Wednesday, July 30, 2014

'Tanned skin is damaged skin': Surgeon general warns sun-loving Americans after 200% spike in deadly melanoma

Stop sunbathing and using indoor tanning beds, the acting U.S. surgeon general warned in a report released Tuesday that cites an alarming 200 per cent jump in deadly melanoma cases since 1973.
The report blames a generation of sun worshiping for the $8billion spent to treat all forms of skin cancer each year.
Rear Adm. Boris Lushniak said state and local officials need to do more to help people cover up, such as providing more shade at parks and sporting events. 
While other cancers such as lung cancer are decreasing, skin cancer is rising rapidly, with five million people being treated for skin cancer each year
While other cancers such as lung cancer are decreasing, skin cancer is rising rapidly, with five million people being treated for skin cancer each year

Schools should encourage kids to wear hats and sunscreen and schedule outdoor activities when the sun is low in the sky. And colleges and universities should eliminate indoor tanning beds on campus much as they would prohibit tobacco use, he added.
'We need more states and institutions on board with these policies that discourage or restrict indoor tanning by our youth,' Mr Lushniak said. 'Tanned skin is damaged skin.'
The surgeon general's 'call to action' plan is part of a broader push this year by government officials and public health advocates to raise awareness on what they say has become a major public health problem. 
 

While other cancers such as lung cancer are decreasing, skin cancer is rising rapidly. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, five million people are treated for skin cancer each year. 
And the number of Americans with skin cancer in the past three decades eclipse the number of all other cancers combined.
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer with 9,000 people dying each year from the mostly preventable disease.
Stacey Escalante of Las Vegas, Nevada, blames years of sunbathing with baby oil and using indoor tanning beds for her melanoma diagnosis in 2005. 
'We need to change the social norm with respect to tanning and shatter the myth that tanned skin is somehow a sign of health'
The mother of two was a 34-year-old television reporter training for a marathon when she found a small red growth the size of a pencil eraser on her lower back. 
By the time she saw a doctor, the cancer had traveled to her lymph node, requiring two surgeries that left an eight-inch scar. She then spent two years on an experimental drug.
Ms Escalante said she realizes now that she was lucky to survive, and was foolish to think she was immune to skin cancer because her father was Hispanic and she tanned well. 
Now an advocate for early detection, Ms Escalante is pushing for state legislation prohibiting minors from using indoor tanning beds.
The Melanoma Research Foundation says exposure to tanning beds before age 30 increases a person's risk of developing melanoma by 75per cent.
'If only I had first gone to the doctor, when I first saw that spot, instead of ignoring it, I would have saved my family and myself ... the emotional, physical and financial burden of skin cancer,' she said.
'It was absolutely overwhelming.'
Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health for the Department of Health and Human Services, said skin cancer prevention needs to become a bigger part of daily American life.
'We need to change the social norm with respect to tanning and shatter the myth that tanned skin is somehow a sign of health,' Mr Koh said.
Doctors recommend doing regular skin checks for new moles and seeing a doctor if any change in size, shape or color. 
Doctors also recommend applying at least 1 ounce of sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to exposed skin and reapplying every two hours, more if swimming or sweating. 
Children in particular should be protected because bad sunburns in childhood are thought to greatly increase risk later in life.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2709950/Generation-tanners-spike-deadly-melanoma.html#ixzz38ziezwp9 
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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Do foam cups contain cancer-causing chemicals? Leading panel says styrene may be a 'human carcinogen'

  • Styrene can be 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen'
  • Conclusion reached by 10 leading medical experts in the U.S. 
  • They stress further research is needed before chemical is regulated
  • American Chemistry Council says styrene has passed most stringent safety tests to be used in food and drink packaging




