Ohio woman goes blind after cat licks her: report

ecause 40 percent of felines carry the bacteria that cause CSD, Brickman advised pet owners to wash their hands frequently. "Don't let [cats] lick any open wounds, and try not to get bit by any cat," he added.

US Only Country To See Increase In Maternal Death Rate Since 1990.

reports that last year the United Nations reported “it would not meet its goal to decrease the number of women who die in childbirth by 75 percent by 2015, a Millennium Development goal.” Rather, “The Guardian reports the maternal mortality rate decreased by 45 percent between 1990 and 2013.” Notably, “the United States is the only country in the world in which maternal deaths increased between 1990 and 2013,” and in 2013 “28 women were dying for every 100,00 births, compared to 12 women for every 100,000 births in 1990.”

Marrying Before College Graduation May Be Linked To Higher Risk Of Later Obesity.

reports that research “suggests that young adults who wed before graduation are about 50 percent more likely to later become obese than those who waited to tie the knot.” The findings were published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Medical Daily (5/29) also covers the story.

Mistaken Beliefs About Diet Drugs May Result In People Gaining, Not Losing, Weight.

eports in “Wonkblog” that “a growing pool of research suggest people are prone” to use diet drugs “improperly” due to a false belief “that weight-loss remedies are more powerful than they actually are.” As a result, people “tend to eat worse after merely being exposed to advertisements for diet drugs” because they believed an easy remedy exists to solve the problem. Additionally, people who are on diet drugs often end up gaining weight due to their mistaken beliefs about what the drug can and can’t do.

Certain Plastic Teething Toys May Contain Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals.

eports that research suggests that certain plastic teething toys may contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The findings were published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology.

Colon Cancer: Is Teenage Weight a Risk for Men?

Body mass index (BMI) as well as inflammation as reflected by the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in late adolescence appear to be independently associated with mild-life colorectal cancer (CRC), a Swedish study indicates. Compared with men who had a normal BMI of 18.5 to < 25 kg/m2 at the age of 16 to 20, men who were overweight with upper BMI of between 27.5 to < 30 kg/m2 at the same point in time had a 2.08-fold higher risk of CRC (95% CI: 1.40-30.907) at an average follow-up some 35 years later.

Pentagon Inadvertently Shipped Live Anthrax to Labs in Nine States

Samples of live anthrax were inadvertently shipped to private research laboratories in nine states and one in South Korea that were supposed to have received dead anthrax samples, the Pentagon confirmed today. There is no known risk to the general public and there have been no suspected or confirmed cases of anthrax infection as a result of the inadvertent shipment, officials said. There is no known risk to the general public, and there are no suspected or confirmed cases of anthrax infection in potentially exposed lab workers," he added. "The DoD lab was working as part of a DoD effort to develop a field-based test to identify biological threats in the environment. Out of an abundance of caution, DoD has stopped the shipment of this material from its labs pending completion of the investigation. "

Research Indicates Modern Oral Contraceptives May Significantly Increase Blood Clot Risk.

research published in the BMJ indicates that modern oral contraceptives may significantly increase blood clot risk. Scientists led by Yana Vinogradova of the University of Nottingham “found that using the Pill was linked to anywhere from a two- to more than four-fold increased risk of developing clots compared to women who didn’t take oral contraceptives.”

Experimental Drug May Prompt Weight-Loss In Obese Mice.

Science Now” blog reports that research suggests that “a variant of a drug used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension prompts weight-loss in obese mice.” Researchers found that “among mice fed a high-fat diet, those who did not get the medication became obese while medicated mice did not.” The blog points out that “the experimental drug used, a stimulator of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), is a member of the same class of novel drugs as the drug riociguat.”

Expectant Moms Face Greater Diabetes Risk With Boys

Previous studies have shown that beta-cell dysfunction plays a role in determining a woman's risk of GDM. And a male fetus was shown to be associated with poorer beta-cell function in pregnancy

Sudden Infant Death Risk Greater in Mountains

This is important not because it gives us an idea as to the cause of SIDS, but because certain issues exist at altitude – one of which is hypoxia," he said. "And it may be one of these issues, particularly hypoxia, that may be the cause of sudden infant death at altitude, but more research is needed to understand the pathophysiology of SIDS."

