Health News

American Diabetes Association Celebrates Supreme Court Decision To Uphold Affordable Care Act

Date: Jul-02-2012
With the recent decision by the Supreme Court to endorse the The Affordable Care Act (The ACA), The American Diabetes Association has something to celebrate. This ruling means that the close to 26 million Americans who are battling diabetes and the 79 million who have prediabetes will have access to the crucial health care necessary for managing the horrible disease. The Affordable Care Act is extremely important not only for diabetics, but all chronic disease patients, whose quality of life and overall health would dramatically decrease without the proper health care...

Anxiety Disorders Respond Well To Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy With A Transdiagnostic Approach

Date: Jul-02-2012
New research has shown that people with anxiety disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias, show the most improvement when treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in combination with a "transdiagnostic" approach - a model that allows one set of principles across all anxiety disorders. The researchers added that the combo of treatments help improve symptoms in several anxiety disorders, such as fear of flying, spiders, or public speaking...

GlaxoSmithKline Pleads Guilty In Fraud Case Over Failure To Report Safety Data

Date: Jul-02-2012
The British multinational GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the world's fourth largest company, plead guilty today to fraud and agreed to payout some $3 Billion dollars to resolve criminal and civil charges against the company. The matter relates to failure to report the safety data of certain prescription drugs, as well as false price reporting. It is the largest payout by a drug company over fraud, and the largest healthcare fraud case to date. GlaxoSmithKline makes some of the world's most well known brands, including Sensodyne, Boost, Horlicks, and Gaviscon...

HPV Infection Increases Risk Of Skin Cancer In Men

Date: Jul-02-2012
Although sunlight exposure is known to increase the risk of developing skin cancer, researchers have also discovered that people are more likely to develop non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), if they have antibodies for cutaneous types of human papillomavirus (HPV). The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, was conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. Lead author of the study Dana E. Rollison, Ph...

Celiac Disease Underdiagnosis - A Result Of Low Biopsy Rates? Probably

Date: Jul-02-2012
A major reason why celiac disease is still under-diagnosed in the U.S. may be because of under-performance of small bowel biopsies during endoscopies. These findings were published recently online in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Leading researcher, Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, MS, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, and a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist at the Celiac Disease Center, CUMC said: "The vast majority of people with celiac disease in the United States remain undiagnosed...

Vaccine For Blocking Nicotine Chemicals Before They Reach The Brain Shows Promise

Date: Jul-02-2012
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested an innovative vaccine that can treat nicotine addiction in mice with just one single dose. The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine describes that a single dose of the novel vaccine protects mice against a life-long addiction against nicotine. The vaccine uses the animal's liver as a production site to continuously produce antibodies that instantly gobble up nicotine the moment it enters the bloodstream, and therefore prevents the chemical from reaching the brain and heart...

BMJ Accused Of Making False And Misleading Statements Regarding "Atkins-Style" Diet

Date: Jul-02-2012
The BMJ (British Medical Journal) has been asked by Atkins Nutritionals Inc. to retract what it calls a "false and misleading statement" that a Swedish study found that an "Atkins-style" diet causes increased risk of cardiovascular disease among a specific female population in Sweden. The researchers in the study never used the term "Atkins-style". Atkins Nutritionals Inc. added that the diet used in the study "did not in any way resemble the Atkins Diet"...

Kidney Failure Going Untreated Too Often In Older Adults

Date: Jul-02-2012
According to a study in the June 20 issue of JAMA, the progression rate of untreated kidney failure is significantly higher in older than in younger individuals. The study involved almost two million Canadian adults...

Alternatives To Nursing Homes - How To Improve Seniors' Quality Of Life

Date: Jul-02-2012
There are alternatives to nursing homes for frail older people, even for those with long-term health problems. They just need help to convert 'disability' into 'capability'. For instance, a handyman who repairs an unsteady banister could contribute a great deal in allowing an older frail person to remain in their own home rather than having to go into a nursing home, the same as visits from occupational health therapists or a nurse, who could assist the elderly with their often complex medication regimen and make it easier for them to get around their house and neighborhood...

Spanking Children Can Cause Mental Illness

Date: Jul-02-2012
American Academy of Pediatrics, which is already opposed to using physical punishments on children, has released a new study today, backing their stance and reinforcing the belief that spanking children belongs firmly in the past. The study, named "Physical Punishment and Mental Disorders: Results From a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample," is released in the August edition of Pediatrics, which is online July 2nd. It states clearly that children who are spanked, hit or pushed have an increased risk of mental problems when they grow older ...