This year has started badly for C-S-X, a Jacksonville-based railway. It's trains have been involved in four accidents. Three are being investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration's main office. An 80-car freight train had come off the track, sending 12 cars filled with hazardous chemicals into front yards in this residential neighborhood in Bullitt County, Kentucky, about half an hour south of Louisville. That crash followed an accident in central Kentucky the day before in which four cars slipped onto the mainline, running for miles before hitting locomotives that the company had put out to stop them. That crash released some 30-thousand gallons of flammable butyl acetate. The fuel floating on the Kentucky River caught fire. On February Sixth there was a crash in West Virginia in which 18 cars, 10 of which were carrying hazardous chemicals, derailed in West Virginia. No chemicals spilled.

The one accident being investigated by C-S-X and not the Federal Railroad Administration is one of January Fourth. A C-S-X car carrying 28-thousand gallons of methanol caught fire in the rail yard in Selkirk, New York.

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Charles Stafford is a self-acknowledged peanut butter addict, a "serious" eater of the Peter Pan brand in particular, who grew up in a poor home where "if you didn't like peanut butter, you starved." But Stafford's lifelong love of the spread was tested recently when he became infected with salmonella during a nationwide outbreak linked to the Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter, he said. Stafford bought the contaminated Peter Pan in January, ate the peanut butter every day and soon became ill, experiencing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, the lawsuit said. His physician diagnosed him with a likely case of salmonella poisoning, according to the suit. He missed several days of work. As of Wednesday, 329 people infected with the outbreak strain had been reported to the CDC. They reside in 41 states. No deaths have been attributed to the infection.

Stafford has since sued the products' manufacturer, Nebraska-based ConAgra Foods Inc., seeking class-action status on behalf of all Florida residents who bought jars from the contaminated batches. Stafford is seeking unspecified monetary damages, but he said it's not about the money. "What made me mad about it was the amount of time it took them to acknowledge what this was," said Stafford. "I felt that something more should have been done about it." Stafford's lawsuit, filed by the Broward County-based law firm Wites & Kapetan, claims that ConAgra failed to provide adequate notice of the recall to Florida consumers and failed to fully compensate affected residents for damage caused by the contaminated peanut butter. The company's conduct in selling the affected peanut butter was "reckless and wanton" with "such reckless disregard of human life or rights" that it was equivalent to an intentional act, the suit said.

The link to tainted peanut butter was revealed Feb. 14 when ConAgra and the Food and Drug Administration announced a product recall. On Feb. 15, Stafford learned of the contamination and stopped eating Peter Pan. His symptoms subsided, but he says he still doesn't feel normal. On February 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention correlated the batches of peanut butter with confirmed cases of the salmonella strain. It was the first laboratory evidence confirming that the recalled peanut butter is the source of the salmonella, health officials said. Investigators have not determined how the product became contaminated. Health officials said four salmonella cases in Florida have been linked to the national outbreak. Stafford's case is not among them. He said he has not spoken with any health officials.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The US Department of Veteran affairs has been a long recognized leader in treating brain injuries in the past, but recently the VA has been faced with a great deal of criticism. The Washington Post released a 2-part series revealing the poor conditions of Walter Reed, and Bob Woodrow released a book and a documentary criticizing the medical care received by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Amid this sea of criticism, the Department of Veteran Affairs announced that all Iraq and Afghanistan vets who seek medical care will now be screened for traumatic brain injuries (TBI's). The VA made the announcement yesterday and say the mandatory checks will begin this spring.

All 155 veteran medical centers in the US will participate, and all VA health care providers will be receiving mandatory training on how to diagnose brain injuries. The mandatory training is extremely important because signs of TBI are often overlooked and patients can go months before the symptoms worsen and they are finally diagnosed. In addition to mandatory training, the VA is creating a panel of outside experts. The VA hopes to use the panel to review their current practices in detecting and treating TBI's to better serve veterans of war.

The VA's announcement on Tuesday may not be a direct reaction to the criticism but it is a long-awaited response to the Iraq War's signature wound. TBI's have been coined the signature wound of the war as more and more explosives and roadside bombs are used. Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said the VA is adapting to the changing times. VA is a nationally recognized leader in health care, and our system is dynamic. We are constantly striving to improve the care we provide to our veterans, Nicholson said.

Although the VA is taking this important step toward improving medical care for vets, many are still skeptical. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a Veterans Affairs Committee member, said, My real worry is that this administration continues to be slow to react to these problems and rarely, if ever, takes proactive measures to stop the many problems before they even begin. From sending our troops to war without the critical armor they need to protect themselves, to housing them in squalor at Walter Reed . . . to leaving them to fend for themselves when they need mental health care, this administration is utterly failing our service members, our veterans, and all of their families.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The state Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether hundreds of doctors are immune from negligence suits in the care they provide at Virginia's three teaching hospitals. At issue is the largely abandoned, decades-old protection of charitable immunity, remnants of which are being used by tax-exempt foundations and the doctors they employ to plead immunity from malpractice suits. Lower courts across the state have issued opposite opinions on the defense. In a rare effort to settle the conflict before trial, lawyers representing physicians employed by the University of Virginia Health Services Foundation and lawyers for two former patients, one who died in the hospital and another who was permanently injured, have asked the state's highest court to intervene. The court is expected to decide whether to hear the case this spring.

The two cases before the high court have far-reaching implications for medical care and malpractice issues at the state's three teaching hospitals, where more than 1,100 physicians are employed by legally separate but service-related, tax-exempt organizations. The charitable-immunity defense has been used successfully by doctors at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk and with mixed results at the University of Virginia Health System. Doctors affiliated with the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond have not used the defense. If the hospital-related foundations and doctors are determined to have charitable immunity under Virginia law, injured patients may be barred from bringing malpractice suits against the foundations and their individual doctors. Without immunity, doctors and state hospitals could have a harder time absorbing the rising costs of indigent care and the steeply rising costs of malpractice insurance.

In papers filed this week, plaintiff lawyers in two Charlottesville negligence cases claim that high salaries and bonuses paid to doctors and limited losses suffered from nonpaying patients destroy the notion that the U.Va. foundation operates as a charitable organization. "The public should be offended that well-paid physicians treating mainly paying and insured patients are claiming entitlement to charitable immunity because they make a nominal contribution to the poor," argue Matthew B. Murray and Gerald Walsh, lawyers for a Waynesboro family. Murray and Walsh represent 5-year-old Hunter Morris, who was permanently injured when physicians at the hospital failed to respond to his deteriorating condition before birth, according to the family's lawsuit. A second case before the court involves the death of an Albemarle County girl, Cara Leigh Searcy, 4, who died six years ago at the University of Virginia Health Center during a kidney operation. Both cases are in limbo, awaiting the Supreme Court decision on the immunity issue. A circuit court decision last year denied defense pleas of charitable immunity in both cases.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Everyone has experienced boredom at least once every day of their lives. Whether it be while stuck in traffic on the way home or listening to a talkative neighbor yammer away about pulling weeds. This feeling of boredom usually passes quickly as your brain moves on to the next task at hand. Although most bouts of boredom are quick and fleeting, chronic boredom can be a sign of worse things to come.

An article published in Scientific American reveals that people that are easily and chronically bored are at a higher risk for psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, compulsive gambling, bad grades, and low work performance. Boredom and its negative effects are now known but scientists have yet to discover exactly why boredom is linked to such destructive behaviors.

A study conducted by neuroscientist James Danckert of the University of Waterloo has uncovered clues to the underlying causes to boredom. Danckert studied patients who suffered from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI patients were observed because brain injury victims often exhibit risky behaviors that are out of character after a brain injury event. Danckert's theory suggests that the massive amounts of endorphins and pain medications that are needed during the TBI recovery period raise an individual's threshold for psychological pleasure and reward. "Anything that used to give you pleasure now has to be ramped up in order to succeed," says Danckert.

In order to further support his theory Danckert plans to develop a tool that can measure levels of boredom.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ConaAgra said the recall of tainted peanut butter made at a Georgia plant will cost between $50 and $60 million. Federal officials linked the peanut butter made in Sylvester to a salmonella outbreak. The salmonella has affected over 300 people nationwide including 14 reported in Georgia, since August. No deaths have been reported. Three people have already filed lawsuits claiming the peanut butter made them sick.

A Seattle attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of people who reported getting sick after eating contaminated peanut butter. It's one of at least three lawsuits filed against ConAgra Foods, which is recalling all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Georgia, plant. The Seattle firm Marler Clark says it has been contacted by 2,500 people. Attorney William Marler says the lawsuit seeks compensation for people who got sick, but were not hospitalized. Marler says the more serious cases will be handled separately.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a verdict that may go down as the largest medical malpractice award in Lee County history, Lee Memorial Hospital on Friday was ordered to pay more than $30 million to a former Cape Coral couple whose son endured a lifelong crippling brain injury because of the hospital's negligence. The family had filed a lawsuit in 1999 in which it said the hospital ignored its own policies during Aaron Edwards' birth. Edwards is now 9 and can do little on his own said the family's attorney Jack Hill. Hill said a labor nurse ignored warning signs in Edwards' mother, Mitzi Roden, who was experiencing strong, long contractions that led to a decrease in the blood flow to Aaron's brain. He said the nurse also ignored the hospital's policies for births regarding protection of the patient while administering Pitocin, a medication that induces and speeds up labor. Per hospital policy, nurses are supposed to recognize three factors in which a patient should be taken off Pitocin and two were present in Mitzi Roden, Hill said.

"They should have turned the Pitocin off," he said. Hill says the hospital's defense was that the hospital's rules are mainly suggestions and that brain injuries are unforeseeable. "Brain injuries happen," he said. "In this case, it was clearly avoidable."

Lee Memorial attorney Doug Lumpkin said the circumstances leading to the brain injury were unexpected. In his statement, he said a "bradycardic event" required the emergency C-section that resulted in the physical injuries. "We continue to support our doctors, midwives and nurses, not only in this case but for the valuable service they provide daily to our community." Counsel for Lee Memorial said an appeal would be filed. "We believe that the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming evidence presented and that the care provided was appropriate and did not cause this unfortunate injury," said Lumpkin "We will pursue all post trial remedies available to us, including an appeal."

Since the judgment is against a corporation that is a special taxing district, it must be approved by the Legislature during the session that begins in March, according to a release from the plaintiff's attorneys. Fort Myers malpractice attorney Jeff Garvin said Lee Memorial's nonprofit status also could result in a cap on the malpractice award unless the Legislature passes a special act and the governor signs the matter into law.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 07:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From chilling accounts of the roadside attack in Iraq that nearly took his life to a shocking investigation into the plight of military families dealing with injuries to their loved ones, Bob Woodruff returns to ABC News Tuesday night Feb. 27 with a hard-hitting look at the human cost of war.

Thirteen months after suffering a traumatic brain injury when a roadside bomb struck his Iraqi army transport vehicle in Taji, Iraq, the ABC News anchor is back reporting, with the hour long documentary "To Iraq and Back," airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET. Amid highly personal stories of tragedy and triumph, Woodruff delves into the crisis of care faced by so many injured soldiers and their families, uncovering important new information about veterans suffering from brain injuries and the care the U.S. government provides. Woodruff meets soldiers who, after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, must fight bureaucratic red tape before receiving the treatment they need, and others who may not even know they're injured, as traumatic brain injury can go unrecognized.

While everyone with symptoms of a brain injury may not need extensive treatment, Woodruff learns that the Department of Defense is not screening all returning soldiers, despite recommendations from the Defense Department's own Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center. Woodruff says that he and others at ABC News will continue to report on this story because "the human cost of war is sometimes overlooked," and injured veterans "need support that matches their sacrifice."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Product testing by several states has now confirmed that Peter Pan peanut butter and certain Great Value brand peanut butter are the sources of the foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee that began in August 2006. To date 329 individuals have become ill from consuming the contaminated peanut butter, and 51 of those persons were hospitalized. The outbreak is ongoing. All products containing Peter Pan brand peanut butter and all jars of Great Value brand peanut butter bearing a product code that begins "2111" are potentially contaminated. Potentially contaminated products include 3/4 ounce and 1.1 ounce single serving packs of Peter Pan brand peanut butter. All of these products contain peanut butter that was manufactured in ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia plant. Retailers and institutions possessing the products described should not serve or sell them. Any consumer possessing any of these products should discard them.

Symptoms of foodborne illness caused by salmonella include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections. Individuals who have recently eaten any products containing Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value brand peanut butter from a jar bearing a product code beginning 2111 and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately and report the illnesses to their state or local health authorities. Similarly, institutional food establishments and other food service providers who have received reports of illness from consumers after they consumed one of these products are encouraged to share that information with their local health department.

ConAgra has recalled these products from stores and ceased production in their Sylvester, Georgia processing plant until the exact cause of contamination can be identified and eliminated. FDA is continuing to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and with states and local officials to identify how the contamination occurred in order to prevent similar foodborne illness outbreaks.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A father who says he and his son became violently ill after eating tainted Peter Pan peanut butter filed suit in Miami on Wednesday against the manufacturers and Publix, which sold him the product. Lazaro Aleman, of Cutler Bay, Fla., said the jar of peanut butter he bought was part of a batch of Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter made by Nebraska-based ConAgra Foods at a Sylvester, Ga. plant. Last week, ConAgra voluntarily recalled those jars, with product code 2111 on the lid, after federal officials linked the peanut butter to a salmonella outbreak that sickened almost 300 people. Salmonella is a bacterial infection that causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. The lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court is at least the fourth since the recall. Aleman's attorney, John H. Ruiz, said he will ask a judge to grant class action status to include people who bought and ate the peanut butter, whether they became sick or not. Ruiz said more than 100 people from around the state, including Broward and Palm Beach counties have contacted him and might become part of the suit.

"I would not wish this situation on my worst enemy," Aleman said. "My son suffered a great deal." Aleman, 32, said his son, Matthew, 5, became sick in late January with vomiting, bloody diarrhea and hives. According to Aleman, one doctor said his son's illness was not serious, but a second doctor believed the boy was suffering from a serious allergic reaction and asked Aleman to refrain from giving Matthew peanuts until doctors could determine if that was true. "It saved his life, in essence, because it kept me away from giving him any kind of peanuts," Aleman said. Matthew improved, but Aleman said he ate a large spoonful of the peanut butter late last week and became sick the next day with some symptoms similar to his son's. Aleman later discovered the peanut butter in his house had been recalled, he said. Doctors have not yet diagnosed Aleman or his son with salmonella poisoning.

Ruiz said U.S. Food and Drug Administration and private experts will analyze the contents of the jar of peanut butter in the Aleman home and a doctor will examine Aleman Thursday. ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said Wednesday the company had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. "However, the potential that anyone could have been made ill by our product is very concerning to us and that's why we continue to work closely with the FDA on its investigation of this matter," she said. A Publix spokeswoman said the company was unaware of the lawsuit.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How are the cognitive and communication problems assessed?

The assessment of cognitive and communication problems is a continual, ongoing process that involves a number of professionals. Immediately following the injury, a neurologist or another physician may conduct an informal, bedside evaluation of attention, memory, and the ability to understand and speak. Once the person's physical condition has stabilized, a speech-language pathologist may evaluate cognitive and communication skills. A neuropsychologist may evaluate other cognitive and behavioral abilities. Occupational therapists also assess cognitive skills related to the individual's ability to perform "activities of daily living" (ADL) such as dressing or preparing meals. An audiologist should assess hearing. All assessments continue at frequent intervals during the rehabilitative process so that progress can be documented and treatment plans updated. The rehabilitative process may last for several months to a year.

What research is being done for the cognitive and communication problems caused by traumatic brain injury?

Researchers are studying many issues related to the special cognitive and communication problems experienced by individuals who have traumatic brain injuries. Scientists are designing new evaluation tools to assess the special problems that children who have suffered traumatic brain injuries encounter. Because the brain of a child is vastly different from the brain of an adult, scientists are also examining the effects of various treatment methods that have been developed specifically for children. These new strategies include the use of computer programs. In addition, research is examining the effects of some medications on the recovery of speech, language, and cognitive abilities following traumatic brain injury.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The sleep aid Ambien has been blamed for numerous instances of unconscious, zombie-like behavior, including a congressman's car crash on Capitol Hill. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, said he took Ambien and an anti-nausea drug before swerving his Ford Mustang convertible into a barrier in May. Kennedy, who later underwent treatment for addiction, said he did not remember "getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions." In recent years, news reports have recounted incidents in which Ambien users walked, cooked, ate and drove in their sleep, and a class-action lawsuit filed last year alleged the drug was responsible for a Texas woman's arrest after she drove into two vehicles and left the scene. Wisconsin police said Ambien was found in 187 drivers arrested between 1999 and 2004, and it was linked to 99 traffic accidents reported to the Food and Drug Administration between 1998 and 2005, according to a university professor's analysis. A June 2005 article in the medical journal Sleep reported that an Ambien user ate almost an entire tub of margarine in her sleep. Two other Ambien users started small fires while cooking in their sleep, the article said.

