Antidepressants Could Make Your Brain Bleed, Cause Hemorrhagic Strokes

Lisa Garber

Thickened arteries, heart disease, depression, suicide, and now, we can add bleeding of the brain to the long list of side effects of antidepressants. Though the risk is admittedly very small, researchers declared on Wednesday that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may raise the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, which happen when the brain bleeds.

SSRIs include a wide variety of common antidepressents, including Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, and Paxil. These drugs are also linked to an increased risk of stomach bleeding.

Platelets Can’t Clot, Hemorrhage

After analyzing 16 previous studies involving over 500,000 patients, researchers determined that SSRI users were 40 to 50 percent more likely to suffer bleeding of or around the brain. The researchers were not, however, able to collect other relevant data, like subjects’ smoking and drinking habits, diet, and whether they had diabetes. Their findings were published in the journalNeurology.

Americans Consume Nearly 200 Pounds of GMOs Each Year

Lisa Garber

We know that the vast majority of corn, soybeans, and much of many other crops are genetically modified, but do we know how the how much GMOs are consumed each year? Actually, yes. Average Americans today eat about 193 pounds of genetically modified foods over 12 months—and that’s an underestimate, according to the Environmental Working Group.

EWG analyzed data from 2011 provided by the US Department of Agriculture to investigate how much GMOs Americans were eating annually. Four foods—sugar beets, corn syrup, soybean oil, and corn-based products—were selected for calculation, with 95 percent of sugar beets, 93 percent of soybeans, and 88 percent of corn grown in the US being some of the top genetically modified foods.

They found that the average American adult, weighing 179 pounds, consumes 68 pounds of beet sugar, 58 pounds of corn syrup, 38 pounds of soybean oil, and 29 pounds of corn-based products each year. This means the average American eats more than his or her body weight in GMOs annually—likely more than that.

Other GMOs

True Horror: Doctors Paid to Inject Experimental ‘Bone Cement’ in Routine Surgeries, Killing Patients

Lisa Garber

In May 2004, a Food and Drug Administration investigator triggered a years-long inquiry and trial of Synthes, a multinational medical device manufacturer, uncovering multiple cases of what amounted to human experiments that left five unwitting patients dead. The four business-people found responsible served between five and nine paltry months in prison.

The families of the dead were only recently informed that their loved ones had perished on the tables of surgeons using an experimental bone cement. They sued Synthes’ elusive yet “forceful,” “hands-on,” “800-pound gorilla” CEO, Hansjörg Wyss, to no avail.

Clinical Trials Shirked

Between 2002 and 2004, Synthes—based in Switzerland and West Chester, Pennsylvania—tested a revolutionary product they called Norian XR, a cement which turns into bone when injected into the skeleton. The promising product was more effective than acrylic alternatives, but the FDA demanded clinical trials. Wyss and his executives, whom he hand-picked and groomed for company success, knew this would cost time and money.

As it turns out, the FDA’s concerns were well-founded. In the spring of 2002, University of Washington orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jens Chapmen sent an email with the results of an animal study. When Chapman injected Norian XR into a pig’s bloodstream, “the entire pulmonary artery system had clotted off…We were expecting to kill the pig…but not suddenly and with a relatively small dose.”

Big Pharma Giant Withdraws Major MS Drug, Increases Price by 20 Times

Lisa Garber

Corporate greed trumps noble intentions yet again in the world of Big Pharma. Sanofi, the world’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical company, recently withdrew the leukemia drug Alemtuzumab after 20 years of prescribing it, off label, to treat multiple sclerosis patients. Sanofi and subsidiary Genzyme cite intentions to apply for appropriate licensing—but before you applaud the companies for following regulations, keep in mind that they intend to rebrand and raise the cost of Alemtuzumab—by 15 to 20 times.

Off label Use

Prescribing drugs according to a physician’s instinct (or pocketbook) rather than according to the drug’s license is known as “off label” use. While perhaps deservedly frowned upon, neurologists began prescribing Alemtuzumab off label to MS sufferers after the New England Journal of Medicine published study results favoring alemtuzumab over another drug in the treatment of MS. Alemtuzumab also costs less, requiring two courses over two years.

Genzyme, however, will change that by rebranding alemtuzumab as Lemtrada and raising prices, halting supplies in the meantime because “any adverse event outside a clinical trial…may complicate the regulatory process.

