Environmental Medicine News

The News Review:

- More From the Science & Medicine Desk
- American VC fund to focus on Israel startup investments
- Focus: Beauty and the boost
- Managing anxiety
- Welcome to AJC! | ajc.com
- Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal TV |
- First-of-its-kind Italian school study finds high levels of prenatal…

More From the Science & Medicine Desk
Washington Post - Aug 27, 2006
The scientists found that the enforcers were more willing to punish selfishness when the victim belonged to their own tribe. And they found that donors were much less likely to share when the enforcer was from their own tribe. They knew they were less likely to be punished. The paper, “Parochial Altruism in Humans,” was published Thursday in the journal Nature. — Shankar Vedantam< document.

American VC fund to focus on Israel startup investments
Israel 21C - Aug 27, 2006
This previously unknown function plays a major role in fetal development and pregnancy, with important implications for conditions that cause pre-eclampsia and miscarriages. Their breakthrough findings were published this week in Nature Medicine. “Our research revealed that Natural Killer (NK) cells of the immune system are positive regulators of human cells, in addition to their well-known killing activity that eliminates infected cells, tumor cells and foreign bodies,” said Prof. Simcha Yagel, a senior physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hadassah University Hospital-Mt. “This positive regulation stimulates the immune system to secrete special growth factors and triggers the tremendous uterine blood vessel widening necessary for the growth and development of the placenta.

Focus: Beauty and the boost
Times Online - Aug 27, 2006
A novel on the Irish cosmetic and aesthetic industry would have all the elements of a racy potboiler. Vanity and greed drive the plot forward and millions of euros are at stake, with tens of millions more set to pour in as SSIAs mature. The US cosmetic medicine market is estimated to be worth about $12. 5 billion (€9. 8 billion), and although no concrete figures are available for Ireland, industry sources estimate revenues here could be as high as €50m. Practitioners report demand growing by anything between 50% and 200% annually, but maturing SSIAs are set to provide the industry with its biggest kick. Some €16 billion is tied up in SSIA accounts, and according to one survey, 3% of the country’s 1… “I had worked in other industries and thought I’d met every type of person, but I have been astonished by things like people putting out untruths about your business and getting onto your suppliers trying to stop exclusive deals you have agreed. ” Off the record, many industry figures are quick to denigrate each other, criticising everything from their rivals’ medical credentials to the quality of their work, their ethical standards, and their accounting practices. Soap opera levels of bitchiness aside, this is an industry set to boom in the years ahead, but its unregulated nature is also a cause of concern to many long-established practitioners. “The reality TV programmes show people what to ask and show them not to be frightened. They know they can go into a consultation, ask the right questions, ascertain the suitability of the procedure and go home and make their decision,” said Halina Ashdown-Sheils, who heads Advanced Cosmetic Surgery (ACS), the largest cosmetic operator here. Improved technology also means that looking younger is no longer the preserve of the wealthy.

Managing anxiety
Jamaica Observer - Aug 27, 2006
Miss X is not unusual; this scene of fearful, tearful and nervous patients plays over and over in my office on an almost daily basis. Anxiety disorders are illnesses that cause people to feel frightened and apprehensive for no obvious reason. These disorders may be familial in nature and are often related to the biological and psychological make-up of the individual. We know that if untreated, these illnesses can significantly impact on the quality of life, resulting in decreased productivity and decreased ability to function on a daily basis. Stress is a physical and psychological response to the demands of daily life that exceed an individual’s ability to cope successfully. Stress is characterised by sleep disorders, constant worrying, irritability and fatigue… I will concede that drugs can play a role in the management of anxiety, but the use of prescription medication alone is not appropriate. There are two types of psychotherapy: (1) Cognitive behavioural which involves modification of thinking patterns that control the sensations and thoughts accompanying anxiety; and (2) behavioural therapy which uses techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and exposure therapy. Lifestyle changesIn addition to medicine and psychotherapy, there are some basic lifestyle changes that individuals can make. These can be achieved with ease. Diet: Proper nutrition must never be underestimated in the management of this condition. Eating a variety of whole foods will supply nutrients essential for the functioning of a healthy nervous system. Protein rich foods (soy-based meal replacements, tofu, nuts, peas, beans, chicken and fish) are very important.

