Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.
Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.
You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page
This article about 15 Dangerous Drugs Big Pharma Shoves Down Our Throats by Martha Rosenberg of AlterNet is a must read and one everyone should bookmark.
In the pharmaceutical industry’s rush to get drugs to market, safety usually comes last. And the public suffers.
Long studies to truly assess a drug’s risks just delay profits after all — and if problems do emerge after medication hits the market, settlements are usually less than profits. Remember, Vioxx still made money.
The following drugs are so plagued with safety problems, it is a wonder they’re on the market at all. It’s a testament to Big Pharma’s greed and our poor regulatory processes that they are.
Zapping Kidney Nerves Lowers Stubborn High Blood Pressure
New Device Helps People With Drug-Resistant Hypertension
Nov. 17, 2010 (Chicago) — An experimental device that destroys nerves near the kidney helped to lower blood pressure in people whose hypertension remained out of control despite treatment with an average of five drugs, Australian researchers report.
In a six-month study of about 100 people, systolic blood pressure (the top number) dropped an average of 32 points in people treated with the device on top of the best available medication. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) fell 12 points.
In contrast, blood pressure readings remained at the same stubbornly high levels among people on medication alone, says Murray Esler, MD, of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne.
New Plavix Findings Fuel Debate on Platelet Testing
Doubling Plavix Dose Doesn’t Help Certain High-Risk People
Nov. 17, 2010 (Chicago) — Doubling the dose of the anticlotting drug Plavix does not reduce heart attacks or deaths in certain high-risk people, a study shows.
The study participants were determined to be at high risk of cardiovascular complications after undergoing a test showing that their blood was still prone to clotting despite taking the anticlotting medication. Clots can lodge in an artery, causing a heart attack or stroke.
Anticlotting Drug May Be Alternate to Warfarin
Study Shows Xarelto May Prevent Stroke and Blood Clots
Nov. 15, 2010 (Chicago) — The experimental anticlotting pill Xarelto works at least as well as standard warfarin at preventing stroke and blood clots in people with irregular heart rhythms from atrial fibrillation, researchers report.
The rate of major brain bleeds, a key concern, was lower among patients on Xarelto, says Robert Califf, MD, of Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Overall, the rates of bleeding and adverse events were similar among people taking Xarelto and those taking placebo.
If approved by the FDA, Xarelto will offer an alternative to the old standby warfarin, which many people can’t or won’t take, doctors say.
Belly Fat Stem Cells May Help Heart
Study Shows Fat Stem Cells May Improve Heart Function After Heart Attack
Nov. 16, 2010 (Chicago) — Stem cells taken from belly fat may be able to boost cardiac function after a heart attack, preliminary research suggests.
In a study of 14 people who had a heart attack, fat-derived stem cells reduced the amount of damaged heart tissue, increased blood flow in the heart, and improved the heart’s pumping ability, compared with placebo.
Due to the study’s small size, however, the difference between the two groups could have been due to chance.
“But given the dramatic and consistent results, we think it is a real effect,” says study head Eric Duckers, MD, PhD, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Quit Smoking, Raise ‘Good’ Cholesterol
Smokers Who Kick the Habit Improve HDL Levels Within 1 Year, Study Finds
Nov. 16, 2010 (Chicago) — Smokers who kick the habit may improve their levels of “good” HDL cholesterol within one year, a study of nearly 1,000 people suggests.
HDL levels shot up despite the weight gain commonly associated with smoking cessation, says Adam D. Gepner, MD, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
People who quit smoking gained about 10 pounds over a one-year period, while those who continued to light up put on about 1 1/2 pounds, the study showed.
Still, HDL cholesterol levels increased an average of 2.4 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood in the group that quit smoking, while staying relatively stable in people who continued to smoke.
Some People Can’t Identify the Nuts They’re Allergic To
Inability to Recognize Allergy Triggers Could Increase Risk of Exposure
Nov. 16, 2010 — Many adults and children with nut allergies are unable to identify different types of tree nuts and peanuts, which could increase the risk of exposure and life-threatening allergic reactions.
Researchers led by Todd L. Hostetler, MD, and Bryan Martin, MD, from The Ohio State University Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, surveyed 1,105 children and adults. Less than 3% of the group reported having a nut allergy. Twenty study participants were parents of children with a nut allergy.
Dietary Supplements a Risky Combo
Study Shows Many Patients Using Anticlotting Drug Don’t Tell Doctor About Dietary Supplement Use
Nov. 16, 2010 (Chicago) — If you’re using the anticlotting drug warfarin, tell your doctor about any herbal or dietary supplements you may be taking.
That’s the strong advice of researchers who say that nine of the 10 top-selling supplements can change the effectiveness of warfarin, potentially causing a dangerous bleed, a deadly blood clot, or even a stroke.
