Erivedge (vismodegib) is the first drug sanctioned in the United States to treat basal cell skin cancer that has metastasized or spread. The once-daily pill is also designed for cases deemed unsuitable for surgery or radiation, the agency said in a news release.

This usually slow-growing, painless form of cancer starts in the epidermis, the top layer of skin. Frequent exposure to sunlight and other forms of ultraviolet radiation are the typical causes the FDA said.

Researchers evaluated the safety and effectiveness of Erivedge in a clinical study of 96 people with locally advanced or metastatic cancer. Of those with metastatic disease, 30 percent had at least a partial response to the drug, while 43 percent of people with locally advanced basal cell had at least a partial response.

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, and it is estimated that one in five Americans will develop it in their lifetime. Caught early, it is highly treatable.

The most frequently cited side effects of Erivedge included muscle spasms, hair loss, weight loss, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, distorted sense of taste, decreased appetite, constipation and vomiting.

Because of the potential risk for death or severe birth defects to a fetus, the drug will be packaged with a label warning, and doctors will not prescribe it to women who are pregnant, the agency said. Men and women will be advised to use birth control while taking the pills.

Erivedge, marketed by San Francisco-based Genentech, won expedited approval under a priority review program for drugs that may represent a major treatment advance.

The researchers at University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that more than 30 percent of parents don’t require their children to use a booster seat when they carpool, and 45 percent of parents don’t make their children use a booster seat when driving other children who don’t have one.

The study appears online Jan. 30 ahead of print in the journal Pediatrics.

“The majority of parents reported that their children between the ages of 4 and 8 use a safety seat when riding in the family car,” Dr. Michelle Macy, a clinical lecturer of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a pediatrician at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said in a university news release.

“However, it’s alarming to know that close to 70 percent of parents carpool, and when they do, they’re often failing to use life-saving booster seats,” she added.

Factors such as limited vehicle space and difficulties making arrangements with other drivers can cause parents to do without booster seats when carpooling, the researchers suggested.

U.S. guidelines encourage the use of a booster seat until a child is 57 inches tall, the average height of an 11-year-old. In many states, children are required to use a booster seat until they are 8 years old.

Using an adult seat belt for a child who is too small can result in improper fit of the shoulder and lap belts and nullify the lifesaving benefits of a seat belt, the researchers said.

“Therefore, parents who do not consistently use booster seats for kids who are shorter than 57 inches tall are placing children at greater risk of injury,” Macy said. “Parents need to understand the importance of using a booster seat for every child who does not fit properly in an adult seat belt on every trip.”

source : news.health.com

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released its first updated guidelines on neonatal drug withdrawal since 1998, partly in response to the escalating abuse of both illicit and prescription drugs by pregnant women and partly in recognition of better pain management techniques for babies who are critically ill.

“There have been pockets of the country where up to 25 percent of all NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] babies at any given time are being treated for withdrawal,” said report co-author Dr. Mark Hudak, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville. “The problem has percolated up and reached the attention of government and medical officials.”

The report is published online Jan. 30 in advance of appearing in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Major drugs of abuse include prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, codeine, morphine and methadone, the report noted, along with stimulants such as amphetamines and cocaine and central nervous system depressants such as marijuana, alcohol and barbiturates.

Exposure during pregnancy is linked to a host of problems among newborns, including drug withdrawal upon birth — demonstrated by irritability, poor sucking, tremors, seizures, diarrhea, vomiting and shrill crying — and long-term issues such as birth defects, impaired growth and behavioral problems.

The report recommended that each hospital nursery develop a system to screen mothers for drug abuse, while confirming exposure in newborns — though not fail-proof — usually entails taking samples of the infants’ urine and meconium (their first stool).

Some drug-exposed infants don’t exhibit any problems after birth, but first-line treatment for those who do includes comfort measures such as minimizing light and sound, swaddling and rocking, and offering high-calorie formula to minimize hunger. If those measures aren’t effective, babies may need to be treated with therapeutic drugs to counteract the effects of the other drugs, the report said.

“There are a lot of unknowns, but it’s very important that they’re focusing on this problem and bringing it to everybody’s attention,” said Dr. Dagmar Liepa, medical director of the inpatient medical detoxification unit at Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, Calif. “The fact is that these babies are hurting, and have to be in the hospital longer and monitored longer. We don’t know what the long-term effects will be.”

