Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA articles from September 2000

Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA archives from September 2000

Placebo-Controlled Trials: A Moral Issue?(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- The World Medical Association is debating the next revision of the Declaration of Helsinki, which covers issues surrounding using patients in medical trials. The Education and Debate section of the August...

Mortality Rates Lower for Patients in Treatment Centers.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- The July 15, 2000, issue of Blood highlighted an article that compared mortality among persons with hemophilia who received medical care from U.S. federally funded hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) to that...

Weight Training Can Have Dangers.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- As more people weight train, more get hurt - especially baby boomers and older people who are trying to keep from showing their age, a study finds. The weight training is fine, but people ought to learn to...

AIDS Symposium Addresses Myths and Treatment.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Physicians and other medical personnel attended a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, hoping to dispel myths surrounding HIV/AIDS and find ways to address the issue in a largely rural state that often cannot or...

New Treatment Makes Fruit Juices Safer.(carbon dioxide treatment)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Carbon dioxide, the stuff that makes soft drinks fizzy, can also make fresh fruit juice safer to drink, according to researchers at the University of Florida. The findings at the 220th Meeting of the...

U.S. Government Considers Research Finance Rules.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new era of biotechnology economics that promises some scientists great wealth may cause conflicts of interest that affect patient safety and undermine medical research, experts say. At a U.S. National...

Poor Health in Childhood Linked to Adulthood Diseases, Despite Socioeconomic Status.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Regardless of socioeconomic status, people with a childhood history of ill health are more prone to certain diseases in adulthood, especially cancer, lung disease, cardiovascular conditions, arthritis, and...

Continued Development of Coactinon Announced.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIRS), Durham, North Carolina, announced its continued development of Coactinon in support of an NDA [New Drug Application] filing. Coactinon is a non-nucleoside reverse...

Well-Being Improves for Most Older People, But Not All, New U.S. Federal Report Says.
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Older Americans are living longer and living better than ever before. But many of those age 65 and older face disability, chronic health conditions, or economic stress, according to a new U.S. federal...

FDA Approves Pulmicort Respules.(anti-inflammatory corticosteroid for children)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Pulmicort Respules (budesonide inhalation suspension) for asthma in children between the ages of one to eight. Pulmicort Respules is the first...

Circulating Genes in Hong Kong Poultry are Similar to Those in 1997 Outbreak.(avian influenza study)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Fowl in Hong Kong continue to carry avian influenza viruses that have genetic similarities to the virus that caused the well-known human and chicken virus outbreak in 1997, report U.S. Department of...

HIV Resistance Testing Contract Awarded.(Virco)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded a contract to Virco, Baltimore, Maryland, to conduct the testing for the agency's pivotal survey of transmission of drug-resistant strains...

Education Most Effective Means of Combatting Food Poisoning.(food safety)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- "Education is the most effective tool we have to combat food poisoning," according to Kelly Johnston, National Food Processors Association (NFPA). His comments came in response to a report issued by the...

State Mandates Chickenpox Vaccine.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Robert W. knew about the vaccine to prevent chickenpox, but he opted against giving it to his infant son. The result: his son developed chickenpox in 1998 when he was two. Robert, a pediatrician, did...

U.S. Government Preparing for Possible Flu Shot Shortage.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Worried about a possible shortage of this winter's flu vaccine, U.S. federal health officials are studying whether it would be safe to stretch supplies by giving some healthy Americans half a dose, reserving...

Clinical Trial Underway Studying New Anti-Angiogenesis/Immune-Stimulating Drug.(IM862)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Participants are being sought in 15 cities across the U.S. to take part in a clinical trial with a new cancer drug that can be self-administered as nose drops and has a favorable safety profile. A total of...

FDA Issues Final Guidance on Reuse of Single-Use Medical Devices.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- On August 2, 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued final guidance on the practice of reusing medical devices intended to be used only once. The guidance is designed to protect the public...

