Duke's Murali Doraiswamy reported that diets high in curcumin dissolved amyloid plaques in mice over 12 months and prevented plaques forming in young mice. He cautioned that curry cannot offset the dementia risk of an unhealthy diet. A UCLA human trial is under way.
Food Consumer
Vitamins
Prenatal multivitamins reduce risk of low birth weight
A CMAJ meta-analysis of 13 studies found prenatal multivitamins were associated with a 17 to 19 percent lower risk of low birth weight than iron-folic acid alone, and with 54 grams more birth weight, which researchers say could avoid 1.5 million cases a year.
Lifestyle
Majority of cancer patients use antioxidants to fight cancer
Among 663 Long Island women with breast cancer, 60.5 percent used antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and selenium during conventional treatment, and 69.3 percent of those exceeded a multivitamin's dose. Whether antioxidants blunt radiation and chemotherapy remains contested.
Chemical
Studies: BPA may cause heart problems in women
Scott Belcher of the University of Cincinnati exposed rat and mouse heart cells to BPA or estrogen and saw abnormal activity, including more frequent arrhythmias, in female cells but not male ones. Other work presented at ENDO 09 found more BPA in the urine of people with cardiovascular disease.
Government
Judge orders Cannabis Dispenser to Prison
Despite Attorney General Eric Holder's 2009 remarks on federal medical marijuana enforcement, federal raids on California dispensaries continued, and a judge sentenced dispensary operator Charles Lynch to a year and a day. A US attorney says Lynch broke state and federal law.
Government
FDA Panel Says Yes to Seroquel, Zyprexa and Geodon for Kids
The FDA's Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee recommended approving Seroquel, Zyprexa and Geodon for schizophrenia and bipolar mania in children and adolescents. The hearings also aired risks: seven or eight extra heartbeats a minute in children, cataracts and a prolonged QT interval.
Government
FTC Challenges Biotech Industry’s Plea for 12-Year Protection from Generics
The Federal Trade Commission has challenged the biotech industry's case for 12 to 14 years of protection before generic competition. The FTC accepts biotech drugs cost more to make and estimates generic versions would discount only about 30 percent, against 90 percent for synthetics.
Drug
FDA warns consumers not to use skin products made by Clarcon (PR)
Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory is voluntarily recalling skin sanitizers and protectants sold under brands including Skin Shield and Citrushield after FDA testing found high levels of bacteria. The agency told consumers to throw away any Clarcon product.
Government
FDA requires boxed warning for all botulinum toxin products (PR)
The agency acted on reports that the toxin can spread from the injection site and cause botulism-like symptoms, including muscle weakness and trouble breathing or swallowing. Most reports involved children treated off-label for cerebral palsy spasticity.
Advisories
FDA alerts consumers to recall of certain pistachios (PR)
FDA and California inspectors found multiple Salmonella strains in pistachios from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, prompting a voluntary recall of roughly 1 million pounds. Consumers were told to avoid pistachio products they cannot trace to another supplier.
Alerts
FDA:Raw alfalfa sprouts linked to Salmonella contamination (PR)
The FDA and CDC told consumers to stop eating raw alfalfa sprouts and blends containing them after six states reported 31 illnesses from Salmonella Saintpaul. Investigators suspect contaminated seed, which may be widely distributed among sprout growers.
Lifestyle
Married Seniors More Likely to Seek Preventive Care
A survey of just over 13,000 people older than 65 found those living with a spouse more likely to get flu shots, colorectal screening, checkups and dental care than seniors living alone or with an adult child. Researchers could not explain the gap.
Drug
Acetaminophen can cause liver damage
An FDA advisory committee recommended stronger warning labels and changes to dosage limits for acetaminophen, calling it the leading cause of acute liver failure from 1998 through 2003 and noting that small amounts over the four-gram daily limit may injure the liver.
Disease
Researchers Seek to Disable Cancer Cells
Harvard's Stephen Elledge describes cancer cells as sick cells that depend on particular genes to survive, and reports one, STK33, that keeps them from self-destructing. He says a drug would only need a 50 to 70 percent knockdown rate to work.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes: Ribbon Tea Sandwiches
A layered tea sandwich recipe alternating albacore tuna and egg salad with paper-thin cucumber between whole-wheat and white bread, at about 250 calories per serving. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate before serving.
Food
Three cups of tea can cut heart attack risk
Dr. Carrie Ruxton of the Tea Advisory Council told Mail Online that three cups of tea a day can ward off heart attacks. She credits tea's flavonoids, whose anti-inflammatory action may aid blood vessel function and lower thrombosis risk, rather than its polyphenols.
Drug
Vaccination alters the immune system
A Cancer Causes Control study of 387 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients and 535 controls in Nebraska tied influenza vaccination to a 53 percent higher NHL risk, while polio and smallpox vaccination tracked with lower risk. Tetanus and tuberculosis shots showed no association.
Miscellaneous
Kansas abortion doctor shot and killed
A suspect is in custody after Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider, was shot in the lobby of his Wichita church. Witnesses gave police his car's license number. Tiller's clinic was bombed in 1986 and he was shot and wounded in 1993.
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