The New York Yankees could activate third baseman Eric Chavez off the disabled list Tuesday if the team is comfortable with its evaluation on Monday, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
Chavez, who was placed on the disabled list May 6 with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot and has battled other injuries since, said he has heard that he will be activated for Tuesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners.
< "It feels good," Chavez said of being close to rejoining the Yankees. "Everything has been going good and I'm just ready to get back at it." <>
Chavez, who has missed 70 games entering Monday's game against Seattle, said he's feeling about as good as he could health-wise and it might take some time to get back to where he was prior to the injury with such a long layoff.
Chavez injured himself running the bases against Detroit on May 5. At the time, Chavez had been off to a great start with the Yankees, batting .303 on the year while driving in six runs as he backs up the corner infield positions.
"When I broke my foot, when I was rehabbing it was kind of like a you roll your eyes type of deal," Chavez said. "Frustration definitely when I broke my foot because everything was going so good and I was playing well. I haven't been playing that well the last two years, so it was definitely a high level of frustration."
As he's tried to work his way back to the Bronx, Chavez has had to battle new injuries along the way. Right as his left foot healed, Chavez experienced kidney stones and back problems, which prolonged his stay on the disabled list.
Back injuries derailed Chavez's career when he previously played for Oakland and he said he's not sure what exactly caused the new back injury, although he said the injury came about in the same timing as the kidney stones. Chavez said that the thought of going home to his wife and family crossed his mind following the back injury, but he had a quick recovery.
"The thing that made it tough was being away for a six-week period and then trying to get back into shape and having to wait another seven to 10 days," Chavez said. "The back stuff really threw me off by like seven to 10 days."
With Chavez's return to the Yankees imminent, Girardi said he is not sure how he will immediately use the 33-year-old. With regular third baseman Alex Rodriguez out for at least a few more weeks, Chavez could be used regularly at third base, but Girardi wants to see how Chavez feels before making that determination.
The manager added that it wouldn't hurt to give backup infielder Eduardo Nunez a day off, as Nunez has been the primary third baseman in Rodriguez's absence, and there's a chance that Chavez could be in the lineup right away. Girardi also didn't rule out the possibility of Chavez playing seven straight days.
Chavez hopes he can help the Yankees down the stretch with the final two months of the regular season approaching.
"When the frustration set in, just knowing that this team is a really good team and hopefully going to make the playoffs, that's why I'm here," Chavez said. "Now I got a chance to contribute and can hopefully do that."
2011年7月25日星期一
2011年7月6日星期三
WPSD Anchor Donates a Kidney to Her Oldest Son
WPSD‘s Johnette Worak will take a break from her morning and mid-day anchor duties this summer to donate a kidney to her adult son, who suffers from cystinuria, a condition that leaves patients with chronic kidney stones.
Worak and her son, Rodney (pictured here), will undergo surgery tomorrow at the University of Kentucky Transplant Center. Rodney was diagnosed as a teenager, Worak wrote on the WPSD website. “Last October, two weeks after he got married, his kidneys shut down. We’ve been working toward transplant surgery ever since, and if all goes well, it will be almost as if Rodney’s kidneys never failed. (The success rate is 95 percent in our favor.)”
Worak, who is also the NBC affiliate’s medical reporter, expects to return to her anchoring duties in August. “Certainly not going to be fun, but we think it’s going to be worth it!” She wrote. “In the meantime, we hope you’ll keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”
Worak and her son, Rodney (pictured here), will undergo surgery tomorrow at the University of Kentucky Transplant Center. Rodney was diagnosed as a teenager, Worak wrote on the WPSD website. “Last October, two weeks after he got married, his kidneys shut down. We’ve been working toward transplant surgery ever since, and if all goes well, it will be almost as if Rodney’s kidneys never failed. (The success rate is 95 percent in our favor.)”
Worak, who is also the NBC affiliate’s medical reporter, expects to return to her anchoring duties in August. “Certainly not going to be fun, but we think it’s going to be worth it!” She wrote. “In the meantime, we hope you’ll keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”
2011年4月14日星期四
Weight Loss Drugs: Public Citizen Calls for Ban on Alli, Xenical
In a new attempt to eliminate the only FDA-approved class of weight-loss drugs, Public Citizen issued a petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday -- its second in five years -- calling for the agency to ban the class of drugs called orlistat, better known by the prescription brand names Xenical and Alli.
"These drugs have the potential to cause significant damage to multiple critical organs, yet they provide meager benefits in reducing weight loss in obese and overweight patients," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.
An estimated 40 million people worldwide have taken either Xenical or Alli in the last decade. But sales have decreased substantially over the last decade. Alli sales dropped from $145 million in 2007 to $84 million by mid-2010, according to a report released by Public Citizen.
