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Medical examiner seraching for direct link between three Curry …

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:12:45 +0000

Health investigators probing three Curry County cases involving an invasive bacteria have found no direct connection between the victims, according to an epidemiologist with the state health department.
Wednesday, the New Mexico Health Department announced that two Curry County residents — a 23-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man — have died and a 58-year-old man is hospitalized, suffering from an invasive bacteria known as group A streptococcus.
Citing medical privacy, officials have declined to release any identifying information other than age and gender.
The cases were discovered between Dec. 31 and Monday by Plains Regional Medical Center, where the patients were treated, officials said.
Dr. Chad Smelser, a medical epidemiologist with the state, is working with local, state and federal disease agencies to investigate the incidents.
Investigators are interviewing people who had contact with the three individuals and examining their circumstances in an effort to understand how and why they came down with the infections.
“We haven’t found a link (between the three) but we’re investigating to determine if there was any link other than (the fact) there was a similar time frame and they’re from Curry County,” Smelser said Thursday, explaining if a link is identified that could impact others, the public would be notified.
For now, officials want residents to be aware, and to seek help if they develop symptoms, such as; fever, severe pain and swelling, redness at the site of a wound, a rash over large areas of the body, dizziness or confusion.
Trying to communicate with and educate the public on incidents of group A strep is a difficult chore because experts recognize the symptoms are somewhat nondescript and similar in many ways to other common ailments, NMHD spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer said Thursday.
“It’s a hard public health message because you have a mild illness that can escalate very quickly and we don’t have great advice for (people),” she said.
“With other kinds of diseases, we can say ‘look for this’, but (it’s harder with group A strep)… It’s one of those bacteria that’s everywhere.”
But doctors and medical providers know what to look for and when to test, Smelser said.
“Doctors will know what to do… It’s a common bacteria. The invasive, deadly disease is less common, but doctors are relatively (familiar with the condition),” he said.
Group A strep is found on the skin, in the throat and can cause strep throat.
While it can often be easily treated with antibiotics, Smelser said, it can also cause an invasive infection in the blood, skin or organs, which progress rapidly and with high mortality rates.
“The biggest issue is these stories are tragic because these people are a little sick and all of a sudden they get sicker very fast,” he said.
Often by the time people seek help, they are already in the throws of rapid progression, he said, explaining, “It can be difficult when you see them because they’re already having multiple medical issues.”
People with diminished immune systems, young children, the elderly, people with skin wounds or lesions and those with a history of alcohol or intravenous drug use, he said, are particularly susceptible, though healthy people too can develop it.
Of the three Curry County cases, Smelser said one was discovered through a throat culture and the other two through blood cultures.
Group A strep is a reportable condition in the state of New Mexico, he said, meaning health officials must be notified when it’s discovered and its occurrence is tracked.
Medical providers throughout the region and even hospitals in neighboring Texas communities have been alerted to the incidents and given protocol for diagnoses, treatment and reporting, Smelser said.
Interviewing those who had contact with the three Curry County patients and continuing to do active surveys to monitor the region are all part of the investigation being conducted by health officials.
As with any contagious disease or bacteria, people can help protect themselves by using basic health precautions — sanitation, hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick and seeking medical attention if serious symptoms develop, Smelser said.
Some types of group A strep bacteria cause severe infections, such as:
In 2006, 4,587 cases of severe group A streptococcal disease were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Elderly people with cellulitis, diabetes, blood vessel disease, or cancer
However, severe group A strep disease may also occur in healthy people who have no known risk factors.
Depending on the specific infection, symptoms can include
With identification of symptoms by a doctor, a culture of body fluids, such as blood can accurately identify a Group A Streppocoucus infection.
If identified early, treatment is possible.
Antibiotics used to treat these severe infections include penicillin, erythromycin, and clindamycin.
In cases of tissue damage, surgical removal of the tissue or amputate the limb may be necessary.
Source —National Institute of Health, www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/strep, and Dr. Chad Smelser, medical epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health
2002 — 31 out of 163 hospitalized Marine Corps personnel at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, Calif. were diagnosed with pneumonia stemming from group A streptococci. All of the recruits diagnosed with pneumonia were treated successfully. One fatality in the group was tied to another condition.
1999 — Five female residents in Spokane, Wash. died over the course of two months in a cluster outbreak of invasive group A streptococcus. Each died within five days of the onset of the infection. An investigation revealed the women each had wounds or health issues that contributed to their susceptibility.
• Centers for Disease Control, Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Disease —www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/groupastreptococcal_g.htm
•The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases —www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/strep

Study: Link between hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer …

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:08:17 +0000

Six years after landmark research uncovered breast cancer risk in the nation’s most popular menopause treatment, two new Stanford University analyses show that using hormone replacement therapy long-term poses a far greater risk of cancer than previously thought.
The research concludes that a woman who stays on the therapy for at least five years doubles her risk of breast cancer every year. This 200 percent elevated risk is much greater than the 27 percent risk described in the landmark 2002 Women’s Health Initiative report, the first study to establish a link.
But the new studies, which tracked women in the original research, also offer good news: No risk was established when women took it less than five years. And for women who took it longer, risks dropped when they stopped treatment.
Despite the 2002 results, millions of women have continued to use hormone replacement therapy to ease symptoms such as severe hot flashes. Some continued due to lack of good alternatives; others were not aware of the cancer risks, despite the wide publicity drawn by the earlier study.
“I would encourage women to try and make it through menopause without starting hormone treatment,” said to Marcia Stefanick, professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a co-author of both the 2002 and new study.
“If you do start, go for the lowest dosage and the shortest duration,” she said. The paper is published in Wednesday’s New
England Journal of Medicine.
The latest studies follow the Women’s Health Initiative report, which found that postmenopausal women taking an estrogen plus progestin combination — in a pill called PremPro, made by Wyeth Corp. — were at greater risk of breast cancer than women on placebo.
The finding was so dramatic that the study was abruptly halted. Use of hormone therapy plummeted in the United States, dropping from 60 million prescriptions in 2001 to 20 million in 2005, the latest figures available. Since then, breast cancer diagnoses have fallen, as well.
“It was a big seller — a very big seller. Then there was an enormous change,” said Cindy Pearson, executive director of the National Women’s Health Network in Washington D.C. “It was one of the biggest changes in prescribing habits for a drug commonly used by millions of healthy people.”
Stefanick hopes the new research puts to rest a raging debate over the cause of the nation’s declining rates of breast cancer. When cancer cases fell in the years following the release of the 2002 report, some physicians suggested that other factors, such as changes in mammographies, might explain the trend. But Stefanick studied mammogram usage, and ruled that out as a cause.
“It confirms that stopping hormones really does reduce cancer,” she said.
Pearson and other patient advocates worry that younger patients, just now experiencing menopause, may not have learned the lessons of the 2002 study. Even more worrisome, their doctors may not be educating them. A 2004 Stanford survey published in the journal Menopause found that only 3 in 10 women recalled anything about the study, and fewer than half were familiar with the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy.
“There are still a fair number of doctors and women who depart from the science when they’re thinking about whether to take PremPro,” said Pearson.
Wyeth did not return requests for comment.
For the latest findings, Stefanick and her team followed the 15,000 women in the original study for an additional 2.5 years. In a second, they studied 41,449 women who had not been assigned treatment but took it voluntarily.
For both groups — which included many women in treatment for at least five years, and sometimes far longer — the risk of cancer was much more pronounced than suggested by previous data, she said. Furthermore, researchers found that as the number of women taking drugs declined, there was a corresponding drop in the number of breast cancer cases.
Women who cannot tolerate symptoms of menopause may try PremPro, said Stefanick. But she recommended using the lowest dosage possible and interrupting treatment after two to three years, to see if symptoms returned. Because menopause is a transitional phase, many women find they no longer need the drug.
“Don’t see it as something to take for the rest of your life,” she said.
The results do not apply to women taking estrogen alone. Although estrogen-only treatment has been linked to endometrial cancer, women who have had hysterectomies may benefit from treatment, she said.
With the link now firmly established, patient advocates urge scientists to start looking at other causes for a disease that kills about 40,000 American women a year.
“It’s proven. We don’t need any more research on this topic,” said Barbara Brenner, director of the San Francisco-based patient advocacy group Breast Cancer Action, “It’s time to study other things.”
Contact Lisa M. Krieger at
or (408) 920-5565.