Respiratory Illnesses Baffle Officials.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hospital and public health officials are baffled by recent cases in which otherwise healthy adults have been stricken by mysterious respiratory ailments. The cases, three from southwest Missouri and one...

Radiation Prevents Artery Closing After Angioplasty and Stenting.(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A clinical trial on a procedure that delivers radiation to arteries to prevent them from re-closing after patients are treated with angioplasty and stenting has been so successful that the U.S. Food and Drug...

Butting Out During Pregnancy.(survey results)(Brief Article)
September 3, 2000... 2000 SEP 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that most women in Nova Scotia who smoked prior to becoming pregnant continued to smoke for the duration of their pregnancy. Dr. Susan...

Groups Want FDA To Regulate Low-Smoke Cigarette.(R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s product Eclipse)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Twenty-two public-health organizations have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate Eclipse, a new reduced-smoke cigarette that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. claims is safer than other cigarettes....

Researchers Say Shots Often Overused.(rabies vaccine)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Rabies shots are often overused in treating people bitten by animals, researchers report. About 40,000 shots are given annually in the United States, and a recent study suggests they may be unnecessary in...

Venezuelan Cohort Suggests Viral Transmission through Natural Mechanisms.(hepatitis G/GBV-C)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- A collaborative study performed by researchers in Venezuela suggests that the population of that country may transmit hepatitis G/GBV-C hepatitis through natural mechanisms such as mother to infant...

Development of New Reagents to Test for HCV Could be Beneficial to Blood Banks.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Blood donors in Egypt are reportedly infected with hepatitis C virus at a rate of 24%. Scientists in Egypt report that this relatively high rate may be due to cross-reactivity occurring in the assays used to...

U.S. EPA Says Asbestos in Garden Products Not a Major Problem.(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Small amounts of asbestos in some gardening products, such as potting soil, pose little risk to consumers but may be hazardous to people who regularly work with the raw material, the U.S. Environmental...

USDA Testing Pork Safety Program.(United States Department of Agriculture)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The days of the chewy pork chop may soon be over. Americans for years have been overcooking pork out of fear of trichinosis - unaware that improved production practices virtually have eliminated the...

USDA to Crack Down on Tainted Meat.(livestock inspection for drug residues)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Clinton administration in the U.S. is preparing another in a series of food-safety protections: a ban on the sale of meat from animals in which excessive drug residue has been found. Under current...

U.S. Navy to Fund Phase III Trial of Campylobacter Vaccine.(Antex Biologicals Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antex Biologics Inc. (ATXB), Gaithersburg, Maryland, announced that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Department of the Navy whereby the Navy will continue...

FDA Approves First New Drug Application for Levothyroxine Sodium.(treatment for hypothyroidism)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 22, 2000, approved the first new drug application for the thyroid hormone replacement drug, levothyroxine sodium (Unithroid) for use in adults and...

WHO Says Better Spraying Needed to Halt Aircraft-Bound Mosquitoes.(World Health Organization concerns over mosquitoes carrying malaria aboard aircraft)(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The World Health Organization urged governments and airlines on August 21, 2000, to be alert to the danger of malarial mosquitoes hitching a ride as air travel to far-flung destinations becomes more...

Ob-Gyns Issue Recommendations on Cesarean Delivery Rates.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- In its most comprehensive set of recommendations ever issued on the subject of cesarean delivery, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has released a document to help hospitals and...

U.S. FDA Issues Nationwide Alert on Eye and Ear Drops.(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to purchase or use a product known as Rich's MSM Eye & Ear Drops because it may be contaminated with yeast and Pseudomonas fluorescens - a...

NIH Opens Door to Federally-Funded Research on Human Embryos.(Brief Article)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- New guidelines being released by the U.S. government will allow scientists to conduct federally-funded research on fertilized human eggs. The guidelines set out the criteria that the U.S. National...

