Saturday, April 7, 2018

Michigan approves nation's first statewide ban on antidepressant tianeptine sodium ‪Michigan‬, ‪antidepressant‬, ‪Tianeptine‬, ‪Rick Snyder‬‬

Image result for Michigan approves nation's first statewide ban on antidepressant tianeptine sodium ‪Michigan‬, ‪antidepressant‬, ‪Tianeptine‬, ‪Rick Snyder‬‬

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan’s governor has signed what’s been described by state police as the nation’s first statewide ban on the antidepressant tianeptine sodium.
The office of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced Thursday that he signed the measure to classify the drug as a Schedule II controlled substance, placing it in the same highly restrictive category that cocaine, marijuana and opiates fall under.

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State police flagged the drug to a state lawmaker after a spate of gruesome overdoses in the Midland and Saginaw area in 2017.
Tianeptine sodium is an atypical antidepressant that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It is marketed as a supplement or research chemical through unregulated vendors but is often abused in high doses to simulate opioid-like highs.

$37 million awarded to N.J. couple in Johnson & Johnson baby powder cancer suit - Johnson & Johnson‬, ‪Baby powder‬, ‪talc‬, ‪New Jersey‬‬


It’s soft, powdery, sweet-smelling — and, says a New Jersey jury, deadly.
Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $37 million in the case of a man who said he got cancer from the company’s baby powder, which he believes contained talc laced with asbestos.
Banker Stephen Lanzo III was awarded $30 million in compensatory damages Thursday by a New Brunswick, N.J., jury. Lanzo’s wife, Kendra, got $7 million.
Lanzo, 46, said he used Johnson & Johnson talc-based powder products for more than 30 years.
He claimed that by inhaling dust from the products that contained cancer-causing asbestos, he contracted mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.
The jury found J&J responsible for 70% of the damages and a division of France-based talc supplier Imerys was responsible for 30%.
Lanzo’s case was the first to go to trial in New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson’s home state. The jury sat barely a mile from J&J headquarters.


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One of the company’s biggest shareholders is Woody Johnson, a pal of President Trump and the current U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson, who owns the New York Jets, is a great-grandson of J&J founder Robert Wood Johnson.

J&J is fighting thousands of lawsuits claiming its talc products also cause ovarian cancer.
Talc itself is not believed to be cancerous. It’s a mineral made up mainly of magnesium, silicon and oxygen.
But talc is often mined near asbestos, which is long proven to cause mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma is almost always fatal.
Johnson & Johnson and other companies say that since the 1970s, they’ve kept asbestos out of their baby powders and other talc products.
J&J denied the lawsuit’s charges and said its products — such as Johnson’s Baby Powder — don’t contain asbestos or cause cancer.
During the trial, J&J lawyers claimed Lanzo could have contracted mesothelioma from other sources, said media reports. It noted that the house in Montclair, N.J., where he grew up once had asbestos-wrapped pipes, and that the public schools attended were also treated for asbestos.
“While we are disappointed with this decision, the jury has further deliberations to conduct in this trial and we will reserve additional comment until the case is fully completed,” Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a statement.
The jury will begin a second phase of the trial to consider punitive damages on Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: Would you like to lose fat, tone up your arms, abs and get that good body again that turns heads?

J&J faces talc-related lawsuits by 6,610 plaintiffs around the country, Reuters reports.
The claims are largely based on allegations that the company failed to warn women about the risk of developing ovarian cancer by using its products for feminine hygiene.
A Los Angeles judge in October tossed a $417 million verdict for a woman who said she got ovarian cancer from J&J talc products.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com
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Simone’s daughter was born with “the worst disease you’ve never heard of”.

Epidermolysis Bullosa personal story

I was introduced to the world of EB in 2000 when my daughter Eliza was born with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB).
My husband and I started the journey of being first time parents in a state of sadness, desperation, frustration and a sense of being constantly overwhelmed.  In the years to come we welcomed our second child into the family, and along with the support of DEBRA Australia, family and friends, and support services we have lead a very fulfilling but restricted life which tragically came crashing down around us two weeks before Christmas last year, on December 12, 2017.
EB takes the utmost love, dedication and determination (and a sense of humour doesn’t go astray) just to name a few attributes to deal with new challenges that EB presents on a daily basis.
Everyone meets challenges in life – some things we have little or no control over – but it is how you deal with the challenges that counts.  When living with EB, it’s important to make each day count!
Imagine being given a gift… A gift of life, you are so excited to become a first time mother and all you can wish for is that your child arrives safely and as that time gets closer you can’t wait to hold them.
Who would have thought a mother’s touch would cause their baby pain? This was the reality I was hit with when our beautiful baby Eliza arrived on January 28, 2000. As soon as I held her in my arms it was very apparent that there was something wrong. She was born with large raw areas extending over her feet, right leg & knee, her hands and her mouth. She was born at a local private hospital and was immediately transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital and after a terrifying and long 2 weeks, she was diagnosed RDEB. I still remember the empty feeling that took over my whole body.
Eliza was going to be affected from a debilitating medical condition that became worse with life. It was one of the more severe types of EB and referred to as ‘the worst disease you’ve never heard of’.

