The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 21, 2000, Image 5
riiursday, September 21,2000 science Page 5 A THE BATTALION A. ^ Calcium supplements found to be risky spanics who vote ased in recent icreas the total ntc tple uHing has tied Interest in Hispid e has increased! I \ i n recent years • most recentexat| CHICAGO (AP) — Many over- 'jP.'the-counter calcium supplements Hit millions take to keep bones Kong contain small amounts of lead Kit c'ould be a health risk if recom- iaended doses are exceeded, new re- five percent of Americans take these potentially lead-heavy pills every day w much f s crossed intothi earn was the debi> un (iramni) Awa:,.i on CBS. More tched this ic Spanish tirst lane llion American , se. trch suggests. ■ Though manufacturers have re- dlced the lead content since the de- , , , bate first surfaced several years I he show teate i tU J , ^ ago, the authors say they re-exam- , s iled the issue because doctors are lumbtan singerVr. . . ,. . . , . v c - mcreasinely recommending calei- 1 N Svncjoinet t & , um supplements to menopausal , ' . . ^ / i Wmnen and other patients to pre- Vo v A A mar. r t , ' 1 , , . v|nt osteoporosis, nslation ot the c AU . c . n. u IIC , ••-ruw i • v About 5 percent ot the U.S. pop- 1 ms I Promise 1 , ^ r ■ , „ ulation takes the supplements, in- interest in the - , • ui ^ r , a ■ • eluding a sizable number of suaee is increasiEiaB , < r nsus^Bur' iu star 1 W cn0 P ausa women - vv ‘ 10 ,ace an ll1 ' ’ s.iu sun 'j4 ease( j 0 p osteoporosis as their bodies stop producing estrogen. About 10 million Americans suffer .fr°m the bone-thinning disease. ate that the percew h school students n doubled in rece .* number of peopi; - :d in Spanish d . s. colleges and Hi: i has increasedb)S' pcrceht. Phis increasedinleo Spanish language;;-! iiuis with the fact Its 1 cent of adults age 1!j -rin the United to misli-speaking. Calcium is often mined from an cient seabeds that also may contain “A backlash against calcium supplements — evoked by a lead scare — would unquestionably do far more harm ... than would continued inges tion of current supplements.” — Dr. Robert Heaney Creighton University lead, which in high doses can dam age the nerves, blood cells and di gestive system, causing such prob lems as irritability, fatigue, vomiting, convulsions and permanent brain damage. However, the authors say their findings suggest supplements are generally safe and beneficial unless taken in larger-than-recommended doses for many years. The authors tested 23 products in March; their results appear in Wednesday’s Journal of the Ameri can Medical Association. The authors found no detectable level of lead in 15 of the supple ments. The remainder had from 1.74 micrograms to 3.43 micrograms per 1,500 milligrams of calcium. The dose generally recommended to help prevent osteoporosis is about 1,200 milligrams to 1,500 mil ligrams daily. Experts have suggested that the body’s total daily exposure to lead should not exceed 6 micrograms, said Dr. Edward Ross, a University of Florida nephrologist who conducted the study with toxicology experts at the school’s Gainesville campus. An editorial in the same issue, by a medical consultant for many calci um suppliers, says the industry has made great strides in getting lead out of supplements and criticizes the au thors for sounding an unnecessary alarm. “A backlash against calcium sup plements — evoked by a lead scare — would unquestionably do far more harm ... than would continued ingestion of current supplements,” Dr. Robert Heaney of Creighton Uni versity said in the editorial. Heaney also is a spokesman for the National Osteoporosis Founda tion. an advocacy group that seeks to reduce the prevalence of osteo porosis. The foundation promotes the use of calcium supplements when food intake of the mineral is inadequate. Though the issue prompted a widely publicized 1997 California lawsuit that forced one manufactur er to reduce the lead in its products, many consumers remain unaware of the potential exposure. “I’m just taking this because I’m old and I was told to for my bones and osteoporosis,” said Eilene Booth by, 53, of Nevada City, Calif. “Now I have to go home and look on the back of my bottle.” Makers of the dietary supple ments are not required to list lead content, and Ross said some adver tise their products as being lead-free even when they contain small amounts of lead. Ross said the findings should prod manufacturers into either further re ducing lead content or listing the amount on the label. A spokeswoman for Leiner Health Products Group, the manu facturer involved in the California case, said she hadn’t seen the study and would not comment. More than strong bones According to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the small amounts of lead contained in many calcium supplements could, in exces sive doses, pose a health risk. U.S. retail sales of minerals, in millions of dollars 1999 Calcium $624 Magnesium $133 