Health Highlights: July 24, 2008
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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:
1,013 Americans Overdosed on Illegal Painkiller
Between early April 2005 and late March 2007, 1,013 Americans died after overdosing on an illegal version of the powerful prescription painkiller fentanyl, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Thursday.
"This was really an epidemic," report co-author Dr. Steven Marcus, executive director of New Jersey's poison control center, told theAssociated Press.
The number of deaths slowed after a fentanyl operation in Toluca, Mexico was shut down by authorities in May 2006.
"It almost disappeared entirely. The shutting down of the Toluca facility was probably a major factor," lead author Dr. T. Stephen Jones, a consultant retired from the CDC, told theAP.
The study appears in the this week's issue of the CDC'sMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Fentanyl is often prescribed for cancer patients. Illegal versions of the drug are sold as a powder, often mixed with cocaine or heroin, and sometimes used as a heroin replacement, theAPreported.
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Bisphenol A No Threat to Human Health: EU Agency
The chemical bisphenol A -- used to make some hard plastics -- doesn't pose a threat to human health, according to a statement from European regulators cited byCBC News.
Some research in animals has suggested the chemical may pose a health risk. However, a scientific panel concluded that adults and children rapidly metabolize BPA and eliminate it from their bodies, the European Food Safety Authority said.
