Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Health Highlights: Sept. 22, 2005
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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: Guidant Recalls Additional Pacemaker Models Guidant Corp., which has already recalled or issued warnings about more than 100,000 implantable defibrillators and pacemakers, on Thursday said it was recalling two more models of pacemaker: the Insignia and Nexus, the Associated Press reported. The 36 documented failures involving the newly recalled models include nine cases requiring emergency hospitalization. Guidant said these models might be at risk of permanently losing pacing output without warning, the AP said. No deaths have been connected to the latest recalls, which also were prompted by the appearance of a reset warning message in some cases. Guidant also announced that the failure rate for two defibrillators recalled earlier -- the Contak Renewal and Contak Renewal 2 -- was nearly triple the company''s previous estimate, the wire service reported. In June, Indianapolis-based Guidant recalled 88,000 heart defibrillators and issued warnings about 28,000 pacemakers. Guidant spokesman Dave Knutson said the latest recalls stemmed from a nearly two-week inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that ended on Sept. 1 at the company''s St. Paul, Minn., plant. The FDA requested five years'' worth of documents during the investigation, the company spokesman added. ----- Cancer Drug Approved in Europe The Roche anti-cancer drug Tarceva, already approved to treat lung cancer in the United States, has been approved for the same use by the European Medicines Agency, the Times of London reported Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tarceva in November 2004 for use in advanced non-small cell lung cancer cases. The agency is now debating whether to OK it for a second use -- as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, the New York newspaper Newsday reported. On Friday, the agency''s oncologic drugs advisory committee will decide whether to recommend full agency approval for the combination of Tarceva and chemotherapy as a way to extend pancreatic patients'' lives. In clinical trials, median survival in Tarceva patients was 6.4 months, compared with 5.9 months among pancreatic cancer patients who didn''t take the drug, Newsday said. In other news from Europe, Procter & Gamble has unveiled a nasal spray that it claims will reduce a person''s chances of developing a full-blown cold by up to 50 percent if taken at the first sign of symptoms, the Times of London reported. Called "First Defense," it is a non-drug gel that is said to dissuade viruses from infecting the body''s cells, the newspaper said. P&G wouldn''t say whether it plans to market the product in the United States, U.S. newspapers reported. ----- 3 Baby Deaths Show Staph Germ Is Strengthening: Report A baby and two toddlers in the Chicago area have died from a superbug they caught in the community, not in a hospital, which is where the germ is usually found, case reports released Thursday reveal. The cases show that the staph germ, known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has become even more dangerous by acquiring the ability to cause a deadly illness similar to toxic shock syndrome, the Associated Press reported. In the cases, reported in Thursday''s New England Journal of Medicine, the three children who died were otherwise healthy before they were separately admitted to a Chicago hospital with pneumonia-like symptoms between 2000 and 2004. The babies -- a 9-month-old girl, a 15-month-old girl, and a 17-month-old boy -- died within a week of being hospitalized. Autopsies showed they suffered from shock and bleeding in the adrenal gland. The infections were caused by MRSA, which is usually not associated with the syndrome. Doctors believe the children probably inhaled the germ, the AP said. Health officials do not yet know how the staph infection causes this new syndrome, but it appears to be rare, according to Dr. Clifford McDonald, an epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, doctors should be on the lookout for shock-like cases caused by MRSA, said Dr. Robert Daum, a pediatrician at the University of Chicago, who co-authored the study. In April, the journal had reported strong signs of the staph infection moving out of hospitals into communities. ----- Kids'' Costume Jewelry Recalled for Lead Hazard
----- Coretta Scott King Released From Hospital After Stroke Coretta Scott King was released Thursday from an Atlanta hospital more than a month after suffering a stroke and a mild heart attack, the Associated Press reported. The 78-year-old widow of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. had been recovering at Piedmont Hospital since Aug. 16. She has made a partial recovery from the stroke, which initially left her unable to speak or move her right side, the wire service said. She undergoes three hours of daily therapy and has regained some speech, the AP said. Last Updated: Sept. 23, 2005 |
