U.N. to hold high-level meeting on AIDS
The United Nations hopes that a high-level meeting on AIDS starting Wednesday will bring a surge of new funding to fight the disease, after a report warned that the epidemic continues to spread and $20 billion will be needed each year to fight it by 2008.
Yet HIV/AIDS activists and civil society groups arriving at the United Nations for the three-day event warned that countries appear reluctant to set new targets to fight the disease and will shy away from making any major promises.
The meeting is one of the biggest of its kind since a conference was held in 2001. U.N. officials expect more than 10 heads of state, 100 cabinet ministers and 1,000 civil society representatives to attend.
It is meant to review progress toward fighting AIDS in the five years since U.N. member states, in a document in the General Assembly, set forth an ambitious agenda with a series of targets to slow the spread of AIDS. It comes a week prior to the 25th anniversary of the first documented AIDS cases on June 5, 1981.
On Tuesday, the U.N. AIDS office released a 630-page report that said the rate of new infections appears to be slowing but that the international community was far from getting the virus under control.
"We are making progress, but unfortunately I cannot tell you that we are on the way to reversing this epidemic," UNAIDS head Dr. Peter Piot told reporters. "The truth is we are still running behind."
The report said that nearly 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. India now has the largest number of AIDS infections, but the epidemic still remains at its worst in sub-Saharan Africa, where per capita rates continue to climb in several countries.
A third of adults were infected in Swaziland in 2005. By comparison, India's per capita rate is low, at 0.9 percent of its 1.02 billion people.
Women's vulnerability to the disease continues to increase, with more than 17 million women infected worldwide — nearly half the global total — and more than three-quarters of them living in sub-Saharan Africa, the report found.
Piot said he hoped the conference would result in new commitments for longer-term aid, not just year-by-year contributions.
"Today we need to move to the next stage, and what I hope will come out of the high-level meeting now is one new commitment for long-term funding," Piot said. "We know that as of 2008 approximately $20 billion a year are needed."
Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Fund for Population Activities, said there were positive results in nations where condoms were properly distributed and women were empowered.
"Prevention remains our first and most effective line of defense," Obaid said.
With the report in hand, delegates from around the world have been negotiating the document that will be approved on the last day of the event. It will essentially chart a course of action over the next several years for government action in things like prevention, treatment and women's rights.
Part of this will include reviewing the document agreed to in 2001. Aside from reaching the funding goal with $8.3 billion now set aside, few of its many targets have been met.
The money needed to fight AIDS has gone up, and officials say there is now a funding gap of between $18-20 billion each year. Yet civil society groups said they already saw some resistance from nations to mentioning that figure.
"The main problem that we're facing is that governments recognize that they haven't delivered on the 2001 commitments and don't want to make any new commitments," said Kieran Daly, a spokesman for the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations, based in Toronto.
Civil society groups also warned that some conservative nations, backed by the Catholic Church, could try to strip out language that says effective prevention requires greater availability of condoms, microbicides and vaccines.
Tests: Bird flu killed Indonesian teen
Bird flu killed a 15-year-old boy in Indonesia, a health official said Wednesday citing local tests, as the country struggled to get a grip on a recent spike in cases.
The latest victim was rushed to a hospital in the city of Bandung on Monday and died a day later, said Hariyadi Wibisono, director of communicable disease control at the Ministry of Health.
Local tests came back positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, but still need to be confirmed by a World Health Organization laboratory in Hong Kong, he said.
The boy, from the West Java town of Tasikmalaya, had a history of contact with poultry, he said.
He is the third recent victim from the province. Last week, a 10-year-old girl and her 18-year-old brother who lived in another village died of the disease. Sick and dead birds were reported near their home.
Bird flu has killed 127 people worldwide since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. Nearly a quarter of the human deaths have been in Indonesia, which has an official tally of 36, including at least a dozen in May alone.
In North Sumatra, six of seven relatives from the tiny farming village of Kubu Simbelang died after being infected with the virus. An eighth family member was buried before samples were collected, but WHO considers her part of the cluster — the largest ever reported.
Experts have not been able to link contact between the relatives and infected birds, which has led them to suspect limited human-to-human transmission may have occurred. However, no one outside the family of blood relatives — no spouses — has fallen ill and experts have said the virus has not mutated in any way.
Scientists believe human-to-human transmission has occurred in a handful of other smaller family clusters, all involving blood relatives. Experts theorize that may mean some people have a genetic susceptibility to the disease, but there is no evidence to support that.
The lone survivor of the Sumatra family cluster is recovering in a hospital in Medan.
The disease remains hard for people to catch and most human cases so far have been traced to contact with infected birds. But experts fear the virus will mutate into a highly contagious form that passes easily among people, possible sparking a pandemic.
They stress, however, that has not happened in Kubu Simbelang.
Scientists in Rome to discuss bird flu
Three years after the first outbreaks of bird flu in Asia, experts are still puzzling at how the disease spread across three continents so quickly and how wild birds have helped disseminate the deadly virus.
More than 300 scientists and animal experts discussed these and other questions at a two-day conference which opened in Rome on Tuesday.
The meeting was organized by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Rome, and by the Paris-based World Organization for Aniabdo
Experts were invited from about 100 countries.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 127 people worldwide and ravaged poultry flocks in Asia, Europe and Africa, but experts are still unsure if migrating birds or the commercial poultry trade deserve most of the blame for spreading the disease.
Also experts wonder why the virus, widespread in South East Asia since 2003, only started moving across the continent to Europe and Africa last year, said Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division.
"Why all of a sudden that happened is not entirely clear," Jutzi told The Associated Press on the eve of the conference. "And if the wild birds had a role in that, why didn't they have one before?"
So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the deadly virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from human to human, possibly sparking a global pandemic. Understanding how the bird flu virus spreads is a key factor in the fight against the disease.
Evidence on the role of wild birds is not always conclusive in the areas where H5N1 has appeared. Migratory birds introduced the disease in Russia and Eastern Europe, but in the case of recent outbreaks in Africa no evidence has yet been found pointing to wild birds, Jutzi said.
"Ornithologists are very knowledgeable on the movement of the birds but not on their diseases," he said. "We hope the conference will indicate some research in this direction."
So far, research shows that wild birds are likely to introduce the virus in unaffected areas but that the disease becomes widespread mostly through poor hygiene and through poultry trade, Jutzi said.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Health Headlines - May 30
Fewer Strong Doses of Radiation Effective for Breast Cancer
Fewer, stronger doses of radiation are just as effective as more frequent, weaker treatments for women with breast cancer, researchers found.
A 10-year trial sponsored by Cancer Research U.K. found that 13 bigger bursts of radiotherapy were as effective in preventing breast cancer recurrence as 25 smaller doses, the researchers wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology. Women who had the stronger doses also had no greater risk of side effects, the scientists said.
Fewer treatments would reduce the inconvenience of radiotherapy and probably would be more cost-effective, they said.
Among 1,410 women who participated in the study, those given 25 doses of radiation over five weeks had a breast-cancer recurrence rate of 12.1 percent, while women given 13 doses in larger amounts over the same span had a recurrence average of 12.2 percent, according to a report in the London Telegraph.
Mothers Who Eat Dairy Tend to Have Twins: Study
Women who eat dairy products are up to five times as likely to have fraternal twins as those who don't, researchers at New York City's Albert Einstein College of Medicine said.
According to The New York Times, one theory holds that cows injected with synthetic growth hormone may be responsible for the trend. This explanation says eating these dairy products boosts women's levels of a blood hormone that raises their chances of multiple ovulation.
In the May issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the researchers wrote that women who ate a vegan diet had 13 percent lower levels of insulin-like growth hormone (IGF) in their blood than women who regularly ate dairy products.
"The more IGF, the more [a woman's] ovary is stimulated to release additional eggs at ovulation," said study lead author Dr. Gary Steinman, Einstein's assistant clinical professor of obstetrics. But he warned that further study was needed "before rigid recommendations can be made concerning health care."
Dairy farmers frequently inject cattle with a synthetic growth hormone to boost the animals' size and milk production, the Times said.
Music Helps People Deal With Chronic Pain
People cut levels of chronic pain by up to 21 percent simply by listening to their favorite music, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found.
The study of 60 people who had endured years of pain also found that levels of depression fell by up to 25 percent among those who listened to music for an hour every day, the scientists wrote in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Study participants had been diagnosed with conditions including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and spinal disc problems, BBC News Online reported.
Previous research published in the same journal found that listening to 45 minutes of soft music before bedtime improved sleep by more than one-third, the BBC said.
Herceptin Boosts Survival in Some Breast Cancer Patients
Roche Inc. announced on Monday that Herceptin extended the lives of women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer when it was used in conjunction with the hormone therapy known as Arimidex.
"Patients who received Herceptin had a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival," the Swiss drug maker said in a statement.
HER2-positive breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer; the prognosis for these patients is typically bleak. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancers account for two-thirds of all cases worldwide, and roughly a quarter of these cases are also HER2-positive. Roche noted that this was the first randomized trial to look at how Herceptin works in this subset of breast cancer patients.
According to the company statement, Herceptin is currently only licensed to treat metastatic cancer -- where tumors have spread throughout the body - in the European Union. The drug is marketed in the United States by Genentech.
To date, more than 230,000 breast cancer patients have been treated with Herceptin worldwide, according to the company statement.
2.3 Million Kids Have HIV, Global Report Says
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Fewer, stronger doses of radiation are just as effective as more frequent, weaker treatments for women with breast cancer, researchers found.
A 10-year trial sponsored by Cancer Research U.K. found that 13 bigger bursts of radiotherapy were as effective in preventing breast cancer recurrence as 25 smaller doses, the researchers wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology. Women who had the stronger doses also had no greater risk of side effects, the scientists said.
Fewer treatments would reduce the inconvenience of radiotherapy and probably would be more cost-effective, they said.
Among 1,410 women who participated in the study, those given 25 doses of radiation over five weeks had a breast-cancer recurrence rate of 12.1 percent, while women given 13 doses in larger amounts over the same span had a recurrence average of 12.2 percent, according to a report in the London Telegraph.
Mothers Who Eat Dairy Tend to Have Twins: Study
Women who eat dairy products are up to five times as likely to have fraternal twins as those who don't, researchers at New York City's Albert Einstein College of Medicine said.
According to The New York Times, one theory holds that cows injected with synthetic growth hormone may be responsible for the trend. This explanation says eating these dairy products boosts women's levels of a blood hormone that raises their chances of multiple ovulation.
In the May issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the researchers wrote that women who ate a vegan diet had 13 percent lower levels of insulin-like growth hormone (IGF) in their blood than women who regularly ate dairy products.
"The more IGF, the more [a woman's] ovary is stimulated to release additional eggs at ovulation," said study lead author Dr. Gary Steinman, Einstein's assistant clinical professor of obstetrics. But he warned that further study was needed "before rigid recommendations can be made concerning health care."
Dairy farmers frequently inject cattle with a synthetic growth hormone to boost the animals' size and milk production, the Times said.
Music Helps People Deal With Chronic Pain
People cut levels of chronic pain by up to 21 percent simply by listening to their favorite music, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found.
The study of 60 people who had endured years of pain also found that levels of depression fell by up to 25 percent among those who listened to music for an hour every day, the scientists wrote in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Study participants had been diagnosed with conditions including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and spinal disc problems, BBC News Online reported.
Previous research published in the same journal found that listening to 45 minutes of soft music before bedtime improved sleep by more than one-third, the BBC said.
Herceptin Boosts Survival in Some Breast Cancer Patients
Roche Inc. announced on Monday that Herceptin extended the lives of women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer when it was used in conjunction with the hormone therapy known as Arimidex.
"Patients who received Herceptin had a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival," the Swiss drug maker said in a statement.
HER2-positive breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer; the prognosis for these patients is typically bleak. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancers account for two-thirds of all cases worldwide, and roughly a quarter of these cases are also HER2-positive. Roche noted that this was the first randomized trial to look at how Herceptin works in this subset of breast cancer patients.
According to the company statement, Herceptin is currently only licensed to treat metastatic cancer -- where tumors have spread throughout the body - in the European Union. The drug is marketed in the United States by Genentech.
To date, more than 230,000 breast cancer patients have been treated with Herceptin worldwide, according to the company statement.
2.3 Million Kids Have HIV, Global Report Says
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Health Headlines - May 29
Herceptin Boosts Survival in Some Breast Cancer Patients
Roche Inc. announced on Monday that Herceptin extended the lives of women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer when it was used in conjunction with the hormone therapy known as Arimidex.
"Patients who received Herceptin had a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival," the Swiss drug maker said in a statement.
HER2-positive breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer; the prognosis for these patients is typically bleak. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancers account for two-thirds of all cases worldwide, and roughly a quarter of these cases are also HER2-positive. Roche noted that this was the first randomized trial to look at how Herceptin works in this subset of breast cancer patients.
According to the company statement, Herceptin is currently only licensed to treat metastatic cancer -- where tumors have spread throughout the body - in the European Union. The drug is marketed in the United States by Genentech.
To date, more than 230,000 breast cancer patients have been treated with Herceptin worldwide, according to the company statement.
2.3 Million Kids Have HIV, Global Report Says
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Researchers ID New Options for Autoimmune Disease Treatment
A rare genetic defect that can trigger a range of diseases, from type 1 diabetes to alopecia (hair loss), helps to explain the imbalance of immune-regulator and killer cells in autoimmune diseases, researchers are reporting.
A mutation in the Aire gene causes APS1, a disease that causes two of three problems -- an underactive parathyroid, yeast infection of the skin and/or mucous membrane, and adrenal gland insufficiency -- by the age 5, and up to 16 autoimmune diseases over a lifetime, the scientists from Medical College of Georgia said.
That same mutation causes a defect in what are called iNKT cells, a type of regulatory cell that helps the immune system fight infections while suppressing errant T cells that mistakenly attack the body, the researchers said.
The discovery offers new options for treating or preventing APS1, or autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1, and potentially other autoimmune diseases as well, the researchers said. They reported their findings in the June issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
"Aire controls the development and function of iNKT cells," said Dr. Jin-Xiong She, director of the college's Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine and co-senior author of the study. "This relationship means that iNKT cells are critical to most autoimmune diseases and manipulating the iNKT cell population is one possible way to cure autoimmune disease."
Grief Is Constant for Many Directly Affected by 9/11 Attacks
Many people directly affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks still suffer constant grief, says an American Red Cross survey released Friday.
Nearly two-thirds of the 1,500 emergency responders, survivors and victims' relatives who took part in the survey believe that grief still interferes to a moderate or large extent in their lives, The New York Times reported.
Just over 40 percent said they still need additional services to help them recover -- including mental health services, financial assistance, and medical services.
Uniformed responders and people closest to the recovery efforts have been most affected by mental distress, the survey found. This link between mental health problems and proximity to the attacks was noted in a recently published study on survivors, the Times reported.
That study, conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that people engulfed by the dust cloud caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers were more likely to be struggling with stress and other mental health issues, compared to those who got out of the buildings earlier.
