Health Highlights: August 1, 2008

• U.S. Senate Passes Bill Banning Lead from Children's Products
• Hypnosis Helps Dementia Patients: Study
• Performance Anxiety May Raise Risk of Eating Disorders in Female Athletes
• Living Near Highway Raises Risk of Low Birth-Weight Baby: Study
• FDA Orders Aranesp and Procrit Label Changes
• House Passes Bill Giving FDA Control Over Tobacco

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

U.S. Senate Passes Bill Banning Lead from Children's Products

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a bill that bans lead from children's toys and other products. The measure also bans, either permanently or pending further study, children's goods that contain chemicals called phthalates, which are widely used to make plastic products softer and more flexible.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 89-3. On Wednesday, the House passed the measure 424-1. The Bush Administration has objected to certain parts of the bill but a White House spokeswoman said President Bush would sign it, the Associated Press reported.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act would permit only tiny levels of lead in products for children 12 or younger, giving the U.S. the most stringent lead standards in the world.

Last year, lead paint was a major factor in the recall of 45 million toys and other children's items, the AP reported. Many of those items came from China.

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Hypnosis Helps Dementia Patients: Study

Hypnosis slows the progression of dementia, according to results of a U.K. study.

Researchers compared dementia patients who had hypnosis to patients who received standard treatment and those in group therapy that encouraged discussion of news and current affairs, United Press International reported.

Patients in the hypnosis group showed improvements in concentration, memory, socialization, relaxation, motivation, and daily living activities.

"Over the 9-month period of weekly sessions, it became clear that the participants attending the discussion group remained the same throughout. The group who received 'treatment as usual' showed a small decline over the assessment period, yet those having regular hypnosis sessions showed real improvement across all of the areas that we looked at," Dr. Simon Duff, a forensic psychologist at the University of Liverpool, said in a news release cited by UPI.

"Participants who are aware of the onset of dementia may become depressed and anxious at their gradual loss of cognitive ability and so hypnosis -- which is a tool for relaxation -- can really help the mind concentrate on positive activity like socialization," Duff said.

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Performance Anxiety May Increase Risk of Eating Disorders in Female Athletes

Competitive female athletes who worry about their performance may be more prone to eating disorder-related attitudes and behaviors, suggests a University of Denver study that included 274 undergraduate women at a large southeastern university.

The participants included: varsity athletes, who exercised an average of two hours per day; club athletes, who practiced their sport an average of four times per week; independent exercisers, who exercised on their own at least three times per week; and non exercisers, who exercised 0-2 times per week, United Press International reported.

The women had standard assessments for eating disorders, self-esteem, and sports-related anxiety. The researchers found that competitive athletes who are anxious about their performance may be at higher risk for eating disorder symptoms than women who are less anxious about their sports performance and those who aren't involved in competitive athletics.

Coaches and athletic departments should watch for signs of sports-related anxiety in their female athletes, said the researchers.

The study appears in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

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Living Near Highway Raises Risk of Low Birth-Weight Baby: Study

Living near a highway increases a woman's risk of having a low birth-weight baby, according to a study of almost 100,000 live births in Montreal between 1997 and 2001.