A. A Possible Alternative
To Hysterectomy
Narrator: This is Science Today. Every year,
about 600 thousand hysterectomies are performed
nationwide, many in women who have fibroids, or
benign tumors in the uterus. Dr. Scott Goodwin,
director of Interventional Radiology at UCLA , helped
develop a new technique which may alleviate the
need for hysterectomy.
Goodwin: The procedure itself is called
embolization and the basic idea is to block the
blood flow to the entire uterus to a large extent
the fibroids are more sensitive to that, so the
normal uterine tissue can stay alive, whereas the
fibroids tend to shrink or disappear.
Narrator: Goodwin says this happens by inserting
a catheter into the arteries of the uterus and injecting
small plastic particles, which cut off blood flow
to the fibroids.
Goodwin: It seems to be very safe and it's
working for at least 90 percent of the women. Will
it last five years, will it last three years? We
don't really have that answer yet. 0:09
Narrator: But Goodwin says for many women,
this is a hopeful alternative to what is often considered
emotionally traumatic surgery. For Science Today,
I'm Larissa Branin.
B. How To Boost A Dentist's
Popularity
Narrator: This is Science Today. The insistent,
and sometimes downright ominous whine of the dental
drill may soon be a thing of the past. And while
you may have heard about recently approved lasers
doing the job, Roy Eversole, a professor at UCLA's
School of Dentistry says there's another instrument
which has even more potential.
Eversole: This new device is really not
only a laser, it's a laser power source, but it
causes an interaction with vaporized water. The
laser energy actually causes the water to explode
into little micro droplets with such force that
we believe that that's what's actually cutting the
tooth structure away. 0:17
Narrator: This device, called a hydro-kinetic
system, is virtually painless, doesn't heat up the
teeth and may have better adhesion for fillings
than all other techniques. But those are not the
only benefits.
Eversole: If you think of the times you
had your teeth drilled on, you sometimes think your
brain's wobbling in your head because of all the
vibrations that go all the way up into your jaws
and into your skull - you get none of that effect
at all with this instrument. 0:12
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
C. A New Hope For Breast
Surgery
Narrator: This is Science Today. As less
invasive surgery becomes more of an option in medicine,
researchers at the University of California, Davis
are working to improve breast conservation therapy.
Dr. Philip Schneider says one of the more efficient
ways may be using radio frequency, which destroys
breast tumors with direct heat.
Schneider: The treatment of the tumor itself
can be with radio frequency destruction, which is
through a puncture, rather than an incision and
then the treatment of the breast and the lymph nodes
in the armpit area can be done with radiation therapy.
0:14
Narrator: Schneider says the general advances
would be less invasive surgery with radiation therapy.
Schneider: And the newer advances in diagnosis
and treatment should allow a totally non-surgical
approach to some breast cancers. We're not the only
ones looking at this, there is some interest with
laser heating. I happen to think radio frequency
is more efficient and perhaps more adaptable to
larger tumors. 0:17
Narrator: Still, Schneider says progress
with radio frequency may be slow since current treatments
seem to be so successful. For Science Today, I'm
Larissa Branin.
D. Is Your Job Considered
Stressful?
Narrator: This is Science Today. It may
come as no surprise to learn that white collar professions
such as law, can be very stressful. But according
to Dr. Mark Schenker, a professor of epidemiology
at the University of California, Davis, traditional
ways of looking at the workplace would not consider
these professions stressful.
Schenker: What was considered stressful
was blue collar jobs where you didn't have control
over your workplace environment, you couldn't take
a break when you wanted, you couldn't change your
hours, you couldn't have this flexibility and that
white collar jobs where those things existed were
considered to be not stressful. And I think that
that is inaccurate. 0:20
Narrator: Schenker conducted a study which
found women lawyers working between 45 to 70 hours
per week were five times as likely to feel high
stress at work.
Schenker: There are stresses of a different
nature, but by the traditional criteria, yes lawyers
can make personal calls during the day and they
can do other things that we would say gives you
control over your environment but that is only part
of the story. 0:14
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
E. What's Behind The Global Rise Of
Asthma?
Narrator: This is Science Today. While childhood
asthma continues to rise globally, many believe
the culprit to be increased industrialization. Asthma
specialist Homer Boushey (BOO-SHEA) of the University
of California, San Francisco says this explains
part of the problem, but not all of it.
Boushey: The highest rates of asthma mortality
was New Zealand, hardly what we think of as an industrialized
country with bad air pollution. The big changes
in Western lifestyle as opposed to third world lifestyles
is the use of indoor carpeting, sealing of houses,
the keeping of domestic pets and it's possible that
that's what accounts for the increase in asthma.
0:20
Narrator: Boushey says these societal changes
are often accompanied with other changes in life.
Boushey: In diet, in activity, children
who used to work or play out of doors in rural settings
often stay indoors and are inactive in urban settings
and there's some theory that changes in diet and
activity among children may predispose to the development
of asthma.
Narrator: At least in those genetically
predisposed. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
