Survey: Consumers Want Widespread Calorie Labeling on Menus

The majority of Americans would like to see calorie information next to many menu offerings that are set to be exempt from an upcoming government rule requiring calorie labeling on menus, according to a recent survey of approximately 1,000 adults. 

The poll, commissioned by consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), found that 70 percent of respondents would like to see calorie information on movie theater menus; 68 percent favor calorie labeling for alcoholic beverages and 77 percent want labeling next to pizza slices, hot dogs and burritos served at convenience stores. 

All of these food items and venues are currently not affected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 
preliminary version of calorie labeling requirements for chain restaurants, mandated by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. 

The proposed rule, published last year, obliges food establishments with 20 or more locations to post calorie information next to menu items, but does not apply to movie theaters, airplanes, bowling alleys, sports arenas or any other whose primary purpose is not food service, according to FDA. It also exempts alcoholic beverages sold at chain restaurants.

These survey results - released Monday - suggest that consumers disagree with those exceptions.   

"We're very concerned about the industry not applying menu labeling as broadly as the law requires," said Margot Wootan, nutrition director at CSPI, in an interview with
Food Safety News. "We're hoping that this helps to show that they can and should apply menu labeling to as many venues as possible and to all menu items, as the law requires."

"If McDonald's is providing calorie counts for its sodas, why shouldn't 7-11 or Regal Cinemas?," asked Wootan in a
press release Monday.  "If Cracker Barrel has to list calories for its salad bar items, why shouldn't Whole Foods or Safeway?"

The consumer opinions in this poll echo those in a 
letter from health organization officials written last month asking FDA to extend calorie labeling rules to cover all retail food establishments. 

"Unfortunately, the definition of similar retail food establishments used in the proposed 

regulations would significantly limit the ability of consumers to make informed choices 

by reducing the number of venues providing calorie labeling," read the letter, signed by the executive directors of the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association, along with 19 others.  

"The definition also would be unfair, as some chains that provide ready‐to‐eat foods are covered and others are not," the letter continued. "Many of the foods sold in the venues that the Administration has proposed exempting are essentially identical to foods that will be covered in restaurants." 

Some food chains have argued that since their establishments offer varying portion sizes and topping options, along with remote ordering options, calorie labeling on in-store menus is impractical.

Two years ago, six of the country's leading Pizza companies came together to form the American Pizza Community, in part to shape menu labeling requirements that affect the pizza industry. The group says that customizable pizzas vary so much, and that so many consumers order online or via telephone that posting calorie information would be inefficient. 

"At Domino's, roughly 90 percent of our customers never even walk into a store to order, so  having expensive menu boards with calorie labeling that need frequent updating is not only providing no useful information to our customers, but it is also creating an expensive burden for our small business franchises," said Jenny Fouracre, Director of Investor Relations and Legislative Affairs in an e-mailed statement to
Food Safety News. 

"We're also asking for menu labeling on standard built pizzas, not custom pizzas, since there are over 34 million ways to order a custom pizza," says Fouracre. 

Wootan, on the other hand, says customizable foods should not receive exceptions for calorie labeling requirements.

"They're saying that the toppings for pizza can vary, but that's no different than how sandwiches vary depending on the bread, toppings and meat," she says. "The law only requires that standard menu items are labeled as they're usually offered for sale. If there are variable toppings or possible combinations then companies can post a range of calories for those items."

After releasing its
draft regulations, FDA said it hoped to have a final rule published by the end of 2011. No final rule has yet been issued, but some experts
predict that it will be released this fall.

The agency did not respond to Food Safety News' request for comment on the regulations. 

"We're anxious to see a final regulation that we were all expecting by the end of 2011, and already here it is June of 2012," Wootan told
Food Safety News. "We also want to make sure that that rule is covering as many outlets and all menu items that the law requires." 

Poll results can be accessed
here. 

Source : http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/consumers-want-calorie-labeling/

Girls who survive childhood cancer face breast cancer risk as adults from radiation

(CBS News) Childhood cancer survivors often face a tough battle against a disease that zaps their strength and treatments that cause nasty side effects. Now a new study shows girls who were treated with chest radiation during a bout of childhood cancer and survived are at risk for developing breast cancer as adults.

An increased risk of breast cancer is already a known, long-term side effect of moderate to high-dose radiation therapy to the chest, and current screening guidelines for childhood cancer survivors recommend annual screening with a mammogram or MRI for women who received 20 or more Gray or Gy - a measure of the radiation dose - of therapy to the chest. But this new study found that survivors who received lower radiation doses have a higher risk of breast cancer, and may need to follow similar recommendations.

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The study, presented June 4 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, looked at more than 1,200 women who survived childhood cancer, and compared them with data on 4,570 women who were relatives of someone with breast cancer. They found that by age 50, almost a quarter of women who survived childhood cancer developed breast cancer.

Thirty percent of women treated for Hodgkin lymphoma as children - a cancer of the lymph system that our bodies use to fight infection and disease - developed breast cancer before 50. The researchers say this added risk is similar to that of women who possess the so-called "breast cancer genes" BRCA1 and BRCA2. Reviewing data on relatives of someone with breast cancer tied having the  BRCA1 gene to a 30 percent risk of getting the disease and BRCA2 to a 10 percent added risk.  An average woman's risk of breast cancer by age 50 is 4 percent.

Risk was evident from moderate doses of radiation in the 10 to 19 Gy range, about 7 percent developed breast cancer, compared with 12 percent who received radiation doses of 20 Gy or higher.

"While radiation doses have decreased and techniques have improved, radiation therapy is still an essential part of treatment for many childhood cancers," said study author Dr. Chaya S. Moskowitz, associate attending biostatistician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, said in a news release. "The goal is to cure the cancer for more children while lessening future health problems. Our results suggest that young women treated with lower doses of radiation who are not currently being screened also have a higher risk of breast cancer and might benefit from a similar screening schedule."

Dr. Paula Ryan, a breast cancer specialist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia who was not involved with the study, told the Associated Press that up to 9,000 more women who were given moderate radiation may need to get screened for breast cancer from the new findings.

"They're a group that may be vulnerable," she said.

Childhood cancer treatments today typically provide lower doses of radiation to smaller regions of the body. More than 10,000 children are diagnosed with a childhood cancer each year, according to the National Cancer Institute, and more than 1,500 kids will die. Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and cancers of the brain and central nervous system account for more than half of the new cases.

Source : http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57446560-10391704/girls-who-survive-childhood-cancer-face-breast-cancer-risk-as-adults-from-radiation/

A better way to heal surgical wounds

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What starts out as a small problem after surgery can sometimes lead to an infection that can get out of control and, in many cases, prove to be deadly.

In the U.S., infections cost about 25 million dollars every year. Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently sat down with Dr. John Lantis, vascular surgeon and head of the wound center at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City to talk about a new technology that is keeping patients safer after surgery.

PICO is new type of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) that is different from traditional systems because it is pocket-sized and single use.

Previous NPWT systems used a large, bulky canister to collect the fluids that drain from surgical wounds. But the PICO system uses a palm-sized pump and a high-tech dressing that helps to manage fluids more easily.

“There is a silicone sheet that goes over the wound and then the dressing itself wicks the moisture away,” Lantis said. “The moisture is pulled away from the wound edges and brought through so it can evaporate out the top.”

Lantis said there are certain risk factors that some patients possess that makes wound healing more difficult. These are the patients that would get the most benefit from using PICO.

“One of the things we are seeing in our population unfortunately is obesity, so patients who are very fat and patients with diabetes, which is a growing concern,” he said.

Lantis added that people with vascular problems, like smokers also have a higher risk of wound complications.

“The goal of this dressing would be to use the dressing first to prevent any complications with healing,” Lantis said.

PICO was approved by the FDA in January of 2012, and Lantis said there are studies being conducted currently to find out more about the potential benefits of the device.

