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Study Finds Overweight Youth Are Twice As Likely To Have Overweight Friends
Researchers from the Institute of Prevention Research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) found in a recent study that overweight youth were twice as likely to have overweight friends.

Sotomayor 'Clearly Belongs' On Supreme Court, NYT Editorial Says
Despite "the flimsy arguments" that some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee made for opposing the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, she "clearly belongs on the court," a New York Times editorial states. Although Sotomayor sometimes avoided "forthright answers on important legal issues" during the confirmation hearings, she consistently "showed an impressive command of the law," according to the editorial.Claims that Sotomayor would not be able to resist "judicial activism" and that she would be "overly influenced by "personal preferences"" if she were to serve on the court are "strikingly weak," the editorial states. It continues, "Some Republicans may be wary of opposing Judge Sotomayor because she would be the first Hispanic justice, and they are reluctant to alienate a large voting bloc," but "[t]here is no need for political calculations." According to the editorial, "Senators should support her because she is eminently qualified."The editorial states, "We hope the vote in the full Senate for Judge Sotomayor will be overwhelming and the rhetoric more high-minded" (New York Times, 8/2).
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Some Small Businesses Must Cut Employee Health Benefits Or Lay Off Workers Amid Economic Recession
Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 10% of small companies are considering ending their employee health coverage plans over the next year, compared with 3% of small businesses in 2005, according to a recent survey by the National Small Business Association. In 2008, 38% of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41% in 2007 and 61% in 1993, according to NSBA. According to a Hewitt Associates survey, 19% of all U.S. businesses plan to halt providing health care benefits to their employees in the next three to five years.A rise in health care coverage premiums has contributed to employers eliminating plans, according to the Journal. Premiums for single policies increased by 74% for small businesses from 2001 to 2008, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to Scott Krienke, senior vice president of product lines for Assurant Health, health insurance premiums for small businesses increase by 8% to 16% annually on average, with smaller firms often having the highest increases. According to the Journal, many employers are choosing to eliminate health coverage instead of eliminating jobs or closing down their business. Some businesses have chosen instead to shift more health care costs to workers, change health insurers, switch prescription drug plans to encourage employees to purchase more generic drugs or offer employees wellness plans that encourage healthy habits as a strategy to reduce health care costs, the Journal reports (Mattioli, Wall Street Journal, 5/26).
Endocrinology

Gender Difference In Stroke: One Disease, Two Effects:

Congress is expected to take up legislation this summer aimed at improving the nation"s healthcare system. Whatever the shape of the final bill, it will have at least some impact on one of the three leading causes of death in the U.S.: stroke. Stroke typically occurs when arteries become blocked, preventing blood from flowing to the brain. When the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, brain cells die and long-term brain damage results. For this reason, a stroke is also known as a brain attack. It is an illness that affects male and female brains differently although scientists are not sure why. To discuss the current state of gender research and stroke, Patricia Hurn, a renowned expert in stroke and sex differences, and Professor and Vice Chair for research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, will address attendees at the Sex Steroids and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology conference, being held July 15-18, 2009 in Broomfield, Colorado. The program, sponsored by The American Physiological Society , attracts scientists in the field of gender biology, physiology, medicine and related fields. Stroke and Gender While both males and females are at risk for stroke, males have a particular sensitivity. Data show that male stroke victims outnumber females by about two to one. Actor Kirk Douglas, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and singer Barry White are among high profile men who have suffered a stroke. Women are likewise at risk for stroke and, as they age, their outcomes are often worse than their male counterpart"s. Hurn thinks the outcomes phenomenon may be because women are typically older than men when a stroke occurs. In terms of stroke treatment, men again have a disadvantage. For example, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the only drug therapy approved by the FDA for stroke treatment, has been shown to improve stroke outcome and generate brain damage response in women but to a lesser extent in men. And even at the smallest level of new discovery -- the molecular and cellular level -- male and female dish cultures respond differently. Is Estrogen the Answer to Stroke Prevention? Since females carry the sex hormone estrogen researchers have long examined whether it protects the XY brain and thus shields it from stroke"s injury and damage. Large scale and in-depth studies of animals have shown that there is a protective effect for animals, but results in human studies have been less conclusive. In fact, in the U.S. government"s largest study involving estrogen and cardiovascular disease, known as the Women"s Health Initiative (WHI), researchers found a small detrimental risk of stroke among the women taking estrogen. Whether the risk was an anomaly due to the study parameters is not yet clear. In the meantime the effect of estrogen remains an unexplained variable in the effort to understand stroke. A New Focus: Testosterone Researchers have focused on the effect of estrogen for more than 15 years. With no apparent conclusion at hand, Hurn and her colleagues have shifted their investigative focus to the influence of testosterone, the primary male hormone, in stroke. According to Hurn, "We think this approach, coupled with examining brain stroke injury at the molecular and cellular level, is the best way to get at some of the underlying issues that have challenged us scientists for so long." Conclusion Despite the fact that men are more likely to suffer a stroke, they are not the only ones affected. The differences between male and female stroke may in fact put women at a greater disadvantages than men in terms of their health outcomes. "It is our hope that by bringing fresh approaches to existing studies we may be able to improve the chances of surviving a disease that strikes one individual every 45 seconds, and kills an individual every three minutes," says Hurn. Donna Krupa American Physiological Society


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