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 Fri, Oct 9 1992 Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 04:40:11 EDT Message-ID: 10-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Oct. 9-11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ASTHMA CASES ARE ON RISE: The American Lung Association weighed in Thursday on the deadly increase in asthma cases, releasing a study that showed children have become twice as likely to develop the chronic respiratory disease. A study of all cases of asthma reported in Rochester, Minn., between 1964 and 1983 showed that the incidence rate of asthma in children between the ages of 1 and 14 doubled. (For more, see special Asthma package below.) WIND NOISE HURTS MOTORCYCLISTS: Wind noise can impair motorcyclists' hearing, according to a study in the British medical journal Lancet. The study of 100 motorcyclists found nearly half had damaged hearing due "not to motorcycle noise but to low-frequency wind noise caused by turbulent wind flow around the helmet." Researchers said motorcyclists should wear earplugs. INFO FOR KIDS OF ALCOHOLICS: For people who think their parents drink too much, the Children of Alcoholics Foundation has a pamphlet with advice about books, resources and support groups that are available. To receive one, write: Children of Alcoholics Foundation, P.O. Box 4185, Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10163-4185. CAPITOL IS UNSAFE PLACE TO WORK: Capitol Hill truly is a dangerous place to work, according to a report released Thursday by the General Accounting Office. Using Occupational Safety and Health Administration's workplace standards, the GAO study of congressional worksites found 140 violations, including 52 considered "serious." Violations ranged from poor ventilation to no protection against excessive noise. NEW TUBERCULOSIS TEST UNVEILED: A new test now available from Roche Biomedical Laboratories Inc. detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the primary cause of tuberculosis, in just 48 hours. The established standard test, based on bacterial cultures, usually requires from three to six weeks for results. CRYOMEDICAL GETS GRANT: Cryomedical Sciences Inc. of Rockville, Md., said Thursday it has received a $50,000 grant from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute. It is developing hypothermic blood substitute solutions designed to protect the body under controlled hypothermia. Hypothermia is an established medical procedure for certain neurosurgical and cardiovascular procedures. NEW OIL BEING DEVELOPED: In response to recent findings about the adverse health effects of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils found in margarines, Calgene Inc. said it is developing a genetically modified canola plant that would provide a healthier alternative. The firm said it has engineered canola varieties that exhibit the characteristics of hydrogenated oils without the need for chemically processing them. OIL SHOULD BE OUT IN FEW YEARS: Calgene Inc. said oil made from its engineered canola plants won't contain trans fatty acids. "We expect our new non-hydrogenated canola oil to be an important new product for any consumer concerned with the role of trans fatty acids in cholesterol formation," Vic Knauf of Calgene told Bloomberg Business News. It should be available within a few years. KNOLL SUES OVER PATENT: Knoll A.G. Thursday filed a complaint in federal district court against Ivax Corp. and two of its units over Knoll's patents for sustained-release verapamil, a blood-pressure drug. Ivax last month agreed to cease distribution and sale of yellow 240-mg verapamil tablets in response to a complaint from Monsanto's G.D. Searle unit. Searle dropped its suit after the tablets' color was changed. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON ASTHMA: POLLUTION MAY BE CAUSE: Researchers believe indoor air pollution, increased numbers of lung-damaging viral infections at an earlier age or lack of a doctor to detect asthma early and treat it properly could be among the reasons asthma cases are on the rise among children ages 1 and 14. A study by the American Lung Association showed the number of cases in the age group doubled between 1964 and 1983. OTHER REPORTS SEE SIMILAR TREND: The study, published in the association's American Review of Respiratory Illness, is the latest in a series of reports that show what a serious health problem asthma has become. Asthma affects nearly 10 million Americans, including about 3.7 million children and adolescents. People with asthma have trouble breathing because the small airways in their lungs become narrowed. CONFERENCE SET FOR NEXT WEEK: It's now believed that the airways in asthma sufferers become inflamed, and that the inflammation causes the narrowing. More asthmatics are taking anti-inflammatory drugs rather than just inhaling drugs that open the airways. Next week, about 800 people are expected to attend a National Institutes of Health conference in Virginia on the latest techniques in asthma treatment. (End of package.) Health Editor: Ed Kelleher. (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