The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) was impaneled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 23-member AHCPR panel consisted of 12 medical doctors, 2 doctors of chiropractic, 2 physical therapists as well as other health care professionals

The panel reviewed more than 3,900 research articles on the treatment of low back pain. Their recommendations are based only on the findings of studies that met strict research criteria.

The panel recommended only three types of treatment for low back pain:
1. Spinal Manipulation
2. Low-stress exercise
3. Over-the-counter medications

The panel concluded that the most effective treatment for low back pain was a combination of spinal manipulation and exercise. The panel recommended against bed rest, corsets, massage, traction and surgery. In fact, they found that only 1 out of 100 back surgeries helpful.

These guidelines confirm what doctors of chiropractic have known and practiced for more than a century: Manipulating the spine is safer, more effective, and less costly than drugs or surgery. It relieves pain and allows patients to return to their normal activities sooner.

 

Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins

Reported on April 14, 1994 in The New England Journal of Medicine was a study in which 29,000 male smokers were given synthetic beta-carotene and synthetic Vitamin E to evaluate the cancer-protective effect of these "vitamins". After 10 years, the men taking the synthetic beta-carotene had an 18% higher rate of lung cancer, more heart attacks, and an 8% higher overall death rate. Those taking synthetic Vitamin E had more strokes.

***Food sources of these same nutrients same nutrients, such as fruits and vegetables consistently demonstrate protection against cancer heart disease and stroke.

On November 23,1995, the following was reported in The New England Journal of Medicine: 22,748 pregnant women were given synthetic Vitamin A. After four years the study was halted because of a 240% increase in birth defects in babies of women taking 10,000 IU daily, and a 400% increase in birth defects in babies of women taking 20,000 IU a day.

***Women eating natural food sources of Vitamin A showed no increase in birth defects.

Reported in Reuters Health, March 3, 2000 was a study on men who took 500 mg of synthetic Vitamin C daily. It was found that over an 18-month period, these men had a 250% increase of the intima-media lining (inner lining) of the carotid artery. This thickening is an accurate measurement for the progression of atherosclerosis. That is, synthetic Vitamin C induced atherosclerosis, even at a 500 mg dose.

***Whole-food Vitamin C protects and repairs the inner lining of' blood vessels and is preventative against atherosclerosis.

 

 

How many is too many?  Are our children healthier because of this?

 

 

 

Diabetes Rate Doubles in the Last 10 Years 
 
The rate of new diabetes cases nearly doubled in the United States in the last 10 years, with the highest levels in the South, the government said Thursday in its first state-by-state review of new diagnoses. The highest rate was in West Virginia, where about 13 in 1,000 adults were diagnosed with the disease  The lowest was in Minnesota, where the rate is 5 in 1,000.   About 90 percent of the cases are Type 2 diabetes, the form linked to obesity. The findings echo geographic trends seen with obesity and physical inactivity, which are also tied to heart disease.

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer  Oct. 30, 2008

 

Children Who Get Flu Vaccine Have Three Times Risk Of Hospitalization For Flu, Study Suggests
The inactivated flu vaccine does not appear to be effective in preventing influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma. In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than their peers who do not get the vaccine, according to new research that will be presented on May 19, at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

Flu vaccine (trivalent inactivated flu vaccine—TIV) has unknown effects on asthmatics.

"The concerns that vaccination maybe associated with asthma exacerbations have been disproved with multiple studies in the past, but the vaccine's effectiveness has not been well-established," said Avni Joshi, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. "This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the TIV in children overall, as well as the children with asthma, to prevent influenza-related hospitalization."

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend annual influenza vaccination for all children aged six months to 18 years. The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (3rd revision) also recommends annual flu vaccination of asthmatic children older than six months.

In order to determine whether the vaccine was effective in reducing the number of hospitalizations that all children, and especially the ones with asthma, faced over eight consecutive flu seasons, the researchers conducted a cohort study of 263 children who were evaluated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota from six months to 18 years of age, each of whom had had laboratory-confirmed influenza between 1996 to 2006. The investigators determined who had and had not received the flu vaccine, their asthma status and who did and did not require hospitalization. Records were reviewed for each subject with influenza-related illness for flu vaccination preceding the illness and hospitalization during that illness.

