Prescription for Well-Being

Menstrual Blood Repairs Hearts

In more Tokyo news, an Associated Foreign Press report is revealing that scientists, using menstrual blood from nine women, cultivating it for a month and focusing on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells, were able to get heart cells to begin beating in 20 percent of tests. This success rate is much more successful than stem cells taken from bone marrow, which is about 0.2 to 0.3 percent successful.

Not only did 20% of the cells begin beating about three days later, they also formed sheet-like muscle tissue. Another test showed that rats that had suffered heart attacks improved after they received the cells from the menstrual blood.

Scientists are also reporting that women could soon be able to use their own menstrual blood to one day build stockpiles of cells and that storage of the blood could stay for 200 to 300 years waiting for the perfect match -- I guess in case there's a low supply of menstrual blood donors in the future.

Japanese Teen Uses Combination of Detergents to Commit Suicide

In a really disturbing and sad story, the Canadian Press is reporting that a 14-year-old girl in Tokyo committed suicide by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser creating fumes so strong that it also sickened 90 neighbors. Apparently the teen discovered the concoction on an Internet suicide site and went about committing the act in her apartment house, which also ultimately required 10 of her neighbors to be hospitalized due to the strength of the fumes.

Sadly, authorities in Japan are saying that this is the latest in what has become a string of suicides by use of detergent. A 31-year-old man outside of Tokyo also killed himself by using a mixture of detergent an bath salts. Estimates of suicides by detergent have reached as high as 30 in this, not counting those who has just gotten sick from the concoction.

Middle School Students Arrested in Prescription Drug Trade

When I was in junior high school, we used to take baseball cards to school and trade them. That was fun. I remember getting ripped off though when someone got me to take a Wally Joyner rookie card for a Gary Sheffield rookie card and feeling bad about it the rest of the day. Later, it was basketball cards and wisely, I collected as many Michael Jordan cards as possible, suckering someone into taking my Harold Minor rookie card for a Jordan.

Anyway, that was then and now it's a little different. Three female middle school students in Colorado were arrested for trading prescription drugs. The eFlux story goes something like: one of the girls brings in two prescription drugs (Strattera and Concerta -- both used to treat hyperactivity disorder) in order to trade them for alcohol with another student. The receiving student then gives a Strattera to another student, who asked a fourth to hold the pills for the rest of the day. Two of the students were charged with distribution of a controlled substance and the third was charged with possession. One of the kids was also taken to the hospital after taking one of the pills.

CNN Show Urges Usage of DRx.com

I've personally been touting the wonderful benefits of DRx.com for a while since honestly, the ability to compare prescription prices, maintain Medicine Cabinets for yourself and others can be a tremendously valuable tool. Turns out that CNN also feels the same way as can be seen by this video or the transcript from the presentation on saving on health care costs.

The cable news channel touted the benefits of visiting DRx.com on "Paging Dr. Gupta"  hosted by Sanjay Gupta on saving money on health care by visiting DRx.com as a way to compare prescription drug prices and save money on health care.

Former Ukranian Olympic Athlete Pasha Grishuk Drugged With GHB

Pasha Grishuk, a former Olympic ice dancer, was drugged with gamma hydroxy butyrate, or "GHB" for short, during a business meeting in California according to a report from the Associated Press. Authorities said the 36-year-old Ukranian athlete who now resides in Los Angeles was given the drug, commonly referred to as the "date rape drug" due to its qualities of making its users drowsy and somewhat defenseless to predatory attacks, during a business meeting in Orange County.

The former athlete started to feel feel ill and numb during the dinner before noticing a dissolved pill in her drink. Investigators later found another dissolved pill in the bottom of another drink she had ordered in the hotel's lounge.

GHB can cause breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and even death when used. The Drug Enforcement Agency says in addition to its frequent uses in the act of date rape, the drug is also used by bodybuilders for its anabolic effects.