Roche Inc. announced on Monday that Herceptin extended the lives of women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer when it was used in conjunction with the hormone therapy known as Arimidex.
"Patients who received Herceptin had a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival," the Swiss drug maker said in a statement.
HER2-positive breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer; the prognosis for these patients is typically bleak. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancers account for two-thirds of all cases worldwide, and roughly a quarter of these cases are also HER2-positive. Roche noted that this was the first randomized trial to look at how Herceptin works in this subset of breast cancer patients.
According to the company statement, Herceptin is currently only licensed to treat metastatic cancer -- where tumors have spread throughout the body - in the European Union. The drug is marketed in the United States by Genentech.
To date, more than 230,000 breast cancer patients have been treated with Herceptin worldwide, according to the company statement.
2.3 Million Kids Have HIV, Global Report Says
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Researchers ID New Options for Autoimmune Disease Treatment
A rare genetic defect that can trigger a range of diseases, from type 1 diabetes to alopecia (hair loss), helps to explain the imbalance of immune-regulator and killer cells in autoimmune diseases, researchers are reporting.
A mutation in the Aire gene causes APS1, a disease that causes two of three problems -- an underactive parathyroid, yeast infection of the skin and/or mucous membrane, and adrenal gland insufficiency -- by the age 5, and up to 16 autoimmune diseases over a lifetime, the scientists from Medical College of Georgia said.
That same mutation causes a defect in what are called iNKT cells, a type of regulatory cell that helps the immune system fight infections while suppressing errant T cells that mistakenly attack the body, the researchers said.
The discovery offers new options for treating or preventing APS1, or autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1, and potentially other autoimmune diseases as well, the researchers said. They reported their findings in the June issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
"Aire controls the development and function of iNKT cells," said Dr. Jin-Xiong She, director of the college's Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine and co-senior author of the study. "This relationship means that iNKT cells are critical to most autoimmune diseases and manipulating the iNKT cell population is one possible way to cure autoimmune disease."
Grief Is Constant for Many Directly Affected by 9/11 Attacks
Many people directly affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks still suffer constant grief, says an American Red Cross survey released Friday.
Nearly two-thirds of the 1,500 emergency responders, survivors and victims' relatives who took part in the survey believe that grief still interferes to a moderate or large extent in their lives, The New York Times reported.
Just over 40 percent said they still need additional services to help them recover -- including mental health services, financial assistance, and medical services.
Uniformed responders and people closest to the recovery efforts have been most affected by mental distress, the survey found. This link between mental health problems and proximity to the attacks was noted in a recently published study on survivors, the Times reported.
That study, conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that people engulfed by the dust cloud caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers were more likely to be struggling with stress and other mental health issues, compared to those who got out of the buildings earlier.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Health Headlines - May 28
WHO says bird flu drug maker on alert
The biggest case yet of humans possibly infecting others with bird flu prompted the World Health Organization to put the maker of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu on alert for possible shipment of the global stockpile for the first time, officials said Saturday.
No further action on the emergency supply was expected for now, according to the U.N. health agency, which called the alert part of its standard operating procedure when a case arises like that in Indonesia.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," WHO spokesman Dick Thompson cautioned. "We see this as a practice run."
Meanwhile, Indonesia confirmed three more bird flu deaths as the country grapples with a spike in human cases. Bird flu is known to have infected 48 people in Indonesia, with 36 deaths — second highest after Vietnam's 42 deaths.
A precautionary 9,500 treatment doses of Tamiflu from a separate WHO stockpile, along with protective gear, were flown into Indonesia on Friday. The tablets will likely be handed over to the Indonesian government, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said in Geneva.
Officials revealed the stockpile alert came last Monday as experts puzzled over why six of seven Indonesians from a family in a North Sumatra village died after became infected by the H5N1 virus. An eighth was buried before tests could be done, but she is believed to have been infected.
Despite the cluster of deaths, the virus has not mutated into a form easily passed among humans, experts said. Scientists have seen examples of bird flu passing between family members in a handful of smaller cases.
"If this virus had evolved into a form that is more easily passed between people, you would have seen some other cases (outside the family) by now," Cheng said. "The virus hasn't passed beyond the family."
No health workers could be seen Saturday in the family's village of Kubu Simbelang, where dozens of chickens ran among houses and through backyards framed by high mountains and surrounded by rich fields of chilies, oranges and limes.
The family infected by the virus lived in three houses near the church in the Christian village.
Indonesia's number of human bird flu cases has jumped this year, but public awareness of the disease remains low and government efforts have not equaled that of other countries. Indonesia's reaction has raised concerns it is moving slowly and ineffectively in containing the disease.
Vietnam, the country hit hardest by bird flu, has been hailed for controlling the virus through mass poultry vaccination, among other measures. No human cases have been reported there since November.
Indonesia, a sprawling nation of 17,000 islands, has refused to carry out mass slaughters of poultry in all infected areas — a basic containment guideline — saying it cannot afford to compensate farmers. And bio-security measures are virtually nonexistent in the densely populated countryside, with its hundreds of millions of backyard chickens.
WHO officials in Jakarta received word about the Kubu Simbelang cluster from the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday. That led the Geneva-based agency to alert the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG within hours about possible Tamiflu shipments, said Jules Pieters, director of WHO's rapid response and containment group.
"We were quite keen to inform Roche quite timely," Pieters said. "We knew Thursday would be a holiday in Europe and wanted to make sure Roche warehouses would be open."
He said Roche would remain on alert for approximately the next two weeks, or twice the incubation period of the last reported H5N1 case.
Roche spokesman Baschi Duerr said the emergency stockpile, which consists of 3 million treatment courses, is ready to be shipped wherever it is needed.
"We are in very close contact with WHO, even today, and our readiness is geared to be able to deliver," Duerr said.
Meanwhile, Nyoman Kandun, a senior official at Indonesia's health ministry, said a WHO laboratory in Hong Kong had confirmed five more cases of human bird flu, three of which were fatal. All five had earlier tested positive for the virus in a local laboratory.
The latest confirmed deaths were a 39-year-old man from Jakarta, a 10-year-old girl from West Java and a 32-year-old man, who on Monday became the last to die in the Kubu Simbelang cluster.
Experts have been unable to link the cluster family members to contact with infected birds, and tests on poultry in their village have come back negative. No one else in the village has fallen ill.
So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected poultry. But there is evidence of isolated cases of limited transmission between people in very close contact with each other.
Scientists are unsure how this occurred, but they theorize the virus may pass from one person to another through droplets sneezed or coughed into the air or onto food or other surfaces.
It has been suggested some people may have a genetic susceptibility to the disease. In all, WHO has recorded four family clusters of bird flu so far and only direct blood relatives — not spouses — have become ill.
Experts are exploring whether the first woman sickened in the Kubu Simbelang cluster may have had contact with sick or dead chickens. She worked at a market where chickens are sold and may have used chicken feces as a garden fertilizer, WHO officials said.
Bird flu has killed at least 124 people worldwide since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003.
Strategies for Stretching Your Health-Care Dollar
When it comes to health care, it's not the uncomfortable needle pricks that Americans mind so much. It's the cost of medical care.
Lately, consumers have been feeling pinched when they visit the doctor or receive care at the hospital, new government statistics reveal. In 2004, spending for these services grew at levels not seen since the early 1990s.
And workers' share of health-care premiums is mounting, too. People who get health insurance benefits through their employer can expect to pay out 10 percent more, on average, in 2006, according to benefit-consulting firm Towers Perrin.
To make your health-care budget stretch farther and avoid piling up medical debt, you've got to plan ahead, advised Jessica Cecere, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Palm Beach County/Treasure Coast in Florida.
"Nobody plans to have huge medical expenses," she said, "and that's why they're so huge."
For starters, consumers need to know exactly what their health insurance will and won't cover. Cecere recommends that people read and understand their policy before there's an emergency.
Using facilities that are not part of your insurer's provider network, for example, could cost you more than you anticipated. To keep your out-of-pocket costs at a minimum, stay in-network, she said.
Plus, if you don't use what you're entitled to, you could end up leaving money on the table, cautioned Alwyn Cassil, a spokeswoman for the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C.
For example, some employers allow workers to set aside pre-tax dollars in a flexible spending account each year to pay for qualified medical expenses, including doctor fees and preventive care. But if you don't spend the money by the annual deadline your employer has established, you forfeit those funds.
In 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department modified an existing rule that required any leftover funds to be spent by the end of the plan year. Now, employers are allowed to give workers a grace period of two-and-a-half months. Check with your employer to find out what the deadline is.
"If you have a flexible spending account, use it," Cassil said. "You can use it for over-the-counter medications now, so there's no reason to lose it. Go buy ibuprofen for the next two years."
To save money on prescription drugs, consumer advocates suggest switching from brand-name products to less expensive generic alternatives. Shopping around for best prices also can help.
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has produced a series of reports comparing prescription drugs by category. Each report sizes up medicines by price, effectiveness and safety. The information is intended to help consumers have a conversation with their doctors about the best drug for their condition, while also taking price into account.
If you find yourself between jobs and you think health insurance is too expensive, think again. Going without coverage for a period of time, as people often do, is a huge risk, Cecere said.
"If you do fall off a ladder and have to go into the hospital for a week, that is devastating," she said. And that's why people should plan ahead. "The way you plan for it is you have some sort of coverage for that," even if it's a bare-bones policy that covers only "catastrophic" medical costs, she added.
Here's another tip: If you don't require emergency care, make an appointment with your doctor. Using the emergency room for routine medical care is a good way to start sinking into debt.
"You might get charged $1,000 for walking in the door," Cecere cautioned.
Latinas Have New Online Breast Cancer Resource
Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and their families have a new online resource to turn to, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The Web site, launched in May by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research, is called Conviviendo con el Cancer de Seno, -- a translation of Living With Breast Cancer.
That's the title of a program found on an English-language Web resource called the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS).
In earlier research, the English-language site seemed to have a consistently positive impact on the outcomes of the breast cancer patients who participated in the program. A team of representatives from Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela translated the site into Spanish, with assistance from the Dane County Latino Health Council. Redes en Accion: The National Latino Cancer Network and the Center for Patient Partnerships also contributed to the translations.
"To the best of our knowledge, this new site is the most comprehensive and culturally relevant resource on the Web for Latinas with breast cancer," said project manager Susana Torres-Corona. "The site offers an extensive database of original content, and it also serves as an information clearinghouse linking directly to other high-quality educational materials in Spanish for Latinas created by trusted sources such as the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation," said Torres-Corona.
As breast cancer causes the most deaths from cancer in Hispanic women, and survival rates are lower than other ethnicities, the site was developed to serve and help that population, said Dr. Bret Shaw, lead investigator for the Web site project.
"By adding Spanish-speaking women to other underserved demographic groups already benefiting from our program, we anticipate reduced health information disparities between Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and other demographic groups, as well as improved quality of life for Latina breast cancer patients and their families," said Shaw.
New Moms Should Baby Their Hands
New moms can always use a helping hand, but experts say they may need help for their hands, too.
Proper baby-handling and baby-care techniques can help prevent hand, wrist, and arm problems that are common to new mothers, experts say.
"Get yourself into good habits right away. Moms do the same activities repetitively, such as burping, rocking and lifting their babies. Take breaks and maintain good posture. Even a small change like switching positions can make a big difference," Stacey Doyon, president-elect of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), said in a prepared statement.
The ASHT offers the following injury and pain prevention tips for new mothers:
* Burp your baby over your shoulder.
* Use nursing support. "When nursing the baby, try to use devices such as Boppies that help support baby and mommy," Doyon said. "Be sure to sit in a reclined position so that the baby's weight can be held by your body and larger joints versus shoulders, arms and strained hands. If you are nursing and need to use a pump, consider using the express electronic pumps that are easier on hands and fingers than manual pumps."
* Keep the crib mattress height as high as safely possible, based on the baby's development. Move all mobiles and toys out of the way, lower the crib rail, and lift the baby with two hands.
* When holding and rocking the baby, listen to gentle music rather than fast-paced music. Keep your wrists straight and in neutral position. Hold the baby's head closer to the neck versus higher up on the head. Walk slowly, rock gently and switch your arms and position as needed to avoid getting stiff or sore. If you're sitting down, use a lap pillow or Boppie for support.
* When carrying car seats and/or baby carriers, make sure the handle is lengthwise with the carrier so that your hand and forearm are in neutral -- the thumb-forward position -- instead of the palm of your hand facing forward.
"Many moms strain their hands carrying car seats and heavy bags stuffed with baby supplies. Use common sense. Don't try to carry more than you can handle," Doyon said.
The biggest case yet of humans possibly infecting others with bird flu prompted the World Health Organization to put the maker of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu on alert for possible shipment of the global stockpile for the first time, officials said Saturday.
No further action on the emergency supply was expected for now, according to the U.N. health agency, which called the alert part of its standard operating procedure when a case arises like that in Indonesia.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," WHO spokesman Dick Thompson cautioned. "We see this as a practice run."
Meanwhile, Indonesia confirmed three more bird flu deaths as the country grapples with a spike in human cases. Bird flu is known to have infected 48 people in Indonesia, with 36 deaths — second highest after Vietnam's 42 deaths.
A precautionary 9,500 treatment doses of Tamiflu from a separate WHO stockpile, along with protective gear, were flown into Indonesia on Friday. The tablets will likely be handed over to the Indonesian government, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said in Geneva.
Officials revealed the stockpile alert came last Monday as experts puzzled over why six of seven Indonesians from a family in a North Sumatra village died after became infected by the H5N1 virus. An eighth was buried before tests could be done, but she is believed to have been infected.
Despite the cluster of deaths, the virus has not mutated into a form easily passed among humans, experts said. Scientists have seen examples of bird flu passing between family members in a handful of smaller cases.
"If this virus had evolved into a form that is more easily passed between people, you would have seen some other cases (outside the family) by now," Cheng said. "The virus hasn't passed beyond the family."
No health workers could be seen Saturday in the family's village of Kubu Simbelang, where dozens of chickens ran among houses and through backyards framed by high mountains and surrounded by rich fields of chilies, oranges and limes.
The family infected by the virus lived in three houses near the church in the Christian village.
Indonesia's number of human bird flu cases has jumped this year, but public awareness of the disease remains low and government efforts have not equaled that of other countries. Indonesia's reaction has raised concerns it is moving slowly and ineffectively in containing the disease.
Vietnam, the country hit hardest by bird flu, has been hailed for controlling the virus through mass poultry vaccination, among other measures. No human cases have been reported there since November.
Indonesia, a sprawling nation of 17,000 islands, has refused to carry out mass slaughters of poultry in all infected areas — a basic containment guideline — saying it cannot afford to compensate farmers. And bio-security measures are virtually nonexistent in the densely populated countryside, with its hundreds of millions of backyard chickens.
WHO officials in Jakarta received word about the Kubu Simbelang cluster from the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday. That led the Geneva-based agency to alert the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG within hours about possible Tamiflu shipments, said Jules Pieters, director of WHO's rapid response and containment group.
"We were quite keen to inform Roche quite timely," Pieters said. "We knew Thursday would be a holiday in Europe and wanted to make sure Roche warehouses would be open."
He said Roche would remain on alert for approximately the next two weeks, or twice the incubation period of the last reported H5N1 case.
Roche spokesman Baschi Duerr said the emergency stockpile, which consists of 3 million treatment courses, is ready to be shipped wherever it is needed.
"We are in very close contact with WHO, even today, and our readiness is geared to be able to deliver," Duerr said.
Meanwhile, Nyoman Kandun, a senior official at Indonesia's health ministry, said a WHO laboratory in Hong Kong had confirmed five more cases of human bird flu, three of which were fatal. All five had earlier tested positive for the virus in a local laboratory.
The latest confirmed deaths were a 39-year-old man from Jakarta, a 10-year-old girl from West Java and a 32-year-old man, who on Monday became the last to die in the Kubu Simbelang cluster.
Experts have been unable to link the cluster family members to contact with infected birds, and tests on poultry in their village have come back negative. No one else in the village has fallen ill.
So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected poultry. But there is evidence of isolated cases of limited transmission between people in very close contact with each other.
Scientists are unsure how this occurred, but they theorize the virus may pass from one person to another through droplets sneezed or coughed into the air or onto food or other surfaces.
It has been suggested some people may have a genetic susceptibility to the disease. In all, WHO has recorded four family clusters of bird flu so far and only direct blood relatives — not spouses — have become ill.
Experts are exploring whether the first woman sickened in the Kubu Simbelang cluster may have had contact with sick or dead chickens. She worked at a market where chickens are sold and may have used chicken feces as a garden fertilizer, WHO officials said.
Bird flu has killed at least 124 people worldwide since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003.
Strategies for Stretching Your Health-Care Dollar
When it comes to health care, it's not the uncomfortable needle pricks that Americans mind so much. It's the cost of medical care.
Lately, consumers have been feeling pinched when they visit the doctor or receive care at the hospital, new government statistics reveal. In 2004, spending for these services grew at levels not seen since the early 1990s.
And workers' share of health-care premiums is mounting, too. People who get health insurance benefits through their employer can expect to pay out 10 percent more, on average, in 2006, according to benefit-consulting firm Towers Perrin.
To make your health-care budget stretch farther and avoid piling up medical debt, you've got to plan ahead, advised Jessica Cecere, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Palm Beach County/Treasure Coast in Florida.
"Nobody plans to have huge medical expenses," she said, "and that's why they're so huge."
For starters, consumers need to know exactly what their health insurance will and won't cover. Cecere recommends that people read and understand their policy before there's an emergency.
Using facilities that are not part of your insurer's provider network, for example, could cost you more than you anticipated. To keep your out-of-pocket costs at a minimum, stay in-network, she said.
Plus, if you don't use what you're entitled to, you could end up leaving money on the table, cautioned Alwyn Cassil, a spokeswoman for the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C.
For example, some employers allow workers to set aside pre-tax dollars in a flexible spending account each year to pay for qualified medical expenses, including doctor fees and preventive care. But if you don't spend the money by the annual deadline your employer has established, you forfeit those funds.
In 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department modified an existing rule that required any leftover funds to be spent by the end of the plan year. Now, employers are allowed to give workers a grace period of two-and-a-half months. Check with your employer to find out what the deadline is.
"If you have a flexible spending account, use it," Cassil said. "You can use it for over-the-counter medications now, so there's no reason to lose it. Go buy ibuprofen for the next two years."
To save money on prescription drugs, consumer advocates suggest switching from brand-name products to less expensive generic alternatives. Shopping around for best prices also can help.
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has produced a series of reports comparing prescription drugs by category. Each report sizes up medicines by price, effectiveness and safety. The information is intended to help consumers have a conversation with their doctors about the best drug for their condition, while also taking price into account.
If you find yourself between jobs and you think health insurance is too expensive, think again. Going without coverage for a period of time, as people often do, is a huge risk, Cecere said.
"If you do fall off a ladder and have to go into the hospital for a week, that is devastating," she said. And that's why people should plan ahead. "The way you plan for it is you have some sort of coverage for that," even if it's a bare-bones policy that covers only "catastrophic" medical costs, she added.
Here's another tip: If you don't require emergency care, make an appointment with your doctor. Using the emergency room for routine medical care is a good way to start sinking into debt.
"You might get charged $1,000 for walking in the door," Cecere cautioned.
Latinas Have New Online Breast Cancer Resource
Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and their families have a new online resource to turn to, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The Web site, launched in May by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research, is called Conviviendo con el Cancer de Seno, -- a translation of Living With Breast Cancer.
That's the title of a program found on an English-language Web resource called the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS).
In earlier research, the English-language site seemed to have a consistently positive impact on the outcomes of the breast cancer patients who participated in the program. A team of representatives from Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela translated the site into Spanish, with assistance from the Dane County Latino Health Council. Redes en Accion: The National Latino Cancer Network and the Center for Patient Partnerships also contributed to the translations.
"To the best of our knowledge, this new site is the most comprehensive and culturally relevant resource on the Web for Latinas with breast cancer," said project manager Susana Torres-Corona. "The site offers an extensive database of original content, and it also serves as an information clearinghouse linking directly to other high-quality educational materials in Spanish for Latinas created by trusted sources such as the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation," said Torres-Corona.
As breast cancer causes the most deaths from cancer in Hispanic women, and survival rates are lower than other ethnicities, the site was developed to serve and help that population, said Dr. Bret Shaw, lead investigator for the Web site project.
"By adding Spanish-speaking women to other underserved demographic groups already benefiting from our program, we anticipate reduced health information disparities between Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and other demographic groups, as well as improved quality of life for Latina breast cancer patients and their families," said Shaw.
New Moms Should Baby Their Hands
New moms can always use a helping hand, but experts say they may need help for their hands, too.
Proper baby-handling and baby-care techniques can help prevent hand, wrist, and arm problems that are common to new mothers, experts say.
"Get yourself into good habits right away. Moms do the same activities repetitively, such as burping, rocking and lifting their babies. Take breaks and maintain good posture. Even a small change like switching positions can make a big difference," Stacey Doyon, president-elect of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), said in a prepared statement.
The ASHT offers the following injury and pain prevention tips for new mothers:
* Burp your baby over your shoulder.
* Use nursing support. "When nursing the baby, try to use devices such as Boppies that help support baby and mommy," Doyon said. "Be sure to sit in a reclined position so that the baby's weight can be held by your body and larger joints versus shoulders, arms and strained hands. If you are nursing and need to use a pump, consider using the express electronic pumps that are easier on hands and fingers than manual pumps."
* Keep the crib mattress height as high as safely possible, based on the baby's development. Move all mobiles and toys out of the way, lower the crib rail, and lift the baby with two hands.
* When holding and rocking the baby, listen to gentle music rather than fast-paced music. Keep your wrists straight and in neutral position. Hold the baby's head closer to the neck versus higher up on the head. Walk slowly, rock gently and switch your arms and position as needed to avoid getting stiff or sore. If you're sitting down, use a lap pillow or Boppie for support.
* When carrying car seats and/or baby carriers, make sure the handle is lengthwise with the carrier so that your hand and forearm are in neutral -- the thumb-forward position -- instead of the palm of your hand facing forward.
"Many moms strain their hands carrying car seats and heavy bags stuffed with baby supplies. Use common sense. Don't try to carry more than you can handle," Doyon said.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Health Headlines - May 27
2.3 Million Kids Have HIV, Global Report Says
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Grief Is Constant for Many Directly Affected by 9/11 Attacks
Many people directly affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks still suffer constant grief, says an American Red Cross survey released Friday.
Nearly two-thirds of the 1,500 emergency responders, survivors and victims' relatives who took part in the survey believe that grief still interferes to a moderate or large extent in their lives, The New York Times reported.
Just over 40 percent said they still need additional services to help them recover -- including mental health services, financial assistance, and medical services.
Uniformed responders and people closest to the recovery efforts have been most affected by mental distress, the survey found. This link between mental health problems and proximity to the attacks was noted in a recently published study on survivors, the Times reported.
That study, conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that people engulfed by the dust cloud caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers were more likely to be struggling with stress and other mental health issues, compared to those who got out of the buildings earlier.
Cheaper Cigarettes Entice Young Adults to Smoke: Study
Lower cigarette prices mean that more young adults, ages 20 to 24, are likely to start smoking, says a Canadian study that looked at the impact of tobacco tax cuts.
For a number of years, the Canadian government and several provinces increased tobacco taxes to discourage smoking. However, the federal government and five provinces reduced tobacco taxes in the early 1990s in an effort to counter cigarette smuggling. The tax cuts in the five provinces ranged from $14 to $21 (Canadian) per carton.
In provinces with the tobacco tax cuts, 10.5 percent of young people started smoking, compared with 8.5 percent in provinces that didn't lower their tobacco taxes, the study said.
The findings, which appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, suggest that tobacco price hikes could be used to counter tobacco advertising that targets people in their 20s.
Infant Awaiting Heart Transplant Recovers Without Procedure
Doctors in California are puzzled and amazed by the case of a 10-month-old boy on a heart transplant waiting list in California who improved so dramatically that he was released from hospital Thursday without receiving a transplant.
Nate Draper and his twin brother Nick were both born with a potentially fatal heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart to swell so much that it's barely able to pump blood, the Associated Press reported.
The two boys were transferred from their home in Phoenix to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Nick received a heart transplant in February, while Nate remained on the waiting list.
About a month ago, Nate's heart function started to show marked improvement. His doctors recently took him off intravenous medication and concluded that he no longer needs a heart transplant, the AP reported.
"His heart is now strong enough to support himself," said Dr. Juan Alejos, medical director of UCLA's pediatric heart transplant program.
He and his colleagues say they don't know how Nate's heart recovered, but said his condition may not have been as severe as his brother's, the AP reported.
More than 2 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, almost all in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by seven leading child advocacy organizations.
The organizations released a report Friday that showed that 700,000 children were infected with the AIDS virus in 2005, bringing the total to 2.3 million, and that 570,000 died of AIDS, The New York Times reported.
Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to the pediatric AIDS treatment they desperately need, the report said.
"We are failing children," said Dean Hirsch, chairman of the Global Movement for Children, which issued an urgent appeal to governments, donors and the pharmaceutical industry to recognize a child's right to treatment as fundamental.
Last year, world leaders at the U.N. summit and leaders of the seven richest industrialized nations and Russia pledged to come as close as possible to universal treatment by the end of the decade, the Times reported.
For this to happen, the new report said special efforts must be made for children, starting with providing drugs to pregnant women with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission -- the way 90 percent of children with HIV became infected.
"Without treatment, most children with HIV will die before their fifth birthday," the report said.
WHO Puts Tamiflu Maker on Alert
The World Health Organization has now put the maker of the bird flu drug Tamiflu on alert after the suspected human-to-human transmission of the virus in a family in Indonesia.
But WHO officials stressed Saturday that there was no need for Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG to take further action, the Associated Press reported.
"We have no intention of shipping that stockpile," said Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman. "We see this as a practice run."
WHO officials said the move was part of standard operating procedure when the agency has "reasonable doubt" about a situation that could involve human-to-human transmission.
The WHO acted after the Indonesian Health Ministry on Monday reported on a human cluster in Kubu Simbelang village in North Sumatra in which six of seven members of one family died from bird flu.
Meanwhile, two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, AP reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
Grief Is Constant for Many Directly Affected by 9/11 Attacks
Many people directly affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks still suffer constant grief, says an American Red Cross survey released Friday.
Nearly two-thirds of the 1,500 emergency responders, survivors and victims' relatives who took part in the survey believe that grief still interferes to a moderate or large extent in their lives, The New York Times reported.
Just over 40 percent said they still need additional services to help them recover -- including mental health services, financial assistance, and medical services.
Uniformed responders and people closest to the recovery efforts have been most affected by mental distress, the survey found. This link between mental health problems and proximity to the attacks was noted in a recently published study on survivors, the Times reported.
That study, conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that people engulfed by the dust cloud caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers were more likely to be struggling with stress and other mental health issues, compared to those who got out of the buildings earlier.
Cheaper Cigarettes Entice Young Adults to Smoke: Study
Lower cigarette prices mean that more young adults, ages 20 to 24, are likely to start smoking, says a Canadian study that looked at the impact of tobacco tax cuts.
For a number of years, the Canadian government and several provinces increased tobacco taxes to discourage smoking. However, the federal government and five provinces reduced tobacco taxes in the early 1990s in an effort to counter cigarette smuggling. The tax cuts in the five provinces ranged from $14 to $21 (Canadian) per carton.
In provinces with the tobacco tax cuts, 10.5 percent of young people started smoking, compared with 8.5 percent in provinces that didn't lower their tobacco taxes, the study said.
The findings, which appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, suggest that tobacco price hikes could be used to counter tobacco advertising that targets people in their 20s.
Infant Awaiting Heart Transplant Recovers Without Procedure
Doctors in California are puzzled and amazed by the case of a 10-month-old boy on a heart transplant waiting list in California who improved so dramatically that he was released from hospital Thursday without receiving a transplant.
Nate Draper and his twin brother Nick were both born with a potentially fatal heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart to swell so much that it's barely able to pump blood, the Associated Press reported.
The two boys were transferred from their home in Phoenix to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Nick received a heart transplant in February, while Nate remained on the waiting list.
About a month ago, Nate's heart function started to show marked improvement. His doctors recently took him off intravenous medication and concluded that he no longer needs a heart transplant, the AP reported.
"His heart is now strong enough to support himself," said Dr. Juan Alejos, medical director of UCLA's pediatric heart transplant program.
He and his colleagues say they don't know how Nate's heart recovered, but said his condition may not have been as severe as his brother's, the AP reported.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Health Headlines - May 26
Two More Bird Flu Deaths in Indonesia
Two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, the Associated Press reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
The two latest deaths come as experts continue to investigate a bird flu outbreak involving at least seven members of a family in the village of Kubu Sembelang in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Six of the family members died.
WHO officials said the cluster appears to be a case of limited human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus, the AP reported. All the family members were blood relatives who had close contact with each other.
On Thursday, WHO officials said the family cluster appears to have originated with one woman who then passed the infection to relatives. "We believe she may have had some contact either with dead or dying chickens in her household or through her activities as a vegetable grower and a seller in a market," Steven Bjorge, a WHO epidemiologist in Jakarta, told the AP. The woman also used chicken feces as garden fertilizer.
There is no sign that the virus has mutated into a form that's easily passed from person to person and no indication that the virus has spread outside the family to other people in the village, who are being monitored for flu-like symptoms, the AP reported.
Experts worry that if the H5N1 virus does mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between humans, it could spark a pandemic.
Infant Awaiting Heart Transplant Recovers Without Procedure
Doctors in California are puzzled and amazed by the case of a 10-month-old boy on a heart transplant waiting list in California who improved so dramatically that he was released from hospital Thursday without receiving a transplant.
Nate Draper and his twin brother Nick were both born with a potentially fatal heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart to swell so much that it's barely able to pump blood, the Associated Press reported.
The two boys were transferred from their home in Phoenix to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Nick received a heart transplant in February, while Nate remained on the waiting list.