They found that children who had received the flu vaccine had three times the risk of hospitalization, as compared to children who had not received the vaccine. In asthmatic children, there was a significantly higher risk of hospitalization in subjects who received the TIV, as compared to those who did not (p= 0.006). But no other measured factors—such as insurance plans or severity of asthma—appeared to affect risk of hospitalization.

"While these findings do raise questions about the efficacy of the vaccine, they do not in fact implicate it as a cause of hospitalizations," said Dr. Joshi. "More studies are needed to assess not only the immunogenicity, but also the efficacy of different influenza vaccines in asthmatic subjects."

 
More than half million kids get bad drug reactions
 
CHICAGO – More than half a million U.S. children yearly have bad reactions or side effects from widely used medicines that require medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization, new research shows.  Children younger than age 5 are most commonly affected. Penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among drugs causing the most problems, including rashes, stomachaches and diarrhea. Parents should pay close attention when their children are started on medicines since "first-time medication exposures may reveal an allergic reaction," said lead author Dr. Florence Bourgeois, a pediatrician with Children's Hospital in Boston.  Doctors also should tell parents about possible symptoms for a new medication, she said.  The study appears in October's Pediatrics, released Monday.  It's based on national statistics on patients' visits to clinics and emergency rooms between 1995 and 2005. The number of children treated for bad drug reactions each year was mostly stable during that time, averaging 585,922. Bourgeois said there were no deaths resulting from bad reactions to drugs in the data she studied, but 5 percent of children were sick enough to require hospitalization. The study involved reactions to prescribed drugs, including accidental overdoses. They were used for a range of ailments including ear infections, strep throat, depression and cancer. Among teens, commonly used medicines linked with troublesome side effects included birth control pills. Bad reactions to these pills included menstrual problems, nausea and vomiting.  Children younger than 5 accounted for 43 percent of visits to clinics and emergency rooms; followed by teens aged 15 to 18, who made up about 23 percent of the visits. Similar numbers of hospitalized children — about 540,000 yearly — also have bad reactions to drugs, including side effects, medicine mix-ups and accidental overdoses, recent government research suggests.  The new report indicates children at home are just as vulnerable.  Michael Cohen, president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, said a common problem involves giving young children liquid medicine. Doses can come in drops, teaspoons or milliliters, and parents may mistakenly think those amounts are interchangeable.  Cohen said doctors should be clear about doses and parents should be sure before leaving the pharmacy that they understand exactly how to give liquid medicine.  The study was funded by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical September 28, 2009
 
Adverse Drug Reactions Triple in U.S.

 

Reports of dangerous side effects and deaths from widely used medicines almost tripled between 1998 and 2005, an analysis of U.S. drug data found.

The number of deaths and serious injuries from prescription and over-the-counter drugs climbed from 34,966 to 89,842 during the study of reports to the Food and Drug Administration.

Potent narcotic painkillers including Oxycontin, sold generically as oxycodone, were among 15 drugs most often linked with deaths in the study. Drugs frequently linked with serious nonfatal complications included insulin, the arthritis drugs Vioxx and Remicade, and the antidepressant Paxil.

The report adds to recent criticism of FDA oversight on drug safety, including its handling of serious problems connected with Vioxx, which was removed from the market in 2004.

"This growing toll of serious injury shows that the existing system is not adequately protecting patients and underscores the importance of recent reports urging far-reaching legislative, policy and institutional changes," the authors said.

The analysis appears in this week's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Its authors are Thomas Moore and Michael Cohen of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a nonprofit educational group that analyzes drug safety issues; and Dr. Curt Furberg of Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

They analyzed excerpts of reports on serious side effects received by the FDA between January 1998 and December 2005. A total of 467,809 serious complications were found. Reported deaths nearly tripled, rising from 5,519 to 15,107.

A disproportionate number of complications occurred in elderly patients. Women were more often victims than men, 55.5 percent compared to 45.5 percent. Children were involved in 7.4 percent of the problems.

The FDA issued a statement saying it is aware of the growing number of reported problems and takes them seriously, but the reason for the increase "is not completely known."

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer