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An antioxidant found in green tea is at least 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E at protecting cells and their genetic material, DNA, from damage believed to be linked to cancer, heart disease and other potentially life-threatening illnesses, University of Kansas research shows.The antioxidant, known as epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, carries twice the antioxidant punch of resveratrol, found in red wine, according to the study.

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Studies covering topics ranging from the quality of life after permanent prostate implants to using radiation therapy to treat soft tissue sarcomas in children will be presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. The meeting will be held in Orlando, FL October 19-23 at the Orange County Convention Center.

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Many patients with heart ailments do not recognize smoking, high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels as risk factors for their own condition, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and two other institutions.

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As the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Tuberculosis Research celebrates its 50th anniversary, researchers here are moving forward to identify components of the tuberculosis vaccine, BCG, that are effective in the treatment of cancers when taken orally.

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African-American children with obstructive sleep apnea have significantly lower blood-oxygen levels compared to other groups, according to a study by sleep disorder researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

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New research shows, for the first time under real-life conditions, evidence of a cancer-causing substance in non-smokers who work in smoke-filled rooms. That substance, called NNK, was biologically processed and its metabolite detected in their urine. The study is being presented here today at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Embargoed for 9-9-97, 4:30 PM EDT

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African-Americans may need to become even stricter in controlling blood pressure if they hope to fight kidney disease, warn researchers today in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

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Paracel Inc. today announced a new class of scientific computing for drug discovery that accelerates the analysis of genes that cause disease by as much as 1,000 times over traditional computing alternatives. The GeneMatcherô computer system will be introduced at the Ninth Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference, Hilton Head, S.C., Sept. 13-16. Embargoed: Sept. 13

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The pain-relieving drug codeine is totally ineffective in some ethnic groups -- including one in ten whites -- according to new findings presented here today at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society. The report shows a variety of differences in the drug's effectiveness and side effects, based on a person's ethnicity. Embargoed for 9-8-97, 7:00 PM EDT

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You've heard that small doses of red wine may be good for your health. Now, United States Department of Agriculture scientists say that peanuts may contain the heart- healthy chemical compound --resveratrol -- important in red wine. The latest findings that edible peanuts also contain resveratrol were presented here today at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Embargoed for 9-8-97, 11PM EDT

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Dental infections and other chronic infections such as bronchitis more than double the risk of having a stroke or "brain attack," according to a study by German researchers reported in today's American Heart Association journal Stroke.

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A Purdue University researcher has found compounds in the bark of the pawpaw tree that have shown some success in fighting drug-resistant cancers. Details will be presented Thursday, Sept. 11 at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Las Vegas.

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A new study has uncovered the genetic wiring diagram underlying the infectiousness of Candida albicans, a fungus that causes thrush in babies, vaginal infections in women, and life-threatening infections in chemotherapy and AIDS patients. The study, led by Dr. Gerald R. Fink, Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, reveals that one key to Candidaís infectiousness lies in its ability to switch from a rounded form to filamentous forms. When the wiring diagram underlying this switch is inactivated, Candida infections are no longer deadly in mice.

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A research team led by investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has identified and cloned the gene responsible for early-onset dystonia, a crippling, inherited neurological disorder that begins in childhood. The discovery, announced in the September issue of Nature Genetics, is the culmination of more than 15 years of work and contains important clues that could lead to better understanding of the disease and possible preventive treatments.

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New evidence by scientists from the University of Georgia indicates that victims of a common tropical disease may be receiving inadequate treatment because of a major misunderstanding of how the illness progresses.

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More doctors take antioxidant supplements than take aspirin as a way to prevent heart attacks according to a study published in the June American Journal of Cardiology. While numerous studies have shown aspirin to be highly effective in preventing heart disease, 42 percent of cardiologists interviewed take aspirin and 44 percent take vitamin E, vitamin C, or beta carotene, alone or in combination.

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Results of a new study show that using computer technology to tailor a mass produced program to individual smoker's needs doubles the success of quit smoking attempts with over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy, reported researchers at the 10th World Conference on Tobacco or Health held in Beijing. The study sponsored by SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare followed 3,800 US consumers who used Nicorette nicotine gum to stop smoking.

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A new book by Joan Jacobs Brumberg discusses how early menarche and new focus on body parts put young girls in peril. They have become so preoccupied with their bodies that they spend much of their energy managing and maintaining their looks at the expense of their creativity and mental and physical health, she says.

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Cigarette smoking significantly worsens the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, according to University of Iowa College of Medicine researchers who studied the severity of the disease in more than 300 patients.

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Doctors needing chemical analyses such as blood tests to make life-saving diagnosis and treatment decisions soon won't have to lose precious time waiting for results to come back from the lab. New hand-held sensor technology developed at the University of Washington will allow physicians to bring a sophisticated "laboratory" directly to their patients for instant, on-site chemical analysis.

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Desert Storm veterans identified with Gulf War syndrome are more prone to suffer from significant balance problems, exhibiting symptoms consistent with a central nervous system disorder. This is the finding of a new research study conducted by Peter Roland, MD, and Robert W. Haley, MD, both from the University of Texas - Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

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A new study conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Army indicates that a number of U.S. Army drill instructors have a permanent change in their voices as the result of abusing their vocal cords. This research finding is being presented by Eric A. Mann, MD, of Rockville, MD.

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Ear, nose, and throat specialists have completed two new research studies regarding the diagnosis and treatment of otolaryngologic medical disorders in patients with HIV infection or AIDS. One study assesses the risks of otologic surgery to the HIV/AIDS patient; the second study identifies ear, nose, and throat disorders found among patients recently diagnosed with HIV.

