Here is yet another example of the media vastly mischaracterizing the results of a scientific study: While the data show no relationship between levels of BPA (bisphenol-A) and heart disease, a new report is actually being spun in the news under headlines that suggest the opposite, such as BPA chemical may be tied to heart disease.

Losing weight is an extremely difficult task. But a new study provides some good news for individuals struggling to lose excess weight but trying to reduce their cardiovascular risk: Keeping fit, even in the absence of losing weight, still benefits cardiovascular health.

Even as the public is becoming more aware of the risks of hospital-acquired infections, and health providers are working to improve sanitary practices to prevent disease transmission, there is still a worrying trend: Infections with C. difficile (Clostridium difficile) are actually on the rise. C. difficile is a bacterial infection that can cause severe diarrhea and even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that, over the past 10 years, the number of Americans who have been hospitalized for C.

What do healthy bones need? Calcium is most likely the first thing to come to mind. But a new study reinforces the evidence that vitamin D also plays an essential role in bone health. Researchers from the Children s Hospital Boston report that a higher level of vitamin D intake may protect girls against stress fractures.

In a move that runs contrary to the weight of scientific evidence and yields to the whims of a small number of media-savvy activists, Campbell Soup Company has announced that they will be phasing out the use of BPA (bisphenol-A) in the lining of their cans.

Recommended guidelines for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) sure have come a long way since the abrupt end of the Women s Health Initiative (WHI) trial in 2002. At that time, researchers became concerned about the increased risk of blood clots and stroke associated with the treatment. Following this trial, HRT use declined precipitously, as women and their doctors became reluctant to use this therapy.

The dangers of unregulated supplements have attracted renewed attention following the recent deaths of two U.S. soldiers who were reportedly taking an amphetamine-like substance that is marketed as a dietary supplement. Yet as ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross and Medpage Today editor Dr.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest s (CSPI) renewed war against a caramel coloring ingredient in sodas, known as 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), is making headlines again, unfortunately. (Although we do appreciate that at least Reuters had the good sense to emphasize the FDA s refutation of CSPI s latest claims.)To refresh your memory: Last year, CSPI petitioned the FDA to declare 4-MI a carcinogen and ban it from sodas.

An article in today s New York Times features a photograph of a tiny child being anesthetized before operation. It also recounts the story of a mother whose three-year-old daughter was strapped down from head to ankle to immobilize her during a procedure. These are unsettling scenes, indeed.

The folks at Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have apparently run out of poisons to scare us with because they are now recycling some oldies. Their scare du jour is called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). Yawn.
Old, like in 1951--the earliest paper I could find in which the compound was studied for toxicity in rats. The rats are most likely no longer alive, but it wasn't because of the 4-MEI. Nothing happened to them during the experiment.