Sperm-Producing Cells Coaxed to Produce Insulin

Researchers have been able to prod human cells that normally produce sperm to make insulin instead and, after transplanting them, the cells briefly cured mice with type 1 diabetes. "The goal is to coax these cells into making enough insulin to cure diabetes. These cells don't secrete enough insulin to cure diabetes in humans yet," cautioned study senior researcher G. Ian Gallicano, an associate professor in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, and director of the Transgenic Core Facility at Georgetown University Medical Center, in Washington D.C.

Gallicano and his colleagues will be presenting the findings Sunday at the American Society of Cell Biology annual meeting in Philadelphia. Type 1 diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, people with type 1 diabetes must rely on insulin injections to be able to process the foods they eat. Without this additional insulin, people with type 1 diabetes could not survive.

Doctors have had some success with pancreas transplants, and with transplants of just the pancreatic beta cells. There are several problems with these types of transplants, however. One is that as with any transplant, when the transplanted material comes from a donor, the body sees the new tissue as foreign and attempts to destroy it. So, transplants require immune-suppressing medications. The other concern is that the autoimmune attack that destroyed the original beta cells can destroy the newly transplanted cells.

Fresh Seafood Shouldn't Smell Fishy, Food Science Expert Says

If seafood is on the menu this holiday, there are a number of ways you can ensure that it's fresh and safe. A faint sea odor is normal, but fresh seafood should not smell "fishy," according to Kantha Shelke, an Institute of Food Technologists food science expert. Freshly cut fish, peeled crustaceans and shucked mollusks should be moist, not slimy or dry around the edges. Fresh fish should have clear, well-rounded eyes, not clouded, dry and sunken. The gills should be bright red, not darkened or slimy, and the fish should feel moist and springy instead of mushy, she added.

Fresh prawns, shrimp, lobster, soft shell crabs and rock shrimp should have a uniformly light-colored tail without any discoloration, Shelke said. Mollusks in the shell should be alive and hold tightly to their shells when handled and must come with either a "last sale date" or "date shucked." When buying fresh oysters, look for a natural creamy color within a clear liquid. It's best to buy fresh seafood the day you're going to eat it. If that isn't possible, properly store it in the fridge or freezer until it is prepared and cooked. Shelke offered the following storage tips:

* Fresh fish, shrimp, scallops, freshwater prawns, and lobster tails can be stored in tightly sealed storage bags or plastic containers and kept on ice in the refrigerator. Using this method, fresh scallops and crustacean tails will keep three to four days and fresh fish will keep five to seven days.

* Scallops, crustacean tails and fish can be frozen in water and stored in a freezer for four to six months. To thaw, leave them in the refrigerator overnight or you can place them under cold, running tap water immediately before you cook them.

* Live, hardshell mollusks can remain alive for a week to 10 days stored un-iced in the fridge, kept at 34 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit.

* Freshly shucked mollusks can keep for up to 10 days when packed in ice and stored in the refrigerator.

* Fresh softshell crabs can be stored up to two days if wrapped in plastic and packed in ice in the fridge. They can keep for up to six months when wrapped in several layers of plastic and stored in a freezer. It is important to thaw these overnight in the refrigerator only.

'Stop Smoking' Ads That Target Emotions Seem to Work Best

Television ads that encourage people to quit smoking are most effective when they use a "why to quit" strategy that includes either graphic images or personal testimonials, a new study suggests. The three most common broad themes used in smoking cessation campaigns are why to quit, how to quit and anti-tobacco industry, according to scientists at RTI International, a research institute. The study authors examined how smokers responded to and reacted to TV ads with different themes. They also looked at the impact that certain characteristics such as cigarette consumption, desire to quit, and past quit attempts had on smokers' responses to the different types of ads.

"While there is considerable variation in the specific execution of these broad themes, ads using the 'why to quit' strategy with graphic images or personal testimonials that evoke specific emotional responses were perceived as more effective than the other ad categories," lead author Kevin Davis, a senior research health economist in RTI's Public Health Policy Research Program, said in an institute news release. Davis and his colleagues also found that those who had less desire to quit and those who had not tried quitting in the past year had significantly less favorable responses to all types of smoking cessation ads. The same was true, to a lesser extent, for smokers with high levels of cigarette consumption.

"These findings suggest that smokers clearly differ in their reactions to cessation-focused advertising based on their individual desire to quit, prior experience with quit attempts and, to a lesser degree, cigarette consumption. These are important considerations for campaign creators, designers and media planners," Davis said. The study, published online in the journal Tobacco Control, used data from 7,060 adult smokers in New York State who took part in an online survey. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a new "comprehensive tobacco control strategy" that would include not only graphic photos on packs of cigarettes, but bold statements such as "Smoking Will Kill You."

