Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:
FDA Orders Recall of Unregulated Erectile
Dysfunction Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Exercise for impotence remedy
has asked a California
distribution company to recall pills and capsules advertised as “all
natural” products to correct erectile dysfunction.
Calling True Man Sexual Energy Nutrient Capsules and Energy Max Energy
Supplement Men's Formula Capsules illegal drug products, the FDA said in a
news release that the supplements' ingredients are potentially harmful and
could cause dangerously low blood pressure.
In a letter to the owner of America True Man Health Inc., of West
Covina, Calif., the FDA said that the products have substances with
chemical structures very similar to the active ingredients in FDA-approved
cheapest citrate sildenafil drugs, such as Viagra. The FDA has not approved the products
distributed by America True Man Health Inc., and the labels don't declare
the the active ingredients thione, an analog of sildenafil; or piperadino
vardenafil, an analog of vardenafil.
These substances can be especially harmful to men with diabetes, the
FDA said.
Consumers should report adverse events related to these products to
the online Web site MedWatch, the FDA's voluntary reporting program, at
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.
—–
Test Developed to Help Avoid 'Red Wine
Headache'
For some people, it may take only a glass of red wine to cause a
headache. Now, University of California at Berkeley researchers say
they've developed a device that can help stave off the “red wine
headache.”
The device, about the size of a briefcase, will eventually be able to
test the biogenic amine levels in a variety of foods and liquids, the
Associated Press reports.
Biogenic amines are chemicals
found in a variety of popular foods and beverages, including wine,
chocolate, nuts cheese, olives and cured meats, the wire service
reports.
The amines tyramine and histamine are suspected of being causes of not
only headaches in some people but also high blood pressure and elevated
adrenaline levels, the A.P. reports. “The food you eat is so
unbelievably coupled with your body's chemistry,” researcher Richard
Mathies is quoted as saying.
Right now, the amine test works only liquids, the A.P. says. The
study is published in the latest edition of the journal Analytical
Chemistry.
—–
Children Inherit Cancer Survival Traits:
Study
Survival traits for certain kinds of cancers are passed from parents to
children, concludes a Swedish study reported in the November issue of
The Lancet Oncology journal.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed a Swedish
family database that included three million families and more than 1
million cancer patients. The scientists found that children whose parents
had good survival rates after being diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate
or colorectal cancer had better survival rates for those same cancers than
people whose parents died within 10 years of being diagnosed with those
cancers.
The increased risk of death for children whose parents had died earlier
was 75 percent for breast cancer, 107 percent for prostate cancer, 44
percent for colorectal cancer, and 39 percent for lung cancer.
“In conclusion, our findings provide support for the hypothesis that
cialis compare levitra viagra
survival of a patient can be predicted from previous
parental survival from cancer at the same site,” the study authors wrote.
“Consequently, molecular studies that highlight the genetic determinants
of inherited survival in cancers are needed. In a clinical setting,
information on poor survival in a family might be vital in accurately
predicting tumor progression in the newly diagnosed individual.”
—–
Massachusetts Will Offer Overdose Treatment
Kits to Heroin Addicts
Starting next month, heroin addicts in Massachusetts will be offered
kits to help treat overdoses quickly, safely and without fear of
addiction, the Associated Press reported. The state plan was
inspired by similar programs in Boston, Chicago and New York City.
In 2005, heroin and other opiates killed 544 people in Massachusetts,
more than double the number of people killed by firearms.
Each kit contains two doses of Narcan (generic name: naloxone), which
can be squirted into the nose of someone who has overdosed. Experts say
the drug causes no side effects, the AP reported. The initial test
run in Massachusetts is expected to enroll 450 heroin users and cost less
than $50,000. If it saves lives, the program may be expanded.
Advocates say this is a safe, effective approach for preventing
overdose deaths. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
doesn't support the idea, the wire service said.
—–
Millions of Totino's and Jeno's Frozen Pizzas
Recalled
Five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pepperoni pizzas that could be
linked to an outbreak of E. coli in the United States are being
recalled by General Mills. The pizzas were made in the company's Wellston,
Ohio plant and distributed across the United States, the Associated
Press reported.
Between July 20 and Oct. 10, there were 21 cases of E. Coli
0157:H7 reported in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Of the 21
people who became ill, nine said they'd eaten Totino's or Jeno's pizza
with pepperoni, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and
Inspection Service said in a news release.
Included in the recall are Totino's Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza
and Jeno's Crisp 'N Tasty Pizza containing pepperoni or a combination of
pepperoni, sausage and other ingredients, the AP reported. Packages
affected by the recall show “EST. 7750″ inside the USDA mark of
inspection, and include a “best if used by” date on or before “02 APR 08
WS.”
—–
Report Urges Doctors to Watch for Lead
Poisoning in Children
Doctors need to be more alert to signs of lead poisoning in children,
according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report,
which noted that even children with blood levels lower than the U.S.
standard of 10 micrograms per deciliter can still have lower IQs and
various health problems.
The report, prepared by the federal government's Advisory Committee on
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, didn't propose a new standard but is
“emphasizing that all levels are important,” primary author Dr. Helen
Binns, of Northwestern University, told the Associated Press.
Children with blood lead levels below 10 micrograms per deciliter may
not show any obvious symptoms but may still have impaired intellectual
development, she said.
In their report, Binns and her colleagues advise doctors on how to
speak to parents of children with lower blood lead levels, including
mention of the risks, and nutrition changes and measures to prevent
additional lead exposure, the AP reported.
The paper was published in the November issue of the journal
Pediatrics. Its release coincides with growing concern over high
lead levels in imported toys.
—–
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