*** News You Can Use! -- 17 August 1996 ***
A study of roughly equal numbers of elderly white, black and Hispanic women shows that those who take estrogen long after menopause appear to be at least one-third less likely than others to develop Alzheimer's disease. The study was published in the 16 August edition of the British medical journal The Lancet. Researchers from Columbia University found that taking estrogen for 10 years after menopause reduced the risk of Alzheimer's by 30 to 40%.
The study involved 1,124 women aged 70 and up, with an average age of 74. Of 968 women who did not take estrogen, 158 (or 16.3%) developed Alzheimer's. Of 156 who took estrogen, only nine developed it -- a percentage of 5.8%. In addition, the nine estrogen users who developed Alzheimer's tended to have symptoms later than expected.
Estrogen is prescribed for the relief of menopause symptoms, but experts believe it aids in the repair and maintenance of brain cells. Other studies show it also reduces the risk of heart disease, slows osteoporosis, and may also guard against colon cancer. But there is bad news as well -- some studies have linked estrogen with a 50% increased risk for breast cancer. (Associated Press, 15 August 1996; USA Today, 16 August)
See the USA Today story.
A new study found that people who never smoked, but were married to smokers, had a 20% greater chance of dying from heart disease, than in couples where neither smoked. The study's authors say that their findings are supported by 14 previous studies linking heart disease with secondhand smoke. The research was published in the 14 August edition of Circulation magazine, published by the American Heart Association. (CNN, 15 August 1996)
See the CNN story.
Health officials held a press conference in Washington to air their concerns about one trend in preventable diseases. They're seeing increasing numbers of teen-agers becoming seriously ill from diseases they should have left behind in their adolescent years. Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic says that a young children's disease like measles is now a disease of teen-agers and young adults. Poland told the press that 70% of measles cases so far this year occurred among people ten years and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that most new cases of Hepatitis B are also in adolescents and young adults. The officials warn that there could be new outbreaks of infectious diseases in schools this year, if students don't get vaccinated. (Associated Press, 15 August 1996)
See the CNN story.
Drug Strategies, a Washington-based policy research institute, has released a study that suggests that most drug abusers aren't likely to be able to enroll in treatment programs. The report finds that three out of every four drug abusers hold down steady jobs. But those jobs are usually with small businesses (with fewer than 500 employees), and those are the companies *least* likely to offer drug treatment programs through their health plans. The study says small businesses are skeptical that treatment can work, and are reluctant to waste time and expense on workers with drug abuse problems. (Associated Press, 15 August 1996)
A national survey released by the Eno Transportation Foundation sheds some light on the decline of that fixture of the 70's, the carpool. The study indicates that 70% of American households include two or more people employed outside the home. The research also suggests that most workers consider having their own vehicle a must, partly because the typical commute include extra stops for tasks such as dropping off the kids or doing some shopping. That makes carpooling and mass transit less attractive. Transportation consultant Alan Pisarski says future planners should be geared to moving people from suburb to suburb, as more jobs migrate out of downtown areas. (Associated Press, 16 August 1996)
USA Today reports that the Food and Drug Administration is warning several airlines about unsanitary food handling conditions. The problems cited include failure to properly refrigerate first-class meals containing meat and eggs, and storing coffeepots and lids in the same dirty sinks used for cleaning mops. The FDA considered the conditions serious enough to sicken passengers or crew members, although government inspectors know of no specific cases. The nine airlines warned include USAir, Continental, Delta, Southwest, Northwest and United. (Associated Press, 16 August 1996)
Food poisoning claims tenth victim on Japan
A 12-year-old girl is the tenth person to die from a troubling epidemic of food poisoning in Japan. A strain of E. coli bacteria has killed ten in the past two months, although health officials say the spread of the illness has virtually stopped. Of the estimated 9400 people sickened nationwide, over 6000 were schoolchildren in the city of Sakai, just like the latest victim. Japan's government says the cause of the Sakai outbreak was probably tainted radish sprouts served in school lunches. (Associated Press, 16 August 1996)
In 1982, a Columbia University study suggested that the corpus callosum -- the tissue bridge that connects the two halves of the brain -- was larger in women. The researchers speculated that the larger bridge, which allows communication between the two hemispheres -- allowed women to make better use of their brain, and might be the source of so-called "women's intuition." A new, larger-scale study effectively refutes the earlier study. Researchers from the University of Alberta analysed 49 studies of the corpus callosum, and found that not only were the women's bridges not larger, they were actually smaller. (Broadcast News, 17 August 1996)
STB's News You Can Use! edited and written by --
Tom Connolly, for Infant Moose Web Page Creations.
Past newsletters: 9 August 1996 | 2 August 1996 | 25 July 1996 | 18 July 1996 | 11 July 1996 | 3 July 1996 | 26 June 1996 | 20 June 1996 | 12 June 1996 | 6 June 1996 | 31 May 1996 | 25 May 1996 | 16 May 1996 | 9 May 1996
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