Palm Criticized Over Pre Privacy

August 13, 2009

BBC News

Palm has responded to claims that its recently-launched Pre smartphone abuses owners’ privacy.

The company issued a statement after one owner discovered his phone was sending data every day back to Palm.

The information included the current location of the phone and how long each application was used for.

In its statement, Palm said it took users’ privacy “seriously” and said it gave phone owners ways to turn features on and off.

Proton Pump Inhibitors to Treat GERD Cause Heartburn Problems

August 13,2009

Natural News

By S.L. Baker

Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, Aciphex. These and a dozen more drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have quickly become superstars of Big Pharma. As recently reported by US News and World Report, last year people worldwide shelled out some $ 25.6 billion for these drugs that are supposed to alleviate heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although hailed by most doctors as safe, reports have started cropping up that side effects may include everything from dizziness to osteoporosis, increased risk of heart attacks, pneumonia and more.

Now comes research that shows the drugs actually cause the symptoms they are supposed to treat. A new study just published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, found that taking a PPI drug for eight weeks induced acid-related symptoms including heartburn, acid regurgitation and dyspepsia in healthy individuals soon after they stopped taking the pills.

“The observation that more than 40 percent of healthy volunteers, who have never been bothered by heartburn, acid regurgitation or dyspepsia, develop such symptoms in the weeks after cessation of PPIs is remarkable and has potentially important clinical and economic implications,” Christina Reimer, MD, of Copenhagen University and lead author of the study, said in a statement to the media. “This study indicates unrecognized aspects of PPI withdrawal and is a very strong indication of a clinically significant acid rebound phenomenon that needs to be investigated in proper patient populations.”

In the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, the scientists investigated whether long-term treatment with a PPI could cause a dependency state. Specifically, they wanted to see if patients would need non-stop, continuous treatment with the drugs due to rebound acid hypersecretion when the medications were stopped. In all, 120 healthy participants were randomized to about three months of taking inactive placebo pills or 40 mg. of the PPI drug esomeprazole (brand names: Nexium, Esotrex) daily. This was followed by having all the research subjects take a placebo for another four weeks. A Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) was filled out weekly by those participating in the study.

During the first two weeks after withdrawal of the PPI, the majority of research participants began to have mild to moderate indigestion discomfort. What’s more, the GSRS scores for acid-related symptoms were significantly higher in the PPI group during weeks 10, 11 and 12 of the study. In fact, 44 percent of the people taking the PPI experienced at least one worrisome acid-related symptom in weeks nine through 12 compared to only 15 percent in the control taking placebo pills. About 22 percent of people in the PPI group complained of dyspepsia, heartburn or acid regurgitation in week 10 and 11; around 21 percent of the research subjects had indigestion problems in week 12 of the study. However, those in the placebo group reported indigestion and reflux symptoms at a far lower rate. Only about seven, five and two percent of them had heartburn or other related problems during weeks 10, 11 and 12 of the study.

“We find it highly likely that the symptoms observed in this trial are caused by rebound acid hypersecretion and that this phenomenon is equally relevant in patients treated long term with PPIs. If rebound acid hypersecretion induces acid-related symptoms, this might lead to PPI dependency. Our results justify the speculation that PPI dependency could be one of the explanations for the rapidly and continuously increasing use of PPIs,” Dr. Reimer stated.

In the media statement, the researchers noted previous research has have shown that about 33 percent of patients who start taking PPI drugs keep on refilling their prescriptions. So why do they need maintenance therapy if these drugs are supposed to successfully treat GERD and related conditions? Reimer’s research strongly indicates it’s because when people try to stop taking PPIs, they experience an increase in gastric acid secretion that soars beyond their pre-treatment levels. Within two weeks after withdrawal from treatment, they experience even worse heartburn, regurgitation and other GERD symptoms than ever — so they have to go right back on the expensive PPI drug therapy.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

H1N1 Swine Flu Scenarios: Best Case, Worst Case Predictions

August 13, 2009

Natural News

By Mike Adams

When it comes to swine flu, the public predictions are all over the map: On one hand, governments don’t want you to be so worried that you start to panic and stay home from work, but they want you to be worried enough to submit to a vaccine injection.

Beyond the vaccine propaganda and the WHO’s agenda to prop up the profits of drug companies by seizing control of the intellectual property of influenza viruses, what’s really likely to happen this year as the virus spreads?

