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The fatal medical chopper accident was the eighth nationwide in the past 12-month period, prompting comment from the National Transportation Safety Board noting that the accident rate for such flights is far too high and that the incidence of such accidents has been increasing in recent years.

The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are currently investigating the cause of the crash. However, it was noted that the pilot radioed for help twice due to foggy weather before crashing about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, about three miles from Andrews Air Force Base, where the craft had been diverted due to inclement weather. Killed in the accident were pilot Stephen Bunker, 59; emergency medical technician Tanya Mallard, 39; flight paramedic Mickey Lippy, 34; and 18-year-old Ashley Younger, who was one of the auto accident victims picked up by the chopper.

In a 2006 report on EMS crashes between January 2002 and January 2005, NTSB researchers found that 54 fatalities resulted from 55 EMS crashes, 29 of which could have been prevented via implementation of standard safety recommendations. Since the publication of the 2006 study, 52 people have died in EMS crashes — about 30 in the last 12 months alone.

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The study, co-authored by Dr. Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto and Robert Tibshirani of Stanford University, examined statistics for U.S. traffic-related deaths ranging from the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter to the 2004 re-election of George W. Bush — a total of eight election Tuesdays. The researchers’ analysis showed that Americans were approximately 18 percent more likely to suffer a fatal traffic accident during polling hours on presidential election days than on other Tuesdays — a greater increase than that of either New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl Sunday, traditionally thought of as high-risk traffic days.

The scientists theorized that the increased incidence of traffic fatalities could be attributed to drivers who are distracted by consideration of the candidates or their vote, traveling unfamiliar routes, or rushing to reach polling places either before or after work.

Redelmeier suggested that in order to minimize chances of being involved in a fatal traffic accident this Election Day, drivers should adhere to all traffic laws and avoid distractions by not speeding, properly wearing a seat belt, and avoiding use of alcohol.

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The report authored by Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the Department, additionally stated that approximately 17 percent of nursing homes had violations that placed patients at risk of harm or in jeopardy. By category, 94 percent of for-profit nursing homes surveyed were cited for violations of federal standards, while 88 percent of not-for- profit nursing homes and 91 percent of government nursing homes were cited. Approximately two-thirds of American nursing homes are operated for profit, while just over one quarter are run by nonprofit organizations and 6 percent are operated by U.S. government organizations.

Among the common violations cited were improper storage and distribution of food, poor nutrition, medication mix-ups and errors, accident hazards, infected bedsores, lack of services necessary for residents’ well-being, and abuse and neglect of patients. Additionally, many cases were identified in which homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not actually provided, or were provided in such a manner as to effectively amount to no care at all.

In response, American Health Care Association president Bruce A. Yarwood acknowledged that many nursing homes need to do a better job caring for their patients and specifically identified the inspection system as being unreliable and ineffective.

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Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplements are often taken by people suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee, particularly in combined form: glucosamine chondroitin is currently the sixth-highest-selling dietary supplement in the United States, with sales in 2007 topping $831 million.

However, the study of 572 volunteers suffering from knee arthritis demonstrated that those given the supplements had about the same amount of cartilage loss as those taking a sugar pill placebo over a 24 month period. In the study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and published in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, volunteers were administered glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, a combination of both supplements, celecoxib (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug marketed under the name Celebrex) or a placebo. None of the options demonstrated any significant advantage in cartilage retention.

Nearly 21 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis; factors which play a role in the development include age, gender, genetics, obesity, and joint injuries.

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The analysis showed that out of approximately 64,000 patients who were prescribed statins, only nine were diagnosed with ALS during the time period of the studies, compared with 10 of approximately 56,000 patients given placebos. Based on the findings of the analysis, FDA officials recommended no change in prescription or use of statin drugs.

The analysis was begun when FDA officials noted that the agency’s Adverse Event Reporting System received a higher than expected number of reports of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, appearing in patients who received with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Statins are a class of medications which are frequently prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce risks of heart disease, and are considered among the most effective in reducing elevated levels of LDL cholesterol. Among the most common statin drugs are Pfizer’s Lipitor, AstraZeneca’s Crestor, Merck & Company’s Zocor, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s Pravachol. In terms of overall sales, statins were the top-selling class of drugs in 2007.

About two per 100,000 people are diagnosed each year with ALS, a generally fatal neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons which control voluntary movement, leading to muscle weakness, atrophy, and degeneration of the brain and spinal cord.

