Researchers Find “Unintended” Statin Side Effects
May 21, 2010
BBC News
Some doses and types of statins are linked with a greater risk of adverse effects, including liver problems and kidney failure, the UK research showed.
Doctors will have access to a computer program based on the findings to help spot those most at risk.
Millions of UK adults take the drugs to reduce heart attack and stroke risk.
The researchers, from the University of Nottingham, stressed that for many people the benefits of statins outweighed any adverse effects, but the findings would help weigh up the pros and cons in each patient. There are plans to prescribe statins on the NHS in around one in four adults aged over 40.
The Department of Health had predicted prescriptions for the drugs would rise by 30% a year, as GPs find more and more people eligible.
At the moment, anyone judged to have a one in five or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease over 10 years is advised to take a statin.
But there has been much debate over side effects and the latest research set out to confirm where the problems may lie in a “real life” population.
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New Chocolate Claims To Slow Aging Process
May 21, 2010
Telegraph
By Heidi Blake
Acticoa is packed with natural antioxidants which can protect the skin from damage by harmful free radicals.
Studies have shown that just 20g a day of the chocolate could help prevent wrinkles by hydrating the skin and improving elasticity. The health-boosting bars, drinks and buttons were invented by chocolatiers at Barry Callebaut, whose 7,500 strong workforce in 26 countries make £3 billion worth of chocolate each year, supplying household names like Cadbury and Thorntons.
The company developed the time-defying snacks by finding a way to preserve antioxidants called flavonols which are found in cocoa beans but are usually destroyed in the chocolate-making process.
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Tai Chi For Depression & Self-Esteem Issue
May 21, 2010
Telegraph
By Kate Devlin
Practising the precise movements also reduced stress and anxiety, researchers found.
Millions of people around the world practise Tai Chi every morning, and many believe that it has physical and mental health benefits.
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Nescafe Recalls Coffee Over Glass Fear
May 21, 2010
Telegraph
The recall applies to 100g jars of the Nescafe Collections range, specifically Alta Rica, Alta Rica Decaff, Cap Colombie, Suraya and Espresso.
All best-before dates and batch codes are affected.
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CDC Warns Public Pools Could Make You Sick
May 21, 2010
Google News
By Mike Stobbe
ATLANTA — You might want to look before you leap into a public swimming pool this summer.
A new government report shows one in eight public swimming pools were shut down two years ago because of dirty water or other problems, like missing safety equipment.
Kiddie pools were most likely to be the germiest, from fecal matter and improper chlorination.
The report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008, including those in parks and hotels. It’s the largest study of the topic ever done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the report Thursday.
Each year, there are about 15 or 20 outbreaks from stomach bugs blamed on pools, the CDC said. Studies suggest a quarter of them are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites that should have been killed by proper pool treatment and chlorination.
Fecal particles are a common factor, especially in kiddie pools and fountains where children frolic. But urine is also a problem: It contains nitrogen that eats up chlorine in pool water, depleting the supply. Sweat and suntan lotion have the same effect.
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Yoga May Help Cancer Patients After Treatment
May 21, 2010
CNN Health
By Anne Harding
Cancer survivors often feel fatigued and have trouble sleeping for months — or even years — after their last chemotherapy or radiation session. Now, a new study shows that yoga can help them sleep better, feel more energized, and cut back on sleeping medications.
“We really wanted to find something useful, because right now there are not a lot of good treatments out there for fatigue,” says the lead author of the study, Karen Mustian, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York.
Compared with sleep medication, yoga “can be really empowering,” says Suzanne Danhauer, a professor of psychosocial oncology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Sleep medications aren’t always effective and can have side effects, and people who’ve just been through cancer treatment may not want to take any more drugs, adds Danhauer, who studies the benefits of yoga for cancer patients but didn’t participate in the new study.
The study included 410 cancer survivors who had completed treatment in the previous two years and had been experiencing sleep problems for at least two months. All but 16 of the patients were women, and 75 percent were breast cancer survivors. In addition to the standard post-treatment care that everyone received, half of the study participants attended 75-minute yoga sessions twice a week for a month.
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Pistachios Increase Levels of Antioxidants in the Blood
May 21, 2010
EurekAlert
Drugs to treat anxiety and sleep disorders are still being prescribed for extended periods to British Columbian patients – and increasingly so for baby boomers – despite warnings against long-term use, according to a University of British Columbia study.
Published online in the journal Health Policy, the study by researchers at UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR) is the first of its kind to examine the use of benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Ativan for an entire population over time. It’s also the first to pinpoint the socio-economic characteristics associated with long-term users of such drugs.
Results show that seniors and low-income earners are more likely to be long-term users of benzodiazepines, with rates remaining steady over a 10-year period. Meanwhile, use among the middle-aged population has increased. Harms associated with long-term use (more than 100 days in a year) can include dependence and tolerance, cognitive impairment, and increased risks of falls in the elderly.
“Given the potential for dependence and harms associated with these drugs, they are recommended to be used sparingly for short periods,” says Colleen Cunningham, CHSPR researcher and lead author of the study. “However, our study suggests that a significant number of British Columbians – especially the elderly who suffer greater health risks from falls – are using them for long periods.”
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Trudeau Nets Contempt Appeal
May 21, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under KT In The News
May 21, 2010
The Chicago Tribune
By Duaa Eldeib
Infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau was spared 30 days in prison when a federal appeals court Thursday overturned a ruling in which a judge held him in criminal contempt of court.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had made the ruling after Trudeau urged supporters to communicate with the judge, and the judge’s e-mail inbox was flooded with messages.
Gettleman has been presiding over a dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and Trudeau regarding Trudeau’s hair- and weight-loss treatments.
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Judge Dismisses Trudeau Contempt Conviction
May 21, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under KT In The News
May 21, 2010
ABC News
Author and infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau will not have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court.
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Infomercial King Avoids Jail Time for E-mail Deluge
May 21, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under KT In The News
May 21, 2010
Chicago Sun Times
It’s a jail sentence they don’t want him to serve.
Infomercial king and best-selling author Kevin Trudeau, who markets his products as things “They don’t want you to know about,” won’t have to serve a 30-day contempt of court jail sentence because a federal appeals court threw the sentence out Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had ordered Trudeau to spend 30 days in jail for urging his followers to deluge Gettleman with e-mails as the judge prepared to make a key decision in a Federal Trade Commission case against Trudeau.
That shut down the judge’s BlackBerry and clogged his e-mail inbox in February. Most of the 300 e-mails were “polite and enthusiastic,” the appellate court noted, but some had “threatening overtones.”
“This was an attempt by Mr. Trudeau to harass, intimidate and influence the court,” Gettleman said at the time. But the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the penalty and sent the case back to the judge.
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