Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Heavy Smokers Double Risk of Prostate Cancer
Middle-aged men who are long-term, heavy smokers face twice the risk of an aggressive form of prostate cancer, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle say.
The findings apply to men under 65 with a history of 40 or more "pack years" (one pack per day for 40 years or two packs daily for 20 years, for example), as compared to nonsmoking men of the same age, the researchers say.
Lead author Janet Stanford, whose results are published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, says prostate cancer should now "be added to the long list of malignancies in which smoking plays a role." Other smoking-related cancers include those of the lung, bladder, cervix, esophagus, and kidney, the center says in a news release.
The study involved more than 1,450 Seattle-area men, ages 40 to 64. Half had a history of prostate cancer, while the other half -- all non-smokers with no history of the disease -- served as a control group.
The study found that when men stop smoking, within a decade their risk of prostate cancer returns to almost normal levels, Stanford says.
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Pro-Pot California Doc Faces Sanction
A state medical panel is trying to suspend a California doctor who has prescribed medical marijuana for his patients some 7,500 times, the Associated Press reports.
Though medical marijuana is legal in California, Dr. Tod Mikuriya, 69, is accused of failing to conduct proper medical exams and of poor record keeping. The Medical Board of California, which licenses the state's doctors, says the case has nothing to do with marijuana, according to the AP.
Mikuriya, a long-time advocate of legalizing marijuana for medical use, views himself as a political scapegoat. His lawyers cite Proposition 215, the 1996 referendum that allows state doctors to recommend marijuana to certain patients.
Doctors also are allowed to recommend marijuana in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and the state of Washington.
Last week, the Bush Administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a recent federal appeals court decision that found that doctors had a constitutional right to speak candidly with patients about marijuana without fear of government retribution.
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Expert: HIV Treatment Cost-Effective
It makes more economic sense to treat AIDS/HIV in developing countries than to stand by and do nothing, an AIDS economics expert told a global meeting in Paris Sunday.
Jean-Paul Moatti, economics professor at France's University of Marseille, countered criticism among some experts that treating HIV isn't cost-effective and increases the virus's resistance. He called such thinking "economic stupidity," reports CNN.
"[AIDS/HIV] doesn't just kill workers, it kills young adults and young adults make children and raise children -- human capital. When you take that into the equation, you find a very different impact on the economy," the Associated Press quotes him as saying.
Moatti cited a soon-to-be-released World Bank study that he said predicts an economic collapse in South Africa within four generations if more isn't done to stem the epidemic there. South Africa has the highest number of HIV infections at 5 million, the CNN report says.
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FCC Seeks Hearing-Friendly Cell Phones
U.S. cell phone makers must soon offer headsets that are hearing-aid compatible, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously late last week.
Many digital phones emit signals that interfere with hearing aids, which are worn by some 6 million Americans, reports the Associated Press. The phones can also interfere with cochlear implants, devices worn by some 20,000 Americans with more pronounced hearing problems.
Until now, cell phones have been exempt from rules that require makers of most telephones to make their products hearing aid-compatible.
The new regulations are scheduled to take effect in February 2008.
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11 Quarantined in Texas Over Suspected SARS
Fears of a possible SARS outbreak in Texas have led to 11 people being quarantined in their homes there, the Associated Press reports. Two have tested positive for streptococcus pneumonia, according to the news service, but initial SARS tests were negative.
All the people are either active duty Air Force personnel or their family members, all living at Dyess Air Force Base, near Abilene. One of the group had recently been in Toronto, which has been the area outside of Asia most affected by SARS. Last week, however, the World Health Organization removed the Canadian city from its list of SARS-infected areas on the belief that the disease was no longer being transmitted person-to-person there.
Since surfacing in China last fall, SARS has infected at least 8,400 people worldwide, with more than 800 people dying from the disease. To date, no one has died from SARS in the United States, but federal health officials have recorded 74 probable cases, according to CNN.
Final test results on the Texas people are expected in the next few days.
