Previous Medical News
2010/05/08
1. FDA Found Bacteria in Ingredients for Recalled Tylenol, Benadryl (FDA, 5/4/10)
Bacterial contamination has been found in ingredients used to make the liquid cold and allergy products for children that were recalled 4/30/10 by McNeil Consumer Healthcare. The company also closed its plant in Fort Washington, Pa., where the contaminated products were made. The plant remains closed and cannot reopen without FDA approval. See #27 below for more information.
2. Drop-Side Cribs Kill At Least 32 Children in 9 Years (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5/7/10)
At least 32 young children have strangled or suffocated in the past nine years due to defects and other problems of drop-side cribs. There have also been hundreds of incidents caused by or related to drop-side detachments in cribs made by various manufacturers.
3. Routine mammograms for women under 40 not useful except at high risk (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 5/3/10)
Health guidelines don't recommend mammograms before age 40 unless women are at particularly high risk, such as those who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer-causing genes. Still, about 29 percent of women in their 30s report having had a mammogram.
4. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Could Affect Health (Multiple Sources)
The Deepwater Horizon incident could have impact on seafood and air quality. The spill could affect hundreds of species of fish, birds, and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, which is one of the world's richest seafood grounds. In addition, there may be risks for people working as oil spill responders, observers, and in wildlife rehabilitation due to inhalation of fumes.
5. World's oldest person, 114, dies in Japan (Gerontology Research Group, 5/4/10)
Kama Chinen, The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman on the southern island of Okinawa, has died a week before her 115th birthday.
6. 'The Pill' Turns 50 on Mother's Day (Multiple Sources)
May 9, 2010-- Mother's Day, ironically enough -- marks the 50th anniversary of an invention that gave women greater power to choose if and when they wanted to become a mom. Young women now use it to treat acne, skip periods, improve mood and, of course, prevent pregnancy.
7. Sleeping Well Linked to Longer, Healthier Life (Sleep, 5/10)
Those who regularly enjoy a good night’s sleep were also those who enjoyed overall better health and longevity.
8. Sexual satisfaction ebbs for 45-plus set (AARP, 5/7/10)
Americans 45 and older are far more open to sex outside of marriage than they were 10 years ago, but they're engaging in sex less often and with less satisfaction, according to a survey by AARP. The culprit seems to be financial stress.
9. Birth Control Pills Put Brakes on Women's Sex Drive (Journal of Sexual Medicine, 5/4/10)
Women who use hormonal contraceptives such as the birth control pill are more likely to experience sexual dysfunction such as reduced desire and arousal than women who use non-hormonal contraception and women who do not use contraception.
10. Meeting a Beautiful Women Can Be Bad for Your Health (University of Valencia in Spain, 5/3/10)
For men, just five minutes spent alone with a beautiful stranger causes so much stress, it may be bad for the heart, according to this study. The anxiety rate of those men is said to be similar to jumping from an aircraft. Their cortisol levels rise even higher, bringing on the possibility of a heart attack.
11. Bad night's sleep can hamper body's insulin use (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 5/5/10)
Just one sleepless night can hamper the body's ability to use insulin to process sugar in the bloodstream, which might help explain why diabetes is on the rise.
12. No One Antidepressant Raises Suicide Risk More Than Others (Archives of General Psychiatry, 5/10)
No particular antidepressant is more likely to boost the risk that adults starting on such medication will kill themselves or try to commit suicide.
13. Ear Damage a Downside of Roller Coaster Rides (Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings, 4/30/10)
Roller coaster riders are at risk for ear injury that can cause temporary hearing loss and pain, due to rapid acceleration.
14. Olive Oil May Protect Against Bowel Disease: Ulcerative Colitis (Digestive Disease Week conference in New Orleans, 5/1/10)
Increasing your intake of olive oil may help protect against ulcerative colitis. This study found that people whose diet was rich in oleic acid were far less likely to develop ulcerative colitis. Oleic acid is a monosaturated fatty acid found in foods such as olive oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, butter and some margarines. Oleic acid seems to help prevent the development of ulcerative colitis by blocking chemicals in the bowel that aggravate the inflammation found in the illness.
15. FDA approves new birth control pill: Natazia (FDA, 5/6/10)
The FDA has approved Bayer AG's new birth control pill Natazia. This is the first four-phase oral contraceptive marketed in the United States. It delivers varying doses of the hormones progestin at four times throughout each 28-day treatment cycle. The drug could also reduce excessive menstrual bleeding.
