Previous Medical News
2009/08/08
1. Ouch! Early flu shot season comes with 3 jabs (CDC, 8/6/09)
This year's flu season is shaping up to be a very different one. Most people will need one shot for the regular seasonal flu and probably two others to protect against the new swine flu. The swine flu vaccine will be most effective if given in two doses, about three weeks apart, although testing is still under way to check that. For the regular flu vaccine, elderly people, health care workers and pregnant women are among the priority groups. For the swine flu vaccine, health care workers and pregnant women are on the list but not older people, who seem to have some immunity to swine flu.
2. Hand-washing, face masks may halt flu transmission (Annals of Internal Medicine, 8/4/09)
Face masks and clean hands may be key to preventing the influenza virus from spreading among family members. When family members wear face masks and mind their hand hygiene, the odds of catching the flu from an ill relative drop by two-thirds. The key is to start using the two measures within 36 hours of the stricken family member's first symptoms. Flu symptoms typically include fever, sore throat, body aches and headache that arise suddenly.
3. Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death (Hillborough County Medical Examiner, 8/7/09)
An official autopsy report has found that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed TV pitchman Billy Mays in June.
4. Antidepressant Use Nearly Doubles (Archives of General Psychiatry, 8/09)
Antidepressant use has nearly doubled in the U.S. Meanwhile, the use of psychotherapy by those prescribed the antidepressants has declined during the same period studied, from 1996 to 2005. Ten percent of the population is being treated with an antidepressant during the course of a year.
5. US Marshals seize sanitizer for bacteria problems (FDA, 8/1/09)
Don’t use any Clarcon products because they contain harmful bacteria and are promoted as antimicrobial agents that claim to treat open wounds, damaged skin, and protect against various infectious diseases. Officers with the U.S. Marshals Service have seized all skin sanitizers and skin protectants, including ingredients and components, at Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory's facility in Roy, Utah.
6. New HIV strain discovered in woman from Cameroon (Nature Medicine, 8/3/09)
A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon. It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas. Avoid eating gorillas from Western Central Africa.
7. Vertebroplasty: Back treatment for elderly no better than fake one (New England Journal of Medicine, 8/6/09)
A common treatment that uses medical cement to fix cracks in the spinal bones of elderly people worked no better than a sham treatment. Pain and disability were virtually the same up to six months later. During the procedure, hot bone cement is injected into the collapsed or cracked vertebra. The cement is thought to shore up or stabilize the compressed bone. There can be complications, including infection and leakage of the cement.
8. Men With Livelier, More Plentiful Sperm Live Longer (American Journal of Epidemiology, 08/09)
Healthier sperm may mean longer life. The risk of dying is decreased if you have good semen quality. Abnormal development of male reproductive organs in the womb could be responsible. This "fetal origins hypothesis" has also been tied to widespread illnesses in later life like heart disease and diabetes.
9. Evidence for acupuncture in impotence is weak (BJU International, 8/09)
Published studies that evaluated acupuncture as a treatment for erectile dysfunction provide no convincing evidence that acupuncture is beneficial for this condition.
10. Brain Exercises Can Delay Dementia (Neurology, 8/09)
There is evidence that exercising one's brain with mental activities can help reduce the risk of developing dementia. Effective activities include: reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards or board games, participating in group discussions and playing a musical instrument. For every additional activity a person reported participating in, the onset of memory loss among those who developed dementia was delayed by 0.18 years.
11. Midlife Heart Risk Factors Linked to Later Dementia (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 8/09)
The things that are bad for your heart in the middle years of life -- high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes -- are bad for your brain in later years.
12. New review endorses Cardiovascular benefits of fish oil: Daily Omega-3s Recommended for Heart (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 8/3/09)
A healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA not only prevents heart disease in healthy people, it also reduces the risk of heart attack in people with existing heart disease. There are clear health and heart benefits associated with increasing one’s intake of foods that are rich in Omega-3s, including oily fish like salmon, sardines, trout, herring, and oysters. The body doesn’t produce fatty acids, so healthy people should consume 500 milligrams daily of EPA plus DHA, and people with known heart disease or heart failure should aim for nearly twice that amount (at least 800 to 1,000 milligrams daily). Talk to your doctor about dosing fish oil.
