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New York City Likely To Ban Fast-food ToysFollowing into the footsteps of Los Angeles officials, several New York City council members unveiled a bid on Tuesday to ban fast-food restaurants from giving toys to children. City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie is likely to introduce the bill on Wednesday. Explaining the reason behind his decision, Comrie said that the ban would help in the reduction of the allure of fast-food restaurants for children and would encourage the industry to come up with healthier options. Restless Legs Syndrome Not Good For Heart, Finds StudyA new study has suggested restless legs syndrome may be linked to structural heart problems. The syndrome is characterized by frequent leg movements during sleep. Arshad A. Jahangir, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and colleagues reported at the American College of Cardiology meeting that people with more than 35 bursts of leg movement per hour while sleeping are more likely to suffer from severe left ventricular hypertrophy. Foods Addiction Similar To Drug Addiction, Finds StudyA new study has found that food addictions result in similar activity in the brain as drug addictions. "This past year we got interested in the idea of food addiction and the neural process," lead researcher Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychology doctoral student at Yale University, told the Los Angeles Times. "We just wanted to get down and deep into whether people really experience food addiction." The study was conducted by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The researchers studied 48 women with an average age of 21 who ranged from lean to obese. Overtime Work Boosts Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, Finds StudyA new study has found that overtime work boosts the risk for cardiovascular problems by 67 percent. The researchers studied 7,095 British civil service workers and found that those who spend 11 or more hours per day while working had a 67 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease than those who follow normal 8 hour routine. "We knew there was an association between working long hours and coronary heart disease, but we were really surprised that it was such a strong predictor," said Mika Kivimaki, professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London and lead author of the study. The findings of the study were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Breast Milk Analysis May Help In Early Detection Of Breast Cancer, Say ResearchersAccording to a presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida this week, breast cancer can be detected earlier by analysis of breast milk. The researchers said that it can be done by the examination of the epithelial cells in breast milk as it may help in the assessment of an individual mother's risk. Epithelial cells are joined together by cell junctions and the epithelial cell layer is attached to the underlying connective tissue by a basement membrane. No Evidence To Prove That Most Autism Treatments Are EffectiveA series of reviews published today in the journal Pediatrics have claimed that there is no evidence to prove that most autism treatments are effective. Researchers added that behavioral intervention like speech therapy and play dates help in improvement of learning, language skills and overall behavior. Smoking Does Not Increase Breast Cancer Risk, Finds StudyA new study, which was presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, has though there is a significant link between smoking and breast cancer, smoking does not boost the risk of breast cancer. The study said that breast cancer risk depends on the body weight. The results from an analysis of the Women's Health Initiative observational study showed that the risk was more or less whether obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference. Researchers Identify New genes linked to Alzheimer'sA new study has found four new genes linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the commonest form of dementia. An additional study has found a fifth gene. The findings of both studies appeared in the science journal Nature Genetics on Sunday. The first study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and in this study the researchers analyzed genetic data gathered on 54,000 individuals. About 20,000 of those studied had Alzheimer's and the rest of who were cognitively normal, says lead author Gerard Schellenberg of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine, in Philadelphia to USA Today. Antidepressants Increase Arteries' Thickness, Finds StudyA new study of middle-aged male twins has found that men who take antidepressants are more likely to have thicker arteries and they are more prone to heart and stroke risks than those who do not. The study presented at a major cardiology conference in New Orleans on Saturday is the first to examine the link between vascular disease and antidepressant use. The researchers studied 513 twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry and the average age of the participants was 55. Acting W.Va. Gov Inks Autism Insurance MeasureActing W.Va.Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin yesterday signed autism insurance measure which requires health insurers to cover therapy considered crucial for children with autism. The new measure will help the people obtain the applied behavioral analysis using the family policy, which was pretty costly. "This is so amazing. This will take such a financial burden off of them," a policy holder told Businessweek. "For Gavin, he just wouldn't receive a future. It just wouldn't happen." FDA Proposes Making Restaurants Highlight Calorie Counts on MenusIn an apparent effort to check the growing rate of obesity in the country, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday proposed rules that would make it mandatory for some restaurant and fast-food chains to come up with menus that will reveal the calorie content of standard items. The rules will take final form after one more round of public comment. The new rules would also apply to vending machines, coffee shops and convenience and grocery stores. The rules however, will not affect movie theaters, bowling alleys or airlines. Delaware Senate Passes Medical Marijuana BillThe Delaware state Senate approved a bill legalizing medical marijuana on Thursday. The bill is based on the Marijuana Policy Project's model legislation. It passed the senate 18-3 and now goes to House. The bill said that if a patient has written recommendation from doctors for certain serious or debilitating conditions that could be alleviated by marijuana then the patients could keep six ounces of the drug. The bill was approved by the Senators after they added an amendment lowering the minimum age for qualifying patients from 21 to 18.
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