Previous Medical News

2009/09/19

1.  Grim Prognosis From Doctors Opposed To Health Care Plan (IBD, 9/16/09)
Doctor opposition to health care overhaul proposals is broad and deep, revealing concerns not just about soaring costs, declining care, possible rationing and a lack of limits on malpractice suits, but also about government competence and motives, detailed responses to a new IBD/TIPP Poll show. 65% of the 1,376 practicing physicians who responded to a mailed questionnaire over the last two weeks said they opposed health care plans that have emerged from the administration and Congress. Just 33% supported them. 45% of these professionals said they would consider closing their practices or retiring early if the reforms now under consideration were enacted.

2.  'Dirty Dancing' star Patrick Swayze dies at 57 of Pancreatic Cancer (9/14/09)
Patrick Swayze died from pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles at age 57. He faced the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months. The median survival is probably five months. Pancreatic cancer has only a 5 percent five-year survival rate. Swayze seemed to benefit from his regimen of chemotherapy, typically administered to pancreatic cancer patients in a drug called gemcitabine. He did receive an experimental drug which attempts to block the spread of tumor cells called vatalanib.

3.  FDA approves new swine flu vaccine (FDA, 9/15/0)
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the new swine flu vaccine.

4.  Swine flu shots may start early October (HHS, 9/10/09)
The nation's first round of swine flu shots could begin sooner than expected, with some vaccine available as early as the first week of October. One dose instead of two could be enough for healthy adults, and protection could begin once vaccinated within 10 days instead of three weeks.

5.  Who needs which flu vaccine the most? (CDC, 9/14/09)
Regular flu vaccine is available now, and people who need it most include:

• Adults 50 and older.
• All children age 6 months to 18 years. -Pregnant women.
• People of any age with chronic health problems like asthma, heart disease or a weakened immune system. -Health workers.
• Caregivers to the high-risk, including babies younger than 6 months

Don't like shots? There's a nasal spray version of the vaccine, called FluMist, available for people ages 2 to 49. Once the swine flu vaccine starts arriving next month, the first in line will be:

• Pregnant women.
• The young, from age 6 months up through age 24.
• Health workers.
• Younger and middle-aged adults with those chronic health conditions (asthma, heart disease, diabetes).

6.  Seniors largely spared of swine flu (CDC, 9/17/09)
Seniors may already have some immunity.

7.  Swine flu deaths show this flu is different (CDC, 9/15/09)
Autopsies on people who have died from the new pandemic H1N1 flu show this virus is different from seasonal influenza, even if it has not yet caused more deaths. Americans who died from swine flu had infections deep in their lungs including damage to the alveoli -- the structures in the lung that deliver oxygen to the blood. This in turn caused what is known as acute respiratory distress syndrome -- an often fatal development that leaves patients gasping for breath. Seasonal flu kills, too -- about 250,000 to 500,000 cases a year globally, but not in the same way as swine flu. Seasonal flu causes bronchitis and other upper respiratory disease.

8.  2 Easiest Ways to Catch Swine Flu (Risk Analysis, 9/09)
What's the single most efficient way to catch H1N1 swine flu? Having a sick person cough directly into your face. That gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick. The next most risky thing: Touching something contaminated with flu virus and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your unwashed hand gives you a 31% chance at getting sick. Breathing in tiny particles left hanging in the air from a flu-infected person's cough or sneeze gives you a 17% chance of infection. Breathing in larger particles -- which hang in the air for a shorter time -- gives you only a 0.5% chance of getting sick.

9.  Swine flu spreads long after fever stops (American Society for Microbiology conference, 9/14/09)
When the coughing stops is a better sign of when a swine flu patient is no longer contagious than a days after the fever goes away.

10.  IV Peramivir Fights Flu as Well as Tamiflu (Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 9/14/09)
One IV treatment of the investigational flu drug peramivir works as well as five days of Tamiflu pills. An injectable flu drug is badly needed because many sick people can't swallow pills and severe illness can slow the body's ability to absorb oral medications.

11.  Airline workers may spread H1N1 (CDC, 9/17/09)
Airline employees who report to work ill are more likely than sick passengers to spread infections such as the H1N1 swine flu virus aboard airplanes.

12.  Dangerous staph germs found at West Coast beaches (American Society for Microbiology conference, 9/12/09)
Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington. The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms. The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Shower when you come out of the water to lower the risk of bacteria staying on the skin. Make sure you get all the sand off and cover any open cuts or scrapes before playing in the sand. Digging in the sand or being buried in it seems to raise the risk of infection.

13.  Nasal Spray May Kill Cold Virus (Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 9/15/09)
Oxymetazoline, a compound found in many over-the-counter nasal decongestant sprays, may help kill the virus that causes the common cold.vvViral levels dropped more quickly than expected in volunteers treated with oxymetazoline nasal sprays. Sprays containing oxymetazoline are sold under a variety of trade names, including Afrin, Dristan 12-Hour Nasal Spray, Duramist Plus, and Vicks Sinex 12 Hour Nasal Spray. A decongestant, oxymetazoline works by shrinking blood vessels in your nasal tissues, allowing mucus to drain.

14.  Ultrasound Eyebrow Lift Device OK’d (FDA, 9/18/09)
The FDA has cleared a new ultrasound eyebrow lift device, called the Ulthera System, for use by doctors. The noninvasive device, which is the first of its kind, uses ultrasound imaging to target ultrasound energy that enables significant lifting of the skin. Focused ultrasound energy triggers the body's natural healing response, resulting in new and improved collagen support and gradual firming, tightening, and actual lifting of skin tissue over time There are no serious adverse events and no recuperation time.

15.  Celiac Disease May Raise Risk of Dying (Journal of the American Medical Association, 9/16/09)
People with milder symptoms of celiac disease face a slightly higher risk of dying than other people. Cancer and heart disease were the main causes of death in the patients studied, and the risk was higher in people who had had small-intestinal biopsies in childhood. Celiac disease affects about 1 percent of people in the Western world and it is triggered by exposure to gluten, a protein found in barley, wheat and rye. It frequently causes diarrhea and weight loss.

16.  Early Spankings Make for Aggressive Toddlers (Child Development, 9/10//09)
Children who are spanked as 1-year-olds are more likely to behave aggressively and perform worse on cognitive tests as toddlers than children who are spared the punishment.

17.  New Sign of Diabetes Risk: SHBG Level (New England Journal of Medicine, 9/17/09)
A new blood test strongly predicts risk of type 2 diabetes. The test looks at sex hormone-binding globulin or SHBG. Once considered merely a way for the body to store extra sex hormone, SHBG now appears to be a player in a number of body functions. Protection against type 2 diabetes -- or susceptibility to it -- appears to be one of them. People with the lowest SHBG levels have a tenfold higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those with the highest SHBG levels. A person's SHBG level may be an important factor in determining type 2 diabetes risk and the need for early treatment.

18.  Is swimming pool chlorine fueling the allergy epidemic? (Pediatrics, 10/09)
Swimming in a chlorinated pool may boost the odds that a child susceptible to asthma and allergies will develop these problems. By irritating the airways of swimmers chlorination products in water and air of swimming pools exert a strong additive effect on the development of asthma and respiratory allergies.

19.  Air Pollution May Raise Blood Pressure (Hypertension, 9/09)
Breathing polluted air for even two hours can boost blood pressure, potentially raising the risk of cardiovascular disease in those exposed to smog. Microscopic particles in the air, rather than ozone gases, caused the rise in blood pressure and impaired blood vessel function. If air pollution levels are forecasted to be high, those with heart disease, diabetes or lung disease should avoid unnecessary outdoor activity.

20.  8.3 Million U.S. Adults Considered Suicide Last Year (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health, 9/17/09)
More than 8 million adults in the United States seriously considered suicide last year, with younger adults the most likely to contemplate taking their own lives. 2.3 million made a plan to do so, and 1.1 million actually attempted it.

21.  Depression May Hasten Cancer Death (Cancer, 9/14/09)
Depression can rob people with cancer of years of life, raising questions about the need to screen patients for psychological problems. Death rates were as much as 25 percent higher in patients who felt depressed and 39 percent higher in patients who received a diagnosis of depression.

22.  Your shower may be blasting you with germs (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 9/14/09)
Many showerheads are dirty and may be covering you in a daily dose of bacteria that could make you sick. Avoid the initial spray out of your showerhead and replace as indicated.

23.  Bad habits take a decade off life (British Medical Journal, 9/18/09)
Middle-aged male smokers with high cholesterol and blood pressure die, on average, a decade sooner than peers without any of these heart disease risk factors.

24.  Most Adult Americans at Some Risk for Heart Disease (Circulation, 9/14/09)
Decades of steady progress against heart disease may be on the wane with a new study showing that only 7.5 percent of Americans are now in the clear when it comes to heart disease risk factors. The continuing U.S. obesity epidemic may bear much of the blame for the downturn resulting in more High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and High Cholesterol.

25.  Anxious Kids at Risk for Obesity in Adulthood (BMC Medicine, 9/11/09)
Children with emotional difficulties have a greater risk of becoming obese in adulthood.

26.  Not All Kids With Head Injuries Need Brain Scans (Lancet, 9/14/09)
Guidelines to identify children with a very low risk of serious brain injury after they've suffered a head injury are highly effective and can reduce the use of scans that expose children to radiation. Characteristics used to predict which children younger than age 2 didn't have a clinically important traumatic brain injury were: normal mental status, no scalp swelling except frontal, no loss of consciousness or unconscious for under five seconds, non-severe injury mechanism, no noticeable skull fracture, and parents reporting normal behavior in the child.

27.  Recall: Calif. firm recalls spinach after salmonella found (California Department of Public Health, 9/18/09)
A California distributor is recalling two brands of bunched spinach after routine testing detected salmonella. Ippolito International, of Salinas, is recalling spinach packed under the "Queen Victoria" label and the "Tubby" label.”