Injections

At the headquarters of Boston Medical Group in Costa Mesa, six salesmen were working the toll-free appointment line on a recent afternoon, fielding calls from men around the country enticed by newspaper and radio ads promising a "proven" solution to erectile dysfunction in "one office visit. " The results are visible "right there in the office," one sales representative told a caller. "It's amazing. " Following a script, he answered a few questions and offered to schedule a $195 consultation at one of the company's 21 U.S. clinics.

Clippers forward Jared Dudley said he got a platelet-rich plasma injection to help alleviate the painful tendinitis in his right knee. The procedure, known as PRP, takes a sample of the patient's blood and spins it in a centrifuge for 15 minutes. It is then injected to accelerate tissue repair. Though he's hurting, Dudley hasn't missed any of the Clippers' 15 games. He is averaging 8.4 points per game on 48% shooting, with 38.5% (20 for 52) on three-pointers. He's playing 27 minutes per game.

Local anesthetics are supposed to reduce pain, but the shots themselves can be painful -- sometimes quite painful. But the pain can be reduced substantially by the simple expedient of warming the painkiller before performing the injection, researchers reported Tuesday. The painkillers are normally kept cold to preserve them. Dr. Anna Taddio of the University of Toronto and her colleagues reviewed 18 studies involving a total of 831 patients. They reported online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that warming the injections before administering them consistently produced a "clinically meaningful reduction in pain" regardless of how the shot was administered or how large an injection was given.

USC defensive end Leonard Williams said Wednesday that he planned to play against fifth-ranked Stanford despite a right shoulder injury that could require postseason surgery. Williams did not play against California last weekend and has not practiced this week, but he said he felt stronger after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection Tuesday. "I'm just feeling like I'm getting a lot of my strength back so I should be able to go Saturday," he said. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Williams is the Trojans' second-leading tackler and he has a team-best 11 tackles for loss.

SAN FRANCISCO - California has dropped its legal efforts to win approval of a three-drug method of lethal injection and will instead propose  single-drug executions, a prisons spokesman said Wednesday. At the direction of Gov. Jerry Brown, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation decided against challenging a unanimous California appeals court ruling that blocked the three-drug method on the grounds it had not been properly vetted, said Jeffrey Callison, a corrections department spokesman.

Scientists have all kinds of stem cell cures in mind: replacing dopamine-producing nerves in the brains of Parkinson's patients, fixing damaged spinal cords, curing Type 1 diabetes, etc.  The therapies are slow-coming, though researchers are learning lots about how cells and body parts form. Here's a study just published in the journal Nature that shows injecting rod precursor cells (cells destined to become rod photoreceptors) into the eye gives mice born without rods the ability to detect  dim light.

A judge has shaved three months off the prison term of an Argentine nurse who pleaded guilty to charges he injected wealthy clients -- including Lionel Richie -- with unapproved anti-aging drugs. Daniel Tomas Fuente Serrano's 18-month sentence was reduced Monday on the recommendation of prosecutors, who said he cooperated with their investigation. Serrano pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy, smuggling and use of unapproved drugs. He is accused in court papers of charging thousands of dollars for injections of substances consistent with industrial-grade silicone used to lubricate auto parts, as well as medical-grade silicone not approved as a wrinkle filler.

An unruly passenger died aboard a Hungarian airliner Saturday after being strapped to his seat and injected with tranquilizers. The passenger, identified by Turkey's Anatolian news agency as Finnish national Mikaeinar Peterson, was dead by the time the Malev Airlines jetliner made an emergency landing in Istanbul. Anatolian and Hungary's MTI news agency said the man started harassing others aboard the plane carrying 190 passengers and a crew from Bangkok, Thailand, to Budapest, Hungary.

Convicted killer Richard Angelo, a nurse who tried to become a hero by reviving patients he injected with lethal doses of drugs, was sentenced today to 61 1/3 years to life in prison. "During my many years on the bench, I've heard many stories of horror, but this is at the top of the list," said Suffolk County Court Judge Alfred Tisch.

A Lomita nurse who claimed that she orchestrated her own arrest to get treatment for recurring headaches--and who then jumped bail in 1992 and fled to Mexico--has been arrested in Puerto Vallarta, the FBI announced Friday.

