Health News

Teenage girl dies of toxic shock syndrome after using tampon

 

Teenage girl, 14, died from toxic shock syndrome caused by using her first tampon, say family as they launch campaign about rare infection

A teenager who dreamed of starring in the West End died from an ultra-rare infection after using a tampon for the first time, her heartbroken family have said.

Natasha Scott-Falber, 14, died suddenly on Valentine’s Day in Caerwent, Wales, and five days after she fell ill with what was thought to be the norovirus.

Her family now believes the teenager died of toxic shock syndrome – a bacterial infection which affects just 40 people a year in Britain.

Posting on Facebook, her family – which includes her mother Mandy Scott, 52, Brother Daniel Falber, stepfather Mike Scott and stepmother Linda Falber – have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the condition so other sufferers spot the signs earlier.

They said: ‘Natasha died of toxic shock syndrome the first time that she used tampons.

‘Generally speaking, it is accepted knowledge that leaving a tampon in for too long can cause toxic shock syndrome. In Natasha’s case, she followed all of the instructions and used the tampon correctly; it was simply the introduction of the tampon into her body which caused toxic shock syndrome to take effect.

‘Tash became ill five days before she died but remained in good spirits, and only the evening before she died, she was telling Mandy off for fussing over her, and saying that she was feeling much better.
She died peacefully at approximately 6.45am on Valentine’s Day after falling asleep watching one of her favorite TV programs.

‘We cannot express how much we miss our beautiful, gifted, kind and funny Natasha. All of our family, and many others close to us, are still reeling from the shock of losing our wonderful girl.

‘We hope that you and your family never have to go through what we have gone through, and are still going through.’

Natasha, who was found dead by her father Mike Falber, was described as an ‘all-singing and all-dancing’ youngster who enjoyed acting and playing the guitar.

She had been selected last year to perform in a backing choir for English tenor Alfie Boe at one of Wales’ most prestigious concert halls, St David’s Hall, Cardiff.

After Natasha’s death it was initially believed she had fallen victim to septicaemia, better known as blood poisoning.

Toxic shock syndrome affects about 40 people each year in the UK.

The infection is caused when usually harmless Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus bacteria, which live on the skin, invade the bloodstream and produce dangerous toxins.

A statement from BUPA said: ‘It’s not exactly understood why using a tampon is linked with toxic shock syndrome, but tampon absorbency (the amount of menstrual blood a tampon absorbs) is thought to be a factor.

‘If you’re a woman using tampons, use a tampon with the lowest absorbency suitable for your menstrual blood flow, change your tampon frequently, use a sanitary towel or panty liner from time to time during your period, never insert more than one tampon at one time and use a sanitary towel at night instead of a tampon.’

The family said: ‘We thought that one thing we could do, to honour Natasha, and to help others, would be to start an awareness campaign about toxic shock syndrome.

‘We are in communication with Public Health Wales, the two main tampon companies, and we have already had some success with GPs and with the education system in Gwent. All the age-appropriate pupils attending schools in Gwent have been made aware of toxic shock syndrome.

‘We are determined to make at least everyone in the UK aware of what the symptoms are, and what the risks are.’

Toxic shock syndrome is a highly dangerous bacterial infection – but it can be misdiagnosed, because the symptoms are the same as other illnesses and because it is so rare.

It occurs when usually harmless Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus bacteria, which live on the skin, invade the bloodstream and produce dangerous toxins.

This causes a sudden high fever, a massive drop in blood pressure resulting in dizziness and confusion, and occasionally vomiting and diarrhoea.

Other symptoms – none of which are exclusive to toxic shock syndrome, which is extremely rare – include a sunburn-like skin rash, the whites of the eyes becoming red or pink and the shedding of the skin in large sheets, especially from the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, one or two weeks after becoming ill.

Women are most at risk of getting toxic shock syndrome during menstruation and particularly if they are using tampons, have recently given birth, or are using an internal barrier contraceptive such as a diaphragm.
Source: Mail Online

Kids Are Less Fit Than Their Parents Were

Today’s kids can’t keep up with their parents. An analysis of studies on millions of children around the world finds they don’t run as fast or as far as their parents did when they were young.

On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart-related fitness has declined 5 percent per decade since 1975 for children ages 9 to 17.

The American Heart Association, whose conference featured the research on Tuesday, says it’s the first to show that children’s fitness has declined worldwide over the last three decades.

“It makes sense. We have kids that are less active than before,” said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a University of Colorado pediatrician and spokesman for the heart association.

Health experts recommend that children 6 and older get 60 minutes of moderately vigorous activity accumulated over a day. Only one-third of American kids do now.

