Patients With Diabetes More Likely To Get Post-Surgical Infections Than Patients Without Diabetes, Meta-Analysis Suggests.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/54381

Study Finds Consumption Of Whole Milk Tied To Decrease In Metabolic Syndrome.

reports a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition concluded “that people who consume full-fat dairy products such as whole milk are less likely to be afflicted with so-called ‘metabolic syndrome,’ a set of related risk factors predicting heart disease and diabetes.” The study, backed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, looked at “more than 15,000 civil servants in Brazil” and “examined the connection between the types of dairy products people consume and their likelihood to suffer from metabolic syndrome.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/29/more-research-undermines-the-u-s-governments-case-against-whole-milk/

Reduced-Fat Diets No More Effective Than Other Weight-Loss Diets, Meta-Analysis Says.

website reports that after analyzing data from “53 studies” including “more than 68,000 adults,” researchers found that “reduced-fat diets only led to more weight loss when compared with no diet at all.” Individuals “on low-carbohydrate diets lost substantially more weight than those who went the low-fat route.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/low-fat-diet-long-term-weight-loss/

CardioBrief: Flu Vaccine Weakened by Statin Use?

Two new studies published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases offer preliminary evidence that the flu vaccine may not work as well in people taking statins. But there is widespread agreement among experts that the association, much less a demonstration of cause and effect, has not been proven, and that current clinical practice should not be changed because of the findings. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/CardioBrief/54389?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-30&eun=g721819d0r

TB Rivals HIV/AIDS For Leading Cause Of Death From Infectious Disease.

reports in its “Goats and Soda” blog that TB deaths “have actually been going down in recent years,” adding that the number of deaths from TB “each year has dropped by nearly half since 1990.” However, HIV deaths are “falling far faster,” NPR says. Additionally, the report “estimates that there were roughly half a million cases of multi-drug-resistant TB last year, double the number from the year 2000.” The article points out that the increase in TB cases may also be the result of new diagnostic tools that allow for easier diagnosis, in addition to better reporting. BBC News (10/29, Gallagher) also reports the story. http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/28/452565249/tb-is-now-the-top-infectious-killer-even-though-deaths-are-down

New Macrolide Passes Phase III Pneumonia Test

Solithromycin structure may thwart microbial resistance. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/CHEST/54337?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-29&eun=g721819d0r

Chikungunya Joint Pain Keeps Islanders Away from Work Effects of the mosquito-born disease can linger for some time

"The acute course of the disease lasts about a week to 10 days," he said, "but the effects of the disease can linger for some time." "We have seen patients with arthralgia related to chikungunya infection out to more than a year," concurred Graham Simmons, PhD, of the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco. Chikungunya infection typically is manifested as fever and polyarthralgia, Feldstein explained. These acute symptoms often resolve within 7 to 10 days, but 5% to 60% of these patients have reported persistent arthralgia for months. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, and is widespread and endemic in Asia and Africa. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASTMH/54358?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-29&eun=g721819d0r

Obese Kids Who Cut Back On Sugar Intake May See Health Improvements After Just 10 Days.

“Well” blog reported that the study, which received its financial support from the National Institutes of Health, found that “obese children who cut back on their sugar intake see improvements in their blood pressure, cholesterol readings and other markers of health after just 10 days.” The study’s findings indicate that calories “from sugar are especially likely to contribute to type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, which are on the rise in children, said the study’s lead author.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/cutting-sugar-improves-childrens-health-in-just-10-days/?ref=health&_r=0

Many Schools Failing on Type 1 Diabetes Care

reports on the front of its Science Times section that “too many schools are failing to provide the growing number of students who have type 1 diabetes [T1D] with the routine care they need, such as insulin shots or blood sugar monitoring, federal regulators and diabetes experts say.” In many cases, “parents do not know they have the legal right to insist on” such care. According to the Times, “many school officials do not realize that they are obligated to care” for kids with T1D. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/health/many-schools-failing-on-diabetes-care.html?ref=health

Is the CDC Right on Pneumococcal Vax Recs?

