Do cell phones pose distraction, adversely affect memory recall?

Ring-a-dingy-ding...We've all been distracted by the varied melodic rings of another person's cell phone - often when they should be turned off-- in a seminar, during a live performance, in a classroom, during the church sermon. (What's that? Just a minute, yes that's actually my ringtone...Sorry, what were you asking me?) Now a study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests our reaction may go beyond amusement or irritation...it may be a big enough distraction to adversely affect our memory recall.

"In any setting where people are trying to acquire knowledge and trying to retain that information in some way, a distraction that may just seem like a common annoyance to people may have a really disruptive effect on their later retention of that information," said Jill Shelton, a postdoctoral psychology fellow in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and lead author of the study. The study appears in the Journal of Environmental Psychology

FDA review warns of liver damage risk from acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is back in the news again. A Working Group from the U.S. FDA reviewed scientific literature on the OTC drug and its effects on the liver, preparing a report for an FDA Advisory Committee meeting in late June that will examine the issue. The group's report recommends that specific action steps be implemented by FDA to reduce the occurrence of acetaminophen liver toxicity. One thing would help: teaching consumers how to read the patient package insert and to follow the directions for appropriate use...I have often heard people say that they "downed four or five Tylenol" because they had a bad headache or that they take two tablets every two hours, instead of every four hours. Others combine the pills with other acetaminophen-based products, such as a liquid Tylenol. This misuse/abuse
contributes to some of the side effects we hear reported in these reviews of reported cases of liver toxicity.

NIH study suggests late perimenopause stage may cause learning problems

As if some older women don't have enough health issues to worry about, a new study from the National Institutes of Health suggests that those just approaching menopause might have more trouble learning than women in other phases of life. The researchers studied more than 2300 women between the ages of 42 and 52 for four years and tested them for verbal memory, working memory and their speed for processing information. Study results indicated that processing speed improved with repeated testing during premenopause, early perimenopause and postmenopause. However, scores for women who were in the late perimenopause stage did not show the same degree of improvement. Improvements in processing speed during late perimenopause were only 28 percent as large as improvements observed in premenopause. The study appears in the May 26 print edition of the journal Neurology.

Plastic bottles may pose threat to humans, Harvard study says

Do plastic bottles leach enough chemicals to harm us? Some studies have raised concerns about the health effects of one component, bisphenol A, suggesting it is an endocrine disrupter, which means it can interfere with reproductive growth and development. And another study, this one from Harvard, appears to confirm that bisphenol A definitely accumulates in the human body. Participants in a Harvard study who drank from polycarbonate plastic bottles for a week had an increase of Bisphenol A in their urines that was two-thirds higher than the "washout" period during which they drank liquids only from stainless steel bottles. If you are thinking you can switch to aluminum cans for your soft drinks, you should know that most of them are lined with bisphenol A, and the chemical is also present in dental sealants, dental composites and other consumer goods, such as baby bottles and toys. One of the Harvard researchers notes that if you heat the polycarbonate bottles, as in the case of those for baby's milk, even higher bisphenol A readings would be expected.

Canada has already banned bisphenol A in its soft drink containers, and some manufacturers have voluntarily removed it from their bottles. In the U.S. it may end up being regulated on a state-by-state basis. Some states are already considering a ban on bisphenol A in toddler and children's plastic glasses and "tippy cups." The Harvard study is available for free on the website of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Compare drugs to improve on efficacy and reduce costs, new study says

A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago reports that patients can get significant savings and better outcomes from their prescription drugs when doctors/health care professionals use comparative effectiveness research, that is, evaluating different options for treating a medical condition among a particular group of patients.

"Despite having the highest per capita health care expenditures in the world, the United States does not always perform well on measures of health compared with other countries," said Glen Schumock, associate professor and director of the UIC Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research. Schumock also said the medical community needs to know more about how drugs compare to one another in terms of effectiveness, safety and value. It makes sense, then, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, approved by President Obama, has set aside more than $1 billion for comparative effectiveness research.

The report appears in the online version (Volume 66, 2009) of American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy.

Is Change in the Air for Healthcare? Obama says yes.

President Barach Obama again displayed his audacity of hope (and boosted ours) as he announced in his weekly radio address that interest groups, such as insurance companies, drug companies, doctors and labor unions, have promised to shave trillions of dollars in savings from the health care system.

Their collaborative efforts could save families up to $2,500 in the coming years, Obama said, noting that this new approach signals that change is coming to Washington.

" I have always believed that it is better to talk than not to talk; that it is far more productive to reach over a divide than to shake your fist across it. This has been an alien notion in Washington for far too long, but we are seeing that the ways of Washington are beginning to change," Obama said.

Meanwhile, the Republican response was guarded, agreeing with President Obama that the healthcare system needs an overhaul that will provide affordable health insurance and include preventive measures, but warning against any option for government-run health insurance or replacing employer-based insurance. However, the Republican message warned about government intervention.

"A government takeover of health care will put bureaucrats in charge of health care decisions that should be made by families and doctors," Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) said in the Republican radio and Internet address. Boustany said it would also limit healthcare options and could lead to increased taxes to pay for the system.

We have to start somewhere and the new efforts to trim costs suggests a commitment from the interest groups that offers consumers the hope that a change for the better is coming. Even a compromise suggests that the consumer gets something out of the deal!

Pfizer and other companies offer free Rx drugs to unemployed

Seizing an opportunity for goodwill in difficult economic times, Pfizer has offered unemployed Americans who lost their health insurance and have been unemployed since January 1, 2009 free prescriptions for up to one year, according to a report in the Miami Herald. The new program includes 70 of the company's drugs, including cholesterol drug Lipitor, painkiller Celebrex and erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. It has no income limit. Patients can register for the program by calling 1-866-706-2400 or by visiting http://www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com/. (No angle is lost amidst the good deeds. The media had a field day with the realization that the unemployed male can now enjoy free Viagra for an entire year!)

Other companies, such as Abbott, Amgen, Merck and Wyeth are also expanding their patient assistance programs to ease the economic challenges of poor or unemployed patients.

FDA Crunches Cheerios Claims

We're accustomed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticizing prescription drug ads that are misleading, but this week its focus shifted to the food industry, where it targeted our beloved Cheerios, those tasty toasted oats we've all been eating since childhood. As adults, we've crunched away at a bowl in the hopes of lowering our cholesterol...At least, that's what General Mills told us on the boxes...Now the FDA is challenging that assumption, suggesting that if the company wants to make those claims, it should submit an application for Cheerios as a drug that lowers cholesterol. In a statement in its defense, General Mills said the claims have been approved by the FDA for 12 years and the only argument is about the language used to describe the health claim. The company said it would work with the FDA to resolve the issues. Save the OOOOOOOOs and let's concentrate on something important, such as the economy.

Pharma needs new business models, says PriceWaterhouse Cooper

A high level of innovation is needed to rehabilitate the ailing $800 billion pharmaceutical industry and two new pharmaceutical business models could help transform the competitive landscape in the coming decade, according to new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Both models emphasize greater collaboration with other organizations.

In the first, a federated model, a single company (not necessarily a drug company), develops a network of separate entities sharing mutual goals, such as the management of outcomes in a particular population, common supporting infrastructure, funding, data, access to patients and back-office services. PwC maintains that the interdependence will hold them together. For example, a federation created to address cardiovascular disease and composed of drug companies, clinics and diagnostics, would provide diagnosis and treatment as well as nutritional advisors and stress management services to prevent disease. The advantage is obviously innovative: one pharmaceutical company could participate in various federated networks in different therapeutic areas.

In the second model, a fully diversified approach, a drug company could expand from its core business and begin providing related products and services, such as diagnostics and devices, generics, neutraceuticals and health management, PwC says. Only the largest drug companies are expected to follow this path, PwC notes, but adds that recent mergers and acquisition suggest a move in this direction. this model would allow companies to reduce their reliance on blockbuster drugs and spread their risk by moving into other market spaces, the report says.

