Jennifer Lopez performs at the American Idol Season 12 Finale in Los Angeles

Daft Punk day finally arrives… But does it live up to its astronomical hype? Plus, the latest from Maya Jane Coles, London Grammar, Laura Marling, Eddie Berman and a special Virgin Records announcement »

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Adam Lambert at the American Idol Season 12 Finale in Los Angeles

Daft Punk day finally arrives… But does it live up to its astronomical hype? Plus, the latest from Maya Jane Coles, London Grammar, Laura Marling, Eddie Berman and a special Virgin Records announcement »

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Early, Severe Flu Season Caused Big Rise in Child Deaths: CDC

Senior hospitalizations also up during 2012-13 onslaught, U.S. health officials say

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- This past flu season started earlier, peaked earlier and led to more adult hospitalizations and child deaths than most flu seasons, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

At least 149 children died, compared to the usual range of 34 to 123, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The predominant strain of flu circulating in 2012-13 -- H3N2 -- made the illness deadlier for children, explained Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist with the CDC.

"With children H3 viruses can be severe, but there was also a lot of influenza B viruses circulating . . . and for kids they can be bad, too," she said.

Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, added that H3N2 is easily transmitted from person to person and has a high rate of complications, which accounts for the increased hospitalizations.

"This is the kind of flu that enables other infections like pneumonia," he said. "Really what people need to know is that flu isn't the problem. The flu's effect on the immune system and fatigue is the problem."

The flu season started in September, which is unusually early, and peaked at the end of December, which is also unusual, Siegel said.

Flu season typically begins in December and peaks in late January or February.

Texas, New York and Florida had the most reported pediatric deaths. Except for the 2009-10 H1N1 flu pandemic, which killed at least 348 children, the past flu season was the deadliest since the CDC began collecting data on child flu deaths, according to the report, published in the June 14 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Older adults were targeted heavily by the 2012-13 flu. Those aged 65 and older accounted for more than half of all reported flu-associated hospitalizations in the 2012-13 flu season -- the most since the CDC started collecting data on flu hospitalizations in 2005-06, the agency reported.

In addition, more Americans saw a doctor for flu than in recent flu seasons, the CDC noted.

The flu vaccine was well matched to the circulating strains, but less effective than health officials had hoped. In January, the CDC reported that the vaccine was about 60 percent effective, which meant it offered "moderate" protection from the flu.

Siegel said even a moderately effective vaccine is better than not getting vaccinated at all because flu symptoms will be milder, with a lower chance of complications.

According to Brammer, decisions about the vaccine for this coming season were made in February so manufacturers could make a sufficient supply for fall. The makeup will be basically the same as the 2012-13 vaccine with some tweaks to some of the strains so they better match changes in the viruses, she said.

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated. The agency urges people at higher risk for severe disease -- including young children, pregnant women, anyone with a chronic health problem and the elderly -- to get the vaccine.

Don't make any assumptions about the course of next season's flu based on the recent past, these experts added.

"I wouldn't assume next year's flu season is going to be milder or that it's going to be early," Siegel said. "The flu is unpredictable."

Because the 2012-13 flu season started several months earlier than usual, the CDC also advised doctors to consider influenza as the source of respiratory illnesses that occur beyond the typical flu window.

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Flu Season Continues to Wind Down

Title: Flu Season Continues to Wind Down
Category: Health News
Created: 3/22/2013 2:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 3/25/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Game of Thrones season premiere

Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Game of Thrones season 3 premiere in LA- vote on celebrity fashion, style and red carpet looks in GLAMOUR.COM’s Dos and Don’ts

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The Top 10 Lessons I Learned From Season 2 of "Girls"

Ugh, you guys:, how am I going to last until the next season of Girls comes out? Like even after last night's finale, I need more of its signature mix of hilarity and rawness, stat. Thankfully HBOGo exists for me to get my fix from past episodes while I wait for new promos that I can watch on repeat in order to dissect them for hints dropped about Season 3. While we wait with bated breath, check out what I learned from Hannah, Shosh and the sage team of Girls this season.

1. Hide Your Crazy: I want to follow each Girls character around and whisper this exact sentiment in each of their ears whenever I can tell things are about to go South. Hannah's epic monologue to Joshua, the sexy older guy she meets at Grumpy's, is the perfect example. He's definitely into her, but she wrecks the budding relationship by word-vomiting her feelings all over him (i.e. "I'm deeply lonely!"). The more she talked, the more it was stomach-sinkingly clear that their budding relationship was dunzo.

2. Never Hit Below the Belt: People say you don't truly love someone unless you want to kill them sometimes. [Ed. Note: I can vouch for this. - RJ] By that logic, Jessa and Thomas-John love each other like crazy...or maybe they actually just want to kill each other. The demise of their lightning-speed relationship was horrific. Choice quotes: "I'm embarrassed when we walk down the street because you're so f*****g average," Jessa says, and "This is the worst mistake I've ever made. You're my worst nightmare," courtesy of Thomas-John. Ouch, you guys! There's no coming back from that. Ever.