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The new study, which combines data from available studies on inhaled anticholinergic drugs used for the treatment of COPD, appears in this week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and found a combined 58 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke in participants receiving inhaled anticholinergics for a period of 30 days or more. Broken down by category, the risk of heart attack was 53 percent higher, cardiovascular death was 80 percent higher, and stroke was 46 percent higher.

Inhaled anticholinergic drugs, such as Spiriva, co-marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer Inc., and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Atrovent, are the most commonly prescribed once-daily treatment for COPD. Spiriva is the most widely prescribed COPD drug with more than $2 billion in sales last year to more than 8 million patients worldwide.

COPD is a progressive lung condition usually connected to smoking in which lung passages become increasingly constricted, causing breathing difficulties. COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the sixth leading cause worldwide.

In a statement, Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer said that they disagree with the findings of the study.

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The horrific incident was discovered Monday when neighbors near Dannie Marchan’s Southwest Side Chicago house reported a series of gunshots coming from inside the house. Police arriving on the scene heard the sounds of an injured person within the one-story home and forced their way inside, where they found Marchan lying dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and his two children in another room, both also suffering from gunshot wounds to the head. Marchan was officially pronounced dead at the scene at 12:22 p.m., while the children were transported to Chicago’s Mt. Sinai Hospital, where 7-year-old Alizay Marchan was pronounced dead at 11:52 a.m. Monday and where the son (whose name has not been released) remains in critical condition.

Police stated they believed the incident was related to upheavals in Marchan’s domestic life; people who knew Marchan said he was depressed over his 2005 divorce from the children’s mother. Marchard and the mother shared custody of his two childen, according to court records; while Marchard’s former spouse was not at the house at the time of the shootings she later arrived at Mt. Sinai Hospital to be with the children.

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The three firms named by OSHA for citations were Reliance Contractors Group, Rapetti Rigging Services, Inc., and Joy Contractors Inc. General contractor Reliance Construction Group was charged with 11 serious citations and fined a total of $19,500. Rapetti Rigging Services, the crane erector on the project, was issued three willful citations with penalties totaling $210,000. Joy Contractors, the concrete subcontractor for the project, was issued one repeat and 14 serious citations penalties totaling $74,000. The three companies were variously charged with failing to comply with the crane’s manufacturer’s specifications and limitations when erecting the crane, failing to provide adequate training for employees working in dangerous conditions, and failure to properly deploy rigging slings at the construction site.

The March 15 Manhattan collapse of a 19-story tower crane led to the deaths of seven people when it broke away from the building under construction and fell, striking other buildings up to a full city block away. Richard Mendelson, OSHA area director, characterized the crane collapse as a tragedy which resulted from failure to follow basic safety precautions and regulations.

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Ranbaxy’s Dewas and Paonta Sahib plants in India, which produce more than 30 different generic drug products, have been identified as having deficiencies in their drug manufacturing process, though no evidence that Ranbaxy has shipped defective products has surfaced to date. Among the specific FDA complaints regarding the facilities were inadequate batch production and control records, inadequate failure investigations, and inadequate procedures to prevent the potential for cross-contamination of pharmaceuticals.

Today’s FDA Import Alert covers more than 30 different generic drug products produced at these two Ranbaxy locations and allows U.S. officials to detain said products at the U.S. border. However, drugs produced at Ranbaxy’s other facilities are not covered by the Alert, no currently-available products will be removed from the market, and FDA officials urged consumers taking Ranbaxy-produced medications to continue and not disrupt their therapy.

Ranbaxy is among the largest of foreign suppliers of generic drugs to the United States. In 2006, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to Ranbaxy over violations of U.S. current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements at the Paonta Sahib facility.

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The study of health history and blood and urine samples gathered from 1,455 U.S. adults by British and the University of Iowa researchers was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. While researchers indicated that more research is necessary before their findings are confirmed, they asserted that the study calls into question Food and Drug Administration assertions that BPA is safe. Previous studies have shown that BPA can mimic the hormone estrogen in the body.

FDA head of food additive safety Laura Tarantino said at a meeting Tuesday that an adequate margin of safety exists regarding BPA use at the current level of exposure and that studies with rats and mice which were relied upon for FDA assessment may have been more extensive than human research studies calling BPA safety into question.

BPA is commonly used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate plastic, a clear material often used in a wide range of products including safety equipment, medical devices, eyeglass lenses, compact discs, baby and water bottles, plastic eating utensils, coatings for food and beverage cans, and dental fillings.

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