Woman awakens after 6 years slips back

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 12:14:12 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A woman who went into a vegetative state more than six years ago awoke this week for three days and spoke with her family and a local television station before slipping back.
"I'm fine," Christa Lilly told her mother on Sunday — her first words in eight months. She has awakened four other times for briefer periods since suffering a heart attack and stroke in November of 2000.

"I think it's wonderful. It makes me so happy," Lilly told television station KKTV-TV. She also got to see youngest daughter, Chelcey, now 12 years old, and three grandchildren.

Before her relapse on Wednesday, Lilly told the station her biggest frustration was learning how to talk again.

After years of being fed from a tube, eating was no problem. "I've been eating cake," she said.

Her neurologist, Dr. Randall Bjork, said he couldn't explain how or why she awoke.

"I'm just not able to explain this on the basis of what we know about persistent vegetative states," he said.

A vegetative state is much like a coma except Lilly's eyes remain open. Bjork said that he's never seen a similar quality of awakening.

Bjork said that unlike the much publicized case of Terri Schiavo, Lilly is minimally conscious. He said she could awake again.

After Lilly relapsed her mother and caregiver Minnie Smith said: "The good Lord let me know she's alright, he brings her back to visit every so often and I'm thankful for that."

House clarifies organ donation law

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:43:56 GMT
By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The House Wednesday approved by a 422-0 vote legislation named for the late Georgia Rep. Charlie Norwood, that organ donor groups say could lead to many more kidney transplants each year. The "Charlie W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act," which the Senate is expected to adopt soon, would specify that "paired" kidney donations don't violate laws against trading organs for compensation.
Paired donations allow a patient with a willing but biologically incompatible donor — such as a friend or family member — to match up with a similarly incompatible pair so both patients can get transplants.

Such pairings already happen occasionally. But because questions remain about their legality, some hospitals refuse to participate and there is no formal matchmaking system to expand their use nationally.

Norwood, a Republican dentist from Augusta, was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease in 1998 and sat on a waiting list before getting a transplant in 2004. He later developed cancer and died last month at age 65.

He introduced the bill in January with Seattle-area Democrat Jay Inslee . Along with its health benefits, sponsors touted congressional budget estimates that the legislation would save nearly $500 million in Medicare costs over 10 years as transplant recipients no longer need dialysis.

"This is a fitting tribute to Charlie's tireless efforts to improve our nation's health care system and his legacy as a patient advocate," Inslee said.

Kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs.

Through the first 11 months of 2006, there were 15,721 such transplants from living and deceased donors, according to United Network for Organ Sharing . But there are more than 70,000 people waiting for kidney donations.

A recent study found that kidney transplants from living donors could increase by 14 percent — possibly more than 1,000 per year — with an improved pairing system.

____

On the Net: http://www.unos.org/

Doctor resigns over questionable stents

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:27:50 GMT
By RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press Writer
DOVER, Del. - A cardiologist has resigned his staff privileges at an Eastern Shore hospital as officials continue to investigate whether he performed unnecessary stent procedures, officials said Wednesday. Dr. John R. McLean resigned his privileges at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md. last Friday, citing visual impairment as a disability, hospital officials said.
McLean resigned after a hospital review found that at least 25 of his patients received arterial stents last year despite not meeting the generally accepted medical criteria for such procedures.

Stents are tiny mesh-wire tubes that prop open clogged arteries after they have been cleared of fatty deposits.

Dr. Tom Lawrence, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer for PRMC, said American College of Cardiology guidelines generally call for stents when arterial blockages reach 70 percent.

Among the 25 patients in question, arterial blockages ranged from about 35 to 60 percent, Lawrence said.

"We certainly didn't have any patients with perfectly normal arteries," he said.

Lawrence said he has contacted 24 of the 25 patients, and that to his knowledge, none has experienced any medical complications.

"Everybody seems to be doing fine," he said, adding that the patients, most of them men ranging in age from their early 50s to late 70s, have had routine follow-ups and are taking blood thinning medication that keeps the stents working properly.

McLean did not immediately return a telephone message left Wednesday with an administrator at his Salisbury office.

Lawrence said officials are still reviewing procedures done by McLean in 2006. Based on their findings, the investigation may expand to other years as well, he said.

Hospital officials first learned of the questionable procedures in early September as the result an internal quality assurance review, Lawrence said.

PRMC then sought an opinion from an outside consulting firm, but not before requiring McLean in October to get approval from another doctor before performing stent procedures.

After Lawrence reviewed the consultant's findings with McLean in November, McLean suggested that a recently diagnosed eye problem may have caused him to misread patients' diagnostic images.

