//-->
Health Highlights: April 25, 2007
04.25.07,
12:00 AM ET
Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
FDA Probing Data on Antipsychotic Drug
Zyprexa
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether
Eli Lilly & Company provided accurate data about the safety of
the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, The New York Times
reported.
Concerns about the drug's link to diabetes and weight gain
have contributed to a 50 percent decline in the number of Zyprexa
prescriptions written in the United States since 2003.
The FDA wants to find out more about a Feb. 2000 Lilly document
that noted that patients taking Zyprexa in clinical trials had a
3.5 times greater risk of developing high blood sugar than people
who didn't take the drug. That document was not given to the
FDA, The Times reported.
A few months later, Lilly submitted data to the FDA showing
similar blood sugar levels in patients who took Zyprexa and in
those who didn't take the drug.
The FDA told The Times that it's still looking into
the matter and has not yet decided whether to take any action
against Lilly.
-----
Improve Disabled People's Access to
Health Coverage, Assistive Devices: Report
Outdated regulations often hinder disabled Americans' access
to health care coverage and assistive devices, concludes a new
report by the Institute of Medicine.
Congress and the appropriate federal agencies need to improve
decision making about what and who Medicare and Medicaid will cover
in order to eliminate waiting periods for qualified disabled people
to receive Medicare coverage, the report said.
In addition, the federal government needs to ease restrictions
that prevent disabled people from getting assistive services and
technologies that help promote independence and participation in
work and other activities outside the home.
Currrently, at least one in seven Americans (40 million) have
physical mobility, sensory or other impairments or limitations, the
report said.
"The number of Americans who have disabilities will grow
significantly in the next 30 years as the baby boom generation
enters late life. If one considers people who now are disabled,
those likely to develop a future disability, and people who are or
will be affected by the disabilities of family members or others
close to them, it becomes clear that disability will eventually
affect the lives of most Americans," Alan M. Jette, director
of the Health and Disability Research Institute, Boston University
School of Public Health, and chair of the committee that wrote the
report, said in a prepared statement.
"Increasingly, scientific evidence reveals that disability
results, in large part, from actions society and individuals take.
The sobering reality, however, is that over the past two decades,
far too little progress has been made in adopting major public
policy and practice advances to reduce disability in America,"
Jette said.
-----
Hospice Inspections Lagging In Some
States
A U.S. federal report released Tuesday found that some Medicare
hospice programs had not been checked by state inspectors for many
years and were long past their date for certification, the
Associated Press reported.
The report was issued by the inspector general's office of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hospices give care to terminally-ill patients. The report looked
at data on 2,537 Medicare hospice providers across the country and
found that 14 percent were past due for certification. On average,
they hadn't been checked for nine years.
Three states -- California, Illinois and Michigan -- accounted
for 41 percent of the past-due certifications, the AP
reported.
Inspections by state officials are the federal government's
main way of monitoring the quality of care in Medicare-funded
hospices. In 2004, Medicare payments to hospices that were overdue
for inspection averaged $2.7 million each.
-----
Blood Clot in Cheney's Leg
Shrinking
Doctors say the blood clot in U.S. Vice President Dick
Cheney's left leg is gradually shrinking, a spokeswoman said
Tuesday.
An ultrasound of the vice president's clot was done at his
doctor's office Tuesday morning. Cheney, 66, then returned to
the White House to resume his normal schedule, his spokeswoman
Megan McGinn told the Associated Press .
"The ultrasound was reassuring and showed that the clot is
gradually resolving," McGinn said. "His blood-thinning
medication was found to be in the desired range. The vice
president's doctors advised him to continue the current course
of treatment."
The clot in Cheney's lower left leg was discovered March 5.
This type of blood clot -- deep venous thrombosis -- can prove
fatal if it breaks away and travels through the bloodstream to the
lungs.
Cheney has experienced a number of health problems, including
four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing
angioplasties and implantation of a special pacemaker in his chest,
the AP reported.
-----
Bird Flu Pandemic Could Kill Millions:
WHO
A billion people could be infected and two million to seven
million could die if there's a worldwide bird flu pandemic,
says the World Health Organization (WHO).
The estimates were arrived at from models based on previous flu
epidemics, Jean-Marc Olive, the WHO's representative for the
Philippines, said Tuesday at a forum in Manila organized by the
Australian embassy.
