Placebo as 'effective as syrup' in treating coughs
ConclusionThis RCT compared the efficacy of agave nectar, placebo or no treatment for night-time cough in children aged between two and 47 months old.Agave nectar and placebo both provided more relief from cough symptoms than no treatment, but there was no difference in relief between agave nectar and placebo.It's possible that as parents were assessing their children’s symptoms, this study could be an example of the placebo effect. That is, parents who thought that they were giving their child some syrup, rather than giving nothing, felt that it helped their child’s symptoms. Equally, it is possible that giving someth...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 28, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Pregnancy/child Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Agave syrup no better than placebo cough remedy
Conclusion
This RCT compared the efficacy of agave nectar, placebo or no treatment for night-time cough in children aged between two and 47 months old.
Agave nectar and placebo both provided more relief from cough symptoms than no treatment, but there was no difference in relief between agave nectar and placebo.
It's possible that as parents were assessing their children’s symptoms, this study could be an example of the placebo effect. That is, parents who thought that they were giving their child some syrup, rather than giving nothing, felt that it helped their child’s symptoms. Equally, it is possible that giving som...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 28, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Pregnancy/child Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Seed Pesto Recall: Possible Botulism Toxin
No contamination has been detected and no illnesses have been reported. But the company manufacturing the product for the gourmet food chain has issued the recall because of potential contamination due to improper processing. (Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - October 14, 2014 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: David Kroll Source Type: news
8 common child health myths busted
Meaghan O’Keeffe, RN, BSN, is a mother, writer and nurse. She worked at Boston Children’s Hospital for nearly a decade, in both the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Pre-op Clinic. She is a regular contributor to Thriving.
From fever to flu to vaccines and enterovirus, there’s so much health information out there. It’s difficult to separate fact from fiction. Some commonly circulating health myths might confuse even the most well-intentioned parent. Sort out the truth from the myth, and you’re on your way to making the best, informed health care decisions for your child.
Myth: Kids don’t need the flu vaccin...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 6, 2014 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Meaghan O'Keeffe Tags: All posts health myths Meaghan O'Keefe Source Type: news
Giving botox a safer facelift: Structures of botulinum neurotoxins studied
New insights into botulinum neurotoxins and their interactions with cells are moving scientists ever closer to safer forms of Botox and a better understanding of the dangerous disease known as botulism. By comparing all known structures of botulinum neurotoxins, researchers suggest new ways to improve the safety and efficacy of Botox injections. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - October 1, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Uneviscerated Dried Roach And Botulism
No, it's not an insect. But "uneviscerated" is indeed what you think it means. (Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - September 19, 2014 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: David Kroll Source Type: news
Efficacy of new gene therapy approach for toxin exposures shown in mouse study
Gene therapy may offer significant advantages in prevention and treatment of botulism exposure over current methods, new research shows. "We envision this treatment approach having a broad range of applications such as protecting military personnel from biothreat agents or protecting the public from other toxin-mediated diseases such as C. difficile and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections," said the lead researcher. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - August 29, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Mice study shows efficacy of new gene therapy approach for toxin exposures
(Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus) New research led by Charles Shoemaker, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, shows that gene therapy may offer significant advantages in prevention and treatment of botulism exposure over current methods. The findings of the National Institutes of Health funded study appear in the Aug. 29 issue of PLOS ONE. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - August 29, 2014 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Botulism from jailhouse wine
In a case series seemingly tailor-made for cinematic tragedy or farce, emergency physicians report severe botulism poisoning from a batch of potato-based "wine" (also known as pruno) cooked up in a Utah prison. The study was published online in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("Emergency Department Identification and Critical Care Management of a Utah Prison Botulism Outbreak")*"Evidently the incorporation of an old baked potato in the pruno recipe allowed botulism to develop," said Megan Fix, MD, of the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - December 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Public Health Source Type: news
Eight cases of botulism from home-made prison hooch
Clostridium botulinum
4 out of 5 stars
Emergency Department Identification and Critical Care Management of a Utah Prison Botulism Outbreak. Williams BT et al. Ann Emerg Med 2013 Dec 12 [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
Pruno (aka “hooch” or “white lightning”) is a home-brewed alcoholic beverage made by prisoners out of readily available ingredients. Typically, some combination of fruits. water, sugar, and bread are enclosed in an airtight plastic bag and allowed to ferment for several weeks. The resulting concoction has been described as tasting like “vomit-flavored wine-cooler.”
This...
Source: The Poison Review - December 17, 2013 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical botulism hooch prison pruno utah Source Type: news
Jailhouse wine is not as delicious as it sounds, could be deadly
(American College of Emergency Physicians) In a case series seemingly tailor-made for cinematic tragedy or farce, emergency physicians report severe botulism poisoning from a batch of potato-based "wine" (also known as pruno) cooked up in a Utah prison. The study was published online Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine: "Emergency Department Identification and Critical Care Management of a Utah Prison Botulism Outbreak." (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 13, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
What Causes Muscle Weakness?
Discussion
Muscle tone is the slight tension that is felt in a muscle when it is voluntarily relaxed. It can be assessed by asking the patient to relax and then taking the muscles through a range of motion such as moving the wrists, forearm and upper arm. Muscle strength is the muscle’s force against active resistance. Impaired strength is called weakness or paresis. There are 5 levels of muscle strength.
0 = No muscle contraction detected
1 = Barely detected flicker of contraction
2 = Active movement with gravity eliminated
3 = Active movement against gravity
4 = Active movement against gravity and some resistance
...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - December 9, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Great lakes waterfowl die-offs: Finding the source
(American Institute of Physics) A deadly menace stalks the loons, gulls and other water birds of the Great Lakes region: Type E botulism. Cases of the disease are on the rise, and to understand die-off origin and distribution, ocean engineers from Florida Atlantic University are using their expertise in experimental hydrodynamics. They have teamed with the US Geological Survey to help develop a novel way of tracking waterfowl carcasses to determine the source of lethal outbreaks. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - November 24, 2013 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Study reveals structure of 'gateway' compound in lethal food-borne toxin
U.S. and German scientists have decoded a key molecular gateway for the toxin that causes botulism, pointing the way to treatments that can keep the food-borne poison out of the bloodstream. Study leaders Rongsheng Jin, associate professor of physiology & biophysics at UC Irvine, and Andreas Rummel of the Institute for Toxicology at Germany's Hannover Medical School created a three-dimensional crystal model of a complex protein compound in the botulinum neurotoxin. This compound binds to the inner lining of the small intestine and allows passage of the toxin into the bloodstream... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - October 15, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Source Type: news
UC Irvine scientists help identify possible botulism blocker
(University of California - Irvine) US and German scientists have decoded a key molecular gateway for the toxin that causes botulism, pointing the way to treatments that can keep the food-borne poison out of the bloodstream. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - October 11, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