For more information on PICO, visit www.possiblewithpico.com.

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Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/04/better-way-to-heal-surgical-wounds/

Prevent major disease with 5 easy health habits

If you want to prevent major disease and stay healthy and happy throughout life, you might consider engaging in 5 easy to accomplish health habits, highlighted in the American Journal of Medicine. All of the health tips are based on study reviews that clearly show just how easy it is to prevent illness and improve your health.

Six steps toward better health

Eat fresh fish - According to the study authors, it's now apparent that eating fish can reduce the chances of colon cancer. People who live in countries with the highest amount of fish in their diet have the lowest rates of the disease that is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the Western world.

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A review of studies by Xi'an, China scientists affirms colorectal cancer can be reduced by 12% just by eating fresh fish regularly. The finding comes from a review of 41 studies that were published between 1990 and 2011.

Eating fish is especially effective for reducing the chances of rectal cancer. The studies showed fish in the diet can lower rectal cancer risk up to 24% and colon cancer by 4%.

Take a baby aspirin daily – Providing there are no contraindications from your doctor, taking a low dose, or baby aspirin daily can prevent heart disease and cancer deaths; is simple and costs very little.

A review of 23 studies, performed by Edward J. Mills, PhD, MSc, of the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues showed conclusively that aspirin can prevent cancer. The anti-cancer effect low dose aspirin was confirmed at approximately four-year follow up.

Visit your dentist regularly – Periodontal disease has been linked to increased risk of heart disease. Researchers looked at over 10,000 patients in two groups -one group who had regular teeth cleaning and one that did not - to find those who had regular dental visits for tooth scaling had fewer heart attacks and other heart related events.

Avoid tobacco – Few people are unaware of the health perks that come from tobacco cessation or avoidance. But the good news is that studies find hypnotherapy and acupuncture can help smokers kick the habit.

In their study review, Mark J. Eisenberg, MD, MPH, of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, and colleagues found patients who received hypnotherapy were 4.55 times more likely to stop smoking, compared to people who tried conventional stop-smoking methods. Acupuncture recipients were 3.53 times more likely to abstain from smoking. The information was found in a meta-analysis of 14 clinical trials.

Make weight loss a success– If you’re overweight, seek help from a primary care practice. William C. Haas, MD, of East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, and colleagues found losing weight can be easily guided by primary care physicians in an office or weight loss clinic setting.

Patients who received behavioral modification and diet counseling, including partial or complete meal replacement, were able to shed pounds without going to a weight loss center.

Guidance from primary care providers helped patients lose more fat and was as effective as weight loss centers for reducing weight. Patients who chose full meal replacements were more successful. On average, patients lost 11.1% of their body weight.

The study authors have pulled together a range of 5 health habits that anyone can accomplish to prevent disease. Speak with your doctor about taking aspirin daily and weight loss help. In addition to the six easy steps highlighted by various research findings, remember it’s important to stay active throughout life.

Source:
American Journal of Medicine

"Fish Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis"
Shengjun Wu, et al.
4/18/2012

"Low-dose Aspirin and Cancer Mortality: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials"
Edward J. Mills, et al
4/18/2012

"The Association of Tooth Scaling and Decreased Cardiovascular Disease: A Nationwide Population-based Study"
Zu-Yin Chen, et al.
4/5/2012

"Alternative Smoking Cessation Aids: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"
Mehdi Tahiri, et al.
4/13/2012

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//1020/prevent-major-disease-5-easy-health-habits

Most new moms don't meet own breastfeeding goals

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Two thirds of new mothers who intended to breastfeed exclusively for several months or more didn't meet their own goals in a new study.

Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that several factors influenced whether mothers of newborns would stick to their plan to breastfeed only, including actions by hospital staff in the first hours and days after delivery.

"We do know the hospitals have an important role to play. It's certainly a short period of time, but it's a very critical period of time," said Cria Perrine, a CDC epidemiologist who led the study.

To find out what hospitals can do, and what they should avoid, to help promote breastfeeding, Perrine and her colleagues used information from an existing study that followed more than 3,000 pregnant women between 2005 and 2007.

The women were all over 18 years old, were pregnant for at least 35 weeks and gave birth to a child who weighed at least five pounds. Participants answered at least 11 questionnaires over the course of one year, starting while they were still pregnant.

At that time, 1792 women (60 percent) who completed the questionnaires said they planned to exclusively breastfeed their babies for some period of time, ranging from several weeks to seven months or more.

Of these, the majority (85 percent) planned to breastfeed for three months or more.

But whatever their intended breastfeeding period, only 32 percent actually met their goal.

Many women who intended to breastfeed for months more stopped after only one month, and about 15 percent stopped before leaving the hospital.

Ideally, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies should be fed breast milk alone for six months, then should keep getting breast milk along with solid foods for at least their first year.

Perrine and her colleagues, who published their results in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, found that certain women were more likely to give up on their breastfeeding goals than others.

Specifically, mothers who were obese, smoked or said they would exclusively breastfeed longer than most were less likely to meet their goals. Meanwhile, mothers who were married or in a partnership were more likely to meet their goals than single moms.

Certain aspects of hospital care right after delivery also seemed to influence whether a woman met her breastfeeding goal or not.

Specifically, mothers who started to breastfeed their babies within an hour of delivery, and those whose babies were not given formula or pacifiers in the hospital were more likely to breastfeed for the time they had intended.

Dr. Jennifer DiPace, medical director of the newborn nursery at the Komansky Center for Children's Health at the NY-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, told Reuters health that the study reinforces the point that hospitals should make sure they're encouraging and promoting breastfeeding from the moment the baby is born -- perhaps even before birth.

"In general, what a mother needs to do is think about what her goals are before a baby (is) born and communicating that to the team once the baby is born, and having realistic expectations," said DiPace.

Perrine told Reuters Health that it's hard to meet the current recommendations in today's environment, so it's also important for the community -- families and people in the workplace -- to support nursing women.

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Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/04/most-new-moms-dont-meet-own-breastfeeding-goals/

Dark chocolate reported to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease

According to a new study, being a chocaholic might be a component of a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, it might be a money-saving healthcare strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly in high-risk individuals. Researchers in Melbourne, Australia published the results of their research online on May 31 in the BMJ.

The authors noted that short term clinical trials have reported that dark chocolate consumption can potentially reduce systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg and total cholesterol concentration by 0.21 mmol/L. To build on current research, the investigators conducted a long-term study to evaluate the potential health benefits and cost-effectiveness of daily dark chocolate consumption in a high risk population.

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The study group was comprised of 2,013 individuals with hypertension (high blood pressures) who met the criteria for metabolic syndrome and had no history of cardiovascular disease and were not taking antihypertensive medication. (Metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions (elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels) that occur together; thus, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.) They employed a statistical method known as a Markov model. A Markov model is a useful statistical tool for evaluating a risk that is continuous over time, when the timing of events is important, and when important events may happen more than once.

The authors note that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide; the 2004 death rate was estimated at 17.5 million individuals. The metabolic syndrome is becoming increasingly prevalent because of rising rates of obesity and diabetes as well as an aging population. Lifestyle changes such as dietary modifications and behavioral adaptations constitute first line treatment in the prevention of diseases associated with the metabolic syndrome. Dietary modifications that increase the intake of vegetables, fruit, and grains as well as decrease the intake of saturated fats and refined sugars are recommended. It is believed that the high content of polyphenolic antioxidants in some fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and tea may contribute to their cardioprotective effects. Dark chocolate, derived from cocoa beans, is rich in polyphenols, specifically flavonoids. Flavonoids exhibit antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and metabolic effects, all of which may contribute to their cardioprotective effect.

The authors reviewed published meta-analyses to evaluate the treatment effects associated with dark chocolate consumption. (A meta-analysis is a review of similar studies on the same topic to establish whether similar results were obtained.) The data were used to determine the absolute number of cardiovascular events with and without treatment with dark chocolate. The costs associated with cardiovascular events and treatments were applied to determine the potential amount of funding required for dark chocolate therapy to be considered cost-effective.

The researchers found that daily consumption of dark chocolate (polyphenol content equivalent to 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of dark chocolate) can reduce cardiovascular events by 85 per 10,000 individuals treated over 10 years. The cost of the chocolate was estimated to be $42 per person per year. The noted that these projected results assume 100% compliance and represent a best case scenario.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//11306/dark-chocolate-reported-reduce-risk-cardiovascular-disease

American Herb with Asian Roots Effective Against Cancer-Related Fatigue, Mayo Study Shows

Chronic fatigue related to cancer is a common syndrome during and following cancer treatment that manifests as a constant lack of energy that is not brought on by exertion, nor relieved by sleep. While cancer-related fatigue is not a well understood problem that can be associated with any single cause, consensus by health authorities is that it is a multifactorial problem involving the body’s reaction to both chemotherapy and radiation therapy; anemia resulting from decreased red blood cells that leaves tissues oxygen starved; and/or a decrease of vital nutrients.

One proposed source of a centuries-old treatment for people suffering from fatigue similar to that experienced by cancer patients is the use of adaptogens. Adaptogens are a class of herbal remedies noted for their potency as stress fighters capable of either bringing an overly stressed body back to its normal healthy state or in coping with stressors such as physical exertion, toxins, lack of sleep and psychological distress.

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One of the more recognized—and believed to be most powerful adaptogen among all herbs—is the traditional Asian ginseng root. So much so, that American medical researchers are taking seriously the possibility that ginseng may have properties that can be applied in some treatments such as in treating chronic fatigue related to cancer.

The basis for pursuing studies that measure the effectiveness of ginseng is based on cancer related fatigue that has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. In animal studies, ginseng’s active components—ginsenosides—have been shown to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and involved in the control of cortisol levels.

In a recent Mayo Clinic-led study being presented this week at an 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers report that high doses of the American ginseng herb Panax quinquefolius is effective in treating cancer related chronic fatigue.

In the study, 340 cancer patients either undergoing or having completed curative intent treatment and experiencing fatigue rated at least a 4 on a numeric analogue fatigue scale of 1-10, were randomly assigned treatment consisting of either a placebo or 2,000 milligrams of American ginseng daily. The administered American ginseng was provided in capsules containing pure, ground American ginseng root.

"Off-the-shelf ginseng is sometimes processed using ethanol, which can give it estrogen-like properties that may be harmful to breast cancer patients," says the study's lead researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D. of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

During the first 4 weeks of the study, the ginseng regimen demonstrated only a slight improvement toward alleviating fatigue in the cancer patients. However, by week 8 there was statistically significant improvement in cancer patients who began to report feeling less fatigued in comparison to the cancer patients taking a placebo.

According to a news release by the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Barton states that, "After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100-point, standardized fatigue scale. The herb had no apparent side effects,” she added.

Future follow-up studies will attempt to detect specific biomarkers linked to cancer-related chronic fatigue. "Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment," says Dr. Barton. "If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue."

For information on how exercise can treat chronic fatigue, follow this link to an informative article about the benefits of Yoga for breast cancer survivors.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//8782/american-herb-asian-roots-effective-against-cancer-related-fatigue-mayo-study-shows

More advanced "smart bomb" cancer treatments targeting disease, leaving healthy cells alone

(Credit: istockphoto)

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - Cutting edge cancer research unveiled this weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago highlights a new class of "smart bomb" treatments that deliver powerful poisons directly to cancer cells while leaving healthy ones alone.

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The conference, attended by more than 30,000 cancer specialists, also released research by scientists on a new tool that helps the immune system attack a broad range of cancer types, treatments aimed at new genes and cancer pathways and better tests to predict which patients will benefit from them.

"I see major advances being made in big diseases" such as breast and prostate cancers, said Dr. Richard Pazdur, cancer drug chief at the federal Food and Drug Administration, which on Wednesday announced a new policy intended to speed breast cancer drugs to the market.

The field continues to move toward more precise treatments with fewer side effects and away from old-style chemotherapy that was "like dropping a bomb on the body," he said.

The smart bomb treatments are two-punch weapons that combine substances called antibodies, which bond with specific cancer cells, and toxins that are too potent to be given by themselves. A chemical link holds them together until they attach to a tumor cell, releasing the poison inside it and killing the cell.

"This is a classic example of the magic bullet concept" first proposed a century ago but only now possible with advances in technology, said Dr. Louis Weiner, director of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"The antibody basically targets this very toxic drug right to the cancer cell and places it inside the cancer cell where the drug can do its damage" not harming nearby healthy cells, he said.

On Sunday, a large study showed that one such drug - Genentech's T-DM1 - delayed the time until cancer got worse in women with very advanced breast cancer. The drug also appeared to improve survival, although it will take more time to know for sure. So far, women on the new treatment were living more than a year longer than a comparison group of women who were given two other drugs.

T-DM1 also caused fewer side effects than the other drugs. Some women on T-DM1 had signs of liver damage and low levels of factors that help blood clot, but most did not have the usual problems of chemotherapy like hair loss, nausea and vomiting.

"It's less toxic than its comparator and also more effective," Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, a breast cancer specialist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who was not involved in the trial, told the New York Times. "How often do we get that?"

Dozens of similar "smart bomb" cancer drugs are in development. On Monday, Pfizer Inc. plans to report on one it is testing for certain types of lymphoma and leukemia. Only one such drug is on the market now for less common types of lymphoma, Adcetris from Seattle Genetics Inc.

The other big news at the conference involved a different approach, using the immune system to fight cancer. For more than a century, doctors have been trying to harness its power, but tumor cells have cloaking mechanisms that keep the immune system from recognizing them as "enemy" and attacking.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has developed two drugs - one aimed at cancer cells and the other at key soldier cells of the immune system - to remove one of these invisibility cloaks. Two studies involving nearly 500 people found some tumor shrinkage in up to one quarter of patients with lung and kidney cancers as well as the deadly skin cancer, melanoma. The treatments had less impact against colon and prostate cancer.

These are only early results - not survival comparisons or definitive tests, doctors warn. More testing is needed to even establish safety. In one study, three patients died of a lung inflammation considered due to the treatment.

However, ordinary chemotherapy can prove fatal, too, said one study leader, Dr. Julie Brahmer of Johns Hopkins University.

"There were a few patients who had a complete remission" from the immune system treatments and most patients suffered few side effects, she said. "It's great to see patients feeling well. They don't have hair loss, they don't have a drop in blood counts and are not as prone to infections."

Dr. Roy Herbst, medical oncology chief at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Conn., was hopeful.

"I haven't seen anything this good" for many years for treating lung cancer, he said. "I'd be very surprised if there wasn't some benefit" on survival, said Herbst, who has consulted for the drug's maker.

Other doctors, including Pfizer's cancer drug development chief, Dr. Mace Rothenberg, noted progress on new diagnostic tests to predict which drugs will work for which patients. Cost, time and difficulty have kept many of them from being practical in everyday settings for cancer patients, but "a lot of these barriers are falling," Rothenberg said.

"Every time we say `this technology is 5 to 10 years off, we've been wrong" and progress has come sooner, he said.

More than 577,000 Americans will die of cancer in 2012, according to the National Cancer Institute, and more than 1.6 million people will be diagnosed.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has more on cancer and findings from the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Source : http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57446497-10391704/more-advanced-smart-bomb-cancer-treatments-targeting-disease-leaving-healthy-cells-alone/

Kidney exchange between strangers spans continents

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  Elizabeth Gay, 31, began the intercontinental kidney transplant chain

  
  


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  Michalis and Dora Papaioannou-Helmis

  
  

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Two strangers living across the world from each other in the U.S. and Greece made medical history when they became the first to donate their kidneys in an intercontinental paired exchange, according to a press conference Friday at the Greek Embassy in Washington, DC.

