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A class of antacids known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may increase the risk of severe diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile bacteria, the FDA has announced. The advisory comes after the agency s review of 28 observational studies, which found that the rate of C. difficile infection was from 1.4 to 2.75 times higher among patients who had been taking PPIs such as Nexium, Dexilant, Prevacid, and Prilosec, among others.

What do healthy bones need? Calcium is most likely the first thing to come to mind. But a new study reinforces the evidence that vitamin D also plays an essential role in bone health. Researchers from the Children s Hospital Boston report that a higher level of vitamin D intake may protect girls against stress fractures.

An article in today s New York Times features a photograph of a tiny child being anesthetized before operation. It also recounts the story of a mother whose three-year-old daughter was strapped down from head to ankle to immobilize her during a procedure. These are unsettling scenes, indeed.

Pharmaceutical sales representatives often get a bad rap, stereotyped as unethical drug peddlers. But in his latest op-ed for Medical Progress Today, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom points out how important drug reps may be to improving medical care. He observes, for instance, that in the absence of any continuing medical education requirements related to new pharmaceuticals, physicians often rely on these drug reps to keep them informed about new products and drug indications.

Despite the science showing there to be no health risks to genetically engineered (GE) foods, some members of Congress are pressing the FDA to require that all GE foods be labeled as such. The Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition to the FDA, and now 45 U.S. Representatives and 10 U.S. Senators have thrown their support behind the petition in a letter to the FDA.

Timing is crucial in the treatment of most medical conditions and none more so than acute stroke. In such cases, experts urge patients and doctors to heed a narrow window of 4.5 hours. This is the amount of time that can elapse between stroke onset and the administration of a clot-busting medication, such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), that can significantly reduce the risk of brain damage.

It s not uncommon for women with breast cancer to receive radiation therapy to prevent relapse, but is this modality beneficial for older women with early-stage breast cancer? Current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines say opting out of radiation in these patients is okay a recommendation that was issued in 2005, based on a 2004 study that showed radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery didn t improve survival in older patients with stage I breast cancer.

In a virtually unprecedented decision, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, failed to vote on recommending the use of Pfizer s new vaccine, Prevnar 13, for adults aged 50 and over. This is the third consecutive meeting about Prevnar 13, a vaccine used to prevent streptococcal pneumonia, with this outcome. This story was little-noticed, yet the ensuing delay could lead to many thousands of deaths, says ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom in an op-ed that appears in today s New York Post.

Another study has added to the growing evidence that tranexamic acid, a simple generic drug, is the most effective means thus far of slowing bleeding in hemorrhaging trauma patients. Tranexamic acid in pill form (Lysteda) was first approved in the U.S. in 2009 for excessive menstrual bleeding, but it was not widely marketed; as a generic, it was not perceived to be profitable enough to warrant the extensive trials required for FDA approval of its use for trauma patients.

It s become commonplace when Americans feel the first symptoms of illness, many will check online health sites before heading to see a doctor. But is this ready accessibility of health information from sources valid and not so much actually helpful? In a recent USA Today article, Steve Wood explores the the good and the bad of our habit of Googling our symptoms instead of relying on a visit to the doctor s office.

The obesity epidemic has moved to the forefront of public health concerns, given that it s a major contributor to diabetes, heart disease, and other adverse health conditions. Yet for people who find it impossible to lose their excess weight, there still remains a paucity of successful treatment options, especially in the pharmaceutical sector. That s not to say, however, that drug companies aren t trying to create weight-loss medications in fact, there are currently three such drugs stuck in the all too familiar limbo of the FDA approval process.

Recommended guidelines for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) sure have come a long way since the abrupt end of the Women s Health Initiative (WHI) trial in 2002. At that time, researchers became concerned about the increased risk of blood clots and stroke associated with the treatment. Following this trial, HRT use declined precipitously, as women and their doctors became reluctant to use this therapy.

Stemmed metal-on-metal (MOM) hip replacements were once hailed as a superior option due to orthopedists belief that the devices had a relatively low risk of dislocation and a high resistance to wear. However, a new study in The Lancet suggests that this type of hip replacement may actually have a higher likelihood of failure than the older standard, ceramic replacement hips and polythene versions.

The incidence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is raising alarms, not least because of its rapidly increasing rates in affluent Western cities. MDR-TB has been an increasingly serious problem across Asia and Africa for several decades, affecting populations made more susceptible by the greater prevalence of AIDS and poorer health care infrastructure.

A recent op-ed in The New York Times by Sam Waksal, the founder of the biotech firm ImClone who is probably best remembered for his involvement in a large insider trading scandal in 2002, caught ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom s attention, largely for its absurdity. In the piece, Waksal argues that individuals and insurers should only pay for drugs that actually work, which he outlines in his "pay-for-response" pricing model.

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the U.S., according to the CDC, which is why the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) want you to take advantage of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, this April 28 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Lawmakers in Vermont have reached what looks like a stalemate over whether to end the policy of philosophical exemption, which allows parents to refuse vaccinations that are otherwise required to enroll children in school. Although the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 to eliminate the philosophical exemption, the House voted 93 to 36 to keep it.

As recently as December 2011, it seemed that the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, might be coming to its senses with regard to its senseless ban on the export of Swedish snus to other EU countries. No such luck.

Scoliosis is a spinal deformity that occurs in 3 percent of the population, typically appearing in adolescence although it can begin as early as preschool years. If left untreated, it can result in serious disfigurement and even respiratory problems. While the most common current treatment is largely effective, it requires regular invasive surgery twice annually to adjust or replace metallic rods that help straighten the spine a process that is both expensive and a serious disruption to the lives of both the young patients and their families.

Not even three weeks after the FDA denied a petition to ban the plastic hardener BPA (bisphenol A) from food packaging, declaring that the daily levels of human exposure pose no health risk, backlash has appeared in The Washington Post.

To: The Kansas House of Representatives Committee on Federal and State Affairs
From: The American Council on Science and Health Elizabeth M. Whelan, President
Re: Support for Resolution No. 6026, to direct the KDHE to investigate a study of tobacco harm reduction

Last Friday, The New York Times featured a front-page story that raised some interesting questions about the availability and accessibility of expensive new drugs. Unlike pills for high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, newer therapies for diseases such as some types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and inherited disorders, can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

While there have long been concerns about the risks of antibiotic overuse in humans, it remains far less clear whether there are similar risks of resistant bacteria when such antibiotics are given to livestock. But a recent U.S.

Cancer therapies have come a long way in recent years, and for many, a cancer diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. In fact, a new study, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting this week, indicates that about half of cancer survivors will end up dying from a disease other than cancer.

Earlier this week, we covered the news of a recent study reporting that some children who participate in the New York public schools Breakfast in the Classroom program may end up eating two breakfasts. Yet despite the city health department s fear that such double-dipping may be contributing to childhood obesity, many remain skeptical and Dispatch reader Thomas Vitullo-Martin is one of them. In an email to us, he writes: