Online Searches for ‘Skin Cancer’ Go Up in Summer

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — When summer hits the United States and sunseekers mobilize, online searches for “skin cancer” rise, a new study shows.

However, it’s not clear if the higher search rates mean more cancers are being detected early, said researchers reporting online June 10 in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers led by Dr. Kyle Amber, of MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Ill., tracked Google searches for the terms “skin cancer” and “melanoma” in the United States between 2010 and 2014.

They found a spike in these types of Web searches during the summer, and that summertime bump remained relatively stable over the entire study period, the team said.

Nevada had the highest number of searches for skin cancer, while Pennsylvania had the highest number of searches for melanoma, Amber’s group said.

The finding might be of use in the war against UV ray exposure and related skin cancers, the authors said.

“Because the U.S. population seeks information regarding skin cancer at a greater level during the summer months, this might be the most efficient time for educational and public health initiatives,” they wrote.

Another expert agreed, noting that skin cancer remains a leading form of the disease.

“One in five Americans will develop skin cancer during their life and the incidence of melanoma has been on the rise,” said Dr. Jeffrey Farma, co-director of Cutaneous [Skin] Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

“More people are spending time outdoors and at the beach, and we see a rise in screening examinations for suspicious lesions that either the patients or friends and family recognized,” he said.

“It is important to remember to have any suspicious skin lesion evaluated by your physician, see a dermatologist for skin surveillance examinations, avoid tanning and wear sunscreen if you are going to be in the sun,” Farma said.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about skin cancer.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1I1O4Rc

Contaminated Pet Food, Treats Can Harm People, Too

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Tainted pet foods and treats may make more than your dog or cat sick, new data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests.

Harmful bacteria can also make owners ill if they handle contaminated pet products improperly, and bacteria such as salmonella can spread from pets to people, the agency said.

“Ultimately, we’re hoping to learn ways FDA can help minimize the incidence of foodborne illness associated with pet foods and treats,” Renate Reimschuessel, head of the FDA’s Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network, said in an agency news release.

To collect the new data, the FDA worked with 11 veterinary labs across the United States to investigate pet infections reported by pet owners. One of the main focuses was salmonella infections.

Of almost 3,000 dogs and cats tested so far, fewer than 100 have tested positive for salmonella, the agency found.

“Pet owners should know, though, that almost half of the dogs that tested positive for salmonella showed no symptoms,” Reimschuessel said.

And a dog with no signs of illness can still be carrying salmonella, which can spread to people, she added.

The dogs that have tested positive for salmonella were more likely to have eaten raw pet food, Reimschuessel said. Raw food is not heated or cooked, which might explain why there was a higher likelihood of contamination, officials said.

There are a number of things pet owners can do to protect themselves, including checking the FDA’s list of recalled pet products. Other measures include:

• Feed pets in areas that are easily cleaned and sanitized
• Wash hands carefully after handling pet foods
• Earmark specific utensils for use only with pet foods
• Wash counters and any other surfaces that come into contact with pet foods
• Keep dry pet foods in a sealed container in a cool, dry place
• Never buy pet food in dented cans or damaged packaging

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about healthy pets and people.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1I1O4AN

Woman Gives Birth Using Ovary Tissue Frozen in Childhood

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — In what researchers are hailing as a medical breakthrough, a 27-year-old woman gave birth to a healthy baby conceived from ovarian tissue that had been surgically removed and frozen when she was a child.

Although this procedure has been used in adults, it wasn’t clear if freezing immature ovarian tissue would be able to successfully restore fertility later.

The researchers said this procedure could be an important advancement for preserving fertility for young women or girls who need disease treatments that might destroy their ovarian function, such as cancer.

“This is a message of hope for all the children with high risk of premature ovarian failure to improve their future quality of life,” said lead researcher Dr. Isabelle Demeestere, a gynecologist and research associate in the Fertility Clinic and Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction at Erasme Hospital, and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium.

Dr. Avner Hershlag, chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., called the announcement “an exciting event and a landmark achievement in fertility preservation for women at risk of losing the potential to get pregnant.” Hershlag was not involved in the study.

