News

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/11/10

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:57:22 GMT

Eprotirome may replace statins in the future

The new pill is expected to do the same job as statins but without giving patients unpleasant side effects

A cholesterol-busting pill that could cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes without the unpleasant side-effects of statins has been developed by scientists.

Eprotirome tablets rapidly lowered cholesterol and other dangerous blood fats in men and women for whom statins were not working well.

Levels of artery-clogging cholesterol fell by up to a third - an effect equal to doubling the amount of statins, the respected New England Journal of Medicine reports.

This is a drug that is years away from being available, but if approved, it may replace the popular statins which we have discussed in the Medical Forum. I hope this is good news.

Research team shows how gene maps can be used to spot disease

Dr. Richard Gibbs (L) and Dr. James Lupski in a photo courtesy of the Baylor College of Medicine.

Credit: Reuters/Handout

(Reuters) - Two studies published on Wednesday show it is possible to sequence the entire gene maps of families with inherited diseases and pinpoint the offending bit of DNA.

The studies, which would not have been possible a year or two ago, are the first real delivery of the promised transformation of medical science from the Human Genome Project's mapping of the human genetic code.

One was also made possible by some of the $5 billion that U.S. President Barack Obama directed to the National Institutes of Health in September from the $787 billion economic stimulus package.

And in that study, the genetic researcher was himself one of the patients.

Always looking for signs of progress in medicine, this is a very positive look at how gene maps might be someday used to spot illness and head it off at the pass. Maybe one day, we will all get customized vaccinations against the diseases lurking in our particular genes. Might be a real lifespan booster.

Bisphosphonates may weaken bones in postmenopausal women

Widely used osteoporosis drugs maybe doing more harm than good as they have been shown to weaken bones

This is the finding of a study conducted by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center featuring 111 post-menopausal women.

These drugs are comprised of bisphosphonates which in the short term do indeed preserve bone, but over a prolonged period of use may actually weaken bones.

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by weak and brittle bones, and bisphosphonates are commonly prescribed to women diagnosed with the condition.

Researchers indicate that after 4 years of use, patients may actually begin to experience the negative side effects of the drugs, and should consult their doctor about alternative forms of treatment.

What are the alternative forms of treatment? Is this a medical Catch 22 situation facing women? I believe we will hear more about this study in the future, perhaps the study will be refuted.

Staying fit will extend your sex life into old age

Keep that fire burning: A study has found that ageing couples who still keep fit enjoy a far better sex life than their unfit counterparts

If you are hoping to keep the flames of passion burning into your 80s then a regime of regular exercise may pay dividends.

Those who keep themselves fit and healthy are still interested in sex in their eighth decade, a study has found.

But their unfit counterparts give up on lovemaking up to 20 years earlier.

Where do you sign up for studies like this one? In the photo, that old guy looks like he could die any time, but at least he will die happy. I thought we proved in the 60’s that old people like sex?

Medtronic nerve stimulating implant failed FDA scrutiny

A deep brain stimulation device from Medtronic is seen in a file photo.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday a nerve stimulating implant from Medtronic failed to significantly reduce seizures in epilepsy patients.
Medtronic Inc., the world's largest medical device maker, has asked the FDA to approve its Deep Brain Stimulation implant for epilepsy, a neurological disease that causes seizures.
The device is already used to treat other movement disorders, including Parkinson's Disease, and more than 6,000 people in the U.S. have had the device implanted in the past decade.

As I see it, this device works for the primary purpose of movement disorders, but it did not reduce seizures. I think they are on the right track, however, and that implants will eventually help seizure patients.

Baby slings may pose smothering and falling risk

Getty

Baby slings may put infants at risk for smothering, as well as falls, consumer agencies have said.

Baby slings - those cuddly carriers that allow parents to keep their infants strapped close to their chest - may not be as safe as they look.

In fact, they’ll soon be the subject of a government safety warning because infants carried in this way can potentially be suffocated, and several have, according to the Associated Press.

Now the Consumer Product Safety Commission is preparing to issue a warning about the slings that may go public before the end of the week.

“We know of too many deaths in these slings, and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies,” Inez Tenenbaum, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said, according to the AP. “So, the time has come to alert parents and caregivers.”

Hard to believe something so simple and universal as a sling would pose a threat to infants, but we have to listen to the facts of life, these things are apparently dangerous. But what else is there?

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/10/10

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:48:24 GMT

Canadian study: flu vaccine for school-aged children may be a key to “herd immunity”

Vaccinating children against flu reduces influenza transmission in the wider community, a study carried out in Hutterite colonies in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba found. (Chuck Stoody/Canadian Press)

Vaccinating children against seasonal flu helps protect others in their community, a new Canadian study suggests.

Public health researchers had hoped that immunizing enough young people would pay off in protecting others who are not immunized, a concept known as herd immunity, but it hasn't been demonstrated in a randomized trial until now.

The trial was carried out in 49 Hutterite colonies in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba by Dr. Mark Loeb of McMaster University in Hamilton and his colleagues. Children in the communities between the age of three and 15 were randomly assigned to receive standard influenza vaccine or hepatitis A vaccine, which served as a control. Neither the subjects nor the researchers knew who received which vaccine.

Using isolated communities for disease studies may be effective, but is it ethical? Also, I looked up the meaning of the word “Hutterite” out of curiosity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutterite

Live kidney donors do not face shortened lifespan

London: Live kidney donors do not have higher risk of dying later: This Tuesday the US researchers said live kidney donors do not have a higher risk of dying after donation.

Dr Dorry Segev stated “Surgical mortality did not change during the 15-year period (between 1994 and 2009), despite differences in surgical practice and donor selection.”

Kidney donors had higher chances of mortality rate following the first 90 days of their surgery. But recently it is found that donors have less mortality rate compared to non-donors.

It was also found that male donors had higher mortality rate within one year of their surgery than female donors.

That is nice to know, you can donate a kidney without shortening your life, assuming you start out with two healthy ones and don’t die from complications of the surgery.

New York: We have a winner in the city’s condom design contest

New York City held a contest to design the wrapper for condoms distributed free in city bars, clinics and gyms

NEW YORK — An electric power button symbol inched past other entries to win New York's condom wrapper design contest, the city said Tuesday.

The winning design shows the familiar "on" symbol found on computers and other electronic devices.

It defeated nearly 600 other hopefuls before coming out on top of the five finalists, which included a top hat, a suggestive train tunnel and even a municipal manhole cover.

"I hope my package design reminds people that they're in control. We all have the power to protect ourselves from sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies," said winning designer Luis Acosta.

This design winner hopes that his condom design will be a powerful reminder that we are all in control over our own impulses, and if you ever need a condom, I hope one is readily available to you.

Recall of the day: two flavors of Pringles

Mr. Pringles hands out free snacks in New York City in this Nov. 25, 2009 file photo. Pringles's parent company, Proctor and Gamble, announced Tuesday that two flavors of the popular chip have been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination.

Stuart Ramson/Pringles/PRNewsFoto/File

If you were about to pop the top on a can of taco- or cheeseburger-flavored Pringles, you might want to hold that thought.

The meat-inspired chips are the latest products added to a recall stretching back to Feb. 26. Pringles's parent company Proctor & Gamble announced the voluntary recall Tuesday.

The chips contain hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), a common “flavor-enhancer,” made by Basic Food Flavors, Inc., that has been found to be contaminated with salmonella.

Products from 26 other brands have already been recalled (See here for complete list of products affected). That list could continue to grow, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still investigating.

This is a recall list that is bound to grow as more and more products check in, and if anything, should encourage people to eat fresh food whenever possible, and skip the chemicals if you can.

Physicians need more studies on comparative effectiveness

TUESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Comparative effectiveness (CE) studies currently are underutilized and should be increased to better guide physicians in the effective everyday use of current therapies, according to a review in the March 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Michael Hochman, M.D., and a colleague from Harvard Medical School in Boston reviewed the six leading general and internal medicine journals during 2008 to 2009 and identified 328 randomized trials, observational studies, and meta-analyses on medications, including 104 (32 percent) CE studies comparing current active treatments, and 224 (68 percent) non-CE studies of novel treatments or with an inactive control design. The reviewers characterized and identified funding of the CE studies and compared them to the non-CE studies.

Years ago, our Forum had an active discussion on CE, and I wondered why it did not continue. Do any doctors wish to take a stand on this issue? Do we have any big fans of CE in the house?

Plastic surgery hits a low with recession

An annual survey released Tuesday by a plastic surgeons' association has revealed that the number of cosmetic-surgery procedures in the U. S. plunged for the second year in a row in 2009.

The figures claim 10 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures last year, outlining a 2% fall from 2008, according to a survey of 928 board-certified physicians by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a Garden Grove, Calif., group of plastic surgeons specializing in cosmetic surgery.

"People just couldn't go for the big items", said Renato Saltz, the association's president.

It seems only like a small decline, I think looks will always guide some people to the surgeon’s table, but can you see anything wrong with the patient in the photo? Looks pretty darn fit to me.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/09/10

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:14:46 GMT

Moderate drinking may help women stay thin

David Silverman, Getty Images

A new study published in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine found that drinking alcohol in moderation may help women stay thin. Here, an Israeli woman tastes a red wine at an exhibition in Tel Aviv, Israel, last year.

Women around the world are lifting their glasses to the news: Moderate drinking may help keep the pounds off.
That finding comes from a new study published in the March 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers followed 22,000 women ages 39 or older for 13 years, tracking their weight gain and alcohol consumption.
While all of the women chosen for the study were slim to begin with, as they aged, the women who did not drink alcohol were more likely to put on more weight than those who drank light to moderate amounts.

I don’t think a study like this will cause any women to start drinking, but I would like to know why light to moderate drinking should help keep the pounds off—it almost doesn’t seem fair.

Global Fund says AIDS in newborns could be eliminated by 2015

A new malaria vaccine has been tested on 100 children in a rural part of the west African country of Mali

JOHANNESBURG — Within five years, the world could shield all newborns from HIV, while making strides in reducing deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, the Global Fund to fight the three diseases said Monday.

But those gains depend on the world continuing to ramp up health spending to maintain the current rate of progress, the Global Fund said in its annual report, released ahead of a funding meeting in the Netherlands later this month.

"A world where no children are born with HIV is truly possible by 2015," said Michel Kazatchkine, head of the Global Fund, launching the group's annual report.

I guess it’s no secret that I look for positive stories, and here’s a story about some positive thinkers who want to wipe out some diseases. What have you heard in the past about the Global Fund? Good outfit?

Can parents sue makers of vaccine? Supreme Court will decide

A doctor is pictured preparing a vaccine. The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the parents of a child who suffered serious health problems after being vaccinated can sue a pharmaceutical company for compensation.

AFP - The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the parents of a child who suffered serious health problems after being vaccinated can sue a pharmaceutical company for compensation.

The case, which the highest US court will hear in autumn, will serve as a focal point in a years-long debate in the United States over the effectiveness of preventive vaccines and whether they have caused health problems.

It involves Hannah Bruesewitz, who was left developmentally impaired after receiving a diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccination.

We are all so different genetically, it would not surprise me to learn that some children are harmed by some vaccines, just as one aspirin is enough to kill some people. We all share the risk of vaccination, and we all share the many benefits.

Bill Clinton works to improve quality of drinks sold in schools

Former President Bill Clinton, right, is joined by Dr. Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association, as he holds up a hand held device used by soft drink delivery drivers programmed to only allow orders of products permitted to be sold in schools during a news conference, Monday, March 8, 2010 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK — The U.S. beverage industry has largely stopped delivering sugary drinks to schools and has replaced them with lower-calorie options, the head of the industry's trade association said Monday.

"It's a brand new day in America's schools when it comes to beverages," said Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and other major soft drink companies.

The association released a report showing a a 95 percent decline in sales of full-calorie soft drinks to schools between fall 2004 and fall 2009.

She attributed the decline to voluntary guidelines adopted by the industry in 2006 under an agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of former President Bill Clinton's foundation and the American Heart Association.

Clinton, who hosted a news conference at his Harlem office, said he was "stunned" by the results.

I really believe we have targeted a major cause of diabetes and obesity with sugary soft drinks, I used to drink them all the time and I paid the price for it. Where did we learn to ingest all that sugar?

After cancer: removing the healthy breast

Stuart Bradford

For decades, advocates have fought to protect women from disfiguring breast cancer surgery, arguing that it was just as effective to remove only the cancerous tissue rather than the whole breast.

But today, a growing number of women with breast cancer are pushing surgeons in a startling new direction. Not only do they want the cancerous breast removed, but they also want the healthy breast cut off.

“I just didn’t want to worry about it,” explained Liliana Holtzman, 50, an art director in Ann Arbor, Mich., who had both breasts removed after a cancer diagnosis five years ago. “It was for my own peace of mind. I wanted to do everything I could.”

We just saw an article that suggested men need more information about prostate cancer, and this article suggests women need more information before having a healthy breast removed—it doesn’t help survival rates. It never gets easier being a doctor, does it?

Sleep habits vary by ethnicity, study indicates

Metronaps CEO Arshad Chowdhury (R) and another employee demonstrate sleeping "pods" in a darkened room

WASHINGTON — Most African-Americans like to pray just before they do it, white Americans like to do it with their pets, Asians tend to do it best and Hispanics fret about work just beforehand.

It is sleep and the 2010 Sleep in America poll released Monday by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) shows that sleep habits differ depending on what ethnic group you belong to.

African-Americans have the busiest bedtime routine: three-quarters said they watched television in the hour before going to bed, and only slightly fewer - 71 percent - said they prayed.

Only 18 percent of Asians, one third of whites and just under half of Hispanics said they prayed before going to bed.

You may have noticed that I do my writing and posting at night when the world is a more quiet and serene place, and I don’t sleep well under pressure, I would rather stay up than wake up early.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/08/10

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:21:39 GMT

University of Michigan scientists discover HIV hides in the bone marrow

University of Michigan scientists have identified a new reservoir for hidden HIV-infected cells that can serve as a factory for new infections. The findings, which appear online today in Nature Medicine, indicate a new target for curing the disease so those infected with the virus may someday no longer rely on AIDS drugs for a lifetime.

“Antiviral drugs have been effective at keeping the virus at bay. However once the drug therapy is stopped, the virus comes back,” says senior author of the study Kathleen L. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of both internal medicine and microbiology and immunology at the U-M Medical School.

This research may well lead to a permanent cure for AIDS, and many other diseases may also hide out in the bone marrow. Now, the question is how to make an antiviral that works in the marrow.

Washington, D.C. first city to distribute free female condoms

For almost a decade, Washington, D.C. has had a program that’s given free condoms to men. Now, it’s the ladies’ turn.The District is about to become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms free as a part of a project that will make 500,000 of them available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city with high HIV rates.

City officials said the distribution could begin within the next three weeks in parts of wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, where a study showed that large numbers of African American heterosexuals engage in risky sexual behavior that could easily lead to infection.

This change signals the District’s HIV/AIDS Administration’s shift in taking a more aggressive approach to the city’s steep rate of HIV infection. Officials also said that they are turning to female condoms to give women more power to protect themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted diseases when their partners refuse to use protection.

I felt this photo showed the scale of size better than others available, remembering that most people have never seen one or touched one, that is about to change for a half million people in D.C.

Deep and meaningful conversations make people happier

Indulging in chit-chat and gossip can leave one depressed, claim scientists

Those idle chats over the garden fence about the weather, the football or last night's TV may seem perfectly harmless. But don't be so sure.

Indulging in chit chat, gossip and small talk can leave you feeling miserable, scientists claim.

Happiness is more likely to be found among those whose discussions are deep and meaningful.

Scientists believe a person's well-being is directly related to the incidence of profound discussions they have.

This makes sense and validates why those in good relationships are so happy, they are talking on a deeper level, perhaps. So, like the teacher always said, keep the idle chit-chat to a minimum.

Dutch government wants H1N1 vaccine maker to buy back excess stock

A nurse prepares a H1N1 flu vaccine shot at a hospital in Budapest in this November 20, 2009 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Karoly Arvai

(Reuters) - The Dutch government wants to sell 21 million unused H1N1 flu vaccine doses back to their manufacturers after they proved unnecessary and no other country wanted to buy them, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

A spokeswoman for the ministry said it had approached manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis about buying back the doses.

She added that it was not clear what their total value was. She also declined comment on the status of the talks, saying the ministry would inform parliament of the details at a later date.

At the height of the H1N1 scare, the ministry ordered 34 million doses of pandemic flu vaccine -- enough to give two shots to every person in The Netherlands.

Of the original order, about 11 million doses were administered and another 2.2 million are being kept in reserve for emergencies.

What ever gave them the idea they could return vaccine to sender for a refund? If that is indeed the contract, why is this even new? Somehow, the Dutch government is trying to escape all risk in this matter, and we’ll see how they do.

Americans who buy their own health insurance are facing up to 50% rate hikes

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, left, speaks with various state insurance commissioners and insurance industry executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 4, 2010. From left are, Sebelius; Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario; and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

"15,000 people a day lose their insurance, and some of those folks are being actually priced out of the marketplace," said Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
In fact, major insurers are seeking premium hikes for individual policies - people not covered through work: 56 percent in Michigan, more than 25 percent in California, and 20 percent or more in Oregon, Maine, and Connecticut. And double digit increases are completed or pending in at least eight other states.
That's why the president has often co-opted the maddening rate hikes to make the case for health care reform, mentioning them in this weekend's address and in a Super Bowl interview with Katie Couric when he noted that "one of the major insurers in California just announced in the individual market they are increasing their premiums by 39 percent."

I know we have many members of the Forum who do not feel we need any health care insurance reform, but doctors have to buy insurance, too, and as usual, are targeted for this extra expense.

Artificial limbs needed in Haiti

Andy Lambert of Hanger Orthopedic Group in Richland shows used artificial limbs Tuesday Feb. 9, 2010 that local residents have donated for earthquake victims in Haiti. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Tri-City Herald, Bob Brawdy

They are known in Creole as "ko kobe," or "crooked body," those Haitians shamed and shunned for their twisted or missing limbs, eyes that do not see, brains that move too slow.

But since January's earthquake, thousands more have joined this band of the socially outcast disabled, the victims of crush injuries and raging infections that led to the amputation of an arm or leg.

"There are so many amputees, I've never seen so many amputees," says Ed Epp, executive director of Christian Blind Mission Canada, an organization that works to improve the lives of people with all types of disabilities in impoverished countries.

