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A.
Working Towards New Treatments for Lupus
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Systemic lupus is an autoimmune
disease that is most often treated with steroids
or chemotherapeutic agents. But these traditional
therapies can cause serious side effects, including
sterility, heart disease and cancer. That's why
Dr. John Davis, director of the Clinical Trials
Center at the University of California, San Francisco,
is researching new treatments for lupus.
Davis:
The overall premise of our research is to find safer,
more effective and better targeted treatments for
lupus. What we are trying to do is look at the pathogenic
mechanisms that are causing lupus and specifically
targeting those.
Narrator:
Such as the interaction of B and T cells, which
are linked to the out-of-control immune response
that occurs in lupus.
Davis:
I think this is an extremely exciting and promising
time for patients with lupus. We haven't found the
magic bullet yet, but we are getting close and we
are at a point where we do not need to bombard the
entire immune system. We're at a point where we
can pick and choose which elements we want to target.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
An Inexpensive Way to Improve High Altitude Working
Conditions
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Altitude training has long
been used by endurance athletes to increase red blood
cell counts. Now, instead of heading for the mountains
for rarefied air, there are other solutions including
pumping nitrogen into housing structures or altitude
tents. John West, a professor of medicine and physiology
at the University of California, San Diego, used similar
technology to do essentially the opposite - that is,
use oxygen-enriched air to improve conditions for
high altitude workers.
West: They've found that it's
enormously valuable. Their efficiency is greatly increased;
the level of fatigue is very much less. They can do
much more physical work; they can sleep reasonably
well, whereas they certainly couldn't before. And
so it's the difference between night and day working
at that high altitude.
Narrator: West used a rugged, inexpensive
oxygen concentrator to increase oxygen levels and
alleviate symptoms of high altitude sickness.
West:
The fact
that we've been able to come up with this way of improving
working conditions in a relatively simple way is very
important.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Studies Raise Concern over Water Reuse Projects
Narrator:
This is Science Today. While many municipalities across
the nation have been reusing wastewater without any
serious problems, studies of this process are raising
concerns. Environmental engineer, David Sedlak of
the University of California, Berkeley found this
process has led to hormonal changes among certain
aquatic life - most notably male fish, which take
on female characteristics.
Sedlak:
The best evidence that we have suggests that
the feminization of fish is related to human hormones.
Either natural hormones that are produced in the body
or hormones from contraceptives - the birth control
pill.
Narrator:
Sedlak says the presence of these hormones and trace
amounts of pharmaceuticals in wastewater - including
antibiotics, ibuprofen and blood thinners - pose new
challenges to water reuse projects because many of
these compounds are resistant to traditional effluent
water treatment techniques.
Sedlak:
Many of these compounds pass through sewage treatment
plants and so now the questions that we're asking
are related to whether these compounds are removed
in groundwater.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
The Importance of Quality Mental Health Care
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A bid to increase access to
mental health care failed to pass in Congress last
month, sparking a flurry of concern that persons with
mental illness will not receive adequate treatment.
UCLA psychologist Alexander Young, recently published
one of the first national studies to evaluate the
quality of mental health care.
Young:
We found that about two-thirds of people with
serious depression or anxiety disorders weren't getting
appropriate treatment during the past year, in fact
didn't receive much of anything that's likely to be
helpful. So it provided an opportunity to really get
a more definitive national sense of what's going on.
Narrator:
Young says
in a given year, over nine percent of the U.S. population
has a mental health disorder.
Young:
And
that's a very high percentage. And so the odds of
people getting these disorders or developing one of
these disorders is actually quite real. I think we
may just want to ensure that there is adequate mental
health coverage so that people are protected even
if they don't expect these problems to develop.
Narrator:
Young says one of the obstacles to get over is the
stigma that's often associated with mental health
disorders. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
How Women Should Deal with Conflicting Information
about Mammography
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Younger women about to have
their first mammogram may be dealing with some conflicting
information about the benefits of mammography. Epidemiologist
Karla Kerlikowske of the University of California,
San Francisco says some organizations recommend women
start to get regular screenings at age forty, while
others say only over age fifty.
Kerlikowske:
There's a lot of controversy and it really just depends
on what organizations you listen to or what country
you live in. 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:
But in previous research, Kerlikowske did find that
the overall benefit of mammogram screening in women
under fifty is relatively small.
Kerlikowske:
So I think in younger women, since it's a toss up
of whether the benefits clearly outweigh the risks,
I think instead of just automatically recommending
that everyone get screened starting at age forty,
that they really need to discuss with their provider
what the risks and benefits are.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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