“We have already been able to preserve fertility in young women diagnosed with cancer and other severe medical illnesses where treatment threatens reproductive potential,” he said, adding that women who have a partner can freeze embryos, and single women as young as 14 can freeze their eggs.

But children and teenagers before puberty can’t have eggs frozen, and therefore this treatment offers an alternative, Hershlag said.

“This is a natural extension of science that has already been developed to optimize freezing techniques of eggs, embryos and ovarian tissue. The ovarian tissue . . . may remain frozen for many years, thus giving hope to children who have survived cancer and other serious illnesses, and allow them as adults to have a family,” he said.

The study findings were published June 10 in Human Reproduction.

The woman was born in the Republic of Congo, and diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia as a young child. At 11 she emigrated to Belgium and was treated with a bone marrow transplant. Part of the transplant procedure involved using chemotherapy to disable her immune system, which could permanently prevent her ovaries from functioning. In an attempt to save her future fertility, doctors removed her right ovary when she was 13 and froze tissue fragments.

Although the bone marrow transplant was successful, complications arose and the woman’s remaining ovary failed. When she wanted to have a child 10 years later, doctors thawed some of the frozen ovarian tissue, and transplanted it into her body.

The transplanted tissue responded to her hormones. She started menstruating five months later, and continued to have regular menstrual cycles.

In November 2014, when she was 27, she delivered a healthy boy weighing 6.9 pounds, the researchers said.

The woman’s ovary continues to function normally and there is no reason why she could not have more babies if she wants to, Demeestere said.

“This procedure is feasible and efficient in children,” she said.

Should the graft stop working, the patient could have a second transplant with the remaining frozen tissue, she added.

Demeestere said that further research is necessary. This young woman had started puberty, although she hadn’t yet begun menstruating. So, it’s not clear yet that this procedure would be successful in girls who hadn’t begun puberty at all.

More information

Read about fertility and cancer treatments from the American Cancer Society.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1I1O5EI

You Asked: Is It Better to Sleep In Or Work Out?

Salma Hayek’s Hilarious Take on Being Called ‘Hot’ After 40

Photo: Getty Images

When Salma Hayek was launching her career, “hot” was not a descriptor she welcomed. The actress wanted to be recognized for her work, not her looks, she told reporters at the Spike Guys Choice Awards last weekend, according to People. “When you start you’re like, ‘No, I want them to see me for my talent, and know me as an actress.”

Now—at age 48 and with a seven-year-old daughter—Hayek feels a little differently about the word: “I’m like, ‘Bring it on!’” she said, referring to the Decade of Hotness trophy she received at the celeb-studded event (which airs on Spike TV on June 18 at 9 p.m. ET). “You really like to be ‘hot’ after you’re 40.”

RELATED: The Hottest Ways Hollywood Lives Healthy

Hayek recalled the first time she was described as a “bombshell” 20 years ago, after co-starring with Antonio Banderas in the 1995 film Desperado. “My English was worse than now, and I read the reviews that, ‘Salma Hayek was a bombshell,’ and to me this means that I was terrible, that I had bombed!” she said. “Everyone told me, ‘No, no, it means that you’re great, that you’re sexy!’ And [I was like], ‘That’s it? They didn’t talk about my acting?’”

But the sizzling star, who recently spoke out about gender inequality in Hollywood, admitted at the awards ceremony that “as the years go by, the ‘hotness’ acknowledgment becomes more and more precious to a woman,” EW reported.

RELATED: Got a Curvy Body? Try This Workout

Looking sexy, she explained, is really about how you feel: “You know what makes you ‘hot’? When you have the hots for someone,” Hayek said. “I have the hots for my husband [French businessman François-Henri Pinault]. … When you like somebody it comes out of you, almost naturally, and you’re motivated. Love motivates you. It’s the right chemistry.”

In the past, Hayek has also credited a little help from above. On The Late Show with David Letterman, she’s confessed that as a late blooming adolescent, she and her mom traveled to the church of a saint who performs miracles to pray for boobs: “I put my hands in holy water—this is the recipe, girls out there—and I said, ‘Please God, give me some breasts!’ And he gave me them!”

