Poultry fingered as No. 1 food poisoning culprit


ATLANTA – Cooking chicken on the grill this summer? Be careful. Poultry is still the leading culprit in food poisoning outbreaks, health officials said Thursday.
Chicken, turkey and other poultry accounted for 17 percent of the food-borne illness outbreaks reported to the government. Beef and leafy vegetables were close behind, at 16 percent and 14 percent.
The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention covers outbreaks in 2007. Poultry was also the No. 1 source of outbreaks in 2006.
Salmonella and other kinds of bacteria caused about half of the outbreaks, the CDC said. Viruses — like norovirus — caused about 40 percent, mushroom toxin or other chemical agents were blamed for 7 percent. Parasites accounted for 1 percent.
Several things can cause an outbreak. For example, an infected person might contaminate the food while handling it. A contaminated food may be left out a room temperature for hours, allowing bacteria to multiply. It may not be cooked enough to kill the bacteria.
The CCD counted more than 21,000 illnesses in about 1,100 outbreaks in 48 states and Puerto Rico. There were 18 deaths from food poisoning.
It's far from a complete picture, however. Experts estimates that only about 5 percent of people who get food poisoning are part of a recognized outbreak, which is a cluster of two or more cases.
"It's just the tip of the iceberg," said Michael Doyle, head of the University of Georgia's food safety center.
An estimated 87 million cases of food-borne illness occur in the United States each year, including 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths, according to an Associated Press calculation that combines a CDC formula with recent population estimates.
The CDC also closely tracks food-borne illnesses in 10 states to watch for food poisoning trends. Its report for last year showed rates of food-borne illness have been holding steady for the past five years.
In Thursday's report, the CDC only counted instances in which one food — like grilled chicken — was clearly to blame. That was the case in about 45 percent of the outbreaks. Outbreaks involving multiple ingredients — like chicken salad — were not part of that accounting.
A diarrhea-causing bacteria called Clostridium perfringens was commonly linked to poultry. A more deadly bacteria called E.coli O157:H7 was most often linked to beef.
Norovirus, a common bug most often spread by food handlers, was frequently seen in leafy vegetables.







Obesity linked to lower risk of glaucoma in women


NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A recent study found that heavier women were less likely to get one type of glaucoma than their thinner peers - the first time this association has been shown, the authors report.
The finding doesn't mean that anyone at risk for the disease should try to pack on the pounds, they say, but it could be a first step toward learning more about why people develop glaucoma and how it progresses.
Glaucoma is a degenerative eye condition that occurs when there is damage to the optic nerve - fibers that run between the eye and the brain. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, more than 4 million Americans, mostly older adults, have glaucoma. Common treatments for glaucoma include medicated eye drops and other drugs as well as surgery.
Researchers have suspected that heavier people might be more at risk for glaucoma. A higher body mass index (BMI) - a ratio of weight to height - means people are more likely to have diabetes, and diabetes could be linked to the rising inner eye pressure that is seen in many glaucoma cases, the authors write.
But their findings suggest a different pattern.Led by Dr. Louis Pasquale, researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health followed about 120,000 middle-aged adults who are part of two long-term studies of healthcare workers. Over the course of at least 18 years, study participants filled out questionnaires every other year that asked for lifestyle and health information such as weight, diet, and diagnosed medical conditions.
About 8,300 of the participants reported in their questionnaires that they had been diagnosed with glaucoma at some point during the study. The authors narrowed this down to approximately 1,000 cases that they could confirm with the patients' doctors and on their own.
One previous study found that around 4 percent of adults age 40 and over have glaucoma.
After picking out the confirmed glaucoma cases, the authors looked at how likely patients were to have glaucoma based on their BMI.
Women with a higher BMI and higher weights were less likely than thinner women to develop a certain type of glaucoma, called normal tension glaucoma, which occurs when pressure in the eye isn't any higher than normal.
For every unit of increase in BMI - equal to about a 6-pound gain in a woman of average height and weight - a woman's risk for normal tension glaucoma dropped by 6 percent. Women who reported that they had been heavier for their height as young adults were also less likely to develop this kind of glaucoma.
In women with higher inner eye pressure and in all men, there was no link between BMI or body weight alone and how likely a person was to get glaucoma.
The reason why weight might protect women against glaucoma isn't completely clear, but Pasquale thinks it could have something to do with estrogen. "Our hypothesis is that women with higher BMI have higher circulating estrogen levels than women with lower BMI," Pasquale told Reuters Health by email. It might be that estrogen helps keep the optic nerve working, he said.
Differences in body composition between men and women, and in the amount of estrogen they produce, could help explain why there is a link between weight and glaucoma risk in women but not men, Pasquale added.
Height had no association with glaucoma risk in men or women in the study, which is published in the journal Ophthalmology.
One limitation of the study, the authors write, is that the participants were mostly white - and glaucoma is much more common in African-Americans.
Pasquale and his colleagues are trying to dig deeper into the connection between weight and glaucoma in women to better explain their findings. In the meantime, Pasquale said, the results should not change anything about the way doctors treat patients with glaucoma or those at risk for the condition.

SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/paj54n Ophthalmology, August 2010.





