Health News You Can Use
I can usually hear the roar of the crowd at the Masters from my patio. In fact, from my front porch I can see the famous Rae's Creek that farther upstream runs through the middle holes on the golf course.
I say "usually" because this year I did what most self-respecting Augustans do – I rented my house out for the week. I'll be back to see the Sunday round, of course, but I've been traveling the past week and thinking about all the amazing news stories I read and see:
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Mumps on the Rise? A 2006 outbreak of mumps at the University of Virginia has led some researchers to wonder if the viral infection is resurgent. A few experts think it may be just an anomaly from people not getting the second booster when it was originally recommended back in 1989. The logic of this eludes me, but the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is now hard at work analyzing the data. And I suspect more rules and regulations to ensure that parents obey the government edicts are forthcoming. |
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Prior to the required vaccinations, the U.S. had about 200,000 cases of mumps per year with only 25-30 deaths. Today, the U.S. sees about 3,000 cases a year. Interestingly, most of the cases are confined to the Midwest. The disease itself and the related consequences are relatively mild. Swelling and fever are the usual complaints. |
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It makes me wonder what effect the vaccine has had on our children, and how many kids have gotten sick or died from it? I hope less than 25 a year. And the genetic influence is also interesting... It sort of explains the localized regions in the U.S. where the disease has been more prevalent. |
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| • | Is Your Marijuana Safe? A New England Journal of Medicine article found that German pot dealers were lacing bags of marijuana with small particles of lead to increase profit margins. A total of 95 people were treated with "chelating therapy" to remove the lead, and 16 people were admitted to the hospital on an emergency basis. Turns out, lead particles are easily vaporized within the 1,200 degrees centigrade found in the center of a burning joint or pipe. Luckily, no one died. If only they did their own organic farming. |
| • | Deaths from Heart Disease and Stroke Are Declining: The number of deaths from heart disease and strokes has fallen about 25% since 1999. Doctors in the news report the reasons... innovations in treatments, the lowering of very high blood pressures, a decrease in smoking, and, of course, the increased use of statins. Amazingly, no story I read quotes a doctor mentioning what I firmly believe the two main reasons for the decrease are: a decrease in air pollution and an increase in exercise among the elderly. I hope your doctor knows the truth about heart disease. |
| • | A Recent Book: Science for Sale. As I wrote a couple years ago, the cost of medicine and the burden of regulations will drive science, drug, and medical research overseas very soon. Ethical regulation, onerous codes, and substituting requirements for common sense continue to drive investments away from the U.S. Within 15 years, those with money will travel to foreign countries for their major health care and surgical needs – I can almost guarantee this. The recent book and articles (e.g., in Science) confirm that others are aware, but can anything be done? |
| • | New Drug Protects from Radiation Effects: Researchers in Buffalo, New York, reported a chemical made by bacteria normally found in the human body might stop damage from radiation. The research shows that the chemical blocks programmed cell death, a process known as apoptosis. The bacteria use the chemical to block apoptosis to keep cells alive so they can maintain a place to live. |
| • | Amazingly, in animals exposed to doses of radiation similar to those used in the cancer therapy the drug CBLB502, it prevented healthy cells from dying. There is already talk of this as a sort of antidote, kept on hand (in your medicine cabinet?) to protect against radioactive "accidents." Recently, the army gave millions for research into battlefield protection from radiation. The company doing the research is Cleveland BioLabs (CBLI). |
| • | Mothers Who Smoke Increase the Risk of Heart Defects in Children: I hope we didn't spend too much tax money on this research. Common sense would tell us that smoking by moms does even more damage than this. Do we really need to know about what other diseases smoking mothers cause? Thank goodness they report that secondhand smoke doesn't cause any damage. Please don't spend more money on this sort of research. Let's just require all mothers who smoke to pay a health care tax. |
| • | Genetic Links to Smoking Addiction: This may be the hottest news this year. Researchers have uncovered genetic variations linked to increased addiction to cigarettes. Worse, if you have these genes, you are 80% more likely to have lung cancer. The nicotine receptors also play a huge role in the up-regulation of cancer. And the kicker is that people with these genetic variations may be more prone to depression. |
| These variations sit on chromosome 15. Animals with the chromosome area damaged, turn out to be more depressed and anxious. As many of you already know, for years I have made the claim that for the general population smoking doesn't cause cancer. In fact, people have laughed at me, doctors have told me I'm "naïve to say things like that," attendings in training have pulled me aside and told me to never tell a patient this. Finally, the proof is coming in... guess what? You need to have the genes for smoking to cause lung cancer. |
When it comes to the April 2008 news... What do I do?
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I continue to read articles claiming cause and effect with a critical eye. |
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I avoid lead-tainted marijuana. |
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I continue to think about and question authority for your health and mine. |
| 4. | I try and do some sort of activity every day for 30-45 minutes. |
Here's to our health,
David Eifrig Jr., M.D., M.B.A.