NEWS
July 22, 2010 | By Tami Dennis, Los Angeles Times
Here are two recalls that might not have consumers rushing to get their money back. One is for a weight-loss supplement, the other for a sex enhancer. The Food and Drug Administration announced today that a lab analysis of Joyful Slim Herb Supplement was found to contain desmethyl sibutramine. Most people know sibutramine as Meridia, a prescription weight-loss drug. This month, the agency similarly announced that some batches of Good Health's Vialipro had been found to contain sulfoaildenafil, a cousin of sildenafil.
NEWS
July 22, 2010 | By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
Some women spend months — nay, years — looking for the right sports bra. The list of must-have features is often long: chafe-free, straps that stay up, easy to put on and take off, good support and hold, no digging into the skin, no embarrassment when worn in the locker room. The right sports bra is so elusive that even scientists are looking into what makes the best one . What's usually not on the required list is bling. But the designers of a new bra probably thought that's what women wanted.
NEWS
July 19, 2010 | By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
There is no question that a patient's medical records belong to the patient. Patients can ask for copies of everything health professionals enter into their files. Patient records, however, are meant to help the doctor or other health professional organization obtain information and treat the patient safely and effectively. So what would happen if patients had much easier access to the doctors' notes? The answer to that question should become clear later this year. Researchers led by a team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts have launched a pilot program called the OpenNotes Initiative.
NEWS
July 20, 2010 | By Tami Dennis, Los Angeles Times
Add sepsis to your list of post-surgery worries. Or, if you're so inclined, to your list of worries in general. First, we'll look at the hospital picture. Researchers at Methodist Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, set out to document the incidence, mortality rate and risk factors for sepsis and septic shock after general surgery. And what they found wasn't pretty. Using data from 363,897 patients, they established that sepsis, a life-threatening blood infection, occurred in 2.3% of those patients and that septic shock, dangerously low blood pressure from said blood infection, occurred in 1.6%.
HEALTH
September 3, 2001 | ROSIE MESTEL
Columnist Rosie Mestel is on vacation. Booster Shots will return next week.
NEWS
February 22, 2009 | Shari Roan and Caesar Ahmad and Tina Susman and Alana Semuels
Psychologists disagree vehemently about the significance of dreams. Some believe dreams are simply the neurological detritus of the previous day while others suggest that dreams represent unconscious thoughts and feelings. Science may not have settled the question, but according to a new study, many people favor the Freudian theory. That is, they believe their dreams reveal hidden truths. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology analyzes previous research that asks people what they think about their dreams.