Previous Medical News
2009/11/28
1. Former NIH chief Dr. Bernadine Healy: Ignore new mammogram guideline (Fox News Sunday, 11/22/09)
The former director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bernadine Healy, is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer. Dr. Bernadine Healy says the directive would save money but not lives. The recommendation, released last week by the Preventive Services Task Force, advises that women not routinely undergo mammograms until age 50. Longtime guidelines have said women should have regular mammogram screening after age 40. Healy says that if the new guidelines are followed, more women will die of breast cancer.
2. More than 1,000 deaths in past week from H1N1 (WHO, 11/27/09)
More than 1,000 deaths from the H1N1 swine flu virus were officially reported in the past week, a sharp rise which brings the global total to at least 7,826. More than half of the latest fatalities were reported by health authorities in the Americas region. It is too early to say whether there has yet been a peak in infections.
3. GlaxoSmithKline pulls swine flu vaccines in Canada (GlaxoSmithKline PLC, 11/24/09)
Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries. Any allergic reactions occur shortly after inoculation, don't last long and have not led to long-term health problems.
4. Seasonal Flu Vaccine May Cut Swine Flu Risk (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 11/20/09)
People who got last year's seasonal flu vaccine are at lower risk of H1N1 swine flu illness -- particularly severe disease. Overall, getting a seasonal flu shot or sniff cut the risk of swine flu by 45%. It cut the risk of getting a normal case of swine flu by 42%, and cut the risk of being hospitalized with swine flu by 62%.
5. H1N1 linked to rise in bacterial pneumonia cases (CDC, 11/26/09)
As H1N1 cases are rising, so are bacterial pneumonia cases. We’re seeing an increase in flu complications leading to pneumonia. High-risk adults should get vaccinations against both pneumonia and H1N1. Smokers and people with diabetes; chronic heart, lung and liver disease; or HIV are considered high-risk.
6. CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu (CDC, 11/24/09)
Just as the pandemic seems to be waning around the country holiday gatherings could lead to more infections. The CDC urges people to travel only if they are well, get vaccinated against swine and seasonal flu, wash their hands often, and cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
7. West Virginia Doctor Had H1N1 - Twice (CDC, 11/25/09)
It is possible to contract the H1N1 virus twice. A West Virginia physician had the H1N1 virus twice — once in August and again in October. Dr. Debra Parsons, a pediatrician in Cross Lanes, W. Va., first became ill this summer, the same time her son did. Parsons tested herself for the virus, and it came back positive for the H1N1 Influenza A strain. When Parsons experienced flu-like symptoms again in October, even worse than those she had in August, she tested herself again. The test came back positive again for H1N1.
8. High-impact exercise reduces stroke risk (Neurology, 11/24/09)
Regular workouts are protective against ischemic stroke. The intensity of the activity is important and the effect is independent of the improvement exercise has on hypertension, diabetes, or abnormal cholesterol level.
9. Can You 'Hear' Through the Skin: Some Sounds Produce Air Bursts That Provide Tactile Clues for Hearing (Nature, 11/26/09)
Eyes as well as ears help us understand what others are saying, but so does our skin. People can detect tactile clues such as airflow -- made by sounds -- through the skin.
10. Women who smoke risk having seizures (Epilepsia, 11/18/09)
Women who smoke may have a higher risk of developing seizures than non-smokers do.
11. Exposure to smoke, lead ups risk of ADHD (Pediatrics, 11/09)
Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy and who are exposed to the metal lead have more than twice the usual risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). So this is just another reason to stop smoking while pregnant and to rid your home of lead.
12. Cigarettes May Contain Bacteria (Environmental Health Perspectives, 10/22/09)
Cigarettes are massive germ factories that may expose users and passersby to a swarm of disease-causing bacteria. Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with hundreds of different types of bacteria. There appears to be as many bacteria in cigarettes as there are chemicals.
13. Ginkgo Biloba Doesn’t Prevent Heart Attack (Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 11/24/09)
Ginkgo biloba, a popular herbal supplement, doesn’t prevent cardiovascular death or major events such as stroke and heart attack in people 75 and older. However, the herb may have some benefit for people with peripheral vascular disease. Peripheral vascular disease involves poor circulation of blood vessels outside the brain and heart. Classic symptoms include pain in the lower legs, typically associated with walking.
14. Parents' age tied to child's autism risk (American Journal of Epidemiology, 11/1/09)
Children born to relatively older mothers or fathers may have a higher risk of autism than those with younger parents. A child's risk of developing autism increases along with the age of the mother or the father.
15. When Sleep Suffers, So Does Decisiveness (Sleep, 11/09)
Sleep-deprived people may put themselves and others at risk when they need to make split-second decisions.
16. Stifled Anger at Work Doubles Men's Risk for Heart Attack (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 11/24/09)
Men who bottle up their anger over unfair treatment at work could be hurting their hearts. Men who consistently failed to express their resentment over conflicts with a fellow worker or supervisor were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack or die of heart disease as those who vented their anger. Ignoring an ongoing work-related conflict was associated with a tripled risk of heart attack or coronary death.
17. 1 in 4 Teen Girls Has an STD (Pediatrics, 12/9)
One in four teenage girls in the United States is infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Nearly one in five girls between 14 and 19 years old is infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. About one in 25 girls carries chlamydia, a sexually transmitted bacterium.
18. Traffic, Dust Linked to Asthma in Kids (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 12/1/09)
Infants exposed to outdoor traffic pollution and indoor endotoxin are at increased risk for asthma. Endotoxin -- a component of bacteria believed to trigger an immune response in humans -- is found in dust.
19. Recall: Govt issues record 2.2M recall for drop-side cribs (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 11/23/09)
After four U.S. infants died while trapped in the cribs, 2.2 million drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft -- including 147,000 with the Fisher-Price logo --have been recalled.