Oklahoma resident Elizabeth Gay donated one of her kidneys to a Greek man living in Athens.  In return, the man’s wife Theodora Papaioannou-Helmis donated her kidney to a man living in Pennsylvania.

These initial exchanges have sparked a donor chain that has so far saved the lives of four Americans and one Greek resident, with three more transplants scheduled in the coming weeks.  In the upcoming transplants, a donor from Trinidad and Tobago will enter the chain as well.

The donor chain process, known as kidney paired donation (KPD), happens when a donor who is incompatible with a designated recipient agrees to donate his or her kidney to a stranger, in order for the designated recipient to receive a kidney from another stranger.

This international chain was made possible through the American organization Alliance for Paired Donation (APD), which set up the exchanges, and the efforts of Papaioannou-Helmis, who campaigned to change Greek transplant laws in order to help find her husband Michelis a kidney.

Changing Greek law

Previously, Greek law—similar to laws in other European countries and South America—stated that only a first or second degree relative could legally donate a kidney to a recipient in the country.  The law was put into place to limit black market organ harvesting and selling.

However, it also restricted the process of paired donation, which essentially requires strangers to ‘swap’ kidneys.

After the law was lifted in Greece, as well as in other countries such as the U.K., Italy and Spain, Helmis and her husband became the first international members entered into the APD’s recipient and donor pool, and thus were able to open up their search—which eventually ended across the world with 31-year-old Gay.

“This is something I can remember I wanted to do when I was a kid,” Gay said, regarding her unsolicited choice to donate, “I must have had a good kindergarten teacher who taught me how to share. I’ve just always felt like, if I have two good kidneys, why would I not share?”

Most paired donations are between designated donors, but sometimes they are started or facilitated by an altruistic donor, such as Gay, who did not have a friend or relative who needed a kidney, according to Dr. Michael Rees, Director of Transplantation at the University of Toledo Medical Center and CEO of the APD.

“Elizabeth just came forward and said, ‘I want to love a stranger.  I don’t care who that is—you guys figure that out,’” Rees explained.  “Every time before this, the donations were made to someone else in America, but this time the computer found Michelis in Greece, which made [Gay’s] donation unique.”

A kink in the chain

As part of the exchange, Papaioannou-Helmis was then matched with a recipient in Georgia, who would in turn donate to a person in Oregon.  However, just before the surgeries were scheduled to happen, the Georgia recipient became ill and unable to undergo transplant surgery.  There were no other potential recipients Papaioannou-Helmis was a match for.  

According to Rees, this left the doctors with two choices: either drop the chain and simply allow Gay to donate to Papaioannou-Helmis’ husband, or trust Papaioannou-Helmis to step back into the chain when a match was found in the future.

The major roadblock in this case, Rees said, was that the U.S. has a prohibitive law that only allows kidney donors to have their kidneys removed at a U.S. transplant center.  Like the former Greek law, it is also meant to limit the possibility of black market trades.

The law meant that doctors would have to allow Papaioannou-Helmis to fly back to Greece after the surgery and then trust her to return to America, on her own dime, when they found another match for her.  

“There are no transplant centers approved internationally, so it’s impossible to ship organs from Greece or elsewhere,” Rees said.  “…We need to change that law.”

So much was at stake, according to Rees, he almost called the entire chain off.  As the part of the first intercontinental exchange, if Papaioannou-Helmis didn’t return to the U.S., it could seriously set back the credibility and establishment of an international paired exchange system.

In order to make a decision, Rees consulted with Dr. Dimitris Moutzouris, the nephrologist who treated Papaioannou-Helmis’ husband.

“First of all, it’s really difficult to get someone to guarantee something like that,” Moutzouris said, “But I’ve been taking care of her husband for so long. This woman—it took so much strength to do what she had done.  I was pretty sure she wouldn’t let us down.”

Paying it forward

Sure enough, when a match was found months later in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., Moutzouris judgment proved correct: Papaioannou-Helmis flew back to the U.S. to donate one of her kidneys to 58-year-old Charles Ripple.

Ripple had no reservations about an international exchange.  

“I was just so happy, I didn’t know if I’d ever get one,” he said.  “…Someone called me on February 28 to let me know—the same day I got my first kidney in 1991.  I just knew it had to work.”

The next transplant surgeries in the chain will take place in Atlanta, Ga., and Denver, Colo., and involve a donor from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

“This is important because the bigger the pool, the more people you can transplant,” Rees said.  “An international pool is bigger than anything you could create in one country.”

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Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/04/kidney-exchange-between-strangers-spans-continents/

Antioxidant Improves Behavior in Autism

Behavior problems in children with autism are a frequent occurrence, and they can have a significant negative impact on a child's ability to adjust and function well at home, school, and in other social settings. Although treatment with drugs is one way to manage behavior problems in autism, another may be a common antioxidant.

Irritability is common in children with autism

The antioxidant is N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which is used both as a prescription drug and as a dietary supplement. In the former category, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved NAC as a treatment of acetaminophen overdose. Clinical studies have shown that NAC can treat other toxic conditions as well, including drug-induced liver toxicity and toxicity from chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

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The potential benefits of NAC in children and adolescents with autism was the focus of a recent study led by researchers at Stanford University and the Cleveland Clinic. The children were randomly assigned to take either a placebo or NAC daily for 12 weeks. Four evaluations were conducted throughout the study.

At the end of the study, the investigators found that irritability was significantly reduced in children who had taken NAC. The supplement also was well tolerated and associated with few side effects.

Why does NAC work in autism?
NAC is the precursor (substance that is present before or leads to another) to glutathione, a potent antioxidant, produced by the body, that helps control other antioxidants and is a key player in the antioxidant defense system. NAC helps restore and maintain levels of glutathione and thus protect brain cells, and it may also reduce the excitability of the glutamate system. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter in the brain that has a role in learning and memory.

NAC was chosen as a potential treatment for irritability and its related symptoms because of two ideas about autism: that it may be caused by an imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants, and that the glutamate system may not function properly in people with autism.

According to lead author Dr. Antonio Hardan, "Data from this preliminary trial suggest that NAC has the potential to be helpful in targeting irritability in children with autism." The study did not determine how NAC worked to improve irritability nor if NAC could be helpful in improving other symptoms of autism.

Other treatments for behavior problems in autism
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the antipsychotic drug risperidone (Risperdal(R)) for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder, including temper tantrums, rapidly changing moods, and self-injury. That was the first time the FDA had approved any medication for treatment of children and adolescents with autism.

Risperidone is associated with significant side effects, however. Approximately two-thirds of patients experience drowsiness, while about half have an increase in appetite and more than 20% experience insomnia, increase in salivation, fatigue, upper respiratory illness, tension, and anxiety. Less common side effects include abdominal pain, vomiting, indigestion, and giddiness.

Subsequently, the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (Abilify) was approved for the same use, and a number of studies have been published on the use of this drug in young people with autism. In a new report from Texas A&M University, investigators presented the results of two 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of aripiprazole on the quality of life in the treatment of irritability associated with autism.

A total of 316 children and adolescents (age 6-17 years) participated in the studies. Overall, participants who took aripiprazole scored significantly better on emotional functioning, social functioning, and cognitive functioning than did individuals who took placebo.

Side effects associated with aripiprazole include headache, weight gain, increase in appetite, nervousness, drowsiness, dizziness, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, and pain in the arms, legs, or joints.

NAC for irritability in autism?
This new pilot study was a first step in discovering whether NAC will be added someday to the treatment arsenal for autism. More studies of this antioxidant are needed to determine its impact on behavior problems in autism spectrum disorder.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//1275/antioxidant-improves-behavior-autism

Kidney exchange between strangers spans continents

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  Elizabeth Gay, 31, began the intercontinental kidney transplant chain

  
  


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  Michalis and Dora Papaioannou-Helmis

  
  

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Two strangers living across the world from each other in the U.S. and Greece made medical history when they became the first to donate their kidneys in an intercontinental paired exchange, according to a press conference Friday at the Greek Embassy in Washington, DC.

Oklahoma resident Elizabeth Gay donated one of her kidneys to a Greek man living in Athens.  In return, the man’s wife Theodora Papaioannou-Helmis donated her kidney to a man living in Pennsylvania.

These initial exchanges have sparked a donor chain that has so far saved the lives of four Americans and one Greek resident, with three more transplants scheduled in the coming weeks.  In the upcoming transplants, a donor from Trinidad and Tobago will enter the chain as well.

The donor chain process, known as kidney paired donation (KPD), happens when a donor who is incompatible with a designated recipient agrees to donate his or her kidney to a stranger, in order for the designated recipient to receive a kidney from another stranger.

This international chain was made possible through the American organization Alliance for Paired Donation (APD), which set up the exchanges, and the efforts of Papaioannou-Helmis, who campaigned to change Greek transplant laws in order to help find her husband Michelis a kidney.

Changing Greek law

Previously, Greek law—similar to laws in other European countries and South America—stated that only a first or second degree relative could legally donate a kidney to a recipient in the country.  The law was put into place to limit black market organ harvesting and selling.

However, it also restricted the process of paired donation, which essentially requires strangers to ‘swap’ kidneys.

After the law was lifted in Greece, as well as in other countries such as the U.K., Italy and Spain, Helmis and her husband became the first international members entered into the APD’s recipient and donor pool, and thus were able to open up their search—which eventually ended across the world with 31-year-old Gay.

“This is something I can remember I wanted to do when I was a kid,” Gay said, regarding her unsolicited choice to donate, “I must have had a good kindergarten teacher who taught me how to share. I’ve just always felt like, if I have two good kidneys, why would I not share?”

Most paired donations are between designated donors, but sometimes they are started or facilitated by an altruistic donor, such as Gay, who did not have a friend or relative who needed a kidney, according to Dr. Michael Rees, Director of Transplantation at the University of Toledo Medical Center and CEO of the APD.

“Elizabeth just came forward and said, ‘I want to love a stranger.  I don’t care who that is—you guys figure that out,’” Rees explained.  “Every time before this, the donations were made to someone else in America, but this time the computer found Michelis in Greece, which made [Gay’s] donation unique.”

A kink in the chain

As part of the exchange, Papaioannou-Helmis was then matched with a recipient in Georgia, who would in turn donate to a person in Oregon.  However, just before the surgeries were scheduled to happen, the Georgia recipient became ill and unable to undergo transplant surgery.  There were no other potential recipients Papaioannou-Helmis was a match for.  

According to Rees, this left the doctors with two choices: either drop the chain and simply allow Gay to donate to Papaioannou-Helmis’ husband, or trust Papaioannou-Helmis to step back into the chain when a match was found in the future.

The major roadblock in this case, Rees said, was that the U.S. has a prohibitive law that only allows kidney donors to have their kidneys removed at a U.S. transplant center.  Like the former Greek law, it is also meant to limit the possibility of black market trades.

The law meant that doctors would have to allow Papaioannou-Helmis to fly back to Greece after the surgery and then trust her to return to America, on her own dime, when they found another match for her.  

“There are no transplant centers approved internationally, so it’s impossible to ship organs from Greece or elsewhere,” Rees said.  “…We need to change that law.”

So much was at stake, according to Rees, he almost called the entire chain off.  As the part of the first intercontinental exchange, if Papaioannou-Helmis didn’t return to the U.S., it could seriously set back the credibility and establishment of an international paired exchange system.

In order to make a decision, Rees consulted with Dr. Dimitris Moutzouris, the nephrologist who treated Papaioannou-Helmis’ husband.

“First of all, it’s really difficult to get someone to guarantee something like that,” Moutzouris said, “But I’ve been taking care of her husband for so long. This woman—it took so much strength to do what she had done.  I was pretty sure she wouldn’t let us down.”

Paying it forward

Sure enough, when a match was found months later in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., Moutzouris judgment proved correct: Papaioannou-Helmis flew back to the U.S. to donate one of her kidneys to 58-year-old Charles Ripple.

Ripple had no reservations about an international exchange.  

“I was just so happy, I didn’t know if I’d ever get one,” he said.  “…Someone called me on February 28 to let me know—the same day I got my first kidney in 1991.  I just knew it had to work.”

The next transplant surgeries in the chain will take place in Atlanta, Ga., and Denver, Colo., and involve a donor from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

“This is important because the bigger the pool, the more people you can transplant,” Rees said.  “An international pool is bigger than anything you could create in one country.”

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Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/01/kidney-exchange-between-strangers-spans-continents/

More advanced therapies are being aimed at cancer

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New research shows a sharp escalation in the weapons race against cancer, with several high-tech approaches long dreamed of but not possible or successful until now.

At a weekend conference of more than 30,000 cancer specialists, scientists reported:

-New "smart" drugs that deliver powerful poisons directly to cancer cells while leaving healthy ones alone.

-A new tool that helps the immune system attack a broad range of cancer types.

-Treatments aimed at new genes and cancer pathways, plus better tests to predict which patients will benefit from them.

"I see major advances being made in big diseases" such as breast and prostate cancers, said Dr. Richard Pazdur, cancer drug chief at the federal Food and Drug Administration, which on Wednesday announced a new policy intended to speed breast cancer drugs to the market.

The field continues to move toward more precise treatments with fewer side effects and away from old-style chemotherapy that was "like dropping a bomb on the body," he said.

In fact, an emerging class of "smart bombs" was one of the most hopeful developments reported at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

These are two-punch weapons that combine substances called antibodies, which bond with specific cancer cells, and toxins that are too potent to be given by themselves. A chemical link holds them together until they attach to a tumor cell, releasing the poison inside it and killing the cell.

"This is a classic example of the magic bullet concept" first proposed more than 100 years ago but only now possible with advances in technology, said Dr. Louis Weiner, director of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"The antibody basically targets this very toxic drug right to the cancer cell and places it inside the cancer cell where the drug can do its damage" without harming healthy cells nearby, he said.

On Sunday, a large study showed that one such drug - Genentech's T-DM1 - delayed the time until cancer got worse in women with very advanced breast cancer. The drug also seems to be improving survival, although it will take more time to know for sure. So far, women on the new treatment were living more than a year longer than a comparison group of women who were given two other drugs.

Dozens of similar "smart bomb" drugs are in development. On Monday, Pfizer Inc. plans to report on one it is testing for certain types of lymphoma and leukemia. Only one such drug is on the market now - Adcetris, sold by Seattle Genetics Inc. for some less common types of lymphoma.

The other big news at the conference involved a very different approach: using the immune system to fight cancer. For more than a century, doctors have been trying to harness its power, but tumor cells have cloaking mechanisms that have kept the immune system from recognizing them as "enemy" and going on the attack.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has developed two drugs - one aimed at cancer cells and the other at key soldier cells of the immune system - to remove one of these invisibility cloaks. Two studies involving nearly 500 people found some tumor shrinkage in up to one quarter of patients with lung and kidney cancers as well as the deadly skin cancer, melanoma. The treatments had less impact against colon and prostate cancer.

These are only early results - not survival comparisons or definitive tests, doctors warn. More testing is needed to even establish safety. In one study, three patients died of a lung inflammation considered due to the treatment.

However, ordinary chemotherapy can prove fatal, too, said one study leader, Dr. Julie Brahmer of Johns Hopkins University.

