93-year old Mike Wallace, the hard questioning 60 minutes reporter known for taking on world leaders died on April 7, 2012.

He had been in declining health in recent years. Mike Wallace was a correspondent on the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” since its premiere in 1968 where he earned a reputation as one of the toughest interviewers in the business.

He was a highly regarded journalist, interviewing many world leaders and controversial figures over the years including Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Jose Canseco, Yasir Arafat and Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, till his retirement in 2006.

He started his journalism career in the 1940s as a radio news writer and broadcaster for Chicago Sun. He later joined CBS News in 1951 and later returned to the network in 1963 after leaving in 1955.

He also wrote several books including “Between You and Me,” with Gary Paul Gates and “Heat and Light: Advice for the Next Generation of Journalists” in collaboration with Fordham University journalism professor Beth Knobel.

A new study presented the study at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Chicago, shows that Chinese women who ate cabbage, broccoli and leafy greens saw improved survival rates after breast cancer than women who did not eat these cruciferous vegetables.

The Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival study involved findings that came from data on 4,886 Chinese breast cancer survivors age 20-75 who were diagnosed with stage one to stage four breast cancer from 2002 to 2006.

The risk of dying of breast cancer decreased by 22 to 62 percent for the cruciferous veggie eaters, and their chance of experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer dropped by 21 to 35 percent.

According to the study, women who ate more cruciferous vegetables over the 36 months following their diagnosis saw their risk of dying from any cause decrease by 27 percent to 62 percent compared to women who reporting eating little or none of these veggies.

Sarah Nechuta, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and lead author of the study, suggest breast cancer survivors “may consider increasing intake of cruciferous vegetables, such as greens, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, as part of a healthy diet.”

Sarah Nechuta further added: “Commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in China include turnips, Chinese cabbage/bok choy and greens, while broccoli and brussels sprouts are the more commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in the United States and other Western countries.”

62-year old Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees is recovering in the hospital after intestinal surgery. This is just weeks after he said he was in remission from from liver cancer.

According to the UK’s Daily Mail, a statement released on the singer’s behalf said: “On Sunday 25 March, Robin Gibb underwent further intestinal surgery.”

Robin Gibb had recently required chemotherapy for his cancer treatment, and in April it is reported that he will lead a performance of “The Titanic Requiem,” a new work composed by him and his son, RJ, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking.

In an interview with BBC Radio 2 back in February, Robin Gibb said: “I was diagnosed with a growth in my colon. It was removed. And I’ve been treated for that by a brilliant doctor, and in their own words ‘the results have been spectacular.”

He further added: “I love food, I love eating. I’ve always been thin. If you go back to when we first started I’ve always been skinny. It’s hard for me to put on weight.”

A new Stanford University study indicates that the anti-inflammatory and painkiller ibuprofen seems to reduce the risk of altitude sickness.

Headache, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and poor appetite are among the symptoms of altitude sickness, which affects more than 25 percent of Americans who travel to high elevations each year to ski, hike or camp.

If unrecognized or untreated, altitude sickness can lead to high-altitude cerebral edema, a potentially fatal swelling of the brain.

According to Time.com, “Researchers report in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that among a group of 86 men and women who spent two nights hiking in the White Mountains of California, those who were randomly assigned to receive ibuprofen were 26% less likely to develop acute mountain sickness than those who took a placebo.”

Lead author Dr. Grant Lipman, an emergency-medicine physician at Stanford Hospital & Clinics and a clinical assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California said: “Ibuprofen could be a way to prevent [altitude sickness] in a significant number of the tens of millions of people who travel to high altitudes each year.”

The good news is that ibuprofen is one of the altitude sickness remedies over the counter.

According to HealthDay News, a new study indicates that people who don’t get enough sleep consume more calories and may be more likely to become obese.

The study included 17 healthy young men and women who were studied for eight nights. Half of the participants got their normal amount of sleep (control group) while the other half got only two-thirds of their typical amount of sleep (sleep-deprived group).

According to the study, those in the sleep-deprived group slept one hour and 20 minutes less each night than those in the control group, and consumed an average of 549 additional calories per day.

The study which was presented Wednesday at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting, shows that lack of sleep was associated with increased levels of leptin and decreased levels of ghrelin, both of which are appetite-associated hormones. These changes were more likely a result of overeating, rather than the cause of overeating

Study co-author Dr. Andrew Calvin, a cardiology fellow and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, said: “Sleep deprivation is a growing problem, with 28 percent of adults now reporting that they get six or fewer hours of sleep per night.”

According to the Associated Press, a class of experimental arthritis drugs such as Pfizer’s drug tanezumab, has been sidelined due to links to bone decay by the FDA.

The Food and Drug Administration says there is a clear association between the nerve-blocking medications and incidences of joint failure that led the agency to halt studies of the drugs in 2010.

Drugmakers once touted the drugs, known as nerve growth factor inhibitors, as a potential breakthrough for treating osteoarthritis, back pain and other chronic pain conditions. For more than a century doctors have treated pain with familiar painkillers like aspirin and Advil, or powerful opiate-based drugs. Both approaches can be problematic. Anti-inflammatory painkillers like Advil can cause stomach bleeding, while opiates carry a high risk of addiction.

The injectable nerve-silencing drugs offered a new approach, by blocking proteins that control pain sensations throughout the body.

But problems with the drugs began to emerge in the summer of 2010. Beginning in June, Pfizer halted studies of its experimental injection tanezumab in patients with osteoarthritis, low back pain and diabetic nerve pain. The action was requested by the Food and Drug Administration, after researchers reported that osteoarthritis actually worsened in some patients, causing joint failure in some cases.

