Former S.African president Mandela 'much better': Zuma

Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is looking much better after more than two weeks in hospital, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
Zuma, who visited Mandela on Christmas Day, said in a statement that doctors were happy with the progress the elder statesman was making.
"We found him in good spirits. He was happy to have visitors on this special day and is looking much better. The doctors are happy with the progress that he is making," said Zuma.
The 94-year-old Nobel Peace laureate has been in hospital in Pretoria for more than two weeks after being admitted for routine tests. He then underwent surgery to remove gallstones.
Mandela, who came to power in historic elections in 1994 after decades struggling against apartheid, remains a symbol of resistance to racism and injustice at home and around the world.
He has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis while in jail as a political prisoner. But this is his longest stay in hospital since he was released from prison in 1990.
He spent time in a Johannesburg hospital in 2011 with a respiratory condition, and again in February this year because of abdominal pains though he was released the following day after a keyhole examination showed there was nothing serious.
Zuma, who has just been re-elected as president of the ruling African National Congress party, last week described Mandela's condition as serious.
"The Mandela family truly appreciates all the support they are receiving from the public. That is what keeps them going at this difficult time," said Zuma.
Periodic statements from the presidency continue to stress that the veteran politician is responding to treatment. No date has been given for his release from hospital.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
After his release, he used his popularity to push for reconciliation between whites and blacks. This reconciliation is the bedrock of the post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation".
Sworn in as South Africa's first black president in 1994, Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term in office and has largely been absent from public life for the last decade.
His fragile health has prevented him from making any public appearances in South Africa, though he has continued to receive high-profile domestic and international visitors, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton in July.

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Former South African president Mandela "much better": Zuma

Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is looking much better after more than two weeks in hospital, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
Zuma, who visited Mandela on Christmas Day, said in a statement that doctors were happy with the progress the elder statesman was making.
"We found him in good spirits. He was happy to have visitors on this special day and is looking much better. The doctors are happy with the progress that he is making," said Zuma.
The 94-year-old Nobel Peace laureate has been in hospital in Pretoria for more than two weeks after being admitted for routine tests. He then underwent surgery to remove gallstones.
Mandela, who came to power in historic elections in 1994 after decades struggling against apartheid, remains a symbol of resistance to racism and injustice at home and around the world.
He has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis while in jail as a political prisoner. But this is his longest stay in hospital since he was released from prison in 1990.
He spent time in a Johannesburg hospital in 2011 with a respiratory condition, and again in February this year because of abdominal pains though he was released the following day after a keyhole examination showed there was nothing serious.
Zuma, who has just been re-elected as president of the ruling African National Congress party, last week described Mandela's condition as serious.
"The Mandela family truly appreciates all the support they are receiving from the public. That is what keeps them going at this difficult time," said Zuma.
Periodic statements from the presidency continue to stress that the veteran politician is responding to treatment. No date has been given for his release from hospital.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
After his release, he used his popularity to push for reconciliation between whites and blacks. This reconciliation is the bedrock of the post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation".
Sworn in as South Africa's first black president in 1994, Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term in office and has largely been absent from public life for the last decade.
His fragile health has prevented him from making any public appearances in South Africa, though he has continued to receive high-profile domestic and international visitors, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton in July.

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‘Bumping’ Your Way to Safer Sex With a Smartphone App

