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Baby boomers constitute the majority of Hepatitis C infections in the United States. Unfortunately, they are also less responsive to conventional therapy.

by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

As individuals born between the years 1946 and 1964, baby boomers are currently between the ages of 46 and 64. Constituting a majority of documented Hepatitis C infections, a recent study has found that this generation is less likely to triumph over Hepatitis C than younger generations. Despite the scientific data that implies an uphill battle for baby boomers with Hepatitis C, most experts believe that there are ways to achieve a positive outcome. Healthcare practitioners have the liberty of being hopeful because they know that a myriad of strategies can effectively boost Hep C treatment success, regardless of a person’s age bracket.

Described as those who were born soon after World War II, there are an estimated 75 million baby boomers in the United States, or about 29 percent of America’s total population. It is inevitable that this large proportion of the workforce is approaching the age where health issues typically escalate. Unfortunately, boomers with Hepatitis C face an additional challenge; a new study claims that they are less responsive than younger generations to antiviral treatment.

According to a report prepared by the actuarial firm Milliman, Inc., baby boomers account for two out of every three cases of chronic Hepatitis C. Thus, a significant proportion of people with Hepatitis C are close to or over 50-years old. Based on a study published in the October 2009 edition of Journal of Viral Hepatitis, individuals with genotype 1 chronic Hepatitis C who are older than 50 have a lower rate of treatment success with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, compared to patients under age 50.

In this study, data was evaluated from over 550 patients with genotypye 1 chronic Hepatitis C taking pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) and weight-based dosing of ribavirin for 12 months. Known as a sustained virologic response (SVR), successful treatment is assumed if a person has no detectable Hepatitis C viral load six months after the completion of therapy. Upon looking at SVR, the researchers found the following:

· 52 percent of patients aged 50 or younger achieved SVR.
· 39 percent of patients over 50 achieved SVR.
· 41 percent of patients over 50 relapsed.
· 25 percent of patients aged 50 or younger relapsed.

Even though this data shows a statistical advantage for those under age 50 in fighting Hepatitis
C, the researchers also found these variables improved SVR in those over age 50:

· Lower baseline viral load
· Absence of cirrhosis

In addition, SVR rates were high among patients over 50 without liver cirrhosis who were able to maintain adequate drug dosage levels.

Based on this information, it is especially important for baby boomers with Hepatitis C to employ strategies for lowering viral load and preventing cirrhosis so they can better tolerate interferon/ribavirin therapy at full dosage. Improving the liver’s strength so that it can better fight the Hepatitis C virus and tolerate antiviral therapy can be accomplished via:

· Supplementing with high quality milk thistle – Because this herb strengthens liver cell walls, it protects the liver from increased scarring that could lead to cirrhosis.

· Boycotting alcohol – Since those over 50 have a greater chance of achieving SVR if their baseline viral load is low, alcohol must be avoided. This is because alcohol not only increases scarring of the liver, but it also fosters viral replication – which magnifies Hepatitis C viral load.

· Choosing your food carefully – Eating nutritious foods loaded with fiber, antioxidants and protein while reducing potentially harmful foods (those containing refined sugar, fat and chemicals) reduces unnecessary drag on liver function. By eliminating this burden, the liver’s health is supported.

· Exercising regularly – While exercise does not cure Hepatitis C, it does help maintain adequate circulation through the liver. By stimulating blood to flow in the liver, there is less of an opportunity for toxins to stagnate and further damage liver cells.

Even though research demonstrates that baby boomers have a lower chance of achieving SVR, those in this age bracket needn’t be discouraged. Anyone diagnosed with Hepatitis C can improve his or her chances of successfully beating the virus by taking milk thistle, eating well, exercising and avoiding alcohol. Baby boomers are particularly encouraged to employ these strategies for reducing their viral load and preventing cirrhosis so that their age will no longer hinder their chance of a successful treatment outcome.

References:

http://www.bbhq.com/whatsabm.htm, So What’s a Boomer, Anyhow?, Retrieved December 8, 2009, Baby Boomer Headquarters, 2009.

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/HepC%20Baby%20Boomers%202009.html, New Report Forecasts Hepatitis C Virus Epidemic Among Baby Boomers; Untreated HCV Progressing to Severe Liver Disease Seen Driving U.S. Costs to $85 Billion, Retrieved December 8, 2009, Hepatitis C Support Project, 2009.

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2009/120109_b.html, Hepatitis C Patients over Age 50 Are Less Likely to Achieve Sustained Treatment Response, Liz Highleyman, Retrieved December 8, 2009, hivandhepatitis.com, 2009.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122279540/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0, Peginterferon alfa-2a (40kDa) and ribavirin: comparable rates of sustained virological response in sub-sets of older and younger HCV genotype 1 patients, K. R. Reddy, et al, Retrieved December 8, 2009, Journal of Viral Hepatitis, March 2009.

Registration is now open for the 41st Annual SCGS Genealogy Jamboree. I’ll be there, giving 4 lectures, and exhibiting at the Family Roots Publishing Co. booth. The Jamboree promises to be a fantastic experience this year! Following is the news release from SCGS.

It’s Time For Jamboree!!

Registration is now open for the 41st Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, which will be held Friday through Sunday, June 11-13, 2010, at the Marriott Los Angeles Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center in Burbank, California.

The 2010 Jamboree follows the longstanding tradition of delivering the perfect mix of lecture sessions, exhibitors, networking and social activities. This year’s Jamboree offers nearly 130 quality classes conducted by the most knowledgeable and experienced genealogy speakers from the US, Canada and points beyond. The geographic focus for this year’s Jamboree is North America – Canada, Mexico, and all regions of the United States. DNA and technology will also receive special emphasis in 2010.

The exhibitors represent the leading organizations and commercial companies who provide products and services to today’s genealogists and family historians, as well as local, regional, and national genealogical societies.

WHAT’S NEW IN 2010?
1. Thursday Evening Registration. Many of our attendees requested that they be allowed to pick up the syllabus and other registration materials on Thursday evening. We listened, and in 2010 we will have a Jamboree check-in period on Thursday evening. Thursday night’s check-in will be for pre-registered attendees only, and no walk-in registrations will be processed when the registration desk opens Friday at noon.

2. More Seats. In response to last year’s post-conference satisfaction survey, we are expanding our seating capacity by adding a pavilion that will be situated behind the Convention Center, adjacent to the lawn. The pavilion will hold 300 seats, will be fully air conditioned, with wireless internet access. Jamboree will take over the Marriott Hotel as well as the Convention Center and hold sessions in both buildings as well as the pavilion.

3. Mini-courses. We will be running a track of hands-on computer lab workshops throughout the weekend. About 20 people per course will bring their laptops and go through hands-on workshops on using Excel, Word, blogging software, Skype, Google Earth, etc. These mini-courses are open only to paid Jamboree registrants. A special online registration for mini-course attendees will open on May 1.

4. Free Friday Forenoon sessions will ensure that in these economically challenging times, expense will not be a barrier to learning. Several concurrent sessions, each lasting three hours, include a Genealogy Librarian’s boot camp, a repeat of last year’s highly popular Kids’ Family History Camp, and beginner and advanced beginner genealogy sessions. Registration is required to attend the Free Forenoon Friday sessions.

5. The “Small World” round table discussion has been expanded to three hours and moved to Friday morning. The session affords an excellent opportunity to network, to explore research tactics for specific geographic regions of the world, and to exchange tips and techniques on an informal basis. A complete list of round table discussion topics will be announced at a later date. There is no charge to attend the Small World session, but registration is required.

6. Ancestry Scanning. Ancestry will be bringing a number of high-speed scanners and scheduling free, 15-minute scanning sessions. Ancestry has provided this service at other conferences, and we are thrilled that they will be scanning documents and photos for Jamboree attendees.

As in years past, registration discounts are available for SCGS members and early-bird registrants (before May 1).

For all of the details, visit our website at www.scgsgenealogy.com and click on the Jamboree brochure.

See you at Jamboree!

Kelly Taylor is heading to a new zip code: Jennie Garth is leaving The CW’s 90210 to spend more time with her husband and three daughters.

