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			Monday, July 27, 2009 News Clipping Archives *Maryland / Regional* State health, school leaders to hold swine flu summit today (Cumberland Times-News) Racial disparity of breast cancer deaths baffles researchers (Baltimore Sun) Will the doctor be there in an emergency? (Baltimore Sun) Body of girl, 11, recovered after boating accident (Baltimore Sun) *National / International* No jobs, no insurance: hard times for young adults (Daily Record) Nearly 10 percent of health spending for obesity (Frederick News-Post) Few in United States are underweight, survey finds (Baltimore Sun) AP-GfK Poll: Parents like school swine flu shots (Frederick News-Post) Vets affected by VA hospital errors to file claims (Frederick News-Post) Scratching increases eczema rash (Baltimore Sun) Studies affirm lifestyle and heart health link (Baltimore Sun) Tart cherry juice called a remedy for sore muscles, pain (Baltimore Sun) In search of a nontoxic home (Baltimore Sun) Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism (New York Times) Police: Woman accused of killing newborn ate brain (Frederick News-Post) Israel confirms first death in swine flu epidemic (Baltimore Sun) *Opinion* Drug war's wrong focus (Baltimore Sun Commentary) *Maryland / Regional* State health, school leaders to hold swine flu summit today Associated Press Cumberland Times-News Monday, July 27, 2009 ANNAPOLIS (AP) - Health and education officials from across Maryland will gather in Annapolis on Monday for a swine flu summit. Seasonal influenza immunization; surveillance and reporting of swine flu; and emergency preparedness will be among the items on the agenda. Health Secretary John Colmers and state schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick are among those scheduled to attend the summit. Health officials this past week said up to 40 percent of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign and other measures. Flu cases could explode in the fall, when schools open and become germ factories, and the new estimates dramatize the need to have vaccines and other measures in place. A world health official said the first vaccines are expected in September and October. The United States expects to begin testing on some volunteers in August, with 160 million doses ready in October. http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_207225016.html Copyright 2009 Cumberland Times-News. Racial disparity of breast cancer deaths baffles researchers The roles of genetics and environment are being investigated By Kelly Brewington Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 A new study that suggests that racial differences in biology could be a key reason black women are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women has reignited an intense debate among medical experts about the role of genetics versus factors such as poverty, diet and unequal access to quality health care. For nearly three decades, researchers have known about the disparity in death rates, but they have been puzzled over the reasons why. In Maryland, for example, the breast cancer death rate for black women is 15 percent higher than for white women, even though African-Americans have a lower incidence of the disease. State health officials, doctors and advocacy groups have long thought a combination of factors explained the disparity and have vowed to shrink the gap through better research, aggressive treatment and outreach efforts aimed at getting black women life-saving care. But researchers worry that a biological explanation may eclipse the real barriers black women face to getting the early preventive care that might save their lives. Robena Pope, a breast cancer survivor from Catonsville, thinks black women, regardless of income, are reluctant to be screened for breast cancer because they think a diagnosis is a death sentence. Years ago, the former teacher at an early child development center in Baltimore took it upon herself to educate the mothers and grandmothers of her students about breast cancer - few had ever had a mammogram. Pope invited a doctor at her primary care practice to come to the school to offer education sessions on breast cancer with the women. The effort is now an annual outreach event. "Even women who had insurance, they didn't want a mammogram," she said. "They just didn't want to know." The newest national study on the problem examined some 20,000 adults with various cancers and found that blacks were more likely than whites to die of three gender-related cancers - ovarian, prostate and breast. The disparity persisted, even when patients received the same treatment and when researchers adjusted for factors such as age, income and the severity of the illness. The risk of dying for blacks was 41 percent higher than whites for breast cancer before menopause, and 49 percent higher for post-menopausal breast cancer, according to the paper, published this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings suggest that socioeconomic status and access to care alone can't explain the survival gap - as many researchers had speculated. Rather, the disparity is likely caused by interactions among hormones, differences in the biology of the tumors and racial differences in genes that control the metabolism of drugs, said Dr. Kathy S. Albain, breast and lung cancer specialist at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., and the study's lead author. Despite the study's findings, some experts are skeptical that biology explains the disparity in death rates. The study had certain limitations: It did not explain whether other health problems might have contributed to the disparity or specify how participants adhered to their drug therapies. In addition, for years, other studies have shown that socioeconomic factors, social inequities and other barriers keep African-Americans from receiving quality health care. And some think that one's environment - from diet, chemical exposures and cultural influences - might impact biology. "I am very concerned that folks will take this and walk away from it with the wrong impression," said Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society and an expert on racial disparities. "People might say, we don't have to worry about getting adequate care to blacks, because it doesn't matter. It's all biology." Still, to other experts, the findings are important because they shed a little more light on the mystery behind the racial differences - a field that desperately needs more research. "In my 30 years as a researcher ... only now people are awakening and addressing that there is a disparity," said Saraswati Sukumar, a professor of oncology and co-director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. "Some people are still skeptical that there even is a disparity. That's why I like this paper. It's clear. Look at the numbers. "We need to be asking how can we change this?" said Sukumar, who is researching how certain gene changes may make African-Americans more susceptible to getting breast cancer. She hopes the findings can help doctors detect the disease earlier in blacks. "How can we improve this? It's very, very important." The black/white