RELATED: The World’s Best Stay-Gorgeous Secrets

 

 

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1Gek6eB

Babies Who ‘Resettle’ on Their Own Get Better Sleep

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Infants who “resettle” after waking up are more likely to sleep through the night, a new study suggests.

British researchers made overnight infrared video recordings of just over 100 infants when they were 5 weeks and 3 months old. This is the time when parents begin to hope their baby will sleep more and cry less at night, the researchers noted.

On average, the infants’ length of sleep increased from just over two hours at five weeks to 3.5 hours at three months. Only 10 percent of the infants slept continuously for 5 or more hours at five weeks, compared to 45 percent at three months.

At both ages, about one-fourth of the infants awoke and resettled themselves at least once during the night. Resettling means they went back to sleep without their parents’ help.

Sixty-seven percent of infants who resettled themselves at five weeks slept continuously for at least five hours at three months. Just 38 percent of those who didn’t resettle themselves at five weeks slept five hours continuously, the researchers said.

The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

“Infants are capable of resettling themselves back to sleep by three months of age,” wrote Ian St. James-Roberts and colleagues of the University of London. “Both autonomous resettling and prolonged sleeping are involved in ‘sleeping through the night’ at an early age.”

The findings show “the need for studies of how arousal, waking and resettling develop into sustained sleeping, and of how environmental factors support these endogenous and behavioral processes,” St James-Roberts said in a journal news release.

If other studies confirm these findings, they may help resolve the puzzle of why so many healthy infants have sleep problems, he said.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about sleep.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1Mo5I4W

Older Americans Need Protein to Keep Muscles Strong, Study Says

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Older adults need a protein-rich diet to maintain muscle mass and strength, a new study suggests.

Protein should come from animal and plant sources, since each type of protein appears to play different roles in maintaining lean muscle mass and leg strength. Plant protein helps preserve muscle strength, while animal protein is linked to muscle mass, the researchers said.

“With aging, there is loss of muscle mass and strength,” said lead researcher Shivani Sahni, director of the nutrition program at the Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston.

She said that protein is the body’s building block that produces muscle. “After 50, people start to lose muscle mass. Between 50 and 60, muscle strength declines by about 1.5 percent a year. After 60, the loss can be 3 percent a year.”

Losing muscle mass and strength affects the ability to move and do daily activities, Sahni said. In addition, loss of muscle can affect balance and increase the odds of falling, leading to broken bones and head injuries.

“Overall protein intake is important for maintaining muscle mass and muscle strength,” she said. “You should have protein as part of every meal.”

Findings from the study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, were published online recently in the Journal of Nutrition.

For the study, Sahni and her colleagues collected data on more than 2,600 men and women who took part in the Framingham Offspring Cohort study. Participants — average age 60 — had their protein consumption, leg lean muscle mass and thigh muscle strength measured at various times between 1998 and 2001.

The researchers found that men needed nearly 3 ounces of protein a day to maintain muscle mass and strength, and women needed 2.6 ounces. Lean muscle mass was highest among those who ate the most total protein and the most animal protein.

Plant protein — think nuts and beans — was not associated with lean mass in men or women, the researchers noted. But those who ate the most protein from plants had more strength in their thigh muscles, compared with those who ate the least plant protein.

Plant protein may help preserve muscle strength in older adults because of its alkaline properties, or it may be a sign of the healthier diet of people who eat a lot of plant protein, the researchers said.

Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City, agreed that the sources of protein matter.

“Many large studies suggest that those who eat diets high in animal foods have an increased rate of death and risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, while plant-based diets reduce the risks of dying and chronic diseases,” she said.

The diets of many older people lack an adequate balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat, Heller said.

“Research suggests that we may need more protein as we age,” she said. There are many reasons why older adults may consume too little protein, from being less active or less hungry to poor dental health, lower income or limited access to food, she added.

Heller said that protein intake should be spread throughout the day and included with each meal.

