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16 May 2010 12:02

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U.S.: Some people paralyzed by food allergies they don’t really have

Yeah, some people are allergic to peanuts, but a new study suggests that some people often freak out over food allergies they don’t actually have. In other words, they’re nuts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 13:50

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U.S.: Just to scare you, here’s a quote about a deadly staph infection

  • One of the problems with MRSA, one of the reasons why it’s become what I consider a true crisis, is that I really don’t think we’ve been taking it sufficiently seriously for a very long time.
  • “Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA” author Maryn McKenna • Regarding one of the deadliest, most-resistant diseases out there, and one that’s often been ignored by those with power to stop it. The drug, which kills 19,000 each year and sickens millions more, is infamous in hospitals, where it infected one Seattle hospital so badly in 1980 that they had to close the intensive-care and burn units and build new ones. Now it’s worse and more drug-resistant than it’s ever been. Scared? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

14 May 2010 15:00

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Biz: So yeah, the plant where Children’s Tylenol was made is a disaster

  • This inspection report is pretty close to being the worst I’ve seen. It suggests that basically the FDA found an issue with almost every system at the plant.
  • Temple University professor (and former Johnson & Johnson employee) David Lebo • Regarding the conditions of a Pennsylvania Tylenol plant that was shut down recently by the Food and Drug Administration. The shutdown followed a mass recall of many children’s drug products by the manufacturer. Nearly three dozen complaints were filed regarding the drugs, which including foreign materials. The FDA’s report suggests that there was lacking quality control that made some of the drugs superpotent (as scary as it sounds). We’re guessing that this PR crisis won’t be fixed as easily as that other one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Apr 2010 00:37

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U.S.: The newly approved Provenge: It’s a cure for prostate cancer, kinda

  • $93,000 the amount the cancer vaccine,
    which the FDA just approved
    yesterday, costs
  • four the number of months the drug
    adds to the life expectancy of a
    prostate cancer patient source
  • » It’s a vaccine that doesn’t really work like a vaccine. The vaccine, administered in three shots, is made from a patient’s own cells, and is used to teach the body how to kill malignant cancer cells. However, unlike most vaccines, it doesn’t prevent the disease, just slows it down. The drug may be expensive, but it’s more effective than chemotherapy.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink

28 Apr 2010 20:30

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Biz: McDonald’s not very happy with Santa Clara County right now

  • What happened?Santa Clara County, Calif., decided they had enough of the Happy Meal convincing kids to eat crappy food by teasing them with a cheap toy, so they banned selling crappy food with toys inside. “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes,” the county supervisor claimed.

    healthy food excluded The ordinance really only limits restaurants from giving away toys with crappy food. If your meal has less than 485 calories, 600 milligrams of sodium, 35 percent of calories from fat and 10 percent of calories from sugar, you’re golden.

    Grace period Restaurants have a little over 100 days to make changes to their menus. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

22 Apr 2010 11:00

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Biz: Why is there a push to cut back on salt in foods, anyway?

  • 2,300 the number of milligrams of salt dietary guidelines recommend
    you eat daily
  • 3,200 the number of milligrams of salt people actually eat daily; see the problem here? source
  • » Putting it in manufacturers’ hands: The Institute of Medicine released a report about this on Tuesday, which the FDA may use to set limits for how much salt can be in certain foods. The food industry is complaining about this: “It is a very complicated, technical challenge for our food scientists to execute this,” said General Mills vice president Susan Crockett. “What you want to do is reduce the sodium so the taste is good enough and the consumer doesn’t add salt with the shaker.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Apr 2010 08:53

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U.S.: Doctors seem more willing to let you turn on, tune in, drop out

  • All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating. Imagine you fall off a boat out in the open ocean, and you turn around, and the boat is gone. And then the water’s gone. And then you’re gone.
  • Retired psychologist Dr. Clark Martin • Regarding the psychedelic experience he had which he says cured his long-lasting depression. Now that doctors have had a good 40 years of distance from the hippies (but not the bizarro hippies), it appears that doctors are willing to give the drugs another try in a controlled setting. The studies have been on a small scale so far, but the results appear promising. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Apr 2010 21:22

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U.S.: New thing for germophobes to be scared of: Antibacterial soap

Antibacterial soap’s main germ-killing element is triclosan, which the FDA is reviewing the safety of. One congressman, Edward Markey, wants to ban it altogether. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 22:40

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U.S.: Births: Fewer births, but the moms were a little older

  • -2% decline in births across the board in the U.S. last year
  • 40+the only age group that had any increase in birth rate source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2010 10:06

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U.S.: XMRV: It’s not HIV, but does it transmit the same way?

  • bad XMRV, first discovered in 2006, is infectious and linked to two diseases – prostrate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. But evidence is still inconclusive.
  • worse Preliminary evidence suggests the disease is transmitted through blood just like HIV. Unlike HIV, it’s not currently checked for in the nation’s blood supply. Great. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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