Technology Health

Indoor Tanning Addiction Leads to California Ban

California bans indoor tanning for under-18s. Seeking to protect minors from the health risks of indoor tanning that have gained increasing public awareness in recent years, California became the first in the United States to ban indoor tanning for under-18s.

The bill, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last October has been in effect since the beginning of this year. The American Academy of Dermatology applauded California for being the first state in the U.S. to pass the measure, and commended Congress for “protecting youth from the dangers of indoor tanning.”

California’s new law bans any minor from using a tanning bed, even with a parent’s permission. It’s the strictest so far in the U.S., but about 30 other states have laws that place limits on indoor tanning for children and teenagers.

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Technology Health

Radiotherapy Side Effects – PORT or Postoperative Risks

New study says radiation for advanced lung cancer doesn’t help. It’s routinely given after surgery in a bid to prevent cancer from recurring. But postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, can damage the heart and lungs — thereby canceling out the potential benefits, particularly in seniors.

Now a new study even shows that for older people with a certain type and stage of lung cancer, giving radiation treatment after surgery may not extend survival. And while there are some young people who are diagnosed with lung cancer, most cases involve over-fifties who have a history of smoking.

Dr. Juan Wisnivesky, an associate professor of medicine at New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine led the team that scrutinized survival outcomes in more than 1,300 lung cancer patients with locally advanced disease, 710 of whom were given the PORT.

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Fertility | Pregnancy Drugs

Nexplanon Side Effects: Weight Gain and Depression

Nexplanon Side Effects. Here’s something more to feed the fire: Nexplanon, the contraceptive implants in the thick of the controversy over their use in the United Kingdom in under-16 schoolgirls has many side effects, many of them serious.

Common Nexplanon side effects reported in clinical studies sponsored by the drug’s manufacturer, Organon, include the following:

  • Pain — headache (1 in 4 of women who had the implant reported this), breast pain (1 in 8 women), abdominal pain (1 in 10), dysmenorrheal (1 in 14), back pain (1 in 16) and pain in the insertion site (1 in 20), Influenza-like symptoms (1 in 14) and unspecified pain (1 in 20)
  • Infection—vaginitis (1 in 6), leucorrhea or white vaginal discharge (1 in 10) and pharyngitis (1 in 10)
  • Emotional or mental problems like emotional lability (1 in 16), nervousness (1 in 20), depression (1 in 20) and hypersensitivity (1 in 20)
  • Undesirable outcomes like weight gain (1 in 6) and acne (1 in 6), dizziness (1 in 14) and nausea (1 in 16)

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Drug Side Effects

Kalydeco Vertex Drug Side Effects and Dos & Don’ts

Breakthrough drug Kalydeco targets faulty protein to treat rare form of cystic fibrosis . A drug that targets the underlying cause of a rare form of cystic fibrosis (CF), the first medication of its kind, was recently approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

On Jan. 31, the FDA approved the twice-daily pill Kalydeco (ivacaftor) for the treatment of a rare form of CF in patients ages six years and older who have the specific G551D mutation in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) gene. The drug targets that defective CFTR protein, the underlying cause of their disease.

“Kalydeco is the first available treatment that targets the defective CFTR protein, which is the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis,” says Janet Woodcock, M.D., FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research director, in a news release. “This is a breakthrough therapy for the cystic fibrosis community because current therapies only treat the symptoms of this genetic disease.”

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Health Supplements Good or Bad

Jack3d, OxyElite Side Effects: Safe or Not? Good or Bad?

DMAA supplements Jack3d, OxyElite Pro are drugs and aren’t healthy — health experts say. Consumers beware. In this fitness-crazy world that peddles getting six-pack abs as the ultimate life goal, another dietary supplement, popular with athletes and fitness enthusiasts, has been linked to cerebral hemorrhage, heart attacks and death.

The bestselling products, found in major retail chains like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe or sold online by websites like bodybuilding.com, include Jack3d, a “preworkout booster,” and OxyElite Pro, a fat burner.

Fitness buffs swear by these supplements because they contain 1,3-dimethylamylamine or DMAA, advertised to increase energy, concentration and metabolism. Many fitness enthusiasts love Jack3d, because, as advertised online, it does “give you the mad aggressive desire and ability to lift more weight, pump out more reps and have crazy lasting energy.”

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