A warning has been issued by the Food and Drug Administration regarding the use of toothpaste that hails from China. Consumers were warned starting last Friday to refrain from using such toothpaste because it contains poisonous chemical that is used in antifreeze. The substance that they found out is the diethylene glycol. We all know that antifreeze is only used in cars, specifically in the cooling system, so you can just imagine if humans will ingest this substance.
Want to have smart and beautiful kids in the future? Well you sure should read this piece of news that says drinking some soft drinks can damage your DNA. If you want to pass on good genes to your offspring and also to the next generation you had better hearken to this news. You have to read the ingredients of the soft drink you love to drink and if you see the additive called sodium benzoate included in it, pass it up for your next favorite drink that does not contain it. Soft drinks that were reported to contain it are Sunkist, Diet Coke, Sprite and Pepsi Max just to name some.
Another milestone in the filed of transplants has been reached as Italian doctors performed the first lung transplant on a man with HIV. After the operation, the man was reported to be in good state. The man already suffered from terminal respiratory problems so the lung transplant was his only chance to survive. In the previous years HIV patients were only able to have kidney, liver and pancreas transplant and this lung transplant is really another big improvement. This new operation is made possible due to better medicines being used to treat HIV.
Contact lens users need to be aware of the outbreak of the rare eye infection that can cause blindness. The infection called acanthamoeba keratitis can develop ulceration in the cornea or the clear tissue of the eye and induce severe loss of vision to the extent of blindness. Some of the signs and symptoms of this infection are persistent redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and pain in the eye. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has traced the infection back to the product that is used to clean and store soft contact lenses called AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution.
Want to keep a young-looking body? Almost every figure-conscious person these days has this goal in mind. So do you want to know how you can achieve this goal? Simple. Exercise!! Even those who are already somewhat advanced in their biological years, you too can achieve an athletic-looking body by mere weight training. It’s proven in the study conducted by Canadian scientists that muscle tissue seemed to become younger as the result of exercise. The study took a 6-month duration wherein young and old volunteers were observed. Both groups had similar diet and level of exercise and none took meds that could affect the result. Only the older group was put on the 6-month resistance training with only the standard gym equipment in use.
A plan is underway about building a cancer center in the Middle East. Well-known multi-millionaire businessman Sheikh Samir Mirdad placed the recommendation on the consortium that is in charge of the planning. Reports said that an amount of $2.7 billion or AED 10 billion would be invested in the said cancer center. In Sheikh Samir’s estimate that the money invested would make a full return in just five years time. There are several places under consideration where the center is to be built, but the most feasible place that they can see is Dubai. The planned specialist cancer center will have a full line of service such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Planning also include integrating a call center for the cancer information and dissemination.
Type 2 diabetes patients who have used the drug called Avandia may have some cause for unrest because just last night a review of this drug was instigated because a study found out that heart attack among its users is linked to usage of this drug. So according to the study, patients who used Avandia for reducing their blood sugar levels approximately 43% are predisposed to experiencing heart attacks compared to those who were just given other kinds of medicines or placebo. Avandia is a brand name given by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) rosiglitazone. This drug was licensed 8 years ago and at this point in time more than 6 million people have taken it.
Are you one of the women who think that having a monthly period is a hassle and just wish that your monthly bleeding will just go away? Your wish could be granted if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the new drug from Wyeth called Lybrel, a name that suggests “liberty”. This is actually birth control pill that will allow women to hold back the monthly bleeding cycle on an indeterminate time span. Tuesday is the expected time by which the FDA will release the verdict. If the FDA approves this new drug it will become the fourth oral contraceptive that does not be ingested like the others that have to be taken in the 21 daily active pills with the seven sugar pills.
If women fear the incidence of breast cancer and cervical cancer the male population on the other hand fear prostate cancer. In the recent years almost half million cases of prostate cancer are being detected all over the world. And this statistic is still on the rise. And now a warning is being given to the men, saying that intake of more than the prescribed multivitamins may heighten their chances of acquiring prostate cancer. In a study conducted by the US National Cancer Institute findings showed that intake of the multivitamins above seven times per week redouble the risk of complex and fatal prostate cancer. This finding is based on a study of information on almost 300, 000 men. Among these men, those who take multivitamins more than once a day has 32% higher risk of acquiring prostate cancer.
Swiss drug maker Novartis is one of the top developers of new healthcare products that cater to a wide range of clientele. Their mission includes discovery and development of innovative diseases to combat diseases and they have certainly done that with the new Focetria pandemic influenza vaccine. They have recently acquired approval of this drug from the European Union. This drug will be manufactured only during the time when WHO (World Health Organization) declares a pandemic. With WHO’s approval Novartis will produce the vaccine incorporating the identified viral strain. The drug will also include the MF59 adjuvant that can prolong the supply of the vaccine. This is possible because the MF59 allows smaller amount of viral antigens to be utilized in each dosage.
When I was a bit younger I had this thought of staying single for life...but lately seeing most of my friends getting married…well it gives me ideas. But anyway this recent news I’ve read certainly makes me re-evaluate. It says that staying single may not be good for your health and that compared to the lifespan of people who entered matrimony; the singles have a shorter life span. This is according to the researches at the University of California in Los Angeles.
Something new came up in the human fertility department, this time concerning the men. In a recent study done by scientists from Queen’s University in Belfast they found out the high levels of broken or damaged DNA in the sperm cells of men with diabetes. This finding is the very first of its kind.
The scientists studied volunteers coming from a center of endocrinology – 27 are those who have Type 1 diabetes and the control group is 29 without diabetes. All of them in their 30s. When their sperms were examined everything was found normal like in the sperm count, output and structure, though the diabetic men had a smaller amount of semen. But when they checked the DNA that’s when they saw the difference. The DNA in the sperm of the diabetic men appeared fragmented or damaged compared to those from the healthy men. The fragmentation showed 52% in the diabetic compared to the 32% in non-diabetic men.
We all know that old age brings with it various aches and pains; one of the usual is rheumatoid arthritis. I have an uncle who suffers from it and I can see how painful it can be. Now there is a good news for him and for all those who suffer from the same fate – green tea. A new study suggests drinking good old green tea will help a lot in lessening the swelling and pain that usually comes with rheumatoid arthritis. However, the leader of the research Salah-uddin Ahmed of the University of Michigan Health System, said that the study is just at its start and further investigations have to be conducted.
We may all think that computer and Internet use is safe; however little do we know that this emits radiation that can be potentially harmful to health. Radiation is injurious to adults so what more with children, right? Professor Lawrie Challis, a retired professor of physics at the University of Nottingham advised that children should be properly monitored whenever they use the laptop with wi-fi network. Children using laptops in particular should not make it a habit to place the device right on their lap as this makes them all the more exposed to radiation.
