Brazilian town fighting Zika virus with more mosquitoes

Millions of genetically-modified mosquitoes are being released in the Brazilian town of Piracicaba with the hope that they'll take out Zika-infected mosquitoes

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/brazilian-town-fighting-zika-virus-with-more-mosquitoes/

Brazilian town fighting Zika mosquitoes with more mosquitoes

The town of Piracicaba, Brazil is using genetically-modified mosquitoes to help reduce the spread of the Zika virus

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brazilian-piracicaba-town-using-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-fight-zika/

Lawmakers celebrate raw milk law -- deny being sickened by drinking it

Health officials investigating whether milk was to blame for fever, vomiting and diarrhea; also weighing allegations raw-milk party broke law

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawmakers-celebrate-raw-milk-law-loosening-deny-being-sickened/

Ironman competitors can face dangerous health risk

A "considerable percentage" of long-distance triathletes may be at risk of life-threatening condition

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ironman-competitors-can-face-dangerous-health-risk/

First uterus transplant in the U.S. fails

Two days after a press conference describing the seemingly successful procedure, doctors had to remove the organ due to complications

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-uterus-transplant-in-the-u-s-fails/

Woman Who Had 1st US Uterus Transplant Loses Organ

Doctors at Cleveland Clinic aren't yet revealing what went wrong, but stress that procedure does have risks

From: http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/news/20160309/woman-who-had-1st-us-uterus-transplant-loses-the-organ-due-to-complication?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Kidney Transplant From Incompatible Living Donor

Study finding offers hope to patients who might die while on the wait list for a compatible deceased donor

From: http://www.webmd.com/news/20160309/transplant-from-incompatible-living-donor-boosts-kidney-patients-survival?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Tai Chi Could Be a Healthy Move for Your Heart

Traditional Chinese exercises might reduce depression, improve quality of life for heart patients

From: http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20160309/tai-chi-could-be-a-healthy-move-for-your-heart?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Stem Cells Used to Correct Infant Cataracts

Leaving these cells behind during removal of damaged tissue led to regeneration of new, clear lens

From: http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/news/20160309/scientists-use-stem-cells-to-correct-infant-cataracts?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Diabetes Treatment May Affect Breast Density

Women on insulin might need extra breast cancer screening, expert suggests

From: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20160309/diabetes-treatment-may-affect-breast-density?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Warfarin Brain Bleed Risk: Higher Than Thought?

Study of veterans with irregular heartbeat found one-third suffered such incidents while on the drug

From: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/atrial-fibrillation/news/20160309/brain-bleed-risk-from-warfarin-may-be-higher-than-thought?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Cataract surgery using stem cells shows promise

Using the body's own stem cells and a less invasive procedure, scientists help regrow lens cells in infant eyes

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cataract-surgery-using-stem-cells-shows-promise-in-babies/

DNA tests reveal twins have two different fathers

Experts explain how the rare event can occur, and say it may be more common than we think

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dna-test-twins-in-vietnam-have-two-different-fathers/

Woman shares graphic images to spread skin cancer warning

Indiana woman displays deep scars all over body: "Sound worth it for you to keep going to a tanning bed?"

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-shares-graphic-images-to-spread-skin-cancer-warning/

This Treatment Promising for Early Breast Cancer

Study finds limited radiotherapy effective after low-risk tumors are removed, but questions remain

From: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20160309/with-early-breast-cancer-targeted-radiation-shows-promise?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Short Men, Heavy Women at Lifelong Disadvantage?

Genetics of height and weight may shrink earnings, study contends, but other experts skeptical of the findings

From: http://www.webmd.com/men/news/20160308/short-men-heavy-women-at-lifelong-disadvantage?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Shorter men, heavier women may struggle to get ahead

Biology isn't destiny, but researchers say it may be a factor in socioeconomic status

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/short-men-overweight-women-struggle-to-get-ahead/

Norovirus closes another Chipotle

A Chipotle restaurant in the Boston area is temporarily closed for cleaning after several employees got sick

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/norovirus-closes-another-chipotle/

Boston-area Chipotle closes doors over norovirus

Restaurant is being disinfected after several employees called out sick with possible cases of norovirus

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-area-chipotle-closes-doors-after-worker-gets-norovirus/

Music Therapy: Helping Kids Cope - Mayo Clinic

From: Mayo Clinic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVsdI0AEY4

WHO: Pregnant Women Shouldn't Travel to Zika Areas

Pregnant women should avoid traveling to areas affected by the Zika virus, the World Health Organization advised. WebMD has the details.

From: http://www.webmd.com/news/20160309/who-cdc-zika-puerto-rico?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Mayo Clinic Minute: Tip-offs to Low Testosterone

From: Mayo Clinic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLaWFeNR6s

Doctors May Miss Chances to Treat Prediabetes

Study found many patients with higher-than-normal blood sugar levels were not being treated for it

From: http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20160309/doctors-may-be-missing-chances-to-treat-prediabetes?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Decline in dementia rate offers “cautious hope”

“The number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will grow each year as the size and proportion of the U.S. population age 65 and older continue to increase. The number will escalate rapidly in coming years as the baby boom generation ages.”
2015 Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures

Despite these alarming projections, a report from a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) offered a few words of encouragement. Researchers from the longstanding Framingham study found that the rate of dementia has declined over the course of three decades.

Framingham researchers had been studying more than 5,000 men and women since 1975. The participants had physical exams, including tests for dementia every five years. The researchers determined that the five-year rate of dementia was 3.6% between 1982 and 1986 2.8% between 1991 and 1996, 2.2% between 1998 and 2003, and 2.0% between 2009 and 2013. Moreover, the average age when dementia was diagnosed increased from 80 to 85 over the 30 years.

Do these results fly in the face of the Alzheimer’s Association’s predictions? Perhaps somewhat, according to Dr. David S. Jones, the A. Bernard Ackerman Professor of the Culture of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In the same issue of NEJM, Dr. Jones and Dr. Jeremy A. Greene of Johns Hopkins Medical School note that a 2005 report based on data from the National Long-Term Care Surveys showed that severe cognitive impairment among Medicare recipients had decreased significantly between 1982 and 1999. Drs. Jones and Greene point out that this isn’t the first time that the rate of a major disease has started to decline before our eyes. As of 1964, even as coronary artery disease was projected to strike increasing numbers of older Americans in the future, heart attack deaths were starting to fall.

Explaining the falling rates of dementia

The decrease in the rate of dementia was attributed largely to two things that we have some control over — education and heart disease. The decline was registered only in high-school graduates, but they made up most of the Framingham participants. The rate of cardiovascular disease — including stroke, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure — was also falling during the study period years. In that sense, the results give further support to evidence that education, which may build up a “cognitive reserve,” protects against dementia — and that cardiovascular disease, which restricts blood flow to the brain, may promote it.

But even as rates of cardiovascular disease declined, rates of obesity and diabetes were beginning to creep up among the Framingham participants. Both are also risk factors for dementia, as well as for heart disease, and their continued rise could dampen or even reverse a decline in the dementia and heart disease rates.

Moreover, the overwhelming majority of Framingham participants are white and middle-class. Whether the results apply to people in other racial and ethnic groups and economic classes remains to be seen.

Can you prevent dementia?

As the Alzheimer’s Association predicts, the numbers of people with dementia may ultimately increase simply because people are living longer. At the same time, the Framingham researchers offer “cautious hope that some cases of dementia may be prevented or at least delayed.”

The Framingham results bolster the notion that what’s good for the heart is good for the head. If you’re pursuing a heart-healthy lifestyle — following a Mediterranean-style diet, getting the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, managing your stress, and engaging with friends and family — you’re likely lowering your risk of dementia in the bargain, too.

Related Post:

• PET scans peer into the heart of dementia
• Memory slips in your 70s may be an early hint of future…
• Expert panel says “no” to widespread testing for
• Above-normal blood sugar linked to dementia
• Bypass surgery an “uncommon” cause of memory…

The post Decline in dementia rate offers “cautious hope” appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Beverly Merz http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/decline-in-dementia-rate-offers-cautious-hope-201603099251

WHO and experts prioritize vaccines, diagnostics and innovative vector control tools for Zika R&D

After a three-day consultation on Zika research and development, international experts, convened by WHO, have agreed on top priorities to advance R&D for Zika medical products.

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/notes/2016/research-development-zika/en/index.html

Dentists get CE at correctional health care meeting

Dentists for the first time can receive continuing education credits from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care at its April 9-12 Spring Conference on Correctional Health Care.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2016-archive/march/dentists-get-ce-at-correctional-health-care-meeting

Heads up March 6-12 for water well users and their dentists

March 6-12, National Groundwater Awareness Week, is an appropriate time for dentists to remind their patients who use private wells as the source of their drinking water to get their wells checked.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2016-archive/march/heads-up-march-6-12-for-water-well-users-and-their-dentists

These Baby Formulas Don't Stop Asthma, Allergies

Review of nearly 70 years of data found no protective effect; experts urge breast-feeding instead

From: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20160308/special-infant-formulas-dont-shield-against-asthma-allergies-study?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Short Men, Heavy Women at Lifelong Disadvantage?

Genetics of height and weight may shrink earnings, study contends, but other experts skeptical of the findings

From: http://www.webmd.com/news/20160308/short-men-heavy-women-at-lifelong-disadvantage?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Vitamin D a No Go for Arthritic Knees

Supplements didn't slow disease progression or ease pain, even in patients with low levels of the vitamin

From: http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20160308/vitamin-d-a-no-go-for-arthritic-knees-study-finds?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Boy behind viral hashtag dies after cancer fight

Rhode Island boy's wish sparked hashtag #DStrong that spread across the globe

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dorian-murray-rhode-island-boy-dstrong-hashtag-dead-pediatric-cancer/

Feds raise questions about biotech giant Theranos

The company promised to offer hundreds of fast, cheap and accurate blood tests, using a few drops of blood, rather than vials

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/feds-raise-questions-about-biotech-giant-theranos/

USDA Announces Grants to Support Strategies to Reduce Child Food Insecurity in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the USDA Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center at the University of Kentucky awarded $1.3 million in grants to help reduce child food insecurity in 17 rural communities. The funding, ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, will help these rural communities implement creative strategies to improve access to federal nutrition assistance for families and children.

From: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2016/03/0060.xml&contentidonly=true

Why much-hyped biotech company is fighting to save its reputation

Theranos promises to offer hundreds of fast, cheap and accurate blood tests, but the company is now under review by two federal regulators

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-company-under-review-federal-regulators-cms/