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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 (Oct. 2, 2009 to Oct. 9, 2009) Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay: Web Site Evaluates Swine Flu Severity An interactive Web site designed to help people decide if their case of swine flu is serious enough to require a visit to the doctor was unveiled Wednesday. The site uses a self-assessment tool from Emory University in Atlanta. That tool is based on key risk factors for bad flu outcome determined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Associated Press reported. The tool "reflects the best available science," Emory emergency specialist Dr. Arthur Kellerman told the AP. Users of the online assessment type in their age (it's only for those over 12) and answer questions about their underlying health and symptoms, such as fever. The program may advise rest and fluids, a non-emergency call to your doctor, or immediate medical attention. The site was created by Microsoft Corp. The CDC (www.flu.gov) also offers a list of flu signs that indicate a person should seek emergency care. ----- Convertibles Pose Serious Hearing Threat Riding in a convertible can seriously damage your hearing, researchers warn. A study found that noise levels with the top down reach 88 to 90 decibels when the car is traveling at 50, 60 and 70 miles an hour, BBC News reported. Noise louder than 85 decibels poses a risk of permanent hearing damage. The findings were published in the journal Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery and discussed at a U.S. meeting of ear, nose and throat experts. Wind, road, engine and traffic noise levels in a convertible can be nearly as loud as the sound of a pneumatic drill, researchers say. They recommend that drivers and passengers wear some form of hearing protection, as motorcyclists do. "Regular exposure to noise levels of 88-90 decibels when driving a convertible for several hours a day can lead to permanent hearing loss over time," Dr Mark Downs, of England's Royal National Institute for Deaf People, told BBC News. "By winding up the windows or wearing basic ear protection, such as earplugs, drivers of convertibles can still enjoy driving whilst protecting their hearing." ----- Exercise Helps Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can benefit from exercise programs meant to improve strength and stamina, say Dutch researchers who reviewed eight previous studies involving 575 RA patients. Based on their findings, "we would recommend aerobic capacity training combined with muscle strength training as routine practice for RA patients," lead researcher Emalie Hurkmans, of the Leiden University Medical Center, said in a news release, United Press International reported. "But we need more research to establish the recommended length and type of exercise programs, whether patients need to be supervised and if these programs are cost effective," Hurkmans added. The review appears in the Cochrane Library. ----- Menu Calorie Info Doesn't Change Eating Habits A law requiring New York City restaurant chains to list calories on menus hasn't changed the eating habits of low-income people, according to a study published Tuesday. New York University and Yale researchers studied people eating at Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's and Wendy's in lower-income neighborhoods with high obesity rates and found that half of the customers noticed the calorie information, CBS and the Associated Press reported. Twenty-eight percent said the calorie postings influenced what they ordered and 90 percent of those people said they made healthier food choices as a result. However, the researchers analyzed the customers' receipts and found they ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer did before the law took effect in July 2008. The findings show that calorie postings don't have enough impact, study lead author Brian Elbel, an assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine, according to published reports. The study was published in the journal Health Affairs. ----- Eating Licorice During Pregnancy May Harm Children Eating large amounts of licorice during pregnancy could have a detrimental impact on a child's intelligence and behavior, say European researchers who studied 8-year-old children in Finland, where many young women consume licorice. The study found that children born to women who ate a lot of licorice while pregnant scored lower on tests than other youngsters, BBC News reported. A component in licorice called glycyrrhizin may enable stress hormones to cross through the placenta from mother to child. These hormones may affect fetal brain development and have been linked to behavioral disorders, the researchers said. The findings show "that eating licorice during pregnancy may affect a child's behavior or IQ and suggests the importance of the placenta in preventing stress hormones that may affect cognitive development getting through to the baby," said Professor Jonathan Seckl, of Edinburgh University's Centre for Cardiovascular Science, BBC News