"Once he made us aware of that, we convinced him to resign his cath lab privileges," said Lawrence, who refused to provide details about McLean's vision problem. "As he learned of the significant nature of the eye problem he decided to resign his hospital privileges altogether. That was his decision, and that was certainly entirely and strongly supported by the medical center."

In response to the McLean situation, PRMC has reviewed more than 100 cases of other cardiologists, Lawrence said.

"Their work looks absolutely perfect," he said, adding that the hospital also plans to conduct more internal audits of the catherization lab, as well as unannounced external audits, to ensure the quality of patient care.

Lawrence defended the hospital's decision not to notify patients of the questionable procedures until this week, even though officials knew as early as September that there might be a problem.

"Early on we simply knew that something isn't right here, we need to investigate it further, and when we're talking about the investigation of a physician, that's a peer review situation that's held in a confidential setting," he said.
Hospital officials said PRMC will adjust any fees it might have received for unnecessary procedures.
Lawrence said PRMC has notified the Maryland Board of Physicians, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the National Practitioner Databank,and the Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, about McLean.
Charlene Hill, a spokeswoman for the commission, said the agency's office of quality monitoring had not received a report from PRMC.
Wendy Kronmiller, director of the DHMH Office of Health Care Quality, said the office received a courtesy call from PRMC and a copy of a press release it issued.
"We will be following up over the next days or weeks," Kronmiller said, commending PRMC for bringing the matter to the department's attention.
Margaret Anzalone, deputy director of the Board of Physicians, would neither confirm nor deny that the board had been contacted by PRMC. She said McLean's license is current, and that no charges are pending against him.
According to the board's Web site, McLean has not been the subject of any disciplinary actions or malpractice judgments within the past 10 years.

LA food workers may get hepatitis shots

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:43:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES - Thousands of food service workers in eateries across Los Angeles might be vaccinated for hepatitis A because of a series of outbreaks of the disease.
Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to look into the costs and benefits of requiring vaccination of more than 100,000 workers at 25,000 eateries, 300 catering companies and 270 wholesale producers.

"We need to ensure that those who are involved in the handling of food are safe and healthy," County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said. "The public is vulnerable."

The vaccinations cost about $200 per person. Other cities already require the shot, including Las Vegas and St. Louis.

Last month, a cook at the Wolfgang Puck catering company was diagnosed with hepatitis A. Health officials issued warnings to 3,500 people who attended more than a dozen events catered by the company, including a Sports Illustrated bash celebrating the magazine's swimsuit issue.

That was among roughly 800 cases of hepatitis A in the city in the past two years.

Atkins beats other diet plans in study

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:44:07 GMT
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO - The low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet gets high marks in one of the biggest, longest head-to-head studies of popular weight-loss plans, beating the Zone, the Ornish diet and even U.S. guidelines. Even so, critics say the results show how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off.
Overweight women on the Atkins plan lost more weight over a year than those on the low-carb Zone diet. And they had slightly better blood pressure and cholesterol readings than those on the Zone; the very low-fat, high-carb Ornish diet, and a low-fat, high-carb diet similar to U.S. government guidelines.

Stanford University researcher Christopher Gardner, the lead author, said the study shows that Atkins may be more healthful than critics contend.

But the study isn't a fair comparison because by the end, few women were following any of the diets very strictly, critics argue, although those in the Atkins group came the closest.

The study "had a good concept and incredibly pathetic execution," said Zone diet creator Barry Sears.

"It's a lot easier to follow a diet that tells you to eat bacon and brie than to eat predominantly fruits and vegetables," said Dr. Dean Ornish, creator of the Ornish diet.

Atkins followers lost about 10 pounds on average at 12 months, versus 3.5 pounds for the Zone dieters.

Women on the Ornish diet lost almost 5 pounds on average and those on the national guidelines plan lost almost 6 pounds. Scientifically, those 12-month results weren't different enough from the Atkins weight loss to rule out the possibility the differences occurred by chance.

The dieters lost the most weight early on, including an average of 13 pounds for the Atkins group at six months — nearly double the closest competitor, the national guidelines diet. After that, most began regaining weight, a trend most noticeable in the Atkins women.

With an average starting weight of about 189 pounds, even losing 13 pounds meant many women remained overweight.

"There's not a ton of weight loss here," Gardner acknowledged. Atkins "isn't the solution for the obesity problem," he said.

The study involved 311 women about 40 years old on average and was designed to measure the effectiveness of using a diet book to lose weight. Women were randomly assigned to read one of four diet books. They attended weekly classes for eight weeks where diet questions were addressed, but then were mostly on their own for the next 10 months.

At the end, Atkins women had slightly higher levels of HDL cholesterol, the good kind, and slightly lower blood pressure than those on the other three diets. Gardner said differences in weight loss likely contributed to those results.

Ornish and other naysayers argued that the study doesn't answer a big question about the Atkins diet — whether consistently eating all that fatty food long-term leads to health problems.

The study appears in Wednesday's http://jama.ama-assn.org

UKOdd Summary

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 14:01:35 GMT

Aristocrat offers dog as best man at gay weddings
LONDON - An eccentric aristocrat is offering his rich and famous dog Jasper -- who "is a bit gay" -- to act as "best man" at same-sex weddings at his country estate. "He is the perfect best man," Sir Benjamin Slade said of his cross-bred canine. "He will not be making any embarrassing speeches, he hoovers up all the leftover food and he is castrated."
Man bashes wife's Women's Day gift in red tape rage

BELGRADE - A Serb man was so enraged at the bureaucracy blocking the import of a car he wanted to give his wife as a Women's Day present, he went to the customs depot and smashed it up with a metal bar. Sasa Djunisijevic bought the Aixam 500, a microcar that may be driven with a motorcycle licence, last year. He wanted to give it to his wife on Thursday, but officials were still debating whether it was a car or a bike and had blocked the import.

Fans fork out to chat with Jackson in Japan

TOKYO - Excited fans got the chance to meet Michael Jackson in Tokyo on Thursday -- but only those who could afford to pay 400,000 yen for the privilege. Fans of the "King of Pop" screamed as he arrived by van at the venue in the Japanese capital for the event, at which he had promised to chat and take pictures with up to 300 guests, but not to sing or dance.

Legless panda needs a hand to improve sex life

BEIJING - An animal research centre in northern China has appealed to the world for help to fashion an artificial leg for a panda that lost a limb -- along with its sex life -- in a fight, local media reported on Thursday. In December, a resident of Dajiangou village in Shaanxi province stumbled upon a group of pandas fighting, the Beijing News said.

Missing words on new $1 coins mystify U.S. Mint

WASHINGTON - In God We Trust. In machines? Not so much. An unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington are missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges, the U.S. Mint said on Wednesday.

Obese Mexican outside for first time in five years

MONTERREY, Mexico - A Mexican man who once weighed half a tonne left his house for the first time in five years on Wednesday after losing 440 pounds through diet and exercise. A crane lifted Manuel Uribe, 40, off the sidewalk and onto a lorry after friends and family heaved him from the house still sitting on his bed.

Name card promises dazzling impression

TOKYO - If you want to shine in a first meeting, a Japanese firm may have the answer -- a name card made of gold. Mitsubishi Materials is selling gold business cards of 99.99 percent purity. Each card costs 10,000 yen .

These wives aren't desperate, they're "toxic"

LONDON - They are flirtatious, love to target older men, are weighed down with designer accessories and within minutes of meeting a man want to know his bank balance. Watch out! Toxic Wife Syndrome is rampant and droves of gold diggers are prowling in search of rich prey to join the tribe.

Granny fumes at cannabis conviction

LONDON - A grandmother found guilty of growing and possessing cannabis on Wednesday vowed to keep using it in her cooking as a painkiller. Patricia Tabram, 68, who lives near Hexham, was sentenced to 250 hours community service and ordered to pay 1,000 pounds of costs at Carlisle Crown Court.

Muslims grumble at Canada football hijab ban
TORONTO - Canadian Muslims may launch a human rights complaint against football's governing body after a Quebec referee ordered an 11-year-old girl to quit a tournament for refusing to remove her hijab. The Canadian Council on American-Islam Relations said the Federation Internationale de Football Association was sending a mixed message on its rules, given that its own Web site includes pictures of women wearing the hijab, a scarf that covers the head and neck.

Exercise slows decline in Alzheimers patients

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:26:58 GMT

NEW YORK - Nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease who participate in a moderate exercise program have a significantly slower deterioration than those who receive routine medical care, researchers have shown.
Dr. Yves Rolland, of Hospital La Grave-Casselardit in Toulouse, France, and colleagues examined the effects of a program of exercise for one hour twice weekly on activities of daily living, physical performance, nutritional status, behavioral disturbance and depression among 134 Alzheimer's disease patients in nursing homes.

The patients were 83 years old on average. They were assigned to the exercise program, which focused on walking, strength, balance and flexibility training, or to routine medical care for 12 months.

As reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 110 participants completed the study. Among the 56 subjects in the exercise group who completed the study, the rate of adherence to the program was about 33 percent on average.

At the end of the 12 months, the average activities-of-daily-living score was significantly more improved in the exercise group than in the routine medical care group, Rolland's team reports.

In addition, average walking speed improved significantly more in the exercise group than in the routine medical care group at 6 months and 12 months.

However, the exercise program had no apparent effect on behavioral disturbance, depression or nutritional assessment scores.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, February 2007.

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