Supplement - what is it?
Supplement is a term that means products made of one or more of the fundamental nutrients, for example vitamins, minerals, and proteins. It provides you with some specific (or a mix of) vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, amino acids, metabolites, etc. You can purchase supplements that contain separate vitamins or minerals, or some kind of mix of vitamins and minerals.
Supplement - quality products.
Consumers who are using some type of supplement need to always read supplement product labels, follow all directions, and pay attention to all warnings. Consult with your doctor to make sure that you use the right supplement. Nowadays you can purchase some type of supplement without the prescription in health food stores, grocery stores, drug stores, or through mail or Internet. You can also get a good discount on some supplements.
Supplement - be careful.
You need to be careful when you are shopping for some type of supplement. There are many fake supplements that are sold nowadays. But that doesn’t mean that all the supplements are fake. “The majority of supplement manufacturers are responsible and careful,” FDA’s Yetley says. Consumers should still do the search for the right supplement with care, making sure they have the necessary information and consulting with their doctors and other health professionals.
Supplement - claims.
According to FDA, manufacturers can use structure-function claims without FDA authorization. They base their claims on their review and interpretation of the scientific literature. These claims must be accompanied with the disclaimer “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
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Learn about supplementation at http://www.liquid-vitamins-4u.com
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[Rewrites para 7 to clarify that Botox was not the only product studied, and replaces "Botox" with "botulinum toxin" in para 10, in story posted Jul 6, 2011 as 20110706elin003.]NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The ingredient in a Botox injection probably won't help ease neck pain, nor will it help neck pain sufferers do physical activities any better or improve their quality of life, a new review of past studies suggests. "The available evidence just suggests that it doesn't work," study author Dr. Paul Michael Peloso told Reuters Health. If patients have neck pain, "they and their physicians should be discussing other therapies," Peloso added.The ingredient in Botox, called botulinum toxin, is used to treat a range of conditions, including wrinkles, migraines, and excessive sweating. Botox is just one of several brand names for the drug, which is given through injections. None of the brands has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat neck pain -- but doctors may use the drug "off-label" for that purpose. A recent report from the Institute of Medicine suggested that chronic pain, including neck pain, costs the United States more than $600 billion each year and affects about four in 10 adults (see Reuters story of June 29, 2011).Peloso, the head of clinical research at the drug company Merck in Rahway, New Jersey, said doctors might consider using the Botox ingredient for neck pain after other more common treatments, including drugs like Tylenol and aspirin or exercises, haven't worked. Each injection typically costs a few hundred dollars, and patients may need repeat injections every few months for the drug to have a continued effect.The new review analyzed the combined results of nine studies that tested several brands of botulinum toxin A, including Botox (sold by Allergan) in people with new or chronic neck pain and related headaches. Those studies compared the effect of botulinum toxin with drug-free sham injections or other pain treatments, using patient reports or doctor observations of pain, physical abilities, and quality of life. Altogether the studies involved 503 patients, including 272 who received injections of the drug. Peloso and his colleagues noted that some of the studies had limitations -- for example, it wasn't clear how some had split the patients up into Botox and not-Botox groups, or researchers hadn't kept treatment types hidden from patients or from those who measured their symptoms. But taken together, the studies suggested botulinum toxin had done nothing to help relieve neck pain or related headaches, either alone or when added to exercise programs or other medications, when researchers reassessed patients at four weeks and six months after injections.In addition, people given botulinum toxin were more likely to have a side effect, including soreness or flu-like symptoms, than those not given the drug.The researchers concluded that almost all of the studies showed that any possible benefits were not worth the potential harms. Their findings are presented in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.A company spokesperson told Reuters Health in an email that "Allergan does not have clinical programs evaluating the efficacy and safety of our botulinum toxin products in patients with subacute or chronic neck pain," but that Botox is indicated to treat "cervical dystonia," in which neck muscles contract involuntarily, and neck pain linked to the condition. She also pointed out that the review didn't focus only on Botox-brand treatments. Peloso said that while some evidence suggests injections of steroids or anesthetics might help people with neck pain, the best pain-relief choice right now seems to be exercises that strengthen muscles and improve range of motion. However, he pointed out, "The problem is as you would guess for exercise that it's just not as simple as a one-time visit" or a daily drug -- one reason his team was interested to see if Botox might have some benefit.He said that companies have little incentive to study treatments for neck pain, which can be caused by anything from overuse of neck muscles to diseases such as arthritis and gets more common with age. Peloso added that his company does not make a Botox competitor, although it does market pain products that could be used for neck pain. feedproxy.google.com
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Dendreon drug against prostate cancer covered by Medicare
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Dendreon Corp. said Thursday that Medicare does now his treatment of prostate cancer Provenge. The drug is the first food and drugs adminstratives approved immunotherapy for prostate cancer for Medicare coverage, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dendreon’s shares rose 2.3% to 40.35 dollars in after-hours activity. Market Pulse Stories …
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Bites Bullet Medicare to cover Dear Provenge, prostate cancer drugs for serious
July 1, 20 011 – Medicare patients with metastatic prostate cancer can get a first of its kind in its treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April, by a decision of the final cover released yesterday by the Centers for Medicare & amp ; Medicaid Services (CMS). Provenge (sipuleucel-T) have an active patient’s immune system to defend against cancer of the prostate.
