Friday, 15 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Princess Health and Atherosclerosis in Ancient Mummies Revisited. Princessiccia
cardiovascular disease disease diseases of civilizationMany of you are already aware of the recent study that examined atherosclerosis in 137 ancient mummies from four different cultures (1). Investigators used computed tomography (CT; a form of X-ray) to examine artery calcification in mummies from ancient Egypt, Peru, Puebloans, and arctic Unangan hunter-gatherers. Artery calcification is the accumulation of calcium in the vessel wall, and it is a marker of severe atherosclerosis. Where there is calcification, the artery wall is thickened and extensively damaged. Not surprisingly, this is a risk factor for heart attack. Pockets of calcification are typical as people age.
I'm not going to re-hash the paper in detail because that has been done elsewhere. However, I do want to make a few key points about the study and its interpretation. First, all groups had atherosclerosis to a similar degree, and it increased with advancing age. This suggests that atherosclerosis may be part of the human condition, and not a modern disease. Although it's interesting to have this confirmed in ancient mummies, we already knew this from cardiac autopsy data in a variety of non-industrial cultures (2, 3, 4, 5).
Read more �Princess Health and ZUMBA Fitness For Increasing Happiness. Princessiccia
How do you usually relieve your anxiety when you are stressed out? Eating? Spending hours in front of the television? Increasing your use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs (both illegal and legal)? With all of these you attempt to take your mind off your worries, and sometimes it seems to work in the short term.
However, these strategies - like enjoying a chocolate cake or having an extra glass of wine - have negative consequences. In the long run, some of these behaviors which became your habit in order to increase happiness will actually decrease it.
The Right Choice
There is another strategy for improving mood that not only seems to make people happier, but can be the key to long-term happiness: exercise.
When we run, swim, walk, bike, Zumba, or engage in any other form of physical exercise, we generally seem to feel less anxious and happier.
In addition to increased energy, physically active people may feel a sense of accomplishment in meeting personal fitness goals. Also, they may feel proud of the improved physical appearance that those hours in the gym have produced. And getting outdoors on a nice day - or even working out indoors around a bevy of strangers - stimulates the mind and shakes up what may be for some people an otherwise monotonous and cubicle-centric daily existence.
A Bit Of Science
Interestingly, happiness and exercise are similar in two notable ways: both are independently associated with a boost to the immune system, and also with the release of endorphins.
Both exercise and happiness lead to increased production of antibodies, which are a special type of protein produced by the immune system. People who are happy are more resistant to diseases ranging from the common cold to heart disease, while stress and anxiety tend to make people more susceptible to sickness, including diabetes and stroke. Happiness has been shown to increase antibodies by as much as 50 percent. Exercise has been shown to increase antibody production by as much as 300 percent. And since people who exercise tend to report higher levels of happiness, the exercise-induced happiness improves the immune system independent of the physiological effects of the exercise.
How To Start?
The key here is to find the exercise you really enjoy. The one where you know how good you feel afterwards. And that promise of feeling good gives you the power to get out of the house even when you feel terrible. Because you know how amazing you will feel one hour later.
There are people who go jogging, or swimming or biking, and there are many who go to an energizing Zumba Fitness class.
Never tried ZUMBA? Join one of our Zumba classes in Dublin 2, Dublin 6 or Dublin 8 and I'm sure you won't regret!
To see times, locations and maps, CLICK HERE
Source for this article:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/exercise-happiness.htm
Princess Health and Poll shows Kentucky health-care providers often fail to discuss HIV testing with patients.Princessiccia
AIDS doctors Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky HIV medical education nurse practitioners physician assistants physicians pollA new poll suggests that most Kentucky health-care providers follow guidelines for discussing HIV screening with their patients, despite the the importance of early treatment to prevent its progression to AIDS.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine HIV screenings for most patients, just 32 percent of Kentucky adults aged 18 to 64 report discussing HIV testing with their medical provider, according to the Kentucky Health Issues Poll.
About 40 percent of Kentucky adults reported they had never been tested for HIV. It�s estimated that 4,500 Kentuckians are living with HIV infection and it is estimated nationally that one in five people who have HIV do not know they do.
