Home > News

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Miracle Diet, Smoking Pill Shows Promise

A wonder drug that could help people lose weight, stop smoking, and perhaps even prevent heart disease could be available within two years, Britain's The Guardian newspaper reported Monday.

Researchers described clinical trial results of rimonabant at a European Society of Cardiology meeting Sunday in Munich. After 12 months of the scheduled two-year trial, at least 40 percent of overweight participants who took the drug lost 10 percent of their body weight, the newspaper reported.

The drug appears to work on a newly found brain system involved in motivating a person to eat and smoke. Its inventors learned about the system from observing how marijuana smokers developed an overwhelming urge to snack, a pattern often referred to as the "munchies."

Rimonabant also was shown to reduce harmful levels of fat in the blood, which together with overeating and smoking are major risk factors for heart disease, The Guardian reported.

Some 13,000 people worldwide are participating in seven human trials of the drug. Results so far indicate that participants lost an average of 3.5 inches around their waists over the 12 months, and so-called "good" HDL cholesterol rose by an average of 27 percent among these participants, the newspaper's account said.

-----

Chocolate Offers Blood Vessel Boost: Study

Chocoholics may have another reason to smile. A new study finds that dark chocolate appears to aid cells that line blood vessel walls, making the vessels more flexible and perhaps preventing hardening of the arteries, the Associated Press reported.

Some experts approached the finding by Greek researchers at Athens Medical School with caution, however, noting that the probable weight gain from eating lots of chocolate would cancel any cardiovascular benefit, the wire service account said.

Dark chocolate contains lots of flavonoids, which are natural antioxidants that have been shown to prevent heart disease. But chocolate also is high in fat, which is why experts aren't suggesting that binges could prevent heart attacks, the AP reported.

But eating chocolate isn't all bad, either. Recent studies show that chocolate consumption releases serotonin, a brain chemical involved in regulating a person's happy mood, the wire service said.

Results of the Greek study were presented at a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich.

-----

Man Finds 8-Year-Old HIV Diagnosis Was Wrong

A California man who has endured for the past eight years under the notion that he carried the deadly AIDS virus has now been told he is HIV-negative, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Hayward resident Jim Malone, 59, is gay and has lost several friends to AIDS. In 1996, he arrived at an Oakland Veteran's Affairs clinic with results from an outside testing firm that indicated he was HIV-positive. The VA did its own test to confirm the diagnosis. While that second test came back negative, Malone was never told of the result.

A VA computer that reviews past cases flagged officials to the error, the newspaper account said. Malone, who suffers from many other health problems including nausea, diarrhea, and weight loss, had never been prescribed anti-AIDS drugs, but always attributed his failing health to being HIV-positive, the Chronicle reported.

Malone's doctor, Richard Karp, was the person who told the patient about the mistake, for which the physician says he takes full responsibility. The VA says it has launched an investigation of the matter.

And while Malone is happy that the original diagnosis was wrong, his leftover anger is directed squarely at Karp.

"I said, 'You mean to tell me that all you have to say is you are sorry? Sorry that I lived for all this time believing I was going to die,'" he told the Chronicle.

-----

Schwarzenegger Vows Veto of Canada Drug Bill

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to veto a bill, passed Friday by the heavily Democratic state Legislature, that would allow the nation's largest state to re-import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, faces a torrent of bills lawmakers passed on the final day of their session when he returns from the Republican National Convention in New York.

Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that he'd veto the measure because it breaks the law, the Los Angeles Times reported. "Right now, what we need to do is focus on what's right for the people and not breaking the law."

The Legislature actually passed several bills regarding Canadian imports, including one that would set up a Web site to compare prices and another allowing California pharmacies to sign contracts to purchase drugs from Canadian pharmacies. A third would enable the state to buy drugs in bulk for its prison system, according to the Times account. Advocates said that would save $9 million a year.

Critics said Schwarzenegger, who has received hefty contributions from drug companies, should vote his conscience and allow senior citizens to save money.

-----

'Cheeseburger' Bills Gaining in States

Several states are passing bills aimed at protecting restaurants and food manufacturers from lawsuits claiming that their food is responsible for making their patrons fat.

The Associated Press reports that these so-called "cheeseburger" bills would prohibit people from seeking damages from food companies for weight gain and associated health conditions like diabetes. The National Association of State Legislatures tells the wire service that a dozen states have passed such measures so far this year.

While supporters say the measures would put a cap on what they call frivolous lawsuits and place the responsibility where it belongs -- on the customer -- opponents say the claims are often accurate and as such should have their day in court.

"Most people don't see any reason to impose liability for an individual's inability to push himself away from the dinner table," Washington state Rep. Patricia Lantz, a Democrat, told the AP. Washington is one of the states that have passed such measures.

But John Banzhaf, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University and a supporter of such actions, said that the push will continue. "Is it a shoo-in? No," Banzhaf, who helped orchestrate suits against Big Tobacco, told the wire service. "But if we pick our plaintiffs carefully, the guy who eats there every day, we can make our cases stick."

-----

Chinese Lawmakers Finally Face AIDS Crisis

China, which for years has been accused of hiding a major public health threat, has passed its first laws aimed at preventing the spread of AIDS.

The People's National Congress on Saturday approved a measure saying that the central government will fund projects in the nation's poorest areas where people cannot afford treatment for the disease, the country's official Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua noted that it is the first such law specifically targeting the spread of the AIDS virus.

Officially, China has 840,000 people with the AIDS virus, but unofficial estimates place the figure much higher, according to the BBC.

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.