Health

In Wisconsin, health officials are attempting to contact 750 people who may have had exposure to rubella.  The people in question may have come into contact with a woman suffering from the virus which is highly contagious.  Signs of Rubella infection, aka German Measles, include high temperature, a rash, respiratory infections as well as swollen glands.

Many of the persons who may have had contact with the infected woman work at the United States Bank Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Government officals ask anyone who may have come into contact with the woman to go to the doctor for a check-up and make sure they are immunized.

A new study by British researchers has concluded that weight lifting may result in hairloss.

According to the research, weight lifting elevates levels of testosterone that rise more and more during a 45 minute period after exercise.  According to British newspaper The Sun, testosterone levels then begin to drop as they are changed into dihydrotestosterone (DHT).  DHT has been shown to make hair follicles and hair roots smaller.

The lead researcher of the new study has concluded that there is absolutely no doubt that weight lifting causes additional baldness.  While family genes may cause baldness, a weight lifter may experience additional thinning of hair.

Reports of potential lead contamination on astroturf fields have had officials shut down several playing fields in New Jersey alone.

It's not just the astroturf brand but all artificial playing field surfaces that are being called into question.  On Fox News, Dr. Stephen Sinatra of the Connecticut School of Medicine said that this is just another example of our modern, toxic environment.  When children go out on a playing field, they put their fingers into the dirt causing the toxins to enter the mouth. 

The doctor admitted that most of us our fine because lead & toxin poisons are very insedious.  However, effects of these types of poisonings may not show up for decades. 

Any behavioral or learning difficulties in children may be symptoms of lead poisoning as well as vomiting & headache. 

A new study in Salt Lake City has concluded that women who work have less children than their stay-at-home counterparts.  And, women who go to work in academic world have even less kids.

Data was studied from the 2000 Census to come to the conclusion that male faculty were also 21 percent less likely than male physicians to have a child.  Female faculty was 41 percent less likely to have a household with children than female medical doctors.

Researchers speculate that this results from the fact that  academic professionals take longer to have a secure job than doctors and therefore affects fertility.

A study that followed the habits of close to 90,000 women during a 24 year period has shown that those women who stuck closely to a DASH diet reduced their risk for heart disease and stroke

DASH, which stands for Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension,  limits starchy foods that may help lower blood pressure. The diet also recommends a higher intake of fruits, vegetables and grains while advising less intake of red meats, sodiums and soda drinks.

The new research focused on women in their mid- to late thirties and assigned them a DASH score based on how closely they followed the DASH dietary guidelines.  In previous studies, results showed that following the recommendations lowered blood pressure.

The new research now proves that DASH also reduces chance of coronary heart disease  and stroke for women.  It is now to be seen if the diet will also have the same effect on other demographic groups.

Because of reports of potential bird flu infections, increased levels of quarintine have been issued in certain parts of South Korea.

In the South Jeolla province, government officials reported that there was a suspected bird flu outbreak. This is the 29th time that there were reported cases of the deadly disease this year in the small Asian country.  One case was confirmed to be H5 type bird flu yesterday.

Increased quarintines in South Korea mean more restrictive travel of humans and birds.  This is the third time there has been a South Korean bird flu outbreak in five years.

People who use the anti-smoking drug Champix may want to think about quitting the drug.  Over a hundred bad drug reactions have been reported during the first year of Champix on the market.

Health Canada published their study of Champix and claim that 50% of the drug reactions involved psychiatric problems including aggressive behavior, depression, suicidal thoughts and seven suicide attempts.  The other half of the drug reactions involved sleeplesness, weird dreams and anxiety.

In February 2008, the FDA issues a warning to notify the public of potential bad reactions to Champix.  Canadian officials are now also reviewing the drug.

New research suggest that pregnant women smokers are increasing heart health risks  for their babies.

The new study in the Journal Pediatrics concluded that if a pregnant mother smokes within 30 days of giving birth, they were more likely to have infants with congenital heart problems.  The link between smoking pregnant mothers and congenital heart disease for their unborn child went up the more they smoked.

The study analyzed more than 3000 infants with heart problems and compared them with almost 4000 infants who showed no signs of heart defects.  

Congenital heart problems in infants mostly involve septal heart defects.