�It made headlines earlier this month when a little girl - the second person in history - was cured of HIV. As exciting as this development was, for most people, HIV remains a life-long condition that must be managed through medication to keep it from progressing to AIDS. The CDC�s recommendations are meant to improve the overall population health by detecting HIV so treatment can begin,� said Dr. Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll.
�It appears that Kentucky providers are either not adhering to the routine screening recommendations or not communicating this message clearly to patients,� she said.
The poll, co-sponsored by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, was taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by landline and cell telephones. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points
About 40 percent of Kentucky adults reported they had never been tested for HIV. It�s estimated that 4,500 Kentuckians are living with HIV infection and it is estimated nationally that one in five people who have HIV do not know they do.
�It made headlines earlier this month when a little girl - the second person in history - was cured of HIV. As exciting as this development was, for most people, HIV remains a life-long condition that must be managed through medication to keep it from progressing to AIDS. The CDC�s recommendations are meant to improve the overall population health by detecting HIV so treatment can begin,� said Dr. Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll.
�It appears that Kentucky providers are either not adhering to the routine screening recommendations or not communicating this message clearly to patients,� she said.
The poll, co-sponsored by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, was taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by landline and cell telephones. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points
Princess Health and Conway, other AGs ask FDA to require generic prescription pain pills to be abuse-resistant, tamper-resistant.Princessiccia
attorney general drug abuse drug companies food and drug administration generic drugs prescription drug abuse prescription drugsGeneric versions of popular pain relievers must be made harder to abuse, in order to curb prescription drug abuse that is epidemic in many states, Attorney General Jack Conway and 47 other attorneys general said in a letter sent to federal officials Monday.
The National Association of Attorneys General letter encourages the Food and Drug Administration to adopt standards requiring manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription painkillers to develop tamper- and abuse-resistant versions of their products, because the attorneys general are concerned that non-medical users are shifting to non-tamper-resistant formulations of generic opioids.
�Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians each year,� Conway, who co-chairs NAAG�s Substance Committee, said in a news release. �The development of tamper-resistant and abuse-deterrent opioid drug products is a valuable aid to the law enforcement, legislative and public awareness initiatives many of us have implemented in our states to combat prescription drug abuse.�
Prescription drugs can be deadly when abused, and fatal drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death due to unintentional injury in the United States and Kentucky, exceeding even motor vehicle deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal data show that U.S. drug overdose deaths totaled 38,329 in 2010, rising for the 11th straight year, and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics.
In Kentucky, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Kentucky is one of the most medicated states in the country, and has the sixth highest overdose rate. Last year, 220 million doses of the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone were dispensed in the state -- that�s 51 doses for every man, woman and child in the state, says the AG release.
The news release from Conway's office said he led the effort to reach out to the FDA, along with Attorneys General Luther Strange of Alabama, Pam Bondi of Florida and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Click here to read the letter; for a news release, click here.
The National Association of Attorneys General letter encourages the Food and Drug Administration to adopt standards requiring manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription painkillers to develop tamper- and abuse-resistant versions of their products, because the attorneys general are concerned that non-medical users are shifting to non-tamper-resistant formulations of generic opioids.
�Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians each year,� Conway, who co-chairs NAAG�s Substance Committee, said in a news release. �The development of tamper-resistant and abuse-deterrent opioid drug products is a valuable aid to the law enforcement, legislative and public awareness initiatives many of us have implemented in our states to combat prescription drug abuse.�
Prescription drugs can be deadly when abused, and fatal drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death due to unintentional injury in the United States and Kentucky, exceeding even motor vehicle deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal data show that U.S. drug overdose deaths totaled 38,329 in 2010, rising for the 11th straight year, and accidental deaths involving addictive prescription drugs overshadow deaths from illicit narcotics.
In Kentucky, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Kentucky is one of the most medicated states in the country, and has the sixth highest overdose rate. Last year, 220 million doses of the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone were dispensed in the state -- that�s 51 doses for every man, woman and child in the state, says the AG release.