Here, I present some educated guesses on the best case / worst case scenarios we may see unfold with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

Best Case, Worst Case for your kids in public schools

Best Case: A few sneezers at school get isolated or masks are slapped on their faces. Infections are mild and deaths are few.

Worst Case: Mutating strains of the swine flu storm like a wildfire through the public school system, infecting tens of millions of children, killing tens of thousands, and shuttering the school system for much of the 2009 / 2010 school year.

Likely Case: (By “likely” I mean my own educated guess on roughly what seems to be the more probable outcome.) Some schools close due to spreading influenza, but most stay open. Lots of children are infected, but more children are seriously harmed by the vaccines than by the virus itself.

Best Case, Worst Case for the H1N1 swine flu severity

Best Case: The flu remains mild, killing no more people than season flu (which the CDC claims kills 30,000 Americans a year).

Worst Case: The flu quickly mutates to become resistant to both Tamiflu and the vaccines being given to people. It ramps up through December then hits hard in January and February when most people are vitamin D deficient. Over a billion people around the world become infected, and millions die.

Likely Case: While this is a very difficult prediction to make, I wouldn’t be surprised to see worldwide infections exceed one billion people. The total number of deaths is a wildcard. One million deaths worldwide from swine flu over the next two winters is not an unreasonable estimate based on historical accounts of pandemics.

Best Case, Worst Case for the Swine Flu Vaccine

Best Case: The vaccine performs as advertised by Big Pharma, protecting people from swine flu infections while harming no one.

Worst Case: The vaccine is worse than the swine flu itself. Rather than protecting people, it causes the death of many thousands (or even millions, if you subscribe to the population control theory on swine flu vaccines).

Likely Case: In my view, the vaccine itself is a real wildcard here. Testing has been extremely limited, and no long-term testing will be conducted at all before it is injected into people. The vaccine will most likely cause a few short-term deaths (people dying within 48 hours, for example), but the real issue may be the long-term risks of the vaccine. What happens six months later? Will it cause paralysis in some people? Will it harm immune system function or damage vital organs in a way that could not be detected in the short-term? That’s what I think the real risk is with the vaccine: What it does to you over time (if you survive the first 48 hours).

Best Case, Worst Case for the infrastructure of society

Best Case: Zero disruptions. A few people get sick, but they sleep it off and return to work. The power, water, public safety, food supplies and other key infrastructure components remain fully intact, barely skipping a beat.

Worst Case: Mad Max. Total collapse of complex society. The number of sick people surpasses a tipping point, leading to critical failures that cascade into larger failures. Before long, the complexity of modern society unravels, collapsing into a simpler society, along with a huge reduction in population from starvation and disease.

Likely Case: Temporary but serious disruptions in early 2010 as swine flu infections peak, sending a significant portion of the workforce home to recover. Expect random, local service outages and unpredictable delays in the delivery of food, fuel, and other essentials. Eventually, however, society will recover from the pandemic and go on to face other crises (such as the demise of the U.S. dollar and the looming debt crisis).

Best Case, Worst Case for hospitals and health care

Best Case: Few infections mean hospitals have plenty of capacity. The anti-viral drugs work well and the vaccines work as intended.

Worst Case: Hospitals overflow with the dead as local school gymnasiums are requisitioned for use as makeshift morgues (a la 1918). Hospitals become death zones where the virus spreads (and mutates). The virus quickly acquires immunity to Tamiflu while further mutations outflank all available vaccines. People attempting to enter hospitals are simply sent home to die.

Likely Case: Hospitals are stressed to near-breaking point status as infected patients flood into emergency rooms worldwide. Anti-viral drugs remain in short supply while hospitals become seriously short-staffed due to workers becoming infected themselves. Public service messages are aired to encourage infected patients to stay home and avoid flooding emergency rooms.

How to make it better for you in any case

Regardless of whether the “best case” or “worst case” scenario materializes (or something in between), note carefully that there is nothing mentioned here that you cannot survive if you’re well prepared.

Simply boosting your own health through the use of vitamin D, superfoods and targeted nutritional supplements can greatly increase your ability to stay off the “victim” lists and remain in control of your own health destiny. You can also insulate yourself against potential infrastructure failures quite easily through basic preparedness measures (food, water, heat, shelter, etc.) Check out our courses on pandemic preparedness to learn more on that topic: http://www.truthpublishing.com/Swin… and this audio program with Dr. Sheldon Marks: http://www.truthpublishing.com/Prod…

Simple preparedness will help keep you safe, healthy and confident no matter what the swine flu pandemic brings. That’s the real message here: Be prepared, not scared! Plan for things in advance and they won’t bite you back. The coming H1N1 pandemic is no different: It’s something you can see well in advance. So plan for it, and you most likely won’t be surprised and harmed by it.

When the virus surges this fall, nobody can honestly claim “I didn’t know!” Everybody knows it’s coming. Yet the vast majority will do nothing to prepare, blindly putting their trust and faith in a failed health care system that only seeks to extract profit from the pandemic rather than actually teaching people how to get healthy enough to survive on their own.

Don’t be part of the “do nothing” crowd. Prepare now, and you’ll thank your living, breathing self later. Hopefully, after the winter of 2009 / 2010, we can all take a look back at articles like this one and say thank goodness the worst case scenario never unfolded.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Child Headache Burden Uncovered

August 12, 2009

BBC News

One in five young teenagers suffer headaches at least once a week, say researchers.

Of 1,000 12-15 year olds in Exeter questioned for the study, 10% had more than two headaches a week.

That group had a poorer quality of life than children with asthma, diabetes or cancer, the British Journal of General Practice reported.

The researchers said many children were suffering unnecessarily with headaches at home and at school.

Whistle-blower: Health Care Industry Engaging in PR Tactics

August 12, 2009

CNN

By Ed Hornick and Elaine Quijano

Wendell Potter knows a little something about the health care industry’s practices and is not afraid of to speak out as the health care reform debate heats up around the country.

The former vice president of corporate communications at insurance giant Cigna, who left his post, says the industry is playing “dirty tricks” in an effort to manipulate public opinion.

“Words matter, and the insurance industry is a master at linguistics and using the hot words, buzzwords, buzz expressions that they know will get people upset,” he told CNN Wednesday.

Now a senior fellow on health care for the watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, Potter writes a blog on health care reform. He is focusing on efforts to defeat legislation supporting a government health care plan — something he supports.

In early July, Potter testified before the Senate Commerce Committee, telling senators that “I know from personal experience that members of Congress and the public have good reason to question the honesty and trustworthiness of the insurance industry.”

Potter described how underwriters at his former company would drive small businesses with expensive insurance claims to dump their Cigna policies. Industry executives refer to the practice as “purging,” Potter said.

“When that business comes up for renewal, the underwriters jack the rates up so much, the employer has no choice but to drop insurance,” Potter had said.

In an e-mail to CNN, Cigna spokesman Chris Curran denied the company engages in purging.

“We do not practice that. We will offer rates that are reflective of the competitive group health insurance market. We always encourage our clients to compare our proposed rates to those available from other carriers,” Curran wrote.

But now, Potter is back in Washington at the invitation from Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-New York. He is questioning insurance companies’ public relations tactics — and says some of the questions from town hall meetings are familiar.

“People talk about the government takeover of the system … that’s a buzz term that comes straight out of the insurance industry,” he said.

A Cigna spokesman would not comment directly on Potter’s accusations. Instead, the company released a written statement saying officials agree that health care reform is needed. But the statement went on to say that officials don’t see how a government-sponsored plan can accomplish that.

But Potter’s concerns fall right in line with the Democrats’ strategy of hitting insurance companies hard this summer. Republicans argue that insurance companies aren’t solely to blame for the health care crisis, noting that many of their constituents are perfectly happy with the current system.

The Democratic Party is also dealing with a group of fiscally conservative members known as “Blue Dogs” who are worried over the high costs of the health care plans being bandied about.

Slaughter says that the concerns over a government option may be set up to “try and protect one industry” — referring to the health insurance industry.

Potter insists he has no agenda — just a deep passion for the issue.

“This is hard to do. It’s scary to do something like this. I don’t think I’m any more courageous than anybody but I feel I had to do this.”

Potter also has said he decided to resign in 2007 after Cigna’s controversial handling of an insurance claim made by the family of a California teenager, Nataline Sarkysian.

The Sarkysian family made repeated appeals at news conferences for Cigna to approve a liver transplant for the 17-year-old, who had leukemia. Cigna initially declined to cover the operation, then reversed its decision.

Sarkysian died hours after the company’s reversal.

Click here for the full report from CNN

Retail Sales Dip Unexpectedly, Jobless Claims Rise

August 13,2009

Associated Press

By Christopher S. Rugaber

Retail sales disappointed in July and the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week. The latest government reports reinforced concerns about how quickly consumers will be able to contribute to a broad economic recovery.

