N. Ky. Chamber to ask state for more funding to fight heroin; London police make first known heroin trafficking arrests there

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is planning to lobby the state for more funding for heroin treatment after receiving reports from business and law enforcement about the breadth and depth of the drug problem in the region. Terry DeMio of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the chamber's Geraldyn Isler says the area has the “highest volume of people in the state needing substance abuse treatment but is receiving the least amount of funding.”

According to the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, 63 percent of heroin possession and trafficking prosecutions in Kentucky are in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, the three urbanized counties in the region. A 2007 University of Kentucky study that shows that the region led the commonwealth in people needing substance abuse treatment, but that it also received the lowest per capita funding from staff coffers for those mental health services for more than a decade.

The chamber told DeMio there are many "hidden costs" to such abuse. Among those costs: increased employee absenteeism, tardiness, job-related injuries and errors. It also notes employee-employer conflict, greater health-insurance costs and crime as likely outcomes of heroin in the region.  (Read more)

There could be other requests for more funding for heroin treatment. This week the London Police Department made the first known arrests for heroin trafficking in Laurel County, The Sentinel-Echo reports.

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is planning to lobby the state for more funding for heroin treatment after receiving reports from business and law enforcement about the breadth and depth of the drug problem in the region. Terry DeMio of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the chamber's Geraldyn Isler says the area has the “highest volume of people in the state needing substance abuse treatment but is receiving the least amount of funding.”

According to the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, 63 percent of heroin possession and trafficking prosecutions in Kentucky are in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, the three urbanized counties in the region. A 2007 University of Kentucky study that shows that the region led the commonwealth in people needing substance abuse treatment, but that it also received the lowest per capita funding from staff coffers for those mental health services for more than a decade.

The chamber told DeMio there are many "hidden costs" to such abuse. Among those costs: increased employee absenteeism, tardiness, job-related injuries and errors. It also notes employee-employer conflict, greater health-insurance costs and crime as likely outcomes of heroin in the region.  (Read more)

There could be other requests for more funding for heroin treatment. This week the London Police Department made the first known arrests for heroin trafficking in Laurel County, The Sentinel-Echo reports.

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Two Kentucky moms participate in Duke study that found potentially toxic and unnecessary chemicals in most couches

Two Central Kentucky mothers participated in a Duke University-led study published today that shows that a vast majority of U.S. couches contain potentially toxic flame retardants that pose risks to humans. Wendy Koch of USA Today reports that the risks occur when the chemicals migrate from furniture foam into house dust.

The closely watched study revealed that more than 40 percent of the foam in the 102 couches tested contained the carcinogen chlorinated Tris, a substance that was ordered removed from children's pajamas 35 years ago. Another 17 percent of the couches contained pentaBDE, a globally banned substance. More than 85 percent were treated with a potentially toxic flame retardant, which researchers and experts say amounted to more than a pound of chemicals per couch. Flame retardants have been linked to hormone disruption, cancer and neurological toxicity in hundreds of animal and human studies. A fire specialist told Koch that the chemicals are not effective in suppressing fires.

The two Kentuckians, both women concerned about their family's health, sent samples from their couches to be analyzed and both expressed horror at the findings. Dr. David A. Atwood, a chemist at the University of Kentucky, said a systematic shift in chemical regulation is necessary to protect public health. “We have made an enormous mistake assuming that a chemical should be used freely until it is determined to have adverse health effects, rather than taking the position that all chemicals should be avoided unless it is absolutely certain that the chemical is safe." In New York, legislation is already in motion that would ban chlorinated Tris. According to the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, efforts will begin next year to restrict the toxic chemical. (Read more)

Two Central Kentucky mothers participated in a Duke University-led study published today that shows that a vast majority of U.S. couches contain potentially toxic flame retardants that pose risks to humans. Wendy Koch of USA Today reports that the risks occur when the chemicals migrate from furniture foam into house dust.

