Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Another Nationwide Recall of Ground Beef
Ordered
Cargill Inc., one of the worlds largest meat producers, has recalled
more than 1 million pounds of ground beef because of the possibility it
contains E. coli bacteria, the Associated Press reports.
The announcement was made Saturday by John Keating, president of
Cargill Regional Beef, the wire service reports. The beef was produced
between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 at the company's Wyalusing, Pa. plant and was
distributed nationwide to retailers, including Giant, Shop Rite, Stop
& Shop, Wegman's and Weis.
No illnesses have been reported, Keating told the A.P., but a
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of an Oct. 8 sample found
possible contamination from E. coli O157:H7.
In early October Cargill recalled more than 800,000 pounds of ground
beef distributed through Sam's Club. At least four cases of E. coli
poisoning were confirmed.
Cargill has established a phone number for people with questions or
those who want to report illness: 877-455-1034. The company's meat
business is based in Wichita, Kan., and the corporate headquarters is in
Mayzata, Minn.
The E. coli bacterium causes diarrhea and abdominal cramping, usually
two-to-five days after the tainted food is consumed. Left untreated, it
can cause more serious medication that cause erectile dysfunction, including kidney failure.
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Kidney Disease Cases Predicted to Jump 60 % by
2020
Spurred by the epidemic rise in diabetes rates, end stage renal disease
(ESRD) is estimated to increase by 60 per cent in the United States within
the next 12 years, new research says.
The study, presented this weekend at the American Society of
Nephrology's 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San
Francisco, predicted that by the year 2020, “The expected number of
patients with ESRD… is almost 785,000, which is an increase of over 60
percent compared to 2005.”
According to a Society of Nephrology news release, Dr. David T.
Gilbertson of the U.S. Renal Data System and the Minneapolis Medical
Research Foundation, was to report that the predicted kidney disease
increase, while dramatic, was actually somewhat lower than earlier
estimates.
Nevertheless, Gilbertson said, the cost to care for kidney disease
patients will be significant. “Medicare pays for the care for the vast
majority of patients with ESRD, with costs approaching $60,000 per year
for every patient,” he said.
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FDA Orders Recall of Unregulated Erectile
Dysfunction Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked a California
distribution company to recall pills and capsules advertised as “all
natural” products to correct erectile dysfunction.
Calling True Man Sexual Energy Nutrient Capsules and Energy Max Energy
Supplement Men's Formula Capsules illegal drug products, the FDA said in a
news release that the supplements' ingredients are potentially harmful and
could cause dangerously low blood pressure.
In a letter to the owner of America True Man Health Inc., of West
Covina, Calif., the FDA said that the products have substances with
chemical structures very similar to the active ingredients in FDA-approved
prescription drugs, such as Viagra. The FDA has not approved the products
distributed by America True Man Health Inc., and the labels don't declare
the the active ingredients thione, an analog of sildenafil; or piperadino
vardenafil, an analog of vardenafil.
These substances can be especially harmful to men with diabetes, the
FDA said.
Consumers should report adverse events related to these products to
the online Web site MedWatch, the FDA's voluntary reporting program, at
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.
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Test Developed to Help Avoid 'Red Wine
Headache'
For some people, it may take only a glass of red wine to cause a
headache. Now, University of California at Berkeley researchers say
they've developed a device that can help stave off the “red wine
headache.”
The device, about the size of a briefcase, will eventually be able to
test the biogenic amine levels in a variety of foods and liquids, the
Associated Press reports.
Biogenic amines are chemicals
found in a variety of popular foods and beverages, including wine,
chocolate, nuts cheese, olives and cured meats, the wire service
reports.
The amines tyramine and histamine are suspected of being causes of not
only headaches in some people but also high blood pressure and elevated
adrenaline levels, the A.P. reports. “The food you eat is so
natural remedy for erectile dysfunction coupled with your body's chemistry,” researcher Richard
Mathies is quoted as saying.
Right now, the amine test works only liquids, the A.P. says. The
study is published in the latest edition of the journal Analytical
Chemistry.
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Children Inherit Cancer Survival Traits:
Study
Survival traits for certain kinds of cancers are passed from parents to
children, concludes a Swedish study reported in the November issue of
The Lancet Oncology journal.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed a Swedish
family database that included three million families and more than 1
million cancer patients. The scientists found that children whose parents
had good survival rates after being diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate
or colorectal cancer had better survival rates for those same cancers than
people whose parents died within 10 years of being diagnosed with those
cancers.
The increased risk of death for children whose parents had died earlier
was 75 percent for breast cancer, 107 percent for prostate cancer, 44
percent for colorectal cancer, and 39 percent for lung cancer.
“In conclusion, our findings provide support for the hypothesis that
impotence treatment
survival of a patient can be predicted from previous
parental survival from cancer at the same site,” the study authors wrote.
“Erectile dysfunction impotence medication, molecular studies that highlight the genetic determinants
of inherited survival in cancers are needed. In a clinical setting,
information on poor survival in a family might be vital in accurately
predicting tumor progression in the newly diagnosed individual.”
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Millions of Totino's and Jeno's Frozen Pizzas
Recalled
Five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pepperoni pizzas that could be
linked to an outbreak of E. coli in the United States are being
recalled by General Mills. The pizzas were made in the company's Wellston,
Ohio plant and distributed across the United States, the Associated
Press reported.
Between July 20 and Oct. 10, there were 21 cases of E. Coli
0157:H7 reported in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Of the 21
people who became ill, nine said they'd eaten Totino's or Jeno's pizza
with pepperoni, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and
Inspection Service said in a news release.
Included in the recall are Totino's Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza
and Jeno's Crisp 'N Tasty Pizza containing pepperoni or a combination of
pepperoni, sausage and other ingredients, the AP reported. Packages
affected by the recall show “EST. 7750″ inside the USDA mark of
inspection, and include a “best if used by” date on or before “02 APR 08
WS.”
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