Health Highlights: June 2, 2009
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Experts Concerned About Popularity of Electronic Cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, but the unapproved and virtually unstudied products have government officials and medical experts worried, The New York Times reported.
Safety claims about e-cigarettes, which contain nicotine, are unfounded since their components have never been tested.
"We basically don't know anything about them. They've never been tested for safety or efficacy to help people stop smoking," Dr. Richard D. Hurt, director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic, told the Times.
Novelty, ease of access and enticing flavors may tempt children to use e-cigarettes, public health officials worry.
"It looks like a cigarette and is marketed as a cigarette. There's nothing that prevents youth from getting addicted to nicotine," Jonathon P. Winickoff, an associate professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium, told the Times.
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Possible Link Between Air Pollution and Abdominal Pain: Study
Air pollution may be to blame for many cases of non-specific abdominal pain, say Canadian researchers who compared data on 120,000 patients and levels of air pollution such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter.
The study found that nearly two-thirds of hospital visits for non-specific abdominal pain were by women, the majority ages 15-24. Young women were more likely to seek treatment for non-specific abdominal pain on days when there were elevated levels of air pollution, United Press International reported.
Young women may be most susceptible because they're at increased risk for functional motility disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, the researchers said.
The study was to be presented Wednesday at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Chicago, UPI reported.
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FDA Approves Reclast Use Once Every Two Years
Reclast has received U.S. approval as an osteoporosis treatment that can be used once every two years, drug maker Novartis AG announced Monday.
The Associated Press reported that the drug was already being used in the U.S. and Europe as a once-a-year infusion therapy to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis in women, to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis, and to treat and prevent osteoporosis caused by steroid treatment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use of Reclast once every two years is based on research involving more than 500 post-menopausal women with low bone mass, Novartis said. A single infusion of the drug significantly increased bone mineral density at two years, the study found.
According to Novartis, osteoporosis affects about 10 million women and men in the United States, the AP reported.
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Low Glycogen Linked to Drinking-Related Violence: Study
People who always become aggressive or violent when they drink may have low glycogen levels, a problem that could be remedied with medication and regular meals, suggest Finnish researchers.
They analyzed the insulin and glycogen levels of 49 men with alcohol problems who committed violent acts when drinking and compared them to a control group of 40 healthy men, Agence France Presse reported.
During eight years of follow-up, 17 of the 49 men with alcohol problems committed at least one new act of violence while drinking. The study found that those men had higher insulin levels and lower glycogen levels than the other men with alcohol problems who didn't commit any additional acts of violence, or men in the control group.
The findings "might suggest that substances increasing glycogen formation and decreasing the risk of hypoglycemia might be potential treatments for impulsive violent behavior," wrote researchers at the University of Helsinki, and those at Helsinki University Hospital, AFP reported.
Regular eating habits while drinking alcohol may also prevent violence, the scientists added.
Posted: June 2009