Epidermolysis Bullosa personal story
Doctors advised Eliza would be in constant pain, she required morning & evening dressing changes including salt & bleach baths which took approximately three hours, three times a week. Her fingers and toes would web and form strictures, the skin in her throat would become so tight from scar tissue that she wouldn’t be able to eat normal food, or at desperate times even be able to swallow her own saliva. Eliza would suffer from corneal abrasions which means her eyes would be closed for 3-5 days at a time, in a darkened room due to a tear on her cornea. Her mobility would be affected, she would require bandages and dressings all over her body every day of her life and she wouldn’t be able to wear normal clothes or undergarments because even the seams on the inside of the clothes would blister her skin. It was going to change our lives forever and it did.
Eliza screamed for her first 6 months, she failed to thrive due to blisters in her mouth and throat, she required various medications, up to 24 each day, and she required help throughout the night. She totally turned our lives upside down.
Severe EB requires many hospitalisations for various related complications. Eliza had over 100 general anesthetics and day admissions, and 60 admissions requiring lengthy stays.
One of many reflections of living with severe EB was on Eliza’s 15th Birthday, when she woke with a corneal abrasion. She was crying in pain, eyes were swollen & tearing, she couldn’t open them.

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After she had some pain relief she settled down & sat in bed feeling her wrapped birthday presents, trying to guess what they were?
I watched & thought to myself how could life be so cruel? EB had taken away her independence, her mobility, she couldn’t eat or enjoy her birthday cake & if that’s wasn’t bad enough, it also took away the joy of opening her presents.
EB is ruthless, unforgiving, it has no boundaries and it’s sad to see how it robs individuals, especially children of a fair go in life.

Epidermolysis Bullosa personal story

It was times like this that we were so thankful for our family & friends but especially thankful for the support DEBRA Australia offered. To have the support of an organisation who are with you 100% of the way, and pick up the pieces for families who fall through the cracks of the health system is an enormous comfort in itself. DEBRA is a small community that connects you to likeminded families who are going through the same journey.
Eliza was not your average adolescent in more ways than one. She was truly in a league of her own. The depth of her pain and suffering was surpassed only by her polite and gentle charm, attention to data and detail, thorough knowledge of her own medical history, humility, a cheeky smile and sharp wit, and her sheer grit and determination in everything she set her mind to. Eliza didn't see her EB as a burden - it was part of her, but did not define her.
On 17th August 2017, Eliza became unwell and was admitted to the Royal Children’s hospital with what was first diagnosed as a chest infection. Soon after it became obvious that Eliza had kidney impairment and over the next four months she spent majority of her life in hospital for renal treatment which consisted of being hooked up for many infusions lasting up to 10 hours each day. Eliza continued to deteriorate and sadly passed away on 12thDecember 2017, just 6 weeks short of her 18th birthday. We lay with her as she took her final breath and wished she didn’t have to suffer from this hideous disease.
Source: https://www.mamamia.com.au
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Friday, April 6, 2018

Is cell-phone radiation actually good for you?


A study of cell-phone radiation on rats had the exact opposite results you'd expect.

