Attitudes Toward Overweight People Changing: U.S. Survey
Being fat isn't as much of a social problem as it used to be in the United States.
Over the past 20 years, the percentage of Americans who consider overweight people to be less attractive declined from 55 percent to 24 percent, says a survey by the market research firm NDP Group.
The survey of 1,900 people also found other indications that people have more relaxed attitudes about weight and diet, the Associated Press reported.
In 2005, 26 percent of people said they're trying to "avoid snacking entirely," compared with 45 percent in 1985. The survey also found that 75 percent of people surveyed last year said they had low-fat, no-fat, or reduced fat products during the previous two weeks, compared with 86 percent of respondents in 1999.
In 1989, salads as a main course accounted for 10 percent of all restaurant meals. That dropped to 5.5 percent in 2005.
However, the recent survey did find that many Americans do want to shed pounds. The new survey found that 61 percent of respondents said they'd like to lose 20 pounds, compared to 54 percent in 1985, the AP reported.
The 2005 survey also found that obese girls and boys were half as likely to date as their normal weight peers. The findings will be published in February in the journal Rationality and Society.
Scientist Apologizes for Stem Cell Research Scandal
Disgraced South Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-Suk apologized Thursday but insisted that junior researchers were really to blame for fake findings published last year in the journal Science.
Hwang said the human embryonic stem cell research was doctored without his knowledge and called for an investigation into the matter, the Washington Post reported.
"I sincerely apologize to the nation and the international community for using erroneous data in the papers," Hwang told a news conference in Seoul. "I was responsible for going over the data thoroughly, and if I had done so, we would have been able to avoid this huge crisis."
His apology comes two days after an academic panel at Seoul National University, where most of Hwang's team did its research, concluded that claims of extracting stem cells from cloned human embryos were faked.
The research had been hailed as a breakthrough and gave hope to millions of people with incurable diseases.
On Wednesday, the president of Seoul National University apologized for the scandal, calling it a "blemish on the whole scientific community, as well as our country" and a "criminal act in academia," the Post reported.
$1.5 Billion Needed to Fight Bird Flu: UN
In order to fight bird flu and prepare for a possible human pandemic, international groups and poor nations need about $1.5 billion, according to the United Nations coordinator on avian and human influenza.
Dr. David Nabarro said he was hopeful that countries will donate more than $1 billion next week in Beijing at the first international donors' conference to finance efforts to fight bird flu, the Associated Press reported.
"Fingers-crossed, it's going to be a good-sized pledge. I think most of the countries are aware of the seriousness and the need to move money to poor countries," Nabarro said at a news conference Wednesday.
The $1.5 billion figure he cited would only fund the start of efforts to fight bird flu and much more would be needed in the event of human pandemic, Nabarro said.
"I'm sad to say we have not had a significant influx of cash for bird flu over the last two years since we've really started to get worried about it," he told reporters.
Since 2003, bird flu has infected domestic bird flocks in 16 countries and 78 people have died of the disease. Experts fear the H5N1 bird flu virus may mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between humans.
Meanwhile, experts are still trying to learn more about the outbreak in Turkey, the first outside of eastern Asia to have human cases and the first one in the world to have so many separate domestic poultry outbreaks simultaneously.
In a single week, Turkey announced bird flu outbreaks in 16 areas. Outbreaks in Asia have been more sporadic. Experts haven't yet determined exactly how the outbreaks are occurring in Turkey, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Watch for Early Signs of Meningitis: Study
Parents and doctors need to be aware of the early symptoms of meningitis, which include leg pain, cold hands and feet, and abnormally pale or mottled skin color. These symptoms can appear within eight hours of infection, says an Oxford University study in the online edition of The Lancet medical journal.
These earlier signs differ from the "classic" signs -- including a red rash combined with headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and impaired consciousness -- which can take an average of 13 to 22 hours to appear. By then it may be too late for doctors to act, researchers said.
The study noted that watching for the earlier symptoms may help doctors make a quicker diagnosis, begin treatment and save lives, London's Daily Mail reported.
The Oxford team studied 448 children who contracted the most dangerous bacterial form of meningitis. Most of the children had only mild symptoms in the first four to six hours after infection, but were close to death within 24 hours.
The researchers said that doctors are too reliant on the classic symptoms when diagnosing meningitis and that, in many cases, children with meningitis are only admitted to a hospital after being initially misdiagnosed, the Daily Mail reported.
Congress Investigating Drug Industry Educational Grants
Educational grants given by U.S. drug companies are growing rapidly and are sometimes awarded to doctors and groups who advocate unapproved uses of drugs, a U.S. Congressional investigation has found.
The Senate Finance Committee said that 23 drug makers spent $1.47 billion in 2004 on educational grants. That works out to an average of $64 million per company, The New York Times reported.
The 2004 amount is a 20 percent increase from the $1.23 billion spent on educational grants in 2003.
The committee didn't offer an estimate of what percentage of those supposed educational grants was actually used for marketing. However, in a letter sent to drug maker Johnson & Johnson, the Senate Finance Committee suggested the practice was widespread in the drug industry, the Times reported.
"If drug companies are crossing the line with these grants and influencing providers to make treatment decisions they might not otherwise make, that's a problem and we're going to tackle that," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), the committee's ranking minority member.
Food Fact:
Zest for life.
If you throw away an orange peel, you're discarding material that could guard your health. Zest - the grated citrus skin - is rich in health-protective limonene. To grate zest, start with organic fruit, since the skin of non-organic citrus may contain pesticides. Press a piece of wax paper or baking parchment over the grater's smallest holes. Scrub the fruit and rub the rind over the paper-covered grater. When you've finished grating, carefully remove the paper, scrape off the zest and add it to vegetable dishes, tomato sauce and desserts.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Shop 'til you drop...pounds.
When you walk around the mall, you'll get more than you bargained for: A leg up on fitness. Mall walking is a perfect way to make exercise feel less like a chore and more a part of daily life. Shopping centers are heated in winter, air-conditioned in summer, safe, well lit, and free of snapping dogs and pollen. Not only will you burn calories and tone your legs, if you maintain good posture when you walk, you'll give your abs a workout. Keep yourself straight up while holding in your ab muscles; every step becomes a mini sit-up. Most of us lean forward when we walk, but we can catch ourselves easily at the mall: Just check your posture in your reflection in the windows.
FAQ of the day:
If I'm taking a blood thinner, should I avoid fish?
Eating fish or shellfish is not only safe in your case -- it's a good idea. But stay away from fish-oil capsules, which may give you higher doses of blood-thinning omega-3s than you'd get even from very fatty fish. The capsules might interfere with your medication, which has been prescribed at a certain dose based on your medical needs. (The same goes for any other blood-thinning medication.) Too much blood "thinning" can be as dangerous as too little, possibly increasing the risk of stroke.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Health Headlines - January 11
2 Bird Flu Patients in Turkey Have No Symptoms
Two young brothers in Turkey who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus have shown no symptoms.
Doctors say they're not sure if this is a sign that infection with this virus does not always result in illness or if the doctors are for the first time witnessing the earliest stages of the disease, the International Herald Tribune reported.
"The two brothers are a very interesting finding that may for the first time give us a chance to monitor the human response to the disease," said Dr. Guenael Rodier, head of a World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the bird flu outbreak in Turkey.
Experts are still trying to learn more about the outbreak in Turkey, the first outside of eastern Asia to have human cases and the first one in the world to have so many separate domestic poultry outbreaks simultaneously.
In a single week, Turkey announced bird flu outbreaks in 16 areas. Outbreaks in Asia have been more sporadic. Experts haven't yet determined exactly how the outbreaks are occurring in Turkey, the International Herald Tribune reported.
On Wednesday, the WHO tried to calm fears of a massive bird flu outbreak in Turkey. It told citizens not to panic but urged them to avoid contact with sick or dead poultry, the Associated Press reported.
It's believed that 15 people in Turkey have been infected with the bird flu virus within the last week. That's the largest number of human cases in one week since the virus first appeared in Asia in 2003. Two children in Turkey have died of bird flu and the virus is suspected to have killed another child, the AP said.
So far, the worldwide death toll from bird flu is 78.
Watch for Early Signs of Meningitis: Study
Parents and doctors need to be aware of the early symptoms of meningitis, which include leg pain, cold hands and feet, and abnormally pale or mottled skin color. These symptoms can appear within eight hours of infection, says an Oxford University study in the online edition of The Lancet medical journal.
These earlier signs differ from the "classic" signs -- including a red rash combined with headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and impaired consciousness -- which can take an average of 13 to 22 hours to appear. By then it may be too late for doctors to act, researchers said.
The study noted that watching for the earlier symptoms may help doctors make a quicker diagnosis, begin treatment and save lives, London's Daily Mail reported.
The Oxford team studied 448 children who contracted the most dangerous bacterial form of meningitis. Most of the children had only mild symptoms in the first four to six hours after infection, but were close to death within 24 hours.
The researchers said that doctors are too reliant on the classic symptoms when diagnosing meningitis and that, in many cases, children with meningitis are only admitted to a hospital after being initially misdiagnosed, the Daily Mail reported.
Congress Investigating Drug Industry Educational Grants
Educational grants given by U.S. drug companies are growing rapidly and are sometimes awarded to doctors and groups who advocate unapproved uses of drugs, a U.S. Congressional investigation has found.
The Senate Finance Committee said that 23 drug makers spent $1.47 billion in 2004 on educational grants. That works out to an average of $64 million per company, The New York Times reported.
The 2004 amount is a 20 percent increase from the $1.23 billion spent on educational grants in 2003.
The committee didn't offer an estimate of what percentage of those supposed educational grants was actually used for marketing. However, in a letter sent to drug maker Johnson & Johnson, the Senate Finance Committee suggested the practice was widespread in the drug industry, the Times reported.
"If drug companies are crossing the line with these grants and influencing providers to make treatment decisions they might not otherwise make, that's a problem and we're going to tackle that," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), the committee's ranking minority member.
7 Percent of U.S. Employees Drink on the Job, Survey Says
Slightly more than 7 percent of American workers drink on the job and 9 percent have nursed a hangover at work.
Those are the findings of a national survey of 2,805 adult employees, which showed that 15 percent reported being directly affected by alcohol at work -- either by drinking on the job, drinking just before going to work, or suffering a hangover while at work, the Associated Press reported.
For 19 percent of the workers, this type of behavior was a monthly habit, while 11 percent of the survey respondents reported weekly alcohol use or impairment. Lunch was the preferred time to drink.
The study, conducted by the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, appears in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
Doctors Hope to Remove Sharon From All Sedatives
Doctors said Wednesday that they hope to remove Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from all remaining sedatives that are keeping him in a coma, but hospital officials also said people shouldn't be overly optimistic about Sharon's chances for recovery from the massive stroke he suffered a week ago.
Sharon is no longer in immediate danger, but it will be days before doctors can assess the full extent of brain damage, the Associated Press reported.
On Monday, doctors began to decrease the amount of sedatives being given to Sharon, who started breathing on his own and showed slight movement in his right arm and right leg in response to pain stimulation.
On Tuesday, there was increased movement on his right side and his left arm also moved in response to stimulation, the AP reported.
Sharon suffered an initial stroke on Dec. 18 and doctors put him on blood thinners. It was later discovered that Sharon has cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a disease that can cause brain bleeding. That has raised questions about the doctors' decision to put Sharon on blood thinners. Hospital officials defended the treatment decision.
FDA Drug Approvals Down in 2005
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 20 new drugs in 2005, a sharp decline from the 36 approved in 2004. This is only the second time in the last 10 years that the number of newly approved drugs was lower than the number approved in the previous year, The New York Times reported.
Another rare situation last year saw several major drug companies -- including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson -- fail to gain FDA approval for drugs the companies invented in their own labs.
Even though drug approvals were down, research spending by the pharmaceutical industry in 2005 hit a new high: more than $38 billion.
According to some experts, the drug industry is in a cyclical trough. They predict the number of new drugs receiving FDA approval will increase over the next few years as drug company research investments begin to pay off, the Times reported.
Both the FDA and the drug companies say improvements are needed in the process for testing and developing new drugs.
Health Tip: Cross the Street Safely
Parents and educators must remember to teach children the safe way to cross a street.
Here's a list of suggestions, courtesy of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh:
Teach children what traffic signs mean.
Before they cross, make sure children stop at the curb. Never run into the street.
Teach children to look left, right, and left again before they cross.
Teach children to cross at the street corner and always walk within the painted lines.
Make sure children are aware of their surroundings while crossing.
Warn children not to run or walk between parked cars.
Health Tip: Using a Rectal Thermometer
New parents may cringe at the thought of taking a child's temperature through the rectum. However, the Nemours Foundation advises, this is the most convenient way to receive a quick and accurate reading for children younger than 3 months.
Here are some suggestions:
Lubricate the tip of the thermometer.
Place the child facedown across your lap while supporting his head, or lay the child down on a firm surface.
Place one hand on your child's lower back.
Use the other hand to insert the thermometer through the anal opening, about an inch into it. If you feel resistance, stop.
Steady the thermometer between your second and third fingers as you cup your hand against the baby's bottom.
Soothe your child by speaking calmly.
Food Fact:
Citrus alert.
If you're taking certain medications, your doctor will want to know if you're a grapefruit juice drinker. There's a chemical in grapefruit and grapefruit juice that inhibits the enzyme needed to break down many drugs, including antihistamines, calcium-channel blockers (used to treat high blood pressure), immunosuppressants (taken by organ-transplant patients), sedatives and protease inhibitors (treatment for AIDS). As a result, blood levels of these drugs may stay high, with serious side effects.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Highway to health.
Wellness doesn't have to be expensive -- walking is an economical first step. It's easy, too. What better way to make exercise feel less like a chore and more a part of daily life? Some of the benefits of daily walks include reducing your risk of developing high blood pressure, lowering existing high blood pressure, lowering your risk of developing colon cancer, and reducing your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
FAQ of the day:
Is fish less nutritious if it's handled poorly?
Extended cooking, or cooking at a very high heat, can destroy heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, as can exposure to light and air. Try not to overcook fish, and stay away from the deep-fat fish fry. It's better to bake, broil, poach, steam or grill until the fish is just done, no more.
Two young brothers in Turkey who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus have shown no symptoms.
Doctors say they're not sure if this is a sign that infection with this virus does not always result in illness or if the doctors are for the first time witnessing the earliest stages of the disease, the International Herald Tribune reported.
"The two brothers are a very interesting finding that may for the first time give us a chance to monitor the human response to the disease," said Dr. Guenael Rodier, head of a World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the bird flu outbreak in Turkey.
Experts are still trying to learn more about the outbreak in Turkey, the first outside of eastern Asia to have human cases and the first one in the world to have so many separate domestic poultry outbreaks simultaneously.
In a single week, Turkey announced bird flu outbreaks in 16 areas. Outbreaks in Asia have been more sporadic. Experts haven't yet determined exactly how the outbreaks are occurring in Turkey, the International Herald Tribune reported.
On Wednesday, the WHO tried to calm fears of a massive bird flu outbreak in Turkey. It told citizens not to panic but urged them to avoid contact with sick or dead poultry, the Associated Press reported.
It's believed that 15 people in Turkey have been infected with the bird flu virus within the last week. That's the largest number of human cases in one week since the virus first appeared in Asia in 2003. Two children in Turkey have died of bird flu and the virus is suspected to have killed another child, the AP said.
So far, the worldwide death toll from bird flu is 78.
Watch for Early Signs of Meningitis: Study
Parents and doctors need to be aware of the early symptoms of meningitis, which include leg pain, cold hands and feet, and abnormally pale or mottled skin color. These symptoms can appear within eight hours of infection, says an Oxford University study in the online edition of The Lancet medical journal.
