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The CDC says more people die from hot weather than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes put together. Between 1979 and 1998, a total of 7,421 deaths in the United States were heat-related, the government says, and about 300 people die each year from heat exposure.
The government is concerned that soaring utility costs in the West could cause another statistic to rise: heat-related health problems.
Energy problems in California and the Southwest could have a serious effect on heat-related injury and death, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. Read the rest of this entry »
Tasmar, a drug used for treating Parkinson’s disease, can cause potentially fatal liver injuries, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the drug’s manufacturer, Hoffmann La-Roche. Read the rest of this entry »
Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) or delta virus is a unique incomplete virus that requires hepatitis B virus (HBV) for its replication. The RNA genome is covered by an outer coat of hepatitis B surface antigen. HDV infection occurs worldwide but is endemic in certain regions including the Mediterranean basin, the Balkan peninsula, the former Soviet Union, parts of Africa and the Middle East and the Amazon basin of South America. In these regions, spread is typically intrafamilial and through sexual contact.
In non-endemic regions, such as North America, HDV infection is uncommon in the general population but does occur in intravenous drug users and persons with frequent exposure to blood products (e.g. hemophiliacs) as well as their sexual contacts.
Norplant is an implanted contraceptive that consists of a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. It has been available since the FDA approved Norplant in 1990, and adds another alternative to the array of contraceptive options available to women today.
How It Is Used
Norplant can only be prescribed by a health care professional. It is composed of six small plastic capsules that are about the size of matchsticks and are filled with levonorgestrel (synthetic progesterone). These tiny capsules are inserted under the skin of the upper arm through a tiny cut (about 1/8 inch long) that the physician makes. The arm may feel sore for a few days after the insertion of the capsules, but it usually heals quickly.
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