Ambien, the commercial name for zolpidem tartrate, belongs to a class of drugs called "sedative/hypnotics." It is a fast-acting medicine used mainly for short-term treatment for people who have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early. The drug was first marketed in 1993, but sales soared in recent years after advertising that included a commercial saying it "works like a dream." The U.S. Air Force dispenses Ambien as "no go" pills to help pilots sleep before or after missions, according to published reports. The drug's manufacturer, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, says Ambien is safe when used according to directions, which include taking it only before a full night's sleep and a prohibition on drinking alcohol. The most common side effects include drowsiness, dizziness and light-headedness, but Ambien's product information also warns of uncommon side effects that include agitation, hallucinations, worsening of depression and suicidal thoughts. "How often these effects occur depends on several factors, such as a person's general health, the use of other medicines, and which sleep medicines are being used," the information warns.

Posted by Peter W. Burg at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The makers of drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, and other drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were advised by the government Wednesday to give patients and their parents additional warnings that those medications could cause serious psychiatric and heart problems, as well as sudden death. Patients would receive a two-page "Medication Guide" every time their prescriptions were filled. The guide would warn about potential side effects such as chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, or hallucinations, and would urge patients to contact their doctors if they have these or any other symptoms of heart or psychiatric problems.

Dr. Thomas Laughren of the FDA says that the new warnings are "precautionary" and should not frighten patients away from taking the drugs. Still, more than 2,500 children who took ADHD drugs went to emergency rooms in 2004, and about one-fourth of them had heart or blood pressure problems. According to FDA reports, twenty-five deaths were linked to the drugs, 19 of which involved children. Fifty-four strokes, heart attacks and other heart issues were also reported; some of those patients had previous heart problems.

Dr. Richard Gorman, a pediatrician who served on an FDA advisory panel, said that parents must pay close attention to their children's reactions to the drugs, because children might take them for years.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Steroid medications commonly used to reduce inflammation caused by traumatic head injuries may actually boost the risk of death a new report suggests. British researchers evaluated the results of more than 10,000 patients with brain injury. They found that those treated with corticosteroids after traumatic head injury were more likely to die from the injury than those who did not take the drugs. Corticosteroids are hormones used to treat inflammation, whether it results from asthma or joint injury or other conditions.

Among those who received steroid treatment, 21 percent or 1,052 of the 4,985 patients treated died, the authors reported, compared to 18 percent who received a placebo. "There is a 3 percent absolute increase in the risk of death such that 21 percent of patients die with steroids and 18 percent die without," said lead researcher Dr. Ian Roberts, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Roberts and his colleagues looked at 17 studies on steroid use. They noted that corticosteroid use is widespread after serious brain injury. The report appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Roberts said the study would inevitably change the way physicians think about and treat head injury.

While it's not certain why corticosteroids may boost death risk, some experts have suggested the drugs may somehow interfere with the function of the adrenal glands. They are located on top of the kidneys and produce hormones such as cortisone, cortisol and adrenalin. Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the emergency center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, called the new study "an eye-opener." At his institution, he said, "we use very little" corticosteroids for head injury patients. And, he noted, when they are used, the corticosteroids are given in small doses, a fraction of what was used in some of the studies reviewed. "I question the use of mega-doses," Ghurabi said.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How are the cognitive and communication problems treated?

The cognitive and communication problems of traumatic brain injury are best treated early, often beginning while the individual is still in the hospital. This early therapy will frequently center on increasing skills of alertness and attention. They will focus on improving orientation to person, place, time, and situation, and stimulating speech understanding. The therapist will provide oral-motor exercises in cases where the individual has speech and swallowing problems.

Longer term rehabilitation may be performed individually, in groups, or both, depending upon the needs of the individual. This therapy often occurs in a rehabilitation facility designed specifically for the treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injury. This type of setting allows for intensive therapy by speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and neuro-psychologists at a time when the individual can best benefit from such intensive therapy. Other individuals may receive therapy at home by visiting therapists or on an outpatient basis at a hospital, medical center, or rehabilitation facility.

The goal of rehabilitation is to help the individual progress to the most independent level of functioning possible. For some, ability to express needs verbally in simple terms may be a goal. For others, the goal may be to express needs by pointing to pictures. For still others, the goal of therapy may be to improve the ability to define words or describe consequences of actions or events. Therapy will focus on regaining lost skills as well as learning ways to compensate for abilities that have been permanently changed because of the brain injury. Most individuals respond best to programs tailored to their backgrounds and interests. The most effective therapy programs involve family members who can best provide this information. Computer-assisted programs have been successful with some individuals.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

US Health officials have confirmed the presence of salmonella bacteria in jars of peanut butter that were involved in a nationwide recall last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the count of those sickened has risen to 329 in 41 states. The CDC reported that 51 of the 249 patients for whom clinical information is available have been hospitalized and that there have been no deaths. The FDA is warning consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter or Wal-Mart house brand Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111 purchased since May 2006. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The first class-action lawsuit against peanut butter maker ConAgra was filed by Orlando-based lawyers February 22, after floods of people reported getting sick from the tainted products and two deaths may be linked to eating the food. Lawyers with Morgan and Morgan out of Orlando filed the 12-page document in response to a flood of phone calls from peanut butter eaters. It could be legal relief for what could be at least 1,000 people in Florida who may have at one point since last summer fallen sick from Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter. Attorneys said they are looking at two deaths possible linked to the peanut butter. "In one particular case, we have a client who ingested the peanut butter and then died as a result of a certain form of meningitis, a meningitis that can be linked to salmonella poisoning," Morgan and Morgan attorney Alexander Clem said.

One lawsuit was filed in Florida, and another was filed in Seattle-based federal court. Both suits claim thousands of victims who want their medical bills paid for and the company that may have made them sick held responsible. A week-old recall triggered customers' nerves after the Food and Drug Administration announced certain jars of peanut butter may have salmonella, a stomach disease that hits people hard who have weak immune systems.

"They are suffering from bouts of nausea, diarrhea and incredible gastrointestinal sicknesses that last for many, many weeks," Clem said. "When did ConAgra know there was a problem?" Clem said. "How did it happen? Why didn't they tell the consuming public earlier?"

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The National Transportation Safety Board today determined that the cause of a fatal bus fire in Texas was insufficient lubrication in the right-side tag axle wheel bearing assembly of the motorcoach resulting in increased temperatures and subsequent failed wheel bearings, which led to ignition of the tire and a catastrophic fire. Global Limo, Inc. failed to conduct proper vehicle maintenance, do pre-trip inspections, and complete post-trip driver vehicle inspection reports, thereby allowing the insufficient wheel bearing lubrication to go undetected. The Board's report revealed that Global did not retain vehicle maintenance and repair records as required by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). In addition, there was no maintenance program to properly service the vehicle in place. Therefore the NTSB concluded in the report that the disregard for such a program led to the failure to detect vehicle defects that resulted in a catastrophic fire and loss of life. "We will not cease our efforts to push for change to prevent these kinds of accidents from occurring," said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "However, unless there is adequate oversight, I am afraid we will continue to see motorcoach accidents that contribute to the unacceptable number of deaths on our nation's highway."

On September 23, 2005, the 54- passenger motorcoach, operated by Global Limo Inc., of Pharr, Texas, was en route from Bellaire to Dallas, Texas, as part of the evacuation in anticipation of Hurricane Rita. The motorcoach was carrying 44 assisted living facility residents and nursing staff. A motorist passing by the motorcoach alerted the driver that the right-rear tire hub was glowing red. The driver and nursing staff exited the motorcoach and observed flames emanating from the right-rear wheel well. As they initiated an evacuation, with the assistance from passersby, heavy smoke and fire quickly engulfed the entire vehicle. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers were fatally injured, 2 were seriously injured and 19 received minor injuries. The driver also received minor injuries. Another contributing factor to the rapid propagation and severity of the fire and subsequent loss of life was the lack of motorcoach fire retardant construction materials adjacent to the wheel well. The report states that the most likely point of initial entry of fire into the motorcoach was burn through of the combustible exterior composite materials and through the HVAC ventilation and the windows. The Safety Board concluded that as the fire intensified, it spread up the side of the motorcoach and burnt through the fiberglass sidewall above the wheel wall and through the motorcoach windows, creating an entry path for the smoke and fire into the passenger compartment.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every year, about 1.5 million Americans will suffer a traumatic brain injury. "There is no magic pill or treatment for traumatic brain injury in terms of salvaging brain tissue. There is no way that we know of now to keep brain tissue alive," Dr Bruce Speiss from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia said. Oxygen is a vital nutrient the brain can't survive without. When a brain is injured, swelling keeps the red blood cells from carrying enough oxygen to the brain. Spiess is studying a new way to deliver oxygen to vital organs called Oxycyte.

"Some of the biochemical markers, they were tending to look like severe damage to the brain within an hour to two hours after getting the Oxycyte, they came down almost completely to normal," Spiess said. In severe brain injuries, one out of every three people will die. In Spiess' study, only two out of the nine patients died. The seven survivors all walked out of the hospital, and Spiess said they appear to be neurologically intact.

"We think Oxycyte could be a major breakthrough. The sooner you get the Oxycyte into the patient, the more brain tissue will survive," Spiess said. Brain injuries aren't the only injuries that could benefit from Oxycyte. Early research by Spiess' team also shows the compound can preserve spinal cord function. "If you have a spinal cord injury, the same situation goes on, that is, how much oxygen you get to those neurons in the immediate few hours after they have been injured as to how many neurons you can salvage," Spiess said. Oxycyte could also preserve brain tissue after a stroke, and get needed oxygen to the heart during a heart attack

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TBI: Cognitive and Communication Disorders

What are the cognitive and communication problems that result from traumatic brain injury?

Cognitive and communication problems that result from traumatic brain injury vary from person to person. These problems depend on many factors which include an individual's personality, pre-injury abilities, and the severity of the brain damage. The effects of the brain damage are generally greatest immediately following the injury. The newly injured brain often suffers temporary damage from swelling and a form of "bruising" called contusions. These types of damage are usually not permanent and the functions of those areas of the brain return once the swelling or bruising goes away. Therefore, it is difficult to predict accurately the extent of long-term problems in the first weeks following traumatic brain injury. Focal damage, however, may result in long-term, permanent difficulties. Improvements can occur as other areas of the brain learn to take over the function of the damaged areas. Children's brains are much more capable of this flexibility than are the brains of adults. For this reason, children who suffer brain trauma might progress better than adults with similar damage.

In moderate to severe injuries, the swelling may cause pressure on a lower part of the brain called the brainstem, which controls consciousness or wakefulness. Many individuals who suffer these types of injuries are in an unconscious state called a coma. A person in a coma may be completely unresponsive to any type of stimulation such as loud noises, pain, or smells. Others may move, make noise, or respond to pain but be unaware of their surroundings. These people are unable to communicate. In conscious individuals, cognitive impairments often include having problems concentrating for varying periods of time, having trouble organizing thoughts, and becoming easily confused or forgetful. Some individuals will experience difficulty learning new information. Still others will be unable to interpret the actions of others and therefore have great problems in social situations. For these individuals, what they say or what they do is often inappropriate for the situation. Many will experience difficulty solving problems, making decisions, and planning. Judgment is often affected.

Language problems also vary. Problems often include word-finding difficulty, poor sentence formation, and lengthy and often faulty descriptions or explanations. These are to cover for a lack of understanding or inability to think of a word. Many have difficulty understanding multiple meanings in jokes, sarcasm, and adages or figurative expressions. Individuals with traumatic brain injuries are often unaware of their errors and can become frustrated or angry and place the blame for communication difficulties on the person to whom they are speaking. Reading and writing abilities are often worse than those for speaking and understanding spoken words. Simple and complex mathematical abilities are often affected. The speech produced by a person who has traumatic brain injury may be slow, slurred, and difficult or impossible to understand if the areas of the brain that control the muscles of the speech mechanism are damaged. This type of speech problem is called dysarthria. These individuals may also experience problems swallowing. This is called dysphagia. Others may have what is called apraxia of speech, a condition in which strength and coordination of the speech muscles are unimpaired but the individual experiences difficulty saying words correctly in a consistent way. For example, someone may repeatedly stumble on the word "tomorrow" when asked to repeat it, but then be able to say it in a statement such as, "I'll try to say it again tomorrow.

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An estimated 55,000 people die each year from brain injuries. A hormone could help those with head injuries not lose functionality. Progesterone is a natural hormone made in the brain. About 17 years ago, Donald Stein discovered the neuro-protective properties of progesterone. His research revealed male and female rats with brain injury had less swelling and more complete recoveries when they received progesterone after their injury.

It's incredible that Robert Smith can even walk. "I was partially ejected out the back window," Robert says. He was in a coma for two months after a car crash. "They didn't think I was really going to make it," he says. Robert is a computer network engineer. After having the hormone injection, he still has some lingering physical issues, but says he's as sharp as ever. "I believe with this medicine, a lot of prayers and this medicine progesterone, it helped regenerate those cells and brought me back to where I need to be," says Robert. Another benefit of this potential breakthrough, the hormone is inexpensive and safe. Progesterone for brain injury has been studied in animals for nearly 20 years, but this is the first study in humans. Doctors say they don't know yet how it works, but it somehow protects and rebuilds the brain.

In 2004, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta launched a study of 100 patients to look at the effects of progesterone in humans. "Our findings, first and foremost, were that it appeared to be safe in the small number of patients we studied. We didn't find any increase in significant adverse events or adverse events between the group that didn't get progesterone and the group that did," Dr. David Wright said. They also found the mortality rate in the severe head injury group dropped 50 percent, and the moderate group had fewer functional disabilities. Wright says there were relatively few side effects, and the cost of the medicine is low. He hopes the larger study will be launched nationally in 2007, involving more than 1,000 patients.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Virginians could soon have a new tool to help them choose their doctors. Both the Virginia House and Senate have passed versions of a bill to require the state Board of Medicine to post information online about medical malpractice suits and disciplinary action against doctors. Before going under the knife or just in for a routine checkup, patients might like to know if their doctor has a propensity for mishaps. Patients understandably might wish to stay away from them. The bill making its way toward law would ensure patients have access to that critical information. A Web resource would list medical malpractice judgments and settlements within the last 10 years, as well as disciplinary actions. No one likes to have his mistakes aired publicly, especially when it could affect business. Doctors' discomfort, however, is small reason to leave patients in the dark when choosing to whom they will entrust their health.

Doctors work hard to preserve health, but accidents happen. Sometimes they are due to negligence, sometimes they are just unforeseeable complications. Many in the medical establishment encourage patients to make decisions about their health care needs all the time. Patients weigh in on what drugs or treatments they wish to receive despite not being doctors themselves. The ideal situation has all the facts on the table and a dialogue between doctor and patient leading to an informed decision.

One argument against providing such information is that patients do not have the medical training to judge the outcomes of alleged bad doctoring. It's a legitimate concern, but more data is almost always better than less. Patients who see a decision against their doctor can discuss it with him to clarify the situation. The medical board could go one step beyond the law, too. When malpractice information appears online, the board could also provide explanatory notes about the decision and how a particular doctor's rate of complaints compares to others in his specialty. Some specialties are more prone to litigation than others.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI's) are among the most common injuries admitted to emergency rooms in the US. Nationally, 1.2 brain injuries occur each year and more than 50,000 TBI sufferers die each year. The large number of TBI's coming into ER's is frustrating for doctors because there are currently few treatments available. Currently the only options available are simple protection and long recoveries. There have been hundreds of studies conducted over the years to find a simple treatment, but a successful solution has yet to be found.

A new solution may be on the way for TBI victims thanks to a hormone commonly found in birth control pills - progesterone. Nearly 20 years ago, Dr. Donald Stein conducted a study that investigated the effect of progesterone in the brains of rats. Male and female rats with TBI's were injected with progesterone immediately following their brain injury. Results of Stein's study revealed that the rats experienced less brain swelling and had better recoveries when progesterone was administered. Although results of progesterone have been found to be promising in rats, no conclusive studies of progesterone in humans with TBI's has been conducted.

Researchers at Emory University launched a study to see the effects of progesterone in humans. One-hundred TBI victims were injected with progesterone. The study found that progesterone can be safely injected into humans and the mortality rate dropped by 50%. Although the results were promising, Emory University researchers hope to launch a larger study later this year to solidify their findings.

Progesterone is a hormone produced in the brain but scientists are still unsure how the hormone works to protect and heal the brain. Researchers hope that further studies will lead to advancements in progesterone use in TBI victims. The hormone has very few side effects and is low in cost.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The halls of the Mologne House at Walter Reed are filled with amputees moving in their wheelchairs, wounded soldiers with lacerations and bruises so bad that their faces are unrecognizable, and confused brain injury victims who wander the halls because they can't remember where they are. The Mologne House was built in 1997 on the grounds of the Walter Reed Veteran Medical Center in Washington D.C. It was originally built as a short-term facility for military families to stay at as military officials were treated for minor ailments. Since 9/11, the facility now houses over 300 wounded soldiers, marines, and their family members.

Staff from the Washington Post recently spent hundreds of hours at the Mologne House to interview wounded soldiers and observe life after war. The Mologne House has all of the amenities of a 4-star hotel with front-desk clerks and concierges, room service, daily maid service, and a full-service bar. Behind the glitz and glamour is a village of desperate, wounded soldiers. One soldier with an amputated arm went up to the bar and said he wanted 1 drink but he would have ordered 2 if he still had his other arm.

