Kazakhstan denies Chinese report that the country is dealing with an outbreak of pneumonia deadlier than coronavirus

- Officials in Kazakhstan are denying claims from Chinese officials that an unknown pneumonia with a mortality rate much higher than the coronavirus is sweeping through the country.

The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan on Thursday warned Chinese citizens in the country that cases of the alleged unidentified pneumonia have been increasing across the Central Asian nation since June, according to CNN.

“That mortality rate of that disease is far higher than COVID-19 and Kazakhstan authorities are conducting a comparative study of the virus and there is no clear definition yet.”

The Chinese embassy said the cases were concentrated in regions of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymkent, which together have nearly 500 new cases and more than 30 who are critically ill. The embassy warned Chinese residents to limit how much they go outside, avoid crowded public areas and wear masks.

On Friday, Kazakhstan’s health ministry in a statement denied the outbreak was new or unknown, acknowledging only the presence of “viral pneumonias of unspecified etiology.”

“The Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan officially declares that this information IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH REALITY,” the statement read. The statement included an image that branded a story about the embassy’s warning as “FAKE NEWS.”

Hours later the embassy reportedly edited its message, removing the words “new pneumonia” and “unknown.”

Kazakhstan said China had misinterpreted its statistics, characterizing suspected, but unconfirmed, coronavirus deaths as being the result of an unknown pneumonia.

The ministry said the “unspecified” pneumonia classification followed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines “for the registration of pneumonia when the coronavirus infection is diagnosed clinically or epidemiologically but is not confirmed by laboratory testing,” CNN reports.

The health ministry said Minister Alekey Tsoy discussed a number of pneumonia cases across the country during a briefing Thursday. The cases included different types of bacterial, fungal and viral pneumonia, including some of “unspecified etiology.”

Tsoy said registered cases of pneumonia in the country increased by 300 percent in June compared to the same time in 2019. Related deaths rose by 129 percent from 274 in June 2019 to 628 last month, CNN reports.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday the country is looking into the situation.

“China hopes to work together with Kazakhstan to fight the epidemic and to safeguard the two countries public health security,” the spokesperson said according to CNN.

The report comes as Kazakhstan has confirmed more than 54,000 coronavirus cases and 264 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The country recently implemented nationwide lockdown orders following a rise in cases. ContinueReading

Illinois Legalizes Marijuana

ILLINOIS ON TUESDAY officially became the 11th U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into a law a bill that legalizes the possession, purchase and sale of cannabis and allows for the expungement of low-level cannabis convictions. The law will take effect Jan. 1.

"I'm so proud that our state is leading with equity and justice in its approach to cannabis legalization and its regulatory framework," Pritzker tweeted. "Signing this bill into law won't undo the injustices of the past or make whole the lives that were interrupted. We can't turn back the clock – but we can turn the page."

Illinois is the first state to legalize recreational marijuana sales through legislation, a process that has proved tricky even in states with Democrat-controlled statehouses that have been more receptive to changing drug laws. Legalization efforts in New York and New Jersey fizzed this year despite support from top lawmakers.

The measure passed the Illinois legislature late last month, just hours before the end of the year's legislative session.

It allows residents over the age of 21 to possess 30 grams of marijuana and sets up a regulated retail scheme. It also contains provisions aimed at helping cannabis start-ups owned by residents of areas disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition and those with marijuana convictions.

Prtizker, a Democrat, campaigned on the issue and his election boosted an existing effort for legalization in the state.

U.S. measles cases reach highest level in 27 years

nbcnews.com - The number of measles cases reported in the U.S. this year has now reached a level not seen in 27 years, causing concern among public health officials that the country could soon lose its measles elimination status.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that there have been 971 cases of measles reported in the first five months of 2019. That surpasses the 963 cases for the entire year in 1992.

By far, the greatest number of measles cases this year has been reported in two areas of New York: Rockland County and New York City. The CDC said that those outbreaks have been ongoing for nearly eight months.

And if they continue through the summer and fall, officials said, the country could lose an important public health victory: its status as a nation that has eliminated measles. The U.S. officially made that declaration in 2000, which meant there was no longer sustained local transmission of the disease.

"It’s like turning back the clock," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

However, Schaffner said that the current outbreaks could be stopped quickly with swift action.

"If every unvaccinated child in the U.S. were vaccinated today, Friday, May 31," Schaffner told NBC News, "the outbreak would be over across the country by June 15."