  • A chemical used in foam cups and disposable food containers may cause cancer, scientists have warned.
    Styrene can be 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen', the National Research Council in the U.S. said yesterday.
    The conclusion was reached by a team of 10 experts in toxicology, chemistry and medicine.
    Styrene - the chemical used in foam cups and disposable food containers - can be 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen', the National Research Council in the U.S. said yesterday
    Styrene - the chemical used in foam cups and disposable food containers - can be 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen', the National Research Council in the U.S. said yesterday

    '[However] 'I think it's important to keep in mind that this is a hazard assessment,' Dr Jane Henney, who chaired the research council's committee of experts, told Newsday
    The declaration means there is 'scientific evidence suggesting that styrene causes cancer, but there may be alternative explanations, such as chance, bias or confounding factors', explained Dr Henney, who led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the Clinton era. 
     

    'Our report says this chemical could be a problem, but a full risk-assessment on dose, exposure, quantification and further characterization of the risk would need to be done before one would think about regulation in this area,' she added.
    Dr Henney also stressed that the term 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen', was far from emphatic - unlike, say, factors such as tobacco. 
    And that the Council's latest ruling was in the line of that three years ago, when concerns were raised about the possible links between styrene and cancer. 
    But industry experts say regulatory agencies have deemed polystyrene safe for use in contact with food and drink
    But industry experts say regulatory agencies have deemed polystyrene safe for use in contact with food and drink

    The National Research Council is a major policy body and division of the National Academies, which includes the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering.
    The American Chemistry Council has previously defended styrene, saying: 'Polystyrene plastic has been used in foodservice products - foam coffee cups, salad bar takeout containers, cutlery - for more than five decades. 
    'Polystyrene has been reviewed by regulatory agencies that have deemed it safe for use in contact with food.
    'For example, polystyrene meets the stringent standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission/European Food Safety Authority for use in packaging to store and serve food.'
    Earlier this month British scientists warned that more than 170 dangerous chemicals - including styrene - are legally used in the production of food packaging.
    The Food Packaging Forum warned the toxic substances, which were found to cause cancer and inflict changes on genes, could end up in the food they contain.
    But the Food Standards Agency moved to reassure consumers, explaining all food packaging falls within European standards and the presence of the chemicals are of no concern if they are used within the 'limits or restrictions' set for their use.
    The study, published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, discovered around 175 chemicals with varying affects.
    They found the substances interfered with sperm production, caused genital malformations and disrupted hormone production in the body.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2709577/Do-foam-cups-contain-cancer-causing-chemicals-Leading-panel-says-styrene-human-carcinogen.html#ixzz38sm2Sm00 
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    Morning sickness isn't ALL bad news: Women battling the condition may have 'healthier, more intelligent babies'

  • These women may also have fewer miscarriages, say Canadian doctors
  • Infant's development in the long-term may also be better
  • Women 35 or older in particular seemed 'to benefit' from morning sickness




  • Morning sickness affects up to 85 per cent of mothers. The Duchess of Cambridge also suffered while pregnant with Prince George
    Morning sickness affects up to 85 per cent of mothers. The Duchess of Cambridge also suffered while pregnant with Prince George
    It is the bane of many a pregnant woman's life.
    But new research suggests morning sickness may be a sign the baby will be healthier - and more intelligent.
    A study has revealed that mothers who experience nausea during pregnancy will have fewer miscarriages than those who are healthy during their whole term.
    They will also have fewer birth defects and better long-term development for the infant.
    The findings may offer some comfort to those who have to endure bouts of vomiting and queasiness as they are expecting.
    And they could be very good news indeed for the Duchess of Cambridge who suffered acute morning sickness whilst pregnant with Prince George.
    Her illness because so severe that she had to be admitted to hospital before the birth.
    Morning sickness affects up to 85 per cent of mothers and it is thought to be caused by rapid increases in gonadotropin, a hormone released by the placenta.
    The researchers, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, looked at mothers who suffered morning sickness to any extent and found that the benefits applied across the board.
    They looked at data from 10 separate studies conducted in five countries between 1992 and 2012 which covered 850,000 pregnant women.
    The findings showed that feeling sick and vomiting was linked to lower risk of a low birth weight or a short body length.

    Mothers who suffered nausea also had fewer premature births; 6.4 per cent compared to 9.5 per cent for healthy mothers.
     

    The risk of miscarriage was also more than three times higher in women who did not experience morning sickness.
    Women 35 or older in particular seemed to benefit from what the researchers called the ‘protective effects’ that resulted.
    Over the years mothers have turned to all manner of cures to try and beat morning sickness, from ginger tea, to vitamins or antacids.
    Some have also turned to sugar solutions and anti-sickness pills, but previous studies have concluded there could be no cure at all.
    Morning sickness may be a sign the baby will be healthier - and more intelligent. TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp (left) and singer Kelly Clarkson (right) also suffered with the condition 

    The new study found that among the other benefits of going through morning sickness was that the risk of birth defects was reduced by between 30 per cent and 80 per cent.
    Years later when they were tested for intelligence, babies born to mothers who suffered sickness scored higher for IQ, language and overall behaviour.
    The findings also looked at the impact of drugs to mitigate nausea and vomiting and but found they they did not alter any positive effects associated with morning sickness.
    The Duchess of Cambridge’s extreme form of morning sickness is known as hyperemesis gravidarum and effects one birth in 50.
    Others who have suffered the same condition are Atomic Kitten star Jenny Frost and TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp.
    The latest research was published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2709776/Morning-sickness-isnt-ALL-bad-news-Women-battling-condition-healthier-intelligent-babies.html#ixzz38siBQ0XQ 
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    Revealed: The revolutionary rub-on hormone gel that can banish depression and transform the lives of countless women


    Oestrogen gel rubbed into her leg every morning can help with depression
    Oestrogen gel rubbed into her leg every morning can help with depression

    On a hot summer evening two years ago, my best friend's husband rang. 
    'Chloe's missing,' he said. 
    My friend is blessed with a wonderful husband, two children and a lovely home. 
    She has also suffered from depression since her teens. She had already tried to kill herself twice in the previous year. And she had disappeared. 
    Together her husband and I walked the streets in a desperate attempt to find her. 
    Miraculously we did - sitting on a park bench weeping. I will never forget her despair as she tried to explain. 'I feel like I have turned into a cold-hearted, nasty person,' she said. 
    'I went from a loving person to this. Half the time I am floating in space, out of touch. I want me back. I want to love again. I am scared I am going to lose myself for ever.' 
    Another suicide attempt and two admissions to the Priory later, Chloe is fine. What cured her? 
    Not antidepressants, psychiatric hospitals or even electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). 
    What made my friend sane again was an oestrogen gel rubbed into her leg every morning. 
    A revolution is taking place in the way we treat depression in women. 
    New evidence has identified that one particular group of women suffer from what doctors now call Reproductive Depression - like my friend Chloe, their mental health is affected by fluctuations in progesterone, a hormone released in the ovary with the egg during the second half of the menstrual cycle. 
    Progesterone prepares the body  for pregnancy in case the released egg is fertilised. From the moment of ovulation, levels of progesterone surge. 
    It is this surge, doctors believe, rather than the progesterone itself, to which this group of women is vulnerable. 
     

    If the surge goes untreated, then for two weeks of the month between ovulation and the start of their periods, these women suffer a dramatic change of personality: they become depressed, feel suicidal, cry all the time and have bouts of rage. 
    Then their period begins, progesterone levels tumble and their mood switches. As Chloe put it: 'I always feel fabulous on the first day of my period.'
    To investigate why this is happening and what is the best treatment, Dr Michael Craig, a psychiatrist, has opened the first female hormone clinic at the Maudsley, a psychiatric hospital in South London and the largest mental health training institution in the UK. 
    This unique, multi-professional clinic, led by Dr Craig and Dr Mike Marsh, a gynaecologist based at King's College Hospital, will assess and treat women who have mental health problems at times of hormonal fluctuation.

