Recently, FINRA,(Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the successor to the merger between the NASD and the NYSE) announced that it was proposing an new rule designed to limit the pervasive and what many believe to be the abusive use of dispositive motions in securities arbitration. Quoting from the Notice to Members:

“Under FINRA's proposal, if a party (typically a respondent firm) files a dispositive motion before a claimant finishes presenting its case, the arbitration panel would be limited to three grounds on which to grant the motion: (1) if the parties previously had settled their dispute in writing; (2) "factual impossibility," meaning the party could not have been associated with the conduct at issue; or (3) the existing six-year time limit on the submission of arbitration claims. The rule proposal also would require that arbitrators hold a hearing on such motions and that any decision to grant a motion to dismiss be unanimous, and be accompanied by a written explanation.

The proposed amendments also would require the panel to assess against the filing party all forum fees associated with hearings on dispositive motions if the panel denies the motion, and would require the panel to award costs and attorneys' fees to the party that opposed a dispositive motion deemed frivolous by the panel. Under the rule proposal, when a respondent files a dispositive motion after the conclusion of the claimant's case, the provisions above would not apply. However, the rule would not preclude the arbitrators from issuing an explanation or awarding costs or fees.”

This proposal is a big step in the right direction. Claimants and their attorneys have long had to respond to many baseless and time consuming dispositive motions, in an attempt by Respondents to deny them their day in court. Hopefully, this rule proposal signifies a more pro-investor stance on the part of the organization charged with investor protection.

Posted by at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"For all of the right reasons, there has been an increase in awareness about traumatic brain injury in soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," says David Hovda, professor and vice chief of research affairs for UCLA's Division of Neurosurgery and director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. Hovda has several years experience in treating patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports injuries, car accidents and many other situations. Hovda and his neurosurgery team have made a number of breakthroughs in the field of brain injury. Working in cooperation with Walter Reed Naval Medical Center over the last several years, Hovda says treating the soldiers who return from the Iraq war has yielded some interesting revelations. These revelations have redefined TBI beyond sports medicine and car accidents and revealed new ways to treat head injuries from combat. The new research into brain injuries is slowly yielding new treatments. One such revelation is UCLA neurosurgeons are now researching the use of lactate, once thought to be a "waste" chemical of the body, as a possible replacement "fuel" for the brain in the immediate hours after a traumatic brain injury. This lactate infusion replaces glucose, which is the current standard. If they are right, this could change how emergency room physicians and intensive care physicians treat patients with brain injuries in the first critical hours after injury.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As a young researcher in the 1960s, Donald G. Stein tested rats with brain injuries to see the effect on their behavior. Outside the scope of the research he noted that some female rats promptly recovered from their injuries, while males remained impaired. Donald G. Stein, a medical researcher at Emory University, may be on the path to treating traumatic brain injuries. The solution may be as simple as providing head injury patients with high dosages of progesterone. Decades of research conducted in his spare time and with little funding, led him to a surprising hypothesis: that progesterone, a natural female hormone that protects fetuses in the womb, may actually protect and heal injured brains. He found that female rats with much higher, pregnancy-level amounts of progesterone did far better than other rats in following mazes. Even male rats also recovered far better from injury when given the hormone, performing just as well as the highest-performing females. The stuff worked when given up to 24 hours after injury. Over the next 40 years his work slowly helped overturn medical orthodoxy stating that brain tissue, once injured, stays that way. Now he and colleagues plan a large-scale human trial over the next several years. While the outcome is far from assured, the effort could produce a new treatment for the estimated 10 million people world-wide who suffer traumatic brain injuries each year.

Dr. Stein's journey shows how difficult it is to challenge the medical establishment, which often begrudges ideas outside the mainstream. It also underscores how difficult it is for a lone researcher to persevere without drug-company or other major financial support. Drug companies tend to focus more on blockbuster drugs they design than on naturally occurring ones with minimal profit potential. A naturally occurring hormone like progesterone is of little interest to drug makers. Finally after 40 years, NIH began to back his progesterone research, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began giving him grants. His studies continued to show positive findings with progesterone, and scientists elsewhere began to confirm them. However, as a practical matter, this was still just nifty rat science. Dr. Stein's hypotheses wouldn't be relevant until they were proven in humans.

After hearing Dr. Stein lecture a decade ago, Arthur Kellermann, then Emory's chief of emergency medicine, resolved to get human studies going. He introduced Dr. Stein to David Wright, a young Emory emergency doctor with research ambitions. Drs. Wright and Kellermann wrote an NIH grant application in 1999 for the first phase of human study. Two years later, the federal agency approved a grant of $2.2 million for the first stage of human research. Over the next three years, the study focused on 100 head-injured patients who had been brought into the emergency room. Some patients received standard treatment to control bleeding and fevers along with state-of-the-art head-injury treatment. Others were given intravenous progesterone; at triple the highest natural levels at the end of pregnancy. In 2005 Dr. Kellermann called him and said he had just learned the study's findings. Patients on progesterone had a death rate of just 13% from their head injuries, less than half the 30% death rate of those on standard treatment. Further, progesterone showed no negative side effects. The 100-subject study was too small to prove that progesterone caused the lowered death rate, but the findings were consistent with animal research.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The University Of Rochester Medical Center received $1.5 million to develop a blood test for concussions by isolating proteins that can predict memory loss, chronic headaches or other neurological problems. At least one million Americans seek treatment for head injuries each year. However, many people initially assume their injury is mild and do not visit a doctor until after they experience cognitive difficulties. A rapid test that could be administered in brain injury incidents would give medical personnel a head start and offer clues about the extent of the brain injury. The blood test would help doctors diagnose axonal injury, a type of brain injury that often occurs after a concussion but does not show up on a CT scan of the brain. Diagnosis of axonal injury is difficult because CT scans are designed to detect bleeding in the brain and not more subtle injury to neurons, the cells responsible for cognitive functioning. Axons make up the bulk of the neuron’s structure and travel in clusters, providing a connection to different areas of the brain through delicate, spaghetti-like strands. When axon fibers are stretched or strained, they stop working and the entire cell dies. Blows to the head, falls, or sudden deceleration from motor vehicle accidents can cause axonal injuries.

In a pilot study it was investigated whether a new type of brain scan called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), a dynamic form of the well-known MRI, could detect axonal damage from a minor injury. The DTI scans of six people with mild concussions were compared to six scans of non-injured brains. The DTI showed subtle axon swelling, which is known to occur when the axons are over-stretched. The axonal swelling correlated with the patients who were having trouble processing information or remembering things as well as before the injury.

With the latest funding from the National Institutes of Health, Researchers will use DTI technology to aid in a search for biomarkers that indicate axonal damage. They will conduct a clinical study by enrolling 37 adults, ages 18 to 65, who seek emergency treatment for head injuries. A control group will consist of 37 patients who seek treatment for orthopedic injuries such as sprained ankles or broken wrists. All patients will undergo a DTI brain scan and provide blood samples. Researchers expect to screen about 15,000 proteins from the blood samples, and search for the small number of proteins that are different among the head injury group. Further analysis will include a study of the serum markers one week and one month after the head injury, to determine how cells change as the brain heals.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Topps Meat Co. on Saturday 29Sep expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria that sickened more than a dozen people in eight states. The recall of products distributed to retail grocery stores and food service institutions in the United States was a drastic increase from the 332,000 pounds recalled the week prior. The recall represents all Topps products with either a "sell by date" or a "best if used by date" between Sept. 25 this year and Sept. 25, 2008. The company said this information is found on a package's back panel. All recalled products also have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is located on the back panel of the package and-or in the USDA legend.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday 28Sep it had suspended the grinding of raw products at the Topps plant after inspectors found inadequate safety measures on the premises. The USDA declined to offer further details. The USDA said three people are confirmed as getting E. Coli from Topps products, with 22 other cases under investigation. Cases were found in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. E. coli causes intestinal illness that generally clears up within a week for adults but can be deadly for the very young, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. Symptoms can include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and, in extreme cases, kidney failure.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Less than a year after contaminated lettuce was blamed for making dozens of customers sick, Taco John's corporations in South Dakota and surrounding states are suing food suppliers for negligence. The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, seeks a jury trial and $5 million. The plaintiffs named are Taco John's corporations in Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Defendants are Bix Produce Company and Roma Food Enterprises. The cover sheet on the filing describes the cause of the action as "negligence in the handling of food." The U.S. District Judge agreed to seal the complaint, so little else about the initial filing is publicly available. It is unclear if the lawsuit is connected to last year's E. coli contamination, but The Associated Press reported in December that Taco John's International dropped Bix Produce as a supplier in the wake of that outbreak.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Retired orthopedic surgeon Forney Fleming attracted the attention of Texans for Lawsuit Reform because he was eager to bash plaintiffs' lawyers, particularly those who targeted doctors. So TLR, a business group that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars abusing plaintiffs' lawyers and winning restrictions on judgments against physicians and other defendants, signed him up as a volunteer speaker. TLR featured Fleming's "supporter profile" on its Web site, where he was quoted, “I was practicing in a 'judicial hellhole' and saw the effect of lawsuit abuse, which was decreasing the accessibility of medical care in Jefferson County.” Fleming, however, left out details of his professional life, including his reprimand and $7,500 fine by the Texas Medical Board in 2004 for misdiagnosing what turned out to be bone cancer in a 16-year-old girl's leg. Her leg was later amputated. The board also accused Fleming of providing substandard care to six other patients, including an 81-year-old woman with a fractured hip. That formal complaint was still pending when he let his medical license lapse and retired last December. According to state records, Fleming was sued or threatened with suits for malpractice three times. All were settled out of court or resolved through mediation for undisclosed terms. None of his professional problems was mentioned on the TLR Web site, but his profile was removed within an hour of a TLR spokeswoman being informed about them.

In 2003, TLR's political action committee spent at least $300,000 promoting voter approval of Proposition 12, a constitutional amendment ratifying new limits on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. In a formal complaint filed that same year, the Texas Medical Board's staff alleged that Fleming, in treating the 16-year-old girl for a knot in her right leg, had failed to review reports by an emergency room radiologist and her primary care physician, who believed X-rays indicated the possibility of bone cancer. Fleming had seen the patient four times over a two-month period in 2001 before her family took her to another physician, who ordered an MRI. After several chemotherapy treatments, the leg was amputated at the knee. Fleming agreed to a negotiated disciplinary order, entered in April 2004, joining only a small fraction of Texas doctors who have ever been disciplined by the state. The regulatory board's staff filed another complaint against Fleming in August 2006, alleging substandard care for six additional patients, including the 81-year-old woman and patients treated for fractured ankles, a fractured wrist and a crushed leg. No action was taken on those cases before Fleming retired, but board spokeswoman Jill Wiggins said the complaint wasn't dismissed, only placed in limbo.

Naturally, Fleming has become a new symbol for TLR's opponents. "TLR's support has always come from industries and individuals that don't want to be held accountable for bringing physical and fiscal harm to Texas families," said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer advocacy group.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scientists trying to understand traumatic brain injury from bomb blasts are finding the wound more insidious than once thought. They find that even with no outward signs of injury, cells deep within the brain can be altered, their metabolism changed, causing them to die, said Geoff Ling, an advance-research scientist with the Pentagon. The new findings are the result of blast experiments in recent years on animals, followed by microscopic examination of brain tissue. The findings could mean that the number of brain-injured soldiers and Marines, many of whom appear unhurt after exposure to a blast, may be far greater than reported, said Ibolja Cernak, a scientist with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. In the animal studies, scientists said they have found a fundamentally different wound than the “brain concussion” historically associated with undetected brain injuries. The newly discovered brain damage at the cellular level can be permanent and lead to lasting neurological deterioration, Ling and Cernak said. The microscopic damage changes brain cell metabolism, Cernak said, creating a cascading effect that leads to the premature aging and death of neurons that cannot be replaced.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The husband of a woman who fatally shot herself while undergoing mental health treatment at Waukesha Memorial Hospital in 2005 filed a lawsuit alleging negligence in his wife's death. Christopher Snyder's suit against the hospital does not seek monetary damages but asks a judge to decide whether legal action concerning his wife's death can be pursued as a matter of alleged negligence rather than medical malpractice. In so doing, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Kathryn Foster will determine whether mediation efforts must precede a lawsuit seeking monetary damages and whether malpractice damage caps are applicable.

