Health Highlights: Sept. 27, 2004

September 27, 2004 09:03:01 AM PDT , HealthDay

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

Stem Cells Found to Help Heart, Eyes

Stem cells, plagued with political controversy because they are harvested from human embryos, have found separate experimental uses in helping the heart and eyes, the Washington Post reported Monday.

In the first instance, Israeli researchers showed that the cells -- which scientists can coax into forming cells of some 200 bodily organs and tissues -- can serve as "bodily pacemakers" when injected directly into failing animal hearts. The researchers at the Technion-Israeli Institute of Technology in Haifa reported Sunday that the versatile cells were able to correct faulty heart rhythms in pigs when used this way.

A second experiment led to the first documented growth of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which are nerve cells that live inside the eye that keep the retina healthy. The natural loss of these cells as people get older is thought to be responsible for age-related vision loss, the Post reported. Scientists at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass., created RPE cells in a dish, then showed theoretically how they could be transplanted directly into a patient's eyes.

President Bush, stressing that stem cells are usually harvested from human embryos that are destroyed in the process, has banned federal funding on all but existing stem cell lines. Robert Lanza, a lead researcher in the Massachusetts vision project, told the newspaper that the president's position was narrow-minded.

"It's becoming clear that each [stem cell] colony is different and can do different tricks," he said. "To limit federally funded research to just a handful of lines is a mistake."

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Defective Hearing Implants Recalled

An unspecified number of cochlear implants to help people with severe hearing loss are being recalled because they may malfunction due to ear moisture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

The devices, made by Boston Scientific Corp.'s Advanced Bionics unit, were sold under the Clarion and HiResolution brand names. Only devices that have not been implanted are being recalled; the agency said it is not recommending removal of any working devices that have already been installed.

Advanced Bionics said symptoms of a malfunctioning unit include intermittent loss of function, sudden discomfort or pain, and a sudden loud noise or popping sound. Parents should monitor younger children for unexplained signs that they no longer want to wear the external headpiece that works with the implanted device, the FDA said in a statement.

People with questions about the recall may contact Advanced Bionics at 1-877-454-5038 between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

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British Downsizing Chocolate Bars

King-sized chocolate bars in Britain are expected to shrink to a more princely form soon, as the nation's candy makers have agreed to downsize the confectionary delights to help combat obesity, according to BBC News Online.

Members of the Food and Drink Federation, including Nestle and Kraft Foods, also have pledged to make food labels clearer and to make their products healthier by continuing to reduce sugar, salt, and fat levels, the network reported.

Details of what's being labeled the first Manifesto for Food and Health also include plans to remove vending machines from primary schools unless "specifically requested," the BBC report said, without providing the particulars.

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U.S. Signs Canadian Firm to Develop Plague Vaccine

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, concerned over the possibility of a bioterrorism attack, has enlisted a Canadian firm to develop a vaccine against the plague.

The plague wiped out one-third of the population of Europe in the 14th century, and the NIH wants a vaccine in the event that terrorists may have the highly infectious germ, Agence France-Presse reports.

The NIH has awarded an $8 million grant to Vancouver-based ID Biomedical Corp. to find a vaccine that can be delivered using the company's Proteosome nasal spray to deliver the drug.

"The NIH is concerned that bioterrorists will release the plague in the U.S. The problem with bioterrorist agents: they're killers. Once you get them, virtually nothing can be done to save your life," company president Anthony Holler told AFP. "The economic impact of these things are so great to a society, that you should have a preventive treatment if there is a risk of that happening."

Plague can be treated with antibiotics if symptoms show within 24 hours, but most people don't identify the early symptoms.

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City Sues to Compel HIV Treatment for Prostitute

The city of Amarillo, Tex., is trying to compel an HIV-infected prostitute to get treatment for the virus because she has spread it to at least one other person through her activities.

The lawsuit, which would pit civil liberties against public safety, is believed to be the first of its kind, at least in Texas, reports the Amarillo Globe-News.

"The Public Health Department assists many people with AIDS, and this single case is the very rare exception where a person who is HIV-contagious is noncompliant with the health authority," City Attorney Marcus Norris told the Globe-News. "We believe that by her conduct, she poses a health threat to the community, and so we're going to have to try to get the court to intervene and help."

The woman, identified in court papers only as T.T., contracted the virus in 2000, and did not disclose her status to the patient she infected, the newspaper reported. She has refused to seek treatment.