These earlier signs differ from the "classic" signs -- including a red rash combined with headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and impaired consciousness -- which can take an average of 13 to 22 hours to appear. By then it may be too late for doctors to act, researchers said.
The study noted that watching for the earlier symptoms may help doctors make a quicker diagnosis, begin treatment and save lives, London's Daily Mail reported.
The Oxford team studied 448 children who contracted the most dangerous bacterial form of meningitis. Most of the children had only mild symptoms in the first four to six hours after infection, but were close to death within 24 hours.
The researchers said that doctors are too reliant on the classic symptoms when diagnosing meningitis and that, in many cases, children with meningitis are only admitted to a hospital after being initially misdiagnosed, the Daily Mail reported.
Congress Investigating Drug Industry Educational Grants
Educational grants given by U.S. drug companies are growing rapidly and are sometimes awarded to doctors and groups who advocate unapproved uses of drugs, a U.S. Congressional investigation has found.
The Senate Finance Committee said that 23 drug makers spent $1.47 billion in 2004 on educational grants. That works out to an average of $64 million per company, The New York Times reported.
The 2004 amount is a 20 percent increase from the $1.23 billion spent on educational grants in 2003.
The committee didn't offer an estimate of what percentage of those supposed educational grants was actually used for marketing. However, in a letter sent to drug maker Johnson & Johnson, the Senate Finance Committee suggested the practice was widespread in the drug industry, the Times reported.
"If drug companies are crossing the line with these grants and influencing providers to make treatment decisions they might not otherwise make, that's a problem and we're going to tackle that," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), the committee's ranking minority member.
7 Percent of U.S. Employees Drink on the Job, Survey Says
Slightly more than 7 percent of American workers drink on the job and 9 percent have nursed a hangover at work.
Those are the findings of a national survey of 2,805 adult employees, which showed that 15 percent reported being directly affected by alcohol at work -- either by drinking on the job, drinking just before going to work, or suffering a hangover while at work, the Associated Press reported.
For 19 percent of the workers, this type of behavior was a monthly habit, while 11 percent of the survey respondents reported weekly alcohol use or impairment. Lunch was the preferred time to drink.
The study, conducted by the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, appears in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
Doctors Hope to Remove Sharon From All Sedatives
Doctors said Wednesday that they hope to remove Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from all remaining sedatives that are keeping him in a coma, but hospital officials also said people shouldn't be overly optimistic about Sharon's chances for recovery from the massive stroke he suffered a week ago.
Sharon is no longer in immediate danger, but it will be days before doctors can assess the full extent of brain damage, the Associated Press reported.
On Monday, doctors began to decrease the amount of sedatives being given to Sharon, who started breathing on his own and showed slight movement in his right arm and right leg in response to pain stimulation.
On Tuesday, there was increased movement on his right side and his left arm also moved in response to stimulation, the AP reported.
Sharon suffered an initial stroke on Dec. 18 and doctors put him on blood thinners. It was later discovered that Sharon has cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a disease that can cause brain bleeding. That has raised questions about the doctors' decision to put Sharon on blood thinners. Hospital officials defended the treatment decision.
FDA Drug Approvals Down in 2005
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 20 new drugs in 2005, a sharp decline from the 36 approved in 2004. This is only the second time in the last 10 years that the number of newly approved drugs was lower than the number approved in the previous year, The New York Times reported.
Another rare situation last year saw several major drug companies -- including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson -- fail to gain FDA approval for drugs the companies invented in their own labs.
Even though drug approvals were down, research spending by the pharmaceutical industry in 2005 hit a new high: more than $38 billion.
According to some experts, the drug industry is in a cyclical trough. They predict the number of new drugs receiving FDA approval will increase over the next few years as drug company research investments begin to pay off, the Times reported.
Both the FDA and the drug companies say improvements are needed in the process for testing and developing new drugs.
Health Tip: Cross the Street Safely
Parents and educators must remember to teach children the safe way to cross a street.
Here's a list of suggestions, courtesy of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh:
Teach children what traffic signs mean.
Before they cross, make sure children stop at the curb. Never run into the street.
Teach children to look left, right, and left again before they cross.
Teach children to cross at the street corner and always walk within the painted lines.
Make sure children are aware of their surroundings while crossing.
Warn children not to run or walk between parked cars.
Health Tip: Using a Rectal Thermometer
New parents may cringe at the thought of taking a child's temperature through the rectum. However, the Nemours Foundation advises, this is the most convenient way to receive a quick and accurate reading for children younger than 3 months.
Here are some suggestions:
Lubricate the tip of the thermometer.
Place the child facedown across your lap while supporting his head, or lay the child down on a firm surface.
Place one hand on your child's lower back.
Use the other hand to insert the thermometer through the anal opening, about an inch into it. If you feel resistance, stop.
Steady the thermometer between your second and third fingers as you cup your hand against the baby's bottom.
Soothe your child by speaking calmly.
Food Fact:
Citrus alert.
If you're taking certain medications, your doctor will want to know if you're a grapefruit juice drinker. There's a chemical in grapefruit and grapefruit juice that inhibits the enzyme needed to break down many drugs, including antihistamines, calcium-channel blockers (used to treat high blood pressure), immunosuppressants (taken by organ-transplant patients), sedatives and protease inhibitors (treatment for AIDS). As a result, blood levels of these drugs may stay high, with serious side effects.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Highway to health.
Wellness doesn't have to be expensive -- walking is an economical first step. It's easy, too. What better way to make exercise feel less like a chore and more a part of daily life? Some of the benefits of daily walks include reducing your risk of developing high blood pressure, lowering existing high blood pressure, lowering your risk of developing colon cancer, and reducing your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
FAQ of the day:
Is fish less nutritious if it's handled poorly?
Extended cooking, or cooking at a very high heat, can destroy heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, as can exposure to light and air. Try not to overcook fish, and stay away from the deep-fat fish fry. It's better to bake, broil, poach, steam or grill until the fish is just done, no more.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Health Headlines - January 10
S. Korean Researcher Faked All Stem Cell Findings, Panel Concludes
South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk faked all his claims to have cloned human embryonic stem cells, but he did create the world's first cloned dog, a Seoul National University investigating panel announced Tuesday.
The academic panel report said that Hwang "did not have any proof to show that cloned embryonic stem cells were ever created." The panel's findings contradict claims in Hwang's 2004 paper in the journal Science that he cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them, the Associated Press reported.
"The 2004 paper was written on fabricated data to show that the stem cells match the DNA of the provider, although they didn't," the panel wrote.
The university panel's conclusions cap the dramatic fall of Hwang, once hailed as a pioneer in the field of stem cell research.
The news that Hwang faked his human stem cell research, including what was declared a breakthrough in a 2005 Science paper, may be viewed by some scientists and patients as a major disappointment. The discredited scientist's claims about his human cloning research offered hope to millions of people with diseases such as AIDS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, the AP reported.
Scientists believe that human stem cells may eventually be able to be used to treat numerous diseases. However, Hwang was the only scientist to have claimed success in extracting stem cells from embryos.
While the panel upheld Hwang's claim to have created the world's first cloned dog, that's not regarded as a major achievement because scientists had already created a number of cloned animals.
FDA Approves New Treatment Method for Immune Disorder
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vivaglobin, a self-administered treatment for people with an immune disorder called primary immunodeficiency.
Vivaglobin provides these patients with a way of getting regular boosts of infection-fighting immune globulin that healthy people have in their bloodstream, the Associated Press reported.
People with primary immunodeficiency need these replacement antibodies to prevent recurring, life-threatening infections. Currently, these patients have to be given regular injections of the antibodies.
Vivaglobin enables them to use a small, portable pump to self-administer the immune globin subcutaneously and do without direct needle injections into a vein, the AP reported.
The new treatment is made by ZLB Behring of King of Prussia, Pa. Currently, there are an estimated 50,000 primary immunodeficiency patients in the United States.
Face Transplant Patient Regaining Sensation
The 38-year-old French woman who had the world's first partial face transplant in November is regaining sensation in her new lips, nose and chin, her psychiatrist reported.
While the woman, Isabelle, can tell where she is being touched on the new areas of her face, it appears she has not yet regained the ability to feel temperature in those areas, Dr. Daniele Bachmann told the Associated Press.
"She is very happy, she is doing very well," Bachmann said.
Isabelle is being transferred between medical centers in Lyon and Amiens for treatment. Bachmann couldn't say how long Isabelle will remain hospitalized.
The groundbreaking surgery was performed in Amiens on Nov. 27 using a nose, chin and lips from a brain-dead donor. Isabelle's face was disfigured last year when she was mauled by her pet dog.
Newer Football Helmet Lowers Concussion Risk
A newer kind of football helmet that offers increased protection for the temple and jaw may reduce the risk of concussion injuries, says a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study.
The three-year study of 2,141 high school football players found that those who wore the Revolution helmet had a concussion rate of 5.3 percent, compared with 7.6 percent for players who wore standard helmets, the Associated Press reported.
Players who wore the Revolution helmet were 31 percent less likely to suffer a concussion, researchers concluded. However, they found that helmet type made no difference in how long players took to recover from concussions.
The study, which appears in the February issue of the journal Neurosurgery, was funded by helmet maker Riddell. The Revolution helmet was introduced in 2002.
Sharon Displays Slight Movement
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had slight movement in his right arm and right leg during pain stimuli tests on Monday and was in critical but stable condition Tuesday, CNN reported.
"We noted that the prime minister slightly moved his right arm and right leg. It was a very slight movement but a significant one," Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, told reporters.
The pain stimuli tests were conducted after doctors began to bring Sharon out of a medically induced coma. Sharon, who has not opened his eyes, remains attached to a ventilator, CNN reported.
Sharon suffered a major stroke on the right side of his brain last Wednesday.
It's not yet possible to conduct cognitive function tests to determine how much damage Sharon's brain has suffered, said Dr. Felix Umansky, head of the surgical team that did three operations on Sharon to stop bleeding in his brain.
Thalomid Trial for Multiple Myeloma Achieves Primary Endpoint
A clinical trial testing the drug Thalomid in patients with multiple myeloma was halted after the study achieved its primary endpoint, drug maker Celgene Corp. said Monday.
The trial included 270 patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. Those who received Thalomid plus the synthetic steroid dexamethasone went an average of 75.7 weeks before their disease progressed, while patients who received dexamethasone alone went 27.9 weeks without disease progression, the Associated Press reported.
Thalomid has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treating leprosy. However, doctors sometimes use the drug "off-label" as a cancer treatment.
In November, the FDA issued an "approvable letter" for the use of Thalomid in treating multiple myeloma. This letter indicates that a company's application to market a drug is in order, but that the FDA requires additional data before it give final approval, the AP reported.
Food Fact:
Jump-start a balanced diet.
By adding key foods to your diet, you can get daily allowances for key nutrients in one serving. For instance, 1 cup cantaloupe cubes has 190% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C; 1 cup frozen cooked spinach has 295% of the RDA for beta-carotene; and 6 oz. pink baked or broiled salmon fillet has 201% RDA for vitamin D. The greater the variety of healthy foods you eat, the greater your nutritional coverage.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Happy trails!
Daily walks relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, and increase feelings of enthusiasm and optimism. And that's not all. Daily walks also can help you boost your energy level, enhance your self-image, release tension, manage stress, and improve your ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well.
FAQ of the day:
Is sushi safe?
Most sushi is raw fish. Public health outbreaks are rare at Japanese restaurants, but eating raw fish is inherently more risky than eating it cooked. Raw seafood can carry bacteria, viruses, worms and parasites that can cause severe illness such as hepatitis. Only cooking can kill the microorganisms that cause these illnesses. Most sushi restaurants also offer cooked seafood, as well as vegetable rolls. If you are pregnant, or have any disease that compromises your immune system, don't eat raw seafood under any circumstances.
South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk faked all his claims to have cloned human embryonic stem cells, but he did create the world's first cloned dog, a Seoul National University investigating panel announced Tuesday.
The academic panel report said that Hwang "did not have any proof to show that cloned embryonic stem cells were ever created." The panel's findings contradict claims in Hwang's 2004 paper in the journal Science that he cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them, the Associated Press reported.
"The 2004 paper was written on fabricated data to show that the stem cells match the DNA of the provider, although they didn't," the panel wrote.
The university panel's conclusions cap the dramatic fall of Hwang, once hailed as a pioneer in the field of stem cell research.
The news that Hwang faked his human stem cell research, including what was declared a breakthrough in a 2005 Science paper, may be viewed by some scientists and patients as a major disappointment. The discredited scientist's claims about his human cloning research offered hope to millions of people with diseases such as AIDS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, the AP reported.
Scientists believe that human stem cells may eventually be able to be used to treat numerous diseases. However, Hwang was the only scientist to have claimed success in extracting stem cells from embryos.
While the panel upheld Hwang's claim to have created the world's first cloned dog, that's not regarded as a major achievement because scientists had already created a number of cloned animals.
FDA Approves New Treatment Method for Immune Disorder
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vivaglobin, a self-administered treatment for people with an immune disorder called primary immunodeficiency.
Vivaglobin provides these patients with a way of getting regular boosts of infection-fighting immune globulin that healthy people have in their bloodstream, the Associated Press reported.
People with primary immunodeficiency need these replacement antibodies to prevent recurring, life-threatening infections. Currently, these patients have to be given regular injections of the antibodies.
Vivaglobin enables them to use a small, portable pump to self-administer the immune globin subcutaneously and do without direct needle injections into a vein, the AP reported.
The new treatment is made by ZLB Behring of King of Prussia, Pa. Currently, there are an estimated 50,000 primary immunodeficiency patients in the United States.
Face Transplant Patient Regaining Sensation
The 38-year-old French woman who had the world's first partial face transplant in November is regaining sensation in her new lips, nose and chin, her psychiatrist reported.
While the woman, Isabelle, can tell where she is being touched on the new areas of her face, it appears she has not yet regained the ability to feel temperature in those areas, Dr. Daniele Bachmann told the Associated Press.
"She is very happy, she is doing very well," Bachmann said.
Isabelle is being transferred between medical centers in Lyon and Amiens for treatment. Bachmann couldn't say how long Isabelle will remain hospitalized.
The groundbreaking surgery was performed in Amiens on Nov. 27 using a nose, chin and lips from a brain-dead donor. Isabelle's face was disfigured last year when she was mauled by her pet dog.
Newer Football Helmet Lowers Concussion Risk
A newer kind of football helmet that offers increased protection for the temple and jaw may reduce the risk of concussion injuries, says a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study.
The three-year study of 2,141 high school football players found that those who wore the Revolution helmet had a concussion rate of 5.3 percent, compared with 7.6 percent for players who wore standard helmets, the Associated Press reported.
Players who wore the Revolution helmet were 31 percent less likely to suffer a concussion, researchers concluded. However, they found that helmet type made no difference in how long players took to recover from concussions.
The study, which appears in the February issue of the journal Neurosurgery, was funded by helmet maker Riddell. The Revolution helmet was introduced in 2002.
Sharon Displays Slight Movement
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had slight movement in his right arm and right leg during pain stimuli tests on Monday and was in critical but stable condition Tuesday, CNN reported.
"We noted that the prime minister slightly moved his right arm and right leg. It was a very slight movement but a significant one," Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, told reporters.
The pain stimuli tests were conducted after doctors began to bring Sharon out of a medically induced coma. Sharon, who has not opened his eyes, remains attached to a ventilator, CNN reported.
Sharon suffered a major stroke on the right side of his brain last Wednesday.
It's not yet possible to conduct cognitive function tests to determine how much damage Sharon's brain has suffered, said Dr. Felix Umansky, head of the surgical team that did three operations on Sharon to stop bleeding in his brain.
