"Health & Medical News"

Less than two months ago, American Medical Association President Ron Davis, MD, told the AMA Board of Trustees that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Davis, 51, is continuing to serve as president. But he has reduced his duties to focus on treatment and spend time with his family. He said he realizes that pancreatic cancer has a high death rate, but he plans to be one of the survivors.

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Washington — Muscle provided by Congress last fall was intended to allow the Food and Drug Administration to police drugs already on the market. Findings from this effort could enhance physicians’ understanding of a medication’s potential for harm or their ability to identify patients at risk for adverse events.

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Washington — Opting for action over the status quo, a group of Baltimore physicians decided to challenge common perceptions that children’s over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are safe and effective. They believe the products are neither.

Led by the city’s health department, the group brought a citizens’ petition to the Food and Drug Administration asking that the agency tell parents that the products never were found to be safe or effective for this young population. The FDA is now considering the matter and, at press time in December 2007, the final decision was still pending. “We are working intently to provide a public statement in the near future,” an agency spokeswoman said.

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About one in three hit songs include references to alcohol or other drugs, and most are favorable, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Reuters reported Nov. 7 that a study of the top 279 songs on the Billboard charts in 2005 found that 33 percent included alcohol and other drug references, including 80 percent of rap songs, 37 percent of country songs, 20 percent of R&B/hip-hop songs, 14 percent of rock songs, and 9 percent of pop songs.

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Obesity is a national epidemic, yet most medical schools are not equipping their students to address it, nutrition advocates say.

The Assn. of American Medical Colleges would like to see this situation change. In an August report, an expert AAMC panel lays out guidelines on how medical schools can incorporate obesity prevention and treatment into their science courses and clinical clerkships.

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