A very large, 30-year study of just about everyone in Scandinavia shows no link between cellphone use and brain tumors, researchers reported on Thursday.

Citizen.org image

Even though mobile telephone use soared in the 1990s and afterward, brain tumors did not become any more common during this time, the researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Some activist groups and a few researchers have raised concerns about a link between cellphones and several kinds of cancer, including brain tumors, although years of research have failed to establish a connection.

“We did not detect any clear change in the long-term time trends in the incidence of brain tumors from 1998 to 2003 in any subgroup,” Isabelle Deltour of the Danish Cancer Society and colleagues wrote.

Deltour’s team analyzed annual incidence rates of two types of brain tumor — glioma and meningioma — among adults aged 20 to 79 from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden from 1974 to 2003. These countries all have good cancer registries that keep a tally of known cancer cases.

This represented virtually the entire adult population of 16 million people, they said.

Click here to read the rest of the article from FoxNews.com

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Technorati Tags: Cancer, Cellphones

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli scientists have discovered a way to create beating heart cells using human skin cells reprogrammed to become stem cells. The findings could lead to advances in disease research, and could in theory be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues.

Lior Gepstein IsrealNN.com photo

Published in the latest issue of Circulation, the findings by Professor Lior Gepstein of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could make it possible to clinically repair damaged human hearts.

Such an application is at least 10 to 20 years away, says Gepstein, but the process can already be utilized for in-depth study of genetic diseases and the development of personalized drugs for irregular heartbeats and other inherited disorders.

Transforming our cells through reprogramming

The team’s work is based on the research of Japanese scientists followed by other groups, who generated “induced pluripotent stem cells” (iPSCs) from adult mouse and human skin cells. The iPSCs can be turned into almost any type of body cell - something that experts previously thought possible only with embryonic stem cells - and could, in theory, be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues.

Taking a patient’s own cells and turning them into iPSCs for use in tissue repair and regeneration would also eliminate the risk of rejection by the body.

Gepstein and his team from Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Medical Center used reprogrammed iPSCs derived from healthy human subjects’ skin cells with the characteristics of pluripotent embryonic stem cells. They were then able to convert them into heart cells with all the necessary properties such as expression of heart-related genes, spontaneous electrical activity, mechanical contraction, and response to various hormones such as adrenaline.

According to Gepstein, the rejuvenation of human cells and their transformation into iPSCs can be accomplished with almost any human cell.

Making heart headlines

Nearly eight years ago, Gepstein and colleagues made headlines by creating beating cardiac tissue in the lab from human embryonic stem cells. In 2007, he teamed with the Technion’s Dr. Shulamit Levenberg to create tiny blood vessels within the tissue. This breakthrough could eventually make it possible to implant the tissue in a diseased human heart.

The findings could also someday lead to advances in research on diseases caused by single-gene mutations. The list of these diseases includes familial arrhythmogenic syndromes leading to irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac death, cardiomyopathies that weaken the heart muscle, and several neurodegenerative disorders.

Certain challenges exist, however. One hazard of using iPSCs as well as ordinary embryonic stem cells is the possibility that the cells will begin to divide wildly and turn cancerous. As a result, “it will be years before they are used clinically,” says Gepstein. While animal studies could eventually lead to clinical work, scientists would first have to learn how to make large amounts of the iPSC-derived heart cells, he concludes.

Technorati Tags: Heart Cells, Stem Cells

By Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.

Depression can zap your confidence.

Some days you may feel like you can’t even follow through with the smallest of tasks. Being grateful can do wonders for your mood.

This doesn’t have to be elaborate or detailed. I suggest that you write down three things each day that you’re thankful for. This can be three sentences or three words, the simpler the better. Keep paper or a journal by your bedside and jot in it daily. This can be at bedtime or in the morning, whichever works best for you.