Harvard Model: Pediatric TB Prevention Begins with Treating Children.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 10, 2000... 2000 SEP 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Harvard University School of Public Health researchers say that the most effective way to prevent tuberculosis disease and death among children in the United States is not by treating adults, but by directly...

Cases Confirmed in 21 States.(visceral canine leishmaniasis)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results of DNA and blood tests obtained by scientists at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed cases of...

Sharp Increase in U.S. in 1990s Related to Americans' Weight Gain.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Diabetes increased at an alarming rate in the United States during the past decade - rising 70% among people in their 30s - and health experts are blaming the wired-up, couch-potato culture of the 1990s. ...

CDC Study Reports Genetic Variation in Lassa Virus Strains.(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Genetic diversity prevails in Lassa virus strains and these variations probably came about as a function of geography instead of time, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have...

Study: Screening Would Detect Most Inmates with Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Targeted screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) would be beneficial in identifying a majority of inmates entering the penal system in Wisconsin, public health investigators in Madison reported recently at the...

FDA Approves Ciprofloxacin for Post-Exposure Use.(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cipro (ciprofloxacin) for post-exposure inhalational anthrax. This type of exposure would most likely occur during a bioterrorist attack. This...

Researchers Say Lack of Physical Education is Harming Kids.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- If your kids' test scores are up, chances are good their health is down, maybe way down. Public school districts across the U.S. are putting more emphasis and resources than ever on improving grades and...

Water Alone Prevents Transfer of Hepatitis A to Lettuce in Canadian Study.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Carriers of the hepatitis A virus can reduce the presence of this virus on their hands by doing something as simple as rinsing their hands with water, according to a study carried out in Canada by government...

Modified T Cells in HIV Patients Survive Long-Term in vivo.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from the United States, genetically modified T cells were capable of long-term survival in patients with HIV infection. "To study HIV specific cellular immunity in vivo, we...

U.S. Army Cautions Ephedra Weight Loss Claims Not Based on Science.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- The following was issued by the Moncrief Army Community Hospital in Fort Jackson, South Carolina: [helv] Turn your body into a fat-burning machine! Lose weight without exercise! Do these claims sound...

FDA Creates Medication Guide for Lotronex.(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the development of a Medication Guide (FDA-approved patient labeling) to help ensure that women using the prescription drug Lotronex (alosetron...

Infertile Couples Urged To Consider Donating Unused Embryos.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- No sooner did the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) issue guidelines regarding stem cell research than a patient organization for infertility urged couples who have embryos in storage to consider making...

CDC Reports High-School Smoking Down in 1999.(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- Smoking among U.S. high-schoolers dropped slightly in 1999 after climbing for most of the 1990s, the government reports. Government analysts attribute the drop to teen smoking prevention programs and the...

Harvard Awards Grant to Control Multidrug-Resistant Disease Worldwide.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it will issue a nearly $45 million grant to Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, for the creation of a collaborative partnership that will...

Mosquito Complaints, Worries Over Disease Higher in North Carolina.(Brief Article)
September 17, 2000... 2000 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com) -- A bad mosquito season in North Carolina had people slapping their arms and legs more than usual in August and environmental officials working to reduce bites and the threat of disease. "Our mosquitoes get...

Most Chickenpox Vaccine Complications Found to be Minor.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- The majority of adverse events associated with varicella vaccine, used to prevent chickenpox, are not serious, according to an article in the September 13, 2000, issue of The Journal of the American Medical...

CDC Survey Shows Doctors Are Getting the Message: Go Easy on Antibiotics.(United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- The use of antibiotics to treat children with respiratory diseases has declined steadily in recent years, according to results of a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Ritalin Use in Maryland Schools Lowest for Minorities, Highest for Special Education.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Nearly 3% of Maryland public school students receive medication, most commonly the methylphenidate trademarked Ritalin, during school hours for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),...