reported. The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. ----- FDA Panel Backs PegIntron as Skin Cancer Treatment Even though it carries toxic risks, the drug PegIntron should be approved for treatment of patients with late-stage skin cancer that's spread to the lymph nodes and requires surgery, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel decided Monday. Studies by drug maker Schering-Plough showed that treatment with the drug delayed cancer recurrence by about nine months. However, patients who received PegIntron didn't live longer than those who weren't given the drug, the Associated Press reported. Forty-four percent of patients dropped out of the study due to the drug's toxic side effects such as nausea, skin reactions and fatigue. Even so, the FDA panel decided in a 6-4 vote that the drug's benefits outweigh its side effects. "I'm leaning in the direction that this may be helpful given that there are very few options for these patients," said panel chair Dr. Gary Lyman, of Duke University Medical Center, the AP reported. Even though it's not required to, the FDA usually follows the recommendations of its expert panels. PegIntron is already approved in the U.S. as a treatment for hepatitis C. ----- EU Regulators Approve Diabetes Drug Onglyza The diabetes drug Onglyza has been approved for sale in the European Union and will be launched there by the end of year, drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb said Monday. Based on six studies that included more than 4,100 patients, Onglyza was approved for use with three other standard diabetes drugs, the Associated Press reported. Onglyza belongs to a newer class of diabetes medicines call DPP-4 inhibitors, which increase insulin production and lower glucose production. Merck's Januvia is also a DPP-4 inhibitor. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Onglyza on July 31 and the drug is already on sale in the U.S., the AP reported. ----- U.S. Poisoning Deaths Nearly Double Since 1999: Drugs Played a Major Role Drugs played a major role in the near doubling of poisoning fatalities in the United States between 1999 and 2006, according to a U.S. government report. During that time, poisoning death increased from almost 20,000 to more than 37,000, said the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2006, more than 90 percent of poisoning deaths involved drugs, United Press International reported. Opioid analgesics were involved in about 20 percent of poisoning deaths in 1999 and almost 40 percent in 2006. Methadone-related poisoning deaths increased nearly seven-fold, from 790 in 1999 to 5,420 in 2006. That rate of increase is far greater than for other opioid analgesics, cocaine, or heroin. The government report said poisoning is the second leading cause of injury death overall in the United States, and the leading cause of injury death for people ages 35 to 64, UPI reported. ----- No Scientific Evidence for Probiotic Health Claims: EU Panel General health claims for probiotic yogurts and drinks aren't backed by science, say European Union experts who studied 523 health claims related to 200 foods and food components, including fiber, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, botanical substances and probiotic bacteria. Of those claims, about two-thirds (350) were rejected, CBC News reported. Nearly half were rejected because they lacked information about the component on which the claim was based, including probiotic bacteria and botanical substances. While those claims were dismissed, the EU expert panel said they found sufficient scientific evidence to support claims related to vitamins and minerals, dietary fibers or fatty acids for maintenance of cholesterol levels, along with the use of sugar-free chewing gum for dental health, CBC News reported. The general health claims review was the first stage. Next, the panel will examine more specific health claims made by individual companies. ----- Kidney Cancer Drug May Cause Liver Damage: FDA An experimental kidney cancer drug called pazopanib may cause liver damage that outweighs the its ability to slow the cancer, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration documents posted online. GlaxoSmithKline is seeking FDA approval of pazopanib for treatment of advanced kidney cancer. However, the FDA documents say there have been three liver damage-related deaths among patients taking the pill, and other patients have shown elevated levels of enzymes that often predict liver damage, the Associated Press reported. These cases "strongly suggest that pazopanib may be associated with a significant risk of severe idiosyncratic hepatic injury if used in a large patient population," FDA reviewers said in the documents. It was also noted that the drug causes side effects common to other cancer drugs, including blood clots, internal bleeding and hypertension, the AP reported. An FDA panel of experts will decide Monday whether to recommend approval of the drug. The agency isn't required to follow the advice of its expert panels, but usually does. |
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