The closely watched study revealed that more than 40 percent of the foam in the 102 couches tested contained the carcinogen chlorinated Tris, a substance that was ordered removed from children's pajamas 35 years ago. Another 17 percent of the couches contained pentaBDE, a globally banned substance. More than 85 percent were treated with a potentially toxic flame retardant, which researchers and experts say amounted to more than a pound of chemicals per couch. Flame retardants have been linked to hormone disruption, cancer and neurological toxicity in hundreds of animal and human studies. A fire specialist told Koch that the chemicals are not effective in suppressing fires.

The two Kentuckians, both women concerned about their family's health, sent samples from their couches to be analyzed and both expressed horror at the findings. Dr. David A. Atwood, a chemist at the University of Kentucky, said a systematic shift in chemical regulation is necessary to protect public health. “We have made an enormous mistake assuming that a chemical should be used freely until it is determined to have adverse health effects, rather than taking the position that all chemicals should be avoided unless it is absolutely certain that the chemical is safe." In New York, legislation is already in motion that would ban chlorinated Tris. According to the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, efforts will begin next year to restrict the toxic chemical. (Read more)

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Report: Bounce-house injuries to children have skyrocketed

A new report out today in the journal Pediatrics warns that, on average, 31 children a day are transported to U.S. emergency departments for treatment of bounce-house injuries, including fractured bones and muscle damage. "If this was an infectious disease, we'd call it an epidemic and it would be on the front pages all over the country," said study co-author Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (Associated Press photo)

Randy Dotinga of HealthDay reports that in the 15-year period between 1995 and 2010, the rate of bounce-house injuries jumped 15-fold, with the number escalating in the last few years of the study. In the new study, published online Monday and in the December print issue of Pediatrics, researchers found the most common bounce-house injuries were fractures, strains and sprains. Concussions and cuts were more common in boys. The average age of those hurt was 7.5 years old. (Read more) 

A new report out today in the journal Pediatrics warns that, on average, 31 children a day are transported to U.S. emergency departments for treatment of bounce-house injuries, including fractured bones and muscle damage. "If this was an infectious disease, we'd call it an epidemic and it would be on the front pages all over the country," said study co-author Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (Associated Press photo)

Randy Dotinga of HealthDay reports that in the 15-year period between 1995 and 2010, the rate of bounce-house injuries jumped 15-fold, with the number escalating in the last few years of the study. In the new study, published online Monday and in the December print issue of Pediatrics, researchers found the most common bounce-house injuries were fractures, strains and sprains. Concussions and cuts were more common in boys. The average age of those hurt was 7.5 years old. (Read more) 

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Experimental concentrated breast cancer radiation therapy offers new options for women who live far away from treatment facilities

A study at the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center designed to make  radiation treatment more accessible to women who face obstacles such as distance, transportation problems and time constraints is proving promising. The idea is to cut daily trips to the cancer center to once a week, says Dr. Anthony Dragon, a radiation oncologist at U of L. It also has the added benefit of cutting treatment costs by better than half.

Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports that Dragun led a previous study that found that "about a third of Kentucky women with early-stage breast cancer didn’t get recommended radiation treatments after lumpectomy surgery. Among those least likely to get radiation were rural Kentuckians, the elderly, African Americans and women in the Appalachian region of the state. Women who did not get recommended radiation were 60 percent more likely to die during the time they were studied."

Dragun told Ungar that the folks at U of L were not satisfied with just gathering those numbers, they wanted solutions to the problem. Dragun said the new experimental regimen is yielding good results, with women who get weekly radiation reporting similar levels of side effects as those getting radiation every day. Ungar notes that some outside experts say the approach does seems promising, but one critic was concerned about breast appearance results after the once-a-week treatments.

According the National Cancer Institute, more than 3,070 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Kentucky in 2009 and was responsible for 614 deaths.  (Read more) 

A study at the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center designed to make  radiation treatment more accessible to women who face obstacles such as distance, transportation problems and time constraints is proving promising. The idea is to cut daily trips to the cancer center to once a week, says Dr. Anthony Dragon, a radiation oncologist at U of L. It also has the added benefit of cutting treatment costs by better than half.

Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports that Dragun led a previous study that found that "about a third of Kentucky women with early-stage breast cancer didn’t get recommended radiation treatments after lumpectomy surgery. Among those least likely to get radiation were rural Kentuckians, the elderly, African Americans and women in the Appalachian region of the state. Women who did not get recommended radiation were 60 percent more likely to die during the time they were studied."

Dragun told Ungar that the folks at U of L were not satisfied with just gathering those numbers, they wanted solutions to the problem. Dragun said the new experimental regimen is yielding good results, with women who get weekly radiation reporting similar levels of side effects as those getting radiation every day. Ungar notes that some outside experts say the approach does seems promising, but one critic was concerned about breast appearance results after the once-a-week treatments.

According the National Cancer Institute, more than 3,070 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Kentucky in 2009 and was responsible for 614 deaths.  (Read more) 

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Expanding Medicaid in Kentucky would add 5 percent to the state's cost over the next 10 years, national study predicts

Expanding Medicaid to people making up to 138 percent of the poverty level under federal health reform and its heavy subsidies would cost Kentucky about 5 percent more for Medicaid over the next 10 years than doing nothing, the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a state-by-state analysis today.

According to the study done by the Urban Institute for the foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the state would spend $25.1 billion from 2013 to 2022 if it and no other state expanded the program. If all states expanded it, Kentucky's cost would be $26.4 billion, the study estimated.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal government would pays the full cost of the expansion from 2014 to 2016. The federal government’s share would drop to 95 percent in 2017 and to 90 percent by 2020. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, the state budget calls for $1.48 billion in state funds to be spent on Medicaid benefits. The federal government pays about 72 percent of the program's cost in Kentucky.

In human terms, the report says the law will reduce the number of people in Kentucky without health insurance in 2022, no matter what happens. It says that if the act had never passed, 740,000 Kentuckians would have been uninsured in 2022. It will reduce that number to 513,000 even if Medicaid is not expanded anywhere. If all states expand Medicaid, the number of uninsured Kentuckians would drop to 332,000, the study estimates.

The Kaiser report is an update of a study done before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ruled that the law was constitutional but made Medicaid expansion optional for states. So far, eight states have indicated their unwillingness to participate in the expansion, though more are expected to opt out but are waiting until legislatures return in January to discuss the matter.

See the entire report here.

Expanding Medicaid to people making up to 138 percent of the poverty level under federal health reform and its heavy subsidies would cost Kentucky about 5 percent more for Medicaid over the next 10 years than doing nothing, the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a state-by-state analysis today.

According to the study done by the Urban Institute for the foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the state would spend $25.1 billion from 2013 to 2022 if it and no other state expanded the program. If all states expanded it, Kentucky's cost would be $26.4 billion, the study estimated.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal government would pays the full cost of the expansion from 2014 to 2016. The federal government’s share would drop to 95 percent in 2017 and to 90 percent by 2020. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, the state budget calls for $1.48 billion in state funds to be spent on Medicaid benefits. The federal government pays about 72 percent of the program's cost in Kentucky.

In human terms, the report says the law will reduce the number of people in Kentucky without health insurance in 2022, no matter what happens. It says that if the act had never passed, 740,000 Kentuckians would have been uninsured in 2022. It will reduce that number to 513,000 even if Medicaid is not expanded anywhere. If all states expand Medicaid, the number of uninsured Kentuckians would drop to 332,000, the study estimates.

The Kaiser report is an update of a study done before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ruled that the law was constitutional but made Medicaid expansion optional for states. So far, eight states have indicated their unwillingness to participate in the expansion, though more are expected to opt out but are waiting until legislatures return in January to discuss the matter.

See the entire report here.

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FIV in African lions

Maas M, Keet DF, Rutten VP, Heesterbeek JA and Nielen M. Assessing the impact of feline immunodeficiency virus and bovine tuberculosis co-infection in African lions. Proceedings Biological sciences / The Royal Society. 2012; 279: 4206-14.

South Africa has about 2,700 free-ranging lions, living mostly around Kruger National Park (KNP). Bovine tuberculosis (BTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a disease that was introduced relatively recently into the KNP lion population, probably through domestic cattle brought by European settlers at the end of the 18th century. About 25 lions die of BTB every year in KNP.
 
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects domestic cats and at least 20 other species of non-domestic felids around the world. FIV subtype Ple is thought to have been endemic in lions for a much longer time than BTB and infection is common. There is concern that these infections, especially when they occur together, may increase disease and affect lion conservation programs. These researchers collected data from lions in KNP from 1993-2008. BTB was more common in lions in the south of KNP than the north, but infection rate increased over time in the north. A large percentage (31%) of lions were infected with both pathogens. Both infections caused changes in blood test results, with FIV having a greater impact than BTB. However, it did not appear that these co-infections were synergistic (i.e., making disease worse), unlike the situation in humans infected with HIV and M. tuberculosis. This may be due to a different pathogenesis of FIV in African lions than HIV in humans. [MK]

See also: Troyer JL, Roelke ME, Jespersen JM, et al. FIV diversity: FIV Ple subtype composition may influence disease outcome in African lions. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2011; 143: 338-46. [Free, full text article]

Related blog articles:
Feline immunodeficiency virus in African lions: October 2009
FeLV and FIV affect blood values in cats: October 2009
Risk factors for FIV infection: July 2009

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Maas M, Keet DF, Rutten VP, Heesterbeek JA and Nielen M. Assessing the impact of feline immunodeficiency virus and bovine tuberculosis co-infection in African lions. Proceedings Biological sciences / The Royal Society. 2012; 279: 4206-14.

South Africa has about 2,700 free-ranging lions, living mostly around Kruger National Park (KNP). Bovine tuberculosis (BTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a disease that was introduced relatively recently into the KNP lion population, probably through domestic cattle brought by European settlers at the end of the 18th century. About 25 lions die of BTB every year in KNP.
 
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects domestic cats and at least 20 other species of non-domestic felids around the world. FIV subtype Ple is thought to have been endemic in lions for a much longer time than BTB and infection is common. There is concern that these infections, especially when they occur together, may increase disease and affect lion conservation programs. These researchers collected data from lions in KNP from 1993-2008. BTB was more common in lions in the south of KNP than the north, but infection rate increased over time in the north. A large percentage (31%) of lions were infected with both pathogens. Both infections caused changes in blood test results, with FIV having a greater impact than BTB. However, it did not appear that these co-infections were synergistic (i.e., making disease worse), unlike the situation in humans infected with HIV and M. tuberculosis. This may be due to a different pathogenesis of FIV in African lions than HIV in humans. [MK]

See also: Troyer JL, Roelke ME, Jespersen JM, et al. FIV diversity: FIV Ple subtype composition may influence disease outcome in African lions. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2011; 143: 338-46. [Free, full text article]

Related blog articles:
Feline immunodeficiency virus in African lions: October 2009
FeLV and FIV affect blood values in cats: October 2009
Risk factors for FIV infection: July 2009

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

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How the FDA is Recklessly Abandoning Drug Safety

Shocking Story Reveals FDA Not Concerned With Drug Safety

 In the wake of shocking reports on how the FDA, terrified of being outed for its questionable practices, spied on its own employees in the hopes of rooting them out before they could become whistleblowers, a new story has emerged on how deep the deceit goes. From marginalizing safety reports to not reading them at all―and then going ahead and approving the drugs in question―the FDA once more stands accused of being little more than a rubber-stamping agency for Big Pharma.

Explosive revelations of an intensive spy operation by the FDA on its own scientists emerged last month. Using sophisticated spy software, the agency tracked and logged every move made by the targeted individuals. The program even intercepted personal emails and copied documents on their personal thumb drives.
The targeted scientists had expressed concern over the agency's approval of dangerous medical imaging devices for mammograms and colonoscopies, which they believe expose patients to dangerous levels of radiation. Now, another whistleblower has stepped forward, and what he has to say about the agency's drug safety reviews is shocking even to the jaded...

