In race to launch insurance sites, states that started small win out

The federal health-insurance website may have tripped going out of the gate, but most of the state-run exchanges aren’t doing much better. Only some thousands of people have managed to sign up on any one website, and several have shut down more than once for a tune-up and a reboot.

Ironically, states that started out with the smallest ambitions seem to have led the pack.

Kentucky, with its slimmed-down exchange and small population to serve, and Washington, with its emphasis on window-shopping before getting out the wallet, may have enrolled more people — faster — than states like Maryland, which tried to emulate the federal do-it-all-at-once approach, experts say.

Brett Graham, a former insurance executive who directs Leavitt Partners’ health-insurance exchange practice, likens it to building a house.

“If you are building a house and you want to occupy it by a certain date, you have to have the plumbing and electricity done,” says Graham, whose company consults on private health exchanges.

“But if you choose not to finish the basement or you choose not the finish the deck or not to have the yard done … you will still be able to have shelter.”

Leaving off those extras appears to have worked for Kentucky, where officials say they've enrolled more than 15,000 people on the exchange, and Washington, which reports 30,000. Maryland, meantime, reports 16,000 people have filled out applications online but only 1,100 or so actually have enrolled. Maryland has about 800,000 people without health insurance, compared to Kentucky’s 650,000.

Logins create logjams in many states

“Many of the state websites, though not all, elected to simplify the process and allow you to shop without creating a login and submitting all your personal information,” says Caroline Pearson, a health reform expert at consulting firm Avalere Health.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington all let users skip the login. Maryland and Washington, D.C., appear to have been bogged down at least in part by making users create a login identity. Only 164 people in Washington D.C. had managed to actually buy insurance online as of the last report. 

But even those states have had trouble. Covered California, the state’s health-insurance program, was taken down for work over the weekend. State officials said 16,000 Californians had completed applications online in the first five days but they’ve stopped reporting numbers now.

Most states have stopped, in fact. Connecticut offered daily updates until Oct. 11, when it said 1,443 people had signed up for private insurance and 1,544 had been directed to Medicaid. Minnesota’s state-run health-insurance exchange reported last week that about 5,600 households had completed applications for coverage in its first two weeks.

It’s not necessarily easy to make a state-by-state comparison of who has actually managed to enroll because each state reports it differently. The federal government is not reporting at all until November, officials said.

Actual enrollment figures will have to wait

Insurance industry sources say some states are not planning to send applications to the companies until Nov. 1, meaning it’s not clear how many of those applications are complete and will actually go through.

According to the Advisory Board Company, 134,801 customers had applied at 15 state-run exchanges as of Oct. 16 and 48,457 people had actually managed to enroll in a plan. The federal government is counting on getting 7 million signed up by the end of next year.

There’s time: People don’t have to sign up until Dec. 15 if they want insurance starting on the very first day possible, Jan. 1. And they have until March 31 to enroll for 2014.

The federal government has been stuck completely running or at least helping to run the health-insurance marketplaces in 36 states. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., are running their own.

“There is a high variability in the overall sophistication and searchability of the state websites,” Pearson says. Some let users see right away if a particular prescription drug is covered by a certain plan; others have left that off. “Whether you can see if your physician is part of the network was supposed to be part of the state exchanges, but they can add that later,” Pearson says.

Nevada, she says, has a “sophisticated” option for searching for drugs. But any site would find it easy to add a link to a formulary — a list of covered prescriptions.

Some states are taking a relaxed approach. Hawaii’s online site didn’t even go up until Oct. 15. Before that, people could sign up by phone or in person, as President Obama has urged users of the federal websites to do if they are in a hurry.

And Delaware didn’t seem even a little bit embarrassed to introduce its first successful customer, 59-year-old Janice Baker of Selbyville, two weeks after the exchanges opened. 

Lack of sleep may increase Alzheimer's risk

A new study suggests that reduced sleep and poor sleep quality may be linked to increased build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of older adults - a sign of Alzheimer's disease. This is according to a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Researchers from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health say that previous research has linked disturbed sleep to cognitive impairment in older individuals.

They note that those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been shown to spend more time awake and have higher levels of fragmented sleep, compared with those who do not have the disorder.

Sleep patterns have previously been linked to beta-amyloid plaques. Research has indicated that changes in beta-amyloid levels may be regulated by sleep-wake patterns, the researchers say.

Therefore, they wanted to determine whether there is a link between beta-amyloid deposition and sleep variables within community-dwelling older adults.

The research team analyzed data from 70 adults with a mean age of 76 years, taken from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. All participants were free of any form of dementia.

The participants were required to self-report their sleep patterns, disclosing the mean hours of sleep they had each night, how often they woke throughout the night, whether they had trouble falling asleep and whether they woke earlier than planned.

Their beta-amyloid deposition in the brain was measured using various brain imaging techniques.

Lack of sleep 'increases beta-amyloid deposition'

The participants reported sleep duration ranging from no more than 5 hours, to more than 7 hours each night.

When comparing sleep duration with brain imaging showing the participant's beta-amyloid deposition, it was found that shorter overall nights' sleep duration and poor sleep quality were linked to increased beta-amyloid build-up.

However, the researchers note that the number of times a person woke during the night was not linked to an increase in beta-amyloid build-up.

The study authors say:

"Our results are consistent with those from animal research in which sleep deprivation increased interstitial fluid beta-amyloid levels.

These studies raise the possibility that poor sleep may promote beta-amyloid deposition, but they also raise questions about the mechanisms linking sleep/wake patterns and beta-amyloid burden."

Promoting healthy sleep 'may offset AD risk'

The researchers add that these findings could have significant public health implications, noting that AD is the most common form of dementia and almost half of older adults with the disorder report insomnia-based symptoms.

"Because late-life sleep disturbance can be treated, interventions to improve sleep or maintain healthy sleep among older adults may help prevent or slow AD to the extent that poor sleep promotes AD onset and progression," the study authors say.

"This result would have a substantial effect on the independence and quality of life of older adults and their families and on the significant health care costs associated with AD."

The researchers conclude that intervention trials are warranted in order to determine whether longer sleep duration and better sleep quality may prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Research into beta-amyloid deposition in the brain continues. Medical News Today reported earlier this month that researchers from the University of Rochester have suggested sleep "detoxes" the brain by flushing out the waste products of neural activity.

A new biological clock measures altered DNA, not birthday candles

Move over birthday candles, and step aside telomeres; there may be a new kind of biological clock in town. And this one may prove useful in predicting where age-related diseases such as cancer are most likely to strike.

