By Rich Kozlovich.
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. I have found this week's offerings to be particularly worthwhile in disabusing everyone of the junk science behind most of the claims by the greenies. I have highlighted those that I am most fond of. Please pay particular attention to those. In dealing with the greenies you will notice a common pattern. Demand more studies and reject anything that doesn’t fit with that bulwark of junk science and their primary article of faith; the Precautionary Principle.
We must come to understand that everything we are being told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality. In the real world we are exposed to more synthetic chemicals than ever before in human history. Yet, in spite of their claims of human health disasters, people in the real world people are living longer healthier lives than ever before in human history. They make every negative health claim that they can, with little or no evidence, that everything that makes modern life possible is killing us. The reality is that everything they offer as utopia ends up creating dystopia all over the world. We need to get this…..they are irrational and misanthropic. The least insane among them want to rid the world of a mere four or five billion people and the most insane wants mankind eliminated. I would think that it should be obvious to the most casual observer that everything they work toward is a goal of ridding the Earth of humanity; not to preserve and promote humanity.
Their technological alternatives are all failures and the philosophical alternatives would put mankind back into the stone ages with an average lifespan of about 30 years. If that is what they subscribe to why would we think that they really care about our health and longevity? Why don’t we all… and I mean all …..get that? What is so complicated? All that we have to do is use their own actions and words to get that?
ADHD
Evidence of ADHD’s genetic origin, in some
And while Dr. Landrigan may believe that environmental "toxins" are the cause of several neurological disorders, a new study published in Nature Genetics supports the more likely theory that genetics play a much bigger role - specifically for patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
AIDS
HIV immune test cost-effective, but there’s still a price to pay
Viral load tests - which essentially count the number of HIV particles in a patient's circulation - are routinely used to assess the status of an HIV patient.
CANCER
Chemo’s life-saving cred quantified for breast cancer patients
Older chemotherapy drugs from the 1980s reduced breast cancer mortality by nearly a quarter.
Dueling stories in USA Today — but only the science-based one is ight
Environmental chemicals might or might not pose a significant risk to women's breast health, depending on which of two bizarrely conflicting USA Today articles you believe.
Combo therapy for advanced HER-2 breast cancer leads to slower progression
HER-2 positive breast cancer, accounting for approximately 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients, is considered to be a more aggressive form of cancer, often associated with poorer outcomes.
DIET
New study tips the scale in favor of weight loss for obese pregnant women
Though some women may use pregnancy as an excuse to indulge a little, some health experts caution that obese pregnant women should be more mindful of their eating habits and perhaps actually strive to lose some extra pounds.
Low HDL a sign, maybe not a cause, of CVD
Contrary to conventional wisdom, lower levels of "good" cholesterol may not actually increase a person's risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Calcium good in bones, bad in hearts
There may be tests beyond a blood pressure reading - beyond even considering standard risk factors such as LDL and HDL cholesterol - that could help assess a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease, suggests a new study. By measuring the burden of calcium in the coronary arteries, say German researchers, it is possible to distinguish between people who have different cardiovascular risk levels - even among those who have similar blood pressure readings.
Feds crack down on crackpot diet product
This past spring, we discussed the dangerously cracked logic of a weight-loss fad centered on the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).
Doctor, doctor, give me the news
Although about one third of U.S. children are overweight, less than a quarter of these children's parents could recall their doctors telling them that their children were overweight, according to the results of a recent survey.
Let’s get physical to fight obesity
The results of a new nationwide survey reveal conditions that aren't favorable to improving the health of overweight children.
HEART
New reports on omega-3 fatty acids: Not much “there” there
Salmon, mackerel, cod, herring. Younger women can cut their risk of cardiovascular disease in half by eating fish like these that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, Danish researchers have reported.
INTERESTING TWIST!
FDA’s Plan B policy gets an F from HHS’s Sebelius
In an unprecedented move, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has overruled a decision by the FDA to allow emergency contraception - the "morning-after pill" - to be sold over-the-counter to teenagers under 17.
PESTICIDES
Pesticides and Health in D.C.
