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Notebook

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.

Women who are obese or who gain more than 44 pounds after age 18 are about 2 1/2 times more likely to suffer the most common type of stroke than lean women whose weight remains fairly steady, according to research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston. (Journal of the American Medical Association, May 21)

Free consumer publications about childhood immunizations are available from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For single copies of Guide to Contraindications for Childhood Vaccinations, Standards for Pediatric Immunization Practices, or Vaccine Information Sheets, write to the National Immunization Program, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mail Stop E34, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Edible vaccines contained in bananas? Genetically altered bananas that can incorporate a desired vaccine may be reality in the near future, say scientists who are developing such products. Bananas are ideal for this use, the scientists say, because they are grown in almost all tropical and subtropical developing countries (where vaccines are badly needed) and are eaten widely by infants and children. See The Jordan Report, available free from Philip J. Baker, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Disease, NIH, Solar Building, Room 3A05, MS 7630, Bethesda, MD 20892-7630.

Water balloons launched by slingshots can pose "a serious threat to vision" and inflict life-threatening injuries, according to a study at Wright State University School of Medicine, in Dayton, Ohio. In one experiment, a balloon launched at a watermelon 20 feet away caused the watermelon to explode on impact. Study authors said the maximum kinetic energy of these balloons is comparable to "a variety of objects well known to cause serious [eye] injury, including some rifle bullets." (Ophthalmology, May 1997)

FDA is extending to Oct. 6 the comment period for its proposal to improve labeling on over-the-counter drugs. Submit written comments to the Dockets Management Branch, HFA-305, FDA, 12420 Parklawn Drive, Room 1-23, Rockville, MD 20857. (FR June 19)

Asthma among children in U.S. inner-city areas is partly linked to cockroach allergy. Researchers in a study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report that reducing exposure to cockroaches through patient education, roach traps, and child-safe insecticides "may be a cost-effective way of reducing the burden of this serious disease." (The New England Journal of Medicine, May 8)

Medhaden oil is generally recognized as safe as a food ingredient with specific limitations, under an FDA final rule. The fish-derived oil may be used in cakes, fruit pies, cookies, cereals, breads, and other foods--but only in concentrations specified in the rule. (FR June 5)

Oral potassium intake can significantly reduce blood pressure, report researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, in Baltimore. The researchers combined results of 33 previous trials with data on 2,609 participants in a study where potassium supplementation was the only difference between intervention and control conditions. They concluded that even a small amount of potassium intake may help delay high blood pressure. (JAMA, May 28)

MEDLINE, the world's largest source of published medical information, is now available free on the National Library of Medicine's World Wide Web site at www.nlm.nih.gov

Children risk strangulation from cords that control venetian blinds and other window treatments. Officials at the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Oregon Health Sciences University report 183 fatal window-cord strangulations between 1981 and 1995. Ninety-nine percent of victims were 3 or younger. Suggested preventive measures include using tie-down devices and moving cribs or beds away from windows with the cords. (JAMA June 4)

FDA Consumer magazine (September-October 1997)

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