The news release from Conway's office said he led the effort to reach out to the FDA, along with Attorneys General Luther Strange of Alabama, Pam Bondi of Florida and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Click here to read the letter; for a news release, click here.
Princess Health and Bill encouraging schools to stock EpiPens to stop deadly allergic reactions will become law.Princessiccia
allergies food allergies General Assembly legislation legislature state governmentA bill encouraging Kentucky schools to stock EpiPens, or epinephrine auto-injectors, to stop anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, has passed will soon be signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear.
When someone has anaphylaxis, the sooner you use an EpiPen, the better the outcome can be, said Thomas Sternberg, an allergist at Graves-Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green, told Alyssa Harvey of the Daily News.
Under House Bill 172, schools could keep at least two EpiPens in case of emergency, and school boards would develop and approve policies and procedures for managing a student�s life-threatening allergic reaction, reports Harvey.
The bill also helps schools receive or buy the auto-injectors through local health departments and directs the state Department for Public Health to develop clinical protocols for using the auto-injectors in schools. Harvey reports that EpiPens can be donated to schools, and the EpiPens for Schools Program will provide up to four free auto-injectors per school year; if more are needed, they can be purchased at a discounted rate.
"You don�t know when someone could have an anaphylactic reaction,� Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Florence, who sponsored the bill, told the Daily News. She alluded to an incident in Virginia, where a 7-year-old student died last year after an anaphylactic reaction, and no medications were available at the school to treat her. "There could be a hero in the school who was able to reach for that epinephrine pen and save a child�s life and not a tragedy like in Virginia,� Wuchner said. She filed the bill late in the 2012 session, but the language has been revised for this year's session to encourage rather than mandate schools to stock EpiPens.
Amy Wallace, treasurer and former president of the Bowling Green area's Food Education Allergy Support Team, told Harvey she was disappointed schools will not be required to make necessary provisions, but said advocates of the bill are happy to see that the problem is being addressed. (Read more)
When someone has anaphylaxis, the sooner you use an EpiPen, the better the outcome can be, said Thomas Sternberg, an allergist at Graves-Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green, told Alyssa Harvey of the Daily News.
Under House Bill 172, schools could keep at least two EpiPens in case of emergency, and school boards would develop and approve policies and procedures for managing a student�s life-threatening allergic reaction, reports Harvey.
The bill also helps schools receive or buy the auto-injectors through local health departments and directs the state Department for Public Health to develop clinical protocols for using the auto-injectors in schools. Harvey reports that EpiPens can be donated to schools, and the EpiPens for Schools Program will provide up to four free auto-injectors per school year; if more are needed, they can be purchased at a discounted rate.
"You don�t know when someone could have an anaphylactic reaction,� Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Florence, who sponsored the bill, told the Daily News. She alluded to an incident in Virginia, where a 7-year-old student died last year after an anaphylactic reaction, and no medications were available at the school to treat her. "There could be a hero in the school who was able to reach for that epinephrine pen and save a child�s life and not a tragedy like in Virginia,� Wuchner said. She filed the bill late in the 2012 session, but the language has been revised for this year's session to encourage rather than mandate schools to stock EpiPens.
Amy Wallace, treasurer and former president of the Bowling Green area's Food Education Allergy Support Team, told Harvey she was disappointed schools will not be required to make necessary provisions, but said advocates of the bill are happy to see that the problem is being addressed. (Read more)
Monday, 11 March 2013
Princess Health and Feds letting Arkansas privatize Medicaid expansion; idea could spread like wildfire, as in Florida, but cost questions remain.Princessiccia
Affordable Care Act health care costs health care reform health insurance health policy insurance Medicaid Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act politics state governmentsArkansas has turned heads nationally with its preliminary plan to expand Medicaid using the private insurance market, showing that the Obama administration is willing to give states more flexibility than expected in expanding the program.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has agreed to a proposal by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe to reject the Medicaid expansion but use federal money to buy private health insurance for the 200,000 people who would have been covered under ordinary expansion, reports Sandhya Somashekhar of The Washington Post.
