Health Buzz: Kennedy's Brain Surgery, Asthma Inhalers, and Other Health News

Kennedy Scheduled to Have Surgery Today

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 76, is scheduled to have surgery today at Duke University Medical Center for a cancerous brain tumor, according to the Associated Press. He will then undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The surgery is expected to last about six hours, and the Democratic senator will most likely be in the hospital for one week before returning to Massachusetts for further treatment.

Last month, U.S. News's Bernadine Healy explained why the diagnosis of a malignant glioma—the type of tumor Kennedy has—may not be so grim. Healy once had a seizure that led to the detection of a malignant glioma. She discussed her own battle with brain cancer in U.S. News and her book Living Time.

Asthmatics: It's Time to Switch to Ozone-Friendly Albuterol Inhalers

The Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory Friday reminding asthmatics that after December 31, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-propelled albuterol inhalers will no longer be sold in the United States because they contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer. Patients must switch to hydrofluoroalkane (HFA)-propelled albuterol inhalers instead, which—the FDA warns—feel and taste differently than the CFC inhalers. HFA inhalers have a softer spray, tend to be more costly, and need to be cleaned and primed.

Asthmatics should talk to their doctors now about switching to an HFA inhaler, advises the FDA. Three such inhalers are available: ProAir HFA Inhalation Aerosol, Proventil HFA Inhalation Aerosol, and Ventolin HFA Inhalation Aerosol. Also, an HFA inhaler that contains levalbuterol, a medication similar to albuterol, is sold as Xopenex HFA Inhalation Aerosol.

The FDA provides information about the switch from CFC to HFA albuterol inhalers. And learn why it's important to stick with prescribed asthma medications and how obesity and asthma may be linked.

Consider Radiation's Effects When Told You Need a CT Scan

With the increasing use of computed tomography, or CT scans, and nuclear medicine screenings as first-line tools in diagnosing illnesses and injuries, a new study suggests that people should be concerned about how much radiation they've been exposed to, Matthew Shulman reports. The study, presented last week at the annual conference of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, confirms what many doctors have believed: that people may be receiving doses of radiation, sometimes unnecessarily, that put them at a heightened risk of cancer.

In November, Shulman explained what to consider when the doctor recommends a CT scan, after a study showed that one third of CT scans are unnecessary.

50 Active Vacations for the Fitness-Conscious

This summer, think about taking a healthier vacation and saving money and energy, too. Fitness-conscious vacationers bored by the prospect of the beach have set off an explosion of trips involving sight-seeing literally under one's own steam. All told, active travel accounted for an estimated $60 billion in vacation spending in 2007. Even graying baby boomers are kicking it up a notch—hiking the Appalachian Trail, paddling through the Everglades, biking the coast of Maine, and trekking by horseback through Wyoming's wilds.

In U.S. News's list of 50 Active Vacations for the Fitness-Conscious, find suggestions for trips that include hiking, biking, water sports, multisport excursions, horseback trekking, and snowy escapes.

—January W. Payne