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Cheeky looking
eyes
OSAKA — Japanese
researchers have found a way to restore sight using cheek cells. Four patients
had thin layers of cells removed from their inner cheeks and used to patch up
their corneas. The results were eye opening. The damaged corneal surfaces were
repaired within a week after the transplant and vision was maintained even after
a 14-month followup. The process is detailed in the September 15 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine. The
fat of the air
ATLANTA —
All signs point to obesity overtaking smoking as the top target for health
establishment haranguing. One bizarre study by the CDC from October's American
Journal of Preventive Medicine, tries to blame overweight people for an estimated
3.45 million extra tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air. The authors argue that
ever-heftier Americans were weighing down commercial airplanes, forcing the planes
to burn up 1.325 billion more litres of fuel than would be necessary had average
passengers been as lean as they were a decade earlier. Microsurgery
cures micropenis
LONDON, UK —
The condition known as "micropenis" — a phallus less than 7cm in length —
occurs in about one of 200 men. But a new penis enlargement surgery offers hope
for males with micropenis. A presentation at a December 8 meeting of the European
Society for Sexual Medicine in London explained the phallic reconstruction of
nine men's penises whose average length went from just over 7cm to about 13cm.
The surgery allowed four of the men to have regular sexual intercourse with the
aid of an inflatable penile prosthesis. The
pros and cons of getting hitched
BOSTON
— The astute reader won't be shocked to find out that men tend to
stop trying after marriage. A study of 40,000 health professionals aged 40 to
75 showed that men who remarried gained more weight and exercised less than men
who remained separated, divorced or widowed. However, the results published in
the January 2005 edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
also found that married men drank less alcohol and sugary drinks and ate more
vegetables than single men. So they concluded that marriage was overall beneficial
to men's health. What's
cookin' in that melting pot?
CHICAGO
— Land of the free and home of the fat? Many immigrants go to the
US seeking the American dream. What they often soon find is a corpulent reflection
in the mirror. According to a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA, the
19% obesity rate among immigrants who had been in the US over 15 years is nearly
the same as that of US-born residents (22%). The results are based on a health
survey of 32,374 people, 14% of whom were born outside of the US. How
the hysterical save face
MINNEAPOLIS
— Laugh all you want, but it's true that radiofrequency energy can
minimize laugh lines. This non-surgical treatment involves applying radiofrequency
(RF) energy to the skin causing collagen fibres to tighten and, over time, the
treatment stimulates the production of more fibres. An article in the November/December
issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery reported that the treatment
had modest benefits in smoothing out the lines that run between the nose and mouth.
The ugly truth about
Scots Mars bars
GLASGOW —
A pair of Glasgow docs have solved Scotland's biggest mystery since the Loch Ness
Monster: the deep-fried Mars bar urban myth. In a letter in the December 18 issue
of The Lancet, they relate how, of 300 Scottish fish and chip shops they
called on, a heart-stopping 22% offered the fried chocolate bars. One author,
Dr Mark Petticrew, tried to put a positive spin on his countrymen's gastronomic
peccadilloes, noting "We did also find some evidence of the penetrance of the
Mediterranean diet into Scotland, albeit in the form of deep-fried pizza." Deck
the halls with care and safety
ATLANTA
— Yes, the holidays can put a strain on most people's mental health,
but who'd have thought they could also wreak havoc on our physical well-being?
According to yet another absolutely essential study from the CDC, 5,800 Americans
end up in hospital during the holidays every year due to — ready? —
decorating injuries. Investigators looked at ER visits between November 1 and
January 31 from 2000-2003. Fifty-eight percent of the yuletide victims were men.
The most common injuries were broken bones due to fumbles and spills, usually
involving ladders, roofs, and those pernicious Christmas lights. Barking
up the right tree for arthritis
TURKU,
FINLAND — If bone chilling December air makes the old arthritis flare
up, the cure may be as close as the Christmas tree. A study in the December 29
issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry claims that pine
bark is chock-full of anti-inflammatory compounds. When applied to mouse cells,
pine bark extract helped block the production of a protein that's known to trigger
inflammatory responses. As of yet, no human trials have been done. Side
effects may include Armageddon
WASHINGTON
— It's not uncommon for a new medical device to generate controversy
— but it's not every day that they're called Satan's handiwork. In October
when the FDA approved the VeriChip, an implantable microchip designed to store
a code that gives caregivers access to medical records, civil libertarians cautioned
that the device could infringe privacy. But much more serious accusations were
lobbed from popular Christian millenarian websites like Raptureready.com, which
speculated the rice-sized chip is in fact 'the mark of the beast,' as described
in the Book of Revelation. Chemicals
go down with bitter blockers
CRANBURY,
NJ — Linguagen Corp — a company of flavour mavens — has
joined forces with scientists from the State University of New Jersey to eradicate
bitterness. Together they've developed what they call a 'bitter blocker' using
adenosine monophosphate — a nucleotide that can change the way taste buds
perceive bitterness. It should make medicines, artificial flavours and additives
taste less nasty. The FDA gave the compound its stamp- of approval last September
so bitterness may soon meet its bitter end.
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