Recent studies show that people who suffer from gallstones could have an increased risk of heart diseases.

People that live in neighborhoods that do not have access to healthy food stores are more likely to develop heart diseases. Scientists proved that having a healthier diet due to access to healthier foods is equal to less coronary plaque formation.

Neighborhoods with more fast foods restaurants and with access to limited fresh food alternatives have been linked to unhealthy diets which exposed the residents to signs of early heart diseases.

The explanation might be the fact that the evolution of gallstones is often attributed to excess cholesterol. The studies were conducted on more than 269,000 men and women for up to 30 years. It was concluded that over 6 percent of women and 3 percent of men said they’d ever been diagnosed with gallstones. Moreover, people who had a family history of this disease were 33 percent more likely to eventually develop heart diseases.

By connecting the findings with other studies that included nearly 900,000 people it was proved that adults with a history of this disease were 23 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

Researchers assumed that cases of gallstone disease might spur low levels of inflammation in the body that lead to the progression of heart disease. Moreover, gallstones disrupt the balance of trillions of bacteria and microbes in the human body, and recent studies have demonstrated links between such disturbances and the risk of heart disease.

A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder out of bile components. Most of the people with this condition (about 80%) never have symptoms. Complications of gallstones include inflammation of the gallbladder, swelling of the pancreas, and liver inflammation. They might also include pain of more than five hours duration, fever, yellowish skin, vomiting, or tea-color urine.

Risk factors for gallstones include birth control pills, pregnancy, obesity, diabetes, liver disease, or rapid weight loss.

One can prevent the disease by maintaining a healthy weight and eating a proper diet. If there are no symptoms, treatment is usually not needed.

Cardiologist Dr. Richard Stein highlighted that gallstones and heart disease share some of the same risk factors like obesity or high levels of cholesterol which makes it possible that gallstones, themselves, are a risk factor for heart disease.

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McDonald’s, which is the world’s largest toy distributor has begun recalling its fitness trackers with children’s Happy Meals after reports of the wearables causing skin irritations.

As of 2001, the fast-food chain was giving away 1.5 billion toys annually. 20 percent of all their sales include a toy and they presumably sell more than 75 hamburgers a second. Apparently, this kind of volume doesn’t come without some quality control issues and the fitness tracker isn’t the first fail that the company suffered.

After widespread complaints of the trackers causing skin rashes, McDonald’s removed the trackers from their locations in the United States and Canada.

In an attempt to rebrand itself as a healthier option McDonald’s recently started sharing fitness trackers with their Happy Meals. Nobody ever knew where they came from, just that they were made by McDonald’s. Unfortunately, the first rule of wearables which is making sure they aren’t toxic to human skin wasn’t followed by the company.

In 2010 they had to recall the Shrek-themed drinking glasses which contained cadmium, a carcinogen that can generate bone softening and severe kidney damage. Also, in 2014, choking problems were reported because of Hello Kitty toys. Moreover, despite loads of reports that the prerecorded voice in the Minion-based toys was uttering curse words, McDonald’s refused to recall them.

McDonald’s has been holding controversial McTeacher’s Nights for years in which teachers will work for McDonald’s. In exchange, a part of the revenue will go to their school. As children respect and trust their teachers, this is a way of selling kids junk food which had been highly criticized.

The fast-food chain also found the best way to ingratiate to busy parents and kids under 13 by offering a free McMeal to kick off the school year. They do so, in the hope of this habit becoming a part of the morning routine. In Houston, the company offers free breakfast to teachers and students in third through eighth grade.

McDonald’s U.S. President Mike Andres mentioned the importance of their presence in schools.

Attempting to improve their reputation, the company even started promoting salads but that backfired when it was proved that a salad had more calories than a Big Mac.

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The life-saving Epinephrine-dispensing EpiPens are a vital part of families that have children with food allergies. In the case of a severe reaction, people rely on them for a dose of the medicine that could save their life.

An epinephrine autoinjector is a medical device for injecting a measured dose or doses of epinephrine also known as adrenaline, by means of auto-injector technology. The devices contain a spring-loaded needle that exits the tip of the device (in some cases through a sterile membrane) and penetrates the recipient’s skin, to deliver the medication via intramuscular injection.

Nearly one out of every thirteen children has a food allergy and only last year, about 3.6 million prescriptions were written for EpiPens. They expire each year and need to be replaced.

In the last nine years, after Mylan bought the rights for EpiPen, the price for this life-saving device increased by over 450 percent, from $50 for one injector to $600 for a pack of two, leaving the dose out of reach for many families.

The device can be purchased in packs of two at FDA’s recommendation that people suffering from allergies must carry two doses just in case. However, selling them in packs of two could also mean that if one is lost, to replace it, people must double the cost by buying an extra.

