Health Highlights: Dec. 28, 2008
Dec. 29 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Premature Birth Can Lead to Sensory Damage
Premature birth can result in lasting sensory damage, the BBC reported Saturday.
British researchers, who published their finding in the current issue of Pain, discovered that premature babies were less sensitive to heat and cold. They suspect that the repeated painful procedures that are necessary in neonatal intensive care units may be to blame for the dulled sensory abilities of these smallest infants, according to the BBC.
Premature infants are already at increased risk for disability and illness throughout their lives, the newspaper reported, but this latest finding adds another danger that doctors need to consider when treating newborns in intensive care units.
Given that development of the nervous system is particularly delicate at birth, the researchers noted that the problem is particularly pressing because premature births around the world are on the increase.
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First Drug for Longer, Darker Lashes Unveiled
Allergan Inc., the company that makes Botox, announced on Friday that it has staked its claim in the eyelash enhancement market.
In a news release, the Irvine, Calif.-based company said it had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's blessing to market Latisse, the first prescription medication that makes lashes grow longer, thicker and darker. Once it reaches the market in March, annual sales of Latisse are expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million.
A daily treatment, Latisse is applied to the base of the upper eyelid and the full effect is seen in 16 weeks. Once treatment is stopped, lashes will slowly return to normal, the company said in the release. The primary ingredient in Latisse, bimatoprost, is a prostaglandin analog that is present in hair and is thought to help in the development and regrowth of hair follicles. The company did warn that the medication should not be applied to the lower eyelid, and that any other part of the body that was exposed to Latisse might show hair growth. Allergan also noted that the eyelashes on each lid might not grow the exact same way.
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