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 Thu, May 21 1992 Date: Thu, 21 May 92 05:20:57 EDT Message-ID: 05-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update May 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network VASECTOMIES NO RISK TO HEART: A study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine dismisses the link between heart disease and vasectomies but leaves a "lingering doubt" about cancer risk. Earlier studies have linked a higher risk of certain diseases with the birth control method, which experts generally consider safe. Approximately 15% of U.S. men over the age of 40 have had a vasectomy. LUPUS TREATMENT DISMISSED: Plasmapheresis, an expensive blood purification technique, appears useless for treating lupus and two other immune disorders, researchers say in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The technique involves drawing the blood and separating its various components. Parts believed to contribute to the illness are removed and replaced. Each treatment can cost more than $1,000. HEALTH CARE A WORLDWIDE WORRY: People in nations with socialized health care worry less about health costs than others, says a new CNN:Angus Reid Group Poll of 4,510 adults. The poll also found that 63% of people in 11 nations, including the USA, worry about affording old age. The poll, whose margin of error is 7%, included the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia and other nations. DRUG MAY TREAT LUNG DISORDER: Exosurf, a drug used to moisten the lungs of premature infants may reduce the death rate of people with adult respiratory distress syndrome, two studies show. The disorder, which claims 75,000 U.S. lives every year, is caused when an injury inhibits the lungs' ability to carry oxygen. The drug, made by Burroughs Wellcome, may be available in several years. Further studies are underway. FEWER ABORTION PROVIDERS FOUND: More than a quarter of the nation's metro areas have no doctors who perform abortions, says a study out Thursday. The Alan Guttmacher Institute report finds that in 1988, 70 of the USA's 305 metro areas - with 50,000 or more residents - had no abortion provider, up from 59 in 1980. The number of abortions annually, about 1.6 million a year, has remained steady the last decade. AGENCIES HURT HEALTH EFFORTS: Salmonella poisoning from eggs, increasing in the USA, is made worse by disagreements among federal agencies, says congressional report out Wednesday. Salmonella caused 9,000 illnesses and 46 deaths between 1985 and 1990, but "coordination and cooperation problems" hampered outbreak-prevention efforts, the General Accounting Office report said. CAESAREAN BIRTH RATES DIFFER: Caesarean section births, which cost nearly two-thirds more than vaginal births, account for 31% of births at for-profit hospitals, compared to 23% at non-profit hospitals, the National Center for Health Statistics reports. At government hospitals, Caesarean section births made up 21% of births. WOMEN URGED TO GET INSURANCE: Women should be concerned of the possibility of a medical crisis during their retirement, says Carole Sinclair, author of "When Women Retire: The Problems They Face & How to Solve Them." Sinclair recommends that women get their own health insurance when they reach 35 even if they are on their husband's health insurance. ARTICLE ATTACKS AIDS INFORMATION: Current AIDS information available to the public is wrong, according to controversial article in the June issue of Spin magazine. In the article "Fatal Distraction," Celia Farber cites studies showing that AIDS is not spread sexually and that HIV is probably no the cause of AIDS. The article also challenges entrance of AIDS into the heterosexual community. DOCTORS CLAIM TO CURE AIDS: Two Tennessee doctors who claim to have developed an AIDS cure told the state board of medical examiners Tuesday that their treatment is not a scam. The doctors, who will present their defense Wednesday, charged $10,00 to $30,000 for the treatment, which consisted of prednisone, a steriod, cyclosporin, used to supress immune response, and an unidentified hormone. SPAS ATTRACT YOUNGER WOMEN: Spagoers are getting younger, according to a survey by the Phoenix Spa in Houston. The survey finds that clients likely are working women ages 24 to 45 with income ranging from $35,000 to $65,000. In 1985, the average spagoer was a non-working woman of 45 whose husband's income was $85,000-plus. Spa directors cite a shift in spa focus from pampering to health-focused programs. KIDS PREFER RAW VEGETABLES: Most kids prefer raw vegetables - especially when served with dip - says a survey of 230 fourth- and fifth-graders in Augusta, Ga. The study, by researchers at the Georgia Prevention Institute, also found that most kids liked only a few vegetables; corn and potatoes were favorites. Experts say vegetables will seem even worse to kids if they are bribed with sweets. 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