A medical device used to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile duct disease is getting attention from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after pieces have fallen off and remained in patients’ bodies. Previously, the FDA had expressed concern about duodenoscopes because they can be difficult to clean and may spread bacteria such as E. coli from patient to patient. Duodenoscopes are flexible, lighted tubes with a camera that are threaded through the mouth down to the stomach and top of the small intestine (duodenum). However, when hospitals switched to disposable tips to cover the camera and reduce bacteria spread, this has now resulted in new problems. Those produced by Olympus Medical Systems have fallen off in patients’ mouths and stomachs, according to reports filed with the FDA. Some have sharp edges, which has led to internal bleeding in patients, according to the New York Times. The FDA has received about 160 complaints about the caps falling off. That “was above the expected numbers for that type of complaint,” according to Olympus’ own analysis. The FDA sent a warning letter to the company after an inspection at the Olympus plant in Tokyo late last year found that disposable parts made for duodenoscopes and suction valves for bronchoscopes, which are used to examine the lungs, were adulterated or defective. The agency has said the company’s responses…  read on >  read on >

E. coli bacteria are an infamous cause of food poisoning, but a new study suggests those same microbes lurking in meat may be behind nearly half a million cases of urinary tract infections (UTIs). UTIs are very common, affecting more than half of all women at least once in their lives. And the vast majority of those infections are caused by E. coli bacteria. Although E. coli may be best known for spurring outbreaks of food poisoning, most strains of the bacteria are actually harmless. In fact, E. coli lives happily in the human gut, as part of the vast array of beneficial bacteria that make up the body’s “microbiome.” Sometimes, though, when that gut-dwelling E. coli is shed in your stool, it can migrate to your urinary tract and cause a UTI. That, at least, is the source of most UTIs, said study author Lance Price, a microbiologist and professor at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Price’s team found genetic evidence that some UTIs are caused by E. coli in the chicken, turkey and pork that people buy at the grocery store. The bacteria find their way to the urinary tract the same way as other UTI-causing E. coli do — but the source is different. The researchers estimated that around 8% of UTIs caused by E. coli can be traced to a…  read on >  read on >

A new study has some heartening news for coffee lovers: That morning cup is unlikely to make your heart skip a beat. The study, published March 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that drinking coffee does not seem to predispose healthy people to premature atrial contractions. PACs are a normal occurrence for a healthy heart, but some people sense them as a “skipped” or extra heartbeat — which can be unsettling. And if they do arise frequently, that might foretell a more serious heart arrhythmia down the road. Experts said the new findings are in line with the body of research on coffee and heart health: Despite caffeine’s bad reputation, many studies have found that coffee drinkers have lower risks of various diseases — including heart disease — than non-drinkers. But while those past studies have offered reassurance, they also had limitations, said first study author Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco. There could be many differences between coffee drinkers and abstainers that affect their disease risks, Marcus said. And even though studies try to control for those differences, he added, it’s impossible to account for everything. So Marcus and his colleagues conducted a clinical trial to actually test whether coffee can have particular acute effects on the heart. Their primary question was whether…  read on >  read on >

One way to reduce the risk of heart disease: Eat more nuts and seeds, according to a new review of 60 studies. Scandinavian researchers found that eating nuts could reduce the risk of a heart attack. “If you eat a handful of nuts every day, that is around 30 grams, you will have a 20% to 25% lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease. In comparison, adults in the Nordic countries only eat on average around 4 grams of nuts a day. Many do not eat nuts or seeds at all,” said study co-author Erik Arnesen, research fellow at the University of Oslo. Although scientists say, “the more the better,” eating just a few nuts is better than none at all, Arnesen said in a university news release. Almonds, pistachios and walnuts appeared to be the best for lowering cholesterol. However, researchers said there is no conclusive evidence for recommending specific kinds of nuts over others. “Nuts have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels in the blood, which is important to keep low in order to prevent the buildup of fat in the arteries. This atherosclerosis, as it is called, is one of the greatest risk factors for heart attacks,” Arnesen explained. The review involved nearly 2 million participants. Although researchers also investigated whether eating nuts reduced the risk of strokes and type 2 diabetes,…  read on >  read on >

Perrigo Co., which makes Gerber Good Start SootheProTM Powdered Infant Formula, has recalled the product over concerns about contamination with a potentially dangerous bacteria. Cronobacter sakazakii was possibly present between Jan. 2 and Jan. 18 at the company’s Gateway Eau Claire, Wisc., manufacturing facility. No distributed products have tested positive for the bacteria. No one has reported adverse events, the company added in a news release. No other products made by the company are affected by the recall at this plant or other Perrigo facilities. The recall is being made voluntarily in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Just last month, infant formula manufacturer Reckitt recalled 145,000 cans of Enfamil ProSobee formula because of possible contamination with C. sakazakii bacteria. And that recall followed an infant formula shortage last year that was prompted by Abbott Nutrition’s closing of its Michigan plant. That closing was necessitated after four infants fell ill and two died after consuming powdered infant formula made at the plant. However, genetic testing later found the bacteria discovered at the plant did not match the bacteria related to the infant cases. With the Gerber infant formula recall, anyone who purchased the product after March 5 should look for the lot codes and “use by” dates involved in the recall on the items they purchased, the company said. Those can be found…  read on >  read on >

Do you ever wonder why you typically feel hungry when it’s time for dinner? Researchers say that’s not just a habit, but a physiological drive, with the human body able to predict the timing of regular meals. “We often get hungry around the same time every day, but the extent to which our biology can anticipate mealtimes is unknown. It is possible that metabolic rhythms align to meal patterns and that regularity of meals will ensure that we eat at the time when our bodies are best adapted to deal with them,” said study author Jonathan Johnston. He is a professor of chronobiology and integrative physiology at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. To investigate if the human circadian system anticipates meals, the researchers worked with 24 men in an eight-day laboratory study with strict sleep-wake schedules. For six days, 12 participants consumed small meals hourly throughout the waking period. The other 12 participants ate two large daily meals at 7.5 and 14.5 hours after waking. After those six days, all the participants were given the same eating schedule for 37 hours. They received small meals hourly in a procedure known to reveal internal circadian rhythms. Researchers measured the participants’ glucose (blood sugar) every 15 minutes during the study. The participants shared their hunger levels hourly during waking hours on days two, four…  read on >  read on >