Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Fri, Mar 20 1992 Date: Fri, 20 Mar 92 05:44:41 EST Message-ID: 03-20 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update March 20-22, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network DEPRESSION RAISES STROKE RISK: Depression may raise the risk of stroke or heart attack for people who already are at high risk, suggests research reported Thursday at an American Heart Association meeting in Memphis. For those with high risk factors such as smoking or high cholesterol, the treatment of chronic depression may play an important role in treating cardiovascular disease. (For more, see special Heart package below.) DOW CORNING TO LEAVE MARKET: Dow Corning announced Thursday that it will abandon the silicone gel breast implant market. The decision leaves two Santa Barbara, Calif., manufacturers, Mentor and McGhan Medical as the USA's only implant makers. The Food and Drug Administration, which banned the use of the implants on Jan. 6, is expected to decide next month whether to permit further use of implants. IMPLANT RESEARCH TO BE FUNDED: Dow Corning announced Thursday that it will establish a $10-million fund for breast implant research. The company will also pay up to $1,200 to women who need surgery to remove the implants but cannot afford the procedure, which can cost $1,000 to $5,000, Dow Corning says. Dow Corning's implant information center: 1-800-442-5442. UNION ATTACKS PESTICIDE USE: Pesticides are responsible for several childhood cancer cases in Earlimart, Calif., the United Farm Workers union is charging after the death of a third child. At least 30 children in Earlimart, Delano and Farmersville have been diagnosed with leukemia, says Jose Vasquez, a union spokesman. Two years ago, a state Department of Health study failed to link cancer and pesticides. CANCER CALCULATIONS DISPUTED: Many experts are challenging American Cancer Society calculations claiming a woman's chance of getting breast cancer had risen to one in nine. During most of women's lives the risk is far lower, says Dr. Patricia T. Kelly, Salick Health Care in Berkeley, Calif. The figure is meant to remind people of the problem, says Joann Schellenback, a national spokeswoman for the society. NATIVE AMERICAN TB RATES CITED: Indian Health Services Director Everett Rhoades vowed Thursday to help create a tuberculosis task force to fight high TB rates among Native Americans in Mississippi. The state's Choctaw Indian Tribe has the highest incidence of TB in the lower 48 states, said Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss, citing Centers for Disease Control figures. Diabetes and alcoholism influence the rates, said Rhoades. MICH. LAWS IMPEDE ADOPTION: Michigan birth mothers and those wishing to adopt are leaving the state rather than deal with rigid, archaic laws, a study shows. Adoption agencies do not inform involved parties about the process, prospects and outcome and also hold a monopoly. Changes in the laws could increase the adoption rate, a House panel concluded. TUNE IN TO HEART DISEASE: Learn the facts about heart disease simply by watching TV. This Monday, CNN begins airing a weeklong series on the leading cause of death in industrialized nations. Reports begin at nine AM Eastern and are repeated three times a day. BROCHURE FOR ALLEGIC ATHLETES: Athletes who suffer from allergies can receive help from a free brochure available from Chlor-Trimeton. To receive "Handbook for the Allergic Athlete," send a self-addressed, stampled envelope to: P.O. Box 964, Cleveland, Tenn. 37364-0964. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON HEART: VIEW OF TREATMENT MAY CHANGE: Evidence suggesting that depression may raise the risk of heart attack or stroke will force cardiologists to consider the whole person, not just "muscle and plumbing," says researcher George A. Kaplan, California Department of Health Service, Berkeley. Kaplan and Finnish researchers studied risk factors and depression symptoms in 1,100 men. Plaque levels were measured with ultrasound. PLAQUE HIGH AMONG DEPRESSED: The mean thickness of the carotid artery among depressed smokers was 3.4 times greater than in non-depressed smokers, a study finds. The measure of plaque levels in the carotid artery typically reflect plaque levels in the heart. The study also found that the effect of LDL (bad) cholesterol on carotid artery thickening was 1.9 times worse in depressed men. SECOND-HAND SMOKE STUDIED: Second-hand smoke narrows the arteries of non-smokers, increasing their risk of heart disease, according to other research reported at the American Heart Association meeting. Smokers had the thickest arteries, followed by non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. The healthiest arteries belonging to non-smokers who are not exposed to second-hand smoke. (End of package.) Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM