WebMD Newsroom

By Kristin Hammam

It’s estimated that one in five Americans has a mental illness such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. That’s more people than have high cholesterol or break an arm each year. But as common as mental illness is, there’s still a stigma surrounding it. People don’t like to talk about it for fear of being judged by schools, employers, and even friends and family.

President Barack Obama opened a national conference at the White House Monday to bring mental health “out of the shadows.”

“The brain is a body part too; we just know less about it,” President Obama said. “And there should be no shame in discussing or seeking help for treatable illnesses that affect too many people that we love. We’ve got to get rid of that embarrassment; we’ve got to get rid of that stigma.”

WebMD joined the conference along with mental health professionals, faith leaders, administration officials, and veterans’ groups. Actor Bradley Cooper, who played a man with bipolar disorder in the movie Silver Linings Playbook, also attended the conference  along with actor Glenn Close. Close  talked about her personal experiences with her sister, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and a nephew with schizoaffective disorder.

In the spirit of starting a national conversation about mental health, many groups shared their efforts to both reduce stigma and help people seek treatment.

MTV spotlighted its program, “Half of Us,” designed to help connect college students to the appropriate resources to get help. President Obama announced the Department of Veterans Affairs will direct health care centers to hold mental health summits over the summer to help support veterans and their families. And Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the launch of a new website – www.mentalhealth.gov – featuring personal stories from people with mental illnesses.

“For many people who suffer from a mental illness, recovery can be challenging,” President Obama said. “But what helps more than anything, what gives so many of our friends and loved ones strength, is the knowledge that you are not alone”

What can WebMD do to better help reduce the stigma of mental illness and help people seek treatment? We’d love to hear your ideas to keep the conversation going.

The year in health, a diet for damaged hearts, changes to psychiatry’s ‘bible’ of disorders and more of this week’s top news stories:

2012 Year in Health
Health reform, West Nile virus and the rest of the top health stories from the last 12 months. Read more

Healthy Diet Helps Damaged Hearts
It’s never too late to help your heart: a new study finds that older people with established heart disease who ate a heart-healthy diet had a much lower risk of dying or having another heart attack or stroke than those who ate unhealthy diets. Read more

Do Older Adults Need Vitamins, Supplements?
Although at least half of adults aged 65 and older take daily vitamins and supplements, only a fraction actually need them, and most could get the same benefits from an improved diet. Read more

Big Changes in Psychiatry’s ‘Bible’ of Disorders
After a decade, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which defines what is and what is not a mental illness, will go to press in 2013 with some major changes, some of which have caused controversy in the psychiatric field. Read more

Are Primary Care Doctors a Vanishing Breed?
New research has shown that few medical residents in general internal medicine programs plan to pursue that career path. Instead, they’re increasingly favoring becoming specialists. Read more

Just in time for Christmas: the unsafe toy list; generic Lipitor recalled due to glass shards, potentially fatal drug-grapefruit interactions and more of this week’s top stories.

Unsafe  Toy List: Dora Guitar, Dora Backpack, More
An overly loud Dora the Explorer guitar and robot made with lead have topped the Public Interest Research Group’s annual list of unsafe toys. Read more

Drugs that Interact with Grapefruit on the Rise
More than 85 drugs have been found to have potentially fatal side effects when mixed with grapefruit, with more being discovered every year. Read more

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Linked to Diabetes
A study has found that countries that mix high-fructose corn syrup into foods and soft drinks have 20% higher rates of diabetes than countries that use other sweeteners. Read more

Can ADHD Drugs Help Keep People Law-Abiding?
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who are taking medication to control their symptoms may be less likely to commit crimes, according to a new Swedish study. Read more

Generic Lipitor Recall
Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has issued a massive recall of the generic cholesterol-cutting tablets, as they may be contaminated with tiny glass shards. Read more

Illnesses, deaths linked to energy drinks, children’s bed recall, how many calories you drink a day & more of this week’s top news stories:

More Deaths, Illness Linked to Energy Drinks
Monster Energy and Rockstar Energy have both been linked to illnesses, with Monster also being associated with five deaths, according to an FDA report. Read more

