TC Online -- Volume 1, Issue 66 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTENTS - Wednesday, June 27, 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 66th 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. Best Regards, Pattie Stechschulte Associate Editor/Webmaster _______________________________________ SITE OF THE WEEK HEALTHSCOUT The site is a leading Internet provider of health-life services, including consumer health information and tools for consumers. With the implementation of HealthScout¼s recent agreement with InfoSpace, nearly 6 million people at more than 3,000 Web sites will have access each month to the company¼s products, including personalized health news and information from the HealthScout Web site. ______________________________________ HOT NEWS STUDY FINDS HIGHER RATES OF AUTISM New research provides more evidence that autism and related disorders in children may be more common than previously thought. However, the scientists said they do not know if their results mean that the mental condition is on the rise, or that autism is simply better understood today, with parents getting better at recognizing it and doctors more skilled at diagnosing it. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT Gaining weight can be a natural, largely unavoidable part of the aging process. Bettye Nowlin, registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, explains, "As people get older they are less active and their metabolism slows down. If they haven't changed the way they eat, they will gain weight as they get older." Nowlin says she believes that weight management can be important to aging well. "Today, being 70 is not as old as it used to be," she says. PHYSICIANS WIN BIG IN STATES OVER SCOPE-OF-PRACTICE ISSUES Cooperation between national, state and specialty medical societies paid off this year as dozens of scope-of-practice bills were defeated. The 2001 state legislative sessions proved a banner year for physicians as they defeated a slew of scope-of-practice bills that sought to give additional independent practice rights to advanced-practice nurses, expand optometrist prescribing and surgery rights and enable psychologists to prescribe medications. _______________________________________ UPDATE CANADA'S FIRST CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH CHAIR After a stringent peer review, Canada's first chiropractic research chair was awarded to Greg Kawchuk, D.C., Ph.D., at the University of Calgary. As the first research position in Canada specifically devoted to chiropractic research supported directly by the federal government, it was presented according to guidelines established by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Chiropractic Association, the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation and the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research. DELPP WORKSHOP SCHEDULED FOR MID-JULY A peak performance and wellness program has been developed for athletes, coaches, corporate leaders, health care professionals, military and government personnel offered by Life University faculty and staff through the International Sports Training Institute. The program will feature goal setting, nutrition, physical fitness, psychological empowerment, spinal hygiene, and physiological concepts. A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR GERALD BRASSARD, D.C. Dr. Gerald M. Brassard, who served faithfully as president, executive vice president, and director of governmental affairs for the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), passed away on June 14 in Beaumont, Texas at the age of 79. Dr. Brassard graduated in 1949 from the Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Iowa, and settled in Beaumont, Texas upon completion of his studies and postgraduate schooling. He established the Brassard Chiropractic Clinic, which is now operated by his son, Dr. Richard G. Brassard, ACA's Council of Delegates vice president and delegate for Texas. PALMER ADVENTURE RACER TO COMPETE IN ECO-CHALLENGE Adventure racer Dr. Jeremy Rodgers, Palmer College radiology resident, will be competing in the 2001 Eco-Challenge in New Zealand this October. There will be 75 international teams with four competitors each trekking 500 kilometers of the New Zealand Southern Alps on foot, mountain bike, horseback, ropes, kayaks and whitewater packrafts. Their only source of navigation will be a map and a compass. _______________________________________ RESEARCH FEWER BRAIN, SPINAL DEFECTS AFTER FOODS FORTIFIED The United States has seen a 19 percent drop in the number of children born with certain spinal and brain defects since the government began requiring that folic acid be added to flour and other grains, a study found. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the 1998 requirement that foods be fortified with the vitamin clearly played an important role. INFECTION IS LINKED TO SCIATICA Bacterial inflammation could cause pain. A chronic, low-grade infection could be to blame in some cases of sciatica, a British study suggests. Hidden infections were found in a large percentage of patients with the persistent pain that originates in the sciatic nerve, the primary nerve of the leg and the largest nerve in the body. STUDY SAYS PEANUT BUTTER WAS SMEARED A new government study confirms once and for all that the once- maligned sandwich spread contains no trans fats. And we're not just talking homemade here; we're talking Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan and Reese's. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service just finished thoroughly testing 11 brands of peanut butter, major store brands and "natural" brands alike. They also tested plain peanut paste. After all the samples were put through chemical analysis, researchers couldn't find detectable levels of trans fats. ______________________________________ THE OTHER SIDE CAUGHT ON TAPE: DOCS LEARN TO PAD BILLS Intensifying a crackdown on health care fraud, congressional investigators are targeting a cottage industry suspected of coaching doctors to boost income by overcharging federal and private health insurers. Secret audiotapes to be played at a Senate Finance Committee hearing today depict consultants at three seminars advising doctors on techniques to circumvent health insurance regulations. Investigators suspect the sessions, held in the Washington area since July, are symptomatic of a growing problem. INSURANCE COMPANIES GET STRICTER ON CLINICAL TRIALS In preparation for what the insurance industry believes will be a marked increase in the number of lawsuits filed by subjects in drug and device trials over the next few years, underwriters are tightening up their requirements for companies seeking coverage of clinical trials, Chubb Insurance Life Sciences Casualty Manager Jill Wadlund said during an interview with Reuters Health. RETIRED VOLUNTEER DOCTORS, DENTISTS AND NURSES CREATE A 'CULTURE OF CARING' The Volunteers In Medicine Institute announced today it will be expanding nationwide clinic services for the medically underserved with the help of a grant from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of TYLENOL(R) brand products. The grant will help VIMI assist other communities in establishing 12 to 15 free medical clinics over the next three years.