Health Newsbrief

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• MONEY WORRIES DOUBLE RISK OF GUM DISEASE: People who have a tough time handling the stress of money woes are twice as likely to develop severe gum disease, a new study finds. However, they can easily decrease some of the risk by continuing to brush their teeth and floss, and by working to reduce stress. The 1,400-person study by Genco and colleagues at the University of Michigan appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Periodontology. They found that people under long-term financial strain altered their habits, and that includes neglecting oral hygiene or grinding their teeth. There were some physiological changes as well, including changes in saliva composition and a weakening in the body's ability to fight infection. Other day-to- day stresses were not associated with gum disease, nor were people who dealt with their financial strain in an active way rather than sinking into their emotions.

• OLD DRUG AIDS PEOPLE WITH HEART FAILURE: An international study says an inexpensive steroid pill can save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with heart failure, a disease that contributes to a quarter of a million deaths each year and is on the rise in the United States. The steroid spironolactone has been available for the past three decades. PAIN SENSATIONS MAY BE PROGRAMMED BY GENE: In good news for those who flinch at big needles, it may be genes - not force of will - that separates those who grin and bear pain. Hopkins/NIDA neuroscientist Dr. George Uhl says the work should eventually result in pain drugs tailored to a person's individual genetic sensitivities.

• REPLACING GENES DEFECTIVE IN OVARIAN CANCER: Doctors at the University of Kentucky are preparing to test a new treatment for advanced ovarian cancer that involves replacing defective genes with healthy ones. Dr. Holly Gallion says the experimental technique is aimed at attacking a problem at its root cause.

• CHANGES IN ORGAN DONOR SYSTEM SOUGHT: A government-mandated study of the nation's organ procurement system says donor organs should be made available in heavily populated areas to help ensure patients with the greatest medical need get transplants first. In effect, it recommends creating a national waiting list and allocating organs based on medical need rather than geographic location. IOM found no evidence this policy would affect organ donation rates or reduce minority patients' access to transplants.

• WORKPLACE PROGRAMS CAN FOSTER HEALTHY EATING HABITS: Three years after their workplaces started programs to improve eating habits, workers reported they were choosing healthier cafeteria food, had more access to fruits and vegetables, and better access to nutritional information.

• DO YOU LIKE YOUR PRIMARY-CARE PHYSICIAN?: Almost 90 percent of patients surveyed like the idea of a primary-care physician to coordinate their medical treatment, the first study of its kind shows. Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the survey's respondents say they feel their primary-care physician didn't always give the specialist referrals they needed. This perceived barrier to specialized care lowered their otherwise high level of trust. Lead author Dr. Kevin Grumbach of San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center says, "Patients value primary-care physicians, but don't want managed-care plans forcing primary-care physicians to be 'gatekeepers' who ration their access to specialists."

• HEART ATTACKS WORSE IN YOUNGER WOMEN: Heart attacks are twice as deadly for women under 50 as they are for men of the same age, says a new study. In a study of 155,565 women and 229,313 men between ages 30 and 89, scientists led by Viola Vaccarino of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., found that death in the first days after a heart attack was about 17 percent in women and about 12 percent in men overall. But when they examined different age groups, they found that younger women - those under 50 - were in the greatest danger, more than twice as likely to die before being discharged from the hospital. After age 75, the risk of dying of a heart attack is about the same for women and men. But, Vaccarino says the risk increases progressively going down from age 75.

• VITAMIN E, C TOUTED BY UC GROUP: University of California health advisers say people need to take vitamin E and C supplements to get the benefit of disease-fighting properties, and can't rely entirely on multivitamins. They say in this month's issue of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter that multivitamin pills with even 200 percent of government-recommended "daily values" of vitamins C and E aren't enough. Antioxidants in the vitamins fight free radicals that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health threats. The Wellness Letter recommends 200 to 800 international units of vitamin E and 250 to 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day, preferably from a pill since it's impractical to obtain an equivalent amount in food. Besides having antioxidant properties, they say studies suggest vitamin E supplements may improve control of blood sugar by enhancing the action of insulin and affecting cell membranes.

• FIRST BLOOD TEST FOR LUNG CANCER: An enzyme that signals out-of- control tumor growth provides the first means to track the recurrence of lung cancer using simply a blood sample. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who designed the blood test, say they also anticipate its eventual use in routine cancer screening. The enzyme is called telomerase, and scientists have previously measured it in samples of tumors extracted in surgical biopsy. However, in a 20-patient study, the Baltimore researchers were able to diagnose correctly the return of lung cancer in all six of relapsed patients, and the remission status of 13 of the remaining 14 patients, by testing their blood for telomerase. The team says it is also studying the enzyme's role in other cancers. Senior investigator Dr. Judith Stamberg says, "Since this will be inexpensive and easy for people, we might be able to save thousands of lives a year." About 170,000 new cases of lung cancer alone are diagnosed each year.