The proposed new body clock measures DNA methylation -- the process by which genes are altered as the body's cells differentiate and their genetic programs change to meet new demands. Researchers pored over the DNA of some 8,000 samples from 51 different tissues and cells -- including blood, brain, muscle, heart, lungs, liver and pancreas --  to devise a formula by which DNA methylation could be used to determine the age of the tissue from which the tested cells are drawn.

Horvath's research, published Monday in the journal Genome Biology, makes clear that the answer to the question "how old is this person?" may change depending on which tissue is checked.

In a single individual, the "DNAm" ages of diverse tissues largely converge on one number. But certain tissues may diverge from the norm. By comparing a specific tissue's "DNAm" age with the person's chronological age -- or with the DNAm age suggested by the person's other tissues -- physicians may one day be able to identify organs or tissues that are aging at an accelerated rate. That, in turn, may allow them to identify tissues that are vulnerable to abnormal processes such as cancer, or already under attack.

The author of the new research, UCLA bioinformatician Steve Horvath, found that a woman's breast tissue routinely tests as being older than her chronological age by two to three years. That, the authors speculated, may help explain why breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women. Looking at the methylation of cells taken from the breasts of women with breast cancer, Horvath observed that tissue near the site of a tumor was, on average, 12 years older by DNAm standards than the rest of her body.

By contrast, musculoskeletal tissue and cardiac muscle typically look younger on DNAm readings than their owner's actual years -- owing, perhaps, to the rejuvenating effects of stem cells that remain relatively plentiful in those tissues through life, and come to the rescue whenever injury or disease set in.

The resulting "clock" also may one day offer scientists a way to measure whether anti-aging measures and regenerative medicine are delivering on their promise of turning back the hands of time.

Not surprisingly, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells -- adult cells that have been manipulated to revert to near-embryonic form -- were found to have an age of near zero as measured by this technique.

An exhaustive scan of the 121 sets of data on DNA methylation collected from patients both healthy and sick also showed that we age at different rates over our lifespans.

"The clock's ticking rate isn't constant," Horvath said. "It ticks much faster when we're born and growing from children into teenagers, then slows to a constant rate when we reach 20."

Horvath said he aims to develop and extend his body clock technique by looking at whether measures that stop the body's DNAm clock also stop the aging process, or whether doing so has negative effects. Meanwhile, UCLA has filed a provisional patent on Horvath's DNAm bioticker.

Bottle-Feeding May Raise Risk of Stomach Obstruction in Infants

MONDAY, Oct. 21 — Bottle-feeding might increase the risk that infants will develop a common but serious form of stomach obstruction that causes projectile vomiting.

Researchers found that babies were at least twice as likely to suffer hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) if they were bottle-fed versus breast-fed, according to findings published online Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The risk also increased with the age of the mother, said study co-author Dr. Jarod McAteer, a surgical resident at the University of Washington in Seattle. Children of mothers older than 35 had a five to six times increased risk of pyloric stenosis.

“From a clinician’s standpoint, it’s just one more study that suggests that breast-feeding is important to the health of a newborn,” McAteer said. “Much data beyond this study supports breast-feeding as a much better thing for the infant. Physicians should take it into account and consider whether it’s an important enough factor to influence their counseling of patients.”

HPS occurs due to a thickening of the smooth muscle layer of the pylorus, the passage between the stomach and small intestines. Surgery is required to remove the obstruction.

The condition occurs in about two out of 1,000 babies in the United States, and is one of the more common causes of intestinal obstruction during infancy, the study authors noted in background information. Most infants who develop pyloric stenosis are usually between 3 to 5 weeks old.

Dr. Ben Hoffman, medical director of the Children’s Safety Center at Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, said that “pyloric stenosis is a problem that’s near and dear to the hearts of both pediatricians and pediatric surgeons.”

Hoffman, who was not involved with the study, added, “For a long time, we’ve accepted that we don’t know why it happens. The association between bottle-feeding and pyloric stenosis is certainly intriguing.”

McAteer and his colleagues used Washington state birth certificates and discharge data to examine births between 2003 and 2009. The study included 714 infants admitted to the hospital with HPS. Birth certificates recorded each baby’s feeding status.

Researchers found that the incidence of HPS decreased in Washington from 14 per 10,000 births in 2003 to nine per 10,000 births in 2009. Breast-feeding prevalence increased during that time, from 80 percent in 2003 to 94 percent in 2009.

About 19.5 percent of infants who developed HPS were bottle-fed, compared with 9 percent of babies who were breast-fed, the researchers reported.

The study also delved deeper, looking into how other risk factors might influence the risk of pyloric stenosis, McAteer said.

Neither the sex of the child nor whether the mother smoked appeared to play a role in HPS risk, but doctors did find that the age of the mother might be a factor, McAteer said.

Children of mothers under 20 who were bottle-fed ran a negligible risk versus those who were breast-fed, McAteer said. But children of mothers aged 20 to 35 had a two to three times increased risk if they were bottle-fed, and children of mothers older than 35 had a five to six times increased risk.

This opened up some speculation that hormones could play a part in HPS risk, McAteer said, noting that many baby formulas are soy-based and baby bottles could contain the plastics chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Both soy and BPA can influence levels of the female hormone estrogen in the human body.

“There may be some kind of an interaction with the mother’s age and estrogen that could have some effect on pyloric muscle tone,” McAteer said. “But it’s still very much an open question.”

While parents should consider this information when choosing how to feed their infant, Hoffman cautioned that the study’s results are based on statistical observations.

“They did a good job showing there is an association, but it is important for people to realize this is far from causality,” Hoffman said. “It gets us a little further along the journey to better understanding. I look forward to the next steps. If we want to answer the question, we really need a large multicenter prospective study to help us get closer to an answer.”

Baldness treatment a 'step closer'

Scientists say they have moved a step closer to banishing bald spots and reversing receding hairlines after human hair was grown in the laboratory.

A joint UK and US team was able to create new hairs from tissue samples.

Far more research is needed, but the group said its technique had the "potential to transform" the treatment of hair loss.

The study results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

There are baldness therapies including drugs to slow the loss of hairs, and transplants, which move hair from the back of the head to cover bald spots.

The scientists at the University of Durham, in the UK, and Columbia University Medical Centre, in the US, were trying to actually grow new hairs.

Their plan was to start with material taken from the base of a hair and use it to grow many new hairs.

