems to psychiatric illnesses, lack of sleep to excessive sleepiness, migraines to epilepsy-drug deficiencies, and old age to hormone deficiency.

Ghostwriting also helps promote the national malaise: people suffering from and treating diseases that didn't exist earlier and ballooning public and private health-plan costs.

There are 200 U.S. medical education and communication companies (MECCs) that ghostwrite medical journal articles for pharma for $20,000 to $40,000 per article. Companies like Complete Healthcare Communications (CHC), whose phalanx of 50 medical writers, editors, and medical directors promise an "84.5 percent acceptance rate for first-time manuscript submissions."

Acne, Mental Health, and Diet

Emily Deans
Psychology Today
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:45 UTC

Are acne and mental health related to what we eat?

In 2008 some folks from a Beverly Hills skin clinic wrote up a short paper in Lipids in Health and Disease called Acne vulgaris, mental health and omega-3 fatty acids: a report of cases (free full text). The experiment itself was an open-label trial of a mineral/omega-3 supplement on five patients, so useful only as a reason get us thinking and to give us pointers for further research. But a lot of interesting science tidbits on acne, omega-3s, and minerals are noted in the article, so it's worth a peek.

Acne is a disease of civilization which, like depression, has increased the last half century, especially in women. As was discussed in my blog post, Acne and Suicide, patients with acne are more likely to be depressed, angry, and suicidal. In fact, patients with acne struggle more with mental health issues than even patients with epilepsy or diabetes, according to a study comparing questionnaires between sufferers of acne and other general medical conditions.

How Did These Babies Die? Question Unites Grieving Families

Jeremy Deutsch
Citizens Comission on Human Rights International
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:37 UTC

Matthew Schultz was only 2.5 hours old when he died on Feb. 21, 2009. A coroner's report stated there was no anatomical or toxicological cause of death, which was deemed "natural". Another baby, Greyson Rawkins, was only two months old when he died on March 23 of this year. A coroner's report found Greyson died of sudden unexplained death in infancy and his death was ruled undetermined. However, the mothers of both babies were taking Effexor while carrying and believe the antidepressant drug may be connected to the deaths of their children. And, as KTW learned, there are widespread medical warnings about pregnant women taking antidepressants.

Two hours is not a lot of time, but for little Matthew Schultz, it was his entire life.

One moment, Amery Schultz held Matthew in his arms. The next moment, his child was dead.

As the Merritt family struggled to deal with their grief, two years later and 45 minutes away in Kamloops, another family would be shattered by the sudden loss of a newborn.

Greyson Maxwell Rawkins was found one morning by his mother, cold and unresponsive.

The two-month old was dead.

Unlike most sudden-infant deaths, which go largely unexplained, both families believe they know exactly what killed their sons - an antidepressant called Effexor.

DSM 5 Will Further Inflate The ADD Bubble

Allen J. Frances, M.D
Psychology Today
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:04 UTC

The Child Work Group Fails Again To Learn From Its Experience

Martin Whiteley is an MP who represents Perth in the Australian parliament. He has been actively involved in mental health issues and succeeded in a crusade to curb what had been Perth's alarming overdiagnosis and overmedication of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Mr Whiteley has become expert in the intricacies of ADD and is alarmed that the changes suggested for DSM 5 will greatly exacerbate the ADD fad he worked so hard to tame. Read Mr Whiteley's careful item by item review and you will be alarmed too: Speed Up & Sit Still: The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

We are already in the midst of a false epidemic of ADD. Rates in kids that were 3-5% when DSM IV was published in 1994 have now jumped to 10%. In part this came from changes in DSM IV, but most of the inflation was caused by a marketing blitz to practitioners that accompanied new on-patent drugs amplified by new regulations that also allowed direct to consumer advertising to parents and teachers. In a sensible world, DSM 5 would now offer much tighter criteria for ADD and much clearer advice on the steps needed in its differential diagnosis. This would push back, however feebly, against the skilled and well financed drug company sell. DSM 5 should work hard to improve its text, not play carelessly with the ADD criteria in a way that may unleash a whole set of dreadful unintended consequences- unneeded medication, stigma, lowered expectations, misallocation of resources, and contribution to the illegal secondary market peddling stimulants for recreation or performance enhancement.

Suicide Victims Found to Have Abnormal Brain Cells

Rachael Rettner
My Health News Daily
Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:45 UTC

Changes to some of the star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes may play a role in depression, a new study finds.

The findings are based on the postmortem examination of brains of depressed individuals who committed suicide.

The researchers focused on a part of the brain involved in mood regulation and decision making, called the anterior cingulate cortex. In depressed people, some astrocytes were larger and more branched than those of people with no history of psychiatric illness who died suddenly, the researchers said.

These differences showed up only in the brains' white matter, not gray matter. White matter, found deep inside the brain, consists mostly of "cables" that allow different brain areas to communicate.

The study adds to a growing body of research linking changes in white matter to depression. It is the first study to "zoom in" and observe changes occurring at a cellular level, said study researcher Naguib Mechawar of McGill University in Quebec.

The researchers said they don't know whether these alterations are a cause or effect of depression and can only speculate on how the changes would contribute to the mood disorder. It's likely they would affect communication between the anterior cingulate cortex and other parts of the brain, Mechawar added.

Clues to Gluten Sensitivity

The Wall Street Journal
Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:50 UTC

Lisa Rayburn felt dizzy, bloated and exhausted. Wynn Avocette suffered migraines and body aches. Stephanie Meade's 4-year-old daughter had constipation and threw temper tantrums.

All three tested negative for celiac disease, a severe intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. But after their doctors ruled out other causes, all three adults did their own research and cut gluten - and saw the symptoms subside.

A new study in the journal BMC Medicine may shed some light on why. It shows gluten can set off a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system, even in people who don't have celiac disease.

"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.

artificial intelligence would address the company's chronic problems AI will eventally realize that the problem is Zuckenberk and his ilk, and...

dom38

Here's a nice tune for a war criminal. [Link]

frankchapeau

The dude is now on his own way to Hell.

dom38

Codis Albeit I think those times were harsher with people that chose to ignore reality ... Same goes for NOW tambien.

LindaMay

The earth just got a tiny bit better! :) Good riddance you filthy piece of shit, take a few more of your tribe with you!

Psstoffgoy

Health & Wellness

US: New Tick-Borne Disease Found in Upper Midwest

Study: U.S. Hospitals Poor at Breast-feeding Support

Smoke, Drink, Eat the Wrong Food and Live to 100...If You've Inherited the Right Genes

Study links asthma to magnetic-field exposure of pregnant moms

Are You Taking Pills You Don't Need?

Acne, Mental Health, and Diet

How Did These Babies Die? Question Unites Grieving Families

DSM 5 Will Further Inflate The ADD Bubble

Suicide Victims Found to Have Abnormal Brain Cells

Clues to Gluten Sensitivity

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