Results of a study done by Barcellonian Dr. Pablo Alonso-Coello and another doctor on the effectiveness and the risks of taking bone-strengthening drugs for women with weakened bones but no osteoporosis, will be published on the January 19th issue of the BMJ.
According to the study, although bone-strengthening drugs (i.e. raloxifene, alendronate, risedronate), reduce the risk of fractures of women with osteoporosis, drug companies exaggerate their claims so that even women with only a low risk for osteoporosis are enticed to take them. The drug treatment becoming useless as it provides almost no benefit.
The study also focuses on the imminent harmful side effects of said drugs. One example is that there is no mention during a re-analysis of data that Raloxifene is found to increase risk of blood clots.
Source: HealthDay
Woah! Talk about the ultimate stalking.
George Clooney and some unnamed celebrities have had their medical records illegally tapped from the U.S. health care system by certain employees in the health care industry in Auckland, New Zealand. The breaches were reported to be detected when routine electronic audits were done.
I can�t actually blame the poor guys. I mean the information is already there, right? But yes, I am still condoning their act. I�m not a celebrity and I wouldn�t want anyone snooping for my health records.
But wait… George Clooney? Oooh�now I really am curious�
Source: Health Care IT News
I read this article in Forbes about how obesity has affected the United States economy due to immense medical costs. According to the article, about 9% of the national medical bill comes from obesity-related diseases. The article also listed other ways in which obese people affect the nation�s economy. It also reported that employers have started to pay employees to lose weight The facts may be true but the problem is a more complex one which involves a complete overhaul of a people�s psyche that has been manipulated through the years.
The National Health Service in the UK has released a report that highlights the state of health care in one of the Western world’s most developed countries. Statistical studies show that only 62% of all elderly Brits are receiving the care they need form the health care system, an alarmingly high rate. Which translates to 38% of people who need care without the proper care they need. The lacking care was noted for more dedicated care such as with long term care and diseases and the rendered group falls more into the general care for emergency and other immediate care needs. This highlights the need for reforms and funding for most developed countries who may have the best technological tools available, but as seen not many can afford or have access to such badly needed health care.
But now, the real work begins for the many lawmakers and their staff who are working together with the administration to put together a package that not only works but is easy on the budget. Budgetary concerns have been on the top of the list of many politicians across the senate and congress for as it is, the government and the respective states have no extra cash to fuel the proposed reforms. First promoted as a no compromise deal, it was quickly recognized that major compromise was needed for the said changes to the system to be attained. The reforms are beneficial to all, just that the recession has taken its toll on most Americans and their respective states, they may not be able to fund them.
Hygiene is still the best defense against viruses and experts are again raising the alarm for simple yet effective precautionary measures that minimizes the chances of infection, especially for us social creatures who enjoy company of others that can carry such nasty surprises. Hand washing especially in public places where physical contact is assured is indeed a good way to protect yourself. Face masks are effective only if they are worn at all times and if everybody uses them. In the home, proper sanitation of all surfaces that are touched frequently is also a key to preventing the disease form spreading. Once a proper vaccine has been developed, they will allow us to deal better with the disease to train our immune system with a weakened form of the virus that lets it know how to deal with it best and shrug it off as a known invader. Continue reading “Hygiene – Best Flu Defense”
The flu caught everybody by surprise and suddenly, rentals of outbreak movies are soaring and people are demanding governments develop vaccines for the new flu scourge that has in a matter of months circled the globe and continues to kill people. Viruses are the most feared health risks due to their ability to mutate and change from time to time. Flu is a common illness that everybody get sick of and is normally a seasonal disease that occurs during the entry of the cold months when our bodies are adjusting to colder weather as winter approaches. Just what is it about viruses that makes them so dangerous? They are simple and quite effective at their infectious abilities, being mere genetic material encapsulated within a protective jacket of protein, ready to wreak havoc on people who have no immunity to their genetic mutating abilities. Continue reading “SWINE FLU”
The rash of flu outbreaks that has been the topic of warnings by scientists ad other health workers for some time has become more of a truth with the developments that are now sweeping the world in terms of pandemic proportions. The scourge the bird-flu is exacting on the population of this earth continues to ravage people’s lives then in comes the new Swine flu epidemic that has seemingly met forecasts/predictions in the speed at which it started to spread all over the world in the span of a few months. It started with a boy who got sick from a small Mexican town, seemingly form a rare form of flu that was unknowingly obtained from pigs that in poor countries shared close proximity in terms of living spaces to their owners. He gets sick, taken to the local clinic and then infects everybody there spreading the disease to the capital of Mexico then to the whole world. Continue reading “The Common Flu – Not so Common at All!”
The ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can be very dangerous when a person is exposed to it for a very long time. Applying a sunscreen (sunblock or suntan lotion) will protect the skin by absorbing or reflecing the harmful UV radiation.
The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of a sunscreen is an important consideration in choosing which product to buy. A sunscreen lotion with a higher SPF has more protection against UV radiation (UV-B) which causes sunburn.
Apply sunscreen to the skin to ensure maximum protection from UV rays even if you are not going out. Other products beside sunscreen lotion contain SPF, like lipstick, foundation, powder, and concealer.
Prevention is better than cure, so they say, so minimize your chances of getting skin cancer by using products with sunscreen.
The onslaught of dengue fever has swept the world by surprise without much we can do in terms of protection and curing the disease. The virus used to be untreatable but a new vaccine from the University of Melbourne have come up with a new vaccine that may be the answer to the problem caused by dengue, two strains of which are deadly and have claimed many lives through the years. The new vaccine would address all four strains that is a welcome addition to our arsenal of anti-viral drugs that can help promote immunity from the disease.
Continue reading “Dengue Cure”
