Health News: FDA: Illegal drug residue in cows ♦ Vitamin E, improves lung function when exposure to air pollution ♦ Antibody's unusual abilities might inspire vaccine strategies

FDA: Illegal drug residue in cows and sulfites in fish Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published warning letters sent to a dairy and to two seafood processing facilities. Goyenetche Dairy of Buttonwillow, CA, was cited for illegal drug residues in the tissues of a dairy cow sold for slaughter for food.

New way to treat skin conditions: World's first mercury-free film-type ultraviolet light source Scientists have developed the world's first new mercury-free light source that produces ultraviolet radiation for medical applications. It is currently being certified as a medical instrument, and sales are expected to begin in October 2015. This equipment should effectively treat skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, leucoderma, and psoriasis. Because it can deliver high-intensity radiation to only the affected area, it should reduce the treatment time and patients’ stress

Antibody's unusual abilities might inspire vaccine strategies The recent discovery of a novel antibody that works in an unusual way could inspire new vaccine strategies. The antibody appears to have properties that might keep bacteria like disease-causing E. coli from adhering to human cell surfaces and also dislodge those already attached. Among the common pathogens for which researchers are seeking more effective methods to prevent adherence to human cell surfaces are the forms of E. coli that cause urinary tract infections.

Antibody, improves lung function when exposure to air pollution An association between the amount of vitamin E in the body, exposure to particulate pollution and lung function has been uncovered by a new study. The paper adds to growing evidence from previous studies suggesting that some vitamins may play a role in helping to protect the lungs from air pollution

6/17/13 Health News: What does "natural" mean on food labels? ♦ Single Dose of Antibiotic Effective in Quelling MRSA ♦ Ebola Smashes Human Cells ♦ Ultraviolet Cleaning Reduces Superbugs

What does "natural" really mean on food labels?

Many consumers believe that "natural" products are better and healthier than others, but are often confused about what the label actually means. Now Consumer Reports is launching a campaign to ban the term, claiming it confuses and misleads shoppers. In a new survey of 1,000 people by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, nearly 60 percent of people said they … (continue reading)

Single Dose of Antibiotic Found Effective in Quelling MRSA

A single infusion of an antibiotic can clear serious bacterial skin infections — including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA — just as effectively as the 10-day regimen now used to treat patients, researchers reported. Many patients do not finish the complicated treatment for these infections, which requires two infusions of antibiotics daily, often in a hospital. Continue Reading

How Ebola Smashes Into Human Cells

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered how the deadly Ebola virus punches its way into the cytoplasm of cells. The finding identifies an important target for blocking the infection process of this incurable disease that many fear may be used for bioterror. After the virus is engulfed by the cell, it is contained within a vesicle where it can do no harm. But Ebola quickly escapes the vesicle, and now scientists understand how. Continue Reading

Ultraviolet Cleaning Reduces Hospital Superbugs

Healthcare-associated vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (CD), and other multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) were decreased among patients after adding ultraviolet environmental disinfection (UVD) to the cleaning regimen, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control,Continue Reading

1/27/14 Health News: Is Killing Microorganism With UV Light Safe - New Blood Test Pinpoints Cause of Stroke - Antimicrobial Glass - Therapy Repairs Damage from Heart Attack

Does Ultraviolet Mean Ultrasafe?

American consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the safety-enhancing methods used on food and beverage products before their arrival at retail outlets: pasteurization by heat and high-pressure treatment, and irradiation by gamma rays, X-ray or electron beams. But they may not know much about ultraviolet radiation (UV), which is gradually becoming more common as a... Continue Reading

A New Blood Test Could Help Doctors Pinpoint the Cause of a Stroke

Clinical trials are underway for what could be a first-of-its-kind blood test that would help doctors determine what caused a patient to have a stroke. Developed by Cincinnati-based Ischemia Care, the test isolates RNA from whole blood and examines immune responses, with the goal of differentiating where an ischemic stroke originated in a patient’s body. Being able to determine whether the stroke originated in the heart or in the blood vessels could have a huge impact on how patients are treated and on preventing recurrent strokes Continue Reading

Corning Unveils World's First Antimicrobial Cover Glass

Corning Incorporated unveils Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass at the International Consumer Electronics Show.  It is the first EPA-registered antimicrobial cover glass. The glass is formulated with an antibacterial agent, ionic silver, which is incorporated into the glass surface for sustained activity. "Corning's Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass inhibits the growth of algae, mold, mildew, fungi, and bacteria because of its built-in antimicrobial property, which is intrinsic to the glass and effective for the lifetime of a device," Continue Reading

New Therapy Tries to Repair Damage in Heart Attacks

In a heart attack, the initial harm is often compounded by a person's immune system, which rushes "soldiers" to the heart to fight what it thinks are invaders. An immune system overreaction also causes much of the trouble in irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis and West Nile Virus. "The immune system does a significant amount of damage while it's trying to protect us," said immunologist Daniel Getts, a visiting researcher at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Now, Getts and several colleagues have figured out a way to trick the immune system into attacking tiny synthetic particles, instead of the body. Their research, published in Science Translational Medicine, is still in its early days and the technique has been tested only in mice. But if it is shown to work in people, it could transform treatment for a wide variety of ailments.Continue Reading

1/11/14 Health News: Wash Reusable Bags, 33 People Died after Questionable Audit, Hospitals use Ultraviolet Light to Kill Bacteria

Reusable bags redux: wash them

The reusable-shopping-bags-are-full-of-bacteria stories are uh, being recycled, but at least the alarmist nature has subsided. Barrett Newkirk of the Desert Sun writes that while reusable shopping bags can contain bacteria that the risk reduction solution is pretty easy – wash them Continue reading

Listeria lawsuits question food safety audits

Lawsuits filed by victims of a 2011 Listeria outbreak that killed four New Mexicans and severely sickened a fifth raise questions about the effectiveness of food safety inspections required by many retailers.

The New Mexico victims were among 33 people killed nationally by bacterial infections linked to cantaloupes grown at a farm in Colorado, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of food-borne illness in U.S. history.Continue reading

Hospitals Launch Major Infection Control Efforts for Bacteria

Harrington Hospital's newest weapon in the fight against dangerous bacteria is a light-flashing robot. The machine bathes patient rooms in ultraviolet light, the beams penetrating the DNA of bacteria cells and rendering them inactive. It promises to kill germs that disinfectants like bleach leave behind. And when bacteria are left behind, they can grow and enter the bodies of sick patients lying in hospital beds.Continue Reading