Yeshiva World News

What’s wrong with this picture? It looks like a beautiful day at the zoo! The problem is that it’s early December and these children should be in school. They would be if their schools had not been closed due to the barrage of rockets that has bathed southern Israel over the last week. Shai Kedem, an employee of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, estimates that there were seven to ten thousand visitors in the zoo today, most of them from southern Israel. “This is what the zoo looks like during summer vacation or Chol Hamoed. We never see these numbers this time of year.”

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo offered residents of bombarded cities significantly discounted tickets. Yad Eliezer, Israel’s largest poverty relief agency, took the opportunity to combine the discounted entrance with generous donations earmarked to benefit children from the south and sponsored three busses and the entrance fee for 313 parents and children. After the visitors toured the zoo the Yad Eliezer representatives brought the families pizza and care packages.

Batya Greenberg, a mother from Ofakim, told one of the Yad Eliezer representatives that she was deeply grateful for the much needed reprieve from the rockets. “With ten children and a husband who is legally blind, even if I had somewhere else to go it would be very difficult to be away from home. My son will be celebrating his Bar Mitzvah this Shabbos. We hoped that it would be an unforgettable celebration, but this was not what we had in mind!”

Aviva Levi, a teacher and mother of seven, recounts the challenges that parents face in caring for the children in the bomb shelters. “Eight large families are meant to share one basement room for shelter. The conditions there are unbearable. The rooms are dirty and dark, have no bathrooms, and the children have nothing to do. When the sirens go off we hold the children close and try to calm them, but I’m sure that they hear our hearts beating loudly in our chests.” She and other mothers thanked the Yad Eliezer representatives for arranging the trip and asked that donations of toys, books, and craft supplies be sent to make the time in the shelters more bearable.

Yad Eliezer has undertaken to deliver relief supplies this Thrusday to Kiriyat Malachi where the first casualty of operation Pillar of Cloud took place last week.

Nili Avnei Magen, a veterinarian from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo commented, “We are glad to have been able to host so many families from the south so that the could have a pleasant day at the zoo.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A resident of northern Israel in his 60s complained to his doctors that despite genuine efforts to lose weight including a serious diet he has been unsuccessful. The patient added that to his astonishment, he has even gained weight. After checking his patient, including a visual exam and palpating his abdominal area the doctor referred his patient for additional testing.

The tests led to surgery and the removal of an abdominal growth weighing 10.5kg (23 lbs) and measuring 35cm (13.7 inches).

Surgeons report they succeeded in removing the entire growth without compromising the patient’s internal organs. Needless to say when the growth was sent for a weigh-in and measuring the medical staff was astounded upon hearing the results.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

The findings of a study released by the Central Bureau of Statistics reveals some alarming information. The level of pesticides in agricultural produce in Israel in 2008-2010 is the highest among OECD nations. This means that the Israeli agricultural produce is the most dangerous food in the world from among Western nations.

The study examined components of pesticides used by companies that manufacture or import materials to Israel, and it was learned that the toxic materials in 3.5 tons/thousand dunam (250 acres) is 88 times higher than in Sweden (0.04), which maintains a low level. Earning the unwanted second place among OECD nations is Japan with 1.55 tons/250 acres.

Relative to the size of the population, Japan leads with 4.95 tons/1,000 people. Israel follows with 1 ton/1,000 people followed by Hungary (0.98/1,000). At the top of the list is Switzerland and Norway (0.19 ton/1,000), and Sweden (0.11/1,000 people).

Ministry of Agriculture officials promise a revision, stating in Israel, 7,000 tons of toxic pesticides are sold annually, used primarily to kill fungi and bacteria, plants and insects and soil evaporation. There are 670 types for different use. There are also other materials used towards preserving produce and prolonging storage and shelf life and there is growth regulation by the use of hormones and nutritional supplements added to plants.

Banned components were found in 570 pesticides used in Israel. The survey further notes that despite the Montreal Protocol, “The International banned use of pesticides that harm the ozone layer, especially methyl bromide which is considered the most commonly used pesticide in the past generation, methyl bromide (compound of carbon, hydrogen and bromine) is still in use on 570 pesticides sold in Israel.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has ordered a revision, inter alia through the introduction of less toxic alternative materials instead of materials containing organic phosphates and herbicides prohibited from use.