The suit contends that Wendy L. Snyder's suicide resulted from "negligent custodial care" and is therefore a matter that should be litigated as a "wrongful death" instead of medical malpractice. Snyder, a 43-year-old mother of four, died Feb. 23, 2005, while undergoing treatment in the locked behavioral health unit at the hospital. The day before, according to the lawsuit, Snyder was released on a five-hour pass. Upon her return, according to the lawsuit, staff failed to perform a proper search of Snyder and her possessions. "As a result of failing to follow procedure upon Wendy Snyder's re-entry to the unit, staff failed to search a pair of jeans and confiscate from Wendy Snyder certain restricted and potentially dangerous items, which included a bag, jacket, handgun and ammunition," the lawsuit says. "On Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, Waukesha Memorial Hospital staff in conducting the required routine room searches failed to remove dangerous items, including a jacket, handgun with ammunition and bed sheet with a noose tied on each end." Snyder subsequently shot herself in the head. Snyder's death was the second suicide involving the unit in 2 1/2 years. A patient jumped to his death from the top floor of the hospital parking ramp in 2002.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Janice Kooser, a 63-year-old woman recovering from an operation on her thigh, died Sept. 5, 2003, at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. Her son, Chip Kooser, was stunned to learn through a medical examiner’s report issued several days later that the cause of his mother’s death was listed as “blunt force trauma” to her head. No one at the hospital told him that his mother, whose condition made her a high-risk candidate for falling, fell on Sept. 2. Kooser is suing the hospital, alleging medical malpractice. She went into a coma two days after the stumble and died the next day. Kooser fell when she tried to get out of bed to use the bathroom, according to testimony. The hospital’s attorneys maintain the nurse on duty the night of the fall actually prevented the woman’s head from striking anything other than the mattress of her bed. The undisputed facts of the case are that Kooser had been hospitalized since mid-August 2003 and that she was physically unsteady and at times delusional or mostly incoherent. She was listed on charts that rate a patient’s risk of falling as a 31, one point higher than the chart’s maximum. Medical testimony also established that Janice Kooser had what is known as a subdural hematoma, a condition that would have made her more vulnerable to head injury than she already was.

One issue has been whether the hospital staff did enough to prevent Kooser from falling. A plaintiff’s expert, Dr. Michael Langan from Boston General Hospital, said no. Langan said the staff ignored protocol requiring high-risk fall patients to be fitted with armbands. The hospital also failed to provide a “card-ex,” a card providing “all the information needed to know a patient’s condition right away,” Langan testified. The hospital also failed to put post a sign at the entrance to Kooser’s room notifying all staffers of her risk of falling and didn’t do enough to make sure she stayed in her bed, Langan testified. Langan also testified that the hospital staff failed to properly advise Kooser’s doctor of the severity of her fall or to note later that she was not eating, not using the morphine pump to ease her pain and was not responsive. Asked if he was seeking punitive damages against the hospital, Vernon Kooser said no. “The most frustrating part for our family is that no one told us our mother had taken a fall,” he said. “I just want the hospital put on notice.”

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A Carson City, NV doctor has admitted to malpractice for failing to diagnose colon cancer in an elderly patient who later died of the disease, state officials said. Dr. Frank Shallenberger entered a guilty plea before the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners concerning the care of his longtime patient, David Horton. Ed Cousineau, deputy general counsel for the medical board, said Shallenberger agreed to plead guilty in Horton's case to one count of malpractice. As a result, Shallenberger was fined $5,000, ordered to take 16 hours of classes on cancer screening, issued a public reprimand and ordered to pay investigation costs of about $6,500. Shallenberger, licensed as a physician, is also licensed in Nevada as a homeopath, or alternative medical doctor. In February 2000, Horton complained to Shallenberger of rectal bleeding and abdominal pain, symptoms of colon cancer. But the medical board complaint said Shallenberger told Horton that he suffered from hemorrhoids and advised him to use suppositories and take baths in witch hazel. Horton was later diagnosed by emergency room doctors with stage-four colon cancer and told he had six months to live. He returned to Shallenberger for homeopathic cancer treatments, records show. Horton, 76, died in October 2003. It's the second time in 12 years Shallenberger has been disciplined by the medical board. In March 1995, Shallenberger surrendered his California medical license after four patients claimed he was incompetent and grossly negligent in their care. Months later, Nevada's medical board gave him a public reprimand for surrendering his California license, stating, "Your conduct casts great discredit upon you personally and professionally, and upon the medical profession in general."

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

West Virginia’s state Supreme Court upheld a multi-million dollar medical malpractice verdict against a Camden-Clark hospital. Testimony in the case showed the hospital had turned off operating room safety monitors on a patient who ultimately died. Hilda Boggs received too much anesthesia while having surgery in 2001 for a broken ankle, causing an overdose that could have been prevented if safety monitors had remained hooked up in the operating room. Instead, testimony in the trial showed Boggs had already turned blue prior to those in the operating room noticing. She died six days later. Boggs was a 51-year-old elementary school teacher in 2001 when she broke her ankle. By the time a jury gave her family a favorable ruling in March 2006, they had already settled with the anesthesiologist in the case. Jurors awarded them $4.8 million, which combined with the earlier settlement made it $6.5 million total.

Supreme Court justices heard arguments from attorneys for Camden-Clark Hospital, even allowing the hospital to file legal briefs three times the normal size (150 pages) for the case. Justices voted 3-2 to refuse to hear the case. Apparently, the hospital attempted to mislead the court and cover up facts. Testimony showed that the hospital basically told nurses to destroy notes. That’s why, after jurors delivered their verdict, the judge went further and ordered a $1.3 million sanction against the hospital and its lawyers for misconduct. The judge wrote in his order, “By breaching court orders, filing false discovery responses and by giving and permitting to be given inaccurate testimony under oath, and through multiple false statements to the court, the plaintiff and the jury, Camden-Clark engaged in litigation misconduct.”

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Idaho State Police are investigating an accident that sent six kids to the hospital after a homecoming float came unhitched from a truck. One freshman student was seriously hurt and flown by Life Flight to a medical center in Boise. Witnesses say the freshman float fell off the pickup that was towing it. Another girl suffered a broken arm and was among five students taken to another medical center. Tim Rosandick, Superintendent of Schools, said some kids are understandably worried about their classmates and this accident put a "touch of somberness" on the homecoming game.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The men accused of drinking, then driving the boat that crashed into an 11-year old boy and permanently injuring him, may not face trial for several months. Court documents reveal affidavits that led to the arrests of Roger Guzman and Tom Kirby. They include witness accounts from several people, and expert analysis, but defense attorneys say they only recently got all the information and the prosecutor's push for a speedy trial is unfair. Court documents show Guzman admitted to boating a few hours after drinking six beers the day of the accident, despite a 2004 DUI conviction. Roger Guzman and Tom Kirby are facing felony charges in connection with the high-speed collision, but it took investigators nearly a year to get enough evidence to file charges. Now, the suspects' lawyers want a similar time frame to conduct their own investigation. The accident left McEntire blind in one eye and forced him to learn to walk again, however, the prosecutor will have a tough time proving Guzman and Kirby knew they hit him.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Neuren, a New Zealand drugmaker, has concluded studies with two groups in its Phase 1b trial to test the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic action of NNZ-2566 as a compound to treat traumatic brain injury. The completed groups have provided Neuren with sufficient safety data to proceed with a Phase II trial. Neuren said it expects to file an ethics application to conduct the trial in the last quarter of the year. Each group in the Phase 1b trial had seven patients, five who received the drug and two who received placebo. The first group was given 20 mg per kg of NNZ-2566 through a 10-minute infusion, followed by 1 mg per kg each hour of the drug for 12 hours. The second group was given a 10-minute infusion of the drug, followed by 3 mg per kg each hour for 24 hours. The company submitted a safety report to the Local Ethics Committee in Australia that resulted in a recommendation that the company proceed with the dosing of groups three and four. The two groups will receive higher doses and longer infusions. According to the company, the completion of the third and fourth groups will allow it to proceed with a Phase IIa traumatic brain injury study to begin in mid-2008 in the U.S.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Marjorie Windheim and her son Daniel are authors of a new book, “It’s Not All Black & White: A Survivor’s View of Life” about life from the perspective of a survivor and parent of traumatic brain injury. The book is a hybrid of autobiography, journal, advice, and poetry, discussing life after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that occurred in 1979. In July of 1979 Daniel Windheim's life at the age of 16 was changed when he was a passenger in a car involved in an accident. He sustained a brain stem injury and spent weeks in a coma before he regained consciousness. later he spent years in recovery. Now he works at a library in the processing department and runs a website, www.tbilife.com that discusses his TBI experience and helps others learn more about brain injuries.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The doctor who performed an autopsy on 6-month-old Serenitee Halbert, who investigators say was shaken to death in August 2006 by a 23-year-old man, testified in court that the infant showed evidence of having sustained a severe head injury at least two weeks before her death. Medical Examiner, Doug Kelley,testified that Serenitee showed signs of bleeding between her brain and the wall of her skull, indicating she had suffered a "traumatic brain injury" two to four weeks before Aug. 18, 2006, when Craig C. Tolonen is accused of shaking her to death. Tolonen is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, for which he could be sentenced to 60 years in prison if convicted. Jurors saw a video of Tolonen using a doll to show the sheriff's detectives how he was awakened by Serenitee's crying about 6 a.m. Aug. 18, 2006. He showed how he picked up the child, eventually shaking her for more than 30 seconds and twice asking her, "What's wrong with you?" before throwing her against a couch.
After that, he told detectives, she began to cry "a little harder." Serenitee was pronounced dead two days later. Kelley testified that Serenitee's recent injuries had included bruising about her head, chest and thigh, a quarter-inch
skull fracture, and bleeding and swelling in her brain. Those injuries led him to conclude that the cause of her death was severe trauma to the brain caused by injuries suffered Aug. 18, 2006, he said.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 24, 2006, Richard Miller and his 73-year-old wife went to a San Antonio clinic for what should have been a quick and easy day surgery. Instead, when Richard Miller entered her recovery room, he found her screaming in pain. His wife Arlene, was unable to stand, was given several doses of morphine and told the procedure “had irritated a nerve.” Richard Miller said the doctor and nurse ignored the complaints and failed to check out the source of his wife’s pain. Instead, Miller was told to take his wife home, give her medication and food, and she would be OK. Miller obtained a report of her treatment dated a week later that noted, “The patient was comfortable, warm, and had no complaints in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit).” She wasn’t OK. Spinal fluid had leaked into her brain. Doctors, who examined her a few days later, ordered she be airlifted to a specialist at a hospital in San Antonio. During the next three months, she underwent numerous tests and treatments and was tran sported to several different hospitals for physical therapy. She eventually ended up in hospice care.

Since her death, Miller has amassed pages of his wife’s medical records and found medical journals that contradict procedures taken during and immediately following his wife’s surgery. He also compiled a list of doctors and nurses who treated her and pointed to the surgery as a likely cause of her death. Contrary to the gathered evidence, Miller, 73, can’t find a lawyer to file suit against the San Antonio doctor who operated on her. Even worse, he now has only six months before the statute of limitations to file runs out. Richard Miller’s case is not unique.

