Disease and Condition

The health problems of Indigenous peoples around the world are intimately tied to a number of unique factors, such as colonization, globalization, migration, and loss of land, language and culture. These factors remain even after the "typical" social problems facing the poor, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and low education levels are addressed, according to Dr. Malcolm King, lead author of a paper to be published tomorrow in the Lancet, a prestigious UK medical journal.

The onset of beautiful summer weather brings many of us outdoors to enjoy all the abundant recreational opportunities in our area. Unfortunately, summer weather also can expose us to some of the health risks that arrive with the season. One of those risks comes in the form of the deer tick - a very small, hard to see bug that is all too common everywhere in Wisconsin. These poppy seed sized ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, which can be serious if undetected and untreated.

Following are some useful facts and advice about avoiding tick bites and Lyme disease:

There is a risk that patients who had surgery at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs and Rose Medical Center in Denver may have been exposed to hepatitis C.

Kristen Diane Parker is a former surgery technician who worked at Rose from Oct. 21, 2008 until April 13, 2009. She went to work for the Audubon surgery center shortly after being fired from Rose and worked there from May 4 until Monday June 28, 2009.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is reminding swimmers and skiers to take precautions to avoid infection from Naegleria fowleri, an ameba assumed to be present in all rivers, lakes, ponds, tanks and streams.

The ameba can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, an infection of the brain. Though PAM is rare, it is almost always fatal.

The ameba thrives in warm, stagnant water but may be present in any body of fresh water. A combination of lower water levels, high temperatures and stagnant or slow-moving water may produce higher concentrations of the ameba.

The Southern Nevada Health District reported Clark County’s first human case associated with West Nile virus for 2009. The patient, a 61-year-old woman, contracted the mild form of the illness, West Nile fever. In another component of its West Nile surveillance program, the health district’s vector control program has detected West Nile virus in a cluster of mosquitoes in the 89119 zip code.

Over the last five days, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has received reports of three children with E. coli O157:H7. To receive three laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in such a short timeframe is unusual. In two of these cases, the common food consumed was kofta (spiced ground beef) purchased on June 14 and 15 from the Westmount Halal Food Store located at 490 Wonderland Road South. The source of the third child's infection is currently unknown. This child's family also eats halal food but did not purchase any food from the Westmount Halal Food Store.

A minimally invasive procedure to treat tendonitis in the rotator cuff of the shoulder provides immediate symptom relief to the patient, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology. The study found that ultrasound-guided nonsurgical therapy significantly reduces pain from calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff and restores lasting mobility after treatment.

A 30-minute non-surgical treatment for Barrett's esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is now available at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Called HALO ablation therapy, the endoscopic procedure destroys pre-cancerous and unwanted tissue by using heat energy, known as radiofrequency ablation, to burn away the diseased cells in the esophageal lining.

Two University of Michigan studies supported by the National Institutes of Health may bridge the gap between rheumatologists and hand surgeons as they work toward the common goal of improving the quality of life for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A study appearing in the current issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reveals that one of the most common conditions caused by rheumatoid arthritis is best treated surgically, sooner rather than later.

A UCSF study for the treatment of heart failure after heart attack found that the extract derived from bone marrow cells is as effective as therapy using bone marrow stem cells for improving cardiac function, decreasing the formation of scar tissue and improving cardiac pumping capacity after heart attack.

Findings were published online and in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Molecular Therapy. The cover of the journal features a microscope image of cells from the UCSF study.