A.M. Vitals: Johnson & Johnson Recalls Kids’ Benadryl, Motrin

Another Recall: Even as some of its recalled kids’ medicines make their way back to store shelves, Johnson & Johnson announced another recall — this one of about 4.8 million packages of children’s Benadryl tablets and junior-strength Motrin caplets, the WSJ reports. But J&J says the drugs, which were made at the company’s trouble-plagued Fort Washington plant before it was temporarily closed, aren’t dangerous and that the recall is aimed at drugstores and suppliers. Consumers can keep taking the drugs, the company says.

Scanning Concerns: A new kind of CT scanner used in dental care is raising concerns over the radiation it delivers during kids’ orthodontic treatment, which isn’t likely dangerous in itself but adds to cumulative exposure, the New York Times reports. Cone-beam scanners, which produce 3D images, have been aggressively marketed as a way to produce more precise images, but there are few guidelines for their use, the paper reports.

Inspection Gap?: The FDA doesn’t typically inspect medical-device manufacturing facilities when the devices are being produced for use in clinical trials, the WSJ reports, citing people involved in the process. That gap may be dangerous; participants in a study of a stent-graft used to treat aortic aneurysms had an unusually high rate of blood clots, and physicians involved in the study as well as the company say that was due to a manufacturing issue.

STD Snapshot: The picture on sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. is mixed, with gonorrhea rates dipping to a record low in 2009 but rates of chlamydia and syphilis continuing to climb, the Los Angeles Times reports, citing new stats from the CDC. Herpes and HPV are far more common, but those three are the only STDs physicians are required to report to the government agency.

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A.M. Vitals: Gilead Pill Cuts Risk of HIV Infection in Study

Prevention Advance: A pill now used to treat HIV infections can also be used to prevent them in men who have sex with men, with a 73% lower risk of acquiring the virus for those who took the medication every day as directed, the WSJ reports. The pill, Truvada, is a combination of drugs and is made by Gilead. In the study of nearly 2,500 men, those receiving the drug as well as those given a placebo were instructed to also use condoms, though not all complied.

Declining Coverage?: A new poll finds 53% of 707 registered voters surveyed believe members of Congress who ran against the health-care overhaul law should turn down the government-sponsored coverage that is part of their congressional benefits, Politico reports. Meantime, NPR’s Shots Blog reports on the congressman-elect who ran against the health bill and then asked at orientation why his own coverage would take 28 days to kick in, and whether he could purchase government insurance in the meantime.

Combine and Conquer: A study published in JAMA shows that type 2 diabetics who regularly do both aerobic exercise and strength-training — but not either activity alone — lowered blood-sugar levels, the WSJ reports. Doing both forms of exercise also better promoted fat loss. The advice to do a combination of exercises applies to everyone, not just diabetics, the study’s lead author tells the paper.

Trimming the Salt: More packaged food companies — including Butterball, Snyder’s of Hanover and Hostess — have pledged to reduce salt levels in their products by 25% over the next five years, the Associated Press reports. Health departments in NYC and other cities are pushing the initiative, which with the new signers-on has 22 participants thus far, the AP says.

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