HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

December 4, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Parkinson's Treatment Has Unexpected Side Effect (HealthDay)
• Vaping lung injury cases rise to 2,290, CDC says (CNN)
• Life Expectancy Shrinks for Working-Age Adults (WebMD)

SCIENCE & TECH

• Robocall crackdown sails through the impeachment noise (Politico)
• That smart TV you just bought may be spying on you, FBI warns (CNN)
• Charging Stations Could Be Stealing Your Data (NBC 7)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Parkinson's Treatment Has Unexpected Side Effect (HealthDay)

Some Parkinson's patients who have a deep brain stimulation device implanted to control their symptoms have reported an odd side effect -- they lost the ability to swim…One patient was a 69-year-old man who'd been a good swimmer and only found out he could no longer swim when he jumped into a lake. He said he would have drowned if he hadn't been rescued by a family member…Three of the nine patients were able to swim again after they turned off their deep brain stimulation devices. However, they turned them on again because their Parkinson's symptoms worsened.

Vaping lung injury cases rise to 2,290, CDC says (CNN)

There were 2,290 cases of lung injury linked to vaping as of November 20, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.. CDC recommends that people not use e-cigarette products that contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. While it appears that vitamin E acetate, a thickener used in some vaping products, is linked to the lung injury cases, the agency can't rule out other chemicals, it said.

Life Expectancy Shrinks for Working-Age Adults (WebMD)

Despair, as evidenced in rising rates of drug abuse and suicide, may be eroding the average life expectancy of Americans, a new study finds.

SCIENCE & TECH

Robocall crackdown sails through the impeachment noise (Politico)

The measure would require phone companies to verify callers' identities.

That smart TV you just bought may be spying on you, FBI warns (CNN)

Those Black Friday and Cyber Monday super sales are not only a boon for your bank account, but may also reap serious rewards for cyber criminals intent on causing harm, according to the FBI.  In a pre-holiday message to consumers, an FBI field office is warning that "smart TVs" -- televisions equipped with internet streaming and facial recognition capabilities -- may be vulnerable to intrusion. 

Charging Stations Could Be Stealing Your Data (NBC 7)

The holiday travel season has arrived and so too has new warnings about using public USB charging stations to charge your mobile device in airports, hotels, and public places. The reason: A new scam that authorities refer to as “juice jacking,” wherein scammers hijack charging stations in order to export data and passwords through your cable. Scammers can also infect your device with malware.