Health Highlights: July 27, 2009

July 27, 2009 RSS Feed Print

Chemical In Some IV Bags May Cause Infant Liver Damage: Study
Trans Fats Eliminated From Unilever Soft-Spread Margarines
Senate Puts Off Vote on Health-Care Legislation

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

Chemical In Some IV Bags May Cause Infant Liver Damage: Study

The chemical phthalate may increase the risk of liver damage in premature babies, say German researchers who looked at DEHP, a type of phthalate used to make some intravenous feeding bags and tubing.

The study found that liver problems developed in 50 percent of infants fed with tubes containing DEHP, compared with 13 percent of infants fed with tubes that didn't contain the chemical, the Associated Press reported.

The researchers said their findings show that hospitals treating preemies and other newborns should use IV feeding equipment that doesn't contain DEHP. The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.

"This is a pretty strong damnation of" the chemical, Deborah Cory-Slechta, an environmental medicine professor at the University of Rochester medical school, told the AP. "It needs to be replicated. But I still think this makes a very strong case for getting rid of these compounds" in intensive care units that treat infants.

Some U.S. hospitals have already taken action.

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Trans Fats Eliminated From Unilever Soft-Spread Margarines

All partially hydrogenated oils will be removed from Unilever's four brands of soft-spread margarine by the second quarter of 2010, says the company, which sells the bulk of soft margarine spread in the United States.

Replacing partially hydrogenated oils with a mixture of palm oil and plant oil means that the spreads will have only 0.05 grams per serving of trans fat, the same amount that occurs naturally in vegetable oils, USA Today reported.

Unilever makes half the soft spreads sold in the United States and could claim the products had "zero grams" of trans fat in the products. That's because the Food and Drug Administration allows foods with fewwer than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving to be labeled "0 grams of trans fat."

However, consumer pressure convinced Unilever to further reduce levels of trans fat in its soft spread margarines, USA Today reported.

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Senate Puts Off Vote on Health-Care Legislation

Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate have postponed a vote on health-care reform until after Congress returns from its August break, despite President Barack Obama's push to tackle the country's $2.4 trillion medical-care system before the traditional summertime recess.

"It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than try to jam something through," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who made the announcement Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The rush to enact the complex legislation had riled Republicans, and Reid said the delay would provide time for a possible compromise, the AP said.

Reid said that the Senate Finance Committee would finalize its version of the bill before adjourning. Separate legislation already approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, known as HELP, would be merged with the Finance bill, according to the AP.

But some lawmakers predict difficulty in merging the bills because the Finance Committee is seeking bipartisan approval for its measure, whereas Democratic votes secured passage of the HELP bill.

Reid said that senior Republicans working on the Finance bill had asked for more time to work out a compromise, the AP noted. "The decision was made to give them more time, and I don't think it's unreasonable," he said.