Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Stem Cells Help Deliver Drugs Directly
to Tumors
A technique that uses stem cells to deliver cancer drugs directly into
tumors and avoids damage to healthy tissue is effective in mice, say Texas
researchers.
They tested this method using the anticancer therapy interferon beta. In
normal use this therapy can cause toxic side effects and lasts only a short
time in tumors.
The researchers manipulated stem cells to encode the interferon beta gene. These programmed stem cells specifically targeted human cancer cells in the mice. This targeted delivery produced fewer side effects, and the cancer therapy stayed in the tumor much longer, Associated Press reported.
Mice with human breast cancer cells that were treated with the stem cell
method survived for 60 days, while mice that received beta interferon alone
survived for 41 days. Untreated mice lived for 37 days.
The findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Human trials could begin soon, the researchers said.
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Scientists Report First Insect
Clones
The first successful cloning of insects -- fruit flies -- has been
accomplished by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
It took them about 800 attempts before they were able to produce five
cloned adult fruit flies, the Canadian Press reported.
This research isn't meant to make it easier to clone insects. It may help
scientists determine why there have been so many failures in attempts to
clone mammals.
When scientists clone an animal, the nucleus of an adult cell is placed
into an egg that's had its nucleus removed. Most cloning attempts fail. It's
believed that the adult genetic material must be reprogrammed in order to
support growth of a cloned embryo.
"By cloning fruit flies we can easily manipulate its genetic information
to see how we can make healthier clones," research team leader and biologist Dr. Vett Lloyd told the CP.
"So if we can work out a way of protecting the genes when they're being
cloned and work out these genetic defects, we can probably extrapolate that to mammals," she said.
However, some experts said it wasn't clear that this fruit fly cloning
research would have much application when it comes to mammal cloning.
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Excessive Crying in Babies Tied to Later
Problems
Babies who cry a lot for no apparent reason may be more likely to have
problems later in childhood, according to a study by American and Norwegian researchers.
They assessed the crying patterns of 327 babies at six and 13 weeks of age and whether the babies' crying was caused by simple colic. The children had their intelligence, behavior and motor abilities measured when they were 5 years old.
The study found that children who had continued prolonged crying (not due to colic) beyond three months of age had intelligence scores nine points
lower than other children, BBC News Online reported.
Prolonged crying in infancy was also associated with hyperactivity, poorer fine motor abilities, and behavior and discipline problems later in childhood, the study said.
The findings appear in the journal Archives of Disease in
Childhood.
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FDA Releases Negative Memo on Vioxx
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released an internal memo that suggested Merck & Co.'s now defunct painkiller Vioxx may have been a factor in 27,785 heart attacks and deaths during the four years ending in 2003, the Bloomberg news service reported Wednesday.
The agency memo, comparing a sample of patient records, said Vioxx users appeared more likely to have heart attacks and instances of fatal cardiac arrest than people taking Pfizer's Celebrex, a competing painkiller.
Conclusions from the memo had been announced by the FDA in August. It is dated Sept. 30, the same day Merck announced it was withdrawing Vioxx from the market over concerns that the drug increased users' risks of heart attack and stroke.
A Merck spokesperson declined immediate comment, Bloomberg said.
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California Voters OK $3B Stem Cell Measure
Californians voted Tuesday to spend $3 billion over 10 years to fund the nation's most aggressive research project into embryonic stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Proposition 71 authorizes the state to borrow the money to fund experiments using the cells, which many experts say may offer cures for debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The practice of harvesting these "master" cells, which can be coaxed into transforming into a variety of tissues, is controversial because embryos must be destroyed in the process.
President Bush has signed an executive order limiting federally funded embryonic stem cell research to existing cell lines. Despite this, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supported the California measure.
The issue of embryonic stem cell research gained national prominence during the U.S. presidential debates when Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry mentioned they might also be used to reverse paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries -- an issue championed by the late actor Christopher Reeve.
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Adidas Recalls Defective Basketball Shoes
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Adidas has recalled 187,000 pairs of Pro Team and Superstar Ultra basketball shoes whose heels can separate during use, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The shoes were sold at Adidas stores, at independent shoe stores nationwide, and via the company's Web site between January 2004 and October 2004. The Superstar shoes had a suggested retail price of about $120, and the Pro Team shoes about $80.
Consumers should immediately stop using the shoes, which were made in China. Contact Adidas at 1-877-568-4632 for instructions on how to receive a prepaid mailing label and a refund or gift certificate.
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