The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Multiple sclerosis linked to shingles - study
- Japan cleanup of radioactive water hits snag
- U.S. congressman Weiner quits in lewd photo scandal
| Multiple sclerosis linked to shingles - study Posted: 16 Jun 2011 09:09 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People who get shingles are more likely to also develop multiple sclerosis, with researchers in Taiwan finding that people who developed shingles had four times the risk of being diagnosed with MS within the next year. But the team led by Jiunn-Horng Kang at Taipei Medical University Hospital warned that their study did not show that shingles itself could cause MS, although there were "several potential mechanisms" that could explain why the two diseases are linked. "Our findings support the notion that occurrence of MS could be associated with herpes zoster attack," Kang and colleagues wrote in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. "We found a significantly higher risk for MS within 1 year of (a) herpes zoster attack compared with the control population." Shingles is a painful condition caused by reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox, known as varicella-zoster virus. Once a person has had chicken pox, the virus goes into a dormant state, dwelling in the body's nerve fibers. However, in some people the virus can reactivate and cause shingles, which usually begins with a burning pain or itch in one location on one side of the body, followed by a rash of fluid-filled blisters. MS occurs when the protective coating around nerve fibers begins to break down, slowing the brain's communication to the rest of the body. Symptoms include fatigue and problems with balance and muscle coordination, as well as memory loss and trouble with logical thinking in some people. About 2.5 million people have MS worldwide, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. Most experience their first symptoms between the ages of 15 and 50. Reviewing a database from the insurer that covers 98 percent of Taiwan's population, the researchers found more than 300,000 people with shingles. They compared them to nearly 950,000 others with similar characteristics, who didn't have the disease. Over the course of a year, fewer than one in 10,000 in the group with shingles developed MS -- but that was still nearly four times as many as in the group without shingles. "After adjusting for monthly income and geographic region, the hazard of MS was 3.96 times greater for the study group than controls," the researchers wrote. Kang said that shingles is associated with disruptions to the immune system, which in turn might trigger MS. Also, a reactivation of the shingles virus may "provoke a series of immune responses in the host which may be linked to MS," Kang told Reuters Health. The authors cautioned that most people included in the study were Han Chinese, among whom MS occurs relatively infrequently, so the findings might not apply to Western populations. In addition, the authors did not have information about whether people smoked or drank alcohol, another potential influence on the findings. "These factors may be confounding to our results and need to be further explored," Kang added. (Reporting by Alison McCook; editing by Elaine Lies) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Japan cleanup of radioactive water hits snag Posted: 16 Jun 2011 09:09 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's crisis-hit nuclear power plant could spill more radioactive water into the sea within a week unless engineers can fix a glitch in a new system to clean up pools of contaminated water, officials said. Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, has pumped massive amounts of water to cool three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which had meltdowns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disabled cooling systems.
But managing the radioactive water has become a major headache as the plant runs out of places to keep it. Around 110,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water -- enough to fill 40 Olympic-size swimming pools -- is stored at the plant. Tepco, with help from French nuclear group Areva, U.S. firm Kurion and other companies, has been test-running a system in which radioactive water is decontaminated and re-used to cool the reactors. In a setback, it said water had leaked from a facility used to absorb cesium on Thursday, but it hoped to replace equipment and start the decontamination process by the end of Friday as planned. "We are working on this with plans (to start the system) today," a Tepco official told reporters. If the treatment system does not work, the complex could run out of space to store contaminated water as early as June 20, and it could then spill into the sea, Tepco has said. The start of Japan's monthlong rainy season has also added to the risk of a buildup. In early April the utility dumped about 10,000 tonnes of water with low-level radioactivity into the ocean, prompting criticism from neighbours China and South Korea. (Reporting by Chisa Fujioka) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| U.S. congressman Weiner quits in lewd photo scandal Posted: 16 Jun 2011 09:09 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner, ensnared in a humiliating flap for sending lewd photos of himself to women online, resigned on Thursday, ending a weeks-long scandal that made his fellow Democrats cringe.
"I had hoped to be able to continue the work that the citizens of my district had elected me to do -- to fight for the middle class and those struggling to make it," Weiner told reporters in Brooklyn at the seniors' centre where he first announced plans to run for New York City Council 20 years ago. "Unfortunately, the distraction that I have created has made that impossible, so today I am announcing my resignation from Congress," he said, looking composed in contrast to 10 days ago when he tearfully admitted to online dalliances. Once seen as a rising star among Democrats and widely expected to run for New York mayor, Weiner made his announcement alone, his wife absent, at a raucous event where he was heckled repeatedly. Weiner, 46, represented parts of New York City in the House of Representatives since his first election in 1998. He had established himself as a leading liberal voice in the House and easily won a seventh two-year term last November. Under pressure from President Barack Obama and both major political parties, Weiner previously insisted he would seek treatment and take a short leave of absence from the House. "Obviously, it's been a tough incident for him," Obama said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" to air on Friday. "But I'm confident that they'll refocus and he'll refocus, and they'll end up being able to bounce back," he added in an excerpt released on Thursday night. On Tuesday, Obama told NBC News: "He's embarrassed his wife and his family. ... If it was me, I would resign." Democrats feared that Weiner had become a political liability to their efforts to win back the House from Republicans in next year's elections. Weiner also had been seen as a strong contender for New York mayor in 2013. Elizabeth Viggiano, a 62-year-old senior at the centre, said: "It's heartbreaking. He got caught with his pants down." Other locals such as Robert Kolowaski, 56, had mixed feelings, calling his actions victimless. "He was very feisty," he said. "He stood up for the people." Weiner is the third member of Congress to step down this year in sex scandals. Republican John Ensign of Nevada quit the Senate after an extramarital affair with a former campaign aide. Republican Chris Lee of New York quit the House after sending a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met online. FALL FROM GRACE Weiner's resignation marked a remarkable fall from grace for a politician who in 1992 became New York's youngest-ever City Council member, at age 27. Weiner was known for his forceful debating and acerbic wit. He had powerful friends, too. Weiner married Huma Abedin, 35, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a ceremony last July officiated by former President Bill Clinton. His mentor was New York's powerful U.S. senator, Chuck Schumer, for whom he had worked after graduating from college. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: "Congressman Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations. Today, he made the right judgment in resigning." A senior Democratic congressional aide said the final straw for Pelosi was on June 8, when additional photos of Weiner emerged. The aide added that during a call last Friday, Weiner urged Pelosi to reconsider her call for him to resign, citing polls showing his constituents wanted him to stay. "Consider those rose petals to let you go graciously," Pelosi told him, according to the aide. After talking with his wife, who returned from an overseas work trip with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, Weiner called Democratic leaders on Wednesday to tell them he would resign, congressional aides said. At his news conference, he apologized to his wife and thanked her for standing by him. Democrats are expected to retain Weiner's House seat, which will be filled in a special election. Ironically, for someone who had successfully used social media such as Twitter and Facebook to boost his political brand, Weiner's fall was prompted when he accidentally posted publicly via Twitter a close-up of his bulging underpants. Weiner denied for more than a week that he sent a photo of himself in boxer briefs to a woman in Seattle on May 28, claiming his Twitter account had been hacked. But on June 6, he admitted he had lied and had inappropriate exchanges with six women, some after he was married. Since then, more lewd pictures of Weiner have surfaced, making him daily fodder for tabloids and late-night comedians. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Weiner's fall "a lost opportunity" that was "tragic." (Writing by Mark Egan; Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Richard Cowan, Thomas Ferraro, JoAnne Allen, Daniel Trotta and Paula Rogo; Editing by Peter Cooney) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: World Updates To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan