Florida authorities released autopsy results suggesting cocaine helped kill Billy Mays, though they ruled heart disease the cause. His family called the report speculative, and a 1997 study of young adults found most cardiovascular risk factors unrelated to lifetime cocaine use.
Food Consumer
Lifestyle
Stress Raises Belly Fat, Heart Risks
Wake Forest researchers led by Carol Shively found chronically stressed monkeys secreted more cortisol and carried more visceral fat than calmer animals of the same weight and BMI, and that stressed females put on belly fat as readily as stressed males.
Lifestyle
Many women at risk of breast and ovarian cancer elect to have prevention surgery
A British survey of 200 women counselled for BRCA mutations found 40 percent had both breasts removed and 45 percent both ovaries. Some acted soon after counselling, others waited up to seven years, and testing still cannot say who will develop cancer.
Disease
First West Nile Virus Case in Iowa Identified
Iowa has identified its first West Nile virus case of the season, and the mosquito-borne virus will threaten the state until the first frost. The CDC advises repellent from dawn to dusk and clearing standing water; once infected, patients have no specific treatment.
Alerts
Ground Beef Recall Comes on Heel s of FDA Legislation
A salmonella outbreak traced to Cargill unit Beef Packers hospitalized four people in Colorado and prompted a USDA recall of 826,000 pounds of ground beef, arriving just after the House passed a bill expanding FDA authority over food companies.
Drug
Should Your 3-Year-Old Be On Antidepressants?
Joan Luby's article on preschool depression reported no financial disclosure, though a 2006 journal article listed her industry support. The piece questions extending major depressive disorder diagnoses, and the drugs that follow, to three-year-olds.
Miscellaneous
The WHO plans to vaccinate more than half the World's population
A Global Research collection of reports on the 2009 H1N1 outbreak argues the pandemic misleads the public and that the epidemiological data was fabricated and manipulated. It quotes WHO vaccine production figures and pricing of just under $10 a dose for wealthier countries.
Drug
Swine flu vaccine on fast track and out by September
The WHO says fast-tracking the H1N1 vaccine will not compromise safety or quality controls, and expects supply by September after early yields ran a third to a half of normal. Officials point to 1957 and 1968, when vaccines arrived too late to blunt the worst phases.
Lifestyle
Television Viewing Directly Linked to Higher Blood Pressure in Children
Among 111 children aged 3 to 8 followed for four years, those watching 1.5 to 5.5 hours of television a day had higher systolic and diastolic pressure than those watching under 30 minutes. Other sedentary activities, such as reading or computer use, showed no such link.
Disease
STD Testing Offered DC High School Students
Washington DC high school students will be able to volunteer for STD testing, after officials found 13 percent of district teenagers tested positive last year, most often for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Students who choose testing attend a lecture on STDs.
Disease
Immigrating to the U.S. raises your cancer risk
Florida cancer data show Hispanics in the US run at least a 40 percent higher risk for most cancers than counterparts in their countries of origin. Mexicans had the lowest rates and Puerto Ricans the highest, and Cubans and Mexicans more than doubled their colorectal cancer risk.
Disease
Study: Vets Suffering from PTSD at Greater Heart Health Risk
A UCSF study of veterans who sought mental health care found those diagnosed with PTSD were roughly twice as likely to have high cholesterol and hypertension. The study did not examine why; Dr. Beth Cohen suggests depression may undercut motivation to exercise or eat well.
Government
FDA Requiring Black Box Warnings for Certain Arthritis Drugs
After reviewing 30 cases of children who developed cancer on TNF blockers, FDA is requiring black box warnings on Humira, Cimzia, Enbrel and Remicade and a 10-year Cimzia study. The Arthritis Foundation notes these patients already face higher cancer risk untreated.
Disease
Study Shows Link Between High Cholesterol and Dementia
A study in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders recruited people aged 40 to 45 and followed some of them four decades, finding a 66 percent higher Alzheimer's risk among those with cholesterol readings of 240 or higher. Whether statins change that remains unproven.
Disease
Swine flu has reached all continents, 168 countries, says WHO
WHO counted 1,154 H1N1 deaths, 1,008 of them in the Americas, among 162,380 reported cases. The agency cautioned the count understates the real total because countries no longer have to test and report individual cases.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Lemon Dijon Salmon
Whisk Dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and salt, spread it over four salmon fillets and bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, then finish with fresh dill. Four servings at 220 calories each. From AICR.
Disease
Lower cholesterol now -- avoid Alzheimer's later
A 40-year Kaiser Permanente study of 9,844 people found that cholesterol of 240 or higher at ages 40 to 45 was linked to a 66 percent higher risk of Alzheimer's, and borderline levels of 200 to 239 to a 52 percent higher risk of vascular dementia.
Disease
Scientists Discover Malaria Came From Chimps
Scientists reporting in PNAS believe malaria passed from chimpanzees to humans at least 10,000 years ago. The piece traces the parasite's discovery in 1880, the control effort that made the Panama Canal possible, and hopes that the chimp link may finally help a vaccine along.
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