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Coordinated nationally by the Institute for Children's Environmental Health |
To join the Partnership for Children's Health and the Environment (PCHE) and receive this bulletin, please complete the form at http://www.partnersforchildren.org/members.html#member.
For more information about these events or to access additional events, please visit our searchable calendar of events at http://www.partnersforchildren.org/conferences.html.
May 20-24, 2006
Torshavn, Faroe Islands
at the Nordic Culture Center
The conference will focus on fetal and early postnatal development as the most vulnerable stages of human life, in regard to adverse effects of environmental hazards. Recent research has revealed that subtle effects during early development can lead to functional deficits and increased disease risks later in life. This "fetal programming" hypothesis has gathered much support from both experimental and epidemiological studies. Substantial evidence now suggests that the prenatal and early postnatal environment is of crucial importance for gene expression, thereby affecting normal development and disease risks through adult life.
Website: http://www.pptox.dk/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Contact: pptox@health.sdu.dk
May 23, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Portland, Oregon
at the Oregon Health and Science University
This program will introduce participants to the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit, a new clinical resource for practitioners. The training focuses on the relationship between environmental exposures and children's health and the clinical use of the provider and patient materials from the toolkit. Sessions will include information on identifying routes of exposure to common toxic chemicals, anticipatory guidance for well-child visits, and patient communications on environmental health issues. A training package will be included for attendees to use to educate peers. In addition, attendees will be provided with reference materials and "Rx for Prevention" patient education materials. Free materials will be provided to each attendee for over 500 patients. (Registrants must commit to using the materials in practice for 3 months.) This toolkit is supported by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Website: http://www.oregonpsr.org/programs/ToolkitTraining.htm
Contact: Sara Wright at 503-274-2720 or sarawright@oregonpsr.org
May 23 - 27, 2007
Toronto, Ontario Canada
at the Sheraton Centre Toronto
This conference is a forum in which professionals, parents, caregivers and consumers from all over the world will share their experiences, ideas and knowledge within the sensory field. The goal is to share and disseminate knowledge and experience from around the world so that we can better understand the sensory reality of people with disabilities and the many forms of treatment that exist.
Website: http://www.sensoryconference.ca/
Contact: MukiBaum Treatment Centres, 416-630-2222 or info@mukibaum.com
May 24, 2007
8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Seattle, Washington
at the University of Washington Arboretum, Graham Visitors Center, Large Meeting Room
This half-day training program will introduce participants to a new clinical resource for practitioners, the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit. Attendees will receive a complete toolkit to test in your own practices. This contains handy reference and guidance cards, and attractive "Rx for Prevention" patient materials. The training focuses on the relationship between environmental exposures and children's health and the clinical use of the toolkit provider and patient materials. Sessions presented by physician experts in environmental health will include 1) routes of exposure to common toxic chemicals/substances including metals (mercury, lead, arsenic), solvents, pesticides, PCBs.; 2) health effects linkages; 3) anticipatory guidance keyed to well-child visits; 4) patient communications on environmental health issues; and 5) key concepts on the unique vulnerabilities of children, susceptible populations, the "built" and "food" environments and other important issues. Attendees will commit to training several colleagues and using the toolkit in their practices for three months. Physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses in pediatric and family practices are encouraged to register. This toolkit is supported by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Website: http://www.wpsr.org/calendar/default.htm
Contact: Nancy Dickeman, 206-354-2170 or nancyd@wpsr.org
May 24, 2007
12:00 noon Pacific / 3:00 p.m. Eastern time
This North American webcast features Dr. Richard Denison, Senior Scientist at Environmental Defense, who will present the findings and discuss his recent report, in cooperation with Canada NGO Pollution Probe, (http://www.ed.org/go/chempolicyreport) that critically compares the European Union's new REACH Regulation, The US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). To participate, please RSVP by close of business on Tuesday May 22. Details and a toll-free call-in number will then be forwarded prior to the call.
