TC Online -- Volume 1, Issue 43 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTENTS - Wednesday, January 10, 2001 ** INTRODUCTION ** SITE OF THE WEEK ** HOT NEWS - The latest health-care news ** UPDATE - Chiropractic news ** RESEARCH - Research and other interesting findings ** THE OTHER SIDE - Medical sites and other sources _______________________________________ INTRODUCTION Welcome to the 43rd issue of TC Online, a weekly E-newsletter for those interested in chiropractic and alternative health care news. As always, please distribute this to friends, discussion lists and other groups as long as the entire issue is included. For easy viewing, check out this issue online at: http://www.todayschiropractic.com/news.htm Best Regards, Pattie Stechschulte Associate Editor/Webmaster _______________________________________ SITE OF THE WEEK THE PATIENT¼S GUIDE There are approximately 20,000 medical sites you can browse, as well as condition specific sites, organizations, newsgroups, and mailing lists. So, where to begin? Here's a step-by-step guide to locating and researching medical conditions on the Internet. This site has helpful links to support groups, reference sites, informational databases along with an online newsletter. ______________________________________ HOT NEWS ACA BRINGS BATTLE WITH TRIGON/BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD INTO COURTROOM The American Chiropractic Association brought its landmark case against Trigon Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the national Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association into federal district court in Abingdon, VA on December 20. Led by attorney George McAndrews, the ACA legal team vigorously argued against separate motions to dismiss the case filed by Trigon and the national Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association. The legal team also argued that the federal district court in Abingdon is the proper venue in which to hold the trial, a point that Trigon and the national Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association dispute. The national Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association claims that it does no business in the district nor does it have any contacts in the district. STUDY TO TEST RITALIN ON THE CHILDREN Under pressure from parents and schools looking to control attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), doctors commonly prescribe methylphenidate (MPH), best known by the brand name Ritalin, as a treatment for children as young as 2 -- even though the drug has been tested and approved only for children ages 6 and up. A report published early last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Julie Zito, an epidemiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, estimates that some 150,000 to 200,000 children between the ages of 2 and 4 in the United States are currently receiving prescriptions for MPH. LET PARENTS SAY WHAT VACCINES VITAL FOR THEIR KIDS On several occasions in recent years, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and others have asked parents to have their children vaccinated against hepatitis B, chickenpox and other diseases. Some physicians are concerned that parents aren't getting the complete story about the pros and cons of these vaccines. In fact, parents may be putting their children at great risk if they follow government vaccine mandates without taking into consideration the individual medical needs of their children. NEW GUIDELINES RELEASED ON VITAMIN, MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine has set an upper limit for how much vitamin A is safe. Several nutritional supplements sold over the Internet or in retail outlets contain 25,000 international units (IU) of vitamin A, but the new report says people should not consume more than 10,000 IU or 3,000 micrograms of vitamin A each day. Too much of the vitamin can lead to liver and nerve damage, bone and joint pain, bone loss and birth defects. _______________________________________ UPDATE CLAIM SOLUTIONS WORK GROUP MEETING TO OFFER FORUM FOR INSURERS, CHIROPRACTIC LEADERS The American Chiropractic Association is inviting insurance leaders across the country to a national meeting to discuss the challenges around medical review in soft tissue injury claims - a common injury most often treated by doctors of chiropractic. Known as the Claim Solutions Work Group, the forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to tackle concerns around medical review activities from both the insurance and chiropractic perspectives. CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR INFANTS WITH DYSFUNCTIONAL NURSING: A CASE SERIES The first case involves an 8-week-old girl unable to maintain suction while breastfeeding since birth. She was diagnosed by a chiropractor with cranial subluxations. The second infant, a 4-week- old boy, had been unable to suckle effectively since birth. He was diagnosed with spinal and cranial subluxations. COMBINE STRENGTH TRAINING WITH CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS Several studies have examined the relationship between chiropractic adjustments and muscular strength. Smith and Cox recently reviewed research investigations regarding strength and chiropractic care. These studies have shown improvement of strength in athletes, young subjects, males and females, and those with or without symptoms. We cannot each be as massive as the famous body builders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger (nor would a lot of us care to be), but nearly everyone can improve strength. Most athletes today include strength and power training as important components of their complete training programs. In fact, resistance training is now recognized as important for non-athletes who seek the health-related benefits of exercise. _______________________________________ RESEARCH PARENTS SHAPE BODY IMAGE, SELF-ESTEEM OF CHILDREN According to two studies in the January issue of Pediatrics, the media is not the only influence on the eating habits of today's youth. Parents may play a more significant role than both the media and peers in the way young children view themselves and their bodies, researchers report. VEGETARIANS TOLD TO INCREASE INTAKE OF VITAMIN A Strict vegetarians should consider increasing the amount of dark- colored vegetables in their diets in order to avoid deficiencies in vitamin A and iron, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Tuesday that adjusts recommended levels of vitamin A and several other nutrients. The Institute of Medicine panel issuing the report announced that vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and sweet potatoes, usually relied upon to provide vitamin A, only deliver to the body half the amount of usable nutrient as previously thought. Vitamin A deficiency is not usually a concern in developed countries because the vitamin is abundant in dairy products, fish and liver. PREGNANCY SUPERFOODS REVEALED The guide, published by Tommy's Campaign which funds research into problems in pregnancy, aims to answer women's questions about what they should and should not eat when they are expecting. And it also gives tips on how mums-to-be should balance their diet, whether they should take vitamin supplements, what to avoid, and key hygiene tips. The booklet also advises women on how to avoid potentially dangerous infections such as listeria, salmonella and toxoplasmosis, which can damage the unborn baby. FEDERAL STUDY OF DIETS CONCLUDES: EAT LESS A study out Wednesday from the federal government concludes that both kinds of popular diets work -- at least in the short-term -- not because they have any special secrets, but simply because both types of diets force you to eat fewer calories. "The main thing in weight loss is calories in versus calories out," said Judith Stern, professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California-Davis, who reviewed the report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ______________________________________ THE OTHER SIDE 70 PERCENT OF ALL ANTIBIOTICS GIVEN TO HEALTHY LIVESTOCK Excessive use of antibiotics by meat producers, 8 times more than in human medicine, contributes to alarming increase in antibiotic resistance. Every year in the United States 25 million pounds of valuable antibiotics -- roughly 70 percent of total US antibiotic production -- are fed to chickens, pigs, and cows for non- therapeutic purposes like growth promotion, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. This finding -- 40 percent greater than the estimate of the livestock industry for all animal uses -- is the first transparent estimate of the quantities of antibiotics used in meat production. UK STUDY SAYS ONE-THIRD OF HOSPITALS ARE „FILTHY¾ One in three hospitals have failed basic cleanliness checks in the first national audit of hygiene on the wards. According to industry magazine Health Service Journal, a snap survey of 700 hospital buildings revealed that 250 were given the lowest grade for basic sanitation. Patient groups have been campaigning for better conditions - around 5,000 patients die each year from infections caught in hospital and another 10,000 get ill on the wards. It is thought to cost the NHS of £1 billion a year (ABOUT $1.6 BILLION US). CLINTON UNVEILS FINAL RULES ON PRIVACY OF MEDICAL RECORDS Final rules governing the privacy of medical records were viewed by some as a holiday gift worth keeping, while others contemplated asking the Bush administration and Congress for a refund. The final rules are broader in scope than were regulations proposed last fall. They go beyond protecting electronically transmitted information to include written and oral communication, and they require patient consent before information can be shared for such routine purposes as treatment and billing. The rules take effect in two years for most covered entities, which include physicians and other health care providers, hospitals, health plans and health care clearinghouses.