In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Chondroitin Missing From Many Supplements
New Arthritis Drug From Merck Hits Speed Bump
New Celebrex Ads Spark Controversy
Bladder Drug May Cause Hallucinations
Telephone Therapy Helps Against Depression
Flavonoids From Fruits And Veggies Fight Off Cancer

Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy

We are pleased to announce our new book, Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy. Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy is a how-to for consumers trying to work out which treatments, including diet, home remedies, dietary supplements and drugs, are best for what ails them. Click the link below to purchase a copy at a discount of $21.95 plus $5 shipping and handling!

Note: We are shipping single book orders Media Mail with an expected transit time of 3-9 days from shipment, and orders for two or more books by FedEx Ground. Shipping and handling is $5 per book. We also include a FREE copy of Chocolate without Guilt, regularly $14.95, autographed by Terry, with orders for three of more copies of Best Choices shipped to the same address.

http://secure.peoplespharmacy.com/PPcart.asp?pg=products&specific=joppfog0

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

Pregnancy is an exciting time in a couple's life together, but it can also be stressful. We talk with Dr. Tracy Gaudet about how mindfulness can help. We often go to great lengths to lower a fever, but are we making a mistake? Many animals that can't regulate their own body temperatures seek out heat when they are sick. A new study suggests there is a good reason.
Read a short excerpt of the program or order it on CD by clicking the link below:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/630_health_news_update.asp

Our newspaper columns this week discuss the benefit of aspirin for women, a new benefit from gin-soaked raisin, and the sad lesson we can learn from the death of Anna Nicole Smith:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/editorial/dont_end_up_like_anna_nicole_smith.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/is_aspirin_good_for_women.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/ginsoaked_raisins_help_rls.asp

Featured Q & A

Can St. John's Wort Hurt Eyes?

Q. Is it really true that St. John's wort can harm eyes exposed to bright sunlight? I have used St. John's wort for two years. On my last visit to the eye doctor he said I seemed to have changes suggesting early cataract development. I'm 47 with no family history of this problem. Could this be related to the St. John's wort?

A. St. John's wort extract contains hypericin. This compound is activated by visible light and creates dangerous chemicals called free radicals. Joan Roberts, Ph.D., of Fordham University has found that hypericin can damage lens tissue and might also damage the retina.

Although it is impossible to say with any assurance that your eye changes are due to this herb, we would urge that you stay away from sunlight and bright indoor lights while on St. John's wort.

Featured Home Remedy

Smelly Feet Solution:
Several years ago my feet were so smelly that I could smell them even with shoes on while I sat at my desk at work. Then I sprinkled baking soda in my shoes before I put them on. After a couple of weeks, the odor was gone. I thought your other readers would like to know.

You can read more home remedies on our website:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/home_remedies/index.asp

Health Headlines:

Chondroitin Missing From Many Supplements
Many popular alternative arthritis remedies lack a key ingredient. Because of concerns about heart attacks and strokes associated with prescription and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, millions of Americans have turned to supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin. Even some orthopedic surgeons are recommending patients try these alternative approaches. But a new analysis from ConsumerLab.com reports that chondroitin was either lacking or low in 40 percent of the products that it tested. One maximum strength supplement contained no chondroitin at all. Three products had less than 8 percent of what was claimed on the label. Roughly three fourths of the glucosamine and chondroitin combinations that were tested by ConsumerLab.com did not pass muster. This demonstrates that the FDA is not monitoring dietary supplements and that consumers must be wary of high-priced alternative arthritis therapies.
[ConsumerLab.com, April 11, 2007]
http://www.consumerlab.com/results/gluco.asp

New Arthritis Drug From Merck Hits Speed Bump
Speaking of arthritis treatments, the FDA is taking a hard stand on a new prescription medication called Arcoxia. This anti-inflammatory drug is in the same class of COX-2 inhibitors as Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex. Although Vioxx and Bextra are gone from the market, Merck had hoped that Arcoxia could take over where Vioxx left off. Such medications were supposed to relieve arthritis pain without causing ulcers and other serious gastrointestinal complications. But FDA officials indicate that the evidence supporting this benefit for Arcoxia did not reach statistical significance. Heart attacks and strokes were no worse with Arcoxia than with another prescription pain reliever called diclofenac. That may not impress the regulators, however, since diclofenac is not considered a particularly safe pain reliever.

New Celebrex Ads Spark Controversy
The maker of Celebrex has restarted an aggressive ad campaign for its COX-2 inhibitor. Ever since the Vioxx scandal, commercials for Celebrex have been hard to find. But now Pfizer is reintroducing this pain reliever to the American public. One reason is that surveys conducted by the company revealed that 40 percent of consumers thought Celebrex had been removed from the market, just like Vioxx. The new TV commercials and print ads are controversial because they emphasize that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including ibuprofen, naproxen and Celebrex carry the same cardiovascular warnings. The consumer group Public Citizen is criticizing the commercials on the grounds that they are misleading. Dr. Sidney Wolf, spokesman for the Public Citizen health group says that the commercials may encourage consumers to ask their doctors for the more expensive Celebrex when equally effective and possibly safer over-the-counter pain relievers are available. Pfizer maintains that its ads are accurate and supported by the FDA labeling guidelines.

Bladder Drug May Cause Hallucinations
The Food and Drug Administration will require stronger warnings for the bladder medicine called Ditropan. This drug is prescribed for symptoms of overactive bladder. The FDA is concerned about reports of hallucinations, particularly among children and the elderly. Other side effects include confusion, nervousness and insomnia.

Telephone Therapy Helps Against Depression
Scientists at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle have found that supplementing antidepressant drugs with telephone therapy can improve outcomes. Nearly 400 depressed patients were randomized to receive either usual care or cognitive behavioral therapy over the telephone. All patients were started on antidepressants. Over the first six months, patients in the therapy group had eight phone sessions with a therapist. In the next six months they got two to four booster sessions. The investigators found that patients who received this kind of supplemental phone intervention improved more than with standard care and were more likely to stick with their antidepressant medication.
[Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, April 2007]

Flavonoids From Fruits And Veggies Fight Off Cancer
We have heard that eating fruits and vegetables is good for your health. Now a large study of people living in California and Hawaii suggests that a diet rich in plant flavonoids can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. Investigators followed more than 180,000 people for an average of eight years. Those who ate the most foods such as berries, onions, broccoli, kale and apples were about one-fourth less likely to develop this potentially deadly cancer. Smokers benefited even more from this high flavonoid diet. Because of their increased risk for pancreatic cancer, they reduced their chance of coming down with it by 59 percent. This research confirms yet again that the more colorful vegetables and fruits you eat the healthier you will be.
[Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April, 2007]