Kennedy to Ask CDC for New Look at Treatments for Measles, Other Diseases
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is asking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for an agencywide “scientific process” on treating measles and other conditions with medications as well as alternative therapies such as vitamins, HHS said in a statement.
The HHS statement notes that “the CDC continues to recommend measles vaccination as the most effective way to prevent the disease,” and Kennedy himself has publicly encouraged measles vaccination — while saying it’s a “personal” choice. However, “we recognize that some individuals and communities across the U.S. may choose not to vaccinate,” the HHS statement says. “Our commitment is to support all families — regardless of their vaccination status — in reducing the risk of hospitalization, serious complications, and death from measles.”
“Secretary Kennedy will be enlisting the entire agency to activate a scientific process to treat a host of diseases, including measles, with single or multiple existing drugs in combination with vitamins and other modalities,” the statement says. “This effort will involve collaboration with universities nationwide to develop protocols, conduct testing, and pursue approval for new uses of safe and effective therapeutics that meet the highest scientific standards.”
California Senate Committee Advances Bill to Require Tests of Heavy Metals in Prenatal Vitamins
The Environmental Working Group reported:
The Environmental Working Group is urging California lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 646, a first-in-the-nation measure that would require prenatal vitamin manufacturers to test for and publicly disclose levels of potentially harmful heavy metals in their products.
On April 30, the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed the bill, following its initial hearing in the Senate Health Committee earlier in the month. Sen. Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) introduced S.B. 646 in February and EWG is sponsoring the bill.
The legislation responds to growing concern over the presence in prenatal supplements of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. A recent peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Research found that 15% of prenatal vitamins tested exceeded California’s Proposition 65 safety threshold of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving.
If enacted, S.B. 646 would make California the first state to require routine tests and public disclosure of heavy metals in prenatal vitamins, setting a precedent for stronger maternal health protections nationwide. The measure would require manufacturers to regularly test a representative sample of their products and post results online beginning in 2027.
Arsenic in Brown Rice: What You Should Know
The Environmental Working Group reported:
Americans who regularly eat brown rice instead of white may be exposing themselves to higher levels of the heavy metal arsenic, a recent study from Michigan State University finds. The research also found that young children who often eat brown rice are particularly vulnerable.
Arsenic is a known human carcinogen that is toxic to people of any age, and it can harm the developing brain of a baby or toddler. Some simple changes at home, such as avoiding certain rice-based products, can help you reduce your risk of harm.
We’ve known about arsenic contamination in rice worldwide for over two decades.
And in the U.S., reports about arsenic in rice have been published since 2011.
The Food and Drug Administration’s monitoring of heavy metals in the food supply has detected the presence of arsenic and other heavy metals in fruit, vegetables and grains. Arsenic levels are consistently higher in rice and foods made with rice flour, bran and rice-based sweeteners than in non-rice products.
Children Under Six Should Avoid Screen Time, French Medical Experts Say
Children under the age of six should not be exposed to screens, including television, to avoid permanent damage to their brain development, French medical experts have said.
TV, tablets, computers, video games and smartphones have “already had a heavy impact on a young generation sacrificed on the altar of ignorance”, according to an open letter to the government from five leading health bodies — the societies of pediatrics, public health, ophthalmology, child and adolescent psychiatry, and health and environment.
Calling for an urgent rethink by public policies to protect future generations, they said: “Screens in whatever form do not meet children’s needs. Worse, they hinder and alter brain development,” causing “a lasting alteration to their health and their intellectual capacities”.
Current recommendations in France are that children should not be exposed to screens before the age of three and have only “occasional use” between the ages of three and six in the presence of an adult.
The societies suggest the ban on screens should apply at home and in schools.
They wrote: “Neither the screen technology nor its content, including so-called ‘educational’ content, are adapted to a small developing brain. Children are not miniature adults: their needs are different needs.”
School-Based Asthma Therapy Boosts Asthma Control, Cuts Acute Health Care Use
School-based asthma therapy (SBAT) can help improve children’s asthma control and decrease acute health care utilization, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Global.
Kimberly Arcoleo, Ph.D., from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and colleagues examined asthma control and health care utilization among 633 children (ages five to 19 years) enrolled in the SBAT program in Columbus, Ohio, from 2013 to 2019. Asthma control and health care utilization one year before and one year after SBAT enrollment were compared.
The researchers found that percentage increases in well-controlled asthma were 37% and 56% via the Asthma Control Test and health care provider ratings, respectively. There was a 49% decrease in asthma-related emergency department visits, 50% decrease for hospitalizations, 71% decrease for pediatric intensive care unit admissions, 41% decrease for urgent care visits, and 38% decrease for acute care visits.
