Soda Consumption Linked To Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Other Health Concerns
Drinking too much soda could have health consequences ranging from weight gain to osteoporosis to kidney problems, according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. Soda was once considered an occasional treat, but consumption has steadily increased over the last three decades. Many Americans drink soda every day. Demand is so great that manufacturers produce enough soda to supply the average man, woman and child in America with more than 52 gallons each year. Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource looks at possible health effects of sipping too much soda.
New Biochemical Trick Employed By H1N1 Flu Virus To Cause Pandemic
The influenza virus, scientists well know, is a crafty, shape-shifting organism, constantly changing form to evade host immune systems and jump from one species, like birds, to another, mammals. Now, in a report in the current Public Library of Science Pathogens, an international team of scientists shows that the recent pandemic-causing H1N1 flu virus used a new biochemical trick to spread efficiently in humans. The new work expands the repertoire of known factors flu viruses can use to hijack a host cell and amplify infection in mammals, including humans.
Proposed Lowering Of PSA Threshold For Biopsy Could Result In Increased Overdiagnosis And Overtreatment Of Prostate Cancer, Study
New research from the US suggests that most American men diagnosed with prostate cancer receive aggressive treatment, even if their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level is below the current recommended 4.0 nanograms per milliliter threshold for biopsy and their diagnosis indicates low-risk disease; the researchers argue against lowering the threshold, suggesting there is no evidence that waiting for PSA to reach the current threshold before doing a biopsy leads to significant increases in non-curable cases, whereas lowering it is likely to lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Health Disparities Exist Among Black And Hispanic Kidney Donors
Black and Hispanic kidney donors are significantly more likely than white donors to develop hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, according to new Saint Louis University research published in the August 19, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "We've long known that diabetes and hypertension disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics. Our research found that these racial disparities also exist among living kidney donors, post donation, " said Krista Lentine, M.
Dental Surgery At The Click Of A Mouse, New E-learning Platform For Students Of Dentistry At Mainz University Medical Center
The new e-learning platform ILKUM (an acronym for "Interaktiver Lernzielkatalog der Università tsmedizin Mainz" or interactive catalogue of learning objectives of Mainz University Medical Center) is a sign of things to come: Students of dentistry in 2010 now only need internet access to be able to download case studies with film and image material showing disease patterns and surgical procedures directly to their laptop, iPad or iPhone. As Germany's only e-learning platform, ILKUM is oriented towards the "Profile and Competences for the European Dentist" guidelines issued by the ADEE, the Association for Dental Education in Europe, as the basis for its targeted learning program.
ConvaTec Expands AQUACEL reg; Dressing Product Line With Introduction Of New Ribbon Dressing
ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, announced the introduction of a new, narrower size of AQUACEL® and AQUACEL® Ag Ribbon Dressings with Strengthening Fibers, now available in the U.S. and select European countries for the management of moderate to highly exuding chronic and acute wounds. The new dressing, half the width of the currently available dressing, is designed specifically for use in excised abscesses and smaller wounds that tunnel below the wound surface.
Should The Federal Government Try To Curb Obesity?
The First Lady and the Surgeon General are trying to rally Americans to fight against the "epidemic" of obesity. Perhaps they will inspire many to follow their leadership by example. Otherwise, the role of the federal government in curbing obesity is questionable, write economists Michael Marlow and Alden Shiers of California Polytechnic State University. The government's tools are taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, bans on soft drinks in schools, regulations forcing restaurants to post calorie counts, and government-funded motivational programs.
Americans Saving More For Health Care In Retirement, First Command Reports
Concerned about rising medical expenses, middle-class Americans are bumping up their monthly retirement savings to cover future health care costs. The First Command Financial Behaviors Index® reveals that average monthly savings solely for health care costs during retirement climbed to $245 in July, up 42 percent from $173 a year ago. One in five Americans who save for health care costs in retirement are now putting over $300 per month toward this future expense, compared to 14 percent in 2009.
Are HERVs An Answer To AIDS Mysteries?
Why is it so hard to isolate and purify human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV )? Why has no one been able to see, by electron microscopy, a single HIV particle in the blood of AIDS patients, even those who have a "high viral load"? Why does HIV seem to mutate with startling rapidity? AIDS researchers have not been able to come up with answers to these questions. HERVs human endogenous retroviruses might provide explanations that have been overlooked for 20 years, writes Professor Etienne de Harven, M.