- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Nov 5,2010
What is the Problem?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention join Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), in warning consumers not to consume Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese (Costco item 40654), as this cheese may be associated with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. The cheese was available for sale, and free samples were offered for in-store tasting at Costco in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
What are the Symptoms of Illness/Injury?
Most people infected with E. coli O157:H7 develop diarrhea and abdominal cramps, but some illnesses may last longer and can be more severe. While most people recover within a week, some may develop a severe infection. Rarely, as symptoms of diarrhea improve, a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can occur; this can happen at any age but is most common in children under 5 years old and in older adults. People with HUS should be hospitalized immediately, as their kidneys may stop working and they may be at risk for other serious health problems. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Nov 4,2010
Rising health care costs are prompting many employers to seek new health benefits solutions that will encourage healthier behaviors in their employees. In response to customers’ needs, Anthem Blue Cross is introducing a new product designed to increase engagement in health and wellness activities, resulting in healthier and more productive employees.
Known as Anthem Health Rewards, the product enables Anthem customers to provide their employees with a variety of rewards – for example, gift cards, premium contribution discounts and account deposits – when they complete a health risk assessment and/or participate in health and wellness programs offered by Anthem, such as FutureMoms and care management programs for people living with chronic conditions such as diabetes.
“Incentives are powerful and effective motivators that can positively influence behaviors,” said Pam Kehaly, president of Anthem Blue Cross in California. “Our clients have asked for incentives to encourage their employees to adopt healthier lifestyles and participate in our wellness and care management programs. Anthem Health Rewards is just another example of our commitment to meet the needs of our customers and to seek out innovative ways to address rising health care costs.” Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Nov 3,2010
Fitness level, not size or weight, may be a more important determinant of women’s risk of death
Obesity alone may no longer be linked to a high risk of death in women, according to research published in the Nov. 2010 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. Researchers now suggest cardiovascular fitness level, not just a woman’s size, may actually be the key predictor of health level and overall risk for death.
The study, titled “Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Adiposity, and All-Cause Mortality in Women,” measured body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and cardiorespiratory fitness in 11,335 women from 1970 to 2005. Participants were divided into groups based on their cardiorespiratory fitness levels – low fit equals the lowest 20 percent; moderate fit equals the middle 40 percent; high fit equals the highest 40 percent. Researchers tracked death rates among all participants, and 292 deaths from all causes occurred during the study period.
Researchers found that death rates were significantly lower for fit women than for unfit women. Additionally, fit women with high values (based on standard clinical measures) for BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio had no greater risk of death than their fit counterparts with normal adiposity values. These results suggest that fitness is a stronger predictor than thinness for predicting a long and healthy life. Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Nov 3,2010
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals announced that it has been awarded $1.2 million to support five distinct therapeutic programs under the U.S. Government’s Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (“QTDP”) program.
All of the grant applications submitted by the company received an award. The funds will be used to continue development of each of five promising therapeutic programs.
“The QTDP program provides our industry with needed capital to maintain the U.S.’s lead in biomedical innovation, support the development of breakthrough medical discoveries, sustain industry growth, and improve the time and speed of the FDA and CMS in getting life-saving medicines to people.
This will in turn enhance the willingness of private and public investors to fund these projects and companies, thus creating jobs and better quality healthcare for all Americans,” said Paul Hastings, President and Chief Executive Officer of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals. ”We are pleased to see OncoMed recognized by the award of these QTDP Program grants, which value the scope of our research and emerging pipeline of anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics programs. We look forward to applying these funds to development candidates arising from our insights into multiple cancer stem cell pathways and cancer biology.”
The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program was created by Congress as a temporary tool to support innovation and job creation by biotech companies. Under the QTDP program, a total of $1 billion in grants or tax credits was made available to companies with 250 employees or fewer.
Grants may cover up to 50 percent of the costs of qualifying biomedical research and only one credit may be awarded per therapeutic product.
To be eligible for the program, projects must show reasonable potential to do the following: result in new therapies to treat areas of unmet medical need; prevent, detect, or treat chronic or acute disease and conditions; reduce long-term health care costs; or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within a 30-year period. Projects were selected jointly by the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.