survival gap didn't exist before 1981, said Brawley. Since then, as the disparity has widened, researchers have asked whether the cause is biology, environment or a combination. They have also discovered key ways the disease impacts black women. For instance, their cancers are often detected in late stages. Blacks are more likely to have a form of breast cancer known as "triple negative," which is rare, aggressive and hard to treat. Women with this type lack the three hormone receptors that are the target of the most effective drug treatments. Dr. Katherine Tkaczuk, director of the breast evaluation and treatment program at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, said getting African-Americans into clinical trials is key to better understanding possible differences in biology and discovering the best treatments. In the Loyola study, which was based on findings in a clinical trial, for instance, just 10 percent of the participants were black. "Actual participation with a clinical trial has been associated with better survival," she said. "They receive the more aggressive treatment, the newer treatment and the adherence to the treatment regimens is better. ... This is how we make progress, how we incrementally improve cure rates." Pope, 60, a mother to four daughters who was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2002, jumped at the chance to enroll in a five-year drug trial Tkazcuk is leading. "I did it for my girls, my nieces and everyone out there that I know who has died of it," she said. Pope thinks she has increased awareness among her circle of friends and family, mostly by using herself as an example. Her cancer, in remission for two years, was caught early, she says, because she never missed an annual screening. Brawley said his studies suggest fatalism and a lack of hope among black women lead some to dismiss screening and even forego treatment once diagnosed. Those attitudes underscore the need for quality health care years before women are diagnosed with breast cancer, he said. "Educate the women before they get breast cancer, get them good primary care so they have good preventive care and good information about breast cancer," he said. The Baltimore City Cancer Program of the University of Maryland Medical Center tries to provide that kind of early education. It has offered more than 7,000 free breast cancer screenings to city residents since 2001, targeting minority patients. The program, with the help of foundation grants and money from the state's cigarette restitution fund, offers free cancer screening to low-income minorities and connects them to resources to cover the cost of their treatment, medicine and even transportation to doctor's offices, if they are diagnosed. And yet, some women don't go for follow-up appointments, even when the costs are covered, said Rhonda Silva, an administrator with the program. "They're afraid to take off work, afraid to lose their jobs," she said. "They have to watch their kids, their grandkids. They may have a family member who died of cancer. ... Most of all, they're scared." Silva said social workers and nurses hold patients' hands through the process, attend doctors visits with them and even visit them at home just to pop in and see how they are doing. And sometimes they're just there to listen. "First, you got to listen to the barriers that people are going through," she said. "Once you listen and are compassionate to their concerns and their needs, we find that it opens the door." Racial disparities in breast cancer in Maryland The 2005 Maryland Cancer Registry found: •Black women were 15 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. •The incidence of new breast cancer cases in black women was 10 percent lower than for white women. •Forty-seven percent of black women with breast cancer were diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease, compared to 34 percent of white women. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. Will the doctor be there in an emergency? Picture of Health By Kelly Brewington Baltimore Sun Mondy, July 27, 2009 Let's say this swine flu business got really serious and a pandemic flu emergency took hold. You might expect an army of doctors and nurses would flock to hospitlas to serve the public at a time of crisis -- right? Well, according to a new study, one in six public health workers said they would NOT go to work during a pandemic flu emergency, regardless of how severe it is, according to a new survey by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. And those findings are an improvement from a 2005 report that found more than 40 percent of public health employees were unlikely to go to report for duty such an emergency. Now, there are some limitations to the study: The findings come from a survey of 1,835 public health workers in just three states -- Minnesota, Ohio and West Virginia. Just because people say something in an internet survey, doesn't mean they won't rise to the challenge if an actual emergency happened. Workers' own fears and perceptions about the severity of the emergency were key factors in whether they would respond. For instance, those who said they were concerned about the threat of the pandemic and those who said they were "confident" that their roles would have a meaningful impact were 31 times more likely to respond than workers who didn't think the threat was big or that they could make a difference. Experts think the study will help them strengthen emergency plans and devise ways to reinforce the vital role that health care providers play in a crisis. "This study is important in that it both documents the problem and points the way towards specific interventions -- those that increase both concern and confidence -- to increase willingness to respond," said Jonathan Links, director of Hopkins' public health preparedness programs. Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun. Body of girl, 11, recovered after boating accident Associated Press Baltimore Sun Maryland Brief Monday, July 27, 2009 Maryland Natural Resources Police say they have recovered the body of an 11-year-old girl reported missing following a Cecil County boating accident. Police say the girl's body was found Sunday morning about a half-mile from where the accident was reported Friday on the Sassafras River near Kennedyville. Police say the body will be taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy. Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun. *National / International* No jobs, no insurance: hard times for young adults Associated Press Daily Record Monday, July 27, 2009 Emily Weinstein graduated from college into an economic meltdown, and as a self-employed jewelry maker she'll be lucky to bring in $16,000 this year. Heath insurance is out of reach, so she avoids thinking about what would happen if she got sick, was hurt in a traffic accident or was severely burned while making a silver necklace in her home studio. "Would I have to declare bankruptcy at age 23 or would my parents have to bail me out?" asked Weinstein, of Portland, Ore. "What would I do?" Like millions of other uninsured adults in their 20s, Weinstein is watching Congress as it advances legislation to overhaul health care. The recession has deepened young adults' career struggles. It has also sharpened their interest in health insurance. Already the least likely of any age group to have coverage, adults in their 20s face brutal job searches and more time uninsured because of the recession. Nearly 30 percent, 13.2 million, were uninsured in 2007, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based research center. Many young adults work entry-level jobs without insurance and, despite new laws in some states, they're eventually too old to stay on their parents' policies. Ben Brenner, now 23, couldn't find work in finance, his preferred field. After a four-month search, he took a part-time job for a small real estate agency in Deerfield, Ill., for an hourly rate and no health benefits. He was able to stay insured as a dependent on his stepmother's plan until December. Then he went without insurance briefly. Now he has a $5,000 deductible he calls "absurdly high" and pays $53 a month through a plan designed for young adults. He "felt relieved knowing I had an insurance card in my wallet." He supports the Obama administration's push to cover more Americans and lower the cost of health care, but is unsure how he feels about tax increases to pay for it. He's in favor of requiring everyone to have health insurance. "I think it should be mandatory to have insurance because if you're uninsured and you go to the hospital, the taxpayers are footing the bill anyway," he said. A June survey for the Kaiser Family Foundation found young adults don't vary much from their elders in views on health care, said public opinion researcher Mollyann Brodie of Kaiser. But twentysomethings were nearly twice as likely as senior citizens to say they would be "better off" if President Barack Obama and Congress reformed the health care system. People in their 20s were more likely than senior citizens to say they would be willing to pay more so that more Americans could be insured. The nationally representative random sample of 1,205 adults was conducted by land line and cell phone by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Some features in the health care plans working their way through Congress would benefit young adults. Depending on their income, they could qualify for subsidies on insurance premiums or, for the poorest, expansion of Medicaid. One plan allows them to stay on their parents' policies until age 26. Some young adults learn about insurance the hard way. Nursing student Sarah Posekany is only 27, but she's already filed for bankruptcy because of colon surgery when she was uninsured. She still owes thousands of dollars in medical bills. "It's not fair," said Posekany of Cedar Falls, Iowa. "We should learn how to be a strong nation and take care of everybody." Posekany now has insurance but must wait a year for her pre-existing condition to be covered. Katie Miletti, 24, is a full-time college student studying to work with disabled preschoolers. A survivor of childhood cancer, she still deals with the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. After she became too old for coverage under her mother's policy, she was uninsured about a month before qualifying for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the needy and disabled. "Everyone should have health insurance," said Miletti, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. "I don't think it should matter what your health problems are, how rich you are, or what your income is." The insurance industry terms this age group "the young invincibles" because many of them think they'll never get sick or hurt. Nick Bernstein used to feel that way. Marking time during the recession, he worked as a waiter with a plan to pay off college loans and get a graduate degree in wine production. Leisure time was filled with backpacking, mountain climbing and snowboarding. On April 1, at Stevens Pass, Wash., near Seattle, he hit a rock while snowboarding and landed hard, breaking his collarbone and separating his shoulder. In the ambulance, Bernstein told the paramedics he didn't know if he had insurance. Luckily, he was still covered under his stepfather's plan, so the bill for the first $27,000 surgery didn't fall solely to him. But his coverage may end before he's well. Doctors recently diagnosed a staph infection. Temporarily unable to work, he needs to figure out how to get insurance when he turns 25 in November and is dropped from his stepfather's policy. When this age group buys insurance, they often opt for cheaper monthly premiums with high deductibles. But those deductibles, paid out of pocket before coverage kicks in, can lead them to avoid care, experts say. Joe San Roman, 26, of Agoura Hills, Calif., nursed a broken wrist with shots of tequila through the night so he wouldn't have to pay for an emergency room visit. He's insured, but has a $1,500 deductible. He waited until morning when he could get treatment in a visit to his doctor's office. "I didn't want to have to drop $1,500," he said. At age 28, Holly Brown's adulthood has been shaped by the recession. Laid off from a job she'd held for four years, she's been unable to find other work. "I told my mom I might have to marry somebody for their health insurance," said Brown of Round Lake, Ill., who has a chronic lung condition. She's managed to stay on her company's health plan through the government COBRA program. COBRA allows workers to keep their insurance for 18 months after they leave jobs if they pay the premiums, which can be steep. Congress is considering extending COBRA eligibility even longer. Already approved are federal subsidies to lower COBRA premiums for some laid-off workers; Brown qualified for one. And, her 85-year-old grandfather stepped up to pay the remaining amount. "When I got the check from my grandfather, I cried," she said. Copyright 2009 Daily Record. Nearly 10 percent of health spending for obesity By Lauran Neergaard Frederick News-Post Monday, July 27, 2009 Obesity's not just dangerous, it's expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs. The higher expense reflects the costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments far more common for the overweight, concluded the study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International. RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein offers a blunt message for lawmakers trying to revamp the health care system: "Unless you address obesity, you're never going to address rising health care costs." Obesity-related conditions now account for 9.1 percent of all medical spending, up from 6.5 percent in 1998, the study concluded. Health economists have long warned that obesity is a driving force behind the rise in health spending. For example, diabetes costs the nation $190 billion a year to treat, and excess weight is the single biggest risk factor for developing diabetes. Moreover, obese diabetics are the hardest to treat, with higher rates of foot ulcers and amputations, among other things. The new study's look at per-capita spending may offer a shock to the wallets of people who haven't yet heeded straight health warnings. "Health care costs are dramatically higher for people who