The American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 40

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

CANCER

Rise in HPV-related throat cancers: Another reason for vaccinating boys too The results of a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology reveal a worrisome trend: Throat cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) are on the rise, especially among men.

LA Times resorts to scare tactics on breast cancer and chemicals  A recent Los Angeles Times headline reads, "Breast cancer: Pollution link remains hazy" - but upon reading the whole article, readers will soon realize that no actual link exists, says Dr. Ross.

DIET

Something is rotten in Denmark: New food tax In an article for The New York Times, columnist Mark Bittman lauds the Danish government for its most recent implementation: an excise tax on foods high in saturated fat.

Diet defects may lead to birth defects A healthful diet may actually lower a woman's risk of having a child with serious birth defects, reports a study now online in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Debate over sugar not so sweet At last week's American Dietetic Association conference, two prominent professors of nutrition debated the link between consumption of sugary beverages and the rising obesity rate.

HIV

Unwanted surprise: Hormonal contraception facilitates HIV transmission
 Public health officials in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV remains prevalent, may soon find themselves in another predicament: The results of a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases warns that women who use injectable hormone contraceptives double their risk of becoming infected with HIV.

HEART

Coronary angioplasties might not require an overnight stay Typically, a patient who undergoes a coronary angioplasty is monitored overnight at the hospital - just in case of complications. However, a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that this may not be necessary for many low-risk patients.

JUNK SCIENCE

Louisiana hospital wages quixotic battle against “third-hand smoke”  Lisa R. Lauve is the new sheriff at Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana, and her first order of business is to cut down on "third-hand smoke."

MEN’S ISSUES

PSA to go away? You read it here years ago Screening healthy men for prostate cancer with a PSA blood test does more harm than good, a major government health panel has decided.

High testosterone may reflect better heart health Elderly men with naturally high levels of testosterone seem to be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than their peers with lower levels of the hormone, reports a study just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

PHARMA

A campaign against counterfeit drugs  Counterfeit prescription medications have become a major problem and, in response, Pfizer Inc. and a pharmacy standards group have joined forces to warn consumers of the risks.

RISKS

Drive, then drink — not the other way around About four million Americans admitted to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at least once in 2010, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Take good care of your brain while at play The number of children visiting the emergency room (ER) with a sports-related concussion has jumped by nearly 60 percent over the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports.

Childhood vaccination rates fall as unfounded fears rise To the dismay of ACSH and others devoted to public health, childhood vaccination rates fell significantly in 2009, and the latest National Public Radio-Thomson Reuters Health Poll indicates that unfounded fear is the major source of this decline.

STROKES

Victims of mild strokes need more attention New guidelines for follow-up to mild strokes may be needed, according to data presented by researchers at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Ottawa.

THIS AND THAT

NYC Department of Education fails PE If the New York City Department of Education were graded on its provision of proper physical education for city students, it would receive a big fat F.

A victory for harm reduction in Canada  North America's only safe-injection site for drug addicts will be allowed to continue its services, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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The American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 39

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

CORRECTION
We incorrectly referred to Dr. Mehmet Oz as a "former physician" in yesterday's Dispatch.

ALL NATURAL

Yet another supplement bites the dust
New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that saw palmetto, which was widely believed to relieve symptoms of prostate enlargement called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is no more effective than a placebo pill.

ASTHMA

Smarter ER treatment of asthma needed
Emergency room doctors need to prescribe preventive medication for kids on Medicaid who show up with an asthma attack, concludes a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics.

CANCER

Low tech but high benefit cervical cancer treatment
Household vinegar. Liquified carbon dioxide. Rural clinics. In Thailand, a successful procedure to screen for and treat cervical cancer demonstrates that innovative medicine need not always be at the cutting edge of technology.

COLONOSCOPIES

Good news for women: Fewer colonoscopies may be needed
If you're a woman approaching age 50, the conventionally recommended age to begin regular screening colonoscopies, it may be okay for you to wait another 15 years.

