ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 1996 TAG: 9612040059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
CAT scans diagnose appendicitis
CHICAGO - A group of radiologists says it has developed an easier way to diagnose appendicitis, often a tricky medical call that can mean unnecessary surgery for thousands each year.
The technique relies on a special type of computer-enhanced X-ray, or CAT scan, which Dr. Patrick Rao said is easier to interpret than traditional tests and is cost-effective.
Rao and colleagues at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital presented the findings of their six-month study Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Doctors perform about 250,000 operations in the United States each year for suspected appendicitis and as many as 20 percent - or 50,000 - turn out to have been avoidable.
Rao and his colleagues made three modifications to the standard CAT scan to produce a procedure they call focused appendix CT or FACT.
Rao said the test costs about $230 and is cost-effective when compared with the $4,700 cost of surgery.
- Associated Press
Study: Alcohol increases estrogen
CHICAGO - Drinking alcohol tripled the level of estrogen in the blood of women taking the hormone after menopause, researchers said Tuesday.
The research may explain why some studies have found a link between hormone therapy and a slightly elevated risk of breast cancer; some scientists believe estrogen promotes the disease.
But even the leader of the study said more research is needed to establish whether an alcohol-caused boost in estrogen actually promotes breast cancer.
``I'm not recommending to my patients that they necessarily change their drinking habits,'' said Dr. Elizabeth Ginsburg, who headed the study of alcohol's effect on estrogen levels in 24 healthy postmenopausal women.
Findings of the study were reported in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
- Associated Press
Study: High-fiber diet cuts heart risk
DALLAS - The more fiber people eat, the lower their risk of heart disease, a new study finds.
The research, conducted on elderly men in Finland, found those with the highest consumption of fiber-rich food suffered one-third fewer heart attacks over a six-year period than did those with the lowest intake.
``It really pays to eat a little fiber, and it doesn't seem to be important in which form,'' said Dr. Pirjo Pietinen, the study's lead researcher and head of the Department of Nutrition at Finland's National Public Health Institute in Helsinki.
The research, published in Monday's issue of the journal Circulation, was based on 21,930 smokers aged 50 to 69.
The study calculated that for every 10 grams of fiber that the men added to their diets, their risk of dying from coronary heart disease fell by 17 percent.
The average fiber consumption in the United States is about 17 grams a day. The American Heart Association recommends 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily.
In the study, the men who had the lowest risk of heart trouble ate an average of 35 grams daily, while those with the highest risk averaged 15 grams.
A primary source of fiber for these men was rye bread. Three slices contain about 10 grams of fiber.
- Associated Press
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