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Federal Panel for Cervical Cancer Screening
Oct 20th
Pharmaceutical Items
“Abnormal test results can lead to more frequent testing and invasive diagnostic procedures, such as colposcopy and cervical biopsy… Harms from these diagnostic procedures include vaginal bleeding, pain, infection, and failure to diagnose. There are a number of women who have never been screened, and that remains a challenge. We need to keep those women at the top of our priority list and brainstorm for interventions for better access,” said Wanda Nicholson, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and one of the task force leaders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical Centre.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent federal panel announced Tuesday that women ages 21 to 65, healthy, can receive a Pap smear every three years. Apparently, this federal panel, which is composed of experts in prevention and primary care, did not recommend the regular HPV screening for most women. They also added that too many Pap tests could cause more harm than good.
Radiation Prevents Recurrence of Breast Cancer
Oct 20th
Radiation and Breast Cancer
“It’s only been relatively recently realized that radiation has such a big effect on mortality. These data reinforce the fact that the recurrence rate is reduced for the whole of the first decade. That’s not been so clear. It’s not just for a year or the first few, but substantially reduced for a full decade,” said Sarah C. Darby, lead author of the research, Professor of Medical Statistics, University of Oxford.
Dr. Darby explained that his positive result was at first not accepted and recognized because the process takes five years before showing up. The research involves 10,801 women in Europe, United States, and Canada. All of them had cancers but relatively small enough to be treated with lumpectomy, which involves treatment without removing the entire breast.
The researchers found out that radiation reduced the risk of recurrence during the first 10 years after surgery to almost 20 percent, from the original 35 percent. Overall, they believed it could reduce the risk of death from this disease to 21percent to 25 percent in the first 15 years.
Colon Cancer Linked to Bacteria
Oct 19th
Colon Cancer Linked to Bacteria
“In general, some of the most common bacteria that live in the colon are harmless kinds like e coli and enterobacteria. But most colon cancer patients had Fusobacterium as the most prevalent type but only in areas where there were tumors,” said Aleksandar Kostic, author of the study, Harvard Medical School.
According to the study, a bacterium has been detected in colon tumours and there is possibility it could set colorectal cancer. Although, further study is necessary whether fusobacterium caused the colorectal cancer, it could play a vital role in finding out prognosis of colorectal cancers and considerations of their treatment.
However, Fuscobacterium is known as key player in illnesses characterized by inflammation, such as gum disease and appendicitis. In addition, Fuscobacterium has other particular qualities, it invades tissues and it is very sticky, that makes it a candidate to cling for longer period.
Social Networks Site Affecting Size of Certain Brain Regions
Oct 19th
Brain Region Changed by the Internet
“We have found some interesting brain regions that seem to link to the number of friends we have- both ‘real’ and ‘virtual’, The exciting question now is whether the Internet is changing our brains,” said Dr. Ryota Kanai, co-author of the study, University College London.
According to the research, the study have found that the number of ‘friends’ a persona has on any Social networking site is associated with the size of certain brain regions, increasing the possibility that using Internet and other social networks might change our brains.
One particular part of the brain affected is the amygdale, which is linked with memory and emotional reactions. Its link between the mass of grey matter in the amygdale and the size and the complexity of real world social networks, this grey matter is the tissue in the brain responsible for mental processing.
Male Breast Cancer: Rare But Aggressive
Oct 19th
Male Breast Cancer
“It’s not surprising that men with breast cancer present with later stages. That is just because the awareness of the fact that breast cancer can occur in men is not as acute. Men aren’t as likely to think of it, and health care providers aren’t as likely to think of men having breast cancer,” said Dr. Susan Dent, Author of the study, Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre in Canada.
According to the research, men are usually in their 60s or 70s when diagnosed with breast cancer, the data came from National Cancer Institute. By the time they were diagnosed, the diseases were more likely to have spread already in other parts of the body. Experts said men had a 72 percent chance of surviving breast cancer in the five years after a diagnosis, while 78 percent in women.
Dr. Dent also said, “Men who develop a breast lump delay seeing their doctor longer than a comparable woman would with similar symptoms. Male breast cancer is rare but men can develop the disease and should be aware that they should seek care if a breast lump develops.”
AAP Says No to Crib Bumper Pads
Oct 18th
SIDS Awareness
“Overall, we are making good progress in understanding SIDS and the importance of the infant’s environment in preventing suffocation deaths. However, we still see evidence of unsafe sleeping practices, and we hoped to address those in these new guidelines,” said Rachel Moon, MD, Guideline writing committee of the AAP.
According recent study, breast feeding and immunization protect babies from SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome but bumper pads don’t that is why the American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP come up with a new and updated guidelines that is created six years ago. AAP aim to provide safe sleeping environment for babies, this is to prevent the risk of all sleep-related deaths like suffocation.
The AAP Recommends:
- Room-sharing BUT NOT bed-sharing with an infant
- Avoid loose bedding
- Offer a pacifier at bedtime
- Always check the temperature in the room
- No use of home cardiorespiratory monitors
- Reach out more parents for national SIDS campaign
- Supervised awake “tummy time” for infants, so it won’t hinder development
Vitamin E and Prostate Cancer
Oct 17th
Vitamin E and Prostate Cancer
Dr. Klein of Cleveland Clinic began the research to find out if vitamin E and selenium could reduce the risk of prostate cancer by up to 25 percent. The research were participated by 35,000 men. The research project began in 2001 and it ended in 2008, apparently, the researcher saw no advantages from taking either supplement.
“We did notice however at the time the original study was closed that men who were taking vitamin E alone were trending toward having a higher risk of prostate cancer. There just doesn’t seem to be a reason to be taking vitamin E if your a man over 55 or 60,” said Dr. Eric Klein of Cleveland Clinic.
Vitamins: For Others, Adding Supplements May be Too Much
Oct 17th
Taking Too much vitamins can also be harmful
“For some people in the population, vitamins might really be a necessity. But for many others, they get what they need from their diet, and adding supplements maybe too much,” said David Schardt, a nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington.
According to statistics Americans spent $9.6 billion on vitamins last year, up from $7.2 billion in 2005 alone, the data came from the Nutrition Business Journal. Multivitamins topped the list, with $5 billion in sales. Summing up all the information, one-third of Americans take vitamins, and nearly half of people 50 and older take multivitamins.
Schardt also said, “Some people might benefit from supplements, such as older women needing extra calcium to prevent bone loss or people with intestinal disorders who might not absorb enough nutrients from their diets. This overall is an issue that we’re just learning about, and there’s still a lot of research to be done.
Fertility Switch Protein: Stop Pregnancy and Cause Miscarriage
Oct 17th
Protein Levels Can Affect Pregnancy
“Our experiments on mice suggest that a temporary loss of SGK1 during the fertile window is essential for pregnancy, but human tissue samples show that they remain high in some women who have trouble getting pregnant. I can envisage that in the future, we might treat the womb lining by flushing it with drugs that block SGK1 before women undergo IVF,” said Prof. Jan Brosens, lead author of the study at Imperial’s Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology.
According to the research, low levels of the enzyme may spoil the ability of cells in the deciduas to shield themselves against oxidative stress, a condition in which there is an excess of reactive chemicals inside cells.
Dr. Madhuri Salker, who is also part of the research also said: “In the future, we might take biopsies of the womb lining to identify abnormalities that might give them a higher risk of pregnancy complications, so that we can start treating them before they get pregnant. We found that low levels of SGK1 make the womb lining vulnerable to cellular stress, which might explain why low SGK1 was more common in women who have had recurrent miscarriage.”
Obesity May Have Great Impact on Teen Girls than Teen Boys
Oct 17th
Obesity in teen girls
“Here we have yet more evidence highlighting the danger that obesity poses to the health of our children. Based on this American study alone, it’s too early to say for sure whether girls are more at risk than boys, but we do know girls tend to be less active than boys which could play a part. What is certain is that obesity is clearly putting both boys’ and girls’ health at risk. This is a very real problem for lots of families – about a third of young people in England are now overweight or obese,” said Natasha Stewart, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Hearth Foundation.
The research were participated by 1,700 teenagers, their blood pressure, both diastolic and systolic and body mass index, were monitored on a regular basis. It turned out that teen girls were found to have three times the risk for high blood pressure as compared to teen boys.
Natasha Stewart also added, “Healthy eating and physical activity during childhood is vital to ensure growth, development, and a pattern of healthy habits which will carry through into adulthood.”