The specifics of the cell phone radiation study

"The study found that a very small number of male rats exposed to radiation developed malignant gliomas, though oddly, there was no dose-response effect: rats exposed to low levels of radiation developed gliomas at the same rate as those exposed to high levels," Drum wrote. "In any case, the overall effect was not statistically significant. Female rats showed no ill effects at all. The same was true for schwannoma tumors (which are often benign): male rats showed a small increase while female rats didn’t."
The study said there was "some evidence" of cancer-causing activity based on those schwannomas, but it was low and confined to males.
Drum also pointed out this finding in the report: "In males, survival was greater in all exposed groups compared to sham controls, though it was statistically significant only in the 1.5 and 3 W/kg groups. Survival in the sham control group was 28% compared to 48%, 62%, and 48% in the 1.5, 3, and 6 W/kg groups, respectively."
In other words, the rats that weren't exposed to radiation lived less than half as long as rats exposed to the medium dose of radiation. And rats exposed to the most radiation still lived longer.
The authors said the control group largely died of kidney disease, which is common in the strain of rat used for such studies. But the groups exposed to radiation had less occurrence of the disease — and the higher the radiation dose, the less disease there was. The study's authors said the radiation may have reduced inflammation that tends to cause the illness.
The peer review of the study was held last week, Drum said. The review panels voted to accept the report's conclusions. But there was no discussion of the longevity findings. "I'm not sure what we should make of this," he wrote.
Like every other news event in 2018, in other words.
Source: https://www.metro.us

Measles case being investigated in Tulsa; health department alerts people to possible exposure sites

Image result for Measles case being investigated in Tulsa; health department alerts people to possible exposure sites
A sign warns of the dangers of measles in the reception area of an Arizona pediatrician's office in 2015. Measles was discovered recently in Tulsa County. Associated Press file

The Tulsa Health Department is investigating a case of measles in Tulsa County.
Measles, a highly contagious respiratory disease, was identified in a person who had returned to Oklahoma after international travel.
The disease spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It is possible to catch measles by being in a room where a person with measles has been, up to two hours after that person has left.
A person with measles is highly contagious for three to four days before the rash starts. Anyone under the age of 60 who has been exposed to the virus and has not had the MMR shot is at high risk for getting the measles.
Based on the information collected during the investigation, THD health officials want to alert anyone who visited the following locations during the specified times about potential exposure to the measles virus:
• Southern Hills Country Club, 2636 E. 61st St., on Friday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Church of Saint Mary, 1347 E. 49th Place, during the following dates and times: Friday, March 30 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Prairie Fire Pie, 1303 E. 15th St., on Friday, March 30 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Tulsa International Airport, 7777 E. Apache St., on Sunday, April 1 from 6 to  8:30 p.m. The specific areas include the United and American Airlines desks in the lower level ticketing area.
• Whole Foods Market, 1401 E. 41st St., on Sunday, April 1 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• William Medical Building, 6585 S. Yale Ave., on Monday, April 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Boston Deli Grill & Market, 6231 E. 61st St., on Monday, April 2 from noon to 2 p.m.
• Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S. Yale Ave., on Monday, April 2 from 3 to 7:30 p.m.
• Walgreens, 6040 S. Yale Ave., on Monday, April 2 from 5 to 8 p.m.
• Warren Clinic Tower, 6600 S. Yale Ave., on Tuesday, April 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
The specific areas include elevators, waiting room, X-ray and laboratory collection services.
Saint Francis Health System, which has under its umbrella the Warren Clinic and William Medical Building, said in a release that its "top priority is the health and safety of our patients, employees and visitors."
"We are working closely with the Tulsa Health Department regarding identifying patients who may have potentially been exposed to the measles," Lauren Landwerlin, executive director of corporate communications for the health system wrote in the release. "The vaccination status of employees who may have been directly exposed has already been verified and there is no suspected risk."
The Church of Saint Mary was holding its capacity-crowd Easter morning service at the time, meaning potentially as many as 800 parishioners could have been exposed to the affected individual, according to the church's business administrator Kathy Desruisseau. 
Mike Malcom, communication director for the church, said leadership has posted the news at the top of the church website and sent messages to families at the parish school. During the time of the affected individual's visits, however, the school was closed, he said. The person most likely was going to confession on Good Friday afternoon, Desruisseau said.
Malcom said the church will continue to update parishioners as the Tulsa Health Department provides updates on the case.
The health department is collaborating with officials of those organizations to identify those who may have visited the locations during the specified time periods to inform them of their exposure and provide recommendations.
Individuals are protected if they are immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine after their first birthday, or if they were born during or before 1957, or if they have previously had the measles. Anyone who is concerned about a possible exposure should contact the Tulsa Health Department’s measles information hotline at 918-595-4500.
THD is offering a measles immunization clinic to provide free MMR immunizations at the James O. Goodwin Health Center, 5051 S. 129th East Ave., Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Friday, April 6 from 8 to 5 p.m.
People who are susceptible to measles usually develop symptoms about 10 days after exposure with a range of 7-21 days. Symptoms of measles begin with a mild to moderate fever, runny nose, red eyes, and cough. A few days later, a rash appears starting on the face spreading to the rest of the body accompanied by a fever that can reach up to 105 degrees.
Symptoms can range from severe to milder, depending on the individual. Measles can lead to pneumonia and other complications, especially in young children and adults over 20. The disease can also cause serious problems in pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.
People with measles can spread the virus up to four days before the onset of the rash and until four days after the rash starts.
Measles can be prevented with the measles vaccine (usually given in combination with rubella and mumps, called MMR vaccine). The vaccine is recommended for all children at 12 to 15 months of age and again at four to six years of age. If a person has not received a second dose of the vaccine between four to six years of age, the booster dose may be given at any age thereafter. The measles vaccine is very effective. One dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus. Two doses are about 97 percent effective.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Science Finally Says That Eating Pasta Could Help You Lose Weight

