From the AP
The family of a 6-year-old girl whose intestines were partially sucked out by a Minnesota swimming pool drain last year says the child has died.
Family attorney Bob Bennett says Abigail Taylor’s parents were with her when she died Thursday evening at a Nebraska hospital.
Abigail was injured on June 29 when she sat on a pool drain and its powerful suction ripped out part of her intestinal tract. She had small bowel, liver and pancreas transplants at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in December but suffered complications.
Fast Food Employee On Long Island Has Typhoid Fever
March 25, 2008
From the AP
Health officials say a worker at a fast-food restaurant on Long Island has typhoid fever.
The Nassau County Health Department says the patient was a food handler at a Mama Sbarro’s in Hicksville.
Health officials say it’s unusual to catch typhoid fever, which you can avoid by washing your hands before and after handling food and using the toilet. There are only 400 U.S. cases a year.
But health officials are cautioning those who ate at the restaurant last weekend that they may have some risk of contracting the disease.
The restaurant passed a surprise health inspection Friday.
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection whose symptoms include fever, headache, diarrhea and rose-colored spots on the torso. It is treated with antibiotics.
Zach Dunlap Feeling Pretty Good
March 25, 2008
From the AP
Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels “pretty good.”
Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.
As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.
On Monday, he and his family were in New York, appearing on NBC’s “Today.”
“I feel pretty good. but it’s just hard … just ain’t got the patience,” Dunlap told NBC.
Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash.
“I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember,” he said.
Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead.
Want A Good Marriage, Ladies? Marry Someone Uglier Than You
March 25, 2008
From news.com.au
The best marriages are those where women marry men who are less attractive than themselves, research has found.
Psychologists who studied newlyweds found men who were better-looking than their wives were more likely to be unhappy and have negative feelings about their marriage.
In couples where the wife is more attractive, both partners tended to be very content.
The research, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, suggests that, in evolutionary terms, women are less choosy about their man’s looks as long as he is able to help them reproduce.
Men, however, are programmed to choose a mate who is most likely to pass on their genes and look for youth, health and physical attractiveness.
The tests involved 82 couples married within the previous six months.
From WebMD.com
A study in January’s online issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology* from Kaiser Permanente found a link between high doses of daily caffeine (no matter what the source) and an increased risk of miscarriage.
This was the first study to thoroughly control for morning sickness which, according to the researchers, makes the association they found between caffeine and miscarriage risk even stronger.
How Much is Too Much?
Women who consumed 200 mg or more of caffeine per day (two or more cups of regular coffee or five 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda) had TWICE the risk of miscarriage as women who consumed absolutely no caffeine. What about the women who consumed less than 200 mg of caffeine daily? Their risk of miscarriage increased by more than 40%.
Antiobiotics For Ear Infections?
March 25, 2008
From WebMD Blog
Most of the antibiotics prescribed for children in the U.S. are for the treatment of middle ear infections. In light of overwhelming evidence that antibiotics are not necessary in many (most) cases, old habits are difficult to change. Medical providers are continuing to prescribe stronger and stronger antimicrobial medications, and parents are still demanding them.
Americans are a “quick-fix”, fast-food culture. Parents bring children to our clinic within hours of complaining about ear pain. New parents panic when they see their infants pulling on their ears. If ear-pulling alone was a definitive sign of a middle ear infection, then why aren’t they bringing in children who pull their toes…or little boys who pull on their penises?
The less a person knows about a disease or condition, the more they tend to fear it. In the management of childhood ear infections, education is often much more powerful than medication. Since eardrums are “hidden” from the prying eyes of most parents, they do not want to take chances. When eyes become red in conjunctivitis (pink eye), parents know immediately. When eardrums become red – one of the signs of a middle ear infection – parents can’t see it; unless, of course, they have a good home otoscope. All parents should have a home otoscope (about $30) and know how to use it.
FDA Approves Prilosec For Kids Aged 1-16
March 25, 2008
From Miranda Hitti, WebMD.com
The FDA today announced its approval of the use of Prilosec in children as young as 1 year old.
The FDA yesterday approved Prilosec delayed-release oral suspension (liquid) for the short-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the healing of erosive esophagitis (erosions in the lining of the esophagus) in children aged 1-2.
Prilosec, made by AstraZeneca, was previously approved for use in children aged 2 to 16.
Last month, the FDA approved another GERD drug, Nexium, for use in children aged 1-11. Nexium, which is also made by AstraZeneca, was already approved for use in kids aged 12-17.
Neither pill is approved for use in children younger than 1 year old.
Are Antidepressants No Better Than A Placebo?
March 25, 2008
From Salynn Boyles, WebMD.com
A study suggesting the widely prescribed antidepressantsProzac, Paxil, and Effexor work no better than placebo for most patients who take them does not present an accurate picture of the research as a whole, a leading depression expert says.
The research analysis included published and previously unpublished data submitted to the FDA by the manufacturers of the three drugs, as well as a fourth, Serzone, which is no longer sold in the U.S.
The researchers concluded that when taken as a whole, the data showed that only a small group of the most severely depressed patients benefited from taking one of the antidepressants.
Antidepressants vs. Placebo
For less severely depressed patients, the antidepressants were found to work no better than placebos, leading the researchers to conclude that most patients who take antidepressants probably shouldn’t be on them.
The findings are published in the February issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.
“There seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed to provide a benefit,” says study researcher Irving Kirsch, PhD, of England’s University of Hull.
Best Fast Food Breakfasts
March 25, 2008
From Elaine Magee, MPH, RD , WebMD.com
Market figures show that more and more people are buying breakfast from fast-food chains and places like Starbucks. It makes sense; after all, many people are already at one of those places buying coffee. Others just don’t think they have enough time in the morning to get a bite at home, so they grab it on the go. But are any of these early morning offerings even remotely healthy?
In Search of a Better Breakfast
Finding a healthier fast-food breakfast means looking for items with some fiber and protein (which makes them more satisfying), but not too much saturated fat or total fat. Fiber is important for baked offerings, too — even when these items are relatively low in fat, they can be high in sugar and white flour.
A look at the nutrition information some popular fast-food chains provide on their web sites shows that few of their breakfast items fit the bill. Some offer one or two items that are reasonably low in fat and saturated fat and contain some protein, but they’re usually lacking in fiber. Others have not even one main-dish breakfast item that’s low enough in fat and saturated fat to be considered healthy.
At Carl’s Jr., for example, there was only one main-dish item with less than 20 grams of fat per serving (the French Toast Dips, with 18 grams of fat). It has some protein, 9 grams, but is lacking in the fiber department (1 gram). However, that’s far better than the worst choice on their breakfast menu: the Carl’s Jr. Loaded Breakfast Burrito, with 820 calories and 51 grams of fat.
The Aging Eye
March 24, 2008
From Val Willingham
I have a passion for reading: books, magazines, even catalogs, you name it. And I never had a tough time following the fine print, until I got into my 40s. I just couldn’t see up close. Although I had been wearing glasses since I was in sixth grade, all of a sudden, the words were out of focus. When I finally went to the eye doctor, he prescribed (here comes the dreaded word, most middle-age people hate to hear): Bifocals!
As we age, so do our eyes. It’s just inevitable. Most people, as they get into their late 30s and early 40s, begin to have difficulty reading up close. Many people are forced to wear bifocals or reading glasses. They develop presbyopia, a condition in which the eyes don’t have the ability to focus on near objects as we get older. The first symptoms are usually difficulty reading fine print, particularly in low light conditions, eyestrain when reading for long periods and blurred vision. Although in some cases it can be corrected with surgery, many people choose to go the glasses route.
As we age, we may also develop a condition known as glaucoma. It can start to develop in our 30s. Elevated pressure within the eye damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. Even people with normal blood pressure are at risk. “It’s one of the most important things to look for, because 3 million Americans have glaucoma and half don’t even know it,” says Dr. Roy Rubinfeld of Washington Eye Physicians in Chevy Chase, Maryland. So make sure your ophthalmologist tests you for glaucoma.