In December the FDA put a research hold on all drugs in the class after similar problems emerged, halting studies by Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Regeneron was developing a compound called REGN475 in cooperation with Sanofi-Aventis. Johnson & Johnson was testing its drug fulranumab in several pain conditions. The FDA lifted its hold on a trial of the drug for cancer pain last summer, though studies for osteoarthritis remain on hold.

The drugmakers are expected to argue Monday that the joint deterioration was caused by a rare drug side effect caused by patients taking multiple painkillers simultaneously. According to briefing materials, Pfizer and J&J both found that the bone problems almost exclusively occurred in patients taking the experimental drugs along with traditional anti-inflammatory painkillers like aspirin and Advil.

The FDA’s analysis published Thursday supports that theory, noting that the side effects were worst among patients taking both nerve-blocking drugs and older painkillers. However, the agency notes that Pfizer’s tanezumab was associated with significant bone problems even when used alone. The FDA analyzed nearly 500 cases of bone damage reported by all three drugmakers studying the medications.

31-year old Nick Cannon, host of “America’s Got Talent,” revealed that his ongoing health problems are the result of a recently diagnosed autoimmune disease similar to lupus.

Nick Cannon, who is married to pop star Mariah Carey and have twins together, said: “They kind of say [my] autoimmune [disease] is — like a lupus type of thing, but no one else in my family has it.”

Nick Cannon was hospitalized in January for kidney failure, which doctors revealed was acute kidney injury or acute kidney failure.

What is Autoimmune Disease Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder, which means the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy cells and tissues.

Lupus is a disease that is characterized by periodic episodes of inflammation of and damage to the joints, tendons, other connective tissues, and organs, including the heart, lungs, blood vessels, brain, kidneys, and skin. The heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain are the organs most affected. Lupus affects each individual differently and the effects of the illness range from mild to severe. Lupus can potentially be fatal.

What Causes Lupus?

Lupus is considered to be a multifactorial condition. Multifactorial inheritance means that “many factors” are involved in causing a health problem. The factors are usually both genetic and environmental, where a combination of genes from both parents, in addition to unknown environmental factors, produce the trait or condition. Often one gender (either males or females) is affected more frequently than the other in multifactorial traits. Multifactorial traits do recur in families because they are partly caused by genes. Females are affected with lupus three to ten times more often than males.

What Are The Symptoms of Lupus?

Lupus symptoms are usually chronic and relapsing. The following are the most common symptoms of lupus. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

• Malar rash – a rash shaped like a butterfly that is usually found on the bridge of the nose and the cheeks.
• Discoid rash – a raised rash found on the head, arms, chest, or back.
• Fever
• Inflammation of the joints
• Sunlight sensitivity
• Hair loss
• Mouth ulcers
• Fluid around the lungs, heart, or other organs
• Kidney problems
• Low white blood cell or low platelet count
• Raynaud’s phenomenon – a condition in which the blood vessels of the fingers and toes go into spasm when triggered by factors such as cold, stress, or illness.
• Weight loss
• Nerve or brain dysfunction
• Anemia

93-year old Nelson Mandela, former South African President and anti-apartheid icon was hospitalized Friday, February 24, with a stomach complaint and is now recovering from an operation.

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma in a statement said: “Mandela has had a long-standing abdominal complaint and doctors feel it needs proper specialist medical attention.”

President Zuma further added: “Mandela is fine and fully conscious and the doctors are satisfied with his condition, which they say is consistent with his age. We are happy that he is not in any danger.”

Nelson Mandela’s public appearances have become increasingly rare with age, though he did appear at the closing ceremony of the World Cup in July 2010. Mandela also held a private meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama when she traveled to South Africa with her daughters last year.

Mandela’s last surviving sibling, a sister, died last month near Qunu. Makhulu Nothusile Bhulehluthi was 82. Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, their father, had several wives and 31 children.

According to reports, AeroShot Pure Energy, the inhaled caffeine product that went on sale last month, and is already popular among the youth, will be investigated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials concerned about whether it’s safe for consumers.

Breathable Foods, the manufacturer of the powder and the yellow and gray canisters it’s delivered in, said it is “a safe, effective product that complies with FDA regulations,” and will “cooperate fully with the FDA’S review.”

AeroShot Pure Energy is being sold in convenience stores and other retailers in Massachusetts, New York and France as a $2.99 dietary supplement, a classification that the FDA will also review.

Breathable Foods claims that AeroShot Pure Energy only contains 100 milligrams of caffeine, about as much as in a large cup of coffee and B vitamins.

According to LAWeekly, “These warnings are not enough for Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., who is concerned that the AeroShot may be abused by teenagers on the hunt for a Four Loko substitute. At his urging, the FDA will investigate the safety of the product, as well as it whether it indeed qualifies as a dietary supplement.”

Reuters reports that counterfeit versions of Roche’s multi-billion cancer drug Avastin have been distributed in the United States, the Swiss drugmaker and its U.S. biotech unit Genentech revealed today.

According to Roche, they were contacted about the fake Avastin by a health authority outside the United States and was informed that the counterfeit drug in the United States came from another country.

Roche and Genentech said in a statement: “We are working with the FDA and law enforcement to aid their evaluations, determine the source of the counterfeit drug, and prevent its further distribution.”

The FDA said it has sent letters to 19 medical practices informing them about counterfeit 400mg/16ml doses of Avastin.

Avastin is given intravenously, and while Roche and the FDA may not know how much counterfeit Avastin is out in the market, there are tell-tale signs in spotting the counterfeit versions.

The genuine version of Avastin, known chemically as bevacizumab, has Genentech on the label, which is all in English. The counterfeit says Roche and the label is in French.

Lot numbers of actual Avastin are comprised of six digits with no letters, while the counterfeit lot number begins with a letter. And the counterfeit bottles of Avastin are missing information on the label, such as “for intravenous use.”

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