"There were a few patients who had a complete remission" from the immune system treatments and most patients suffered few side effects, she said. "It's great to see patients feeling well. They don't have hair loss, they don't have a drop in blood counts and are not as prone to infections."

Dr. Roy Herbst, medical oncology chief at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Conn., was hopeful.

"I haven't seen anything this good" for many years for treating lung cancer, he said. "I'd be very surprised if there wasn't some benefit" on survival, said Herbst, who has consulted for the drug's maker.

Other doctors, including Pfizer's cancer drug development chief, Dr. Mace Rothenberg, noted progress on new diagnostic tests to predict which drugs will work for which patients. Cost, time and difficulty have kept many of them from being practical in everyday settings for cancer patients, but "a lot of these barriers are falling," Rothenberg said.

"Every time we say `this technology is 5 to 10 years off, we've been wrong" and progress has come sooner, he said.

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Experimental Roche breast cancer drug slows tumor growth, study shows

Glaxo melanoma drugs beat chemo in pivotal trials

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Cancer drug Avastin slows ovarian cancer progression, study shows

Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/04/more-advanced-therapies-are-being-aimed-at-cancer/

Laser procedure promises to sculpt neck, tighten jawline

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Although Sandy Romero, in her 50s, feels energetic, she never believed her reflection in the mirror matched up with her youthful vigor.

“I’m starting to see a little bit of a turkey neck,” the stylist and mother-of-two explained.  “I think it’s showing my age much more than the rest of me is.”

According to Dr. Matthew Schulman, a plastic surgeon in New York City, this is a common problem as women age, because the skin in the neck area is very thin.  In addition, it’s constantly exposed to the elements and the sun, all of which make it prone to sagging and wrinkling.

Schulman is helping patients like Romero tighten up the skin around the neck – without going under the knife.  Instead, Schulman uses a unique combination of internal and external lasers that sculpt and tone the neck, as well as tighten the jawline.

“The [internal] laser will melt the fat that’s there, then I suck out the fat with traditional liposuction,” Schulman said.  Afterward, he uses the same laser to tighten the skin, then another external laser to boost collagen production and improve the skin’s elasticity over time.

Another one of his patients, 68-year-old Andrealisa Russo, says she’s very happy with her results.  Russo, who lost more than 45 pounds, wanted to ditch her ‘double-chin’ and had the procedure done last summer.

“The funny thing is, sometimes I walk by a mirror, and I come back and go, ‘Hmm, not bad,’” Russo said.  “Now I feel like I look like everybody else.”

For more information, visit doctorschulmanplasticsurgery.com.

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Source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/03/laser-procedure-promises-to-sculpt-neck-tighten-jawline/

Garden Visitor Can Be Deadly If Eaten

In the form of a beguiling tall stranger, death lurked in my garden last year. 

This spring, it reappeared, but this time much closer to the house.  I only discovered its identity when, by chance, I bumped into a photo of this stranger while reading some news about the Pacific Northwest on the Internet. Accompanying the photo was a story about how in Washington State it was the suspect in one death and the known culprit in a near-death incident that sent another victim to the emergency room.  

The photo was of a fernlike plant with features that could be mistaken for a wild carrot, parsnip, or even parsley.  But this was none other than poison hemlock, a cousin to the water hemlock, which was served in a tea to political prisoners in Greece as an earlier form of capital punishment. Socrates himself, suffered the same fate in 399 BC, when he was tried and convicted of corrupting youth and failing to acknowledge the gods that the city of Athens had deemed to be deities. Some say his death was a suicide because he could have fled.      

Closer to home, in an incident this spring that sent a Bellingham man to the emergency room,  35-year-old David Westerlund found a poison hemlock plant growing in his garden. Not knowing what it was but feeling confident that it must be something good -- a carrot, perhaps -- he picked it and chopped it up, adding it to some garlic, onions, cabbage, ginger, onions, sea salt and whey to ferment. Six days later, he ate it for lunch.   

 

A short 10 minutes after dining on what he thought was a healthy veggie combo, he began feeling tremors running through his entire body, according to a
description he shared with news reporters. To his dismay, he found that his eyes weren't tracking and his muscle reactions were delayed. 

"It was weird," he told the reporters. "Nothing like this had ever happened to me."  

Westerlund spent 4 hours in the emergency room but doesn't expect to suffer any long-term damage, although he did feel fatigued for a week. He counts himself lucky to still be alive.  

"It just didn't cross my mind that something toxic could be growing in my garden," he said.   

An advocate for local food, Westerlund wants to spread the word about the possibility of poison hemlock showing up in gardens or in farm fields, especially since there's a strong movement to get locally grown foods into schools. 

His take-home message from his experience is that people need to know what something is before they pull it up or pick it to eat it. 

Whatcom County weed gurus say the likely source of the plant in Westerlund's garden was some wild poison hemlock plants growing in the alleyway near the plot. 

The story of the tall stranger in my garden tracks pretty well with Westerlund's, except that I didn't eat any of it. But I had been tempted because it looked so healthy -- and because it was growing with some lettuce start varieties I had planted in the same exact location. When I saw it, I thought it was some sort of exotic lettuce or green that "foodies" have taken a fancy to. But for some reason, I resisted picking some of the leaves and chopping them up in a salad. I still don't know why I didn't do that. Perhaps Socrates was whispering some warnings in my ear.  

A call to Washington State University Extension educator Don McMoran provided some information about the plant. It grows wild on the edges of fields, roadsides, ditches, and along the dikes that border the rivers in Skagit County. But weed scientists warn that this is a weed that can grow almost anywhere in almost any climate.  

I sent a photo of the plant that had come up near my house this spring to WSU weed scientist Carl Libbey. He confirmed that it was a poison hemlock. When I told him that the plant had come up where I had planted some lettuce starts, he said that hemlock seeds can sometimes come in with soil mixtures that people or nurseries use for starts or other garden uses.    

The plant grows 4 to 6 feet tall, has white flowers and fern-like green leaves. All of its parts are extremely poisonous, but the lower portions of the stem and root are particularly dangerous. 

The first symptoms of being poisoned include a burning sensation in the mouth, confusion, nausea and muscle paralysis. Death typically follows from respiratory failure.  

The state's  Noxious Weed Control Board warns that poison hemlock can be mistaken for some edible plants such as parsley, parsnip, wild carrot and anise.  

According to state health officials, Westerlund's case is one of 5 cases this year involving people who have suffered from eating poison hemlock. In the tragic case of what appears to be hemlock poisoning, a Tacoma, Washington woman, Sakha Keo, 55, died this spring from eating a salad that contained some poison hemlock. A neighbor took a KingTV reporter to see some hemlock that was growing close to the woman's house. Medical investigators are still waiting for test results to confirm that it was hemlock that caused the woman's death. If it was, it would be the first such fatality in 11 years in the state, according to the Washington Poison Center.  

As of May 1, 2012, no human deaths from hemlock ingestion have been reported to US Poison Control Centers during the past 10 years.  

Information from Montana State University Extension says that confusing poison hemlock with other members of the carrot family is a common mistake, and a deadly one. One way to distinguish between the wild carrot and poison hemlock is the lack of hairs on the leaves and stems of poison hemlock. Purple splotches and stripes on the stem are other distinguishing features of poison hemlock. 

Humans are not the only ones to be poisoned by this plant. Livestock and wildlife can die when they graze on fresh forage, harvested silage or hay contaminated with poison hemlock. Cattle, goats and horses are the most susceptible domesticated animals because they are least able to metabolize the toxins in the plants.  

A persistent plant, hemlock reproduces solely by seeds, which often drop next to the parent plant and regenerate, thus forming dense stands of the invasive plant. Water, birds and rodents can spread it to other areas. Since the plant stalk persists through the winter, the seeds can be dispersed from September through late February. 

