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Health Highlights: May 10, 2005

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 May 2005, 15:00 CDT

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Gay Men Respond Like Women to Hormonal Stimuli: Report

The sexual part of a gay man's brain that responds to certain hormonal stimuli works much like that of a woman, Swedish scientists have concluded from new research.

The study offers additional evidence that sexual orientation is not all learned, experts told the Associated Press about the findings, published in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the experiment, gay men and heterosexual women responded similarly when they sniffed a chemical called a pheromone, derived from the male hormone testosterone. The brains of heterosexual men did not respond in the same way. The researchers used an advanced imaging technique called a PET scan to measure the subjects' brain responses.

The responses in gay men and straight women were concentrated in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that is active in hormonal responses necessary for sexual behavior, the researchers said.

Whether people actually respond to pheromones has been debated, the AP reported. In 2000, American researchers said they had discovered a gene they believed directed a human pheromone receptor in the nose, the wire service added.

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Low-Fat Dairy May Help Prevent Diabetes

Men who consume low-fat dairy products may lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health say.

Each additional serving per day of low-fat dairy products was associated with a 9 percent drop in risk, the researchers said. They studied data over a 12-year period from 41,254 middle-aged men with no history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, according to an account of the study by United Press International.

When the participants ate higher-fat dairy products like regular ice cream, sour cream, and whole milk, the beneficial effects weren't as pronounced, the researchers said.

Results of the study are published in the May 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

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DNA-Based Cystic Fibrosis Test Wins FDA Approval

The first DNA-based blood test to detect cystic fibrosis has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Tag-It Cystic Fibrosis Kit, produced by the Tm BioScience Corp. of Toronto, Canada, identifies genetic variations that can help diagnose the condition in children and identify adults who may be carriers of the disease, the FDA said in a statement.

The test does not identify all of the more than 1,300 genetic variants that could contribute to the disease, the agency said, in recommending that the test not be the only method used to identify cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is the leading cause of chronic lung disease in children and young adults, the FDA said, affecting about 1 in 2,500 Caucasian babies. Half of its victims die before their 30th birthday.

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Scientists Seek Ways to Alter Colon Cancer Drug's Severe Side Effects

An effective colon cancer drug's side effects are sometimes so severe it can't be used, and scientists are hopeful their new findings will help alter the drug's formula to make it tolerable to more people.

A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, working in collaboration with scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. investigated the side effects of the drug CPT-11, an FDA-approved colon cancer medication. The researchers noticed that the side effects, which include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, seemed similar to those experienced by some users of Alzheimer's drugs, and this led them to suspect an enzyme similar to the one in Alzheimer's might also be evident in reacting with CPT-11.

The drug is known as a prodrug, according to Weizmann Institute scientists Joel Sussman, Dr. Michal Harel and Israel Silman. This means that in order for it to become effective, it actually undergoes a molecular change after being injected in the body. The enzyme that initiates the change is known as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and this may be what brings about the severe side effects.

"The enzymes are like locks made by the same locksmith, but varied slightly to open with different keys," Sussman said in a statement. "The cancer drug fits AChE like a key that slides in part way, but won't turn," he concludes.

The next step is to alter the delivery molecule to develop a better fit, the researchers say.

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States Propose Billions in Medicaid Cuts

Governors and state legislators have devised a plan to limit Medicaid services, make some beneficiaries pay more for care, and save the burgeoning insurance program billions of dollars, The New York Times reported Monday.

The governors and lawmakers, in offering their blueprint to the U.S. Congress, say their plan would save about $10 billion over the next five years, the newspaper said. The Times reported the proposal has a "substantial" chance of passing, since states heavily contribute to the program. Some of the suggestions resemble those offered by President Bush in his 2006 budget, while other suggested cuts go even further, according to the newspaper.

A coalition of organizations representing beneficiaries, including AARP, pediatricians, hospitals, and nursing homes, is gearing up to fight the proposed cuts, the Times said.

State officials told the newspaper that their goal is not just to save money, but also to avoid having to drop thousands of beneficiaries from the Medicaid program, as is being done in states like Tennessee and Missouri.

Medicaid is the nation's largest insurance program and covers 50 million low-income people. Though originally intended for the poor, it now covers many people with incomes well above the poverty line, the Times said.

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More Than Half of Americans Have Frequent Pain: Poll

More than half of Americans surveyed said they live with chronic or recurring pain, and just under half have had significant pain in the last two weeks, according to a new poll.

Chronic pain, which 19 percent said they had, was defined as pain that lasted three months or more. An additional 34 percent said they had recurrent pain, the survey by ABC News, USA Today, and Stanford University Medical Center found.

Six-in-10 participants rated their last bout with pain as moderate or severe. Back and knee pain were the most common afflictions, according to an ABC News account of the poll.

Four-in-10 Americans said pain interfered with their mood, daily activities, sleep, and ability to enjoy life. Therapies ranged from heating pads and ice packs to less mainstream methods including message therapy, homeopathic, and herbal remedies.

While six-in-10 participants said they took prescription drugs for pain, 51 percent of these respondents said the medications worked very well, the ABC report said.

~PRSS~

Source: HealthSCOUT

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