Health Headlines - April 11

Organ-Rejection Drugs Linked to Nervous System Disorder: FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is reviewing data involving a link between two drugs used to prevent organ rejection after transplant and a rare central nervous system disorder called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

Use of CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) and Myfortic (mycophenolic acid) may lead to the sometimes fatal disorder, the FDA said. PML usually affects people with weakened immune systems.

Roche, the maker of CellCept, has provided the agency with data showing that PML can be a rare side effect, and the company is recommending that an advisory be added to the drug's label. The FDA said it also has asked the maker of Myfortic, Novartis, to provide any PML data associated with the drug's use.

PML's symptoms may include vision changes, loss of coordination, memory loss, difficulty speaking or understanding others, and leg weakness.

The FDA said during the ongoing review, patients shouldn't change the way they use either medication.

In October, the agency warned that CellCept could cause birth defects and miscarriages, and could also weaken the effectiveness of certain birth control drugs.

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Suicide Leading Cause of Violent Death in U.S.

In 2005, violent deaths claimed the lives of 15,962 people in 16 states, according to data collected by the National Violent Death Reporting System. The study was included in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The majority (56.1 percent) of these deaths were suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal intervention (29.6 percent), deaths of undetermined intent (13.3 percent), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7 percent).

The study also found that intimate partner violence and relationship problems, mental health problems, and drug and alcohol use at the time of death were common precipitating factors. In nearly 87 percent of cases where homicide was followed by the suicide of a suspect, a personal crisis occurred in the two weeks prior to the incident.

Former or current military personal accounted for 20 percent of all suicides.

Each year in the United States, about 50,000 people (137 per day) suffer a violent death. Programs to enhance social problem-solving and coping skills, and skills for dealing with stressful life events, may help reduce violence, the study authors said.

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U.S. Postpartum Depression Rates Vary

The prevalence of postpartum depression in 17 U.S. states in 2004-2005 ranged from 11.7 percent in Maine to 20.4 percent in New Mexico, a new study concludes.

It also found that younger women, women with less education, and women who received Medicaid benefits for their deliveries were more likely than other women to report postpartum depression. State and local health departments should assess the effectiveness of targeting mental health services to these mothers, the study authors said.

In addition, the prevalence of postpartum depression was higher among women who were physically abused before or during pregnancy, ranging from 30.8 percent in Minnesota to 52.7 percent in South Carolina.

Postpartum depression is an important and widespread public health issue and health care providers should screen women for the condition through the first year after they've had a baby, the researchers said.

The study appears in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Chocolate-Covered Almonds and Peanuts Recalled

Five-ounce bags of chocolate-covered almonds and chocolate double-dipped peanuts have been recalled by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. The bags of almonds may contain peanuts and the bags of peanuts may contain almonds, posing the risk of life-threatening allergic reactions for certain people.

The products, sold at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores in 41 states, were packaged in a clear bag with a red and white diamond pattern on the label. No illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported to date, and there is no health risk for people who aren't allergic to peanuts or almonds. No other candies or packaged food items are included in the recall, according to a news release on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site.

The problem was caused by a temporary breakdown in the supplier's labeling and packaging process, Cracker Barrel officials said.

Consumers with the recalled products can return them to any Cracker Barrel store for a full refund. For more information, call the company at 800-333-9566.

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U.S. Wastes $1.2 Trillion in Health-Care Spending Each Year: Report

As much as $1.2 trillion of the $2.2 trillion spent on health care each year in the United States is wasted on excess health spending and inefficiency, according to an analysis released Thursday by PricewaterhouseCooper's Health Research Institute.

The biggest area of wasteful spending identified in the analysis is defensive medicine, such as redundant, inappropriate or unnecessary tests and procedures. That's followed by inefficient health-care administration and the cost of care spent on conditions such as obesity, which is considered preventable by lifestyle changes.

The analysis authors classified health system inefficiencies into three categories: consumer behavior; operational inefficiencies; and clinical overuse, misuse or under-use. Behavioral issues such as patient non-adherence to medical advice and prescriptions, alcohol abuse, smoking and obesity fall into all three categories.

The analysis, which included a review of more than 35 industry reports and interviews with health industry representatives, was included in a report presented Thursday at a meeting of health-industry leaders in Washington, D.C.

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Global Study Examines Osteoporosis Management

A landmark, multi-national osteoporosis management study that will include nearly 60,000 women aged 55 and older was announced Thursday. The aim of the Global Longitudinal Registry of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW) is to learn more about how to improve the standard of care for postmenopausal women at risk of osteoporosis.

The study includes women from 17 cities in 10 countries on three continents.

"We know that there are patients at high risk for osteoporosis, sometimes already having suffered a broken bone, who aren't getting diagnosed and treated. We have to figure out why not," Dr. Robert Lindsay, GLOW executive committee co-chair and chief of internal medicine at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, N.Y., said in a prepared statement.

"Globally we have an aging female population that wants to maintain independence and vitality. We can help by finding the key to improving diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating disease," Lindsay said.

"We want to understand regional differences in physician and patient behavior and how that impacts patient outcomes. Hopefully, armed with that knowledge, we will be able to recommend best practices and improve the management of osteoporosis worldwide," Professor Pierre Delmas, GLOW executive committee co-chair and professor of medicine and rheumatology at the Universite Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, said in a prepared statement.

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Intestinal Nerves May Play Role in Blood Sugar Control

Canadian researchers have found that the intestines play a major role in controlling blood sugar levels, a discovery that could help in efforts to create safer and more effective diabetes medications, the Toronto Star reported.

The University Health Network team's tests on rats revealed that a set of nerves in the intestines is intimately involved in controlling blood glucose levels. This cluster of nerves senses the presence of food and signals the brain to halt the liver's glucose production. But the researchers found that a high-fat diet can switch off this signaling system, the Star reported.

"The cure for diabetes is to lower blood glucose levels... and this will be an innovative and effective approach to do that," said study senior author Tony Lam, the Star reported.

He noted that the gut can access drugs directly, instead of having to rely on blood for drug delivery. This finding about the role of intestines in controlling blood sugar levels could make it easier to create drugs to correct blood sugar problems.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

Health Tips for April 11

Health Tip: Symptoms of Diabetes

Diabetes occurs when your blood sugar rises too high because your body doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin, or the insulin doesn't work correctly.

Insulin, made by the pancreas, helps body cells absorb sugars from food.

Here are some common warning signs of diabetes, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

* Excessive thirst and urination.
* Feeling very hungry frequently.
* Feeling very tired.
* Unintentional weight loss.
* Frequent infections, or wounds that don't heal.
* Blurred vision.
* Numbness or tingling in hands and feet.
* Dry, itchy skin.

If you have any of these symptoms, visit your doctor to be tested for diabetes, especially if you are 45 or older.

Health Tip: Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Women who are at a healthy body weight before pregnancy should gain between 25 pounds and 37 pounds, the American Pregnancy Association says.

It offers this additional information about weight gain during pregnancy:

* Women who are underweight before pregnancy should gain between 28 pounds and 40 pounds.
* Women who are overweight before pregnancy should gain between 15 pounds and 25 pounds.
* Eat healthy meals with sufficient calories, and avoid eating fatty foods and junk food.
* Eat a daily well-rounded diet, including three servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese; three servings of protein; three servings of fruits; four servings of vegetables; and nine servings of whole grain products.

Health Headlines - April 10

Hazardous Amounts of Selenium Found in Supplements: FDA

Hazardous amounts of the trace mineral selenium have been found in samples of the dietary supplements "Total Body Formula" and "Total Body Mega Formula," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday.

The agency said it has 43 reports from nine states of serious adverse reactions among people who took the supplements, which have been recalled by the distributor.

Last month, the FDA warned consumers not to buy or use tropical orange or peach nectar flavors of "Total Body Formula," or the orange/tangerine flavor of "Total Body Mega Formula." The agency cited adverse reactions occurring within 10 days of the products' use, including hair loss, muscle cramps, diarrhea, joint pain, deformed fingernails, and fatigue.

Selenium, an immune-system boosting mineral, is needed in very small amounts. But the FDA said its analysis found that the supplements contained up to 200 times the amount per serving that had been indicated on the products' labeling.

The agency said it is investigating how the excess selenium wound up in the products, which are distributed by Atlanta-based Total Body Essential Nutrition. The supplements were distributed nationwide in 32-ounce plastic bottles.

Consumers should immediately stop using the products and throw the remainder away, the FDA said.

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Elevated Lung Cancer Cases in Users of Inhaled Insulin

Patients who used the inhaled insulin product Exubera had an elevated number of lung cancer cases, drug maker Pfizer Inc. disclosed Wednesday. The lung cancer cases were discovered in an analysis of clinical trials and post-approval reports to Pfizer and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bloomberg news reported.

All the patients who developed lung cancer "had a prior history of cigarette smoking" and "there were too few cases to determine whether the development of lung cancer is related to the use of Exubera," Pfizer said in a statement.

Last October, Pfizer stopped selling Exubera, which failed to catch on with patients and doctors due to its cost and cumbersome delivery device, Bloomberg reported.

In addition, the inhaled insulin seemed to decrease lung function, apparently due to the way the insulin was delivered into the lungs, Forbes reported at the time.

