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A.
Popular Cholesterol Lowering Drugs May Prevent Fractures
Narrator:
This is Science Today. New research suggests that
people who take popular cholesterol-lowering medications
called statins, have a significant reduction in
osteoporosis-related fractures. Dr. Douglas Bauer,
who led the University of California, San Francisco
study, conducted a meta analysis, or summary of
eight studies, looking into the relationship between
statins and fractures.
Bauer:
One of the strengths of the meta analysis is,
is that we combined studies from a variety of different
populations. In fact, the vast majority of the study
suggested there was a protective effect of statin
use specifically on hip fracture - and it was about
a sixty-seven percent reduction among the statin
users compared to individuals in those studies who
weren't using statins.
Narrator:
These are preliminary findings but Bauer says there's
reason to be optimistic that these findings may
lead to new treatments for osteoporosis.
Bauer:One
of the nice things about statins is that they appear
to be very well tolerated and they're very safe.
And if a clinician could prescribe a medication
that would be useful for not one, but two very,
very common conditions in older individuals, then
in fact that's a nice thing to reduce cost and avoid
side effects.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Diesel Exhaust Makes the Top 5 List of Worst Pollutants
for Children
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Diesel exhaust has recently
been listed as one of the top five toxic pollutants
that affect children in California. At the University
of California, Riverside, researchers led by engineer
Joe Norbeck, are conducting studies to precisely measure
the impact of diesel exhaust.
Norbeck: One of the big debates
in California is the toxicity and impact of heavy-duty
diesel emissions and there is a lot of effort to essentially
ban diesels. But one of the things is that there are
a lot of technical uncertainties.
Narrator: Including getting accurate
measurements of diesel exhaust from vehicles on the
road, but Norbeck and his group built a trailer containing
an emissions lab that can take measurements while
being towed.
Norbeck:
We have
participation from the state of California agencies,
the U.S. EPA, the oil companies and the diesel engine
manufacturers and the trucking association. We're
trying to get everyone at the table that will then
agree that this is a research agenda that we need
to do.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
The Potential Downside of Cancer Screening for the
Elderly
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Most cancer screening guidelines
are age-based and for good reason, as age does play
a big part in the development of many cancers. But
Louise Walter, a geriatrics expert at the University
of California, San Francisco, says there needs to
be a better approach when it comes to the elderly
- not only because of the great variability in health
status among the senior population, but also because
in the frail elderly, screening tests may have a downside.
Walter:
Not only do people that have life-limiting diseases
already or limited life expectancies have a low likelihood
of benefit, they also have, I think, a higher potential
to have harm.
Narrator:
Walter says that's because of the physical and mental
stress that may occur with follow-up testing, biopsies
and surgeries.
Walter:
You have to believe that by finding something and
doing something about it, you've improved that person's
quality of life and added to their years of life.
Whereas, if they already have another severe illness,
then going through all that may not be a benefit.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
That Magic, Parental Touch
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A six-year study has found
that low birth weight babies are greatly affected
by parental touch. Sandra Weiss, a researcher at the
University of California, San Francisco says because
their brains are often not yet fully developed, low
birth weight babies are very vulnerable to tactile
and sensory stimulation.
Weiss:
So what we've been looking at is whether or not the
kinds of touch the parents use in the ongoing care
of the babies at home may either positively or negatively
influence a number of different outcomes.
Narrator:
They found that a nurturing touch greatly helped healthier
low birth weight babies developmentally and cognitively.
But in the sicker babies, too much touch had the opposite
effect.
Weiss:
This really supports current thinking about why babies
in the neo-natal intensive care units are often protected
from too much touch. But on the other hand, we can
provide very important types of touch developmentally,
but just do it in moderation and these babies are
going to benefit tremendously from touch.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
Illuminating Studies of the Brain
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Since the early 1990s, researchers
have been able to use a technology called functional
magnetic resonance imaging to identify regions of
the brain involved in performing specific tasks. Dr.
Greg Brown, an associate professor of psychiatry at
the University of California, San Diego, says it's
been exciting for researchers to have this technology
available.
Brown:
When I was a graduate student, studies of the
brain relied on injecting air into the cerebral spinal
fluid or dyes into the blood vessels that were sometimes
very traumatic for the subject.
Narrator:
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Brown
has been able to visually study the effects of sleep
deprivation on the brain during verbal and arithmetic
task, by measuring which parts of the brain "lit"
up.
Brown:
These experiments use an intrinsic contrast in constituents
of the blood to mark brain activation - regions of
brain activation, so it's a totally natural brain
response and can therefore be repeated without any
risk to the subject, over and over as many times as
need be.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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