Ginseng fights fatigue in cancer patients, Mayo Clinic-led study finds

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joe Dangor
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- High doses of the herb American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over two months reduced cancer-related fatigue in patients more effectively than a placebo, a Mayo Clinic-led study found. Sixty percent of patients studied had breast cancer. The findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at one of 40 community medical centers. Each day, participants received a placebo or 2,000 milligrams of ginseng administered in capsules containing pure, ground American ginseng root.

"Off-the-shelf ginseng is sometimes processed using ethanol, which can give it estrogen-like properties that may be harmful to breast cancer patients," says researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

At four weeks, the pure ginseng provided only a slight improvement in fatigue symptoms. However, at eight weeks, ginseng offered cancer patients significant improvement in general exhaustion feelings of being "pooped," "worn out," "fatigued," "sluggish," "run-down," or "tired" compared to the placebo group.

"After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100-point, standardized fatigue scale," Dr. Barton says. The herb had no apparent side effects, she says.

Ginseng has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural energy booster. Until this study, its effects had not been tested extensively against the debilitating fatigue that occurs in up to 90 percent of cancer patients. Fatigue in cancer patients has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. Ginseng's active ingredients, called ginsenosides, have been shown in animal studies to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and help regulate cortisol levels.

Dr. Barton's next study will look closely at ginseng's effects on the specific biomarkers for fatigue. "Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment," she says. "If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue."

###

VIDEO ALERT: Audio and video resources available on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Other authors include Breanna Linquist, and Charles Loprinzi, M.D., of Mayo Clinic; Shaker Dakhil, M.D., of Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program; James Bearden, M.D., and Travis McGinn, of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center; Craig Nichols, M.D., of Virginia Mason Medical Center; Greg Seeger, M.D., of Altru Cancer Center; Ernie Balcueva, M.D., of Saginaw, Mich.

About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

As one of the leading institutions funded by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center promotes basic and clinical research on the incidence, causes and progression of cancer and translates discoveries into improved methods for prevention, detection, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.com and www.mayoclinic.org/news.>


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joe Dangor
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- High doses of the herb American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over two months reduced cancer-related fatigue in patients more effectively than a placebo, a Mayo Clinic-led study found. Sixty percent of patients studied had breast cancer. The findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at one of 40 community medical centers. Each day, participants received a placebo or 2,000 milligrams of ginseng administered in capsules containing pure, ground American ginseng root.

"Off-the-shelf ginseng is sometimes processed using ethanol, which can give it estrogen-like properties that may be harmful to breast cancer patients," says researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

At four weeks, the pure ginseng provided only a slight improvement in fatigue symptoms. However, at eight weeks, ginseng offered cancer patients significant improvement in general exhaustion feelings of being "pooped," "worn out," "fatigued," "sluggish," "run-down," or "tired" compared to the placebo group.

"After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100-point, standardized fatigue scale," Dr. Barton says. The herb had no apparent side effects, she says.

Ginseng has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural energy booster. Until this study, its effects had not been tested extensively against the debilitating fatigue that occurs in up to 90 percent of cancer patients. Fatigue in cancer patients has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. Ginseng's active ingredients, called ginsenosides, have been shown in animal studies to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and help regulate cortisol levels.

Dr. Barton's next study will look closely at ginseng's effects on the specific biomarkers for fatigue. "Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment," she says. "If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue."

###

VIDEO ALERT: Audio and video resources available on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Other authors include Breanna Linquist, and Charles Loprinzi, M.D., of Mayo Clinic; Shaker Dakhil, M.D., of Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program; James Bearden, M.D., and Travis McGinn, of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center; Craig Nichols, M.D., of Virginia Mason Medical Center; Greg Seeger, M.D., of Altru Cancer Center; Ernie Balcueva, M.D., of Saginaw, Mich.

About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

As one of the leading institutions funded by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center promotes basic and clinical research on the incidence, causes and progression of cancer and translates discoveries into improved methods for prevention, detection, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.com and www.mayoclinic.org/news.>


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


tebow tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush sherry arnold snooty fox el debarge

Children And Teens Are Increasingly Becoming Obese - Real Essays

Childhood obesity has been getting press coverage for a very long time. In the US it has reached epidemic proportions but the press coverage has still had little effect on it.

