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Spitballs of fire
HAIFA,
ISRAEL — Saliva is normally a beneficial
elixir of enzymes but a new study finds cigarette smoke
can turn one's spit into a vile, deadly soup. The study
was conducted by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
and published in June's British Journal of Cancer.
Study leader Dr Rafi Nagler stated that smoke makes
saliva "turn traitor" and harm the body even more than
the smoke ever could on its own. The researchers found
that smoke obliterates anti-oxidants naturally present
in saliva leaving only toxic tobacco juice.
They oughta get their heads examined
CAMBRIDGE,
MA — A major international study published
in the June issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association finds that global rates of reported
mental illness vary radically. Study leader Dr Ronald
Kessler characterized the reported rates in China (4%)
and Japan (5%) as "implausibly low." Meanwhile, at the
other end of the mental spectrum, Americans clocked
in at 18%. The study also looked at how many diagnosed
mentally ill people get treatment. Spain and France
lead the pack, treating 60% of the mentally ill, while
in Ukraine, Colombia, Mexico and Lebanon fewer than
20% get treatment.
Take up a collection
LOS
ANGELES — Just because you hoard books and
stockpile memorabilia doesn't mean you're obsessive
compulsive — at least that's what a team at UCLA
claims. Their research, published in the June issue
of the American Journal of Psychiatry, compared
brain scans of an estimated one million compulsive hoarders
with people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
and found that brain patterns were distinctly different.
In the past, hoarding has been classified as OCD. But
packrats aren't in the all-clear. The researchers now
believe that hoarding may be a previously unrecognized
neurobiological malfunction.
Strike two for Ashcroft's agenda
SAN
FRANCISCO — The US's deeply religious attorney
general, John Ashcroft, had a lousy week in court recently,
as two judges put the brakes on measures he was gleefully
itching to enforce. On a proposed physician-assisted
suicide ban, federal Judge Richard Tallman wrote that
Mr Ashcroft was "far exceed[ing] the scope of his authority."
And in a separate judgement on his pet late-term abortion
act, Judge Phyllis Hamilton chided that the law "is
unconstitutionally vague, and requires a health exception."
Beware: here comes the sun
NEW
YORK — Cosmic radiation is deemed a minimal
health risk for pregnant women in a study from the June
issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The report
does state, however, that rare solar flare events may
expose anyone to a harmful dose of radiation while in
a plane. To counter this so-called threat, the US Federal
Aviation Administration has set up an alert system to
warn airlines of such events. Looks like Americans aren't
quite finished turning travel into a fearful and paranoid
experience.
Forearmed is forewarned, kids
MANCHESTER,UK
— Kids and teens with diabetes aren't too
keen on taking their blood glucose levels — especially
when it involves a finger-prick. But a solution may
be on the horizon: forearm glucose testing. According
to a study published in the June issue of the Archives
of Diseases in Childhood, forearm sampling is an
acceptable way of measuring glucose. Researchers looked
at 52 kids aged six to 17; 60% said that forearm sampling
was painless and more than 55% believed that using this
method would improve their compliance.
Weekend at Bernie's
was safe after all
LONDON
— When natural disasters occur, authorities
usually make the hasty removal of corpses a top priority
because of perceived health risks. But a study published
in the latest Pan American Journal of Public Health
finds that victims of natural disasters pose little
health risk as long as emergency workers follow basic
precautions such as using body bags. The researchers,
from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
even concluded that on the whole, survivors were more
likely to transmit diseases than their less lucky compatriots.
Mighty mitochondria
STOCKHOLM
— Mice with an impaired ability to correct
mitochondrial mutations show more signs of aging, according
to researchers at the Swedish Karolinska Institute in
a study published in the May 27 issue of Nature.
Scientists have suspected since the early 1970s that
mangled mitochondria had a role in aging, but this study
provides the first lab tested evidence to back up their
theory.
Sperm banks' cups runneth not over
THE
HAGUE — A Dutch law barring anonymous sperm
donors is leading to shortages and two-year delays,
say fertility clinics. The law also allows children
to find out the name of their donor father when they
turn 16. Despite the fact the regulations have only
been in effect for about a year, there are already reports
of queue-jumpers turning to the black market or to cross-border
Belgian sperm.
Patient from hell
unmasked — and banned
YORK,
UK — Norman Hutchins, a 53-year-old Briton,
earned the dubious distinction of being the first person
to be barred from entering all National Health facilities.
Mr Hutchins built up a formidable rap sheet of 47 incidents
of verbal or physical assault on NHS workers over five
months. Mr Hutchins is said to be driven by an all-consuming
surgical mask fetish. All patience for Mr Hutchins'
shenanigans wore thin after he showed up at York District
Hospital brandishing a knife. His criminal case will
be heard on June 30.
Not for the faint-hearted
GAINESVILLE,
FL — Anemia has been linked to heart disease
thanks to research published in the June issue of the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Low hemoglobin levels have been associated in the past
with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with
a history of heart attacks. But this is the first data
to link anemia to women with limited coronary artery
disease. Of the 936 women tested, 21% were anemic and
more likely to have adverse outcomes.
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