Agence France Presse reported that Olive also said even
"a modest pandemic lasting over one year might cause losses as
high as three percent of Asia's GDP (gross domestic product)
and 0.5 percent of the world GDP."
Mass culls of infected poultry flocks may help avert a human
pandemic, Olive said. He also recommended that countries improve
preventive and surveillance measures, as well as make preparations
for an outbreak, such as stockpiling anti-viral drugs, AFP
reported.
Since 2003, the H5N1 bird flu virus has killed at least 172
people, mostly in Southeast Asia. Experts fear that the virus could
cause a pandemic if it mutates into a form that's easily
transmitted between humans.
-----
High Fat Meals Boost Blood
Pressure
A single high fat meal can quickly boost a person's blood
pressure, says a Canadian study published this week in the
Journal of Nutrition .
University of Calgary researchers found that blood pressure in
people who ate high fat meals increased 1.25 to 1.5 times higher
than people who ate low fat meals when both groups underwent
several standard stress tests, the Toronto Star
reported.
"We can measure this response after only one meal, which is
remarkable," said study author Tavis Campbell, a health
psychology professor. If blood pressure is affected after just one
high fat meal, "it's really striking to think about people
who do this (two or three times a week)," Campbell said.
The study included 30 healthy volunteers, ages 18 to 25, who had
no history of blood pressure or heart problems.
Campbell said this immediate increase in blood pressure after a
high fat meal could help explain why this kind of food causes heart
disease over time, the Star reported.
-----
Article Controls
');
//-->
News Headlines (Related) |
More From Forbes.com (Related) |
Special Reports (Related)
Advertisement: Related Business Topics >
Commercial Real Estate (Related) Commercial Real EstateCompanies for Sale (Related) Companies for Sale
Subscriptions > (Related) Subscriptions >
Subscribe To Newsletters (Related) Subscribe To NewslettersSubscriber Customer Service (Related) Subscriber Customer Service
ADVERTISEMENT Related Business TopicsOffice Desks (Related) Wireless Internet Service (Related)
The Best Of Lifemore > (Related) Top Shops 2006 (Related) Top Shops 2006
Thanks to an increased focus on client satisfaction, you don't have to have a fat wallet to get excellent customer service.
Trading Center
Brought to you by the sponsors below
CEO Book Club Book Review
Jazz Mecca Still Swings (Related)
Book Review
The Sound Of Silence (Related) The Sound Of Silence
Having trouble managing your business? Maybe you talk too much.
Wine Club Auto Insurance Quotes Car Insurance Quotes Credit Card Processing Credit Cards Ecommerce Hosting Health Insurance Leads Home Loans Home Mortgage Loan Life Insurance Leads Life Insurance Quotes Merchant Account Mortgage Leads Mortgage Lenders Mortgage Loans Online Colleges Online Degrees Online Education Online Universities Real Estate Refinance Mortgage Student Loans Wrongful Death Attorney Business Loans Debt Consolidation Loan Health Insurance Quotes Medical Malpractice Lawyer Mesothelioma Attorney Mortgage Mortgage Calculator Restaurant LoansWine Club (Related) Auto Insurance Quotes (Related) Car Insurance Quotes (Related) Credit Card Processing (Related) Credit Cards (Related) Ecommerce Hosting (Related) Health Insurance Leads (Related) Home Loans (Related) Home Mortgage Loan (Related) Life Insurance Leads (Related) Life Insurance Quotes (Related) Merchant Account (Related) Mortgage Leads (Related) Mortgage Lenders (Related) Mortgage Loans (Related) Online Colleges (Related) Online Degrees (Related) Online Education (Related) Online Universities (Related) Real Estate (Related) Refinance Mortgage (Related) Student Loans (Related) Wrongful Death Attorney (Related) Business Loans (Related) Debt Consolidation Loan (Related) Health Insurance Quotes (Related) Medical Malpractice Lawyer (Related) Mesothelioma Attorney (Related) Mortgage (Related) Mortgage Calculator (Related) Restaurant Loans (Related)
Luxury Cars (Related)
Luxury Travel (Related)
Oracle DBA by (Related)
No comments:
Post a Comment