Fruit Juice Can Reduce Effectiveness of Drugs

BBC News reports findings discussed in a recent US event suggest that fruit juice could reduce the effectiveness of some medicines, including anti-allergy drugs. Grapefruit, orange, and apple juice are said to contain ingredients that interfere with the effectiveness of medication.

Researchers discovered that grapefruit juice especially had a reverse effect to fexofenadine, which is an antihistamine drug, thereby making it less potent. Researchers used volunteers to take the medication with water and with the juice. When taken with the juice, only half of the drug was absorbed. So far, these juices have been found to affect the oral absorption of etoposide, a chemotherapy drug, some beta-blocker drugs used to treat high blood pressure, and cyclosporine, taken by transplant patients to prevent rejection of their new organs. The study author Dr David Bailey mentions:

"This is just the tip of the iceberg - I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected this way."

Road rage in the operation room

In a recent article at the Boston Globe, they report on a serious matter when it comes to doctors in operation rooms. In some hospitals, there are frequent outbursts from doctors that include fits of swearing, yelling and throwing objects in the emergency room. The Globe paralleled this behavior to road rage. According to a study done at Vanderbilt, 4 to 6% of doctors have frequent outbursts in the operation room. The study found that the more outbursts doctors have, the more likely the hospital is to be sued due to the fact that bad behavior in the surgery room is often connected to medical errors.

So some hospitals are stepping up and solving the problem. The Joint Commission is mandating that all hospitals and nursing homes adopt a zero tolerance policy by January 1 that will include rules and processes on: including codes of conduct, ways to encourage staff to report bad behavior, and a process for helping and, if necessary, disciplining offenders.

Turning Blue

I came across this article in ABC health news about a little known medical syndrome called argyria, also known as silver poisoning. This syndrome results in skin discolorations caused by silver that entered through the blood stream, and deposits on the skin as brown particles. The result however, is that skin looks gray/blue. Many who have been diagnosed with this system had been ingesting colloidal silver as a remedy for various elements. Many mainstream doctors have argued about the effectiveness of silver as a treatment, however, as the article points out, Paul Karason, a person affected by argyria is a proponent. He maintains that it has helped with various problems. As he states

"The acid reflux problem I'd been having just went away completely. I had arthritis in my shoulders so bad I couldn't pull a T-shirt off. And the next thing I knew, it was just gone."

Floridashealth.com posted this image of a man suffering from this syndrome and cautions individuals to consult with physicians before ingesting any silver.

Exercise is Key for Cancer Patients

This article in the NY Times discusses how fitness can be beneficial to hasten the recovery of cancer patients as well as fighting the effects of cancer such as the fatigue from chemotherapy, the loss of muscle tone, and the swelling of lymphedema.

Programs are opening up everywhere including the a new partnership between the Y.M.C.A. and the Lance Armstrong Foundation which will offer cancer fitness classes at more than 12 Y’s in 10 states. Cancer survivors are organizing their own classes at Curves International has created new routines for overweight-breast-cancer patients.

Data and research conducted by the National Cancer Institute within the past decade show that cancer patients who exercise regularly have less fatigue, better aerobic capacity, and greater strength than those who do not exercise. There are times though when patients will not be able to perform such strenuous activities, and all exercise plans should be discussed with their oncologists.

Debate raging over infant organ donation

An approach to infant organ donation is causing debate. Some doctors are removing infants organs before they are considered brain dead. Instead, doctors are removing the organs after the babies are declared dead cardiocirculatory (after the heart stops). This article at ABC News explores both sides of organ harvests, whether the infants give up their organs before or after they are brain dead.

Doctors believe that there is a greater chance at saving more babies if their organs are harvested after their heart stops and the parents choose not to resuscitate the child. This situation could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of infants that become organ donors, which in turn saves more lives. Doctors for this method see two problems solved by obtaining the organs after the baby’s heart has stopped: fewer infants die while they are waiting on transplants, and there will be more parents who will have the opportunity to donate their children’s organs.

There is a fear that doctors will look over the dying children, and instead focus on the ones they can save. However, each child’s life is precious, and many doctors will focus on saving their patients. What do you believe is the best approach for infant organ donation?

Marry For Health Reasons? Maybe Not Necessary

One common conception that scientists in the past have validated is that for your health, it is better to be married. A new study as reported in BusinessWeek, however, is suggesting otherwise.

Hui Liu, study’s lead author from Michigan State University stated

"One of the most-often documented facts is that married people are healthier than non-married people, but the difference between married and unmarried people has changed over the past few decades."

As the article further reports:

- the self-reported health status of never-married adults increased significantly over time

- self-reported health status of married women also increased

- the gap between married and never-married women's health stayed about the same

- never-married men narrowed the health gap between themselves and married men

Some of the speculated reasons for the results of the study include that with the mores in society changing, it is no longer imperative to have a spouse for social status and acceptance. In addition, currently there are more support systems in place for those who are unmarried that may help them to not experience the negative side effects that in the past have been associated with being single.

Living Near Highways Can Increase Risk of Low-Birth Weight

The NY Times reports that a recent Canadian study shows that mothers who live near highways are more likely to give birth to low-weight and preterm babies. The study, which was published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, looked at medical records of nearly 100,000 births in Montreal from 1997 to 2001. Researchers measured distances to the nearest highways and determined socioeconomic and education levels from census data.

Researchers found that compared to wealthy neighborhoods, mothers who lived within 220 yards of a highway were linked to a 58 percent chance of preterm birth, and a 81 percent chance of increased risk of low-birth weight.

Dr. Mélissa Généreux, a resident physician at the University of Montreal mentions:

“Low-income mothers are exposed to more risk factors — smoking, poor nutrition, poor access to prenatal care, domestic violence. More advantaged mothers are protected from these risk factors, so they might be more affected by the addition of a single new risk factor, pollution from highways.”