Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Hockey Great Gordie Howe Has Dementia
Even though hockey legend Gordie Howe has mild dementia, he
still plans to begin another series of fundraisers to support
dementia research.
A form of dementia called Pick's disease killed Howe's wife
Colleen in 2009. Family members haven't sought a diagnosis of the
exact type of dementia afflicting the 83-year-old Howe, who started
showing signs of the condition in his late 70s, the
Associated Press reported.
Concussions weren't tracked during Howe's playing career, so
it's impossible to know how many the man known as Mr. Hockey might
have sustained or whether there's any link between possible
concussions and his dementia.
"He's a little bit worse than last year, but pretty close to about the same," son Marty told the AP. "He just loses a little bit more, grasping for words."
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Sugar Should Be Regulated, Taxed: Doctor
Sugar is a "toxin" that should be regulated or taxed like
alcohol or tobacco, a University of California doctor says in an
article published in the latest issue of the journal
Nature.
Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist, says Americans
consume an average of nearly three times the Department of
Agriculture's recommended daily intake,
CBS News reported.
All types sugars, including high fructose corn syrup, are to
blame for diseases such as high blood pressure and heart disease,
he claims. Fat have long been blamed for those diseases.
"It was never the fat. It's not the fat. It's the sugar," he said, CBS News reported.
The Sugar Association and the American Beverage Association
dismissed Lustig's assertions.
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Tobacco Cos. Oppose Graphic Images on Cigarette Packs
A federal judge shows no signs of changing his position in favor
of the U.S. government's push to require cigarette packs carry
large graphic photos of dead and diseased smokers.
Previously, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that tobacco
companies are likely to succeed in their lawsuit to stop the
requirement and he blocked it from taking effect until after the
lawsuit is resolved, the
Associated Press reported.
At a hearing Wednesday, Leon heard from cigarette makers that
they shouldn't have to place "massive, shocking, gruesome warnings"
on products they legally sell. Federal government lawyers said the
photos are "factually uncontroverted."
After the hearing, Leon said the government appears "headed to a
place where you have to watch a 10-minute video before you can even
buy a pack of cigarettes."
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Closing Arguments in Plan B Lawsuit
Closing arguments were heard Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging
the constitutionality of Washington state's requirement that
pharmacies stock and sell emergency contraceptives even if
druggists have religious objections because they believe the
contraceptives destroy human life.
The lawsuit was launched by Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, Wash.
and two licensed Washington pharmacists in 2007. They say that
dispensing Plan B and other emergency contraceptives would infringe
on their religious beliefs, the
Associated Press reported.
State rules compel pharmacies to dispense any medication for
which there is a community need and to stock a representative
assortment of medicines required by their patients. The rules are
legal because they apply neutrally to all medicines and pharmacies,
the state says.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton blocked the state dispensing
rule in 2007, but a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel said he
applied the wrong legal standard and overruled him. The case was
sent back to Leighton and he was told to apply the correct legal
standard, the
AP reported.
Wednesday was the last day of an 11-day trial to reconsider the
case.
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Colorado Considers Strict School Trans-Fat Ban
Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would implement
the strictest school trans-fat ban in the United States.
The bill would ban any artery-clogging trans-fat in all school
food, not just food served through regular cafeteria lunches. That
would mean no trans-fat in vending machine products, after-school
bake sale items, and popular "a la carte" lunch items such as pizza
and ice cream, the
Associated Press reported.
The bill is scheduled to be heard Thursday by a Colorado House
committee.
A number of states limit trans-fat in school cafeterias, but
there are no trans-fat bans that extend before and after school,
the
AP reported.
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