Health roundup: Energy shots cited in death reports

Your Thursday morning health roundup:

Caffeine concerns: Thirteen death reports that cite the possible involvement of highly-caffeinated 5-Hour Energy shots have been received by the Food and Drug Administration in the past four years, the New York Times reports. The FDA also recently said it had five reports of death mentioning another energy drink, Monster Energy. Such reports do not mean the products were actually responsible for any deaths, and manufacturers say these drinks are safe. The FDA says it's looking into the incidents.

Lyme disease patterns: People who suffer repeated rashes due to Lyme disease almost certainly have new infections, caused by new tick bites, rather than chronic infections, a new study shows. The study adds to evidence that Lyme is effectively treated by one short course of antibiotics and that long-term antibiotic use is unneeded. (Reuters)

Drinking and pregnancy: A new study throws cold water on the idea that drinking a bit of alcohol during pregnancy is OK. Women who had one to six drinks a week had children with lower IQs if the women and children had certain genetic variations that affect alcohol metabolism, researchers say. (BBC News)

Today's talker: A lot of good-hearted people in Gypsum, Colo., are in shock this week, after learning that they rallied around a dying boy who turned out not to be real. Alex Jordan, a football-loving nine-year-old whose death from leukemia was reported by local media in late October, was a hoax invented by a young woman from the area, say reports in the New York Times and the Eagle Valley Enterprise. Though no one ever met the boy or his parents, the high school football team pasted 'A's' for Alex to their helmets and sent him a signed football. They grieved at the reported death. But since the hoaxer did not try to raise money from the lie, criminal charges are unlikely, the news reports say.