Health

Sisters to undergo double mastectomies

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 8:57am

ATLANTA -- The nation is still buzzing about Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy.

In a New York Times piece, the 37-year-old actress explained she spent the last three months undergoing and recovering from the procedure. She made her decision after testing positive for one of the BRCA genes.

Two Atlanta sisters can relate all too well to Jolie's choice.

Amy Rice, a 21-year-old senior at Kennesaw State University, and her 24-year-old sister Lauren Rice Brewer, a University of Georgia graduate, tested positive for the same gene. Both young women will have double mastectomies this week.

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The Autism Gap: The fight for insurance

Submitted by Jaye Watson, 11Alive Reporter

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013, 2:39pm

ATLANTA -- Eight year old Ava Bullard is playing with her sisters, riding their bikes on their long country driveway. It is a simple act that defies those who said she would never talk, those who said she wouldn't function in the real world.

Ava was not a typical baby, or toddler.

Her mother Anna says, "You couldn't interact with her."

MORE | Complete coverage of The Autism Gap

Ava did not play with toys. Did not speak. Could not dress herself. Did not interact with her parents or sisters. Slept two hours a night. She was in her own world.

Anna says, "It's like she looked straight through me. She would just...it's like you weren't there, if you were in the room with her."

Anna Bullard took Ava from doctor to doctor for months. One doctor told the family Ava was 'just weird.'

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Atlanta recruiting 5,000 volunteers for cancer study

Submitted by Jaye Watson, 11Alive Reporter

Thursday, February 14th, 2013, 10:52pm

Atlanta recruiting 5,000 volunteers for cancer study

ATLANTA -- Sixty years ago, 1 million men and women signed up for the first-ever Cancer Prevention Study. They filled out surveys every few years. And the information from those million Americans led to a dramatic discovery.

Doctor Alpa Patel with the American Cancer Society is the lead researcher on CPS3, the third generation of the cancer prevention studies.

MORE | Join the Cancer prevention Study 3

"The first study was actually set up to specifically address the question of whether not smoking caused lung cancer, and it provided the first evidence that in fact smoking is what was the causal fact, causal factor with the increase rise in lung cancer death rates we were seeing in men at that time," she said.

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Researchers use dog virus to deliver vaccines

Submitted by Associated Press

Tuesday, December 25th, 2012, 9:10am

Researchers use dog virus to deliver vaccines

ATHENS, Ga. -- University of Georgia researchers are developing a method to use a virus linked to illnesses in dogs to deliver vaccines to humans.

Researchers are looking to use parainfluenza virus 5 as a mechanism to deliver vaccines to humans. The virus is linked to upper respiratory infections in dogs.

The newspaper reports the canine virus does not cause illness in humans, and researchers say they can reengineer the virus to carry and deliver specific vaccines to human immune systems. Researchers say the method is effective because human immune systems are unable to recognize the canine virus and destroy it.

Scientists have used the virus to vaccinate mice against bird flu, and say they're working toward developing vaccinations for malaria, a strain of tuberculosis and HIV.

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UGA, Ga. Tech, Emory team up for malaria research

Submitted by Holly Pennebaker, Community Web Producer

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012, 3:00pm

UGA, Ga. Tech, Emory team up for malaria research

ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Emory recently announced plans to partner to establish a comprehensive center to where research will be conducted on malaria.

According to UGA, Mary Galinski leads the Georgia consortium, which was awarded a five-year contract of up to $19.4 million to start up the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center. The funding came from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The university will use $2 million from a subcontract to collect and research data.

"The combined expertise of the consortium partners makes MaHPIC uniquely equipped to address issues related to pathogens that cause malaria, a disease that involves complex interactions between hosts and parasites," UGA professor of genetics Jessica Kissinger, MaHPIC co-principal investigator and leader of the project's informatics team said.

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Sam's Club offering free diabetes screenings

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, September 6th, 2012, 12:15pm

Sam's Club offering free diabetes screenings

ATLANTA -- Several Sam's Club Pharmacy locations throughout metro Atlanta will offer free diabetes and vision screenings this weekend.

The screenings will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and are valued at more than $150. They include glucose, A1C, vision, blood pressure and BMI tests.

"Knowing the links between risk factors, choices and solutions prepares our members to better manage or even prevent diabetes," Sam's Club Health and Wellness senior VP Jill Turner-Mitchael said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say about 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed every year. If this trend continues, one out of every three U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050.

Diabetes is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness in U.S. adults, according to the CDC.

Participating Sam's Club locations include:

Alpharetta
10600 Davis Drive

Atlanta
2901 Clairmont Road

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Study: Tax hike would cut smoking, raise revenue

Submitted by Associated Press

Friday, August 17th, 2012, 6:54am

Study: Tax hike would cut smoking, raise revenue

ATLANTA -- A new study argues that Georgia could cut smoking by 20 percent and yield almost $400 million in additional tax revenues with a $1 pack increase in cigarette taxes.

University of Georgia professor James MacKillop did the research. He is a psychologist who specializes in behavioral economics, the study of what makes individuals act in certain ways in the marketplace.

MacKillop based his results on assessments of 1,056 smokers in Georgia, Rhode Island and South Carolina. The study measured reactions to various prices, with the cost ranging from free to $20 per pack.

Georgia's current cigarette tax is 37 cents per pack. The average pack in Georgia costs $4.37. Both are among the lowest rates nationally.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded MacKillop's research.

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