Hudak said the paper adds information about the effects of maternal antidepressant use, whose effects weren’t as clear 14 years ago. It also discusses how to manage pain in newborns that require surgery or other painful treatments, which is better understood since the previous guidelines were issued.

“We need to provide these babies with enough [medication] that they don’t feel any pain,” he said, “but the flip side is if we treat babies with narcotic painkillers for a long time, they are at a high risk of being addicted.”

The report is a “significant expansion” of the AAP’s previous guidelines and also points to where further research in the field is needed, Hudak said.

“I think a lot of additional work needs to be done,” he said. “It’s state-of-the-art information — right now.”

source : news.health.com

Previous research has linked having a higher body-mass index (BMI), which is a measurement that takes into account a person’s height and weight, to reports of low back pain. This type of pain can affect physical and mental well-being, limit mobility, reduce quality of life and is associated with substantial financial costs for both the patient and the health care system.

The new study included more than 1,000 men and nearly 1,600 women aged 21 and older from southern China. Overall, 73 percent of the participants had lumbar disc degeneration, but the condition was more common in men than women (76 percent vs. 71 percent) and more prevalent among older people, according to the study in the new issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Seven percent of the study participants were underweight, 48 percent were in the normal weight range, 36 percent were overweight and 9 percent were obese, the investigators noted.

“Our research confirms that with elevated BMI there is a significant increase in the extent and global severity of disc degeneration. In fact, end-stage disc degeneration with narrowing of the disc space was more pronounced in obese individuals,” Dr. Dino Samartzis, of the University of Hong Kong, said in a journal news release.

As people gain weight, disc degeneration may begin to occur due to physical loading on the disc, the study authors suggested. In addition, fat cells may play a role by causing chronic low-grade inflammation, they noted.

“Since overweight and obesity are worldwide concerns whose prevalence continues to rise, our study’s findings have considerable public health implications. If these issues continue to plague society, they can further affect spine health leading to low back pain and its consequences,” Samartzis said.

Disc degeneration is a complex process and future studies that investigate risk factors for the condition should take into account the effects of being overweight or obese, the researchers recommended.

source : news.health.com

To avoid this, it is best to eat a healthy diet, varied and balanced. It is neither too much nor too little to eat, but you need to make us feel good. Also, although sometimes difficult and have little time for it, is advisable to make meals at home or cooking lunch there we take to work the next day, because if we eat on the street more easily tempted to ask for a tasty but unhealthy dish.

Many doctors and nutritionists recommend making several light meals throughout the day, so we can more easily maintain a feeling of fullness and allow us to better withstand the hours between meals. If you still can not stop us “roar” the stomach, we can always choose a piece of fruit like an apple or a banana, a yogurt or a granola bar.

Miracle diets can make you lose weight very quickly but lose everything in a few weeks of poor nutrition due to these diets, get it back with the same speed or more. It is for this reason that from Tolearn always advises that if you want to lose weight, eat a healthy diet, without excess always accompanied sport.

Likewise, the Institute of Obesity puts at your disposal, if needed a team of specialists to help you develop a balanced diet reducing simple sugars and saturated fats.

The journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association has published a Harvard study which shows that walking reduces the risk of stroke in women. Women who spent 2 hours walking per week had fewer cerebrovascular diseases than those who did not have among its tasks, a small daily brisk walk.

There are two types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic. In ischemic stroke within the vessels are blocked due to the development of fatty deposits in vessel walls causing thrombosis or embolism. The study says that women who walked fast in his walks were 25% lower risk and who spent two hours or more 21%. As for hemorrhagic stroke, in which the glass is broken and blood in the brain bursts compressing the brain tissue, the results speak for themselves. The benefit is even greater to be shown that women who walk at a brisk pace with a 68% lower risk and those destined 2 hours a week, 57%.

Follow-up was nearly 40 000 U.S. health professionals, who gave information about their habits regarding physical activity (walking, hiking, sports, yoga …) and how they carry out and the time that destined for it.

The researchers said there are often differences between men and women in relating the prevention of this disease with walking. Previous studies have proved failure prevention for men, contrary to what has happened at the time to study the benefits of exercise in women. The relationship between walking and the prevention of stroke has not been fully drawn. However there is no doubt spend a few hours a week walking, can improve and give more quality to your life.