Health Highlights: Nov. 26, 2008

Nov. 27 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Melamine in U.S. Infant Formula No Threat: FDA

Trace levels of the industrial chemical melamine detected in some U.S. infant formulas pose no threat to infants, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration. Just last month, the agency said it couldn't identify any level of melamine exposure as safe for infants, the Associated Press reported.

In China, melamine in formula has killed at least three babies and made at least 50,000 ill. The chemical, used in the production of plastic products, can cause kidney or bladder stones and, in severe cases, kidney failure. There have been no reports of illnesses in the United States.

Previously undisclosed FDA tests showed the agency detected melamine in a sample of one popular infant formula and the presence of cyanuric acid (a chemical relative of melamine) in another brand of formula, the AP said. A third manufacturer admitted it found trace levels of melamine in its infant formula. It's believed the melamine contamination occurred during the manufacturing process.

The three products are sold by Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson, which produce more than 90 percent of all infant formula made in the United States, the news service said.

An FDA official said it would be a "dangerous overreaction" for American parents to stop feeding infant formula to babies who depend on it.

"The levels that we are detecting are extremely low," Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told the AP. Parents "should not be changing the diet. If they've been feeding a particular product, they should continue to feed that product. That's in the best interest of the baby."

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Former First Lady Barbara Bush in Hospital

Former First Lady Barbara Bush, 83, was admitted to a Houston hospital Tuesday after complaining of pain.

She went to Methodist Hospital as a precaution and all the results for tests she's undergone have been negative, said family spokesman Jim McGrath, the Associated Press reported.