Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by editors of
HealthDay:
Computer Program Guides Medical Students Through Complicated Hip
Surgery
Using a computer program similar to the GPS navigation system,
32 medical students at four hospitals in the United Kingdom have
successfully completed a complicated hip surgical procedure that
usually takes years to perfect.
BBC News reports that the procedure, known as hip
resurfacing, uses a chrome alloy to smooth and redefine diseased or
damaged ball joints in the hips. It takes years to become
proficient at doing this, the
BBC reports, but the computer guidance system has allowed
medical students to do the surgery almost flawlessly.
The surgical trial was used on various models of diseased or
damaged hips, the
BBC reports, but those who supervised the project seemed
confident enough from the outcome to consider the experiment
successful.
Dr. Justin Cobb, head of the Biosurgery and Surgical Technology
Group at Imperial College London, told a recent scientific meeting
that the computer-driven surgery augers well for other procedures.
"Even students, with the right technology, can achieve expert
levels straight away," the
BBC quotes him as saying. "More importantly, we've also
demonstrated that no patient has to be on an inexperienced
surgeon's learning curve."
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Breakdown of Body's Iron Transporter May Be Cause of Brain
Lesions
British and Indian scientists say they have possibly found the
method by which particles of iron get into the brain and cause
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.
Researchers at the University of Warwick and the Indian
Institute of Technology Kanpur say that the collapse of the
mechanism that carries iron safely through the body can cause
worm-like fibrils of iron rust to form outside a protective cover,
and this exposes iron oxide in dangerous ways to cells.
According to a news release from Warwick University, the key
element in this process is a protein called transferrin, which
safely carries iron through the bloodstream without exposing it to
other cells until it is needed.
But when transferrin is disrupted in some way, it no longer
seals the iron particles from the rest of the body, and some of the
iron can find its way to the brain and cause the lesions associated
with Alzheimer's Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, the
scientists found.
This discovery is only one step in helping to find causes of
these neurological diseases, and more research is being planned,
according to the university news release.
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Aspirin Use Effective in Preventing Colon Cancer in Men, Latest
Study Confirms
If you're a man and take at least two standard 325 milligram
(mg) aspirin tablets weekly, you may be able to reduce your chances
of getting colon cancer by more than 20 percent, the
New York Times reports.
Reporting on a study in the January 2008 issue of the journal
Gastroenterology, the newspaper said that the latest study,
led by Harvard assistant professor of medicine Dr,. Howard T. Chan,
confirmed earlier randomized studies indicating that prolonged
aspirin use can act as a deterrent to colorectal cancer.
Men who took between 6 and 14 standard aspirin pills weekly
decreased their colon cancer risk by 28 percent, and those who took
more than 14 pills a week had a 70 percent decline in risk, the
Times reported.
However, two cautions are important, the newspaper added. First,
aspirin can be very difficult on some stomachs and can even cause
intestinal bleeding. Second, the results were measured on a test
group of 47,000 men over a very long time -- 18 years. The
effectiveness of aspirin use occurs only after continuous use for
five years or more, the
Times reported.
"The results provide additional proof that a simple drug like
aspirin can help prevent colon cancer," Chan told the
newspaper.
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Not 'Buckling Up' More Prevalent Among the Very Obese
The more a person weighs, the less likely he or she is to wear a
car seat belt, increasing the possibility of injury or death,
according to a story by the
Associated Press.
Led by Vanderbilt University psychologist David Schlundt,
researchers from Meharry Medical College in Nashville studied 2002
information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and found a direct relationship between obesity and not
buckling up when getting into the car.
"They really have a hard time getting that belt buckle over
them," Schlundt told the wire service. "They have to stretch it out
and then over and then some can't see the buckle."
According to the
A.P., deciding not to wear a seat belt because of being
overweight is more than a lifestyle decision. Schlundt's group
found that only 70 percent of the very obese reported always
wearing a seat belt, compared to 83 percent of those who fell into
normal-weight categories.
And the latest U.S. government statistic show that more than
half the people killed in automobile accidents weren't wearing
their seat belts, the
A.P. reports.
The research was recently published in the journal
Obesity.
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Trek Recalls Girls' Bicycles
U.S. bicycle maker Trek has recalled about 49,000 MT220 girls'
bicycles due to a risk of frame failure during use, which can cause
riders to lose control and suffer injuries, said the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
The company has received 13 reports of frames breaking,
including four incidents that resulted in minor injuries. The
recall covers MT220 bicycles from model years 2005 (light metallic
blue), 2006 (metallic silver and metallic purple or pink and pearl
white), and 2007 (pink and white pearl or metallic purple). The
model name is printed on the frame of the bicycle. MT220 bicycles
from model year 2008 are not included in the recall.
The recalled bikes were sold from April 2004 through June 2007
for about $300. Consumers should take these bicycles away from
children immediately and return them to a Trek dealer for a free
replacement bicycle or a $100 discount on a different size Trek
bicycle.
For more information, contact Trek Bicycle Corp., of Waterloo,
Wis., at (800) 373-4594.
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Expanded Recall of New Era Canned Vegetables
A nationwide recall of canned vegetable products made by the New
Era Canning Company of Michigan is being expanded for a third time,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. The recalled
products may be contaminated with
Clostridium botulinum, which produces the toxin that causes
botulism. Infection with the toxin can cause life-threatening
illness or death.
The recalled New Era products are large institutional-sized
cans, weighing between six and seven pounds, of various types of
beans, blackeye peas, and asparagus. They're marketed under ten
different brand names: Classic Sysco; Code; Frosty Acres
Restaurant's Pride Preferred; GFS; Kitchen Essentials; Monarch
Heritage; Necco; New Era; Nugget; and Reliance Sysco.
To date, no illnesses have been reported to the FDA. Consumers
should not consume these products, even if they appear to be
normal, because of the potential serious risk to health. Consumers
who have the affected products, or who have used them in recipes,
should immediately throw the cans and food away, the FDA said.
A complete list of specific brands, products, and lot codes
subject to the New Era recalls can be found at the FDA Web site.
Consumers with questions can call the FDA at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.
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