“Kids aren’t getting enough opportunities to build up that activity over the course of the day,” Daniels said. “Many schools, for economic reasons, don’t have any physical education at all. Some rely on recess” to provide exercise.

Sam Kass, a White House chef and head of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program, stressed the role of schools in a speech to the conference on Monday.

“We are currently facing the most sedentary generation of children in our history,” Kass said.

The new study was led by Grant Tomkinson, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia. Researchers analyzed 50 studies on running fitness — a key measure of cardiovascular health and endurance — involving 25 million children ages 9 to 17 in 28 countries from 1964 to 2010.

The studies measured how far children could run in 5 to 15 minutes and how quickly they ran a certain distance, ranging from half a mile to two miles. Today’s kids are about 15 percent less fit than their parents were, researchers concluded.

“The changes are very similar for boys and girls and also for various ages,” but differed by geographic region, Tomkinson said.

The decline in fitness seems to be leveling off in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and perhaps in the last few years in North America. However, it continues to fall in China, and Japan never had much falloff — fitness has remained fairly consistent there. About 20 million of the 25 million children in the studies were from Asia.

In China, annual fitness test data show the country’s students are getting slower and fatter over the past couple of decades.

Experts and educators blame an obsession with academic testing scores for China’s competitive college admissions as well as a proliferation of indoor entertainment options like gaming and web surfing for the decline.

China’s Education Ministry data show that in 2010 male college students ran 1,000 meters 14 to 15 seconds slower on average than male students who ran a decade earlier. Female students slowed by about 12 seconds in running 800 meters.

Tomkinson and Daniels said obesity likely plays a role, since it makes it harder to run or do any aerobic exercise. Too much time watching television and playing video games and unsafe neighborhoods with not enough options for outdoor play also may play a role, they said.

Other research discussed global declines in activity.

Fitness is “pretty poor in adults and even worse in young people,” especially in the United States and eastern Europe, said Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway.

World Health Organization numbers suggest that 80 percent of young people globally may not be getting enough exercise.

Source: abc News

 

BSc (community health) programme gets clearance from the Union Cabinet

The union cabinet on Wednesday cleared the health ministry’s proposal to institute a three-year BSc (community health) program that aims to help raise a cadre of public health professionals for rural areas, reports.

 

The course that had the nomenclature of Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery (BRMS) was met with objections from the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the medical community.

Subsequently, the course nomenclature was changed to BSc (community health) and the process of framing the syllabus for the course was taken out of the MCI’s ambit and handed over to the National Board of Examinations (NBE).

The bachelor in community health program will act as a bridge between auxiliary nurse midwife and a doctor and overrides the objections raised by a parliamentary panel and the MCI.

The parliamentary panel in March had said instead of creating a new pool of health professionals whose mandate and education are grey areas, there should be a compulsory one-year rural posting for fresh medical graduates to meet shortage of doctors in rural areas.

Source: India Medical Times

2 mins walk for every half an hour around office keeps diabetes at bay

A new study suggests that taking a two-minute stroll around the office every half hour could save millions from the misery of diabetes.

Leaving the desk for a walkabout can have a bigger impact on your health than a brisk 30-minute walk before work, the Daily Express reported.

Anthony Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which is reaching epidemic proportions in Britain.

He said that short bursts of regular exercise in people with sedentary occupations appears to be at least as good as longer, but less frequent, periods of exercise in improving sugar and fat levels.

Scientists at Otago University in New Zealand found that volunteers who regularly walked for just one minute and 40 seconds had lower blood sugar and insulin levels.

Raised sugar and insulin readings are warning signs that Type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, could be setting in.

But the latest findings show that brief walkabouts could be all that is needed to lower the risks.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

 

India is world’s coronary, diabetic capital, says expert

India has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the world’s capital of coronary heart disease and diabetes, says a wellness expert.

Conducting a fitness workshop for journalists at Mumbai Press Club here, leading wellness expert Namita Jain said that several studies exposed the health hazards faced by stress-ridden Indian society. She was speaking on the occasion of ‘World Diabetes Day’ observed recently.

According to the World Congress of Cardiology, it is estimated that by 2020, heart diseases will be the cause of over 40 per cent deaths in India as compared to 24 per cent in 1990.

“World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that nearly 200 million people all over the world suffer from diabetes and this number is likely to double in the coming years. In India, there are nearly 50 million diabetics,” Jain said.

The enormity can be gauged from a recent report that states many heart patients are below the age of 30.

In a study of 350 heart attack patients conducted by a team of doctors, around 9.5 per cent of cases were below 40 years of age and 3 per cent below 30, she said.

According to the November 2009 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch, as many as 10 per cent of all heart attacks in men occur before the age of 45.

