More Evidence Shows Newer Forms of 'Pill' Raise Clot Risk, FDA Says

THURSDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it "remains concerned" that a newer generation of birth control pills may raise the odds for serious blood clots more than older forms of the Pill.

The announcement concerns oral contraceptives containing a newer type of progestin hormone called drospirenone, which includes Bayer's Yaz or Yasmin. According to the FDA, the new study found a higher risk of venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) -- potentially dangerous clots -- in women on the drospirenone-containing pills vs. those on older forms of oral contraceptives.

The FDA-funded review involved the medical histories of more than 800,000 American women, all of whom were on some type of birth control between 2001 and 2008. The study found that women taking the newer oral contraceptives experienced a higher rate of clots than women on older forms of the contraceptive pill.

The review also found that women on two other forms of birth control -- the Ortho Evra patch from Johnson & Johnson and the NuvaRing vaginal ring from Merck -- had a higher rate of clots.

For now, the FDA is not advising that most women switch to another form of contraception. "If your birth control pill contains drospirenone, do not stop taking it without first talking to your health care professional," the agency said. "Contact your health care professional immediately if you develop any symptoms of blood clots, including persistent leg pain, severe chest pain or sudden shortness of breath. If you smoke and are over 35 years of age, you should not take combination oral contraceptives because they increase the risk that you could experience serious cardiovascular events, including blood clots."

Thursday's announcement was not the FDA's first word on this issue, nor is likely to be the last. The agency issued a similar warning in September, and in a statement released Thursday said that, "given the conflicting nature of the findings from six published studies evaluating this risk, as well as the preliminary data from the FDA-funded study," it plans to host a public meeting on the issue on Dec. 8.
The announcement Thursday comes a day after the release of a study in BMJ that also found newer birth control pills were tied to a higher risk for clots.
In that study, researchers reviewed data on all Danish women, aged 15 to 49, who were not pregnant between January 2001 and December 2009. During that time, more than 4,200 first episodes of VTEs occurred.
Women taking birth control pills with a newer progestin hormone had twice the risk of clots compared to those who took the older form of contraceptive pills.
Compared to women who did not use birth control pills, the risk of VTE was three times higher among those who used pills with levonorgestrel and six times higher among those who took pills with drospirenone, desogestrel or gestodene.
But the absolute risk of VTE associated with taking the newer pills remained relatively low, about 10 per 10,000 women, according to the University of Copenhagen researchers.
For every 2,000 women who switched from using newer pills to pills with levonorgestrel, there would be one less case of clots a year.
While some doctors may choose to prescribe birth control pills with a lower risk whenever possible, it is crucial not to exaggerate the risk of VTE, Dr. Philip Hannaford of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, wrote in an accompanying editorial in the journal.
"Oral contraceptives are remarkably safe and may confer important long-term benefits in relation to cancer and mortality," he said in a journal news release.
Dr. Glenn Jacobowitz, vice chair of the division of vascular surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said: "The information for Yaz is not new. That has recently already been shown in studies to have an increased risk of blood clots than other oral contraceptives. The information on NuvaRing and Ortho Evra would be a new, but similar finding. This is certainly worrisome, particularly for women over age 35 and for smokers."
More information
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has more about birth control pills.

import from: http://news.yahoo.com/more-evidence-shows-newer-forms-pill-raise-clot-210812820.html;_ylt=AhZmDfsim2c4UUd9xF4zlSvrSLYF;_ylu=X3oDMTRiOW04YjRjBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBIZWFsdGhTRiBTZXh1YWxIZWFsdGhTU0YEcGtnAzJkYWIxYzYwLWY1ODQtMzQ5Ni1iOTQwLTkyMTVhNzMzODkwNQRwb3MDNARzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgMwZTQ4MmVjMC0wMTE4LTExZTEtYmZiYS1mZDhlMDA3NjA3ZWI-;_ylg=X3oDMTIydmQxa3A0BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANoZWFsdGh8c2V4dWFsIGhlYWx0aARwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

Some birth control shows higher clot risk: US

Some birth control products, including contraceptive pills, rings and patches for women, carry a significantly higher risk of blood clot than low-dose medications, US regulators said Thursday.

The US Food and Drug Administration said in its review of studies that have included more than 800,000 women that the higher risks are posed by products such as the pill Yaz, the transdermal Ortho Evra patch, and the NuvaRing vaginal insert.

All three methods are "associated with an increased risk of VTE (deep venous thrombosis) relative to the standard low-dose" pills, the FDA said.

Featured in the study were pills that contain drospirenone, as opposed to another type of progestin known as levonorgestrel. Some brand names include Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, Ocella, Loryna, Gianvi, Safyral, Syeda and Zarah.

Yaz is the second biggest selling product made by the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, with 1.56 billion in global sales.

NuvaRing is a once-a-month vaginal insert made by Merck pharmaceuticals, and the weekly Ortho Evra patch is made by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
The finding about clot risk associated with patches and rings are new and need to be replicated, the FDA said. A full discussion on the matter is scheduled for December.
These "continuous exposure" birth control methods "potentially result in higher sustained exposure to estrogen and hence, increased thromboembolic risk," the FDA warned.

The European Medicines Agency concluded on May 27 that such birth control pills carry a higher risk of venous thromboembolism and that warning labels should be updated accordingly.

However it noted the overall risk of blood clot from any birth control method remains small and stopped short of advising women to stop taking pills containing drospirenone.
The pills have been the focus of numerous lawsuits, including one lodged earlier this year on behalf of a teenager who died from a blood clot allegedly linked to the German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer's Yaz contraceptive.
Michelle Pfleger, an 18-year-old college student in North Carolina, died of cardiac arrest last September after taking Yaz, also known as Yasmin or Ocella, to treat acne, according to the complaint.
Two studies out this year in the British Medical Journal found that drugs like Yaz and Yasmin increase the risk of serious blood clots three-fold or two-fold compared to earlier-generation oral contraceptives.
The official Yaz website says the drug is associated with "increased risks of several serious side effects, including blood clots, stroke, and heart attack."
According to Glenn Jacobowitz, vice-chair of the division of vascular surgery at New York University Langone School of Medicine, doctors have been aware of the risks of Yaz and similar pills for some time.
"The information on NuvaRing and Ortho Evra would be a new, but similar finding. This is certainly worrisome, particularly for women over age 35 and for smokers," he said.

import from: http://news.yahoo.com/birth-control-shows-higher-clot-risk-us-222419487.html;_ylt=Am1.MWVKR0MMlYKpwpQ19kDrSLYF;_ylu=X3oDMTRiYWJqZWY4BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBIZWFsdGhTRiBTZXh1YWxIZWFsdGhTU0YEcGtnA2E2N2I1OTI4LTg0OGQtMzY0YS04MzkxLTEzOWQ5ZDQ5OTU1ZgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgMxNDZkZDBiMC0wMTc4LTExZTEtOGVmZC03ZWMwNjRhNjhkNDQ-;_ylg=X3oDMTIydmQxa3A0BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANoZWFsdGh8c2V4dWFsIGhlYWx0aARwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

Program urges smokers switch to smokeless tobacco

In the smoker-heavy state of Kentucky, a cancer center is suggesting something that most health experts won't and the tobacco industry can't: If you really want to quit, switch to smoke-free tobacco.

The James Graham Brown Cancer Center and the University of Louisville are aiming their "Switch and Quit" campaign at the city of Owensboro. It uses print, radio, billboard and other advertising to urge smokers to swap their cigarettes for smokeless tobacco and other products that do not deliver nicotine by smoke.

Supporters say smokers who switch are more likely to give up cigarettes than those who use other methods such as nicotine patches, and that smokeless tobacco carries less risk of disease than cigarettes do.

"We need something that works better than what we have," said Dr. Donald Miller, an oncologist and director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, which supports the effort along with the University of Louisville. "This is as reasonable a scientific hypothesis as anybody has come up with and it needs to be tried."

The campaign runs counter to the prevailing opinion of the public health community, which holds that there is no safe way to use tobacco. Federal researchers, however, have begun to at least consider the idea that smokers might be better off going smokeless.

The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health says on its website that the use of all tobacco products "should be strongly discouraged," and that there is "no scientific evidence that using smokeless tobacco can help a person quit smoking." But this year it approved funding for a study that might provide some of that very evidence.

