January 19, 2004 Health

	photo essay
	Animal Attraction There's more than one way to make hay, as birds, bees and bonobos know
	graphic
	Where Our Sex Drive Comes From Mapping the origins of sex drive on the human body
	remedies
	Love Potions A guide to some of the medical treatments available for what ails our libidos
	self-test
	The Passionate Love Scale Determine just how you feel about that special (or ex-special) someone

E L E C T R O N - B E A M   C O M P U T E D
T O M O G R A P H Y
Much as heart doctors know about the risk factors that contribute to heart disease—high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress and lack of physical activity—they still have no reliable way to predict who will and who won't suffer a heart attack.

Until now. It turns out that excess deposits of calcium in the lining of the arteries, which can be measured using electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT), are a good indication that potentially dangerous fatty plaques exist. The correlation is strong enough that the American Heart Association is weighing a recommendation of EBCT screening for healthy adults who have a greater than average risk of heart disease, including smokers and those with a strong family history. As an added benefit, patients can take home their EBCT image, complete with gummed-up arteries, and use it as a reminder to stick with that exercise program and low-fat diet.

— F —
F L U
It was a flu season to remember, but not because it was a historically bad one. Rather, it was because the annual ordeal started earlier than usual, took the lives of nearly 100 youngsters and raised concerns that the supply of vaccine couldn't meet demand and might not be effective against this year's strain of virus. At the same time, health officials urged that all healthy babies between the ages of 6 months and 23 months be vaccinated. Thankfully, the worries proved to be overblown, but as experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pointed out, when it comes to the flu, it's far better to be safe than sorry.

— G —
G R E E N   T E A
How healthful is a cup of green tea? Let us count the ways. Recent studies suggest that chemically active compounds in the soothing drink may help lower cholesterol, aid the immune system in fighting off infections, assist in weight loss and protect against cancers of the lung, colon, breast, liver, prostate, pancreas, bladder and skin. Tea may also help us prevent diabetes and bad breath. Keep in mind, though, that the studies are preliminary and sometimes even contradictory. Enjoy your cup of tea, but don't expect it to be a cure-all.

— H —
H R T
Last year put a few more nails in the coffin of long-term hormone-replacement therapy. Further examination of the data from the Women's Health Initiative, a study that involved more than 16,000 women, showed that the combination of estrogen and progestin not only raised a postmenopausal woman's risk of heart disease and breast cancer but also increased her risk of stroke and doubled her chances of developing dementia if she was 65 or older. The grim research results, on top of those released in 2002, have translated into plummeting prescriptions for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Prempro (the company also helped fund the critical studies): the tally of 2003 sales of the hormone combo is expected to be down 50% from 2002 sales, which were down 25% from 2001 sales.

H E A R T
The news reports dubbed it "Drano for the heart," and if the results are confirmed in larger trials, they may signal an exciting new approach in fighting cardiovascular disease, America's leading cause of death. "It" is a genetically rare type of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, dubbed ApoA-1 Milano. First identified 30 years ago in a small group of people living in northern Italy, this super HDL is even more protective against heart disease than regular HDL. In a study released this past fall, researchers injected a synthetic version of ApoA-1 Milano into 47 patients and found that unlike drugs that merely slow the dangerous buildup of plaque in the arteries, super HDL reduced the size of the plaques—and did so in the dramatically short period of five weeks. The experimental drug also stabilized the plaques that remained and reduced their level of inflammation, making them less likely to burst. Though the study was too small to be definitive, it certainly stirred a lot of interest at the American Heart Association's meeting in November. After years of being preoccupied with lowering levels of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, doctors and patients may soon be focusing on how to pump up vessel-cleansing HDL.

— I —
I N S O M N I A
The value of a good night's sleep is hard to overstate. And researchers are increasingly finding that sleep doesn't just improve the quality of life—it actually prolongs life as well. An analysis of eight sleep studies showed that healthy adults age 60 and older who experienced poor sleep—characterized by long stretches of wakefulness during the night—had double the normal risk of early death. Other studies link poor sleep to lower immune-system function as well as an increased risk for certain types of cancer.

But to what lengths should you go to make sure you get enough sleep? Today's sleeping pills can help, but are they safe to take in the long term? The drug company Sepracor has been testing a new pill, Estorra, that appears to be both safe and effective when taken for six months. The drug is under review for approval by the FDA. No doubt competitors will be looking at their own sleep drugs to see if they can pass the six-month test.

Page 3 of 6   1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6   Next > >

BACK TO TOP

Premium Content