Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Twitter May Offer Early Warning of Epidemics: Study
The social networking and micro-blogging site Twitter could prove to be an effective early warning system for epidemics, British experts say.
Researchers at London’s City University found that about three million “tweets” that contained the word “flu” were posted on Twitter between May and December 2009, during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
“The numbers of tweets we collected by searching by keywords such as ‘flu’ or ‘influenza’ has been astronomical,” study co-author Patty Kostkova told Agence France Presse. “What we’re looking at now is, what is the potential of this enormous data set for early warning systems? Because it’s a real time media, it can call for an immediate response if required.”
The study was presented at the
European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
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Improve Meat Supply Safety: Report
The federal government must do more to guarantee that beef eaten by Americans is free of “residual veterinary drugs, pesticides and heavy metals,” says a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector general.
The audit says better meat safety can be achieved through improved coordination between the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, ABC News reported.
“We found that the national residue program is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for harmful residues,” said the document. “Together, FSIS, FDA, and EPA have not established thresholds for many dangerous substances (e.g., copper or dioxin), which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce.”
It continued: “Additionally, FSIS does not attempt to recall meat, even when its tests have confirmed the excessive presence of veterinary drugs,” ABC News reported.
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Discovery May Lead to Better Ovarian Cancer Treatments
An antibody that makes ovarian cancer cells more vulnerable to the body’s immune system has been identified by researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria.
They found that the AD5-10 antibody lowered tumor cells’ resistance to a protein called TRAIL, which triggers cancer cells to kill themselves, Agence France Presse reported.
“We were able to show in both cell cultures and animal models that TRAIL resistant ovarian cancer tumor cells become more sensitive to TRAIL again if TRAIL and AD5-10 are both present at the same time,” said study leader Michael Krainer.
He and his colleagues also found that AD5-10 boosts the effectiveness of several chemotherapy drugs, AFP reported.
The findings, published Monday, may lead to new treatments for ovarian cancer, a leading cause of cancer death among women.
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Pre-Abortion Screenings Required Under New Nebraska Law
In what would be a first in the United States, Nebraska appears poised to enact a law that requires doctors to screen women for mental and physical problems before they perform an abortion.
If a woman isn’t screened before an abortion, she could file a civil suit. Doctors who perform an abortion without screening the patient will not face criminal charges and won’t lose their medical licenses, the Associated Press reported.
The bill received final approval from the Legislature Monday, and Republican Gov. Dave Heineman’s office said he will sign the bill Tuesday, along with another bill that would ban abortions for women more than 20 weeks pregnant.
Pro-choice groups condemned both bills. They said the first bill will limit abortions by intimidating doctors who might perform them, while the second bill blocks late-term abortions in one of the few states where doctors are willing to perform them, the AP reported.
It’s expected that both bills will be challenged in court.
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Pediatricians Call for Reductions in Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is a major contributor to teen deaths and greatly increases the risk of other risky behaviors such as substance use and unsafe sex, says a new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement released Monday.
The statement urges pediatricians to work hard to prevent children and teens from drinking alcohol, USA Today reported.
Underage drinking affects the developing brains and general health of young people, including hampering the ability to fight infections and harming liver function, according to the statement.
In addition, alcohol use by children and teens:
- Is a major factor in the leading causes of teen death — accidental injury (including car crashes), homicide and suicide.
- Greatly increases the risk of other dangerous actions such as unsafe sex, substance abuse and violent behavior.
- Is associated with binge drinking, which can be fatal.
The statement appears in the journal Pediatrics.