ACSH's trip to Capitol Hill in D.C. was a big success, report Executive Director Dr. Gilbert Ross and Director of Development and Media Jody Manley.
PHARMA
Two cheers for Drs. Bloom and Ross
In an article for Science Careers, a supplement to the journal Science, reporter Elisabeth Pain interviewed ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom about his take on the crises in the pharmaceutical sector.
Stop your bellyaching — a new vaccine may be on the way
Norovirus, the cause of the so-called "stomach flu," or "cruise ship virus," is the second most common illness in the U.S. (the common cold is the first), and it's also the leading cause of foodborne illness.
SCARES AND CONSEQUENCES
FearsHospital, heal thyself
Leave it to Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai, to once again needlessly scare the American public.
FDA to re-examine BPA: A win-win despite NRDC’s exultation
Activists at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are patting themselves on the back now that the FDA has agreed to respond to their petition demanding a ruling on bisphenol A's (BPA) health risks - or lack thereof.
Something’s rotten in Louisiana, but it’s not the fish
In Louisiana, two U.S. Senators are pushing back against the NRDC's relentless efforts to promote their usual irresponsible, unscientific claims.
SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY
Say goodbye to a Wolfe in sheep’s clothing
While experts are frequently excluded from health and science panels due to "conflicts of interest" that result from concerns about industry funding, the FDA has made an unusual decision: to eject a panel member because of an "intellectual conflict of interest."
My Take - I give all credit to this because of global warming! All of the exposure of fraud in the “science” of climate change has made it abundantly clear that these loons with Ph.D.'s are still loons who cannot be convinced of anything other than their own particular greenie views. Views that can only be categorized as articles of faith to a neo-pseudo-pagan religion! No amount of valid science can disabuse them of their positions, so why bother? This is long overdue and needs to be expanded all throughout government, science and universities. A good start in making that happen is to eliminate government grant money! Since grant money is now the holy grail of science...not truth!.
STROKE
Treating prehypertension reduces risk of stroke
As research in cardiovascular health evolves, experts have carved out a new category for patients who have a blood pressure reading that falls into the gray area between normal and hypertensive.
VACCINATIONS
Delta skids off the runway with anti-vaccine video
Intentionally or not, Delta Airlines has put itself in league with anti-vaccine activists, airing an in-flight video segment that encourages viewers to avoid the flu vaccine.
Delta flies right again
Yesterday we criticized Delta Airlines for airing an in-flight anti-vaccine video.
Shots for everyone: Celebrate National Influenza Vaccination Week
It's National Influenza Vaccination Week
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!
###
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The American Council on Science and Heatlh, 2011: Week 12
Posted by Rich Kozlovich
Mini-strokes may cause major consequences
Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) may be referred to as "mini-strokes," but there's nothing mini about the increased risk for stroke and heart attack which comes in their wake.
Expanded approval for shingles vaccine
Varicella zoster virus (VZV), the pathogen that causes chickenpox when first encountered in early childhood, can reawaken decades later and cause the painful skin eruption known as shingles.
New melanoma drug gets green light from FDA
Bristol-Myers Squibb's new melanoma drug Yervoy won approval from the FDA on Friday after a randomized clinical trial showed that patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the drug lived about four months longer than patients in the control group - although the median survival among the treated patients was only ten months.
Can Actos Prevent Diabetes?
After allegations were made linking the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) to an increased risk of heart attack, it was taken off the market in Europe, and its use was severely restricted here by the FDA.
ER cases higher among Ecstasy users
Known to invoke feelings of ecstasy, the eponymous illicit party drug, also known as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is the cause of an increasing number of medical emergencies, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In defense of vaccines
ACSH staffers were pleased to encounter a variety of pieces defending vaccines as a vital public health practice. A book review in today's The New York Times, for instance, features an excellent work by informed consumer and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Seth Mnookin.
The EPA: More trouble than it’s worth and should be abolished, says Dr. Miller
Happy 40th Birthday, EPA, and may it be the last, says Hoover Institution Fellow and former ACSH trustee Dr. Henry Miller.
CSPI dyeing to link food coloring to ADHD
Like the mole in the whack-a-mole game, the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Michael Jacobson just keeps coming back for a good whack in the head. This time, he has tried to resurrect the unfounded claim that food dyes trigger Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in kids who are predisposed to it - an issue first introduced in the 1970s by Dr. Ben Feingold.
My Take - Another day, another scare. Their ability to recycle these things is uncanny. Then again....there is another generation out there that didn't hear this unfounded scare before. Another generation that can be misled and misinformed. Another fallacious scare that can generate money and recruit ignorant protestors.
Running and knees: perfect together
Yesterday, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a timely health story countering the popular notion that running poses a threat to knee health.
The X-Ray(t)ed Truth: Airport scanners pose no health threat
After the Transportation Security Administration announced the installation of new body scanners in airports last year, the mass media ran amok, hyping up the public's fears of excess radiation exposure and privacy violations.
Elderly excluded from many drug trials for treatments aimed at them
A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that 43 percent of 251 clinical trials investigating heart failure show evidence of ageism.
Biodiversity doesn’t feed people, but GM crops do
During a United Nations meeting in Bali to discuss a treaty on plant genetics, La Via Campesina, which according to an article in The Atlantic, is said to be an international farmers' movement comprised of 150 organizations in 70 countries, decided not to waste time addressing real agricultural problems like the rising cost of food, starvation in underdeveloped nations and the poor crop yields in certain areas.
My Take - If there was ever an obvious and hysterically insane cause this is it. Norman Borlaug saved untold millions of lives because of his Green Revolution which emphasized high yield crops, pesticides and fertilizers.....and the greenies vilified him for it. Now that he is dead; what is his legacy? He saved untold millions and untold millions more are surviving now and untold millions more will survive into the future because of his work.
Borlaug supported GM foods because they are necessary and no harm to society or the environment has ever been shown by their use. We have lost our minds when we listen to these madmen who would rather see millions die than use GM foods. Since their policies are going to kill untold numbers of children why should we believe them when they tell us to adopt their policies because "it’s for the children"? The legacy of the greenies is that untold millions have suffered and died; untold millions will suffer and die long into the future because of them. This insane resistance to GM foods must be brought to a halt and the greenies need to be prosecuted!
Surprise: FDA tells Star Scientific its dissolvable tobacco lozenge not regulated under tobacco law
In a surprise ruling, the FDA determined last week that tobacco product maker Star Scientific Inc. is free to market and sell its Ariva-BDL and Stonewall-BDL dissolvable tobacco lozenges independent of FDA regulation since the products do not fall under the jurisdiction of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Study lauds BPA- and DEHP-free diet: But where’s the harm?
If it were up to The Silent Spring Institute and the Breast Cancer Fund, both activist groups disguised as environmental and health advocacy organizations, they would have you believe that the results of their newest study, with funding from the Passport Foundation, justify the need to convert to a non-packaged, organic food (and maybe raw?) diet.
My Take - I would like to recommend viewing Alan Caruba's BPA Series. This link will take you to the first three articles in his six part series.
FDA counters KV’s premature warning against compounding early-labor prevention drug
KV pharmaceuticals recently won exclusive rights to the marketing of the pre-term labor prevention drug they've branded Makena. Priced at a whopping $1500 per shot, the therapy may cost up to $30,000 per pregnancy since it usually requires 20 weekly injections to prevent premature labor in patients who have a predisposition to or a history of going into premature labor.
The (Minnesota) clone wars: Is there a scientist in the House (or Senate)?Sometimes politics and science do not mix, as illustrated by the GOP effort in Minnesota to push a so-called cloning ban that, as written, would bring the state's stem cell research to a halt.
Fewer lung cancer deaths among women, but smoking’s toll keeps rising
In a survey asking approximately 250,000 people about their current and past smoking habits, researchers learned that smoking causes half a million deaths annually in the U.S. - an increase from the prior estimates of about 450,000 deaths.
Seat belts, not plastic bans, save lives
Lung cancer deaths aren't the only fatality on the decline.