The actress, who appeared in the original Beverly Hills, 90210, reprised her role as ’90s “It Girl” Kelly Taylor for the new show. Fans of the FOX primetime soap found Kelly as a single mother and guidance counselor at alma mater West Beverly in The CW’s revival spinoff.

Jennie initially intended to appear in just a few episodes of the remake, but ended up staying on the series for more than a year. Now the celeb wants to devote herself to life at home with children Luca Bella, 12, Lola Ray, seven, and three-year-old Fiona Eve

“I’m not really doing it anymore,” Jennie told a reporter during a visit to the Golden Globes gifting lounge on Saturday. “[Not for] a while.”

Instead, the actress says she has some a few other projects coming up.

“I’m doing a children’s book,” she said, adding that she’s developing a film with her husband, Twilight Saga star Peter Facinelli.

Alfa Romeo ha puesto en línea el día de hoy dos nuevos videos del Giulietta, destinado a reemplazar al 147 y que estará disponible para el público en el salón de Ginebra. El Giulietta será el único lanzamiento nuevo de la marca en lo que va del año, probablemente aderezado con el reemplazo del 159.

El Giulietta será una versión que solamente se venderá en variante de 5 puertas y será un poco más grande que el 147. Con una cintura baja y una parte delantera que se asemeja al MiTo, aunque no igual, Alfa estará ofreciendo dos versiones diésel y dos versiones a gasolina. Los de gasolina serían los 1.4, con una versión Multiair y los dos diésel de 1.6 y 2 litros, mientras que se ofrecerá una versión Quadrifoglio Verde, ya un clásico entre los seguidores de la marca, con casi 240 caballos.

Fuente | Alfa Romeo

Other Great AndroidGuys Posts

• January 12, 2010 — Rumor: Sprint Working with Walmart on WiMax Build Out (67)
• November 25, 2009 — Best Buy Mobile Offering 5 Android Under $100 (22)
• November 18, 2009 — Sprint Finally Acknowledges Android in Commercial (4)
• November 4, 2009 — Check it Out! It’s an Unboxed DROID Eris! (9)
• November 3, 2009 — Verizon to Charge $15 for Exchange Access on the Droid? [UPDATE] (19)

ST. LOUIS — In his first public appearance following his admission of steroid use, Mark McGwire received a loud and long standing ovation Sunday.

Of course, the setting was the Winter Warm-Up, the Cardinals’ version of the Cubs Convention and SoxFest, and McGwire certainly must have felt warmed — until he met with media a short time later.

That reception was much more winter-like. It was cut short after six minutes of a testy give-and-take during which McGwire said steroids use “was the biggest regret of my life.”

The new Cardinal hitting coach said while answering questions on stage in front of a rabid 1,500-plus fans it is “yet to be determined” what reaction he will find when the Cardinals go on the road, including to Wrigley Field May 28-30 and U.S. Cellular Field June 11-13.

“It’s something I have to deal with,” he told fans. “It might bring more fans to the ballpark to watch the Cardinals.”

McGwire was asked by media about allegations from former Oakland teammate Jose Canseco that he wasn’t telling the full truth and whether McGwire was familiar with specific names of steroids.

“Those names, yeah, I’m familiar with them but, like I said, I’m not going to go down that road with Jose,” he said. “I’ll take the high road with Jose.”

He also was asked whether he really never had told Tony La Russa of his drug use. La Russa, his manager in Oakland and St. Louis, had said he believed McGwire was clean.

“Absolutely. Tony La Russa? I kept this to myself,” he said. “You now what? I spoke from my heart and I spoke honestly [Monday night on TV with Bob Costas]. That’s me.

“And I hope you all can accept this and let’s all move on from this. Baseball is great right now, baseball is better and let’s just all move on.”

And with that, he ended his short informal press conference and departed the Hyatt Hotel for new Busch Stadium to work with his proteges.

Mark McGwire speaks to fans at the team’s annual Winter Warm-Up. (AP / Jeff Roberson)

By Dave van Dyck

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Editor’s Note: Apple just announced a media event on January 27 in San Francisco to announce their “Latest Creation.” Tablet, anyone? We’ll find out next Wednesday.

There are more leaks and rumors in the Apple world regarding their (hopefully) coming soon tablet. According to one of the “insiders” mentioned in a Boy Genius Report article, the tablet is basically an “iPhone on steroids” and the multi-touch gestures are “out of control.” I’m guessing that’s out of control in a good way. The tipster also said that it’s powered by a zippy ARM CPU, not that we expected Apple to do anything less than amazing. With an ARM processor the tablet will deliver incredible speeds and performance while reducing power consumption, something Apple has been good at in the past. Using an ARM processor will also cut down on the hardware cost for Apple meaning that maybe I won’t have to sell my first born in order to buy the tablet. Maybe. This is Apple we’re talking about.

The “multi-touch gestures” that the tipster is talking about is more than likely the product that Fingerworks was bragging about (before Apple shut down the web site in January). If this is what will be implemented into the Apple tablet, then get ready for a wild ride. The multi-touch touchpad is designed to allow the user to do pretty much everything by simply employing a few pre-programmed gestures, whether it’s scrolling, turning up the volume, or going back a page. In a press release from a while back, FingerWorks described it this way: “Mouse operations like point, click, drag, scroll, and zoom are combined seamlessly with touch-typing and multi-finger gesture everywhere on the MacNTouch’s surface.” Sales Manager Jeff Green adds “People are amazed by all the things a hand gesture user interface provides. We have a large number of easy-to-use gestures that cover just about every common computer operation.” Seriously, this stuff is off the chizain!

The tablet will be running on the iPhone kernel, but the tipster didn’t know of any updates in the OS so far, supposedly Apple wanted to avoid leaks. Of course, all of this is just rumor for now. No matter how reliable a tipster may be, we won’t really know until Apple officially releases anything – possibly at their just-announced media event next Wed., January 27.

So now the speculation is that it will be a giant iPhone. Something tells me that’s not the case. I mean, that’s just not Apple’s style. If they’re going to give us something new and exciting, they’re going to give us something completely new and totally exciting. Not only that, but it would be kinda disappointing if it were just a giant iPhone. I mean, really? That’s the best you’ve got?

 

 
 Facebook is posting warning messages on its site.

Fake fundraising efforts for the Haiti disaster are spreading like wildfire on Facebook. Dozens of fan pages have been set up, urging users to join and promising a $1 donation for each member. One group this weekend attracted 1.5 million members before it was disabled.

Meanwhile, during the weekend, Facebook officials had to beat back a rumor that the firm had promised a $1 donation for every member that changed their status to include a message about Haiti.

"This status is being tracked, the owners of facebook have confirmed they will send $1 to the rescue fund for the Haiti earthquake disaster for everytime this is cut and paste as a status," read one form of the bogus claim. "You only have to leave it for a minimum of 1 hour. Lets all do our bit to help."

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the firm took aggressive steps to quell the rumor.  It posted a note on its blog on Saturday warning about the bogus message.

"Beware of scams and hoaxes and ensure that your donations for Haiti get to the right places," the social networking company wrote on its blog.   Contrary to a current meme, Facebook is not donating $1 for statuses, however we are sharing reputable resources via the "Other Pages" tab on the Global Disaster Relief on Facebook Page."

Later, Facebook began outright blocking the status update. When users come upon a page with the bogus update, a warning message pops up which says, "This message is fraudulent. For legitimate ways to help those in Haiti, please visit the disaster relief page."

The fake fan page fund-raisers had spread, seemingly, to all parts of the globe. Examples could be found claiming to be based in the United Kingdom, and in multiple languages. One Spanish group currently has 215,000 fans, for example.

"We'll look into the groups now," Schnitt said in response to an e-mail inquiry from msnbc.com.

It's not clear why a Facebook user would create the fake fan pages. It could be a mere prank designed to attract the maximum number of users — Facebook is full of such efforts, like the "I bet Massachusetts can get 1 million fans before any other state does" page. 

But such groups could easily be turned to more nefarious uses.  A spammer or hacker could harness  a large fan group to commit other scams.  Fan page administrators are able to contact each fan through status updates, providing a perfect platform for phishing or virus attacks.

The administrator of a group named "EVERY PERSON THAT JOINS WE WILL DONATE £1 TO HELP PEOPLE IN HAITI!" was a woman who identified herself as a college student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The group had about 5,000 fans on Monday morning. When asked why she started the group, the woman said she hadn't, and initially denied being an admin. She said she signed up for the fan page "hoping that I can contribute or do something to help the people of Haiti." Shown the admin page for the group, she offered a different explanation.

"Just check(ed) and you're right. I don't even (know) how I became and admin. Honestly, I did not create this or monitor this," she wrote.

Computer security experts have long warned about what’s now called “promiscuous friending” – the habit of many Facebook users to simply accept all friend requests. That opens the door for computer criminals to take advantage of trust relationships formed on the site. Hackers with friend access can post links to viruses on victims’ walls, for example, or directly message the friends with Trojan horse e-mails.  Fan page administrators have slightly fewer capabilities, but it’s still a bad idea to accept any unexpected fan, group, or friend requests.

Concerned users can easily donate money directly to the Red Cross at http://RedCross.org

 

Become a Red Tape Chronicles Facebook fan or follow me at http://twitter.com/RedTapeChron

This is a very, very bad thing Lexicon did. And thanks to the super sleuths at Audioholics, they got very, very caught.

The Lexicon BD-30 is a $3500 (!!!), THX-Certified Blu-ray player. Unfortunately, aside from some slight re-branding, it’s also a $500 Oppo BDP-83, chassis and all. From the review:

“When we received the player the first thing we did was open it up to get a look at the inside. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did the Lexicon share the same boards and transport as the Oppo – it was in fact AN OPPO BDP-83 PLAYER, CHASSIS AND ALL, SHOVED INSIDE AN ALUMINUM LEXICON WRAPPER. As far as we could determine, Lexicon didn’t change a single thing in terms of the hardware. Heck, they didn’t even lift the boards out of the chassis, opting instead to cut out the bottom of their own chassis to accommodate the venting locations, and putting a darker blue filter over the Oppo’s VFD display to give it a slightly deeper hue.”

The entire thing is so galling that it’s actually kind of hilarious… unless you’re someone who just found out you paid a 700% premium on a Blu-ray player. Then again, why on earth were you shelling out that kind of money in the first place? [Audioholics via Consumerist]

For the first blog of the new decade I want to take you back to the turn of the century. A time when we had Westlife at number 1, Tony Blair in his pomp, the prospect of the millennium bug and a plan by world leaders to tackle global poverty -the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

They were trumpeted by the leaders of the G8 (the world’s most industrialised nations), as a great solution to the continuing scar of global poverty.

However, we are way off track for meeting these commitments. If we don’t start to see some strong action this year then they will just become empty promises. And that’s where you come in. Take part in Oxfam’s Big Promise and send a message to world leaders that promises can and must be kept.

Through the MDGs millions of people could be lifted out of poverty. They aim to provide, among other things, clean water, access to medicines and build schools. The short film below gives more of an idea of what these commitments are.

The deadline for meeting these eight goals is 2015 but as things stand we’re nowhere near reaching them. Unless something changes dramatically, our leaders will break the promises that we made to the developing world.

Millions of people in poor countries continue to get low-quality health care, or are forced to go without it altogether. Fees are too high, hospitals and clinics are too few.

More than 72 million children in the developing world – the majority of them girls – are going without education. That’s more than the population of the United Kingdom.

So now is the time to put pressure on our leaders and make sure that they can’t wriggle out, forget about or spin their way around meeting the MDGs.

In some ways the new century has been a disappointment. I still don’t have a flying car or a robotic butler. There’s not much chance that I’ll get either of them in the next five years. But with the right will, us lot putting the pressure on and leaders, erm leading, we can reach the MDGs and lift millions of people out of poverty.

Take part in Oxfam’s Big Promise

The ISRA-PVF board of directors is pleased to announce the organization’s candidate endorsements and preferences for the 2010 Illinois Primary Election.