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Risk prostate cancer and smoking
A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, men with prostate cancer who smoke have increased prostate cancer-specific mortality compared with non-smokers with prostate cancer. Smokers, were also found to have an increased risk of 61% of cancer recurrence after treatment.
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Menopause—when menstrual cycles end and ovarian hormone production drops dramatically—produces symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats in up to 80% of women.[1] When these symptoms are severe, they can have a profound effect on a woman’s quality of life and ability to function.
For many years, hormone therapy with estrogen (with or without progestin) has provided an effective way for women to manage menopausal symptoms. Studies over the last several years, however, have raised some concerns about the health effects of hormone therapy. In the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial of estrogen plus progestin, hormone use decreased the risks of fracture and colorectal cancer, but increased the risks of heart disease, breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots.[2] More recent reports suggest that combined hormone therapy may also increase lung cancer mortality.[3] Estrogen alone does not appear to increase the risk of breast or lung cancer, but does increase risk of stroke.[4]
These findings prompted interest among some women in “bioidentical hormone therapy,” a term that is often used to refer to custom-mixed (custom-compounded) drugs that use hormones that are structurally identical to the hormones produced by a woman’s body. Women who are considering these compounded drugs should use caution. There is no rigorous scientific evidence that bioidentical hormone therapy is any safer or more effective than conventional hormone therapy.[5] In the absence of such evidence, it’s prudent to assume that the risks are similar. Women who receive compounded hormone therapy, however, may not be receiving the same health-risk information that they would receive with products that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It’s also worth noting that compounding isn’t the only way to get hormones that are structurally identical to naturally occurring hormones. Several FDA-approved products contain “bioidentical” hormones, and offer the advantage of extensive prior testing for purity (lack of contamination) and dose consistency. Compounded products do not undergo similar testing and review.
Finally, the idea that the dose of compounded therapy can be individualized based on the results of a saliva hormone test is a myth. According to information from the FDA, “Hormone levels in saliva do not accurately reflect the amount of hormones a woman has in her body for the purpose of adjusting hormone therapy dose levels. A woman’s hormone levels change throughout the day, and from day to day.”[6]
In summary, women who are considering hormone therapy for relief from menopausal symptoms should discuss the full range of risks and benefits with their healthcare provider. Hormone therapy still has a role for women who truly need it, and using it for the shortest amount of time necessary is likely to help reduce the risks. Custom-compounded products have not been shown to be safer or more effective than FDA-approved products, and do not undergo the same degree of testing for dose consistency and lack of contamination.
References:
[1] Shifren JL, Schiff E. Role of hormone therapy in the management of menopause. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2010;115:839-55.
[2] Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL et al. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results from the Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002; 288:321-33
[3] Chlebowski RT, Schwartz AG, Wakelee H et al. Oestrogen plus progestin and lung cancer in postmenopausal women (Women’s Health Initiative trial): a post-hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2009;374:1243-1251.
[4] Anderson GL, Limacher M, Assaf AR et al. Effects of conjugated equine estrogen in postmenopausal women with hysterectomy: the Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004; 291:1701-1712.
[5] Files JA, Ko MG, Pruthi S. Bioidentical Hormone Therapy. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2011;86(7):673-680.
[6] US Food and Drug Administration Consumer Health Information. Bio-Identicals: Sorting Myths from Facts. April 8, 2008. news.cancerconnect.com
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that Medicare will cover Provenge® (sipuleucel-T) for the uses approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): the treatment of metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer that is producing few or no symptoms.
Prostate cancer is a hormonally sensitive disease that can often be controlled for long periods with androgen-deprivation therapy. When prostate cancer stops responding to this treatment, it is referred to as hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer is cancer that has stopped responding to standard hormone therapy and has spread to other parts of the body.
Provenge is an immunotherapy that prompts the body’s immune system to respond against the cancer. A Phase III clinical trial that contributed to the FDA’s approval of Provenge was a study known as IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment). Study participants had metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer, and were treated with either Provenge or a placebo. Median overall survival was 25.8 months in the Provenge group compared with 21.7 months in the placebo group, a 4.1-month improvement. Side effects that were more common in the Provenge group included chills, fever, and headache.
Provenge was approved by the FDA in April, 2010 for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer. The decision about Medicare coverage is effective immediately.
Reference: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Press release: Medicare expands treatment options for patients with advanced prostate cancer. June 30, 2011. news.cancerconnect.com
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