Specialists in Colon Cancer, Irritable Bowel, Inflammatory Bowel, Acid Reflux, Liver Disease, Crohns Disease and Hepatitis C Virus

Women With Psoriasis May Have Increased Risk For Crohn’s Disease

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:16:35 +0000

MedPage Today (5/16, Bankhead) reports, “Women with psoriasis had a four-fold increase in the risk of Crohn’s disease, according to data from two large cohort studies” presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting. “The Crohn’s risk held up in separate analyses of the two studies and in a combined analysis of data from both cohorts,” whereas “psoriasis did not increase the risk of ulcerative colitis in either of the individual cohorts or in the combined analysis.”

Study: 42% Of Americans Will Be Obese By 2030

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:18:26 +0000

A new report on US obesity projections received heavy coverage, with network news broadcasts devoting nearly four minutes to the study. Most sources emphasized the costs and health burden associated with an increasingly obese population, but many also pointed to the fact that obesity rates have stabilized in recent years.
        NBC Nightly News (5/7, story 7, 2:50, Williams) reported, “For everyone American who worries about their weight or the weight of their children, there is a stunning prediction tonight. Health experts warn that by the year 2030, a staggering 42% of Americans will officially be obese.”
        The CBS Evening News (5/7, story 7, 0:35, Pelley) reported that currently, “nearly 36% of adults in this country…are obese.”
        ABC World News (5/7, story 6, 0:30, Sawyer) reported, “In addition to the physical consequences, the CDC estimates obesity will increase health care costs another $555 billion.”
        USA Today (5/8, Hellmich) reports, “The analysis was presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ‘Weight of the Nation’” conference. The research (pdf) “is being published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.”
        The Washington Post (5/8, Brown) reports, “Cynthia L. Ogden, an epidemiologist at the CDC, told the conference that, in general, obesity rates changed little in the 1960s and 1970s, rose steeply in the 1980s and 1990s, and have been leveling off in the past decade.”
        The Los Angeles Times (5/8, Healy) reports, “The sobering projections also contained some good news, the researchers said: Obesity’s growth has slowed from the record pace of most of the last 30 years. If those trends were to continue, 51% of American adults would qualify as obese in 2030.”
        Bloomberg BusinessWeek (5/8, Lopatto) reports, “The findings predict that the number of people who are severely obese, or about 100 pounds overweight, will double to 11 percent.”
        The AP (5/8) reports, “That could be an ominous consequence of childhood obesity. Half of severely obese adults were obese as children, and they put on more pounds as they grew up, said” CDC obesity specialist Dr. William Dietz.
        The NPR (5/8, Graham) “Shots” blog reports that in a statement, Dietz said, “We know more than ever about the most successful strategies that will help Americans live healthier, more active lives and reduce obesity rates and medical costs.”
        The CBS News (5/8) “HealthPop” blog quotes Dietz’s statement as saying, “In the coming days at our Weight of the Nation conference, CDC and its partners will emphasize the proven, effective strategies and solutions that must continue to be applied to help make the healthy choice the easy choice.” The blog adds, “The obesity epidemic has led to a rise in obesity-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and several types of cancer.” Research published “earlier this year in…the journal Cancer found rates for cancers of the esophagus, uterus, pancreas and kidney were on the rise, with obesity being a likely factor.”

Carmel: OTC Medications Interfere With Doctor-Patient Relationship

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:03:01 +0000

In USA Today (5/7), Peter W. Carmel, president of the American Medical Association, expresses skepticism about the Food and Drug Administration’s “new concept to make more prescription drugs available over the counter (OTC),” noting that his organization “is concerned about patients taking certain drugs without physician involvement – especially patients with chronic diseases.” Carmel argues, “Patients rely on physicians to provide sound diagnosis and treatment information and to help them meet their unique health needs. Expanding many prescription medications to OTC interferes with that important relationship without offering any real benefits to improve patients’ health or reduce their costs.”

USAToday Touts FDA System. USA Today (5/7) editorializes that “people get better care when they see doctors,” and the FDA would “have to ensure that a new system wasn’t used by drugmakers to promote easier access to drugs that are new to the market, have severe side effects or are prone to abuse.” The piece argues, “But for Americans with serious but controllable conditions who get no medication or fail to keep up with prescriptions, a little more flexibility could be just what the doctor ordered.”

Study: Aspirin Use After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis May Improve Survival

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:44:13 +0000

The UK’s Telegraph (4/25, Adams) reports, “Taking a daily aspirin after being diagnosed with bowel cancer can reduce the chance of dying from the disease by almost a third, according to research published” in the British Journal of Cancer. Investigators found that “patients with colorectal cancer who took an 80mg tablet daily for at least nine months were 30 per cent less likely to die over an average follow-up period of 3.5 years, compared to those who did not take it at all.” This “effect was even more marked for those diagnosed with colon cancer, as opposed to rectal cancer, cutting the chance of death by 39 per cent.”

