Children's Health: Do mothers react to more info about chemical risks? ♦ Pain often overlooked in premature infants ♦ Hope against disease targeting children

Kids with asthma that are exposed to secondhand smoke have twice as many hospitalizations The risk for hospitalization doubles for kids with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to a study. The study strengthens the association that previous studies have shown which links secondhand smoke exposure with increased asthma prevalence, poorer asthma control and increased symptoms.

Pain often overlooked in premature infants Premature infants receiving intensive care are exposed to a great deal of pain, and this pain causes damage to the child. Despite this half of the infants admitted to neonatal intensive units will not receive any pain relief.

Hope against disease targeting children A research team has uncovered molecular changes that explain, at least in part, why motor neurons rather than others are affected by the illness. Unlike ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, which tend to manifest later in life, SMA strikes infants. Unlike ALS, SMA is a genetic disorder that causes a range of outcomes, with the milder form leaving some children confined to wheelchairs, and the more severe form causing paralysis and death before the second birthday

Weight loss surgery offers new hope to children, adolescents with Prader-Willi Syndrome Obesity is a leading cause of complications and death in children suffering from Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), yet there are few effective treatment options for these patients. In a new study, researchers found that bariatric surgery, specifically laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), resulted in substantial weight loss with no apparent adverse effect on growth in a small group of severely overweight patients with PWS. PWS is a rare genetic condition that causes a wide range of problems including a constant desire to consume food, which is driven by a permanent feeling of hunger.

Do mothers react to more info about chemical risks? Mothers who are pregnant or have young children would be expected to be more concerned about protecting their offspring from environmental risks that are reported most in the news, but a new study raises doubts about that conventional wisdom.

Cardiovascular Research: Nanomedicine in the fight against thrombotic diseases ♦ Uric acid may lessen women's disability after stroke ♦ Secondhand smoke increases stroke risk

Nanomedicine in the fight against thrombotic diseases Ischemic heart disease and stroke caused by thrombus formation are responsible for more than 17 million deaths per year worldwide. Now researchers announce new research that has been covering the use of nanocarriers and microbubbles in drug delivery for thrombotic disease.

Uric acid may lessen women's disability after stroke Forty-two percent of women treated with uric acid had less disability three months after a stroke compared with women given a placebo, report researchers who say that women benefit from uric acid therapy because they generally have less uric acid circulating in their bodies.

Diabetes complications linked to rising risk of dementia People who have diabetes and experience high rates of complications are more likely to develop dementia as they age than people who have fewer diabetic complications, according to a new study.

Secondhand smoke increases stroke risk by 30 percent for nonsmokers Nearly 800,000 people in the US suffer a stroke each year. Stroke is responsible for one out of every 19 deaths in the US and it is a leading cause of disability. A new study has found that secondhand smoke increases the risk of stroke by about 30 percent for nonsmokers.

Childrens Health: BPA exposure linked to autism ♦ 2 hours of TV a day increases high blood pressure ♦ Why debunked autism treatment persist ♦ Secondhand smoke risk for infants

BPA exposure linked to autism spectrum disorder, study reports  A newly published study is the first to report an association between bisphenol-A (BPA), a common plasticizer used in a variety of consumer food and beverage containers, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. Continue Reading

More than two hours of TV a day increases high blood pressure in children by 30%  A study on European children concludes that spending more than two hours a day in front of a screen increases the probability of high blood pressure by 30%. The article also points out that doing no daily physical activity or less than an hour a day increases this risk by 50%. Continue reading

Why debunked autism treatment fads persist  The communication struggles of children with autism spectrum disorder can drive parents and educators to try anything. Authors describe treatments for autism that have been attempted with little or no success.including gluten- and casein-free diets, antifungal interventions, chelation therapy, magnetic shoe inserts, hyperbaric oxygen sessions, weighted vests, bleach enemas, sheep-stem-cell injections and many more. Continue Reading

High stress for new mothers increases secondhand smoke risk for infants Mothers with a high level of prenatal social stressors -- including possibly less control over their own housing situation or economic distress -- had 2.5 times higher odds to have only a partial or no restriction on smoking in their home than those with no stressors, which increases secondhand smoke risk, a study has found. Continue Reading

58 million nonsmokers in US are still exposed to secondhand smoke

The Surgeon General has concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to SHS, which contains over 7,000 chemicals including about 70 that can cause cancer. It is a known cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, respiratory infections, ear infections, and asthma attacks in infants and children, as well as heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer in adult nonsmokers. Each year exposure to SHS causes more than 41,000 deaths from lung cancer and heart disease among non-smoking adults and 400 deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, as well as about $5.6 billion annually in lost productivity.

