Health News Network

Was Swine Flu Genetically Engineered?

2009-06-27T08:22:00.001-07:00

Here is a shocking report that claims that new strain of ‘Swine Flu’ threatening the world today was actually engineered by US and Canadian scientists to increase the sale of vaccines and to benefit economically from the resulting crisis. In this news report from a 24/7 English-language Russian news channel – RT, Wayne Madsen, a renowned investigative journalist based in Washington D.C, explains why he believes that the current global outbreak of swine flu was caused by a genetically engineered strain of the swine flu virus, which was programmed to resist the vaccines available in the market.

Wayne Madsen also explains the disastrous consequences the world may face, if this strain mutates in to a more virulent form (which in fact, might be happening right now according to this report by Reuters). With CDC reporting that nearly 1 million Americans could have contracted this virus (which according to CDC is still continuing its rapid spread), this virus could easily cause another pandemic in proportion to the ‘Spanish Flu’, especially if it had been doctored to resist vaccines.

Is swine flu mutating? – Yes, says Germany!

2009-06-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Reuters: Germany's federal agency for infectious diseases said on Tuesday there were signs the H1N1 swine flu virus had started to mutate and warned it could spread in the coming months in a more aggressive form.

Experts were concerned about how the flu was developing in Australia and South America, said Joerg Hacker, head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

"It's possible the virus has mutated. In autumn the mutated form could spread to the northern hemisphere and back to Germany," Hacker told a news conference in Berlin.

The World Health Organization raised swine flu to pandemic status earlier this month. According to its latest figures, more than 230 people have been killed by the flu worldwide from 52,000 confirmed cases, mostly in the United States and Mexico.

Swine Flu – Symptoms and Prevention

2009-04-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

With the recent swine flu outbreak in Mexico and in the United States making headlines around the world, it becomes imperative for every one of us to know more about this disease, which may eventually become a pandemic for many reasons, stated by the WHO. In this video from Today show, NBC, Dr. Holly Atkinson, a well-known media personality and the Chief Medical Director of Health Nation, explains about the symptoms and treatment of swine flu and how to prevent the spreading of this new virus.

What is Angina pectoris?

2007-10-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Millions of people around the world suffer from Angina pectoris, but only a few are aware of this condition and seek medical attention at the right time, before it worsens in to a severe heart attack. Angina pectoris or angina (a more commonly used term) is chest pain, which occurs when blood supply to the heart is restricted (because of conditions like arteriosclerosis), depriving it of oxygen and it is usually felt as a chest discomfort or heaviness / squeezing of chest.

Angina pectoris is a predecessor of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and should be treated immediately to reduce risks like heart attack or death.

In this video, Dr. Michael Farkouh, a professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, explains in detail about Angina pectoris, types and diagnosis of angina and the treatment options available to angina patients.

Smoking can affect your progeny too!

2007-06-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Nigerian Tribune: Smoking has serious effects on health as it is known to cause diseases like cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Festus Ojudun reports that children of smoking parents also stand the risk of developing these diseases.

It is no longer news that smoking affects human health, neither is it unknown that smokers stand the risk of cancer of the lungs and other diseases, but recent studies have established a connection between the smoking habits of parents and respiratory diseases in their children. One of such studies recently carried out by Dr. Bert Arets of the University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, has established a link between smoking habit in parents and respiratory diseases in their children.

The research entitled ‘Healthy Children with Smoking Parents, Are they Really Healthy?’ was presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference held on May 2. In this research, it was discovered that children of smokers who do not show any signs of respiratory problems may still be experiencing damaging changes in their airways that could lead to lung diseases later in life.

According to Dr. Arets, “everyone knows that children of smokers have more respiratory problems – more puffing, wheezing, and cases of pneumonia – but until now, we haven’t known if lung function is impaired in children of smokers who do not have any respiratory complaints or diagnosed lung problems.”

Extensively-drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR–TB) – A new threat to humanity!

