The Health News USA November 28 2017

• According to a new study from the American Cancer Society, smoking, or eating too few fruits and vegetables and other unhealthy behaviors were linked to more than four in ten cancer cases and deaths. Researchers found an estimated 42% of the 1.57 million cancer cases in the U.S. three years ago were linked to preventable risk factors. For cancer deaths, one 45.1% percent were connected.
• Senator Chuck Schumer D-N.Y, on Sunday called for more scrutiny into popular DNA testing kits — saying unknowing customers may be putting their genetic information at risk of being sold to third parties. Schumer cited the rising popularity of home genetic kits and ancestry services, such as Ancestry, 23andMe and MyHeritage, and said some of their terms-of-service agreements weren’t clear on just what companies could do with your genetic information.
• A small US study suggests that football players may experience different degrees of brain damage after concussions depending on what position they play and how long they stick with the sport.  Researchers examined data from brain scans of 61 former college and professional football players who didn’t have any symptoms of cognitive impairment. One of the most disturbing issues with treating concussions in athletes is that the full extent of brain injuries can be difficult to assess while players are still alive.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 28th of November 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/study-4-in-10-cancer-cases-linked-to-preventable-risk-factors/ar-BBFvkgR

According to a new study from the American Cancer Society, smoking, or eating too few fruits and vegetables and other unhealthy behaviors were linked to more than four in ten cancer cases and deaths. Researchers found an estimated forty two percent of the one point fifty seven million cancer cases in the U.S. three years ago were linked to preventable risk factors. For cancer deaths, forty five point one percent were connected. The figures in the research are based on data from two thousand fourteen and were published Tuesday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Among all risk factors, cigarette smoking accounted for the highest proportion of cancer cases, the study found. Smoking accounted for more than eighty percent of lung cancer and seventy four percent of all larynx cancers.

Overall, cigarette smoking was linked to  nineteen percent of cancer cases and twenty nine percent of cancer deaths, followed by excess body weight, alcohol intake and ultraviolet radiation, the research showed. In a joint statement, the authors of the ACS study said the results emphasize the need for medical professionals and patients to use preventative measures to lower their risk.
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On their website, the American Cancer Society suggests people can lower their risk of getting cancer by staying away from tobacco, eating healthy and getting exercise, stay safe while out in sunlight, and get regular cancer screenings.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/senator-calls-more-scrutiny-home-dna-test-industry-n824031

With the holiday season in full swing, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, on Sunday called for more scrutiny into popular DNA testing kits — saying unknowing customers may be putting their genetic information at risk of being sold to third parties.
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Schumer cited the rising popularity of home genetic kits and ancestry services, such as Ancestry, TwentythreeandMe and MyHeritage, and said some of their terms-of-service agreements weren’t clear on just what companies could do with your genetic information.

He added :”Now, this is sensitive information, and what those companies can do with all that data, our sensitive and deepest information, your genetics, is not clear and in some cases not fair and not right.” The senator said he was calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “take a serious look at this relatively new kind of service and ensure that these companies can have clear, fair privacy policies.” He added that his concern was over companies’ ability to sell or share genetic information with third parties without customers’ informed consent.
Schumer’s remarks came one day before major Cyber Monday sales but days after all three companies had slashed prices for the holiday season.
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In a statement saying MyHeritage has never sold or licensed DNA data to any 3rd party,” MyHeritage linked to an Ancestry.com page that notes that Ancestry.com teamed up with a third-party firm to do genetics research.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brain-football-concussions/brain-damage-from-football-concussions-varies-by-position-and-career-duration-idUSKBN1DO2G6

A small US study suggests that football players may experience different degrees of brain damage after concussions depending on what position they play and how long they stick with the sport.  Researchers examined data from brain scans of sixty one former college and professional football players who didn’t have any symptoms of cognitive impairment. One technique, known as diffusion tensor imaging, looked at the structural integrity of white matter, which connects different parts of the brain; the other test, known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, measured brain function while participants competed memory tasks.
Former college players with three or more concussions had more extensive white matter damage than their counterparts with one concussion or less, researchers report online October thirty one in Radiology. But the opposite was true for athletes who went on to play professionally.

One of the most disturbing issues with treating concussions in athletes is that the full extent of brain injuries can be difficult to assess while players are still alive. In particular, chronic traumatic encephalopathy can only be diagnosed during an autopsy. Most previous research on head injuries in football has focused on former athletes with cognitive impairment. For the current study, researchers focused instead on former players who appeared cognitively healthy to see if imaging scans might reveal differences in brain damage based on the position played or the length of their careers. Roughly half of the study participants played only college football and half continued on to the National Football League (NFL). Half of the former players reported three or more prior concussions, while the other half reported one or no prior concussions. Roughly half of the participants were offensive or defensive linemen, so-called non-speed positions.