A New Vaccine Could Prevent High Cholesterol, Study Suggests

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It’s still in its early stages, but researchers at the University of New Mexico and the National Institutes of Health are in the process of developing a vaccine to prevent high cholesterol that’s shown promise among mice and monkeys.

Millions of people regularly take cholesterol-lowering statins to prevent heart-related illness. But in a new study published in the journal Vaccine suggests there might be an injectable way to prevent bad cholesterol build up in the future.

The vaccine targets a protein called PCSK9 that’s involved the management of cholesterol levels in the blood. By interfering with PCSK9, the researchers are able to lower cholesterol in the blood, and have shown that just one vaccination has significantly cut down on LDL cholesterol (considered the bad type of cholesterol) levels in lab animals.

“One of the most exciting things about this new vaccine is it seems to be much more effective than statins alone,” study author Dr. Bryce Chackerian from the University of New Mexico said in a statement.

The protein PCSK9 is a common target for drug makers to lower cholesterol. Recently, a new class of drugs called PCSK9-inhibitors were approved in the United States. They’re thought to be possible game-changers for cholesterol treatment. Statins can have side effects, which is why researchers have looked for other options, including the vaccine.

More research will be needed to determine if a vaccine for lower cholesterol is a viable option for humans.

Read more: This New FDA-Approved Cholesterol Drug Is a Game Changer

 

This post originally appeared on Time.com.

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Hershey Makes a Big Change to Chocolate Recipe

Photo: Getty Images

Hershey has great news for vanilla enthusiasts everywhere: the chocolate maker has begun swapping out the artificial ingredient “vanillin” for the real deal in its kisses and chocolate bars.

The Hershey chocolate maker in Pennsylvania implemented the change a few weeks ago, so that bags of the more natural chocolates are now hitting shelves, the AP reports. The move is the first in a series of changes to remove all artificial ingredients from the chocolates.

Hershey announced the commitment in February, saying it would transition to “simple” and “easy-to-understand” ingredients. This first change is likely undetectable, but people can nonetheless embrace the upgrade as cause for chocolate celebration and consumption.

[AP]

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Falls, Fights Cause Most Serious Eye Injuries: Study

MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Falls and fights are the leading causes of eye injuries that land people in the hospital, a new study finds.

Also, the cost of treating such injuries is going up. The analysis of data from nearly 47,000 people hospitalized for eye injuries between 2002 and 2011 showed that treatment costs rose 62 percent during that time and is now more than $20,000 per injury.

“While we have some clues, we still can’t be certain why it’s more expensive to get treated for an eye injury now than before,” wrote lead researcher Dr. Christina Prescott, an ophthalmology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

“It could be related to drug prices or administrative costs. Either way, it’s clear we need more targeted interventions to help reduce these types of injuries, many of which are preventable,” she added.

Falls were the leading cause of eye injuries and accounted for more than 8,425 hospitalizations. Most cases involved patients aged 60 and older. Falls caused by slipping resulted in nearly 3,000 eye injuries, and falling down stairs caused 900 eye injuries, according to a news release from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Overall, fighting and assaults caused the second highest number of eye injuries, accounting for nearly 8,000 hospitalizations. However, this was the most common cause of eye injuries among those aged 10 to 59.

Among children aged 10 and younger, the leading cause of eye injury was accidentally being hit by a person or object, followed by car crashes and accidentally being hit, pierced or cut by sharp objects such as scissors.

The median cost of treating eye injuries rose from $12,430 to $20,116 over the study period. Costs are higher at large hospitals and for older patients, according to the study that was to be presented Friday at the academy’s annual meeting, in Las Vegas.

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

Prevent Blindness America offers eye injury prevention tips.

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Male Infertility Might Signal Higher Odds of Testicular Cancer

MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Men with reduced fertility could be at increased risk for testicular cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at over 20,000 men who underwent semen analysis as part of infertility treatment between 1996 and 2011. They were compared to a control group with the same number of men known to be fertile.

Overall, 421 cases of cancer were diagnosed. The most common cancers were melanoma skin cancer, testicular and prostate cancers.

The subfertile men — those who sought infertility treatment — were three times more likely to develop testicular cancer than those in the control group, the study found. The risk was 10 times higher in those with an abnormally low sperm count.

Other types of sperm problems also increased the risk, the University of Utah researchers said in the Nov. 16 issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.

However, the study doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, so men with fertility problems shouldn’t panic.

Contrary to previous studies, the researchers found no increased cancer risk in men with no sperm in their semen, they said in a journal news release.

Also, the investigators detected no link between fertility and prostate cancer risk.

“This study provides new insights that will help us deliver better patient care and provides a strong foundation for the research needed to identify, and ultimately address, underlying physiologic problems that may lead to infertility or cancer,” Dr. Robert Oates, a past president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, said in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about testicular cancer.

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Teens, Parents Share E-Cigarette Concerns, Poll Finds

MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Teens agree with parents that the sale of electronic cigarettes should be tightly controlled, a new U.S. poll finds.

“We found overwhelming public support of state efforts to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of minors,” poll director Dr. Matthew Davis, a professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan, said in a university news release.

More than 75 percent of teens aged 13 to 18 and parents believe e-cigarette use should be restricted in public areas and that the devices should carry health warnings and be taxed like regular cigarettes, according to the national survey conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The hospital is part of the Ann Arbor-based university system.

The poll, released Monday, also found that 81 percent of teens and 84 percent of parents think allowing minors to use e-cigarettes will encourage them to use other tobacco products. And more than half of teens and parents think it is easy for minors to buy e-cigarettes, while 71 percent of teens and 64 percent of parents support banning candy- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.

Fourteen percent of parents and 9 percent of teens said they have tried or currently use e-cigarettes, and 42 percent of teens said they know other teens who have used e-cigarettes.

All U.S. states except Michigan and Pennsylvania restrict e-cigarette sales to minors.

“Just as we are seeing declines in smoking of conventional cigarettes, there has been rapid growth in use of electronic cigarettes among youth. Our poll indicates that both parents and teens agree that e-cigarettes pose several concerns,” Davis said.

“We found overwhelming public support of state efforts to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of minors,” he added.

E-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Some people may be surprised that teenagers’ views are remarkably consistent with what parents think about e-cigarettes,” Davis said. “The strong level of agreement between parents and teens suggests that both groups are concerned about the health hazards of e-cigarettes.”

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about e-cigarettes.

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Breast-Feeding Linked to Reduced Risk of Preemie Eye Problem

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Breast-feeding a premature infant may help reduce the risk of a serious eye problem known as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), new research suggests.

The researchers said that when babies were exclusively fed breast milk, the risk of any-stage ROP appeared to drop by about 75 percent. And the risk of severe ROP seemed to be reduced by 90 percent, the researchers added.

“Human milk feeding potentially plays a strong role in protecting very preterm newborns from any-stage ROP and severe ROP,” the international team of study authors wrote.

Retinopathy of prematurity causes blood vessels to grow in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. When the vessels grow, they can cause the retina to detach, destroying vision, according to the U.S. National Eye Institute.

For the study, researchers from China, Canada and the United Kingdom reanalyzed the results of five published studies on ROP. The studies included more than 2,200 preterm infants, comparing how often babies had been fed human milk or formula, and whether or not they developed ROP.

However, the new analysis only showed an association between breast milk and a reduced risk of ROP. It did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship due to the study’s design.

Results of the study were published online Nov. 16 in Pediatrics.

Extremely preterm babies are most at risk of ROP. In the United States, 59 percent of babies born at 22 to 28 weeks have the disorder, said study researcher Dr. Chao Chen, a neonatologist at Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, in Shanghai. He added that in China, a previous study showed the incidence of ROP was 50 percent in infants with a birth weight under 1,000 grams (2.2 pounds).

ROP “has become a leading cause of childhood blindness in recent time,” Chen said. “In general, there are more ROP cases in developed countries, but more severe cases and higher rates of blindness in developing countries.”

The greater incidence of ROP is likely due to the increasing survival rate of very preterm babies in developed countries, according to Chen. In developing countries, preterm babies are less likely to survive. When they do, the screening and treatments are not as good, Chen said, so blindness may be more likely.

Babies in the studies had a range of gestational ages, from 26 to about 30 weeks. Their weights ranged from about 1.7 pounds to about 3 pounds. No information was given about how long the breast-feeding continued.

In re-evaluating the studies, Chen’s team found that breast-feeding in any amount appeared to reduce the risk of ROP. And it appeared that the more breast milk, the better. Exclusive breast-feeding seemed to drop the odds of ROP by 75 percent compared to exclusive formula use. And any breast-feeding appeared to reduce the odds of the serious eye disease by 46 percent, the research showed.

How might human milk offer protection from the eye disorder? The antioxidants in human milk may help, Chen said. Human milk also has immune-protective properties, the researchers said. Breast-feeding also seems to help prevent two conditions known as sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis that may require oxygen therapy, which has also been linked to a higher risk of ROP, the study authors said.

Dr. Adolfo Llanos, a neonatologist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, who was not involved with the new study, said the “quality of this analysis is very good. It’s reassuring to see the benefit we see with breast milk.”

He said breast milk may help by reducing inflammation in the body. “Preemies don’t regulate inflammation in their bodies well,” he said.

Llanos cautioned that the study looked only at a mother’s own breast milk, not donor milk, which can be used when the biological mother doesn’t have enough of her own breast milk.

The takeaway from this study, Llanos said, is to breast-feed as long as possible, if possible.

More information

To learn more about breast-feeding, visit American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Pediatricians’ Group Urges Cuts in Antibiotic Use in Livestock

MONDAY, Nov. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Overuse of antibiotics in farm animals poses a real health risk to children, the American Academy of Pediatrics warns in a new report.

This common practice is already contributing to bacterial resistance to medicines and affecting doctors’ ability to treat life-threatening infections in kids, according to the paper published online Nov. 16 in the journal Pediatrics.

One expert in the field supported the academy’s stance.

“The connection between production uses of antibiotics in the agricultural sector to antibiotic resistance is alarming,” said Victoria Richards, an associate professor of medical sciences at the Quinnipiac University School of Medicine in Hamden, Conn.

She believes the danger is “not only for infants and children but other vulnerable populations, such as the pregnant and the older individuals.”

As the academy explained in its warning, antibiotics are often added to the feed of healthy livestock to boost growth, increase feed efficiency or prevent disease. However, the practice can also make antibiotics ineffective when they are needed to treat infections in people.

Some examples of emerging antibiotic germs include methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C.difficile, and highly resistant strains of the tuberculosis bacterium.

Each year, more than 2 million Americans develop antibiotic-resistant infections and more than 23,000 die from these infections, the academy said. And in 2013, the highest incidence of such infections was among children younger than 5, federal government statistics show.

“Children can be exposed to multiple-drug resistant bacteria, which are extremely difficult to treat if they cause an infection, through contact with animals given antibiotics and through consuming the meat of those animals,” report author Dr. Jerome Paulson, immediate past chair of the academy’s executive committee of the Council on Environmental Health, said in an academy news release.

“Like humans, farm animals should receive appropriate antibiotics for bacterial infections,” he said. “However, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics without a prescription or the input of a veterinarian puts the health of children at risk.”

Dr. Ken Spaeth is chief of occupational and environmental medicine at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. He said that, given the huge quantities of antibiotics given to livestock each year, “it should be no surprise that animals receiving these antibiotics eventually produce and spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

“Some of these drug-resistant bacteria have been found in the intestinal flora [microbial communities] of humans, while other such bacteria end up reaching consumers via contaminated meat and chicken,” Spaeth explained.

“What’s more, the resistant bacteria end up spreading into the ambient environment through water, soil and air that comes in contact with the bacteria,” he added, “thereby creating reservoirs of resistant strains which allow for further expansion of resistance.”

Spaeth noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the World Health Organization, have both called for a curbing of antibiotic use in animals. But the authors of the new report expressed concern over resistance from the agriculture and farming industry to such measures.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about antibiotic resistance.

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Summer Body Warrior Challenge - wk1 cardio

This week is all about finding your groove and familiarising yourself with the main movements you’ll do during the next four weeks.

Equipment

• stopwatch
• two cones or markers (water bottles will do)
• two mats or towels

Find a local park or oval and measure out approximately 100 metres. Place a cone or marker at each end along with a mat or towel. The session requires you to surge – think 70 per cent of your maximum speed – from one end to the other. At one end, stop and do 10 push-ups. At the other, do 10 sit-ups. Continue to run back and forth, augmenting sprints with bodyweight moves until you've clocked your nominated sets and reps (see options based on fitness level). Keep it moving and don't be tempted to down tools during a set; that's what the 90-second breaks between sets are for!

Option A
x8 reps
4 sets
90 sec recovery between sets

 

Option B
x6 reps
x3 sets
90 sec recovery between sets

 

Option C
x4 reps
x4 sets
90 sec recovery between sets

NEXT: [add challenge links]

Words and workout by Sheena-Lauren, images by Damien Bowerman Photography

 

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Doctors Save Life of U.S. Child With Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Nov. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A 5-year-old child from the United States, stricken at age 2 with a deadly form of tuberculosis after traveling to India, is finally in remission, researchers report.

