December 26, 1995
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CHICAGO -- A 15-year study has revealed links between specific hormones and ovarian cancer, the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health says.
The study showed that ovarian cancer was related to low levels of gonatropins, hormones that promote the production of eggs, and to high levels of androgens, hormones that stimulate the sex drive.
Although the findings do not propose that current hormone therapies should be withdrawn, they do suggest that caution be exercised with new therapies. The lead researcher of the study, Dr. Kathy J. Helzlsouer, said that before beginning to manipulate our hormones we should look at what is happening to them.
CHICAGO -- Cochlear implants, which aid the hearing of the severely deaf, appear to be more effective in helping the newly deaf, experts say.
The implants are surgically implanted in the inner ear, where they receive and transmit electrical signals, thereby increasing the output of the snail-shaped cochlea.
The implants, which can help people with a hearing disability gain a basic understanding of the spoken word, seem to be most effective in people who have just lost their hearing, particularly in children between the ages of two and six, a National Institutes of Health panel said.
The panel also said that the reason for the hearing loss was unimportant to the effectiveness of the implants.
From Medical Correspondent Jeff Levine
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Many people think using moist snuff is safer than smoking cigarettes. But a new study indicates the opposite is true.
In the current Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers write that the three top-selling brands of snuff, Copenhagen, Skoal and Kodiak, also have the highest levels of cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines. Snuff users get up to twice as much of these chemicals as those who puff 20 cigarettes a day.
A spokesman for the Smokeless Tobacco Council disputes the study, claiming the link between nitrosamines in snuff and cancer has not been proven.
The authors note that during the past 15 years the nitrosamine levels in the two leading snuff brands have been reduced by 70 percent. But they said it's possible to reduce them further.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The world's best-selling prescription drug soon will take its place on drug store shelves in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a nonprescription form of the ulcer medicine for over-the-counter sale, said Glaxo Wellcome, the drug's manufacturer.
The new drug, called Zantac 75, will be available in early 1996. It joins the similar new drugs Pepcid and Tagamet in the $1 billion antacid market. But, unlike those two drugs, Mantic 75 is approved only to treat heartburn, not prevent it.
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