A joint Australian-Vietnamese study investigating the links between diet and the bone health of humans has found that vegetarians have slightly weaker bones than their meat-eating counterparts. As a part of the study, the studied the diet and bones of more than 2,700 people.

Lead researcher Tuan Nguyen said that vegetarians had 5% less dense bones than meat-eaters. Vegans, who refrain from eating all animal products were found to have 6% weaker bones.

However, researchers found "rapctically no differnece" between the bone density of meat-eaters and ovolactovegarians - people who don't eat meat or seafood but include eggs and dairy in their diets.

The scientists have not yet determined whether the lower bone density, howver, is linked to an increased risk of fracture.

"Given the rising number of vegetarians, roughly 5% (of people) in Western countries, and the widespread incidence of osteoporosis, the issue is worth resolving." Nguyen said.

A 40-year-old man from Hamilton, Ohio in Butler County has died from the H1N1 "Swine Flu" virus. The Ohio Department of Health says that it is the first death in the state related to this particular strain of flu.

The patient died on June 29, and the ODH says he had underlying health problems that may have contributed to his death. His infection was confirmed on Thursday in a ODH laboratory.

ODH Director Alvin D. Jackson, MD said:

“This is a sad, and not entirely unexpected, event as influenza and its complications cause some 3,000 deaths annually in Ohio, ranking it among the top 10 causes of death. We continue to urge Ohioans to take proper precautions and will monitor the situation closely.”

A U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration advisory panel of outside experts voted 20-17 on Tuesday to urge the agency to eliminate products that combine acetaminophen with powerful opioids. Amongst the drugs recommended to be eliminated are the popular prescription painkillers Percocet and Vicodin. This is just one recommendation from the panel, which is currently weighing steps that the FDA can take to prevent the liver damage and even death that is seen in patients who take too much acetaminophen.

Panelists have also recommended reducing the strength of over-the-counter pain medications and other drugs that contain acetaminophen, and switching the higher doses over a prescription product.

They stopped just short of recommending a ban on OTC cough, cold and other medications that combine acetaminophen with other ingredients, voting 24-13 to keep them on store shelves.

Overdoses of acetaminophen, which is commonly known by its brand name Tylenol, has been linked to liver failure and even death. The FDA, however, is concerned that consumers are not heeding warnings and are trying to come up with ways to reduce the overall number of overdoses.

Before the FDA makes any final decisions, they will seriously weigh the recommendations of this outside panel.

According to the results of new research by the National Institutes of Health, people who consume a high-fat diet are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, particularly if their dietary fat comes from animal foods including meat and dairy products.

The Diet and Health study, which was done in conjuction with the AARP, compiled data on more than half a million people who filled in a food questionairre in 1995 and 1996. 308,736 men and 216,737 women participated, and at the time none of them had pancreatic cancer. Participants were then followed for six years on average. During that time, 865 of the men and 472 of the women were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Compared to people with the lowest total fat intake, those with the highest fat intake were 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Saturated fat from animal food sources, especially red meats and dairy products, were found to have the strongest risk factors for cancer, increasing the risk of pancreatic tumors 36 percent.

The Cleveland Clinic has announced they will be hosting 7th Annual Medical Innovation Summit, Oct. 5-7. Prominent medical leaders will will highlight new technologies in the oncology field, giving attendees access to the latest innovations in cancer therapy, diagnostics and management

"This Medical Innovation Summit will bring together some of the most important thought leaders in the world of healthcare, cancer technology and venture investment. In light of the current economy, it is more important than ever to discuss the future of innovation and our increased need to support new technology," said Christopher Coburn, Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations. "Everyone has been touched in some way by cancer, and we are excited to highlight the many clinical innovations taking place in this field."

A bus driver for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has tested positive for the H1N1 "swine flu" virus. The driver, 56, is not currently working his route and is at home recovering.

The driver returned from a vacation on May 25, worked until June 8. During that period the driver mostly drove mornings, Monday through Friday, on Route 86. RTA identified the buses that the operated drove, and cleaned each one thoroughly in hopes to stop the spread of the virus.
Before the driver will be allowed to return to work, he will need to be cleared by both a doctor and RTA Medical Services.

With this latest case, that marks 23 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Cuyahoga County to date.

If there's one thing about Steve Jobs that we should all know by now is that he's always got a trick up his sleeve, and he won't leak info about anything until he's darn well ready to, whether that's in regards to a new Apple product or his health. So really, when we heard the latest rumors - that Jobs secretly got a liver transplant in Tennessee two months ago and is now living in a secluded Memphis mansion - well we really couldn't put it out of the realm of possibility.

Jobs, who was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004, indicated in January that he was suffering from a "hormone imbalance" and would be taking a leave of absence. He brushed his health issues off as not a big deal. His wearabouts during his medical leave of absence are unknown even to Apple execs, and no one will say where he is. He usually lives in Palo Alto, CA, which also happens to be near two world-class cancer treatment centers.

While health experts have long been warning of the dangers of obesity, a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is far more dangerous and shows that slightly chubby people actually live longer.

A long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people by the Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine showed that people who are a little overweight at age 40 life six to seven years longer than very thing people, whose average life expectancy was a good five years shorter than that of obese people.

Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor who worked on the study, said:

"We found skinny people run the highest risk. We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn't expect the difference to be this large."

He continued:

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors."

The primary reasons skinny people were believed to have shorter lifespans include heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels.

Kuriyama was quick to warn, however, that he was not recommending people eat as much as they want:

Swine flu is spreading fast in Ohio. There are now 63 cases of H1N1 in the state with 16 of those being confirmed in the last week alone.So far, twenty counties have confirmed cases of the flu that has reached a level of pandemic according to the World Health Organization.

The Columbus area has the most cases with 17 with Cuyahoga County at 10 cases so far.

Here are the confirmed cases of the virus according to Dayton Business Journal:

According to the Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG, it has successfully produced the first batch of swine flu vaccine weeks ahead of expectations. The vaccine is normally grown in eggs, but this time was made in cells.

According to the World Health Organization, which delcared the H1N1 virus a pandemic last week, drugmakers will most likely have vaccines approved and ready for sale after September.

The first batch of Novartis' vaccine will be used for pre-clinical evaluation and testing, and is being considered for clinical trials.

The vaccine was made at a Novartis plant in Marburg, Germany, where the company says it could potentially produce millions of doses of vaccine a week. A second plant is being built in Holly Springs, NC.

Novartis said that more than 30 governments have so far requested vaccine supplies. The US alone placed a $289 million order in May.