Dyslexia in Kids Not Caused by Vision Problems

Nno association between severe reading impairment (SRI) and strabismus ("squinting"), motor fusion (eye coordination), sensory fusion at a distance, refractive error (need for glasses), amblyopia ("lazy eye"), convergence (focus), accommodation, or contrast sensitivity (eye chart).The authors state that ophthalmic intervention should not be the main focus of dyslexia management, and "intensive interventions involving instructions on phonics, word analysis, and reading fluency comprehension" may produce better results. "There is a lack of robust epidemiologic evidence to suggest that [ophthalmic] therapies are effective in improving outcomes for those with dyslexia," they concluded.

Research Inconclusive As To Whether Diet, Exercise May Prevent Age-Related Muscle Loss.

People lose 30 percent to 50 percent of their muscle mass between the ages of 40 and 80, according to the study authors. Although some studies have found enhanced effects of exercise training when combined with diet supplementation, our review shows that current evidence is incomplete and inconsistent. Further research to determine the benefits of supplementation and exercise training for older people is therefore needed," Robinson said.

A canine flu outbreak has hit the US—here’s how to protect your pet

That sneezing dog won’t pass on the flu to you, but it will to other dogs. According to Cornell University’s veterinary school, a canine flu outbreak began in the country in April. For now at least, it’s mostly confined to the Chicago area, where 238 dogs had tested positive (pdf) by May 6:

Studies Examine How High Blood Sugar Levels Affect The Brain.

Diabetes May Be a Risk Factor for Developing Alzheimer’s, Studies Find Uncontrolled blood sugar may affect cognition and the brain years before dementia symptoms arise

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Tuna in Sushi Sickens 53 in 9 States

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Tuna in Sushi Sickens 53 in 9 States Most of those affected specifically said they ate “spicy” tuna, according to the CDC. (Photo: Flickr) A salmonella outbreak likely linked to raw tuna has sickened 53 people in nine states, health officials said Thursday. Most of the cases — 31 — are in California, officials at the California Department of Public Health said. Other affected states include Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Affected patients range in age from younger than one year old to 83 years old.

Brief Antibiotic Course Effective for Gut Infections

May mean antibiotic duration can be shortened.

Botox Promising for Depression: Review

Botulinum toxin A prevents release of acetylcholine from nerve endings, which leads to muscle paralysis, he noted. The substance is widely known for its cosmetic role to treat frown lines. But it has other uses, including treating muscle contractions or spasms, chronic migraine, and urinary incontinence in adults with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, Parsaik said. And recently it has begin attracting attention as a possible treatment for depression, on the rationale that facial expression plays a role in mood so that preventing an unhappy expression might actually reduce unhappiness. Injections of the muscle-paralyzing drug into the forehead

FDA Expected To Announce Final Rule On Trans Fat “Any Day Now.”

“The Salt” blog that “any day now,” the Food and Drug Administration is “expected to announce a final rule that could amount to a near ban of trans fats.” Michael Jacobson, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, “The time is long overdue to get trans fats out of the food supply.” As a part of the new rule, the FDA “will likely revoke the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status of trans fats,” which “could pose a problem for manufacturers that still have small amounts of partially hydrogenated oils in the products they sell” by opening them up to litigation.

CDC: Smoking Rates Continue To Decline In Half Of States.

according to research CDC estimates, “cigarette smoking continues to decline in about half of American states.” However, rates have gone up in other states and, in others yet, “a more worrisome trend has emerged – people using a combination of tobacco products, such as cigarettes plus smokeless tobacco, officials said.”

Weight Training’s Benefits May Depend On A Woman’s Genetic Risk For Obesity.

How well resistance exercises work may depend on a woman's genetic risk for obesity, new research suggests. Strength-building workouts seem to be most effective for those with a low genetic risk for a high body-mass index (BMI), the study found. BMI is a rough estimate of a person's body fat -- the higher the number, the more fat a person has. "This doesn't mean that resistance training is futile for women with higher genetic risk for obesity. It means those with lower genetic risk just benefited more," said Jennifer Bea, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. "We have previously shown that the resistance training was important for these women in many other ways, including improved bone density. Like most interventions, exercise is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. People with higher genetic risk scores for higher BMI may benefit more from aerobic training, for example," Bea said in a university news release. Researchers examined the genetic markers of nearly 150 women. They were between 30 and 65 years old. All participated in the year-long Bone Estrogen and Strength Training (BEST) study. Each woman received a genetic risk score for obesity, which was based on 21 genetic markers, or indicators, believed to affect body weight.

Study Examines Risks And Benefits Of Gastric Bypass For Treatment Of T2D.

reports that gastric bypass may help people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) control their disease better, but may also lead to a greater risk for fractures and infections, according to a study published online in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Researchers also found that gastric bypass may lead to deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D and iron in some patients.

Food Companies Fear Bird Flu May Cause Egg Shortages

Sleep Apnea Linked to Depression in Men

Worst risk with both obstructive sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness.

Infant’s Gender May Affect Mother’s Risk For Gestational Diabetes, T2D.

reports that an infant’s gender may “affect a mother’s risk for” gestational diabetes and for “type 2 diabetes [T2D] after pregnancy,” according to research published online May 20 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The review of “data from nearly 643,000 women in Canada” revealed that “women who were carrying a son were more likely to develop gestational diabetes.” Meanwhile, the study indicated that “women who developed gestational diabetes while pregnant with a daughter had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.”

Bone Drug Might Help in Schizophrenia

Selective estrogen receptor modulator improves cognition, study shows.

Analysis Reveals Chronic Health Conditions Discovered During Eye Examinations.

High cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes were three health conditions discovered during eye examinations. http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2015/05/19/unitedhealth-team-measures-eye-exam-risk-catching?ref=rss

Adults Who Were Bullied As Kids May Have Greater Risk For Obesity, Heart Disease, Diabetes.

a study published online May 20 in the journal Psychological Medicine suggests that people who are bullied in childhood have an increased likelihood of becoming obese or overweight as adults and may also have a greater risk of developing diabetes or heart disease. Included in the study were 7,102 people who had been bullied in childhood and who were tracked until they became 45 and were examined for obesity and blood markers for inflammation.

Consumer Groups Push To Regulate Potentially Lethal Caffeine Powder.

reports in-depth on efforts to restrict the sale of caffeine powder, which is sold as a dietary supplement and “virtually unregulated and widely available from online vendors.” The article notes that “in its pure form, caffeine is quite powerful,” with ten grams, roughly a tablespoon, being a “lethal dose for an adult.” Laura MacCleery, an attorney with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, “It’s the public misperception and familiarity with caffeine, which is something we think we know, that makes this product so dangerous in its current form.” Although the FDA has not regulated the sale of powdered caffeine, spokesperson Jennifer Corbett Dooren said the agency “will consider taking regulatory action, as appropriate, to protect consumers.”

Getting At Least Seven Hours Of Sleep Per Day May Reduce Negative Health Consequences Of Shift Work.

eports that investigators looked at data on approximately 1,500 people. The researchers found that “shift workers were 30 percent more likely to be overweight compared to those on a normal schedule.” Additionally, “shift workers...experienced more insomnia, insufficient sleep,” and “sleepiness.” The investigators “found that much of the weight difference can be explained by the sleep problems. reports that research suggests that “getting at least seven hours of sleep a day could lessen the negative health consequences for those who do shifts outside the 9-to-5 schedule.”

IBS: Is Peppermint Oil May Be a Treatment Option

Slow-release formula offers relief within an hour. When patients with severe or unbearable abdominal pain took peppermint oil, they reported a 79.4% reduction in symptoms while placebo patients reported a 40.2% reduction in symptoms after 4 weeks of therapy (P<0.0009), they stated in a poster presentation at the Digestive Disease Week annual meeting. L-menthol, the main constituent of peppermint oil, has anti-spasmodic, anti-carminative, topical analgesic, anti-infective, and 5-HT3 receptor antagonism properties, the authors explained.

Blood Test Helps IBS Patients Get Firm Diagnosis

A blood test for antibodies against bacterial toxins allows most patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) to avoid invasive endoscopies that would otherwise be needed to check for Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, a researcher said here. Because IBS symptoms are nonspecific and are also seen in IBD and celiac disease, among others, patients often undergo a long diagnostic odyssey to establish a diagnosis. Pimentel noted as well that IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that patients must undergo tests for other conditions that match the symptomatology. In the case of IBD, that typically means repeated colonoscopies. A blood test that would quickly rule out IBD would be a significant benefit to patients by reducing the cost, inconvenience, and discomfort associated with colonoscopies, Pimentel argued. For the trial, Pimentel and colleagues enrolled 2,375 patients with D-IBS diagnosed according to Rome III criteria, along with 142 with IBD, 121 with celiac disease (both also diagnosed according to standard methods), and 43 healthy volunteers. Blood samples were tested with an ELISA assay for anti-CdtB and anti-viculin antibodies.

