Two die after eating toad egg soup

The New Straits Times, 28 February 2003

Phnom Penh (Cambodia)  -  A meal of poisonous toad egg soup has killed two young girls and sickened a couple who ate it.  The dead girls who were aged two and six, vomited and died upon eating the soup.  The toad's eggs were apparently mistaken for frog eggs, which are safe to eat.

Green light for Botox

The Star, 28 February 2003

Paris (France)  -  Botox, the wrinkle-erasing treatment of choice for ageing celebrities and the vain, will be legally available as a cosmetic prescription in France from April after authorities gave marketing authorisation to a company, Allergen.

Priced at about 400 euros (RM 1,640) per treatment and available under the brand name Vistabel, it will likely fuel a fad that started in the United States, where the number of such injections has risen 15-fold in the last four years.

Technically known as botulim toxin, Botox is a powerful neutotoxin that has been used around the world for the last two decades for serious neuro-muscular disorders.

Sharp increase in breast cancer cases

The Star, 28 February 2003

Singapore  -  Experts say the number of breast cancer cases are expected to rise sharply in the next five years, particularly among the baby-boomers born after the war.

"Unlike the previous generation, these women grew up in modern Singapore with very different lifestyles from their parents, and a diet rich in saturated fat," explained Associate Professor Wang Shih-Chang, who heads the radiology department in the National University Hospital.  They are more likely to be affected because more of them are childless, or had their first child after the age of 35.  Both double a woman's risk of breast cancer.

Agrochemical firms urged to reduce pesticide deaths through rural education funding

The New Straits Times, 27 February 2003

London (England)  -  Agrochemcial giants must make amends for pesticide-related deaths by funding rural education in the developing world and phasing out their most dangerous chemicals, an environmental groups said.

The Environmental Justice Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, funded by green groups, blamed pesticides to a host of cancers, birth effects and neurological disorders.

The London-based EJF, citing World Health Organization data from 10 years ago that pesticides poisoned three million people per year, said it feared the same number was falling sick now.  It said the developing world bore the brunt of this malaise and children were particularly vulnerable.

However, leading biotech companies said that their investment in new technologies is reducing the damage done by pesticides.  Monsanto, for example,  said its genetically-modified crops combat pesticides poisoning since they require less spraying.  The company said it has also spearheaded programmes in Indonesia and China that reduce pesticide usage through insect-resistant plants.

Clot link to new Pill

The Sunday Star, 23 February 2003

Although birth control pills carry some increased risk of blood clots, doctors have been debating whether the newest-generation pills are any safer than their predecessors.

One of those new pills, available in the United States since 2001, is attracting particular attention because of reports that European users have suffered serious blood clots in the legs and lungs.

Dutch authorities recently reported five cases in which women taking it developed serious blood clots, one of which proved fatal.  They were among 40 European users who suffered major clots – two fatal – first reported in April 2002.  That report led to several European warnings  about the pill, manufactured by Barlex Laboratories, a unit of Germany's Schering.

WHO confirms Ebola outbreak

The New Straits Times, 21 February 2003

The World Health Organization has confirmed that an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in the Congo Republic is Ebola as the death toll rose to 64.

Ebola, which is passed on by infected body fluids, kills 50 to 90 per cent of its victims through massive internal bleeding, depending on the strain of the disease.  The districts of Kelle and Mbomo, near the border with Gabon, have been particularly affected by the outbreak, thought to have caused by the consumption of infected monkey meat.

Death of a man from bird flu puts Hong Kong on alert

The Star, 21 February 2003

Hong Kong  -  A man infected with a bird flu virus had died in the first known death from the disease since it killed six people in the territory in 1997 and triggered worldwide alarm.

According to the health department, the victim may have contracted the H5NI bird flu virus while visiting relatives in China.  His daughter had apparently also died from pneumonia and his nine-year-old son had been hospitalised for pneumonia too.  Health officials are investigating if the death of the victim's daughter was also due to the bird flu.

The World Health  Organization announced it had alerted its global influenza surveillance network.

Diarrheoa protect against colon cancer

The New Straits Times, 18 February 2003

Strange as it may sound but a new study found that diarrheoa may protect people against colon cancer, which explains why people in poorer countries are less prone to the disease.

Researchers at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia began their research after noting that while colon cancer is very common in the developed world, it is less common in developing countries.

They scrutinized one of the many diarrhoea causing bacteria and believed that the toxin produced by the common Escherchia coli, or E.coli bug, which irritates the lining of the bowel may also interact with cells in a way that prevents them from becoming cancerous.

Potential cure for bone marrow cancer found

The Star, 18 February 2003

A Singapore researcher has found a potential cure for a fatal form of bone marrow cancer that strikes 150,000 people around the world each year.  The cancer, called multiple myeloma, inhibits the bone marrow from producing enough red and white blood cells and platelets.  With chemotherapy, half the sufferers do not survive beyond two-and-a-half years.

But Dr. Gerrard Teoh, Singhealth's Multiple Myeloma Research Facility, has found a way to develop an antibody that can track down and kill the fatal cancer cells.  It is a protein-based drug modeled on the body's own defence system which the patient can take in the form of an injection or a pill.

Teoh plans to run clinical trials for patients in two years time in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, after testing it on animals.

Drug firm probed for virus scare

The Star, 18 February 2003

Beijing (China)  -  Swiss-based Roche Pharmaceuticals has come under investigation in China for allegedly spreading rumours about a mysterious pneumonia virus that has killed five and hospitalised 300.

The company allegedly held a press conference on February 8 in Guangzhou claiming the outbreak in the province was a potentially deadly bird flu that could be treated with the Roche-made antibiotic Dafei, the China Daily said.  Roche's sale of the drug was believed to have doubled after the press conference.

Pharmaceutical companies are not prohibited from holding press conferences or promotional meeting to introduce prescription drugs.

The danger of acetaminophen

The Sunday Star, 16 February 2003

It has long been known that too much acetaminophen can cause liver damage, but the alarming extent of the problem has just been documented.  A new study has found that overdosing on acetaminophen, the most widely used non-prescription analgesic, was responsible for 39 per cent of 308 cases of acute liver failure.  Mixing acetaminophen-containing medicines for cough, sleep and pain can add up to a dangerous dose. 

Farmer poisons relatives

The Sunday Star, 16 February 2003

Beijing (China)  -  A farmer accused of fatally poisoning five of his estranged wife's relatives on Chinese New Day has taken his own life.  The accused was said to have put rat poison in the mutton soup that was served for lunch which officials believe was meant for the relatives of his wife.  He threw himself in the river after his guests started to fall ill and had apparently poisoned himself as well.

Man's death proves DVT study needed

The New Straits Times, 13 February 2003

Perth (Australia)  -  The death of a 31-year-old Australian from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) a week after a long flight has thrown into a sharp focus the need of a detailed study of the condition, an expert said yesterday.  The man died of the so-called "economy-class syndrome" on January 29, a week after returning to Perth from Africa.  He had complained of feeling ill and was eventually taken to Royal Perth Hospital where he collapsed and died.

A past president of the Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Dr. Ross Baker, said the death of an otherwise healthy man from DVT showed clearly the need for a scientific study to identify the causes and to try to prevent it.  Baker heads an Australian proposal, backed by the World Health Organization, to scientifically study DVT and travel.  But the lack of government support has stalled the study for several years.

Australians, due to the nation's size and isolation, are considered likely to be at greater risk of travel-related DVT because of the distances they travel by rail or road as well as by air.

DVT, a potentially fatal condition in which blood clots form during long periods of inactivity in cramped accommodation such as aircraft seats, is claimed to have afflicted thousands of passengers over many years.

Virus outbreak kills five in southern China

The Star, 12 February 2003

Beijing (China)  -  An unidentified pneumonia causing virus has claimed the lives of five people in southern China and left some 300 hospitalised.  The sudden outbreak prompted frightened residents to stock up on antibiotics despite assurances by health authorities that the situation had been brought under control.  Of those hospitalised, one third of them were doctors, nurses and other health workers, said an official of the provincial Disease Prevention and Control Centre.

The virus was first discovered in Heyuan city, some 150km northwest of Hong Kong on November 16 and has spread to six other cities in the province.

Ricin poison alert

The Star, 11 February 2003

Singapore  -  Doctors here have been put on alert to a new type of biological agent that can kill within two days, following the arrest of six people making the poison by London police.  Ricin, a plant toxin,  can cause flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties within hours after exposure.  Besides the flu-like symptoms, the toxin also causes digestive problems and breathing difficulties within four to eight hours of a person swallowing or breathing in the ricin particles.