Thalomid Trial for Multiple Myeloma Achieves Primary Endpoint
A clinical trial testing the drug Thalomid in patients with multiple myeloma was halted after the study achieved its primary endpoint, drug maker Celgene Corp. said Monday.
The trial included 270 patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. Those who received Thalomid plus the synthetic steroid dexamethasone went an average of 75.7 weeks before their disease progressed, while patients who received dexamethasone alone went 27.9 weeks without disease progression, the Associated Press reported.
Thalomid has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treating leprosy. However, doctors sometimes use the drug "off-label" as a cancer treatment.
In November, the FDA issued an "approvable letter" for the use of Thalomid in treating multiple myeloma. This letter indicates that a company's application to market a drug is in order, but that the FDA requires additional data before it give final approval, the AP reported.
Food Fact:
Jump-start a balanced diet.
By adding key foods to your diet, you can get daily allowances for key nutrients in one serving. For instance, 1 cup cantaloupe cubes has 190% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C; 1 cup frozen cooked spinach has 295% of the RDA for beta-carotene; and 6 oz. pink baked or broiled salmon fillet has 201% RDA for vitamin D. The greater the variety of healthy foods you eat, the greater your nutritional coverage.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Happy trails!
Daily walks relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, and increase feelings of enthusiasm and optimism. And that's not all. Daily walks also can help you boost your energy level, enhance your self-image, release tension, manage stress, and improve your ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well.
FAQ of the day:
Is sushi safe?
Most sushi is raw fish. Public health outbreaks are rare at Japanese restaurants, but eating raw fish is inherently more risky than eating it cooked. Raw seafood can carry bacteria, viruses, worms and parasites that can cause severe illness such as hepatitis. Only cooking can kill the microorganisms that cause these illnesses. Most sushi restaurants also offer cooked seafood, as well as vegetable rolls. If you are pregnant, or have any disease that compromises your immune system, don't eat raw seafood under any circumstances.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Health Headlines - January 9
Israel's Sharon Breathing on His Own
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was breathing on his own Monday and moving some of his limbs as doctors lifted the anesthesia that had kept him in a medically induced coma since his massive stroke Wednesday.
Doctors in Jerusalem made the decision to lift the anesthesia after a round of consultations Monday and after a brain scan Sunday showed continued improvement, the Associated Press reported.
Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said the process of weaning Sharon from sedation could take hours or days.
"As soon as we started reducing the drugs ... the prime minister started to breathe independently, although he is still hooked up to a respirator that is used as an aid," Mor-Yosef said. He added that Sharon, 77, remains in critical condition.
At a Monday afternoon press conference, Felix Umansky, the chief neurosurgeon treating Sharon, said it was too early to "speak about cognitive function. It will take a number of days. We will continue to reduce the level of anesthesia. "
He said that during a pain test, Sharon's blood pressure increased, which is a normal reaction, The New York Times reported. "I want to emphasize that this is a very, very gradual process," Umansky said. He added that Sharon had not yet opened his eyes.
On Sunday, Mor-Yosef said the brain scan showed that Sharon's vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal, his brain swelling had decreased and his cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.
Doctors had initially planned to stop the coma-inducing sedatives Sunday but decided to wait another day before assessing the extent of brain damage Sharon suffered from the massive stroke Wednesday and three rounds of emergency brain surgery after that.
On Saturday, one of his surgeons said Sharon's chances of survival are high, but that his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," Dr. Jose Cohen said.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon suffered Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Prostate Cancer Harder to Detect in Obese Men: Study
Prostate cancer can be 20 percent to 25 percent harder to detect in obese men because their prostate gland is larger than in other men, says a Duke University Medical Center study.
The researchers said that because biopsies sample less of the total tissue in an obese man's larger prostate, it's more difficult to find hidden cancer, the Associated Press reported.
Doctors need to take this into consideration and be especially diligent when checking obese men for prostate cancer, said the researchers, who examined the medical records of about 1,400 men whose prostates were surgically removed after a cancer diagnosis.
The study included 245 men who were moderately obese. The average weight of their prostates was 1.4 ounces. Normal-sized prostate glands weigh 50 percent to 75 percent of that, the AP reported.
The findings appear in the February issue of the Journal of Urology.
More U.S. Doctors Accepting New Medicare Patients: Study
Despite a slight decline in reimbursement rates, the percentage of U.S. doctors accepting new Medicare patients has increased over the past four years, says a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.
The survey found that 72.9 percent of doctors were accepting all new Medicare patients, compared with 71.1 percent in 2000-2001. Primary care doctors accounted for the bulk of the increase, the Associated Press reported.
The Center for Studying Health System Change is a nonpartisan research organization. President Paul Ginsburg noted that a slight reduction in reimbursement rates for Medicare patients doesn't mean these patients are less lucrative to doctors than they were a few years ago.
Ginsburg said doctors are billing Medicare for more services -- such as echocardiograms, lab tests, and cardiovascular stress tests -- per patient, the AP said.
He also said that while doctors are willing to accept a one-time reduction in Medicare fees, year after year of fee cuts would lead to a reduction in the number of doctors willing to accept new Medicare patients.
Cheney Hospitalized for Shortness of Breath
Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized for a little more than four hours Monday morning after suffering from shortness of breath.
Doctors ruled out any recurrence of his long-standing heart problems, according to The New York Times.
A statement from his office said that he was taken by car to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., about 3 a.m. He was released four hours later, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The problem is believed to be associated with anti-inflammatory medicine that Cheney, 64, is taking for a foot problem. The vice president is suffering an osteoarthritis problem in his left foot, CNN reported.
In September, Cheney had surgery to remove blood clots behind each of his knees. He underwent angioplasty in November 2000 after suffering his fourth heart attack since 1978. He had a defibrillator implanted in June 2001 to regulate his heartbeat.
Five New Suspected Bird Flu Cases in Turkey
Preliminary tests results released Monday indicate that there are five new human cases of the H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey, the Associated Press reported.
The tests were conducted on samples collected by five people suspected of having the disease. The testing was done in Turkish labs and the results have not yet been confirmed by the World Health Organization. If the five cases are confirmed, that would bring to 15 the number of human bird flu cases in Turkey.
These apparent new cases are in people from four separate provinces on the Black Sea coast and in eastern and central Turkey. This suggests that bird flu is continuing to spread across the country, the AP reported.
Bird flu has claimed the lives of three siblings from the eastern city of Van. They're the first confirmed bird flu fatalities outside of Asia, where 74 people have died since 2003.
It's feared that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person.
On Monday, the European Union banned imports of untreated feathers from six countries that border Turkey. Other poultry imports from those nations had already been banned by the EU, the AP reported.
Food Fact:
Eat more whole grains.
With a few almost invisible substitutions, you can boost fiber and eat healthier. Research shows that people who eat regular servings of whole grains -- such as whole wheat, bran and brown rice -- have a significantly reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Try buckwheat pancakes at breakfast instead of regular; use at least half whole-wheat flour in any recipe that calls for flour; mix bran flakes in whenever a recipe calls for breadcrumbs.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Walking tall.
Walking even just a few minutes every day can help regulate high blood pressure. According to the Surgeon General and the American Heart Association, adopting a routine of daily physical activity can help reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, or help you lower it if it's already too high. Walking also significantly reduces your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack (exercise has as much effect as quitting smoking), and makes your heart stronger and more efficient, so that it pumps more blood with each contraction.
FAQ of the day:
What's the best fish to eat for a healthy heart?
All fish and shellfish are heart-healthy. To get the most beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, choose fatty fresh, cold-water fresh, or fresh, unprocessed frozen fish. Salmon, bluefish, and sardines are good choices. Tuna and shellfish are OK, too.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was breathing on his own Monday and moving some of his limbs as doctors lifted the anesthesia that had kept him in a medically induced coma since his massive stroke Wednesday.
Doctors in Jerusalem made the decision to lift the anesthesia after a round of consultations Monday and after a brain scan Sunday showed continued improvement, the Associated Press reported.
Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said the process of weaning Sharon from sedation could take hours or days.
"As soon as we started reducing the drugs ... the prime minister started to breathe independently, although he is still hooked up to a respirator that is used as an aid," Mor-Yosef said. He added that Sharon, 77, remains in critical condition.
At a Monday afternoon press conference, Felix Umansky, the chief neurosurgeon treating Sharon, said it was too early to "speak about cognitive function. It will take a number of days. We will continue to reduce the level of anesthesia. "
He said that during a pain test, Sharon's blood pressure increased, which is a normal reaction, The New York Times reported. "I want to emphasize that this is a very, very gradual process," Umansky said. He added that Sharon had not yet opened his eyes.
On Sunday, Mor-Yosef said the brain scan showed that Sharon's vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal, his brain swelling had decreased and his cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.
Doctors had initially planned to stop the coma-inducing sedatives Sunday but decided to wait another day before assessing the extent of brain damage Sharon suffered from the massive stroke Wednesday and three rounds of emergency brain surgery after that.
On Saturday, one of his surgeons said Sharon's chances of survival are high, but that his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," Dr. Jose Cohen said.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon suffered Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Prostate Cancer Harder to Detect in Obese Men: Study
Prostate cancer can be 20 percent to 25 percent harder to detect in obese men because their prostate gland is larger than in other men, says a Duke University Medical Center study.
The researchers said that because biopsies sample less of the total tissue in an obese man's larger prostate, it's more difficult to find hidden cancer, the Associated Press reported.
Doctors need to take this into consideration and be especially diligent when checking obese men for prostate cancer, said the researchers, who examined the medical records of about 1,400 men whose prostates were surgically removed after a cancer diagnosis.
The study included 245 men who were moderately obese. The average weight of their prostates was 1.4 ounces. Normal-sized prostate glands weigh 50 percent to 75 percent of that, the AP reported.
The findings appear in the February issue of the Journal of Urology.
More U.S. Doctors Accepting New Medicare Patients: Study
Despite a slight decline in reimbursement rates, the percentage of U.S. doctors accepting new Medicare patients has increased over the past four years, says a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.
The survey found that 72.9 percent of doctors were accepting all new Medicare patients, compared with 71.1 percent in 2000-2001. Primary care doctors accounted for the bulk of the increase, the Associated Press reported.
The Center for Studying Health System Change is a nonpartisan research organization. President Paul Ginsburg noted that a slight reduction in reimbursement rates for Medicare patients doesn't mean these patients are less lucrative to doctors than they were a few years ago.
Ginsburg said doctors are billing Medicare for more services -- such as echocardiograms, lab tests, and cardiovascular stress tests -- per patient, the AP said.
He also said that while doctors are willing to accept a one-time reduction in Medicare fees, year after year of fee cuts would lead to a reduction in the number of doctors willing to accept new Medicare patients.
Cheney Hospitalized for Shortness of Breath
Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized for a little more than four hours Monday morning after suffering from shortness of breath.
Doctors ruled out any recurrence of his long-standing heart problems, according to The New York Times.
A statement from his office said that he was taken by car to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., about 3 a.m. He was released four hours later, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The problem is believed to be associated with anti-inflammatory medicine that Cheney, 64, is taking for a foot problem. The vice president is suffering an osteoarthritis problem in his left foot, CNN reported.
In September, Cheney had surgery to remove blood clots behind each of his knees. He underwent angioplasty in November 2000 after suffering his fourth heart attack since 1978. He had a defibrillator implanted in June 2001 to regulate his heartbeat.
Five New Suspected Bird Flu Cases in Turkey
Preliminary tests results released Monday indicate that there are five new human cases of the H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey, the Associated Press reported.
The tests were conducted on samples collected by five people suspected of having the disease. The testing was done in Turkish labs and the results have not yet been confirmed by the World Health Organization. If the five cases are confirmed, that would bring to 15 the number of human bird flu cases in Turkey.
These apparent new cases are in people from four separate provinces on the Black Sea coast and in eastern and central Turkey. This suggests that bird flu is continuing to spread across the country, the AP reported.
Bird flu has claimed the lives of three siblings from the eastern city of Van. They're the first confirmed bird flu fatalities outside of Asia, where 74 people have died since 2003.
It's feared that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person.
On Monday, the European Union banned imports of untreated feathers from six countries that border Turkey. Other poultry imports from those nations had already been banned by the EU, the AP reported.
Food Fact:
Eat more whole grains.
With a few almost invisible substitutions, you can boost fiber and eat healthier. Research shows that people who eat regular servings of whole grains -- such as whole wheat, bran and brown rice -- have a significantly reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Try buckwheat pancakes at breakfast instead of regular; use at least half whole-wheat flour in any recipe that calls for flour; mix bran flakes in whenever a recipe calls for breadcrumbs.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Walking tall.
Walking even just a few minutes every day can help regulate high blood pressure. According to the Surgeon General and the American Heart Association, adopting a routine of daily physical activity can help reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, or help you lower it if it's already too high. Walking also significantly reduces your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack (exercise has as much effect as quitting smoking), and makes your heart stronger and more efficient, so that it pumps more blood with each contraction.
FAQ of the day:
What's the best fish to eat for a healthy heart?
All fish and shellfish are heart-healthy. To get the most beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, choose fatty fresh, cold-water fresh, or fresh, unprocessed frozen fish. Salmon, bluefish, and sardines are good choices. Tuna and shellfish are OK, too.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Health Headlines - January 8
Sharon Shows Further Improvement
Israeli doctors plan to bring Prime Minister Ariel Sharon out of a medically induced coma Monday after a new brain scan Sunday showed more improvement, a hospital official said.
Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said in Jerusalem that Sharon, 77, remained in critical condition, but his vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal, his brain swelling had decreased and his cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.
"His condition is still serious but stable, and there is improvement in the CT picture of the brain," he told reporters, according to the Associated Press.
Doctors had initially planned to stop the coma-inducing sedatives Sunday but decided to wait another day before assessing the extent of brain damage Sharon suffered from a massive stroke Wednesday and three rounds of emergency brain surgery after that.
On Saturday, however, one of his surgeons said that Sharon's chances of survival are high, but that his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," Dr. Jose Cohen said.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Deadly Bird Flu Strain May Have Spread to Turkey's Capital
Preliminary tests showed two young brothers and an adult in Turkey's capital of Ankara have a deadly strain of bird flu, officials said Sunday.
The cases announced Sunday but not yet confirmed by world health officials raise to seven the number of cases detected since Wednesday, and also raise concerns that the virus is spreading in Turkey, the Associated Press reported.
World Health Organization officials confirmed Saturday that two teenage siblings who died of bird flu in eastern Turkey last week had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.
The deaths mark the first time the virus has killed humans outside of East Asia, WHO officials told AP.
European health officials were on "high alert" after a third child in eastern Turkey was confirmed to have bird flu and more than two dozen people there were under observation at a local hospital.
The unusual cluster of human cases has raised the possibility that the virus may have become more contagious to humans, The New York Times reported.
Health authorities said the Turkish children from the town of Dogubeyazit probably became ill after close contact with sick or dead chickens infected with the virus. Reports in the Turkish press said that two siblings who died, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, and his sister, Fatma, 15, had been playing catch with the heads of dead chickens.
Two other children in the Kocyigit family were also recently hospitalized in the city of Van with severe respiratory disease. One died Friday, and the other is recovering, although tests have not yet confirmed their diagnoses.
An additional 26 people are in the Van hospital under observation for possible bird flu, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
While the H5N1 virus does not readily infect humans or pass between them, scientists worry that it may acquire that ability through naturally occurring processes, a development that could ultimately set off a flu pandemic.
They add, however, that the Turkey cluster of cases does not mean a mutation has occurred. But WHO and the European Commission have sent a team of scientists to the region.
FDA to Revise Herpes Test Rules
Revised rules that could make herpes virus tests cheaper and more widely available have been proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In a proposal released Friday but dated Dec. 21, the FDA said it may change the classification of tests for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 to class II from class III, which would reduce the regulatory burdens associated with the tests, the Associated Press reported.