About a month ago, Nate's heart function started to show marked improvement. His doctors recently took him off intravenous medication and concluded that he no longer needs a heart transplant, the AP reported.
"His heart is now strong enough to support himself," said Dr. Juan Alejos, medical director of UCLA's pediatric heart transplant program.
He and his colleagues say they don't know how Nate's heart recovered, but said his condition may not have been as severe as his brother's, the AP reported.
FDA Approves Thalidomide to Treat Bone Marrow Cancer
Thalidomide -- a drug banned in 1962 after it caused thousands of birth defects -- has been approved in the United States to treat bone marrow cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
The drug can be used to treat newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, which affects cells in the bone marrow that play a critical role in fighting infection. The drug will be used in conjunction with dexamethasone, a standard chemotherapy treatment, the Associated Press reported.
Studies assessing thalidomide's effectiveness in treating multiple myeloma have produced mixed results. A study published in March concluded that the drug did not prolong patients lives, while a second study published around the same time said that thalidomide did help extend the lives of older patients, but caused serious side effects.
In 1998, the FDA approved thalidomide as a treatment for leprosy. Even before this week's approval, thalidomide was widely prescribed for multiple myeloma in so-called "off-label" use.
The FDA currently requires thalidomide labeling to carry severe warnings about the risk of birth defects. The new labeling will also warn about the risks of blood clots in the legs and lungs in multiple myeloma patients who take thalidomide in conjunction with dexamethasone, the AP reported.
Health Experts Urge Crackdown on Counterfeit Drugs
Governments and the drug industry need to do more to fight the growing number of potentially dangerous or deadly counterfeit medicines, say health experts attending the World Health Organization's annual assembly.
The experts said politicians and business leaders are doing more to halt the trade in counterfeit CDs than to tackle the problem of counterfeit drugs. A concerted international effort is required to deal with the problem, BBC News reported.
"There is a growing threat to patient safety in the developed and developing world. Currently the low penalties for counterfeits are shocking. Countering supply chains is vital," said Jo Harkness of the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations.
"Up to 25 percent of medicines used in developing countries are counterfeit or substandard," noted Judith Oulton of the International Council of Nurses.
Last year, authorities carried out 781 seizures of counterfeit medicines in 89 countries, compared with about 312 seizures in 67 countries in 2004, according to figures from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA).
Russia, China, South Korea, Columbia, the United States, and Britain topped the list of countries where seizures of counterfeit medicines took place, BBC News reported.
"The source of counterfeit products seems to be largely from two countries, China and India. They are trying to address the problem because it poses a considerable danger to their own populations," said IFPMA Director General Harvey Bale.
Counterfeit medicines may contain little or no active ingredients, incorrect doses, or active ingredients not found in legitimate versions of the drugs.
Two more people in Indonesia have been killed by bird flu, according to preliminary test results.
The latest victims were an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister from West Java. They died Tuesday within a few hours of each other less than a day after they were admitted to hospital in the city of Bandung, the Associated Press reported.
Initial tests showed that the two were infected with the H5N1 virus. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory for confirmation. To date, the WHO has confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia and 124 deaths worldwide.
The two latest deaths come as experts continue to investigate a bird flu outbreak involving at least seven members of a family in the village of Kubu Sembelang in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Six of the family members died.
WHO officials said the cluster appears to be a case of limited human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus, the AP reported. All the family members were blood relatives who had close contact with each other.
On Thursday, WHO officials said the family cluster appears to have originated with one woman who then passed the infection to relatives. "We believe she may have had some contact either with dead or dying chickens in her household or through her activities as a vegetable grower and a seller in a market," Steven Bjorge, a WHO epidemiologist in Jakarta, told the AP. The woman also used chicken feces as garden fertilizer.
There is no sign that the virus has mutated into a form that's easily passed from person to person and no indication that the virus has spread outside the family to other people in the village, who are being monitored for flu-like symptoms, the AP reported.
Experts worry that if the H5N1 virus does mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between humans, it could spark a pandemic.
Infant Awaiting Heart Transplant Recovers Without Procedure
Doctors in California are puzzled and amazed by the case of a 10-month-old boy on a heart transplant waiting list in California who improved so dramatically that he was released from hospital Thursday without receiving a transplant.
Nate Draper and his twin brother Nick were both born with a potentially fatal heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart to swell so much that it's barely able to pump blood, the Associated Press reported.
The two boys were transferred from their home in Phoenix to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Nick received a heart transplant in February, while Nate remained on the waiting list.
About a month ago, Nate's heart function started to show marked improvement. His doctors recently took him off intravenous medication and concluded that he no longer needs a heart transplant, the AP reported.
"His heart is now strong enough to support himself," said Dr. Juan Alejos, medical director of UCLA's pediatric heart transplant program.
He and his colleagues say they don't know how Nate's heart recovered, but said his condition may not have been as severe as his brother's, the AP reported.
FDA Approves Thalidomide to Treat Bone Marrow Cancer
Thalidomide -- a drug banned in 1962 after it caused thousands of birth defects -- has been approved in the United States to treat bone marrow cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
The drug can be used to treat newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, which affects cells in the bone marrow that play a critical role in fighting infection. The drug will be used in conjunction with dexamethasone, a standard chemotherapy treatment, the Associated Press reported.
Studies assessing thalidomide's effectiveness in treating multiple myeloma have produced mixed results. A study published in March concluded that the drug did not prolong patients lives, while a second study published around the same time said that thalidomide did help extend the lives of older patients, but caused serious side effects.
In 1998, the FDA approved thalidomide as a treatment for leprosy. Even before this week's approval, thalidomide was widely prescribed for multiple myeloma in so-called "off-label" use.
The FDA currently requires thalidomide labeling to carry severe warnings about the risk of birth defects. The new labeling will also warn about the risks of blood clots in the legs and lungs in multiple myeloma patients who take thalidomide in conjunction with dexamethasone, the AP reported.
Health Experts Urge Crackdown on Counterfeit Drugs
Governments and the drug industry need to do more to fight the growing number of potentially dangerous or deadly counterfeit medicines, say health experts attending the World Health Organization's annual assembly.
The experts said politicians and business leaders are doing more to halt the trade in counterfeit CDs than to tackle the problem of counterfeit drugs. A concerted international effort is required to deal with the problem, BBC News reported.
"There is a growing threat to patient safety in the developed and developing world. Currently the low penalties for counterfeits are shocking. Countering supply chains is vital," said Jo Harkness of the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations.
"Up to 25 percent of medicines used in developing countries are counterfeit or substandard," noted Judith Oulton of the International Council of Nurses.
Last year, authorities carried out 781 seizures of counterfeit medicines in 89 countries, compared with about 312 seizures in 67 countries in 2004, according to figures from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA).
Russia, China, South Korea, Columbia, the United States, and Britain topped the list of countries where seizures of counterfeit medicines took place, BBC News reported.
"The source of counterfeit products seems to be largely from two countries, China and India. They are trying to address the problem because it poses a considerable danger to their own populations," said IFPMA Director General Harvey Bale.
Counterfeit medicines may contain little or no active ingredients, incorrect doses, or active ingredients not found in legitimate versions of the drugs.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Health Headlines - May 25
ADHD Drugs Send Thousands of Children to Hospitals
In 2004, more than 2,500 children taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had to go to U.S. hospital emergency departments and most of the cases involved accidental overdoses, says a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday.
The study said about 25 percent of the children seen at the emergency departments had serious heart or blood pressure events, including chest pain, fainting, or palpitations, Bloomberg news reported. Many other cases involved children who accidentally took someone else's medication.
The findings were released as U.S. regulators are considering whether to require the drugs to carry stronger warnings about a possible link to sudden death and heart risks.
"Clinicians should recognize that unintentional overdoses of stimulant medications are an important cause of injury to patients," said Adam Cohen, of the CDC. He said it was the first time the CDC had analyzed this kind of data, so it's not possible to say whether such problems are new or how common they may have been in previous years, Bloomberg reported.
An estimated 3.3 million children and 1.5 million adults take ADHD drugs, and 25 deaths linked to the drugs -- 19 involving children -- were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 1999 through 2003. There were also 54 reported cases of serious heart problems, including heart attacks and strokes.
Ex-FDA Head Said to Seize Control of Plan B Approval Process
Former U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Lester M. Crawford bypassed normal procedure when he took control of the request to approve over-the-counter (OTC) sales of the Plan B "morning-after" birth control pill and delayed that approval, say two senior FDA officials.
The officials, Dr. Steven Galson and Dr. Janet B. Woodcock, were interviewed by lawyers for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which has launched a lawsuit against the FDA over its handling of the application for OTC sales of Plan B.
Woodcock and Galson said Crawford intervened in early 2005 as FDA staffers were preparing to authorize OTC sales of Plan B to women 17 years of age and older, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The two officials said Crawford cut them out of the process, which they normally take part in, and handled the issue by himself. In his deposition Wednesday, Crawford confirmed that Plan B "was his decision," his lawyer said.
Plan B is designed to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sex. Pro-choice groups say the FDA's delay in approving OTC sales of Plan B is based on politics, not medical science, the Sun reported.
The nomination of Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, President Bush's pick to succeed Crawford, is being blocked by Democratic senators until the FDA takes action on Plan B.
No Pharmacy Logos on Medicare Drug Cards: U.S. Officials
The U.S. government said Wednesday that insurers participating in the Medicare prescription-drug benefit can't feature logos of big pharmacies on the identification cards they issue next year.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also told insurers that when they market their drug plans to consumers next year and list a particular company as a partner, they also need to note that "other pharmacies/physicians/providers are available in our network," the Associated Press reported.
Medicare officials had received many complaints from owners of small pharmacies that insurers participating in the new drug benefit tried to direct consumers to large companies. For example, cards issued by Humana Inc. displayed logos from Wal-Mart or CVS.
"It's terribly confusing for seniors. I had seniors who we helped sign up for a program, but once they got their card, they would say, 'Sorry, I can't come in because my card uses another pharmacy,' " John T. Sherrer, a pharmacist from Marietta, Ga., told the AP.
He believes the logos on the cards cost him many customers.
Sherrer and other owners of independent pharmacies were in Washington, D.C., this week to talk with lawmakers about the co-branding issue and other concerns with the drug benefit.
U.S. Kids Linked to TVs, Video Games, Computers: Report
One-third of American children age 6 and younger live in homes where the television is on nearly all the time, and almost 20 percent of children under age 2 have a TV in their bedroom, says a Kaiser Family Foundation study released Wednesday.
The study, which included focus groups and a national survey of 1,051 parents of children 6 months to 6 years old, also found that 83 percent of children under age 6 watch TV, play video games, or use the computer on a typical day. They get about two hours per day of screen time, compared to 48 minutes a day listening to a story being read to them, The New York Times reported.
The study also concluded that many parents encourage the use of TV, video games and computers by their children, often starting in infancy. These parents cite a number of reasons: it helps their children learn; it give the parents time to cook or shower; the parents use screen time as a reward or to help their children wind down at bedtime.
"I had this sense of kids clamoring to use media and parents trying to keep their finger in the dam. I found that not to be a very accurate picture in most cases," lead researcher Victoria Rideout told The Times.
Media use increases as children grow older. The study found that 61 percent of children 1 year or younger watch TV, while 90 percent of children ages 4 to 6 have daily screen time.
Groups Demand Direct-to-Consumer Rx Drug Ads Stop
The U.S. Congress should put a stop to all prescription drug advertising aimed at consumers, says a coalition of 39 medical, health and seniors' groups.
"Prescription drug ads are dishonest and dangerous. They hype the benefits and cloak the risks of prescription drugs," Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, said in a prepared statement.
He noted the following comment made more than two decades ago by Robert A. Schoellhorn, former chairman of Abbott Laboratories: "We believe direct advertising to the consumer introduces a very real possibility of causing harm to patients who may respond to advertising by pressuring physicians to prescribe medications that may not be required."
"We agree," Ruskin said. "We would add that the possibility of creating another Vioxx catastrophe has only grown since then."
Regulation of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is inadequate, said Amy Allina, program director of the National Women's Health Network.
"The ad campaigns promoting hormone therapy to women at menopause were a triumph of marketing over science. Drug companies ducked and weaved around the regulations for truth in advertising, touting unproven benefits for their menopause drugs, which exposed millions of women to breast cancer and heart disease risks with little or no benefit to many," Allina said in a prepared statement.
The groups want legislation to stop direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads.
In 2004, more than 2,500 children taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had to go to U.S. hospital emergency departments and most of the cases involved accidental overdoses, says a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday.
The study said about 25 percent of the children seen at the emergency departments had serious heart or blood pressure events, including chest pain, fainting, or palpitations, Bloomberg news reported. Many other cases involved children who accidentally took someone else's medication.
The findings were released as U.S. regulators are considering whether to require the drugs to carry stronger warnings about a possible link to sudden death and heart risks.
"Clinicians should recognize that unintentional overdoses of stimulant medications are an important cause of injury to patients," said Adam Cohen, of the CDC. He said it was the first time the CDC had analyzed this kind of data, so it's not possible to say whether such problems are new or how common they may have been in previous years, Bloomberg reported.
An estimated 3.3 million children and 1.5 million adults take ADHD drugs, and 25 deaths linked to the drugs -- 19 involving children -- were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 1999 through 2003. There were also 54 reported cases of serious heart problems, including heart attacks and strokes.
Ex-FDA Head Said to Seize Control of Plan B Approval Process
Former U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Lester M. Crawford bypassed normal procedure when he took control of the request to approve over-the-counter (OTC) sales of the Plan B "morning-after" birth control pill and delayed that approval, say two senior FDA officials.
The officials, Dr. Steven Galson and Dr. Janet B. Woodcock, were interviewed by lawyers for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which has launched a lawsuit against the FDA over its handling of the application for OTC sales of Plan B.
Woodcock and Galson said Crawford intervened in early 2005 as FDA staffers were preparing to authorize OTC sales of Plan B to women 17 years of age and older, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The two officials said Crawford cut them out of the process, which they normally take part in, and handled the issue by himself. In his deposition Wednesday, Crawford confirmed that Plan B "was his decision," his lawyer said.
Plan B is designed to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sex. Pro-choice groups say the FDA's delay in approving OTC sales of Plan B is based on politics, not medical science, the Sun reported.
The nomination of Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, President Bush's pick to succeed Crawford, is being blocked by Democratic senators until the FDA takes action on Plan B.
No Pharmacy Logos on Medicare Drug Cards: U.S. Officials
The U.S. government said Wednesday that insurers participating in the Medicare prescription-drug benefit can't feature logos of big pharmacies on the identification cards they issue next year.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also told insurers that when they market their drug plans to consumers next year and list a particular company as a partner, they also need to note that "other pharmacies/physicians/providers are available in our network," the Associated Press reported.
Medicare officials had received many complaints from owners of small pharmacies that insurers participating in the new drug benefit tried to direct consumers to large companies. For example, cards issued by Humana Inc. displayed logos from Wal-Mart or CVS.
"It's terribly confusing for seniors. I had seniors who we helped sign up for a program, but once they got their card, they would say, 'Sorry, I can't come in because my card uses another pharmacy,' " John T. Sherrer, a pharmacist from Marietta, Ga., told the AP.
He believes the logos on the cards cost him many customers.
Sherrer and other owners of independent pharmacies were in Washington, D.C., this week to talk with lawmakers about the co-branding issue and other concerns with the drug benefit.
U.S. Kids Linked to TVs, Video Games, Computers: Report
One-third of American children age 6 and younger live in homes where the television is on nearly all the time, and almost 20 percent of children under age 2 have a TV in their bedroom, says a Kaiser Family Foundation study released Wednesday.
The study, which included focus groups and a national survey of 1,051 parents of children 6 months to 6 years old, also found that 83 percent of children under age 6 watch TV, play video games, or use the computer on a typical day. They get about two hours per day of screen time, compared to 48 minutes a day listening to a story being read to them, The New York Times reported.
The study also concluded that many parents encourage the use of TV, video games and computers by their children, often starting in infancy. These parents cite a number of reasons: it helps their children learn; it give the parents time to cook or shower; the parents use screen time as a reward or to help their children wind down at bedtime.
"I had this sense of kids clamoring to use media and parents trying to keep their finger in the dam. I found that not to be a very accurate picture in most cases," lead researcher Victoria Rideout told The Times.
Media use increases as children grow older. The study found that 61 percent of children 1 year or younger watch TV, while 90 percent of children ages 4 to 6 have daily screen time.
Groups Demand Direct-to-Consumer Rx Drug Ads Stop
The U.S. Congress should put a stop to all prescription drug advertising aimed at consumers, says a coalition of 39 medical, health and seniors' groups.
"Prescription drug ads are dishonest and dangerous. They hype the benefits and cloak the risks of prescription drugs," Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, said in a prepared statement.
He noted the following comment made more than two decades ago by Robert A. Schoellhorn, former chairman of Abbott Laboratories: "We believe direct advertising to the consumer introduces a very real possibility of causing harm to patients who may respond to advertising by pressuring physicians to prescribe medications that may not be required."
"We agree," Ruskin said. "We would add that the possibility of creating another Vioxx catastrophe has only grown since then."
Regulation of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is inadequate, said Amy Allina, program director of the National Women's Health Network.
"The ad campaigns promoting hormone therapy to women at menopause were a triumph of marketing over science. Drug companies ducked and weaved around the regulations for truth in advertising, touting unproven benefits for their menopause drugs, which exposed millions of women to breast cancer and heart disease risks with little or no benefit to many," Allina said in a prepared statement.
The groups want legislation to stop direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Health Headlines - May 24
Man's Death May Be 1st Human-to-Human Transmission of Bird Flu
An Indonesian man who died Monday appears to be the first case of the H5N1 bird flu virus being transmitted from human to human, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The 32-year-old man belonged to a family in which five people have recently died of bird flu.
However, officials with the health agency added that this latest death doesn't necessarily mean the H5N1 virus has mutated into a strain that can easily be passed between humans, The New York Times reported.
WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said, in this case, it's a "definite possibility" that the virus jumped more than once inside a group of family members in the village of Kubu Sembilang in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
While the second jump does sound alarming, "It doesn't look like the trend has changed. Each case was in very close contact with the previous one," Cheng told the Times.
She said 33 other people in Kubu Sembilang who had contact with the family have been quarantined or treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
There have been at least three previous possible cases of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus. All those cases involved family members who had spent many hours in close contact with a sick relative and likely inhaled large amounts of virus-contaminated droplets, the Times reported.
Young Adults Largest Group of Uninsured in U.S.
Young adults are the largest and fastest-growing group of people in the United States without health insurance, says a Commonwealth Fund report released Wednesday.
The report said 13.7 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 29 don't have insurance, an increase of 2.5 million from 2000. The rate of uninsured people in this group is twice that of those ages 30 to 64.
Young adults comprise 17 percent of the under-65 population, but account for 30 percent of the uninsured non-elderly population, the report said.
This lack of health coverage puts them at increased risk for poor health. The report said that 57 percent of young adults without health insurance said they'd had to do without needed health care, such as not seeing a doctor or specialist when needed, skipping a recommended medical test or treatment, or failing to fill a prescription.
There's also a financial toll. Forty-six percent of uninsured young adults said they were paying off a medical debt or had trouble paying medical bills.
U.S. Online Pharmacy Prices Increase, Non-U.S. Prices Fall
Drug prices at U.S. online pharmacies increased an average of seven percent over the past year, compared to a two percent decline in prices at Canadian and other non-U.S. online pharmacies, according to an analysis by PharmacyChecker.com.
The changes mean that prices on non-U.S. online pharmacies are now an average of 40 percent lower than those on U.S. online pharmacies. The analysis compared prices of 10 top-selling drugs from the first quarters of 2005 and 2006.
Here's one example. In 2005, the average price for the popular cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (90 20mg tablets) was $202.94 at non-U.S. online pharmacies. In 2006, the average price was $188.15. The average U.S. online price for the same drug went from $295.67 in 2005 to $319.15 in 2006.
PharmacyChecker.com said the decline in non-U.S. online drug prices may be due to tough competition among Canadian online pharmacies that have lost many U.S customers to Medicare Part D drug plans. In response, the Canadian online pharmacies are increasingly filling orders through other countries with lower prices.
NSAIDs Increase Risk of 1st Hospital Admission for Heart Failure
Commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers, such as ibuprofen, are associated with a slightly increased risk of first hospital admission for heart failure, says a study in the journal Heart.
The study of more than 228,660 patients concluded that there would be one extra first hospital admission for heart failure for every 1,000 people ages 60 to 84 who take NSAIDs, United Press International reported.
However, the researchers said this could increase to three additional cases per 1,000 among patients 70 and older who have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney failure.
Overall, 14 percent of patients were taking NSAIDs at the time of their first hospital admission for heart failure, compared with 10 percent of a comparison group of randomly selected people. Half of those admitted to hospital were ages 70 to 79.
The data used in the study came from the General Practice Research Database, which contains the medical records of millions of patients of family doctors in Britain, UPI reported.
No Difference Between 2 Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients: Report
There is no clinically significant difference in effectiveness between two drugs -- epoetin and darbepoetin -- used to manage anemia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, says a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The report said the two drugs show no difference in improving hemoglobin concentration or in reducing the need for transfusion. Both drugs do reduce the need for transfusion by about 20 percent, but there is no evidence that either drug, when added to cancer treatment, improves patient survival.
In addition, there are many unanswered questions about the safety and best use of both drugs, the report said.
"This report is a synthesis of studies performed so far regarding epoetin and darbepoetin, including unpublished findings as well as published reports," Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, AHRQ director, said in a prepared statement.
"The authors have analyzed and weighed all of the evidence available in order to obtain the fairest possible understanding of these two alternative treatments for managing anemia in cancer patients. In addition, an important role for our comparative-effectiveness reviews is to identify research gaps where new evidence is needed. Their report finds that significant questions remain unanswered about both of these drugs," Clancy said.
U.S. Soldiers With PTSD More Likely to Suffer Poor Health
A year after leaving Iraq, American combat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be in worse physical health, experience more pain, and are more likely to miss work than those who don't have PTSD, says a U.S. military survey of nearly 3,000 Iraq war veterans.
The survey found that about 17 percent of the respondents had PTSD symptoms and they were more likely than those without symptoms to report various kinds of pain -- from backaches to headaches -- and gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion and nausea, USA Today reported.
Anxiety may contribute to these physical symptoms, said Dr. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C.
He also noted that nightmares, flashbacks and other symptoms of PTSD can interfere with sleep, resulting in a negative impact on health. About 50 percent of the soldiers who reported PTSD symptoms rated their health as fair to poor.
An Indonesian man who died Monday appears to be the first case of the H5N1 bird flu virus being transmitted from human to human, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The 32-year-old man belonged to a family in which five people have recently died of bird flu.
However, officials with the health agency added that this latest death doesn't necessarily mean the H5N1 virus has mutated into a strain that can easily be passed between humans, The New York Times reported.
WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said, in this case, it's a "definite possibility" that the virus jumped more than once inside a group of family members in the village of Kubu Sembilang in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
While the second jump does sound alarming, "It doesn't look like the trend has changed. Each case was in very close contact with the previous one," Cheng told the Times.
She said 33 other people in Kubu Sembilang who had contact with the family have been quarantined or treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
There have been at least three previous possible cases of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus. All those cases involved family members who had spent many hours in close contact with a sick relative and likely inhaled large amounts of virus-contaminated droplets, the Times reported.
Young Adults Largest Group of Uninsured in U.S.
Young adults are the largest and fastest-growing group of people in the United States without health insurance, says a Commonwealth Fund report released Wednesday.
The report said 13.7 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 29 don't have insurance, an increase of 2.5 million from 2000. The rate of uninsured people in this group is twice that of those ages 30 to 64.
Young adults comprise 17 percent of the under-65 population, but account for 30 percent of the uninsured non-elderly population, the report said.
This lack of health coverage puts them at increased risk for poor health. The report said that 57 percent of young adults without health insurance said they'd had to do without needed health care, such as not seeing a doctor or specialist when needed, skipping a recommended medical test or treatment, or failing to fill a prescription.
There's also a financial toll. Forty-six percent of uninsured young adults said they were paying off a medical debt or had trouble paying medical bills.
U.S. Online Pharmacy Prices Increase, Non-U.S. Prices Fall
Drug prices at U.S. online pharmacies increased an average of seven percent over the past year, compared to a two percent decline in prices at Canadian and other non-U.S. online pharmacies, according to an analysis by PharmacyChecker.com.
The changes mean that prices on non-U.S. online pharmacies are now an average of 40 percent lower than those on U.S. online pharmacies. The analysis compared prices of 10 top-selling drugs from the first quarters of 2005 and 2006.
Here's one example. In 2005, the average price for the popular cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (90 20mg tablets) was $202.94 at non-U.S. online pharmacies. In 2006, the average price was $188.15. The average U.S. online price for the same drug went from $295.67 in 2005 to $319.15 in 2006.
PharmacyChecker.com said the decline in non-U.S. online drug prices may be due to tough competition among Canadian online pharmacies that have lost many U.S customers to Medicare Part D drug plans. In response, the Canadian online pharmacies are increasingly filling orders through other countries with lower prices.
NSAIDs Increase Risk of 1st Hospital Admission for Heart Failure
Commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers, such as ibuprofen, are associated with a slightly increased risk of first hospital admission for heart failure, says a study in the journal Heart.
The study of more than 228,660 patients concluded that there would be one extra first hospital admission for heart failure for every 1,000 people ages 60 to 84 who take NSAIDs, United Press International reported.
However, the researchers said this could increase to three additional cases per 1,000 among patients 70 and older who have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney failure.
Overall, 14 percent of patients were taking NSAIDs at the time of their first hospital admission for heart failure, compared with 10 percent of a comparison group of randomly selected people. Half of those admitted to hospital were ages 70 to 79.
The data used in the study came from the General Practice Research Database, which contains the medical records of millions of patients of family doctors in Britain, UPI reported.
No Difference Between 2 Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients: Report
There is no clinically significant difference in effectiveness between two drugs -- epoetin and darbepoetin -- used to manage anemia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, says a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The report said the two drugs show no difference in improving hemoglobin concentration or in reducing the need for transfusion. Both drugs do reduce the need for transfusion by about 20 percent, but there is no evidence that either drug, when added to cancer treatment, improves patient survival.
In addition, there are many unanswered questions about the safety and best use of both drugs, the report said.
"This report is a synthesis of studies performed so far regarding epoetin and darbepoetin, including unpublished findings as well as published reports," Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, AHRQ director, said in a prepared statement.
"The authors have analyzed and weighed all of the evidence available in order to obtain the fairest possible understanding of these two alternative treatments for managing anemia in cancer patients. In addition, an important role for our comparative-effectiveness reviews is to identify research gaps where new evidence is needed. Their report finds that significant questions remain unanswered about both of these drugs," Clancy said.
U.S. Soldiers With PTSD More Likely to Suffer Poor Health
A year after leaving Iraq, American combat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be in worse physical health, experience more pain, and are more likely to miss work than those who don't have PTSD, says a U.S. military survey of nearly 3,000 Iraq war veterans.
The survey found that about 17 percent of the respondents had PTSD symptoms and they were more likely than those without symptoms to report various kinds of pain -- from backaches to headaches -- and gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion and nausea, USA Today reported.
Anxiety may contribute to these physical symptoms, said Dr. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C.
He also noted that nightmares, flashbacks and other symptoms of PTSD can interfere with sleep, resulting in a negative impact on health. About 50 percent of the soldiers who reported PTSD symptoms rated their health as fair to poor.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Health Headlines - May 23
NSAIDs Increase Risk of 1st Hospital Admission for Heart Failure
Commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers, such as ibuprofen, are associated with a slightly increased risk of first hospital admission for heart failure, says a study in the journal Heart.
The study of more than 228,660 patients concluded that there would be one extra first hospital admission for heart failure for every 1,000 people ages 60 to 84 who take NSAIDs, United Press International reported.
However, the researchers said this could increase to three additional cases per 1,000 among patients 70 and older who have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney failure.
Overall, 14 percent of patients were taking NSAIDs at the time of their first hospital admission for heart failure, compared with 10 percent of a comparison group of randomly selected people. Half of those admitted to hospital were ages 70 to 79.
The data used in the study came from the General Practice Research Database, which contains the medical records of millions of patients of family doctors in Britain, UPI reported.
Prince Charles, British Docs Differ Over Alternative Medicine
Just hours after a group of Britain's leading doctors and scientists urged the National Health Service (NHS) to stop paying for complementary health therapies, Prince Charles told a meeting of the World Health Organization in Geneva that alternative medicine should be given more prominence in mainstream health care.
In an open letter, the British doctors and scientists criticized public funding of "unproven or disproved treatments" such as homeopathy and reflexology at a time when large deficits are leading to the firing of nurses and to limited patient access to life-saving drugs, The Times of London reported.
They demanded that the NHS pay only for evidence-based therapies.
In his speech, the Prince of Wales said that an integrated, holistic approach was the best way to tackle chronic disease, rather than a "dangerously fragmented" approach that relies on what he referred to as a bio-physical treatment model, The Times reported.
He did note that modern medicine has served humanity well but he said excessive reliance on it had upset natural harmony.
"I believe there is now a desperately urgent need to address the fragile but vital balance between man and nature, through a more integrated approach where the best of the ancient is blended with the best of the modern, and I am convinced this is particularly vital when it comes to the collective health of people in all countries," Prince Charles told delegates from 192 nations.
No Difference Between 2 Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients: Report
There is no clinically significant difference in effectiveness between two drugs -- epoetin and darbepoetin -- used to manage anemia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, says a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The report said the two drugs show no difference in improving hemoglobin concentration or in reducing the need for transfusion. Both drugs do reduce the need for transfusion by about 20 percent, but there is no evidence that either drug, when added to cancer treatment, improves patient survival.
