Cycle House Adds New Heart Rate Readings for Calorie-Torching Tech

We've made no secret of our love for L.A. hotspot Cycle House; we ranked the boutique cycling studio's 1,000-Calorie Ride as one of the 33 hottest fitness classes in the country, and it earned the left coast major points in our 2011 East Vs. West fitness competition, too. So it comes as no surprise that Cycle House is back on top with a brand new, first-of-its-kind technology that takes calorie burning to a whole new level.

When you take a class at Cycle House, all of the stats from your ride get saved into your user profile and can be accessed online through your private account. This is pretty cool in itself, but not really much different than what a lot of the other fancy cycling studios are also doing. But starting this month, thanks to wireless bluetooth sensors throughout the studio, each bike can pick up on its rider's individual heart rate monitor, as well.

This -- along the weight, age, and gender info you've already entered online -- makes for an extremely accurate calculation of calories burned. (Without heart rate, calories are often estimated based on RPMs, pedal resistance, and the user's weight, but that can't take into account one of the biggest factors: your actual level of exertion.) Your online Cycle House account keeps track of these stats, and you can access them anytime, anywhere.

Here's hoping this cool technology makes its way to other studios soon ... or that maybe Cycle House makes its way across the country? (Share the wealth, Cali!) Until then, I'll stick with my own local cycling studios -- and this Cycle House-inspired 1,000-calorie, at-home ride. Complete with heart rate monitor to track my burn, of course.

Do you wear a heart rate monitor for indoor cycling classes? Tweet us at @amandaemac and @SELFmagazine.

RELATED LINKS:

Image Credit: Courtesy Photo

View the original article here

Eyebrows, and the Case for Keeping 'Em Full

Now that I'm back in grad school, a few beauty things have dropped on my priority list. While I feel like maybe I should make a little more effort in some places (ahem... like hiding under-eye bags), one lazy girl beauty move is actually really flattering: NOT tweezing my brows!

I'm not saying I've gone all Frida Khalo -- I certainly tweeze the little strays that pop up in between brows -- but I've stopped impulsively going to the threading salon and spending like a zillion dollars shaping my arches to "near perfection." And you know what? I think it makes me look younger. Granted, I am lucky: I like the shape of my arches as they are (threaders yell at me for overplucking, even when I don't touch a tweezer for months at a time). But, whether your have to pluck a little to shape, or can let your brows grow free, I think fuller arches are the way to go these days.

Skinny, over arched eyebrows are so nineties, right?! And they make you look vaguely witchy. Case in point here. I mean, you guys know I'm right.
Over-tweezing now leads to zero brows later. So even if you are young and not worried about looking older, you are screwing yourself later when you are feeling less than youthful and have zero eyebrow hair to work with. Bolder brows frame your face way better. Just saying.

But don't listen to me. Take a cue from the models on the Spring runways at Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and Jason Wu.

RELATED LINKS:

Image Credit: WWD/George Chinsee

View the original article here

Scientists Find New Clues to Early Onset Alzheimer's

Too much plaque-building protein produced in people with certain genes, study finds

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- People with genetic mutations that lead to inherited, early onset Alzheimer's disease overproduce a longer, stickier form of amyloid beta, the protein fragment that clumps into plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, a small new study has found.

Researchers found that these people make about 20 percent more of a type of amyloid beta -- amyloid beta 42 -- than family members who do not carry the Alzheimer's mutation, according to research published in the June 12 edition of Science Translational Medicine.

Further, researchers Rachel Potter at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues found that amyloid beta 42 disappears from cerebrospinal fluid much more quickly than other known forms of amyloid beta, possibly because it is being deposited on plaques in the brain.

Alzheimer's researchers have long believed that brain plaques created by amyloid beta cause the memory loss and thought impairment that comes with the disease.

This new study does not prove that amyloid plaques cause Alzheimer's, but it does provide more evidence regarding the way the disease develops and will guide future research into diagnosis and treatment, said Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology.

The mutation occurs in the presenilin gene and has previously been linked to increased production of amyloid beta 42 over amyloid beta 38 and 40, the other types of amyloid beta found in cerebrospinal fluid, the study said.

Earlier studies of the human brain after death and using animal research have suggested that amyloid beta 42 is the most important contributor to Alzheimer's.

The new study confirms that connection and also quantifies overproduction of amyloid beta 42 in living human brains. The investigators also found that amyloid beta 42 is exchanged and recycled in the body, slowing its exit from the brain.

"The amyloid protein buildup has been hypothesized to correlate with the symptoms of Alzheimer's by causing neuronal damage, but we do not know what causes the abnormalities of amyloid overproduction and decreased removal," Willis said.

The findings from the new study "are supportive of abnormal turnover of amyloid occurring in people with the genetic mutation decades before the onset of their symptoms," she said.

Researchers conducted the study by comparing 11 carriers of mutated presenilin genes with family members who do not have the mutation. They used advanced scanning technology that can "tag" and then track newly created proteins in the body. With this technology, they tracked the production and clearance of amyloid beta 40 and 42 in the participants' cerebrospinal fluid.

This research gives clinicians a potential "marker" to check when evaluating the Alzheimer's risk of a person with this genetic mutation, Willis said.