Contact: Cathy Malina, cmalina@environmentaldefense.org
May 24, 2007
1:00 - 2:30 EDT
Participants will be able to listen in via telephone and view presentations via Microsoft Live Meeting. Speakers will be Katherine M. Shea, MD, MPH; Pamela Emerson; and Roger Rosenblatt, MD, MPH, MFR.
Contact: OCHPWebcast@icfi.com
May 28 - 31, 2007
Copenhagen, Denmark
at the Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet)
The meeting, supported by the Danish Ministry of the Environment, is intended to facilitate an exchange of information and views both within the scientific community and with experts engaged in regulation and policymaking. This time we would like to focus on possible effects of exposures to endocrine disrupters present in our everyday life, e.g. in our food, cosmetic and our homes. The role of mixed exposures and links between effects in laboratory animals and observations in wildlife and humans will also be addressed. Effects on both reproduction and nonreproductive organs will be discussed. The deadline for abstract submission is March 25, 2007, and registration is open through May 7th.
Website: http://www.reproduction.dk/cow2007/
Contact: Susan Svenningsen, COW2007@rh.hosp.dk
May 29 - June 1, 2007
Washington, DC
at the Omni Shoreham Hotel
The Global Health Council's 34th Annual International Conference is dedicated to partnerships: how they are built, what they have and can deliver, and how those living in poverty and disease can best benefit. These joint efforts are means to tackle and find solutions to complex health problems at all levels, and in so doing, improve the health of the world. Key health issues include child health/survival, adolescent health, women's health, HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other infectious diseases, disaster and refugee health, human resources in health, health systems/financing/capacity, global health policy/advocacy, education, agriculture and other health-producing sectors, food security, nutrition and health, water, sanitation and hygiene, emerging and multisectoral issues.
Website: http://www.globalhealth.org/conference/
Contact: conference@globalhealth.org
June 5, 2007
9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12 noon Eastern time
This teleconference will be a discussion on antibiotic resistance, agriculture and public health issues. The moderator of this call will be Steve Heilig, MPH, Director of Public Health and Education at the San Francisco Medical Society and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment. We will hear a science update from Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director at Science and Environmental Health Network.
Website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/1214
June 6, 2007
1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT
Children's health advocates will be introduced to emerging conceptual frameworks that integrate social and environmental conditions as more holistic approaches to evaluate and address disparities in environmental health. The panel of speakers will discuss how these social and environmental factors impact disparities in children's environmental health and identify areas for policy changes to reduce these disparities. Speakers will be Gilbert C. Gee, David Williams, Janean E. Dilworth-Bart and Phil Landrigan.
Contact: OCHPWebcast@icfi.com
June 6 - 9, 2007
Portland, Oregon
at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront Hotel
The conference theme is Environmental Awareness and Health Care: Tools for Patients and the Planet, and the conference offers clinically focused information that will help participants address concerns about toxicity within the context of an expanded ecological picture. This in-depth exploration of common threats to human and planetary health will help participants gain both the inspiration and tools to enact positive and sustainable change in clinical practice and in life. In addition to learning what can be done about the human/ecosystem health challenges posed by modern life, attendees will also enjoy educational opportunities for general clinical topics, personal development, and daily experiential sessions, offered by a distinguished faculty of local and national leaders. Plenary speakers include Michael Lerner, PhD; Scott Shannon, MD; John Peterson "Pete" Myers, PhD; Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH; Charlotte Brody, RN; Ted Schettler, MD; Jamie Harvie, PEng; and Kenny Ausubel.
Website: http://www.holisticmedicine.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=21
Contact: 425-967-0737 or info@holisticmedicine.org
June 7 - 9, 2007
Ann Arbor, Michigan
at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment
The issues of diversity and environmental justice are very salient in today's society. This two-part conference that will explore research related to 1) diversity in academia (particularly environmental programs) as well as other kinds of environmental institutions and 2) domestic and international environmental justice research. While environmental justice researchers present their findings at numerous venues in any given year, a gathering of this sort is unique in that it offers an opportunity for researchers in the field to gather in one place to assess the past, present and future of the research; map out strategies; initiate collaborative efforts; network; and identify and nurture the future generation of scholars.
Website: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/diversityejresearchsymposium/conference_announcement
Contact: Latonia Payne, paynel@umich.edu
June 10 - 12, 2007
Vienna, Austria
at the Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstrasse 17
This cross-sectional conference is intended for health professionals, scientists (clinical, environmental epidemiological and community-oriented) and policy makers who have a special interest in children's environmental health, as well as leaders from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations and community organizations, and all levels of government. Topic include air pollution, nanotechnology, training health care providers, cancer, indoor air, children's environmental health indicators, fetal and embryological origin of diseases, pesticides, neurodevelopmental disorders, climate change and children, toxic metals, lead, children and physical hazards, and others. The official language of the conference is English.
Website: http://www.inchesnetwork.net/conference.html
June 10-15, 2007
Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre
The conference title is "Health Promotion Comes of Age: Research, Policy & Practice for the 21st Century." The overall mission of the conference is to review and critically reassess health promotion's progress since the Ottawa Charter and to help set the course for navigating through the new challenges facing health promotion in an increasingly globalized world. By linking policy, practice and research, Canada 2007 will enhance partnerships and intersectoral collaborations for health promotion. Canada 2007 will be an international venture that will take into account the needs and concerns of health promotion at a global level and encourage members to come from all corners of the world to celebrate the renewal of the Ottawa Charter. Conference themes are reducing health inequities, assets for health and development, enabling system transformations, and assessing the effectiveness of health promotion. The conference is approved for 24 prescribed American Association for Family Physicians credits / 1.5 elective credits and Category I continuing education contact hours in health education.
Website: http://iuhpeconference.org/en/index.htm
Contact: Valarie Bodnarchuck, 250-472-5385 or canada2007@iuhpeconference.org
The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is pleased to announce the formal launch of the Earth Portal http://www.earthportal.org ). Earth Portal is a comprehensive, free and dynamic resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment built by a global community of environmental experts: educators, physical, life, and social scientists, scholars and professionals who have joined together to communicate to the world. The Earth Portal is created and governed by individuals and organizations who put their names behind their words and where attribution and expert-review for accuracy are fundamental. The Earth Portal includes the Encyclopedia of Earth, Earth News, Earth Forum and Environment in Focus.
by Tara Parker-Pope, Wall Street Journal
May 15, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117918492553902553.html
Article Summary: Despite years of effort by antitobacco forces to curb cigarette marketing and advertising aimed at young people, alluring images of smoking are still pervasive in the entertainment media. Of the 50 top-grossing films of 2004 and 2005, 66% contained depictions of smoking, with an average frequency of 12.8 incidents per hour, according to research by the American Lung Association chapter in Sacramento, Calif. The incidence of smoking in the movies is far higher than in real life, where about 21% of U.S. adults and about 22% of high-schoolers smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several studies show that regular exposure to smoking images on television and in movies dramatically increases a child's risk for trying cigarettes and becoming a smoker. Last week the Motion Picture Association of America said it would consider smoking images as a factor in determining movie ratings, along with sex, violence and drug use. Tobacco-control experts say there are things parents can do to lower kids' risk for smoking. Experts say parents should limit kids' exposure to R-rated movies. The lung association research showed that R-rated films averaged 20.4 smoking images per hour, compared with 14.2 in PG-13 films. Reducing kids' overall media exposure and taking TV out of the kids' bedroom may also help.
by Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times
May 14, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-cancer14may14,1,5154634.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
More than 200 chemicals -- many found in urban air and everyday consumer products -- cause breast cancer in animal tests, according to a compilation of scientific reports published today. Writing in a publication of the American Cancer Society, researchers concluded that reducing exposure to the compounds could prevent many women from developing the disease. The research team from five institutions analyzed a growing body of evidence linking environmental contaminants to breast cancer, the leading killer of U.S. women in their late 30s to early 50s. Experts say that family history and genes are responsible for a small percentage of breast cancer cases but that environmental or lifestyle factors such as diet are probably involved in the vast majority.