Last year, the CDC made a substantial change in its pneumococcal vaccine recommendations for older adults: rather than recommending a single dose of the pneumococcal polysaccharide 23 (PPSV23), they began recommending both the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) followed 12 months later by PPSV23. At first blush, the new recommendations struck us as complex, but they seemed logical. Who wouldn't support a new vaccine that could reduce the burden of a very serious condition among older adults? We were particularly compelled because PPSV23, although proven to be effective in younger patients, is less well tested in the elderly. But upon closer inspection, we began to have doubts about the wisdom of the new guidelines -- which we have outlined in detail in a viewpoint published this week inJAMA Internal Medicine. Our biggest concern is that the benefits that were demonstrated in the only randomized controlled trial of PCV13, called the CAPiTA trial are likely not applicable in the U.S. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Blogs/SlowMedicine/54307?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-27&eun=g721819d0r

Meat Is Linked to Higher Cancer Risk, W.H.O. Report Finds

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/health/report-links-some-types-of-cancer-with-processed-or-red-meat.html?_r=0

Do Gut Bugs Put the Brakes on Myelination?

Microbe-free mice have hypermyelination of the prefrontal cortex. Gut bacteria may play a role in regulating myelination in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), researchers reported here. Microbe-free mice had greater expression of myelin-related genes and hypermyelination in the PFC compared with control animals, Alan Hoban, PhD, of University College Cork in Ireland, and colleagues presented at a poster session at the Society for Neuroscience meeting here. Advertisement "These animals have no microbiota, so it could be that a lack of signals from the gut aren't check-pointing oligodendrocytes, since we saw with the hypermyelinated fibers was they had so many more wraps of myelin," Hoban told MedPage Today. "That means the oligodendrocytes may be excessively turning, and whatever is missing from the gut signaling to the brain is not telling them to stop -- but that's a very broad interpretation," he cautioned. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/SFN/54276?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-26&eun=g721819d0r

Nursing Groups, Some Safety Experts Say Inadequate Nurse Staffing Is A Widespread Problem In US Hospitals.

“Nursing groups and some safety experts say inadequate nurse staffing is a widespread problem in US hospitals,” contending that inadequate staffing is “a key factor in poor quality of care, higher rates of readmission, infection and mortality, lower patient satisfaction and staff burnout.” Some even call for “state and federal legislation...to address the issue.” Modern Healthcare focused on a particular case of a “large pressure ulcer” found last March on a patient at the Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center in Kentucky. A “federal investigation” revealed that the patient had not been moved and turned adequately over a period of days because “the hospital...was understaffed.” As a result, the CMS “placed Hazard ARH in ‘immediate jeopardy’ of losing Medicare funding due to failure to provide adequate staffing.” http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151024/MAGAZINE/310249979/got-enough-nurses-nurse-groups-cite-kentucky-case-to-support-push

Approximately Half Of All Surgeries May Involve Some Type Of Medication Error Or Unintended Drug Side Effects, Research Suggests.

reports that approximately “half of all surgeries involve some kind of medication error or unintended drug side effects, if” research performed “at one of America’s most prestigious academic medical centers is any indication.” This “rate, calculated by researchers from the anesthesiology department at Massachusetts General Hospital who observed 277 procedures there, is startlingly high compared with those in the few earlier studies.” The findings were published in Anesthesiology. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-25/health-medication-errors-happen-in-half-of-all-surgeries

Tweet of the Week: Bacterial Art Show

Van Gogh, Hokusai reproduced in petri dishes. COOL photos http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/54262?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-24&eun=g721819d0r

Video Capsule IDs Crohn's in SpA

In two-thirds of cases, outcome led to change in treatment http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACG/54232?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-23&eun=g721819d0r

Too Many Antibiotics May Make Children Heavier

research suggests that “children who frequently take antibiotics gain weight faster than kids who never take them.” “Well” blog reports that the data indicated that “one in five — over 30,000 children — had been prescribed antibiotics seven or more times.” The researchers found that “by the time those children reached age 15, they weighed, on average, about 3 pounds more than children who had received no antibiotics.” one of the researchers “says that the drugs are likely having this lasting effect on weight through the microbiome.”