HORMONES

HRT may leave some women breathless
For some women on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the risk of severe asthma attacks may increase, according to a new study led by Dr. Klaus Bonnelykke from the Danish Paediatric Asthma Centre in Copenhagen.

MENTAL

Depression meds and antiplatelet drugs not a good mix for heart patients
A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that heart patients on antiplatelet agents (such as Plavix and aspirin) who are prescribed a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are at a greater risk of internal bleeding.

OBEISITY

A call for more commonsense dietary guidelines
At this week's annual American Dietetic Association conference in San Diego, ACSH advisor Dr. Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington in Seattle, presented his latest research on the government's misguided dietary guidelines.

A surprising disconnect between sugar consumption and obesity
A study just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that American consumption of added sugars dipped from 2000 to 2008. We wonder how that information can be correlated with the conventional mantra that "added sugar," especially in soda, is the main cause of rampant obesity in America.

PHARMA

Sharing is caring for big pharma
In an effort to streamline drug development while saving time and costs, major pharmaceutical companies have joined and invested in the international Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), which in return provides drug makers with open access to three-dimensional protein structures - the initial building block of drug discovery.

A lifesaving (but underused) drug for narcotic ODs
In 2009, nearly 37,500 people died from drug overdoses in the US. That number, writes Maia Szalavitz in The New York Times, could be significantly lowered if Naloxone (Narcan), a drug used to counter the effects of opiate overdose, were available over-the-counter and placed in every first aid kit.

SCARE MONGERING

Can we please stop worrying about apple juice? Please?
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the FDA to set arsenic standards for imported juice concentrates and to increase inspection of concentrates from countries such as China that have been known to use inorganic arsenic in their pesticides.

TOBACCO

Dr. Benowitz stops short of advocating smokeless tobacco, yet again
Dr. Neal Benowitz, a professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a member of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, acknowledges that use of smokeless tobacco (ST) could reduce harm to smokers if they switched to the products entirely.

Tobacco industry’s infamous past shouldn’t dictate smokeless tobacco’s hopeful future
In a letter to the FDA on modified risk tobacco products (MRTP), a coalition of public health non-profits, including the American Cancer Society, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the American Heart Association, cites the tobacco industry's long history of misleading the public.

NEJM drops the ball on smoking cessation
A lengthy article in this week's New England Journal of Medicine catalogues a variety of approaches to helping smokers quit within the healthcare setting, including counseling, smoking cessation medications such as bupropion and varenicline, as well as conventional nicotine replacement modalities like gum, inhalers, and patches.

VACCINES

Eradicating smallpox was no small feat
In an article in today's New York Times' Science Times, Dr. Lawrence K. Altman reminds readers that, to this day, smallpox is still the only disease to have been eradicated from the planet.

Ignorance is infectious
Washington state has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the US: Currently, 6 percent of kids receive exemptions from a state law requiring that children be vaccinated before attending school.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 36

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

AGING

Low-tech tests still more apt to predict Alzheimer’s
Biomarkers detectable in spinal fluid and blood, magnetic resonance imaging, and tests of cognition (memory) are all means of assessing whether a person will develop Alzheimer's disease. But for now, says a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the latter test - requiring nothing more technical than a paper-based test and a pen - is the most accurate means of predicting the disease.

Heart disease comes with age — not menopause
A study just published in BMJ disputes the long-held belief that the onset of menopause is linked to an increased rate of heart disease in women.

CANCER

Lumpectomy as good as mastectomy in younger women
Two new studies have discredited the common belief that mastectomy should be the standard treatment for breast cancer in women under 40.

HEART

Heart disease comes with age — not menopause
A study just published in BMJ disputes the long-held belief that the onset of menopause is linked to an increased rate of heart disease in women.

INFECTIONS

Hospital washes hands of infections
A Cleveland hospital has reduced its incidence of bloodstream infections to one-third of what it used to be - and the radical improvement has nothing to do with antibiotics.

