Your Friday morning health roundup:
Metal hip problems: There are few reasons for anyone needing a hip implant to get one of the increasingly troublesome metal-on-metal models, expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. Recent data suggest that metal implants, already used in decreasing numbers of surgeries, fail more often than other types and may expose patients to dangerous metal particles that cause pain and inflammation. The panelists said patients who have the implants and experience pain and other symptoms should be tested for metal levels, the Associated Press reports.- Mammogram rates: Mammogram rates for women in their 40s fell less than 6% after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advised against regular screenings for women in that age group in 2009, a new study shows. Experts continue to disagree about when the benefits of the test outweigh the risks for most women: starting at age 40 or at age 50.
- Smoking vaccine: Scientists are a step closer to developing a vaccine against nicotine addiction -- which might help people resist smoking. But right now, they've only tried it in mice. "The caveat of the study is that humans are not just big mice," one researcher tells WebMD.
Today's talker: How hot is it? Pretty darned hot, unless you live in one of the few spots in the country to have escaped a heat wave that is going strong into the weekend after breaking more than 1,000 daily records already this week. So it's worth saying: Be careful out there. If you must be outside, drink plenty of water. If you don't have air conditioning, spend a few hours at the mall or library. And don't forget to check on elderly neighbors. Meanwhile, you may feel just a bit cooler if you browse through these great photos of Midwesterners beating the heat from the Peoria Journal Star: I especially like the one of the lifeguard wearing a bag of ice as a hat.
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