The change would open the way for companies seeking to develop and market herpes tests and would also relax the training requirements for laboratories and medical offices that offer the tests, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said.
The FDA considered reclassifying the tests as long ago as 1980, but said the tests posed a "potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury" at the time. With the older tests, a false positive could expose a pregnant mother or her fetus to unnecessary treatment with antiviral drugs or lead to an unnecessary Caesarean delivery of the child. And a false negative could result in the infection of a newborn infant, which can be fatal.
The agency now says the reliability and performance of the tests has improved. It set an April 10 deadline for comments on the reclassification.
At least 45 million Americans 12 and older have genital herpes, which is generally caused by the type 2 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Food Fact:
Wanna-beefs.
With the right substitution, you can cut back on red meat and still enjoy a "beefy" flavor. For patties that look, smell (sort of) and taste like beef, look for veggie burgers with "soy protein concentrate" as the first ingredient, followed closely by "natural flavors," and you're probably looking at a good choice to satisfy beefy cravings.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Do the stroll.
The Surgeon General and American Heart Association agree -- you can walk away from serious disease. Each says adopting a routine of daily physical activity will help you achieve this goal and more. For starters, daily walks help control your weight, both by burning additional calories and by increasing the size of your working muscles (which in turn reduces the number of calories converted into body fat). Regular walks also reduce your risk of dying prematurely, significantly reduce your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack (exercise has as much effect as quitting smoking), and increase your likelihood of quitting or cutting back on smoking.
FAQ of the day:
How much fish should I eat to be healthy?
Fatty fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to be good for the heart. No one knows for sure how much omega-3 fatty acid is enough, but epidemiological evidence suggests that eating fatty fish as little as once a week can be beneficial. To preserve the good omega-3 fats without adding harmful saturated or hydrogenated fats, stay away from fried fish -- choose seafood that's baked, broiled, poached, steamed or grilled.
Israeli doctors plan to bring Prime Minister Ariel Sharon out of a medically induced coma Monday after a new brain scan Sunday showed more improvement, a hospital official said.
Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said in Jerusalem that Sharon, 77, remained in critical condition, but his vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal, his brain swelling had decreased and his cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.
"His condition is still serious but stable, and there is improvement in the CT picture of the brain," he told reporters, according to the Associated Press.
Doctors had initially planned to stop the coma-inducing sedatives Sunday but decided to wait another day before assessing the extent of brain damage Sharon suffered from a massive stroke Wednesday and three rounds of emergency brain surgery after that.
On Saturday, however, one of his surgeons said that Sharon's chances of survival are high, but that his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," Dr. Jose Cohen said.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Deadly Bird Flu Strain May Have Spread to Turkey's Capital
Preliminary tests showed two young brothers and an adult in Turkey's capital of Ankara have a deadly strain of bird flu, officials said Sunday.
The cases announced Sunday but not yet confirmed by world health officials raise to seven the number of cases detected since Wednesday, and also raise concerns that the virus is spreading in Turkey, the Associated Press reported.
World Health Organization officials confirmed Saturday that two teenage siblings who died of bird flu in eastern Turkey last week had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.
The deaths mark the first time the virus has killed humans outside of East Asia, WHO officials told AP.
European health officials were on "high alert" after a third child in eastern Turkey was confirmed to have bird flu and more than two dozen people there were under observation at a local hospital.
The unusual cluster of human cases has raised the possibility that the virus may have become more contagious to humans, The New York Times reported.
Health authorities said the Turkish children from the town of Dogubeyazit probably became ill after close contact with sick or dead chickens infected with the virus. Reports in the Turkish press said that two siblings who died, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, and his sister, Fatma, 15, had been playing catch with the heads of dead chickens.
Two other children in the Kocyigit family were also recently hospitalized in the city of Van with severe respiratory disease. One died Friday, and the other is recovering, although tests have not yet confirmed their diagnoses.
An additional 26 people are in the Van hospital under observation for possible bird flu, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
While the H5N1 virus does not readily infect humans or pass between them, scientists worry that it may acquire that ability through naturally occurring processes, a development that could ultimately set off a flu pandemic.
They add, however, that the Turkey cluster of cases does not mean a mutation has occurred. But WHO and the European Commission have sent a team of scientists to the region.
FDA to Revise Herpes Test Rules
Revised rules that could make herpes virus tests cheaper and more widely available have been proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In a proposal released Friday but dated Dec. 21, the FDA said it may change the classification of tests for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 to class II from class III, which would reduce the regulatory burdens associated with the tests, the Associated Press reported.
The change would open the way for companies seeking to develop and market herpes tests and would also relax the training requirements for laboratories and medical offices that offer the tests, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said.
The FDA considered reclassifying the tests as long ago as 1980, but said the tests posed a "potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury" at the time. With the older tests, a false positive could expose a pregnant mother or her fetus to unnecessary treatment with antiviral drugs or lead to an unnecessary Caesarean delivery of the child. And a false negative could result in the infection of a newborn infant, which can be fatal.
The agency now says the reliability and performance of the tests has improved. It set an April 10 deadline for comments on the reclassification.
At least 45 million Americans 12 and older have genital herpes, which is generally caused by the type 2 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Food Fact:
Wanna-beefs.
With the right substitution, you can cut back on red meat and still enjoy a "beefy" flavor. For patties that look, smell (sort of) and taste like beef, look for veggie burgers with "soy protein concentrate" as the first ingredient, followed closely by "natural flavors," and you're probably looking at a good choice to satisfy beefy cravings.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Do the stroll.
The Surgeon General and American Heart Association agree -- you can walk away from serious disease. Each says adopting a routine of daily physical activity will help you achieve this goal and more. For starters, daily walks help control your weight, both by burning additional calories and by increasing the size of your working muscles (which in turn reduces the number of calories converted into body fat). Regular walks also reduce your risk of dying prematurely, significantly reduce your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack (exercise has as much effect as quitting smoking), and increase your likelihood of quitting or cutting back on smoking.
FAQ of the day:
How much fish should I eat to be healthy?
Fatty fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to be good for the heart. No one knows for sure how much omega-3 fatty acid is enough, but epidemiological evidence suggests that eating fatty fish as little as once a week can be beneficial. To preserve the good omega-3 fats without adding harmful saturated or hydrogenated fats, stay away from fried fish -- choose seafood that's baked, broiled, poached, steamed or grilled.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Health Headlines - January 7
Sharon's Brain Scan Shows 'Slight' Improvement
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's latest brain scan on Saturday showed there was no more bleeding in his skull and his condition showed "slight" improvement, hospital officials in Jerusalem said.
But doctors for the 77-year-old leader, who has been in a medically induced coma and on a respirator since entering the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage Wednesday night, say it's still too early to determine the extent of his brain damage.
"We don't know anything apart from this test," Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, told reporters Saturday, according to the Globe and Mail.
Mor-Yosef said the left side of Sharon's brain "looks better" than the right side where the hemorrhage occurred, despite the swelling and pressure. The pressure inside his brain is now steady, and all other vital signs including pulse and blood pressure are within normal range. Doctors have also said his pupils are responding to light.
The scan came a day after doctors performed five hours of neurosurgery on Sharon to successfully stop a hemorrhage and relieve swelling on his brain.
Although doctors reported "significant improvement" following Friday's emergency surgery, the third since Wednesday, he remained in serious condition.
Doctors were reportedly still planning to bring him out of the coma as early as Sunday to assess his condition.
Outside experts have said, however, that the prognosis looks grim, given the severity of the stroke, the Associated Press reported.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Deadly Bird Flu Strain Confirmed in Turkey
World Health Organization officials confirmed Saturday that two teenage siblings who died of bird flu in eastern Turkey last week had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.
The deaths mark the first time the virus has killed humans outside of East Asia, WHO officials told the Associated Press.
European health officials were on "high alert" after a third child in eastern Turkey was confirmed to have bird flu and more than two dozen people there were under observation at a local hospital.
The unusual cluster of human cases has raised the possibility that the virus may have become more contagious to humans, The New York Times reported.
Health authorities said the Turkish children from the town of Dogubeyazit probably became ill after close contact with sick or dead chickens infected with the virus. Reports in the Turkish press said that two siblings who died, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, and his sister, Fatma, 15, had been playing catch with the heads of dead chickens.
Two other children in the Kocyigit family were also recently hospitalized in the city of Van with severe respiratory disease. One died Friday, and the other is recovering, although tests have not yet confirmed their diagnoses.
An additional 26 people are in the Van hospital under observation for possible bird flu, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
While the H5N1 virus does not readily infect humans or pass between them, scientists worry that it may acquire that ability through naturally occurring processes, a development that could ultimately set off a flu pandemic.
They add, however, that the Turkey cluster of cases does not mean a mutation has occurred. But WHO and the European Commission have dispatched a joint team of scientists to the region. They are expected to arrive Sunday.
FDA to Revise Herpes Test Rules
Revised rules that could make herpes virus tests cheaper and more widely available have been proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In a proposal released Friday but dated Dec. 21, the FDA said it may change the classification of tests for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 to class II from class III, which would reduce the regulatory burdens associated with the tests, the Associated Press reported.
The change would open the way for companies seeking to develop and market herpes tests and would also relax the training requirements for laboratories and medical offices that offer the tests, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said.
The FDA considered reclassifying the tests as long ago as 1980, but said the tests posed a "potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury" at the time. With the older tests, a false positive could expose a pregnant mother or her fetus to unnecessary treatment with antiviral drugs or lead to an unnecessary Caesarean delivery of the child. And a false negative could result in the infection of a newborn infant, which can be fatal.
The agency now says the reliability and performance of the tests has improved. It set an April 10 deadline for comments on the reclassification.
At least 45 million Americans 12 and older have genital herpes, which is generally caused by the type 2 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Warning Issued on Bleeding Disorder Drug
Some patients with the bleeding disorder called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have suffered a potentially deadly loss of red blood cells when taking the medicine WinRho SDF, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
The FDA and the companies that make the medicine (Baxter Healthcare Corp. and Cangene Corp.) said that ITP patients taking WinRho SDF should immediately contact their doctor if they experience back pain, shaking or chills, fever, discolored urine or decreased urine output, sudden weight gain, fluid retention, swelling or shortness of breath, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the reported adverse reactions to the medicine have occurred within four hours of treatment.
The companies have revised the medicine's label to include the new warning. The revised label also cautions that the liquid form of WinRho SDF can cause false high blood glucose levels in certain kinds of blood glucose testing systems.
People with ITP have an abnormally low level of blood platelets needed for proper blood clotting.
Food Fact:
What's in a name?
An "oatmeal" or "fruit" snack may seem healthy, but names don't always tell the real tale. Oatmeal cookies, for example, don't have enough oatmeal to be nutritionally significant, but the high fat totals should get your attention. Similarly, a fruit roll-up has very little real fruit. For kids' snacks, you can't go wrong with real whole fruit, whole-grain cereal (check the ingredients) and low-fat dairy.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Walk it off.
Who needs special training or fancy gear to tone up your body and perk up your frame of mind? All it takes is your own two feet. Research shows that just 20 minutes a day of brisk walking will lower your risk of serious diseases -- that's just four five-minute walks a day! A half-hour a day is even healthier. Walk 45 minutes a day, and watch your waistline shrink.
FAQ of the day:
Is whole milk bad for me?
Switching from whole dairy to reduced-fat varieties makes a big step toward slashing fat, saturated fat and calories. In an FDA study of 15,000 Americans, women who drank milk averaged 65 grams of fat a day, while skim drinkers took in only 51. Male drinkers of whole milk took in 85 grams, the skim drinkers 74. That's more than 100 calories saved each day. Those who switched to low-fat milk had significant fat savings, too. It wasn't all about the milk: The skim and low-fat milk drinkers tended to eat less red meat, and more fruits and vegetables.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's latest brain scan on Saturday showed there was no more bleeding in his skull and his condition showed "slight" improvement, hospital officials in Jerusalem said.
But doctors for the 77-year-old leader, who has been in a medically induced coma and on a respirator since entering the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage Wednesday night, say it's still too early to determine the extent of his brain damage.
"We don't know anything apart from this test," Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, told reporters Saturday, according to the Globe and Mail.
Mor-Yosef said the left side of Sharon's brain "looks better" than the right side where the hemorrhage occurred, despite the swelling and pressure. The pressure inside his brain is now steady, and all other vital signs including pulse and blood pressure are within normal range. Doctors have also said his pupils are responding to light.
The scan came a day after doctors performed five hours of neurosurgery on Sharon to successfully stop a hemorrhage and relieve swelling on his brain.
Although doctors reported "significant improvement" following Friday's emergency surgery, the third since Wednesday, he remained in serious condition.
Doctors were reportedly still planning to bring him out of the coma as early as Sunday to assess his condition.
Outside experts have said, however, that the prognosis looks grim, given the severity of the stroke, the Associated Press reported.
That massive stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Deadly Bird Flu Strain Confirmed in Turkey
World Health Organization officials confirmed Saturday that two teenage siblings who died of bird flu in eastern Turkey last week had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.
The deaths mark the first time the virus has killed humans outside of East Asia, WHO officials told the Associated Press.
European health officials were on "high alert" after a third child in eastern Turkey was confirmed to have bird flu and more than two dozen people there were under observation at a local hospital.
The unusual cluster of human cases has raised the possibility that the virus may have become more contagious to humans, The New York Times reported.
Health authorities said the Turkish children from the town of Dogubeyazit probably became ill after close contact with sick or dead chickens infected with the virus. Reports in the Turkish press said that two siblings who died, Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, and his sister, Fatma, 15, had been playing catch with the heads of dead chickens.
Two other children in the Kocyigit family were also recently hospitalized in the city of Van with severe respiratory disease. One died Friday, and the other is recovering, although tests have not yet confirmed their diagnoses.
An additional 26 people are in the Van hospital under observation for possible bird flu, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
While the H5N1 virus does not readily infect humans or pass between them, scientists worry that it may acquire that ability through naturally occurring processes, a development that could ultimately set off a flu pandemic.
They add, however, that the Turkey cluster of cases does not mean a mutation has occurred. But WHO and the European Commission have dispatched a joint team of scientists to the region. They are expected to arrive Sunday.
FDA to Revise Herpes Test Rules
Revised rules that could make herpes virus tests cheaper and more widely available have been proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In a proposal released Friday but dated Dec. 21, the FDA said it may change the classification of tests for herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 to class II from class III, which would reduce the regulatory burdens associated with the tests, the Associated Press reported.
The change would open the way for companies seeking to develop and market herpes tests and would also relax the training requirements for laboratories and medical offices that offer the tests, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said.
The FDA considered reclassifying the tests as long ago as 1980, but said the tests posed a "potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury" at the time. With the older tests, a false positive could expose a pregnant mother or her fetus to unnecessary treatment with antiviral drugs or lead to an unnecessary Caesarean delivery of the child. And a false negative could result in the infection of a newborn infant, which can be fatal.
The agency now says the reliability and performance of the tests has improved. It set an April 10 deadline for comments on the reclassification.
At least 45 million Americans 12 and older have genital herpes, which is generally caused by the type 2 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Warning Issued on Bleeding Disorder Drug
Some patients with the bleeding disorder called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have suffered a potentially deadly loss of red blood cells when taking the medicine WinRho SDF, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
The FDA and the companies that make the medicine (Baxter Healthcare Corp. and Cangene Corp.) said that ITP patients taking WinRho SDF should immediately contact their doctor if they experience back pain, shaking or chills, fever, discolored urine or decreased urine output, sudden weight gain, fluid retention, swelling or shortness of breath, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the reported adverse reactions to the medicine have occurred within four hours of treatment.
The companies have revised the medicine's label to include the new warning. The revised label also cautions that the liquid form of WinRho SDF can cause false high blood glucose levels in certain kinds of blood glucose testing systems.
