A way to pierce smokers’ cravings
At least 18 studies have attempted to establish whether acupuncture helps smokers quit, but most of them were of poor quality. Now a study designed to address the shortcomings of earlier research has found that acupuncture does indeed help smokers quit, but it works best when combined with an education program.
More than 100 smokers who had previously tried and failed to quit received one of three treatments: acupuncture five times a week for four weeks, acupuncture together with five weeks of a quit-smoking education program or the education program and fake acupuncture. (The fake acupuncture group had the needle treatment at ear and wrist points close to the true points. The group that had the real thing had acupuncture to five ear points commonly used to treat chemical dependency.)
Forty percent of those who got the combined treatment were able to stop smoking, which was double the rate of the other groups. In contrast to what most people expect, those who had the heaviest habit -- smoking a pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 -- had the most benefit, said the study’s lead author, Ian D. Bier, president of IB Scientific, a clinical research company specializing in natural medicine.
“This finding is extremely important, as it indicates that the combined treatment protocol is effective in the population that is most addicted and at the greatest risk of developing smoking-related diseases,” the authors reported.
The long-term effects aren’t known, said Bier, since most of the participants were not available for interviews 18 months later. But for those who were, the trend persisted. “If someone is smoke-free at 18 months,” he said, “it’s likely to be permanent.”
American Journal of Public Health, Volume 92, No. 10: Pages 1,642-1,647
Newfound gene is believed to suppress breast cancer
Inherited forms of breast cancer have long been linked to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, allowing women to screen for the genes and make decisions accordingly. But non-inherited cancers, so-called “sporadic” forms, are nine times more common. Now scientists have found a gene that plays a role in this type of the disease.
The gene, called DBC2 for “deleted in breast cancer,” is a tumor suppressor that regulates cell growth. If the gene is not active or is disabled, the cells that either lack the gene or contain a mutated version can grow out of control. Unrelenting cell growth is the hallmark of cancer.
Scientists at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York discovered that the protein made by the DBC2 gene was present in normal cells but was absent from the breast cancer cells of 11 of the 19 tissue specimens they examined. The researchers then inserted either a damaged DBC2 gene or a normal one into cancer cells. The cells with the mutated gene continued to grow, but those that received the normal gene stopped growing.
Dr. Masaaki Hamaguchi, a member of the team that identified DBC2, said the discovery could lead to new diagnostic and treatment methods.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Oct. 15, Volume 99: Pages 13,647-13,652.
Stroke symptoms in women likelier to be overlooked
Women are more likely to die from strokes than men and to have worse outcomes when they do survive -- and, new research shows, their early symptoms are different too.
Researchers reviewed interview transcripts and medical charts of more than 1,000 men and women who had strokes over a two-year period. In addition to the usual symptoms -- sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body; facial drooping; generalized changes in the ability to walk, talk and see; and dizziness -- the patients were asked about nontraditional symptoms such as headaches, face and limb pain, weakness, shortness of breath and palpitations.
Women were 62% more likely to experience sensations in the nontraditional category than men and more likely to have complaints not related to their nervous systems, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Also, the symptoms women tend to experience, such as pain and disorientation, are generalized, which may delay diagnosis.
Annals of Emergency Medicine, November, Volume 40, No. 5: Pages 453-459.