The resulting lung damage, multi-organ failure and blood clotting abnormalities could kill a victim in 36 to 72 hours.  There is no vaccine or antidote.

Scientists engineer first human stem cell

The Star, 11 February 2003

Washington (USA)  -  Scientists announced last Sunday that they had, for the first time, genetically manipulated human stem cells - a first step towards making the body's so-called master cells into a useful tool. 

Using the method that made the laboratory mouse so valuable to genetic researchers, the team at the University of Wisconsin deleted a disease gene from human embryonic stem cells.  With this, they now have a way to help control how the cell develop, so they can direct them to become brain tissue, or perhaps heart cells or pancreatic cells, said Dr. Thomas Zwaka, who conducted the study with stem cell expert American James Thomson.

The stem cell are taken from very early embryos left over from couples' attempts to have test-tube babies in fertility clinics.  Extracted when the fertilized egg has divided just a few times, each cells still "remembers" how to become any kind of cell in the body.  Once older, cells are programmed and cannot easily change direction in development.  It is hoped these cells can be used to replace the brain cells destroyed in Parkinson's disease, the cells that die in type-1 diabetes or damaged spinal cords.

Acrylamide study findings received with caution

The New Straits Times, 11 February 2003

A study on acrylamide, a substance in fried foods, found that there is no link between it and an increased risk of cancer of the large bowel, bladder or kidney.  The new study was a follow-up to last year's findings which found high levels of acrylamide in foods like French fries, bread and potato chips, which was disturbing, since acrylamide is classified as a probable carcinogen.  Some experts cautioned that the study was based on 1999 questionnaires that were collected for a different purpose and said it's too early to dismiss the suspected link.

Acrylamide causes cancer in test animals but has never been proven to do so in people – meaning no one knows if higher levels in one food than another are a problem.

Apples to keep smoker's cough at bay

The New Straits Times, 6 February 2003

Chest physicians in Europe have found that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, particularly apples, may prevent "smoker's cough".  These physicians who spend their time looking after chronic bronchitis and emphysema, now referred to as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are fully aware that 95 per cent of those who suffer from it have been, or are, smokers.

Dr. Louise Watson, of the University of Southampton, who has been exploring for possible explanations of why some smokers develop the disease whereas other escape this retribution studied the food factor.  She found, and this may be a relief to some smokers, that dairy produce, fats, meat, snacks and fish – which, for good or ill, have such an influence on heart disease, diabetes, obesity and arthritis – didn't make a pinch of difference to the incidence of COPD in heavy smokers.  Conversely, there was a very significant relationship between eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and avoiding the increasing breathlessness, the productive "smoker's cough", and the progressive incapacity of the heavy smoker.  But one fruit had a greater effect than others – the apple.  Three apples a week seem to have a protective effect over and above that obtained by the collective value of fruit and vegetables.

Dr. Watson analysed the eating habits of 266 patients, 150 of whom had chronic bronchitis and emphysema.  All the patients were over 45 and had smoked at least the equivalent of one packet of cigarettes a day for 10 years, or 10 cigarettes a day fro 20 years.  An interesting observation is that although this protective action is likely to be the result of antioxidants in fruit and vegetables which counter the free radicals found in cigarette smoke, the same protection is not provided by, for instance, fish, which is rich in antioxidants, or milk, which contains vitamin A.

The mechanism of the beneficial antioxidant action of the fruit, particular apples, remain to be explored.  Dr. Watson explained that an apple a day can't be guaranteed to keep chronic bronchitis at bay and the only safe option is to follow the example of chest physician by not smoking.

Viagra's European rival

The Sun, 5 February 2003

London (UK)  -  A new anti-impotence pill went on sale in Europe last Monday, signaling the start of a multi-billion-dollar battle for a market so far dominated by Viagra.  British and German men will be the first to receive the drug, which its maker claim lasts longer and acts faster than Pfizer's famous diamond-shaped blue pill.

Cialis, developed by Eli Lilly & Co and US bio-techonology company Icos Corp, is being rolled out to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand, ahead of the United States.

The new yellow pill, stays active in the system for 24 hours, against three or four hours for Viagra.  It does not create a permanent state of arousal but allows men to achieve an erection in response for sexual stimulation.  Studies show it works in four out of five men.

Fresh milk to have longer life span

The Star, 5 February 2003

Singapore  -  Fresh milk in Singapore will now stay fresh for as many as 24 days, a lot longer than most countries in the region, thanks to an improved set of safety and hygiene storage and delivery.  The new measures involve maintaining the correct temperature for keeping milk and dairy products fresh, from the time they leave the dairy plant until the time they reach the supermarkets.

