HealthDay News) -- If you are diabetic, your doctor may prescribe an HbA1c test to measure your blood sugar control during the prior several months.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine says an abnormally high HbA1c result may signal that you're at greater risk of serious diabetes complications, including:
Eye problems.
Heart disease.
Kidney disease.
Nerve damage.
Stroke.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100410/hl_hsn/ifyourdoctorprescribesanhba1ctest;_ylt=AqcO1_VrPWmWFJ.z_4H8k5DVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTM3MXV2ZWpoBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDQxMC9pZnlvdXJkb2N0b3JwcmVzY3JpYmVzYW5oYmExY3Rlc3QEcG9zAzgEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNpZnlvdXJkb2N0b3I-
THURSDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Four anti-HIV drugs inhibit a retrovirus recently linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), say U.S. researchers.
If further investigation proves that the retrovirus xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) causes prostate cancer or CFS, these HIV drugs may be an effective treatment for the two conditions.
In this study, researchers from the University of Utah and Emory University/Veterans Affair Medical Center tested how effectively 45 compounds used to treat HIV and other viral infections worked against XMRV. Raltegravir was the most effective, and three other drugs -- L-00870812, zidovudine (ZDV or AZT), and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) -- also prevented XMRV replication.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100402/hl_hsn/hivdrugsmightcombattwootherdiseases;_ylt=AocIQDs6GiS0Uuh6rsl_mgTVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTM5aGxtcWE3BGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDQwMi9oaXZkcnVnc21pZ2h0Y29tYmF0dHdvb3RoZXJkaXNlYXNlcwRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2hpdmRydWdzbWlnaA--
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Scientists in China have demonstrated how arsenic -- a favorite murder weapon in the Middle Ages -- destroys deadly blood cancer by targeting and killing specific proteins that keep the cancer alive.
"Our study showed how arsenic directly targets these proteins and kills them," lead researcher Zhang Xiaowei at the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics in Shanghai, China, told Reuters.
"Unlike chemotherapy, the side effects of arsenic (in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia) are very low. There is no hair loss or suppression of bone marrow (function). We are interested in finding out how arsenic can be used in other cancers," Zhang said by telephone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100409/hl_nm/us_arsenic_blood;_ylt=AsdQtTQoNTayJymIiJ0_HRzVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJsMGNna2Q1BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA5L3VzX2Fyc2VuaWNfYmxvb2QEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNjaGluYXNjaWVudGk-
FRIDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Once-a-year screening for chlamydia isn't likely to protect women from developing pelvic inflammatory disease, researchers say.
A new study has found that most cases of pelvic inflammatory disease occur in women who didn't have chlamydia infection when they were screened, which suggests they may have become infected later.
Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection in Europe and the United States. An estimated 3 million new infections are diagnosed annually, and because there are often no symptoms, many cases remain undiagnosed, according to background information provided in a news release about the study. Undiagnosed chlamydia infection may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100410/hl_hsn/yearlychlamydiascreeningmaybeineffectiveforsome;_ylt=ApmUZ_hncch.KzDgwKcC4UnVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNtcG84N21wBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDQxMC95ZWFybHljaGxhbXlkaWFzY3JlZW5pbmdtYXliZWluZWZmZWN0aXZlZm9yc29tZQRwb3MDMTEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN5ZWFybHljaGxhbXk-
FRIDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Obese pregnant women are at increased risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect, a new study finds.
On average, obesity is associated with a 15 percent increased risk of having a baby with a heart defect. But the risk rises with the level of obesity. Compared to normal-weight women, the risk is 11 percent higher in moderately obese women and 33 percent higher in morbidly obese women.
In general, women who were overweight but not obese had no increased risk, said the researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the New York State Department of Health.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100410/hl_hsn/obesityinpregnancyupsriskofheartdefectinbaby;_ylt=AvypeH_XDnPtXiy7vYIxP5jVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNpNjdzNzhlBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDQxMC9vYmVzaXR5aW5wcmVnbmFuY3l1cHNyaXNrb2ZoZWFydGRlZmVjdGluYmFieQRwb3MDOQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA29iZXNpdHlpbnByZQ--
ATLANTA – Fourteen states, the nation's capital and the federal government hiked their cigarette taxes last year, but health officials worry that tobacco company discounts are keeping prices down.
State increases ranged from 10 cents per pack in North Carolina to $1 in Connecticut, Florida and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, manufacturers devote billions of dollars on marketing and on promotions to reduce cigarette prices.