The ministry is also encouraging moving over to more environmentally friendly methods primarily in use against the fruit fly. There is also an increase in the use of traps instead of pesticides as well as distribution of sterile flies.

Methyl Bromide

“Methyl bromide causes serious damage not only to the human body but also long-term damage to the environment, so there is a global trend to reduce the use of it,” explains Dr. Dario and Ratnik. “When the material comes into contact with the human body high concentrations, it can damage the liver. However, the damage is causing severe damage to the ozone layer material. Injury leads to increased ultraviolet radiation – even indirect, may damage the nervous system and expose us to skin cancer. ”

According to Dr. Ratnik, despite the recognition of the increasing damage that makes methyl bromide, although the prohibition against its use – and despite the fact that the Montreal Convention signed in 1995 prohibits its use in Israel, a factory in Ramat Chovav continues to manufacture it. If this were not enough – Israel is the largest exporter of this dangerous material to the east, which continues using it. Simply stated, the ban is ignored here in Israel.

Not surprisingly, Israel opposed the ban of methyl bromide claiming that the only material that helps farmers for pest control. ”

Dr. Ratnik adds that in line with the Montreal Convention the use of methyl bromide was banned since 2005 with the exception of some underdeveloped countries will have difficulty dealing with the economic loss resulting from insects destroying agricultural produce. ”

“Contrary to those underdeveloped countries, Western devolved nations require a special permit to use methyl bromide,” continues Dr. Ratnik. “The question now is do we have such a certificate or is the flippant attitude once again exploding in our faces?”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

People who collapse from cardiac arrest in poor black neighborhoods are half as likely to get CPR from family members at home or bystanders on the street as those in better-off white neighborhoods, according to a study that found the reasons go beyond race.

The findings suggest a big need for more knowledge and training, the researchers said.

The study looked at data on more than 14,000 people in 29 U.S. cities. It’s one of the largest to show how race, income and other neighborhood characteristics combine to affect someone’s willingness to offer heart-reviving help.

More than 300,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest in their homes or other non-hospital settings every year, and most don’t survive. A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops, and it’s often caused by a heart attack, but not always. Quick, hard chest compressions can help people survive.

For their study, researchers looked at the makeup of neighborhoods and also the race of the victims. They found that blacks and Hispanics were 30 percent less likely to be aided than white people. The odds were the worst if the heart victim was black in a low-income black neighborhood.

The researchers also found that regardless of a neighborhood’s racial makeup, CPR was less likely to be offered in poor areas. That shows that socio-economic status makes more difference than the neighborhood’s racial makeup, said lead author Dr. Comilla Sasson, of the University of Colorado in Denver.

While few people in poor black neighborhoods got CPR, those who did faced double the odds of surviving. Overall, only 8 percent of patients survived until at least hospital discharge, but 12 percent of those who got bystander CPR did versus just 6 percent of those who did not.

About 80 percent of the cardiac arrest victims in the study had collapsed in their own homes. That suggests lack of knowledge about how to do CPR. But also, people tend to panic and freeze when they encounter someone in cardiac arrest, and they need to know that cardiopulmonary resuscitation is easier than many realize, Sasson said.

She said the study results should prompt public outcry — especially since most people who suffer cardiac arrest in non-hospital settings won’t survive and those statistics haven’t changed in 30 years.

“We can’t accept that anymore,” she said. “It shouldn’t matter where I drop to have someone help me.”

The study appears in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers analyzed data from 2005-2009 from a cardiac arrest registry coordinated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Emory University. They also examined U.S. Census data in cities where study patients were stricken — including Atlanta; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Houston; Nashville; and San Francisco. Whether similar results would be found in small cities or rural areas isn’t known.

Much of the research was done before experts changed CPR advice in a move many think may encourage bystanders to offer help. American Heart Association guidelines issued in 2008 emphasize quick, hard chest compressions rather than mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — removing some of the discomfort factor.

Mary Tappe owes her life to bystanders’ willingness to offer help.

In 2004, she collapsed at her office in Iowa. A co-worker called 911; another quickly began CPR and someone else used the office’s automated heart defibrillator. An ambulance took Tappe to the hospital, where doctors said her heart had stopped. They never determined why but implanted an internal defibrillator.

