Health Highlights: Nov. 7, 2008

Nov. 8 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Men Unaffected by Images of Male Models: Study

While ads featuring female models can have a negative effect on how women view themselves, the same isn't true for men who see images of male models, according to new research.

Researchers had male volunteers view male magazine layouts that featured either objectified women, male fashion, or technology and film trivia, United Press International reported.

"Men who viewed the layouts of objectified females reported more body self-consciousness than the other two groups," said Jennifer Aubrey of the University of Missouri. "More surprising was that the male fashion group reported the least amount of body self-consciousness among the three groups."

Among men, the cultural expectation is not that they have to be as attractive as their peers, but need to be attractive enough to be sexually appealing to women, Aubrey concluded, UPI reported.

The research is scheduled to be published in the journal Human Communication Research.

-----

Contaminated Heparin Seized From Cincinnati Company

Eleven contaminated lots of the blood-thinning drug heparin were seizedfrom Celsus Laboratories Inc. in Cincinnati, the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration said Thursday.

The five lots of Heparin Sodium Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)and six lots of Heparin Lithium, which were manufactured from materialimported from China, were contaminated with over-sulfated chondroitinsulfate (OSCS), a substance that mimics heparin's anticoagulant activity.

Heparin Sodium USP may be incorporated into finished drug products while Heparin Lithium is used in certain medical devices, including vacutainer blood collection tubes, some in-vitro diagnostic assays, and as a coating for capillary tubes. Celsus has distributed Heparin Sodium USP and Heparin Lithium to manufacturers in the United States and other countries, the FDA said.