Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250014
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
SEATTLE - The number of new cases of tuberculosis in the United States fell 3.7 percent in 1994, the second year of decline after an eight-year surge, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were 24,361 new cases reported in 1994, down from 25,287 in 1993, the CDC announced at the International Thoracic Society-American Lung Association, which ended Wednesday.
New cases rose 20 percent from 1985 to 1992, an increase blamed on such factors as cutbacks in control programs; the rise of AIDS, which makes victims vulnerable to infection; increased immigration from countries where TB is prevalent; and the development of drug-resistant strains of TB bacteria.
- Associated Press
Optical technology may replace biopsies
SAN FRANCISCO - Doctors may one day diagnose certain cancers with light waves from a fiberoptics machine instead of cutting out suspicious tissue.
Scientists are preparing to test this optical biopsy technology, developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in hundreds of cancer patients later this year.
If it works, it could help doctors diagnose tumors during a noninvasive office visit, instead of today's longer and somewhat painful biopsy process, said Jan Haerer, president of Fonet Inc., at a biotechnology meeting Tuesday.
by CNB