Estimates of the number of children and adults with amputated limbs range from 2,000 to 4,000 and as high as 7,000, he says, quoting Handicapped International and Haitian government figures.

A stunning photo I had to include in the Daily News, most people are not aware of the high cost of an artificial limb, so if you have any connections in this area of medicine, the need is there.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/05/10

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:37:41 GMT

Recall of the day: hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)

Numerous food products are being recalled due to possible salmonella contamination in a widely used flavor enhancer, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), the FDA has announced.

HVP, a relative of MSG, enhances savory flavors in processed foods such as soups, hot dogs, chili, stews, dips, salad dressings and other snack foods.

"We don't know precisely how large this recall will get, but we expect this to get larger over the next several days to several weeks," Jeff Farrar, FDA associate commissioner for food protection said at a Thursday press conference.

Diabetics usually become avid readers of ingredients, and I am no exception, but this HVP is in almost every processed food you will find, a very common ingredient to label-readers.

Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius will compel insurance companies to justify huge rate increases

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius walks to a microphone stand to speak to reporters following her meeting with health insurance company executives and related industry officials at the White House in Washington, March 4, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

The Obama administration stepped up pressure on health insurance companies on Thursday, calling on some of the top U.S. companies to be more public in explaining "jaw-dropping" rate increases to consumers.

Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, following a White House meeting with several top health insurance executives, said she wants insurers to post information about rate increases online along with financial data to back them up.

"This market doesn't work," Sebelius said in pressing the case for lawmakers to pass a final healthcare bill. "But in the meantime, we want to shine a bright light."

Obama and his team are going to use the greed of these companies as examples of why we need reform in health care insurance, this is what happens when you invite a bright light to shine on an industry—all the cobwebs suddenly show up.

At risk for malaria: Haiti refugees and aid workers

A woman walks by the destroyed Sacre-Coeur Church

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in makeshift shelters and thousands of aid workers providing relief since a powerful quake rocked the country in January are now threatened by malaria, a US report said Thursday.

"Displaced persons living outdoors or in temporary shelters and thousands of emergency responders in Haiti are at substantial risk for malaria," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its weekly morbidity and mortality report.

Malaria caused by plasmodium falciparum, which is the most deadly and severe form of malaria, is endemic in Haiti, and the mosquito that carries and transmits it "frequently bites outdoors," the report said.

I thought we had a vaccination against malaria—am I wrong? The article mentioned there is a pill one can take to prevent malaria—does it work? Why don’t we give them to the people in Haiti?

DNA test could indicate best weight-loss diet for that individual

Different diets work better for some people than others

A simple DNA test may predict whether someone is more likely to lose weight on a low fat or a low carbohydrate diet, say US researchers.

The results from the small preliminary study of 101 women showed those on the best diet for their genes lost two to three times more weight than the rest.

The results are being presented at an American Heart Association conference.

Experts said the findings tied in with previous studies, but further work should be carried out.

Going on any type of diet can be a slow and frustrating process, this might explain why some diets work so well for some and not so well for others.

Doctors—what do you think of the new A1c test?

Recent studies have shown that glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has been found to be a better predictor of cardiovascular disease and diabetes than blood glucose.

The A1C test measures the persons’ blood sugar levels over the past two or three months meaning it measures the percentage of hemoglobin that is glycated or glycosylated. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) set the levels at 5.7 - 6.4% is a diagnosis for pre-diabetes and 6.5% and higher is a diagnosis of diabetes.

The lead author of the project, Elizabeth Selvin, said, “Our data show that glycated hemoglobin is a really potent risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you have abnormal glycated hemoglobin results, you should be targeted for diabetes and cardiovascular disease interventions.” Selvin is an assistant professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.

Would doctors recommend this test for their patients who have diabetes? I think it is always check on the blood test, but other than that, is this a home test kit, and would you say to buy it?

Ludacris and Jamie Foxx spread the word on prevention of AIDS

Recording artist and actor Ludacris appears on Fuse TV Feb. 25. Ludacris is among stars participating in the CDC's campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the black community, which is disproportionately impacted by the virus. By Bryan Bedder, Getty Images

By Stuart Ramson, AP Jamie Foxx co-produced an HBO film released in 2007 about a mom who overcomes addiction to become an AIDS activist in the black community. Here he stands at the Life Support premiere with cast members Charisse Woodall, left, and Chyna Layne.

Actor Jamie Foxx and recording artist Chris "Ludacris" Bridges today join the ranks of celebrities who have lent their popularity to push HIV prevention as part of a social media effort targeting young African Americans.

The "i know" campaign is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which aims to draw thousands of young people into a conversation about HIV using Facebook, Twitter, text messages and a website (actagainstaids.org). It launches today with an event at Clark Atlanta University that will be webcast to students nationwide.

It is nice to see young stars of stage and screen try to help prevent AIDS, and as long as the kids listen to them, why not let them spread the message?

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/04/10

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:53:21 GMT

FDA warns food manufacturers to make labeling more accurate

Jon Protas for The Wall Street Journal

Claims for POM Wonderful juice drew FDA criticism.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned 16 food and beverage makers against making product claims that don't adhere strictly to federal labeling rules.

The crackdown is a shot across the bow of the food industry. The Obama administration has made a priority of encouraging Americans to eat more healthfully. Regulators are scrutinizing food marketing amid concerns about links between diet, obesity and disease.

A TV yoga trainer once said that if you prepare meals for another person, you are largely responsible for that person’s health. As a diabetic, I need accurate labels on all food. Period. Why so hard to do?

Men need more education on prostate cancer screening

The American Cancer Society is urging doctors to make clearer to men that the test used to screen for prostate cancer has limits and may lead to unnecessary treatments that do more harm than good.

(Photographer's Choice/Getty Images)

Months after experts discounted the importance of routine mammograms and Pap smears for many women, the American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value too, and can do men more harm than good.

The cancer society has not recommended routine screening for most men since the mid-1990s, and that is not changing. But the organization is urging doctors to talk frankly with their patients about the risks and limitations of the PSA blood test when offering it.

Men are not comfortable even talking about prostate cancer, let alone seeking out screening for it—this is another one of those things that doctors need to take control of and dictate what happens. Power to the doctors!

Hopes for Pfizer’s Alzheimer medication are dashed in trials

Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that its Alzheimer's drug candidate Dimebon did not meet its goal in a late stage clinical study, as the drug was no better than a placebo at treating the disease.

(Photodisc/Digital Stock)

Dimebon, a once-promising new Alzheimer's drug from Pfizer Inc., may be no more effective than a placebo at treating the disease, according to late-stage clinical data released by the company Wednesday.

But while this news comes as a shock to many and a disappointment to all in the Alzheimer's community, some experts say the game's not over yet for Dimebon.

"The need for new therapies is huge and we should not be daunted by a single failed trial," says Dr. Pierre Tariot, associate director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute. "The field…is littered with examples of trials that fail to show benefit even with drugs that work and are FDA approved. From my perspective, the drug needs to be studied further."

This drug may be useful for something altogether different, keep studying it until you find a use for it. Meanwhile, the search goes on for a treatment. People in my family get this disease. Keep trying.

Could you spot a census scam?

Newly hired census worker Sierra Carter manages an information table in Maryland. Census scams can be avoided with the right knowledge.

TIM SLOAN / STAFF

As the U.S. Census gets underway, the Miami-Dade Consumer Services Department is cautioning consumers to learn how to spot potential scams.

Every U.S. household will receive a short, 10-question form in the mail within the next few months. It requires that you account for everyone living at your address as of April 1 and includes a prepaid envelope so you can mail it back.

Any request for census information will be clearly marked as coming from the U.S. Census Bureau and as OFFICIAL BUSINESS of the United States.

Just a quick reminder that scammers are out there trying to steal information about you, and as a doctor, you are probably used to that situation. As an easy-to-find online guy, I get every scam and strange offer the Internet has going. Haven’t yet seen any census scams, but I’m sure I will.

Educational DVDs for babies may have the opposite effect

Warning: Parents who show their babies educational DVDs may actually be harming their word skills

Parents who buy educational DVDs to give their toddlers a head start may be doing more harm than good.

A study of almost 100 boys and girls aged between one and two found that regularly watching a DVD from the Baby Einstein range did nothing to boost their vocabulary.

In fact, the younger the children were when they began to watch the programmes, the worse their word power.

This pretty much seals the deal, young children don’t get much out of watching TV. But as someone raised on TV, I still like it anyway, the colors are so vivid.

Doctors feel targeted by proposed cuts in Medicare

Getty

Targeted: This MD was protesting ObamaCare, but docs are already underpaid by Medicare.

One look at my office tells you that I'm still taking Medicare patients: The worn carpet and peeling paint give it away.

Yes, Medicare's payment rates are that bad.

The real threat of a further across-the-board cut of 21 percent only added to the old problems of "routine" Medicare cuts.

The program now pays $53 for a standard office visit; with the cut, that would've been $40. For comparison, Aetna pays $70.

Average Medicare payments to physicians have been relatively stagnant since 2001 (but reimbursements for surgery and procedures have been cut a lot). Meanwhile, average total physicians' costs have risen 20 percent.

