Medcare Forum » Studies and Research

Armadillos and Leprosy

Kathleen Milazzo — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:16:48 +0000

I shouldn’t laugh but I did find this story funny when I read it.

First, as horrible as leprosy is only 5 % of the population is susceptible and that’s with very close and repeated contact with it. Secondly, researchers just found that while it was once thought to transmit only person to person, they’ve just discovered that a human can get it from armadillos.

So stop trying to shoot them, skin them, or catch them, or even touch them in any way, and for gods sakes STOP EATING THEM!

Cost of Food Pathogens by Rank

Kathleen Milazzo — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:13:10 +0000

Meat contains the food pathogens that cost us the most money which includes doctor and hospital care, lost work days and lasting health problems. This includes poultry, pork, beef among other products.

Researchers used data from the feds to link the parasites, bacteria, and viruses with the food that has the most of them the most often and then ranked them according what they would cost in money.

“We tend to think of food-borne disease as 24 hours of diarrhea and it’s over,” said J. Glenn Morris, the director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida and one of the authors of the study. “What this shows is that there are diseases that have significant other manifestations, that result in complications, even death. And as a result, the public health burden is so much greater.”

Campylobacter costs the most at $1.3 billion a year. It’s found in poultry and makes 600,000 people sick. Costing about $1.2 billion a year is toxoplasma from pork which can be very dangerous for a pregnant women. Listeria found in luncheon meats costs $1.1 billion a year.

The pathogens that cost the most of which there are ten cost us $8.1 billion a year.

Salmonella was the bacterium that caused the most sickness costing $3 billion a year. Since it’s found in poultry, produce, eggs and many other foods the other researchers recommend that the U.S. Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration join together to reduce contamination.

Overall it seems most of the problem comes from meat and meat products so it makes sense for the USDA to redefine some things.

Light It Up Blue Campaign

Kathleen Milazzo — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:42:32 +0000

April is autism awareness month and blue is the color that some large buildings will be displaying throughout the month for the disorder. The numbers are now one in 110 nation wide and one in 98 in the state of Georgia. These are the numbers of autism and related disorders in children.

I’m sure that there are a lot of kids with autism however I still need convincing that the numbers of children with it are growing and that it’s not just a matter of the doctors expanding their definitions of autism. Any comments?

Disease Clusters

Kathleen Milazzo — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:28:32 +0000

Disease clusters are being discovered among 15 states in our country. This should be of no surprise to researchers in my opinion as we’ve seen in movies such as the most famous one Erin Brockovich. The thing that the researchers don’t know is what is causing these clusters. I suspect that many industries would not want this explored. It usually turns out that it’s something from a factory that leaks into the ground and water supply that we use.

Some of the diseases mentioned included ALS and MS, brain tumors, cancers, and even a diabetes belt.

The diabetes belt may sound strange but I bet it has more to do with the availability or affordability of good nutritive foods rather than junk food.

This could be the start of people also looking at disease clusters before they buy their next home.

Organ Donation

Kathleen Milazzo — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:48:26 +0000

I am very surprised to learn that only about 26 in a million people are organ donors. I know this is something we don’t like to think about but eventually we are each and all called to our maker and the decision should not be left to the loved ones we leave behind.

In Texas for example they are having problems with first and second generation Mexican Americans because they have grown up believing that they may not go to heaven if their bodies are not whole. The reason is they think their religion forbids it and the Catholic church is now more aggressively trying to get the word out that it is OK to donate organs to those in need.

I can understand fully the reasons people would not want to donate however I think more education on the subject to the general public would help the numbers of donations to grow.

As you may or may not know I had my mothers organs donated when she passed away a couple of years ago. I was not prepared for the shock of them asking for not only major organs, but for bone and tissue use for not only donation but for research also. That’s a lot to be hit with especially when the death of your loved one is not expected.

Let’s hope for all our sakes that a better job at describing the process as well as other aspects of organ donation are explained to us before that decision has to be made.

Pregnant Women Deny Smoking

Kathleen Milazzo — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:07:04 +0000

What will they study next you ask? How about the fact that they’ve just discovered that a lot of pregnant women deny that they smoke while they are pregnant.

They say it’s mostly non-Hispanic women who deny it and one of the possible reasons is that if a pregnant women is getting governmental medical assistance, she might be afraid that she’ll be denied if she admitted smoking.

I’m bad, I still smoke, I admit it. I also admit that I smoked with my second child, not my first.

They say that a pregnant women who smokes will have a lower birth weight baby than a mom who doesn’t smoke. My son was 10 pounds at birth. I believe he was a large baby because I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with him. However, if me smoking kept him from being any larger…

Obese Babies

Kathleen Milazzo — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:46:06 +0000

Latest research has shown that 1/3 of babies are overweight, and by age 2 they don’t get any thinner. It’s been suggested that breastfeeding alone not combined with bottle feeding will help keep a baby normal weight. They also say that putting cereal in with the formula is a bad idea as it will help to raise the babies weight unnecessarily. Further it’s better for the child to eat whole fruit rather than juice because that way they get fiber which is good and only the natural sugar which is in the fruit.

They’ve done research on older children but this is the first time they’ve looked into babies obesity. Healthy snacks and meals with a lot of greens, fruits, and vegetables are the way to ensure a lifetime of good eating habits. It’s never too early or too late.

Thyroid Cancer Drug Is Toxic

Kathleen Milazzo — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:14:39 +0000

Astra Zeneca is a thyroid cancer drug which is waiting to get the OK to be sold and fully approved, however studies have shown that the drug itself is toxic.

From what I understand, which is very little about chemo for cancer is that it’s supposed to be toxic and kill the cancer cells. It’s so toxic in fact that its the reason your hair falls out and you feel so ill while under chemo therapy. It not only kills cancer cells but it also kills good cells. Anyway the drug caused very serious side effects in 31% of those studied, while those who were on sugar pills had only 13% with side effects that serious.

Sounds like they need to study this drug a little bit more before giving it the go ahead for public use. The drug goes by the name of vandetanib.

More Smoking Evils

Kathleen Milazzo — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:01:58 +0000

A study of over 3000 people recently revealed to researchers that there could possibly be a link between secondhand smoke and other peoples hearing loss. However the study may not have painted a fair picture of the situation as it seemed to only measure a certain nicotine chemical that folks were exposed to the previous week.

Seems like they may have a little more studying to do on this before knowing the full story about the link to hearing loss from secondhand smoke. Who knows?

Overusing CT Scans

Kathleen Milazzo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:30:09 +0000

It seems there was a study done about the frequency of using CT scans in hospital emergency rooms, and it was found that since 1995 the use has gone up significantly.

This is cause for some concern about people being exposed to radiation from the test itself, the expense which they say is about $400, and the actual benefits of using it.

They say there’s really been no study about the effects of the radiation on the body so at this point they really don’t know how or if it’s dangerous to use. In the past it was used for heart attacks primarily however now it’s used to diagnose much more in different parts of the body. The doctors say it saves them from guessing and is easier to read than regular e-rays.

In cases like this you really don’t know what the bottom line is. My guess is first and foremost which always is the money.