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Aimee Copeland, the Georgia grad student who contracted a deadly flesh-eating bacteria after she cut her leg in a zip lining accident, will likely lose her fingers. Aimee, 24, has already had her left leg amputated after necrotizing fasciitis -- a rare bacteria that infects the deep layers of the skin and spreads quickly -- took hold of her injured limb just over a week ago. "Aimee will suffer the loss of her fingers, however physicians have hope of bringing life back to the palms of her hands, which could allow her the muscle control to use helpful prosthetics," read a post on the website of the University of West Georgia psychology department, where Aimee is a masters student. "They are awaiting a safe time before embarking on surgery for this," the update, posted Saturday night, added. Aimee's family has remained optimistic about her recovery after she defied doctors' doubts about her chances of survival. Read more: Georgia grad student will lose fingers in fight against flesh-eating bacteria, doctors say | Fox News

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection won the endorsement of an FDA advisory panel Thursday, clearing the way for a landmark approval in the 30-year fight against the virus that causes AIDS. The Food and Drug Administration panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner. The FDA is not required to follow the panel's advice, but it usually does. A final decision is expected by June 15.

Abbott Laboratories said it will pay $1.6 billion to settle federal and state claims that it improperly marketed the neurological medication Depakote for off-label uses. Abbott will pay $800 million to resolve civil allegations split among federal and state governments, $700 million in criminal penalties and $100 million to states to resolve consumer protection matters, the Abbott Park, Ill., company said Monday. Abbott said in previous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had earmarked $1.5 billion for a potential settlement.

Abbott Labs agrees to pay $1.6 billion to settle Depakote cases - latimes.com Depakote, an anti-seizure and mood-stabilizing drug, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraine prevention. Lawsuits filed by four groups of whistle-blowers alleged that Abbott marketed the drug for off-label uses, including for treatment of schizophrenia, dementia and autism. The Justice Department intervened in those suits to determine whether the company's marketing of the drug violated civil and criminal laws, including fraudulently charging Medicare and Medicaid.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Men rarely get breast cancer, but those who do often don't survive as long as women, largely because they don't even realize they can get it and are slow to recognize the warning signs, researchers say. On average, women with breast cancer lived two years longer than men in the biggest study yet of the disease in males. The study found that men's breast tumors were larger at diagnosis, more advanced and more likely to have spread to other parts of the body. Men were also diagnosed later in life; in the study, they were 63 on average, versus 59 for women. Many men have no idea that they can get breast cancer, and some doctors are in the dark, too, dismissing symptoms that would be an automatic red flag in women, said study leader Dr. Jon Greif, a breast cancer surgeon in Oakland, Calif. The American Cancer Society estimates 1 in 1,000 men will get breast cancer, versus 1 in 8 women. By comparison, 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men. "It's not really been on the radar screen to think about breast cancer in men," said Dr. David Winchester, a breast cancer surgeon in NorthShore University HealthSystem in suburban Chicago who was not involved in the study. Winchester treats only a few men with breast cancer each year, compared with at least 100 women. The researchers analyzed 10 years of national data on breast cancer cases, from 1998 to 2007. A total of 13,457 male patients diagnosed during those years were included, versus 1.4 million women. The database contains about 75 percent of all U.S. breast cancer cases. The men who were studied lived an average of about eight years after being diagnosed, compared with more than 10 years for women. The study doesn't indicate whether patients died of breast cancer or something else. Greif prepared a summary of his study for presentation Friday at a meeting of American Society of Breast Surgeons in Phoenix. Dr. Akkamma Ravi, a breast cancer specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the research bolsters results in smaller studies and may help raise awareness. Because the disease is so rare in men, research is pretty scant, and doctors are left to treat it the same way they manage the disease in women, she said. Some doctors said one finding in the study suggests men's breast tumors might be biologically different from women's: Men with early-stage disease had worse survival rates than women with early-stage cancer. But men's older age at diagnosis also might explain that result, Greif said. The causes of breast cancer in men are not well-studied, but some of the same things that increase women's chances for developing it also affect men, including older age, cancer-linked gene mutations, a family history of the disease, and heavy drinking. There are no formal guidelines for detecting breast cancer in men. The American Cancer Society says routine, across-the-board screening of men is unlikely to be beneficial because the disease is so rare. For men at high risk because of a strong family history or genetic mutations, mammograms and breast exams may be helpful, but men should discuss this with their doctors, the group says. Men's breast cancer usually shows up as a lump under or near a nipple. Nipple discharge and breasts that are misshapen or don't match are also possible signs that should be checked out. Tom More, 67, of Custer, Wash., was showering when he felt a pea-size lump last year near his right nipple. Because a golfing buddy had breast cancer, More didn't put off seeing his doctor. The doctor told More that he was his first male breast cancer patient. Robert Kaitz, a computer business owner in Severna Park, Md., thought the small growth under his left nipple was just a harmless cyst, like ones that had been removed from his back. By the time he had it checked out in 2006, almost two years later, the lump had started to hurt. The diagnosis was a shock. "I had no idea in the world that men could even get breast cancer," Kaitz said. He had a mastectomy, and 25 nearby lymph nodes were removed, some with cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation followed. Tests showed Kaitz, 52, had a BRCA genetic mutation that has been linked to breast and ovarian cancer in women. He may have gotten the mutation from his mother, who is also a breast cancer survivor. It has also been linked to prostate cancer, which Kaitz was treated for in 2009. A powerboater and motorcycle buff, Kaitz jokes about being a man with a woman's disease but said he is not embarrassed and doesn't mind showing his breast surgery scar. The one thing he couldn't tolerate was tamoxifen, a hormone treatment commonly used to help prevent breast cancer from returning in women. It can cause menopausal symptoms, so he stopped taking it. "It killed me. I tell you what - night sweats, hot flashes, mood swings, depression. I'd be sitting in front of the TV watching a drama and the tears wouldn't stop pouring," he said. Doctors sometimes prescribe antidepressants or other medication to control those symptoms. Now Kaitz gets mammograms every year. Men need to know that "we're not immune," he said. "We have the same plumbing."