Previously, milk in Singapore used to go off within 18 days, which even then was still longer than, say, Malaysia's 14 days.  Or in Thailand, even shorter.

Fat-rich food can be addictive

The New Straits Times, 4 February 2003

Scientists say hamburgers, fries and foods high in fat and loaded with calories may not only be fattening but addictive as well.  Researchers, testing the biological effects of fast food, are discovering that they can trigger hormonal changes in the body that make eating uncontrollable.

Fast-food meals can deliver nearly the recommended daily calorie and fat intake in one meal.  With weight increase, people become more resistant to the hormone leptin, which is strongly linked to weight and appetite, and a brain peptide called galanin that stimulates eating.  Leptin releases signals to the part of the brain that co-ordinates eating behaviour, but as people gain weight they become more resistant to the effects of the hormone.

The researchers at the University of Washington are also looking into whether bingeing on foods high in fat and sugar causes changes in the brain associated with addiction to drugs.

New cancer treatment found ?

The New Straits Times, 4 February 2003

Scientists at a Northern Ireland biotech company have developed a new-non-invasive technique that can destroy cancer cells in mice.  The new procedure is based on a drug delivery technique that the company hopes to test in human trials later this year.  It involves transporting drugs to hard-to-reach areas of the body using the patient's own red blood cells.  The blood cells are sensitized outside the body with an electric field, making it permeable, and then filled with a drug and put back into the patient.  Ultrasound is directed to the tumour site and the cells with the drug burst open, putting the drug exactly where it is needed.

Although still in early stages of development, the company believes the technique could one day be used to treat head and neck tumour and hopes to begin human trials in two years. 

Eating too much farmed salmon bad for eyesight ?

The Star, 4 February 2003

The European Union (EU) food safety edict is set to change the pink hues of farmed salmon over concerns that the chemical being fed to the salmon to give them the bright colour could be harmful to people's eyesight.  The pigment at the center of the scare, canthaxanthin, is also fed to chickens to give their skin and eggs a brighter yellow complexion; the maximum authorized levels for poultry will also be cut.

Salmon farmers feed large doses of the addictive to their fish because, they argue, consumers expect salmon to be pink and find the grayer shade which farmed salmon would naturally have to be a turn-off.

Food industry sources suggested that alternative methods, such as the food addictive astaxanthin might be used to ensure that the farmed salmon flesh stays pink.

Anti-malaria breakthrough

The News Sunday Times, 2 February 2003

Australian and US scientists have announced a breakthrough in research on malaria that could lead to creating effective new drugs on common herbicides against the deadly disease.  Just four months after the genome of the malaria parasite was completed, the researchers said they had identified 500 points in the parasite's DNA where plant-killing drugs could shut the bug down.  A trial of one plant killing compound, which is also an antibiotic, had an 80 per cent cure rate, said team research member, Geoff McFadden, from the University of Melbourne.

A problem with existing anti-malarial treatment is that parasites develop resistance to the drugs used.  Drugs that were developed in the 1950s have become ineffective but one that was developed in the 1970s was useful for just three months.  The latest discovery, however, provides numerous possible anti-malarial strains, meaning well-organised treatment could help combat the problem of drug resistance.

No risk of twins from folic acid intake during pregnancy

The New Sunday Times (Health), 2 February 2003

Folic acid, a vitamin supplement taken by many pregnant women to help ward off spina bifida in their baby, carries no extra risk of giving birth to twins, a US-Chinese study says.

The research, published in The Lancet, rebuffs a 2001 Swedish study which said the risk of a multiple birth among women who took the supplement was nearly twice that of the general population.

The most recent data comes from 242,00 Chinese women who took 400 microgrammes of folic acid each day under a community health programme.  The rate of multiple births was 0.6 per cent, which was no higher than among women who did not take folic acid.

The Lancet study was carried out by a team led by Robert Berry from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, together with doctors from Beijing's University's Health Science Centre.  The same team has previously determined that folic acid does not boost the risk of miscarriage.

Folic acid is strongly encouraged by many obstetricians and in some countries even added to breakfast cereal and bread.  It has a proven ability to prevent spina bifida – a failure of the spine to develop properly during the first month of pregnancy, often causing paralysis and bladder and bowel problems.