In 2003, legislators reformed state laws and capped non-economic damages for malpractice suits at $250,000. Since then, possibly thousands of patients and families affected by medical negligence have been turned down by lawyers for the same reason Miller has, because it isn’t “economically possible to pursue” the claim. Taking on a medical malpractice case not only requires time spent, but also expenses for research, contracting medical experts for specialized testimony, paying for access to medical records and hiring court reporters. Depending on the situation, it could cost a lawyer more than $60,000 to present the case during a trial lasting two weeks or longer. “It’s the only area of law that we have an arbitrary cap for fair compensation. It shows a lack of trust in the jury system. We will trust a jury to decide if someone will die from lethal injection, but not grant fair compensation,” said Harvey of Winckler & Harvey. “That’s the human cost of tort reform. That’s not
good
for our society and that’s not good for our judicial system.” Not only does the new law distort “personal accountability,” but it also makes patients less safe, said N. Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, another organization that spoke against the award cap. He recommended patients should ask lots of questions, demand answers and keep their own records. Meanwhile, Miller, who knows a lawsuit won’t bring back his wife, said he doesn’t want money as compensation for her death. He simply wants to prevent this doctor’s purported
medical negligence to slip by unrecognized.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Medical malpractice involving anesthesia accounts for a large number of medical malpractice in the United States. In any surgery with anesthesia, the risks involved greatly increase. It is the anesthesia that is more dangerous to the patient at times than the surgeon's blade. There is little room for error when using anesthesia in any procedure. For these reasons, allegations of medical malpractice are common in anesthesiology because problems are so common and the resulting outcome for the patient is generally poor. Medical insurance premiums for anesthesiologists are generally very high and substantially higher than most other medical specialties. While anesthesia injuries are most often thought of as occurring in the operating room, they can occur in a wide variety of settings including the pre-operative and recovery rooms, a procedure room, during labor and child delivery, during sedation for certain dental procedures, and during a wide variety of out-patient medical procedures in doctors' offices and surgery clinics. Contrary to popular belief, anesthesia medical malpractice cases are not limited to anesthesiologists. Many medical practitioners administer sedatives and anesthetics themselves. Extremely severe complications and even death have occurred in surgery clinics and dentist offices during procedures that required general anesthesia. Trained anesthesia staff were typically absent in the majority of these cases. Potential defendants in anesthesia-related medical malpractice cases can include anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, nurses, surgeons, doctors, dentists and residents. Demonstrating the negligence of the anesthesiologist or anesthesia staff is also among the most difficult since the plaintiff is often unconscious or sedated at the time of the malpractice. Unreliable and scant records are often the only source of information as to what actually happened.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Facing a rising number of lawsuits filed over its Ortho Evra birth-control patch, Johnson & Johnson still and has always maintained that the patch is a “safe and needed” form of contraception. The hundreds of plaintiffs suing the pharmaceutical company feel otherwise, with most of them claiming that Johnson & Johnson had prior knowledge that the Ortho Evra patch had a higher risk of causing blood clots, stokes and heart attacks than oral contraceptives. Unfortunately for Johnson & Johnson, at least two former employees of the company have backed up those allegations. In 2005, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned that women using Ortho Evra were exposed to approximately 60 percent more estrogen than those who use oral contraceptive pills. High levels of estrogen can greatly increase the risk of developing blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and other serious injuries. Following key events in 2005 and 2006 prompted the FDA to request a change on the Ortho Evra label to i nclude
a stronger safety warning. Since then, the Ortho Evra patch has been the subject of more than 2500 lawsuits. The plaintiffs have ammunition to back up their claims. Two former employees at Johnson & Johnson had long ago expressed concerns that the company purposely chose to downplay the risks associated with the Ortho Evra patch. The revelations from the former employees are not good news for Johnson & Johnson. There is evidence that the company knew women using Ortho Evra were exposed to dangerously high levels of estrogen.

Johnson & Johnson has already settled hundreds of Ortho Evra cases, but many more are scheduled to come to trial. One of the first trials is expected to begin in November in Manhattan. That lawsuit, brought by the family of a 19-year-old woman, alleges that her death was a result of the Ortho Evra patch. The case of Zakiya Kennedy, who collapsed and died from a pulmonary embolism while she waited for a New York City Subway, made headlines and was one of the first deaths to be blamed on the defective Ortho Evra birth-control patch.

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 06:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Johnson & Johnson improperly claimed its Ortho Evra birth-control patch posed a low safety risk to women, a product-safety executive told Chief Executive Officer William Weldon in a 2005 letter, court records show. J&J faces lawsuits by more than 2,400 of the 5 million women who used the patch. Most claim they suffered strokes or clots in their legs or lungs. The company hasn't publicly identified reserves for the Ortho Evra litigation. The author of the letter investigated an “unusually high number” of blood clots caused by the patch and cited more than 20 reported deaths, according to the letter, made public on Aug. 25 by a New Jersey judge who oversaw some of the lawsuits. The executive, whose name was removed from the letter, said J&J conducted two studies and emphasized “partial and incomplete” results of the one that found the patch no riskier than birth control pills. The writer resigned because the company's conduct undermined his ability to evaluate product safety, t he let
ter said. The writer was a vice president who spent seven years at Johnson & Johnson, overseeing benefit and safety risk analysis in reproductive medicine and oncology, according to the letter.

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bryan Garruto, who oversaw 309 Ortho Evra lawsuits, made the two-page letter public after ordering lawyers to black out portions of the text and the author's name. At the request of plaintiffs' lawyers, Garruto removed the letter and other documents from a protective order covering evidence gathered for Ortho Evra cases around the U.S. The released records show the company confidentially settled dozens of Ortho Evra cases. No Ortho Evra case has gone to trial yet. The first is slated to begin in state court in Manhattan on Nov. 19. Survivors of Zakiya Kennedy, who was 19, blame her death on April 2, 2004, on her use of the patch. The documents case is Brown v. Johnson & Johnson, MID-L- 5446-05, Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County (New Brunswick).

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The numbers keep adding up for the Ortho Evra birth-control patch, but not in sales. They are down sharply, but the docket of product liability cases filed against Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Ortho Evra, is up. In its latest update, J&J said more than 2,400 Ortho Evra lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts. Most of the lawsuits have a common theme: J&J allegedly knew the skin patch had greater safety risks than birth-control pills, particularly in the incidence of harmful blood clots that could develop in women's legs and lungs. Nevertheless, it chose to aggressively market the contraceptive in ads and played down the dangers of the patch.

J&J denies the claims, and says Ortho Evra is a "safe and needed" contraceptive if used according to its label. The company's defense has a complication. Two former executives have said they raised red flags about the patch's safety but were ignored. One is Joel Lippman, a medical officer whose claims about problems with Ortho Evra and other products were first made public in a state whistleblower suit last year. The other is a J&J vice president who decided to resign from a job overseeing the "benefit risk and safety evaluation" of reproductive products, including the patch, after being unable to properly "exercise this responsibility." The officer said he or she had left the company the previous month in part because Ortho Evra's risks had been downplayed despite "compelling evidence" to the contrary. Currently his identity is still withheld.

In 2005, the FDA and J&J agreed to make a change in Ortho Evra's label that said users of the patch could be exposed to 60 percent more estrogen than women who used the pill. An FDA medical reviewer cited the potential for clot-related problems with Ortho Evra in 2001, and said post-market studies would be necessary. Regardless, the patch was ultimately approved by the agency, and the revised label says "it is not known" if the patch's different profile of estrogen exposure leads to more serious health problems than the pill.

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The Fiji Government Pharmacy says it does not import the birth control patch Ortho Evra because it is causing health complications for women in the United States. The pharmacy report comes in response to the filing of another lawsuit against the maker of the birth control patch in Washington. The lawsuit claims 43 women developed blood clots and other health problems since taking the prescription contraceptive. The Fiji Government pharmacist Waisea Kelo said the health ministry has never purchased the product nor issued them at its health centers and hospitals. A number of major drug wholesalers and chemists around Fiji confirm they have not imported nor sold the birth control patch. The international medical journal quoted lawyers in the US as saying the Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical Company should pay substantial financial damages to their clients for the health problems suffered. According to the journal, similar lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 400 women nationwide but the company is not commenting.

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The Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute for Women of Saint Mary's University and the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota will sponsor a Walk for Thought fundraiser Oct. 6 at Lake Winona. The sixth annual Walk for Thought raises public awareness about brain injury and funding to support those affected by brain injury. Each year more than 20,000 Minnesotans sustain a traumatic brain injury from events such as motor vehicle crashes, falls and firearms. Six times more than the combined annual number of people who will experience HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Last year more than 1,000 participants and sponsors raised nearly $80,000 for the cause and this year the goal is to raise a record-breaking $100,000 for the Brain Injury Association of
Minnesota.

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The bureaucracies that are supposed to help brain-injured war veterans are too complex for them to navigate, a panel of military and medical experts concluded at a meeting Tuesday Sept 18th. Specifically, the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense need better coordination of their programs, according to the panel, which was part of a daylong Washington Defense Forum sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Military Officers Association of America. The panel included two military officers, a doctor, a lobbyist and the chief executive officer of the Brain Injury Association of America.

"The systems in the VA and DOD seem to be against what brain injury can handle," said Susan Connor, chief executive officer the Brain Injury Association. "Because the frontal lobe controls memory, thinking, judgment and processing ... if you shove paperwork in front of someone with sustained brain injury or put them in a large group with scripted instructions, they can't follow it." Meredith Beck, national policy director of the Wounded Warrior Project, agreed saying veterans become confused about which of many existing programs might suit their individual needs. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Peter Bunce is experiencing the two systems firsthand with his son, Justin Bunce, a former Marine corporal who has a severe brain injury after being hit by shrapnel in Iraq. Bunce called the VA bureaucracy "extremely daunting. They have been doing things the same way since Vietnam and can't adapt to traumatic brain injury," Bunce said. Beck said the solution is to overlap the benefits the two departments provide. Both military officers, Bunce and Cmdr. Rich Jadick, a Navy mass communications specialist, agreed that the most pressing problem is the transition injured service members must make from the active duty to the VA. "An assisted program is needed to point them in the right direction," Jadick said. "Right now the transition is not seamless."

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Another law firm in Dallas, Texas is investigating possible Gadolinium litigation in light of recent public health advisories by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA published an alert showing a possible link between Gadolinium, a heavy metal used in MRI and MRA, with the disease Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD). According to the FDA, the problem has so far been found only in instances of "off-label" use of the Gadolinium agents for MRA, or Magnetic Resonance Angiography. "Off-label" means the drug has not been approved by the FDA for a particular use, which might be dangerous given that often 3 times the FDA approved dose is used during an MRA. "Gadolinium is supposed to secrete out of the body quickly", says t he lawyer, "but, according to preliminary FDA reports, it looks like people with impaired kidney function might not be able to secrete the toxic substance out of the body quickly enough to avoid suffering lifelong impairment from Gadolinium". The products possibly responsible are Omniscan, OptiMARK, Magnevist, ProHance and MultiHance

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“‘I can’t hear. I can’t walk. I can’t speak.’” Lindsay Young’s arm shakes slightly as her fingers come to rest on her lips while her father interprets her gestures.”That’s usually what she says when she meets someone for the first
time," Richard Young, 58, said on Wednesday. The 29-year-old woman lies on her father’s bed at his Nova Scotia home, her head lolling slightly to one side. She gives Richard a thumbs-up sign when he sits down but then points to her ears with her left hand. "She’ll do that 30 or 40 times a day," her father said, adding that Lindsay has no short-term memory. When Lindsay sees the date on a newspaper, she makes an angry motion with her hand; she thinks it’s still 2004. On Feb. 22, 2004, the car Lindsay was traveling in crossed into oncoming traffic on a Sydney highway. A pickup truck smashed into the passenger side of the car where Lindsay wa s sitt ing. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for months. The accident left her deaf and unable to speak, feed or care
for herself. The right side of her body is immobile. Richard says Lindsay continues to become more alert but that without proper therapy, she will stop improving. In almost four years his daughter has received no extensive
rehabilitation. She has visited the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre in Halifax, where she received some speech therapy, but has now spent more than two years at the hospital. She lives on a transitional ward where seniors wait to get into nursing homes. Her father thinks that Lindsay may be shipped off to a home herself.

“‘I can’t hear. I can’t walk. I can’t speak.’” Lindsay Young’s arm shakes slightly as her fingers come to rest on her lips while her father interprets her gestures.”That’s usually what she says when she meets someone for the first
time," Richard Young, 58, said on Wednesday. The 29-year-old woman lies on her father’s bed at his Nova Scotia home, her head lolling slightly to one side. She gives Richard a thumbs-up sign when he sits down but then points to her ears with her left hand. "She’ll do that 30 or 40 times a day," her father said, adding that Lindsay has no short-term memory. When Lindsay sees the date on a newspaper, she makes an angry motion with her hand; she thinks it’s still 2004. On Feb. 22, 2004, the car Lindsay was traveling in crossed into oncoming traffic on a Sydney highway. A pickup truck smashed into the passenger side of the car where Lindsay wa s sitt ing. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for months. The accident left her deaf and unable to speak, feed or care
for herself. The right side of her body is immobile. Richard says Lindsay continues to become more alert but that without proper therapy, she will stop improving. In almost four years his daughter has received no extensive
rehabilitation. She has visited the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre in Halifax, where she received some speech therapy, but has now spent more than two years at the hospital. She lives on a transitional ward where seniors wait to get into nursing homes. Her father thinks that Lindsay may be shipped off to a home herself.