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A new prospective study provides the first documentation that penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) is a pathogen in causing otitis media with effusion (infection of the middle ear) in young children. The presence of PRSP is significant for this common childhood ailment is regularly treated with antibiotics and in some cases, the insertion of tympanostomy tubes.

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Three months ago, newspapers and network television news reports featured a manufacturer's report of a system that delivers radiofrequency (RF) energy to obstructive tissue in the upper airway (passages at the back of the mouth and throat), resulting in a cost-effective, outpatient therapy to reduce snoring. Now, the research team that developed this system will present their findings for the first time to fellow otolaryngologists.

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Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is an occupational hazard to dentists exposed to the noise from high speed drills. This is the conclusion of a study to be presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, September 7-10, 1997.

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Children with prenatal alcohol exposures, especially those with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), have a high incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (damage to the sensory nerve for hearing) and middle ear disease. This is the conclusion of research to be presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, held at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA, from September 7-10, 1997.

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Burning out damaged heart tissue through a procedure called ablation sharply reduces the number of shocks delivered by implantable defibrillator to slow down racing hearts, a new study reports in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.

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Tips from Annals of Internal Medicine (American College of Physicians): 1) Does ethnicity play a part in disease? 2) No evidence found linking blood transfusions and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 3) Advances in cardiology over the past year

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Early treatment with a protein that normally signals pregnancy in sheep may block the development of AIDS in babies born to HIV-infected mothers, say researchers at Texas AUM University's Institute of Biosciences and Technology.

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Despite concerns about contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), many adolescents still arent being tested for HIV, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

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Most children are eating below the minimum recommendations for food group intake, with many not meeting any of the recommendations, according to a study in the September issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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1) A two-drug combination significantly reduced infections and disease among a group of liver transplant patients. 2) Rapamycin is a new drug that holds great promise for fight organ rejection in transplant patients and tumors in cancer patients. 3) Headaches are usually not serious. But they can be ominous signs of major problems.

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Johns Hopkins researchers are establishing a screening service that uses an automated camera to identify diabetics with a potentially blinding eye disease long before they sustain permanent damage and lose vision.

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Story ideas from the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery's Guide to family Dental Care: 1) The Daily Grind, 2) Reducing The Neurosis About Halitosis, 3) Preparing Your Child For A Dental Visit

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Mayo Clinic is coordinating a new, multi-center study that will use advanced imaging techniques to determine whether taking appetite suppressants including fenfluramine-phentermine (fen-phen), dexfenfluramine (Redux) and/or other appetite suppressants is associated with the development of valvular heart disease. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which markets the appetite suppressants Pondimin (fenfluramine) and Redux, will fund this study.

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Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found young gay men are seven times more likely to report attempted suicide than their heterosexual peers, but suicide attempts were unrelated to sexual orientation in young women.

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The Hudson Foods hamburger recall may be just what it takes to convince Americans that it's time to accept irradiation as another technique to safeguard their food supply, two Purdue experts say. Irradiation can destroy the microorganisms responsible for food-borne illnesses and extend the shelf life of perishable foods.

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In a 15-year follow-up of nurse home visit program, University of Colorado/Cornell researchers find enduring benefits, including less use of welfare, less child abuse and fewer criminal problems.

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Children already in danger of developing heart disease because of high cholesterol blood levels face a "triple jeopardy" if they live in smoke-filled homes, according to a study appearing in today's American Heart Association journal Circulation.

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Life is not only getting longer - it's getting better, thanks in large part to medicines that are helping older Americans lead active lives and maintain their independence. And 91 pharmaceutical companies are currently working on 178 medicines to treat such threats to an independent lifestyle for seniors as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis and Parkinson's disease, according to a new survey by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). These 178 potential medicines are in addition to the more than 400 drugs in testing for heart disease, cancer and stroke - the leading killer of older Americans.

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Men who donate blood may reduce their risk of heart disease by up to 30 percent, according to a study led by David Meyers, M.D., professor of internal medicine and preventive medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The study is published in the August issue of the journal Heart.

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The long-term benefits of nurse home visits to low-income, unmarried women during pregnancy and the early years of their children's lives endure for many years after the program of home visitation ends, according to two newly published studies appearing in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. These benefits include less use of welfare, fewer childhood injuries, less child abuse, and fewer arrests among the women.

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For teenagers returning to school this fall, there will be talk of summer vacations, summer jobs and summer loves. But when teens talk about sexually transmited diseases, says the director of the National STD Hotline, they often share misinformation.

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Hopelessness is a downer for the heart, according to a study that appears in this month's American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. The four-year study of 942 middle-aged men links hopelessness -- defined as feeling like a failure or having an uncertain future -- to a faster progression of atherosclerosis.

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With more than two million teeth knocked out every year, mouth injuries are claiming teeth, fracturing jaws and even causing concussions. The American Dental Association (ADA) reports that many of these injuries are sports related and could be prevented by simply wearing a mouthguard.

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Most dental patients with prosthetic (artificial) joints will not have to take antibiotics before going to the dentist's office for routine treatments, according to new guidelines published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). (Historically, the orthopedic surgeons and other physicians have recommended premedication of patients with prosthetic joints to prevent possible infections.)

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New research indicates dental x-rays may help detect patients who are at risk of stroke, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

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An analysis of several infant formulas shows that some have significant potential to cause tooth decay in babies if parents allow the child to sleep with a bottle of formula in their mouth.

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New research suggests young children may be getting more fluoride than they need through baby foods, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).