Larry Flynt wants to stop Missouri from executing the man whose bullet put the publisher of Hustler magazine in a wheelchair for life. Over the weekend, Flynt and the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit to force the state to release documents on how the state determines the process by which it kills prisoners. Joseph Paul Franklin, 63, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 20. Missouri last month delayed the execution of convicted murderer Allen Nicklasson after the German manufacturer of the drug propofol objected to its use in the deadly mixture of drugs designed to execute inmates.

So last week, we explained that I was getting Botoxed, or "Toxed," in a vernacular I created, and this week we will look at the results and reactions among my so-called friends. These are people, I remind you, whom you would pay to stay away, in a sort of reverse ransom arrangement. They know me so well and are so comfortable with me now that they'll say almost anything that comes to mind, the more mischievous the better. In a sense, these friends have become family, which is the last thing you want.

SAN FRANCISCO - California schools may give students insulin injections and other medications without having to call in licensed nurses, the state's highest court ruled Monday. "California law expressly permits trained, unlicensed school personnel to administer prescription medications such as insulin in accordance with the written statements of a student's treating physician and parents," Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the California Supreme Court. The unanimous decision was a defeat for the powerful California Nurses Assn., which had argued that only licensed healthcare workers could administer medicine under a state law that bars the unauthorized practice of nursing.

Tainted lots of injectable steroids not only triggered a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis late last year, they were also responsible for at least three cases of stroke, according to new research. Autopsies performed on two deceased stroke victims and tests on a third survivor showed that fungal infections were likely responsible for blocked, or ischemic, blood vessels, according to a paper published Monday in JAMA Neurology . Physicians at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville examined the cases of three patients who were admitted with stroke symptoms two weeks to a month after receiving tainted injections of methylprednisolone acetate.

If BMW is considered the ultimate driving machine, Lexus is viewed more as the ultimate easy chair. Toyota's luxury brand has succeeded in building a reputation for supreme comfort and quality but struggled to add aggressive styling and driving passion to the mix. The new IS 250 and 350 sport sedans are the latest effort to shed that bland image. And it involves more than some shiny paint and slick marketing; this new IS is a true player in the cutthroat sport sedan segment.

SAN FRANCISCO - California has dropped its legal efforts to win approval of a three-drug method of lethal injection and will instead propose  single-drug executions, a prisons spokesman said Wednesday. At the direction of Gov. Jerry Brown, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation decided against challenging a unanimous California appeals court ruling that blocked the three-drug method on the grounds it had not been properly vetted, said Jeffrey Callison, a corrections department spokesman.

Willie Harris went to war the day he was discharged from the Air Force. While many of his military buddies went to Vietnam in February, 1967, Harris went home to Los Angeles to prepare his own battle. "My job in the Air Force was to play basketball, to win games and prestige for my base commander," recalled Harris, who enlisted in October, 1962, and was eventually stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque, N.M. "Then I hurt my knees," he said.

PHOENIX - When Zack Greinke visited Los Angeles this week to get his sore right elbow examined, Dodgers physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache prescribed him treatment the team has used for the last five seasons: platelet-rich plasma therapy. Greinke's blood was drawn and filtered to concentrate the platelets, which are cell fragments that promote healing. The platelet-rich plasma was injected into his elbow. Though Greinke's injection was designed to temper inflammation, the Dodgers have used PRP therapy in recent years on a variety of injuries, many of which they have described as more serious than Greinke's.

TEHRAN  - For the second time in just a few days, large crowds of young revelers filled the streets of the Iranian capital late Tuesday and early Wednesday in celebratory street rallies. The capital of the Islamic Republic has suddenly become a party town. The reason to make merry this time wasn't political. Fans were rejoicing that the national soccer team qualified for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil after beating South Korea, 1-0.   The victory in a tense match prompted thousands to take to the streets cheering, waving flags and dancing to the steady sound of honking cars, which kept many Tehran residents up until the early hours.

As energy companies seek to plumb vast reserves of underground oil in California through the controversial drilling technique known as fracking, voters are concerned about its safety and uneasy with the state's lack of oversight, according to a new poll. More than half of voters - 58% - say they favor a moratorium on the process of injecting chemicals deep into the ground to tap oil and natural gas deposits embedded in rock until an independent commission has studied its environmental effects.