People with ITP have an abnormally low level of blood platelets needed for proper blood clotting.
Food Fact:
What's in a name?
An "oatmeal" or "fruit" snack may seem healthy, but names don't always tell the real tale. Oatmeal cookies, for example, don't have enough oatmeal to be nutritionally significant, but the high fat totals should get your attention. Similarly, a fruit roll-up has very little real fruit. For kids' snacks, you can't go wrong with real whole fruit, whole-grain cereal (check the ingredients) and low-fat dairy.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Walk it off.
Who needs special training or fancy gear to tone up your body and perk up your frame of mind? All it takes is your own two feet. Research shows that just 20 minutes a day of brisk walking will lower your risk of serious diseases -- that's just four five-minute walks a day! A half-hour a day is even healthier. Walk 45 minutes a day, and watch your waistline shrink.
FAQ of the day:
Is whole milk bad for me?
Switching from whole dairy to reduced-fat varieties makes a big step toward slashing fat, saturated fat and calories. In an FDA study of 15,000 Americans, women who drank milk averaged 65 grams of fat a day, while skim drinkers took in only 51. Male drinkers of whole milk took in 85 grams, the skim drinkers 74. That's more than 100 calories saved each day. Those who switched to low-fat milk had significant fat savings, too. It wasn't all about the milk: The skim and low-fat milk drinkers tended to eat less red meat, and more fruits and vegetables.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Health Headlines - January 6
Sharon 'Improved' After 3rd Brain Surgery
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent a third round of emergency brain surgery Friday morning after new bleeding was detected in his brain.
At the end of the five hours of surgery, the 77-year-old premier showed "significant improvement" and the pressure inside his skull returned to normal, according to hospital officials in Jerusalem.
"During surgery, the increased intracranial pressure was released, part of the blood clots that remained after the first operation were drained," Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of the Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital, told reporters . "At the end of the operation, there is no active bleeding and the intracranial pressure has returned to normal."
"I can say that in comparison to previous CT scans ... there is a significant improvement in the way the brain exam looks to Hadassah's experts," Mor-Yosef added, according to an Associated Press report.
He said the prime minister was in "stable, but serious" condition.
Sharon has been in a medically induced coma since he suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke Wednesday and underwent several hours of surgery on Thursday. He is expected to be kept in the coma until Sunday, news reports said.
Wednesday's stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
While Men's Fitness gave Baltimore top marks, rival magazine Men's Health ranked the city 93rd on its list of the "100 Best Cities for Men." The rankings, which appear in the current issue, gave Baltimore an "F" in health and quality of life and a "C+" in fitness, the AP reported.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Warning Issued on Bleeding Disorder Drug
Some patients with the bleeding disorder called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have suffered a potentially deadly loss of red blood cells when taking the medicine WinRho SDF, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
The FDA and the companies that make the medicine (Baxter Healthcare Corp. and Cangene Corp.) said that ITP patients taking WinRho SDF should immediately contact their doctor if they experience back pain, shaking or chills, fever, discolored urine or decreased urine output, sudden weight gain, fluid retention, swelling or shortness of breath, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the reported adverse reactions to the medicine have occurred within four hours of treatment.
The companies have revised the medicine's label to include the new warning. The revised label also cautions that the liquid form of WinRho SDF can cause false high blood glucose levels in certain kinds of blood glucose testing systems.
People with ITP have an abnormally low level of blood platelets needed for proper blood clotting.
3rd Turkish Child Killed by Bird Flu
An 11-year-old Turkish girl died of bird flu Friday, the third victim of the virus in that country. The girl's teenage brother and sister also died of bird flu over the past week, and a six-year-old brother is currently in hospital being treated for the disease.
The children lived in a rural area of eastern Turkey, and it's believed they contracted the disease while playing with the heads of dead chickens infected with bird flu, CNN reported.
Officials believe the three children were killed by the H5N1 bird flu strain, but tests have yet to confirm that. The H5N1 strain has been found in the region where the children lived.
The head doctor at the hospital where the children died said 23 people are currently being treated for the disease, CNN reported. A delay in seeking treatment likely led to the three children's deaths, the doctor said.
Thousands of domestic birds are being killed in the children's town and surrounding communities. Extra supplies of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu have been sent to the region. The World Health Organization is sending a team to Turkey to investigate the outbreak.
U.S. Issues Flu Pandemic Guide
A U.S. government guide released Friday urges people to prepare for a possible flu pandemic and outlines ways they can do that -- including finding out if they'll be able to work from home, recording family members' blood types, allergies and other medical information, and making plans to teach children at home.
Some of the information in the guide, which warns that a pandemic can strike in waves and last for months, is similar to advice given to people for dealing with natural disasters such as hurricanes and blizzards, the Associated Press reported.
This includes creating a stockpile of water, nonperishable foods, and prescription drugs. But the guide also instructs people on how to prevent the spread of flu, including frequent hand washing and staying home from work or school if you're sick.
It also suggests that people volunteer with local groups to assist with emergency response and form support systems of people that can be relied upon in the event of a flu pandemic, the AP reported.
A copy of the "Pandemic Influenza Planning: A Guide for Individuals and Families," other checklists and pandemic planning information is available online at www.pandemicflu.gov.
Food Fact:
Prevent "pour" nutrition.
If you're not careful, you may pour veggies' vitamins and nutrients down the drain. Cooking vegetables in water significantly lowers the nutrient content because vitamins leech out. You wind up discarding some very nutritious cooking water! Steaming is your best option for cooking vegetables. The water makes no contact with the food and nutrient loss is minimized.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Be a walkie-talkie.
Instead of chewing the fat with co-workers over lunch, discuss office issues while you walk. Next time you find yourself in a meeting, suggest to your boss that you take it outside during a stroll around the block or through the office halls. Just 20 minutes a day of brisk walking will lower your risk of serious diseases -- that's just four five-minute walks a day! A half-hour a day is even healthier. Walk 45 minutes a day, and watch your waistline shrink.
FAQ of the day:
Do vegetarians need dairy?
If you adopt a more vegetarian eating style, you should be wary of relying too heavily on cheese for protein, because you'll end up eating too much fat. In fact, protein deficiency is uncommon among vegetarians in the U.S.; more often, vegetarians may be low in iron, calcium or zinc. Low-fat or fat-free dairy foods provide calcium along with protein, as do soy foods such as calcium-set tofu and soymilk. Dried beans, peas, lentils and soy foods are also good sources of iron and zinc, as are shellfish. Add variety to your protein sources, and other needs get filled, too!
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent a third round of emergency brain surgery Friday morning after new bleeding was detected in his brain.
At the end of the five hours of surgery, the 77-year-old premier showed "significant improvement" and the pressure inside his skull returned to normal, according to hospital officials in Jerusalem.
"During surgery, the increased intracranial pressure was released, part of the blood clots that remained after the first operation were drained," Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of the Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital, told reporters . "At the end of the operation, there is no active bleeding and the intracranial pressure has returned to normal."
"I can say that in comparison to previous CT scans ... there is a significant improvement in the way the brain exam looks to Hadassah's experts," Mor-Yosef added, according to an Associated Press report.
He said the prime minister was in "stable, but serious" condition.
Sharon has been in a medically induced coma since he suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke Wednesday and underwent several hours of surgery on Thursday. He is expected to be kept in the coma until Sunday, news reports said.
Wednesday's stroke followed a mild one Sharon had Dec. 18 and occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to repair a hole in his heart that was discovered after the first stroke.
Baltimore Named America's Fittest City; Chicago the Fattest
Baltimore has been named America's fittest city by Men's Fitness magazine, and Chicago America's fattest.
The top fittest cities behind Baltimore were Honolulu, Virginia Beach, Va., Tucson, and Milwaukee. And the top fattest cities behind Chicago, according to the magazine, were Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.
Last year, Baltimore was ranked as the 25th fittest city on a list of Top 25. It vaulted to the lead of this year's list because it was favored by new factors that were taken into account in determining the rankings, the Associated Press reported.
These included: access to health care; air quality; the amount of public park space; the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants, and the leadership of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
While Men's Fitness gave Baltimore top marks, rival magazine Men's Health ranked the city 93rd on its list of the "100 Best Cities for Men." The rankings, which appear in the current issue, gave Baltimore an "F" in health and quality of life and a "C+" in fitness, the AP reported.
Last year's fittest city, Seattle, dropped to No. 8 position. Chicago took over the lowest spot from Houston.
Warning Issued on Bleeding Disorder Drug
Some patients with the bleeding disorder called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have suffered a potentially deadly loss of red blood cells when taking the medicine WinRho SDF, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
The FDA and the companies that make the medicine (Baxter Healthcare Corp. and Cangene Corp.) said that ITP patients taking WinRho SDF should immediately contact their doctor if they experience back pain, shaking or chills, fever, discolored urine or decreased urine output, sudden weight gain, fluid retention, swelling or shortness of breath, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the reported adverse reactions to the medicine have occurred within four hours of treatment.
The companies have revised the medicine's label to include the new warning. The revised label also cautions that the liquid form of WinRho SDF can cause false high blood glucose levels in certain kinds of blood glucose testing systems.
People with ITP have an abnormally low level of blood platelets needed for proper blood clotting.
3rd Turkish Child Killed by Bird Flu
An 11-year-old Turkish girl died of bird flu Friday, the third victim of the virus in that country. The girl's teenage brother and sister also died of bird flu over the past week, and a six-year-old brother is currently in hospital being treated for the disease.
The children lived in a rural area of eastern Turkey, and it's believed they contracted the disease while playing with the heads of dead chickens infected with bird flu, CNN reported.
Officials believe the three children were killed by the H5N1 bird flu strain, but tests have yet to confirm that. The H5N1 strain has been found in the region where the children lived.
The head doctor at the hospital where the children died said 23 people are currently being treated for the disease, CNN reported. A delay in seeking treatment likely led to the three children's deaths, the doctor said.
Thousands of domestic birds are being killed in the children's town and surrounding communities. Extra supplies of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu have been sent to the region. The World Health Organization is sending a team to Turkey to investigate the outbreak.
U.S. Issues Flu Pandemic Guide
A U.S. government guide released Friday urges people to prepare for a possible flu pandemic and outlines ways they can do that -- including finding out if they'll be able to work from home, recording family members' blood types, allergies and other medical information, and making plans to teach children at home.
Some of the information in the guide, which warns that a pandemic can strike in waves and last for months, is similar to advice given to people for dealing with natural disasters such as hurricanes and blizzards, the Associated Press reported.
This includes creating a stockpile of water, nonperishable foods, and prescription drugs. But the guide also instructs people on how to prevent the spread of flu, including frequent hand washing and staying home from work or school if you're sick.
It also suggests that people volunteer with local groups to assist with emergency response and form support systems of people that can be relied upon in the event of a flu pandemic, the AP reported.
A copy of the "Pandemic Influenza Planning: A Guide for Individuals and Families," other checklists and pandemic planning information is available online at www.pandemicflu.gov.
Food Fact:
Prevent "pour" nutrition.
If you're not careful, you may pour veggies' vitamins and nutrients down the drain. Cooking vegetables in water significantly lowers the nutrient content because vitamins leech out. You wind up discarding some very nutritious cooking water! Steaming is your best option for cooking vegetables. The water makes no contact with the food and nutrient loss is minimized.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Be a walkie-talkie.
Instead of chewing the fat with co-workers over lunch, discuss office issues while you walk. Next time you find yourself in a meeting, suggest to your boss that you take it outside during a stroll around the block or through the office halls. Just 20 minutes a day of brisk walking will lower your risk of serious diseases -- that's just four five-minute walks a day! A half-hour a day is even healthier. Walk 45 minutes a day, and watch your waistline shrink.
FAQ of the day:
Do vegetarians need dairy?
If you adopt a more vegetarian eating style, you should be wary of relying too heavily on cheese for protein, because you'll end up eating too much fat. In fact, protein deficiency is uncommon among vegetarians in the U.S.; more often, vegetarians may be low in iron, calcium or zinc. Low-fat or fat-free dairy foods provide calcium along with protein, as do soy foods such as calcium-set tofu and soymilk. Dried beans, peas, lentils and soy foods are also good sources of iron and zinc, as are shellfish. Add variety to your protein sources, and other needs get filled, too!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Health Headlines - January 5
Diabetes Drug Reactions Reported
Patients taking two widely used diabetes drugs have reported blurry vision and swelling of the legs and feet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline said Thursday.
In a letter to doctors, the company said it has received "very rare" reports of new or worsening diabetic macular edema in diabetic patients who have taken Avandia or Avandamet. The swelling of the portion of the retina most important for sight can cause blurry or distorted vision, the Associated Press reported.
Most of those patients also reported peripheral edema, or swelling of the legs, ankles and feet, the company said in a letter sent last month to doctors.
"In some cases, the macular edema resolved or improved following discontinuation of therapy and in one case, macular edema resolved after dose reduction," the FDA said in its own letter.
Avandia and Avandamet both contain the drug rosiglitazone. More than 6 million people worldwide have taken the drugs.
U.S. Chicken Flocks to be Tested for Bird Flu
Nearly all chicken flocks in the United States will be tested for avian flu before slaughter, the National Chicken Council said Thursday.
The testing has been agreed to by companies that produce more than 90 percent of U.S. poultry, and more companies are expected to sign on to the program, the Associated Press reported.
The program, which will be paid for by the industry, will test 11 birds from each flock or farm. Samples from the birds will be tested at state or industry-certified laboratories.
If a test indicates the presence of avian flu, and that's confirmed by the U.S. Agriculture Department, the flock will be destroyed on the farm and none of the birds from the farm will enter the food chain, the AP reported.
About 150,000 chicken flocks are produced in the United States each year, and tests for bird flu will be conducted on about 1.6 million chickens a year.
CDC Releases New Birth Defect Estimates
Cleft lip and cleft palate (orofacial clefts) are the most common kind of birth defect in the United States, affecting about 6,800 babies a year, according to new government statistics.
Down syndrome is the second most common birth defect, affecting about 5,500 infants a year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national population-based estimates for 18 major birth defects, which are published in the Jan. 6 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Among the 18 kinds of birth defects, each of 10 of those birth defects affected more than 1,000 babies each year.
"Birth defects are a leading cause of death in the first year of life. With more accurate estimates of how often and where birth defects are occurring, we can better plan for and address the health and education needs of children with birth defects," Jose Cordero, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a prepared statement.
The new national estimates are based on data from the 11 states that review hospital records and identify babies with the 18 major birth defects. The 11 states are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Overall, birth defects affect an estimated 3 percent of babies born in the United States.
More Americans Have Living Wills: Poll
The number of Americans who have a living will has more than doubled since 1990, says a poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
The poll of 1,500 adults conducted in early November 2005 found that 29 percent of people had wills that specified what kind of end-of-life medical treatment they wanted if they weren't able to communicate their wishes. That number was 12 percent in 1990, the Associated Press reported.
The poll also found that 69 percent of married people had talked with their spouses about their wishes for end-of-life care, compared with about 50 percent in 1990. Seventy percent of the respondents said patients should sometimes be allowed to die, and 22 percent said doctors should always try to save a patient's life.
While the respondents were evenly split over the issue of doctor-assisted suicide, a large majority of them said they supported laws that allowed people to make their own decisions about whether they should be kept alive through artificial measures, the AP reported.
The increase in living wills is likely due to an aging population and the fact that more people are having to deal with end-of-life situations, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
Roche Increases Tamiflu Shipments to U.S. Regions Hard Hit by Flu
Parts of several U.S. Western and Midwestern states that have been hard hit by the flu started receiving increased shipments of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The boost in shipments of Tamiflu to wholesalers in these areas will continue as long as there is demand for the drug, said Hoffman-La Roche, the U.S. subsidiary of Tamiflu manufacturer Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Tamiflu is designed to treat the most common strains of influenza types A and B and is approved in the United States for flu treatment and prevention in adults and children aged one year and older.
