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Subject: health Tue, Jul 7 1992
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 92 05:13:30 EDT
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07-07 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
July 7, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
MANY NOT USING CONDOMS:
   Four years ago, every U.S. household got a pamphlet from C. 
Everett Koop. It said the best way to avoid AIDS - besides 
abstinence - is to use condoms. The message from the former 
Surgeon General was simple. But getting people to use condoms has 
proven anything but simple. Study after study shows most sexually 
active people know about condoms, but relatively few use them.
(For more, see special Condom package below.)
    
FDA TO CONSIDER DRUG FOR ALS:
   Cephalon, Inc. Tuesday filed an Investigational New Drug 
application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the use 
of Myotrophin for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal disorder of 
the nervous system characterized by the chronic, progressive 
degeneration of motor neurons.
    
PREVENTION TIPS FOR BEDSORES:
   An estimated one-third of nursing home residents and 10% of 
hospital patients suffer from pressure ulcers, also known as 
bedsores. Cost: Nearly $6.4 billion each year. To prevent them, 
the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel has suggested paying 
close attention to a patient's skin condition, keeping it clean 
and dry, and screening new patients for their risk of bedsores.
    
VITAMIN E SLOWS HEART DISEASE:
   Big doses of vitamin E may slow buildup of artery-clogging 
plaque, according to researchers at the University of Texas. 
Volunteers taking 800 International Units a day of 
alpha-tocopherol cut by almost half the breakdown of low-density 
lipoproteins, which triggers the buildup.
    
`HARD SKIN' FIND:
   People who suffer from "hard skin," or scleroderma, produce too 
much of a protein called collagen, according to the Arthritis 
Foundation. Researchers have found excess amounts of collagen 
forms deposits, usually in the skin, making it hard and thick. 
Scleroderma also can affect blood vessels, joints and organs, said 
the foundation's Dr. Arthur Grayzel.
    
STRESS MAY LEAD TO HEART DISEASE:
   When looking at the risk of heart attack, doctors usually look 
at cholesterol levels. But, according to recent studies, stress 
and depression are key factors in detecting heart disease. 
Researchers at the California Department of Health found depressed 
men with high cholesterol levels are at three times greater risk 
of a heart attack than non-depressed men with the same cholesterol 
level.
    
MAGNESIUM KEY TO WOMEN'S HEALTH:
   New research has found that magnesium is an essential dietary 
mineral for women. Studies at Wake Forest University, 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, have found that magnesium 
supplements can ease the symptoms of PMS, improve energy in people 
with chronic fatigue syndrome, and intravenous magnesium can help 
prevent heart attack in patients with heart disease.
    
TOLL-FREE `HEARTLINE' AVAILABLE:
   The Arizona Heart Institute and Foundation can answer your 
questions about heart disease on its toll-free "Heartline." Call 
800-345-4278. Trained nurses answer calls daily and information is 
provided about subjects such as angina, diet and exercise.
    
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON CONDOM:
    
FIGURES SHOW MESSAGE IGNORED:
   Fewer than half of sexually active teens tell researchers they 
use condoms, which are least popular among teens who've had 
several partners. Studies of college women also show condom use 
goes down as a woman's number of partners goes up. Even among gay 
men condom use is not universal. If it was, San Francisco would 
not be predicting 650 new HIV infections among gay men this year.
    
CONDOMS NOT COOL:
   Dr. Michael Rosenberg, a researcher at the University of North 
Carolina, Chapel Hill, says men "just don't like" condoms. He says 
men think of sex as instant gratification and buying condoms, 
having them handy at the right moment and actually using them 
takes planning and discipline. It also takes a certain amount of 
skill and knowledge.
    
EDUCATION IS THE KEY:
   Everyone agrees education can help prevent the spread of AIDS. 
And many experts say they have a pretty good idea of what kind of 
education works best. They point to programs in which people get 
intense, one-on-one guidance from peers. In rural Mississippi, 
bartenders in gay bars talk to customers about safer sex. In 
inner-city Boston, hairdressers talk to clients while doing their 
hair.
(End of package.)
    
Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of 
USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution 
violates federal law.
    

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