Traveling Patch

From WebMD:

Researchers have developed a skin patch that prevents the curse of many trips abroad: travelers’ diarrhea.

In a study of more than 150 travelers to Mexico and Guatemala, the novel vaccine cut the risk of moderate to severe diarrhea by 75%. Those who did get sick had a shorter, milder course of illness, says researcher Herbert DuPont, MD, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston.

The patch releases a low level of the toxins of E. coli that causes Traveler's diarrhea. This stimulates the immune system of the patient. Then, when they are infected by the bacteria, they already have some preformed antibody which is protective. Neat, huh?

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So Why Bring It Up?

The popular heartburn drugs Prilosec and Nexium do not appear to spur heart problems, according to preliminary U.S. and Canadian probes announced yesterday.

The Food and Drug Administration and its Canadian counterpart, Health Canada, began reviewing the drugs, used by tens of millions of people, in May, when manufacturer AstraZeneca provided them an early analysis of two small studies that suggested the possibility of a risk.

More.

All of this excitement about today's purple pill.

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Noncardiac Chest Pain

From Science Daily:

The discomfort caused by esophageal (non-cardiac) chest pain is often severe, driving many patients to emergency rooms and physicians’ offices despite the fact that the ailment has no definable pathology. Although this pain may sometimes be the result of acid reflux disease, when this is absent most patients present hypersensitivity of the esophagus, and a recent study suggests a potential new way of managing this and other symptoms.

We say: See, not all chest pain needs a cath and a stent.

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Hi Def Colonoscopy

From Japan's Corporate News:

Pentax will release its new 'I' series endoscopic system compatible with megapixel images, for the U.S. market, developed to meet the needs of the medical field for high quality, high resolution and multi-functional instruments.

The new system consists of the '90i' video scope with a megapixel CCD in the image sensor and the 'EPK-I' light source processor equipped with advance image processing capabilities.

We say: Better resolution, whether for the Super Bowl, or to see the details of the colon better, is always a good thing.

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