Chromium $120 Zinc $109 ■i Selenium $76 | Potassium $68 - : Iron $65 111 Others $55 Note: Others include silica, manganese, boron, choline, iodine, phosphorous and copper. ■ Source: Nutrition Business Journal AP Scenes of Technology New antibiotic for pneumonia ready TORONTO (AP) — A new fami ly of bacteria killers on the hori zon for pneumonia and other dis eases should offer an alternative to standard antibiotics that have lost their punch because germs are growing resistant. Medicines called macrolides are a standard treatment for many bacterial infections that cause respiratory diseases. They include such antibiotic warhorses as erythromycin. However, bugs like strep and staph are growing resistant to them, as well as to the primary backup medicines, known as quinolones. The drug industry’s latest sal vo are the ketolides. They are de rived from the macrolides, but they are chemically different, so they will kill bacteria that are re sistant to macrolides. Honey bees may hold key to curb alcoholism STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Honey bees and humans have at least one thing in common: They both drink alcohol, and researchers want to know whether the insects can be used to test drugs de signed to curb alcoholism. Some animals have to be injected or tricked into consuming alcohol, but not bees. In studies, honey bees harnessed on a small metal holder consumed solutions with various levels of ethanol. “We can even get them to drink pure ethanol, and 1 know of no organism that drinks pure ethanol, not even a college student,” said Charles Abramson, a comparative psychologist at Okla homa State University. Research could determine within a few months whether bees are suitable subjects that would al low drug companies to use fewer vertebrates in the first line of drug testing, Abramson said. Abramson, assistant Gina Fellows from the University of Hertfordshire in England and other students have begun giving bees the drug Antabuse, which makes alcoholics sick when they drink in order to curb consumption. The drug is administered gradually to bees, al lowing them to stop. “It looks like it does have an [effect] on the bees,” Abramson said. Tests have been limited to the lab, but the teaifr has begun conducting experiments in a more nat ural setting, with bees living in a hive atop a uni versity building. The bees are trained to come down to a third-floor window to drink and are marked for observation before buzzing away. • Bees and people are more alike than meets the eye. ] ■ VT1 t OffGsqw less [erobics Here’s your chance to join the university surfing team. All you need is a knack for surfing the network and DSL- the always-on, high-speed connection to the university LAN. DSL from Verizon lets you do so much more. E-mail and chat with other students in real time. Conduct online research at breakneck speed. Submit and download assignments over the network. And, that’s just the beginning. For more details about DSL or to learn about special deals created just for students and staff, visit us online today. http://dsl.tamu.edu DSL service not available in all areas. Special equipment is required. DSL service is dependent upon local network conditions. Each phone line must be tested and qualified. Testing will be done at time of order. THIS WEEKEND ONLY September 23rd & 24th at the AGGIE MEMORIAL BOOGIE skydiving event at Coulter Field in Bryan! Experience the thrill of a 60 second freefall tandem skydive with a certified instructor during this very special Aggie skydiving reunion! RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - LIMITED SLOTS CALL FOR INFORMATION & RESERVATIONS 281-561-JUMP All skydiving |x>rtK'iparrts must bp 01 least 16 years old and not more than 235 lbs www,4.0andgo.com or call 696-8886(TUTOR) Acct 229 Test Review Review 1 Tue Sept 26 9pm~12am : 1 •• ' Acct 229 Part I Sun Sept 24 9pm-12am Part H Mon Sept 25 7 pm-10pm Part III Tue Sept 26 7pm-9pm Acct 229 Billy's Video Billy’s Video Billy's Video 1 Billy's Video All Pr-nfc Part 1 r* t, Part 11 j OR ] Part 1 r a Part 11 Wed Sept 27 Wed Sept 27 Stm Oct 1 ^ Sun Oct 1 except Deere 7pm-IOpm i0pin-!am 6pm-9pm j 9pm-12am Acct 229 Billy 's Video Billy’s Video ..... Mon Sent 251 OR Sun Oct t [ Deere 10pm-2am lpm-5pm fa Econ 202 Test Review Sun Sept 24 pmi Allen 6pin-9pni - Econ 202 Part 1 Part 11 Part 1 i i Neideffer Mon Sept 25 1 ue Sept 26 Wed Sept 27 j 5pnt-7pm Spm~7prn 5pm-7pm Test Review Econ 322 Sun Sept 24 1 3pm-6pm ^ ; - ■ 11 Part I Part 11 Part 111 - p Info 305 Sun Sept 24 Mon Sept 25 Tue Sept 26 1 Spm-Spm 5pm~7pm 5pm~7pm Part 1 Part 11 Part HI v! Math 151 Mon Sept 25 Tue Sept 26 Wed Sept 27 Am lOptn-lam 10pm-l am 10pm-lam Js Part I Part 11 Part 111 ■M Math 152 Mon Sept 25 j Tue Sept 26 Wed Sept 27 !Mgmt 363 7pm-l ()prr> Test Review Sun Sept 24 7pm-10pm Tickets go on sale Sunday at 2:30 PM. 4.0 & Go is located on the comer of SW Pkwy and Tx Ave, behind KFC next to Lack's. Check our web page at http://www.4.0andGo.com