Woohoo! Get ready now for the controversy that’s sure to erupt over a movie scheduled for release in the fall, a biographical film about sexual behavior researcher Alfred Kinsey. Liam Neeson will portray Kinsey.
Watch the trailer. Read about controversies surrounding Kinsey’s work.
A new federal law forces eye doctors to give patients their contact lens prescriptions, allowing patients to shop around for the best deals on contact lenses.
The law was enacted Dec. 6, but the Federal Trade Commission just this week issued its final rule on how the law will be implemented.
If "Driving While Hungover" ever becomes illegal, you can thank the public relations folks at Spirit Sciences USA. The Los Angeles-based company makes RU-21, a dietary supplement purported to fight the effects of hangovers.
Citing Swedish research, the company put out a press release this week promoting the idea that hangovers may impair driving ability "by 20 percent or more."
From the press release: "To help law enforcement and safety advocates combat the problem of DWH, Spirit Sciences USA is in the final stages of developing a technology capable of detecting a hangover and measuring its severity. Upon conclusion of a large-scale test Spirit Sciences USA intends to donate over 200 such devices to police departments in the U.S. to study the extent of the hungover-driving problem in this country. The company hopes to have the final product in less than six months."
Need to create a market? Create a problem. It should be no surprise that dietary supplement makers are getting hip to this technique. Pharmaceutical companies have been doing it for years.
A colleague returned from the local blood donation center today sporting his 17-gallon pin.
“How can you still be alive?” one wag asked.
Then we started wondering how much blood the human body contains. Turns out, according to the Internet, the answer is approximately six quarts.
If you live in the Spokane area, you can help the Inland Northwest Blood Center prepare for the holiday weekend. The center is looking for 800 donors between June 30 and July 2. You can donate blood at the center's regional headquarters at 210 W. Cataldo Ave., in Spokane. Or visit the North Idaho site at 1341 Northwood Center Court in Coeur d’Alene. Both will be open extended hours, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., all three days to accommodate increased donations.
New York became the first state today to require cigarettes that self-extinguish if not puffed. The state law is meant to reduce fires caused by smoking.
Cigarette-caused fires are the nation's leading cause of fire death. More than 1,000 people die each year in fires caused by smoking, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
An anti-tobacco group has set up this web site for people who want to thank New York officials for leading the way on fire safety.
This is almost too easy to ridicule: Medicare is running a lottery that will benefit 50,000 people with cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, helping them pay for drugs that can be administered at home.
Imagine the possible ad campaign: "Cancer? Unlucky for you. But now you could win the lottery!"
For serious information on the program, click here. On July 6, you can call 1-866-563-5386 (or TTY number 1-866-536-5387) to ask questions about the lottery and get help with application forms. Between now and July 6, call 1-800 MEDICARE.
Applications will be accepted for the lottery beginning July 6 through Sept. 30.
Parents considering a gluten-free, casein-free diet for children with autism may want to take a look at a new report on the reliable consumer web site, Informed Health Online.
The report summarizes the first scientific review of the evidence on the diet’s effectiveness at reducing autism traits. One small study suggests it can help, the report says.
"The jury is still out on whether or not diets free of gluten and casein can reduce autism, but the little evidence that there is suggests it’s possible that it could help some children," said Hilda Bastian, editor of Informed Health Online, in a press release.
Gluten and casein are present in wheat, most cereals (but not rice) and milk products. Some children could have withdrawal-like symptoms when the proteins are eliminated from their diets.
Liposuction is no quick fix for obesity-related health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, 15 women underwent liposuction that removed 22 pounds of fat from each on average. Ten to 12 weeks later, the researchers found no improvement in the patients’ insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other measurements related to health. Read the abstract.
Unintentional home injuries account for nearly 21 million medical visits a year, according to the Home Safety Council.
The council offers these 10 tips to make your home safer:
1. Install smoke alarms on every floor. Test them monthly.
2. Develop a fire escape plan for your family. The plan should have two exits out of every room and a place to meet outside. Hold a family fire drill at least twice each year.
3. Always stay in the kitchen while food is cooking on the stove.
4. Keep all stairways, paths and walkways clear of clutter and well lit.
5. Install grab bars in bath and shower stalls, and use a non-slip mat or adhesive safety strips inside bathtubs and showers.
6. Post emergency numbers and the National Poison Control Hotline number (1-800-222-1222) next to every phone in your home.
7. Install child locks on all cabinets used to store dangerous items such as cleaners, matches, lighters and household chemicals.
8. Keep your water heater setting at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
9. If you have a pool, install four-sided pool fencing with self-locking and self-closing gates. Fencing should completely isolate the pool from the home and be least five feet high.
10. Stay within arm’s length and constantly supervise children in or near water such as pools, ponds, bathtubs and buckets.
1. Consume a healthy diet to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
2. Be physically active.
3. Don’t smoke, and avoid tobacco smoke.
4. See a doctor to assess your personal health risks.
The recommendations aren’t new. What’s new is the fact that three non-profit health organizations are joining to promote them.
It’s the first time the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association have joined to provide health recommendations for the public and screening advice for doctors. More on the campaign, including tips on how to achieve the recommendations, is at www.everydaychoices.org.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer will host a teleconference, "Update from ASCO: New Approaches to Breast Cancer Treatment," from noon to 1:00 pm (Eastern) on Tuesday.
Dr. Kimberly Blackwell of Duke University Medical Center will discuss findings from the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The teleconference is free. To register, fill out the form at this Living Beyond Breast Cancer web page. Or call (610) 645-4567.
Voluntary self-policing by the cosmetics industry for consumer health has been a failure, says the Environmental Working Group. The organization analyzed the ingredients in more than 7,500 personal care products and found known and probable carcinogens in shampoos, lotions, makeup and lip balms.
"A survey of 2,300 people conducted as part of this research effort shows that the average adult uses 9 personal care products each day, with 126 unique chemical ingredients," the report says. "More than a quarter of all women and one of every 100 men use at least 15 products daily."
Take a look at the report, especially the chart that scores the most dangerous products. How many do you use?
Still have your Sunday New York Times sitting around? Last evening, I relaxed in the hammock with the special section on women’s health and found several interesting articles. Here’s a link to one: Vampire novelist Anne Rice’s account of her life-draining encounter with a mysterious monster, diabetes.
Want to know your HIV status, but afraid of needles? Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest is offering an oral test that absorbs antibodies from the blood vessels of the mucous membranes of the cheek and gum.
The test by OraSure Technologies is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is slightly less accurate than a blood test. All you have to do is hold a cotton pad on a stick between the lower cheek and gum for two to five minutes. You can do that.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are looking for 14 patients with severe, treatment-resistant systemic lupus to participate in a study. The study will test whether stem cell transplantation therapy can produce long-term remission of the disease.
Like other autoimmune diseases, lupus causes the body to attack itself. Lupus can affect the joints, kidneys, skin, lungs, heart and brain. Severe forms can can cause pain, fatigue, depression and, sometimes, premature death.
For additional information on the study, call (800) 411-1222. Or e-mail prpl@cc.nih.gov.
A medical student’s study of 42 doctors’ neckties found that 20 of them -- or 48 percent -- carried at least one infectious microbe. Read more.
A study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine cast doubt on the standard cutoff between normal and abnormal on a prostate specific antigen test. But how did four nanograms of PSA per milliliter of blood become the standard anyway? "Just sort of arbitrarily" one researcher told Gina Kolata of the New York Times. Kolata examined the history of the test in Sunday’s New York Times. Read her story.
