10/03/17

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

ACLU sues over FDA limits on abortion pill access

The lawsuit contends the drug, used for abortions up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, should be available by prescription in pharmacies across the U.S.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/aclu-sues-fda-limits-on-access-to-abortion-pill/

Obesity-related cancers on the rise in the U.S.

Although the rate of new cancer cases has decreased since the 1990s, America's obesity epidemic is likely slowing progress, researchers say

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obesity-related-cancers-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s/

Breast Cancer Decline May Have Saved 322,000 Lives

But advances in care may not have helped black women as much as whites, report finds

From: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20171003/breast-cancer-decline-may-have-saved-322000-lives?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Obesity Linked to 13 Types of Cancer

Losing weight might lower the risk, researchers say

From: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20171003/obesity-linked-to-13-types-of-cancer?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Tom Petty’s death spotlights risk of cardiac arrest

The rocker's death at age 66 draws attention to a heart condition that strikes suddenly and can kill in a matter of minutes

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-pettys-death-what-is-cardiac-arrest/

Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 things to know about home genetics testing

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEsBoqT6YtE

Dr. Chris DeStephano Discusses Abnormal Uterine Bleeding

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BNkGYBCYY

Switch From Smoking to Vaping Could Save Millions

Cancer researchers build a case for e-cigarettes

From: http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20171002/switch-from-smoking-to-vaping-could-save-millions?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Heroin Taking Bigger Share of U.S. Opioid ODs

Hospital discharges tied to the illicit drug are rising as those from prescription painkillers fall

From: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20171002/heroin-taking-bigger-share-of-us-opioid-ods?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Mayo Clinic Minute: Lyphedema risk is not just about the surgery

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFeo3UoKl80

Think Whole Food, Not ‘Out of the Box’ for Heart Healthy Diet

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY0OipsNtCA

Recall: Ground Turkey at Publix, Aldi, Weis

Ground turkey sold at Publix, Aldi and Weis may have metal shavings in the meat.

From: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20171003/ground-turkey-recall?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Humira Again Top-Selling Drug In U.S.

Popular anti-inflammatory leads list of top-selling drugs for fifth straight year.

From: http://www.webmd.com/drug-medication/news/20171003/humira-again-top-selling-drug-in-us?src=RSS_PUBLIC

House Republicans propose 5-year extension of children's health insurance

Federal financing for the Children's Health Insurance Program expired over the weekend

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-republicans-propose-5-year-extension-of-childrens-health-insurance/

Same Pregnancy Meds Can Cost $200 -- or $11,000

'Uncontrollable drug prices' play a major role in U.S. health-care crisis, researcher says

From: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20171003/same-pregnancy-meds-can-cost-200----or-11000?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Measles Making a Comeback in the United States

Though the rate remains low, study shows it doubled between 2001 and 2015

From: http://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/news/20171003/measles-making-a-comeback-in-the-united-states?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Moving Just 1 Hour a Week May Curb Depression Risk

Intensity of exercise didn't matter, and benefit leveled off after 2 hours of activity, study finds

From: http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20171003/moving-just-1-hour-a-week-may-curb-depression-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Why parents should use responsive feeding with their babies

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

The habits we learn early can stay with us for a lifetime — which is why it’s better to learn good habits early, not bad ones. This is especially true with eating habits. More and more, research shows that overweight babies grow into overweight children, who grow into overweight adults. One of the very best ways to prevent obesity is to start before they are two years old, preferably right at birth.

That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics really wants parents to know about responsive feeding.

Most parents feel better when their baby eats more — and eats on a predictable schedule. It’s comforting and reassuring. It helps parents feel certain that their baby has had enough to eat. It also makes it easier to organize the day or give instructions to babysitters. But when we push babies to eat more than they want, or to eat when they aren’t hungry, it can teach them bad habits that put them at higher risk of obesity.

It’s really important that babies eat when they are hungry and eat only as much as they need. That’s where responsive feeding comes in. Responsive feeding is learning your baby’s cues for hunger, and for being full, and responding appropriately to those cues.

Here are some signs that a baby might be hungry:

she puts her hands in or near her mouth
she makes sucking noises
she puts her hands on her belly
she is more active, moving her hands and feet
she cries — but this is a late sign, often coming after the earlier signs didn’t bring food.

Parents should respond warmly and promptly to these signs, and should let the baby stop eating once she’s full. Signs of being full include:

stopping and starting feeding frequently
spitting out or ignoring the bottle or breast
unlatching from the breast
turning the head away
slowing down, or falling asleep.

If a baby is showing these signs, parents should stop feeding, even if the baby has eaten less than usual, or less than the parent would like them to eat. That way, the baby learns to listen to her hunger cues and stop eating when she’s not hungry anymore, habits that can help keep her at a healthy weight for life.

If a parent is worried that their baby isn’t getting enough to eat, or isn’t growing well enough, the best thing to do is call the doctor and make an appointment. At the appointment, the baby can be weighed and examined to check for any problems. If there are problems, the doctor and parents can make a plan to address them and get the baby back on track. If there aren’t any, parents can feel comfortable listening to and following the baby’s cues.

