Red Wings' Ericsson back for Stanley Cup final opener

Earlier this week, Red Wings defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, right, had surgery for acute appendicitis. (Mark Avery/Associated Press)

Injured Detroit Red Wings forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper took the ice for Friday's workout but, unlike defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, haven't been cleared for game action.

Ericsson was absent from Friday's workout as a precaution just days following surgery for acute appendicitis, but Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said he would play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).

Datsyuk, meanwhile, wasn't exactly blazing up and down the ice after missing the last three games of his team's series win over Chicago in the NHL Western Conference final with a foot injury.

"I'm always optimistic," said Datsyuk. "There's always a chance. I improved a lot and [Friday] I skated with the team."

Draper missed the last two contests versus the Blackhawks with a groin injury and, like Datsyuk, his status remains uncertain.

"Pavel's the only last-minute decision, everyone else is going to be ready," said Babcock.

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom also skated Friday alongside defence partner Brian Rafalski and will be in the lineup for the series opener.

He is nursing an undisclosed lower body injury that kept him out of the lineup for two games, including Wednesday's series-clinching 2-1 overtime win over Chicago in Game 5.

"You can see the depth we have now," said Lidstrom. "A few guys go down and other guys step in and play real well.

"To win a series for us when your top line didn't score, but [Darren] Helm came up big for us and got the winner, shows we have a lot of depth on our team."

Lidstrom leads all NHL blue-liners in scoring in this year's playoffs with 13 points in 14 games.

With files from The Canadian Press

Both Charlottetown schools survive board vote

Parkdale School

Two schools in Charlottetown threatened with closure will remain open after votes in support at a special meeting of the Eastern School District to consider closing 11 schools.

The motion to close St. Jean Elementary was defeated 7-3.

In the first vote, the motion to close Parkdale School was defeated by a vote of 10-0.

Several trustees spoke out against the closing of the school in advance of the first vote. Trustees Edna Reid and Gael MacEachern went further, saying none of the 11 schools recommended for closure in a report by the district superintendent should be closed.

"I asked myself if by closing these schools will I be doing the best for the students of the Eastern School District, and the answer is no," said Reid.

Closing the schools was recommended in a report earlier this year, and months of public consultation followed. The trustees will vote on separate motions regarding the closure of each school at Friday's meeting.

MacEachern echoed the sentiments of several trustees in saying that expecting school board staff to prepare a school organization plan in three and a half months, a request made by Education Minister Gerard Greenan, was not realistic. Public input echoed that concern, she said.

"Do it right. Do it after rezoning, after kindergarten, and after a professional transportation study."

The final decision on whether to close schools rests with the provincial cabinet. Those schools that are closed will not reopen in September following the summer holiday.

CBC.ca/pei will post the results of the votes as they occur.

Watch for results of the votes here:

	R. Clow	A. Miller	G. MacEachern	S. Clark	R. Collins	B. Dingwell	R. Lee	D. Mitchell	E. Rankin	E. Reid	H. Somers
St. Teresa's Cons.
Tracadie Cross Cons.
St. Peter's Cons.
Dundas Cons.
Georgetown Elementary
Grand Tracadie Elementary
St. Jean Elementary, Ch'town	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Parkdale Elementary, Ch'town	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Eastern Kings Cons., Souris
Rollo Bay Cons.
Fortune Cons.

Prepare for delays, congestion amid summer road construction

Plan ahead to get around traffic congestion and delays from summer construction, city officials advise. (CBC)

City officials are advising drivers to plan ahead as Calgary's road construction season moves into full swing.

"We are expecting a very busy construction season, and we have major projects going on throughout the city," said Laurel Johnston, a spokeswoman for the city's roads department.

She advised motorists to "give themselves more time before they head out on the roadways."

The Langevin Bridge, used by 15,000 vehicles every day to access downtown, has already been closed until mid-June as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the East Village.

A temporary lane reversal has been set up on the Fifth Avenue flyover, or drivers can alternately use the lower deck on Centre Street.

Other projects already in effect are:

• Ramp closure from westbound Glenmore Trail to southbound Deerfoot Trail until mid-July.
• Only one eastbound lane of Country Hills Boulevard open between Beddington Trail and Country Hills Drive for a month.

Some drivers told CBC News they're willing to put up with the summer road delays and congestion for long-term gain.

Health officials warn of TB patient on Alberta-to-B.C. bus

Alberta health officials sent out a warning Thursday to bus riders after a passenger with tuberculosis rode from Lethbridge, Alta., to Kelowna, B.C.

The ill person travelled on Greyhound bus #5164, which left Lethbridge for Calgary on May 24 at 10:30 p.m., and transferred to Greyhound bus #5155 from Calgary to Kelowna, which left at 1:30 p.m. on the same day.

Both buses picked up and dropped off passengers at various stops along the way.

The person travelled during the infectious stage of the disease.

"Public health staff are working to ensure that all Alberta contacts of the passenger in question are identified and appropriately screened. Identified contacts deemed to be at risk of infection will be tested and, if necessary, offered preventative treatment," health officials said in a statement.

"As not all bus tickets had full names or addresses, this public notification is to help ensure that those who may be at risk contact public health officials."

Anyone who was on the bus can call their local public health provider or, if they live in Alberta, can call Health Link at 1-866-408-5465.

Health officials issued a similar warning last year about a passenger who took a Greyhound bus from Merritt, B.C., to Calgary.

Family disappointed after complaint dismissed in cancer death

Members of a P.E.I. family say they still need answers about what they believe was medical negligence that led to their brother's death.

Joanne Driscoll says she was not surprised by the college's report. (CBC)

Don Driscoll died in January 2008 of pancreatic cancer after an October 2007 diagnosis, and his family says the disease should have been caught earlier. He had been complaining of abdominal pains for 10 years.

The Driscoll family laid formal complaints against four doctors, but P.E.I.'s College of Physicians and Surgeons dismissed the complaints last Friday.

"I wasn't surprised, but I was very disappointed," said sister Joanne Driscoll.

That leaves the Driscolls with many questions about how the case was handled.

They told CBC News this week that Driscoll did not receive appropriate care before his death and he was misdiagnosed with depression. Complaining of abdominal pains, Driscoll saw doctors more than two dozen times and had a number of tests.

By the time he was diagnosed, the cancer had spread throughout his body. If it had been caught earlier, the Driscolls said their brother might have had some treatment options.

In its report, the college writes: "It seems that while an early diagnosis of this unfortunate disease might have produced a different outcome, it is impossible to predict when, in the course of Mr. Driscoll's abdominal pain history, the cancer occurred. It is unlikely that his pain would have been related to [the] neuro-endocrine cancer ... but this is speculation at best."

The report says one doctor now says she may have entertained the idea of giving Driscoll a CT scan in retrospect, but the college concluded "her management of Mr. Driscoll was appropriate."

The family still doesn't want to name the

Independent report flags series of flaws with Ambulance NB

The New Brunswick Department of Health has released an independent report Thursday that found a series of flaws in the province's ambulance system, including no clear policy on maps, training and dispatching.

Health Minister Michael Murphy tabled the report, written by Richard Brady, a senior Ontario Health Department official, which stemmed from the case of 14-year-old Cody Jones.

Jones died on April 2 after it took 57 minutes for a second ambulance to get to his Fredericton Junction home after the original emergency vehicle went down a road closed due to flooding and got stuck on a different back road.

"My department commissioned this report to bring to light any service deficiencies and weaknesses that led to this delay so that they may be corrected," said Murphy in a statement.

"Mr. Brady has provided a thorough review of what deficiencies in the system contributed to this delay and has made recommendations for improvements that could help ensure similar incidents do not occur."

Brady report conveys drama

The Brady report is dry and technical, but still conveys some of the anxiety surrounding events on the night of Jones's death.

The 911 call came as the 14-year-old boy was having trouble breathing at his home in Fredericton Junction.

A paramedic co-ordinator, who is identified only as 4620 in the report, told the investigator that he heard the stress in the first crew's voice as they encountered two road closures on the way to the home.

The co-ordinator said the second ambulance should have been dispatched sooner.

But as the report points out, Ambulance New Brunswick had no clear policy on what to do about a delay or even how to define a delay.

Co-ordinator 4620 also said outside paramedics who have to respond to calls in the area had no way of knowing about local road closures.

Two other paramedics who are posted to the area but who weren't working that night told the investigator that they know when to avoid certain roads but Ambulance New Brunswick never asked for their input.

Several problems led to delay

The Brady report identified a series of problems that caused the delay in navigating to the Fredericton Junction house:

• A shortage of maps and training.
• Poor information on the status of local road closures.
• Lack of dispatch and fleet policies.
• Lack of paramedic-dispatch communications policy.

Murphy said the provincial government and Ambulance New Brunswick are already addressing some of the problems identified in the Brady report, including by hiring 90 new paramedics to close coverage gaps.