“There is really no positive spin to put on these numbers,” Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research note. “The U.S. consumer remains very weak. The jobs situation, while slowly improving, is still dismal.”

The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales fell 0.1 percent last month. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 percent.

While autos, helped by the start of the Cash for Clunkers program, showed a 2.4 percent jump — the biggest in six months — there was widespread weakness elsewhere. Gasoline stations, department stores, electronics outlets and furniture stores all reported declines.

The July dip was the first setback following two months of modest sales gains. Excluding autos, sales fell 0.6 percent, worse than the 0.1 percent rise economists had forecast.

Households are working to pay down debt and add to savings, longer-term trends along with little job growth making it “probable that the U.S. consumer will not be much of a help during the early stages of the economic recovery,” Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at consulting firm MFR Inc., wrote in a note to clients.

The Labor Department said initial claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 558,000, from 554,000 the previous week. Analysts expected new claims to drop to 545,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

The number of people remaining on the benefit rolls, meanwhile, fell to 6.2 million from 6.34 million the previous week. Analysts had expected a smaller decline. The continuing claims data lags initial claims by one week.

The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out fluctuations, rose by 8,500 to 565,000. That reverses six straight weeks of decline.

A weak job market hurt sales last month. Gas station sales plunged 2.1 percent in July, due more to falling pump prices than weak demand. Excluding that drop, retail sales would have posted a modest 0.1 percent increase.

Department store sales fell 1.6 percent and the broader category of general merchandise stores, which includes big chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., posted a decline of 0.8 percent.

Wal-Mart on Thursday reported virtually flat second-quarter income compared with a year ago, but the results beat Wall Street expectations and the world’s largest retailer raised the low end of its profit outlook as a series of cost-cutting moves draw frugal shoppers away from rivals.

Still, the July weakness in overall retail sales highlighted worries about the potential strength of the recovery from the recession. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of total economic activity.

“Households are in no position to drive a decent economic recovery,” Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients.

While there have been recent signs of stability in the U.S. housing market after three years of plunging prices, record foreclosures persist. The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes rose 7 percent in July, as the foreclosure crisis continued to outpace government efforts to limit the damage.

Foreclosure filings rose 32 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. More than 360,000 households, or one in every 355 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice. That’s the highest monthly level since the foreclosure-listing firm began publishing the data more than four years ago.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered a more upbeat assessment of the economy. The central bank held interest rates at record lows and said it would slow the pace of an emergency rescue program to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury securities, shutting it down at the end of October, a month later than previously scheduled.

The Fed again pledged to keep a key bank lending rate near zero for “an extended period” to nurture an anticipated recovery.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said the economy appeared to be “leveling out” — a considerable upgrade from their last meeting in June, when the Fed observed only that the economy’s contraction was slowing.

On Wall Street, stocks were mixed in morning trading Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped about 15 points, while broader indices edged up.

Initial claims reflect the pace of layoffs by employers. The Labor Department last week said companies cut 247,000 jobs in July, a large amount but still the smallest number in almost a year.

The unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent, its first drop in 15 months.

There were 617,000 new jobless claims in late June, before the figures were distorted last month by a shift in the timing of temporary auto plant shutdowns. That shift caused claims to drop sharply and then jump up last month.

Claims fell steeply last week, however, when the data were no longer affected by the distortions.

Still, initial claims remain far above the roughly 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy. New claims last fell below 300,000 in early 2007.

Including federal emergency benefit programs, 9.25 million people received unemployment compensation in the week ending July 25, the latest data available. That’s down from a record of 9.35 million the previous week. Congress has added up to 53 extra weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states.

Click here for the full report from Yahoo! Finance

Dr. Dean Bonlie, the Inventor of Magnetico Sleep Pads

Click the picture or link below to hear Kevin’s interview with the inventor of the Magnetico Sleep Pad, Dr. Dean Bonlie and click here to purchase one of his miracle sleep pads!

Dr. Dean Bonlie on The Kevin Trudeau Show 08/12/09

The Kevin Trudeau Show: 08-12-09

The all seeing, all mighty Kevin Trudeau has done it again!! Today, Kevin goes through more of his psychic predictions and gives you the latest headlines you won’t hear anywhere else:

Billy Mayes’ Autopsy Causes Controversy
Diseased African Monkeys Used to Make Swine Flu Vaccines
Anti-Depressant Side Effects Worsen Health
Makers of the Swine Flu Vaccine Can’t be Sued!

