STUDY LINKS COCAINE USE TO HEART ATTACKS

Regular cocaine use increases the risk of heart attack in young people
and may cause one in every four heart attacks among people under the
age of 45, according to New York researchers.

Dr. Adnan I. Qureshi and his colleagues at the State University of New
York at Buffalo based their results on the most recent National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted between 1988 and
1994 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That
survey, for the first time, asked questions about cocaine use.

Qureshi and his colleagues reported in the February issue of Circulation:
Journal of the American Heart Assn. that about one in every 20 people
between the ages of 18 and 45 reported using cocaine regularly; 67% were
men. Analysis of the data showed that those who used the drug regularly
were nearly seven times as likely to have a heart attack as those who had
never used it.

Cocaine increases heart rate, contractions of the ventricles and the
heart's need for oxygen. It also constricts blood vessels and
increases platelet aggregation, which may lead to clotting.

Inhaled Morphine May Ease Pain Faster

A short whiff of morphine through the nose eases pain faster than
injections and avoids the pain associated with the needle stick
itself, according to British researchers.

Dr. Jason Kendall and his colleagues at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol
studied 404 patents, ages 3 through 16, who showed up at the emergency
room with limb fractures. Half were given conventional injections and
half an intranasal spray.

The team reported in the Feb. 3 British Medical Journal that onset of
pain relief was faster in the spray group, with lower pain scores at
5, 10 and 20 minutes after treatment. And 80% of patients given the
spray showed no obvious discomfort with it, compared to only 9% of
those given injections.

Inhaling Insulin Could Work For Diabetics

Inhalation may also be an effective route for delivery of insulin to
diabetics, according to another new study.

A team led by Dr. Jay Skyler of the University of Miami School of
Medicine studied 73 patients with Type 1, or insulin-dependent,
diabetes for three months. About half followed the conventional
regimen of two to three insulin injections daily. The rest received
inhaled insulin before each meal and an insulin injection before going
to bed at night.

The team reported in the Feb. 3 Lancet that the inhaled doses were as
effective at controlling diabetes symptoms as the insulin injections
by all measures studied. Although the study was relatively small,
researchers said the findings support continued development of the
concept.

Persimmons Get A Cardiac Thumbs-Up

An apple a day is good for fighting heart disease, but a persimmon is
even better, researchers say.

A head-to-head comparison of the two fruits by an international team
of researchers found that persimmons contain significantly higher
concentrations of dietary fiber, minerals and phenolic antioxidants,
all of which are crucial in fighting atherosclerosis--hardening of the
arteries.

The study, to be reported in the Feb. 19 Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry, found that persimmons have twice as much fiber as
apples and significantly higher levels of sodium, potassium,
magnesium, calcium, iron and manganese. Eating one medium-size
persimmon per day is enough to help fight heart disease, said lead
author Sheila Gorinstein of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Does Iron Metabolism Impact Parkinson's?

Problems with iron metabolism may play a role in Parkinson's disease
and some other brain disorders, according to animal research performed
at the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development.

Dr. Tracy Roualt and colleagues genetically engineered mice so that
they lacked the gene for iron regulatory protein 2 and found that the
mice developed damaging iron deposits in key areas of the brain. The
team reported in the February Nature Genetics that the mice suffered a
progressive deterioration of their nervous systems similar to that
observed in Parkinson's and in multiple system atrophy, often called
Parkinson's plus.

No one is saying that Parkinson's in humans is caused by a defect in
the IRP2 gene. But the strong similarity of symptoms suggests that
some defect in iron metabolism may play a major role in the disease.

Gene Defect Tagged In Two Disorders

Defects in a newly discovered gene can cause eyelid defects in
newborns and premature menopause in older women, according to an
international team of researchers.

The gene, called FOXL2, is required for normal development of the
eyelid, the team reports in the February Nature Genetics. Mutations
lead to a drooping eyelid condition called blepharophimosis.
Interestingly, the gene is also necessary to form a full complement of
eggs in the ovaries before birth. The researchers say that the
drooping eyelid syndrome may serve as a useful indicator that a female
is susceptible to early menopause.

Protein Could Play A Key Role In Lupus

Researchers at UC San Diego have identified a gene in mice that could
lead to new ways to treat lupus.

The gene appears to play a key role in the development of systemic
lupus erythromatosis (SLE), an incurable and potentially fatal disease
that turns victims' immune systems against them. SLE, commonly known
as lupus, affects an estimated 1 million Americans, 90% of them women.
It damages organs such as the kidneys, liver, brain, heart, spleen,
joints and lungs.

A team led by molecular biologist Jamey D. Marth reported in the Jan.
30 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that an SLE-like
disease in mice is caused by mutations in the gene for a protein
called alpha-mannosidase II. The protein is crucial to the formation
of sugar molecules on the surfaces of cells called N-glycans. The
N-glycans play a role in the process by which a person's immune system
is able to tell the difference between its own body and foreign
tissues or microorganisms. Defects in the N-glycans might therefore
deceive the immune system into thinking that normal organs are
actually foreign tissue, triggering an attack.