A CDC update counting 8,843 hospitalizations and 556 deaths from 2009 H1N1 across 52 reporting states and territories. For August 16-22, 2009, flu activity was stable or rising, with increases in the Southeast, and hospitalization rates were similar to or below seasonal flu.
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Health News
Drugs, disease, healthcare, government and lifestyle: health news beyond the plate.
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Drug
Study Reveals Limitations of Tamoxifen
In a Cancer Research study of 1,100 women with estrogen-sensitive tumors, five years of tamoxifen cut recurrence risk by 60 percent. Those same long-term users were four times more likely to develop a rare, aggressive breast cancer that is not estrogen sensitive, which tamoxifen cannot treat.
Disease
Swine flu targets 5 to 14 age group
A CDC report on 1,557 Chicago cases found children aged 5 to 14 caught H1N1 at 147 per 100,000, and were 14 times more likely than adults 60 and over to get sick or be hospitalized. Attack rates ran higher among Hispanics, blacks and Asian/Pacific Islanders for reasons unknown.
Lifestyle
The Key to Affordable Health Care: Healthier Lifestyles
Dr. Mercola points to an Archives of Internal Medicine report that not smoking, exercising regularly, eating well and keeping a healthy weight cut the risk of the most common chronic diseases by about 80%, and argues prevention, not treatment, is the key to affordable care.
Disease
Flight the flu with the natural immunity boosters
Food Consumer gathers findings on fortifying the immune system before flu season. Nutrition experts suggest 500 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily, and studies in Epidemiology and Infection and Pediatric Research tie vitamin D deficiency in children to more viral and respiratory illness.
Drug
Weight loss drug Alli linked to liver injuries
The FDA is reviewing orlistat, sold as prescription Xenical and over-the-counter Alli, after 32 reports of serious liver injury between 1999 and 2008, including 27 hospitalizations and six liver failures. No definite link is established, and the agency says to keep taking it as directed.
Miscellaneous
Recommendations for Keeping the Swine Flu at Bay
Ahead of the 2009 flu season, the piece gathers prevention advice from the CDC and other sources: wash hands often, disinfect kitchen surfaces, door knobs, keyboards, phones and remotes daily, dry damp areas, wash towels and rugs, and replace toothbrushes.
Drug
ADHD drug-related abuse calls rise 140%
A Pediatrics study found calls to poison centers about teens abusing ADHD stimulants rose 76 percent from 1998 to 2005, and 140 percent per million adolescent prescriptions. Amphetamine prescriptions rose 133 percent over the same period, and case severity increased.
Miscellaneous
Is it Possible to be both Fit and Fat?
Steven Blair of the Cooper Institute says overweight but fit people carry half the death rate of normal-weight people who are unfit. Being fit here means not smoking, moving 30 minutes a day, carrying no major risk factors, and keeping a waist under 35 inches for women, 40 for men.
Government
Who should get H1N1 vaccine?
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices sets out which groups should receive the H1N1 monovalent vaccine first, naming target groups totalling an estimated 159 million people. The recommendations weigh July 2009 epidemiologic data against the supply expected from mid-October.
Disease
CDC: West Nile virus has infected 82 Americans and killed 2 so far this year
The CDC has received reports of 82 West Nile infections from 20 states, with Mississippi, Texas, California and Nevada reporting the most. About 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms; people over 50 and those with weakened immune systems face the highest risk of encephalitis or meningitis.
Drug
Government Report Supports Gardisil Efficacy
A government analysis of more than 12,000 young women vaccinated between June 2006 and December 2008 found Gardasil safe, estimating 59 adverse reactions per 100,000 vaccinated, most commonly fainting. Some doctors remain hesitant about routine vaccination at ages 11 and 12.
Lifestyle
Cigarettes and Taste Buds: A Volatile Relationship
A study of 62 soldiers at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki found the 28 smokers had fewer, flatter taste buds with reduced blood supply and scored significantly lower on taste tests than the 34 non-smokers. A 2007 Duke study found milk, water, fruit and vegetables worsen the taste of cigarettes.
Drug
Nutracoastal Trading LLC expands recall of Steam dietary supplement
Nutracoastal Trading has widened its July 2009 recall of the supplement STEAM after finding a lot containing tadalafil, an erectile dysfunction drug ingredient. The company says the undeclared ingredient can dangerously lower blood pressure in people taking nitrates. No illnesses are known.
Miscellaneous
Can $300 Cover Back-to-School Shopping?
A satirical column on back-to-school shopping with a $300 budget, roughly an unemployment check, where $75 jeans and a $39 burnout top eat a third of it, and on an economy the writer says still runs on buying things people cannot afford.
Lifestyle
Fasting: Good for the Soul and the Body
An argument that fasting rests an overtaxed digestive system, set against the practice's place in Christian Lent, Ramadan and Jewish tradition, and Zen priest Norman Fisher's New York Times account of a Puget Sound retreat where participants gave up both food and speech.
Miscellaneous
FDA's mercury ruling defies ALL scientific reasoning
The FDA classified dental amalgam as a class II device without the precautions for pregnant women and children that a court settlement had required, contradicting its own expert panel. Charles Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice says the agency broke its word, bowing to industry.
Drug
Half of kids given flu drug have side effects
Studies of 103 children found 51 to 53% had at least one side effect from Tamiflu: nausea in 29%, stomach pain or cramps in 20%, sleep problems in 12%, and neuropsychiatric effects such as nightmares in nearly one in five. A British Medical Association expert says the drug is overused in mild cases.
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