Tappe, 51, who now lives in Englewood, Colo., said raising awareness about the importance of CPR is “incredibly important because that’s the first step” to helping people survive.

CPR specialist Dr. Dana Edelson, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said the new research echoes smaller studies showing bystander CPR depends on neighborhood characteristics, including a Chicago study that found intervention occurred most often in integrated neighborhoods.

“Nothing that we do has as big an impact on survival as CPR, and it’s so cheap,” Edelson said, noting that online videos demonstrate how to do CPR.

Dr. David Keseg, an emergency medicine specialist at Ohio State University, has helped teach CPR to eighth-graders in inner-city Columbus, Ohio. That includes giving them free classes and CPR kits.

“We tell them to take them home and show their families and neighborhoods how to do it,” Keseg said.

“It’s kind of a drop in the bucket,” but it’s the kind of targeted approach that is needed to improve the odds of surviving a cardiac arrest, he said.

(AP)

Alzheimer’s research has focused primarily on efforts to identify and treat the factors that contribute to familial (genetic) dementia, which is caused by known mutations. This new research sought to understand the mechanisms in the development of Alzheimer’s that are linked to molecular response to the metabolic distress that increases with age. *

A link has been discovered between Alzheimer’s disease and the activity level of a protein called eIF2alpha. This has been reported in a new study conducted at the University of Haifa’s Sagol Department of Neurobiology, recently published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging. According to Prof. Kobi Rosenblum, head of the Department, altering the performance of this protein via drug therapy could constitute a treatment for Alzheimer’s, which is incurable.

Alzheimer’s research in recent years has primarily focused on battling the disease once symptoms have appeared, even though it’s known that the disease nests in the brain many years before any symptoms are revealed. In advanced stages of the disease, Prof. Rosenblum explains, small lumps (called plaques) are identified forming in the brain from a protein called amyloid. These plaques, he says, are typical of Alzheimer’s sufferers and undermine brain functioning. Much research has been directed at understanding these plaques and trying to eliminate them or restrict their formation and growth.

The new study, conducted by research student Yifat Segev in the Laboratory for Research of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Learning and Memory, which is headed by Prof. Rosenblum, in cooperation with Prof. Danny Michaelson of Tel Aviv University, sought to identify factors that could be linked to Alzheimer’s even before the irreversible amyloid plaques are formed, and that are connected to the disease’s primary risk factor – age.

A previous study co-authored by Canadian researchers and Prof. Rosenblum’s lab at the University of Haifa, revealed that cognitive abilities could be improved by altering the activity of the eIF2alpha protein, which regulates the creation of proteins in all cells, including nerve cells. That research gave Alzheimer’s researchers a glimmer of hope: Perhaps it would be possible to improve cognitive abilities or even prevent cognitive damage in Alzheimer’s patients at an early stage of the disease by intervening in the mechanisms that regulate protein generation in nerve cells.

The current study compared mice that expressed the human Apoe4 gene – a gene known as a central risk factor for Alzheimer’s – with a group of mice with the parallel Apoe3 gene, which does not constitute a risk factor for the disease. Mice in the former group showed a change in the regulating mechanism for protein generation involving the eIF2alpha protein that damaged the cognitive abilities of those mice at a young age. This sort of mechanism change is characteristic of aging, and so also hinted at the tendency of these mice toward premature aging.

According to Segev, this is the first time that a link has been found between the activity of eIF2alpha and the Apoe4 gene in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. She noted that modification treatments for the eIF2alpha mechanism are being widely researched and are developing quickly, and so the more we can understand about the connection between this mechanism and Alzheimer’s, the more we can find ways to identify and slow the progress of the disease.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Combined results from two studies of an experimental Alzheimer’s drug suggest it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease.

Taken separately, the studies on the drug — Eli Lilly & Co.’s solanezumab — missed their main goals of significantly slowing the mind-robbing disease or improving activities of daily living. But pooled results found 34 percent less mental decline in mild Alzheimer’s patients compared to those on a fake treatment for 18 months.

Doctors called the results encouraging although probably not good enough to win approval of the drug now, without another study to confirm there is a benefit. Investors were more enthused, driving Lilly’s stock up about 5 percent on Monday and about 19 percent since August, when the company described the results in general terms.