For people with no insurance, this total cost of $600 must be borne out of pocket. Moreover, other insurance plans reduce the cost of the medicine but still leaves the patients to pay several hundred dollars for it.

While the price of the actual medicine is just a few dollars, Mylan — the manufacturer of EpiPen—enjoys having just a few competitors in the field.

Over the last seven years, there has been reported a 67 percent increase in the number of people using EpiPens making it the main source of income for Mylan.

The spectacular increase of the EpiPens’s price has led to families resorting to syringes filled with epinephrine as a cheaper alternative. Although it is cheaper, it also could be fatal if a vein is injected instead of a muscle.

Depending on their medical insurance plans, Mylan is offering clients coupons worth up to $100 that will allow a number of users to pay less than the asking price.

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New promising therapies have been recently discovered for Alzheimer’s disease. People living with this disease or other dementias are usually placing an enormous financial strain on caregivers who are spending thousands of dollars a year on care.

It is estimated that in 2015, 5.3 million people suffered from this disease and by 2050, there will be an increase up to 13.8 million people in the US in the absence of new treatments.

In America, Alzheimer is the most expensive disease, studies showed. Medicare covers some of the expenses for this disease like doctor visits or hospitalization but other services like transportation or diapers for incontinence greatly raise the costs for the caregivers of Alzheimer patients.

This costly disease usually involves long-term care for patients and now scientists believe that they have discovered new promising therapies.

David Johnson, a 59-year-old former truck driver in Sacramento was diagnosed in 2012 with early-onset Alzheimer’s. He was not surprised by this diagnose as this terrible disease has taken his father, six aunts and uncles, and a cousin.

Although resigned to dying he was enrolled in a clinical trial at Sacramento’s Sutter Neuroscience Institute and now considers that the four years into the five-year clinical trial slowed down the disease if not entirely stopped it. The treatment which involves infusions of special antibodies seems to be working so far. The main result is that the disease is not progressing, doctors have mentioned.

Amyloid, the protein that causes Alzheimer’s by attacking the brain cells is at the forefront of the promising therapies. Although not yet FDA-approved, the therapies are in their final phases.

Researchers believe that we are witnessing the era where we are very close to discovering proven disease-modifying therapies. Dr. John Olichney, a neurology professor and director of clinical trials at the University of California believes that the progression of this disease has been slowed down by this new therapy.

Current medication such as Arricept and Rivastigmine are used to boost the patient’s short time memory, but, unfortunately, this treatment does nothing to slow down the disease’s relentless advancement in the brain.

According to the National Institutes of Health, U.S spent an estimated $991 million in 2016 on Alzheimer’s research but it is still less than what is allocated for cancer, heart disease or AIDS.

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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is responding to a number of swine flu cases in West Michigan. After participating in county fairs, two children have been reported with a form of swine flu which allegedly was contracted from infected pigs.

Across the state, three people have contracted swine flu from coming into direct contact with pigs and people are now wondering what measures are being taken to avoid spreading the virus.

Recently, twenty pigs out of the 350 exhibited two weeks ago at the Cass County Fair tested positive last week for a strain of influenza H3N2 known as swine flu.

Doctors confirm that the H3N2 strain is harmless in comparison to other types of influenza, like H1N1. Dr. David Davenport, an infectious disease expert with Borgess Medical Center, stated that nine times of ten this is an almost harmless disease, and it is due to direct contact with contaminated pigs.

Swine flu is a respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the respiratory tract of pigs and result in a decreased appetite, barking cough, nasal secretions, and lethargic behavior; the virus can be easily transmitted to humans.

The 2009 swine flu outbreak (pandemic) was due to infection with the H1N1 virus and was first observed in Mexico. The incubation period for the disease is about one to four days. The disease perseveres for about three to seven days. More severe infections could persist up to 10 days. The best-known way to prevent the swine flu is vaccination. It reduces the chances of becoming infected with influenza viruses.

Officials have been carefully monitoring the fair organizers all over the state and believe that these are isolated cases that pose no threat to humanity.

People attending the county fairs are advised to avoid contact with sick people to stop spreading the disease. Moreover, they must avoid touching their mouth, eyes or nose to prevent spraying the microbes.

The limited availability of vaccines makes it harder for pigs to get vaccinated ahead of time. More than 30 percent of exhibition pigs are likely to catch the virus.

Fortunately, both people that contracted swine flu during the Muskegon County Fair have recovered.

Image source: Wikipedia

Infertility coverage might be expanding to same-sex couples. New Jersey residents Erin and Marianne Krupa, Sol Mejias, and Sarah Mills have filed a lawsuit against Richard J. Badolato who is the commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance. The main reason for the lawsuit was that the mandate discriminates against same-sex couples.

These women that are in monogamous same-sex relationships consider that the mandate, by its discriminatory language, excludes lesbian couples.

