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 Fri, May 15 1992 Date: Fri, 15 May 92 05:12:19 EDT Message-ID: 05-15 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update May 15-17, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network REPORT OUT ON FLA. DENTIST: After a two-year investigation, how five people became infected with HIV from a Florida dentist is still unclear, health officials say. In Friday's Annals of Internal Medicine, however, Centers for Disease Control investigators say they're convinced that the dentist, David Acer, was the source of all the infections. Tests showed that the patients' viruses closely matched Acer's. INTENTIONAL INFECTION DOUBTED: Federal investigators dismiss the theory that unsterile equipment led some patients of Florida dentist David Acer to infect each other with HIV. In Friday's Annals of Internal Medicine, they say some of the patients had same-day appointments and were not treated with the same instruments. They doubt the transmission was deliberate but suspect it occurred through an accidental injury. STUDY DISCOUNTS SURGERY BIAS: After adjusting data for age and severity of illness, women were as likely as men to have bypass surgery when it offered the greatest survival benefits, report two studies in Friday's Annals of Internal Medicine. Previous studies of bypass rates showed that women are referred less often than men for coronary artery bypass surgery, implying that doctors discriminate against women. PAULING PRAISES VITMAIN C: Two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, who revealed Wednesday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer five months ago, says massive doses of vitamin C - 18,000 milligrams daily - delayed the onset of the common cancer by 20 years. The dosage is 300 times the recommended daily requirement. Pauling, who says he is recovering, is also being treated with the hormone-blocking drug flutamide. DOCTOR-PEOPLE RATIOS COMPARED: The USA has one of the best doctor-people ratios with one doctor for every 410 people, The World Almanac reports. However, that's still more than Italy, Spain and Czechoslovakia, which have ratios of 233, 275 and 312, respectively. Among the countries with the worst doctor-people ratios are Chad with 68,750 people for every doctor, Mozambique with 43,536 and Rwanda with 42,955. TRAUMA, STRESS TO BE DISCUSSED: "Stress, Trauma and Disaster" is the name of a symposium to be held Tuesday, May 19, at the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross, 3747 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Medical, health, emergency and public safety professionals are invited. Subjects will include management of Post Traumatic Stress disorder and treating traumatized children. READ TO KIDS EARLY: Earladeen Badger, professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, says parents who play with their babies have smarter babies. She has developed a learning program built on parent-child participation for children up to 3 years old. "I recommend that parents start reading books to their children at six months," Badger says. NON-ALCOHOLIC BEERS GROWING: Non-alcoholic beverages make up just under 1% of all beer sales, but their popularity is growing. Last year, consumption jumped 32% from 1990. And sales are up 40% in the first quarter of 1992, says Ben Steinman, executive director of Beer Marketer's Insights. NABs have less than 0.5% alcohol, below the naturally-occurring amount in orange juice, and often have fewer calories than real beer. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HONORED: Twenty high school students were named Friday to the 1992 All-USA Academic First Team. They will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Each wins $2,500. Among the winners are Richard Radke of Brown Deer, Wis., who programmed a computer to talk in two languages to teach childen to read and Michael Capiro of Miami who discover a linked between a bacteria and peptic ulcers. BROCCOLI IS MORE THAN TASTY: Broccoli and other crucifers may help prevent cancer, reports the May issue of Prevention. Crucifers, which include cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage and kohlrabi, contain indoles, which scientists believe stop cancer causing-agents from creating the cell damage that may lead to cancer. Other studies have linked reduced cancer risk with beta-carotene and vitamin C. CALCIUM, BLOOD PRESSURE LINKED: Calcium may lower systolic blood pressure in children, reports the May 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The one-year study of 89 boys and girls aged three to six years did not focus on calcium and diastolic blood pressure. Researchers caution parents that low-fat and non-fat dairy products contain nearly the same amount of calcium as other dairy products. SPORTS EYE INJURIES PREVENTABLE: Although sports-related eye injuries are increasingly common, most are preventable, says Dr. Mariana D. Mead of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. To avoid eye injuries while playing sports, experts recommend eye protection with polycarbonate lenses with a center thickness of three millimeters set in frames designed for use in sports. 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