From the AP
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. And some more. And more
A growing trend in all-you-can-eat seating at sports venues is making baseball’s summer chorus sound more like “Take Me Out to the Buffet.”
Dozens of arenas, stadiums and tracks have offered tickets that come with unlimited snacks. The seats have been a hit with fans, a moneymaker for the venues and a worry for obesity-conscious health officials.
Instead of paying for a ticket and multiple trips to the concession stand, the ticket includes everything and costs about 50 percent more. Alcohol and desserts are sold separately.
“I don’t think you’re ever going to get your value from it food-wise, but convenience-wise, I think it is a heck of a lot nicer than waiting in line for 20 minutes,” said Drew Nurenberg, 30, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, who bought all-you-can-eat seats with his wife for a Philadelphia Flyers game last month.
FDA Suspects Cantaloupe To Be Linked To Salmonella Outbreak
March 24, 2008
From the AP
People should throw away cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer believed to be linked to a salmonella outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration issued the alert Saturday for melons from Agropecuaria Montelibano. Grocers are advised to remove from their stock any cantaloupes from this company. People should check with stores to see whether recently purchased cantaloupes came from Honduras.
So far, 50 people have become sickened in 16 states and nine have become ill in Canada after eating the cantaloupes. No deaths have been reported, although 14 people have been hospitalized, the FDA said.
The government also is seeking to detain all cantaloupes shipped to the United States by Agropecuaria Montelibano.
The FDA said it was taking this step while it continues to investigate the outbreak with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and individual states.
To reduce the risk of contracting salmonella or other foodborne illnesses from cantaloupes, the FDA recommends:
• Purchasing cantaloupes that are not bruised or damaged. If buying fresh-cut cantaloupe, refrigerate or surround it with ice.
• Washing hands with hot, soapy water before or after handling fresh cantaloupes.
• Scrubbing whole cantaloupes by using a clean produce brush and cool tap water immediately before eating.
From the AP
The U.N. secretary-general on Monday urged stepped-up action to stop the global tuberculosis epidemic that is killing 4,000 people every day.
In a message marking World TB Day, Ban Ki-moon said “the man-made multi-drug resistant strain and its even more lethal form, extensively drug-resistant TB, are both spreading.”
“That is why the theme of this year’s day is `I Am Stopping TB’,” he said. “This is a fight that can be won only with the collective commitment of millions of individuals _ donors and researchers, doctors and health care workers, patients and family members.”
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that attack the lungs. It is spread through the air and typically requires six to 18 months of treatment. The extensively drug-resistant strain is virtually untreatable in poor countries.
In a report last week, the World Health Organization said the fight to control TB has slowed. It said the rate of new cases fell by less than 1 percent between 2005 and 2006, which WHO called “very modest.”
“Thanks to a broad coalition of partners working to stop TB, the proportion of people who become ill with the disease is slowly falling,” Ban said. “But this progress is not keeping pace with population growth, so more and more people are becoming infected with tuberculosis.”
Cyberchondriacs-People Obsessed Getting Health Info On Line
March 24, 2008
From Christine Webb, cfnews13.com
Because of the Internet, you can all have the latest health information right at our fingertips.
You can get basic information that can be useful, but you may also come to a conclusion that may be wrong — and that is prompting many people to become “cyberchondriacs” — people obsessed with going online to find the latest health information –thinking they may be sick.
So what can you do?
Remember: When researching a condition online, you are getting just basic information.
Experts suggest that you have a specific question in mind, and give yourself a time limit. If you start feeling afraid or confused, make yourself stop.
You may be a cyberchondriac if you feel worse after Web surfing instead of better.
Remember to use the Internet to make you feel empowered, and hopefully it helps to spark a discussion with your doctor about the best treatment options for you.
The Flat Belly Diet
March 18, 2008
From Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, webmd.com
The Flat Belly Diet: What It Is
It sounds like a dream come true: Eat certain foods and banish belly fat forever.
