Archive for June, 2009

Farrah Fawcett laid to rest today

Television star and international icon Farrah Fawcett lost her three year fight with anal cancer on Thursday June 25, 2009 at the age of 62. A private funeral Mass will be held this afternoon for actress The funeral is being held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

The Cathedral will house invited guests and family only for the private ceremony. As of noon PST, it is unclear if local broadcast news will carry coverage (from a distance) of the event. Thousands of fans are expected to flock to the Cathedral’s area.

Fawcett’s longtime partener Ryan O’Neal was by her side when she died, along with close friend Alana Stewart.

“Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal and Fawcett’s son Redmond O’Neal, who is currently in prison for drug-related charges, was unable to be with his mother when she passed. The embattled 24-year-old has had a long history of drug addiction and was jailed for violating probation. Presently he is undergoing an inmate treatment program to kick his drug habit.Redmond will be temporarily freed from jail to attend his mother’s funeral.

Farrah Fawcett was among seven celebrities who passed away this past week, among them were Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon and infomercial pitchman Billy Mays.

Low sperm count? Have sex every day

Good news fellas,  for those of you with a low sperm count, some doctors are prescribing a very standard way to have a baby.  Simply, have sex every day!

Couples who are attempting to have a baby are frequently told to have sex every other day, so that the man’s sperm count has time to recover, however scientists in Australia have found that this might lower some men’s fertility.

Australian fertility specialist David Greening enrolled 118 men whose sperm had a higher-than-normal level of DNA damage.

On average, the men’s DNA fragmentation index — a measure of sperm damage — fell to 26 percent from 34 percent, Greening told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The men were told to relieve themsleves daily for seven days, and no other treatment or lifestyle changes were advised. Prior to starting, levels of DNA damage ranged between 15% and 98% DFI, with an average 34% DFI when measured after three days’ abstinence. When the men’s sperm was re-assessed on the seventh day, Dr Greening discovered that 96 men (81%) had an average 12% decrease in their sperm DNA damage, while 22 men (19%) and an average increase in damage of nearly 10%. The average for the whole group dropped to 26% DFI.

Though there was a significant drop in sperm numbers from 180 million to 70 million over the week, men were still within the normal “fertile” range.

Why are teens expecting to die young?

According to a new research 15% of US teens think they will die young. The new research disputes the widely held notion that teens underestimate the dangers affiliated with dangerous behaviors since they think they are invincible.

The study published in Pediatrics, reported that 15% of teenagers expect an early death for themselves. This survey of 20,000 kids, might not be that shocking when considering the rate of drug use, suicides, sexually transmitted diseases, however it goes against the conventional understanding that young adults engage in dangerous conduct due to overconfidence and a feeling of invulnerability.

Many fatalistic young people were more on target than others. Minority teenagers were much more likely to anticipate an early death, with 29 percent of Native Americans, 26 percent of blacks, and 21 percent of Hispanics anticipating to die young, compared with 10 percent of whites. The fatalistic teens were also more likely to be poor. Minorities as well as poor people are far more likely to have health problems than someone who is white and well off.

Such a fatalistic attitude makes those teenagers far more likely to engage in risky, even life-threatening behaviors.

“Thus, they develop a sense of hopelessness and a feeling that ‘Hey, not much is at stake, I’m going to die anyway,’ so [they] engage in risky behaviors,” said Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D.

How can these teens be helped? Experts say it is all about prevention as well as intervention, determining why teens feel hopeless, and reassuring them adults in their lives do care.

“Parents who are involved, know what’s going in school, come to your extracirricular activities, tell you they love you every day, that matters,” Borowsky said.

FDA confirms Nestle’s Toll House cookie dough E. coli contamination

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that a sample of raw cookie dough collected from the Nestle’s plant in Danville, that E. coli has been found in a sample of Nestle Toll House cookie dough collected on June 25th.

David Acheson, FDA’s assistant commissioner for food safety told the press that investigators did not discover the E coli in the factory itself or on equipment in the factory only in a tub of chocolate cookie dough that had been made there in February.

Acheson, went on to say, “It raises the likelihood that it was an ingredient. And it really means that industry has to be constantly vigilant, because foods we think of as low risk could be contaminated with a deadly pathogen.”

To date, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated there have been 69 people from 29 states who have been infected with the food borne illness. Of those, 34 have been hospitalized, nine with a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. No one has died.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause diarrhea and dehydration. Kids, the seniors and those with weak immune systems are the most at risk.

Nestle voluntarily recalled the products earlier this month, and consumers can return to their local grocer for a full refund.

Sanofi-Aventis denies claims that their insulin causes cancer

According to two new European studies, Lantus, a top selling diabetes drug made by Sanofi-Aventis, may dramatically increase the chance of developing various cancers.

Shares in the French company have collapsed on concerns regarding Lantus’s safety profile, however a rep from the company claims the issue had been mainly a stock market event, with the medical community far less impressed by the results of the studies.

The EASD issued two studies that indicated raised rates of cancer with patients taking Lantus. The first study followed approximately 100,000 German diabetics and showed an increased incidence rate of cancer with Lantus over other forms of insulin. The second study evaluated more than 100,000 people in Sweden and showed an increased incidence rate of breast cancer in patients taking Lantus versus other insulins.

Although the scientific community has been aware of potential cancer risks associated with insulin use for several years, these studies have highlighted the possibility that Lantus particularly might increase the risk of cancer.

Sanofi-Aventis said clinical trials do not show a connection between Lantus and cancer, but plans to continue monitoring the drug’s safety.