Let’s face it.  Teens have sex.  Parents may choose to ignore it, and teens may choose to deny it, but almost 50 percent of American high school students are having sex, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. And each year, millions of those sexually active teens contract sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and HIV.
Now one doctor hopes to curb the spread of STDs in this tech savvy group with a smartphone app that lets users “bump” their STD status.
It’s called ‘safe bumping,’” said Dr. Michael Nusbaum, the New Jersey developer of MedXSafe, a feature of the new app called MedXCom.  “If you happen to be out at a bar or a fraternity house or wherever, and you meet someone, you can then bump phones and exchange contact information and STD status.”
The app’s special feature, according to Nussbaum, encourages dating singles to go to the doctor for regular STD checks.  Those who screen negative can ask their doctors to document their STD-free status on the app, allowing users to share the information with whomever they choose.
An alarming 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year, and rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea are on the rise, according to a new report released this month by the CDC.  More than 1.4 million chlamydia infections were reported in 2011, up 8 percent from the previous year.  Cases of gonorrhea were up by 4 percent, marking the second consecutive year of increases.
Nearly half of all infections occur in young people, between the ages of 15 to 24, a group that can be particularly devastated by the associated health effects.
“[Some] undetected and untreated STDs can increase a person’s risk for HIV and cause other serious health consequences, such as infertility,” said Mary McFarlane, an acting chief in the Division of STD Prevention at the CDC.  Harnessing modern social networking technology to prevent these infections may appeal to a younger tech-savvy generation.
MedXSafe is just one of several Internet-based programs devoted to easing confidential STD-status sharing between sexual partners.  Services like Qpid.me, whose slogan is Spread the Love, Nothing Else and U Should Know, designed by a former college student and his girlfriend, also allow their users to check on a partner’s STD status.
But could these services offer a false sense of security to teens who believe that, with a simple phone bump, they have the green light to have unprotected sex?
“It can take months for HIV to show up on a test,” said Renee Williams, executive director of SAFE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to abstinence education.  “So you can test negative today, go out on Friday night and have sex, and then get retested later and find out that you had HIV all along.”
The app does nothing to prevent unplanned pregnancy, and may even encourage high-risk behaviors that young people might otherwise not have been tempted to try, said Williams.
Nor is the app likely to be completely reliable, said Dr. J. Joseph Speidel, director of communication at the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.
“Does it come with a condom?” asked Dr. Richard Besser, ABC’s chief health and medical editor, who’s also a pediatrician and former acting director at the CDC.
But the app’s creator said it does promote regular STD testing and encourages potential partners to openly discuss safe sex practices.
“We’re recognizing that this behavior is going to take place no matter what we do or what we say,” said Nusbaum.  “I have friends that are nuns and I’ve run this by them, and they also agree that it’s promoting safer behaviors.”
Although each program promises to keep health information strictly confidential, none are immune from cyber attacks.
But such attacks would not expose any users who have an STD, according to Nusbaum.  MedXSafe does not allow doctors to upload information about any tests that come back positive, including HIV.  A user with an infection is simply treated for the STD and then retested.  And that user is only confirmed STD-free via the app once subsequent test results come back negative.
Still, it is too early to tell whether these services will become popular with teens.  Lingering social stigma surrounding STDs might make potential partners reluctant to mention such an app when out at a party.
“It’s a big personal step to bring up using such an app,” said Noah Bloom, creator of a smartphone app called Jiber, which uses the same “bump” technology to electronically connect new friends.  “Who really wants anything in the way of getting lucky?

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The Medical Guide to Holiday Movies

Anna Karenina lies febrile on her post-partum bed, her husband, Karenin, and lover, Vronsky, flanking her in sorrow. She repents to each, anticipating her end, and just when the romance soars to its peak, you wonder aloud -- why does she have a fever? And, could this really happen?

Luckily, we've got Hollywood's holiday ailments covered. Our unofficial disease guide takes a shot at unraveling the medical mysteries you'll see woven throughout the biggest hits of the season.

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Cardiologist Used Ethanol Shot to the Heart to Save British Man's Life

A cardiologist in England gained international attention when he used an unconventional procedure -- a shot of basic alcohol to the heart -- to stop an unusual cardio rhythm in an elderly patient.

Dr. Tom Johnson, who carried out the procedure at the Bristol Heart Institute Hospital in Bristol, England, said Ronald Aldom, 77, was doing "fantastically well" after Johnson and his team used pure ethanol to treat Aldom's rapid heartbeat, a condition called ventricular tachycardia, or VT, about six weeks ago. VT, which starts in the lower two chambers of the heart -- the ventricles -- can be life-threatening if it goes untreated.

"He's got a lot of life to live," Johnson said.

It may seem like a story lifted out of "Pulp Fiction," but treating VT with ethanol, though rare, is an accepted method that has been used for years. What was noteworthy about Johnson's procedure was that he had never used ethanol to treat VT before, nor had it ever been done in that part of the United Kingdom.

"[Aldom] was at a point where he felt he had no other option and was kind of facing death," Johnson said. "While it sounds like a very barbaric treatment, it was a very rewarding one, [but] very high risk."

Typically, a radio frequency catheter ablation is the treatment choice for someone with VT. A radio frequency catheter is an electrical probe that is threaded into the heart and uses low-voltage electricity to kill the heart tissue around the area causing the arrhythmia. This prevents the tissue from continuing to produce the abnormal rhythm.