Sequella Presents Data on Synergy Between Investigational New TB …

admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:32:22 +0000

Sequella is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing improved treatments for infectious diseases of epidemic potential. The company leverages its global influence, R&D platforms and infectious disease expertise to proactively address emerging health threats. Through focused execution, clear commercialization pathways, and strategic partnerships, Sequella intends to commercialize a broad product portfolio designed to treat global health threats with significant market opportunity.

Do I have to choose between drugs and love?

admin — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:27:02 +0000

Q.
I have been in a relationship with a man for two years. We fell hard for each other very quickly. He leads an organized, straight-laced lifestyle. I enjoy smoking pot from time to time. In the time that I have been with him, I have not used it nearly as much, but the times that I did have been hidden from him. He knows about the drugs in my past, but I do not consider pot to be a drug other than the fact that it is illegal. It is not a huge part of my life, but he has made it clear that he will not be with someone who “does drugs.”
I have tried to talk with him about it and find compromise, but we just have two completely different views of the issue. The one time I told him I took part in a joint while he was not around, he freaked out. I think that if I tell him I smoke or will smoke in the future, he will look down on me and ultimately cut me out of his life.
If I leave someone based on this fact, does it mean I am choosing a drug over someone who truly loves me? And does he truly love me if I cannot tell him everything about myself? I have been struggling with this for awhile. We get along great and I deeply care for him, but this is something I have a very hard time sharing with him because of the way he has expressed his disapproval. What are my options?
A.
As you hinted, your options do include choosing an illegal drug over a man who loves you.
If your boyfriend doesn’t want to be with someone who does drugs, he is hardly following an extreme moral code. You are engaging in an illegal activity.
You want your boyfriend to be OK with that. This issue might not be negotiable for him. He can truly love you and still feel extremely uncomfortable and disapproving over your decision to use pot. What’s more, he can truly love you and choose not to be with you.
I think you are really minimizing the problem, and are likely in denial. The question — which goes for both of you — is whether this difference is surmountable for the sake of your relationship.
If you and this man are so in love, and your activity is illegal and carries real risk, then why do you insist on continuing? Why is it so important for you to keep smoking? It brings you into contact with drug dealers and a harmful underworld. You risk arrest or real physical harm.
Marijuana is psychologically addictive, and can become a truly debilitating problem, in some cases necessitating rehab. It sometimes leads to the use of other drugs that are even more addictive. It’s possible you are already addicted and need outside help to stop. Many smokers aren’t aware of their own addiction.
You should take a look at your life to see why you need to be in an altered state of consciousness. Are you quelling anxiety or depression? Is something wrong with your daily life? Are you being truly honest with yourself that this is no big deal?
People under the influence of marijuana often act very differently — either paranoid or relaxed to the point of apathy — and this can be unpleasant for the people around them. It is unhealthy in terms of lung function, as well.
Your options are to stop being a drug-user or to break up with this man and look for somebody who feels the way you do. I don’t think you are going to convince your boyfriend you are in the right. Chances are, if you continue to smoke, it will drive a bigger wedge between you and create an ever-increasing problem.
Your question sounds defensive, probably because you don’t want to admit your attachment to drugs. I also wonder whether there is something about your boyfriend’s moral stance, separate from this, that is a problem for you. Possibly you feel you are a bit of a free-spirited rebel while he is too authoritarian, in which case the drug situation is merely masking the real problem.
Dr. Gail’s Bottom Line: Some divisive issues, even for people who love each other, are non-negotiable.
Dr. Gail Saltz is a psychiatrist with New York Presbyterian Hospital and a regular contributor to TODAY. Her latest book is “Anatomy of a Secret Life: The Psychology of Living a Lie.” She is also the author of “Amazing You! Getting Smart About Your Private Parts,” which helps parents deal with preschoolers’ questions about sex and reproduction. Her first book, “Becoming Real: Overcoming the Stories We Tell Ourselves That Hold Us Back,” was published in 2004 by Riverhead Books. It is now available in a paperback version. For more information, you can visit her Web site,
www.drgailsaltz.com
.