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6,700 Children Hospitalized for Neglect, Abuse in 2005

Of the 6,700 children in the United States hospitalized for neglect or physical abuse in 2005, more than 200 died and all the children who died were under age 5, according to the latest News and Numbers from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The analysis of hospital data showed that children under age 5 accounted for 80 percent of all those under age 18 who were hospitalized for abuse or neglect. The average hospital stay for these children cost $14,800, which is 75 percent more than the cost of an average child's hospital stay. The total 2005 hospital care cost for children who suffered physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect was nearly $100 million.

Other findings from the analysis:

• Children hospitalized due to abuse or neglect were seven times more likely to die in the hospital than children admitted for other reasons.
• More than one-third of children hospitalized for physical abuse had head injuries, 26 percent had bruises, 21 percent had bleeding behind the eye, 20 percent had epileptic convulsions, and 18 percent had broken legs or feet.
• Children from the poorest communities accounted for nearly 36 percent of hospitalizations for abuse or neglect, while 14 percent were from wealthy communities.
• Nearly 71 percent of these hospitals stays were billed to Medicaid and 21 percent to private insurers. About 5 percent were uninsured and the rest were charged to other government payers.

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U.S. Officials Seize Unapproved Impotence Drugs

U.S. authorities have seized more than 14,000 dosage units of unapproved drugs marketed as natural supplements to treat erectile dysfunction, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

The seized products, worth more than $100,000, included Shangai Regular, Shangai Ultra, Super Shangai, Naturale Super Plus and Lady Shangai. The FDA said they contained undeclared active ingredients found in approved prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction.

The use of these seized products could cause serious side effects and they may interact in dangerous ways with other medications being taken by a consumer. The products, which originated in China, are packaged and distributed by Shangai Distributors of Coamo, Puerto Rico.

Consumers who've bought any of these products should stop using them and consult their health-care providers if they've experienced any problems they believe may be related to the use of the products, the FDA said.

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U.S. Surgeons Perform 6 Simultaneous Kidney Transplants

In what's believed to be the first operation of its kind, Johns Hopkins surgeons transplanted six kidneys simultaneously, hospital officials announced Tuesday. The 10-hour surgeries on Saturday required six operating rooms and nine surgical teams, the Associated Press reported.

"All 12 (donor and transplant) patients are doing great, the kidneys are working well," said Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of Hopkins' transplant center and head of the transplant team.

The transplants were made possible when a donor who was willing to donate a kidney to anyone was found to be a match for one of the transplant candidates. The other five candidates each had a willing donor whose kidney wasn't a match for their particular relative or friend, but was a match for one of the other candidates, the AP reported.

The donors and recipients were matched using a living-donor system developed at Johns Hopkins.

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THC/Alcohol Combination Kills Brain Cells: Study

A combination of THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- and alcohol caused widespread nerve cell death in the brains of rats, says a German study.

Researchers injected THC, a synthetic form of THC, ethanol, the anticonvulsant drug MK-801, and phenobarbital to rats 1 to 14 days old, United Press International reported.

When administered alone, neither THC nor synthetic THC caused cell death. But both did cause cell death when given with lower-than-toxic amounts of ethanol. The researchers also found that THC increased the neurotoxic effect of MK-801 and phenobarbital.

"Nerounal degeneration became disseminated and very severe when THC was combined with a mildly toxic ethanol dose," the researchers said in a statement. The study was published in the journal Annals of Neurology.

The researchers said the combined effect of THC and alcohol on the developing brain requires further investigation, UPI reported.

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Pre-Eclampsia May Increase Child's Heart Disease Risk

Children born to mothers who develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy may have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge in Great Britain.

Pre-eclampsia can reduce the amount of oxygen a fetus receives. This may impair the growth of the baby's cardiovascular, metabolic and endocrine systems, said the researchers, who studied pregnancies at high altitude (where oxygen is restricted) and conducted tests on pregnant animals, BBC News reported.

Their findings were to be presented at a meeting of the Society for Endocrinology.

"We have known for a while that changes in maternal nutrition can affect fetal development and influence disease susceptibility later in life, but relatively little work has investigated how low oxygen levels in the womb may affect infant development," said lead researcher Dr. Dino Giussani, BBC News reported.

"Our research shows that changes to the amount of oxygen available in the womb can have a profound influence on the development of the fetus in both the short- and long-term, and trigger an early origin of heart disease."

Health Tips for April 10

Health Tip: Swelling During Pregnancy

Production of additional fluids and blood during pregnancy sometimes leads to swelling in the woman's face, hands, legs, ankles and feet.

Here are ways to help control swelling during pregnancy, courtesy of the American Pregnancy Association:

* Don't stand for long periods. Sit and rest with your feet elevated.
* Avoid hot temperatures.
* Wear comfortable, flat shoes with stockings that provide support.
* Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes.
* Relax in a pool, or swim a few laps.
* Drink plenty of water, and reduce the amount of salt (sodium) in your diet.
* Apply a cold compress to swollen areas.

Health Tip: Before Getting Plastic Surgery

You should do your homework before you elect to have plastic surgery.

Here are suggestions on how to prepare for the procedure, courtesy of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons:

* Research the surgery until you fully understand its possible benefits and risks.
* Talk to your doctor about what to expect after the surgery, including likely results, how much time it may take you to recover, and what the recovery period will feel like.
* Talk to other people who have had the procedure to gain their insight.
* Don't be afraid to discuss any questions or concerns with your doctor. Be sure the physician knows your complete medical history.
* Make sure the surgeon you select is qualified, properly trained, and certified to perform the procedure.

Health Headlines - April 9

FDA Reports More Deaths Related to Tainted Heparin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now says 62 deaths are associated with use of tainted batches of the blood thinner heparin, more than triple the previous estimate of 19 deaths.

The FDA said Tuesday that the deaths weren't new ones. The revised count is based on more data received recently by the agency after reports of the contaminated blood thinner first surfaced in February. The 62 deaths appear to be the allergic-type reactions seen with the other fatalities, the Wall Street Journal reported.

There were only three deaths due to allergic reactions in 2006, the FDA said.

Heparin is often given to dialysis patients and people undergoing heart surgery. The raw materials for the drug come from the mucous lining of pig intestines. Many of those pigs come from rural farms in China, with the intestines often processed by unregulated mom-and-pop workshops.

The FDA last month identified the contaminant in heparin as oversulfated condroitin sulfate, which was found in samples of the blood thinner produced in China for Baxter Healthcare Corp., of Deerfield, Ill.

Oversulfated chondroitin sulfate mimics heparin's qualities and is a modified form of chondroitin sulfate. Chondroitin sulfate is a naturally occurring substance made from animal cartilage and is often used in supplements to treat arthritic joints. But, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate is man-made and doesn't occur naturally.

On Tuesday, the FDA posted a month-by-month heparin mortality count on its Web site, showing that a sudden jump in allergic-style fatal reactions actually began last November -- possibly signaling the time when the contamination began, the Associated Press reported.

FDA officials don't know how the contaminant got into the heparin.

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Dyslexia's Impact Differs, Depending on the Language

The areas of the brain affected by dyslexia differ between children who learned to read in English and those who learned to read in Chinese, say researchers who compared MRI brain scans of children, the Associated Press reported.

"This finding was very surprising to us. We had not ever thought that dyslexics' brains are different for children who read in English and Chinese. Our finding yields neurobiological clues to the cause of dyslexia," said study lead author Li-Hai Tan, a professor of linguistics and brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Hong Kong.

The study was published Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Children who learn English and other alphabetical languages learn the sounds of letters and how to combine them into words, while Chinese children memorize hundreds of symbols that represent words, Guinevere F. Eden, director of the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., told the AP.

This finding shows that "we cannot just assume that any dyslexic child is going to be helped by the same kind of intervention," said Eden, who was not involved in the study.

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Magnetic Dart Boards Recalled

About 870,000 Fun 'N Games Magnetic Dart Boards are being recalled by Henry Gordy International Inc., of Plainfield, N.J., because small magnets on the ends of the darts can detach and be swallowed by young children.

If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause potentially fatal intestinal blockages or perforations. There have been no injuries reported, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recalled dart boards are about 5.5 inches in diameter and came with two 2.75-inch magnetic darts. The Chinese-made toys were sold at Family Dollar stores across the United States from September 2002 through March 2008 for about $1.

Consumers with the recalled dart boards should return them by first class mail to: Henry Gordy International Inc., 809A Market Street, Hermann, Mo., 65041 for a full refund including tax and shipping costs. For more information, contact the company at 888-790-2700.

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Breakfast Cereals Recalled for Salmonella Threat

Certain batches of Malt-O-Meal Unsweetened Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat cereals are being recalled because they may be contaminated with salmonella. The recall affects cereals with "Best If Used By" codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as "APR0808") and March 18, 2009 (coded as "MAR1809").

The recalled products were distributed across the United States, marketed under the Malt-O-Meal brand, as well as under private label brands including Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, and Weis Quality, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

A full list of recalled products can be found at www.malt-o-meal.com/recallinfo. There have been no illnesses reported in connection with the recalled cereals.

