A Midwestern lawsuit has raised lots of eyebrows after jurors in St. Louis returned a sizable civil judgment over claims that an Alabama woman died of ovarian cancer caused by her use of talcum in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. Experts expect J&J to appeal the $72 million verdict in favor of the family of….
Continue ReadingArchives for February 2016
A check-in on New Year’s resolutions, weight loss, exercise, and brain health
How is it that February is almost gone? For those who made New Year’s resolutions about health, fitness, and diet, it might be time for a check in: Is that exercise regimen producing both the physical and mental health results desired? Is it time to toss at least one long-time, favorite exercise that was supposed….
Continue ReadingAnti-anxiety pills and antibacterial soaps get scrutiny for over-use
Moderation matters. And when the health care system goes all-in on fad remedies, the problems, some deadly, soon start to crop up. This week’s illustrations of the dangers of over-use focus on increasingly prescribed anti-anxiety medications and now ubiquitous antibacterial soaps. Be wary with Xanax, Valium, Klonopin New research provides a chilling warning: Benzodiazepine-family drugs account….
Continue ReadingFDA outrages critics over sneaky rule change on drugs, medical devices
It’s a short paragraph, fine-print tucked in a 10,000-word document on tobacco product regulations. But these 245 words (see Intended Use Regulations, ง 201.128) have lit up critics of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They say officials are trying to pull a fast one, seeking to relax labeling rules for drugs and medical devices. This….
Continue ReadingBar upholds lawyer’s constitutional right to blog about untruthful witness
A Michigan lawyer may write about the untruthful testimony of an “expert” medical witness because his online blog post and his comments are protected speech under the First Amendment, officials from the Michigan Bar have decided. That’s good news for the lawyer, who had his law license challenged by the witness─a psychiatrist who also happens to….
Continue ReadingDon’t blame those caveman genes for smoking and other risky behaviors
It’s fun stuff that has serious scientific purpose. New research is delving into our genetic past for insights about our health today. But before anyone drags their knuckles across the cave floor with the mistaken notion that genes dictate behavior, let’s be clear: Individual bad decisions, not prehistoric propensities, can be detrimental to good health,….
Continue ReadingA glimmer of good news in U.S. crisis in care for dementia patients
With the United States getting grayer by the day and a national crisis looming in dementia- and senior-care, new information from one of the larger, longer running, and more significant health studies has offered a glimmer of optimism. Experts say dementia risks are showing a decline─by as much as 20 percent. They’re uncertain exactly why…..
Continue ReadingAs corporations step up health care activity, it’s time to be wary
Just how much do you trust big companies, including the one you work for, with your health information? That issue may become increasingly important as employers campaign to help themselves and their employees by banding together to curb health care costs. It also may matter more as enterprises quietly and largely out of sight data-mine….
Continue ReadingA Valentine for teens and their improving health behaviors
Let’s give a Valentine’s hug to the high schoolers of today for their improved health behaviors. Federal researchers, who survey 10,000 of them every other year, report that kids are, as one report describes it, are getting into a lot less trouble than ever before. The U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey finds, as one news….
Continue ReadingWhen hospitals let guards carry guns, patients get shot
More and more hospitals across the country are arming their security guards with weapons, and tragedy follows close behind when poorly trained personnel grapple with patients with mental disorders. That’s the message of an important new piece in the New York Times. About half of all hospitals now have guards carrying handguns, and an almost….
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