News Upcoming Event Partners in Health: Our Community Making a Difference in Medicine Register Now! Free Clinical Trials Forum in Durham, NC. If you, a friend or a family member has survived a serious illness, you (or they) may have benefited from discoveries found in clinical trials. Clinical trials are an important part of preventing disease as well as finding cures for disease. Activities include Health screenings, exhibits, lunch, clinical trials town hall meeting, Clinicaltrials.gov demonstration, and more! A youth program includes interactive discussions on fitness, nutrition and careers in health and science. Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10:00 am - 2:30 pm. Download the flyer (PDF) for more details. Or Register Online for the event. GINA M. FINZI Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program Lupus Foundation of America is proud to announce that applications for the 2010 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program are now being accepted. The purpose of the student fellowship is to foster an interest, among students, in the areas of basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, or behavioral research relevant to lupus under the supervision and sponsorship of an established, tenure-track Principal Investigator who directs a laboratory dedicated at least in part to the investigation of lupus at a U.S. academic, medical, or research institution. Download the information packet (PDF) for complete details.
|
Food and Drug Administration--Recalls/Safety Alerts
|
- McCormick Recall Due to Possible Health Risk from HVP Ingredient Expands to Include Additional "Best By" Dates
McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) is expanding a March 5, 2010 recall to include additional "Best By" dates of products manufactured with HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) supplied by Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas, Nevada, because the ingredient has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. "Consumption of products containing Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems...
- Austinuts Of Dallas, Inc. Announces Voluntary Recall of Honey Mustard Pretzels
Austinuts of Dallas, Inc. has issued a voluntary recall for Honey Mustard Pretzels, Lot number 61150/0280 because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
- Orval Kent Food Company, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Culinary Circle Dips Due to Possible Health Risk
Orval Kent announced today that it is voluntarily recalling multiple dips as a precautionary measure because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. The Orval Kent dips are being recalled because they contain HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) manufactured, distributed and recalled by Basic Food Flavors, Inc., Las Vegas, NV.
- Frontier Natural Products Co-op Initiates Voluntary Recall Due to Possible Health Risk from Black Pepper
In response to a recall commenced by its supplier, Mincing Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, New Jersey, Frontier Natural Products Co-op, is voluntarily recalling several of its products manufactured with non-organic black pepper that were sold under the Frontier brand and under the Whole Foods Market brands listed below that contain black pepper supplied by Mincing Overseas Spice Company. The black pepper has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella
- Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen Press Release.
Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen, Inc. of Albert Lea, MN has been notified by a supplier that a certain seasoning ingredient it supplied to Mrs. Gerry’s contains hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
- Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen Press Release
Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen, Inc. of Albert Lea, MN has been notified by a supplier that a certain product it supplies to Mrs. Gerry’s contains hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
- Olde Westport Spice Announces a Voluntary Recall of Garden Harvest Special Blend Seasoning
Olde Westport Spice announced that it is voluntarily recalling 5- and 10-oz. jars and 20-oz. bags of Garden Harvest Special Blend Seasoning because an ingredient used in the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
- Quaker Snack Mix Baked Cheddar Voluntarily Recalled Due to Possible Health Risk
Quaker Snack Mix Baked Cheddar is being voluntary recalled after Basic Food Flavors, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nevada initiated a recall of their hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) due to potential Salmonella contamination. HVP is a very minor ingredient in the seasoning for this product. Although every seasoning lot tested negative for Salmonella, and there are no reports of Salmonella–related illness related to this product, the product is voluntarily being recalled out of an abundance of caution.
- Ventura Foods, LLC Voluntarily Recalls Seven Varieties of Its Dean’s® Dip Products As A Precautionary Measure
Ventura Foods, LLC is voluntarily recalling seven of its Dean’s® Dip products, with specific production dates, because a flavor enhancer may be contaminated with salmonella.