But thanks to a vocal anti-vaccine contingent, that's easier said than done. ContinueReading

Ebola outbreak deaths top 1,000 in Congo amid clinic attacks

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the country’s health minister said Friday as hostility toward health workers continues to hamper efforts to contain the second-deadliest outbreak of the virus.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga told The Associated Press that four deaths in the outbreak’s epicenter of Katwa helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo.

The outbreak declared almost nine months ago already had caused the most deaths behind the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa’s Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that killed more than 11,000 people.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the epidemic in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have come under repeated attack, leaving government health officials to staff clinics in the hotspots of Butembo and Katwa.

International aid organizations stopped their work in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with WHO was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.

Insecurity has become a “major impediment” to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHO’s health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva earlier Friday.

He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed. Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drive’s community rejection of health personnel.

“Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events,” Ryan said. “We are anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission” of the disease.

WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

ContinueReading

Eating "ultraprocessed" foods accelerates your risk of early death, study says

ATLANTA (CNN) — The quick and easy noshes you love are chipping away at your mortality one nibble at a time, according to new research from France: We face a 14 percent higher risk of early death with each 10 percent increase in the amount of ultraprocessed foods we eat.

"Ultraprocessed foods are manufactured industrially from multiple ingredients that usually include additives used for technological and/or cosmetic purposes," wrote the authors of the study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. "Ultraprocessed foods are mostly consumed in the form of snacks, desserts, or ready-to-eat or -heat meals," and their consumption "has largely increased during the past several decades."

This trend may drive an increase of early deaths due to chronic illnesses, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, they say.

In World First, Woman Gives Birth After Receiving Uterus Transplant from Dead Donor

- A team of doctors in Brazil have announced a medical first that could someday help countless women unable to have children because of a damaged or absent uterus. In a case report published Tuesday in the Lancet, they claim to have successfully helped a woman give birth using a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor.

According to the report, the team performed the operation on an unnamed 32-year-old woman in a Brazilian hospital in September 2016. The woman had been born with a rare genetic condition that left her without a uterus, known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, but she was otherwise healthy. The donor was a 45-year-old woman who had suddenly died of stroke; she had had three successful pregnancies delivered vaginally in the past.

Four months prior to the transplant, the recipient woman had received in-vitro fertilization, which yielded eight viable embryos that were frozen. Following the 10-hour-long surgery, which connected the uterus and part of the donor’s vagina to the recipient’s vagina and circulatory system, the woman then took a regimen of immunosuppressant drugs that kept her body from rejecting the donor uterus. Seven months later, she had an embryo successfully implanted. And 35-and-a-half weeks after that, she gave birth to a seemingly healthy baby girl, delivered via cesarean section with no complications.

Since 2013, there have been at least 10 reported live pregnancies from women with transplanted uteruses. But according to the authors, they are the first to have accomplished it with a uterus from a deceased donor (there was a documented attempt in 2011, but the pregnancy ended in miscarriage). The feat is something that could make the procedure a much more appealing and realistic way for some women to conceive.

First FDA-approved cannabis-based drug now available in the US

- Epidiolex, the first cannabis-based medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, is now available by prescription in all 50 states.

The twice-daily oral solution is approved for use in patients 2 and older to treat two types of epileptic syndromes: Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain that begins in the first year of life, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a form of epilepsy with multiple types of seizures that begins in early childhood, usually between ages 3 and 5.

“Because these patients have historically not responded well to available seizure medications, there has been a dire need for new therapies that aim to reduce the frequency and impact of seizures,” said Justin Gover, CEO of GW Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Epidiolex, in a written statement. “We are committed to ensuring that these patients can access this novel cannabinoid medicine that has been thoroughly studied in clinical trials, manufactured to assure quality and consistency, and is eligible to be covered by insurance for appropriate patients.”

Epidiolex was recommended for approval by an advisory committee in April and approved by the FDA in June. In September, the US Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration classified Epidiolex as a Schedule V substance, clearing the final hurdle for it to be legally prescribed by doctors in the United States. (Marijuana and CBD remain Schedule I substances.)

ContinueReading

Second ever case of Monkeypox recorded in England

- A second individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England, health officials have said.

The patient, who had travelled to Nigeria where they are believed to have acquired the infection, presented with symptoms at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Public Health England (PHE) said.

It is the second ever case of the rare viral infection recorded in the UK, after a resident of Nigeria staying at a naval base in Cornwall was diagnosed last week.

However there is "no UK link" between the two patients, PHE said.

