A leaked Health Protection Agency letter told UK neurologists to watch for a rise in Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a paralysing nerve disorder that could be triggered by the swine flu vaccine. It cites the 1976 US vaccine, withdrawn after ten weeks once a GBS link became clear.
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Health News
Drugs, disease, healthcare, government and lifestyle: health news beyond the plate.
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Drug
Will People Give Cholesterol Drug Vytorin A Second Chance?
Martha Rosenberg questions Merck and Schering-Plough's revival of the Vytorin 'two sources of cholesterol' campaign, less than two years after the earlier marketing drew state lawsuits, and as the companies agreed to pay $41.5 million to settle consumer and health plan claims.
Miscellaneous
NUTRITION NOTES:Weight Gain in Pregnancy: How Much, How Little?
AICR nutritionist Karen Collins explains that both too much and too little pregnancy weight gain carry risks. Gaining over 35 pounds raises a normal-weight woman's odds of cesarean delivery, a high birth weight baby and possibly preeclampsia; too little raises low birth weight risks.
Lifestyle
Older Americans indulging in the sauce
A Duke University analysis of national survey data found 22 percent of men and 9 percent of women aged 50 to 64 binge drink. Lead author Dan Blazer says clinicians focused on college-age drinkers miss these patterns, which often lack the usual signs of dependence.
Drug
What women really know about mammogram benefits, risks
A Journal of the National Cancer Institute study of 479 women found 94 percent did not realize some early breast cancers may never progress. Of 1,000 women screened, one avoids a breast cancer death, while 10 to 15 learn of a cancer earlier with no change in prognosis.
Miscellaneous
Mags show images of babies in dangerous positions
More than a third of baby photographs in magazines aimed at new mothers showed infants sleeping on their sides or stomachs, and nearly two-thirds showed unsafe environments with pillows, blankets or stuffed animals, a Children's National Medical Center study of 28 magazines found.
Disease
Mozart victim of severe strep throat
Researchers reviewing Vienna's death register for November 1791 to January 1792 found a spike in deaths with swelling among men under 40, and conclude in the Annals of Internal Medicine that Mozart probably died of kidney failure following a streptococcal infection.
Drug
FDA okays Extavia to treat multiple sclerosis
The FDA has approved Extavia, Novartis's version of beta interferon, for multiple sclerosis. The company recommends it for newly diagnosed patients and those in relapse, saying it can slow physical disability and shorten attacks. Side effects include injection-site irritation and headache.
Lifestyle
Good Bacteria Fight the Flu
Young children who drank a mixture of probiotic bacteria had fewer colds, needed fewer antibiotics and missed fewer school days, a study found. Mercola uses the result to argue that strengthening the immune system, not a flu vaccine, is the better defense.
Lifestyle
Gene found that allows people to sleep less
Of 1,000 people studied at the University of California, only two, a mother and daughter, carried a mutation that let them sleep from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. with no apparent ill effects. Mice bred to carry the gene also slept less without adverse effects.
Miscellaneous
Swine flu vaccine could cause deadly nervous disorder
British authorities asked clinicians to report monthly any cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a nerve disorder that could be triggered by the swine flu vaccine due in October. The article recalls the 1976 U.S. campaign, in which 40 million were vaccinated and 25 people reportedly died of it.
Healthcare
Sexual minorities more likely to seek mental health care
UCLA researchers analyzing 2,074 people in the California Quality of Life Survey found 48.5% of lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents had received mental health or substance abuse treatment in the past year, against 22.5% of heterosexuals.
Miscellaneous
Study: 50% of Americans want H1N1 vaccine
A RAND internet survey of US adults, reported in Vaccine, found 49.6% intended to get the novel H1N1 shot, about 115 million vaccinations and close to the previous year's seasonal flu rate. The researchers suggest people who skip seasonal flu shots may skip this one too.
Drug
FDA: Don’t use glucose test strips if you are on biologic drugs
The FDA warned that certain glucose test strips, including Roche's Accu-Chek Comfort Curve and Abbott's Freestyle, can read falsely high in patients on biologic drugs, prompting insulin overdoses. The agency has received 13 reports of related deaths over 12 years, six of them last year.
Lifestyle
Weight lifting benefits breast cancer survivors
In 141 breast cancer survivors with stable arm lymphedema, slowly progressive weight lifting left limb swelling unchanged but halved flare-ups, 14 percent versus 29 percent, while easing symptoms and building strength. No adverse events were tied to the lifting.
Lifestyle
Young Women Look to Their Own Mothers for Parenting Advice
An Ohio State study of 1,133 young parents whose own parents were surveyed in 1979 found young women follow their mothers on reading, praising and spanking more closely than fathers follow theirs, though 1990s parents were more likely to drop spanking.
Drug
FDA Okays morphine based drug for pain management
The FDA approved King Pharmaceuticals' Embeda for moderate to severe pain. It pairs morphine with naltrexone to cancel the quick high abusers get from chewing pills. King says that makes abuse somewhat difficult, and warns the drug can still be abused like any narcotic.
Environment
Milford Citizens Told to Boil Tap Water
A test last Wednesday found E. coli and other fecal coliform bacteria in water from Echo Lake Reservoir. Water manager Henry Papuga told residents to boil tap water and throw out food and formula made with it; traces were gone by Sunday, but boiling continues until further notice.
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