"The industry is aggressively moving to undercut and blunt these taxes," said Terry Pechacek, associate director for science in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_he_me/us_med_taxing_tobacco;_ylt=AinA_oSp3DBNpocbI5Ju1mXVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJxcTcxbmNpBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX21lZF90YXhpbmdfdG9iYWNjbwRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2NkY2NpZ2FyZXR0ZQ--
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Pollen: It's on your car, in the air and especially in your sinuses.
From Florida to Texas to Colorado, 2010 is shaping up to be a monster of an allergy season. The words "pollen" and "allergy" are among the top 10 trending topics on Twitter in several U.S. cities. Everywhere, it seems, is covered in a fine yellow dust that irritates our lives. Experts say it's the worst they've seen in years in many areas.
"It's wicked bad this year," said Dr. Mona Mangat, an allergy specialist in St. Petersburg, Fla., who can't recall a worse year in the six she's worked there. "We're just overwhelmed with patients right now. We're double- and triple-booked with new patients, trying to work people in because we know how much people are suffering."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_on_re_us/us_plentiful_pollen;_ylt=AhSslMVhVZOh3Q0zhEql16fVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJvNzFramIxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA5L3VzX3BsZW50aWZ1bF9wb2xsZW4EcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhY2hvb3BvbGxlbmE-
LONDON – British doctors say they have used an inert gas to prevent brain injury in a baby boy who was born in critical condition.
The treatment with xenon gas is experimental and has not been used elsewhere, the doctors at St. Michael's Hospital in Bristol said Friday.
When Riley Joyce was born recently, he couldn't breathe or maintain a pulse, and showed signs of brain injury.
The doctors say they resuscitated him and used xenon gas to cool his brain to reduce the risk of permanent damage. Xenon is a rare, inert gas present in normal air.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_saved_baby;_ylt=AvkaeGWFfF4zu4tdtbw4SaXVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJxYXMzdGQ5BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA5L2V1X2JyaXRhaW5fc2F2ZWRfYmFieQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2JyaXRpc2hkb2N0bw--
SEATTLE – County health officials didn't close a Washington state day care for several days after children were hospitalized with a deadly strain of E. coli — because of concerns the infection would spread farther if parents took their children elsewhere.
A 4-year-old boy died after being infected at the Vancouver, Wash., center, and three other children were sickened.
The first case was reported March 19. But Clark County health officer Dr. Alan Melnick said he didn't shut down Fletch Family Daycare until April 2 out of concern that other parents who used the facility could take their children to different day cares and risk exposing others.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100410/ap_on_re_us/us_day_care_e_coli;_ylt=AoogTSx3PRzRLyLWaYx8KrDVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJqNW9xYTZzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDEwL3VzX2RheV9jYXJlX2VfY29saQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDd2FzaGRheWNhcmVz
Binge eating, a disorder characterized by the need to eat large amounts of food in one sitting, is dangerous to your waistline and a sign that your mental health is suffering. While binge eaters rarely overeat on a daily basis, it is the continued and persistent need and the inability to stop that are telltale signs that something is wrong.
Current treatment for binge eating, the most common of the eating disorders, includes cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy. Both treatments require specialized therapists that can be difficult to find and fairly costly should you find yourself among the uninsured. But there could be a cheaper and successful alternative.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/effective-help-for-binge-eaters-4170.html
For a few, keeping obesity at bay is a breeze, for some it takes a healthy diet and a bit of will power, and for others it may take diet, will power and exercise. For those who are predisposed, due to genetics, that last factor can be crucial, and make all the difference on the scale.
Genetics play a big role in much of our development, but social influences can mold us in ways that better our lives. While you may be born with a fat mass-and-obesity-associated gene (FTO), a new study shows that you can negate the effects as a teenager through an hour a day of exercise.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/teens-can-overcome-obesity-genetics-with-exercise-4174.html
Women who put on too much weight during pregnancy risk not only keeping that weight after birth, but also have higher rates of complications, such as developing high blood pressure and gestational diabetes or requiring a Cesarean section. Those starting out obese are also at an increased risk for pre-eclampsia and blood clots, not to mention complications from a C-section.
http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/pregnancy-childbirth/excess-weight-gain-during-pregnancy-unhealthy-for-mom-and-baby-4175.html
A diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t mean you have been sentenced to a life of bland, boring food. Instead, by making just a few simple changes you can improve your diet, overall health, and those ever-important blood glucose levels.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/5-tips-for-eating-healthy-with-diabetes-4178.html
Allergy season is upon us, and the 35+ million Americans suffering from seasonal allergies are in for a difficult time. Right now tree pollen is in full swing, sprinkling yellow dust on cars and in nasal cavities. The unfolding sunshine and warmer weather translates to outdoor activities and an increase in symptoms such as a runny nose, congestion, sneezing, itchy throat, and burning, watery eyes.
http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/allergy-season-in-full-swing-4179.html
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is again alerting healthcare professionals that the prescription weight-loss drug sibutramine, marketed in the U.S. as Meridia, is contraindicated in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, due to increase risk of heart attack and stroke.