PETA Offers Million Dollar Bounty for Fake Meat

Hoping to end the suffering of animals who are raised solely for the purpose of killing to feed humans, PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is offering a one million dollar reward for anyone that can grow meat in a test tube. Yahoo is reporting that the group will pay the million dollars to anyone that can figure out a way to grow in-vitro meat by 2012 that tastes just like real meat, is comparable in price to the real thing and can be grown in quantities large enough that it can be sold and consumed in ten states.

PETA notes that nearly one million chickens are consumed each hour in the United States, this sort of innovation could save countless animals from suffering and allow the land that is used for raising animals to be used for other things.

I find it interesting that PETA is encouraging meat to be created in this fashion since this might involve experimenting on animals and even PETA notes that there was a real conflict inside of PETA when determining whether or not to go through with this since it ultimately involves eating meat. Also, there seems to be something weird going on with the fact that growing animal cells in a tube for consumption would seem to be similar to raising animals for that same reason, but I'm guessing that PETA is reasoning that this is better than the original task since it doesn't involve the horrible conditions these animals are forced to live in, nor would test-tube animals really be alive and moving around. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see if this reward is ever actually given out or if anyone can come up with a resolution that PETA will find acceptable or reject.

Ohio Chipotle Restaurant Closed After 47 Fall Ill

Chipotle is good food, in my opinion. I love going there and getting a big, chicken burrito where they can barely pinch the tortilla closed because there's so much meat and beans and stuff in there, then taking it back to my seat and devouring it alongside a side of chips and guacamole until I have to lean back in my chair to avoid falling over forwards. Well, WLWT.com is reporting that 47 people may be falling forward for a different reason in Kent, Ohio after falling ill following a visit to the restaurant. The people complained of severe vomiting, diarrhea and nausea.

Oddly enough, several of the patrons had donated blood and received a coupon to eat there for free.

Study of Pets Shows Presence of Dangerous Chemicals

Let me first start off by saying I have three dogs -- sorry, three beautiful dogs (don't want them to be upset if they read this). Two of them live with my mother and the other one lives with me, which gives me ample opportunity to walk her, pet her and do all of the fun stuff that comes along with the human-dog relationship. In fact, I probably view her more as a daughter than I do as a dog, which is probably how most owners see their animals.

So like a lot of other pet owners, a report from eFlux that shows that blood and urine samples from 35 dogs and 37 cats showed that 48 industrial chemicals were present, likely a result of their proximity to the ground and the fact that they lick their paws and fur after walking and lying down. In fact, the study showed that pets have a higher concentration of these chemicals than most humans, resulting in health problems for them. The article even specifically points out that there's an increase in cancer in dogs and cats and hyperthroidism in cats.

Macadamia Nuts Shown to Lower Cholesterol

It used to be that I would sit back and grab a bag of chips and maybe a two-liter of soda and down both by the end of the first quarter, by which time the Lakers would have already put away some poor sap of an opponent. Sadly, health concerns resulted in me having to stray away from my bag of Lays and try and find healthier solutions to indulge in -- luckily the Lakers beating opponents didn't change with my dietary choices.

One of the healthier decisions it looks like I can make is that of macadamia nuts, which Penn State is reporting can lower cholesterol when eaten in moderation thank to unsaturated fats. Too bad they're sort of expensive, but if you can stomach the costs, Penn State says that a ten-week study shows that they do indeed lower cholesterol.

Judge: Restaurants Must Display Calories

A district judge in Manhattan has given all of us who count calories hope when he decided that restaurants with 15 or more outlets nationwide would have to display the calorie count of their menu items. As you can imagine, a lot of restaurants aren't particularly high on the idea of having to reveal how caloric their menu selections are prior to consumers actually ordering. Of course, had they been reading previous blog entries about this topic, this might not be an issue.

Still, eFlux is reporting that Judge Richard J. Holwell of the United States District Court made the ruling, applying it to around 2,000 restaurants in his district, or around 10 percent of the 23,000 restaurants in the city. The New York State Restaurant Association cited First Amendment rights in not having to include the information, but Holwell overruled their claim and is now requiring the inclusion of calories next to menu items.

The City's Health Commissioner applauded the decision, noting the ruling could help New Yorkers from developing diabetes and other health concerns.