Category: Resources (Page 4 of 32)

Sunscreen Gets A Boost From Skin Saving Foods

July 19, 2012 / Staff

Colorful peppers, tomatoes and watermelon aren’t just summer treats, they actually protect your skin from the harsh effects of the sun.

Nutrition, Research, Resources, Wellness

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The FDA Has Approved The Diet Drug Qsymia

July 17, 2012 / Staff

The FDA has approved Qsymia for use today by those who are obese, with a BMI of 30 or more, or for those who have a BMI of 27 with weight related illness.

The history of weight loss pills has been fraught with law suits due to life threatening side affects and prescription abuse by physicians and patients.

The major problem with weight loss drugs is that they don’t address the underlying causes of weight gain such as the psychological component of over eating and the food itself.

There is wide ranging debate regarding the way certain processed and scientifically engineered foodstuffs react with human physiology and metabolism.

Until we confront these two major issues surrounding food it will be difficult to solve America’s obesity epidemic with a pill.

“Given the literally insatiable appetite of doctors and patients for new drugs as a quick fix for obesity, there is every reason to believe that, if approved, a combination like this, will be used by millions, over long periods of time far beyond its labeling indications. Because of a long list of safety reasons, this drug should not be approved,” the group’s Dr. Sidney Wolfe told the FDA advisory panel in 2010.
Vivus, the company that makes Qsymia, hopes it will be a safer successor to the notorious and now banned “fen-phen” diet cocktail. Fen-phen combined fenfluramine and phentermine — one of the two drugs in Qsymia — but it damaged the heart in some cases and caused a condition in some patients called pulmonary hypertension, which causes fluid to build up in the chest, bringing a feeling of breathlessness.

Quality Control, Research, Resources, Wellness

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Over The Counter HIV Test Approved By The FDA

July 3, 2012 / Staff

The FDA has approved a rapid at home HIV test.

OraSure Technologies Inc. of Bethlehem PA. has produced OraQuick for over-the-counter sales.

The hope is that the at-home test will reach the 20 percent of HIV infected people who do not know that they are infected.

Taking the test will not eliminate the need to follow up with further testing.

The test has the potential to identify large numbers of previously undiagnosed HIV infections. An estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV infection. About one of every five don’t know they’re infected. About 50,000 new HIV infections are diagnosed every year.
percent accurate in correctly identifying positive results, a measure known as sensitivity, clinical trials showed. That means that one false negative test result could be expected out of every 12 tests.
It was also about 99.98 percent accurate at correctly identifying negative results, a measure known as specificity. That means one false positive would be expected out of every 5,000 test results in uninfected individuals.

OraSure expects the at-home HIV test to be available starting in October at more than 30,000 retail outlets across the U.S. and online.

Quality Control, Resources, Wellness

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Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Affordable Care Act

June 28, 2012 / Staff

A victory today for President Obama as the supreme court rules in favor of health care for everyone.

The mandate would require all Americans to purchase health insurance and those who don’t will be penalized with a tax, which in effect, would be the cost of a years worth of coverage.

The court ruled that congress has the right to levy a tax on the citizens of the United States.

The dissenters including Anthony M. Kennedy, contend that the law is overreaching.

The majority, lead Chief Justice Roberts, agree that the Affordable Care Act is Constitutional but did substantially limit the law requiring the expansion of Medicaid by the states.

The court’s ruling, seen as one of the most significant in decades, is a crucial milestone for the law, allowing almost all of its far-reaching changes to roll forward. Several of its notable provisions have already been put in place in the past two years, and more are imminent. Ultimately, it is intended to end the United States’ status as the only rich country with large numbers of uninsured people, by expanding both the private market and Medicaid.
President Obama spoke from the White House shortly after the decision was handed down. “Whatever the politics, today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives are more secure because of this law,” he said.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Medicaid, Privacy, Resources, Wellness

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