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 Tue, Apr 7 1992 Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 05:44:02 EDT Message-ID: 04-07 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update April 7, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FIBER MAY REDUCE CANCER RISK: A high-fiber diet may lower a woman's risk of breast cancer, suggests a study released Monday. The study was conducted by Dr. Leonard Cohen, American Health Foundation, Valhalla, N.Y. Fiber-rich diets have been found to prevent colon cancer, but this is the first evidence they could also lower the risk of breast cancer. (For more, see special Fiber package below.) TAXOL COULD BECOME AVAILABLE: A promising new cancer drug made from the rare Pacific yew tree may be widely available next year. In small trials, some women with advanced ovarian and breast cancer who haven't responded to other therapies are improving with taxol. But extracting the taxol kills the yew tree. Scientists at an American Chemical Society meeting Monday, however, report rapid progress making taxol synthetically. CEDAR OIL BEING USED: Three new ways are being developed to make taxol. University of Pennsylvania chemists are making taxol from plentiful cedar oil. In research being done at Florida State University and sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., taxol is made from yew needles and chemicals. ESCAgenetics Corp., San Carlos, Calif., is using tissue culturing needles and stems to make the drug. MINORITY DIABETES OVERLOOKED: Although it has been known for decades that diabetes strikes minorities at a rate much higher than the rest of the U.S. population, only a small percentage of diabetes research funding is targeted to those groups, the General Accounting Office said Monday. Only 15% of the $130 million budget for diabetes research is devoted to research that involves minorities, the report says. SEXUAL IDENTITY KNOWN BY 18: More than 1 in 4 boys and girls enter adolescence unsure of their sexual orientation, according to a study in the April issue of Pediatrics. By age 18, all but a few consider themselves heterosexual or homosexual, say researchers. The study of 34,706 Minnesota students grades 7 through 12 suggests an awareness of sexual identity evolves as teens approach adulthood. MILKY WAY SHEDS FAT: M&M:Mars Co. is coming out with a low-calorie version of its Milky Way bar. It has 190 calories and 8 grams of fat vs. the original's 280 calories and 11 grams. Although some diet experts applaud the lowering of Milky Way's calorie and fat content, "It's still a candy bar," says Evelyn Tribole of the American Dietetic Association. "There's not much there in terms of nutrition." STORIES TO COMFORT ELDERLY: People often visit elderly or ill relatives and friends, but then sit in awkward silence. Carolyn Banks and Janis Rizzo have come up with a solution. They have co-edited "Loving Voice: A Caregiver's Book of Read-Aloud Stories for the Elderly" (Charles Press, $14.95). The book presents 52 selections - poems, fiction and stories - that are appropriate to read to an older person. DOCTORS TAKE TEMPORARY JOBS: More doctors are taking temporary jobs to fill in for doctors who are vacationing, ill, training or on military duty. Most work for CompHealth, Kron Medical Services, Staff Care or other firms - perhaps 30 in all - that place temporaries. The firms act as brokers. They pay doctors up to $750 a day, arrange licensing, insurance, travel and housing, then collect a fee from clients. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FIBER: FAT MAY BE EXCRETED: Lab studies suggest fiber may increase excretion of fat, known to promote breast cancer, or change how estrogen is metabolized, says Dr. Leonard Cohen, American Health Foundation, Valhalla, N.Y.. Dietitians recommend 24 grams or more of fiber daily, but the average American eats 12 grams or less, Cohen says. RATS USED IN STUDY: In a study released Monday, Cohen injected a chemical that induces breast cancer into two groups of rats, which often are used in breast cancer studies to predict human risk. He fed half a low-fat diet (10% fat), the rest got 40% fat, close to the typical U.S. diet. Half of each group got wheat bran supplements, which doubled their normal 5% fiber intake. RESULTS SHOW CUTS RISK: The results of the study, reported to the American Chemical Society, show that, of those on high-fat diets with no added fiber, 90% got breast tumors. With bran, 67% got the tumors. Of those on a low-fat diet and no fiber added, 63% got breast cancer; with bran, 47% developed breast cancer. (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