Managing poison hemlock requires a combination of early detection, prevention, containment and small-scale eradication. People who discover poison hemlock on their property should map and monitor areas of current stands and continually scout for newly established plants. Close management or spraying with chemicals are two options.  

Washington state officials advise people who find poison hemlock growing in their garden or yard to don some gloves, pull it up, put it in a bag, seal the bag, and dispose of it. Never put it on a compost pile because children and pets might be tempted to handle or taste it.  

For more information about poison hemlock, see the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks'
fact sheet, or view the
tutorial on invasive exotic plants from Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

 

For a poison emergency in the U.S. call 1-800-222-1222 to reach the American Association of Poison Control Centers. 

Photos taken by Cookson Beecher.

Source : http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/garden-visitor-can-be-deadly-if-eaten/

Magnet Therapy May Save Lives During Surgery

High spinal block is a serious, but relatively rare complication of surgery when injected anesthetic medications travel too far up the spinal cord and prevent the brain’s signals from reaching the heart and lungs. In such cases, potential cardiac arrest and death can occur. Recently, however, researchers report that they may have found a life-saving solution to this problem by making spinal anesthesia safer using magnet therapy.

Spinal anesthesia is used in some surgeries to numb or block pain to parts of the body during a surgical procedure.

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A spinal anesthesia procedure typically involves an anesthesiologist injecting the medications directly into the fluid in your spinal cord, after which your blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart and respirations are closely monitored until after the surgery has ended. Spinal anesthesia is often used for genital, urinary tract and lower body procedures and is preferable to general anesthesia in some cases because of fewer side effects with spinal anesthesia compared to general anesthesia.

However, at times a complication referred to as “high spinal block” can occur and lead to respiratory and circulatory distress. Signs and symptoms of spinal block include:

• Hypotension
• Bradycardia
• Cardiac arrest
• Respiratory compromise
• Apnea
• Reduced oxygen saturation
• Difficulty speaking/coughing
• Nausea and anxiety
• Arm/hand dysaesthesia or paralysis
• Loss of consciousness

While the exact cause of high spinal block is not totally understood, it is believed that the medications somehow wind up traveling too high up the spinal cord and thereby numb the nerve signals needed by the heart and lungs. Some identified potential risk factors for patients who might experience high spinal block include:

1. A prior epidural
2. Too large of a local anesthetic dose
3. Immediate supine positioning
4. Increased intra-abdominal pressure (including pregnancy and truncal obesity)

During surgery, anesthesiologists attempt to prevent high spinal block by adjusting the dosing of the anesthetic medications and by positioning the patient so that gravity pulls the numbing drugs to the lower portions of the spinal cord. Unfortunately, however, relying on gravity does not always work sufficiently, thereby necessitating the need for a new procedure or therapy to prevent untoward spread of the anesthetic drugs.

In a recent article published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia, researchers from the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville have performed a preliminary test using magnetized anesthetic fluid under the control of a weak magnetic field to control the spread of anesthetic medications.

The lead author of the study, Robert H. Thiele, MD, and colleagues have built a mockup of the human spine using plastic tubing filled with fluid. They then injected anesthetic meds both with and without an added magnetic ferro-fluid and tested the flow of the anesthetic meds in the pseudo-spine while under a magnetic field.

What they found was that without the influence of a magnetic field, both the non-treated fluid and the ferro-fluid ran down the pseudospine via gravity. However, when a magnetic field was applied, the ferro-fluid could direct the medications either up or down the tubing under their direct control.

While the findings are just preliminary and in need of further research to determine whether the same type of therapy could work under human physiological conditions both safely and effectively, it does hold promise as a way to not only prevent high spinal block, but also a new way to control the spread of anesthetics to other regions of the body during some types of surgeries. The significance of this research is that it also adds to a growing trend in the applicability of using magnets in other, future medical therapies such as in treating body pain and in treating depression with magnetic fields.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//8782/magnet-therapy-may-save-lives-during-surgery

NYC ban on sugary sodas: Does it really target obesity?

Cornell University experts are taking exception with the proposed ban on sugary drinks in New York City. One of the reasons is that the proposed sugary soda drink ban is targeting beverages; not obesity. Food marketing experts say imposing such a ban is likely to lead to failure; dong little more than making smart consumers - who are going to get what they want anyway - angry.

The concerns over the soda ban come from David Just and Brian Wansink, food marketing experts and professors at Cornell University’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management who suggest the proposed ban is targeting just a group of consumers who specifically buy sodas.

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David Just wonders why they’re avoiding other high calorie sugary drinks, like fruit juices and chocolate shakes.

He says in a press release, “This proposed ban is targeting a certain group of people. I also worry that this is a little bit of a regressive tax: It is not directly targeting obesity; it is targeting soda. Sodas overall are a pretty small part of the equation when it comes to obesity.”

One proposal is to ‘reward’ consumers for purchasing discounted diet Just also suggests fast-food restaurants should be encouraged to provide low-calorie, healthy menu options.

Studies have shown high numbers of fast food restaurants per capita contributes to obesity. Offering lower calorie foods in areas with fewer fresh markets are available seems to make better sense.

The proposal to ban sodas in New York City targets ‘super-size’ sugared soft drinks specifically, but most consumers are likely to see the move as an infringement on personal liberties.

The American Beverage Association and the National Restaurant Association are balking at the move that would ban 16 ounce sugar laden soda sales at movie theaters, stadiums and arenas; to be decided at the June 12 meeting of the Board of Health.

Food marketing experts David Just and Brian Wansink aren’t the only ones who view the soda ban as a bad idea.

Bloomberg reports Heather Oldani, a McDonald’s spokeswoman stated in an e-mail, “This is a complex topic, and one that requires a more collaborative and comprehensive approach.”

According to Oldani, the ban won’t address the public health issue of obesity because it’s “narrowly focused and misguided”.

Sugary soft drinks add calories to American diets and New York City officials think they are a major driver of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Cornell’s Brian Wansink who directs the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and authored the best seller "Mindless Eating", said in a media release, “People buying super-sized sodas want their 32-ounce soft drinks and will find a work-around to the ban. They’ll go to a place that offers fountain refills, or they’ll buy two. If they don’t have much money, they might cut back on fruits or vegetables or a bit of their family meal budget.”

He suggests New York City find better ways to help their residents stay healthy with lower-calorie options. He explains soft drink companies and restaurants aren’t selling sugar – they’re selling beverages.

“We should be encouraging sales of healthier beverages – using a carrot instead of a stick. This approach would be welcomed by struggling retailers and manufacturers alike.”

Banning sodas in New York City isn’t likely to target obesity because it’s just a small part of obesity epidemic that the Cornell food experts thinks is doomed for failure. Consumers are already cutting back on soda consumption as they become more health conscious. Focusing on selling healthy beverages and discounting diet drinks seems to make a lot more sense that provide better; “win-win” opportunities for curbing obesity said Just.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//1020/nyc-ban-sugary-sodas-does-it-really-target-obesity

'Jack Spratt' gene explains diabetes in lean people

Several reasons have been proposed about why thin people – not just obese – develop type 2 diabetes. In addition to a recent finding that some people are obese but healthy and diabetes free, researchers have now identified the ‘Jack Spratt’ gene that predisposes people to the disease.

Finding shows obesity drives type 2 diabetes for most, but not all

The finding is the first to show lean people develop type 2 diabetes from genes, while for others the cause is associated with obesity and inactivity.

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According to the study authors,: Individuals with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) can present with variable clinical characteristics. It is well known that obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, yet patients can vary considerably—there are many lean diabetes patients and many overweight people without diabetes. "

The research team included scientists from around the world and was led by investigators from Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), University of Exeter.

Genetic data was gathered from both lean and obese people with type 2 diabetes. The investigation also included gene data from a group of healthy people, as a control.