Children’s PeaPod Travel Beds Recalled
KidCo has recalled 220,000 of its PeaPod and PeaPod Plus travel beds due to possible suffocation and entrapment risks for children. Read more

Alcohol Adds 100 Calories a Day to Our Diet
The average American adds 100 calories a day to their diet through alcohol, and a recent study shows that those who drink get about 16% of their total calories from alcoholic beverages. Read more

Soda May Worse Knee Osteoarthritis in Men
A new study suggests that drinking soda may progress knee osteoarthritis in men, though there was no similar progression in women. Read more

5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths
The FDA has confirmed that 13 deaths and 33 hospitalizations have been linked to 5-Hour Energy Shots, though there’s no definitive proof that the drinks actually caused the deaths or illnesses. Read more

by Daniel J. DeNoon

This Thanksgiving, like every Thanksgiving, I’m definitely planning on making good use of my fork.
And like every day-after-Thanksgiving, I’ll be trying to burn off all those extra calories (and the extra extra calories from all the leftovers).

Just in time, the helpful folks at Active.com have posted a list of my favorite Thanksgiving foods — and a suggested exercise to bun off each portion. Of course this is just an estimate. The actual number of calories you burn depends on your weight and on the intensity of your exercise.
To burn:

• A 6-ounce serving of turkey (340 calories) — a 30-minute run, perhaps your local Turkey Trot 5K.
• A serving of mashed potatoes and gravy (300 calories) — 60 sets of 10 burpees.
• A half-cup of stuffing (180 calories) — 30 minutes of Pilates.
• Cranberry sauce (150 calories) – Stairmaster, 20 minutes at moderate setting
• Roll with butter (180 calories) — 18 sets of 20 push-ups.
• Piece of pumpkin pie (180 calories) — 20 minutes on elliptical trainer, moderate setting.

Happy Thanksgiving — and happy workouts!

Dancing with the Stars co-host has thyroid cancer, the cost of health care reform, how a pregnancy test revealed a man’s testicular cancer, and more of this week’s top news stories.

Brooke Burke-Charvet Has Thyroid Cancer
The co-host of Dancing With the Stars has announced she has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery to have a thyroidectomy—a procedure to remove part or all of the thyroid gland. Read more

Pregnancy Test Reveals Testicular Cancer
When a young man took a pregnancy test as a joke, he didn’t expect it to reveal signs of early testicular cancer. How is this possible? Read more

Recall: Salmonella in Nesquik Chocolate Powder?
Nestle USA has recalled some of its Nesquik chocolate powder as it may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. No illnesses have been reported so far. Read more

Will Health Care Reform Cost Me More?
President Obama’s victory on election day ensures his plan for health care reform will continue to roll out. How will it impact you and your health care costs? Read more

Fasting May Not Be Needed Before Cholesterol Test
A large new study shows that cholesterol levels of those who eat are not radically different from those who fasted, which could mean that those scheduled for cholesterol tests may not need to skip breakfast after all. Read more

By Daniel J. DeNoon

You may have seen the headline, or maybe you’re one of the 1.7 million-and-counting people who clicked on the Reddit post that started it all.

Here’s the story: A guy found his ex-GF’s pregnancy test in his medicine cabinet, took the test for laughs, and found out he was pregnant.

At least that’s what the test said. It seemed funny, so a friend of his posted a cartoon of the story on Reddit. Comments to the post noted that pregnancy tests identify hCG, a hormone produced during pregnancy — and in testicular cancer.

Sure enough, the man found he had a small tumor in one of his testicles. A follow-up post says it was a very early, curable tumor.

Does all this make sense? I asked Bruni Nazario, MD, WebMD’s resident endocrinologist.

“Yes, this is possible. Testicular cancer makes hormones and one hormone produced is hCG, the same hormone produced by embryonic tissue during pregnancy. This cancer also produces AFP, a fetal protein measured during pregnancy.”

If a man gets a positive result on a pregnancy test, does it always mean testicular cancer?

No, Nazario says. HCG is not unique to testicular cancer. Other cancers can also produce these hormones.

