ATW1H%ASUACAD.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu (Dr David Dodell) (08/15/89)
--- begin part 1 of 3 cut here ---
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
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Editor: David Dodell, D.M.D.
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
1. Medical News
Medical News for Week Ending July 16, 1989 ............................ 1
Medical News from the United Nations .................................. 7
2. Center for Disease Control Reports
[MMWR 7-6-89] Progress Towards 1990 Objectives for Physical Fitness ... 15
B Virus Infections in Humans .......................................... 20
Nutritional Status of Somali Refugees ................................. 22
Imported Dengue ....................................................... 25
3. News from the National Institute of Dental Research
Dental News from NIDR ................................................. 27
4. Food & Drug Administration News
FDA Statement on UnAuthorized AIDS Drug Study ......................... 29
5. Volunteers Needed for Studies/Research
Study of GM-CSF with Zidovudine and Alpha Interferon in HIV Patients .. 30
6. Meeting Announcements
Informatica '90 ...................................................... 32
Health InfoCom Network News Page i
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
===============================================================================
Medical News
===============================================================================
Medical News for Week Ending July 16, 1989
Source: USA TODAY/Gannett National Information Network
Reproduced with Permission
July 10, 1989
WOMEN EATING HEALTHIER FOOD:
Women are eating more healthy, low-fat foods than they did a decade ago,
and the more educated they are, the healthier their diets, says a study by
researchers at the University of North Carolina. The study also found women
are eating more high-fiber foods. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
RETIN-A PIONEER HAS NEW GEL:
One of the developers of Retin-A gel is marketing a new skin medication to
fight the appearance of aging. Dr. James Fulton said Derm-A-Gel was a water-
based lotion that doesn't sting like Retin-A. He said the gel offers the same
benefits as Retin-A, but doesn't require a prescription.
SUN MIGHT HELP STOP CANCER:
Moderate exposure to the sun might help protect some people from skin
cancer, a study suggests. Doctors at New York University Medical Center
questioned more than 800 people about their sunbathing habits, Science News
reports in its July 8 edition. They found that those who had moderate
exposure to the sun and tanned easily might actually derive some protection
against skin cancer.
FORMULA COULD HELP TRANSPLANTS:
A new organ preservation solution could give transplantable livers a longer
"shelf life." Friday's Journal of the American Medical Association reports
that ViaSpan - a cold storage solution developed at the University of Vermont
- could extend the cold storage time for harvested livers to more than double
its current 4.5 hour average. The solution is licensed to the Du Pont Co.
NEW TECHNIQUES SAVE LIVERS:
Two new liver transplant techniques could help lessen the shortage of donor
livers. Friday's Journal of the American Medical Association reports the first
technique involves dividing a single liver between two pediatric recipients.
In theory, a liver could be divided among eight patients. The other technique
involves using unused parts of several livers to construct a single organ.
YOUNG CANCER SURVIVORS STRUGGLE:
Children who survive cancer are more likely than their healthy peers to
suffer social problems. Researchers studied 183 childhood cancer survivors at
St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. The results were published in
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Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
the July journal Pediatrics. Survivors were four times more likely than their
peers to suffer school-related and social adjustment problems.
MOST BRAIN INJURIES MILD:
A recent study found that three-quarters of all brain injuries are mild and
uncomplicated. Researchers at the University of California found that 80
percent of brain-injured patients' injuries were mild. Other results,
published in the journal Trauma July issue: Most were between 15 and 19 years
old. Most common cause: Auto accidents, accounting for 40 percent of the
cases.
July 11, 1989
DONOR ORGANS IN SHORT SUPPLY:
Despite heightened donor recruitment efforts, many people waiting for life-
saving transplant surgery still don't get organs in time, say patient
advocates. The most severe shortages affect children, say experts meeting in
Arlington, Va., for the annual meeting of the North American Transplant
Coordinators Organization. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
13,000 HAD TRANSPLANTS IN 1988:
Nearly 13,000 people - including 600 children younger than 15 -had organ
transplants in 1988, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing in
Richmond, Va. The agency said 769 children were awaiting organ transplants
now. The agency said a 2-year-old law requiring hospitals to approach all
family members of deceased patients about organ transplants might help combat
the shortage.
DENTISTS ARE WAVING LASERS:
Lasers are being used to perform root canal procedures faster and with less
pain than conventional methods. The Academy of General Dentistry said lasers
provided a precise cut and did not disturb tissue surrounding the incision.
Researchers using lasers at Marquette University Dental School said the
technology decreased recovery time, reduced pain and lessened the chances of
infection.
MEASLES CASES UP 320 PERCENT:
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control said Monday that the number of
measles cases across the United States was 320 percent higher than it was at
the same time last year. At the end of June, the CDC reports 7,022 cases of
measles nationwide. That compares to 1,492 cases by the same week in 1988.
Reason: Fewer inner-city newborns are being brought in for vaccinations.
MEASLES OUTBREAK SHOULD SLOW:
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control said Monday that they believe
the current outbreak of measles would subside as school children were
disbursed for the summer. CDC officials said the disease was predominantly
spread in schools and often peaked just before the end of the school year. So
far this year, the incidents of measles cases is up 320 percent compared to
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Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
1988.
MOST TESTING STATES CHECK ALL:
This fall, California will join more than 30 states that currently require
some form of testing at birth for sickle cell anemia. Officials at the
National Institutes of Health said Monday that 90 percent of the states
requiring testing test all infants for the disease - not just the ones
believed at risk.
ANEMIA DRUG CLEARED FOR MARKET:
Care Plus Inc. said Monday that its erythroprotein had been cleared by the
Food and Drug Administration and is now available for home use. The drug
combats anemias related to chronic renal failure. It uses recombinant DNA
technology to stimulate the production of red blood cells in the body and
reduce anemia.
NEW TEST DETECTS BREAST CANCER:
A new test could help avoid disfiguring surgery to examine tumors in breast
cancer victims. The new test, called a Mammotest, uses a fine biopsy needle to
extract tissue from the lesion, which can then be examined. Developer Fischer
Imaging Corp. said it hoped the new test could significantly reduce the number
of breast surgeries performed each year.
NEW DEVICE IMPROVES IMAGING:
Advances in technology have helped researchers develop a smaller catheter
for viewing the inside of coronary arteries. A new technique - called digital
cardiac imagery - uses a smaller catheter and less dye. Developer Fischer
Imaging Corp. said the procedure was safer and less expensive than
conventional catheter imaging.
July 12, 1989
COMPUTER GIVES DIET TIPS:
A new computer program can help consumers examine their diets. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture unveiled its new Dietary Analysis Program for IBM
compatible computers. Users enter information on what they've eaten into the
computer, and it supplies data on calories, cholesterol, vitamins, fat content
and other important information. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
LIPPOPROTEINS MAY CAUSE DISEASE:
Arterial damage caused by toxic byproducts of lippoproteins might be a more
important factor in developing heart disease than a person's cholesterol
level, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say. Researchers
found that toxic byproducts formed when lippoproteins are metabolized damage
arterial walls and contribute directly to heart disease.
FDA CLEARS TUMOR DEVICE:
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a device Tuesday that uses heat to
Health InfoCom Network News Page 3
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
destroy tumors. The System 100A Hyperthermia Instrument, manufactured by
Cheung Laboratories, heats tumors to a few degrees above core body temperature
and maintains the heat through the use of ultrasound, microwave and fiber
optic thermometry, all coordinated by computer.
PREGNANCY EDUCATION A MUST:
One in six pregnancies end in miscarriage and many of the miscarriages
could be prevented, high-risk pregnancy specialist Dr. Stefan Semchyshyn said
this week. Early detection of problems through the use of ultrasound combined
with educational programs for pregnant women could help save many of the
unsuccessful pregnancies, Semchyshyn said. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
STUDY - HEART VICTIMS WAIT:
How long heart attack victims wait before seeking treatment is critical in
determining their survival, says a study by doctors at Ottawa General
Hospital. Of 201 heart attack patients surveyed, 42 percent waited more than
four hours before seeking medical help. The study recommended expanding heart
patient education programs on the symptoms of a heart attack.
FDA CLEARS SICKLE CELL DRUG:
The Food and Drug Administration gave "orphan drug" status Tuesday to
RheothRx, a drug that combats sickle cell anemia. Producer CytRx Corp. said
Phase I safety studies had been completed and Phase II studies were under way.
Orphan drug status is granted to allow testing of drugs that combat rare
diseases.
CANCER DRUG CLEARS HURDLE:
The monoclonal antibody-based cancer imaging agent OncoScinct colorectal
has cleared Phase III studies, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.
Developer Cycogen Corp. will file a product license application with the FDA
this fall, the agency said. Tests show the new drug is 20 percent more
effective in detecting cancer cells than conventional cancer imaging agents.
July 13, 1989
BIRTH CONTROL FAILURE REVISED:
Some common birth control methods fail more often than previously thought,
say tests published in Thursday's issue of Family Planning Perspectives.
Spermicide has a 26-percent failure rate. The rate was previously estimated at
19 percent. Condoms had a 14 percent failure rate, rather than 10 percent.
(From the USA TODAY Life section.)
DOCTORS RECOMMEND MORE VACCINE:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended an additional measle
vaccination to combat recent outbreaks. The agency recommends a vaccination at
15 months old and another in junior high school and additional vaccinations in
outbreak areas. The Centers for Disease Control report that measles cases were
five times their 1988 total for the end of June.
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Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPLANT DONE:
In what is being called a transplant first, bone marrow from a 29-year-old
Syracuse, N.Y., man was flown to a leukemia patient in London. Doctors at
Genessee Hospital, Syracuse, removed a liter of bone marrow from Kim Bowman's
pelvis Tuesday. It was flow overnight to London, where it was injected into
the patient Wednesday. (From the USA TODAY News section.)
WATER BEDS CAN KILL INFANTS:
In the past seven years, 32 infants suffocated while sleeping on a water
bed, a consumer group said Wednesday. In response to those statistics, The
American Academy of Pediatrics has filed a petition with the Consumer Product
Safety Commission to place warnings to parents on all water beds. The academy
said that infants, unable to roll over while sleeping, could easily suffocate
on the beds.
July 14-16, 1989
ELDERLY AT RISK FOR SUICIDE:
Older Americans have a suicide rate that is 50 percent higher than the rest
of the nation, according to a study by the American Association of Retired
Persons. The biggest group at risk of committing suicide is older white men -
usually widowers - who are more socially isolated than older women, the study
says. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
SUICIDE RATES HIGH IN ELDERLY:
In the general population, the rate of suicide is 12 deaths per 100,000
people, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Among those
65-71, the rate is 18.5 per 100,000, according to a new survey by the American
Association of Retired Persons. For those 74-84, it is 24.1, and for people
more than 85, the rate is 19.1.
PURE OXYGEN NO EXTRA HELP:
Athletes who inhale pure oxygen to improve their performance are fooling
themselves, researchers at Baylor and the University of Texas found. Athletes
tested did not recover from exercise any faster with supplemental oxygen than
without it. Results of the study were published in Friday's Journal of the
American Medical Association. (From the USA TODAY Life section.)
GENE ALTERING COULD STOP AIDS:
New AIDS research using scrambled genes to destroy the disease's ability to
reproduce is offering new hope for an eventual treatment for AIDS. The
techniques, outlined in Friday's journal Cell, involve altering the gene the
disease uses to reproduce inside the body. Scientists cautioned that the
process is preliminary and won't be tested in humans for several years.
MIGRANES, MS MIGHT BE LINKED:
Severe migrane headaches might be an early sign of multiple sclerosis,
according to a study by doctors at the University of Toronto published in
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Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
Friday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The study followed 1,113
MS patients and found 44 patients had migranes just before their first attack
of MS, and another 12 had simultaneous attacks of MS and migranes.
STUDY - SMOKING PROMPTS DISEASE:
Smoking might be tied to carotid atherosclerosis, says a study by doctors
in Sweden. The study followed 49 pairs of twins. One twin in each pair smoked.
The other was a nonsmoker. Results, published in the July issue of the
American Heart Association's Circulation magazine, showed three times as many
smoking twins developed carotid atherosclerosis as non-smokers.
ONE IN FOUR STILL SMOKE:
Despite warnings, one in four Americans still smoke, a new government
survey said. The Centers for Disease Control said Thursday 25.2 percent of
Americans light up. The Surgeon General's office has targeted reducing the
number to 25 percent by 1990.
NEW DRUG COULD BEAT RSV:
Researchers have invented a protein that might be used as a vaccine against
respiratory syncitial virus - a disease that kills 2,000 infants each year.
Drug producer the Upjohn Company said Thursday the new vaccine, which uses
parts of two genes from the disease to trigger an immune response, had been
successful in stopping RSV in laboratory rats. More research is under way.
DIET MIGHT STOP GALLSTONES:
Eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet could help stop gallstones from
developing, says a study published in the July issue of RN magazine. The study
recommended that overweight people limit their diets to 1,000 calories per
day. Gallstones affect from 16 million to 20 million Americans per year.
