Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Global Stockpile of Bird Flu Vaccine Urged
A global effort to create a stockpile of bird flu vaccine is required in order to be ready for a potential pandemic of bird flu, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert warns.
Dr. Klaus Stohr, who heads the WHO's global influenza program, said that the current small batches of vaccine that protect against the H5N1 strain of avian flu are inadequate.
"We have an avian influenza virus which is very widespread, but which has not yet, fortunately, transmitted easily, rapidly, and for a long period of time between humans," Stohr told BBC Radio.
He said the bird flu situation in Asia is cause for concern and that the world must prepare for the possibility of a pandemic. He estimated that 2.5 million to 3 million doses of vaccine would be needed to cope with a pandemic. Current vaccine production can't come anywhere near reaching that goal.
This week, the first possible case of human-to-human transmission of the bird flu virus was reported. In all other cases of human infection, the virus has been transmitted from birds.
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Lawsuit Aims to Block Mississippi Medicaid Cuts
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has filed a lawsuit to temporarily block Medicaid cuts in one of the nation's poorest states.
He's trying to convince a federal court to delay the cuts in order for lawyers to determine whether state residents who will lose Medicaid coverage received enough notice about alternative health-care choices, the Associated Press reported.
About 65,000 people were scheduled to lose Medicaid coverage under a cost-cutting plan proposed by Gov. Haley Barbour.
A hearing for Hood's legal challenge is scheduled for Friday afternoon, the same day the Medicaid cuts are to take effect.
The governor's office said that all the people affected by the cuts had been contacted and given help finding other health-care coverage.
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Terminal AC/Heat Pumps Pose Fire Hazard
About 875,000 package terminal air conditioners/heat pumps (PTACs) are being recalled because they can overheat and become a fire hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
The recall affects Amana, Trane and American Standard brand PTACs, manufactured by Goodman Co., L.P., of Houston.
There have been 29 confirmed reports of these units overheating. In eight of those cases, the PTAC ignited, resulting in minor property damage. There have been no reported injuries.
These PTACs are owned mainly by commercial and industrial users, including schools, nursing homes, hospitals, apartments, assisted living facilities, and government buildings. The units were sold between January 1996 and March 2003.
The recalled units require a replacement thermal safety limit switch, which will be provided free of charge.
For more information, call Goodman at 1-800-729-6122 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
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Implanted Device Appears to Thwart Strokes
A tent-like device implanted into the heart appears to seal off the area where dangerous blood clots tend to form in certain patients and spread to the brain, new research finds.
German and American researchers who authored the study said the implant could offer protection against stroke for thousands of patients who suffer from an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation, the Associated Press reported.
Initial testing of the PLAATO device among 111 patients at high risk of stroke found that the device cut that risk by two-thirds, the researchers told a meeting of heart researchers Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Some 2.5 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, in which the top chambers of the heart speed up and beat irregularly. During an episode, blood can pool inside the heart and form clots that pose a risk of major stroke, the AP reported. Some 15 percent of the 700,000 strokes that occur in the United States each year can be attributed to the condition, the wire service said.
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Lycopene, Vitamin E Slow Prostate Tumor Growth in Mice
The combination of vitamin E and lycopene -- the chemical that gives tomatoes their rich, red color -- may significantly inhibit the growth of prostate tumors, a new study finds.
Past studies have found that lycopene consumption tends to lessen a man's risk of prostate cancer. This was confirmed by Dutch researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, who found that the growth of more than half of the prostate tumors grown in mice were suppressed, the scientists said in a statement.
Even more impressive, when low-dose lycopene was combined with vitamin E, the growth of 73 percent of the prostate tumors studied was inhibited, the researchers found.
Study leader Dr. Jacqueline Limpens said that while the early results of the mouse study seemed promising, they must be confirmed among men. In the meantime, men should be encouraged to regularly eat foods rich in the these ingredients, including processed tomato products, papayas, watermelon, wheat germ, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and olive oils, she said.
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Survey: Gay and Bisexual Men Acting to Prevent HIV Spread
Most HIV-positive gay and bisexual men are taking steps to reduce the risk of transmitting the deadly virus to their sex partners, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A survey of 1,900 gay and bisexual men found that 31 percent reported abstaining from sex during the prior year. And among those sexually active, 43 percent said they had sex with only one partner, the agency said in a prepared statement.
HIV-positive men who had sex with HIV-negative men were 3.5 times more likely to use condoms than when having sex with HIV-positive partners, the survey found.
While safer practices were the norm among the men polled, a subset was found to engage in behavior that put their partners at risk, the agency said. Some 14 percent of HIV-positive men surveyed reported having unprotected anal sex with a negative partner, while 25 percent engaged in the same behavior with a partner of unknown status, the CDC said. |
