By Miriam Raftery

Leon Thompson also contributed to this report

January 3, 2014 -- As many of you know, our cofounder of East County Magazine and our own "East County Eater" columnist Leon Thompson recently had open heart surgery to patch him up after years of indulgent eating clogged up his arteries.  Already a survivor of one heart attack, like many people in this situation, Leon was initially hesitant to undergo such a seemingly drastic procedure.

Five days after his operation, which wound up being a quintuple bypass, Leon  insisted that we bring our sound equipment to his room at Grossmont Hospital so that he won't miss a beat in recording for our radio show. For his return to the radio, we started out by interviewing Leon on his amazing recovery, which is an inspiration to anyone facing open heart surgery. 

Hear for yourself how energetic he's feeling - and how he's already setting the pace for walking a mile a day around the recovery ward.

This interview originally aired on our East County Magazine Show on KNSJ Radio:  http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/1x5gj5h5h7/Leon-HospitalInterviewPost-Surgery.mp3 .

(Note: You can also read Leon's "Heartfelt Message" to our readers, penned along with a review of hospital food just days before his surgery, here: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/heartfelt-message)

January 1, 2014  (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news each week that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Brain cancer vaccine trial begins  (BBC)
• Youth-drug can 'reverse' ageing (BBC)
• Cells from the eye are 'printed' for the first time (Jewish World Review)
• Why restaurants are scrimping on shrimp (Marketplace.org)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Home electricity use in US falling to 2001 levels

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

December 24, 2013 (El Cajon) --The Halo Community Foundation has been established, just in time for a holiday gift to help people in need in our community, Visiting Angels has announced.   The mission of the Halo Community Foundation is to provide quality in-home care to low-income individuals suffering from illnesses, disabilities, and/or physical impairments.

The Visiting Angels’ East County Office can assist low income individuals receive critical in-home care for a better quality of life.  The foundation provides care to qualified individuals based upon needs and income level free of charge. 

December 19,  2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news each week that could impact your health and our future.

SCIENCE

• GAIA billion star surveyor takes off (BBC)
• Yellowstone supervolcano: 2.5 times bigger than anyone knew (CS Monitor)

HEALTH

• Severed hand kept alive on ankle (BBC)
• Yogurt a solution to hospital infection? (Jewish World Review)
• Patient with mysterious illness diagnosed with H1N1 (KHOU)

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

December 4, 2013 (San Diego) — By a 5-0 vote, San Diego Supervisors Tuesday approved efforts to add the PulsePoint smartphone app to regional 9-1-1 emergency systems. The system enables notification of trained citizen volunteers to respond quickly to cases of sudden cardiac arrest and initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while awaiting medical responders. The measure was introduced by Supervisors Ron Roberts and Bill Horn.

Nearly 1,000 lives are lost daily in the U.S. due to sudden cardiac arrest, which can occur even in active, seemingly healthy people with no history of heart disease. Cardiac arrest is among the leading causes of death among adults over age 40 in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, of 383,000 people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, 90% die.

"It's outrageous that our elected officials in California are using taxpayer dollars to intentionally mislead their constituents and divert them from CoveredCA.com ... Republicans in California should be ashamed… the GOP’s newest tactics is to lie to voters and prevent sick people from getting the care they need.”—Dr. Paul Song, oncologist and Courage Campaign executive director

By Nadin Abbott and Miriam Raftery

December 3, 2013 (San Diego)—The California Assembly Republican Caucus, chaired by East County representative Brian Jones (R-Santee), is taking heat for creating a phony website (http://www.coveringhealthcareca.com/) designed to divert consumers from the state’s official Covered California site (https://www.coveredca.com/). 

Covered California is the website for consumers to get information on new healthcare exchanges and sign up for healthcare coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. 

Republican members including Jones are promoting the sham healthcare site, labeled a “California Resource Guide” directly to constituents on their official Assembly websites paid for by taxpayers.

