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Are Mercury Dental Fillings Safe?

Are mercury dental fillings safe? That, fellow Health Care Zoners, is the question that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is re-visiting. In 2009, the FDA declared that dental fillings (which contain mercury) posed no risk. However, it also cautioned against its use for some vulnerable population such as pregnant women and children.

Despite said earlier decision, the FDA will be re-examining the issue with the help of a panel of outside experts who are expected to weigh in on critical questions such as how much mercury dental patients are exposed too and how much is acceptable. A public meeting is also scheduled. Various groups from anti-mercury advocates and dental industry reps who favor the use of mercury are expected to picket the meeting.

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Rivaroxaban: Game Changing Anti-Stroke Drug?

If you are suffering from atrial fibrillation, a new drug may soon be part of your therapeutic choices to improve your condition. According to a news report on the Los Angeles Times, an experimental blood thinner called rivaroxaban has been found to be “at least as good at preventing strokes as the old warhorse warfarin”.

Rivaroxaban was found to sharply reduce the risk of major bleeding among stroke patients.

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C-Difficile Drug Resistant Superbug Infections on the Rise

Despite big variations in the way health authorities monitor drug resistant infections with superbug Clostridium difficile, one thing is clear: infections are rising in Europe and are widespread.

A Europe-wide study, published in journal The Lancet, claims that the incidence of C-difficile infections in hospitals had risen to 4.1 per 10,000 patient days in 2008 from 2.45 per 10,000 patients days in 2005.

During the study, researchers followed up patients after three months and found that 22 percent of them had died, and C-difficile infection had played a part in 40 percent of those deaths.

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Are Computer Video Games Harmful to Your Kids?

Is computer video gaming harmful to your kids? A recent research from the Yale University School of Medicine suggests that computer gaming is “largely innocuous”.

The study, which covered around 4,000 high school students in Connecticut, found that only five percent of gamers showed signs of “problem gaming” such as having an irresistible urge to play, trying and failing to cut down on gaming, and feelings of tension that could only be relieved by playing.

Meanwhile, of the 95 percent of gamers who did not fall into the “problem” category, there was little evidence that the hobby was related to any negative health or academic effects. For them, playing computer games is just a normal hobby.

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Pregnancy Risks for Older Women 45 and Above

Pregnancy Risks for Older Women 45 and Above. After age 45, women who get pregnant may face higher pregnancy risks and complications. Their newborn babies also face greater health risks compared to babies born of younger moms, a study at Tel Aviv University suggests.

The study, recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that women who get pregnant after age 45 are three times more likely to experience diabetes and high blood pressure than younger women. They also have higher rates of preterm births and placenta previa, the study concludes.

Researchers behind this study arrived at their findings after looking at how nearly 80,000 women of varying ages fared while giving birth between 2000 and 2008. Among the 80,000 women, only 177 of them were 45 years old or older.

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Omega 3 Health Benefits: Healthy Gums and Teeth?

Omega 3 Health Benefits: Healthy Gums and Teeth? If you are eating foods that are rich in omega-3 such as salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna, you may have a lower risk of developing gum disease, a study suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that those who consumed intermediate high amounts of DHA, a main fish-derived omega-3 fatty acid, were less likely to develop the disease. The researchers studied more than 9,000 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2004, where eight percent of them had gum disease.

They found that the top third of patients in terms of DHA intake had a 22 percent reduction in their chance of developing gum disease, compared to those in the lowest third. Says senior researcher Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal of Harvard Medical School on their research, “[A]nti-inflammatory treatment with omega-3’s seems to help experimental periodontitis in rabbits. Our hope was to extend that to humans.”

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