Show 1058: Health News Update-Cranberry Pills Fail to Prevent Infection

This show will be broadcast live on November 12, 2016, at 7 am EST.

We discuss a number of fascinating health news stories from recent weeks.

Fidgeting:

If you find yourself tapping your foot or jiggling your knee, you just might be doing your legs a favor. We talk with a researcher who found that fidgeting, especially foot-tapping, can help counteract the negative consequences of sitting for the blood vessels in the legs.

Scrubs:

A new study at Duke University Medical Center shows that scrubs pick up germs and could easily carry them from patient to patient. What should hospitals do to try to control the spread of infections?

Cranberry Extract:

Cranberries and cranberry juice have a reputation for fighting off urinary tract infections. The latest study published in JAMA (11/8/2016) did not show that cranberry extract could affect the risk of urinary tract infections in older women. Listen to the author describe the study and its implications.

Your Calls:

We are interested in your stories and questions about the latest health news. Are you a fidgeter? Have you ever caught a nasty infection when you were hospitalized? Perhaps you have taken cranberry pills or drunk cranberry juice to prevent a urinary tract infection. Ask your question or share your story: Call 888-472-3366 between 7 and 8 am EDT on October 29, 2016, or email radio@peoplespharmacy.com

This Week's Guests:

Robert M. Restaino is a graduate student in the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology. He is a co-author of the study published in The American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, July 1, 2016. The article is titled: "Prolonged sitting-induced leg endothelial dysfunction is prevented by fidgeting."

Manisha Juthani Mehta, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. She is also the Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at Yale. Her study of cranberry extract was published in JAMA, November 8, 2016. It is titled: "Effect of Cranberry Capsules on Bacteriuria Plus Pyuria Among Older Women in Nursing Homes: A Randomized Clinical Trial."