Expert Panel Links Popular Bone Drugs to Rare Fracture

An expert panel concludes that bone-strengthening bisphosphonate drugs such as Actonel, Boniva and Fosamax can actually raise risks for a rare type of fracture of the thighbone. The panel is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which has been awaiting the report to add a special warning to that effect on the drugs' labeling. "Bisphosphonates may be related to atypical femur fractures," said Dr. Elizabeth Shane, a professor of medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She is the lead author of the report, which was compiled by a special task force at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

"These fractures are very unusual," Shane added. "But we are still concerned that patients could still have these fractures. There may well be a link between these fractures and bisphosphonates." The FDA has been given a copy of the panel report for review, she said. The findings are published Sept. 14 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Bisphosphonates a class of prescription medications use to treat osteoporosis have been shown to lessen the odds of getting common bone fractures of the hip and leg. However, they may also help trigger a weakness that makes a particular type of thigh bone fracture more likely in rare cases, the panelists said.

There has been conflicting evidence on a such a link, however. For example, one study published in 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine did find a correlation between the long-term use of Fosamax and atypical fractures in postmenopausal women. But a study published this March in the same journal seemed to refute the connection. The FDA had looked to the expert panel to help provide some clarity. The group's new recommendations came after a thorough review of 310 of these atypical thigh fractures. In that review, the panel found that 94 percent of these patients had taken bisphosphonates. Most had taken the drugs for five years or more. Shane noted these fractures are so unusual that they make up less than 1 percent of all hip and thigh fractures.

FDA Panel to Mull Ban on Diet Drug Meridia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will ask an expert panel later this week whether or not the diet drug Meridia should be banned due to suspected heart risks. In documents released Monday ahead of the panel meeting, which begins Wednesday, the agency said that members of its Endocrinologic & Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee will be asked to consider a number of options, including taking no action, adding label warnings and/or restrictions to the use of Meridia, or to withdraw from the U.S. market. The meeting comes on the heels of a study released earlier this month that linked the drug to an increased risk of nonfatal heart attacks and stroke, although taking the drug did not seem to up the risk of death in patients with a history of heart problems.

The trial involved almost 11,000 older, overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes or heart disease or both who were randomized either to take Meridia or a placebo and followed for about 3.4 years. In the group taking Meridia, 11.4 percent had a heart attack, stroke or died as the result of a heart problem, versus 10 percent in the control group, a 16 percent increase. People taking Meridia also had a 28 percent higher risk for nonfatal heart attack and a 36 percent raised risk for nonfatal stroke, compared to those taking placebo, the authors found. The study stirred mixed reactions from experts. According to the authors of the trial, which was funded by Meridia's maker, Abbott, the findings are generally in line with what has been known about the drug and shouldn't change how it is used.

"The only time you've got an increase in heart attacks or strokes were in those patients who had had previous heart disease or strokes, in other words, the people who should never have received the drug in the first place," said Dr. Philip T. James, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in England, and first author on the paper, which was published in the Sept. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Since January, sibutramine (Meridia) has carried a label warning that it should not be used by people with preexisting heart disease, so "the current prescription is entirely appropriate," James said. However, not everyone agreed. According to Dr. Greg Curfman, executive editor of the NEJM and co-author of an accompanying editorial, the FDA's January warning was based on preliminary information only. The new study results represent the first hard data, "the first outcomes trial," he said.

Chemicals in Rugs, Cookware May Be Linked to Raised Cholesterol in Teens

Common chemicals found in everything from non-stick cookware to grease-resistant food packaging appear to be associated with increases in cholesterol levels in adolescents, a new study suggests. People are exposed to these chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)in dust, drinking water, non-stain carpets, waterproof fabrics, microwave popcorn bags and a host of other household products. "This is the first study that takes an in-depth look at an association between these chemicals and health effects in children," said study author Stephanie J. Frisbee, research instructor in the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown.

The PFAA compounds in question include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS). "We found a positive association between PFOA and PFOS and total [cholesterol] and LDL cholesterol," she said. As the blood levels of these chemical increased, so did cholesterol, Frisbee added. The American Chemical Council, an industry group, did not respond to repeated attempts by HealthDay to get comment on the findings. The report is published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. For the study, Frisbee's team looked at cholesterol levels in more than 12,000 children and adolescents who are part of the C8 Health Project.

This project resulted from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Dupont over the landfill dumping of chemicals that contaminated groundwater in six water districts in two states near the company's plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and exposed residents to levels of C8 (another name for PFOA) far higher than that of the general population. Among the participants, the average PFOA concentration was 69.2 nanograms per milliliter and average PFOS concentration was 22.7 nanograms per milliliter. Among 12- to 19-year-olds, the PFOA concentrations were higher than those seen in the general population, but PFOS concentrations were similar to those seen in samples from the general population, the researchers found.