News Letter 2007 11

M. A. SMITH

A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION

MASAPLC.COM

Michael A. Smith, Attorney at Law

319 E. Foothill Blvd., #C Voice - (626) 357-1177

Arcadia, CA 91006 Facsimile - (626) 357-4588

November 2007 No. 29

It has been determined, driving while talking on a cell phone is equivalent to having a 0.8 blood alcohol content. The legal limit is 0.08 BAC; 10 times the legal limit. Something for all of us to think about.

In June 2007 the U.S. Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplements Information Expert Committee voted to require cautionary statements be put on green tea extracts and black cohosh dietary supplement labels. The new labeling requirements came about after numerous case reports suggesting a potential link between ingestion of the products and liver damage.

Symptoms of liver problems, abdominal pain, dark urine or jaundice. Thanks Fred C.

Beginning with the 2008 tax season, the IRS will simplify the signature process for electronically filed individual income tax returns, submitted by tax practitioners. A paper signature document will no longer need to be sent to the IRS in support of the electronically filed tax return.

Tax preparers will only be able to e-file individual income tax returns if they are signed electronically using one of two methods: a self-select PIN (S-PIN) or a practitioner PIN (P-PIN). An S-PIN allows taxpayers to electronically sign their e-filed return by selecting a five-digit PIN. A P-PIN is used when a taxpayer authorizes an electronic return originator (ERO) to input an electronic signature on their behalf. P-PINs require the use of Form 8879, an IRS e-file signature authorization, which is retained by the ERO.

This change will, allegedly, simplify tracking, verification and follow-up on paper signature documents, which were required for tax returns without an electronic signature.

A newly designed Form 8453 will be used to transmit supporting paper documents required to be submitted to the IRS with e-filed returns. Thanks Fred C.

Calcium supplements, alone or with vitamin D, appeared to reduce osteoporotic fractures in individuals 50 or older by 12%. The study suggested taking daily calcium supplement doses of 1,200 mg and vitamin D at 800 IU. Thanks Fred C.

The FDA has approved a once-yearly formulation of zoledronic acid (Reclast) for osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The drug, administered in a 15-minute-long intravenous infusion, had already been approved for treatment of Paget’s disease. Side effects have been associated with zoledronic acid and should be watched for, if you elect this type of treatment.

As with any treatment or medication, discuss ALL the aspects with your doctor before you begin. Thanks Fred C.

In August, Medicare announced several initiatives which are intended to improve the accuracy of payments for patients who receive acute hospital care and to encourage hospitals to improve the quality of their service. The rule identifies eight conditions, including three serious types of preventable incidents, for which they will no longer pay.

In the future, hospitals will be expected to pick up the cost of additional treatment required by a preventable condition acquired in the hospital. (Hospitals cannot bill beneficiaries for charges associated with hospital-acquired complications.)

Researchers at the University of Michigan found washing with an antibacterial soap was no more effective at reducing bacterial levels or preventing illness than washing with ordinary soap. Most antibacterial soaps contain antimicrobial triclosan, which produced worrisome antibiotic cross-resistance among different species of bacteria.

Triclosan kills bacteria at high concentrations, but has been shown to be relatively ineffective at inhibiting the growth of gram-negative bacteria. Many available bacterial-reduction studies have shown simply washing longer results in greater efficacy, a practice not typical in the “real-world.” Thanks Fred C.

Beijing police patrol the Web using animated officers that pop up on the user’s browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content. The cartoon alerts appear every 1/2 hour on 13 of China’s top portals. By the end of the year they will appear on all Web sites registered with Beijing servers. Thanks Fred C.

How it works: Say you invite 5 people to the party. Each person, including you, bakes 6 dozen cookies; 5-dozen to share with your guests and 1-dozen for sampling. Each person gets to takes home one dozen cookies from each guest. It is a great chance to get together, have some laughs, enjoy the goodies and share some holiday cheer. AARP November & December 2007

When calling 900 or toll-free numbers (800 and 888), the company you are calling may be able to receive and display your telephone number by using FCC-regulated technology called Automatic Number Identification (ANI). With this technique, there is no way to prevent your number from being identified. You cannot block your number as you can when calling regular toll numbers.