are obese and it doesn't have to be that way," said Jeff Levi of the nonprofit Trust for America's Health, who wasn't involved in the new research. "We have ways of changing behavior and changing those health outcomes so that we don't have to deal with the medical consequences of obesity," added Levi, who advocates community-based programs that promote physical activity and better nutrition. About a third of adult Americans are obese, and the obesity rate rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, the years covered by Monday's study. Prescription drugs for obesity-related illnesses account for much of the rise in spending. Medicare spends about $600 more per year on prescriptions for an obese beneficiary than a normal-weight one, the study found. On the Net: Health Affairs: http://www.healthaffairs.org RTI International: http://www.rti.org Press Association iCopyright 2009 Associated Press. Few in United States are underweight, survey finds Los Angeles Times Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 It's hard to believe, but being underweight used to be a considerable U.S. health problem. No more, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. In the years from 1966 to 1970, 5.8 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 4.6 percent of children ages 12 to 19 were underweight. From 1960 to 1962, 5.7 percent of people ages 20 to 39 were underweight. Survey data from 2003 to 2006 show 3.3 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are underweight. In children ages 2 to 5, the incidence declined from 5.8 percent in 1971-74 to 2.8 percent in 2003-06. Among adults of all ages, the rates of underweight fell from 4 percent in 1960-62 to 1.8 percent in 2003-06. Five decades ago, 3.7 percent of people ages 60 to 74 were underweight. Today only 0.9 percent are underweight. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. AP-GfK Poll: Parents like school swine flu shots By Lauran Neergaard Frederick News-Post Monday, July 27, 2009 Most parents like the idea of vaccinating children against swine flu at school, but they're not so eager to roll up their own sleeves. Parents do seem to be listening to warnings that this novel flu strain strikes the young more often than the old, an Associated Press-GfK poll suggests. Nearly two-thirds said they were likely to give permission for their children to be inoculated at school — if the government's evolving plan to try that pans out — and 40 percent said very likely. However, even as the government races to get enough swine flu vaccine for Americans in time for fall's expected rebound of the virus, only a third of people say they're very likely to get vaccinated themselves once shots arrive. "I don't think I am going to die from the swine flu," says Seattle truck driver Luis Gonzalez, 40, who adds that neither he, his wife nor their three children ever have had a flu shot or caught influenza. He's far from alone. The AP-GfK poll shows 56 percent of Americans aren't worried that they or their family will catch swine flu. The complacency doesn't surprise flu experts. While swine flu still is spreading around the country — strange, since most influenza viruses can't hack summer's heat and humidity — it has killed relatively few, 300, of the more than a million Americans estimated to have been sickened. "We're in a lull now," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health's infectious diseases chief. "People really like vaccine when they see people getting sick. That's just human psychology." It's another story for parents, perhaps rattled by last spring's swine flu-caused school closings. "With kids at school, at a close proximity to each other, disease can spread quite easily," said Lance Griffin, 38, a Wichita, Kan., commodities broker and father of three. "Some people have died, obviously, from it. So if one of my kids were to (die) and I had the opportunity to get them vaccinated and I chose not to, I would feel very stupid. ... It's hard for a parent to live with that." Get ready for a confusing fall: The regular winter flu is expected to make its usual rounds — infecting up to one in five Americans and killing 36,000 — at the same time swine flu spreads. But it will take two separate vaccinations to protect against both kinds. "Don't forget the seasonal vaccine," pleaded Dr. Carol Baker of Baylor College of Medicine, who fumes that between 50 and 100 U.S. children die from regular influenza every year and "it seems the public doesn't care." About 40 percent of Americans get an annual flu vaccine, and 30 percent of children do. The poll finds the population split on whether they or their children will go through that rite this fall. Manufacturers aren't finished brewing and testing swine flu vaccine yet. On Wednesday, the government's top vaccine advisers meet to debate who's first in line once limited supplies start trickling out, a list expected to include school-age children, younger adults with flu-risky conditions like asthma, and health workers. A solid minority — a third of adults and just over one in four parents — opposes swine flu vaccination. "Unless it is a mandate for school attendance, my children will not be (vaccinated) against any flu virus," said Rebecca Theismann, 38, a Rochester, Minn., special education teacher and mother of two. She views all flu vaccine as unnecessary except for the very young, elderly or people with weak immune systems. Two-thirds of people are concerned the new vaccine might bring side effects. Regular flu vaccine is one of the world's safest inoculations and the swine flu shots are just a recipe change. But the last mass vaccination against swine flu, in 1976, was marred by reports of a rare paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, so scientists will carefully watch for any sign of problems. Yet side-effect fears don't predict who will shun swine flu vaccine. Complacency is the chief predictor. William Aeschbacher, 55, a recreation center owner in Industry, Pa., said he decided the virus was "really, you know, nothing to worry about that much." He thinks the vaccine should be targeted to children_ he wants it for a 5-year-old he's helping care for — and said he'd consider it for himself only if it were very convenient: "It's just one of those things that I wouldn't go out of the way for." In fact, the people most interested in swine flu vaccination are those who get inoculated every year. Four of every five who plan on a regular winter flu shot want the swine flu vaccine, too. So do two-thirds of those over 65, the age so far least likely to get swine flu but a population well-versed in influenza's dangers. "It seems like a scary thing should that go through our country, and it seemed like it started very fast," said Darlene Woodard, 73, of Stockton, Calif., the sole caregiver for five grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She wants them and herself vaccinated as soon as it's available because "otherwise they might run out," Woodard said. "I need to stay healthy and stay well for these kids." The AP-GfK Poll was conducted July 16-20 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, involving a random sample of 1,006 adults nationwide. The survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. EDITOR'S NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington. AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson and AP Writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report. Press Association [iCopyright] 2009 Associated Press. Vets affected by VA hospital errors to file claims Associated Press Writer By Bill Poovey Frederick News-Post Monday, July 27, 2009 An attorney is preparing to ask the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to pay disability benefits and damages for hospital mistakes that may have exposed veterans to infectious body fluids — a complaint that he said could ultimately multiply into many more such demands. The attorney, Mike Sheppard of Nashville, said he is preparing to file claims with the VA for about 60 veterans, including three women. Among them are veterans who have tested positive for HIV and hepatitis and others who suffered emotional distress after the VA provided them with initial positive blood tests for infections that turned out to be wrong. Sheppard also said other veterans among the roughly 10,000 affected former patients at VA hospitals in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Miami and Augusta, Ga., are likely to seek compensation beyond the VA's offer of free medical care. "I've gotten calls from all over the country," he said. Sheppard said he will file medical malpractice and emotional distress claims with the VA within 30 to 45 days. He said veterans and veterans' relatives who have contacted him by phone from Florida and elsewhere likely have sought out other attorneys. The claims process differs from a traditional malpractice lawsuit because the VA is a federal agency. The first step is to have the patient's claim reviewed by a VA regional attorney. "A regional attorney will look at it and decide yea or nay," Sheppard said. "There is one level of appeal internally then you have a right to file a lawsuit in federal court." The VA's regional counsel in Nashville, Tammy Kennedy, did not return telephone messages Friday and Monday seeking comment. Records show that between fiscal year 2004 and March 2009 the VA denied 11,299 veterans' claims for compensation related to hospital and medical care, while granting 3,229 claims. The VA denied 813 such claims filed by veterans' dependents, while granting 261 in the same period, records show. The VA has offered free medical care to the affected veterans — but Sheppard said that's no more than they already expected. He said the requested compensation will vary greatly, depending on the veteran's age, ailments and other factors. "It's a case by case basis," he said. Updated records show that among the patients who have heeded VA warnings to get follow-up blood checks, eight have tested positive for HIV. Twelve former patients have tested positive for hepatitis B and 37 have tested positive for hepatitis C. VA records show 9,141 veterans have received follow-up blood test results among the 10,320 former patients who were warned they might have even minimum risk of exposure. The VA has said the errors were limited to the three facilities, but a report released by the agency's inspector general showed some more widespread problems. Investigators conducting surprise inspections in May found that only 43 percent of the agency's medical centers had standard operating procedures in place for endoscopic equipment and could show they properly trained their staffs for using the devices. The VA has said for months that there is no way to prove that the positive tests for infectious diseases stem from exposure to improperly cleaned or erroneously rigged equipment while getting colonoscopies at Murfreesboro or Miami or while getting treatment at the ear, nose and throat clinic in Augusta. In a statement, the VA expressed regret for the mistakes but also said the agency has aggressively dealt with them, including warning former patients who in some cases were treated five years ago to get follow-up blood tests. The statement also said veterans have been informed of their legal right "to submit disability claims on account of VA negligence." The law that governs claims for compensation includes a "benefit of doubt" provision that in disputed cases give the claimant a favorable decision if there is an "approximate balance of positive and negative evidence." Press Association iCopyright 2009 Associated Press. Scratching increases eczema rash Expert advice Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 Eczema is the name for a group of skin diseases characterized by dry sensitive skin; red, scaly rashes; and severe troubling itch. Dr. Mark Lowitt, a dermatologist at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, discusses the condition: •The most common type of eczema, called atopic dermatitis, is seen in both children and adults, and often occurs in people with a personal or family history of allergic disease such as hay fever, allergies, or asthma. •The most remarkable symptom of eczema is itch. The classic rash from eczema consists of poorly defined pink or red dry patches, most commonly in the creases of the arms, knees and neck. •When it is severe, the rash from eczema can occur all over the body. In large part, the rash is actually caused by the scratching that results from severe, unrelenting itch. •Treatments for eczema are all geared toward minimization of itch, and include 1) bathing with nonsoap cleansers such as body washes so as not to remove too much of the skin's protective oil; 2) using moisturizing creams liberally and often to keep the skin moist, 3) applying prescription cortisone creams to calm down the skin's inflammation, and 4) taking oral antihistamines to relieve the itch. •When continuously scratched, the skin can become thickened and leathery (called lichenification) and the surface of the skin can be broken by scratching, which can lead to cutaneous bacterial, fungal, and viral infection. The constant itch can lead to poor sleep and irritability. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. Studies affirm lifestyle and heart health link By Kelly Brewington Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 Two new studies by Harvard University researchers affirm what doctors have been trying to drill into us for years: Adopt a healthy lifestyle and you'll keep your heart healthy. The studies, which appeared in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association, drive home the link between behavior and health. In the first paper, researchers used the Nurses Health Study to examine the connection between lifestyle and the risk of developing high blood pressure in some 84,000 women between 1991 and 2005. They measured how well the nurses followed advice on six lifestyle factors such as exercise habits, weight control and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. Women who followed all six had about an 80 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those who did not. The second study looked at heart failure in men by examining some 21,000 doctors in the Physicians' Health Study from 1982-2008. Men with normal body weight who never smoked and exercised regularly had a 10 percent risk of developing heart failure, versus a 21 percent risk for men who didn't follow healthy behaviors. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. Tart cherry juice called a remedy for sore muscles, pain Los Angeles Times By Elena Conis Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 Some athletes are turning to a lip-puckering remedy for post-workout pain and weakness: tart cherry juice. The claim is that it diminishes muscle pain and soreness as well as, or better than, many over-the-counter medications. Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that are also found (in lower levels) in arguably more popular fruits and berries. Lab tests carried out in the early 2000s showed that the antioxidant capacity of tart cherry juice exceeded that of pomegranate, acai and cranberry juices, among others. Subsequent lab tests suggested that the anthocyanins in tart cherries could reduce inflammation in rats and mice and slow the growth of tumors. The findings on tart cherries became more applicable to humans in 2006 with the publication of research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study, which was funded by Geneva, N.Y.-based CherryPharm Inc., makers of a proprietary blend of tart cherry juice, randomly assigned 14 college-age men to drink either 12 ounces of CherryPharm juice twice a day for eight straight days, or the same amount of a similarly colored Kool-Aid drink. On Day 4 of the study, all the men worked out their arm muscles with a series of intensive exercises. The men who drank the cherry juice reported less pain after the workout; their pain peaked at 24 hours, whereas pain continued to increase for two days post-workout for the men who drank Kool-Aid. The cherry juice drinkers also experienced roughly 20 percent less loss of strength after the workout. The study paved the way for several follow-up investigations. Given the relatively small body of research, some nutrition and fitness experts are skeptical. "Exaggerated claims are being made for this product," says Mark Kantor, professor of nutrition and food safety at the University of Maryland, College Park, whose research has focused on nutritional supplements and chronic disease. Kantor notes that, to date, only a single human study - the 2006 one - has been published. And though its findings were positive, they were based on a very small number of people: Just five men in the study drank the cherry juice. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. In search of a nontoxic home Sensitive to an array of pollutants, Kathy Hemenway uprooted herself to find a clean environment. Should the rest of us worry? The Los Angeles Times By Karen Ravn Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 No paint on the walls. No carpets on the floors. No TV in the living room. Or the bedroom. Or the kitchen. No TV anywhere in the house. Kathy Hemenway's home in Snowflake, Ariz., is a refuge from the gases, chemicals and electromagnetic fields that are nearly ubiquitous in our 21st century world. Her chemical sensitivities began when she was just a kid. "I couldn't figure out why people liked perfume," she says. "It gave me a headache. And fabric stores gave me a sore throat." Those problems grew more severe in adulthood, so she started making small changes -- using natural, fragrance-free shampoos and soaps; avoiding air fresheners, fresh paint, pesticides and lawn-care chemicals; and becoming super-diligent about housekeeping, but only with natural cleaners such as baking soda and vinegar. Then she started moving -- from homes with carpet to homes with hardwood floors, then from Menlo Park, Calif., where she was a successful software engineer, to Santa Cruz and a home with all the other safe stuff plus fresh ocean air. But after an accidental exposure there to nearby lawn chemicals, Hemenway began to have trouble breathing and even more trouble sleeping. She grew agitated, jittery and depressed, and felt as if she were in a fog, she says. She also became sensitive to many more substances than usual and had to use an oxygen tank to recover from even mild exposures, such as breathing exhaust fumes on the freeway. She wound up at the Environmental Health Center in Dallas for treatment, which included oxygen therapy and sauna sessions (for detoxification), a special diet (rotated every four days) and nutritional supplements she took orally and intravenously. After that, she says, "I was desperate for a safe home, and that's when I decided to go to the safest place I could find." She found Snowflake. "It's hard, frequently devastating, to accept that you're never going to get better unless you move to a whole other environment," Hemenway says of her leap 10 years ago. But, she decided, the quality of her life depended on it. The house she built in this remote high desert town is not only a no-paint, no-carpet zone, but also a no-plywood, no-particleboard, no-tar paper zone. And no pesticides were used on the foundation or on the land before the foundation was laid. The exterior of the house is made of masonry blocks, and most of the interior framing is made of steel. So is the roof. The floors are glazed ceramic tile throughout the house, and in the bedroom the walls and ceiling are too. The house has radiant in-floor heating instead of forced-air heating. "It doesn't blow the dust around," Hemenway says, "and you don't have the combustion byproducts of a forced-air furnace." And not to worry -- she can watch TV. But to avoid its electromagnetic field, she keeps the set in a barn about 200 feet from the house and records programs there, then brings the DVDs inside and plays them on a projection system. Hemenway is one of millions of Americans who believe that sprays meant to freshen the air actually pollute it, that chemicals meant to beautify our yards in fact poison them, and that many of the products and materials that make modern life fast and convenient also make people sick. They cite studies connecting a host of suspect substances to a host of human illnesses, from headaches and sniffles to immune disorders and cancer. Most people can't move to Snowflake and build "safe houses," of course (and if too many of us did, we'd mess up the air quality anyway). Fortunately, most are not as sensitive to environmental pollutants as Hemenway, whose condition is recognized by many -- but not all -- medical professionals as "environmental illness." Still, a connection between health and the environment is widely recognized in the medical and scientific communities. More than 30 years ago, for example, the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory was established at UC Irvine especially to study the connections between air quality and health. Raising awareness of these connections empowers people, says Robert Phalen, the laboratory's founder and current director and also a professor of medicine. "Within the last year or two, there's been a tremendous awareness about green buildings -- and healthy buildings too," says Peter Sierck, the principal of Environmental Testing & Technology in San Diego, which specializes in testing for mold, moisture, electromagnetic fields and general indoor air quality. But some researchers worry that