Gene mutation linked to lumbar disc disease
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A mutation in a cartilage-related gene called CILP leads to disease of the vertebral discs in the lower spine, according to a report in the research journal Nature Genetics.
A predisposition to lumbar disc disease runs in families, suggesting that genetic factors are an important underlying cause, Dr. Shiro Ikegawa of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Tokyo and associates point out.
Hair X-ray test might spot early breast cancer
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Results of an animal study suggest that measuring the way X-Rays are diffracted when they pass through a hair could be used to diagnose breast cancer at an early stage, and monitor treatment results.
This bolsters findings from an earlier study and ongoing work by the same group of researchers.
In their initial study reported in 1999, Dr. Veronica James of the Australian National University, Canberra, and colleagues first suggested the possibility of diagnosing breast cancer by hair diffraction.
Celebrity backing of cancer screening questioned
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Celebrities can indeed persuade people to undergo cancer screening, but researchers are not sure it’s necessarily a good thing.
Many men and women say they are more likely to undergo screening for various cancers having seen the endorsements of Rudolph Giuliani, Katie Couric and other celebrities, new study findings show.
Yet, the researchers say, persuasion may not be appropriate given the complexities involved in cancer screening - the fact that there are risks involved, such as false positive test results that can lead to unnecessary further testing and treatment.
Drinking in middle school tied to risky sex
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Kids who begin drinking in the 7th grade are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior in mid-adolescence - but parents can make a difference in their kids’ drinking habits, researchers have shown.
In a new study, U.S. investigators found that students who said they started drinking by the 7th grade were more likely to say they had unprotected sex, multiple partners, sex while drunk or high, or been pregnant.
In another related study, a group of researchers showed that middle-schoolers who binge drink—downing at least 5 drinks on one occasion—are more likely to binge drink in high school.
Indonesia steps up polio vaccinations
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Indonesia stepped up polio vaccinations around several villages in West Java province on Friday as international concern grew over an outbreak of the virus that has crippled six infants.
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told El Shinta radio station that the number of positive cases had risen to six, from five on Thursday. All were near the city of Sukabumi, about 100 km (62 miles) south of Jakarta.
Health officials are studying up to 10 other possible cases.
Women hold “nurse-in” for U.S. breast-feeding bill
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Dozens of mothers and babies held a pre-Mother’s Day “nurse-in” near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to support legislation to make it easier for working women to breast-feed or pump milk for their babies on the job.
“Breast-feeding is natural and it has a health benefit to mothers and children,” said the legislation’s chief sponsor, New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, trying to be heard above the din of young children.
Her bill would expand the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act so a woman could not be fired or discriminated against in the workplace for pumping or nursing on breaks.
Get ears pierced early to avoid keloids: study
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Delaying ear piercing until the pre-teen years or later may increase a person’s chances of developing keloids—raised, fibrous scar tissue—new study findings suggest.
Among a small group of patients with keloids that developed after ear piercing, the majority had their ears pierced at age 11 or older.
Keloids are a “common complaint” among patients who visit the dermatologist, study author Dr. Loretta S. Davis told Reuters Health. “You can get a keloid at any age,” she said, “however, it seems to be much less common (among those who get their ears pierced) in early childhood compared to after age 11.”
Mercury dental fillings seem safe for moms-to-be
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Pregnant women who are given dental fillings—even those that contain mercury—do not increase their chances of giving birth to very small babies, according to new study findings.
These results contradict long-held concerns that it’s unsafe for women to get mercury-amalgam dental fillings during pregnancy, due to the potential harm mercury may pose to an unborn child.
“We did not see any evidence that (silver) fillings had an impact on birth weight,” told study author Dr. Philippe Hujoel of the University of Washington in Seattle.
US salmonella cases linked to rats, hamsters - CDC
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U.S. health officials warned the public on Thursday to be careful when handling mice, rats and hamsters after an investigation into the first documented human cases of salmonella linked to pet rodents.
Although salmonella poisoning typically occurs as a result of eating contaminated food, such as eggs or meat, a number of cases were reported in people infected through contact with animals, usually snakes or turtles.
Pet chicks, ducklings, kittens and hedgehogs also have been linked to human outbreaks.
Wyeth drug cuts atrial fibrillation relapse
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Wyeth’s drug Cordarone does a better job at preventing the return of an irregular heart rhythm than Betapace, a Schering drug designed to do the same thing, researchers said on Wednesday.
But the benefit does not occur in patients where the flow of blood to the heart muscle has been restricted by Heart disease.
The head-to-head study, published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, involved patients with Atrial Fibrillation, a condition where the rhythm in the upper part of the heart becomes rapid and chaotic.
Nigeria records 54 new polio cases since Feb-WHO
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Fifty-four new polio cases were recorded in Nigeria between February and April, a drop of nearly a half from last year, according to the World Health Organisation.
The infection rate is down from the 91 cases recorded between Feb. 27 and April 29, 2004, WHO said in its weekly report obtained on Thursday.
The report said nine new cases were confirmed in Yobe state and Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos - the first in the southern region where WHO said there had been no fresh infections since September.
Drug-eluting stents not as good in real world
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The new generation of stents—tiny mesh tubes used to prop open clogged coronary arteries—may not perform quite as well as studies suggest in preventing re-blockage.
The stents release drugs that are intended to prevent over-growth of the artery walls that can cause the artery to close up again. According to a report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, however, rates of blood-clot formation reported with drug-eluting stents are higher in real-world settings than those achieved in clinical trials.
In clinical trials, the rate of blood-clots occurrences in stents after 9 to 12 months has ranged from 0.4 percent to 0.6 percent, depending on the type of drug-eluting stent.
Drugs help revive brain-damaged NY fireman—doctor
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The wife of a brain-damaged firefighter said it was “overwhelming” to hear her husband speak after nearly 10 years of silence, a startling revival his doctor credited to a new drug treatment.
Donald Herbert, 43, suddenly snapped to attention on Saturday after years of sitting silently in a wheelchair at his nursing home. He stunned the nursing home staff by asking where his wife, Linda, was.
Linda Herbert was summoned to the Father Baker Manor nursing home, where the injured firefighter engaged family and friends in a 14-hour visit. On Wednesday, Linda Herbert told a news conference that hearing her husband speak again was “overwhelming.”
Health officials unsure about flu vaccine
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The flu vaccine supply for the upcoming 2005-2006 influenza season is still uncertain, with one maker racing to fix a closed factory and others trying to win new U.S. licenses, health officials said on Wednesday.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said Chiron Corp. was still working on its facility in Liverpool, England, while GlaxoSmithKline was trying to get approval to supply the U.S. market for the first time.
Last October, Chiron’s license was suspended just at the start of flu season, with a loss of 48 million doses of vaccine - half the anticipated U.S. supply. The U.S. government scrambled to get together enough doses to cover those at risk of dying from influenza and ended up with 61 million.
Statin safe in kids with high cholesterol
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Pravastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug commonly used in adults with elevated cholesterol levels is safe for use in children aged 4 or older with an inherited cholesterol disorder known as Familial hypercholesterolemia, suggest results of a study conducted in Finland.
Children with slight or moderate but not severe hypercholesterolemia can expect a “satisfactory” reduction in total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, the study shows, with no harmful effects on growth and development.
Familial hypercholesterolemia is caused by a mutation in a gene that normally helps control LDL levels. Patients typically develop heart and blood vessel disease as well as deposits of fatty plaques inside the arteries at a young age.