Many of the comments to the Reddit post are from men who now are considering giving themselves pregnancy tests. But that isn’t a good idea.

Although testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men age 15 to 34 years, it’s pretty darn rare. There are only 5.4 cases per 100,000 men each year.

On the other hand, false-positive tests are common. Widespread pregnancy testing of men would mean a lot of unnecessary worry — and a lot of unnecessary diagnostic tests and procedures, which carry their own small risks.

In fact, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the expert panel that advices the U.S. on screening tests, recommends against routine testicular cancer screening.

Most testicular cancers are self-detected, or detected by a sex partner. There’s no evidence that regular self-exams or doctor exams catch these cancers any earlier. And even in advanced testicular cancer, cure rates are quite high.

Treatment of testicular cancer means removal of the affected testicle or testicles. It may include other surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

“Regardless of disease stage, more than 90% of all newly diagnosed cases of testicular cancer will be cured,” the USPSTF notes.

What Obama’s victory means for health care, six surprisingly salty foods and more of this week’s top news stories:

Barack Obama Wins: What It Means for Health Care
President Obama’s victory in this year’s presidential election ensures that the health reform law introduced during his first term will move forward. Read more

Act Quickly to Beat Mold after a Flood
Those struggling to clean up flooded homes and businesses after Hurricane Sandy should beware the dangers of mold, which can be especially hazardous for people with breathing problems related to allergies and asthma. Read more

List of ‘Salty Six’ Foods May Surprise You
Too much sodium in your diet? Your lunchtime sandwich may be more to blame than potato chips. The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have warned of surprisingly high sodium levels in six common foods, including bread and cold cuts. Read more

New Arthritis Drug Xeljanz Gets FDA Approval
Pfizer has received FDA approval for a first-of-its-kind treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that mutes the inflammation responses responsible for RA. Read more

4 Signs of Aging That May Show Higher Heart Risk
A receding hairline and earlobe creases appear to be two signs of poor heart health, according to Danish researchers. Read more

Staying safe in Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath, top fitness trends for 2013, heart benefit from flu vaccines & more of this week’s top news stories:

Flu Vaccines May Protect Heart, Too
Your annual flu vaccine may have an unexpected bonus: lowering your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and irregular heart rhythms. Read more

A Diet That Asks You Not to Lose Weight (at First)
A study found that the key to helping people keep weight off is to practice certain skills, such as healthy eating and staying active, before they begin trying to shed pounds. Read more

How Much Caffeine Is in Your Energy Drink?
Think you know how much caffeine is in that energy drink you’re downing? You probably don’t: a Consumer Reports investigation found that five popular energy drinks contained more than 20% more caffeine than their labels claimed. Read more

Top 10 Fitness Trends Picked for 2013
What’s the hottest fitness trend for 2013? Body-weight workouts, which eschew fancy equipment in favor of using one’s own body to get fit. Read more

Q&A: Riding Out the Storm Safely
How to stay safe in Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath. Read more

How green tea helps prevent cancer, a potentially deadly energy drink, sunscreen recall and more of this week’s top news stories:

FDA: 5 Death Reports for Monster Energy Drink
The FDA is investigating reports of five deaths and a nonfatal heart attack that may be connected to the high-caffeine energy drinks made by the Monster Energy Company. Read more

Green Tea and Cancer Prevention: New Clues
Scientists have found new clues as to how green tea and its extracts can prevent or slow the growth of certain cancers. Read more

Fire Risk Spurs Banana Boat Spray Sunscreen Recall
Banana Boat has issued a recall of 23 of its products sold from January 2010 through September 2012 after at least five people caught fire after using them. Read more

Earlier Puberty: Age 9 or 10 for Average U.S. Boy
Just like the girls, American boys are starting to hit puberty at an earlier age, according to new data. Read more

Hospital Food Contaminated with C. diff
Hospital food has never had a brilliant reputation, and it may be about to get worse. A new report suggests that hospital food is frequently contaminated with the dangerous bug Clostridium difficile, which can cause diarrhea and colitis. Read more