Study: Better, More Accessible Prenatal Services Needed for African-American Women.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Reproductive health care professionals need to develop better strategies to reduce pregnancy-related deaths among African-American women, according to a study led by a researcher at the University of Iowa...

African-American Infants Not Receiving Complete Well Baby Care.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a report in the September 2000 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, African-American and Hispanic babies are 70% less likely than Caucasian infants to receive complete well child care....

Study Finds Many Smokers Not Encouraged to Quit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A U.S. government report says nearly 30% of Medicare recipients who see managed-care physicians and smoke are not being urged to quit. About 13% of patients in Medicare managed-care programs smoke,...

New Technique Detects Tiny, Potentially Harmful Airborne Particles.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A University of Florida professor has found a way to detect and identify extremely low levels of air pollution, a step that comes as concerns mount over the health impacts of breathing in small particles. ...

CDC Measures Human Exposure to Chemicals in Common Products.(United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- U.S. government scientists have discovered that people's bodies absorb questionable chemicals used in such everyday products as fingernail polish - some, particularly in young women, at levels that raise...

Researcher Deciphers How Lead Affects Brain.(Nasser H. Zawia's research about how lead poisoning interferes with brain growth)(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to lead is the number one environmental hazard facing children in America and the sixth leading cause of emergency room visits by...

Pew Commission Urges Protection from Chronic Diseases.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Pew Environmental Health Commission at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health called on the U.S. Congress and the White House to protect Americans from chronic diseases - the number one cause of death...

HIV Specific Unresponsiveness May Play Role in Diminished T-Cell Production.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from the United States, anergy may be caused by the lack of CD4(+) T-cell proliferation to p24 antigen (Ag) in HIV infected individuals. "It has been suggested that CD4(+) T-cell...

FDA Approves New Implanted Hearing Device.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- On August 31, 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new type of surgically implanted hearing device intended to help adults with moderate to severe nerve hearing loss. The device, the...

Strategies Investigated to Combat HCV.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hepatitis C is a growing concern to healthcare providers throughout the U.S. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) screens, tests, and treats more patients with hepatitis C than any other provider...

Couple Jailed for Falsifying Drug Results.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A husband and wife involved in testing a cancer drug have been sentenced to prison for falsifying results that helped the drug win U.S. government approval. The man was sentenced in federal court to three...

CDC Traces Infectious Bacteria to Potting Soil.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- At least two people in the western United States are believed to have contracted Legionnaires' disease from potting soil. These are the first such cases ever reported in the U.S., the U.S. Centers for...

FDA: Plant Margarines Heart Healthy.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Those much-touted anti-cholesterol margarines are getting the U.S. government's blessing to take their advertising a step further and say they really can lower the risk of heart disease. The U.S. Food and...

More Than Just a Brain Disorder.(Parkinson's disease)(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- For many years, researchers have known that the movement problems associated with Parkinson's disease result from a loss of neurons that produce a nerve-signaling chemical called dopamine in one part of the...

Judge Rules Against Bristol-Myers.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A generic version of the popular anti-cancer drug Taxol edged closer to release September 6, 2000, when a U.S. federal judge reversed an order that would have extended Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s current lock...

FDA Cracks Down on Laetrile Resurgence.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- U.S. federal health officials warned Internet users September 6, 2000, to beware of a concoction made of apricot seeds that's touted as a cancer cure, as a Florida court case became the government's latest...

Rare Disease Hits Massachusetts Island.(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- U.S. health officials are investigating a cluster of cases of the rare disease tularemia on Martha's Vineyard, the island off Massachusetts known as a vacation haven for president Bill Clinton and other...

U.S. Army Asked to Fight Potential Outbreak.(U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease researches West Nile virus)(Brief Article)
September 24, 2000... 2000 SEP 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a sealed laboratory, scrub-suited U.S. Army scientists are probing the mysteries of mosquitoes that spread the West Nile virus, including one that could be especially adept at transmitting the sometimes...