Infertility May Point To Higher Risk Of Ovarian Cancer.

reports on its website that a large study of women who sought help for fertility problems in Britain suggests the “need for fertility treatments may point to a higher risk of ovarian cancer.” The study found “those women had a 60 percent higher risk of developing the hard-to-treat cancer.” The researchers found that women who underwent more cycles of fertility treatment were not at an increased risk, which “suggests that it wasn’t the treatment itself that raises a woman’s risk, said Dr. Owen Davis, president-elect of” the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/can-infertility-point-ovarian-cancer-risk-n447901

Dallas-Area Drug Compounder Cited By FDA For Contamination Problems.

reports in “The Scoop Blog” that Dallas-based drug compounder Downing Labs “received poor marks from the US Food and Drug Administration during a recent inspection.” The company was cited for “failing to investigate why its drugs failed sterility tests,” or conducting incomplete or inadequate investigations. According to the FDA’s report, “a variety of spore forming bacteria are routinely recovered” from the company’s aseptic processing areas. http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/dallas-drug-compounder-issues-recall-after-fda-finds-contamination.html/ Article is wrong! Molds make spores. Bacteria make endospores. HUGE difference.

NYTimes Blog Says Move Away From Dietary Fat Led To Higher Carbohydrate Intake.

“Well” blog, Jane E. Brody discusses how Americans’ move away from fat lead to an increased intake of “reduced-fat and fat-free foods rich in carbohydrates,” particularly increasing “their consumption of two kinds of carbohydrates, refined starches and sugars, that have helped to spawn the current epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.” Brody writes, “Experts now realize that efforts to correct past dietary sins that made heart disease and stroke runaway killers have caused the pendulum to swing too far in the wrong direction.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/the-fats-you-dont-need-to-fear-and-the-carbs-that-you-do/?ref=health&_r=0

Supplementation With High-Dose Vitamin D May Help Improve Cognition In MS Patients Who Have Low Blood Levels Of The Vitamin.

“Supplementation with high-dose vitamin D may help improve cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis who have low blood levels of the vitamin,” according to the results of an 88-patient study presented as a poster at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting. Patients “who were deficient in vitamin D had a significant improvement in scores on memory tests three months later, even after controlling for several potential confounders,” the study found. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/SFN/54172

Jerry The High-Tech Teddy Bear Helps Kids Learn About, Manage Diabetes.

reports that a specially designed “high-tech teddy bear” called Jerry the Bear “is helping hundreds of sick kids learn to take care of themselves.” Made by a small start-up company called Sproutel, the bear helps youngsters with diabetes learn about their disease as well as manage their diet and medications. So far, “Sproutel has raised more than $800,000 from investors and grants, including a grant from the NIH.” http://www.betaboston.com/news/2015/10/18/high-tech-teddy-bear-teaches-kids-about-health/

HDL Cholesterol May Be Harmful To Women Going Through Menopause.

reported that a study presented at the North American Menopause Society annual meeting suggests that HDL cholesterol may “be harmful to women going through menopause.” The research suggests that “rather than helping to inhibit the formation of dangerous plaque in the arteries, HDL cholesterol may increase its buildup during menopause.” http://consumer.healthday.com/women-s-health-information-34/menopause-and-postmenopause-news-472/during-menopause-good-cholesterol-may-lose-protective-effect-704232.html

Study Finds No Evidence HRT Is Linked To Any Life-Threatening Condition.

reports that “new research, which followed women for a decade, has found no evidence that HRT is linked to any life-threatening condition.” Investigators “tracked 80 women using hormone replacement for 10 years and compared them with a control group who were not using the medication.” The researchers found that “the HRT group suffered no more incidences of cancer, diabetes or heart disease than the control group.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11938763/Ignore-health-scares-HRT-is-safe-say-scientists.html

“Unusually Aggressive” Mosquitoes Carrying Infectious Diseases Spotted Throughout California.

reports that two species of “unusually aggressive” mosquitoes carrying “deadly” infectious diseases have been discovered throughout California, health officials warned. The Asian tiger and yellow fever mosquitoes have been spotted throughout California and can carry diseases such as “dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.” In total, these mosquitoes have been found in 10 of California’s 58 counties. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mosquitoes-disease-california-20151015-story.html

Increased Antibiotic Resistance May Lead To More Deaths, Infections Among Patients Undergoing Surgery Or Chemotherapy.

