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A.
Alcoholics May Reverse Brain Damage by Quitting
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Alcoholics often suffer from
structural brain damage after years of heavy drinking.
Alcohol abuse causes the brain to lose weight, impairing
its ability to make decisions and results in the
loss of memory, attention and motor skills. But
according to a recent study by Doctor Dieter Meyerhoff,
a professor at the University of California San
Francisco, the brain can reverse this damage once
a drinker quits.
Meyerhoff:
There are some parts of the brain that structurally
do recover, but we don't really know what that means.
Repair is good, regaining the weight is good, but
does the brain really recover? Does that mean all
of the function is recovered?
Narrator:
Meyerhoff says more studies are needed to fully
answer these questions. Still, he says the current
research sends a strong message to alcoholics.
Meyerhoff:
We want to let the drinker know that there is chance
for recovery, functionally, when they stop drinking.
And this is one way to give them an additional motivation
to stay dry and sober.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Doctors Scramble to Learn About Bio-terrorism
Narrator:
This is Science Today. With the threat of bio-terrorist
attacks looming, the medical community is scrambling
to educate themselves on diseases that have been virtually
eradicated. Doctor Richard Jacobs, a professor of
infectious diseases at the University of California
San Francisco, says there are several biological threats
that the medical community is rushing to learn about.
But sometimes, he says, information can be scarce.
Jacobs: There's a text of infectious
diseases that's over 3,000 pages and there is half
a page on smallpox because it's a disease that's been
eradicated from the world from a natural standpoint.
And the other diseases, for instance plague and pneumonic
plague, there have been perhaps a half a dozen cases
reported in 50 years of pneumonic plague.
Narrator: But Jacobs says just having
a basic knowledge about these diseases is not enough.
Jacobs:
We are having to educate ourselves not only about
the disease and how to make the diagnosis, but about
how to contain the disease should somebody show up
on your doorstep with one of these illnesses.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Controlling Salt Intake Benefits More than Blood Pressure
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Eating a high-salt diet is
not healthy to begin with, but if you need even more
reason to put down that bag of salty chips - a new
study suggests too much sodium may be bad for your
bones. Dr. Deborah Sellmeyer, director of the University
of California, San Francisco Osteoporosis Center,
says that's because high salt intake causes an increase
in urinary calcium secretion.
Sellmeyer:
So the more salt you eat, the more salt goes
out in your urine - but it takes calcium with it.
And there's some very early evidence that this may
affect bones. So we want to encourage everybody to
start thinking about how much salt is in their diet.
Narrator:
While Sellmeyer's research also indicates that an
increase of potassium in the diet may offset that
risk, she says the best thing to do is lose your taste
for salt by gradually cutting back.
Sellmeyer:
You'll be surprised that some of the foods that you
used to think were so delicious now will taste very
salty to you. So we encourage people to use herbs
and spices and all that kind of stuff and try to just
gradually cut back on the salt a little bit.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Hands-on Parenting Helps Prevent Risky Behavior
Narrator:
This is Science Today. New research suggests that
teens are less likely to smoke, drink or do drugs
if they think their parents disapprove of such activities.
Psychiatrist Lynn Ponton of the University of California,
San Francisco, who has written a book on the subject
of teen risk-taking, says because parents play such
a huge role in their teens' lives, they should really
watch their own behavior.
Ponton:
Our teens really model after how we take our risk.
Whether we wear a seatbelt, whether or not we're still
smoking cigarettes. So, I think parents can look at
their own risk taking and really think about how to
revamp that or at least, how to talk with their teen
about it.
Narrator:
Ponton
says if teens are still going the risky route, parents
should learn how to communicate effectively.
Ponton:
The
lecture status or even the discussion doesn't always
work. I think hanging out with them after school,
lying on the couch or the floor together, driving
them if that's your choice and riding around with
them. Those are circumstances where teens give a lot
of information.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
Why Cancer Patients Fail to Manage Pain
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Cancer patients are often prescribed
a combination of medications to help them cope with
the pain brought on by the disease. But a recent study
from the University of California San Francisco shows
that many patients are failing to maintain their prescribed
drug regimens. Doctor Chris Miaskowski, a UCSF researcher,
says there are several reasons why patients skip their
medication.
Miaskowski:
One is a lack of education. They're not taught well
how to use these drugs. I think the other issue is
that they cause side effects. And that often will
influence whether a patient takes the medication or
not.
Narrator:
But the side effects caused by pain medication for
cancer are often minimal, and Miaskowski says doctors
need to help patients understand the importance of
maintaining their regimens.
Miaskowski:
I think the message for patients is they need to realize
that if they have a pain problem, they need to take
their pain medication just as they would their insulin
if they had diabetes or blood medication if they had
high blood pressure.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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