Breast implants may be linked to rare cancer - FDA

By Lisa Richwine and Susan Heavey

A saline-filled breast implant is shown in this undated file photograph. (REUTERS/Mentor Inc/Files)



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women with silicone or saline breast implants may face a small increase in risk for a rare immune-system cancer near their implants, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday.

Officials need more data to tell if the implants caused the cancer and are asking doctors to report confirmed cases, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. Overall the agency still considers implants safe and said women without symptoms should not change their routine monitoring.

The cancer warning could hit sales of implants sold by Allergan Inc and Johnson & Johnson's Mentor unit. Allergan shares closed down nearly 1.9 percent.

"Sales growth could be negatively impacted by the media coverage," Wachovia analyst Larry Biegelsen said in a research note about Allergan, which relies on implants more than diversified healthcare company Johnson & Johnson. Other Allergan analysts said they saw little risk to sales.

Safety concerns have dogged breast implants for years. Silicone implants were banned for most U.S. women in 1992 after some complained the devices leaked and made them chronically ill. Widespread sales resumed in 2006 with FDA approval over vocal protests from consumer advocates.

"This is exactly the kind of problem we were concerned about when we said we don't know enough about these products and whether they are safe," said Amy Allina, policy director at the National Women's Health Network.
An estimated 5 million to 10 million women around the world have breast implants.

The FDA said its review found about 60 cases since 1997 of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a type of immune-system cancer. The number is tough to verify and some reports could be duplicates, the agency said. The FDA said "women with breast implants may have a very small but increased risk of developing this disease in the scar capsule adjacent to the implant."

"We need more data" to better understand the issue, said Dr. William Maisel, chief scientist in the FDA's device unit.

The risk to Allergan's implant sales is "nearly zero," Gleacher & Co analyst Amit Hazan said in a research note.

"There are very few FDA approved products that would get a report (and media event) like this about such a small issue, but breast implants are at the top of that list," he said.

ALCL is rare in women without implants. In the United States, the disease is found in breast tissue in about three out of every 100 million nationwide without implants.

Mentor and Allergan said they supported the FDA action and agreed the number of cases was small.

ALCL is "extremely rare and not to be mistaken for breast cancer," Allergan spokeswoman Caroline Van Hove said.

"A woman is more likely to be struck by lightning than get this condition," she said.
Symptoms, including persistent swelling or pain near the implant, appeared between one year and 23 years after the devices were inserted, the FDA's Maisel said. Implant removal, chemotherapy and radiation are options for treatment. Maisel said data were so limited, however, that the FDA was not recommending a specific therapy but urged women with symptoms to contact a doctor.

Allergan spokeswoman Van Hove said most patients responded to various treatments including removal of the implant and surrounding scar tissue.

Officials do not know if women face a higher risk if they get implants for reconstruction after cancer surgery or for cosmetic reasons, Maisel said.

The agency is setting up a registry to track implants and working to add information to implant labels.

"We fully support FDA's efforts to gather additional data and study ALCL in patients with breast implants," Mentor spokesman Christopher Allman said.

The agency plans to release interim findings from ongoing studies of silicone implants in the spring. As a condition of approval, each maker was required to study risks in 40,000 women for 10 years.

Allergan shares fell 1.9 percent to $70.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. Johnson & Johnson shares slid 0.8 percent to $60.60, also on the NYSE.

(Additional reporting by Debra Sherman in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Gerald E. McCormick, Steve Orlofsky and Carol Bishopric)

Copyright © 2011 Reuters


Source

Muslim birth rate falls, population to grow more slowly

Thursday January 27, 2011

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

The hands of a Muslim pilgrim are seen as he prays on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat, outside the holy city of Mecca, November 15, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/Files)



PARIS (Reuters) - Falling birth rates will slow the world's Muslim population growth over the next two decades, reducing it on average from 2.2 percent a year in 1990-2010 to 1.5 percent a year from now until 2030, a new study says.


Muslims will number 2.2 billion by 2030 compared to 1.6 billion in 2010, making up 26.4 percent of the world population compared to 23.4 percent now, according to estimates by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The report did not publish figures for worldwide populations of other major religions, but said the United States-based Pew Forum planned similar reports on growth prospects for worldwide Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism.

"The declining growth rate is due primarily to falling fertility rates in many Muslim-majority countries," it said, noting the birth rate is falling as more Muslim women are educated, living standards rise and rural people move to cities.

"Globally, the Muslim population is forecast to grow at about twice the rate of the non-Muslim population over the next two decades -- an average annual growth rate of 1.5 percent for Muslims, compared with 0.7 percent for non-Muslims," it said.

The report, entitled The Future of the Global Muslim Population, was part of a Pew Forum program analysing religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

It said about 60 percent of the world's Muslims will live in the Asia-Pacific region in 2030, 20 percent in the Middle East, 17.6 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, 2.7 percent in Europe and 0.5 percent in the Americas.

Pakistan will overtake Indonesia as the world's most numerous Muslim nation by 2030, it said, while the Muslim minority in mostly Hindu India will retain its global rank as the third largest Muslim population.

"YOUTH BULGE" HAS PEAKED

Continued migration will swell the ranks of Europe's Muslim minorities by one-third by 2030, to 8 percent of the region's inhabitants from 6 percent, it said.

