MedNews

You are here: Home / Archives for Health & Medical News

Shingles Vaccine: What You Need to Know

By Leave a Comment

According to a CDC "vaccine statement" a shingles vaccine was licensed in 2006, and in clinical trials it prevented shingles in 50% of people 60 years or older. In addition, the vaccine reduces the pain associated with the disease.

Shingles occurs only in someone who has had a case of chickenpox, or has had the chickenpox vaccine. The virus stays in one’s body and can reappear much later, causing the shingles outbreak. 

The main symptom is a painful rash, often with blisters. Other symptoms include fever, headache, upset stomach and chills.

 So what should one know in evaluating whether or not to get this vaccine?

First, no-one should get the vaccine if they have HIV /AIDS or another disease that affects the immune systom. Nor should they get the vaccine if they are under treatment with drugs, such as steriods, that affect the immune system. Nor should anyone under cancer treatment with radiation or chemotherapy, or any bone marrow disease (such as leukemia or lymphoma). Tuberculosis and pregnancy are other contraindications for the vaccine.

Then the choice is between you and your health care provider. According to the CDC "no serious problems have been identified with shingles vaccines."

For more information, contact your physician, local or state health department, or the CDC at www.cdc.gov.nip

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Alzheimer’s and Aluminum

By Leave a Comment

Aluminum is unusually abundant in the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer’s disease. For years, rumors have circulated that aluminum cookware contributed to the disease. And for just as long, most scientists have scoffed at this notion because aluminum is one of the most abundant elements on earth and everyone is exposed to a great deal of it.

Over the last decade several studies have explored the issue of aluminum–especially Aluminum in drinking water–and Alzheimer’s risk. Some show that as the aluminum concentration in water increases beyond about 11 micrograms per liter, so does Alzheimer’s risk. Others show no association.

Studies showing an aluminum-Alzheimer’s link suggest that aluminum alone is not the sole culprit. Other substances, notably acids, must be present in the water to enable aluminum absorption in the gut.

Scientists who suspect that aluminum exposure may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s warn against drinking carbonated beverages from aluminum cans. The carbonation makes the drink acidic, which increases aluminumn absorption in the gut.

The issue of aluminumn as a possible risk factor for Alzheimer’s is extremely controversial.

If you’re concerned enough about aluminum to spend about $100 to have your water tested, the National Testing Laboratory of Cleveland includes aluminum in a 74-item test of water quality.

They send you sampling test tubes. You fill them with your water, and send then to the lab in a special styrofoam-lined box. A week or so later, the lab sends you a report detailing what’s in your water. For more information, call 1-800-458-3330.

— By Matthew Naythons MD and Michael Castleman

Paid Health News: Blurring the Line Between News and PR

By Leave a Comment

It seems that much of the health and medical news published in major news outlets today derives from company press releases, corporate sponsored studies, or even stories produced directly by saavy PR agencies.

News agencies summarize studies published in respected medical journals, and some stories come from other more dubious sources. Often, studies themselves are funded by corporate interest that stand to benefit directly from the proliferation of a whole new surge of “news” on a particular topic.

Gary Schwitzer, publisher of Health News Review, writes on his health news blog:

“I always talk a great deal with my students about the blurred line between news and advertising in many settings these days. Now some of my past students are seeing it for themselves…

For whatever reason, a disproportionate share of one year’s graduating class is working in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where today the Argus Leader newspaper reports: “a local television affiliate is ramping up its health care coverage, thanks to a partnership with Avera Health.”

As publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, Schwitzer’s goal for the organization is “improving the accuracy of news stories about medical treatments, tests and procedures, and helping consumers evaluate the evidence for and against new ideas in health care.”

Read more about sponsored health news stories from Gary Schwitzer’s blog.

Tans Fade but Wrinkles are Forever – Slip, Slop, Slap

By Leave a Comment

Sun damages skin—period.
The obvious trick in summer is to balance exposure to sun with protection from the harmful rays that cause skin damage and can lead to cancer. These rays are known as UVA and UVB rays, with UV standing for Ultra Violet.

Australian health authorities, alarmed by the skyrocketing rise of minor skin cancers and deadly skin melanomas have instituted a health campaign with the tag line: SLIP (on a shirt), SLOP (on sunscreen), and SLAP (on a hat).

Lets briefly look at the elements of the campaign.
SLOP: Many people tend to confuse the terms "sunblock" and "sunscreen". Sunblock fully blocks the rays of the sun and consists of such "blocks" as titanium and zinc oxides. They are extremely effective in blocking sunlight, but they also are colored and leave the wearer appearing like a character on the canvas of "Women of Avignon" by Picasso. Furthermore, they need to be reapplied after only a few hours.

Two sunscreens that have hit the stores this year, Heliolex and Anthelios SX provide significant protection against UVA (80%) and UVB (90%) for up to five hours after application. Helioplex is sold by Neutrogena as UltraSheer. They go on easily, need to be reapplied less frequently than sunblocks, and are invisible.

