A smoker addicted to nicotine who would like to quit cigarettes but cannot might avoid most of the habit’s health hazards by switching to snuff, an Alabama dental researcher suggests.
Writing in July’s issue of the American Journal of Medical Sciences, Dr. Brad Rodu of the University of Alabama dental school notes that cigarette smoke is linked to a host of hazards from heart disease to lung cancer.
Smokeless tobacco, however, is associated only with an increased risk of oral cancers. Indeed, Rodu notes, smoking cigarettes is actually a more potent cause of oral cancer than smokeless tobacco.
Based upon various studies, Rodu estimates that an individual who stops smoking cigarettes and starts using snuff will cut the risk of oral cancer in half while eliminating nearly all the other health risks of smoking.
Using oral tobacco doesn’t require a person to chew and spit in the disgusting manner of some baseball players, Rodu said. Snuff, a finely-ground form of tobacco, is now available in pinch-sized paper packets that can be slipped into one’s mouth without a noticeable bulge or increased salivation.
Snuff enables a former smoker to dose with nicotine to avoid craving a cigarette, Rodu said. Nicotine gum and patches, designed to help smokers quit cigarettes, don’t provide the same dosage control as snuff, he said.
“I don’t advocate that any non-smoker use smokeless tobacco,” said Rodu, “but for nicotine-addicted smokers who cannot quit, this is a safer alternative delivery system.”
BUILDING UP MUSCLES MAY HELP BONES, TOO
Exercises designed to strengthen the major muscles in the body, especially the back muscles, increased bone density in elderly volunteers, according to a study by the University of Florida at Gainesville. The findings suggest that such exercise may significantly reduce the risk of osteoporosis, which is caused by weakened bones.
After six months of weight training, 50 healthy volunteers between the ages of 62 and 82, who were living relatively sedentary lifestyles, showed an average 14 percent increase in bone mineral density. A MedX lumbar extension machine was used to strengthen back muscles.
“We believe that we can make changes in the spine and, in many cases, maintain bone mineral density with the proper amount of exercise, rather than continue to let it deteriorate with our sedentary lifestyle,” Dr. Michael Pollock reported at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Dallas.
By age 70 the average person has lost one-third of his or her bone density, increasing the risk of fractures. Women lose more bone after menopause when the production of estrogen, which helps maintain bone structure, slows or stops.
MANIC-DEPRESSIVE GENE LINKED TO CHROMOSOME
Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University believe they have solid evidence that links genes on chromosome 18 to manic-depressive disease, which afflicts an estimated 1 in 100 people. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
A study of 22 families that have high rates of manic-depressive disease showed that those with the disorder shared common genetic markers on the 18th chromosome, Dr. Wade Berrettini reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By narrowing the problem to chromosome 18, researchers may more quickly indentify the genes and environmental factors involved in the disease, Berrettini said.
COMPOUND BLOCKS LETHAL ENDOTOXEMIA
Endotoxemia, a runaway immune response to a bacterial infection, kills more than 400,000 Americans annually, striking mostly hospitalized patients.
The disorder long has eluded control, but a University of Wisconsin team of researchers may be on the trail of understanding the disorder and devising ways to curb it.
Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Richard A. Proctor and Paul J. Bertics found that a compound called 2-MeS-ATP blocks the overblown immune response in mice and protects them from death. More research is needed in animals before human trials can begin, they said.
NFL STUDY SAYS SWITCH SHOES FOR ASTROTURF
The highly specialized world of sports shoes may be heading for even greater complexity.
A new study conducted by physicians and trainers for the National Football League has concluded that shoes designed for use on grassy fields may contribute to injury when worn on AstroTurf and vice versa. The problem stems from inappropriate amounts of friction with the playing surface.
“Some shoes that may be appropriate in ice or snow may be inappropriate on a dry surface,” Dr. Pierce Scranton of Seattle reported to the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society.
“Running with these shoes on the wrong surface and having them `grab’ could . . . cause serious knee and ankle injuries. On the basis of these findings, we urge manufacturers to display labels indicating on which playing surface and conditions their shoes should be used.”