Monkeypox does not spread easily between people and most who contract the infection recover within a few weeks, although severe illness can occur in some people.

Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of the National Infection Service at PHE, said it was "very unusual" to see two cases in this short a period of time.

"We know that in September 2017 Nigeria experienced a large sustained outbreak of monkeypox and since then sporadic cases have continued to be reported," he said.

"It is likely that monkeypox continues to circulate in Nigeria and could therefore affect travellers who are returning from this part of the world, however, it is very unusual to see two cases in such a relatively short space of time.

"We are working hard to contact individuals, including healthcare workers, that might have come into contact with the individual to provide information and health advice."

The second individual was transferred to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital after testing positive for the infection.

Secret to Japan couple's 80 years of marriage: wife's patience

TAKAMATSU, Japan (Reuters) - Japan is known for its abundance of centenarians and can now lay claim to having the world’s oldest living married couple, with a combined age of 208 - a feat the wife credits to her patience during 80 years of marriage.

Masao Matsumoto, 108, and his 100-year-old wife, Miyako, have been confirmed as the oldest living spouses by aggregate age by Guinness World Records, having been married since October 1937.

“I am so glad. It’s thanks to my patience, really,” said Miyako with a laugh, posing with Masao and other family members in front of a framed certificate at the nursing home where they live.

“I am so grateful that it brings me tears,” she told Reuters.

The Matsumotos never managed to have a wedding as Japan was heading into war and Masao was sent overseas as a soldier, but that was no obstacle to having a big family - including a 25th great-grandchild who was born last month.

“They’ve entered the last chapter of their life. It was a honor (for them) to receive this award. I would love them to continue living a peaceful life,” said daughter Hiromi.

Japanese have among the longest life expectancies in the world, with data from Japan’s health ministry showing they rank No.2 on average at around 84, just a smidgeon behind people from Hong Kong.

Omega-3 supplements are essentially useless for preventing diseases, according to a new study

- There's a growing body of evidence to suggest most vitamin supplements don't do all that much. In fact, a study earlier this year found how some of the most popular vitamin supplements, including vitamin C and calcium, don't really have major health benefits.

The next pill in the firing line is fish oil. Also known as omega-3, fish oil has been widely publicised as being protective against heart disease, but according to a new Cochrane review, led by the University of East Anglia, the supplements offer little benefit to those taking them.

Omega-3 fats like alpha­linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid, are certainly good for you, because they are essential for our health.

But the review, which combined the results from 79 different trials, involving over 112,000 people, found that omega-3 supplements like fish oils didn't seem to protect the heart.

Participants were randomly assigned to either increase their omega-3 fat intake, or maintain their usual amount of fat in their diet for a year, then they were assessed for diseases of the heart and circulation.

Results showed no significant difference in death rates, with 8.8% of people taking omega-3 dying compared to 9% of those in control groups. There was also no significant difference in the rates of heart attacks or strokes.

Researchers hopeful over experimental HIV vaccine

- An experimental HIV vaccine was safe and triggered strong immune responses in healthy adults and in monkeys, researchers report.

They say it also protected two-thirds of monkeys against an HIV-like virus.

Though results of animal studies are not always the same in humans, researchers are encouraged by this early-stage study, which included nearly 400 healthy people. For their next step, they are launching a new vaccine trial that will include 2,600 women in southern Africa who are at risk of HIV infection.

The experimental HIV-1 vaccine is one of five that have progressed to tests of effectiveness in humans.

While previous experimental HIV-1 vaccines have usually been limited to specific regions of the world, this vaccine combines different HIV viruses. The aim is to trigger immune responses against a wide variety of HIV strains, according to authors of the study published Friday in The Lancet medical journal.

"These results should be interpreted cautiously," study leader Dr. Dan Barouch said in a journal news release.

"The challenges in the development of an HIV vaccine are unprecedented, and the ability to induce HIV-specific immune responses does not necessarily indicate that a vaccine will protect humans from HIV infection," he added.

Barouch is director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. George Pavlakis and Dr. Barbara Felber of the U.S. Cancer Institute wrote an editorial that accompanied the study.

"Despite unprecedented advances in HIV treatment and prophylaxis, the number of people living with HIV infection continues to increase worldwide," they wrote.

"Implementation of even a moderately effective HIV vaccine together with the existing HIV prevention and treatment strategies is expected to contribute greatly to the evolving HIV/AIDS response," the editorial continued. "It is therefore essential that a commitment to pursue multiple vaccine development strategies continues at all stages."

