Health Headlines - April 25

Many Americans Know Little About Mental Illness: Survey

Many Americans (44 percent) know little about the symptoms, causes and treatments for mental illnesses, but 84 percent agree that they would benefit from knowing more about the warning signs of such disorders, says a survey released Tuesday by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

"The consequences of this gap in knowledge are quite serious," Dr. Carolyn Robinowtiz, president-elect of the APA, said in a prepared statement. "About one in five Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder during any given year. This means few families are untouched by a mental illness. All families will benefit from understanding how these disorders can impact their lives.

One-third of the respondents mistakenly thought that emotional or personal weakness is a major cause of mental illnesses, and nearly as many said they believed old age is a major cause. However, mental illness is caused by genetic and environmental factors, traumatic events, and other physical illnesses and injuries that have psychiatric side effects, the APA said.

The survey also found that 31 percent of adults said they wouldn't seek treatment for mental illness for fear of what other people would think.

Robinowitz noted that common mental illnesses can be successfully treated in most cases. "Left untreated, mental illnesses can take an enormous toll on family life, the workplace, and society as a whole," she said.

Mental disorders account for four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the United States. The economic burden of depression alone in the U.S. in 2000 was an estimated $83 billion.

Narcolepsy Drug May Help Treat Cocaine Addiction

The U.S. National Institutes of Health is spending $10.8 million on three clinical trials investigating whether modafinil -- a drug used to treat narcolepsy -- is effective as a treatment for cocaine addiction.

Previous evidence suggests that modafinil can help cocaine addicts kick their addiction. It's believed that modafinil may blunt addicts' cravings for cocaine and may also counter the damage that the drug causes to users' brain circuits, which helps continue the cycle of addiction, the Associated Press reported.

Modafinil may help restore proper function of an important brain chemical called dopamine in cocaine addicts, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The NIH studies -- being conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas in Houston, Boston University, and other sites -- include about 650 cocaine users. Results from the first of those clinical trials could be available by the end of the year, the AP reported.

Despite about two decades of research, scientists have been unable to find a medication to treat cocaine addiction.

U.S. Concerned About Deadly Lung Disease in Food Workers

U.S. government scientists are concerned about the increasing number of cases of food workers with a potentially fatal lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, which is linked to chemicals used in food flavorings.

The disease has been found among workers in popcorn plants throughout the Midwest, and was linked to diacetyl, which is used to enhance flavor or impart the taste of butter. The disease was found in nearly 200 popcorn plant employees and killed at least three workers, the Associated Press reported.

"Now we've got cases of bronchiolitis obliterans among workers in other plants that use flavorings and in plants that make the flavorings," Dr. Kathleen Kreiss, chief of the field studies branch of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), told the Baltimore Sun.

New cases include an employee of a Baltimore-area flavoring company, a man at a North Carolina potato chip plant, a worker at a Chicago candy maker, and employees at a Cincinnati flavoring plant.

The cases have NIOSH scientists questioning the food industry's commitment to protecting its workers.

Bronchiolitis obliterans is an irreversible, progressive condition that is often fatal without a lung transplant.

Vaginal Gel to Protect Against HIV Could Be Available by 2010

A safe and effective vaginal gel to protect women against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, may be available by 2010, according to researchers.

Currently, microbe-killing vaginal gels are being tested in a number of clinical trials involving thousands of women. Results should be available within two years, the Associated Press reported.

If the trials prove the gels are effective and if governments fast-track their approval, they could be on the market as early as 2010, Gita Ramjee, director of the HIV prevention research unit at South Africa's Medical Research Council, said at a news conference in Cape Town before an international conference on microbicides.

More than 1,000 scientists and researchers are attending the conference, which is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization.

In many parts of the world, HIV infections are increasing more rapidly among women than men. Half of all adults with HIV are female, according to the United Nations.

A microbicide that's 60 percent effective against HIV that's used by only 20 percent of women in 73 developing countries could prevent 2.5 million HIV infections, the London School of Tropical Hygiene has calculated, the AP reported.

More Americans Seek Treatment for Drug Abuse

The number of Americans being admitted to substance-treatment programs for methamphetamine and narcotic pain medications continued to increase in 2004, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said Monday.

Admissions for methamphetamine treatment rose 11 percent between 2003 and 2004, and 25 percent between 2002 and 2004. Admissions for treatment for opiates other than heroin (mostly prescription pain drugs) increased 21 percent from 2003 to 2004 and 42 percent from 2002 to 2004.

In 2004, there were 129,179 admissions to treatment for methamphetamine as the primary substance of abuse, compared with 117,259 in 2003, and 105,981 in 2002. The number of people admitted to treatment for prescription opiates was 63,243 in 2004; 53,120 in 2003; and 46,972 in 2002.

In Hawaii, 41 percent of admissions were due to methamphetamine as the primary substance of abuse, compared with 0.1 percent in Rhode Island. The overall nationwide rate was 8 percent.

Non-heroin opiates accounted for 3.4 percent of admissions to substance-abuse treatment programs, while heroin accounted for 14.2 percent. Maine had 14.3 percent of admissions for non-heroin opiates and 9 percent due to heroin, while in West Virginia the rates were 13.6 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, the agency said.