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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2004)
Peace Corps needs Americans with skills in Environment EduC ation Business a ar icuIture Peace Corps needs 5,500 graduates m " Si** ■ with skills in agriculture, business, education, environment, health and information technology. All majors are welcome. Benefits include medical, dental and housing, as well as a monthly stipend and 24 vacation days a year. Graduates can defer student loans while serving. Visit the TAMU Career Center 209 Koldus Building to pick up a Peace Corps Catalog. www.peacecorps.gov • 800.424.8580 The Battalion IN PRINT • ONLINE • ON RADIO News Sports Opinion Mailcall Aggielife Photo/Graphics Comics A.R News Classifieds www.thebatt.com 10 NATII Tuesday, March 9, 2004 the BATTAlli Aggressive cholesterol-lowering improves heart attack survival By Daniel Q. Haney THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW ORLEANS — A major study released Monday found that especially aggressive treatment with statin drugs, intended to drive cholesterol far below current standards, prevents new heart prob lems and saves lives. These drug are a cornerstone of cardiac care, routinely prescribed for heart attack victims. However, the new results suggest doctors should opt for high doses of the most powerful brands to give recent ly discharged heart patients the best chance of survival. “It’s a lifesaving strategy and will become a huge paradigm shift in the treatment of patients with high cholesterol,” predicted Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic. For several years, federal guidelines have recommended bringing down heart attack patients’ levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol, below 100. To test whether this is far enough, doctors compared two strate gies — moderate doses of an older statin versus high doses of a more powerful newer one. The older drug, Pravachol, dropped patients’ LDL by almost one- quarter to 95. But the newer one, Lipitor, cut it in half to just 62. The lower cholesterol made a difference. After two years of fol low-up, 26 percent of those getting Pravachol had died or experi enced a variety of other ill events, including new heart attacks, bypass surgery, rehospitalization for chest pain or strokes. The same happened in 22 percent on Lipitor. “We have very big news in the treatment of cholesterol,” said the study’s director. Dr. Christopher Cannon of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Heart attack "patients going home from the hos- Lowering cholesterol, improving suivival Lowering heart attack victims’ cholesterol below current stand*; improves heart attack survival, according to a new study. It suggests the newer, more potent variety of the statin drug, Upito worked best with high-risk patients. Percent who died or experienced other ill events* Used 40 milligrams ol Pravachol dally ... or 80 milligrams of Lipitor daily HBl 26% died or 22% died or ■ become ill become 11 A5 * 4,162 patients with a new heart attack or severe chest pain were randomly assg«: one of two drugs daily. After a two years of follow up, researchers looked alvifc patients had died or experienced other ill events such as a new heart attack SOURCES The New England Journal ol Medicine; Associated Press pital beginning today need to be treated withjnore intensiveclti terol-lowering.” Doctors caution that it is still too soon to say whether the si true for heart patients w ho have not had recent heart attacks.Sei studies are under way to see if they, too, benefit from getting! LDL far below 100. Nevertheless, Cannon and others said the LDL goalforre heart attack patients should be lowered, and soon. Dr. Tlio Pearson of the University of Rochester, who helped draw uptk eral guidelines several years ago, said the 100 target was agn based on very early research data. UlA’GCH *SOlU& BOO-G5? Today @ M5C Flagroom from 11-2 FREE Spring Break Survival Kits Spring Break Saftey Tip: Over 90% of all date rapes are alcohol related... Date rape drugs are oderless, colorless, and tasteless. Over the break, look out for yourself and your friends. http://studentlife.tamu.edu/adep mmsiiinimi Student Counseling Service Career Counseling -■/-Is your future clear? Let us helgpE- Career Safari Match interests with academic majors and occupations. Do What You Are incorporate your personality into career planning. DISCOVER Web-based Career Guidance Individual Career Counseling Career Exploration Group Academic & Career Resource Center Open 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Career Library Vocational Biographies (Provides Information, written In newspaper style, about the career paths of Individuals In various occupations.) If you have any questions about Career Counseling Services, please contact the Student Counseling Service, Henderson Hall, Room 114 (979) 845-4470 ext. 108 NEWS IN BRIEF The other 'Alain still open for fib BRACKETTVILLE, Tf; (AP) — A Western movie with a replica of the Alamo scene for John Wayne’sfc the shrine of Texas liberty, bypassed for the latest rerr, of the Texas epic. Butitsm says it’s still a locale fors. productions. Alamo Village, located a 120 miles west of San M was the state’s first permare outdoor movie location andti itself as the largest and m complete movie setinttienatc Virginia Shahan, whose husband Happy persuadi Wayne in 1957 to mate movie in Brackettville, sa^s 500-acre ranch that indi the set originally built to res ble San Antonio as thf appeared in 1836 is for The asking price is $6.5 n# A new movie Alamo battle, shot lastjt used a new set built cto Austin, near Dripping Spi That two-hour film, also “The Alamo” and produc Touchstone Pictures, a di of Walt Disney Studios, ii to open April 9. Since Wayne’s film atl Village, more than 100 films and television slw as P ro ranging from an IMAXprod | an yf tree/ A C 4 K tion on the Alamo to Westerns, have been the complete Old West tow Texas cafeterias step up nutritb icesse fthe c In tl iscove isalte DALLAS (AP) — At si “Ppon South Texas schools, a ( °ww; plan for serving nui Mner meals to children is a iei “rest; Old favorites like | yisei tamales, breakfast tacos e caus( bacon and nacho cheese onserv injected with oil taken ft# Han small, herringlike fish, flu a Per,l contains omega-3 fatty ai ;v eral which research has linkei M pa positive health effects, inclJ ,e nt sj decreased risk of heart alts But critics are skeptical ;rv ativ benefits from adding a Pel 0' wa: fat to unhealthy foods. 1 ited tc say the quantity of oma 113 wh added to foods is toosmi teorit lo Ion: have any health benefit Earlier this month, III Agriculture Commissi Susan Combs issued school nutrition polio) restrictions on fried anC fatty foods, setting rul types of foods that call served in public schools, Advocates of fish oil safl way to make lunchtimeW er without getting rkh dren’s favorite foods. “I’d say this is a milesiii'csof Margaret Lopez, wholealj child nutrition program t Texas Education Age Region I that includes dis| in the Rio Grande Vs The Dallas Morning Monday’s editions. However, others sa rather put their energies teaching kids howtoeatt* than adding a bit of nut# ’Pair i fatty tamales. frsecu aning fould: The ! v oluti 'Venn | 3 Pose > r s ant le $e re beral t I len i, p leasar tyen- konse I 'Peric :r ned v iden( Pong lion c Pdent; This 3| lty 0 ® e He (