Briefly 8-12

Better not step on it: I & II

            BOSTON - Add foot woes to conditions excess weight can cause or worsen, says Foot Care Basics, an updated report from Harvard Medical School . Each time you step, you put about 1 ½ times your weight on your foot. If you run or play tennis, 3-4 times your weight lands on each foot each time it hits the ground. Every pound you gain adds to the stress. Poundage can add to heel pain misery (particularly plantar fasciitis) and arthritis, among other foot ills. When too much strain is put on the plantar fascia (ligament-like structure that runs from your heel to the ball of your foot) it may become inflamed. That usually causes a sharp pain at the heel. If you’re overweight or obese, you’re likely to leave your foot doctor not only with pain medication and stretching exercises instructions but also advice on losing weight. More than three out of four Americans will suffer some foot ailment, and there are 300-plus types of foot problems that can develop, state Foot Care Basics.

            CHICAGO - The next time you clip toenails, look closer at your feet - an extra 60 seconds could save your life. Foot and ankle surgeons say routine foot self-exams are vital to find skin cancer early, when easiest to cure. Half of the people with melanoma of the foot die within five years because it had spread by diagnosis. Nearly 60,000 people will learn they have melanoma this year. It’s not known how many of those cases will involve the foot, but more than 8,100 melanoma patients will die. If melanoma is found in early stages, 92% of patients are alive after five years. Unlike many other cancers, melanoma strikes all ages. Whites are 10 times more likely to get melanoma than blacks, but studies suggest more than half of the cases in blacks involve the foot, where late diagnosis leads to more deaths. Routine foot self-exams raise the chance of noticing suspicious moles, freckles, or other spots. “The first question I’m going to ask a patient is, ‛How long has it been there?’ ” says Dr. Neil Campbell, spokesman for the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Foot and ankle surgeons urge focus on three most common areas: soles, between the toes, and around or under toenails.

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted the free Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter is put out by the Law, Health Policy & Disability Center at the University of Iowa College of Law (disability.law.uiowa.edu) and the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (bbi.syr.edu). It’s bi-weekly aimed to inform disability advocates, scholars, and service providers of current issues in disability law, policy, research, best practices, and breaking news. To subscribe, go to disability.law.uiowa.edu/lhpdc/publications/news.html. It’s archived at http://disability2.law.uiowa.edu.

            LAKELAND , FL - Publix Super Markets, privately-held supermarkets, said it will offer seven generic antibiotics free to customers with prescriptions, Reuters disclosed. The plan mimics one at a private Midwest chain. It comes nearly a year after Wal-Mart, Target, and others began selling such drugs for $4 per prescription. Publix said it would give out amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin (excluding ciprofloxacin XR), erythromycin (not Ery-Tab), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (or SMZ- TMP ) and penicillin VK. Customers must present a prescription to get up to a 14-day supply for free. Publix said those antibiotics account for nearly 50% of generic pediatric prescriptions filled at its stores. With more than 900 stores in Alabama , Florida , Georgia , South Carolina , and Tennessee , it runs 684 pharmacies. Meijer, a privately-held chain with Midwest stores, began giving away the same drugs in October. Antibiotics Publix and Meijer give away aren’t for flu or any other viral disease, but are often given for woes such as bronchitis and strep throat. In September, Wal-Mart began offering certain drugs for $4 per prescription in Florida , then expanded the plan nationally.

            ALBERTA , CANADA - People diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are at doubled risk of a stroke versus non-diabetics, University of Alberta research shows. It found stroke risk is considered high within the first five years of treatment for Type 2 diabetes and more than doubles the rate of occurrence. Scientists entered 12,272 subjects recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes with a mean age of 64. After five years of monitoring, stroke incidence was compared between the cohort and general public. “What we found is 9.1% of the cohort had a stroke within the first five years of diagnosis,” Dr. Thomas Jeerakathil, University of Alberta assistant neurology professor, said. “We found compared to persons from the general population of a similar age, the relative risk for stroke was much greater in younger persons with diabetes than for older persons.” He indicates it’s possible physicians are under-treating stroke risks due to a prevailing attitude cardiovascular complications of diabetes occur long after diagnosis rather than in the first five years. The research was in the journal Stroke.

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington , D.C. noted the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has new fact sheets for youth with disabilities on workplace accommodations and when to share data about your disability with an employer. The Why, When, What, and How of Disclosure in an Academic Setting After High School is at www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/wwwh.html; Labor Disability Resources (www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-unemployed.htm), and Job Accommodation Network fact sheets (www.jan.wvu.edu/media/udatfact.doc).

            ST. PAUL , MN - More women than men appear to be having a stroke in middle age, noted a study online at the journal Neurology. Scientists say heart disease and increased waist size may be contributing to this apparent mid-life stroke surge among women. Scientists analyzed data from 17,000 people over 18 who were in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of them, 606 experienced a stroke. The study found women 45-54 were more than twice as likely as men in the same age group to have had a stroke. There were no sex differences in stroke rates in the 35-44 and 55-64 groups. "While our analysis shows increased waist size and coronary artery disease are predictors of stroke among women 450-54, it isn’t clear why there is a sex disparity in stroke rates among this age group," said study author Dr. Amytis Towfighi, of the Stroke Center and Dept. of Neurology at the University of California / Los Angeles . "While further study is needed, this mid-life stroke surge among women suggests prompt and close attention may need to be paid to the cardiovascular health of women in their mid-30s to mid-50s with a goal of mitigating this burden."

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted CVS Caremark Community Grants to Support Children with Disabilities and Healthcare for the Uninsured (deadline: Oct. 31) target effective and innovative programs that align with CVS ’ philanthropic values and criteria. The 2007 grants focus on: Health and Rehabilitation Services; Public schools promoting a greater level of inclusion in student activities and extracurricular programs; Creating opportunities or facilities that give greater access to physical movement and play. To be eligible, a CVS /pharmacy must be in the state where the applicant organization resides (fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10008198/cvs).

            TEMPLE , TX - Even the very earliest signs of diabetes can raise the risk of dying from heart disease, an Australian study disclosed by HealthDay News noted. "This study increases our awareness of the importance of diabetes as a risk factor, not only full-blown diabetes but also people [with] impaired glucose tolerance," said Dr. Gregory Dehmer, professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and cardiology director at Scott & White Hospital . Dr. Dehmer, who wasn’t part of the research. "This study emphasizes you begin to develop cardiovascular risks for diabetes long before you develop full-blown diabetes," he said. The study, led by Elizabeth Bar , of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne , was reported in the journal Circulation. For this study, scientists followed 10,429 participants in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study for five years. After five years, diabetics had a 2.6 times higher risk of dying from cardiac problems than healthy people. Those with impaired fasting glucose (considered "pre-diabetes") had a 2.5 times higher risk.

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation offers funding for arts and advocacy programs for people with disabilities (deadline: Sept. 15, www.ela.org). Grants go to U.S. nonprofits led by or support adults with disabilities 22 years of age or older. A program grant serves a specific number of people in a set time with measurable goals. Programs must show support by other foundations, corporations, and individuals in the local community. Applicants must be under 501(c)(3) IRS Code and in existence for two years or longer. Grants range from $1,000 to $5,000. Visit the ELA Foundation Web site for program guidelines and applications.

            ANN ARBOR, MI - Scientists identified the gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, a common inherited neurological disease, thanks to the appearance of a strain of impaired “pale tremor” mice in a University of Michigan research lab. Discovery of the mutation means a test will be possible for people with a less common subtype of CMT - one that until now was unidentified and had an unknown genetic basis, says Miriam Meisler, senior author of the study in the journal Nature. CMT, one of the most prevalent inherited neurological disorders, affects one in 2,500 U.S. people, usually in youth or by mid-adulthood. It’s actually a group of related disorders that affect the body’s peripheral nerves, with symptoms such as pain and muscle weakness in the feet and legs that lead to foot deformities, tripping, and difficulty walking. The gene abnormalities responsible for 70% of cases are known. The 30%, who have different CMT variants, haven’t had that option. Meisler, a professor of human genetics at the U-M Medical School , predicts the discovery will lead quickly to a test to diagnose which of those patients have the newly-identified gene mutation.