Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health,americast.usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Sep 21 1992 Date: Mon, 21 Sep 92 04:39:57 EDT Message-ID: 09-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Sept. 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NEW ASTHMA APPROACH RECOMMENDED: Kids with asthma breathe better after inhaling anti-inflammatory drugs instead of just drugs to open up their airways, Dutch researchers say. The study, in the September issue of the American Review of Respiratory Disease, suggests that children who take anti-inflammatory drugs - such as corticosteroids - may be able to change the course of their asthma and grow up with fewer problems. (For more, see special Asthma package below.) NEW IMPLANT METHOD TOUTED: Inserting saline breast implants under the pectoral muscle, not in front of it, makes them more comfortable, better looking and less likely to mask cancer, says Dr. Richard Mladick, Virginia Beach, Va. The technique is growing more common among U.S. doctors, says Mladick, who will present his findings Monday to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons in Washington, D.C. TECHNIQUE AIDS MAMMOGRAMS: Inserting saline breast implants under the pectoral muscle improves cancer detection, according to Richard Mladick, a Virginia Beach, Va. doctor. Under-muscle placement allows standard mammograms to show 96% of the breast vs. 80% to 85% for implants over the muscle, says Mladick. He speaks Monday to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons in Washington, D.C. CLINTON TRUSTED ON HEALTH CARE: More voters prefer Bill Clinton's approach to health care than President Bush's, a new USA TODAY:CNN:Gallup poll finds. Voters favored Clinton's government-based plan even if it cost jobs, according to the Sept. 11-15 poll of 1,182 registered voters. The poll also finds 52% believe Clinton can better handle the economy; 36% say Bush. The margin of error is 3%. SEA BIRTHS CANCELED: The first of six British women who had hoped to give birth among dolphins in the Red Sea instead delivered a baby boy Saturday at an Israeli hospital. The change came after Israel's Health Ministry said the glass-walled pool was an unlicensed facility. The women's physician, Dr. Gowri Motha, had hoped that kids born among dolphins would be able to communicate with other intelligent mammals. MARIJUANA EASES PATIENTS' PAIN: Some severely ill people in San Francisco says they're feeling better after the city unanimously passed a resolution allowing them to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Several other cities and the state of Maine are considering more liberal medical marijuana policies. San Francisco police make busting seriously ill people over marijuana "their lowest priority." FEWER ARE GOING HUNGRY: The share of the developing nations' people who are hungry has dropped sharply in the past 20 years, even as the world's population grew by almost 2 billion, says a new United Nations report out Sunday. The percentage of people in developing nations who are hungry fell to 20% from 36% between 1961-63 and 1988-90. Officials say that food supply has outpaced population growth. VOLUNTEERS SUFFER FROM STRESS: About 40% of hurricane relief workers suffer from "compassion fatigue," which includes sleepless nights and nightmares, according to Florida State University professor Charles Figle. Volunteers with the greatest empathy for those they help are the most vulnerable, says Figle. The cure is basically rest, says Dr. A.L. Lieber, chief of psychiatry at Miami Beach Community Hospital. MISS. ABORTION RULE OVERTURNED: The Mississippi Department of Health can't prohibited clinics from performing abortions beyond 16 weeks of pregnancy, Patricia Wise, a Hinds County judge, ruled Friday. Wise said that requiring the procedure be performed in a hospital would have ended elective late-tern abortions. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON ASTHMA: ASTHMA PATIENTS OFFERED HOPE: Anti-inflammatory drugs might help rid asthmatic kids of their condition, says William Kelly, a professor of pharmacy from the University of New Mexico. But more study is needed, Kelly admits. A Dutch study advocating anti-inflammatory drugs lends support to doctors who want to offer such treatments, Kelly says. CURRENT DRUGS QUESTIONED: Long-term use of anti-inflammatory therapy may stem the loss of lung function by controlling inflammation, says Dr. Shirley Murphy, a University of New Mexico professor of pediatrics. Kids today are most commonly treated with bronchodilators, drugs that open constricted airways. But, with asthma deaths on the rise, some experts have expressed concern about the safety of those drugs. TREATMENT ADVISED FOR ADULTS: Anti-inflammatory drugs, which clear up irritation in the lungs, should be the first choice for adult asthma patients, the National Institutes of Health recommended in 1991. Inhaled corticosteroids do have side effects, including hoarseness and possible throat infections, Kelly warns. But those can be overcome by gargling after the spray is inhaled, he says. (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