Heparin Contamination Not Accidental
It has become clear that the contamination of the drug Heparin was deliberate. It is also clear that our friends in China where the contamination took place, are not going to allow us to get to the bottom of exactly who did it. China says that they want the right to inspect our drug factories if we expect to be able to inspect theirs. Huh? The Chinese are way out of line on this and as a country whose people are supposed to be so honorable, seem to throw out that honor when money is involved. You see while heparin costs $900 a pound, the contaminant costs only$9.00 a pound. You do the math.
The US is not the only country that was affected by this contamination so I am anxious to see what action other countries will take against this company in China. I also wonder how far the Chinese government will go to protect guilty parties.
No Transplant For You!
While I understand that there is always a shortage in available organs for transplant, I have a hard time with this news story.
There is a man Timothy Garon who as a result of contracting hepatitis C needs a new liver. His condition is so bad now that if he doesn’t get a new liver within a few days time, he will die.
Timothy Garon will not be receiving this gift of life because he was taken off the transplant list. Why? He was removed because he took medical marijuana as his doctor ordered.
Now, I don’t want to give the idea that Mr. Garon is just a poor victim. He admits to being wild in his younger years and believes he contracted the hepatitis as a result of sharing needles with “speed freaks”. He says since those years he has been drug free except for smoking pot. When he got sick his doctor gave the go ahead for the medical marijuana use.
The people who decide who gets on the transplant list say that his use of an illicit drug indicates an addictive personality and that’s why he was dropped.
They also say that if he enrolls in a 60 day rehab program that they will reconsider. They decided to reconsider anyway but stuck to their decision.
It must be hell playing God.
Parents Being Charged In Death of Daughter
The parents of an 11 year old girl who died from undiagnosed diabetes leading to ketoacidosis, are being charged with 2nd degree reckless homicide. They could face up to 25 years if convicted.
Dale and his wife Leilani Newmann watched and prayed while the girl died. They were told by the grandmother to take the child to the hospital but said they had faith in prayer, and that God would save her.
Two weeks prior to her death the girl started feeling tired and ill. Her parents answer was simply to pray.
There is no doubt that belief in God and prayer can be very healing and very powerful, but these idiots failed to understand that God is not their personal “doctor on call”. I’m sure the almighty would want these two buffoons to act on their own behalf and help themselves. When we fall down, do we get up or do we lay there and pray that God will bring us to our feet?
To make matters worse these morons have three other children in their teens. I would hope the first action of the court would be to take these kids away from these freaks before something happens to them. There is no excuse for not getting their daughter medical attention. None.
Veterans and Suicide
Veterans are twice as likely to try and commit suicide than other people. One in five comes back suffering from traumatic stress disorder. Over four hundred are homeless, and that number is rising. There are over 600,000 veterans who have to wait six months or more for disability payments. Some are uninsured and have to wait or are refused services. Is it any wonder they are depressed enough to want to kill themselves?
The Department of Veterans Affairs is addressing this problem by implementing a suicide hot-line of sorts, but it’s more than just a friendly voice to talk to. This hot-line has been designed so that when someone in crisis calls, the operator is able to contact other help immediately in that veterans area so that the suicide attempt could be averted and the veteran could receive the help they so desperately need.
Sex of Baby Linked to Mom’s Diet
A study has found that women who ate at least one bowl of breakfast cereal each day and consumed higher calories and nutrition were more likely to have baby boys. In turn women who often skipped breakfast, consumed about 200 calories less, and had less protein and nutrition overall were more likely to have girls.
Critics of the study were quick to point out that the sex of a baby is determined by the fathers sperm, so they find little correlation between mom’s diet and the sex of their baby.
An important point to consider though, is that maybe what is happening is that mom’s diet is creating an environment that is more or less conducive to a particular sex. In other words maybe a cell that is destined to be a boy will not survive or develop in the womb of a woman who has less calories and less nutrition where as one who will be a girl will thrive and grow.