The Flat Belly Diet promises a flat belly and weight loss of up to 15 pounds in 32 days. “A flat belly is about food & attitude … not a single crunch required,” it boasts on its cover.Written in the first person by Liz Vaccariello, editor in chief of Prevention, along with Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, nutrition director at Prevention, it is targeted to the millions of Americans who want to notch off a few inches or more off their waistline. After all, who doesn’t want a trimmer belly?
The basic Flat Belly Diet plan is a 1,600-calorie Mediterranean-style diet with an emphasis on wholesome, unrefined foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, lean protein, and very little red meat (once a month).
According to the authors, the secret ingredient in the Flat Belly Diet that whittles away belly fat is the addition of a monounsaturated fat, or MUFA, at every meal. MUFAs are found in olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, soybean, flax, and olive and sunflower oils.
“Research shows that MUFAs have health benefits and target belly fat. They also help control satiety, so by adding in one MUFA at meals and snacks it is easier to stick with the plan and lose belly fat,” explains co-author Sass.
Before starting on the 28-day plan, dieters go on a 1,200- to 1400-calorie, four-day anti-bloat jump-start period designed to reduce bloating and get dieters in the mind-set of a healthier eating plan. During the jump-start, dieters drink 2 liters of daily “sassy water,” a blend of spices, herbs, citrus, and cucumber. “We tested the diet plan on 11 volunteers and they told us the flavored water reduced bloating, constipation, helped them feel better and get rid of that sluggish feeling,” explains Sass.
From Jennifer Warner, webmd.com
A diet rich in whole grains may help fight your belly bulge while lowering the risk of heart disease.
A new study shows people who followed a weight loss program incorporating whole-grain breads, cereals, and other foods lost more body fat from the abdominal area than those who ate only refined grains like white bread and rice.
In addition, those on the whole-grain diet experienced a 38% drop in C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation in the body linked to heart disease.
Researchers say the results suggest that incorporating whole grains into weight loss plans may help burn fat as well as reduce the risk of heart disease.
The results appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Whole Grains vs. Refined Grains
In the study, Heather I. Katcher of Pennsylvania State University and colleagues divided 50 obese adults with metabolic syndrome into two groups. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that increase risk for heart disease and diabetes.
MRSA Risk After Face Lift Low
March 18, 2008
From Miranda Hitti, Webmd.com
The odds of getting MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) after a face-lift are low, but not nil, new research shows.
MRSA can spread in communities and in hospitals. Surgery, including cosmetic surgery, carries a risk of infection, including MRSA infection.
A new study tracked MRSA in 780 people who got face-lifts at a New York outpatient surgical center between 2001 and 2007.
During that time, four patients — 0.5% of all the patients studied — developed surgical site infections that tested positive for MRSA. Those cases happened in 2006, shortly after the patients got their face-lifts.
All four patients recovered after antibiotic treatment, though two patients had to be treated in a hospital.
It’s not clear if those four patients picked up MRSA when they got their face-lifts. At least two patients — the ones who were hospitalized for MRSA care — may have been exposed to MRSA through other circumstances.
One face-lift patient had been spending time visiting her husband in the hospital; he was in a cardiac intensive care unit. Another patient often saw her brother-in-law, a cardiologist. But the husband and brother-in-law weren’t tested for MRSA.
Screening for MRSA and MRSA prevention “will help reduce the risk of future infections,” write the researchers, who included Richard Zoumalan, MD, of New York University’s medical school.
Drunkorexia: Alcohol Instead Of Food
March 18, 2008
From Foxnews.com
We’ve all heard of anorexia, bulimia and even more recent eating disorders like manorexia. The latest phenomenon afflicting those trying to stave off pounds, known as drunkorexia, is a trend in which women skip meals in order to spend their daily calorie intake on alcohol, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Many weight-loss clubs assign food points to edible items, with dieters sticking to a daily point limit, The Telegraph reports. Experts believe this is contributing to the drunkorexia problem, with women consuming the same number of points, but replacing food points with alcohol points.
