http://www.redorbit.com Health http://www.redorbit.com/modules/news/images/tools/rss_logo.gif http://www.redorbit.com Researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute found that a person’s marital status and genetic makeup could change their risk for developing dementia.Researchers noted that the number of patients dealing with dementia stood at 25 million in 2005, but is expected to jump to 81 million by 2040.In their study, researchers looked at about 2,000 men and women from eastern Finland at about the age of 50. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715625/living_alone_in_middle_age_increases_risk_of_dementia/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:25:00 -0500 Health Stores in several states are removing tomato plants from their shelves as an infectious and destructive plant disease makes its earliest and most widespread appearance ever in the eastern United States.Late blight occurs intermittently in the northeastern U.S., but this year's outbreak is more serious, as rainy weather has hastened the spores' airborne spread and infected plants have been widely distributed by large retail chains.Although the disease, the same one responsible for the 1840s Irish Potato Famine, is not harmful to humans, it is highly contagious and likely spread on store shelves to nearby uninfected plants, experts say.It can also spread after plants reach their final destination, further increasing the risk to other tomato and potato plants in commercial fields and home gardens.Cornell University professor of plant pathology, Meg McGrath, said late blight was "worse than the Bubonic Plague for plants.""People need to realize this is probably one of the worst diseases we have in the vegetable world," she told the Associated Press. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715632/tomato_plants_removed_from_shelves/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:10:00 -0500 Health New British research suggests that men who consumer just four pints of beer per week may increase their lifetime risk of being hospitalized.In the study of 5,772 Scottish men, researchers found that those who consumed just four pints of beer, eight shots of spirits or eight small glasses of wine per week were more likely to be admitted to a hospital, than those who drank less or nothing at all. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715674/moderate_drinking_raises_risk_of_hospitalization/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:45:00 -0500 Health Researchers have reported more evidence that both low and high birth weights may be linked to a risk of leukemia.Writing in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers noted that high birth weight could be linked to an increased risk of leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715580/birth_weights_linked_to_leukemia_risk/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:25:00 -0500 Health In a move that has the good people of California scratching their heads in perplexity, state lawmakers recently passed a measure that would eventually require medical marijuana—prescribed most frequently to alleviate suffering in patients with severe cancer—to carry a warning label telling of its potential cancer-causing risks.Last month state environmental regulators decided that cannabis should be added to its official list of substances known to cause cancer, which will likely lead to warning signs in marijuana dispensaries and cautionary labels on product packaging.   In a 1996 referendum, Californians voted to legalize the leafy green stuff for patients ailing under serious diseases such as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma.  A number of research studies have pointed to the unique benefits of marijuana in counteracting the pain, nausea and “wasting-effect” that often accompanies the late stages of AIDS and cancer in particular.Defenders of pot legalization have argued that scientists have long known that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, but that this does not necessarily prove a causal relationship with cancer.Regulators have countered this claim however, pointing to studies conducted by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in which "marijuana smoke was clearly shown, through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles, to cause cancer," according to an agency statement.Dr. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715805/california_adds_pot_to_list_of_cancercausing_substances/index.html?source=r_health Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:30:00 -0500 Health New research reveals that childhood asthma is less prevalent in neighborhoods with a highly prosperous economy and dynamic community vigor, Reuters reported."It's nice to be able to look at some positive characteristics of neighborhoods that may protect against asthma," Dr. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715735/childhood_asthma_triggered_by_social_factors/index.html?source=r_health Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0500 Health A recent study shows that self-help mantras only boost the spirit of those with high self-esteem.Canadian researchers, whose study appears in the journal Psychological Science, found that people with low self-esteem felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves.Phrases such as “I am a lovable person,” only helped people who had a high self-esteem.According to a UK psychologist, people base their feelings on real evidence from their lives.The self-help industry got its start 150 years ago when Victorian Samuel Smiles wrote his book “Self Help,” which featured guidance such as: "Heaven helps those who help themselves."Self-help is now a multi-billion dollar industry.In the study, researchers asked people to say “I am a lovable person,” then measured the person’s feelings about themselves.The low self-esteem group felt worse after repeating the mantra, while those with high self-esteem felt slightly better after repeating the positive statement.The researchers then asked the participants to list positive and negative thoughts about themselves.The study found that those with self-esteem felt better when they were allowed to have negative thoughts.According to the researchers, overly positive praise can provoke contradictory thoughts in those with low self-esteem.These negative thoughts can often overwhelm the positive thoughts.According to psychologist Joanne Wood, who led the study, "Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people, such as individuals with high self-esteem, but backfire for the very people who need them the most."Positive thinking can help when its part of a broader therapy program, she added.Simon Delsthorpe, spokesman for the British Psychological Society, says self-esteem is based on a range of real life factors, and that counseling to build confidence is the real solution."These are things like, do you have close family relationships, a wide network of friends, employment and appearance. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715802/selfhelp_only_works_for_those_with_high_selfesteem/index.html?source=r_health Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:05:00 -0500 Health A new study has highlighted a potential connection between obesity, bedwetting and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children.Researchers say that while being overweight and wetting the bed appear to have no causal relationship to each other, both are symptoms associated with the nighttime breathing disorder.Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715803/overweight_children_at_increased_risk_of_sleep_apnea/index.html?source=r_health Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:10:00 -0500 Health U.S. researchers, in a study in mice, found bone marrow stem cells improve cardiac function. Study author Dr. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715695/bone_marrow_stem_cells_may_help_heart/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:10:00 -0500 Health On Thursday, the U.S. government said it is giving 420,000 treatment courses of Tamiflu to the Pan-American Health Organization in an attempt to fight the swine flu in Latin American and the Caribbean.The U.S. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715583/us_giving_tamiflu_treatment_to_who/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:55:00 -0500 Health UCSF researchers have identified a new "feed-forward" pathway linking estrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels and promotes cell growth.The research is significant in helping determine why tamoxifen and other synthetic estrogens are linked to increased rates of endometriosis and uterine cancer, and identifies a pathway that could be targeted in drug therapies for those diseases, researchers say.Findings are published in the July 1, 2009 issue of "Cancer Research," the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715579/research_identifies_how_tamoxifen_stimulates_uterine_cell_growth_and_cancer/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:22:51 -0500 Health Children under age 5 who live in Britain's poorest neighborhoods are four times more likely to be obese than affluent children, health officials say. One in six children from Stockon-on-Tees, an economically poor community in northeastern England, were found to be so obese their health was at risk by the time they entered primary school, national Department of Health statistics showed. In the wealthy district of Adur, Sussex, however, just one in 25 children was reported clinically obese by age 5, The Sunday Telegram reported. The evidence is mounting that obesity starts early -- even in the first year of life, said Tam Fry, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715814/obesity_increasing_among_poor_brit_kids/index.html?source=r_health Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:01:55 -0500 Health A Swiss medical team says its technique for treating torn anterior cruciate ligaments in the knee provides quicker healing and more stability. A torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, most often is treated by grafting a tendon from another part of the body. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715744/swiss_develop_new_form_of_knee_surgery/index.html?source=r_health Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:08:33 -0500 Health Four out of 106 heart replacement valves from pig hearts failed, U.S. researchers found. The report, published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, said the pig valves failed after three, 14, 19 and 44 months, respectively. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715697/study_almost_4_percent_of_pig_valves_fail/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:00:43 -0500 Health Seventeen percent of U.S. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715696/one_in_six_adults_admit_urinating_in_pool/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:57:00 -0500 Health U.S. researchers say a new, natural compound may stop diabetic retinopathy -- a leading cause of blindness. Project investigator Jay Ma of the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center and Dean A. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715694/compound_may_help_diabetic_retinopathy/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:49:13 -0500 Health Influenza A H1N1, the swine flu virus, has so far spread from person to person less effectively than other seasonal flu viruses, U.S. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715676/study_h1n1_flu_spreads_inefficiently/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:47:37 -0500 Health The head of the World Health Organization said the spread of the swine flu worldwide is unstoppable. Speaking at a flu summit in Mexico, WHO's Margaret Chan said most influenza A H1N1 cases are mild and people recover without treatment. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715675/who_h1n1_flu_spreading_unstoppable/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:07:14 -0500 Health A U.S. nutrition expert suggests grilling some vegetables and fruits for Fourth of July family barbecues. Dietitian Vicki Piper of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston encourages those doing cookouts to grill plenty of fruits and vegetables -- and less meat. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715646/grill_more_fruit_vegetables_less_meat/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:09:13 -0500 Health Adolescents who suffer from migraines are more likely to get lower grades and less likely to graduate from high school, U.S. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715645/migraines_harm_academic_future/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:06:23 -0500 Health Health officials in Japan and Hong Kong said each had a H1N1 flu patient resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, days after a Denmark patient was resistant. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715644/tamifluresistant_swine_flu_reported/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:38:44 -0500 Health WASHINGTON, July 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Specialty Hospitals of America (SHA) announced today the official opening of a new 50 bed Critical Care Hospital at United Medical Center, located at 1310 Southern Ave, in SE Washington. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715749/specialty_hospitals_of_america_accepts_first_patients_in_new_long/index.html?source=r_health Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:39:00 -0500 Health CHICAGO, July 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to breaking news of drugs reportedly found at the scene of Michael Jackson's death, the American Society of Anesthesiologists releases the following statement: "The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), which is made up of physicians providing professional anesthesia care, does not know the specific circumstances surrounding Michael Jackson's death. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715720/american_society_of_anesthesiologists_releases_following_statement_related_to_media/index.html?source=r_health Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:15:00 -0500 Health OTTAWA, Ill., July 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seattle Sutton, healthy eating expert, urges Congress and President Obama to focus more on prevention in the pending healthcare reform to battle skyrocketing obesity rates which put strain on our ailing healthcare system and will continue to further stretch the broken system unless the problem is addressed now. The newly issued report F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009 has spurred Sutton's continued interest in preventive measures to combat obesity and obesity-related diseases. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715672/seattle_sutton_urges_more_focus_on_prevention_to_tackle_obesity/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:44:00 -0500 Health DETROIT, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramsy Darwish knows what it's like being addicted to prescription pain medication. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1715671/narconon_graduate_successfully_recovers_from_prescription_drug_abuse/index.html?source=r_health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:03:00 -0500 Health