States that have come down on either sides of the Medicaid-expansion issue may reconsider their decision in light of the Arkansas proposal, said Sara Rosenbaum, a health law professor at George Washington University. "If Arkansas is allowed to do this, I expect it to spread like wildfire," Rosenbaum told the Post.
The first place could be Florida, where a state Senate committee rejected Republican Gov. Rick Scott's expansion plan and proposed a privatization plan like that in Arkansas. Last week, a House committee voted to reject any expansion of the program. Scott "made it clear he was not going to lobby the Legislature on Medicaid," preferring to emphasize other issues, The New York Times' Lizette Alvarez reports. For coverage from the Tampa Bay Times and The Miami Herald, click here.
Could the wildfire spread all the way up to Kentucky?
Gov. Steve Beshear has said he wants to expand Medicaid in Kentucky if the state can afford it, but many Republican lawmakers oppose the idea, saying it would not be fiscally responsible. On the national level, 26 states and the District of Columbia have expressed a desire to expand Medicaid, 17 have said they reject it and seven are undecided, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
A more flexibile arrangement could be a game changer because it makes expansion more appealing, especially for states where expanding Medicaid has been politically unpopular and polarizing. in Arkansas, which has a Democratic governor and a Republicna legislature, officials say that from an ideological standpoint, using private insurance appeals to lawmakers from both parties, reports Somashekhar. She reports that even Democratic-led states might prefer this arrangement because it gets rid of some bureaucratic hurdles.
However, there are questions about cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that private insurance plans cost $3,000 more per person than Medicaid, reports Somashekhar. On the other hand, Arkansas officials say the move could ultimately save money in administrative charges along with other cost-control measures.
Although the Arkansas proposal is not concrete, it provides proof that the Department for Health and Human Services encourages innovative, state-based approaches to promote expansion. Many states may develop a new route best suited to their specific needs, without having to leave federal money on the table. (Read more)
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has agreed to a proposal by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe to reject the Medicaid expansion but use federal money to buy private health insurance for the 200,000 people who would have been covered under ordinary expansion, reports Sandhya Somashekhar of The Washington Post.
States that have come down on either sides of the Medicaid-expansion issue may reconsider their decision in light of the Arkansas proposal, said Sara Rosenbaum, a health law professor at George Washington University. "If Arkansas is allowed to do this, I expect it to spread like wildfire," Rosenbaum told the Post.
The first place could be Florida, where a state Senate committee rejected Republican Gov. Rick Scott's expansion plan and proposed a privatization plan like that in Arkansas. Last week, a House committee voted to reject any expansion of the program. Scott "made it clear he was not going to lobby the Legislature on Medicaid," preferring to emphasize other issues, The New York Times' Lizette Alvarez reports. For coverage from the Tampa Bay Times and The Miami Herald, click here.
Could the wildfire spread all the way up to Kentucky?
Gov. Steve Beshear has said he wants to expand Medicaid in Kentucky if the state can afford it, but many Republican lawmakers oppose the idea, saying it would not be fiscally responsible. On the national level, 26 states and the District of Columbia have expressed a desire to expand Medicaid, 17 have said they reject it and seven are undecided, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
A more flexibile arrangement could be a game changer because it makes expansion more appealing, especially for states where expanding Medicaid has been politically unpopular and polarizing. in Arkansas, which has a Democratic governor and a Republicna legislature, officials say that from an ideological standpoint, using private insurance appeals to lawmakers from both parties, reports Somashekhar. She reports that even Democratic-led states might prefer this arrangement because it gets rid of some bureaucratic hurdles.
However, there are questions about cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that private insurance plans cost $3,000 more per person than Medicaid, reports Somashekhar. On the other hand, Arkansas officials say the move could ultimately save money in administrative charges along with other cost-control measures.
Although the Arkansas proposal is not concrete, it provides proof that the Department for Health and Human Services encourages innovative, state-based approaches to promote expansion. Many states may develop a new route best suited to their specific needs, without having to leave federal money on the table. (Read more)
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