The report, Pharma 2020: Challenging business models, concludes that pharmaceutical companies must provide holistic solutions instead of narrow treatments to meet the demands from different stakeholders, including their patients. This means joining forces with academic institutions, hospitals and technology providers that offer other important services, such as compliance programs stress management, physiotherapy, health screening and stress management.

Stress, job loss affects health

The findings this week that people who lose their jobs experience poorer health comes as no surprise, especially in the current economy. Reports abound linking stress to high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease . Kate Strully, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation scholar at the Harvard School of Public Health, conducted research that found the likelihood of reporting fair or poor health increased by 54% among white or blue collar workers who lost a job through workplace closure. For those who had no pre-existing health conditions, the odds of developing a new health condition increased by 83%. WebMd offers suggestions on stress management, including better time management and changes in diet and exercise.

Super plastic helps mend failing hearts

A super plastic developed by NASA for a high-speed aerospace research program has become part of an implantable device to help heart failure patients. The plastic is biological inert and can be used in medical applications and for mechanical parts and composites to electrical insulation and adhesive bonding. Medtronic has incorporated the material into its recently approved" Attain Ability" left-heart lead, which is used to deliver energy from cardiac resynchronization therapy, or CRT. CRT coordinates and aids contracting of the heart's two lower chambers, which improves the heart's ability to increase blood blow to the body.

Government's Health Insurance will compete

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before the House Ways and Means Committee today, advocating a government health insurance option that would compete with products from private insurance companies, but not undercut them. Sebelius rejected the single-payer system. She expressed concern that the cost of health insurance for families has doubled from an average of $6,000 in 2000 to an average of $12,000 in 2009, according to RTT News. With so many unemployed currently facing high COBRA costs, there might be more public pressure to find economically feasible solutions.

Albumin in urine associated with blood clots: Jama study

Preliminary results from a study in the May 6 issue of JAMA suggest that higher than normal levels of the protein albumin in urine are associated with an increased risk for blood clots, or venous thromboembolism, in the deep veins of the legs or lungs.

Obama administration promotes plan to fight HIV/AIDS

The Obama Administration has proposed a $63 billion health plan to battle HIV/AIDS and other diseases in developing countries, according to the BBC Online. If Congress approves the measure, the six-year initiative would combat HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria and also would fund pre- and post-natal care and child health initiatives. This plan would continue the work started in the Bush Administration. Perhaps the plan's toughest challenge will be to overcome breakdowns inn the infrastructures of countries that has historically prevented many from getting the help they desperately need.

New study says newer antidepressants not always better

Two new reviews comparing the benefits and side effects of antidepressants appear in the most recent issue of The Cochrane Library. The studies suggest that newer antidepressants may not be more effective than the best existing drugs. In the first review of sertraline, the researchers suggest that generic sertraline (sold as brand name Zoloft since 1991) could be the best initial choice for patients with acute major depression. The second review suggests that patients also experienced good results with the the newer antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) but it is not yet available in generic form and needs economic analysis to determine cost effectiveness.

Swine Flu - Lowering mortality estimates

There were signs today that the swine flu outbreak might be milder than originally expected, but, predicting viral pandemics is not unlike trying to herd stray cats. As health officials monitor the situation, they must decide whether the current viral spread is the spark to start the pandemic, or whether it will fizzle and reignite in several months. In 1968, they were right to be concerned about a pandemic, but in 1976, a panic about swine flu caused more than 40 million American to be vaccinated and a pandemic never materialized.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed an earlier advisory and said schools should not close unless so many students and teachers were sick that they could not function. The New York Times reported that New York State continued to lead the tally of H1N1 cases, with 90 confirmed cases. Although the virus has continued to spread across the U.S. and to other countries, fewer deaths have occurred than initially expected by this time. Texas reported its second death and the the first American to succumb from complications of the virus The 33-year old school teacher, who lived near the border of Mexico, reportedly had a pre-existing condition that was exacerbated by the H1N1