Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA articles from June 2000

Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA archives from June 2000

DNA Vaccines Under Development for Lassa Fever Virus.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in the United States are exploring vaccines for emerging arenaviruses. "Lassa fever virus is a rodent-borne arenavirus endemic to West Africa," explained M.J. Buchmeier and colleagues from...

Stress Hormone Linked to Increased Alcohol Consumption.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Monkeys that responded with high cortisol concentrations to stress during infancy were more likely than their peers to drink alcohol as adults, a new study reports. Researchers at the U.S. National...

New Method of Removing Soft Tissue Tumors Has Positive Implications.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study has found that radio frequency interstitial tissue ablation was successful in treating localized renal tumors and did not have toxic effects. According to M.M. Walther and colleagues with...

Antimicrobial Use Needs Improvement.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Based on a recently conducted survey, hospital workers still need to improve their antimicrobial practices to protect themselves against infection. To see how well pharmacy and infection control staff at...

Disinfection of Disposable Laparoscopic Devices Yields Poor Results.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- As medical costs soar and hospitals attempt to use available resources without jeopardizing patient safety, the issue of reusing disposable laparoscopic devices has moved to the forefront. A study...

HIV/AIDS an Epidemic among U.S. Blacks.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- AIDS is spreading faster among blacks because prevention programs are under-funded and lingering stigmas about the disease prevent frank discussions, experts at a three-day summit on the subject concluded May...

Clinical Study Data for Treatment of Advanced Cancers Presented.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Introgen Therapeutics presented data from clinical studies on the safety, transfer, and expression of RPR/INGN 201 (Adenoviral p53) in three Phase I clinical studies for the treatment of bronchioalveolar cell...

Needle-Exchange Program Ends, HIV Risk Behaviors Increase.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Stopping a needle exchange program in Windham, Connecticut, increased risky behaviors associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in that city's injection drug user population. Robert S....

Islet Cell Transplants Fuel Hope.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Eight adults with severe diabetes were able to quit their insulin shots after Canadian scientists tried a new technique in transplanting insulin-producing pancreas cells. It's too soon to know how long...

New Drug Treatment for Elderly Approved.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Elderly Americans with a particularly deadly leukemia won a new treatment on May 18, 2000, that doctors hope could be less traumatic for their patients. A drug called Mylotarg was approved by the U.S....

Researcher Says U.S. Not Prepared for Medical Impact of Attack.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The United States is not prepared for a bioterrorist attack, according to Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, the chair and chief executive officer of ican, INC., in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Osterholm made...

Newspaper Reports the U.S. National Institutes of Health Knew Drug Was Dangerous.(extracted human growth hormone)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health for years ignored warnings about the risk that a human growth hormone extracted from cadavers could cause a brain disease that killed dozens of people, the Los Angeles...

Release of Carcinogenic Chemical Higher than Thought.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- More than 20 years after the manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was banned, the cancer-causing toxins are still entering Lake Michigan from sources on land, according to a U.S. federal study that...

State Officials Call Hepatitis C Infection a Hidden Epidemic.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- As many as four million people in the U.S., 100,000 in Massachusetts alone, have the hepatitis C virus, and most of them are not even aware of it, a Massachusetts state health official said May 23, 2000. ...

Many Getting More Exercise at Work.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Future studies on exercise and fitness will take into account how much physical activity Americans get while on the job or working around the house. Americans may be getting a lot more exercise than...

CDC Continuing Efforts to Address Infectious Diseases.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses preparation for emerging infections)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- We have to pay attention to and learn from the issues and problems that arise in other parts of the world so we are better prepared to confront them when they appear in this country, according to the director...

Health Workers Addressing 139 Cases in Arkansas.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The outbreak of tuberculosis at Forrest City Junior High School in Arkansas presents no health threat to others, according to the director of the state Health Department. "I want to strongly emphasize that...

SmithKline Beecham Defends its Glitazone Drug, Avandia.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- SmithKline Beecham issued the following statement related to glitazones and its anti-diabetes drug, Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate). This statement is based on comments made by David Wheadon, MD, director of...

Misperceptions About Value of Vaccines May Lead Parents to Question their Use.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2000... 2000 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- An alarmingly high percentage of parents hold misperceptions about the value and safety of vaccines, which may lead them to refuse some or all immunizations for their children, says Bruce G. Gellin, MD, MPH,...

Study Shows Yet Another Reason Why Quitters Are Winners.(periodontal disease more common in smokers)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Smoking may be responsible for more than half of the cases of periodontal disease among adults in this country, according to a new study published in the Journal of Periodontology. The study found that...

Drug Resistance Prompts Evaluation of Treatment Regimens.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A report published in the May 22, 2000, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine outlined recommendations from a working group convened by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the...

