Women’s Health
Posted on December 2, 2010 in Men's Health, Recent Studies, Women's Health
A person’s individual happiness is closely tied to their special someone, according
to a study in the latest issue of the American Psychological Association’s journal
Developmental Psychology. The new data on happiness goes both ways: if your spouse’s
happiness dips down, chances are that your mood is soon to follow.
Data was gleaned from the Seattle Longitudinal Study has tracked the happiness of more
than 6,000 people since 1956. Researchers from University of British Columbia, the
University of Washington and Penn State found responses from 178 married couples and
examined their happiness ratings.
MSNBC quoted Christianne Hoppmann, lead author of the study: “What we’ve shown is
that when you ask people about their happiness, you need to involve significant others,
meaningful others who share important experiences, who live at the same place, who
might be stressed by the same stressors.”
Hoppmann added that many large surveys ask people about happiness in more abstract
terms. This new research, she said, could help structure future studies of what makes a
person happy.
Posted on November 26, 2010 in Animals, Business/Law, Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies, Men's Health, Opinion, Parenting, Recalls, Recent Studies, Technology, The Environment, Uncategorized, Women's Health
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/citizensreport
Like us on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-Report/169410193079574
Posted on November 24, 2010 in Health & Medicine, Men's Health, Recent Studies, Technology, The Environment, Women's Health
The FDA advisory committee recommended approval of a device that diagnoses deadly
skin melanoma early without cutting into skin. MelaFind was designed to examine
lesions that could have characteristics of melanoma, ruling out non-malignant marks and
allowing doctors to speedily proceed with biopsies in case of potential cancer.
MelaFind has already demonstrated a high accuracy rate in the largest prospective study
ever recorded in melanoma detection. The device was better at ruling at melanoma than
the doctors who participated in the study, ensuring that patients wouldn’t need to undergo
unnecessary biopsies.
Melanoma is often deadly when discovered in its latest stages, making early detection
crucial. The disease is usually curable when found early.
Posted on November 19, 2010 in Animals, Business/Law, Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Holistic Remedies, Opinion, Parenting, Recalls, Recent Studies, Technology, The Environment, Uncategorized, Women's Health
Do you want to become an informed Citizen? If so, we want you to join us! Get the latest news, learn the inside tips, share your thoughts, and much more by joining us on our social networks. Join Our FACEBOOK Group! Check Out Our YouTube Channel! Follow Us on Twitter!
Posted on June 23, 2010 in Business/Law, Health & Medicine, Recent Studies, Women's Health
According to a new study, Botox injections appear to significantly decrease a person’s emotional response. The study, which was published in the June issue of the journal Emotion, monitored participants responses to highly emotional videos before and after they were injected with Botox and Restylane. The researchers found that participants had a significant decrease in emotional response after receiving Botox injections, however Restylane appeared to have no effect.
Researchers believe that facial expressions may influence emotional responses. It is believed that the brain uses facial responses as a feedback mechanism for emotional responses. If facial movements are restricted the less feedback the brain receives and less emotional response the person feels. Botox injects in the face prevent facial movements because the drug paralyzes muscles that are responsible for creating wrinkles.
In recent years, Botox has subject to regulatory and legal scrutiny after the FDA warned that the primary ingredient in Botox, botulinium A, can migrate away from the injection site and cause damage to muscles in other areas of the body. Botox is marketed and manufactured by Allergan, Inc. of Irvine, California. Last month, a jury in Oklahoma awarded a $15 million verdict against Allergan on behalf of a physician who suffered botulism poisoning after receiving Botox injections.
Posted on January 29, 2010 in Health & Medicine, Women's Health
We’ve all heard that pork is “the other white meat.” But is it better for boosting your sex life than Viagra?
It is, if you believe Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez. The leader recently told a gathering of her nation’s pork farming industry that she has heard that eating a piece of grilled pork is better in the bedroom than taking the popular erectile dysfunction drug.
“I’ve just been told something I didn’t know; that eating pork improves your sex life,” the President confided in a recent speech, according to a Reuters news report. “I’d say it’s a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra.”
Her evidence that eating pork works better than Viagra? A recent romantic getaway with her husband that included a diet of barbecued pork, she said.
“Things went very well that weekend, so it could well be true,” the President said in a speech televised across her South American country.
Argentines eat more beef per person than any nation in the world, but the government reportedly is trying to boost the popularity of pork due to rising steak prices.
So, will the President’s shockingly unconventional endorsement of the alleged sexual health benefits of eating pork cause people in Argentina and around the world to eat more pork? We’ll have to wait and see.
Posted on January 26, 2010 in Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Recent Studies, Women's Health
A newly released study finds flame-retardant chemicals found in many household consumer products can cause fertility problems in women, among other health complications.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs for short, have been used for about 40 years as flame retardants in foam furniture, electronics, fabrics, carpets and plastics, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Health concerns about the chemicals have led to bans in some states and a general decline in their use.
However, PBDEs are still used and now are being blamed for causing infertility in women exposed to the chemicals, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley. PBDEs have been linked to reproductive and other health complications before, including a 2008 study which found a link between the chemicals and thyroid levels in men and a more recent study which concluded they can cause neurodevelopmental delays in young children.
