Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Group Issues Annual List of Unsafe Toys
A Sesame Street Oscar doll, a plastic book for babies, and a
wooden blocks set are among the toys that could harm children this
holiday season, according to the U.S. Public Research Interest
Group's 26th annual "Trouble in Toyland" report.
The document lists just over a dozen toys on store shelves that
violate federal safety standards for lead and chemicals called
phthalates, or that could pose a choking hazard for small children,
the
Associated Press reported.
Toys that are too loud and could damage hearing, as well as
balloons, were also cited as potential dangers by PIRG. Balloons
cause more choking deaths than any other children's product.
Toy recalls in the United States have declined in recent years
and PIRG credits a 2008 law that set stricter standards for
children's products, the
AP reported.
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HIV Tests Offered At Government Offices in Washington, D.C.
An HIV-testing program offered at a Department of Motor
Vehicles' office in Washington, D.C. was so successful that it has
been expanded to an office where residents of the nation's capital
register for food stamps, Medicaid and other government
services.
Since it began last October, more than 5,000 people have had the
free HIV test at the DMV office and received results while they
wait. Sixty people were tested Monday during the first day of the
program at the new site, the
Associated Press reported.
The HIV testing isn't done by government employees, but rather
by a nonprofit group called Family and Medical Counseling Services
Inc.
"You have to meet people where they are," Sheila Brockington, who's in charge of HIV testing at the DMV office, told the AP.
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Medical Device Company Executives Sent to Prison
Executives of a U.S. medical devices company received prison
sentences Monday for unapproved testing of bone cement that caused
three deaths.
U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis said the desire for profits
blinded executives of Pennsylvania-based Synthes North America to
the "sanctity of human life," the
Associated Press reported.
In order to bypass U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval
and get their bone cement to market before competitors, the
executives plotted to train select surgeons in the off-label use of
the bone cement and then have the surgeons publish their findings,
the judge said.
Three patients died before Synthes halted the surgeon training
in 2004, the
AP reported.
"One adverse event should have been enough to let you know that this course was not right," Davis said. "I can't understand how there wasn't a stop sign."
He sentenced former company President Michael Huggins and former
Senior Vice President Thomas B. Higgins to nine months in prison.
Former director of regulatory and clinical affairs John J. Walsh
was given a five-month sentence. The sentencing of former Vice
President Richard Bohner was postponed after his lawyer became ill
in court.
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Woman Mauled by Chimp Gets Compliments on New Face
An American woman who received a face transplant after being
mauled by a chimpanzee says people are complementing her on her new
face.
Charla Nash said on NBC's "Today" show that her new face has
started to mold to her underlying bone structure and she's resuming
more of her normal life, the
Associated Press reported.
People have told her she's beautiful, something that didn't
occur before, Nash said.
In the 2009 attack, the chimp tore off Nash's nose, lips,
eyelids and hands and she was blinded. She had a face and double
hand transplant in May, but complications forced the removal of the
hands, the
AP reported.
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Dog Illnesses May be Linked to Chicken Jerky Treats: FDA
Chicken jerky treats imported from China may be to blame for dog
illnesses and deaths in the United States, the Food and Drug
Administration warns.
So far this year, at least 70 dogs have become ill after
reportedly eating the jerky products and some of the dogs have
died,
msnbc.com reported.
FDA officials have not been able to pinpoint a specific
contaminant and did not identify a particular brand of the chicken
jerky products, also sold as chicken treats, chicken strips and
chicken tenders.
Reports from dog owners and vets indicate that dogs may suffer a
variety of illnesses within days or hours of eating the treats,
including kidney failure,
msnbc.com said.
Decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, increased thirst and
increased urination are among the symptoms. If they are severe or
persist for more than 24 hours, take the dog to a veterinarian, the
FDA said.
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