Other measures include altering paramedic shift changes to avoid gaps in coverage of an area and designing an ambulance deployment plan to make sure there is a better allocation of ambulances around areas such as Fredericton Junction.

A complete copy of the report is not yet available, but the Health Department said it will be posted on the government website once it is translated.

Man shot in Burnaby highrise parking lot

Police are investigating a shooting in an underground parking lot in Burnaby Tuesday night. (CBC)

Police in Burnaby are investigating a shooting Tuesday night in a condominium parking lot.

One man was rushed to hospital in serious condition after someone shot at a large black SUV in the parking lot of the highrise building at 4178 Dawson St. near Gilmore Avenue

Witnesses reported hearing eight to 12 shots around 10 p.m. PT and seeing a minivan speeding away from the scene, said police. No arrests were made Tuesday night.

Cyclone Aila death toll rises to 191 in India, Bangladesh

The death toll from Cyclone Aila in eastern India and Bangladesh rose to at least 191 on Wednesday, officials said, while heavy rains after the storm caused deadly mudslides and slowed rescue efforts.

The toll was expected to rise in both countries as rescue workers reached cut-off areas.

The cyclone destroyed thousands of homes and stranded tens of thousands of people in flooded villages before starting to ease Tuesday.

But mudslides in India's famed Darjeeling tea district killed at least 20 people overnight, said P. Zimba, a local government official.

The official death toll in India stood at 78 by Wednesday, said Asim Dasgupta, the finance minister of the worst-affected West Bengal state in India.

Bangladesh's Food and Disaster Management Ministry said the toll there was 113 after more bodies were found. Most victims drowned or were washed away when storm surges hit coastal areas.

Soldiers have been deployed to take food, water and medicine to tens of thousands of people stranded in flooded villages, Bangladeshi Minister Abdur Razzak told reporters Wednesday.

At least 500,000 villagers were affected or stranded, mostly by flash floods caused by tidal surges, said Ziaul Alam, the local administrator in Bangladesh's Khulna district.

Tiger reserve flooded

Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, a senior official in West Bengal state, said at least 50 people had been rescued from rooftops in the Sundarbans, a tangle of mangrove forests that is home to one of the world's largest tiger populations.

Conservationists expressed concern over the tigers' fate.

At least one tiger from the flooded reserve took refuge in a house. Forest guards tranquillized it and planned to release it once the waters subside, said Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, which assisted in the operation.

It is believed about 250 tigers live on the Indian side of the Sundarbans and another 250 live on the Bangladeshi side.

Conservationists said water levels were too high for ecologists and forest officials to enter the area and assess the damage.

Soaring deficit undermines confidence in finance minister, say Liberals

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has "lost credibility" after announcing Canada's deficit will soar to a record level, Liberal finance critic John McCallum said Wednesday.

Flaherty announced Tuesday the federal deficit will reach more than $50 billion this fiscal year, more than $16 billion higher in 2009-2010 than he forecast in January's budget.

McCallum, a former chief economist at Royal Bank, said he warned Flaherty early last year against spending "drunkenly" during good economic times.

"Sadly, I'm afraid this serves to further undermine confidence in our finance minister at a time when Canada desperately needs competence and strength at the helm in this area," said McCallum.

"It's incredible that the same person who told us in November that Canada would have nothing but surpluses forever now acknowledges he's the $50-billion man."

In his November 2008 fiscal update, Flaherty projected balanced budgets and small surpluses through 2012-2013, but did warn economic uncertainty made it impossible to rule out future deficits.

"If he had come clean … then I think people would be more sympathetic," said McCallum. "I think he has lost credibility."

Stimulus spending stalled: Liberals

Wednesday also marks 120 days since the federal budget вЂ" a key date for the government's plan to stimulate the economy, said McCallum. According to the budget, "measures to support the economy must begin within the next 120 days to be most effective."

McCallum said the flow of money for stimulus projects has stalled.

"We have a flurry of announcements and money is only trickling out to shovel-ready projects to get people working," he said.

McCallum said a Liberal proposal to establish a national standard of eligibility to qualify for employment insurance at 360 hours will help pull the country out of recession.

"It's efficient stimulus to put money in the hands of unemployed people," he said. "We think this is a major addition the government must implement."

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has said he's willing to try to bring down the minority Conservative government if it doesn't reform the EI system.

The government argues such a change would hike payroll taxes, adding the budget already provided an extra five weeks of benefits.

McCallum says the cost of creating a national eligibility standard is less than three per cent of the $50-billion deficit.

The Liberals can fall back on their record of deficit slaying, said McCallum, noting the former Liberal government eliminated a $40-billion deficit during the 1990s.

"Looks like we may have to do the same trick for a $50-billion Conservative deficit now," he said.

Restaurant in Cavendish, P.E.I., goes up in flames

Only the frame appears to remain of the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant in Cavendish. (David Roberts)

Firefighters are battling a blaze at a restaurant in Cavendish, P.E.I., on Tuesday morning.

Linda Lowther, who operates an accommodations business near the 300-seat Friendly Fishermen restaurant on Route 6, said there was a large explosion just after 6 a.m.

Photographs sent from witnesses on the scene just before 8 a.m. show there is little left of the restaurant.

More to come

8 patients die in Turkish hospital fire

A fire at a hospital in western Turkey has left eight patients in the intensive-care unit dead.

Gov. Sahabettin Harputlu of Bursa province said it was not clear whether the patients died of smoke inhalation or when life-support machines were left without power during the fire at the Sevket Yilmaz hospital on Tuesday.

A short-circuit in the hospital's basement is suspected to have sparked the fire, and affected the entire building when the ventilating system did not work because of the power failure, Harputlu said.

Authorities evacuated all 44 of the hospital's patients, Harputlu said. As well as the eight deaths, several other patients suffered from smoke inhalation but all were in stable condition, authorities said.

With files from the Associated Press

Pakistan lifts ban on opposition leader Sharif

Pakistan's top court Tuesday lifted a ban on opposition leader Nawaz Sharif that prevented him from running in elections, clearing the way for the popular politician to run for prime minister in 2013.

A two-time former prime minister, Sharif had been blocked from public office because of a criminal conviction in 2000 widely seen as politically motivated.

Sharif's supporters broke into cheers soon after the verdict in the appeal was handed down by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled Sharif was not eligible for office, prompting him to lead nationwide protests against the shaky government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan's Western allies are desperate to see political stability in Pakistan as it fights Islamist militants.

Sharif -- the country's most popular politician according to polls вЂ" has made no secret of his desire to become prime minister, but has said he does not want early elections.

Magic stifle Cavaliers for series lead

Magic centre Dwight Howard scores two of his 24 points in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night in Orlando. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Dwight Howard scored 24 points and Rafer Alston added 18 as the Orlando Magic downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-89 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in an Eastern Conference final that's getting nastier by the minute.

Howard led five Orlando players into double digits, including Rafer Alston (18), Mickael Pietrus (16), Rashard Lewis (15) and Hedo Turkoglu (13).

The Magic led at every interval but halftime, with the Cavaliers going up 41-40 at the break after a strong second quarter.

Cleveland superstar LeBron James scored 41 on just 11-of-26 shooting and missed five free throws in the fourth quarter. But once again, James didn't get enough help from his teammates.

Mo Williams, who needed four stitches to close two gashes around his left eye after being elbowed in the first half, Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas shot a combined 13-of-37.

All-star guard Williams finished with 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting and briefly left the game after taking an elbow from Orlando's Anthony Johnson near the eye midway through the second quarter. He required four stitches to seal cuts above and under the eye.

Johnson drove the lane and extended his elbow, knocking Williams to the floor. Williams was called for a blocking foul, and Johnson was whistled for a flagrant one foul in a game that as chippy.

Howard, Ilgauskas and Cleveland's Anderson Varejao all fouled out as the officials called 58 personals, handed out two technicals, a flagrant and spent half the night stepping between players on both sides as tempers flared inside an overheated Amway Arena.

"We just kept fighting. That's what we got to do, we fight to the end," Howard said. "We can't worry about nothing, we can't worry about the calls, can't worry about nobody else. We just got to get out there and play."

Unlike Games 1 and 2, the Magic didn't fall behind by double digits and need to rally. They got out fast, stayed close despite Howard's early foul trouble and put the Cavs away at the line.

Howard, a notoriously poor foul shooter, went 14-of-19 from the line and the Magic made 39 of 51 attempts. In the fourth quarter alone, Orlando made 19 of 23 to hold off the top-seeded Cavaliers, who began the playoffs with eight straight wins and have now dropped two of their last three.

Game 4 takes place Tuesday night in Orlando.

North Korea says it successfully conducted a nuclear test

North Korea says it conducted an underground nuclear test on Monday.

"We have successfully conducted another nuclear test on May 25 as part of the republic's measures to strengthen its nuclear deterrent," the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman for the South Korean president, says that a nuclear test may have been carried out in the North.

President Lee Myung-bak has called an emergency cabinet meeting.

Man dies after Calgary police respond to complaint

Calgary police shot and killed a man early Sunday after a two-hour standoff in the southwest community of Southwood, the third fatal shooting by city police in the last nine months.

Police responded to a complaint at about 12:50 a.m. in the 500 block of Sabrina Road S.W. that a man with a sawed-off shotgun was holding hostage his 19-year-old neighbour.

The area was cordoned off and at some point, the man in a home was shot by an officer, police said.

No officers were injured but the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was taken to hospital where he died, police said.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the government body that investigates such incidents, has been assigned to examine the actions of the officers involved in the incident, police said.

"It's still very early in the investigation," said ASIRT's Cliff Purvis, who expects to release more information Monday.

Calgary Police Service Chief Rick Hanson said in a news conference Sunday afternoon the officer who fired the fatal shots is a member of the tactical team with about 20 years experience.

In March, Calgary police shot and killed Travis Oakes as he tried to ram his way out of a city car wash in a stolen vehicle.

Last September, police shot and killed Walid Mohamed Maragan, who had earlier stabbed his wife to death in their apartment, and refused officer commands to put down a butcher knife.

With files from The Canadian Press

Kiefer Sutherland, designer reach deal over head-butt

Kiefer Sutherland, shown as he arrives at the Fox Fall Eco-Casino party in Los Angeles on Sept. 24, 2007, was charged with assault May 7. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland and the fashion designer he's accused of head-butting at a Manhattan nightclub say they have resolved their differences, clearing the way for charges to be dropped.

Sutherland and Jack McCollough issued a brief joint statement late Friday to The Associated Press through Sutherland's lawyer.

"I am sorry about what happened that night and sincerely regret that Mr. McCollough was injured," Sutherland said in the statement.

Sutherland, the star of Fox television's 24, was charged May 7 with third-degree assault in the alleged incident two weeks ago at a nightclub at the Mercer Hotel in the trendy SoHo neighbourhood of Manhattan. The minor charge is comparable to a speeding ticket.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment on whether the charges would be dismissed.

But now that Sutherland and McCollough say they have resolved their differences, a prosecutor may go before a judge and ask that the case be dropped. That could happen at Sutherland's next scheduled court appearance on June 22.

"I appreciate Mr. Sutherland's statement and wish him well," McCollough said in the statement.

McCollough, of the high-end Proenza Schouler fashion house, said Sutherland head-butted him and broke his nose after an argument.

The two were out following the gala at the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a fancy affair studded with celebrities.

The story spurred a media frenzy as a swarm of reporters gathered outside a police station in Manhattan to watch as Sutherland arrived for questioning and was charged.

Photographers also shadowed Sutherland and McCollough while rumours swirled about the nature of their altercation and what role, if any, actress Brooke Shields might have played.

Sutherland, who has won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of dashing federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on 24, pleaded no contest in October 2007 to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 per cent.

The son of actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas served 30 days in jail, in addition to 18 days for violating probation in a 2004 drunk-driving arrest.

Pierse breaks Canadian record in women's 100-metre breaststroke

Annamay Pierse broke her own Canadian record in the women's 100-metre breaststroke on Friday to open the Mel Zajac International swimming competition.

The Vancouver swimmer clocked a time of one minute 07.32 seconds to eclipse her previous national mark of 1:07.78 set in August 2007 at the Pan Am Games.

Ariana Kukors of the U.S. was second in 1:08.12, while Ashley Wanland, also of the U.S., finished third in 1:09.76.

An Olympic finalist last year in Beijing, Pierse was racing for the first time since breaking the world short-course record in the 200-metre breaststroke in March.

"It was pretty important for me to get the long course season off to a good start,' said the Pierse, 25. "It was a little nerve-wracking being the first race since the world record and seeing how I was going to do.

"I don't have a lot of races before the worlds, so I want to make them count."

Kawakami, Braves edge Blue Jays

Atlanta Braves' Matt Diaz, left, is greeted to cheers after scoring the winning run in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in Atlanta. (John Amis/Associated Press)

Kenshin Kawakami outlasted Roy Halladay and combined with closer Mike Gonzalez on a four-hitter to lead the Atlanta Braves past the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Friday night in the interleague opener for both teams.

Kawakami (3-5) lasted eight innings вЂ" his longest outing of the season вЂ" and gave up only three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Casey Kotchman drove in the only run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

Halladay gave up five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven scoreless innings, ending his streak of wins in five straight starts.

Gonzalez escaped a jam in the ninth for his seventh save.

The Braves took advantage of Halladay's exit to score the game's only run and hand the Blue Jays their fourth straight loss.

Matt Diaz, pinch-hitting for Kawakami, led off the eighth with a double to centre off Jesse Carlson (1-3) and moved to third on Yunel Escobar's groundout to first. Diaz scored on Kotchman's fly to left field.

Aaron Hill hit a one-out double to left field off Gonzalez and advanced to third on Alex Rios's weak grounder to Gonzalez.

Vernon Wells followed with a grounder that a charging Martin Prado bobbled briefly before recovering to throw to first. The throw beat Wells by a half step.

The Blue Jays scored a total of five runs in losing three straight at Boston before continuing their nine-game road trip in Atlanta.

"We couldn't score any runs," Gaston said. "We're having trouble scoring runs right now. [Kawakami] threw the ball well. You can't take anything away from him. They both pitched a very good game."

Shut out for the first time this season, the Blue Jays remain one-half game ahead of Boston in the AL East.

Kawakami shines

Kawakami gave up only two hits through seven scoreless innings before Scott Rolen led off the eighth with a double to left.

Rolen was left standing at second as Lyle Overbay grounded out to Kawakami, Rod Barajas hit a fly to shallow right field, and pinch-hitter Joe Inglett struck out.

Kawakami, who had lost five of his last six decisions and entered the game with a 5.73 ERA, looked to be an unlikely bet to keep pace with Halladay, the 2003 Cy Young winner who was looking to win his sixth straight start.

"When you run into a guy who's pitching well, it makes it tough," Halladay said. "We ran into one who was pitching well. You have to tip your hat to him."

Kawakami, a 33-year-old rookie, didn't last more than six innings in any of his first seven starts, but he looked strong against the Blue Jays after limiting his pitch count early in the game.

Kawakami struck out the side in the sixth inning and again retired the Blue Jays in order in the seventh.

Halladay kept pace by pitching out of trouble in the first and fourth innings.

The Braves had runners on first and third in the first following singles by Kotchman and Brian McCann, but Kelly Johnson took a called third strike to end the threat.

Garret Anderson and McCann led off the fourth with singles before Johnson struck out after two failed bunt attempts. Anderson advanced to third on Martin Prado's groundout, but Jeff Francoeur's flyball to right field ended the inning.

Internet followers of eagle cam watch helplessly as eaglet dies in B.C. nest

An eagle (bottom left) is seen Thursday in a nest on Hornby Island tending to its remaining eaglet. (Hancock Wildlife Foundation)

The smallest of two eaglets in a nest on Hornby Island, B.C., that wildlife enthusiasts have been observing online via a webcam has died after getting caught in its mother's feathers and falling to the ground.

The nest, located on a tree top, has a webcam installed above it. Thousands of visitors to the site that hosts the webcam watched helplessly as the event unfolded around 8 a.m. on Monday, said Karen Bills of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation. The webcam is part of the foundation's efforts to promote the conservation of wild habitats through science and education.

"Something black, we could see, got entwined around the eaglet's left wing [and] upper back," Bills told CBC News Thursday in a telephone interview.

It was a difficult thing to watch as the mother tried so hard to shake lose the 11-day-old eaglet, known as Echo, she said.

"She tried desperately to shake it loose, and the poor little thing is crying," Bills said.

"At one point, she even flew up … and then flew back down into the nest with the baby still attached. Meanwhile, everybody is watching and crying and all upset, and then she tried shaking it loose again. … Finally, she got up and flew off and that is when we saw the little body drop."

The eaglet's body was found underneath the tree where the nest is.

Eulogies pour in

The foundation's website, which has a huge discussion forum on eagle watching, has been inundated with comments about Echo.

"They made a separate thread in the forum called 'Tribute to Echo,' where people have posted pictures and written poems … it shows how much loved he was," Bills said.

The death of the eaglet also impacted some schoolchildren, who began their Monday morning lesson by watching the eagle webcam, she said.

The teachers took the opportunity to explain aspects of nature and life in the wild to their students, she said.

The older eaglet remains in the nest.

The foundation has set up webcams to monitor three nesting pairs of bald eagles on B.C.'s south coast.

Besides the nest on Hornby Island, there is another nest near Sidney on Vancouver Island вЂ" which can be watched live on CBC News's B.C. regional website вЂ" and one in Delta in Metro Vancouver.