About 37 million people worldwide have HIV/AIDS, and there are 1.8 million new cases a year.

US: FDA approves first medicine made from marijuana

- The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the country’s first drug derived from marijuana, a medication that treats two rare and devastating forms of epilepsy.

The drug, GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, is made of cannabidiol, or CBD, a component of marijuana that does not give users a high. It is given as an oil, and in clinical trials, it was shown to reduce the number of seizures by about 40 percent in patients with Dravet or Lennox-Gastaut syndromes.

“This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. “And, the FDA is committed to this kind of careful scientific research and drug development.”

The FDA’s decision was expected. FDA officials had indicated they supported approving Epidiolex, and an advisory panel had unanimously recommended it get the green light. There was some concern about the drug’s effects on the liver, but experts have said this risk could be addressed by doctors as they monitor their patients during treatment.

WHO classifies ‘gaming disorder’ as mental health condition

- Watching as a video game ensnares their child, many a parent has grumbled about “digital heroin,” likening the flashing images to one of the world’s most addictive substances.

Now, they may have backup: The World Health Organization announced “gaming disorder” as a new mental health condition included in the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, released Monday.

“I’m not creating a precedent,” said Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, a member of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, which proposed the new diagnosis to WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly. Instead, he said, WHO has followed “the trends, the developments, which have taken place in populations and in the professional field.”

However, not all psychologists agree that gaming disorder is worthy of inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases, known as the ICD.

A diagnosis standard, the ICD defines the universe of diseases, disorders, injuries and other related health conditions. Researchers use it to count deaths, diseases, injuries and symptoms, and doctors and other medical practitioners use it to diagnose disease and other conditions. In many cases, health care companies and insurers use the ICD as a basis for reimbursement.

Poznyak said the expectation is that the classification of gaming disorder means health professionals and systems will be more “alerted to the existence of this condition” while boosting the possibility that “people who suffer from these conditions can get appropriate help.”

He said there are three major diagnostic features or characteristics of gaming disorder.

“One is that the gaming behavior takes precedence over other activities to the extent that other activities are taken to the periphery,” he said.

The second feature is “impaired control of these behaviors,” Poznyak said. “Even when the negative consequences occur, this behavior continues or escalates.” A diagnosis of gaming disorder, then, means that a “persistent or recurrent” behavior pattern of “sufficient severity” has emerged, according to the ICD.

A third feature is that the condition leads to significant distress and impairment in personal, family, social, educational or occupational functioning, Poznyak said. The impact is real, he said, and may include “disturbed sleep patterns, like diet problems, like a deficiency in the physical activity.”

Overall, the main characteristics are “very similar” to the diagnostic features of substance use disorders and gambling disorder, he said. Gambling disorder “is another category of clinical conditions which are not associated with a psychoactive substance use but at the same time being considered as addictive as addictions.”

Most popular vitamin and mineral supplements provide no health benefit, study finds

- The most commonly consumed vitamin and mineral supplements provide no consistent health benefit or harm, suggests a new study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

Published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the systematic review of existing data and single randomized control trials published in English from January 2012 to October 2017 found that multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium and vitamin C—the most common supplements—showed no advantage or added risk in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or premature death. Generally, vitamin and mineral supplements are taken to add to nutrients that are found in food.

"We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume," said Dr. David Jenkins, the study's lead author. "Our review found that if you want to use multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium or vitamin C, it does no harm—but there is no apparent advantage either."

The study found folic acid alone and B-vitamins with folic acid may reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke. Meanwhile, niacin and antioxidants showed a very small effect that might signify an increased risk of death from any cause.

"These findings suggest that people should be conscious of the supplements they're taking and ensure they're applicable to the specific vitamin or mineral deficiencies they have been advised of by their healthcare provider," Dr. Jenkins said.

His team reviewed supplement data that included A, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6, B9 (folic acid), C, D and E; and β-carotene; calcium; iron; zinc; magnesium; and selenium. The term 'multivitamin' in this review was used to describe supplements that include most vitamins and minerals, rather than a select few.

"In the absence of significant positive data—apart from folic acid's potential reduction in the risk of stroke and heart disease—it's most beneficial to rely on a healthy diet to get your fill of vitamins and minerals," Dr. Jenkins said. "So far, no research on supplements has shown us anything better than healthy servings of less processed plant foods including vegetables, fruits and nuts." ContinueReading

New Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Trump's Fault

- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared an Ebola outbreak after two patients tested positive for the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday.

The WHO said that it was working with the country's government to clamp down on any potential for the disease spreading, following an Ebola outbreak in in the northern part of the country last year.

“Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement.

Out of five patients tested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two results came back positive for Ebola and more are being tested, according to WHO officials.

This is the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the virus was discovered in 1976.

In the last five weeks, 17 people overall have died of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever, which is caused by several viruses, including Ebola.

The WHO is releasing $1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies in an effort to stop Ebola from spreading to nearby provinces and countries. The current outbreak is in Bikoro, in the northwestern part of the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo saw an outbreak of Ebola last year, and was “quickly contained,” according to the WHO, which attributed this success to the quick testing of blood samples, announcing the outbreak early, a rapid response from health authorities and more.

Officials have sought to quickly clamp down on Ebola following an outbreak in West Africa in 2014 that garnered attention worldwide and resulted in over 11,000 deaths.

Alfie Evans, Toddler At Centre Of Court Battle Over Treatment, Dies

- The parents of Alfie Evans said they were “heartbroken” as they confirmed their son died in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.

The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.

The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thank you everyone for all your support.”

Evans, 21 and James, 20, had fought to take their son to a foreign hospital for treatment for a degenerative medical condition, but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.

Doctors had removed Alfie’s life-support following a High Court judge’s ruling on Monday, however he continued to live.

His parents said that the youngster had defied doctors’ expectations and they took their case to the Court of Appeal, but the application to take him abroad was rejected.

Tom Evans said their lives had been “turned upside down” by the “intense focus” his case had received.

“Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like,” he said.

The attention and emotion garnered by Alfie’s plight and his parents’ determined public campaign to get the treatment they believed he needed led to high tensions between supporters and staff at Alder Hey.

Further Reading: There was never going to be a happy ending in the Alfie Evans case, but perhaps there's still a lesson learned

Study: Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Diabetes, Obesity

usnews.com - ZERO-CALORIE ARTIFICIAL sweeteners meant to reduce consumption of sugar are being linked to diabetes and obesity.

A new study presented Sunday at the 2018 Experimental Biology meeting examined the biochemical effects of artificial sweeteners in rats and cell cultures. Researchers fed one group of rats a diet high in glucose or fructose, different types of sugars, and another group a diet with aspartame or acesulfame potassium, common zero-calorie artificial sweeteners. After three weeks, researchers observed "significant differences in the concentrations of biochemicals, fats and amino acids in blood samples," according to a press release.

The study also examined how artificial sweeteners affected vascular health by looking at how they impacted the lining of the blood vessels.

"As diabetes and obesity become a rising worldwide health concern there has been an increased awareness of environmental factors, such as diet, that are contributing to the problem," the study says. "However, it was not until recently that the negative impact of consuming non-caloric artificial sweeteners in the place of sugar had been increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to the dramatic increase in diabetes and obesity, along with the associated complications."The results of the study suggest artificial sweeteners alter how bodies process fat and obtain energy. Additionally, researchers discovered acesulfame potassium appeared to accumulate in the blood, with increased amounts having more harmful effects on cells that line blood vessels.

One of the authors, Brian Hoffmann, assistant professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, said sugar replacements aren't a solution to the diabetes and obesity epidemic.

"Despite the addition of these non-caloric artificial sweeteners to our everyday diets, there has still been a drastic rise in obesity and diabetes," Hoffmann said in the release. "In our studies, both sugar and artificial sweeteners seem to exhibit negative effects linked to obesity and diabetes, albeit through very different mechanisms from each other."

Hoffman said the body has "the machinery to handle sugar" in moderation. However, in excess, the "machinery breaks down." Researchers also observed that replacing natural sugars with zero-calorie artificial sweeteners leads to negative changes in fat and energy metabolism.

Hoffman cautioned that there is no simple answer to "Which is worse, sugar or artificial sweeteners?" A diet high in sugar has negative health outcomes and the study shows a diet high in artificial sugars has the same.

Instead, he says in the press release, "moderation is the key if one finds it hard to completely cut something out of their diet."

Number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers drops dramatically in U.S.

TRENTON, N.J. — New data show that the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell dramatically last year. They showed their biggest drop in 25 years.

The decline comes amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction.

A health data firm released a report Thursday showing a 9 percent average drop nationwide in the number of prescriptions for opioids filled by retail and mail-order pharmacies. All 50 states and the District of Columbia had declines of more than 5 percent, the data showed.

