Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Analysis: Greeks count mental health cost of a country in
crisis
LONDON (Reuters) – Behind every suicide in crisis-stricken
countries such as Greece there are up to 20 more people
desperate enough to have tried to end their own lives. And
behind those attempted suicides, experts say there are
thousands of hidden cases of mental illness, like depression,
alcohol abuse and anxiety disorder, that never make the news,
but have large and potentially long-lasting human costs.
Poll suggests close election for Calif. tobacco tax
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A California ballot measure that
proposes adding a $1 tax to a pack of cigarettes holds a
tenuous eight-point lead in a Field Poll survey with less than
a week to go to election day. Survey results released on
Thursday showed 50 percent of likely voters backing the June 5
ballot measure and 42 opposed and 8 percent undecided.
Opting for plain water might prevent diabetes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who chose plain water,
instead of sweet drinks such as sodas or fruit juice, had a
slightly lowered risk of developing diabetes in a large new
study. The results, based on more than 80,000 women followed
for more than a decade, suggest that adding water to the sugary
beverages a person drinks throughout the day won’t make a
difference, but replacing sweet drinks with water could help
stave off the metabolic disorder.
U.S. FDA checks dictionary on corn syrup vs sugar
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. food and beverage makers who
add high-fructose corn syrup to soda, breakfast cereal and
other items will not be able to label it ”corn sugar,” under a
decision by federal officials that frustrated corn processors
but won praise from the sugar industry and some health
advocates. Both sides say they have consumers’ interests at
heart and are trying to minimize confusion about the term
”sugar.”
Fewer food choices don’t help people lose weight
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Reducing people’s options for
junk foods gets them to cut back on the amount of calories they
take in from junk food, but it doesn’t help them to lose
weight, according to a new study. ”Limiting variety was helpful
for reducing intake for that type of food group, but it
appeared that compensation occurred in other parts of the
diet,” said Hollie Raynor, a professor at the University of
Tennessee and the lead author of the study.
U.S. House panel backs medical device tax repeal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Republican-controlled
congressional panel voted on Thursday to repeal a tax on
medical devices, a key revenue provision in President Barack
Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform law, but the measure was not
expected to become law. Approval in the House, which is
dominated by Republicans, was viewed as probable, possibly as
soon as next week. But the measure faced an uphill climb in the
Democrat-controlled Senate, where parallel legislation lacks
bipartisan sponsors.
Pedometers may help elderly move more
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Using a pedometer might
motivate sedentary older adults to fit more walking into their
daily routines, a new study suggests. Researchers found that
giving older adults a pedometer along with exercise advice
seemed to work better than advice alone — at least as far as
encouraging ”leisure” walking.
Stroke surgery overused in sick, older patients
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – One in five people who get
artery-clearing surgery to prevent a stroke are likely too old
and sick to live long enough to benefit from the procedure,
according to a new study. ”This is not extremely surprising to
me, because I had a sense we weren’t doing a great job with
patient selection,” said Dr. Jessica Wallaert, the lead author
of the study and a researcher at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Bristol urges combo study with Gilead hepatitis drug
2012-05-31T161441Z_1_BRE84U0WD_RTROPTC_0_US-BRISTOLMYERS-GILEAD
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Drug bans hamper brain research, says neuroscientist
LONDON (Reuters) – Bans on drugs like ecstasy, magic
mushrooms and LSD have hampered scientific research on the
brain and stalled the progress of medicine as much as George
Bush’s ban on stem cell research did, a leading British drug
expert said on Thursday. David Nutt, a professor of
neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and a former
chief adviser on drugs to the British government, said the
international prohibition of psychedelics and other
mind-altering drugs over the past half century has had damaging
and ”perverse” consequences.
