Previous Medical News
2010/08/21
1. Recall: Ongoing salmonella outbreak prompts egg recall: Recall expands to more than half a billion eggs (CDC, 8/17/10)
Americans consume about 220 million eggs a day. More than a half-billion eggs have been recalled in the nationwide investigation of a salmonella outbreak that has expanded to include a second Iowa farm. The outbreak has already sickened more than 1,000 people and the toll of illnesses is expected to increase. No deaths have been reported.
This week Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa recalled 380 million eggs and Hillandale Farms in Iowa recalled more than 170 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed salmonella enteritidis. Brand names from Wright County Egg: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Brand names from Hillandale Farms: Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek.
The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight hours to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product. It can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis or arthritis. Source of the outbreak could be rodents in food packaging and distribution facilities, shipments of contaminated hens (the ovaries of a hen can be contaminated by the bacteria), or tainted feed. The salmonella bacteria is usually passed from from rodent droppings to chickens and this strain of bacteria is found inside a chicken's ovaries, and gets inside an egg.
MY ADVICE: Return tainted eggs to the store for a full refund. Cook eggs not included in the recall thoroughly and eat them immediately afterward. For more information on the egg recall, visit the Egg Safety Center: http://www.eggsafety.org.
2. Flu Shots have arrived: Who should get it? What’s in it? (CDC, 8/20/10)
Flu shots already are arriving. For the first time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising everyone 6 months and older to get vaccinated, not just the medically vulnerable. One dose contains protection against the H1N1 swine flu virus, as well as two other types of seasonal flu (influenza B and the H3N2 flu strain).
3. Bad bumps to head could kill years later: New Findings Suggest Lou Gehrig Had a Different Illness (Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, 8/10)
Repeated blows to the head may cause nerve-degenerative diseases like Lou Gehrig's disease and Alzheimer's. Repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports might be associated with the development of a motor neuron disease. There’s a newly characterized disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in which dementia set in years after repeated concussions.
4. Amphetamines could damage heart artery (American Heart Journal, 8/10)
Young adults who abuse amphetamines may be more likely to suffer an often fatal tear in the body's main artery, the aorta. Those who abuse amphetamines have triple the odds of aortic dissection.
5. Heart attack, stroke risks higher for combative types: Anger can harm the heart (Hypertension, 8/10)
People who tend to be confrontational, especially those who are competitive and aggressive, run a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. People who classed themselves as aggressive on a standard personality test were more likely to suffer from thickening of the neck arteries than those who were classed as affable or accommodating. Thickening of the arteries is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
6. Green leafy vegetables cut diabetes risk (British Medical Journal, 8/20)
People who add more green leafy vegetables to their diet may significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Eating one and one half servings of green leafy vegetables per day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14%.
7. Eat Less Red Meat, Cut Heart Attack Risk (Circulation, 8/10)
Cutting back on red and processed meats may significantly reduce heart disease risk. Consider replacing red meat with other protein-rich foods, including fish, poultry, low-fat dairy products, and nuts.
8. Oral alternative to allergy shots improves hay fever (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 8/5/10)
A new therapy allows hay fever sufferers to get allergy shots in the form of a tablet or drops that can help alleviate symptoms and cut people's reliance on allergy medication. It’s known as sublingual immunotherapy, the treatment relies on the same principles as traditional allergy shots, but is delivered by tablets or drops that dissolve under the tongue.
9. Tai chi eases fibromyalgia symptoms (New England Journal of Medicine, 8/19/10)
Tai chi eases painful joints and other symptoms of fibromyalgia. Tai chi is an ancient Chinese form of exercise combining meditation with slow, gentle movements, deep breathing and relaxation. It can improve muscle strength, balance, sleep, coordination and, some evidence suggests, fibromyalgia.
10. 'Only Children' Are Not Socially Awkward (American Sociological Association annual meeting, 8/16/10)
As teenagers, only children fare no better or worse in social skills than adolescents with siblings.
11. Infidelity Rises When She Makes More Than He Does (American Sociological Association annual meeting, 8/16/10)
Men are more likely to cheat if their income is much lower than what their wife or female partner makes, while women are more likely to fool around if they make more than their husband or male partner.
12. Binge drinking, high blood pressure a lethal combo: Binge drinking heightens death risk in those with high blood pressure (Stroke, 8/19/10)
Heavy binge drinkers with hypertension have a 12-fold increased risk of death. Binge drinking was defined as having six or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion.
13. Drinking beer can lead to psoriasis in women (Archives of Dermatology, 8/10)
Women who drink five or more regular beers a week may double their risk of developing psoriasis. They found no increased psoriasis risk for other types of alcohol -- including light beer. Factors unique to regular beer may include high levels of gluten.
14. Judging When Alcohol's Effects Wear Off Not Easy (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 8/10)
The way that alcohol impairs reasoning and problem-solving abilities may explain why some people feel they're fit to drive even though they're drunk. The subjective feeling that you are drunk recovers more quickly than your ability to use thinking and reasoning skills.
15. Even a Little Cigarette Smoke Harms Airway: Secondhand smoke, occasional cigarettes do harm (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 8/20/10)
Even low levels of smoke exposure can cause irreparable damage to cells essential to breathing. The damage occurs among "casual" smokers and even after exposure to secondhand smoke. The initial damage, while not usually severe, can be cumulative and prolonged exposure to tobacco smoke could lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and even lung cancer. If you can detect nicotine in the urine then you can also detect changes in the genes in the cells lining the airways. The bottom line: There is no level of cigarette smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke that does not make the cells in your lungs sick.
16. Probiotics May Reduce Crying From Colic (Pediatrics, 8/16/10)
A probiotic supplement may be an option for parents trying to soothe a colicky baby. A few daily drops of Lactobacillus reuteri, a bacterium that can help improve digestion, significantly reduced crying among infants with colic.
17. 1 in 5 US teenagers has slight hearing loss (Journal of the American Medical Association, 8/18/10)
One in five teens has lost a little bit of hearing, and the problem has increased substantially in recent years. Teenagers need to turn down the volume on their digital music players. Those earbuds may be dangerous to their health. Slight hearing loss can cause problems in school and set the stage for hearing aids later in later life. Most of the hearing loss was "slight," defined as inability to hear at 16 to 24 decibels — or sounds such as a whisper or rustling leaves. A teenager with slight hearing loss might not be able to hear water dripping or his mother whispering "good night." Habitual listening to very loud music can turn microscopic hair cells in the inner ear into scar tissue.
18. One million children may be misdiagnosed with ADHD: Summer babies 'more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD' (Health Economics, 8/1)
Almost one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) because they were the youngest and least mature in their kindergarten classes. The most commonly prescribed drug for ADHD is Ritalin (methylphenidate), a psychostimulant, and its long-term effects are not well known.
19. Obesity, Smoking, and Lack of Exercise Linked to Teen Migraines (Neurology, 8/18/10)
Teens are more likely to have chronic headaches or migraines when they are overweight, smoke cigarettes, or get little or no exercise.