Former FDA Reviewer Speaks Out About Systemic Suppression of Safety

Ronald Kavanagh was a drug reviewer for the FDA in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 1998 to 2008. In a recent interview he reveals how the FDA bypassed or ignored safety issues on major drugs approved during his employment. In an interview for the online news magazine Truth-Out, he tells Martha Rosenberg¹:

"In the Center for Drugs [Center for Drug Evaluation and Research or CDER], as in the Center for Devices, the honest employee fears the dishonest employee.
There is also irrefutable evidence that managers at CDER have placed the nation at risk by corrupting the evaluation of drugs and by interfering with our ability to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs. While I was at FDA, drug reviewers were clearly told not to question drug companies and that our job was to approve drugs. We were prevented, except in rare instances, from presenting findings at advisory committees.
In 2007, formal policies were instituted so that speaking in any way that could reflect poorly on the agency could result in termination. If we asked questions that could delay or prevent a drug's approval - which of course was our job as drug reviewers - management would reprimand us, reassign us, hold secret meetings about us, and worse. Obviously in such an environment, people will self-censor."

According to Kavanagh, people would be shocked if they knew just how malleable safety data is. As examples, he points out that human studies are typically too short and contain too few subjects to get a clear picture of potential risks. In such a scenario, even a single case of a serious adverse event must be taken very seriously, and data from other longer term safety studies also need to be carefully analyzed. Kavanagh claims he has seen drug reviews where the medical safety reviewer completely failed to make such evaluations prior to the drug's approval.

How the FDA is Recklessly Abandoning Drug Safety

Shocking Story Reveals FDA Not Concerned With Drug Safety

 In the wake of shocking reports on how the FDA, terrified of being outed for its questionable practices, spied on its own employees in the hopes of rooting them out before they could become whistleblowers, a new story has emerged on how deep the deceit goes. From marginalizing safety reports to not reading them at all―and then going ahead and approving the drugs in question―the FDA once more stands accused of being little more than a rubber-stamping agency for Big Pharma.

Explosive revelations of an intensive spy operation by the FDA on its own scientists emerged last month. Using sophisticated spy software, the agency tracked and logged every move made by the targeted individuals. The program even intercepted personal emails and copied documents on their personal thumb drives.
The targeted scientists had expressed concern over the agency's approval of dangerous medical imaging devices for mammograms and colonoscopies, which they believe expose patients to dangerous levels of radiation. Now, another whistleblower has stepped forward, and what he has to say about the agency's drug safety reviews is shocking even to the jaded...

Former FDA Reviewer Speaks Out About Systemic Suppression of Safety

Ronald Kavanagh was a drug reviewer for the FDA in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 1998 to 2008. In a recent interview he reveals how the FDA bypassed or ignored safety issues on major drugs approved during his employment. In an interview for the online news magazine Truth-Out, he tells Martha Rosenberg¹:

"In the Center for Drugs [Center for Drug Evaluation and Research or CDER], as in the Center for Devices, the honest employee fears the dishonest employee.
There is also irrefutable evidence that managers at CDER have placed the nation at risk by corrupting the evaluation of drugs and by interfering with our ability to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs. While I was at FDA, drug reviewers were clearly told not to question drug companies and that our job was to approve drugs. We were prevented, except in rare instances, from presenting findings at advisory committees.
In 2007, formal policies were instituted so that speaking in any way that could reflect poorly on the agency could result in termination. If we asked questions that could delay or prevent a drug's approval - which of course was our job as drug reviewers - management would reprimand us, reassign us, hold secret meetings about us, and worse. Obviously in such an environment, people will self-censor."

According to Kavanagh, people would be shocked if they knew just how malleable safety data is. As examples, he points out that human studies are typically too short and contain too few subjects to get a clear picture of potential risks. In such a scenario, even a single case of a serious adverse event must be taken very seriously, and data from other longer term safety studies also need to be carefully analyzed. Kavanagh claims he has seen drug reviews where the medical safety reviewer completely failed to make such evaluations prior to the drug's approval.

How the FDA is Recklessly Abandoning Drug Safety

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