News

In the past several weeks, manufacturers have started shipping flu vaccines and expect to supply a record 143 million doses to the U.S.

Flu shots are being shipped earlier than usual this year to ensure that an adequate supply is in the hands of doctors, clinics and other providers by the end of October.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed replacing a 30-year-old system for classifying prescription medications in order to provide women with far more detailed information about a medication’s risks and benefits during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Should the proposal be approved, new prescription drug labels would list the potential risks and benefits for both the mother and the fetus when taking the medication and how those risks might change during pregnancy. The new labels will help women become better informed about their prescription drugs, and doctors will be better able to counsel patients about using prescription drugs.

Memory loss can have devastating effects on an individual’s quality of life. But according to the results of a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study, having an active social life may slow memory loss among the elderly. Researchers who conducted the study set out to test whether memory loss might be associated with social connectedness and found evidence that being socially active may increase feelings of self-worth and emotional validation that could end up helping maintain memory.

According to a new recommendation from the American Heart Association, children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), also known as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), should be screened for heart problems with an electrocardiogram (EKG) before they are prescribed drugs such as Ritalin.

Drugs used to treat ADHD are stimulants, having the potential to increase both heart rate and blood pressure. In children with heart conditions, ADHD drugs could potentially make them more vulnerable to cardiac arrest and other heart problems. A Food and Drug Administration review of its own FDA databases found reports of 19 sudden deaths in children treated with ADHD drugs and 26 reports of other problems including strokes and rapid heart rates between 1999 and 2003.

The Cleveland Clinic estimates that the annual rate of sudden cardiac deaths among the approximately 2.5 million children in the US who take medication for ADHD is approximately one to two children per 100,000.

Prior to prescribing ADHD medication, the AHA now recommends that doctors screen children for any personal or family history of heart problems, and perform a thorough heart exam including an EKG. The AHA also recommends testing for children already taking ADHD drugs. Such testing can help identify any previously undiagnosed heart issues and detect abnormal heart rhythms that may lead to a sudden heart attack.

ADHD medications now have labels to warn patients of the possible risks to individuals who have heart defects or other heart problems.

Questions your doctor should ask in a heart screening exam:

• Has your child ever fainted during exercise or similar physical activity?

Hike up to remote areas of snow-covered Crater Lake National Park and you may be miles from civilization, but don't eat the snow because it contains industrial PCBs, the banned pesticide DDT and at least two currently used pesticides.

Go fly-fishing in Golden Lake at Mount Rainier National Park but don't eat the trout because they carry relatively high levels of toxic flame retardant.

Or try fishing Montana's spectacular Glacier National Park but make sure you don't eat them either because the DDT in them is higher than levels found in fish studies from Africa, even though the United States phased out DDT production in 1972 and Africa still uses it for mosquito control.

About 40,000 patients of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas are being urged to get tested for bloodborne diseases like hepatitis and HIV. It is reported that anesthesiologists exposed patients to infection by using multiple-dose vials of medications and re-using syringes between individuals.

Patients were exposed to these unsafe injections between March 2004 and January 2008. So far, doctors have found six acute cases of hepatitis C in patients from the center.

Patches sold by Actavis South Atlantic are being recalled because of a defect that could cause them to leak, putting patients or caregivers at risk of overdose.

The recalled patches have the company's name on the outer carton, and the company's old name, Abrika Pharmaceuticals, is printed on the pouches containing the patches. Damaged patches should not be handled.

This is the second recall involving fentanyl patches within a week. On February 12, PriCara recalled patches made by its affiliate, ALZA Corporation.

After an initial autopsy proved inconclusive as to cause of death, toxicology tests released today revealed Heath Ledger died from "acute intoxication" due to prescription medications. The following statement was released from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York:

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

High doses of daily caffeine during pregnancy -- whether from coffee, tea, caffeinated soda or hot chocolate -- cause an increased risk of miscarriage, according a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study controlled, for the first time, pregnancy-related symptoms of nausea, vomiting and caffeine aversion that tended to interfere with the determination of caffeine's true effect on miscarriage risk. The research appears in the current online issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.