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Issue Date: January 13, 2002
Scientists learn new things every day. Here are the latest.
Strep throat: Faster test speeds treatment
Throat sore? If you have a fever, inflamed throat, swollen lymph glands in your neck and no cough, you may have strep throat.
A rapid antigen test at your doctor's office or an emergency care center can confirm the diagnosis in minutes. But if that quick test comes back negative, the standard practice is to take a throat swab culture to confirm the first test's findings. Trouble is, those results then take 24 to 48 hours.
Now there's a new rapid strep test that proved to be better than 90% accurate in a recent study, published in last month's Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Faster diagnosis means that you can begin antibiotic treatment immediately if you do have strep. Note: Most sore throats are caused by viruses, not bacteria like strep.
Dieting: In praise of a little fat
For decades scientists believed fat has no flavor of its own. They believed that fat only provides texture to foods and serves as a flavor carrier -- so fat substitutes should be interchangeable with the real thing.
Now a study from Purdue University proves people can taste fat as well as they can detect the four basic food tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) and the recently discovered umami taste (evoked by MSG).
Dieters struggling to shed holiday pounds may be better off eating small amounts of real-fat foods -- to satisfy the body's desire for that taste -- than lots of low-fat replacements. As always with diet, moderation is key.
Diabetics: Heal faster with light
New studies show that an FDA-approved light-emitting device speeds the healing of wounds, even in difficult-to-treat diabetic ulcers. That's great news for the nation's 16 million diabetics and others who suffer from hard-to-treat chronic sores.
Even better news: The latest study tested the device on diabetic neuropathy (loss of sensation or feeling), a previously irreversible condition that often leads to amputation. A joint study conducted at three Colorado medical centers followed 49 diabetics with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who had peripheral neuropathy in their feet. Most showed improvement after six 30-minute treatments. After 12 treatments, all had improved responses, and their risk of amputation was greatly reduced. The study was presented in 2001 at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions.
How it works: Energy from light-emitting diodes studded into flexible pads -- which can be applied to any part of the body -- triggers the release of nitric oxide from hemoglobin in the blood. Nitric oxide increases circulation and aids healing.
The device also helps relieve pain and swelling in arthritis, fractures, bursitis and more. No side effects have been reported, but the device is not recommended for people who may be pregnant or who have active cancer.
Poison control: Is there charcoal in your medicine cabinet?
Parents may save themselves a trip to the ER if they keep activated charcoal on hand to treat accidental poisonings, according to an 18-month Kentucky study published in last month's issue of Pediatrics.
Activated charcoal was recommended by poison center staff to parents in 138 cases of accidental poisonings in children who ingested medications, vitamins, mushrooms or other toxins. Home treatment was successful for 115. The other 23 couldn't find activated charcoal at a store in time, didn't have a home phone for follow-up or preferred going to the hospital.
Activated charcoal works best if given within one hour after the poison is swallowed. The fine powder acts like a sponge to soak up toxins and keep them from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
It can be mixed into water, juice, yogurt, milk or soda for easy swallowing. And unlike syrup of ipecac, it doesn't trigger vomiting.
Cancer: New way to destroy it
A new method of treating cancer removes tumors without surgery.
By combining MRI technology with radio frequency ablation (tissue destruction), doctors at University Hospitals of Cleveland successfully treated a man with metastatic kidney cancer who wasn't physically able to endure conventional surgery or chemotherapy.
It was the first time that combination of technology has been used.
Here's how it works: First, the tumor is pinpointed under MRI. Then a specially made non-
magnetic needle is inserted into the tumor. An electrode on the tip of the needle emits radio frequency energy to heat the tumor to just under the boiling point until it is completely destroyed.
Because doctors can see exactly where the tumor is on the MRI scan, they know when they have destroyed all the cancer. "What used to be a bright white area of tumor becomes essentially a black hole of dead tumor tissue," says Jonathan Lewin, M.D., director of magnetic resonance imaging at the Cleveland hospitals and principal investigator on the study.
The whole procedure takes 10 to 30 minutes under local anesthesia. Patients stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring.
It may work best on small tumors (3 inches or smaller), but the method could be adapted to larger masses and is suitable for any type of cancer. There is no cumulative dose to worry about as there is with radiation therapy, so patients can have the procedure as many times as necessary to destroy any tumors or abnormalities they may have.
Flu symptoms: Is it the air in your home?
Headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, confusion and irritability -- does that sound like the flu to you?
Wrong. Those are symptoms of high carbon monoxide (CO) levels. Hundreds of people die from CO poisoning every year, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians. Infants, children and the elderly are at greatest risk.
For safety, have all your fuel-burning appliances checked by a trained professional each year. Make sure they vent outdoors, and consider installing a carbon monoxide detector. If you are sick and suspect CO poisoning, get fresh air and immediate help; tell the doctor you may have CO poisoning.
Mouth cancer: The power of green tea
Add another item to the long list of health benefits provided by drinking green tea. A new study from the Medical College of Georgia reports that antioxidant polyphenols in green tea not only prevent oral cancer cells from growing but also kill cancer cells that already are present and help healthy cells survive. Researchers recommend four to six cups of green tea a day. Don't enjoy drinking green tea? Then use it as a mouthwash -- just swish it like a rinse. The key is to expose your mouth's mucous lining to green tea.
