NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH NEWS
Read
more headlines and news stories on Allina.com.
- Bone Marrow Transplant Cures AIDS
Patient: Report
- Air Pollution Bigger Killer Than Traffic Crashes in 2 California Areas
- No Clear Link Between Bone Drugs, Abnormal Heart Rhythm: FDA
- Gas-Relief Drops for Babies Recalled
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Bone Marrow Transplant Cures AIDS
Patient: Report
A targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to treat leukemia appears to have cured an AIDS patient, according to German doctors.
Twenty months after receiving the transplant, tests on bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues indicate the 42-year-old patient no longer has HIV infection, the Associated Press reported. The patient had been
infected with HIV for more than a decade.
For the transplant, doctors at Berlin's Charite Hospital selected a donor
with a mutation called Delta 32, which prevents HIV from attaching itself to
cells by blocking a receptor called CCR5. About one in 1,000 Europeans and
Americans have inherited the mutation from both parents, the AP said.
There have been a few previous reports of the successful use of bone
marrow transplants to eradicate HIV infection. But bone marrow transplants
are too costly and dangerous to use as a first line treatment for HIV/AIDS,
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, told the AP.
However, this case could inspire efforts to pursue gene therapy as a way
to block or suppress HIV, he said.
-----
Air Pollution Bigger Killer Than Traffic Crashes in 2 Calif. Areas
Air pollution in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley kills
more people than motor vehicle crashes, according to California State
University-Fullerton researchers who analyzed 2005-07 data to tally the
costs of air pollution.
If the two regions, which have the worst air pollution levels in the
United States, met federal air standards for ozone and fine particulate
standards, it would result in savings of $28 billion a year in health care
costs, missed school and work, and lost income from premature deaths, the
Associated Press reported. That amounts to $1,600 per person a year
in the San Joaquin Valley and $1,250 in the South Coast Air Basin.
In 2006, there were 2,521 vehicular deaths in the San Joaquin Valley and South Coast Air Basin, compared to 3,812 deaths attributed to respiratory illness caused by particulate pollution, the study authors said.
Previous research has suggested an association between particulate
pollution and ozone and respiratory problems such as asthma and chronic
bronchitis, as well as a link between particulate pollution and
cardiovascular problems.
For economic and health benefits to occur, particulate pollution levels
in the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basin would have to
decrease by 50 percent, the Cal State Fullerton researchers said.
-----
No Clear Link Between Bone Drugs, Abnormal Heart Rhythm: FDA
There is no scientific proof of a link between drugs to fight the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis and the heart-rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
A study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine found increased risk of atrial fibrillation in women who took the Novartis drug Reclast or the Merck drug Fosamax, the Dow Jones news service reported.
Weighing in at that time, the FDA noted that studies of Reclast found that the once-yearly injection might be associated with atrial fibrillation.
But on Wednesday, the agency cited "no clear association" between the bone-strengthening drugs, which belong to a class called bisphosphonates, and an abnormal heartbeat.
"After our review based on the data available at this time, health-care professionals should not alter their prescribing patterns for bisphosphonates, and patients should not stop taking their bisphosphonate medication," Dow Jones reported, citing a statement posted on the agency's Web site.
The FDA reviewed studies involving a combined 38,000 patients who took bisphosphonates or a placebo, noting that most of the individual studies had two or fewer cases of atrial fibrillation, Dow Jones reported.
The agency said it would conduct additional studies of a possible link between the drugs and abnormal heartbeat, and would continue to monitor people who take the drugs for any signs of the condition.
-----
Gas-Relief Drops for Babies Recalled
Some 12,000 bottles of Mylicon Gas Relief Dye-Free Eye Drops, designed to relieve gas in infants, are being recalled, because the contents may be contaminated with metal pieces, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
The 1-ounce plastic bottles, sold over-the-counter by Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals, were distributed to stores and pharmacies after Oct. 5.
The recall applies to lots SMF007 and SMF008. The lot number is printed on the bottom of the product box and on the lower-left of each bottle's sticker.
The recall doesn't apply to other Mylicon gas-relief products.
For more information about disposing of the drops and getting a refund, contact the company at 800-222-9435.
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
Published on: 11/13/2008
|