The majority of the soldiers at Walter Reed are victims of bomb blasts and over 60% suffer from a TBI. Some TBI victims have been at the Mologne House for over 18 months as doctors appointments and treatments are pushed back and dragged out. These setbacks can result in a harder road to recovery as their TBI's continually damage their cognitive abilities. Some TBI victims must also battle the military for benefits. One wife of a TBI victim just found out that her husband is not eligible for anymore military medical benefits. Doctors concluded that her husband's brain injury condition was not due to injuries sustained in war, but rather they are due to a pre-existing brain condition. "They said, 'Well, he was in Title I math,' like he was retarded," the wife said. "Well, y'all took him, didn't you?"

All of the residents of the Mologne House are there for different reasons but daily life begins and ends the same way everyday. Residents are awoken by the cries of war protesters holding signs and doctors wait at the entrance for buses full of newly wounded soldiers. At the end of the day Walter Reed closes its gates and waits for another day to begin.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Women who use a transdermal contraceptive system are more than twice as likely to develop venous thromboembolism as those who use an oral contraceptive, new research shows. Three patch users and seven pill users experienced a myocardial infarction, a difference that wasn't statistically significant. No patch users experienced a stroke, but 10 pill users did, the investigators report. Due to the rarity of events, the researchers were unable to determine if use of the contraceptive patch increases the risk of MI and stroke, according to the report in the February issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study involved 49,048 women who used the norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol patch (Ortho Evra) and 202,344 who used norgestimate-containing oral contraceptives with ethinyl estradiol between April 2002 and December 2004. The researchers found that the venous thromboembolism rate in patch users was 2.2-times higher than in pill users: 40.8 vs. 18.3 cases per 100,000 woman-years. In a nested case-control analysis, which excluded high-risk factors, the risk was elevated 2.4-fold.

Dr. Alexander M. Walker and colleagues, from i3 Drug Safety in Auburndale, Massachusetts, note that at the study's inception, it was not known if users of the transdermal system ran the same risk of stroke, MI and venous thromboembolism as users of oral contraceptives. They do point out that the FDA changed the labeling in 2005 to warn of a possible increased risk of thrombotic events because of a higher average circulating estrogen level with the transdermal contraceptive system.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Life changed drastically for a Lubbock teen this past summer. On June 18th, 19 year old Mark Stargel was critically injured in a weekend boating accident at Buffalo Springs Lake. Authorities say 56-year-old James Greg Renegar lost control of his boat and hit Mark who was riding on a jet ski. Mark lost his left leg and broke his right one. Renegar received minor injuries. Mark's outlook on life changed drastically. "I was screaming oh God ya know. But I mean after I let all my shock out on the boat, I just calmed down. I saw my dad. I could hear my mom screaming in the background and something compelled me to tell them that I was going to be okay," says Mark. Mark says it's a moment in time he will never forget.

The road to recovery proved to be a tough one. Mark went through three operations and spent 21 days in the hospital. Doubt of the promise to his parents that he was going to be okay was starting to weigh on his mind. "There was one night I laid in the hospital and I cried for about 20 to 25 minutes," says Mark. Mark's family knew he needed hope and that message came from Matthew Brown who understood Mark's suffering. "I felt something, that I needed to go and be there for him and support him and mentor him," says Brown. Brown, a fellow amputee, lost his leg on the job after a pipe line exploded. His story allowed Mark to see that life would go on and his visit inspired Mark and his family to develop a plan.

"We thought we need to help other people. They need somebody to share with them and just be there when they need them and talk to them and listen to them," says Bobby and Nancy Stargel, Mark's parent. After months of planning, The Lubbock Area Amputee Support Group held its first meeting in December. Once a month fellow amputees gather to share their struggles, successes and their dreams for the future. "We need peers. We need people who've gone through the same thing we have because in a sense you are in a different world but you're not, so it's nice to see these people who've struggled right along beside you," says Mark. While the fellowship is a plus, the main goal the group shares is to receive Peer Visiting and Certification so they can provide encouragement to others in their loneliest hour. "That would be my main thing - to be able to let somebody know you can get to this point and you don't have to talk in past tense about your life. You know you're still living and no matter how much you struggle eventually you'll be able to look back on what you accomplished," says Mark. Now eight months after his accident it's a change in "tune" that Mark's parents say make him a young man who's wise beyond his years.

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Army Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center has acknowledged that the staff responsible for tracking patients after they receive treatment was overwhelmed by the number of wounded when violence spiked in Iraq two years ago. The undermanned staff may have led to wounded veterans falling through the bureaucratic and medical cracks. He said the number of outpatient soldiers reached a high of 872 in summer 2005, up from about 100 before the war, leaving the military and medical staff responsible for monitoring their well-being unable to keep on top of critical cases. "We found that the platoon sergeants that we had for accountability and the case managers that we had, they were literally managing 125 patients each," Weightman said. "That's too many to do [oversight] effectively." Weightman insisted he has also ordered his staff to focus on "high-risk" cases, such as veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, to insure they are more closely monitored once they become outpatients.

Less well-known is the care soldiers receive as outpatients, which has stretched to an average of 10 months. Two months longer than Army guidelines call for. A period Weightman said can be even more frustrating. "When you're an inpatient, you're literally a captive in our organization," Weightman said. "When you're an outpatient, there's a lot more options that you have as a patient as far as where you can go and who accounts for you." Weightman's acknowledgment came ahead of a Washington Post investigation to be published that details multiple cases of soldiers who accused Walter Reed of neglecting them and forcing them to live in substandard wards on the medical center's campus once they became outpatients.

Weightman, who took command of Walter Reed in July, said he has quadrupled the number of staff responsible for serving as liaisons between outpatients and the review boards charged with deciding whether to discharge outpatients or return them to active duty. He also said he is increasing the number of military officers and case workers handling individual outpatients so that every caregiver will only have to handle 30 to 35 veterans. According to the Post, even with the changes many of the substandard living conditions and bureaucratic problems still exist. Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran who heads Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said his friend who had suffered "catastrophic injuries" in Iraq was forced to "carry his paperwork through the snow" when he became an outpatient. "They didn't plan properly for the war," Rieckhoff said. "If it even happens to one veteran, then it's shameful. None of these guys should ever fall through the cracks."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the UK, doctors will have to submit to checks every five years to ensure they are fit to practice and not a danger to patients under new rules. The regular testing will end the system under which 130,000 doctors, upon entering independent practice as a doctor or consultant, face no formal re-assessment of their competence, clinical skills or performance until they retire. The five-yearly "revalidation" of a doctor's license to practice is designed to catch rogue doctors and identify those who are dangerously incompetent. It follows a series of highly publicized medical scandals in the 1990s, in which patients were harmed by poorly performing doctors.

The medical new rules will test the full range of a doctor's performance and delivery in an attempt to identify those who are "incompetent, dysfunctional or delivering care to a poor standard". It will be designed to identify doctors who repeatedly make poor clinical decisions and those who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.

Medical students and those who work in short-term appointments or as locums will be brought within the scope of regulation. The new system is based on a report from Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, who admitted that "most doctors know of another doctor whom, on balance they would prefer not to treat their own family". He said the medical profession owed it to patients to identify unsatisfactory practice and to remedy it.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

People forget names and faces of acquaintances everyday but imagine waking up in the morning and not recognizing your own face in the mirror. According to the American Journal of Medical Genetics as many as 1 in 50 people experience this nearly everyday. These individuals suffer from a disorder call prosopagnosia. Also known as face blindness, prosopagnosia renders a person incapable of recognizing faces. The disorder is unrelated to a person's ability to see faces and is not related to a person's IQ. In fact most sufferers have perfect vision and are mentally competent.

Prosopagnosia derives from damage done to the fusifor gyrus area of the brain. Found near the bottom of the brain, the fusifor gyrus area is responsible for processing color information, word recognition, number recognition, and face recognition. Individuals with face blindness acquire the disorder after a traumatic brain injury or have developmental prosopagnosia (the condition exists from the moment they are born). Doctors have not found any prosopagnosia sufferers that have difficulty recognizing colors, words, or numbers even though the fusifor gyrus is responsible for the processing of that information as well.

Currently no medical treatment is available to help face blindness sufferers. Individuals with the disorder generally rely on common cues such as remembering unique features such as hairstyles and style of dress and voice recognition. One sufferer says that she uses the buddy system in social situations so the other person can help her remember others' names. Many sufferers, on the other hand, become agoraphobic and avoid going out in public at all costs. "It creates the possibility of inviting potential criminals to take advantage of me if they should recognize me," one sufferer explains.

Dr. Nakayama of Harvard's Vision Sciences Laboratory is working on research to help face blindness sufferers. He says that it important to develop a treatment to help sufferers of prosopagnosia. "You can see how this can get you into quite a bit of trouble," he says. "How much of your daily life really requires you to recognize faces? It can be quite a challenge."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Neuren Pharmaceuticals says tests results of its traumatic brain injury drug (TBI) significantly reduce the loss of brain function. Neuren says it has obtained evidence its TBI drug, NNZ-2566, could improve outcomes in patients, with test results showing it reduces loss in brain function in animals.

The biotechnology company says the results support its strategy to initiate clinical trials on traumatic brain injury patients. Neuren says it has confirmed the safety and tolerability of the drug in humans in a recently completed Phase 1a trial and is currently evaluating the compound's safety and tolerability in humans at longer infusions. Phase two trials in patients with moderate TBI in Melbourne and another in more severely brain injured patients in the US are planned for the second half of the year.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every year 50 out of every 100,000 Americans suffers from a concussion. Concussions are often caused by simple accidents such as falling down the stairs or bumping into another person while playing soccer. One woman fell backward onto her head while ice skating and hit her head so hard she could not remember who she was when she regained consciousness.

Concussions are caused by the internal whiplash of the brain inside the skull when the head is injured. Concussions are considered a minor form of a traumatic brain injury. Common symptoms of concussions include confusion, loss of consciousness, headache, nausea, blurred vision, and loss of memory. Concussions can be categorized into 3 different grades. Grade 1 and 2 concussions do not result in loss of consciousness and have symptoms that clear in 5-30 minutes. Grade 3 concussions result in loss of consciousness and symptoms can last up to several hours. Permanent brain damage can be sustained after a grade 2 or 3 concussion.

After any concussion, the individual should be under 24-hour surveillance and should be taken to a hospital should he/she experience any disorientation, extreme confusion, or fatigue. Soreness in the neck, headache, and nausea are typical and can last several days. Most medical providers fail to inform patients of the invisible symptoms of a concussion that can surface as long as 6 months after the event. Invisible symptoms include fatigue, irritability, memory problems, depression, and trouble concentrating. These symptoms are often to referred to as postconcussion syndrome which has been recently linked to the suicide of NFL player Andre Waters.

To avoid postconcussion syndrome patients are advised to avoid taking narcotics for pain and take an analgesic such as acetaminophen instead. Undergoing neuropsychological testing, reducing workload, resting, and decreasing physical activity are also recommended.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Consumers who thought they were purchasing sleep aids, antidepressants and other drugs over the Internet instead were shipped a powerful anti-psychotic, sending some unwitting victims to the emergency room, federal health officials warned Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said a number of consumers took the schizophrenia drug, Haloperidol, after being shipped what they thought were a variety of different pills, including Ambien, a sleep aid, and the anti-anxiety medications Xanax and Ativan. Others thought they were getting the antidepressant Lexapro.

Preliminary analysis of the pills, packaged in plain plastic bags and mailed in envelopes bearing Greek postmarks, suggest they contain Haloperidol. The FDA said it had reports of several consumers seeking emergency medical treatment for symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, muscle spasms and muscle stiffness after taking the pills.

The FDA used the occasion to remind consumers of the possible dangers of buying prescription drugs on the Web. The FDA posted images of the suspect pills and their shipping packages on its Web site to help consumers identify any suspect product they may have ordered. Consumers apparently ordered the drugs through a variety of commercial Web sites. The FDA said it was investigating.

Posted by Peter W. Burg at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Crude oil that spilled from a broken pipeline and into a construction pit seeped deep enough to contaminate the water table in a rural area of northern Wisconsin, a state regulator said Friday. No homes were immediately at risk for polluted drinking water, said John Robinson, a regional supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources' spill recovery team. The contamination was discovered Monday, 10 days after oil gushed from the pipeline because of a construction accident. It's not known how much oil got into ground water.

The spill was one of two by Houston-based Enbridge Energy Co. since the beginning of the year that resulted in the release of at least 176,000 gallons of crude oil in northern Wisconsin. The other spill took place Jan. 1 in Clark County when 50,000 gallons of crude leaked onto farmland and into a drainage ditch from a 4-foot crack in the same line. The company is expanding its 320-mile pipeline from Superior to near Whitewater by adding more lines to ship oil from Canada to refineries near Chicago. The U.S. Office of Pipeline Safety and the state Department of Natural Resources are looking into both spills. The Feb. 2 spill occurred southeast of Exeland when construction crews for Enbridge Energy mistakenly ruptured an existing 24-inch pipe while installing a new one beneath a road. Oil filled a hole more than 20 feet deep before the flow was shut off. At least 126,000 gallons leaked from the pipe, the company said.

Robinson said Friday that at least 10 feet of contaminated soil was removed from the pit, meaning oil got down at least 30 feet into the ground. Given that depth, it was not surprising some ground water contamination occurred, he said. Monitoring wells were being installed to determine how much oil reached the water table, the direction it was flowing and its speed, Robinson said. The spill was in a remote area where there was only one seasonal home at least one-quarter mile away, he said. "We don't see there being an imminent risk," he said, adding the investigation and cleanup continued. A spokesman for the Office of Pipeline Safety said it was premature to draw conclusions about the two spills.

Posted by David P. Hersh at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TIRR (Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) is regarded as a world leader in medical rehabilitation and research. TIRR's Spinal Cord Injury Program has been a Model System with funding by the U.S. Department of Education for over 30 years. The Brain Injury Research Center at TIRR is currently funded by three grants from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

A catastrophic injury or illness very often causes severe disruption to the central nervous system, which in turn affects many other systems of the body. In addition to possible loss of movement, sensation, and communicative and cognitive abilities, the injury or illness may impact respiration, circulation, skin, the urinary system, the gastrointestinal system, and other body systems. A catastrophic injury or illness typically occurs suddenly and without warning. The patient and family experience significant life changes as they progress through acute hospitalization, rehabilitation, and return to home and community. To achieve the best possible outcome and return to a full and productive life, the adult or child with a catastrophic injury or illness needs the benefit of rehabilitation that offers an interdisciplinary approach and coordinated care. Management is complex and requires the expertise of a team of health professionals including physicians, consultants, nurses, therapists, and counselors.

Persons with catastrophic injuries can benefit greatly in a treatment environment that offers the full continuum of care. At TIRR, this involves:

• Collaboration with the acute care hospital during the initial stages of injury or illness

• Comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation program

• Pediatric sub-acute services

• Day hospital programs

• Outpatient and follow-up services in diverse settings throughout the community

• Community re-entry services

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Common Good, the national nonpartisan legal reform coalition Alan Simpson is a member of, has been awarded a two-year grant of nearly $1 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to promote the creation of special health courts to handle medical injury disputes in six states. Common Good (http://www.cgood.org) is a nonpartisan legal reform coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America. Its advisory board is composed of leaders in a wide range of fields including former government officials. The new project builds on a previous RWJF-funded project by Common Good and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) to design a prototype for special health courts. Common Good encourages health courts to restore reliability to medical justice. While many thousands of patients suffer preventable medical injuries each year, only a small fraction of them are compensated for their losses. Administrative costs in today's system are extremely high, and patients in similar circumstances often receive vastly different judicial outcomes. Health care experts often cite the current legal system as a major impediment to improving quality of care, since it effectively discourages physicians and hospitals from being candid about errors in treatment.

The prototype for health courts that Common Good and the Harvard researchers have developed would address key failings in the medical liability system by expediting compensation to injured patients, enhancing consistency in justice, facilitating patient safety initiatives and improving efficiencies. The health court proposal has attracted interest from policymakers at both the federal and state levels. Legislation was introduced in the last Congress to facilitate the creation of health court pilot projects, with hearings held in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Legislative proposals were also advanced in a number of states. Much work remains to be done, however, to convert this interest into meaningful progress, particularly at the state level. The RWJF grant will now make it possible for Common Good in collaboration with faculty from the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, and Yale Law School to perform the additional outreach and consensus-building needed for state demonstration projects.

Working with its academic research partners, Common Good will launch a new State Action Project. The effort will help solidify interest in pursuing state pilot projects by providing information and technical assistance to interested parties in individual states. Common Good will identify states that offer particular promise for reform, and task forces in each state will create a health court proposal. Common Good will also continue its ongoing national outreach and coalition-building activities. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.

Posted by Michael S. Burg at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just when you think you have seen it all....

You can now buy a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter complete with lid coded "2111" on eBay. Yes, this is the same product that has been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee which has sickened almost 300 people in 39 states since August, 2006. Forty six (46) patients are known to have been hospitalized; there have been no reported deaths.

Posted by Peter W. Burg at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Certain jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Great Value Peanut Butter may be contaminated with Salmonella. On February 13, the FDA received a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in which 290 cases of a foodborne illness in 39 states was linked to consumption of varying types of Peter Pan peanut butter. The first consumer may have become ill as early as August 2006 and the outbreak appears to be ongoing.

