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Creams, gels and patches better than oral dosage forms HRT regimen, study suggests
A study of hormone use in nearly 700,000 Danish women over age 50 suggests that when it comes to heart attack risk, patches or gels are safer than the combination oral dosage forms most American women use. The researchers found that "women who only periodically took progesterone or who used topical medicines had a lower chance of heart attacks," but women "who took daily pills combining" estrogen and progesterone "had a higher heart risk," According to the study, published in the European Heart Journal, "women who didn't take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were eight percent more likely to have heart attacks than those who took estrogen regularly and progesterone periodically, and 20 percent more than those who used estrogen creams, gels, and patches." These "results echo earlier research at France's Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale that estrogen administered through the skin poses no additional risk of blood clots forming in veins."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-30-hormones-heart-attack_N.htm
If Bioterrorists Strike, Letter Carriers Might Deliver Antibiotics
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has proposed a solution to one of the bigger challenges in responding to an anthrax bioterrorism attack -- how to deliver protective antibiotics to tens of thousands of people overnight.
The tentative answer: have the US Postal Service do the job. As an incentive to the letter carriers -- who would be volunteers -- the government would issue them in advance an antibiotic supply large enough to treat themselves and their families. They would also be accompanied by police officers on their rounds.
"We have found letter carriers to be the federal government's quickest and surest way of getting pills to whole communities," Leavitt said. The strategy has the full support of the Postal Service and its unions, spokesmen said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp--yn/content/story/2008/10/01/ST2008100102936.html
China to Stop Dairy Exports
China will stop all dairy exports until the threat from tainted milk is eliminated. The Chinese government said it has "taken measures to halt exports of dairy products, which will not be resumed until their safety is fully confirmed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081002/hl_afp/chinafoodsafetychild_081002074756
More Contaminated Candy Discovered in U.S.
Candy from China contaminated with melamine was discovered in four stores in Connecticut. The announcement involved the White Rabbit Creamy Candy brand, sold in 50 countries and already recalled from stores in Britain and many Asian countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/asia/02milk.html
FDA Lax in Oversight of Produce Industry
The FDA's efforts to combat food-borne illness are hampered by infrequent inspections, not enough staff and the failure to implement a program devoted to the safety of fresh produce, according to congressional investigators.
The GAO said that only 1 percent of produce imported into the U.S. is inspected, and that the practice of mixing produce from several sources makes it hard to trace contamination. The report said that inspections at produce-processing facilities are rare and that when problems are discovered, the FDA relies on the industry to correct them without oversight or follow-up.
From 2000 to 2007, the FDA detected food safety problems at more than 40 percent of the 2,002 plants inspected, yet half of those plants were inspected only once during the period. The plants with food-safety problems received only warning letters from the FDA, and even those ended in 2005. The agency seized no fresh produce, sought no injunctions and prosecuted no firms.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gg74csZtdcycAed_1GdDrlCVPEgAD93E0HOG0
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