"Switch and Quit" is directed by Brad Rodu, a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville. He analyzed the 2000 National Health Interview Survey and found that male smokers who switched to smokeless tobacco were more likely to quit smoking than those who used nicotine patches or gum.

"Americans are largely misinformed about the relative risks. ... They think smokeless tobacco is just as dangerous," Rodu said. "This level of misinformation is an enormous barrier to actually accomplishing tobacco-harm reduction because if people believe that the products have equal risk, there's not a real incentive."

The program is funded through Rodu's research money, which includes grants from the tobacco industry. Grants through the University of Louisville are unrestricted, which the program says "ensures the scientific independence and integrity of research projects and activities."

"There's absolutely no influence whatsoever," Rodu said. "I decide, along with my colleagues, how we use the money, for what projects, and this is entirely the case. I would not have a situation where there was some control over the kind of projects I undertake."

Tobacco companies want to market more smokeless tobacco and other cigarette alternatives to make up for falling cigarette sales. Some have introduced "snus" — small pouches like tea bags that users stick between the cheek and gum — and dissolvable tobacco — finely milled tobacco shaped into orbs, sticks and strips.

But they're barred by federal law from explicitly marketing them as less risky than cigarettes — at least for now. That means the "Switch and Quit" program can do something the tobacco industry itself cannot: claim that smokeless tobacco has a health benefit when compared to smoking.
The program says smoking kills about 220 adults a year in and around Owensboro. The state of Kentucky, a leading tobacco grower, has the nation's highest smoking and lung cancer rates.

Owensboro and the surrounding area consume about 3 million cigarettes a week, according to the program. That amounts to well over a pack for every man, woman and child in the community of about 115,000 people.

Owensboro resident Vernon Goode had smoked for about 10 years before he recently traded his Marlboros for dissolvable tobacco tablets. The campaign didn't inspire him to quit, but he said he thought it was a good idea.

"I was just wanting to quit because, you know, I could feel it in my lungs," Goode said. "I'll smoke a cigarette every once in a while, but not very often. I want to quit altogether and I'm just using this right here as I guess what you'd call a stepping stone."

The Owensboro program has raised concerns among some in the public health community who say organizers are claiming smokeless tobacco is a healthier alternative to smoking without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

A 2009 law gives the FDA authority to evaluate health risks of tobacco products and approve those that could be marketed as safer than what's currently for sale. None have been given the OK yet. The FDA also plans to regulate electronic cigarettes, battery-powered plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the program "a giant experiment with the people of Owensboro without rules or guidance designed to protect individuals from experimental medicine."

Smokeless tobacco isn't a safe alternative to cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health warnings on the products required by the FDA state the same thing.

However, some studies, including a 2007 report from the Royal College of Physicians in London titled "Harm Reduction in Nicotine Addiction," suggest that some smokeless tobacco products are about 90 percent less harmful than cigarettes.

"The worst that you can say about smokeless tobacco is that it's the lesser of two evils," said Dr. Randall Thomas, an oncologist with the Owensboro Medical Health System. The health system, the community's largest employer, is going smoke-free in 2013 and is offering Rodu's program as one of a variety of quit-smoking tools for its employees.

"I don't think we have any problem in telling a person that drinks a six-pack a day that if they could cut it back to two beers a day or two drinks a day that their health risks are greatly reduced," Thomas said. "Finding a way to let people have their nicotine that carries less risk, it's the realistic solution."

The Owensboro program doesn't suggest pharmaceutical nicotine replacement gum or patches. That's because they are regulated to provide very small doses of nicotine and are recommended for only a short period of time, while smokeless tobacco can be used as long as a smoker needs, Rodu said.

Myers, of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said more research is needed before anyone should suggest that the nation's 46 million smokers would be better off using smokeless tobacco. In the meantime, he said, there are a host of FDA-approved products that can help people give up smoking.

"There's a right way and a wrong way to determine whether smokeless tobacco can and should be marketed as a way to help people quit," Myers said.

The National Cancer Institute approved funding earlier this year for a nationwide 1,250-person study to look at whether being given a snus product changes the habits of smokers who are not motivated to quit.

The tobacco industry sees smokeless tobacco as its future, said Matthew J. Carpenter, a psychology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina who is conducting the yearlong study.

Carpenter said the snus study will examine what smokers do when given smokeless tobacco. He won't look at the health effects, or advise smokers to use the snus to quit.

"They are probably safer than conventional cigarettes, if for no other reason than you're not burning anything, you're not smoking anything, you're not inhaling any smoke," he said.

"If you compare it to conventional cigarettes, they're probably a little bit better. If you compare it to quitting, they're absolutely worse."

___

Michael Felberbaum can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum.

import from: http://news.yahoo.com/program-urges-smokers-switch-smokeless-tobacco-182613157.html

More evidence that coffee cuts skin cancer risk

More evidence that coffee, particularly among female drinkers, has a positive effect against the most common form of skin cancer worldwide was released Monday at a major US medical conference.

Women who drank more than three cups per day of caffeinated coffee saw a 20 percent lower risk of getting basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a slow-growing form of cancer, than those who drank less than a cup per month.

Men who drank the same amount saw a nine percent lower risk, said the research presented at the 10th American Association for Cancer Research International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research in Boston.

"Given the nearly one million new cases of BCC diagnosed each year in the United States, daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact," said researcher Fengju Song, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent BCC."

The data was derived from the Nurses' Health Study (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Harvard School of Public Health).

The nurses study followed 72,921 participants from June 1984 to June 2008. The health professionals study tracked 39,976 participants from June 1986 to June 2008.

Basal cell carcinoma was the most frequently diagnosed skin cancer in the groups, totaling 22,786 cases.

The benefits of coffee drinking were not seen against the next two most prevalent types -- squamous cell carcinoma (1,953 cases) or melanoma (741 cases).

Basal cell carcinoma is a non-melanoma form of skin cancer, and is the most common cancer in the United States. Seventy-five percent of all skin cancers are basal cell carcinomas, according to the American Cancer Society.

It is most common in people with light hair and green or blue eyes, and can manifest itself as a skin sore that bleeds and doesn't heal, though it rarely spreads to other parts of the body.

Previous studies have shown coffee drinkers tend to have fewer incidences of breast, uterine, prostate and colon cancers, but the beneficial effects are not seen in people who drink decaffeinated coffee.

import from: http://news.yahoo.com/more-evidence-coffee-cuts-skin-cancer-risk-215940038.html

Feds break up $18M Los Angeles-area Medicare scam

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities raided Los Angeles-area pharmacies Thursday, arresting 16 people in an alleged $18 million scheme to defraud Medicare that included the recruitment of veterans, homeless people, the poor and elderly.

A federal criminal complaint contends a doctor at Manor Medical Imaging Clinic of Glendale wrote prescriptions for anti-psychotic drugs.

The drugs, which included Abilify, Seroquel and Zyprexa, were billed to Medicare and Medi-Cal but didn't go to those recruited for the scheme. Instead, the drugs were allegedly sent to black market wholesalers and then funneled to the San Gabriel Valley pharmacies, where they were repackaged so they could be re-dispensed.

Some Medicare beneficiaries had their identities stolen for use in the scheme. As a result, some people were later denied coverage for drugs they needed, authorities said.

The main pharmacy named in the complaint — Huntington Pharmacy in San Marino — had fewer than $45,000 in Medi-Cal claims in 2009 but nearly $1.5 million last year, and most were prescriptions from the Manor's doctor, according to the criminal complaint.

Overall, more than $18 million in bills were submitted to federal authorities and about $7.3 million was paid out, authorities said.

More than 200 federal, state and San Marino law enforcement agents served search warrants in Thursday's raids, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office.

Those charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud could face up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted. They include the Manor doctor and the owners of the Huntington Pharmacy.

A message left at Manor seeking comment wasn't immediately returned. A call to Huntington Pharmacy went unanswered.

