Wichita Eagle: News2Use

Wine ingredient shows health benefits

MELISSA HEALY — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:08 CDT

WASHINGTON — The first clinical trial to test the effects of resveratrol — the plant compound plentiful in red wine and grapes — on humans has found that a small daily dose of a purified resveratrol supplement lowered blood pressure and improved a wide range of human health measures in a small group of obese men.

The study, conducted in the Netherlands and published this week in the journal Cell Metabolism, found that men taking 150 milligrams of resveratrol daily for 30 days looked as if they were either dieting successfully or were engaged in endurance training. (That dose is about the equivalent of the resveratrol in 100 glasses of red wine, so don't pull that cork just yet.)

Without changing their diet or exercise habits, the men's metabolic function improved, evidence of inflammation declined, fat deposits in their livers decreased and circulating triglyceride levels fell. While their bodies burned up the same amount of energy over a 24-hour period, their bodies' resting and sleeping metabolic rate declined and their muscles' use of fuel became more efficient — signs that they were using and storing calories more like athletes in training than obese couch potatoes.

Happy people live longer, study finds

HELEN FIELDS — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:08 CDT

Happy people don't just enjoy life; they're likely to live longer, too. A new study has found that those in better moods were 35 percent less likely to die in the next five years when taking their life situations into account.

The traditional way to measure a person's happiness is to ask them about it. But over the past few decades, psychologist and epidemiologist Andrew Steptoe of University College London says, scientists have realized that those measures aren't reliable. It's not clear whether they "assess how they're actually feeling or how they remember feeling," he says. When answering, people are more likely to count their blessings and compare their experience with the lives of others.

The English Longitudinal Study of Aging tried to get more specific. It has followed more than 11,000 people age 50 and older since 2002. In 2004, about 4,700 of them gave saliva samples four times in one day and, at those same times, rated how happy, excited, content, worried, anxious and fearful they felt. The saliva samples are still awaiting analysis for stress hormones, but Steptoe and his UCL colleague Jane Wardle published findings recently on the links between mood and mortality in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Alcohol use boosts breast cancer risk

ROB STEIN — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:08 CDT

Even indulging in just a few drinks a week raises a woman's risk of breast cancer, according to a large Harvard study released Tuesday.

The analysis of data collected from nearly 106,000 nurses over 28 years found that those who imbibed as sparingly as three to six glasses of wine or any other alcoholic drink per week were slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than teetotalers.

Although doctors have long known that women who drank more than about one drink a day were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, the new analysis marks the first clear evidence that even those who consume that amount or less are at increased risk.

Many Medicare drug plans downgraded

MARILYN WERBER SERAFINI — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:09 CDT

WASHINGTON — Federal officials have given negative assessments to more than a quarter of Medicare's rated prescription drug plans that will be available to seniors in 2012, according to an analysis of Medicare data.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is notifying the plans that, unless they improve their performance over the next few years, they face expulsion from Medicare.

This month, CMS revised the way it rates Medicare drug plans to focus more on quality, and many plans' ratings fell from 2011 to 2012. The criteria changed to stress clinical outcomes, such as whether a patient takes his medication the way he is supposed to, in addition to process measures, such as how long a patient is kept on hold when calling the plan. It also considered complaints lodged against plans, and the numbers of people who choose to leave plans.

Weight may hurt flu shot protection

JAY PRICE — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:09 CDT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. —That annual flu shot may be significantly less effective if you're overweight, according to a new study by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers.

The vaccinations may be less likely to prevent flu if you're oversized and also less effective in reducing the illnesses' severity if you do catch it, according to the study, published Tuesday in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Basically what we're finding is that with increasing BMI (body mass index), from overweight to obese, the immune response to the vaccine is not as robust as it is for individuals who are at a healthy weight," said Melinda Beck, a professor and associate chairwoman of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and senior author of the study.

Booster seat study ranks good, bad

KATHERINE SHAVER — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:09 CDT

Half of all booster seats don't ensure that adult-sized seat belts fit children properly in all vehicles, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The analysis is available at http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/boosters/

Of 83 booster seats evaluated, 41 fell into the "check fit" category, meaning they might not provide adequate seat-belt fit for all children in all vehicles, the study found. Parents with those seats should check that the booster makes the lap belt lie flat across the child's upper thighs and the shoulder belt fit snugly across the middle of the shoulder, researchers said. If it doesn 't do both, they said, parents should use another booster seat. The analysis covered all U.S. booster seats being manufactured.

Condom use increases among teens

CARLA K. JOHNSON — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:08 CDT

CHICAGO — A surprising 80 percent of teenage boys say they are using condoms the first time they have sex, a government survey found in a powerful sign that decades of efforts to change young people's sexual behavior are taking hold.

But another promising trend — a drop since the 1980s in the number of teenagers having sex — has leveled off.

Boys' condom use may mean they are taking more responsibility for contraception or they are protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, experts say. Or, as one young man said, girls may be drawing the line.

Study: Vitamin E ups prostate cancer risk

LINDSEY TANNER — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:08 CDT

CHICAGO — There is more evidence that taking vitamin E pills can be risky. A study that followed up on men who took high doses of the vitamin for about five years found they had a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer — even after they quit taking the pills.

Doctors say it's another sign that people should be careful about using vitamins and other supplements.

"People tend to think of vitamins as innocuous substances, almost like chicken soup — take a little and it can't hurt," said lead author Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic. The study shows that is not true.

College cost calculators online soon

JUSTIN POPE — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:09 CDT

It sounds like a simple question: How much is a college actually going to cost?

In fact, it's a slippery one. But thanks to a federal mandate, a new tool to help students and families pin down an answer is finally arriving this month: a fairly simple online calculator to estimate what you can expect to pay to attend any college in the United States.

The new "net price calculators" — many already up and running on college websites ahead of the Oct. 29 legal deadline — are designed to provide the non-binding cost estimates based on a few relatively straightforward questions about family finances.

Study: Texting's worse than you think

APRIL CASTRO — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:08 CDT

AUSTIN, Texas — New findings from a Texas study show texting while driving is more dangerous than previously thought.

Reading or writing a text message behind the wheel can more than double a driver's reaction time, according to a study released Wednesday by the Texas Transportation Institute.

"Our findings suggest that response times are even slower than what we originally thought," said Christine Yager, a TTI researcher, who managed the study. "Texting while driving basically doubles a driver's reaction time and makes the driver less able to respond to sudden roadway dangers, if a vehicle were to make a sudden stop in front of them or if a child was to run across the road."

Can't handle math? Blame your brain

SHARON NOGUCHI — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:08 CDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. —Can't calculate a tip or even balance your checkbook?

Take heart; maybe you can blame your brain — specifically, the parietal cortex in the top back part of the head. And it could be a problem that has roots not in a failed arithmetic or "new math" lesson, but even earlier.

Recent findings indicate that how well 3-year-olds estimate quantities predicts their math ability in elementary school. Another study funded by the National Institutes of Health showed that the innate capacity to estimate is impaired in children who have a math learning disability.

Twitter gives insight to people's moods

LAURAN NEERGAARD — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

WASHINGTON — Twitter confirms it: People tend to wake up in a good mood and are happiest on weekends.

The fast-paced forum is offering scientists a peek at real-time, presumably little-filtered human behavior and thoughts. Cornell University researchers turned to the microblog to study mood and found a pretty consistent pattern.

The researchers analyzed English-language tweets from 2.4 million people in 84 countries, more than 500 million of the brief, conversation-like exchanges sent over two years. They used a computer program that searched for words indicating positive mood — happy, enthusiastic, brilliant — or negative mood — sad, anxious, fear.

Save money flying over the holidays

SCOTT MAYEROWITZ — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:07 CDT

NEW YORK — Flying over the holidays is going to cost more this year. And the longer you wait to book, the pricier it's likely to get.

The average domestic airfare for the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas is $383, 4 percent higher than last year, according to Expedia.

As airlines fly fewer routes and planes to cut costs, there are fewer seats available. Flights are fuller than ever, and airlines can charge more.

Report: Many people skip medication

PAT WECHSLER — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

NEW YORK — More Americans ignored their doctor's advice and skipped prescription drugs or medical procedures to save money in 2011 than a year earlier, a Consumer Reports survey shows.

