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Shildt Financial Services hopes that you find the following news items to be helpful and informative.
IN REVIEW: Health News Back To September, 2008
Health Highlights (Nov. 13, 2009 to Nov. 20, 2009) Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay: FDA Warns of Adverse Effects Caused By Contaminants in Five Drugs Made By Genzyme Corp. Doctors should watch out for bits of steel, rubber and fiber in five drugs made by Genzyme Corp., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday. The FDA said contaminants were believed to be in less than 1 percent of the drugs, and that it had received no reports of adverse events, Dow Jones reported. The medicines are Cerezyme, Fabrazyme, Myozyme, Aldurazyme and Thyrogen. The drugs, used to treat rare diseases, will remain on the market because few alternative treatments exist, the FDA said. In explaining the decision, the agency said it "carefully considered the potential for serious adverse events from foreign particle contamination," Dow Jones said. But the FDA said it is "acutely aware of the critical need for patients to have continued access to these important products." Quality reports submitted by Genzyme alerted the FDA to the problem. Possible adverse effects could include damage to blood vessels or anaphylactic and allergic reactions, the agency said. Medical personnel should carefully examine the products, which come in liquid and powder form, Dow Jones said Anyone noticing a problem with drugs should call the agency at 1-800-FDA-1088, report problems via fax at 1-800-FDA-0178 or fill out a form online at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report/hcp.htm. ----- RockHard Dietary Supplement Recalled: FDA A dietary supplement called "RockHard Weekend" has been recalled because it poses a potential health hazard, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said the product might contain sulfoaildenafil, an analogue of sildenafil, which is approved to treat erectile dysfunction. Sulfoaildenafil can interact with some prescription drugs and lower blood pressure to dangerous levels, United Press International reported. The voluntary recall by RockHard Laboratories of Atlanta includes "RockHard Weekend" in blister packs with an expiration of "10/11," "3/12" or "8/12"; in three-count bottles with an expiration date of "09/12," and in eight-count bottles with an expiration date of "06/12." For more information, consumers can contact RockHard Laboratories at 800-562-0543. ----- Hyper-Resistant Bacteria Major Health Threat: Experts New, hyper-resistant bacteria that are emerging because of continued overuse and misuse of antibiotics pose a serious global health threat, experts warned at a European conference. "Some bacteria are becoming resistant to all treatments, forcing us to use older, toxic antibiotics or combinations of drugs that we are only familiar with on paper," Dominique Monnet, a European Center for Diseases Prevention and Control specialist on the issue, told Agence France Presse. The problem is particularly serious in southern and eastern Europe, where antibiotic use is higher than anywhere else. Monnet and a colleague surveyed about 100 European intensive care doctors and found that in the last six months more than half had treated at least one patient with a bacterial infection that was totally or almost totally resistant to antibiotics. "Without effective antibiotics, modern medical treatments such as operations, transplants and intensive care will become impossible," warned ECDC director Zsuzsanna Jakab, AFP reported. ----- Mini Pump Improves Heart Failure Patients' Survival: Study A miniature heart pump improved survival among severe heart failure patients, say researchers who conducted the first trial of this kind of new-generation device as a permanent treatment. The HeartMate II pushes blood continuously instead of simulating a heartbeat, which is what older pumps do, the Associated Press reported. Last year, the HeartMate II was approved for short-term use in patients awaiting a heart transplant. This study tested the device as a permanent therapy in severe heart failure patients who weren't candidates for a heart transplant. After two years, 46 percent of patients who received the new pump were alive without having suffered a stroke or a device failure, compared with 11 percent of patients who received an older pump. The study, sponsored by California-based device maker Thoratec Corp., was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at an American Heart Association conference. The HeartMate II costs $80,000 while surgery to implant the device and the related hospital stay is about $45,000, the AP reported. ----- Ketamine Drug [Dubbed Special K], Popular Among Club Goers, Causes Memory Problems Regular use of the drug ketamine can cause memory problems, say English researchers who conducted memory and psychological tests on 120 users and non-users. Those who frequently used the drug -- dubbed Special K -- performed significantly worse when asked to recall