Site helps you understand your lab tests

Ever feel too rushed in the doctor’s office to really understand the lab test you’ve just undergone? There’s help at Lab Tests Online, where you can find explanations of a variety of tests in real language.

I had a glucose test today while reporting on the high rate of diabetes among Native Americans. A nurse pricked my finger, collected a drop of blood on a test strip and fed it into a glucometer. Within seconds, the handheld device gave a digital reading: 87 mg/dL. "Perfect," the nurse said.

By reading Lab Tests Online, I learned that I’m within the normal range. If my number had been high, I would be well advised to have another test, this time after fasting. Two tests at different times would be needed to confirm a diabetes diagnosis.

The site is a collaborative effort among several professional organizations, representing microbiologists, pathologists and others. It's among my favorite links.

Meeting the challenges of SARS

A major SARS outbreak could stress U.S. hospitals’ capacity and the health-care workforce, according to testimony from the General Accounting Office to a Senate subcommittee released today. Some preparation is underway to avoid the predicted overcrowding and shortages of respirators.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome struck more than 8,000 people in 29 countries and killed 800 people as of July 11. In the U.S., the virus was contained to 211 possible cases with no deaths.

Read the report.

FDA: Birth control pill ad misleading

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently told Berlex Laboratories, a unit of Schering AG, that a TV ad for its birth control pill, Yasmin, is misleading. The ad overstates how well the drug works and understates its health risks, the FDA said, ordering the company to stop running the ad.

Titled "Goodbye Kiss," the ad suggested Yasmin is better than other pills because it contains progestin drospirenone, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. Drospirenon was associated with major blood clots in one European study.

Read the FDA's letter to the drug company.

Doctors' full records hidden from public

I'm working on a news story this week about Public Citizen's new Questionable Doctors web site. It contains federal and state disciplinary actions for 18,000 doctors in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Comprehensive, yes, but the site does not include what can be even more telling about a doctor's record: malpractice payouts and revocations of hospital privileges.

You and I can't get that information easily, but hospitals hiring doctors can. They turn to the National Practitioner Databank. It's a government site, but it's prohibited by law from giving the facts on individual doctors to the public.

Some cigarette brands may be tougher to quit

Some cigarette brands may be more addictive than others, according to researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

Most addiction researchers believe drugs like nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamine are more addictive the more rapidly they get to the brain. The Oregon scientists found varying levels of "free-base nicotine" -- nicotine that vaporizes more easily during smoking because of its molecular structure -- in different cigarette brands.

American Spirit contained the highest percentage of free-base nicotine of the 11 brands measured. The lowest percentage was GPC.

Read more about the study.

View a ranking of cigarette brands.

Shot urged for college students

The rare, but sometimes fatal, meningococcal disease is spread through sharing cigarettes and drinking glasses, and through intimate contact -- all hallmarks of college dorm life. And, in fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that college students, especially freshmen living in dorms, are at a six times greater risk for the disease compared to all undergraduates.

Each year, an estimated 100 to 125 cases of meningococcal disease occur on college campuses and five to 15 students die as a result.

The Spokane Regional Health District offers a vaccine at a cost of $96 per dose. The vaccine is also available at some private clinics and on college campuses.

For more information, call the health district clinic at (509) 324-1600 or visit College Meningitis.com.

No more fatback sandwiches ...

Last month, I blogged about a friend who has two uncles, one trim and one not-so-trim. My friend, now in his 30s, wants to age as well as his Uncle Robin.

Said friend recently applied for a life insurance policy and had a blood test. When his cholesterol numbers showed up, he searched the Web to find out what they meant. Somewhat reassured, he also had a quick chat with his doctor.

Friend's HDL level -- 60.1 milligrams per deciliter of blood serum -- pleased the doctor, who likes to see anything higher than 45. (For women, above 55 would be good.) But his LDL level -- 142 milligrams per deciliter -- was a little high. The doctor would like to see it lower than 130.

New York Times health writer Jane Brody reported recently that HDL is the most important number. She described HDL as "arterial Drano, helping to keep critical blood vessels from clogging up with circulation-impeding deposits."

News flash: Ice cream contains fat!

Should ice cream shops be required to label their wares with calorie counts and fat content? Yes, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The center’s press release -- "Coronaries in Cones" -- is getting a lot of buzz, picked up as a hot summer story by USA Today, the Kansas City Star and other news media.

Reading it made me hungry. I’ll be back after lunch. Chunky Monkey here I come.

Good ol' competition still motivates

Nightmare quantities of sit-ups and chin-ups are what I remember when I hear the words "President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports." Each year in grade school, peppy gym teachers would put us through the paces and some kids would win an award from the president. The rest of us couldn’t wait to get back to our desks.

