Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Double Hand Transplant Patient Doing ‘Fantastic’
A man who received a rare double hand transplant about a week ago said Thursday that he can wriggle the fingers on both his new hands.
In his first public appearance, 55-year-old chiropractor Richard Edwards said he feels “fantastic,” the Associated Press reported.
His hands were severely burned in a fire in 2006. He lost seven fingers after the accident but retained most of his original hands. This helped doctors route his existing nerves into the donor hands during the nearly 18-hour transplant procedure conducted at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
Edwards is only the third person in the United States to receive a double hand transplant, the AP reported.
—–
Study Questions Cleanliness Of Home Kitchens
At least one in seven kitchens in American homes would fail the type of health inspection used in restaurants, suggests a new study.
Researchers conducted the study in Los Angeles County and found that less than two-thirds of home kitchens would receive an A or B rating and at least 14 percent would fail the inspection, the Associated Press reported.
The study authors noted that 98 percent of restaurants in Los Angeles County receive A or B scores each year.
While restaurant-caused outbreaks get the most attention, experts believe most food illnesses are caused by meals prepared at home, the AP reported.
—–
Michael Douglas Says He’ll Beat Throat Cancer
Actor Michael Douglas says he’s treating his recently-diagnosed throat tumor as “a curable disease.”
A walnut-sized tumor was found at the base of the 65-year-old actor’s tongue in early August and he’s now undergoing an eight-week course of radiation and chemotherapy. Doctors say there is no evidence the cancer has spread, the Associated Press reported.
Douglas told People magazine he expects to make a full recovery from the late, stage-four cancer.
“I’m treating this as a curable disease,” Douglas told the magazine, the AP reported. “It’s a fight. I’ll beat this.”
—–
Oregon Children Least Likely To Be Hospitalized For Asthma
Oregon had the nation’s lowest rate of avoidable hospitalizations for asthma in children ages 2 to 17 in 2006, with a rate of 44 per 100,000, says a new federal government report.
Vermont had the next lowest rate at 46 per 100,000, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The authors noted that asthma is controllable with appropriate outpatient treatment, including control of risk factors that can cause asthma attacks, use of controller medicines, patient and parent education, and proper assessment and monitoring.
Other states with low rates of potentially avoidable asthma-related hospitalization among children in this age group were: New Hampshire (62 per 100,000); Iowa (66); Utah (74); Nebraska (75); and Maine (78).
—–