We are not here to discuss how it happens or who is to blame as we all know what the causes are. If a child is overweight or obese now, then this can have major health dangers and may possibly be life-threatening in later years. Physical and psychological areas are suffering in a noticeable percentage of this entire generation. It is hard enough to be a teen without having to endure being bullied about weight by others as well. An obese child has to face some of the following things that well be looking at.

The whole human body is stressed in physical areas if you are overweight. If a child is obese then this can have severe dangers to their respiratory system, giving them obstructive sleep apnea. Problems can also occur in normal breathing as well if a child is obese.

Because of a weight condition, a child can develop asthma. A different term used is exercise intolerance and it is when something challenges your normal breathing process. We all have seen the labored breathing that an overweight person seems to always have. It is a natural response to the physical body basically working harder all the time. Because of this stress will increase on your entire cardiovascular system.

Just about any person who is obese suffers from a litany of psychological challenges. When it feels like all of the kids around you are mean to you every day that can cause stress, low self esteem low self confidence and even make the child hate him or herself. These are silent problems that obese kids and teens often endure all by themselves. When the situation goes on long enough and gets severe enough it could cause the victim to develop behaviors that border on or even are sociopathic. We havent found any significant data on how many obese high school kids go on to get a college education. Our guess is that the number is relatively small and that there are quite a lot more obese high school kids than college kids. Who can blame them, though, when they may be thinking about four more years of torture and abuse.

For an obese child, the prospects do not appear very promising for a few reasons. There is a long list of risks for health problems and diseases for an obese young child when they become an adult. What about being able to reverse this condition?

We know that obese teens are more likely to become very obese adults by 16 times more than a normal teen. For these teens, this does not bode well at all. As an adult these children are looking at a very diminished quality of life because the risk factors start to develop when they are young.

If you are a child or young adult, it is incredibly important that you find a competent and qualified adult to talk to about your condition. You should become educated about the causes of your condition. The good news is that you can do something about your condition and you are never too old to try to get healthy.

Watch Game Of Thrones Season 2 Episode 10 Online

iowa gop meteor shower tonight annie oakley edc paranormal activity 4 love and hip hop 2012 nfl mock draft

News about News about Life and Society issue #1 | Blog4.RapiChat ...

Posted by admin on June 4, 2012 in Uncategorized |

06/04/2012

Digital Alberta Gearing Up for Second Annual Awards Ceremony Tonight in CalgaryTechvibes (blog)Or Kudos, the corporate social networking site designed to boost morale while giving employees recognitio more?

06/04/2012

Transcript: Live Chat with Van Jones and Ari Berman on the State of the Obama ?The Nation.The Nation is America's oldest weekly news magazine, and one of the most widely read magazines in the wo more?

06/04/2012

Virtual Town Hall: 39th State Senate District ? Patrick L. MarshPatch.comI believe the best path forward for our society is to make education a bigger part of our lives, and to make a college degree more?

06/04/2012

Microsoft Add Football, Cartoons to Expand Xbox PlatformBloomberg(MSFT), expanding the sports and entertainment offered through its video-game platform, will add programming including ESPN's ?Mo more?

06/04/2012

AARP Releases New Study on What Defines Happiness for Adults 35+Sacramento BeeHowever, relationships did have to be real: "connecting with friends or family on a social media site like Facebook&q more?

06/04/2012

For hackers, software flaws offer keys to government, business computersOneonta Daily StarThe same code that unleashed a communications revolution has also created profound vulnerabilities for societi more?

06/04/2012

The Amazing Spider-Man Official Mobile Game to Release Alongside Upcoming FilmMarketWatch (press release)A leading global publisher of digital and social games, Gameloft? has established itself as on more?

06/04/2012

The Amazing Spider-Man Official Mobile Game to Release Alongside Upcoming FilmPR Newswire (press release)A leading global publisher of digital and social games, Gameloft? has established itself as on more?

06/04/2012

TheBlaze.comSpecial Report ? George Soros: Godfather of the LeftTheBlaze.comGrants to Bard College for ?community service and social action? included a Palestinian youth group and an initiative t more?

06/04/2012

Los Angeles IndependentSame-sex couples find their stride on wedding dayLos Angeles IndependentPerhaps the best evidence of acceptance comes from looking at the extent to which society has embraced sa more?

06/04/2012

OregonLive.comClackamas County and Southwest events roundup: dances, farmers markets, classesOregonLive.comMembers of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high eth more?

06/04/2012

Senate endorses FOI bill; all eyes now on HousePhilippine Center for Investigative Journalism (blog)The coalition is composed of 150 civil society and media organizations that have thrown their suppor more?

