Health Highlights: Jan. 11, 2009
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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
106 Major League Baseball Players Granted Exemptions for ADHD Drugs
Almost 8 percent of all major league baseball players used drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during the 2008 season, almost twice the percentage of the general population.
The drugs -- usually stimulants -- to treat ADHD are among those banned for general use in the major leagues, according to the Associated Press. The 106 exemptions -- 7.86 percent of all major league players -- are actually three more than granted during the 2007 season, the wire service reports.
The National Institute of Mental health estimates that 3-to-5 percent of U.S. children have ADHD.
A major league spokesman told the A.P. that making that sort of comparison might not be a fair one. "We are far younger than the general population," Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, is quoted as saying, "and we have far better access to medical care than the general population."
But Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of the committee that creates a list of banned drugs for sports organizations, told the wire service he was concerned about the percentage exemptions for ADHD drugs in major league baseball.
"I've been in private practice for a lot of years," W#adler told the A.P.. "I can count on one hand the number of individuals that have ADD. To say that (7.86 percent) of major league baseball players have attention deficit disorder is crying out for an explanation."
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CDC Director Gerberding Submits Resignation
The first woman to head the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has submitted her resignation, the Associated Press has learned.
The wire service reports it obtained a copy of Dr. Julie Gerberding's resignation e-mail to employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC's parent agency. William Gimson, the CDC's chief operating officer, will be interim director after Barack Obama becomes president, the AP reports, but no permanent successor has been announced.