NON-PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE UP:
Sales of non-prescription drugs are expected to jump from $10 billion in
1988 to $38 billion within the next decade, says a study in Friday's issue of
Drug Topics. The study, its estimated costs in constant 1988 dollars, says the
current movement toward self-care and preventative health care will fuel the
movement.
Health InfoCom Network News Page 6
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
Medical News from the United Nations
HEALTH INFORMATION BY SATELLITES
A commercial-free television special featuring several prominent entertainers
to be launched 1 July will bring vital health information to millions of Latin
American homes, using five satellites and 3,000 television affiliates.
"Health for All," the first programme of its kind to be produced, will be
transmitted live from Miami, Florida, to more than 100 million viewers in 20
countries.
Created by the Pan American Health Organisation - the regional office of WHO
in the Americas - the broadcast will cover topics such as AIDS, infant
mortality, environmental health, diarrhoeal dehydration, the role of women in
health services, immunisation, drug abuse, tobacco and other health problems.
Among the artists donating their free time to the variety show are Miguel Bose
of Spain, the Gypsy Kings of France, Ricardo Bustamante of Colombia, Angela
Carrasco of the Dominican Republic and boxing champion Alexis Arguello of
Nicaragua.
The event is being disseminated in collaboration with the Ibero-American
Television Organisation, whose president Amaury Lamas said: "Television and it
incalculable power of communication is being used more and more not only for
commercial programmes, but also for programmes with great humanitarian content
such as this one."
Source: PAHO
JET LAGGED? SLEEPLESS? TRY BRIGHT LIGHTS
Timed exposure to bright lights may help treat certain sleep disorders,
according to Drs. Charles Czeisler and Richard Kronauer, and their colleagues
at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University. The body's
internal clock is more sensitive to light than had been thought, they have
reported, and can be ``set'' by relatively brief exposure to bright light. The
body's internal clock is located in the brain's hypothalamus. It influences
when we sleep, when we wake, and how energetic we feel. The authors' finding
that light can be a powerful means of changing the clock's rhythm was based on
a study of 14 healthy young men. For an average of eight days, each subject
lived in a lab devoid of all time cues. For the first two days of the trial,
the subjects were kept awake. Over the following three days, they were exposed
to cycles of eight hours of darkness followed by 16 hours of light. Five of
those hours were spent facing a bank of bright lamps intended to mimic
sunlight just after dawn (about 10,000 lux). The researchers found that the
human circadian (from Latin, ``about a day'') rhythms can be reset by as much
as 12 hours by scheduled exposure to light for just two to three days. The
test subjects reacted differently depending on when the exposure to light
occurred. These findings may not only affect the treatment of people who have
difficulty sleeping (a common complaint among the elderly), but also may have
implications for people doing rotating shift work. An accompanying editorial
noted that the study has implications for people suffering from jet lag as
well. ``If you're flying to Australia, be sure to get there a couple of days
Health InfoCom Network News Page 7
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
early--go to the beach, catch some rays. Tell your boss it's doctors orders.''
SCIENCE June 16,1989; 244:1328-1333,1256-1257. (Compiled from Newspapers and
Medical Journals for IMTS's Healthweek In Review.)
IMPORTANT STEPS' TOWARDS TB AND LEPROSY VACCINES
THE USE OF powerful new genetic engineering techniques to redesign an old
vaccine may soon yield cheap and useful new weapons against two of humanity's
oldest scourges, leprosy and tuberculosis.
Two new prototype vaccines, now being tested in animals, are based on the
old vaccinia virus, the benign agent that played a key role in the worldwide
campaign to eradicate smallpox. By adding parts from other disease organisms
to the old virus, it can be "tailored" so that it stimulates protective
immunity against other diseases.
The goal of the tuberculosis-leprosy work, at a firm called Applied
bioTechnology, in Cambridge, Mass., is to develop vaccines that are cheap,
reliable and easy to handle in areas of the world where such diseases are
rampant, and where current techniques of treatment and protection are
inadequate.
The research team, led by biologist Anna Mahr, a senior scientist at
Applied bioTechnology, reported recently at the annual meeting of the American
Society for Microbiology in New Orleans that their first animal experiments
were successful.
"Mice vaccinated with these recombinants do raise antibodies against some
mycobacterial proteins," they reported. In the next step, "animal challenge
studies to test protection are planned."