consumers' fears are getting ahead of the scientific evidence. Some have ripped out carpets to avoid chemical releases or renounced miracle fabrics in favor of natural fibers. Many people have concerns about perfumes, shampoos, soaps and other products that produce odors, says Dr. Ware Kuschner, an associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine who practices at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He does research on the health effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution. "But the link between exposure to these products and serious adverse health effects is often quite tenuous." That's because the harm a substance can do generally depends on how much of it you're exposed to and how long you're exposed to it -- as well as how sensitive you are. Knowing whether to be concerned, or how much to be concerned, isn't easy. Scientists at regulatory agencies spend years making official risk assessments. Still, it's possible to set some priorities, and you probably shouldn't spend too much time worrying about things that are very unlikely to happen, says Dr. Philip Harber, a professor of occupational and environmental medicine at UCLA. "Many more people die of drowning in a swimming pool than die of exposure to mold. . . . It's really important not to overlook the obvious." Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times. Copyright 2009, Baltimore Sun. Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism By Roni Caryn Rabin New York Times Monday, July 27, 2009 Many parents of autistic children have put their children on strict gluten-free or dairy-free diets, convinced that gastrointestinal problems are an underlying cause of the disorder. But a new study suggests the complicated food regimens may not be warranted. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed the medical records of over 100 autistic children over an 18-year period and compared them to more than 200 children without the disorder. The scientists found no differences in the overall frequency of gastrointestinal problems reported by the two groups, though the autistic children suffered more frequently from bouts of constipation and were more likely to be picky eaters who had difficulty gaining weight. The study, published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to look at the incidence of gastrointestinal problems in an autistic population, according to the paper’s first author, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic. She suggested that autistic children should only be put on restrictive wheat-free or dairy-free diets after having appropriate diagnostic tests done. “There is actually no trial that has proven so far that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism,” she said. “The diets are not easy to follow and can sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies.” The study found that the vast majority of both autistic and non-autistic children suffered from bouts of common gastrointestinal problems like constipation, diarrhea, abdominal bloating, reflux or vomitin.g Feeding issues and picky eating were also common. Some 77 percent of autistic children and 72 percent of non-autistic children were affected by one or more of these complaints over the 18-year period. About 34 percent of the autistic children were affected by constipation, compared to 17.6 percent of the comparison group, while 24.5 percent of the autistic children had feeding issues and were selective in their eating, compared with only 16 percent of the non-autistic group. But very few of the autistic children had a specific diagnosis of a gastrointestinal disease. Only one autistic child had Crohn’s disease, and one had intestinal disaccharidase deficiency and lacked enzymes necessary to digest certain carbohydrates. None suffered from celiac disease, which some reports have linked to autism. Two of the non-autistic children in the comparison group suffered from lactose intolerance, and one had a milk allergy. Dr. Ibrahim suggested that the loss of appetite and difficulty gaining weight in autistic children may be related to the use of stimulant medications, which are often prescribed for the condition, and that the constipation may be due to children not consuming enough fiber or drinking enough water. Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company. Police: Woman accused of killing newborn ate brain Associated Press Writer By Paul J. Weber Frederick News-Post Monday, July 27, 2009 A woman charged with murdering her 3 1/2-week-old son used a knife and two swords to dismember the child and ate parts of his body, including his brain, before stabbing herself in the torso and slicing her own throat, police said Monday. Otty Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the death of her infant son, Scott Wesley Buchholtz-Sanchez. She was recovering from her wounds at a hospital, and was being held on $1 million bail. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the early Sunday morning attack occurred a week after the child's father moved out. Otty Sanchez's sister and her sister's two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house, but none were harmed. Otty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and out" of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago looking to check up on her. She did not elaborate on the nature of her niece's health problems. "Otty didn't mean to do that. She was not in her right mind," a sobbing Gloria Sanchez told The Associated Press on Monday by phone. She said her family was devastated. McManus, who appeared uncomfortable as he addressed reporters, said Sanchez apparently ate the child's brain and some other body parts. She also decapitated the infant, tore off his face and chewed off three of his toes before stabbing herself. "It's too heinous for me to describe it any further," McManus said. McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of the child were missing, including pieces that Sanchez allegedly ate. "At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," McManus said. "No one was speaking. It was about as somber as it could have been." Officers called to Sanchez's house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!" McManus said. They found the boy's body in a bedroom. Police said Sanchez said the devil told her to kill her son and that she was hearing voices. "It was a spontaneous utterance," McManus said. Police said Sanchez did not have an attorney, and they declined to identify family members who might speak on her behalf. No one answered the door Monday at Sanchez's one-story home, where the blinds were shut. A hopscotch pattern and red hearts were drawn on the walk leading up to the house. Neighbor Luis Yanez, 23, said his kids went to school with one of the small children who lived at the house. He said he often saw a woman playing outside with the children but didn't know whether it was Otty. "Why would you do that to your baby?" said Yanez, a tire technician. "It brings chills to you. They can't defend themselves." Authorities said Sanchez and her sister took turns watching the baby Sunday morning, and that the boy was placed in Sanchez's care at about 1:30 a.m. Her sister