Tricky feat

But human hair has been tricky to grow despite successes in animal studies.

Whenever human tissue was taken from the dermal papillae, the cells which form the base of each hair follicle, the cells would transform into skin instead of growing new hairs.

However, the group found that by clumping the cells together in "3D spheroids" they would keep their hairy identity.

Tissue was taken from seven people and grown in 3D spheroids. These were then transplanted into human skin which had been grafted on to the backs of mice.

After six weeks, new hair follicles formed in five out of the seven cases and some new tiny hairs began to form.

Prof Colin Jahoda, from Durham University, told the BBC a cure for baldness was possible but it was too soon for men to be hanging up the toupee.

"It's closer, but it's still some way away because in terms of what people want cosmetically they're looking for re-growth of hair that's the same shape, the same size, as long as before, the same angle. Some of these are almost engineering solutions.

"Yeah I think it [baldness] will eventually be treatable, absolutely."

He added: "It's hard to say exactly how long that would take, but the fact that we've done it now should reawaken interest."

Any future therapy would involve transplanting cells which have been grown in the laboratory so safety is a concern.

There would be a risk of infection and the cells could become abnormal, or even cancerous, while being grown.

Baldness cures may not be the first application of the research. Prof Jahoda believes the findings will be used to improve the quality of skin grafts used after severe burns.

Prof Angela Christiano, from Columbia University, said: "This approach has the potential to transform the medical treatment of hair loss.

"Current hair-loss medications tend to slow the loss of hair follicles or potentially stimulate the growth of existing hairs, but they do not create new hair follicles.

"Our method, in contrast, has the potential to actually grow new follicles using a patient's own cells."

Buying breast milk online? It may be contaminated

Thanks to the Internet, women who produce an abundant supply of breast milk and those in need of it for their babies have more opportunities than ever to connect. But a first-of-its-kind study finds high levels of harmful bacteria and contamination in breast milk purchased via the Web.

Researchers' analysis of 100 samples of breast milk bought on a public milk-sharing website found three in four samples contained either high levels of bacterial growth overall or contained disease-causing bacteria, including fecal contamination.

The findings were likely the result of poor hygiene during milk collection, the use of either unclean containers or unsanitary breast milk pump parts, or compromised shipping practices, says epidemiologist Sarah Keim, lead author of the study in November's Pediatrics, published online today.

Nineteen percent of sellers did not include dry ice or another cooling method when shipping, according to the study.

It is unknown exactly how common purchasing breast milk online is, but a soon-to-be published journal article by Keim found 13,000 postings on U.S. milk sharing websites in 2011.

It is "totally normal" for there to be certain bacteria in human breast milk, says Keim, a principal investigator with the Center for Biobehavioral Health at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Some are "very important and healthy for babies and the development of their immune system and digestive system," she says.

This study focused on bacteria which "are generally pretty harmless as long as they don't grow out of control" but have also been associated with illnesses in infants linked to contaminated milk, including staphylococcus and streptococcus, says Keim. It also focused on bacteria associated with disease even at low levels, such as salmonella and E. coli.

Researchers compared the online-purchased breast milk samples to samples of unpasteurized breast milk donated to a non-profit milk bank.

Twelve such banks throughout the U.S. follow strict guidelines set by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America and provide pasteurized milk from carefully screened donors to fragile and premature infants, primarily in hospitals. Pasteurization kills the harmful bacteria before the milk reaches an infant.

In all the samples analyzed, the Web-purchased milk had higher bacteria counts and were more likely to contain disease-related types of bacteria, even though the donated milk from the milk banks had yet to be pasteurized:

-- 72% had any detectable gram-negative bacteria, which are associated with bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections, meningitis and fecal contamination vs. 35% of milk bank samples

-- 63% tested positive for staphylococcus vs. 25% of milk bank samples

-- 36% tested positive for streptococcus vs. 4% of milk bank samples

-- 3% were contaminated with salmonella vs. none of the milk bank samples.

All of the samples tested negative for HIV, says Keim, but the laboratory analysis to determine "the authenticity" of the breast milk is just beginning, she says, adding: "We're a little suspicious of some of the milk."

"This study confirms what people have suspected in terms of online milk purchases," says Anne Eglash, a family medicine physician with University of Wisconsin Health in Mt. Horeb and a co-founder of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. She was not involved in the new study.

"You don't know what you're getting, you don't know the quality, how honest people are about how old the milk is, and so many other issues. It's important to realize that this may not be the safest way to get breast milk when you don't have enough," she says.

But Eglash, co-medical director of the still-in-development Mother's Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, cautions against "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" when it comes to the sharing of raw, unpasteurized human breast milk between lactating women and those who cannot, for medical or other reasons, provide their own milk for their healthy, full-term babies.

"I don't think the message should be that women should never share milk, but that this behavior of buying it on the Web from someone you don't know should not happen," she says. Eglash emphasizes that "you don't want unpasteurized milk that has various bacteria going to an infant whose immune system is vulnerable," but says there are safe ways to share human breast milk with healthy infants who are not your own, as well as pasteurize it at home.

The Food and Drug Administration warns against feeding babies breast milk acquired directly from individuals or through the Internet, citing safety concerns; the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages feeding preterm infants human breast milk from unscreened donors.

Keim, author of the new study, says her findings "may not apply to situations where milk is shared among friends or relatives or donated rather than sold. The potential risks of those situations are less well understood."

California residents cautioned to look out for yellow fever mosquito

The polka-dotted bug, which can also carry dengue, bites during the day and can lay eggs in less than a teaspoon of standing water.

FRESNO — A mosquito that can carry dengue and yellow fever has been found in California, prompting intense eradication efforts in the Central Valley and warnings from officials about how to keep the pest from spreading.

"It could change the way we live in California, if we don't stop it," said Tim Phillips of the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District. "Imagine not feeling safe to sit out in your backyard in the afternoons."

The yellow fever mosquito, or Aedes aegypti — a white polka-dotted bug that bites during the day and can lay its eggs in less than a teaspoon of water — was first detected in June in Madera.

"We were shocked," said Leonard Irby, district manager of Madera's abatement program. "We never expected this mosquito in California."

An eradication effort was launched that included agents going door to door to warn people about standing water. But soon the mosquito was found in Clovis and Fowler. It turned up in August in the Bay Area's San Mateo County, and this week in Fresno. Officials are spraying insecticide around infected homes.