Manufactured in the same plant as peter Pan peanut butter, Great Value brand peanut butter is also thought to be at similar risk of contamination; the Great Value brand has a product code beginning with 2111 on the lid of the jar. Both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands are manufactured in a single facility in Georgia by ConAgra; Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected.

On February 14, 2007, FDA advised consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter purchased since May 2006 and not to eat Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with "2111" purchased since May 2006 because of risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee.

Fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps are symptoms of Salmonella and for individuals with poor health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can cause life-threatening infections. Persons who have recently ingested Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter with a product code that begins with 2111 and have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.

The 39 states with reported illness are: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Posted by Peter W. Burg at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

LegalView.com, your resource for everything legal, is preparing to launch a new practice area focusing on child injury. Slated for launch in early 2007, child-injury.legalview.com will serve as a complete e-portal with news and information on child injury and how to keep kids safe. Featuring informative articles, news, jury verdicts, and advocacy information on child safety, the portal will be a welcome addition to LegalView.com's extensive collection of important news and legal information in a number of practice areas. The information service will cover the different varieties of child injury, such as child abuse, broken bones, car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and medical conditions that put children's health at risk. In addition to providing complete information about the different injuries faced by children, the child injury site will also provide safety and health information for parents who are concerned about the well-being of their kids. With advocacy information, recent jury verdicts and ways to get in touch with experienced child injury attorneys, the site will be a valuable resource to parents, teachers and members of the community. Best of all, child-injury.legalview.com is provided as a free service.

LegalView's child injury information portal will be added to the extensive collection of personal injury and legal information already available at its parent site, LegalView.com. LegalView provides free news, informative articles and valuable references such as press release feeds, a complete legal encyclopedia, government articles and a wide-ranging series of blogs available at http://blogs.legalview.com. Its user-friendly information from experts you can trust — and the list of legal information topics is growing quickly. In addition to information about child injury, LegalView.com features practice areas on topics such as personal injury, car and truck accidents, traumatic brain injury, securities fraud and medical malpractice. And its attorney referral system allows parties looking for legal representation to get in touch with experienced lawyers fast.

LegalView.com is a free public service brought to you by Legal WebTV Network, LLC, a Limited Liability Corporation created by a group highly respected law firms: Anapol Schwartz' Brent Coon and Associates; Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine; Cohen, Placitella and Roth; James F. Humphreys and Associates; Lopez Hodes; and Thornton and Naumes.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 40 percent of homeless men are veterans. Although we have had decades to see the effects of the Vietnam War on its vets, many of whom suffer from debilitating physical and psychiatric disorders, we are only beginning to see the effects on those returning from Iraq. More than 20,000 service members have been injured since 2003. Of the wounded, more than 20 percent have suffered traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs.

"As the roadside bomb or improvised explosive devise (IED) is the signature weapon of this war, the TBI has become its legacy," explained neurologist Dr. George Zitnay in an interview with Neal Shea of National Geographic magazine. Zitnay, who helped found the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center after the Gulf War, describes brain injury as the "invisible epidemic" because it carries so much stigma and because it so often goes undiagnosed. He saw how thousands of Vietnam veterans with untreated brain injuries ended up in prisons, hospitals and on the streets, and he is seeing the same thing with Iraq vets. "So many of these troops get redeployed so often," he says. "Their time in the war zone gets extended their exposure to blast injuries is high. When they come back, we're not really screening them for concussions or other types of brain injuries. Often, in people with mild or moderate concussion, it doesn't show up right away."

Many of these patients don't even recognize that they're injured. The memory loss, the sleep disorders, the behavioral changes, including depression, anxiety and aggression, come later. Many also suffer from physical injuries and amputations. When they return home, they are no longer able to work, their marriages dissolve and they turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. With the impending troop surge of 21,000, combined with the dearth of resources for the deployed and their families, the future for veterans is looking increasingly bleak. Unless there are some radical changes in the services provided to veterans and their families, we should expect to see a sharp increase in homelessness over the next decade.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two brain injury support groups are forming on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations. The group facilitators are Quintin Kingfisher in Lame Deer and Dean Bird in Crow Agency. Both men said they have personal experiences with brain-injured loved ones and hope to help fill voids by having support groups in their communities. The groups are open to those with injuries, their families, their friends and other caregivers, as well as service providers. "I think our reservation has a high incidence," Kingfisher said. The groups were organized with support from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

"It's mainly about resources," Bird said. "Where to get help and to help themselves, whether it is long-term or immediate." Kingfisher said the group aims to provide a trusting and confidential atmosphere to talk. "It will give people a chance to come and participate," Kingfisher said. "It will give them a platform to be able to share whatever they want to share." The agency's state brain injury coordinator, Nell Eby, said the goal is for members to help guide how the groups develop. Some groups around the state do fundraising and support outings in the community and attend gatherings such as brain injury conferences, she said. The groups will begin as a place where people can share information and give each other hope, Eby said. "For those who are out there looking for a way to meet other people with some of the similar situations, it will give them a great opportunity to connect within the community," Eby said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers traumatic brain injury a serious public health problem for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Both ethnic groups have more deaths and larger hospitalization rates for traumatic brain injury than any other race, according to the CDC. Montana ranks second in the nation in the number of traumatic brain injuries per capita, with motor vehicle wrecks the leading cause of the injuries, according to the CDC.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When Dr. Lisa Thompson bounced back after suffering a brain injury in a moped accident in Bermuda, her family thought the worst was over. However, nearly six years later the pediatrician and mother of four committed suicide, shocking her loved ones. In the wake of Thompson's death two years ago, her family learned it is not unusual for traumatic brain injury victims to suffer depression. There are as many as 75 percent of such patients who suffer depression. Their suicide rate is as high as four times that of the general population, says Lance Trexler, program director of neurobehavioral services at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana in Indianapolis.

Thompson's family and the hospital have started an initiative, The Lisa Thompson Center for Family Education, to protect other patients. "We wanted to do something proactive to see that other brain-injured patients and their families could benefit," said Thompson's father, Dr. Normand T. Townley. "Because when a brain injury comes, it's a family affair, whether you like it or not." Counselors will evaluate brain injury patients and their primary caregivers every three months for the first year after their accident and then every six months to ensure they're not slipping into depression, Trexler said. The hospital is also offering a group therapy program to teach coping strategies. This summer they'll offer it free for research trial participants.

In the future, doctors hope to study the effects a traumatic brain injury has on patients' children, Trexler said. The warning signs were there for Thompson, but her family did not know to look. After multiple surgeries, Thompson recovered to complete the Mini Marathon and return to work full time, Townley said. Gradually, though, she started to fall apart. The housekeeping, which she had always managed on her own while working full time, began to drop off. Her relationship with her children frayed, he said. Eventually, she told her family about her increasing depression, but no one understood how severe it was. That's not uncommon in these patients, Trexler said. Many patients experience damage to their frontal lobes, which are responsible for reasoning. Unable to think through how to solve their problems, they see suicide as an attractive option. "Initially, everyone is happy that they survived and are recovering . . . and it looks like a rosy outcome; then the reality of their difficulties sets in," Trexler said.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite the potential risks, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis decided to have gastric bypass surgery because he was afraid he would one day "drop dead" if he didn't lose weight. Weis, who suffered life-threatening complications and nearly died after the June 2002 surgery, testified Wednesday in his medical malpractice case against two surgeons that he has struggled with his weight all his life. "I've probably been on every diet known to mankind," he said in response to questions from his lawyer, Michael Mone. Weis spent more than a month in the hospital after the surgery, lost feeling in his feet, and has had mobility problems since the surgery. He still needs a golf cart to get around practice at Notre Dame, and standing for up to five hours straight during games causes him severe foot pain.

Weis claims in his suit that Massachusetts General Hospital physicians Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin acted negligently by failing to recognize life-threatening internal bleeding and infection two days after the surgery. Defense lawyers have said the doctors cared for Weis properly and that he experienced one of the known complications of the surgery. Weis, the former offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, decided to have the surgery shortly after the Patriots' February 2002 Super Bowl victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Weis, whose father died of a heart attack at 56, said he worried he wouldn't be able to see his two children grow up or reach his goal of becoming a head coach. "The foremost concern was that I was going to drop dead," Weis said when his lawyer asked about his motivation for the surgery.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cynthia Smith always had been active, despite having multiple sclerosis most of her life. Now, at 58, Cynthia sits in a wheelchair in northern California, in constant pain from steel rods in her leg. One leg is shorter than the other. She is angry and depressed. Cynthia is in this fix for two reasons: medical incompetence; and California's Medical Insurance Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) which scared attorneys away from taking her case. The multiple sclerosis that Cynthia developed as a young woman never slowed her down. She went into remission 25 years ago and gardened, walked, drove, and engaged in other normal physical activity.

In 1998 she and her husband, William, moved to Walnut Creek, signed on with Blue Cross and found a family doctor. That year, Cynthia's older sister mentioned that she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Cynthia knew that the affliction tends to run in the family, so she immediately asked her family practitioner for a bone density scan. He refused to recommend the scan, telling her that she was too young - 53. Without the doctor's recommendation, her insurance would not cover the scan. A year and a half after that, Cynthia went in for arthroscopic surgery on her knee. While in physical therapy to recover, she learned that she had a hip fracture. In September, 2000, she went back to the doctor who had worked on her knee, this time for hip replacement surgery. He shattered her femur. The doctor told her that her bones had been weakened because of osteoporosis. She also discovered that the medication she had been taking for multiple sclerosis thins the bones.

Her ordeal begs questions about both doctors. If the family practitioner knew that osteoporosis ran in the family and Cynthia was taking a medication that aggravated "bone thinning," why did he refuse a bone density scan? If the second doctor knew the same things, why did he operate? Since he decided to operate, why wasn't he more cautious in operating? Cynthia is not about to get answers from either doctor. She can't sue the family practitioner because MICRA has a statute of limitations - one year after the 'event', which in this case was the refusal to order the scan. She tried to sue the second doctor, but she could not find an attorney who would take the case. They think it is because of the cap on recovery of damages imposed by California's MICRA. "The scent of big money is not there," says William, and so the Smiths are stuck.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Republican-controlled House passed legislation year after year that would have established a cap on the amount of money a plaintiff could win in a lawsuit against a physician. That bill specifically called for a $250,000 maximum in so-called non-economic damages, which include “pain and suffering” payouts. The bill would not have limited the amount of money that could be awarded to make up for the costs of medical treatment or lost wages or for punitive damages. Senate Democrats, with help from a handful of Republican colleagues, stymied the bill, to the consternation of physician lobbyists under pressure from the doctors they represent to secure a legislative victory on one of their top priorities. The House and Senate both passed patients’ bills of rights in 2001 but the legislation never made it to conference, largely because of opposition from the White House. Physicians were among the strongest proponents of the legislation, which aimed to place limits on health-insurance policies restricting access to medical treatments. Although the federal effort failed after years of negotiations, many of the proponents’ aims were met by lawmaking at the state level and by health insurers acting on their own to eliminate some controversial practices. Likewise, the physician lobbyist said, a growing number of states have stepped in to tackle medical-malpractice insurance issues. The lobbyist credited work at the federal level with helping to spur action by the states.

There may yet be some form of legislative activity on medical-malpractice insurance or malpractice lawsuits this year. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) plan to reintroduce a bill to establish special medical courts to decide allegations of malpractice, for example. In addition, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced legislation in the 109th Congress that would set some strictures on filing malpractice lawsuits and would establish new limits on the price of malpractice insurance. In the meantime, the AMA has signaled that it will dedicate more energy this year to items on its agenda that are more in line with the views of the Democratic majority. When the group issued a statement outlining its legislative agenda for 2007, getting more people covered by health insurance and preventing a 10 percent cut in their Medicare payments were highlighted over medical-liability reform.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eleven young women from states around the country filed a personal injury lawsuit on February 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Johnson & Johnson and others (Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC 366176). Their ages range from 19 to 42. Eleven experienced blood clots. A 44 year old suffered a stroke. Six experienced a pulmonary embolism.

"For years, the defendants claimed the side effects associated with the Ortho Patch were relatively minor, including nausea, headaches and a skin reaction at the site application," says Brian Kabateck, partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner and one of the attorneys filing the suit. "They conveniently forgot to mention that the patch delivers about 60 percent more estrogen than oral contraceptives that is proven to increase the likelihood of blood clots and stroke."

"Johnson & Johnson has consistently downplayed the risks of the patch," Shawn Khorrami of the Law Offices of Shawn Khorrami, who also represents the plaintiffs. "In fact, the amount of estrogen in the patch is comparable to a form of contraceptive pill that was banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 1988."

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Currently Colorado is 1 of 4 states that do not have a mandatory helmet law. The state had a helmet law instated for nearly a decade in the late 60's to 70's, but it was repealed in 1977. Colorado state legislators have tried numerous times to instate another helmet law but the last year an attempt was made was in 1994 - until now.

Rep. Diane Primavera, D-Broomfield, proposed a bill to the House that would prohibit any person under the age of 18 from riding on a motorcycle or other motorized bike without a helmet. If an individual is found without a helmet, he/she would be punished with a 3-point penalty on his/her driver's license and a $125 fine. "It's a public safety issue. It's important for us to protect children's brains and reduce health-care costs," said Primavera, a vocational rehabilitation counselor who knows firsthand the struggles a brain-injured individual must go through.

Most Republicans in the House oppose the bill. Republicans argue that the bill would deny parents the right raise their children as they see fit. One Republican said, "Parents will, if they have a choice, protect their children." He contends that no matter what, it is not the government's job to tell parents how to raise their children. Democrats argued that lawmakers intervene to help keep children safe everyday with cigarette laws and laws against abuse and neglect from parents.

Republicans also argue that helmets actually put the rider at a higher risk for injury. They contend that helmets reduce hearing and peripheral vision and increase the severity of neck injuries. Primavera disagrees with this argument saying over 120 children suffered TBI's while not riding with helmets from 2001 - 1005. In 2005 alone the Colorado Hospital Association reported that head and neck injuries from motorcycle accidents cost $716,081.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Although physician lobbyists recognize that their years-long quest for a federal law capping medical-malpractice lawsuit awards is unlikely to be fulfilled by the Democratic Congress, they are taking the long view. Medical-liability reform remains a top legislative priority for groups such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and the myriad societies representing specialist physicians, lobbyists emphasized. But the changing political reality has forced them to adjust their strategies not only in dealing with Congress, but also in responding to their members and clients..

Promoting an issue to an uninterested majority party in Congress while restless clients grow frustrated is a challenge for any lobbyist. One lobbyist for physician interests said doctors must be convinced that the lobby's work in Washington is only one part of a broader strategy. Doctors around the country, and their representatives in Washington, still clamor for help with rising malpractice insurance premiums they contend are driven by litigious trial lawyers and profligate juries. The AMA and allied groups, such as the Health Coalition on Liability and Access, pushed hard in support of the Republican malpractice bills again last year. Their strategy included running advertisements in the home districts and states of key lawmakers. The physician lobbyist said that doctors' experience with the debate over the federal patients' bill of rights should inform their perspective on the liability reform effort.

Democratic lawmakers tend to side with trial lawyers and public-interest groups that argue the court system is the only institution that can level the playing field between private citizens and moneyed interests. "The most impartial forum for an individual to address a wrong is 12 jurors," a legislative counsel with Public Citizen, Linda Andros, said. "Why is medical malpractice any different?"

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

President Bush has renewed his call for nationwide tort reform, but federal legislation addressing medical malpractice lawsuits is unlikely to pass while Democrats hold the majority in Congress. Bush in Illinois last week said, "I'm worried about frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of health care." He added that "when somebody gets sued all the time, they practice more medicine than is necessary and it runs up your costs." A day later in New York, he said that "excessive lawsuits will make it hard for America to remain the economic leader that we want to be." However, Bush's legal agenda "is likely to be ignored" in the new Democratic-led Congress. Democrats generally oppose efforts to restrict the types of lawsuits people can file and the amounts they can recover.

Tracy Schmaler, a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said, "Proposals such as arbitrary caps on medical malpractice claims do little to protect true victims while limiting Americans' legal rights and access to justice." Federal efforts over the last two years to limit damages in medical malpractice lawsuits "have not received much support," reports the Chicago Tribune. Tort reform supporters say the Bush administration will continue to pursue its agenda by exerting influence at the state level and on courtrooms nationwide.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

September 2nd is the day Dallen McEntire changed from your typical eleven year old to a swollen and scarred victim of a boating hit and run. McEntire was knee boarding Labor Day weekend. Jeff McEntire was on a jet ski, pulling his son, when a yellow speed boat ran over Dallen, the propeller slicing his head. No one has ever been caught for the boating hit and run, but investigators are confident an arrest will be made in the coming weeks

Dallen says, "I just saw the guy, I looked the guy right in the eye, I just looked him in the eyes and other than that, I don't really remember anything, although what do I do. I let go of the rope. And I was like, okay, now what do I do." Today Dallen is a talkative 12 year old. His attitude has been one of the biggest changes since the accident. He has become a little more outgoing and a little more talkative. Physically, Dallen has made great strides, yet he still has challenges. He says, "I can't see in this eye. I can see light and shadows, sometimes fingers, but not everytime." He's back to his sixth grade class at Bakersfield's Rio Bravo Union. Concentrating in school is now Dallen's biggest challenge. At an age when kids just want to fit in, Dallen now deals with feeling different. He says he just wants to be normal and wants his friends to stop treating him differently than before the tragedy.