Endorsement and preference decisions were made by the board of directors after a careful review of candidate qualifications, voting records, candidate survey responses, and other pertinent factors that gauge the candidates’ suitability.

In the Republican primary race for Illinois Governor, the ISRA-PVF has endorsed the candidacy of Kirk Dillard.

The board found this a very difficult decision in light of the fact that the crowded field of candidates included long-time friend Sen. Bill Brady and exciting newcomer, Adam Andrzejewski.

In the Democratic primary race for Illinois Governor, the ISRA-PVF board of directors has expressed a preference for candidate Pat Quinn over his opponent, Dan Hynes.

In the Republican primary race for Illinois Lt. Governor, the ISRA-PVF board of directors has expressed its preference for candidate Jason Plummer.

In the Democratic primary race for Illinois Lt. Governor, the ISRA-PVF board of directors has expressed its preference for candidate Art Turner.

In the Republican primary race for Illinois State Treasurer, the ISRA-PVF has endorsed candidate Dan Rutherford.

A full list of endorsements and candidate preferences may be found at the ISRA-PVF Web site: isra-pvf.com

About the ISRA-PVF

The ISRA-PVF is a political action committee affiliated with the Illinois State Rifle Association.

A copy of our report is available from the Illinois State Board of Elections, Springfield, IL.

Credit Suisse sees far too many reasons to short the yen these days, in a global equity strategy report from January 11th. First of all, they find the Yen nearly 25% over-valued on purchasing-power-parity basis (PPP) vs. the U.S. dollar. Secondly, they point to Japan's even more rapidly deteriorating government debt situation. Thirdly, they highlight recent political pressures to weaken the yen in a bid to help exports. It would also be a 'stealth default' on government debt obligations.

Then fourthly, they show the chart below. The credit default swap (CDS) market has lost a lot of confidence in Japan. Note how the credit default swap spread for Japanese sovereign debt has doubled since mid-2009, meaning the cost to insure Japanese government debt against potential default has soared.

Credit Suisse: The fiscal position is extremely poor: With gross government debt to GDP of 197% (net government debt is 105% of GDP) and real rates almost two percentage points above the trend real GDP growth rate (2.4% versus 0.5%), a primary budget surplus of about 3% of GDP is required in order for the country to avoid being on an explosive debt path. However, the government runs a cyclically-adjusted budget deficit of 5.4% of GDP. This implies that fiscal tightening of more than 8% of GDP is required to avoid being on an explosive debt path.

(Via Credit Suisse, Global Equity Strategy, Currency and equity investment implications, 11 January 2010)

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Japan's New Kamikaze Finance Minister Is On A Mission To Blow Up The Yen, And Finally Let The Nikkei Surge
• Morgan Stanley: Yen Intervention Risk Rising
• Japanese Yen On A Tear

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has begun assembling the first A-10 Thunderbolt replacement-wing set at its Macon facility.

The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing the contract, worth up to $2 billion, in June 2007 to provide as many as 242 A-10 replacement-wing sets through 2018.

“This is a phenomenal accomplishment for this Boeing Macon team and a real tribute to the partnership between Boeing and the Air Force to keep these vital aircraft flying in support of U.S. military men and women,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and CEO.

“We are honored to help extend the life of these storied planes as they serve our warfighters in their essential close-air support missions.

This is also an important milestone in Boeing’s drive to offer our customers maintenance and modification support on a wide range of aircraft, regardless of the plane’s original manufacturer.”

Boeing will deliver the replacement wing sets to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in four parts: three wing sections and an installation kit. Air Force personnel will install the wings.

Boeing is scheduled to deliver the first wing set in September and up to 50 wing sets a year at peak production.

The A-10 Thunderbolt, also known as the Warthog, is a twin-engine jet aircraft designed for close-air support of ground forces. More than 350 aircraft are currently in the U.S. fleet participating in both Iraq and Afghanistan operations.

About Boeing Defense, Space & Security

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Deborah VanNierop, 210-932-6640
Global Services & Support – San Antonio
[email protected]