discovered what happened about three hours later and called police. Investigators are looking into whether postpartum depression could have played a role in the attack, McManus said. Authorities said they were looking into Sanchez's mental health history to see if there was anything "significant" but did not elaborate. Associated Press researcher Susan James contributed to this report from New York. Copyright 2009 The Associated. Israel confirms first death in swine flu epidemic By Associated Press Baltimore Sun Monday, July 27, 2009 JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has suffered its first death in the global swine flu epidemic, the country's Health Ministry announced Monday. An Israeli man died of complications resulting from the virus over the weekend at Yoseftal Hospital in the Red Sea town of Eilat, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry and the hospital would not release the man's name, but Israeli media identified him as Shimon Azran, 35. Lab tests on Monday confirmed swine flu was the cause of death. The ministry says there have been more than 1,300 confirmed cases of the flu in Israel. First identified in April, swine flu originated in Mexico and spread quickly throughout the world. It has hit the United States harder than anywhere else, having likely infected more than 1 million Americans. There have been 302 deaths and nearly 44,000 laboratory-identified cases in the United States, according to numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because the swine flu virus is new, most people haven't developed an immunity to it. So far, most of those who have died from it in the United States have had other health problems, such as asthma. The virus has caused an unusual number of serious illnesses in teens and young adults, unlike the seasonal flu, which is usually most dangerous to the elderly and very young children. Saudi Arabia also reported its first swine flu death Monday. Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. *Opinion* Drug war's wrong focus When it comes to treatment, the White House should put its money where its mouth is By Robert Weiner and Zoe Pagonis Baltimore Sun Commentary Monday, July 27, 2009 In Baltimore last week, new U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske made the case for expansion of drug courts to treat rather than imprison addicts and called for drugs to be considered a "public health crisis." Why, then, is the Obama administration proposing to spend an even higher percentage of its anti-drug resources on law enforcement than the administration of George W. Bush? Nowhere are these issues more resonant than in Baltimore. Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, a star of HBO's The Wire and a native of the city, said that her mother stole clothes off of her body for drug money and locked her in a closet. Darius Harmon, an 18-year-old learning-disabled boy from Baltimore, was killed in April by the Black Guerrilla Family gang because he was not good at selling drugs. Despite recent progress, the Drug Enforcement Administration in March found that Baltimore still has more drug-related crime than any other city in the nation. Mr. Kerlikowske has said, "It is only through a balanced approach - combining tough but fair enforcement with robust prevention and treatment - that we will be successful in stemming both demand and supply of illegal drugs." Yet, in the 2010 budget, there is a 3.3 percent reduction in treatment and prevention initiatives since 2008, exacerbating the bias toward enforcement, which now represents 65.6 percent of the budget, even higher than the last administration's 62.3 percent. With 20.8 million Americans needing treatment but unable to get it - by some estimates, 30,000 in Baltimore alone - Congress should double the $5 billion currently budgeted for prevention and treatment. If we can spend $6 trillion to shore up our financial institutions and a trillion on Iraq (only to discover that al-Qaeda is actually in Afghanistan), increasing drug treatment to stop the main catalyst of crime and save families would be an extraordinarily rational policy shift. Treatment is cost-effective. According to a study commissioned by the U.S. Army, for every dollar invested in drug treatment, taxpayers save upward of $7 in crime-related reductions due to less incarceration and hospitalization. This $5 billion investment thus translates to real savings of $35 billion for American taxpayers. Participants in the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court were re-arrested 34.5 percent fewer times than other offenders, and the court found a 36 percent return on the initial $8 million investment. The federal government should extend drug courts to every possible community. Ron Hunsicker, President of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, agrees Congress must increase treatment funding but cautions that we must not allow insurance companies to just "shift the cost to the federal government" and that treatment must cover "not just an acute model but chronic care" to stop recidivism. Both Hunsicker and former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey agree that drug treatment must be included in the pending national health insurance reforms. Enforcement initiatives certainly have their place. Baltimore experienced a 9 percent decrease in overall crime over the past year, thanks to a $13.9 million boost in police force funding, D.C.-Baltimore regional cooperation, a drug bust involving 70 arrests and participation in the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. The point here is not to disparage law enforcement - a key part of the very real reductions in national crime and drug statistics - but to add to essential treatment efforts that will get at the rest of the remaining serious problem. According to the Justice Department this May, 68 percent of arrestees in 10 cities tested positive for illegal drugs. As long as there are addicts and drug abusers, people will buy and sell drugs. Maryland Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Congressional Drug Caucus, asserted, "Drug abuse and related violence have destroyed whole generations in our community." Gov. Martin O'Malley agreed, noting, "It is our obligation to ensure adequate treatment." Ted Gest, president of Criminal Justice Journalists, states in his book, Crime and Politics, "Tough law enforcement usually wins out because it is easier to put into motion, quantify and explain to the public." President Barack Obama is right to increase the National Drug Control budget by $224.3 million, but the focus is not where it's needed most. If they really want to stop crime and prevent addiction, the administration and Congress need to give prevention and treatment programs far more standing in the nation's drug control budget. Robert Weiner is former spokesman for the White House National Drug Policy Office. Zoe Pagonis, policy analyst at Robert Weiner Associates, was a 2008 Maryland Governor's Citation recipient for policy development. They may be reached at weinerpublic@comcast.net. Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun. BACK TO TOP


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