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Saturday, October 21, 2017

New study claims pollution contributed to 9M deaths in 2015

Environmental pollution contributed to the premature deaths of about nine million people in 2015, nearly 15 times as many deaths from war and all forms of violence. That staggering figure comes from a study published this week in the medical journal, The Lancet. Anna Werner reports.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/new-study-claims-pollution-contributed-to-9m-deaths-in-2015/

$417M jury award against Johnson & Johnson thrown out by judge

A California woman claimed she developed ovarian cancer by using Johnson & Johnson talc-based baby powder for feminine hygiene

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/417m-jury-award-against-johnson-johnson-thrown-out-by-judge/

Friday, October 20, 2017

New High-Tech Tools to Help Control Diabetes

New high-tech devices may make it easier for many of the nation’s 21 million people with diabetes to control the disease.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/condition-15/diabetes/gadgets?src=RSS_PUBLIC

When Someone You Love Has Multiple Sclerosis

Get tips on how on how to be a caregiver for a friend or relative who has multiple sclerosis (MS).

From: https://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/features/when-someone-you-love-has-multiple-sclerosis?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Yoga + Aerobics Doubles Heart Benefits

Combined, these exercises are better than either alone, study suggests

From: https://www.webmd.com/heart/news/20171020/yoga-aerobics-doubles-heart-benefits?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Lawsuit: Prison did nothing as fungus ruined inmate's brain

Marques Davis complained for months about symptoms before his death from meningoencephalitis in April

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawsuit-prison-did-nothing-as-fungus-ruined-inmates-brain/

Wind-Up Musical Toys Recalled Over Choking Hazard

More than 500,000 of the toys were sold at Carter's, Target and Walmart.

From: https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20171020/wind-up-musical-toys-recalled-over-choking-hazard?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Remembering Chris Rosati, who spread happiness while battling ALS

Chris Rosati's journey came to an end this week. He died of ALS at just 46 years old

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-chris-rosati-who-spread-happiness-while-battling-als/

Jambalaya at fundraiser may have sickened dozens, killed 1

A small town in Louisiana has been hit by a severe gastrointestinal illness authorities are linking to jambalaya at a softball team's fundraiser

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fundraiser-jambalaya-may-have-sickened-dozens-killed-1-in-louisiana/

Study investigates treatment regret among prostate cancer survivors

As they get older, do men with prostate cancer come to regret the treatment decisions they made? A new study of men diagnosed during the mid-1990s indicates that some of them will.

Richard Hoffman, a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, led a team that reviewed survey data that men filled out one, two, five, and 15 years after they were treated for prostate cancer. All 934 men included in the study were 75 or younger when diagnosed, each with localized tumors confined to the prostate gland. Approximately 60% of the men had low-risk prostate cancer that was expected to grow slowly, and the others had riskier cancers. Most of the men (89%) were treated with surgery or radiation. The rest were lumped together as having had conservative treatment: either medications to suppress testosterone (a hormone that makes prostate cancer grow faster), or “watchful waiting,” meaning doctors delayed treatment until there was evidence that the cancer was spreading.

Overall, 14.6% of the entire group expressed some treatment regret — 16.6% of the radiation-treated men, 15% of the surgically-treated men, and 8.2% of the men treated conservatively. Among the causes of regret, treatment-related bowel and sexual problems were cited most frequently. Surgically treated men reported the highest rate of significant sexual side effects (39%), while radiation-treated men reported the highest rate of significant bowl problems (15.6%). Remarkably, complaints over urinary incontinence differed little between the groups, ranging from a low of 15.5% for the conservatively-treated men to a high of 17.6% among men treated with radiation.

Results also showed that regret tends to increase with time, suggesting that when initial concerns over surviving prostate cancer wear off, the quality-of-life consequences of treatment become more apparent. Regrets were especially pronounced among men who felt they hadn’t been sufficiently counseled by their doctors before settling on a particular treatment option, and also among men who were preoccupied with changing levels of prostate-specific antigen, a blood test used to monitor cancer’s possible return.

Given these findings, the authors emphasized how important it is that men be counseled adequately and informed of the risks and benefits associated with various treatments. But men should also be reassured that treatment for prostate cancer has improved since the mid-1990s, and that bowel and urinary side effects in particular “don’t occur as frequently now as when the men in this study were diagnosed,” says co-author Peter Albertsen, a professor of surgery and chief of the division of urology at UConn Health in Farmington, Connecticut.

The post Study investigates treatment regret among prostate cancer survivors appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Charlie Schmidt https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/treatment-regret-prostate-cancer-2017102012535