Almost half of the 1,226 consumers taking at least one medication said they didn't fill prescriptions, took less medicine than a prescribed dose or failed to undergo a medical test advised by their physician, according to the survey released Tuesday. That's 9 percentage points higher than the 39 percent reported in 2010 by the annual survey.

Even with the recession ending more than two years ago, one in six American households and one in four with incomes less than $50,000 told Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumer Reports that they felt stress over how much they must spend on medical care. The pressure is prompting consumers to pursue potentially dangerous strategies for coping, said John Santa, director of Consumer Reports' Health Ratings Center.

Insecticides riskier than bedbugs

MIKE STOBBE — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:07 CDT

ATLANTA — Bedbugs don't make you sick. But the poisons used to kill them can.

A government study released Thursday found that dozens of Americans have fallen ill from the insecticides, and a North Carolina woman died after using 18 cans of chemical fogger to attack the tiny blood suckers.

Because many of the cases, including the lone death, were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or applied the wrong product, federal health officials are warning consumers to be careful and urging them to call professionals.

Autistic workers find a software niche

CARLA K. JOHNSON — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. —The software testers at Aspiritech are a collection of characters. Katie Levin talks nonstop. Brian Tozzo hates driving. Jamie Specht is bothered by bright lights, vacuum cleaners and the feel of carpeting against her skin. Rider Hallenstein draws cartoons of himself as a DeLorean sports car. Rick Alexander finds it unnerving to sit near other people.

This is the unusual workforce of a U.S. startup that specializes in finding software bugs by harnessing the talents of young adults with autism.

Traits that make great software testers — intense focus, comfort with repetition, memory for detail — also happen to be characteristics of autism. People with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, have normal to high intelligence and often are highly skilled with computers.

Offensive words shrugged off online

CONNIE CASS and JENNIFER AGIESTA — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

WASHINGTON — Is it ever OK to tweet that someone's a "slut"? How about using an offensive name for gay people on Facebook? Or texting a racial slur? Most young people think it's all right when friends are joking around with each other, according to a new poll.

Jaded by the Internet free-for-all, teens and 20-somethings shrug off offensive words and name-calling that would probably appall their parents, teachers or bosses. And an Associated Press-MTV poll shows they don't worry much about whether the things they tap into their cellphones and laptops could reach a wider audience and get them into trouble.

Seventy-one percent say people are more likely to use slurs online or in text messages than in person, and only about half say they are likely to ask someone using such language online to stop.

Study: Whooping cough vaccination fades

MIKE STOBBE — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

ATLANTA — The whooping cough vaccine given to babies and toddlers loses much of its effectiveness after just three years — a lot faster than doctors believed — and that could help explain a recent series of outbreaks in the U.S. among children who were fully vaccinated, a study suggests.

The study is small and preliminary, and its authors said the results need to be confirmed through more research. Nevertheless, the findings are likely to stir debate over whether children should get a booster shot earlier than now recommended.

"I was disturbed to find maybe we had a little more confidence in the vaccine than it might deserve," said the lead researcher, David Witt, chief of infectious disease at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael, Calif. Witt presented his findings Monday at a medical conference in Chicago.

FDA wants clearer packaging labels

SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

LOS ANGELES — Uncle Sam wants you to know more about what you're eating.

The Food and Drug Administration is revising the nutrition facts label — that breakdown of fats, salts, sugars and nutrients on packaging — to give consumers more useful information and help fight the national obesity epidemic.

A proposal is in the works to change several parts of the label, including more accurate serving sizes, a greater emphasis on calories and a diminished role to daily percent value numbers for substances like fat, sodium and carbohydrates.

Drug shortages worry pharmacists

John Fauber, Guy Boulton and Mark Johnson — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

MILWAUKEE — Martha Sorensen was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last summer.

There's been no evidence of the disease for nine months, but she knows that the chances of the cancer returning are high.

If that happens, she would need to be treated with Doxil — an IV chemotherapy drug that disappeared from hospital pharmacies a few weeks ago as part of a worsening national shortage of drugs.