News in brief - Feb. 9, 2004

Lifestyle changes and supplements for mild menopause symptoms - Obesity costs tallied - Cost of injuries extends beyond medical expenses - Zoonotic infections studied

Lifestyle changes and supplements for mild menopause symptoms

Regular exercise and herbs should be considered to alleviate mild hot flashes, but hormone therapy is still standard for more severe cases, according to a position statement published in January by the North American Menopause Society.

The paper stated that, although many of the nonprescription remedies currently being used -- such as isoflavone supplements or black cohosh -- have little clinical data to support their efficacy, there are also no serious side effects.

These substances should, therefore, be an option. For women with severe symptoms who have contraindications to hormone therapy, other prescription medications such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants should be discussed.

Obesity costs tallied

Medical expenditures directly related to obesity will probably cost the United States $75 billion in 2003, according to the January issue of Obesity Research. More than half of this is paid through Medicare and Medicaid.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and RTI International, an independent research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., used data from the 1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the National Health Interview Surveys from 1996 and 1997 to develop a prediction model for obesity-related expenses.

This model was combined with economic and demographic information to develop profiles for individual states as well as to develop the estimate for the whole country.

Public health officials found the report alarming because it documented not just the health effects of obesity but the economic ones as well.

"The long-term effects of obesity on our nation's health and on our economy should not be underestimated," said CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH.

Cost of injuries extends beyond medical expenses

Injuries cost the United States an estimated $117 billion in medical expenses each year, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The estimate represents about 10% of total medical spending and is similar in magnitude to the medical costs associated with other leading health concerns.

"The medical costs associated with injuries are staggering, but it's just the tip of the iceberg," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH. "When we add in productivity losses, decreased quality of life and the emotional toll that injuries and disabilities have on families, the problem is enormous."

The report, published in the Jan. 16 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, revealed that 16% of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population reported treatment for at least one injury in 2000. Falls accounted for at least 33% of the total medical costs of injuries, and motor vehicle crashes accounted for at least 18%.

Sue Binder, MD, director of the CDC Injury Prevention Center, said that communities can have a dramatic impact on reducing injuries by implementing programs that foster the increased use of seat belts and child safety restraints and encouraging exercise programs that help prevent falls among older adults.

Zoonotic infections studied

Genomic researchers at the Mayo Clinic have discovered conditions in which pig cells and human cells can fuse together in the body to yield hybrid cells that contain genetic material from both species.

The combined genetic material in the study carried a swine virus similar to HIV that infects normal human cells. The research, published in the online edition of the FASEB Journal, provides scientists a new way to understand how viral infections can pass from animals to humans.

There has long been interest in discovering how and why viruses cross species, and knowledge in this area may lead to understanding of certain devastating diseases. Researchers believe that the HIV virus that causes AIDS in humans originated in wild primate populations, and the coronavirus responsible for SARS is also thought to have also crossed into humans from wild animals, possibly the civet cats of Asia.

The new findings resulted from work at Mayo on xenotransplantation as a way to ease the tremendous shortage of organs available for donation for transplantation. However, concerns have been raised that animal diseases might be introduced into humans via these organs.

The new research shows the virus can pass to human cells and it can be infectious. But whether it can actually cause disease in humans is not yet known.

"We are really working hard to figure out how it happened and what implications it might have beyond the transmission of the one virus we studied," said Jeffrey Platt, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic Transplantation Biology Program.