Talk about going retro! A recent article in Access Hollywoodreveals that Demi Moore uses leeches to purify her blood. Apparently, while in Austria doing a cleanse, she had "highly trained" leeches applied to her bare skin in order to detoxify her blood. The actress waxes enthusiastic about the health benefits, as if bloodletting was the best thing to be revived from the past since Steve Martin practiced medicine as Theodoric Barber of York.
Labor can be damned inconvenient. It commences when it will -- and that can mean at some very inopportune times: when the doctor is out of town, for instance, or when the husband is away on a business trip or the Thanksgiving meal spread out on the table, or the mother-in-law too busy to lend a hand.
Back in 1990, fewer than 10 percent of pregnancies culminated with induced labor, but these days, up to 55 percent of all pregnant women in the US choose to have labor induced at some expedient, pre-scheduled time. While labor sometimes needs to be induced to ensure maternal or fetal safety -- such as when the fetus grows too large or when the mother has an acute illness -- at least half of all induced labors have nothing to do with medical necessity; they're simply the product of doctor/patient preference.
Until now, there's been lots of anecdotal evidence that men and women have distinctly different food preferences. You wouldn't expect salad for lunch at an Elks Club meeting, nor ham and fries at the Women's Club. Now, a new study of 14,000 Americans confirms that it's true -- men really do prefer meat, and women prefer veggies. According to the research, conducted by Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), veal, ham, and duck, and shellfish such as shrimp and oysters rank high on the list for men. Women, on the other hand, tend to opt for carrots, tomatoes, and fruits--especially strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and apples.
A new survey by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology reveals that childhood allergies are nothing to sneeze at. The survey, the largest of its kind to date, culls data from interviews with parents of 1000 children -- 500 with allergies and 500 without. The results confirm that pediatric allergies can significantly impair a child's daily functioning, academic achievement, and ability to sleep.
About three million people worldwide have pacemakers implanted, with about 600,000 more joining their ranks annually. In spite of the widespread use of these heart-regulating devices and their efficacy in reducing cardiac failure, they've been the subject of much disturbing news. We've witnessed a constant barrage of safety warnings and manufacturing glitches over the years, culminating in the 2005 recall of over 100,000 defibrillating pacemakers from one company alone, Guidant Corporation -- not to mention the frequent buzz about pacemakers being vulnerable to magnetic fields, scanning devices, and so on. But now there's a new twist on the pacemaker saga -- one that might make Agatha Christie want to start writing again.
The debate rages on among the presidential candidates as to whose health care plan is more practical and affordable – and, therefore, ultimately more universal. Meanwhile, Massachusetts already has a universal health care plan – and its costs keep going up. To control insurance expenditures that have been escalating since the universal coverage went into effect in the state, Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray has proposed cost-control measures such as having an annual public hearing with health care providers to examine what’s driving up costs; requiring all medical practices to put their records online to reduce error; and prohibiting drug companies from trying to win business by giving gifts to doctors.
Two reports examining the relationship between heart health and alcohol consumption came out this week, and the results couldn't be more different. One study says a drink a day keeps the cardiologist away, while the other warns against alcohol consumption lest you boost your blood pressure.
The first study followed 7500 people over a four-year period and found that those who drank in moderation -- a maximum of one drink a day for women and two drinks for men -- were 38 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who didn't drink at all. The results, published in the American Journal of Medicine, noted marked improvement in HDL cholesterol levels among the drinkers, as well as reduced incidence of heart attacks and other "cardiovascular events." Those who drank only wine fared even better than those who consumed other alcoholic beverages. Interestingly, in spite of the help to the heart afforded by alcohol, the study showed that drinking did not decrease the death rate, perhaps, the researchers suggested, because drinking has associated negative effects that counterbalance the positive.
It's no secret that the US medical profession tends to be hysterectomy happy. A recent article from CNN reveals that as many as one-third of all American women have a hysterectomy procedure before reaching age 60. That's more than double the rate in Norway and just shy of double the rate in England. In fact, the hysterectomy has become the second most common surgery for women in the US, after Cesarean section. And of those many millions of women who go through the operation, about two-thirds don't need to -- that's what the experts now say, in retrospect.
Children ages 1-11 who suffer from heartburn can now find relief in the medication Nexium. The FDA just approved the drug for short-term use in young children after extrapolating data from tests on adult patients, plus running pediatric safety and pharmacokinetic tests. According to an FDA press release, "In one study, 109 patients 1-11 in age, diagnosed with GERD, were treated with Nexium once-a-day for up to eight weeks to evaluate its safety and tolerability. Most of these patients demonstrated healing of their esophageal erosions after eight weeks of treatment."
Here's the latest chapter in the never-ending "you just can't win" story. Two new reports issued by the state of Maine and the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project indicate that those righteous, energy-efficient spiral light bulbs endorsed by green organizations can cause mercury poisoning. You have nothing to worry about while the bulbs burn, say the reports -- only if they break, when small amounts of mercury vapor can escape. The report warns that infants, pets, and pregnant women are at particular risk from exposure to the neurotoxin -- although even strapping adults might worry knowing that the researchers measured mercury levels 100 times in excess of federal guidelines for chronic exposure when they shattered 65 of the compact florescent lamps (CFLs). If the proportions hold true, that means that breaking even one bulb will expose you to more than six times the acceptable level.