Detailed results were revealed for the first time Monday at an American Neurological Association conference in Boston.

“It’s certainly not the home run we all wanted, but we’re very encouraged by these results,” said Maria Carillo, chief science officer for the Alzheimer’s Association, which had no role in the research.

Dr. Stephen Salloway, an Alzheimer’s expert at Brown University, agreed.

“It’s exciting to see that there may be clinical benefit,” he said, but it is modest and may not make a difference in how well patients live — what matters most to them and their families, he said.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer’s. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

Solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab) is one of three drugs in late-stage testing that seek to alter the course of the disease. Results on one drug were disappointing, and results of the other won’t be ready until early next year.

Solanezumab aims to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients’ brains. The two studies each had about 1,000 patients, about two-thirds with mild disease and one-third with moderately severe Alzheimer’s, in 16 countries. Their average age was 75.

The main measures were two tests — one reflecting language, memory and thinking and the other, ability to perform daily activities such as eating and grooming. The combined results on the mild disease patients showed a nearly 2-point difference in the roughly 90-point score on thinking abilities. Previous studies suggest that a change of 3 to 4 on the score is needed to show a clinical benefit, like an improvement in how well patients can take care of themselves.

“It’s a small difference,” Dr. Rachelle Doody of Baylor College of Medicine said of the drug’s effect. She heads a nationwide research network funded by the National Institute on Aging that did an independent analysis of Lilly’s results on the studies and presented them Monday at the conference.

Still, “you slow the decline” with the drug, she said.

Independent experts cautioned that the improvement was small, and needs to be verified in another study.

“I hate to get too enthusiastic … there’s a flicker of a signal” of benefit, but less than what some other once-promising treatments showed, said Dr. Sam Gandy, head of Alzheimer’s disease research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of Alzheimer’s research at the Mayo Clinic, called the drug’s effect “subtle” and said it may mean just that “somebody remembers one extra word out of a 15-word list” without any real improvement in how well they live.

The drug, if ever approved, is likely to be expensive, and that means “we need more evidence” of its benefit to justify its use, Petersen said.

Encouragingly, solanezumab had few side effects. About 1 percent of people on the drug had some chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart. There were few cases of worrisome brain swelling and small bleeding in the brain, an effect that caused concern with another experimental Alzheimer’s drug, bapineuzumab by Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy unit.

That drug failed to help patients in two late-stage studies announced last month, but did show signs of hitting its target and clearing deposits from the brain.

The Lilly drug seems to be safer, and that is an advantage, said Dr. Norman Relkin, head of a memory disorders program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

“There is some cause for encouragement here. It’s not the magnitude we’d like to see” but certainly warrants further studies on the drug, he said.

Relkin heads testing of the third drug in late-stage development — Gammagard, by Baxter International Inc. Results are expected early next year.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eric Siemers, senior medical director for Lilly, said the company will discuss its results and next steps with the Food and Drug Administration.

Lilly shares closed up $2.55, or 5.3 percent, to $50.78. During the day they peaked at $50.94, their highest price since April 2008. (This is also their highest closing price since that month.) The shares are up 19.8 percent since August 24.

(AP – Studio B)

It’s that time of the year again – the holiday season. Perhaps nothing is more challenging than getting through from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah with your health and weight intact. As daunting and challenging as this may seem, a few little tricks and bit of self-discipline can get you through virtually unscathed.

There are essentially three areas where we all tend to get into trouble. One – the amounts of food we consume sitting at our tables for our festive meals, two – the types of food we eat, and three – the general lack of activity and exercise during the Chagim.

Let’s first look at the portion control issue. There is a mitzvah to eat certain foods during the Chagim. There is no mitzvah however, to consume mass quantities of anything. In order to keep a handle on the over-eating problem, try this. Take a reasonable portion on your plate, and if you are truly still hungry after you eat what’s on your plate, take seconds from a cooked or raw vegetable or whole grain dish. Remember that drinking water may also make you feel full. So, drink up before you start your meal.

As far as the second item – the kinds of food we eat… Everyone can make some subtle adjustments in this area as well. Even though meat and chicken dishes are more popular at this time of year, you can trim the fat from your meat and order lean cuts to begin with. Skin the chicken and turkey, preferably before cooking, and keep in mind that the white meat is much less fatty than the dark. Also, keep the emphasis on vegetable and grain dishes. For dessert, go for fresh fruit salads, melons, and sorbets instead of cake and cookies that are laden with sugar and fat. Keep in mind that most pareve ice creams use chemicals and high-fat based whips.

Item number three is lack of activity. No, don’t go out and do an exercise session during on yom tov! But, don’t sit around either. Nice long, brisk walks, particularly after your meals, are a great idea. There is nothing worse than throwing yourself into metabolic rigor mortis by falling asleep immediately after a meal. When you are done with the walk, stretch a little and then you can take your nap.

The Chagim are a time to be especially joyful and happy, and to celebrate together with our families. We need not create more stress in our lives than we already have. So, instead of saying “After the holidays”, resolve to get started with good and healthful habits right now. Watching your serving sizes, eating healthful choices and staying as active as possible over the Chagim are all ways to “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

Although this space is normally used for my weekly columns on health, fitness, and weight loss, I will allow myself the liberty once a year to use this space for a personal message.

Hashem granted us the gift of a healthy body and expects us to do our best to take care of it. This requires healthful eating, exercise, the proper amount of sleep and an active lifestyle. We all are capable of helping ourselves. When we don’t take care of ourselves and watch over our health, the end result is illness and incapacitation resulting in our inability to perform the will of the Ribono Shel Olam. When we are sick, we can’t do chesed, learn, daven or take care of our own families. Our nefesh, our soul, functions best when our guf, our body, is at its best!

Many years ago, I was not a fitness trainer; I was anything but fit and healthy. I led a sedentary life style, ate whatever I wanted to in whatever amounts I wanted to and was overweight with slightly high blood pressure that became high blood pressure. As a former musician playing the wedding in circuit in the Greater New York area, eating at the smorgasbord at weddings was an activity I greatly looked forward to every evening. A few years after I relocated to Eretz Yisrael, I was fortunate to meet someone who changed my life around. I went from being sedentary with a poor diet to being active and healthy. I began eating right, walking, doing weights and stretching and after a short while, became a runner/jogger. My blood pressure went down, my old clothes fit again and I felt like a new person. THIS IS SOMETHING VERY DOABLE!

As a personal trainer here in Yerushalayim for the past 17 years, I have been privileged to witness many people who have turned their health around. Even people in desperate straits, and with all types of health issues, have been very successful and no longer require medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. Their weight is normal, and not only has their physical health improved, but they feel better about themselves.

Rosh HaShana is a time for thanking HaKadosh Baruch Hu for giving us life and health over the past year. It is also the time for praying that He will give us good health and long life for the upcoming year. At the same time, we must do our hishtadlus, our effort, in the area of health. Our non-Jewish brothers approach their secular new year with all kinds of resolutions that are never kept. We do T’shuva. We work hard to actualize real change. And if there is ever a time we CAN change, it is now.

A little over four years ago, I began writing this health and lifestyle column for theyeshivaworld.com along with other publications both online and print. I never dreamed I would get the responses I have gotten from all over the world and the amount of inquiries and questions about health topics have been abundant. Baruch Hashem, these columns have been able to help and motivate many people to achieve good health and IY”H will continue to do so for a long time.

It is also three years since I teamed up with my associate, Linda Holtz M. Sc and opened the Lose It! Weight Loss and Stress Reduction Program. Its unique approach of integrating the three disciplines of nutrition, exercise/activity and just as importantly, behavior is a one of a kind. We have seen excellent results across the board in the area of weight loss, stress management and treatment of anxiety and depression. With Hashem’s help, Lose It! will continue to be of key to success for many, many more people both here in Eretz Yisrael and in Chutz La’aretz, helping them to attain good overall health, lose weight permanently and attain a superior quality of life.

A K’siva V’Chasima Tova—a happy and healthy New Year to all of you.

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 17 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss and stress reduction center Lose It! along with Linda Holtz M.Sc. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at alan@loseit.co.il Check out the Lose It! web site – www.loseit.co.il
USA Line 516-568-5027

This year’s West Nile virus outbreak is on track to be the biggest ever since the virus first appeared in the United States in 1999, U.S. health officials reported Wednesday.

