Health Highlights: Aug. 15, 2008
Aug. 16 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Drinking Red Bull May Cause Heart Damage: Study
Drinking too much of the popular Red Bull energy drink may lead to heart damage, says an Australian study that included 30 university students, ages 20 to 24.
The researchers found that drinking just one 250ml sugar-free can of the caffeinated drink boosted the "stickiness" of the blood and increased the risk of blood clots. After drinking Red Bull, the students had a cardiovascular profile similar to that of someone with heart disease, the Times (U.K.) reported.
The results were alarming and suggest that older adults with symptoms of heart disease shouldn't drink too much Red Bull, said study author Scott Willoughby, of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University.
In a statement, Red Bull officials said the drink had been proved safe by numerous scientific studies, and that it had never been banned from anywhere it had been introduced, the Times reported.
Red Bull is sold in 143 countries but is banned in Norway, Denmark and some other countries due to health concerns.
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Teens Having Easier Time Getting Prescription Drugs
It's easier to illegally obtain prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin or Ritalin than it is to get beer, say a growing number of American teens.
Researchers at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University surveyed 1,002 12- to-17-year-olds and found that 19 percent said it was easier for them to obtain prescription drugs than to get their hands on beer, cigarettes or marijuana, compared with 13 percent a year ago, The Washington Post reported.
The study also found that 34 percent of teens who abuse prescription drugs get them at home or from their parents.
About 25 percent of the teen respondents said marijuana is the easiest substance to buy, and 43 percent of 17-year-olds said they could purchase marijuana in less than an hour, The Post reported.
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