Mitchell's natural hat trick buries Oceanic

Windsor winger Eric Wellwood celebrates his first period-goal against the Rimouski Oceanic during Memorial Cup action Thursday night in Quebec. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Windsor Spitfires winger Dale Mitchell made sure the hometown Rimouski Oceanic would be the first team eliminated from the Memorial Cup.

Mitchell scored a natural hat trick in the third period Thursday night, lifting the Spitfires to a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the stunned Oceanic during the tiebreaker contest in Rimouski, Que.

Windsor will take the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the semifinal match Friday night (7 p.m. ET).

The winner of that matchup will meet the Kelowna Rockets in the Memorial Cup final Sunday afternoon (4:30 p.m. ET).

Eric Wellwood, Scott Timmins and Greg Nemisz also scored for the Spitfires, with goaltender Andrew Engelage making 17 saves.

Rimouski's SГ©bastien PichГ©, Patrice Cormier, Jordan Caron and Emmanuel Boudreau netted markers while netminder Maxim Gougeon stopped 31 shots.

Mitchell single-handedly won the game for Windsor with a natural hat trick in the first 7:44 of the final period.

Trailing 4-2, Mitchell brought Windsor within one by converting home a rebound just 4:11 into the third.

The Spitfires winger then blasted a wrist shot over Gougeon with Windsor on the power play 1:40 later.

Mitchell ended the comeback with his third goal in the final 20 minutes, sending Windsor on to the semifinal after bouncing on a rebound in front of Gougeon following another Windsor power play.

Nemisz ended the four-goal third with a final power-play goal with only one second remaining.

The teams exploded for five goals in 9:02 span during the first period.

Wellwood got Windsor on the board with his first goal of the tournament at 7:13. Wellwood took a pass from Adam Henrique and beat Gougeon with a nice deke to the glove side.

Rimouski responded 49 seconds later as PichГ©'s one-time point blast rang off the far post.

Before the Quebec crowd revel in the goal, Windsor struck back to take a 2-1 lead 28 seconds later. After a Rimouski turnover in the neutral zone, Timmins let a seemingly harmless wrist shot behind a surprised Gougeon.

The scoring barrage continued with Rimouski tying the contest 2-2 on the power play at 12:47 of the first. Taking advantage of a turnover by Nemisz, Cormier fed a cross-ice pass to Jordan Caron, who buried a shot by Engelage.

The Oceanic took the lead with 3:45 remaining in the first when Boudreau's point shot went through a maze of players before the puck found the back of the net.

The team combined for a seven-goal second period during round-robin play on Sunday, a game Rimouski won 5-4.

Another power-play advantage gave the Oceanic a 4-2 edge with only 2:35 left in the second period. Cormier took a great lead pass from PichГ© before beating Engelage with a terrific move to the forehand.

Leading by two-goal lead heading into the third, Rimouski appeared headed for a showdown with QMJHL rival Voltigeurs until Mitchell's dominating effort shocked the Oceanic.

Competency of suspended Sask. radiologist questioned 2½ years ago

Dr. Darius Tsatsi was featured in a CBC television report in 2005 on his family's first Christmas in Canada. (CBC)

Questions of competency were raised 2ВЅ years ago about the radiologist whose work has led to an unprecedented review of 70,000 medical images, a spokesman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan says.

On Thursday, the Yorkton-based Sunrise Health Region announced it suspended Dr. Darius Tsatsi from privileges at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on May 14 after serious problems were found in cases Tsatsi had been involved in.

The college said after other radiologists double-checked Tsatsi's work on 103 randomly chosen cases from last year, there was a "high incidence of disagreement."

"A worrisome proportion of those disagreements involve clinical situations in which a diagnostic error could have devastating adverse consequences for patients," the college said in a background document released to the media Wednesday.

It's back to jail for former Winnipeg city bureaucrat turned robber

A former City of Winnipeg bureaucrat turned bank robber is back in federal prison.

Klaus Burlakow, 54, who has legally changed his name to Timothy Collins, was convicted in 2003 of several robberies in Winnipeg and Vancouver.

His parole was revoked by Corrections Canada this month and he was sent to Stony Mountain Institution. The National Parole Board refused to say why his parole was revoked.

Burlakow had been an events planner with the City of Winnipeg and helped organize the 1999 Pan-American Games. He had already left his job with the city when the bank robberies occurred.

Burlakow was arrested in February 2003, after a high-speed police chase that began when a River Heights bank was robbed at gunpoint.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison in February 2004 after pleading guilty to robbing seven banks. Six of the crimes took place in Winnipeg, the other in Vancouver.

He stole about $33,000 using BB guns and air pistols to threaten tellers.

Led a double life in Seattle

Burlakow also led a double life in Seattle, posing as an Irish millionaire. He spent half of 2002 in the U.S. city, staying in the best hotels and renting luxury cars and a houseboat on Lake Union. His expensive dual life is likely what prompted the crime spree, police said.

Burlakow was granted full parole after serving four years of his sentence and was hired a few months later as a fundraising manager and consultant for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an organization based in Winnipeg that focuses on relief, development and peace.

In 2008, he began working at Sam's Place, a used bookstore and cafГ©, that raises money for the committee.

"He'd done an awful lot of hard work getting Sam's Place open," said Peter Rempel, co-chair of the MCC.

"He was … bringing us invoices and delivering cheques. We had trusted that was working out well."

Three civil cases against Burlakow

But the cheques in Burlakow's personal life weren't working out. He was the defendant in three civil cases earlier this year in connection to nearly $10,000 in debts. He failed to show up for his court dates and was found in default of the payments owed, according to court documents.

His wages were ordered to be garnished while he was at MCC, but Burlakow was terminated from that position early last month.

Rempel said it was unfortunate that Burlakow forfeited his second chance but that he was not let go for that reason. He would not elaborate on why the job was terminated.

Wayne Allwine, voice of Mickey Mouse, dies at 62

Wayne Allwine, the actor who voiced Mickey Mouse for more than 30 years, died Monday of complications from diabetes. (Walt Disney Co./Associated Press)

Wayne Allwine, the actor who voiced Mickey Mouse for more than 30 years, has died. He was 62.

The Walt Disney Co. says Allwine died Monday of complications from diabetes. Russi Taylor, his wife of 20 years and the voice of Minnie Mouse, was by his side.

"Wayne dedicated his entire professional life to Disney," chief executive Robert Iger said in a statement Wednesday. "Over the last 32 years, [he] gave so much joy, happiness and comfort to so many around the world by giving voice to our most beloved, iconic character, Mickey Mouse."

A Southern California native, Allwine joined Disney in 1966 when he took a job in the mailroom. He went on to work in the sound effects department and began voicing the company's main mouse in 1977.

His falsetto can be heard in 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol, 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit and at Disney theme parks around the world. He won an Emmy Award in 1986 for his sound editing on the NBC series Amazing Stories.

Allwine was the third man behind Mickey's voice. The first was Disney himself, then Jimmy MacDonald, who became Allwine's mentor and passed him the reins after voicing the mouse for 30 years.

"He said, 'Just remember kid, you're only filling in for the boss,"' Allwine once recalled. "And that's the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years."

"Mickey's the real star," Allwine continued. "You know you just have to love the little guy while you have him, because he won't be yours forever."

Roy E. Disney, director emeritus for the Walt Disney Co., said Allwine did more than give Mickey a voice. He "gave him a heart and soul as well."

"He did an incredible job of bringing emotion, humour and appeal to the character and superbly carried on the tradition originated by my Uncle Walt and later by sound-effects wizard Jimmy Macdonald."

Besides Taylor, Allwine is survived by five children from a previous marriage: Erin, Alison, Peter, Christopher and Joshua.

Back to the future

Christian Bale stars as John Connor in Terminator Salvation, the fourth instalment in the sci-fi film series. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

It’s been 25 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger clomped out of the steam as a visiting cyborg from the future, a role that made the most of the “actor’s” waxen face and mechanical charms. Hop-scotching through time to save the world from evil machines, the first two Terminator movies were a fist-pumpin’, big-bangin’ harbinger of the internet anxiety era.

Christian Bale plays hero John Connor with such lunatic, Batman-esque gravitas, that it looks physically painful вЂ" all that clenching can’t be good for the bowels.

But like most franchises, it’s been a case of diminishing returns since T2. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was OK, and the fourth installment is a little less OK. The new film starts in 2018, which is somewhere in the middle of the whole convoluted mythos. Judgment Day has already leveled the Earth and a man vs. machine war is raging. The machines appear to be winning, siphoning off the few remaining humans to spaceship concentration camps, a little nod to the Holocaust that is as distasteful as it sounds.

The leader of the resistance is John Connor (Christian “Sorry About That” Bale), the prophet who now has to find the boy (Anton Yelchin) who, with a little time warping, would be his dad. This clueless teen, trailed by a mute sidekick kiddie (Jadagrace Berry), is a kind of decades-traveling sperm bank upon which the future of humanity rests. John gets his inside info on the cyborgs from a series of tapes his mom left behind. Tapes! Skyscrapers have crumbled and civilizations lie buried under mountains of nuclear dust, but the tape recorder still works! Funny, I recall those things as being only a little less reliable than a Victrola even when they were cutting edge.

