Baby Jumpers Recalled Over 'Impact' Risk

Kids II has recalled 400,000 Baby Einstein Jumpers because of an injury risk. (Image credit: Kids II)

An Atlanta-based toy company has recalled more than 400,000 baby jumpers after reports of 61 injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper, made by Kids II, is an infant jumper equipped with plastic toys. But one of those toys – a plastic sun attached by a bendy base – has caused bruises, cuts and a skull fracture, according to reports submitted to the company.

An adult also sustained a chipped tooth, according to the reports.

“The ‘sun’ toy attachment on the activity jumper can rebound with force and injure the infant, posing an impact hazard,” the CPSC said in a statement, noting that Kids II has received 100 incident reports relating to the attachment. “Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Kids II for a replacement toy attachment.”

Calls to Kids II were not immediately returned.

The recall includes jumpers with the model number 90564, which were sold at Target, Toys R Us and other stores nationwide between May 2010 and May 2013, according to the CPSC. The jumpers, which retail for about $90, were also sold online at Amazon.com.

Parents have had mixed reactions to the recall, according to Elena Mauer, deputy editor of TheBump.com.

“Some people who have [the jumper] at home and have never had a problem were actually upset that it’s being recalled, which is surprising because I think in general most parents would rather be safe than sorry. Then we had some people saying they did have problems. One person said the sun hit her son in the face a few times,” she said.

“I think everyone wants the safest situation for their child,” Mauer added, noting that 66,000 people have read about the recall at TheBump.com. “You watch babies so closely, but they still can get into so much trouble.”

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Climate Change Could Impact Allergies

Climate changes and rising carbon dioxide levels don't just affect the environment. Experts say they also affect your nose. Warmer temperatures and higher carbon dioxide levels mean certain plants will thrive, and those are the plants that tend to make us sneeze during allergy season.

Allergies may seem like a minor nuisance, but according to the CDC there are an estimated 50 million Americans living with allergies, and $18 billion is spent every year dealing with the affliction.

From hay fever to sneezing to itchy, watery eyes, all of these symptoms could become heightened as plants begin to produce more virulent pollen. Allergies can also exacerbate asthma and slow down productivity, in addition to that overall miserable feeling.

Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that carbon dioxide levels had reached a grim benchmark of 400 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere compared with about 280 ppm before the start of the industrial age.

Additionally, 2012 was the warmest year on record for the U.S., a full 3.2 degrees warmer than the average 20th century temperature, according to NOAA.

Dr. Jeffrey Demain , an allergist and director of the Allergy Asthma & Immunology Center of Alaska, said the new carbon levels concerned him as he's seen his patients have more severe reactions from allergies. "I think over the last 20 years, in my opinion we're seeing more patients with allergies," said Demain. "And the allergies seem to be very significant."

In the past 53 years, carbon dioxide levels have risen globally approximately 22 percent. Much has been written about how the rise in greenhouse gases is bad for the environment, but less has been said about how these gases can help some plants flourish. Unfortunately for humans these plants, like poison ivy and ragweed, tend to be irritating or even harmful to our health

A 2005 study found that when ragweed plants, a prime cause of hay fever symptoms in late summer and fall, were exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels they not only produced more pollen, but the grains of pollen were covered with increased numbers of nose-irritating proteins, supercharging the pollen's allergic properties.

The study subjected ragweed plants in a lab setting to different carbon dioxide levels from three eras -- the preindustrial age, the present day and even the end of the 21st century. The study found that the allergen concentrations increased 20 percent from the preindustrial age to today. But they were projected to rise a startling 60 percent by the end of the century.

So the plants might be flourishing in 90 years, but anyone with a ragweed allergy will be miserable.

"They're growing faster, they're producing more flowers," said Dr. Lewis Ziska, a research plant physiologist at the United States Department of Agriculture and one of the study's authors. "It's a two-edged sword … the [plants] that are responding have implications for public health.

Traditionally, allergists break up the year into three distinct seasons. In spring it's the trees that cause the most problems; summer brings flowering grasses that induce sneezing; and in fall ragweed pollen afflicts allergy sufferers with itchy, watery eyes.

But as temperatures more common for July start showing up in April and May in certain areas of the country, plants react to the weather and not the calendar date. Increased overlap between allergy seasons means more pollen in the air and little relief for people hoping for a break between seasons. "If you have high levels of pollen in the air then [people with pollen allergies] might have a lot of symptoms," said Demain. "They're a mess."

However, even when there are multiple allergy seasons happening at once, allergists say there are things people can do to stave off the worst symptoms. To keep pollen out of the home, experts recommend washing your face and changing your clothes after you arrive home and using a neti pot daily to help flush out irritating pollen grains.

A Milder Winter Might Mean a Miserable Spring

When the weather is warmer and seasons are milder, some plants will be releasing allergy-inducing pollen for longer periods of time.

A 2011 study looked at the length of the ragweed seasons in cities along different latitudes from Georgetown, Texas, to Saskatoon, Canada, over a 14-year period. During that time, nearly all the cities experienced fewer days with frost and longer ragweed seasons.

Cities further north also had statistically larger increases to their ragweed allergy seasons. The population of Saskatoon had to contend with a ragweed season 27 days longer in 2009 than in 1995.

Marooned on an 'Urban Heat Island' Means More Sneezing

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 80 percent of Americans currently reside in urban areas. While cities that lack greenery may seem like a safe place for people with pollen allergies, experts say they won't offer much sanctuary during allergy season.

That is partly because cities often become what scientists call "urban heat islands," where concrete and pavement soak up heat, resulting in consistently higher temperatures compared with surrounding rural areas. With warmer temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide, some allergen-inducing plants can produce more pollen than the same plants located in rural areas.

