Swine, genes scare

The routine use of antibiotics in swine production may have allowed antibiotic-resistance genes to leak from some waste lagoons into groundwater.

Researchers at the University of Illinois report that some genes found in hog waste lagoons are transferred from one bacterial species to another and that this migration across species and into new environments sometimes dilutes and sometimes amplifies genes conferring antibiotic resistance.

The report, in the August issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, tracks the passage of tetracycline-resistance genes from hog-waste lagoons into groundwater wells at two Illinois swine facilities.

Tetracycline is widely used in swine production. Its near-continuous use in some hog farms promotes the evolution of tetracycline-resistant strains in the animals' digestive tracts and manure, according to the researchers.

Exercise for the aging

Exercise is beneficial for both the mind and the body, but remember to adjust physical activity levels and intensity as your body changes with age. The best way to stay active is to mix social and physical activities and have fun with it, says Dr. Christine Himes Fordyce of the American Geriatrics Society.

She suggests these activities for aging adults:

• Work your heart and lungs every day. Walking at least 30 minutes a day is the best prevention for all chronic diseases. For weight loss you need to increase to 60-90 minutes a day.

• Build up muscles. Chair exercises using one- to two-pound weights build muscle and increase metabolism. Working muscles from head to toe three times a week improves balance and helps prevent falls. Stretch muscles before and after.

• The two most important indicators for healthy aging are staying both socially and physically active.

• Pool exercise is a beneficial, safe alternative to build and strengthen muscles and improve lung and cardiac health.

• Crossword puzzles, bridge, sudoku or math problems are great mental exercise. Learn new things to make new neural connections in the brain.

• Limit sedentary activities such as watching TV.

• Volunteer to keep socially and mentally active.

Red-yeast rice risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy or eat three red-yeast rice products promoted and sold on Web sites as dietary supplements to treat high cholesterol.

The potentially harmful products are: Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice/Policosonal Complex, sold by Swanson Healthcare Products, Inc. and manufactured by Nature's Value Inc. and Kabco Inc., respectively; and Cholestrix, sold by Sunburst Biorganics. FDA testing revealed the products contain lovastatin, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Mevacor, a prescription drug approved for marketing in the United States as a treatment for high cholesterol.

"This risk is even more serious because consumers may not know the side effects associated with lovastatin and the fact that it can adversely interact with other medications," said Dr. Steven Galson, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release.

The possibility exists that lovastatin can cause severe muscle problems leading to kidney impairment. Report adverse events related to these products to MedWatch, the FDA's voluntary reporting program: www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm; 800-332-1088.