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3/11/2010 Test for Prostate Cancer Called "Public Health Disaster" The man who discovered the most commonly used tool for detecting prostate cancer is now calling it a "hugely expensive public health disaster". Doctor Richard Ablin is calling the PSA screening test too costly and ineffective. In a commentary written for the "New York Times," Ablin said "I never dreamed that my discovery four decades ago would lead to such a profit-driven public health disaster". He said the annual tab for PSA screening alone has hit three-billion dollars. The doctor says he has been trying to make one thing clear for many years. That is, PSA testing can't detect prostate cancer and can't distinguish between one type that can kill and the other that won't. The test is nothing more than an indicator that shows how much of the prostate antigen is in the blood. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, behind lung cancer, killing 254, 000 people each year. Ablin says the PSA testing has a place, but only after treatment for prostate cancer and for men with a family history of the disease. Read Full Story
3/10/2010 Anti- Epilepsy medication is still the best protection for seizures A large-scale national study has determined that an anti-epilepsy drug available since the 1950's offers the best protection out of three medications to treat the most common form of childhood seizures. As reported in the "New England Journal of Medicine, "the studies winner was the Ethosuximide from Pfizer. Dr. Tracy Glauser of Cincinnati Children's Hospital led the study of 446 youngsters at 32 centers across the country. Glauser said the older drug gives better seizure control combined with fewer attention problems. The treatment that fared worst was Lamotrigine from GlaxoSmithKline. Valporic acid from Abbott Laboratories was nearly as good as Ethosuximide but interfered with concentration. Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Can a pill stop Cancer growth? Can a pill taken twice daily stop cancer tumor growth? It has in one First Coast person who is a participant in a clinical trial. The drug, known as PLX4032, has not only stopped her cancer growth, but in about 70% of the other patients in the trial have shown tumor shrinkage. This makes the drug about three times more effective that previous therapies. The doctor, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, says that "these medication are so new we don't know how long this is going to last". Details of this are in this mornings Times Union, front page. Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Pennsylvania Pretzel Company Issues National Recall A Pennsylvania-based snack food company has issued a nationwide recall on one of its products. National Pretzel Company officials say all Honey Mustard Onion flavored pretzels produced since December may have been contaminated with salmonella. No illnesses have been reported. Salmonella can cause flu-like symptoms and can sometime result in fatal infections.  Read Full Story
3/8/2010 Hand-Held Device Could Relieve Migraine Symptons People who suffer from debilitating migraines may soon find relief in a small hand-held device that sends a magnetic pulse to the head. Researchers say the device transmits a single-pulse magnetic stimulation wave to the back of the head that apparently disrupts auras, which are visual or sensory disturbances that signal the onset of a migraine. Auras are often described at spots of light, numbness, or seeing zigzag lines. Researchers at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine tested the device on 200 patients and found 40% felt no pain two hours after using the device. The hand-held unit could easily be used at home. Past tests have been conducted using the larger devices in clinics. While doctors say more tests are needed to perfect the timing of the doses, the device could be an alternative to migraine medication. The findings will be published in "The Lancet Neurology". Read Full Story
3/8/2010 Aspirin, the so-called Wonder Drug Aspirin, the so-called wonder drug may have a flaw. A new study suggests that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen, and other analgesics, can substantially increase the risk of hearing loss. Especially in men younger than fifty. Researchers noted that the study group involved only men and most were white. The story is in Thursday's Times Union and the American Medical Journal. Read Full Story
3/4/2010 New Prostate Cancer Screening Guidelines Issued The American Cancer Society has issued new guidelines for the prostate cancer screenings. The guidelines published Wednesday in "CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians" urge doctors to spell out all the benefits and risks of prostate cancer screening before drawing blood for risks of prostate-specific antigen test. Doctors have used PSA blood tests for years, but two studies out last year suggest early screening can lead men to seek treatment for prostate tumors that may not be dangerous. The updated guidelines say most men should discuss the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening with their doctors by age 50 before making a decision about testing. Higher risk groups should talk to their doctors by the age of 40 or 45. Read Full Story
3/3/2010 Children Exposed to Secondhand Smoke Develop Thicker Arteries Children exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke develop visibly thicker arteries. That's according to Finnish researchers who say the damage caused by breathing the tobacco smoke created by others begins in childhood. Measurable damage is done by the teen years. The researchers studied nearly 500 children ages eight to thirteen. Levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, was measured in their blood. Ultrasound was used to measure the thickness of the aorta, the largest artery in the body, and the carotoid artery in the neck of the youngsters. Children with the highest levels of cotinine in their blood had carotid artery walls averaging seven-percent thicker than children with the lower levels. Aortas were eight-percent thicker. The researchers also checked the flexibility of arteries in the arms of the children. They found blood flow 15-percent lower in teenagers with the highest cotinine levels. Cholesterol levels were also higher in children with more tobacco smoke in their blood. Full study details are printed in the journal "Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes." Read Full Story

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