Estradiol May Protect Against herpes, Mouse Study Suggests.

reported that a mouse study published in PLOS Pathogens has “uncovered the underlying properties of estradiol (present during the menstrual cycle) that allow it to create an antiviral response.” Working with mice, investigators “examined its influence on the herpes simplex virus, type 2 (HSV-2).” Mice that were treated with estradiol and were “given two rounds of an HSV-2 vaccine and then a high dose of the virus” ended up with “less severe disease symptoms.” The majority of them also survived, compared with an unimmunized control group. http://www.hcplive.com/medical-news/birth-control-may-protect-against-herpes

Mindful Eating May Be Better Than Dieting For Controlling Weight, Neuroscientist Says.

op-ed, neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt, PhD, wrote that instead of dieting, mindful eating may be a better way of controlling weight. Eating mindfully means “paying attention to signals of hunger and fullness, without judgment, to relearn how to eat only as much as the brain’s weight-regulation system commands.” Aamodt pointed out, “Relative to chronic dieters, people who eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full are less likely to become overweight, maintain more stable weights over time and spend less time thinking about food.”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-cant-lose-weight-on-a-diet.html?_r=0

FDA Announces New E-Cigarette Rules.

reports the “499-page regulatory road map has broad implications for public health, the tobacco industry and the nation’s 40 million smokers.” The Times says the “long-awaited regulations shift the terms of the intense public debate over e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful tar and chemicals that cause cancer” and “have sharply divided American public health experts.” According to the Times, “The new regulations would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to Americans under 18 and would require that many people buying them show photo identification to prove their age, measures already mandated in a number of states.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/science/fda-rules-electronic-cigarettes.html?_r=0

Humans Developed Larger Brains Due To Faster Metabolism, More Body Fat, Study Suggests.

reports in “Speaking of Science” that a study published in Nature indicates humans may have evolved larger brains and lived longer due to a faster metabolism. Researchers “looked at metabolic rates of humans and zoo apes,” and found that “humans had higher energy budgets than any animal other than an adult male gorilla.” According to the researchers, the findings indicate “humans have overcome a biological constraint that holds most other creatures back.” Science Magazine (5/4, Gibbons) reports that the study shows human metabolisms “burn calories 27% faster,” which “equips us to quickly fuel energy-hungry brain cells, sustaining our bigger brains.” In addition, the study “also found that humans are fatter than other primates, giving us energy stores to draw on in lean times.” The authors said the next step in research is to determine how humans were able to boost their metabolisms above those of apes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/05/04/the-evolutionary-key-to-our-big-brains-and-long-lives-a-faster-metabolism/ What if, instead of sacrificing energy for one organ to pay for another, we just increased our overall budget? So he compared human energy expenditures to those of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. And he believes his hypothesis proved correct: Humans have a basal metabolic rate (the number of kilocalories we burn simply by being) between 200 and 600 calories larger than other apes. The gulf between our total energy expenditure and theirs was even greater — as many as 820 calories. Our ability to use up energy is abnormally high even when you adjust for things like body size and activity levels, Pontzer said.

Colorado Kids Exposed to Second-Hand Pot Smoke One in six young children in small study had detectable THC levels

A small but substantial portion of young children admitted to the hospital for bronchiolitis had evidence of marijuana in their systems, a study out of Colorado found. Using a new assay developed by the CDC, Karen Wilson, MD, of Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues, found that seven out of 43 children (16%) younger than 2 with bronchiolitis had marijuana metabolites (COOH-THC) in their urine at levels of 0.04 to 1.5 ng/mL). http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/PAS/57684?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2016-05-04&eun=g721819d0r

CDC Study Says Nearly One-Third Of Prescriptions For Antibiotics Are Unnecessary.

reported that a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that “one-third of antibiotics are not needed,” which amounts to nearly “47 million unnecessary prescriptions every year for children and adults.” NBC Nightly News (5/3, story 7, 2:15, Holt) correspondent Tom Costello reported that according to researchers “healthy adults can often fight off bacteria infections on their own.” He added that the CDC’s goal is to “cut unnecessary antibiotic use by 50 percent within four years.” reports on its website that the investigators “took a deep dive into data on antibiotic prescriptions written in 2010 and 2011-- the most recent data they could work with.” The researchers found that approximatley “13 percent of all outpatient doctor visits – that would add up to 154 million visits a year – result in an antibiotic prescription.” Close to “30 percent of these prescriptions, or 47 million of them, are unnecessary, they calculated.” http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/third-antibiotic-prescriptions-are-just-wrong-n567026

research Supports Link Between Viral Infections In Infancy And Development Of diabetes type 1

the study, which involved “295,420 children, found the rate of respiratory infections between age 0 and 2.9 months or between 3.0 and 5.9 months to be significantly higher among the 278 who developed type 1 diabetes before age eight years than among those who did not, at 38.6% versus 34.2%.” Put another way, this represents “a 17% increased risk, which was further increased if children had infections during both time periods.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. https://www.medwirenews.com/diabetes/paediatrics/viral-link-to-type-1-diabetes-bolstered/10064562