Health Highlights: April 2, 2004

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Warns Supplement Makers About False Weight-Loss Claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 16 dietary supplement distributors making false and misleading claims for weight-loss products promoted over the Internet, the agency said.

"Obesity in America is at epidemic proportions, and we will not tolerate companies making false claims promising easy fixes," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "There is no substitute for eating well and remaining physically active."

Many of the products claim to block starch, carbohydrates and fat calories, while allowing consumers to lose weight without any changes in lifestyle, the FDA said.

"These products give unfounded hope to people who are attempting to lose weight. False and misleading claims have significant health consequences to individuals that may be overweight because these products do not produce the desired results," said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford. "FDA will continue to enforce the law and pursue products that lure consumers with unsubstantiated weight loss claims."

The FDA said it's requesting a written response from the firms within 15 days of receiving the warning letters, stating the action the firms will take to correct the violations and to ensure that similar violations don't occur in the future.

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Drug Seems to Cut Stroke Risk After Artery Surgery

Taking the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel before surgery to unclog neck arteries may help prevent post-operative strokes, according to researchers at the University of Leicester in Great Britain.

Their study of 100 patients found that giving the drug to patients already taking aspirin prevented strokes after carotid endarterectomy surgery. This procedure is done to remove plaque that narrows neck arteries and increases a person's risk of stroke.

About three percent of patients who have this surgery die or have a stroke in the hours after the operation, BBC News Online reports. Tiny clots called microemboli can break off the surface of the cleaned artery and cause strokes in these patients.

In this study, half the patients received 75 milligrams of clopidogrel, while the other patients received a placebo the night before their surgery. Among those who received the drug, there was a 10-fold reduction in the number of patients who had more than 20 microemboli within three hours after the operation.

The study appears in the journal Circulation.

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Brain Implants May Cure Tourette Syndrome

U.S. surgeons implanted tiny electrodes into the brain of an Ohio man with Tourette syndrome in what appears to be a successful attempt to control the disorder.

University Hospital of Cleveland doctors placed the electrodes into Jeff Matovic's brain to regulate its electrical activity. This approach is called deep brain stimulation.

The doctors say Matovic's symptoms have virtually disappeared since he had the operation and suggest this procedure could help thousands of people with Tourette syndrome, BBC News Online reports.

Matovic, 31, has had the disorder since he was a child. People with Tourette syndrome experience uncontrollable movement and vocalizations.

Matovic told BBC News Online that he no longer suffers the uncontrollable muscle movements, jerking and grunting caused by Tourette syndrome. He said the surgery transformed his life.

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Preschoolers Fuel Growth of Antidepressant Use: Study

Children under 5 years old are the fastest growing group of new antidepressant users, according to a study published in the April issue of the journal Psychiatric Services.

The use of Paxil and similar antidepressants doubled among girls and grew by 64 percent among boys in the age group between 1998 and 2002, according to study sponsor Express Scripts, a St. Louis-based pharmacy benefit management firm. Overall, use of these drugs continued to grow by about 10 percent annually among children and adolescents, the researchers found.

The study's authors examined antidepressant use among some 2 million commercially insured patients 18 years and younger between 1998 and 2002.

The announcement followed last week's recommendation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that makers of Paxil and nine other popular antidepressants incorporate more stringent packaging labeling, warning of a possible link between the drugs and increased suicidal thinking among young users.

The 10 medications are among a class of drugs known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which also includes Prozac and Zoloft.

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New Antibiotic Fights Respiratory Infections

As more drugs become resistant to germs that cause respiratory tract infections (RTIs), the world's drugmakers must find new ways to treat these all-too-common conditions, including chronic bronchitis, bacterial sinusitis, and community-acquired pneumonia.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the effort a boost Thursday when it approved Ketek (telithromycin), the first in a new class of antibiotics known as ketolides, which are designed specifically to treat these kinds of stubborn respiratory problems.

Ketek targets the airway germs without significantly affecting bacteria that don't cause the RTIs, manufacturer Aventis Pharmaceuticals said in a prepared statement. This may be an important factor in minimizing development of drug-resistant germs, the statement added.

More than 7 million prescriptions for the drug have been written since it was first approved in Europe in 2001, the company said. Common side effects include nausea, headache, dizziness, and diarrhea.

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Football Broadcaster Pat Summerall Awaits Liver Transplant

Veteran National Football League broadcaster Pat Summerall has been flown from his Texas home to Jacksonville, Fla., where he's likely to undergo a liver transplant over the weekend, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

An exact surgery schedule hasn't been established for Summerall, 73, who is a recovering alcoholic. An unidentified source close to the family told the newspaper that he has been on a waiting list for a donor liver.

His wife told the Star-Telegram that Summerall has been sober for 12 years, but that the progressive effects of alcoholism made the transplant necessary.

A 10-year NFL veteran before becoming a broadcaster, Summerall spent more than 40 years in the TV booth -- including calling a total of 16 Super Bowls.