names, conversations and patterns. Performance on the tests was even worse when the University College London researchers conducted a follow-up a year later, BBC News reported. The study appears in the journal Addiction. Ketamine, which is popular among club goers, acts as a stimulant and induces hallucinations. Previous studies have suggested the drug could cause bladder and kidney damage, BBC News reported. Lead researcher Dr. Celia Morgan said "many young people who use this drug may be largely unaware of its damaging properties and its potential for addiction. We need to ensure that users are informed of the potentially negative consequences of heavy ketamine use." ----- Critics Question Prescription Drug Price Increases The wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs in the United States increased by about 9 percent in the last year, a sharp contrast to the 1.3 percent decrease in the Consumer Price Index. Critics say drug companies are trying to establish a higher base price before Congress passes legislation to slow drug spending, but drug makers say they have valid business reasons for the price increases, The New York Times reported. With the increases, the average yearly cost for a brand-name prescription drug taken daily has increased by about $200 to more than $2,000, according to Stephen W. Schondelmeyer, a professor of pharmaceutical economics at the University of Minnesota. "When we have major legislation anticipated, we see a run-up in price increases," he told The Times. Drug companies claim the price increases are necessary to maintain the profits they need to invest in research and development of new drugs. "Price adjustments for our products have no connection to health care reform," Merck spokesman Ron Rogers told The Times. ----- Only A Few Hospitals are Using the Full Capabilities of Electronic Health Records Electronic health records have done little so far to improve the cost and quality of patient care, say U.S. researchers who compared 3,000 hospitals at various stages in the adoption of computerized health records. "The way electronic medical records are used now has not yet had a real impact on the quality or cost of health care," said study leader Dr. Ashish K. Jha, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, The New York Times reported. The findings were to be presented Monday at a conference in Boston. It's believed that widespread use of electronic medical records instead of paper records will improve health care and could save the U.S. health care system as much as $100 billion a year, The Times reported. The findings of this study aren't surprising because only a few hospitals are using the full capabilities of computerized health records, said Dr. Karen Bell, senior vice president for health information technology services at the nonprofit group Masspro. "There will be no clear answers on the overall payoff from the wider use of electronic health records until we get further along, five years or more," Bell told The Times. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't go forward." ----- Brain Scans Detect Hypnosis Effects: Study Shows Hypnosis Is Real The effects of hypnosis can be seen on brain scans, say English researchers. They found that hypnotized volunteers had decreased activity in the parts of the brain associated with daydreaming or allowing the mind to wander. But the same effect wasn't seen in people who weren't susceptible to being hypnotized, BBC News reported. "This shows that the changes were due to hypnosis and not just simple relaxation. Our study shows hypnosis is real," said study leader Dr William McGeown, a lecturer in the department of psychology at Hull University. The study appears in the journal Consciousness and Cognition. The findings show that hypnosis can work by "priming" a person to respond more effectively to suggestions but does not prove that people being hypnotized are in an actual "trance," Dr. Michael Heap, a clinical forensic psychologist in Sheffield, told BBC News. ----- Texting Linked to Shoulder Pain: Study Too much text-messaging may cause shoulder damage, say U.S. researchers who determined the association is stronger in males than in females. The study of 138 college students found a link between higher numbers of text messages and shoulder discomfort, the Los Angeles Times reported. More research is needed, but it may be wise to monitor musculoskeletal symptoms among people who spend a lot of time using hand-held devices, said study lead author Judith Gold, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the College of Health Professions and Social Work at Temple University in Philadelphia, and colleagues. "Looking around our campus, you see every student on their cellphones, typing away," Gold said in a news release, the Times reported. "It's the age group that texts the most, so it's important to know what the health effects may be to learn whether it will cause long-term damage." The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
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