In a survey, nearly three-fourths of 100 people on warfarin reported they used over-the-counter multivitamins or other supplements, yet supplement use was not documented on the medical charts of nearly 70% of them, says Jennifer Strohecker, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.
Previous research has shown that fewer than one in three people tell their doctor about dietary supplement use, she tells WebMD.
Secondhand Smoke May Hurt Your Hearing
People Who Breathe Secondhand Smoke Risk Hearing Loss, Study Finds
Nov. 15, 2010 — People who don’t use cigarettes but who regularly breathe in other people’s tobacco smoke are at increased risk of some degree of hearing loss, a new study finds.
This had been surmised because previous research has indicated that smokers are at much greater risk of some degree of hearing loss.
Researchers examined data on 3,307 adults aged 20-69 who were classified as passive smokers based on blood levels of the chemical cotinine, a breakdown product of nicotine.
Diuretic Pill Cuts Deaths in Heart Failure Patients
Inspra, Already Used to Treat Advanced Heart Failure, Found Effective in People With Mild Disease
Nov. 15, 2010 (Chicago) — The diuretic pill Inspra substantially cuts the risk of death and hospitalization among people with mild heart failure, researchers report.
The findings suggest that the drug, already used to treat advanced heart failure, also has value for people with mild disease, says study leader Faiez Zannad, MD, PhD, of Nancy University in Nancy, France.
The results were reported here at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting and published simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Organ fat linked to liver surgery problems
(Reuters Health) – The amount of fat packed between a patient’s organs may help predict problems following major liver surgery, suggests a new study.
The fat sitting below the skin, however, appears to be less important.
Any major operation comes with a range of possible complications, and how long patients stay at the hospital varies accordingly, said Dr. Yuman Fong of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, who led the study.
“Knowing the potential outcome allows patients and families of patients to weigh the risk and benefit of the procedure, and to plan for care after discharge,” he told Reuters Health by e-mail.
Kidney transplants found safe in HIV patients
(Reuters) – People infected with HIV can safely receive a kidney transplant, researchers reported on Wednesday.
The finding, published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, is good news for people with the virus, who are more prone to kidney disease, in part because of the drugs they must take to stay healthy.
Before drug cocktails turned HIV from a death sentence to a chronic condition, patients were not eligible to receive a kidney.
But now they can. “Patient and graft survival are really pretty good and it approximates the general population,” Dr. Peter Stock of the University of California San Francisco, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
Drug-coated stents safe for large heart arteries
(Reuters) – Drug-coated heart stents are as safe as the old bare metal variety for patients with narrowed large coronary arteries, a large European study showed, alleviating concerns about their long-term use.
The study found no increase in the number of deaths or heart attacks two years after the drug-coated stents were implanted, according to data presented at the scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in Chicago.
FDA: Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks Are Unsafe
Agency Issues Warning About Four Loko and Other Drinks That Mix Caffeine and Alcohol
Nov. 17, 2010 — Federal officials have warned four companies that caffeine added to some of their alcoholic beverages makes their drinks unsafe and has asked the companies to provide data concerning these safety concerns.
The FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued similar warning letters to these companies:
* Charge Beverages Corp., of Portland, Ore., which sells Core High Gravity HG Green, Core High Gravity HG Orange, and Lemon Lime Core Spiked.
* New Century Brewing Co., of Boston, which produces Moonshot.
* Phusion Projects, based in Chicago, which sells Four Loko.
* United Brands Co., based in San Diego, which markets Joose and Max.
Rabid bats on the rise in Los Angeles County
(Reuters) – If the threat of earthquakes, wildfires and mudslides isn’t enough to worry Los Angeles residents, public health officials are now warning of an unusually high number of rabid bats.
According to the Department of Public Health, 21 bats with rabies have been found in Los Angeles County this year, more than double the average number of 10.
The county’s public health director, Jonathan Fielding, said on Wednesday the reason for the increase is unclear.
FDA Panel Supports Anal Cancer Vaccine
Advisory Committee Recommends Gardasil for the Prevention of Anal Cancer
Nov. 17, 2010 — An FDA advisory committee today endorsed drugmaker Merck & Co.’s application to expand the use of its vaccine Gardasil for the prevention of anal cancer in young men and women.
The drug, reviewed by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is already approved as a vaccine for cervical cancer and for genital warts.
Haiti’s cholera part of old pandemic: CDC
(Reuters) – The cholera epidemic that has killed 1,110 people and sickened thousands in Haiti is part of a 49-year-old global pandemic and likely was brought to the Caribbean country in a single instance, scientists said on Thursday.
But that was all it took to set off the epidemic, with an already weak sanitation system thrown into chaos by a devastating earthquake in January, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pan American Health Organization said.