Fear of consuming the high-calorie count in alcohol, coupled with the pressure on young women to binge drink, contributes to the problem. A large glass of wine holds as many calories as an average light lunch, the Telegraph reports.
Professor Janet Treasure, the head of the eating disorder unit at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, told the Daily Telegraph drunkorexia is very dangerous because it effectively combines binge drinking and disordered eating patterns.
“They get fully hooked, it is an extremely noxious thing,” Treasure told the Daily Telegraph. “It is more common with bulimia than anorexia but you get the combination of empty calories with no nutritional value and the risky behavior that goes with being drunk.”
British Brain Surgeon Uses Cordless Drill To Perform Surgery
March 18, 2008
From news.com.au
A British brain surgeon used an inexpensive cordless drill to remove a tumor from a fully conscious woman.
The operation was even caught on film and will be shown on the BBC in the United Kingdom on March 30.
Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh used a 9.6 volt Bosch drill — which cost him $65 — to perform the emergency operation on Ukranian Marian Dolishny’s head while travelling through the woman’s country.
U.K. newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported that Marsh was unable to find a suitable anesthetist — so his patient was only given a local anaesthetic to cope with the pain.
And, when the cordless drill’s battery died, Marsh was forced to finish the operation by hand to save Dolishny’s life, the newspaper said. Marsh said he kept talking to his patient throughout the surgery to make sure he wasn’t causing any brain damage.
“I’m not recommending that we should all use do-it-yourself drills in England, but it shows how with improvisation you can achieve a lot,” Marsh said. “I couldn’t bear to stand by and do nothing. A Ukrainian doctor told me I couldn’t do anything to help but I wasn’t prepared to accept that.”
From the AP
The U.S. federal standards for acceptable levels of pharmaceutical residue in bottled water are the same as those for tap water — there aren’t any.
The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the $12 billion bottled water industry in the United States, sets limits for chemicals, bacteria and radiation, but doesn’t address pharmaceuticals.
Some water that’s bottled comes from pristine, often underground rural sources; other brands have a source no more remote than local tap water. Either way, bottlers insist their products are safe and say they generally clean the water with advanced treatments, though not explicitly for pharmaceuticals.
Nestle Waters North America Inc., an industry leader whose brands include Arrowhead, Poland Springs and Ozarka, said it selects sources that are removed from human activity, increasing the chances that the water will be pure. It then runs the water through three cleansing stages.
“We know that our multiple barrier process is effective,” said Kevin Mathews, the company’s director of health and environmental affairs.
From Amy Burkholder, CNN.com
It’s been a year since the parents of a severely disabled child made public their decision to submit their daughter to a hysterectomy, breast surgery and drugs to keep the girl forever small. Today, the couple tell CNN, they believe they made the right decision — one that could have a profound impact on the care of disabled children worldwide.
The ‘Ashley treatment’ has been successful in every expected way,” Ashley’s parents told CNN exclusively in a lengthy e-mail interview. “It has potential to help many others like it helped our precious daughter.”
While unwavering in their belief in the treatment, Ashley’s parents continue to insist on anonymity. In the year since Ashley’s parents went public, not only did the hospital that sterilized Ashley admit it broke Washington state law, but also the doctor who treated Ashley committed suicide.
As scrutiny of the case deepens, so too does the chasm in the medical community: Is it mutilation, with doctors “playing God” — or, is stunting growth a liberating option for caregivers and the disabled children who will need constant care for the rest of their lives?
Ashley is now 10 years old and, at 4 feet 5 inches tall, has achieved her full height and weight, 63 pounds. The treatment permanently closed her growth plates and took more than a foot off her anticipated height.
From WebMD.com
These ingredients hold the power to truly transform your body, not to mention lengthen your life. The secret is their magical “MUFA” (Aka good fat!)
To the ancient Greeks, olive oil was liquid gold. For the Aztecs, chocolate was sacred. Almonds were prized by Egypt’s pharaohs, and avocados have symbolized fertility for centuries. These can’t-live-without-’em foods share more than history; they also share unique health properties. They’re packed with monounsaturated fatty acids (also known as MUFAs, pronounced MOO-fahs), those good-for-you fats that protect you from chronic disease and, according to new research, can help you lose fat, specifically around your middle. That’s why they’re at the heart of the Flat Belly Diet.
