18 juin, 2006 16:59
Signed, not delivered
Fentanyl Warnings: Finally
Public health officials have finally responded to fentanyl deaths that have occurred in several US cities. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued an open letter to treatment professionals, urging those who work in substance abuse treatment and prevention to educate their clients (and the public) about the drug. The letter was accompanied by a fact sheet detailing how to prevent, detect and treat fentanyl overdose. More than 60 people have died from fentanyl drug combinations in Chicago alone, according to local police, and 100 have died in Detroit. Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic and is prescribed as a painkiller. [
DRUG POLICY NEWS]Kentucky Fried Coronary
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is in a food fight with the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) regarding its use of partially hydrogenated oil, a.k.a. trans fat in many of its foods. A lawsuit is seeking to have KFC discontinue using the harmful product, or at least post warnings about the dangers of trans fats in its restaurants. Trans fat is known to be more harmful than saturated fat because it raises one's bad cholesterol (LDL) while lowering the body's good cholesterol (HDL). Food companies are required to post amounts of a product's trans fat on its labels but restaurants are not required to do so. [
CBS NEWS]Don't Pass the Salt
The American Medical Association (AMA) is pushing the government to label foods containing high amounts of salt. High blood pressure and heart problems are related to consuming high-sodium foods and overall, Americans eat twice as much salt as they should. The AMA recommends less than one teaspoon (2,300 milligrams) of salt daily. Foods considered high in salt are those with more than 480 milligrams of sodium per serving. [
ASSOCIATED PRESS]Healthy Beer
A little good news for Beer Drinkers: a compound found in hops has been found to slow down the growth of benign prostatic hyperplasia and malignant prostate cancer cell. The compound xanthohumol inhibits NF-kappaB protein in cells along the surface of the prostate gland. Here's the kicker: the compound is found is such small amounts that more than 17 beers a day would have to be consumed to be effective in curbing prostate cancer. But hops is already available in supplements and scientists in Germany have developed a "healthy" beer with 10 times the amount of xanthohumol as traditional brews.
Coffee Cure
A cup of coffee a day may keep alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver away. Heavy alcohol use is the most common cause of the disease; cirrhosis progressively destroys healthy liver tissue and replaces it with scar tissue. A recent study analyzed data from more than 125,000 participants over a period of seven years and concluded that drinking coffee was also associated with a slight reduction in risk for other types of cirrhosis. Drinking tea was not related to reduced risk, suggesting that caffeine is not responsible for the correlation between drinking coffee and reduced cirrhosis risk. [
CONSUMER AFFAIRS]Cervical Cancer Vaccine
The FDA's approval of Merck's vaccine against cervical cancer will be marketed to girls and women ages nine to 26. According to the drug maker, it could save thousands of lives each year. According to Merck, the Gardasil vaccine protects against the human papilomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that causes 70 percent of cervical cancers. About 10,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with it annually, and about 3,700 die. In clinical trials the drug has also proven effective in preventing genital wart cases. The downside: the drug costs $360 for three injections which may prevent many women from receiving it.
Smoking Ban Works
In a survey conducted by the Canadian federal government, Statistics Canada suggests that smoking laws have helped reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, but it also states that more can be done to ensure public places are free from this known health risk. Of approximately 133,000 people surveyed, the study found the national rate of smoke exposure dropped to 14.7 percent in 2005, down from 19.6 percent in 2003. But 30.5 percent of respondents in the survey also said smoking was not restricted where they worked or smoking was only restricted in designated areas. The most encouraging statistic showed young smokers are decreasing. [
TORONTO STAR]Thyroid Overlooked and Underactive
The thyroid gland must be working properly for optimum health and if it isn't, hyperthyroidism (overactive) and hypothyroidism (underactive) can result. It is estimated that 27 million Americans suffer from one or the other disease and more than half of those are undiagnosed. Most people diagnosed (80 percent) are women and underactive thyroid is age-related: by 60, up to 17 percent of women and nine percent of men are affected. If left untreated, thyroid disease may cause elevated cholesterol levels and subsequent heart disease, infertility, muscle weakness, osteoporosis and, in extreme cases coma and death. Abnormalities of thyroid function are usually treated with prescription medications, but hyperthyroidism may require the surgical removal or inactivation of the thyroid gland.
AG NEWS]No Brainer
When the brain views erotic images, it tunes in very quickly. Brainwave activity was measured in men and women as they viewed a series of images ranging from barking dogs to water skiers to partially clothed couples in sensual positions. When volunteers viewed the erotic images, their brains produced stronger electrical responses than when they viewed other pictures. The difference in brainwave activity suggests that different neural circuits might be involved in processing erotic images. As well, the study found that women had responses to erotic images just as strong as men. [
YUBANET]Not so-clever Girl
Three Chinese women in the province of Hunan posing topless in an advertisement for women's health have provoked a fierce debate over the morality of nudity to promote public interest causes. One of the women, a TV presenter, issued a formal apology after her "Clever Girls Love Themselves More" advertisement appeared in bus stops and billboards. The advertisement promoted Changsha's Shangmei Gynaecology Hospital and a caption under the advertisement referred to the three women as spokeswomen for "pink ribbon" -- a "series of activities concerned about women's health," -- but there was no reference made to breast cancer prevention. [
REUTERS]Hot flash Tip
Hot flashes during menopause may be controlled by diet and soy in particular. In Japan, hot flashes and night sweats are unheard of. The Japanese diet provides more vegetable protein and less animal protein and soy products including tofu, a main staple of the Japanese diet, contain the compounds genistein and daidzein, which are estrogenic and help control hot flashes. Soy products such as soy milk and tofu are rich in plant compounds known as phytoestrogens, which apparently mimic some of the biological activities of female hormones. [
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