Muslims in France will rise to 6.9 million, or 10.3 percent of the population, from 4.7 million (7.5 percent), in Britain to 5.6 million (8.2 percent) from 2.9 million and in Germany to 5.5 million (7.1 percent) from 4.1 million (5 percent).

The Muslim share of the U.S. population will grow from 0.8 percent in 2010 to 1.7 percent in 2030, "making Muslims roughly as numerous as Jews or Episcopalians are in the United States today," the study said.

By 2030, Muslims will number 2.1 million or 23.2 percent of the population in Israel -- including Jerusalem but not the West Bank and Gaza -- after 1.3 million (17.7 percent) in 2010.

"The slowdown in Muslim population growth is most pronounced in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East-North Africa and Europe, and less sharp in sub-Saharan Africa," it said, while migration will accelerate it in the Americas through 2020.

While Muslim populations worldwide are still younger on average than others, "the so-called "youth bulge" -- the high percentage of Muslims in their teens and 20s -- peaked around the year 2000 and is now declining," the study said.

Sunni Muslims will continue to make up the overwhelming majority in Islam -- about 87-90 percent, the report estimated -- while Shi'ite numbers may decline because of relatively low birth rates in Iran, where one-third of all Shi'ites live.

The study saw a close link between education and birth rates in Muslim-majority countries. Women in countries with the least education for girls had about five children while those where girls had the longest schooling averaged 2.3 children.

The study said it counted "all groups and individuals who self-identify as Muslims," including secular or non-observant people, without measuring levels of religiosity.

It said measuring the impact of Islam on birth rates was difficult because "cultural, social, economic, political, historical and other factors may play equal or greater roles."

Copyright © 2011 Reuters




Source

2012 Nissan GT-R shows-off its launch control

New launch control function helps smooth out and maximize the GT-R's sprint 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds flat!

Now, you can watch how the 2012 Nissan GT-R achieves that remarkable feat with the help of its launch control function - called the R-Mode Start Function or the LC4 R35.

It does so in several 'take-offs' in this video.

Nissan tested the GT-R's time on the Sendai Hi-land Race Way in Japan last year and that 3 second sprint time is impressive for a relatively well-priced sport model like the GT-R. By comparison, the next Lamborghini LP 700-4 uses a carbon fiber body and a 6.5 liter V12, with 700 PS (690 bhp / 515 kW) to get that flagship supercar's 0 to 100 km/h sprint in at under 3 seconds (2.9 seconds is the official Lambo time).

The 2012 Nissan GT-R comes with a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine featuring an output of 530 hp (395 kW / 537 PS) and 488 lb-ft (661 Nm) of torque.

Source

12 Nov 2010@Sendai Hiland,Japan NISSAN tested MY11GT-R 0-100km/h Time result is...unbelievable!! It's Super fast! = 3.046 sec!!! (Cold Weather) 





Nissan GTR 2012 VS Nissan GTR 2011 - Drag Race

Highest restaurant: Dubai's At.mosphere sets world record

DUBAI -- Integrating two choices, lounge and grill, At.mosphere, the new restaurant which has opened in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is perched on level 122, at 442m - sets the world record for the Highest Restaurant.





  Integrating two choices -- lounge and grill --At.mosphere , The World's Highest Restaurant, can host over 210 guests and features a spacious arrival lobby, a main dining floor, private dining rooms and display cooking stations.

  The new restaurant, spread over an area of 1,030 square meters, is 92 meter taller than the previous Guinness world record holder -- the revolving 360 Restaurant in Toronto's CN Tower.

  The Guinness world record for the largest restaurant was set by the Bawabet Dimashq Restaurant (Damascus Gate Restaurant) which has 6,014 seats. The restaurant is owned by Mr. Shaker Al Samman in Damascus, Syria.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the largest revolving restaurant: Bellini, located on the 45th floor of Mexico City's World Trade Center. The restaurant has an area of 1,044.66 m² (11,244.58 ft²). 

  "Burj Khalifa has lived up to its promise of being 'A Living Wonder.' The addition of At.mosphereprovides guests an unparalleled dining out and lounge experience," Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, said in a statement.  

   Atmosphere is a 57-second elevator ride up 442 meters (1,350 feet) that makes ears pop. Dwayne Cheer, the executive chef, tries to limit the number of times he goes up each day.

  "I came up yesterday five times and after five times, you feel a bit dizzy. You only want to come up twice."

  Cheer recommends the house specialties of foie gras or the beef tartare--but prices here may burn the pocket books of all but Dubai's most well-heeled denizens.

  At.mosphere is led by Executive Chef Dwayne Cheer, who brings in over 13 years of international experience working in Michelin star restaurants; and Director of Operations Gabriele Babini with 20 years experience in Las Vegas, Canada and Italy.

   Entrees at the contemporary grille, serving up what Emaar Hospitality's chief executive calls "eclectic, European cuisine", cost an average of 340 dirhams ($93).

   The main lobster costs 590 dirham (160 U.S. dollars), while 150 grams of Japanese Kobe Fillet are priced at 440 dirhams (120 dollars).Appetizers will set you back another $50 each.

   Reservations have to be booked in advance otherwise the security will let nobody pass the barrier to the Burj Khalifa's lift. 

Source

How Big Are You?

Click On The Image For A Larger View