Article Summary: Reviewing hundreds of existing studies and databases, the team produced what it called "the most comprehensive compilation to date of chemicals identified as mammary carcinogens." No new chemical testing was conducted for the reports. The researchers named 216 chemicals that induce breast tumors in animals. Of those, people are highly exposed to 97, including industrial solvents, pesticides, dyes, gasoline and diesel exhaust compounds, cosmetics ingredients, hormones, pharmaceuticals, radiation, and a chemical in chlorinated drinking water. There are probably many more than 216, the research team said, because only about 1,000 of the 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the United States have been tested on animals to see whether they induce cancerous tumors or mutate DNA. Twenty-nine of the 216 chemicals are produced in volumes exceeding 1 million pounds annually in the United States. Seventy-three are present in consumer products or are food contaminants. For many of the compounds, the federal government has not used animal breast cancer data when conducting human risk assessments, which are the first step toward regulating chemicals or in setting occupational standards to protect workers. Companies are not required to screen women who work with the chemicals for breast cancer. Ana Soto, a Tufts University professor of cell biology who specializes in cellular origins of cancer and effects of hormone-disrupting contaminants, said there probably was a link between breast cancer and exposures to chemicals in the environment, particularly early in life. Emerging evidence suggests that the roots of breast cancer are in infancy or the womb. More animal and human research should focus on such early exposure, said Patricia Hunt, a Washington State University School of Molecular Biosciences professor. But Hunt and Soto urged society not to wait for scientific proof to reduce exposure to the chemicals. The scientists conducted the review hoping to lay the groundwork for new human studies, as well as to persuade regulators to use existing animal data to strengthen regulations and require more testing of chemicals.
The scientists said data were too incomplete to estimate how many breast cancer cases might be linked to chemical exposures. But because the disease is so common and the chemicals so widespread, "the public health impacts of reducing exposures would be profound even if the true relative risks are modest," they wrote. "If even a small percentage is due to preventable environmental factors, modifying these factors would spare thousands of women." Human evidence is particularly strong for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls -- compounds widely used in the 1940s to late 1970s that still contaminate fish and other foods -- and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, found in diesel and gasoline exhaust. Solvents in dry cleaning, aircraft maintenance and other jobs also may increase breast cancer risk. In response to the findings, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer prevention group that funded the work, pledged an additional $5 million for developing research tools to root out environmental causes.
[Editor's note: A related story, including a link to a searchable database of the chemicals studied, is at http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_5892000.]
from HealthDay News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 13, 2007
http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/cdev/601714.html
Article Summary: One group of researchers has begun to take a serious look at the long-term health consequences of kids' inactivity, and they are using cholesterol levels as a window into these youngsters' futures. Obesity, inactivity and cholesterol are closely linked, and data from the latest U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) finds that 17 percent of U.S. teens are overweight. Just one in four high school students packs enough physical activity into their day, and 12 percent get little or no daily exercise, reports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, measuring kids' cholesterol in a really detailed way may make sense. Using data from the NHANES on more than 6,000 kids aged 12 to 20, Janssen and his colleagues developed age- and gender-specific reference points for total cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, HDL ("good) cholesterol and triglyceride fat levels. The new tables, published last year in the journal Circulation, take into account fluctuations in cholesterol and fat that occur as a child matures. The new reference data are meant to improve upon current guidelines, published by the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program, which do not account for age-related fluctuations.
"There is growing scientific evidence indicating that cholesterol levels in childhood and adolescence have an effect on the development of plaque in the arteries, which is a clear indication of cardiovascular disease risk," explained study leader Ian Janssen, an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queens University in Ontario, Canada. Currently, the federal government recommends cholesterol screening for children and teens with at least one parent with high cholesterol or a family history of early heart disease. Other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or smoking, also would trigger cholesterol testing in doctors' offices, "and that covers a lot of kids now," noted Dr. Marc S. Jacobson, director of the Center for Atherosclerosis Prevention at Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, NY. However, it's unclear how the new tables will be received in the United States. Said Jacobson: "Instead of having one cut point, you have a graph that you have to plot out a percentile. With each lipid profile, you have to decide which percentile this is for that individual's age. And when it goes up and when it goes down, did it go down because of treatment? Or did it go down because of advancing puberty?"
by Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee
May 13, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/176761.html
Hoping to build on work done in Europe and Canada, the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched a "green chemistry" initiative that could transform the way California regulates hazardous materials. The idea behind the program is to control chemicals at the front end of the manufacturing process rather than trying to capture waste at the back end -- or clean up chemical messes when the waste is not contained. The project's reach could extend from subsidizing research and development of new, safer chemicals to banning products found to be hazardous. The effort is being shepherded by the California Environmental Protection Agency and Maureen Gorsen, Schwarzenegger's director of Toxics Substances Control, a former industry lawyer who is trusted by chemical manufacturers while getting high marks from environmentalists.
Article Summary: In an interview, Gorsen said the main business of her department has been cleaning up the "toxic waste legacy of the past" and managing the hazardous waste generated today. Only 30 of 1000 employees work on preventing the generation of toxic waste in the first place. Gorsen is proposing what industry observers have coined a "cradle-to-cradle" approach. "Instead of worrying about what's coming out in the end, (we should be) worrying about what's going in at the beginning," she said. After a six-month, online discussion of the issue, her staff will spend another six months winnowing the ideas into a policy that Schwarzenegger can offer to the Legislature. That policy could include state support for research and development of safer chemicals that can be substituted for more dangerous ones. The government might also offer incentives for companies to change their product designs. Voluntary enforcement of new rules might be included but, Gorsen said, there will almost certainly be stricter regulation by the state. At its core would be a public database of thousands of chemicals, their properties, their uses and their effects on humans and the environment. The European Union and Canada already are working on such lists, and California would probably incorporate theirs and expand upon them. The "green chemistry" project has so far received little notice outside industry insiders and environmentalists. But if it rolls out as planned, the effort could become a model for other states and even the national government.
by Tina Moore, New York Daily News
May 13th 2007
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/05/13/2007-05-13_better_get_lead_out_legal_aid_warns_city-3.html
Legal advocates are threatening to sue the city unless the Bloomberg administration warns hundreds of families that they were moved from city shelters into lead-contaminated apartments, the Daily News has learned.
Article Summary: City Hall has not responded to the request to arrange for lead tests and treatment for families with children who have lived in these apartments. The city has acknowledged placing hundreds of families with children younger than 7 into homes with lead paint violations. Children are extremely vulnerable to lead poisoning because their brains and central nervous systems are still being formed. Lead poisoning can cause attention deficit disorder, behavioral problems, stunted growth, kidney damage and reduced IQ, among other problems.
by Janet Raloff, Science News Online
May 12, 2007
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070512/food.asp
Most people don't get nearly enough vitamin D, best known as the sunshine vitamin. This shortfall can be bad because the vitamin is known to fight cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, gum disease, and infections. Sadly, for some urban children there can be a downside to vitamin D: It enhances their bodies' uptakes of the toxic heavy metal lead. A research team led by John D. Bogden of the New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark has now quantified the effect. In the April Environmental Health Perspectives, Bogden and his team report that among urban African-American youngsters, blood concentrations of lead can rise to potentially toxic concentrations in summer, when their vitamin D concentrations also rise, presumably due to regular sun exposure.
Article Summary: Among 142 children recruited who were 8 and under, 91 were African-American and 51 Hispanic. Strikingly different blood-lead values were found in the African-American and Hispanic kids. Lead was virtually undetectable in Hispanic children 4 and older year-round. It averaged about 4 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dl) of blood in the younger kids, but only during the summer. The rest of the year, the youngest children's blood was virtually lead-free. However, blood tests from the black children showed that, in winter, lead averaged about 12 µg/dl of blood in children 3 and under, and roughly 5 µg/dl in the older kids. Come summer, values in both groups spiked dramatically: to about 22 µg/dl in the younger group and 9 µg/dl in the older children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers blood-lead values of 10 µg/dl and higher as excessive. Bruce P. Lanphear of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati and his colleagues have shown that in kindergarteners, IQ can fall as blood-lead values climb above 5 µg/dl. Bogden found that the most important factors associated with high summertime blood-lead concentrations in black children were the kids' ages and blood concentrations of vitamin D. Bogden doesn't want to advocate reducing vitamin D intake. Overall, blacks already have the lowest average blood concentrations of vitamin D of any group in the United States. A major factor in that statistic is that skin pigments filter out much of the vitamin D-making sunshine.
by Jenifer B. McKim, Orange County [California] Register
May 11, 2007
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1691217.php
Nearly three years after the candy giant Mars Inc. said it stopped producing a line of Mexican candies because of dangerously high lead levels, the products are still available in California and still contaminated. The state Department of Health Services warned this week that Lucas Limon and Lucas Limon Con Chile, made by a Mexican subsidiary of Mars, were recently found at the site of a candy distributor/importer in San Jose and may be still available in stores. Another Mexican candy, Tama Roca Banderilla, made by a different manufacturer, also tested high in lead, state officials said.
Article Summary: An attorney for Mars said the Lucas candies must be old product. "They haven't made this candy or sold it since 2004, and they previously voluntarily withdrew the product from the market," said Robert Falk, who represents Mars-owned Masters Foods USA, which distributes other Lucas products. He added, "People shouldn't be selling it." State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton warned that consumers, particularly infants, young children and pregnant women, should not eat the candies popular among the state's growing Latino community. "Lead is toxic to humans, especially infants, young children and developing fetuses ... and can result in learning disabilities and behavioral disorders that could last a lifetime," Horton said. Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services, said officials are concerned about the tainted candies but do not have the legal authority to recall them. Pregnant women and parents of children who may have consumed these candies should consult with their doctor to see if medical testing is needed, the state said.
from the Houston Chronicle
May 10, 2007
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/4794323.html
A few months back, researchers found that particles -- tiny grains from cars and factories -- were a key cause of fatal heart disease in women. The obvious precaution: avoid hot spots such as roadsides during rush hour. Texas children don't have that luxury. Through a fluke of engineering, the 1.25 million kids who take school buses breathe concentrated diesel particles: five times the pollution they would breathe in an open convertible.
Article Summary: It's hard to imagine a more urgent concern than school vehicles that make breathing perilous. The particles and chemicals in these fumes are linked to asthma, chronic bronchitis and even cancer. Children, who breathe faster than adults and inhale more in proportion to their body weight, are particularly vulnerable to the contaminated air. Studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Conroe School District and the Clean Air Task Force of Boston all reached similar findings about the contaminated air inside school buses. A 12-county consortium that works on air quality, HGAC rode along during a study of Conroe Independent School District buses. Agency staffers found that even with windows open, the school buses' structure was such that air toxins were far denser inside the bus than in the air outside.
by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times
May 10, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-fda10may10,1,6875707,full.story
WASHINGTON -- The Senate overwhelmingly approved a landmark drug safety bill Wednesday, doubling the number of government scientists assigned to ferret out risky side effects in medicines already on the market. The measure also would create a computerized network to scan medical insurance and pharmacy records for signs of trouble with new drugs, and significantly expand the Food and Drug Administration's power to require drug makers to reduce risks.
Article Summary: With nearly half of U.S. adults taking at least one prescription medication, the risk of dangerous side effects has become a much bigger concern in recent years. The Senate bill was drafted in response to highly publicized safety lapses -- including the belated withdrawals of the painkiller Vioxx and the diabetes drug Rezulin, as well as the FDA's tardy warning about the suicide risks of antidepressants. The computerized surveillance system outlined in the bill would provide a way to keep closer tabs on newly approved drugs. The bill also contains provisions that would reduce secrecy in the drug development process by requiring public disclosure of most clinical trials and the release of memos that reflect internal FDA dissent about medications awaiting approval. The Senate legislation also addresses consumer complaints about misleading drug advertising by setting up a voluntary program through which the FDA would review television commercials before they are aired. The House is expected to write its own version of the legislation soon. Its approach is likely to be tougher on industry.