spaghetti-does-pasta-make-you-gain-weight.jpg
The keto diet and other low-carb lifestyles may be all the rage, but a new research review serves as a reminder that cutting out carbs isn't a necessary evil in order to lose weight. The University of Toronto paper published in the British Medical Journallooked at how eating pasta as part of a low-GI diet (which focuses on eating foods that are low on the glycemic index, a measurement of how quickly a food's carbohydrates are broken down into sugars), can affect someone's weight and body measurements. Turns out, eating this way can actually help you lose weight. 
Since pasta and other carb-heavy foods are often branded as an enemy of the scale, researchers looked at whether eating pasta causes weight gain in the context of a low-GI diet, which is conventionally considered conducive to weight loss. They found that among the 32 trials in which participants ate low-GI diets that included pasta, not only did they avoid gaining weight, they often lost it—albeit an average of less than 2 pounds.
The team designed this data review to address the potential for carbs to harm weight-loss attempts, as there's a common concern about carbohydrates, in particular, pasta, says study co-author John Sievenpiper, M.D., Ph.D. "We didn't see evidence of harm or weight gain, but it's interesting that we did see some weight loss," says Dr. Sievenpiper. Even under conditions when the intention was to maintain weight, participants lost weight without trying, he also points out. 
But don't take this as scientific proof that you can eat a massive bowl of pasta for every meal and still lose weight. The researchers were able to quantify the amount of pasta that participants ate in roughly one-third of the studies they reviewed. Of that one-third, the median amount of pasta eaten was 3.3 servings (at 1/2 cup per serving) a week. 

Translation: A lot of these people were eating less pasta on a weekly basis than you might get in a single meal at a restaurant. "I wouldn't want someone to take away that pasta doesn't cause weight gain," under any circumstance, says Sievenpiper. "If you consume too much pasta, it will be like if you consume too much of anything." This is so much as to say that moderation still reigns supreme, and overeating pasta (or anything else) won't lead to weight loss.
Also worth noting, there's a chance that the weight loss resulted from the overall intake of low-GI foods, not necessarily as a direct result of eating pasta. The authors of the study concluded in their paper that more research is needed to assess whether the same weight-loss results would hold up if pasta were part of another healthy eating style such as a Mediterranean or vegetarian diet. 
The good news to take from all of this: These findings strongly suggest that losing weight and eating pasta aren't mutually exclusive. Music to our carb-loving ears. "I think people can lose weight on an 'all foods fit' type of diet," says Natalie Rizzo, M.S., R.D., owner of Nutrition à la Natalie. "As long as someone eats a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins, they can definitely lose weight." Rizzo suggests reaching for bean-based or whole-grain pastas, which offer extra fiber and protein over the traditional varieties. Try serving pasta primavera-style with lots of veggies or with marinara sauce rather than a cream-based sauce. It's also beneficial to make sure the pasta meal (or any meal for that matter) has a source of protein and healthy fats and portions are kept in check, she adds. So what's the bottom line on pasta and weight loss? If you're trying to drop a few pounds, no need to swear off noodles entirely. Just add some green stuff and maintain some portion control.  
Source: https://www.shape.com

Can Eating Pasta Really Help You Lose Weight ?



Pasta lovers had reason to celebrate yesterday, as headlines declared that the often-demonized carbohydrate could "help you lose weight." But is this mainstay of Italian cuisine really good for your waistline?
The headlines were referring to a new meta-analysis, published yesterday (April 3) in the journal BMJ Open, that found that eating pasta was not linked with weight gain when it was consumed as part of a "low-glycemic-index" diet. (Foods that have a low glycemic index release sugar slowly into the bloodstream. Pasta has a relatively low glycemic index compared with other refined grains, such as white bread.)
The researchers analyzed data from 29 studies with a total of nearly 2,500 people who either consumed pasta as part of a low-glycemic diet or ate other carbohydrates that had a higher glycemic index. After about 12 weeks, those in the pasta groups lost, on average, about half a kilogram, or 1.1 lbs., compared with the groups that ate the other carbohydrates.


