Geraldine Ferraro Dies of Multiple Myeloma - What is This Blood Cancer?

CT scan of the head of a man with multiple myeloma. There is a lesion in the left temporal bone (red arrows) consistent with multiple myeloma. Green arrows show a normal facial nerve canal. Photo: radpod.org

Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be U.S. vice presidential candidate for a major party, died March 27th of complications from multiple myeloma, a type of incurable blood cancer. If you haven't heard of multiple myeloma, you're not alone: many news reports have simply said that Ferraro died of blood cancer without specifying the specific disorder. If she had died of leukemia, the most common cancer of the blood, they certainly would have mentioned it because that's a disease most people are familiar with.

Although multiple myeloma is not as well known as leukemia, it starts in the same place: plasma cells, which become white blood cells. In multiple myeloma abnormal plasma cells form and multiply, accumulating in the bone marrow and crowding out normal cells. The myeloma may collect in the marrow of a number of different bones, which is what the "multiple" part of the disease's name means. In addition, myeloma cells may collect in organs of the body.

Geraldine Ferraro, who was 75, died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she was receiving treatment. She was Walter Mondale's vice presidential nominee in 1984, and had suffered from multiple myeloma for 12 years. She was involved in campaigning for greater funding and new treatments for the disease, and was an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). Before being named VP candidate, Ferraro had been a member of the U.S. Congress from New York City and had served as a criminal prosecutor in Queens.

Find out more about multiple myeloma at the Medicine.net article here or at MayoClinic.org (both written for the lay reader).

Alli and Xenical: Risk for Liver Damage?

The FDA is investigating whether the weight-loss drug orlical may be causing liver damage. The only medication approved by the FDA for weight loss, orlical is sold as the over-the-counter drug Alli and as the prescription drug Xenical. An article from the Associated Press says that the agency announced yesterday that it had received 30 reports of patients with liver damage from taking Alli and Xenical.

According to an FDA statement (link below), "Between 1999 and October 2008, 32 reports of serious liver injury, including 6 cases of liver failure, in patients using orlistat were submitted to FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System. Thirty of the 32 reports occurred outside the United States. The most commonly reported adverse events described in the 32 reports of serious liver injury were jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes), weakness, and abdominal pain. Hospitalization was reported in 27 of the 32 cases." It says that it is continuing to analyze the data.

The FDA has said that it hasn't found a definitive association between orlistat and liver injury, and recommends that users of the drug keep using it. The agency advises patients to consult their doctor if they experience any of the possible signs of liver injury or damage, such as:

• weakness or fatigue
  
• fever
  
• jaundice
  
• brown urine
  
• nausea or vomiting
  
• abdominal pain

You can read the FDA's statement about Xenical, Alli, and orlistat here. The FDA approved Xenical in 1999; Alli gained approval in 2007. Xenical contains 120mg of orlistat, while Alli has 60mg.

You can find out more about Xenical at the Drugs.com profile page or at the manufacturer's Web site, www.xenical.com.

Klinefelter Syndrome: Men with an Extra X Chromosome

In normal male development, there is one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. But in the rare disorder called Klinefelter syndrome, patients have an extra X chromosome or part of one in most cells of the body (which is why the disorder is also called XXY condition).

Persons with Klinefelter syndrome produce less testosterone and may have more feminized physical features such as smaller testicles and less facial and body hair than other males, as well as breast enlargement. Persons may also suffer from infertility. (Ironically, though, some children and adults with the disorder may be taller than their counterparts of the same age, according to a Klinefelter syndrome article from the Genetics Home Reference.)

Unfortunately for Klinefelter sufferers, the disorder has more than just these physical symptoms. Boys with Klinefelter syndrome may also have problems with speech and language development, and may have learning disabilities.

You can find more information on Klinefelter syndrome at the government's Medline online medical encyclopedia, which gives a good lay overview.

For details on clinical research being done on Klinefelter syndrome, the National Human Genome Research Institute has an overview with links to research studies and additional resources.

CDC Provides Updates on Swine Flu Cases, Precautions, and More

Swine flu cases in the United States are limited in severity, but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still making sure that the public is informed with the latest information.

The CDC's Swine Flu Web site is updated frequently throughout the day, including information on:
* Key facts on swine flu
* Symptoms of swine flu
* Antiviral drugs and swine flu
* Number of swine flu cases in the U.S. currently known
* What you can do to stay healthy
* Travel notices related to swine flu
* Guidelines for health professional, reports and publications on swine flu, and press briefings

The CDC notes that the swine virus, influenza A (H1N1), is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir (brand name: Tamiflu) and zanamivir (brand name: Relenza).

The CDC is using social media to get the word out, and has an account on Twitter (@CDCemergency) that you can follow to get the latest information, including links to the latest bulletins.

The American public radio show The Takeaway has a handy swine flu Q&A, which also answers questions such as the difference between a pandemic vs. an epidemic, etc.

As of Monday, April 27th the U.S. Government is suggesting that Americans avoid travel to Mexico, where the swine flu has infected more people and has caused a number of deaths.

Health News: Finding Good Health Care in Bad Times

Many Americans were having problems affording good health care even before the recent recession and wave of layoffs began. The economic downturn has only made things worse. The Wall Street Journal has two articles on finding good health care in hard times.

One story looks at how a family's health care support system unraveled in the recession. The family's children have a rare bone-marrow disorder and relied on donations to meet the costs insurance didn't cover. But the economic downturn has greatly reduced the donations; contributions to their former church's medical care fund are down, and a fundraiser held to gain contributions has yielded less money this year than last.

On a more positive note, there's an article explaining how some new online services have arisen to provide basic medical consults in an easy, low-cost manner. Patients can interact with doctors in a variety of ways (online video, text chat, or phone), and the fees can be as low as $10 for a 10-minute consult. Other services charge a monthly fee and then a per-consult fee. This article looks at some of the companies now offering these services, and notes their pluses and minuses.

How Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Stays in Great Shape

With the surprise pick of Sarah Palin as the Republican VP candidate, people are buzzing about her policy stands, political strengths and weaknesses, and the like. But I have a feeling that upon seeing photos of the Alaska governor today for the first time, many Americans are asking themselves another question, too: "How does someone in her 40s who has had 5 kids stay in such great shape?" And since this is a health blog, we're more interested in the health and fitness issues than the political ones anyway.

As it so happens, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Sarah Palin about her unusual fitness routine and workout regimen for the premiere issue of its new WSJ Magazine.

While you might not eat mooseburgers or caribou meat as Governor Palin does, you may learn something from her experiences about how a very busy person manages to keep fit and healthy.

Ten at Iona College Contract MRSA Staph Infections

Stories of the spread of MRSA and other staph infections have been popping up a lot in the last couple of weeks, and yesterday brought more news.

Health officials said Friday that nine athletes and a coach in suburban Westchester County, just north of New York City, have contracted MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection that has been called a potential "superbug" infection.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a strain of staph infection that does not respond to most common antibiotics, but can be treated with other drugs.

The athletes and coach are at Iona College, located in New Rochelle, and the Westchester health commissioner has reported that the outbreak is under control and that the only student who was hospitalized has been released. The Iona cases were said to be "mild" and to have been caught early.

New Health Blog at NY Times Has a Familiar Face

I was pleased to see that the New York Times was starting a new health blog called Well. When I clicked on the link to the blog, I had a pleasant surprise: the editor of the blog is none other than Tara Parker-Pope, a health writer whose for the Wall Street Journal I've been reading for several years.

Parker-Pope wrote about all kinds of topics in health and wellness for the Journal in an engaging and easy-to-understand style, and I'm sure that's why the Times has hired her. I look forward to reading Well and continuing to keep up with Tara Parker-Pope's writings.

Chewing Gum is Health Food

Chewing gum as a health food? Apparently so... USA Today has reported that the Wrigley company has convinced the American Dental Association that chewing gum (the sugarless variety, of course) can help fight cavities. And so Wrigley's sugar-free Orbit, Extra, and Eclipse gums will receive the much-desired ADA seal (the same one that appears on toothpaste, I'd assume).

Apparently studies conducted by Wrigley have shown that gum chewing can help reduce cavities by strengthening gums and stimulating extra saliva, which helps to reduce acids that can cause plaque.

Wrigley's products are the first chewing gums to get the seal, which notes its role in providing benefits to oral health.

Besides the inherent controversy over one manufacturer convincing the ADA to award its seal, it's been noted that the ADA charges fees to defray the cost of the ADA seal program. Wrigley has paid $12,000 for each of the three gums to submit them to the ADA for consideration, and the company will also pay a $2,500 yearly "maintenance" fee to use the seal.