HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELIZE

I am dedicating this day to Belize and all Belizeans.

It is Independence Day in Belize and all Belize must look at today with pride and joy that we have gotten this far and that we are moving on. Belize has still a lomng way to go but we will get there and we will have a great life and a great country.

God Bless Belize and all Belizeans

To my Belizean brothers and sisters, I send my love and my wish for a better Belize. God Bless and keep you all safe and free.

BELIZE UNITED.

QUE VIVA BELICE!!!

Love always,

brenda A. Ysaguirre

SELF EXAM NOT A PLUS

Breast self exams don't reduce deaths
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (UPI) -- A review of studies found no evidence that breast self-exams reduce breast cancer deaths and may result in more negative biopsies, Danish researchers said. Jan Peter Kosters and Peter Gotzsche of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen said that the practice may be doing more harm than good, since it led to almost twice as many biopsies that turned up no cancer in women who performed the self-exams, compared to women who didn't do the exams. The review, published in The Cochrane Library, said two large studies of 388,535 women in Russia and China included in the review, women who used self-breast exams had 3,406 biopsies, compared with 1,856 biopsies in the group that didn't do the exams -- while there was no significant difference in breast cancer deaths between the two groups. The review is an updated version of a 2003 review of studies, which came to a similar conclusion. The study authors recognize that some women will want to continue with breast self-exams and women should always "seek medical advice if they detect any change in their breasts that might be breast cancer," Kosters said.

MAS ERRORES FATALES

More Fatal Domestic Medication Errors
SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Asking patients to monitor their own medications can be fatal, as exemplified by the death of "The Dark Knight" actor Heath Ledger, U.S. researchers said. Sociologists at the University of California, San Diego, examined nearly 50 million U.S. death certificates from 1983 to 2004, focusing on a subset of 200,000 deaths from medication errors. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found a 3,196 percent increase in fatal domestic medication errors involving alcohol and/or street drugs. "The decades-long shift in the location of medication consumption from clinical to domestic settings is linked to a dramatic increase in fatal medication errors," principal author David P. Phillips said in a statement. "Increasingly, people take their medications at home, away from hospitals and clinics. But most studies of fatal medication errors have focused on those clinical settings." The study found non-domestic fatal errors not involving alcohol or street drugs showed the smallest increase, 5 percent, while domestic medication fatalities not involving alcohol or street drugs increased by 564 percent and non-domestic medication fatalities involving alcohol and/or street drugs increased by 555 percent.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

LOS CATARACTOS SON LA MAJOR CAUSA DE LA CEGUERA

Cataracts leading cause of blindness
CHICAGO (UPI) -- More than 22 million U.S. adults age 40 and older have a cataract -- the most common age-related eye disease, researchers say. A study by Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute reveals that eye disease diagnoses, including cataract, continue to rise. More than half of all Americans have cataracts by the time they are 80 years old and it is the leading cause of blindness. "Cataract is something that most of us will develop at some point in our lives," Hugh R. Parry, president and chief executive officer of Prevent Blindness America, said in a statement. Cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens. Generally, a cataract does not cause pain, redness or tears. Symptoms may include blurred or double vision, lights seeming to be too dim or sensitivity to strong light. A milky or yellow spot may also be noticeable in the eye, Parry said. Surgery to remove cataracts has a 95 percent success rate resulting with patients having 20/20 to 20/40 vision, Parry said. Every year, on average, 3 million Americans undergo cataract surgery -- the most frequently performed surgery in the United States.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

FRANCKINCENSO REDUCZA DOLOR DE ARTRITIS EN LA RODILLA

Frankincense Reduces Knee Arthritis Pain
DAVIS, Calif. (UPI) -- An enriched extract of "Indian Frankincense," or the herb Boswellia serrata, has been shown to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthrits, U.S. researchers said. B. serrata has been used for thousands of years in the Indian system of traditional medicine. The study, published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, found patients taking the herbal remedy showed significant improvement in as little as seven days. Dr. Siba Raychaudhuri of the University of California, Davis, said the high incidence of adverse affects associated with available medications for osteoarthritis -- the most common form of arthritis -- has created great interest in the search for an effective and safe alternative treatment. The 90-day, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 90 people to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 5-Loxin -- an enriched extract of B. serrata in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. At the end of the study, both doses of 5-Loxin conferred clinically and statistically significant improvements in pain scores and physical function scores in the patients.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

BICHO RESISTENTE AL CHLORINE

Chlorine-resistant Bug Threatens Swimmers
ATLANTA (UPI) -- The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is focusing on ways to fight a chlorine-resistant parasite in U.S. pools and water parks. Called Cryptosporidium, or crypto for short, the parasite is found in human and animal feces and is easily transmitted through water, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. When ingested, crypto can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headaches and low-grade fever for as long as two weeks. Outbreaks have been increasing over the past two decades prompting the CDC to work with industry representatives and public health officials to develop a new set of water-safety guidelines. Jonathan Yoder of the CDC says the fact that chlorine doesn't kill crypto requires both swimmers and pool officials to shift their thinking. "It's important for them to understand they can transmit illness when they swim when they're ill," Yoder said. Some water parks, like Seven Peaks in Provo, Utah, have installed ultraviolet systems that can kill crypto and other parasites.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

ADONDE Y CUANDO?

Patient Dumping Outlawed in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A new Los Angeles ordinance requires hospitals to obtain patients' written permission before moving them anywhere other than their homes, officials said. Los Angeles medical centers have come under fire for allegations of hospital workers transporting homeless patients to shelters before they are healthy enough to be without medical treatment, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Hospital officials say they are worried that if they are convicted of violating the law, their facilities could be left out of vital federal health programs. They have also voiced concerns about whether or not hospitals can afford to hold homeless patients who do not have homes. "The most important thing is to get culture change in the way that hospitals discharge patients," said a spokesman for Rockard J. Delgadillo, a Los Angeles city attorney whose office is conducting probes of about 50 dumping allegations that occurred before June 30, when the ordinance was put in place.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International