Last fall, stockpiling and increased demand for Tamiflu prompted Roche to temporarily stop some shipments. The rush to get the drug was prompted by fears about a potential avian flu pandemic, the AP reported.
While Tamiflu is not approved to treat avian flu, it has shown to be effective in some people infected with the bird flu virus.
FDA Orders Closer Look at ADHD Drug Risks
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants more research into the cardiovascular risks posed by drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The action was prompted by reports of sudden deaths, heart attacks, strokes and hypertension in children and adults taking the drugs.
The FDA has requested its Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committee to consider how to further study the potential cardiovascular risks of ADHD drugs, the Associated Press reported. The advisory committee will meet Feb. 9 and 10.
Previous research into long-term use of ADHD drugs don't offer enough information about such risks, the FDA said. It says it has received reports of "serious adverse events" (including deaths) associated with the use of the drugs. The FDA didn't identify any specific ADHD drugs. Adderall XR and Ritalin are the most commonly used ADHD drugs in the U.S.
"The issue of drug treatment of attention deficit disorder in children has been a controversial one without this issue of cardiovascular risk too. It adds another concern to what will certainly be an interesting conversation," Arthur Levin, the FDA committee's consumer representative, told the AP.
Food Fact:
Buy local produce.
It's not only a matter of hometown pride -- it's a way to maximize nutritional benefit. When produce in the grocery store has traveled a great distance, nutrients break down due to exposure to light, time, etc. Your next best bet is frozen fruit and vegetables; freezing preserves the nutrients.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Prime exercise time.
You can burn a lot of calories watching sports on TV. Or a movie, or a game show or anything else -- just park a high-quality exercise bike, treadmill or stair climber in front of the tube and exercise away. You'll never even notice how hard you worked, and whatever you spend on the equipment can be more cost-effective than a gym membership you never use.
FAQ of the day:
Is cheese a good source of protein?
Cheese is a good source of protein, but so what? Most Americans get more than enough protein. A much larger problem is that we get too much saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol and contributes to heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer. A grilled cheese sandwich made with 1 1/2 oz. of cheddar cheese provides 10 grams of protein (about 20% of a 150-lb. person's daily needs) but also 9 grams of saturated fat (about 40% of the upper limit for a person who consumes 2,000 calories a day). Low-fat and fat-free dairy is a better bet.
Patients taking two widely used diabetes drugs have reported blurry vision and swelling of the legs and feet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline said Thursday.
In a letter to doctors, the company said it has received "very rare" reports of new or worsening diabetic macular edema in diabetic patients who have taken Avandia or Avandamet. The swelling of the portion of the retina most important for sight can cause blurry or distorted vision, the Associated Press reported.
Most of those patients also reported peripheral edema, or swelling of the legs, ankles and feet, the company said in a letter sent last month to doctors.
"In some cases, the macular edema resolved or improved following discontinuation of therapy and in one case, macular edema resolved after dose reduction," the FDA said in its own letter.
Avandia and Avandamet both contain the drug rosiglitazone. More than 6 million people worldwide have taken the drugs.
U.S. Chicken Flocks to be Tested for Bird Flu
Nearly all chicken flocks in the United States will be tested for avian flu before slaughter, the National Chicken Council said Thursday.
The testing has been agreed to by companies that produce more than 90 percent of U.S. poultry, and more companies are expected to sign on to the program, the Associated Press reported.
The program, which will be paid for by the industry, will test 11 birds from each flock or farm. Samples from the birds will be tested at state or industry-certified laboratories.
If a test indicates the presence of avian flu, and that's confirmed by the U.S. Agriculture Department, the flock will be destroyed on the farm and none of the birds from the farm will enter the food chain, the AP reported.
About 150,000 chicken flocks are produced in the United States each year, and tests for bird flu will be conducted on about 1.6 million chickens a year.
CDC Releases New Birth Defect Estimates
Cleft lip and cleft palate (orofacial clefts) are the most common kind of birth defect in the United States, affecting about 6,800 babies a year, according to new government statistics.
Down syndrome is the second most common birth defect, affecting about 5,500 infants a year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national population-based estimates for 18 major birth defects, which are published in the Jan. 6 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Among the 18 kinds of birth defects, each of 10 of those birth defects affected more than 1,000 babies each year.
"Birth defects are a leading cause of death in the first year of life. With more accurate estimates of how often and where birth defects are occurring, we can better plan for and address the health and education needs of children with birth defects," Jose Cordero, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a prepared statement.
The new national estimates are based on data from the 11 states that review hospital records and identify babies with the 18 major birth defects. The 11 states are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Overall, birth defects affect an estimated 3 percent of babies born in the United States.
More Americans Have Living Wills: Poll
The number of Americans who have a living will has more than doubled since 1990, says a poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
The poll of 1,500 adults conducted in early November 2005 found that 29 percent of people had wills that specified what kind of end-of-life medical treatment they wanted if they weren't able to communicate their wishes. That number was 12 percent in 1990, the Associated Press reported.
The poll also found that 69 percent of married people had talked with their spouses about their wishes for end-of-life care, compared with about 50 percent in 1990. Seventy percent of the respondents said patients should sometimes be allowed to die, and 22 percent said doctors should always try to save a patient's life.
While the respondents were evenly split over the issue of doctor-assisted suicide, a large majority of them said they supported laws that allowed people to make their own decisions about whether they should be kept alive through artificial measures, the AP reported.
The increase in living wills is likely due to an aging population and the fact that more people are having to deal with end-of-life situations, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
Roche Increases Tamiflu Shipments to U.S. Regions Hard Hit by Flu
Parts of several U.S. Western and Midwestern states that have been hard hit by the flu started receiving increased shipments of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The boost in shipments of Tamiflu to wholesalers in these areas will continue as long as there is demand for the drug, said Hoffman-La Roche, the U.S. subsidiary of Tamiflu manufacturer Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Tamiflu is designed to treat the most common strains of influenza types A and B and is approved in the United States for flu treatment and prevention in adults and children aged one year and older.
Last fall, stockpiling and increased demand for Tamiflu prompted Roche to temporarily stop some shipments. The rush to get the drug was prompted by fears about a potential avian flu pandemic, the AP reported.
While Tamiflu is not approved to treat avian flu, it has shown to be effective in some people infected with the bird flu virus.
FDA Orders Closer Look at ADHD Drug Risks
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants more research into the cardiovascular risks posed by drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The action was prompted by reports of sudden deaths, heart attacks, strokes and hypertension in children and adults taking the drugs.
The FDA has requested its Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committee to consider how to further study the potential cardiovascular risks of ADHD drugs, the Associated Press reported. The advisory committee will meet Feb. 9 and 10.
Previous research into long-term use of ADHD drugs don't offer enough information about such risks, the FDA said. It says it has received reports of "serious adverse events" (including deaths) associated with the use of the drugs. The FDA didn't identify any specific ADHD drugs. Adderall XR and Ritalin are the most commonly used ADHD drugs in the U.S.
"The issue of drug treatment of attention deficit disorder in children has been a controversial one without this issue of cardiovascular risk too. It adds another concern to what will certainly be an interesting conversation," Arthur Levin, the FDA committee's consumer representative, told the AP.
Food Fact:
Buy local produce.
It's not only a matter of hometown pride -- it's a way to maximize nutritional benefit. When produce in the grocery store has traveled a great distance, nutrients break down due to exposure to light, time, etc. Your next best bet is frozen fruit and vegetables; freezing preserves the nutrients.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Prime exercise time.
You can burn a lot of calories watching sports on TV. Or a movie, or a game show or anything else -- just park a high-quality exercise bike, treadmill or stair climber in front of the tube and exercise away. You'll never even notice how hard you worked, and whatever you spend on the equipment can be more cost-effective than a gym membership you never use.
FAQ of the day:
Is cheese a good source of protein?
Cheese is a good source of protein, but so what? Most Americans get more than enough protein. A much larger problem is that we get too much saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol and contributes to heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer. A grilled cheese sandwich made with 1 1/2 oz. of cheddar cheese provides 10 grams of protein (about 20% of a 150-lb. person's daily needs) but also 9 grams of saturated fat (about 40% of the upper limit for a person who consumes 2,000 calories a day). Low-fat and fat-free dairy is a better bet.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Health Headlines - January 4
Israeli Prime Minister Suffers 2nd Stroke: Reports
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a "significant" stroke Wednesday after being rushed to a Jerusalem hospital, a hospital official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director general of Hadassah Hospital, said Sharon was put under general anesthetic and was receiving breathing assistance while doctors assessed his condition.
The prime minister, who was scheduled to undergo a heart procedure Thursday in connection with a stroke he suffered Dec. 18, was taken to the hospital after not feeling well at his Negev ranch, according to an earlier statement by his office.
The office announcement said Sharon, 77, was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, where doctors had planned to close a hole in his heart Thursday. His personal physician was with him, and he was fully conscious, his office said.
Channel 10 News quoted Sharon's spokesman Wednesday as saying the prime minister's symptoms were not severe, and he was being taken by ambulance from his ranch in southern Israel to the Jerusalem hospital, even though there was a closer hospital in Beersheba.
Doctors said last month that Sharon would not suffer long-term effects from the stroke, but they discovered a birth defect in his heart, a small hole, that apparently contributed to the stroke.
Home Male Infertility Test Debuts
A do-it-yourself male fertility test that claims to offer a 95 percent accurate result within 75 minutes will go on sale in the U.K. this month.
The Fertell test works by forcing sperm to swim through a barrier designed to mimic a woman's cervix, The Times of London reported. The test measures the number of active sperm able to swim past this barrier.
A positive test -- indicated by a red line -- means that a sample contains more than 10 million active sperm per milliliter. This level is considered normal according to World Health Organization guidelines.
A study of 150 men found that the test provided an accurate result in 95 percent of cases. But the creators of the test noted that it's not capable of diagnosing all male infertility problems.
Stem Cell Study Co-Authors Agree on Retraction
All the co-authors of a discredited stem cell research article have agreed on a retraction that will be published at a later date, editors at the journal Science announced Wednesday.
Publication of the retraction, on research once seen as a major breakthrough, will wait until it can be compared with the results of an investigation into the controversy by Seoul National University, Agence France Presse reported.
A leading stem cell scientist at the university, Hwang Woo-Suk, resigned last week after investigators concluded there was no scientific basis to his claim that he created stem cells matched to individual patients. The investigators are now also looking at Hwang's previous stem cell work and his claim to have cloned a dog.
When it was published in Science last spring, the latest stem cell research was seen as a major breakthrough. The ability to tailor stem cells to individual patients would be an important advance in treating disease such as diabetes and Alzheimer's, AFP reported.
New Bird Flu Outbreak in China
Chinese officials have confirmed the first bird flu outbreak in Sichuan province, the third-most populous in the country and a important agricultural region.
On Tuesday, the agriculture ministry said that tests confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus as the cause of a disease that killed 1,800 birds in Dazhu county of Sichuan in December, Agence France Presse reported.
An official with the provincial livestock bureau said it was the first outbreak of bird flu in Sichuan. The bureau declined to speculate on the source of the outbreak.
Nearly 13,000 poultry were slaughtered in Dazhu county following the outbreak and the county's 4.6 million remaining poultry have been vaccinated against bird flu.
More Deaths Linked to Natrecor Heart Drug
Two additional patient deaths that occurred during a study of the heart failure drug Natrecor have been reported by California-based drug maker Scios Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.
The revelation has prompted one cardiologist to demand that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdraw the drug from the market, the Associated Press reported.
These two additional deaths bring to seven the number of patients who died within 30 days of being treated with Natrecor during the study, which was conducted three years ago. Scios said it only recently learned about the two additional deaths, and added that it was confident the new information doesn't indicate an increased risk for patients taking Natrecor.
However, New York cardiologist Dr. Jonathon Sackner-Bernstein said the drug should be withdrawn. He was lead author of a report critical of Natrecor that was published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The FDA approved Natrecor in 2001 to treat serious breathing problems associated with heart failure. Early in 2005, the FDA ordered that more information about the risk of death from the drug be included in the package insert for doctors.
Rhode Island Legalizes Medical Marijuana
Rhode Island has legalized medical marijuana, the first state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2005 that patients who use marijuana can still be prosecuted under federal law.
The new Rhode Island law permits patients with illnesses such as AIDS and cancer to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces of marijuana to ease their symptoms. Patients who use medical marijuana are required to register with the state and obtain an identification card, the Associated Press reported.
Other states that allow the use of medicinal marijuana are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
While the Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted under U.S. law, federal authorities say it's unlikely that many will actually be charged.
Coffee May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Coffee may help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who have a family history of the disease, says a study of 1,690 women in four countries.
The study found that drinking at least six cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduced the breast cancer risk by almost 70 percent in women who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, the New York Daily News reported.
Women with the gene mutations who drank four to five cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, and those who drank one cup to three cups a day had a 10 percent reduced risk.
This benefit was not seen in women who drank decaffeinated coffee. The researchers believe that caffeine may offer this protection through its effect on female hormones, the Daily News reported.
The study appears in the International Journal of Cancer.
Food Fact:
Herbal form = function.
For herbally "enhanced" drinks, pay attention to what the label doesn't say. Labels typically do not list the form of an herb, making it impossible to gauge effectiveness. With ginkgo, for example, potential benefits have been seen in extracts standardized to contain a certain percentage of active ingredients. If the ginkgo in a drink is not of this kind, it will be ineffective no matter how much is added.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Beat the clock.
By making physical activity a natural part of your day, you get all the benefits of exercise -- in a fraction of the time. Walk to an appointment. Take the stairs. Scrub the floor or your car. Leading an active life gives you many of the same benefits as structured exercise, and you don't have to "make time" to do it.
FAQ of the day:
Do I need to drink milk to get my calcium?
Your calcium may be OK, but you may be lacking vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption and bone health. We typically get vitamin D from sunlight (our skin synthesizes the vitamin using UV light) and fortified foods, such as milk and some breakfast cereals. But other milk-based foods, such as yogurt and cheese, use unfortified milk, so no vitamin D. If you don't drink fortified milk, are over age 65, and spend a lot of time indoors, consider a vitamin D supplement providing 400 to 600 IU daily.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a "significant" stroke Wednesday after being rushed to a Jerusalem hospital, a hospital official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director general of Hadassah Hospital, said Sharon was put under general anesthetic and was receiving breathing assistance while doctors assessed his condition.
The prime minister, who was scheduled to undergo a heart procedure Thursday in connection with a stroke he suffered Dec. 18, was taken to the hospital after not feeling well at his Negev ranch, according to an earlier statement by his office.
The office announcement said Sharon, 77, was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, where doctors had planned to close a hole in his heart Thursday. His personal physician was with him, and he was fully conscious, his office said.
Channel 10 News quoted Sharon's spokesman Wednesday as saying the prime minister's symptoms were not severe, and he was being taken by ambulance from his ranch in southern Israel to the Jerusalem hospital, even though there was a closer hospital in Beersheba.
Doctors said last month that Sharon would not suffer long-term effects from the stroke, but they discovered a birth defect in his heart, a small hole, that apparently contributed to the stroke.
Home Male Infertility Test Debuts
A do-it-yourself male fertility test that claims to offer a 95 percent accurate result within 75 minutes will go on sale in the U.K. this month.
The Fertell test works by forcing sperm to swim through a barrier designed to mimic a woman's cervix, The Times of London reported. The test measures the number of active sperm able to swim past this barrier.
A positive test -- indicated by a red line -- means that a sample contains more than 10 million active sperm per milliliter. This level is considered normal according to World Health Organization guidelines.
