God Said "Ha!"

A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

While on the operating table, she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked, "Is my time up"?

God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live."

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, brow lift, lip enhancement, boob job, liposuction, and a tummy tuck. After her last operation, she was released from the hospital.

While crossing the street on her way home, she was hit and killed by a car. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 40 years? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of the car?"

God replied: "Gurrrrl, I didn't even recognize you..."

U.S. Approves New Vaccine for Shingles

FDA -- A new vaccine called Zostavax is now available to reduce the risk of shingles (or, herpes zoster) in people ages 60 and older.

"This vaccine gives health care providers an important tool to help prevent an illness that affects many older Americans and often results in significant chronic pain," says Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After an attack of chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in certain nerve tissue. As people age, it is possible for the virus to reappear in the form of shingles, which is estimated to affect 2 out of every 10 Americans during their lifetimes. Evidence of shingles includes clusters of blisters, which develop on one side of the body and can cause severe pain that may last for weeks, months, or even years after the virus reappears.

Zostavax, a live virus vaccine, has been shown to boost immunity against varicella-zoster virus. This is thought to be the mechanism by which the vaccine protects against zoster and its complications. The vaccine is given as a single injection under the skin, preferably in the upper arm.

Zostavax was studied in about 38,000 individuals 60 and older throughout the United States. Of these people, half received Zostavax, and half received a placebo. All study participants were then followed for an average of three years to see whether they developed shingles and, if they did, how long the pain lasted.

At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that, overall, the vaccine reduced the occurrence of shingles by about 50 percent in people ages 60 and older. It reduced occurrence by 64 percent in those ages 60 to 69.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The vaccine not only prevented approximately half of the cases, but also slightly reduced the duration of pain after the onset of shingles in people who developed the disease despite being vaccinated with Zostavax.

The most common side effects in people who received Zostavax were redness, pain and tenderness, swelling at the site of injection, itching, and headache. The percentage of significant adverse events observed in the study did not differ among those who received the vaccine and those who received the placebo.

As part of the vaccine development program, a smaller study was conducted to closely examine the vaccine's safety. In this smaller study, serious adverse events for all age groups were noted more frequently in those who received Zostavax than those who received placebo. Although the FDA has concluded that the available data do not establish that these events are related to the vaccine, the manufacturer will perform a Phase 4 (postmarket) study to provide additional safety information.

For more information, visit Zostavax.com

Report: Sex Is Always On Men's Minds

Researchers at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University say most men are always thinking of sex.

A study released Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists found 54 percent of men and 19 percent of women admit they think about sex every day -- or several times a day -- in a society where they are bombarded with subconscious erotic images.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota found sexy subliminal images competed for attention in the brain even when the images were not right before a subject's eyes and most people are not consciously aware of them, ABC News reported.

Researchers also found sexual orientation often determines how the brain reacts to erotic images. Heterosexual women, for example, were more tuned in to pictures of naked men, the same reaction exhibited by homosexual men. But homosexual woman were equally attuned to naked images of both sexes, the report said. (UPI)

Cool Site: Health Newsmap

Every day, seems like there are literally hundreds of news stories competing for our attention. Sometimes it's tough when you write a blog like this to sift through the ones which are really important. That's where the Marumushi Newsmap comes in handy.

Newsmap is a free web-based application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. You can include (or exclude) other countries or topics that interest you.

I personally check the Health Newsmap every day to get a sense of how the big stories are playing to better offer content on this site. Check it out!

Cool Link: Interactive Allergy Report

If you're like one of the millions of Americans affected by seasonal allergies, you may find CNN's interactive allergy report a helpful link to check on your state or country's level of airborne allergens.