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A Long To-Do List For FDA Chief Hamburg
The Washington Post details Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg"s to-do list, noting that during her brief tenure the agency has announced nearly-daily warnings about various consumer products and created an internal task force to recommend ways to release more information about FDA decisions and policies. Hamburg"s list "goes beyond reorienting and restoring public confidence in the FDA. Last week, Congress passed historic legislation that gives significant new authority and responsibility to the FDA to regulate tobacco for the first time. That means Hamburg must create a new center within her agency to handle oversight of the manufacturing, marketing and sale of cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products. And today a House committee takes up legislation that would give FDA broad new powers to regulate food safety -- a bill that House leaders are determined to pass this year. The bill would place greater responsibility on the food industry to prevent food-borne illnesses and would require the FDA to significantly expand its inspection and oversight of the industry" (Layton, 6/17).
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Chain Restaurants Making Americans Fatter And Sicker Says Consumer Watchdog
America"s chain restaurants are making Americans fatter and sicker say consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) who
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Revealing Critical Link In Cell Death Pathway
The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions.
Oncology

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Prevalent In Nonobese Patients

There is a high probability of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in non-obese, middle-aged patients, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Results confirmed that OSA in non-obese patients is most prevalent in middle-aged men with larger neck sizes. Fifty-four percent (2,906) of 5,426 non-obese patients were OSA positive, and most of them were middle age (57 percent). An equal number of patients had mild OSA (50.4%) or moderate to severe OSA (49.6%). Male prevalence and neck size were significantly higher in the group with moderate to severe OSA. According to lead author Teimur Yeligulashvili, PhD, clinical supervisor at SleepTech in Wayne, N.J., the researchers were surprised by the fact that no significant differences were found in Epworth Sleepiness Scale results and neck size between OSA positive and OSA negative in non-obese patients. "More than 50 percent of non-obese OSA patients had mild OSA, suggesting that in-lab polysmonography may be more accurate in assessing people in this demographic, as opposed to portable monitoring systems," said Yeligulashvili. The study included data from 5,426 non obese patients and 23,157 overweight patients. Data were collected from a total of 28,583 polysomnograms from patients 18 years or older between 2004 and 2008 from 18 sleep centers in the SleepTech network. Patients with body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 27 were considered as non-obese and patients with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of greater than five were defined as OSA positive. Associations have been found between OSA and serious medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and increased risk for mortality. Abstract Title: Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Non-Obese Patients: Age, Gender and Severity Presentation Date: Tuesday, June 9 Category: Sleep Disorders - Breathing Abstract ID: 0565 Kelly Wagner American Academy of Sleep Medicine


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