Health

Writer compares flame retardant chemicals to asbestos

David Green, executive director of the Center for Environmental Health, compares flame retardants and their production to asbestos as an example of business interests trying to conceal public health threats in the name of profits.

In a recent piece for the Huffington Post, Green refers to a four-part series in the Chicago Tribune, alleging that leading makers of fire retardant chemicals have for decades used deceptive tactics to mislead the public, legislators, and regulatory agencies about the efficacy and safety of ...

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Professor argues for federal oversight of fracking

Michael Krancer, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, argued against federal regulation of natural gas drilling during testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Bloomberg reports.

The “hydraulic fracturing,” or “fracking,” method of natural gas extraction employed in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region has proven controversial. It uses chemically treated water to free gas trapped in underground shale formations.

Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, testified before the ...

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Study: Risky Pradaxa blood clot treatment may be unnecessary

A randomized, double-blind clinical trial indicates that aspirin works just as well as the commonly prescribed blood thinner warfarin in preventing blood clots.

According to a report in the New York Times, this is significant because aspirin is easier to take. Warfarin requires a monthly blood test, and also restricts activities for patients because of its tendency to cause bleeding.

The anti-coagulant Pradaxa was ostensibly designed to replace warfarin, based on manufacturer ...

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Urinary incontinence takes different forms

Simply put, urinary incontinence is the inability to control the release of urine from your bladder.

But according to the Mayo Clinic, its severity in people who suffer from the condition runs the gamut from occasional, minor dribbles of urine to frequently wetting clothes.

Fortunately, urinary incontinence is generally a treatable condition.

Available treatment include surgery, medication and physical therapy. But some treatments have proven problematic.

Vaginal mesh implants, marketed for treatment of urinary ...

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Study links antidepressants to birth problems

A study reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found that babies born to expectant mothers using antidepressants are more likely to be born early or have a seizure soon after birth.

According to a report in Reuters, researchers looked at nearly 229,000 infants born to Tennessee women. They found that those whose mothers used antidepressants during their second trimester tended to be born earlier.

Researchers also found that newborns ...

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CDC: Depression treatment linked to reproductive health

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diagnosing and treating clinical depression in women is a vital part of reproductive health.

Depression is treatable. But several studies have linked the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, with potentially dangerous heart and lung defects in babies born to women who take the drugs while pregnant. SSRI antidepressants include Prozac and Zoloft.

A ...

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