Kraft Factory Chemical Accident Leads to Deadly ‘Poison Cloud’

Lisa Garber

When workers at a German Kraft Foods facility accidentally poured nitric acid into a tank of sodium hydroxide, 250 factory employees fled and 700 firefighters arrived at the scene to combat the resultant blaze. About 1,800 people have been evacuated from the area and authorities have closed all nearby schools and kindergartens as well as a passing highway.

It’s not just the fire authorities are worried about, however. The nitrous gases from the reaction are highly toxic to the human body.

Poison Cloud Released

When the firefighters attempted to pump the nitric acid from the contaminated tank, they inadvertently released a plume of poisonous nitrous gas from the chemical reaction. The toxic cloud was dispersed on Tuesday morning, and the problematic acid mixture was, at the time of writing this article, being pumped out by rescue teams.

Witnesses compared the scene to something out of a disaster movie. Regional firefighters struggled with the fire but called upon specialists from Hamburg when the situation worsened on Tuesday morning.

Big Pharma Meningitis Outbreak Continues, No End in Sight

Lisa Garber

The meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroids has killed 15 people and infected 231 as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the situation is not improving.

“We’re nowhere near the end of this problem,” says Vanderbilt University Medical Center expert Dr. William Schaffner. “We will see more patients reporting in ill and we’ll have to treat many more going forward.”

14,000 People at Risk

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration found fungus in sealed vials of a steroid manufactured by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) based in Massachusetts. The spinal steroids are typically used to relieve back pain, but the fungal contamination has caused non-contagious fungal meningitis. The condition affects the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord, causing headache, fever, nausea, stiffness of the neck, confusion, dizziness, and aversion to light.

Of the 23 states that ordered medications from the compounding facility in question, only 8 have not reported at least one case of fungal meningitis. Authorities say that almost 14,000 people received injections of the steroid and may develop the potentially deadly condition.

Other Drugs Possibly Contaminated

New York Times Admits Stanford Organic Food Study Flaws, Apologizes

Lisa Garber

We broke the story of Stanford’s ridiculous organic food study the very night of its publication. Now, a month later, the media is catching on to the study’s flaws; New York Times Opinion columnist Mark Bittman apologized for hoping—in vain—that the study would have little impact on the media. “That was dumb of me,” he says, “and I’m sorry.”

Narrow Definitions and Egregious Oversights

The study suggests that organic animal and plant products are no healthier than conventionally grown varieties. Bittman puts it beautifully:

By providing ‘useful’ and ‘counterintuitive’ information about organic food, [the study authors] played right into the hands of the news hungry while conveniently obscuring important features of organic agriculture.

The study authors narrowly—and misleadingly—defined the word “nutritious” and “healthy,” and on numerous occasions contradicted themselves.  How can food that the authors admit “may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria” also be no more or less healthy than foods that don’t? How can foods that put less waste and toxins into the groundwater be no more or less healthy for us than foods that pollute our water and harm those—animals and human—who drink it? We already know of the many nasty effects of pesticides and dangers of GMOs.

Cell Phone Dangers: Loaded with Mercury, Chlorine, Cadmium, Health Risks

Lisa Garber

Not that you’ll be eating your cell phone anytime soon, but did you know that it’s loaded with toxins like mercury, chlorine, and cadmium? Helping to analyze cell phone dangers, the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan teamed up with ifixit.com to take apart and identify components of 36 models of cell phones. They found at least one of the following in every device: 

• Bromine
• Chlorine
• Cadmium
• Lead
• Mercury

In total, ifixit.com dismantled over a thousand cell phones to test for toxins by utilizing X-ray fluorescence to irradiate and measure the radiation given back by an object. Certain materials—like the toxins—are identified by the signature of radiation the object re-emits. 

7 Nasty and Crazy Effects of Pesticides in Food, Exposure

Lisa Garber

When asked by a skeptical friend why you buy organic, do you find yourself tongue-tied? Was it obesity? Or thyroid problems? Why should you buy organic? There are numerous reasons to skip the mainstream supermarket food and shop at an organic grocer, but just one of those reasons revolves around the effects of pesticides. 

Unfortunately, pesticides attack your body on several fronts. Keep this list handy the next time you find yourself wondering if you should buy a carton of conventional strawberries rather than organic to potentially save a few pennies. Remember that all of the following conditions will cost you much more than money; the effects of pesticides will cost you your health. 

Here are 7 nasty and crazy effects of pesticides.