The scientists were able to pinpoint specific variants near the gene, LAMA1, which was linked to type 2 diabetes risk for the first time and associated only with lean patients with diabetes.

New diabetes treatment possible

Dr. John Perry, one of the lead authors of the study, said in a press release, "Whenever a new disease gene is found, there is always the potential for it to be used as a drug target for new therapies or as a biomarker, but more work is needed to see whether or not this new gene has that potential."

Perry adds that it’s the first time researchers have discovered a type 2 diabetes variant like the 'Jack Spratt' diabetes gene. He says researchers aren’t sure why the gene behaves differently in one group of patients and not in another.

He explains it may be that diabetes is more than one disease, representing a variety of subgroups.

The study proves, for the first time, that there is indeed a genetic predisposition to diabetes among lean people; something that has long be suspected. Finding the so-called Jack Spratt diabetes gene might lend more insight into the disease and better treatment options.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//1020/jack-spratt-gene-explains-diabetes-lean-people

Color of Breast Cancer: Why Blacks and Whites are Different

One of the many mysteries surrounding breast cancer is why black women and white women have different experiences with the disease. A possible explanation for why blacks and whites are different has been discovered by experts at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and being presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

The color of breast cancer

In the United States, there are significant differences in the rates of new cases of and deaths from breast cancer among women. The highest number of new cases of breast cancer occur among white women, at 123.5 per 100,000, compared with 113.0 per 100,000 among black women.

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But when you look at death rates from breast cancer, black women fare far worse than white women: per 100,000 women there are 33.0 deaths among blacks and 23.9 among whites. In addition, the five-year survival rates are 90% for white women and 78% for black women, which is the lowest of any other ethnic and racial group in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

Among women younger than 40, blacks have a higher incidence of breast cancer than whites, and they are more likely to be diagnosed with larger tumors than white women. Black women also experience a more aggressive form of breast cancer that appears nearly 10 years before those seen in white women.

The discovery made by the researchers and physicians in this new study focused on a genetic marker called microRNA, which is found in the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). It's known that the expression of microRNA is not the same between black and white women, and the investigators wanted to find out why this is so and if the variation might explain the difference in survival between white and black women who have breast cancer.

The investigators collected blood samples from 32 women, 16 white and 16 black. Ten women had stage III triple-negative breast cancer (5 black, 5 white), 10 had stage III estrogen-receptor or progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer (5 black, 5 white), and 12 women served as controls (6 black, 6 white). All the samples were analyzed for microRNA profiles.

Analysis of the blood samples revealed the following:

• White patients with triple-negative breast cancer overexpressed 20 microRNAs, which was 15 times greater than seen in controls


• None of the microRNAs seen in the women with triple-negative breast cancer were seen in the black patients


• Black women with breast cancer overexpressed only six microRNAs (15 times greater than seen in controls), and none of these microRNAs were found in the white patients who had triple-negative breast cancer


• Four microRNAs seen in black patients and 8 microRNAs seen in white patients were not previously reported in association with breast cancer. This finding indicates that these microRNAs may have a role in how women react to cancer.

What the study findings suggest
What do the differences in the microRNA expressions between black breast cancer patients and white breast cancer patients mean? For one thing, they "may provide insight into answering why, when receiving similar treatments, outcomes are different between African Americans and Caucasians," noted Iuliana Shapira, MD, director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the North Shore-LIJ Health System's Monter Cancer Center.

The study's findings also indicate that women with breast cancer who have the worst outcomes may have microRNAs that promote cancer, and that white women may have microRNAs that protect them against cancer while black women do not express those microRNAs.

"Methods to increase microRNAs in the blood before surgery for cancer, such as giving chemotherapy before surgery for cancer, may improve survival rates in African American women with triple-negative breast cancer," offered Shapira. Overall, the study casts new light on the color of breast cancer and offers researchers new information regarding differences between how white women and black women experience the disease.

Source : http://emaxhealth.com//1275/color-breast-cancer-why-blacks-and-whites-are-different

Publisher's Platform: Trouble with Imports

When Smiling Hara Tempeh's managing executive Chad Oliphant began buying starter culture from Maryland-based Tempeh Online to make the popular bean product tempeh, he surely did not expect it to be contaminated with Salmonella (or anything else for that matter).  And, why should he? Like most people in his position, I imagine Mr. Oliphant was acting under the belief that the products purchased from overseas exporters have been vetted for safety issues.  Of course, this outbreak has shown that Smiling Hara Tempeh should have tested its product prior to sending it out for consumption, but it is also serves as an example of a burgeoning trend of foodborne illness outbreaks linked to imported food.

Food products now come into the country from over 250,000 foreign companies located in 200 different countries.  Of all food Americans consume, 15 percent of fruits, 20 percent of vegetables, and 80 percent of seafood come from overseas. As the consumption of imported foods grows, so has the number of  foodborne illness outbreaks linked to these products.

In just the past year consumers felt the pain of multiple import-related outbreaks: Turkish pine nuts, Mexican papayas, and Guatemalan cantaloupe were a few products linked to Salmonella outbreaks in 2011.  Contaminated sprout seeds imported to Germany from Egypt caused the disastrous E. coli outbreak in the Spring of 2011 that sickened thousands and killed 50 in Europe, including some Americans.  Most recently, alongside the tempeh outbreak, a nationwide Salmonella outbreak was traced to sushi made from imported Nakaochi scrape (a.k.a. tuna Scrape), ground tuna meat scraped from a tuna's backbone. The contaminated tuna scrape was imported from India and distributed by a California company to supermarkets and restaurants all over the country.  Despite labels indicating the product should be cooked, it was used in sushi rolls and ceviche--dishes served raw.  Over 300 Americans who ate the raw imported tuna scrape became ill with Salmonella infections.

Perhaps it should not be altogether unsurprising that we are experiencing foodborne illness outbreaks tied to imported foods, given the lack of oversight afforded to imports.  

While forty-five percent of import-related foodborne illnesses are tied to seafood, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only inspects 1 percent of seafood that enters the country. Of the seafood inspected, 51 percent gets rejected due to spoilage, physical abnormalities, or pathogen contamination. All other imported food fares only slightly better, with 2 percent becoming subject to inspection.  

So while thousands of people were likely sickened by imported food last year, my dire prediction is that we'll continue to see a rise in import-related foodborne illness outbreaks.  That is, unless there are upgrades to current FDA import policies.

Fortunately, I'm not alone in this thinking. 

In 2010, President Obama signed into law the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which included a substantial revamp of food safety procedures required for domestic food production and imports.  If funded, FMSA will increase the number of import inspections; importers will be specifically required to have a program to verify that the food products they are bringing into this country are safe as well as verify that their suppliers are in compliance with reasonably appropriate risk-based preventive controls.

Unfortunately, there are some very real hurdles to clear before FSMA can take effect.

A critical defect in FSMA is the absence a funding mandate.  This means that while FDA may be required by law to implement improved food safety procedures, there will not be enough money to put those policies into action.  Currently, the funding for FSMA lies in the hands of Congress, though as FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has pointed out, so far Congress has been unwilling to allocate FDA the funds necessary to validate the legislation. 

Of course there is another roadblock that preempts even the likes of Congress.  The Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for approving draft rules such as the provisions established in FSMA. The FSMA rules pertaining to imports were supposed to be finalized by January 4, 2012, but five months later they remain in OMB, apparently stalled. 

Where does this leave us?

We will continue to see a rise in the number of imports.

Americans will continue to eat more imports.

Without funding and enacting FSMA import rules, we will continue to see more outbreaks associated with imports.

As for Smiling Hara Tempeh, perhaps if OMB had been on schedule and Congress had appropriated sufficient funding, over 80 people would not have become victims of Salmonella poisoning.  In the meantime it will be up to American importers to ensure the foods they are bringing in from other countries are safe.

Source : http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/publishers-platform-trouble-with-imports/