06/04/2012

The South Los Angeles ReportThe day I grew up!The South Los Angeles ReportOne of my Westchester High School classmates was turning 30 and we spent a good amount of time discussing how we were going to more?

06/04/2012

Hitachi Data Systems Customers Recognized as Laureates in the 24th Annual IDG ?SYS-CON Media (press release)When the IT department embarked upon an enterprise-wide virtual desktop infrastructure (VD more?

06/04/2012

ForbesStanford University Students Challenge Silicon Valley: More Femgineers, Less NerdsForbesFemgineers are not just computer scientists. We had not been coding all our lives, but we have had experie more?

06/04/2012

Wonkbook: Don't read too much into the May jobs numbersWashington Post (blog)Obama essentially a coin toss Top stories 1) Global lending is contracting at the fastest pace since the financial cris more?

06/04/2012

Bus drivers and riders uniteSocialist Worker OnlineIn the name of "budget crises," they cut or privatize our social services, our schools, our health care. They gamble our pensions and Socia more?

06/04/2012

Daily MaverickFilms and Provocations Board: An institution's follyDaily MaverickAside from avoiding highly technical or overly specialised materials ? we only had space for a collection of about more?

06/04/2012

ABC Technology and GamesMuslim women and the Australian mediaABC Technology and GamesA 2005 Gallup Poll of American households found that "gender inequality" was among the top responses Amer more?

06/04/2012

Weakness as powerDAWN.comAs in, give us the right to a life, first, and then we can start talking about finer points such as a life lived in dignity, the right to education and other important choices more?

06/04/2012

Press HeraldMiss Maine USA Rani Williamson among 16 pageant finalistsPress HeraldAmong the top 16 pageant contestants was Miss Maine USA Rani Williamson, 25, a 2011 University of Southern Maine gradua more?

06/04/2012

Sydney Morning HeraldAttack of the zero-day huntersSydney Morning HeraldThe same code that unleashed a communications revolution has also created profound vulnerabilities for societies that depend on more?

06/04/2012

The Wedding Singer at the Roxy Regional Theatre is a Real Blast from the PastClarksville OnlineAll of this was but decoration, as it was the skill of the actors who really brought the show to life. I more?

06/03/2012

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At TechdirtTechdirtresponding to the story of the RIAA's confusion over Google's DMCA takedown tools, and the general wish that Google magically c more?

Tags: business, communications, education, games

may day protests tony nominations 2012 facebook organ donor jessica simpson gives birth carrie underwood blown away chk capitals

Pro- and anti-Syrian groups clash in north Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) ? Gunbattles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in northern Lebanon killed at least seven people and wounded 22 on Saturday, security officials said, as activists reported fresh shelling in a region in central Syria where a massacre last week left more than 100 people dead.

The clashes were the latest to hit the Lebanese port of Tripoli. Repeated outbreaks of violence in the city, the country's second largest, are seen as spillover from the conflict in neighboring Syria and have raised fears of an escalation in sectarian tensions in Lebanon.

The fighting in Tripoli started shortly before midnight Friday and intensified Saturday, the officials said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which are easily enflamed. Clashes in Tripoli last month killed at least eight people.

The conflict pits Sunni Muslims who support Syrian rebels trying to oust President Bashar Assad against members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam of which Assad is a member.

Smoke was seen billowing from several apartments near the city's Syria street, the dividing line between the mainly Sunni Bab Tabbaneh neighborhood and the adjacent, Alawite-majority Jabal Mohsen. The area around Syria street was mostly empty and gunmen were roaming the streets.

"We are being targeted because we support the Syrian people," a Sunni gunman told Associated Press Television. "We are with you (Syrian people) and will not abandon you."

In Syria, activists said government troops fired shells at Houla, a cluster of farming villages in the central province of Homs where the U.N. says at least 108 people ? including 49 children under the age of ten ? were killed on May 25.

The opposition and the government have exchanged accusations over the massacre, each blaming the other.

Syria has come under deep international isolation since its forces launched a ferocious crackdown on dissent nearly 15 months ago, but the Houla massacre has brought a new urgency to calls to end the crisis.

In Qatar, the head of Syria's largest exile opposition group said Saturday he would welcome Arab military action aimed at brining a halt to attacks by Assad's regime against Syrian rebel forces and civilians.

Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the Syrian National Council, made the comments before a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, who discussed the bloodshed in Syria, including the Houla massacre.

Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pledged funds to aid Syria's rebels, but there is no direct evidence that the money is reaching anti-Assad forces or that the rebels are becoming better armed. The Arab League, however, does not appear ready to deploy its own troops.

After the meeting, the ministers issued a statement calling on the Arab world's two main satellite operators, Saudi Arabia-hosted Arabsat and Egypt's Nilesat, to suspend the broadcasting of Syria's state-run and private television stations.

The move, which would block the regime's ability to push its version of the uprising, is seen as another step by the Arab League to pressure Damascus, which was suspended from the 22-member bloc last year.

Syrian state TV quickly responded, saying the move is "part of the aggression against Syria and aims to silence the voice of its people." It added that the decision aims to "conceal the facts of what is going on in Syria."

With violence continuing despite nearly 300-strong U.N. observers on the ground in Syria, League chief Nabil Elaraby suggested that the monitors' mission shift into a peacekeeping one.

"What is needed today is not only observing and investigating but supervising that the violence stops," Elaraby told the meeting. "One of the alternatives could be amending the authorization regarding the observers so that they become a peacekeeping force."

The deployment of unarmed U.N. observers is part of international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan, which includes a cease-fire that is to lead to talks between the regime and its opponents. The truce has never really taken hold, although world leaders continue to pin their hopes on it, in part because there is little appetite in the West for a Libya-style intervention.

Annan warned Arab officials in Qatar that "the specter of all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day," in Syria, and added that the crisis is spilling over to neighboring countries, an apparent reference to Lebanon.

He called for the immediate implementation of his peace plan.

On Friday night, state TV aired interviews with two witnesses from Houla who said the victims of the massacres were members of families that support the government and did not take part in anti-Assad protests. The witnesses names and faces were not made public for their own safety, according to the station.

Those statements contradicted accounts of witnesses who blamed "shabiha" or the shadowy gunmen who operate on behalf of Assad's regime. The U.N. also said it had strong suspicions those pro-regime gunmen were responsible for much of the bloodshed in Houla.

In Brussels, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Saturday there should be no amnesty for crimes committed in Syria, even if potential prosecution might motivate members of the regime to cling to power at all costs.

Pillay spoke a day after the Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly to condemn Syria over the slaughter in Houla.

Since the massacre occurred, activists have reported that government troops have shelled the area almost daily. They say many residents have the area for fear of a new massacre.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling concentrated on the village of Tal Dahab in Houla.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees also reported shelling and clashes between troops and rebels in the central city of Homs, the southern province of Daraa and some suburbs of the capital Damascus.

Activists say as many as 13,000 people have died in Assad's crackdown against the anti-government uprising, which began in March 2011 amid the Arab Spring. One year after the revolt began, the U.N. put the toll at 9,000, but many hundreds more have died since.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Don Melvin in Brussels contributed to this report.

1940 census instagram for android dallas news dallas fort worth dfw 1930 census nike new nfl uniforms

Alternating Current Milan Inter Milan Hamsik Large Traced Get In ...

Do you enjoy getting a camper? Every 12 months, loads of citizens take into account air conditioner san antonio acquiring camper, but a great many turn out no longer performing. At the same time there are lots many good reasons as to why aspiring camper operators always be there ascending getting one, they are shy that they may possibly not begin using her magnetic generators close to correct, oftentimes losing profits. Strategies one reason the reasons may be shy to whether you aren?t you should obtain an electric motor real estate, you are willing to fully grasp that motorhomes, honestly, arrive with an any number of number of different applies. One really well known uses related to motor homes stands for proceed. In the matter of driving, a good number of motor home founders, particularly those which can be stopped working, apply motor homes going and additionally drop by and see their valuable long-distance relatives and buddies. When you?ve got several family and friends coupled with relatives who actually settle around the world, you?ll want to carefully consider the purchase of a camper to the runs.