The case, one of only a handful reported in the medical literature, highlights the difficulties of treating an extensively drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, known as XDR TB, in children, the researchers said.

The case also highlights the growing global threat of this virulent form of TB and the risk to Americans traveling in countries where there is a high burden of disease.

A detailed account of the child’s diagnosis and treatment, and the obstacles that clinicians at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore faced, was published in the Nov. 16 online edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Study co-author Dr. Sanjay Jain, an associate professor of pediatrics and international health at Johns Hopkins University, said the case is a “wake-up” call to scientists and the public at large.

Even with the best medical care in the world, “it was tough for us to diagnose and treat this patient,” Jain said. “What would it be for the rest of the world?”

Some experts have called this highly drug-resistant form of TB “Ebola with wings” because the disease is airborne and the mortality rate is higher, said Dr. Jennifer Furin from the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

However, Furin, who is currently on assignment with Doctors Without Borders in South Africa, said she was struck by the amount of attention this particular case garnered. She and her colleagues in Cape Town see hundreds of children who are infected with drug-resistant strains of TB each year, and yet very little attention is paid to their plight.

“There is significant international experience in the management of children with [drug-resistant] TB, and it was a bit surprising to me that this was not utilized by the authors of the study nor cited in their references,” she said.

Furin said she hopes the case brings more attention to the problem, and that there will be greater U.S. engagement with providers internationally who have given care to hundreds of children with drug-resistant TB.

Extensively drug-resistant TB, caused by strains of bacteria that don’t respond to multiple drugs, is becoming increasingly prevalent, accounting for an estimated 10 percent of multidrug-resistant cases globally, the study authors said.

“Children are especially vulnerable because once infected, they fall sick faster with TB than adults,” explained Mercedes Becerra, an associate professor in the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard.

Fighting this virulent form of the lung disease in children raises a number of hurdles, including a lack of speedy and reliable techniques for definitively diagnosing the disease. Existing tests are much less sensitive in young children than adults, Jain explained.

In this case, the child returned from India with high fevers and a spot on her lung, hinting at the problem.

Although initial testing came back negative for TB, her medical team treated her as if she had the disease.

Her condition improved at first, but a repeat X-ray revealed unrelenting inflammation in her lung. Repeat lab tests confirmed, after 12 weeks, that she harbored an extensively drug-resistant form of the disease.

Clinicians tried a new cocktail, combining five different drugs plus vitamin B6, but soon encountered another hurdle: How would they monitor her response to treatment?

The answer: By repeatedly administering low-dose CT scans over six months.

“The CT scanning technique is not novel, but its use to monitor TB treatment in such a way is somewhat new,” Jain said.

Cases like this one underscore the need for additional research and investment, a number of experts noted.

“We need more research and we need to develop pediatric-appropriate diagnostic tests and child-friendly formulations of anti-TB drugs,” added Dr. James Seddon, clinical lecturer in the department of pediatric diseases at Imperial College in London.

More information

Find out more about drug-resistant TB at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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How to Keep Your Baby’s Slumber Safe

SATURDAY, Nov. 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — There are a number of things you should do to keep your baby safe while sleeping, an expert says.

Always place the baby on his or her back to sleep, including naps, and always on a flat, firm surface, said Dr. Mary Jones, child advocacy director for the Loyola University Health System pediatric team.

Babies should always sleep in their own bed, whether it is in the parents’ room or a separate room, she said. Never have a baby sleep in the same bed as other people.

It’s also important to prevent the baby from getting too hot while sleeping. Use a blanket sleeper or a second layer of clothing instead of a blanket, Jones suggested.

Parents should also keep the baby’s crib free of toys, blankets, positioners and bumpers.

“Despite the progress we’ve made, some surveys show as many as half of parents do not put infants to sleep on their backs,” Jones said in a Loyola news release.

“It’s important for physicians to take the time to emphasize safe sleeping, and parents shouldn’t be afraid to ask their baby’s doctor if they have questions about the recommendations. Safe sleep for babies saves lives,” she said.

Other tips include keeping the baby’s vaccinations up to date, never smoking in a baby’s room or home, and supervising tummy time when the baby is awake.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about babies and sleep.

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