American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 42

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

BIRTH DEFECTS

A simpler test for determining Down’s
A new prenatal blood test made by Sequenom will test for Down syndrome less invasively in the early stages of pregnancy.

Link between BP med and birth defects debunked
A previously feared link between ACE inhibitors (a common treatment for high blood pressure) and congenital heart defects may actually be unfounded, a recent study suggests.

CANCER

You can pick up the call
We may have run out of clever puns, but yet another, very large study has refuted the spurious link between cell phone use and brain cancer.

A new map for the Pap
It's been in the works for some time now, but on Wednesday, three U.S. cancer groups proposed new cervical cancer screening guidelines.

A teaspoon of RT helps keep the cancer away
Radiation following breast conserving surgery for women with smaller cancerous lesions is beneficial in terms of both recurrence and mortality, according to the results of a large meta-analyis of 17 studies published in The Lancet.

Irresponsible tactics as usual for a toxic breast cancer group
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, a time for various breast cancer organizations and health professionals to remind women of routine mammography guidelines and to make sure that those who need it are screened.

Mammograms: Should I or shouldn’t I? And how often?
There has lately been much debate about how often women should be screened for breast cancer.

More on cell-phony radiation
There has lately been much debate about how often women should be screened for breast cancer.

EMOTIONAL ISSUES

Sad to say, still not enough treatment for depression
Over one in 10 Americans aged 12 and over are currently using antidepressants, according to recent data from a federal health survey.

HEART

Heart failure strikes fewer seniors
A group of Yale researchers has found that the percentage of senior citizens hospitalized for heart failure has dropped by nearly one third since 1998.

Even more progress against coronary heart disease
Six percent of adults were told by a health professional last year that they have coronary heart disease (CHD), according to the results of a national survey conducted by the CDC.

SCARES AND CONSEQUENCES

Attention shoppers: Star-struck food labels and a worse EWG “food ranking list”
Shoppers might soon be seeing stars in the grocery aisles, if recent recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on food labeling are accepted by the FDA.

The EWG provides food for (no) thoughtIn her latest opinion article for Food Safety News, lawyer Michele Simon sets out to condemn the food industry's influence on the annual conference of the American Dietetic Association.

THIS AND THAT

Easing hyper-precautionary conflict rules for the FDA
Current FDA conflict of interest rules for advisory panels on drugs and medical devices are stifling innovation and preventing promising new treatments from getting to market, says Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Dr. Bloom’s new blog
If you happen to be a fan of ACSH Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Josh Bloom's frequently irreverent interjections in our Dispatch, we recommend that you check out his blog posts over at Medical Progress Today, where he will be a regular contributor.

Harm reduction works — for addicts of all kinds
Harm reduction has been an effective tool in relieving the plight of drug addicts who are at an increased risk of contracting severe infections - especially hepatitis and HIV, but also drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA - as a result of using contaminated shared needles.

TOBACCO

New act to STOP smuggled cigarettes
The illicit tobacco trade is running rampant, say some members of Congress, and they're introducing the aptly named Smuggled Tobacco Prevention (STOP) Act as a solution to this black market business.

Take me out to the ballgame (but don’t spit on me)
In other tobacco-related news, four U.S. senators have sent a letter to the Major League Baseball players union, asking them to agree to a ban on chewing tobacco during baseball's World Series, which begins tonight with Texas visiting St. Louis.

VACCINES

Vaccine science fires a big shot at malaria
Exciting results from a final stage clinical trial of an experimental malaria vaccine reveal that African children's risk of contracting malaria after being vaccinated was reduced by half.

SIDS, vaccines, and less TV
Publication Date: October 19, 2011
Parents can cut in half the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by making sure their newborns' immunizations are on schedule.

WATER FLORIDATION

Fight for water fluoridation tooth and nail
Fluoridating water reduces the incidence of tooth decay by 25 percent nationwide and is heralded as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Correction: 60 percent fewer cavities!
In yesterday's Dispatch, we noted how a disconcerting number of U.S. cities are opting out of fluoridated drinking water.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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