Health Headlines - August 14

No Ill Effects From Exercise By Older People with Hypertension

Older people with mild hypertension -- high blood pressure -- don't have to worry about moderate exercise, Johns Hopkins researchers say.

The increase in their blood pressure resulting from limited exercise is normal and lasts only for a short while, they conclude. So, older people with slightly elevated blood pressure should know that, generally speaking, exercise is good for them.

According to the Associated Press, the findings come after scientists from the Johns Hopkins University Heart Institute studied 105 men and women between the ages of 55 and 75 who had untreated, mild hypertension. After six months, the researchers concluded that the results from exercise were, by-and-large, the same as those for people who didn't suffer from high blood pressure. And for good measure, the study participants lost an average of 4 pounds each.

"Among people who are otherwise healthy except for mild hypertension -- which represents an awful lot of people -- the message is, after a proper screening, participating in an exercise program appears to be beneficial," the wire service quotes lead research Dr. Kerry Stewart as saying.

Thousands of Summer Reading Program Toys Recalled

A library summer reading program that spanned 41 states has resulted in a toy recall.

According to stories in the Springfield, Ohio News-Sun and the Associated Press, thousands of bendable toy dogs and cats that were part of the reading program were discovered to have been contaminated with lead.

The reading program, called "Paws, Claws, Scales, and Tails," was prepackaged and distributed by Highsmith Co. of Fort Atkinson, Wisc. The flexible cats and dogs, which were part of the package and made in China, contained four times the acceptable amount of lead, a company spokesperson told the newspaper. This resulted in the recall.

Through its local and state affiliates, the American Library Association is alerting the families of the children who participated in the program. The dogs and cats were given as awards for meeting or exceeding the reading requirements in the program.

This is no daunting task. "They went very quickly. They were very cute," the A.P. quotes Linda DeCramer, the children's librarian in Ripon, Wisc. as saying. The toys are described as slightly less than 4 inches long, small enough to be sucked or chewed on by a child.

HIV Prevention Pill Needs More Study

Can a pill taken once a day prevent HIV infection?

There's some evidence that a drug called Viread (tenofovir) -- already approved for treating HIV/AIDS in combination with other drugs -- might do the job, but it's going to take a larger study to make sure, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The first test of Viread as an HIV preventative, the wire service reports, was in Africa, and fewer people became infected when they took the drug. The problem was that very few people in the control group -- the study subjects who took a placebo -- became infected either, so a larger study is needed to determine Viread's effectiveness.

The results of the Africa study were released in Toronto Saturday, as health professionals gathered for the International AIDS Conference. "It's incredibly encouraging," the A.P. quotes Dr. Helene Gayle, president of the antipoverty group CARE and co-chair of the conference, as saying. The drug "would be an incredibly important new prevention tool that we should make available as soon as possible," she added.

Initial research on animals has indicated that taking Viread before being exposed to HIV, either through drugs or sex, could help prevent infection, the wire service reported.

Dehydration Poses Danger In Airline On Board Liquid Ban

The new ban on air travelers carrying any liquids with them when they board a flight carries a threat of dehydration for some people with medical conditions, the Associated Press reports.

As a result, the wire service reports, at least one airline -- Atlanta-based Delta -- is adding extra supplies of bottled water on board. Water, soda and nutritional drinks are banned from being brought aboard a plane under the new regulations implemented after British law enforcement officials arrested a number of men in connection with a plot that would have involved mixing liquids to make a bomb.

The possibility of dehydration does pose a problem for some people who need to keep their body chemistry constantly in balance. "Some people can't eat ordinary airline food," the A.P. quotes Dr. David Freedman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham as saying. Freedman noted the problems faced by people who rely on Ensure and other over-the-counter nutritional supplement drinks, which have been banned.

Dehydration can pose some dangers, Dr. Marc Siegel, an internal medicine physician with the New York University School of Medicine, told the wire service. It is especially dangerous for those with diseased hearts or kidneys, he said. "Though I'm not calling this life-threatening, dehydration is not a good state for anyone ill to be in," Siegel is quoted as saying.

Internet Drug Purchases Can be Dangerous: Study

The dangers of buying drugs from online pharmacies are highlighted in a British study published in the current issue of The Lancet medical journal.

The study cites the case of a 64-year woman who went blind after four years of taking drugs she bought on the Internet, Britain's Independent newspaper reported. The woman self-diagnosed herself with chronic fatigue syndrome and, on the advice of a neighbor, bought oral steroids from an online pharmacy in Thailand.

As she suffered vision loss, doctors found cataracts in both eyes and signs of glaucoma, both side effects of steroid use. The study authors warned doctors to be alert for patients who may have bought drugs online, the Independent reported.

"Some of the drug therapies can be counterfeit and contain a concoction of compounds that bear little resemblance to the drug names on the bottle," the study authors noted.

"Even if the patient receives the actual drug, there are many problems with this unchecked availability, including interactions with coexisting treatment, side effects, and the lack of careful medical monitoring," they wrote.

FDA Adds Raw Clams to Pacific Northwest Shellfish Warning

Raw clams from the Pacific Northwest were added Friday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's list of raw shellfish from the region that should be avoided because they may harbor disease-causing bacteria.

The agency issued its first warning July 31 that people shouldn't eat raw oysters from the region, saying the shellfish could harbor Vibro parahaemolyticus (VP), which could cause gastrointestinal problems among healthy consumers and more serious illnesses like blood infection (septicemia) in the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.

VP is a natural bacteria that's most prevalent during summer, the agency said. The FDA attributed its warnings to an "unusual increase" in the number of recent cases of gastrointestinal illness attributed to Pacific Northwest shellfish. The region's shellfish are distributed nationwide.