Smoking was invariably a common factor in almost all the young patients. Apart from Smoking, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, stress, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, increasing age, family history are some other factors that increase chances of heart ailments.

Jain also touched upon a common problem experienced by many people – indigestion and acidity. This is due to bad eating and dietary habits, especially when we copy the West in
their eating patterns, whereas we in India have the most complete and wholesome meal – like Thali.

“Digest what you eat, eat slowly, chew well, drink water, and watch what you eat will help in somewhat alienating the problem. Your diet should consist of cereals, fruits / vegetables, proteins and fats”, she added.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Why kids don’t like to eat veggies

A new study has revealed that children tend to dislike vegetables because they may be programmed to avoid plants as part of a survival strategy left over from our days in the wild.

Psychologists at Yale University found that young children didn’t like to pick natural things, like plants, when given an option with plastic or metal objects, News.com.au reported.

According to researchers Dr Annie Wertz and Dr Karen Wynn, this behaviour was programmed into children from birth to avoid them being harmed or poisoned by flowers or plants.

The researchers said that throughout human evolution, plants have been essential to human existence. Yet, for all of these benefits, plants have always posed very real dangers.

Source: News Track India

 

Healthy Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

One of my all-time favorite pies, this one is sweet with spices but not very sugary. Because of the small amount of molasses, this is darker than classic pumpkin pie. Make it with fresh roasted pumpkin, or use canned pumpkin. I am finding small “pie pumpkins” in supermarkets, and they’re perfect for the job.

1 gluten-free dessert pastry shell (or another crust of your choosing), lining a 9-inch pie pan (unbaked)

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups puréed roasted pumpkin (see below) or canned pumpkin

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar or raw light brown sugar

2 tablespoons almond flour

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons drained yogurt (or crème fraiche)

To roast the pumpkin: Use a small pie pumpkin, which is perfect for pumpkin pie. Cut away the stem, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Line a baking sheet with foil, lightly brush the foil with butter and place the pumpkin on top. Cover the sheet pan tightly with foil and place in the oven. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pumpkin is thoroughly soft. Remove from the oven and allow the pumpkin to cool until you can handle it. Cut away the skin (or scrape the pumpkin from the skin) and purée the pumpkin in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or with a hand blender.

1. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Place the rack on the lowest setting. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and brush the pastry lightly with the beaten egg. Place in the oven and prebake 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Combine the pumpkin purée, brown sugar, almond flour, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring with a heat-proof rubber spatula, until the mixture begins to sputter. Turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade or to a bowl if using a hand blender. Add the eggs, milk, and yogurt and blend until thoroughly combined and the mixture is very smooth.

3. Scrape the purée into the pie shell. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean and the pie jiggles when gently shaken. It should not bake until it cracks. Remove from the heat and cool on a rack.

Yield: 1 9-inch pie, serving 10 to 12 (small portions)

Advance preparation: You can make the pie a day ahead. It will taste even better the day after it’s made.

Nutritional information per serving (10 servings): 269 calories; 13 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 89 milligrams cholesterol; 33 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 222 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (12 servings): 224 calories; 11 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 74 milligrams cholesterol; 27 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 185 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein

Source: New York Times

Sandoz recalls wrongly-packed TB drug batch from 5 States

Drug-maker Sandoz has been asked to recall a batch of wrongly-packaged tuberculosis (TB) drugs from the market. The incorrect packaging was first discovered in Mumbai and the recall will cover five States.

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Joint Commissioner S. D. Patil said Sandoz has been asked to recall all 4D and 4D-Plus batches of the tuberculosis combination product after a Mumbai-based doctor complained that his patient suffered from stomach ache and vomiting.

“There has been a mix up in the packaging of two products (4D and 4D-Plus), and so all stocks from the private market, stockists and retailers have been recalled,” said Patil. The products have been made by a third-party manufacturer, Themis Medicare of Haridwar. The State FDA in Uttarakhand has also been alerted, he added.

A Sandoz spokesperson said that while 4D was marketed across India, “according to our records, this particular batch is restricted to the domestic private market in the five States of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.”

Confirming that the third-party drug maker was Themis, the spokesperson added that as investigations were still on, more details were not being shared.

Themis representatives were not willing to comment on the development.

As a precautionary measure, Sandoz is recalling one batch of the product (No DD 4670) pending further investigation. “In addition, we are investigating a potential second fault related to 4D-Plus, also used to treat tuberculosis, and of a higher strength,” the spokesperson said.

RESISTANCE CONCERNS

Though details on the quantum of stocks recalled are not available, the FDA official clarified that the problem did not relate to all stocks. But they were being recalled “as you cannot take a chance with TB drugs”.

India faces a huge problem of resistance to tuberculosis drugs, wherein medicines become ineffective in treating patients. Resistance occurs when patients do not follow a doctor’s advice and discontinue the medicine or take it erratically.

Source: Business Line

 

CDC importing meningitis vaccine to fight Princeton outbreak

Federal health officials have agreed to import a meningitis vaccine approved in Europe and Australia but not the U.S. as officials at Princeton University consider measures to stop the spread of the disease on the Ivy League campus.

The Food and Drug Administration this week approved importing Bexsero for possible use on Princeton’s campus, said Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Princeton officials confirmed the school’s seventh case of meningitis in 2013 this week and a spokesman said trustees will discuss the issue this weekend.

No vaccine for use against the type B meningococcal bacteria which caused the cases at Princeton is available in the U.S., Reynolds said, adding that the decision to receive the vaccine would be optional if Princeton and CDC officials agree to offer it to students.

Bacterial meningitis can cause swelling of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. The disease is fairly rare in the United States. Those who get it develop symptoms quickly and can die in a couple of days. Survivors can suffer mental disabilities, hearing loss and paralysis.

The bacteria are spread by coughing, sneezing and kissing, and most cases occur in previously healthy children and young adults. The disease can easily spread in crowded conditions, like dorm rooms. All students living in dorms are required by state law to have a licensed meningitis vaccine, but it does not protect against type B.

The school is telling students to wash their hands, cover their coughs and not to share items such as drinking glasses and eating utensils.

Source: WGN tv

 

Mini-Kidney’ Structures Generated from Human Stem Cells for First Time

Diseases affecting the kidneys represent a major and unsolved health issue worldwide. The kidneys rarely recover function once they are damaged by disease, highlighting the urgent need for better knowledge of kidney development and physiology.

Now, a team of researchers led by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has developed a novel platform to study kidney diseases, opening new avenues for the future application of regenerative medicine strategies to help restore kidney function.

For the first time, the Salk researchers have generated three-dimensional kidney structures from human stem cells, opening new avenues for studying the development and diseases of the kidneys and to the discovery of new drugs that target human kidney cells. The findings were reported November 17 in Nature Cell Biology.

Scientists had created precursors of kidney cells using stem cells as recently as this past summer, but the Salk team was the first to coax human stem cells into forming three-dimensional cellular structures similar to those found in our kidneys.

“Attempts to differentiate human stem cells into renal cells have had limited success,” says senior study author Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory and holder of the Roger Guillemin Chair. “We have developed a simple and efficient method that allows for the differentiation of human stem cells into well-organized 3D structures of the ureteric bud (UB), which later develops into the collecting duct system.”

The Salk findings demonstrate for the first time that pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) — cells capable of differentiating into the many cells and tissue types that make up the body — can made to develop into cells similar to those found in the ureteric bud, an early developmental structure of the kidneys, and then be further differentiated into three-dimensional structures in organ cultures. UB cells form the early stages of the human urinary and reproductive organs during development and later develop into a conduit for urine drainage from the kidneys. The scientists accomplished this with both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), human cells from the skin that have been reprogrammed into their pluripotent state.

After generating iPSCs that demonstrated pluripotent properties and were able to differentiate into mesoderm, a germ cell layer from which the kidneys develop, the researchers made use of growth factors known to be essential during the natural development of our kidneys for the culturing of both iPSCs and embryonic stem cells. The combination of signals from these growth factors, molecules that guide the differentiation of stem cells into specific tissues, was sufficient to commit the cells toward progenitors that exhibit clear characteristics of renal cells in only four days.

The researchers then guided these cells to further differentiated into organ structures similar to those found in the ureteric bud by culturing them with kidney cells from mice. This demonstrated that the mouse cells were able to provide the appropriate developmental cues to allow human stem cells to form three-dimensional structures of the kidney.

In addition, Izpisua Belmonte’s team tested their protocol on iPSCs from a patient clinically diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic disorder characterized by multiple, fluid-filled cysts that can lead to decreased kidney function and kidney failure. They found that their methodology could produce kidney structures from patient-derived iPSCs.

Because of the many clinical manifestations of the disease, neither gene- nor antibody-based therapies are realistic approaches for treating PKD. The Salk team’s technique might help circumvent this obstacle and provide a reliable platform for pharmaceutical companies and other investigators studying drug-based therapeutics for PKD and other kidney diseases.

“Our differentiation strategies represent the cornerstone of disease modeling and drug discovery studies,” says lead study author Ignacio Sancho-Martinez, a research associate in Izpisua Belmonte’s laboratory. “Our observations will help guide future studies on the precise cellular implications that PKD might play in the context of kidney development.”

Source: Science Daily