Welcome to AJC! | ajc.com
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscripti… - Aug 27, 2006
government scientists in finding PAC-1, said the research will pay off soon. “The potential effectiveness of compounds such as PAC-1 could be predicted in advance, and patients could be selected for treatment based on the amount of procaspase-3 found in their tumor cells,” he said in a news release. The findings will be published in both the online and print editions of the journal Nature Chemical Biology. More than 20,000 substances were tested during the process that found PAC-1. —–New Restrictions Proposed on Teenage Cosmetic Surgery in AustraliaA reality television show has prompted a major change in the laws governing cosmetic surgery and other body altering procedures in the Australia’s state of New South Wales, which includes the city of Sydney. The Sunday Telegraph reports that Premier Morris Iemma became “disturbed” when he learned that a teenaged contestant on the program Big Brother had had breast implants. And that incident resulted in Iemma’s administration introducing regulations that will require a referral from a primary physician to a cosmetic surgeon before any procedure is done… The jury had found Hurwitz guilty and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. While acknowledging that the evidence was “strongly indicative of a doctor acting outside the bounds of accepted medical practice,” the Appeals Court said the jury had been denied the opportunity to decide whether Hurwitz had acted in good faith by conducting his practice the way he did, according to the Post. This had been the basis of his appeal, which was supported by a number of groups that were concerned about courts placing unnecessary limits on a doctor’s method of practicing medicine. The Post quotes Hurwitz’s attorney Marvin D. Miller as saying Hurwitz “believed what he was doing was helping patients with their pain. The newspaper reported the prosecution was weighing its options on whether to appeal or re-prosecute. —–Gerald Ford Has AngioplastyFormer U.

Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal TV |
Providence Journal - Providence Journal (subscription) - Aug 27, 2006
•Medical drama House is nominated for best drama series, but the main reason to watch House, actor Hugh Laurie, is not nominated in the dramatic acting category. •Kevin James is nominated as best comedy actor for The King of Queens, but the hugely appealing Jason Lee, star of My Name is Earl, is shut out. Between my track record and the particularly odd nature of this year’s nominations, I figure a flock of trained parakeets could beat my Emmy predictions. But parakeets are costly — and messy — so I’m going to compete with The Emmy Hat instead. Fans of the Harry Potter books know that Hogwarts, the wizardry school, uses a magical Sorting Hat to place students in one of the school’s four Houses. I’m using the Emmy Hat — actually a red baseball cap for a network that no longer exists — to choose Emmy winners. I had various colleagues from around the office draw numbers at random from the Emmy Hat, then used the numbers to select Emmy victors… The Sopranos had an uneven season — and James Gandolfini and Edie Falco weren’t even nominated in their acting categories. Emmy has always loved The West Wing, and might decide to give its last season a big goodbye smooch, even though the show’s ratings were down. And Grey’s Anatomy had a very hot year, with its appealing mix of medicine and romance. But I’m going with 24, which had a great season and has a lot of Emmy buzz behind it, with 12 nominations. Andy says: 24Emmy Hat says: The West Wing COMEDY SERIES: Arrested Development; Curb Your Enthusiasm; The Office; Scrubs; Two and a Half Men. Arrested ended its three-season run on Fox Feb. 10, and feels too old to be getting Emmy love now.

First-of-its-kind Italian school study finds high levels of prenatal…
EurekAlert - EurekAlert (press release) - Aug 27, 2006
Popular thought contends that drinking in Western Europe is more moderate than it is in the U. New findings indicate that drinking levels among some women in Italy are similar to those of high-risk drinkers in the new world, reflected in coexisting levels of FAS and FASD… Results are published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. “Both human and animal studies have shown that heavy and binge drinking are the most highly associated with FAS damage,” said Philip A. May, professor of sociology, and family and community medicine, at The University of New Mexico. “A common perception is that daily drinking with meals is less damaging to the fetus, and that this drinking pattern is the norm in Western Europe. While we have still not untangled or answered this relationship, our study results do show that there are individuals in Italy who drink heavily enough to produce a rate of FAS which needs our attention. ” May, also an epidemiologist, is the study’s corresponding author. “Prior to this study,” said Robert J.