December 8, 1997
H g-^ The Battalion
ealth & Science
idy shows low-dose therapy protects bones after menopause
8 ZA( O (AP) — Half the usual dose of
jBven to women after menopause
ficicnt to protect their bones from
} garni brought on fewer unpleasant
researchers found,
low dose also had favorable effects
esjerol and other fats circulating in
od suggesting its potential for pro-
I: postmenopausal women from heart
1 i might also be significant, re-
;rs said.
ecjion from bone thinning and
^fase are major benefits of higher-
strogen replacement therapy over
g term. But many women are leery
igen therapy because studies suggest
^tease breast-cancer risk.
■any women who begin hormone
therapy for relief of menopausal hot flash
es and other symptoms quit in a year or two
because of side effects, said the lead re-
| “It may be possible to prevent
osteoporosis with lower, safer
doses of estrogen.”
DR. MICHAEL MARICIC
1 ARIZONA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER !
i—
searcher, Dr. Harry K. Genant of the Uni
versity of California, San Francisco.
Low-dose estrogen in the study caused
less breast tenderness, headaches and nau
sea than the standard higher-dose treat
ment does, and it could be expected to pose
less breast-cancer risk, Genant said.
The study of 406 women is published in
the December issue of the American Med
ical Association’s Archives of Internal Med
icine, released Sunday.
A related study in the journal found that
alendronate, a non-hormonal drug used to
fight osteoporosis, was highly effective at
reducing the risk of spinal fractures even in
very old and severely osteoporotic patients.
That study involved 2,027 women aged 55
to 81 and was led by Dr. Kristine E. Ensrud of
the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Min
neapolis. The study was supported by Merck
Research Laboratories of Rahway, N.J., a di
vision of Merck and Co., which makes alen
dronate under the brand name Fosamax.
A researcher not involved in either study.
Dr. Michael Maricic of Arizona Health Sci
ences Center in Tucson, said both resulted
in important findings.
“It may be possible to prevent osteo
porosis with lower, safer doses of estrogen,
and if prevention is no longer possible, it is
never too late to treat,” Maricic said.
Osteoporosis afflicts an estimated 10
million Americans, mostly elderly women,
and the fractures it causes cost an estimat
ed $13.8 billion in 1995.
In the two-year study led by Genant,
postmenopausal women taking only 0.3
milligram of estrogen showed no loss of
bone mass and some even had a slight in
crease. The usual dose of estrogen for pre
venting osteoporosis is 0.625 milligram.
The low-dose subjects took the hor
mone with 1,000 milligrams of supplemen
tal calcium daily.
Standard higher dose estrogen therapy
is also supplemented with calcium and
combined with the female hormone prog
estin to offset estrogen’s tendency to pro
mote cancer of the uterine lining.
The most commonly used estrogen drugs,
of which the best-known brand is Premarin,
are derived from animal and synthetic
sources and are approved for use in prevent
ing and treating osteoporosis. The estrogen
used in the low-dose study is derived from
plants and not approved for treating osteo
porosis. Its best-known brand is Estratab.
■A meeting focuses
(defunct endorsement
(AP) — Doctors at an
H Medical Association con-
Mnday denounced an abort-
Vei dorsement deal with Sun-
lor d. and debated whether to
H outside investigation.
jjHe, many doctors said, is the
rfthe AMA’s reputation, which
lie\ (- has been called into ques-
Buse of the deal to endorse
, tms health care products.
^ Organization has tried to witli-
oni the deal, prompting Sun-
o sue the AMA for $20 million.
lon® M A H° use °f Delegates
:s of 475 member-physicians
present all 50 state medical
es. They are conducting their
I meeting in Dallas,
mas Reardon, the chairman
;.&MA board of trustees who
en under fire since word of
nbeam deal became public,
le board was unaware of the
ad contended it was orches-
at a lower level,
ivfever, he said, “the board has
;\ferything in its power to cor-
f hat was a serious mistake,”
on said. “The board accepts
spnnsibility.”
ardon also denied allegations
wiMA was seeking deals with
te companies to make up fi
nancial shortfalls resulting from de
clining membership.
He told a committee at the an
nual meeting of the AMA House of
Delegates that the board has taken
steps to repair whatever damage the
AMA’s reputation has suffered be
cause of the Sunbeam controversy.
Among them, he said, are a
moratorium on any new business
deals until the AMA board sets
clear policies to govern them, a
prohibition against the use of the
AMA’s name or logo in product or
service endorsements, and re
quests for the resignations of three
senior AMA executives.
Reardon identified those execu
tives as Kenneth Monroe, chief op
erating officer; Larry Jellen, vice
president of marketing; and James
Rappel, vice president of business
James Rappel.
Dr. R John Seward resigned as ex
ecutive vice president Friday, accept
ing partial responsibility for the
arrangement. It was unclear whether
he was asked to step down, although
Seward called the agreement with
Sunbeam “a serious mistake.”
