Health Highlights: Dec 5 2007
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Each year in the United States, poor refrigeration ruins hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines designed to protect children against disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
This could present a public health threat because inadequate refrigeration means that vaccines lose their potency. Children who receive under-strength vaccines may not be protected against diseases such as flu, whooping cough, tetanus, mumps, measles and chicken pox, the Associated Press reported.
In addition, vaccine doses ruined by poor refrigeration account for a major portion of the $20 million in waste incurred by the federal Vaccines for Children program.
A number of groups have issued clear recommendations about storing vaccines, Dr. Joseph Bocchini, chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the AP. He noted that refrigerators can be equipped with alarms that sound when the inside temperature moves out of range for proper vaccine storage.
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Lead Found in 35 Percent of Children's Products
Lead was found in 35 percent of 1,268 children's products tested by a coalition of U.S. environmental health groups, the Associated Press reports. About 17 percent of the products had lead levels far above the federal recall standard for lead paint.
The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys tested the products for lead, cadmium, arsenic and other toxic chemicals.
The tests revealed that only 20 percent of the toys and other children's products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals, according to results released by groups in 10 states, including the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Mich.
"This is not about alarming parents. We're just trying to give people information because they haven't had very much except these recall lists," Tracey Easthope, director of the Ecology Center's Environmental Health Project, told the AP.
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Switching Off Gene Cuts Body Fat Production
Turning off the SCD-1 gene in the liver substantially reduces the conversion of carbohydrates into body fat, says a University of Wisconsin study in the December issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.
The finding, from research in mice, suggests that SCD-1 could be a target for new medicines designed to block the gene's actions, lead author and biochemist James Ntambi told the Toronto Star.
Even when mice ate a steady diet of sugary and starchy foods, those that had the liver's SCD-1 gene switched off remained slim.
Ntambi said an enzyme produced by the SCD-1 gene plays an important role in the conversion of carbohydrates into fat, the Star reported. Carbohydrates that aren't turned into fat are broken down harmlessly in the body.
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GE, Kenmore Ovens Recalled for Fire Hazard
On the heels of at least 35 reports of damaging fires, General Electric on Wednesday announced a recall of 92,000 combination wall and microwave ovens. There have been no reported injuries.
The company said the door switch on the microwave oven can overheat and ignite plastic components in the appliance. The lower thermal oven doesn't pose a hazard, the Associated Press reported.
The ovens, produced under the Kenmore, GE, and GE Profile brands, were sold in department and appliance stores in the United States between January 2000 and December 2003. The ovens were made by GE Consumer and Industrial, of Louisville, Ky.
Consumers should stop using the appliances immediately. Those with GE brands should call GE at (888) 240-2745, and those with Kenmore products should call Sears at (888) 679-0282.
Both GE and Sears are offering a free repair, or a rebate on a new purchase, the AP reported.
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Fewer Drugs Covered by Medicare Part D in 2008
Fewer drugs will be covered under Medicare D insurance plans in 2008 because of changes made by the U.S. government and insurers, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Avalere Health.
On average, there will be a 26 percent reduction from this year to next in the number of drugs offered by the 10 insurers with the most Medicare enrollees, USA Today reported.
For example, two of the largest insurers -- UnitedHealth and Humana -- cut the number of drugs they cover from about 3,750 to about 2,620.
The main reason for the reduction in the number of drugs being covered are changes made by Medicare, which shortened the list of drugs it will pay for, USA Today reported. Medicare officials and insurers claim that most beneficiaries will be unaffected by the changes.
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Report Offers Drug Information for Patients
Patients aren't always getting the best information about prescription drugs from their doctors, says a report in the January issue of Consumer Reports. It noted that nearly half of U.S. adults take at least one prescription drug and 18 percent take three or more prescription drugs.
To help patients be better informed, the public education project Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs evaluated drugs for 35 common conditions including Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insomnia, menopause, migraine and overactive bladder.
The authors of the report said patients need to be aware of a number of things: In many cases, older drugs are as good or even better than newer drugs. Drugs within the same class aren't always that different. Some drugs are less effective than patients might be persuaded to think by advertising campaigns. Not enough research goes into adverse effects caused by drugs. Most research focuses on a drug's benefits. Consumers should use caution when prescribed any new drugs.
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Bird Flu Pandemic Could Cost $2 Trillion
A worldwide bird flu pandemic could have an economic impact of as much as two trillion dollars, a top World Bank official said Tuesday at an international conference on avian flu.
"The global economic cost could be between 1.5 trillion to 2 trillion dollars," said Peter Harrold, acting vice president of the World Bank, Agence France-Presse reported.
To date, international donors have pledged $2.3 billion to help countries counter the threat of a bird flu pandemic, and more than $1 billion has been given to groups and organizations involved in the fight against bird flu, Harrold told delegates at the meeting in New Delhi, India.