A 2003 study on allergen levels in Baltimore found more than three times the amount of ragweed pollen in the city compared with the surrounding rural areas.

Also, densely packed urban areas have higher levels of diesel and car exhaust, which can irritate the nose and throat, making allergy symptoms worse.

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Study Evaluates Impact of Lymph Node Removal in Early-stage Breast Cancer

Early-stage breast cancer patients without evidence of cancer in their sentinel lymph node who did not have additional lymph nodes removed report fewer side effects to the arm and breast than patients who undergo additional lymph node removal. These findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.[1]

For women with early breast cancer, determining whether the cancer has spread to the axillary (under the arm) lymph nodes is an important part of cancer staging. Evaluation of the axillary nodes may involve either an axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), in which many lymph nodes are surgically removed and evaluated, or a less extensive procedure known as a sentinel lymph node biopsy.

The sentinel nodes are the first lymph nodes to which cancer is likely to spread. A sentinel lymph node biopsy involves the removal of only these nodes. If cancer is found in the sentinel nodes, most women undergo additional lymph node removal. If the sentinel nodes are free of cancer, however, women may not require any additional lymph node removal. Avoidance of extensive lymph node removal reduces the risk of side effects such as lymphedema (swelling).

Several studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy versus more extensive lymph node surgery. In a recent study presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers reported that among women with early breast cancer and no evidence of cancer in the sentinel lymph nodes, sentinel lymph node biopsy alone is as effective as more extensive lymph node surgery.[2] In addition to efficacy data, researchers are interested in quantifying how these procedures impact a patient’s quality of life both immediately following surgery as well as months and years later.

In the current substudy of a Phase III trial, researchers evaluated patient-reported data to determine the impact of sentinel node biopsy alone versus sentinel node biopsy plus ALND. The 749 patients in this study had operable, early-stage breast cancer with no clinical evidence of cancer in the lymph nodes. In addition, the patients in this substudy did not have evidence of cancer in the sentinel lymph node. Three-hundred fifty-six had been randomized to undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy plus ALND, and 391 underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy alone. Patients completed a questionnaire before surgery, immediately after surgery, and every six months for approximately three years to assess quality of life, breast symptoms, as well as arm function and symptoms.

During the postoperative period, sentinel node biopsy plus ALND was associated with an elevated likelihood of arm and/or breast symptoms, worse quality of life, and more limitations in work and social activity compared with sentinel node biopsy alone.In as little as a year after the procedure, a relatively small percentage of patients in either group reported moderate or severe side effects.?

The researchers concluded that among patients with no evidence of cancer in their sentinel nodes, sentinel node biopsy alone was associated with fewer arm and breast side effects and better quality of life. Over time, however, some of the differences between the groups diminished.?

Reference:

[1] Land SR, Kopec JA, Julian TB, et al. Patient-reported outcomes in sentinel-node negative adjuvant breast cancer patients receiving sentinel-node biopsy or axillary dissection: National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Phase III Protocol B-32. Journal of Clinical Oncology. [early online publication]. August 2, 2010.

[2] Krag DN, Anderson SJ, Julian TB et al. Primary outcome results of NSABP B-32, a randomized phase III clinical trial to compare sentinel node resection (SNR) to conventional axillary dissection (AD) in clinically node-negative breast cancer patients. Presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. June 4-8, 2010. Chicago, IL. Abstract LBA 505.

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Impact of False Positive Mammograms

A false-positive mammogram can cause long-term psychosocial harm, according to the results of a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine—in fact, three years later, women still suffer the psychological after-effects of the scare. ?

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. Screening mammography is performed in a woman without breast symptoms in order to detect breast cancer at an early stage when it is most easily treated. Different groups of experts have reached different conclusions about when mammographic screening should begin and how often it should be performed. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that routine screening of average-risk women begin at age 50 and be performed every two years. The American Cancer Society recommends annual screening beginning at age 40.?

Although screening mammography can reduce the risk of death from breast cancer (due to early detection), disease screening in healthy individuals can also lead to false-positive test results. A false-positive result suggests that cancer may be present even though the person is actually cancer-free. False-positive results can lead to anxiety and unnecessary additional testing.?

To examine the impact of false-positive results, researchers conducted a cohort study with a 3-year follow-up. The study included 454 women ages 50 to 69 who had abnormal mammography results and 864 participants who had normal mammograms. The participants completed the Consequences of Screening in Breast Cancer—a validated questionnaire encompassing 12 psychosocial outcomes—at baseline, 1, 6, 18, and 36 months. The first component of the survey addresses eight types of psychosocial outcomes, such as self-image, anxiety, sexuality, dejection, and negative effects on behavior. The second component encompasses four scales: perceived changes resulting from the mammography, impact on social relationships, feeling less or more relaxed/calm, and anxiety.?

The results indicated that three years after the false mammography results, women still exhibited greater psychosocial consequences compared with women who had normal mammograms. In fact, psychological testing at 6 months showed that women who received false-positive results remained as upset as women who had breast cancer—and reported changes in existential values and inner calmness as great as those reported by women with a diagnosis of breast cancer.?

The researchers concluded that false-positive results on screening mammography cause long-term psychosocial harm that can last as long as three years. The frequency of false-positive mammography results ranges from 20 to 60 percent in the United States and Europe. Though screening for breast cancer may be beneficial, it can also result in psychological harm from false-positive results.?

Reference:?

Brodersen J, Siersma VD. Long-Term Psychosocial Consequences of False-Positive Screening Mammography. Annals of Family Medicine. 2013; 11(2): 106-115.?

Posted April 29, 2013

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