FDA Expected To “All But Ban” Trans Fat.

reported that the FDA “is expected to all but ban trans fat” as soon as next week, a move beyond the current 85 percent reduction implemented over the past decade. In response, food industry leaders “have banded together behind -the-scenes to craft a food additive petition that will ask FDA to allow some uses of partially hydrogenated oils” in “very limited amounts.” An outright ban will likely “pose significant technical and economic challenges,” due to the “hundreds of minor and often highly-technical uses in products.”

Dental Office Screening Identifies Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes

Close to 20% of dental patients were found to have pre-diabetes as a result of dental-office screening.

Three Diabetes Drugs Linked to Ketoacidosis, FDA Warns

FDA targets SGLT2 inhibitors canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin.

Mexico Restricts High-Calorie, Processed Foods In Schools.

Guthrie, Subscription Publication) reports on Mexico’s efforts this year to crack down on high-calorie foods and drinks in schools, as the country seeks to combat widespread obesity among children. But while the new guidelines in theory bar companies from selling junk food on school campuses, public officials and watchdog groups say enforcement is lacking at the country’s 248,000 primary schools.

CDC Report Showed Mixed Results Combating Food-Borne Illnesses In 2014.

“To Your Health” that a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday indicates that while some progress has been made controlling some food-borne illnesses in 2014, “more work remains to be done with others.” The data showed that 71 people died and over 4,400 were hospitalized in 2014 due to food-borne illnesses, with one in six Americans becoming ill each year from contaminated food. Listeria was the most dangerous food-borne illness in 2014, but also the most rare, while salmonella was the most common with 7,452 cases. Overall, “salmonella rates remained roughly unchanged,” while “campylobacter infections rose 13 percent.” the CDC report did show that incidents involving a particularly dangerous strain of E. coli had declined 20 percent in recent years, which health officials attribute to “regulatory scrutiny of the beef industry” and “voluntary changes in the produce industry.” Although the report only studied data from ten states, it “is believed to be a good indicator of national trends.”

Fetal Exposure To Organochlorine Pesticides Tied To Increased Risk For Being Overweight At Age Seven.

reports that a study published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that “fetal exposure to endocrine-disrupting environmental pesticides called organochlorines” may be “associated with increased risk for being overweight at age” seven. After measuring “concentrations of suspected EDCs in 470 pregnant women enrolled in the Environment and Childhood Project from 2004 to 2006,” then measuring youngsters’ height at age seven, then adjusting for confounding factors, “investigators found that children with the highest level of exposure had significant increases in BMI compared with children with the lowest exposure level for the following organochloride chemicals:” hexachlorobenzene, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyl, polychlorinated biphenyl 180, and dichlordiphenyldichloroethylene. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/GeneralEndocrinology/51510

Even A Few Minutes Per Hour Of Gentle Walking May Reduce Harms Of Oversitting.

Well” blog reported that a study (5/14) published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology suggests that “even a few minutes per hour of moving instead of remaining in a chair might substantially reduce the harms of oversitting.” After analyzing data on some “3,626 adult men and women,” researchers found that people “who walked around after standing, replacing some of their sitting time with a light-intensity activity like strolling, gained a substantial benefit in terms of mortality risk.” If participants “replaced as little as two minutes of sitting each hour with gentle walking, they lowered their risk of premature death by about 33 percent, compared with people who sat almost nonstop.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/a-2-minute-walk-may-counter-the-harms-of-sitting/?ref=health&_r=0

Drug-resistant typhoid tracked worldwide, public health threat 'critical' - study

A deadly typhoid ‘superbug’ is spreading across Africa and Asia, creating a “previously under-appreciated and ongoing epidemic,” a groundbreaking international study warns. H58, driven by a single family of the bacteria, is resistant to most antibiotics. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, who have been studying the far-reaching infection, say typhoid affects around 30 million people each year. According to researchers, H58 has emerged and spread throughout Asia and Africa over the last 30 years. Evidence of a recent unreported wave of H58 transmission in many countries in Africa has also been found.

People With “Thrifty Metabolisms” May Have A More Difficult Time Losing Weight.

that a 12-participant study published May 11 in the journal Diabetes “confirms what many frustrated dieters already suspect: Your metabolism might make it tougher for you to lose weight than others.” After taking into account confounding factors, researchers from the Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch of the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases “found that participants who lost the least amount of weight during the six weeks of reducing calorie intake were those whose metabolism decreased the most during fasting.” In a news release, NIDDK director Griffin Rogers, MD, MACP, said, “What we’ve learned from this study may one day enable a more personalized approach to help people who are obese achieve a healthy weight.” http://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/dieting-to-lose-weight-health-news-195/thrifty-metabolism-might-sabotage-weight-loss-efforts-699303.html?lexp=true&utm_expid=38353063-4.pIV1hUrQR8K_MJ1_OqjLag.1

Research Suggests Coffee May Have Health Benefits.

a professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, writes about the “surprisingly large” benefits of coffee. Dr. Carroll mentions studies and meta-analyses suggesting that “drinking moderate amounts of coffee is linked to lower rates of pretty much all cardiovascular disease.” In addition, coffee consumption is tied to “better laboratory values in those at risk for liver disease,” as well as “improved responses to antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C and better outcomes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.” What’s more, “regular coffee consumption was associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”

Cosmetic Products For Nails Tied To Serious Health Problems.

in a 4,000-word article that “a growing body of medical research shows a link between the chemicals that make nail and beauty products useful – the ingredients that make them chip-resistant and pliable, quick to dry and brightly colored, for example – and serious health problems,” particularly for the cosmetologists who must work with them. But, “the federal law that regulates cosmetics safety, which is more than 75 years old, does not require companies to share safety information with the” FDA. While “the law bans ingredients harmful to users...it contains no provisions for the agency to evaluate the effects of the chemicals before they are put on shelves.” The cosmetics industry “has long fought regulations.”

Quitting Smoking May Have Adverse Effects For People With Diabetes.

a study by researchers at Coventry University in the UK found that while smoking raises the risk of diabetes and quitting has many health benefits, diabetics who stopped smoking could have temporary problems controlling their symptoms. The researches looked at 10,692 UK adult smokers with diabetes and discovered that quitting smoking led to an increase in blood sugar levels that remained present for three years and was not related to weight gain. The study appeared online in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. While smoking, individuals are basically administering an appetite suppressant (nicotine) every time they smoke," Folan, who wasn't involved in the study, said by email. "In heavy smokers, this can be 20 to 40 times a day." To minimize the risk of blood sugar levels rising, smokers with diabetes should focus on developing healthy diet and exercise habits before they quit and then consider medications to control nicotine urges as well as blood sugar once they stop smoking, Folan said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/08/us-health-diabetes-smoking-cessation-idUSKBN0NT1ZV20150508

Moving Between Neighborhoods May Cause Changes In Body Weight.

a study published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine “suggests that moving between neighborhoods can also cause changes in body weight.” After analyzing “a sample of more than 1,000 Dallas County residents between the ages of 18 and 65 who researchers had followed for seven years,” investigators “found that people who moved to more socioeconomically depressed neighborhoods gained weight.” According to TIME, the NIH “says that living environments can encourage obesity and interfere with an unhealthy lifestyle; a lack of sidewalks and safe parks, a glut of fast-food restaurants with little access to fruits and vegetables, heavy food advertising and long work hours of residents all contribute.” http://time.com/3850834/weight-gain-poor-neighborhoods/

Ebola Survivors May Develop Eye Disease

During his recovery, Crozier developed severe uveitis, an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye that contains many of the eye's blood vessels. The condition can destroy eye tissues and cause vision loss. Doctors found that Crozier had Ebola virus in the clear fluid between his eye lens and cornea. The Ebola in the eye fluid was discovered 10 weeks after it was no longer detectable in his blood. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=188383

CDC: Significant Increase In HCV Infections In Four States Tied To Injection Drug And Painkiller Abuse.

