Erectile dysfunction may be an early warning system of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. "Erectile dysfunction could be called a penile stress test and may be another way for detecting diseased blood vessels in much the same way that the exercise stress test, which measures electrical signals to the heart, is used to detect diseased blood vessels in the heart," says Dr Marc R. Pritzker of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.
In a study of 50 men with erectile dysfunction, 20 were found to have significant blockages in heart arteries although none of them had symptoms of heart disease. "This provides a wonderful opportunity for strong prevention programmes," says Dr Pritzker.
A new whooping cough (medically known as pertussis) vaccine reduces the risk of rare but severe side-effects that have been associated with older vaccines, according to results of a Canadian study. Canadian doctors at 11 hospitals replaced the older DPT formula (diphteria, pertussis and tetanus) with a version containing an updated whooping cough vaccine and report that cases of vaccine-related seizures with fever declined by 80 per cent.
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be tired as well as active, according to a new study. Nineteen per cent of children with ADHD were found to suffer from sleep problems such as insomnia, bedwetting, teeth-grinding, frequent waking and inability to fall asleep. In the study, carried out at the Children's National Medical Centre, Washington D.C., children treated with stimulant drugs had twice the incidence of insomnia as those not taking medication. - Ivanhoe
THE first UK trial to test the medicinal impact of cannabis has shown the drug is unlikely to cause patients any harm. A pharmaceutical company is growing cannabis under licence, aiming to develop prescription medicines based on extracts from the plant. In the first stage of the trial, volunteers were given cannabis extracts either from an inhaler or via liquid under the tongue. Heart rate, temperature and respiration were monitored, blood samples taken for analysis and psychological tests were administered. "None of the effects is disturbing, or would be taken in a clinical trial as serious," says Dr Guy, chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals. He also said that patients did not need to "get high" to gain a therapeutic effect. The second phase of the trail will involve up to 300 patients with MS, spinal cord injury and phantom limb pain. The main studies are expected to be completed by 2002. - BBC
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