Previous Medical News
2009/11/07
1. H1N1 flu strikes cat from Iowa: Animals Need to Be Closely Watched for Flu (WHO, 11/6/09)
A cat from our Iowa has become the first of its species to come down with a confirmed infection of H1N1 flu. The cat started sneezing and quit eating after two people in its home contracted suspected cases of the flu. The cat was taken to Iowa State University's veterinary college, where tests confirmed this week that it had the new flu virus.
2. Swine flu not just a threat to young: H1N1 Swine Flu Deadly in All Age Groups (Journal of the American Medical Association, 11/4/09)
H1N1 swine flu isn't always severe, but when it's bad, it's really bad. Patients hospitalized with H1N1 flu have an 11% fatality rate, data from California suggest (April 23-August 11). The pandemic flu bug is far more likely to strike younger people. But when people aged 50 and older get hospitalized with H1N1 swine flu, their case-fatality rate is the highest of any group: 18% to 20%. For seasonal flu, hospitalization and death occurred at all ages, and up to 30% of hospitalized cases were severely ill.
3. Flu Vaccine Benefits Moms and Babies (Infectious Diseases Society of America, 11/1/09)
When pregnant women get vaccinated against flu, their babies are bigger, healthier and less likely to be premature.
4. Side effects not always due to swine flu shot (Lancet, 10/31/09)
Hundreds of people on any given day will die, develop the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome or have spontaneous abortions, and that doesn't necessarily mean that their swine flu vaccination shot was to blame. Medical scientists have reviewed hospital databases and population samples in Britain, Canada, Finland, the United States and elsewhere to find daily baseline rates of commonly reported events like Guillain-Barre syndrome, sudden deaths, seizures and abortions.
5. Swine Flu Study on N95 Masks Retracted: Flu Mask Recommendations Based on Flawed Study, Authors Say (Infectious Diseases Society of America, 11/1/09)
In a surprise twist, authors retracted findings of a study that found N95 respirators were better than surgical masks at preventing flu. After a re-analysis prompted by questions from reviewers, the findings were no longer significant stated one of the authors of the original research.
6. Pregnant women should get flu shot (WHO, 11/3/09)
According to the World Health Organization, pregnant women and other people at high risk should be vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu virus as the cold weather begins to bite in the northern hemisphere.
7. Kids will need two doses of H1N1 flu vaccine (CDC, 11/2/09)
Up to 30 million doses of vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 flu have been delivered to the U.S. government and production is now picking up. But more studies confirm that children under the age of 9 will need two doses to be fully protected. And studies in pregnant women, one of the groups most vulnerable to swine flu, show no indication of side effects from the vaccine.
8. U.S. states, counties struggle to deliver H1N1 shots (CDC, 11/4/09)
States and counties will be struggling to vaccinate people against the swine flu pandemic well into December and January -- long after the first peak of the virus in the United States.
9. Most Who Want Swine Flu Shot Can't Get It (CDC, 11/6/09)
Although the total doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine available in the United States now tops 38 million -- 11 million more than a week ago -- most Americans who want a shot still haven't been able to get one. 70 percent of adults and 66 percent of children who tried to get vaccinated couldn't.
10. Old method of heart bypass better than 'off-pump' (New England Journal of Medicine, 11/5/09)
It seemed like a great idea — doing bypass surgery while the heart is still beating, sparing patients the complications that can come from going on a heart-lung machine. Now the first big test of this method has produced a surprise: Bypass has fewer problems and is more successful done the old way.
11. Certain antibiotics may up birth defect risk (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 11/0)
Some of the antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections during pregnancy may increase the risk of several birth defects if a woman uses them early in pregnancy.
12. FDA Health Alert for Certain Pet Treats Made by Pet Carousel (FDA, 11/5/09)
Do not use Pig Ears and Beef Hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
13. Shingles Recurs More Often Than Thought (Infectious Diseases Society of America 47th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2009.)
People with shingles are more likely to suffer a recurrence than previously thought, especially if their attack is accompanied by lasting pain. The risk of getting shingles again, once you already have it, is about one in three. That's about the same chance of getting shingles once in your lifetime.
14. High fiber intake may interfere with ovulation (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10/09)
Women who get the recommended amount of fiber in their diets may have lower estrogen levels and ovulate less often than women who eat less fiber.
15. Breast feeding may not alter older kids' health (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10/09)
Exclusive breast feeding for up to 6 months, though beneficial for an infants' immunity and mothers' weight, may not alter children's health risks over the long term.