According to the lawsuit’s results, despite being diagnosed with infertility, Erin could not prove that she had unprotected sexual intercourse with a man because of her committed same-sex relationship. It was the reason why the two ladies were not protected by the mandate and had to spend $25,000 on fertility treatments.

The same situation revealed when Mejias was denied coverage when at-home insemination attempts failed repeatedly, but these were not proof enough that they were trying to conceive.

The four women that filed the lawsuit were ultimately given coverage for specific procedures only after each of them was first evaluated by doctors, but they were still not offered complete infertility treatment. They also needed to sustain notable personal costs that their insurance company, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (HBCBS), failed to reimburse.

Serena Chen, the director of reproductive medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center admitted that the insurance companies would use the New Jersey mandate’s wording as an excuse to deny insurance claims. It is why many same-sex couples have to discover a way to get the fertility treatments they need.

The couples that have the financial stability end up paying out of pocket for the treatments. However, most of them seek companies that offer a better insurance coverage.

In February 2016, New Jersey State Senate majority leader Loretta Weinberg recommended an amendment that would extend the insurance coverage for women having same-sex relationships. To do so, the women must first be evaluated by specialists licensed to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey to determine the couple‘s infertility.

After the lawsuit, a variety of medically-sound ways to determine a woman’s infertility were recommended. These could be done without the need of heterosexual intercourse.

Suing the state instead of the insurance companies seems to be the best way to fight the mandate change that all the insurance companies will later have to follow.

Image source: Wikipedia

Studies showed that U.S children scored low on heart health. The American Heart Association (AHA) report found that fewer children are having healthy habits or taking care of their heart health.

Less than 1 percent of American children are achieving the organization’s definition of ideal cardiovascular health.

Babies are usually born with healthy hearts but during their childhood, they should attend their cardiovascular health in order to live a healthy life.

Seven standards of good heart health must be followed, AHA states. The standards include sustaining healthy blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol. Also having a healthy weight in relation to height (BMI – body mass index), not smoking and getting enough physical activity.

The lead author, Dr. Julia Steinberger, mentioned that the main reasons why kids fail to maintain their cardiovascular health are unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. Because their meals are mostly based on sugary foods and drinks, 91 percent of U.S. children have poor diets.

When it comes to meeting the minimum recommended amount of physical activity, only half of the American boys aged six to eleven managed to achieve it and only a third of American young girls with the same age.

Children aged 16 to 19 are even less likely to complete the minimum recommended physical activity.
Moreover, around one-third of the American population has admitted at least trying cigarettes. The rates among boys were slightly higher than girls, the study showed.

Researchers believe that schools should be more involved in promoting a healthy lifestyle for children because the obesity rates are around 10 to 27 percent in U.S kids, depending on their age category.

According to the study, blood pressure is normal for around 90 percent of the American children. However, 37 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls have increased blood sugar levels. Moreover, a third of adolescents and children have high cholesterol levels.

Unhealthy behaviors are demonstrated to continue even when children get older. Studies showed that less than 60 percent of adolescents have an ideal MBI level, while more than a third of the teens admitted smoking cigarettes in the last 30 days.

Studies proved that more research is needed as well as improved surveillance in order to better track the cardiovascular health in children.

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A new study has proved that minorities are less likely to get help when dealing with mental problems. The study investigated how often adults or children benefit from mental health services based on whether they are Hispanic, black or white.

Using the data picked from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey between 2006-2012, researchers decided how often people went to see a specialist concerning this matter. For this study, researchers analyzed data on adults aged 18-34 and children under 18.

A professor at the City University of New York and lecturer at Harvard Medical School revealed that minority kids do not get the help needed when confronted with mental issues. Instead, they get expelled or jailed. He finds that the real crime here is the lack of interest for minorities and believed that punishing people for their mental illness is ineffective and inhumane.

Researchers found that white children make 37 percent more visits to psychiatrists than black children and 49 percent more visits than Hispanic children. However, black children’s moderate use of the services was not due to lesser need.

The mental health problems of black and white children are similar. Moreover, the rates of brutal episodes that lead to psychiatric hospitalization or emergency visits were also similar for white and black children.

It has been proved that whites receive about three times more mental health services than Hispanics or blacks in the same age group.

While poor children had lower rates of medical care, the differences in income did not account for the racial/ethnic disparities in care.

Among children, boys got more mental health services than girls. Among young adults, women reported more visits.

Hispanic parents reported less mental health issues among their children but the finding reported underuse compared to non-Hispanic whites.

The findings also proved that the minorities with the highest rates of incarceration –Hispanics and blacks- make fewer visits to a mental health specialist than whites. However, other studies showed that half of the minority inmates had untreated mental illnesses when they were first convicted.

The author of the study also revealed that minorities’ very low substance abuse treatment rates contrast with their high rates of arrests due to substance abuse.

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