The committee will submit sever
al resolutions to the board for a vote
Tuesday. Among the resolutions is a
call for Reardon’s resignation.
Unit faces challenge of caring for older prisoners
FORT WORTH, (AP)—Many require restrict
ed diets and have special medical needs, includ
ing kidney dialysis, which cost taxpayers $ 122 per
treatment. The cost of housing an inmate in the
geriatric ward is about $16,200 a year, almost the
same as a typical prison unit. But medical ex
penses, an average of about $8,000 per year per
inmate, are four times higher than for typical in
mates, according to TDCJ statistics.
The 59 inmates assigned to the Estelle Unit
about 10 miles north of Huntsville are part of a
growing population of inmates over 60.
The number of inmates 60 and older has been
steadily increasing for five years, keeping pace
with the increase of the general prison population,
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday.
The 60-and-over group reached 1,662 in
1996, up from 639 in 1992. Most older inmates
remain in prison because of recent policies
mandating longer sentences and more strin
gent parole requirements; some are there be
cause they committed crimes as senior citizens.
Although they represent just 1 percent of all
state prisoners, the older generation of inmates
is expected to keep growing as the prison sys
tem expands, officials say.
Tony Fabelo, executive director of the Texas
Criminal Justice Policy Council, said his staff
has not determined what effect a larger elder
ly inmate population will have on the state’s
144,000-bed prison system.
“That is an issue we are going to have to
study very carefully,” said Fabelo, whose
agency analyzes trends and forecasts the
prison system’s needs. “It stands to reason that
an older population will put a strain on the sys
tem because their medical needs cost more
and because of concerns for their safety.”
The men in Estelle’s geriatric ward are consid
ered medically unfit to work and unlikely to be
come violent, so they are free to roam around their
dormitory and tire ward’s two day rooms as they
wish or may choose to lie in their bunks all day. The
day rooms have color television and are separat
ed by a cafeteria that also serves as a common area.
Women share miracle, sadness of lifesaving heart transplant
DALLAS (AP) —Almost three years after undergoing a lifesaving heart
transplant, the recipient met the mother of the donor.
The heart of Angelina Davis’ young son, Ernesto, beats strongly within Shari’s
chest. Without that extraordinary gift, Shari—who asked that her last name not
be used—never would have gotten the chance to watch her own boys grow up.
The two mothers met Saturday at Medical City Dallas Hospital. Both
said they were nervous, a little uncertain and desperate to see each other.
The meeting was part of the “Holidays With Hearts of Angels” celebration
at Medical City Dallas, where 100 heart transplants have been performed.
Davis brought along a photograph of her son, Ernesto Garza, just 13 when
he died in a February 1995 auto accident in his hometown ofVictoria.
“He has a sparkle in his eyes,” Shari said. “That tells you a lot.”
Shari and Eric huddled with Davis, daughter Beatrice Garza her grandson,
exchanging bits of history and sharing the details that brought them together.
Davis spoke proudly of her son, a boy fiercely protective of his family,
with a fiery temper and a giving heart.
When his sister Beatrice got her driver’s license at 16, Ernesto wondered
about the box for organ donation. Beatrice explained why she had marked
“yes,” and Ernesto told his mother, “I want to do that.”
The discussion came two weeks before he died, Davis said.
While Ernesto’s death was quick and unexpected, Shari’s illness lingered
for months and grew progressively worse.
She was several months’ pregnant with her fourth son, Kendal, feeling tired
and weak, when doctors discovered she suffered from a critical heart problem.
Her left ventricle was not pumping nearly enough blood, and the heart
itself was enlarged, she said.
“They immediately put me on bed rest and suggesting terminating the
pregnancy if I was to survive,” Shari said. “We refused that recommenda
tion, and I went to bed and stayed there for the next four months.”
Shari carried Kendal to term, though she was so weak, “I could barely
lift my arms,” she said.
After the birth, Shari and Eric were sure she would recover with medicine
and therapy. But she grew steadily weaker. By Christmas 1994, she was so ex
hausted, Shari was convinced it would be her last holiday with her family.
KEVIN
C O S X N E R
^■1
The year is 2013.
One man walked in
off the horizon
and hope cat
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“ JAMES NEW! HM “B DAI BRIN ERIC ROIH i
“ KEVIN CRIER
JAMES RUSSO*TOM PEHY
EVEIISCH* KEVIN COSINER
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OPENS DEGEIVIBEFC 25 E V E FI Y W I-I E Ft E
Have you updated your local
address??
Ags the two easiest ways
are:
• go to your favorite
computer lab access
BONFIRE & update on
the address change
screen
• go to either Heaton
Hall, the Pavilion, or the
Student Health Ctr.
(Beutel) and fill out a
change of address card
John D. Huntley Inc.
313 B. South College Ave.
College Station, Texas 77840
(409) 846-8916
"Very personal investments"