Our forum has long discussed this proposed cut in Medicare, and the feeling is that payments are already too low, in fact, doctors may decide by the hundreds that they can live without taking Medicare patients—that would be a disaster to many.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/03/10

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:30:56 GMT

Cost of food-borne illness $152 billion/year

Among the food scares in recent years was a deadly E. coli outbreak tied to spinach. In most cases, it's unknown how or why people get ill from what they eat. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / September 15, 2006)

A new consumer research report released Wednesday has found that the health-related costs of food-borne illnesses total $152 billion a year, including the costs of medical bills, lost wages and lost productivity. That total is more than four times that of earlier estimates calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The findings come as regulatory efforts to patrol the country's food sector are growing amid reports of a string of costly -- and sometimes fatal -- outbreaks of food-borne illness involving peanuts, jalapeno peppers, spinach, beef and other foods.
The report, sponsored by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, provides a comprehensive examination of health costs associated with flaws in the nation's food safety system and "demonstrates the burden of food-borne illness," said Sandra Eskin, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Food Safety Campaign, a supporter of the study.

This article indicates that food-borne illness is much more expensive than originally thought, and I hope the report will increase funding to research methods of making food safer for all.

Do doctors sometimes hasten the death of a child cancer patient?

In a recent study involving 141 parents whose children died of cancer a year earlier at three different hospitals in Boston and Minnesota, a handful of parents admitted to asking their child’s doctor to hasten their child’s death in order to end the suffering; according to these parents the doctors complied with the parents’ wishes and administered fatal amounts of morphine.

Of the parents interviewed for the study 13 percent admitted to considering asking doctors to end their child’s life and 9 percent said that they had the discussion with their child’s caregiver. Parents of five of the children said they had specifically asked for their children to be put to death in order to stop the pain and three parents said that the doctors actually followed through with the request.

The lead author of the survey as well as several other physicians say that they doubt the doctor actually went through with the request; rather, they think that doctors might have increased morphine doses to ease pain and that the children’s subsequent deaths were only coincidental.

This must be the hardest thing to deal with as a doctor, the death of children, and I hope you will read the comments from readers at the close of the article, and make your own comments here.

Dr. Healy on costs of health care reform

Dr. Bernadine Healy

One thing we can all agree on is that Americans spend too much on medical care. When a brief visit to the emergency room can cost several thousand dollars or a course of a new cancer drug runs $100,000, there can be no doubt that costs are out of control. Many people do not think they're footing these bills, because some 85 percent have insurance. But they are, really, by sacrificing income that could be used for other needs like school tuition in exchange for a bloated employer benefit. Putting it starkly, Americans now spend more on healthcare each year than on food.

Here are the opinions of one doctor who thinks we pay too much money for health care in America. Do you agree with her? Where do you think we can save money without hurting the patients or the doctors?

10 companies sued over contamination in fish oil

The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation announced this morning that after months of testing and investigation, they are suing ten fish oil companies.

The Foundation found that all 10 fish oil supplements they tested (there are 100 on the market, they have not yet tested them all) contained Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB compounds). According to the Foundation's Website, www.fishoilsafety.com, PCBs are "man-made industrial chemicals with long track records as some of the worst environmental pollutants and human health threats."

So what can we do as consumers? The Foundation found that some omega-3 fish oils have lower amounts of PCBs than others. Of the ten products they have tested, those that contained the lowest levels of PCBs are (in order): Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, TwinLab Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, GNC Liquid Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, and TwinLab Emulsified Norwegian Cod Liver Oil. Another option is to take omega-3 supplements that are created from plant oils, instead of fish oil. After testing, it was determined that plant oil supplements do not contain PCBs.

Looks to me like the answer is to go with omega-3 from plant oil, do any of our doctor take such supplements, and what do you think of this lawsuit, do you think they have a valid case?

Los Angeles sued by medical marijuana advocates

Photo by mares8 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr

As warned to the L.A. City Council by advocates during public meetings over the last year, lawsuits would be filed if an ordinance limiting dispensaries was approved. Now that an ordinance has been approved--it is expected to take effect on March 14th--advocates today filed a lawsuit on behalf of two dispensaries, reports the LA Times.

The lawsuit was filed by Americans for Safe Access on behalf of Venice Beach Care Center and the PureLife Alternative Wellness Center. Both were in operation prior to the 2006 moratorium, but the lawsuit states that the ordinance “severely restricts access to medical marijuana by effectively forcing plaintiffs, as well as the vast majority of collectives in the City, to close their doors.”

Now the fighting in court begins, I’m sure it will be tied up for years, and after millions of dollars are wasted in courtroom time, it will probably be fully legalized in California. Enough money has been spent fighting this drug. The fight is all but lost, in my opinion.

Food industry cutbacks on salt could save $32 billion in health costs

A woman gathers salt crystals at a mine on Senegal's coastline near the Gambian border, June 12, 2006. Credit: Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Working with the food industry to cut salt intake by nearly 10 percent could prevent hundreds of thousands of heart attacks and strokes over several decades and save the U.S. government $32 billion in healthcare costs, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Eating too much salt is a major cause of high blood pressure, which the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, last week declared a "neglected disease" that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.

Several governments including the United States are looking for solutions to curb salt intake as a way to head off future heart attacks and strokes that help drain healthcare systems.

The study by a team at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in California used a computer model to measure the impact of two different scenarios for reducing salt intake on a population level -- a voluntary collaboration with the U.S. food industry and a national tax on salt.

This is one area of the food chain I could really cut down on, salt. It is in just about everything and all snack food is full of it. I would bet we all eat way too much salt. It’s cheap, too.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/02/10

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:43:25 GMT

Tracking the flu, why this season is not typical

This has been a flu season like few others.

Normally at this time of year, influenza is rampant in the U.S., prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stay home in the dead of winter with fever, aches and pains.

Now, after raging through college campuses and communities last summer and fall, cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus have dwindled to a trickle, and run-of-the-mill seasonal flu has barely made an appearance. Not one state reported widespread flu illness to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the week ended Feb. 20, the latest data available. The percentage of all doctors' visits by patients with influenza-like symptoms has dropped from a high of 7.8% in late October—the largest peak since the agency began surveillance in 1997—to 1.8% in late February, well below the norm for flu season.

I can’t remember seeing a response to the flu like we have seen in the past year, it seems the entire world reacted to the fight against flu this time like never before, there is much confidence in the vaccine.

Anthem Blue Cross sued over rate hikes

Proposed rate hikes by Anthem Blue Cross have triggered state and federal investigations. (David McNew / Getty Images / February 9, 2010)

A consumer group sued Anthem Blue Cross on Monday, accusing California's largest for-profit health insurer of violating state law by closing certain policies to new members while illegally offering remaining customers alternative plans with fewer benefits at higher rates.
Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog says in its lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, that Anthem closes "blocks of health insurance business" without offering comparable options. It did this last fall, just months before it informed policyholders who stayed put that their rates would rise as much as 39%, the suit says.

Too much greed at the wrong time puts this insurance giant in the courtroom, let’s see how they defend raising premiums at such a sensitive time in the history of health care in America.

Are you eating a diet that’s good for your heart?

If you are confused about what you should or shouldn’t eat to reduce your chances of developing heart disease—you’re not alone. Delving into the hundreds of diet books and websites and interpreting the various and conflicting studies can make even the best nutrition scholar shake their head and give up. But there are people who live for statistics and nutrition research and are willing to dig in and find out what is best for our bodies.

Interesting article about food and the heart, it does seem strange that doctors almost never talk about diet—is that because people lie to them so much, or is there just not enough time?

Parity law equalizes mental health and physical care benefits

Thanks to a new federal law, Denise Camp no longer has to pay more to treat her depression than to have her other health-care needs met. (By Susan Biddle For The Washington Post)

Denise Camp was resigned to the double standard that had long applied to her medical bills, forcing her to skimp on other expenses so she could pay for mental health treatment.

While visits to her internist for physical problems required a $20 co-pay, her weekly therapy sessions with a social worker cost $50 and trips to the psychiatrist who prescribed her medication were $75. A similar disparity applied to medicines: Drugs to treat the crippling depression that ended her engineering career cost her twice what she paid for an antibiotic.

This is one small example of why we need health care reform in this country, we are not treating all illness with fair concern, why should a mental illness cost more than a physical one? Crazy?

Should young athletes go through heart screening?

A jogger runs in Boston, Massachusetts September 21, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Brian Snyder

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Several of the nearly 100 young U.S. athletes who die suddenly and unexpectedly during sports every year could be saved through more effective screening for heart problems, US researchers suggested in a new study published Monday. The measures, according to another study, will cost less than $100 per athlete.

Most of the athletes who die are college or high school students who suffer cardiac arrests triggered by heart disease nobody knew about until the accident.

While current guidelines recommend a physical exam and a medical history before participating in college sports, some doctors believe measurements of the heart's electrical activity -- known as an electrocardiogram, or ECG -- should also be required.

Two independent U.S. studies, both published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, now show that this extra measure allows doctors to identify twice as many at-risk athletes in a cost-effective way.

"We spend a lot of money trying to design treatment for people late in life," cardiologist Dr. Aaron Baggish, who worked on one of the studies, told Reuters Health. "This is a chance to make a difference in young people."

I am always saying that health reform should start with the young people, so why not check someone’s heart before they go all out in a sport? Seems to make sense, we need to promote safety in sports.

1 in 4 parents believe in the unproven autism-vaccination link

According to a study of 1,552 parents, most parents follow the advice of their children’s doctor concerning vaccinations. However, this study also showed that one out of every four parents in the United States believe that certain vaccinations could cause autism in otherwise healthy children, although there is no proven correlation between these two things. It is very lucky for the children of these parents that they do not let their fears about vaccinations override the need to have their children vaccinated to protect them from life-threatening illnesses.