• INFLAMMATION RAISES RISK OF MISCARRIAGE: A bacteria-triggered inflammation of the vagina doubles the risk of miscarriage during the first trimester of pregnancy, say researchers in the British Medical Journal. Dr. Susan Ralph and her colleagues at Leeds General Infirmary say the inflammation, called bacteria vaginosis, effects 13 to 31 percent of pregnant women.

• NEW WEBSITE TO GIVE CUSTOM CANCER INFORMATION: A new website on the Internet will offer customized medical information to cancer patients, announces its Seattle-based developer. Cancerfacts.com spokeswoman Candy Young says the website will contain "the first personalized, interactive cancer treatment information service based on clinical studies and scientific data." The customizing feature, called Cancer Profiler, is currently available for those interested in prostate cancer. Its introductory price is $19.95 per year. The company plans to add Cancer Profilers for the breast, skin, colon and bladder in the next several months.

• DIET MAY PROTECT AGAINST MENTAL DECLINE: Something in the traditional high-fat, high-protein U.S. diet may protect against the onset of mental and emotional deterioration known as vascular dementia in people who have suffered a stroke. That's the surprising result of a new study released this week in the journal Neurology. For 25 years, scientists have studied the incidence of stroke in over 8,000 Japanese-American men. When the study began, the researchers asked the men whether they preferred a Western rather than Oriental diet. Twenty-five years later, researchers discovered that those who preferred typical high-fat, high- protein American food over the low-fat, high-carbohydrate Asian diet had the lowest prevalence of dementia.

• FEN-PHEN CLAIMS CONTINUE: The maker of the fen-phen diet drug combination has settled a lawsuit in Dallas with a 70-year-old East Texas woman who developed a rare lung disease. The Dallas Morning News quotes sources who say American Home Products agreed to pay Ruth Burks of Tyler more than $3 million to resolve the case.

• ANTI-THEFT GATES OKAY FOR DEFIBRILLATORS: A normal walk through the anti-theft gates in many stores will not to set off a person's defibrillator implant, concludes a study of 169 patients.

• WITH KIDS, SOME JUNK FOOD MAY BE BETTER THAN NONE: Telling young children they can't have certain foods without explaining why the junk snacks are unhealthy may be only a short-term solution, researchers say in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Lead author Jennifer Orlet Fisher of Pennsylvania State University explains that denying access just makes children eat more junk food when they are free to choose on their own.

• LOSE POUNDS, BUT NOT BONE DENSITY: Women who cut calories to lose weight without significantly increasing their physical activity are likely running the risk of osteoporosis later in life, a new study suggests. Investigators led by Loran Salamone of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found that even dieting women who kept their calcium intake above the recommended daily amount lost bone density in comparison to women who did not modify their diets or exercise. On average, the dieting women lost seven pounds over the 18-month study period but also lost twice as much bone mineral density at the hips and lower spine. Those who increased their physical activity to a high level had significantly less bone loss, however. Salamone says, "Women need to evaluate the risks and benefits of their weight- reduction program. The ideal program is one that achieves weight loss while maintaining skeletal integrity."

• POSTMENOPAUSAL FEMALE SMOKERS NEEDED: North Carolina researchers wanting to study hormone-replacement therapy are looking for postmenopausal women from both rural and urban areas who smoke. A spokesman for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the group is conducting the study to determine whether older women smokers, who are at increased risk for heart disease, would benefit from estrogen replacement even more than nonsmokers do. Some recent findings indicate they might, but the studies have not been well controlled, says UNC investigator Dr. Susan Girdler. She explains the team is looking for healthy volunteers ages 45 to 70 who have not had a menstrual period for at least nine months nor are currently taking supplemental estrogen. Participants will receive free mammograms and other medical tests, free hormone treatment, up to $150 in travel expenses, and an additional $450. The women's local health departments will do most of the monitoring, with some visits requiring a trip to Chapel Hill. Interested women should call 919-966-2547.

• FDA APPROVES RELENZA FOR FLU SYMPTOMS: The Food and Drug Administration has approved the anti-viral drug Relenza for treatment of the flu within the first two days after symptoms appear. The FDA says that Relenza, or zanamivir in the generic form, can be given to adults and children over age 12 for treatment of uncomplicated type A or B flu symptoms - but the drug may actually be harmful to patients with severe asthma or pulmonary disease.

