Spanish Eggs Link To Salmonella Cases

The New Straits Times, 31 October 2002

London (England) - Investigations into a number of salmonella poisoning outbreaks in England and Wales have revealed a link to eggs imported from Spain, Britain's food safety watchdog said yesterday.
Since August, more than 350 people have been taken ill in six outbreaks of salmonella poisoning from an unusual strain of the disease, with two deaths confirmed this month from an outbreak in north-west England. Emerging evidence linked many of the cases to Spanish eggs and prompted the Food Standards Agency to issue guidelines to importers and wholesalers of Spanish eggs that they should ensure these eggs are heat-heated. Heat-treatment kills bugs such as salmonella in eggs. The agency said some of the food poisoning cases have come from a strain of salmonella, called Enteritidis PT14b.

MSG Bad For Eyes

The Star (Health), 31 October 2002

Eating too much monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer common in oriental and processed foods, could make you blind, scientists reported.
Researchers at Hiroaki University in Japan found that rats fed on diets high in monosodium glutamate had thinner retinas and defective eyesight. According to the scientists, monosodium glutamate destroyed receptors on retina cells and reduced the ability to relay nerve signals. The research explains perhaps why there is a high rate of normal tension glaucoma in eastern Asia, although it could be due to genetics.
Dr. Hiroshi Ohguro said his findings did not sound the death knell for Chinese food. The rats ate extraordinary large amounts of MSG – a fifth of their entire diet. "Lesser amounts should be OK," he said, "but the precise borderline amount is still unknown.

No Real Bear Gall Bladder On Sale

The Sun, 30 October 2002

Malaysia - There is no real bear gall bladder sold in local Chinese medicine shops, said Liu Bao Sheng, president of the Chinese Doctors Association. According to Liu, bear gall bladders are rare and the ones sold in Malaysia are made of herbs, adding that no import of it was made ever since the substance was banned more than 10 years ago.
Liu was commenting on a statement by a non-governmental organization urging the government to stop the illegal trade in bear gall bladder which was purportedly used in Chinese medicines.

Dioxin Contamination

The Star, 29 October 2002

An incineration plant on the tiny Pyrenean principality of Andorra has been shut down after it was found to be emitting 1,000 times as much dioxin as allowed by the European Union.
The plant, which is located 5km from the capital, Andorra la Vella, contaminated a 200ha valley. Local newspapers said cattle that have grazed in the valley will be slaughtered and residents will undergo medical tests.
Environmentalists accused the government of procrastination in closing the plant. Andorra will now resort to Spanish incineration plants until a new one is built in 2005.

One Killed, More Than A Hundred Hospitalised From Chemical Poisoning

The New Straits Times, 29 October 2002

Hanoi (Vietnam) - A woman was killed and nearly 150 other female employees at a Taiwanese shoe factory were hospitalised in southern Vietnam over the weekend after inhaling anti-mould chemicals.
Hundreds of workers on the Saturday morning shift at the shoe factory complained of breathing difficulties and vomited after the chemical was sprayed on the leather stores. The operation was halted after some workers fainted.

Wine Drinkers Less At Risk From Cirrhosis

The Sun, 28 October 2002

Wine is less likely than beer or spirits to lead to cirrhosis of the liver among people who consume alcohol.
A study by the Alcohol Research Centre in Copenhagen showed only 9.6 per cent of 300 Danes with alcohol–induced cirrhosis drank more wine than other alcoholic drinks combined.
The research center, presenting a study to the Vinsalud 2002 wine and health congress in Santiago, Chile, said everyone who drank alcohol was at greater risk of contracting cirrhosis than abstainers.
Cirrhosis is a potentially fatal disease often associated with over-consumption of alcohol. It block the flow of blood through the liver, the biggest organ in then body.
Delegates attending the congress said a reason for the lower cirrhosis rate in wine drinkers could be that polyphenol, a substance found in the skin of red grapes, might protect the liver from damage.

Cancer Myths Uncovered

The Star (Health), 26 October 2002

1. Most heavy smokers will die of lung cancer

According to the British Lung Foundation, not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer. But 50 per cent of persistent smokers will eventually die from their habit, probably due to stroke, heart attack or respiratory disease.

2. Only women get breast cancer

Not true ! Men get it too although the number is very much smaller. Most male sufferers are over 60 and have a family history of the disease.

3. Electricity pylons cause childhood leukaemia
A study from the University of Cambridge found no evidence that magnetic fields from electricity pylons or household appliances cause childhood cancer such as leukaemia. The scientists studied 4,000 children with leukaemia and found they had the same exposure to magnetic fields as healthy children.

4. Stress causes cancer
Some people think the immune system, which can be depleted by stress, plays an important role in keeping cancer at bay – but most significant studies have shown that lifestyles, genes, and environmental factors count most, says Dr. Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK.

5. The Pill causes cancer
A study in The Lancet in 1996 found that the contraceptive pill, which contains the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, slightly increases the risk of cancer while being taken, but this extra risk disappears 10 years after stopping. On the plus side, studies have shown that women on the pill for at least three years have a lower risk of ovarian cancer.

6. Meat eaters are more likely to get cancer
The American Cancer Society says vegetarians are just as likely to die of bowel cancer as meat eaters. It's eating a balanced diet, with at least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day – whether for a meat-eater, vegetarian or vegan – that cuts the risk of cancer.

7. Mobile phones cause brain tumours
Most studies have shown no link between mobile phones and brain cancer – but it can't be completely ruled out. A recent Swedish study suggested that mobile phone use is associated with a two-and-a-half fold increased risk of brain tumour. However, the evidence is not conclusive.

8. Suncream prevents skin cancer
Suncreams can help protect from burning if used properly but they won't necessarily prevent skin cancer, so exposure to sun should be limited.

9. Taking fertility drugs increases the risk of ovarian cancer
Initial research suggested the fertility drug Clomid (clomiphene citrate) increases the risk of ovarian cancer, although doubts are now being cast on this. A study into the subject is currently being carried out.

10. Microwave ovens cause cancer
Two scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1992 found that eating food cooked in microwave oven caused cancer-type effects in the blood. But the British National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), which provides independent advice on the risks to health from radiation, says this research was not confirmed in other laboratories, and there isn't sufficient evidence to link electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) that can be emitted by microwave ovens to cancer.

11. Breast cancer can be triggered by wearing the wrong bra
The book Dresses to kill: The link Between Breast Cancer and Bras, by US anthropologists Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer claimed that tight bras constrict the lymphatic system, causing toxins to accumulate in breast tissues, resulting in cancer. No scientific study has backed this up and all leading cancer organizations agree a lack of blood supply or increased pressure doesn't cause normal cells to become cancerous.

12. Mammograms cause cancer
Until the late 90s it was thought that regular mammograms, which exposed women to radiation, may damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer, particularly in younger women. But more recent research has refuted this.

Drug Recalled

The New Straits Times, 25 October 2002

China - China's State Drug Administration has ordered the recall and immediate destruction of a drug used to treat psoriasis, a common skin disease, saying it raises the risk of contracting leukaemia. The bureau ordered the recall of all forms of yishuang-malin or bimolane from factories and hospitals.

Study: Aspirin Cuts Risks Of Heart Bypass Surgery

The Sun, 25 October 2002

Boston (USA) - Researchers say patients who take aspirin within two days of heart bypass surgery dramatically reduce their health risks. The study's authors found that giving heart bypass patients aspirin within 48 hours of surgery cut the death rate by 68 per cent during the study period. The chances of stroke decreased by 62 per cent, the likelihood of kidney problems fell by 60 per cent, and the risk of developing a heart attack was cut nearly in half.
Aspirin substantially mitigates both fatal and non-fatal damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and intestines, said the team of researchers, led by Dennis Mangano of the San Francisco-based Ischemia Research and Education Foundation.
The conclusion challenged the conventional wisdom that has kept bypass surgery patients off the cheap, generic pain-killer amid fears it would lead to dangerous bleeding.

