Health Highlights: June 22, 2012

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

Tumor Removed From Fetus in Groundbreaking
Surgery

Twenty-month-old Leyna Gonzalez is healthy and happy today because
doctors were able to remove a potentially fatal tennis ball-sized tumor
from her mouth while she was still in the womb.

The rare congenital tumor, called an oral teratoma, was removed in May
2010 by surgeons at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, CBS News
reported.

“The concern with these tumors is that they can grow very rapidly. And
they can cause bleeding from the fetus — from the baby — into the
tumor,” fetal surgeon Dr. Ruben Quintero said Thursday during a press
conference at the hospital. “That bleeding can cause the death of the
baby.”

He and his team used an endoscope guided by ultrasound to perform the
first-of-a-kind surgery when Leyna was a 17-week-old fetus. She was born
Oct. 1, 2010 at a healthy 8 pounds, 1 ounce, CBS News reported.

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Seizure Leads to U.S. Commerce Secretary‘s
Resignation

A seizure suffered earlier this month has led U.S. Commerce Secretary
John Bryson to resign from the Obama administration.

Bryson, 68, was found unconscious after he was involved in a series of
traffic crashes in the Los Angeles earlier this month. A breathalyzer test
did not detect any alcohol, the Associated Press reported.

In his resignation letter, Bryson said his decision was a “consequence
of a recent seizure and a medical leave of absence.”

He also wrote: “”I have concluded that the seizure I suffered on June
9th could be a distraction from my performance as secretary, and that our
country would be better served by a change in leadership,” the AP
reported.

—–

Traffic Noise Increases Heart Attack Risk:
Study

People who live near roads with high levels of traffic noise are at
increased risk for a heart attack, according to a new study.

Researchers followed more than 50,000 people in Denmark, ages 50 to 64,
for 10 years and found that for every 10 decibel rise in traffic noise
near a person’s home, there was a 12 percent increased risk of a first
heart attack, ABC News reported.

The study was published Wednesday in the journal PLoS One.

Previous research has found some association between traffic noise and
heart health but study lead author Dr. Mette Sorensen said she was
surprised to find such a direct link between traffic noise levels and
heart attack risk, ABC News reported.

“Previously, there seemed to be no effect up to around 60 decibels,”
she said. “But I see increases at around 40 decibels up to the highest
level, around 82 decibels. It doesn’t seem to be a level where there are
no effects.”

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