All news posts from July 01, 2007 to July 31, 2007

New Research Identifies Genes Linked to Multiple Sclerosis Updated July 2007: Researchers have made a significant advance in understanding multiple sclerosis , which is a neurological disorder in which the nerves of the eye, brain and spinal cord lose myelin. Multiple sclerosis can have symptoms fro

Sara Lee Recalls 27 Brands of Whole-Wheat Bread Updated July 2007: The Sara Lee Corporation is recalling 27 brands of whole-wheat bread products, including some from Publix, because they were found to contain small metal pieces . An inspection in the Meridian, Mississippi bakery uncovered issues

No-Fault’s Sunset Means High Rates For Consumers Updated July 2007- On Oct. 1, 2007, auto insurance will no longer be required in Florida. The original aim of ending no-fault , which requires Florida drivers to buy $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) to cover the cost of medical care

Tri-State Crematory Case: Families Fight Settlement Updated July 2007: In 2002 hundreds of corpses were found on the property of a Georgia crematory. The crematory was discarding the bodies instead of cremating them. The families of the deceased filed a class action against Tri-State Crematory back i

List of Recalled Items from Castleberry’s Food Company: Botulism Contamination Risk Updated July 2007: Castleberry's Food Co. and the FDA have announced a recall of chili sauce, canned meat products, and some pet foods due to risk of exposure to the botulinum toxin, the bacterium that causes bo

Castleberry’s Plant Closed Due to Botulism in Chili Sauce Updated July 2007: A plant in Augusta, Georgia has closed because food produced from the plant contained botulism. Castleberry’s Food Company stated that 16 cans of hot dog chili sauce tested positive for botulism so far. The comp

July 30 th FDA Meeting to Discuss Avandia Updated July 2007: On July 30, 2007, the FDA will meet with GlaxoSmithKline to discuss the diabetes drug Avandia . The fact-gathering meeting is intended to thrash out the issue of increased heart attack risk for users from the drug. The FDA

Concerns about Roof-Crush Safety Updated July 2007: The “Emergency World Summit on Roof Crush” conference, which took place in Washington, D.C. in late July, convened to try and convince the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration to implement stricter roof-crush safety standards

Botulism Outbreak: Castleberry’s Canned Meats Updated July 23, 2007- Castleberry's Food Co. announced that it expanded a recall of chili sauce and sundry canned meat products announced on July 18, 2007 owing to heightened risk of exposure to the botulinum toxin, the bacterium that causes botul

Multiple Myeloma: “Third Wave” of Sickness for 9/11 Responders Updated July 2007: First responders for the World Trade Center disaster are being diagnosed with several rare cancers such as blood cell cancers and multiple myeloma . These cancers are a “third wave” of illnesses for those exposed t

Antibiotic Use Increases Childhood Asthma Risk Updated July 2007: A Canadian study, published in Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that antibiotic use early in life can increase the risk for asthma . When investigators compared children who received antibiotics during their

Slow Response from FEMA for Toxic Trailers Updated July 2007: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been accused of refusing to acknowledge high levels of formaldehyde in trailers that were provided to Hurricane Katrina victims , in a House oversight committee on Thursday, July 19

Older Diabetes Drugs Work as Well as Avandia Older, cheaper diabetes drugs appear to work as well as Avandia, resolved an analysis on the efficacy of metformin and Avandia , which has recently come under close scrutiny for its ties to heart problems. Between the two, the clear winner is

DEG Toothpaste Banned from China China ’s food and drug safety watchdog announced Wednesday that a chemical called diethylene glycol was banned from being used in toothpaste in China . This chemical has been found in tubes of toothpaste around the world. Diethylene glycol is a solvent often used in a

FDA Possibly Given More Power The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to give the Federal Drug Administration more power over drugmakers. This effort is to make it easier for the FDA to protect the public from dangerous drugs and medicines. The House passed the bill with a vote of 403-16.

One in Eight Soldiers Suffers from PTSD after Returning from War Updated July 2007: Right now there are hundreds of thousands of American soldiers fighting in Iraq. The sights and sounds of war can be very difficult for these men to process. Many of the soldiers are unable to remove these images from t

Fake Drinking Water Found in Beijing Updated July, 2007 : On Monday, the Beijing Times published an article that reported that half of the water coolers in Beijing contain counterfeit water brands . The water is either tap water or purified water from small suppliers who put the water in jugs and l

Tart-tongued Carnival Exec Retires The chief executive of Carnival Cruise Lines has announced his retirement from the cruise business. Bob Dickinson, the man who developed the cruise industry into a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street, announced the other day that he will retire from his post at the e

Plane Crash Takes Five Lives A small plane that was attempting to make an emergency landing crashed into two homes this morning at around 8:40 a.m. Five people were killed and three others were seriously injured. Only two names of the dead have been released, one being Dr. Bruce Kennedy, who was a Dayton

700 Tubes of Toothpaste Seized in Connecticut More than 700 tubes of toothpaste were removed from 6 different stores in Connecticut. The toothpaste contained a chemical called diethylene glycol, or DEG, which is often found in antifreeze. DEG has a sweet taste and can cause liver and kidney damage. So far no i

Chinese Recall of Methotrexate Updated July, 2007: Methotrexate , a drug used to treat acute leukemia and rheumatoid arthritis, has been recalled by China’s food and drug administration. The drug, manufactured by Shanghai Hualian Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., has been suspended because it caused adverse re

FDA Approves Alzheimer’s Patch The FDA has approved the first transdermal patch for the treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia. The drug rivastigmine, known by the prescription brand Exelon , has been available since 1997 in capsule and in tablet form, but only now has the drug been approved by the FDA as

AMO Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose Solution Recalled Updated July, 2007: Advanced Medical Optics Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose Solution has been confirmed to have a “strong association” with an increased risk of a serious eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) . The contact l

Judicial Watch , a public interest group, released documents from the FDA that uncover 1,637 adverse reactions to Gardasil , a human papillomavirus vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in girls. Three deaths have been related to the vaccine. One patient died of a blood clot three hours after receiving the vaccine

Bausch & Lomb denied accusations that their ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution caused a man’s eye infection in a court of law. The plaintiff, Michael Pouch had worn contact lenses since July 2005 and used the ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Solution that he bought at a Wal-Mart in Lumber

Lilly Settles Zyprexa Claims Eli Lilly has agreed to pay up to half a billion dollars in order to settle around 18,000 claims directed against the international pharmaceutical concern. These injured parties claimed they had developed diabetes or suffered a stroke while taking Lilly’s number one atypical

Peanut Butter Recall Update Updated 2007- The latest report on the peanut butter/salmonella ordeal, which was published in a June 1 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) , reported that 628 people from 47 states fell ill due to a stain of salmonella called Salmonella serotype Tennessee that w

Zyprexa-Related Strokes The drug manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. issued a warning in 2004 that its atypical antipsychotic drug Zyprexa may increase the risk of stroke and death in elderly patients when Zyprexa is used to treat aggression from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Lilly issued the