More Deaths Amounting from Meningitis Contaminated Shots

Lisa Garber

We reported on October 9th that contaminated steroids have sickened 105 people with a noncontagious but deadly form of fungal meningitis, with 8 people dying. Steroids contaminated with fungus have claimed two more victims since Wednesday. In total, 14 have died and 170 have been sickened from a rare fungal meningitis in 11 states since the outbreak.

13,000 may Have Been Exposed

Though the condition is not transmitted from person-to-person, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that about 13,000 patients may have been injected with the contaminated steroid. The steroid in question is a painkiller, typically administered to relieve back pain.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found fungus in sealed vials of the steroid, which was produced by New England Compounding Center (NECC). Late last week, the NECC voluntarily recalled all of its products and removed its own license to operate until the investigation’s completion.

Symptoms of Fungal Meningitis

ADHD Drugs Prescribed to ‘All Academically Struggling’ Children

Dees Illustration

Lisa Garber

There is a frightening new trend in the medical community: prescribing psychoactive stimulant medication to children from low-income families to boost their academic performance. To be more clear, doctors are actually prescribing ADHD drugs to students who are academically struggling. Here’s the kicker: the kids don’t have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Evening the Scales

One proponent of the trend, Dr. Michael Anderson, says that ADHD is a “made up…excuse” for the real illness, which is a social and educational environment unwilling to spend money on changing the environment and instead opting to change the child. A self-professed “social justice thinker,” Anderson knows that many families cannot afford behavior-based therapy for their children. He sees the practice of issuing Adderall to children without ADHD as “evening the scales a little bit.”

After 20 Years, Federal Court to Review Evidence on Therapeutic Value of Marijuana

Lisa Garber

Americans for Safe Access, a group of doctors, medical professionals, and patients, will defend scientific evidence of marijuana’s therapeutic value next week in the US court of appeals in Washington, DC. This will be the first time in 20 years that a federal court will review marijuana’s classification as a schedule I drug—dangerous with no medical benefits, in the same arena as LSD and heroin.

“This is a rare opportunity for patients to confront politically motivated decision-making with scientific evidence of marijuana’s medical efficacy,” says Joe Elford, chief counsel to Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “[They] are finally getting their day in court.”

DEA Stalled 10 Years, Denied Scientific Evidence

Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dismissed the marijuana policy reformers’ request to reconsider the drug’s classification, citing a five-year-old report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (The reformers initially petitioned the DEA nearly ten years ago, a process the ASA describes as stalling.)

Soon Censored? Korean Scientists Successfully Kill Cancer with Magnets

Lisa Garber

In South Korea, scientists used a magnetic field to get cancer cells to actually self-destruct. The body removes old, defective, and infected cells through the process of programmed cell death (PCD), or apoptosis. In apoptosis, the rejected cell responds to certain signals sent by the body by fragmenting. Immune cells then consume these fragments. The magnets help trigger apoptosis. When apoptosis fails, however, rejected cells divide uncontrollably, developing tumors.

Magnets Induce Apoptosis

Professor Jinwoo Cheon of Yonsei University in Seoul and a team of scientists conducted experiments on bowel cancer cells using magnetic fields to induce apoptosis. They attached iron nanoparticles to antibodies, which bind to “receptor” molecules on tumor cells. These molecules cluster when the magnetic field is applied, triggering the “self-destruct” signal and thereby apoptosis. In the experiment, over half of the bowel cancer cells were destroyed when the signal for apoptopic clustering came into effect. Untreated cells remained unaffected and unharmed.

Big Pharma’s Response?

13,000 People Exposed to Big Pharma Shots Contaminated with Rare Fungal Meningitis

Lisa Garber

As of Monday, contaminated steroids have sickened 105 people with a noncontagious but deadly form of fungal meningitis, while 13,000 people may have been exposed to the contamination. Eight have died. Health officials attribute the outbreak to spinal steroid injections for back pain.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found fungus in sealed vials of the steroid in question, produced by the Massachusetts-based pharmacy, New England Compounding Center (NECC). The NECC voluntarily recalled all of its products on Saturday and surrendered its license to operate until completion of the FDA’s investigation. 

You can find a list of the 76 medical facilities that obtained the steroid at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 

What is Fungal Meningitis? 