Plus, Kevin speaks to the inventor of the Magnetico Sleep Pad, Dr. Dean Bonlie, about the real advantages of buying a Magnetico Sleep Pad for your bed!

Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!

Click below to hear The Kevin Trudeau Show RIGHT NOW!!!

Antidepressant Suicide Risk Varies By Age -US FDA

August 11, 2009

Reuters

By Julie Steenhuysen

People under age 25 who take antidepressants have a higher risk of suicide, but adults older than that do not, an analysis by U.S. Food and Drug Administration researchers released on Tuesday showed.

The report by the FDA scientists confirms earlier studies and supports the agency’s age-related warnings on the drugs’ labeling.

U.S. and European regulators have been sounding alarms on the use of antidepressant drugs since 2003 after clinical trials showed they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in those under age 18.

In February 2005, the FDA added a so-called black box warning — the agency’s strongest warning — on the use of all antidepressants in young children and teens to draw attention to the possible risks of these medications. In May 2007, it extended the warnings to young adults aged 18 to 24.

Many psychiatrists have criticized the warnings, saying they scare people away from effective treatment for depression, the leading cause of suicide. In fact, recent studies have suggested the warnings triggered an 8 percent rise in suicide among youth and teens in 2004, the biggest one-year gain in 15 years.

A LASTING DECLINE

A study published in June in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry said the FDA’s decision to impose black box warnings for children and young adults had a spillover effect on depression care in older adults, resulting in a lasting decline in depression diagnosis and treatment.

Those researchers urged the FDA to revise its policy.

The FDA analysis by Dr. Marc Stone, Dr. Thomas Laughren and colleagues involved a review of data from eight drug makers on 372 clinical trials involving nearly 100,000 adults.

Overall, they found the risk of suicide was “strongly age-dependent,” with higher risks in people under 25, no difference among those 25 to 64, and lower risks in people 65 and older.

The researchers said the findings, published on the British Medical Journal website, support the agency’s warnings on antidepressant drug labeling for people under 25, and they also support the notion that antidepressant drugs can have two distinct effects.

In some patients, they can promote suicidal thoughts or behavior — but this risk appears to diminish with age. In others, the drugs provide relief from depression, reducing the risk of suicide. They said more research is needed to understand these differences.

John Geddes from the University of Oxford and colleagues said in a commentary the findings were not new and noted that the trials studied by the FDA excluded sicker patients. The study did, however, make clear differences in risks among specific antidepressants, they said.

They noted specific differences in commonly used drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

For example, the odds of suicidal behavior by people taking Pfizer Inc’s  Zoloft, or sertraline, were around half of those who took placebo. By comparison, Forest Laboratories Inc’s Celexa, or citalopram, and Lexapro, or escitalopram, “seem to increase the risk of suicidal events,” Geddes and colleagues wrote.

“Increased risk is probably restricted to younger people and varies greatly between individual medicines.”

Click here for the full report from Reuters

Childhood Cancer Treatment May Raise Diabetes Risk

August 10, 2009

Reuters

By Julie Steenhuysen

Cancer survivors who got radiation treatments as children have nearly twice the risk of developing diabetes as adults, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said children who were treated with total body radiation or abdominal radiation to fight off cancer appear to have higher diabetes risks later in life, regardless of whether they exercise regularly or maintain a normal weight.

The odds of surviving childhood cancer have improved with better therapies but several research teams have found that some treatments pose health risks later in life.

Dr. Lillian Meacham of Emory University in Atlanta and colleagues compared rates of diabetes in nearly 8,600 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed between 1970 and 1986, and nearly 3,000 of their siblings who did not have cancer.

After adjusting for other risk factors, including body mass index — a ratio of height and weight — they found the childhood cancer survivors overall were 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes.

And the more radiation that was used, the greater the diabetes risk. For those treated with total body radiation — a treatment often used before bone marrow transplants to treat childhood leukemia — the diabetes risk was more than seven times greater.

Cancer survivors already have higher risks of heart and kidney disease. A study last year found children who survive cancer while they are young are five to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to develop heart disease.

“It is imperative that clinicians recognize this risk, screen for diabetes and pre-diabetes when appropriate, and approach survivors with aggressive risk-reducing strategies,” the team wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

They said more study was needed to understand how radiation could promote diabetes in cancer survivors.

Type 2 diabetes — the most common form of diabetes — develops when the body makes too much insulin and does not efficiently use the insulin it makes.

Click here for the full report from Reuters

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