Language cruising throughout the country, plenty of camper managers, aside from that predominantly baby boomers, make use of their motor homes when it comes to x-country journeys. Regularly, there?s certainly no precise aim of driving a vehicle across the country, instead of to provide a great time combined with sightsee. Just what is great with regard to journeying a fair distance using a camper is you can commemorate, without the need to commit a ton of money. When traveling at the motor home, a sensational scene purchase your booking at about a resorts or even perhaps a location. Combined with employing a motor home to find fun practices, you can also find a good number of motor home buyers that will operate her or his condo rentals in cocoa beach motorhomes as the available home?s. When you find yourself on or maybe if you want to lower your costs, you need to definitely visualize requires you?re going to your main motor home. A number of people today and families do thus for many years a lot of people today declare that sanctioned great suffer. When you?re planning on a really enjoyable a motor your house steady, determine mortgage payments or get room or space for a the general public campground keep or you can purchase own personal parcel of land. In accessory for getting a camper as an effective fixed place of residence, there are many different people utilize most of the motor homes as a non-permanent place to survive. If you wish to rework the home or if perhaps you prefer to establish a brand new home, you need to consider a diamond ring motor home for your own use.

You may choose to home an individual?s motor home as part of your property or home and so have a home in the item with your loved ones up to the build quality to your residence is concluded. This will be a fantastic way to reduce costs and not necessarily force on top of your friends or family people. With running yours motor home, that you don?t ought to panic about funding an accommodation or simply attempting to find family or friends to be in home business opportunities with. Certainly, website with camper takes advantage of. That is what is indeed so relaxing with reference to purchasing a camper. If you have possession of a motor residential home, all over on foot command over that may camper. To produce with respect to you?ll be able. You possess the versatility to actually momentarily survive in your actual camper, eternally remain in ones camper, work going down the road throughout the country, or perhaps begin a camping recreation. Read in relation to numbing finger with the Numb Fingers internet page. Just for tips on wrist piercing, see the Wrist Striking internet business. To enjoy a book in relation to milieu healing, explore the Milieu Exercises online business.

chk capitals john edwards conocophillips octomom dan savage new world trade center

Laughs: A part of the game for 'Feud' host Dawson

FILE - This June 1978 file photo shows Richard Dawson, host of "Family Feud" in character. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" died Saturday, June 2, 2012. He was 79. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This June 1978 file photo shows Richard Dawson, host of "Family Feud" in character. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" died Saturday, June 2, 2012. He was 79. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this May 8, 1978 file photo, Richard Dawson, foreground, is in his familiar role as host of "Family Feud" when the casts of ABC's comedy series "Eight is Enough," "The Love Boat," "Soap," and "Three's Company" compete to benefit charity. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" has died. He was 79. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 1982 file photo provided by NBC-TV, "Family Feud" host Richard Dawson, center, gives President Reagan, played by "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson, a chance at the big money as Queen Elizabeth (Rose Carr) readies herself at the buzzer during "International Family Feud" sketch on the show in Burbank, Calif. The "feud" pitted the Reagans against the Windsor family. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" died Saturday, June 2, 2012. He was 79. (AP Photo/NBC-TV, File)

FILE - This June 1978 file photo shows Richard Dawson, host of "Family Feud" in character. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" died Saturday, June 2, 2012. He was 79. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this June 25, 1980 file photo, as host Richard Dawson, center, watches, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, right, grimaces and Cowboys cheerleader Suzette Scholz-Derrick waves happily after Suzette beat Dorsett with a correct answer during taping of the "Family Feud" game show at ABC television studios in Los Angeles. Five Cowboys footballers meet five Cowboys cheerleaders for week of competition on the popular daytime game show. Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" died Saturday, June 2, 2012. He was 79. (AP Photo/Randy Rasmussen, File)

(AP) ? Richard Dawson brought a saucy, unabashedly touchy-feely style to TV game shows as host of "Family Feud."

The British-born entertainer, who died Saturday at age 79 from complications related to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, earlier had made his mark in the unlikely 1960s sitcom hit "Hogan's Heroes," which mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves.

But it is as the kissing, wisecracking quizmaster of "Feud" that he will be remembered.

The show, which initially ran from 1976 to 1985, pitted a pair of families against each other as they tried to guess the most popular answers to poll questions such as "What do people give up when they go on a diet?"

Dawson made his hearty, soaring pronouncement of the phrase "Survey says..." a national catchphrase among the show's fans.

He won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 as best game show host. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called him "the fastest, brightest and most beguilingly caustic interlocutor since the late great Groucho bantered and parried on 'You Bet Your Life.'" The show was so popular it was released as both daytime and syndicated evening versions.

And it was quickly validated by "Saturday Night Live," with Bill Murray in a satirical homage to Dawson as a leering, nasty figure who even slapped one contestant (John Belushi) for getting too fresh.

Not that everyone approved.

In his classic 1981 cultural analysis "Within the Context of No Context," George W.S. Trow identified "the important moment in the history of television" as the moment when Dawson asked his contestants "to guess what a poll of 100 people had guessed would be the height of the average American woman.

"Guess what they've guessed," sniffed Trow, harping on the meaninglessness of such an enterprise. "Guess what they've guessed the AVERAGE is."

Obviously, "Feud" fans would have feuded with Trow's dismissive attitude.

For one thing, Dawson played the show, and his duties presiding over it, for laughs.

On one episode, he posed this question to a contestant: "During what month of pregnancy does a woman begin to look pregnant?"

She blurted out "September," then, too late, realized this was a ridiculous response.

All the better for Dawson, who couldn't stop laughing ? or milking the moment for continued laughs from the audience.

His swaggering, randy manner (and working-bloke's British accent) set him apart from other TV quizmasters, who, more often than not, tempered any boisterous inclinations with defiant smoothness. Not Dawson, who was overtly physical, prone to invading his contestants' personal space ? and especially the women, each of whom he kissed without exception.

At the time the show bowed out in 1985, executive producer Howard Felsher estimated that Dawson had kissed "somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000."

"I kissed them for luck and love, that's all," Dawson said at the time.

One of them he kissed was Gretchen Johnson, an attractive young contestant who came on with members of her family in 1981. She and Dawson began dating, and, after a decade together, they wed in 1991. (Dawson is survived by Gretchen and their daughter Shannon, as well as two sons, Mark and Gary, from his first marriage, and four grandchildren.)

Producers revived the show as "The New Family Feud," starring comedian Ray Combs, in 1988. Six years later, Dawson replaced Combs at the helm, but that lasted only one season. Steve Harvey is the current host.

Dawson reprised his game show character in a much darker mood in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film "The Running Man," playing the host of a deadly TV show set in a totalitarian future, where convicts try to escape as their executioners stalk them.

But long before "Feud," Dawson had gained fame as the fast-talking Cpl. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes," the CBS comedy starring Bob Crane set in World War II. The show made the ratings top 10 in its first season, 1965-66, and aired until 1971.

"We ran six years," Dawson once quipped, "a year longer than Hitler."

Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm in 1932 in Gosport, England. When he was 14 he joined the Merchant Marines, serving three years.

He first got into show business as a standup comedian, playing clubs in London's West End including the legendary Stork Room. It was there, in the late 1950s, he met blond bombshell Diana Dors, the film star who became known as Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe. They married in 1959 and divorced a decade later.

Dawson landed roles in U.S. comedy and variety shows in the early 1960s, including "The Steve Allen Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Then his performance as a military prisoner in the 1965 film "King Rat" led to his being cast in "Hogan's Heroes," which truly made him a star to American audiences.

After that, he was a regular on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show."

Meanwhile, he became a frequent celebrity contestant on game shows, including both daytime and prime-time versions of "The Match Game."

While still a panelist on "The Match Game," he began on "Family Feud," where his popularity grew to such levels that he was mentioned as a front-runner to win the "Tonight Show" host chair as successor to Johnny Carson, who at the time was considering retirement. Though Carson stayed put, Dawson logged appearances as a guest host.

In 1985, on Dawson ended that lengthy "Family Feud" run, the studio audience honored him with a standing ovation, and he responded: "Please sit down. I have to do at least 30 minutes of fun and laughter, and you make me want to cry."

"I've had the most incredible luck in my career," he told his viewers, adding, "I never dreamed I would have a job in which so many people could touch me and I could touch them." That triggered a laugh, as he must have known it would: a host who was both a lover and a jokester.

___

Associated Press writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

Associated Press

flip saunders academy award nominations cynthia nixon joe biden cspan state of the union drinking game oscar noms

Come Out And Make Plan For India Travel

Every traveler loves India. It is their first choice for vacations among the Asian countries. Every year millions of travelers from all over the world come to India. The incredible Indian culture and traditions attract them the most because they are very old and amazing as compared to the other countries of the world. India is perfect for all kinds of vacations. It is a dream destination for many travelers. One will always find a place in India suitable to their interest. The magnificence of India has left many travelers and wanderers speechless. India tours are always full of fun. They are perfect for relaxing with family and friends.

India travel is a great way to explore this enchanting place. The northern part of India, for instance, gets the highest number of foreign tourist every year. This is due to the large number of monuments and heritage sites available in the north. There are many places to go and site to see in north India. Many of these monuments and sites are declared as a world heritage by UNESCO. Taj Mahal is one of them. This beautiful monument in Agra can grab the attention of anyone very easily. There is a wide variety of Taj Mahal tours available to the tourists.