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Baby With 2 Faces Born in India

A baby with two faces born in a northern Indian village is doing well and being worshipped as the reincarnation of Durga, the Hindu goddess of valor, the Associated Press reported.

The baby, Lali, has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes, the result of an extremely rare condition called craniofacial duplication. It's often associated with serious health complications, but a doctor said Lali is doing fine.

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," said Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital. Lali has no breathing difficulties and the doctor said he saw no need for surgery, the AP reported.

"My daughter is fine -- like any other child," said father Vinod Singh, a poor farm worker.

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Pfizer Halts Melanoma Drug Trial

A late-stage study of the experimental melanoma treatment tremelimumab has been halted by drug maker Pfizer Inc., after a data review showed the drug was no more effective than standard chemotherapy.

Even though the trial has been stopped, study investigators will work with patients to determine if they're benefiting from treatment and should continue taking tremelimumab, the Associated Press reported.

All the data from the study is being analyzed, and more details about the results are expected to be available at June's annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, in Chicago.

"We continue to focus on additional studies involving tremelimumab alone and in combination with other therapies which are currently ongoing in patients with several types of cancer," said Charles Baum, vice president and oncology therapeutic area head at Pfizer Global Research and Development, the AP reported.

Baum also said Pfizer "will continue to assess the study data to understand the clinical benefit seen in some patients who received tremelimumab."

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Deadliest Form of Skin Cancer Largely Unknown

Merkel cell carcinoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- hasn't received much scientific scrutiny, and most people probably haven't heard of it, according to the Associated Press.

Funding is a major issue. Researchers investigating the disease have long had to rely on small pilot grants and family fund-raising.

It's only been about 15 years since Merkel cell carcinoma was recognized as distinct from melanoma. Since then, the number of diagnosed cases in the United States has tripled to about 1,500 a year. Merkel cell carcinoma is more aggressive than melanoma and requires different treatment -- intense radiation.

Last month, the first comprehensive report on Merkel cell carcinoma symptoms and risk factors was published. The disease almost exclusively develops on sun-exposed skin on Caucasians over age 50, the AP reported.

In January, University of Pittsburgh scientists announced they'd identified a possible cancer-triggering virus inside Merkel cell tumors.

Health Tips for April 9

Health Tip: Having Neck Pain?

Neck pain has a variety of causes, often muscle strain or tension.

Here are some other common triggers, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

* Sitting at or bending over a desk for long periods, especially with poor posture.
* Reading, working or watching TV with poor posture.
* Working at a computer screen that is too high or too low.
* Sleeping in an awkward position.
* Injuring the neck during exercise by twisting or straining the muscles.
* Medical conditions, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, meningitis or a herniated disk.

Health Tip: Taming a Temper Tantrum

Temper tantrums are a child's means of expressing anger at an age where they haven't learned or adopted other coping methods.

The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital offers these suggestions to help manage your child's temper tantrums:

* If the tantrum is triggered by frustration, offer support, encouragement, and help with what's frustrating the child.
* If the tantrum appears to be a way to get attention or to get the child's way, try to ignore it. Never give in to the child's demands when expressed this way.
* Try to anticipate and avoid a tantrum by giving the child a five-minute warning. If the child doesn't end up where you want the child to be, physically carry the child there.
* If the child becomes extremely loud or violent, send the child to his or her bedroom for a two-to-five-minute timeout.
* If your child seems out of control or could cause self-injury, hold the child for about one to three minutes until you feel the child's body begin to relax.

Health Headlines - April 8

Hispanic Toddlers at Greater Risk of Iron Deficiency

Hispanic toddlers have double the rate of iron deficiency as white toddlers, concludes a new study published in the current issue of the journal Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

In analyzing iron deficiency data from 1976-2002, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that overweight toddlers also were at greater-than-average risk.

Over the span, iron deficiency rates dropped among some groups, from 23 percent to 12 percent in 1-year-old children, from 22 percent to 9 percent among poor toddlers, and from 16 percent to 6 percent in black toddlers, the school said in a prepared statement.

The researchers attributed the decreases to ongoing efforts to fortify infant formula and foods with iron, and to the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program. They recommended stepped-up efforts to provide nutrition education at clinics and community outreach programs, and that all overweight toddlers be screened for iron deficiency.

Lack of dietary iron can lead to iron-deficiency anemia, where the body does not have enough iron to form sufficient hemoglobin, a blood protein that carries oxygen to the body's cells.

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2 Mad Cow Deaths Reported in Spain

Two people in Spain have died from the human variant of mad cow disease, Spanish officials reported Monday.

The two deaths from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurred in Spain's Castilla-Leon region in December and February. The victims, aged 40 and 51, represent the nation's first deaths from the brain-wasting illness since 2005, the Associated Press reported.

A health official from the region, north of Madrid, told the wire service that the victims apparently contracted the disease before 2001. Preventive guidelines on livestock and meat production are considerably stricter now, the official said.

Mad cow, first reported in Britain in the 1980s, has been attributed to the use of recycled meat and bone meal in cattle feed. The human variant appears to be acquired by eating meat from infected animals.

Unidentified officials in Spain, appealing for calm, insisted that it was safe to eat domestic beef, the AP said.

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Stuffed Insect Toys Recalled for Choking Hazard

Some 300,000 "Cuddly Cousins" plush insect toys are being recalled because they contain small parts that could pose a choking hazard to small children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday. The toys, made in China, were available in six designs: a lady bug, bumble bee, caterpillar, snail and two butterflies. The product number is 903995, and the UPC code is 6 39277 03995 8 with a date code of 71.

The toys were sold for about $1 at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only One $1, and Deal$ stores nationwide from March 2007 through December 2007.

Consumers should take the toys away from children immediately and return them to the place of purchase for a refund. For more information, call Dollar Tree Stores at 800-876-8077.

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Hospitalized Kids Often Victims of Drug Mishaps

About one of every 15 hospitalized children is the victim of a drug mix-up, accidental overdose, or medication reaction, a new study estimates.

That number far exceeds earlier estimates, the Associated Press reported. The finding follows the well-publicized case of actor Dennis Quaid, whose newborn twins were accidentally overdosed at a Los Angeles hospital with the blood thinning drug, heparin. The infants have recovered from the life-threatening incident.

In the new study, Dr. Charles Homer of the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality used new detection methods to conclude that 540,000 hospitalized children each year are victim of a drug-related harmful event.

More than half of the problems cited involved overdoses or allergic reactions to painkillers.

Homer and his colleagues, writing in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics, said their findings confirm the need for "aggressive, evidence-based prevention strategies to decrease the substantial risk for medication-related harm to our pediatric inpatient population."

Experts cited by the AP said the problem could well be bigger than the study concluded, since researchers reviewed only selected cases and hospitals.

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Millions Endangered by Global Climate Change

Global climate change -- including rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns -- could expose millions of people worldwide to poverty, disease and hunger, the World Health Organization said Monday.

A rise in malaria-carrying mosquitoes, notably in the cooler climates of South Korea and portions of Papua New Guinea, is an ominous sign that global warming has already begun to impact human health, the WHO said.

Hotter weather tends to shorten the breeding cycle of mosquitoes, allowing them to breed much faster and increase the risk of disease, the Associated Press quoted WHO Director Shigeru Omi as saying.

"Without urgent action through changes in human lifestyle, the effects of this phenomenon on the global climate system could be abrupt or even irreversible, sparing no country and causing more frequent and more intense heat waves, rain storms, tropical cyclones and surges in sea level," he predicted.

Residents of poorer countries are particularly vulnerable, since they already face widespread malnutrition among other serious health issues, Omi said.

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Some Teaching Hospitals Cost More Than Others: Study

The U.S. government is paying nearly four times the price to care for chronically ill people at certain teaching hospitals than at other teaching institutions, new research concludes.

The evaluation of Medicare spending to care for chronically ill elderly and disabled people was done by researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.

The authors concluded that the government could save billions if some hospitals practiced more efficiently, USA Today reported Monday.

Teaching hospitals usually are associated with medical schools and allow new doctors to deal with complex medical cases and use new technologies.

The researchers evaluated cases that ended in death involving 192,242 Medicare patients between 2001-2005. All had at least one of nine chronic ailments such as heart disease or diabetes. Factors evaluated included the length of hospitalization, the number of doctors involved, and time spent in the intensive care unit.

Among the 93 teaching hospitals included, the average cost for hospitalization over a patient's last two years of life was $67,369, the study found.

Health Tips for April 8

Health Tip: Why am I Constipated?

Constipation often is defined as producing fewer than three bowel movements in a week. Other symptoms may include producing small, hard stools; and significant straining during bowel movements.

The University of Michigan Health System lists these common causes of constipation:

* Insufficient fiber in the diet.
* Dehydration.
* Not getting enough exercise.
* Lifestyle factors, including taking certain medications, pregnancy, travel or aging.
* Not acting on the urge to produce a bowel movement.
* Having conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, a blockage of the colon or rectum, or certain systemic diseases.

Health Tip: Take Care of Your Feet

Proper foot care can help keep feet healthy and pain free.