There are five major categories of MUFAs: (1) oils, (2) nuts and seeds, (3) avocado, (4) olives, and (5) chocolate. Eating one serving of any of these foods at every meal will help reduce your accumulation of dangerous belly fat; control your calorie intake and you’ll lose inches and pounds, too–especially around your waistline. These mouth-watering recipes make it easy. Each portion contains high levels of MUFA, plus serving suggestions that allow you to create a meal that contains around 400 calories–enough to control your hunger and boost your energy without exceeding your daily needs. You can easily fit these meals into the Flat Belly Diet menu plans, but even if you’re not following the diet, you can still enjoy the rich flavor of MUFAs and their numerous health benefits. For centuries, these foods and fats have been hard to resist.
Adults Who Collapse Need Chest Compression (CCR), Not CPR
March 12, 2008
From Daniel J Denoon, Webmd.com
For adults who collapse after cardiac arrest, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is dead.
A new lifesaving technique, cardio-cerebral resuscitation, is much more likely to save lives than the old cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR technique, an Arizona study shows.
It’s a big change. Instead of using their mouths to give the “breath of life,” rescuers should use their hands to keep blood moving to the hearts and brains of cardiac arrest victims, says Bentley J. Bobrow, MD, medical director of Arizona’s emergency services system and an emergency physician at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Scottsdale.
“It is not cardiopulmonary, but cardio-cerebral resuscitation — you need to feed the brain, not the lungs,” Bobrow tells WebMD. “That is why the emphasis is on getting the blood flowing and not interrupting it, even for ventilation.”
Stopping chest compressions — even for mouth-to-mouth emergency breathing — wastes precious time.
“When that person collapses, your hands are their heart,” Bobrow says. “If your hands are not on their chest, they have no heartbeat.”
Childhood Obesity
March 12, 2008
From webmd.com
Parents of many children who would be considered as overweight or obese do not see their child as being too heavy; many actually think that their child is about the “right” weight. In research published in the February edition of Diabetes Care, Dr. Asheley Cockrell Skinner of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill notes out that this misconception on the part of the parents means that the child will also fail to see their weight as a problem. Dr. Skinner and colleagues say that an important first step in preventing childhood obesity is the recognition that there is a problem. Without this recognition they say, families will not take steps toward diet and lifestyle changes that will prevent continued weight gain.
The researchers interviewed 104 adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their parents about their understanding of the adolescents’ weight, eating, and exercise habits. To assess ideas about weight the teenagers and their parents were asked if the teen was “very overweight, slightly overweight, about right, slightly thin, or very thin?” Among the teens in this group, 87% were overweight by standard measurements (weight, BMI), yet only 41% of their parents and 35% of the teens considered their weight to be a problem. Among teens whose BMI was above the 95th percentile 40% of parents and 55% of the teens thought that the child’s weight was “about right.” For both parents and teens an underestimation of weight was associated with a poorer dietary choices and exercise habits.
From the AP
At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.
A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls — nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.
For many, the numbers most likely seem “overwhelming because you’re talking about nearly half of the sexually experienced teens at any one time having evidence of an STD,” said Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine and head of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on adolescence.
But the study highlights what many doctors who treat teens see every day, Blythe said.
Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC’s division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said the data, from 2003-04, probably reflect current rates of infection.
From the AP
Riding the grueling Tour de France bike race takes strength, stamina — and perhaps a heart nearly 40 percent bigger than normal.
Researchers who examined the hearts of former Tour bikers found that the athletes’ hearts were from 20 to 40 percent larger than average, said Dr. Francois Carre of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, France, speaking at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.
The difference is attributable largely to rigorous training that expands the cyclists’ hearts. But researchers have not yet determined whether the athletes’ hearts were larger to begin with.
“They are a special breed,” said Dr. Richard Becker, a professor of medicine at Duke University and spokesman for the American Heart Association. Becker was not connected to Carre’s study.