reports that the study “estimates that as many as half of infections after surgery and more than a quarter of infections after chemotherapy are caused by organisms already resistant to standard antibiotics.” Investigators “projected” that “if antibiotic resistance increases by just 30 percent in the United States, the tougher-to-treat bacteria could cause 6,300 more deaths a year and 120,000 more infections in patients undergoing either chemotherapy for cancer or 10 common surgical procedures.” http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/chemotherapy-news-122/antibiotic-resistance-could-threaten-surgery-chemo-patients-704289.html

Dietary Supplements Lead to 20,000 E.R. Visits Yearly, Study Finds

A large new study by the federal government found that injuries caused by dietary supplements lead to more than 20,000 emergency room visits a year, many involving young adults with cardiovascular problems after taking supplements marketed for weight loss and energy enhancement. Among the injuries cited were severe allergic reactions, heart trouble, nausea and vomiting, which were tied to a broad variety of supplements including herbal pills, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Roughly 10 percent, or about 2,150 cases yearly, were serious enough to require hospitalization, the researchers found. These products typically contain a variety of herbs and extracts and are widely advertised online, in magazines and on television with names like Hydroxycut, Xenadrine, Raspberry Ketones and Black Jack Energy, the researchers said. In comparison, prescription drugs are responsible for 30 times as many trips to the emergency room each year. SO LOOKS LIKE SAFER THAN PRESCRIBED DRUGS!! http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/dietary-supplements-lead-to-20000-e-r-visits-yearly-study-finds/?ref=health

Fetus Of Mother With Gestational Diabetes May React More Slowly To Sounds After The Mother Consumes Glucose, Study Finds.

reports that the fetus “of a mother with gestational diabetes reacts more slowly to sounds after the mother has consumed glucose, according to” research published online Oct. 14 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Investigators examined “how the fetuses of 12 women with gestational diabetes – and a control of 28 normal glucose-tolerant participants – responded to auditory sounds after taking 75 g of glucose,” finding that an hour “after consuming glucose, fetal latencies were longer in the diabetes group than in the normal glucose group (296±82 milliseconds versus 206±74 ms; P=0.001).” https://mail.google.com/_/scs/mail-static/_/js/k=gmail.main.en.xfAJ2j1ormQ.O/m=m_i,t,it/am=PiPeSMD8v_cHsc4QoF36QIW999_vLlL87MPj__cmgGSvAP5v9v8A_g_ei76Q/rt=h/d=1/t=zcms/rs=AHGWq9BtEye7T4sB0gBQxe-Y9aM8kWuB7A

Fracking Chemical Exposure Tied To Premature Births, Long-Term Reproductive Health Consequences.

Well” blog reported that “living near hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations” may be tied to “premature births,” according to research published Sept. 30 in the journal Epidemiology. The study of “10,496 singleton births by 9,384 mothers from 2009 to 2013 in Pennsylvania” revealed that “the 25 percent of mothers most exposed to fracking were 40 percent more likely to give birth preterm...than the quarter least exposed.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/fracking-tied-to-premature-births/?ref=health&_r=0

Ebola lingers in semen for nine months

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/ebola-lingers-semen-months-studies-confirm-n444736

Condition of Scottish Nurse Suffering From Ebola Relapse Deteriorates

http://time.com/4074377/pauline-cafferkey-ebola-nurse-critically-ill/

Upsurge in HCV Deaths Despite New Treatments Hepatitis C mortality in U.S. outstrips mortality from other notifiable infectious causes

In fact, annual HCV-associated deaths have surpassed the total number of deaths linked to the other 60 nationally notifiable infectious diseases combined, according to Scott Holmberg, MD,MPH, of the CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis in Atlanta. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54065?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-14&eun=g721819d0r

CDC: Many Flu Patients Still Getting Antibiotics at Outpatient Clinics

"I'd like to make the point, that if you're an outpatient clinician, a large proportion of your patients who are coming in during influenza season have influenza, and they don't benefit from antibiotics," Havers said. "I think that there needs to be still a lot of education work among providers and patients. If [patients] come in, for example, with acute bronchitis, [they] should not be getting azithromycin. There are very few specific indications that require antibiotic prescribing." But more than half of the patients who received prescriptions were being treated for conditions rarely or never indicated for antibiotics, such as cough, bronchitis (acute and NOS), and acute respiratory infection. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54070?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-14&eun=g721819d0r

Noncommunicable Diseases Need Increased Funding, Attention.

