Blair threatens food and drinks industry with legislation
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has virtually given the food and drinks industry in the UK an ultimatum saying unless the “junk food” industry can sort itself out it will be forced to restrict advertising to children next year.
Mr Blair delivered his strongest threat yet to manufacturers and warned that it would be much better if the industry comes together voluntarily regarding public health but says the government is prepared to act if the voluntary system does not work.
The Government it seems is prepared to use legislation to enforce clear labelling of content such as fat and salt, and wants tougher measures to curb under-age drinking.
Medical technology fails to cope with obese patients
Researchers in the U.S. say that more and more Americans are missing out when it comes to receiving full medical care because they are too obese to fit into scanners or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate.
Radiologists at Massachusetts General Hospital suggest that with a growing population of overweight people, the problem is getting worse.
The researchers assessed all radiology examinations carried out at the hospital between 1989 and 2003 in order to determine the effects of obesity on imaging quality and diagnosis.
Laser useful for severe facial acne
Laser treatment can reduce inflammatory facial acne lesions with few side effects, new research shows. Moreover, it appears to work even with the darkest skin types.
The findings, which appear in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, are based on a study of 22 patients, with light to dark skin types, who underwent three treatments with the laser—specifically a1450-nanometer diode laser—at 3 to 4 week intervals.
The subjects received treatment at high or low doses on the left or the right side of the face, the report indicates.
Getting exercise not easy for folks with arthritis
The benefits of exercise for people with arthritis are well established. However, arthritis patients say they face a number of barriers to continued physical activity, including a dearth of specialized exercise programs, a focus-group study shows.
“The people in our groups talked a lot about lack of programs for people with arthritis,” Dr. Sara Wilcox of the University of South Carolina in Columbia told Reuters Health. “They were interested in programs where they could be active with other people that had arthritis and professionals that understood the disease. They also perceived that they didn’t get a lot of physician support to be active.”
Arthritis patients who did keep exercising were more likely to have adjusted their activities to their physical limitations, while those who did not tended to give up in the face of such barriers, Wilcox and her colleagues found.
No easy fix for emergency rooms, experts say
A lack of staff, space and equipment hobbles the U.S. emergency medical system and almost no steps have been taken to improve things despite numerous warnings, emergency room professionals told Congress on Wednesday.
But emergency room physicians and members of Congress alike were at a loss about what to do to fix a system that almost everyone agrees is at a breaking point.
“It isn’t too clear and that is because what is required is so big,” Dr. Rick Blum, an emergency room doctor from West Virginia who is president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said in an interview.
Drug combo works well for diabetes and high lipids
For people with diabetes who also have abnormal levels of blood fats, or lipids, the combination of two types of cholesterol-lowering drugs seems to work better than either one alone, researchers report.
People with diabetes typically tend to have mixed lipid abnormalities, such as high cholesterol and high triglycerides. “Much of the cardiovascular risk associated with diabetes may stem from the associated abnormal ‘diabetic’ lipid profile, Dr. Joseph B. Muhlestein told Reuters Health.
This profile, which is characterized by a combination of abnormal lipid parameters, cannot often be rectified by just one drug,” he explained.
Cosmetic Procedures Women Want and Should Want
Women make up the largest percentage of patients visiting dermatologists’ offices to seek cosmetic treatments and procedures. Dermatologists can provide a variety of options with immediate results for some of women’s most common skin concerns, and even advise patients about treatments which can optimize skin health and that they may not have yet considered.
Speaking today at ACADEMY ‘06, the American Academy of Dermatology’s (Academy) summer scientific meeting, dermatologist Marian E. Northington, M.D., F.A.A.D., of Birmingham, Ala., discussed the most frequent requests women make in the dermatologist’s office and the procedures dermatologists regularly recommend.
“Women want dermatologic procedures that are safe, effective and create the appearance of youth and vitality,” said Dr. Northington. “Dermatologists can help women achieve these goals by listening to the patient’s specific concerns, evaluating the patient’s skin type and recommending treatments that result in the desired appearance.”
Thailand confirms case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza
The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has confirmed a case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza.
The patient, a 17-year-old man from Thap Khlo district of Phichit province in the north, developed symptoms on 15 July, was hospitalized on 20 July and died on 24 July.