Here are some suggestions, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:

* Inspect feet regularly for cuts, blisters, calluses, sores or redness.
* Keep feet clean and nails well-trimmed, and change socks frequently.
* To prevent sweaty feet, sprinkle them with powder.
* Wear properly fitting, comfortable shoes.
* Wear shoes or sandals when in damp, warm area, such as in a locker room or near a pool.
* Alternate shoes you wear each day to give them a chance to air out.
* Don't use someone else's towels to wipe or dry your feet.
* Use cotton socks while exercising or playing sports.

Health Headlines - April 7

Norovirus Strikes 65 Attendees at Medical Meeting

A common gastrointestinal virus associated with facilities where many people congregate to eat and drink was in the news with an ironic twist over the weekend.

About 65 people attending a medical convention became ill late Thursday and Friday after leaving the meeting at the newly-opened Gaylord resort in Oxon Hill, Md., outside Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reported.

The first reports of illness -- primarily nausea -- came as a medical alert from Reagan International Airport late Thursday from conventioneers who were waiting for flights home, the Post said. According to local health officials, 14 people who had attended the medical meeting became ill at the airport, and the remainder later reported the same symptoms after arriving home.

Those 14 were taken to local hospitals and treated, the newspaper said, while another seven were given assistance at the airport but not hospitalized. A cause of the illness, known as norovirus, had not been determined, the Post reported, but the Gaylord had begun an extensive cleaning of its guests room and public gathering areas. More than 350 people attended the medical meeting, the Post reported.

Norovirus causes the stomach and intestines to become inflamed, according to the U.S.Centers for Disease Control, and Prevention. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. The virus is not usually life-threatening, the CDC says, and is caused by coming in contact -- usually by touching -- with contaminated food or liquids, tainted objects or being in contact with an infected person.

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1-in-4 Repeat Iraq Combat Vets Suffering Mental Stress, Army Report Says

More than 25 percent of U.S. Army combat troops who have been deployed to Iraq more than once are suffering from anxiety, depression, or acute stress, the New York Times reports.

Citing an official Army survey of 2,295 anonymous Iraq veterans and additional interviews with soldiers who served in combat brigades, the newspaper cites Army commanders as being concerned about the morale and mental well-being in two particular categories: sergeants who often have frontline responsibility and captains, who comprise the future of the Army's command staff.

Since the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, about 513,000 active-duty soldiers have served in Iraq, and more than 197,000 have deployed two or more times, the newspaper reports. For soldiers who have gone to Iraq more than twice, the study showed that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers exhibited post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which can cause disorientation and an inability to function properly during the stress of combat, the Times reports.

And because any significant troop withdrawals from Iraq seem unlikely during the remainder of the Bush administration, Army top brass are struggling as to how to handle the situation.

"Lengthy and repeated deployments with insufficient recovery time have placed incredible stress on our soldiers and our families, testing the resolve of our all-volunteer force like never before," Army vice chief of staff Gen. Richard A. Cody, told a Congressional committee last week, the Times reported.

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Olympics President: Beijing Smog May Affect Athletes' Performances

Talk about your good news-bad news scenario:

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told the Associated Press over the weekend that the bad air pollution in Beijing should not endanger the health of the athletes who compete in China this summer. But, he added, the smog may adversely affect their performances.

Chinese authorities have promised to solve the smog problem before the Olympic Games begin in August, the A.P. reported, but Rogge wasn't so certain. "It might be that some [competitors] will have to have a slightly reduced performance, but nothing will harm the health of the athletes. The IOC will take care of that," he is quoted as saying.

The world's most-acclaimed marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has said he won't compete in that event in the 2008 Olympics because of the smog, the wire service reported. Roggee told the A.P. that Gebrselassie is "slightly asthmatic," but that he might change his mind.

"I would say, wait and see ... when he sees the data that we are providing for them," the wire service quotes Rogge as saying. The Olympics Committee president has earlier said that there might be dealys in outdoor events if the smog gets too bad, the A.P. reported.

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Medical Archive Web Site Restores 'Abortion' as a Search Word

An alert California research librarian prompted Johns Hopkins officials to change a Web site dealing with population issues and funded by the U.S. government, so that the word "abortion" was restored as an option in the site's search engine.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Michael J. Klag, Dean of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Friday told POPLINE administrators to restore "abortion" as a search term "immediately." He also said he would launch an inquiry into why the decision was made to limit searches.

The Web site POPLINE (POPulation information onLINE), which is funded by the United States Agency on International Development (USAID), contains more than 360,000 items concerning health and population control worldwide, the Sun reports. The U.S. government denies funding for any program that promotes abortion as a method for population control internationally, the newspaper said, and this may be what promoted the decision to remove the word from the Web site.

Gloria Won, a librarian at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, sent an e-mail inquiry to POPLINE administrator Debra L. Dickson, asking why fewer responses were coming from the search engine when she entered the word "abortion," the Sun reports. Dickson responded that limiting the search was intentional.

"Yes, we did make a change to POPLINE," the newspaper quotes Dickson as answering the librarian. "We recently made all abortion words stop words. As a federally funded project, we decided this was best for now." A stop word is one that a search engine ignores.

The reason, the Sun says is because USAID officials found two items in the POPLINE database concerning abortion advocacy. After that, someone made the decision to restrict the word "abortion" as a search option, the Sun reports.

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Sedentary Children Face Increased Risk of Heart Trouble in Adulthood

Sedentary children are up to six times more likely than active ones to be at serious risk for heart disease when they're older, according to a University of North Carolina study that included hundreds of children.

At ages 7 through 10, the children were checked for a number of key health indicators, such as height, body mass and fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, along with physical activity levels, Agence France-Presse reported.

The children were checked again seven years later to see if they'd developed any signs of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that point to increased risk of heart trouble.

Almost 5 percent of them had at least three core symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Those with these core symptoms were six times likelier to have had low aerobic fitness as children, and five times likelier to have had low levels of physical activity at the start of the study, AFP reported.

The study appears in the journal Dynamic Medicine.

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Human-to-Human Transmission of Bird Flu Confirmed in Pakistan

The first human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Pakistan has been confirmed by the World Health Organization.

The case late last year involved members of a family in northwest Pakistan. A poultry worker became infected and survived, but three of his brothers were infected and two died, BBC News reported.

Genetic-sequencing tests on bird flu virus samples collected from three of the four brothers confirmed human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

While there was human-to-human transmission between the brothers, the "outbreak did not extend into the community, and appropriate steps were taken to reduce future risks of human infections," the WHO said.

The northwestern region of Pakistan has 85 percent of the country's poultry farms, BBC News reported. It was one of the regions hit by bird flu last year, and thousands of birds were killed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health Tips for April 7

Health Tip: What's an A1c Test?

A hemoglobin A1c test is recommended for many diabetics several times per year. The test helps doctors see how well blood sugar has been controlled over the prior two or three months.

The University of Michigan Health System offers this additional information about the test:

* The amount of hemoglobin A1c in your blood indicates how high your blood sugar has been over the past three months. This can help determine if medication, diet and other remedies prescribed by your doctor are working.
* The test should be done every three months, unless you have your sugar well- controlled. In that case, your doctor may suggest getting the test every six months.
* Test results can help predict the likelihood of diabetic complications, including heart disease, or damage to the eyes, kidneys or nervous system.

Health Tip: Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetics are prone to many complications, particularly if their blood sugar levels aren't well controlled.

Diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage, makes it difficult for the nerves to send signals to other parts of the body. The symptoms described below should be evaluated by a physician without delay.

The American Academy of Family Physicians lists these warning signs of nerve damage in diabetics:

* Numbness, particularly in the fingers or toes.
* Sharp pains or a tingling sensation.
* Sores found on the feet.
* Weakness in the muscles.
* A burning sensation anywhere in the body.
* Male erectile dysfunction.

Health Headlines - April 6

Olympics President: Beijing Smog May Affect Athletes' Performances

Talk about your good news-bad news scenario:

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told the Associated Press over the weekend that the bad air pollution in Beijing should not endanger the health of the athletes who compete in China this summer. But, he added, the smog may adversely affect their performances.

Chinese authorities have promised to solve the smog problem before the Olympic Games begin in August, the A.P. reported, but Rogge wasn't so certain. "It might be that some [competitors] will have to have a slightly reduced performance, but nothing will harm the health of the athletes. The IOC will take care of that," he is quoted as saying.

The world's most-acclaimed marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has said he won't compete in that event in the 2008 Olympics because of the smog, the wire service reported. Roggee told the A.P. that Gebrselassie is "slightly asthmatic," but that he might change his mind.

"I would say, wait and see ... when he sees the data that we are providing for them," the wire service quotes Rogge as saying. The Olympics Committee president has earlier said that there might be dealys in outdoor events if the smog gets too bad, the A.P. reported.

-----

Medical Archive Web Site Restores 'Abortion' as a Search Word

An alert California research librarian prompted Johns Hopkins officials to change a Web site dealing with population issues and funded by the U.S. government, so that the word "abortion" was restored as an option in the site's search engine.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Michael J. Klag, Dean of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Friday told POPLINE administrators to restore "abortion" as a search term "immediately." He also said he would launch an inquiry into why the decision was made to limit searches.

The Web site POPLINE (POPulation information onLINE), which is funded by the United States Agency on International Development (USAID), contains more than 360,000 items concerning health and population control worldwide, the Sun reports. The U.S. government denies funding for any program that promotes abortion as a method for population control internationally, the newspaper said, and this may be what promoted the decision to remove the word from the Web site.

