Health Archives

Consumer group criticizes nyc menu labeling bill

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) criticized the New York City Board of Health for mandating that chain restaurants incorporate nutrition labels on their menus. – The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) criticized the New York City Board of Health for mandating that chain restaurants incorporate nutrition labels on their menus. This morning the Board unanimously supported the proposal, even though similar legislation had been previously struck down in court.

Toronto Public Health investigating rabies exposures

Toronto Public Health officials issued a health alert Wednesday night after hundreds of flea market shoppers may have been exposed to three rabid puppies for sale. – Toronto Public Health is investigating human exposure to rabies from dogs purchased at a Toronto flea market. One puppy purchased at booth #1513 at Dr. Flea’s Hwy 27 and Albion Rd. Flea Market on Sunday, January_13 tested positive for rabies after being brought to the Toronto Humane Society.

Genes linked with lupus giving hope for new treatments

Researchers have made a number of important new discoveries into the mysterious autoimmune disease lupus. A consortium of international researchers has located new regions of the human genome associated with an increased risk for the disease. – Scientists have identified a number of genes involved in Lupus, a devastating autoimmune disease, in new research published today in the journal Nature Genetics. In an international genetic study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found evidence of an association between Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE) and mutations in several different genes.

New research into scar-free faster healing

British scientists have claimed to develop a gel that may heal a wound faster and reduce scarring. – New research from the University of Bristol shows that by suppressing one of the genes that normally switches on in wound cells, wounds can heal faster and reduce scarring. This has major implications not just for wound victims but also for people who suffer organ tissue damage through illness or abdominal surgery.

1000 Genomes Project to support disease studies

One thousand people are to have their genomes mapped in a major effort to understand how genes influence disease. – An international research consortium announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least a thousand people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.

Burgers, fries, diet soda lead to metabolic syndrome

A Western diet heavy in meat, fried foods, burgers, fries, diet soda and refined grains puts people at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome with risk for heart problems, stroke and type 2 diabetes, a new study found. – Otherwise-healthy adults who eat two or more servings of meat a day – the equivalent of two burger patties – increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 25 percent compared with those who eat meat twice a week, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

New York chain restaurants to display calorie information

New York City health officials are reviving a plan that would force restaurant chains to post calorie counts for their foods, right on the menu. – The Board of Health of New York City voted to require restaurant chains operating in New York City to prominently display calorie information on their menus and menu boards. The new regulation, which takes effect on March_31, 2008, applies to any New York City chain restaurant that has 15 or more outlets nationwide ? about 10% of all New York City restaurants.

Stress at work is linked to heart disease

A stressful job has a direct biological impact on the body, raising the risk of heart disease, research has indicated. – New research has produced strong evidence of how work stress is linked to the biological mechanisms involved in the onset of heart disease. The research published in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

Vytorin does not appear to be unsafe – American Heart Association

Schering-Plough Corp and Merck & Co are defending their shared cholesterol treatments, Vytorin and Zetia, in advertisements in The New York Times after a failed study generated negative publicity. – Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals released results from the ENHANCE trial, which found that the ezetimibe/simvastatin (Zetia/Zocor) combination drug known as Vytorin was no more effective in reducing artery plaque build-up than simvastatin (Zocor) alone. There were no statistically significant differences in the safety of the drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol.

Integrated health strategies can save children’s lives, says UNICEF

The State of the World?s Children 2008: Child Survival – The report provides information on a strategic framework developed by UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank ? at the invitation of the African Union ? to help African countries and others reduce the toll of maternal and child deaths.
– Strategies that can help reduce the number of children who die before their fifth birthday were highlighted today, at the launch of UNICEF’s flagship report – The State of the World’s Children 2008: Child Survival ? in Geneva.

Studies highlight MRSA evolution and resilience

A single strain of an evolving bacterium has been responsible for most of the community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections. – Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are caused primarily by a single strain-USA300-of an evolving bacterium that has spread with “extraordinary transmissibility” throughout the United States during the past five years, according to a new study led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists. CA-MRSA, an emerging public health concern, typically causes readily treatable soft-tissue infections such as boils, but also can lead to life-threatening conditions that are difficult to treat.

Gene therapy promising for chronic pain relief

Researchers in the Department of Medicine and Department of Neurosciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that chronic pain can be successfully treated with novel targeted gene therapy. – Now, chronic pain can be successfully treated with novel targeted gene therapy. In an effort to find a more effective treatment for chronic pain, researchers at Mount Sinai developed a gene therapy technique that simulates the pain-killing effect of opiate drugs.