Human

HHS HealthBeat

(December 29, 2009)

HIV and obesity

Listen to Tip Interested? Take the Next Step

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Being obese is bad for people’s health. And a study indicates that being obese is bad for people with HIV in a way that’s related to their disease.

Nancy Crum-Cianflone of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences saw this in 22 years of data on more than 1,100 people. She examined the effect of obesity after therapy became available to fight the AIDS virus on their immune cells – notably their CD4 cells:

[Nancy Crum-Cianflone speaks] "People who had excessive weights had lower CD4 counts than someone who had an appropriate weight."

Crum-Cianflone says it may be another reason to control weight.

The study presented at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December, 28 2009

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Cancer

HHS HealthBeat

(December 28, 2009)

Life, death and mammograms

Listen to Tip Interested? Take the Next Step

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Jeff Levine with HHS HealthBeat.

The best way to treat breast cancer is to spot it early and remove it. The most effective way to spot it early in most women is the mammogram. And a look at breast cancer deaths has the numbers to back it up.

Blake Cady, an emeritus professor at Harvard Medical School who’s on the staff of Cambridge Breast Center, checked data on the outcomes of almost 7,000 cases of breast cancers that had not spread.

[Blake Cady speaks] ``Seventy-five percent of the deaths occurred in the 20 percent of women who were not in regular screening programs, while only 25 percent of the deaths occurred in women who were getting regularly screened.’’

Cady says it’s another argument for regular screening.

The study presented at the ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Jeff Levine.

Last revised: December, 28 2009

http://regular screening-dobi.blogspot.com/cancer

Mcneil Consumer Healthcare Announces A Voluntary Nationwide Recall Of All Lots Of Tylenol® Arthritis Pain 100 Count With Ez-Open Cap

Consumer Questions:
1-888-222-6036
(Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time)

Media Contacts:
Marc Boston
215-273-7649 (office)
215-429-7034 (mobile)

Bonnie Jacobs
215-273-8994 (office)
856-912-9965 (mobile)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 18, 2009 – Fort Washington, PA – In consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., is expanding its voluntary recall to include all available product lots of TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles, with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP (Full list of lot numbers provided below). In November 2009, 5 lots of this product were recalled due to consumer reports of an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. The recall is being expanded, as a precaution, to include all TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP.

The uncharacteristic smell is caused by the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. The source of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is believed to be the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials. The health effects of this compound have not been well studied, and to date all of the observed events reported to McNeil were temporary and non-serious.

Consumers who purchased TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP from the lots included in this recall should stop using the product and contact McNeil for instructions on a refund or replacement. For these instructions or information regarding how to return or dispose of the product, consumers should call 1-888-222-6036 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time) or log on to the internet at www.tylenol.com. Consumers who have medical concerns or questions should contact their healthcare provider. Any adverse reactions may also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Program by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch website at www.fda.gov/medwatch.

The affected TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count product lot numbers can be found on the side of the bottle label. See the full list of affected product lot numbers below:

Recalled Product- Full List (LINK: http://www.tylenol.com/page2.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subp_tar_recall.inc

UPC #	NDC Code #	Lot #	Product Description
0045-0838-21	8382100	07CMC011, 07DMC022, 07DMC024, 07FMC032, 07FMC033, 07GMC038, 07GMC039, 07HMC045, 07HMC051, 07HMC053, 07JMC064, 07JMC069, 07JMC070, 07JMC071, 07XMC055, 07XMC058, 07XMC062, 08AMC002, 08AMC005, 08CMC026, 08DMC029, 08EMC037, 08EMC039, 08FMC044, 08FMC045, 08GMC050, 08GMC053, 08GMC063, 08GMC065, 08JMC103, 08JMC109, 08JMC110, 08JMC111, 08KMC124, 08KMC127, 08KMC131, 08KMC132, 08XMC093, 08XMC094, 08XMC095, 09AMC010, 09CMC041, 09EMC075, 09EMC079, 09EMC076, 09GMC096, 09GMC097, 09GMC099, 09JMC118, 09JMC126, 09KMC133, 09KMC134, 09XMC114, 09XMC116	TYLENOL® ARTHRITIS PAIN CAPLET 100 COUNT BOTTLES (with red EZ-OPEN CAP)