A study of 150 men found that the test provided an accurate result in 95 percent of cases. But the creators of the test noted that it's not capable of diagnosing all male infertility problems.
Stem Cell Study Co-Authors Agree on Retraction
All the co-authors of a discredited stem cell research article have agreed on a retraction that will be published at a later date, editors at the journal Science announced Wednesday.
Publication of the retraction, on research once seen as a major breakthrough, will wait until it can be compared with the results of an investigation into the controversy by Seoul National University, Agence France Presse reported.
A leading stem cell scientist at the university, Hwang Woo-Suk, resigned last week after investigators concluded there was no scientific basis to his claim that he created stem cells matched to individual patients. The investigators are now also looking at Hwang's previous stem cell work and his claim to have cloned a dog.
When it was published in Science last spring, the latest stem cell research was seen as a major breakthrough. The ability to tailor stem cells to individual patients would be an important advance in treating disease such as diabetes and Alzheimer's, AFP reported.
New Bird Flu Outbreak in China
Chinese officials have confirmed the first bird flu outbreak in Sichuan province, the third-most populous in the country and a important agricultural region.
On Tuesday, the agriculture ministry said that tests confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus as the cause of a disease that killed 1,800 birds in Dazhu county of Sichuan in December, Agence France Presse reported.
An official with the provincial livestock bureau said it was the first outbreak of bird flu in Sichuan. The bureau declined to speculate on the source of the outbreak.
Nearly 13,000 poultry were slaughtered in Dazhu county following the outbreak and the county's 4.6 million remaining poultry have been vaccinated against bird flu.
More Deaths Linked to Natrecor Heart Drug
Two additional patient deaths that occurred during a study of the heart failure drug Natrecor have been reported by California-based drug maker Scios Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.
The revelation has prompted one cardiologist to demand that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdraw the drug from the market, the Associated Press reported.
These two additional deaths bring to seven the number of patients who died within 30 days of being treated with Natrecor during the study, which was conducted three years ago. Scios said it only recently learned about the two additional deaths, and added that it was confident the new information doesn't indicate an increased risk for patients taking Natrecor.
However, New York cardiologist Dr. Jonathon Sackner-Bernstein said the drug should be withdrawn. He was lead author of a report critical of Natrecor that was published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The FDA approved Natrecor in 2001 to treat serious breathing problems associated with heart failure. Early in 2005, the FDA ordered that more information about the risk of death from the drug be included in the package insert for doctors.
Rhode Island Legalizes Medical Marijuana
Rhode Island has legalized medical marijuana, the first state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2005 that patients who use marijuana can still be prosecuted under federal law.
The new Rhode Island law permits patients with illnesses such as AIDS and cancer to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces of marijuana to ease their symptoms. Patients who use medical marijuana are required to register with the state and obtain an identification card, the Associated Press reported.
Other states that allow the use of medicinal marijuana are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
While the Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted under U.S. law, federal authorities say it's unlikely that many will actually be charged.
Coffee May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Coffee may help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who have a family history of the disease, says a study of 1,690 women in four countries.
The study found that drinking at least six cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduced the breast cancer risk by almost 70 percent in women who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, the New York Daily News reported.
Women with the gene mutations who drank four to five cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, and those who drank one cup to three cups a day had a 10 percent reduced risk.
This benefit was not seen in women who drank decaffeinated coffee. The researchers believe that caffeine may offer this protection through its effect on female hormones, the Daily News reported.
The study appears in the International Journal of Cancer.
Food Fact:
Herbal form = function.
For herbally "enhanced" drinks, pay attention to what the label doesn't say. Labels typically do not list the form of an herb, making it impossible to gauge effectiveness. With ginkgo, for example, potential benefits have been seen in extracts standardized to contain a certain percentage of active ingredients. If the ginkgo in a drink is not of this kind, it will be ineffective no matter how much is added.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Beat the clock.
By making physical activity a natural part of your day, you get all the benefits of exercise -- in a fraction of the time. Walk to an appointment. Take the stairs. Scrub the floor or your car. Leading an active life gives you many of the same benefits as structured exercise, and you don't have to "make time" to do it.
FAQ of the day:
Do I need to drink milk to get my calcium?
Your calcium may be OK, but you may be lacking vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption and bone health. We typically get vitamin D from sunlight (our skin synthesizes the vitamin using UV light) and fortified foods, such as milk and some breakfast cereals. But other milk-based foods, such as yogurt and cheese, use unfortified milk, so no vitamin D. If you don't drink fortified milk, are over age 65, and spend a lot of time indoors, consider a vitamin D supplement providing 400 to 600 IU daily.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Health Headlines - January 3
Early Results Mixed for New Medicare Drug Program
The new U.S. Medicare drug program that began Jan. 1 is yielding mixed results so far, The New York Times reported.
While Medicare beneficiaries who applied to the program early and received their identification cards have been able to get their prescriptions filled, others have had trouble taking advantage of the drug benefit. In some cases, pharmacists have had to spend hours on the telephone or a computer to confirm a beneficiary's enrollment and eligibility.
"We have had difficulty processing claims for Medicare drug benefits. We will get through it, but at the moment, it's an awful mess and very frustrating for our patients," Tony P. Welder, owner of the Dakota Pharmacy in Bismarck, N.D., told the Times.
He said some people are "in a panic" trying to cope with the new drug program.
"Perhaps we should give out cell phone numbers for members of Congress so that our patients can call them for help," Welder said.
But a pharmacist at a Wal-Mart store in Melbourne, Fla., said things were going fairly well with the new drug program.
"The only problem is that the Medicare computer system is inundated. So when we check eligibility, it sends back busy signals or says, 'Try again.' That interferes with care for the patient," Kas Ghayal told the Times.
The Medicare drug program eligibility database is maintained by a contractor called NDCHealth, the newspaper said.
"We experienced slow response times because of the heavy volume of calls early (Monday). Throughout the day, we've been making adjustments to deliver faster responses to pharmacists," company spokesman Robert P. Borchert told the Times.
Obesity Increases Risk of Kidney Disease and Failure
Being overweight or obese greatly increases the risk of kidney disease and failure, says a University of California, San Francisco study.
Compared to normal weight people, those who are overweight have nearly double the risk of kidney disease. The risk is seven-fold higher in morbidly obese people, the study said.
The findings appear in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
These higher rates of kidney disease may be due to hypertension and diabetes, which are linked to obesity, which also makes the kidneys work harder, study author Chi-yuan Hsu, assistant professor of medicine, told Bloomberg News.
This is the first study to show "convincingly" the link between weight and kidney disorders and adds to the growing list of health problems -- heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes -- related to obesity, Hsu said.
He and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 320,000 people in northern California. Among those people, there were about 1,471 cases of end-stage kidney disease over an average follow-up period of 26 years, Bloomberg News reported.
Hsu said the findings suggest that weight loss may be one step in treating early stage kidney disease.
Art Therapy Eases Cancer Patients' Anxieties: Research
Drawing, painting or doing pottery appears to help cancer patients feel less tired and anxious, according to new U.S. research.
A group of 50 cancer patients who underwent art therapy also reported less pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness immediately after their sessions, the Telegram reported.
Dr Judith Paice, director of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and one of the study's authors, said: "Our study provides beginning evidence for the important role art therapy can play in reducing symptoms. It provides a distraction that allows patients to focus on something positive instead of their health.
The researchers, whose study is published in the American Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, used one-hour art therapy sessions to measure nine symptoms on a 0-10 scale -- pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, shortness of breath and overall well-being.
Participants could choose from activities that included pottery, collage, drawing, painting and making jewelry. Those who were unable to use their hands or were not comfortable using the art materials were able to direct an art therapist to do the work for them.
All the patients showed statistically significant improvements in eight out of the nine symptom categories: The level of tiredness across the group dropped from 4.4 out of 10 to 2.9. Anxiety levels fell from 3.1 to 1.8. Pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness all dropped by between six and 10 per cent, while overall well-being went up from 2.7 out of 10 to 3.7.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels may cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children.
Food Fact:
Be skeptical of "superjuices."
So-called "enhanced" drinks may have less than meets the eye. The amount of ginseng in your water, ginkgo in your iced tea or echinacea in your juice is far below the recommended levels claimed to affect energy, memory, immunity or anything else. The problem for drinkmakers: Often, adding enough would affect taste.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Viva variety.
Stuck in an exercise rut? Just because you have a regimen, it doesn't have to be routine. The more different kinds of activity you do, the greater the odds you'll find a way to exercise and not get bored. Switching between exercises may also reduce the risk of injuries from repeated stress on the same parts of the body. And, variety means that regardless of changing seasons, locales, availability of exercise buddies, etc., you're more likely always to find a way to keep exercising.
FAQ of the day:
Do children need whole milk?
Children only need whole milk until age 2. Up to that age, infants and toddlers need more fat, from a variety of sources, than the rest of us. One reason is that their brains are rapidly developing, and brains are made up mostly from fat. Let your infants and toddlers enjoy their whole milk, whole yogurt and other high-fat dairy foods, as well as plenty of other "good" fats in tofu, fish, nuts and seeds, for example, up to age 2. After that, gradually switch to dairy foods that reduce saturated fat.
The new U.S. Medicare drug program that began Jan. 1 is yielding mixed results so far, The New York Times reported.
While Medicare beneficiaries who applied to the program early and received their identification cards have been able to get their prescriptions filled, others have had trouble taking advantage of the drug benefit. In some cases, pharmacists have had to spend hours on the telephone or a computer to confirm a beneficiary's enrollment and eligibility.
"We have had difficulty processing claims for Medicare drug benefits. We will get through it, but at the moment, it's an awful mess and very frustrating for our patients," Tony P. Welder, owner of the Dakota Pharmacy in Bismarck, N.D., told the Times.
He said some people are "in a panic" trying to cope with the new drug program.
"Perhaps we should give out cell phone numbers for members of Congress so that our patients can call them for help," Welder said.
But a pharmacist at a Wal-Mart store in Melbourne, Fla., said things were going fairly well with the new drug program.
"The only problem is that the Medicare computer system is inundated. So when we check eligibility, it sends back busy signals or says, 'Try again.' That interferes with care for the patient," Kas Ghayal told the Times.
The Medicare drug program eligibility database is maintained by a contractor called NDCHealth, the newspaper said.
"We experienced slow response times because of the heavy volume of calls early (Monday). Throughout the day, we've been making adjustments to deliver faster responses to pharmacists," company spokesman Robert P. Borchert told the Times.
Obesity Increases Risk of Kidney Disease and Failure
Being overweight or obese greatly increases the risk of kidney disease and failure, says a University of California, San Francisco study.
Compared to normal weight people, those who are overweight have nearly double the risk of kidney disease. The risk is seven-fold higher in morbidly obese people, the study said.
The findings appear in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
These higher rates of kidney disease may be due to hypertension and diabetes, which are linked to obesity, which also makes the kidneys work harder, study author Chi-yuan Hsu, assistant professor of medicine, told Bloomberg News.
This is the first study to show "convincingly" the link between weight and kidney disorders and adds to the growing list of health problems -- heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes -- related to obesity, Hsu said.
He and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 320,000 people in northern California. Among those people, there were about 1,471 cases of end-stage kidney disease over an average follow-up period of 26 years, Bloomberg News reported.
Hsu said the findings suggest that weight loss may be one step in treating early stage kidney disease.
Art Therapy Eases Cancer Patients' Anxieties: Research
Drawing, painting or doing pottery appears to help cancer patients feel less tired and anxious, according to new U.S. research.
A group of 50 cancer patients who underwent art therapy also reported less pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness immediately after their sessions, the Telegram reported.
Dr Judith Paice, director of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and one of the study's authors, said: "Our study provides beginning evidence for the important role art therapy can play in reducing symptoms. It provides a distraction that allows patients to focus on something positive instead of their health.
The researchers, whose study is published in the American Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, used one-hour art therapy sessions to measure nine symptoms on a 0-10 scale -- pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, shortness of breath and overall well-being.
Participants could choose from activities that included pottery, collage, drawing, painting and making jewelry. Those who were unable to use their hands or were not comfortable using the art materials were able to direct an art therapist to do the work for them.
All the patients showed statistically significant improvements in eight out of the nine symptom categories: The level of tiredness across the group dropped from 4.4 out of 10 to 2.9. Anxiety levels fell from 3.1 to 1.8. Pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness all dropped by between six and 10 per cent, while overall well-being went up from 2.7 out of 10 to 3.7.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels may cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children.
Food Fact:
Be skeptical of "superjuices."
So-called "enhanced" drinks may have less than meets the eye. The amount of ginseng in your water, ginkgo in your iced tea or echinacea in your juice is far below the recommended levels claimed to affect energy, memory, immunity or anything else. The problem for drinkmakers: Often, adding enough would affect taste.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Viva variety.
Stuck in an exercise rut? Just because you have a regimen, it doesn't have to be routine. The more different kinds of activity you do, the greater the odds you'll find a way to exercise and not get bored. Switching between exercises may also reduce the risk of injuries from repeated stress on the same parts of the body. And, variety means that regardless of changing seasons, locales, availability of exercise buddies, etc., you're more likely always to find a way to keep exercising.
FAQ of the day:
Do children need whole milk?
Children only need whole milk until age 2. Up to that age, infants and toddlers need more fat, from a variety of sources, than the rest of us. One reason is that their brains are rapidly developing, and brains are made up mostly from fat. Let your infants and toddlers enjoy their whole milk, whole yogurt and other high-fat dairy foods, as well as plenty of other "good" fats in tofu, fish, nuts and seeds, for example, up to age 2. After that, gradually switch to dairy foods that reduce saturated fat.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Health Headlines - January 2
Art Therapy Eases Cancer Patients' Anxieties: Research
Drawing, painting or doing pottery appears to help cancer patients feel less tired and anxious, according to new U.S. research.
A group of 50 cancer sufferers who underwent art therapy also reported less pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness immediately after their sessions, the Telegram reported.
Dr Judith Paice, director of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and one of the study's authors, said: "Our study provides beginning evidence for the important role art therapy can play in reducing symptoms. It provides a distraction that allows patients to focus on something positive instead of their health.
The researchers, whose study is published in the American Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, used one-hour art therapy sessions to measure nine symptoms on a 0-10 scale -- pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, shortness of breath and overall well-being.
Participants could choose from activities that included pottery, collage, drawing, painting and making jewelry. Those who were unable to use their hands or were not comfortable using the art materials were able to direct an art therapist to do the work for them.
All the patients showed statistically significant improvements in eight out of the nine symptom categories: The level of tiredness across the group dropped from 4.4 out of 10 to 2.9. Anxiety levels fell from 3.1 to 1.8. Pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness all dropped by between six and 10 per cent, while overall well-being went up from 2.7 out of 10 to 3.7.
Medicare Drug Benefit Starts
Medicare's long-awaited "Plan D" drug benefit program has started. The program works with private plans to supplement drug costs, and is especially designed to help low-income elderly get the medications they need.
Yet many potential beneficiaries still find the program confusing, with seniors forced to choose from up to 60 competing plans, depending on their locale.
While everyone agrees the plan could save seniors thousands of dollars in drug costs, a survey released in November found that low-income elderly are the least likely to understand it.
And a survey done jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health showed that half of the people who make less than $15,000 a year didn't know about the program or didn't think they were eligible.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the Internet is the most highly touted source of information on the new plan -- even though 76 percent of seniors polled admitted they had never surfed the Web.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels might cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children, and damage to the kidneys, heart and nervous systems in adults.
FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza told the AP that the agency will review the newspaper report to see if further action is warranted.
The tuna industry would work with the FDA on any inquiry, David Burney, executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, told the AP. The foundation lobbies for StarKist, Bumblebee and Chicken of the Sea, the major producers of canned tuna in the United States.