Scientists Develop Vaccine To Train Patients Bodies To Find, Destroy Tumor Cells

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:25:36 +0000

The UK’s Telegraph (4/8, Gray) reports, “A vaccine that can train cancer patients’ own bodies to seek out and destroy tumour cells has been developed by scientists. The therapy, which targets a molecule found in 90 per cent of all cancers, could provide a universal injection that allows patients’ immune systems to fight off common cancers including breast and prostate cancer.” The Telegraph notes that “the new vaccine, developed by drug company Vaxil Biotheraputics along with researchers at Tel Aviv University, uses a small section of the molecule to prime the immune system so that it can identify and destroy cancer cells.”

More Employers Tying Health Insurance To Medical Tests In US

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:45:08 +0000

USA Today /Kaiser Health News (4/2, Appleby) reports, “Now, more employees are being asked to roll up their sleeves for medical tests – and to exercise, participate in disease-management programs and quit smoking to qualify for hundreds, even thousands of dollars’ worth of premium or deductible discounts.” Those supporting medical tests “say such plans offer people a financial incentive to make healthier choices and manage chronic conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, which are driving up health care costs in the USA” even though “studies of the effect of such policies on lifestyle changes are inconclusive.” However, “advocates for people with chronic health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, fear that tying premium costs directly to test results could lead to discrimination.”

Study: Insufficient Colon Cleansing May Hamper Colonoscopy

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:57:19 +0000

HealthDay (3/30) reports, “Doctors may fail to detect precancerous growths if patients’ colons aren’t adequately cleansed before having a colonoscopy,” according to a study published in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. “Researchers identified 373 patients who underwent a colonoscopy between 2004 and 2009, and had inadequate bowel preparation. Of the 133 patients who later had a second colonoscopy, nearly 34 percent had at least one precancerous growth detected in the repeat screening.” Medscape (3/30, Barber) also covers the story.

Red Meat Consumption May Be Linked To Increased Risk Of Premature Death

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:23:31 +0000

A study linking red meat to a higher risk of early death generated significant coverage online and in print, and was also featured on ABC World News (3/12, story 6, 2:10, Sawyer), which reported that a “major medical study from the Harvard School of Public Health” is “raising a giant red flag about eating red meat.”
The Los Angeles Times (3/13, Brown) reports, “Eating red meat – any amount and any type – appears to significantly increase the risk of premature death, according to” the study.
USA Today (3/13, Hellmich) reports that investigators “analyzed the diet, health and death data on 37,698 men and 83,644 women. Participants completed questionnaires about their diets every four years.” Over a “follow-up period of more than two decades, almost 24,000 of the participants died, including 5,910 from heart disease and 9,464 from cancer.”
Bloomberg News (3/13, Ostrow) reports, “The researchers found that those who increased consumption of unprocessed red meat by one serving each day had an 18 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease and a 10 percent greater risk of dying from cancer, while those who ate one more daily serving of processed red meat had a 21 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease and a 16 percent increased risk of dying from cancer.”
The New York Times (3/13, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports, “The increased risks linked to processed meat, like bacon, were even greater: 20 percent over all, 21 percent for cardiovascular disease and 16 percent for cancer.”
Also covering the story were NPR (3/13, Aubrey) “The Salt” blog, HeartWire (3/13, O’Riordan), BBC News (3/13), the UK’s Press Association (3/13), CNN /Health.com (3/13, Harding), HealthDay (3/13, Reinberg), WebMD (3/13, Goodman), MedPage Today (3/13, Neale), and the UK’s Telegraph (3/13, Smith)

AGA Pushing For Fix To Preventive-Care Rules For Screening Colonoscopies

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:21:56 +0000

The Billings (MT) Gazette (3/11, Uken) reported, “The nation’s new Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover all costs for preventive care, including colon cancer screening.” However, the free screening may result in a bill to the patient if polyps are found and removed during the procedure. As a result, “some physicians and prevention advocates are asking Congress to review the law to waive patient costs, including Medicare co-pays, which can cost up to $230 for a screening colonoscopy where polyps are removed.” Now, “the American Gastroenterological Association” is “pushing Congress to fix the problem because of the confusion it is causing for patients and doctors.”

Group Says One In Three Older US Adults Has Not Undergone Colonoscopy Screening

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:49:35 +0000

HealthDay (3/3, Mozes) reported, “Approximately one in three US adults between the ages of 50 and 75 who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not been, according to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).” In a news release issued by the society, “experts say everyone should be screened starting at age 50, and repeat the screening once a decade thereafter if the initial test results come back normal.” People “with a family history of colorectal cancer should get screened starting at age 40. Other high-risk groups, such as black people and those with inflammatory bowel disease, should discuss getting screened sooner with their doctors.”