Health Headlines - April 16

FDA Should Ban Weight Loss Drugs Alli, Xenical: Public Citizen

The growing number of reported health problems associated with the prescription weight loss drugs Alli and Xenical should prompt their removal from the U.S. market, says Public Citizen.

On Thursday, the consumer watchdog group issued its second petition in five years calling for the Food and Drug Administration to ban the drugs due to side effects such as liver damage, kidney stones and pancreatitis, ABC News reported.

"These drugs have the potential to cause significant damage to multiple critical organs, yet they provide meager benefits in reducing weight loss in obese and overweight patients," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

The FDA rejected the group's first petition and it's unclear whether it will accept the new petition regarding Alli and Xenical, ABC News reported.

Also on Thursday, GlaxosmithKline announced that it is trying to sell its ownership of the two brands of weight loss drugs to other drug companies.

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Workers at Japanese Nuclear Plant Advised to Store Blood Stem Cells

Workers at the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan are being advised to store blood stem cells now in case they require them later to treat radiation overdose.

Experts say the years of clean-up work needed at the plant will put workers at risk of accidental radiation exposure. High doses of radiation can destroy the blood-making cells of the bone marrow, a potentially deadly problem. But the condition can be treated with blood stem cell transplants, the Associated Press reported.

Banking blood stem cells involves receiving injections for several days to get stem cells from the bone marrow to enter the bloodstream. Blood is then drawn and processed to extract the stem cells, which are then stored. Later, workers who are accidentally exposed to a large radiation dose could receive infusions of their own stem cells, the experts explained.

They outline their idea in a letter published viagra cialis online pharmacy pharmacy Thursday in The Lancet.

Stem cell transplants would only help workers exposed to radiation does within a narrow range, Dr. Nelson Chao of Duke University told the AP. They could recover from a lower dose and would suffer untreatable damage at a higher dose, he explained.

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Breast Radiation Shield Recall Most Serious Type: FDA

U.S. health officials say the recall of a radiation shield used in breast cancer patients is now the most serious type of recall.

The Food and Drug Administration recall of the Axxent FlexiShield Mini is classified Class I, which means "there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," The New York Times reported.

The silicone rubber and tungsten devices were used to help shield healthy tissue while women received radiation treatment for breast cancer. But the products were flawed and left hundreds of particles of tungsten in the breasts and chest muscles of 29 women in the U.S.

There's little research about the long-term health effects of tungsten, but it does show up on mammograms and may make them difficult to read. This could be a serious issue for women who have had breast cancer and worry about recurrences. On mammograms, the tungsten particles resemble calcium deposits, which can indicate cancer, The Timesreported.

That's why the recall has been classified as the most serious type, an FDA spokeswoman said.

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Leukemia Drug Shortage Threatens Patients' Lives

A shortage of the leukemia drug cytarabine in the United States is putting patients' lives at risk, doctors warn.

Shortages have been reported in 30 states and began last fall due to manufacturing delays, according to the Food and Drug Administration, ABC News reported.

For patients with acute lymphblastic leukemia (AML), the drug offers cure rates of 40 to 50 percent. Without the drug, patients have no chance of survival. There is no viable alternative treatment.

"If we can't get this drug, then the patients are going to die," Dr. Hagop Kantarjian, chairman of the department of leukemia, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told ABC News.

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Topamax Recalled After Odor Complaints

About 57,000 bottles of the prescription anti-seizure drug Topamax are being recalled due to customer complaints of an "uncharacteristic odor," Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday.

The recall affects two lots of Topamax 100 milligrams tablets shipped and distributed between Oct. 19, 2010 and Dec. 28, 2010 in the United States and Puerto Rico. The tablets were made by Johnson & Johnson's Ortho-McNeil Neurologics division, CNN.comreported.

There were four consumer complaints about an odor believed to be caused by trace amounts of the chemical TBA (2,4,6 tribromoanisole), which is applied to wooden pallets used to transport and store packaging materials.

Similar complaints of a moldy, musty odor have led to the recalls of millions of bottles of Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl products. Last month, the U.S. government said it was taking over three Tylenol plants operated by McNeil and the Food and Drug Administration launched a criminal investigation into safety issues at the factories,CNN.com reported.

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Clogged Neck Veins Don't Cause MS: Study

Blockages in neck veins don't cause multiple sclerosis and may instead be a result of the disease, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

They examined 289 MS patients, 21 patients who had experienced only one MS attack, 26 patients with other neurological disease, and 164 healthy people in a control group, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Blocked neck veins were found in 44 percent of the MS patients, 38.1 percent of those who had experienced one MS attack, 42.3 percent of those with other neurological conditions, and slightly more than a quarter of those in the control group.

While there appears to be a relationship between MS and blocked neck veins, these results suggest that blocked neck veins "may be a consequence rather than a cause of MS," the researchers said.

The findings will be presented at a American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Earlier research suggesting that blocked neck veins may cause MS have led many people with MS to undergo surgery to have their neck veins unclogged, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Medicine of Mind & Body

A longtime friend battling another disease, not cancer, called this past week.  She asked, “how did you keep a positive attitude during the worst days of cancer?”  I’ve spent the past several days thinking about that, reflecting and trying to put it all in perspective, and in writing.  So, for the next several days, I’ve decided to write about the mental state of battling disease.  I’m not a psychologist, nor a student of this topic.  Everything I write is based on my own personal experience this past year, and in years past. 

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I’ll always remember the first day I met Dr. Makhoul, my UAMS oncologist.  After the initial diagnosis, I spent almost ten days having a variety of tests to find out more about my particular cancer.  With a full report in hand, Dr. Makhoul spent almost two hours with me sharing the details of the results - Stage III-B Inflammatory Breast Cancer, which had also spread its nasty self into my lymph system.  He then walked me through his recommended treatment protocol and my likely medical schedule for the months to follow.  There was so much and it was difficult to remember it all.  But how Dr. Makhoul closed our initial meeting I will never forget. 

He said to me:  “I want you to trust me with your medical care, and know that I’m going to give you my very best to cure your cancer.  What I need from you is to work in partnership with me.  Your job is to focus on your mind, your attitude and your spiritual approach to the fight.  This cancer will require both of us doing our very best, giving 110%.” 

I left his office that day knowing what I was in charge of.  Dr. Makhoul would take charge of the conventional online pharmacy for my body.  I would be in charge of my mental state, my attitude, and my outlook on life and the cancer.  Dr. Makhoul empowered me to own and perfect the “medicine” of my mind. 

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Some call it Mind-Body Medicine.  Others call it Psychoneuroimmunology.  Bottom line . . . it’s the study of how the mind, thoughts attitudes and beliefs affect the body and your physical well-being.

Do not be confused.  This is not alternative medicine.  Instead, it is often referred to as complementary medicine, or integrated medicine – techniques that are used WITH conventional medicine. 

The list of what has been referred to as mind-body medicine is endless – guided imagery, deep breathing exercises, relaxation therapy, acupuncture, yoga, biofeedback, tai chi, meditation, and much more.  All of these techniques are designed to help the body and mind relax, to enjoy times of inner calmness and freedom from obsessing thoughts.  They can also serve as a conscious commitment to direct your energies toward health and healing, rather than obsessing with the negative circumstances of life. 

My friend Laura, a cancer survivor, shared with me the great sense of power over disease she felt through guided imagery.  In her practice she would imagine a battle going on between her body and the cancer cells, and would picture Pac-Man characters chasing and eating and destroying the cancer.  For Laura, she believes this was a magical tool in her battle to defeat what was a very aggressive cancer that has now been in remission for several years. 

For me, I was trained in Mindfulness meditation in 2004.  Some have described it as the art of stillness, sitting quietly and observing without judgment or evaluation.  Since I began meditation, I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful in creating a sense of calm in my life, alleviating stress, reducing pain, accepting what cannot be changed (but still trying to change what is possible), giving up anger and frustration over inconveniences, appreciating solitude and quiet, and so much more.  I’m a believer in it, so glad that I was trained and practiced before cancer entered my life.  It’s mental mastery, freedom from restless and negative thinking. 

How do we make “mind-body focus” work for us?  It has to become a part of your daily life practice, a natural habit, not dependent on the day’s events.  No doubt, some days are easier than others to pay attention to the connection between mind and body, to carve out time to master the art of this connection.  But we have to remain loyal to the practice, during the good, the bad and the ugly.

Finding a daily exercise that creates a sense of peace and tranquility – you can’t go wrong.  Inner peace creates outer peace.  I’m a big fan, consider myself still in training, and highly recommend everyone find some avenue for relaxation, finding a place of calm, the complementary techniques of mind and body medicine.

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

Buddha

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A few books and DVDs that have been helpful to me:

Return to Wholeness: A Mind/Body Approach to Healing Cancer

Led by world-renowned wellness doctor Deepak Chopra, M.D. along with psychologist Stephanie Simonton Atchley, founder of the Behavioral Medicine Program at the UAMS Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

http://www.cancervisualization.com/

Jon Kabat-Zinn is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was founding executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, and founder (in 1979) and former director of its world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic. He is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society.

In 2004 I studied his method of meditation at the UAMS Center on Aging.  To find out more about Jon Kabat-Zinn:  http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/author.html

Two books by Kabat-Zinn that are the core of his mindfulness meditation:

Full Catastrophe Living:  Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain & Illness

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

CDs by Jon Kabat-Zinn can be purchased form his web site: 

http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/index.html

His books can be purchased or ordered from your local bookstore.

Swine flu

The new strain of influenza A (H1N1) was first reported from Mexico this year (2009). The spectrum of disease caused by new influenza A (H1N1) virus infection ranges from non-febrile, mild upper-respiratory tract illness to severe or fatal pneumonia. Most cases appear to have uncomplicated, typical influenza-like illness and recover spontaneously.

Most commonly reported symptoms include:
1. cough
2. fever
3. sore throat
4. malaise
5. headache

“Rapidly progressive respiratory disease has accounted for most severe or fatal cases”
From the Chinese medicine viewpoint, this is due to transmission of external pathogenic factor from the Wei Level to the Qi Level with the pattern of Lung-Heat and then eventually to the Ying and Blood Level.

An influenza epidemic or pandemic is a typical Wen Bing disease. This is because it is very virulent and has a strong tendency to enter the Qi level (causing chest infections) very quickly.

Wei Level
The main symptoms of invasion of Wind-Heat are aversion to cold, shivering, fever, sore throat, swollen tonsils, headache and body-aches, sneezing, cough, runny nose with yellow discharge, slightly dark urine, slightly Red sides of the tongue and a Floating-Rapid pulse. It is worth noting that in Wind-Heat too there is aversion to cold as this is due to Wind-Heat obstructing the Wei Qi which therefore fails to warm the muscles. This corresponds to the beginning stages of influenza when the patient has “aversion to cold”.
With our treatment, we should always aim at expelling the Wind at the Wei Level: even though this may not be entirely possible, it will make the symptoms of the Qi Level milder and it will prevent complications.

Qi Level
At the Qi Level-Heat. Wind penetrates into the Interior and it changes into interior Heat or Phlegm-Heat. With influenza, this usually manifests with bronchitis or pneumonia. The Qi Level is a crucial level as the pathogenic factor can be expelled completely or it can get worse by penetrating further into the Interior at the Ying or Blood level.
The Qi Level symptoms are symptoms of Interior Full Heat: high fever, thirst, sweating, feeling of heat, red face.
At the Qi Level-Fire, the tongue is Red with a thick-yellow coating and the pulse is Full and Rapid. As long as there is a coating, the patient is still at the Qi Level. When the coating falls off, the patient is at the Ying or Blood level.


Ying/Blood Level
At the Ying and/or Blood Level, Heat has injured Yin so that the tongue has no coating (and it is Red). The Ying or Blood Levels are always dangerous because it may lead to mortality. Internal Wind may develop at the Blood Level and convulsion in children during febrile diseases always indicate the presence of internal Wind at the Blood Level.
The symptoms of the Ying Level are fever at night, mental confusion, delirium, cold hands, Red tongue without coating. The symptoms of the Blood Level are fever at night, possibly convulsions, maculae, bleeding, Red tongue without coating.

TREATMENT WITH THREE TREASURES REMEDIES
EXPEL WIND-HEAT
Invasions of Wind-Heat manifest with aversion to cold, fever, thirst, sore throat, body aches, headache, tonsillitis, ear infection, cough, Floating-Rapid pulse and tongue red on the sides. This is the remedy for Wei Level. The dosage is at least 9 purchase cialis a day. This is the remedy of choice for influenza: use 12 cialis a day. Expel Wind-Heat should be a stand-by remedy in any household with children.
Please note that this remedy is used only in the beginning stages when the external Wind is still on the Exterior: at this time, the patient will have “aversion to cold” as described above.

CLEAR METAL
Clear Metal was formulated to treat the Qi Level of influenza. The simplest and clearest sign that the invasion of Wind has moved from the Exterior (Wei Level) to the Interior (Qi Level) is that the patient feels no longer cold and does not shiver but feels instead hot and thirsty. The most common patterns at this level are either Lung-Heat of Lung-Phlegm-Heat so that the patient develops bronchitis or pneumonia.
Clear Metal was formulated to treat primarily Lung-Heat at the Qi Level when the patient displays the following symptoms: cough, slight breathlessness, fever, feeling of heat, thirst, tightness of the chest and upper back. Clear Metal has also a strong anti-viral action.
The dosage for an adult is at least 9 tablets per day. This dose can be exceeded in severe cases.

RINGING METAL
Ringing Metal, a variation of Qing Qi Hua Tan Tang Clearing Qi and Resolving Phlegm Decoction can be used for acute chest infections following an invasion of Wind, i.e. when the pathogenic factor is Phlegm-Heat in the Lungs at the Qi level. The main manifestations calling for this remedy in this context are: a cough following a cold or flu, expectoration of profuse sticky-yellow sputum, slight breathlessness, a feeling of oppression of the chest, possibly fever, thirst, disturbed sleep, a Full-Slippery pulse, a red tongue with sticky-yellow coating. The dosage is at least 9 tablets per day.

HERBAL SENTINEL
Herbal Sentinel is the remedy to take for prevention. It strengthens immunity and resistance to viruses and bacteria by tonifying Lung- and Kidney-Qi. It is to be taken continuously as long as the swine flu epidemic continues in dosages of 4 tablets a day (for an adult).
There are two Herbal Sentinel remedies: Herbal Sentinel - Yang and Herbal Sentinel - Yin. The former is for people with a tendency to Yang deficiency (with a Pale tongue); the latter for people with a tendency to Yin deficiency (with a tongue lacking in coating completely or partially).

UP THE ROAD IN HARARE

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The shenanigans at The ANCB are not a million miles away from the censorship of the press in Zimbabwe. It is a tragedy that The Freedom of Expression Institute, together with Anton Harber, are not more outspoken about these issues.



Four years after being banned, newspapers still in legal battle to resume publishing

Country/Topic: Zimbabwe
Date: 12 September 2007
Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Person(s):
Target(s): newspaper(s) , publisher(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): banned , closed
Urgency: Bulletin
(MISA/IFEX) - On 11 September 2003, the Supreme Court passed its "dirty hands" judgment against Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the banned "Daily News" and "Daily News on Sunday" newspapers.


Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku's judgment led to the closure of the publishing company on 12 September 2003, when police armed with automatic rifles burst into the newspapers' offices in central Harare at about 5:00 p.m. (local time) and ordered all staff to leave. Nqobile Nyathi, the editor, and Simon Ngena, the production manager, were arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station. They were later released.

Dr Tafataona Mahoso, chairman of the governmental Media and Information Commission, was quoted as saying he would have been surprised if the police had not taken any action because "the 'Daily News' does not exist in terms of the laws of the country" (quoted in "The Herald" of 13 September 2003). These actions were widely condemned by both local and international actors as a serious violation of media freedom.

Four years later, the matter is still pending before the courts as the ANZ continues its fight to be duly registered and licensed to resume publication, as required under the restrictive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), in what can easily pass as one the longest unresolved court cases in Zimbabwe's judicial history.

Many a reader of the popular "Daily News" look back with nostalgia to the reportage by its dedicated editorial team as they fulfilled their journalistic roles as the thermometers and stethoscopes of the country's daily socio-economic, political and cultural temperature and pulse. Their role was simply that of telling truth to power without fear or favour.

What is certain, though, is that some day in the future, the "Daily News" and "Daily News on Sunday", together with other publications which met with a similar fate - such as "The Tribune" and "Weekly Times" - will, like the proverbial phoenix, rise again to afford Zimbabweans increased access to alternative views, opinions and ideas that foster democracy and spur Zimbabwe's socio-economic development.

MORE INFORMATION:


For further information, contact Zoé Titus, Programme Specialist, Media Freedom Monitoring, MISA, Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232 975, fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: research@misa.org, Internet: http://www.misa.org