My Take - If the greenies and their allies irrational scares were accurate the risk charts would be upside down. Why? Because all of the things that they claim are so disastrous are at the bottom of the charts. Pesticides are at the very bottom, yet you would believe from the hysteria they generate that people are dropping dead all over the place. Since that, very obviously, isn't happening they resort to logical fallacies and claim that exposure can cause cancer in old age. Since cancer is an affliction of the aged they can claim they are correct, yet cancer has been on the decline for decades and if you were to compare the demographics between the population one hundred years ago and the demographics of our population you would notice two startling and obvious differences regarding cancer. There were very few people who lived to be over 65 (that is why they picked 65 as the retirement age for Social Security) and there were very few smokers; the two top cancer demographics. When that is taken into consideration the cancer rate really drops. In point of fact; name their hysterical claims that didn't turn out to be a red herrings!
PSA tests: When screening may cause more harm than good
Over the past few years, prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has received a lot of media flack while various health organizations and physicians struggle to outline specific guidelines for the exam.
My Take - For men over forty....go see your doctor every year. As we age...twice a year.
White-coat effect responsible for almost 40 percent of resistant hypertension
While sitting at the physician's office, some people may become anxious as they await their looming encounter with The Doctor.
HCV triumph: Taming the “silent killer”
For patients with hepatitis C, the only available treatment up till now has limited efficacy and debilitating side effects. But that is all about to change.
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!
###
Mini-strokes may cause major consequences
Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) may be referred to as "mini-strokes," but there's nothing mini about the increased risk for stroke and heart attack which comes in their wake.
Expanded approval for shingles vaccine
Varicella zoster virus (VZV), the pathogen that causes chickenpox when first encountered in early childhood, can reawaken decades later and cause the painful skin eruption known as shingles.
New melanoma drug gets green light from FDA
Bristol-Myers Squibb's new melanoma drug Yervoy won approval from the FDA on Friday after a randomized clinical trial showed that patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the drug lived about four months longer than patients in the control group - although the median survival among the treated patients was only ten months.
Can Actos Prevent Diabetes?
After allegations were made linking the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) to an increased risk of heart attack, it was taken off the market in Europe, and its use was severely restricted here by the FDA.
ER cases higher among Ecstasy users
Known to invoke feelings of ecstasy, the eponymous illicit party drug, also known as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is the cause of an increasing number of medical emergencies, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In defense of vaccines
ACSH staffers were pleased to encounter a variety of pieces defending vaccines as a vital public health practice. A book review in today's The New York Times, for instance, features an excellent work by informed consumer and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Seth Mnookin.
The EPA: More trouble than it’s worth and should be abolished, says Dr. Miller
Happy 40th Birthday, EPA, and may it be the last, says Hoover Institution Fellow and former ACSH trustee Dr. Henry Miller.
CSPI dyeing to link food coloring to ADHD
Like the mole in the whack-a-mole game, the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Michael Jacobson just keeps coming back for a good whack in the head. This time, he has tried to resurrect the unfounded claim that food dyes trigger Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in kids who are predisposed to it - an issue first introduced in the 1970s by Dr. Ben Feingold.
My Take - Another day, another scare. Their ability to recycle these things is uncanny. Then again....there is another generation out there that didn't hear this unfounded scare before. Another generation that can be misled and misinformed. Another fallacious scare that can generate money and recruit ignorant protestors.
Running and knees: perfect together
Yesterday, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a timely health story countering the popular notion that running poses a threat to knee health.
The X-Ray(t)ed Truth: Airport scanners pose no health threat
After the Transportation Security Administration announced the installation of new body scanners in airports last year, the mass media ran amok, hyping up the public's fears of excess radiation exposure and privacy violations.
Elderly excluded from many drug trials for treatments aimed at them
A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that 43 percent of 251 clinical trials investigating heart failure show evidence of ageism.
Biodiversity doesn’t feed people, but GM crops do
During a United Nations meeting in Bali to discuss a treaty on plant genetics, La Via Campesina, which according to an article in The Atlantic, is said to be an international farmers' movement comprised of 150 organizations in 70 countries, decided not to waste time addressing real agricultural problems like the rising cost of food, starvation in underdeveloped nations and the poor crop yields in certain areas.
