News in brief - Dec. 24/31, 2007

Simple screen for male osteoporosis - Baclofen helps alcoholics' abstinence - Hepatitis B shot not associated with childhood multiple sclerosis - Nanotechnology used to differentiate cancer cells from normal cells

Simple screen for male osteoporosis

By asking male patients three questions -- their age, weight and history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- physicians identified men at risk for osteoporosis and a possible hip fracture, according to a study in the November/December Annals of Family Medicine.

The Male Osteoporosis Risk Estimation Score, or MORES, assigns points to the three risk factors. Men ages 56 to 74 score 3 points, those weighing less than 154 pounds score6 points and those who have COPD score 3 points. Scores of 6 or greater indicate the need for a bone scan and, if that procedure indicates bone loss, then treatment.

Researchers also concluded that bisphosphonate treatment in men should yield results similar to those seen in women, namely fewer hip fractures.

Baclofen helps alcoholics' abstinence

The anti-spasm drug baclofen promotes alcohol abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients with cirrhosis of the liver and could play a larger role than it currently does in treating these individuals, according to a study in the Dec. 8 Lancet.

Alcohol is the most frequent cause of liver cirrhosis in developed nations, noted researchers from the Catholic University of Rome. They conducted a trial of 84 alcohol-dependent patients with cirrhosis of the liver and found that of 42 patients given baclofen, 71% achieved and maintained abstinence compared to 29% of the 42 who got a placebo.

They also determined baclofen had low liver metabolism, and no hepatic side-effects were reported.

In an accompanying comment in the same issue, it was noted that the use of these medications has lagged and that the findings should be put to use in the primary care setting.

Hepatitis B shot not associated with childhood multiple sclerosis

The hepatitis B vaccine is not linked to an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis as a child, according to a study in the December Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Paris matched 143 patients who first experienced the symptoms of this disease before age 16 with 1,122 control participants randomly selected from France's general population. Both the MS patients and the controls had ahepatitis B immunization rate of 32%, and no version of the vaccine was associated with an increased risk of developing this neurological problem.

Previous studies investigating the link between the hepatitis B vaccine and MS have had conflicting results, but this study is the first to show there was no increased risk in children.

Nanotechnology used to differentiate cancer cells from normal cells

Metastatic cancer cells are softer than normal cells when assessed by atomic force microscopy, a nanotechnological tool, and this may become a new way to detect this condition, according to a paper published online Dec. 2 in Nature Nanotechnology.

Researchers assessed the stiffness of cells taken from the bodily fluids of patients with cancers of the lung, breast and pancreas. Diseased cells were 70% softer than healthy ones.

This is being viewed as a significant advance because conventional diagnostic methods rely on visual examination of these cells with a microscope and various staining techniques. They miss about 30% of cases.

"The metastatic cancer cells were extremely soft and easily distinguishable from the normal cells despite similarities in appearance," said Sarah Cross, the lead author and a graduate student in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Atomic force microscopy uses a nano-sized tip to measure the elasticity of the cell, and researchers intend to study next whether assessment of cancer cells in this way can lead to more targeted chemotherapy.