3. Know Your Type and Stick to It: I'm all for romantic exploration, but Natalia, Adam's new girlfriend, is just not the kind of girl who's into the degrading style of sex Adam likes. Neither one is at fault for it -- different strokes for different folks (pun totally intended). But they really shouldn't be having sex without acknowledging their differences for what they like in bed. The scene that shows this mismatch is awful, and left viewers feeling like Natalia was violated.

4. If He Swears He's Amazing in Bed, He Isn't:In Season 1, Booth Jonathan told Marnie "The first time I f**k you, I might scare you a little, because I'm a man, and I know how to do things." After all, following her lackluster sex life with Charlie, it was time for Marnie to finally get with someone who knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, though, Booth Jonathan wasn't it. Marnie, it's general knowledge that the ones who brag about how good they are are compensating for something...and it's usually the fact that they're awful.

5. Don't Be the Bitchy New GF or the Bitter Ex: Marnie and Audrey, Charlie's new girlfriend, both crossed this line during Season 2. Marnie shows up at Charlie's door to spend the night; then Audrey verbally attacks her at a dinner party. Let's be clear: Marnie, Charlie isn't yours anymore, so showing up to spend the night is way out of bounds. Audrey, every time you get a dig in at Marnie, you're broadcasting your own insecurity.

6. If You're High, You Can't Keep Secrets: Hannah and her roommate Elijah's drug escapade made for one of the most fun episodes of the season, but it also led to the end of their friendship. Elijah, in a cocaine haze, told Hannah that he had sex with Marnie. Hannah. Flipped. Out. And promptly kicked Elijah out, which is sad, because these two had crazy good (platonic, friendly) chemistry that worked so well on screen, at least. Tear.

7. Face Your Personal Fears: This is tough for everyone to do, otherwise we'd all have about 75 percent less flaws than we do now. It's just so hard to watch Hannah's denial about her OCD when it's blindingly obvious to everyone around her that she's falling apart. Rupturing your eardrum with a Q-Tip then trying to do the same to the other so they'll be "even"? Time to ask for help, Hans.

8. Check Your Voicemail: Hannah is unraveling and Jessa, the only friend she wants to talk to, is nowhere to be found. Jessa's obviously got her own issues and has always been the wandering type, but in real life, that type of pal gets exhausting to constantly track down. Be a hippie globetrotter all you want, but don't forget about the people who love you at home.

9. You Really, Really Need to Maintain Your Own Life While in a Relationship: One of Season 2's main plot lines has been Shoshanna's increasing dismay about Ray's general disinterest in making anything of himself. This culminates with her making out with a doorman (How very un-Shosh like of her, right?). Shosh wants someone who has a life of his own with dreams to go along with it, and deep down, Ray's just not that guy.

10. Love (Maybe) Conquers All: Even after Marnie's disastrous, cringe-inducing slow jam rendition of Kanye West's "Stronger," Charlie still wants to be with her. If that's not true love, IDK what is. We also see this play out with Hannah and Adam. Even though their relationship is pretty effed up, my heart swelled right along with the music as Adam sprinted to Hannah's apartment to take care of her in a way she wouldn't let anyone else. Will they actually make it as a couple? It's hard to tell, but I have to say I'm rooting for them.

RELATED LINKS:

Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO

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It's papaya season, Hoorah!

A papaya a day...

Papaya's are full of wonderful, healthy benefits...including the seeds. You can even eat the seeds, use them as a pepper alternative. You can chop papaya up and add it to salads, salsa, and slice them onto sandwiches. You can grind up the seeds and through them into your tuna fish mix. 

One of their best known properties is their enzyming (made word up, but you know what I mean) capabilities. Both the seeds and the fruit are amazing at helping to sort out the digestive process. 

You can use them for your skin for amazing results, by eating them or just spreading the pulp directly onto your skin.

I've recently discovered this fruit and decided I should share my awe. You folks like sources cited, so here's one:

http://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/health-benefits-of-papaya.htm

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Cholesterol Levels May Vary By Season

Title: Cholesterol Levels May Vary By Season
Category: Health News
Created: 3/7/2013 12:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 3/8/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Cholesterol Levels May Vary By Season

Brazilian study doesn't necessarily mean that heart attack or stroke risk rises in winter

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol levels increase with winter's arrival and drop again as warmer weather returns, a new study by Brazilian researchers suggests.

"In the winter, people should be careful with their cholesterol levels," said lead researcher Dr. Filipe Moura, a doctoral student at the State University of Campinas.

Whether these changes in cholesterol are putting patients at risk for heart attacks or stroke isn't clear, Moura said. It's a complex picture and these changes might have a role, but there are many other factors, he added.

There are several possible reasons cholesterol varies by season, Moura said, including changes in diet, exercise and exposure to the sun.

"In the winter, people consume more calories and eat fattier foods, which could have an effect on their bad cholesterol," he said. "Also, it's common for people to exercise less during the winter and stay in more."