My Take - If there was ever an obvious and hysterically insane cause this is it. Norman Borlaug saved untold millions of lives because of his Green Revolution which emphasized high yield crops, pesticides and fertilizers.....and the greenies vilified him for it. Now that he is dead; what is his legacy? He saved untold millions and untold millions more are surviving now and untold millions more will survive into the future because of his work.
Borlaug supported GM foods because they are necessary and no harm to society or the environment has ever been shown by their use. We have lost our minds when we listen to these madmen who would rather see millions die than use GM foods. Since their policies are going to kill untold numbers of children why should we believe them when they tell us to adopt their policies because "it’s for the children"? The legacy of the greenies is that untold millions have suffered and died; untold millions will suffer and die long into the future because of them. This insane resistance to GM foods must be brought to a halt and the greenies need to be prosecuted!
Surprise: FDA tells Star Scientific its dissolvable tobacco lozenge not regulated under tobacco law
In a surprise ruling, the FDA determined last week that tobacco product maker Star Scientific Inc. is free to market and sell its Ariva-BDL and Stonewall-BDL dissolvable tobacco lozenges independent of FDA regulation since the products do not fall under the jurisdiction of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Study lauds BPA- and DEHP-free diet: But where’s the harm?
If it were up to The Silent Spring Institute and the Breast Cancer Fund, both activist groups disguised as environmental and health advocacy organizations, they would have you believe that the results of their newest study, with funding from the Passport Foundation, justify the need to convert to a non-packaged, organic food (and maybe raw?) diet.
My Take - I would like to recommend viewing Alan Caruba's BPA Series. This link will take you to the first three articles in his six part series.
FDA counters KV’s premature warning against compounding early-labor prevention drug
KV pharmaceuticals recently won exclusive rights to the marketing of the pre-term labor prevention drug they've branded Makena. Priced at a whopping $1500 per shot, the therapy may cost up to $30,000 per pregnancy since it usually requires 20 weekly injections to prevent premature labor in patients who have a predisposition to or a history of going into premature labor.
The (Minnesota) clone wars: Is there a scientist in the House (or Senate)?Sometimes politics and science do not mix, as illustrated by the GOP effort in Minnesota to push a so-called cloning ban that, as written, would bring the state's stem cell research to a halt.
Fewer lung cancer deaths among women, but smoking’s toll keeps rising
In a survey asking approximately 250,000 people about their current and past smoking habits, researchers learned that smoking causes half a million deaths annually in the U.S. - an increase from the prior estimates of about 450,000 deaths.
Seat belts, not plastic bans, save lives
Lung cancer deaths aren't the only fatality on the decline.
My Take - If the greenies and their allies irrational scares were accurate the risk charts would be upside down. Why? Because all of the things that they claim are so disastrous are at the bottom of the charts. Pesticides are at the very bottom, yet you would believe from the hysteria they generate that people are dropping dead all over the place. Since that, very obviously, isn't happening they resort to logical fallacies and claim that exposure can cause cancer in old age. Since cancer is an affliction of the aged they can claim they are correct, yet cancer has been on the decline for decades and if you were to compare the demographics between the population one hundred years ago and the demographics of our population you would notice two startling and obvious differences regarding cancer. There were very few people who lived to be over 65 (that is why they picked 65 as the retirement age for Social Security) and there were very few smokers; the two top cancer demographics. When that is taken into consideration the cancer rate really drops. In point of fact; name their hysterical claims that didn't turn out to be a red herrings!
PSA tests: When screening may cause more harm than good
Over the past few years, prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has received a lot of media flack while various health organizations and physicians struggle to outline specific guidelines for the exam.
My Take - For men over forty....go see your doctor every year. As we age...twice a year.
White-coat effect responsible for almost 40 percent of resistant hypertension
While sitting at the physician's office, some people may become anxious as they await their looming encounter with The Doctor.
HCV triumph: Taming the “silent killer”
For patients with hepatitis C, the only available treatment up till now has limited efficacy and debilitating side effects. But that is all about to change.
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!
###
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)