Even with a decreased workload, homework that used to take a half hour now takes four hours. Three times a week, Dallen has speech therapy, doing memory and concentration exercises. It will take about 10 years before the extent of the neurological damage is known, but therapists hope these simple tasks will get him back on track.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Construction crews met face-to-face with leaders of Obayashi, the Sound Transit contractor, just a few days after a fatal accident at a job site for the new Beacon Hill tunnel. One man died, another was hurt. Obayashi has been under fire since the fatal accident on a Sound Transit Light Rail project job site last Wednesday morning. Forty-nine-year-old Michael Merryman died after the locomotive he was riding in collided with another at a staging site for Sound Transit's Beacon Hill tunnel. It was the second accident there in just four months and followed an accident at another Obayashi site in January of 2005.

Workers came to the meeting wearing black ribbons. "This is in remembrance of my friend who died needlessly," said one worker. Sound Transit construction workers met with Obayashi leaders Monday morning to vent their safety concerns at the light rail job sites. They also came armed with complaints about the contractor. "Equipment is junk, poorly mismanaged, not enough people who know what they are doing," said one worker. Sound Transit says an earlier safety audit showed "there appears to be a disconnect between the health and safety expectations of Obayashi Corporate and actual implementation at the Beacon Hill project."

Obayashi has declined comment on Monday's meeting or into the investigation other than to say state Department of Labor and Industries inspected the company site for six months and found no violations. Obayashi spokesperson Charles Sipkins gave the follow response after last week's fatal accident, "Safety is the number one priority at all Obayashi work sites and we are committed to improving on our exemplary safety record. We continue to work closely with Sound Transit and state investigators to determine the cause of Wednesday's tragic incident and reiterate our sympathies to the family of the victim."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The FDA has just approved the use of a device that could improve vision capabilities of stroke and TBI victims. The device uses light stimulation to enlarge the visual field of vision impaired patients. Researchers of the American Stroke Association announced the devices FDA approval at its annual International Stroke Conference.

The devices were tested on a total of 161 visually impaired stroke or TBI patients at 16 different US clinics. On average, patients were 58.7 years of age and had suffered a stroke or TBI that caused the loss of vision at least 3 years ago. The 161 patients underwent vision therapy sessions that delivered patterns of bright and dim light stimulation to edges of the visual field in the affected eye(s). The 30-minute therapy was administered 2 times a day for a total of 6 weeks.

In total, 75% of patients in the study showed signs of improvement. Results showed that patients showed an average 4.9 degree change in the visual field. A researcher for the study stated, "An improvement of 5 degrees can be very significant...For instance, we read with only the central 5 degrees of vision." A 5-degree change in vision equals to 14.8% improvement in the visual field. No correlation between age or time elapsed from the time of the stroke or TBI was found.

Researchers hope that the therapy will be covered by Medicare. The study's results have been sent to Medicare for approval.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Dead Men Walking," an investigative feature in the March DISCOVER Magazine, reports on a little-known consequence of the Iraq War: the growing number of American soldiers coming home with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, only to languish inadequately treated. The article hinges on a harrowing irony. Survival rates for soldiers with TBI are rising to an unprecedented degree, thanks to advances in military medicine. But those soldiers are saved only to come home to American hospitals under funded, under staffed and generally unprepared to handle issues related to TBI. The soldiers are kept alive only to lead a kind of death-in-life existence.

"No other war has created so many seriously disabled veterans," writes Michael Mason, a brain-injury case manager at the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute at Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Author of the upcoming book, "Damaged: The Injured Brain," Mason has counseled hundreds of brain-damaged veterans from 40 states over the last four years, navigating the healthcare system on their behalf. Many states have no brain-injury rehab centers, Mason reports, and only a few that do provide even a basic level of specialized care. “The quality and coordination of post-acute TBI service systems remains inadequate," the Institute of Medicine concludes. Lifetime cost of care for brain-injured troops could reach $35 billion, according to a Harvard University expert.

"Dead Men Walking" exposes this country's lack of support for its most severely injured troops on their arrival home. "Dead Men Walking" represents exactly the kind of spirited journalism that DISCOVER publisher Bob Guccione Jr. plans as a hallmark for his boldly revamped science magazine. "Our article raises frightening questions," Guccione says. "One is, are these soldiers being kept alive in order to reduce the 'killed in battle' numbers? Regardless, why are we not doing more for them once the flag waving photo ops are done?" "The military has done a spectacular job repairing bodies," concludes Mason, "but it hasn't yet learned how to put lives back together . . . When the dream-team care is finished, soldiers are finding themselves trapped in a nightmare."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Will the drive for Medical Malpractice Tort Reform Caps victimize more people?

Twelve-year-old San Diego resident Steven Olsen is blind and brain damaged because, as a jury ruled, he was a victim of medical negligence when he was two years old. Under the family's managed care plan, the hospital pumped Steven up with steroids and sent him away with a growing brain abscess, although his parents had asked for a CAT scan. The next day, Steven Olsen came back to the hospital comatose. At trial, medical experts testified that had he received the $800 CAT scan, which would have detected a growing brain mass, he would have his sight and be perfectly healthy today. In 2001, Steven had 74 doctor visits, 164 physical and speech therapy appointments, and three trips to the emergency room. Steven's mother Kathy had to leave her job because caring for Steven is a full time job. She struggles constantly with the school district for Steven to receive special education classes. One day, Steven ate part of a light bulb, not an uncommon problem for children with brain injuries. He has to be watched constantly.

The jury awarded $7.1 million in "non-economic" damages for Steven's avoidable life of darkness and suffering. However, the jury was not told of the two decade old restriction on non-economic damages in the state - California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. The judge was forced to reduce the amount to $250,000. The jurors only found out that their verdict had been reduced by reading about it in the newspaper. The family received economic damages of $1.9 million to care for Steven for the rest of his life. They reached a separate out-of-court settlement with their managed care company for $2 million. However, legal fees and costs, which cannot be recovered as part of the "economic" losses, cost them $914,000.

Steven’s mother Kathy Olsen said this about Steven: "It has been 10 years ago when Steven came home from a 5-month life changing stay at the hospital. He was only 2 years old. When he went into the hospital no one asked his party affiliation. He was a casualty of the system. A system that he had no voice in. Which lawmakers were looking out for him? Now with all his disabilities he will never see, do things that the average person gets to do in their lifetime, or vote in an election. Please look out for all the Steven Olsens in this great country. Don't let this happen over and over again."

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A trench collapsed Feb 9th Friday afternoon along a DART rail line under construction in Deep Ellum, killing one worker and injuring a second, officials said. The accident occurred at a work site along Malcolm X Boulevard. The trench collapsed on two workers who were helping reset a water line between the future train stations along the planned Green Line rail tracks that will extend south from downtown Dallas, DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said. Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce said the department's technical rescue team was called to the scene to rescue two men. Firefighters dug their way to a victim trapped under the rubble, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim was pulled from the site and taken to Baylor University Medical Center in unknown condition.

Neither victim's name was released. Both men worked for a subcontractor handling utility work along the line, Mr. Lyons said. Mr. Lyons said work along that portion of the Green Line would be shut down until OSHA officials can complete their investigation and return the site back to DART. "We've never had a fatal accident like this on the DART rail system, going back to 1992," he said. "Our own staff will work with OSHA to investigate what happened and learn from it."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Julie Seymour awakened in a strange padded bed, covered in a blue mesh enclosure. She let out a piercing scream. Julie, 12, didn't know that she was under a doctor's care or that she had survived a horrific train wreck. Her first thought was that she'd been kidnapped. "Everything was still fuzzy," she recalled. "I didn't know what to think." The cry overjoyed her mother Diane Purviance. It meant her daughter had come to and was going to be OK. After being hospitalized for two months for a traumatic brain injury, as well as a broken arm, ribs and clavicle she is back home and once again attending Marissa Junior/Senior High School. She says she can't remember anything from the Nov. 20 crash, or the days proceeding or following it. Julie is the lone survivor of the fatal train and SUV crash that rocked the town of 2,200. She was riding to school when an empty coal train slammed into the car, killing a parent Tina Porter ,43, was driving, and two of Julie's closest friends. The vehicle was crushed. Purviance said the hardest part was telling Julie that her friends D.J. Calvert and Allaysa Porter, both 13, had been killed in the crash.

Julie's personality has altered a little and she's more forceful in subtle ways, which doctors say is normal after brain trauma and can be permanent. It's too early to tell the extent of the aftermath of Julie's injuries, Tilbor said. She added that children who suffered brain trauma often had memory problems as well as difficulty concentrating. Her mother, Diane Purviance, found a different Julie in the hospital bed. She was puffy and swollen, and not fully conscious. Moreover, she was confused and agitated. She would randomly yell, curse, pull out her tubes, and kick or bite people at the slightest touch. Odd behavior for mild-mannered Julie, but typical of patients with brain trauma, doctors told the family. Now she has to sit next to teachers while eating lunch. Her recovery must be monitored at all times, and she has to be careful to avoid head injuries because even a small bump could be dangerous. Someone even walks her to and from classes.

It's unclear why Tina Porter drove over the tracks. A witness said the driver hesitated before attempting to cross; others said they heard the train whistle before the accident. The conductor has said the driver made no attempt to brake. Michael Porter could not be reached for comment. Last month, he filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Canadian National Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad. Attorney Thomas Keefe Jr. said the train had been going too fast, the sun had been in Porter's eyes and safety gates should have been installed at the crossing; he added that Porter had had enough time before school started, so there would have been no hurry. Purviance and the Calverts say they haven't pursued legal recourse.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The FDA and Sanofi-Aventis, maker of the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin), have revised Ketek's warnings to include a "Black Box" Warning, the strongest warning the FDA can mandate. Patients prescribed Ketek will now receive a Medication Guide. The FDA also withdrew two of the three previously-approved uses, so Ketek can no longer be prescribed for sinusitis and bronchitis, but can only be prescribed for certain types of pneumonia.

The new Boxed Warning states that Ketek is contraindicated (should not be used) in patients with myasthenia gravis. In addition, warnings were strengthened for liver toxicity, loss of consciousness, and visual disturbances.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new budget released by the Bush administration shows drastic cuts to veterans' healthcare that will take place in a span of 2 years. This budget cut comes at a crucial time as that Bush pushes a 20,000 soldier increase for Iraq and record numbers of veterans are coming home severely wounded. Bush's main reason for cutting veteran healthcare funding is to balance the budget by 2012 - a pledge he made at the beginning of his 2nd term.

Many opponents believe such a drastic cut is unrealistic. Over the past year, there has been a 5% increase in individuals returning from Iraq with severe illnesses and/or injuries. This is a trend that has been consistent over the course of the current war. To date, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans comprise over 5% of the VA's patient caseload and this number will only continue to rise as more and more soldiers come home with injuries that require long-term treatment and care. Experts expect a 26% increase of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the US by next year.

Among the most debilitating injuries that have been found in wounded veterans are traumatic brain injuries (TBI's). Over 20% of wounded vets suffer from a TBI and recovery treatments for TBI victims are extremely costly. Many opponents fear that severe cutbacks will hurt those attempting to recover from severe brain injuries and stop them from leading somewhat normal lives.

Even with the knowledge of growing trends, the Bush administration plans to go forward with the budget cuts. The budget documents show consistent cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and plan to freeze cutbacks after the 2-year period.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that over 40% of homeless men are veterans. This is an alarming number because only 34% of the male population have served in a war. On any given night, as many as 200,000 veterans are homeless. Although most homeless vets served during late Vietnam and the post-Vietnam era, an increasing amount of homeless vets are veterans of the Iraq war. The founder of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center attributes this growing number to the signature injury of the Iraq War - traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Since 2003, there have been over 20,000 soldiers injured and over 20% of those injured suffer from a TBI. The increasing number of soldiers with TBI's comes with the use of the Iraq War's signature weapon - the improvised explosive devise (IED), more commonly known as a roadside bomb. Record numbers of soldiers who suffer from a TBI are surviving the life-threatening injury because of advanced military medical technology. However, this increased number of survivors has left many veterans coming home with inadequately treated TBI's.

After surviving a TBI, veterans are not tested again when they return to the US to see if the TBI's effects have lingered. They are not tested for multiple concussions or other brain related injuries and the veterans assume their lives will go back to normal. Unfortunately, several veterans who suffer from TBI's experience extreme memory loss and behavioral changes (such as depression and substance abuse) several months after coming back from war. This leads to a spiraling path of destruction which usually lands brain injured vets in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and/or on the streets.

In response to the growing number of homeless vets, the US Department of Veteran Affairs started 2 programs: the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans and the Health Care for Homeless Veterans. Both programs offer residential treatment centers, public outreach programs, and psychological assessments. Even with the implementation of these programs, many still believe the US Military is not doing enough. Michael Mason, a TBI counselor at a veteran hospital said, "The military has done a spectacular job repairing bodies, but it hasn't yet learned how to put lives back together . . ."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Physicians' insurance premiums are down and more doctors are coming to Nevada since voters limited damages in medical malpractice cases, lawmakers were told Wednesday. But trial lawyers said many malpractice victims have been unable to go to court since the law's passage. In 2004, Nevada voters passed the Keep Our Doctors in Nevada initiative, which put a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical malpractice cases. That law also limited the amount that goes to a victim's attorney. The initiative, pushed by insurance companies and doctors who said insurers were leaving Nevada, superseded a medical malpractice bill passed during a 2002 special session. That law also capped damages at $350,000 but allowed for exceptions in cases of gross negligence or "exceptional circumstances."

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman said seven companies and two self-insurance pools now provide malpractice insurance in Nevada, rates have stabilized from the rapid hikes that took place in 2002, and two companies recently filed for lower rates. There are early signs that there may be fewer malpractice claims, but it's too early to reach any conclusions, Molasky-Arman told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jennifer Blake made headlines nearly four months ago when a 60,000-pound front-end loader ran over her while she worked as a flagger at a construction site. Blake was initially treated in Boise then flown to the University of Utah's Intermountain Burn Center in Salt Lake City. She spent her first month in the hospital heavily sedated and endured another 10 weeks of rehabilitation. "I've had so many surgeries. I don't know how many surgeries I've had," Blake says. Blake is returning home to Boise in the midst of her recovery from the accident. Mary Earl works at the burn center and has been a nurse for 26 years. She says Blake's injuries were some of the worst she's seen. The front-end loader ran over Blake while she was directing traffic at a Boise construction site. Fifteen to 20 percent of her skin was "degloved," or torn from the muscle, the tires driving dirt deep into her wounds, raising the risk of serious infection. The machine crushed her pelvis, broke several ribs and her ankle, collapsed one lung and ruptured her spleen. "I think she's a miracle," Earl says. "When she first came in, I didn't know if she was going to make it."

The single mother of four endured more than three months of excruciating surgeries and rehabilitation. Her doctor says it could take another year of physical therapy before she's fully independent again. Blake wakes up in pain and goes to sleep in pain. Bandages tear at raw wounds. Skin grafts tug on her intact skin. At the Intermountain Burn Center in Salt Lake City, nurses give her regular doses of narcotics to dull the pain enough to make it through grueling physical therapy sessions and daily dressing changes. Even with the medication, a powerful combination of Oxycodone and morphine, Blake rates her pain an eight on a scale of one to 10. "A lot of times, you just sit here and hurt," Blake says. "I've encountered some pain I never want to go through again, ever," she says. "It's made childbirth seem easy."

Blake lives with two of her 4 children whose ages are 4 and 12. Her oldest son lives on his own in Boise and one daughter lives with Blake's ex-husband. Blake still has months of physical therapy, including several trips back to the burn center, before she will be able to return to any kind of work, says Dr Jeffrey Saffle, a surgeon who treated Blake in Utah. Blake may never be able to do the kind of physical outdoor work she was doing before. In the meantime, Blake and her family must survive on her worker's compensation, which pays for her medical care and gives her a percentage of her flagger salary. "Being the sole supporting member of the household, it kind of worries me," she says. "But somehow, some way, we'll make it."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

More than 4 million women use the birth control patch, but the patch may hold risks they may not be aware of. A number of women told Denver 7NEWS they all made the choice to use the patch because they said they were told it was just as safe as other birth control. Six Colorado women said they believe they were victims of a corporate secret. Three of the women had pulmonary embolisms and three had blood clots. All six said they never were informed about the greater risks associated with taking the Ortho Evra birth control patch. After an FDA requirement to provide better warnings Ortho-McNeil and Johnson & Johnson added a 98 word warning inside the 19,000-word insert. 7NEWS Investigator Tony Kovaleski asked the group of women if they believed Ortho Evra is properly informing women today. They all said "no." Colorado attorney Michael Burg said, "They didn't do enough testing and they ultimately didn't know how much estrogen the patch was going to deliver." Burg represents some of the more than 4,000 women nationwide claiming they were injured by the Ortho Evra patch. "Their lives have changed for the rest of their life because Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil told them, 'Change your contraceptive. It's more convenient,' without telling them, 'Oh, by the way, we're going to double your risk of getting blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, strokes and heart attacks.' It's outrageous," Burg said.