Food Prices Rising: Reaching Near Emergency Levels, Riots Expected

image source

Lisa Garber

According to a group of researchers, their mathematical model using food prices can predict social unrest and riots. Given the drought and rampant speculation, this may bode ill for several regions in the world. Food prices have been rising for quite some time, and aren’t showing any sign of slowing. 

People raise their voices and go to arms for reasons too complicated to address here altogether, but it would be folly to leave hunger out of the equation. The spark may be an anti-Islam film or an incident of police brutality, but Yaneer Bar-Yam of the New England Complex Systems Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts says that it’s high food prices that create “the range of conditions in which the tiniest spark can lead to riots.” 

History of Accurate Predictions 

The NECSI has received attention of late for its accurate predictions of food price behavior, most notably those showing spikes in food prices that coincided with the 2007-2008 riots.

Omega-3 Fats Seen as Natural Anti-Aging Nutrient

Lisa Garber

A new study partially attributes longevity to consuming enough omega-3s to balance the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, which preserves DNA segments called telomeres – telomeres shorten with age. The scientists essentially pinpoint omega-4 fats as a natural anti-aging nutrient. 

Participants in the experiment supplementing with omega-3s also showed 15 percent lower levels of oxidative stress compared to a placebo group. 

Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio in America 

The typical American diet is heavy in omega-6 fatty acids—found in vegetable oils—and low in omega-3s, with about a 15-1 ratio. 

“The idea we were looking at with the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids was an increase in the denominator to make the ratio smaller. In the United States, we need to focus on the omega-3 part because we don’t get enough of those.” Ideally, researchers say the ratio should be 4-1 or 2-1. 

New Study: Mother’s BPA Consumption Caused Son’s Overactive Thyroid

Lisa Garber

The University of California, Berkley has released a new study linking a mother’s bisphenol-A (BPA) consumption with her newborn son’s thyroid problems. “This is one more study in the accumulating evidence that taking steps to avoid BPA would be prudent,” says Tracey Woodruff, director of the University of California, San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. Though she was not involved in the study, she cited the study’s examination of BPA’s effect on pregnant women as especially critical.

BPA Exposure Leading to Overactive Thyroid

New Study Confirms GMO Crops Causing More Pesticide Use, Superweeds

Lisa Garber

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) require more pesticide use on crops, say the authors of a 16-year studypublished in Environmental Sciences Europe. According to the researchers, 527 million pounds of a toxic herbicide have inundated farmlands since 1996.

What’s more, this abhorrent amount is much greater than that promised by Monsanto, which claims that GM crops require smaller doses of herbicides like the company’s best-selling Roundup Ready.

This study found, however, that although farmers did reduce Roundup Ready use by 2 percent between 1996 and 1999, herbicide use resurged with a vengeance thereafter. This was a result of the emergence of “superweeds” that resist herbicides, requiring farmers to use more of it with each application.

Herbicide and Pesticide Use Damage Humans, Environment

GMO Study Broadcast: Russian GMO Rat Experiment to be Broadcast 24/7

GMO rat experiment. ( from RT)

Lisa Garber

Russian researchers will stream a live experiment to show the effects of GMO feed on rats. This comes after a French study found GMOs to have negative effects on rats, which lead to a provisional Russian suspension on imported Monsanto genetically modified corn.

Russian Scientists Condemn GMOs, Plan a Unique Experiment

French scientists at the University of Caen sounded the alarm on September 19 after publishing images from their study of tumors on rats fed American GM maize. The National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGS) researchers in Russia have publicly condemned genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and have declared plans to conduct an experiment which members of the public can see, allowing the latter to formulate well-informed opinions about GMOs themselves.

These researchers will install web cameras in the cages of four groups of rats.

TSA to Implement Body Scanners that Instantly Know Everything About your Body

Lisa Garber

If you thought the x-ray scanners at the airport were bad, wait until you find out that TSA employees will soon know what you had for breakfast and how pumped you are to sit on a plane for twelve hours.

Unfortunately, you won’t know what they know, because Homeland Security’s new toy is capable of detecting every molecule on your person from over 164 feet (50 meters) away—without your permission.

CIA-Backed Company Develops New Scanners

Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you, reports Gizmodo.

The scanner was developed by Genia Photonics before being subcontracted by In-Q-Tel, a company founded in 1999 “by a group of private citizens at the request of the Director of the CIA and the support of the U.S. Congress.” Although the technology is not new, In-Q-Tel made it exponentially faster and more convenient to use—which has its own implications.