Previous Medical News
2009/08/29
1. CDC leery of estimates about swine flu's toll (CDC, 8/27/09)
White House estimate for swine flu: 30-50% of population with 30-90 thousand deaths. Seasonal flu usually involves 20% of the population with about 36 thousand deaths. Help prevent the spread of flu by washing hands, cough/sneeze into shirt sleeve or tissue, and stay home if ill.
2. Swine flu shot protection? Maybe by Thanksgiving (CDC, 8/24/09)
Roughly 50 million doses of vaccine are expected to be available by mid-October. Most people will need two shots, spaced three weeks apart, and that it will take a week or two after the second dose before immunity kicks in.
3. WHO warns of severe form of swine flu (WHO, 8/28/09)
Doctors are reporting a severe form of swine flu that goes straight to the lungs, causing severe illness in otherwise healthy young people and requiring expensive hospital treatment. Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 percent of patients infected with the new H1N1 pandemic virus need hospital care.
4. Mass. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy dies at age 77 of Brain Cancer (AP, 8/26/09)
5. Propofol Plus Ativan Killed Michael Jackson (Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, 8/29/09)
Acute intoxication with the anesthetic propofol, coupled with the effect of the sedative drug Ativan, killed pop star Michael Jackson on June 25. The manner of death has been ruled a homicide. The drugs propofol and lorazepam [Ativan, a benzodiazepine sedative] were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Michael Jackson's death. Other drugs detected were: Midazolam [Versed], Diazepam [Valium], Lidocaine, and Ephedrine.
6. Virus blamed for half of penile cancers (Catalan Institute of Oncology, 8/24/09)
HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, is also to blame for half of all cases of cancer of the penis.
7. FDA probes liver damage with weight loss pill alli and xenical (FDA, 8/24/09)
The FDA is investigating reports of liver damage in patients taking alli, the only nonprescription weight loss drug approved by the agency. Regulators have received more than 30 reports of liver damage in patients taking alli and Xenical, the prescription version of the drug. The reports, submitted between 1999 and October 2008, included 27 hospitalized patients, and six who suffered liver failure.
8. High blood pressure linked to early memory problems (Neurology, 8/25/09)
High blood pressure is associated with memory problems in people over age 45. People with high diastolic blood pressure, which is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading, were more apt to have thinking or "cognitive" impairment, or problems with their memory, than people with normal diastolic blood pressure readings.
9. Marital Status Affects Cancer Survival: Separation from spouse tied to lower cancer survival (Cancer, 8/24/09)
Adults who are told they have cancer while going through a separation from their spouse do not live as long as patients who receive the diagnosis while unmarried.
10. Circumcision doesn't protect gays from AIDS virus (CDC, 8/25/09)
Circumcision, which has helped prevent AIDS among heterosexual men in Africa, doesn't help protect gay men from the virus.
11. In serious debt? You’re also more likely obese (BMC Public Health, 8/7/09)
People who are heavily in debt are more likely to be heavy themselves, too. Being over- indebted was associated with a 1.97-fold greater likelihood of being overweight, and a 2.56-fold greater risk of obesity.
12. Gender and Career: Is Testosterone a Factor (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 8/24/09)
Women with higher testosterone are willing to take more risks in their careers.
13. Milk Allergy Symptoms May Ease With Exposure (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 8/10/09)
Three million U.S. children have at least one food allergy. Milk allergy is the most common food allergy. In those who are allergic, milk proteins cause the immune system to overreact, bringing a cascade of symptoms that can range from hives, itching, swelling and vomiting to anaphylaxis in the most severe cases. Children who are allergic to milk may be able to overcome their allergy by drinking increasingly higher doses of milk. In 2008, researchers from Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore reported that children with a severe milk allergy could "retrain" their immune systems to tolerate milk and other dairy products by gradually consuming increasingly higher doses. One key to keeping the allergy at bay seems to be regular consumption of milk and dairy products.
14. Ankle Test Tells Heart Risk After Stroke (Stroke, 11/09)
People with peripheral artery disease (PAD) -- even without symptoms -- have a more than fourfold higher risk of bad outcomes after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke. A simple test of blood pressure at the ankle can detect asymptomatic PAD, giving patients a chance to reduce their risk. Heart disease risk goes way up in people who have suffered strokes or TIAs. That risk is even greater in people who also have PAD, a sign that plaque is clogging the arteries.
15. Treating COPD Early Improves Outcomes (Lancet, 8/29/09)
Although there is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), starting treatment early may slow progression of the illness and add years to the lives of sufferers.
16. Asparagus May Ease Hangover (Journal of Food Science, 8/09)
To treat a hangover, drink lots of water, get plenty of rest -- and eat your asparagus. The amino acids and minerals in asparagus extract may ease hangovers and protect liver cells against the toxins in alcohol.
17. Heart group: Cut back — way back — on extra sugar (Circulation, 8/24/09)
Americans need to cut back dramatically on sugar consumption, according to the American Heart Association. The group states women should eat no more than 100 calories of added processed sugar per day, or six teaspoons (25 grams), while most men should keep it to just 150 calories or nine teaspoons (37.5 grams). That's far below the 22 teaspoons (90 grams) or 355 calories of added sugar consumed by the average American each day. Soft drinks represent the No. 1 source of added sugars in the American diet. Anything labeled "syrup" in the ingredients list is likely an added sugar. Too much sugar not only makes Americans fat but also is a key culprit in diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
18. Feeling hopeless ups stroke risks in women (Stroke, 8/09)
This study adds to recent research that optimism wards off heart disease.
19. Marijuana High Robs Men of Sexual High (New Scientist, 8/09)
Men who smoke marijuana daily have more trouble reaching orgasm than nonsmokers. Some smokers have the opposite problem, premature ejaculation.
20. Obese People Have 'Severe Brain Degeneration: As Waistlines Widen, Brains Shrink (Human Brain Mapping, 8/09)
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals.
21. Infant Car Seats May Lower Oxygen Levels (Pediatrics, 9/09)
Leaving young infants in car seats for extended periods of time may result in low oxygen levels and put them at risk for breathing problems. Car seats are essential for the safe transportation of infants. But leaving an infant in an upright position for a long period of time can partially compress the chest wall, affecting airway size. Healthy 2-day-old infants placed in car seats for 60 minutes had lower average blood oxygen levels than those lying on their backs in hospital cribs. The use of these devices should be restricted to protection from injury and death in traffic accidents, and they should never serve as a replacement for a crib.
22. Riding with smoker may be hazardous to your health (Tobacco Control, 8/25/09)
Riding shotgun with a smoker is just as bad as hanging out in a smoky bar when it comes to being exposed to second-hand smoke.