"I just remember thinking that I was going to die," said Merlinda Maldonado, who used the Ortho Evra birth control patch. "I was awakened by what I thought was a heart attack. I was in excruciating pain," said Carrie Grater. "I had a blood clot that went from my ankle up to my knee," said patch-user Myndee Allen. All of them thought they were at no greater risk with the patch than with the pill, saying that's what they were told. But it's what the women said they were not told that raises questions about patchmaker Johnson & Johnson. When it hit the market in 2002, women were not told the patch contained 60 percent more estrogen than the common 35 microgram oral contraceptive. They were not told that the patch more than doubled their chances of experiencing problems with clotting, heart attacks, stroke and pulmonary embolisms.

Burg's accusation gets support in a recent legal filing from a doctor who worked for patchmaker Ortho-McNeil and Johnson & Johnson. In a lawsuit over wrongful termination, Dr. Joel Lippman claims he warned the company of serious health concerns connected to the patch -- claims that Johnson & Johnson has denied. In the lawsuit, Lippman said the patch "released dangerously high levels of estrogen into patients." The complaint also said Lippman advised that the company should "conduct further research to understand the impact of the hormones released by the patch."Lippman said in the legal filing that Ortho disregarded his concerns and launched the product. "He had told them not to put it on the market and his suggestion was just ignored," Burg said.

Posted by Michael S. Burg at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Five patients are scheduled to testify that a former Houston spine surgeon, Eric Scheffey, treated these patients after his license was suspended, prosecutors said on Wednesday. To counter the state's claim, his attorneys said they will put some patients on the witness stand who will say he was not practicing medicine. In opening statements in Scheffey's trial for allegedly practicing medicine without a license, prosecutor Rob Freyer told state District Judge Vanessa Velasquez that the five patients were in pain and went to Scheffey for comfort. Scheffey has been sued for malpractice at least 60 times, faces a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted in a bench trial expected to last seven to 10 days.

Officials allege Scheffey saw patients in his clinic in Texas after the Texas Medical Board revoked his license. Freyer said Scheffey examined them and treated them using his employee, now-deceased Dr. Floyd Hardimon, as a "strawman." He said Hardimon would sit quietly in the corner of the room, sleeping at times, while Scheffey would examine patients. Freyer said Scheffey would then get Hardimon to sign the forms and write the prescriptions. Freyer said that, in the eyes of these patients, Scheffey was treating them. "This is a simple case," Freyer said. "It's about the word of five people who were betrayed."

Scheffey's attorneys, Dick DeGuerin and Dan Cogdell, argued that their client was working to transfer 800 patients to other doctors, not practicing medicine. DeGuerin said many of the patients had long histories of medical problems, some with multiple surgeries that had to be discussed with other doctors when transferring care. DeGuerin also said Scheffey consulted with his attorney, Ace Pickens, in transferring care. He said he planned to present patients who were in the clinic on the same days as the state's witnesses to testify that Scheffey was following the rules.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

AP reports on an international study which found that Trasylol, a drug used to prevent bleeding during heart surgery, increases patients' risk of dying in the five years following surgery by nearly 50 percent. The researchers in the study felt that replacing the drug with less expensive drugs for a year could prevent about 10,000 deaths over the next five years.

These same researchers published a study last year which concluded that Trasylol (aprotinin), manufactured by Bayer AG, raised the risk of kidney failure, heart attacks, and strokes.

Bayer stated that the findings are not reliable because the researchers' statistical analysis did not account for the complexity of the surgeries in which Trasylol is typically used. Nevertheless, the company will "work with regulatory agencies and external experts in the field to further evaluate the findings."

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No Room for Contraception (NRFC) is a Catholic effort to expose the potential harms that contraception, birth control and sterilization bring to marriage and society. The views expressed are solely that of NRFC.

According to Johnson & Johnson's third quarter SEC filing for 2006 , there are over "1,000 claimants who have filed lawsuits or have made claims regarding injuries allegedly due to Ortho Evra." Not only is it a contraceptive it can act as an abortifacient by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg. Serious health problems have been associated with Ortho Evra including fatal and non-fatal blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, and death. From April 2002 to December 2004, over 27,974 adverse effects were reported by users of Ortho Evra. Many of the complaints are serious, and the patch is alleged to be responsible for over 23 deaths, including the death of 14 year old Alycia Brown.

Rather than pull the drug off of the market, it appears Johnson & Johnson finds it cheaper to settle with victims. Not surprisingly, considering that in 2004 sales of Ortho Evra reached 420 million dollars. Johnson & Johnson has plenty of money to spare in order to keep Ortho Evra on the shelves: in 2005 the company sold 1.1 billion dollars worth of hormonal contraceptives. One can speculate that Johnson & Johnson has concluded that they will still come out ahead by keeping the patch on the market. The amount they stand to gain from Ortho Evra sales over the next few years will eclipse the settlement payouts.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A chemical warehouse burst into flames on Wednesday, spewing a black cloud of smoke over Kansas City that rained down chunks of debris and forced hundreds to evacuate the area, authorities said. No one was seriously injured in the powerful explosion and fire that engulfed a CHEMCENTRAL Corp. distribution facility, and the chemicals involved did not immediately appear to be especially toxic, fire department and company officials said. However, emergency officials said they had asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the air for toxic vapors. The CHEMCENTRAL facility warehouses thousands of gallons of chemicals, which are sold in bulk to manufacturers of adhesives, paints and inks, Brennan said.

"I heard a series of large blasts, and saw fireballs shoot into the air," one resident told local radio. Kansas City Fire Department official Richard "Smokey" Dyer told reporters, "We have a very hot, intense fire. People who live in that area won't be allowed back" until the danger passes. About 500 people and at least six schools were evacuated from the "Bottoms" neighborhood near the Missouri River and adjacent to downtown Kansas City. Firefighters tried to fight the blaze initially but moved back because they were concerned three rail cars close to the fire could ignite. "It can turn (a rail car) into a burning rocket that can go as far as a mile (km)," Dyer said.

CHEMCENTRAL attorney Dan Brennan said it was not known what set off the explosions, but the company planned to investigate. Authorities cautioned that combinations of certain burning chemicals could pose a danger. Officials were still trying to identify which chemicals were ignited. A black cloud formed downwind of the blaze and could be seen at least 20 miles away. A city health department spokesman urged asthmatics to boost the dosage on their medicines and suggested drivers put their vehicles' air systems on recycle.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A recent document from 24-7 Press Release in Denver, CO lists what types of long term side effects may be experienced by victims of Traumatic Brain Injuries. Symptoms of TBI can be elusive and may not always appear immediately and initially may not seem related to the original injury. These symptoms and side effects can last a lifetime and show up unexpectedly. Such outcomes of TBI can be Epilepsy, Blackouts, Personality Changes and Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS). The doctors' understanding of the complexity of the brain and how it heals are very limited. The outcome often depends more on the area of the brain that has been affected than on the severity of the injury.

The neurological syndrome, Epilepsy is characterized by seizures. It has been estimated that over half of all victims of head injury develop epilepsy within one year or the original injury. Because of epilepsy, many victims are unemployable and live in constant fear of a seizure thus limiting their ability to drive or go swimming without supervision. Blackouts which are periods of time when a person is conscious and active but has no memory of their behavior are not uncommon side effects of TBI. Thoughts such as depression, unprovoked anger, loss of inhibitions such as crying and frightening outbursts can lead to dangerous behavior such as criminal activity and suicide. For those who do not have above behavioral changes there are more subtle personality changes. Cognitive and physical impairments causing severe depression, changes in the way they think and feel and even feeling like a stranger to themselves as well as their family. Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS) is harder to prove because the side effects can be elusive regardless, the symptoms are very real. PCS includes, but is not limited to impaired attention, confusion, apathy, sensitivity to noise and light and blurred or double vision. All side effects of TBI can be debilitating and can ultimately impact the performance of a victim to live life as they used to.

The recovery from TBI is unpredictable and can be very frustrating. No matter how mild or severe the TBI injury may be all victims need the support of their loved ones and is a group event that can be hard physically and emotionally for everyone involved. The majority of healing occurs within the first six months after injury, but recovery can last as long as ten years or more. Rehabilitation is a critical part of recovery. Some TBI victims will require full- time care for the rest of their lives, but most will be able to return to full or partial activity if they receive the proper care and rehabilitation.

The brain injury attorneys at Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C., represent birth trauma and other medical malpractice victims in Colorado, Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain Region and are available to consult with victims nationwide. With more than forty attorneys in Denver, Colorado, Cincinnati, Ohio, Dallas, Texas and Cody, Wyoming, Burg Simpson has the trial experience and the resources to handle even the most complex birth and brain injury lawsuits.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was brought into surgery at Long Beach Hospital in late 1982 when x-rays revealed that my right kidney was cancerous. The surgeons involved removed the wrong kidney. They took out the normal one. I then was transferred to UCLA Medical Center, where the cancerous kidney was removed. I have about 9% of kidney function remaining, and, because this is from the kidney that was cancerous, which was supposed to be the one to come out, I have a risk of recurrence of the original cancer. I also suffer from spinal problems arising from the medication I have to take. I can't really walk, much less work or do things I used to do, like fish.

My case came to trial in 1985. The jury, which included two nurses, a professor and an insurance agent, gave me $5,125,000; but because of California's cap on pain and suffering compensation, the judge reduced the verdict to $250,000 plus $6,000 in "economic" costs. Court costs alone amounted to roughly $200,000, not including attorneys' fees, nearly the entire amount of the final decision by the judge. The jury believed I would continue to work. They gave me no money for future income loss. I cannot work, however. My medical bills have gone beyond $500,000; my claims are frequently denied by the insurers, for no specific reason. I pay $1700 per month in health insurance. If it weren't for the fact that I settled with some of the defendants, I wouldn't be able to pay any of my bills.

I think it is outrageous that the legislature passed laws in response to the lobbyists for doctors that set up a limit on what a jury said I was entitled to compensate me for the suffering and costs I have experienced. I was lucky to get a lawyer to take my case with the limits in the law -- I guess that's why they made the law. They want to stop these types of cases. Thanks to the gross errors of doctors and others, my life and health have been severely impaired. The legal limitations placed upon my case by the ceilings on awards allowed those who made the mistake to pay only 5% of what the jury said I was entitled to. This happened because the doctors lobbied the legislature for a special exemption from the legal system in 1975. The Legislature should take a look at ways to prevent and punish dangerous behavior rather than eliminate victims' legal rights.

Harry Jordan passed away Mar 19, 2005.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Hill publication reports, physician lobbyists are redirecting their focus on medical malpractice legislation this year as they face a new Democratic Congress, which is unlikely to pass any bill that would cap non-economic damages in malpractice lawsuits. Democratic lawmakers historically have supported trial lawyers and public interest groups that oppose limits on non-economic damages. Democrats also say the court system is the only institution that can fairly moderate between private citizens and moneyed interests. The Democratic majority "has forced [physician lobbyists] to adjust their strategies not only in dealing with Congress but also in responding to their members and clients," The Hill reports.

Last year, the American Medical Association and other groups, such as the Health Coalition on Liability and Access, ran advertising campaigns supporting Republicans' malpractice bills in the home districts and states of key lawmakers. While federal tort reform efforts failed, "many of the proponents' aims were met" by state lawmakers and health insurers that "eliminate[d] some controversial practices," The Hill reports. A physician lobbyist said that a growing number of states have begun to address medical malpractice issues and that those actions have been spurred by efforts at the federal level. Although there might be "some form of legislative activity" on medical malpractice insurance or lawsuits this year, AMA has indicated that it will place more focus on issues supported by Democrats, such as expanding health coverage to the uninsured and preventing a 10% reduction in Medicare payments to physicians, according to The Hill (Young, The Hill, 2/1).

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reports suggest it will take a concerted effort to address the health problems confronting our nation's soldiers as they return from war. Their problems parallel some of the issues facing our overall health system, but in a more acute form. One such issue is catastrophic injury, another is the complex world of traumatic brain injury and polytrauma (multiple severe injuries). The presence of so many catastrophic injuries raises concerns about the ability of the Veterans' Administration to fulfill its duties. The Defense Appropriations Act of 2007 reduced the annual research funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center from $14 million to $7 million. After an outcry from veterans' groups and others, the funds were eventually restored by politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Catastrophic injuries are a significant public policy issue in the civilian population, too. Data analysis studies conducted in the past for private health payers have shown that severe injuries range from 1% to 5% of total injuries or illnesses, but from 30% to 50% of total costs. These findings are generally consistent with other published studies. This suggests that proper treatment, funding, and planning for catastrophic care is a critical and under-recognized issue in health care policy.

As for non-catastrophic brain injuries, 1700 soldiers have been treated for TBI. Yet studies have shown that most wounded soldiers being treated in the US for any type of wound also show signs of TBI. (Specific figures: 60% of treated soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital and 83% at National Naval Health Center in Bethesda, according to two separate studies.) There is therefore a possibility that some TBI cases have not been recognized, since some symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from psychological trauma. This means that research into these types of injuries has potential benefit both for individuals and for the overall healthcare system. The numbers suggest that research on brain injury is good public policy, as well as a way to support American veterans.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene associated with heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults, can also increase the likelihood that brain-injured newborns will develop cerebral palsy, researchers at Children's Memorial Research Center have discovered. This is the first identification of a gene that increases susceptibility to cerebral palsy. Results of the study may enable early identification of children who are at risk for poor neuro-developmental outcome after brain injury as newborns and thus target those children for early therapeutic intervention.

The lead scientist on the study was Mark S. Wainwright, M.D., Ph.D. Wainwright and his laboratory group compared APOE genotypes in 209 children with cerebral palsy and a matched control group of children in good health. They found that children who carry the E4 or the E2 form of the APOE gene are not only more likely to develop cerebral palsy but also to have more severe neurologic impairment following perinatal brain injury, just as adults who carry the E4 form of the APOE gene may be more susceptible to developing Alzheimer's disease and have worse outcome after brain injury, including stroke and head injury. Overall findings from the study showed that carrying the E4 allele was associated with greater than a threefold-elevated risk for cerebral palsy. "People who carry the E4 allele may not be able to recover as effectively from a brain injury, making these newborns at greater risk for developing cerebral palsy," he said.

Cerebral palsy affects two in every 1,000 school-aged children in the United States, has an annual economic toll on society estimated at $5 billion and is the most costly of the clinically significant birth defects in the United States. Cerebral palsy encompasses a diverse group of disorders characterized by non-progressive impairment of motor function resulting from injury to the developing brain. Cerebral palsy is often associated with impaired intellectual function, sensory deficits, behavioral disorders and seizures. In the majority of cases, a specific cause for cerebral palsy cannot be identified.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

At the time of birth, a newborn's brain is less than 1/4 of the size of an adult brain. The developing brain grows to approximately 80% of the adult brain by age 3 and continues to grow as late as 30 years of age. Since the brain is constantly growing and does not reach nearly full growth until age 3, it is extremely important to understand how fragile an infant's brain is. Brain injuries that occur during infancy can disrupt the normal development of the brain and affect the individual forever.

A University of Pennsylvania study recently found that babies are more susceptible to serious brain injuries when they fall than previously believe. The study found that forces generated by an infant's head a hard surface can cause serious brain injuries. The potentially life-threatening injuries include nerve cell damage and internal bleeding. Both can damage brain tissue permanently and can impair important mental and motor functions.

The most common cause of death in children is traumatic brain injury. Unfortunately, the most common cause of TBI in children is child abuse - it accounts for over 50% of infant TBI's. Accidental falls also cause TBI's in infants but it is often used as an excuse to mask child abuse. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania hope their study can help child abuse investigators distinguish between accidental fall and intentional injuries in cases of infant TBI's. More research must be done before a clear distinction can be made.

The study used an infant crash test dummy that resembled a 6-week-old infant. The dummy was dropped at differing velocities and the rotational forces experienced by the falling dummies were measured. Full details of the study were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Prominent trial lawyer Rex Carr said he was shocked when his clients, the family of a woman who died of cancer, lost their case against a physician. The family had argued that if the doctor had tested the mole he removed from the woman in 1999, he would have caught the cancer that eventually spread to her liver and brain. The doctor and his attorneys contended there was no reason to suspect the mole was cancerous, and a jury agreed. Carr said he suspected the jurors might have been influenced by forces outside the courtroom. The jury rejected a medical malpractice claim by a veteran trial attorney and decided in favor of an area doctor. Research shows that only about one out of four trials end up with a verdict against the doctor or hospital.

The arguments from various sides; lawyers, doctors, the insurance industry, business groups, even President George W. Bush paint a continually muddled picture of an issue that seems as if it will never be settled. "There's a fundamental disagreement about what the facts on the ground are," said David Hyman, a professor at the University of Illinois and an expert in medical malpractice law. "When there's disagreement on both the diagnosis of this issue and the treatment, it's hard to come up with a solution. This issue isn't going away." Business groups say they are now encouraged at the thought of wider reforms that Illinois put in place less than two years ago.