On one tape вЂ" to bring forgetful viewers up to speed вЂ" John’s mom, Sarah, gives background about Skynet, the evil intelligence network that became “self-aware” and nuked the planet. As she yammers on about “resetting” the future and the past, she stops suddenly and exclaims: “God, a person could go crazy thinking about this!” Indeed.

Best, perhaps, not to think at all, and enjoy the supra F/X. There are explosions a-plenty, and some great visuals, including Connor throwing himself from a jet on high into the ocean that makes for a breathtaking split second. A few narrow escapes involving motorcycles are a wink to Arnie’s preferred mode of transportation back in the day.

A T-600 Terminator packs heat in a scene from Terminator Salvation. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

But these robots lack the alpha Terminator’s verbal panache; they’re the kind of computer-generated creatures that look like the more sophisticated siblings of stainless steel refrigerators. The problem is, with their slim hips, massive metal pecs and feet that stomp like tractors being dropped from the sky, they look too powerful. Their awesomeness is a cheat. Not to be too comic-store geek about it, but there is no way a human being could ever win against a titanium, nuclear-powered, 100th-generation robot the size of a mountain. Could a guy really kick robot ass with only a truck and a little moxie? Never has an old-fashioned human-on-human fistfight been so welcome; at least that’s something like an even match.

The man who comes to fisticuffs is the film’s other lead, Marcus Wright, a former death row murder who donated his body to science, and woke up 14 years later to an apocalypse. Sam Worthington is off-handedly persuasive as a confused, scuffed maybe-hero (although there is some Australian-accent leakage). Marcus proves to be the physical manifestation of the ultimate sci-fi quest: What makes us human?

Someone might ask this of Christian Bale. The guy plays hero John Connor with such lunatic, Batman-esque gravitas, that it looks physically painful вЂ" all that clenching can’t be good for the bowels. Dude, lighten up: It isn’t ACTUALLY the end of the world! It’s only a movie, and a summer movie, too, which means silly leaps of logic and, God willing, the occasional laugh. Despite Bale, Terminator Salvation does contain a few moments of levity, requisite po-mo references to the franchise that should get audiences cheering.

But given the best line of the movie вЂ" a variation on Schwarzenegger’s famous “I’ll be back” вЂ" Bale blows it, refusing to allow even a twinkle of the eye. The actor’s most awesome superpower seems to be sucking the joy out of everything he touches these days. Dear Christian: Maybe it’s time for a Matthew McConaughey role, a little romp on the beach with Kate Hudson, just until you get your love of the game back.

Directed by McG вЂ" just typing that makes me feel like he’s mocking all of us вЂ" with a pointless shaky cam, Terminator Salvation injects every visual clichГ© found in the post-apocalyptic genre. It’s shot in a palette of fecal matter greys and browns, and everyone wears chains and tight jeans (hot for the fallout season, no?). The film is grinding and inevitable, and occasionally very cool. But mostly, it’s lifeless, as if it, too, was made in a lab somewhere, a film designed, if not to destroy us, then to lower our expectations. Ah well, why fight it?

Terminator Salvation opens May 22.

Katrina Onstad is the film columnist for CBCNews.ca.

West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park closed after possible homicide: police

Police closed Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver on Tuesday morning for an investigation. (CBC)

West Vancouver police have confirmed they are investigating the possible homicide of a woman in Lighthouse Park.

The park was closed to visitors before sunrise on Tuesday morning as forensic investigators arrived.

The woman's body was found near Juniper Point and it appeared she may have been living in the park, police confirmed. Camping is not permitted in the rugged 74-hectare park, which is located near Horseshoe Bay just off Marine Drive on the North Shore of Metro Vancouver.

The West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments were handling the investigation. The West Vancouver Police Department does not have its own homicide unit and the two forces normally work together on murder investigations in West Vancouver. Neither force is part of Metro Vancouver's regional Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Mulroney denies calling author to keep relationship with Schreiber quiet

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, right, waits to be questioned by lead commission counsel Richard Wolson at the Oliphant Commission in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney admitted Tuesday he did not want author William Kaplan to go public with information that he had a business relationship with Karlheinz Schreiber, but denied he called him specifically to ask him to keep the information quiet.

At the Oliphant inquiry in Ottawa, lead inquiry counsel Richard Wolson spent Tuesday morning questioning Mulroney about Kaplan, his Globe and Mail articles about Mulroney and Schreiber and what Kaplan wrote in his book: A Secret Trial, Brian Mulroney, Stevie Cameron and the Public Trust.

Kaplan had interviewed Mulroney for three articles he wrote for the Globe and Mail in 2003, in which Kaplan revealed that Mulroney had received $300,000 in cash payments from Schreiber, a German-Canadian businessman. But Kaplan, writing in A Secret Trial, suggested Mulroney tried to pressure him not to include that information.

“Mulroney’s unrelenting campaign to persuade me not to publish the story about the money for one reason only, to protect his reputation, was brutal, heavy-handed, and extremely wearing,” Kaplan wrote.

Mulroney told Wolson that he had tried to persuade Kaplan not to include that information in his articles because he was concerned that some in the media would use the information, in the context of the Airbus affair, “to try and get back at me and me and my family again.”

“Did you call him attempting to convince him not to write about the legal, commercial relationship that you had with Mr. Schreiber?” Wolson asked.

“I have no recollection of calling him for that specific objective,” Mulroney said.

“He would call me from time to time. When I had a chance, I would call him. Various subjects in which he was interested would come up in various conversations about his book and the areas of interest he wanted to talk about and obviously this was one of them.”

In his book Presumed Guilty: Brian Mulroney, the Airbus Affair, and the Government of Canada, Kaplan wrote that Mulroney had unfairly been the victim of unfounded allegations that he had received kickbacks from the sale of Airbus airplanes to Air Canada. Mulroney, who sued the federal government for libel after the allegations were leaked, received a $2.1-million settlement.

But in his second book about Mulroney, Kaplan criticized the former prime minister for not being forthcoming with him about his relationship with Schreiber.

The Oliphant inquiry is looking into three cash payments Mulroney received from Schreiber at three hotels in Montreal and New York from 1993 to 1994.

Schreiber has said he paid Mulroney $300,000 to lobby domestically on behalf of the Bear Head project вЂ" a plan to establish a light armoured vehicle plant in Canada.

But Mulroney has said he was paid $225,000 in three instalments and that the money was payment for his efforts to promote the vehicles internationally on behalf of the German company Thyssen. He has denied it was for any domestic lobbying work, which would have violated domestic lobbying rules.

'Still in danger zone,' for swine flu: UN chief

Drugs and vaccines against the global swine flu outbreak need to be available to poor countries, the head of the United Nations told top health officials Tuesday as they discussed delays in creating a vaccine.

"We must remain vigilant," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference at the World Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva.

"We may be in a grace period with H1N1 but we are still in the danger zone."

Ban and the WHO director general Dr. Margaret Chan met with representatives from 30 pharmaceutical companies to discuss the creation of a vaccine for the new virus that has infected nearly 10,000 people worldwide.

Drug manufacturers have not yet been told to produce a vaccine specifically for swine flu.

If a pandemic is declared, Chan said some drug companies have pledged to either donate vaccine or reserve production for poor countries. The vaccines would also be available at lower prices for poor countries, but no agreements have been signed.

Some experts have questioned whether a vaccine is needed given the illnesses have appeared mild so far, noting mass production coul

Promoting Good Health Early in Life

QUESTION: My husband and I are very concerned about the future health of our children.
Both our families have histories of both heart disease and cancer. Though our two youngsters are still under the age of 9, we would like any suggestions about things we can do now to prevent future tragedies.
What good counsel do you have for us?

ANSWER: There certainly are plenty of ways to promote good health early in life, and parents are wise to help children learn good health habits when they are young.
Medical evidence proves that the time to prevent chronic disorders is in early childhood, rather than after years of abuse. Prevention of heart attack and stroke can easily begin in young children with the proper diet.
Pay attention to including a variety of foods, with plenty of vegetables, fruits and grain products.
Choose foods that are low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
If all of this is a bit confusing, check with your doctor for a good food plan. The diet restricts fat intake to 30 percent of total calories and cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg a day.
The American Heart Association Diet is well balanced and rich in vitamins and minerals. Teenagers should be taught how to perform breast and testicular self-examinations. You can set a good example by not smoking or drinking excessively as both are very bad health habits, and children tend to mimic their parents' behavior. Teach your children at a young age that exercise is fun and should be a regular part of each day's activities.
You might try to find a type of exercise you can all participate in, like hiking or bicycle riding.
Also, find a doctor that your children like, so that when they are feeling ill they won't resist seeing the doctor promptly.
That permits an early diagnosis, which is the first step in preventing unnecessary and dangerous complications. Leading your children in these fine health habits may help you solve your own concerns, and convince you that you have provided them with the healthy head start they need and deserve.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Tricks to Staying on a Low Cholesterol Diet

QUESTION: This low cholesterol diet my doctor has given me is no easy thing to follow, and I am not doing very well in getting my numbers down.
There must be some way to make it work.
What good advice can you give me to help me reach my mark?

