Health Highlights: Dec. 16, 2007
Mar. 23 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Blood Brain Flow Scan Can Identify Smokers' Nicotine Urges
Anyone who has attempted to quit smoking has experienced the sometimes overwhelming urge to resume that bad habit once the nicotine begins to leave the system.
For the first time, scientists have identified a brain activation that creates the nicotine craving and the continuing need to smoke. The findings by University of Pennsylvania scientists, to be published in the December 19, 2007, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, measure brain blood flow, according to a university news release.
The blood brain flow measuring system using an MRI scan was developed by Dr. John Detre, a University of Pennsylvania associate professor of neurology. The senior author of the paper, Caryn Lerman, the director of the university's Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, said, "MRI may aid in the identification of smokers at increased risk for relapse who may require more intensive therapy."
Each of 15 regular smokers received an MRI scanned within an hour of the first scan and got the second MRI after abstaining from smoking overnight. The findings showed that "abstinence-induced, unprovoked cravings to smoke are associated with increased activation in brain regions important in attention, behavioral control, memory, and reward," according to the news release.
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Liposuctioned Fat Stem Cells Effective in Breast Reconstruction after Lumpectomy, Study Finds
A small Japanese study shows promise for using stem cells from liposuctioned fat to reconstruct a woman's breast after she has had a procedure called a lumpectomy to remove small, malignant tumors.
Other methods for reconstructing the breast after lumpectomies have met with only limited success, the Associated Press reports. But the use of fat that contains stem cells appears to allow the tissue to keep from dying and to grow normally.
The study was presented Dec. 15 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the wire service reported. San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, which developed the procedure, says it will have more studies in Europe and Japan next year.
AutoZone Parts Inc., of Memphis Tenn., has received four reports of incidents of reverse polarity that led to minor property damage.
The recall includes Valucraft eight-gauge and 10-gauge booster cables, which are orange and have "8GA" or "10GA" printed on them. Consumers should stop using these cables and return them to any AutoZone store for a full refund or a free replacement.
For more information, contact AutoZone at 1-800-230-9786.
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More Blood Contaminants Found in People with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Study
People with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have higher levels of environmental contaminants, such as PCBs and organochlorine pesticides, in their blood than people without the disease, a Canadian study found. This suggests that the chemicals may be a factor in the disease, the study authors said.
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