Mulling over Volume One of the Mueller Report

Debate over what the Mueller Report concluded with regard to Russian interference in the 2016 election has only intensified since Robert Mueller spoke to the nation on May 29. In his sphinx-like manner, the special counsel summarized what he had found, declining to go beyond the confines of his written report.

UK central bank intervenes in market to halt economic crisis

The Bank of England said it would buy long-term government bonds over the next two weeks to combat a recent slide in British financial assets

The exhausted dad: Loyalty to the discount tree

Every November for the past 10 years I’ve asked myself the same question: “Should I buy a new Christmas tree?”

Candidates scramble for undecided voters

State Rep. Christy Perry of Nampa, one of seven candidates running for Congress in Idaho’s First District, has never been one to suggest that people should vote for her because she’s a woman. But she has no objections to people supporting her because she’s the only female in the race.

IRS scandals threaten funding for health care law

Encouraging borrowing, spending

Fed leaves low interest-rate policies unchanged

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve says its low interest-rate policies are still needed to invigorate a subpar U.S. economy.

Sales shouldn't be a dirty word

Over my decades in business, I’ve noticed a baffling trend: “Sales” has become a dirty word. I’m on a lifelong campaign to change that.

JUDD JONES: Get out and paddle!

Stand-up paddleboarding is now in it’s roughly 12th year on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Back in the day, there was a small group of local hardcore enthusiasts that had early versions of the boards and paddles making waves in many ways.

Biden's challenge: Breaking through with virus response

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is working to reassert himself in national politics three weeks after taking command of the Democratic presidential primary.

New Year's resolutions? Brain can sabotage success

Healthy Lifestyles

WASHINGTON - Uh-oh, the new year's just begun and already you're finding it hard to keep those resolutions to junk the junk food, get off the couch or kick smoking. There's a biological reason a lot of our bad habits are so hard to break - they get wired into our brains.

If you've got an RV, read this

A reader of this column called me and reported the following attempted scam:

City by the Break

Fractured council reflects its constituent camps

Hacking away at pneumonia

Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drugs prescribed to treat hypertension are known to produce a dry, hacking cough as a side effect in some cases, which leads many to switch to another medication. As it turns out, however, this drug-induced, persistent cough may provide a benefit that may have some patients thinking twice about switching to other medications that lower blood pressure. According to an analysis of 37 studies, researchers found that patients taking ACE inhibitors were 34 percent less likely to develop pneumonia, which is a significant cause of hospitalization and death among seniors who typically take ACE inhibitors. Older patients who take ACE inhibitors should consult with their physicians before deciding to switch to an alternative.

Take Aspirin at first signs of heart attack

Those in the early grips of a heart attack may find that chewing an aspirin tablet will help save their lives. Heart attacks are often the result of a blood clot in the coronary artery that blocks blood flow. Aspirin may help overcome these heart events by inhibiting the formation of the blood clots. The most effective way to help restore blood flow in the event of a heart attack is to chew and swallow a regular adult-strength, 325-milligram tablet. Neither a baby-strength (81-milligram) aspirin tablet, which many heart patients take on a daily basis, nor a coated aspirin tablet, which is designed to be absorbed slowly, will suffice in the event of a heart attack.

After leaving the hospital

Upon being discharged from the hospital, heart patients, in particular, are prone to making medication mistakes at home. In fact, one recent study indicates that more than half of patients admitted to hospitals for heart attack or heart failure subsequently make drug errors once they leave the hospital. Even well-educated patients who received special counseling and follow-up phone calls to ensure proper medication dosing had as much trouble following their drug regimens as patients left on their own. The most common mistakes made by patients of all kinds include not taking a prescribed medication, missing a dose, taking an incorrect dose, delaying filling out a prescription, and stopping a medication before indicated. The pharmacist can help avoid these common errors.

ADHD drugs perform better than assumed

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects an average 9 percent of U.S. children between ages 5 and 17, making it one of the most common childhood disorders. Because children affected by ADHD experience problems staying focused, hyperactivity, and disruptive/aggressive behavior, they are likely to fall behind at school and display risky behavior as teenagers. While such drugs as methylphenidate (Ritalin) may help children with ADHD concentrate better and control impulsivity, some argue that the prescription stimulants transform children into "robots" or "drug them into acquiescence." However, the latest research on the matter reveals that the ADHD children themselves do not agree. Many say that they still are the same people but they "just act a little better."

Osteoporosis drugs help men, too

While the bone-thinning disease known as osteoporosis is often thought to be a woman's health problem, it also poses a significant fracture risk for men. Women's lifetime risk of suffering an osteoporotic fracture is about 50 percent; for men, the risk is estimated to be about 25 percent. Fortunately, men can avail themselves of the same class of drugs (bisphosphonates) that women use to prevent the loss of bone mass and derive equal benefit. According to recent research, use of the drug zoledronic acid (Reclast) helped men with osteoporosis significantly reduce their risk of fractures of the spine. The first step toward realizing this benefit requires men to have their bone density tested and evaluated.

Medication cautions for pregnancy-minded women

If you are pregnant or thinking about conceiving, you should know that there are risks associated with taking prescription painkillers. Various factors that influence the risk of birth defects include how much medication a woman takes, at what stage of her pregnancy she takes it and what health conditions she might have. With this in mind, women thinking about getting pregnant should discuss the fact with their prescribing physicians. Taking such prescription opioid painkillers as codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone (Oxycontin) may increase the risk of birth defects in children of women taking these drugs. Taking these drugs just prior to pregnancy or during pregnancy is linked to a moderate risk of congenital heart defects among newborns.

Potential Z-Pak concern

Azithromycin, which is often sold in a five-day dose known as a Z-Pak, is an antibiotic commonly used to kill bacteria that cause middle-ear infections, strep throat, sinusitis and pneumonia. It is therefore newsworthy that a recent study linked azithromycin with an increased risk of irregular heart rhythms in some patients. Azithromycin is part of the macrolide class of antibiotics, which includes erythromycin and other antibiotics that pose similar risks for those with heart disease risk factors. At the same time, the study found no similar risks associated with other antibiotics that treat many conditions as well as azithromycin, most notably, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin. It may make sense to discuss these alternatives to azithromycin if you have a heart condition.

Taking medications via microchip

If you aren't a fan of needle injections, you may be interested to learn that drugs may now be delivered by microchip. This new way of delivering medication has already been tested among osteoporosis patients. It involves the use of an implanted microchip that has a wireless receiver, which signals the microchip to release the drug. This method of drug delivery is different from most current drug-delivery systems that slowly release small amounts of the drug. Instead, the microchip releases all the medication at once, much like a needle injection. While there are still some issues to work out, the system holds great future promise for delivering medication to patients who have trouble taking their medications regularly.