Health

Humans May Stay Young For 400 Years

2007-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

'In principle, if you understand the mechanisms of keeping things repaired, you could keep things going indefinitely,' says Cynthia Kenyon, biochemist at the University of California at San Francisco. In her lab she has increased the life span of tiny worms called Caenorhabditis elegans up to six times their normal lifespan by suppressing a single gene. This regulator gene, named daf-2, in combination with other genes, appears to control an entire cluster of genes that direct aging not only in worms, but in similar genetic pathways in flies, mice and, possibly humans. This is the equivalent of people living for 400 years, and the good news is that the worms stay young for most of their extended lifespans.

Diet it seems is a major contributory factor.An experiment with the worms proves that sugar turns on a genetic sequence that increases the amount of insulin produced by an organism, which in turn causes the body to demand more sugar. This increases damage to cells in the body, speeding up the slow degradation of cells that contribute to aging. Red wine and green tea have been shown to help repair cells and contribute to an increased lifespan.

The most significant finding is that the worms remained vigorous till until the very end of their extended lives. In human terms it would mean that a person would remain young for decades, growing old very slowly. It also suggests a radical new method for treating maladies of aging such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's and some cancers, which might be put off or eliminated if youth is extended. 'Age is the single largest risk factor for an enormous number of diseases,' says Kenyon. 'So if you can essentially postpone aging, then you can have beneficial effects on a whole wide range of disease.'

When asked whether it was possible to be immortal Kenyon says 'I think it might be possible. I'll tell you why. You can think about the life span of a cell being the integral of two vectors in a sense, the force of destruction and the force of prevention, maintenance and repair. In most animals the force of destruction has still got the edge. But why not bump up the genes just a little bit, the maintenance genes. All you have to do is have the maintenance level a little higher. It doesn't have to be much higher. It just has to be a little higher, so that it counterbalances the force of destruction. And don't forget, the germ lineage is immortal. So it's possible at least in principle.'

Energy Drinks Should Be Used With Care

2007-09-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Energy drinks are carbonated beverages containing high amounts of caffeine, sugar and usually some additives such as vitamins, amino acids like taurine and herbal stimulants such as guarana.They are specifically targeted at young people in the age group of 18 to 30 years.They are meant to be used as stimulants.Whatever be the combination of ingredients in a particular brand, caffeine is invariably the central ingredient.Each drink contains about 80mg. of caffeine, about the same as in a cup of coffee or in two cups of tea.Some brands contain caffeine in much higher quantities.It is an expanding market in the US and the total sales of all the brands put together is almost $4billion.The most popular brand currently is the Red Bull Energy drink.Although energy drinks sound healthy and are safe for most people experts warn that there could be risks associated with their consumption for some people.

Some of the brands contain very large amounts of caffeine.Individual responses to caffeine vary and people who are sensitive to it may experience discomfort such as anxiety, palpitations and difficulty sleeping.People with a heart condition should avoid such drinks as caffeine is a stimulant and may cause palpitations.Then again energy drinks contain ingredients which sort of boost the effects of caffeine.The exact action of these substances has not been studied so far and possible side effects have not been fully documented.

Energy drinks are often mixed with alcohol to enhance the 'feel good' buzz.Researchers have found that energy drinks combined with alcohol reduced several alcohol related symptoms such as headaches,dryness of the mouth etc.This may induce people to drink more which may be bad for health.Moreover caffeine causes dehydration which may delay the metabolizing of alcohol by the body.

It must be remembered that energy drinks are not sports drinks.Caffeine in energy drinks promotes dehydration which must be avoided during periods of strenuous physical activity.Sports drinks on the other hand are supposed to do the exact opposite and keep the body hydrated.

Evidence is clearly emerging that energy drinks may be unsafe for some people.It is advisable not to give these drinks to children below ten years of age,pregnant women and people with a heart condition.Even young people should closely watch the effect they have on their mood and behavior.In case any change is noticed it may be advisable to consult a doctor.

Feeling Depressed?Just Take A Walk.

2007-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Is there something you can do to help control your clinical depression besides popping pills? The good news is that there is, for almost 20 million Americans who suffer from this illness every year. The problem of depression is more serious than people think because most of the sufferers either do not receive any treatment or only partial treatment.This is because they may be either unaware of their problem, or even if they are aware they may avoid admitting it to their Doctor because of the stigma attached to it.

Latest studies have found that regular moderate exercise is as effective in fighting depression as regular medical treatment. Studies conducted on individuals found that those who engaged in group exercise benefited to almost the same extent as as those who took medical treatment.Those who exercised alone or at home also showed improvement, but to a lesser extent.Those given a placebo showed a markedly lower degree of improvement.

So how much should you exercise?Research suggests that about half an hours' moderate exercise a day, six day's a week, can significantly improve symptoms of depression.Even shorter periods of activity of as little as 10 to 15 minutes a day can lead to improvement.

The reasons why exercise helps are both physical as well as psychological.Exercise boosts the level of mood elevating chemicals, releases tension in muscles, leads to better quality of sleep and reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

The psychological benefits of exercise are that it increases your self confidence.It even makes you feel better about your appearance and increases your self esteem.It also helps in distracting a person from unpleasant thoughts.Regular exercise in a group promotes social interaction and a feeling of security.It encourages a person to push himself harder and may also be safer for people with a medical condition like heart disease.

Starting an exercise routine is not as hard as it seems.The trick is to start with a moderate exercise program.Talk to your Doctor for guidance and support and also identify the form of physical activity you enjoy the most.Just walking your kid to the school bus stop may be enough.Above all don't consider it to be a burden but something that is pleasant and enjoyable.

The advantages of exercise over other forms of treatment are many.It is very cheap compared to medication or a visit to a psychiatrist.It doesn't cause sexual dysfunction or have other potentially fatal side effects when combined with other drugs.In fact it has positive effects on your cardiovascular health and your waistline!

So the next time you have the blues, just take a walk.There is a word of caution though.If your depression persists seek medical help at once. Exercise is not meant to replace the medical treatment of depression.

Skin Care-How To Prevent Wrinkles

2007-09-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wrinkles are a natural result of the skin's loss of elasticity as it ages.but some behaviors can speed up the process and cause wrinkles prematurely.They are more noticeable on the face, neck and hands.Aging is accompanied by the decreased ability of the body to produce collagen, a protein that is responsible for the integrity of the top layer of the skin and thus leads to a thinning of the skin.Wrinkles usually start where collagen loss is the most.Skin around the eyelids,jaw and neck is naturally thin and this is prone to aging first.

Although there are many treatments in the market none of them can turn the clock back too far and none of them are without risks.Many skin products that claim to reduce wrinkles and prevent aging skin generally consist of static chemicals that 'prop up' the skin temporarily or give it a more appealing appearance.

Nevertheless cosmetics if properly applied can be surprisingly effective in camouflaging the signs of aging skin.Cosmetic therapies include face lifts, laser resurfacing, non-ablative laser-resurfacing and implantation.Products are also available for damaged skin.Alpha hydroxy acids facilitate the shedding of dead skin cells.

Some simple precautions can help delay the aging of your skin.The sun is the biggest enemy of the skin.Excessive exposure to sunlight should be avoided.It is the Ultra Violet (UV) radiations which are the main culprit.Clouds and haze do not protect you and in some cases may actually increase UV intensity.This is because UV intensity depends on the angle of the sun and not on heat or brightness.If you go out in the sun remember to use sunscreens and sunblocks.Wearing sun protective clothing is very important.The use of hats and sunglasses also helps.Excessive exposure to artificial tanning devices should also be avoided.

An active and healthy lifestyle ensures health to all body parts, including our skin.It improves blood circulation,detoxifies the skin and keeps it young and glowing.

Remember to eat a healthy balanced diet which is rich in vitamins and drink plenty of fluids.This protects the collagen and prevents premature aging.

Smoking harms the skin immensely.Quit smoking if you want to look young longer.Getting that eight hours of beauty sleep is also a good idea.

Remember that the skin is a living and breathing tissue.It needs regular care and maintenance.With proper healthy activities and some care you can keep it fresh and young for a long time.

List of health problems because of obesity

2007-08-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem, but it can lead to a lot of health problems and complications. The health problems associated with obesity are diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, stroke, liver disease, gall stones etc.

Obesity is because of eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activities to burn those calories. Excess calories are deposited in the body as fat.

Obesity increases the risk of several health problems like high blood pressure, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, gout, gallstones, colon cancer, sleep apnea and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

High blood pressure: Blood vessels carry blood from heart to different organs of the body and back to heart. The blood vessels have thick but elastic walls for proper flow of blood. Decrease in elasticity of blood vessel wall increases pressure on blood passing through these vessels. Obesity decreases elasticity of blood vessels causing increase in blood pressure.

Diabetes in obesity: Insulin is required for entry of carbohydrate into cells from the blood. The carbohydrate in cell is utilized for energy production by the cells. Excess deposition of fat in the body causes insulin resistance, because of which, insulin cannot perform its function and sugar cannot enter into cells and remain in blood. This leads to diabetes or high blood sugar. High sugar in blood leads to complications in various organs like kidney, eyes, blood vessel, and heart.

Atherosclerosis or fatty deposits in blood vessels: Obesity is associated with increase in levels of bad cholesterol in blood. Increase cholesterol in blood causes atherosclerosis or deposition of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels. Atherosclerosis reduces the elasticity of blood vessels, narrows blood vessels and decreases blood flow through these vessels. All these changes lead to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Heart diseases: Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that supply blood to heart muscles. Atherosclerosis or fatty deposits in coronary arteries in obesity decreases blood supply to heart muscles. Decreased oxygen supply and blood flow to heart can cause angina (chest pain) and complete blockage of blood flow to heart can cause heart attack.

Stroke or paralysis: Atherosclerosis in arteries of brain can reduce blood supply to the brain. This decrease in blood flow can result in stroke or paralysis.

Arthritis: Obesity and overweight increases the load on the joints such as the knee, hip and lower back, which can cause the breakdown of cartilage in the joint. Cartilage is a cushion like structure in a joint required for smooth movement of joints. Breakdown of cartilage in obesity results in joint pain and stiffness and other features of osteoarthritis.

Gout: A type of arthritis caused by the accumulation of uric acid crystals in joints. Obesity is associated with increased accumulation of these solid crystal-like masses in joints, which causes inflammation and pain.

Sleep apnea: Overweight and excess fat around neck causes narrowing of airways and leads to sleep apnea. In sleep apnea, person snores heavily and stops breathing for short periods, which results in frequent awakening at night.

Fatty liver disease: Obesity increases the risk of developing liver disease called fatty liver disease due to accumulation of fat in liver.

Gallbladder disease and gallstones: Obesity increases cholesterol deposition in gall bladder, which can lead to formation of gallstones.

So, obesity can lead to a lot of health problems and other complications.

Beauty care - 7 beauty tips

2007-08-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

Let's talk about inner beauty care. True beauty begins from the inside out. Outer beauty will only appear when you’ve practiced beauty within.

Knowing how and what to eat, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Improper eating habits can cause depression, overweight, illness and an overall lethargy.

Change your eating and exercising habits. You can do this. Do not try to change everything at once, unless you are just one of those rare individuals that can do that.

Beauty care starts with our diet. Diet does not mean just losing weight. Diet means the food you put in your daily eating habits.

1)A rule of thumb for eating habits are...don't eat more calories than you consume. Don't go one single day without doing something extra and physical for at least 30 minutes per day. This can be three ten minute walks. Or 30 minutes of vigorous aerobics, or 12 minutes of weight lifting and 18 minutes of walking.

2) Water, you need water. Try to add at least 4 more glasses of water to your daily diet. The rule of thumb for water is 8 glasses per day; and one extra for every ten pounds overweight you are.

3) Fats, you need to know about fats. There are different kinds of fats. Some fats are better for you than others. A rule of thumb on fats is, stay away from hydrogenated fats. These are fats that solidify. They are in store bought cakes, cookies, crackers, chips and even in bran muffins. Read the labels.

Choose fats that are polyunsaturated or fats such as olive oil. And, eat some fish to get some omega-3 fats. Carbohydrates - Are your immediate fuel source. An average is about 55 percent of your diet in carbohydrates. So, a rule of thumb is, figure your protein grams, get around 25% fat per day, and the rest would be in carbohydrates. The heavier you are, the more protein you need the less carbohydrates you will need.

Fats - try not to exceed more than 25 percent fat in your daily diet. 30 is fine, too. That does not mean you can't have a junk food fast food hamburger... it just means that if you do eat that 55 percent fat burger that you are going to have to cut down on other fat filled foods for the rest of the day to balance it out.

4) Fiber - work up to getting 25 grams of Fiber per day

5) Protein - averages about 20 percent. Divide weight by 2.2 and multiply that by .8 to get the kilograms. For men it is averages as one gram per each kilogram of weight. So, a man would divide their weight in pounds 2.2 then multiply that by .10

7) Add bran to your cereals for extra fiber. Do add it in your baking. You need to balance your diet with vegetables and fruits, too. Try adding different colors to your plate. Maybe an orange yam, and some green beans, to add color. The more variety of food colors, bring more variety of vitamins. Eat more raw foods.

Remember, exchange things, add things, and do it gradually and remember, live all things in life in moderation and soon you will be bouncy and vibrant and well on your way to living BEAUTIFULLY!

Beauty care - 7 beauty tips

2007-08-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about inner beauty care. True beauty begins from the inside out. Outer beauty will only appear when you’ve practiced beauty within.

Knowing how and what to eat, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Improper eating habits can cause depression, overweight, illness and an overall lethargy.

Change your eating and exercising habits. You can do this. Do not try to change everything at once, unless you are just one of those rare individuals that can do that.

Beauty care starts with our diet. Diet does not mean just losing weight. Diet means the food you put in your daily eating habits.

2) Water, you need water. Try to add at least 4 more glasses of water to your daily diet. The rule of thumb for water is 8 glasses per day; and one extra for every ten pounds overweight you are.

4) Fiber - work up to getting 25 grams of Fiber per day

Remember, exchange things, add things, and do it gradually and remember, live all things in life in moderation and soon you will be bouncy and vibrant and well on your way to living BEAUTIFULLY!

Dietary supplements: Do you need them?

2007-08-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

Do you need to take dietary supplements? The answer depends on your eating and lifestyle habits and some factors beyond your control, such as your age. Dietary supplements may be appropriate if:

You don't eat well. If you eat less than five total servings of fruits and vegetables daily, it may be difficult to get all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Also, if you eat only one or two times a day, you may be limiting the number and variety of servings you eat from the various food groups.
You're a vegetarian. If you're a vegetarian, you may not consume enough calcium, iron, zinc and vitamins B-12 and D. You can get these nutrients naturally from nonmeat sources, such as fortified soy products, green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole-grain products and nuts. If you aren't able to regularly consume these foods, dietary supplements may be necessary.
You consume less than 1,200 calories a day. Low-calorie diets limit the types and amounts of foods you eat and, in turn, the types and amounts of nutrients you receive. Unless monitored by a doctor, a low-calorie diet isn't usually recommended.
You have a medical condition that affects how your body absorbs, uses or excretes nutrients. If your diet has limited variety because of food allergies or intolerance to certain foods, such as dairy products, you may benefit from a dietary supplement. Also, if you have a disease of your liver, gallbladder, intestines or pancreas, or if you've had surgery on your digestive tract, you may not be able to digest and absorb nutrients properly. In such cases, your doctor may recommend that you take dietary supplements.
You're a postmenopausal woman. After menopause, women experience a sudden drop in estrogen levels, which increases bone loss. To keep bones strong and to decrease bone loss, you need calcium as well as vitamin D — the vitamin essential for absorbing calcium. Women who don't obtain enough calcium and vitamin D through foods could benefit from taking a calcium supplement with vitamin D.
You're a woman who has heavy menstrual bleeding. If you have heavy menstrual bleeding, you may need additional iron to replace the iron depleted by blood loss. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a condition in which blood is low in hemoglobin, the substance which carries oxygen to tissues.
You're pregnant or trying to become pregnant. During this time, you need more of certain nutrients, especially calcium, folate and iron. Folate is needed very early in pregnancy to help protect your baby against neural tube birth defects, such as incomplete closure of the spine (spina bifida). Iron helps prevent fatigue by helping you make the red blood cells necessary to deliver oxygen to you and your baby. Your doctor can recommend a dietary supplement. It's important to start taking a supplement before becoming pregnant.
You smoke. Tobacco decreases the absorption of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, folate, magnesium and calcium. But dietary supplements won't make up for the major health risks caused by smoking. The safest option is to avoid all tobacco products.
You drink excessively. Long-term excessive alcohol consumption can impair the digestion and absorption of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B-1, iron, zinc, magnesium and folate. In addition, you may substitute alcohol for food, resulting in a diet lacking in essential nutrients. Excessive drinking is defined as more than two drinks a day for men under age 65 and more than one drink a day for men over 65 and women. Taking dietary supplements, however, won't make up for the major health risks caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

If you're generally healthy and eat a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and lean meats, you don't likely need dietary supplements.

But if you seek assurance that you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need and you don't mind the added expense and daily routine of taking a pill, taking a standard vitamin and mineral supplement with about 100 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the various vitamins and minerals is generally fine. It's always a good idea, however, to talk with your doctor, as he or she knows your history and specific situation best.