Only the TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100’s with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP are affected by this action. All other TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain products remain commercially available. McNeil Consumer Healthcare will reintroduce the TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count product by January, 2010 after moving production to a new facility.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. markets a broad range of well-known and trusted over-the-counter (OTC) products around the globe. McNeil Consumer Healthcare is most widely recognized for the complete line of TYLENOL® acetaminophen products, the leading pain reliever brand in the adult and pediatric categories.

http://voluntary recall-dobi.blogspot.com/alert

Alert

Encompass Group Voluntarily Recalls Thermoflect Product Line

Company Contact:
Victoria Young
214-948-5940

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 26, 2009 – McDonough, GA – Jea R. Gackowski, Encompass Group Corporate Compliance Officer announced today the company is voluntarily recalling the Thermoflect product line for relabeling regarding its use in the MR (Magnetic Resonance) environment.

"We are voluntarily recalling the product line from use in the Magnetic Resonance (MR) environment," Gackowski said. "We are requesting that the Thermoflect blankets and other products not be used in MR conditional or MR compatible environments. We are in the process of sending labels to our customers to be attached per instructions to remind the hospitals that the product line should not be used in the MR environment.

"In the past, we have stated that the Thermoflect product may be used in the MR environment. However, after being informed by the FDA, at this time we will not promote the products for use in the Magnetic Resonance Environment. However, the product is still safe and effective for use in treating hypothermia."

We have been advised by the FDA that a report has been filed of an injury to an (MRI) patient. Several items are under consideration, including all of the blankets used in the MRI environment, of which Thermoflect is one. There is no evidence that the Thermoflect blanket caused the injury but as a precautionary measure we are voluntarily recalling the product line for relabeling.

Thermoflect products are distributed nationally and internationally. A complete list of Thermoflect products and additional information can be found at www.thermoflect.com.

We have concluded that there is currently no ASTM International standard to test Thermoflect in the MR environment, although we have conducted multiple laboratory and field tests. "Until an ASTM standard has been developed by ASTM International, we have removed statements on our website and in our product literature that Thermoflect is MR-Conditional or MR-Compatible.

"In addition to issuing this news release to appropriate magazine and trade paper listings, we have sent letters to our customers, hospitals, and doctors in radiology and will follow up with training and verification surveys."

"At Encompass Group, our mission is always to help healthcare and hospitality providers create safe and comfortable environments for patients, staff, residents and guests. This voluntary recall is another example of our ongoing commitment to those objectives"

For More Information, contact
Jea R. Gackowski, C.H.B., C.C.S.
Corporate Compliance Officer
770-626-2044
Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. eastern

http://Thermoflect blankets-dobi.blogspot.com/alert

Health and

HHS HealthBeat

(December 25, 2009)

Throwing cold water on the waterpipes

Listen to Tip Interested? Take the Next Step

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There is no healthy way to use tobacco, only unhealthy ones. And if you think waterpipes are some kind of exception, think again.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, Thomas Eissenberg compared carbon monoxide, nicotine and smoke levels in 31 people after they smoked a cigarette and after they used a waterpipe.

[Thomas Eissenberg speaks] "When they were smoking a waterpipe, we saw three times the carbon monoxide, 1.7 times the nicotine and 48 times the smoke, so there were dramatic differences."

The smoke is worth noting because there are lots of cancer-causing chemicals in it. Eissenberg says the idea that the water somehow filters the smoke is just wrong.

The study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

http://tobacco-dobi.blogspot.com/health and

Treatment

Deep Brain Stimulation Curbs Parkinson Symptoms

Scientists reported that a therapy for treating Parkinson’s disease called deep brain stimulation improved quality of life and gave patients more daily hours without troubling movement symptoms than standard medical care. However, brain stimulation also carried a greater risk of serious adverse events.

Deep brain stimulation has been used for more than a decade to treat patients whose Parkinson’s symptoms can no longer be effectively controlled with medication. The procedure involves surgically implanting tiny electrodes into brain regions that control movement. When the electrodes are stimulated, they inhibit the malfunctioning brain signals that cause tremor, walking problems and other movement abnormalities typical of Parkinson’s disease. Despite its long-term use, however, questions remain about the benefits and risks of the procedure and its appropriate use, and few randomized trials have compared its effectiveness to other, less invasive therapies.