Study On Hormone Replacement Therapy Stopped

The Star, 24 October 2002

London (England) - Citing scientific and ethical reasons, British scientists have stopped a study into the risks and benefits of the long-term use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The decision by scientists at the government's Medical Research Council (MRC) comes three months after American doctors halted a study into HRT after learning the drug can increase the risk of breast cancer, stroke and blood clot.
Earlier, Britain decided to continue the study but an Independent International Committee (IIC) of advisers was appointed to review the results of the American study and other research into HRT. The MRC was subsequently advised by the committee to stop the trial. The experts also said the study's contribution to women's health was unlikely to be as valuable as they had previously thought.
Professor Ray Fitzpatrick of the University of Oxford and the chairman of the IIC said there is a strong evidence that taking HRT for many years raises the risk of some diseases such as breast cancer but decreases the risk of others including osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease.

Mercury Poisoning

The Star, 24 October 2002

Hong Kong - As many as 10 per cent of high school students in Hong Kong may be at risk of mercury poisoning because of their high consumption of fish such as tuna and swordfish, a government survey found.
The 2001/2002 study found 10 per cent of the 903 students it surveyed had dietary habits which gave them a mercury exposure of 6.41 microgrammes per kilogramme of body weight in a week. The level exceeds the five microgrammes safety limit set by the World Health Organization's Expert Committee on Food Addictives.

Pfizer Launches Lawsuits Against Five Viagra Rivals

The New Straits Times, 24 October 2002

New York (USA) - Pfizer Inc has filed patent infringement lawsuits against five rivals readying to bring competitors to its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra to the market. Pfizer was reported to have issued an additional patent on Viagra and that Cialis, a drug that will be marketed by Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp, and Levitra, which will be marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer AG, have infringed on its new intellectual property.
Both Cialis and Levitra were expected to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration this year but each received only a conditional OK.
Viagra is the only major player in the erectile dysfunction market and last year, earned sales of US$ 1.5 billion for Pfizer Inc.

Ecstasy's Crippling Force

The New Straits Times (Health), 22 October 2002

Just two to three Ecstasy tablets – a quantity that thousands of clubbers take during raves – can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson's for the first time.
A study involving squirrel monkeys and baboons found that both species of primate suffered irreversible damage to key cells called dopamine neurons, which are lost in Parkinson's after receiving three low doses of Ecstasy at three-hour intervals.
The findings, by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, suggest that Ecstasy may be raising the possibility of thousands of cases of early onset Parkinson's, as well as a milder version known as Parkinsonism.
If the primate findings apply to humans – as has been the case with most previous Ecstasy research – researchers fear that the drug will increase user's chances of developing Parkinson's, while lowering the age at which its effect are first felt. The study is particularly significant because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain.

The Star, 21 October 2002

Brussels - A three-month-old baby died of a drug overdose after methadone was put in a bottle to calm the infant. The mother and a male friend were detained after the child died soon after being brought into the emergency department of a Brussel's hospital.
 

No Link Between Cellphone And Cancer

The Sun, 18 October 2002

Theories linking the use of mobile phones to cancer are unfounded, the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority announced recently after a wide-range scientific review.
US Scientists John Boice and Joseph McLaughlin of the International Epidemiology Institute, chosen by the Swedish public health body to conduct the study, said 'no consistent evidence' was found linking phone use to a list of cancers including brain cancer, meningioma, acoustic neurinoma, ocular melanoma and salivary gland cancer.
Boice and McLaughlin looked at dozens of studies from several countries that had taken into account varying criteria, including the type of phone, duration and frequency of use, total cumulative hours of use, and tumour location. The scientists said five more thorough studies from three countries, including a Danish project involving data on 400,000 mobile phone users, provided more reliable evidence ruling out the dangers of mobile phone use.
In addition, the studies of human data have been backed by recent experiments on lab animals showing there is no adverse effect of exposure to the types of radiation produced by the phones.

