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 Tue, Aug 4 1992 Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 07:01:11 EDT Message-ID: 08-04 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Aug. 4, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TAXOL TO BECOME MORE AVAILABLE: Thousands of breast cancer victims who have failed to respond to standard treatments will get the chance to try taxol in coming months, a National Cancer Institute official said Monday. Through a nationwide "compassionate use" program, the NCI will distribute the substance, called the most promising cancer-fighting treatment in 25 years, says Susan Arbuck, who oversees NCI's taxol trials. (For more, see special Taxol package below.) PANEL RATES PROCESSED FOODS: If kids are going to eat processed foods, parents might as well pick the most healthful, says a panel of children's nutrition experts who ranked food products based on nutritional criteria. The panel was sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. For a full list, send $5 to CSPI-Children's Report, 1875 Connecticut Ave., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009 DOLPHINS ATTEND DELIVERY: Eight expectant British mothers will head to Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat next month to take part in the latest childbirth technique - using dolphins as midwives. The women will spend every day swimming with the sea mammals in a pool, where they will give birth with the dolphins in attendance. "With the dolphins, the baby will be more calm," says trainer Sophie Schwer. NURSES DOING MORE RESEARCH: Only 15 years ago, the number of nurse researchers totaled 600; today there are 6,000, says Ada Sue Hinshaw, head of the National Center for Nursing Research. Nurses will report findings this week at the first International State of the Science Congress of nurse researchers this week in Washington, D.C. NURSES TO PRESENT FINDINGS: More than 300 nurses will present research this week at the First International State of the Science Congress of nurse researchers in Washington, D.C. Topics include: Why pregnant teens do or don't seek prenatal care; how voice and massage help premature babies grow. Dr. Bernadine Healy, director of the National Institutes of Health, will speak at the meeting. AUTHOR PREDICTS MEDICAL FUTURE: Designer babies, bionic body parts and creativity pills are among future medical breakthroughs, says pathologist Dr. Jeffrey A. Fisher. "It sounds like science fiction, but none of this is made up," says Fisher, whose book is titled "Rx2000: Breakthroughs in Health, Medicine, and Longevity by the Year 2000 and Beyond," (Simon & Schuster, $22). It's due out Aug. 13. IMMORTALS GATHER: If people believe strongly enough, they can think themselves into never dying. At least that's what 1,000 "immortals" are saying at a 17-day international conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Truly believing in immortality creates a "cellular awakening," a constant renewal of healthy cells, says Charles Paul Brown, 57, founder of the movement. MAMMOGRAM USE UP: In the early 1980s, fewer than half of women over age 40 had mammograms, according to the American Cancer Society. However, that figure has changed dramatically. By 1990, it rose to 64%. In 1992, 74% of women over 40 received mammograms. BE AWARE OF LEAD, DOCTOR SAYS: Families - especially those with young children - looking to buy a home should be aware of the risks of lead poisoning, says Dr. James F. Brown, a R.I. pediatrician. Lead is most commonly found in water, paint and dust. For advice on drinking water problems, call the Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water hot line, 1-800-426-4791, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TAXOL: CLINICS TO DISTRIBUTE TAXOL: Forty U.S. cancer clinics will participate in a new National Cancer Institute program to distribute the cancer-fighting drug Taxol. It will be formally announced and widely publicized in a few months, the NCI's Susan Arbuck told a conference on the Pacific yew tree, which produces taxol. Two clinical trials have suggested a response rate of 56% to 62% among early breast cancer victims. YEW SUPPLY GROWS: The new program is one indication that yew bark - found mostly in Oregon and Washington - is no longer in desperately short supply. And the supply is expected to increase sixfold this year, says Suzanne Cross of the Bureau of Land Management. "We'll harvest 390,000 pounds of bark, compared to 64,000 pounds last year," she says. SUPPLY SUFFICIENT FOR TRIALS: The BLM has contracted with nurseries to produce yew seedlings for replanting. It also has harvested carefully, leaving enough of the tree intact for regeneration, Cross says. In the meantime, "we don't have as much as we would like," Arbuck says, "but we certainly do have enough to continue clinical trials." (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