Protein sources she recommends include: 6 ounces plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (0.6 ounces of protein); 8 ounces fat-free milk (0.2 ounces protein); one-half cup cooked beans (nearly 0.3 ounces), and 2 tablespoons of nut butter (0.2 ounces). A 3.5-ounce portion of roasted chicken breast provides almost 2 ounces of protein; 5 ounces of tofu deliver 0.4 ounces of protein, and two slices of whole wheat bread provide 0.2 ounces of protein, she said.

“A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of milk would contain just under an ounce of protein,” Heller said.

In the United States, protein is usually listed in grams on labels. One ounce contains 28 grams.

While agreeing with the study’s emphasis on protein consumption, Heller said the researchers failed to mention a key component of strength: exercise.

“One aspect that does not seem to be considered in this study is exercise, which is what helps build muscle mass and strength and can help people maintain their mobility and independence as they age,” Heller said.

Loss of strength is directly connected with reduction of muscle mass, she said. You can eat all the protein you want, but exercise is necessary to increase muscle strength, she explained.

More information

For more on dietary protein, visit the Harvard School of Public Health.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1Mo5FpU

1 Dose of HPV Vaccine May Offer Protection: Study

WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — One dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix could prevent as many cases of cervical cancer as the current two- and three-dose schedules, a new study contends.

The vaccine protects against HPV types 16 and 18, which are believed to cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. The vaccine was originally approved to be given in three doses over six months, but many countries are switching to a two-dose schedule in teenagers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends three doses for young Americans.

Researchers conducted two large phase 3 clinical trials that included more than 26,000 women between the ages of 15 and 25. They lived in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

The researchers found that one dose of Cervarix offered similar levels of protection over four years when compared to two and three doses.

The findings were published online June 9 in The Lancet Oncology. Cervarix maker GlaxoSmithKline provided funding for one of the studies.

“Our findings question the number of HPV vaccine doses truly needed to protect the majority of women against cervical cancer, and suggest that a one-dose schedule should be further evaluated,” co-study author Aimee Kreimer, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, said in a journal news release.

“If one dose is sufficient, it could reduce vaccination and administration costs, as well as improve uptake. This is especially important in less developed regions of the world where more than 80 percent of cervical cancer cases occur,” she explained.

However, further research is needed before vaccination guidelines can be changed, according to co-lead study author Cosette Wheeler, of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque. She said researchers need to conduct trials lasting longer than four years to see how long the protection from one dose lasts.

But the idea of a one-dose vaccine is certainly a welcome one, experts said.

“If HPV vaccines could be delivered as one dose, while retaining their efficacy [effectiveness] against the most oncogenic HPV types 16 and 18, the global burden of cervical cancer would substantially decrease,” Dr. Julia Brotherton, of the Victorian Cytology Service Registries in Melbourne, Australia, said in the news release.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, according to the researchers.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about HPV vaccines.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1e2WEIb

Jackknife

Try this exercise to tone and strenthen your core:

1. Lie flat on your back with your arms extended straight back behind your head and your legs extended.

2. Bend at the waist while simultaneously raising your legs and arms to meet in a jackknife position. Pause, then lower your arms and legs back to the starting position.

3. Repeat for the desired amount of reps.


Words and workout by Nichelle Laus, model: Shannon Prasarn, photography by Dave Laus

NEXT: Check out our collection of amazing ab workouts
{nomultithumb}

 

from Fitness http://ift.tt/1JJ6HO5

4 breathing techniques to reduce stress

Feeling stressed? Simple tweaks to breathing can immeasurably boost wellbeing and reduce stress. Here's how to audit and upgrade your breath for better physical and mental health.

Step 1: Breathe from your abdomen
To get the most out of each breath, you need to breathe from your belly, says Ros Ben-Moshe, director of Laughlife Wellbeing Programs.
"Optimal breathing stems from the abdomen, where a richer inhalation of oxygen and exhalation of carbon dioxide occurs, slowing the heart rate and easing anxiety." She says breathing deeper in this way stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which induces feelings of "peace and calm".
"Interestingly, we begin our lives breathing well, which can be seen watching babies breathing, as they take deep breaths in and out with their abdomen rising and falling, not their chest," Ben-Moshe notes. Somewhere along the way we lose this vital skill of breathing through our tummies, and rely on shallow breathing instead.