Many parents have based their fear that vaccinations can cause autism on a speculative study completed in 1998. This study was recently retracted by a British medical journal after it was determined that the author of the study acted dishonestly and unethically. There have been no other studies that have linked vaccinations and autism.

I think it is wonderful that most parents put away these unfounded fears about vaccinations and go ahead with their children’s shots, but it would be nice to get rid of the fear in the first place.

Gleeman’s Daily News—03/01/10

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:10:01 GMT

Exposure to BPA may increase risk of asthma

Studies done at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston show that Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical often found in baby bottles and the lining of aluminum cans, may lead to allergy related asthma. Production of the chemical started about 40 years ago, a timing that scientists note coincides with increasing asthma rates.

Tests on BPA have been done on lab mice. The researchers found the mice born to mothers exposed to 10 micrograms of BPA developed airway problems while mice born to mothers exposed to low or no BPA did not develop the problem. These tests show a significant enough increase in allergy related asthma that some states have begun banning the chemical in containers that could be used by children under the age of four.

Scientist believe that this study is a good example of what could happen to humans, but they admit that mice studies are not always accurate in people.

It seems there would be a great market for baby items certified free of BPA, in fact, I think they banned it in Canada. Do we have any plastics experts that can inform us why BPA is not needed?

Carotid artery stents prove as good as surgery in stroke prevention

Graphic shows how carotid artery stents help prevent strokes (J. Bell - AP)

SAN ANTONIO -- People at risk of a stroke because of narrowed neck arteries can be safely treated with a less drastic option than the surgery done now, the largest study ever done on these treatments concludes.

If Medicare agrees to cover it, hundreds of thousands of Americans a year might be able to have an artery-opening procedure and a stent instead of surgery to remove built-up plaque, doctors say. A stent is a wire-mesh tube that props the blood vessel open.

Stents have long been used to fix heart arteries but are approved for use in the neck only for people too sick for surgery. The new study, in people with less severe disease, suggests stents may find much wider use.

This looks like good news for stent manufacturers, but I am curious about the nature of surgery replaced by these neck stents. Perhaps one of our doctors can fill us in about what the surgery involves.

Severe meat allergies may be more common than we realize

Deadly allergic reactions caused by eating meat are reported to be much more common than previously thought, a new study finds.
Previous studies had reported rare cases of anaphylaxis or severe and potentially life threatening allergic reactions to meat; the new study, however, says the condition to be more common.
According to the study presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans, the production of IgE antibody in response to a carbohydrate in meat known as alpha-galactose is responsible for unexplained allergic reactions reported after eating meat.

This is interesting, I wonder how meat has somehow escaped as a cause for killer allergic reactions, perhaps this study will help doctors identify meat allergies more accurately in the future.

Census is coming soon, will you be counted?

On March 15, the U.S. Census Bureau will mail out questionnaires to 130 million households. The forms should be filled out and mailed back by April 1 — Census Day.
For the first time, all households will receive the same 10-question census form. The longer, 50-question form, used in previous censuses has been replaced by the American Community Survey, which has been collecting housing, income, education and employment data on a yearly basis during the past decade.
The Census Bureau hopes the shorter form, which should take 10 minutes to complete, will increase the response rate of Americans. In 2000, 67 percent of Americans returned their census questionnaires by April 1. In Florida, the response rate was slightly lower — 63 percent. The Census Bureau contends that it saves $85 million in follow-up costs to non-responding households for every one percent increase in the response rates.
The Census, conducted every 10 years, determines the distribution of more than $400 billion a year in federal funds based on population.

I hope all our members will respond to the census and help out the government with the knowledge needed to distribute the mentioned $400 billion a year. Wow, that sounds like a lot of money, eh?

FDA approves drug to treat Gaucher Type 1 disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for the treatment of Gaucher Type I Disease. Shire HGT , Inc has been approved to release the drug at a time when the only other manufacturer of a treatment for this disease is having manufacturing problems.

Gaucher Type I disease is an enzyme problem that causes lipid buildup throughout a persons body. The disease can be deadly if not treated. While this is a very rare disorder, people of a specific Jewish descent seem to be the largest affected people to get the disease.

I never heard of this one, can any of our doctors tell us something about Gaucher disease? For instance, how would you know if you had it? Any tell-tale signs? At least there is a treatment now.

Health care reform: why doing nothing is not an option

Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

As we all know by now, one of the biggest scare tactics that proponents of the health care status quo put forth is that, if health care reform passes, people who feel well-served by the current health care system can kiss their comfort goodby. The cost of insuring poor folks will sit firmly on the backs of the middle-class. Forcing hospitals to control costs means that none of us will get the treatments we badly need. We can expand Medicaid only by decimating Medicare. Oh, yeah, and let’s not forget the death panels.

Even if any of that were true, simple morality and decency would dictate that we have to make some sacrifices to insure that no-one is suffering — or dying — because they simply cannot afford medical care.

But the fact is, it’s not true.

Here’s a nicely-balanced look at the issues involved in the current health care reform debate, of course, written by a woman. Have a heart, America, do you really want to be stepping over the dead bodies of people who couldn’t afford their premiums?

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/26/10

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:11:03 GMT

Kentuckians for Single Payer Healthcare rally in Louisville

The group Kentuckians for Single Payer Healthcare held another rally in downtown Louisville Wednesday.

It was one of many demonstrations across the country in response to President Obama’s healthcare summit with lawmakers in Washington.

The demonstrators are opposed to most of the legislation on the table. They favor an expanded Medicare system that would provide single-payer healthcare to all citizens.

Kay Tillow helped organize the event. She says even if healthcare overhaul legislation is passed, her group will still call for more changes.

“We will continue to push because there’s nothing that they are now considering that will solve the problem,” she says.

Opponents of the single-payer plan say it would be too expensive or inefficient. Tillow says high costs and inefficiencies are caused by for-profit insurers.

Notice the low-cost sign the demonstrator is holding? They couldn’t even afford sticks to hold the signs up in the air. These are probably the folks we should listen to, at least they know how to save money on printing!

Wellpoint CEO called before Congress to defend rate hikes

In this photo released by Wellpoint Inc., the company's CEO Angela Braly is shown. Braly is being called before Congress this week to defend planned rate hikes as high as 39 percent for some customers even as the parent company made billions. (AP Photo/Wellpoint Inc.)

The CEO of WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health insurer, is being called before Congress this week to defend planned rate hikes of as much as 39 percent for some customers even as the company made billions last year.

The issue bubbled up earlier this month, as notices about rate increases for the individual health insurance business of WellPoint's Anthem Blue Cross subsidiary in California were widely publicized. Similar premium increases are being seen by policyholders in a handful of states.

The Obama administration has seized on the issue to renew its push for an overhaul of the health care system.

At the heart of the debate is the question of what should be a fair profit for health insurers. WellPoint CEO Angela Braly will likely be grilled on the issue when she appears at a Congressional hearing Wednesday. Here are some questions that explore the issue.

As I called it in a previous comment, this is what we call “making hay while the sun shines”, taking every advantage of vulnerable individuals who have have no group power, and just raising the rates.

Australia fights swine flu with free vaccinations

BRISBANE: Queensland Health will offer free swine flu vaccinations at locations across the southside this weekend amid news a second wave of the deadly virus is likely to hit Australia.
Queensland Health community and primary health services executive director Glenn Bradley said vaccinations against the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (human swine flu) would be administered to the community at six Brisbane schools.
“Queenslanders can protect themselves, their family and their local community by taking advantage of the free immunisation clinics at state high schools,” he said.

This is a country taking swine flu very seriously, as they will for quite some time since we are told the seasonal flu of tomorrow is the swine flu of today. I would like to know more about the health system in Australia.

Boston Scientific guilty of not informing of problems in Guidant implanted devices

The Justice Department said Guidant discovered in 2002 that its Ventak Prizm 2 DR was prone to electrical arcing, which could keep the device from responding when the patient suffered irregular heart rhythms. (Bloomberg News file photo)

The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against Boston Scientific Corp.’s Guidant division Thursday, saying it did not fully disclose problems with its devices to regulators.
The charges, filed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, are part of a previously announced agreement for Boston Scientific Corp. to plead guilty to the two misdemeanor charges.
The company, based in Natick, Mass., agreed in November to plead guilty to the two counts, which had not yet been filed, and pay $296 million to resolve the investigation.
The investigation concerned three implantable heart devices. The Justice Department said Guidant discovered in 2002 that its Ventak Prizm 2 DR was prone to electrical arcing, which could keep the device from responding when the patient suffered irregular heart rhythms.
Guidant changed the design of the device in November of that year, but in August 2003, it told the Food and Drug Administration that the changes did not affect the safety or effectiveness of the device.

Just imagine how you would feel having a pacemaker recalled right out of your body because of arcing. Talk about a sinking feeling, but better to know than to not know about such an important problem.

Breast implant stops bullet

One of one of Lydia Carranza's silicone implants took the force of the blow, stopping bullet fragments from reaching her vital organs Photo: CORBIS

Lydia Carranza was working in the office of a dentist in Beverly Hills, California when a gunman ran in and opened fire.

He aimed the weapon directly at her heart but one of her silicone implants took the force of the blow, stopping bullet fragments from reaching her vital organs.