Soft Toys Recalled Over Safety Fears

The Sun, 18 October, 2002

Malaysia - Furniture and home accessories company Ikea recalled its SNUTTIG soft toy following the discovery of defects which may pose as hazards to children.
The company's headquarters in Sweden ordered all its branches worldwide to recall the toys after a customer in another country complained that the seams tend to burst, and the inner bag containing the plastic beads is breakable.
Ikea's safety expert for children's products said the company is concerned about the possibility of a child accidentally swallowing the beads or inhaling them.
In Malaysia, the SNUTTIG soft toy has been bought by 8,000 customers at RM 5.90 each. IKEA will refund customers for the purchase of the said toy or replace a product of the same price.

Study: Even Light Drinking Can Affect Height Of Children

The Star, 18 October 2002

Pittsburgh (USA) - Children born to mothers who drink even small amounts of alcohol early in pregnancy are shorter and weigh less at age 14 than children born to mothers who abstain, a study says.
University of Pittsburgh researcher Nancy Day, the study's principal investigator said her study reinforces that. The deficiencies found in the study are slight and fall within normal height and weight ranges, Day said, but were still surprising. The differences also were statistically significant, meaning they were not a matter of chance.
Day studied the effects of alcohol on 565 children whose mothers drank, tracking their progress at various age since 1982.
The US government has long said that no amount of alcohol is safe for a pregnant woman to drink.

Toxicologist Kills Husband Over Affair

The New Straits Times, 17 October 2002

San Diego (USA) - A twenty-five-year-old former toxicologist is on trial for murdering her husband. Prosecutors said Kristin Rossum's addiction to methamphetamine and her torrid love affair with her boss led her to give her husband the fatal dose of fentanyl last year after he threatened her drug use and her affair with her superior.

Brain-damaged Woman Wins Negligence Suit

The New Straits Times, 16 October 2002

London (England) - A woman who suffered a heart attack during childbirth that left her with severe brain damage has won a negligence suit against Franborough Hospital in Kent, South England. The High Court awarded Kerstin Parkin, 34, £7 million plus £250,000 a year for the rest of her life.
The hospital was sued for providing Parkin "profoundly sub-standard care" and failing to take basic steps to prevent her brain damage. A cardiac emergency team reportedly was unable to reach Parkin because they did not know the security code to get into the labour ward. The hospital admitted liability in February 1999.
Parkin, a former professional Latin dancer, is left with only limited movement of her head and eyes.

Curb Tobacco Use Or Face Death, Warns WHO

The New Sunday Times, 13 October 2002

Geneva (Switzerland) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to reach a global deal on curbing tobacco use, warning that hundreds of thousands more people were dying each year from smoking than previously thought.
The United Nation agency said it had revised its annual death toll for smoking related diseases to 4.9 million people from 4.2 people in part because of better research into heart disease in developing countries.
Health activists say, based on current trends, tobacco could soon become the leading cause of premature death worldwide, killing more than HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, car accidents, homicide and suicide combined.
The WHO’s 192-member states will gather in Geneva on Tuesday for 10 days of further negotiations on a treaty – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – to wean the world off smoking.

Bizarre Suicide Shuts Hospital For 14 Hours

The Sun, 12 October 2002

London (England) - The bizarre suicide of Sir Derek Bibby, an English millionaire shipping magnate, shut down a hospital emergency section for 14 hours after the rat poison he took began to release toxic gas. His body then had to be placed in a sealed coffin in the hospital ground after it continued to give off the gas, causing five hospital staff members to suffer minor breathing problems.
Bibby who was terminally ill with leukaemia took aluminium phosphide tablets, normally used as fumigant, which produce toxic phosphine gas on contact with water. He took the pills in the basement sauna of his country home, but was alive when the emergency teams arrived. An overpowering smell of garlic alerted them to the danger, and the firemen donned breathing apparatus before carrying him out to an ambulance.

