Tag: this week in health
This Week In Health: Matters Of The Heart

This Week In Health: Matters Of The Heart

“This Week In Health” offers some highlights from the world of health news that you may have missed this week:

One Third Of Diabetes In The U.S. Is Undiagnosed: Diabetes affects up to 14 percent of the U.S. population – an increase from nearly 10 percent in the early 1990s – yet over a third of cases still go undiagnosed, according to a new analysis. Screening seems to be catching more cases, accounting for the general rise over two decades, the study authors say, but mainly whites have benefited; for Hispanic and Asian people in particular, more than half of cases go undetected.

Independent Group Finds New Cholesterol Drugs Far Too Costly: An independent non-profit organization that evaluates clinical and cost effectiveness of new medicines said announced prices for a just-approved class of potent cholesterol lowering drugs were far too high, according to a draft report released on Tuesday.

Less Invasive Heart Valve Surgery Safe For Patients In Their 90s: A modern technique for replacing heart valves without major surgery is safe even for very elderly patients, researchers say. The procedure can yield “excellent short- and mid-term outcomes in a patient population with a lethal disease that without this technology would undoubtedly die,” according to Dr. Vinod H. Thourani from Emory University.

Image: Jo Christian Oterhals via Flickr

This Week In Health: The Coke Controversy

This Week In Health: The Coke Controversy

“This Week In Health” offers some highlights from the world of health news and wellness tips that you may have missed this week:

New Imaging Helps Detect Cancer In Dense Breast Tissue: For women with dense breast tissue, supplementing standard mammography with a new imaging technique called molecular breast imaging (MBI) can lower the cost of diagnosis of breast cancers, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Bubonic Plague In Our National Parks? The California Department of Public Health is investigating a second case of plague likely contracted by a Georgia native on a recent visit to Yosemite National Park. Tests are underway to confirm the person contracted the disease while vacationing in early August at the park, the Sierra National Forest, and surrounding area.

…And They Make You Look Uncool, Too. Even though teenage smoking rates have plunged in recent decades, teen use of electronic cigarettes has been on the rise in the last few years. Now, a new study involving more than 2,500 students at 10 Los Angeles schools has found that teens who began using e-cigarettes were far more likely than their peers to start smoking traditional cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products.

Always Controversy, Always Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is coming under fire for funding new studies that are contrived to shift the blame for the obesity epidemic from unhealthy food to a lack of exercise, but others are wondering if all this public outrage aimed at the soda pop purveyor isn’t a tad misplaced.

Image: wintersoul1 via

This Week In Health: Close The Fridge And Go Outside

This Week In Health: Close The Fridge And Go Outside

“This Week In Health” offers some highlights from the world of health news and wellness tips that you may have missed this week:

Southern Comfort Makes Y’All Sicker: A new analysis of eating patterns has identified the Southern United States as having the most dangerous eating habits for heart health. The study, conducted by the University of Alabama, identified six common food choices that characterized the Southern diet, including sugary drinks, fatty and fried foods, processed meats, and organ meats. All are known to contribute to poor health. The lead researcher for the project recommends those following the Southern diet stop doing so.

Don’t Get Expired: New tech looks to answer an age-old question: Does this look okay to you? Scientists from around the world have been developing surefire ways to determine if milk, eggs, fish, and vegetables have expired — regardless of what the dubious date printed on the food might say.

Doctors Urge Individuals To Get More Vitamin D : Doctors have started recommending Vitamin D supplements as a critical part of a healthy lifestyle. Although maintaining a good diet and getting enough sunlight should produce sufficient Vitamin D, recent trends have shown that deficiency has reached a new high of 1 in every 5 adults, as well as 1 in every 6 children. A lack of Vitamin D is associated with a series of problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Should Red Tape Trump Innovation? The debate between scientific research and regulation continues to rage, on a new front: The discovery of an enzyme called CRISPR-Cas9 opened new avenues for genetic research, including altering embryonic DNA. Chinese scientists attempted the latter last year, prompting condemnation from around the world. The international nature of the scientific community makes these new frontiers difficult to navigate, and even harder to regulate. Cultural values, religious influence, and political structures all impact how progress will proceed — and which countries will be successful.

Photo by Kurman Communications via Flickr

This Week In Health: Red Skies Ahead

This Week In Health: Red Skies Ahead

“This Week In Health” offers some highlights from the world of health news and wellness tips that you may have missed this week:

Genetics Experiment Will Be First Chinese Project On Space Station. China has contracted with an American company to aid in their first experiments on the International Space Station. The Houston-based company, NanoRacks, has a $200,000 contract to launch a genetics experiment designed by the Beijing Institute of Technology. Though NASA is prohibited from cooperating with Chinese agencies due to political tensions, there is no law preventing private collaboration and the deal is not expected to meet resistance in a congressional vote.

Watson Can Help You Treat Your Diabetes. In an effort to combat the rising costs of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and heart disease, CVS Pharmacy and IBM are teaming up to identify at-risk patients and revolutionize preventive care. IBM’s supercomputer, Watson, will scour the records of CVS’ 70 million members in order to discern red flags and create custom care plans for those who use the company’s health clinics. The care plans will take into account medical history, prescription use, and behavioral patterns, hopefully increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of preventive medicine.

Researchers Successfully Transport Blood By Drone. In a science-fiction moment come to life, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Uganda’s Makerere University found that small quantities of blood can be safely flown by drone, rather than using the traditional driving method. If their findings are further substantiated by other studies, the discovery could make a significant difference in rural areas where supplies must travel longer distances to reach those in need.

Smoking Linked To Hot Flashes. A new study surveying 761 women aged 45-55 has concluded that smoking can greatly increase the number of hot flashes experienced during menopause — even if a woman had quit years prior. After tracking the survey group over a period of seven years, researchers found that women who had never smoked, or quit smoking five or more years earlier, had 45 percent fewer hot flashes than their smoking counterparts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks smoking as one of the top causes of preventable deaths.

Photo: AK Rockefeller via Flickr