"Prescription harvesting" schemes involving anti-psychotic drugs are on the increase, authorities said. Anti-psychotic prescriptions can be lucrative because the government will reimburse pharmacies up to $2,800 for a single bottle of pills.

import from: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-break-18m-los-angeles-area-medicare-scam-225025414.html;_ylt=AigiMfzxO52_hCyWr6ekNak_cbYF;_ylu=X3oDMTRicGhlOXQxBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBIZWFsdGhTRiBTZW5pb3JzQWdpbmdTU0YEcGtnA2RkOTA4MWZjLTNhMzktMzdiOS05YzZjLTA4OTUwMWJmNDMwZQRwb3MDOARzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgM5NzBjZTcxMC0wMTY3LTExZTEtYWRmZS03YmVhYzg0MTg1MDE-;_ylg=X3oDMTI0azM1MDFwBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANoZWFsdGh8c2VuaW9ycyAtIGFnaW5nBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Cara Menyuburkan Rambut dengan Telur Udang.

Bahan-Bahan :Udang besar yang mengandung telur ............. 3 ekor
Cara Pembuatan :Ambillah telur udang tersebut dan letakan dalam sebuah wadah.
Aturan Pakai :Gosok-gosokkan telur udang tadi pada bagian yang botak atau pada bagian yang kurang subur tumbuh rambutnya pada sore. Lakukan hal tersebut sebelum menjelang tidur. Biarkan demikian selama satu malam. Pada pagi harinya, cucilah bersamaan dengan waktu mandi pagi.

Tips Menyuburkan Rambut

Tips Kecantikan kali ini tentang rambut. Banyak orang yang ingin menumbuhkan rambut dengan cepat atau menyuburkan rambut dan bulu lainnya. Banyak faktor yang menyebabkan lebat tidaknya rambut seseorang. Nah, bagi anda yang ingin menumbuhkan rambut dengan cepat, simak artikel ini.

Sebenarnya saya sudah sering memberikan tips-tips seputar rambut, seperti beberapa tips kecantikan rambut berikut (klik pada judul untuk membacanya!):

Cara memakai kondom yang benar.

Kondom merupakan alat kontrasepsi dan pencegah penyakit menular seksual (PMS) yang banyak diminati kaum adam. Selain harganya yang murah, kondom juga mudah didapat.

Karena fungsi utama dari kondom adalah untuk alat kontasepsi dan pencegah tertularnya penyakit kelamin, maka perlu diperhatikan cara memakai kondom yang benar.

Tips Memilih Kondom
Sebelum digunakan, pilihlah kondom yang cocok untuk anda, sesuai dengan kriteria berikut:

-Ukuran yang Tepat
Pilihlah kondom yang sesuai dengan ukuran penis anda. Ukuran yang tepat penting untuk kenyamanan pada saat bercinta dan tentunya efektifitas kondom itu sendiri.

-Coba Berbagai Merek
Coba berbagai merek dan jenis untuk menemukan kondom mana yang lebih nyaman dan tepat untuk anda dan pasangan anda. Walau kelihatannya sama, tetapi masing-masing kondom memiliki bahan, tekstur dan kenyamanan yang berbeda.

Cara Memakai Kondom
Setelah menemukan kondom yang cocok, sekarang saatnya anda menggunakan kondom tersebut. Berikut langkah-langkahnya:

- Buka bungkus kondom perlahan-lahan. Sobek pada bagian pinggir. Jangan merobek pada bagian tengah bungkus kondom, karena dapat merusak kondom yang ada didalamnya.

- Pakai kondom perlahan-lahan saat ereksi penuh dengan cara menggulungnya sampai ke pangkal penis.

- Jika ujung kondom tidak memiliki ruang penampung, tariklah sekitar satu sentimeter agar air mani tertampung di sana. Hindari juga masuknya udara pada area kosong tersebut, agar tidak merusak kondom.
***
- Pasca ejakulasi, segera lepaskan kondom tersebut sebelum penis anda lemas. Pegang pangkal kondom dengan jari, guna mencegah sperma tumpah atau merembes.

- Jangan sembarangan membuang kondom bekas tersebut, untuk menghindari penularan penyakit seksual.

Itulah cara memilih dan memakai kondom yang baik dan benar yang blog tips Kesehatan tulis dan rangkum dari berbagai sumber. Semoga tips'nya bermanfaat bagi anda dan pasang anda.