A. A Promising New
Way To Treat Diabetes
Narrator: This is Science Today. A unique
gene therapy strategy studied at the University
of California, San Francisco, may lead to an alternative
way to treat diabetes. Molecular biologist Michael
German says gland cells normally involved in the
digestive system were genetically altered to secrete
the protein insulin, which normalizes blood sugar
levels.
German: So, by putting the insulin into
the glands that are regulated by eating, then what
happens is if you're diabetic, you eat a meal, the
salivary gland or the pancreas will then secrete
the insulin response to that meal and keep your
blood sugar from rising after the meal.
Narrator: So a patient's body would become
it's own, efficient insulin factory and eliminate
the need for constant needle injections.
German: You're really restricted by that
insulin dose that you just took. You've gotta eat
a meal, you gotta eat a certain amount of calories,
a certain amount of carbohydrates. It doesn't give
you the freedom to change your mind. It means a
lot of monitoring and a lot of injecting of insulin
every day to keep your blood sugar even close to
normal.
Narrator: Clinical trials are expected within
the next few years. For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
B. A Better Way To Monitor Heart
Attack Patients
Narrator: This is Science Today. Hospitalized
heart attack patients do better if they are monitored
with a more detailed electrocardiogram, or EKG.
Researcher Barbara Drew of the University of California,
San Francisco says usually an EKG with one to two
views of the heart is hooked up to a patient. But
Drew says it's not as beneficial as continuously
using the EKG with 12 views.
Drew: Our study shows that up to 80 percent
of the events that we're picking up with our new
improved way of monitoring, the patient is unaware
of. So, the patient doesn't have the typical symptoms
of chest pain or angina that they would even be
aware themselves that their heart was in jeopardy.
Narrator: The new system involves using
a converter to get more views of the heart without
all the cumbersome hook-ups of the standard 12-view
electrocardiogram.
Drew: Within the next year or two, I think
that there's going to be a real trend toward this
type of monitoring and I think it will sort of revolutionize
the way we monitor patients in the hospital.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
C. The Dietary Downside Of Evolution
Narrator: This is Science Today. A high
potassium/low salt diet is key to avoiding hypertension,
or high blood pressure. Researcher Curtis Morris
of the University of California, San Francisco says
not only does lab work support this theory - so
do the diets of several primitive societies.
Morris: You ever hear of the Yanamani Indians
in Brazil? Well, they're famous, epidemiologically,
because of the fact that they don't get hypertension.
They eat very low salt intake and their very high
potassium intake...it's the potassium they get from
berries and fruits and so forth.
Narrator: Morris says in evolutionary terms,
our bodies were designed to run off this high potassium/low
sodium diet.
Morris: These days, that's been reversed.
Our diets are high in salt and low in potassium.
So in a sense, out diet is a mismatch for what we
were designed to eat and I think that has caused
a lot of problems....for example, high blood pressure.
Narrator: Which is one of the leading causes
of heart disease, still the nation's number one
killer. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D. The Facts About Estrogen Therapy
Narrator: This is Science Today. The hormone
estrogen has been found to improve memory, lower
blood pressure and reduce the effects of osteoporosis.
But according to Dr. Harry Genant of the University
of California, San Francisco, the majority of women
taking estrogen are trying to relieve the symptoms
of menopause.
Genant: As the ovaries shut down in their
function at the time of menopause, the ability of
the body to produce estrogen is substantially impeded
and therefore women start to have all the menopausal
symptoms that are so widely recognized. So estrogen
therapy is essentially an attempt to reverse this
physiologic loss of estrogen.
Narrator: But there's a downside to some
estrogen replacement therapies, particularly those
which use animal-based estrogens.
Genant: The majority of women who are prescribed
estrogens...the animal-based estrogens post-menopausally,
actually either don't fill out their prescriptions
or discontinue use of estrogen with a year.
Narrator: And that's because of side effects.
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E. The Debate Over Mammography
Narrator: This is Science Today. There's
some controversy about when women should start having
annual mammograms. Epidemiologist Karla Kerlikowske
of the University of California, San Francisco says
some organizations recommend women start getting
regular screenings at age 40, while others say only
over age 50.
Kerlikowske: Most countries in the world
do not recommend screening mammography for women
in their forties and actually, most organizations
in the United States don't recommend it except for
the American College of Radiology, American Cancer
Society and now, recently, one board of the NCI
recommends it. There's a lot of controversy and
it really just depends on what organization you
listen to or what country you live in.
Narrator: But Kerlikowske says their are
other factors.
Kerlikowske: If you have a family history
of breast cancer or you've had breast cancer, then
everyone agrees that those women should get regular
mammography, no matter what age they are.
Narrator: Kerlikowske says those not at
risk, should weigh their options with their provider.
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