“We don’t find any evidence of increased risk,” said the company’s chief medical officer Jean-Pierre Lehner . “As a company, we want to take the scientific high road and we want to make sure that if there are appropriate scientific questions, we want to answer them.”

He added that patient safety is the primary concern of Sanofi-Aventis and that the group intends to continue vigorous monitoring of Lantus’ safety.

Billy Mays did not die from head trauma

The Tampa Bay medical examiner who did the autopsy on the infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, says that there was evidence of heart disease, which explains the star’s sudden passing.

Mays, 50, who gained fame as an spirited TV “pitchman” advertising an array of commercial products, was found dead by his wife at their home in Tampa, Florida.

A medical examiner in Florida says Mays showed no evidence of head trauma, despite being struck on the head on board an airliner that made a rough landing.

Mays was found dead by his wife, just hours after he was hit on the head when the US Airways flight he was traveling on blew a tire on landing in Tampa on Saturday (27Jun09),

The report also said Mays was taking pain medication, after undergoing two hip replacement surgeries, however those pills did not contribute to his death.

Mays became famous by doing infomercials for Oxiclean and Orange Glo. He and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan are featured on the new Discovery Channel reality show ‘Pitchmen.’ The show, which debuted in April 2009, followed Mays and Sullivan as they sold new products through direct response marketing.

Farrah Fawcett: Funeral arrangements made

A private funeral service for close family and friends will be held Tuesday for Farrah Fawcett at the Cathedral of Our lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. According to church officials the services are set to begin at 4:00 p.m. (PST)

Redmond O’Neal, Ryan “Oneal and Farrah Fawcett’s son will be able to attend his mother’s funeral and will not have to wear prison attire, as previously reported.  Redmond will be able to wear a suit to pay his respects to his mom.  Redmond, who is serving time in prison for a parole violation on drug related charges, did not get to be at his mom’s side when she passed.

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, however was declared free from the fatal disease four months later after undergoing treatment. Yet, the cancer came back in 2007. The ‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress succumbed to anal cancer on June 25 at the age of 62.

Her long-time spouse, Ryan O’Neal, stuck by Fawcett’s side throughout her illness. The 68-year-old actor had been hoping she would recover enough for them to get married.

“I’ve asked her to marry me again, and she’s agreed,” he said earlier in the month.

According to reports, Fawcett has left donations and some of her personal belongings to shelters for abused women.

Study says prostate cancer screening not very helpful

Two recently conducted large randomized trials suggest widespread prostate cancer screening substantially increases diagnosis without much evidence for a survival benefit.

The new studies indicates that the prostate cancer screening test, prostate specific antigen (PSA) has minimal value when it comes to finding prostate cancer, particularly in older men. The findings, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians shows that routine PSA blood tests result in overdiagnosis of prostate cancer, resulting in unnecessary treatments , psychosocial harm, and treatments that are not needed, related to insignificant prostate cancer tumors.

It was determined in 1985, before PSA screening was available, an American man had an 8.7 per cent lifetime risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer and a 2.5 percent lifetime risk of dying from the disease. Twenty years later, in 2005, an American man had a 17 per cent lifetime risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer and a 3 per cent risk of dying from the disease.

The researchers said in the reports that for cancer screenings to be considered effective, they must lower the risk of death, lower suffering from a disease or reduce health-care costs, compared to not screening.

The researchers conclude that “men should discuss the now quantifiable risks as well as benefits of having a PSA test with their doctor and then share in making an informed decision,” and that “the weight of the decision should not be thrown into the patient’s lap.”

Infomercial guru Billy Mays found dead: Autopsy today

Infomercial guru,  Billy Mays who was the pitchman for some of TV’s top selling products, was found dead Sunday in his Florida home.

Police stated Mays told his wife he did not feel well when he went to bed Saturday night. Earlier in the day, it was reported he was hit on the head by a falling obect when his airliner had a rough landing at Tampa Bay’s airport.

U.S. Airways has confirmed that Mays cost among the passengers on a flight that evidently blew its front tires on landing.

There were no signs of a break-in at the home, and police don’t suspect foul play, stated Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department. The coroner’s office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.

Mays was born on July 20, 1958 in Pennsylvania, William Darrell Mays became well known for his loud and flamboyant sales pitches. Amongst the products he promoted were OxiClean and Orange Glo. As well appearing on the Home Shopping Network, Mays was recruited in 2009 by the Discovery Channel for the docudrama Pitchmen.

Red meat and dairy products linked to pancreatic cancer

Higher consumption of red meat as well as dairy products is linked to a elevated risk of suffering from pancreatic cancer, according to a new study conducted by researchers of the National Cancer Institute in the United States.

The findings of the study, issued in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, included more than 500,000 people who had filled out 1995 or 1996 diet questionnaires for whom data about pancreatic cancer was available approximately six years later.

The research team report they “observed positive associations between pancreatic cancer and intakes of total, saturated, and monounsaturated fat overall, particularly from red meat and dairy food sources. We did not observe any consistent association with polyunsaturated or fat from plant food sources.” The findings indicate that eating fat from animals contributes to pancreatic cancer.

The study determined the chance of pancreatic cancer increased in women 23 percent, and 53 percent in men from consuming animal fat, compared to individuals who ate less dairy and red meat.

Pancreatic cancer, which is generally deadly, is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Different risk factors for getting the disease have been discovered, including smoking, diabetes and obesity. Some studies have also linked dietary fat to increased risk, but researchers said that data had been inconclusive.