Zinc and Colds

Zinc supplements may reduce duration of cold symptoms by about one day.
ABC World News (2/15, story 6, 1:20, Sawyer) reported, "A new study" suggests that "zinc supplements taken within 24 hours of the onset of a cold can reduce the cold by a whole day." USA Today (2/16, Szabo) reported that researchers arrived at that conclusion after conducting a "research review of 15 studies" according to an analysis published Feb. 15 in The Cochrane Library.
The Washington Post (2/15, Stein) "The Checkup" blog reported that in studies involving 1,360 people, "zinc syrup or lozenges taken within a day of the first symptoms reduce the severity and length of the illness, the researchers concluded." And, after one "week, significantly more patients who took zinc no longer had symptoms compared to those who took placebos, the researchers reported." Moreover, people who took zinc supplements "for at least five months were less likely to get colds and miss school because of them," the researchers reported.

High Fiber Diet Update

High-fiber diet may reduce risk of dying from chronic diseases, some cancers.
The AP (2/14, Johnson) reported, "Eat more fiber and you just may live longer," according to a study reported online in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The analysis, based on data from "388,000 adults," who participated in a study conducted by NIH and AARP, found that people who met the national dietary guidelines for fiber intake "were less likely to die during a nine-year follow-up period."
The Los Angeles Times (2/14, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog, noted that the 20% who "ate the most fiber (29.4 grams per day for men and 25.8 grams for women) had a 22% lower risk of dying compared with those who ate the least amount (12.6 grams per day for men and 10.8 for women)." Diets high in fiber were linked with a "lower risk of death from all causes, as well as death from cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and respiratory diseases in men and women." Conversely, eating fiber was "associated with a lower death risk from cancer for men, but the same was not seen in women."
According to the Wall Street Journal (2/15, D3, Dooren, subscription required), lead researcher Dr. Yikyung Park of the National Cancer Institute believes the cancer-risk difference may be attributed to that fact that men already have higher mortality rates for the types of cancer a fiber-rich diet would presumably prevent, including head and neck cancer, and esophagus, liver, bladder and kidney cancers.
US News & World Report (2/14, Haupt, Hobson) reported that Dr. Park suggested that fiber reduces the risk of early death because it "lowers levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol, improves blood glucose levels, reduces inflammation, and binds to potential cancer-causing agents, helping to flush them out of the body." The Boston Globe (2/15, Kotz) "Daily Dose" blog added that antioxidants found in fiber, such as selenium and zinc, "may protect tissues from oxidative damage," which is common in diseases such as "cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis," and Crohn's disease, according to an accompanying editorial by two researchers form Harvard School of Public Health.
Meanwhile, MedPage Today (2/14, Phend) noted that the study authors cautioned that although the "benefit for lowered respiratory and infectious disease mortality was 'interesting,' it requires further confirmation." Moreover, the research group "warned that they could not rule out the possibility that dietary fiber was simply a marker for a healthier diet or healthier lifestyle, which may have been incompletely controlled for in the study." CNN /Health.com (2/15, McMillen), WebMD (2/14, Mann) and HealthDay (2/14, Reinberg) also covered the dietary fiber study.

Smoking and ALS

Smoking may increase ALS risk.
HealthDay (2/14, Preidt) reported, "Smoking may increase the risk of the fatal muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)," according to a study published in the Archives of Neurology. The researchers analyzed data from "five long-term studies that involved a total of more than 1.1 million people, including 832 with ALS." According to WebMD (2/14, Warner), they data showed that "current or former cigarette smokers were 42%-44% more likely to develop ALS than people who had never smoked."

Hospital Websites

More hospitals are designing innovative, interactive websites.
Modern Healthcare (2/14, Robeznieks, subscription required) reports, Web Marketing Association President William Rice "says his organization has been evaluating the websites for 96 industries since 1997, and he notes that most early hospital websites could be classified as 'brochure-ware' that didn't take advantage of the interactive features the Internet offers." But now, most hospital websites are "starting to reflect innovation and maturity with interactive portals that give patients access to their test results, medical bills and doctors' schedules." Physicians can now "introduce themselves via online videos and profiles, and educational materials can be developed based on tracking what visitors key into the site's search engine."

Simple Test for Concussions

Simple test may help detect concussions accurately.
HealthDay (2/13, Preidt) reported, "A quick, simple test done on the sidelines of sports events can accurately detect concussion." According to a study in the journal Neurology, the King-Devick screening test is "superior to current sideline tests." It asks athletes to "read single digit numbers on index-sized cards," and suggests the athlete has "suffered a concussion" if the delay is more than "five seconds longer than the athlete's baseline test time." According to the researchers, the King-Devick test can detect "impairments in eye movement, attention, language and other symptoms of concussion." Their study of 39 boxers found that "test times improved an average of one second for those who didn't experience head trauma, but worsened 11.1 seconds for those who did suffer head trauma."

Electronic cigarettes

DOT: Electronic cigarettes prohibited on airplanes.
The AP (2/11, Felberbaum) reported, "The US Department of Transportation says the use of smokeless electronic cigarettes on airplanes is prohibited and plans to issue an official ban this spring," according to a letter from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood obtained by the AP. The future of e-cigarettes, however, is "likely to be decided" by the Food and Drug Administration. The agency "lost a court case last year after trying to treat e-cigarettes as drug-delivery devices, rather than tobacco products, because e-cigarettes heat nicotine extracted from tobacco." Notably, about 40 percent of the "nearly 46-million Americans" who smoke cigarettes "try to quit each year," according to CDC data.

New York Diseases

New York becoming city of "exotic diseases."
The New York Times (2/11, A23, Hartocollis) says New York City's health department revelation last week that "three people had contracted cholera" was a reminder that the "city is not just a world capital of arts" and business but, also of "exotic diseases." The Times points out that "several people every year are found to have a biblical disease, leprosy, though health officials say no one has to fear catching it in the subway." Moreover, in 2002, "bubonic plague, more commonly associated with the 14th century, found its way to New York City through two travelers who came from a ranch in New Mexico, where the disease is endemic in flea-bitten wild animals like prairie dogs." And anthrax scares in 2001, caused the city to expand it "so-called syndromic surveillance system" to pick up "evidence of biological warfare."