A Look At The Children's Health Insurance Bill

2007-08-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last week the House approved a major expansion of the children's health insurance program. The bill aims to expand the children's health program by $48 billion over the next five years. The proposed source of finance is an increase in tobacco taxes and cuts in payments to Medicare providers.

The bill was opposed by the Republicans as it seeks to cut subsidies to the private insurance companies who manage the Medicare plans. These Medicare plans are very popular in rural America.

The passage of the Bill has made both the Republicans and the Democrats happy. While for the Democrats it is a victory, being able to implement what they have been wanting to for a long time, the Republicans are grinning from ear to ear because they feel that a cut in the popular Medicare program will eventually cost the Democrats the control of the House. However, the Democrats have been quite smart. They plan to increase aid to poor Medicare beneficiaries and also put in place a plan for preventive health care that would make it less expensive for seniors.

While a tobacco tax is popular it has one major shortcoming. With the number of smokers declining the source of funding lacks stability and would ultimately shift the financial burden onto others. An increase in taxes is also likely to further increase the cost of smoking and cause a further decline in the number of smokers, and the downward spiral may accelerate.

But given the importance of the program the Government will simply have to find a sustainable way of funding it.

Tips for Acne Scar Skin Care

2007-07-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Like it or not, there are only a few fortunate people on the planet who have gone without acne their whole lives. For the rest of us mere mortals, acne has been a problem at one time or another; and for some of us, that same problematic acne left us with scars. Thanks to technology and research, however, there are now many different acne scar skin care techniques that can help us cover up and totally lose the scars.

Make no mistake: most acne scar skin care remedies and techniques are expensive, and they need to be undertaken for a long period of time before any results can emerge. Before you can understand how acne scar skin care works, however, you need to know about acne first and what can cause scarring.

Acne vulgaris

Acne vulgaris is caused by the clogging of skin pores by dirt, debris, or dried skin cells. This clogging causes pimples to form, creating the well-known cystic acne that is common in teenagers or persons with hormonal imbalances. The underlying cause of acne vulgaris has yet to be determined, however: some doctors and scientists propose that fluctuating hormonal levels contribute to acne, while others surmise that acne vulgaris is genetic in nature and can be inherited from one's parents.

Whatever the cause of acne, dermatologists will always caution you to refrain from touching your face, removing the pimples yourself, and, more crudely, "popping your zits". This is because any manual force not exerted by medically-approved means can cause acne scars to form.

Types of acne scars

In general, there are two types of acne scars, the pigmented scars and the pitted ones. Pigmented scars can be red or brown in color, and appear after the pimple has disappeared. Although they can be unseemly to look at, they can disappear after treatment, or they can vanish on their own after a few weeks or months.

On the other hand, pitted scars occur when damage is done to the skin tissue beneath the acne. Such scars look like indentations on the skin, and are often referred to as pockmarks. Both kinds of acne scars have their own methods for removal or concealment.

Acne scar skin care for pigmented scars involves using lotions or creams that have whitening compounds. Such compounds can remove the pigment from the scar and even out one's pigmentation. For instance, exfoliating agents such as glycolic acid or alpha-hydroxy acids can remove dead skin cells from the area so that new skin can immediately be regenerated.

Acne scar skin care is a little more complicated for pitted scars, as these scars are difficult to erase. Some dermatologists can inject protein stimulators that can induce skin cells to form the important proteins elastin and collagen. Once the cells surrounding the scars start producing these proteins, the skin can be plumper, and the depth of the scars can be made shallower, further reducing their pockmarked appearance.

Laser therapy

Laser treatments can also be used to combat acne scarring. Ablative laser treatment, for instance, burns scar tissue off from the surface of the skin, which stimulates the underlying skin to tighten. Such a technique injures the skin and exposes underlying tissue, so that people undergoing ablative laser treatment have to likewise be protected from infection. Moreover, because laser therapy can be painful, doctors apply anesthetics to the skin before undertaking any laser procedure.

On the other hand, non-ablative laser treatment can induce changes in the underlying skin tissue without doing injury to the epidermis, or the surface of the skin. Such laser therapy is relatively fast: this time, it heats up the oil glands in the skin, preventing acne from forming; it also tightens the underlying skin, so that scarring will be less visible. Another type of laser therapy makes use of the yellow pulse dye laser, a machine that operates using yellow light. Yellow light treats keloids, and can flatten or reduce inflammation of raised scars.

Fat transplant

There are other options for acne scar skin care. A dermatologist may offer to inject the scar, or plump it up, with filler substances such as bovine collagen. Fat can also be transplanted from other parts of the patient's body and into the acne scar. Some dermatologists may also recommend creams or lotions that can plump the skin temporarily and remove any sign of wrinkles, acne scar depressions, or age lines. There are also excision and incision techniques that can be carried out on irregularly-shaped acne scars.

There are still many methods of acne scar skin care. If you have acne scars, always consult with a dermatologist first and talk about what options are available for your case. With the right acne scar skin care, you can have smoother, fairer skin in no time at all.

Sugar is the key to the nicotine rush according to new research

2007-07-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

Smoking and blood sugar levels are highly interrelated – nicotine causes the body to release satisfying levels of sugar into the bloodstream far faster than eating can, which explains its appetite-inhibiting effects. The results of low blood sugar levels in a quitting nicotine addict are also responsible for some of the most difficult withdrawal symptoms. Now it has been discovered that sugar is also a key element in the chemical reaction that causes a smoker to feel “high”. When nicotine molecules are received by neurotransmitter membranes, it’s sugar molecules that then act as a sort of hinge to open a gate in the cell membrane and send the "nicotine rush" nerve signal onward.

When nicotine binds to a neuron, how does the cell know to send the signal that announces a smoker’s "high"? As with other questions involving good sensations, the answer appears to be sugar.

A USC study appearing with a commentary in Nature Neuroscience online proposes a role for sugar as the hinge that opens a gate in the cell membrane and brings news of nicotine’s arrival.

Structural biologist Raymond Stevens of The Scripps Research Institute, who was not involved in the study, called it “a landmark accomplishment for the fields of structural biology and neuronal cell signaling.”

Besides substance addiction, Stevens pointed to epilepsy, schizophrenia and depression as targets for improved drugs that could result from the study’s findings.

The study provides the first detailed look at part of the mouse nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), one in a large and important group of molecules, known as ion channel proteins, that allow signals to pass between neurons.

The results reveal an important role for the sugar molecules in such proteins.

“Our studies fill a major gap in the field and set a new paradigm,” said Lin Chen, associate professor of molecular and computational biology in USC College and co-corresponding author with Zuo-Zhong Wang, associate professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Many existing theories, which do not consider sugar’s role, are probably incomplete, Chen said.

The debate over how signals pass from the outside of a cell to the inside is a long-standing one.

Some researchers had suggested that when a chemical such as nicotine binds to an ion channel protein on the cell surface, the protein starts a “conformational wave” that propagates a signal through the protein body to the cell membrane, Chen said.

But the molecular basis of such a wave in nAChR or any other protein has not been clearly established.

Instead, the Chen and Wang groups’ study of crystal structure suggested a simple mechanical role for sugar molecules attached to the surface of the receptor.

“They serve as the link between the neurotransmitter binding site and the membrane region where the gate is located,” Chen said.

“The sugar is kind of like a hinge. It’s pulling the door open and closed.”

Cutting the sugar chains stopped the gate’s operation: “The sugar is critical, in my opinion”, said Chen.

The researchers also found a water molecule deep in the receptor’s core – significant because proteins normally are filled with hydrophobic (water repellent) matter that helps the structure hold its shape according to Chen.

The water molecule may enable the receptor to alter its shape in counterbalance to the bending hinge.

Previously studied “homologs” of nAChR – proteins that share its structure but not its signaling function – are entirely hydrophobic, Chen said, supporting the theory that the buried water molecule plays a functional role.

Chen called the group’s Nature Neuroscience study “one of the few times that you felt that you connected the dots.”

The study also represents a tour de force of protein crystallography. Homologs of nAChR had been studied at the atomic scale, but not the receptor itself. One problem, solved by Wang’s laboratory, was the challenge of isolating large quantities of the nAChR protein in a suitable form.

“Many prestigious institutions and laboratories in the world have experienced tremendous difficulties for over two decades in getting a protein sample amenable for high-resolution studies of the structure,” Wang said.

Cosma Dellisanti, research associate in molecular and computational biology at USC, was first author. The other co-authors were Yun Yao of the Keck School and James Stroud of UCLA.

Funding for the research came from the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the National Institutes of Health.

Cannabis 'raises psychosis risk'

2007-07-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Cannabis users are 40% more likely than non-users to suffer a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia, say UK experts.

A team from Bristol University, writing in the Lancet, said young people needed to be made aware of the dangers, which they said increased with heavier use.

In an additional article, experts said up to 800 schizophrenia cases a year in the UK could be linked to cannabis use.

The Bristol team looked at 35 studies on the drug and mental health, but one expert urged caution over their study.

The Bristol team said the most frequent users of cannabis had twice the risk of non-users of developing psychotic illnesses.

But the evidence for a link with depression and anxiety was less clear, they said.

Public awareness

The authors said the risk to any individual of getting schizophrenia remained low overall, but because cannabis use was so common, they estimated it could be a factor in 14% of psychotic problems among young adults in the UK.

However, they said they could not rule out the possibility that people at a higher risk of mental illness were more likely to use the drug.

Study author, Professor Glyn Lewis, professor of psychiatric epidemiology, said: "It is possible that the people who use cannabis might have other characteristics that themselves increase risk of psychotic illness.

"However, all the studies have found an association and it seems appropriate to warn members of the public about the possible risk."

He added he would particularly advise users who were developing mental health problems or who had a family history of psychotic illness to quit using the drug.

In an accompanying editorial, Danish researchers said the figures presented in the research translated to about 800 potentially avoidable cases of schizophrenia a year in the UK among 15- to 34-year-olds.

Cabinet confessions

There are an estimated 2m regular users of cannabis in the UK.

Cannabis is currently a class C drug, having been downgraded from class B in 2004 - a move that made possession of the drug a largely non-arrestable offence.

However, earlier this month, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a consultation on reclassifying cannabis as class B, amid reports that more potent strains such as "skunk" are becoming widely available.

In the following days a string of Cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Chancellor Alistair Darling and Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, admitted having smoked cannabis when they were younger.

Professor Robin Murray, professor of psychiatry at London's Institute of Psychiatry, said of the Bristol study: "The studies they looked at were done in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

"One of the questions they can't address is whether the risk is higher with the more concentrated skunk forms of cannabis, which are now widely available."

'Daily tragedy'

But Professor Leslie Iverson, from the University of Oxford, said there was still no conclusive evidence that cannabis use causes psychotic illness.

"Their prediction that 14% of psychotic outcomes in young adults in the UK may be due to cannabis use is not supported by the fact that the incidence of schizophrenia has not shown any significant change in the past 30 years."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said: "This analysis should act as a serious warning of the dangers of regular or heavy cannabis use."

She added: "The headlines are not scaremongering but reflect a daily, and preventable, tragedy."

Health Secrets of Vitamin A Which You Must Know

2007-07-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Vitamin A or Retinol is a fat-soluble vitamin and plays an important role in vision, development and maintenance of healthy skin, hair, mucous membranes; immune functions; and reproduction. Vitamin A or retinol, helps your eyes to adjust to light alteration when you come in from outside and also helps keep your eyes, skin and mucous membranes moist.

Vitamin A is essential for the utilization of protein and the production of testosterone and other development factors.

Vitamin A is found in any of these forms:
* Retinol
* Other retinoids - retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and compounds of similar nature.
* Carotenoids - organic pigments that are naturally found in plants.

What is the Daily requirement of Vitamin A
Quantity of the amount of vitamin A is measured in retinol activity equivalents (RAE).

The suggested daily requirement for vitamin A is 700 RAE (retinol activity equivalent) per day for women and 900 RAE per day for men. But the requirements may be different from one person to another. The requirements may differ for growing children, during puberty, and for women who are pregnant or lactating; therefore, it is necessary to consult doctor for differences.

What are the Benefits of Vitamin A
1) Vitamin A supports healthy surface linings of the eyes and the respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts.
2) It Helps the skin and mucous membranes function as a barrier to bacteria and viruses.
3) It can also help boost the power of your white blood cells
4) It also keeps the mucus membranes, like the ones in your nose, moist.

Food sources of Vitamin A
Eating a range of foods that include vitamin A (and carotenes) is the finest method to get a sufficient amount.

Alcohol, coffee, or excessive iron can all reduce the body's supply of Vitamin A. But, the good information is that vitamin A is readily obtainable from numerous food sources.

Vitamin A can be obtained from food in two dissimilar forms -

1. Pro-vitamin A (also called beta-carotene). This is obtained from plant sources. It is mostly found in fruits and vegetables.
2. Pre-formed vitamin A (also called retinol or retinal) . This is obtained through animal sources. Main sources consist of liver, whole milk, and some equipped food products.

The top most vitamin A-rich foods consist of:
1) Sweet potato
2) Mango
3) Carrots
4) Spinach
5) Dried apricots
6) Cantaloupe
7) Egg yolk
8) Milk
9) Mozzarella cheese
10) Liver

Skimmed milk is often equipped with vitamin A because it is removed from milk with the fat.

What can happen with vitamin A deficiency?
1) Night blindness is one of the first Vitamin A Deficiency symptom
2) Vitamin A deficiency reduces the capability to fight infections, such as pneumonia.
3) Vitamin A Deficiency may increase a child's threat of developing respiratory infections, diarrhea, decreased growth rate and slow bone development.

Vegans who do not consume eggs and dairy foods need pro vitamin A carotenoids to fulfill their requirement for vitamin A. They should include at least of five servings of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet and habitually choose dark green leafy vegetables and orange and yellow fruits to fulfill suggested amounts of vitamin A.

Storage of Vitamin A
Vitamins are simply destroyed during food preparation and storage.

1) To get the maximum vitamin possible from food, refrigerate and store milk and grains away from strong light.
2) To retain vitamin A try to supply fruits and vegetables raw whenever possible.
3) Steam vegetables, roast or bake meats in place of frying.
4) If you take vitamin supplements, keep them at room temperature in a dry place that is moisture free.

Vitamin A Overdose
Overdose of vitamin A cause tiredness, sluggishness, severe headache, vomiting, peeling of skin and hair loss.

Research recommends that having more than an average of 1.5mg per day of vitamin A over a lot of years may affect bones and make them more liable to fracture when grow older.

Older people, especially women, are already at danger of osteoporosis. This is where bone compactness reduces and so the risk of fractures grows.

If pregnant, having overdose of Vitamin A can harm your unborn baby. Therefore, if you are pregnant or thinking of having a baby, you should avoid eating liver products because these are very high in vitamin A quantity.

Ten Health Tips To Make You Live Extra 10 Years

2007-07-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

Most of us are interested in living as long as we can, and at the same time increasing the quality of our lives. There are lots of methods that claim to help prolong life, but the most reliable way of increasing your lifespan is without a doubt, healthy living. Here our a few suggestions on how to have a healthier life.

1. Sleep! The benefits of proper sleep have often been researched, studied and reported. We are all different, but our need for adequate sleep is basically the same. Despite many people thinking they can get along with less sleep than others, this lack of sleep adds up and is linked to many health issues and their consequences. The average person needs about eight hours of sleep per night, although the timing and quality of such sleep also plays an important role.

2. Exercise! Keeping your body in shape is a sure way to increase your overall health, stay in shape, and consequentially reduce health risks associated to being overweight. An hour of daily exercise is recommended, but if your schedule doesn’t allow it, try to fit in at least four hours per week.

3. Eat right! To a certain extent, you are what you eat! Choosing what you eat carefully and avoiding fatty foods will help prevent health risks. Maintaining a balanced diet is vital to a healthy lifestyle. Plan healthy meals and avoid unnecessary snacking in between.

4. Relax! Stress is a very common word these days! The pace of our lives is constantly increasing and it is highly important that we find ways to reduce the stress levels that are built up daily. Find what works for you, whether it’s a hot bath, a night out with friends, or a walk down a deserted beach; getting rid of stress is crucial to your health.

5. Love! Believe it or not, love is linked to health. Those who love are less prone to several diseases and health problems. Whether you love a companion, your kids, grandkids, friends or a pet, it truly is the thought that counts when it comes to feelings of love.

6. Don’t smoke and try to avoid hanging around smokers. The negative consequences of cigarettes are well known be most of us. If you are a smoker, do your best to quit, and avoid hanging around friends who smoke.

7. Alcohol! Although a small amount of wine daily can be beneficial to your health, too much alcohol can have the opposite effect and drastic consequences. Moderation is the key.

8. Sunscreen! The sun is directly linked to aging, wearing protective clothing and adequate sunscreen when outdoors is extremely important. A glamorous tan may look good for a while, but the lack of one can help you live a lot longer.

9. Water! Drinking enough water is vital to staying healthy and to keep your body in running order. The quality of the water you drink is also very important.

10. Be happy! Happiness is vital to your health. A negative or bitter outlook on life is linked to several diseases. By thinking happy thoughts and wishing others well, we can help keep a positive mindset and be cheerful despite the adversities that constantly threaten to bring us down.

New Acne Treatments For A New Generation

2007-07-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

Acne is a reality many of us have to go through at least once in our lives. Sometimes, acne thankfully ends at the end of puberty; for a few unfortunate others, acne can extend into adulthood, and can be even more difficult to treat as the years pass. With a lot of research into the causes of acne, new treatment regimens are discovered every year, and new acne treatments are more readily available and are becoming less expensive to undertake.

Depending on what you want to have treated, and depending on the severity of your acne case, these new acne treatments can help you overcome your acne problems. And, no matter what these treatments are, you must always consult with a dermatologist before undertaking them. Moreover, you must go to a licensed dermatologist regularly to have your acne checked and assessed, before, during, and after the specified treatment. If you have a particularly stubborn or difficult-to-treat case of acne, new treatment regimens may not be enough to help you out, and you might need to supplement your treatments with time-tested methods.

Dermatologists acknowledge that new acne treatments do not completely make old treatments unnecessary or outdated. For instance, some new treatment methods involve stripping away the upper portion of the skin, or the epidermis, and revealing the young, often incompletely developed, and painfully raw skin underneath. This can be a dangerous procedure without antibiotics, as the exposed skin can serve as an avenue for microbes to enter and cause infection. Dermatologists have been recommending oral antibiotics for decades in order to keep infections at bay.

Using birth control pills

Dermatologists also acknowledge that the underlying cause of most acne is hormonal, so that no amount of invasive and expensive new acne treatments can be effective without some molecular assistance. Some dermatologists therefore recommend birth control pills to stabilize the levels of estrogen and progesterone in women with acne. Fluctuations in the levels of these hormones can cause acne, so birth control pills can help add to the good effects of above-the-skin treatments.

A new treatment regimen involves the use of acids that can both prevent acne scarring and remove the acne cysts themselves. For instance, a solution with mandelic and malic acids can treat skins that are prone to acne, and with effects similar to glycolic or citric acid. Mandelic acid is a natural anti-bacterial that can kill the underlying cause of most acne: bacteria. Mandelic acid can also absorb oils that can clog pores, and it can control the release of oil from oil glands beneath the skin. Malic acid, on the other hand, can keep the skin naturally hydrated without making it release oils.

Light therapy for acne

To combat more severe forms of cysts and scars due to acne, new treatment regimens have been formulated that involve the use of different frequencies of light. For instance, blue and red light therapy involves the use of light set at a particular frequency, through bulbs or lasers, to reduce the number and severity of acne lesions. Light therapy is designed to destroy the bacteria that cause acne, and light therapy treatment has so far been shown to be highly effective. However, as this technology is relatively new, it can be very expensive.

Working along the lines of light therapy is photodynamic therapy, which makes use of high energy blue or violet light to destroy the bacteria that cause acne. This therapy, however, has still not been studied in great detail, so great care should likewise be taken when it is used.

Laser treatments

Another treatment regimen involves the use of lasers to remove acne and reduce the scars that acne leave behind. In general, laser treatment burns out the follicle sac in which hairs grow, and in which acne begins to form. A laser will also burn out the oil glands that produce pore-clogging oils. Lastly, the laser will induce the acne-causing bacteria to form oxygen molecules. Because acne-causing bacteria thrives in an environment without oxygen, and is killed in the presence of it, laser therapy should remove acne-causing bacteria completely.

These are only a few new acne treatments that are now available on the market. For more information, do as much research as you can on acne treatments, and be updated on the latest news about treatments that have already been approved for general use. Moreover, talk to your dermatologist regularly and consult on these new treatments. As you have more options available to you, it will be more probable that your acne case will be resolved much faster.

Affordable Health Insurance

2007-07-24T07:42:00.001-07:00

As health insurance costs are increasing we have to take more responsibility for our health insurance coverage. With health insurance cost rising health insurance companies are constantly coming out with new health insurance plans. New plans offer you flexibility to customize your own health insurance plan. Most health plans in the past were pre packaged health insurance plans and we ended up paying for things we never use. We know that car insurance offers us flexibility to where you can pick your limits deductibles and the types of coverage that you want. It seemed that with health insurance it took at while for health insurance companies to realize that is how they can stay competitive. The world of five dollar co pays and no deductible plans are over. Most of us and our parents come from the world where large companies paid for their health insurance plans. Large companies do have advantage of numbers; more people are part of the group the more insurance companies are competing for their business.

First I want to address or health insurance quote shopping. If you are looking for some great deal a plan that covers everything for small monthly premium you are going to get scammed. Health insurance prices are health insurance prices no matter what insurance company you go with. The main difference how insurance companies compete with offering more affordable health insurance rates is by being more creative in their plan design. Stays away from “good deals” in health insurance, chances are the plans are not going to cover anything when you have claim. Then you will end up with bills from the hospital and your health insurance premiums.

Health insurance companies like Assurant Health underwritten by Time Insurance offer health insurance plans where you design your own plan. It is one of the only large reputable health insurance companies to offer customizable health plans. They offer five plan designs two of them are Health Savings Account qualified health plans and the other health plans are your standard PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). What makes Assurant Health unique is that every type of plan give you opportunity to customize that plan by choosing co-pay or no co-pay option, choice of deductible, prescription drug coverage deductible, dental discount plan or dental insurance and some plan specific options. If you are looking for simple to use and simple to understand HSA account plans, Assurant is one of the first companies to offer HSA plans.

When designing your own health insurance plan keep in mind of your previous health insurance usage. Choosing deductible for your health insurance plans will make the largest difference in your monthly price. Keep in mind in most cases deductible applies only to when you are hospitalized. That meant when you are admitted to the hospital. Most health insurance plans will cover you doctor visits, physical exams, prescriptions drugs and your lab work with a co-pay before you meet the deductible. If you choose a high deductible plan and something does happen to you that you end up in the hospital for something major and you do not have money at the time to cover your deductible. Every hospital will work with you by offering you payment methods. This way you can take as much time to pay off that deductible. Therefore it does not make any sense in most cases not choosing a plan with high deductible. Get health plans with high deductible and you are going to save thousands on your health insurance. Some companies like Assurant Health offer you option to where if you choose a health plans with deductible of thirty five hundred of higher you automatically qualify for two year rate guarantee. Save money monthly and avoid rate increased. Just with little knowledge and understanding of how health insurance works you save thousands with the health coverage that you need.

Excessive Weight Problem - Deep Insight

2007-07-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

Obesity in its progressive form, has taken hold of many lives. Very few people can honestly say that no one in their family is overweight. What makes this disease so widespread?

Be it a brother, a sister, an uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, grandparent, parent, son, daughter, yourself, etc., someone in almost every family is simply fat; and not just fat, obese. It didn’t happen overnight, either. Society wasn’t always haunted by obesity. This overweight condition gradually made her way into our modern day world and has now become mainstream and chronic for many people. The contributing factors to this global overweight problem are many and complex. The list of factors could take pages to fill in; however, here are just a few of the more intense factors:

1. Overeating (the most obvious cause of obesity)
Now overeating doesn’t necessarily imply eating too much. Overeating simply means that you are consuming more calories than you can possibly burn in a day. It is the calories and not the food that creates obesity. You can realistically stuff yourself all day with low calorie foods and not gain a single pound. There are also different types of calories. Calories from fat burn off much slower than calories from carbohydrates. But be careful because calories from carbs do turn into fat if they are not burned off fast enough.

2. Genetics
Unfortunately, when it comes to obesity and being overweight, not all of us were created equal. Our metabolisms are very different from one another. Some of us burn fat very easily and some of us don’t. It is important to identify where our bodies fit in. Being genetically prone to being overweight doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t live healthy lives. It just means we might have to be a little more disciplined and possibly have to make certain sacrifices that others don’t have to make, in order to avoid obesity. Some of the greatest bodies out there belong to people that are genetically prone to being overweight. They have simply decided that they aren’t going to let their genetic condition make them overweight and have instead used it as a motivating force in their favor.

3. Environment (Where you live, your socioeconomic status, and your cultural background)
Technology has made life easier for most of us but it has also been a contributing factor of obesity. People in rich first world countries are more prone to being overweight than those in the third world. Why? Several reasons. We use a car to drive two blocks. We eat high calorie fast foods and microwave dinners. We even use a drive through to get them. People in third world countries don’t have these options. Cars are a luxury only the elite can afford. Drive-thrus are almost non existent. People don’t walk or run for the sake of exercise. They simply walk because they have to get from point A to point B or they ride a bike. This type of behavior forces even the genetically prone to being overweight to burn off high amounts of calories. Many of these people are forced to eat low calorie foods because that’s the only food they have, making obesity very limited in these countries. Why? Because of people’s behavior; no matter how unintentional they may be.

4. Behavior (Our actions and our will power contribute to obesity)
Overweight people behave a certain way. We may possibly suffer from low self esteem. Many times we allow our environment to control the way we live. When that environment makes everything easy, physical activity is greatly reduced and we become obese and overweight. There is a great article about dependence between the problem of excessive weight and people activity types, and also some evidence revealing thee crucial role of behavior, not genetics, in people's getting overweight.

If we are able to modify our behavior (i.e. eating habits, physical activity, determination, the love we have for ourselves, etc.) we will be able to control any of the other factors that contribute to obesity and overweight conditions.

Behavior, not Genetics, is accused in obesity claim

2007-07-24T03:57:00.001-07:00

Though it is widely believed that genetics play a major role on obesity and overweight conditions, a recent study has determined that the current data we have available does not support this belief.

The study conducted by American College of Sports Medicine claims that the human genotype has not really changed over the past few decades. Furthermore, the study claims that conditions such as dietary induced thermo genesis, defects in a resting metabolic rate, substrate metabolism, etc., can not be attributed to genetics because the data does not support these findings.

According to the study, it has been a change in global behavior and not genetics which has contributed to the worldwide overweight condition which has prevailed over the past few decades.

Global Obesity Cannot Be Attributed to Excess Food Intake Either

The study proved, through national surveys, that current day caloric intake isn't really higher than it was a few decades ago. People aren't really eating more now than they were a few years back. In fact, all of the surveys that were analyzed determined that there has been either a slight decline or a slight increase in total caloric intake but nothing major. This has led the researchers to believe that people have become overweight and obese mainly because they are simply exerting less physical activity.

Declining Physical Activity as the Major Contributor to Obesity and Overweight

Technology has automated most of the activities that previously required physical movement. The need for both home and work related physical activity has dramatically declined. The energy expenditure which was necessary for daily living has been greatly reduced; or so claims the study. This means that people are taking in approximately the same amount of food that they were consuming a few years ago but they are simply not burning it off. All of these unused calories are contributing to obesity.

Solutions for the Overweight and Obese

From the above findings we can honestly say that there are only two possible solutions for global obesity. Current day people realistically need fewer calories than they did a few years back so they must either eat less or supplement the loss of work and home related physical activity with a simple exercise routine. Anyway, jogging in the morning is much nicer then consuming diet pills to fix the problem when it comes to your doorstep. Think about it!

To eat or not to eat? It depends on what you gonna do about it!

2007-07-24T03:56:00.000-07:00

The United States Department of Agriculture (more commonly known as the USDA) has determined that there is no “one size fits all” plan when it comes to recommending the appropriate caloric intake requirements for individuals. Calories affect each of us differently. Many factors, including sex, age, physical activity levels, genetics, etc., influence the amount of calories we personally need.

Though it is probably impossible to determine (with 100 percent accuracy) the specific caloric intake needs of every individual person without actual medical testing, caloric intake needs can be estimated using a variety of factors.

Most diet related sites will simply tell you that weight gain occurs when we consume more calories than those we burn off. That’s easy enough to understand. So if this is a true fact, then the opposite is also true. If we consume less calories than those we burn off then we will lose weight. Great start! But how do we determine these figures?

How in the world do we know how much we’ve burned off? Most diet sites will tell you that the average person needs anywhere from 2000 to 3000 calories. That’s a pretty big range. How do you know which side of the caloric scale you need to lean towards? The FDA’s MyPyramid program established a food intake pattern table that will help us accurately estimate caloric needs.

They have divided people into two mayor groups: Males and Females. Both the male and female groups are divided into 3 subcategories:

Sedentary People (moderate physical activity of less than 30 minutes a day)
Moderately Active People (moderate physical activity ranges from 30 to 60 minutes a day)
Active People. (daily physical activity surpasses 60 minutes)

Each of these 3 categories was further divided by ages. The average caloric intake needs for each category was calculated by age. For minors it was calculated yearly starting from age 2 to 18. According to the MyPyramid list, adult caloric needs only change about every 5 years. So you will have the same caloric need from age 21 to 25, from 26 to 30….from 45 to 50, etc.

So according to the USDA, a 32 year old sedentary male needs 2,400 calories for his daily activities. If he were moderately active he would need 2,600 calories and if he was very active he would need around 3,000 calories.

A sedentary woman of the same age would need 1,800 calories. If her physical activity becomes moderately active she would need 2,000 calories. An active 32 year old woman needs 2,200 calories to remain healthy.

Once we know how many calories we actually need we can then begin working on other areas that will allow us to loose weight. We can determine the amount of physical activity that would be appropriate for our goals and the type of diets we should undertake etc., but all of this should be done when appropriate caloric consumption needs have been established.

Cancer Caused By Environmental Toxins

2007-07-22T08:34:00.001-07:00

More and more people now believe that cancer can be caused by environmental toxins. On the other hand, others say that the causal-effect relationship between cancer and the environment can be hard to prove. Still, there is no denying that cancer cases are on the rise. You would most likely know of someone who has developed cancer. And cancer can strike at any part of the body and spread rapidly throughout.

Most conventional doctors believe strongly that genes are the causes of cancer. A common question that a doctor may ask during a diagnosis is whether anyone in your family has it as well. He is less likely to explore the possibility of environmental toxins causing cancer in you or your family member. Yet, it is very possible that even if cancer genes can be inherited, there can still be environmental toxins causing cancer to hit multiple family members.

You just need to think about the fact that most of the cancer patients in your family probably grew up in the same environment and are exposed to the same toxic materials or the same polluted air. So, even though it seems genetic, it may also be environmental. There have been studies conducted to support this alternative point of view.

A study in 2002 reported that women in San Francisco, California had a 1 in 22 chance of developing breast cancer in the 1940's. That risk was increased to 1 in 8 in 2002. What was interesting was that since the 1940's, the number of factories and cars and other pollutants in California rose dramatically.

That same year in 2002, a man named Basil Seggos uncovered a huge oil slick in Greenpoint, in the area of New York City. After some research, Mr. Seggos found that there were several places in Greenpoint where more people were contracting all types of cancer than average. In Greenpoint, at least, it was obvious to Mr. Seggos and many of his supporters that environmental toxins caused cancer.

The cases mentioned are not isolated incidents. There have been various reports on environmental toxins causing cancer over the years. Many of them were released by independent groups of activists and scientists. There are many cases that also go unreported. Unfortunately, the U.S. government and most other governments are reluctant to admit that the problem exists. Critics point out that the governments lose billions of dollars should they do so, as they are well supported by the big companies who contributed to the environmental pollution.

This being the case, you need to be aware about the surrounding toxicity of your environment. You need to know that you can be exposed to a well known cancer causing chemical called benzene.It may not just be your home but may be your workplace that has benzene or similar cancer-causing substances.

Toxins also come from cigarette smoke, gasoline, paint and laundry products. You can make a choice about the products that you use. There is no denying that if you constantly exposed yourself to a toxic environment, you are bound to fall ill. In the most severe case, you develop cancer.

On your own, consider cancer prevention by doing some natural body cleansing. You can assist your body in the regular removal of the toxic overload, acquired through diet or your environment. Additionally, be aware of your legal rights. Consult field experts if you need to. For all you know, you or your family member may be entitled to compensation payments from negligent employers or even the government.

10 Things To Avoid When Losing Weight

2007-07-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

Losing weight and dieting is never easy. Actually, it is one of the hardest things for some people to do. Here's 10 things to avoid that could make you shatter your diet and start eating. Avoid all of these like plague if you want to be successful.

1. Avoid rushing into the strictest diet you can find.

This is a common mistake. Many people, in desperation, decide to follow a super-strict diet and that usually leads to failure. Don't rush into any diet that may be too strict for you. If you don't have any dieting experience and are not 100% sure you can stick with the diet, choose another one.

2. Avoid losing touch with reality.

You can't realistically expect things to happen over night. When choosing your goal, start small, but be prepared to go far. If you hear someone saying that he lost a large number of pounds in a short time, don't make it your goal to match his performance. Diet results are different from one person to another.

3. Avoid going to the gym every day.

Another common mistake is to use the excitement of the first days to hit the gym every day. This won't help you at all. Your body needs time to heal and expand the muscles after each work-out and going to the gym every day interferes with this natural process. A week of non-stop training could never offset ten or twenty years of couch potato lifestyle anyway.

4. Avoid getting tough on calories.

We all know that cutting down on calories is one of the foundations of all diets, but be careful about it. Cut down on too many calories and your body will start storing anything it possibly can. This is not a good way to lose weight.

5. Avoid skipping meals.

Many people reason that foregoing meal or two is going to help them lose weight faster. They don't understand that dieting is all about eating the right food and not starving yourself.

6. Avoid daily weight checks.

Everybody is eager to see the results of their efforts in the form of pounds lost, but you should not let this drive you to checking your weight everyday. The daily fluctuations of your weight will soon have you depressed and ready to quit dieting. This is something you want to avoid at all costs.

7. Avoid letting emotions hamper your diet goals.

Aside from the eagerness that drives people to check their weight every day, there are other emotions that influence dieting. If you know you're used to reaching out for ice-cream or snacks when you are bored, frustrated or angry, then you should deal with these issues and not allow them to come between you and your purpose.

8. Avoid refusing to get help.

Not everyone was born with iron will and nerves of steel. There are times when you may need help or advice. Don't hesitate to ask friends or professionals for it. Please dont try to solve all your problems alone.

9. Avoid denying yourself your favourite foods.

Treats are a great way of raising your determination and willpower. Diets are methods of food control. They should not hold you hostage. So what, if you eat something you said you wouldn't once in a while, especially if it's one of your favorite foods? If these treats are not indulged in frequently, they won't make any difference in the long run.

10. Avoid relying too much in your own willpower.

Use your head too. If you need to know how much you actually eat, write down everything you are eating and go over the list with a fine-toothed comb for things that should not be there. Sometimes hunger creeps up on you and makes you eat things that you shouldn't be eating. If you stay honest with yourself and keep a clear head as you go, you'll be fine.

Limited Capacity Is Seen in Flu Defenses

2007-07-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

More than a year after President Bush unveiled a plan for coping with a pandemic flu outbreak, the federal government still has limited capacity to detect a disease outbreak and track its progress across the country.

The government has also decided that it will not close the borders if a pandemic flu outbreak occurs somewhere in the world.

“The reality is that there are tremendous challenges to sealing our borders to begin with,” said Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, special assistant to the president for biodefense. “Secondly, we believe that if a pandemic virus emerges anywhere in the globe, it is inevitable that it will arrive here in the U.S. irrespective of the actions we take at the borders.”

The government will try to limit the number of arriving people who might be infected with the virus and detain those suspected of harboring the virus, Dr. Venkayya said. But it will also try to allow the flow of goods and people across the border to continue, he said.

In the coming weeks, officials will release the government’s priority list detailing who will get the first lots of flu vaccines in the event of an outbreak. Plans to coordinate with state and local governments about when to close schools are also still in the works, they said.

These updates were delivered Tuesday in a White House briefing on the government’s progress in preparing the nation for an outbreak of a deadly infectious disease. Top officials emphasized that significant planning and investment decisions had already been made, including a $1 billion investment in finding new ways to manufacture flu vaccines.

But, Dr. Venkayya said, “there is much work that remains to be done.”

Also Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it had released $897 million to states for emergency preparedness efforts. The money includes $175 million for pandemic flu preparedness.

A nationwide surveillance system to track the progress of an outbreak as it moves around the world and across the country still needs considerable work, officials said.

“Just to be brutally honest, we have a lot of trouble determining when we have an outbreak of disease in a community here in the U.S.,” Dr. Venkayya said. “We need to have uniform biosurveillance capability to prepare not only for a pandemic, but any outbreak of infectious disease.”

The nation also has little extra capacity in its hospitals and other health care facilities to deal with a huge surge in need that would accompany a mass disease outbreak, Dr. Venkayya said. And the government has little ability to ensure that during an outbreak, when many workers would stay home, limited Internet capacity would go to essential work and not to children playing video games, officials said.

Eighty-six percent of the tasks that were to be completed this year under the president’s flu plan have been finished, officials said. The remaining 14 percent of those should be done by the end of the year, Dr. Venkayya said.

A significant remaining challenge, officials said, is that the country has grown tired of pandemic flu warnings. They emphasized that the planning would help prepare for any disease outbreak, whether from natural causes or a terrorist attack.

Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit organization dedicated to disease prevention, praised the administration’s flu preparations.

“This report demonstrates that the federal government has made major strides in preparedness for a pandemic,” Mr. Levi said. “But as the administration also recognizes, there is still a long way to go before all levels of government and all sectors of society are fully prepared.”

The Four Pillars of Health

2007-07-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

These are the big picture items.

1. Maintain your sense of control over your own life.
This doesn't mean being a control freak - trying to control others. It means having a good sense of what you are able to do to stay healthy and create the life you want.

2. Maintain good networks.

The better your friends and networks the more likely you are to be happy and healthy.

Doing these first two will mean that you have a good chance of handling stress, which is the cause of much illness.

3. Get some exercise.

Exercise regulates appetite and helps with weight control.

Aerobic exercise (deep breathing for more than twenty minutes) helps keep you heart and lungs healthy. You are less likely to die of a heart attack.

It doesn't need to be very hard. There is no evidence that elite athletes live longer than people who are normally healthy. Aim for a half hour a day that makes you breath more deeply. This is technically 70% of maximal heart rate. If you estimate what it is for you to "do a seven" (where zero is lying down and ten is running flat out) this is usually a pretty good guide.

4. Eat healthily

Eat until you feel 70% full. Wait 20 minutes until you eat any more. It seems to take this long for us to know whether we are satisfied.

Emphasise fruit and vegetables in your diet. (This is for those who eat in the usual way.) There is some evidence that organically grown may be healthier.

Cook at home when you can. You are more likely to eat less processed food and so you will avoid the preservatives and added fats and sugars that are so much a part of packaged food.

Facial paralysis treatment hailed

2007-07-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

US surgeons have announced they have succeeded in partially re-animating the faces of patients with severe long-term facial paralysis using a new technique.

The new procedure, which involves the transfer of tendons within the face, has been performed on 15 patients.

Those affected by facial paralysis often lose voluntary movement of muscles on one side of their face.

The Johns Hopkins University surgeons believe their system marks significant progress in treating the condition.

They claim it is simpler, more effective and the surgery less traumatic than traditional methods.

'Immediate effect'

Facial paralysis can have many causes - from trauma caused by an accident to tumours to strokes.

The result is not only deformity, but also often severe speech problems.

When tackled early, various operative techniques such as nerve grafts can now be used to restore movement.

However, surgery has been less successful on those with long-term paralysis, and it is in this area that surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say they have made significant progress.

The new surgical technique, called temporalis tendon transfer, sounds gruesome.

A major muscle on the side of the head is severed at the point it joins the jawbone and stretched across the head to attach with mouth muscles, before a relating tendon is then also stretched and reconfigured.

The lead surgeon, Dr Patrick J Byrne, says the results in the 15 patients who have so far undergone the procedure, have been deemed good to excellent, with facial symmetry and speech improved with immediate effect.

"This particular technique address two aspects... the one being improving facial symmetry, the other being the return of a smile," he says.

"When we tighten the muscle around the mouth and along the cheek, we find it helps not only with oral competence - their ability to control their mouth - but it also helps with their speech - they have less of the air escape - they're able to generate better articulation."

Dr Byrne claims the technique is simpler, more effective and the surgery less traumatic than the temporalis sling technique which has been traditionally offered in the past to patients with long-term facial paralysis.

He is also claiming the results of surgery will be easier to predict than with other methods used to date.

Hunger 'links asthma and obesity'

2007-07-17T01:56:00.000-07:00

The protein may increase appetite as well as inflaming the lungs

Researchers say they may have worked out why the obese are more prone to asthma than those of normal weight.

The link between the two conditions is well-established, but the relationship is ill-understood.

Now scientists at King's College London say they have pinned down a protein which contributes to inflammation of the lungs as well as increasing hunger.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said further research was now needed.

Mechanism mystery

The researchers investigated molecules produced by Th2 cells - specialised cells belonging to the immune system which can inflame the lungs and contribute to the development of asthma.

But these cells also produce a protein known as PMCH which is known to increase appetite.

"These findings may provide a mechanistic link between allergic inflammation, asthma and obesity," the researchers wrote.

Several European and American studies have found a link between obesity and asthma which cannot be explained by weight gain brought on by the inactivity asthma encourages. In many cases, the obesity precedes the asthma.

One study of 330,000 patients published earlier this year found that for every normal weight person with asthma, there were 1.5 who were overweight or obese.

The latter category effectively ran a 50% greater risk of developing the condition.

However, people with asthma are not always obese, so the lead researcher of this latest study, Dr David Cousins, said further investigation was needed into possible genetic variations of PMCH, the gene known to boost appetite.

Dr David Haslam of the National Obesity Forum said that from the obesity perspective, the research was interesting although as yet there were no therapeutic implications.

"Working out the mechanisms, the links between diseases is important, and it adds to the growing body of evidence which gives obesity some form of genetic basis."

Once-rare skin cancer type on the rise in US

2007-07-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

A type of skin cancer that was rare three decades ago has surged in the United States , a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found.

The cancer known as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma became increasingly more common in the United States in the decades between 1973 and 2002, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Dermatology, which is part of JAMA.

"The overall incidence increased each decade, was higher among blacks than whites and among men than women, increased substantially with age, and varied geographically," wrote the authors.

They say the cause is as yet unknown, but added the results of their study were alarming.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma can develop when cells of the lymph system (called T lymphocytes) become cancerous and affect the skin. It spreads slowly and can cause red patches on the skin. It is treatable but not curable.

A total 4,783 cases were identified in the 30-year period. That amounts to a rate of 6.4 per million persons and a total of 0.14 percent of all cancers and 3.9 percent of non-Hodgkins lymphomas, the data showed.

But the results varied across the country.

"The geographic differences in incidence are substantial even after controlling for race," said the study led by Vincent Criscione and Martin Weinstock of the VA Medical Center, Rhode Island Hospital, and Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island .

Access to doctors and other social-economic indicators such as levels of income and education appeared to affect the numbers of reported cases, the study found.

San Francisco in California reported the highest rise in the cases with 9.7 for every million among white and 10.8 for every million among African-Americans.

Iowa counted the lowest incidence with a rate of 3.7 per million for the whol population.

Rats back on the menu in southern China

2007-07-15T19:48:00.001-07:00

Rats are back on the menu in southern China , after traders there capitalised on an outbreak of the rodents in neighbouring Hunan province, according to various state press reports.

According to a report Saturday in the Information Times from Guangzhou , trucks full of mice were seen arriving late at night and sold to a wild animal market in the city district of Baiyun.

During the SARS epidemic, which began in southern China in 2003, authorities banned the sale of many wild animals including rats amid fear that the deadly disease could be contracted from contaminated meat.

Although the scientific community is not in agreement over whether certain animals can spread the disease, vendors in China are no longer allowed to sell wild animals.

After its emergence in Guangdong province, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome quickly spread globally to infect more than 8,000 people and kill more than 800, including 349 people in China.

Officials in Hunan -- where floods have sparked a plague of two billion rats after water submerged their holes -- denied the newspaper's undercover report.

One official quoted by the Beijing Times on Sunday dismissed the report, saying it was far too difficult to catch rats alive, while their relatively small size meant there was little meat on the bone.

But rats are regarded as a traditional delicacy in southern China, and some believe that their flesh is more nutritious than pork or chicken.

A rat was fetching for between 40 to 50 yuan (5.2 to 6.5 US dollars) and reports said they could be found in Guangdong's cities of Fanyu, Zhaoqing, Dongguan and Hanhai.

Earlier this year China's media also reported that civet cats were routinely finding their way back onto Guangdong dinner tables.

Brain target for stress disorder

2007-07-15T19:25:00.001-07:00

Blocking a molecule in the brain may "cure" post-traumatic stress disorder, according to US researchers.

They showed that inhibiting a specific enzyme removed fear in mice and report to journal Nature Neuroscience that the finding may lead to new treatments.

Around a third of people may suffer PTSD after an exceptionally traumatic event, such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

Experts said it was early days but the findings were worth exploring further.

There is currently no treatment for PTSD although antidepressants and sleeping pills can help with the symptoms, which include flashbacks, anger, anxiety and depression.

Professor Li-Huei Tsai and colleagues in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT looked at the effects of an enzyme called Cdk5 in the brains of genetically engineered mice which had been given mild foot shocks.

When re-exposed to the same environment but without the shocks, mice in whom the researchers had increased levels of Cdk5 activity had difficulty letting go - or extinguishing - the memory of the foot shock and continued to freeze in fear.

But in mice whose Cdk5 activity was blocked, the bad memory of the shocks disappeared when the mice learned that they no longer needed to fear the environment where the foot shocks had occurred.

The enzyme activity was modified in the hippocampus - the brain's centre for storing memories.

Traumatic experience

Emotional disorders such as post-traumatic stress and panic attacks stem from the inability of the brain to stop experiencing the fear associated with a specific incident or series of incidents.

A study conducted by the US Army in 2004 found that one in eight soldiers returning from Iraq reported symptoms of PTSD.

The National Institute of Clinical and Health Excellence estimate five in 100 men and 10 in 100 women in the UK will get PTSD in their lifetime.

In guidance published in 2005 NICE said the condition was under-recognised in the NHS and better screening and treatment was needed.

Professor Tsai said: "This data points to a promising therapeutic avenue to treat emotional disorders and raises hope for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or phobia."

Dr Jonathan Bisson, senior lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Cardiff and co-chair of the NICE guideline group said the finding was "potentially a significant advance".

He added: "Translation of them into an effective treatment for PTSD is a long way off, and may not be possible.

"But the results are consistent with current theories on the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms and it is an area very worthy of further investigation."

Sun protection warnings ignored

2007-07-13T00:14:00.001-07:00

The majority of people are more worried about skin cancer than they were a decade ago but still do not protect themselves, a survey has suggested.

The Institute of Cancer Research poll of 2,000 people found more than a third do not use sunscreen when sunbathing.

The incidence of melanoma skin cancer will treble in the next 30 years, with climate change likely to exacerbate the problem, they warned.

Experts said people needed to know most cases of skin cancer could be avoided.

The Institute's SAFE campaign found that 60% of those questioned are more worried about skin cancer now than they were 10 years ago.

But despite the widespread concern, 35% of people do not use sunscreen when sunbathing.

One in 10 said more should be done to educate people about the dangers of skin cancer.

And only just over half (52%) could identify the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Climate concern

More than 75,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, a figure that is rising.

Experts also warn that climate change may cause the number of cases to increase even more dramatically than predicted.

Professor Richard Marais from the Institute of Cancer Research said: "There is growing concern about climate change and its long term effects on the weather.

"If this leads to more sunshine then it is likely that the incidence of skin cancer, which is caused by overexposure to UV light, will rise at an even more alarming rate."

"These results reflect the fact that people are deeply concerned about skin cancer, but that many people still do not know how to look after their skin.

"It is vitally important that everyone is aware of how to protect themselves from the harmful rays of the sun."

He added that most cases of skin cancer could be avoided and treated if caught early enough.

Rebecca Russell, manager of Cancer Research UK's SunSmart campaign said: "Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK and the number of people diagnosed each year has more than doubled since the early 80s.

"Up to eight in 10 skin cancers could be prevented by being SunSmart, so it's very important to be aware of how to enjoy the sun safely.

"Sunscreens can help to protect against skin cancer, but they're not enough on their own.

"In strong sunlight, our best advice is to use factor 15+ sunscreen, seek shade between 11am and 3pm, cover up and take care not to burn."

Shift in Health-Cost Focus Is Said to Show Promise

2007-07-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

By coordinating care and keeping their patients out of the hospital, doctors can help reduce overall health care spending, Medicare officials said yesterday in announcing the results of an experiment that allowed doctors to share in the cost savings.

The experiment, which started in April 2005 and is to continue through April 2008, is an attempt by Medicare to rethink the way it reimburses doctors. The goal is to pay them for the quality of the care they deliver, rather than on how many tests and procedures they perform.

“We want to reward providers for the right care at the right time,” said Herb Kuhn, acting deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who said he was “very, very pleased with the first-year results.”

Although there are sharp limits to the conclusions that can be drawn, Medicare officials and the doctor groups involved say the experiment shows the potential in encouraging doctors to provide care and counseling programs that help patients stay out of the hospital or emergency room by better managing chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease. “It’s where the Medicare program has to go,” Mr. Kuhn said.

While all of the 10 physician groups participating in the experiment improved their care for patients during the first year, according to the measurements in place, only two earned bonus payments. Those two, the University of Michigan Faculty Practice and the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, were paid a total bonus of $7.3 million for saving Medicare $9.5 million. The bonus was in addition to Medicare payments for their usual services.

All 10 of the participants are large sophisticated organizations, with substantial experience in electronic health records or other systems known to improve patient care. And the fact that eight of them did not meet the bonus threshold indicates how difficult it may be for Medicare to develop a payment system giving most doctors, many in small, less modern practices, a true financial incentive to improve care.

But Medicare officials emphasized that the results represented only the first year of a three-year experiment. “It’s trending in a very positive way,” Mr. Kuhn said.

Medicare compared the hospital and doctor bills for the 224,000 patients being treated by the 10 groups with the bills from other doctors and patients in the same geographic areas to determine whether there were financial savings to the government. The doctors also had to meet certain quality criteria, like the basis of 10 clinical measures involving diabetes care.

For the second year, clinical measures for heart disease will be added. And in year three, measures for hypertension and basic preventive care for all patients will be assessed.

While Medicare said it had not yet calculated the experiment’s overall savings, the physician groups say they together saved the program about $21 million.

In subsequent years, “we expect greater savings will be generated, and the majority of practices will be receiving a bonus,” said Mark Selna, a physician with Geisinger Health Systems, a Danville, Pa., system of hospitals whose doctors are participating in the experiment.

Although Medicare and the doctors’ groups are still analyzing the information for the first year, many of the programs put in place seem to have resulted in fewer hospitalizations. Among its efforts, for example, Marshfield started a program in which eye exams for diabetes patients could be performed at a local doctors’ office rather than requiring a trip to a specialist. The clinic, which is based in Wisconsin, says it has reduced hospitalizations for its diabetes patients by about 13 percent in mid-2007 compared with 2004.

Other successful measures include simple follow-up. The University of Michigan group is having a nurse or nursing assistant call patients who have been discharged from the hospital or emergency room within 24 hours, making sure they understand the drugs they need to take or that, for example, a visiting nurse came as scheduled.

“It’s filled a huge gap in care,” said Dr. Caroline Blaum, the physician leading the effort at the university.

But even the groups able to achieve adequate savings say the complexity of the program and the time elapsed since the first-year test period ended early last year makes it difficult to respond to the potential financial incentives. “The financial model for this program may not be viable,” said Dr. Blaum at the University of Michigan, saying the doctors there are uncertain about what exactly they had done to generate savings.

But many of the doctor groups involved spoke of making useful changes to how they cared for patients, like following up with a nurse’s call or educating a patient, even if they do not result in any additional revenue.

“There’s clearly value in these services,” said Dr. Katherine Schneider, the physician overseeing the effort at Middlesex Health System, a Middletown, Conn., hospital group that works closely with local physicians and is participating in the experiment. But, she added, “they are expensive to provide, and no one is reimbursing us.”

And questions remain about how to motivate individual physicians because the experiment rewards organizations, not the individual doctor who must actually ensure that the patient gets a flu shot or goes to the right specialist.

“The real driving force of change needs to occur in a physician office,” said Dr. Karl Ulrich, the president and chief executive of the Marshfield Clinic.

Fat taxes 'could save thousands'

2007-07-12T01:09:00.000-07:00

More than 3,000 fatal heart attacks and strokes could be prevented in the UK each year if VAT was slapped on a vast range of foods, say Oxford researchers.

A 17.5% rise on fatty, sugary or salty food would cut heart and stroke deaths by 1.7%, the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health said.

One of the researchers declared the time was right to debate a "fat tax".

But the idea was dismissed in 2004 by former prime minister Tony Blair as too suggestive of a "nanny state".

The researchers from the Department of Public Health at Oxford University are among the first to try to work out how targeted taxes might have an effect on levels of illness. hey used economic data first to work out how demand would fall as the price of unhealthy foods increased, and which foods people might turn to instead - then used these results to predict the benefit on the health of the population.

Initially at least, average weekly food bills would increase by 4.6% per household.

Change for the worse

They first applied the tax only to dairy products containing high levels of saturated fats - such as butter and cheese, as well as baked goods and puddings.

However, their analysis found that people would simply switch over to other unhealthy foods such as those containing high levels of salt, perhaps even increasing the risk of stroke and heart disease.

They then turned to a different measure of food "healthiness" called the SSCg3d score, where points are awarded for the content of eight nutrients in 100g of the food.

Taxing all products which scored poorly on this scale saved lives, they said, with approximately 2,300 fewer deaths a year from heart disease and stroke.

Finally, they tweaked the range of taxed products to include those foods which might not score so poorly on the scale, but may be used as alternatives if unhealthier foods were taxed.

This resulted in small additions to the list of taxed and untaxed foods to encourage healthier eating.

This approach yielded the most apparently striking results, with as many as 3,200 deaths prevented.

Dr Mike Rayner, who worked on the study, said that the third, seemingly most effective, option was "more theoretical", and less practical to implement, but called on government to consider taxing high scoring foods.

He said: "This is still at a fairly early stage, but the time is right for more debate on the issue of 'fat taxes'.

"The other thing which would have to be done is to look at the possibility of subsidies for healthier foods, rather than simply looking at increases in tax."

'Nanny state'

However, Maura Gillespie, from the British Heart Foundation, said that it did not yet support "fat taxes".

"The debate on unhealthy diets is important as it is estimated that 30% of deaths from coronary heart disease are caused by unhealthy diets.

"Further evidence is needed on the effect of targeted food taxes before we can support a 'fat tax'."

When Downing Street's strategy unit was reported to be proposing fat taxation in 2004, Tony Blair said that such a move could actually turn people off the idea of healthy eating.

He told a Labour Party Big Conversation event: "People don't want to live in a nanny state."

Police plea on genital mutilation

2007-07-11T04:01:00.000-07:00

The Metropolitan Police is offering a £20,000 reward for information which would bring to justice anyone involved in female genital mutilation.

The campaign is being launched at the start of the summer holidays, during which young girls - mainly from African communities - are thought most at risk.

Mutilation involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for cultural reasons.

Up to 7,000 girls in the UK are seen as at risk of this form of circumcision.

The long summer holiday is seen as the most likely time for parents to seek the procedure for their daughter as she has time to recover from what is usually a brutal ordeal before returning to school.

She can be sent abroad for the treatment, but police say they know it is also being carried out within the UK itself.

A new law was introduced in 2003, which not only repeated 1985 legislation banning the procedure, but also criminalised those who took a child outside the country for mutilation to be performed.

No-one has been prosecuted under the new legislation.

"It's a hidden act," said Alastair Jeffrey, head of the Child Abuse Investigation Command, as he announced the reward. "And that's why it's so hard to uncover.

"This is child abuse. It is not an attack on anyone's culture, it is an attack on anyone who commits this horrendous abuse of children."

Preserving purity

The police said they were anxious not to arrive at a situation where young girls returning from holidays in Africa were routinely checked at airports, and that they desperately needed grassroots support to stamp out the practice.

Female genital mutilation is practised in a number of mainly Muslim African communities, and the tradition can travel when immigrants settle abroad.

Islamic scholars say it has no justification in the Koran, and several have recently spoken out against the practice.

Yet many families apparently believe it is an essential part of initiation into adulthood and the only way to ensure their daughter is seen as "pure" and thus desirable by potential husbands.

One London youth worker within the Somali community said this was so ingrained that she had even come across young women who had wanted to be circumcised.

"You want to be part of the community," said Leyla Hussein. "You want to be married, and you don't want to be considered dirty."

There are several types of mutilation, ranging from a minor piercing of the clitoris to the complete removal of all the external genitalia.

In some cases, what remains is then stitched up with coarse thread - leaving a tiny hole, perhaps just the size of a matchstick, for urinating and menstruation.

The procedure is in most cases carried out by older women who have no medical training. Anaesthetic is rarely used and the cuts are sometimes made with the most basic of tools such as razors or even pieces of glass.

It can have a range of short and long-term consequences including infection, incontinence and infertility, as well as causing significant psychological damage.

And it can be fatal.

Egypt, where as many as 90% of women have been circumcised, has just announced a full ban on the practice after a 12-year-old girl died last month.

'Sharp drop' in India Aids levels

2007-07-06T04:29:00.001-07:00

The lower estimate could be attributed to more accurate data

The number of people living with HIV/Aids in India is around half of previous official estimates, at between 2-3.1 million people, new figures say.

The UN-backed government estimates are sharply lower than earlier figures, the health minister announced on Friday.

Previous estimates from the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) put the number of HIV cases at 5.2m, while UNAids in 2006 estimated 5.7m cases.

Officials say the lower estimate could be attributed to more accurate data.

'Still large'

"Today we have a far more reliable estimate of the burden of HIV in India," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told a news conference in the Indian capital.

"The results show that there are an estimated two million to 3.1 million people affected with HIV-Aids.

"In terms of human lives affected, the number is still large, in fact very large. This is very worrying for us."

The minister said that India had always been accused of underestimating the number of Aids cases.

"That was a disturbing allegation, and today, we have a far more reliable estimate," he said.

The latest estimates were calculated with the help of international agencies, including the UN and US Agency for International Development.

Correspondents say that India was thought to have the world's biggest HIV-positive caseload, but the new estimate means that South Africa and Nigeria are more severely affected.

India is about to embark on a new and expanded phase of its Aids control programme, with increased funding from the government and from international donors.

Mr Ramadoss said that the prevalence level of the infection was now estimated to be around 0.36 percent of the population of more than a billion people - compared to an earlier estimate of 0.9 percent.

Correspondents say that a reason why the latest Aids estimates are so much lower is because previously the UN reached the 5.7m figure by using hundreds of surveillance centres to test the blood of pregnant women and high-risk groups such as drug users and prostitutes over four months each year.

'Crumbling' system

But more recently a new population-based survey that took the blood samples of 102,000 people among the general public - rather than specific groups - indicated for the first time India's HIV caseload was highly overestimated.

UNAids says such that such surveys are more accurate, as they are "more representative" and generate "more accurate information" for rural areas and the male population.

Campaigners warn there should be no cause for complacency

But voluntary groups running anti-HIV/Aids campaigns say the lower numbers should not allow people to become complacent, as there is still a strong need to curb the spread of the virus in a country with a crumbling government healthcare system.

The head of Naco, Sujatha Rao, said there was no reason to fear that money to fight the Aids virus will be reduced.

She said that huge funding was still needed to test people and prevent HIV infection, in addition to providing treatment for people suffering from the illness.

"There is no question of reducing even a dollar towards the fight against Aids," she said.

Last month, health officials said they were especially alarmed by the growing numbers of pregnant women infected with HIV/Aids in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar.

They are among India's most backward, with huge populations but poor literacy and health services.

Officials say workers who migrate to cities in search of work bring the infection back to the states with them.

They said that unless the state governments got serious about tackling the disease, there could still be an Aids epidemic.

Organic food 'better' for heart

2007-07-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes contain compounds which are good for the heart

Organic fruit and vegetables may be better for you than conventionally grown crops, US research suggests.

A ten-year study comparing organic tomatoes with standard produce found almost double the level of flavonoids - a type of antioxidant.

Flavonoids have been shown to reduce high blood pressure, lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the team said nitrogen in the soil may be the key.

Dr Alyson Mitchell, a food chemist at the University of California, and colleagues measured the amount of two flavonoids - quercetin and kaempferol - in dried tomato samples that had been collected as part of a long-term study on agricultural methods.

They found that on average they were 79% and 97% higher respectively in the organic tomatoes than in the conventionally grown fruit.

New Scientist magazine reported that the different levels of flavonoids in tomatoes are probably due to the absence of fertilisers in organic farming.

Flavonoids are produced as a defence mechanism that can be triggered by nutrient deficiency, such as a lack of nitrogen in the soil.

The inorganic nitrogen in conventional fertiliser is easily available to plants and so, the researchers suggests, the lower levels of flavonoids are probably caused by over-fertilisation.

Conflicting evidence

Flavonoids have also been linked with reduced rates of some types of cancer and dementia.

The Food Standards Agency says there is some evidence that flavonoids can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and they are currently carrying out a study to look at the health benefits in more detail.

However, a spokesperson said there was no evidence that organic food was healthier.

"Our long-standing advice on organic food is there can be some nutrient differences but it doesn't mean it's necessarily better for you."

For example, a recent study found that organic milk had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, but the FSA points out that these short-chained fatty acids do not seem to have the health promoting benefits offered by long-chained omega-3 oils found in oily fish.

Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director said: "We welcome the now rapidly growing body of evidence which shows significant differences between the nutritional composition of organic and non-organic food.

"This is the second recent American study to find significant differences between organic and non-organic fruit.

"These findings also confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic."

"As further scientific evidence emerges from new research looking at differences between organic and non-organic food, the Soil Association will be asking the FSA to keep their nutritional advice to consumers under review."

Brazil gets cut-price Aids drug

2007-07-05T01:04:00.001-07:00

Brazil has reached similar deals after threatening to break patents

Brazil has accepted an offer from a manufacturer of an important anti-Aids drug to cut its price by around 30%.

The deal with Abbott over its drug Kaletra was hailed by Brazil's health minister as an example to other companies around the world.

In May, it broke the patent on another Aids drug and now imports a cheaper generic version from India.

Drug companies are increasingly sensitive about the willingness of developing nations to break patents.

Abbott says it is also offering to cut prices for 45 middle and lower-income developing nations.

Policy praised

The move will save Brazil around $10m (£4.95m) a year.

Brazil did this for the first time earlier this year, and is now importing cheaper generic versions of the drug Efavirenz from India.

Thailand has also bypassed a number of patents as well.

However on this occasion, an agreement was reached, a development that was welcomed by Health Minister Jose Gomez Temporao.

He said it would be very promising if other companies were to follow the example of Abbott Laboratories.

Brazil has been widely praised for its approach to combating HIV and Aids, which includes providing free drugs to patients.

The policy is thought to have cut Aids-related deaths by half, while producing huge savings in hospital costs, our correspondent says.

Sandwiches 'rival crisps on salt'

2007-07-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

We get through 2.7bn pre-packed sandwiches each year

Pre-packed sandwiches may contain as much salt as several bags of crisps, a study suggests.

The health lobby group Cash looked at 140 sandwiches on sale and found over 40% had 2g or more of salt - or a third of an adult's recommended daily intake.

The "All Day Breakfast" variety were the worst offenders, but cheese and ham as well as chicken salad also featured.

The British Sandwich Association said it had been working hard to reduce salt levels and the study was misleading.

Asda's Extra Special Yorkshire Ham and Hawes Wensleydale sandwich topped the list, with nearly 4g or 65% of the recommended daily salt intake, according to the Consumer Action on Salt and Health survey.

It was followed by Pret a Manger's All Day Breakfast sandwich with 3.54g of salt and the Tesco's Finest version of the same with 3.5g.

Cash noted that as a standard bag of Walkers Ready Salted Crisps contains 0.5g of salt, these sandwiches contain the equivalent of seven bags of crisps.

The lowest salt sandwiches in the survey were Co-op Healthy Living Tuna and Cucumber and Tesco Healthy Living Chicken Salad, with 0.6g or 10% of the recommended daily amount.

Salty fillings

The British Sandwich Association was critical of the findings.

"Sandwiches involve the assembly of ingredients," said Jim Winship, director of the organisation.

"The fact is that the salt is already in the ingredients - e.g. bacon or ham - so if consumers choose a sandwich containing these they are bound to have a higher salt content."

But he stressed that on average, the sandwiches surveyed had 2g of salt - or a third of the recommended daily intake - and that these levels were not unreasonable.

Cash admitted that, given a sandwich was often the main constituent of one of three meals in the day, containing a third of the recommended daily intake of salt was not necessarily a problem.

"But it's often combined with other things," says Jo Butten, the group's nutritionist.

"Once you have had a packet of crisps with your sandwich and finished off with some biscuits, you may well have gone over your limit."

Changing the bread

She said the discrepancies in salt between different manufacturers of the same sort of sandwich showed it was possible to reduce the salt content while still being able to sell the product.

For instance, Somerfield's Prawn Mayonnaise sandwich contained 43% of the daily intake of salt, while Morrison's version had 22%.

"One of the easiest way to reduce the salt content would probably be to use a different sort of bread, as that can be a significant factor," said Ms Butten.

Cash singled out Pret a Manger for particular criticism, noting that two of its sandwiches had a very high salt content but that it did not spell out nutritional details on its boxes.

The sandwich chain rejected the criticism outright, saying it saw itself as a deli not a "factory" as the products were made on site, and that in a deli such details would not be available.

But all customers who were interested could ask at the tills for nutritional information, said Simon Hargraves, commercial director.

"In any event, people know that when they buy an All Day Breakfast sandwich it's not the healthiest option," he said.

"It's just not the kind of sandwich you'd eat all the time."

The British Sandwich Association also stressed that it was "it is not the sandwich industry's job to dictate to consumers what they choose to eat".

The government recommends that adults should eat 6g of salt a day. However, the average intake of salt is between 9g and 10g a day.

Some experts estimate that if average consumption was cut to 6g a day it would prevent 70,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.

But not all scientists sign up to those estimates, and some suggest salt does not play a significant role in those conditions.

Gene linked to childhood asthma

2007-07-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

Asthma is common in the UK

Scientists have identified a gene that is strongly associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma.

The team of international researchers hope their work, published in Nature, will lead to new treatments.

Studying more than 2,000 children, they pinpointed a gene called ORMDL3, which was found at higher levels in the blood cells of children with asthma.

Carrying a specific variant of this gene may increase the risk of developing asthma by up to 70%.

The researchers also identified genetic markers on chromosome 17 which appeared to alter levels of ORMDL3.

The combination of genetic and environmental factors which cause asthma has been poorly understood.

Researcher Dr Miriam Moffatt, from Imperial College London, said "We are confident that we have discovered something new and exciting about childhood asthma.

"These novel findings do not explain completely how asthma is caused, but they do provide a further part of the gene-environment jigsaw that makes up the disease."

Her colleague, Professor William Cookson, said the results provided the strongest genetic effect on asthma so far discovered.

Yeast clue

However, he said it remained unclear how ORMDL3 increased the risk of asthma.

He said: "Similar genes are found in primitive organisms such as yeast, so we suspect that ORMDL3 may be a component of quite ancient immune mechanisms. It does not seem to be part of the allergic process."

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood.

The scientists reached their conclusions after comparing the genetic makeup of 994 patients with childhood onset asthma and 1,243 non-asthmatics.