In addition, there are many unanswered questions about the safety and best use of both drugs, the report said.
"This report is a synthesis of studies performed so far regarding epoetin and darbepoetin, including unpublished findings as well as published reports," Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, AHRQ director, said in a prepared statement.
"The authors have analyzed and weighed all of the evidence available in order to obtain the fairest possible understanding of these two alternative treatments for managing anemia in cancer patients. In addition, an important role for our comparative-effectiveness reviews is to identify research gaps where new evidence is needed. Their report finds that significant questions remain unanswered about both of these drugs," Clancy said.
U.S. Soldiers With PTSD More Likely to Suffer Poor Health
A year after leaving Iraq, American combat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be in worse physical health, experience more pain, and are more likely to miss work than those who don't have PTSD, says a U.S. military survey of nearly 3,000 Iraq war veterans.
The survey found that about 17 percent of the respondents had PTSD symptoms and they were more likely than those without symptoms to report various kinds of pain -- from backaches to headaches -- and gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion and nausea, USA Today reported.
Anxiety may contribute to these physical symptoms, said Dr. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C.
He also noted that nightmares, flashbacks and other symptoms of PTSD can interfere with sleep, resulting in a negative impact on health. About 50 percent of the soldiers who reported PTSD symptoms rated their health as fair to poor, compared with about 20 percent of soldiers with no PTSD symptoms, USA Today reported.
The findings were released Monday at an American Psychiatric Association meeting.
FDA Approves Generic Version of Lexapro
The first generic version of Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate), one of the most popular prescription antidepressants, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The approval, announced Monday, gives permission to Ivax Corp. of Miami to market 5, 10, and 20 milligram doses of the drug for major depression, The Associated Press reported.
Ivax is part of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Israel.
The brand name Lexapro is made by New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc. Last year, Lexapro was the No. 2 antidepressant in the United States, with 29.6 million prescriptions filled and sales of $2.1 billion. The drug Zoloft was the leading antidepressant, the AP reported.
Commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers, such as ibuprofen, are associated with a slightly increased risk of first hospital admission for heart failure, says a study in the journal Heart.
The study of more than 228,660 patients concluded that there would be one extra first hospital admission for heart failure for every 1,000 people ages 60 to 84 who take NSAIDs, United Press International reported.
However, the researchers said this could increase to three additional cases per 1,000 among patients 70 and older who have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney failure.
Overall, 14 percent of patients were taking NSAIDs at the time of their first hospital admission for heart failure, compared with 10 percent of a comparison group of randomly selected people. Half of those admitted to hospital were ages 70 to 79.
The data used in the study came from the General Practice Research Database, which contains the medical records of millions of patients of family doctors in Britain, UPI reported.
Prince Charles, British Docs Differ Over Alternative Medicine
Just hours after a group of Britain's leading doctors and scientists urged the National Health Service (NHS) to stop paying for complementary health therapies, Prince Charles told a meeting of the World Health Organization in Geneva that alternative medicine should be given more prominence in mainstream health care.
In an open letter, the British doctors and scientists criticized public funding of "unproven or disproved treatments" such as homeopathy and reflexology at a time when large deficits are leading to the firing of nurses and to limited patient access to life-saving drugs, The Times of London reported.
They demanded that the NHS pay only for evidence-based therapies.
In his speech, the Prince of Wales said that an integrated, holistic approach was the best way to tackle chronic disease, rather than a "dangerously fragmented" approach that relies on what he referred to as a bio-physical treatment model, The Times reported.
He did note that modern medicine has served humanity well but he said excessive reliance on it had upset natural harmony.
"I believe there is now a desperately urgent need to address the fragile but vital balance between man and nature, through a more integrated approach where the best of the ancient is blended with the best of the modern, and I am convinced this is particularly vital when it comes to the collective health of people in all countries," Prince Charles told delegates from 192 nations.
No Difference Between 2 Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients: Report
There is no clinically significant difference in effectiveness between two drugs -- epoetin and darbepoetin -- used to manage anemia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, says a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The report said the two drugs show no difference in improving hemoglobin concentration or in reducing the need for transfusion. Both drugs do reduce the need for transfusion by about 20 percent, but there is no evidence that either drug, when added to cancer treatment, improves patient survival.
In addition, there are many unanswered questions about the safety and best use of both drugs, the report said.
"This report is a synthesis of studies performed so far regarding epoetin and darbepoetin, including unpublished findings as well as published reports," Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, AHRQ director, said in a prepared statement.
"The authors have analyzed and weighed all of the evidence available in order to obtain the fairest possible understanding of these two alternative treatments for managing anemia in cancer patients. In addition, an important role for our comparative-effectiveness reviews is to identify research gaps where new evidence is needed. Their report finds that significant questions remain unanswered about both of these drugs," Clancy said.
U.S. Soldiers With PTSD More Likely to Suffer Poor Health
A year after leaving Iraq, American combat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be in worse physical health, experience more pain, and are more likely to miss work than those who don't have PTSD, says a U.S. military survey of nearly 3,000 Iraq war veterans.
The survey found that about 17 percent of the respondents had PTSD symptoms and they were more likely than those without symptoms to report various kinds of pain -- from backaches to headaches -- and gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion and nausea, USA Today reported.
Anxiety may contribute to these physical symptoms, said Dr. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C.
He also noted that nightmares, flashbacks and other symptoms of PTSD can interfere with sleep, resulting in a negative impact on health. About 50 percent of the soldiers who reported PTSD symptoms rated their health as fair to poor, compared with about 20 percent of soldiers with no PTSD symptoms, USA Today reported.
The findings were released Monday at an American Psychiatric Association meeting.
FDA Approves Generic Version of Lexapro
The first generic version of Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate), one of the most popular prescription antidepressants, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The approval, announced Monday, gives permission to Ivax Corp. of Miami to market 5, 10, and 20 milligram doses of the drug for major depression, The Associated Press reported.
Ivax is part of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. of Israel.
The brand name Lexapro is made by New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc. Last year, Lexapro was the No. 2 antidepressant in the United States, with 29.6 million prescriptions filled and sales of $2.1 billion. The drug Zoloft was the leading antidepressant, the AP reported.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Health Headlines - May 22
U.S. Faces Shortage of Critical Care Specialists
Two-thirds of intensive care patients in the United States may be receiving suboptimal care because demand has exceeded the supply of critical care specialists ("intensivists"), according to a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report.
The report states that there will be an estimated 35 percent shortage of intensivists by 2020 due to an aging population and the growing demand.
In response, a group of critical care societies is working with members of Congress to develop solutions. This group of societies, called the Critical Care Workforce Partnership, includes the American College of Chest Physicians, American Thoracic Society, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
An estimated 360,000 deaths occur each year in ICUs not managed by intensivists. Increasing the supply of intensivists could save up to 54,000 lives each year, experts said.
"The number of patients who are critically ill is growing. The number of critical care specialists trained to treat these patients is not keeping pace. A shortage is not only imminent but upon us, and, unless steps are taken to address the shortage, patients with life-threatening diseases and others being cared for in ICUs will suffer," Dr. Peter D. Wagner, president of the American Thoracic Society, said in a prepared statement.
Botox May Help Treat Depression
Botox may do more than just smooth a furrowed brow, it may actually help boost a person's mood, suggests a small U.S. pilot study that found that Botox injections improved the symptoms of 10 patients with depression.
Of the 10 patients in the study, 9 recovered from their depressive symptoms and the other patient, who had bipolar disorder (manic depression), experienced an improvement in mood, the Washington Post reported. The findings appear in the journal Dermatologic Surgery.
The study was conducted by Washington, D.C.-area dermatologist Eric Finzi, who said that a much larger study needs to be conducted before any conclusions can be made about a link between Botox treatment and improved depressive symptoms. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that expressions can influence mood, the Post reported.
"My theory on why this works is there is a feedback between the muscles of facial expression and the brain. Finzi said. "With yoga, you focus on your breathing, and it has an effect on your mind. My hypothesis is the facial muscles ... have an effect on depression."
Finzi has applied for a patent on the use of Botox to treat depression, the Post reported.
U.S. Sends Tamiflu Stockpile to Asia
As a first defense against a possible bird flu pandemic, the United States is shipping a stockpile of the antiviral drug Tamilfu to Asia, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt announced Monday.
"It is a stockpile that would belong to the United States and we would control its deployment," Leavitt told reporters in Geneva, where he was attending the World Health Assembly.
The U.S. Tamiflu stockpile is being sent to a secure location in an unnamed Asian country and should arrive there later this week. Leavitt did not say how many courses of the drug were being shipped to Asia, the Associated Press reported.
This store of Tamiflu would be used to support international containment efforts if the H5N1 bird flu mutates into a strain that's easily passed between humans, resulting in a pandemic. However, officials could bring the stockpile back for use in the U.S. if it's determined that overseas containment of a pandemic isn't feasible, the AP reported.
By the end of 2007, the U.S. plans to have enough Tamiflu (75 million treatment courses) to treat 25 percent of the U.S. population.
WHO Director-General Dies After Brain Surgery
The director-general of the World Health Organization died Monday after undergoing emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain.
Dr. Lee Jong-wook, 61, had the surgery over the weekend. He fell ill Saturday while attending an official function and was taken to Cantonal Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, the Associated Press reported.
Lee, who became WHO director-general in 2003, spearheaded the agency's attempts to control the spread of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus. He worked for WHO for 23 years.
Spanish Health Minister Elena Salgado, president of the World Health Assembly, said Lee "was an exceptional person and an exceptional director-general," the AP reported.
Drug Industry Donations to Hypertension Group Raise Questions
Donations by three drug companies -- Merck, Novartis and Sankyo -- to the American Society of Hypertension have focused debate about the influence of pharmaceutical industry money.
The three drug makers gave $700,000 to the society. Most of the money was spent on a series of national dinner lectures last year to brief doctors on the latest news about high blood pressure, The New York Times reported.
The three same companies also provided the money used by the American Society of Hypertension to draw up the main talking point of those dinner briefings -- a broader definition of hypertension that many doctors contend would increase the number of people taking drugs to control high blood pressure.
"This is about the monetarization of medicine," Dr. Michael H. Alderman, a past president of the American Society of Hypertension, told the Times.
In response to a deluge of criticism, the society said Sunday that members of its executive would now be required to disclose more information about money received from the drug industry.
Many Women Use Hormonal Contraceptives to Block Periods
More and more American women are using birth control pills or other hormonal contraceptives to block their menstrual periods, and experts say it will become even easier with the expected arrival of the first continuous-use birth control pill on the U.S. market.
Doctors say that blocking menstrual periods is especially popular among young women and those entering menopause, the Associated Press reported.
The majority of doctors don't believe that suppressing menstruation is any more risky than regular long-term use of birth control. One survey found that most doctors have prescribed contraception to prevent periods and two recent U.S. national surveys found that about 20 percent of women have used oral contraceptives to halt or skip their period, the AP reported.
However, there's a need for caution because there's not enough data on the long-term consequences of continuous use of hormones, said Linda Gordon, a New York University professor who specializes in women's history and the history of sexuality.
Two-thirds of intensive care patients in the United States may be receiving suboptimal care because demand has exceeded the supply of critical care specialists ("intensivists"), according to a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report.
The report states that there will be an estimated 35 percent shortage of intensivists by 2020 due to an aging population and the growing demand.
In response, a group of critical care societies is working with members of Congress to develop solutions. This group of societies, called the Critical Care Workforce Partnership, includes the American College of Chest Physicians, American Thoracic Society, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
An estimated 360,000 deaths occur each year in ICUs not managed by intensivists. Increasing the supply of intensivists could save up to 54,000 lives each year, experts said.
"The number of patients who are critically ill is growing. The number of critical care specialists trained to treat these patients is not keeping pace. A shortage is not only imminent but upon us, and, unless steps are taken to address the shortage, patients with life-threatening diseases and others being cared for in ICUs will suffer," Dr. Peter D. Wagner, president of the American Thoracic Society, said in a prepared statement.
Botox May Help Treat Depression
Botox may do more than just smooth a furrowed brow, it may actually help boost a person's mood, suggests a small U.S. pilot study that found that Botox injections improved the symptoms of 10 patients with depression.
Of the 10 patients in the study, 9 recovered from their depressive symptoms and the other patient, who had bipolar disorder (manic depression), experienced an improvement in mood, the Washington Post reported. The findings appear in the journal Dermatologic Surgery.
The study was conducted by Washington, D.C.-area dermatologist Eric Finzi, who said that a much larger study needs to be conducted before any conclusions can be made about a link between Botox treatment and improved depressive symptoms. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that expressions can influence mood, the Post reported.
"My theory on why this works is there is a feedback between the muscles of facial expression and the brain. Finzi said. "With yoga, you focus on your breathing, and it has an effect on your mind. My hypothesis is the facial muscles ... have an effect on depression."
Finzi has applied for a patent on the use of Botox to treat depression, the Post reported.
U.S. Sends Tamiflu Stockpile to Asia
As a first defense against a possible bird flu pandemic, the United States is shipping a stockpile of the antiviral drug Tamilfu to Asia, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt announced Monday.
"It is a stockpile that would belong to the United States and we would control its deployment," Leavitt told reporters in Geneva, where he was attending the World Health Assembly.
The U.S. Tamiflu stockpile is being sent to a secure location in an unnamed Asian country and should arrive there later this week. Leavitt did not say how many courses of the drug were being shipped to Asia, the Associated Press reported.
This store of Tamiflu would be used to support international containment efforts if the H5N1 bird flu mutates into a strain that's easily passed between humans, resulting in a pandemic. However, officials could bring the stockpile back for use in the U.S. if it's determined that overseas containment of a pandemic isn't feasible, the AP reported.
By the end of 2007, the U.S. plans to have enough Tamiflu (75 million treatment courses) to treat 25 percent of the U.S. population.
WHO Director-General Dies After Brain Surgery
The director-general of the World Health Organization died Monday after undergoing emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain.
Dr. Lee Jong-wook, 61, had the surgery over the weekend. He fell ill Saturday while attending an official function and was taken to Cantonal Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, the Associated Press reported.
Lee, who became WHO director-general in 2003, spearheaded the agency's attempts to control the spread of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus. He worked for WHO for 23 years.
Spanish Health Minister Elena Salgado, president of the World Health Assembly, said Lee "was an exceptional person and an exceptional director-general," the AP reported.
Drug Industry Donations to Hypertension Group Raise Questions
Donations by three drug companies -- Merck, Novartis and Sankyo -- to the American Society of Hypertension have focused debate about the influence of pharmaceutical industry money.
The three drug makers gave $700,000 to the society. Most of the money was spent on a series of national dinner lectures last year to brief doctors on the latest news about high blood pressure, The New York Times reported.
The three same companies also provided the money used by the American Society of Hypertension to draw up the main talking point of those dinner briefings -- a broader definition of hypertension that many doctors contend would increase the number of people taking drugs to control high blood pressure.
"This is about the monetarization of medicine," Dr. Michael H. Alderman, a past president of the American Society of Hypertension, told the Times.
In response to a deluge of criticism, the society said Sunday that members of its executive would now be required to disclose more information about money received from the drug industry.
