Women who are prone to bone loss might consider discovering the wonders of ginger ale. A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that regular cola consumption by women may lead to a loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in the hips and, ultimately, osteoporosis. The findings applied to cola, diet cola, and, to a slightly lesser extent, decaffeinated cola, but no correlation was found among other carbonated beverages. In addition, cola consumption was not found to have similar effects in men.

The culprit? Phosphoric acid, most likely. Yet, interestingly enough, the study found that “total phosphorus intake was not significantly higher in daily cola consumers than in nonconsumers; however, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratios were lower.” Those women at greatest risk were said to consume three or more cola drinks on a daily basis.
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In a time of record-setting consumer debt, the U.S. General Accounting Office has delivered a 109-page report arguing that credit-card issuers have not been clear enough in detailing their intricate penalty schedules to users. They’ve recommended that the Federal Reserve take a greater role in ensuring that consumers are well-informed of their cards’ rates and fees.

In their bluntly titled report, “Increased Complexity in Rates and Fees Heightens Need for More Effective Disclosures for Consumers,” the GAO found that “disclosures by the largest issuers have various weaknesses that reduced consumers’ ability to use and understand them…. Contrary to usability and readability best practices, the disclosures buried important information in text, failed to group and label related material, and used small typefaces. Perhaps as a result, cardholders … often had difficulty using the disclosures to find and understand key rates or terms applicable to the cards.”
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The news continues to get worse for the makers of newer atypical antipsychotic drugs. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found “no significant differences” between the effectiveness of the drugs and that of placebos in the treatment of Alzheimer’s patients who suffer from psychosis, aggression, and agitation. However, the potential for dangerous side effects caused by costly atypical antipsychotics has led the researchers to question whether or not these drugs should be used at all in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.

“Adverse effects offset advantages in the efficacy of atypical antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of psychosis, aggression, or agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” the NEJM study concludes. In the 42-site, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 421 randomly assigned outpatients, researchers tested the effectiveness of three popular atypical antipsychotics: Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa, AstraZenaca’s Seroquel, and Janssen Pharmaceutical’s Risperdal. Side effects of these drugs include sleepiness, weight gain, and a state of confusion.
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An eye-opening, 13-year Japanese study has offered some rather demoralizing information to people with a history of lung cancer in their families. If someone in your immediate family has suffered from the disease, your risk of acquiring it rises significantly–regardless of whether you’re a smoker or not.

The findings were reported in the October edition of the journal Chest, published by the American College of Chest Physicians. The study tracked more than 100,000 Japanese between the ages of 40 and 69 and showed that an individual’s smoking habits may not have as great an effect on mitigating the risk of lung cancer as previously thought.
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Executives at Environmental Quality Co. may soon have much more to worry about than rebuilding their hazardous-waste plant. Three separate lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the Apex, N.C., chemical fire that sent a cloud of toxic fumes into the air and forced as many as 17,000 local residents to evacuate.

Two of the suits were filed in federal court and one in state court. All of these suits are seeking to achieve class-action status. Among the considerations are personal injury, property damage, lost wages, and business interruption.
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A new warning from the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) says that patients who take a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates are susceptible to a side effect called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), or “jawbone death.” Bisphosphonates are commonly used in the treatment of osteoporosis, and the class includes the oral medications Fosamax, Actonel, and Boniva and the intravenous drugs Aredia, Bonefos, Didronel, and Zometa. More than 1,000 cases of ONJ have been reported in patients who have been administered this class of drugs.
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A troubling new study reports that ICU patients may face an increased risk of hazardous infection if they occupy rooms that have been used by patients who were afflicted by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Of greatest concern is the fact that standard room-cleaning and bed-cleaning procedures do not seem to mitigate the risks of infection in the new patient, calling into question whether hospitals are doing enough (or are even able to do enough) to control the spread of these germs.

The germs in question–methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)–are known to be significant sources of illness and fatality in hospitals. However, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School have now found that the risk of contracting these bacteria is greater if you are assigned to a room where previous cases were reported. Put another way, this raises the notion of whether “contaminated beds” can be cleaned sufficiently enough to protect incoming patients.
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Two Toronto-area residents are paralyzed and in serious condition after drinking carrot juice tainted by botulism. The two new cases bring the total number of recent botulism victims to six. Four other cases have appeared in the U.S. over the last two weeks. In all cases, the contaminated carrot juice was traced to Bakersfield, California-based Bolthouse Farms.

According to Toronto Public Health, their “inspectors have visited close to 800 stores in the past few days to ensure the brands of carrot juice linked to botulism here and in the United States are not being sold.” Yet, according to a spokesperson at the department, the juice was still on the shelves in at least 10 stores, despite a voluntary recall by Bolthouse Farms.
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The federal government has opened an investigation of California spinach growers, claiming they may have failed to have sufficient safety measures in place to prevent the recent outbreak of E. coli.

A Department of Justice release from October 4 notes: “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that agents of the FBI and FDA Office of Criminal Investigations executed two search warrants today on Growers Express in Salinas, California, and Natural Selection Foods in San Juan Batista, California, in connection with the September 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that the FDA has traced to spinach grown in the Salinas area.” While the companies are not accused of deliberate contamination, they may be liable for negligence or malpractice.
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In an alarming, newly published study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that even low-level exposure to perchlorate can interfere with normal thyroid function in women, specifically by reducing the production of essential thyroid hormones. Women with low levels of iodine in their urine have shown to be most susceptible to thyroid aliments. While the risks associated with high levels of perchlorate exposure have been long established, the new report has found lower levels of exposure to be more dangerous than previously thought.

The CDC survey was conducted on approximately 2,300 subjects–both male and female–in 2001 and 2002. The delayed release of the survey’s findings has caused considerable consternation among health officials and environmentalists. Some have accused the Bush Administration of pressuring the CDC to withhold the information from the public in order to protect the Pentagon and its contractors from increased regulation.
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