The doctor implicated in the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada hepatitis C outbreak won’t be able to practice medicine again - at least until a10-count state Board of Medical Examiners complaint against him is resolved.  Dr. Dipak Desai is the owner of the Endoscopy Center, where unsanitary practices exposed thousands of patients to blood born disease.  Desai also runs several other Nevada clinics.  Yesterday, Clark County District Judge David Wall issued a temporary restraining order against Desai, forbidding him from practicing medicine for the time being.

In February, the Southern Nevada Health District sent letters to 40,000 people treated at the clinic, advising them to get tested for hepatitis B and C, and HIV.  The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada has been under investigation since early January, after health officials learned of three people who had been diagnosed with hepatitis C after being treated there.   (more…)

Anesthesia can trigger malignant hyperthermia, a rare but deadly disorder that has received attention following the recent death of Stephanie Kuleba, a Boca Raton, Florida teenager who underwent elective breast surgery in a local surgical center.

Anesthesia administered in hospital settings is generally considered safe because trained anesthesiology professionals are always available.  And, although malignant hyperthermia can occur in any health-care setting, doctors offices and surgical centers may not always have an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist with graduate training who can recognize and respond to danger signs, problematic given the rise in surgical procedures occurring outside of hospitals. (more…)

A recent study revealed that the popular epilepsy drug Dilantin might be placing young women who take it for a year or more at higher risk for osteoporosis.  The April 29 issue of Neurology states the bone loss described in the research was actually eight times higher than that experienced by pre-menopausal women not taking epilepsy drugs.  “That suggests that if these women remain on this medication and have ongoing significant or accelerated bone loss that over time, they will be entering the peri-menopausal period with lower bone density and therefore a greater risk for low bone mineral density over time and therefore a higher risk of fractures,” said study lead author Dr. Alison M. Pack, assistant professor of clinical neurology at Columbia University in New York City.  Pack received funding from GlaxoSmithKline and other pharmaceutical companies for the study.

According to Dr. R. Eugene Ramsay, director of the International Center for Epilepsy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 90 percent of older people who have seizures are put on Dilantin, generally because of its low cost.  “It’s particularly important, because the older population has the highest incidence of epilepsy.  There are more new-onset seizures occurring there and yet they are getting the cheapest and worst treatment,” he said. (more…)

Early last week, over 400 people reported being stricken with food poisoning after eating at the Chipotle Mexican Grill in Kent, Colorado.  The Chipotle restaurant chain’s Denver corporate office has agreed to pay treatment costs for those who fell ill after eating at Chipotle recently.  The last official tally released by local health officials April 21 reported 428 total cases.  Chipotle officials say the suspected norovirus incident was contained to the Kent restaurant.

Food tests from Chipotle did not confirm the virus’ origin; however, investigators confirmed that norovirus is to blame.  In a recent statement, Monty Moran, Chipotle president and COO, said Chipotle established a claims program and reimbursement process for medical expenses related to the norovirus outbreak.  “Investigators have informed us that they believe that the illness was caused by a norovirus, not by anything in our food, equipment, or our food supply,” Moran said.  “We plan to assist people who believe their illness was caused by a visit to our restaurant with reimbursement of related health care expenses.  Food safety is, and always has been, our highest priority.” (more…)

Fosamax, a popular drug used to treat osteoporosis, may be linked to an increased risk of a heart disorder called atrial fibrillation, according to newly published research.  The study raises new concerns about Fosamax, which has also been linked to bone necrosis and other side effects.

Fosamax, manufactured by Merck, was approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995, and is prescribed to treat osteoporosis and Paget’s disease. Fosamax is a type of drug known as a bisphosphonate.  Fosamax is known to carry a number of side effects, including Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ), also known as Dead Jaw Syndrome, a condition in which the bone tissue in the jaw fails to heal after minor trauma such as a tooth extraction, causing the bone to be exposed. The exposure can eventually lead to infection and fracture and may require long-term antibiotic therapy or surgery to remove the dying bone tissue. In 2005, the Fosamax label was updated to include warnings about ONJ. (more…)

Some dermatologists are saying that glopping on shiny lip glosses without appropriate SPF protection—and lip gloss rarely offers adequate protection—can actually increase your risk of developing skin cancer because the shiny nature of the gloss could be making the sun’s UV rays hit harder. “These lip glosses can make more of the light rays penetrate directly through the skin instead of getting reflected off of the skin’s surface,” says Dr. Christine Brown, a dermatologist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Some dermatologists say that in the worst case, the resulting sun damage can lead to potentially fatal forms of skin cancer. An estimated 3,500 new cases of skin cancer of the lips are diagnosed yearly with 90 percent being squamous cell carcinoma. Although not very serious, it can strike more aggressively on the lips than on other parts of the skin and, if untreated, can cause disfigurement. In some cases, the cancer can fatally spread to other organs. (more…)

A new study reveals that high doses of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can increase post-menopausal women’s stroke risk regardless of when the HRT begins.  While the risk for stroke seems to be lower in younger women taking HRT and in women taking the lowest doses of estrogen, Harvard researchers say women who took high hormone doses experienced an increased stroke risk by as much as 62 percent.

“If you take medium to higher doses of hormone therapy, you are at increased risk of stroke,” said Dr. James Liu, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MacDonald Women’s Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.  “If you are on estrogen, the risks of clotting abnormalities are slightly increased versus if you are not on estrogen,” Liu said. “So, the risk of stroke is increased.”  The report was published in the April 28 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. (more…)

Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of some of its Super Duty pickup trucks because of a faulty gas tank.  Ford says that defective mounting on the tanks need to be strengthened to prevent a gasoline leak in a head-on crash.  Meanwhile, Ford says a massive recall of vehicles with faulty cruise control switches is nearly complete, but at least one consumer website says the switches are still a danger.

The Ford Super Duty truck pickup recall covers 65,000 2008 F-250 and F-350 trucks, Ford said in a letter posted on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)  Ford dealers will add a bracket to help secure the fuel tank, at no charge to motorists. Owners will be notified beginning in late May when the parts are  available.  Ford said the affected trucks are F-250 and F-350 4×4 models with a single set of rear wheels and a 156-inch wheel base. (more…)

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced two voluntary recalls of the following defective products:  Rio Brands’ High-Boy Beach Chairs and Hammocks Sold by LivingXL.

Approximately 800 Rio Beach® High-Boy Folding Beach Chairs have been recalled for a fall hazard:  The rear leg of the chair can break.  Rio Brands, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the manufacturer and the Rio Beach® High-Boy Folding Beach Chairs were made in China.  To date, Rio Brands received one report of an incident that involved minor bruises. (more…)

Tainted heparin that has killed 81 people in the U.S. may have been intentionally contaminated, witnesses appearing before a congressional committee said yesterday.   In written testimony, a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) official told lawmakers that it “does strain one’s credulity” to think that the heparin contamination was accidental.  The head of Baxter International, the company that issued a massive recall of heparin earlier this year, said that he was also of the belief that the heparin contamination was deliberate.

In March, the FDA confirmed that it had found a counterfeit ingredient, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, in samples of the active ingredient used in Baxter heparin. The chemical had been molecularly changed to mimic heparin’s blood thinning properties.  That ingredient was supplied to Baxter by Changzhou SPL, a Chinese plant partially owned by Wisconsin-based Scientific Protein Laboratories. Since then, companies in several other countries have issued heparin recalls, and a cluster of heparin reactions has been reported in Germany. In the US, some other manufacturers have issued precautionary recalls. (more…)