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Macabre
crooks filch HIV+ blood from Vancouver hospital
VANCOUVER —
Vials containing blood samples infected with HIV were
stolen during the first weekend of April from a Vancouver
hospital. The 19 vials, which were nabbed between Saturday
and Sunday morning, were being stored in a freezer on
the sixth floor of St Paul's Hospital. Hospital officials
tried to calm the public by announcing that the samples
weren't dangerous unless introduced into someone's bloodstream.
The viruses in the blood can remain infectious for up
to 72 hours after thawing, but they weaken significantly
as time passes. A hospital spokesperson said the crime
was a wake-up call — surveillance tapes would be
reviewed and security tightened.
Cancer
patients with infertility risk aren't banking sperm
VALENCIA, SPAIN
— Most men don't freeze samples of their
sperm before receiving cancer treatment that puts them
at risk of sterility, say Spanish researchers. According
to the investigators, the number of men between 40-and
45-years-of-age requesting to have their sperm frozen
and banked is much lower than the number being treated
for cancer, and presumably the number who would want
children in the future. In a study of 186 men who had
their sperm frozen before cancer treatment, only 30%
recovered normal sperm production, but the rest had
a low or absent sperm count. About 15% of the patients
ended up wanting to use their frozen sample several
years after treatment. The research appears in the March
issue of Fertility and Sterility.
Pretty
boys play the field
PENN STATE —
Male college students who think they're hot stuff are
more likely to experiment with risky sexual behaviour
than their Plain John brothers. The Pennsylvania State
University study looked at condom use and number of
sex partners in 443 students between the ages of 17
and 19. Almost 60% reported that they were sexually
active. In marked contrast, female students who considered
themselves good looking had fewer sexual partners than
average and insisted on using condoms more often.
An
apple a day keeps MD at bay
PARIS —
Procyanidins, a chemical found in apples, reduce the
risk of colon cancer. The substance was tested on rats
who had first been given material which induces colon
cancer. Those subsequently administered with procyanidins
developed half the number of pre-cancerous lesions.
Earlier studies have linked the flavonoids found in
apples with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers caution that the high levels of fructose
in the fruit can cause problems for patients with irritable
bowel syndrome.
One
man awarded millions, another zilch in drug lawsuit
ATLANTIC CITY
— A New Jersey jury has awarded $4.5 million
to a man who claimed Merck's painkiller rofecoxib caused
his heart attack, while a second plaintiff walked away
empty-handed. In the split decision, the jury said the
drug was responsible for only one of the heart attacks.
The man who lost claimed to have taken the drug for
22 months, but could only produce prescriptions to back
up seven months of use — he said he used samples
the rest of the time. Merck has acknowledged the drug
ups the risk of heart attack when it's taken for more
than 18 months. To date the company has lost only one
other suit related to the rofecoxib debacle, to a Texas
man who was awarded $253 million last year. That amount
will drop to $26 million under state law.
Brain
stimulation success
SYDNEY —
The use of direct current stimulation (DCS) in depressed
patients who don't respond to antidepressants is showing
signs of success. A trial underway at the Black Dog
Institute at the University of New South Wales uses
electrical currents that are only one-thousandth the
strength of those employed in standard electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT). Trial leader Dr Colleen Loo explains,
"the low current is not enough to make a nerve cell
fire, but what it does do is prime the nerve cells and
changes their resting state, so that when they do fire
there's a bigger response than usual." The therapy involves
repeated 20-minute sessions during which the patient
is awake and aware.
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