Health Headlines - August 21

Snail Toxin May Hold Clue in Developing Neurological Drugs

Until now, the cone snail has been nothing more than a "hands-off" venomous mollusk that lives in tropical waters, an animal to be avoided. Its poison could kill a human.

But University of Utah researchers say they've discovered that a nerve toxin found in the 9-inch snail may be a key in developing drugs to combat a host of neurological diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

According to a university news release, scientists say the toxin has the ability to "glom" onto the brain's nicotine receptors. The research team was headed by J. Michael McIntosh, a University of Utah research professor of biology, professor and research director of psychiatry.

This isn't McIntosh's first encounter with turning toxins into medicines. As a University of Utah freshman in 1979, he helped discover the poisonous substance that eventually became Prialt, an injectable drug approved by the FDA in 2004. Prialt treats pain caused by a variety of ailments, from back surgery to AIDS.

The new toxin interacts with the same receptors that respond to nicotine, the researchers say. "Those are the same types of receptors you activate if you smoke a cigarette," McIntosh says. In turn, this triggers a neurotransmission, establishing communication between nerve cells.

"That's important," he concludes, "because if you had compounds to facilitate the release of one neurotransmitter and not another neurotransmitter, that opens up medicinal potential."

The research will be published in the Aug. 25 edition of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

China Faces a New Health Problem: Obesity

Here's another sign indicating that China has emerged as a modern, industrialized society --- it's citizenry is gaining weight, so much so that obesity may soon be a national problem.

BBC News reports on research in a special China edition of the British Medical Journal, which cites a 15 year study that shows people in China are becoming overweight at an "alarming rate."

The report uses a study by Professor Wu Yangfeng of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, showing a 28-fold increase in the number of overweight and obese children between 1985 and 2000.

There may be a number of reasons for this, Wu writes in his report, including more use of automobiles and the availability of more foods with high fat content. Then there is also the Chinese equation between being overweight and being prosperous.

"This is perhaps a consequence of China's recent history, where famine and chronic malnutrition caused the deaths of millions of people," Wu concludes.

New Test May Be Able to Detect Anthrax in Less Than an Hour

One of the biggest difficulties public health authorities would have in combating a widespread anthrax attack would be in quickly being able to diagnose who had it.

Now, Swiss researchers say they may have found a way to easily test for anthrax.

BBC News reports that researchers from Bern University have developed a molecule in laboratory mice that quickly identifies the deadly anthrax bacterium.

In doing so, says lead researcher Peter Seeberger, a test may be completed in less than an hour on a person suspected of having come in contact with anthrax spores. Additionally, anthrax researcher Jim Uhl from the Mayo Clinic says that such a test may be useful in testing metropolitan areas for anthrax.

"Tests like this might have great utility for cities that are testing the air. People could develop assays that could sit on top of buildings and sniff out the air for anthrax," BBC News quotes Uhl as saying.

The findings were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Agent Orange Ruling May Mean Benefits for Thousands More Viet Vets

A federal appeals court has opened the door for a whole new category Vietnam veterans to receive medical benefits for exposure to Agent Orange, a widely-used defoliate that has caused illness and disability for thousands of soldiers who served in Vietnam.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a former sailor who served aboard an ammunition ship off the South Vietnam coast but was never in Vietnam itself.

The plaintiff, Jonathan L. Haas, had been denied his claim for benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the wire service reported. As with many veterans who had been part of the land operations in Vietnam, Haas claimed Agent Orange exposure was responsible for his diabetes, nerve damage and loss of eyesight.

The basis for his claim was that so much Agent Orange was sprayed in the jungles that it formed into clouds, drifted out to sea and exposed his ship and everyone on it to the same toxic chemicals that foot soldiers experienced.

"Veterans serving on vessels in close proximity to land would have the same risk of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange as veterans serving on adjacent land, or an even greater risk than that borne by those veterans who may have visited and set foot on the land of the Republic of Vietnam only briefly," the wire service quotes Judge William A. Moorman as writing in the courts decision.

While thousands of veterans -- most of them from the U.S. Navy -- may qualify, the A.P. reports that they should file their applications quickly, because the court was vague on whether the V.A. had the right to rewrite the regulations so that those serving on boats could be excluded.

Maker of 'Morning-After' Pill Reapplies to FDA

The maker of the controversial Plan B "morning-after" pill has resubmitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell the emergency contraceptive without a prescription, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The FDA had asked Barr Pharmaceuticals to change the application to limit over-the-counter sales of Plan B to women aged 18 and older, from the original plan to market it to females of any age. Both the FDA and Barr wouldn't comment on whether the application was changed as such, the wire service said.

Plan B is now available in most states only by prescription. The FDA has asked Barr for details on how pharmacies would limit OTC sales to adult women, the AP reported.

"Currently, we remain committed to an expeditious review," said FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro, who wouldn't provide the AP with a time frame on when the agency would make a decision.

Plan B, taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, is said to be up to 89 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, the wire service reported.

Combination Chemotherapy Benefits Lung Cancer Patients

Combination chemotherapy with vinorelbine and cisplatin after tumor removal surgery lengthened lung cancer patient survival by 8 percent, says a French study published in the The Lancet Oncology journal.

The trial included 840 patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

"Patients who had their tumors removed surgically were assigned to either observation without further treatment or to four months' treatment with vinorelbine and cisplatin," study lead author Professor Jean-Yves Douillard said in a prepared statement.