New evidence that working at a video display terminal doesn't raise the risk of miscarriage "should be reassuring to millions of women," says government epidemiologist Teresa Schnorr, whose study is out today. "We looked at the question every which way and could find nothing," says Schnorr, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which conducted the study. "The answer is clear - there's nothing about the VDTs that causes spontaneous abortions."
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New frontier; Designer genes take on cancer; Treatment takes battle inside body
Oct. 30, 1990
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The first gene therapy for cancer - now ready to be tried on patients - opens an era in which new genes installed in the body supercharge a person's natural cancer-fighting ability.
Food and Drug Administration approval "could come at any moment," says Dr. Steven Rosenberg, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
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Prescribing ethics for drug makers
Dec. 24, 1990
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Dr. John Nelson was appalled when his partner returned from a free Caribbean vacation and promptly switched patients to a drug made by the trip's sponsor.
His partner, he believed, was not acting in the best interest of his patients. There was no proof the new, more expensive drug was as effective as the one it was replacing.
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Gene therapy trials start for cancer
Jan. 30, 1991
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The first two cancer patients to be given gene therapy were treated Tuesday at the National Cancer Institute.
If the experiment - approved for 50 patients with malignant melanoma - is successful, gene therapy for cancer could be available to the public in two to three years.
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Sperm may carry cocaine to egg
Oct. 9, 1991
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By binding to sperm, cocaine may be carried directly to an egg during fertilization and cause birth defects among male users' offspring.
Previous studies have found neurological damage in children of male cocaine users, but drug use by pregnant women has gotten more blame for birth defects.
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Health care costs 'threatening'
Dec. 11, 1991
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The average family in the USA will spend $4,296 - about 12% of its income - on health care this year, up from 9% a decade ago, a new report says.
At this rate, a family will pay $9,397 in the year 2000 - $1 of every $6 of its income, says Families USA, a Washington, D.C.-based health care group.
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Genes linked to being gay
Dec. 17, 1991
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A study of gay men and their brothers adds to growing evidence "there are genes at work" in determining sexual orientation.
The study, in December's Archives of General Psychiatry, looks at 115 sets of twin brothers, 57 adopted brothers of gay men. Findings:
- 52% of gay men's identical twins are also gay.
- 22% of their fraternal twin brothers are gay.
- 11% of their adopted brothers are gay.
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'Public hospital system is suffering'; Feds aren't 'shouldering the burden'
Dec. 18, 1991
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BELLEVUE, N.Y. - When Dr. Lewis Goldfrank unwraps the bandages covering Oscar Lewis' ulcerated legs, he sees more than festering sores. He sees "our national disgrace."
For want of a bath, fresh socks, some simple medical attention, the 69-year-old homeless man may lose a foot.
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Implants OK for limited use; Cosmetic patients may wait
Feb. 21, 1992
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BETHESDA, Md. - Use of silicone gel breast implants should be allowed, but only in studies on a limited basis, an advisory panel said Thursday.
Every woman wanting the implants after cancer surgery or injury would be able to get them, but healthy women wanting larger breasts would have access curtailed.
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Modern tale: Beauty and the breast
Jan. 21, 1992
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Vicki Banks, 39, grew up with four brothers who made her flat chest the butt of their jokes.
By eighth or ninth grade, she was "painfully self-conscious" undressing in front of other budding girls in gym class.
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Women welcome Norplant
Jan. 30, 1992
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Kris Miller is 27 and has four children under age 6. She'd like two more, but can't afford them now.
So when she and her husband brought the youngest home last February, they made a decision: no more, at least for a while.
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Consumers call for ban on Halcion
July 23, 1992
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A national consumer group and Halcion researchers petitioned the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday to ban the popular sleeping pill.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Public Citizen Health Research Group, says that based on new evidence, Halcion's risks outweigh its benefits and should be "removed immediately." The petition follows a Halcion ban Monday in the United Kingdom.
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Nicotine patch warnings focus of FDA panel
July 14, 1992
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A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee today will consider a request that nicotine patches carry more prominent warnings - a proposal that would pull ads for the patches off TV.
In April, consumer watchdog group Public Citizen filed an FDA petition asking that warnings against smoking while using the patch be more visible in package inserts.
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Alternative medicine gets federal review
June 16, 1992
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The National Institutes of Health begins a new era Wednesday: It will systematically explore unconventional medical practices, see which are effective and put them into mainstream medicine.
Stephen Groft, who heads the new effort, says a panel of experts will study many methods long scoffed at by traditional doctors, including acupuncture, homeopathy, massage and Chinese herbal remedies.
