Selected recent articles regarding consumer health issues and trends. http://becker.wustl.edu/resources/consumer/index2.html http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:56:23 -0500 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:55:57 -0500 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine in 2007 alone, U.S. health officials report. CAM includes medical practices and products, such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic and acupuncture, which are not part of conventional medicine. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_87552.html DE691579-F932-40EE-9258-606C716389B5 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:55:57 -0500 Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections. Specifically, scientists from Florida found that zinc not only supports healthy immune function, but increases activation of the cells (T cells) responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090730103740.htm B7468AD9-B963-4335-A2A5-A073EB177E52 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:55:09 -0500 Why do some people become seriously ill while exercising in hot weather and others don't? (NY Times) http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/how-to-avoid-heatstroke/index.html 4F8CC45B-B375-4424-8E51-09467B0DBD6B Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:51:52 -0500 New research suggests that current regulations have failed to remove misleading information from cigarette packaging, revealing that a substantial majority of consumers believe cigarettes are less hazardous when the packs display words such as "silver" or "smooth," lower numbers incorporated into the brand name, lighter colours or pictures of filters. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727191910.htm AF6E24B1-6CE1-41D3-A1C7-C916434000EB Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:41:55 -0500 It would make sense that teenage mothers have a lot of psychological stress in their lives, but a new study shows that the distress comes before the pregnancy, not because of it. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727204829.htm 6ADB3A87-63E2-408F-A510-EC3EF268A04B Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:41:29 -0500 A 65-year-long study finds that people who took in lots of calcium and dairy products as children tended to avoid stroke and live longer than those who didn't. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_87391.html E8F3BA07-7527-4D04-A6CC-144C3E152179 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:40:49 -0500 U.S. officials hope to have 160 million doses of injectable swine flu vaccine on hand by October, with more doses coming in the form of a nasal spray. Since immunization is expected to depend on each person getting two doses spread a month apart, the amount of vaccine will still only cover a fraction of the population, but more is expected to arrive in the following months, the Associated Press reported Thursday. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_87217.html 6DAD2D3A-C90F-4D71-A09E-3160CB51ECA3 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:35:08 -0500 Costs and the ability to pick up sounds are just two factors to consider when shopping for a device. (NY Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/health/25patient.html F4889864-0E4A-4FBE-9E5B-B420659E3C24 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:34:15 -0500 The number of older Americans with access to prescription drug coverage has ballooned since Medicare's Part D program was rolled out almost four years ago, a new analysis finds, yet seniors' ability to pay for needed medications remains a concern due to limitations in coverage and rising drug plan costs. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_87221.html 093B91B2-AAE4-4920-AB91-3D23CA1E3881 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:33:41 -0500 The team of researchers from the Applus+ Chair has designed a load limiter that reduces the pressure on the chest area by absorbing part of the energy produced in a frontal impact. The system reduces the speed at which the child is thrown forward and back into the seat, a movement that leads to serious injury in many accidents. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714154943.htm 03E680FC-717B-4E1F-9AE9-2662B9589433 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:09:21 -0500 People's early-life experience sticks with them into adulthood and may render them more susceptible to many of the chronic diseases of aging, according to a new University of British Columbia study. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714143906.htm 1A764B19-FF51-4EA1-81F7-D71726BB70F9 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:08:50 -0500 The nation's governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them. (NY Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/health/policy/20health.html 70624C69-A18D-4C90-8D54-043F02694A03 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:07:06 -0500 A daily dose of sodium bicarbonate—baking soda, already used for baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn, and more—slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090716201123.htm A57C9F6E-9EF7-4F22-8379-890223CEB43B Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:55:29 -0500 People who walk or cycle to work have fewer risk factors for heart disease, a U.S. study has found. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_86868.html BA0E3D57-77C6-4098-920A-23620700B21F Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:54:53 -0500 On June 19, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to risk of contamination with E. coli. After a plant shutdown, an investigation, and a cleanup, Nestle is now using main ingredients from new suppliers and is making the cookie dough again. These newly made products are not part of the ongoing recall and are not associated with any illness outbreaks or known contamination. (FDA) http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm168012.htm 780BD7CB-D2D7-4B1F-A980-82D74FF96D1D Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:53:33 -0500 A fully tested swine flu vaccine may not be available until the end of the year, a vaccine expert at the World Health Organization said Monday. But countries could use emergency measures to get the vaccines out faster if they decide they are needed, Marie-Paule Kieny, director of WHO's Initiative for Vaccine Research, said during a news conference in London, the Associated Press reported. (HealthDay) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_86802.html A7E01FC5-4D87-45F0-8FE0-C20DBE4A63E2 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:57:02 -0500 Implantable lenses made of a collagen-like substance appear to provide stable correction of moderate to high nearsightedness (myopia) over four years of follow-up, according to a new report. (ScienceDaily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090713170707.htm 215E118B-C63F-4560-B67A-6906A50F5088 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:56:20 -0500 The Obama administration announced Monday that it would seek to ban many routine uses of antibiotics in farm animals in hopes of reducing the spread of dangerous bacteria in humans. (NY Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/health/policy/14fda.html E10455C4-D212-4E58-A8A7-9FF94382C76C Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:55:39 -0500