The Star, 12 October 2002

Taiwan - A latex mitten with a pocket containing a thin layer of mineral oil allows a woman to detect breast cancer at an earlier stage that she would when performing self-inspection with her bare fingers. It allows a woman to detect a lump as small as a grain of rice when she uses the mitten in the self-exam.
The pocket of mineral oil allows the hand to move freely over the skin, preventing a woman from missing a tiny lump, which could slip away when pressed by bare hands. With bare hands, a woman can best detect lumps the size of a peanut or larger.
Taiwanese inventor Rich Ho said that few Taiwanese physicians are recommending its use yet, mistakenly thinking that women would give up the use of mammography in favour of the mitten.
He announced yesterday that he was applying for patents in more than 40 countries for the mitten that has won several awards at international invention contest. The retail price is about 8,000 yen (RM240) in Japan.

Patients Given Tainted Blood

The Star, 11 October 2002

Hong Kong - Two patients here have received blood infected with dengue fever after the disease worked its way into Hong Kong's blood transfusion supply, health officials announced last night.
One patient later died of cancer, while a 72-year-old woman was infected with dengue fever after receiving blood during an operation at Queen Mary Hospital.
According to the South China Morning Post, the tainted blood came from a teenager who developed symptoms a day later after he donated blood through one of Hong Kong's Blood Transfusion Service Centres. He was later confirmed as a dengue case and the Hospital Authority was alerted about his blood donation. Some of the contaminated blood was sent to Australia but was recalled before it was used.

Lemon Juice Kills AIDS Virus

The Star, 11 October 2002

Canberrra (Australia) - Australian scientists believe they have re-discovered an effective use for lemon juice – as a contraceptive and also a killer of the AIDS virus.
Reproductive physiologist Roger Short, from the University of Melbourne's obstetrics department, said a few drops of lemon juice can be a cheap, easy-to-use solution to protect women from both HIV and pregnancy.
The juice should be squeezed onto a piece of sponge or cotton wool and placed into the vagina before sex, he said.
"We can show in the lab that lemon juice is very effective in immobilizing human sperm and also very effective in killing HIV," Short told Australian Broadcasting Corp television on Thursday.

Fake Malarial Drugs Causing Resistance

The Sun, 10 October 2002

Malaysia - Fake and low quality medicine in Asia are increasing the resistance to anti-malarial drugs, health experts warned.
While Africa is the epicentre of the mosquito-borne disease and accounts for 90% of the one million or more deaths each year, Asia also suffers major effects. It is the result of Asia being the centre of counterfeit drugs for malaria, according to Chris Hentschel of a Swiss-based organization that arranges partnership to research and deliver anti-malarial drugs.
It has been estimated that up to 80% of the drugs available in some parts of Asia are counterfeits or of low quality and it is contributing to drug resistance development because a proper dose of the drug is not achieved.
Several panel members of the World Economic Forum lamented that the poor-turn out for the session was typical of the lack of urgency on the disease outside Africa.
The growing anti-globalisation movement is one reason cited for spurring big business involvement in so-called partnerships to tackle various issues affecting poorer countries.

Get Yellow Fever Jab, Travellers Told

The Star October 10, 2002

Malaysia - Malaysians visiting Africa and South America are advised to get vaccinated against jaundice or yellow fever before leaving.
The disease is endemic in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zaire, Tanzania, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Equador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela.
Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Alias Ali said Malaysians who failed to get vaccinated might be quarantined upon their return.

Call For Ban On Ephedra

New Straits Times, 10 October 2002

Washington - The American Medical Association (AMA) called for a ban on the weight-loss supplement ephedra, and a top maker of the supplement said the industry should be more closely regulated. When misused, ephedra can cause heart attacks and can kill even strong, healthy people, a AMA representative told a Senate subcommittee. The hearing is one of the several being held while the Government ponders whether to restrict the supplement.

