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Cardinal Health, Inc. is voluntarily recalling certain LEADER brand eyedrops because they may cause eye infections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration informed the Dublin, Ohio, company that agency investigators found unsanitary conditions in its manufacturing facility. Tests of critical drug production areas of the facility were positive for bacteria. The drops were supplied by Velocity Pharma, LLC. Potential eye infections caused by bacteria could lead to partial vision loss or blindness, Cardinal Health warned in a recall notice from the FDA. These products were meant to be sterile. Contaminated ophthalmic drug products pose a particular risk of harm because products applied to the eyes bypass some of the body’s natural defenses. Cardinal Health has received reports of three adverse events related to these listed products and have shared this information with its supplier, the recall notice said. Several products are part of the recall. They are: LEADER Eye Irritation Relief, NDC code 70000-0087-1 LEADER Dry Eye Relief, NDC code 70000-0089-1 LEADER Lubricant Eye Drops, NDC code 70000-0090-1 LEADER Lubricant Eye Drops, NDC codes 70000-0090-2 (pack of 2) and 70000-0090-1 (bottle) LEADER Dry Eye Relief, NDC code 70000-0088-1 LEADER Lubricant Eye Drops, NDC code 70000-0587-1 These eyedrops are sold over the counter for temporary relief of burning and irritation due to dryness, to protect against further irritation and to relieve redness. They were sent to… read on > read on >

More than a year after its launch, public awareness of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline remains moderate, a new survey found. However, awareness is highest among people who need it most — those in serious psychological distress. Survey participants with serious distress were 45% more likely to have heard of 988 than those with no distress. Further, those in moderate psychological distress were 27% more likely to have heard of 988 than those with no distress. “When we looked across these different psychological distress categories, as you would expect to see and hope to see, the percentage of people using the lifeline was way higher among those with serious psychological distress,” said lead researcher Jonathan Purtle. He is director of policy research at New York University’s Global Center for Implementation Science. The 988 line launched in July 2022, transitioning from the 10-digit 1-800 number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline into a simpler three-digit number with a broader focus on crisis counseling. To assess awareness of the line, researchers surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. adults in June 2023. “The key innovation of what we did here is we assessed people’s psychological distress,” Purtle said. “We were able to compare folks by their levels of distress and awareness of the lifeline.” Overall, about 42% of poll respondents had heard of the 988 lifeline, a… read on > read on >

Playing professional football, especially if you are a lineman, may shorten your life, a new study suggests. The University of Minnesota researchers thought that perhaps professional football players are unlike “American men in general” in ways that determine their future health. “When we started digging into the literature on later life health outcomes for professional American football players, we were initially surprised to find a relatively large number of studies that found football players lived longer than American men in general,” said study co-author Gina Rumore. She is program development director of the university’s Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation. “We believe a better strategy for understanding the association between playing football and mortality is to compare football players to men who are like them in every respect — except they never played professional football,” Rumore added in a university news release. So, the researchers compared men drafted to play professional football in the 1950s, some of whom played and some of whom never played in any professional league. The investigators then compared professional football players who began their careers in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s to a nationally representative group of men who were employed, not disabled, not poor and who had completed at least three years of college. The first analysis showed that linemen die earlier than otherwise similar men. In… read on > read on >

A seizure doesn’t always look like what you see in the movies, but a new survey finds most Americans don’t know what the more subtle signs of seizures are. “Anything that interrupts your brain’s circuit can cause seizures, from tumors, infections and strokes to high or low blood sugar, or glucose levels, to inherited genetic features. And different types of seizures can present with dozens of different symptoms,” said Dr. Dipali Nemade. She is a neurologist at the Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute. “But because they often look different than those ‘cinematic seizures’ we see in movies and television, they can go undiagnosed for a long time,” Nemade added. The standard mental picture of a seizure is someone falling to the ground with full body convulsions, which can be what a generalized tonic-clonic seizure looks like. A new national survey by Orlando Health found most Americans recognize these symptoms. Yet only 32% believe numbness or tingling signals a seizure, while about 35% think of blinking rapidly as a sign. Meanwhile, roughly 13% see crying out or screaming as a seizure symptom, while just 6% think of laughing as such. Pay attention to any odd behaviors and address them with your doctor, Nemade suggested. “Even seizures with these less dramatic symptoms can make everyday activities like driving and cooking dangerous,” she said in an Orlando Health news… read on > read on >

Cellphone use might be blunting a fellow’s chances of becoming a father, a major new study reports. Young men who frequently use mobile phones have lower sperm concentrations and sperm counts than guys who rarely dial on the go, Swiss researchers found using more than a decade’s worth of data. However, the data also showed that the move to improved cell technologies like 4G could have the happy side effect of protecting male fertility, the study authors noted. The association between cellphone use and lower semen quality gradually decreased between 2005 and 2018, the researchers found. “We think that this trend corresponds to the transition from 2G to 3G, and then from 3G to 4G, which has led to a reduction in the transmitting power of phones,” said lead researcher Rita Rahban. She’s a senior researcher and teaching assistant in the University of Geneva’s department of genetic medicine and development. “4G is much more efficient than 2G in data transmission, which reduces exposure time,” Rahban explained. “In general, newer generations of mobile technology, like 4G and 5G, aim to reduce radiation exposure while offering improved data speeds and capabilities.” Overall, the investigators found that men who used their cellphones more than 20 times a day were 30% more likely to have a sperm concentration lower than the value set by the World Health Organization (WHO)… read on > read on >