The mixed culture of north India is also a beneficial factor in drawing tourist in. Unique traditions of India can simply amaze any first-time visitor. A visit during an Indian festival will provide an incredible experience of another level. Everything becomes colorful and alive during the festival seasons. It is also a great place for exploring the spiritual aspects of India. The holy cities in the north get thousands of domestic visitors every year.

The Himalayan Mountain range and Thar Desert are two distinctive geological features that are present in the north. This creates an opportunity for having adventurous activities like river rafting, mountain climbing and trekking in the mountains. Here you can see foggy hill stations, golden deserts, pilgrimage cites and many other amazing places. There are different kinds of north India tours for distinctive needs and requirements like honeymoon tours, pilgrimage tours, wildlife tours, etc.

South India is another good option for tourism. The most prominent features of south are the beaches and costal area. The beaches of Goa are filled with energy and are famous for honeymoon couples and youngsters. Backwaters in Kerala are ideal for having relaxing holidays. The spas and Ayurvedic centers are perfect for re-energizing body, mind and soul. South India also has a rich culture. There are thousands of temples and monuments in south India. There are many national parks in south for wildlife conservation.

Travel to India with family or friends to create wonderful memories. There is something for every age group in India. No other country gives you this many options. Discover India and find out why it is so incredible.

burmese python national signing day ferris bueller god bless america earned income credit super bowl commercials florida primary 2012

PFT: We 'hardly made the playoffs,' Eli says

10943812-largeGetty Images

He?s back.

One day short of three months since the NFL disclosed the alleged existence of a bounty system in New Orleans and nearly two months since the name ?Sean Pamphilon? became attached to it, Pamphilon has posted at his website a lengthy, rambling diary regarding his decision to release against the wishes of former Saints special-teams ace Steve Gleason the audio of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams? remarks before a January 2012 playoff game against the 49ers.

Though Pamphilon?s objective isn?t quite clear (unless he?s simply hoping to reset the 15-minute clock to 14:59), Pamphilon implicates former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita as a participant in the bounty culture that existed within the organization in 2009, Fujita?s final year with the team.

Pamphilon also claims that quarterback Drew Brees was involved in the communications regarding whether the audio would be released, and that Brees ultimately was opposed to it.

What follows is an effort to trim paragraphs of fat and get to the steak lurking in chunks within it.

And, like managing to devour each bite of a three-pound Porterhouse, I feel like there should be a prize of some sort for finishing all 10,000-plus words of Pamphilon?s post.

Keep in mind that these following summary comes only from Pamphilon?s allegations and/or recollections.? Fujita, Brees, and Gleason have not yet responded to Pamphilon?s version of the events.

1.? Despite being a member of the Browns, Fujita was present in the room for the Gregg Williams diatribe.? The video that goes with the audio shows Fujita sitting next to Gleason, smiling when players chanted ?give it back!? upon receiving envelopes of cash from the prior weekend?s win over the Lions.

2.? After Williams spoke, Fujita said to Pamphilon, ?I can?t believe I used to be that guy.?

3.? In an interview for Pamphilon?s documentary, The United States of Football, Fujita talked about whether he allow his child to play the game:? ?If I had a son, f?k no I would never let him play football! And this is my journey my wife and I decided to take on.? But I wouldn?t want that for one of my kids.? No way in hell!?

4.? On March 7, Fujita said that he was ?appalled? by the things Williams had said.? But Fujita did not believe at that point the audio should be released.? Still, Fujita admitted to Pamphilon that Fujita was once ?semi-complicit? in the mindset reflected by Williams? words.? Fujita believed that the issue was ?an indictment on the culture of football, a big part of which is still archaic & has yet to evolve.?

5.? Fujita said that he watched the video of Williams? remarks with his wife, that she was ?shocked? by what she heard, and that they both cried while watching it.? ?She said she felt sorry for me that I had been part of something for so long that made me desensitized to the suffering of another,? Fujita told Pamphilon.? ?Her second thought:? People who say things like that to a group of impressionable men, shouldn?t be able to lead a group of impressionable men.?

6.? As of mid-March, Fujita still believed that Pamphilon should not release the audio, because of the stress it was creating for Steve Gleason and his wife, Michel.

7.? Eventually, the NFLPA learned of the audio.? Fujita told Pamphilon that the union plans to make the NFL aware of the existence of the tape, apparently as part of the ?rogue coach? defense.? Pamphilon claimed that the NFL would be able to connect the dots back to him, which caused him to have ?personal safety concerns,? if the tape were not publicly released.

8.? Pamphilon received a text message from Brees, who ?wanted to reassure? Pamphilon.? Brees also asked, ?How are you feeling??

9.? As of a week later, Pamphilon had again decided to drop the issue.? On April 2, Fujita ?re-engage[d]? Pamphilon, inquiring as to his ?vision? for the release of the tape.? He later tells Pamphilon via text, ?I?m convinced the league doesn?t really have sh-t on anybody.?

10.? On April 3, NFLPA lawyer Heather McPhee suggested via Fujita that, while the union wouldn?t tell Pamphilon to release the tape, if he were still considering doing so, he ?might want to do it ?the sooner the better.??? At that point, Pamphilon called Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, laying the foundation for releasing the Gregg Williams audio.

11.? Fujita told Pamphilon that Brees agrees the audio should be released the ?sooner the better.?? Fujita continued to offer words of support and encouragement.

12.? On the evening of April 3, Brees called Pamphilon.? Instead of saying ?the sooner the better,? Brees says we need to ?wait for the right time? to release the audio.? Pamphilon says it?s too late to stop the process.

13.? The next day, Brees left Pamphilon a voice message, asking for a copy of the essay Pamphilon planned to post on his website when the audio was released.? Pamphilon ultimately refused, and Gleason then told Pamphilon that what he planned to do is ?illegal? and that Gleason wa not giving permission for the audio to be released.

14.? On April 14, Fujita recommendeds that Pamphilon not cooperate with the league.? ?I would ignore the NFL if I were you,? Fujita said via text message.? ?They clearly want the tapes to see if there?s anything they can use to further implicate players, mainly because they don?t have sh-t, other than heresay [sic] and anecdotal evidence of tough talk.? I?ve been denying their request for an interview for weeks now because there?s nothing good that can come out of that.? That?s why it?ll be hilarious when I show up at their offices on Monday with the rest of the Executive Committee to discuss other issues.? No more NFL talk.? F?k them.?

15.? On May 17, Pamphilon went to the league office and played a portion of the video of Williams? comments for NFL Security.? Pamphilon also allowed NFL Security to listen to the audiotapes.? In return, he asked the NFL to stop disseminating ?incorrect information about me to anymore lapdog league journalists.?

16.? Pamphilon describes ?the final straw? as Fujita?s comments to the media on May 23.? He points to Fujita?s assertion that the Williams audio ?wasn?t evidence of anything, other than a coach saying some inappropriate things.?? Says Pamphilon:? ?When he said that the tape wasn?t evidence of anything, I that felt like he stuck his football helmet up my ass and through my ribcage.? It hurt that much.? If this? was true, then why did we spend so much time and energy on this issue?? Why did it resonate so strongly with our culture, including those who don?t cheer for the home team on Sunday?s?? This was the first time he had spoken on-camera since the Bounty Gate scandal broke.? It was two and a half months since he and his wife were crying in bed and lamenting the fact that he had been ?semi-complicit? in a football culture that ?desensitized? him to the suffering of another.?

Of those 10,000-plus words, nine are particularly damning for Fujita:? ?I can?t believe I used to be that guy.?

Fujita could deny that he said the words, and that he said or did anything else that would represent an admission of past involvement in a bounty program.? But it?s safe to say that Pamphilon will soon be asked to testify at the eventual appeal hearings.

From the players? perspective, that could be the best strategy.? Given Pamphilon?s inability to be concise, his testimony could last long enough to allow each of them to finish their NFL careers before the hearings end.

la clippers verizon galaxy nexus verizon galaxy nexus lawrence lessig lawrence lessig time magazine person of the year 2011 time magazine person of the year 2011

Book Review : Transit of Venus: 1631 to the Present by Nick Lomb

Please alert Science News to any inappropriate posts by clicking the REPORT SPAM link within the post. Comments will be reviewed before posting.

Registered readers are invited to post a comment. To encourage fruitful discussion, please keep your comments relevant, brief and courteous. Offensive, irrelevant, nonsensical and commercial posts will not be published. (All links will be removed from comments.)

You must register with Science News to add a comment. To log-in click here. To register as a new user, follow this link.

sickle cell trait michigan football michigan football sugar bowl mild kidney failure presidential candidates celebrity wife swap