"This affects all of California," Irby said. "It requires everyone's help: Turn over plant saucers, wash out dog bowls, remember this mosquito can lay eggs even in the cracks of cement if water is left there for a couple of days." The bug can even lay eggs in flowering plants such as bromeliads.

None of the mosquitoes have been found in the Los Angeles area. Across California, vector control agents constantly trap mosquitoes to look for any invasive species.

Because of a recent infestation of the Asian Tiger mosquito in Southern California, agencies were already monitoring more traps, said Mark Daniel, director of operations for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

"There is no evidence of aegypti in Los Angeles. But you can never say with 100% certainty," he said. "Our brother and sister agencies in the Central Valley are being very aggressive and we're on high alert."

So far, none of the trapped mosquitoes have carried disease. The California Department of Public Health reported 200 cases of dengue fever since 2010, all contracted out of the country.

"Presently, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya do not occur within California," Dr. Gilberto Chavez, deputy director of the California Department of Public Health's Center for Infectious Disease, said in an email. "There is presently no risk of these diseases being acquired locally and traveling within the state."

But the state is warning the medical community to be on the lookout for cases.

Yellow fever is a virus that causes fever, chills, nausea, headache and a prominent backache. Extreme cases cause jaundice, and can be deadly. Dengue causes head and muscle aches, a rash similar to measles and can also kill. Chikungunya is characterized by high fever, rash and months of joint pain.

It is not clear where the bugs are coming from.

The first detections were in affluent neighborhoods. Vector Control agents asked people whether they'd traveled recently or bought plants. Many had. But agents have found no mosquitoes at local nurseries or big box stores and few shared travel destinations, officials said. So far, they've found nothing in common among the infected areas.

As they searched for clues, officials launched a public awareness campaign, including posters at the Big Fresno Fair.

"A lady read the flyer and she remembered earlier thinking, 'Hmm, there are mosquitoes biting during the day. That's different' and noticing bites on her baby," Phillips said. "She went home, trapped a mosquito and called us."

Phillips was on a Department of Public Health conference call about abatement efforts when a biologist identified the mosquito from the woman's house as Aedes aegypti.

He sent a photo of the brown bug with white markings to the other 14 people on the call. There was silence.

"When the aegypti was in Madera there was concern, then Clovis — more concern, then it got to Fowler and it was 'Criminy!'" Phillips said. "But, now Fresno. It's got some people questioning whether we can stop it." 

The hope is that winter temperatures will freeze the eggs and eradicate the bugs. But people are often told to bring sensitive plants indoors during a freeze. The mosquito lays eggs just above the water line in containers. After the eggs dry out, they can still survive when more water is added, experts said.

The mosquito has been in some parts of the United States for centuries, arriving on New World ships from Africa. It is present in Florida, Texas and Arizona. But this is believed to be the first time it has reached California.

"We don't want it here," Phillips said. "But it's going to take a heck of a lot to stop it." 

Actelion hits six-year high after favorable FDA approval for drug

Shares in Swiss group Actelion climbed more than five percent to their highest since late 2007 on Monday on optimism it has a viable product to secure sales and profit after U.S. approval for a new heart and lung drug with a favorable label.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the Swiss biotech company's pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Opsumit late on Friday and, notably, did not impose a black box warning requiring ongoing mandatory liver testing.

This gives the medicine an advantage over Actelion's older product and current main seller, Tracleer, which had sales of 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.66 billion) in 2012 but loses patent protection from 2015.

"Opsumit's FDA approved label is close to a best case outcome, in our view," said Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Parkes, who has a 'buy' rating on the stock and raised his price target to 72 francs from 70 francs.

Shares in Actelion were up 5.3 percent at 68.00 francs by 0752 GMT, outperforming a 0.5 percent firmer European healthcare sector index.

Analysts at Jefferies agreed and said the drug had the "unique indications" of delaying disease progression and reducing hospitalization due to PAH.

The brokerage, which forecasts peak sales of $1.4 billion assuming a 40 percent new PAH patient share at a 15 percent price discount to Tracleer and Gilead Sciences' rival drug Letairis, also raised its price target to 79 francs from 71 francs.

Analysts at Berenberg were more cautious and said the requirement for doctors to carry out pre-therapy liver testing before prescribing Opsumit was slightly more burdensome than what is required for Letairis.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, is characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries connecting the heart to the lungs, which causes the right side of the heart to work harder than normal and leads to shortness of breath.

Opsumit belongs to a class of drugs known as endothelin receptor antagonists, which relax the pulmonary arteries and decrease that pressure.

Flu virus wipes out first wave of immune response

The immune system has the capacity to "remember" particular viruses and store those details in B memory cells that reside in the lungs to help ward off future infections. But a new study shows the flu virus takes advantage of this and uses the way the memory cells store its details to recognize and kill them, thus wiping out the immune system's first wave of defense against virus re-infection.

The study, which was led by the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA, is published online in a recent issue of Nature.

When a virus enters the body, the immune system sets about creating virus-specific B cells that make antibodies specific to the pathogen so they can bind to it and disarm it.

These memory cells multiply and give off antibodies that slow down virus proliferation and it eventually dies away.

In the case of the flu virus, the immune system then retains a population of virus-speficic B cells in the lungs - they are on "standby" should the virus try to reinfect at a later date.

The memory B cells hold their virus-specific information in high-affinity virus-specific receptors on their cell surfaces, so they are ready to spot and bind to that particular virus when it arrives.

But it seems that their strength is also their weakness, because the flu virus uses this show of arms as a way to locate those very cells, gain entry into them, and set about destroying their antibody factories, and eventually destroy the cells themselves.

Having thus disarmed the immune system's first line of defense, the virus has now bought enough time to replicate itself to a sufficient level to cause infection before the immune system has time to respond with a second wave.

Study co-author and postdoctoral researcher Joseph Ashour says:

"We can now add this to the growing list of ways that the flu virus has to establish infection."

To demonstrate this sequence of events, the team used mice they had bred to have B cells that were specific to a particular strain of flu.

The procedures they used were complex, but they enabled them to track the interaction of a specific flu virus with B memory cells in an unprecedented way to establish exactly how the virus neutralizes B cells specific to itself.

The team sees no reason why this might not work for other types of virus, as co-author Stephanie Dougan, also a postdoctoral researcher, explains:

"We can now make highly effective immunological models for a variety of pathogens. This is actually a perfect model for studying memory immune cells."

Dr. Ashour says the study could lead to more effective vaccines for seasonal flu and may even suggest new ways to create immunity.

Funds from the Cancer Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Human Frontiers Science Program helped finance the study.