As of the third week of August, there have been a total of 1,118 cases of West Nile virus in people in 38 states, including 41 deaths.

“The number of West Nile virus disease cases has risen dramatically in recent weeks, and indicate that we’re in the midst of one of the largest outbreaks ever seen in the U.S.,” Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the division of vector-borne infectious diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a noon news conference.

Fifty-six percent of this year’s cases have been classified as neuroinvasive diseases, such as encephalitis or meningitis.

In Texas, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic, 586 cases have been reported with 21 deaths, said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The state reported only 10 deaths in the entire span of time from 2003 through 2011, he noted.

Officials in Dallas County, Texas, began aerial spraying of insecticides overnight last Thursday.

Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma have also been hit hard by West Nile virus this summer.

Experts do not know why this year’s outbreak is so much worse than previous years, but suspect it could be a confluence of factors, most notably hot weather.

“Hot weather seems to promote West Nile virus outbreaks,” Petersen said. “Hot weather, we know from experiments done in the laboratory, can increase the transmissibility of the virus through mosquitoes and that could be one contributing factor.”

The number of birds that are infected and then pass the virus on to mosquitoes probably also plays a role, he added.

The number of neuroinvasive cases this year is larger than seen previously, though it’s not clear if this is simply because of the way cases are reported or if there is an actual increase in these more severe infections.

Generally speaking, 80 percent of people who are infected with West Nile virus develop no or few symptoms, while 20 percent develop mild symptoms such as headache, joint pain, fever, skin rash and swollen lymph glands.

Less than 1 percent will develop neurological illnesses, such as encephalitis or meningitis, and develop paralysis or cognitive difficulties that can last for years, if not for life.

There are no specific treatments for West Nile virus; the greatest risk for infection with West Nile virus typically occurs from June through September, with cases peaking in mid-August.

And because reporting lags behind actual infections, “we expect many more cases to occur and the risk of West Nile infection will probably continue through the end of September,” said Petersen.

Although most people with mild cases of West Nile virus will recover on their own, the CDC recommends that anyone who develops symptoms should see their doctor right away. The best way to protect yourself from West Nile virus is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, which can pick up the disease from infected birds. The CDC recommends the following steps to protect yourself:

• Use insect repellents when outside.
• Wear long sleeves and pants from dawn to dusk.
• Don’t leave standing water outside in open containers, such as flowerpots, buckets and kiddie pools.
• Install or repair windows and door screens.
• Use air conditioning when possible.

(Source: HealthFinder.gov)

Whether boiled, scrambled or sunny-side up, cholesterol-rich egg yolks can stiffen your arteries almost as much as smoking, a new study suggests.

“People at risk of vascular disease should not eat egg yolks,” contends study lead author Dr. David Spence, professor of neurology at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

The cholesterol found in an egg’s yellow center can even clog the carotid artery leading to the brain, upping risks for stroke, he pointed out.

“Carotid plaque goes up steeply with age, so the only people who can eat egg yolks with impunity are those who know they will die young from some cause other than vascular disease,” Spence said.

The report was published online this month in Atherosclerosis.

For the study, Spence’s team collected data on more than 1,200 men and women who were taking part in an initiative aimed at curbing heart disease.

The researchers used ultrasound to first determine the amount of plaque in each patient’s arteries. They then asked patients about smoking, their frequency of eating eggs, other lifestyle factors and any medicines they were taking.

Although artery plaque levels rose with age, both smoking and eating egg yolks sped up this plaque formation within vessels, the researchers found. Regular consumption of egg yolks sped up plaque deposits in arteries at a rate that was about two-thirds the rate seen with smoking, Spence said.

People who ate three or more yolks a week had significantly increased plaque compared with people who ate two or fewer yolks a week, the team found. That makes sense, Spence said, since just “one egg yolk contains more than the recommended daily intake of cholesterol.”

An expert not connected to the study agreed. According to Samantha Heller, clinical nutrition coordinator at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., “it is known that the amount of cholesterol in many egg yolks is more than the recommended 200 milligrams per day for people with risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”

The study authors noted that the effect of egg yolks on plaque was independent of the person’s sex, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking, weight and diabetes.

In a statement, the American Egg Board said that the findings come from “an observational study that can only suggest potential relationships, not determine actual cause-and-effect conclusions.”

The Egg Board also noted in the statement that “study subjects with higher egg intakes tended to also be heavy smokers, and only a small percentage of the population consumed more than five eggs per week, meaning that the conclusions were based on a small number of subjects.”

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the evidence for and against egg yolk consumption has see-sawed for decades.

“Whether dietary egg consumption is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease has been controversial and previous studies have been inconsistent,” Fonarow said. He said the jury remains out on the issue, pending further study.

Right now, Fonarow said, “the American Heart Association recommends for maintaining heart and brain health to eat a variety of nutritious food from all the food groups, with emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products as well as eating fish at least twice a week.”

Heller stressed, though, that cholesterol lurks in many foods, including meat and cheese, and foods that are made with eggs, such as baked goods.

She wondered if the study might be targeting egg yolks and missing some of these other sources of cholesterol.

“Most animal foods also contain saturated fat, which increases internal inflammation and serum [blood] cholesterol,” Heller noted. “The study does not take into account other foods that contain cholesterol, saturated fat or egg yolks. Could it be that people who eat a lot of eggs also combine them with other less healthy foods such as cheese or sausage?”

The Egg Board agreed. “The study did not control for exercise habits, waist circumference, intake of saturated fat, alcohol or foods commonly eaten with eggs like high-fat meats and other high-fat side dishes,” it said in the statement.

On the other hand, egg whites remain an excellent source of protein and a great alternative to the whole egg, Heller said.

“Though some people complain that egg whites do not taste as good as the whole egg, adding vegetables like spinach, onions or mushrooms, herbs and a pinch of turmeric to make the egg whites yellow — the visual seems to make a difference here — can create a delicious and healthy meal,” Heller said.

Research suggests a more plant-based diet — which means eating fewer eggs, less cheese, red and processed meats, and more vegetables, beans, nuts and fruits — may improve risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides, she added.

(Source: HealhFinder.Gov)

The Food and Drug Administration is approving a weight loss drug from Vivus Inc. that many doctors consider the most effective therapy among a new generation of anti-obesity pills.

The agency cleared the pill Qsymia for adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

Patients taking Qsymia for one year lost 11 percent of their body weight, on average. That was more than two other weight loss pills recently reviewed by the FDA.

Qsymia is the second weight loss drug approved by the FDA in less than a month. In late June the agency approved Arena Pharmaceutical’s pill Belviq. Previously the agency had not approved a new drug for long-term weight loss since 1999.

(Source: HealthFinder)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first new weight loss drug in more than a decade. Arena Pharmaceutical’s anti-obesity pill Belviq was cleared for use by adults who are overweight and have at least one medical complication like diabetes or high cholesterol.

The FDA initially rejected the drug in 2010 after animals developed tumors during testing.

The agency reconsidered after the company submitted additional data this year.

Doctors have been urging the FDA to approve new weight loss treatments to combat the nation’s growing obesity problem.

(Source: NY1)

Experts are suggesting putting kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on drugs early in order to improve their academic performance, especially in math.

How early? Some say as it could benefit kids as young as six.

According to research published in a recent issue of Pediatrics, giving younger kids with ADHD stimulant medications can improve their grades and test scores.

A study of 12,000 students out of Iceland concluded that getting kids with ADHD started on drugs like Ritalin and Adderoll earlier were less likely to see their grades fall between the fourth and seventh grades.

Interestingly, Iceland has a national database that records all outpatient prescriptions, helping researchers to see which kids were prescribed medications to treat ADHD and at what age they began drug treatment, according to WebMD.

Girls with ADHD who were treated at a young age, showed a more marked improvement than their male counterparts.

“Performance of kids with ADHD tends to decline over time, especially if medication is delayed,” said Helga Zoega, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Translational Epidemiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and lead author of the study told ABC News. “Starting medication earlier may halt this decline.”

A majority of kids are diagnosed with ADHD by age 7, she said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently broadened its age guidelines for ADHD to children as young as four years-old.

The Acedemy recommends treating children ages four to five with behavior therapy before resorting to drug treatment.

“Most families come to medication as a last resort,” Ruth Hughes, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Children and Adults with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or CHADD told Bloomberg News in October.

(Source: NY Daily News)