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Milly Parker thought her life was over when she was diagnosed with an acquired or traumatic brain injury after a car crash 13 years ago. Launching Brain Injury Awareness Week in Geelong, Australia, Ms Parker explained how she woke up in the intensive care unit after an accident and discovered her life had changed. She was a 21-year-old accounting student with a hectic social life and a career carefully mapped out. Suddenly, she couldn't study. Her injury affected her memory, her ability to work with numbers and complex plans. Socializing was traumatic and working a nine-to-five job was impossible. For seven years, Ms Parker struggled with depression, unable to come to terms with her injury. She spent a year in rehabilitation and five years in the system. Eventually she learned to work with her strengths and focus on what she could do, rather than what she couldn't. “I stopped being embarr assed of my brain injury,” Ms Parker said. “And I stopped thinking I was broken and useless.” She realized while her gift for numbers was gone, her creativity had grown. “Having a short attention span is great for coming up with new ideas,” she said. She created a home business called Happy Yappers, selling gourmet dog biscuits. The business flourished and she now exports the dog biscuits nationally and around the world, including Harrod's in London.

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As Buffalo Bills football player Kevin Everett was being rushed by ambulance to a hospital the night of his life-threatening spinal cord injury, he was already getting experimental treatment that may have saved him from paralysis. In the ambulance prior to surgery, a doctor injected Everett with steroids, standard treatment to reduce swelling and potentially damaging inflammation. At the same time, paramedics started pumping an ice-cold saline solution into Everett's veins, to lower his body temperature. The experimental approach has shown promise in stroke and cardiac arrest patients, and even in infants deprived of oxygen. The theory behind the therapy: By lowering the core body temperature between six and eight degrees, doctors can tamp down swelling and inflammation, and limit the release of harmful chemicals that can cause even more damage than the initial injury. For hypothermia to be effective, it needs to be started as soon after the injury as possible. Using cooling for a spinal injury is a new application of the technique. It has been used in traumatic brain injury for years as a neuro-protective agent. Soldiers who suffer severe traumatic brain injury in Iraq are being treated this way.

Everett's spinal cord was damaged in his neck as he tried to tackle a Denver Bronco during the football game. Everett was diagnosed with a potentially fatal fracture/dislocation between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae in the neck. He underwent emergency decompressive surgery to prevent pinching and pressure of the spinal cord and to repair the break in the vertebrae. A bone graft was made and a plate inserted, held in place by four screws. Two small rods were implanted and kept in place with additional screws. The next day, Everett's doctors said there was not much hope that he'd make a full recovery. However, the following day, they announced that he could move his arms and legs, and his spinal cord was intact. "Walking out of this hospital is not a realistic goal, but walking may be," Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, the Bill's orthopedic surgeon, said at a news conference.

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A package of Dole salad mix that tested positive for E. coli has triggered a recall in at least nine states, prompting new produce fears almost exactly a year after a nationwide spinach scare. The tainted bag of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix was sold at a store in Canada, officials said. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product. The voluntary recall, issued Monday Sep 17th, affects all packages of Hearts Delight sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B." The salad mix subject to the recall may have been available in the U.S. in states other than the nine already identified by Dole because in some areas a wholesaler distributed the product with clients in overlapping markets. The latest recall affects packages sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canad a and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee starting around Sept. 8. Eighty-eight cases or 528 bags were distributed in Canada, and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags were distributed in the U.S.

Food contaminated with this strain of E. coli may not look or smell spoiled but health officials say the bacteria can cause life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea; some people can have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis, while others may live with permanent kidney damage.

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Childhood neurological disorders were the focus of a new and innovative workshop that was attended by more than 40 junior and senior neuroscientists from all over the country on September 16 - 19 north of Santa Barbara. The promise of stem cell research as a tool to help overcome traumatic brain injuries as well as other neurological disorders was among key topics addressed. The mission of the CNS Young Neuroscientists' Workshop series is to expose outstanding young neuroscientists to emerging ideas about childhood brain disorders, with the long-term aim of influencing some of these young researchers to incorporate the study of these disorders into their career objectives.

Kenneth S. Kosik, co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, chaired the workshop with Jeffrey D. Macklis, director of the Massachusetts Gener al Hospital-Harvard Medical School Center for Nervous System Repair. Children's Neurobiological Solutions (CNS), a private foundation, organized the event. The foundation's chief scientist, Donald M. Marion, was among the participants. CNS developed the workshop, which will be held every other year, in order to accelerate and fund research for new
brain repair and regeneration therapies for over 14 million children in the United States who struggle with neurological disorders. The foundation donates more than $1 million per year for basic research as well as clinical trials, and is a major supporter of stem cell research. Instead of focusing on a specific disease, CNS targets research on the developing brain and how it can regenerate and repair itself. This focus encourages collaboration
among researchers and opens the way to new knowledge and therapies for the broad spectrum of childhood neurological disorders.

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A 62-year-old Arizona woman died in a Tucson hospital from a catastrophic injury sustained in a boating accident in Mexico on Sept. 8. Charlene White had owned and operated a tour company called Tour of the Month for nine years, said her son, Peter White, 39. She and her son were in Puerto Peñasco, the beach town known as Rocky Point, last weekend leading a trip for about 45 people. On Sept. 8, the group went about 25 miles out to sea in a party boat. A crew member went down a slide at the back of the boat and landed on top of Charlene, who was
already in the water. The impact broke her neck and left her unconscious. Peter pulled his mother out of the water and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Charlene was taken to a hospital in Rocky Point where they were for about three hours. It became apparent she would need more help, and they were driven by ambulance to the Lukeville Port of Entry. From the border, they went in another ambulance to Ajo, where a helicopter flew Charlene
to University Medical Center in Tucson. She died Thursday night Sep. 13.

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A former University of Michigan therapist who worked with several patients participating in a brain-injury recovery program told them part of their treatment included sex therapy, an attorney for the women charged. Thomas Higgins is accused of preying on the vulnerabilities of women who were victims of prior sexual abuse. Higgins had been charged with inappropriate sexual conduct with two former patients and an investigation involving a third woman is
under way.

Higgins was a clinical social worker with the U of M Health System's Traumatic Brain Injury Program until February. "He told them he was a sex therapist and that the victims needed to engage in sex with him so he could heal them," the lawyer said. "All of the victims have been horribly traumatized by his predatory, criminal behavior."

67 year old Higgins, faces eight counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a mental health professional. The charges stem from his alleged involvement with two patients last summer, and police said they are still investigating allegations that date back to 2004 and involve a third woman. The alleged incidents occurred at both the victims' homes and at Higgins' office at a medical rehabilitation clinic near Briarwood Mall, police said.

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Traumatic brain injury may result in a reduced or altered state of mind. Those who have experienced a brain injury may be dealing with cognitive, behavioral and functional deficits. Many people with TBI, who did not use alcohol or drugs before their injury, are more susceptible to alcohol and drug use. Vulnerability to substance misuse and abuse can be a result of chronic pain, cognitive problems, adjustment and grief issues, and reduced ability to cope with life's new challenges. In some cases, substance abuse may be related to the occurrence of the brain injury. Sometimes people's insight is impaired, increasing one's risk of misusing substances. A lack of insight and self-awareness can make it difficult for them to understand their behaviors or to predict the negative consequences of those behaviors. Individuals with a brain injury and substance-related addictions are at risk for seizures and additional brain injuries.

Preventative alcohol and drug abuse education for suffers of TBI who are not currently using substances is critically important. Slower-paced substance abuse treatment programs are helpful in accommodating the cognitive and behavioral deficits inherent with a brain injury. Local head injury foundations or mental health centers can help identify appropriate programs that cater to brain injury survivors and their families. Involving a survivor's family in the addiction recovery process is often crucial and necessary for the brain-injured patient to recover from addiction. It's important to understand that TBI and addictions frequently exist together and that early prognosis and intervention can help a suffering individual recover successfully.

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A plane with 52 people aboard crash landed in Lithuania, but no one was hurt, in the second such accident this week involving a Canada Bombardier turboprop of the Scandinavian SAS airline. The plane ploughed through the ground with its fuselage and right wing and slid off the runway at Vilnius airport when the crew decided to put down there after noticing in flight that landing gear had failed. Following a crash of the same type of SAS plane a few days earlier in Denmark, also due to landing gear problems, the airline said it was grounding the Canadian DHC-8-400 aircraft and canceling 112 flights. Another SAS operated plane of the same type with 73 people on board crashed prior due to landing gear failure in Aalborg in western Denmark, again no one was seriously injured. The twin-engine turboprop is produced by Canada's Bombardier .

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An Ontario Superior Court judge has given an unprecedented green light to a class-action lawsuit against the federal government over jaw implants that disintegrated, leaving an estimated 2,600 people suffering a lifetime of intense, chronic pain. The case, which could result in settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars, is the first in which a court has penetrated a seemingly impregnable immunity enjoyed by Health Canada regulators when it comes to faulty medical devices. The implants were manufactured in the U.S. and marketed under the trademark Proplast. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, John Legge, said in an interview that Parliament has a moral obligation to move quickly to settle the case and compensate the victims. The conduct of senior Health Canada officials in the case was unconscionable, Mr. Legge said. Despite being told the implants could break down and "cannibalize" bone and soft tissue at the base of each victim's skull, Health Canada failed to issue warnings or take action to get the devices off the market, he said. The lawsuit specifically alleges that the Health Canada employees negligently approved the Vitek TMJ implants under the Food and Drugs Act, and that they failed to warn doctors and patients of potential risks.

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New software now allows doctors to monitor blood flow through the brain in real time, potentially preventing brain damage and death in children with head injuries. The new software could also help monitor premature babies, who are at increased risk for ischemic strokes and bleeding in the brain. The research, which includes testing of the software on baby pigs, was expected to be published in the October issue of Stroke. The new software will help researchers and doctors develop a map identifying safe pressure levels in various parts of the brain. Healthy brains manage levels of blood flow and oxygen during sharp changes in blood pressure. However, brains can lose this ability after injury, leading to permanent brain damage. The software draws information from traditional arterial blood pressure monitors and oxygen meters that use beams of infrared light to estimate the brain's oxygen saturation. Then the computer checks changes in blood pressure and oxygen levels every 60 seconds and alerts doctors when they approach critical levels.

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A study at St. Louis University aims to determine whether patients with acute brain injuries heal better while in a state of mild hypothermia. Doctors will induce hypothermia on patients between the ages of 16 and 45 by lowering their body temperature to 91 degrees within two hours of the injury. Researchers say the unconventional use of hypothermia is a promising therapy to treat severe brain injuries. They say there's acecdotal evidence, including stories of people who can survive under water much longer in the winter. "If you get them out of the water after five minutes in the summer, the injury to the brain tissue is irreversible at that point," said research coordinator Brent Ibata. “In the winter if someone falls through the ice you have up to thirty minutes or an hour if the persons younger to get them and you can still effectively resuscitate them with minimal brain injury." Researchers are currently seeking community approval to waive 'informed consent.' That would be granted only if the next of kin can't be located. "They'll induce hypothermia to try to reduce the injury associated with the stroke. Cardiac patients that go into surgery are sometimes cooled down. But for traumatic brain injuries there have been no pivotal study, added Ibata. "This is the pivotal study." Once the patient is brought in and deemed eligible, doctors will induce hypothermia within two hours of the injury.

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Kelley, a nationally ranked bicycle racer, was going in and out of consciousness after suffering a severe head injury in a cycling accident. Prognoses from the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center specialists treating him weren’t good. "Through it all, I remember a presence telling me, ’It’s not your time,’" said Kelley, 50. "Then I saw my father, who died 10 years ago," he said. "He nodded to me and said, ’Come on, boy.’ We walked and came to a spot where the fog dispersed, and I just woke up." His recovery from the April 14th crash has been far faster and more complete than expected. He’s even hoping to return to his law practice this fall. Initially, the most favorable predictions were that he’d spend months in the hospital, followed by months in rehabilitation. Instead, he was discharged from the hospital two weeks after the accident. He left wearing protective headgear over the 4-by-4-inch section doctors removed from his skull to allow for brain swelling. That piece of bone was reattached during his five weeks of outpatient rehab.

Although he believes in wearing a helmet while cycling, Kelley said that time he forgot to strap one on. His surgeon said he likely wouldn’t have been injured so severely had he been wearing one. Kelley said he received phenomenal support from his wife, who is a nurse, his grown children, Jonathan and Elisabeth and other relatives throughout the ordeal. Word of his accident also spurred an outpouring of support from his fellow cyclists. Other midstate lawyers rose "above and beyond the call of duty," and took on the job of aiding his clients in several counties. Kelley estimated he is completely recovered mentally and about 95 percent physically but still pushes himself. Work with math books, puzzles and music therapy (he plays several instruments) are mixed with exercise. His experience has caused him to seek a sponsor for a helmet giveaway. He’s seen too many children and adults biking and skateboarding without them, he said. Kelley anticipates resuming competitive cycling at a reduced level and is coaching for his cycling team, Bean’s Bikes of Philadelphia.

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Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California said it received a $2.1 million, five-year traumatic brain injury model system grant. The medical center said the grant was one of 14 awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Since 1976, Valley Med has provided a traumatic brain injury program for inpatients and outpatients. The new grant will provide funding for a study to identify useful interventions for individuals with TBI who report fatigue as a significant daily challenge. The grant will start on Oct. 1 and run through Sept. 30, 2012. The project is funded at $426,720 per year for a total of about $2.1 million. That represents 69 percent of the program's cost. The center will absorb the remaining cost of about $945,000.

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http://www.burgsimpson.com/brain.htmlTens of thousands of people in Virginia with traumatic brain injuries lack adequate residential facilities, access to therapy, transportation or occupational help. In a recent report, researchers warned that the state's overwhelmed care system likely will be further stressed by returning war veterans whose primary injuries are traumatic-brain injuries. The state has no clear idea how many people with traumatic-brain injuries are in the state and lacks a plan to deal with returning veterans. The only facility in the state that accepts Medicaid payments for specialized residential care for traumatic-brain injuries stopped accepting patients this month and is phasing out its 20-bed unit in Virginia Beach. About $5.3 million is set aside in the state budget for traumatic-brain injury patients, most of it for case management and daylong clubhouse programs at six facilities across the state. The traumatic-brain injury population receives what would average out to about $15 per person per year in state money, while funds for mentally retarded people work out to be more than $1,000 each. Reporting requirements have not been followed, but estimates are that 82,000 people have been injured since 2002, almost half of them in falls. Another deluge of victims will come in the form of veterans returning from the wars. Researchers said they will begin seeking state and community services after their initial care at Veterans Affairs facilities. Between January 2003 and February 2005, 59 percent of the patients admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center were diagnosed with a traumatic-brain injury.

Here are a few of the findings of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study. Up to 6,650 people with brain injuries are in nursing homes, and about 600 others are in state hospitals or in long-term care facilities, including psychiatric units. Outside of institutionalization, only about 20 beds exist in Virginia to provide the intensive and costly treatment needed for tens of thousands of brain-injury survivors with complex neurobehavioral problems that can result in violent outbursts and other unmanageable behavior. Brain-injured people often become homeless after their caregivers die; many end up in jails or seek divorce to qualify for care. Those are the key findings of a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study that affirms years of concerns expressed by brain-injury advocates and families of victims. Between 80,000 and 150,000 Virginia residents are affected, according to the report. Three of the Department of Defense's eight national brain-injury centers are in Virginia, including one at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond.

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Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation announced the release of the Camino(R) Advanced Monitor (CAM), the latest addition to Integra's neuromonitoring product line. The monitor accurately measures Intracranial Pressure (ICP) and Intracranial Temperature (ICT) via fiberoptic technology. The system also displays Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) and Cerebral Perfusion Pressure (CPP), based on input from the patient bedside monitor. Intracranial pressure monitoring is an essential component in the treatment of severe brain injury. The 2007 Guidelines for the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury, recently published by the Brain Trauma Foundation, contain specific recommendations with regard to monitoring intracranial pressure and brain tissue oxygen in severe Traumatic Brain Injury patients.

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A securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of shareholders who purchased the common stock of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. between January 4, 2007 and May 25, 2007. The class action lawsuit was filed for the Central District of California. The Complaint alleges that defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market, thereby artificially inflating the price of Advanced Medical. Recently AMO voluntarily pulled their products from shelves when a rare and extremely painful infection of the cornea called acanthamoeba keratitis was linked to the use of AMO's Complete MoisturePlus Multi Purpose contact lens solution.

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Many of those injured in Iraq have returned home with artificial limbs. Now those who come back with brain injuries are getting a type of prosthetic for the mind. These "personal digital assistants," or PDAs, serve as short-term memory for many who find their brains can't work like they used to. Master Sgt. Tony Wiswyanski suffered a brain injury and other wounds in Iraq when his Humvee was struck by two rocket-propelled grenades. While he was being treated at a brain-injury center in Virginia, a speech pathologist ordered a PDA for him. Among other things, he programs it to beep an audio alert to remind him about appointments and to record phone numbers. The military and Veterans Affairs health care systems have begun providing the hand-held computers to those with brain injuries to remind them of appointments, medication and family and job obligations. Personal digital assistants, made by companies such as Palm, HP and BlackBerry, were first known as scheduling aids, thanks to their digital organizers. Now they can come with a host of other features including cell phones, text messaging, audio recording, Internet access and satellite navigation. Wisyanski was one of the first to get one and he said the doctors were a little concerned that the purchase might be viewed as frivolous. A doctor at a conference on brain injuries described the case of an Iraq veteran who used a PDA and a digital voice recorder to act as his short-term memory, and a hand-held satellite navigation system just to walk a few blocks from his apartment to the subway station.

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An alternative theory as to the cause of chondrolysis is with the use of postoperative intra-articular pain pump catheters. A paper entitled "Post-arthroscopic Shoulder Chondrolysis with Associated Intra-articular Pain Pump Catheter Use" reports on the details. The group of investigators reviewed the charts of 152 patients who underwent 177 shoulder arthroscopies between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005 and looked for postarthroscopic chondrolysis. Twelve shoulders in 10 patients who underwent arthroscopic stabilization developed chondrolysis. Eighty-three percent of these required a subsequent procedure. All patients who developed chondrolysis had been treated postoperatively with an intra-articular pain pump catheter with bupivacaine containing epinephrine. Seven other patients treated with the pain pump catheters had not developed chondrolysis. All chondrolysis cases occurred after beginning the use of a larger pain pump, which infused this medication at 4.16 cc/hour over 2 or 3 days. Although the exact cause and mechanism of chondrolysis is still unknown, the study authors believe that there is a significant and previously unrecognized risk associated with the use of intra-articular pain pump catheters and bupivacaine with epinephrine. The study authors conclude that intra-articular pain pump catheters should be used with caution until the safety of constantly infusing local anesthetics intra-articularly is better defined.

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In August the Associated Press reported:

“...Medicare will stop paying the costs of treating infections, falls, objects left in surgical patients and other things that happen in hospitals that could have been prevented....The rule identifies eight conditions _ including three serious types of preventable incidents sometimes called "never events" _ that Medicare no longer will pay for. Those conditions are: objects left in a patient during surgery; blood incompatibility; air embolism; falls; mediastinitis, which is an infection after heart surgery; urinary tract infections from using catheters; pressure ulcers, or bed sores; and vascular infections from using catheters. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it also would work to add three more conditions to the list next year....Last year, Mark McClellan, then director of the Medicare and Medicare programs, said the government could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year if the Medicare program stopped paying for medical errors such as operations on the wrong body part or mismatched blood transfusions. Medicare provides coverage for about 43 million elderly and disabled people...”

The implications of this new rule will have disastrous effects for many. Tort reformists have undoubtedly had a hand in convincing the national jury pool and also the national psyche against medical malpractice suits. Fearfully, when a patient is the victim of medical malpractice he is on his own. There will be no medical coverage for alleviating medical errors. To make matters worse, the possibility of achieving justice in the courts is now negligible.

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Eardrum damage resulting from blast waves of explosions could be a sign of undetected traumatic brain injury among troops, according to new research. One of the authors of the study tracked 662 blast injury survivors and said the data should serve as a warning to physicians and troops to watch for long-term neurological damage even after what seems to be a minor ear injury. The research was at Iraq’s Balad Air Base in late 2005. It shows a troop whose eardrums were damaged by the blast waves of roadside bomb explosions were significantly more likely to also be knocked unconscious in those attacks. A blow that renders service members unconscious could cause brain trauma even if they come to quickly, and show no immediate signs of trouble. Nearly 61 percent of patients who had perforation or tears in their eardrums blacked out in the blasts. Only about 22 percent of those whose eardrums were unharmed were hit hard enough to lose consciousness.

According to the National Institutes of Health the symptoms of ruptured eardrum include either partial or total hearing loss, ear noise/buzzing, earache or ear discomfort and bleeding or drainage from the ear. The research was published in the Aug. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Debra Gardner talked Friday Sep. 7th about her $13.5 million lawsuit award in a malpractice case. She sued the hospital and doctors present at the birth of her now 4 year old son Nathaniel. After a difficult delivery Nathaniel was born with cerebral palsy in 2002. Gardner's pregnancy was allowed to continue for 42 weeks, two weeks past her due date. She was induced into labor at Broadlawns Medical Center. More than 24 hours later, doctors opted for a Caesarean section. Gardner and her lawyers claimed that when Nathan was born, the doctor failed to monitor him during the Caesarean section procedure. They said Nathan was deprived of oxygen for up to 25 minutes, resulting in cerebral palsy. She recalled that some said he was not breathing. Gardner said that's when things started to go wrong. She said she saw a doctor become nauseous. Her family waiting outside the hospital room knew something was amiss.

Doctors said Nathan has the life expectancy of a normal boy. However, Nathan's life will be far from normal. He is unable to walk, talk or pick things up like other boys. Gardner did some research and found out the treatment is expensive. The tools that can help Nathan live run in the tens of thousands of dollars. It was then that she began to consider whether the hospital was partly responsible for what happened. "It's a matter of quality of life, and just because somebody didn't do their job the way it should have been done doesn't mean he deserves to suffer through his life. So, it's my job to speak up for him," she said. The jury listened. "They changed my son's life for the best, and I will never forget them for it -- never," she said.

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Recently, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released the results of a survey of perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry titled, "Recapturing the Vision: Resoring Trust in the Pharmaceutical Industry by Translating Expectations into Actions." Among the interesting findings is this one:

"94 percent of consumers and 81 percent of industry stakeholders [including doctors, health plans researchers and policy makers] said that drug companies are too aggressive in promoting unapproved uses of their product. Fewer than half (47 percent) of pharmaceutical company executives agreed."

Technically, 47 percent is "fewer than half," as PWC characterized it. But another way of stating the same statistic is "almost half of pharmaceutical company executives agreed" that off-label marketing of prescription drugs is too aggressive. So if almost half of the executives in the industry feel that off-label marketing is going too far, then it's a safe bet to say it's definitely too aggressive.

It's also interesting that 81 percent of industry stakeholders believe that off-label marketing is too aggressive. And the consumer public is almost entirely convinced (94 percent) that the industry goes too far.

"It is difficult to comprehend how an industry that has saved so many lives should be held in such low public esteem. Yet in the current climate of distrust, the public is questioning the industry's motives and practices from sales and marketing to pricing to drug development," said Peter Claude, a partner in PwC's Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Advisory Services Group.

Another interesting result is that 62 percent of industry stakeholders felt that drug companies often manipulate or suppress negative clinical trial results to maximize sales, while four out of five industry executives disagreed. Stating this another way, a surprising 20 percent of pharmaceutical industry executives agree that drug companies suppress negative data to promote profit over safety.

The survey also addressed perceptions of drug pricing. Most stakeholders (73 percent) felt that drug companies spend too much money attempting to prevent generic drugs from competing with their name-brand products. Consumers strongly agreed that drug companies should work with generic manufacturers to make generics available when drug patents expire.