In 2012, researchers from Northwestern University published a study that gave another example of how the flu virus disrupts the immune system. They showed the virus decreases the production of key immune system-regulating proteins by altering the expression of genetic switches in human lung cells.

Polio outbreak fears in war-ravaged Syria

Experts are concerned that polio may have made a return to war-torn Syria.

The World Health Organization says it has received reports of the first suspected outbreak in the country in 14 years.

Syrian's Ministry of Public Health is launching an urgent response, but experts fear the disease will be hard to control amid civil unrest.

Immunisation is almost impossible to carry out in regions under intense shellfire.

As a result, vaccination rates have been waning - from 95% in 2010 to an estimated 45% in 2013.

At least a third of the country's public hospitals are out of service, and in some areas, up to 70% of the health workforce has fled.

Outbreak risks have also increased due to overcrowding, poor sanitation and deterioration in water supply.

More than four million Syrians who have relocated to less volatile areas of the country are mostly living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

The WHO says it is already seeing increased cases of measles, typhoid and hepatitis A in Syria.

Dr Jaouad Mahjour, director of the department for communicable diseases at WHO's regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean, said: "Given the scale of population movement both inside Syria and across borders, together with deteriorating environmental health conditions, outbreaks are inevitable."

The cluster of suspected polio cases was detected in early October 2013 in Deir al-Zour province.

Initial results from a laboratory in Damascus indicate that at least two of the cases could indeed be polio.

A surveillance alert has been issued for the region to actively search for additional potential cases. Supplementary immunisation activities in neighbouring countries are currently being planned.

WHO's International Travel and Health recommends that all travellers to and from polio-infected areas be fully vaccinated against polio.

Most people infected with the poliovirus have no signs of illness and are never aware they have been infected. These symptomless people carry the virus in their intestines and can "silently" spread the infection to thousands of others before the first case of polio paralysis emerges.

Polio is spread by eating food or drink contaminated with faeces or, more rarely, directly from person-to-person via saliva.

Treadmill classes mix it up with workhorse of the gym

For many outdoor runners the idea of pounding a treadmill means trading daylight for drudgery but as the air chills, fitness experts say treadmill classes can hone efficiency and form and add a dash of glamour to indoor running.

"There's a little snobbery about running on a treadmill," said David Siik, a track and field sprinter turned treadmill class fitness instructor at Equinox, the upscale chain of fitness centers. "Most racers are a little ashamed of running indoors."

Siik, who is now based in Los Angeles, turned reluctantly to treadmill running after a post-college stint in New York City.

"I was sick of running into cars trying to get to Central Park," he explained, "and New York in January is not always the friendliest place to run."

Now the humble treadmill has him hooked.

"I still really enjoy running outside, but there is nothing better than the ability to calculate and monitor your goals on a treadmill," he said. "You're running on this computer."

Siik, 33, believes too many people get on the treadmill without knowing what to do.

"They hit ‘on' and then they're clueless," said Siik, who tries to bring the energy of a spin class to his 45-minute treadmill workout class, which includes three runs, each progressively harder, after an initial warm-up.

The treadmill is by far the most popular cardio machine, accounting for 58 percent of home fitness sales in 2012, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, a percentage that has stayed consistent over the past years.

The elliptical trainer, at eight per cent, is a distant second.

Melanie Douglass, a Utah-based dietitian and trainer with ICON Health and Fitness, whose products include cardio equipment, has also taught classes on the treadmill, which she calls her preferred piece of equipment.

"People always work more efficiently (on the treadmill), because the motor and belt help you maintain a consistent pace," said Douglass.

She said people err when they go too slow, or do the same thing day after day.

"Exercise is not supposed to be comfortable," she explained. "You have to challenge your body."

Dr. Michele Olson, professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, said besides teaching proper running and walking form, classes help the exerciser learn "the bells and whistles" of the modern machine.

And unlike outdoor running, training on a treadmill ensures you are running at your intended pace, she said. Simply varying the grade, or incline, every minute will push up the calorie burning.

But that's just the beginning.

"We've researched and studied walking and running on treadmills in all directions," Olson said. "You burn more calories moving sideways and backwards, particularly at walking speeds."

She even likes to see people with their feet on the floor behind the treadmill walking on it with their hands.

"After a set of push-ups, treadmill walk with your hands," she suggests. "Your shoulder girdle will become a beast providing you with both upper body strength and endurance in those under-aerobically used upper body muscles."

Siik said using a treadmill is the best 30 to 45 minutes of cardio anyone can get inside a gym.

"The beautiful thing about a treadmill is that it will never lie to you. It's a brutally honest machine," he added.

Mosquitoes Carrying Dengue, Yellow Fever Viruses Spotted In State

Mosquitoes carrying the yellow fever and dengue diseases spotted around the state. Vector control experts are trying to kill them off before the diseases attack people. They are going door-to-door to hunt for signs of Aedes aegypti.

The mosquito carrying diseases were spotted in San Mateo County in August. Later it was seen in two other counties in California.

Tropical illnesses are not usual in California. Apart from the Aedes aegypti, the other mosquito named Aedes albopictus, or Asian tiger, was also seen in Los Angeles County over past three years. People are concerned the mosquitoes could spread to other parts of the state too. It has also worried the vector control experts.

As of now the risk of getting bitten and suffer from yellow fever or dengue is small.

Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District spokeswoman Deborah Bass said, “We don’t really have yellow fever here at all, and the only dengue fever cases are imported… What we have now, with these mosquitoes, is a mechanism for transmission.”

Dengue was almost wiped out of the US decades ago after aggressive vector control efforts. In recent years it has returned back into few southern Florida communities.

Both the diseases spread by mosquito bites only. It does not pass from human to human. So, it will be wiped out if there are no mosquitoes that carry the virus. If only one person is infected then there is no risk of larger population, says expert.

Headaches, intense pain and high temperature are the symptoms of dengue fever.

U.S. FDA approves Actelion's lung disease drug Opsumit

Actelion Ltd has won U.S. approval for its drug Opsumit, a successor to its pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Tracleer, which loses patent protection in 2015.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, is characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries connecting the heart to the lungs, which causes the right side of the heart to work harder than normal and causes shortness of breath.

Opsumit belongs to a class of drugs known as endothelin receptor antagonists, which relax the pulmonary arteries and decrease that pressure.

The drug, like others in its class, carries a boxed warning, the most serious possible, that it should not be used in pregnant women because it can harm the fetus.

The FDA based its approval on a clinical trial that showed Opsumit was effective in slowing progression of the disease.

The Swiss company reported sales of Tracleer in 2012 of 1.5 billion francs, making it the company's biggest selling product. Actelion is banking on Opsumit to make up for an expected decline in Tracleer sales once it loses market exclusivity.

Opsumit will compete with, among others, Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Letairis, which is sold outside the United States by GlaxoSmithKline Plc under the brand name Volibris.

Regular bedtimes help kids’ behavior

Bedtimes

Why young children may need regular bedtimes

THE QUESTION Might inconsistent bedtimes affect children’s behavior?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 10,230 children, 7 years old, including information since age 3 on when they went to bed and any behavioral problems. Researchers screened out children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger syndrome and autism. About 20 percent of the children did not have a regular bedtime at age 3, 9 percent did not at age 5 and 8 percent did not at age 7. Overall, children who went to bed at a consistent time had fewer behavior problems than those whose bedtimes varied. Among children who did not adhere to a regular bedtime schedule at a very young age, behavior worsened if they continued going to bed on an erratic schedule as they got older. However, behavior improved when children changed from irregular to regular bedtimes. Behavioral problems increased when children changed from regular to irregular bedtimes.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Children 7 and younger. The study researchers theorized that not having a regular bedtime could affect behavior because of “disruptions to circadian rhythms, which are slow to adapt to changes in daily schedules,” and because it could lead to sleep deprivation, which may harm a developing brain.

CAVEATS Data on bedtimes were based on the recollection of the children’s mothers. Information on behavior came from standardized assessments completed by the mothers and the children’s teachers. The study did not list what behaviors were considered bad. It also did not address total time spent sleeping.

FIND THIS STUDY Oct. 14 online issue of Pediatrics.

LEARN MORE ABOUT children’s sleep and bedtime issues at www.kidshealth.org (click “parents,” then search for “all about sleep”) and www.healthychildren.org (search for “sleep”).

Portly Taft helped usher in modern obesity care

WASHINGTON (AP) — Way before Weight Watchers or "The Biggest Loser," a president known for his girth was helping to usher in a modern approach to treating obesity.

Got a nagging doctor? The 27th president, William H. Taft did, way back in the early 1900s. A medical historian has analyzed letters between the two, complete with food diaries and daily weigh-ins surely recognizable to many of today's dieters.

Have a problem with yo-yo dieting and weight gain? Yep, Taft did, too.

Monday's report offers a rare peek at the history of obesity, through the experiences of one of the first American public figures to struggle openly with weight — and how a doctor aided in an era when physician treatment of obesity was just emerging.

Taft's "rise to political power coincided with this change in medical thinking, which led to the first celebrity weight loss patient," said Deborah Levine, an assistant professor at Rhode Island's Providence College. Her report, part of research for a book about the course of obesity in the U.S., appears Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Sports fans might recognize Taft as the latest addition to the Washington Nationals' racing presidents. History buffs know he's the only president-turned-Supreme Court chief justice. But he's also remembered as the president whose weight, at times well over 300 pounds, made headlines.

Taft hired British dieting expert Nathaniel Yorke-Davies in 1905, four years before becoming president. Then 314 pounds, Taft was worried about heartburn and other health problems — he was famously fatigued, presumably from obesity-caused sleep apnea — and possibly also about his career, Levine wrote.

The candid exchanges between doctor and patient highlight the ups and down of weight loss.

"I feel in excellent condition. I used to suffer from acidity of stomach, and I suppose that was due to overloading it," Taft wrote at one point.

Dusting off those archives is important to remind people that obesity isn't some scary new 21st-century problem, said Dr. Scott Kahan of George Washington University and the STOP Obesity Alliance.

Yes, obesity rates have surged to epidemic levels over the past few decades. But waistlines actually began to expand in the mid-19th century, as food became easier to cultivate and distribute, Kahan said. Diet books and pamphlets began flourishing. Where women's corsets offered some tightening, Levine says obesity belts were developed for men.

Even then it was clear there was no quick fix. And if you think high-calorie restaurant food is only a recent problem, well, Taft wrote a relative that all the formal dinners required in politics sabotaged his efforts. In his first year with Yorke-Davies, Taft lost 59 pounds, Levine found, only to regain it. Only after leaving the White House did Taft shed significant weight and keep it off, with help from a different doctor, she noted.

"It's really, really hard to lose weight and keep it off. If it wasn't, we'd all be thin," said Kahan, who was struck by similarities between Taft's struggles and many weight-loss efforts today. "We recognize this problem as a disease, and yet at the same time we expect people to just be able to manage it once we write down a diet for them."

Today, doctors know that for someone who's obese, shedding even 5 percent to 10 percent of the original weight can improve health, he added.

Yorke-Davies had written a popular diet book, "Foods for the Fat: A Treatise on Corpulency and a Dietary for its Cure." He and Taft had a long-distance relationship. The doctor mailed a three-page list of allowed and forbidden foods — heavy on lean meats and reducing sugar, almost a prelude to the Atkins diet. Taft was to weigh himself daily and mail a weekly report.

Levine compared the handwritten weigh-ins and the typed letters to the doctor. Sometimes Taft cheated.

And Yorke-Davies nagged, politely, but a lot. One month the doctor fussed that Taft's weight loss was only 9 pounds, not the intended 14. When Taft slacked off, the doctor wrote that he'd heard "you are much stouter than you were a few months ago."

Levine concludes that some core practices — close doctor-patient communication, tracking weight and food diaries — still are in use.

The challenge is to find a balance between helpful advice and nagging, said Dr. Mladen Golubic of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. Some of the clinic's patients opt for daily, personalized emails to track their progress.

"You don't want to be harsh," Golubic said. But "you need to nudge them."

BPA exposure may increase miscarriage risk in pregnant women

Exposure to the BPA chemical, which is commonly found in food packaging, may increase miscarriage risk in pregnant women.

A new study presented Oct. 14 at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's (ASRM) annual meeting in Boston found women with the highest levels of BPA, or bisphenol A, in their blood were significantly more likely to miscarry than women with the lowest levels of the ubiquitous chemical.

"Many studies on environmental contaminants' impact on reproductive capacity have been focused on infertility patients and it is clear that high levels of exposure affect them negatively," Dr. Linda Giudice, president of ASRM, said in a statement. "These studies extend our observations to the general population and show that these chemicals are a cause for concern to all of us."