To keep your number private, call the company’s regular toll number or use a pay phone. However, if you do use the toll-free or 900 number, you can ask that your number not be given to phone solicitors. AT&T Bulletin, September 2007

According to a study in Rheumatology International, fibromyalgia patients who did not respond to medication experienced a reduction in pain and other symptoms after undergoing a 15-minute session of mud-pack therapy followed by a 10-minute hot bath. Many wellness-oriented spas offer mud therapy. Better Nutrition, September 2007

A complaint to the boss about a co-worker’s terrible body odor may require an uncomfortable chat about showering regularly and using deodorant, but what about when the complaint is because an employee is wearing too much perfume or cologne?

Plaintiffs in a number of cases have tried to claim disability discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act, arguing their employers failed to reasonably accommodate perfume allergies and other sensitivities to scents. Most of these cases were dismissed, but not all, which means sensitivity to odors and fragrances is one more area employers need to handle with care. See Robinson v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Thanks Fred C.

Older Americans are twice as likely as older Europeans to have a number of chronic diseases, many of which are related to obesity and smoking, according to the journal Health Affairs, as reported by the Los Angeles Times (Girion,10/02).

* Older Americans were twice as likely to have heart disease as older Europeans.

* Older Americans were more than twice as likely to have arthritis as older Europeans.

* 12.2% of older Americans had cancer but only 5.4% of older Europeans had the disease.

* 33.1% of older Americans were classified as obese, compared with 17.1% of older Europeans.

* 53% of older Americans were active or former smokers, compared with 43% of older Europeans. Thanks Fred C.

A surprising study of elderly people suggests those who see themselves as being self-disciplined, organized achievers have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Being purposeful may somehow protect the brain, perhaps by increasing neural connections that can act as a reserve against mental decline.

The brains of some of those tested were examined after their deaths and were found to have lesions that met accepted criteria for Alzheimer’s--even though these people had shown no signs of dementia. Previous studies have linked social connections and stimulating activities like working puzzles with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s. Thanks Fred C.

The very rare Naegleria fowleri, enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain, where it feeds until you die. Though encounters are extraordinarily rare, there have been six deaths this year. Infections tend to be found in the southern states (Florida, Texas, Arizona) but Naegleria lives almost everywhere: in lakes, hot springs and dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.

A person wading through shallow water stirs up the bottom. If water gets up the person’s nose, the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve. The amoeba then makes its way to the brain, destroying tissue as it goes. People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they show signs of brain damage, such as hallucinations and behavioral changes.

The best way to prevent infection is to use a nose plug when swimming or diving in fresh water. Thanks Fred C.

At least half of overweight patients with stage 1 hypertension can normalize their blood pressure with modest weight loss. After 6 months on a reduced-calorie diet, supplemented by a lipase inhibitor in some cases, about 105 patients lost more than 5% of their body weight which was associated with about a 5% reduction in blood pressure. The results demonstrated not only that weight loss alone can normalize hypertension but also that many overweight hypertensive patients have been misdiagnosed as having essential hypertension. The results emphasize the importance of initiating dietary intervention in overweight patients with high blood pressure before resorting to drug treatment. Thanks Fred C.

Ginger is one of the richest food sources of antioxidants. It is a natural antidote for digestive distress. The ginger plant has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,500 years, but only in recent decades has science begun to unravel the mysteries of ginger’s healing powers. Better Nutrition, September 2007

The flower for November is the chrysanthemum. The stones are topaz and malachite which mean those born in November are cheerful. Google

This is the time of year when our thoughts turn gratefully to all those who helped make our progress possible over the last year. We sincerely thank you for your patronage and loyalty.