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HEALTH TIPS WEEKLY - Thursday, July 12, 2007
"News That Keeps You Healthy"
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Kid use of mind medicines rising
SAN FRANCISCO,--Research reveals a surge in the use of anti-
psychotics and other mind-altering medicines in children and
adolescents. The pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Sol-
utions' forecast through 2007 describes the psychiatric drug
class -- topped by medicines for attention-deficit/hyperact-
ivity disorder -- as "the most powerful driver of spending
growth" for children under 20. Another study, of pharmacy
claims for 83,039 minors under 18, found their use of atyp-
ical, or second-generation, anti-psychotics leaped 138.4
percent and of atypical antidepressants 42.8 percent between
1997 and 2000. Overall, 62.3 percent of children and adoles-
cents seeking mental-health services were prescribed psycho-
active pills for their troubles. At the same time, the aver-
age price of the medicines went up by 17.6 percent, to $7.90
per order, the investigators said. Producing less severe
side effects than their predecessors, atypical anti-psycho-
tics -- including clozapine (brand name Clozaril), risperi-
done (Risperdal) and olanzapine (Zyprexa) -- have made dram-
atic inroads into children's treatment plans since their
introduction in the 1990s. In seven years, anti-psychotic
prescribing for children 2 to 18 rose nearly five-fold, from
8.6 per 1,000 youngsters in 1995 to 39.4 per 1,000 by 2002,
a review of healthcare service records showed.
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Nanobubbles deliver drugs via ultrasound
SALT LAKE CITY,-- U.S. scientists have developed a targeted
drug delivery method that uses ultrasound to image tumors,
while releasing drugs from nanobubbles. The University of
Utah researchers, led by Natalya Rapoport, said the cancer
drugs can be targeted to tumors by delivering them in pack-
ets of nanoparticles, then releasing them with ultrasound.
But that approach can be difficult because it requires a way
to image the tumor prior to treatment. In the study, nanobu-
bbles filled with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin were
injected into mice. The bubbles accumulated in the tumors,
where they combined to form larger "microbubbles." When ex-
posed to ultrasound, the bubbles generated echoes, which
made it possible to image the tumor. Then sound energy from
the ultrasound popped the bubbles, releasing the drug. The
researchers found that in mice treated with the new method,
the nanobubbles were more effective at blocking tumor growth
than other nanoparticle delivery methods. The research is
detailed in the current issue of the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute.
Emphasis on children decreasing
OAKLAND, Calif.,-- As people live longer, Americans' child-
free years are expanding and more young adults are delaying,
or skipping, having children. In 1960, nearly 50 percent of
all households had children under 18, The Christian Science
Monitor reported Tuesday. By 2000, that had fallen to less
than 30 percent and in a few years is predicted to drop to
25 percent, said a report from the National Marriage Project
at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In addition, the perc-
entage of people who said children were very important to a
good marriage has fallen from 65 percent to 41 percent since
1990, said findings released last week in a Pew Research re-
port. "We are getting much more of an adult-oriented culture
than has ever existed arguably, and that could prove prob-
lematic," David Popenoe, codirector of the Marriage Project,
told the Monitor. "You can envision a society in which chil-
dren are kind of an afterthought and not in the interests
of society as a whole."
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Study urges drug patent licensing revision
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.,-- A U.S. researcher claims ambiguous
international rules outlining when and how governments may
"break" pharmaceutical patents are stifling innovation. Pen-
nsylvania State University Associate Professor of business
law Daniel Cahoy argues the problem is a lack of clarity in
compensation for patent owners. He suggests a three-tiered
approach to compulsory license remuneration based on a cou-
ntry's individual ability to pay would do much to resolve
the predicament. Cahoy said current international law has
few limitations on which countries can "break" patents simp-
ly to control costs, what circumstances create a necessary
condition, or even what level of remuneration is required.
As a result, Cahoy said relatively wealthy nations might
receive unintended windfalls, while least developed count-
ries might continue to struggle for access. Regardless of
the approach that is ultimately adopted, Cahoy argues: "A
revision of essential international law is required to both
better enable access and shore up innovation incentives.
Considering the problem in terms of remuneration, rather
than the legal right to license, one can arrive at clearer,
more equitable solutions." Cahoy, a patent attorney, pres-
ents his views in a forthcoming issue of the Georgia Law
Review.
Gene linked with lethal subtype of AML
COLUMBUS, Ohio,-- U.S. medical scientists have determined
the activity of a particular gene can identify people who
have a more lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia. Ohio
State University researchers said the gene, called ERG, has
been linked with breast and prostate cancer. The finding
applies to acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, patients with
leukemia cells that have normal-looking chromosomes -- a
feature that occurs in about half of AML patients, the res-
earchers said. Among such patients, those with leukemia
cells showing high ERG activity are nearly six times more
likely to relapse or die within five years than are patients
ith low ERG expression following standard therapy. "Our
study shows high ERG activity predicts a poor prognosis in
these patients, even when other molecular markers are taken
into consideration," said Associate Professor Dr. Guido
Marcucci. "The findings mean these patients require a stem-
cell transplant or other aggressive therapy, and patients
with low ERG activity can be treated using standard ther-
apy." The research confirms a 2005 study led by the same
Ohio State researchers in a completely independent set of
patients, Marcucci said. The study was reported online in
the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Aging, neurodegenerative link found
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,-- U.S. scientists have discovered a spec-
ific gene provides a link between aging and neurodegener-
ative disorders. A group of enzymes known as sirtuins are
known to slow the aging process. Now, researchers led by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Li-Huei Tsai
have discovered one particular sirtuin-producing gene links
aging and human neurodegenerative disorders. The researchers
said their finding might lead to new drugs to fight Alzheim-
er's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neuro-
logical maladies. The scientists said the SIR2 (silent info-
rmation regulator) gene and sirtuin, the enzyme it produces,
promote longevity in a variety of organisms and may be tied
to the health benefits of caloric restriction, which delays
aging and neurodegeneration in mammals. Tsai and colleagues
report SIRT1, the analogous human version of SIR2, "constit-
utes a unique molecular link between aging and human neuro-
degenerative disorders and provides a promising avenue for
therapeutic intervention." The scientists said their study
is an extension of work reported during the past several
years by Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor David
Sinclair. The research that included graduate student Dohoon
Kim and researchers Matthew Dobbin, Andre Fischer, Farahnaz
Sananbenesi and Ivana Delalle appeared in a recent issue of
The EMBO Journal.
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