AIDS: Home monitoring kit is on the way
People who have been diagnosed with HIV take a combination of medicines -- antiretroviral therapy -- to control the virus. And to make sure the drug doses and prescriptions are effective, they must endure expensive, time-consuming lab tests. In the United States, it takes about 10 years for HIV to develop into full-blown AIDS. That means a lot of repeated tests.
But now a University of Missouri researcher is developing a simple test kit that HIV patients can use at home. "All the test will require is a drop of the patient's blood applied to a test strip, much like the test diabetics use to measure their blood sugar," says Sheila Grant, a biological engineer.
The current model uses synthetic proteins that fluoresce in the presence of HIV. Results display quickly in the form of a red or green signal to show whether treatment is effective or needs to be adjusted. If all goes well, the monitoring kit could be available to consumers in two years.
Tooth cavities: Check your bottled water
When fluoride was added to the water supply, the incidence of dental cavities declined. But then so many people began drinking -- and giving their children -- bottled water that there has been a resurgence of cavities, according to the Academy of General Dentistry. Now a study finds fluoride-fortified water on U.S. shelves and in worldwide distribution is again reducing cavities.
More tooth savers: breads and juices fortified with calcium. Best bet: plain old milk. It's still a great source of calcium for strong bones and teeth.
Fibromyalgia mystery: If MSG and sweetener stop, so do symptoms
A very small study by the University of Florida offers promise of a dietary treatment for the chronic fatigue and pain of fibromyalgia.
Four women who had had fibromyalgia for years, plus allergies (such as allergic rhinitis and food allergies, for example), found that their fibromyalgia symptoms were nearly gone within a few months of eliminating from their diets the widely used flavor enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate) and the artificial sweetener aspartame.
MSG and aspartame do not cause fibromyalgia, explains a researcher, nor does eliminating those items work for patients who do not suffer from allergies.
But for a disease that has no treatment, no known cause and as many as 6 million (mostly female) sufferers, it's worth a try.
-- Peggy Noonan
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SCIENTIFIC SOURCES FOR THIS ARTICLE
Strep throat
-- For more information, request the full text of the study from a local library's Interlibrary Loan service or see the Annals of Emergency Medicine, December 2001, "The Relationship Between the Clinical Features of Pharyngitis and the Sensitivity of a Rapid Antigen Test: Evidence of Spectrum Bias," which is available to subscribers online at www.acep.org/AnnEmergMed
Dieting
-- A press release reporting on the fat flavor study, including an abstract (synopsis) of the published study, may be read online at: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/011203.Mattes.taste.html
-- The study, "The taste of fat elevates postprandial triacylglycerol," was published in Psychology & Behavior 74 (2001), 343-348.
-- To learn more about Professor Mattes and his research, visit his Web site at http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/fdsnutr/people/mattes.html
Diabetics
-- To contact the manufacturer of the Anodyne Infrared Therapy System, phone Medassist
Group in Tampa, Florida toll-free at: (800) 521-6664 or visit their Web site
at www.medassistgp.com.
-- For more information about the Anodyne Infrared Therapy System, contact the product distributor, Rocky Mountain Health Technologies in Aurora, Colorado, at 303-699-8700 or send email to rmht@rockymountainhealth.com.
-- On the Web, you can read the Medical Breakthroughs article about using this device on diabetic ulcers and view a mini-movie clip at http://www.ivanhoe.com/diabetes/
Poison control
-- To read the complete text of the study, please see "Pediatrics," Vol. 108, No. 6, December 2001, "Evaluation of Administration of Activated Charcoal in the Home," or view the full text online (with charts) at http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/108/6/e100
Cancer
-- To learn more about this and related procedures visit Cleveland's University Hospital HealthSystems Ireland Cancer Center online at:
www.irelandcancercenter.org or phone them toll-free at 1-800-641-2422.
-- See a press release at: http://www.uhhs.com/toheal/hnews/news01.html
Flu symptoms
-- To read the American College of Emergency Physicians Web page on carbon monoxide poisoning, with a list of what-to-do tips and details on symptoms of CO poisoning, please see http://www.acep.org/1,2464,0.html
Mouth cancer
-- To read the Academy of General Dentistry's press release about this study (including interesting facts about tea and information about how to get a copy of the study that was published in the journal "General Dentistry"), please see: http://www.agd.org/consumer/topics/nutrition/greentea.html
AIDS
-- For more information, please see http://cafnr.missouri.edu/news/2001/1001/hivtestkit.htm
Tooth cavities
Academy of General Dentistry on fluoride
http://www.agd.org/consumer/topics/fluoride/superfoods.html
Fibromyalgia
-- You can read the complete study, "Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following Discontinuation of Dietary Excitotoxins," in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy (June 2001, Vol. 35, pp.702-706), online at http://www.theannals.com. The precise URL is http://phth.allenpress.com/phthonline/?request=get-document&issn=1060-0280&volume=035&issue=06&page=0702
-- A support group for fibromyalgia patients can be reached at bfibrofree@aol.com or information is available by phone from West Virginia-based "Pain-Free Living" at (304) 872-4141.
-- More information about MSG is available at www.TruthInLabeling.org
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