Hunting a link between bisphenol A and poor health

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:12:22 +0000

Data on the possible health effects of bisphenol A keep coming. Now, researchers have examined links between urinary concentrations of the chemical and adult health status — and the findings, though not damning, couldn’t be called soothing.
In a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., scientists from the United Kingdom and the University of Iowa analyzed urine samples from 1,455 American adults, asked questions about their health history and took blood samples to measure markers related to liver function and lipid changes.
“We found that higher urinary concentrations of BPA were associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver-enzyme abnormalities. These findings add to the evidence suggesting adverse effects of low-dose BPA in animals.”
).
“… should stimulate further studies and reevaluation of the basic assumptions in chemical risk assessments that led to FDA assurances that BPA is safe. Their findings also heighten incentives for green chemistry (a new field based on collaboration between biologists and chemists to develop biologically inert chemicals for use in products) to find cost-effective replacements for BPA applications contributing to widespread human exposures.”
, the Food and Drug Administration reiterates its confidence in the safety of the chemical, used to harden plastics.

Friction smolders between San Jose firefighters, county jail

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:11:30 +0000

The San Jose Fire Department’s single biggest customer is the county jail, which despite having a round-the-clock, on-site infirmary summons firefighters nearly once a day for emergency medical calls.
Fire officials say that’s four times the per-capita rate of the city’s population at large. But perhaps three out of four of those calls, firefighters say, aren’t really necessary. They say jail staffers often are dialing 911 not so much because paramedics are needed to save a life but simply to have an ambulance transport a patient to the hospital. And those unnecessary calls, fire officials say, make them unavailable for emergencies in the community.
“Some patients exhibit no symptoms that would require a paramedic at all,” said Battalion Chief Kevin Conant. “And a large majority don’t require the level of response that’s coming.”
At the urging of Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, San Jose’s public safety committee this week asked the city manager and fire department to seek a formal agreement with county authorities who run the jail to reduce unneeded firefighter responses to the main lockup on Hedding Street.
But Santa Clara County Executive Peter Kutras Jr. is not convinced that’s necessary, arguing firefighters respond to 911 calls at the jail just as they do for any other city residents.
“When I have an inmate in need of a 911 response, the same response goes to the jail as goes to the neighborhood,” Kutras said. “I’m not
sure why that’s a problem.”
Chief of Correction Edward Flores, who runs the jail, said that with 1,500 inmates at any given time and 70,000 throughout the year, the jail’s emergency medical calls are reasonable.
“Many of those folks are brought to us intoxicated or under the influence of drugs,” Flores said.
But Oliverio, whose district includes the fire station usually summoned to the jail, said the average of 300 emergency calls a year to the jail firefighters cite — including six in one recent 24-hour period— is “really high.” He said it burdens an already thinly staffed fire department to treat inmates who “already have medical care” in-house.
A complex web of responsibility governs medical response to the jail. The county’s Department of Correction runs the facility, while the county Department of Health provides a doctor and nurses for its infirmary.
Ambulance service in Santa Clara County is provided by for-profit American Medical Response, which holds an exclusive contract with the county’s Emergency Services Agency. But AMR subcontracts with San Jose’s fire department for emergency response within the city.
That means all 911 emergency medical calls in San Jose summon both a four-person fire engine crew and a two-person AMR ambulance crew. The fire engine and ambulance crews each include a paramedic.
Kutras said firefighters insisted on that arrangement. In the 1990s, city officials argued that the fire department could respond to medical emergencies faster and at a lower cost than AMR.
“It seems ironic to me that the fire service is complaining about medical response, when the fire service believes the service model should include parmedics on engines,” Kutras said.
But even though no firefighters have been injured in the jail, fire officials cite concerns about their safety in a secure building where they cannot freely move about or easily communicate. They hope to work out a deal where they would be summoned only as needed to treat patients or fight fires.
or (408) 975-9346.

