|
A.
January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month
Narrator:
January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month. This
is Science Today. Glaucoma is a sight-threatening
condition in which the optic nerve is damaged and
affects about 3 million Americans. Dr. Robert Weinreb
of the University of California, San Diego says
pressure builds in the eye because fluid cannot
drain properly.
Weinreb:
In the case of glaucoma, for some reason, the drain
gets blocked and the fluid is entering the eye but
cannot leave the eye at the same rate that it's entering.
And this causes the fluid pressure to increase within
the eye...very much like if you stop up a drain in
the sink in your kitchen, the fluid level is going
to rise.
Narrator:
If the internal pressure is not alleviated, it can
damage the nerve fibers in the optic nerve and cause
vision loss.
Weinreb:
Initially, our treatment consists of a series of
eye drops that reduce the amount of fluid flowing
into the eye or open up the drain.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Computers May Help Cancer Patients Manage Pain
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Recent studies show that many
cancer patients don't take the pain-management drugs
prescribed to them. Doctor Chris Miaskowski, a researcher
at the University of California San Francisco, says
most physicians don't have enough time with patients
to make them understand the importance of maintaining
a regimen. But Miaskowski thinks computers can be
a valuable tool to help educate patients about their
drugs.
Miaskowski: We're going to need
to use different assertive devices because I'm not
sure if the time element is going to change in term
of health care interaction. Computer-assisted intervention
with patients that's shown some promise with other
diseases.
Narrator: Miaskowski says preliminary
studies with elderly breast cancer patients have already
shown the Internet to be an effective tool -- even
with people who aren't computer savvy.
Miaskowski:
The stereotypes
have been blown out of the water. At the end of the
study, these older women didn't want to give their
computers back. They really enjoyed the online support
group and chat.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Fine Needle Biopsies Have Several Uses
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Fine needle biopsies can help
detect breast cancer by using a thin needle to extract
tissue samples from the body. But Doctor Britt Marie
Ljung, a researcher at the University of California
San Francisco, says with proper training, physicians
can use these biopsies in other situations as well.
Ljung:
This technique can be used on lumps in any part
of the body, and that includes lymph nodes in the
neck, various types of tumors in salivary glands and
so forth.
Narrator:
Ljung says doctors need to perform at least 100 biopsies
to truly master the procedure, but once they do, it
can be a cheap way to find cancer in much of the body.
Ljung:
The technique is essentially the same for all different
organ systems, so it makes good sense to have one
or a couple of practitioners in the medical community
who have been trained in both aspects of sampling.
They can serve the patients in all of these areas
- that way you can make economic sense out of training
people for this.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
A Non-Surgical Treatment for Uncontrolled Sweating
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Doctors are finding more uses
for a toxin called Botox, which is widely used to
treat facial wrinkles. Now patients who suffer from
a condition called hyperhydrosis - or sudden uncontrolled
sweating - can be treated with an injection of Botox.
Dr. Richard Glougau, a dermatologist at the University
of California, San Francisco, says Botox is a very
diluted form of the deadly bacteria that causes botulism
and works by temporarily paralyzing facial muscles
that cause wrinkles.
Glogau:
The effect of Botox on the nerve endings that
controls the sweat glands is identical to the effect
on nerves that control the muscles, so we can inject
for instance, a sweaty palm and produce dryness from
anywhere between six and twelve months.
Narrator:
Glougau
says this is a great improvement over the surgical
procedure in which a nerve in the neck leading to
the arm and palm is severed.
Glogau:
That
surgery, while it can be very effective, does have
some risks. The main one being the body's tendency
to compensate by sweating more in the non-treated
area.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
A Simple Way to Maintain Bone Health
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Bone density stays level throughout
women's twenties and early thirties, but by the time
a woman is in her mid to late thirties, these levels
begin to trail off and significantly plunge by the
time menopause hits. Dr. Deborah Sellmeyer, director
of the University of California, San Francisco's Osteoporosis
Center, says that's when women usually start debating
whether or not to start hormone replacement therapy.
But, she says there are other options, other than
medication.
Sellmeyer:
There are many things you can do. Staying active -
any kind of weight bearing exercise; we like to encourage
people to walk. If you're in good health and very
active, things like tennis or weight lifting - anything
that's going to make those muscles and bones work
- is going to preserve your bones.
Narrator:
Sellmeyer says this can be done without having to
join a gym or going to extremes.
Sellmeyer:
You don't have to spend a lot of money. If you're
sitting at home watching TV, get some canned goods
out of the cupboard and just start lifting them. You
could do it very cheaply, you could do it at home
with out a whole lot of effort.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
|
