Free Republic

Many parents worry about a possible link between autism and mercury exposure. But most research dismisses those fears as groundless, and a new study says autistic children actually have lower blood levels of mercury than children who are developing normally. Mercury levels were closely related to fish intake, the study found, and children with autism and related disorders tend to be picky eaters who avoid fish. After researchers adjusted for the lower fish consumption of autistic children, they found no differences between their mercury levels and those in other children. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of public health sciences at the...

Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher in the development of two human papilloma virus vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, said the controversial drugs will do little to reduce cervical cancer rates and, even though they’re being recommended for girls as young as nine, there have been no efficacy trials in children under the age of 15. “I came away from the talk with the perception that the risk of adverse side effects is so much greater than the risk of cervical cancer, I couldn’t help but question why we need the vaccine at all,” said Joan Robinson, Assistant Editor at the...

The top public health official in Los Angeles County stood at a swine flu vaccination site in Compton, Calif., on Tuesday and gently told elderly residents that they really ought to go home. “I explained to people 65 or older, ‘The reason we are doing this is for children,’ ” said the official, Jonathan E. Fielding, the director of the county’s Department of Public Health. “I told them: ‘They are at very high risk for this flu, and you’re at low risk. I am sure you wouldn’t want to get a shot that left a kid who is at risk...

Supplements of the sunshine vitamin may improve insulin resistance and sensitivity, both of which are risk factors for diabetes, says a new study from New Zealand. Insulin resistance, whereby insufficient insulin is released to produce a normal glucose response from fat, muscle and liver cells, was significantly lower in women following high-dose vitamin D supplementation, according to results of a randomised, controlled, double-blind trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition. The optimal effects were observed when blood vitamin D levels were in the range 80 to 119 nanomoles per litre, said the researchers, “providing further evidence for an increase...

Call it the arrow of cancer. Like the arrow of time, it was supposed to point in one direction. Cancers grew and worsened. But as a paper in The Journal of the American Medical Association noted last week, data from more than two decades of screening for breast and prostate cancer call that view into question. Besides finding tumors that would be lethal if left untreated, screening appears to be finding many small tumors that would not be a problem if they were left alone, undiscovered by screening. They were destined to stop growing on their own or shrink, or...

Breaking News: Senator Joe Lieberman has announced that he will join the GOP in filibustering the Reid-pushed Health Care Bill.

If recent reports are accurate, legislation being prepared in the U.S. Senate would cause nearly every healthy American under the age of 65 to become uninsured. Under current proposals, large employers would face a fine of up to $750 per employee if they didn’t offer health insurance. Since that is much less than employers currently spend on employee health insurance premiums, most businesses would choose to pay the fine and drop their group health insurance. Individuals who did not buy health insurance would face an initial fine of between $0 and $100. Since the biggest fine is much lower than...

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration has allowed drugs for cancer and other diseases to stay on the market even when follow-up studies showed they didn't extend patients' lives, say congressional investigators. A report due out Monday from the Government Accountability Office also shows that the FDA has never pulled a drug off the market due to a lack of required follow-up about its actual benefits — even when such information is more than a decade overdue. (excerpted)

CHICAGO – At least one in five U.S. children aged 1 to 11 don't get enough vitamin D and could be at risk for a variety of health problems including weak bones, the most recent national analysis suggests. By a looser measure, almost 90 percent of black children that age and 80 percent of Hispanic kids could be vitamin D deficient — "astounding numbers" that should serve as a call to action, said Dr. Jonathan Mansbach, lead author of the new analysis and a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston. > The body also makes vitamin...

When you get the AP doing fact checking, you have to know something's amiss in Obama fantasyland. In the POTUS's desperate attempt to simplify his demand for remaking America's health care system, he reverts to the proven Alinsky techniques of finding a demon, targeting that demon and isolating it to stir up public discontent. His latest mantras have been focused on portraying those evil health insurers in the same light as Wall Street CEO's. Trouble is, facts get in the way of the rhetoric. Per AP's Calvin Woodward today, health insurers' profits have barely exceeded 2% in the latest annual...

Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com yesterday that he has organized a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote to kill the health-care bill if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) does not allow a floor vote on his amendment to prohibit federal funds from going to insurance plans that cover abortion. Under Stupak’s plan, the approximately 40 Democrats in his camp would join with all House Republicans in voting to defeat the special House “rule” that would set the terms for debating and amending the health-care bill on the House floor when it is brought up for a...

Nikki Sams died after cervical cancer spread into her lungs, spine and neck despite repeated complaints to her doctor of irregular bleeding and abdominal pain. Dr Navin Shankar, 59, told her it was ''nothing serious'', ignored her request for hospital checks and never performed an internal examination at his surgery in Luton, Beds. The blunder only emerged when Miss Sams was transferred to another GP practice after Dr Shankar was suspended for a separate case of serious misconduct involving a nine-day-old baby. Her new doctor immediately recommended a smear test which revealed abnormal cells, and further examinations at Luton and...

The memory still bothers Ken Keller: A panicked ambulance crew had a critically ill patient, but the man weighed more than 1,000 pounds and could not fit inside the vehicle. And the stretcher wasn't sturdy enough to hold him. The crew offered an idea to Keller, who was then an investigator with the Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services. Could they use a forklift to load the man - bed and all - onto a flatbed truck? Keller agreed: There was no other choice. "I'm sure it was terribly embarrassing to be in his own bed, riding on the back...

Well, I've come down with flu like symptoms and it's been 2 days of no fun. My major symptoms are not what I'd call life-threatening, they are what I'd call annoying. I am experiencing: 1) Major back pain and body aches. Don't look at my back, it hurts. Need advil to lie down. 2) Exhaustion. I want to lie down. I don't care if it hurts. My minor symptoms are: 1) Minor, not severe ear pain 2) Minor but gone almost immediately sore throat 3) Initial onset of headache, gone 1st night prior to other symptoms 4) Stomach quesiness but...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   The "Junkiest" Junk Science That Taxpayers' Money Can Buy   Friday, October 09, 2009   Now, more than at any other time in anyone's memory, the federal government is in no position to waste taxpayer dollars on gun control advocacy "research."  Nevertheless, the National Institutes of Health recently gave anti-gun researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine $639,586 to conduct a survey intended to prove that possessing a gun doesn't benefit assault victims. Criminologist Gary Kleck calls the resulting survey "the very epitome of junk science in the guns-and-violence field—poor...

A word search of the 1,502-page Senate health care bill (S. 1796) reveals that the term "tax" is used 124 times, "taxable" is used 158 times, and "excise tax" is used 12 times.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's health care tab would increase even more under legislation in the House, according to a government report released Wednesday. The analysis by the Health and Human Services Department looks at the impact of the health care bill drafted by House Democratic leaders. It concludes that total national health care spending would increase by an additional 2.1 percent from 2010-2019, mostly because newly insured people would seek medical care.

<p>Considering the name of this blog, we took great concern with the left Eye of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, which appeared puffy on Wednesday while she testified to a Senate committee.</p> <p>Sebelius had a basal cell carcinoma removed from her forehead on Tuesday during a successful standard outpatient procedure, according to HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - Top Senate Democrats intend to try to strip the health insurance industry of its exemption from federal antitrust laws, according to congressional officials, the latest evidence of a deepening struggle over President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul the health care industry.

Government reliance on medical studies will make it harder to discard false prophecies and dogmas. At a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire this summer, President Barack Obama explained why government "expert panels" are an essential part to overhauling the health-care system. Right now the United States spends $6,000 more per person each year than other advanced nations and isn't healthier for it. He said these panels would reduce wasteful spending by providing "guidelines" for doctors on which procedures to perform. His panels are now part of legislation moving in Congress. But the idea of inserting a government panel between patients...