Dr. Christine Ngaruiya, a faculty member in Global Health and International Emergency Medicine at Yale and a Public Voices fellow with the OpEd Project, writes in The Hill (10/13) “Congress Blog” that noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer “are the leading cause of death worldwide.” However, it is infectious or communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria that “have dominated the attention of policy makers, funders, public health practitioners and the general public alike, for the last few decades.” Ngaruiya says “the burden of NCDs cannot be ignored” and calls for new policies, training and awareness to combat them. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/256697-silent-killers-pandemic-of-the-21st-century

Study Suggests Glove, Gown Removal May Lead To Contamination.

“Science Now” blog reports that a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine indicated that when hospital workers removed personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves and gowns, the fake bacteria used in the study ended up on the workers’ skin or clothing 46 percent of the time. The Times reports that “the most common mistakes were failure to pull gloves over the wrist, taking gowns off over the head (instead of pulling them away from the body), putting on gloves before the gown and touching the outside of a dirty glove when taking it off.” Reuters (10/13, Doyle) and HealthDay (10/13, Preidt) also report on the study. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-hospital-contamination-gowns-gloves-fail-20151011-story.html

Youngsters Born During Summer Months May Be More Likely To Be Healthy Adults.

reports that the study’s findings were “based on data collected on 450,000 men and women as part of the ongoing United Kingdom Biobank project, a database that tracks health and disease trends.” The study indicates that a pregnant woman’s “exposure to sunlight during the second trimester of a pregnancy may be critical to the development of a fetus.” Being exposed to the sun “helps the body produce vitamin D, an essential building block for good health.” http://www.newsweek.com/girls-born-summer-end-healthier-adults-382505

Pediatric infectious disease pre-authorizations for all antibiotics reduced C. diff infections

"There's also an opportunity for education. That's often times hard to measure in dollar costs, but when you have the opportunity to discuss with a physician or provider about their reasons or their rationale for prescribing antibiotics, you not only have an opportunity to make an impact for that particular child, but then that clinician takes that knowledge and applies it to other patients," Andi Shane, MD, MPH, of Emory University, who moderated the presentation, said. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54052?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-13&eun=g721819d0r

Last Season's Flu Vax: Not Entirely Worthless

Drug didn't prevent disease but might have attenuated illness http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54053?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-13&eun=g721819d0r

Infections Possible Cause for Falls

Over that period, he and a student found 161 patients whose records showed they presented with injuries from a fall, were admitted to hospital, and were subsequently discovered to have an infection. While the average age of the patients was indeed high at 76, patients were as young as 35 and as old and 102, with 18% younger than 65. Some 78.3% of the patients still lived in the community and only 9.3% were living in extended care facilities, Manian reported. Importantly, only 8.1% of the patients had dementia, he said. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54026?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-12&eun=g721819d0r

UV Sheds Light on Hospital Room Disinfection Adding UV to standard cleaning reduced the risk of lingering drug-resistant pathogens

"Enhanced" cleaning of hospital rooms, added to standard procedures, appeared to reduce the risk of transmitting drug-resistant pathogens from patient to patient, a researcher said here. In a large cluster-randomized trial, adding bleach to the standard quaternary ammonium cleaning significantly reduced the risk of transmission of four organisms that cause healthcare-associated infections, according to Deverick Anderson, MD, MPH, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54043?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-12&eun=g721819d0r

Experts Call For Universal Flu Vaccine To End “Annual Guessing Game” Of Vaccine Components.

reported that there are early signs that the 2015-2016 influenza vaccine is more effective than last year’s supply but there is still need for a “universal flu shot” that would put an end to the “annual guessing game” of vaccine components. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci told CQ HealthBeat in an interview, “This year it looks like the match is quite good, but we still need to do better,” adding, “We don’t want to always be on pins and needles as to whether or not the match was good.” http://www.cq.com/login?jumpto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cq.com%2Fdoc%2F4770712

Many Americans Traveling Abroad Without Key Vaccinations.

reported that new research presented this week at an infectious disease conference in San Diego suggests that “of the nearly 41,000 international U.S. fliers examined, 16 percent needed the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine – but only about half of them actually got it.” Health experts note this is dangerous “because most measles outbreaks in the US are caused by unvaccinated people who are infected overseas.” In a statement, lead study author Dr. Emily Hyle, an infectious disease specialist and instructor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world and even brief exposure can lead to infection.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/many-americans-traveling-abroad-without-key-vaccines/

Can a Urine Test Identify TB?