13. Many women keep having, enjoying sex as they age (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 8/09)
Women become less sexually active and less interested in sex as they get older, on average, but there are still plenty of women who continue to have sex and maintain their sexual desire into their 60s and beyond. A woman's mental and physical health has more of an influence on her sex life than her age.
14. Drinking Moderately or More Ups Men's Cancer Risk (Cancer Detection and Prevention, 8/09)
A man who drinks moderate or high amounts of alcohol over the course of his life appears to raise his risk for developing certain -- but not all -- kinds of cancer. The more men drink, the greater their risk for specific cancers. However, the link appears to involve mostly beer and spirit consumption, not wine. Alcohol was linked to an increased risk for esophageal, stomach, colon, liver, lung and prostate cancer.
15. Ladies' Night Out a Diet Wrecker (Appetite, 7/29/09)
Girls' night out can be fun for single and married women alike, but eating with a large group of women friends may influence you to eat more.
16. Watching TV-Even Worse for Kids Than You Think: Screen Time Boosts Kids' Blood Pressure (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 8/09)
Sedentary behavior contributes to obesity and chronically poor health. But not all sedentary behaviors are created equal. This study examines the link between blood pressure in children and their choice of inactive pastimes, including watching TV, using the computer and reading. Television viewing was found to be the worst. It was linked to significantly higher blood pressure in children regardless of whether a child was heavy or at healthy weight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 2 should not watch any television and that older children limit their viewing to one to two hours per day.
17. Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Heart Risk Factors in Kids: 7 in 10 U. S. Kids Have Low Vitamin D (Pediatrics, 8/3/09)
Most American youngsters aren't getting enough vitamin D, and the deficiency is associated with an increased incidence of risk factors for cardiovascular problems such as heart attack and stroke. 9 percent of young Americans -- 7.6 million -- were vitamin D-deficient, with blood levels under 15 nanograms per milliliter, and that 61 percent -- 50.8 million -- were vitamin D-insufficient, with levels between 15 nanograms and 29 nanograms per milliliter. Children with the lowest vitamin D levels were more likely to have higher blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and low blood levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. 200 International Units a day of Vitamin D for everyone up to age 50 is recommended. Adequate vitamin D intake can be achieved with 15 minutes a day of exposure to sunlight or consuming fortified milk, bread and other wheat products.
18. Certain Arthritis, Crohn's Drugs May Raise Kids' Cancer Risk (FDA, 8/4/09)
Prescription drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease can increase the risk of potentially deadly cancer in children and teenagers. An analysis of 48 reported cancer cases in children using TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) blockers drugs showed an increased risk of cancer, occurring after 30 months of treatment on average. About half the 48 cases involved lymphoma. Anti-TNF drugs include Johnson & Johnson's Simponi or golimumab and its Remicade or infliximab; Abbott Laboratories' Humira or adalimumab; UCB SA's Cimzia or certolizumab pegol; and Amgen Inc and Wyeth's Enbrel or etanercept.
19. Study finds rise in student injuries in gym class (Pediatrics, 9/09)
Injuries to American children during physical education classes increased by 150 percent from 1997-2007, a possible result of a move to more aggressive physical activity or lack of adequate adult supervision.
20. Social Stress Sends Body Fat to the Stomach (Obesity, 8/09)
Social stress may cause the body to deposit more fat in the abdomen, which increases the risk of heart disease.
21. Recall: Salmonella illnesses prompt beef recall (USDA, 8/06/09)
An outbreak of salmonellosis in Colorado prompted the recall of 825,769 lbs of ground beef by a California beef company. Beef Packers Inc of Fresno, California, is recalling the beef, which was produced from June 5 to 23 and has the establishment number "EST. 31913.” The ground beef was shipped to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Utah. Because the meat may have been repackaged and sold under different names, consumers are being advised to check with stores to determine if they bought the recalled meat.