Gloria Won, a librarian at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, sent an e-mail inquiry to POPLINE administrator Debra L. Dickson, asking why fewer responses were coming from the search engine when she entered the word "abortion," the Sun reports. Dickson responded that limiting the search was intentional.

"Yes, we did make a change to POPLINE," the newspaper quotes Dickson as answering the librarian. "We recently made all abortion words stop words. As a federally funded project, we decided this was best for now." A stop word is one that a search engine ignores.

The reason, the Sun says is because USAID officials found two items in the POPLINE database concerning abortion advocacy. After that, someone made the decision to restrict the word "abortion" as a search option, the Sun reports.

----

Sedentary Children Face Increased Risk of Heart Trouble in Adulthood

Sedentary children are up to six times more likely than active ones to be at serious risk for heart disease when they're older, according to a University of North Carolina study that included hundreds of children.

At ages 7 through 10, the children were checked for a number of key health indicators, such as height, body mass and fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, along with physical activity levels, Agence France-Presse reported.

The children were checked again seven years later to see if they'd developed any signs of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that point to increased risk of heart trouble.

Almost 5 percent of them had at least three core symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Those with these core symptoms were six times likelier to have had low aerobic fitness as children, and five times likelier to have had low levels of physical activity at the start of the study, AFP reported.

The study appears in the journal Dynamic Medicine.

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Human-to-Human Transmission of Bird Flu Confirmed in Pakistan

The first human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Pakistan has been confirmed by the World Health Organization.

The case late last year involved members of a family in northwest Pakistan. A poultry worker became infected and survived, but three of his brothers were infected and two died, BBC News reported.

Genetic-sequencing tests on bird flu virus samples collected from three of the four brothers confirmed human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

While there was human-to-human transmission between the brothers, the "outbreak did not extend into the community, and appropriate steps were taken to reduce future risks of human infections," the WHO said.

The northwestern region of Pakistan has 85 percent of the country's poultry farms, BBC News reported. It was one of the regions hit by bird flu last year, and thousands of birds were killed to prevent the spread of the disease.

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Scientists Discover Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Soil

Hundreds of types of bacteria in soil that can eat antibiotics have been discovered by Harvard University researchers.

The discovery, published Friday in the journal Science, was made by scientists who collected soil samples from 11 locations in Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reported.

Many of the bacteria from the soil samples could survive when put in laboratory dishes where antibiotics (18 different types) were the only source of nutrition. Some of the bacteria could survive levels of antibiotics 50 to 100 times greater than what would be given to a patient.

Researchers are now trying to learn more about how these soil bacteria can survive exposure to antibiotics, the AP reported.

Learning more about these bacteria is important because more and more disease-causing bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, and there's concern that some infections may soon become untreatable.

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U.S. Identifies New Toys That Pose Choking Hazard

About 16,400 Imaginarium Multi-Sided Activity Centers and Jungle Activity Centers sold by Toys "R" Us are being recalled in the United States because small parts can detach from the toys and pose a choking hazard to young children.

There have been 12 reports of small parts detaching from the toys, but no reports of injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The Chinese-made toys were sold by Toys "R" Us from August 2007 through February 2008 for between $20 and $50. The recalled products have item numbers 69042 (multi-sided) and 69083 (jungle) printed on the back of the box, near the bar code.

These activity centers should be taken away from children and returned to the nearest Toys "R" Us store for a refund or store credit. For more information, contact Toys "R" Us at 800-869-7787.

Health Tips for April 6

Health Tip: Calculating Your BMI

Body-mass index (BMI) is a good indicator of whether you are at a healthy weight.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says BMI is calculated by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703, and dividing that number by your height in inches. Then divide the result again by your height in inches.

The agency offers the following ranges for interpreting BMI:

* A score below 18.5 indicates being underweight.
* Between 18.5 and 24.9 means a healthy body weight.
* Between 25 and 29.9 means you are overweight.
* Between 30 and 39.9 indicates obesity.
* A score of 40 or higher indicates morbid obesity.

Health Tip: Sports Safety for Kids

Kids need to take special care to prevent injuries to growing bones and muscles while playing sports.

Here are safety guidelines for kids, courtesy of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

* Prepare for sports by getting into good physical shape.
* Learn all the rules of the sport.
* Always wear appropriate protective equipment, and learn how to use it correctly.
* Always warm up and stretch before you play.
* If you feel pain or you are too tired, avoid playing until you feel better.

Health Headlines - April 5

Sedentary Children Face Increased Risk of Heart Trouble in Adulthood

Sedentary children are up to six times more likely than active ones to be at serious risk for heart disease when they're older, according to a University of North Carolina study that included hundreds of children.

At ages 7 through 10, the children were checked for a number of key health indicators, such as height, body mass and fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, along with physical activity levels, Agence France-Presse reported.

The children were checked again seven years later to see if they'd developed any signs of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that point to increased risk of heart trouble.

Almost 5 percent of them had at least three core symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Those with these core symptoms were six times likelier to have had low aerobic fitness as children, and five times likelier to have had low levels of physical activity at the start of the study, AFP reported.

The study appears in the journal Dynamic Medicine.

-----

Human-to-Human Transmission of Bird Flu Confirmed in Pakistan

The first human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Pakistan has been confirmed by the World Health Organization.

The case late last year involved members of a family in northwest Pakistan. A poultry worker became infected and survived, but three of his brothers were infected and two died, BBC News reported.

Genetic-sequencing tests on bird flu virus samples collected from three of the four brothers confirmed human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

While there was human-to-human transmission between the brothers, the "outbreak did not extend into the community, and appropriate steps were taken to reduce future risks of human infections," the WHO said.

The northwestern region of Pakistan has 85 percent of the country's poultry farms, BBC News reported. It was one of the regions hit by bird flu last year, and thousands of birds were killed to prevent the spread of the disease.

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Terrorist Alert System Doesn't Stress Police

Police officers don't seem to be experiencing undue stress from the U.S. government's color-coded system to warn about the risk of terrorist attacks, say researchers who reviewed calls to a law enforcement crisis hot line in New Jersey, United Press International reported.

The study "did not find any evidence to support the concern that elevating the alert status places undue stress on those receiving the alert," George S. Everly Jr., of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said in a prepared statement. "Our study needs to be replicated with groups other than law enforcement, especially the civilian population."

The researchers analyzed calls made to the Cop 2 Cop crisis line between Sept. 9, 2002, to Jan. 30, 2004. During that time, the Homeland Security national alert level was raised five times from yellow (elevated) to orange (high), UPI reported.

The study, which also included researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, appears in the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health.

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Scientists Discover Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Soil

Hundreds of types of bacteria in soil that can eat antibiotics have been discovered by Harvard University researchers.

The discovery, published Friday in the journal Science, was made by scientists who collected soil samples from 11 locations in Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reported.

Many of the bacteria from the soil samples could survive when put in laboratory dishes where antibiotics (18 different types) were the only source of nutrition. Some of the bacteria could survive levels of antibiotics 50 to 100 times greater than what would be given to a patient.

Researchers are now trying to learn more about how these soil bacteria can survive exposure to antibiotics, the AP reported.

Learning more about these bacteria is important because more and more disease-causing bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, and there's concern that some infections may soon become untreatable.

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Binge-Drinking Teens Have Memory Problems: Study

Days after binge drinking, teens suffer forgetfulness and absent-mindedness, say British researchers who suggest binge drinking may harm teens' developing brains.

The team from Northumbria and Keele Universities compared 26 binge drinkers and 34 non-bingers, ages 17 to 19, and found that the binge drinkers did worse on memory tests, BBC News reported. The teens were tested three to four days after their last drinking session.

Binge drinking was defined as at least eight units of alcohol per drinking session for a man and six for a woman, once or twice a week.

"There is evidence that excess alcohol and binge drinking in particular damages parts of the brain that underpin everyday memory," said study leader Dr. Thomas Heffernan of the University of Northumbria, BBC News reported. "Not only may these teenagers be harming their memory, if their brains are still developing, they could be storing up problems for the future."

The study was presented at a British Psychological Society conference.

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U.S. Identifies New Toys That Pose Choking Hazard

About 16,400 Imaginarium Multi-Sided Activity Centers and Jungle Activity Centers sold by Toys "R" Us are being recalled in the United States because small parts can detach from the toys and pose a choking hazard to young children.

There have been 12 reports of small parts detaching from the toys, but no reports of injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The Chinese-made toys were sold by Toys "R" Us from August 2007 through February 2008 for between $20 and $50. The recalled products have item numbers 69042 (multi-sided) and 69083 (jungle) printed on the back of the box, near the bar code.

These activity centers should be taken away from children and returned to the nearest Toys "R" Us store for a refund or store credit. For more information, contact Toys "R" Us at 800-869-7787.

Health Tips for April 5

Health Tip: Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar During Exercise

Exercise typically will lower blood sugar, since insulin is more effective during exercise. But in people with diabetes, too much of a reduction in blood sugar can be dangerous.