Related: What Are the Biggest Reasons Diets Fail? 

What Are the Biggest Reasons Diets Fail? 


But the new findings are not an invitation to gorge on pasta. For one thing, the people in the pasta groups certainly weren't doing so. Instead, they had, on average, 3.3 servings of pasta each week — and one serving was equal to about one-half cup of cooked pasta.
In addition, the researchers stressed that the findings apply only to pasta eaten in the context of a low-glycemic-index diet. Whether the new findings "will hold in the context of other healthy dietary patterns, such as Mediterranean and vegetarian dietary patterns, is unclear," the researchers wrote in their paper. 
What's more, the researchers noted that the amount of weight loss seen in the study was small and that it's unclear if people would keep this weight off over the long term.
Heather Mangieri, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the study, said that the results did not surprise her. Although pasta and other carbohydrates have a "bad reputation," these foods can still have a place on your plate, she said.
"If your pasta is portioned properly and paired with a nutrient-rich vegetable and a lean protein, it can be a very healthy option," Mangieri told Live Science. (A proper portion of pasta is is about one-half cup to one cup, she added.)
But people need to be careful when they combine pasta with items like rich sauces, she said.


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"Think about it — how many people eat pasta alone?" Mangieri said. "The calorie count climbs quickly when your pasta is covered with creamy sauces and eaten with high-fat meatballs and garlic bread."
So, when people eat pasta, they should keep in mind the glycemic index and calorie count of the other foods they add to it, she said.
The findings highlight an important aspect of diet planning, which is that you don't necessarily need to cut out your favorite foods to maintain a healthy weight, Mangieri said. "Good things come when you learn how to eat your favorite foods in a way that helps you maintain a healthy weight, versus depriving [yourself] and feeling as if you're on a diet," she said.
The meta-analysis wasn't funded by the pasta industry; however, some of the authors previously received research grants, in-kind donations of pasta for studies and travel support from the pasta maker Barilla.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

What the Condom Challenge Can Do to Your Body

While the Internet is abuzz with people freaking out over the so-called condom snorting challenge, there are serious health concerns for anyone who dares to try the social media "competition" that involves putting a condom up a nostril and pulling it out the throat.

ABC News reported the condom challenge first appeared in 2007 when a video of someone snorting an unwrapped condom up their nostril and trying to pull it back out of their mouth appeared on YouTube. It became popular again in 2013 when a YouTube influencer posted a video of the "challenge," and has now resurfaced as more people try it out. The videos don't make the "challenge" seem particularly pleasant to experience, but doctors say it's actually downright dangerous.

Dr. Wendie Williams, an emergency physician at The Colony ER Hospital in Texas, said the condom challenge — or any instance where people inhale objects up their nose — can tear sensitive membranes that can become infected. The condom could also slip into someone’s esophagus in the middle of the challenge, causing a choking hazard.
“Choking is a very, very serious risk with inhaling anything other than air or nasal solutions used for medical purposes,” Williams tells Teen Vogue. “Stop and think about the risks. Ask yourself, is this worth seriously hurting myself or potentially dying over?”

The “natural route” for an object that is inhaled, like a condom, is to enter the lungs, says Dr. Darria Long Gillespie, an emergency department physician at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. If a condom goes toward someone’s lungs, it could seal over their airway and likely suffocate them.

“Any person who does this is playing with chance,” Gillespie tells Teen Vogue. “If just a piece of the condom breaks off, one could easily inhale it into their lungs — called aspirating — which could lead either to an infection like pneumonia or [a] severe inflammatory response.”

Related: What Are the Biggest Reasons Diets Fail?

  • In fact, that’s happened before. According to Forbes, there was a case in 2004 in which a woman accidentally swallowed a condom during oral sex. The condom reportedly made its way to her lungs and blocked one of her airways, resulting in pneumonia and, ultimately, causing the upper right lobe of her lung to collapse.
    • Gillespie says doctors in the emergency room regularly deal with supposedly “harmless pranks” turning extremely dangerous.

    “If you want YouTube fame, get it by doing something amazing, for which you’re uniquely talented,” Gillespie says. “Don’t try to get it by potentially harming yourself or threatening your life, putting all that talent to waste.”

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