The gunman had gone to the dental office looking for his wife, who also worked there. She was shot and killed in the attack. Mrs Carranza was sitting a few feet away when the gunman turned on her.

"She's just one lucky woman," surgeon Dr Ashkan Ghavami told the Los Angeles Times. "The bullet fragments were millimetres from her heart and her vital organs. Had she not had the implant, she might not be alive today."

I have never been a big fan of breast implants—at least I don’t think I have been—but this article indicates they are at least good for something other than amusement. What a horrible thing, to be shot.

Robotic surgery simulator introduced

BUFFALO, N.Y. — One of the first things Mike Ameroso asked while contemplating robotic surgery for his prostate cancer was how many surgeries his doctors had done with the robot.

He liked the idea of the robot's smaller incision and steady miniature "hands" and the promise of less pain and a quick recovery — but had his doctors put in time at the controls?

After all, "an aircraft is only as good as the pilot who flies it," concurred Thenkurussi Kesavadas as he and Ameroso took part Thursday in the rollout of a new robotic surgery simulator that lets surgeons practice endlessly in a field that's growing by leaps and bounds.

The "RoSS" simulator closely approximates the touch and feel of the widely used da Vinci robotic surgical system. It was developed through a collaboration between the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and University at Buffalo, where Kesavadas heads the Virtual Reality Lab.

This device looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Amazing way for a surgeon to practice an operation over and over until it feels right. This is truly a great training device for surgeons and a stunning-looking piece of equipment.

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/25/10

Robert Gleeman — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:21:15 GMT

Ovarian tissue transplant restores fertility

Stinne Holm Bergholdt holds their two children, Aviaja, left, and Lucca, in Odense, Denmark in this undated image made available by her husband, Flemming Holm Bergholdt. For the first time, a woman has given birth to two healthy children as a result of one transplantation of ovarian tissue: once by artificial means, once naturally, Danish researchers say (Flemming Holm Bergholdt/AP Photo)

In December 2005, Stinne Holm Bergholdt received a transplant in of six strips of her own ovarian tissue, which she had frozen before starting chemotherapy treatments for cancer.

She gave birth to a girl in February 2007 after fertility treatments, but when she returned to the clinic for more treatments in January 2008, she discovered she had already become pregnant naturally.

Bergholdt gave birth to another girl in September 2008, Dr. Claus Yding Andersen of the University Hospital of Copenhagen and colleagues reported online in Human Reproduction.

This is medical news because it proves the viability of transplanting a woman’s own ovarian tissue in case of radiation treatments or chemotherapy. Also a very cute photo.

CDC panel suggests every American get flu shot every year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended Wednesday that all Americans over the age of 6 months -- with the exception of those who are allergic to eggs -- should receive a seasonal flu shot every year, beginning this fall. The advice must be accepted by the CDC director and the Department of Health and Human Services before it becomes official, but that ratification is usually pro forma.

Doctors, do you agree with this medical advice, a shot a year for everyone? Many people like me have never had a flu vaccination and have had many cases of the flu. What do you think about this?

What is lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is NOT a food allergy and eliminating dairy products could be detrimental to your bones and, possibly, your heart, blood pressure and colon, experts say.

Many Americans avoid dairy products, an important source of calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients, because they mistakenly think they're lactose intolerant, a panel of experts concluded Wednesday at a National Institutes of Health conference.

Solid estimates of the prevalence of lactose intolerance are lacking, because medical studies have different interpretations of the condition, the experts write in their concluding statement, which is published at consensus.nih.gov.

This article pushes the value of drinking milk, and says many people who think they are lactose intolerant are mistaken. Any doctors who feel milk is bad for you just on general rule of thumb?

Obama brings health care summit to C-SPAN

Monsivais/AP

Thursday's meeting at the Blair House is seen as crucial to his health care overhaul.

Lookout Oprah, President Obama is coming to daytime TV.

When the president holds his contentious health forum between Democrats and Republicans on Thursday the event will be live on C-SPAN and possibly cable.

The year-long drama probably won’t rival the daytime soaps, but many on Capital Hill see the effort as a last chance gamble to save the president’s health care overhaul.

"It's a high-stakes situation for him more than anybody else," said Gerald Shea, the top health care adviser for the AFL-CIO.

President Obama will try to sew divisions between competing Democratic visions, while also trying to convince independents that the initiative is necessary.

"I don't want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points," the president said today in his weekly radio address.

I am happy to have voted for Obama and plan to do so again. He is trying to bring reform to health care, trying harder than any other president to do this for the common person in the street.

FDA approves Pfizer's pediatric vaccine, Prevnar 13

When Pfizer (PFE) announced its most recent quarterly results, analysts grilled management about the status of the Prevnar 13 pediatric vaccine application. Well, they can all relax now: Pfizer on Wednesday announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally approved the vaccine.
Prevnar 13 was approved for the vaccination of children aged 6 weeks through 5 years to protect against 13 varieties of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which can cause such serious illnesses as sepsis, infections of the blood, meningitis and pneumonia.

I hope this new vaccine will save countless lives of babies, I know this is just an update on an existing vaccine, but it seems to go further in protecting infants. New parents be sure and get this for your kids.

Low-income children in North Carolina receive health care grants

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina will receive $9.3 million over five years from the federal government to ensure doctors are doing a good job treating children from low-income families who rely on public health insurance.
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan announced Tuesday the five-year grant funded by Congress last year when it reauthorized the federal-state Children’s Health Insurance Program. North Carolina is one of 18 states to receive grants to improve health care quality for these children. Hagan’s office said the funding will carry out and evaluate performance measures of providers and expand the use of technology, such as electronic health records for child patients.
North Carolina’s first portion of the grant received will be $2.2 million.

This is where health care reform should start—with the children. Every child needs to grow up healthy with a doctor, not go for years without seeing any medical professional. Start with the children.

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/24/10

Robert Gleeman — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:12:45 GMT

WHO warns H1N1 pandemic not yet at peak

Recruits of the paramilitary police receive injections of the H1N1 vaccine at a military base in Taiyuan, Shanxi province February 2, 2010. (Credit: Reuters/Stringer)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of H1N1 swine flu has not yet peaked, a committee of experts advised the World Health Organization on Tuesday.

"The committee advised that it was premature to conclude that all parts of the world have experienced peak transmission of the H1N1 pandemic influenza and that additional time and information was needed to provide expert advice on the status of the pandemic," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said by e-mail.

WHO planned a news conference for Wednesday.

The United Nations agency declared last June that the new virus was causing the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years after it spread around the world from Mexico and the United States in just six weeks.

Under WHO rules the emergency committee, composed of 15 experts and headed by Australian John MacKenzie, makes confidential recommendations to WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan.

As a doctor, do you feel we are still threatened by swine flu, or have we acquired “herd immunity”? How are the vaccinations in your office going right now? Now that the lines are gone, how is the demand for flu shots?

Patients lose interest in swine flu vaccinations

Reported cases of influenza A(H1N1) have been decreasing steadily since the end of October 2009, when the virus peaked in most parts of the nation. But health officials still urge the public to get vaccinated. In Portland, Maine, commuters get a roadside reminder. [Photo by Pat Wellenbach / AP / Wide World Photos]

Hugo Alvarez, MD, an internist and deputy medical officer at Access Community Health Network, says many of the network's Chicago-area clinics did not receive a sufficient supply of the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine until after the epidemic eased. "The reality is the number of [H1N1] cases have dropped. As the winter goes away, patient interest [in the vaccine] is fading very, very quickly." [Photo by Ted Grudzinski / AMA]

Daniel Hoffman, MD, can't seem to give away the once-coveted influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, which now sits in the refrigerator of his solo practice.

The Dunlap, Ill., general practice physician immunized only three patients during a recent week in February, compared with the approximately 30 a week he vaccinated at the epidemic's peak. It's not that he doesn't recommend the vaccine anymore; his patients no longer seem to want it.

"When they decline, I say, 'Fine,' and document it in their charts," Dr. Hoffman said. "Everyone feels it's over. Their view is, 'If I don't hear about it on TV, it doesn't exist.' "

This article answers my previous question, sales are obviously down on H1N1 vaccine, and now that it will be included in the new seasonal vaccine, many people will just wait for that one, in my opinion.

Insurer plans to raise rates despite protests

Leslie Margolin, president of Anthem Blue Cross, says the health insurer's profit margin of 2.5% to 5% is in line with that of other insurers. (WellPoint / January 9, 2008)

Executives at the health insurer and its parent firm, WellPoint, defend increases of as much as 39% in a hearing before an Assembly panel. The changes are slated to go into effect May 1.

Reporting from Sacramento - Executives from California health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross, under fire for scheduled rate hikes of up to 39%, insisted Tuesday that their premiums were fair and legal, and they told lawmakers they expected that the increases would go forward.
Appearing before the state Assembly's health committee, the officials said that they believed rate increases for individual health insurance policies, delayed until May 1 while being reviewed by the Department of Insurance, would survive scrutiny by regulators
The testimony came as members of the committee lashed out at Anthem for its proposed rate hikes and its corporate profit a day before the rate controversy moves to Washington, where a congressional subcommittee holds a hearing Wednesday.

Greed versus the public good, and you see in this case the greedy insurance company wins out—after all, that’s what free enterprise in all about, and that’s why we need a non-profit public option.

FDA warns of possible heart damage from combining two HIV drugs

TUESDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has alerted health care professionals and consumers that the HIV drug combination of saquinavir (Invirase) and ritonavir (Norvir) may increase the risk of potentially serious cardiac arrhythmias in a dose-dependent manner. This is an early communication from the FDA with ongoing review of the data.

The manufacturer of the protease inhibitor Invirase (Roche) submitted FDA-requested study data which investigated the effect of the medication on QT and PR intervals. The FDA has requested that all manufacturers of protease inhibitors conduct a thorough QT study.

After review of the preliminary data, the FDA announced the potential for QT and PR prolongation when using the antiretroviral combination of Invirase and Norvir. The FDA has advised health care professionals not to use Invirase in patients with a history of QT interval prolongation and certain other heart conditions, or in patients taking other medications that can prolong the QT interval, such as Class IA and Class III antiarrhythmic drugs. The FDA is also advising that health care professionals report any adverse events associated with Invirase use to the administration's MedWatch program.

I hope the patients have substitutes they can take to avoid this interaction. Can any doctor fill us in on that possibility? One should not have to pick their poison and choose the lesser of two evils.

Why some doctors are cutting back their hours

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dr. Robert Perimuter, with a physician's assistant, is concerned that doctors have to answer to too many people.

CHICAGO — Doctors have steadily cut their work hours over the past decade, a new study finds, something that experts say may only worsen the health care situation.

It's not that doctors are terrible slackers. Average hours dropped from about 55 to 51 hours per week from 1996 to 2008, according to the analysis, appearing in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

That's the equivalent of losing 36,000 doctors in a decade, according to the researchers. And it raises policy questions amid a looming primary care doctor shortage and Congress considering an expansion of health insurance coverage that would mean more patients.

The decline in hours "occurred among all groups of physicians — young, old, men, women, residents and non-residents — and it didn't occur in other occupations," said lead author Douglas Staiger, an economics professor at Dartmouth College.

"Something has been discouraging physicians from working the long hours they used to work," he said.

This is a story every doctor should read. Our forum has often discussed incentives to doctors, and I cannot help wondering why anyone would want to work longer hours for less money. That is so discouraging.

From the UK: why Tamoxifen fails in some breast cancer cases

Tamoxifen is given to most women with breast cancer

UK scientists say they have discovered why some women fail respond to breast cancer treatment, and it is a gene error they believe they can fix.

Tamoxifen is given to most women diagnosed with breast cancer to prevent the cancer returning.

But not all women respond to the drug - experts estimate a third get no benefit.

The work in the journal Cancer Research suggests the problem is too much of a gene called FGFR1.

This discovery could lead to new treatments for these women as scientists "switch off" the action of FGFR1, enabling Tamoxifen to work.

The team of scientists in the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research have already shown this is possible in the lab.

I think breast cancer will one day be beaten by research such as this, I hope you will read the complete stories if you find these snippets interesting.

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/23/10

Robert Gleeman — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:24:34 GMT

Avandia safety debate: what are the issues?

David Maxwell for The New York Times

WARNING Dr. Steven E. Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, seen in 2007, met with executives of GlaxoSmithKline to discuss Avandia.

Three years ago, Dr. Steven E. Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, conducted a landmark study that suggested that the best-selling diabetes drug Avandia raised the risk of heart attacks. The study led to a Congressional inquiry, stringent safety warnings, a sharp drop in the drug’s sales and a plunge in the share price of GlaxoSmithKline, Avandia’s maker.

The battle between Dr. Nissen and GlaxoSmithKline was waged from afar in news releases and published papers. But on May 10, 2007, 11 days before Dr. Nissen’s study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, he and four company executives met face to face in a private meeting whose details have not been disclosed until now.

As I recall, some of our member doctors had very little good to say in favor of this drug, saying other drugs are more effective and safe. How say you now about Avandia? Bad stuff?

In the USA, nearly 50K patients die of hospital-borne infections yearly

Nearly 50,000 US medical patients die every year of blood poisoning or pneumonia they picked up in hospital

WASHINGTON — Nearly 50,000 US medical patients die every year of blood poisoning or pneumonia they picked up in hospital, a study published Monday shows.

Hospital-acquired sepsis and pneumonia in 2006 claimed 48,000 lives, led to 2.3 million extra patient-days in hospital and cost 8.1 billion dollars, according to the study, led by researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy at Washington-based Resources for the Future.

Together, the two hospital-acquired infections -- also called nosocomial infections -- account for about one-third of the 1.7 million infections US patients pick up every year while in hospital, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.

They are also responsible for nearly half of the 99,000 deaths a year from hospital-acquired infections reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

I recently went to the hospital for two separate cataract surgeries, and I did not get any kind of infection. The staff was very thorough in follow-up, and I felt very good about the whole affair.

Students mix sports events with flu shot clinics for the win

ETHAN HYMAN - ehyman@newsobserver.com

Holly Springs High School senior Jonas Kessing gets the H1N1 mist from registered nurse Annette Stuart.

RALEIGH -- State public health officials hope to score big at college basketball games this month.

As winter wanes and traditional flu season shows signs of dying down, health care workers fear that too many college students have washed their hands of worries about the H1N1 virus.

With that in mind, state health officials are teaming with student health services on many North Carolina college campuses to offer flu vaccinations. They set up a clinic Saturday at the RBC Center to catch N.C. State University students at the Wolfpack game against Wake Forest.

This seems like a smart idea, mix the flu shot with an offer for some free food and a sporting event ticket, make it fun and convenient, and more people will take advantage of the offer of vaccination.

Is it true that naps make you smarter?

A Chinese girl takes a nap by her luggage as thousands of passengers prepare to board their trains at a railway station in Hefei on February 20, 2010. China was bracing for a massive travel rush as millions of people started making their way home after spending the new year holiday with their families. By AFP/Getty Images

Naps make you smarter and boost your ability to learn, say researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. In fact, they're the brain's way of making room for new information.

The longer we stay awake, the less able our brains are to learn. But just 60 minutes of shut-eye can boost learning ability significantly, says Matthew Walker, a Berkeley professor of psychology and the lead investigator of a study presented over the weekend at the American Association of the Advancement of Science conference in San Diego, Calif..

The research could be interpreted to mean that a biphasic sleep schedule – a good night's sleep and a solid midday siesta, could increase intelligence.

Compare that with pulling an all-nighter, which previous research by this group showed can decrease the ability to learn by 40%. This learning deficit is caused by a shutting down of brain regions due to sleep deprivation.

I’m sure we’ve all tried pulling the proverbial all-nighter to study for a test, only to forget just about everything the next morning. You can’t really cheat yourself out of sleep, you always pay the price.

High BP in America called a “neglected disease”

CHICAGO (Reuters) - High blood pressure is a "neglected disease" and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must do more to fight it by helping Americans eat better and encouraging doctors to treat it more aggressively, an expert panel said on Monday.

The report by the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, urges the CDC to promote policies that make it easier for people to be more physically active, cut calories and reduce their salt intake.

High blood pressure or hypertension is easily preventable through diet, exercise and drugs, yet it is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, said committee chair David Fleming, who directs Public Health for Seattle and King County in Washington.

I am surprised to read this, I thought we were on the ball catching high blood pressure, but this study suggests that is not the case. So easy to treat, doesn’t it always respond to the standard BP drugs, or is that not so?

Arkansas residents march for health care reform

About 60 demonstrators from unions, churches and progressive groups marched today from the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce today to press for health insurance reform. The chambers were chosen as march starting and ending points because of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's multi-million-dollar effort to scuttle health reform. The LR Regional Chamber, which enjoys a $200,000 subsidy from city taxpayers, is unfriendly to the administration's plan, and workers rights generally, too.

LITTLE ROCK – Nearly 60 Arkansans armed with banners, signs, and stories of health insurance industry abuse marched from the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and across the Main Street Bridge to the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce Saturday. The crowd rallied to show that people in cities across the country are demanding that Congress deliver on the change people need by finishing comprehensive health care reform now and finishing it right.

Just about every day, I see a march to support reform of our health care system, and this particular story surprised me with the information that the Chamber of Commerce is against reform—why?

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/22/10

Robert Gleeman — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:10:07 GMT

Existing AIDS medications may form the basis of preventive gels

A woman who is infected with HIV prepares her medicines in a shelter house in Jayapura of the Indonesia Papua province November 27, 2008. (Credit: Reuters/Oka Barta Daud)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The quest for a cream or gel to prevent AIDS infection has narrowed to using powerful HIV pills that are already on the market, scientists say.

AIDS experts have long been searching for a microbicide -- a cream, gel or vaginal ring that women or men could use as a chemical shield to protect themselves from sexual transmission of the deadly and incurable virus.

Several substances have been tried unsuccessfully but experiments presented this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, a scientific meeting of AIDS experts, suggested HIV drugs might hold the key to making such gels work.

Perhaps a preventive gel or a pill, the world is looking for ways to fight AIDS. A vaccine would be great, but where are we right now in the science of treatment? Isn’t is still a fatal illness?

Modern medicine Vs. peanut allergy

The pilot study was the first time a food allergy had been desensitized

The largest ever trial to find a treatment for potentially fatal peanut allergies is to give sufferers tiny amounts daily to build up tolerance.

Cambridge University researchers will give increasing doses of peanut flour to 104 British children, up to the equivalent of five nuts a day.

Twenty out of 23 sufferers in an earlier study became able to eat more than 30 peanuts safely.

The new £1m three-year trial could lead to a widely available treatment.

About one in 50 young people in the UK suffers from peanut allergies which can cause breathing problems, itching and, in severe cases, a potentially fatal inflammatory reaction called anaphylaxis.

Allergists have been giving “allergy shots” to lessen the symptoms of allergies for many years—isn’t this the same idea? Not that it would be a bad thing, this seems like an old idea rediscovered.

Doctor challenge: make hot dogs less of a choking hazard

Nutritionists have long warned of the perils of hot dogs: fat, sodium and preservatives to name a few.

Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics wants foods like hot dogs to come with a warning label — not because of their nutritional risks but because they pose a choking hazard to babies and children.

Better yet, the academy would like to see foods such as hot dogs "redesigned" so their size, shape and texture make them less likely to lodge in a youngster's throat. More than 10,000 children under 14 go to the emergency room each year after choking on food, and up to 77 die, says the new policy statement, published online today in Pediatrics. About 17% of food-related asphyxiations are caused by hot dogs.

I wonder what the new choke-proof hot dog would look like, perhaps like a hot dog cut down the middle like my mom used to make them? I never thought my mom was a great cook, but maybe she saved me from choking to death on the hot dog.

Easting disorders: why some young women are “dying to be thin”

Eating disorders are on the rise in a country which preaches you can never be too rich or too thin. Fox 34's Lindsey Ashcraft has the skinny.
29-year-old Jennifer Mason began her battle with an eating disorder at age 12, after enduring a childhood trauma. "From nerves, I would start vomiting and it wasn't too long after that I realized that the vomiting was causing some weight loss and so from there it went into full-blown anorexia" said Mason.

It has always seemed that someone with anorexia has the ultimate self-control problem—too much self control. I knew a girl who had the problem, she eventually lost her job when she could no longer sit in the office for any length of time, she lacked the padding a body needs to sit down in a chair.

Staten Island, NY residents march for health care reform

Staten Islanders, from left, Alex Baltovski, Alejandro Barragan, Ajne Tala, Erica O'Rourke and Patricia Kane take part in a citywide march for health care reform. PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHLEEN KELLY

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A contingent of Staten Islanders in favor of health care reform took to the streets yesterday as part of a citywide march and rally organized by "Health Care for America Now!" a nationwide grassroots movement for reform.
The borough's delegation, organized by Rosebank resident Kathleen N. Kelly, met at the St. George ferry terminal, took the 10:30 boat, and linked up with marchers for the opening ceremony at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.
About two-dozen from Staten Island, including several nurses and health care professionals, carried banners and signs proclaiming "Taking it to the Streets for Health Care Reform," as they joined the crowd of about 700 who marched across the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan to rally in Liberty Plaza, outside the New York offices of the health insurance company WellPoint.
WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, has proposed premium rate hikes of as much as 40 percent. The largest U.S. health insurer by membership, the company has defended its proposed rate increases as necessary to keep up with rising health care costs and as being roughly in line with competitors' prices. Later this week, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce panel is supposed to grill company leadership over the proposed increases.

This was really a protest march against WellPoint for their proposed premium rate hikes, which has been taken as a symbol of insurance companies who take advantage and raise rates in this time of change.

Progesterone to be tested as brain injury protective treatment

Progesterone protects neurons in the brain after an injury

Natural progesterone, the sex hormone used in the first contraceptive pills, is to be tested on patients with severe head injuries.

Scientists will begin a phase III clinical trial in March and say the drug could save patients' lives and reduce damage to their brains.

They announced the trial at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

It will involve 1,000 patients in 17 trauma centres across the US.

Dr David Wright, associate professor of emergency medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, will lead the trial.

This is interesting, a completely new use for a long-existing drug, a natural hormone, actually, which may someday be carried by ambulances and given to head trauma patient on the scene.

Gleeman’s Daily News—02/19/10

Robert Gleeman — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:20:59 GMT

Researching a new blood test for cancer

A personalised tumour test could be available in five years, say researchers

Personalised blood tests which could track whether cancer treatment is working or if the disease has come back have been developed by US researchers.

The test identifies tumour DNA "rearrangements" which are specific to the individual patient.

In the future, this "genetic fingerprint" could be used to pick out tiny remnants of a tumour, Science Translational Medicine reports.

Such techniques are currently very expensive but costs are falling.

The researchers hope that one day the technology could be used to spot cancer recurrence before they would be picked up by scans.

DNA from volunteer patients was scanned for rearrangements of large chunks of genetic information which occur in cancer cells but not normal cells.

I hope the cancer test pictured by this article does come about, a simple blood test for cancer using genetic information, such an accomplishment would save many lives.

Sebelius says increasing healthcare premiums justify Obama’s push for reform

Kathleen Sebelius, Photo from: http://wellsy.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/why-kathleen-sebelius-wants-the-current-health-care-bill/

Escalating costs are stripping families and small businesses of their coverage, the Health and Human Services secretary says, noting that the president is to unveil his latest proposal next week.

A renewed push for healthcare overhaul is being driven partly by the need to stem escalating insurance costs that are stripping families and small businesses of their health coverage, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday.
"A lot of these customers have no choice," she said, noting that President Obama is expected to unveil his latest healthcare proposal in advance of his healthcare summit next week with members of Congress.
"I think the president has indicated that he intends to have a proposal . . . for public consumption before the summit," Sebelius said at a Washington news conference. "So there will be one proposal. It is the president's, and I think the idea is that it will take some of the best of the ideas [from the House and Senate bills] and put them into a framework moving forward."

Leave it to a woman to think optimistically, the fight over health insurance isn’t going away, in fact, look for more outrageous hikes in your rates as insurance companies thumb their corporate noses at all, watch them continue to raise rates until forced to stop by law. Is that how it went down in England and Canada?

FDA revises warnings on some asthma medications

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has warned that some long-acting asthma drugs used by millions, should be issued with safety restrictions.
The FDA has issued an advisory to say the drugs Advair, Symbicort, Foradil and Serevent could lead to life threatening risks by shielding worsening asthma conditions.
The FDA said the medications should be used for the shortest time possible by asthmatics who can't control their lung disease with other drugs.
The four drugs contain an ingredient that relaxes muscles around the airways, called a long-acting beta agonist or LABA.
The FDA said while the medications are helpful for some patients, the LABA-containing drugs could also mask inflammation building in the airways, meaning patients may not recognise a serious asthma attack until it becomes serious.
FDA doctors have recommended that LABA-containing drugs should only be used simultaneously with different asthma-controlling medication, such as inhaled corticosteroids.
Medical guidelines already urge people to use a LABA together with an inhaled corticosteroid to relieve inflammation.
The FDA said it would not ban the medications as they were extremely important for people with other lung diseases, who could use them without the asthma risk.

I would guess that all doctors have to be aware of this warning, since so many people, young and old, have asthma, but if this is the first you’ve heard of it, I am glad to have helped with the info.

WHO suggests adding H1N1 to the next seasonal flu vaccine

The World Health Organization's recommendations guide vaccine manufacturers. (Charles Platau/Reuters)

Next season's flu shot for the Northern Hemisphere should include the H1N1 strain, the World Health Organization recommended Thursday.

Last year, the H1N1 virus emerged too late before the regular flu vaccine could be produced to include the strain.

For the coming flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, the two vaccines should be combined, said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top influenza expert. The announcement followed a closed-door meeting of influenza experts who advise vaccine makers and guide governments on vaccine stockpiles.

Flu vaccines normally include three strains of virus.

The WHO's recommended strains for the 2010-11 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere are:

The pandemic strain, an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus.

Another influenza A strain known as A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus.

An influenza B strain called B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

I wonder if all our doctors agree with WHO on this? Did anyone ask your opinion of what the seasonal flu shot should contain, or is this one of the most specialized fields in medicine?

Opinion: Why the “let’em eat cake” approach doesn’t work with health care

One glaring hole in Republican healthcare-reform proposals is that none deal with the mounting cost of treating low-income and uninsured people — which is particularly acute at a time of sustained high unemployment. Some politicians prefer to simply ignore the issue, saying they favor cutting costs before expanding coverage.

But that “let ‘em eat cake” approach has a huge and underappreciated downside: It continues to push up insurance premiums for people with coverage, as hospitals pass along the cost of caring for uninsured and Medicaid patients who land in the ER.

Will the Republicans be part of the solution? I hope so, for the country’s sake, because this single issue seems to be polarizing this country like no other issue ever has. By the way, doesn’t that cake look good?

FDA’s new 510(k) process designed to speed approval of medical devices

A new program which aims at speeding up US approval of some medical equipment is all set to face closer scrutiny and discussion on Thursday, at a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration which is expected to analyze potential changes to the controversial program.

Critics have asserted that speeding the process for reviewing medical devices and making it more like other products which are currently available across the US market, have been expanded beyond the initial goal, and this has led to problems with devices after they have been purchased.

The meeting to discuss the new process, known as 510(k), is the latest in a range of changes for the FDA's devices division, which has seen a significant transformation under the Obama Administration and managed to create much uncertainty for manufacturers of medical devices.

I have seen some of what medical device manufacturers must go through to prove their products work and are safe to use, and I wonder what EMR manufacturers would do under those same conditions. They would long for the days of CCHIT.