Many Women Use Hormonal Contraceptives to Block Periods
More and more American women are using birth control pills or other hormonal contraceptives to block their menstrual periods, and experts say it will become even easier with the expected arrival of the first continuous-use birth control pill on the U.S. market.
Doctors say that blocking menstrual periods is especially popular among young women and those entering menopause, the Associated Press reported.
The majority of doctors don't believe that suppressing menstruation is any more risky than regular long-term use of birth control. One survey found that most doctors have prescribed contraception to prevent periods and two recent U.S. national surveys found that about 20 percent of women have used oral contraceptives to halt or skip their period, the AP reported.
However, there's a need for caution because there's not enough data on the long-term consequences of continuous use of hormones, said Linda Gordon, a New York University professor who specializes in women's history and the history of sexuality.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Health Headlines - May 21
Drinks Contain High Levels of Benzene
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Friday it found levels of cancer-causing benzene that exceeded federal standards in five of 100 soft drinks and beverages it tested.
The agency told the Associated Press it has alerted the makers of those drinks, and those companies have reformulated their products or plan to do so. While FDA officials stressed there is no safety concern to the public, one environmental group begged to differ.
The five drinks listed by the government were Safeway Select Diet Orange, Crush Pineapple, AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage, Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange and Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail. The high levels of benzene were found in specific production lots of the drinks, the FDA said.
Benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia, can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C and either of the two preservatives sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate. Scientists say heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.
Federal rules limit benzene levels in drinking water to 5 parts per billion. The FDA analysis found benzene levels as high as 79 parts per billion in one lot of Safeway Select Diet Orange.
A Safeway Inc. spokeswoman did not immediately return a message left seeking comment, the AP reported.
Dr. Laura Tarantino, director of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, said drinking sodas high in benzene does not pose a health risk.
"This is likely an occasional exposure, it's not a chronic exposure. Obviously, no benzene is something someone wants to have, but the amount of benzene you are getting in a soda is very, very small compared to what you're being exposed to every day from environmental sources," she told the wire service.
But a spokesman for Environmental Working Group, which has accused the FDA of suppressing, information about benzene in soft drinks disagreed.
"FDA's test results confirm that there is a serious problem with benzene in soda and juices," Richard Wiles, senior vice president at Environmental Working Group, told the AP.
FDA Memo Says Antibiotic Should Carry Stricter Warnings
Ketek, an antibiotic that has been linked to reports of liver failure, should have stronger label warnings, an internal memo from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Sanofi-Aventis, which manufactures the drug, told the wire service Friday it was in talks with FDA officials about those reports.
The FDA has received reports of 12 cases of acute liver failure, including four deaths, in patients treated with Ketek, according to a copy of the memo shown to the AP. Safety evaluators also uncovered 23 other cases where patients suffered serious liver injuries after receiving the antibiotic.
When weighed against the number of prescriptions filled for Ketek, the number of reports exceeds what's seen in similar antibiotics, the memo stated. The contents of the May 16 memo were first reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal.
The memo suggests the FDA consider restricting the use of Ketek, or even withdrawing it, should the liver failure rate rise to levels seen in another antibiotic, Trovan, before its use was restricted in 1999.
FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro said it would be "premature" to discuss any steps the agency might take. The current FDA-approved label for Ketek warns of liver dysfunction that can be severe but is "usually reversible."
Final Government Approval Given to Barley Health Claim
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has finalized a qualified health claim for an association between foods that contain whole grain barley and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Permission to make that qualified health claim applies specifically to whole barley and dry milled barley products such as flakes, grits, flour, meal and barley meal that provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving, according to a statement from the FDA.
Under an interim final rule, the FDA began allowing the claim in December 2005 while at the same time accepting public comments on the rule for 75 days. There were no comments received that warranted changes to the final rule.
Scientific evidence indicates that including barley in a healthy diet can lower levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and total cholesterol and help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the FDA said.
Remicade Approved to Treat Children with Crohn's Disease
The drug Remicade (infliximab) has been approved to treat children with active Crohn's disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Remicade is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody that reduces Crohn's related inflammation of the bowel by blocking the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a). The drug was initially approved in 1998 to treat Crohn's disease in adults.
The approval is based on the results of a study of 112 children, ages 6 to 17, with moderately to severely active Crohn's, who had poor response to conventional therapies. The number of children in the study who responded favorably to the drug was similar to that seen in an earlier study in adults with Crohn's. The children's study did not reveal any new safety concerns that are not currently listed on the drug's label, the FDA said.
There have been no satisfactory treatments for children with Crohn's disease who have moderate to severe disease activity and do not respond to conventional therapy, noted Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"Remicade is not a cure, but it provides a much-needed option for reducing the symptoms and inducing and maintaining disease remission in children who have no other safe and effective therapy," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe that the potential benefits of this product outweigh the risks that are known and have been carefully evaluated."
Surgical Plugs in Ears Stop Severe Dizziness
Surgery that plugs up a threadbare layer of bone in the inner ear can stop a debilitating and rare syndrome known as superior canal dehiscence, Johns Hopkins researchers report.
People with the syndrome lose their balance, and can't read or sleep due to loud noises inside their head. Some become convinced they are mentally ill, the researchers noted.
The condition occurs in men and women equally and is often not diagnosed until after age 40, when symptoms appear to worsen.
"The surgical plugging procedure can put a stop to even severe symptoms and can lead to a return to normal daily activities and, in some cases, to a mild-to-moderate improvement in hearing," said Dr. Lloyd B. Minor, director of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Hopkins. Minor first described superior canal dehiscence, and developed the surgical techniques to repair it, in 1998.
Minor's surgical team will present its findings from a decade's worth of research this week at the Combined Otolaryngological meeting, in Chicago.
In a pair of reports that provide the largest follow-up analysis of patients after their surgery for the syndrome, Minor's team found that plugging the superior canal where the bone casing is thin stopped the syndrome from recurring.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Friday it found levels of cancer-causing benzene that exceeded federal standards in five of 100 soft drinks and beverages it tested.
The agency told the Associated Press it has alerted the makers of those drinks, and those companies have reformulated their products or plan to do so. While FDA officials stressed there is no safety concern to the public, one environmental group begged to differ.
The five drinks listed by the government were Safeway Select Diet Orange, Crush Pineapple, AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage, Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange and Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail. The high levels of benzene were found in specific production lots of the drinks, the FDA said.
Benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia, can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C and either of the two preservatives sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate. Scientists say heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.
Federal rules limit benzene levels in drinking water to 5 parts per billion. The FDA analysis found benzene levels as high as 79 parts per billion in one lot of Safeway Select Diet Orange.
A Safeway Inc. spokeswoman did not immediately return a message left seeking comment, the AP reported.
Dr. Laura Tarantino, director of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, said drinking sodas high in benzene does not pose a health risk.
"This is likely an occasional exposure, it's not a chronic exposure. Obviously, no benzene is something someone wants to have, but the amount of benzene you are getting in a soda is very, very small compared to what you're being exposed to every day from environmental sources," she told the wire service.
But a spokesman for Environmental Working Group, which has accused the FDA of suppressing, information about benzene in soft drinks disagreed.
"FDA's test results confirm that there is a serious problem with benzene in soda and juices," Richard Wiles, senior vice president at Environmental Working Group, told the AP.
FDA Memo Says Antibiotic Should Carry Stricter Warnings
Ketek, an antibiotic that has been linked to reports of liver failure, should have stronger label warnings, an internal memo from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Sanofi-Aventis, which manufactures the drug, told the wire service Friday it was in talks with FDA officials about those reports.
The FDA has received reports of 12 cases of acute liver failure, including four deaths, in patients treated with Ketek, according to a copy of the memo shown to the AP. Safety evaluators also uncovered 23 other cases where patients suffered serious liver injuries after receiving the antibiotic.
When weighed against the number of prescriptions filled for Ketek, the number of reports exceeds what's seen in similar antibiotics, the memo stated. The contents of the May 16 memo were first reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal.
The memo suggests the FDA consider restricting the use of Ketek, or even withdrawing it, should the liver failure rate rise to levels seen in another antibiotic, Trovan, before its use was restricted in 1999.
FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro said it would be "premature" to discuss any steps the agency might take. The current FDA-approved label for Ketek warns of liver dysfunction that can be severe but is "usually reversible."
Final Government Approval Given to Barley Health Claim
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has finalized a qualified health claim for an association between foods that contain whole grain barley and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Permission to make that qualified health claim applies specifically to whole barley and dry milled barley products such as flakes, grits, flour, meal and barley meal that provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving, according to a statement from the FDA.
Under an interim final rule, the FDA began allowing the claim in December 2005 while at the same time accepting public comments on the rule for 75 days. There were no comments received that warranted changes to the final rule.
Scientific evidence indicates that including barley in a healthy diet can lower levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and total cholesterol and help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the FDA said.
Remicade Approved to Treat Children with Crohn's Disease
The drug Remicade (infliximab) has been approved to treat children with active Crohn's disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Remicade is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody that reduces Crohn's related inflammation of the bowel by blocking the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a). The drug was initially approved in 1998 to treat Crohn's disease in adults.
The approval is based on the results of a study of 112 children, ages 6 to 17, with moderately to severely active Crohn's, who had poor response to conventional therapies. The number of children in the study who responded favorably to the drug was similar to that seen in an earlier study in adults with Crohn's. The children's study did not reveal any new safety concerns that are not currently listed on the drug's label, the FDA said.
There have been no satisfactory treatments for children with Crohn's disease who have moderate to severe disease activity and do not respond to conventional therapy, noted Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"Remicade is not a cure, but it provides a much-needed option for reducing the symptoms and inducing and maintaining disease remission in children who have no other safe and effective therapy," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe that the potential benefits of this product outweigh the risks that are known and have been carefully evaluated."
Surgical Plugs in Ears Stop Severe Dizziness
Surgery that plugs up a threadbare layer of bone in the inner ear can stop a debilitating and rare syndrome known as superior canal dehiscence, Johns Hopkins researchers report.
People with the syndrome lose their balance, and can't read or sleep due to loud noises inside their head. Some become convinced they are mentally ill, the researchers noted.
The condition occurs in men and women equally and is often not diagnosed until after age 40, when symptoms appear to worsen.
"The surgical plugging procedure can put a stop to even severe symptoms and can lead to a return to normal daily activities and, in some cases, to a mild-to-moderate improvement in hearing," said Dr. Lloyd B. Minor, director of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Hopkins. Minor first described superior canal dehiscence, and developed the surgical techniques to repair it, in 1998.
Minor's surgical team will present its findings from a decade's worth of research this week at the Combined Otolaryngological meeting, in Chicago.
In a pair of reports that provide the largest follow-up analysis of patients after their surgery for the syndrome, Minor's team found that plugging the superior canal where the bone casing is thin stopped the syndrome from recurring.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Health Headlines - May 20
FDA Gives Final Approval to Barley Health Claim
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has finalized a qualified health claim for an association between foods that contain whole grain barley and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Permission to make that qualified health claim applies specifically to whole barley and dry milled barley products such as flakes, grits, flour, meal and barley meal that provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving, according to a statement from the FDA.
Under an interim final rule, the FDA began allowing the claim in December 2005 while at the same time accepting public comments on the rule for 75 days. There were no comments received that warranted changes to the final rule.
Scientific evidence indicates that including barley in a healthy diet can lower levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and total cholesterol and help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the FDA said.
Remicade Approved to Treat Children with Crohn's Disease
The drug Remicade (infliximab) has been approved to treat children with active Crohn's disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Remicade is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody that reduces Crohn's related inflammation of the bowel by blocking the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a). The drug was initially approved in 1998 to treat Crohn's disease in adults.
The approval is based on the results of a study of 112 children, ages 6 to 17, with moderately to severely active Crohn's, who had poor response to conventional therapies. The number of children in the study who responded favorably to the drug was similar to that seen in an earlier study in adults with Crohn's. The children's study did not reveal any new safety concerns that are not currently listed on the drug's label, the FDA said.
There have been no satisfactory treatments for children with Crohn's disease who have moderate to severe disease activity and do not respond to conventional therapy, noted Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"Remicade is not a cure, but it provides a much-needed option for reducing the symptoms and inducing and maintaining disease remission in children who have no other safe and effective therapy," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe that the potential benefits of this product outweigh the risks that are known and have been carefully evaluated."
WHO Wants Tighter Registration of Drug Trials
Drug firms and research organizations should register all human clinical drug trials from the outset in order to prevent negative findings from being kept secret, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently, researchers conducting human drug trials can wait until the study is well along before reporting any results, BBC News reported.
The WHO has created a 20-point checklist outlining the kind of information that should be included in any registry of drug trials before they are started. It also plans to use a new registry platform to provide access to drug trial registries run by corporations, hospitals and institutions, which would have to meet certain WHO standards.
"Registration of all clinical trials and full disclosure of key information at the time of registration are fundamental to ensuring transparency in medical research and fulfilling ethical responsibilities to patients and study participants," said Dr. Timothy Evans, assistant director general of the WHO.
Registration for the new WHO registry would be voluntary, but recent drug scares have prompted growing pressure for more openness about medical research, BBC News reported.
Human Transmission Unlikely in 5 Indonesian Bird Flu Deaths
It's unlikely that human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus was responsible for the deaths of five family members in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.
It was the largest such cluster recorded.
"Current evidence doesn't suggest at all that the virus was passed between humans," Gina Samaan, a WHO field epidemiologist who investigated the deaths, told The New York Times.
The bird flu virus was found in a number of chickens, ducks and pigs in the northern Sumatra village of Kuba Sembelang, where the five victims lived.
There had been some speculation that the five deaths, reported this week, may have been caused by a mutated version of the H5N1 virus that was able to pass from person to person. A sixth family member died of flu-like symptoms but wasn't tested for the virus, the Times reported.
Experts fear that if the H5N1 virus does mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between humans, it could spark a worldwide pandemic that could kill millions.
Indonesian officials announced Friday that bird flu killed a 12-year-old boy from the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, bringing that country's death toll to 32, the Associated Press reported.
So far, bird flu has killed 123 people worldwide since 2003. Only Vietnam, with 42 victims, has a higher death toll than Indonesia.
Michigan Sperm Donor Passed on Rare Genetic Disease
A Michigan man who donated sperm passed a rare and serious genetic disorder -- severe congenital neutropenia -- to five children born to four couples, says a report published Friday in the Journal of Pediatrics. The disease puts the children at increased risk for infections and leukemia.
The four couples were clients of the same sperm bank, which said it has discarded all the remaining samples from that particular sperm donor and informed the man he's no longer allowed to donate sperm, the Associated Press reported.
The sperm bank was not identified in the article. It's not know how many children the sperm donor fathered, whether the donor was aware that he carried the disease before he donated sperm, or whether he was told about his condition after the sperm bank learned about it.
Sperm donors are routinely tested for the most common genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, but not for extremely rare diseases, the AP reported.
The five children are doing fine and leading healthy lives, but they have a 50 percent chance of passing the gene and the disease to their children, experts said.
