May is Stroke Awareness Month

Cerebrovascular disease is one of the most devastating, and most misunderstood, epidemics of our time. More than 700,000 Americans suffer a major cerebrovascular event -- usually a stroke - each year. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the number one cause of disability with more than 3,000,000 currently living with permanent brain damage caused by such an event. On average, someone in the United States suffers a stroke every 53 seconds and every 3.3 minutes someone dies of one.

 For more information about Stroke, click here.

Human Mad Cow Cases in Colorado? Officials Say Not

Health care officials, in an attempt to assuage concerns that Mad Cow Disease has crossed the Atlantic, released a statement that the two recent deaths in Colorado from a similar brain-wasting ailment were not connected with consumption or contact with infected animals. Cindy Permenter, a spokesperson from the Department of Health, said that physicians have determined that the two deaths in question were caused by the classic, or non-cow-related, version of the rare disease know as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD. Each year there are a handful of cases of classical CJD reported to the Centers for Disease Control with an average of 4 cases per year in Colorado. A spokesperson from the CDC noted that they have yet to identify any human cases here in the US of the new variant of CJD that is associated with cattle infected with Mad Cow Disease. Both CJD and the new variant are part of a family of diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies. These diseases are similar in that they attack the brain and central nervous system, effectively eroding it away and giving it the appearance of a sponge-like material. There is no known treatment for either disease and the survival for both is from 6 months to 1 year. As of last month, British officials have identified at least 94 cases of new variant CJD.

British Researchers Find Standard Scuba Mouthpieces Potentially Hazardous

A new study completed by researchers in England and reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that standard design mouthpieces used by scuba divers are potentially dangerous. The design of scuba mouthpieces has changed very little since their introduction in the 1940's. In the study, the scientists found that use of these mouthpieces may result in vertigo and disorientation and have been implicated in accidents and deaths under water. The researchers discovered that non-customized mouthpieces place a strain on the jaw causing local inflammation of the jaw itself and awkward loading of the mandibular joint in around 2/3rds of divers. This inflammation can in turn lead to middle and inner ear inflammation that induces the worrisome vertigo and disorientation. Fully customized mouthpieces can almost eliminate the abnormal jaw loading and prevent these adverse side-effects of the diving equipment.

Arsenic Scare in Florida Closes Parks

In the past several weeks South Florida residents have observed numerous playgrounds closed and their wooden playground structures torn down. The reason? Spokespersons from the Department of Environmental Protection fumbled for an answer, officially responding that arsenic was suspected to have been leaking into the soil from pressure-treated lumber used in the construction of the playground equipment. Officials from the Department of Health initially were quick to add that the public should not worry about heath risks associated with this. Now officials are releasing that, in truth, they do not know how much arsenic is bad for you and what the true dangers are. Despite the lack of answers, at least five parks were closed in the southern part of the state while the equipment was torn down or soil was tested. The perceived threat comes from lumber used in playgrounds and decks that has been treated with a preservative called CCA, or chromated copper arsenate. CCA helps keep insects from making burrows and rot from advancing thereby extending the life of the wood. Unfortunately, the CCA preservative contains arsenic and can, over time, leach out of the wood and contaminate the soil underneath. Arsenic is a known carcinogen and has been linked to several types of cancer, including skin, bladder and lung. Other potential adverse side effects are possible, especially in the still developing brains of children. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has set the safety standard for arsenic in soil at 0.8 parts per million for residential areas. Scientists acknowledge that it takes at least 10 times that level before increasing one's cancer risk. Two weeks ago, a joint study by the University of Florida and University of Miami found arsenic levels as high as 217 parts per million at nine state and city parks in Miami, Gainesville and Tallahassee.

New Egg-Free Flu Vaccine has Great Promise

People with egg allergies have more to worry about that just what they eat. Because flu vaccines manufactured in the US are derived from chicken eggs, people allergic to eggs are advised not to have their annual flu vaccine. Researchers in Europe have announced that they have perfected an egg-free flu vaccine, making it possible to immunize egg-allergic individuals while also decreasing the likelihood of vaccine shortages, a problem recently that plagued the US. This new method grows the vaccine in a "protein-free" media and employs kidney cells from the African green monkey. It is estimated that the vaccine would be available for the 2004 flu season.

Anesthesia Drug Pulled from the Market

A potent muscle relaxer was pulled off the market suddenly after its maker learned of at least 5 deaths linked with the drug Raplon. This voluntary withdrawal by manufacturer Organon, Inc, makes the 12th drug pulled off the market since 1997. The most common use of Raplon was for short procedures requiring muscle relaxation, such as the insertion of endotracheal tubes. Then Raplon was initially approved, the FDA placed a warning about a rare side effect of mild to severe bronchospasm in about 3.2% of patients. A warning was instituted that said that Raplon should only be used by experienced physicians with resuscitation equipment immediately available. Other drugs similar to Raplon are available with fewer side-effect risks. This voluntary withdrawal comes at a time when political pressure has been placed on the FDA to speed drug approvals, a notoriously slow process in the US compared to other developed nations. Critics warn that altering our FDA drug approval process could adversely introduce medications that have not been thoroughly enough tested. With protocols limiting the number of test subjects in phase III trials, drugs may be released before more rare problems with incidences in the 1 in thousands are unmasked.

FDA Report Finds Flaws in Product Labeling

A recent examination of food manufacturers by the FDA revealed that over 25% of companies do not list ingredients that can cause potentially fatal allergic reactions. Roughly seven million Americans depend of product packaging to warn them of ingredients that are uniquely sensitizing to them and, if ingested, could cause fatal anaphylaxis. The FDA study was ordered in response to a recent increase of food recalls because of allergy-inducing ingredients not listed on the product's label. Under FDA rules, companies are required to list all the ingredients except for trace amounts of "natural" ingredients which may be legally omitted. The FDA's report, which took two years to complete, also found that almost half of companies have no checks and balances policy that ensures that all the ingredients were, in fact, accurately reflected on the labels.