Austin Jackson busts out of slump; homer powers Tigers over Jays
Toronto, Canada (AHN Sports) – Austin Jackson hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning and Brad Penny followed Justin Verlander’s no-hitter with 7 2/3 solid innings as the Detroit Tigers posted a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of a three-game series Sunday.
Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta had two hits and Miguel Cabrera singled home an insurance run in the eighth for Detroit, which has won five of six.
Jackson, who hit .293 with four homers as a rookie last season, entered this series batting just .190 with one homer, but was 7-for-13 over the weekend. He drilled a 2-2 offering from Toronto starter Jo Jo Reyes (0-3) over the fence in left field for a 4-2 lead after Inge kept the seventh alive with a two-out single.
Penny (3-3) yielded just a two-run homer to Jose Bautista – his 10th of the season – in the third. Detroit got those runs back in the fourth on an RBI double by Victor Martinez and a run-scoring base hit by Peralta.
Penny was charged with seven hits with no walks and a strikeout in his longest outing since April 25, 2010.
Daniel Schlereth got the final out in the eighth and Jose Valverde struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances.
Reyes allowed five runs on eight hits in seven innings. Yuniel Escobar had two hits for Toronto.
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Donors pledge $65m for Libyan humanitarian crisis
Nairobi, Kenya (IRIN) – Donors have so far announced some US$65 million of humanitarian contributions in response to the Libyan crisis and pledged another $10 million, but humanitarian operations there will need much more than that, say aid agencies.
A preliminary UN-coordinated “flash appeal” for $160 million for 17 organizations has been published. As of 7 March, the five largest donors to the regional crisis response are the US, the European Commission, Norway, Australia and Canada.
Priority areas include assistance in evacuation, food, decongestion of transit areas, assistance packages to people in transit (non-food items, food, water/sanitation and health services); and protection and monitoring at the borders.
Major sectors or clusters highlighted for aid:
- Multi-sector (including camp management and transport) – $81 million;
- Food security – $48 million;
- Health – $11 million, and
- Water, sanitation and hygiene – $6 million.
More than 200,000 people have fled Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration. Given uncertainty around conditions and needs inside Libya, and a volatile situation, the appeal is to be revised in two weeks.
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Moderate alcohol consumption linked to healthy hearts
Calgary, Canada (AHN) – Two reports came out this week linking moderate alcohol consumption with significantly lower risks of developing heart disease.
The two reports from the University of Calgary, both published in the British Medical Journal, concluded that people who drink in moderation are 14 to 25 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who don’t drink at all.
One of the studies says the reason is likely because alcohol raises a person’s high density lipoprotein cholesterol, or so-called “good cholesterol.” This has a protective effect on the heart.
The researchers acknowledged that previous research linked moderate drinking with reduced heart disease risk, but they said in a statement that those studies were out-of-date and needed updating.
The researchers also stressed moderation. This means about one glass of wine, beer or other alcoholic beverage a day for women and about two for men.
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Study: Home dialysis as good as hospital treatment
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – A study by St. Michael’s Hospital has concluded that home dialysis is as effective as treatments done in the hospital, and much lighter on the pocket.
Home treatment costs $20,000 to $30,000 less, which would translate into savings of up to $516 million if 17,200 kidney patients who underwent hospital dialysis from 2007 had treatments at home, the study found. The data is based on records of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which were analyzed by St. Michael’s researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Perl, a kidney specialist.
Perl pointed out that kidney patients who had their dialysis done at home or the hospital have the same 33 percent death rates during the course of the study. However, he admitted not all kidney patients are suitable for home-based treatment.
In home-based dialysis, or peritoneal dialysis, patients are injected with cleansing fluids through a catheter tube to removed toxins from the blood. The fluids are drained several times a day. In hospital-based dialysis or hemodialysis, the patient’s blood is removed from the body, filtered and then returned minus the toxins.
Only 18 percent of kidney patients have their dialysis done at home and their number is going down, even if it saves patients time and even allow some of them to hold jobs.
For kidney failure patients lucky enough, the better alternative to dialysis is to find an organ donor match More potential kidney donors were added to the Living Donor Paired Exchange pool after Quebec signed up in the exchange on October.
The exchange started in January 2009 as a partnership between the Canadian Blood Services and three Canadian provinces. In less than two years all Canadian provinces have signed up, with Quebec becoming the latest to join.
There are about 35,000 Canadians suffering from kidney ailments, with 3,000 of them on the waiting list for an organ transplant. The medical procedure saves the health care system up to $40,000 a year in treatments and medication.
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Actuary study: Overweight, obesity cost economy $300bn
Schaumburg, IL, United States (AHN) – The Society of Actuaries, in a study, has calculated the total economic cost of the overweight and obesity epidemic in the U.S. and Canada reaches $300 billion per year. Ninety percent of the total – $270 billion – is directly attributed to the United States.
Financial analysts specifically looked at the economic costs of being overweight and obese caused by increased need for medical care and loss of economic productivity resulting from excess mortality and disability.
“We found substantial evidence that overweight and obesity are becoming worldwide epidemics, and are having negative impacts on health and mortality,” said Don Behan, an independent consulting actuary who helped prepare the report.
The organization divided the $300 billion finding into specific causes of economic costs. According to the SOA, the figure breaks down into the following economic costs per year:
- Total cost of excess medical care caused by overweight and obesity: $127 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by excess mortality: $49 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by disability for active workers : $43 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by overweight or obesity for totally disabled workers: $72 billion
Additionally overweight and obesity have been proven to increase the rate of several common adverse medical conditions, resulting in the exorbitant economic cost to society.
Researchers in a nationwide poll of Americans also found that 83 percent of those polled would be willing to follow a healthy lifestyle, such as participating in a health and wellness program, if incentivized through their health plan.
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Ontario reports more than 1,000 flu cases
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The winter season has brought back the seasonal flu to Canada. According to reports, Canadian provinces are reporting a rise in the number of hospital admissions of patients with flu-like symptoms.
Ontario has more than 1,000 such cases as emergency rooms at major provincial hospitals reported being deluged with more patients. A similar rise in the number of flu patients was reported by a Montreal hospital, which limited the entry of visitors to prevent the spread of the ailment. In Winnipeg, 11 long-term care homes reported flu outbreaks in recent weeks.
Because in the dip in 2010 of Influenza A (H1N1) infections in Ontario, residents became more complacent in getting flu shots despite constant reminders from health authorities. So far, only 25 percent of Ontarians have been immunized against the seasonal flu versus 35 percent during the previous winters.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer, reminded residents to reduce their risk of catching the flu through vaccination. Williams said in a statement, “This is no time to be complacent. Influenza is a serious, acute respiratory illness that can cause lost time at work or school, a slow recovery and, in some cases, even hospitalization.”
He warned that 5,000 Canadians die yearly because of influenza.
The Canadian provinces where there has been an observed rise in flu cases are Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
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Study: Only 14 percent of Canadians believe air pollution is very dangerous to health
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Only 14 percent of Canadians believe air pollution is very dangerous to their health, according to a study released Tuesday by the Environics Research Group.
While they admit that poor air quality causes some health risks, they think the danger would happen if they had been exposed on a long-term basis or the threat is more on weaker members of the community.
The survey said those Canadians would only change their outlook if they or a member of their household became ill because of poor air quality.
The survey found that 48 percent of the 1,400 respondents view air pollution as a somewhat serious hazard, while 32 percent did not even consider it a serious hazard.
The survey supports an earlier Environics study that Canadians are not focused on climate change issues as they were in 2007 and 2008, according to Environics Group Vice President for Public Affairs Dr. Keith Neuman.
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Flaherty eyes prudent bank lending to curb rise in Canadian household debt
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – To curb the alarming rise in Canadian household debt, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged Canadian banks Thursday to adopt prudent lending policies. He issued the proposal after Statistics Canada found that household debt reached a record-high level in the third quarter of 2010, outpacing even the debts of American households.
The International Monetary Fund has forecast a muted growth for Canada next year largely on account of the growing household debt.
Among the measures that banks could take are to cut the maximum amortization period for mortgages to 25 from the current 35 years, or to institute tougher criteria for lenders to be eligible for government-backed mortgage insurance. The insurance is usually a requirement to secure a bank housing loan.
Two large Canadian banks had earlier asked Ottawa to initiate measures to curb consumer access to bank loans. Flaherty reminded Canadian financial institutions that prudent lending is one of their hallmarks, which is the reason why no Canadian banks collapsed or required government bailout during the recent global financial crisis.
Flaherty also disclosed that the 2011 federal budget will not have any major new spending or new cuts. He said the restraint measures, worth $17.6 billion over five years, placed by the Tory-led government are sufficient to reduce Ottawa’s budget deficit according to timetable.
By not introducing major cuts and spending, the Conservatives would give the political opposition little room to push for a no-confidence vote after Ottawa submits its 2011 budget to the Parliament for approval. A no-confidence vote could trigger a spring election.
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VYTORIN® (ezetimibe/simvastatin) Significantly Reduced Major Vascular Events in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease in a New 9,000-Patient Investigational Study
DENVER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In a new investigational study of VYTORIN® (ezetimibe/simvastatin), the cholesterol-lowering medicine from Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada), VYTORIN 10/20 mg reduced the incidence of first major vascular events — defined as non-fatal heart attacks or cardiac death, stroke or any revascularization procedure — by a highly statistically significant 16.1 percent compared to placebo (p=0.0010). This was the pre-specified primary endpoint of the study. T
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Obese Children Show Signs of Heart Disease Typically Seen in Older Adults
Montreal, Canada (AHN) – New research finds that the blood vessels of obese children show signs of stiffness normally seen in much older adults with cardiovascular disease.
“We were surprised to find that these obese children already have stiff blood vessels,” says Dr. Kevin Harris from B.C. Children’s Hospital. “Aortic stiffness is an early indicator of cardiovascular disease in obese children.” He says it is as if the aging process has been accelerated in their aorta.
The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. It carries and distributes oxygen-rich blood to all the other arteries and normally acts as a buffer to the pumping action of the heart.
Typically a marked increase in aorta stiffness is linked to aging and is a strong predictor of future cardiac events and mortality in adults.
“The normal aorta has elastic qualities that buffer the flow of blood. When that elasticity is lost, aortic stiffness results – a sign of developing cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Harris told the meeting. “Aortic stiffness is associated with cardiovascular events and early death.”
The results of the study were presented at the 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
To see actual changes to the performance of the heart and blood vessels in obese children is extremely alarming, says Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson.
“We know there is an association between unhealthy lifestyles and heart disease. Our kids are at risk,” she says. “Poor nutrition and inactivity are threatening their health and well-being. We must rethink the lifestyle standards we have accepted as a society to protect the future health of our kids.”
The rate of childhood obesity in North America has nearly tripled over the last 25 years and it continues to rise. The health risks to overweight and obese children include heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
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