Scientists have long noticed the phenomenon of the “athlete’s heart.” Athletes who train hard in aerobic sports, such as cycling, running or swimming, tend to have a bigger heart that pumps more blood throughout the body.
103 Indonesian Bird Flu Deaths
March 11, 2008
From the AP
An Indonesian woman died of bird flu over the weekend, bringing Indonesia’s death toll from the disease to 103, a Health Ministry official said.
The 29-year-old housewife from Tangerang town in the western outskirts of Jakarta, died Saturday at a hospital in the city, said Sumardi, a ministry spokesman.
The woman was first hospitalized on Jan. 28, six days after she developed symptoms, including fever, a cough and respiratory problems, said Sumardi, who uses a single name.
She was then moved to Persahabatan Hospital in eastern Jakarta on Jan. 29, he said.
The woman was reported to have visited her parents, whose neighbors kept chickens, Sumardi said. It was not clear whether the chickens were infected.
Indonesia has recorded human bird flu deaths regularly since the virus began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003.
Scientists have warned that Indonesia, which has millions of backyard chickens and poor medical facilities, is a potential hot spot for a global bird flu pandemic.
Meanwhile, French news agency AFP reports that Bangladesh has slaughtered 50,000 poultry to combat a severe outbreak of bird flu that continues to spread while neighboring India has stepped up similar efforts.
From the AP
With a button-popping spread of cornbread, sausage and gravy, chicken fried steak and pecan pie designated as Oklahoma’s official state meal, it’s no surprise that Oklahoma City’s mayor wants to put the city on a diet.
Mick Cornett has challenged the city to shed 1 million pounds as its New Year’s resolution.
Prompted in part by his own struggle to lose weight, Cornett wants to end Oklahoma City’s dubious distinction as one of America’s fattest cities.
“The message of this obesity initiative is that we’ve got to watch what we eat,” Cornett said Thursday. “Exercise is part of it and the city is trying to change into a city that is less sprawling, has more density and is more pedestrian friendly, but you’re not really going to take on obesity unless you acknowledge that we eat too much and don’t eat the right foods.”
As part of the initiative, residents can sign up and track their weight loss on a new Web site. More than 2,600 people had registered by Thursday. They’ve lost more than 300 pounds.
Children Diagnosed a “Bipolar” May Be Mislabled
March 11, 2008
From the AP
A new analysis suggests there’s been a huge increase in the number of U.S. children diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but experts question whether the surge is real and say some kids have been mislabeled.
Researchers looked at the number of times children under 19 went to the doctor and were diagnosed with or treated for bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. They found a 40-fold increase, from an estimated 20,000 visits in 1994 to 800,000 in 2003. The jump coincided with children’s rising use of antipsychotic medicine.
The numbers echo other estimates suggesting as many as 1 million U.S. children are bipolar, but it remains a controversial diagnosis in children. That’s partly because their symptoms often differ from adults’, and because most powerful antipsychotic drugs used to treat bipolar disorder were approved for adults and have not been well-studied in children.
Some doctors believe bipolar disorder doesn’t occur in children, and until last month there was only one drug approved to treat the illness in kids.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, said the results likely reflect over-diagnosis now or under-diagnosis in the past, rather than a true increase. Olfson has received speaking fees from Janssen LP, which makes one of the pediatric bipolar drugs, and has consulted for other makers of psychiatric drugs.
From the AP
Police, the FBI and state attorney general’s investigators served warrants Monday at six southern Nevada medical clinics associated with a facility accused of infecting patients with hepatitis by reusing syringes and vials of medicine.
Police say the raids are part of a criminal investigation of officials at the Gastroenterology Center of Nevada.
The clinic has four offices in Las Vegas, one in Henderson and one in North Las Vegas.
The investigation was triggered by a hepatitis C outbreak that health officials blame on unsafe practices at a southern Nevada clinic from 2004 to this year.
Six patients at the Endoscopy Center of Nevada have been found to be infected with the potentially fatal virus. Another 40,000 are being notified to get tested.
