CitizenLink.org is reporting that two Canadians have been injected with a genetically modified version of their own adult stem cells in an attempt to cure pulmonary hypertension, a rare, debilitating lung disease. The procedure, which has successfully cured rats with pulmonary hypertension, has halted the progress of the disease in the patients. The first patient, who has had the disease for 13 years, is reporting no ill effects from the treatment and has seen her condition improve.

My Take?

According to a report on CitizenLinke.org, the Supreme Court in California recently heard a case that pitted homosexual rights against religious freedom. At the center of the case was a lesbian who sued two doctors who declined to provide in vitro fertilization (IVF). The doctors were concerned about conducting IVF for someone who would be a single parent. Even though they referred the lesbian to another fertility doctor and offered to pay for any extra cost, the court is likely to rule against the freedom of the doctors to follow their consciences.

My Take?

 

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The AP is reporting new research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes. In fact, patients with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times more likely to die from any cause during the next eight years than those with the highest levels, the study found. The link with heart-related deaths was particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

My Take?

WebMD is reporting on the CDC’s latest diabetes statistics – and, the results are gruesome. Nearly 24 million people in the U.S. have diabetes — including almost 6 million who don’t know they’re diabetic — and at least 57 million have prediabetes.

Diabetes is the No. 7 cause of death among U.S. adults. Researchers reported last year that type 2 diabetes hastens heart disease and shortens lives by about eight years.

My Take?

WebMD is reporting the FDA approval of a new five-in-one vaccine. This is great news as it will mean fewer shots are needed to protect babies and toddlers from potentially dangerous or fatal infections.

The vaccine is named Pentacel and it’s the first combination vaccine to protect children against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections. Hib infections include meningitis and pneumonia.

My Take?

HealthDay News is reporting that oral cannabis (a form of medical marijuana) was ineffective in treating certain types of acute pain and actually increased sensitivity to some other kinds of discomfort.

My Take?

This small study, from researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, is among many others that you’ve seen me report that are slowly driving a nail in the concept of safe or effective medical marijuana. You can read more about this in my series on marijuana here on this blog. Or, pick up a copy of my book, Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook.

The BBC is reporting that a safety checklist designed to cut the risk of surgical complications is to be circulated to doctors world-wide.  The list has been drawn up by the World Health Organization (WHO), which says half of complications resulting from major surgery may be preventable.

Preliminary results from patients at eight pilot sites - including London, Seattle and Toronto - indicate that the checklist has nearly doubled the likelihood that patients will receive proven standards of surgical care, leading to a significant cut in complications and deaths.

My Take?

The Miss America winner was reputed to have become permanently deaf because of a bad DTP vaccine, but this story was totally false. Her deafness actually occurred after she contracted bacterial meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a bacterium for which a vaccine has since become available. Fortunately, the Hib vaccine has virtually eliminated Hib meningitis and its resulting deafness. 

You can read more about vaccines and vaccine myths in my book God’s Design for the Highly Healthy Child.

 

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WebMD Health News is reporting a study funded by the National Institute on Aging showing that elderly women who maintain close friendships and strong family ties are less likely to develop dementia than women who are less sociable.

My Take?

This study just adds to the scores that confirm that strong social networks can protect against dementia and many other diseases and disorders.

A test that can detect Down’s syndrome from the blood of pregnant women, which would be the first reliable noninvasive prenatal test for the chromosomal disorder, has raised the prospect of routine screening for the condition for every expectant mother who wants it.

The experimental procedure, developed in Hong Kong, has been shown to diagnose 90 percent of Down’s syndrome cases in a small trial, while also correctly identifying 97 percent of fetuses that do not have the condition.