Month: September 2010

One NFL team’s handling of a concussion raises questions about how to protect players, the New York Times reported September 15. Stewart Bradley of the Philadelphia Eagles collapsed during a game September 12. A sideline exam found no serious injury, the Eagles said. Bradley went back into the game. But at halftime he was diagnosed with a concussion. The incident suggests that many concussions in high school and youth games may be missed, the Times said. Earlier in the week, the Times wrote about a college player who killed himself in the spring. An autopsy found that Owen Thomas had early chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This brain injury is linked to depression and impulse control. At least 10 former NFL players were diagnosed with it. Two committed suicide. The cause is believed to be repeated brain injury.

Most doctors in training have worked while sick, a study suggests. The study was based on a survey of 537 medical residents at 12 U.S. hospitals. Nearly 58% of those who responded said they had worked at least once while sick. About 31% said they had done it more than once. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education conducted the survey. This is the group that accredits hospital residency programs. Its top executive told the Associated Press (AP) that residents need to realize that if they are sick, then their patients would be better off in the care of another doctor. The council has proposed new rules for residents. They include changes related to work hours. They also say that residents should not ignore signs of illness in themselves and coworkers. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. AP wrote about it September 15.

Men with a very low score on their first prostate cancer test may not benefit from further tests, a new study suggests. Researchers used data from two large European studies. They included more than 86,000 men, ages 55 to 74. Men were given a test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). All men in the study had a PSA level below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). In the next 8 to 9 years, 5,861 developed prostate cancer. Cancer death rates were highest in those who had a PSA of 10 to 19.9 ng/ml on their first test. In this group, researchers calculated, 1 life would be saved for every 133 men who got future PSA tests and treatment of any cancers. The benefits were much smaller for men who had a PSA of zero to 1.9 ng/ml at the start of the study. In this group, 24,642 men would have to be tested and 724 cases of prostate cancer treated to save 1 life.

Getting vaccines does not increase kids’ risk of developing autism, a new study finds. It adds to the evidence that a preservative in vaccines does not cause the condition. Many children’s vaccines used to use a preservative called thimerosal. This preservative contains mercury. Now flu shots are the only ones still using it. The new study looked at medical records for U.S. children in 3 managed care organizations. All were born between 1994 and 1999. thimerosal was still used in vaccines then. Researchers found 256 children with an autism spectrum disorder. They compared them with 752 children who did not have autism. Children who had vaccines containing thimerosal were no more likely to develop autism than children not exposed to these vaccines. Researchers looked at vaccine exposure from before birth (in the womb) through age 20 months.

A doctors’ group says that health care workers should be required to get flu shots. The American Academy of Pediatrics released its new policy statement September 8. It is the latest group to back mandatory shots for people involved in health care. Another group of doctors, the Infectious Disease Society of America, also has backed the idea. Others include the Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists. The movement grew out of concern that too few health care workers are getting shots, USA Today reported. A CDC survey found that just over one-third of health care workers got regular and swine flu shots last year. In an average year, half of health care workers get flu shots. Cases of flu have been linked to hospital workers who had not been vaccinated. In a few cases, patients died. The new doctors’ policy statement appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

Taking statins — cholesterol-lowering drugs — may reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, says a new study. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that causes pain, stiffness, redness and swelling in joints. Researchers studied more than 200,000 people in Israel who were prescribed a statin drug. People who did not take the drug regularly were 51% more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than people who took the drug most often. The study was published September 7 in the journal PLoS Medicine. Reuters wrote about it the same day.

Despite many years of public education on the risks of tobacco, U.S. smoking rates remain at about 1 out of 5, researchers report. The rate is similar for both teens and adults. The adult rate has held steady for about 6 years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the smoking report September 7. It was based on government surveys. A second CDC study focused on secondhand smoke. It found that 98% of children who live with a smoker have toxins in their bodies. This study looked at blood levels of cotinine, a chemical from tobacco smoke, in more than 30,000 nonsmokers. It also found that more than half of U.S. children ages 3 to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke. The Associated Press (AP) wrote about the reports. Officials interviewed by AP said the fight against smoking has lost momentum.

This year, health officials recommend flu shots for every adult and all children 6 months old and older. On August 31, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its recommendation that all children ages 6 months and older get a flu shot this season. The AAP also outlined recommendations for certain groups at higher risk for flu complications. September 1, the Associated Press wrote about earlier updated recommendations from U.S. health officials that suggest all adults be vaccinated against flu. This year’s flu vaccine includes protection from H1N1, or “swine flu,” as well as two other common seasonal strains. There is also a new vaccine available for older adults (65 and over).