ANSWER: It's never easy to change long ingrained eating habits, but such a change can possibly add extra healthy years of living to your life.
Eating is a behavior pattern and if you set your mind to it, it is certainly possible to change your behavior.
There are several "tricks" you can use to help yourself stay on the diet. Make rules for your eating behavior; real ones, that you can stick to, and write them down so you won't forget.
Sounds like serious business, and it is, for you're the one that will gain (excuse me, "lose") by staying with it. Always eat in the same location in the house.
Pick the dining room or the kitchen table.
Do not, however, eat standing up by the refrigerator or over the kitchen counter, and make a promise to yourself not to nibble while you are sitting in front of the T.V.
It is amazing how many calories and how much extra cholesterol you can take in while nibbling, so don't do it. Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly before swallowing and moving on to the next bite.
It takes your body 20 minutes of eating to feel full, so if you gobble your food in ten minutes, you will still be feeling hungry for another ten minutes. One of the most important ways of checking up on your eating habits is to keep a food record.
Not just the food you have consumed during meals, but everything you put in your mouth.
Keep track of where you ate and at what time.
If you ate something you hadn't planned to eat (that wasn't on your low cholesterol diet), write down what your feelings were at the time. Before you go to bed, tally how many calories you have consumed and figure out how much of this was saturated fat and cholesterol.
Save what you've written down, and once a week, look everything over.
This will help you recognize your habits, good and bad.
Make an attempt each week to eliminate one of your bad habits.
For example, if you find that you eat scraps off the plate while you are clearing the table, make it your goal to stop that.
Once you've eliminated that problem, you can tackle the next. Perhaps you nibble as you cook.
Believe it or not, you don't need to taste everything, especially if the dish is something you are familiar with cooking. When you eat out, choose a restaurant that will accommodate your diet. Call ahead, and make sure there is something you can order.
Make sure they will broil rather than fry your fish and serve you margarine rather than butter.
When shopping for food, never go when you are hungry (you'll buy all the wrong foods in the place and then eat them so as not to waste money), and learn to read labels wisely. Best of all, when you do well, reward yourself.
But don't do it with food.
Reward yourself by buying yourself some new clothing for your new slimmer figure or taking yourself out to a movie or baseball game.
And give yourself three big cheers, you deserve it!

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Worry About Cluster Headaches

QUESTION: I get a lot of headaches.
They happen at least several times each month.
I worry that they may be cluster headaches.
How can I know if this is the case or not?

ANSWER: Only by proper diagnosis by a physician.
A cluster headache patient usually has one or two headaches a day, at about the same time of day, for several weeks or even months.
We are not sure what causes them, but possibly something makes blood vessels in the head begin to become narrow and that may trigger the pain. Many times clusters start suddenly reaching a peak within minutes and are so severe and steady that patients pace the floor.
The pain is so severe that they can't rest or even lie down. The pain always occurs on only one side of the face around the eye, sometimes spreading to the forehead, temple and cheek and remain located on the same side during any given cluster episode. Sufferers may experience reddening and watering of the eye on the affected side of the face; the eyelid may swell and droop, the pupil of the eye may narrow; the nostril on the affected side may become stuffy and run; sweat may be profuse over the forehead.
Only rarely do sufferers become nauseous or vomit. Cluster headaches occur mostly on the right side of the face and are much more common in men (about 90 percent more) than in women. In some people (most cluster headache sufferers are between 20 to 40 years of age when they suffer their first cluster headache), clusters return "with the season," or at least during the same season or month of every year. Most often, they occur at night. After several weeks or months, the headaches cease and frequently do not return for six months to a year.
But they often are set off again by consuming any alcohol beverage or even napping in the daytime. Fortunately, your doctor can prescribe medicines that often can prevent clusters or at least make them a bit less severe.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Do New Valves That Are Placed Inside Hearts Come From Organ Donations?

QUESTION: Can you please tell me where they get all the new valves that are placed inside of human hearts.
Do they come from organ donations given by people who have died? I am very curious to find out about this.
I am 12 years old and want to be a doctor someday.

ANSWER: Your curiosity will serve you well in your future profession.
Only one type of valve, of the many types that exist, comes from a human organ. There are two main types of valves used in modern valve replacement surgery. They are classified as mechanical and tissue.
The mechanical valves come in several forms, including one shaped like a cage in which a ball moves to and fro to control the flow of blood.
There are two other types, named for the way they function, a tilting disk and a type that has two leaflets that open and close a bit like a door.
There are also three tissue types, a treated heart valve made from a pig's heart, another fashioned from the lining of a cow's heart, and finally a preserved valve taken from the heart of a human cadaver (a dead body).
Though the mechanical hearts last longer, they also allow blood clots to form, and so the patient must take medicine that keeps the blood thin.
The tissue valves don't have that problem, but they tend to wear out faster.
You can see we haven't invented the perfect heart valve yet, so it is important to take care of those you were born with.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Causes of "Hypothermia" and "Frost Bite"

QUESTION: I think I am confused about two terms and would like you to straighten them out for me.
I am concerned about "hypothermia" and realize it is not the same as "frost bite," but just what is it? Can you explain a bit about its causes and the correct way to treat it? As you see, we live in a part of the country where this is important information for us to have.

ANSWER: Simply stated, frost bite is a condition where certain tissues of the body freeze, while in hypothermia the whole body becomes too cold to function properly.
Hypothermia occurs when the heat loss of the body exceeds its ability to produce heat, and the core or central temperature of the body drops below 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).
At this level, the chemistry of the body becomes altered, respiratory centers of the brain are effected, heart rate is affected as is the blood.
The heat of the body comes from the metabolism of food and water, and may be lost by four mechanisms; radiation, conduction, convection and evaporation.
About 50 percent of the body's total heat production can be lost by radiation through an unprotected and uncovered head.
The amount lost by convection (loss of heat through movement of the air) increases with the speed of the wind, and loss through evaporation, normally through sweat and breathing, is greatly increased when the skin becomes wet.
So the outside temperature, and wind chill factors greatly influence heat loss.
So do certain drugs; nicotine, alcohol, barbiturates, opiates, and certain antidepressants.
Senior citizens and small children are also at increased risks because of the workings of their heat regulation systems.
In the early stages of hypothermia, or when it is considered mild (core temperature between 32 and 35 degrees C.), the body may try to raise its temperature by shivering.
These rapid muscular contractions may increase heat production up to five times normal.
In this stage, moving the patient to a warm and sheltered environment, the use of heated blankets, and warm, sweet, beverages are useful and appropriate.
However, hospitalization is required for severe hypothermia (core temperature below 32 degrees C.), where more aggressive means of treatment are available.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Thyroid Medication for a Change in Mental Status

QUESTION: Our neighbor, a widow for some years now, seemed to be going through a terrible change in mental status.
She became irritable and unfriendly, and even began to have changes in her face.
When her daughter came down to visit and finally got her to her doctor, she was treated, and cured of her mental illness by thyroid medication.
We have never heard of such a thing, and would like to know what happened, though we are reluctant to question her.
Can you provide us with some answers?

ANSWER: I would be happy to, as I have enough information from your letter to provide me with the answers you wish.
The woman was suffering from hypothyroidism, also known as "myxedema".
There are a number of possible underlying causes, but essentially the thyroid gland no longer functions properly and enough thyroid hormone is not produced.
Slowly, and usually very gradually, physical changes can be observed, a dull facial expression, puffiness around the eyes, and drooping eyelids.
The skin becomes coarse, dry, scaly and thick, and the scalp hair becomes sparse and dry.
The patients become forgetful, and in some, as in your neighbor, there are changes in their personality, and their intellect becomes diminished.
When the changes are severe enough they resemble a true psychosis.
Such a condition has been named "myxedema madness" by some clinicians.
The sad part is that this condition is frequently misdiagnosed, especially in older folks, but no amount of psychotherapy or tranquilizers or antidepressants can help.
And without proper treatment the condition persists, leading to complete physical and mental deterioration.
There are a number of laboratory tests that can swiftly pinpoint the problem, and a number of thyroid medications exist that can replace the amounts needed by the body.
The good news is that with these proper medications, the situation can be reversed rapidly, and these patients may make a complete recovery, enabling them to return home and live happy and productive lives.
I see no reason not to discuss this with your neighbor; I would guess she might enjoy the company, and would delight in telling you the tale of her medical experiences.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

How Serious is a Clot in the Leg Vein?