16. High Doses of Vitamin D May Cut Pregnancy Risks (Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, 5/4/10)
Women who take high doses of vitamin D (4000 IU/day) during pregnancy have a greatly reduced risk of complications, including gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and infection. Talk to your doctor before taking individual vitamin D supplements.
17. Take Vitamin D With Largest Meal (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 4/10)
Taking your vitamin D supplement with the largest meal of the day may boost its absorption by 50% because vitamin D is fat soluble.
18. Five minutes in the green can boost self esteem (Environmental Science & Technology, 5/1/10)
Just five minutes of a "green activity" such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming can boost mood and self esteem, and improve mental activity.
19. Lose weight fast for lasting results (Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 5/5/10)
Women who lost at a faster rate, greater than 1.5 pounds (0.68 kilos) a week, lost more and maintained a greater loss in the long run than women who lost at a slower rate of half a pound (0.23 kilos) a week or less. So shedding more than 1.5 pounds a week works best for keeping it off. Discuss your weight loss program with your physician to safely lose a significant amount of weight.
20. Lack of sleep linked to early death (Sleep, 5/10)
People who get less than six hours sleep per night have an increased risk of dying prematurely. Sleeping more than nine hours has also been linked to premature death.
21. Prehypertension, Prediabetes Predict Heart Risk (American Society of Hypertension’s 25th Annual Meeting, 5/3/10)
1 in 3 healthy adults has prehypertension, 1 in 4 has prediabetes. Prehypertension and prediabetes, especially when they occur together, are early warning signs of heart disease in seemingly healthy adults. Two out of three sudden deaths occur in people who have not been diagnosed with heart disease. Prehypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure reading between 120 and 139 and a diastolic blood pressure of 80 to 89. A blood pressure reading of less than 120/80 is considered ideal. Prediabetes refers to blood sugar (glucose) levels between 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). Ideal fasting blood levels should be less than 100 mg/dL. One in three seemingly healthy people has prehypertension, and one in four has prediabetes. One in 10 has both of these conditions. If you have both initiating lifestyle changes to lose about 7% of your body weight and incorporating 150 minutes of exercise a week will help. Eliminating simple carbohydrates (white flour products) will also help lower the blood sugar. All of these lifestyle changes can add at least a decade of life. Before beginning any exercise program please talk to your physician.
22. Magnet Therapy May Ease Hard-to-Treat Depression (Archives of General Psychiatry, 5/10)
Using magnets to stimulate the brain may ease depression in people who have not found relief from antidepressants. A gentler form of electroshock, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS does work.
23. Smoking While Pregnant May Raise Psychiatric Risks in Kids (Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, 5/4/10)
A woman who smokes while pregnant increases her baby's risk of developing psychiatric problems in childhood and young adulthood.
24. Smoking moms tied to lasting kids' sleep woes (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 5/10)
Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have children with sleep problems from birth all the way through age 12.
25. Watching TV at Age 2 Linked to a Host of Problems at 10 (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 5/10)
The amount of time spent in front of the tube at 2 years of age is linked with academic, social and health problems at age 10. Too much TV is associated with less engagement in classroom activities, less exercise on weekends, and a higher chance of being picked on by classmates in the fourth grade. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children under 2 watch no TV, and children over age 2 watch no more than 2 hours per day.
26. Kids Raised by Relatives Face Increased Health Risks (annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, 5/1/10)
Children who live with relatives instead of their parents are at increased risk for physical and mental health problems.
27. Recall: Johnson & Johnson's recalls infant, children's Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl (FDA, 4/30/10)
Stop using liquid Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec medicines for children and infants. A full list of the over 40 affected products made by McNeil Consumer Healthcare is available at http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com. The FDA discovered manufacturing deficiencies that could affect the quality, purity or potency of the medicines. Some of the products affected by the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified; others contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles.
28. Recall: Tainted Lettuce Linked to Illness in Three States: Romaine Lettuce Recalled Over E. coli (FDA, 5/6/10)
An outbreak of E. coli O145 that has sickened over 60 people in three states appears to be due to contaminated romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods. The outbreak has been tied to romaine lettuce served in restaurants, school cafeterias and deli and supermarket salad bars.