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In April 2006, a rising star in the pro-cycling world suffered a traumatic brain injury after a bad crash during a warm-up race for the Tour of Italy. Within a day of the accident, Saul Raisin was in a coma. When he came out of the coma, the left side of his body was paralyzed and he was told he would not walk again, much less compete in cycling. The Georgia-born Raisin on April 4th, not far from the end of the first stage of a race in Italy, clipped a wheel, crashed and landed on his head and broke his hip and collarbone. He had a pooling of blood, called a hematoma, in his brain. When it burst about 30 hours after the crash, he went into a coma for six days. Once awake, his cognitive abilities were diminished. He couldn't read or comprehend much. He couldn't add or subtract. He lost some reasoning skills and became somewhat impulsive. He did not understand that he could not walk. Though he was told by his doctors and family that he had a brain injury, the concept did not immediately click for Raisin. From his perspective, he was fine. Physically, Raisin had severe left-side neglect as a result of the brain trauma. This meant his brain was not recognizing that side of his body. Despite all he had seemingly lost, Raisin still possessed one thing that laid the foundation for his recovery: an iron will.

He began intense physical therapy as soon as he was able. About a month after the accident, he was flown to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal cord and brain injuries. Over Labor Day weekend this year in Greenville, SC he came in last at the U.S.A. Professional Time Trial Championships. Yet it was perhaps the biggest triumph of the 24-year-old athlete's life. Raisin has no plans to stop cycling. In that regard and in some mental capacities, his recovery goes on. In collaboration with Dave Shields, author of “The Race and “The Tour” Raisin is writing "Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition". Proceeds from the book go to the Shepherd Center and the Brain Injury Association in Georgia. "I believe I've been given a second chance at life," Raisin says, "and I want to use it to help others."

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Andy Zimmer of Birmingham, MI incurred a spinal cord injury two years ago in a bicycle accident. He was one of nine people to help United Way for Southeastern Michigan kick off its 59th annual fund-raising campaign Friday morning. Zimmer's life changed two years ago following a bicycle accident that left him partially paralyzed. He was initially diagnosed with a complete spinal cord break with his spinal cord being severed. He sought rehabilitation assistance from a United Way partner a year ago and attends physical therapy three times a week. Zimmer can now walk using leg braces and can ride a stationary bike. He also plays wheelchair rugby. "Through the strength and agility training I've received, I've gained confidence to live independently," Zimmer said. "Thanks to my rehabilitation, I'm able to put physical ability behind my mental fortitude."

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When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved implanting microchips in humans, the manufacturer said it would save lives, letting doctors scan the tiny transponders to access patients' medical records almost instantly. The FDA found "reasonable assurance" the device was safe, and a sub-agency even called it one of 2005's top "innovative technologies." However, neither the company nor the regulators publicly mentioned that a series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had induced malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats. Leading cancer specialists reviewed the research for The Associated Press and, while cautioning that animal test results do not necessarily apply to humans, said the findings troubled them. Some said they would not allow family members to receive implants, and all urged further research before the glass-encased transponders are widely implanted in people. To date, about 2,000 of the radio frequency identification, or RFID, devices have been implanted in humans worldwide, according to VeriChip Corp. The company, which sees a target market of 45 million Americans for its medical monitoring chips, insists the devices are safe, as does its parent company, Applied Digital Solutions, of Delray Beach, Fla.

Published in veterinary and toxicology journals between 1996 and 2006, the studies found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes developed subcutaneous "sarcomas" - malignant tumors, most of them encasing the implants.

• A 1998 study in Ridgefield, Conn., of 177 mice reported cancer incidence to be slightly higher than 10 percent. A result the researchers described as "surprising."

• A 2006 study in France detected tumors in 4.1 percent of 1,260 microchipped mice. This was one of six studies in which the scientists did not set out to find microchip-induced cancer but noticed the growths incidentally. They were testing compounds on behalf of chemical and pharmaceutical companies; but they ruled out the compounds as the tumors' cause. Because researchers only noted the most obvious tumors, the French study said, "These incidences may therefore slightly underestimate the true occurrence" of cancer.

• In 1997, a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips," the authors wrote.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rob Stewart suffered a brain injury in 1982 when a case of viral encephalitis left him comatose for eight weeks. Even today, despite years of rehabilitation, he has severe headaches, sleep disturbances and memory problems, especially short-term. In 1982 Rob Stewart was living in Saudi Arabia and working for an oil company. He passed out at his desk in Saudi Arabia and woke up in England 8 weeks later. In the movies, awakening from a coma tends to be miraculous and an instantaneous restoration of all abilities. It doesn’t work that way for real-life comas, which often cause varying degrees of brain impairment. He currently has disabled license plates, not because he can't walk but because there have been too many times he's parked his van in packed shopping mall lots and later spent hours trying to find it. In the early 1980s, doctors thought Rob could resume ordinary life a few months after his return home. There was no therapy then and little understanding of how to treat brain injury. He tried community college, with little success. Then he joined the Navy, only to be given an honorary medical discharge several years later. Now he works here and there as a handyman, and he's on disability. Does Rob think he's made progress? "I don't know," he says, shaking his head. "Honestly, I don't know."

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A pedestrian was seriously injured trying to run across highway 285 Saturday morning. The accident happened at the intersection of Hampden and Ivan court where the speed limit is 55. Police say a car struck the victim who was trying to cut across the highway to get to his bus stop. The pedestrian was seriously injured but is expected to recover. Residents on the north side of Hampden say people jump the wire fence between the two sides daily because buses don't run on their side of the highway. Neighbors have been working with Denver council woman Jeanne Faatz about getting a bridge across the highway. Police are investigating the accident and have not announced if charges will be filed.

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Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have developed a handheld device that can detect subtle brain damage immediately after concussion. The sophisticated yet simple-to-operate device may prove especially useful on the battlefield and the football field, enabling brain damage to be detected almost immediately after mild head injuries. Such damage is often overlooked or misdiagnosed, even with an advanced imaging technique like computed tomography (CT). The device is called BrainScope and is based on the studies of the Brain Research Laboratories (BRL) at NYU School of Medicine. BrainScope consists of an adhesive strip, containing six electrodes, which are connected to a mini-computer that resembles an oversized iPod. After a suspected head injury, an electrode strip is affixed to the patient’s forehead. Within minutes, BrainScope’s color display indicates whether any of the patient’s brain functions deviate from normal. The device is intended to be used as a triage instrument in a variety of settings, including battlefields, sporting events, emergency rooms and clinics.

BrainScope is currently in preclinical testing at three hospitals, Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland, and Washington University in St. Louis. In these tests, emergency room doctors are determining whether the device is useful in making rapid assessments of whether brain dysfunction is present. Clinical trials for evaluating patients with concussion are planned for this fall.

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A malpractice verdict from a Polk County jury awarded a 27-year-old mother and her son more than $13.5 million in damages. Debra Gardner, of Leon, Iowa, sued the medical center and the doctors after her son Nathaniel, 5, was born there with cerebral palsy. Gardner's pregnancy was allowed to continue for 42 weeks, two weeks past her due date. Gardner and her lawyers claimed that when Nathaniel was born in 2002, the doctor failed to monitor him during the cesarean section procedure. They said Nathaniel was deprived of oxygen for up to 25 minutes, resulting in cerebral palsy. A trial attorney not connected with the case said that this kind of finding is highly unusual in Iowa. He said that juries look very skeptically at medical malpractice and medical negligence cases. He said approximately 90 percent of such cases that are tried, the jury sides with the medical provider.

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A new paper in the Sept. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports the first comprehensive study from McGill University in Montreal, which shows poor scores in communication are highly predictive of which new doctors are likely to clash with patients in the future. By evaluating communication skills early on, say the study's authors, physicians and academics can better train and select the next generation of medical professionals.

For their study, the McGill researchers tracked 3,424 physicians who took the Medical Council of Canada clinical-skills examination between 1993 and 1996. The exam requires doctors to interact with actors posing as patients in a series of standardized scenarios. Trained physician evaluators then judge how well the doctor takes patient histories, makes diagnoses, manages treatment and communicates with the patients. When researchers followed up with the doctors in 2005, they found that the doctors' scores in communication strongly correlated to the number of patient complaints they had in their first years of practice. The physicians, who scored low on the test, were the poor communicators, who were condescending, judgmental or flippant in their behavior and had generated a disproportionate number of complaints. The poor communicators had 4.3 complaints per 100 doctors per year while their higher-scoring peers had 2.5 complaints per 100 doctors per year. No surprise that the link between poor test scores and patient complaints was strongest when it came to a doctors' style of communication and attitude. Plenty of past studies have shown a link between poor doctor communication and poor medical outcomes, such as inadequate care and malpractice suits.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A lawsuit has been filed in Federal Court in Miami alleging that an infirmary staff on the Carnival Cruise Lines ship, the Carnival Legend, committed medical malpractice by administering the wrong medication to a passenger who was in need of medical care. The suit alleges that the ship's doctor and infirmary staff committed medical malpractice and misdiagnosed and mistreated a passenger, 73 year old Helen Kerr. This resulted in the wrongful death of the passenger. On the night of September 6, 2006, Kerr was suffering from a build up of fluid in her lungs. She went to the infirmary on the ship where they pumped her full of more fluid, which is the opposite of what to do. According to the complaint, the cruise line medical staff in effect allowed Kerr to drown in her own fluids. As Kerr was suffering, the Captain of the ship would not allow or enable Kerr to be evacuated to a full medical center, with regard apparently only to the itinerary and budget of the ship.

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http://www.burgsimpson.com/personal_injury.htmlNew Mexican Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and State Sen. Linda Lopez were guest writers for the Mountain View Telegraph. Their topic: Announcement of a new helmet law. The following is an excerpt.

After five years of hard work in the New Mexico Legislature, advocates have finally succeeded in obtaining the most comprehensive bike helmet law in the nation. It requires anyone under the age of 18 to wear a helmet while on a bicycle, skateboard, skates, scooter or tricycle. Violators face a $10 fine, which they can erase by purchasing a helmet. More importantly, they must begin to wear that helmet. Nearly 50 percent of children hospitalized for bicycle-related injuries have brain injuries. The consequences can be loss of motor skills, loss of memory, an inability to carry on a normal life, to go to school, to work, to get married, to raise children and simply enjoy life's everyday pleasures. But if a child wears a properly fitted helmet, the risk of brain injury drops 88 percent. Every $10 helmet saves, on average, $570 in medical and other costs. Given that, every parent should have a rock-solid rule for their children: no helmet, no bike. That's the theme of a public-education drive launched statewide, with the help of the Departments of Health and Transportation, the Brain Injury Advisory Council, UNM's Prevention Research Center and the West Agency of Santa Fe. The media campaign will work with caregivers, schools, doctors, businesses and others in the communities to promote helmet use

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Consumers and factory workers may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn. This was written as a warning letter to federal regulators from the leading lung research hospital, Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center. A pulmonary specialist at National Jewish wrote to federal agencies saying doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years. The letter refers to a potentially fatal disease commonly called popcorn lung that has been the subject of lawsuits by hundreds of workers at food factories exposed to chemicals used for flavoring. In response to Dr. Cecile Rose 's finding, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday Sep. 4th recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make. It noted that diacetyl is approved for use in flavors by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

One national popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis, said last week it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern. Congress has also been debating new safety measures for workers in food processing plants exposed to diacetyl. The FDA said in an e-mail it is evaluating Rose's letter and "carefully considering the safety and regulatory issues it raises." Fred Blosser, spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said it is the first case the institute has seen of lung disease apparently linked to popcorn fumes outside the workplace. The occupational safety arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is working on a response to the letter.

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The dangers of using skin patches to administer medicine are still not being heeded. In the wake of Ortho Evra deaths and disability, patches are still being prescribed. Army Master Sgt. Harold Kinamon entered a military hospital for routine respiratory surgery to help him sleep better. The operation went smoothly. He went home with little more than a raw throat and a painkiller contained in an adhesive patch on his skin. The particular painkiller he received, an opium-like drug called fentanyl, three months earlier had strong warnings issued against it by the Food and Drug Administration. This was in response to a number of similar deaths. At the time of Kinamon’s prescription the dangers were clearly understood. The night after surgery, Kinamon, 41, died in his sleep. He died by an overdose of the drug delivered through the patch.

Kinamon's death reflects more than an individual misfortune. Health care providers nationwide are still not getting the message as fentanyl patches continue to be implicated in scores of deaths. Failure to solve the problem is all the more serious because the use of medicinal patches is spreading to other drugs, painkillers, birth control and medications for children with attention deficit disorder. Drug-safety experts are urging the FDA to re-examine the whole issue of medicinal patches. One primary problem seems to be how to get the right dose of a drug through a patch for different patients under differing conditions. Sales of Ortho Evra, the first birth-control patch, plunged last year after the FDA cautioned that it exposed women to higher levels of a hormone linked to dangerous blood clots than did oral contraceptives.

