Guest guest Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Alzheimer's cause tied to diabetes? To test a new theory, thousands will get a diabetes drug that it is hoped will slow the brain's decay. By Lauran Neergaard Associated Press WASHINGTON - A provocative new theory suggests that one root cause of Alzheimer's disease is linked to diabetes - a theory about to be tested in thousands of Alzheimer's patients given the diabetes drug Avandia in hopes of slowing brain decay. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/14476472.htm New Controversy Over Menopause Hormones FDA Gets Flood of ProtestOn Petition to RegulateSome Alternative Treatments By TARA PARKER-POPEMay 2, 2006; Page D1 An unusual petition before the Food and Drug Administration has triggered a huge outpouring of responses from women, doctors and pharmacists, protesting a bid to crack down on certain menopause hormones. The flood of more than 40,000 emails and letters over the past six months underscores how emotional the issue of menopause hormones has become, and raises questions about the growing industry of small-scale drug mixers who are making hormone medications from scratch. Pharmaceuticals giant Wyeth, the biggest seller of prescription menopause hormones, has asked the FDA to take action against makers of pharmacy-mixed -- or "compounded" hormones -- which it says aren't being adequately regulated. The company contends many compounders make false claims about the drugs' safety and fail to tell women about the risks associated with hormone use. These compounded medications, which use custom doses of plant-based hormones, are regarded by many women as safer and more natural than the commercial hormones made by drug companies. The custom drugs are often called bio-identical hormones because they are chemically similar to a woman's natural hormones. They have surged in popularity since a government study four years ago raised questions about the health risks associated with traditional menopause hormones made by drug companies, including Wyeth. The FDA has said that women should assume all estrogen and progestin drugs carry similar health risks. The agency has yet to respond to Wyeth's request, other than saying it needs more time to review the issue. Whatever the FDA decides, it will have dramatic implications for the compounding industry and women's health. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114652984568941021.html? 'Natural' Guidance Better Safety, Efficacy Data on Natural Medicines Are Now Available for a Fee, as Public Use Grows By Sandra G. Boodman Washington Post Staff WriterTuesday, May 2, 2006; Page HE01 Consumer Reports, the bible of independent consumer ratings, has introduced a new database of information on thousands of herbs, dietary supplements and other natural medicines, a response to the enormous growth in the use of these products. The new database -- unveiled last week and believed to be the most comprehensive of its kind -- contains detailed and easily accessible information on the safety, effectiveness and possible harmful interactions of nearly 14,000 supplements. It is available for a $19 annual fee, which also gives users access to Consumer Reports guides to prescription drugs and medical treatments. May 02, 2006 Despite Pesticide Reductions, Transgenic Cotton Fails to Improve Biodiversity Genetically modifying cotton promises to reduce the use of chemicals and, potentially, create a better environment for harmless insects and other animals. For the last decade, some farmers in Arizona have been planting cotton engineered to contain a toxin that kills pests such as the pink bollworm. A study of randomly chosen cotton fields reveals that although this genetically modified cotton did reduce pesticide use, it did not reduce use of herbicides nor did it improve biodiversity when compared to unmodified strains. Ecologist Yves Carriere of the University of Arizona and his colleagues randomly selected 81 cotton fields--split between unmodified and transgenic cotton breeds--over the course of two growing seasons. The scientists gathered data on pesticide use, herbicide use and all the ants and beetles they could find in pitfall traps placed in the fields, as well as other information. "The idea here is to look at not only the possible effects of transgenics but also all the other factors," Carriere says. The data confirmed that farmers applied pesticides less often to transgenic fields--and used more precisely targeted chemicals when they did. But use of such targeted pesticides on modified cotton did rise in the fields selected during the second year of the study, perhaps due to the need to control pests unaffected by the engineered toxin, the authors speculate. And herbicide use remained the same no matter whether the cotton in question was unmodified, toxin-producing, or toxin-producing and herbicide resistant. "My guess is that they use herbicide resistance as more of an insurance policy," Carriere says. Nor did genetic modification seem to have an effect on ant and beetle biodiversity; no matter which type of cotton was grown, ant populations declined and beetles boomed in farmed fields compared to adjacent unfarmed fields. Other factors such as soil type, seeding rates and amount of rain played a bigger role in determining population dynamics, according to the paper in Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. The researchers will continue to refine their analysis of the data, looking for differing impacts on predatory and plant-eating insects as well as an economic analysis of the costs and benefits of genetically modified cotton. "You cannot simply assume that you will get across-the-board benefits," Carriere notes. "One thing I was a bit surprised to find is that if you control some pests with [transgenic] cotton, others become more of a problem." http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003 & articleID=0005CEEE-6DF2-1456-ADF283414B7F0000 Group: 16,000 species said to face extinction "Biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down," said Achim Steiner, the conservation group's director general. "The implications of this trend for the productivity and resilience of ecosystems and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them are far-reaching." The Red List classifies about 40,000 species according to their risk of extinction and provides a searchable online database of the results. The total number of species on the planet is unknown, with 15 million being the most widely accepted estimate. Up to 1.8 million are known today. People are the main reason for most species' decline, mainly through habitat destruction, according to IUCN. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-05-01-extinction-species_x.htm "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo. Talk is cheap. Use Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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