OBESIETY

Bariatric surgery helps heart health among heaviest
Bariatric surgery has become one of the most effective treatments for severely obese patients.

Sugar-coating a complex problem
In one month, it will become increasingly difficult to find a sugar-sweetened beverage in any city-owned building in Boston.

More loss from Weight Watchers equals a health gain
A recent UK study has compared the results of following standard weight loss guidelines to those achieved by the commercial weight loss program Weight Watchers and found that people were much more likely to drop kilos - or pounds, in our country - in the latter program.

PAIN RELIEF

Some relief for arthritic hands
A prescription-grade formula of an otherwise common over-the-counter remedy holds the possibility of some relief for those who suffer from osteoarthritis of the hand, reports a new study in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

A plausible reason for pregnant women to avoid NSAIDS
Another substance for expectant mothers to be wary of may well be the common painkillers known as NSAIDS - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

SCARES AND CONSEQUENCES

The scientific research that BPA bans ignore
In the current issue of The American, science writer Jon Entine takes a look at the comprehensive list of scientific institutions world-wide that have found no cause for concern about bisphenol A (BPA), and asks why politicians are nevertheless imposing bans on the substance.

STROKE

Stents for stroke prevention found ineffective
The medical community had high hopes for a device that would prevent strokes using a mechanism similar to that used to prevent heart attacks - but the study was abruptly halted as the number of strokes in patients with the device continued to rise.

TOBACCO

Jersey’s smuggled cigarettes offer a taxing lesson
About 40 percent of cigarettes in New Jersey are smuggled into the state, according to a recent state Treasury Department report.

More adults smoking less
The number of adults smoking 10 or more cigarettes a day has declined slightly, but more adults now smoke one to nine cigarettes daily, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 35

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

FEATURED ARTICLE

GM foods and pesticides pose no danger to health
In one of his most pompous and slanted columns yet, The New York Times' Mark Bittman alleges that the U.S. government is in cahoots with large agricultural biotech companies that sacrifice the environment for profits.

DIET

FDA weighing down efforts to fight obesity
In the past year, the FDA has rejected three weight-loss drugs over safety concerns.

One potato, two potatoes — no potatoes?
We say potato, but the National School Lunch Program is saying potat-no.

The trickier math of weight loss
Losing weight may not be as simple as just cutting a prescribed number of calories, finds a new study published in The Lancet.

Paper presents a worse-case obesity scenario
In a special series on obesity, The Lancet has published four papers, the first of which warns that nearly half of all U.S. men and women will be obese by 2030.

Gout: A weighty problem
That the prevalence of obesity is rising in the U.S. is no secret. However, few people may realize that, among the other obesity-related diseases more commonly cited, such excess body weight puts them at risk for gout.

FACTS AND FALLACIES

Don’t take this news with a grain of salt
What's in a name? Well, when it comes to marketing, most people believe that what's called "sea salt" is healthier than table salt and also packs less sodium.

HEART AND STROKES

Preventive heart meds: Cheap and under-used
Cardiovascular disease affects more than 100 million people worldwide, yet the inexpensive drugs that could lower the risk for recurrence of these life-threatening illnesses are not getting to the majority of patients who need them.

Eat chocolate — because you like it, not for health!
The media are suddenly abuzz with the latest on the putative health benefits of one of our favorite "foods": a study just published in BMJ reports that chocolate may improve cardiovascular health.

Over-screening and under-treating osteoporosis
A new study in the journal Menopause suggests that too many women are being unnecessarily screened for osteoporosis.

New blood-thinning drug offers greater benefits
The findings of a recent worldwide trial show that the new anticoagulant drug apixaban was 21 percent more effective at preventing strokes in patients with atrial fibrilliation than warfarin (Coumadin), the current standard of care.

Precaution warranted against post-C-section clots
C-sections account for nearly one-third of U.S. births, and though the procedure is common enough, many may not know that the operation significantly increases a new mother's risk of blood clots.

