Health & WellnessS


Health

Diet High In Saturated Fat Contributes To Prostate Cancer Treatment Failure, Study Suggests

In the online version of the International Journal of Cancer, Dr. Sara Strom and associates evaluate the association between saturated fat intake and biochemical failure among men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP).

A cohort of 390 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at MD Anderson Cancer Center had a semi-quantitative validated Block food frequency questionnaire modified to their regional diets and completed for the year prior to the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Clinical and pathological data were abstracted from medical records. Categorical and continual variables were analyzed.

Men who consumed high saturated fat diets (HSF) were younger and had higher BMIs at diagnosis than men with who consumed low saturated fat diets (LSF). There were no statistically significant differences in clinico-pathologic characteristics, family history of prostate cancer, education, history of diabetes or physical activity between the 2 groups. Men on HSF diets also consumed more total calories that men on LSF diets. Saturated fats were most commonly consumed as beef steaks, cheese and cheese spreads, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, eggs, ice cream and salad dressings.

Syringe

Fainting cases from vaccines double with new shots

The number of people who fainted after getting vaccines doubled after U.S. health officials recommended three new shots for adolescents in 2005 and 2006.

The number of people ages 5 and older who fainted after getting a vaccination increased to 463 in January 2005 through July 2007, from 203 during a similar period ending in 2004, according to a report today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health

Drug giant profits from human suffering

Just two days after the Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. reported that first quarter 2008 earnings had soared on a special $2.2 billion pretax gain from a limited partnership with AstraZeneca, federal inspectors reported finding 49 "areas of concern" involving contamination of Merck's products, including children's vaccines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which spent 30 days at the company's plants between November 2007 and January 2008, issued a 21-page report suggesting the problems "could be a symptom of Merck's cost cutting in the face of rapid growth of its vaccine business."

Ambulance

Flashback Climate Change set to fan the HIV fire

Climate change is the latest threat to the world's growing HIV epidemic, say Australian experts who warn of the "grim" outlook in the fight against the infectious disease.

Comment: Professor Cooper faulty offers circumcision as a preventative measure against Aids, as the evidence reveal.


Attention

Scotland hit by scarlet fever epidemic

Cases of scarlet fever in Scotland have soared to the highest level in a decade.

So far this year, 383 people have been diagnosed with the illness - three times more than the same period in 2007.

Info

Flashback Nicotine and Autism: Another study demonstrates nicotine's neurological benefits

Nicotine Receptors May Play Role In Development of Autism

Cholinergic nicotinic receptors, which have become a hot area for brain researchers, are linked to yet another psychiatric-neurological disorder - autism.

Deep inside the human brain, cholinergic nicotinic receptors are busy plying their trade, and one might view them as triple agents. They release the nerve transmitter acetylcholine from certain nerve ends, they receive it at others, and they can be stimulated by nicotine - yes, from cigarette smoking!

Comment: It is interesting to note the extreme lengths to which this article goes to in its wording (and in the original headline, retained here as a subheading), to disguise the conclusion that nicotine can be beneficial. If one was to read the article too quicky, one could easily go away with the impression that Nicotine is being cited as a cause of autism, rather than a cure.


Cow

New discovery shows hormone spurs people to eat

A hormone produced in the gut spurs people to eat more by making food seem more appealing, new research reveals, proving the wisdom behind the oft-repeated advice that people should never go food shopping when they are hungry.

Attention

Bird flu spreads to South Korean capital

Bird flu has spread to South Korea's capital Seoul despite a massive nationwide cull that saw the slaughter of six million ducks and chickens in recent weeks, officials said Tuesday.

Image
©Unknown
A South Korean quarantine official decontaminates a small aviary in Seoul

Einstein

Brain-training To Improve Memory Boosts Fluid Intelligence



Brain Training
©Kiyoshi Takahase Segundo
New findings show that multiple efforts designed to improve memory skills similarly improve fluid intelligence.

Brain-training efforts designed to improve working memory can also boost scores in general problem-solving ability and improve fluid intelligence, according to new University of Michigan research.

Comment: And SoTT is here to assist that all important Brain Training folks!


Bell

Music as medicine for your brain

What happens to your brain when the music of Def Leppard, Frank Sinatra or even Michael Bolton blasts through a speaker and fills your head?