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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. 16, 2009 to Oct. 23, 2009) Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay: Botulism Fears Trigger Baby Food Recall Concerns over possible botulism contamination have prompted a recall of some apple and carrot portable pouch baby food made by Plum Organics of California. Botulism is a serious and sometimes life-threatening condition. The recalled product is in 4.22-ounce pouches, with a "best by" date of May 21, 2010, and UPC 890180001221, the Associated Press reported. The baby food pouches were sold nationwide at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us stores. The products should not be consumed, even if they appear normal. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the baby food. No other Plum Organics products are affected, according to the company. For more information, consumers can call Plum Organics at 888-974-3555 or go to the company's Web site, the AP reported. ----- Turtle-Related Salmonella Outbreak in 2007-2008 Sickened 107 People A new study says that 107 people became ill in the largest turtle-caused salmonella outbreak in the United States. The outbreak occurred in 2007-08. Of those patients, one-third had to be hospitalized. The outbreak involved mostly children in 34 states, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, which noted that many parents didn't know that pet turtles can carry salmonella, the Associated Press reported. The sale of small turtles as pets was banned in the United States in 1975, but millions continue to be sold illegally. The number of pet turtles nationwide increased from 950,000 in 1996 to almost two million in 2006, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. "It's very easy to think of turtles as being a very gentle and nice pet," but many are salmonella carriers and don't show any signs, said study lead author Julie Harris, the AP reported. Salmonella on turtles' shells and body can spread to people who handle them. ----- Car Booster Seats Significantly Reduce Crash Injuries Among Children Ages 4 to 8 Car booster seats significantly reduce crash injuries among children ages 4 to 8, confirms a new analysis of nine years of data from 15 states and Washington, D.C. Researchers found that children in belt-positioning booster seats were 45 percent less likely to suffer injuries in a crash than children using only standard seat belts. There was no notable difference in risk of injury between the use of backless and high-back booster seats, CBS News reported. The study, which confirms earlier findings, also found that booster seats reduced the risk of injury by 68 percent for near-side impact crashes and 82 percent for far-side impacts. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics. To prevent falls, car seats should be placed on a hard, flat floor, experts advise. ----- FDA Cracks Down on Misleading Food Labels The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it plans to put an end to food labeling it believes makes consumers think foods have more nutritional value than they do. The agency will target the front panels of packages bearing logos or language suggesting that the product is healthier than the actual ingredients indicate, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported. "There's a growing proliferation" of symbols that suggest healthfulness and "some nutritionists have questioned whether this information is more marketing-oriented than health-oriented. Judging from some of the labels we've seen, this is a valid concern," Hamburg said. The front of packages often catch consumers' eyes, while shoppers are less likely to read the nutritional information boxes on the side or back of packages, Hamburg explained. While not naming specific products, she said some that are labeled with the "check mark" logo under the industry-supported Smart Choices food rating program, "are almost 50 percent sugar." Smart Choices has emerged as a lightning rod among some nutritionists, who say its ratings are too lax, the Tribune reported. The program is under investigation by the Connecticut attorney general for its labeling practices. Mike Hughes, chair of the Smart Choices Program, said it's unfair to focus on one ingredient in a single product. "I think you should look at the whole product and what it delivers," he said. ----- Check Commercial Drivers, Ship Pilots for Sleep Apnea: NTSB Commercial truck and bus drivers and merchant ship pilots need to be screened for sleep apnea, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says in letter sent to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Coast Guard. The NTSB said medical examiners should be required to ask commercial drivers and ship pilots about sleep apnea and develop programs to identify the disorder, which involves disruptions of breathing during sleep, the Associated Press reported. Earlier this year, the agency made similar recommendations for airline pilots and train operators. The letters cited a number of incidents in which sleep apnea was believed to play a role in fatal incidents, including a 2008 bus crash in Utah that killed nine and injured 43, and a 2001 train crash in Michigan that killed two crew members, the AP reported. ----- German Study Suggests the Placebo Effect Isn't in Your Head; It's in Your Spinal Cord The placebo effect isn't in your head; it's in your spinal cord, suggests a German study. The study included 15 men who had the same ointment rubbed on two areas of their forearms. The men were told that each area had a different cream -- a "lidocaine" cream that was a strong local anesthetic and a non-medicinal control cream. After application of the creams, a hot stimulus was placed on both areas of the forearm and kept there for 20 seconds, the Los Angeles Times reported. Even though both creams were identical, the men said the lidocaine ointment reduced pain by an average of 26 percent. Using MRI, the researchers detected less activity in the men's spinal cords when they believed they were being protected by the lidocaine. The findings show that a painful stimulus just needs to get to the spinal cord, not all the way to the brain, to be influenced by the placebo effect, the researchers wrote, the Times reported. ----- Suspected Negative Health Effects Associated With Regular Marijuana Use Include Breathing and Cardiovascular Harm, Psychotic Episodes, Poor School Grades and Car Accidents Nearly 4 percent of adults worldwide use marijuana, say Australian researchers who analyzed data from the United Nations' office on drugs and crime. In 2006, 166 million people ages 15 to 64 used cannabis. Use was highest among young people in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, but the drug is becoming increasingly popular in low- and middle-income nations, Agence France-Presse reported. About 9 percent of people who ever use marijuana become dependent on it, said the study. The risk of addiction for nicotine is 32 percent, 23 percent for heroin, 17 percent for cocaine and 15 percent for alcohol, they noted. The researchers listed suspected negative health effects associated with regular cannabis use, including breathing and cardiovascular harm, psychotic episodes, poor school grades and car accidents, AFP reported. The study appears in The Lancet. ----- Special Bracelets Don't Help Arthritis Patients They may be popular, but magnetic wrist straps and copper bracelets don't relieve arthritis pain, says an English study. It included 45 osteoarthritis patients, aged 50 and older, who used a copper bracelet, two types of magnetic wrist straps and a demagnetized wrist strap. They wore each of the devices in random order over 16 weeks, BBC News reported. None of the patients reported any improvements in pain, stiffness or physical function, said the University of York researchers. The findings appear in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine. "It appears that any perceived benefit obtained from wearing a magnetic or copper bracelet can be attributed to psychological placebo effects," said study leader Dr. Stewart Richmond, BBC News reported. "People tend to buy them when they are in a lot of pain, then when the pain eases off over time they attribute this to the device," he said. "However, our findings suggest that such devices have no real advantage over placebo wrist straps that are not magnetic and do not contain copper." "The FDA is working with other groups to improve the use of several drug disposal methods, including drug take-back programs," said Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, UPI reported. "However, for some potent medicines ... the FDA currently recommends flushing them down the sink or toilet to immediately and permanently remove them from the home." |
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