Harvard Health Content API

President Obama has signed the first major expansion of the U.S. food safety system since the 1930s. The bill gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more money. It calls for more food inspections. It also gives the FDA power to require recall of tainted products. The FDA will write new rules to protect the highest-risk fruits and vegetables. Farms and processors will have to keep more detailed records. This could help the FDA track disease outbreaks faster. The changes will cost $1.4 billion, but Congress has not yet passed the funding. The Associated Press wrote about the bill.

A new test can find one cancer cell among a billion blood cells, researchers say. The blood test may be able to show doctors quickly whether cancer treatments are working. Someday, it may even be used to test for cancer in the overall population. The test was developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital. They are joining with Johnson & Johnson to market it, the Associated Press reported January 3. The test uses a microchip covered in tiny bristles. The bristles are coated with antibodies. Tumor cells stick to the bristles. With today’s cancer treatments, doctors start a treatment, then do a CT scan a couple of months later. This shows whether a tumor has shrunk. The new test will show whether the number of tumor cells in blood is going down. This may be a quicker way to find out if treatments are working.

People with a medical disease and depression often have poorer health than people who are not depressed. But a small study finds that treating both conditions together can improve results. The study included 214 people with depression. They also had heart disease, diabetes or both. People were randomly divided into two groups. One group got regular care. People in the other group worked with a nurse coach to manage their care. The study lasted 12 months. By the end, people who worked with the nurse had better health than people who got regular care. They were in better control of blood sugar, LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and blood pressure. They also were less depressed than people who got regular care. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. The Los Angeles Times wrote about it December 30.

Statin drugs do lower cholesterol. But experts say that only taking a pill is not enough. Lifestyle changes are important, such as eating more nutritious foods and increasing physical activity. These changes help with weight loss and increase overall fitness. By relying only on medicine, many people leave them vulnerable to other health problems. These include diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure. HealthDay News wrote about the issue December 28.

Children in Puerto Rico have the highest asthma rates in the world. In 2010 the asthma rate increased, compared with previous years. Experts say that heavy rains might have released plant spores that could cause asthma attacks. Puerto Ricans also do not respond as well as other ethnic groups do to albuterol. This is the stand-by medicine for asthma. The Associated Press wrote about the issue on December 27.

Electronic medical records may improve the quality of health care in hospitals, but more research is needed, a study says. The study looked at 2,021 U.S. hospitals. In 2003, 23% used at least a basic electronic medical record, or EMR. By 2007, 38% of hospitals used one. Quality of care for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia improved at all hospitals between 2004 and 2007. The largest increase in quality was seen for patients with heart failure at hospitals with EMRs. But hospitals that adopted EMRs during the study did not see better quality over time, compared with hospitals that continued using paper records. The study was published online in the American Journal of Managed Care. CBC News wrote about it December 24.

So far, there are fewer cases of flu this season than last. But government officials say that more infections will certainly come. Through December 11, about 2,800 cases of flu have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About two-thirds of those were in the Southeast. Three strains of flu are circulating: A, B, and H1N1 (also called swine flu). The B virus has caused the most infections in the Southeast. Each year, between 5 and 20 of every 100 Americans gets the flu, and about 200,000 people are hospitalized. HealthDay News wrote about flu activity December 23.

People in the “stroke belt” eat more fried fish than people in other parts of the country, a new study has found. Eight Southern states are called the stroke belt because of their high stroke rate. The new study included more than 21,000 people from across the United States. They were asked about their medical histories and filled out questionnaires about the foods they ate. The American Heart Association suggests eating fish at least twice a week. But only about 23% of those in the study followed that advice. People in the stroke belt were 17% less likely to eat non-fried fish twice a week than people in other regions. But they were 32% more likely to eat fried fish. Lean fish, such as cod and haddock, are more likely to be fried than fatty fish such as salmon. These fish are lower in healthy omega-3 fats than fatty fish. Frying also reduces omega-3 fats.