04/10/18

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Woman dies from formaldehyde instead of saline in IV

She was reportedly undergoing routine surgery when she was mistakenly injected with formalin, normally used as part of the embalming process to preserve dead bodies

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-woman-died-formaldehyde-instead-of-saline-in-iv-hospital-reports/

Gynecologic Condition Tied to Mental Health Issues

That's the suggestion of a new British study that hints at a connection between the gynecologic condition and mental health issues, but does not prove cause and effect.

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20180410/gynecologic-condition-tied-to-mental-health-issues?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Study Finds Vast Health Differences Between States

Overall, the study uncovered some good news: premature death rates are down in the United States as a whole.

From: https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20180410/study-finds-vast-health-differences-between-states?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Sugar-Craving Gene Fights Fat, But Has Downside

Researchers analyzed data from 450,000 people in the U.K. Biobank -- which includes biological samples from hundreds of thousands of people -- to examine links between different versions of the FGF21 gene, diet, body fat and blood pressure.

From: https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20180410/sugar-craving-gene-fights-fat-but-has-downside?src=RSS_PUBLIC

ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day: Dentists take on Capitol Hill

Dental professionals and dental students attended hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill with legislators and their staffs on April 10 as part of ADA Dentist and Study Lobby Day to advocate for oral health-related issues.

From: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/april/ada-dentist-and-student-lobby-day-dentists-take-on-capitol-hill

Dentists, students recognized for advocacy

The American Dental Political Action Committee presented grassroots advocacy awards April 10 during the ADA Dentist and Student Lobby Day.

From: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2018-archive/april/dentists-students-recognized-for-advocacy

3 deaths tied to excessive bleeding from synthetic weed

According Illinois health officials, 107 cases of severe bleeding have been linked to the drug in the past month

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/synthetic-weed-rat-poison-chemical-deaths-tied-to-excessive-bleeding/

Video Games OK for Toddler, But Only With a Parent

The study found that 2-year-olds who engaged in a physical activity -- like crawling through a tunnel or playing ball -- did better on a test of mental flexibility than did toddlers who were left to play video games on their own.

From: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20180410/video-games-ok-for-toddler-but-only-with-a-parent?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Eyebrow-Raising Finding on Communication Evolution

The research adds to a long-running debate about why other hominins had huge brow ridges, while modern humans evolved flatter foreheads.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180410/eyebrow-raising-finding-on-communication-evolution?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Life expectancy varies greatly among states

How long you might live may depend on where you live, according to new research

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-expectancy-varies-greatly-among-states-study/

Nearly one billion people in Africa to be protected against yellow fever by 2026

Nearly one billion people will be vaccinated against yellow fever in 27 high-risk African countries by 2026 with support from WHO, Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and more than 50 health partners.

The commitment is part of the Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) in Africa strategy, which was launched by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and partners at a regional meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday (10 April).

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/releases/2018/yellow-fever-africa/en/index.html

New way of defining Alzheimer’s aims to spot it sooner

Proposal would base diagnosis on on biological signs such as brain changes, rather than memory loss and other symptoms of dementia that are used today

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alzheimers-proposed-new-definition-aims-to-find-disease-quicker/

Human Cancer Meds Might Help Save Tasmanian Devils

In lab tests, these drugs also stopped growth of the two cancers that afflict Tasmanian devils.

From: https://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20180410/human-cancer-meds-might-help-save-tasmanian-devils?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Who Do City Mosquitoes Bite Most?

Meanwhile, higher-income neighborhoods had fewer mosquitoes buzzing around. But human residents accounted for a much bigger proportion of the pests' meals, compared to lower-income areas.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180410/who-do-city-mosquitoes-bite-most?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Diet, Exercise Can Ease Prostate Cancer Treatment

Half of the men took part in a 12-week exercise and nutrition program, while the other half received only basic education about their diagnosis and about exercise.

