in the news
what’s happening in health? by shannon wongvibulsin | design by amorette jeng
RESEARCH AND NEW FINDINGS
While farmers have been administering antibiotic drugs to their livestock through animal feed since the 1950s, increasing concern over drug resistance of human pathogens has led to the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) decision that farmers must restrict the use of cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics, in cattle, pigs, chickens, and turkeys. Because cephalosporin is also one of the most commonly prescribed types of antibiotics for treatment of pneumonia, strep throat, and skin and urinary tract infections in humans, many microbiologists believe that the use of cephalosporin in agriculture has contributed to the development of more resistant bacteria. In addition to costing thousands of people their lives, antibiotic resistance accounts for approximately $20 billion of additional healthcare costs in the United States each year. Nevertheless, debate remains over this issue as organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association argue that administering antibiotics only after animals become ill can result in uncontrolled spread of the disease across the entire farm.
HARVARD STUDY SUGGESTS THAT DRINKING COFFEE CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF ENDOMETRIAL CANCER
From the analysis of data on 67,470 women from the Nurses’ Health Study, Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that women who daily consumed four or more cups of coffee had a 25 percent reduction in the risk for endometrial cancer, which is the most common form of uterine cancer, compared with those who drank less than one cup per day. These findings are consistent with prior research that has shown that coffee reduces levels of estrogen and insulin, which are hormones associated with increased risk of endometrial cancer when present at high levels. Although this study reveals a link between coffee consumption and a lower risk for endometrial cancer, the senior author acknowledges that further research still needs to be conducted. Additionally, he warns that the protective effects of coffee seem to be unrelated to caffeine. Thus, caffeinated products, such as most soft drinks, would not confer the same anticancer properties.
total wellness ▪ winter 2012
6
34
percent of Americans eat breakfast daily
19.3 percent of Americans ages 18 and over currently smoke cigarettes
CHOLESTEROL LOWERING SHOT
Researchers of an Amgen Inc. funded project announced at the American Heart Association annual meeting that their preliminary research suggests that injecting a synthetic protein, AMG145, lowers levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is also known as “bad” cholesterol, for up to 30 days. The cholesterol lowering properties of this protein are thought to derive from its ability to shut off the cholesterol regulator that normally hinders the liver from clearing bad cholesterol from the bloodstream. In fact, administration of this new cholesterol lowering shot has reduced LDL cholesterol by up to 64 percent. Some cardiologists view this novel treatment as a potentially effective method for treating hypercholesterolemia.
NUMBERS
AT UCLA NOT YOUR TYPICAL CELL PHONE: USING CELL PHONES AS POWERFUL, INEXPENSIVE MICROSCOPES
The use of cell phones now goes beyond simply making phone calls, sending text messages, and browsing the Internet. In fact, UCLA Engineering professor Aydogan Ozcan has developed the technology to transform an ordinary cell phone into a powerful microscope. The implications of this invention, which The Scientist magazine named the top innovation of 2011, are profound; because the microscope is both lightweight (weighing less than 50 grams) and inexpensive (costing approximately ten dollars in parts), it has great potential for providing heathcare to underserved populations around the world. Some of the diverse applications of this cell phone microscope include analyzing blood and saliva samples to monitor diseases such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and malaria, counting red and white blood cells, and testing water quality. t w
25 gallons of water are typically used in a ten minute shower
foodnavigator-usa.com; centers for disease control and prevention (cdc); hiddenvalleylakecsd.com
left: james mcquillan/istockphoto; malerapaso/istockphoto; right: peter booth/istockphoto
ANTIOBIOTIC RESISTANCE - A RISING CONCERN: FDA RESTRICTS ANTIBIOTICS USE IN LIVESTOCK