Pregnant Women Studied
For the study, the researchers measured PBDE levels in blood samples from 223 pregnant women, mostly Mexican immigrants living in an agricultural community, the Times reports. The women were asked how long they had been trying to get pregnant by being sexually active without using birth control.
The researchers found women with the highest concentrations of the chemicals in the blood were more likely to have difficulty becoming pregnant. For every 10-fold increase in blood concentration of PBDEs, there was a 30 percent decrease in the likelihood of becoming pregnant each month, the study found.
“It’s a pretty strong effect,” Kim Harley, associate director of the Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and a lead author of the new study, told the Times. “They can all become pregnant, but they all had very different amounts of time it took them to become pregnant.”
Most People Have PBDEs in Their Blood
PBDEs are so widely used in various consumer products and foods that an estimated 97 percent of Americans have detectable levels of the chemicals in their blood. Household products sprayed with the chemicals to make them flame resistant are the leading way people are exposed to the chemicals.
However, researchers said it is still unclear why exposure to PBDEs causes infertility in women.
Posted on January 25, 2010 in Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Recent Studies, Women's Health
A new university study suggests eating and drinking too much of certain foods – such as red meat, corn and orange juice – may prevent an effective cancer drug cocktail from working.
A combination of the cancer agent DFMO and the arthritis drug sulindac has been found to lower the risk of developing colon polyps, which can lead to colon cancer, according to a WebMD report. However, the same researchers who found the benefits of the drug cocktail now say it may only work in people who limit their intake of polyamines.
Polyamines are chemicals found in food which have been shown to increase the risks of colon cancer. Red meat and other foods which are high in polyamines appear to interfere with the drugs’ ability to fight cancer, the scientists said.
In patients who consumed large amounts of polyamines in their diet, the mix of DFMO and sulindac “clearly had no benefit,” the study found.
Colon cancer is a leading killer of Americans, claiming about 160,000 lives in 2009. About one in 19 people in the United States will contract colon cancer.
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine examined data on about 200 people who participated in their original study of DFMO and sulindac. All of the patients had at least one colorectal polyp, also known as adenomas, removed in the past year.
The study participants were categorized depending on their level of polyamine intake. The study team found people with the highest consumption of polyamines had larger polyps and more advanced polyps with greater odds of going on to cancer compared to people with lower levels of the chemicals.
Posted on January 23, 2010 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Technology, Women's Health
Knee injuries are like kryptonite for school-aged athletes, leaving them sidelined during one of the busiest times of their lives. But a new training program seems to have good results in preventing injuries from occurring in sports such as soccer and basketball.
A new study conducted by the Archives of Internal Medicine followed 1,506 female soccer players aged 16 to 19 for nine months while they participated in a training program or a control group. The training group concentrated on motor skills and body control, as a means to prepare the young women for sports-specific stresses. Sessions consisted of warm-up, balance, muscle activation, strength and core stability. The other group did its training and warm-up routine as usual.
Among the players who took part in the special training program, three sustained injuries. Although the injuries were serious, all three returned to the field within six months of being hurt. Thirteen players in the control group had knee injuries, most of which were severe. Only four returned to full activity within six months.
The researchers concluded that the training program was linked to a 77% lower frequency of any knee injury, and a 90% lower rate of non-contact knee injuries. Study authors emphasized that the program requires no special equipment and is easy to incorporate into regular sports practices.
Posted on January 22, 2010 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies, Women's Health
A new study has found that pregnant women who have untreated gum disease such as gingivitis may be putting the lives of their babies at risk.
Mothers-to-be who allow oral bacteria to go unchecked can cause their babies to be born with low birth weight or prematurely, a new study finds. In one case, bacteria from a mother’s gums led to an infection in a full-term baby that was stillborn, according to an MSNBC.com report.
The dangers of gum disease bacteria to unborn babies have been reported before, but the new study from researchers at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio is the first to connect a mother’s gum infection to a stillborn birth, officials said.
Earlier studies of the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum in mice found the bacteria could spread from the bloodstream to the placenta. The university study was designed to determine whether the same was possible in people.
The researchers said bacteria from a mother’s mouth can easily enter her bloodstream once her gums are open and bleeding. From there, the bacteria can be quickly passed to the fetus through the placenta.
The California woman whose baby was stillborn reportedly experienced heavy bleeding from her gums associated with gum disease during her pregnancy. About 75 percent of pregnant women develop the condition due to normal hormonal changes and mild gum disease can be treated simply by brushing and flossing more often, researchers said. However, more serious cases of bloody gums during pregnancy may require dental surgery.
While the study’s findings and the report of the stillborn baby may scare many expectant mothers and drive them to obsessively brush and floss, physicians caution against feeling overly alarmed, MSNBC.com reports.
“This is just one case,” said Dr. Richard H. Beigi, an obstetric infectious disease specialist and an assistant professor of reproductive science at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Most pregnant women have bleeding gums and most don’t have dead babies. This can happen, but it’s rare. And this finding doesn’t mean that it’s increasing.”
