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Subject: health Mon, May 4 1992
Date: Mon, 4 May 92 05:17:38 EDT
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05-04 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
May 4, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
WHO REPORTS ON GLOBAL HEALTH:
   Each day, 20% of the world's population is sick, says the World 
Health Organization's annual report on global health out Monday. 
Other findings: 6,000 children die because they haven't been 
immunized and another 19,000 children die of diarrhea or 
pneumonia. Global life expectancy is 65 years, ranging from 50 
years in the least developed countries to 76 years in the 
developed world.
    
PERKS MAY INFLUENCE DOCTORS:
   Doctors who accept cash perks from drug firms are seven times 
more likely to ask that a firm's drug be added to their hospital's 
medication list than doctors who refuse cash perks, a preliminary 
study shows. The study, presented Sunday at an American Federation 
of Clinical Research meeting, also says those doctors were four 
times more likely to have met with a drug company representative.
    
PERK-TAKING CONDEMNED BY AMA:
   Compared to doctors who refuse cash perks from drug companies, 
those who accept the perks are seven times more likely to have 
received money from a firm for research, lectures or attending 
symposia and dinners, reports a study of 120 doctors by Dr. 
Mary-Margaret Chren, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. 
Gift-taking is officially condemned by the American Medical 
Association.
    
CELERY MAY YIELD DRUG:
   A compound in celery lowers blood pressure in rats and could 
produce a new anti-hypertensive agent for humans, says a 
University of Chicago Medical Center study. The study, presented 
last weekend at a meeting of the American Federation for Clinical 
Research in Baltimore, warned against eating large amounts of 
celery because it has other chemicals that can be toxic in high 
doses.
    
EAR SURGERIES CRITICIZED:
   Of the 1 million annual surgeries to place ear tubes in 
children with recurrent ear infections, 13% are medically 
inappropriate, says a study presented Sunday to the American 
Federation of Clinical Research. Cited most often: Failure to put 
children on preventive antibiotics before use of tympanostomy; the 
older the child, the more likely the procedure would be 
inappropriate.
    
RIOTS DISRUPT FOOD PROGRAM:
   Women, Infants and Children food coupons from clinics in the 
Los Angeles area will be accepted at any authorized grocery store 
in Southern California, regardless of the store name on the 
coupon, a health official said Friday. The policy, enacted because 
of disruptions in the supplemental food program caused by the Los 
Angeles riots, will remain in effect until May 15.
    
MICH. SOCIETY DEBATES SUICIDE:
   In a vote that reversed an earlier stand, the Michigan State 
Medical Society decided Sunday that physician-assisted suicide 
should not be felony. Delegates of the 11,500-member group 
recommended further study of the issue, while some noted that 
legislation is inappropriate in a matter best decided by doctors 
and patients.
    
GREEN TEA MAY FIGHT CANCER:
   An ingredient in green tea may reduce a person's risk of 
developing skin, lung and stomach cancer, say researchers in the 
USA, China and Japan. Researchers found that the ingredient, 
called EGCG, resulted in 70% fewer stomach tumors and 55% fewer 
lung tumors in mice exposed to carcinogens, reports the May issue 
of American Health. One reseacher advocates drinking a few cups 
daily.
    
TEEN TOBACCO USE DISCOURAGED:
   To encourage children to remain alcohol and drug free, Little 
League Baseball has begun an anti-smokeless tobacco education 
initiative. Little League will distribute information on smokeless 
tobacco to its leagues in the 11 states with the highest rate of 
smokeless tobacco use among teens. Studies show that initial use 
of smokeless tobacco use peaks at 12 and 17 years, say experts.
    
ALOE VERA MAY HELP COMBAT AIDS:
   An ingredient in the aloe vera, commonly used to speed healing 
of minor cuts and burns, may also help in the fight against AIDS, 
Texas A&M researchers say in the May issue of Men's Health. The 
ingredient, acemannan, a complex sugar, appears to assist drugs 
like AZT block the ability of viruses to attack and multiply.
    
ALASKA REPORTS SUICIDE RATES:
   An Alaskan study shows that every 36 hours someone in 
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta tries to kill themselves. Young, native men 
dominate statistics, mostly using guns. From 1979 to 1990, there 
were 450 suicides and accidental deaths in the region of 17,000 
people.
    
S.C. DOCTORS VOTE FOR AD BAN:
   South Carolina physicians have approved a resolution calling 
for a ban on TV beer ads. The physicians also agreed to support 
abstinence, fidelity and other sound methods as ways to prevent 
spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The 
resolutions highlighted the closing day of an annual meeting of 
the South Carolina Medical Association.
    
DENTAL SEALANTS ARE CHEAPER:
   The cost of plastic dental sealants, according to American 
Dental Association estimates, is about half the price of fillings. 
Sealants, bushed on the patients teeth, provide a more protective 
coating than fillings for groved and pitted surfaces like molars, 
Reports May's Prevention. Children are the prime candidates for 
sealants, which last an average of three to ten years.
    
Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making 
copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further 
distribution violates federal law.
    

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