Extremely painful and destructive, gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with elevated serum uric acid (sUA) a root cause of the disease. Even with the growing incidence of gout, recent research from the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society (GUAES) found that just 16 percent of Americans overall know the target sUA number for gout (6 mg/dL or below) – and just 38 percent of people with gout had their sUA levels checked within the past six months, the timeframe recommended by the American College of Rheumatology. Additionally, the majority of gout sufferers don’t understand the importance of taking daily uric acid-lowering medications, with four in 10 incorrectly believing that they can stop taking medications when they aren’t experiencing flares.
Seeking to increase recognition of the severity of gout and need for routine sUA testing and management, GUAES hosted a professional roundtable discussion on October 3, 2015. The roundtable brought together several experts – rheumatologists, a family care physician, and representatives from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the National Kidney Foundation and CreakyJoints – to explore how to more effectively educate about gout and improve access to public education and treatment.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7715851-guaes-gout-roundtable-discussion/
Losing weight and being healthier are at the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. But, despite the best intentions, work, kids, and social events often push lifestyle changes to the bottom of the list. While many are familiar with type 2 diabetes, fewer are aware of prediabetes, a serious health condition that affects 86 million Americans (more than 1 in 3) and often leads to type 2 diabetes. People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood glucose (sugar) levels, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
To raise awareness and help people with prediabetes know where they stand and how to prevent type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have partnered with the Ad Council to launch the first national public service advertising (PSA) campaign about prediabetes. The PSA campaign, featuring first-of-its-kind communications techniques, was developed pro bono by Ogilvy & Mather New York for the Ad Council.
Nearly 90 percent of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it and aren’t aware of the long-term risks to their health, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. Current trends suggest that, if not treated, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years. The good news is that prediabetes often can be reversed through weight loss, diet changes and increased physical activity. Diagnosis is key: research shows that once people are aware of their condition, they are much more likely to make the necessary lifestyle changes.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7731551-ad-council-prediabetes-psa/
More than 15 percent of reproductive-aged women have filled a prescription for an antidepressant medication during the years 2008–2013, according to a new analysis published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month and the CDC is working with the March of Dimes to raise awareness about the use of antidepressant medications by women of reproductive age, and what women should know and do for their own health and that of their babies. There is conflicting evidence about the potential link between some antidepressants and certain birth defects. Some commonly used antidepressants are sertraline (Zoloft), bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), and citalopram (Celexa).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7709851-march-of-dimes-antidepressant-pregnancy-study/
This February, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) is celebrating National Children’s Dental Health Month by hosting the Tournament of Tooth Care, showcasing how parents and caregivers can help their kids fend off the Mouth Monsters –a.k.a. tooth decay. Parents and caregivers can tune in to the Mouth Madness to learn how to help little teeth take on the Mouth Monsters one big game at a time.
“Tooth decay in children is a major health epidemic for adolescents across the country,” said Dr. Robert Delarosa, AAPD President. “National Children’s Dental Health Month is a great time for parents to keep their children’s dental health top of mind. Make it a priority this month to find a Dental Home – or home base – for your child’s oral health needs and be sure your next check-up is on the calendar.”
Tooth decay is one of the top chronic infectious diseases among children in the U.S. About 60 percent of children will have had tooth decay at some point by age five. More than 50 million school hours are missed every year by school-aged children in the U.S. due to dental visits or problems. And tooth decay isn’t just bad for oral health; children who develop tooth decay at a young age are at a greater risk for developing problems with oral and general health, as well as with educational and social development.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7750251-aapd-mouth-madness-dental-health/
Clayton, one of America’s largest homebuilders, announced the launch of a customer-driven ‘Clayton Built™ Storytelling’ initiative. The video series reinforces the national homebuilder’s purpose of opening doors to a better life, one home a time, through the eyes of manufactured and modular homeowners across America. The goal of the series is to tell the before and after stories of real customers who purchased Clayton Built™ homes.
The first video in the series tells the story of long-time spouses, Lucille and Lee Allen, as they reflect on the past 10 years of living in a Clayton Built™ home. The couple recounts this pivotal point in their lives and the excitement they experienced as their new home was delivered. They marvel as the home is built in steps by trained craftsmen and assembled in two sections at the final home site.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7716451-clayton-homes-storytelling-campaign/
Bahama Breeze Island Grille is kicking off Viva la ‘Rita 2016 on National Margarita Day, February 22, introducing six new handcrafted margaritas that take tequila’s exotic flavor to daring new levels of sassy and spicy goodness.
Some say that margaritas are the most popular cocktail, with Americans consuming an average of 185,000 margaritas per hour (Brown-Forman, 2008). As if going out for margaritas wasn’t an adventure already, Bahama Breeze invites guests to escape to the Islands for a brand-new Caribbean-twist on the classic cocktail, featuring six authentic island flavors. This year, to add to the Viva la ‘Rita fun, Bahama Breeze has brought Margarita Mondays to the mix. Guests can make Mondays during Viva la ‘Rita the best day of the week with $20 pitchers of all of the new margaritas. Viva la ‘Rita kicks off its first Margarita Monday celebration on National Margarita Day on Monday, February 22 and the event runs through April 10.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7749051-bahama-breeze-viva-la-rita/
The Meta “Heart 2 Heart” campaign, created to encourage more family dialogue about heart health, enlisted Emmy award-winning talk show host Michael Strahan to help jumpstart conversations during National Heart Month in February and beyond. Meta, the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended fiber brand, is proven to help lower cholesterol to promote heart health† when paired with a healthy diet.