Although secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in the United States dropped by half between 1999 to 2000 and 2011 to 2012, one in four nonsmokers -- 58 million people -- are still exposed to SHS, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that declines in exposure to SHS have been slower and exposure remains higher among children, blacks, those who live in poverty, and those who live in rental housing. The report finds two in every five children aged three to 11 years are still exposed to SHS. The study assessed exposure using cotinine, a marker of SHS found in the blood.

“Secondhand smoke can kill. Too many Americans, and especially too many American children, are still exposed to it,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “That 40 percent of children -- including seven in 10 black children -- are still exposed shows how much more we have to do to protect everyone from this preventable health hazard.”

Additional key findings in the Vital Signs report include that:

• Nearly half of black nonsmokers are exposed to SHS.
• More than two in five nonsmokers who live below the poverty level are exposed to SHS.
• More than one in three nonsmokers who live in rental housing are exposed to SHS.

The study used rental status as a way of identifying people who live in multiunit housing, which is an environment where the issue of SHS exposure is of particular concern.

“About 80 million Americans live in multiunit housing, where secondhand smoke can seep into smoke-free units and shared areas from units where smoking occurs,” said Brian King, Ph.D., acting deputy director for research translation in CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “The potential of exposure in subsidized housing is especially concerning because many of the residents -- including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities -- are particularly sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke.”

The report credits the overall decline in SHS exposure to several factors. To date, 26 states, the District of Columbia, and almost 700 cities have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws prohibiting smoking in worksites, restaurants, and bars. These state and local laws currently cover almost half the US population. In addition, a growing number of households have adopted voluntary smoke-free home rules, increasing from 43 percent in 1992-1993 to 83 percent in 2010-2011. Also, cigarette smoking has declined significantly in the last two decades and smoking around nonsmokers has become much less socially acceptable.

11/9/14 Health News: GMO Industry- “Poison First, Regulate Later” ♦ Camel Dairy Milking Approved ♦ Consumption of added sugars up ♦ Secondhand smoke causes weight gain

Genetically Engineered Food: The Criminality of the GMO Biotech Industry. “Poison First, Regulate Later”

The GM Contamination Register database has been run by Genewatch and Greenpeace for about ten years and contains cases dating from 1997 to the end of 2013 [1]. The authors of a new paper, published in the International Journal of Food Contamination, analysed the 400 or so cases in the database by crop and country [2]. GM rice accounts for about a third of contamination cases, …Continue Reading

Sunshine Coast camel dairy milking an untapped natural resource

Updated November 09, 2014 00:38:53 A Queensland dairy has just received Safe Food accreditation to sell pasteurised camel milk to the public from their Sunshine Coast farm. The creamy milk tastes similar to cow's milk, but has a slightly saltier aftertaste, and is higher in vitamins C and B6 as well as iron. But getting a camel to let you milk it is just as tricky as it sounds … Continue Reading

U.S. adult consumption of added sugars increased by more than 30% over three decades

While recent studies indicate that added sugar consumption has begun to decline, no research has examined whether these changes have persisted, or are consistent across critical subpopulations. Researchers examined five nationally representative surveys about food intake in the U.S. from 1977 to 2010, and found that added sugar consumption by American adults has increased by about 30% in the last three decades Continue Reading

Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain

New research is challenging the decades-old belief that smoking cigarettes helps keep you slim. A study finds that exposure to cigarette smoke can actually cause weight gain. But here's the kicker: Secondhand smoke is the biggest culprit  Continue Reading