A few years ago in Illinois, residents were in the grip of a political firestorm as doctors and business groups claimed litigation was driving up costs and forcing physicians to leave. Lawyers said medical professionals were hoodwinked by companies that were trying to justify raising medical malpractice insurance rates. In response, Illinois lawmakers enacted a compromise law that capped damages that doctors and hospitals had to pay for non-economic damages, $500,000 for the doctor and $1 million for the hospital. The law also made changes to insurance industry regulation designed to foster competition. But medical malpractice remains a sensitive subject that has left hard feelings on both sides.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

C.A. Matlock supervised a cleaning crew at an Exempla Healthcare hospital. Her crew removed bodily fluids spilled on floors, splashed on walls, and even caught between the buttons of television remotes. They couldn't always keep pace. Cost-cutting efforts kept them constantly short-handed. Sometimes, nurses would complain to Matlock's boss concerning insufficient clean up. Matlock said she repeatedly asked her managers for help in the form of more staff or more overtime. Instead, she said, they wrote her up. In August, Matlock filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In September, she was fired. Exempla vice president Kay Taylor said, "There are no retaliations. We're confident our employees feel safe and feel heard." Documents show Matlock's complaint to OSHA resulted in only minor citations so the agency eventually dismissed her claim that she was fired as a result of her complaint.

"OSHA can't really protect a worker from this," said state Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora. "Under current law, there is no real legal protection." That's why Carroll has introduced a bill that would attempt to give health care workers whistle-blower protection. It recently passed the House Health and Human Services Committee. Last year, Carroll introduced a similar bill, which passed the legislature by an overwhelming majority, only to be vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens. Nurse Barb Hostrup went to the Capitol last year to stump for Carroll's bill. She was featured in this column and then fired from Exempla months later. "Nobody wants whistle-blower protection more than me," she said. Hospitals can be strange places. Administrators ask employees to report problems, but then they get so busy managing budgets that they don't hear them. Matlock put it this way: "They tell you, you can speak up. ... And as soon as you do, you're gone."

I'd like to think that if I were hospitalized, somebody would speak up if something went wrong. Patricia Skolnik, director of Colorado Citizens for Accountability, says this doesn't always happen. When her only son went in for surgery a few years ago, an assistant surgeon declined to mention that he had refused to participate in the operation because he deemed it an unnecessary procedure. "He could have come out to the waiting room and told us," Skolnik told the House committee. "Instead, he waited to tell us in his deposition." When the surgery did not go well, nurses and even a chaplain were reluctant to talk about it, Skolnik said. "Michael was unable to talk or walk. He was 50 percent blind in both eyes. ... He had a severe seizure disorder. He had no short-term memory and he was psychotic." Doctors claimed her son would recover with rehab. He died 34 months later. Skolnik said she had to hire a private investigator to learn that the surgeon had a history of medical malpractice claims, had lied about his credentials, and had moved to another state for the fourth time. "Maybe someone should have been brave enough to tell us," Skolnik told the House committee. "Or maybe they had to worry about being blackballed, losing their careers and not being able to take care of their own children."

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two bills seeking to increase the evidence requirements for malpractice suits related to emergency room visits are receiving some sharp criticism. HB 338 (Emergency Room Tort Reform, Rep. Bradley Last, R-St. George) requires a clear and convincing standard of proof for litigation involving emergency care rendered in an emergency room. SB 115 (Emergency Medicine Tort Reform, Sen. Sheldon L. Killpack, R-Syracuse) would up the standards of evidence required to wage a malpractice suit against an emergency room service provider using clear and convincing evidence for malpractice actions. They haven't been heard by a committee yet.

The Utah Citizens Alliance, an organization that works for accountability and safety in health care, strongly opposes the bills. Myrleen Kelly, a member of the UCA, says the bills are designed to protect doctors. Kelly said that when patients are in an ER, they are not in a position to have a notepad to collect evidence in case something goes wrong. Kelly said that the bill is "sneaky and it's horrible." Kelly lost her husband nine years ago after a doctor who, according to Kelly, was not qualified to be practicing in an ER, and misdiagnosed a stroke as high blood pressure. Kelly sued and won, but she says that if this bill were in place when her husband died in an Orem hospital, she wouldn't have had a chance of winning.

The Utah Medical Association supports HB 338, as well as the similar bill, SB 115. Mark Fotheringham, spokesman for the UMA, said he thinks the standard to prove fault in malpractice should be higher. "The one thing that needs to be understood is that these bills do not provide immunity from a lawsuit," Fotheringham said. "The emergency room is such a unique environment," he added. "The doctors that work there don't have a choice to treat or not to treat a patient. They must treat and they do that with a limited knowledge of medical background, sometimes not knowing the patient's name." The American College of Emergency Room Physicians has ranked Utah at 43rd in the nation for access to emergency room care, receiving an overall grade of "D." It criticized Utah for having a liability law climate that detracts physicians from practicing in Utah.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota is launching the first-of-its-kind clinic in the Midwest to treat young people, especially athletes, who are injured with a concussion. Concussions can occur from a sports injury, car accident, fall or any blow to the head. Bethesda Hospital is considered the Midwest expert in Traumatic and Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation with its inpatient programs. The new convenient, one-day clinic will offer treatment by experts who work with brain injury everyday, including physicians, neuro-psychologists and therapists. "We are very excited to be able to offer this new Bethesda Concussion Clinic to the young people in our community, who are at risk for brain injuries," said Frank Indihar, MD, CEO Bethesda Hospital. "If an athlete returns to action too quickly and receives another blow, the results can result in headaches, inability to concentrate in school, memory loss and mood change."

The Brain Injury Association of Minnesota estimates that 94,000 Minnesotans are living with a disability because of a brain injury. The American College of Sports Medicine estimates that roughly 85 percent of concussions suffered go undiagnosed. Medical experts say it takes children longer than adults to recover from a concussion. Sports where concussions and brain injuries frequently occur include football, soccer, boxing, skiing, snowboarding, baseball, skateboarding and horseback riding. In any given football season, ten percent of all college players and 20 percent of all high school players sustain brain injuries.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No criminal charges are warranted in a Jan. 14 backcountry collision between a snowmobiler and a snowboarder, investigators for the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office concluded Monday. "It was clearly an accident, and it's unfortunate," said Joe Bauer, a patrol director with the sheriff's office. Sheriff's investigators felt they couldn't file charges because of conflicting statements from witnesses and there was no conclusive evidence, Bauer said. The investigation was closed Monday. The end of the investigation doesn't bring closure on the incident for either Roy Reed, the New Castle man who was driving the snowmobile, or Doran Laybourn, who was snowboarding.

Reed and Laybourn differ in views on the rendering of aid. In Laybourn's view, Reed failed to render aid and assistance adequately. Reed said he offered what assistance he could. Even in retrospect, Reed said, he would not have moved Laybourn. He felt the proper reaction was to stabilize him at the crash site and get help to the scene. He said Gordon evacuated Laybourn before any other action could be taken. Laybourn wrote that he made the decision he had to be evacuated to the Aspen Mountain ski patrol hut near the Sundeck rather than wait for help. He felt internal bleeding endangered his life.

Bauer said the sheriff's office concluded Reed did attempt to render aid and he took appropriate legal steps after the accident. "He did render aid," Bauer said. "It wasn't what Doran and his friend thought he should do." Gordon and Laybourn decided to evacuate Laybourn to the patrol hut, Bauer noted. At that point, it didn't make sense for Reed to remain at the scene. Reed reported to the sheriff's office about 90 minutes after the accident. "He did exactly what he was supposed to do," Bauer said. Bauer said this incident, perhaps, points to the need of more regulation on the part of a public agency. The U.S. Forest Service is probably best suited to take action since it manages so much of the land on Richmond Ridge.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Researchers in the Wainwright Laboratory at the Children's Memorial Research Center have found a link between a specific gene and the risk of cerebral palsy in newborns. The gene, Apolipoprotein E (APOE), has previously been associated with the increased risk of Alzheimer's in adults who have sustained a brain injury. The Wainwright study has now found that APOE is related to the heightened risk of cerebral palsy in newborns with brain injuries. This discovery is the first indication that the appearance of a gene could increase the risk of cerebral palsy in newborns. The results of the study may help pioneer the early identification of cerebral palsy in children with brain injuries. Early identification could lead to important early therapeutic intervention.

Cerebral palsy encompasses a large group of disorders characterized by non-progressive impairment of motor function resulting from brain injuries in developing children. Common symptoms include impaired intellectual function, behavioral disorders, and sensory deficits. Cerebral palsy affects 2 in 1,000 school-aged children in the US.

In the study, researchers compared APOE genotypes in 209 children with cerebral palsy against a control group of healthy children. They found that children who carried the E4 or E2 allele of APOE were more likely to develop cerebral palsy after a brain injury. Carrying the E4 allele was associated with a more than threefold-elevated risk for cerebral palsy in children. The protein apoE, which is coded by the APOE gene, is produced in the brain and plays multiple roles such as protecting the brain against injury. The researchers speculate that APOE's role in the development of cerebral palsy varies with the age of the children and nature of the brain injury.

The Wainwright Lab plans to confirm their findings through additional studies using other populations. The researchers also hope to further identify the role of apoE protein in the brain's biochemical pathway.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ten passengers on a bus that was hit by a train at the Shell Oil Co.'s Deer Park plant earlier this week are suing the company, claiming an unguarded railroad crossing posed an unreasonable risk of harm. The passengers, all employees of AltairStrickland, filed suit Thursday in a Harris County district court. They, along with about 30 other AltairStrickland employees, were riding in a school bus from a satellite parking lot to inside the 1,500-acre Shell facility Tuesday morning when the collision occurred. Aside from Shell, also named in the lawsuit are Port of Houston Authority International Corp., operators of the engine involved in the collision, and Brand Scaffold Builders LLC, which operated the bus.

Attorney Tony Buzbee said many of his clients suffered back injuries because they were sitting in the back of the bus. The train struck the left rear side of the bus. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for pain and anguish, medical expenses, loss of wages, physical impairment and disfigurement.

Dave McKinney, a spokesman for Shell, said he could not comment on the litigation. "It's still under investigation," he said of the accident. Officials with the railroad could not be reached for comment. A Brand Scaffold representative had no comment.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a second, a brain injury can change your life. That was the message that two re presentatives from the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey brought to students at Central Regional High School in Berkeley on Jan. 25. "But helmets are big and ugly," said Jen Farnan, 16, of Berkeley, one of the teens whose opinion was solicited by Wendy Berk, a traumatic brain injury outreach specialist, and Susan Quick, a prevention and outreach counselor for the education and advocacy group based in Edison. Berk and Quick met with small groups of students in order to solicit the teens' opinions about helmets and to assess what they know about brain injuries. She said the association wants to step up efforts to get older teens to wear helmets.

When Berk asked one group of students what they knew about HIV and AIDS and where they received that information, they told her they learned about it in health class. "What if I told you more people have brain injury than have AIDS?" she said. "The highest incidence of brain injury occurs among people 15 to 24," she said. "It's not something that's part of the curriculum," said Farnan, who also pointed out that there is little enforcement of the helmet law. New Jersey law requires people under 17 years of age to wear a helmet when bicycling, roller skating or skateboarding. "We're trying to get the message out that it's a safety issue. It's about brain safety," Berk said. "It's not just about helmets."

Berk said that in past years, the association has teamed up police departments and businesses, like Best Buy, who gave police coupons worth $5 to hand out to bicycle riders who wore helmets. Quick said the association has plans to get the message out on YouTube and other Web sites frequented by teens. Point Pleasant Beach Police Chief Daniel DePolo agreed that it is difficult for police to enforce the helmet law. First-time violators get a warning, he said. Those who fail to comply after a warning have their bicycles taken away by police, and parents must report to headquarters to get them back. Third-time violators receive a summons.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the second year spectators and participants have the opportunity to support an organization devoted to making life easier for families of brain injury patients. The Jeff Barnes Brain Injury Foundation was started in 2001 when Visalia resident Jeff Barnes suffered a brain injury while teaching vocational welding at the state prison in Corcoran. In addition to serving as a fundraiser, the walk/run is designed to let residents become aware of the foundation and its message. "Brain injury reaches across all lines, it doesn't care what your financial background is, it can happen to anyone and at any time," said Cheri Barnes Jeff Barnes wife. “It is when people don't wear helmets and get injured while cycling is a main cause of brain injury.” Jeff's injury left him nearly paralyzed. He cannot talk, but can communicate by showing emotions.

The Quad Knopf Sequoia Cycling Classic, a two-day event on March 17-18 in Visalia and Exeter California will include a walk/run March 18 as a fundraiser for the Jeff Barnes Brain Injury Foundation. The foundation does not give out financial assistance, but does provide bicycle helmets to children. Last year, the foundation gave out about 600 helmets, 351 of those to children on Christmas Eve while partnering with Visalia Emergency Aid. The rest were given out between California and Florida when Jeff's brother, Jim Barnes did a cross-country triathlon where he promoted the Jeff Barnes Brain Injury Foundation by giving out helmets along the way.

"We stand by the Jeff Barnes Brain Injury Foundation and the message they are trying to get out to the public and how related it is to the cycling industry," said Sheri Clark, race director. One of the main reasons Cheri Barnes decided to start the foundation was to provide information and assistance so families going through a similar experience will have support. "We received a lot of help from family and friends trying to find the best care [for Jeff] and it was so difficult, and we thought what do others do in the same situation," Cheri Barnes said.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) began in 1970 as a one-time ski lesson for children with amputations in conjunction with the Children's Hospital of Denver. Over 30 years later, the NSCD is now one of the largest outdoor therapeutic centers in the nation. Each year the NSCD helps thousands of disabled children and adults learn about sports they normally would not try. The mission of NSCD is "to provide quality sports and therapeutic recreation programs that positively impact the lives of people with physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral challenges."

The NSCD is located at Winter Park Ski Resort in Colorado and has offices in Denver. Disabilities served by the organization include, but are not limited to: cerebral palsy, ADD, deafness, traumatic brain injury, MS, spina bifida, substance abuse, blindness, amputation, stroke, autism, spinal cord injury, Down Syndrome, and epilepsy. Specially trained staff help individuals, families, and/or groups with a variety of winter and summer sports. The organization also has a lab that develops adaptive equipment.

The summer activities provided by the NSCD include rafting, kayaking, camps, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding and camping. Winter activities include alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ski racing, and cross-country skiing. The organization is sponsored by Winter Park, Wells Fargo, and Sports Authority but also depends greatly on donations made by the public. The NSCD is hosting a ski event at Winter Park called "Ski for NSCD" on February 25, 2007. Donation amounts range from $150 - $5,000. Each donation is matched with different levels of prizes that include season ski passes, tickets to the 1-day event, and lodging at the resort for the weekend. There will be a clam bake, silent 2-day auction, and a celebrity race for the event.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Public Citizen, an advocacy group, has filed a petition with US regulators on Tuesday, February 6th, saying that some newer birth control pills should be banned due to the increased risk of dangerous blood clots. The pills in question are made by several manufacturers including Barr Pharmaceuticals, Akzo Nobel NV unit Organon BioSciences, Johnson & Johnson, and Watson Pharmaceutical to name a few. Newer oral contraceptives sold in the U.S., also known as "third generation," contain a different type of progestin called desogestrel. Public Citizen has said that after their analysis of the available research, they found that the pills containing desogestrel are still too risky to be sold and go on to suggest that there is no superior clinical benefit when the second-generation oral contraceptives are just as effective without the greater risk.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A CSX train that derailed south of Louisville two weeks ago igniting chemical fires and forcing residents from their homes could cost the company more than $10 million, a spokesman said Wednesday. That amount includes damage to the railroad, the environmental price tag and personal claims from residents, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said. The train was carrying a number of hazardous chemicals, much of which firefighters allowed to burn so that rail cars could be moved off the site. CSX crews also excavated 4,500 tons of contaminated earth from around the site. Sease said workers have removed about 200,000 gallons of waste waster that contained chemicals spilled in the derailment.

Although no one was seriously injured in the Jan. 16 derailment, about 15 families are still shut out of their homes. The derailment caused fires on several cars and sent a column of thick black smoke into the sky over homes and businesses in northern Bullitt County. Some utilities have not been restored to the homes and congestion from heavy equipment at the scene of the crash continues to make it unsafe for residents to return to their homes, said Sherryl Carbonaro, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency. "There's so much equipment down there it's not really that safe," Carbonaro said. "Also, there's no water to some of the homes, and there's no gas to some of the homes."

CSX planned to close a community outreach center on Wednesday where residents were offered $100 checks if they could demonstrate they were inconvenienced by the derailment, Sease said. Additionally the center was seeing up to 1,500 people a day at the height of the payments. He said the company will still be in contact with residents who have major claims against CSX. "We are going to shift the bulk of our resources and attention to those outstanding claims and the care and support of those displaced families," Sease said.

Posted by David P. Hersh at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Digging through our archives of past stories we noticed an increase in construction-related accidents. So we also checked with the state Labor Commission, and we are right. Utah is growing by leaps and bounds. That means more construction and, for a number of reasons, more accidents. Are resources being stretched too thin?

Utah is booming -- the economy, housing, a low unemployment rate. 'One nail at a time' increased construction, but not without problems. Tori Burns, OSHA div. of Utah Labor Commission says "We're finding a lot of different types of accidents. There's greater probability just due to the increased activity, so we're seeing a lot more this year." She says they've had 11 accidents already this year. One was fatal. That's an increase of nearly two accidents a week. Burns says contractors are stretched thin. Low unemployment means fewer trained workers, more projects to finish, and Utah's demands are not letting up.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Authorities plan to pursue homicide charges against the pilot who survived a tragic 2004 plane accident during a charity fundraising event. Mark Strub will face a single charge of negligent homicide stemming from the August 28, 2004 crash that killed passenger Kimberly Reed. Reed, 39, was one of several passengers Strub gave 10-minute rides to in his Stearman PT-13 during the 2004 Children's Miracle Network Balloon Rally in Wisconsin Rapids. Strub had volunteered his time and plane for the event.