All this of course must take place at the time of conception, not after when you already are pregnant. Skipping breakfast is never a good idea and the goal to get the best nutrition is or should be important all the time for everyone. If you are pregnant always follow your doctors guidelines for diet and nutrition.
Masturbation and Prostate Cancer
I know this sounds weird but once I explain it really will make sense.
They have just completed a study in Canada and have found that men who masturbate at least five times a week or more are 30% less likely to develop prostate cancer.
What they believe happens is that the carcinogens build up as fluid in the prostate, and that ejaculation flushes them out. So it stands to reason that the less it’s done the more cancer risk and the more it’s done the less risk.
You may ask why in particular masturbation is mentioned and not intercourse. The reason for that is that intercourse also raises risks of sexual diseases which could lead to cancer.
What I find interesting is the fact that it seems this story is getting a lot more attention from the gay community. It’s almost like they see this as some sort of victory for their lifestyle. I don’t understand it but I could also be reading it wrong.
If you’re masturbating does it really matter if you’re gay or straight?
Medicare Part D Results
After three years of the Medicare Part D Program. a couple studies on the results have been completed.
What they’ve seen are great improvements for some patients but they’ve also seen some really sick people still skipping medications or cutting down there dosages because they simply can’t afford it.
Even worse there are still seniors who don’t yet understand how the program works. I must say it does seem to be confusing. There is also still what they call a “hole” that some people are falling into because there is no coverage for medications that cost into the thousands.
Much more study needs to be done to determine what is both good and bad about the plan so that our seniors can get the care and medicine that they need to live.
Veterans and ALS
A veteran named Ken Patterson is making his way to Washington in a powered wheelchair to deliver letters from people suffering from ALS. He is doing this because he himself was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease and he is hoping for more money to fund research leading to a cure.
Several studies over the years have shown that veterans are twice as likely to develop the illness. The disease was first discovered in 1869 and little has changed for its’ victims. ALS steadily takes away muscle function until the patient can no longer breathe and expires. Having this disease is a death sentence giving only two to five years of life past the diagnosis.
There is only one drug that is used for treatment and at over $1000 a month it only extends life about eight to twelve weeks.
A gene has been linked to the disease however that doesn’t explain why veterans are more at risk. Although people who have served in Dessert Storm are even more at risk, it doesn’t seem to matter what branch of service you’re in or even that you’ve ever left the US and have been in combat. This information leaves more questions than answers and the 5 million dollars already given for this research won’t nearly be enough to come up with answers.
Death Toll of The Uninsured
We’ve all known for some time now that people who are uninsured are more likely to skip preventative care and even wait until an illness has progressed to a dangerous point before going to an emergency room for treatment.
The White House and the candidates for president must recognize that early preventative care and screenings could save millions in the long run. They could easily set up low cost clinics for the uninsured to go to for regular physicals and for when people suspect they have a problem. This would certainly be more cost efficient than waiting until a disease has advanced to a point where hospitalization is required to save a life via an emergency room visit.
A recent study says that in Illinois for example 18 people die every week from being uninsured. For the entire US, the stats rise to 18,000 a year. People who are uninsured have more than a 25% higher risk of death than do those who are insured.
Maybe our leaders in Washington should take a look at what other countries are doing and go from there. There is no reason so many lives should be lost because of a bad health care crisis.
More Deaths from Heparin
The number of deaths due to the use of the drug heparin has risen from 19 to 62. There are also hundreds more people who have experienced different forms of allergic reactions.
People started to suffer the affects of heparin in early 2007, when most of the deaths occurred, although in 2006 there were 3 deaths that could have been related.
To date at least three drug companies and several countries have pulled the drug to be on the safe side. If you remember, heparin is made in China and it is tested. The problem occurred because the contaminant so closely mimicked the actual chemical in the drug, it sailed past the test. There is a more sophisticated test which can catch the impostor and they are now using that test.
If you are given heparin or it is suggested by your doctor, you are well within your rights to question the safety of it and inquire as to whether it was tested or not. As with so many things these days it could be the difference between life and death.