Clinical Benefits of DHEA Properties May Be Found in Analogs.(dehydroepiandrosterone)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Although dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has not demonstrated the same health benefits in humans as in animals, newly developed DHEA analogs may be "clinically useful," according to a recent report. The...

Studies Reveal Sex Analysis of Health Data Missing.(medical studies omit women)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study published in the June 2000 Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine examining hundreds of reports in the leading peer-reviewed medical journals in the U.S. found still not enough...

CDC: Public in the Dark About Coverage.(health insurance)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- While 97% of Americans surveyed know if they currently have health insurance, only 33% accurately categorized the length of enrollment in their current plans, and 84% of those in fee-for-service plans believed...

New Vaccine Results in Good Antibody Response.(meningoccocal C conjugate vaccine)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Meningococcal C conjugate vaccine is safe and results in immunologic memory (immune system "remembers" characteristics of meningococcal C and reacts to it), according to an article appearing in the June 7...

Number of Discarded Needles is Not Increased.(needle exchange program)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Needle exchange programs, which reduce HIV rates by providing injection drug users with sterile needle and syringe replacements, have been criticized for potentially increasing the quantity of discarded...

Study Calls for Additional Safeguarding of Children from Household Pesticides.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Home products intended to kill bugs and clean kitchens and baths are instead poisoning an alarming number of young children each year, reports a study in the June 2000 issue of the American Journal of Public...

Improperly Used Automatic Restraint Systems Associated with Increased Risk of Serious Injuries.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Using automatic shoulder belt systems without using manual lap belts, while better than no restraint use, is associated with an increased risk of serious chest and abdominal injuries, according to an article...

Adeno-Associated Virus Vector Delivers Therapeutic Protein.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Targeted Genetics Corporation (TGEN) presented data from its gene therapy program for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on June 5 at the American Society of Gene Therapy Third Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. ...

Black Church Leaders Meet to Plan AIDS Strategies.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Trying to overcome policy differences in their efforts to combat AIDS, black church leaders met in Tuskegee, Alabama, to attempt to put together a plan of action. More than 300 bishops, pastors, priests,...

Proposed Food Label Changes for Trans Fats Could Reduce Heart Disease Deaths, Save Money.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Deaths from heart attacks could be reduced as a result of a U.S. government plan to change food labels to reflect the amount of trans fatty acids in processed foods, according to a study presented at an...

Budesonide Recommended for Pregnant Women Requiring Inhaled Corticosteroid.(use of Pulmicort Turbuhaler proposed effective for asthma in pregnant women)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Inhaled corticosteroids, such as budesonide, can provide effective asthma management for pregnant women, according to a joint statement of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and the...

CDC Says States Need Better Tracking System.(for asthma)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Wisconsin and many other states in the U.S. need to do a better job of tracking asthma cases to stem its rapid growth, according to a national report released on May 22, 2000. An analysis of data compiled...

NIAID Creates Global Network to Advance Development of Vaccines.(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases )(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The worldwide search for an HIV vaccine received a boost as the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced funding of nine U.S. clinical units of the new HIV Vaccine Trials...

Colorado Girl Stricken, May Stem From Arizona.(hantavirus infection)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A 12-year-old girl was in critical condition at children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, with the sometimes deadly hantavirus. Health officials said on May 21 that the girl may have contracted the disease...

Physicians' Group Cries Foul Over New Dietary Guidelines, Grocery Lobbyists Praise Them.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a petition against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), calling for the withdrawal...

Program Established to Help Americans Lead Healthier Lifestyle.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an updated set of Dietary Guidelines designed to help Americans lead a healthier lifestyle. While...

Economic Collapse Spawned Dangerous Human Tissue Business.(exported from Russia to U.S., human parts infected with hepatitis)(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A storefront dental office in Los Angeles, California, and home-based offices in Florida and in Detroit, Michigan, peddled bone, brain linings, and other tissue from Russia after the country's economic...

Federal Inspection of Psychiatric Hospitals is Infrequent.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Federal inspections of U.S. psychiatric hospitals are spotty, with some hospitals going unexamined for more than five years, according to government investigators. "The extent to which the system of...

Labs Detected Asbestos in Crayons, Newspaper Reports.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A newspaper reported on May 23, 2000, that two U.S. government-certified labs found asbestos in crayons, sending public health and art-industry officials scrambling to allay health concerns. The Seattle...

U.S. Government Proposes Fines Aimed at Improving Medical Testing.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- U.S. federal health officials are proposing fines of up to $250,000 for scientists who violate medical research rules - and fines of $1 million for rule-breaking universities or hospitals. This comes amid...

'Injuries' Cost U.S. Government $1 Billion.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2000... 2000 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. government has paid more than $1 billion to compensate patients of vaccination injuries and continues to compile a huge database of all reported "adverse events" from vaccine administration,...