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Violence Begets Disease in Iraq

An outbreak of hepatitis E, a virulent form of the liver-damaging virus that is particularly harmful to pregnant women, is striking poor areas of Iraq, and officials are blaming violence that has damaged water and sewage systems.

The New York Times reports that 150 cases have been counted so far in Sadr City, a slum in northwest Baghdad, and another 60 in the poverty- and violence-marred town of Mahmudiya, which is 35 miles south of the Iraqi capital. However, the equipment to test for the disease is crude, and officials fear that the count could be much higher. Officially, five deaths have been reported.

Officials told the Times that the water supplies in those areas have deteriorated since the U.S. invasion. Attempts to rebuild those systems have been beaten back because both areas have been hotspots of violence, and engineers fear to venture out because they fear for their safety.

Residents of the areas have made crude taps into the main water lines, but the virus can seep into the water supply because of the failed sewage systems, the paper reported.

Statins Expand Their Role in Protecting the Heart

September 24, 2004 02:03:17 PM PDT , HealthDay

By Holly VanScoy
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Heart attack prevention has just taken another step with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's go-ahead for one of the nation's best-selling cholesterol-lowering drugs to be used by people whose cholesterol levels are not elevated.

Why would anyone without an overt cholesterol problem want to take a statin, the class of drugs that Pfizer Pharmaceutical's Lipitor falls under? The reason, researchers say, is because there are a great number of people who have other health problems that indicate higher-than-average heart attack risk, and statins may help reduce that risk.

The FDA approval opened the door for Pfizer to label and market atorvastatin (Lipitor's generic name) for individuals whose near-normal cholesterol levels may be offset by high blood pressure. They may also exhibit other risk factors that include obesity, smoking, diabetes or a family history of cardiovascular disease.

"This use for statins represents a significant advance in preventing individuals from having a first heart attack," said Dr. Jerome D. Cohen, a professor of internal medicine and cardiology at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. "It's evident that statins are even more powerful than we originally thought, including having benefits for individuals whose cholesterol levels are not elevated, but who have other risk factors that may contribute to a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular condition."

Atorvastatin is one of five statins presently approved for the U.S. market. The others are lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin (Zocor), pravastatin (Pravachol) and fluvastatin (Lescol). The newest drug in the field is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin (Vytorin).

All statins work about the same -- by inhibiting an enzyme that controls the rate of cholesterol production and increasing the liver's ability to remove LDL cholesterol already in the blood.

LDL is the so-called "bad" cholesterol. When too much of it circulates in the blood, it can build up in arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances it forms plaque, a thick, hard deposit that clogs the arteries -- a condition known as atherosclerosis. When a clot blocks a narrowed artery, a heart attack or stroke often follows.

LDL cholesterol of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is considered the best level; the National Cholesterol Education Program's new guidelines recommend the option of reducing LDL cholesterol to less than 70 mg/dL for those at high risk of heart attack or death.

"High" LDL level is defined as more than 160 mg/dL for individuals with no more than one risk factor for cardiovascular disease; or 130 mg/dL for individuals with at least two risk factors, with the option of reducing that to 100 mg/dL.

In clinical trials during the 1990s, statins were demonstrated to significantly reduce high levels of total and LDL cholesterol. In addition, their use was linked to lower triglyceride levels and to modest increases in HDL cholesterol, often called the "good cholesterol." These effects translated into significant reductions in heart attacks and heart disease deaths. As a result, statins quickly became the drug of choice when individuals at risk for heart disease needed a cholesterol-lowering medication.

The early August 2004 FDA approval of statins for those whose cholesterol levels are essentially normal was based on evidence from an extensive clinical trial in England that followed about 10,300 patients with normal or borderline high cholesterol levels. That study was originally published in the June 2003 issue of the The Lancet.

That research shows that lowering cholesterol levels -- even in those whose cholesterol levels were not high enough to be a medical concern -- can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, said Dr. David Waters, chief of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. "When a person's overall risk for a heart attack is high, for whatever reason, this suggests that it's wise to treat all of the factors we know are associated with coronary disease, including achieving a reduction in their cholesterol levels."

Cohen and Waters agree that statins are well tolerated by most patients, and that serious side effects are rare.

More information

The American Heart Association has a wealth of information about cholesterol and cholesterol measures, including statins.