by Gardiner Harris, Benedict Carey and Janet Roberts, New York Times
May 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/health/10psyche.html
Article Summary: The intersection of money and medicine, and its effect on the well-being of patients, has become one of the most contentious issues in health care. Nowhere is that more true than in psychiatry, where increasing payments to doctors have coincided with the growing use in children of a relatively new class of drugs known as atypical antipsychotics. These best-selling drugs, including Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Abilify and Geodon, are now being prescribed to more than half a million children in the United States to help parents deal with behavior problems despite profound risks and almost no approved uses for minors. A New York Times analysis of records in Minnesota, the only state that requires public reports of all drug company marketing payments to doctors, provides rare documentation of how financial relationships between doctors and drug makers correspond to the growing use of atypicals in children. Those who took the most money from makers of atypicals tended to prescribe the drugs to children the most often, the data suggest. On average, Minnesota psychiatrists who received at least $5,000 from atypical makers from 2000 to 2005 appear to have written three times as many atypical prescriptions for children as psychiatrists who received less or no money. Drug makers underwrite decision makers at every level of care. They pay doctors who prescribe and recommend drugs, teach about the underlying diseases, perform studies and write guidelines that other doctors often feel bound to follow.
No one has proved that psychiatrists prescribe atypicals to children because of drug company payments. Indeed, some who frequently prescribe the drugs to children earn no drug industry money. And nearly all psychiatrists who accept payments say they remain independent. But studies present strong evidence that financial interests can affect decisions, often without people knowing it. Payments could encourage psychiatrists to use drugs in ways that endanger patients' physical health, said Dr. Steven E. Hyman, the provost of Harvard University and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. It is illegal for drug makers to pay doctors directly to prescribe specific products. Federal rules also bar manufacturers from promoting unapproved, or off-label, uses for drugs. But doctors are free to prescribe as they see fit, and drug companies can sidestep marketing prohibitions by paying doctors to give lectures in which, if asked, they may discuss unapproved uses.
by Allyson Schrier, Guest Columnist, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 9, 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/315014_health10.html
Mother's Day is a time to celebrate moms and honor the life, joy and protection they bring families and society. As a mother of two boys, it is the role of protector that I find most difficult to manage. Some things are obvious: Strap children into car seats, put latches on cabinets and teach kids to look both ways when crossing the street. Where I run into trouble is in knowing how to keep my kids safe from hidden threats relatively new to our society -- things my mother never thought about. How do I keep my kids safe from chemicals in food, children's products and personal care products?
I buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever I can because I'm concerned about pesticides. We rarely eat tuna because of mercury concerns. I recently learned that the butter flavor on microwave popcorn uses chemicals that cause debilitating sickness in workers in popcorn factories. We've switched to air-popped popcorn for our family movie night.
Given our penchant for protection, what mother would knowingly slather her newborn with a known carcinogen? Or use makeup that contains a reproductive toxin that could be passed on through breast milk to her growing baby? Few mothers realize that is happening unknowingly right now, in homes across America. Major loopholes in federal law prevent the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other government agency from approving the safety of cosmetics and personal-care products, such as bubble bath, before they are brought to market. The result is that many products on store shelves contain chemicals linked to a variety of health effects, including those that can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm.
Washington state has been a national leader in fighting for protections from toxic chemicals in products. The Legislature just passed a groundbreaking bill to phase out polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) that have been found in our children's mattresses, our homes' dust, breast milk and in salmon and orcas. We are well under way in reducing mercury through a statewide effort. What about other chemicals? Bisphenol A is linked to breast cancer and reproductive health problems. What about Bisphenol A in babies' bottles, teenagers' water bottles and in the lining of soda cans? What about phthalates in teething toys? Phthalates, used to soften plastics, are reproductive toxins.
Why should mothers have to worry about the myriad chemicals in all the day-to-day products we purchase? Many moms I know exhibit a superhuman ability to keep the family ship afloat in today's modern world, but there are some things we cannot do alone. How? The market needs to clean up its act but we need strong regulation as well. We cannot rely on voluntary phase-outs of chemicals that could harm us or our natural world. This Mother's Day, do something besides worry. Educate yourself about simple, everyday things you can do to reduce your family's exposure to toxic chemicals by visiting the Washington Toxics Coalition (http://watoxics.org) and Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition (http://toxicfreelegacy.org).