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But Johnson said his colleagues had already tried that technique on Aldom, who had also previously endured heart attacks, without success -- scar tissue that forms after heart attacks can reject the electrical treatment.

"It was complicated by the fact that [Aldom] had severe damage to his heart already," Johnson said. "It got to the point where this poor man was like, 'please shut it off and let me die.'"

Ethanol ablation works in the same way in that it also selectively destroys heart tissue, but it is more commonly used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle is thick or "bulky," Johnson said. While he had used ethanol to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy before, to use it on Aldom was a last resort.

"This guy had no other option, which is why we were able to do something we had never done before," Johnson said.

The first step, Johnson said, was for him and his team to electronically map the heart to find and isolate the tissue that was causing the abnormal rhythm. Once the problem artery was located, Johnson's team fed a wire into the vein graph and inflated a balloon to block the artery. Through that balloon, Johnson said they injected the ethanol while the patient was under anesthetic, killing off the problem tissue.

Destroying the tissue creates a controlled, "selective" heart attack, which can be painful, Johnson said, but it allows the heartbeat to return to normal.

Using ethanol can have risky complications, Johnson said, because not only does it kill tissue, it can also kill some of the electrical function of the heart -- Aldom was already using a pace maker. Another risk, Johnson said, was that the balloon could shift, killing more tissue than intended. But his procedure came through successfully.

Dr. Richard Page, the chairman of the department of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and a past-president of the Heart Rhythm Society in the United States, agreed that using ethanol to treat VT was "not a routine procedure at all.

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How to Avoid a High Tax Bracket in Retirement

We spend many years saving and investing in our retirement portfolios. And when we retire, there is still more work to be done. You probably have many accounts in your retirement portfolio including a 401(k), traditional IRA, Roth IRA, after-tax brokerage account, annuity, Social Security benefits, and perhaps even a traditional pension. You will need to use all of these sources of income efficiently to best replace the paychecks you used to get from your job. One of the most important strategies is to keep tax to a minimum. Due to tax-deferred retirement accounts, many of us have delayed paying taxes on much of our retirement income. And that tax bill becomes due when we withdraw the money in retirement. Aiming to stay in a low tax bracket can help retirees to minimize the tax they pay on their retirement savings. Here's a look at the current tax brackets: Tax Brackets 2012 Single Married Filing Jointly Head of Household 10 percent bracket $0-$8,700 $0-$17,400 $0-$12,400 15 percent bracket $8,700-$35,350 $17,400-$70,700 $12,400- $47,350 25 percent bracket $35,350-$85,650 $70,700-$142,700 $47,350- $122,300 28 percent bracket $85,650-$178,650 $142,700-$217,450 $122,300- $198,050 33 percent bracket $178,650-$388,350 $217,450- $388,350 $198,050- $388,350 35 percent bracket $388,350+ $388,350+ $388,350+ In retirement, we should strive to avoid the 25 percent tax rate (or higher) as much as possible. To stay in the 15 percent bracket, we will have to make sure our adjusted gross income stays under $35,000. There are several things we can do to accomplish this. Let's say a single retiree needs $3,000 per month after taxes to cover expenses. Can a retiree bring in this income, but still avoid the 25 percent tax rate? It depends on where the income comes from. Annuity, pension, and Social Security income are each taxed differently than regular earned income. In this example, let's assume the taxable portion of these types of income is around $15,000 per year. Then we could withdraw $20,000 from a 401(k) or traditional IRA and still stay in a low tax bracket. These are both pre-tax accounts and any withdrawals are taxed at the earned income rate. So far this retiree has an adjusted gross income of $35,000, which allows him to avoid the 25 percent tax bracket, and instead pay an effective tax rate of around 13.75 percent. This is about $2,500 per month in after-tax income. But we are still $500 short of $3,000 per month for expenses. We can then tap an after-tax account for this shortfall. The current long-term capital gains tax rate is 0 percent for people in the 10 or 15 percent tax bracket. You could also withdraw the money from a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). No income tax is due on these withdrawals because you already pre-paid the income tax up front. If you want to remain in a low tax bracket in retirement, generate $35,000 or less from taxable income sources including a 401(k), IRA, Social Security, annuity, and pension. Once you hit $35,000 worth of taxable income, switch to after-tax accounts like the Roth IRA to generate the rest of your target income. This flexibility is why it is important to invest in a Roth IRA and after-tax accounts. While you don't get an immediate tax break, these accounts add tax diversification to your portfolio that can be extremely useful when it's time to withdraw the money. While employers often encourage us to contribute to traditional 401(k) accounts, don't ignore the future tax benefit of the Roth IRA. It's best to contribute to both a traditional and Roth 401(k) or IRA, and an after-tax brokerage account.