The bottom line for parents: you provide, your baby decides.

The post Why parents should use responsive feeding with their babies appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Claire McCarthy, MD https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-parents-should-use-responsive-feeding-with-their-babies-2017100312524

Partners commit to reduce cholera deaths by 90% by 2030

An ambitious new strategy to reduce deaths from cholera by 90% by 2030 will be launched tomorrow by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), a diverse network of more than 50 UN and international agencies, academic institutions, and NGOs that supports countries affected by the disease.

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/partners-reduce-cholera/en/index.html

New WHO leadership team announced

Dr Tedros, WHO Director-General, announced the senior leadership team.

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/statements/2017/new-leadership/en/index.html

The mysterious rise in knee osteoarthritis

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling

While there are more than 100 types of arthritis, osteoarthritis is by far the most common.

Osteoarthritis is the form of joint disease that’s often called “wear-and-tear” or “age-related,” although it’s more complicated than that. While it tends to affect older adults, it is not a matter of “wearing out” your joints the way tires on your car wear out over time. Your genes, your weight, and other factors contribute to the development of osteoarthritis. Since genes don’t change quickly across populations, the rise in prevalence of osteoarthritis in recent generations suggests an environmental factor, such as activity, diet, or weight.

Osteoarthritis of the knee will affect at least half of people in their lifetime, and is the main reason more than 700,000 people need knee replacements each year in the US.

The obesity-arthritis connection

To explain the rise in the prevalence of osteoarthritis in recent decades, most experts proposed that it was due to people living longer and the “epidemic of obesity,” since excess weight is a known risk factor for osteoarthritis. Studies have shown not only that the risk of joint disease rises with weight, but also that even modest weight loss can lessen joint symptoms and in some cases allow a person to avoid surgery.

But a remarkable new study suggests there is more to the story.

Challenging a common assumption

Researchers publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined skeletons from people who had died and donated their bodies to research. Information regarding presence of knee osteoarthritis, age at death, body mass index (BMI), cause of death, and other data were compared for more than 1,500 people who died between 1905 and 1940 (the “early industrial group”) and more than 800 people who died between 1976 and 2015 (the “post-industrial group”).

A third group of skeletons obtained from archeological sites were also assessed for osteoarthritis of the knee. They came from prehistoric hunter-gatherers living hundreds to thousands of years ago, and early farmers living between 900 and 300 BP. BMI could not be determined for these individuals, but gender could be determined and age was estimated based on features of their skeletons.

The findings were intriguing:

The prehistoric skeletons and early 1900s cadavers had similar rates of knee osteoarthritis: 6% for the former and 8% for the latter.
With a prevalence of 16%, the more recent skeletons had at least double the rate of knee osteoarthritis as those living in centuries past.
Even after accounting for age, BMI, and other relevant information, those in the post-industrial group had more than twice the rate of knee osteoarthritis as those in the early industrial group.

Limitations of this study include BMI estimates at the time of death that might not reflect body weight during most of the person’s life, a study population (bodies donated for medical research or from archeological digs) that might not be representative of the population at large, and lack of accurate information regarding diet, activity, and other important factors. Even so, the findings shake some long-held assumptions and make the rise in osteoarthritis in recent years more mysterious than before.

So what?

These findings call into question assumptions about the reasons osteoarthritis is becoming more common. And they suggest that slowing or reversing the dramatic increase in obesity in recent years may not have as much of an impact on knee osteoarthritis as we’d thought. Finally, if longevity and excess weight do not account for the rising rates of knee osteoarthritis, what does? The list of possibilities is long, and as suggested by the authors of this study includes:

injury
wearing high-heeled shoes (yes, there is at least one study suggesting that the altered forces in the knee among those wearing high-heeled shoes might contribute to the development of osteoarthritis)
inactivity
walking on hard pavement
inflammation (worsened by inactivity, modern diets, and obesity)

The bottom line

As is so often the case in medical research, this new study raises more questions than it answers. We’ll need a better understanding of why and how osteoarthritis develops before we can prevent it or improve its treatment. There are already many dedicated researchers exploring these important questions.

The post The mysterious rise in knee osteoarthritis appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Robert H. Shmerling, MD https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-mysterious-rise-in-knee-osteoarthritis-2017100212504

Dr. Chris DeStephano Discusses Abnormal Uterine Bleeding

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BNkGYBCYY

1 in 5 Experience Medical Error, Survey Shows

Just half reported the mistake to their provider

From: http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/news/20171003/1-in-5-experience-medical-error-survey-shows?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Gun Injuries Near $3 Billion in Hospital Costs

Nine out of 10 injured were male, study reports

From: http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/news/20171002/gun-injuries-near-3-billion-in-hospital-costs?src=RSS_PUBLIC

In aftermath of worst mass-shooting in U.S. history, offers of help have poured in.