2007-06-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

Extensively -drug resistant tuberculosis or XDR-TB is a type of tuberculosis that is resistant to first line anti-TB drugs and also to at least one of the second line treatment. XDR-TB cases in South Africa have already resulted in hundreds of deaths, this year and it spreads much faster than the normal tuberculosis and the multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

This report throws light on this relatively unknown type of tuberculosis and the danger it poses to the mankind.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

2007-05-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

Human Papillomavirus, more commonly known as HPV, is a viral infection spread through skin to skin sexual contact. HPV is a group of over 100 different viruses, with at least 30 strains known to cause different types of cancer. There is currently no cure for HPV.

How Can You Get HPV

HPV is transmitted by skin to skin contact through vaginal, anal and oral sex with a partner who already has HPV. If infected, signs and symptoms may take weeks, months and even years to appear. Symptoms may never appear.

Symptoms of HPV

They can be found on the inside and the outside of the vagina. These growths may take weeks or even years to show after having sex with an infected partner. Again, they may appear show at all.

To know more about this virus, visit the link below,

Human Papillomavirus

Source- About.com: Cancer

Osteopenia and Osteoporosis

2007-05-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which the bone mineral density (BMD) decreases, bone micro-architecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. Osteoporotic bones are more at risk of fracture. Osteopenia is precursor condition to osteoporosis marked by a reduction in the bone mineral density and just like osteoporosis this condition is common in post-menopausal women, as a result of the loss of estrogen.

In this news clip from ‘KHON2 News’, Dr. Warren P. Levy of Unigene Laboratories explains about osteoporosis and osteopenia and the risk factors associated with the disease.

Why men are more likely to develop skin cancer?

2007-04-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Science Daily: Inherent gender differences -- instead of more sun exposure -- may be one reason why men are three times more likely than women to develop certain kinds of skin cancer, say researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer, accounting for nearly 200,000 new cases in the United States each year. While occurring more often than melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma is not nearly as worrisome. Still, it can be lethal in some patients, especially those with suppressed immune systems, including transplant recipients or people who are HIV-positive.

Many studies have shown that the risk of squamous cell carcinoma increases with greater exposure to the sun. For years, investigators assumed that lifestyle had a lot to do with the disparity in the incidence of SCC -- believing that men spend more time outside and are less likely to use sun protection than women.

While that may be true, scientists at Ohio State have shown that there may be another, even more critical factor involved -- gender-linked differences in the amount of naturally occurring antioxidants in the skin.

Dr. Tatiana Oberyszyn, an assistant professor of pathology and of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at Ohio State University Medical Center, has been studying non-melanoma skin cancers for years. She had a hunch there might be gender-related variables that accounted for the difference between male and female rates of developing these malignancies, and designed an experiment to find out what they might be.

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Women & Heart Disease

2007-03-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women and yet many women do not believe that a heart attack can happen to them. It is essential for every woman to know more about heart diseases and the ways to prevent it.

This short clip talks about the signs of a heart attack in women and what women should do if they have symptoms of a heart disease.

Circumcision may not help in preventing transmission of HIV!

2007-03-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Baltimoresun.com: Circumcising HIV-infected men to prevent them from spreading the virus to their female partners might have the opposite effect, according to preliminary results of a study in Uganda by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Scientists found that infected men who resumed sexual activity before their circumcision wounds healed were more likely to spread the virus than infected men who didn't have the surgery.

"This is a complicated situation ... but it seems that HIV-positive men initiating sex before wound healing is potentially dangerous for transmitting HIV," said Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, head of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department.

The results of the research so far are not statistically significant, scientists noted. Also, they said the findings do nothing to discredit an earlier study that showed circumcising uninfected men reduced their chances of becoming infected by 50 percent to 60 percent.

Yet researchers said they must approach with caution the idea that circumcision could make sex between an infected man and his partner less risky. They spoke this week at a teleconference during an international meeting in Montreux, Switzerland.