The University of Michigan Health System offers these suggestions for diabetics to maintain healthy blood sugar levels when exercising:

* Check your blood sugar before and after exercise -- and during if you can -- and record your results.
* If you are going to exercise strenuously, make sure you eat a meal first.
* Keep snacks -- especially some with sugar -- on hand when you exercise.
* Talk to your doctor about possibly adjusting your insulin dose for exercise.
* Don't inject insulin into a part of the body that will be strenuously used during exercise, as it will absorb more quickly. For example, if you will run, inject your abdomen instead of your leg.

Health Tip: Weight-Bearing Exercises Strengthen Bones

Getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D in your diet are great ways to ward off the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercises are another way to help maintain bone health.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends these forms of weight-bearing exercise:

* Brisk walking, jogging or hiking.
* Strenuous yard work such as pushing a lawn mower, or active gardening.
* Sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis or racquetball.
* Climbing the stairs, step aerobics or dancing.
* Activities such as skiing, bowling, skating or karate.
* Use of free weights or weight machines.

Health Headlines - April 4

Two Million Children Were Living With HIV in 2007

In 2007, more than 2 million children worldwide were living with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), about 290,000 children under age 15 died of AIDS, and 12.1 million children in sub-Saharan Africa lost one or both parents to AIDS, says a joint study released Thursday by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNAIDS.

"Today's children and young people have never known a world free of AIDS," said UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman, who added that children "must be at the heart of the global AIDS agenda," Agence France-Presse reported.

The authors of the "Children and AIDS" study said children listed four major areas that need to be addressed to combat the epidemic: prevention of HIV transmission from mothers to children; prevention of infection among adolescents and young people; providing pediatric treatment; and protecting and supporting children affected by AIDS.

While there are significant challenges, progress is being made in some areas, the study said. For example, 21 countries are now on track to reach 80 percent coverage to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2010, compared to only 11 countries in 2005, AFP reported.

From 2005 to 2006, the number of HIV-positive children in low- and middle-income nations receiving retroviral drugs climbed from 75,000 to 127,000 -- a 70 percent increase.

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No Health Benefit From Drinking Eight Glasses of Water a Day: Study

A new study pours cold water on the popular belief that drinking eight glasses of water a day provides a range of health benefits ranging from improving skin tone to keeping organs healthy and preventing weight gain.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia reviewed published clinical studies and found no evidence that average, healthy people need to drink that much water, United Press International reported.

The review authors did find evidence that increased water intake improves kidney function, but there was no indication of any sort of clinical benefit.

Studies on water and weight control were inconclusive and no studies have shown a link between increased water intake and clinical benefit to skin tone, UPI reported.

The findings appear in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

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Children's Sunglasses Recalled Due to Lead Hazard

About 144,000 "Main Street Drag" children's sunglasses distributed by StyleMark Inc. of Ormond Beach, Fla. are being recalled due to excessive levels of lead paint in lettering on the sunglasses' frames.

The Chinese-made sunglasses have dark blue or dark metallic red fronts and gray checkered sides. Main Street Drag characters are printed on the bottom of one lens and "Main Street Drag" is printed in orange at the temples. Style number DI25K711 is printed on the left temple, United Press International reported.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Association said the sunglasses were sold at Walgreen's, Academy Sports, and CVS stores across the United States from October 2007 through March 2008 for between $6 and $9.

Consumers can call StyleMark at 866-928-1913 to find out how to return the sunglasses and receive a free replacement pair.

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Icelandic Men Have Longest Male Life Expectancy

Men in Iceland have a longer life expectancy (79.4 years in 2007) than males anywhere else in the world, according to Statistics Iceland.

An agency spokeswoman could offer no explanation for the finding, Agence France-Presse reported.

Iceland, one of the richest countries in the world, has a population of 313,400. Women in Iceland have a life expectancy of 82.9 years, which isn't as long as Japanese women, with an average nearly 86 years. Life expectancy for Japanese men is 78.6 years.

According to United Nations statistics, the combined life expectancy for women and men in Japan in 2007 was 82 years, followed by Iceland at more than 81 years, and France at almost 81 years, AFP reported.

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Warning About Psychiatric Side Effects Added to Relenza Information

A warning of possible psychiatric problems have been added to the list of side effects accompanying the GlaxoSmithKline flu drug Relenza. The company made the move under pressure from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press reported.

The new information cites delirium and hallucinations as among the side effects experienced by some people taking Relenza, according to information posted Wednesday on the FDA Web site. Glaxo alerted doctors to the changes in a letter last month.

Most of the psychiatric side effects have occurred among children in Japan, which is the largest market in the world for flu drugs, the AP reported.

Last month, Swiss drug maker Roche made similar labeling changes for its drug Tamilfu.

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House Panel Votes to Give FDA Powers to Regulate Tobacco

The U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill Wednesday that increases the likelihood that the Food and Drug Administration will be given broad new powers to regulate tobacco products.

The bill, passed by a vote of 38-12, would give the FDA authority to reduce nicotine levels and require larger and more informative health warnings on cigarette packs. A similar bill has been approved by a Senate committee, the Associated Press reported.

The proposed legislation also would ban candy-flavored cigarettes, which attract younger smokers, and would prohibit the use of terms such as "light" or "mild" on cigarette packs.

Some opponents argue that the FDA already has enough trouble ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply and medicines, and can't take on this extra oversight. To address the issue of lack of FDA resources, the House committee bill proposes user fees on tobacco companies that could collect $90 million this year and as much as $755 million by 2018, the AP reported.

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U.S. Lawmakers Look to Expand Humanitarian Funding

In a 308-116 vote Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved tripling to more than $10 billion a year U.S. humanitarian funding to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poorer nations.

Of the $50 billion to be spent over five years, about $41 billion would be directed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reported. The White House backs the House bill.

A similar $50 billion bill has been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The bills seek to extend and broaden the $15 billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that was enacted in 2003. The program is credited with saving more than one million lives in Africa alone, the AP reported.

According to the United Nations, more than 33 million people worldwide were living with HIV and AIDS in 2007.

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Sex Therapists: 3 to 13 Minutes Just Right

The optimal length of time for sexual intercourse is three to 13 minutes, according to a survey of dozens of American and Canadian sex therapists. However, that time doesn't include foreplay.

The findings appear to challenge the widely held belief that endurance is essential for a great sex life. Researcher Eric Corty said he hoped the survey results would ease the minds of people who believe that "more of something good is better, and if you really want to satisfy your partner, you should last forever," the Associated Press reported.

While three to 13 minutes was deemed optimal, some of the sex therapists noted that optimal time depended on the couple. All the therapists did agree that one to two minutes of sexual intercourse is "too short."

The findings are published in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

"There are so many myths in our culture of what other people are doing sexually. Most people's sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are," Marianne Brandon, a clinical psychologist and director of Wellminds Wellbodies in Annapolis, Md., told the AP.

Health Tips for April 4

Health Tip: Risk Factors for Alcohol Abuse

Attitudes developed during the childhood and teen years may contribute to problem drinking later in life, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.

The agency offers this list of factors that may make a person more vulnerable to an alcohol-related problem:

* Having a family history of alcohol abuse or dependence.
* Being surrounded by peers or an environment that encourages heavy drinking.
* Experiencing depression, anxiety, or problems with self-esteem.
* Undergoing significant stress at home, work, or in relationships.
* It's likely that some people have a genetic tendency to become alcohol-dependent.

Health Tip: Avoiding Cellulite

Cellulite is fat that collects just under the surface of the skin, and causes a dimply appearance. It appears most often on the hips, thighs and buttocks.

Here are suggestions to help prevent cellulite, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

* Include plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber in your diet.
* Drink plenty of fluids to keep your body well-hydrated.
* Maintain good muscle tone and strong bones with regular exercise.
* Try to stay at a healthy body weight, and avoid frequently gaining and losing weight.
* Don't smoke.

Health Headlines - April 3

British Scientists Create Embryos Combining Human Cells and Cow Eggs

A British scientist has created the world's first hybrid embryos, using human cells and a cow egg, according to Bloomberg News.

The procedure, which has been hotly debated in the UK Parliament during the past few months, was announced Tuesday by Newcastle University, where the lead scientist, Lyle Armstrong, and his research team said they had developed the eggs, which are designed to be the first step in creating embryonic human stem cells to fight disease.

These eggs are not to be used for anything other than the development of human stem cells, according to Bloomberg News. But the idea that embryos could be developed from the cells of a human and a cow has ignited a political and ethical debate in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh's Cardinal Keith O'Brien called the embryo creation "experiments of Frankenstein proportions,'' the news service said. But Newcastle University's head of the Institute of Human Genetics, John Burn, is quoted as saying that the embryo creation was just a first step to finding a way to create the best stem cells for human medical research.

"Cells grown using animal eggs cannot be used to treat patients on safety grounds, but they will help bring nearer the day when new stem cell therapies are available,'' he told Bloomberg News.

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Drug Ads Should Tell Where to Report Side Effects: Petition

Nearly 12 percent of Americans who've ever taken a prescription drug have suffered a side effect serious enough to send them to a doctor or hospital. But only 35 percent of consumers know they can report serious side effects to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says a new Consumer Reports poll.

