A cold builds over several days, from a scratchy throat to sneezing and coughing, while influenza follows a 3 to 4 day incubation and then floors patients with severe body aches, high fever, sore throat and cough. Researchers tie 1918's deaths to cytokine storms.
Rachel Howell Stockton
Obesity
Obesity Remains a "Heavy" Problem
The CDC's goal of cutting adult obesity to 15 percent by 2010 went unmet. Earl S. Ford's team examined 23,000 adults in NHANES and found obesity rose from 27 to 32 percent among men and from 33 to 35 percent among women between 1999-2000 and 2007-2008.
Heart & Blood
Flu Shot Decreases Risk of Diabetes, Stroke, Asthma
British researchers found influenza vaccination came with 19 percent fewer first heart attacks, with larger reductions when shots were given early in the fall; pneumococcal vaccine showed no such benefit. Deaths among people with diabetes rise 5 to 15 percent during flu epidemics.
Lifestyle
New Report Sheds Light on Cyberbullying
A Journal of Adolescent Health survey of 7,500 schoolchildren, led by Ronald Iannotti, found targets of cyber-bullying more likely to feel depressed, isolated and dehumanised. With traditional bullying both sides report depression; online, the victim carries it and the audience can be vast.
Other Diseases
DEA Providing Sites for Prescription Drug Disposal
The DEA set up 3,400 sites for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, saying most abused prescription drugs come from home medicine cabinets and that flushing or trashing them is unsafe. Treatment admissions for prescription drug abuse quadrupled from 1998 to 2008.
Other Diseases
Global Cost of Dementia Soars
Martin Prince and Anders Wimo estimate dementia will cost $604 billion worldwide in 2010 and $1.08 trillion a year by 2050. Rich nations hold 46% of cases but 89% of the cost. ADI chairman Daisy Acosta says governments are woefully unprepared.
Biotech
FDA to Review Safety of GE Salmon
The FDA will hold a hearing on genetically engineered Atlantic salmon given growth hormones so they grow twice as fast; approval would make them the first genetically engineered animal cleared for food. Critics warn of heavier antibiotic use, outdated regulation and pressure on wild salmon.
Avoiding Illness
Childhood Obesity Linked to Cold Virus
Of 124 children tested, 19 carried antibodies to the cold virus AD-36 and 15 of those were obese; antibody-positive children weighed 50 pounds more than negative ones. The researchers caution the link may not run that way — obese children could simply catch the virus more easily.
Miscellaneous
Acne Triggers Angst, Depression in Teens
Jon Anders Halvorsen's team surveyed 3,775 Norwegian teens aged 18 and 19 and found boys with severe acne three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts, and girls twice as likely, than peers with no acne.
Cancer
FDA Delays Decision on Breast Cancer Drug
Genentech says the FDA has pushed back by 90 days, to December 17, its decision on revoking Avastin's breast cancer approval. An advisory panel voted 12-1 in July to withdraw it after follow-up studies showed the drug delayed worsening by only one month rather than the five originally reported.
Healthcare
Number of Uninsured Americans Soars
The Census Bureau counted 50.7 million uninsured Americans, the most since record-keeping began in 1987 and nearly one in six people. Layoffs, shrinking employer contributions and a $14,000 yearly premium for a family of four are driving the rise.
Advisories
FDA Panel Rejects Diet Drug
An FDA advisory panel urged the agency to keep the weight-loss drug lorcaserin off the market, citing unanswered safety questions and trials that excluded patients with diabetes or heart disease. Those on the drug lost only 3 to 3.7 percent more body weight than those on placebo.
Lifestyle
Sex Ed: How Parents Can Fill in Gaps Therein
CDC figures for 2006-2008 show 97 percent of students had formal sex education by graduation, but only two thirds were taught about birth control. Interviewers surveyed 2,800 teenagers at home; 92 percent had learned about STDs. The piece argues parents should fill the remaining gaps.
Other Diseases
All Memory Loss Due to Brain Abnormalities
Over 16 years, Rush researchers tested 354 nuns, priests and brothers up to 14 times, then examined their brains after death. Those with mild to moderate memory loss had Lewy bodies, neurofibrillary tangles and evidence of stroke, suggesting decline is not simply aging.
Sci-Tech
Sweet News from Mars (Inc)
Mars released a preliminary genome sequence for the cacao tree with IBM, the USDA, Clemson and Indiana University. Researchers say it could cut breeding time from ten years to 36 months and help farmers spot disease-resistant trees, without genetic engineering.
Avoiding Illness
Pregnant Women Urged to Get Flu Shots
Medical groups are writing to clinicians urging them to encourage flu shots for pregnant women, who made up 1 percent of the population but 5 percent of swine flu deaths last year. This year's single vaccine covers swine flu and two other strains; pregnant women should avoid the live nasal spray.
Heart & Blood
Negativity Linked to Heart Ailments
Dutch researchers pooled 49 studies of 6,121 heart patients and found those with Type D personalities, marked by negative moods and emotional reticence, were three times as likely to have cardiovascular problems and three times as likely to suffer clinical depression or anxiety.
Avoiding Illness
Hand-Washing Becoming More Popular
Phone surveys and bathroom observation by two industry and science groups put hand-washing at its highest rate since 1996: 85 percent of those observed washed, 98 percent of women against 77 percent of men, while 96 percent told surveyors they always did.
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