FDA: No link between bone drugs and heart problems

admin — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:13:38 +0000

Government health officials said Wednesday they have found no clear link between popular bone-strengthening drugs and irregular heart rhythms during an ongoing safety review.
The Food and Drug Administration advised doctors and patients to continue taking the drugs under investigation, including Merck & Co.’s Fosamax and Novartis AG’s Reclast.
The agency began investigating the medications last October, after two studies showed increased rates of irregular heart beats in women taking the drugs for osteoporosis, a condition which primarily affects post-menopausal women and can cause debilitating bone fractures and thinning.
The agency said it reviewed multiple studies comparing nearly 20,000 patients on osteoporosis drugs to roughly 18,000 patients taking placebo. According to a statement on its Web site, the FDA found very few instances of irregular heart rhythms — in many cases fewer than two per study.
Regulators said they would continue investigating potential links between the medications and heart problems, noting conflicting research in the medical literature. Specifically the agency said it may call for additional patient studies on the issue.
Other treatments in the drug class, known as bisphosphonates, include: Roche’s Boniva, Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble’s Actonel and Didronel, Novartis AG’s Aredia and Sanofi Aventis’ Skelid.
U.S. sales of all drugs in the class totaled more than $4.6 billion last year, according to drug data tracker IMS Health.

FDA Finds No Link So Far Between Asthma Drugs and Suicide Risk

admin — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:41:41 +0000

The FDA, which began the review in March 2008, said clinical trial data submitted by the manufacturers of Singulair, Accolate and Zyflo suggest the products are not associated with an increased risk of mood changes or suicidal behavior.
But, the agency also noted that the trials were not designed to examine such behavior, and that the safety review will continue, probably for several more months.
“We have finished our analyses of all the data the companies submitted,” FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley told the
. “But that doesn’t mean we have closed the book on suicidality.”
, Merck & Co submitted results from 41 placebo-controlled trials involving 9,929 patients treated with Singulair, which is the top-selling drug for people under 17 years old. One adult patient treated with Singulair had suicidal thoughts, and there were no suicides, according to the FDA report.
AstraZeneca submitted results from 45 placebo-controlled trials in which 7,540 patients were treated with Accolate. The FDA said one patient in an accompanying placebo group attempted suicide, and another thought about it. No Accolate patients reported any suicidal behavior. The FDA also said Cornerstone submitted information showing no suicidal behavior among Zyflo users.
Tuesday that the company has turned over extensive records to the FDA.
“We still believe, after a thorough review of our clinical trial data and post-marketing event reports that the safety profile of Singulair hasn’t changed,” said Dr. Scott Korn, vice president for clinical risk management. “We look forward to discussions with the FDA after they’ve completed their work.”
Before last year’s review began, Merck had updated prescribing information for Singulair to include information on several adverse events including tremor, depression, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and anxiousness, according to the FDA.
When the review began, experts pointed out that while it was under way, asthma sufferers needed to determine with their doctors whether Singulair is the best choice of treatment for them.
“[Patients need] to define what they’re taking it for,” said Dr. David Weldon, director of the Allergy and Pulmonary Lab Services at Scott & White in College Station, Texas. “In some instances, patients may be prescribed Singulair by itself for management of their asthma, and the expert panel guidelines recommend inhaled steroids as the drug of choice for management of asthma as the first line. So if they’re still having problems with asthma, they should check with their prescribing physician regarding this.”
Weldon said that he has not seen any increase in psychiatric problems with the drug, but that some patients had complained of nightmares after starting on Singulair.
“The physician really needs to review whether there are symptoms that have developed since patients started taking the medication, if there’s an underlying depression that was there before medication started,” added Dr. Rauno Joks, chief of the division of allergy and immunology at SUNY (State University of New York) Downstate in New York City. “Also, seasonal allergies in and of themselves can cause fatigue and lethargy, which makes it harder to assess, because those are some of the symptoms you have with depression.”
Joks said he had seen headaches develop as a side effect of Singulair, but not psychiatric problems.
The drug, a leukotriene receptor antagonist that targets part of the body’s inflammatory process, is prescribed to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, as well as to prevent exercise-induced asthma.
for more on this issue.
; David Weldon, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and director, Allergy and Pulmonary Lab Services, Scott & White, College Station; Rauno Joks, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine, and chief, division of allergy and immunology, SUNY (State University of New York) Downstate, New York City

