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- Unhappy People Watch More TV: Study
- U.S. to Detain Milk Products From China
- International Raids Target Illegal Internet Drug Sales
- 'GM' Corn Causes Reproduction Problems in Mice: Report
- Bone Marrow Transplant Cures AIDS
Patient: Report
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Unhappy People Watch More TV: Study
Unhappy people watch much more television than happy people, say University of Maryland researchers. They analyzed data from nearly 30,000 American adults who took part in the General Social Survey from 1975 to 2006.
While unhappy people spent more time in front of the TV, happy people were more socially active, voted more, read more newspapers, and attended more religious services, United Press International reported.
The researchers also found that 51 percent of unhappy people were more likely to have unwanted extra time, compared with 19 percent of happy people. Unhappy people were also more likely (35 percent) than happy people (23
percent) to feel rushed for time.
The study was published in the journal Social Indicators Research.
TV watching consumes more than half of Americans' free time, likely because it requires little effort, the researchers said.
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U.S. to Detain Milk Products From China
U.S. health officials said Thursday that any food products imported from China that contain milk will be detained at the border until tests prove they aren't contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
The Food and Drug Administration said it was taking the action because of concerns about Chinese food products contaminated with the toxic chemical. Since September, melamine-tainted milk has killed at least four babies in China and sickened tens of thousands of others.
Melamine has also been found in a range of products coming to the United States from China since September, including milk, eggs and fish feed. U.S. companies have recalled several imported products, including non-dairy creamers and a type of candy, which are primarily sold in Asian markets, The New York Times reported.
"We're taking this action because it's the right thing to do for the public health," Dr. Steven Solomon, an FDA deputy associate commissioner, said Thursday.
That means that Chinese products that contain milk or milk powder will be detained until the manufacturer or its customer has had the product tested and found it to be free of contamination, or they show documentation indicating that the product does not contain milk or milk-derived ingredients, the Times reported.
"The burden shifts to the importer," Solomon said, adding that the alert would primarily apply to specialty products sold in Asian markets.
It's believed that dairy suppliers in China add melamine to watered-down milk to make it appear rich in protein. The chemical can cause kidney stones and potentially fatal kidney failure.
While the FDA often halts the importation of individual food products, it rarely blocks an entire category of foods from one country. Last year, the FDA stopped the importation of five types of farm-raised seafood as well as vegetable protein from China because of contamination from unapproved animal drugs and food additives, the newspaper said.
Earlier this month, Chinese officials said they had uncovered more evidence that melamine was widespread in the nation's animal feed supplies. BBC News reported that the addition of melamine to animal feed in China was likely routine and an "open secret," according to reports published in several state-run newspapers in China.
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International Raids Target Illegal Internet Drug Sales
Dozens of businesses believed to be selling medicines illegally over the
Internet were raided Thursday by authorities in the United States and eight other countries -- Canada, Britain, Germany, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand,
Singapore and Switzerland.
An Interpol spokeswoman said it's the first time this type of
international action has been taken to stem the growing problem of illicit
sales of medicines, many of which are counterfeits of suspect quality and
potentially dangerous, CBC News reported.
"A medicine bought in this way has no guarantee that it is safe or that
it is effective, and can in fact be harmful," Danny Lee-Frost, head of
operations at Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said in a news release.
"Our message is simple -- do not buy prescription-only medicines over the Internet without a prescription and if you are illegally selling or
supplying medicines, we will use all appropriate measures available to stop
you," he added.
The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board says the abuse and trafficking of prescriptions drugs in many countries now equals or exceeds the use of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines, CBC News reported.
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'GM' Corn Causes Reproduction Problems in Mice: Report
A long-term study that found genetically modified (GM) corn can affect
reproduction in mice lends support to demands that all GM crops be banned,
according to environmental groups.
Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, said that female mice fed a diet consisting of 33 percent GM corn had fewer babies and fewer litters than mice fed non-GM food. The study was commissioned by the Austrian health ministry, Agence France Presse reported.
The researchers said these are preliminary findings and further tests are
needed to determine how GM foods affect animals and humans. However,
environmental groups said the study proves that GM foods are dangerous.
"Considering the severity of the potential threat to human health and
reproduction, Greenpeace is demanding a recall of all GE (genetically
engineered) food and crops from the market, worldwide," the group said in a
news release, AFP reported.
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Bone Marrow Transplant Cures AIDS
Patient: Report
A targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to treat leukemia appears to have cured an AIDS patient, according to German doctors.
Twenty months after receiving the transplant, tests on bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues indicate the 42-year-old patient no longer has HIV infection, the Associated Press reported. The patient had been
infected with HIV for more than a decade.
For the transplant, doctors at Berlin's Charite Hospital selected a donor
with a mutation called Delta 32, which prevents HIV from attaching itself to
cells by blocking a receptor called CCR5. About one in 1,000 Europeans and
Americans have inherited the mutation from both parents, the AP said.
There have been a few previous reports of the successful use of bone
marrow transplants to eradicate HIV infection. But bone marrow transplants
are too costly and dangerous to use as a first line treatment for HIV/AIDS,
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, told the AP.
However, this case could inspire efforts to pursue gene therapy as a way
to block or suppress HIV, he said.
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
Published on: 11/14/2008
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