Healthbeat Report: The HCG Diet

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There's been a lot of hype behind the HCG diet. It's said to be the secret weapon for many Hollywood stars. The diet has been around since the 1950s and every couple of years it seems to make a comeback.

The diet's popularity is on the rise again with renewed chatter on the Internet and TV shows, but critics warn it's a fraud and could be risky.

Further Reading:http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/health&id=7979285

HCG Diet: The New Miracle Weight Loss

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HCG Diet plan claims to help you lose 1-2 pounds per day on a strict 500 calorie diet plan. HCG is a hormone that is produced in pregnancy and used by male athletes to increase testosterone production in the testes.

Further Reading:http://newstabulous.com/hcg-diet-the-new-miracle-weight-loss-plan/3033/

Quest to Lose Weight Fast With HCG Diet, Thinner-U Increases

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A huge controversy began earlier this week after the HCG diet was featured on The Doctor Oz Show.

Instead of curbing America’s fascination with the controversial HCG diet, after hearing the benefits and pitfalls discussed by Dr. Oz and his guests, interest in the HCG diet and HCG drops surged. Thousands of people began trying to locate HCG drops for sale, even after Dr. Oz warned them not to.


Further Reading:
http://newsfuzion.com/2011/02/26/quest-to-lose-weight-fast-with-hcg-diet-thinner-u-increases/

The hCG Diet Myth: Why Would a Pregnancy Hormone Make You Skinny?

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Short for human chorionic gonadotrophin, hCG is the hormone secreted by the embryo that makes a pregnancy test positive. Since the 1950s, certain doctors have promoted hCG injections as the key to hunger-free weight loss — and now, the diet is taking off on the Web. This, despite 14 clinical trials showing that hCG has no effect on weight.

Further Reading:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/25/debunking-the-hcg-diet-myth-why-would-a-pregnancy-hormone-make-you-skinny/

HCG Diet Ineffective, Dangerous, Say All But 1 Doctor

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Doctors are slamming the popular HCG diet for several reasons: low-calorie diets are ineffective for long-term weight loss, and sometimes can also be dangerous; HCG appears to work as well as placebos; and homeopathic HCG has too low a concentration of the hormone to be effective.

Further Reading:http://www.opposingviews.com/i/hcg-diet-ineffective-dangerous-say-all-but-1-doctor

Drug discovery

Introduction:
Drug discovery is the research process of designing and discovering a new drug for the required biological responses in animals resulting in desired effects in human beings. The process of drug discovery is done in different fields like Pharmacology, Biotechnology and medicine.

In old times, drug was discovered either
1. checking the ingredients from conventional or known remedies or
2. by accidental discoveries

But now study is done even the minutest molecular and physiological level so that the better drugs, targeting the specific receptors, are developed. Drug discovery is one the most lengthy and expensive processes in Pharmaceutical and related fields. One of the most important process for Drug discovery is High-Throughput screening.

Stages for an approved new molecular entity:
A new molecular entity passes through the following stages:
1. Drug Discovery
    a. Identification
    b. Synthesis
    c. Characterization
    d. Screening
    e. Assays for therapeutic effectiveness
2. Drug Development or Preclinical Development
3. Clinical Trials
    a. Phase 0
    b. Phase 1
    c. Phase 2
    d. Phase 3
    e. Phase 4

Challenges to Overcome in Drug Discovery:

Following changes are usually considered in Drug Discovery:
1. Effective targeting of the drug
2. Drug must be cost effective
3. Patient Compliance
4. Prevention of drug from degradation
5. Extended life of the drug product

Drawbacks in Drug Discovery and its removal:
This process is
- lengthy,
- difficult,
- expensive and
- Inefficient having low rate of new drug discovery.

Nowadays, the knowledge of human genome has very benefacial effects on the drug discovery as it has removed many steps of drug discovery including the study of new drug targets.

New laser-based tool can better diagnose melanoma

In a recent study, Duke University researchers have disclosed that a brand new, laser-based tool could help doctors in better diagnosing melanoma; thereby underscoring the potential to save many lives.

Further Reading:
http://topnews.net.nz/content/212249-new-laser-based-tool-can-better-diagnose-melanoma