Food Fact:
Protect your baby!
Moms-to-be need to keep certain foods off-limits. Alcohol, caffeine and artificial sweeteners top the list; take a timeout until after your pregnancy. Ditto for soft cheeses (feta, goat, brie, camembert, blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort, and all cheeses with unpasteurized milk or milk products; raw, rare or smoked fish, poultry or meat (sushi, tartar, carpaccio, smoked salmon); deli meats and cold cuts; and fish with high mercury levels.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Supermarket sweep.
Put exercise on your shopping list -- it's easy to burn calories right where you buy 'em. Carry two bags of groceries home for an impromptu workout. Or, carry your child instead of using a stroller. These are just two ways to fit fitness into your day without blocking out over an hour to get to the gym. Squeeze in bits of activity whenever you have an opportunity, and it can add up to a big difference in how you look and feel. And even moderate physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease and early death.
FAQ of the day:
How does dairy fit into a diet?
They can make it easier -- or make it harder. The key is dairy fat, which, like all fat, has lots of calories. An 8-oz. glass of whole milk has 150 calories, while the same amount of fat-free milk has only 85. Similarly, a 1/4 cup of regular sour cream has 100 calories, while the same amount of fat-free sour cream has only 70. Your best bet is to make sure all your diary products are low-fat (no more than 3 grams total per serving) or fat-free.
Drawing, painting or doing pottery appears to help cancer patients feel less tired and anxious, according to new U.S. research.
A group of 50 cancer sufferers who underwent art therapy also reported less pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness immediately after their sessions, the Telegram reported.
Dr Judith Paice, director of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and one of the study's authors, said: "Our study provides beginning evidence for the important role art therapy can play in reducing symptoms. It provides a distraction that allows patients to focus on something positive instead of their health.
The researchers, whose study is published in the American Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, used one-hour art therapy sessions to measure nine symptoms on a 0-10 scale -- pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, shortness of breath and overall well-being.
Participants could choose from activities that included pottery, collage, drawing, painting and making jewelry. Those who were unable to use their hands or were not comfortable using the art materials were able to direct an art therapist to do the work for them.
All the patients showed statistically significant improvements in eight out of the nine symptom categories: The level of tiredness across the group dropped from 4.4 out of 10 to 2.9. Anxiety levels fell from 3.1 to 1.8. Pain, depression, drowsiness, loss of appetite and breathlessness all dropped by between six and 10 per cent, while overall well-being went up from 2.7 out of 10 to 3.7.
Medicare Drug Benefit Starts
Medicare's long-awaited "Plan D" drug benefit program has started. The program works with private plans to supplement drug costs, and is especially designed to help low-income elderly get the medications they need.
Yet many potential beneficiaries still find the program confusing, with seniors forced to choose from up to 60 competing plans, depending on their locale.
While everyone agrees the plan could save seniors thousands of dollars in drug costs, a survey released in November found that low-income elderly are the least likely to understand it.
And a survey done jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health showed that half of the people who make less than $15,000 a year didn't know about the program or didn't think they were eligible.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the Internet is the most highly touted source of information on the new plan -- even though 76 percent of seniors polled admitted they had never surfed the Web.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels might cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children, and damage to the kidneys, heart and nervous systems in adults.
FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza told the AP that the agency will review the newspaper report to see if further action is warranted.
The tuna industry would work with the FDA on any inquiry, David Burney, executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, told the AP. The foundation lobbies for StarKist, Bumblebee and Chicken of the Sea, the major producers of canned tuna in the United States.
Food Fact:
Protect your baby!
Moms-to-be need to keep certain foods off-limits. Alcohol, caffeine and artificial sweeteners top the list; take a timeout until after your pregnancy. Ditto for soft cheeses (feta, goat, brie, camembert, blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort, and all cheeses with unpasteurized milk or milk products; raw, rare or smoked fish, poultry or meat (sushi, tartar, carpaccio, smoked salmon); deli meats and cold cuts; and fish with high mercury levels.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Supermarket sweep.
Put exercise on your shopping list -- it's easy to burn calories right where you buy 'em. Carry two bags of groceries home for an impromptu workout. Or, carry your child instead of using a stroller. These are just two ways to fit fitness into your day without blocking out over an hour to get to the gym. Squeeze in bits of activity whenever you have an opportunity, and it can add up to a big difference in how you look and feel. And even moderate physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease and early death.
FAQ of the day:
How does dairy fit into a diet?
They can make it easier -- or make it harder. The key is dairy fat, which, like all fat, has lots of calories. An 8-oz. glass of whole milk has 150 calories, while the same amount of fat-free milk has only 85. Similarly, a 1/4 cup of regular sour cream has 100 calories, while the same amount of fat-free sour cream has only 70. Your best bet is to make sure all your diary products are low-fat (no more than 3 grams total per serving) or fat-free.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Health Headlines - January 1
Medicare Drug Benefit to Take Effect Jan. 1
Medicare's long-awaited "Plan D" drug benefit program kicks in Sunday. The program works with private plans to supplement drug costs, and is especially designed to help low-income elderly get the medications they need.
Yet many potential beneficiaries still find the program confusing, with seniors forced to choose from up to 60 competing plans, depending on their locale.
While everyone agrees the plan could save seniors thousands of dollars in drug costs, a survey released in November found that low-income elderly are the least likely to understand it.
And a survey done jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health showed that half of the people who make less than $15,000 a year didn't know about the program or didn't think they were eligible.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the Internet is the most highly touted source of information on the new plan -- even though 76 percent of seniors polled admitted they had never surfed the Web.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported Saturday.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels might cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children, and damage to the kidneys, heart and nervous systems in adults.
FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza told the AP that the agency will review the newspaper report to see if further action is warranted.
The tuna industry would work with the FDA on any inquiry, David Burney, executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, told the AP. The foundation lobbies for StarKist, Bumblebee and Chicken of the Sea, the major producers of canned tuna in the United States.
Company Says FDA Has OK'd its Sodium Treatment Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an intravenous drug for hospital patients suffering from potentially fatal depressed levels of sodium, the drug's manufacturer said Friday.
Astellas Pharma US Inc. said it would sell the drug, conivaptan hydrochloride, under the brand name Vaprisol, the Associated Press said.
The drug will be used to treat euvolemic hyponatremia, a condition that can occur in hospital patients suffering from syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH), advanced kidney failure, hypothyroidism, cancer and chronic high blood pressure, according to the Tokyo-based company. Euvolemic hyponatremia occurs when the body retains excessive amounts of water but not sodium, the AP said.
Hyponatremia is typically treated by administering diuretics, saline solution or restricting fluid intake. Vaprisol works by increasing urine output while stemming the loss of electrolytes, including sodium and potassium, the company said.
New Jersey Medical School Agrees to Financial Monitor
The nation's largest medical school, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), has appointed a monitor to oversee its finances amid a federal investigation into whether it committed Medicare and Medicaid fraud, the Associated Press reported.
UMDNJ agreed to the appointment last week after U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie threatened to indict the school and effectively shut it down, the wire service said.
The school's University Hospital has been under investigation for allegedly improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid, and for allegedly awarding millions of dollars in no-bid contracts, the AP said.
UMDNJ has already reimbursed the federal and state governments $2 million for the improper bills, the wire service said.
On Thursday, the school's trustees named Herb Stern, 69, a former federal prosecutor and judge, as its federal monitor. Stern led the grand jury probe into the 1965 killing of civil rights leader Malcolm X, the AP reported.
Women in Labor Should Push Less: Study
The delivery room doctor's traditional mantra to "push, push" is largely unnecessary and may even lead to bladder problems, a new study finds.
Some 320 women were divided into two groups, one of which was coached to push for 10 seconds during contractions, while the other was told to "do what comes naturally," according to a study account by the Chicago Sun-Times. Those who were urged to push ultimately had slightly less bladder capacity and more overactive bladder muscles, the newspaper reported of the study, to be published in January's American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
While the coached women spent an average of 13 fewer minutes in labor, the tradeoff was an increased risk of incontinence, wrote study author Dr. Steven Bloom, interim chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Food Fact:
Spice up your lunch.
Low-fat doesn't mean low flavor, if you know how to accessorize. Go all out to garnish sandwiches, leftovers, salads and soups with foods that add flavor and nutrition: Dark green lettuces, tomatoes, bell pepper strips, sprouts, shredded cabbage, mandarin oranges, diced mango and more.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Tee party!
Instead of watching Tiger Woods tone up by shooting a round, hit the golf course for your own above-par workout. Benefits of regular visits to the links include improved overall flexibility, increased range of motion in shoulders and hips, sharpened hand-eye coordination, toned legs, waist and arms, and stronger hands, stomach and back muscles. Best of all, it puts you outdoors in a social, sporting atmosphere.
FAQ of the day:
Do I have to give up carbs if my triglycerides are high?
A high level of triglycerides, or blood fats, can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. Weight loss brings down triglyceride levels, so your top priority should be controlling calories. Cutting excess refined carbs is a quick way to cut calories; if you eat lots of sweets, white bread and oversized portions of pasta, cut way back and replace them with fruit, whole-wheat bread and smaller portions of pasta. Then eat lots and lots of vegetables, which help protect you against heart disease. Cut back on artery-clogging saturated fats from meat and dairy or hydrogenated fats from processed foods, and make sure you get some "good" fats. Eating more fatty fish and cooking with a little olive or canola oil will also lower your triglycerides -- as long as you limit overall calories.
Medicare's long-awaited "Plan D" drug benefit program kicks in Sunday. The program works with private plans to supplement drug costs, and is especially designed to help low-income elderly get the medications they need.
Yet many potential beneficiaries still find the program confusing, with seniors forced to choose from up to 60 competing plans, depending on their locale.
While everyone agrees the plan could save seniors thousands of dollars in drug costs, a survey released in November found that low-income elderly are the least likely to understand it.
And a survey done jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health showed that half of the people who make less than $15,000 a year didn't know about the program or didn't think they were eligible.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the Internet is the most highly touted source of information on the new plan -- even though 76 percent of seniors polled admitted they had never surfed the Web.
Accutane Registry Created to Help Prevent Birth Defects
A long-awaited national registry has begun accepting the names of Americans who take the acne-fighting drug Accutane, part of a federal effort to limit its use by pregnant women because the medication has a high risk of birth defects.
Doctors, wholesalers and pharmacies had until Friday to register with the computerized "iPledge" registry if they want to continue prescribing or selling Accutane and any of the three generic versions of the drug, known as isotretinoin. Generic versions are sold as Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried for more than 20 years to limit fetal exposure to the drug. The reason: If a woman uses Accutane during pregnancy -- or becomes pregnant within a month of taking the drug -- her baby runs a high risk of brain and heart defects or mental retardation, the AP said.
The drug is prescribed to about 100,000 Americans a month; patients typically take it for five to six months.
To receive the drug, Accutane users must now enroll by telephone at (866) 495-0654 or through the Internet at http://www.ipledgeprogram.com. They also must sign a document that tells them of the drug's risks, which also includes the chance of depression or suicidal thoughts, the AP said.
And women of childbearing age must undergo two pregnancy tests before they can be prescribed the drug, along with a monthly follow-up test before each refill. They also must agree to use two different forms of birth control at the same time or not to have intercourse for one month before starting the drug, during treatment and for one month after treatment has ended, according to the news service.
Some Canned Tuna Could Be Checked by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will investigate a newspaper report that some canned light tuna contains a species of the popular fish that has higher mercury levels, the Associated Press reported Saturday.
The review was prompted by a recent series in the Chicago Tribune that found that, instead of the skipjack tuna commonly used, the yellowfin variety was present in some cans of light tuna even though the labeling did not say so.
Yellowfin tuna is considered by many in the fishing industry to have mercury levels that match those of albacore tuna. The U.S. government has advised high-risk people, such as young children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, not to eat albacore tuna in large amounts, the Tribune reported. High mercury levels might cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children, and damage to the kidneys, heart and nervous systems in adults.
FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza told the AP that the agency will review the newspaper report to see if further action is warranted.
The tuna industry would work with the FDA on any inquiry, David Burney, executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, told the AP. The foundation lobbies for StarKist, Bumblebee and Chicken of the Sea, the major producers of canned tuna in the United States.
Company Says FDA Has OK'd its Sodium Treatment Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an intravenous drug for hospital patients suffering from potentially fatal depressed levels of sodium, the drug's manufacturer said Friday.
Astellas Pharma US Inc. said it would sell the drug, conivaptan hydrochloride, under the brand name Vaprisol, the Associated Press said.
The drug will be used to treat euvolemic hyponatremia, a condition that can occur in hospital patients suffering from syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH), advanced kidney failure, hypothyroidism, cancer and chronic high blood pressure, according to the Tokyo-based company. Euvolemic hyponatremia occurs when the body retains excessive amounts of water but not sodium, the AP said.
Hyponatremia is typically treated by administering diuretics, saline solution or restricting fluid intake. Vaprisol works by increasing urine output while stemming the loss of electrolytes, including sodium and potassium, the company said.
New Jersey Medical School Agrees to Financial Monitor
The nation's largest medical school, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), has appointed a monitor to oversee its finances amid a federal investigation into whether it committed Medicare and Medicaid fraud, the Associated Press reported.
UMDNJ agreed to the appointment last week after U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie threatened to indict the school and effectively shut it down, the wire service said.
The school's University Hospital has been under investigation for allegedly improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid, and for allegedly awarding millions of dollars in no-bid contracts, the AP said.
UMDNJ has already reimbursed the federal and state governments $2 million for the improper bills, the wire service said.
On Thursday, the school's trustees named Herb Stern, 69, a former federal prosecutor and judge, as its federal monitor. Stern led the grand jury probe into the 1965 killing of civil rights leader Malcolm X, the AP reported.
Women in Labor Should Push Less: Study
The delivery room doctor's traditional mantra to "push, push" is largely unnecessary and may even lead to bladder problems, a new study finds.
Some 320 women were divided into two groups, one of which was coached to push for 10 seconds during contractions, while the other was told to "do what comes naturally," according to a study account by the Chicago Sun-Times. Those who were urged to push ultimately had slightly less bladder capacity and more overactive bladder muscles, the newspaper reported of the study, to be published in January's American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
While the coached women spent an average of 13 fewer minutes in labor, the tradeoff was an increased risk of incontinence, wrote study author Dr. Steven Bloom, interim chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Food Fact:
Spice up your lunch.
Low-fat doesn't mean low flavor, if you know how to accessorize. Go all out to garnish sandwiches, leftovers, salads and soups with foods that add flavor and nutrition: Dark green lettuces, tomatoes, bell pepper strips, sprouts, shredded cabbage, mandarin oranges, diced mango and more.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Tee party!
Instead of watching Tiger Woods tone up by shooting a round, hit the golf course for your own above-par workout. Benefits of regular visits to the links include improved overall flexibility, increased range of motion in shoulders and hips, sharpened hand-eye coordination, toned legs, waist and arms, and stronger hands, stomach and back muscles. Best of all, it puts you outdoors in a social, sporting atmosphere.
FAQ of the day:
Do I have to give up carbs if my triglycerides are high?
A high level of triglycerides, or blood fats, can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. Weight loss brings down triglyceride levels, so your top priority should be controlling calories. Cutting excess refined carbs is a quick way to cut calories; if you eat lots of sweets, white bread and oversized portions of pasta, cut way back and replace them with fruit, whole-wheat bread and smaller portions of pasta. Then eat lots and lots of vegetables, which help protect you against heart disease. Cut back on artery-clogging saturated fats from meat and dairy or hydrogenated fats from processed foods, and make sure you get some "good" fats. Eating more fatty fish and cooking with a little olive or canola oil will also lower your triglycerides -- as long as you limit overall calories.
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