To help improve awareness, Consumers Union on Wednesday presented the FDA with a petition that has signatures from nearly 56,000 people who want an FDA toll-free number and Web site included in all TV drug ads. Consumers Union is the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

Last year, Congress said all print drug ads must carry FDA MedWatch reporting information, and told the FDA to conduct a study to determine if it was appropriate to include reporting information in TV drug ads. The report was due by the end of March but has not been completed.

"You can't turn on a TV today without seeing a drug ad, but those ads never mention that consumers should be reporting serious drug side effects to the FDA," Liz Foley, campaign coordinator with Consumers Union, said in a prepared statement. "What better way for the FDA to let consumers know how to report serious problems with their medications than putting a toll-free number and Web site in all those drug ads we're bombarded by each day?"

The Consumer Reports poll found that 87 percent of respondents said TV ads should contain reporting information.

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Midwest States Receive Fewest Public Health Dollars From CDC

Midwestern states receive less public health funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than other states, according to a Trust for America's Health (TFAH) study released Wednesday.

The study found that Midwestern states received an average of $16.24 per person in 2007, compared to $19.74 per person for Western states, $23.37 per person for Northeastern states, and $29.40 per person for Southern states.

On a state-by-state basis, Alaska received the most ($69.76 per person) while Kansas received the least ($13.61 per person), according to the study.

The CDC funds are used by state and local communities for a variety of public health programs, including cancer prevention; chronic disease prevention; health promotion; diabetes control; environmental health; HIV prevention; immunization; infectious disease prevention; and bioterrorism preparedness.

"Every American should have the opportunity to be as healthy as he or she can be. Every community should be safe from threats to health. If we're serious about improving the health of Americans, we need to make a much bigger investment in disease prevention efforts in every state and every region," Jeff Levi, executive director of TFAH, said in a prepared statement.

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Untreated Cavities More Common Among Low-Income Children

Children in low-income families are much more likely to have untreated dental cavities than children from high-income families, says the latest News and Numbers from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The analysis of data from surveys conducted between 1999 and 2004 found that 31 percent of low-income children had untreated cavities, compared to about six percent of high-income children. If untreated, the infection that causes tooth decay and cavities can lead to pain, tooth loss and more serious infections.

Among the other findings:

• Only 36 percent of low-income children visited a dentist in the past year, compared to 70 percent of high-income children.
• Among low-income children, untreated cavities were more common in those ages 6 to 11 (37 percent) than those ages 12 to 17 (27 percent).
• In high-income families, untreated cavities were also more common among children ages 6 to 11 (12 percent) than among those ages 12 to 17 (7 percent).

Most children should have a dental check-up at least twice a year, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Some children need more frequent visits due to increased risk of tooth decay, unusual growth patterns, or poor oral hygiene.

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Repealing Motorcycle Helmet Laws Leads to More Deaths

Motorcyclist death rates increased an average of 12.2 percent in U.S. states that repealed universal helmet laws in the past decade, while the death rate in states with universal helmet laws was 11.1 percent lower than in states with no helmet laws, according to a national study.

Death rates in states with partial helmet laws weren't statistically different from rates in states with no helmet laws, said researchers from the University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, United Press International reported.

The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Since 1975, when most states mandated the use of motorcycle helmets, more than 100,000 motorcycle riders have died in the United States. Currently, about 20 states have universal laws that require all riders to wear helmets, while 26 states have partial helmet laws, usually only for young riders, UPI reported.

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Young Men More Likely to Misinterpret Friendly Behavior

Young men are more likely than women to interpret friendly facial expressions and body gestures as signs of sexual interest, says a study by Indiana University and Yale researchers.

They showed images of friendly people to 280 college-age men and women and found that 12 percent of the males and 8.7 percent of the females incorrectly believed the people in the images were "sexually interested," CBC News reported.

There was even more confusion when the volunteers were shown images of sexually interested people -- 37.8 of the men and 31.9 percent of the women said the images represented friendly members of the opposite sex.

The researchers said they don't believe the differences noted in the study are due to men oversexualizing situations. They suggested that women's greater emotional range may make them more adept at interpreting non-verbal cues, CBC News reported.

The study was published in the April issue of the journal Psychological Science.

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New Strain of Deadly Water-Borne Disease Discovered in Peru

Scientists have identified a new strain of deadly water-borne disease in the Peruvian Amazon and say it may be responsible for up to 40 percent of the region's cases of a disease called leptospirosis, which can have a fatality rate as high as 20 percent to 25 percent.

Leptospirosis, which can cause jaundice, kidney failure, lung hemorrhage and other problems, affects tens of millions of people a year and is most common in tropical regions.

Joseph Vinetz, of the University of California, San Diego's Division of Infectious Diseases, and colleagues discovered the new strain while examining patients in the Iquitos region of Peru, Agence France-Presse reported.

Of 881 patients, 41 percent had antibodies that reacted only to this new strain of bacteria. The findings were published in the Public Library of Science journal Neglected Tropical Diseases.

"This observation is relevant to other regions of the world where leptospirosis is likely to be common, because it's necessary to identify the right strain of leptospirosis in order to make the correct diagnosis," Vinetz said, AFP reported.

Health Tips for April 3

Health Tip: Getting Up After a Fall

If you fall, you can injure yourself even more just by trying to get back on your feet.

Here are suggestions on how seniors can pull themselves back up safely after a fall, courtesy of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

* Take a few deep breaths and don't panic. If you feel like you are hurt, call for help if there's someone close by. In any case, don't try to get up until you feel better.
* If you feel like you are not hurt, try rolling onto your side, turning your head in the direction you are rolling.
* Crawl over to a chair, couch or other sturdy piece of furniture, and slowly pull yourself up.
* Put your hands down flat on the furniture. Bend your stronger knee and keep the other knee on the floor, and slowly stand up.
* Slowly twist yourself around and sit down on the chair or couch. Call a family member or emergency services if you need help.

Health Tip: Early-Stage Alzheimer's

People with early-stage Alzheimer's disease may fear losing their independence and being reliant on someone else.

Here are suggestions on how to maintain independence longer, courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association:

* Hire a service or ask a friend to help with activities, such as paying bills, cooking meals, cleaning the house or going to the grocery.
* Write instructions on how to work appliances, place labels on items you frequently forget, and compose notes to help you remember to perform certain tasks.
* Help keep your home safe by reducing the risk of slips and falls. For example, install grab bars in the bathroom. Also, make sure appliances have automatic shutoffs.
* Enroll in a safety alert program, so you can immediately get help if you need it.
* If you can't drive, get a bus schedule, have a cab company's phone number handy, or ask friends and family to drive you.
* Try to stay as physically and socially active as you can, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Health Headlines - April 2

Many Drugs Can Cause Eye Problems: Report

There are 62 drugs that can cause eye problems, and patients and doctors need to be aware of the risk, Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, says in a new posting on its WorstPills.org Web site.

The eye is made up of numerous types of cells and drugs can affect each type of cell. The 62 drugs can cause a number of eye problems, including cataracts, glaucoma, optic nerve diseases, retinal abnormalities, eyelid and conjunctival diseases, and eye surgery complications, says the Public Citizen posting, which summarizes an article published in Drug Safety.

While many doctors and patients are aware of the adverse effects drugs can have on other parts of the body, potential risks to the eyes are often not considered, Public Citizen said.

Drugs that can cause eye problems include: chloroquine and hydroxycholoroquine, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, amoebae and malaria; the antibiotic linezolid; ethambutol, used to treat tuberculosis; corticosteroids; alpha-1 blockers; botulinum toxin (Botoxz); morphine; and drugs in the anticholinergic and adrenergic categories, Public Citizen said.

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CDC Said to Ignore Scientist's Pleas About Formaldehyde Threat

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ignored urgent requests to warn Gulf Coast hurricane victims about formaldehyde dangers in federal government-issued trailers, says a top CDC scientist.

At a House Science and Technology subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Christopher De Rosa also said his bosses told him last year not to write e-mails about his warnings of a "pending public health catastrophe" that could be caused by formaldehyde in the trailers, the Associated Press reported.

Formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems, has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The House of Representatives subcommittee is looking into how the CDC and other agencies dealt with complaints about formaldehyde levels in the trailers issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Democrats have accused FEMA of manipulating scientific research to minimize the potential dangers, and charge that the CDC helped FEMA mislead people living in the trailers, the AP reported.

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Transplant Patients Develop Cancer

Four U.S. transplant patients developed cancer after receiving organs last year from a 15-year-old boy with undiagnosed lymphoma. Two of the patients have since died of the same type of cancer, and the two other recipients are undergoing chemotherapy.

The donor was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. However, a month after his death, officials at Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York told his parents that he actually died of a rare lymphoma, Newsday reported.

Stony Brook and New York University Medical Center -- which received two of the donor's organs -- were cleared in a recently concluded investigation by the New York state Department of Health.

Since the incident, NYU and the University of Minnesota -- which also received one of the donor's organs -- have changed their policies and now require stronger proof of bacterial meningitis in donors, Newsday reported.

The case was the subject of an article in the American Journal of Transplantation.

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Tai-Chi Benefits Diabetes Patients: Studies

The gentle, controlled movements of the ancient Chinese exercise tai-chi can help people with type 2 diabetes, according to new studies by researchers in Australia and Taiwan.