The President's Council is still around. It’s now online and for all ages. Visit the President's Challenge to check out a free online tool to mark your progress toward physical fitness. Yes, there are still awards.

The council started as the President's Council on Youth Fitness on July 16, 1956. President Dwight D. Eisenhower just couldn't take it when he read a report indicating American children were less fit than European youth.

Research promising on inhaled insulin

Daily insulin injections become a routine hassle for people with type 1 diabetes and many with type 2 diabetes. A new option, currently available only in research trials, is inhaled insulin.

The Cochrane Collaboration, an international group of independent researchers, reviewed research so far on inhaled insulin and found it promising in its effectiveness. People with diabetes find it more convenient.

Read a summary of the Cochrane report at the Cochrane Consumer site.

Now that's prevention with style

University of Alabama at Birmingham created an unusual program to educate African American women about the importance of breast self-exams. Hairstylists get training, then carry the message to their clients. Listen to a report on the program at National Public Radio's web site. Go to the "All Things Considered" show for Monday and click on "Beauticians for Health."

Tools for understanding Medicare reform

Seniors citizens can figure out how the House and Senate Medicare reform proposals would affect their prescription drug costs with the Medicare Drug Benefit Calculator created by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser estimates that the typical senior will have $3,160 in total drug expenses in 2006, the first year of the drug benefit, if the bills become law.

I reported on the Medicare bills in Sunday’s Spokesman Review. Click here to read my stories: a glossary of Medicare reform buzzwords, how the bills would affect cancer care and how to contact Congress with your opinions.

Spokane connection on Discovery Health

Two years ago, I wrote about an unusual visit between strangers. Catherine Beckman of Colorado Springs traveled to Spokane to see the parents of a boy named Joshua. Beckman had received Joshua’s heart in a 1991 transplant after the 11-year-old newspaper carrier was hit by a car and killed.

Saturday at 6 p.m. (Pacific) on the Discovery Health Channel, Beckman tells her story on "Transplanting Memories." The program explores the eerie idea that some transplant patients get new personal preferences and unexplained talents along with the new organs.

Joshua’s parents apparently asked that his name not be used on the TV program. When I interviewed them in 2001, their religious beliefs conflicted with Beckman’s feeling that a little bit of Joshua lived on with her.

Patient privacy vs. informative reporting

The June 29th porch collapse at a Chicago apartment building became a test case for reporters and hospitals dealing with a new federal patient privacy law.

In the past, city hospitals released names, ages and addresses of victims of accidents or violence. Now hospital leaders fear stiff fines under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

"Though 57 partygoers were injured in the porch collapse, Chicago readers learned the names of almost none of them because reporters were unable to identify anyone treated at area hospitals, unless those victims sought out the papers," writes Mark Fitzgerald in an Editor & Publisher article.

Early to bed and early to rise ...

... keeps a man healthy, wealthy and wise. And according to a new study, masturbation may prevent prostate cancer.

We provide the news, you provide the jokes

Watch out, Viagra. The Associated Press reports that Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline have signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the National Football League.

The companies are gearing up to promote their anti-impotence drug, Levitra, which they expect to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this year. Read more.

The dark side of tuna sandwiches

"NOW with Bill Moyers" examines why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t warned the public about dangerously high levels of mercury in tuna. The program airs Friday at 8 p.m. on KSPS, Channel 7.

Washington state’s Department of Health goes farther than the FDA, warning women of child-bearing age and children under 6 to limit how much tuna they eat. Click here to read the recommendations, view a chart of tuna limits by body weight and study the symptoms.

U.S. children's hospitals expanding

A nationwide building boom for children’s hospitals was reported yesterday in the Boston Globe The boom, writes reporter Liz Kowalczyk, "means that pediatric hospitals will intensify their regional and national marketing to parents and referring doctors as they rush to attract more patients to their expensive, highly specialized new facilities." The story should be of interest to Spokane’s hospital industry in light of Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital project.

Breast implant safety resource

Later this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may consider approval of silicone breast implants for the first time since 1991. But the FDA could base its decision on as little as two years' worth of safety data, according to the advocacy group Command Trust Network, despite the fact that complications from silicone implants may not occur for several years. Command Trust’s web site includes a bibliography on the scientific evidence for breast implant safety. A starting place is the FDA’s "The Breast Implant Consumer Handbook."

Clearing up cholesterol confusion

Confused by good cholesterol, bad cholesterol and triglycerides? Jane E. Brody explains -- in understandable terms -- why a high level of good cholesterol may be most protective against heart disease and how to get there. Read her Personal Health column in today’s New York Times.

