News in brief - June 28, 2004

Statins and lowering glaucoma risk - Calcium plays role in reducing risk of colorectal polyps - Home blood pressure monitoring improves control - CDC collaboration results in new test for anthrax

Statins and lowering glaucoma risk

The long-term use of statins may be associated with a reduced risk of glaucoma among patients with cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, according to an article in The Archives of Ophthalmology June issue.

Gerald McGwin Jr., PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues examined medical records of 667 men 50 or older with a new diagnosis of glaucoma made between Jan. 1, 1997, and Dec. 31, 2001, and compared these men to 6,667 control patients (men 50 or older without a diagnosis of glaucoma). They found that patients who used statins for 24 months or more had a significant reduction in risk for glaucoma.

The use of nonstatin cholesterol-lowering medications was also associated with a significantly reduced risk for glaucoma.

A second article in the same issue of The Archives of Ophthalmology indicated that eating fruit may help protect against the development of age-related maculopathy.

Calcium plays role in reducing risk of colorectal polyps

Taking calcium supplements is associated with a decreased risk of advanced colon polyps, according to a new study published in the June 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Although high calcium intake has been shown to inhibit colon cancer in animal experiments, these effects have not been seen consistently in human studies. The new study by Kristin Wallace and John A. Baron, MD, of the Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, N.H., and colleagues found that supplemental calcium slightly decreased the risk of all types of colorectal polyps. The effect was greatest for the advanced lesions that are believed most strongly related to invasive colorectal cancer.

Total calcium intakes above 1,200 mg a day accompanied by high dietary fiber and low dietary fat were thought to be key to optimizing the anticancer effect, according to the study.

An editorial in the same issue notes that while the new study does not yet prove that a causal relationship exists between calcium intake and colorectal cancer, the case has almost been proven that calcium can alter the occurrence of colorectal cancer.

Home blood pressure monitoring improves control

Hypertensive patients who keep track of their blood pressure at home have better control of their condition than those monitored only in the health care system, according to a paper published online in the British Medical Journal and presented at the European Society of Hypertension in Paris earlier this month.

Researchers at St. Georges Hospital Medical School, London, performed a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 3,000 patients. Home-monitored patients achieved an average reduction of 4.2 mm Hg in their systolic and 2.4 mm Hg of their diastolic when compared to those only tracked in a clinic.

Authors of the paper conceded that the differences were small but could be clinically significant and argued in favor of allowing patients to monitor their own blood pressure.

"This may represent an adjunctive useful improvement in management of hypertension likely to contribute to a better outlook for cardiovascular events," wrote the authors.

CDC collaboration results in new test for anthrax

The Food and Drug Administration approved in June the first test to detect antibodies to anthrax. Development of the Anthrax Quick ELISA test was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but carried out by Immunetics, Inc., a Boston biotechnology company.

Those involved said this was an example of how public-private partnerships can lead to rapid development of tools that may help improve public health.

"We were honored to win the contract and to work collaboratively with the CDC on the development of the anthrax test," said Andrew Levin, PhD, company CEO. "The fact that we were able to move so quickly in development and validation of the test demonstrates how productive such a collaboration between government and industry can be, and we consider the FDA approval a major success for both sides."

The test is the first for anthrax that can be used by any laboratory or clinic without special equipment or training rather than just in a large government public health lab. The test also delivers results in an hour rather than the four needed for previous tests.