*** News You Can Use! -- 28 September 1996 ***
The American Cancer Society says that people who want to lower their risk of cancer should cut their consumption of red meat and alcohol. The recommendations are similar to many previous warnings. The society suggests people maintain a healthy weight, have some moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most days, and switch to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And if people do eat meat, they recommend leaner, smaller portions. Even better than beef, pork, and lamb, which are linked to colon and prostate cancer, they suggest beans, seafood and poultry.
The society also recommends limiting your alcohol intake. While the U.S. government has said one or two drinks per day appears to cause no harm to adults, the American Cancer Society says the risk of cancer increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. (Associated Press, Broadcast News, 23 September 1996)
See the CNN story.
The American Society for Microbiology heard increasing evidence of drug-resistant bacteria, complicating the treatment of many common infections. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, Israel, found that two common antibiotics failed to wipe out bacteria responsible for middle ear infections. Ceclor failed in 32% of the cases, and Ceftin failed 15% of the time.
Dr. John Rex of the University of Texas Medical School in Houston expressed concern that the increasing use of antifungal medications is raising resistance to them. And scientists at the Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Madrid, have seen bacteria that cause gastric ulcers growing tougher. Resistance to metronidazole rose from 9% in 1991 to 21.6% in 1995. And resistance to clarithromycin rose to 4.4% in 1995 from zero. (USA Today, 18 September 1996)
The New York Times reports that the Campbell Soup Company has been secretly working with The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association to create what it calls "intelligent cuisine." The paper says Campbell's will work through doctor's offices to direct-market frozen meals to the 60 million Americans who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Customers would select their weekly menu from a menu of 40 items, and they would receive 21 complete meals each week for an estimated $80. Each delivery would contain a week's worth of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, delivered by United Parcel Service, and kept in packages designed to keep them frozen for 48 hours. The new line will be test marketed in Ohio beginning in January. (Associated Press, 20 September 1996)
A U.S. House of Representatives panel says it will hold hearings into whether the Food and Drug Administration is opposed to letting parents have access to home drug testing kits. Commerce Committee chairman Thomas Bliley of Virginia says such a test "could be the best tool ever for a kid to `just say no.'" Bliley says the FDA bureaucrats don't want Americans to have the test. An FDA spokesman says the issue is whether such kits will be reliable and accurate. But a December 1995 FDA memo obtained by the Associated Press suggests the agency is also concerned about "issues such as anonymity, confidentiality, coercion and family discord." (Associated Press, 22 September 1996)
The U.S. government has again raised the number of Gulf War soldiers who might have exposed to nerve gas. The Pentagon is now notifying about 5,000 veterans who might have been within a 16-mile radius of the Iraqi arms depot where chemical weapons may have been destroyed. Last month, the military estimated that 150 soldiers were exposed. This latest report also includes a second incident of low-level exposure to chemical weapons.
Across the sea, British veterans are demanding their government acknowledge Gulf War Syndrome. The British group claims that one veteran dies every month from it. One corpsman said he had 13 injections in one month, and he believes the mix of medication is what triggered leukemia and chronic fatigue in many veterans. (Associated Press, 19 September 1996, 21 September)
See the CNN story.
Each year, a million critically ill patients in the United States have a thin tube inserted into their heart, that appears to increase their risk of death. The study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at the records of 5,735 intensive care patients. Of those, 2,184 underwent a heart-monitoring test called right heart catheterization (RHC) and they had a 24% higher death rate in the 30 days after, compared to those who didn't have the test, but were just as sick. One study author, Dr. Alfred Connors of the University of Virginia, said the research found no group of critically ill patients that the procedure benefits. He did say the test was safe and valuable for those getting shorter-term exams without critical care. Doctors say the test provides information on oxygen content of the blood, heart blood flow and blood pressure. But among critically ill patients, the study found RHC to be more dangerous, incurred high costs, and prolonged stays in intensive care. In fact, five previous studies linked the test to a higher risk of complications and death, while tacking on $2 billion annually to hospital care. And no study proves that it saves lives. Dr. John Hoyt of the Society of Critical Care Medicine called the study inconclusive. Tim Friend, writing in USA Today, noted that press releases from the society countering the study were paid for by Baxter Inc., which makes catheters for the RHC test. (Associated Press, 17 September 1996; USA Today, 18 September)
See the CNN story.
California researchers have provided the excuse I've needed -- that chocolate may have health benefits. Writing in the British medical journal Lancet, the authors say that both red wine and chocolate contain phenols, chemicals believed to prevent artery-clogging plaque. They found that even a small piece of chocolate has as much phenol as five ounces of red wine. The findings are preliminary, and the effects of phenols in humans have yet to be proven. Time for a candy bar. (Broadcast News, 19 September 1996)
See the CNN story.
- Do you wash your hands in public bathrooms? Millions of Americans don't. Researchers had the unenviable task of hiding in stalls or pretending to comb their hair while observing people's habits. Overall, almost three-quarters of women wash up afterwards, compared to 61% of men. The study was conducted in Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, and San Francisco. New Yorkers at Penn Station had the lowest hand-washing average (60%) and Chicago's Navy Pier had the highest (78%). (Associated Press, 16 September 1996)
- A new study appearing in the American Heart Association journal "Circulation" finds that high blood pressure and other health problems might be foreshadowed by birth weight. The research found that babies who weighed less than five and a-half pounds are more likely to have high blood pressure when they grow up. And babies who weighed more than ten pounds at birth were found to be prone to mid-life obesity. (Associated Press, 15 September 1996)
- An FDA panel recommends federal approval of a drug that could reduce episodes of mild multiple sclerosis. Researchers say that for those with relapsing-remitting MS, Copaxone, or Copolymer One, reduces the frequency of attacks. The drug's side effects include chest tightness, but other drugs approved for this use also have their own side effects. (See the CNN story.) (Associated Press, 19 September 1996, 20 September)
- A new vaccine has been developed to fight rotavirus, which is blamed for killing one million children every year, mostly in developing nations. Hard to diagnose, rotavirus causes fever, vomiting and diarrhea in babies, and is the leading cause of childhood diarrhea. Wyeth-Ayerst will seek federal approval for the new vaccine later this year. (Associated Press, 18 September 1996)
- Health authorities are still tense in Connecticut and Rhode Island communities where Eastern equine encephalitis was discovered. Tests revealed that salt marsh mosquitoes that bite humans were carrying the deadly virus. It can be fatal in humans and horses, and cause brain damage in the survivors. It has no known cure. Residents in the affected communities are being urged to stay indoors at dawn and dusk, to stay away from marshes, and wear long clothing and bug repellant. (Associated Press, 20 September 1996)
STB's News You Can Use! edited and written by --
Tom Connolly, for Infant Moose Web Page Creations.
Past newsletters: 14 September 1996 | 7 September 1996 | 31 August 1996 | 24 August 1996 | 17 August 1996 | 9 August 1996 | 2 August 1996 | 25 July 1996 | 18 July 1996 | 11 July 1996 | 3 July 1996 | 26 June 1996 | 20 June 1996 | 12 June 1996 | 6 June 1996 | 31 May 1996 | 25 May 1996 | 16 May 1996 | 9 May 1996
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