Zicam Recall puts new light on Possible Treatment for Smell Loss

July 15th, 2009. By AbiK

Zicam users who’ve allegedly found themselves without a sense of smell have to deal with another “loss”: the loss—or lack—of treatment options.

One thing you immediately realize upon reading a July 10^th article from HealthDay Reporter on loss of smell and a possible new treatment for it is that restoring the sense of smell is not an easy task—few treatment options exist and those that do exist are not a sure bet.

The article, however, points to a potentially new treatment option found in a drug once used to treat asthma. The drug, theophylline, showed some initial promise in a recent study done by Dr. Robert Henkin, director of the Center for Molecular Nutrition and Sensory Disorders in Washington, D.C.

The study looked at 312 patients who were diagnosed with hyposmia (loss of smell) over a seven-year period. After being treated with theophylline, over 50% of the participants in the study reported improved sense of smell; more than 20% reported their smell had returned to normal. Read the rest of this entry »

Gadolinium—What is it Good For?

July 14th, 2009. By janem

Absolutely nothing, according to many people with some degree of renal failure who were injected with a contrast agent containing gadolinium during an MRI or MRA. These people got an MRI exam thinking that the results would help their condition. Instead, MRI health risks potentially outweigh the benefits if they were exposed to a gadolinium-based contrast dye.

Gadolinium is highly toxic. It is found in microwave ovens, color television tubes, computer memory and compact discs. Gadolinium is also used in nuclear marine propulsion as a burnable poison. Imagine putting that into your body: I thought Botox was bad enough!

And MRI health risks associated with gadolinium aren’t that rare. So far, more than 350 Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy lawsuits have been filed in the US, alleging that the manufacturers of the contrast agents (five of them) knew how potentially harmful the substances were long before letting the public know. Meanwhile, patients are still being exposed to the risk of NSF/NFD (Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, also known as Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy).

Acetaminophen Hide and Seek

July 13th, 2009. By AbiK

Interesting how my local Rite-Aid has magnifying glasses on display in the “Analgesics” aisle—the one where you find acetaminophen. It’s either a brilliant marketing ploy or the result of some merchandiser’s sense of humor. Why? If you’re trying to actually read the medication ingredient lists—the ones in mice type—you can’t, so that magnifier can come in mighty handy. 

Now add on the state of mind you’re typically in when you’re tooling down the drugstore aisle in search of acetaminophen. Your eyes are most likely darting across those shelves in search of a red box with maybe some white lettering on a slant (Tylenol). Maybe also a big “E” on a green box (Excedrin). If it’s a bad sinus day, let’s throw in a flash of hot pink (Benadryl). And before you know it there’s an acetaminophen party going on in your little shopping basket. 

It’s a no-brainer to monitor acetaminophen doses when Nurse Betty hands you 2 Tylenol tablets in a Dixie cup during a hospital stay, right? Sure, you want more—or an I.V. drip, and it’s a prayer in you-know-what you’ll get it. But Nurse Betty isn’t with you in the Rite-Aid, is she?

And that’s where the trouble can start. Read the rest of this entry »

J.D. – What’s up with that?

July 10th, 2009. By AbiK

From time to time, we’ll be posting a column called, “Pleading Ignorance“. No, it’s not to be taken literally—it’s more of a commentary on how much jargon and legalese there is in the field of law. So much so that it can be pretty off-putting, let alone just downright hard to understand. And who the heck took 8 years of Latin anyway? (oh yeah, I did—but that’s another story).

Today’s Pleading Ignorance is actually compliments of one of our Twitter followers, who asks:

Is it a Juris Doctor or Doctorate?

It’s a great question—and here’s the answer:

A J.D. is a Juris Doctor. It’s the degree awarded to someone who completes formal legal studies at an American law school.

“Juris Doctor” is actually Latin, not English—which is why it’s a little confusing. It’s not often that a word in Latin is exactly the same as a word in modern English–example: the Latin word for boy is “puer”. Go figure. So it’s easy to think J.D. is actually Juris Doctorate. But in Latin, “doctor” (doctor, -oris) means teacher. And the “juris” is from the Latin word for law (iur, iuris—the “i” is often seen as a “j”). “Juris” is the genitive case—or possessive case—of the root word “iur”; so to properly translate “juris doctor” into English, it becomes “teacher of law” or “law teacher”.

Sometimes you’ll see “Doctor of Jurisprudence”, an English spin on the Latin “Juris Doctor”. It can certainly sound a little persnickety or at the very least put your brain on an endless loop of the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence”. But, hey, “Jurisprudence” is just a fancy word for “science of law”—or simply synonymous with “law”. And just for kicks, the “juris” part is again from the Latin, “iuris” for law; the “prudence” part is from the Latin, “prudens”, meaning “wisdom”. 

Chinese Drywall on the move

July 10th, 2009. By AbiK

Until recently, reported incidents of defective Chinese drywall seemed fairly contained to the southeast—particularly Florida. The Chinese drywall situation may prove to be larger than anyone expected as we watch the “creep” effect on a map of the US, compliments of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The map (above) shows the now 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have reported incidents of defective drywall. And, as we blogged recently in Chinese Drywall by the Numbers, incident reports have begun to show up beyond our borders as well…