Fw: Health Tips this week from XOOM.com - March 31, 2000

[Guest guest]

- HEALTH TIPS THIS WEEK -

CELL ERRORS AND AGING: As the body ages, there appear to be moreerrors in cell division in various tissues. This may be thecommon thread that links diseases associated with aging, such asbreast cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and arthritis. Themistakes start happening more frequently in middle age andincrease in occurrence with the advancing years. The conclusioncomes in a study by scientists in The Skaggs Institute forChemical Biology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla,Calif., and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis ResearchFoundation. "This represents a radical change in the way peoplehave thought about aging," said Dr. Lerner, author of thestudy published in the journal Science. "While scientists havebelieved that aging is a disease in which cells stop dividing,this study suggests that aging is really a disease of qualitycontrol. In this case the manufactured product is a new cell. Aswe get older, altered gene expression results in cells withdiminished function." Additional studies will be needed beforeaging can be understood in complex organisms, but the identifiedmechanisms contribute to aging and age-related problems, Lernersaid. "We need broader analyses of how genes function, how theyinteract with one another and with the environment," he said."This research will bring us closer to identifying specific genesassociated with age-related diseases and potential ways toprevent and/or treat them."

HAVE WHEELCHAIR WILL SWIVEL: A new device allows a wheelchair toswivel like an office chair. The inventors say this gives thewheelchair-bound a more flexible way to get about within theirworkstations. The device is similar to a kitchen "lazy ." Itconsists of a circular, half-inch-thick platform made up of twoaluminum plates on which the wheelchair can be set, says co-inventor Dennis Wess, associate research engineer at PennsylvaniaState's Applied Research Laboratory. Some 500 tiny plasticspheres allow the platform, and the wheelchair sitting on it, tospin clockwise and counterclockwise. A third-generation prototypeof the device is being tested. "It will enable a person,especially one with limited upper extremity strength, to turn acomplete 360 degrees with little effort," said Don Rullman, oneof the testers. Wess is considering a motorized upgrade so thatwheelchair-bound individuals who cannot use their upper bodieswill be able to maneuver their chairs within a small workstation."It's been rewarding to develop a device that may make life alittle easier for someone needing a wheelchair," he said.

KEEPING MENTALLY ILL OUT OF JAIL: A new project aims to keep thementally ill out of jail and in treatment. Project Link, aprogram created by community groups and the University ofRochester Medical Center in New York, targets patients who oftengo from jail to hospital to the streets with no successfultreatment. "Jails and prisons have become the final destinationfor the mentally ill in America; it's the most pressing issuefacing psychiatry today," said psychiatrist Dr. J. Lamberti, director of Project Link. "The Los Angeles County Jailhas become the nation's largest mental institution. It holds morepeople suffering from severe mental illness than any hospital inthe country. The problem has received a lot of attention, butthere have been few proposed solutions. We've found one promisingapproach." Project Link combines a culturally diverse staff,close cooperation with the criminal justice system, a mobiletreatment team and a residence for patients with mental illnessand addiction. "This program is a prime example of an innovativeand much-needed service for persons with serious mental illnessinvolved with the criminal justice system," said Stone, NewYork State commissioner of mental health. "Project Link hasachieved significant reductions in jail and hospital lengths ofstay and is making a significant contribution both to theindividual clients and to the local mental health community."

DRUGS, BRAINS DON'T MIX: The abuse of methamphetamines may leadto long-term brain damage, a study suggests. The drug, also knownas speed, crank, crystal or ice, damages brain cells even afterits abuse has ceased, according to the report in Neurology, thejournal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Methamphetaminemay be substantially toxic to human brain cells," said studyauthor Ernst of the Harbor-UCLA Research and EducationInstitute in Torrance, Calif. "Because methamphetamine may alterbrain chemistry in the long term, methamphetamine dependence, aswell as dependence on other drugs, should be considered anorganic brain disease and be treated correspondingly."Methamphetamine causes a massive release of the chemical dopaminein the brain. The basal ganglia brain region has a high densityof dopaminergic neurons, which may be why it is more affected bymethamphetamine toxicity. Previous studies have shown thatmethamphetamine is neurotoxic in animals and causes profoundlong-term abnormalities in the dopaminergic system in humans,Ernst said.

Copyright 2000 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Guest guest]

- HEALTH TIPS THIS WEEK -

CELL ERRORS AND AGING: As the body ages, there appear to be moreerrors in cell division in various tissues. This may be thecommon thread that links diseases associated with aging, such asbreast cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and arthritis. Themistakes start happening more frequently in middle age andincrease in occurrence with the advancing years. The conclusioncomes in a study by scientists in The Skaggs Institute forChemical Biology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla,Calif., and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis ResearchFoundation. "This represents a radical change in the way peoplehave thought about aging," said Dr. Lerner, author of thestudy published in the journal Science. "While scientists havebelieved that aging is a disease in which cells stop dividing,this study suggests that aging is really a disease of qualitycontrol. In this case the manufactured product is a new cell. Aswe get older, altered gene expression results in cells withdiminished function." Additional studies will be needed beforeaging can be understood in complex organisms, but the identifiedmechanisms contribute to aging and age-related problems, Lernersaid. "We need broader analyses of how genes function, how theyinteract with one another and with the environment," he said."This research will bring us closer to identifying specific genesassociated with age-related diseases and potential ways toprevent and/or treat them."

HAVE WHEELCHAIR WILL SWIVEL: A new device allows a wheelchair toswivel like an office chair. The inventors say this gives thewheelchair-bound a more flexible way to get about within theirworkstations. The device is similar to a kitchen "lazy ." Itconsists of a circular, half-inch-thick platform made up of twoaluminum plates on which the wheelchair can be set, says co-inventor Dennis Wess, associate research engineer at PennsylvaniaState's Applied Research Laboratory. Some 500 tiny plasticspheres allow the platform, and the wheelchair sitting on it, tospin clockwise and counterclockwise. A third-generation prototypeof the device is being tested. "It will enable a person,especially one with limited upper extremity strength, to turn acomplete 360 degrees with little effort," said Don Rullman, oneof the testers. Wess is considering a motorized upgrade so thatwheelchair-bound individuals who cannot use their upper bodieswill be able to maneuver their chairs within a small workstation."It's been rewarding to develop a device that may make life alittle easier for someone needing a wheelchair," he said.

KEEPING MENTALLY ILL OUT OF JAIL: A new project aims to keep thementally ill out of jail and in treatment. Project Link, aprogram created by community groups and the University ofRochester Medical Center in New York, targets patients who oftengo from jail to hospital to the streets with no successfultreatment. "Jails and prisons have become the final destinationfor the mentally ill in America; it's the most pressing issuefacing psychiatry today," said psychiatrist Dr. J. Lamberti, director of Project Link. "The Los Angeles County Jailhas become the nation's largest mental institution. It holds morepeople suffering from severe mental illness than any hospital inthe country. The problem has received a lot of attention, butthere have been few proposed solutions. We've found one promisingapproach." Project Link combines a culturally diverse staff,close cooperation with the criminal justice system, a mobiletreatment team and a residence for patients with mental illnessand addiction. "This program is a prime example of an innovativeand much-needed service for persons with serious mental illnessinvolved with the criminal justice system," said Stone, NewYork State commissioner of mental health. "Project Link hasachieved significant reductions in jail and hospital lengths ofstay and is making a significant contribution both to theindividual clients and to the local mental health community."

DRUGS, BRAINS DON'T MIX: The abuse of methamphetamines may leadto long-term brain damage, a study suggests. The drug, also knownas speed, crank, crystal or ice, damages brain cells even afterits abuse has ceased, according to the report in Neurology, thejournal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Methamphetaminemay be substantially toxic to human brain cells," said studyauthor Ernst of the Harbor-UCLA Research and EducationInstitute in Torrance, Calif. "Because methamphetamine may alterbrain chemistry in the long term, methamphetamine dependence, aswell as dependence on other drugs, should be considered anorganic brain disease and be treated correspondingly."Methamphetamine causes a massive release of the chemical dopaminein the brain. The basal ganglia brain region has a high densityof dopaminergic neurons, which may be why it is more affected bymethamphetamine toxicity. Previous studies have shown thatmethamphetamine is neurotoxic in animals and causes profoundlong-term abnormalities in the dopaminergic system in humans,Ernst said.

Copyright 2000 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~