Public health leaders from around the world are gathering there to consider the role that adult circumcision might play in the battle against AIDS, particularly in hard-hit southern Africa. The meeting is sponsored by the WHO and UNAIDS, a program of the United Nations.

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Men too want good looks!

2007-03-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

Cosmetic surgery is usually associated with women, but off late more and more men are opting for it, in their quest to appear good. Intense competition for corporate jobs (where looks matter), quicker, cheaper and non-invasive cosmetic procedures are driving many men to anti-aging clinics.

This news clip from ‘abc13 Health Check’ talks about non-invasive cosmetic procedures, like ‘Botox Cosmetic Treatment’ that are becoming increasingly popular for a good reason.

New technology for monitoring AIDS patients in sub-Saharan Africa

2007-02-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

AIDS has claimed nearly 3 million lives in 2006 and a third of these deaths occurred in the sub-Saharan Africa, where this disease has decimated the livelihood of millions of people. More than 24 million people – nearly 60% of all people with HIV/ AIDS – in this region are believed to be suffering from this disease, which can be controlled by using antiretroviral treatments that reduces mortality and morbidity of the infection.

Under such circumstances, it is essential for healthcare professionals to monitor and manage HIV infections in this region, in order to control the havoc caused by the AIDS epidemic. Today, new technologies are available to healthcare professionals to better monitor and manage HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa and this video talk about one such technology, which uses a unique blood collection tube for preserving blood samples for longer periods of time and in extreme heat conditions (which is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa). This technology helps physicians in better diagnosing HIV and for determining a course of treatment for the disease.

New Technology Now Available To Monitor AIDS Patients In Africa - Funny home videos are a click away

Arthritis patients benefit from regular exercise

2007-02-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people over the age of 65 and all most all arthritis patients suffer from excessive pain in joints and muscles. Regular exercise and activity is important for arthritis patients to reduce the severity of their disease and this video explains why arthritis patients should exercise regularly and how it helps them to cope with their disease.

A simple blood test would replace invasive pre-natal testing in future

2007-02-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

A new technology that is currently under development at Sequenom, Inc. is expected to replace invasive pre-natal genetic screening procedures like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, in future. This new non-invasive screening technique would be crucial to women with high-risk pregnancies, as it will have significant benefit to all expectant mothers, especially on the heels of new guidelines endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) that call for risk assessment of all pregnancies for fetal chromosomal abnormalities.

Watch this video to know more about this new development.

The trigger for Anorexia Nervosa may lie in our genes!

2007-02-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

ABC News: A researcher at a Tulsa clinic says a decade-long study into anorexia nervosa is beginning to reveal that those who suffer from the disease might have a genetic predisposition toward it.

The study, known as the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa collaboration, is being done in eight cities in North America, including Tulsa, and two European cities. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Researcher Craig Johnson said that if a person has a family member who has had anorexia nervosa, she or he is 12 times more at risk of developing the illness.

"Genetics loads the gun. Environment pulls the trigger," said Johnson, the director of the eating disorders unit at Laureate Psychiatric Hospital in Tulsa and one of the study's principal researchers.

Tulsa, other North American cities involved in the study are Pittsburgh, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Toronto and Fargo, N.D. In Europe, London and Munich, Germany, are a part of the study.

Johnson said researchers have devoted much attention during the past 40 years into looking into how a culture that promotes dieting provokes eating disorders.

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New pill helps obese people to shed weight rapidly

2007-02-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Daily Mail: A new pill for obesity helps overweight people shed more than 4lb a week. The drug, Betahistine, is currently used to treat the dizziness disorder vertigo. But an obesity expert in Israel stumbled on the alternative use while looking for a new treatment for his overweight patients.

Now drug company Eli Lilly has become involved and is backing trials being carried out in Canada and America. In the first human trial in Tel Aviv, volunteers shed excess weight at a rate of almost 4lb a week for three months.

Because Betahistine is an existing drug, it is expected to be fast-tracked by British and American drug safety regulators and should become available worldwide for treating obesity in 2009.

About 40 per cent of adults in the UK are overweight, and 20 per cent are obese. This figure is rising, particularly among young adults.

"This drug is significantly more effective at helping people to lose weight then anything else on the market at present," says Dr Ami Eyal, medical director of Obecure, the company developing the pill.

"The great thing is that this drug has been around since the Sixties and there are no significant side-effects from taking it. It has already been used by 130 million people for vertigo - it is licensed in the UK for this - so we know it is safe.

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Eating fatty fish reduces kidney cancer risk

2007-02-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

A study, which spanned for 15 years and covered more than 61,000 women in Sweden, has shown that women, who eat a lot of fatty fish, are 70% less likely to develop kidney cancer in their life time. The study headed by Dr. Alicja Wolk, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, concluded that eating fatty fish reduces the occurrence of kidney cancer in women to a large extent.

This video throws more light on this study.

Autism is more common now in the United States than ever before!

2007-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

HealthDay News: The release last week of statistics on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in American children -- one case in every 150 8-year-olds -- confirmed that the condition is more common now than it was just a decade ago, when estimates ranged anywhere from one in 500 youngsters to one in 166.

But the new statistics -- from a 14-state survey conducted by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention -- failed to clear up the mystery of why autism might be striking more and more children with each passing year.

Alison Singer, senior vice president of the nation's leading autism advocacy group, Autism Speaks, said she didn't need the CDC statistics to know that more families are now struggling with the behavioral disorder.

A decade ago, "we didn't have more than year-long waiting lists for places within schools for children with autism," said Singer, whose 9-year-old daughter is autistic. "In fact, we had far fewer schools then for children with autism, because we had far less need. And if you go into any elementary school in the country, you'll see more children with special needs and with autism than you did when I was in elementary school."

Autism spectrum disorders include autism as well as less disabling conditions such as Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). All of these conditions involve some level of difficulty in communication and socialization, according to the CDC. Some children may also engage in repetitive behaviors, have trouble dealing with changes in routine, and be prone to emotional outbursts. As many as four in 10 children with autism may not speak at all, the CDC says.

Active commuting protects the younger generation from obesity

2007-02-16T06:25:00.000-08:00

Earlier studies have shown that integrating moderate cardiovascular exercises into daily routines is largely beneficial to health and it offers protection against coronary heart diseases, some forms of cancer and reduces the incidence of overweight and obesity. A new study carried out by the American College of Sports Medicine has found that walking, cycling or skating to school has a significant impact on a kid’s physical activity level, which in turn reduces the incidence of obesity among children.

Watch this video, which throws more light on this subject,

Active Commuting - video powered by Metacafe

Humans are naturally immune to bird flu!

2007-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

Inthenews.co.uk: Many people may be naturally immune to the effects of avian influenza, a new US study has concluded. Research on mice and humans found natural resistance to flu strains that people are typically exposed to could be translated into immunity against bird flu itself.

Ever since an outbreak of bird flu in south-east Asia spread to neighboring regions in 2004, scientists have been concerned that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza could signal a new pandemic among humans.
But researchers from the St Jude's Children's Research Hospital say that due to the fact seasonal human flu (H1N1) and bird flu contain a closely related neuraminidase (N1) – a disease spreading agent – many people immune to the former could have a similar resistance to the latter.
In laboratory tests mice were immunised with DNA that caused their cells to make neuraminidase from the H1N1 virus.
Scientists then examined the mice's immune response to the human N1 and avian N1 isolated from a patient in south-east Asia. All the mice survived infection from a manmade flu virus containing human N1, while half died after being infected with avian N1.
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‘Destroyer of sin’ is a breeding ground for diseases!

2007-02-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Lexington Herald- Leader: Among believers, the river has many names: The Pure. Destroyer of Sin. Light Amid the Darkness of Ignorance. But mostly they call it "Ganga Ma" -- Mother Ganges -- and they worship it with a blinding intensity.