BPA is used to line cans to prevent corrosion, but it is also found in plastic bottles, tableware and food storage containers. BPA is referred to by researchers as a "hormone-disrupting chemical" due to links to health risks including reproductive problems, neurodevelopmental delays, diabetes and obesity.

The chemical is banned in Canada and the European Union. In the United States, BPA was banned from baby bottles and sippy cups in July 2012, but the Food and Drug Administration has rejected an outright ban of the chemical, saying current scientific evidence "does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe."

Researchers recruited 114 women in early pregnancy and gave them blood tests, storing their samples. Blood was later tested in women who had given birth and women who had a miscarriage in the first trimester. They assigned women into four groups based on their blood levels of BPA from lowest to highest, and then assessed miscarriage risk for each group.

Women who had a miscarriage had higher BPA levels on average than women who had live births. Miscarriage risk rose with increasing levels of BPA in mom's blood, with women in the group with the highest levels at about an 80 percent increased risk.

Study author Dr. Ruth Lathi, director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertilty Division at Stanford University, told the Associated Press that the small study is not a major cause for alarm, but "it's far from reassuring that BPA is safe."

"It may be that women with higher BPA levels do have other risk factors" for miscarriage that might be amplified by BPA, she said.

The study's findings are considered preliminary since they were presented at a medical conference and have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

One BPA expert not involved in the new study said such research should prompt policymakers to rethink the decision not to ban the chemical from our food supply.

"The association identified with miscarriages is biologically plausible, and of great concern," Dr. Leo Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics and environmental medicine at the NYU Langone School of Medicine, told CBSNews.com in an email. "While further study is needed, the findings add to the case for revisiting the decision by FDA not to ban BPA in food uses."

Trasande's research has linked BPA exposure to increased risk for childhood obesity, and increased risk factors for heart and kidney disease in kids and teens.

In Sept., ASRM teamed up with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to publish a joint statement calling on doctors to raise awareness among pregnant women about environmental toxins and how to avoid them, and urged the government to make policy changes.

The statement noted pregnant women are exposed to about 43 different chemicals, which have the potential to increase risk for miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

"Lawmakers should require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and industry to define and estimate the dangers that aggregate exposure to harmful chemicals pose to pregnant women, infants, and children and act to protect these vulnerable populations," Dr. Jeanne A. Conry, president of ACOG, said at the time.

People who want to reduce their BPA exposure should avoid plastics with recycle codes 3 or 7, and avoid putting hot or boiling liquid into plastic containers, according to the FDA. Discard plastic bottles with scratches because they may contain bacteria that increases the release of BPA, the agency added.

"This appears to be a small scale study that cannot establish any cause-and-effect relationship," the American Chemistry Council industry group said in an emailed statement. "The weight of scientific evidence on BPA has been extensively evaluated by government and scientific bodies around the world, which have declared the chemical safe as used in food contact."

New Seats Let Airlines Squeeze in More Passengers

It's not your imagination. There really is a tighter squeeze on many planes these days.

The big U.S. airlines are taking out old, bulky seats in favor of so-called slimline models that take up less space from front to back, allowing for five or six more seats on each plane.

The changes, covering some of the most common planes flown on domestic and international routes, give the airlines two of their favorite things: More paying passengers, and a smaller fuel bill because the seats are slightly lighter. It's part of a trend among the airlines to view seats as money-makers, not just pieces of furniture. Add a few inches of legroom and airlines can charge more for tickets. Take away a few inches and they can fit more seats on the plane.

Some passengers seem to mind the tighter squeeze more than others. The new seats generally have thinner padding. And new layouts on some planes have made the aisles slightly narrower, meaning the dreaded beverage cart bump to the shoulder happens more often.

And this is all going on in coach at a time when airlines are spending heavily to add better premium seats in the front of the plane.

Whether the new seats are really closer together depends on how you measure. By the usual measure, called "pitch," the new ones are generally an inch closer together from front to back as measured at the armrest.

Airlines say you won't notice. And the new seats are designed to minimize this problem. The seats going onto Southwest's 737s have thinner seatback magazine pockets. Passengers on Alaska Airlines will find slightly smaller tray tables. United's new seats put the magazine pocket above the tray table, getting it away from passengers' knees. And seat-makers saved some space with lighter-weight frames and padding.

This allows airlines to claim that passengers have as much above-the-knee "personal space" as they did before, even if the seats are slightly closer together below the knee.

New seats going into United Airlines' Airbus A320s are an inch closer together from front to back. The new seats Southwest has put on nearly its entire fleet are 31 inches apart, about an inch less than before. In both cases, the airlines were able to add an extra row of six seats to each plane. Southwest went from 137 seats to 143. Both airlines say the new seats are just as comfortable.

United's says the new seats make each A320 1,200 pounds lighter. Southwest says the weight savings is cutting about $10 million per year in fuel spending. In addition, the extra seats allow Southwest to expand flying capacity 4 percent without adding any planes, says spokesman Brad Hawkins, while also collecting more revenue from the additional passengers.

At 6-foot-3, Mike Lindsey of Lake Elsinore, Calif., doesn't have another inch to give back to the airlines. He has flown on Southwest several times since it installed the new seats. "You can't stretch out because of the reduced legroom," he says. "It's very uncomfortable on anything longer than an hour."

Southwest flier Joe Strader now takes his billfold out of his pocket before he sits down on a flight because of the thinner cushions. Like Lindsey, he felt that he sat lower on the new seats. "The back of the seat in front of you is a little higher and makes you feel like you're sitting down in a hole," said Strader, who lives near Nashville. Hawkins said that the seat frames are the same height but the thinner cushions might make them seem lower.

Strader did notice one good aspect: When the middle seat is empty and you want to put up the armrest and stretch out, the new seats are more comfortable, he says.

Then there are passengers like Ryan Merrill. He says he didn't really notice any difference in the new seats. "I'm used to being packed in like a sardine, I just assume that's never going to change," he says.

International passengers are feeling crowded, too.

As recently as 2010, most airlines buying Boeing's big 777 opted for nine seats across. Now it's 10 across on 70 percent of newly-built 777s, Boeing says. American's newest 777s are set up 10-across in coach, with slightly narrower seats than on its older 777s.

The extra seat has generally meant skinnier aisles, and more bumps from the beverage cart for those at the end of the row. That's the biggest complaint from travelers, says Mark Koschwitz of SeatExpert.com.

"We used to recommend the aisle seats, because you could stretch out more," he says. He tells passengers who want to sleep "to bring a jacket and prop up against the window."

