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HEALTHYBYTESTM
THE ONLINE HEALTH
AND WELLNESS NEWSLETTER
A Quarterly Publication of: TheraCompTM
April/May/June 2001
TheraComp
is the occupational rehabilitation division of Strength Training
Rehabilitation
Health
News
Plant
Hormones May Help Treat Cancer
By
Patricia Reaney
Reuters
LONDON (May 23) - A hormone used by plants to control their growth is being
harnessed by British researchers to develop new targeted treatments for
cancer, researchers said on Wednesday.
Plants need the hormone, called indole acetic acid (IAA), to bend shoots
towards sunlight to help cuttings grow roots. Scientists at the Cancer
Research Campaign, a leading scientific charity, are using fragments of IAA
to kill cancer cells.
The hormone, which is produced by most plants, is harmless to humans. But, in
early laboratory studies when scientists used bits of it and coupled them
with an enzyme, it produced toxic by-products that destroyed cancerous tumors
without harming healthy cells.
Source: AOL News
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Home-grown
breasts could replace implants
LONDON (Reuters) - Breast implants for reconstructive surgery after a
mastectomy or for breast enhancement may not be necessary in the future, a
science magazine reported Wednesday.
Tissue engineers in Australia have developed a technique that could allow
women to grow their own new breast tissue.
The method developed by Kevin Cronin and scientists at the Bernard O'Brien
Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne has been successfully tested on rats,
mice and rabbits.
"Rather than growing the patient's tissue in the lab and then transplanting
it back into the body, as has been done in animal studies in the past, Cronin
grows the tissue on site," New Scientist magazine said.
Source: AOL News
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Botox
could help back pain
May 22, 2001 Posted: 2:47 PM EDT (1847 GMT)
(CNN) -- A drug derived from a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning
may provide relief for those who suffer chronic low back-pain, according to a
new study. Researchers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center found that
people who received injections of botulinum toxin A, or Botox, experienced a
reduction in back pain for as long as three to four months.
All the people who took part in the research had experienced lower back pain
for an average of six years, and all of them were taking various medications
to relieve the pain, inflammation and muscle spasms associated with their
condition. They stayed on the medication throughout the experiment. Fifteen
patients received botulinum toxin A, or Botox, injections, and 16 received a
placebo of saline solution. After three weeks, 11 of the 15 Botox patients
said their pain diminished by at least half. Four of the 16 who received
saline said their pain had been reduced by at least 50 percent.
After two months, nine of the 15 Botox recipients said their pain had been
reduced by more than 50 percent. Only two patients on the saline solution
reported a similar reduction.
Source: CNN
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Study:
Hormones Reduce Cancer Risk
By
PAUL RECER
.c
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (May 15) - Hormone replacement therapy after a diagnosis of breast
cancer does not increase the risk of recurrence of the disease and may even
lower chances that the cancer will return, according to a new study.
The therapy, in which post-menopausal women take pills to replace female
hormones that diminish with age, generally has been avoided by women with
breast cancer because it was known that estrogen was linked to the growth of
some tumors.
But Dr. Ellen O'Meara, a University of Washington cancer researcher, said her
new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that
breast cancer patients should not fear hormone replacement therapy, or HRT.
``The data are reassuring for women who take HRT after a breast cancer
diagnosis,'' O'Meara said Tuesday. ``HRT need not be ruled out
automatically.''
Source: AOL News
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Interesting
Statistics
Statistics
show
disparity
between the health of black and white Americans.
Life Expectancy: A white baby born in 1996 can expect to live for 76.8 years
while a black baby will live 70.0 years. Cancer: The death rate for cancer
among black men is 50% higher than for white men. Stroke: Blacks are nearly
twice as likely to die of strokes than white Americans.
Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services
Average cost of a low back injury requiring surgery is $40, 000, $29,000 for
carpal tunnel surgery. For every $$ a company spends in these direct costs
they will spend another another 3-5 times on indirect costs such as
productivity loss, overtime, rehiring and retraining.
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TheraCompTM
and Strength Training RehabTM
Announcements
The
management and staff at TherComp and Strength Training Rehabilitation
would like to welcome Chester Petrosky and Bill Klein to our management and
marketing teams. Each of these gentlemen bring loads of experience in their
respective fields. We are very pleased to have them on board. Chester our
Business Manager can be reached at (602) 547-1836 and Bill can be reached at
(602) 821-6892.
Also, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind each of our referral
sources that our 24/7 Injury, Referral and Care Coordination Hotline is
available and fully functional. The number is (602) 547-5912. Call this
number for any of your referral, patient care or communicative needs. Erin,
our very capable Care Coordinator, will assist and expedite your patient
referrals and scheduling to any of our PT, Hand and Industrial clinics across
Arizona.
Outcomes:
Since November 2000 we have received 19 referrals into our industrial
work-conditioning program. At the time of referral, all patients were either
not working or on modified/light/transitional work status (for an average of
4 months). Recent outcomes show that of these 19 patients, 10 have returned
to full duty work unrestricted, 2 returned to their pre-injury job with some
modifications and accommodations, 1 has been recently discharged with status
unknown at this time, 5 remain in the program and 1 was discharged as no
further authorization was provided by carrier. Payors of 16 of these
referrals were industrial carriers and 3 were from a private disability
carrier. The average duration of each program was 4.7 weeks and averaged a
total cost of $1900.00 per case.
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