Public Health

A new study of human placenta has provided evidence that  flame retardant chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), implicated as being endocrine disrupting chemicals, and find they can interfere with thyroid hormone action in pregnant women. The implication is that PCBs can infiltrate the placenta during pregnancy and affect thyroid hormone activity at the cellular level. PCBs were used in transformers and other electrical equipment, paints, adhesives and tape. Although the endocrine-disrupting chemicals were banned in the United States in 1979, PCBs still are released into…

Takes time and effort. Credit: maradonna 8888 By Kira Shaw, University of Sheffield Seeing pictures of preened celebrities, or even slimmer friends, makes many wish that their arms were that little bit thinner or abs more tightly toned. Most of us have an existing desire to be a normal healthy weight, but not everyone seems able to achieve this goal. A government report on obesity, recently published by the Department of Health, states that in England most people can be classified as being overweight or obese – 61.9% of adults and 28% of children currently have an unhealthy body mass index (…

It is pretty hard to trust or admire our government on a good day. However, this is more of a theoretical concern than a practical one, since they haven't had a whole lot of them lately.  In July alone, workers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC)  stumbled across an unsecured box of smallpox, which had been sitting around in a storage room for decades. Shortly thereafter, a different group managed to send out live anthrax (it was supposed to be dead) to research labs resulting in dozens of scientists being exposed, and subsequently treated with…

Sometimes organic food kills and there is nothing more natural than locally-hunted wild meat bought at a local market.  Now it turns out that ebola, as with many emerging infections, may have arisen due to the practice of eating wild meat known as 'bushmeat', say a team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London. They surveyed almost 600 people across southern Ghana about their bat bushmeat consumption – and how people perceive the risks associated with the practice. The Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat, Eidolon helvum, is widely hunted and eaten in…

Commotion outside house of infected nurse Teresa Ramos near Madrid. Credit: EPA By Peter Barlow, Edinburgh Napier University The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is the worst in recorded history. There have been in excess of 7,400 cases and 3,439 deaths, primarily in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. More recently, the spread of the deadly virus has extended across European borders to Spain, where five people are currently under quarantine, and a further 50 are being closely observed. The passage of the virus to Europe has been attributed to a nurse who contracted the virus from a Spanish…

Sodium is back in the health concern cycle and an analysis of data in the federal nationwide dietary intake survey known as "What We Eat in America NHANES 2009-2010," has led a team of Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conclude that, on any given day 49 percent of U.S. adults eat at least one sandwich, and sandwiches account for 20 percent of total daily sodium intake.  Sandwiches are a mainstay of American cuisine, but they pose a challenge to survey researchers since they can be comprised of a wide variety of different ingredients. In What We Eat in America NHANES 2009-2010,…

By studying identical twins, researchers from Lund University in Sweden have identified mechanisms that could be behind the development of type 2 diabetes. This may explain cases where one identical twin develops type 2 diabetes while the other remains healthy. The study involved 14 pairs of identical twins in Sweden and Denmark. One twin had type 2 diabetes and the other was healthy. Fat tissue can release hormones and regulate metabolism in different organs in the body. The question the researchers posed was whether epigenetic changes in the DNA lead to changes in the fat tissue that in…

A new study has found that people with multiple sclerosis may reduce perceived fatigue and increase mobility through a series of combined strength training and fitness exercises.  The research from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, supervised by Professor Raúl Reina, aimed to analyze the effects of strength training on the fatigue that MS patients suffer. A total of 19 participants (5 men and 14 women) were split into two groups. Most took part in a 12-week training program, whilst others were included in a control group. The research was conducted in collaboration with the…

Colonoscopies are a very valuable procedure by which to screen for the presence of colorectal cancer but healthy Americans who undergo the uncomfortable examination often have repeat screenings long before they actually should, finds Gina Kruse of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.  Current national guidelines strongly recommend that adults aged 50 and older should be screened every ten years, while surveillance colonoscopies should be performed more frequently in adults with pre-cancerous polyps called adenomas. Concern has been…

How long until the California Legislature Gets It: What’s Wrong with SB1283 Yet again, the California legislature makes a terrific blunder with SB1283, showing the electorate that they have no idea how to deal with the dangerous problem of synthetic drugs, in this case, synthetic marijuana and speed. Known as Spice, K2, or by a myriad of other names, synthetic marijuana has been a “legal” substitute to the real thing. Popular with teens and young adults who want to get high without running into legal troubles, Spice is actually little more than poison, leaves onto which all manner of…