Religious Leaders ‘Can Help Fight AIDs’

The Star, 9 October 2002

Malaysia - Religious leaders have a major role to play in teaching people about the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDs.
Malaysian AIDs Council president Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir said that AIDs patients in Thailand are given shelter by Buddhist monks in their temples while many Christian-based organizations have provided education and are involved in outreach programmes for poor AIDs patients.
She said that Ugandan imams were well-informed about HIV/AIDs and had greatly assisted Ugandans by disseminating the right knowledge on how to prevent or treat the disease.
As a result of the recent meeting in Kampala, Uganda, the council was now holding discussions with the Islamic Development Department to organize a second international-level conference in Malaysia next year.

Study: Teenage Smoking Increases Breast Cancer Risk

The New Sunday Times, October 5, 2002

London (England) - Women who start smoking when they are teenagers are 70 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer than non-smokers, Canadian scientists said today.
Dr. Pierre Band of Health Canada in Quebec and colleagues from the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver questioned 2,000 women with and without breast cancer, in a survey to determine the impact of smoking on the risk of the disease. About 1,400 women had gone through the menopause and the others had not.
The scientists found that in younger women, the risk of breast cancer increases if they start smoking within five years of puberty. But in older women, smoking does not increase the chances of suffering from the disease regardless of when smoking starts. They found a reduced risk in women who took up the habit after their first pregnancy.
Band and his team believes that breast tissue could be particularly sensitive to cancer-causing agents during puberty when the breast are developing.
"Our results suggests that cigarettes smoke exerts a dual action on menopausal and post-menopausal women," Band said in the research published in The Lancet medical journal.
 

Worrisome Bug

The Star, 4 October 2002

Increasing resistance of bacteria to powerful antibiotics is becoming a major concern among researchers around the world. Over-prescription of antibiotics by doctors must be curtailed to maintain their effectiveness, warned researchers. Experts highlighted the case of Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, a powerful antibiotic used during suspected anthrax contaminations in post-Sept 11 terrorist mail attacks, which is showing signs of weakening against the disease.
Researchers at University of California who conducted a study on 13,000 pneumonia sufferers around the United States warned the effectiveness of Cipro and other antibiotics known as flouroquinolones as being "seriously eroded".
The study showed that flouroquinolone antibiotics were prescribed by doctors for more than 30 per cent of patients after they left hospitals, in cases where less focused drugs would have been adequate.
A disturbing consequence, said researchers, was that flouroquinolones, effective against the bacteria E.coli in 90 per cent of cases until 1997, are now effective in only 79 per cent of cases.

Study Finds Breast Self-Examinations Useless

The Sun, 4 October 2002

Washington/London - Hope that regular breasts self-examination might protect women against dying from breast cancer was finally extinguished on Wednesday by a huge study that demonstrated it was useless.
Results from the 11-year survey of 266,000 women in Shanghai showed the death rate from breast cancer did not differ in the group that was taught to check their breasts as in the group given no information. But the findings, published in the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute, did not surprised British experts where skepticism about the value of breast self-examination has been expressed for well over a decade.
Breast self-examination involves a methodical search of each breast, following a set procedure and is supposed to be carried out at the same time each month.
In the Shanghai study, the researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that the women who were taught the technique of examining their breasts regularly failed to spot cancerous lumps earlier than those who did not.

Disc For Detecting Rotten Food

The Sun, 4 October 2002

London (England) - A plastic disc could soon remove any doubt about whether food has spoiled and is no longer safe to eat.
Scientists, have developed a food tag that changes colour when food has gone off. "The polymer discs contain complex organic dyes that change colour drastically from clear to tell-tale pink, blue or yellow, depending on the type of food," New Scientist magazine said.