They looked at mutations in genetic building blocks, called nucleotides, which make up DNA.

There are mutations in around one in every 600 nucleotides and the scientists examined more than 317,000 of these mutations to find those specific to childhood asthma.

They also looked at how genes were being expressed within human blood cells.

Dr Victoria King, of the charity Asthma UK, said: "This is an exciting development in determining how genetics affects the chance of developing asthma in childhood, which currently affects one in 10 children in the UK.

"Through research like this, it will be possible to determine both the risks and protective factors associated with a person's genetic makeup, with the long-term aim of preventing and treating asthma in both childhood and later in adult life."

Complementary therapy hampers IVF

2007-07-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Herbal medicines might interact with IVF drugs

Women using alternative therapies to boost their chance of getting pregnant may actually be doing the reverse, say UK researchers.

They found women who used complementary therapies while undergoing IVF were 30% less likely to fall pregnant than those who used IVF alone.

The Cardiff University team believe herbal remedies could possibly interfere with IVF drugs.

But experts at a fertility conference in Lyon said stress was probably key.

Indeed, the women who turned to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) had been trying fertility treatments for longer and reported being more stressed by their fertility problems than the other women in the study.

Medical profiles

She examined the psychological and medical profiles of 818 women at the start of their IVF treatment and which of them went on to use CAM in the subsequent 12 months.

Overall, 261 or 32% of the women used some form of CAM and usually more than one type.

Nearly half of these had used reflexology and over a third had used nutritional supplements.

Women in the CAM group had more attempts at IVF - three compared to two attempts in the non-CAM group, on average - but were less likely to become pregnant.

Lead researcher Dr Jacky Boivin said repeated failure with fertility treatment might prompt women to use CAMs.

"But it may be that complementary therapies diminish the effectiveness of medical interventions.

"For example, it could be that there are interactions between herbal medicines and fertility medicines.

"Perhaps women should hold off until they have tried conventional fertility treatments."

Interaction

Alison Denham, of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, said: "It is possible that herbs, St John's wort, being the significant one, could interact with IVF drug treatments.

"Herbal practitioners would be aware of this possibility and prescribe accordingly."

She said non-medicine based CAM could not interact with IVF drugs and that there was a range of research supporting improvements in diet as useful in infertility.

But Edzard Ernst, professor of complimentary medicine at Exeter University, said: "The most likely explanation is that those women who are prone to stress and have more health problems are more likely to try CAM.

"So CAM could only be a marker and not the cause of stress and lower success rates."

Mr Michael Dooley, consultant gynaecologist at the Poundbury Clinic in the UK, said: "It is difficult to draw conclusions from this study because it is not comparing like with like.

"It's well recognised that some CAMs can reduce stress. And stress can have an impact on fertility."

Many 'still ignorant about HIV'

2007-07-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

There is still widespread ignorance about HIV, particularly among young people, research has suggested.

A survey by the HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust found more than 20% of people aged 18 to 24 mistakenly thought there was a cure for HIV.

Among the same age group almost a quarter believed condoms have holes in them which let HIV through.

And more than one in ten young people thought the virus could be passed through kissing.

This is only a theoretical risk, and possible only if both parties have open sores, cuts or bleeding gums which bleed into each other. There has only been one suspected case of HIV being passed on in this way.

The poll of 1,000 adults was carried out to mark 25 years since the death of Terry Higgins, whose battle with Aids inspired friends and colleagues to set up the charity.

The results showed that ignorance about the virus were not confined to the younger age group.

Across all age groups, 28% of people either thought that condoms had holes in which let HIV through, or said they did not know.

Twelve percent thought that sharing cutlery carried a risk of HIV transmission, and 10% thought you can be infected through sweat.

Only one in three people who were surveyed said they thought they had received good sex education at school.

Much confusion

Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "It's frightening that 25 years after Terry Higgins' death, this level of confusion exists.

"The lack of good sex education means many young people are leaving school ignorant about HIV and safer sex.

"HIV is now the fastest growing serious health condition in the UK, and there is no cure. It's time to get our facts straight."

Terry Higgins was among the first people to die from an Aids-related illness in the UK.

Since his death in 1982, more than 17,000 others have died from Aids-related diseases and there are now more than 70,000 people living with HIV in the UK.

More people than ever before were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2006.

Groups most at risk of HIV in the UK continue to be gay men and the African community.

Anti-retroviral drugs can keep HIV in check for most people who take them.

But there is growing concern that the drugs will become increasingly ineffective, as HIV - which can change its structure with astonishing speed - evolves ways to combat their action.

Cloned sperm created in the lab

2007-07-03T07:46:00.001-07:00

Cloning sperm could enable men with very low sperm counts to become fathers, say US scientists.

By injecting a single healthy mouse sperm into a mouse egg from which the genetic material had been removed they were able to make new sperm.

With some refining, the Cornell University team believes the technique could be used for infertile couples.

But experts at a fertility conference in Lyon raised safety concerns as mice made from cloned sperm were abnormal.

Professor Takumi Takeuchi and colleagues said four offspring had grown into "normal adults".

They conceded that much more work was needed to understand why some of the mouse embryos were abnormal and why others failed to develop.

But they said it had the potential to be a viable fertility treatment.

Common problem

Fertility problems are extremely common, affecting one in seven couples attempting a first pregnancy. In about 40% of these cases, a problem with male fertility is a factor.

Where the man in a couple has problems making enough sperm, doctors are confronted with retrieving a single viable sperm to inject into an egg.

Professor Takeuchi said: "If you only have one healthy sperm you would be reluctant to use it for anything but fertilisation.

"But with this technique it should be possible to create enough sperm to be sure that the embryo which is implanted is healthy."

But Professor Keith Campbell, an expert on artificial gametes at the University of Nottingham in the UK, had reservations about the technology.

"I do not think it has got utility at the moment, apart from in the research lab. Work like this is still in its infancy and we have a lot to learn."

He said it would be important to look at future generations of mice born from the clone-made rodents because there might be abnormalities, such as a propensity to heart disease or diabetes, that could be passed down to offspring.

Proposed new UK laws would ban the use of artificially created sperm, and eggs, in fertility treatments.

Girl could give birth to sister

2007-07-03T03:32:00.000-07:00

A Canadian mother has frozen her eggs for use by her seven-year-old daughter, who cannot have children naturally.

Should the girl opt to use the eggs and gain regulatory approval, she would effectively have a baby that was her half-brother or sister.

Critics said the work, presented at a fertility conference in Lyon, was deeply concerning.

But the doctors from the McGill Reproductive Center, Montreal, called the donation an act of motherly love.

Also, the girl and any future partner would have a choice as to whether to use the eggs or not, they said.

The girl, Flavie Boivin, cannot have children naturally because of a chromosomal condition called Turner's syndrome.

Desperate to help, mum Melanie, who is 35 and a lawyer, investigated whether she could donate her own eggs.

After much research, she came across Professor Seang Lin Tan's team at McGill who run an egg freezing program for cancer patients and those who want to delay childbearing.

Melanie said she discussed the decision with her partner and Flavie's father, Martin Cote, also 35 and a financial analyst.

Emotional impact

"We were concerned about the ethical questions - would I look at the child as my grandchild or as my own? We were also concerned about the financial impact, the physical impact on me and the emotional impact on the family."

After a year they decided to go ahead.

"What made us sure was the fact that I was there to help my daughter. If I could do anything in my power to help her I had to do it and because of my age I had to do it now.

"I told myself if she had needed another organ like a kidney I would volunteer without any hesitation and it is the same kind of thought process for this."

Melanie said her daughter would be the real mother as she would be caring for the child.

"I do not want to oblige her to use the eggs; I want to give her the option."

Professor Tan said they had asked for the advice of an independent ethics committee.

"The ethic committee agreed to it because the mother giving to a daughter is out of love and it is up to the daughter and partner in future years to decide whether to use the eggs or not.

"And ethical considerations change with time. Who knows what the ethics will be in 20 years from now."

Identity problems

Professor Tan said this was the first case of mother-to-daughter egg donation. There have been cases of donation from sister to sister.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: "One can understand the sadness of the mother in question but the proposed donation of eggs to be stored for her seven-year-old daughter with Turner Syndrome is not something to be welcomed.

"The psychological welfare of the baby itself has to be the principal concern. Such a baby would be a sibling of the birth mother at the same time as the direct genetic offspring of the grandmother donor.

"In psychiatry we are hearing more and more of children suffering from identity problems, and specifically a condition called 'genealogical bewilderment'. Could it possibly get more bewildering than this?"

First baby from lab-matured egg

2007-07-02T04:21:00.001-07:00

The first baby created from an egg matured in the lab, frozen, thawed and then fertilised, has been born.

Until now it was not known whether eggs obtained in this way could survive thawing to be fertilised.

The advance spares women from taking risky fertility drugs that can cause a rare, yet deadly condition - ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

Canadian researchers told a fertility conference in Lyon three others are expecting babies by the same process.

The findings hold particular hope for patients with cancer-related fertility problems.

Chemotherapy can cause infertility and, therefore, some women with cancer opt to have their eggs collected and frozen before they start their cancer treatment.

But not all women will want or be able to delay having chemotherapy to undergo ovarian stimulation.

Certain tumours, including some breast cancers, can grow if the woman takes drugs to stimulate the ovaries, for example.

Early stages

Dr Hannal Holzer and colleagues at the McGill Reproductive Center, Montreal, cautioned that their technique - in vitro maturation or IVM - had not yet been tried on women with cancer.

The women they studied had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) - a condition where the ovaries are covered in cysts which can impair fertility and which is linked with an increased risk of OHSS.

Of 20 women, four achieved pregnancy with the technique.

Dr Holzer said: "Until now, it was not known whether oocytes collected from unstimulated ovaries, matured in vitro and then vitrified, could survive thawing, be fertilised successfully and result in a viable pregnancy after embryo transfer.

"We have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to do this and, so far, we have achieved four successful pregnancies, one of which has resulted in a live birth."

He warned the research was still in its early stages.

Moderate or severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome can occur in 3-8% of IVF cycles.

Expand choices

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, of the Medical Research Council's National Institute For Medical Research, said: "Each step in this work had been achieved before, but this is the first time they have been successfully strung together.

"It is important as it will expand the choices available to women with diseases of the ovary or cancer and the clinicians treating them."

Dr Laurence Shaw, spokesman for the British Fertility Society, said: "These pregnancies are an exciting step. However, the pregnancy rate is very low and therefore large numbers of eggs would be needed."

He stressed that it was a treatment suitable for people with fertility problems linked to conditions such as PCOS or cancer, and not for women who merely want to delay having a family.

IVF hope for child cancer cases

2007-07-01T19:29:00.001-07:00

Israeli scientists say that they have extracted and matured eggs from girls as young as five to freeze for possible fertility treatment in the future.

The team said that the technique could give child cancer sufferers left infertile by chemotherapy treatment a shot at parenthood later in life.

The team took eggs from a group of girls between the ages of five and 10 who had cancer.

They artificially matured the eggs to make them viable and froze them.

Experts had previously thought the eggs of pre-pubescent girls could not be used in this way.

Dr Ariel Revel, from Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, is to present the team's findings at a fertility conference in Lyon, France, this week.

"No eggs have yet been thawed, so we do not know whether pregnancies will result," he said in a statement.

"But we are encouraged by our results so far, particularly the young ages of the patients from whom we have been able to collect eggs."

The aggressive chemotherapy used to treat many childhood cancers can leave patients sterile.

The new technique could give girls an option they would otherwise not have, the team said.

England smoking ban takes effect

2007-07-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Smokers across England have sparked up at work and in the pub for the last time as the ban on smoking in enclosed public places begins.

The new law, which came into effect at 0600 BST, is intended to cut deaths from second-hand smoke.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already have similar bans in place.

Many venues held farewell events for the final night of smoking on Saturday, while local authorities are preparing to enforce the ban.

Doctors estimate second-hand smoke kills more than 600 people a year.

The government also hopes it will help smokers to quit, and discourage children from taking up the habit.

Fines

The new Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, welcomed the ban saying that tackling the causes of illnesses saved lives.

"A smoke-free country will improve the health of thousands of people, reduce the temptation to smoke and encourage smokers to quit," he added.

England's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said the ban was a "momentous move" and would prevent the deaths of both smokers and non-smokers.

"We are removing from the air at a stroke 50 cancer causing chemicals, and that's bound to be good news for the exposure to risk," he said.

From Sunday anyone lighting up illegally could be fined £50 - reduced to £30 if it is paid within 15 days.

The figure rises to £200 if an individual is prosecuted and convicted by a court.

Businesses failing to comply with the ban could be hit with fines of up to £2,500.

The ban has prompted protests by smokers and those concerned about what they see as the "nanny state".

A legal challenge to the ban has been launched at the High Court by Freedom2Choose, which says the change in the law contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights.

Smokers from the group defied the ban The Dog Inn in Ewys Harold, near Hereford.

Landlord Tony Blows said he was prepared to go to court.

Mr Blows said: "I'm doing it for the simple reason that this is my home. My wife and I work 200 hours a week in this pub. It's private property and there's no way they can stop us doing it.

"Pubs have been smoking for goodness knows how long and you just can't do that. It's been brought in on the back of a pack of lies."

Decline in sales

Others are worried that the ban will mean the demise of the traditional pub and other social haunts such as middle-eastern style shisha cafes.

Market researchers Nielsen estimate beer sales in England and Wales could drop by 200 million pints each year because of the ban.

However, a survey by the Campaign for Real Ale suggested England's 6.2 million regular drinkers are likely to go out to pubs and bars more often after the ban.

Its study also found that 840,000 people who currently do not go to the pub said they would do so after smoking was made illegal.

Mark Hastings, communications director of the British Beer and Pub Association, said that although the ban may lead to a small decline in beer sales, pubs would also see an increase in the sale of food.

Prions key in Alzheimer's disease

2007-06-30T09:03:00.001-07:00

Proteins which cause mad cow disease may also protect against Alzheimer's disease, UK researchers say.

Prions naturally present in the brain appear to prevent the build up of a key protein associated with the condition.

In laboratory tests, beta amyloid, the building block of Alzheimer's "plaques", did not accumulate if high levels of the prions were present.

The findings could lead to new treatments, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported.

In variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human version of mad cow disease, the normal version of the prion protein present in brain cells is corrupted by infectious prions causing it to change shape, resulting in brain damage and death.

But little is known about purpose of the normal prion proteins.

Due to the similarities between Alzheimer's and diseases such as variant CJD, researchers at the University of Leeds, looked for a link.

Plaque formation

They found that in cells in the laboratory, high levels of the prions reduced the build-up of beta-amyloid protein, which is found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

In comparison, when the level of the prions was low or absent, beta amyloid formation was found to go back up again, suggesting they have a preventive effect on the development of the condition.

The researchers also looked at mice who had been genetically engineered to lack the prion proteins and again found that the harmful beta-amyloid proteins were able to form.

Study leader Professor Nigel Hooper said they now needed to look at whether ageing had an affect on the ability of the prion proteins to protect against Alzheimer's.

"Until now, the normal function of prion proteins has remained unclear, but our findings clearly identify a role for normal prion proteins in regulating the production of beta-amyloid and in doing so preventing formation of Alzheimer's plaques.

"Whether this function is lost as a result of the normal ageing process, or if some people are more susceptible to it than others we don't know yet."

He said although they needed to learn more, theoretically if a treatment could be designed to mimic the effect of the prions it could halt the progression of the disease.

Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society said this was the first time a link had been made between prions and Alzheimer's.

"These are early findings, which suggest prion proteins may have a regulatory effect on the development of beta amyloid."

He added: "This provides the foundations for a novel approach to finding new therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease."

China Vows Food-Safety Changes

2007-06-30T01:29:00.000-07:00

GUANGZHOU, China, June 29 — A day after regulators in the United States placed a partial ban on imports of certain types of seafood from China, the Chinese government promised Friday to cooperate in tackling its food safety problems but urged a quick resolution.

In tones that were at times defiant, China pressed the United States to act promptly and fairly and cautioned that Chinese seafood products should not be “automatically held and rejected indiscriminately.”

In a statement issued late Friday, China’s top quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, acknowledged that there were safety problems with Chinese seafood exports but also said that it had found similar problems in food imported from the United States.

“Just like the U.S. imported food in China, there are quality problems with aquatic products that are exported to the U.S. by some Chinese enterprises,” the government said in a statement posted on one of its Web sites. “China has cooperated and handled these problems properly.”

The statement came after the Food and Drug Administration in the United States said Thursday that it would effectively block the sale of five types of farmed fish, including shrimp and catfish, unless independent testing proved that the goods were free of contamination.

China’s sharp response to the restrictions in the United States sets the stage for what could be a high-stakes trade dispute over seafood, one of the fastest-growing segments of the global food market.

F.D.A. officials declined to comment on China’s response.

China is already the world’s biggest producer and exporter of seafood, and a growing portion of that is sent to the United States, which imports more than 80 percent of its seafood.

But China also has leverage because it is one of the largest importers of American grain, and its food market is increasingly enticing to big American corporations. Indeed, United States authorities are pressing China to lift a ban on American beef.

