Italian researchers reported on Tuesday that virtual colonoscopies performed with computed tomography scans might be a viable alternative to traditional, invasive methods that use a tiny camera threaded through the colon.

ACSH staffers are doubly impressed with the FDA today. Regulators have advised parents to continue medicating their children for ADHD despite the risk of sudden death suggested by a study that used questionable methods.
This is a legitimate benefit-risk analysis by the FDA, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. The study [to which they are reacting] used dubious methods and argued from inconclusive data. The FDA should be applauded for saying that this is not a cause and effect study and parents should not change their children s drug regimen.

Duff Wilson reports in today s New York Times that advertising restrictions imposed on tobacco companies by the latest FDA regulation law are likely to be challenged as infringements on free speech. ACSH staffers noticed one particular defense of the law, made by Matthew L. Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the group that teamed up with Altria to draft the legislation: In this case, great care was taken to permit black-and-white text advertising that permits them to communicate whatever truthful information they have.

The Wall Street Journal published an article yesterday examining the latest trend of fortifying foods with extra nutrients. The article quotes ACSH advisor Dr. Adam Drewnowski, a nutrition professor at the University of Washington, who points out that the issue isn t so much whether these calorie-dense functional foods work, but how individuals perceive them: The trend is so new, we re waiting on this data, but because people assume their nutritional needs have been met, there s a chance they ll make poorer choices for the rest of their meal.

At their annual meeting in Chicago on Monday, the American Medical Association echoed ACSH staffers assessment that there's no scientific evidence to justify the claims of anti-aging hormones, including the so-called bio-identicals touted by celebrity non-expert Suzanne Sommers.
This is a good thing for the AMA to recognize, says ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava. I just hope it has an effect on public perception. These hormones are not just ineffective for their touted purpose, they can also be dangerous when used without medical direction.

Some scientists have expressed doubt about the conventional wisdom that moderate alcohol consumption can provide health benefits. They think there s a healthy-person confounder in these epidemiological studies, explains ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. In other words, it s difficult to distinguish the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption from those of other healthy practices when you re dealing with people who have good health habits in general.

Hallie Levine Sklar of Self has successfully followed the formula for writing yet another article that connects economic distress with unhealthy eating habits. Her list of dejected stress-eaters yields this quote, which ACSH staffers found interesting: I m buying whatever organic food is on sale, whether it s healthy or not...Last night I was making macaroni and cheese, thinking, am I so broke that I m really eating this?

Dr. Henry Miller of ACSH s Board of Trustees and Stanford University's Hoover Institution is a molecular biologist and former flu researcher who argues in the Washington Times that the swine flu pandemic was labeled as such too readily. He writes, [WHO s] official declaration of a pandemic...illustrates that WHO's fundamental paradigm is flawed: A warning system based solely on how widely a virus has spread and not considering the nature of the illness it causes is prone to false positives.

Ethiopian geneticist Gebisa Ejeta of Purdue University was honored with the 2009 World Food Prize for developing strains of sorghum that are resistant to drought and the parasitic weed Striga. The prize was established in 1986 by agronomist and ACSH founding trustee Dr. Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his production of a high-yield variety of wheat, which marked the beginning of the Green Revolution and has saved some 1 billion lives to date.

According to an Associated Press article on Friday, After fifteen months of investigation, the Food and Drug Administration said Merck & Co. Inc., AstraZeneca, and Cornerstone Therapeutics will have to raise label warnings about psychiatric problems reported by a handful of patients taking their [asthma] drugs. Potential problems include depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and insomnia.