People also get less sun in the winter, so they get less vitamin D, which can have an effect on cholesterol, Moura said. He also noted that during the winter people are prone to colds and the flu, which can effect cholesterol levels.

The study findings were scheduled to be presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in San Francisco.

Moura's team collected data on more than 227,000 people who had their cholesterol checked in primary-care centers in the Brazilian city of Campinas between 2008 and 2010.

The researchers found that during the winter, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, rose an average of 7 milligrams per deciliter compared to the summer, which is about an 8 percent increase during the cold months. During the summer, levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" cholesterol, rose about 9 percent, but so did levels of fats in the blood called triglycerides, which rose about 5 percent, the researchers found.

This is different than what other studies have found, Moura said. A possible explanation is Campinas's climate. The city's elevation is roughly 1,800 to 2,500 feet above sea level, and the winters are mild and dry.

Moura said these changes may be even more extreme in the United States, Europe or other areas that have bigger climate changes between winter and summer.

He next plans to look at patients with heart disease to see whether the seasonal change in cholesterol results in more heart attacks.

What these findings mean for patients isn't clear, said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"This study suggests there may be modest seasonal variation ... with higher LDL levels in winter months compared to summer, but further studies are needed to confirm these findings and whether there is any meaningful impact on cardiovascular risk," Fonarow said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Kids, Seniors Prone to MRSA Infections Depending on Season: Study

Title: Kids, Seniors Prone to MRSA Infections Depending on Season: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 3/1/2013 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 3/4/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Flu Vaccine Fell Short for Seniors This Season: CDC

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The flu vaccine has fallen markedly short of expectations for older Americans this winter, offering this vulnerable population protection against the most virulent strain of flu virus just 9 percent of the time, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

Even among the general population, the vaccine's effectiveness was just 56 percent, which is considered slightly below average, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Complicating matters, the 2012-13 season has turned out to be one of the more severe flu seasons in recent years because of the presence of the H3N2 virus -- a strain associated with severe bouts of influenza.

"This was really a worse-than-average flu season," said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. "It hit the elderly particularly hard. We saw a lot of hospitalizations and, unfortunately, a lot of deaths of the elderly."

"For reasons we don't fully understand, the efficacy rate in those 65 and older against H3N2 was lower than what we would like," he said.

This makes it even more important for the elderly, even if they've been vaccinated, to seek treatment early with antiviral drugs like Tamiflu when they come down with the flu, Skinner said.

Dr. Marc Siegel, associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, agreed that it's "not an ideal vaccine, but it offers a public health advantage -- it's worth taking."

"The reason this vaccine is not that effective for the elderly is because it's hard for the elderly to mount an immune response," he added.

The vaccine is most effective against influenza B viruses, reaching a level of 67 percent protection both overall and among seniors, the CDC report showed.

"The message is we need better vaccines," Skinner said.

Skinner noted that vaccination is still the best protection against the flu, because even if you get sick the vaccine may make the illness milder.

"If people use these numbers not to get vaccinated, I think that will be a tragedy," Skinner said. "Some protection is certainly better than no protection at all."

The findings were published Feb. 22 in the CDC publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

This flu season has caused high hospitalization rates, with seniors accounting for 50 percent of all those admitted for the flu.

"This is the highest hospitalization rate [for seniors] since 2003, and may be the highest ever," Siegel said.

Also, nearly 10 percent of deaths up to Feb. 9 have been attributed to the flu or pneumonia associated with the flu. Again, the elderly were hit the hardest, Skinner said.

Sixty-four children have died from flu this season. That number is precise, because the federal government keeps track of pediatric flu deaths. No such count is kept on adults. Typically, approximately 25,000 Americans die from the flu every year, according to the CDC.

Skinner said this year's flu season started early, but seems to be winding down. "But we'll see if that trend continues," he added.

More information

For more on the flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Flu Vaccine Fell Short for Seniors This Season: CDC

Title: Flu Vaccine Fell Short for Seniors This Season: CDC
Category: Health News
Created: 2/21/2013 2:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/22/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Mad Men Season Six first stills released

Fans looking to catch up on Mad Men can watch the fifth season on AMC On Demand from 11 February with season five episodes rolling out each week up to the season six premiere in April.

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Mad Men Season Six first stills released

Fans looking to catch up on Mad Men can watch the fifth season on AMC On Demand from 11 February with season five episodes rolling out each week up to the season six premiere in April.

Continue reading...

View the original article here

Mad Men Season Six first stills released

Fans looking to catch up on Mad Men can watch the fifth season on AMC On Demand from 11 February with season five episodes rolling out each week up to the season six premiere in April.

Continue reading...

View the original article here

One Direction perform on The X Factor USA Season Finale

One Direction channelled rock ‘n’ roll legends The Rolling Stones when they performed on a giant pair of lips at The X Factor USA Season Finale yesterday

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Zayn Malik performs on The X Factor USA Season Finale

The smouldering One Direction star had the girls in the front row all of a fluster when he performed with 1D during The X Factor USA finals.

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