Observations

shut up to 1 out of each 2 Americans age 75 or older has a certain number of degree of hearing loss, according to the National Institute upon Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Hearing los that is related to age is called presbycusis. It commonly affects nation older than 50, and those with presbycusis are more likely to fail to keep some of their hearing each year, the NIDCD says. Presbycusis can meet the eye because of changes in the inner ear, auditory power middle ear, or outer ear. In addition to aging, noisy noise, heredity, head injury, infection, high vital current pressure, and certain prescription remedys also can cause presbycusis.

conduct public health officials say that hearing riddles that go untreated can come by worse. And older people who can't hear well may become let falled and withdraw from others to avoid being frustrated or embarrassed about not understanding what is being said. It's also easy for those who hear normally to mistakenly label those who can't as "confused" or "uncooperative."

prompts at the NIDCD and at the FDA say there are treatments, devices, and strategies that can help. For the latest upon helping to prevent and treat age-related hearing los diocese our cover story titled "Sound Advice About Age-Related Hearing Loss" beginning upon page 20.

Medical historians say that the first transplant operation was carried on the outside in 1823 when a German doctor placed skin from a woman's leg onto her nose. Today, surgeon routinely perform medical transplant operations to place tissue or organs into the material part of an injured or sick someone often to save a life.

The nation's tissue banks distributed more than 1 million tissue grafts in 2003 according to the American Association of Tissue Banks. The expanded use of tissues and the emerging see the verb of new infectious diseases raise novel safety concerns. Those concerns have activeed the FDA to strengthen its regulation of the human tissue industry. For the latest upon the FDA's oversight of human tissues and transplants, diocese our feature article titled "Keeping Human Tissue Transplants Safe," beginning upon page 30.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been revised each 5 years since 1980 by the agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. The guidelines provide advice for nation ages 2 years and older about by what mode good dietary habits can forward health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases.

The latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines places stronger emphasis upon reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. For more upon the guidelines, see our article titled "Healthier Eating," beginning upon page 10.

We also take a direct the eye at the FDA's concern above laser pointers and the misuse of these potentially dangerous devices, soothing relief for the scratchy discomfort of a condition called dried eye, and HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt's vision of a revitalized FDA medicine safety program.

Raymond Formanek Jr

Editor

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