Skin-prick Test

The Star, 4 October 2002

A New Zealand specialist has advocated skin-prick testing of asthmatics by doctors to help their patients identify allergies which contribute to their illness.
Dr. Isobel Martin, a senior Dunedin Medical School lecturer, said 9 per cent of New Zealand adults took regular medication to control asthma symptoms but skin-prick testing was rarely offered by general practitioners.
A small number of studies had already shown a clinical benefit from reducing allergens, Martin said. The president of Asthma New Zealand, Dr. Allen Liang, told the New Zealand Herald that doctors should be paying more attention to allergies because they played a big role in the onset of asthma in children. But he said allergen testing was not straightforward as both skin pricks and blood tests were needed to establish the allergen and the severity of its effect.

Acrylmide Source

The Star, 4 October, 2002

Food chemists said they had figured out the process that creates a potentially carcinogenic substance in cooked products such as potato chips and French fires and some cereal crackers.
Researchers said, a process called Maillard reaction kicks in when starchy foods are cooked at moderately high temperature. They pointed the finger at an amino acid called asparagines which is naturally abundant in potatoes and in some cereals including rye flour. The asparagines reacts with sugars, potentially yielding acrylamide. The reaction occurs above 100°C although "very high temperatures are not necessary", a team led by Donald Mottram of the University of Reading , southern England, reported. The other research was carried out by the Swiss food company Nestle.

Japan Steps Up Anti-Smoking Drive

The New Straits Times, 3 October 2002

Tokyo (Japan) - Tokyo smokers who light up on the city's streets will face a fine of 20,00 yen (RM 625). Smoking on the street in parts of central Tokyo is now banned, a blow to Japan's reputation as a tobacco addict's paradise.
Fifty uniformed cigarette patrol officers set out in the morning, armed with ashtrays and placards entreating smokers to stub out their cigarettes.
Although smokers complied, not all were in favour of the new regulation.

Ban On Dry Cleaning Solvent

The Star, 2 October 2002

Californian regulators want to phase out the most commonly used dry-cleaning solvent, saying it endangers public health. But the proposal to ban perchloroethylene or perc, faces opposition from the chemical industry as well as the users. Dry cleaners say perc is absolutely necessary for clean clothes but officials of the South Coast Air Quality Management District say it dirties the air, water, and soil, and probably causes cancer. Cities including New York and San Francisco heavily regulate use of perc but nowhere has it been banned outright. Perc is estimated to cause more cases of cancer than anything except diesel exhaust among the toxic substances that exist in the Los Angeles region.

Diesel Exhaust Link To Lung Cancer

The New Straits Times, 1 October 2002

Breathing exhaust fumes from diesel engines may raise a person's risk of developing lung cancer, the United States Environmental Protection Agency said. Although effects of its long-term exposure was not ascertained, the agency's report warned that chronic inhalation of the fumes at levels now present in many urban environments "is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard to humans, as well as damage to the lung in other ways depending on exposure."
The report also found that short-term exposures can cause irritation and inflammation in the lungs, and may worsen existing allergies and asthmas symptoms. The report provides new ammunition for supporters of stricter emissions regulations for on and off road diesel engines, environmental groups said.

Solution For Hair Loss

The Sun, 1 October 2002

Singapore - A Singapore researcher claims to have developed a lotion that will restore at least some of the crowning glory to shiny pates.
Dr Lee Chee Wee, founder of Lynk Biotechnologies, said the lotion he developed contains tiny peptides, or chains of amino acids, that prevent the receptors in the hair follicles from coming into contact with hormones that cause them to fall out. Lee, also an associate professor at the National University of Singapore's medical faculty explained that molecules of plant origin, when treated with enzymes, block the hormone DHT from entering and damaging the hair follicle. " When this happens, even follicles empty of hair can start growing it again," said Lee.
The hair lotion is currently being distributed in Singapore and may be expanded to Malaysia, Thailand and Australia by the end of the year. The lotion was tested on more than 100 balding men. The result was between 30 and 60 per cent of hair re-growth, Lee noted.

Plant Protein Slows Growth Of Brain Cancer Cells

The Star, 1 October 2002