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Trio of chefs nominated in 'Time' magazine's 100 most influential people list

Chefs René Redzepi, David Chang and José Andrés have been nominated in Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The trio of world renowned chefs joins a pool of politicians, heads of state, actors, musicians and human rights activists as candidates in the publication’s Time 100 list. Last year, Chef Grant Achatz was the only food personality among nominees like Jamie Oliver, US food writer Mark Bittman and Redzepi to break through the final round. Voting is now open and closes April 6. The poll winner will be included in the Time 100 list, and the remaining people chosen by the magazine editors. The winners will be announced April 17. Here’s how the food personalities are being described in the nominations: José Andrés Age: 42 Activist Chef Andrés is a decorated chef for his Washington DC restaurants Jaleo and Minibar. Last year, he was named Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Foundation Awards. But it’s for his anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts that he’s been singled out by Time this year. His World Central Kitchen, for instance, is described as an international think tank that tries to find creative solutions for feeding the world’s hungry. David Chang Age: 34 Occupation: Chef In addition to expanding his Momofuku restaurant empire to Sydney and Toronto, Chang -- described as the “enfant terrible" of the New York dining scene -– has become a publishing mogul with a cookbook and foodie magazine Lucky Peach. But mostly, it’s his gourmet pan-Asian cooking that has diners raving. René Redzepi Age: 34 Occupation: Chef Odds are good for Redzepi to make the final round, given that he graced the cover of Time magazine recently as a “Locavore Hero” for pioneering the foraging movement within haute cuisine. He’s also credited for launching new Nordic cuisine and elevating Scandinavian gastronomy to new heights. His Copenhagen restaurant Noma is currently considered the best in the world, according to Restaurant magazine. Like Andrés and Chang, Redzepi has also branched out of the kitchen to organize an annual food festival MAD Food Camp that gathers the top culinary minds to Denmark.

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The Importance of Being Self-Reliant in Retirement

Most baby boomers are at various stages of preparing for retirement, depending on whether they were born at the beginning or end of their generation. The smart ones realize that effective planning starts well before retirement age. Important calculations need to be made to determine what it will take to survive financially throughout the retirement years. Post-work lifestyles and passions also need to be defined, and consideration for unexpected events should be taken into account whenever possible. Counting on others to provide for us in our old age is a risky proposition. In the U.S., the ratio of working-age citizens between ages 15 and 64 supporting those over 64 is currently 5:1. By the year 2050 this ratio will drop to 3:1, according to United Nations data. In China things are even worse. They will move from the current 9:1 ratio to 3:1. And in Japan the ratio will be 1:1 in 2050. It is important to rely on ourselves and our own resourcefulness. Society is changing to deal with the aging demographic with less generous pension plans, longer working hours, and an increase in the retirement age. Back in the 1980s, 38 percent of people had traditional pensions. By 2008 the number dropped to 20 percent. If a traditional pension will not be part of our retirement equation, we need to fill in the blank with other investments and savings alternatives. Don't count on Social Security to foot your entire retirement bill either. With an average monthly amount of $1,230 paid at the beginning of 2012, it should only be viewed as a supplement to your other sources of retirement income. It is a piece of the puzzle, but should not be considered the entire solution. Health demands and expenses will increase as we age. Fidelity estimates that a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2011 will need $230,000 to cover likely out-of-pocket medical expenses in retirement. And this estimate does not even include the cost of long-term care. Such burdens could prove catastrophic if we do not plan ahead with additional savings, health insurance, and long-term care coverage. Most people approaching retirement would like the option to stay in their current home if they choose to and remain healthy enough to safely do so. Paying down your mortgage over the years provides flexibility, and the equity can be available for emergencies. Whether a decision is made to stay in the existing home or sell, having the option empowers senior citizens. Remaining independent in retirement requires planning ahead, realistically evaluating your situation, and taking appropriate action to provide for your retirement needs. You can't count on the government or your former employer to finance your retirement years. It's something you need to take care of yourself.

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