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In March, the FDA advised against the use of GSK’s Rotarix vaccine against the rotavirus — a gastrointestinal virus that kills over half a million children under five worldwide each year — after researchers found trace amounts of DNA from a benign pig virus in the vaccine. Recently, the only other rotavirus vaccine, Merck’s RotaTeq, was found to contain DNA from the same virus and another virus.

A meta-analysis of data reported on food allergies was published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association as part of a large project organized by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. According to the report, despite the fact that 30 percent of the population believe they have food allergies, the true incidence of food allergies is only about 8 percent for children and less than 5 percent for adults.

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association concludes, “Between 1994 and 2005, there was a decrease in CHD [coronary heart disease] mortality rates in Ontario that was associated primarily with trends in risk factors and improvements in medical treatments, each explaining about half of the decrease.”

The National Institutes of Health reports that an independent panel convened to determine the value of strategies to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has not found any evidence of their success.
“To tell the truth, there is just no known way to prevent Alzheimer’s, despite many claims that you can take steps to reduce the risk of disease,” says Dr. Whelan.

A study published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives ties chemicals found in consumer products and other sources to the early onset of puberty in girls.

The President's Cancer Panel's recent report linking cancer to environmental chemicals is a scientific travesty based on a number of false premises, ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan argues in an article for NRO's Critical Condition blog.

The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs recently approved a bill requiring the VA to expand veterans' access to chiropractic care at VA medical centers the House is expected to vote on the bill this week.
According to ACSH s Jeff Stier, taxpayers should be concerned because they may soon have to pay for chiropractic care for veterans a troubling development, since overall, chiropractry is not part of mainstream medicine.

Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the FDA s Center for Tobacco Products, spoke at a tobacco policy conference on Monday. Jeff Stier got a chance to participate in the conference on Tuesday. The topics included smokeless tobacco (snus) as a means of harm reduction, and the FDA's deliberation of a ban on menthol.

ACSH's Drs. Elizabeth M. Whelan and Gilbert Ross have written to the Food and Drug Administration to say that regulating or banning the ingredients in cigarettes probably won't decrease their toxicity. The text of their letter:
To: Dr. Lawrence Deyton, Director
FDA Center for Tobacco Products
Cristi L. Stark, M.S.
Senior Regulatory Health Project Manager
May 26th, 2010
Subject: ACSH additional submission re: cigarette ingredients
Dear Dr. Deyton and Ms. Stark:

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. are suing New York City for displaying graphic point-of-sale health warnings about smoking. Citing violations of their First Amendment rights and preemption by federally mandated warning labels, Philip Morris and RJR are calling for an end to the graphic campaign, which features such images of cancerous lungs and decayed teeth.

Americans may be receiving too much medical care, and it could be making them sicker, The Associated Press reported in a lengthy article yesterday. Author Lauran Neergaard cites the over-prescription of antibiotics for viruses, needless evaluation and treatment of back pain, fetal monitoring and PSA tests in men over 75 as among the most unnecessary and avoidable treatments performed.

Sunday's New York Times featured a front-page article by Michael Moss discussing the food industry’s efforts to avoid regulatory limits on the salt content of processed foods: “By all appearances, this is a moment of reckoning for salt. High blood pressure is rising among adults and children. Government health experts estimate that deep cuts in salt consumption could save 150,000 lives a year.”

The UN s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) predicted yesterday that worldwide cancer deaths would increase to 13.2 million by 2030, nearly twice the 2008 figure. IARC s new database also projects a shift of the cancer burden from wealthier to poorer nations.

From the Manhattan Institute's Medical Progress Today "Second Opinion" section
No one wants misleading pharmaceutical advertising, but the Food and Drug Administration's plan to deputize doctors to police drug companies is a misguided effort.
Most physicians and health care workers simply don't have the hard data necessary to judge whether an ad overstates a drug's efficacy or plays down its risks. The hundreds of needless reports will distract the FDA from its core mission.

Whether you are traveling around the world or relaxing at home, a safe, healthy vacation will add to your enjoyment. Here are some health and safety tips to keep in mind when planning your summer vacation.

Times they are a-changin and the FDA is becoming more aware of this as they reconsider a rule implemented in 1983 that prohibits men who have had sex even once with another man since 1977 from donating blood. Originally put into practice due to fears that HIV would contaminate the blood supply, the rule now seems outdated with the current availability of more accurate testing to screen for HIV.

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

ACSH Responds to misinformation in the CNN special,“Toxic America”

For Immediate Release

ACSH staffers offer an honorary seat at the table to Dr.

While on the road again in Washington, D.C., ACSH's Jeff Stier attended the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research conference on BPA. One of the presenters, Dr. Julie Goodman, director of epidemiology at Gradient Corp. and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, provided the most insight concerning the real adverse effects of BPA in humans, which are none.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that normal dietary amounts of omega-3 fatty acids especially from fish are sufficient for reducing the risk of heart disease, and additional supplementation is not likely to provide additional benefit.

He who laughs hardest, laughs last, and ACSH staffers shared a hearty chuckle this morning over a study indicating that free-range chickens in Taiwan have an average of 5.7 times higher levels of dioxin than their counterpart caged hens.

A randomized trial published today in The Lancet assesses the risk of adverse gastrointestinal effects — mainly bleeding — in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients associated with treatment using celecoxib (Celebrex) in a head-to-head comparison trial versus diclofenac (a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) plus the stomach-protecting omeprazole (Prilosec).

It is the first day of summer, and while many will want to dive into their swimming pools, a recent report by the American Association of Pediatrics points out that African-American children are three times more likely to drown than white kids, mainly due to deeply entrenched fears of drowning.

ACSH received deafening criticism from some of our friends regarding our handling of the Not Empty Noise story yesterday, in which we wondered why the European Union isn't warning spectators at World Cup soccer games about the dangers of possible hearing loss from plastic horns known as vuvuzelas. Stier explains, We should have expressed more skepticism towards the referenced hearing loss study, as many of you rightly advised. However, we did not intend to give a free ride to that study.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the governing national organization responsible for accrediting medical education courses, recently announced a troubling new policy prohibiting physicians and researchers employed by the pharmaceutical industry from participating in medical education presentations or meetings, citing conflict of interest considerations.