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said one in every 1,000 newborns was affected in 2009. The number of pregnant women testing positive for illegal or legal opiates increased fivefold in the same period. The report says abuse of prescription painkillers is partly to blame. The study, the first of its kind in the US, was based on records from more than 4,000 hospitals across the country. It found that in 2009, about 13,500 babies were born with withdrawal symptoms - roughly one every hour.

A genetic test could help predict breast cancer many years before it
develops, scientists claim.

Their study shows the risk can double in women whose genes have been
changed by exposure to environmental factors such as hormones,
radiation, alcohol, smoking and pollution.

The findings could lead to a blood test that will identify those most
at risk of breast cancer and other forms of the disease, the
researchers say.

In the study, blood samples were taken from 1,380 women of various ages
who had not developed breast cancer.

The researchers investigated whether the alteration of a single gene by
a process called methylation can predict whether women are at more risk
of breast cancer.

Women showing the highest methylation levels affecting a white blood
cell gene called ATM were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as
those with the lowest levels.

Methylation is a reprogramming mechanism that allows genes to be
affected by exposure to environmental factors.

Such effects are being seen as important drivers of cancer and they can
occur in the womb, around birth or later.

Altogether, 640 women in the study developed cancer and on average the
blood tests were carried out three years before diagnosis.

In some cases the results pre-dated the discovery of breast cancer by
up to 11 years. The results were especially clear in blood samples from
women under the age of 60.

The average risk of developing breast cancer is one in nine over a
woman’s lifetime. James Flanagan, of Imperial College London, who led
the research, said: ‘We know that genetic variation contributes to a
person’s risk of disease.

‘With this new study we can now also say that epigenetic variation, or
differences in how genes are modified, also has a role.

‘We hope this research is just the beginning of our understanding about
the epigenetic component of breast cancer risk.

‘The challenge will be how to incorporate all of this new information
into the computer models that are currently used for individual risk
prediction.’
He said the study raised the possibility of a simple blood test to
assess breast cancer risk in advance by looking at alteration on
individual genes.
Combined with other information, such as a family history of breast
cancer, it could help identify women who might benefit from monitoring
or pre-emptive action involving surgery or preventive drugs.

The research, funded by the Breast Cancer Campaign, was published in
the journal Cancer Research.

Baroness Delyth Morgan of Breast Cancer Campaign said: ‘Dr Flanagan’s
research into epigenetics is so exciting because it suggests that there
is every possibility the risk of developing breast cancer could be
decided many decades in advance.

‘By piecing together how this happens, we can look at ways of
preventing the disease and detecting it earlier to give people the best
possible chance of survival.’

The ATM gene has been linked to other cancers, including lymphoma and
leukaemia.


Gene test that could predict breast
cancer years before it strikes | Mail Online

If only everything that looked good, felt good, or tasted good was good for us too. It comes as more welcome news for chocolate lovers, then, that yet another study has linked chocolate consumption with improved heart health. Maybe.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge analyzed the results of seven existing studies and concluded that high levels of chocolate consumption might be associated with a notable reduction in the risk of developing heart disease. Five of the seven studies reported a beneficial link between higher levels of chocolate consumptions and the risk of cardiovascular events. They found that “the highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke, compared with the lowest levels [of consumption]."

The studies, notably, did not differentiate between dark or milk chocolate and included consumption of different types of chocolate (bars, shakes, etc.)

By the year 2030, the World Health Organization estimates that nearly 23.6 million people will die from heart disease. In CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s documentary “The Last Heart Attack,” Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. asserts that simply modifying one’s diet can make a person heart attack-proof in just one month. Should chocolate then be prescribed as part of this diet, which advocates the consumption of a plant-based food plan?

A number of recent studies have shown that eating chocolate has a positive impact on human health, thanks to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, namely reducing blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity. But here’s the caveat. Chocolate, as we all know, is full of calories, and eating too much of it could lead to weight gain, diabetes, or even heart disease – the very ailment some believe chocolate is working to prevent in the first place. The authors of the study stress that further testing is needed to determine whether chocolate actually causes this reduction in heart problems, or if the health benefits are instead better explained by some other unmeasured factor. "Were there compounds in cocoa that decrease heart risk," says Lichtenstein, "it will be important to identify them, isolate them, and determine the optimal dose and best route to administer them."

