News in category: Protecting Your Family

Expect to see a more aggressive anti-smoking campaign if the FDA regulates the tobacco industry. That came one step closer Wednesday when the House passed the measure. The White House promises a veto. You'll never guess which side of the issue Philip Morris is on.

The mysterious Salmonella Saintpaul has been found in a serrano pepper in Mexico- considered a key breakthrough in sourcing the food-borne outbreak. The next step will be to determine if water or handling, at the farm or in the packing house is the source of the Salmonella that's sickened 1,300 in the U.S. and Canada. 

Published studies uncover a genetic component to schizophrenia that had never before been seen. For a disease that has seen few breakthroughs, these discoveries will help target therapies and earlier diagnosis.

Citing high rates of obesity, the Los Angeles City Council voted to place a moratorium on the construction of any new fast-food restaurants in South L.A., where 73 percent of the restaurants offer fast-food fare.  Incentives will be offered to draw in establishments offering healthier food.

As Zimmer Holdings withdraws the Durom Cup artificial hip socket from the market, the lack of a federal registry for artificial knees and hips means that consumers are kept in the dark when the devices fail.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, combed through 50 million death certificates from 1984 to 2004 and found a 360 percent increase in accidental drug overdoses of prescription medication. Partially to blame is the availability of prescription drugs, especially painkillers. 25 years ago, they were available only in the hospital. Now about a quarter of people exchange them.

When talking to a person with Alzheimer's, nurses from the University of Kansas discovered that "baby talk" often resulted in resistance from residents of a nursing home.  People retain their dignity and a sense of being an adult, despite the fact that they have a mind-diminishing disease, researchers found.

Using MRI scans, researchers have been able to see amyloid plaque, characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. This research coming out of an international conference on Alzheimer's, marks the first time MRIs have been able to detect plaque, or black holes in the brains of animals. 

Major news coming out about Alzheimer's this week as an international conference is underway in Chicago. In this research by Boston University Medical School, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), blood pressure medication, was found to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s as well as lower the incidents of the disease. 

California is leading the nation in becoming to the first state to take the trans fats out. Today the governor signed a bill banning all trans fats in restaurant and baked foods. A violation will result in a fine. The benefit to Californians should be a reduction in heart disease, the number one killer in the state.

The powerful painkiller, fentanyl, can easily be made by street-wise chemists. But the illegal version killed more than 1,000 people in major cities, many who died before they finished their injection, the CDC finds.

Patients suing the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas for potential exposure to hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases are being allowed to claim emotional distress in a class-action lawsuit.

Electromagnetic radiation may be able to penetrate a child and teens' brain more easily than an adults, so today a major cancer researcher issued a warning memo to 3,000 employees to limit their cell phone use, and to have children use them for emergencies only.

The Bush administration "strongly” opposes the effort to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco. The bill is supported by both US Chambers; however, if the legislation passes both House and Senate, the Bush administration is most likely to veto it.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill and Melinda Gates are joining forces and $500 million to launch a global anti-smoking campaign in low and middle income emerging countries which have never seen anti-smoking campaigns. Among their challenger are governments that derive income from a tobacco sales tax.