Poisoning News and Research

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Doxorubicin-docetaxel combination is associated with an increased risk of severe and life-threatening complications

Researchers in France say a study using two chemotherapy agents to treat breast cancer was halted after two women in the study died.

17 May 2005

Children with high blood lead levels often do not receive follow-up tests

Only about half of children who had an abnormal blood lead level screening had follow-up blood testing, according to an article in the May 11 issue of JAMA.

10 May 2005

Some children in the United States are still at risk for lead poisoning

Despite efforts to remove lead from many products, such as gasoline and paint, some children in the United States are still at risk for lead poisoning. A new study shows that children at the greatest risk for lead poisoning, and also those identified with elevated blood lead levels through screening, were the least likely to get follow-up testing needed for prevention.

10 May 2005

CPR instructions should focus on continuous chest compressions

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions given over the phone by emergency dispatchers to lay rescuers should focus primarily on continuous chest compressions instead of the traditional ABC's – "airway, breathing, circulation," according to Dr. Paul Pepe, chairman of emergency medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

8 May 2005

Salmonella now linked to pet rodents

An investigation into outbreaks of salmonella poisoning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prompted U.S. health officials to warn the public to take care when handling mice, rats and hamsters after human cases of salmonella have been linked to pet rodents.

5 May 2005

Use of agricultural insecticides linked to lasting neurological problems for farmers

New research shows that farmers who used agricultural insecticides experienced increased neurological symptoms, even when they were no longer using the products. Data from18,782 North Carolina and Iowa farmers linked use of insecticides, including organophosphates and organochlorines, to reports of reoccurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, hand tremors, numbness and other neurological symptoms. Some of the insecticides addressed by the study are still on the market, but some, including DDT, have been banned or restricted.

1 May 2005

Hospitalized babies with severe breathing problems may benefit from lying on their stomachs

Infants who are hospitalized with severe breathing problems may benefit from being placed on their stomachs rather than their backs, according to a new review of recent studies.

19 Apr 2005

E. coli cases in Florida has now risen to 24

The number of E. coli cases in Florida has now risen to 24 with the confirmation this week that two more people have E. coli bacteria poisoning.

5 Apr 2005

An exceptionally effective lead-detection protein

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Chicago have discovered that a member of a well-known protein family is better at detecting lead than any other known substance.

5 Apr 2005

How E.Coli became deadly to humans

Twenty-three years ago a harmless gut bacterium called E. coli developed the ability to kill people through food poisoning, bloody diarrhoea and kidney failure. Normally E. coli bacteria live in the intestine and don’t pose any danger, but some varieties can cause fatal food poisoning.

4 Apr 2005

Harm caused by alcohol consumption among college students may exceed previous estimates of the problem

Researchers report that unintentional fatal injuries related to alcohol increased from about 1,500 in 1998 to more than 1,700 in 2001 among U.S. college students aged 18-24.

21 Mar 2005

Eating seafood containing toxic substances can have serious neurological as well as gastrointestinal effects

In parts of the Pacific, the number of cases of marine poisoning exceeds 1200 per 100 000 people per year. Although most of the burden of marine poisoning is in rural coastal communities, many people who live outside these communities, or travel to them, are presenting to their doctors with acute or ongoing effects after eating seafood.

21 Mar 2005

Alcohol drinkers three times as lkely to die from injury

People who regularly drink alcohol are three times as likely to die from injury as are non-drinkers and former drinkers of alcohol, according to new research from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

10 Feb 2005

New figures highlight trends in drug and alcohol misuse

New figures published by Dr Foster* in this week's BMJ outline drug and alcohol related harm in the population of England.

13 Jan 2005

Shakespeare may have had syphilis

Shakespeare’s name usually inspires thoughts of kings, fairies, lovers, wars and poetic genius--not syphilis. However, some passages in his plays and sonnets indicate that the Bard may have suffered from one or more venereal infections, according to an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

10 Jan 2005

In the first few days of each month, fatalities due to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal

Beware not the ides but the start of March – and April and May and every month. In the first few days of each month, fatalities due to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal, according to new research by University of California, San Diego sociologist David Phillips.

6 Jan 2005

Quarter of all deaths in England and Wales in 2003 were caused by cancer

The main causes of death in 2003 were circulatory diseases (38 per cent), which include coronary heart disease and strokes, followed by cancers (26 per cent) and respiratory diseases (14 per cent), which includes pneumonia.

21 Dec 2004

Potential vaccine for the deadly toxin ricin

A potential vaccine for the deadly toxin ricin, a "Category B" biological agent, will enter the first phase of clinical testing in coming weeks at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

30 Nov 2004

Astronaut's eyes may become windows on the bloodstream

Our eyes may become more than windows of the soul if a multidisciplinary team of University of Michigan researchers succeeds with a clever combination of nanoparticles and ultrafast pulsed laser to see individual cells as they zip past in the bloodstream.

29 Nov 2004

Salmonella pathogen uses molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent

New research, headed by microbiologists from the University of Georgia, show for the first time that Salmonella – a widespread and often deadly bacterial pathogen – use molecular hydrogen to grow and become virulent.

29 Nov 2004