HORMONES

Why it’s not hip to halt hormone replacement therapy
A new study in the journal Menopause shows that the benefits of hormone replacement therapy aren't just hypothetical.

Patching up hormone replacement therapy
As we've reported several times, estrogen replacement therapy - either with or without progesterone - is currently the most effective means of treating menopausal symptoms.

REGULATIONS

FDA opines on its new food safety powers
"Large-scale outbreaks of foodborne illness have recently focused attention on the ability of the U.S. food safety system to protect the public health," writes Michael R. Taylor, the Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA.

TOBACCO

Smokers ill-informed about harm reduction
While the FDA is in the process of assessing how it will regulate modified risk tobacco products, a new study in Harm Reduction Journal reports that smokers remain largely misinformed about the relative safety of these products compared to cigarettes.

Smoke and mirrors behind FDA report on e-cigarettes
An FDA-authored analysis of electronic cigarette contents has just appeared in the Journal of Liquid Chromatography and Related Technologies.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 27

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

Of fenugreek, organics, and E. coli outbreaks: A reader writes in
Dr. Rosemary Stanton, a nutritionist based in Australia, writes in response to our (June 16) coverage of the E. coli outbreak in Europe.

Obesity

Will a new nutritional database fortify consumer awareness?
In a co-authored commentary for the Archives of Internal Medicine, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley and Dr. Lynn Silver, director of the Office of Science and Policy, call on the FDA to provide consumers with a public, product-specific national nutritional database containing information similar to what can now be found on individual products in the grocery or supermarket.

Access to healthy groceries in food deserts a fruitless effort
How do you combat obesity in low-income neighborhoods?

A “ModestProposal: JAMA calls for removing obese children from their homes
Should a child's morbid obesity be classified as "abuse and neglect" on the part of the parents, and thus grounds for state interventions like moving a child to foster care?

Report cards with kids’ BMIs get a big fat F
ACSH has been skeptical about the recent move by various school districts (about 30 percent nationwide since 2006) to reduce the toll of childhood obesity by sending overweight or obese children home with letters reporting their body-mass index (BMI), which is a crude measure of weight relative to height.

In a nutshell: Replacing carbs with nuts may improve diabetes control
New research suggests that diabetics struggling to control their blood sugar (glucose) and cholesterol levels should try replacing carbohydrate-rich snacks with nuts.

Regulations

EPA’s agenda outranks scientific concerns
One need not look any further than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to realize that "science often kowtows to politics in today's policy debates."

99.99% lead-free: 100% unnecessary
Despite repeated requests for sensible modifications to the stringent restrictions on lead in products that might be used by children, as mandated by the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), no such easing is forthcoming.

New contraceptive guidelines for some new moms
Women who have just given birth and are older than 34 or have had a Cesarean section are now advised to avoid contraceptives containing estrogen, say new government guidelines.

Studies

A possible new approach to cardiovascular screening
Who exactly should be screened for cardiovascular disease? New research indicates that a computerized tomography (CT) scan of the coronary arteries can uncover risks of heart disease even in patients without clinical symptoms or even risk factors.

Study alleging link between non-stick surfaces and arthritis does not pan out
Researchers at the School of Medicine at West Virginia University have violated every tenet of sound epidemiology, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, in their attempt to link levels of a chemical used to make teflon-like surfaces to "arthritis" among a population of people exposed to "tainted" water.

Diabetics’ Hearing Also Needs Monitoring
While physicians may be used to screening their diabetic patients for numerous complications associated with the disease, up until now they've had few reasons to expect to see hearing loss in these patients.

This and That

Called the "July Effect," this phenomenon refers to the medical trainee
changeovers that occur in teaching hospitals during the month of July and which have long been associated with an increase in mortality rates and medical errors.

“Eight glasses of water a day” myth doesn’t float
The only ones still urging consumers to strive to drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day are the bottled water companies, argues Dr. Margaret McCartney in a British Medical Journal commentary.

