Cr Bob's Newsletter - December, 2004 by Robert Roy MD

Pacifiers and Baby's Teeth

A study in the Archives of Disease in

Children this month, shows that there is a difference in the formation of "baby

teeth" when a baby breast feeds or uses their thumb to suck or is given a

pacifier during the first 3 months of their life. The study took place in Italy

with 1000 children aged 3-5 years old. It found that 1/3 of all children who

used pacifiers or sucked their thumb had malocclussion, where the teeth did not

line up properly. 89% of  had an open bite, where the front teeth do not

meet. Whereas only 11% of those with an open bite were breast fed.

This study took place when the children

were 3-5 years old and based on information about how they were fed and the use

of pacifiers or thumbs. It also is based on the 1st set of teeth - the baby

teeth. It is felt by the researchers that the pattern for the teeth is set by

how the 1st set is treated.

Dr Bob's Take: although this may

have quite a bit of significance for our children's future and their biting and

chewing abilities I don't see many of us changing what we are doing or what we

have done. But, you know the orthodontists will continue to flourish.

 

Prescription Tablet Splitting

Some of you may have remembered the

articles in the papers about 3 years ago when it was suggested by some health

plans that members cut their tablets in half with some medications. Well in

Florida a pharmacist has noted that with cholesterol lowering medication a

savings of about $850 could be saved per year by splitting the tablet. He goes

on to say that this is one way to fight some of the escalation in prices for

medications. It was found that with patients of the Veterans Affairs Dept there

was a savings of $46 million when eligible patients split their Zocor.

Dr Bob's Take:  before you go

and do this you first need to check with your doctor. Bring in a sample of the

medication so he/she can judge whether or not it would be wise to split the

tablet.

 

Grape Juice and Cholesterol

Yes, the studies are in, grape juice does

have a positive effect on raising the HDL part of cholesterol. Dr Jane Freedman,

associate professor of Pharmacology  at Boston University studied a group

of 17 men and 3 women with a grant from Welch's. The participants were 63 years

old on average and were 2 weeks on the juice, off for 2 weeks than given a

placebo (non-juice) for another 2 weeks.

The outcome showed that the grape juice

drinkers elevated their HDL on average from 45 to 50mg, about a 10% rise. This

group also lowered a chemical in their system that shows the presence of

inflammation in the blood vessels. It is felt that yes grape juice can work like

red wine in humans. And for those who don't drink red wine there is an

alternative.

With that good news I will close for this

year and talk with you again next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

 

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BIO:

I have several websites, physician-on-health.com and orchids-plus-more.com. A physician by training with 20 yr expereince as a family doc. Developing these websites has been an interest for many years.

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