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Cambodian PM
cans HIV drug trial
Phnom Penh —
A large HIV drug trial has been halted by Cambodia's
prime minister. The PM claims the study — testing
supposed preventative qualities and longterm safety
of the drug tenofovir on sex workers — was playing
fast and loose with human rights. Study leaders, Family
Health International, deny the charges. Other arms of
the study are underway in Botswana, Ghana, and Malawi.
Hope
squirms nearer for Jerry's kids
SAN FRANCISCO
— Research on worms offers new insights
into muscular dystrophy, according to a report in the
August 19 issue of Nature. The snf-6 gene in
nematodes gets rid of acetylcholine at the site where
nerves interact with the muscle to make it contract.
Mutations in this gene lead to a build up of acetylcholine,
causing the worm's muscles to remain excited for too
long. Researchers think this over-excited muscle tissue
contributes to the degeneration seen in muscular dystrophy.
Gestation
of an ethical dilemma
LONDON —
In the UK, 25-week-old fetuses are considered "viable
human beings," under current abortion law. One of the
implications of this is that the decision on whether
or not to resuscitate premature babies aged 25-weeks
or more would be in the hands of doctors, not parents,
even though chances are high that such a child could
be severely disabled. The case of a British couple who
recently faced this ordeal is described in the current
issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics.
All
abortions aboard
LISBON —
A controversial abortion boat is making a visit to Portugal,
where abortion is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
Run by Netherlands-based pro-choice group Women on Waves
and staffed by a Dutch GP, ob/gyn, and nurse, the boat
travels to countries with strict abortion laws (previous
stops included Ireland and Poland) administering advice
in port and abortion pills in international waters.
The Netherlands government is currently trying to limit
the boat's activities to Dutch waters.
New
tonsillectomy Tx not so hot after all
LONDON —
Like kooky fashion fads, surgical techniques can get
popular for incomprehensible reasons. For instance,
a study of 11,796 tonsillectomies found that patients
who underwent the more popular 'hot' tonsillectomy,
where the steel is heated prior to surgery, as opposed
to the traditional 'cold' tonsillectomy, were three
times more likely to have a hemorrhage occur. These
results, appearing in the August 15 edition of The
Lancet, suggest surgeons should think twice before
getting hot and bothered over the newer technique.
Brit
GPs to no-shows: fine
CANTERBURY —
UK physicians have had quite enough of inconsiderate
patients who skip appointments. British Health researchers
Developing Patient Partnerships (DPP) surveyed 700 family
doctors and found that two thirds are in favour of fines
for no-shows. About half the docs would set the fine
at ú10 ($23.42 Cdn) or less and 17% would charge
even more. DPP also found that patients playing hooky
cost Britain ú162 million ($379 million Cdn)
annually, not to mention the added hours of waiting
time for other patients.
Something's
rotten in the state of aromatherapy
PHILADELPHIA —
There are more risks to being a masseuse than
having to deal with unsightly backs all day. A study
in August's issue of the Archives of Dermatology
shows that using aromatherapy oils might cause eczema.
Of 350 massage therapists who completed a survey, 23%
had hand dermatitis. Besides having a history of atopic
dermatitis, using aromatherapy scented massage oils,
creams and lotions significantly increased a masseuse's
risk of eczema.
How
to lasso a liver in Texas
HOUSTON —
Well-heeled Houstonite Todd Krampitz was in need
of an organ transplant. Instead of waiting for a liver
to just mosey on in, he began a media campaign to find
a donor. He placed ads on billboards along a Houston
highway and put up a website to plead for a healthy
liver. As luck would have it a family from out of state
found it in their Texas-sized hearts to donate the needed
organ to Mr Krampitz.
DVT
fashion tips from Italy
PADUA, ITALY —
If the style-conscious Italians recommend compression
stockings, who are we to disagree? Only 26% of 90 patients
with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) who wore below-knee
graded compression elastic stockings every day for two
years developed post thrombotic complications during
the five-year study. On the other hand, 49% of the 90
controls who abjured the stockings got DVT. While the
study, published in the August 17 issue of the Annals
of Internal Medicine, couldn't explain why the stockings
work, a change of socks may be in order for DVT patients.
Asthmatics
trigger-happy for nothing?
ANN ARBOR, MI
— Many asthma sufferers have specific triggers,
so it makes sense to control these — doesn't it?
According to a report in the August issue of the Journal
of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, most steps parents
take to get rid of triggers are ineffective. Interviews
with parents of 896 asthmatic children showed that of
the 80% of parents who could identify a trigger, 82%
had taken action against it. However, based on current
guidelines, half the things they tried were unlikely
to help.
Backwoods
MD shield
WASHINGTON —
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
is handing out a $1 million grant to the American Medical
Association to train rural doctors for duty on emergency
first response teams. DHS Chief of Staff Matt Mayer
says an internet course will tell physicians what to
do in the case of a "weapons of mass destruction event."
The department has come under fire recently because
of the oddly pastoral bias of its terror protection
grant system. CNN reported that the DHS has doled out
144% more per capita to not-so-top terror target Wyoming
than New York.
Tomato
juice puts the squeeze on diabetes
NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA
— Tomato juice is moving beyond gazpacho
and bloody caesars. A letter in the August 18 issue
of JAMA shows that 10 type II diabetics who drank
250mL of tomato juice daily for three weeks had significantly
better glycemic control than 10 patients who drank tomato-flavoured
placebo. The authors claim that tomato juice's ability
to thin the blood helps keep heart troubles at bay for
type II diabetics, who are usually less sensitive to
blood's natural anti-aggregants.
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