Latest News and Reviews

Gastric Band And Gastric Bypass Surgery Women Give Birth To Baby

Michelle Bowater is now a pride mom after she gave birth to a beautiful baby even with a gastric band in place. Michelle was told by her doctors that she was too fat to give birth to a baby. Weighing more than 25 stone, doctors reported that Michelle’s obesity had created complex fertility problems that could never make her a mom. But Michelle never gave up her hope and was confident that even she could become a mom one day. And now her dream has come true and she is the first woman in the United Kingdom to give birth with the gastric band and gastric by-pass still in her body.

The pride mom Michelle, who had lost more than 15 stone, told the press that she was married to her ex-partner in the year 2000 and her hopes of a child were shattered by the results that confirmed that she had polycystic ovary syndrome. This was a peculiar type of disorder which meant that she could never produce an egg that is capable of fertilization unless and until she had put down more than half of her weight.

Michelle who is 37 now added that she had tried everything in the book to reduce her weight. As the last resort, the businesswoman got the gastric band fitted in her body to limit the amount of food she ate. This made her lose 10st but she wanted to lose more that she opted for a gastric bypass. After the surgery only 30% of calories would be absorbed now matter how much she ate. This resulted in shedding down extra 5 stone that let her dream come true with her new partner Anthony.

This has made people wonder that even with the gastric band in place one could give birth to a baby. Speaking about this, leading surgeon Michael Vandnbossche said that it is very rare to give birth after the gastric band and bypass surgery that adds to the twist to this tale and make it a medical miracle.

Swine Flu Outbreak On Cruise Ship

A cruise ship carrying 400 passengers was turn away from two Caribbean ports (Barbados and Grenada) due to the fear of swine flu outbreak. The Ocean Dream, owned by Pullmantur turned back to Aruba, its home port, after a large number of passengers disembark earlier at Isla Margarita, Venezuela.

Three out of the four hundred crew members had been tested positive with swine flu and eleven others are also showing symptoms related to the disease. Port authorities in Grenada and Barbados refused to allow the ship to dock after early word of the illnesses spread. As a result, the Ocean Dream had no option but to cut short its 9-day cruise and return back home.

Nancy Perez, Deputy Health Minister told the government television that more than 350 people got off the cruise on Wednesday night at Isla Margarita, out of which 2 have been tested with symptoms of swine flu. All the passengers have been allowed to stay in local hotels and will be re-examined before permitted to return home.

The ship embarked on 12th June with more than 750 passengers on board and carried people from different places including Spain, US, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Netherlands, Chile, Uruguay, Romania, Panama, Russia, France, Italy, Iteland and Belgium.

Health officials said the cruise ship would not be allowed to dock in Aruba until full assess had been done on the crew members who tested positive for swine flu. Even after docking all crew members and passengers will have to remain on the ship in order to allow health officials check for swine flu symptoms.

New Student Loan Payment Policy Helps Graduates Pay Loan Easier

There would be two primary changes that allow graduates to dramatically save on their loan payments and reduce their bills. To get more information about this, Bill Pen, a lawyer by profession, gives good advice to students, the would-be workers of the country, at the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland Oregon. Starting from this coming July, students can experience changes in Perkins, Grad Plus and Stafford student loans.

First off, student loans would feature an income-based repayment. This would allow a lender to cap payments at only 15% of the creditor’s total income. In the past, the student loan system was standardized to 10-year repayment plan. Students can lengthen the payment term if they consolidate their debts. Consolidating student loans give them more time to repay their debt into a 15-year, 20-year or 30-year repayment program.

Such a new repayment plan for student loan would be based on his or her income. This would be a great help for people who would be getting a relatively low paying jobs. With this new policy, they can still pay their loan accordingly even if their income is below average. This is especially true for teaching jobs and employment under the government or non-profit organizations.

Furthermore, any remaining balances owe after 25 years will be forgiven. This is one of the major changes that will benefit many. In the past, it was almost impossible for graduates to escape from student loan debts because under the US bankruptcy laws, student loans are not dischargeable.

To be able to join the 15% program, it is important that you ask your lender about its income-based repayment program. This can give you the lowest payment option to pay off your student loan even with a low paying job.

Another change in the student loan payment policy is for people who have public service jobs on non-profit organizations and government employees. The program is aptly referred to as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Federal Direct Loans Qualify. To be able to get this type of student loan policy, you may have to consolidate your loan.

So how does this new policy go? If you are working full time doing public service jobs for the government or non-profit groups while still on your student loan payment program, your remaining balance is forgiven after 10 years or after 120 loan payments. The public service jobs that can take advantage of this policy include jobs in the law enforcement, military service, nurses, social workers, librarians, teachers and etc.

Record Low Student Loan Interest Rate – Consolidate Your Student Loan From 1st July

Effective from 1st July 2009, students who consolidate their variable-rate government student loans will enjoy record low fixed interest rate from the revised government loan scheme.

Financial expert, Mark Kantowitz’s founder of finaid.org and fastweb.com has indicated that commencing from 1st July, the interest rate for consolidation of Stafford loan will be two percent during study period, two and a half percent during payment period of the loan and the interest rate for PLUS loan consolidation will be 3.38 percent.

He added that student loan recipient would benefit greatly on saving money on the repay of loan provided they wait till 1st July 2009 to consolidate their loan.

A typical Stafford loan of $20,000 with a 10 years payback plan at 6.8% t will yield $230 monthly installments with a $8000 as interest till the loan is completely settled. But the new plan of two percent will benefit students by saving up to $46 a month - for the similar loan they only have to pay $184 per month.  This mean that the total interest is only $2000 till the completion of the loan which is almost seventy three percent relieved on interest.

Kantowitz pointed out that consolidation of loans could mean cut down documentation by merging all loans into a single loan. This will allow borrowers to make use of various payback options in addition to the new Income-Based Repayment program. The new Income-Based Repayment program allows borrowers to pay lower monthly payment based on amount of the loans, borrowers’ income and number of dependants.

Kantowitz says that loan recipients who consolidate their loan can make benefit from the public service loan forgiveness which writes off loans on completion of 10 years in public service. The public services as he mentioned include teaching to working in non-profit organizations.

However student loan recipients who have previously consolidated their loans and whose loans approved after July 1, 2006 are not eligible for this new interest rate scheme. The government consolidate loan does not include private loans and studying students are not allowed to consolidate their loans till their graduation.

New Severe Asthma Treatment Cut Down Attack By 32%

Asthma is a condition whose symptoms have the potential to make it necessary for one to take count of work time or school days. The American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines it as a chronic disorder of a person’s airways which is of a complex nature; and its symptoms are variable and not of a one-off nature. Such symptoms include the obstruction of one’s airflow, hyper responsive bronchi (bronchospasm), and underlying inflammation. Indeed, it is documented as being common in childhood, affecting as many as 7-10% of all children.

A company called Asthmatx Inc. has sponsored a study focusing on a device going by the name Alair, whose function is to treat asthma through what is officially defined as bronchial thermoplasty. It involves a thin tube being inserted deeply into air passages of a person’s lungs. Thermal energy is emitted by a catheter to eliminate muscle tissue that is responsible for airway constriction in asthma patients.

Typically, this new method involves three sessions of treatment, each of which lasts less than an hour, and the between-sessions interim is about three weeks.

Existing statistics show that the new treatment is able to cut down extreme asthma attack rates by 32%, while a total of 84% of people with severe asthma who used this new therapy were making fewer visits to emergency room. Of the 297 people (in six countries) with a severe asthma condition who appropriated this device, all of them reported positive results in that they took fewer days off work or school as a result of asthma symptoms.

In the experimental stages of the treatment, 79% of listed patients reported an improvement in their condition over the course of a year. This statistic is significantly higher than the same statistic for those people given a placebo. Later stage results for the clinical study (Asthma Intervention Research 2 Trial, or AIR2 Trial) were presented during the course of American Thoracic Society’s conference in San Diego, California.

This new treatment has been met with approval in Europe; and Asthmatx Inc. is currently seeking the approval from the United States’ Food and Drug administration for the used of Alair in US.