Mr. Universe files million claim over beating
Filed under: Type 1, Lifestyle, Exercise, Daily News, Personalities
Anyone out there following the case of Mr. Universe's beating and subsequent arrest at the hands of police will be interested in this latest news: a five million dollar lawsuit has been filed by the bodybuilder against Redwood City, California. The suit includes claims for two million dollars in economic damages and three million in non-economic damages.Read Allie's previous blogs (one and two) on the subject if you want all the details. But here's a quick summary: Mr. Natural Universe, Doug Burns (43), was at the movies in Redwood City, back in April. Burns, a type 1 diabetic, felt a little giddy. Attributing this to low blood sugar, he headed to the lobby for a snack but was intercepted by security who mistook him for a drunk. There followed a struggle with police, during which Burns was allegedly beaten and maced.
Needless to say, this sorry episode is yet another example of how law enforcement see a person swaying, weaving and incoherent and the assumption is always that the person is drunk or high. At least in the case of Doug Burns, the victim has some public clout to help him out. There is an urgent need for education here: police officers must be aware of the signs of hypoglycemia.
Like vultures on Dick Cheney's hunting trip (safe)
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Diet, Lifestyle, Drugs, Research, Events, Support
House Calls, a popular newsletter written by the prestigious Dr. Inglis, highlights a very important question in light of the Avandia mishap: how many other potential whistle-blowers are out there that have been silenced into submission before the Big Pharma vultures?
A medical expert testified that he agreed to sign a statement that was meant to appease the company's investors. This is not the type of behavior anyone should expect or dismiss of a doctor, entrusted with a patient's life. In his defense, he did forward a letter with his concerns to the FDA- which means they also were aware of the same threat. This same doctor is the President-elect for none other than the American Diabetes Association. Isn't that special? The ADA - my friend, my confidant, my utter supporter of the C-peptide crusade...sense the sarcasm? So much for advocacy, when the president-elect of this organization so willingly swept those safety concerns under the table, when he should have been throwing a tantrum on top of it! And all over the threat of litigation from a drug company more concerned about its investors than patients.
The closing comments in Dr. Inglis' newsletter say it all. There are so many vultures out there waiting to pick the bones of the American public, it disgusts me. This example goes to show why I always recommend to you-and to all of my patients-that you always question everything when it comes to your health. I don't care if it's your doctor you've had for 50 years or one of these nonprofit organizations-give them all hell.
Like vultures on a Dick Cheney's hunting trip (safe)
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Diet, Lifestyle, Drugs, Research, Events, Support
House Calls, a popular newsletter written by the prestigious Dr. Inglis, highlights a very important question in light of the Avandia mishap: how many other potential whistle-blowers are out there that have been silenced into submission before the Big Pharma vultures?
A medical expert testified that he agreed to sign a statement that was meant to appease the company's investors. This is not the type of behavior anyone should expect or dismiss of a doctor, entrusted with a patient's life. In his defense, he did forward a letter with his concerns to the FDA- which means they also were aware of the same threat. This same doctor is the President-elect for none other than the American Diabetes Association. Isn't that special? The ADA - my friend, my confidant, my utter supporter of the C-peptide crusade...sense the sarcasm? So much for advocacy, when the president-elect of this organization so willingly swept those safety concerns under the table, when he should have been throwing a tantrum on top of it! And all over the threat of litigation from a drug company more concerned about its investors than patients.
The closing comments in Dr. Inglis' newsletter say it all. There are so many vultures out there waiting to pick the bones of the American public, it disgusts me. This example goes to show why I always recommend to you-and to all of my patients-that you always question everything when it comes to your health. I don't care if it's your doctor you've had for 50 years or one of these nonprofit organizations-give them all hell.
[RESEARCH] Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme
Objective To provide an accurate estimate of violent war deaths.
Design Analysis of survey data on mortality, adjusted for sampling bias and censoring, from nationally representative surveys designed to measure population health. Estimated deaths compared with estimates in database of passive reports.
Setting 2002-3 World health surveys, in which information was collected from one respondent per household about sibling deaths, including whether such deaths resulted from war injuries.
Main outcome measure Estimated deaths from war injuries in 13 countries over 50 years.
Results From 1955 to 2002, data from the surveys indicated an estimated 5.4 million violent war deaths (95% confidence interval 3.0 to 8.7 million) in 13 countries, ranging from 7000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 3.8 million in Vietnam. From 1995 to 2002 survey data indicate 36 000 war deaths annually (16 000 to 71 000) in the 13 countries studied. Data from passive surveillance, however, indicated a figure of only a third of this. On the basis of the relation between world health survey data and passive reports, we estimate 378 000 globalwar deaths annually from 1985-94, the last years for which complete passive surveillance data were available.
Conclusions The use of data on sibling history from peacetime population surveys can retrospectively estimate mortality from war. War causes more deaths than previously estimated, and there is no evidence to support a recent decline in war deaths.
Asprin may be life saver for cancer patients experiencing heart attack
Filed under: Research, Daily news
According to the WHO (the World Health Organization, not the band), there are roughly 10 million cancer patients 
worldwide, of which 1.5 million may develop blood clots during their cancer treatment. As such, these individuals face great risk of dying from heart disease if they do not receive proper treatment, which, as doctors may have now discovered, includes taking aspirin to prevent heart attack.
The prevailing thought on aspirin was that because it is a blood thinner, it is not safe for people with cancer to take. Because people battling cancer typically experience low platelet counts and abnormal clotting, it was believed that aspirin would only serve to worsen these pre-existing problems. But, a recent study held by a joint team of researchers from the department of cardiology at the M.D. Anderson Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and Duke University Medical Center discovered that this may, in fact, not be true at all.