“If I were the Chinese I would not start a trade war over this,” said Dermot Hayes, a professor of agricultural economics at Iowa State University. “They have a huge trade surplus with us, so it’d be like picking a fight with a rich grandmother. This is a problem that can easily be solved by scientists.”

China has an increasingly poor track record of exporting tainted seafood products to the United States. Time and again over the last few years, Chinese seafood has tested positive for carcinogens and excessive antibiotic residues.

Chinese goods make up about 22 percent of United States seafood imports. But they accounted for about 63 percent of the shipments that were refused by the F.D.A. last year for having animal drug residues.

And early this year, the F.D.A. said it saw a spike in rejections of Chinese seafood products, particularly catfish, shrimp, eel, basa (which is related to catfish) and dace (which is like carp). Those five farm-fished products are facing new F.D.A. restrictions.

Growing concerns about tainted seafood have come after a string of recalls involving Chinese products as varied as pet food, toothpaste, toys and tires.

The recalls have alarmed members of Congress and American consumers and created an ugly side show to already tense trade relations between China and the United States.

China has insisted that its food is largely safe. But regulators here have also vowed to overhaul the country’s food safety regulations and to step up inspections of exports. But American regulators have grown impatient.

To combat the safety problems involving imported Chinese seafood, the F.D.A. said Thursday that it planned to hold all shipments of the restricted seafood products unless they are proven to be safe. Until now, the F.D.A. has only done spot checks on those and other products, testing only a tiny fraction of food imports from China.

In its statement Friday, China said it was willing to cooperate with United States regulators and even proposed its own system of testing and certifying the quality of certain food exports.

Chinese regulators also said that they were “highly concerned” about food safety matters and were working to fix the problem involving tainted seafood exports.

But in striking back at American regulators, China insisted that food products made in the United States also had quality and safety problems. For instance, earlier this week, China rejected batches of orange pulp and apricots from the United Sates, contending that they contained mold, excessive amounts of bacteria and other contaminants.

Andrew Kaelin, managing director of AIS Aqua Foods, a seafood importer, said he thought that Chinese regulations were generally effective but were simply not enough to control the huge number of aquaculture producers. Consequently, he said, it was up to importers and processors to make sure the shipments were clean.

“We test all our shipments before they leave,” he said, explaining that his company ships primarily Chinese scallops, calamari and tilapia to the United States. He said that Chinese regulators stopped a shipment of his that contained shrimp on Friday until he could provide the testing paperwork.

Stacey Viera, a spokeswoman for the National Fisheries Institute, which represents the American seafood industry, said that she expected the restricted Chinese seafood would continue to be sold in the United States. She said, however, that there might be a delay while importers set up testing procedures for the seafood, which may create a temporary problem for restaurants and stores.

Replacing a genome boosts race to develop designer bugs: study

2007-06-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

CHICAGO (AFP) - Researchers have transformed one bacterial species into another by swapping their genomes, a move that will accelerate the race to develop custom-built synthetic bugs, a pioneer on genetics has said.

Craig Venter, who had a hand in mapping the human genome, said a team of his researchers had transplanted the entire genetic code of one bacterial organism into another closely related species.

The experiment marks the most ambitious attempt yet to re-engineer a living cell with a view to one day developing microorganisms that could be used for biofuels, cleaning up toxic waste, sequestering carbon or other applications.

It "is a landmark in biological engineering taking us from moving one gene or a set of genes to the ability to move an intact genome," said Barbara Jasny, deputy editor of the journal Science, which first reported the experiment in this week's issue.

For decades, molecular biologists have genetically modified microbes and other kinds of cells by adding short DNA sequences, whole genes and even large pieces of chromosomes in their quest to fashion synthetic bugs that can make anti-malaria drugs or novel biofuels.

But this is the first time that researchers have transplanted an entire genome into a living organism and shown that the cell can express the foreign DNA.

"This is equivalent to changing a Macintosh computer to a PC by inserting a new piece of software," Venter said.

It's a "landmark in biological engineering," said Barbara Jasny, deputy editor of the journal Science, which first reported the experiment in this week's issue.

The experiment shows for the first time that it is possible to insert an intact genome into a host organism and have that organism express the foreign DNA. The next step is to create a synthetic genome and transplant that into a host organism.

"It's a key enabling step," said Venter. "Synthetic biology still remains to be proven, but now we are much closer to knowing it's absolutely theoretically possible."

In this experiment, the scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, used naturally-occurring DNA from a living organism, but they believe the transplantation techniques could be used on artificial, or man-made genomes, once they are developed.

To that end, they are seeking patents on the methods they used in this study.

The researchers took the genome of a simple, one-celled organism called Mycoplasma mycoides and transplanted it into a close relative, M. capricolum.

Both of these bacteria, which are innocuous goat pathogens, lack an outer membrane, facilitating genome transfer.

Before transplantation, the researchers modified the DNA of the donor bacteria, adding two genes that would provide proof if the transfer had worked. One gene conferred antibiotic resistance, the other caused bacteria expressing it to turn blue.

The enhanced Mycoplasma mycoides genome was added to a test-tube of M. capricolum, and the contents of the tube were exposed to an antibiotic.

Within four days blue colonies appeared, indicating that the host organisms had taken up the foreign DNA.

When the team analyzed the blue bacteria for DNA sequences specific to either mycoplasma, it found no evidence of the host bacteria's genetic material.

Many questions still remain. The researchers acknowledged that they were not sure how the one genome displaced the other.

"We don't know for certain how the donor genome takes over," Hamilton Smith, a lead author on the paper, told a teleconference.

The process is also "extremely inefficient" with a success rate of one in 150,000, said John Glass, a lead author on the paper.

Still, Venter said this proof of concept is likely to speed research in this emerging discipline, yielding new developments in months, instead of years as was previously the case.

F.D.A. Curbs Sale of 5 Seafoods Farmed in China

2007-06-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

In the latest move against Chinese imports, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday effectively blocked the sale of five types of farm-raised seafood from China because of repeated instances of contamination from unapproved animal drugs and food additives.

The F.D.A. said it decided to take the action after years of warnings and even a visit to Chinese fish ponds that resulted in no signs of improvement. But Dr. David Acheson, the F.D.A.’s assistant commissioner for food protection, stressed that the seafood posed no immediate health threat, though long-term consumption could result in health problems.

“There’s been a continued pattern of violation with no signs of abatement,” Dr. Acheson said.

The seafood announcement comes after a string of reports in recent months about Chinese imports that have failed to meet American health and safety standards: pet food ingredients, toothpaste, toy trains and tires.

The seafood move, however, may have the broadest impact on China, the world’s biggest producer of farm-raised fish. The country is also the biggest foreign supplier of seafood to the United States, accounting for 22 percent of the total imports.

The seafood named in the F.D.A.’s “import alert” are shrimp; catfish; eel; basa, which are similar to catfish; and dace, similar to carp. Some of the contaminants cited have been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, while others may increase antibiotic resistance. Under the import alert, the seafood can be sold in the United States only if importers provide independent testing that shows the seafood does not contain the contaminants.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The announcement fueled concerns about both the integrity of Chinese products and the effectiveness of the American system for identifying contaminated food.

“The list continues to grow of Chinese imports that are dangerous to American consumers,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois. “There reaches a point where I think it’s clear, if China wants to live in the 21st century, then they have to produce to those standards.”

After the F.D.A. announcement, Mr. Durbin and Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, called on federal officials to establish a food safety agreement with China.

Ms. DeLauro, a frequent critic of the F.D.A.’s oversight of food safety, also questioned why the agency waited so long to act.

The banned substances, primarily antifungals and antibacterials, have been used by some Chinese farmers to prevent disease among their seafood. Because they are often crowded into ponds, farmed fish and shrimp can become sick as the quality of the water becomes polluted by waste and feed.

“You may have 10 to 20 times the density of fish as in a natural environment,” said Robert P. Romaire, professor of aquaculture at Louisiana State University.

American regulators allow the use of a limited number of antibiotics. But Mr. Romaire said some of the Chinese farmers used antibiotics indiscriminately.

None of the antibiotics and food additives found in the Chinese seafood — nitrofuran, malachite green, gentian violet and fluoroquinolones — are on the approved list of regulators. Long-term exposure to nitrofuran, malachite green and gentian violet, which are also illegal in China, has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Fluoroquinolones are allowed in Chinese aquaculture. Nevertheless, they are not permitted in fish in the United States because their use may increase antibiotic resistance for people.

The problems with contaminated Chinese seafood imports date back at least six years. Before this week, the F.D.A. had issued other, more narrow warnings about contaminated Chinese seafood beginning in 2001.

In the fall of 2006, F.D.A. officials went to China to inspect aquaculture operations and found “the residue control program ineffective.” The agency increased its inspections of Chinese seafood, starting last October, and, officials said, found that 15 percent of the samples were contaminated.

China’s seafood shipments to the United States were valued at $1.9 billion in 2006, a 193 percent increase over 2001, according to the Department of Agriculture. The biggest American imports from China are shrimp, tilapia, scallops, cod and pollock, federal statistics show, although only shrimp was affected by yesterday’s announcement.

Several Southern states, which have their own catfish and shrimp-farming operations, have already blocked the sale of some Chinese seafood. Their rules say that the seafood can be sold only if it passes testing that proves it has no contaminants.

The state of Alabama announced its ban after testing found 14 of 20 samples contained fluoroquinolones. Mississippi officials found that 18 of 26 samples of Chinese catfish were contaminated with fluoroquinolones.

“We are saying all Chinese seafood that comes in here has to be tested prior to sale,” said Bob Odom, Louisiana’s agriculture and forestry commissioner. “The simple reason for that is we found a lot of it that is contaminated.”

The F.D.A. maintains a database of imported products that are prevented from entering the United States because they do not comply with American standards. In May, for instance, the agency turned away 165 shipments from China, 49 of them seafood.

Monkfish was rejected for being filthy and unfit to be eaten, the records show. Frozen catfish nuggets were turned away because they contained animal drugs. Tilapia fillets were contaminated with salmonella.

The problems were even worse in April, when 257 shipments from China were rejected, including 68 of seafood. Frozen eel contained pesticides, frozen channel catfish had salmonella and frozen yellowfin steaks were filthy, the records show.

In a report on the F.D.A.’s oversight released in May, Food and Water Watch, a Washington-based nonprofit group, found that more than 60 percent of the seafood that was rejected at the border by the F.D.A. came from China.

The group’s report also found that the percentage of seafood shipments that were pulled out for laboratory analysis declined in recent years, from 0.88 percent in 2003 to 0.59 percent in 2006. Over all, about 2 percent of seafood imported from 2003 to 2006 received either a sensory examination for color and smell or a more detailed laboratory analysis.

Of the seafood that was refused at the border, filth was the top listed reason and salmonella was second, with shrimp accounting for about half of those cases, the report found.

Of the shipments rejected for animal drug residues in 2006, 63 percent were from China, the report found. Vietnam ranked second in rejections for animal drug residue, 11 percent.

F.D.A. officials said yesterday, however, that the agency inspected a higher percentage of Chinese seafood imports — 5 percent — because of continuing concerns about farm-raised fish from that country.

F.D.A. Issues Alert on Chinese Seafood

2007-06-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Food and Drug Administration today issued an alert challenging imports of five major types of farm-raised seafood from China, including shrimp and catfish, because testing found recurrent contamination from carcinogens and antibiotics.

The alert means that the fish will be allowed for sale in the United States only if testing proves that it is free of those substances.

While the federal agency stopped short of an outright ban, the alert is nonetheless hugely significant because China is a major source of imported seafood in the United States, accounting for 21 percent of total imports.

The United States imports 81 percent of the seafood that is consumed here.

“There’s been a continued pattern of violation with no signs of abatement,” said David Acheson, the F.D.A.’s assistant commissioner for food safety. He insisted that there was no imminent danger to human health, but that prolonged consumption could cause health problems.

The other varieties affected by the ban are eel, basa, which is related to catfish, and dace, which is related to carp.

The seafood alert is the latest and perhaps broadest indictment yet against Chinese products, which have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months after pet food, toothpaste, toy trains and tires have been found to be contaminated or defective in some way.

China is the world’s leading producer of farm-raised fish. Its shipments to the United States were valued at $1.9 billion in 2006, a 193 percent increase from 2001, according to the Department of Agriculture. The biggest American imports from China are shrimp, tilapia, scallops, cod and pollock, federal statistics show.

The move by the F.D.A. comes after several Southern states have already blocked the sale of Chinese seafood contaminants. Now, Chinese catfish can be sold only if it passes testing that proves it has no contaminants.

The state of Alabama announced its ban after testing found 14 of 20 samples contained fluoroquinolones, a type of antibiotic banned by the F.D.A. Mississippi officials found that 18 of 26 samples of Chinese catfish were contaminated with fluoroquinolones.

The problems with Chinese seafood are evident in a database of products that the FDA stops at the border. In May, for instance, the F.D.A. turned away 165 shipments from China, 49 of which were seafood.

Monkfish was rejected for being filthy. Frozen catfish nuggets were turned away because they contained veterinary drugs. Tilapia fillets were contaminated with salmonella.

In a report on the F.D.A.’s oversight released in May, Food and Water Watch, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, found that more than 60 percent of the seafood that was rejected at the border by the F.D.A. came from China.

The report also found that the percentage of seafood shipments that were pulled out for laboratory analysis declined in recent years, from .88 percent in 2003 to .59 percent in 2006, the report found. Over all, about 2 percent of seafood import shipments between 2003 and 2006 received either a sensory examination for color and smell or a more detailed laboratory analysis.

Of the seafood that was refused at the border, filth was the top reason and salmonella was second, with shrimp accounting for about half of those, the report found.

Of the shipments rejected for veterinary drug residues in 2006, 63 percent were from China, the report found. Vietnam had the second most rejections for veterinary drug residue, 11 percent.

The Government Accountability Office has also criticized the F.D.A.’s oversight of seafood imports. In a 2004 report, the G.A.O. determined that the seafood inspection program had improved from 2001, when the agency concluded that the seafood inspection program did not sufficiently protect consumers.

But the G.A.O. also found that the F.D.A. still had considerable room for improvement.

Food-Safety Crackdown in China

2007-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

SHANGHAI — After weeks of insisting that food here is largely safe, regulators in China said Tuesday that they had recently closed 180 food plants and that inspectors had uncovered more than 23,000 food safety violations.

The nationwide crackdown, which the government said began last December, also found that many small food makers were using industrial chemicals, banned dyes and other illegal ingredients in things like candy and seafood.

The announcement came as part of an overhaul of food safety regulations after a series of international food scares involving Chinese exports.

The country’s exports of contaminated ingredients for animal feed earlier this year led to one of the largest pet food recalls in American history.

Tainted animal feed ingredients also leached into American meat and fish supplies, and problems with contaminated fish and other food have been reported in other parts of Asia and in Europe.

China has strongly denied that its food exports are hazardous and has seemingly retaliated against criticisms in recent weeks by seizing American and European imports.

This week, China said it had impounded two shipments, of orange pulp and apricots, from the United States because they contained “excessive amounts of bacteria and mold.”

Earlier this year, regulators blocked imports of Evian water from France, saying bacteria levels in the water exceeded national standards.

Still, the government has moved aggressively in recent months to enforce food safety regulations and to weed out fake or contaminated food products.

Tuesday’s announcement, which appeared on the Web site of the country’s top food-quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, has intensified concerns about rampant fraud in the food industry here.

Regulators said an investigation involving 33,000 law enforcement officials found illegal food-production and meat-processing operations, fake soy sauce and the use of banned food additives.

“These are not isolated cases,” Han Yi, director of the administration’s quality control and inspection department, told the state-run media. China Daily, the nation’s English-language newspaper, said industrial chemicals not intended for use in foods had been found in products as diverse as candy, pickles and seafood. Among the substances were dyes, mineral oils, paraffin, formaldehyde and malachite green, a chemical primarily used as a dye but also used as a topical antiseptic or treatment for parasites and infections in fish.

Regulators said they also learned that the potentially toxic chemicals sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid were being used to process shark fin and ox tendon.

These industrial chemicals are often corrosive, and are used in drain cleaners, detergent, fertilizer and surfboard wax, among other products.

Such discoveries have become common in China. In 2005, officials in south China found a company repackaging food waste and shipping it to 10 other regions. And just last week, officials said a company in Anhui Province, not far from Shanghai, was selling a two-year-old rice dumpling mix as fresh, according to the state-controlled media.

Experts here say that the country’s food regulations are not being enforced and that small-business men are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to increase profit.

Corruption and bribery are also part of the food and drug industry here.

The former head of the food and drug watchdog agency was recently sentenced to death for accepting bribes and approving the licensing of substandard drugs. And now, a Ministry of Agriculture official is on trial in Beijing for accepting bribes in exchange for endorsing food products.

But not all the problems stem from corruption or malfeasance. A. T. Kearney, an international management consulting firm, issued a report this week saying that one cause of food safety problems in China was inadequate logistics systems and a lack of cold storage.

The firm said China needed to invest about $100 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade its logistics and refrigeration abilities and to put new standards into effect.

In China, the study said, there are only about 30,000 refrigerated trucks for transporting food; the United States has about 280,000.

“In the entire supply chain there’s no common standard or world-class standard,” said Zhang Bing, who helped prepare the study. “There are a lot of things contributing to the food safety problem. There are companies putting chemicals into food. But there’s also a lot of spoilage.”