Despite progress in recent decades, too many Americans still have dangerously high LDL cholesterol levels, and about a quarter don’t even know it, new research finds. That puts those people at risk for a longer span of artery clogging disease and increases their risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study says. “We are not talking about mildly elevated levels in this particular study,” said co-author Dr. Salim Virani, vice provost in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. “We are talking about levels where you need to start treatment right away.” Doctors may recommend diet and lifestyle changes for mildly elevated cholesterol levels, but someone with levels of 190 mg/dL or higher should also take cholesterol-lowering medication, experts say. A family history of heart disease further heightens the risk. “In those people, treatment needs to be started right away. If you don’t, then there’s a very high probability that a lot of these patients will end up having heart attacks and strokes at a very young age,” Virani said. Of course, you can only start treatment for high cholesterol if you know your cholesterol numbers are high. “That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that everybody should get their cholesterol checked and they should know their numbers,” Virani said. A simple blood test is all you need. Treatment… read on > read on >

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A new gene therapy for sickle cell disease was deemed safe by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday, paving the way for full approval by early December. The FDA had already decided that the therapy, known as exa-cel, was effective. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston and CRISPR Therapeutics of Switzerland, exa-cel frees patients from the excruciating symptoms of sickle cell disease. If approved by Dec. 8, as expected, it would become the first medicine to treat a genetic disease with the CRISPR gene-editing technique, CRISPR Therapeutics said in a news release. But it won’t be the only new treatment for the inherited condition coming down the pike: By Dec. 20, the FDA will also decide on a second potential cure for a disease that typically strikes Black people, a gene therapy crafted by Bluebird Bio, of Somerville, Mass. “We are finally at a spot where we can envision broadly available cures for sickle cell disease,” said Dr. John Tisdale, director of the cellular and molecular therapeutics branch at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and a member of the advisory committee, the New York Times reported. In the case of exa-cel, the one-time treatment permanently changes DNA in a patient’s blood cells. How does it work? Stem cells are removed from a patient’s… read on > read on >

Adding warning labels to meat about its impact on climate and health could lower its consumption, a new study suggests. British researchers investigated what adding cigarette-style graphic warning labels to meat in a cafeteria setting might do. “Reaching net zero is a priority for the nation and the planet. As warning labels have already been shown to reduce smoking as well as drinking of sugary drinks and alcohol, using a warning label on meat-containing products could help us achieve this if introduced as national policy,” said study author Jack Hughes. Hughes conducted the research with his supervisors as part of his PhD program in the department of psychology at Durham University, in the United Kingdom. The study included a representative sample of just over 1,000 meat-eating adults who were split into four groups. They were shown pictures of hot meals a person might get at a cafeteria that contained a health warning label, climate warning label, pandemic warning label, or no label. An example set of meals could be a meat pasta bake, fish pasta bake, vegetarian pasta bake and a vegan pasta bake, the study authors noted. Participants were asked to make 20 separate decisions on different meal choices. They were also asked how anxiety provoking and believable they found the labels. The researchers measured future intentions to buy and eat the meal options,… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Certain pureed fruit pouches from WanaBana may contain dangerous levels of lead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned. Parents and caregivers should not buy or serve WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches to children, the agency said in a recent public health alert. Children who have consumed this product should be tested for possible lead poisoning, the agency added. The warning was issued after four children in North Carolina were found to have high levels of lead in their blood that was linked to these products, the FDA said. State health officials detected “extremely high” concentrations of lead in the pouches after analyzing multiple lots. This exposure could lead to “acute toxicity,” according to the FDA. Lead can enter food products through soil, air, water and industrial processes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It’s not good for anyone, but can seriously harm children’s health. Lead can cause brain and nervous system damage, as well as slowed growth and development. WanaBana is based in Coral Gables, Fla. The company has issued a recall for all lot codes and expiration dates of the products, which are sold nationally. Among the places that carry these products are Amazon, Dollar Tree and Sam’s Club. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the… read on > read on >

The ancient art of tai chi, plus a modern twist, may help older adults reverse mild declines in brain power, a new clinical trial reveals. Researchers found that tai chi classes helped older adults improve their subtle problems with cognition (memory and thinking skills). It also helped them with a fundamental multitasking skill: walking while your attention is elsewhere. But while tai chi was effective, a “cognitively enhanced” version that added mental challenges to the mix worked even better, the study found. Experts called the findings — published Oct. 31 in the Annals of Internal Medicine — promising. They support the concept of stimulating seniors’ minds in multiple ways, rather than one. Tai chi is a traditional Chinese practice that combines slow, graceful movement and physical postures with controlled breathing. It’s performed as a moving meditation, and studies over the years have found that it can help older people improve their balance and lower their risk of falls. There is also evidence that tai chi can help seniors sharpen their cognition, said Peter Harmer, a researcher on the new trial. His team wanted to test the effects of adding specific mental challenges to the tai chi practice — based on recent studies suggesting that physical and mental exercise together are better than either alone. Conventional tai chi classes, like most physical exercise classes, are primarily… read on > read on >

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More Eyedrops Recalled Due to Infection Danger

Those Most in Need of the 988 Lifeline Are Aware of It, Survey Shows

Playing Pro Football May Shorten Players’ Lives, Study Finds

Could You Recognize the More Subtle Signs of a Seizure?

Could Cellphones Be Harming Men’s Sperm?

While Fewer Americans Have High Cholesterol, Too Many Still Do

FDA Advisors Say New Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease is Safe

Does Meat Need Warning Labels on How It Harms Climate, Health?

FDA Warns WananBana Fruit Puree Pouches May Contain Lead

Tai Chi Might Help Seniors Counter Mild Cognitive Decline