What’s so nice about jotting down why you’re being grateful is that it doesn’t take a lot of effort and is very powerful. Looking back over what you’ve written can help you to evaluate and learn where you’ve been and who you have become. This is a simple, reasonable goal that you can accomplish. This will build up your sense of positive self worth. You can do it, and you deserve to invest in yourself.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Mayo Clinic article

Technorati Tags: Being Grateful, depression, Giving Thanks

By Nancy Klobassa, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.

I recently found out that someone from my past, whom I had lost contact with, died several years ago at age 51. This young man had a special place in my teenage heart and I’m grieving his death. I was also informed that he had developed type 1 diabetes, after my knowing him (it’s my understanding his death was unrelated to the diabetes).

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little more philosophical and I’ve been thinking about the ups and downs we all face in life. Just when we think everything is going well, we hit a speed bump, a roadblock or even our own demise. I think being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes would be a definite roadblock — or more likely make you feel like you got hit by a Mack truck.

How does one, day in and day out, cope and continue to cope with a chronic disease such as diabetes? Is there ever a halcyon time? “Halcyon” comes from a bird identified with the kingfisher, and in an ancient legend it nested at sea during winter solstice and just by its very presence calmed the waves during incubation. Does it seem that there periods when managing your diabetes is easier than usual, and other times it seems like no matter what you do the blood sugars are out of control?

I see in my practice some people who never find a halcyon period in coping with their diabetes. We all know that everyone has different coping skills, and I’ve seen individuals with diabetes who have great coping skills. To them, diabetes is little more than an inconvenience.

What are good coping skills and how do we develop them? Try these tips:

§ Avoid negative thinking — “It doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll get diabetes complications anyway (not true).”

§ Self talk — It’s OK to talk to yourself, you’ll feel better.

§ Play music — I play the drums and there are times they really vibrate.

§ Do something — Walk, dance, clean the house, wash the car.

§ Call someone — Friends are good.

§ Pray — Someone who always listens.

§ Ride it out — Experience the wave of emotion and let it go.

§ Take a bath and add candlelight

§ Help someone else — Take the focus off yourself (poor you).

§ Write a blog — This week it was a helpful coping skill.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/managing-diabetes/MY01060/rss=5

Technorati Tags: Diabetes

Technorati Tags: Stroke Detection

Technorati Tags: A1C, Diabetes

What is osteoporosis?

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality article.

Osteoporosis means that bones become less dense (or less solid). When bone density is low, bones become weak and easier to break. Bone density that is low enough for bones to break easily is called osteoporosis.

Who gets osteoporosis?

Half of all women 50 and older will have a broken bone from osteoporosis at some time during their life.

Osteoporosis is more likely for:

• Women after menopause, mostly because the body has less estrogen.
• Smaller and thinner women.
• White or Asian women.
• Women who have family members who had osteoporosis and broke a bone.
• Women who smoke tobacco or drink too much alcohol.
• Women who take certain medicines, like thyroid medicine or steroids.

Both men and women can have osteoporosis, but most of the research is about women.

What causes osteoporosis?

Bone is living tissue. Old and damaged bone is always being broken down and replaced with new bone. As you get older, your body loses minerals, like calcium. Calcium is needed to build new bone. If you have osteoporosis, it means your old bone is not being replaced fast enough by new bone.

Hormones in the body, like estrogen, help prevent bones from breaking down too fast. When you go through menopause, your body makes less estrogen. The loss of hormones is why women are more likely to have osteoporosis after menopause.

How do I know if I have osteoporosis?

To find out if you have osteoporosis, your doctor will do a bone density test. Often this is a special x-ray test called a DXA (dex-ah). It measures the thickness of your bones. It can tell if your bones are getting weak. It does not say for sure if your bones will break. Your doctor or nurse can tell you if your bone density is low enough to mean that you have osteoporosis.

Which bones can break?

Osteoporosis can cause any bone to break. The most likely bones to break are the spine, hip, or wrist. Bones can break from a fall or just a hard bump.

Spine
Cracks in the bones of the spine can cause these bones to crunch together (compression fracture). This can cause backaches and pain. In fact, loss of an inch or more of height may be the first sign of osteoporosis.

Hip
A broken hip almost always needs to be repaired with surgery. Recovery from the operation can take a long time. A broken hip can raise the risk of serious problems, even death.

Wrist
A broken wrist makes it hard to use the arm and hand. It can also require surgery.

Technorati Tags: Osteoporosis

Technorati Tags: H1N1, swine flu, Swine flu vaccination

By Simeon Bennett

(Bloomberg) — An experimental vaccine prevented HIV infections for the first time, a breakthrough that has eluded scientists for a quarter century.

A U.S.-funded study involving more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand found that a combination of ALVAC, made by Paris- based Sanofi-Aventis SA, and AIDSVAX, from VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, cut infections by 31.2 percent in the people who received it compared with those on a placebo, scientists said today in Bangkok. Neither vaccine had stopped the virus that causes AIDS when tested separately in previous studies.

The finding represents a revival in a campaign that appeared to stall just two years ago when use of Merck & Co.’s experimental Ad5 vaccine boosted some people’s chances of infection in a study. The latest result will transform future research, said Mitchell Warren, director of the New York-based AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition.

“Wow,” said Warren, who was not involved in the study, in a telephone interview today. “We are in a new place in the search for an AIDS vaccine. It’s safe to say that the scientific community is caught off-guard.”

The findings don’t mean the vaccine can be delivered worldwide, because of the complexity of the process and the fact that it’s based on old technology, Warren said. Instead they will serve to spur scientists to look for better combinations in more user-friendly regimens with higher success rates, he said.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

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Technorati Tags: AIDS Vaccine, HIV, HIV AIDS Vaccine

Food facilities now required to report potentially dangerous products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness – the Reportable Food Registry (RFR), where food industry officials must use to alert the FDA quickly, through an electronic portal when they find their products might sicken or kill people or animals. The requirement, a result of legislation, took effect with the launch of the portal.

Facilities that manufacture, process or hold food for consumption in the United States now must tell the FDA within 24 hours if they find a reasonable probability that an article of food will cause severe health problems or death to a person or an animal.

The reporting requirement applies to all foods and animal feed regulated by the FDA, except infant formula and dietary supplements, which are covered by other regulatory requirements. Some examples of reasons a food may be reportable include bacterial contamination, allergen mislabeling or elevated levels of certain chemical components.

The opening of the RFR electronic portal reflects a fundamental principle of the President’s Food Safety Working Group that “preventing harm to consumers is our first priority.”

“President Obama has pledged to strengthen food safety,” said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The opening of the Reportable Food Registry electronic portal represents a significant step toward that pledge.”

“By fostering real-time submission to the FDA of information on food safety hazards, the registry enhances FDA’s ability to act quickly to prevent foodborne illness,” said Michael R. Taylor, senior advisor to the commissioner. “Working with the food industry, we can swiftly remove contaminated products from commerce and keep them out of consumers’ hands.”

The requirements apply to any person who has to submit registration information to the FDA for a food facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for human or animal consumption in the United States. These people are termed responsible parties.

A responsible party:

1. Must investigate the cause of the adulteration if the adulteration of food may have originated with the responsible party
2. Must submit initial information; followed by supplemental reports
3. Must work with the FDA authorities to follow up as needed

A responsible party is not required to report if it found the problem before the food was shipped, and corrected the problem or destroyed the food.

The agency issued draft guidance on the RFR in June and sought comment. The FDA also held three public workshops across the country in which FDA representatives explained the RFR requirements and how the portal will work. A Federal Register notice was issued today announcing the opening of the RFR electronic portal and the availability of final guidance to assist the food industry in complying with the requirements of the RFR.

For more information:

The RFR Guidance
www.fda.gov/ReportableFoodRegistry

Technorati Tags: FDA, FDA Food Registry