    In this crossover between gynaecology and psychiatry, Dr Craig is an obvious choice. He trained as a gynaecologist before becoming a psychiatrist. In a slip of the tongue, Dr Craig once even described himself as a 'gynae-chiatrist'.
    He points out that women who experience low mood with the hormonal fluctuations of their period are also particularly vulnerable to depression at other times of hormonal fluctuation, such as after childbirth and before the menopause. 
    'Studies show it is the same group of women who experience all three conditions,' says Dr Craig.
    'We need to ask two questions. Do women who suffer from this depression have brains that react differently to hormones? And why is this problem in some women but not in others?'  He believes the answer might lie in receptors in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for memory and mood. 
    'From that research we can then assess which group of women would react better to antidepressants and which to a course of hormones.' 
    Unfortunately that research does not yet exist. 
    Depression is very much a woman's disease, twice as common in women as men. Women are also twice as likely to be admitted to hospital for depression and 70 per cent of anti-depressive medicine is prescribed to women. 

    DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?

    Professor John Studd suggests the following questions may help identify if you're affected:
    • Does your depression follow your menstrual cycle?
    • Do physical symptoms such as migraine, abdominal bloating or breast pain also follow the menstrual cycle?
    • Did your depression stop during pregnancy?
    • Did your depression start again after childbirth and the return of your periods?
    • Has pre-menstrual depression became worse with age?
    • Do you have seven to ten?
    • Do you have seven to ten good days per month?

    Despite the human misery, not to mention the financial cost to the NHS, Dr Craig says: 'There remains a paucity of industrial or government support for psychiatric research into women's mental health'. 
    He is hoping his clinic will go some way to rectifying this.
    John Studd, a former consultant gynaecologist at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital and professor of gynaecology at Imperial College, was the man who identified the co-existence of these three types of depression (linked to a woman's period, childbirth and before the menopause), and named it Reproductive Depression. 
    He believes the medical profession is failing to treat women with Reproductive Depression correctly because they are failing to identify who they are. 
    He says the clue to Reproductive Depression lies in a woman's reproductive history. 
    Blood tests used by GPs to check hormone levels are, he says, 'a complete waste of time - because the hormone levels of a pre-menopausal woman always look normal'.
    'It's all there in her history,' he explains. Key markers are being able to trace her mood swings to her first period in her early teens, and feeling 'normal' during pregnancy.
    Professor Studd says women with Reproductive Depression love being pregnant, because they are not ovulating, so their progesterone levels are not fluctuating.
    One particular group of women suffer from what doctors now call Reproductive Depression
    One particular group of women suffer from what doctors now call Reproductive Depression
    And Chloe tells me: 'The only time I was happy and felt normal, was during my pregnancies.' 
    Chloe's first suicide attempt was after the birth of her first child 20 years ago when she was overwhelmed by post-natal depression - it is now known that two weeks after giving birth, oestrogen levels plunge.
    Age, says Professor Studd, brings no relief. In fact Reproductive Depression often worsens in the years of transition before the menopause when women are hit by a double-whammy: their progesterone levels are still fluctuating every month - despite not ovulating - and on top of that they start to experience pre-menopausal symptoms when both progesterone and oestrogen levels fall.
    'I am a naturally sunny person,' reported one of his patients, 'but from my mid-40s, a tide of tears began to wash over my days and weeks.' 

