30 Percent Hike in Kidney Failure Among Cats Recorded in Pet Food Recall
During the three months that contaminated pet food was sold in the United States, there was a 30 percent increase in kidney failure among cats, the Associated Press reported.
The finding was reported Monday by Banfield, The Pet Hospital, a large veterinary hospital chain, from data out of more than 615 of its clinics. The chain's analysis showed that 3 out of every 10,000 cats and dogs seen at the clinics developed kidney disease during the time that more than 100 brands of pet food contaminated with the chemical melamine were on the market.
The Canadian pet food company, Menu Foods, initiated a massive, nationwide recall March 16 after finding that imported wheat gluten, used to make gravy in its moist pet foods, was tainted with melamine, a toxin used in plastic kitchenware. That recall was followed by others, including 20 brands of popular dog biscuits, as more pet food companies tracked their own batches of wheat gluten back to one single company in China.
During the period when the now-recalled pet food was being sold, Banfield clinics saw an extra 284 cases of kidney failure among cats, about 30 percent higher than normal. But it's not clear whether those cats actually ate the contaminated pet food, the AP reported.
Since the first pet food recall was announced three weeks ago, Banfield clinics have seen 1,605 cats and dogs reported to have eaten the recalled food. Five of the cats and one dog died, the clinic reported.
In related news, the founder of the Veterinary Information Network said Monday that 5,000 to 10,000 pets may have fallen ill after eating the contaminated food, and 1,000 to 2,000 pets may have died, the AP reported. The estimate is based on a survey of 1,400 members of the network.
The Web site petconnection.com, meanwhile, said that it has received reports of 3,5987 pet deaths linked to the contaminated food, but noted that those numbers have not been confirmed.
As of last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still did not have an official tally of pet deaths, beyond the 16 confirmed in the initial days of the recall. But officials said, the agency had received more than 12,000 complaints that it was investigating.
-----
FDA Memo Warns on Vioxx Successor
If safer alternatives are available, U.S. regulators should not approve new painkiller drugs in the same class as Vioxx that boost the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a Food and Drug Administration document.
The March 21 memorandum was released Tuesday, ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting Thursday to consider a new painkiller called Arcoxia, which is the successor to Merck now-withdrawn blockbuster Vioxx, the Associated Press reported.
Vioxx, a Cox-2 inhibitor, was pulled from the market in 2004 after it was linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Arcoxia is also a Cox-2 inhibitor. Merck, which wants FDA approval to sell Arcoxia to treat the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, already sells the drug in 60 other countries.
Cox-2 inhibitors are a type of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In the March 21 memorandum, the FDA said NSAIDS should only be approved if they fill an unmet need for a particular group of patients for whom there are no safer treatment options, the AP reported.
The FDA said potential risks to the cardiovascular system will be the focus on any evaluation of Arcoxia and similar drugs.
-----
Canadians Consume Too Much Salt: Report
A new report says that 85 percent of adult males and 60 percent of adult females in Canada eat too much salt, which increases their risk for health problems such as high blood pressure.
The new issue of Statistics Canada's Health Reports said that average daily salt intake in 2004 for Canadians ages 19 to 70 was 3,093 mg. Males ages 14 to 30 consumed more than 4,000 mg a day.
The maximum daily intake for people aged 9 to 50 should be 1,500 mg, and less for younger and older people, the National Post reported.
People in Quebec and British Columbia had the highest salt consumption (more than 3,300 mg per day), while people in Ontario had the lowest (2,871 mg).
But it could be worse. A similar study in the United States found that Americans consume an average of about 200 mg more salt a day than Canadians, the Post reported.
-----
Most Dieters Gain More Weight Than They Lose: Report
People who diet can end up gaining back more weight than they originally lost, a new U.S. study reports.
University of California, Los Angeles researchers reviewed 31 previous studies and found that people typically lose between 5 percent and 10 percent of their weight during the first six months of a diet. But within five years, two-thirds of dieters had put on more weight than they lost, BBC News reported.
This is potentially dangerous, because losing and gaining weight is associated with heart disease and stroke, the researchers said. Their findings appear in the April issue of the journal American Psychologist.
"Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people," said lead researcher Traci Mann. "We concluded most of them would have been better off not going on the diet at all. Their weight would have been pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear of losing weight and gaining it all back."
Too many people approach dieting as a short-term measure, Dr. Ian Campbell, medical director of Weight Concern in the U.K., told BBC News. He was not involved in the study.
"Keeping weight off is a lifelong challenge. It is just like heart disease or mental health problems, if you stop taking your medicine you can get worse," Campbell said.
-----
U.S. Senate Set to Pass Stem Cell Research Bill
The U.S. Senate this week is expected to pass another stem cell research bill, which will be vetoed by President George Bush, the St. Petersburg Times in Florida reported.
The bill would permit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund research on stem cells harvested from unused embryos that would otherwise be discarded at in-vitro fertilization clinics. Currently, federal funding is limited to research on 21 lines of embryonic stem cells, all created before Aug. 9, 2001. Those stem cell lines are limited in number and quality.
The House passed the bill in January. Bush vetoed the same bill last year and said he will veto this one, even though polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans support the proposal, the Times reported. Bush and other opponents of this approach liken it to abortion because the embryo has to be destroyed in order to collect the stem cells.
Another stem cell bill proposed by conservatives is also expected to be passed by the Senate this week. The bill instructs the NIH to gather stem cells from other sources, including amniotic fluid and embryos that are no longer viable, the Times reported.
No comments:
Post a Comment