Urinary compound may also track treatment response. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54015?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-10&eun=g721819d0r

Infant Parechovirus Outbreak at Kansas City Hospital

HPeVs can be mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic in adolescents and adults, but in infants younger than 6 months, the HPeVs can present with sepsis-like or meningitis symptoms. Gerber also noted that HPeVs have been more commonly detected in the late summer and fall months. Human parechovirus Type 3 confirmed in 32 of suspected 40 patients younger than 12 weeks. Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are RNA viruses related to neonatal sepsis, meningoencephalitis and other infections in young children. Little clinical and epidemiological information is available on these viruses. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54030?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-10&eun=g721819d0r

Advertisement US May Be Susceptible To Measles Outbreaks, Researchers Find.

reports that the US “could be on the verge of large outbreaks of the measles virus.” Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta reported Thursday that one-eighth of children under the age of 17 are susceptible to the disease and would likely become sick if exposed to the measles virus. The study also reveals that “herd immunity” in the United States may be at risk. Using data from the National Immunization Survey-Teen, “the researchers found that the percentage of children immune to measles is very close to the 92 percent threshold.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/10/08/measles-outbreaks-looming-vaccination-rates-don-researchers-warn/QBMJmL8ZB7ksL1ZoJYu9HM/story.html

Shopping at Grocery Stores Down, Unhealthy Foods Up

Sugary, dense food purchases high at convenience stores http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/53982?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-09&eun=g721819d0r

Creatine Supplements May Up Muscle Mass in RA

Although the lack of effects on strength and physical function are disappointing, the increase in lean mass we demonstrated suggests that creatine supplementation may be beneficial in patients with severe rheumatoid cachexia, since a marked loss of lean mass both impairs the body's ability to fight infection due to limited expendable protein reserve for immune cell production, and increases the risk of mortality," the authors wrote. Substantial loss of lean mass, or rheumatoid cachexia, is common in patients with RA, and contributes to decreased strength and impaired physical function. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/53961?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-08&eun=g721819d0r

Data Indicate Sex Education In US Schools Is Ineffective.

analysis reports that while recent statistics from the CDC show that “teen pregnancy rates have dropped” to a “record low of 26.5 per 1,000 women” in 2013, they also demonstrate that “the US teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other industrialized nations.” Moreover, about “one in five ‘sexually experienced’ teens have ever been tested for HIV,” and “nearly half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) contracted each year are among young people ages 15 to 24.” Citing the CDC’s data, USA Today examines why “sex education in US [is] schools so ineffective.” http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/06/sex-education-zimmerman-book/73453030/

Surgeon General Makes Case For Americans To Get More Sleep.

reports that last week at the Washington Ideas Festival, US surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy “made the case that” people in the US need to get more sleep. While “the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends seven to eight hours” of sleep a night, many people get far less. According to the Huffington Post, Dr. Murthy posits that if people got enough sleep, “work efficiency and lifestyle balance would benefit as a result.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/surgeon-general-vivek-murthy-sleep_5613f062e4b022a4ce5f8e36

CRE Superbug Infection Fairly Rare: Study

The incidence of an emerging class of antibiotic-resistant superbugs -- the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) -- appears so far to be relatively low, researchers reported. http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/53940?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-07&eun=g721819d0r

T2D Family History Blunts Exercise Response

t has been well-established that individuals with T2DM have reduced response to exercise, so it makes sense that the high-risk group of men in the study also had an impaired exercise response, Eckel said. Compared with individuals without a family history, they lost less weight and improved less in terms of oxygen consumption after doing the same amount of exercise, reported a research team headed by Ola Hansson, PhD, of Lund University in Malmö Sweden. Advertisement In addition, their muscle cells expressed only about half the genes associated with metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and cellular respiration in response to exercise compared with individuals with no family history, Hansson and colleagues reported in the Journal of Applied Physiology. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/53938?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-07&eun=g721819d0r

CDC Finds Antibiotic-Resistant “Superbug” Levels Higher-Than-Expected In Several US Cities.

reports that according to health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surveillance of seven “metropolitan areas found higher-than-expected levels of CRE,” a “relatively new antibiotic-resistant bacteria.” A study published Oct. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the CDC “conducted active surveillance of CRE in 2012 and 2013 among people living in” the seven cities and found those with higher-than-expected levels included Atlanta, Baltimore and New York City and “lower-than-expected levels were found in Albuquerque, Denver and Portland, Ore., while the Minneapolis rate was what the agency anticipated.” http://consumer.healthday.com/infectious-disease-information-21/antibiotics-news-30/new-antibiotic-resistant-superbug-an-emerging-threat-cdc-says-703876.html

Obesity Rates In Some States Have Leveled Off Or Fallen, Report Finds.

“Obesity rates in some states and the District of Columbia have” leveled off or even fallen, according to “the annual ‘State of Obesity’ report released in September by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.” The report found that “from 2011 to 2014, the percent of obese people in eight states increased by less than one percentage point,” and that “in five states — Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Vermont and Virginia — as well as the District of Columbia, the adult obesity rate dropped during the period.” http://www.cq.com/login?jumpto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cq.com%2Fdoc%2F4766091

Drop In Soda Consumption Represents Single Largest Change In US Diet In Past 10 Years.

On the front of its Sunday Business section, the New York Times (10/4, BU1, Sanger-Katz, Subscription Publication) reported in a nearly 3,000-word article in “The Upshot” that Americans appear to have “fundamentally changed the way” they think about soda. Since 1995, US “sales of full-calorie soda...have plummeted by more than 25 percent.” In fact, the “drop in soda consumption represents the single largest change in the American diet in the” past 10 years. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html?ref=health&_r=0

Treatment With Prednisone Among Patients With RA May Be Associated With Increased Mortality Risk.

reported that research indicated that “treatment with prednisone among patients with rheumatoid arthritis was associated with increased mortality risk.” However, “concomitant methotrexate attenuated this risk.” The findings were published online in Arthritis Care & Research. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/53872

Taller People May Have A Higher Likelihood Of Developing Cancer.

reports that research presented at the annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology meeting suggests that taller people may have a higher likelihood of developing cancer. For the study, investigators looked at data on approximately 5.5 million men and women Sweden. “for every 4 additional inches of adult height, the study found that cancer risk was linked to an 18 percent increased cancer risk in women and 11 percent in men.” Meanwhile, “taller women had a 20 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer, the study reported.” The study indicated that “for both men and women, the risk of developing melanoma increased by about 30 percent for every 4 inches of height.” So how might height and cancer risk be related? Gapstur said that height may be a sign of cancer risk. "Height may be a reflection of early age exposures. This study may provide a window to understand some early life exposures, since adult height is a reflection of genetics and what you are exposed to while you are growing up," she said.http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/mis-cancer-news-102/height-linked-to-increased-cancer-risk-study-says-703834.html

Russian Drugs Pass as Supplements in U.S. Two pharmaceutical-grade drugs are being marketed as brain-boosting supplements

Both vinpocetine and picamilon are prescribed as cerebrovascular drugs in several other countries, but are sold as nutritional supplements in the U.S. and marketed to improve focus and memory. Neither is a simple botanical extract: vinpocetine is the product of heavy refinement of the alkaloid vincamine (found in the lesser periwinkle Vinca minor), while picamilon has no known natural source and is only produced synthetically. There's been increasing interest in nootropics -- substances that boost cognitive function -- for healthy patients to prevent disease, as well as for patients with neurological or muscle diseases, including Alzheimer's, dementia, and multiple sclerosis (MS), but in some instances these compounds may cause more harm than good. Vinpocetine, for instance, has been observed to disrupt myelin repair, which could be especially problematic for MS patients.

Rare Q fever outbreak hits U.S. medical tourists

Q fever is caused by a hardy germ found in cattle, sheep and goats. People usually get it from inhaling barnyard dust - it's an occupational hazard for farmers. But cases in the U.S. are unusual - each year fewer than 200 are reported. It is treated with antibiotics and U.S. residents rarely die from Q fever; three or four deaths are reported in the worst years. Q fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii,[1] a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rare-q-fever-outbreak-hits-u-s-medical-tourists/