In the latest study, the largest clinical trial of its kind to date, 255 patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease were randomly assigned to receive either deep brain stimulation or “best medical therapy,” including medication. The study was funded by NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Research and Development, with additional support from Medtronic, Inc. Unlike most previous studies, this multicenter trial included a large percentage of older patients; about 25% of participants were age 70 or older. The results were published in the January 7, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

By 6 months after surgery, patients receiving deep brain stimulation had gained an average of 4.6 hours per day of good symptom control without troubling involuntary movements, called dyskinesia. In contrast, patients receiving standard medical care showed no change, on average, in hourly symptom control. In patients age 70 and over, those in the stimulation group gained an average of 3.8 hours of good symptom control per day, whereas those in the standard therapy group lost a half hour per day.

Clinically meaningful improvements to motor function were also seen in 71% of patients who received brain stimulation, compared to 32% in the standard therapy group. In addition, assessments of quality of life improved significantly in the stimulation group compared to the other group.

On the down side, serious adverse events were seen in 49 of 121 patients (40%) who received deep brain stimulation and in 15 of 131 patients (11%) in the best medical therapy group. The most common adverse event in the stimulation group was infection from the surgery. Other negative events included nervous system, psychiatric and cardiovascular disorders.

In the second phase of this ongoing study, the researchers will assess the longer term effects of deep brain stimulation. Until more data are available from carefully controlled clinical trials, the scientists recommend that doctors and patients carefully weigh potential benefits and risks when deciding on appropriate treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

— by Vicki Contie

http://ongoing study-dobi.blogspot.com/treatment

Treatment

Acupuncture-Like Treatments Improve Low Back Pain

Acupuncture and simulated acupuncture both improved chronic low back pain more than conventional care in a new study. The result highlights central questions about how acupuncture helps people with chronic pain.

Acupuncture is a family of procedures that originated in traditional Chinese medicine. It involves stimulating specific points on the body by a variety of techniques, including the insertion of thin metal needles though the skin. In the United States, acupuncture is considered part of complementary and alternative medicine.

Many patients with back pain who are dissatisfied with their medical care seek treatment from acupuncturists. In fact, back pain is the leading reason for visits to licensed acupuncturists.

Several recent studies have suggested that both real acupuncture and "sham" acupuncture (the shallow needling of points) are equally effective for treating chronic low back pain, and that both are superior to best-practice medical care. A team of researchers led by Dr. Daniel Cherkin of the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle set out to further investigate. Their work was funded by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

The team enrolled 638 adults with chronic low back pain who never had acupuncture. The participants were randomly assigned to 4 groups. The first received individualized acupuncture, a customized prescription for acupuncture points from a diagnostician. The second received standardized acupuncture, targeting points that acupuncture experts consider generally effective for chronic low back pain. The third group received simulated acupuncture, which mimics needle acupuncture but doesn't involve actual penetration of the skin. The fourth group received standard medical care.

The patients in the 3 acupuncture groups were treated twice weekly for 3 weeks, and then weekly for an additional 4 weeks. At 8, 26 and 52 weeks, the researchers measured back-related dysfunction and asked the participants about their symptoms.

The researchers reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine on May 11, 2009, that dysfunction scores at 8 weeks had improved significantly more for all 3 acupuncture groups than for the standard care group. The benefits persisted for a year, though they diminished over time. There was no significant difference between the groups receiving the needle and simulated forms of acupuncture. Neither tailoring acupuncture needle sites to an individual patient nor actually penetrating the skin appeared to be necessary to get the benefits of acupuncture.

"Because of the lack of highly effective medical treatments for chronic low back pain, we were pleased to find that acupuncture-like treatments were helpful for persons suffering from chronic back pain," Cherkin says. "However, the finding that real acupuncture produced no greater benefit than simulated acupuncture raises important questions about acupuncture's mechanisms of action."

"This adds to the growing body of evidence that there is something meaningful taking place during acupuncture treatments outside of actual needling. Future research is needed to delve deeper into what is evoking these responses," says Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of NCCAM.

http://growing body-dobi.blogspot.com/treatment