Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Fri, Mar 27 1992 Date: Fri, 27 Mar 92 05:43:21 EST Message-ID: 03-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update March 27-29, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network GROWTH OF BRAIN CELLS POSSIBLE: Researchers have found a clue that may lead to the growing of new brain cells, reports Friday's issue of Science. Brain cells were thought to divide into new cells only in the womb, but researchers have identified a cell in the brains of adult mice that is normally found only during fetal development. The discovery could lead to replacing cells damaged by disease or injury. MORE LOW-WEIGHT BIRTHS: The number of low birth weight babies is increasing, despite a drop in the infant mortality rate, says a new report. The low birth weight rate, the best indicator of health problems, is rising because of increased poverty, drug use and women who are not getting prenatal care, said Rae Grad, executive director of the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. TECHNOLOGY SAVING BABIES: New medical technology capable of saving newborns has caused the drop in infant mortality, not improved health, said Rae Grad, executive director of the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. The low birth weight rate for 1989, the most recent year for which statistics are available, was 7% of all births, up from 6.9% during the previous year. ADMINISTRATION ENTERS DEBATE: The Supreme Court could decide as early as Friday whether to allow a Justice Department attorney to join Pennsylvania in arguments April 22. The Bush administration's support should send a strong anti-abortion rights signal during the election year and may influence the decision that could overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 case that first declared abortion rights. BINGEING TO BE LABELED DISORDER: Those who engage in frequent, out-of-control bingeing soon may be recognized as having an eating disorder and be eligible for insurance coverage, a psychiatrist said Thursday. The disorder, which studies show afflicts 1% to 2% of the population, will likely appear in 1993's official guide to mental disorders, said Robert Spitzer, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. NEW AIDS ADS TO APPEAR: The government's new AIDS education campaign includes ads informing women, teens and small-town folks that they're at risk. Officials say the more than $1 million campaign will get the attention of those who deny their risk. But activists complain the campaign is short on specifics, long on euphemisms and says nothing about ways to prevent getting the disease. IUD RISKS ASSESSED: Today's intrauterine devices don't raise the risk of pelvic infection, except just after insertion, suggests World Health Organization data reported in Friday's Lancet. The birth control method has been viewed negatively in the USA since the Dalkon Shield was linked to infections and infertility in the 1970s. A New York conference will address those risks Friday and Saturday. AIDS REPORT RELEASED: Although AIDS afflicts minorities the hardest, they are overlooked by prevention efforts, concludes a report released this week by the National Minority AIDS Council. The council urged Congress to reinstate $14 million in AIDS prevention funds that were cut from the federal budget by the Bush administration. CRIME'S EFFECT ON ELDERY CITED: Many senior citizens, shortly after becoming the victims of crime, turn to sedatives or tranquilizers, according to a study by the University of Arizona College of Medicine. The study also found that being victimized made seniors less active, more skeptical and suspicious and led to some avoidance symptoms linked with post-traumatic stress syndrome. FEARS RAISED OVER GENE PROJECT: The National Institutes of Health has set aside 5% of the research budget for the federal Human Genome Initiative to address concerns over possible findings. Workshops have been planned around the USA to explore the impact of the project, which may lead to identifying people at risk for certain diseases. The findings could affect a person's ability to obtain jobs and insurance. MORE ELDERLY DAY CARE PROVIDED: Corporations have become more involved in their employees' family matters over the past 10 years. Many now provide for the care of elderly relatives, the "jumbo" work-family issue of the 1990s, according to Paul Kleymar of the American Society on Aging in San Francisco. Compounding the problem: The number of people 65 and older is expected to double in the next 38 years. DRUG REPORT TO BE RELEASED: The Child Welfare League of America will hold a press conference to release the final report of its North American Commission on Chemical Dependency and Child Welfare, "Children at the Front: A Different View of the War on Alcohol and Drugs." Included are drug prevention and treatment strategies. The conference will be held Tuesday, March 31, in the U.S. Capitol, House Press Gallery. 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. 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