Wider Sale Is Seen for Toothpaste Tainted in China

2007-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

After federal health officials discovered last month that tainted Chinese toothpaste had entered the United States, they warned that it would most likely be found in discount stores.

In fact, the toothpaste has been distributed much more widely. Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population.

The toothpaste was handed out in dozens of state institutions, mostly in Georgia but also in North Carolina, according to state officials. Hospitals in South Carolina and Florida also reported receiving Chinese-made toothpaste, and a major national pharmaceutical distributor said it was recalling tainted Chinese toothpaste.

The Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers to discard all Chinese-made toothpaste, regardless of the brand.

State officials in Georgia and North Carolina said all the tainted tubes were being replaced with brands made outside China. The officials said there had been no reports of illnesses caused by the toothpaste.

Officials of the Food and Drug Administration said toothpaste with even small amounts of the bad ingredient, diethylene glycol, a syrupy poison, had a “low but meaningful risk of toxicity and injury” for children and people with kidney or liver disease.

“This stuff does not belong in toothpaste, period,” a spokesman for the drug agency, Doug Arbesfeld, said. “No Chinese toothpaste has come into the country since the end of May.”

Since the Panamanian government found Chinese toothpaste with diethylene glycol in May, countries from Latin America to West Africa to Japan have seized the toothpaste.

Panama last year inadvertently mixed the poison made in China into 260,000 bottles of cold medicine, killing at least 100 people, prosecutors there said.

Diethylene glycol is often used in Chinese toothpaste in place of its more expensive chemical cousin glycerin. Chinese regulators have said that toothpaste with small amounts of diethylene glycol is not harmful and that international concern is unjustified.

After the drug agency expressed concern about tainted toothpaste, the Georgia Department of Administrative Services checked to see whether Chinese toothpaste was being used by the state. The department found it in 83 prisons, 4 mental health centers and 4 juvenile detention centers, said Rick Beal, contracts manager for the department.

Mr. Beal said officials confiscated 5,877 remaining cases, each with 144 tubes, of the Springfresh brand. Tests showed the toothpaste had a diethylene glycol concentration of about 5 percent, he said.

The state bought the toothpaste for about 9 cents a tube in 2002. Mr. Beal said he did not know how many tubes had been used.

There are no reports of harm resulting from the toothpaste, bought from a distributor, American Amenities in Seattle.

“We do not know who their manufacturer from China was,” Mr. Beal said.

A lawyer for American Amenities, Jesse Lyon, said it had recalled all suspect shipments of the product and had decided to stop importing Chinese toothpaste. Mr. Lyon said he believed that American Amenities had about 30 institutional customers, with Georgia being the largest.

A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections, George Dudley, said his agency estimated that it bought 22,000 tubes of Pacific brand Chinese toothpaste with a small amount of diethylene glycol from Pacific Care Products in San Francisco.

Pacific Care did not respond to a request for comment, but an executive wrote to North Carolina officials that the toothpaste came from Amercare Products, also in Seattle. A spokeswoman for Amercare declined to comment.

Chinese toothpaste containing “trace amounts” of diethylene glycol has also been recalled from healthcare institutions by McKesson, a major pharmaceutical distributor and health services company, said a spokesman, James Larkin.

Mr. Larkin said although this particular brand, McKesson EverFRESH, was not on the drug agency’s list of contaminated toothpaste, McKesson asked a laboratory to test it. When small amounts of diethylene glycol turned up, the company recalled the product, he said.

“We went back through our records, and every customer that ever bought the product was contacted,” Mr. Larkin said.

He added that on short notice he could not determine how many customers had bought the product.

One institution that did was Florida Hospital Waterman, a 200-bed institution in Tavares, Fla.

“We pulled that product,” Bonnie Zimmerman of the hospital said.

Ms. Zimmerman said that the toothpaste that replaced it also came from China and it had “trace amounts” of diethylene glycol. It, too, was removed, she said.

In South Carolina, four hospitals in the Greenville Hospital System also removed Chinese toothpaste, even though its distributor said it did not have diethylene glycol, said John Mateka, executive director of materials management for the group.

New stem cell could aid research

2007-06-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

UK scientists say the discovery of a new type of stem cell should aid research into cures for disease.

The journal Nature features two studies in which scientists extracted rodent embryonic stem cells which closely resembled their human counterparts.

Previously extracted animal stem cells behaved very differently.

Substituting rodent for human embryonic stem cells could speed up research, as they would be easier to obtain, and less controversial to use.

Making spare parts

The "epiblast stem cells", as they have been named, were taken from the rat or mouse embryo at a slightly later stage of its development than previous rodent embryonic stem cells.

Professor Roger Pederson, who led a team of scientists at Cambridge University, said they constituted "the missing link between mouse and human embryonic stem cells".

"On a molecular level, epiblast stem cells are more similar to human embryonic stem cells than to mouse embryonic stem cells."

Independently, scientists at Oxford University, made the same findings, a coincidence which both teams said bolstered each other's research.

Many scientists believe stem cells from embryos - rather than adults - are the most useful as they have the potential to become virtually any type of cell in the human body.

This means they offer great potential for "regenerative medicine", in which doctors hope they might be able to replace tissue that is damaged by disease.

Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are among the neurological diseases which are thought most likely to benefit from stem cell therapies, but they are also said to offer hope for conditions as diverse as heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and burns.

But there are both practical and ethical issues surrounding the use of human embryos for stem cell research.

Scientists currently have to rely on obtaining surplus embryos from IVF clinics for their work, while some of those with religious convictions are unhappy at experimenting on and then destroying human life - even if it does pave the way to potentially life-saving treatment.

So what?

Despite the high hopes, so far there have been no major breakthroughs which suggest treatments are imminent.

The two studies do not in themselves offer cures for anything, but independent experts say they could dramatically speed up research if the findings really do stand up.

"In the future it should be much more straightforward to translate results obtained in lab rodents using these epiblast cells into procedures for stem cell therapies in humans," said Professor Harry Moore of the Centre for Stem Cell Biology in Sheffield.

"We would certainly want to use these new epiblast lines to test out the potential of therapies we are developing with human embryonic stem cells."

Professor Pederson himself said he thought the first clinical applications of stem cells were about five years away.

"Those would be very early studies that involve a human individual. I think we can envisage larger scale clinical trials occurring within a decade, certainly."

Artificial skin 'cuts scarring'

2007-06-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

A prototype artificial skin used to heal wounds has been developed by British researchers.

Writing in the journal Regenerative Medicine, UK-based company Intercytex said it had produced promising results in early trials.

It said the skin seemed to incorporate itself much better with real tissue than any other skin substitutes tried in the past.

The researchers hope it might provide an alternative to skin grafts.

Currently the best way of treating serious burns and large wounds is to take skin from part of a patient's body and graft it on to the damaged area.

But this is not ideal, and there have been attempts to create a form of artificial skin.

However, some doctors say that the failure of these to fully integrate with the wound have rendered these efforts of limited value.

Intercytex believes its latest version weaves into wounds much better. The skin is created from a matrix made up of fibrin, a protein found in healing wounds.

To this is added human fibroblasts - cells used by the body to synthesise new tissue.

In a process that effectively replicates the way the body makes new skin, the cells produce and release another protein, collagen, which makes the matrix more stable.

It is in this form that the "skin" is implanted into a wound.

The researchers say that because the matrix is in a stable form, it is more able to withstand changes that take place during the healing process.

The fact that the collagen is synthesised directly by the cells themselves also more closely mirrors the natural healing process.

Quick healing

In tests researchers cut an oval section of skin from the arms of six healthy volunteers and replaced it with their lab-grown skin.

After 28 days the artificial skin had remained stable and the wounds had healed with relatively little scarring.

Dr Paul Kemp, Intercytex's chief scientist, said: "I was very surprised at how quickly the wounds healed.

"If this continues in larger trials then it could revolutionise the way in which wounds and burns are treated in the future."

Dr Kemp has been working with Ken Dunn, a consultant surgeon at the burns unit at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester.

Mr Dunn said: "This particular product behaves like the patients' own skin.

"It seems to excite much less reaction than the other materials we are using at the moment.

"If this is borne out in larger clinical trials then we would be very interested in using it with our patient group."

Others, however, have warned it is easy to heal a small, surgically-created wound in health volunteers, and that the true test will come when the technique is tried on real patients with real burns.

New Cancer Drugs Prove Their Worth

2007-06-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

MONDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- New cancer drugs often save lives, but are they cost-effective?

Two new analyses of two new breast cancer drugs found that they are indeed worth what you pay for them.

The aromatase inhibitor Aromasin (exemestane) and the monoclonal antibody Herceptin (trastuzumab) have already been proven in clinical trials to improve survival.

As new breast cancer drugs exit the pipeline and enter the market, the U.S. health-care system, including the insurance companies or governments paying for therapy, want to know if the drugs are economically, as well as clinically, viable. And new drugs are almost always more expensive compared to the usual standards.

"This is always important to do when you have a drug or a procedure or intervention that is expensive compared to standard care," said Nicole Mittmann, senior author of the Aromasin study, and a scientist with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Toronto. "The clinical data still drives the decision to use the medication, and this is another piece of the puzzle in the decision-making process."

Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology with Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge La said, "The clinical research trials we've done in the last 50 years have been spectacular, and we know how good or how not good our treatments are, and because of the excellent clinical research that's been done, we can then ask ourselves can we afford these treatments.

"These two studies involving Herceptin and Aromasin clearly show that doing these two maneuvers are very, very cost effective in certain subgroups of women with breast cancer. When insurance companies come to you and ask why are you doing this, you have excellent studies to back them up," he added.

A large clinical study had already shown that women with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer who switched from tamoxifen to Aromasin after two to three years lived longer than women who took tamoxifen continuously for five years.

But aromatase inhibitors are more expensive than tamoxifen, which has been around for years. And aromatase inhibitors do have some side effects, including musculoskeletal problems such as osteoporosis and fractures.

"Tamoxifen is pretty cheap. Aromasin is newer and more expensive," Mittmann said. "Is the added cost worth the added benefit?"

Cost-effectiveness is measured in number of life years gained and is also adjusted for the quality of life gained, expressed as quality-adjusted life year (QALY).

In Canada and elsewhere, the commonly accepted threshold for a QALY is $50,000 (Canadian dollars).

In this case, the authors found that using tamoxifen and Aromasin sequentially for five years (after 2.5 years of surgery and other standard therapies) improved disease-free survival at an additional cost of $2,889 (Canadian) per patient. This translates into an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $24,185/QALY gained, well below the $50,000 bar.

"If this is $24,000, it seems to make sense that this is good value for money," Mittmann said.

According to Mittmann, the model would be applicable to the U.S. market.

The authors of the second study estimated that women would gain three years of life, on average, by adding Herceptin to therapy.

Over a woman's lifetime, the cost-effectiveness ratio would be $26,417/QALY (U.S.), again, below the commonly accepted threshold.

The Aromasin study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer Inc., which makes the drug. The Herceptin study was funded partly by Genentech, which makes Herceptin.

Study Says Chatty Doctors Forget Patients

2007-06-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

A new patient comes into a doctor’s office weighing 204 pounds. He’s six feet tall. The following conversation ensues:

Doctor: Is that up a little bit for you, weightwise?

Patient: It might be up a few pounds. I used to jog and I just haven’t ...

Doctor: See, ’cause I’m weighing more like 172, 173 and I’m six foot. And I’m still running. I’m doing the 5 and 10 and 15 K’s. The half marathons and ...

Patient: So, I’m 30 pounds heavier than you?

Doctor: Right now, yeah.

That, a group of researchers say, is part of an actual conversation they recorded in the course of a study that showed that many doctors waste patients’ time and lose their focus in office visits by interjecting irrelevant information about themselves.

Their paper, published yesterday in The Archives of Internal Medicine, involved 100 primary-care doctors in the Rochester area. As part of a study on patient care and outcomes, the doctors agreed to allow two people trained to act as patients come to their offices sometime over the course of a year. The test patients would surreptitiously make an audio recording of the encounter. The investigators analyzed recordings of 113 of those office visits, excluding situations when the doctors figured out that the patient was fake.

To their surprise, the researchers discovered that doctors talked about themselves in a third of the audio recordings and that there was no evidence that any of the doctors’ disclosures about themselves helped patients or established rapport.

Nor, in the vast majority of cases, did the doctors circle back to the personal conversation or try to build upon it.

“I think all of us on the team thought self-disclosure is a potentially positive aspect to building a doctor-patient relationship and that we ourselves were quite good at it,” said Susan H. McDaniel, a psychologist who is associate chairwoman of the department of family medicine at the University of Rochester and lead author of the study.

“We were quite shocked,” Dr. McDaniel added. “We realized that maybe not 100 percent of the time, but most of the time self-disclosure had more to do with us than with the patients.”

Dr. Howard B. Beckman, medical director of the Rochester Individual Practice Association and an internist and geriatrician who was an author of the study, analyzed conversations before and after the doctors started talking about themselves.

“I’d been saying for many years that disclosure was a form of patient support,” Dr. Beckman said. “If someone says, ‘I have a problem,’ and you say, ‘I understand because I have it, too,’ that would be comforting.” But, he added, “in truth that never happens.”

Patients were not comforted, he said, and conversations got off track. Four out of five times when a doctor interjected personal information, the doctor never returned to the topic under discussion before the interruption.

“We found that the longer the disclosures went on, the less functional they were,” Dr. Beckman said. “Then the patient ends up having to take care of the doctor and then the question is who should be paying whom.”

The researchers studied the conversations looking for any hint that patients were helped when the doctors talked about themselves.

“We looked for any statement of comfort, any statement of appreciation, any deepening of the conversation,” Dr. Beckman said.

They found none.

Dr. Jeffrey Borkan, who is a professor and chairman of the department of family medicine at Brown University, said it was easy to see why doctors thought it was helpful to talk about themselves. Doctors are told that they must make a connection with patients. But, Dr. Borkan said, “the instruction is often imprecise — how do you make a connection?” Many think the way to do it is by talking about themselves.

“What’s shocking about this article is how often they moved from the patient’s concerns to their own,” Dr. Borkan said.

But Dr. Richard Frankel, a professor of medicine and geriatrics at Indiana University, hopes that doctors do not conclude that the best course is to clam up completely about themselves.

Patients, for example, may ask a female physician who is pregnant when she is due or whether she is having a boy or a girl. “It would not be appropriate not to say anything,” Dr. Frankel said.

The Rochester researchers, though, say their results opened their eyes to their own transgressions and made them change their ways.

They also made them see that they, too, had been the victims of doctors’ time-wasting disclosures.

Dr. McDaniel said, “I went to my doctor recently, and I realized after I left, when I was in the parking lot, that I had only asked one of my two questions because my doctor was telling me about his trip to Italy.”

But not all doctors informed of the results saw themselves in the data.

Dr. John K. Min, an internist at the Kernodle Clinic in Burlington, N.C., said he had always been circumspect when he talked to patients.

Then, however, he recalled a patient who came to see him five years ago for a physical exam. Dr. Min is avid about building furniture and the patient was skilled at furniture building. The patient spent 40 minutes with Dr. Min. When he left, Dr. Min looked at his notes.

“I realized that I didn’t even examine him,” Dr. Min said. The man, he added, was gracious when Dr. Min called to apologize.

“He said, ‘We’ll just wait for next time,’ ” Dr. Min recalled.

HIV infection theory challenged

2007-06-24T06:12:00.001-07:00

A longstanding theory of how HIV slowly depletes the body's capacity to fight infection is wrong, scientists say.

HIV attacks human immune cells, called T helper cells. Loss of these cells is gradual, often taking many years.

It was thought infected cells produced more HIV particles and that this caused the body to activate more T cells which in turn were infected and died.

Imperial College London modelling suggests that, if that was true, cells would die out in months not years.

The Imperial findings have been published in journal PLoS Medicine.

The imperial team used a mathematical model of the processes by which T cells are produced and eliminated.

Using this they showed that the current theory of an uncontrolled cycle of T cell activation, infection, HIV production and cell destruction - dubbed the "runaway" hypothesis - was flawed.

They concluded that it could not explain the very slow pace of depletion that occurs in HIV infection.

They showed that if the theory was correct, then T helper cell numbers would fall to very low levels over a number of months, not years.

Lack of certainty

Researcher Professor Jaroslav Stark said: "Scientists have never had a full understanding of the processes by which T helper cells are depleted in HIV, and therefore they've been unable to fully explain why HIV destroys the body's supply of these cells at such a slow rate.

"Our new interdisciplinary research has thrown serious doubt on one popular theory of how HIV affects these cells, and means that further studies are required to understand the mechanism behind HIV's distinctive slow process of cellular destruction."

The Imperial team thinks one possible explanation could be that the virus slowly adapts itself over the course of the infection.

But they stress that further analysis is needed to verify this alternative theory.

Professor Stark said: "If the specific process by which HIV depletes this kind of white blood cell can be identified, it could pave the way for potential new approaches to treatment."

Roger Pebody, a treatment advisor at HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "HIV is an incredibly complex virus and research is ongoing to try and establish exactly how it works.

"We need more studies in this area before we can draw any clear conclusions."

HIV infection theory challenged

2007-06-24T06:12:00.000-07:00