View the original article here

Jessica Alba on the street in LA

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

CDC: 87 Now Sickened in Hepatitis A Outbreak Tied to Frozen Berry Mix

All infections traced to product sold at Costco stores, agency says

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people sickened in a hepatitis A outbreak that may be tied to a frozen berry/pomegranate mix now stands at 87, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

As of June 10, cases had been reported in eight states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. The number of cases is expected to rise as the investigation continues, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC said the hepatitis A cases may be connected to Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix.

The agency said 36 people who were sickened have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported. Forty-six of 68 ill people interviewed (70 percent) reported eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix.

On June 4, Oregon-based Townsend Farms recalled the frozen berry mixes, which were sold to Costco and Harris Teeter stores. The mixes were sold under the Townsend Farms label at Costco and under the Harris Teeter brand at that chain of stores, the Associated Press reported.

All of those sickened said they'd purchased the product from Costco markets. No cases have been traced to product bought at Harris Teeter, the CDC said.

Costco has removed the product from its shelves and is notifying members who purchased the product since late February 2013, the CDC said.

Preliminary laboratory analyses of specimens from two states suggest the hepatitis A strain responsible for the outbreak is rare in North America but is common in Africa and the Middle East. The strain was pinpointed as the cause of a recent hepatitis A outbreak in Europe linked to frozen berries, and to a 2012 outbreak in British Columbia associated with a frozen berry blend with pomegranate seeds from Egypt. But, there's no evidence that these outbreaks are related, the CDC said.

The label on the Townsend Farms product says it contains products from the United States, Argentina, Chile and Turkey.

According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis A illnesses typically arise within 14 to 28 days of infection. Symptoms may include nausea, fever, lethargy, jaundice and loss of appetite. There's a vaccine against hepatitis A, and it may ease symptoms if given soon after exposure to the virus.

View the original article here

Mental Exercise May Help Keep Seniors Sharp

Even solving puzzles might stave off decline and memory loss, study hints

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Mental exercise can help prevent thinking and memory decline in seniors, but evidence for the benefits of supplements and exercise is weak, according to a new study.

The findings were published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

The researchers reviewed 32 studies, including three that examined the effects of mental exercise involving computerized training programs or intensive one-on-one personal training in memory, reasoning or processing speed.

One of the studies found significant improvements in participants' memory over five years of follow-up. Another found an improvement in auditory memory and attention, according to a journal news release.

Supplements such as gingko, vitamins, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and other substances, however, appeared to provide no benefit. The same was true for physical exercise. Estrogen was associated with an increase in mental decline and dementia.

"This review provides some evidence to help clinicians and their patients address what strategies might prevent cognitive decline," wrote Dr. Raza Naqvi, of the division of geriatric medicine at the University of Toronto, and co-authors. "Future studies should address the impact of cognitive training on the prevention of cognitive decline, and we encourage researchers to consider easily accessible tools such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku that have not been rigorously studied."

Mild cognitive impairment affects 10 percent to 25 percent of people over age 70, according to the news release.

View the original article here

Standard Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy as Good as Costlier Newcomer: Study

Biologic drug Enbrel wasn't better for patients who didn't respond to methotrexate alone

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Newer, costlier treatment for rheumatoid arthritis appears no better than an older, less-expensive regimen for people who don't respond to the first-line drug methotrexate, a new study suggests.

"Newer isn't always better," said researcher Dr. Ted Mikuls, an associate professor in the rheumatology division at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. "Some of the older medications can be effective."

Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation in the joints, resulting in swelling, stiffness, pain and reduced joint function. It can also affect other parts of the body.

"We compared two different ways of treating rheumatoid arthritis -- one that included a new biologic [medication] with an older, more conventional oral medication," Mikuls explained. "We basically showed that at the end of the day patients, regardless of what they got, looked very similar in terms of pretty much every outcome we looked at in the study."

Patients whose arthritis didn't respond to methotrexate alone who were then given a combination of methotrexate, sulfasalazine (Azulfidine) and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) did as well as patients given methotrexate and the new biologic drug etanercept (Enbrel) -- which is given by injection -- the researchers said.

"The treatments are very different in terms of costs," Mikuls said. If a patient had to pay out of pocket for etanercept it could cost around $20,000 a year, while the out-of-pocket costs for the other drugs is a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, he said.

The out-of-pocket cost of etanercept varies by insurance provider, including those covering the Medicare drug benefit program, Mikuls added.

The report was published online June 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with presentation of the study at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology meeting in Madrid, Spain.

"This study addresses a real-life scenario for rheumatologists where patients are often on methotrexate and are not doing well and the question is what to do next," said Dr. Soumya Reddy, an assistant professor in the rheumatology division of the dermatology department at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City.

About 20 percent to 40 percent of patients don't respond methotrexate or can't take the drug either because of side effects or it is not indicated for them, said Reddy, who was not involved in the study.

The findings are "reassuring," in that when a biologic is not an option, due to cost or other reasons, the older regimen is effective, she said.

Which regimen is best really needs to be tailored to each patient, Reddy said.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned 353 patients to methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine or to methotrexate and etanercept for 48 weeks. Some patients switched from one regimen to another midway through the study.

View the original article here