Sound Medicine -- May 24, 2003

Hosts Barbara Lewis and Dr. Steve Bogdewic talk to physicians and researchers about:

Alcohol Abuse by Young People

Vital Trial (Vitamins & Alzheimer's Disease)

FolateImmune Cancer Treatment

Real Media | Windows Media

Alcohol Abuse by Young People

Campus drinking has been a great cause of concern, and now researchers are trying to provide insights and answers into this national problem. Why young alcoholics seem insensitive to the negative consequences of their behavior is the subject of a five-year research study underway at Indiana University Bloomington that includes a focus on college alcoholism. Peter Finn, professor of psychology and director of the Biobehavioral Alcohol Research Laboratory is directing the research, which is supported by a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Dr. Finn supposes that self-control plays a major role in a person's abuse of alcohol, and that people who are impulsive and who give little thought to outcomes of situations are more likely to have a propensity for substance abuse. Consequently, Dr. Finn and his team seek to determine exactly what impulsive behavior is, what causes impulsivity, and what are the consequences of a person's impulsive behavior.

The more effectively researchers can determine factors that affect self-control, the better we are able to design alcohol abuse prevention programs or brief intervention programs for individuals who show evidence of impulsiveness. This is because we often see the first stages of alcoholism in young drinkers.

Resources:

Learn more about the study.

Identify the influences of college environments on student drinking.

Information about the culture of drinking in colleges.

Vital Trial (Vitamins & Alzheimer's Disease)

A new clinical trial is underway at forty U.S. medical centers to test whether high doses of vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. If the result is positive, it would be a significant step in treating the four million Americans robbed of their memory and ability to communicate by this devastating disease. The School of Medicine is one of the trial sites. Dr. Paul Aisen, professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center is the principal investigator of the Vital trial, which stands for Vitamins to Slow Alzheimer's Disease.

The Vital trial explores the impact of the chemical homocysteine on Alzheimer's disease. Even mild elevation in homocysteine levels leads to brain damage. However, high levels of other chemicals have been found to lower the homocysteine levels. These beneficial chemicals are found in Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. The expected dosage of these vitamins is extremely large, much higher than their daily-recommended allowance.

Dr. Aisen expects that the high dosage of these chemicals will lead to a slowing of Alzheimer's progression, although not necessarily a short-term dramatic improvement. Likewise, just as researchers do not really know how effective the treatment is, they also do not know how safe it is. This is to be better determined by the upcoming, controlled clinical trials.

Resources:

Read a press release from the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Learn more about vitamins' role in slowing Alzheimer's disease.

Explore the different types of Alzheimer's disease.

FolateImmune Cancer Treatment

Researchers are developing a new medication that works to trick the body's immune system into attacking and destroying cancer cells. FolateImmune, a new kind of drug that targets individual cancer cells, is the result of collaborative research by Purdue and Indiana Universities and Endocyte, a pharmaceutical company located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The drug has just entered a phase one clinical trial at Indiana University School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Chris Sweeney is principal investigator of the trial at IU, and is an assistant professor of medicine.

FolateImmune is unique because it is complex and contains multiple components. The first stage of the treatment is to give the patient a drug that stimulates his or her white blood cells to fight infection. Once body is primed, the compound urges the body to fight the cancer. Cancer is a self-like agent so that it usually is able to evade the immune system. However, this drug compound makes cancerous cells appear foreign to the immune system, and the body can then attack them.

Currently, FolateImmune development is in its earliest phase of human clinical trials. In this trial phase, researchers seek to identify any complications that might appear. A sophisticated product like FolateImmune can likely take many years to develop, from the initial animal trials through the final product that is available for public use.

Resources:

View more information about clinical trials at Endocyte.

Read a detailed description of FolateImmune from Purdue.

Is there a medical topic you'd like us to cover? Reach us by email: soundmed@iu.edu
or by phone:
(317) 274-4848.

In the month of April, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix. What is the connection between Indiana and DNA co-discoverer James Watson?

A. He studied at Indiana University
B. He currently resides in Indiana
C. He made the discovery while in Indiana

Find out!

In battle, there are often many psychiatric causalities caused by witnessing and committing dehumanizing acts of war. The psychiatric syndromes suffered by veterans at war were first recognized only during the First World War. How did the concept of post traumatic stress syndrome evolve?

Find out!

The Plan B pill is pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration for over-the-counter access. The pill is marketed by the Woman's Capital Corporation, a private company in Washington,

Those supporting over-the-counter access for the pill argue that it is important to remove the prescription requirement to give women quicker access to emergency contraception. The Plan B pill can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sex, but is most effective when used within 24 hours, which makes speedy ingestion all the more critical. The pill stops fertilization if taken early enough, and prevents the egg from implanting to the uterus if fertilization has already occurred.

This pill is different from the RU-486 abortion pill, which ends early-stage pregnancy. Additionally, these pills are to be used not as primary birth control, but to prevent unwanted pregnancies in emergency situations. Similar morning-after pills are sold without prescriptions in Europe. If approved, Plan B would be the first morning-after contraceptive to be sold over-the-counter in the United States.

Source: ABC News.com