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This weekend is the 15th annual conference of the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research. The conference will offer workshops by leading clinicians and researchers in the field of neuroscience. This year's agenda centers around three critical areas of Neuroscience including; Assessing and Treating Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Using Modern Neuroscience Techniques to Treat Autism.

Neurofeedback training is a proven method of treatment for neurological disorders such as Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism, Depression, Addiction, and Sleep Disorders. In short, the training is brainwave biofeedback that allows patients to see their brainwaves on a computer screen. By witnessing their brainwave patterns patients can influence and change them, the brain is literally being reconditioned as the brainwave patterns are changed. This new therapy offers an alternative treatment for brain-related disorders other than medication.

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With football season underway, the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Pensacola, Fla., has funded the distribution of a 14-minute video, “Heads Up -- Reducing the Risk of Head and Neck Injuries in Football.” Produced by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the DVD communicates how athletes should play safe to avoid concussions, neck sprains and catastrophic injuries such as paralysis and quadriplegia. Nearly every high school in the nation, including football coaches and athletic directors, has received copies to share with their athletes prior to the start of the active football season. The DVD emphasizes correct techniques when initiating contact with an opponent. “The best way is to keep your head up, see what you hit and hit with your shoulder,” says Tony Dungy, head coach for the Indianapolis Colts. “It really doesn’t matter what position you play or where you are on the field. The object of the collisions is to deliver a blow and come out of it in great shape.” This in response to the new rule in college and high school which states: No player shall use his helmet (including the face mask) to butt or ram an opponent or attempt to punish him. No player shall strike a runner with the crown or the top of his helmet in an attempt to punish him.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It has been confirmed that wrestler Chris Benoit suffered from a type of traumatic brain injury. Leading medical experts associated with the Sports Legacy Institute appeared with Michael Benoit, father of Chris Benoit, to release the results of neuro-pathological tests that show his son suffered from a type of brain damage called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a type of traumatic brain injury. It was found in all regions of his brain. The Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) is an independent medical research group dedicated to studying the long-term effects of head injuries in sports. SLI's research has indicated there is a connection between the repeated head injuries suffered by many athletes involved in contact sports and eventually causing CTE. CTE's most common symptoms include depression, cognitive impairment, dementia, Parkinsonism (punch drunk) and erratic behavior. While CTE has long been found in boxers, and more recently in NFL football players, the findings of CTE in Benoit suggest that athletes involved in other contact sports may also be at a heightened risk for this type of brain injury. The goal of SLI while testing Chris’ brain was to determine if CTE indirectly caused his death. It was confirmed that multiple concussions were part of his medical history, along with clinical symptoms associated with CTE. The findings of CTE in Chris Benoit suggest that there may be a common syndrome among athletes who suffer multiple head injuries in contact sports. The findings were confirmed by other neuro-pathologists.

Bennet Omalu, MD, MPH, a leading forensic neuro-pathologist who examined Chris Benoit's brain as part of the Sports Legacy Project and had also examined the brains of Mike Webster, Terry Long, Andre Waters, and Justin Strzelczyk all of whom were professional football players that died by the age of fifty and displayed similar psychological and behavioral profiles. Their brains showed evidence of CTE. Two of the players, Long and Waters, committed suicide. Mike Webster died of a heart attack, but suffered from dementia, depression, and exhibited erratic behavior after retiring from football. When Justin Strzelczyk died at the age of 36, he had been telling relatives he was hearing voices from "the evil ones" and then led police on a 40 mile high- speed chase through central New York at speeds up to 100 mph on the wrong side of the highway, which resulted in an explosive crash and his death

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A case report published July 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine tells the story of a 70-year-old man with kidney failure who developed the classic symptoms of having been exposed to gadolinium during one or more MRIs. Over the course of four years following a kidney transplant operation, he became seriously disabled by Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (also known as nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy or NFD). The NEJM report states that the patient had developed skin thickening on one arm, on his legs and on his lower abdomen. He had limited mobility in one elbow and significant skin hardening around the elbow. The overall skin thickening had progressed to the point that he had become increasingly immobile. Where four years earlier he had undergone a successful kidney transplant, he was now back on routine dialysis, and wheel-chair bound.

The FDA warning about MRIs for people with kidney failure will affect many Americans. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 1 in 9 U.S. adults have chronic kidney disease and another 20 million more are at increased risk for developing chronic kidney disease. The American Kidney Fund says that about 470,000 people in the country are currently relying on dialysis or kidney transplants to keep them alive. It also reports that more than 70,000 patients are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, but only 17,000 will get a new kidney this year.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Shoulder arthroscopy is a rapidly expanding field, and arthroscopic shoulder procedures are increasing in frequency and popularity. Complications exist but are considered by the community to be relatively rare compared with open procedures. Severe glenohumeral chondrolysis is a severe, life-altering complication that has been seen following shoulder arthroscopy. Several theories as to the cause of this complication have been put forward, but none has been firmly identified. Treatment options are limited. The use of thermal devices has been implicated as a possible cause in most published cases.

Between 2002 and 2004, 6 patients were referred to the orthopedic department at Duke University Medical Center for severe chondrolysis following shoulder arthroscopy performed at outside institutions. All of the previous cases were performed by experienced shoulder surgeons. The patients were between the ages of 15 and 32 years of age and had previously undergone either 1 or 2 arthroscopic shoulder procedures. On the basis of the information gained from the operative reports, 4 of the 6 patients had undergone thermal treatment of the shoulder. All presented with severe pain and loss of motion after the arthroscopic procedures. X-rays demonstrated concentric, global glenohumeral cartilage loss with bone on bone contact between the humeral head and glenoid. The study authors concluded that severe glenohumeral chondrolysis can occur after shoulder arthroscopy and may be associated with use of thermal devices. However, some patients developed chondrolysis after minimal or no use of the thermal devices. Also, the young age of these patients is cause for concern.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A construction accident left Bob Alexander paralyzed from the waist down. He was very active prior to the accident. He went sledding, played football and played baseball. Alexander was determined not to let his disability slow him down, but getting outdoors was a problem. "Once you get into a chair, there are not as many opportunities to get out into the wilderness," said Alexander. That's where Wilderness on Wheels comes in. The program began 21 years ago. More than a mile of boardwalk winds through the Pike National Forest on the north side of Kenosha Pass near Grant, Colorado. The mile of special trail offers freedom to people in wheelchairs. "It's just the independence that you get when you can actually go somewhere without anyone helping you. They don't have to push me, they don't have to get me up a curb cut, they don't have to get me upstairs."

Roger West began building Wilderness on Wheels in 1986. Now the help of volunteers, donated materials and financial support, improvements are still being added to the trail. Those improvements include a number of tent platforms. "We have now enclosed a number of them and created what we call a caista or a permanent tent," West said. "You don't have to bring a tent, bring a sleeping bag and go inside here, close the door and good night." For Alexander and other trail users, Wilderness on Wheels provides a physical challenge well worth taking. "You're high enough you can touch the clouds some days. It's a great place for your peace of mind."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Cambridge University in England have designed an automated means of continuously tracking potentially dangerous changes in blood flow to the brain in real time. The system shows promise for preventing brain damage and death in children with head injuries. Brain trauma is one of the top mortalities in children of the United States, numbering 475,000 each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Healthy brains regulate blood flow and oxygen levels, but injured brains may lose this fail-safe mechanism, leading to oxygen starvation and permanent brain damage. In traumatic brain injuries, some brain damage occurs on impact, but much damage and indeed many deaths occur in the critical two-to-five-day window following the injury, a critical time when brain function must be monitored to ward off damage.

Although monitors have long been able to track blood pressure and blood flow to the brain, the Hopkins-Cambridge team created a system that for the first time precisely determines the "breakpoint" at which the brain begins to lose its ability to cope with changes in blood pressure. The software does this by gauging small shifts in blood pressure and oxygenation every 60 seconds and alerting doctors when they approach critical levels. Using a software program developed by two Cambridge scientists, Hopkins doctors fed data into a computer from an arterial blood pressure monitor and an oxygen meter that uses beams of infrared light to estimate oxygen saturation in the brain. The software essentially makes these two devices talk to each other showing in a continuous stream the interplay between blood pressure and oxygen levels, whether the brain is coping with pressure changes, and more importantly, what blood pressure range is conducive to that. The technique could be also used in premature babies, who are particularly prone to ischemic strokes and bleeding in the brain because of their brains' immature self-regulatory mechanisms and their fragile blood vessels.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Schering-Plough Corp. faces federal court litigation over promotion of its drugs for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Eight putative class action suits are pending. The suits come in the wake of an August 2006 agreement by which the Kenilworth drug maker agreed to pay $435 million to settle criminal and civil charges over its drug-marketing practices. The government had alleged kickbacks to physicians and aggressive promotion of drugs for unapproved uses. The pending suits concern the drugs Intron, approved by the FDA for chronic hepatitis, AIDS-related Kaposi's Scarcoma, melanoma and lymphoma; Temodar, for certain brain tumors; Eulexin, for prostate cancer; PEG-Intron, for chronic hepatitis; Rebeton, for hepatitis C; Integrilin, for heart conditions; and Fareston, for breast cancer.

None of the suits suggest users suffered ill effects from the drugs. Rather, they claim that Schering's sales force devised and implemented a variety of schemes to promote "off-label" uses, which they contend are prohibited by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. As one scheme, the suits allege, Schering set up clinical trials in which doctors who were paid $1,000 to $1,500 to participate, prescribed cancer drugs for uses for which did not have government approval. The suits also claim the company promoted use for durations or doses greater than is safe or effective and that its marketing efforts prevented doctors from prescribing less-expensive drugs. The suits allege fraud, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, common-law fraud and negligent misrepresentation. They seek compensatory and punitive damages, proceeds of unjust enrichment, statutory damages and costs of suit. The plaintiffs are private drug users and third-party payers, such as unions and health insurance companies.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Two years ago, a 41-year old Army Master Sergeant entered an Ohio military hospital for a routine respiratory surgery that would help him sleep better. The operation went smoothly, and he was discharged from the hospital with a painkiller contained in an adhesive patch on his skin to ease the pain of his raw throat. Later that night, he died in his sleep from an overdose of fentanyl (brand name Duragesic), an opiate-type drug, delivered via the patch.

Making his death even more tragic is the fact that the dangers of using skin patches to administer fentanyl were clearly understood at the time. In fact, the FDA responded to similar deaths three months earlier by issuing a strong warning: though helpful under certain conditions, fentanyl patches should be used with great caution, and not for postoperative pain relief. Healthcare providers are apparently either not heeding the warning or are not getting the message, as fentanyl patches continue to be associated with scores of deaths.

Drug makers are now using transdermal patches for other types of drugs as well, including other painkillers, contraceptives (Ortho Evra), and medications for children with attention deficit disorder (Daytrana). And they're just getting warmed up--new technologies are expected to make many more drugs available in patch form.

The benefits of the patches' transdermal delivery are clear: they don't hurt like injections, they don't have to be swallowed, patients don't have to worry about getting the dose right, and the medicine enters the bloodstream directly rather than through the stomach. Dr. Curt Furberg of Wake Forest University says,"Patches are a neat way of delivering drugs, but they are not an unalloyed blessing."

Since the effect of drugs and absorption rate varies considerably from person to person, getting the dosage right is difficult. Heat affects the rate of absorbtion, so sunbathing, a hot shower, or exercise can trigger an overdose. People with thicker skin have more difficulty absorbing a drug, so finding the right dosage can be complicated. Dr. Furberg asks, "What is the corresponding patch level that would be equivalent to oral drugs? People use different formulas and there is disagreement."

Sales of Ortho Evra, a birth control patch made by Ortho McNeil, plunged last year after the FDA warned that it exposed women to higher levels of a hormone linked to dangerous blood clots than oral contraceptives.

FDA spokeswoman Susan M. Cruzan says, "FDA reviews patch products, like any other products, on a case-by-case basis for safety and effectiveness." But critics maintain that the FDA has been ineffective. In the case of the Duragesic pain patch, sales grew 10% in the year following the FDA's warning, with more than 4.7 million prescriptions written. Dr. Furberg points out that the purpose of the FDA's warning "was to cut back on prescriptions, so it's a failure."