Scrambling to get 60 seconds out of every minute, Katie Meacham finally got the boyfriend to take her for a carriage ride in Central Park. He hated it, she reports. “He said, ‘You know this is a pity ride, don’t you?’ ” she said, laughing. Even though she is just 26, her days and time are at a premium. Ms. Meacham lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but she is also a citizen of another country: cancer land. She has a kind of aggressive lymphoma, a disease that ruins the blood.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's willingness to consider alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits is providing a boost for taking such cases out of the courtroom and letting experts, not juries, decide their merits. The idea of appointing neutral experts to sift malpractice facts from allegations appeals to conservatives in both political parties, who are looking to address medical liability as part of health care overhaul legislation. Trial lawyers remain steadfastly opposed.

The H1N1 vaccine will arrive too late to help most Americans who will be infected during this flu season, according to a study conducted by scholars at Purdue University, The Washington Times reported on Tuesday. The study also estimates that the virus — commonly referred to as the swine flu bug — will infect about 60 percent of the U.S. population, although only about 25 percent of Americans will fall ill.

Introduction: Surgery is the established treatment for early stage primary lung cancers (cancer that started in lung) or limited secondary cancers (cancer that started outside and spread to lung, also known as metastases or metastatic cancer). External beam radiation is an alternative local therapy to surgery, particularly for patients who are not candidates for surgery due to other medical conditions. Thermal ablation, using either heat or cold, is a newer treatment to destroy cells in lung tumors. Heat is most commonly used, and is referred to as Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA). RFA of tumors has gained significant interest and acceptance in...

The Pasadena Star News reports on a religious "vigil" held Monday night at the Pasadena City Hall by a group of about 100 health care reform advocates reportedly from various churches in the area (All Saints, Cavalry Chapel, Altadena Baptist, Jewish synagogue, etc.) propounding a big lie that there are medical "uninsured" in California who do not receive medical treatment. Read here: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13594645 This propaganda should not go unchecked. For the record, there are no people living in California who are denied medical treatment. Everyone is potentially eligible for Medi-Cal, which is partially subsidized by the Federal government. We already...

It is seldom recognized, commented historian René Dubos, that each society and every civilization creates its own diseases.1 Is the peanut allergy epidemic man-made? And if so, how has it been created in millions of children in just 20 years and who or what are its architects? The features of the epidemic continue to puzzle doctors. In the US alone, 5.6 million people – 2% of the population – are allergic topeanuts and nuts almost all having experienced onset as toddlers. This epidemic tipped into critical mass around 1998 when the first flood of allergic children entered kindergarten sending a...

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on a study released on-line in The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology which indicates that physiology, not public policy, determines a human’s daily sodium intake. This research likely represents a important step forward in light of past and current efforts by government agencies and government funded organizations to set progressively restrictive guidelines for salt intake among U.S. citizens.

DETROIT — A half-marathoner and two other runners died during the Detroit marathon on Sunday, organizers said. Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02 a.m. between the 11- and 12-mile markers, said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership. Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17 a.m., near where Langdon went down, and 26-year-old Jon Fenlon of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18 a.m., just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37, Harshbarger said. It was unclear whether Brown and Langdon were participating in the 13.1-mile half marathon or the full race. Harshbarger...

LONDON (Reuters) - Many prehistoric Australian aboriginals could have outrun world 100 and 200 meters record holder Usain Bolt in modern conditions. Some Tutsi men in Rwanda exceeded the current world high jump record of 2.45 meters during initiation ceremonies in which they had to jump at least their own height to progress to manhood. Any Neanderthal woman could have beaten former bodybuilder and current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in an arm wrestle.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants these groups to have top priority, as they are at highest risk of spreading or catching the flu: Health care workers; healthy children and young adults age 2 to 24; and healthy adults up to age 49 who are caring for children younger than 6 months.

The Pasadena Star News posted a public notice online (since removed) that an interfaith group is to hold a health care "vigil" at Pasadena City Hall on Monday night, October 19. It seems to this writer that any such "vigil" is an exercise in what Theodore Dalrymple calls "moral exhibitionism," which is defined as "generosity of spirit at other people's expense; "the desire to feel more compassionate-than-thou" without regard for the larger consequences. No doubt this "interfaith" coalition is comprised of those "usual suspects" who also have advocated affordable housing, among a number of other social justice "causes," only to...

