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Contact
wearers should keep eyes peeled for bad solution
WASHINGTON —
Tens of millions of soft contact lens wearers face an
elevated risk of developing a serious eye infection
caused by a fungus called Fusarium keratitis,
warned the US Centers for Disease Control and the FDA.
As of April 9, 109 cases were being investigated by
health authorities in 17 states, a large percentage
of which were linked to one of the most popular brands
of contact lens solution — ReNu with MoistureLoc.
The manufacturer, Bausch & Lomb, has since pulled
this line from shelves and suspended further shipments.
Investigators haven't yet confirmed the company's product
is to blame for the outbreak, but patients should still
be advised against using it.
Reveen's
chest pain relief Tx
MANCHESTER —
Hypnotherapy may prove to be one of the only ways to
relieve non-cardiac chest pain. The condition, which
is notoriously difficult to treat, has no known causes,
although acid reflux and psychological problems are
possible culprits. This study, published April 19 in
Gut Online First, randomly divided 28 sufferers
into two groups. One group received 12 sessions of hypnotherapy
over 17 weeks; the other got "supportive therapy" and
placebo. Of those treated with hypnotherapy, 80% reported
significant pain relief. Earlier research has shown
that hypnotherapy directly affects a region of the brain,
which processes the emotional content of a painful stimulus.
Mowing
the seeds of death
HOUSTON &
BALTIMORE — Spring is in the air and lawn-mower
related injuries are cropping up like dandelions. Nearly
80,000 Americans are admitted to hospital for lawn-mower
related injuries each year, according to a report released
in the April online edition Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Thirty-four percent of patients end up with a fractured
foot, while 32% lose a toe. The study authors suggest
parents shouldn't allow children under 15 to mow, and
anyone operating a mower should wear goggles, long pants
and work boots. Ultimately, they hope manufacturers
will heed the warning of these numbers and design safer
mowers.
Do
hiccups warn us of cancer?
DUBLIN —
Persistent hiccups twinned with weight-loss and difficulty
swallowing might signal esophageal cancer. Dr Tom Walsh
of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Dublin led
a study that looked at 99 patients with the cancer;
27% of these subjects had persistent hiccups. But only
6% of these folk ever went to see a doctor for hiccuping.
Dr Walsh reckons that hiccups in cancer patients may
in fact be linked to the phrenic nerve, the motor nerve
of the diaphragm.
Go
easy on a preemie's lifeline
PROVIDENCE —
For babies born before 32 weeks it's a good idea not
to clamp their umbilical cords straightaway. Delaying
the clamping just five-to-ten seconds protects them
from bleeding in the brain and infections, say researchers
in a study published in the April edition of Pediatrics.
Infants whose cord were clamped just seconds later had
significantly lower rates of bleeding in the brain and
blood infections. The procedure, which increases the
amount of blood the baby receives at birth, may prove
to be a simple — and free — way to prevent
brain infections, often blamed for developmental delays
and cerebral palsy in premature babies.
Osteoporosis
script keeps breast cancer at bay
WASHINGTON —
The osteoporosis drug raloxifene is safer than
tamoxifen for prevention of breast cancer in high-risk
postmenopausal women, according to data from the nearly
20,000 subject-strong Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene
(STAR) announced in a teleconference on April 17. Both
drugs reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer by
50%, but women taking raloxifene developed 36% fewer
uterine cancers and 39% fewer blood clots than those
receiving tamoxifen, the only drug currently approved
for breast cancer prevention. Raloxifene, however, didn't
share tamoxifen's ability to reduce the risk of noninvasive,
or in situ, breast cancers. Further results from
the STAR trial will be presented in June at the American
Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.
High
calorie diet delays ALS
NEW YORK —
A high protein diet might be able to slow the progression
of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), report researchers
in the April 3 issue of BMC Neuroscience. The
investigators fed mice with ALS a high calorie ketogenic
diet and examined motor performance, longevity, and
motor neuron counts. Results showed that this rich diet
slowed the progression of ALS. This study was the first
to find a link between neuronal cell death, the cause
of ALS and diet.
Hurricane
Katrina takes toll on displaced victims: study
NEW YORK —
Families forced out of their homes because of last year's
hurricane are suffering from mental disorders and asthma,
say Columbia University investigators. Some 34% of kids
were found to be suffering from asthma, anxiety and
behavioural problems — this figure is up nearly
10% from the rate reported in inner-city New Orleans
before the storm. Troublingly, researchers found that
up to 14% of the sick kids were going without meds.
The adults in the study did even worse, 44% had no health
insurance and close to half weren't getting proper treatment
for a serious disease like diabetes, hypertension or
cancer. The authors concluded the reason why the victims
are faring so poorly is their lack of prescription drugs
and the soaring cost of insurance premiums. The study
is available for free at www.childrenshealthfund.org.
Study
finds no evidence of silicone, breast cancer link
ROCKVILLE, MD
— Silicone breast implants don't raise women's
risk of breast cancer, according to an industry-funded
study published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute on April 19. American researchers followed
nearly 3,500 Swedish women who'd received implants for
a mean period of 18.4 years after their surgery. No
link to breast cancer was found, and although the bustier
subjects did have a higher incidence of lung cancer
than controls, the researchers believe that's because
the cosmetically-enhanced women also tended to smoke
more. The study was funded by implant manufacturer Dow
Corning, which concerns experts who worry the FDA may
use this data to overturn its 1992 ban on silicone implants.
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