Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 2, 1998, edition 1 / Page 17
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M jHH WL , "W1 Issues concerning the well-being of the African American community ? . - Scientist find new 'link' MMMi htrvm roconHy dtacoyarod that a ganm may caut* broatt cantor. Kotoarthors hopa then by itolating the gano, thay can jJamaMM am IkmmjJ baa wa mbm t I ? ????>?? alii I A I I ? r r t ?? ? OwWOp Q WWO WW9W fw OTTvCT DTMIIi CWNVr CVfW vTvfVWOlij/ O vOCCIrlVi Scientists struggle with AIDS By BRENDAC.COLEMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Mrniral Wriw CHICAGO ? New tests are helping identify treatment-resis tant strains of the AIDS virus, allowing doctors to customize the drug cocktails given to their patients. The AIDS virus rapidly mutates, or changes genetically, to resist the drugs thrown at it. As a result, some patients get no pro longed relief from their first try on the powerful combinations of drugs now available against HIV ; To help doctors find an effec tive combination, scientists are developing resistance tests and marketing them. But the tests do not have a long enough track record to be used routinely, a panel assembled by the International AIDS Society-USA said in the most recent Journal of the American Medical Associa tion. Until more study, the tests are appropriate only in certain situa tions, said the team, led by Dr. Martin S. Hirsch, director of clini cal AIDS research at Massachu setts General Hospital. There are two types of tests: one that looks for genetic muta tions that have known drug resis tance, and another that directly measures whether a drug will kill the AIDS virus taken from an indi vidual patient. HIV treatment usually involves two older drugs and one of the qewer class of medicines called protease inhibitors. Such cocktails have revolutionized therapy, reduc ing the virus to nearly undetectable levels in the body. Resistance to such cocktails is still relatively rare, and routinely screening HIV-positive patients before starting them on treatment is not justified, the panel said. Resistance tests are best used to guide therapy after initial treat ment fails and all other possible causes of treatment failure are ruled out, the panel said. An AIDS researcher not on the panel agreed that the tests should be used judiciously. Dr. Douglas L. Mayers, head of the Viral and Ricksettial Disease Program at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., also noted that the,tests cost less than the SI,000 typically spent on one month of drug cocktails. The International AIDS Soci ety-USA is an independent, non profit organization in San Francis co. I Gene mav cause breast cancer THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ST. LOUIS ? A new gene linked to breast cancer has been identified by scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine. The discoverers ? Timothy Fleming, a cell biologist, and Mark Watson, a pathologist ? said Tuesday that they hope the gene will lead to a blood test to detect breast cancer, and possibly to a vaccine. An estimated 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and, within five years, 45,000 will die of it. The new gene, mammaglo bin, is a protein found only in human breast tissue. Fleming and Watson analyzed more than. 100 tumors from women who had had them surgically removed. They found that healthy breasts secrete low levels of mammaglobin. In cancerous breasts, the sci entists discovered much higher levels of mammaglobin in 80 per cent of the tumors. It's unlikely the high levels cause cancer, they said. Because it exists in such high levels, the scientists believe mam maglobin could be used as a serum marker for early detection of breast cancer or relapses ? a sort of chemical mammogram. Fleming and Watson com pare it to the blood test used to help detect prostate cancer in men, developed in the late 1980s by Dr. William Catalona, head of urologic surgery at Washington University. The prostate gland is about as big as a chestnut and is found in the male pelvic area. Men are at risk for prostate cancer if they have high levels of prostate-spe cific antigen, or PSA, which refers to a substance produced by a cancerous prostate. Similarly, high levels of mam maglobin in the bloodstream could indicate the presence of breast cancer. The scientists emphasized that a blood test could be anoth er tool in preventing breast can cer but wouldn't replace mam mograms, regular physicals and, most important, breast self exams. Worldwide, hundreds of sci entists are studying tumor mark ers ? a tumor cell that makes a substance and secretes it into the bloodstream. "This is cutting-edge stuff," said Caroline McNeil of the National Cancer Institute "It's an example of the new era of cancer research that looks at. genes." Research on mammaglobin and other tumor markers is encouraging, said Dr. Robert Bast of the M.D. Anderson Can cer (Renter at the" University of Texas in Houston, a national expert on tumor markers. "We're learning so much, at the molecular level, about the dif ferences between cancer and nor mal tissue," said Bast, who helped develop a blood test for ovarian cancer. "There are more candidates for diagnosis and treatment." Relief ahead for those with Alzheimer's . / By EDLARDO MONTES ASSOCIATED PRESS Wmer EL PASO. Texas ? By age 75, Alzheimer's disease had stolen the woman's life. She couldn't get out of bed in the morning, go to the bathroom or even get dressed without assistance. ?. Then doctors started treating her with methanesulfonyl fluoride, an old drug being put to a new use. and a transformation began. "She would get up and do those things for herself and talk to her family about what's going on," said Donald Moss, a psychologist at the University of Texas-El Paso. The patient was not cured dur ing clinical trials in Mexico, nor was a cure expected. But MSF did at least allow her to regain a mea sure of independence. Now, two years later. Moss is hoping the drug will be given a - chance to do the same for others. Moss, who discovered MSE's; potential as an Alzheimer's treat ment more than a decade ago, has 1 found a pharmaceutical company . to pursue more intense studies of; the drug and seek government ? approval to market it. His efforts were slowed as he sought money to ; fund early tests and then a patent. UTEP, which holds the patent ? on Moss' discovery, entered into a 1 licensing agreement May 14 with I Layton Bioscience of Atherton,; Calif., that gave the pharmaceuti- - cal firm worldwide rights to MSF. I UTEP received 10,000 shares ; of Layton stock, valued at $8 a ? share, and a guarantee of 5 percent - of the net sales should the drug go * to market. Moss will also receive a ' share of the proceeds Layton expects to approach the Food and Drug Administration this summer for clearance to begin human trials in the United States Animal studies will likely be! required first. Moss believes the drug could * be on the shelves within five years "It's a really wonderful feeling to start with an idea and develop it and see if it's actually successful," said Moss "The most rewarding thing is to see the patients actually improve." During the small-scale trials * . Moss conducted at a clinic in Chi- - huahua City in early 1996, ! - Alzheimer's sufferers displayed a * marked improvement in memory and cognition after taking MSF Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts some 4 million U.S. resi dents kills the portions of the brain that make acetylcholine, a substance essential for memory and other functions The result is the deterioration of memory and reasoning ability. MSF prevents the breakup of acetylcholine by reducing the amount of cholinesterase, an See MSF on C6 U.S. lays out new Medicare plan THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON ? Proclaim ing the biggest change in Medicare's history, the Clinton Administration has laid out new protections for the health care pro gram's 38 million beneficiaries. White House officials said last week. The new rules require health plans to guarantee that Medicare patients have access to specialists, keep medical records confidential and provide interpreters to those who need them. The rules were scheduled to be published last Fri day and take effect 30 days later. President Clinton was expected to announce the rules, which were first reported in The New York Times June 23, at an unrelated bill signing ceremony in the Rose Gar den. The regulations ? intended to set "uniform national performance standards" ? are tighter than those governing private health insurance companies in many states and strengthen the protec tions in a 1997 Medicare law. A White House official today called the new standards "the most significant change in the Medicare program since its inception in 1965." Among other pro visions, the rules allow women benefi ciaries to demand "direct access to a women's health spe cialist" for routine services like Pap smears and breast and pelvic exams. Patients with com plicated problems must also be permit ted to go directly to specialists in some circumstances, and a health plan must rule on a patient's request for services within 14 days in most cases or 72 hours in urgent cases. The new rules also require health care plans to provide ser vices "in a culturally competent manner" to all Medicare patients, including those with lim ited English or reading skills. Medicare beneficiaries will also be entitled to review their own medical records, keep them confi dential and obtain financial infor mation about their health providers. O Under the new; rules, health maintenance organizations must pay for the treatment of any condi tion that "a prudent lay person" would regard as an emergency. Medicare beneficiaries also may not be charged more than $50 for any emergency room services. ... ? ? - *? '? Candace K. Schaller. a vice president of the American Associ ation of Health Plans, which repre sents the managed-care industry, said the new requirements were "generally reasonable," but cau tioned that plans might need more flexibility on some issues. Protidont Clinton '* now Modkoro plan inclvdot guarontooing rotipiontt tho right to $potioli?ti and hooping hoolth caro rocordt confidontiol. OPTICAL F CENTER Purchase Complete Pairs for As Little as$TQ PRICE INCLUDE Frames, SV Lenses, Scratch Guard Protection tya Exam ? Sattstadtoa Cuxnmnd ? On-Ste Lab ? Sam* Day Servkt 30% to 70% SAVINGS EVERYDAY! Pamela Milter IFB OPTICAL CENTER (Behind North Point Chrysler Jeep) abocwsm 7730 North Point Dr. ? Winston-Salem, NC 27106 Open Mon-FH 7:30 am-4 pm 910-759-0351 ? 910-759-3495 1-000-242-7729 Pl.ieaw ortWnOon-Siltm IndmWw Fotlht Med. ?nc UNIVERSITY CHIROPRACTIC Treatment for the entire family: ? Neck A Lower beck pein ? Sports injuries ? Auto accident Injuries ? Arm A Leg pains f 5029 Unlvnlty Parkway Wlnaton-Sahm, NC (MittoKrogar) 910-661-0841 Dr. Kavfn M. Sharp CMnte Director * I |
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 2, 1998, edition 1
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