In an effort to lead by example and put his professional talk show expertise to use in a fresh way, Strahan invited the cameras in to capture his own personal father-son heart conversation, including practical tips on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. The “Heart 2 Heart” video, now available for viewing on YouTube, will also be featured at this weekend’s Dad 2.0 Summit in Washington D.C., where over 400 influential dad bloggers will discuss the “new normal” of fatherhood. As a father himself, Michael Strahan will speak at the conference alongside Dr. Charles Lambert, Preventative Cardiologist at Florida Hospital, to discuss his role as a dad, the male influences in his life that contributed to his success, and how he maintains a heart-healthy lifestyle amid a growing busy schedule.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7764251-meta-michael-strahan-heart-2-heart/
Spring is around the corner, and it won’t be long before it’s prom and graduation seasons for many high schoolers. Rites of passage for many, these are times for teens to celebrate, but can also be times of poor decision-making, especially when vehicles are involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 2,524 teen drivers and passengers were killed and 177,000 were injured in 2013. Twenty-seven percent of these fatalities occurred between April and June, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“The statistics are staggering, especially when you consider that most of these accidents and fatalities are preventable,” said Randy Petro, Mercury Insurance’s chief claims officer. “We don’t want any families to suffer through the loss of a child, so Mercury is taking action with the launch of the ‘Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge.’”
The Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge kicked off with a free defensive driving program, which included hands-on driving skills training and classroom material. An interactive website provides teens with detailed instruction, as well as gives parents the tools to shape responsible driving behavior.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7772251-mercury-teen-drive-safe-challenge/
Every 33 seconds a child under 13 is involved in a car crash in the United States, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Safety seats, if used correctly, can dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury. But 59 percent of car seats are misused in a way that could reduce their effectiveness, and over one-third of children killed in car crashes were completely unrestrained at the time of the crash. Today, NHTSA and the Ad Council unveiled a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of selecting the right seat for their child’s age and size, and to remind them that car seats, booster seats and seat belts offer the best protection for children in crashes and help save lives.
“Life can change in an instant. We want parents and caregivers to prepare for the unexpected, rather than face their worst nightmare,” said Dr. Mark Rosekind, NHTSA administrator. “Buckling up a child correctly and in the right seat is the best protection any parent can do to see their child walk away unharmed from a car crash.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7774451-ad-council-find-the-right-seat/
INRIX®, Inc., a global leader for transportation analytics, today released its 2015 Traffic Scorecard, a benchmark for governments and agencies in the U.S. and Europe to measure progress in improving urban mobility.
The report reveals the U.S. faces large challenges to solve congestion issues, fueled by continued economic and population growth, higher employment rates and declining gas prices. Cities that have experienced the most economic improvement during the past year are at highest risk for consequences related to worsened traffic conditions, including reduced productivity, higher emissions and increased stress levels. For example, Washington D.C., San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Boston all saw reduced unemployment rates bringing them below the national average of 5.3 percent for 2015.1 However, according to the INRIX Traffic Scorecard, congestion in those cities alone combined to waste 1.5 billion hours for daily car commuters last year. Nationwide, commuters spent a total of more than eight billion extra hours stuck in traffic, representing almost 50 hours per driver.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7775551-inrix-2015-traffic-scorecard/
According to a new survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Ad Council, one in three millennials (34 percent) ranked saving as their number one goal for the year – ahead of living a healthy lifestyle (20 percent), paying off debt (19 percent), and losing weight (14 percent). But while saving was a top priority, a majority of millennials attributed their lack of saving to impulse buying (65 percent).
For older millennials, those born between the early 1980’s and early 1990’s, saving is crucial as they work towards major milestones in their lives. When asked what they were saving money towards, respondents sought to secure their future by saving for an emergency fund (40 percent), saving for retirement (22 percent) or starting a family (15 percent). They also reported saving for larger purchases like a vacation (36 percent), a new house (27 percent), a car (26 percent), home improvements (20 percent), or a wedding (8 percent). To provide Americans aged 25 to 34 with the tips and tools to take control of their personal finances, AICPA and the Ad Council’s national advertising campaign, Feed the Pig, is continuing to collaborate with new partners to deliver this critical content in a relevant and engaging way.
“Many young adults think saving is impossible,” said Gregory Anton, CPA, CGMA, chair of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. “While low salaries and high debt levels can certainly be barriers to saving, the key is to create a budget and stick to it. Establishing a disciplined saving strategy early in life and avoiding missteps will reap substantial long-term dividends.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7790851-ad-council-feed-the-pig/
As the primary source of biofuels in North America, many organizations are conducting research in the area of ethanol production. The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) is a research division of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville dedicated solely to ethanol-based biofuel research projects. On the federal level, the USDA conducts a large amount of research regarding ethanol production in the United States. Much of this research is targeted toward the effect of ethanol production on domestic food markets. A division of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has also conducted various ethanol research projects, mainly in the area of cellulosic ethanol.