The conference, which ends Thursday, includes more than 600 representatives from 105 countries who are discussing preparedness and challenges associated with combating bird flu, AFP reported.
A joint United Nations/World Bank report released last week said the risk of a pandemic is still as great now as it was two years ago, even though many countries have improved their ability to respond to bird flu.
Talking about health care, the majority of people will associate it with cholesterol. Indeed, the human body needs a certain amount of cholesterol to maintain normal function, but too much of it will seriously affect the health and even life-threatening.
Excessive accumulation of cholesterol in the blood vessel wall will result vascular sclerosis and narrowed, if cholesterol in the blood vessel wall plot too much, obstruction of the blood vessels, because of human organs will be unable to draw enough blood from the oxygen and nutrients and necrosis. Common cholesterol because there are too many cases lead to stroke and coronary artery embolization, which is due to both diseases were not enough brain and heart caused by the blood supply.
Get a clear understanding of high cholesterol food
Cholesterol is a fatty similar to the complex can be manufactured by the liver, or by uptake from food, therefore, the need to control cholesterol, diet control should be started.n
Cholesterol generally exist in animal foods, especially animal offal and more with the high cholesterol and animal fat, meat, egg yolks, fried foods contain cholesterol foods are usually higher than the average.
People often think that the past liver, pig kidney, and other pig offal is completed, in fact pig liver, pig kidney, and other animal offal high cholesterol content, although rich in vitamin A-liver, but other foods such as carrots are rich in vitamin A , which can eat the same intake of vitamin A, is not necessarily an eating liver.
What was non-cholesterol food
Plant general non-cholesterol, such as the daily diet of grain category, fruits, jams, vegetables, peanuts, peanut butter, soymilk, tofu and other food legumes.
Control cholesterol, in addition to reducing eat some food with high cholesterol should also be some more to help lower cholesterol intake of food, for example, that the day-to-day food including fruits, oats, garlic, almonds, onion, black fungus, and so on.
* Fruit: some fruits with pectin, a cholesterol lowering efficacy, such as Apple pectin contain valuable elements. Pectin is a soluble cellulose, can promote gastric peristalsis, and cholesterol, helping the body from in vitro, to reduce cholesterol purposes.
* Oats: Oat bran can lower cholesterol levels, their effectiveness similar to pectin-rich fruit.
* Tea: tea in the Tannic Acid (tannins), may help to control cholesterol.n
Almond: Almonds contain a large number of modules unsaturated fatty acids, can reduce the volume of blood LDL (low-density cholesterol, commonly known as bad cholesterol), raise HDL in the blood volume (high-density cholesterol, commonly known as the good cholesterol). But almond calories, fat should reduce other types of food intake.
* Soybean products: including soybean milk, tofu and other soybean products. Modern Nutrition Research shows that soybean products is not only rich in nutrition, the role of lipids also lower.
* Garlic: The diastolic blood vessels and dissolve platelet aggregation over the effectiveness, and to prevent cholesterol biosynthesis and antioxidant role. There are reports that daily use of garlic powder or garlic fine and adhere to eat garlic, not only will reduce serum total cholesterol, blood pressure will be lower.
* Onion: promoting blood clots have dissolved, reducing blood lipids, expansion and increase coronary blood flow peripheral role. Foreign scholars study, eat onions in the elderly, can prevent hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, cerebral thrombosis, coronary heart disease incidence and development.
* Black Fungus: In recent years research has shown that black fungus have anti-platelet aggregation, reduce cholesterol and prevent blood lipid deposition role. The study also found that anti-black fungus is the role of lipid peroxidation. Elderly people often eat black fungus, in particular to control hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, and prolonging life.OBJECTIVE: To investigate.
To prevent high cholesterol, a balanced diet, reduce intake of high fat, high calorie food, at the same time, regular exercise.
Related: Health Highlights: Dec 5 2007
Additional information:
From health.usnews.com:
Learn how to lower your cholesterol by watching your diet and avoiding foods high in saturated.
Eating a healthy diet and being physically active can help to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. A healthy lifestyle can also help stop our cholesterol.
Despite the so many claims that you can lower your cholesterol level through low cholesterol diet plans, lifestyle changes, and monitored.
Low fat diet, low cholesterol diet, low fat low cholesterol diet, low fat diet plan.
Eating a diet similar to that of our simian relatives can have as much of an effect on cholesterol levels as modern medicine does, a new study suggests.
Information on a low cholesterol diet and how to understand the cholesterol numbers at iVillage.
A proper diet can take care of the vast majority of patients with high cholesterol, and save the expense of medications. Even modest changes.
A Diet to lower cholesterol can be effective at relieving high cholesterol levels but your diet to lower cholesterol must include a very specific.
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