South Dakota man dies after donating part of liver

DENVER – A Colorado hospital said Friday that it has temporarily suspended live donor liver transplants while it investigates the death of a South Dakota man who donated part of his liver to his brother.
The death would be Colorado's first of a live liver donor and the fourth in the country if it's ruled it was a result of the procedure, according to the United Network of Organ Sharing.
The University of Colorado Hospital, which performed its first successful live donor liver transplant in 1997, is continuing other transplants but is "taking a step back" from live donor liver transplants following the death of 34-year-old Ryan Arnold of Watertown, S.D., a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.
"If there's something that needs to be corrected, we will correct it," spokeswoman Erika Matich said. The hospital has conducted 141 successful live donor liver transplants.
Ryan Arnold died Aug. 2, four days after the surgery in which he gave part of his liver to his brother Chad, 38, who lives in suburban Denver. Chad Arnold was home briefly but was readmitted to a Denver-area hospital to continue his recovery from a liver disease.
"I think overall his attitude is to make his life count," said Rod Arnold, 42, referring to how his brother Chad is holding up.
UNOS spokesman Joel Newman said the living donor liver transplants are relatively rare in the U.S., where the procedure has been conducted 4,126 times since 1989.
In addition to an internal investigation, the hospital has also requested that physicians who are members of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons review the case, Matich said.
"Everybody at the hospital is very distraught, anybody who had anything to do with this wonderful family," she said.
Ryan Arnold went into cardiac arrest Aug. 1 and then fell into a coma, Rod Arnold said. The coroner hasn't determined a cause of death, he said.
"He was a man of uncommon character and someone I looked up to," Rod Arnold said. "What he did for Chad was really just an extension of how he lived his life."
Rod Arnold said his brother "never really wavered" in his decision to give part of his liver to help his brother battle an incurable liver disease known as PSC.
"From the beginning he just said, 'I gotta do this,'" Rod Arnold said.
Shortly before the procedure, Ryan Arnold told KDVR-TV he wanted to give his brother the chance to live a long life.
"I'm healthy and I know I'll stay healthy," Ryan Arnold told the television station. "I'll recover and I want to see him do the things he wants to do, and spend time with his family, and I want to have him around for a long time."
Rod Arnold said that shortly after the procedure, Ryan went to Chad's hospital room and told him, "I love you bro', you're worth it. I believe in you."
Ryan Arnold is survived by his wife, Shannon, and three sons, ages 1, 4, and 6.
Ryan Arnold was an orthodontist in Watertown and was planning to take over his father's practice there. He loved "pretty much anything outdoors" and spent nearly every moment with his children, going to the lake on a boat and tubing, Rod Arnold said. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was committed to his church.
"Our desire, if possible, is that what comes out of this is an awareness of the kind of man Ryan was," Rod Arnold said.






Skin Tips for Teens


Four Tips for Trouble-Free Teen Skin.

Teen skin has a lot going for it — plenty of collagen, a youthful glow, and not a laugh line or crow’s foot to be found. But there’s a downside to all that dewiness: Excess oil can cause acne, and oily or combination skin can be tricky to care for. To keep teen acne in check and achieve a clear complexion, follow these skin care tips:

Take Care of Teen Acne

It’s an unfortunate fact: Most teens get some form of acne, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. (You can thank your changing hormones for that!) Whether you’re dealing with the annoyance of an occasional pimple or suffering from a more severe case of acne, having blemished skin can be a drag. But beyond causing embarrassment, acne can also cause scars, so treatment is important. To treat your teen acne, follow this advice from Jordana S. Gilman, M.D., a New York City–based dermatologist:
• For mild acne, use an over-the-counter cleanser with either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.
• ODing on harsh products in order to combat breakouts can actually have the opposite effect, so skip astringent (Dr. Gilman says it’s too drying), and use scrubs sparingly — just once or twice a week. “Your skin always needs a little bit of oil to maintain a normal skin barrier and to function properly,” Dr. Gilman says.
• Hair care products can contribute to teen acne, so if you notice breakouts on your forehead or along your hairline, start applying your hair care products farther back on your head, and don’t let your hair brush across your face.
• Don’t try more than one new product at a time. Allow your skin two weeks to adjust to a new product before starting another new one.
• Severe acne may require prescription-strength products, so see a dermatologist if OTC products don’t control your acne.


Use Oil-Free Products

While teen skin can often go without moisturizer, some teens do need it, Dr. Gilman says: “It’s possible to have acne and have dry or sensitive skin.” If you need a moisturizer, choose a lightweight, oil-free formula. That goes for any color cosmetics you use too. And look for products that are labeled “noncomedogenic,” meaning the ingredients won’t block pores.


Skip the Tan

Let’s face facts: Tans, whether from the sun or a tanning salon, are damaging to your skin. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a working group of the World Health Organization, recently added tanning beds to its list of the most dangerous forms of cancer-causing radiation. So ban the bed. In fact, ban any tan, except a bottled one! And start wearing sunscreen — ideally with an SPF of 30 or higher — every day. Getting into the sunscreen habit today can help prevent visible signs of aging (hello, wrinkles and brown spots!) tomorrow.

Go Easy on Makeup

Remember that youthful glow we mentioned earlier? Cherish it. For most teen skin, foundation is a totally unnecessary product and can actually contribute to acne, says Dr. Gilman. If you must cover up blemishes or even out your skin tone, use a concealer — some products even pair color with acne-fighting ingredients — or try an oil-free tinted moisturizer with SPF.
There’s no getting around the fact that when it comes to your complexion, the teen years can be troublesome. But with these skin tips, you can get skin worth coveting — not covering.