Both studies found that diabetes patients who did tai-chi for a few hours a week for three months showed significant improvements in health compared to control groups, Agence France-Presse reported.

Improved blood glucose levels, weight loss, stronger immune system, better sleep, and more energy were among the benefits noted in those who did tai-chi. The findings appear in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Previous research has shown that other types of moderate exercise can help keep type 2 diabetes under control, but tai-chi is easy to learn and doesn't require any complicated or expensive equipment, noted some of the researchers, AFP reported.

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Fat Droplets Help TB Bacteria Survive

U.K. scientists have found that many types of tuberculosis bacteria have protective fat droplets that may help them survive difficult conditions as they're passed in the sputum of an infected person to another person, BBC News reported.

The finding, by researchers at the University of Leicester and St. George's, University of London, may help lead to new treatments for the disease, which kills about two million people worldwide each year. The study appears in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine.

"This work forms the foundation to develop a new drug that works effectively against these fat and lazy bacteria," said Prof. Philip Butcher of St. George's, BBC News reported.

The study "helps us understand just why the TB bug is an extremely tough cookie built to survive," addedDr. John Moore-Gillon, of the British Lung Foundation, which co-funded the study. "It adds to our knowledge of why TB bacteria are so difficult to eradicate from the body and why drug resistant strains develop."

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Recalled Salad Dressing Has Undeclared Ingredients

Bay Valley Foods is recalling 535 cases of America's Choice Classic Caesar Dressing because the bottle labels don't warn about the presence of fish, soy and wheat. Consumers who have allergies to these ingredients may suffer a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the dressing.

The incorrect labels on the bottles contain information for Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. To date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with the mislabeled Caesar Dressing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The recalled dressing comes in 16-ounce plastic bottles marked with a "best before" date code of 02-09-09, which can be found on the back label. Consumers with the recalled dressing should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. The recalled bottles of dressing were distributed through Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) stores including A&P, Super Fresh, Food Basics USA, and Waldbaum's in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and the District of Columbia.

For more information, phone Bay Valley Foods at 1-800-983-0823.

Health Tips for April 2

Health Tip: Potassium-Rich Foods

Potassium is a mineral that plays an important role in regulating blood pressure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that most people get 4,044 milligrams of potassium each day.

Here are some good food sources of potassium, says the American Academy of Family Physicians:

* Potatoes, both sweet and regular.
* Beans; especially lima beans, soybeans, white beans and kidney beans.
* Yogurt and skim milk.
* Bananas, peaches, cantaloupes and honeydew melons.
* Fish, such as halibut, yellowfin tuna, rockfish and cod.
* Tomato products, such as tomato sauce, juice, puree and paste.

Health Tip: Choosing a Babysitter

When choosing a babysitter, it's important to make sure the sitter is experienced and prepared to handle any situation that arises.

Here are guidelines to keep in mind when selecting a sitter, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:

* Try to find a trusted friend or family member, or select a sitter that is recommended by your friend.
* Do not choose a sitter younger than 12 years old.
* Meet your sitter first. Once you're comfortable with the person, see how the sitter interacts with your child and how the sitter reacts to emergencies or unusual situations.
* Check the sitter's references before the sitter watches your child.
* Make sure the sitter knows CPR and first aid.
* Encourage your sitter to take a babysitting class offered by the American Red Cross.

Health Headlines - April 1

Anti-Obesity Drug Trials Limited to Lower Doses: Merck

Four-milligram and 6-mg doses of the investigational obesity treatment taranabant won't be included in future clinical trials, because they've been linked to increased rates of mental health problems, Merck & Co. announced Monday.

In a late stage trial, 2-mg, 4-mg, and 6-mg doses of taranabant were compared with placebo. The drug did help reduce patients' weight, but those taking the two higher doses had higher rates of depression, anxiety and irritability, the AP reported.

"Based on the benefit-risk considerations and the lack of substantial improvement in the efficacy of taranabant at the 4-milligram and 6-milligram doses seen in our clinical program compared to the 2-milliogram dose, we have decided to continue to evaluate taranabant in doses up to and including 2 milligrams in our Phase III studies," Dr. John Amatruda, Merck's vice president of clinical research, metabolic disorders, said in a prepared statement.

Also on Monday, Merck said it stopped patient enrollment in a late-stage trial of its cholesterol drug candidate Cordaptive, while the company looks at recent results from similar studies, including a failed trial of the cholesterol drug Vytorin, the AP reported.

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Glass Fragment Risk Prompts Yogurt Recall

Due the possibility of glass fragments in the product, Stonyfield Farm of Londonderry, N.H., has recalled its six-ounce, nonfat blueberry yogurt with product codes that start with the following dates: Apr 14 08, Apr 15 08, Apr 25 08, Apr 26 08, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

People who bite into or swallow a glass fragment could be injured. There have been no reports of injuries.

The yogurt is sold at natural food stores and major grocery retailers across the United States. Consumers should return the recalled containers to their retailers, where they'll receive a full refund. Stonyfield Farm has instructed its distribution network to remove the yogurt from store shelves, the FDA said.

For more information, contact Stonyfield Farm at 1-800-PRO-COWS.

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Starting Family at Young Age Beneficial for Some: Study

Starting a family at a young age may actually be beneficial for some people, suggests a Pennsylvania State University study that found little difference in depressive symptoms between young adults who had children early in life and those who did not.

The study, which included 8,000 people, suggests that the conventional view that young people should complete their education and postpone marriage may not apply to everyone, United Press International reported.

"It's believed that those individuals -- ages 18 to 25 -- who fail to postpone these family transitions miss out on better career opportunities, make poor choices on partners, and may experience problems," lead author Alan Booth said in a prepared statement.

But he and his colleagues said that escaping a troubled home and parents with poor parenting skills to marry or have children may offer young people an escape from an unloving home and an opportunity to create a more positive family environment, UPI reported.

The study was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family and was expected to be presented April 17 in New Orleans at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.

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Scientists Cure Cirrhosis in Rats

Japanese scientists successfully cured liver cirrhosis in rats and say this treatment may be available for use in humans within five years, Agence France-Presse reported.

The Sapporo Medical University team used a tiny vitamin A-laced sac containing a genetic material to block the production of collagen, which contributes to hardening of the liver. This treatment proved effective even on rats with full-blown cirrhosis.

The research was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

"We want to carry out clinical tests with private companies and put this to practical use within five years," one of the researchers told AFP.

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Antidepressant May Offer New Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis

The antidepressant drug amitriptyline shows promise as a treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF), according to German researchers who conducted tests on mice.

In mice, the drug (sold under brand names such as Elavil, Endep and Vanatrip) reduced levels in the lung of a fatty molecule called ceramide, Agence France-Presse reported.

An accumulation of ceramide results in the death of lung cells and inflammation, causing bacterial infection, which is the leading cause of death among CF patients.

The researchers said amitriptyline could offer a "new and important" strategy to control infection. However, they added the drug would have to be carefully dosed so that it didn't totally eliminate ceramide, which plays an important role in cell maintenance, AFP reported.

The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

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3 New Bowel Cancer Gene Mutations Identified

British scientists have identified three new gene mutations that increase the risk of bowel cancer, including one mutation that increases risk in people of European descent, but not in Japanese people.

It's the first time that a racial difference in a bowel cancer gene mutation has been identified, and could improve understanding of why Japanese people tend to be more resistant to the disease, BBC News reported.

Using these three new gene mutations and four previously identified mutations, scientists hope to develop methods of identifying people at high risk for the disease in order to diagnose it at an early stage or to prevent it. Currently, bowel cancer often isn't detected until it's well-advanced, which greatly lowers the chances of successful treatment.

This study is "an important step forward in our knowledge of the causes of bowel cancer, bringing us ever closer to a genetic test for those at high risk of the disease," said research leader Professor Malcolm Dunlop, of the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, BBC News reported.

The study was published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Health Tips for April 1

Health Tip: Reading Food Labels

Reading and understanding the nutrition facts label on food products can help you maintain a well-balanced diet that contains healthy amounts of fat and calories.

Here are guidelines to help you interpret food labels, courtesy of the American Academy of Family Physicians:

* Pay attention to the serving size -- usually the first line on the label. The serving size is the manufacturer's estimate of how much a person is likely to eat at one time. If you eat more than the serving size, be sure to increase the label's other values accordingly.
* The percent daily value shows, for each ingredient, how much of that ingredient's recommended daily amount you are getting in each serving.
* Limit foods with unhealthy amounts of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol.
* Favor foods with healthy fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Health Tip: Have a Healthy Trip

If you're heading to a foreign country, some basic precautions can help reduce your risk of getting sick.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions to help keep you healthy while you travel:

* Always eat meals that are very hot and have been cooked thoroughly in a restaurant. Avoid foods from street vendors, especially in countries where visitors are prone to diarrhea.
* Don't drink water from the tap, and don't use ice, brush your teeth or wash foods with tap water. Use only bottled water for these activities.
* Get shots that are appropriate for the country you are visiting. Ask your doctor how far in advance you should get them to get the highest amount of protection.
* Don't forget a repellent that contains DEET, to help ward off diseases carried by mosquitoes and other insects.
* Don't swim in freshwater lakes or streams.
* Avoid using crowded forms of public transportation.