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some of the New York City's most frequently sued doctors are still practicing with the blessing of the state Health Department despite numerous litigations against several doctors for such offenses as possibly setting off an outbreak of hepatitis C. The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene considers them to be worthy of approval. In the incident that triggered the most litigation, the Health Department never took disciplinary action against anesthesiologist Dr. Marvin Chiumento even though a city Health Department probe in 2002 found that his faulty "infection-control practices" during injections likely caused an outbreak of the hepatitis C virus in a Brooklyn clinic. The agency lists Chiumento as in good standing, but at least 41 medical malpractice suits were filed against the doctor and the owner of the clinic at the center of the 2001 outbreak. The number of malpractice cases settled by Chiumento was the highest among New York's most sued doctors.

Guy Vann, the chief lawyer for many plaintiffs in the case, confirmed the settlement but could not comment on specifics because of a confidentiality agreement. "We have not taken any disciplinary against him," a state Health Department spokesman admitted. Health-care advocates are astounded that Chiumento is still practicing. "This sounds really, really bad," said Judy Wessler, director of the Commission on the Public's Health System. Chiumento is now practicing at a medical office in Belleville, N.J. He defended his actions, "This was based on one incident," Chiumento said of the hepatitis C outbreak. "We complied with all the investigative regulations done at the time. There were no actions taken. "Why wouldn't I be practicing?"

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patients and healthcare professionals alike overestimate the safety of drug patches, according to a report in the LA Times. Pain patches containing fentanyl, including Ortho-McNeil's Duragesic, have caused overdoses, prompting the FDA to order a black box warning in 2005 that the patches should be prescribed at the lowest dose possible and not for short-term pain or post-operative pain. Other transdermal patches have also come in for questioning, including Ortho-McNeil’s Ortho Evra birth control patch, which can increase the risk of blood clots due to its higher-than-usual estrogen dose and Daytrana for ADHD, which has caused skin irritation in some users. One issue common to the transdermal patch is that while delivering a drug more steadily, it can also ultimately deliver more or too much of it. Since heat affects the rate of absorption, sunbathing or a hot shower could cause overdose. Additionally, skin thickness varies from patient to patient and thicker skins may mean lower uptake. Kenneth Sloan, a medicinal chemist at the University of Florida who has researched absorption from patches, told the LA Times: “Patches are not innocuous. One patch does not fit all.”

Posted by Seth A. Katz at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Medical Justice Services, a company that helps doctors deflect and fight medical malpractice claims, has launched a program aimed at protecting against "online defamation." The new program was inspired by the popularity of Web sites such as www.RateMDs.com, which allows users to rate physicians anonymously. Medical Justice has begun offering its clients a new agreement for patients to sign, under which the patient agrees to make the doctor aware of the nature of their grievance and allow for steps to be taken to improve the situation. Patients unhappy with care still retain any number of ways to voice a potential complaint, even after signing the document, according to Medical Justice Services. The new program has been written up by the Wall Street Journal's health blog and the company says about a third of its clients have requested the new program.

Posted by Scott J. Eldredge at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ret. Army Col. Ray Sanchez of Santa Fe, follows the instructions on the Automated Pegboard 2000 brain machine, which asks him to move shapes from left to right and later, right to left, making the brain think quicker and exercise. The machine was created and made by Diego Guillén, a former computer installer. He records the progress that Sanchez is making. Sanchez suffered a debilitating stroke causing a brain injury a few years ago, but says the machine has dramatically improved his life. "A better quality of life is what this machine has given me." The 63-year-old went to see several different neurologists, was prescribed many medications and did hundreds of hours of physical therapy. Doctors said his prognosis was bleak.

The APB 2000 resembles a child’s geometric puzzle and helps brain injury patients rebuild motor functions. The pegboard works by giving the patient a set of instructions to move shapes across a puzzle board and fit them into specified spots. A computer monitors the time it takes for the patient to process the instructions and then execute them. Since using it, he said, the burning sensation on his face has lessened. According to Guillén, the pegboard works because it forces patients to use their mind and body simultaneously, which is how all people learn motor functions as children. It gives patients objective, mathematical information so they can see their time improvements, he said. “The mind is capable of doing miracles, but it has to have objective information, not someone’s opinion that you are getting better,” he said. “We show them mathematical proof that they are getting better.”

So far, Guillén has only treated only a handful of patients. Besides Sanchez, he also has had success with Bruce Bayless, a Vietnam veteran who lives in Albuquerque. Bayless suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident more than 20 years ago. He tried several different treatments and hundreds of drug combinations. Still, he couldn’t walk long distances, he slept badly and he couldn’t concentrate. Bayless spent most of his days inside his house, venturing out only when it was absolutely necessary. After eight sessions on the pegboard, Bayless said he began to sleep better and even started remembering his dreams. “I am really thankful to be getting this,” Bayless said. “I wish I would have gotten it right after my accident because it is changing my life.”

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Studies on teenage driving have identified teenage passengers as a major reason for automobile accidents. A state lawmaker is interested in limiting the number of teen passengers one can take. Contrary to popular belief, teenage fatalities due to auto accidents are not the result of cell phone use or inexperience alone. Statistics show that the common denominator in teen fatalities is the number of teenage passengers in the car with a teenage driver.

All this was recently brought back into the spotlight when Nick Bollea, the 17-year-old son of Hulk Hogan, crashed his car and escaped with minor injuries while his passenger, 22-year-old John Graziano suffered a serious injury that required hospitalization. Nationwide, teenagers account for only 7 percent of licensed drivers, but they comprise 14 percent of all traffic fatalities and 20 percent of all automobile accidents. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the risk of a fatal accident for 16- and 17-year-olds increases exponentially with each teen passenger in the car. So now, state Rep. Chelsea Wagner of Pittsburgh has proposed a bill that would make it illegal for a teenage driver to transport more than one other teenager, unless he or she were family. In the case of teenage drivers, safety is definitely not in numbers, at least not in additional teenagers in the car.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

California produce grower Metz Fresh LLC said on Wednesday August 29th, it voluntarily recalled fresh spinach in grocery stores and food service packages after a sample tested positive for salmonella. The California based company and a spokesman from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said there have been no reports of illness or problems related to the spinach. The products were distributed in the continental United States and Canada under the Metz Fresh label. Recalled packages include 10-ounce and 16-ounce bags, as well as 2.5 and 4 pound bags shipped in cartons. The affected spinach carries tracking codes 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314. Consumers should discard any product related to the recall or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.

Metz Fresh spokesman Greg Larsen said the issue first came to the company's attention on when a single sample taken during routine testing conducted by an independent lab came back "presumptive positive" for salmonella. The sample was confirmed positive for salmonella later, Larsen said. Metz Fresh tracked, located and put 'holds' on the vast majority of the cartons of affected spinach. As a result, more than 90 percent of the more than 8,100 cases in transit were halted. That spinach will not be released into the marketplace.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new Australian study suggest that a simple change in the way people with traumatic brain injuries are treated initially might make a big difference in their survival odds. The study found that using saline rather than albumin fluid to maintain normal fluid volume levels in people with severe brain injuries resulted in nearly double the survival rate at 24 months after the injury. Albumin is the main protein component of human blood. After two years, the researchers found that people with traumatic brain injuries who received albumin had a 63 percent higher risk of dying than those given saline. For those with severe brain injuries, the albumin group had an 88 percent increased risk of death compared to the saline group.

"We determined that the 2-year mortality rate was significantly high in those patients who received albumin-based fluids compared to those who received saline, particularly those patients with severe brain injuries who presented with traumatic coma," said the study's lead author, Dr. John Myburgh, director of the division of critical care and trauma at the George Institute for International Health, in Sydney. "Given the significant difference in mortality that we observed, we recommend that albumin-based fluids be avoided for the acute fluid resuscitation of patients with traumatic brain injury," added Myburgh. Results of the study are published in the Aug. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The federal investigation into last summer's Comair Flight 5191 that crashed August 27, 2006 ended Tuesday with a list of published recommendations about how to make air travel safer in the future. The final report, written by National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker, reiterated that the primary cause was a failure by the two Comair pilots to notice clues they were going down the wrong runway. However, only one of the five safety recommendations addresses steps the pilots should take and two of the recommendations relate to the control tower, run by the Federal Aviation Administration. The NTSB members ultimately voted 3-2 that the controller wasn't to blame in the aviation accident, but Rosenker stressed controllers need to better prioritize their time.

NTSB's five new recommendations to FAA are:

1. Require pilots to crosscheck their runway location prior to takeoff.

2. Require commercial airplanes to be fitted with a cockpit system that either alerts pilots if they are heading the wrong way or gives them a moving map display to see updated taxiway conditions.

3. Require that regional airports implement enhanced markings in the center of runways and all runway entrances. Blue Grass Airport already has taken that step.

4. Prohibit air traffic controllers from clearing a plane for takeoff until it has crossed all intersecting runways and taxiways.

5. Prohibit controllers from performing administrative tasks, such as traffic counts, while aircraft are moving in the controller's area of responsibility. (The Lexington controller turned his back to do an administrative task and didn't see the accident.)

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Imagine being the top executive and decision maker in your company, having a car accident and receiving a diagnosis from your neurologist weeks later that you are suffering from a mild traumatic brain injury. That is exactly what was shared by Yvone Hoffman, a top executive and several notable, executives in Washington. They decided it was time to make their silent disability known to the local media at a press conference. The purpose of the press conference was two-fold: 1.) to inform the general public about the severity of MTBI. 2.) to voice concern about the denial of insurance coverage for cognitive language rehabilitation when seeking optimal recovery.

Hoffman was diagnosed with a post-concussive syndrome (eg., mild traumatic brain injury) following her car accident two months ago. She received in-patient treatment for activities of daily living from a speech pathologist. However, when returning to her work and learning she needed further retraining for cognitive skills, her insurance company would not pay for rehabilitative service. ‘The accident damaged some of my executive skills for memory and critical thinking, and my insurance will not pay for vocational re-entry. ‘Controlled panic would be a good way to describe how I feel, she reported. Other executives share similar frustrations and concerns about the lack of insurance coverage for maximum recovery of MTBI. Fortunately, Ms. Hoffman obtained a lawyer and won her case. Now, she is informing others about the process and the need for others to become pro-active in their rehabilitation.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

U.S. Senator Wayne Allard says after visiting Fort Carson, he's confident the post is properly diagnosing and treating soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. This was after the Colorado Republican had a closed door meeting with troops and leadership on the Mountain Post. The Senator admitted Monday there were deficiencies in the way the Army treated soldiers returning from war for traumatic brain injuries. Now he says Fort Carson has taken the lead in scanning and diagnosing TBI. Allard held a press conference at Fort Carson Monday afternoon. He told members of the media, that staff at Evans Community Army Hospital have taken the lead in scanning for and treating TBI. Fort Carson found that nearly 18 percent of its soldiers returning from Iraq suffered at least one traumatic brain injury. Of those, 13 percent are considered too injured to return to combat.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The rest of the States in the union should take notice of Iowa and their brain injury program. People in Iowa living with a traumatic brain injury, along with their families and caregivers, now have new help in navigating the confusing maze of services and information. Professionals called neuro-resource facilitators are just a toll-free phone call away. They provide free support to families by linking them to local services and providing information on dealing with brain injury. "We find out what services really are available, and connect people to them," said Geoff Lauer, a part-time facilitator and executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Iowa. "This is to deal with the long haul of brain injury."

The service has been available in Iowa for about eight months, and Lauer said there already are about 160 clients. About 2,300 Iowans are hospitalized annually because of traumatic brain injury, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. More than 50,000 Iowans live with long-term disability because of traumatic brain injury. Currently clientele are non-service members, but soon facilitators expect to be helping more veterans injured in Iraq or Afghanistan. With brain injury, the individual and their family are immediately thrown into an unfamiliar system of services. A brain-injured person's disability is in many cases severe immediately and then can change over time. Facilitators work with brain-injured individual’s ages 6 months and up, providing the specific help that each person needs. They might help set up an automated payment plan for a client who as a result of his injury keeps forgetting to pay rent. Or they might work with school agencies to meet the educational needs of a brain-injured child. They often guide families in finding and signing up for financial aid, including special waivers and Medicaid and they educate other service providers on working with brain-injured clients.

Posted by Kerry N. Jardine at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)