16. 'All-natural' sex pill contains Viagra chemical: 'Stiff Nights' (FDA, 11/5/09)
An over-the-counter men's sex aid, labeled as all-natural, contains a chemical similar to the active ingredient in Viagra and could be dangerous. 'Stiff Nights', a product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure and is illegal.
17. More Smokers Quit With Patches and Lozenges (Archives of General Psychiatry, 11/09)
Smokers who want to kick the habit /are more likely to succeed when they use a combination of long-acting and immediate-delivery nicotine-replacement products. Using nicotine patches plus nicotine lozenges was more successful than using either product alone. They also had better outcomes than those who used the smoking-cessation drug Zyban or a combination of Zyban and nicotine lozenges.
18. Switch to 'Light' Cigarettes Makes Quitting Tougher (Tobacco Control, 11/3/09)
People who switch to “low-tar” and “light” cigarettes are less likely to quit, even those who switch specifically because they want to stop smoking. Switching to 'light' cigarettes for any reason is associated with continuing to smoke.
19. Diet Soda, Sodium Tied to Kidney Trouble (American Society of Nephrology, 11/02)
A diet high in salt or artificially sweetened drinks increases the risk of kidney function decline.
20. Moderate exercise may lower prostate cancer risk (Journal of Urology, 11/09)
Men who regularly get moderate exercise may have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer -- including aggressive, fast-growing tumors. Moderate exercise was considered the equivalent of three to six hours of walking per week.
21. Low Cholesterol May Help Prevent Cancer (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, 11/09)
Low blood cholesterol levels reduce the risk not only of heart disease but also of cancer. Cholesterol levels had no significant effect on the overall incidence of prostate cancer in the study.
Also, there is an association between low cholesterol levels and a reduced incidence of aggressive disease for prostate cancer.
22. New hope for Lupus: Benlysta (Human Genome Sciences Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, 11/2/09)
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said their experimental drug Benlysta met the goal of a second late-stage study in treating lupus, increasing the drug's chances of becoming the first treatment in decades for the hard-to-treat autoimmune disease.
23. Sleep Apnea Treatment Helps Your Golf Game (American College of Chest Physicians, 11/2/09)
Men and women who undergo treatment for sleep apnea not only can improve their general health, but their golf games as well.
24. Is There a 'Bad Driver' Gene? (Cerebral Cortex, 10/09)
People with a gene variation performed 20 percent worse on simulated driving tests and did as poorly a few days later. Almost one in three Americans have the variation.
25. Thinking negatively can boost your memory (Australasian Science Journal, 11-12/09)
Bad moods can actually be good for you. Being sad makes people less gullible, improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
26. TV Linked to More Child Aggression (Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 11/09)
Children who watch more television -- and even those who are exposed to the television while other people in the home are watching -- are more likely to be aggressive.
27. Red, processed meats linked to prostate cancer (American Journal of Epidemiology, 11/1/09)
Men who eat a lot of red meat (beef and pork) and processed meats (bacon, sausage and hot dogs) may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those who limit such foods.
28. Obesity causes 100,000 U.S. cancer cases (American Institute for Cancer Research, 11/6/09)
Obesity causes more than 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States each year -- and the number will likely rise as Americans get fatter. Having too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer -- a type of cancer of the uterus -- and a third of esophageal cancer cases.
29. Processed food link to depression (British Journal of Psychiatry, 11/2/09)
A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression.
30. High Blood Pressure Likely in Alzheimer's Offspring (Archives of General Psychiatry, 11/09)
Middle-aged adults whose parents have Alzheimer's disease are at increased risk for high blood pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation -- all of which may be associated with later development of Alzheimer's disease. 47 percent of adults with Alzheimer's-afflicted parents carried the gene (APOE e4) known to be associated with the disease, compared with 21 percent of those with no family history of Alzheimer's. Those with a family history had higher blood pressure readings, signs of arterial disease and higher levels of several different cytokines.
31. Acetaminophen May Be Linked to Asthma Risk (Chest, 11/09)
The popular pain and fever reliever acetaminophen may be linked with an increased risk of asthma in children and adults.
32. Babies are found to cry in their mother's tongue: Newborns' Cries Reflect Parents' Language (Current Biology, 11/09)
They may not be old enough to talk, but babies less than a week old know how to cry in their native language.
33. Recall: Two U.S. deaths possible in beef recall: Fairbanks Farms of Ashville, N.Y. recalls 545.699 lbs of ground beef products (CDC, 11/2/09)