QUESTION: My doctor has me scared because of a clot in my leg vein.
While I don't want to neglect anything important, I don't need additional doctor's bills either.
Just how serious is this condition?

ANSWER: Any clotting of the blood (thrombosis) in any part of your body is sufficiently serious to make you disrupt your daily routine and give it your full and undivided attention. Usually blood clots in the leg are accompanied by swelling, a sensation of warmth, and tenderness to the touch.
All these symptoms can be treated pharmacologically with medications.
But if the warm feeling turns to cold, the swelling grows to massive proportions, and the pain becomes unbearable, immediate surgical intervention might be called for.
These signs herald a more serious form of thrombosis, which involves the entire venous system of your leg.
In such cases, the oxygen present in the capillary blood drops, the skin takes on a blue pallor, and the entire limb can become gangrenous. Hopefully, I've made my message clear, without sounding like an alarmist. Follow your doctor's advice, consult him regularly, and don't take any chances with thrombosis.
Proper and timely treatment can do much to prevent unwanted complications, and get you back on your feet.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Thyroid Medication "Too Complicated to Explain"?

QUESTION: I have had to take some type of thyroid medication for the better part of my adult life.
I started with simple thyroid tablets years ago, but as I have had to change doctors over the years, both the type and amount of my medications have also been changed.
When I ask about it, the doctor usually just shrugs his shoulder and tells me "it's too complicated to explain".
I suppose it is too complicated for you too, but I hope you will try for my benefit and lots of your other readers.

ANSWER: It is not all that complicated, but its a bit more difficult without being able to draw a diagram or two.
However, here we go.
The thyroid gland produces two chemicals, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
T3 is the biologically active form of thyroid hormone, and T4 acts as a reserve which can be rapidly converted into the active form when needed.
The hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain, monitors the amount of T3 and T4 circulating in the blood and releases a hormone, thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH), when more thyroid hormone is needed.
TRH acts on the pituitary gland, which in turn produces thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which "stimulates" the thyroid gland into thyroid hormone production.
To provide additional hormone to patients who do not produce enough of their own, a variety of preparations made from dried and purified extract of animal thyroids can be used.
Though every effort is made to maintain the exact dosage, the concentration of T3 and T4 in these natural preparations may vary.
However we now have a number of synthetic preparations available in which the active ingredients are well controlled.
It is probably these newer preparations which have been substituted for the extract you were taking formerly.
Since we can also determine the amount of TSH, T3 and T4 circulating in the blood, these tests are used to assure that the right dosage is being taken to restore the body metabolism to normal.
When this achieved the signs of hypothyroidism lethargy and dullness, sparse and dry hair, coarse and scaly thick skin rapidly disappear.
Now, I hope my explanation was not too complicated, but provides the information and help you requested.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Comments on a Product for Relief From Tinnitus

QUESTION: Please comment on this ad that I found in my health magazine that I receive every month.
P.S.
You try it first and then tell your readers the results.

ANSWER: The ad you sent proclaims in large capitals that the product will afford relief from buzzing, ringing and pain in your ears.
Obviously you are aware that I am one of the millions who suffer from a condition known as tinnitus, that peculiar chirping sound that never takes a rest, and frequently disturbs mine.
The ad also states, quite correctly, that tinnitus (which is the perception of sound by the sufferer without there being any source for the sound) may result from a middle ear infection, wax in the ear, or due to nerve deafness.
Consider that it may be caused by many other conditions as well, including foreign bodies in the ear, infectious processes including external otitis, myringitis (infection of the ear drum), otitis media (infection of the middle ear), labyrinthitis (infection of the inner ear), petrositis (infection of the bone), syphilis and meningitis.
To those I could add eustachian tube obstruction, otosclerosis, middle ear tumors, Meniere's Disease, problems due to medications, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, anemia, low thyroid function, noise-induced hearing loss, blast injury and head trauma. Impressive list, and the pathology or the way they affect hearing is different in almost every case.
Now this product which contains all natural products including aloe will correct the problem for a mere $10.00 for 1 ounce.
And you want me to test it for you.
I am a dedicated and sometimes brave man, but there is a limit even to my devotion to my readers.
It certainly stretches my credibility that any such concoction could achieve even the most limited results.
There are too many possible causes for tinnitus, and as you know from reading my column, a good treatment must be directed to correct the specific cause.
No one product could possibly do it all.
Tell you what, you save the $10.00, I'll save what is left of my hearing, and I promise you that this column will carry the news of the real cure for tinnitus, when and if they ever find one.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Liver Test Results

QUESTION: As part of a routine annual examination, my blood and urine were sent to the lab for testing.
When I returned for a consultation and the report of my results, my doctor told me that one of my liver tests was "a little off".
He questioned me further about any new symptoms or problems I might not have mentioned (there were neither) and checked me over briefly again, but then decided not to run any more tests.
Do you think we may be overlooking something that might be a legitimate cause of worry?

ANSWER: During an annual examination, it is customary to obtain a whole battery of laboratory tests that serve to screen the functioning of many systems.
When the results of a tests return with findings in an abnormal range, it's time to rethink the situation again.
Since some of these tests may have an answer that is considered a "false positive", that is an abnormal result when there is really nothing wrong, retesting may not always be considered necessary.
When the patient has no symptoms, and nothing can be detected by physical examination, and when the test result is borderline, many physicians do not feel it is imperative to repeat the examination.
In some cases additional history will uncover a medication being used that can affect the test results.
Among these medications are tetracycline and erythromycin (antibiotics), oral contraceptives, sulfonamides, and many others.
However, the purpose of an annual physical is to discover unsuspected ailments at the earliest possible opportunity, and to deal with them effectively before they advance and become dangerous.
That requires that even a small difference from the normal in lab results be viewed with just a bit of suspicion.
While I truly do not believe that you have serious cause for concern, prudence dictates that an abnormal test be repeated.
A normal result on the repeat test would certainly put your mind at ease, and if it is abnormal once again, a careful search for the reason is in order.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

What is a Lung Scan?

QUESTION: I need a bit more information to add to the explanation my physician gave me about a test for my lungs.
It's called a "scan," and I want to know more about it.
Is there any danger? I am more than just a bit anxious about this whole thing.
Can you please help?

ANSWER: A lung scan is a test that shows how well your lungs are functioning and can detect many types of abnormalities in the lungs.
There are two types of lung scans and they are usually performed together.
A perfusion lung scan shows the blood circulation in the lungs.
An inhalation scan shows how well air moves in the lungs. Both tests together take about a half hour and are similar.
A small amount of a mildly radioactive compound is administered and travels to the lungs, emitting signals that are detected by a scanning machine, which converts the signals into images.
For the perfusion test, you'll receive an injection of the radioactive substance.
For the inhalation test, you'll inhale an odorless gas through a mouthpiece.
You may be placed in several positions during the scan, and it is very important that you lie still and follow all instructions fully.
This will help get the best results possible and make interpreting the results a bit easier.
The danger from the radioactive compound is minimal.
You can go home directly after the test and side effects are rare, so you ought to do quite well.
I hope you are less anxious now.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Chronic Low Back Problems

QUESTION: I am a long time sufferer with a condition that I have been told is considered to be a chronic low back problem.
I get into trouble about once a year, and take several weeks to recover completely.
What are the chances that I really have a disk problem, and that my only hope is surgery? I am not looking for an unnecessary operation, but I would like to be rid of this problem once and for all time.
Do you have any statistics that might be of some help?

ANSWER: Low back problems are certainly not uncommon, with an estimated 80 percent of the adult population having this distressing experience at some point in their lives.
However, most back pain is not caused by a herniated disk, and even when it is, conservative treatment can bring relief to most patients.
Making a diagnosis of a mechanical cause of low back pain, such as degenerative changes and herniated disks is not always easy, and the exact cause of the problem is not always determined.
That is why other clues are used to determine the nature and course of treatment.
The first sign that a low back pain may be caused by a disk problem is usually the presence of sciatica, where pain is felt along the course of the sciatic nerve, down the back of the leg.
Sometimes there have been several episodes of back pain preceding the development of this complaint.
Thus a complete history and careful physical examination are the first avenues for the investigation of low back problems.
Many experts believe that conservative treatment, including pain medication, rest, muscle relaxants, and appropriate exercise, should be tried first before moving on to more intense evaluation and treatment.
When conservative treatments fail and pain remains unrelieved after 4 to 6 weeks of therapy, or when there is progressive weakness and numbness in the leg, or neurological examinations discover changes in function of nerves and muscles, the status, it is time to utilize the advantages found in such testing procedures as C-T scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or myelography (x-ray techniques which reveal the status of the spinal cord).
It is only after these have been completed that surgical procedures are considered in appropriate cases.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Where do Corns and Calluses Come From?

QUESTION: It may sound like a question that is too simple for you to dedicate time to, but let me assure you, a lot of your readers suffer from corns and calluses.
I am sure they would all like to know where they come from, what they are, and what to do about them? Would you please consider providing us with this important information?

