News in brief - March 24/31, 2003

Scientists to sequence cow genome - More tummies getting tucked - Aerobic exercise safe, beneficial for heart failure patients - Aspirin a day may keep polyps away

Scientists to sequence cow genome

The National Human Genome Research Institute gave provisional approval and pledged $25 million in funding to the Cow Genome Project this month. The project will be completed by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Texas A&M University, College Station. Final approval is contingent on raising an additional $25 million from other sources.

Researchers expect that the cow sequence will lead to a better understanding of the human genome, as well as improvements in the beef and dairy industries.

"By comparing the human genome with the genomes of different organisms, we can better understand the structure and function of human genes and thereby develop new strategies in the battle against human disease," said Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the institute.

In addition to humans, scientists have also sequenced baker's yeast, the roundworm, the mouse and the rat. They are currently working on the honeybee, the chimpanzee, the chicken, the fruit fly and several varieties of fungi.

More tummies getting tucked

The number of cosmetic surgeries increased 1% in 2002, with significant increases in tummy tucks (17%) and breast augmentation (15%) when compared to the previous year, according to a survey of more than 14,000 physicians by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery released in March.

"Last year's increase in surgical procedures, while small, speaks to people's strong motivation for making positive changes in their lives -- despite worries about the economy and world tensions," said Franklin DiSpaltro, MD, president of the society.

Cosmetic procedures overall declined nearly 19%, primarily because nonsurgical procedures declined 23%, although botulinum toxin injections increased 4% and microdermabrasion increased 13%.

Men had 12% of all cosmetic procedures, and the gender breakdown was constant from year to year. Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 19% of all procedures, an increase of 2%.

Aerobic exercise safe, beneficial for heart failure patients

All sorts of aerobic exercises are good medicine for heart failure patients, even while they await heart transplantation, according to a new position statement from the American Heart Assn. published in the March 3 Circulation.

"The patient should start slowly and build up gradually," said Ileana Pina, MD, chair of the group that drafted the position statement. "We generally recommend 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times a week," she said.

The growing rate of heart failure prompted the heart association's committee on exercise, rehabilitation and prevention to review the medical literature on exercise in the heart failure patient. They concluded that exercise is safe, beneficial and improves patients' quality of life.

The most important thing, said Dr. Pina, is "never to sit back and do nothing. That's what patients were told back in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and even now some doctors tell their patients they should rest."

A large trial to investigate such questions as how exercise impacts survival and whether there is any group of heart failure patients for whom exercise is dangerous is scheduled to begin this month.

Aspirin a day may keep polyps away

Confirming preliminary findings, a multicenter study has shown that taking one aspirin a day can prevent the development of precancerous polyps in patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer.

The study was published in the March 6 New England Journal of Medicine. The protection provided by aspirin was found to be so significant that the study was stopped early.

An aspirin a day, the researchers found, reduced the occurrence of adenomas in the colon by about one-third in patients with a history of colorectal cancer. Patients on aspirin who did get polyps took longer to develop them, and they had fewer polyps than those not taking aspirin.

"This suggests that aspirin and similar anti-inflammatory drugs may help prevent this disease in average-risk individuals," said Richard Schilsky, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and chair of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, which organized the study.

The study cautions, however, that patients should discuss the use of aspirin with their physicians.