Washington, D.C. (SmartAboutHealth) - The U.S. governmnt’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has setup a new online media source to help people work with tough economic times.

“Getting Through Tough Economic Times” is the name of the guide which is available at www.samhsa.gov/economy/.

The website helps affected people identify and cope with serious health issues that are directly linked to financial worries.

“Economic turmoil (e.g., increased unemployment, foreclosures, loss of investments and other financial distress) can result in a whole host of negative health effects - both physical and mental. It can be particularly devastating to your emotional and mental well-being. Although each of us is affected differently by economic troubles, these problems can add tremendous stress, which in turn can substantially increase the risk for developing such problems as:”

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Compulsive Behaviors (over-eating, excessive gambling, spending, etc.)
• Substance Abuse

For more infomation, please visit: www.samhsa.gov/economy/

Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that primary care providers should be routinely screening teenage patients for major depression.

The task force has found that a routine screening of adolescents can be more beneficial than harmful. There was no evidence found that children under the age of 12 should be screened however.

Studies showed that 5.6% of adolescents from 13 to 18 and 2.8% of children have major depression at any given time.

Although suicide is the most important risk associated with the depression, school performance, poor social functioning, physical illness, substance abuse and early pregnancy can also be a result of major depression.

The task force assigned a “B” grade to its recommendation of screening. “High certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial.”

Laurie Flynn, executive director of the TeenScreen mental health testing program at Columbia University urges pediatricians and physicians to begin routing screening of adolescents.

Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - According to recent reports, taking Plavix - a blood thinner, along with aspirin helps prevent strokes and heart attacks.

This treatment is used for atrial fibrillation which is a rhythm disorder. The disorder occurs when the upper parts of the heart tremble instead of keeping their regular beats. This then causes blood to pool and form clots that can possibly travel to the brain, which causes a stroke.

Most patients use a blood thinner called warfarin, however it is said that finding the right dose can be quite tricky. Instead, patients turn to aspirin which is much less effective at preventive strokes.

A four year research on 7,554 patients has concluded that the dual drug treatment lowered heart attacks, heart-related deaths, blood clots and strokes by 11 percent.

Although warfarin is still rated as a top therapy method, patients who can’t tolerate it are urged to use the dual drug treatment, that is Plavix-aspirin - a much better treatment than taking aspirin on its own.

Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - A Novartis drug has recently received the approval of the United States as a treatment for patients with kidney cancer.

The latest Novartis drug is expected to treat renal cell cancer, the most common form of kidney cancer. The FDA has approved it yesterday.

Although the drug doesn’t cure cancer, it slows down the growth of tumors. Recent tests showed that patients who used the Afinitor drug had experienced tumor growths of 5 months as opposed to 2 months for patients taking no drugs at all.

Novartis’ Afinitor works by blocking a protein that helps cancer cells divide and grow.

It is said that the best chance for kidney cancer survival is through surgery. Most patients can survive for 5 years after the cancerous kidney has been isolated, however if the cancer had time to spread to various other areas of the body, the survival rate is deeply affected.

About 13,000 patients died from the deadly disease last year (The American Cancer Society).

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to recent reports, the Food and Drug Administration has announced yesterday that a California based food processing plant is recalling up to 1 million pounds of roasted pistachios that may have been contaminated with salmonella.

Originating from Setton Farms in Terra Bella, California, the nuts were packaged for resale or simply used as additional ingredients in other products such as ice cream and trail mix.

Although there are no illness links to the pistachios, Kraft Foods has found salmonella strains in a routine test last week.

The FDA was advised and has urged consumers to not consume any pistachio products. They also advise to not through away any products as the products can lead to easier tracing of contamination.

After contaminated peanut butter products were found earlier this month containing the salmonella bacteria, hundreds of Americans developped salmonella poisoning including 9 deaths.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to recent reports, scientists have found two new genetic links to breast cancer.

Although one gene appears to raise the risk by as much as 23%, the other mutation seems to have a beneficial protective effect by lowering the risk by up to 11%.

The recent findings have now raised the list to 13 known genetic variants that alter breast cancer risk.

Researchers have compared suspected regions of over 40,000 women with breast cancer and 40,000 women not affected by the disease.

Scientists were then able to spot particular regions or “loci” of DNA that affect risk.

Experts say that “This study brings us a step closer to creating a powerful genetic test for breast cancer.”

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to a recent report, a 40th person has been diagnosed with meningitis from the University of Pennsylvania.

Meningitis can be characterized as an infection in the fluid of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include fever, stiff neck, rash, fatigue and severe head aches.

The 20-year-old student was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville where he is currently in critical condition.

Members of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity house have been urged to get medical attention for precaution measures.

Officials recomend students to get vaccinated against bacterial meningitis. This was the 40th person to receive treatment for the disease.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to recent news, the experimental Eli Lilly and Co. drug for schizophrenia has failed recent tests in order to prove that it performs better than current medicine.

Although the drug showed promising results 2 years earlier, the drug maker announced on Sunday that the drug performed inconclusively in a Phase II clinical trial.

The Indianapolis drug maker had hoped that the new drug; LY2140023, would be a breakthrough treatment for schizophrenia, a mental illness that affects millions of Americans.

Tested on 200 patients in earlier studies, the drug worked relatively quickly and safely without resulting in weight gain. Weight gaining was a highly criticized side effect of its top-selling anti-psychotic drug, Zyprexa.

The latests tests on 393 patients showed that the drug failed to outperform Zyprexa.

Lilly said it will continue to develop and test the drug.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to recent reports, our fellow neighbors have put their foot down on the use of these “so-called” electronic cigarettes.

Health Canada has instructed businesses to not promote them or sell them until official safety evaluations have been completed.

“Persons importing, advertising or selling electronic cigarette products in Canada must stop doing so immediately,” according to a recent statement made by Health Canada (CBC.ca)

Although marketed as “safer” tobacco products, these cigarettes look like real cigarettes and use a battery-powered system that vaporizes and delivers a liquid chemical mixture that may include nicotine, propylene glycol and other chemicals.

A possible aid to quitting smoking… or a new way to get people addicted? Stay tuned for further updates on the safety of the so called “e-cigarettes”.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - Women may soon have the opportunity to purchase a “natural” breast enlargement treatment.

The $9,200 (£6500) procedure is said to oost cup size while reducing stomach fat.. what else can you ask for right?

The technique involves extracting stem cells from spare fat from the stomach or thighs and having them grow in the breasts.

10 women will be treated starting in May by Professor Kefah Mokbel, a specialist at the Princess Grace hospital in London.

Although not a brand new technique, it has already been used in Japan for the last six years to treat women with breast deformities caused by cancer treatment.

The treatment is expected to be available for private patients within 6 months.