Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Thu, Jul 16 1992 Date: Thu, 16 Jul 92 05:07:59 EDT Message-ID: 07-16 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update July 16, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SHORTCOMINGS SEEN IN SCREENING: Doctors have created unrealistic expectations among the public by exaggerating the merits of ovarian cancer screening for early detection and taxol treatment for the desperately ill, an expert says. About 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 13,000 die. About 20% of cases may be cured by chemotherapy. (For more, see special Screening package below.) CRIMINALS DETECTED BY HAIR: A criminal can be detected by his or her hair. That's according to a report in August's Discover magazine. A University of California at Irvine researcher says criminals' locks have five times more manganese than those of law-abiding citizens. The researcher suspects the manganese is a marker and not a direct cause of violence. RISK IN STOPPING TREATMENT: Bad news for patients receiving the blood-thinning drug heparin. A study in Wednesday's New England Journal of Medicine shows people taking the drug alone to prevent chest pains face a sudden increased risk of heart attack when treatment stops. Chest pains returned 10 hours after heparin treatments stopped. BYPASS SURGERY BENEFITS FADE: The beneficial effects of heart bypass operations begin to diminish after five years for some patients and have almost disappeared a decade after the surgery, according to a study by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was the first large randomized trial to compare bypass and drug therapy. It found bypass grafts made in the 1970s began to clog within five to seven years. DEPRESSION TREATMENT HELPS HEART: Men who suffer from depression may also have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, say researchers at the California Department of Health Services. They're trying to see if depression boosts the buildup of fatty deposits in arteries, increasing the likelihood of heart attacks or strokes. Researchers believe treating depression may cut symptoms of cardiovascular disease. WEIGHT-LOSS HERB MAY HARM LIVER: Germander, an herb sometimes used by people trying to lose weight, may cause liver damage, say researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine. They studied seven cases of hepatitis associated with people taking capsules or drinking tea that contained the herb. Symptoms disappeared when use of the herb ended, but three patients who resumed taking germander saw hepatitis return. GENE LOCATED FOR EYE DISEASE: Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found the location of a gene they believe causes a rare type of eye disease. Called North Carolina macular dystrophy, the disease causes scars to form on the back of the eye or retina, affecting fine detail, reading and color perception. People born with the disorder are born with scars that cause blurred vision or blind spots. HEALTH-CARE RALLY SCHEDULED: Some 3,000 seniors and other health-care advocates will hold a rally July 22 in Lafayette Park, across from the White House. Purpose: To send a clear message to all political candidates that national health care with long-term care is a winning campaign theme. Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., a proponent of universal health care, will address the rally. SOUTH CAROLINA GETS BOOST: South Carolina's infant mortality rate fell to 11.2 per 1,000 live births in '91 compared to 11.6 deaths per 1,000 in '90, according to the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control. Cited: Efforts by non-profit groups and health-care providers to educate new parents and those expecting a child, Gov. Carroll Campbell said. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON SCREENING: SCREENINGS GIVE FALSE RESULTS: Dr. Cornelius Granai, Brown University, Providence, R.I., says in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine that so far doctors are "incapable of effective large-scale screening" for ovarian cancer because the main screening tools, a tumor marker and ultrasound, offer high rates of false results; unnecessary surgery; and inappropriate anxiety or false security for the patient. TAXOL EFFECTS MISLEADING: Granai sees questionable improvement in survival even when early cases might be identified. Likewise, Granai says it's misleading to tout taxol as a "promising" drug for "desperate women dying of ovarian cancer." It is promising only from a research perspective, requiring more study before it's promoted as a treatment. DOCTOR BACKS TAXOL: Dr. Andrew Dorr, National Cancer Institute, agrees ovarian cancer screening has not been shown to benefit women. Dorr also says enthusiasm about taxol has been difficult to control, but it may be justified: "Taxol hasn't cured anyone, but it is clearly effective in ovarian cancer within the confines of research. It has an opportunity to decrease the risk of dying." (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. 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