The epidemic in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere could easily worsen and cholera could linger there for years, they said.
Haiti unrest hampers desperate fight against cholera
(Reuters) – Anti-U.N. riots in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien have disrupted international efforts to tackle a spreading cholera epidemic, increasing the risk of infection and death for tens of thousands of poor Haitians in the north, aid workers said on Wednesday.
The situation in Haiti’s main northern city remained tense on Wednesday following two days of unrest, in which protesters angry over the unchecked epidemic attacked U.N. peacekeepers and set up burning barricades of tires, U.N. officials said.
Drug-resistant malaria feared in Southeast Asia
(Reuters) – A form of malaria resistant to the most powerful drugs available may have emerged along the Thai-Myanmar border as well as Vietnam, and containment measures are planned, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
Clinical trials are due to begin soon in Myanmar and if they confirm artemisinin-resistant malaria in some patients, it means millions living in the border area could be potentially exposed to the longer-to-treat form, a WHO official told Reuters.
Artemisinin-resistant malaria first broke out in the Mekong region along the Thai-Cambodian border by early 2007, raising fears that a dangerous new form of the mosquito-borne disease could be spreading across the globe
Adults Fall Short on Vaccinations
Some Adult Vaccination Rates Are Up, but Experts Say There’s Room for Improvement
Nov. 17, 2010 — Vaccinations aren’t just for kids. Adults need them, too, and while vaccination rates are increasing, there’s definitely room for improvement, according to public health experts.
At a news conference today hosted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), experts released new CDC data, spelled out areas that need improvement, and discussed how to be proactive at the doctor’s office.
Weight loss in pregnancy linked to benefits, risks
(Reuters Health) – Obese women who lose weight during pregnancy may have a lower risk of certain pregnancy complications, but — with the exception of extremely obese women — those benefits may be outweighed by negative effects on the baby’s birth size, a new study suggests.
The findings, published in the obstetrics journal BJOG, add to the fairly controversial idea that it can be healthy for obese pregnant women to maintain their pre-pregnancy weight, or even lose a few pounds.
Women who stress over work have more heart disease
(Reuters Health) – Women with stressful jobs that offer little room for decision making and creativity have an increased risk of suffering a heart attack, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
While doctors usually focus on standard risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, the new findings show they might also want to ask about stress.
“We don’t focus as much on stress,” Dr. Michelle Asha Albert, a heart doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told Reuters Health. “Stress does cause a similar magnitude of risk as some of our additional risk factors.”
Cutting Salt as a Teen May Help Heart Later
Half a Teaspoon Less Salt a Day May Prevent 120,000 Deaths, 64,000 Heart Attacks by Age 50, Researchers Say
Nov. 15, 2010 (Chicago) — Cutting salt intake among U.S. teens by just half a teaspoon a day would prevent up to 120,000 deaths, 64,000 heart attacks, and 28,000 strokes by the time the adolescents reach age 50.
So say researchers who used computer models and clinical data to predict the health effects of a 3-gram — or half a teaspoon — daily reduction in salt intake by U.S. teens.
Teen Brains: Seeing the Big Picture
Ability to See Other Points of View Develops in Teen Years
Nov. 15, 2010 (San Diego) — For parents who grow frustrated with their children’s seeming inability to understand others who have different points of view, here’s hope from the scientists:
Give it a few more birthdays. Teen brains get better in this regard.
As children mature, the regions in a specific brain network known as the default-mode network or DMN begin to work together, and parents are likely to notice a difference in the children’s ability to look outside themselves, according to new research presented here at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Handwriting Problems Hard to Outgrow With Autism
Study Links Poor Handwriting in Teenagers With Autism to Reasoning Skills
A new study shows the handwriting problems that often affect children with autism are likely to persist into adolescence, but there may be strategies to help them compensate.
Researchers found that teenagers with autism were more likely than their peers to have poor handwriting and impaired motor skills. But unlike in younger children with autism, motor skill problems were not the main factor affecting their handwriting ability.
Instead, the study showed perceptual reasoning abilities were the main predictor of handwriting skills in adolescents. Perceptual reasoning is a person’s ability to organize and reason to solve problems when presented visual, nonverbal material.
Ear Infections: Antibiotics Often Not Needed
Most Children With Middle Ear Infections Get Better on Their Own, Study Finds
Nov. 16, 2010 — The best treatment for many children with middle ear infections may be no treatment at all, a review of the research confirms.
The analysis found antibiotics to be “modestly” more effective than just treating symptoms with pain medication. But use of antibiotics was also commonly associated with side effects like diarrhea and rash.
Researchers say the review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows the merit of a watch-and-wait approach to managing ear infections.
Probiotic Helps Children’s Stomach Pain
Lactobacillus GG May Ease Stomachaches in Children With Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Nov. 16, 2010 — A common probiotic may help ease tummy troubles for children with chronic stomach pain caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
A new study shows the probiotic Lactobacillusrhamnosus strain GG, commonly known as lactobacillus GG or LGG, significantly reduced the severity and frequency of bouts of abdominal pain in children with irritable bowel syndrome.
Probiotics are “friendly bacteria” that are similar to organisms naturally found in the digestive tract. Certain types of probiotics have been linked to a number of health benefits in adults, such as soothing irritable bowel syndrome. But they have not been widely studied in children.
‘All-Age’ Helmet Laws Save Young Motorcycle Riders
Study Shows Helmet Laws Are Most Effective for Young if They’re Enforced for Youths and Adults
Nov. 16, 2010 — Youth-specific motorcycle helmet laws may be hurting the young people they are designed to protect.
A new study shows the rate of serious brain injury among youths in states that require motorcycle helmets for motorcyclists under age 21 — but not for adults — is 38% higher than in states with universal motorcycle helmet laws.
Researchers say motorcycle helmets have been shown to reduce head injury by 69% and death from head injury by 42%. But after the federal government withdrew its sanctions withholding funding for highway safety funds to states that did not require helmets for motorcyclists over age 17 in 1976, 30 states abandoned their universal helmet laws.
Errors kill 15,000 aged patients a month: study
(Reuters) – Mistakes and unavoidable problems kill an estimated 15,000 elderly U.S. patients every month in hospitals, U.S. government investigators reported on Tuesday.
More than 13 percent of patients covered by Medicare, the government health insurance for the elderly, or about 134,000 people monthly have some sort of so-called adverse event each month. These include mistakes such as surgical errors or sometimes unavoidable problems such as an infection spread in the hospital, or patients having their blood sugar fall to unusually low levels.
The new numbers, which total about 180,000 deaths a year, were presented in a report by the Office of Inspector General at the Health and Human Services Department. They support findings of a landmark Institute of Medicine report in 2000 that said up to 98,000 Americans died every year because of medical errors.
End-of-Life Cancer Care Varies by Region
Study Shows Wide Variations Across the U.S. in Aggressive Care vs. Hospice Care
Nov. 16, 2010 — One in three older adults with advanced cancer spends their last days in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs), often with doctor’s employing Herculean efforts to prolong their life.
And this may or may not be what they wanted, according to the Dartmouth Atlas Project’s first-ever report on cancer care at the end of life.
The researchers reviewed the records of 235,821 Medicare patients aged 65 and older with advanced cancer who died between 2003 and 2007. They found dramatic variations in the kind of care cancer patients received based on where they lived and which hospital they chose.
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans had mental illness in 2009
(Reuters) – More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.
Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest, with 13.7 percent, said the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA.
Low Grades in U.S. for Eating Fruits and Veggies
Report Says Americans Aren’t Making Enough Progress in Adding Fruits and Vegetables to Their Diet
Nov. 17, 2010 — Five years after the launch of a national initiative aimed at getting us to eat more fruits and vegetables, Americans are barely getting a passing grade.
There has been some progress in improving access to fruits and vegetables, but it’s not translating into Americans eating more of them — the ultimate goal of the 2005 National Action Plan to Promote Health Through Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. The plan was developed by the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance, which is co-chaired by the CDC and the Produce for Better Health Foundation.
Only 6% of us eat enough vegetables and just 8% of us eat enough fruit every day, according to information cited in the new report card, which was released today.
15% of U.S. Families Face Hunger, ‘Food Insecurity’
17.4 Million American Families Suffer Food Insecurity; Rates Vary Widely by State
Nov. 16, 2010 — Three out of every 20 American families had trouble affording basic foods in 2009, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey shows.
That adds up to 17.4 million households that last year didn’t always know where their next meal was coming from. Among them were the 5.7% of U.S. households in which at least one family member actually did not get enough to eat.
Of these 6.8 million families with “very low food security,” nearly two-thirds were hungry but could not afford food and 28% went an entire day without food.
“Adults usually shield children from hunger, but in 469,000 households — 1.2% of households with children — one or more children had reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns,” lead report author Mark Nord, PhD, of the USDA’s economic research service, said at a news conference.
Regular Exercise May Ward Off Dozens of Health Problems
Regular Workouts Lower Risk of Certain Cancers, Heart Disease, Stroke, Depression, Many Other Conditions
Nov. 17, 2010 — People who exercise on a regular basis not only can reduce their odds of becoming obese, but also cut their risk of developing about two dozen physical and mental health problems, a new review of more than 40 studies indicates.
Exercise reduces the risk of some cancers, dementia, sexual problems like erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression, and hypertension, among many other diseases, according to the review.
The study is published in the December issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.
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