Mobiles may cause brain cancer
by Shazy | 2:02 PM in Health, Mobiles may cause brain cancer, technology |
However, any link is not certain - they concluded that it was "not clearly established that it does cause cancer in humans".
A cancer charity said the evidence was too weak to draw strong conclusions from.
A group of 31 experts has been meeting in Lyon, France, to review human evidence coming from epidemiological studies.
They said they looked at all relevant human studies of people using mobile phones and exposure to electromagnetic fields in their workplace.
The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) can give mobile phones one of five scientific labels: carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic, not classifiable or not carcinogenic.
It concluded that mobiles should be rated as "possibly carcinogenic" because of a possible link with a type of brain cancer - glioma.
Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "The WHO's verdict means that there is some evidence linking mobile phones to cancer but it is too weak to draw strong conclusions from.
"The vast majority of existing studies have not found a link between phones and cancer, and if such a link exists, it is unlikely to be a large one.
"The risk of brain cancer is similar in people who use mobile phones compared to those who don't, and rates of this cancer have not gone up in recent years despite a dramatic rise in phone use during the 1980s.
"However, not enough is known to totally rule out a risk, and there has been very little research on the long-term effects of using phones."
The WHO estimated that there are five billion mobile phone subscriptions globally.
Christopher Wild, director of the IARC, said: "Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings it is important that additional research be conducted into the long term, heavy use of mobile phones.
"Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands free devices or texting."
Source:BBC
German e.coli outbreak sickens hundreds
by Shazy | 2:24 PM in German e.coli outbreak sickens hundreds, Health, News |
(CNN) -- An E. coli outbreak linked to some raw vegetables has killed at least six people and sickened hundreds in Germany, national and global health authorities said Monday.
The first investigation results released by the German federal unit responsible for disease control and prevention -- the Robert Koch Institute, under Germany's Ministry of Health -- indicated that the most recent infections were likely caused by consuming raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.
The agency said it is advising consumers to avoid eating those foods, specifically in northern Germany.
The institute is investigating six deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Three of those fatalities, all adults, were caused by hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS, from E. coli. The other three fatalities -- all of them elderly -- were caused by an infection linked to HUS and E. coli, said Dr. Guenael Rodier of the World Health Organization.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said 329 cases of HUS have been reported since May 2. Though HUS is normally seen in children younger than 5, the vast majority of the current outbreak's cases are adults, and more than two-thirds are women, the center said Monday on its website.
"The source of the outbreak is under investigation, but contaminated food seems the most likely vehicle of infection," it said.
Most of the patients are from, or have been to, northern Germany, primarily Hamburg, Northern Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it said.
Cases have been reported in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark among people who have visited Germany, most of them northern Germany, it said.
The European Food Safety Alert Network said EHEC, or enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, a strain of E. coli that causes hemorrhage in the intestines, was found in organic cucumbers originating from Spain, packaged in Germany, and distributed to countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg and Spain.
The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition issued a statement saying that two Spanish companies producing cucumbers may be involved in the outbreak, and the agency is awaiting further results from Germany's investigation.
"This is the eye of the storm," said Oliver Grieve, a spokesman for the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, where one of the deaths occurred. "We're working 24 hours here, and we're getting patients from all over northern Germany including Hamburg."
As of Monday, 115 patients were infected with EHEC -- 68 in the medical center's Kiel campus and 47 in its Lubeck campus. Eighty-two patients were stricken by HUS -- 42 in Kiel and 40 in Lubeck, he said.
The fatality, an 86-year-old woman, died of HUS; her husband remains hospitalized with EHEC, Grieve said.
"Patients are coming in waves," he added.
Cases of bloody diarrhea associated with HUS were first reported in Germany in the second week of May. The detection of E. coli on cucumbers was first reported on May 26.
Germany's Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection advised consumers to cook their food to a minimum temperature of 70 degrees Celsius (about 160 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least two minutes to kill any E. coli bacteria. Freezing food does not kill bacteria reliably, the ministry added.
Russia said Monday it is suspending all imports of vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers and salad leaves, produced in Germany and Spain.
The Russian Federal Agency for Health and Consumer Rights, Rospotrebnadzor, said on its website that it has not received information from the European Union on the causes of the infection and the measures taken to "localize and eliminate the outbreak."
"A decision might be taken in the next few hours regarding the ban on imports and sales of vegetables in Russia from all EU countries," the agency said.
Surce:CNN
Top Foods That Will Boost Your Sex Drive
by Shazy | 2:18 PM in Avocado, Bananas, Dark chocolate, Garlic, Ginger, Granola, Health, Oysters, Pomegranate, Top foods that will boost your sex drive |
Top foods that will boost your sex drive
Dark chocolate
Bananas
Oysters
Avocado
Ginger
Granola
Pomegranate
Garlic
Myths About Menopause
by Shazy | 11:02 AM in Average age of menopause, Birth control pill, Duration of hot flashes, Eggs and menopause, Health, Hysterectomy and menopause, Life after menopause, Low estrogen wrinkles, Myths about menopause |
The age of menopause
Can a hysterectomy kick-start menopause?
How long will hot flashes last?
Loss of eggs brings on menopause?
Low estrogen causes wrinkles?
Life after menopause
The pill & menopause
Out with the estrogen & testosterone?
Will you ever see your period again?
Common Health Problems
by Shazy | 1:25 AM in Allergies, Arthritis, Asthma, cancer, Common Health Problems, Diabetes, diseases, Health, Heart disease, High blood pressure, Obesity, stroke, Top 10 common health problems |
Top 10 common health problems
Obesity
High blood pressure
Allergies
Arthritis
Diabetes
Asthma
Heart disease
Cancer
Stroke
Alzheimer's disease
Most Common Phobias
by Shazy | 1:21 AM in Acrophobia, Agoraphobia, Arachnophobia, Astraphobia, Claustrophobia, Health, Most Common Phobias, Necrophobia, Nyctophobia, Ophidiophobia, Social phobia |
Most Common Phobias
Arachnophobia
Social phobia
Agoraphobia
Claustrophobia
Acrophobia
Astraphobia
Necrophobia
Nyctophobia
Ophidiophobia
Medical Miracles
by Shazy | 1:11 AM in Alcides Moreno, D’Zhana Simmons, Diane Van Deren, Health, Macie Hope McCartney, Medical Miracles, Rae Kupferschmidt, Shannon Malloy, Tracy Hermanstorfer, Zheng Cao |