Oral contraceptives recalled

Barr Laboratories is voluntarily recalling three lots of its Nortrel 7/7/7 – 28-day birth control pills due to a packaging error. The company received reports that in at least two blister packs, a row of placebo pills was placed in the first row labeled “Start,” rather than in the last row labeled “Week Four.” The error could lead to unintended pregnancy. For details, click here.

Got a question for the surgeon general?

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona will appear on "Ask the White House" Tuesday, July 15, at 9:45 a.m. (Pacific) to discuss the president’s fitness initiative and his own role in protecting and advancing the health of the nation.

"Ask the White House" is a 30-minute online forum. You can submit a question in advance or go to the link on Tuesday. Transcripts of previous "Ask the White House" sessions are available on the site.

Get help with your Medicare questions

I’m researching an upcoming story on how the House and Senate Medicare bills, now being reconciled in conference committee, would affect regular folks. I came across a great Web site that may be helpful to people with personal questions about their Medicare coverage.

The Medicare Rights Center is a non-profit group that provides a telephone hotline service and trainers who teach people like social service workers who need to understand the complexities of Medicare. The organization estimates it has saved real people more than $14 million in out-of-pocket health care costs since its founding in 1989.

From the Web site: "We aim to teach people 1) to take an active interest in their health care; 2) that the healthcare plan they pick affects the healthcare they can get; 3) that they have the right to switch doctors, switch Medicare plans and to appeal denials of care; and 4) to call other state health insurance assistance programs for free help."

Feel up to reading the Medicare bills yourself? Here are links to the House version and the Senate version.

Let's open my mail, shall we?

One of the great things about my job is the mail. Inside this large envelope is one very glossy folder with a full-color illustration of women talking. The text: "Have the conversation about constipation."

Inside are helpful press releases, including "Constipation Myths v. Reality" and one about the Dulcolax "Break the Silence" survey, which found that women would rather talk about yeast infections and bad breath than constipation.

Okay, okay. Here are some tips if you're, uh, you know ... (constipated):
--Drink eight to 10 glasses of water each day.
--Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
--"If you need immediate relief try a safe and gentle stimulant laxative such as Dulcolax."

Chillin' recommended for cardiac arrest

The American Heart Association now recommends "therapeutic hypothermia," the mild cooling of unconscious patients after heart attack. Studies suggest cooling prevents brain damage.

Read the New York Times story.

Caution on a new heart device

A newly approved heart device has been associated with 47 cases of clotting reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA's web site posted a letter to doctors from the maker of the drug-coated stent today. The stent received FDA approval in April. Since then, more than 50,000 patients have received the device.

The clotting, which occurred at the time of implantation or within a few days of the procedure, is rare.

Like earlier stents, the new stent is used to open a clogged artery. Its drug coating prevents scarring that can narrow the artery again.

Study: No single key to weight problems

In a two-decade study of more than 1,500 Louisiana school children, researchers found correlations between overweight and consumption of sweetened drinks, meats and junk food.

But no single eating habit explained the tendency toward being overweight.

Instead, a variety of interrelated eating patterns may combine to lead to being overweight, says Dr. Theresa A. Nicklas of the Baylor College of Medicine in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The study notes a fivefold increase in the percentage of overweight children in Bogalusa, La., from 1973 to 1994. Almost one in four of the children were overweight.

Vitamins don't pass the test

The jury is still out on whether vitamins prevent cancer or heart disease. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force looked at evidence from available randomized trials and found it to be either inadequate or conflicting.

Some non-randomized studies suggested possible benefits for some cancers, but the task force could not determine whether the benefits were due to vitamins or to healthier lifestyles in people who take vitamins.

"Vitamin supplements may be necessary for individuals whose diets don't provide the recommended amounts of specific vitamins and especially important for pregnant and nursing women and people with specific illnesses. However, the benefits of vitamin supplements for the general population remain uncertain," said Janet Allan, Ph.D, R.N., vice chair of the task force.

Do eye exercises work?

Have you seen those books promoting eye exercises to improve vision without surgery, glasses or contact lenses? The July issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch examines the effectiveness of eye exercises in improving vision.

The conclusion: There's no medical evidence supporting eye gymnastics. The article includes these tips:

--Have an ophthalmologist examine your eyes periodically.
--Make sure your prescription lenses aren't stronger than necessary.
--Don't smoke.
--Take a multivitamin and follow a healthful diet.
--Wear ultraviolet-absorbing sunglasses, even when it's not very bright out.
--Take visual breaks during extended close-up work.

Taking on drug advertisers

Healthy Skepticism is an international non-profit group that focuses on misleading drug advertising aimed at consumers and doctors. The group is working on a new newsletter, to be called AdWatch, which will explain “the illogical, psychological and pharmacological tricks used in drug advertisements.”

To see what they’re up to, go to Healthy Skepticism and click on What’s New.