The findings of their study, which will be published in the February 1, 2007 issue of the journal Cancer, center on evidence suggesting the beneficial properties of aspirin for cancer patients experiencing heart attack. They found that 9 out of 10 cancer patients with low platelet count, and who were suffering form heart attack and who did not receive aspirin, died. By contrast, they also found that in a group of 17 similar cancer patients who did receive aspirin, only one patient died. Additionally, it was also discovered that even cancer patients who do not have low platelet counts who experience heart attack can be helped by taking aspirin, in the same manner that it helps people without cancer.
Further and more detailed information on the study will be available in the February issue of the journal Cancer.
Socioeconomics' role in heart disease
Filed under: Diet, Research, Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise, Smoking
What risk factors come to mind when you think of heart disease? Excessive body weight, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, diabetes, smoking -- those seem to be universally accepted. But, a recent study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests that there is a risk factor that you may not have taken into account: Living in a low-income neighborhood.
Researchers from Stanford University examined data for the entire Swedish population, which consists of roughly 1.9 million women and 1.8 million men, all spread across more than 8,000 neighborhoods. Of the people selected for the study, they were all free of any prior history of coronary heart disease. They followed these individuals from 1996 through 2000 to identify initial occurrences of heart disease and subsequent deaths from it within a year's time.
It was discovered that the new cases of heart attacks and strokes were almost twice as high for women and 1 and a half times higher for men who lived in "high-deprivation" neighborhoods as those living in what were deemed "low-deprivation" neighborhoods. To determine what was considered low or high deprivation, the researchers relied on Census data, measuring an index of income, education, unemployment and welfare assistance.
Lending further credibility to the findings was the fact that even when individual characteristics (such as age, family income, marital status, or immigration status) were taken into account, the results remained unchanged.
The belief behind the findings is that people living in poorer neighborhoods have less access to fresh produce markets, and greater access to fast food restaurants. Ability to pay for higher priced, healthier foods also seems to be a major factor behind the researchers' data.
Factors that Aggravate Inflammatory Markers
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Lifestyle, Research
The results of this study do not surprise me at all. Researchers have found that psychosocial factors like cynical distrust, chronic stress and depression, may be associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers. These inflammatory markers are related to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of premature death among people with diabetes.
The study included 6,814 men and women between the ages of 45 to 84. Participants were assessed for their levels of depression, chronic stress and cynical distrust. Blood samples obtained at the start of the study were analyzed for markers for inflammation. The researchers found associations between all three psychosocial factors and inflammatory markers.
A high stress lifestyle may increase the chance that an individual engages in social behaviors that increase inflammatory markers. The same high stress lifestyle may contribute to obesity and related metabolic problems. Furthermore, socioeconomic position is likely to be a precursor to psychosocial characteristics. True. But let's not wager our lives on a dollar-denominated scale. Consider the Chinese proverb, those who know when they have enough are rich. Now ask yourself where you stand in the socioeconomic parade. If you put it that way - I'm on easy street! Too bad it's in the wrong neighborhood.
Presidential candidates say fighting diabetes vital
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Opinion, Care, Personalities
The Democratic presidential candidates all know this: whoever gets the nomination has an excellent shot at making it to the White House. First, though, is the long, hard, down and dirty campaign slog in which each candidate has to do the impossible - try and be all things to all people.One thing we can except is that they all devote a little time to addressing diabetes. Specifically, finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and strategies for containing the unprecedented spread of type 2 diabetes. The type 2 "epidemic" (as it is sometimes called) is all the more serious because of the strain it is adding to the US healthcare system, a system already failing to meet the needs of many Americans.
During Monday night's CNN/YouTube debate, the candidates were asked about their plans for the healthcare system. Click here to read what they had to say about health issues. Two of the candidates, Senator Chris Dodd (CT) and Governor Bill Richardson (NM), both mentioned diabetes and their desire to cope with the problem, but they didn't get a chance to go into detail in the context of a televised debate. Such is the world we live in, folks! Visit CNN to read a transcript of the debate.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has joined with other New York lawmakers to push for Congressional funding to fight the spread of type 2 in that state. The requested sum? $120 million. Click here to check out Allie's take on that issue.
One more way fish is good for you
Filed under: Diet, Prevention
Fish is accumulating quite the list of health benefits (although always be cautious of mercury levels) and now we can add a reduced risk of the dangerous irregular heart rhythm disorder: atrial fibrillation. 2+ million Americans suffer from atrial fib each year, which causes symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, and an increased risk for blood clots and stroke. Eating broiled or baked fish (as opposed to fried) at least a few times a week is the key to seeing this benefit, and experts credit Omega-3 fatty acids for the heart-healthy effects. If fish isn't your thing you may get similar benefits from eating other foods that are high in Omega-3's such as walnuts, flaxseed, and many green leafy veggies.
Signs of kidney disease may also signal pre-diabetes risk
Researchers at the University of Buffalo recently found that a blood component once used to test for early-stage kidney problems may also help detect risk for the development of pre-diabetes.
Reporting in the July 2007 issue of Diabetic Care, the University of Buffalo researchers reported that elevated levels of cystatin C were linked to a much greater risk of progression to pre-diabetes. Currently, there are over 54 million Americans who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which, if not addressed through proper diet and exercise, oftentimes results in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Lead researcher on the study, Richard P. Donahue, Ph.d., stated that "If further studied support our finding, testing for cystain C could become an important part of a standard physical examination. Preventative measures could be in place before glucose intolerance has a chance to develop and take its toll."