Recently, it has come to the nation’s attention that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may be causing the obesity epidemic sweeping across the United States. The popularity of the last blog entry on HFCS was astounding. It seems as though everyone is searching for the truth on this sugary stuff, so I thought another posting with a little scientific proof would be helpful.

Findings in a supplemental issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition say that there is no evidence that the syrup makes you gain more weight, when compared with other sugars. However, that does not mean that is not a contributing cause. It is widely used in soft drinks and processed foods, which largely make up the typical American’s diet.
It has been established that HFCS does not make you gain more weight than any other sugar. However, evidence suggests that there is a link between this sugar and kidney disease and heart disease.. More research still needs to be done on the topics, before any definite conclusions can be made.

To read the full article on the findings, please visit the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/88/6/1716S?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=hfcs&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

To learn more about the campaign promoting HFCS, please visit:

http://www.hfcsfacts.com/

While at APHA, Ms. Cori Ofstead discovered a new branch of the CDC: the National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID). This branch partners with the Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID) and other top national and international agencies to perform research and and prevent infectious diseases.

There are 6 different branches in the NCPDCID, and they range from healthcare quality promotion to bioterrorism preparedness.

To learn more about the NCPDCID and their efforts, please check out their website.

After much time and energy, it’s official, the University of Minnesota crushed the old Guinness World Record of 3,271 flu shots with an astounding 11,538 flu shots given in 9 hours. More than 60 trained workers were on hand on October 28 to administer the shots. It was a great oppurtunity for the college’s pharmacy and nursing students to practice giving shots.

The 11,538 flu shot recipients included U of M staff, students, faculty and their dependents. This event has been making the local news and national news.

Congratulations to all who were involved!

In a recent University of Minnesota task force meeting, 25 people (including many U of M doctors and med students) discussed the handout money that doctors receive from different kinds of medical companies.

However, one person on that task force was not a physician at all. Gary Schwitzer, who is professor at the University of Minnesota School of journalism, is still shocked at what goes on behind the scenes in health care. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Minnesota doctors accepted nearly $31 million in payments from drug companies between 2002 and 2004.

As a health journalist, Schwitzer has spent much time investigating the conflicts of interest that are all too common today. Schwitzer asks “what are consumers to think when a doctor receives thousands of dollars in frees to act as a consultant for a pharmaceutical company, and then prescribes drugs made by that same company?”

The plan does not stop doctors from receiving gifts from medical companies, but it does stop doctors from taking paid positions as consultants for them. On the other side of the debate, Dr. Leo Furcht, who is the University of Minnesota task force co-chair, thinks that taking away the deals between doctors and medical companies could potentially be a bad idea. Mainly because it is essential for the development of new ideas, treatments, and devices. Furcht states “some patients see that their physician is working closely with a large, highly regarded company in the field, and that they may actually be better than the doctor down the street and its actually the inverse of what you might expect.”

Another item that the University is trying to abolish is funding from the medical industry for continuing education credits. Medical industry money funded half the school’s $2.3 million continuing education budget last year.

To read further into this story, please visit http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/09/26/u_of_m_med_ethics/?refid=0

Physicians across the country say that there has been increase of children with kidney stones. Despite hard data, Dr. Alicia Neu, who is a kidney specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore agrees.

Kidney stones can be terribly painful and are more often seen in adults. While the issue of kidney stones in children is new, it’s not surprising. Many children lead lifestyles that include little or no activity and high processed, high salt diets that can lead to the formation of stones.

A simple solution for the prevention of stones is to drink more fluids, says the National Kidney Foundation.

To read the entire story, please visit: http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=615685T

In a recent study that will be published in an upcoming issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have found that when given a device to monitor severe type 1 diabetes, some adults and most children and teenagers had trouble using the device on a continuous basis. The device, which is inserted underneath the patient’s skin, monitors blood sugar levels and sounds an alarm when their levels become too high or low. For example, 83% of adults aged 25 years and older used the device 6 days a week or more. In contrast, 30% of teenagers aged 15 to 18 years old and only 50% of children aged 8 to 14 years old used the device 6 days a week or more. Why do you think that children and teenagers did not use the device as much as adults did?

It would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who has diabetes, or clinicians who have experience with this topic. Are the alarms an annoyance? Do they sound often?

For more information on this study entitled “Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Intensive Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes, funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, please visit:

The New England Journal of Medicine: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa0805017 or

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: http://www.jdrf.org/

A recent article in Newsweek talked about the lack of health and dental care in rural areas of America, such as Kentucky and Virgina. 46 million people in the United States do not have health insurance; while 108 million people here do not have dental insurance. It’s sad to see that healthcare has gotten so out of hand that when free clinics are set up, 2,500 people wait in line to get the help they need. Why?

Dickinson, from the Virginia Dental Association had this to say: “The diet here, which is high in processed, sugary foods because they’re cheaper, promotes decay. And when your teeth hurt, you aren’t going to be eating salads. And now we know that there’s a suggested link between all kinds of systemic diseases from diabetes to heart disease and oral cancer and the bacteria in the mouth. It’s a cascading effect.”

To read the entire article, please visit: http://www.newsweek.com/id/150846

On June 24, the radio program Marketplace aired a story about high fructose corn syrup. Recently, corn syrup has been blamed for the obesity epidemic that is plaguing the country.

Not only have nutritionists and public health groups targeted the product, but mother nature as well. With recent floods covering the Midwest, corn prices have sky-rocketed leaving many consumers unable to afford the climbing prices.

In turn, corn syrup producers felt they needed new ways to market their product. Their solution was a new 18 month, $30 million dollar ad campaign to promote corn syrup. To see an example of the Corn Refiners Association Campaign, visit: www.sweetsuprise.com

To read more on the featured Marketplace story, please visit:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org//display/web/2008/06/23/corn_syrup/?refid=0

This story raises many questions including:

Do public health organizations have an obligation to present counter arguments to marketing campaigns such as www.sweetsuprise.com?

Do you feel that corn syrup producers or the consumers are to blame for the obesity epidemic?

On May 1, 2008 Walgreens announced on their website (www.walgreens.com), that it has “completed it’s acquisitions of I-Trax, Inc., parent company of CHD Meridian Healthcare, and privately-held Whole Health Management, two leading companies that together operate more than 350 worksite health centers. The acquired companies services include primary and acute care, wellness, pharmacy and disease management services and health and fitness programming. The acquisitions position Walgreens as the leading provider of worksite health services. Combined with Walgreens wholly-owned subsidiary and convenient care clinic manager, Take Care Health Systems, the will form the platform for the new Walgreens Health and Wellness division”.

According to Walgreens.com, Walgreens is now the nation’s largest drugstore chain. It’s 2007 fiscal sales were $53.8 billion. Walgreens has 6,271 stores in all but 2 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

For more information, or to read Walgreen’s entire news release, please visit the following link:

http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4950

What are your thoughts on this merger? What do you see as the potential benefits?

-Kayla Dean, Research Assistant