According to Dennis Panicali, the firm's vice president for product
development, "the expression of the tuberculosis and leprosy antigens in
vaccinia represents an important step in demonstrating the feasibility of this
approach. The next step will be to demonstrate protection in pre-clinical
challenge studies."
Such experiments involve first vaccinating the animals, then challenging
them with large doses of the disease organisms to see if they are immune.
Panicali said in a telephone interview, "We will start the challenge
experiments soon," especially to test the tuberculosis vaccine.
Although tuberculosis is considerably less of a problem than it was three
or four decades ago, it still strikes about 10 million people annually,
killing almost one third of them. A vaccine against TB does exist, but it is
ineffective in some parts of the world.
The search for a leprosy vaccine is also important, because the disfiguring
disease still afflicts between 10 million and 15 million people, mostly in
Asia, Africa and South America. Making a vaccine has been difficult, because
it is hard to produce large amounts of the disease organism, M. leprae, in
culture dishes or in animals.
"Vaccines which are efficacious, safe, consistently reliable and
Health InfoCom Network News Page 8
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
inexpensive to produce are currently unavailable for leprosy and
tuberculosis," Mahr and her colleagues wrote. But now, vaccines created
through manipulating the vaccinia virus "represent a promising approach to
developing effective vaccines to prevent these diseases."
The two diseases are caused by related organisms called mycobacteria. The
discovery of surface molecules on their surfaces that stimulate the immune
system to resist infection was made by molecular biologist Richard Young and
coworkers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge.
Young, indeed, has said worldwide control of leprosy might be possible,
even within a single generation, if a vaccine becomes available and an
aggressive immunization program begins. "I'm terribly excited about the
research having progressed this far," he said.
About two years ago, Young isolated specific genes that make the special
identification proteins that appear on the two bacteria's surfaces. By
stitching the genes that make these proteins into vaccinia virus, the
researchers at Applied bioTechnology have created entirely new organisms that
may act as strong vaccines, similar to the way vaccinia stimulates immunity to
smallpox.
This new approach to creating vaccines is somewhat analogous to dressing a
sheep in wolf's clothing, then using it to keep the guard dogs awake.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infection of the skin
and nervous system. It does much of its damage by deadening the nerves in the
hands and feet, so people cannot feel injuries such as cuts and burns.
In time, repeated infections in open wounds begins to destroy tissues,
causing the disfiguring scarring and open sores that are sometimes associated
with untreated leprosy. Fortunately, leprosy is treatable by a drug called
dapsone, and persons under treatment present no threat to public health.
Doctors say a leprosy vaccine is needed, however, because some strains of
the disease organism have evolved a resistance to dapsone.
Tuberculosis, on the other hand, is fought with a vaccine called BCG, a
relatively weak bacterium that is related to the agent, M. tuberculosis, which
causes the disease. Unfortunately, BCG is not effective in many parts of the
world, which means about one fourth of the world's infants remain unprotected.
Also, a resurgence in the number of tuberculosis cases is being seen among
persons with AIDS.
Other researchers have rebuilt the same virus to act as a vaccine against
rabies in animals, and studies have been done contemplating vaccinia as a
tailored vaccine against herpes and even AIDS. Indeed, Panicali's firm,
Applied bioTechnology, is trying to devise an AIDS vaccine based on the
vaccinia virus.
UNITEX WEEKLY HEALTH ROUND-UP
All U.S. blood banks would have to meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
proficiency standards requiring 80% accuracy in screening for human
Health InfoCom Network News Page 9
Volume 2, Number 29 July 17, 1989
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies and hepatitis B surface antigens under
recently proposed FDA regulations. The American Association of Blood Banks,
which already requires its members to meet proficiency standards, said that it
--- end part 1 of 3 cut here ---ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Raymond Dunn) (09/05/89)
While I appreciate the amount of time and effort expended in creating this newsletter, I must wonder why it is published in a form much more suited to the print media. With such a large amount of information being presented each week, it would be exceedingly useful if it was possible to use the normal features of our newsreading software to extract and browse. Does anyone have any useful suggestions? -- Ray Dunn. | UUCP: ..!uunet!philmtl!ray Philips Electronics Ltd. | TEL : (514) 744-8200 Ext: 2347 600 Dr Frederik Philips Blvd | FAX : (514) 744-6455 St Laurent. Quebec. H4M 2S9 | TLX : 05-824090