Last January, at the behest of the FDA, Meridia’s manufacturer Abbott Laboratories agreed to add new contraindications on materials for the drug after reviewing additional data from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Morbidity/Mortality Outcomes in Overweight or Obese Subjects at Risk of a Cardiovascular Event (SCOUT) study.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/heart-patients-need-to-avoid-weight-loss-drug-meridia-4177.html
"Google is now taking into account how fast a page loads in calculating its PageRank. In their own words: '[W]e're including a new signal in our search ranking algorithms: site speed. Site speed reflects how quickly a website responds to web requests. ... our users place a lot of value in speed — that's why we've decided to take site speed into account in our search rankings. ... While site speed is a new signal, it doesn't carry as much weight as the relevance of a page. Currently, fewer than 1% of search queries are affected by the site speed signal in our implementation and the signal for site speed only applies for visitors searching in English on Google.com at this point.' Considering the increasing dilution of high-ranking results by endless series of plagiarizing 'blogs,' brainless forums, and outright scam sites, anything that further reduces the influence of the quality of the content is something I would rather not have. Not that Google asked me."
http://search.slashdot.org/story/10/04/11/1445236/Google-Incorporates-Site-Speed-Into-PageRank-Calculation
"The NY Times reports that federal regulators plan a pilot project to test 'high visibility' crackdown efforts to curb cellphone use by drivers in two cities, Hartford and Syracuse, spending $200,000 in each city, while each state would contribute $100,000 more. The Transportation Department says it wants to send the message: 'Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other,' and plans on ramping up enforcement on state bans of hands-free phones by motorists, advertising the campaigns and undertaking studies to see if the efforts curb behavior and attitudes. Safety advocates say that curbing the behavior requires enforcement and education, which they say has been clearly evident in past efforts with seat belts with the 'Click It or Ticket Program' (PDF) that helped increase seat belt use to 83% nationally. 'It's time for drivers to act responsibly, put their hands on the wheel and focus on the road,' says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who last year called distracted driving an 'epidemic.'"
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/04/11/1553228/Phone-In-One-Hand-Ticket-In-the-Other
"Neuros has a blog posting discussing how they created their latest 'thin' HTPC to be nearly silent. Instead of using a net-top architecture (Atom or the like) they used a full 2.7GHz CPU and put their effort into making that nearly silent. The article talks about their efforts on fan selection, placement, control and vibration dampening. This route was chosen to 'give more headroom' for CPU hungry apps (web and otherwise) including Adobe Flash. Their solution costs $279; is this an appropriate trade-off for a device powering your TV?"
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/11/2027214/How-Neuros-Built-Their-Nearly-Silent-HTPC
An anonymous reader writes "Comcast has quietly launched a new on-screen guide for its cable boxes. What they're not advertising is that they've removed the ability to schedule VCR-compatible channel flipping any time more than a few hours in advance for people who don't buy the $20/month DVR service. What this means is that VCR owners are now forced to pay for Comcast's $20/month DVR service or else start their recordings manually. For us techies there might be a way around this, but ordinary VCR enthusiasts and owners of other recorders are left in the dust. Anyone know a good antitrust lawyer?"
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/04/11/2256251/Comcast-Disables-VCR-Scheduling-In-New-Guide
"Hillicon Valley reports that Rep. Darrell Issa of the House Oversight Committee is pressing White House Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin to explain his relationship with Google, where McLaughlin was employed as Google's chief lobbyist. 'The American people have a right to expect that White House employees are working to advance the public interest and not the interests of the lobby shops who formerly employed them,' Issa noted in the letter. 'The use of a Gmail account to communicate with lobbyists and evade transparency laws is at odds with President Obama's promises to limit the influence of lobbyists.' Concerns emerged after screenshots of McLaughlin's Google Buzz account emerged showing that a number of the search giant's top employees subscribed to the deputy Web chief's updates."
http://politics.slashdot.org/story/10/04/11/2352245/Ex-Googler-Obama-Appointee-Gets-Buzzed
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
