Study: Start young to avoid osteoporosis
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Preteen girls need to boost their calcium intake to build bone mass and avoid the brittle bones of osteoporosis in old age, researchers said Wednesday.
Researchers from Ohio State University Medical Center said their clinical trial found pre-adolescent girls' bone mass increased significantly when they supplemented their calcium intake.
Lead author Velimir Matkovic said the findings suggest that brittle bones in older women can be avoided if they take in sufficient calcium before they reach puberty.
"Because most bone mass is accumulated during this phase of growth, pre-adolescence may represent the time of highest need for calcium in a female's lifetime," Matkovic said.
The youthful growth spurt accounts for 37 percent of an adult's skeletal mass and "inadequate calcium intake during this period compromises the bone mineral accumulation rate," Matkovic said.
The study is the first clinical trial involving bone development of girls age 8 to 13, 354 of which were tracked for up to seven years, and its findings were reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of Nutrition.
Study: At-risk U.S. adults skip aspirin
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A U.S. medical group said Wednesday 43 percent of U.S. adults aged 40 and older who are at increased risk of cardiovascular events don't take aspirin.
The American College of Preventive Medicine said preliminary results of its Harris Interactive survey found that nearly half of U.S. adults should be taking aspirin to cut their risk of heart attack or stroke.
The survey found that aspirin is underutilized by both men and women aged 40 and over who are at increased risk for heart disease, and that this underutilization may be due to their tendency to underestimate their risk for a heart attack.
The results were drawn from a nationally representative survey of 647 men and 652 women age 40 and over and 533 healthcare professionals.
The survey, which has a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points, was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Germany's Bayer Aspirin.
AIDS drug gets tentative U.S. approval
ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given tentative approval of a South African co-packaged antiretroviral drug regimen for HIV infection.
The agency's tentative approval means that although existing patents and/or exclusivity prevent U.S. marketing of Aspen's Pharmacare's product, it meets FDA's quality, safety and efficacy standards for U.S. marketing.
That means the product now becomes available for potential procurement by President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief outside the United States.
The regimen consists of co-packaged lamivudine/zidovudine fixed dose combination tablets and nevirapine tablets.
Lamivudine/zidovudine fixed dose combination tablets are a version of the already approved Combivir tablets manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, and nevirapine tablets are a version of Viramune tablets manufactured by Boehringer-Ingelheim.
Poor are victims of toxic waste imports
GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- China remains one of the world's top dumping grounds for toxic waste, which is causing serious health and environmental problems in poor areas, reports say.
Developing countries are absorbing most of the world's annual 500 million tons of toxic waste, with China among the top destinations, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.
China imported 3 million tons of waste plastic in 2003 and 1.88 million tons in the first half of last year, the newspaper said, quoting customs statistics.
The country also takes in millions of tons of "e-waste" -- computers, televisions and mobile phones -- from Europe and North America.
Greenpeace China said the waste is causing nerve damage and lung diseases in poor areas of the country where it is processed.
China recently tightened its ban on imported industrial waste in an effort to protect the environment, but many Chinese trading companies continue the illegal business because it yields high profits, Greenpeace spokesman Lai Yun said.
