![[FDA Home Page]](/graphics/navigationbuttons/iconhome.gif){kind=small}
![[Table of Contents]](/icon/toc.gif){kind=icon}
![[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]](/graphics/header.gif){kind=small}
The Notebook: a potpourri of items of interest gathered from FDA news releases, other news sources, and the Federal Register (designated FR, with date of publication). The Federal Register is available in many public libraries. It is also available electronically through GPO Access at the Government Printing Office.
Nicotine poisoning in children can result from exposure to nicotine patches, which may retain up to 74 percent of nicotine after use, according to a study at Harvard Medical School and several other medical centers. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning include vomiting, nausea, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Study authors advise parents to store new patches in a locked cabinet and to dispose of used ones right away. If a child is exposed to a patch, even briefly, remove the patch immediately, wash the skin, and call a local poison center. ("Pediatrics electronic pages," May 1997, at http://www.pediatrics.org/)
AIDS deaths have declined for the first time since the epidemic began, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the first six months of 1996, AIDS deaths dropped 13 percent compared with the first six months of 1995. CDC says the decline is likely due to improved treatments and prevention efforts.
Overweight affects about 14 percent of children ages 6 to 11, 12 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17, and 35 percent of adults age 20 and over, according to the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by CDC from 1988 to 1994. This represents significant increases in all age groups since the second NHANES, from 1976 to 1980. A surgeon general's report on physical activity and health is available by calling toll-free (1-888) CDC-4NRG or visiting http://www.cdc.gov/ on the World Wide Web. The USDA/DHHS "Dietary Guidelines" are available for 50 cents from the Consumer Information Center, Dept. 378-C, Pueblo, CO 81009, or can be obtained free from http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/ on the Web.
Whether prostate cancer will be fast- or slow-growing may be predicted by how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) behaves in a man's blood, according to researchers at the National Institute on Aging and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This information can help physicians decide which treatment--"watchful waiting," surgery, or radiation--is best for prostate cancers diagnosed in early stages. (Urology, March 1997)
Patients with moderate-to-severe asthma can greatly reduce their risk of hospitalization by using inhaled steroids, especially if they also use bronchodilators, according to a study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Researchers found a 50 percent reduced hospitalization risk in those using inhaled steroids, and a 70 percent reduced risk in those using the steroids and more than eight bronchodilator prescriptions a year. (Journal of the American Medical Association, March 19)
Estrogen use may help older women avoid dry skin and wrinkling, according to research at the University of California at San Francisco involving 3,875 postmenopausal women ages 40 to 74. The researchers found a 25 to 30 percent lower incidence of skin problems associated with aging in women who used noncontraceptive estrogen. (Archives of Dermatology, March 1997)
Companies using the term "healthy" on food labels will not have to adhere to earlier published standards for sodium reduction until January 2000, according to an FDA final rule. The agency postponed the standards, which were to take effect January 1998, to provide time to review issues raised in a citizen's petition, such as a lack of consumer acceptance of low-sodium foods and a lack of acceptable sodium substitutes. The agency also plans to seek additional comment on the petition. (FR April 1)
Information about proper prenatal care from the Health Resources and Services Administration is now as close as your telephone. Call toll-free (1-800) 311-2229 (English), or (1-800) 504-7081 (Spanish).
U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal programs can now use yogurt as a meat alternative, according to a final rule. Four ounces of yogurt can substitute for one ounce of meat in breakfast, lunch or dinner in the programs. (FR March 6)
FDA Consumer magazine (July-August 1997)