Cheap Anti-Malaria Drug Shows Promise Against Colorectal Cancer

Picture URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/images/articles/285/285691/pills.jpg


Summary: A recent study from the University of London in England showed that the use of anti-malaria drug could be effective in treating colorectal cancer, and also provide a cheap supplement to expensive treatments. They demonstrated how a common anti-malaria medicine, artesunate, slowed the reproduction of tumor cells in a small group of colorectal patients before they had their tumors removed in a surgery. They also ran a test that lasted for two years with randomly selected patients and broke them into two separate groups: one of the group had the anti-malaria drug along with the other that had placebo. The results were that the survival in the artesunate group was estimated at ninety-one percent, whereas the placebo group only had fifty-seven percent of survival.

Connection to Health Class: This article is connected to health class because we are currently in the drugs and addiction unit. It is well-known that drugs can be malfunctioned, but it can also be very beneficial to the ill. This article pointed out a good view to everyone with a purpose that drugs can be useful if you just use it the right way.

Question: Do you think this will be a new type of treatment to add in our current medication? What kind of side effects might anti-malaria drugs have to our body

Link to Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/285691.php

A small E.Coli outbreak from vegtables.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2014/O121-05-14/index.html

Summary: Final update from CDC states that an E.coli outbreak has been linked to raw clover sprouts in sandwiches from at several local food establishments, including several Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches locations, the Pita Pit, and Daanen’s Deli where they got there clovers from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC. of Idaho. It took the FDA and CDC to have a talk with the owner of Evergreen Fresh Sprouts to make him decide to get a new lot which isnt infected with E.Coli.At the end 19 people were infected and 44% were hospalized but, the important thing is that no one died.It took about 14 days to get rid of the clovers from the shelf so, you can buy clovers without being afraid.

Connection: In health when we watched food inc where they discuss that E.Coli very deadly and that it is more common in meat and that the food industry bleaches the meat so it kills the E.Coli. 

Question: It is a long process for the FDA and CDC to ask permission to make companies to withdraw there goods infected with E.Coli do you think they should have permission to withdraw infected foods without asking (known as Kevin's Law)?

Do you think the FDA should test farmland and plants for E.Coli instead of just animals? 

Study Finds that E-Cigarettes reduce Tobacco Cravings

Summary: A Study conducted by researchers at KU Leven showed that people who smoke E-Cigarettes after smoking regular tobacco cigarettes are less interested to Tobacco. In the study, researchers had 3 groups of 16 people, with one group smoking only Tobacco cigarettes and the other two smoking both. After, the group only smoking Tobacco were given E-Cigarettes, where they discovered that 21% stopped smoking Tobacco, while 23% cut that number in half. Overall, the E-Cigarettes help cut 60% of Tobacco cigarettes smoked. However, E-Cigarettes still have Nicotine, which is common in Cigarettes that makes you addicted

Connection: This Relates to Health Class because we were talking about the dangers of Smoking and Addiction. We were learning how addiction forms and what smoking/drugs do to your body and how it affects your health. 

Question: In your opinion, are E-Cigarettes much safer that regular Tobacco Cigarettes? If you had to choose one, which one would you choose? Why?

Link: http://time.com/3595057/e-cigarettes-tobacco-cravings/

How reliable is the drug info you find online?

Summary: Wikipedia, along with Google and WebMD, is where more than half of all Americans turn to for health information, according to the report. Researchers found that when the FDA issues a drug safety warning, Google searches about that drug increase 82% on average in the following week. Wikipedia pages about the drug see a 175% increase in views on the day of the announcement. The paper, titled “Drug Safety in the Digital Age," primarily focused on how quickly these web sources were updated with information concerning drug labels and warnings. The study examined the Wikipedia pages for their safety warning content, as well as their timeliness in updating drug safety information, for 22 prescription drugs over a 2-year period. More than one third of the Wikipedia pages in the study were updated within 2 weeks of an FDA announcement, according to the paper.  

Connection: In health class, we are talking about drugs and prescribed medications. This article shows how we cant always trust the internet with our medication information.  The internet isn't a valued resource for medications. You should go contact a  doctor for assistance. 

Question: Do you think that people will still look at the internet knowing that the internet isn't always up to date on warnings and risks for certain medications?

Drug Addiction To Late....

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Summary:  This small article is about a man named John, Rest in peace, that past away at age 28, who had a 3 to 4-year long addiction to Vicodin. After he started working he started cutting off on the drinking, but not completely. Unfortunately he had a serious fall at work that injured his back. From then he was prescribed Vicodin. Then John also went for his physical therapy regularly. John lied to his dad about stopping the Vicodin. John was a great athlete, a baseball player,and had many trophies and awards. John still had that sense of invincibility that so many young people have. John's addiction started to affect every part of his life. No longer could he read, write,or even keep food down. He became ill and isolated.

Connection: In health class we are leaning about drugs and alcohol addictions. We're also learning the affects the human body receives when taking this drug or alcohol.

Question: how does drug addiction affect a human being? why do you think john lied to his dad?

Second Hand Smoking Relates to Obesity

Summary: When a recent study of 3,318 kids in Southern California was performed, they found that exposure to second hand smoking and air pollution is tied to obesity. The study started with 10 year olds and followed the children until they were 18 years old. They charted the amounts of nitrogen dioxide, smoking, and pollution, and also took into account factors such as family income and exercise. They found that the children had higher BMIs when they were around more pollution. 

Connection: In health class, we studied obesity rates and how more people are becoming obese through lifestyle choices. We also started talking about addiction to drugs, alcohol, etc. and the ways these negatively affect your body. 

Question: How much are you exposed to air pollution, and how can you prevent any extra exposure? Given that traffic pollution and second hand smoking are harmful to your health, what other types of pollution can have negative impacts on your body?

URL: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/obesity-is-tied-to-pollutants/?_r=0

Rolesville High School football player dies from hit to head

 

Summary: On Monday, Sept. 29, 17 year old Isaiah Langston died from a hit to the back of the head while playing football. He was a Rolesville High School football player. A recent autoposy report says that he died of a hit to the back of the neck while practicing before a game. He complained of headaches two days after the practice and sat out. However, he was allowed to play during a game that Friday and during pre-game warmups, he collapsed on all fours. Langston spent the weekend at WakeMed and died on Monday. This happened two weeks after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in Wake County promoting "Heads Up Football." It is unknown if Langston was wearing a helmet during the hit.

Connection: This article relates to health class because we recently watched a movie called The Blind Side and it was about a football player battling PTSD. We also learned about other mental illnesses such as Alzheimer. We also learned about making healthy decisions to keep ourselves safe.

Question: How can we prevent concussions from happening in football? Should schools put more money into football programs to keep the players safe?

URL: http://abc11.com/news/autopsy-high-school-football-player-died-from-hit-to-head/392452/

Eating disorders in Teens

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/problems/eat_disorder.html

Summary : Eating Disorders are really common in America. " 1 or 2 out of every 100 students will struggle with one". They develope problems with weight or body image. Eating disorder is not just going on a diet or exercising, its extreme and the "diet" never ends, and continues to get worse. Eating disorders can lead to being Anorexic . Anorexia is having a real fear weight gain and change of body size and shape. They can't maintain a healthy body weight. They barely eat, the small amount of food they do eat becomes an obsession and doesn't stay down.

Relation to Health Class:  This relates to health class because social media influences the health of teens. The teens costly want to be like other and models. Judging people can do a lot of damage to people (teens) health. Health class is trying to teach us how to stay healthy and how to help others. 

Question: To what extent do you think that teens are influenced by social media? What do you think causes eating disorders? 

After a concussion, when can teens return to the football field?

source: https://www.newsela.com/articles/concussion-kids/id/5734/

Summary: Mychal Shaw suffered from a concussion which impaired him to walk and to talk. Due to his injury he had to drop two of his classes. Even after his injury he is still playing for the broncos. In Missouri close to 1,500 high school students have had football related concussions but still went back to playing after two weeks. In 2013 there were 17 football related deaths and all of the victims were highschool students. Due to all of these students going back and playing football again before their concussions have healed have led to Second Impact Syndrome. Second Impact syndrome is when you get a second concussion before the first one has healed leading to death or severe injury. Doctors say that kids should refrain from playing football until ten days after the concussion has healed.

Connection: In health class we have watched Blindside and learned about football.  We have also learned about what happens when the brain is damaged and how it impairs you to complete simple tasks.

