Previous Medical News
2010/04/24
1. Too much salt: Report urges FDA to force rollback (Institute of Medicine, 4/20/10)
Too much salt is hidden in Americans' food, and regulators plan to work with manufacturers to cut back — but the government isn't ready to go along with a major new recommendation that it order a decrease. The idea is for gradual change so consumer taste buds can adjust, as well as industry recipes and production methods.
2. Report says health care will cover more, cost more (Medicare's Office of the Actuary/Health and Human Services Department, 4/22/10)
President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is getting a mixed verdict in the first comprehensive look by neutral experts: More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up. Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report that the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls. But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, since Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable.
3. Lawmakers in 'America's Dairyland' Move to Allow Farmers to Sell Raw Milk (AP, 4/23/10)
The Wisconsin Assembly voted 60-35 for a bill that would allow dairy farmers to sell unpasteurized milk despite safety concerns. The bill, if signed by Gov. Jim Doyle, would allow the sales through the end of 2011 while lawmakers work on a more permanent solution. The Food and Drug Administration opposes the sale of raw milk, saying it may contain harmful bacteria that can sicken and even kill. Supporters say raw milk tastes better and has health benefits.
4. Samsung Warns of 3-D TV Health Concerns (ABC, 4/19/10)
3-D TVs may cause fatigue, nausea, and seizures in some viewers. We do not recommend watching 3-D if you are in bad physical condition, need sleep or have been drinking alcohol, or a child under the age of 8.
5. Gene makes people fat, raises Alzheimer's risk (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 4/10)
A variant of an obesity gene carried by more than a third of the U.S. population also reduces brain volume, raising carriers' risk of Alzheimer's disease. People with a specific variant of the fat mass and obesity gene, or FTO gene, have brain deficits that could make them more vulnerable to the mind-robbing disease. The basic result of this study is that this very prevalent gene not only adds an inch to your waistline, but makes your brain look 16 years older.
6. Flu drugs saved many pregnant swine flu victims (Journal of the American Medical Association, 4/21/10)
Quick treatment with flu medicine saved the lives of many pregnant women who were stricken by swine flu last year. 56 pregnant women died from the new virus in 2009. Pregnant women account for just 1 percent of the population and they accounted for as many as 5 percent of swine flu deaths. Only one of the U.S. women who died was treated with flu medicine like Tamiflu within the first two days of symptoms; just four of those who died got treatment within the first four days.
7. High-Sugar Diet Linked to Cholesterol (Journal of the American Medical Association, 4/21/10)
American eats the equivalent of about 21 teaspoons of added sugar a day -- about 2 1/2 to 3 times more than new heart disease prevention guidelines say they should. Excess sugar is known to contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other conditions linked to heart disease, and now new research links it to unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
8. Naps boost memory, but only if you dream (Current Biology, 4/10)
An afternoon power nap may boost your ability to process and store information tenfold -- but only if you dream while you're asleep.
9. Olive Oil May Be Key to Mediterranean Diet's Benefits (BMC Genomics, 4/19/10)
The heart-healthy effects of the famous "Mediterranean diet" may have something to do with components of virgin olive oil that repress genes that promote inflammation. Phenol compounds -- which are found in olive oil, especially extra-virgin types -- affected the workings of genes in 20 people with a common condition called metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome puts people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
10. Can you become addicted to tanning beds? (Archives of Dermatology, 4/10)
If you're someone who lies in a tanning bed too much, you may be likely to suffer from addictive behavior often seen with substance abuse, as well as anxiety.
11. Supplements Might Reduce Breast Cancer Risk (American Association for Cancer Research annual conference in Washington, D.C., 4/18/10)
Women who take multivitamin tablets along with calcium supplements seem to have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer. The interactions of different vitamins together might account for the beneficial effect. The effect was seen with multivitamins, not with single vitamins.
12. Bottled up anger can be deadly for heart patients (American Journal of Cardiology, 4/12/10)
Heart disease patients who suppress their anger had nearly triple the risk of having a heart attack or dying over the next 5 to 10 years.
13. Study Finds Laughter has Similar Effects of Exercise (2010 Experimental Biology conference)
Repetitive laughter could have the same effects on the body as exercise. Laughing not only enhances a positive mood, but lowers stress hormones, increases immune activity and endorphins, and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, similar to moderate exercise. Apparently, our everyday behaviors and emotions are modulating our bodies in many ways.
14. 2 good choices to prevent breast cancer (Cancer Prevention Research, 4/19/10)
Older women at higher risk for breast cancer now have two good drug options for preventing the disease. Tamoxifen, the longtime gold standard, is more effective and longer lasting, the results show. But a newer drug — raloxifene, sold as Evista — is safer. Tamoxifen cut the chances of developing the most serious forms of breast cancer in half, the research shows, but with a higher risk of uterine cancer. Evista cut the cancer risk by 38 percent, with fewer uterine problems and other serious side effects. High risk women include those with gene mutations or a family history of breast cancer.
15. Second-hand smoke ups risk of sinus, nasal problems (Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, 4/10)
Other people's cigarette smoke could be to blame for much of the chronic itchy, runny nose and sinus woes - also known as rhinosinusitis -- that plague one in every six US adults.
16. Probiotics Affirmed to Prevent GI Infection in Preemies (Pediatrics, 5/10)
Preterm, very low birth weight babies should routinely get probiotics to reduce risk of necrotizing enterocolitis and death.
17. Day care sends sick kids home unnecessarily (Pediatrics, 4/19/10)
Child care centers are too prone to send toddlers home for mild illnesses. Child Care Center directors said they would exclude kids more than half the time for minor ailments such as pink eye, ringworm or mild fever. This is medically unnecessary and runs counter to long-standing professional guidelines, the researchers say. By the time kids have symptoms, they've already been contagious, and "they've already done the damage. Exclusion is "a significant burden for parents," who may be forced to take unpaid sick leave or scramble to find an alternative according to these investigators.
18. Report says school food making kids unfit to serve, a threat to national security (Mission Readiness, 4/20/10)
9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too fat to join the military.
19. Kids Could Overdose From Nicotine-Laced 'Candy' (Pediatrics, 4/19/10)
In 2009, tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds launched Camel Orbs, dissolvable nicotine pellets flavored with cinnamon or mint that are intended for use by smokers who find themselves in smoke-free surroundings. But the product, which can resemble candy, poses a serious health threat for children and youths.
20. Traffic Seems to Make Kids' Asthma Worse (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 4/22/10)
Air pollution from city traffic appears to increase asthma attacks in kids that require an emergency room visit. The effect was found to be strongest during the warmer parts of the year.