Strategy Launched to Strengthen Connection Between Family Medicine …

admin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:41:48 +0000

Health Professionals Appointed to Lead Primary Care and Cancer Strategy

TORONTO, Oct. 30 /CNW/ – Family physicians and nurses play a critical
role in cancer screening and throughout the cancer journey. They greatly
influence patient screening behaviours and help to make sure that the cancer
system meets local patient care needs. Today, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO)
launched a Primary Care and Cancer Strategy to strengthen the connection
between family medicine and the cancer system.
“Engaging primary care across the cancer care continuum is an essential
step in reducing the burden of cancer and improving care,” said Cancer Care
Ontario President and CEO Terrence Sullivan. “Building and supporting this
strategy will help to make sure that patients receive the best quality care
every step of the way.”
As a key step in implementing the strategy, CCO has appointed a
provincial lead for primary care and a regional lead in each Local Health
Integration Network (LHIN). Together they form a Provincial Primary Care
Network and act as local contacts for primary care providers and regional
cancer centres in Ontario.

>
For further information: Media Contact: Lenore Bromley, Sr. Public
Affairs Advisor, Cancer Care Ontario, (416) 971-9800 ext. 3383, Email:
lenore.bromley@cancercare.on.ca

Surprising links between prostate and breast cancer

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:32:33 +0000

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:52p.m.
Prostate cancer shares some surprising statistics with breast cancer.
According to the latest figures collated, the incidence and mortality rates are almost identical.
In 2005 just over 2,400 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and just over 600 women died.
In the same year more than 2,400 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and just under 600 died.
However, unlike breast cancer, there is no national screening program for the men’s disease.
The breast cancer awareness campaign and screening program has been in place for 10 years.
Breast surgeon Dr Belinda Scott says there needs to be action now to save men’s lives too.
“If you introduce screening this year you’re not going to see your reduction in deaths for 20 years, but you can still see it happening,” explains Dr Scott.
Dr Scott says more of a fuss needs to be made to get men thinking about the dangers of prostate cancer.
Something the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s President Barry Young agrees with.
He has had it and is vocal about the benefits of a nationwide screening program.
“Overseas, where they do have screening in places like Austria, where they’ve had them for over 10 years, through the screening they’ve reduced death rate in that country by 40 percent,” states Mr Young.
But the Ministry of Health says research studies are needed to confirm whether the benefits outweigh the harms.
It clearly has worked for breast cancer. Deaths have decreased by more than 27 percent since nationwide screening of woman over 50 began in 1998.
“I can tell you with woman they will go through 400 unnecessary biopsies for one cancer and that’s what they tell us they would do. So we don’t know about it for men,” states Dr Scott. “Nobodies talking to the men.”
The Movember Foundation is doing their bit to get men talking to each other this month by encouraging men to grow moustaches.
Movember parted ways with the prostate cancer foundation earlier this year when they disagreed about how and when the $3 million raised in the past two years should be spent.
This year’s money will be given to The Mental Health Foundation and The Cancer Society to raise awareness and also help fight men’s depression.
“It’s amazing and wonderful to be working with another organisation to help men’s health,” says Cancer Foundation CEO Dalton Kelly. “Depression is a large concern in the area of cancer as well so we’re ideal work mates.”
So far 12,000 men have signed up and around $240,000 has been raised.