ANSWER: You are right, it is an important health question that affects many people.
According to a recent survey, about 155 people out of every 1000 have some type of corn or callus, although fewer than 4 people of that number will require medical attention.
The causes of both these skin changes include friction and pressure, and the skin responds by becoming thicker and tougher as a protective mechanism.
The horny, outer layer of the skin called the "stratum corneum" becomes thicker in the area where there is an increased pressure or rubbing, from a tight shoe for example.
A corn has a hard core, a bit like an upside down pyramid, with the base at the surface of the skin, and the point pushing inward.
When this point presses against the nerve endings in the nearby tissue, a stabbing pain may the result.
Although a callus is formed from similar tissue, it has no hard central core which is how it differs from the corn.
The treatment of both begins by attacking the cause, preventing the friction and relieving the pressure on the area.
That means checking shoes, particularly athletic gear, for a correct fit.
It may require stretching the shoe a bit in areas where corns and calluses now exist.
Try using thick socks to absorb some of the pressure, or use corn and callus pads directly on the feet to reduce the pressure to the irritated areas.
Home treatment may consist of soaking the corn or callus in hot water, and then trimming back the surfaces with a sharp knife or razor, very carefully. Specially medicated plasters containing chemicals that can dissolve the tissue (keratolytics) are frequently very helpful.
When these simple home remedies fail to correct the problem, it is time to seek professional help, where more aggressive treatment techniques can be used to rid you of these annoying and painful conditions.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Serious Side Effects of Cortisone Medication Over Time

QUESTION: I have been on a cortisone medication (prednisone) for quite some time, prescribed because of my medical condition (severe asthma).
Now, though I have no bad experiences yet, I am worrying about the possibility of serious side effects over time, and if I will ever be able to get off the medication.
Have you any information about this? How do you go about it? I would hate to become dependant upon this medicine for the rest of my life.

ANSWER: The use of cortisone, or the other similar medications (corticosteroids) brings relief for those who suffer many varied ailments.
Of use not only in severe asthma, these medications are very important in treating temporal arteritis, ulcerative colitis, many allergic reactions and hypersensitivities, polymyositis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
It is also used to help control organ rejection, in transplantation operations. Yet, as with so many other powerful medications, it may also create problems when used in high doses over long periods of time.
Although not all complications occur in all patients, corticosteroid therapy may cause hypertension, sodium and water retention with bloating and weight gain, stomach ulcerations, impaired wound healing, osteoporosis, glaucoma, recurrence of tuberculosis and chickenpox as well as increased susceptibility to all types of infections, bacterial, fungal and viral.
The trick is to use the lowest possible dosage that achieves the desired effect and to employ various strategies that reduce the possibility of side effects.
Using the medication in creams or lotions to reduce the amount required in tablets, or in alternate day dosage schedules, may be helpful in some cases.
However, the process of withdrawal is a long one, and must be closely managed by your physician.
Some experts advise wearing a medical identification bracelet indicating that you are steroid dependent.
Gradually the medication dosage is reduced, while the blood levels are carefully measured.
Since the body has its own rhythm of cortisone production, taking your medication in the early morning between 6 and 8 AM will help reestablish normal patterns.
The process is a complicated one, but can be accomplished by working with your doctor.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Is Cortisone for Rheumatoid Arthritis Dangerous?

QUESTION: I am having terrible troubles with my rheumatoid arthritis.
We have tried all the painkillers and stuff, but now my doctor is prescribing cortisone.
My friends are all telling me not to take it, for it is too dangerous.
I need your straight thinking to help me decide.
Please?

ANSWER: Forty years ago, when cortisone was first discovered, it was considered the new wonder drug.
It was capable of allowing people incapacitated due to rheumatoid arthritis to actually get out of bed.
The media played it up, and there were photos in the press of people doing jigs who could hardly move before cortisone therapy. Now it has fallen in the eyes of the public from "miracle cure" to a "dreaded drug," to be taken now only as an alternative to death.
Well, like any powerful drug, it must be carefully administered or its side effects will far outweigh any benefits derived. Today, we use synthetic derivatives called corticosteroids, which are less prone to troublesome side effects.
But they're still there, and include the minor ones like a rounding of the face, and growth of facial hair, and a tendency to bruise easily.
The severe adverse effects are suppression of the body's immune system, retarded growth in children, ulcers, aggravation of pre-existing diabetes, and a thinning of the bones with possible vertebrae collapse.
Now these are the reasons cortisone has gained its somewhat dubious reputation as a drug to be avoided at all cost.
But we've discovered that its side effects can usually be controlled.
Rather than giving it as daily therapy, it can be administered in a low-dose, 48-hour pattern.
Cortisone can also be used briefly, until one of the slower acting arthritic drugs has had time to work.
Certainly there are patients with diabetes, ulcers, tuberculosis, who should not be considered for cortisone therapy.
But in many, many cases this powerful medication offers the promise of real relief, and an effective solution to a serious problem.
So careful dosage and scrutiny by your physician will give you all the benefits the drug is so famous for and none of its notorious side effects.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

What Causes a Tan?

QUESTION: While everyone now is warning against the dangers of a sun tan, I still don't understand what causes a tan? If the body produces this naturally isn't it a good thing? While you're at it, perhaps you can explain just what causes a sun burn as well? I know that isn't too good for you.

ANSWER: Obviously a sun burn with its painful consequences is something to avoid, and can rapidly change a fun weekend into something far less enjoyable. Actually there are four effects upon the skin from exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the sun rays, all of which attempt to reduce the injurious effects of the sun's rays.
They are erythema, short-term tan, common tan, and delayed thickening of the skin.
Erythema is the name given to the red flush that occurs to the skin after exposure to sun rays (as well as a variety of other causes).
A substance called prostaglandin is released by the tissues which causes the capillaries in the skin to dilate (open), fill with more blood and give the red coloring to the skin.
This is an attempt to protect the skin and reduce the damage from the sun's rays.
It comes on from 2 to 12 hours after exposure and its severity is related to the amount of exposure.
A short-term tan is caused by ultraviolet A rays, is created by the oxidation of the melanin (pigment) in the skin and fades away in a day or two.
The common tan takes several days to develop, and is caused by the production of more pigment in the skin as a response to the sun's ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, pigment that acts as a protection for the skin the next time it is exposed to the sun.
Over a period of time, perhaps several months, the upper layers (epidermis) of the skin thicken.
These thick skin layers can also absorb the UVB rays, and reduce the amount of harmful radiation that reaches the lower (basal) layer of the skin.
A word about protection.
Of the 1 million new cancers that are diagnosed each year, about 30 percent occur in the skin, and are thought to be provoked by chronic exposure to UV radiation.
A person with a history or more than six serious sunburns in a lifetime is 2.4 times more likely to develop a melanoma, a cancer that spreads rapidly through the body and which can be lethal.
If exposure to the sun can't be controlled, be sure to apply sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 to cut down your exposure to these potentially harmful rays.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.

Is There Any Treatment Available for Tapeworm Disease?

QUESTION: I would like some information about a tapeworm disease that can be caught from improper cooking of meat from infected pigs.
This problem has recently affected a member of our family and we all need this explanation.
Is there any treatment available?

ANSWER: A complication of human infestation of T.
solim, the pork tapeworm, is cysticercosis.
Tapeworms are more common in this country than most people realize, and many people are not even aware of the deadly nature of cysticercosis.
If a person eats undercooked pork that has a larval form of the tapeworm in it, he or she is essentially swallowing an undeveloped circular form or "cyst" of the tapeworm, whose head is wrapped up way inside the cyst.
The human digestive process unravels or unsheathes the tapeworm head, which, when free and uncovered, attaches itself to the lining of the human intestine by means of hooks and suckers.
Segment by segment, the worm proliferates, sometimes becoming several feet long.
The new segments or eggs can detach and are then passed out in the stool.
If a person makes hand-to-mouth contact and by chance had previously contaminated his or her hand by contact with the feces, the tapeworm eggs are again ingested.
The hatched embryos migrate throughout the host, invading skeletal muscle, eye tissue or the central nervous system, and even the brain.
Usually, cysticercosis develops when the eggs rather than the larvae are swallowed. Epilepsy and severe headaches are some of the symptoms that appear after the cysts have invaded critical areas.
The liver, lung, peritoneum, and underlying skin tissues can also be greatly damaged.
Surgical removal of the cysts may be necessary.
Cysticercosis should always be considered when a person discovers a problem of tapeworms, because the diagnosis and treatment is difficult.
As treatment either niclosamide or praziquantal can be used. This kills the tapeworm, which is usually digested by the time it is passed. Stools should then be rechecked at 3 and 6 months to be sure that a cure has been achieved.
And just to keep the record straight, another common disease from uncooked or poorly cooked pork is trichinosis, where the culprit is a roundworm called T.
spiralis.
But that is a tale of another worm.

The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.