Question: When you bike or play sports do you wear a helmet even if you don't want to? How do you Brain defects has affected America today? If you were a football player and got a concussion would you take precautions the next time you play?

Obesity may affect cancer patients' outcomes

Summary: Obese people are more prone to certain types of cancer, but obesity also increases the chance that the cancer will come back, as well as death. Studies showed that women with obesity were more likely to die from breast cancer than women with average BMI. Many people know how smoking can lead to cancer, but not many realize the dangers of obesity as well. Obesity is starting to become the new leading factor of cancer.

Connection: In health class, we have learned about and discussed lifestyle diseases. Obesity is one of the major ones, and is becoming more and more common.

Question: How can you prevent obesity in you and other people? What are some other risks of obesity?

URL: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/16/obesity-may-affect-cancer-patients-outcomes/

How Fit Are Young Teens?

Source: http://www.timeforkids.com/news/how-fit-are-young-teens/137276

Summary: A new study finds that most kids ages 12 to 15 aren’t getting enough physical activity. They tested about 800 kids. As the study, the kids had to track and report on their own activity levels, and took physical exams. Not many kids met the goal or standard. This means that the heart rate of a young child is going to go when working out. About 25% of  kids say they did about one hour of physical activity a day. Kids also reported which activities they did most often outside of school gym class, like basketball for boys and running for girls. This study found that obese teens were less active than the average teen. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal weight girls, but the levels were similar among overweight and normal weight boys. This study  overall shows that the obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.

Connection To Health: This article can connect to health because we have been talking about physical fitness and getting some more fitness everyday. We also spent time reviewing the obesity rates and how much it has risen in  America for the last past 25 years. I feel that this is a serious problem that needs to be looked at in greater detail before it becomes a bigger issue

Question: How many hours of fitness do you get everyday? What fitness do you do? If you dont get any type of fitness, what sport looks fun? From a 1-10 how fit are you?  

Preschoolers Getting Too Much Screen Time:Survey

Summary: A recent poll shows that around 25% of americans aged 2-5 are getting 3 or more hours of screen time per day. Studies show that kids younger than two years should not have screen time period, and kids who are older should have a maximum of two hours per day. This makes it clear that kids need to be cutting way back on their screen time. The AAP says that parents should avoid having devices in kids bedrooms as well as at the table. People need to see that kids need to shut down more often and be more active, rather than being a couch potato for the rest of their lives.

Connection To Health Class: This article can be related to health class because In health class we have talked about physical fitness and getting more active. Rather than sitting in front of a screen all day.

Question: How can you make an effort to shut down and get active once in a while, and how do you think this excessive screen time will effect this new generation?

URL: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2014/05/02/preschoolers-getting-too-much-screen-time-survey

How Playing Music Affects the Developing Brain

Summary: The question has been around for a little while now: Do children who are able to play musical instruments have more enhanced functions in their brains than children who do not play instruments? Through scientists' research they found that musically-trained children have more activity in their prefrontal areas in their brains than the children who are not musically trained. One scientist, Patel, came up what is called the OPERA theory. Each letter stands for a factor that promotes brain plasticity. He says that these factors often are associated with playing music. So, this means that playing a musical instrument promotes brain plasticity. 

Connection to the Health Class: We spent a little quite a while learning about the brain. This is connected because playing music has postivite benefits on the brain. 

Question: Do you play a musical instrument? Do you feel that musically trained children truly do have advantages in their brains? 

URL: http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2014/07/music-language-brain

U.N. Panel Issues Its Starkest Warning Yet on Global Warming

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/world/europe/global-warming-un-intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change.html?ref=health&_r=0

Summary: Recently the U.N. has determined that the risks of global warming could possibly reverse several generations of work to end poverty and hunger, if greenhouse emissions continue in the same rate. Even though many countries have worked to stop climate change, there is a large amount of new countries that are becoming more modern, and have begun to burn huge quantities of fossil fuels. The affects of global warming would be food shortages, mass flooding, extinction of plants and animals, and a dangerous climate. If global warming continues at this rate, eventually it will be irreversible.

Connection to health class: This article relates to how we learn in health to make conscious choices. This article inform us about how our actions will affect the planet and our own health. Global warning is a very important and dangerous health risk, and it is important to be knowledgeable about it.

Question: How could this directly affect our lives and what can we do to stop it?