News in brief - April 18, 2005

Inhalant abuse portends other woes - Inflammation from fat may explain link between obesity, heart disease - Potassium iodide production up - Breast cancer prevention

Inhalant abuse portends other woes

Use of inhalants such as glue or shoe polish by those ages 12 and 13 is an indication of more serious problems down the road, according to a report issued last month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The report, "Inhalant Use and Delinquent Behaviors Among Young Adolescents," analyzed data from the 2002 and 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health concluding that teens who used inhalants are six times more likely than nonusers to have stolen or tried to steal items worth more than $50. Members of this group are also three times more likely to grow up to be alcoholics or drug addicts.

Experts are particularly concerned about this phenomenon because of data suggesting this kind of substance abuse is becoming more popular.

"While overall drug use among young people has declined substantially over the past three years, we must not lose focus," said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Inhalant abuse remains a dangerous and potentially deadly behavior."

Inflammation from fat may explain link between obesity, heart disease

Inflammatory proteins that are produced by the extra fat stored around the waist may explain why obesity can lead to heart disease, according to a study published in this month's American Journal of Physiology -- Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Researchers recruited 20 obese postmenopausal women and measured their weight, fat mass, lean mass, abdominal fat distribution and plasma lipids. The expression of cytokines in the abdominal subcutaneous fat was also determined. High levels of cytokines correlated to the levels of abdominal fat. This measure was also linked to an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome.

Researchers said the results add to the possibility that fat may be an organ that produces proteins and hormones that affect metabolism and health.

"The findings point to a possible treatment target for new drugs," said Barbara Nicklas, PhD, one of the authors and associate professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina.

Potassium iodide production up

The federal government has awarded a contract for the production of 1.7 million pediatric doses of potassium iodide, or KI, that will be provided to states for use in communities near nuclear power plants.

The liquid formula is the first to be developed for use by children and will be available in black raspberry flavor. Because the thyroid gland rapidly absorbs any iodine in the body, people need to take KI soon after an incident that involves the nearby release of radioactive iodine, as might occur in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant.

The KI saturates the thyroid gland with harmless iodine preventing the absorption of radioactive iodine. Children are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of radioactive iodine but KI has only been available in tablets that had to be broken up to get a child's dose.

The liquid KI was purchased under the BioShield program.

Breast cancer prevention

A new clinical trial has been launched in the United States and Canada to study the role of an aromatase inhibitor, exemestane, in the prevention of breast cancer.

The drug suppresses estrogen production, a key component in the development of some types of breast cancer. Exemestane could provide an alternative to tamoxifen, the only FDA-approved drug for the prevention of breast cancer, according to researchers.

The study, which is being coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, will follow more than 4,500 postmenopausal women from the United States, Canada and Spain over five years. The women must also have an increased risk of developing breast cancer as demonstrated by age, family history, age at first menstrual period and age at first live birth.

Aromatase inhibitors are being used to treat breast cancer in women, and results from a study published last year demonstrated that exemestane prevented the occurrence of new cancers in the opposite breast of women who have already had breast cancer, suggesting it may also be able to prevent the disease in healthy women, say researchers.

The National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group is based at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of exemestane, is providing the drug for the trial. For more information, call 800-4-CANCER.