SLIP: Nothing blocks the sun better than clothing, and when the sun is blazing, make sure you put a shirt on to protct your back and shoulders.

SLAP: You don’t have to look like a kangaroo hunter, but the more you can put your face in shadow, the less harmful rays your skin will accumulate.
And yes, you can get a fine tan with all of the above.
Drill this into your kids:

SLIP on a shirt
SLOP on sunscreen
SLAP on a hat

Coffee drinking may help thinking skills as women age

By Leave a Comment

According to a study published in the journal Neurology, active coffee drinkers over the age of 65 (who drank at least three cups of coffee a day) had demonstrably less decrease in memory functioning than women who drank only a single cup.

The study surveyed 7,000 women over a period of four years. Surprisingly, the effects of the caffeine increased as the women aged, with 30% less likely to suffer memory decline at 65, rising to 70% at age 80.

The study only looked at memory functioning, not at dementia, with the rates of dementia (Alzheimer’s) constant and unaffected by caffeine intake in the study.

Cardiologists Call for New Approach in Treating Chest Pain

By Leave a Comment

In a joint statement by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA), physicians are calling for a more aggressive approach to evaluating patients presenting with chest pain (unstable angina)—and quickly determining whether the therapeutic approach should be medical, invasive or a combination of two.

Guidelines released today by the ACC encourage the early use of tests such as a stress test, an echocardiogram or a radionuclide angiogram (which visualizes the coronary arteries) in patients considered stable.

Cessation of smoking, lowering blood pressure, and lowering cholesterol are all part of the effort to lower the risk of heart attack.

The new guidelines call for an LDL cholesterol to be lower than 100 mg/dL, with a target number of 70 mg/dL. Blood pressure should be lower than 140/90.

A significant new recommendation is the guideline to cease prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for post-menopausal women.

Summertime Survival Tips: Water Intake

By Leave a Comment

It’s summertime and you’ve forgotten to bring along your water bottle for your afternoon hike. Should you go back and get it, or keep hiking and worry about it later.
Go back.
The rule of thumb is eight—eight glasses of fluid a day per person, increasing fluid intake for exercise, hot weather, high altitude or low humidity.

If you hike without adequate hydration, you have a greater chance of developing fatigue, headaches and general irritability.
Drink before you get thirsty, and drink until your urine is only slightly yellow. Water is preferable over juices and sports drinks if you’re trying to watch calories.

The US national Research council suggests that another rule of thumb— match one ml of water for every calorie consumed. In other words, if you eat 3,000 calories worth of food, you have to drink 3,000 milliliters of water.

 

Remember that if you don’t want to wake up at night for a bathroom stop, don’t drink within two hours of going to sleep. Also, alcohol and caffeine have diuretic side-effects—they increase urine output.

Make sure your olive oil is fresh

By Leave a Comment

Everyone knows by now (or should know) that olive oil is one of the "healthier" cooking oils, and can lower total cholesterol as well as the unwanted LDL (low density lipoprotein) fraction in your blood.
But many people lose track of the freshness of their olive oil bottles. And as olive oil loses freshness over time, it loses some of the antioxidant properties which make it so valuable.

Health tip: make sure when you buy your olive oil that it is no older than one year, and use it before the next year is up.

Botulism Warning from FDA – Canned French Cut Green Beansbo

By Leave a Comment

The FDA warned consumers this week to avoid specific brands of French Cut Green beans because the beans may not have been processed properly to eliminate the potential for botulism toxin.

So far there have been no illnesses associated with the products, but the potential for serious illness exists.
Anyone who has any of the following list of beans should immediately throw them away. If you are unable to read the code on the affected cans, it is recommended to dispose of them anyway.
The affected Lakeside cut green beans are sold nationwide under the following labels: Albertson’s, Happy Harvest, Best Choice, Food Club, Bogopa, Valu Time, Hill Country Fare, HEB, Laura Lynn, Kroger, No Name, North Pride, Shop N Save, Shoppers Valu, Schnucks, Cub Foods, Dierbergs, Flavorite, IGA, Best Choice and Thrifty Maid. The specific codes (top line of can code) involved are: EAA5247, EAA5257, EAA5267, EAA5277, EAB5247, EAB5257, ECA5207, ECA5217, ECA5227, ECA5297, ECB5207, ECB5217, ECB5227, ECB5307

Health Alert: Office Printer Dust May Pose Health Dangers

By Leave a Comment

Just when you thought that your office anti-smoking policy cleared the air in the workplace, a new study by Australian scientists suggests "not so fast."
Surveying numerous laser printers, the researchers discovered that approximately thirty percent release "dangerous" levels of very small toner-type material.

The particles are small enough (described as "ultra fine") that they can penetrate deep into the lung’s alveoli and create damage similar to the damage seen in inhaled cigarettes.

Of the 62 machines tested at the University of Queensland, 17 were classified as "high particle emitters."

Source: American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology Journal