They worship it despite the islands of garbage that float down its path, and the tons of chemicals dumped in it. They worship it despite the quarter billion gallons of sewage poured into it every day, spreading illness among the 350 million people -- some one-twentieth of the world's population -- who live in its watershed.

For Hindus, the Ganges is a living goddess, capable of washing away sin. But its troubles are as epic as the river itself. And as millions of people filled a vast tent city on the floodplains outside this north Indian city, gathering for a Hindu festival that pays homage to the river, it was the goddess's troubles that grabbed attention.

"She is my mother," said Chandra Madash, a holy man squatting by a fire on a cold night. His beard was long and dirty, his clothing frayed, his voice gravelly. He has spent nearly his entire life in a remote Hindu monastery. "Even if she is dirty I love my mother."

Then he asked: "How can people do this to her?" Perhaps predictably, in a country that straddles the ancient and the modern, it was a group of Hindu holy men in the middle of the battle. They filed lawsuits, called news conferences and organized protests. A handful threatened suicide.

"The government has promised us they would stop dirty water from flowing into Mother Ganges but it's still being done," Narendranand Saraswati, a monastery leader, told thousands of cheering followers gathered by the Ganges.

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Stem cell research can reverse Alzheimer’s

2007-02-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major public health concern in the developed world. More and more people are succumbing to AD every year and it is estimated that AD was the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2004. This video explains how stem cell research could transform the lives of people living with Alzheimer’s and the need for supporting this most promising form of research.

Fruits and vegetable grown in adverse conditions are good for health

2007-02-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Zee News: Believe it or not but fruits and vegetables grown in adverse weather conditions or insect attacks may have be healthier for you, as these plants release more flavonoid antioxidants.

The amount of flavonoids - antioxidants found in fruits, nuts and vegetables linked to disease prevention - depends on how much stress the plant has endured, says a US government report.
In its most comprehensive study yet on the healthy compounds, the US Department of Agriculture suggests that certain varieties of fruits, nuts and veggies contain more antioxidants than others.
And flavonoid content varies widely between individual samples. For example, a market may display a tub full of red delicious apples, but flavonoid levels in each individual apple may vary, reports ABC online.

The research shows that the difference may be due to stress, which appears to increase the healthful properties of produce. Nutritionist David Haytowitz, one of the study`s authors, says that taxing conditions, such as those created by more natural farming methods, appear to force plants to release greater amounts of flavonoids and other beneficial compounds.
"Insect attacks and weather conditions can be stressful to plants," he says. "Even harvest times are important, as early morning harvests are less stressful than those conducted around noon, since the midday sun adds to a plant`s stress."
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Drug used in heart surgery may increase the risk of death

2007-02-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

HealthDay News: Patients given aprotinin, a drug used to limit blood loss in heart bypass surgery, are at greater risk of dying over the next five years than those given two other medications, a new study finds.

The report, published in the Feb. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, comes from the same group that last year linked aprotinin to an increased risk of kidney failure, heart failure and stroke.

"Our present findings deal with death," said study author Dr. Dennis T. Mangano, director of the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation, a California-based nonprofit group. "The death rate for aprotinin patients far outstrips that for the other two drugs."

The study tracked the long-term survival of nearly 3,900 heart patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery at 62 medical centers worldwide. The researchers tabulated survival at six weeks, six months, and then annually for five years.
The five-year death rate for patients given aprotinin was 20.8 percent, compared to 15.8 percent for those given another drug, aminocaproic acid, and 14.7 percent for those given tranexamic acid. Both alternative drugs are available in generic versions.

Aprotinin was approved for use in high-risk cardiac surgery patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1993. After last year's report from Mangano's group, the FDA advised doctors to carefully monitor aprotinin patients for kidney, heart and brain damage -- an action taken after Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which markets the drug as Trasylol, disclosed study data showing that it increased the risk of death, kidney damage, congestive heart failure and stroke.
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