Weekly Headline Wrap-Up

Featured Article, Healthy Living
on April 20, 2012
bald-mouse-with-hair
via CBSNews.com
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One pass through the Internet’s top news sites, and you’ll agree that it’s been an interesting week of health headlines. Here are some top picks we found along with a brief description of the story behind the headline.

“Blindness cure step closer after scientists replace lost light-sensitive cells in back of the eye” (From The Daily Mail)

No matter what side of the lab rat fence you fall on, this headline definitely inspires hope. University College London researchers transplanted healthy rods from mice’s eyes into vision-impaired mice whose rods no longer functioned. The result? After 4-6 weeks, the mice that received the transplants detected and moved toward light. The control group of untreated mice swam in circles, proving the transplants worked. Encouraging? Yes, but those with vision impairment need not schedule their procedure just yet. According to the team of researchers, the first trials on humans is still five to 10 years away.

“Researchers successfully grow hair on bald mouse: Humans next?” (From CBSNews.com)

Seinfeld fans (of which I am one) may remember the scene in which George proclaims, “I WAS bald.” At last, hideous toupees like his may become obsolete.

According to a new study published in Nature Communications this week, a team of Japanese scientists successfully re-grew hair on bald mice (proof pictured above). The team transplanted human and mouse hair follicle cells in bald mice, and normal hair growth cycles were the result. Plus, they were also able to manipulate the fullness and color of the hair.

“Chin implants are on the rise. Is Skype to blame?” (From DeathandTaxesMag.com)
Elective chin implant surgeries in both men and women increased by 71 percent last year, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. And the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgery credits video chatting with being the reason why. Death and Taxes weighs in on the idea, pointing out that, “Video chatting is like hearing a recording of your voice played back to you—shocking, and never in a good way.” We tend to agree.

“The 6 Most Dangerous States in Which to Be a Kid” (From abcnews.go.com)

Admittedly, it’s the fact that I have children of my own that I was drawn to this headline. Plus, I’m a sucker for lists even if (and perhaps especially if) it’s a list I want no part of. (Seriously, who wants to live in one of the six most dangerous states?!) Anyway, the states that got the thumbs down are Mississippi, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Louisiana and Oklahoma. (No state is perfect, though, is it?) The good news here is that, according to the CDC, the number of accidental deaths in our nation’s child population is down by 30 percent. See? Silver lining right there!

“Feeding tube diet raises eyebrows” (From cnn.com)

Two words for this headline: You think?! You may have heard us bring up this story on our Facebook page earlier this week, and we bring it up again because frankly, it’s disturbing. Bride-to-be Jessica Schnaider told ABC and The New York Times that when she wanted to lose 10 pounds before her wedding, she turned to Dr. Oliver Di Pietro for help. Di Pietro credits himself with bringing the K-E Diet to the United States from Italy, and Schnaider opted in to the diet, which requires the insertion of a feeding tube through the nose into the stomach for 10 days. Patients are fed 800 calories per day via the tube, and they eat no food by mouth. Digest that and then feel free to weigh in.