that “the incidence of acute” HCV “infections among young people in rural areas of” those “four Appalachian states more than tripled from 2006 to 2012,” the CDC report found. In those four states, “new hepatitis cases among people age 30 and younger rose from 1.25 per 100,000 in 2006 people to 4 per 100,000 in 2012.” In nearly three-quarters (73%) of these cases, HCV patients admitted to injecting “drugs, which can spread the virus when people share needles.” According to USA Today, “the report is the first CDC study to link the rise in hepatitis C to an increase in injection drug use, said John Ward, director of viral hepatitis prevention at the CDC, who called the rising infection rates ‘staggering.’” http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/05/07/drug-use-increases-hepatitis/70907318/

People Who Live At Higher Altitudes May Be Less Likely To Become Overweight Or Obese

Previous research has suggested that lower concentrations of oxygen in the air at higher altitudes are associated with lower obesity rates. It's believed that lower concentrations of oxygen in the air may suppress hunger, according to the researchers. http://consumer.healthday.com/environmental-health-information-12/environment-health-news-233/higher-altitude-may-lead-to-lower-weight-study-contends-699137.html

Grocery lists may help shoppers stick to healthier diet, lower weight

We don't know whether people who are healthier pay more attention to what they eat and pay more attention to their weight and are also people who do more planning, or if people who do more planning are more able to avoid impulse purchases and the less healthy options presented to them at the supermarket," lead study author Tamara Dubowitz said. ADVERTISING "We can say there is a link but we can't say what causes it," Dubowitz, a researcher at RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, told Reuters Health. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/07/us-health-diet-shopping-list-idUSKBN0NS24220150507

EPA suggests triggers for warning of algae in drinking water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the first nationwide guidelines Wednesday for determining when algal toxins have reached dangerous levels in public water systems and do-not-drink warnings might be needed. Up to 48 million people nationwide get drinking water from lakes and reservoirs that could become fouled with toxins generated by algae-like bacteria, the federal agency said. Pollution from cyanobacteria, otherwise known as blue-green algae, in Lake Erie left more than 400,000 people in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan without usable tap water for two days last August. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EPA_ALGAE_BLOOMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Eating Multiple Brands Of Same Food May Encourage Overeating.

The researchers found that the people who ate multiple brands of pizza were more likely to view pizza as less filling compared to people who ate one brand, and they were more likely to overeat when they were eating pizza to avoid being hungry later, suggesting they were unable to accurately compensate for the calories they were consuming on a given day. The findings suggest that having so many options may distort people’s perception of how filling a given food is. Historically, our ability to regulate our own expectations of food satiety was based on sensory experiences with that food. The researchers suggest that the influx of brands for foods that have the same taste, but not necessarily the same calories, may be throwing us off. And that might be bad news for the number on the scale. http://time.com/3847553/the-weird-thing-that-packs-on-calories-and-pounds/

U.S. Hispanics are healthier than whites, CDC says, despite many reasons that shouldn’t be

To Your Health” blog reports that a new CDC report on Hispanics in the US indicates that members of this ethnic group are generally healthier than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. The findings indicate that Hispanics’ incidence rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer is 35 percent and 49 percent lower, respectively. Their life spans are also about two years longer. CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a conference call Tuesday, “For many years there has been a description of the Hispanic Paradox, that despite...lower socioeconomic status they live longer.” Frieden added, “Recent data corroborates [sic] that most of that may relate to smoking rates.”

Hey Guys, Toilet Bacteria Is Probably Lurking In Your Beards

In a small experiment conducted by Action 7 News in Albuquerque, a group of men had their beards swabbed for testing and the samples were handed to a laboratory for analysis. The results: Many of the men were walking around with the same bacteria swimming around in toilet bowls. https://www.yahoo.com/health/hey-guys-toilet-bacteria-is-probably-lurking-in-118122911042.html

Whooping Cough Epidemic Hit Vaccinated Kids Hard

Researchers found Tdap vaccine effectiveness fell off after 2 to 4 years. The 2012 pertussis epidemic in Washington state affected a surprising number of adolescents who were vaccinated on schedule, researchers reported. Compared with over 1,200 controls, 450 adolescent cases of pertussis showed similar rates of having received five rounds of their vaccinations on the recommended schedule, but the vaccine's effectiveness rate dropped dramatically over time from 73% within 1 year to as low as 34% after 2 to 4 years from the last dose, Anna M. Acosta, MD, of the CDC, and colleagues, reported in Pediatrics. The study authors hazarded a few guesses as to why vaccine effectiveness fell short. One explanation could be suboptimal, post-vaccination, cell-mediated immunity with the acellular vaccine. Another could be that the vaccine prevented symptoms, but not infection and transmission. Also, there could have been genetic mutations in the pertussis strains that were not accounted for in the vaccine.