The drugs' maker, GlaxoSmithKline, announced Thursday it is trying to sell the brands.
Breakthrough Drug that Fizzled
In 1999, Xenical, sold by prescription, was touted as a breakthrough weight-loss drug. Alli was approved in 2007 as an over-the-counter drug. The FDA banned the two market-leading pills, Fen-phen and ephedra, because of potentially fatal side effects.
Studies suggest that taking Xenical or Alli would only help people lose 4 to 6 pounds more than they would with only diet and exercise.
"The benefit was never that great, but many people thought they'd take their chances," said Wolfe.
Drugs Block Fat Enzymes
The drugs work by blocking absorption of about a third of fat enzymes that enter the body. Instead, the fat passes through the body to the gastrointestinal tract until it is excreted. These medications also block fat-soluble vitamins including vitamins A, B, and K.
Some of the more common side effects of Alli or Xenical include diarrhea and stool leakage.
However, according to Dr. Donald Hensrud, associate professor of nutrition and preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the longer a patient stays on the medication, the more likely these symptoms will go away.
"The chances of having those side effects are a bit overrated," said Hensrud. "Only about 20 percent of people get those side effects, and in most people it lasts for less than a week."
More severe side effects reported to the FDA include liver disease, pancreatitis, and kidney stones. The FDA received 47 reports of acute pancreatitis and 73 cases of kidney stones attributed to orlistats.
While many experts say these side effects are rare, it's not clear what segment of people who use the drug may experience these severe conditions.
Monique Paulwell of Bowie, Md. said she only took Alli four times before she began feeling fatigue, loss of appetite, a nagging headache and jaundice.
"After a battery of tests, [doctors] said there had been an attack on my liver," said Paulwell. "By the time I was admitted to the hospital, I had 48 hours to live. It was that serious."
Paulwell said she thought taking Alli would help her lose a few pounds and maybe boost her acting career. Instead, she had a near-fatal experience her doctors told her was caused by the drug. She said she needed a liver transplant to save her life.
"What I knew is that it was FDA approved, it was safe for me to use," she said. "But what happened was I started to feel ill almost immediately after starting to use it."
"These drugs have the potential to cause significant damage to multiple critical organs, yet they provide meager benefits in reducing weight loss in obese and overweight patients," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.
An estimated 40 million people worldwide have taken either Xenical or Alli in the last decade. But sales have decreased substantially over the last decade. Alli sales dropped from $145 million in 2007 to $84 million by mid-2010, according to a report released by Public Citizen.
The drugs' maker, GlaxoSmithKline, announced Thursday it is trying to sell the brands.
Breakthrough Drug that Fizzled
In 1999, Xenical, sold by prescription, was touted as a breakthrough weight-loss drug. Alli was approved in 2007 as an over-the-counter drug. The FDA banned the two market-leading pills, Fen-phen and ephedra, because of potentially fatal side effects.
Studies suggest that taking Xenical or Alli would only help people lose 4 to 6 pounds more than they would with only diet and exercise.
"The benefit was never that great, but many people thought they'd take their chances," said Wolfe.
Drugs Block Fat Enzymes
The drugs work by blocking absorption of about a third of fat enzymes that enter the body. Instead, the fat passes through the body to the gastrointestinal tract until it is excreted. These medications also block fat-soluble vitamins including vitamins A, B, and K.
Some of the more common side effects of Alli or Xenical include diarrhea and stool leakage.
However, according to Dr. Donald Hensrud, associate professor of nutrition and preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the longer a patient stays on the medication, the more likely these symptoms will go away.
"The chances of having those side effects are a bit overrated," said Hensrud. "Only about 20 percent of people get those side effects, and in most people it lasts for less than a week."
More severe side effects reported to the FDA include liver disease, pancreatitis, and kidney stones. The FDA received 47 reports of acute pancreatitis and 73 cases of kidney stones attributed to orlistats.
While many experts say these side effects are rare, it's not clear what segment of people who use the drug may experience these severe conditions.
Monique Paulwell of Bowie, Md. said she only took Alli four times before she began feeling fatigue, loss of appetite, a nagging headache and jaundice.
"After a battery of tests, [doctors] said there had been an attack on my liver," said Paulwell. "By the time I was admitted to the hospital, I had 48 hours to live. It was that serious."
Paulwell said she thought taking Alli would help her lose a few pounds and maybe boost her acting career. Instead, she had a near-fatal experience her doctors told her was caused by the drug. She said she needed a liver transplant to save her life.
"What I knew is that it was FDA approved, it was safe for me to use," she said. "But what happened was I started to feel ill almost immediately after starting to use it."
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