One thing is clear. Chocolate does far more for our bodies than activate our taste buds. Given its apparent health benefits, some resources might now be shifted to exploring the fat and sugar contents of chocolate, and how we might go about lowering them. This new “superfood” would be quite sweet indeed.

As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported. Investigators from The Sunday Times said they secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform circumcisions or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing. The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14 year prison sentence. It is also against the law to arrange FGM. Known as 'cutting', the procedure is traditionally carried out for cultural reasons and in Africa and with large numbers of immigration from countries like Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia it is becoming more common in the UK. It is believed to be proof of a girl's 'purity' for when she marries, but victims often suffer in silence and are rarely given anaesthetic. They frequently suffer long-term damage and pain and often struggle to stand or walk properly. Research suggests that every year up to 6,000 girls in London are at risk of the potentially fatal procedure, and more than 22,000 in the UK as a whole. The Metropolitan Police said since 2008, it had received 166 reports of people who fear they are at risk of FGM but it has failed to bring forward a single perpetrator. It is the same for all 43 forces across England and Wales with no convictions for the offence ever taking place.

They were told there was no chance of their son surviving after he suffered devastating injuries in a car crash. But Steven Thorpe’s parents refused to give up hope – despite four specialists declaring that the 17-year-old was brain dead. Convinced they saw a ‘flicker’ of life as Steven lay in a coma, John and Janet Thorpe rejected advice to switch off his life support machine. They begged for another opinion – and it was a decision that saved him. A neurosurgeon found faint signs of brain activity and two weeks later, Steven woke from his coma. Within seven weeks, he had left hospital. And four years on, the trainee accounts clerk says he owes everything to the persistence of his parents. From his home in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Steven, 21, said: ‘I feel so lucky that my parents wouldn’t take no for an answer.’ The schoolboy was travelling in a Rover with two friends in February 2008 when a stray horse ran into the path of the car in front of them. His friend Matthew Jones, 18, was killed in the accident. Steven suffered serious injuries to his face, head and arm, and was declared brain dead two days later. He said: ‘The doctors were telling my parents that they wanted to take me off the life support. The words they used to my parents were “You need to start thinking about organ donations”. ‘I think that’s what gave my dad energy. He thought “No way”. They still believed I was there. When they sat around the bed they had the feeling I was there and some words they said to me I reacted to. ‘I think if my dad had agreed with them then I would have been off the life support machine in seconds.’ Accountant Mr Thorpe, 51, contacted private GP Julia Piper, known for her work in traditional and alternative medicines. Moved by their story, she asked a neurosurgeon whom she knew to visit Steven at University Hospital in Coventry. Incredibly, he concluded that Steven was not brain dead and that there was still a slim chance of recovery. Doctors agreed to try to bring Steven out of his chemically-induced coma to see if he could survive. Two weeks later, he woke up. He said: ‘It’s very worrying to think that more than one specialist had written me off. ‘Hopefully it can help people see that you should never give up. If you have a gut feeling about something then follow it. My father believed I was alive and he was correct.’

Children who were bullied in their earlier years are up to three times more likely to harm themselves compared to their classmates, according to a new study. The study, published online April 26 in the British Medical Journal, found that about half of the 12-year-olds who have self-harmed were frequently bullied, particularly in those with mental health problems, a family history of suicide, or a history of being physically abused by an adult. Researchers from King's College London conducted a study of 1,116 pairs of twins born in the UK between 1994 and 1995. Researchers evaluated the children at ages five, seven, 10 and 12 years of age. Researchers found that 2.9 percent of the 2,141 children studied had self-harmed, and about 56 percent of those who have harmed themselves had been frequently bullied in childhood, and the bullied twin was more likely to harm themselves compared to their non-bullied twin. About 237 children in the study were victims of frequent bullying and 18 of them (8 percent) self harmed, compared to 44 children (2 percent) of 1,904 children who were not bullied. The study defined bullying as when another child says hurtful things, completely ignores or excludes, physically assaults or spreads rumors about the victim. Researchers said examples of self harm include purposefully cutting and biting one’s own arms, pulling out clumps of one’s own hair, hitting one’s head against the wall and attempting to commit suicide. "Bullying by peers is a major problem during the early school years," researchers wrote. "This study found that before 12 years of age a small proportion of children frequently exposed to this form of victimization already deliberately harmed themselves and in some cases attempted to take their own lives. “ Previous studies have found that victimized children were more likely to have behavioral problems in adolescents, but there has been little research on the link between exposures to bullying and the likelihood a child will self harm.

The first U.S. case of mad cow disease in six years sparked fears of illness that prompted at least one major South Korean retailer to suspend the sale of American beef.

However, public health officials said the risk for disease for Americans is extremely low given that the affected dairy cow in central California was not part of the human food chain and was not exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through animal feed.

"A case of a single cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy is not a reason for significant concern on the part of consumers, and there is no reason to believe the beef or milk supply is unsafe," she said.