    She said that even the smallest task evoked 'demons and monsters'.
    She noticed that her black days occurred in the weeks running up to her period. 
    Her doctor gave her blood tests to check hormone levels - which appeared well balanced - and prescribed antidepressants and sleeping pills. 
    But the antidepressants did nothing to ease her emotions which remained 'unstable'. It went on for two years until she heard about Professor Studd. So what is the solution for Reproductive Depression?  Professor Studd believes the answer is simple: a blob of oestrogen gel rubbed in every day. 
    Oestrogen stops you ovulating - so puts an end to the fluctuating cycles of hormones.
    And my friend Chloe confirms: 'After a few weeks, I began to feel different. After five I felt normal; no, actually, better than normal. I sleep. I smile. I don't cry. I am happy.' Unfortunately the average GP assumes that the condition is psychiatric, not physical, says Professor Studd. 
    Women with Reproductive Depression love being pregnant, because they are not ovulating
    Women with Reproductive Depression love being pregnant, because they are not ovulating
    Psychiatrists prescribe mood-stabilising drugs which can have side-effects, and even electroconvulsive therapy - none of which works, he points out, because they do not address the problem of fluctuating hormone levels. 
    The women he sees are usually in their mid-40s, and desperate. 
    'Some have been on antidepressants for 15 or 20 years and I am a last resort. 
    'It's a scandal because the evidence is there in good scientific journals that pre-menstrual depression, post-natal depression and peri-menopausal depression are all treatable with oestrogen.' 
    Oestrogen gel is available only on a doctor's prescription.
    Other doctors have noticed the link between hormones and a woman's mental health and some now believe it lies behind even as serious brain disorders as bipolar and schizophrenia. 
    Jory F. Goodman, a practising psychiatrist in Beverly Hills with more than 30 years of clinical experience, explains: 'More and more people carry psychiatric diagnoses which are inaccurate and have very negative consequences for their lives.' 
    The most frequent, popular and incorrect diagnosis, in his view, is bipolar disorder. 
    Women who are moody, angry, temperamental or just plain objectionable, risk getting classified as bipolar and loaded with drugs. 'Turning a patient into a zombie,' says Dr Goodman, 'proves nothing and helps no one.'
    He starts with a history of the woman and asks them to keep a diary. He also interviews parents and partners. 
    Like Professor Studd he, too, noticed a group of female patients whose symptoms first appeared when they started their periods.
    For these women the terrifying Big Dipper ride of bipolar emotions - 'depression, impulsive behaviour, suicidal gestures' - correlates to their menstrual cycle and occurs in the two weeks after ovulation.
    This is not so for every woman with bipolar, 'just many of them - for these patients the right hormones do the trick'.
    Even a disease as serious as schizophrenia is influenced by hormones, suggests Lyn Harper Mozley, assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. 

    64%

    Proportion of women with major depression whose symptoms worsen before their period
    The clue lies in the difference between the sexes. Men are more prone to schizophrenia than women and develop it earlier - in their early 20s. 
    Women develop it two to ten years later and their symptoms are, on the whole, less serious. 
    But after the menopause, the roles reverse, with women then more likely than men to develop the disease - and with more  severe symptoms. 
    Mozley believes women are protected from psychotic illness when oestrogen levels are high.
    Mozley also discovered that the symptoms of schizophrenia, including delusions, disorganised speech and behaviour, follow the menstrual cycle just like those of depression and bipolar disorder. 
    Her study revealed that the majority of hospital admissions for women are in that crucial week before their period begins. 
    They are also prone to relapses after giving birth and, guess what, their symptoms actually improve during pregnancy.
    The link between hormone levels and mental health is exciting but, Dr Craig is careful to point out, not conclusive because it is based on so few studies. 
    'You can have an opinion on something and feel it is right but we need evidence.'
    Meanwhile, women continue to be wrongly diagnosed with devastating results. 
    Chloe is one of the lucky  ones - that moment of madness on the park bench is now a  distant memory. 
    As she says: 'Don't waste time. Find out about hormones. Life is good. Take it back again.'


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2708901/Revealed-The-hormone-gel-banish-depression-women-Its-revolutionary-discovery-lives-countless-women-currently-given-antidepressants-transformed-using-simple-rub-gel-instead.html#ixzz38shD0RqG 
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