Health Headlines - October 23

Britain Calls for Worldwide Ban on Bird Trade

British health officials on Saturday called for a worldwide ban on bird trade into the European Union (EU) to stop the spread of avian flu, the BBC reported.

The appeal was made to EU after the first case of avian flu was reported in that country when a parrot from South America that was being held in quarantine died. Officials fear a bird flu pandemic could mutate, and start to spread easily among humans.

Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw said the ban could be introduced within days. "My understanding is there would be considerable support throughout the EU for this," he told the BBC.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Saturday that Croatian authorities began killing thousands of birds, and ordered that the area surrounding a national park where six birds died of avian flu be disinfected.

Neither country has determined whether the birds had the deadly H5NI strain that has swept across Asia, wiping out the poultry stocks and killing 60 people in just two years, the AP reported.

The EU said Friday it was preparing a ban on all poultry imports from Croatia. It has done the same in Russia, Romania, Turkey and one of the Greek isles, where bird flu has recently been discovered among flocks. The EU is also urging countries to start vaccination programs for zoo birds to head off the disease.

Meanwhile, Russia reported a new outbreak of the lethal strain of the flu, Sweden confirmed a case, and Italy and the Congo became the latest countries to ban bird imports from nations where the virus has been reported.

U.S. Senate Shelves Action on Stem Cell Bill

The sponsors of a U.S. Senate bill that would ease restrictions on publicly funded human embryonic stem cell research have agreed to postpone action on the plan until early next year, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said a deal had been struck to shelve debate on the measure. The harvesting of stem cells from human embryos is controversial because the embryos must be destroyed in the process. In 2001, President Bush banned federal funding for research on all but existing stem cell lines.

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a bill to ease the restrictions, but neither the House nor the Senate has enough votes to override a promised presidential veto, the AP reported.

Proponents of embryonic stem cell research say it could lead to the discovery of cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and cancer.

FDA Approves Fetal Stem Cell Transplants Into Human Brains

Stanford University Medical Center doctors have received U.S. government permission to conduct the first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains. The transplant patients would be six children with Batten disease, a rare, fatal genetic disorder.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval on Thursday, but the transplant tests must still be approved by an internal Stanford Review Board and that could take weeks, the Associated Press reported.

Batten disease is a degenerative condition that causes blindness, speechlessness, paralysis and then death. The disease is the result of a defective gene then that fails to produce an enzyme that's required to dispose of cellular waste in the brain. Most Batten disease patients die before they become teenagers.

The stem cells that would be used in the transplants would be immature neural cells programmed to form into mature brain cells. It's hoped that after these immature neural cells are injected into the children's brains, the brain will turn them into cells that can manufacture the missing enzyme, the AP reported.

This approach showed promise in mice with Batten disease, but has never been tested in humans.

Carotid Stent Studies May Prompt More Medicare Coverage

New research results on carotid stents may encourage U.S. health regulators to expand Medicare coverage for the procedure.

Preliminary results released Thursday from a government-mandated study found that a procedure using stents to open carotid arteries in the neck can be done by doctors with limited experience, if they receive training, The New York Times reported.

Results of a separate study released Wednesday found that a carotid stent reduced the need for a second surgery to clear the artery in the same location within three years.

The doctors involved in the studies said their results may help convince federal regulators to expand Medicare coverage to include carotid stent procedures, the Times reported.

Carotid stents offer an alternative to more invasive surgery to clear clogged neck arteries and reduce stroke risk. The carotid arteries carry blood to the brain; stents prop open blood vessels and prevent them from renarrowing after blockages have been removed.

An estimated 200,000 people in the United States have carotid-clearing surgery each year. While federal regulators have approved the marketing of stents to high-risk patients, Medicare covers less than 10 percent of them, the Times reported.

Mobile Devices Linked to Thumb Injuries

Repetitive stress injuries are afflicting people who use mobile handheld devices.

Some users of Blackberries, Sidekicks, Treos and other devices with miniature keyboards are suffering repetitive stress injuries to their thumbs, the Associated Press reported.

There are no U.S. national statistics on the prevalence of this so-called "Blackberry Thumb," but some doctors report an increase in these kinds of cases, according to Dr. Stuart Hirsch, an orthopedist at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.

Food Fact:
Baker's treat.

Is the secret to delicious low-fat treats already be in your pantry? When used in baking, applesauce helps lower the overall fat content of some of your favorite muffins, bars, quick breads and cakes. When you're adapting a high-fat recipe to low-fat healthfulness, start by replacing two-thirds of the original's butter or margarine with unsweetened applesauce. Like fat, a fruit puree such as applesauce coats the starchy flour particles in baking. Without this step, gluten forms when the flour is moistened and stirred, making the end result tough.

Fitness Tip of the day:
Lobby cardio.

If you're running late on a business trip and can't get to the gym, "hallway laps" can fill the exercise gap. Lace up your sneakers and jog in the halls at times when you won't disturb other guests. Or, take the stairs -- walk to a room on the 15th floor and you won't need to reserve a stair climber in the gym. Even if it's twice as difficult to squeeze in exercise as during a normal workday, on a business trip it's twice as important. A workout on the road boosts your energy, creativity and effectiveness.

FAQ of the day:
Can I eat red meat and still be healthy?

For most of us, being healthy does not mean you can never, ever take a bite of red meat, but there are a number of studies that suggest it makes sense to eat it less frequently. To take one example of the kinds of studies pointing in this direction, among Seventh Day Adventists, a religious group with a high percentage of vegetarians, men who ate beef at least three times a week were twice as likely to die of heart disease than men who did not. Red meat is very high in artery-clogging saturated fat; moderation and a balanced diet is a solid step toward good health.