The U.S. is estimated to consume roughly 30 percent of all opioids used worldwide.

The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell dramatically last year, showing their biggest drop in 25 years and continuing a decline amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction, new data show.

Hospitals Fear Competitive Threat From Potential Walmart-Humana Deal

wsj.com - Early-stage deal talks between Walmart Inc. WMT 1.37% and Humana Inc. HUM 0.48% are deepening anxiety in the hospital sector, which already has been grappling with sluggish growth and competition from cheaper health-care options.

Hospitals have been eyeing Walmart nervously for years as it advances into health care, seeking to leverage its enormous purchasing heft, physical reach and focus on price. The Bentonville, Ark., retailer already operates pharmacies and primary-care clinics and plans to begin offering lab-testing services. It has also recently increased its direct negotiations with hospitals for competitive prices on some procedures for its employees.

Now, a deal for Louisville, Ky.-based insurer Humana could accelerate Walmart’s transformation into a direct competitive threat and a force in tamping down spending on hospital services, according to industry executives and consultants.

A deal isn’t guaranteed. But a merger could add to the wave of consolidation in U.S. health care, pairing insurers with other sectors of the industry that offer cheaper care through clinics and pharmacies. CVS Health Corp. announced last year a $69 billion deal for insurer Aetna Inc. Cigna Corp. early last month said it would buy Express Scripts Holding Co. for $54 billion, in a combination that would marry a health insurer and the largest U.S. pharmacy-benefit manager.

“These vertical deals are super exciting, mostly for the potential to keep people out of the hospital,” said Zack Cooper, health economist at Yale University.

With a potential Walmart-Humana deal, “there is scope for this new entity to, in a sense, offer a product that has less bells and whistles and is more efficient and lower cost,” he said.

Outside its pharmacies—which operate across 4,700 U.S. Walmart stores—the retailer’s health-service offerings are currently limited. Walmart operates 19 clinics in Georgia, South Carolina and Texas and other providers operate about 50 additional clinics. But Walmart’s expansive retail footprint would make it a formidable competitor should it build out low-cost outpatient offerings, said industry executives and consultants.

Humana, one of the nation’s largest insurers, already announced in December it would jointly acquire home-health-care and hospice provider Kindred Healthcare Inc. with two private-equity firms.

A potential Walmart-Humana deal “should be a concern to everybody in health care,” said Randy Oostra, president and chief executive officer of nonprofit hospital system ProMedica, based in Toledo, Ohio. ContinueReading

California ordered to add cancer warning to coffee, but the science doesn’t hold up

washingtonpost.com - Storm clouds are brewing in California’s coffee cups. Companies across the state will have to add a cancer-warning label to coffee, a judge ruled this week, because the drink contains a chemical called acrylamide.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle sided with a nonprofit organization in a case against Starbucks, Peets and dozens of other coffee chains, saying that businesses that sold coffee were in violation of a state regulation called Proposition 65. Prop 65 requires businesses with at least 10 employees to disclose any carcinogens and toxic chemicals in their products.

The lawsuit, filed by an organization called the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, cites the presence of acrylamide in coffee. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, describes acrylamide as a human neurotoxin and a “group 2A probable carcinogen.”

With those classifications, the chemical certainly does not sound like something people want floating in their morning pick-me-up. But experts said coffee drinkers should not change their habits on the basis of the new ruling.

“The name, ‘acrylamide,’ it makes it sound scary,” said Michelle Francl, a chemist at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. But, she pointed out, a liquid labeled “oxidane” sounds ominous, even though that’s a fancy term for water.

Rodents fed massive amounts of acrylamide do develop cancer. This is an “acceptable and appropriate” way to determine a carcinogenic effect, said J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s deputy chief medical officer. But anything — including water and oxygen — can be unsafe at the wrong dosage. Those lab rats and mice were dosed at rates 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than what humans consume in food, according to the American Cancer Society.

Links between cancer and acrylamide in humans are weak or need to be replicated in additional studies, said Timothy Rebbeck, a professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Lichtenfeld agreed. “There are no well-done human studies that answer the question definitively,” he said. What research there is indicates that the human body does not absorb the chemical at the same rate as rodents do, and we also metabolize it differently.

“From a practical standpoint would we recommend people stop drinking coffee as a result of the judge’s decision? No,” Lichtenfeld said. “That’s not what the science shows us.”