From: https://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20180409/diet-exercise-can-ease-prostate-cancer-treatment?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Antidepressants in Pregnancy May Alter Fetal Brain

The scans indicated that SSRI exposure in the womb was associated with an increase in the size of gray matter found in two parts of the brain: the amygdala and the insula.

From: https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20180409/antidepressants-in-pregnancy-may-alter-fetal-brain?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Nursing home accused of dumping patient at homeless shelter

Ronald Anderson, who has diabetes and uses a wheelchair, says he was kicked out of a nursing facility and dropped off on Los Angeles' Skid Row

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ronald-anderson-avalon-villa-care-center-patient-dumping-skid-row/

New FDA restrictions on Essure birth control implant

The device has been linked to cases of pain, bleeding, allergic reactions and other dangerous side effects

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/essure-birth-control-implant-new-fda-restrictions/

Giving antacids and antibiotics to babies can lead to allergies

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

Allergies are on the rise, especially food allergies. While nobody knows for sure why this is happening, a leading theory is that we may be doing things that mess up our natural microbiome.

Our microbiome is the trillions of organisms that live on and in our bodies, such as bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. We generally think of these organisms as “germs” that can cause illness — and while they can, in some situations it turns out that the right organisms in the right balance actually help keep us healthy. Our microbiome affects how we digest foods, stay at a healthy weight, fight infection, and stave off diseases like diabetes. Through its link to our immune system, our microbiome is thought to be linked to our risk of allergic reactions.

Two common types of medications, antacids and antibiotics, can mess up our microbiome. Antibiotics do it by killing not just the bacteria that make us sick, but also the bacteria that help keep us healthy. As for antacids, by making the stomach less acidic they make it more likely that bacteria from the mouth (that are normally killed by the acid in the stomach when swallowed) make it down into the intestine. Those mouth bacteria can crowd out the bacteria that our intestines need to function normally.

In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers studied almost 800,000 children from birth to about 4 years of age. They looked to see if the children got antacids or antibiotics in the first six months of life, and then tracked to see if they went on to have any allergic conditions. They found that children who got antacids were twice as likely to have food allergies as those who didn’t, and children who got antibiotics were twice as likely to have asthma as those who didn’t. Children who got either antacids or antibiotics showed an increased risk of other kinds of allergic conditions, from hay fever to severe allergic reactions.

This does not mean that infants should never get antacids or antibiotics. Antibiotics can be lifesaving for infants with bacterial infections, and there are situations when antacids can be extremely useful. But both medications are often overused. Antacids are often used in babies with reflux, or fussiness with feeding; while they can be helpful, the symptoms can be managed in other ways and usually resolve with time. Antibiotics are often used for upper respiratory infections, even though most upper respiratory infections are caused by viruses and don’t need antibiotics.

Moving forward, doctors need to be thoughtful and careful about how they prescribe antacids and antibiotics to infants, only doing it when truly necessary. Parents of infants need to be informed consumers. When given a prescription for either antacids or antibiotics, they should ask if it is truly necessary — and whether there are any alternative treatments that might be tried.

It’s about breaking old habits, and thinking about treatments in different ways based on what research is telling us. The more we learn, the more we can keep our children healthy, not just now but for the rest of their lives.

The post Giving antacids and antibiotics to babies can lead to allergies appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Claire McCarthy, MD https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/giving-antacids-and-antibiotics-to-babies-can-lead-to-allergies-2018041013627

Mayo Clinic Minute: Hope for a rare brain malformation

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s-J4TtKoEY

New definition of Alzheimer’s changes how disease is researched

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9uCBaHrPYc

Even Toddlers Endangered By Opioids, Other Drugs

In 2016, U.S. poison control centers received an estimated 30,250 reports of children aged 5 and younger sickened by a wide array of addictive substances -- everything from tobacco and e-cigarettes to marijuana and prescription opioid drugs, the report found.

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20180410/even-toddlers-endangered-by-opioids-other-drugs?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Health and Nutrition News, Latest Headlines Source