Health & medicine in brief

Statins may also fight other diseases

A widely used family of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may provide an effective, inexpensive treatment for multiple sclerosis, several recent studies suggest.

One small trial in humans is under way and a second, larger one will probably begin early next year, researchers said Wednesday.

Statins reduce heart attack deaths substantially in patients with high cholesterol levels and even in those with normal levels. The new studies suggest that the drugs also will prove valuable in treating autoimmune diseases -- not only multiple sclerosis, but perhaps also insulin-dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and others.

Despite successes in animal tests, experts cautioned physicians against prescribing the drugs for MS patients before trials are completed.

Yet another study finds no vaccine-autism link

BOSTON -- A large study from Denmark offers reassuring evidence that the widely used measles, mumps and rubella vaccine does not cause autism, as some fear.

Some have speculated that the measles portion of the vaccine might trigger autism, in part because autism often becomes apparent during the second or third year of life, around the same time the shots are given.

However, several large, careful studies have turned up no proof of this, and the latest was published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Garlic, shallots, onions may avert prostate cancer

WASHINGTON -- Men in China have the lowest rate of prostate cancer in the world, and a diet rich in garlic, shallots and onions may be one of the reasons.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute report in a new study that a diet with more than a third of an ounce a day from the allium food group -- which includes garlic, shallots and onions -- reduces the risk of prostate cancer by about half. And the common Chinese diet includes hearty servings of these vegetables.

The study, appearing this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is based on interviews with 238 men with prostate cancer and 471 men who were free of the disease.

Roller coasters called safe for healthy rider's brain

A new study by University of Pennsylvania researchers, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma, discounts allegations that the high-speed twists and turns associated with the most thrilling coaster rides can be hazardous to one's health.

Using a mathematical model, neurosurgery professor Douglas H. Smith and bioengineering professor David F. Meaney analyzed how a rider's head might react to the gravitational forces experienced on a roller coaster.

They concluded that even the most rough-and-tumble rides would not produce the levels of head acceleration needed to cause brain bleeds or other serious trauma to a normal, healthy person.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright