Headlines: April 19, 2010
by Meg larkin
Months after the passage of the health reform bill, doctors are having to answer questions about the new law. Many patients are uneasy about the health reform bill, and are looking to their doctors for reassurance. However, many doctors are unclear about the law’s provisions and what impact, if any, it will have on their patients. Concerns over the health care law have largely affected doctors in states where the bill was unpopular. The New York Times reported that, “The questions do not always reflect the actual provisions of the law. The major changes for this year, including coverage on their parents’ policies for adult children under age 26, rarely come up, said Dr. Melissa Gerdes, a family practitioner in Whitehouse, Tex.”
In regulatory news, new flavored tobacco pellets are being criticized as an attempt to appeal to young people. New products like Camel Orbs, are shaped and packaged like breath mints and deliver a quick dose of tobacco and nicotine to the user. The smoke-free tobacco products are part of an industry-wide trend driven in part by clean air laws and smoking bans. Some public health researchers have criticized the pellets because they are packaged like mints and can be used by young people anywhere without attracting the notice of adults. Additionally, some researchers were concerned that the tobacco pellets were a poison hazard for young children. A study to be published Monday in the journal Pediatrics addresses this issue. According to the New York Times, “The study, to be released Monday on the journal’s Web site, found that Camel Orbs had an extremely high level of absorbable nicotine because of the alkalinity of the product. An Orb sampled by this reporter had a very minty taste and seemed to deliver a jolt of nicotine. The study also found 13,705 reports to the nation’s poison control centers of ingestion of tobacco products of all sorts by children under age 6 from 2006 through 2008, of which 1,768 were from smokeless products.”
In research news, exercise in the ICU has been linked to better patient outcomes. A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that ICU patients who engaged in moderate exercise used sedatives half as often, had fewer episodes of delirium and a shorter length of stay in the ICU and in the hospital. The study, while promising, has yet to be replicated in another hospital where other factors are controlled for.
Finally, diet may be linked to a lower Alzheimer’s risk in older people. A new study has found that if older people have diets rich in nuts, fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry, and avoid saturated fats, and red meat they may have a lower chance of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The study does not prove a cause and effect relationship between diet and Alzheimer’s disease, but it does indicate certain risk factors that can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Meg Larkin is a second year law student at Boston University. Please feel free to email her with any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns.