November 22, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news each week that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Latest Cholesterol Guidelines Invite Overtreatment, Critics Warn (NPR)
• FDA issues stern warning on Medtronic devices (UT San Diego)
• Mother’s Exercise May Boost Baby’s Brain (NY Times)
• Eating nuts 'may prolong life' (BBC)
• New Medical Device Treats Epilepsy With A Well-Timed Zap (NPR)
• Gut Bacteria Might Guide The Workings Of Our Minds (NPR)

SCIENCE

• DNA study of Siberian skeleton links Europeans to Native Americans (CS Monitor)
• Organic Farmers Bash FDA Restrictions On Manure Use (NPR)
• Waterproof surface is 'driest ever' (BBC)
• Active volcano found buried in Antarctica (CS Monitor)
• Volcanoes remind us of their power (BBC)
• Mt Etna eruption spectacular, captured on video (CS Monitor)
• Tesla battery fires get NHTSA probe (CS Monitor)

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

By Leon Thompson

Critics cite pharmaceutical funding of organizations pushing new guidelines

November 17, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- Many more American may soon be prescribed statin drugs to prevent heart disease. That’s due to new guidelines just released by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology for use of cholesterol lowering drugs – specifically statins.

By California News Service

November 14, 2013 (San Diego) – Going to the dentist is getting easier for children in California, because the dentist is coming to them. A "Virtual Dental Home" system being launched in Los Angeles today is designed to benefit low-income children enrolled in L.A. County's Head Start programs. The system was created at the University of the Pacific, and is being demonstrated in communities from Eureka to San Diego.

Sandwiches and salads sold by Glass Onion Catering, a California company, have been recalled due to possible contamination with e-coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced.  There have been 15 cases of bacterial illness believed to be associated with the products so far.

November 6, 2013 (San Diego)--The popularity of electronic smoking devices is increasing and on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors directed staff to review the County’s smoking and tobacco use policy to determine how “e-cigarettes” fit into it.

County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) staff were asked to come back to the Board in 90 days with recommendations to address electronic vapor devices. The battery-operated devices vaporize liquid nicotine into an aerosol mist that can be inhaled or “vaped.”

By Miriam Raftery

November 2, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Five new cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have been reported at area schools this week according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.  The new cases include a student at Maryland Avenue Elementary School in La Mesa here in East County.

There have been 216 cases of pertussis reported in the county so far this year, compared to last year’s total of 165 cases for the entire year, so the rate of whooping cough is on the rise.

October 23, 2013 (Washington D.C.) -- If you have a dog or cat that became ill after eating jerky pet treats, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would like to hear from you or your veterinarian.

The agency has repeatedly issued alerts to consumers about reports it has received concerning jerky pet treat-related illnesses involving 3,600 dogs and 10 cats in the U.S. since 2007. Approximately 580 of those pets have died.

To date, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has conducted more than 1,200 tests, visited jerky pet treat manufacturers in China and collaborated with colleagues in academia, industry, state labs and foreign governments. Yet the exact cause of the illnesses remains elusive.

To gather even more information, FDA is reaching out to licensed veterinarians and pet owners across the country.

By Rebecca J. Wllliamson

October 15, 2013 (San Diego’s East Coutny) -- Droopy earlobes?  Here’s my solution: go up a notch.  Get a hole pierced higher than your original hole--not up the side of the earlobe but directly above.  This allows the lower hole to heal, over time. Wear dangling earrings  to camouflage the original piercing.

October 11, 2013 (San Diego) – Nearly two dozen San Diegans have fallen ill with salmonella due to raw chicken products from Foster Farms facilities in California.  However the products were also sold under other brands and store names including Ralph’s, Safeway, Kirkland (sold at CostCo), O Organics, and Eating Rights. 

Foster Farms announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with federal inspectors to make improvements to its processing.  They company has not recalled products, insisting that cooking the tainted chickens thoroughly eliminates risk.  But Consumer Reports contends that the chicken products should be recalled to protect consumers.