Health
- Created on 03 January 2013
FREE ‘First Friday’ Senior Health Screenings at Chatham 14 Theaters
Chatham 14 Theaters will be offering free blood pressure, Hepatitis C and HIV health screenings, as well as screening vouchers for glucose and cholesterol to seniors every first Friday of the month.
The very first screening will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 4, 2013.
Have questions about your medications? Ask the Walgreens pharmacist that will be on site to answer any pharmaceutical questions you may have.
All seniors are welcome.
Chatham 14 Theaters is located at 210 West 87th Street, Chicago, IL 60620 in the Chatham Ridge Mall. For more information call (773) 783-8711.
- Created on 02 January 2013
FDA Approves 1st New Tuberculosis Drug in 40 Years
(AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a Johnson & Johnson tuberculosis drug that is the first new medicine to fight the deadly infection in more than four decades.
The agency approved J&J's pill, Sirturo, for use with older drugs to fight a hard-to-treat strain of tuberculosis that has not responded to other medications. However, the agency cautioned that the drug carries risks of potentially deadly heart problems and should be prescribed carefully by doctors.
Roughly one-third of the world's population is estimated to be infected with the bacteria causing tuberculosis. The disease is rare in the U.S., but kills about 1.4 million people a year worldwide. Of those, about 150,000 succumb to the increasingly common drug-resistant forms of the disease. About 60 percent of all cases are concentrated in China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe.
Sirturo, known chemically as bedaquiline, is the first medicine specifically designed for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. That's a form of the disease that cannot be treated with at least two of the four primary antibiotics used for tuberculosis.
The standard drugs used to fight the disease were developed in the 1950s and 1960s.
"The antibiotics used to treat it have been around for at least 40 years and so the bacterium has become more and more resistant to what we have," said Chrispin Kambili, global medical affairs leader for J&J's Janssen division.
The drug carries a boxed warning indicating that it can interfere with the heart's electrical activity, potentially leading to fatal heart rhythms.
"Sirturo provides much-needed treatment for patients who have don't have other therapeutic options available," said Edward Cox, director of the FDA's antibacterial drugs office. "However, because the drug also carries some significant risks, doctors should make sure they use it appropriately and only in patients who don't have other treatment options."
Nine patients taking Sirturo died in company testing compared with two patients taking a placebo. Five of the deaths in the Sirturo group seemed to be related to tuberculosis, but no explanation was apparent for the remaining four.
Despite the deaths, the FDA approved the drug under its accelerated approval program, which allows the agency to clear innovative drugs based on promising preliminary results.
Last week, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen criticized that approach, noting the drug's outstanding safety issues.
"The fact that bedaquiline is part of a new class of drug means that an increased level of scrutiny should be required for its approval," the group states. "But the FDA had not yet answered concerns related to unexplained increases in toxicity and death in patients getting the drug."
The FDA said it approved the drug based on two mid-stage studies enrolling 440 patients taking Sirturo. Both studies were designed to measure how long it takes patients to be free of tuberculosis.
Results from the first trial showed most patients taking Sirturo plus older drugs were cured after 83 days, compared with 125 days for those taking a placebo plus older drugs. The second study showed most Sirturo patients were cured after 57 days.
- Created on 28 December 2012
$6M Awarded to Improve Housing for People with HIV
(AP) — The Chicago Department of Public Health has awarded $6 million to 22 community organizations for housing assistance and support services for people living with HIV and AIDS and their families.
The grants come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The money goes to agencies that offer rental assistance, housing information services or residential facilities. Organizations awarded grants for 2013 include Christian Community Health Center, Pilsen Wellness Center, Housing Opportunities for Women and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Public health officials say there are more than 22,000 Chicago residents living with HIV.
The grants are provided by HUD's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program.
- Created on 31 December 2012
Smoked Salmon at Wal-Mart's Sam's Club Stores Recalled in 42 States
The L.A. Times reports that smoked salmon sold at Wal-Mart's Sam's Club stores nationwide is being recalled in 42 states, including California, and Puerto Rico amid listeria concerns.
The fish was produced by a Miami subsidiary of Multiexport Foods Inc. in conjunction with Tampa Bay Fisheries Inc. The companies are pulling the product "with an overabundance of caution," according to a Wal-Mart statement.
The listeria monocytogenes bacteria – which can cause fatal infections in the elderly, the young and those with weak immune systems, and lead to fever, nausea and diarrhea in other victims – was discovered during a standard lab test on a shipment of the salmon that hadn't been distributed to stores, according to Wal-Mart.
No illnesses have been linked to the product, the mega-retailer said. The voluntary recall was first launched last week and expanded this week.
Cold smoked salmon in 12-ounce twin packs – which are vacuum-sealed with a cardboard sleeve – and 1.25-pound bundles under the brand "Paramount Reserve" are included in the recall.
The UPC code for the twin pack is 6 88264 86705 0 while the code for the 1.25-pound pack is 6 88264 86664 0. More specific codes on stickers attached to the back of packages can be found here.
Consumers can bring back the products, which were distributed to retail outlets between Nov. 12 and Dec. 21, for a full refund, Wal-Mart said.
In a note to customers, Frank Yiannas, Wal-Mart's vice president of food safety, wrote that Tampa Bay Fisheries and Multiexport Foods are cooperating with the Food and Drug Administration.
Affected stores are in Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Montana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
- Created on 27 December 2012
Justice Won't Block Obamacare's Required Emergency Contraception Coverage
(CNN) -- Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday turned down a request that she block part of Obamacare that would require companies' health plans to provide for coverage of certain contraceptives, such as the morning-after pill.
Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., and Mardel, Inc. and five family members involved in ownership and control of the corporations had protested the requirement, which is to kick in January 1.
They said they would be required "to provide insurance coverage for certain drugs and devices that the applicants believe can cause abortions," which would be against their religious beliefs, Sotomayor wrote in her opinion.
The applicants said they would face irreparable harm if forced to choose between paying fines and complying with the requirement.
But Sotomayor -- who handles emergency appeals from the 10th Circuit -- said the applicants failed to meet "the demanding standard for the extraordinary relief," and that they could continue to pursue their challenge in lower courts and return to the higher court, if necessary, following a final judgment.
Hobby Lobby is a chain of arts and crafts stores with more than 13,000 employees; Mardel is a chain of Christian-themed bookstores with 372 full-time employees. Both are based in Oklahoma City. Neither company responded to e-mails.