Introducing three genes corrects motor defects in monkeys.A potential gene therapy for Parkinson's disease can correct motor deficits in monkeys without causing the jerky, involuntary movements that often accompany long-term treatments for the disease. The approach is undergoing preliminary testing in a handful of human patients, who have all shown promising signs of improvement.At present, the most common remedy for Parkinson's disease involves replacing dopamine — the neurotransmitter that is depleted in patients with the disease — by administering the dopamine precursor levodopa, or L-DOPA. Most patients initially regain near-normal motor control, but after several years on L-DOPA the majority...

Health care workers in New York will no longer be forced to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, CBS 2 has learned. A state Supreme Court judge issued a restraining order Friday against the state from enforcing the controversial mandatory vaccination. The order came as the Public Employees Federation sued to reverse a policy requiring vaccination against the seasonal and swine flu viruses, arguing that state Health Commissioner Richard Daines overstepped his authority. Three parties – the Public Employees Federaion, New York State United Teachers, and an attorney representing four Albany nurses – challenged the order and for now the...

If you don’t believe that the Republican party leadership works in concert with the Democrat party leadership to protect the financial interests of unscrupulous big business, as distinguished from honorable businessmen, then you need to brush up on your history starting with the trusts and monopolies of the late 1800’s early 1900’s. If you do this and follow the path forward you will stumble upon the very actions of Congress which have resulted in today’s lack of competition in the purchase of health insurance policies. I will spare you the colorful historical details and hit the highlights for brevity’s sake...

The swine flu virus is spreading rapidly throughout California, public health officials said today, citing physician reports of higher-than-normal flu illnesses for this time of year. More than 5% of patients coming into doctor's offices are presenting flu-like symptoms, which is much higher than the usual 2%, according to an estimate based on about 50 physicians across California who monitor flu activity for the state. "We are seeing a continued ramp-up of the virus activity," Dr. Mark Horton, California's public health officer, said at a news conference today. "That is very unusual for this time of year." Horton said he...

The most important rule in health care is "first do no harm". Unfortunately Congressional Democrats seem totally oblivious to this rule. Many Democrats are so egotistical that they think anything they do will be an improvement. They seem incapable of understanding that changes can make a situation worse instead of better just like giving a patient the wrong medical treatment can worsen the patient's condition. The wrong medical treatment can kill. Making the wrong changes in the health care system can reduce access to health care and reduce the quality of health care. In one of my favorite episodes of...

The Democratic-controlled Congress reached another hurdle in achieving health-care "reform." The Senate Finance Committee passed a version, 14-9, with one Republican vote. At last, "bipartisanship"! It requires people to get health insurance, expands Medicaid, provides tax credits to help low- and middle-income people buying coverage, creates "health insurance exchanges" for individuals and small businesses, and requires employers who don't offer coverage to help pay for employees' government-subsidized coverage. The price? No one really knows – and few really care. The only certainty is that whatever Congress says it will cost will fall woefully short of the real cost. Cost projections...

Congress will probably pass a tax on sugared drinks as part of the health bill. The rationale is it will reduce caloric intake of “unhealthy” drinks. The real reason is simply to increase taxes, with a believable cover, like all prior “sin taxes.” I decided to do a comparison of Classis Coke to my favorite drink, freshly squeezed Florida orange juice. Well the Coke has 100 calories for an 8 oz. serving and the fresh orange juice a whopping....

Ian Pearl has fought for his life every day of his 37 years. Confined to a wheelchair and hooked to a breathing tube, the muscular dystrophy victim refuses to give up. But his insurance company already has. Legally barred from discriminating against individuals who submit large claims, the New York-based insurer simply canceled lines of coverage altogether in entire states to avoid paying high-cost claims like Mr. Pearl's. In an e-mail, one Guardian Life Insurance Co. executive called high-cost patients such as Mr. Pearl "dogs" that the company could "get rid of." A federal court quickly ruled that the company's...

Multiple-session early psychological interventions are no better at reducing posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms than no intervention at all and might even increase symptoms in some individuals, a review of 11 randomized controlled studies shows. “There was no evidence that a multiple session intervention aimed at everyone following a traumatic event was effective. There was a trend that just failed to reach significance for no intervention to result in less self-reported PTSD symptoms at 3 to 6-month follow-up than a multiple session intervention,” wrote Neil P. Roberts, D.Clin.Psy., of the Traumatic Stress Service at Cardiff and Vale National Health Services (Wales),...

New Study Evaluates Surgical Masks Vs. N95 Respirators For Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Workers Surgical masks appear to be no worse than, and nearly as effective as N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study released early online today by JAMA. The study was posted online ahead of print because of its public health implications. It will be published in the November 4 issue of JAMA. Influenza is the most important cause of medically attended acute respiratory illness worldwide and the authors write there is heightened concern this year because of the influenza pandemic...

Q: Is it true that if I use my credit card at fast food places, my credit score will decrease or that it will affect my score in some way because it looks like I cannot afford to buy food? I pay my bill in full every month. -- Burger and Fries Lover A: Dear Burger: The fast answer is no, where you eat doesn't have an impact on your credit score, but that's not the full story. Your credit score is just one of the many factors that issuers use when making lending decisions, and while paying plastic for...

(NaturalNews) Prepare to have your world rocked. What you're about to read here will leave you astonished, inspired and outraged all at the same time. You're about to be treated to some little-known information demonstrating why seasonal flu vaccines are utterly worthless and why their continued promotion is based entirely on fabricated studies and medical mythology. If the whole world knew what you're about to read here, the vaccine industry would collapse overnight. This information comes to you courtesy of a brilliant article published in The Atlantic (November 2009). The article, written by Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, isn't just...

(CBS) As members of Congress debate a "public option" for health care coverage, they remain safe and secure in their own generous health plan. CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports it's subsidized by millions of your tax dollars annually. The government doesn't even keep track the total cost. What exactly does Congress get? Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed to show CBS News first hand, flashing his Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card. Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of five plans offered to members of Congress. Most Americans, 74 percent are offered only one plan - if their employer offers insurance...

Yield: 24 servings (serving size: 1 bar) RECIPE INGREDIENTS Non-stick cooking spray 3 cups favorite granola 1 cup wheat germ 1 1/2 cup almond butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour 3/4 cup honey 1 cup dried cherries or dried cherry-flavored cranberries 1 cup slivered California Almonds

WASHINGTON - Nobody knew for sure what Senator Olympia J. Snowe would do yesterday when the Finance Committee gathered to vote on its health care bill - not even Snowe. Chairman Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, had been courting her vote for months, investing long hours in closed-door negotiations with her and the other members of the “Gang of Six.’’ In the late summer and early fall, President Obama spoke with her on the phone and invited her to the White House to address her concerns.

BOSTON, Mass. — One day last month, clad in white plastic garments from head to toe, Dr. David Sinclair showed a visitor around his germ-free mouse room here at Harvard Medical School. Skip to next paragraph Multimedia Graphic Caloric Restriction RSS Feed Get Health News From The New York Times » Enlarge This Image CJ Gunther for The New York Times IN THE LAB Dr. David Sinclair is trying to develop drugs to extend health, and life. The mice, subjects in studies of health and longevity, are kept in wire baskets under intensive nursing care. A mouse gym holds a...

CatholicVoteAction brings to our attention a duplicitous tactic being employed by homosexual activists in the lead-up to Maine's Nov. 4th marriage vote: CatholicVoteAction.org Calls on Maine Group to Pull ‘Catholic’ Gay-Marriage Ad Homosexual advocates have released a shameless new ad featuring a grandmother and two gay men urging Maine voters this November to approve ‘same-sex’ marriage. The grandmother in the new commercial speaks about her Catholic faith and the importance of the institution of marriage, but then urges voters to support ‘same-sex’ marriage. Here is the video: Link Look at how subtly this ad works: "I've been a Catholic...

My Senator is one of those people voting 'aye.' I voted for that person last year but I'm sure as hell not going to next election. Is this debacle actually going to effect things in 2010 & 2012 or is the Dems control growing too fast to stop by then. Here's the link to the video: http://storyballoon.org/videos/senate-finance-committee-voting-on-health-care-reform/