• PARKINSON'S DRUG REDUCES SIDE EFFECTS: A five-year study of a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease shows it is less likely to cause disabling side effects than the current first-line treatment. Researchers found patients taking L-dopa were 3.8 times more likely to develop these reactions than those on ropinirole. Dr. Olivier Rascol, of Toulouse, France, a lead author of the study, says: "The data demonstrate that ropinirole is a first-line treatment for early Parkinson's disease." Nearly one in every 100 people over age 55 will develop Parkinson's, which causes tremors, stiffness, slowed movements and impaired balance. There is no cure for the disease.

• STUDY FINDS DISPARITY IN DRUG PRICES: A new study released by a congressional task force says Americans could save billions of dollars a year if pharmaceutical companies charged the same price for drugs in the United States as they do abroad. Alan Sager, an economist at the Boston University School of Public Health, says as an example, "Americans would save roughly $16.2 billion yearly if we paid the wholesale prices paid by Canadians." He says Americans are charged about 32 percent more than their northern neighbors for the same drugs and pay "the world's highest prices for prescription drugs," the fastest-growing component of health costs today.

• TRANSPLANT DRUG GETS KEY OK: A transplant-rejection drug derived from soil organisms on Easter Island received a key endorsement from a Food and Drug Administration panel. Sirolimus, shown to be safe and effective in preventing rejection of transplanted kidneys, is manufactured under the trade name of Rapamune by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, the pharmaceutical division of American Home Products, Madison, N.J.

• ADVANCE REPORTED ON UNDERSTANDING CANCER: A team of MIT biologists say they have made an important advance in the war on cancer by transforming healthy human cells into cancerous cells in the laboratory. Scientists have long known how to make malignant cells in mice, but it took them 15 years to come up with the genetic formula to transform the more cancer-resistant human cells.

• MEDICAL CENTER GETS BIG BUCKS TO FIGHT HEART DISEASE: In a new assault on the nation's No. 1 killer, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas has received a $24 million grant for research on heart disease.

• SUICIDE CALLED NATIONAL HEALTH PROBLEM: Suicide attempts send about 800,000 Americans to the emergency room and result in an average 31,000 deaths every year, a grim statistic that has prompted U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher to declare suicide a national public health problem. Satcher has launched an education and outreach effort to alert the public to causes, warning signs and ways to prevent suicide.

• POSSIBLE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY CURE FOUND: A commonly prescribed antibiotic may be a potential cure for one type of muscular dystrophy (MD). Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia are reporting that when they injected the antibiotic gentamicin into mice with a disease similar to Duchenne ("Doo-shen") muscular dystrophy, signs of the disease reversed. About 7,500 U.S. boys have this form of Duchenne and some 250,000 Americans in total live with one of the nine types of muscular dystrophy.

• SOME FDA DRUG POLICIES STRUCK DOWN: A federal judge has struck down Federal Drug Administration policies that limited drug manufacturers from informing doctors about the use of medications for so-called unapproved purposes. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has handed down a ruling allowing pharmaceutical companies to pass along to doctors independent studies showing uses for medications other than what the medicine was originally intended. The FDA told the Washington Post it is evaluating the decision and is considering its next step.

• LOVE AND MENTAL DISORDER SIMILARITIES: Italian psychiatrists have come up with research indicating serotonin level similarities among people who are in love and sufferers of obsessive compulsive disorder. Psychiatrist Donatella Marazziti of the University of Pisa, the project organizer, says that persons with the compulsive disorder and in-love volunteers appeared to have about 40 percent less serotonin than normal.

• FINDING WHY CANCER DRUG LOSES ITS PUNCH: Scientists say they have figured out why the breast cancer drug tamoxifen loses its punch after a few years, allowing deadly tumors to start to grow again. The research raises serious questions about the use of tamoxifen to prevent cancer in healthy women at high risk, they say. The researchers, from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., trace the resistance problem to a molecule on breast cancer cells known as the estrogen receptor. This molecule brings the cancer-boosting hormone into the cell. Tamoxifen blocks the estrogen receptor, thus starving the tumor. But pharmacologist Donald McDonnell says protection from tamoxifen is short- lived because the estrogen receptor changes shape after a few years of exposure to the drug. He says breast cancer cells learn to see tamoxifen as an estrogen. The once life-saving drug, McDonnell says, starts feeding the tumor. The findings of this study, which are published in the journal Science, have already sparked new drug discovery efforts to create designer estrogens that are more effective breast cancer fighters.