Medical News May 19th, 2008
Mom’s Stress in Pregnancy May Up Baby’s Asthma and Allergy Risk
If an expectant mother is exposed to high levels of stress, her baby may be more likely to develop asthma or allergies later in life, new research suggests.
Babies born to mothers experiencing high levels of stress had more IgE in their blood at birth than did babies born to less-stressed moms. IgE is an antibody involved in allergic and asthmatic reactions.
“Moms who had elevated levels of stress had children who seemed to be more reactive to allergens, even when exposed to low levels of allergens,” said study co-author Dr. Rosalind Wright, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
GlaxoSmithKline given OK to sell bird-flu vaccine in Europe
GlaxoSmithKline said Monday that it has received permission to sell its bird-flu vaccine, Prepandrix, across the European Union.
The British drug maker (NYSE: GSK) is the first company to win approval of a European vaccine for the deadly H5N1 virus, it says.
“This vaccine marks a significant step in the world’s ability to cope with an influenza pandemic,” CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier said in a written statement. “It is testament to GSK scientists who have pioneered the approach to pre-pandemic vaccination, demonstrating our commitment to doing everything we can to help prevent the devastating effects of a pandemic and play our part in averting this potential public health crisis.”
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KC fares poorly in report on women’s heart health
When it comes to women’s heart health, Kansas City ranks toward the bottom of the country’s biggest metropolitan areas, a new study from the American Heart Association shows.
Kansas City ranked 28th out of 38 “mega” metros, or metropolitan areas with at least 1.45 million people, according to the report, America’s Most Heart-Friendly Cities for Women, being released today.
The study analyzed factors such as how many women die of heart attack and stroke, women’s eating and exercise habits, smoke-free legislation, and rates of hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity among women.
New Study: Low Vitamin D Levels Dramatically Raise Breast Cancer Risk
(NaturalNews) For years, researchers have suspected that low levels of vitamin D in the body might raise the odds a woman will develop breast cancer, but hard scientific proof has been lacking. Now a new study conducted by scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), collaborating with researchers of the University Hospitals in Hamburg-Eppendorf, provides evidence that women with low blood levels of vitamin D clearly have a substantially increased risk of breast cancer.
Nearly 100 Infected with Hepatitis C at Las Vegas Endoscopy Center.
To date, officials have linked 84 cases of Hepatitis C that have turned up in Las Vegas to the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, where all those infected received treatment. A CDC report released Friday officially confirms the cause of the outbreak and—based on state and federal officials’ observations of patient procedures at the clinic—details a variety of unsanitary practices, including nurses’ and anesthesiologists’ failing to perform basic hand hygiene when administering intravenous medications.
State health officials contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) when two patients treated at the clinic were later diagnosed with Hepatitis C. The clinic recommended that 50,000 of the clinics’ patients be tested, which is when the 84 cases were confirmed.
The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada routinely reused syringes on multiple patients, a negligent practice which exposed thousands of patients to blood borne diseases, including Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. All of these diseases are extremely debilitating and can be fatal. The Hepatitis injury lawyers at our firm want to hold the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada accountable for the gross negligence that occurred there. It is our contention that the clinic should be responsible for any medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering caused by this negligence. Our Hepatitis injury lawyers will work hard to ensure victims of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada receive the compensation they deserve.
Minn. Health Dept. Warns: Tick-Borne Illnesses on the Rise
Minnesota health officials announced that bites from blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) led to a record number of tick-borne diseases during 2007 such as Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis. These three illnesses can all lead to serious complications.
According to the statistics, bites from blacklegged ticks led to 1,239 cases of Lyme disease (a potentially serious bacterial infection affecting both humans and animals); 322 cases of human anaplasmosis (a bacterial disease less common that Lyme disease) and 24 cases of babesiosis (a protozoan infection from the same black-legged ticks). These numbers exceeded by far those registered in the previous years. For example, there were 1,023 cases of Lyme disease in 2004, 186 of human anaplasmosis in 2005 and 18 cases of babesiosis in 2006.
Symptoms of these illnesses include fever, severe headache, muscle aches, chills and shaking, similar to the symptoms of influenza. Most cases can be successfully treated with a few weeks of antibiotics.
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Health care billing fight is looming
Doctors and hospital officials will square off with health insurers Monday in San Diego over a state plan to ban medical providers from billing emergency room patients for charges not covered by insurance companies.
The proposal, by the Department of Managed Health Care, is the agency’s third attempt in two years to outlaw so-called balance billing, which turns patients into pawns in payment disputes. The earlier proposals were scrubbed after regulators failed to build consensus among various health care parties.
News May 19th, 2008 | doctor-clinic.net seems quite interesting - thanks for information R.Kraven