DARK SIDE OF CANDLE
PARIS
Churchgoing may be good for the soul but it could also be dangerous for the lungs, according to a study published in the
European Respiratory Journal.
University of Maastricht researcher Theo de Kok and colleagues measured levels of fine particulates in the air of a small chapel and a local basilica after experiments in which they burned candles for nine hours and simulated a service in which incense was burned.
Fine particulate matter--defined as solid particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less--is a devil among air pollutants. These particles are so small that they can reach very deep into the lungs and, as they often comprise soot, metals or carcinogens, can cause a range of problems ranging from cancer to heart disease.
De Kok's team was astonished to find that, after the usual nine hours of candle-burning, church air had between 600 and 1,000 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter. This is 20 times the European Union (EU) limits for average concentrations of indoor air measured over 24 hours.
The news about incense was similarly grim. "We also found very high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, well known to be carcinogenic, as well as various types of free radicals, including some previously undocumented ones," said De Kok.
Free radicals are rogue molecules blamed for damaging lung tissue and triggering a range of inflammatory reactions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.
De Kok says further work is needed to verify these findings. He believes the discovery is "very worrying," for it implies that priests and churchworkers--and even devout worshippers who spend several hours each day in church--face the risk of respiratory damage.
AFP
TEETH FOR MEMORY
STOCKHOLM
When your dentist pulls an aching tooth he could be yanking out some of your memory at the same time, according to a Swedish study.
"Teeth appear to be of the utmost importance to our memories," said coauthor Jan Bergdahl, a dentist and an associate psychology professor at the Umeaa University in northern Sweden.
For the study, which is part of a broader memory study called Betulastudien, researchers followed 1,962 people ages 35 to 90 starting in 1988, comparing the memories of those who still had teeth and those who had pulled all their teeth and were using dentures. "When people have no teeth their memories are clearly worse than when they have teeth," Bergdahl said.
Recent Japanese studies on rats and monkeys have shown the link between teeth and memory but according to Bergdahl this is the first large-scale study on humans that clearly connects the same dots.
While the Swedish research has yet to unveil what impact pulling a single tooth has on the human memory, Bergdahl said that "going forward, we plan to look into how many teeth a person has to lose before it affects their memory. We will also investigate how tooth decay affects memory loss, and what affect tooth implants have." He insisted however that he didn't expect future studies to reveal that implants improve memory.
"I don't think that is very probable. Animal tests have shown that pulling teeth severs nerves to the brain," Bergdahl said, pointing out that the new Swedish study could dramatically change dental care for the elderly.
AFP
SAVING BUGS BUNNY
BRUSSELS
New drug tests pioneered by European Union scientists will save up to 200,000 rabbits a year from the laboratory. The scientists used human blood cells instead of rabbits to test for the pyrogens, and their new methods are already in use in 200 laboratories worldwide, the European Commission said. "Thanks to these alternative methods rabbits will no longer be needed to test the presence of pyrogens in parenteral drugs."
AFP
US$466.3-B
Global pharmaceutical sales, 2003
US$229-B
Pharmaceutical sales in North America, 2003
US$47.1-B
Global pharmaceutical sales of Pfizer, 2003
US$1.042-B
Pharmaceutical sales in the Philippines, 1998
US$10.3-B
Global sales of Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin), best-selling drug of 2003
30th
Global rank of the Philippines in total pharmaceutical spending, 1998
6
Percentage of global pharmaceutical expenses on cholesterol- and
triglyceride-lowering agents, 2003
7
Percentage of growth in global retail pharmacy sales, September 2003
62
Percentage growth in sales of AstraZeneca's Nexium (esomeprazole) in just one year, 2003
PhP26.97-B
Zuellig Pharma Corp., revenues, 1999
PhP10.66-B United Laboratories
revenues, 1999
PhP25.9-B Mercury Drug Store
sales, 1999
Sources: IMS (via imshealth.com and ims-global.com)and IMS World Review 12/2003; Ibon Foundation (Drug Industry in the Philippines primer, 2001)
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