Why diets don’t actually work, according to a researcher who has studied them for decades

After you diet, so many biological changes happen in your body that it becomes practically impossible to keep the weight off. It's not about someone's self-control or strength of will. What kind of biological changes? There are three biological changes that take place that seem most important to me. The first is neurological. When you are dieting, you actually become more likely to notice food. Basically your brain becomes overly responsive to food, and especially to tasty looking food. But you don't just notice it — it actually begins to look more appetizing and tempting. It has increased reward value. So the thing you're trying to resist becomes harder to resist. So already, if you think about it, it's not fair. Then there are hormonal changes, and it's the same kind of thing. As you lose body fat, the amount of different hormones in your body changes. And the hormones that help you feel full, or the level of those rather, decreases. The hormones that make you feel hungry, meanwhile, increases. So you become more likely to feel hungry, and less likely to feel full given the same amount of food. Again, completely unfair. And the third biological change, which I think people do sort of know about, is that there are metabolic changes. Your metabolism slows down. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/04/why-diets-dont-actually-work-according-to-a-researcher-who-has-studied-them-for-decades/

Blood Test May Be Able To Predict Cancer Years Before A Diagnosis.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/changes-in-the-blood-can-predict-cancer/

CDC Confirms Ebola Transmission Via Sex

U.S. health officials are now recommending people avoid contact with the semen of Ebola survivors after a woman in Liberia contracted Ebola through sexual intercourse with a survivor of the disease. In a report issued on Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a review of the 44-year-old woman's case now suggests that the Ebola virus persists longer in semen that previously thought. http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Ebola/51322?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-05-02&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&mu_id=5883165

HPV testing in women under 30 could cause more harm than good, group says.

For women younger than 30 years, clinicians should not perform HPV testing at all because of the high prevalence of HPV infection in this age group, wrote authors. False positives in this age group could lead to downstream harms such unnecessary biopsies and hysterectomies, said Centor. Cervical cone biopsies could result in subsequent childbirth complications, added Mir. The American College of Physicians (ACP) said Pap smears should be the mainstay of cervical cancer screening in normal-risk women younger than 30, with molecular testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) reserved for older patients only. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACP/51292?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-05-01&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&mu_id=5883165

FDA Wants Data to Support Antiseptic Claims

Agency also plans to require more safety data on topical germicides for healthcare use. Emerging science [suggests that] systemic exposure (full body exposure as shown by detection of antiseptic ingredients in the blood or urine) is higher than previously thought, and existing data raise potential concerns about the effects of repeated daily human exposure to some antiseptic active ingredients," the FDA said. It added that it wants "additional data on the long-term safety of daily, repeated exposure to these ingredients in the healthcare setting and on the use of these products by certain populations, including pregnant and breastfeeding healthcare workers, for which topical absorption of the active ingredients may be important." The new rules only apply to antiseptics sold for use in healthcare settings, not consumer products such as antibacterial soaps or hand sanitizer rubs, the FDA emphasized. http://www.medpagetoday.com/HospitalBasedMedicine/InfectionControl/51289?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-05-01&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&mu_id=5883165

Genetic Variations May Protect Some Women’s Bodies From Fat Loss.

that a study published in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that some women appear to be “resistant to resistance training.” In this group of women, the 148-participant study found that “a welter of genetic variations protects their bodies from fat loss and prime their bodies to maintain their weight, even in the face of heroic body-sculpting efforts.” Even though “exercise might work to reduce appetite and turn up the calorie-burning thermostat of a woman with few obesity genes, the women with many appeared to compensate for their work in the gym with increased appetites, more efficient calorie-burning and other physiological measures that protected their fat stores and prevented weight loss.” http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-sn-obesity-genetics-resistance-exercise-leaner-20150430-story.html

Pit Bull Spreads Plague to Four People

And while the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes plague is usually passed along in flea bites, the pneumonic form that infects the lungs can be transmitted by little droplets in a cough or through other close contact. http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/pit-bull-spreads-plague-four-people-n351231