Sudden death on the field
The media have reported on a number of high profile cases of professional athletes who have died suddenly on the field - most prominently, that of NFL player Korey Stinger, who died in 2001 from exertional heat stroke.

Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals

Get the shot. You do NOT want to get shingles
Anyone who's had chicken pox (varicella zoster, a member of the herpes family of viruses) has a one-in-three chance of developing shingles many years later, and the risk only increases with age.

Vaccines save lives and $$
As any regular Dispatch reader knows, vaccines save millions of lives worldwide. Now, a recent report published in the the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report makes it clear that they also save billions of dollars - and that's in the U.S. alone.

Preventing HIV: From how? to who?
In May, the world marveled at news that early anti-retroviral treatment of those who are HIV-positive reduced the chance of one partner infecting another by over 96 percent. Now, in a new study...

Are generic pills “trade dressed” for success?
Generic drugs should be manufactured to look exactly like their name brand counterparts, write Dr. Jeremy Greene and Dr. Aaron Kesselheim in an editorial for the New England Journal of Medicine.


Congressional conflicts about FDA “conflicts-of-interest” slow drug research
As Congress sets to work on a five-year FDA reauthorization bill, Republicans are proposing to ease recent conflict-of-interest rules they believe are depriving the agency of much needed pharmaceutical expertise.


If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 26

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Twitter & Facebook Us!  Get your ACSH fill this weekend!

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

Energy

Cuomo’s Jekyll and Hyde act on energy policies
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is having a hard time remaining consistent in his efforts to influence the regulation of energy sources.

Obesity

Sleep, snacking independent risk factors for obesity. Did you say shampoo?
As researchers continue to probe the possible causes of America's ongoing obesity epidemic, Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says his latest research demonstrates that people are eating more now - by about an extra 600 calories per day - than they did in the 1970s.

Dr. Whelan in Forbes: What’s really causing childhood obesity?
Last week, the influential American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended a ban on "fast" or "junk" food commercials as a means of combating childhood obesity. ... This week, on Forbes.com, ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan calls their bluff.

Cut calories with cash, not labelsWith two-thirds of U.S. adults and one-third of children either obese or overweight, public health officials are scrambling to come up with solutions to this growing problem.

The health impact of irrational fears Neither the chemicals that leach in tiny amounts from plastics, nor the so-called radiation from your cell phone threatens your health as much as the simple act of sitting may.

Tobacco

Dr. Whelan on “Warnings That Don’t Work”
The FDA asserts that graphic warnings will serve public health by terrifying smokers into quitting. But ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, in an op-ed appearing in National Review Online, has her doubts.

General Medicine

Grin and bare it: colonoscopies save lives
A new study reveals that fewer Americans are developing colorectal cancer (CRC).

New study not quite worth its salt
Is it really okay to use the salt shaker again?

Mammogram guidelines: One size does not fit all
How often is it actually useful to have a mammogram?

Massage for much kneaded lower back relief
According to a small study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, massage therapy may be a viable option for those who suffer from lower back pain.

Pharmaceuticals

FDA approval of Xarelto means anticoagulant options not so thin
Those suffering from blood clotting disorders will find welcome relief in the FDA's approval of a new anticoagulant, rivaroxaban, co-developed by Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG.

Cancer

Get the lead out
Reduced colorectal cancer isn't the only good news reported by the CDC: The latest survey of the CDC's Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program shows continued declines in the average blood lead levels (BLLs) among U.S. adults.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Very superstitious: GM fears and facts
In welcome news for the people of Kenya, a set of new laws will allow the production and importation of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Europe’s inverted priorities lead to devastation in Africa
Scientifically unfounded fears of biotech innovation too often result in real harm to the countries that most stand to benefit. Richard Tren, Executive Director of Africa Fighting Malaria, knows this all too well.

Clarification
We reported yesterday that the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a summit of the world's food safety regulatory agencies, approved food labeling guidance that would allow countries to label genetically modified foods without infringing upon international free trade laws.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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