More than 7 million people live in US public housing, many of them elderly, disabled or children, and tobacco smoke travels between units through air ducts, wall cracks and elevator shafts. The Surgeon General has concluded there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure.
Rachel Stockton
Nutrition
Pro-Eating Disorder Sites Disturbing
Johns Hopkins and Stanford researchers found pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites carrying inaccurate information, 'thinspiration' writing and images of extremely thin models. One expert told ABC News that 1 to 3 percent of women become anorexic and 2 to 8 percent bulimic in their lifetimes.
Law & Regulations
Opioid Abuse Skyrockets
CDC data show emergency room visits for opioid painkiller overdoses rose from 144,644 in 2004 to 305,885 in 2008, a 111 percent increase. Oxycodone-related visits rose 152 percent, hydrocodone 123 percent and methadone 73 percent.
Nutrition
Prostate Cancer: New Chemo Drug Approved
The FDA approved Jevtana (cabazitaxel), given with prednisone, for advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer that worsened during or after docetaxel, clearing it in 11 weeks under priority review. Side effects include diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, constipation, weakness and renal failure.
Nutrition
New Guidelines Tackle Obesity Epidemic
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines cut the adult sodium recommendation from 2,300 to 1,500 milligrams and urge less sugar and less meat in favor of plants. The panel also advises 2.5 hours of moderate activity a week for adults and an hour a day for children.
Nutrition
Breastfeeding and Vitamin D Overdose
The FDA warns that infants should not exceed the recommended 400 IU of vitamin D a day and tells caregivers to use only the dropper packaged with the product. Overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, appetite loss, excessive thirst, constipation and muscle weakness.
Nutrition
Study Shows Increase in Addicts Over 50
SAMHSA found the number of Americans aged 50 and older admitted to drug treatment nearly doubled between 1992 and 2008, with heroin admissions more than doubling and cocaine nearly quadrupling; 75 percent had started before age 25. A Duke study found 23 percent of men aged 50-64 binge drank.
Nutrition
Vitamin B6 May Lower Cancer Risk
Comparing 899 lung cancer patients with 1,770 controls in the EPIC study, researchers found people with higher blood vitamin B6 had 56 percent lower risk and those with higher methionine 48 percent lower, across smokers, former smokers and non-smokers. Causality is unproven.
Cancer
Cervical Cancer: Should Women be Tested Less Often?
Despite guidance allowing three-year intervals after a normal Pap and HPV DNA test, a survey of 1,212 physicians suggests few are stretching out cervical cancer screening. The disease kills about 4,900 US women a year of the 15,700 newly diagnosed.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle Changes May Not Reduce Alzheimer's Risk
A 15-member NIH panel, reporting in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concluded that evidence is too thin to say exercise, mental activity or a diet rich in omega-3s and produce substantially lowers Alzheimer's risk. Association, the panel cautions, does not establish causality.
Lifestyle
Study: Limiting TV Viewing Reaps Benefits
Susan Carlson and colleagues interviewed 7,415 children aged 9 to 15 and found those who were physically active and had parental limits watched less TV. Some 27% exceeded the two hours a day the American Academy of Pediatrics considers appropriate for children over 2.
Cancer
Some Cancer Patients Skip Care due to Finances
Wake Forest researchers examined surveys from 110,000 people, 6,600 of them cancer survivors, and found survivors under 65 were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to put off care over cost. About 2 million of 12 million adult survivors had; 10 percent skipped filling prescriptions.
Cancer
Nexavar Falls Short of Goal
Bayer says Nexavar missed its main goal of extending survival in a trial of advanced lung cancer, though it met a secondary goal of slowing progression. The drug is already approved for late-stage kidney and liver cancer, and testing continues in other cancers.
Lifestyle
Senator asks for Sunscreen Evaluation
Senator Charles Schumer urged the FDA to speed its evaluation of data it has held since July on retinyl palmitate in sunscreen. His office cites one study in which tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated with sunscreen containing the additive.
Other Diseases
Coalition Shares Alzheimer's/Parkinson's Research
Drug makers and patient advocacy groups in the Coalition Against Major Diseases will share a data bank on more than 4,000 patients with neurodegenerative disease, aiming to speed research and settle best practices for future clinical trials.
Lifestyle
Ban on Blood Donation Remains
The Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability recommended keeping the lifetime ban on blood donation by men who have sex with men, while agreeing more research is needed. The Red Cross and America's Blood Centers had urged the panel to lift it.
Miscellaneous
"ella:" Contraceptive Method or Abortion Agent?
HRA Pharma is seeking FDA approval for ella, an emergency contraceptive said to work up to 120 hours after sex, against 72 hours for Plan B. Critics including Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America call the longer window a do-it-yourself abortion using a poorly tested drug.
Miscellaneous
16 Killed in Arkansas Flash Flood
Flood waters from the Little Missouri and Caddo rivers rose 20 feet overnight at the Albert Pike Campground in Arkansas, killing at least 16 people. Roughly three dozen campers remain missing and officials expect the toll to rise.
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