Boeing's new 787 could also be a tighter squeeze in coach. The plane was originally expected to have eight seats across but United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier currently flying it, went with nine across. Those seats are just 17.3 inches wide. So, passengers will have a skinnier seat for United's 12-hour flight from Houston to Lagos on a 787 than on its one-hour flight from Denver to Omaha on a different plane.

Delta Air Lines has already added slimline seats to about one-third of its fleet.

"Increasing density is a priority for us from the perspective of maximizing revenue, but the slimline seats are great because they allow us to do that without sacrificing customers' comfort," said Michael Henny, Delta's director of customer experience.

Seats from as recently as five years ago weighed almost 29 pounds, said Mark Hiller, CEO of Recaro Aircraft Seating. Its lightest seat now weighs 20. The weight savings comes from things like using plastic armrests instead of metal with a plastic cover, or on some seats replacing the metal pan that holds a passenger's posterior with mesh netting. Also, the new seats have fewer parts, reducing weight and costs.

Airplane seats from 30 years ago looked like your grandmother's BarcaLounger, said Jami Counter, senior director at SeatGuru.com, which tracks airline seats and amenities.

"All that foam cushion and padding probably didn't add all that much comfort. All that's been taken out," he said. "You haven't really lost all that much if the airline does it right."

Some Ford Trimotors built in the 1920s had wicker seats. Vern Alg has flown in one.

Alg, a former senior manager for aircraft interiors at Continental who is now a consultant for the Aircraft Interiors Expo, said his first airline flew DC-3s built in the 1940s. Their seats "were cumbersome, they were heavy," he says. "They were very, very comfortable (but) they required a great distance between the seats to achieve that comfort."

Today's closer-together coach seats are responding to a customer demand for cheap fares despite higher fuel prices, he said.

Alaska Airlines is replacing every seat in its fleet by the end of next year. The new seats will have one thing that passengers asked for: power outlets.

Those outlets are especially important as more people bring their own hand-held devices onto the plane. The airline is spending several million dollars to install both 110-volt and USB power at every coach seat, said Alaska marketing vice president Joe Sprague.

That might give travelers an extra reason to fly on Alaska, which is locked in intensive competition with Virgin America for customers in California.

The seat "is where our customers spend the greatest amount of time with us," Sprague said.

Chicken nuggets not just "meat" but blood vessels, nerve cells: Report

Scientists took a close look at the chicken nugget and discovered what some may have suspected: it's not full of what we might think of as meat.

A study published online in September in the American Journal of Medicine -- cleverly titled "The Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets Reads 'Chicken Little'" - revealed that two nuggets from fast food chains in Jackson, Miss. contained only about half of what we would consider chicken meat.

"We all know white chicken meat to be one of the best sources of lean protein available and encourage our patients to eat it," lead author Dr. Richard D. deShazo of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, said to Reuters. "What has happened is that some companies have chosen to use an artificial mixture of chicken parts rather than low-fat chicken white meat, batter it up and fry it and still call it chicken."

For the research, nuggets were preserved, dissected and stained before they were examined under a microscope.

Nugget number one was about 50 percent muscle tissue such as from the breast or thigh, which is what most people think of when they think of chicken meat. The rest of it was made from fat, blood vessels and nerves, specifically the cells that line the skin and internal organs of the chicken.

Nugget number two was 40 percent muscle. The rest was fat, cartilage and bone.

DeShazo said the study shows chicken nuggets are actually chicken by-product consisting of mostly salt, sugar and fat -- all of which are calories. What's worse, he said, is that they are marketed to kids, especially because they are tasty and relatively cheap. He said if his grandchildren asks for nuggets, he compromises by pan frying some chicken breasts with a little bit of oil.

The researchers are remaining mum on which chains the chicken came from.

National Chicken Council (NCC), a non-profit trade group representing the U.S. chicken industry, told Reuters that chicken nuggets are a great source of protein and pointed out that the study only looked at two chicken nuggets. If consumers want to know how much of what component is in their nugget, most companies either post the nutritional information in the restaurant or on the packaging.

DeShazo admitted that the sample size was rather small and that some other companies have changed their formula to use only white meat in their nuggets.

Walking May Reduce Your Risk Of Breast Cancer, Study Finds

Walk an hour a day, and you might reduce your risk of developing breast cancer, suggests a new study from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Engage in even more vigorous activities, and your risk might be cut more. This new study, out in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, is just one of many showing how great an effect our lifestyles can have on our risk for disease. And the good news is that, while more is often better, you don’t have to exercise yourself silly for there to be a significant effect.

The research team followed over 73,000 women starting in 1992-1993, when they were 50-74 years old, monitoring their risk for developing breast cancer though 2009. They asked the women about the kinds of activities they tended to engage in – walking, swimming, tennis, bicycling, jogging, and other aerobic activities – and how often they did these.

By the end of the study period, 4760 of the women developed breast cancer.

It turned out that women who engaged only in walking but did so for seven hours a week, had a 14% reduced risk of developing breast cancer over the years, compared to women who only got in three hours or less. Women who engaged in seven hours or more of vigorous physical activity had an even greater reduction in breast cancer risk – up to 25% lower – compared to women who got less than seven. The results were true even after variables like body mass index (BMI) and use of postmenopausal hormones were accounted for.

Interestingly, the average amount of time the women spent sitting was not linked to breast cancer risk, although it has been linked to other health problems, and mortality, in previous studies.

“Our results clearly support an association between physical activity and postmenopausal breast cancer, with more vigorous activity having a stronger effect,” said study author Alpa Patel in a statement. “Our findings are particularly relevant, as people struggle with conflicting information about how much activity they need to stay healthy. Without any other recreational physical activities, walking on average of at least one hour per day was associated with a modestly lower risk of breast cancer. More strenuous and longer activities lowered the risk even more.”

The current guidelines from the CDC recommend that most adults get in 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, along with muscle-strengthening exercises. This isn’t much, but many people don’t even get in this minimum amount – the current study found that 47% of women reported that walking was their only physical activity. But the results of this study highlight the idea that even walking, which is a relatively painless way to exercise for most of us, does offer some very real health benefits.

“Given that more than 60 percent of women report some daily walking,” added Patel, “promoting walking as a healthy leisure-time activity could be an effective strategy for increasing physical activity among postmenopausal women.” Though the study only followed women post-menopause, it’s very likely that the benefits of exercise extend across a lifetime, making it important for  younger women, too, to view it as an important part of staying healthy in the future.