Health Highlights: May 17, 2008

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:

Misuse of Syringes Found as Cause of Hepatitis C Outbreak

It was the re-use of syringes and vials containing medicine that caused a hepatitis C outbreak resulting in 84 patients becoming infected at two Las Vegas clinics, theAssociated Pressreports.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was first contacted early in 2008 after two people had come down with hepatitis C, the wire service reports. CDC investigators said in their report they observed clinic employees reusing syringes to administer a sedative, and followup interviews indicated it was a common practice, the wires service reported. "This was considered the most likely mode of transmission," the report concluded.

The two clinics in question, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and the Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center -- both now shut down -- treated about 50,000 patients over this amount of time, theA.P.said. Law enforcement officials from Las Vegas, Nevada and the U.S. government are pursing criminal investigations, according to the wire service.

The doctors who ran the clinics, Dipak Desai and Eladio Carrera, have had their medical licenses suspended and paid a $50,000 fine, theA.P.reported.

Brian Labus, a senior epidemiologist with the Southern Nevada Health District, told theA.P.that the link between being treated at the clinics and contracting Hepatitis C was strong. "We know they [the 84 patients] didn't have a positive test before they went to the clinic, and now they're positive," he said.

State officials are worried that all 50,000 patients who were treated at the clinics between March, 2004 and Jan. 11, 2008 may have been exposed to Hepatitis C, which can linger in a person's system for years without symptoms. The disease can result in liver failure.

Post-Concussion Activity Levels Affect Recovery

The activity level of athletes after they've suffered a concussion affects brain function and speed of recovery, says a U.S. study in theJournal of Athletic Training.

Athletes who engage in high levels of activity following a concussion showed impaired brain function, while those who engaged in moderate levels of activity had the best performance on brain function tests, the study found.

"We surmise that most athletes in the highest-intensity activity group probably experienced a less severe initial injury, but by continuing with high levels of activity, they began to exhibit similar symptoms to those who initially experienced a more severe concussion," researcher Jason P. Mihalik, a certified athletic trainer at the University of North Carolina, said in a prepared statement.