The flavor enhancer is made by an ingredient supplier, Basic Food Flavors, Inc., in Las Vegas. This is the same ingredient linked to the Food & Drug Administration’s recall announcement Thursday.
- Publix Issues Voluntary Recall on Four Seasoning Mixes
Publix Super Markets is issuing a voluntary recall for four (4) varieties of seasoning mixes. The products have been manufactured with HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) supplied by Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas, Nevada. The HVP may be contaminated with Salmonella.
|
|
National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases
|
- Barrier in Mosquito Midgut Protects Invading Pathogens
Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito — the main vector of malaria — have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood. The formation of this protein barrier, the researchers found, is part of the normal digestive process that allows so-called "healthy" or commensal gut bacteria to grow without activating mosquito immune responses. But there is a downside: The barrier also prevents the mosquito's immune defense system from clearing any disease-causing agents that may have slipped into the blood meal, such as the Plasmodium malaria parasite, which in turn can be passed on to humans.
- Hereditary Condition Causing Limb Weakness Traced to Gene for Rare Disorder
A gene that causes a fatal childhood brain disorder can also cause adults to develop peripheral neuropathy, a condition resulting in weakness and decreased sensation in the hands and limbs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The study is the first to show that different mutations in the same gene cause the two seemingly unrelated disorders.
- Dr. Francis S. Collins Receives Albany Medical Center Prize
NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. has been named a recipient of
the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for his
leading role in mapping the human genome. While accepting the honor, Dr. Collins
declined his portion of the 0,000 prize in order to comply with government
ethics rules.
- Panel Questions "VBAC Bans," Advocates Expanded Delivery Options for Women
An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health confronted a troubling fact that pregnant women currently have limited access to clinicians and facilities able and willing to offer a trial of labor after previous cesarean delivery because of so-called VBAC bans. Many, even those at low risk for complications in a trial of labor, are not offered this option. The panel affirmed that a trial of labor is a reasonable option for many women with a prior cesarean delivery. They also urged that current VBAC guidelines be revisited, malpractice concerns be addressed, and additional research undertaken to better understand the medical and non-medical factors that influence decision making for women with previous cesarean deliveries.
- Vaccinating Children against Flu Helps Protect Wider Community
Results of a clinical trial conducted in a largely self-contained religious community during the 2008-09 influenza season show that immunizing children against seasonal influenza can significantly protect unvaccinated community members against influenza as well. The study was conducted to determine if immunized children could act as a barrier to limit the spread of influenza to the wider, unvaccinated community, a concept known as herd immunity.
- New Approach to Immune Cell Analysis Seen as First Step to Better Distinguish Health and Disease
Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states.
- Food Allergy-Related Disorder Linked to Master Allergy Gene
Scientists have identified a region of a human chromosome that is associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a recently recognized allergic disease. People with EoE frequently have difficulty eating or may be allergic to one or more foods. This study further suggests that a suspected so-called master allergy gene may play a role in the development of this rare but debilitating disorder.
- Scientists Find New Form of Prion Disease that Damages Brain Arteries
National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists investigating how prion diseases destroy the brain have observed a new form of the disease in mice that does not cause the sponge-like brain deterioration typically seen in prion diseases. Instead, it resembles a form of human Alzheimer's disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, that damages brain arteries.
- Statement from Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, during World Glaucoma Week, March 7-13, 2010
Glaucoma is one of the world's leading causes of vision loss and blindness. Vision organizations around the globe highlight this disease as a research and public health priority during World Glaucoma Week. The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, takes this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to supporting research that will identify risk factors for the condition and develop treatments to preserve the sense of sight.
- Leading Toxicologists Highlight Advances to Safeguard Public Health
The government's leading toxicologists and environmental health scientists will share their latest scientific accomplishments, offer continuing education courses, discuss funding and training opportunities, receive input on future research priorities, and more, at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) annual meeting. Staff from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) will speak at more than 30 different sessions and present more than 60 posters on topics ranging from improving toxicity testing to translational research.
|
|