According to the NTSB Probable Cause report on the crash, Strub said he had given three people free rides prior to the accident flight. Reed has asked for an aerobatic flight, so with both persons wearing parachutes the plane departed, and climbed to 3,000 feet. After performing one Cuban eight, a loop, and two hammerhead stalls, Strub and Reed were heading back to the airport, at an altitude of about 50 feet over the Wisconsin River. "Just as I was to initiate a climb I struck power lines crossing the river," Strub told investigators. "I noticed the power lines not more than 1/2 a second before impact." The Stearman's landing gear struck the power lines, and the airplane landed inverted in Nepco Lake in about 3-4 feet of water. Officials believe Reed was killed on impact; Strub escaped with minor injuries.

In an interview with the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune three days after the crash, Strub said he continued to relive the crash "every ten minutes." "I didn't even know her name," Strub told the paper. "She came up to me, of course, trusting me with her life, and wanted the experience. That's why I was there. How did that turn tragic? I have no real answer." "It's just such a tragedy what happened," said Mike Wiberg to the Daily Tribune. "The guy is donating his time, sharing flying experiences with people who have never flown before."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jamie Robertson is a walking miracle. Nine months ago, he nearly died. "I tripped and fell and hit the back of my head on the sidewalk," he says. "My brain was bruised and had blood clots in it, so they had to do surgery immediately." Thirty-percent of traumatic brain injury patients die. "There is no magic pill or treatment for traumatic brain injury in terms of salvaging brain tissue. If you can get oxygen to that tissue, you can salvage a lot of tissue," Bruce Spiess, M.D., a cardiac anesthesiologist at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, tells Ivanhoe.

Dr. Spiess' man-made blood substitute called Oxycyte does just that. In a brain injury, swelling makes it tough for red blood cells to carry vital oxygen. Oxycyte's particles are much smaller. "They are about 1/50th to 1/100 the size of a red blood cell," Dr. Spiess says. Given intravenously, Oxycyte carries oxygen 50-times more effectively than blood. "Within about a half hour to 40 minutes after the patients received the Oxycyte, their brain oxygen levels doubled to quadrupled."

In a study on nine people who got Oxycyte, only two died. No survivors had permanent damage. "They all walked out of the hospital, and today, they appear to be neurologically intact," Dr. Spiess says. Robertson got Oxycyte and was playing golf just two months later. "All the doctors said it was amazing how fast I recovered," he says. "I look at life a little bit different because I know how lucky I am." If it gets FDA approval, it will be the first drug ever approved in the United States for traumatic brain injuries.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The creative director of Sesame Street knows the pain of trying to help rehabilitate a loved one who has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). When her younger brother was in college, he suffered from a severe head injury while in a car accident. After the accident, her brother was never the same. As soon as anyone said something to her brother, he would instantly forget what was said and incessantly ask the same questions over and over again. Everyone in the family practiced great patience but it was still difficult to explain things several times each day.

Twenty-five years later, the creative director's experience has led her to found an organization that helps TBI victims and their family and friends to cope with the difficult process of living with and recovering from a TBI. The organization is based in Fort Montgomery, NY and is called 10-in-10. The founder came up with the name 10-in-10 because the National Institutes of Health reports that 2 in 10 people with TBI's get the help they need to make a full recovery. 10-in-10's members wants to help everyone who suffers a TBI to have a successful recovery.

10-in-10's signature form of help is a recovery kit called the "Brain Injury Recovery Kit." The kit was developed by a brain injury victim and her case worker. The kit consists of simple tools that help the victim rebuild their memory abilities. The kit includes a special 8-hour DVD that demonstrates the simple technique and also includes a segment for loved ones that explains how to cope with victims needs. Instruments in the kit include a daily planner, workbooks with simple exercises to enhance short-term memory, wristbands and color-coded folders for notes of various tasks that can be stored for easy retrieval, and a voice recorder for personal notes.

The organization's recovery kits have proven to be very successful in TBI victims. A college student recently received one after a brain injury and he is now resuming his college studies. 10-in-10 also started a separate program to help Iraq War veterans who suffered a TBI called "Ticket of Hope." A $600 donation to the program sends the vet a recovery kit.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two days of testimony may be moot after a motion for mistrial was taken under advisement in a trial alleging medical malpractice. The case of Keeney v. Dr. Andrew Chontos began Tuesday in Lincoln County District Court. Attorney William Tannehill called for a mistrial on behalf of Chontos, after an attorney for the family of Catherine Keeney attempted to introduce evidence of Chontos's medication history in front of the jury Wednesday afternoon. "Medication was not to be mentioned," Tannehill said. "It is a violation of a protection order and the clear intention was to get the information in front of the jury. It's prejudicial to Dr. Chontos." After releasing the jury, Murphy said he was hesitant to grant a mistrial, but would announce his decision Thursday morning before any more testimony is heard in the case.

Chontos did gastric bypass surgery on Keeney on Dec. 2, 2002. Chea testified that while gastric bypass is a high-risk procedure, it is recognized by the National Institute of Health as a viable option in cases of morbid obesity. Keeney was "typical" in that she had obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes, respiratory problems, and possible sleep apnea, Chea said. Gastric bypass patients are prone to complications and serious illness if something goes wrong, Chea said. "The most fearsome risk is leaks from the construction area," Chea said. Keeney developed a leak in the connection area where a portion of the stomach is stapled off and connected to the small intestine. Leaks lead to inflammation, Chea said. "The most common cause of leaks is tension pulling on the connection area," Chea said. "To contradict that, we have to reinforce the area."

Chontos took Keeney back into surgery on Dec. 4 to repair the leak, which was done with an omental patch, a procedure that Chea said is ineffective. "If a patient shows symptoms of a leak, they must be taken into surgery immediately," Chea said. "I believe in this case there was hesitation due to the difficulty of diagnosing the leak." Chontos ordered a computerized tomography, or CT, scan on Keeney on Dec. 4 prior to the second surgery. In reviewing operative and clinical records, Chea said the omental patch used in the second procedure was ineffective because it was being applied to necrotic, or dead tissue.

"By this time the patient was in sepsis, and her body went into shock, which required ventilation and the Intensive Care Unit," Chea said. Keeney was taken to surgery a third time on Dec. 7, and then transferred to Denver on Dec. 14. "Her ultimate cause of death was conditions brought on by complications of gastric bypass surgery," Chea said. "She was in systemic shock. Her leak led to inflammation, which led to shock, which led to multi-system failure."

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A commission created by several national veterans groups will begin a series of touring town hall hearings today in a search for long-term strategies to ensure that veterans of the Iraq war and other conflicts receive adequate medical care and other benefits. The tour of the Commission on the Future for America's Veterans kicks off in Charleston, W.V. Other planned stops include Tampa in March. The commission wants to gather input from veterans, state officials, labor and business leaders, and the public on issues like health care, benefits, transition from military to civilian life, catastrophic disabilities and the needs of National Guard members and reservists. It hopes to release its long-term plan by spring 2008.

The Veterans Affairs Department provides high-quality, low-cost health care but is ill prepared to deal with the needs of 21st century veterans, said managing commissioner Harry N. Walters, who administered the federal veterans' agency from 1982 to 1986. "This era of veterans has unique calls for medical services and benefits," Walters said. Iraq veterans are surviving amputations, head trauma and other catastrophic injuries that their predecessors in the Vietnam War did not. That will strain not only the VA's health care system but also its disability programs, he said.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Consider the fate of Sean Patrick Armstrong, the driver who struck a bicyclist on Providence Road last February, then fled. Mr. Armstrong will serve up to a year in jail for his crime -- the maximum North Carolina law allows. His victim, Brian Hanley, remains in a wheelchair, re-learning how to speak, eat, breathe and even see. Besides a traumatic brain injury, he suffered a broken pelvis, leg and ribs, and spent weeks in a coma.

This kind of legal lenience is outrageous. The law ought to be changed. Tell state lawmakers you want hit-and-run laws reformed to mete out tough punishment for drivers who cause serious injuries and run away. By the time Mr. Armstrong strolls out of jail, Mr. Hanley (if he's lucky and works really hard) may be able to recall basic things like the house he used to live in. His injuries are too devastating to expect his life to return to normal ever again. A sparing sentence for hit-and-run dirvers is an incentive to flee and avoid responsibility. National statistics show the crime of hit-and-run is frequently tied to driving drunk. Mr. Armstrong had four convictions for driving under the influence. That argues for more effective enforcement of drunk driving laws, too. A tougher sentence for hit-and-run won't flood the courts or the prisons, nor would it require punishment of people for accidents they couldn't help.

The appropriate sentence for a hit-and-run with serious injury is debatable, but it certainly should be years, not months. Other states, such as Ohio, have strengthened their laws in recent years. N.C. lawmakers should start the ball rolling by asking committees in both chambers to look at what other states do. The N.C. Bar Association would perform an admirable public service if it would use its resources and its clout to help push effective reform. It's as simple as this: When the law is inadequate, it ought to be changed. This law is ridiculously inadequate. Lawmakers should fix it before the 2007 legislative session ends.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Michael Porter lost his wife and daughter in a car-train accident in November. He has filed a $300,000 wrongful death lawsuit against the railroad companies. Michael Porter's wife, Tina, 43, and daughter Allaysa, 13, were killed on Nov. 20 after a train struck the 2004 Chevrolet Blazer Tina was driving across the railroad crossing. Tina Porter was dropping her daughter and family friends Donna Jean Calvert, 13, and Julie Seymour, 12, at their school. Donna Jean was killed and Julie was critically injured in the wreck. Ken Calvert Donna Jean Calvert's father said his family plans to file a lawsuit against the railroads as well. Porter filed lawsuits on Jan. 10 against Canadian National Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad seeking $150,000 from each.

Porter's attorney, Thomas Keefe Jr., said the railroad companies were liable because Canadian National did not install a needed railroad crossing. He said Union Pacific allowed the train to travel through the village at unsafe speeds and did not blow the train's horn in time to warn the driver. The westbound train, owned by Union Pacific, was running on tracks owned by Canadian National Railroad. Neither railroad has responded to the lawsuit. Canadian National spokesman Jim Kvedaras said the company would not comment on ongoing litigation and Union Pacific could not be reached. The conductor told police he blew the train's horn before the accident. The Federal Railroad Administration allows trains to travel through the crossing at 60 mph.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dr. Joel Lippman was employed by Johnson & Johnson for 15 years and was vice president of clinical trials for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., makers of contraceptives. When he voiced serious health concerns over the dangerously high levels of estrogen in the Ortho Evra patch, Lippman was fired for "inappropriate action."

Ortho Evra has been marketed to well over four million women, so it is somewhat surprising that only 1,000 product liability suits have been filed to date. But that may change. Thanks to Lippman's civil complaint, He has revealed (yet again) to the public how drug companies don't police themselves, and how the FDA has to depend upon the data from the drug company in order to approve (or deny) its drug application.

Now, Johnson & Johnson cannot hide so easily behind its facade. Users are still coming forward because the Ortho Evra patch is still on the market. The TV ads alone hook new users daily. D'Angelo anticipates many more filings in the wake of the Lippman suit, possibly in the tens of thousands. D'Angelo predicts that cases truly meritorious are the ones that Johnson & Johnson will want to dispose of before trial so the public doesn't learn the truth -- the company doesn't want certain documents to come out during discovery.

The FDA clearly hasn't done enough. The only people to stand between the drug companies and the public to guard against this kind of conduct are the lawyers and the whistleblowers. To this day, OrthoMcNeill still hasn't adjusted the estrogen dosage in the US -- in Canada, the estrogen level is halved. Although the warning label in the US has changed, it is still far from adequate.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mary Daniel who developed breast cancer after taking Prempro, a hormone-replacement drug, was awarded $1 million in compensatory damages, while her husband, Tom Daniel was awarded $500,000. A jury also found Wyeth, the makers of Prempro, guilty of acting with malice. This could pave the way for further punitive damages. Mary had been taking Prempro for the treatment of hot flashes. After radiation and chemotherapy treatment, she no longer has cancer.

According to her legal representative, Zoe Littlepage, Wyeth had been informed that there was an association between Pempro and cancer. Even though the company had known for decades that postmenopausal drugs can cause breast cancer, Zoe Littlepage said Wyeth deliberately failed to do studies to understand or quantify the risk and accused the company of choosing to protect their bottom dollar rather than protecting patients. The trial, which took place in Philadelphia, lasted three weeks. The jury took two days to reach a verdict. So far, three lawsuits against Prempro have reached a jury, of which Wyeth was the first, the second was declared a mistrial.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gil Dwayne Smith, the father of a 2-year-old boy who drowned during a summer boating accident at Carter Lake, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in jail and five years probation. Smith, 44, of Longmont, pleaded guilty to a charge of child abuse resulting in death in December. As part of his plea agreement with the district attorney's office, the maximum sentence Smith could have received was 90 days.

The charge against Smith stemmed from a July 15 incident on Carter Lake where his son, Shay Smith, fell from an inner tube device while being pulled behind a boat Smith was piloting. Smith originally told investigators Shay had fallen off the back of the boat. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office has said the life jacket Shay was wearing during the accident was too large for his body. The boy's remains have yet to be recovered.

Cliff Riedel, assistant district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District, recommended a sentence of probation, saying that, while Smith had displayed poor judgment with his son, his actions were not malicious. "This is not a case where Mr. Smith intentionally hurt his child," said Riedel. "This is a case where a father showed extremely poor judgment. That is the case and why the people have agreed to probation." Williams took a moment to re-evaluate his sentencing judgment after hearing Riedel's recommendation. "This is an unusual situation for the court," Williams said. "Information from the district attorney has cast Mr. Smith in a more favorable light than the report - normally it goes the other way."

Riedel said Smith's actions in the days and weeks following his son's disappearance, while disturbing, could not be used against him in the sentencing. Smith was seen piloting a Jet-Ski around Carter Lake as recovery teams were still searching for his son, and he later collided with another boat on the lake while allegedly drunk. "Rescuers seeing Mr. Smith use the waters for recreation while they are looking for his son was very disconcerting," Riedel said. "What (Smith) is getting punished for is conduct (in this case), not what occurred after the fact."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every time you watch one of those bone-crushing hits on the field, keep in mind that many players' careers are cut short by brain injuries. Players call it a "ding" or "getting their bell rung," but sports concussions on the football field, wrestling mat, soccer field or even among bikers and skiers are more dangerous than many people might think. They're also more widespread. It's becoming clear that the old "shake it off" treatment isn't good enough.

The Detroit Free Press reports that more athletics programs, even those for little kids, are taking sports concussions more seriously. HealthLink, a Web site published by the Medical College of Wisconsin, reports that the injuries don't just happen at professional and college games. Each year, 40,000 high-school football players nationwide suffer concussions, which are usually considered mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI), but still require medical attention. Many other sports and recreational activities can also result in concussions. Even whiplash can cause a concussion. Altogether, about 300,000 traumatic brain injuries occur each year in sports and recreation in the United States.

Several National Football League players (notably, quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young) retired after suffering several concussions during their careers. Multiple concussions suffered over a period of months or years increases the risk of permanent brain damage and post-concussion syndrome, in which neurological or cognitive problems become chronic. Even mild concussions occurring within hours, days or weeks of each other can result in "second impact syndrome," which can be fatal. As a result, coaches and trainers are showing an increased sensitivity to the effects of concussions on their players.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center adds, approximately ten percent of all athletes involved in contact sports suffers a concussion each season (some estimates are as high as 19 percent). Recovery from concussion varies. Most people with mild injuries recover fully, but it can take time. Recovery is typically slower in older people. People who have had a concussion in the past may find that it takes longer to recover from their current injury.

Here are some resources from a 2001 study by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes:

• 62.5 percent of retired NFL players reported sustaining at least one concussion during their professional playing years.

• The average number of concussions sustained by retirees during their professional playing years was 2.04

• 24 percent of retired NFL players reported sustaining three or more concussions during their professional playing years.

• Retired NFL players who sustained three or more concussions during their professional playing years had a nearly three-fold risk of being diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (one precursor to Alzheimer's disease)

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The protein that causes coral to glow has given researchers new hope for revealing the process of neurodegenerative diseases. The researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center have developed a fluorescent marker from the coral protein. The marker identifies different structures in the brain - specifically mitochondria in neurons and glial cells in the brain. Prior to the discovery of the coral protein, scientists were unable to distinguish between the 2 types of mitochondria in the brain.

Researchers believe it is important to be able to distinguish between the 2 mitochondria in the brain to see how each may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. "Using this tool, we and other investigators can answer certain questions, such as to what extent does neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction contribute to Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. And, in a general way, we could look into whether there are changes in neuronal mitochondria as we age," says Krish Chandrasekaran, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

So far the fluorescent marker has only been tested to identify neuronal mitochondria in mice. When the marker is used, neuronal mitochondria glow with a greenish-yellow tint when the brains are observed under a fluorescent microscope. No negative effects have been found when the marker was used. Researchers are optimistic that the discovery of the coral protein will unveil the mysteries of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's, and ALS.

Researchers hope to use this model to study role of neuronal mitochondria in stroke and TBI victims.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)