The gift of a healthy future for her children is all a mother could ask for.
from CBC News
May 9, 2007
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/05/09/pesticide-canada.html
Article Summary: Some Canadian consumers are unhappy with a proposed federal plan that would see pesticide use on fruits, vegetables and dairy products sold in Canada harmonized with levels used in the United States. Environmentalists including David Daughton, a spokesman for ECO-P.E.I., the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island, similarly disagree with the new harmonization proposal. But Richard Aucoin, chief registrar of Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency, defends the proposed changes, which still must go through a public consultation process. He noted that pesticide limits can be altered without putting the public at risk. The PMRA will perform a risk assessment before any pesticides levels are raised or lowered, Aucoin said. Changes to pesticide use were raised in a 2006 report by the Security Partnership of North America. The report said differences in maximum pesticide limits could be a barrier to trade, spurring the group to press for new, matching regulatory practices.
[Editor's note: See a related article at http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=542f6607-a7e2-45dc-94b3-18aff4f63efd&k=1987.]
by Nicholas Bakalar, New York Times
May 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08patt.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1179025400-jLqE2K3JQDrR3f/ZuF8eeQ
The younger a woman is when she has her first period, the more likely her children are to be overweight, a new study suggests. A mother's height and weight, of course, can predict that of her children. But the researchers found that age of first menstruation, or menarche, is a predictive factor independent of physique.
Article Summary: Researchers in England looked at the 9-year-old children of women who had their first period at 11 or younger and at 15 or older. The children of women in the earlier group were on average a half-inch taller and 8 pounds heavier than those in the later group. In addition, these children were almost three times as likely to be obese. The risk of obesity was similar in boys and girls, and the association persisted even after adjusting for the mother's education and body mass index. Variations in infant nutrition are linked to obesity risk and the timing of menarche. The researchers suggest that both genetic and nongenetic modes of inheritance may be at work, including the inheritance of hormonal programming or of eating behaviors that affect the expression of genes.
by Kellyn S. Betts, Environmental Health Perspectives
May 2007
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/115-5/focus.html
It was 2000 when the scientific community first became widely aware that perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS), then the key ingredient in 3M Company's popular Scotchgard stain repellent, was being found at extremely low levels throughout the environment and the human population. Since that time, environmental scientists and toxicologists have begun paying much more attention to PFOS, its sister compound perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; known for its use in DuPont's Teflon products), and other members of the family of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). As more tests have been conducted, the research has revealed that laboratory animals respond in vastly different ways to PFAAs and related compounds, which can make it difficult to pinpoint the mechanisms underlying the responses. However, toxicologists are making headway in their understanding of these compounds, an important fact in light of new research suggesting that the levels being found in both people and animals may have an impact on their health.
Article Summary: Human exposure to PFAAs comes through myriad sources including contaminated drinking water and household products treated with stain or water repellants. PFOA and PFOS have been detected in human breast milk and babies' blood. In animal studies, toxicologists have seen that high doses of both PFOS and PFOA cause cancer, physical development delays, endocrine disruption, and neonatal mortality. Other studies show that the compounds can impact growth and development and disrupt the body's hormone and immune systems. Prenatal exposure to PFOS and PFOA can affect body weight and head circumference in human infants. Postnatal exposures, as through breastfeeding, have unknown effects. Understanding how the compounds are processed in the body poses a formidable challenge, in part due to variations such as the speed with which humans and laboratory animals can eliminate PFOA.
3M no longer manufactures PFOS, and the compound is now used only in relatively small quantities for applications for which there is no acceptable substitute, such as in semiconductor manufacturing. All eight of the companies currently using PFOA -- Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, DuPont, 3M/Dyneon, and Solvay Solexis -- have agreed to reduce PFOA releases and levels in products by 95% by 2010 and to eliminate their use by 2015. Some of the new replacement compounds may pose problems of their own, such as metabolizing or degrading into PFOA or PFOS.
