"Aaron Ross" - America's War on Mosquitoes

http://motherjones.com/photoessays/2011/08/racist-propaganda/malaria-japan-war

Patriotic, racist, and goofy anti-malaria propaganda from World War II—featuring a guest appearance by the young Dr. Seuss. —Aaron Ross

Of all the enemies American soldiers confronted during World War II, malaria proved to be among the most stubborn. The mosquito-borne disease was a constant scourge for GIs stationed in the Pacific and Mediterranean theaters. General MacArthur's retreat to the malarial Philippine peninsula of Bataan in early 1942 led directly to his sickly army's surrender to the Japanese a few months later. The illness continued to cripple American forces during the ensuing campaigns in Papua New Guinea and Guadalcanal, where it was so rampant that a division commander ordered that no Marine be excused from duty without a temperature of at least 103°F.

Troops in Southern Europe faced similar problems. During the Seventh Army's Sicilian campaign from July to September 1943, 21,482 soldiers were admitted to the hospital for malaria; 17,535 were admitted for battle casualties. All in all, malaria accounted for almost a half-million hospital admissions and more than 300 American deaths during the war.

After some fits and starts, the military responded to the malaria outbreak with a full-out assault. The Army's Medical Department dispatched malaria control units to war zones to clear and clean standing water and bombard malarial areas with recently developed insecticides like DDT and "bug bombs." With access to quinine cut off by the Japanese conquest of Java, the government sped up trials of the anti-malarial medicine atabrine. Despite side effects such as turning the skin yellow, millions of tablets of the drug were distributed to troops toward the end of the war.

The military also warned soldiers about the dangers of the disease with an aggressive propaganda campaign that tried a variety of approaches, including patriotic appeals, racist caricatures, scare tactics, and goofy cartoons (including one drawn by the young Dr. Seuss). The campaign worked: Infection rates fell dramatically, and a healthier fighting force went on to claim victory in Europe and Asia.

FOX NEWS: Half of Americans Have Chronic Disease, Survey Says

FOX NEWS  August 16, 2011 | NewsCore

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/16/half-americans-have-chronic-disease-survey-says/

advertisement

More than half of Americans have at least one chronic disease, according to research published Tuesday.

Some 55 percent of people in the U.S. said that they were diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions, compared to 41 percent of people in the UK and 52 percent of Canadians, the results of a survey conducted by business-services firm Deloitte showed.

Click to read more ...

"HuffingtonPost" - Eating Meat Linked To Disease, Report Says

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/cut-back-on-meat-new-repo_n_901554.html

HuffingtonPost: 7/18/11 12:01 PM ET Updated: 7/18/11 04:17 PM ET

A new report released Monday claims the science is clear: Eating too much meat is bad for your health.

The so-called Meat Eater's Guide, compiled by the Environmental Working Group, is generating buzz for its "cradle-to-grave" look at the environmental impact of 20 popular types of meat, dairy and vegetable proteins. But it also emphasizes the potential health impact of eating too much meat, recommending that people cut back to decrease their risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

"The goal is to really make this information accessible to consumers," said Kari Hamerschlag, an agriculture analyst with the research and advocacy group. "On the health side, we really pulled together all of the information and tried to make it as clear as possible that there's not just one reason to limit meat consumption; there are a whole host of reasons."

The report, which weaves together statistics from various earlier studies, allows that meat can be an important source of protein and vitamins when eaten in moderation. But in the U.S., moderation may be a problem. The report cites data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggesting that Americans consume almost 60 percent more meat than their European counterparts, and four times more than in many developing countries. And much of that meat is either red or processed.

The health effects of this, the EWG report claims, are myriad: A 2009 report from the National Cancer Institute found that people who ate the most red meat -- which can have high levels of cholesterol-rising saturated fat -- were 27 percent more likely to die of heart disease. That same report also found serious meat eaters were 20 percent more likely to die of cancer than those who consumed the least amount of meat.

Click to read more ...

"Nutraingredients.com" - Diabetes: From ancient Egypt to modern pandemic

Nutraingredients.com, 18-Jul-2011

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Consumer-Trends/Diabetes-From-ancient-Egypt-to-modern-pandemic

It has been called a pandemic and a silent killer: Diabetes is a growing specter for public health agencies across the world. In the first part of our special series on diabetes, NutraIngredients examines the underlying condition and gets a grip on how big the issue is.

The first report of diabetes dates to 1550 BC

History

Diabetes is not a new disease, being first documented in 1550BC in Egypt. Back then diabetes, or what the historians believe was diabetes, was described as a rare disease. According to an exhibition on diabetes and endocrinology by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (Scotland), an Egyptian manuscript mentions “the passing of too much urine”, which historians take as the first reference to diabetes.

We had to wait a further 1600 years for a complete clinical description and name for the condition, when the Greek physician Aretaeus used the word diabetes (from the Greek meaning ‘siphon’) and noted “the excessive amount of urine which passed through the kidneys”.

Click to read more ...

"ScienceDaily" - Natural Chemical Found in Grapes May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110715135211.htm

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2011) — Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that grape seed polyphenols -- a natural antioxidant -- may help prevent the development or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The research, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, The Saunder Family Professor in Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was published online in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

This is the first study to evaluate the ability of grape-derived polyphenols to prevent the generation of a specific form of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the brain long known to cause the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer disease. In partnership with a team at the University of Minnesota led by Karen Hsiao Ashe, MD, PhD, Dr. Pasinetti and his collaborators administered grape seed polyphenolic extracts to mice genetically determined to develop memory deficits and Aβ neurotoxins similar to those found in Alzheimer's disease. They found that the brain content of the Aβ*56, a specific form of Aβ previously implicated in the promotion of Alzheimer's disease memory loss, was substantially reduced after treatment.

Click to read more ...

How Do Plants Fight Disease? Breakthrough Research Offers a Clue

ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2011) — How exactly bacterial pathogens cause diseases in plants remains a mystery and continues to frustrate scientists working to solve this problem. Now Wenbo Ma, a young plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside, has performed research on the soybean plant in the lab that makes major inroads into our understanding of plant-pathogen interactions, a rapidly developing area among the plant sciences.

Click to read more ...

Two-thirds of local pertussis cases were vaccinated, data show

As California experiences its worst whooping cough outbreak in more than 60 years, health officials across the country trumpet vaccinations to protect against the disease.

Click to read more ...

Video: Evidence that HIV antibody tests are not specific

Using the time of disappearance of maternal antibodies the Perth Group presents evidence that the HIV antibody tests are not specific for HIV infection. www.theperthgroup.com

Click to read more ...

Memory loss is NOT a normal part of ageing, say dementia experts

British author and philosopher Iris Murdoch suffered from Alzheimer's disease from 1995 and died in 1999. Scientists have shown the same lesions in the brain responsible for earlier memory lapses play a part in dementia.

Click to read more ...

Climate change can cause cancer

Scientists have warned that melting glaciers and ice sheets are releasing cancer-causing pollutants into the air and oceans. The long-lasting chemicals get into the food chain and build up in people's bodies - triggering tumours, heart disease and infertility.

Click to read more ...