Public Health

An outbreak of meningitis has been reported among patients who received injection of preservative-free methylprednisone acetate, a steroid medication which is administered by injection into the spinal cavity. As of today, 47 cases of meningitis and 5 deaths as a result of the distribution of contaminated compounds have been reported. The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts, a compounding pharmacy responsible for mixing ingredients to make medications, has been identified as the most likely source of the contaminated vials. Twenty three states received shipments of…

Don't have room in your stomach for 36 eggs but you really want those equivalent calories in one delicious treat?  Head to The Cheesecake Factory with me and get their French Toast Napoleon, which is basically bread dunked in cream and powdered sugar.  It clocks in at a delightful 2,530 calories(!) If a traditional dinner is more your thing, that bastion of gluttony has a Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken that still provides you with 2,300 calories - essential if you happen to be swimming to Cuba shortly afterward.  Since I am not a marathon swimmer, I'd feel cheated if I ate…

The classic chicken and egg puzzle asks what came first, the chicken or the egg? We can also ask that about diets.  A so-called Western diet, though it now seems to be worldwide, has high-calorie, high-sugar and high-sodium content and has been nicknamed the 'cafeteria diet' after buffet-style restaurants, has been linked to a lifetime of health problems, dramatically increasing the risk of stroke or death at a younger age. But do people adopt the diet as they get fatter or does the diet make them fat?  One thing you won't find in a Hometown Buffet are a lot of skinny people…

AXA, a UK car insurer, has surveyed UK doctors as part of its ongoing campaign to understand the culture of Personal Injury (PI) claims in the UK and reduce the payouts that have led to substantial rises in car insurance premiums.   The surveys say that doctors were under pressure to be part of the GBP 2 billion PI payout, not just through increasing numbers of whiplash patients taking up surgery time but with 7% actually being offered money to refer patients with whiplash injuries.   Over the last month, AXA polled doctors across the UK and an overwhelming 88% of those…

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research, "Global Diabetes Devices Market and Diabetes Drugs Market - Industry Scenario, Trends, Analysis, Size, Share and Forecast, 2011 - 2018," the global diabetes devices and drugs market was worth USD 50.8 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach USD 98.4 billion in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2011 to 2018. In the overall global market, North America accounted for the highest share worth USD 19.9 billion in 2011 followed by Europe. However, with the continuous population and economic growth of the Asia-Pacific…

The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued new guidelines to endorse IUDs and implants as first-line birth control options for teens. Despite widespread availability of condoms and birth control for women at very low cost (31-year-old Georgetown law students disagree, of course, they think the government should pay for it so they can instead spend $50,000 a year becoming lawyers), over 80 percent of teen pregnancies are unintended, they note, and so something more permanent should be used. And advocates use anecdotal evidence to advance the idea that current…

Active video gaming using dancing and boxing were associated with increased heart rate, oxygen uptake and energy expenditure in a study of 18 school children in England, according to a report in Archives of Pediatrics&Adolescent Medicine. It sure beats rest and sedentary video game play, anyway. Low levels of physical activity have been linked to obesity. Active video game playing compared with traditional sedentary video game playing encourages more movement and could help children increase their physical activity levels, according to the study background. Stephen R. Smallwood, M.Sc.,…

A third of UK men are so overweight they are unable to see their genitals due to a protruding midriff, so medics are encouraging men to make one potentially lifesaving resolution and weigh up their health risks.   The worrying new research says that 33% of men in Britain aged between 35 and 60 years are unable to see their penis when standing upright and looking downwards, due to a giant belly; that increases to 44% in men aged 51-60 years. These figures highlight that more than 5.6 million men in Britain are potentially dangerously overweight, are at risk of reducing their lifespan by…

There was an interesting study published recently that addresses the changes that occur to gut bacteria in pregnant women and the role this fulfills in maintaining a healthy pregnancy. There are two primary points that need to be addressed in order to appreciate these findings. In the first, we note the fact that the human body is host to over 100 trillion bacteria, both in and on us that are instrumental in maintaining health.  These commensual bacteria outnumber our own cells by about 10 to 1 [the genetic ratio is 100 to 1 - often called the second genome].  Of late, it is…

Botanical origin      :  Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal English name          :  Indian ginseng, Winter cherry Family                     :  Solanaceae Synonyms               :  Physalis somnifera Common Indian names :  Hindi         :  Asgandh Sanskrit       :…