Iowa Woman Has 'No Resuscitation' Order Tattooed on Chest
An 80-year-old Iowa woman who had "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" tattooed on her chest in February says she did it to make her wishes perfectly clear in case she becomes incapacitated.
"People might think I'm crazy, but that's OK. Sometimes the nuttiest ideas are the most advanced," Mary Wohlford told the Associated Press.
Legal and medical experts are not sure her tattoo would amount to a legally binding document in an emergency room or in court.
Dr. Mark Purtle of the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines told the AP that state law spells out when caregivers are permitted to end life-sustaining measures and a tattoo doesn't carry any weight.
Purtle said people should have a living will or an advanced directive and should discuss their wishes with their family. Wohlford does have a living will hanging on the side of her refrigerator.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has finalized a qualified health claim for an association between foods that contain whole grain barley and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Permission to make that qualified health claim applies specifically to whole barley and dry milled barley products such as flakes, grits, flour, meal and barley meal that provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving, according to a statement from the FDA.
Under an interim final rule, the FDA began allowing the claim in December 2005 while at the same time accepting public comments on the rule for 75 days. There were no comments received that warranted changes to the final rule.
Scientific evidence indicates that including barley in a healthy diet can lower levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and total cholesterol and help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the FDA said.
Remicade Approved to Treat Children with Crohn's Disease
The drug Remicade (infliximab) has been approved to treat children with active Crohn's disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Remicade is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody that reduces Crohn's related inflammation of the bowel by blocking the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a). The drug was initially approved in 1998 to treat Crohn's disease in adults.
The approval is based on the results of a study of 112 children, ages 6 to 17, with moderately to severely active Crohn's, who had poor response to conventional therapies. The number of children in the study who responded favorably to the drug was similar to that seen in an earlier study in adults with Crohn's. The children's study did not reveal any new safety concerns that are not currently listed on the drug's label, the FDA said.
There have been no satisfactory treatments for children with Crohn's disease who have moderate to severe disease activity and do not respond to conventional therapy, noted Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"Remicade is not a cure, but it provides a much-needed option for reducing the symptoms and inducing and maintaining disease remission in children who have no other safe and effective therapy," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe that the potential benefits of this product outweigh the risks that are known and have been carefully evaluated."
WHO Wants Tighter Registration of Drug Trials
Drug firms and research organizations should register all human clinical drug trials from the outset in order to prevent negative findings from being kept secret, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently, researchers conducting human drug trials can wait until the study is well along before reporting any results, BBC News reported.
The WHO has created a 20-point checklist outlining the kind of information that should be included in any registry of drug trials before they are started. It also plans to use a new registry platform to provide access to drug trial registries run by corporations, hospitals and institutions, which would have to meet certain WHO standards.
"Registration of all clinical trials and full disclosure of key information at the time of registration are fundamental to ensuring transparency in medical research and fulfilling ethical responsibilities to patients and study participants," said Dr. Timothy Evans, assistant director general of the WHO.
Registration for the new WHO registry would be voluntary, but recent drug scares have prompted growing pressure for more openness about medical research, BBC News reported.
Human Transmission Unlikely in 5 Indonesian Bird Flu Deaths
It's unlikely that human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus was responsible for the deaths of five family members in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.
It was the largest such cluster recorded.
"Current evidence doesn't suggest at all that the virus was passed between humans," Gina Samaan, a WHO field epidemiologist who investigated the deaths, told The New York Times.
The bird flu virus was found in a number of chickens, ducks and pigs in the northern Sumatra village of Kuba Sembelang, where the five victims lived.
There had been some speculation that the five deaths, reported this week, may have been caused by a mutated version of the H5N1 virus that was able to pass from person to person. A sixth family member died of flu-like symptoms but wasn't tested for the virus, the Times reported.
Experts fear that if the H5N1 virus does mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between humans, it could spark a worldwide pandemic that could kill millions.
Indonesian officials announced Friday that bird flu killed a 12-year-old boy from the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, bringing that country's death toll to 32, the Associated Press reported.
So far, bird flu has killed 123 people worldwide since 2003. Only Vietnam, with 42 victims, has a higher death toll than Indonesia.
Michigan Sperm Donor Passed on Rare Genetic Disease
A Michigan man who donated sperm passed a rare and serious genetic disorder -- severe congenital neutropenia -- to five children born to four couples, says a report published Friday in the Journal of Pediatrics. The disease puts the children at increased risk for infections and leukemia.
The four couples were clients of the same sperm bank, which said it has discarded all the remaining samples from that particular sperm donor and informed the man he's no longer allowed to donate sperm, the Associated Press reported.
The sperm bank was not identified in the article. It's not know how many children the sperm donor fathered, whether the donor was aware that he carried the disease before he donated sperm, or whether he was told about his condition after the sperm bank learned about it.
Sperm donors are routinely tested for the most common genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, but not for extremely rare diseases, the AP reported.
The five children are doing fine and leading healthy lives, but they have a 50 percent chance of passing the gene and the disease to their children, experts said.
Iowa Woman Has 'No Resuscitation' Order Tattooed on Chest
An 80-year-old Iowa woman who had "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" tattooed on her chest in February says she did it to make her wishes perfectly clear in case she becomes incapacitated.
"People might think I'm crazy, but that's OK. Sometimes the nuttiest ideas are the most advanced," Mary Wohlford told the Associated Press.
Legal and medical experts are not sure her tattoo would amount to a legally binding document in an emergency room or in court.
Dr. Mark Purtle of the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines told the AP that state law spells out when caregivers are permitted to end life-sustaining measures and a tattoo doesn't carry any weight.
Purtle said people should have a living will or an advanced directive and should discuss their wishes with their family. Wohlford does have a living will hanging on the side of her refrigerator.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Health Headlines - May 19
FDA Panel Endorses Cervical Cancer Vaccine
A drug company hopes to win federal approval early next month for a novel cervical cancer vaccine that it touts as the next biggest thing since the pap test in fighting the No. 2 cancer in women.
Merck & Co. already has won a key endorsement of the vaccine, called Gardasil, from a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee. A final decision by the FDA is expected by June 8.
The vaccine, administered in three shots over six months at a cost of $300 to $500, protects against the two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) believed responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
If Gardasil ultimately wins approval, it could prove a boon to public health, though the cost could hinder its broad use.
"The vaccine community will see this as an opportunity to prevent cancer. They will also see issues of availability and cost," said Dr. Bruce Gellin, a committee member and head of the federal vaccine policy office.
Even though Merck has played up the cancer benefits of Gardasil, it also protects against two other virus types that cause 90 percent of genital wart cases. All four virus types are sexually transmitted.
In fact, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. It affects more than 50 percent of sexually active adults. The cervical cancer it can cause kills about 290,000 women worldwide each year, including 3,500 women in the United States, where regular pap smears often detect precancerous lesions and early cancer.
Merck seeks to license Gardasil in dozens of countries. The Whitehouse Station, N.J. company estimates the vaccine could slash worldwide deaths from cervical cancer by more than two-thirds.
"Gardasil has the potential to meet an unmet medical need as the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer," Merck's Dr. Patrick Brill-Edwards told the Vaccine and Related Biological Products advisory committee. The committee endorsed the vaccine as safe and effective in five separate 13-0 votes late Thursday.
The vaccine is a "wonderful, good step" in helping eradicate cervical cancer, said Dr. Monica Farley, who heads the advisory panel. She is a bacterial infectious disease expert at the Emory University School of Medicine.
During public comment, several speakers said the vaccine should not replace screening. Merck said the drug is not intended to do that. However, it could reduce some of the dread involved in the annual tests by eliminating many of the abnormalities they often turn up, said Dr. Eliav Barr, head of the HPV vaccine program at Merck.
The national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide late in June whether to endorse routine vaccination with the vaccine, including in what age groups.
Merck seeks approval for use of the vaccine in females age 9 to 26. The vaccine works best when given to people before they become sexually active.
That garnered some early opposition to Gardasil, out of concern that it could encourage sexual activity in the preteens and teens. But that largely faded away because of the vaccine's potential for reducing cancer.
Early vaccination remains important, since Gardasil does not necessarily protect against one or more of the four viruses in people already infected before they get the vaccine, and can increase their risk for precursors to cervical cancer. Also, Gardasil does not protect against infection from the many other virus strains not included in the vaccine.
FDA recommends Ketek warning label: WSJ
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewers have linked Sanofi-Aventis SA's antibiotic Ketek to 12 cases of liver failure, including four deaths, and is now recommending the company put a warning label on the drug, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday.
The paper said the cases were reported in a May 16 memo which it has seen from the FDA's Division of Drug Risk Evaluation.
The company said it "continues to believe that Ketek is safe and effective when used as directed," according to a company statement issued to the Journal.
No one could be immediately reached for comment at Sanofi in Paris, where Sanofi shares were down 1.4 percent at 72.65 euros at 0849 GMT, making them the third biggest loser in the CAC-40 index of leading French shares.
U.S. lawmakers have questioned the FDA's 2004 approval of the drug amid charges of faulty data from one of the trials.
Ketek, which was approved to treat respiratory infections, drew renewed scrutiny in January when researchers reported that three patients using the drug developed severe liver damage and one died.
The FDA rejected the drug in 2001 and 2003, asking for more safety information.
A U.S. representative for Sanofi-Aventis could not immediately be reached for further comment.
Novartis drug Diovan cuts heart-damaging protein
A study released by Swiss drug giant Novartis shows that its big-selling blood-pressure pill Diovan also reduces a potentially damaging protein produced during heart attacks and traumatic accidents.
Diovan, one of the biggest-selling hypertension treatments worldwide, cuts so-called C reactive proteins (CRP), inflammation-causing substances produced in large amounts in the body after a heart attack.
The new findings, released on Friday, come from the largest clinical trial to date conducted in a range of moderate to severe high blood pressure patients to investigate whether a blood pressure medication can also lower CRP.
The study showed that Diovan not only lowers blood pressure effectively but also cuts CRP.
Heart attacks are a leading cause of death in developed countries. Patients often survive an attack but if there is extensive damage they are more likely to suffer heart failure.
Everyone has CRP but it is normally at low levels. When a person has a heart attack there is a dramatic rise in the protein. The more CRP, the poorer the prognosis.
CRP levels also rise sharply during trauma, strokes, infection and chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Up to now, cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins were among the few treatments known to lower damaging CRP.
Novartis will release further study details at an American Society of Hypertension (ASH) meeting in New York later on Friday.
A drug company hopes to win federal approval early next month for a novel cervical cancer vaccine that it touts as the next biggest thing since the pap test in fighting the No. 2 cancer in women.
Merck & Co. already has won a key endorsement of the vaccine, called Gardasil, from a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee. A final decision by the FDA is expected by June 8.
The vaccine, administered in three shots over six months at a cost of $300 to $500, protects against the two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) believed responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
If Gardasil ultimately wins approval, it could prove a boon to public health, though the cost could hinder its broad use.
"The vaccine community will see this as an opportunity to prevent cancer. They will also see issues of availability and cost," said Dr. Bruce Gellin, a committee member and head of the federal vaccine policy office.
Even though Merck has played up the cancer benefits of Gardasil, it also protects against two other virus types that cause 90 percent of genital wart cases. All four virus types are sexually transmitted.
In fact, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. It affects more than 50 percent of sexually active adults. The cervical cancer it can cause kills about 290,000 women worldwide each year, including 3,500 women in the United States, where regular pap smears often detect precancerous lesions and early cancer.
Merck seeks to license Gardasil in dozens of countries. The Whitehouse Station, N.J. company estimates the vaccine could slash worldwide deaths from cervical cancer by more than two-thirds.
"Gardasil has the potential to meet an unmet medical need as the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer," Merck's Dr. Patrick Brill-Edwards told the Vaccine and Related Biological Products advisory committee. The committee endorsed the vaccine as safe and effective in five separate 13-0 votes late Thursday.
The vaccine is a "wonderful, good step" in helping eradicate cervical cancer, said Dr. Monica Farley, who heads the advisory panel. She is a bacterial infectious disease expert at the Emory University School of Medicine.
During public comment, several speakers said the vaccine should not replace screening. Merck said the drug is not intended to do that. However, it could reduce some of the dread involved in the annual tests by eliminating many of the abnormalities they often turn up, said Dr. Eliav Barr, head of the HPV vaccine program at Merck.
The national Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide late in June whether to endorse routine vaccination with the vaccine, including in what age groups.
Merck seeks approval for use of the vaccine in females age 9 to 26. The vaccine works best when given to people before they become sexually active.
That garnered some early opposition to Gardasil, out of concern that it could encourage sexual activity in the preteens and teens. But that largely faded away because of the vaccine's potential for reducing cancer.
Early vaccination remains important, since Gardasil does not necessarily protect against one or more of the four viruses in people already infected before they get the vaccine, and can increase their risk for precursors to cervical cancer. Also, Gardasil does not protect against infection from the many other virus strains not included in the vaccine.
FDA recommends Ketek warning label: WSJ
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewers have linked Sanofi-Aventis SA's antibiotic Ketek to 12 cases of liver failure, including four deaths, and is now recommending the company put a warning label on the drug, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday.
The paper said the cases were reported in a May 16 memo which it has seen from the FDA's Division of Drug Risk Evaluation.
The company said it "continues to believe that Ketek is safe and effective when used as directed," according to a company statement issued to the Journal.
No one could be immediately reached for comment at Sanofi in Paris, where Sanofi shares were down 1.4 percent at 72.65 euros at 0849 GMT, making them the third biggest loser in the CAC-40 index of leading French shares.
U.S. lawmakers have questioned the FDA's 2004 approval of the drug amid charges of faulty data from one of the trials.
Ketek, which was approved to treat respiratory infections, drew renewed scrutiny in January when researchers reported that three patients using the drug developed severe liver damage and one died.
The FDA rejected the drug in 2001 and 2003, asking for more safety information.
A U.S. representative for Sanofi-Aventis could not immediately be reached for further comment.
Novartis drug Diovan cuts heart-damaging protein
A study released by Swiss drug giant Novartis shows that its big-selling blood-pressure pill Diovan also reduces a potentially damaging protein produced during heart attacks and traumatic accidents.
Diovan, one of the biggest-selling hypertension treatments worldwide, cuts so-called C reactive proteins (CRP), inflammation-causing substances produced in large amounts in the body after a heart attack.
The new findings, released on Friday, come from the largest clinical trial to date conducted in a range of moderate to severe high blood pressure patients to investigate whether a blood pressure medication can also lower CRP.
The study showed that Diovan not only lowers blood pressure effectively but also cuts CRP.
Heart attacks are a leading cause of death in developed countries. Patients often survive an attack but if there is extensive damage they are more likely to suffer heart failure.
Everyone has CRP but it is normally at low levels. When a person has a heart attack there is a dramatic rise in the protein. The more CRP, the poorer the prognosis.
CRP levels also rise sharply during trauma, strokes, infection and chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Up to now, cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins were among the few treatments known to lower damaging CRP.
Novartis will release further study details at an American Society of Hypertension (ASH) meeting in New York later on Friday.
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