Health Newsletters at the Patient Health Library, June 2013

Here are highlights from recent health and wellness newsletters at the UCSF Patient Health Library.  To see the entire articles, visit the Patient Health Library!

Not all information is free and not all of it is online!

Consumer Reports on Health

June 2013
-Aspirin, pp.6-7
-Insect-borne diseases, p.9

DukeMedicine HealthNews

May 2013
-Preserve muscle mass--and prevent falls--with proper nutrition, pp.3-4
-Which heart tests should be questioned and why, pp.4-5

Harvard Men's Health Watch

May 2013
-Reducing stress works better than supplements for heart disease, pp. 1,7
-How exercise helps the brain, p.3
-Free preventive services for men, p.5
-Osteoporosis and men, p.6

Harvard Women's Health Watch

June 2013
-8 things you can do to prevent stroke, pp.1,7
-Natural ways to relieve constipation, p.3
-Better sleep without pills, pp.4-5
-Getting your doctor to listen, p.6

Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50

June 2013
-Book vs. e-Reader: which is best for older eyes?, p.6
-Does my wart need treatment? p.7

Mayo Clinic Health Letter

June 2013
-Hearing aid technology, pp.1-3
-Nuts: small packages, big nutrition, pp.4-5

Nutrition Action Newsletter

May 2013
-Mediterranean diet: what a new study did--and didn't--find, pp.1-4
-Antibiotic resistance, pp.9-11



Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter

June 2013

-Making healthy lifestyle changes stick, pp.4-5

June 2013 Supplement: Eating right for healthy joints

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Understanding and Finding Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people. Each study answers scientific questions and tries to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose or treat a disease. Clinical trials may also compare a new treatment to a treatment that is already available.

Participants in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available, and help others by contributing to medical research.

Every clinical trial has a protocol, or action plan, for conducting the trial. The plan describes what will be done in the study, how it will be conducted, and why each part of the study is necessary. Each study has its own rules about who can participate. Some studies need volunteers with a certain disease. Some need healthy people. Others want just men or just women.

In the United States, an independent committee of physicians, statisticians and members of the community must approve and monitor the protocol. They make sure that the risks are small and are worth the potential benefits.

[Excerpted from the links below]

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About Clinical Trials

Understanding Clinical Trials
[From ClinicalTrials.gov]

Clinical Research Trials and You
[From the National Institutes of Health]

Clinical Trials
[From MedlinePlus]

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Finding Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials at UCSF Medical Center

ClinicalTrials.gov
ClinicalTrials.gov offers up-to-date information for locating federally and privately supported clinical trials for a wide range of diseases and conditions.

Searching the hundreds of research studies on cancer treatments can be overwhelming.  Using the tools from the following resources can make it easier to find clinical trials that may be right for you.

BreastCancerTrials.org


National Cancer Institute - Clinical Trials Search

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If you need more help, contact the librarian at the Patient Health Library for an individual consultation.

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Health Newsletters at the Patient Health Library, May 2013

Here are highlights from recent health and wellness newsletters at the UCSF Patient Health Library.  To see the entire articles, visit the Patient Health Library!

Not all information is free and not all of it is online!

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter

March 2013
-Probiotics: pros and cons, pp.1-2
-Energy drinks, p.3
-Overeating and the "food environment," p.4
-Age spots, p.5
-Decongestants, p.6

April 2013
-Whole grains: the 10-to-1 rule, p.3
-Vitamin B12, p.4

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter

May 2013
-Healthy diet fights infection by boosting immune system, pp.1-3
-Understanding food and medication interactions, pp.4-5

Nutrition Action Newsletter

April 2013
-Fooled by food: how to trick yourself to eat less, pp.1,3-7
-Calcium confusion, p.8

Mayo Clinic Health Letter

April 2013
-Smoothing facial wrinkles: procedures and creams, pp.1-3
-Gut microflora: the secret life of bacteria, pp.4-5
-Pain drugs and heart attack, p.6

Harvard Men's Health Watch

April 2013
-Insomnia: Learning how to sleep again, pp.1,7
-AMD: a preventable form of vision loss, p.4

DukeMedicine HealthNews

April 2013
-Advances in prostate cancer, pp.3-4
-Obesity facts and fiction, pp.4-5

Consumer Reports on Health

May 2013
-Which drugstore services are worth it and which ones you should skip, pp.6-7
-Don't let fear sabotage your health, p.11

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Resources on Nutrition and Cancer

Overview of Nutrition in Cancer Care
(from the National Cancer Institute)

Eating Hints: Before, During, and After Cancer Treatment
(from the National Cancer Institute)

Diet for Cancer Treatment Side Effects
(from UCSF Medical Center's online Health Library)

Nutrition & Cancer: The Whole Diet

(Podcast from the UCSF Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center)

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Nutrition Counseling & Workshops at UCSF
with registered dietician, Greta Macaire

Nutrition counseling services are open to UCSF cancer patients at no charge, although donations are appreciated. A dietitian is available Monday through Friday between 9 am and 5 pm. Appointments can be scheduled through any of the oncology practices.

See the Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center quarterly calendar for upcoming classes and events.

More information is available by calling the Ida & Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center at 415.885.3693 or going online to http://cancer.ucsf.edu/crc/nutrition-counseling-and-workshops.

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Facts about Smoking and Help for Quitting

• Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds. Hundreds are toxic and at least 69 are known to cause cancer.
• Damage from tobacco smoke is immediate; the chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale.
• Low levels of smoke exposure, including exposures to secondhand tobacco smoke, lead to a rapid and sharp increase in dysfunction and inflammation of the lining of the blood vessels, which are implicated in heart attacks and stroke.
• About 60 percent of American children ages 4-11 are exposed to secondhand smoke at home.
• The list of diseases caused by smoking includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema), coronary heart disease, stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, pneumonia, periodontitis, and bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, throat, cervical, kidney, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. Smoking is also a major factor in a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease.
• Smoking has been linked to at least one-third of all cancer-related deaths in the U.S.
• Smoking causes more than one in five deaths in America.
• Smokers die significantly earlier than nonsmokers: 13.2 years for men and 14.5 years for women.
• Since 1965, more than 45 percent of adults who have ever smoked have quit.
• Quitting at any age and at any time is beneficial. It's never too late to quit.

[Compiled from the resources below]

Smoking Facts
[Source: American Lung Association]

Smoking - The Facts
[Source: MedlinePlus]

Smoking & Tobacco Use: Fast Facts
[Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

U.S. Surgeon General's Report on How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease
Executive Summary (PDF)
[Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Smoking: Do you really know the risks?
[Source: American Heart Association]

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Guide to Quitting Smoking
[Source: American Cancer Society]

Smoking Cessation Products
[Source: U.S. FDA]

How To Handle Withdrawal Symptoms and Triggers When You Decide To Quit Smoking
[Source: National Cancer Institute]

The UCSF Medical Center's Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center offers classes as well as individual consultations with doctors trained in treating tobacco addiction. They help smokers maximize the likelihood of success in their efforts to quit. Services include:

•     Smoking Cessation Classes
•     Relapse Prevention Program
•     Doctor Consultation

For more information, to schedule an appointment or to enroll in a class, please contact the Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center at:

UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion
2330 Post St., Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 885-7895

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