Pharmaceutical Companies Working On 'Memory Pill'

A so-called "memory pill" that was originally designed to treat Alzheimer's disease could be available in a weaker form over-the-counter in the next few years.

Three pharmaceutical companies are working on their own versions of the drug - AstraZeneca and Targacept are collaborating on a version, and Epix Pharmaceuticals is working on its own. The drugs are aimed at older patients suffering from age-related memory loss.

But the London Telegraph quotes neurologist and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee member Steven Ferris predicting that a milder form of the medication could be available for otherwise healthy consumers as a "lifestyle pill."

There is evidence some prescription medication available today is being used to help cognitive function and to improve memory.

Narcolepsy drug Provigil is taken by some students to stay awake while studying, and Ritalin and Adderall XR, drugs taken for Attention Deficit Disorder, are often taken by people without the disorder to help them concentrate.

But Shire, the maker of Adderall XR, told the Times of London that the drug can raise blood pressure, so young people without ADD should not take it.

Study Says Men Better Able To Resist Food Temptation

Men may be better able to resist food temptation than women, according to a brain scan study released this week.

Researchers for the study, published in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academies of Science journal, scanned the brains of men and women who hadn't eaten in 17 hours. They then flashed food in front of them as they told the subjects to resist their hunger urges. Only the men showed a drop in brain activity in regions involved in motivation and emotion.

Paul Smeets, of the Image Sciences Institute at the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands, said he theorizes the difference in brain activity when the food was presented demonstrates why women have a harder time sticking to diets than their male counterparts.

Smeets studies hunger issues using brain imaging, but was not involved in this latest study, CNN reported.

Researchers in the study scanned the brains of 23 "normal" weight people - 13 women and 10 men. They were asked what their favorite foods were, and these items were presented to them almost a full day after they ate their last meal.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.3 percent of American women and 33.3 percent of men were considered obese in 2006.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Rising Among U.S. Children

Antibiotic-resistant head and neck viruses are on the rise among American children, according to a new report from Emory University.

The findings were reported in the Archives of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. Emory University researchers say tougher strains of the bacteria staphylococcus aureus, known for its resistance to the antibiotic methicillin, are being found outside the confines of hospitals and into the community.

These viruses are collectively known as MRSA. There is a growing trend of community-based MRSA infections in prisons, nursing homes and chronically-ill patient centers, the Washington Post reported.

The study found that out of 21,000 pediatric infections observed between 2001 and 2006, 22 percent were antibiotic-resistant MRSA cases. Overall, MRSA head and neck infections had almost doubled, from 12 to 28 percent, during this time frame.

Most bugs are transferred through sneezing, but MRSA is typically spread by skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it, or by using a towel or razor that was used by someone with the virus.

Fewer People Dying In U.S. From First Heart Attacks

First-time heart attacks in the United States are becoming less severe, and fewer people are dying from them than did in past generations, according to a new study.

The study, published in Tuesday's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, said that the trend is true across racial and gender lines.

The researchers from St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital of Columbia University in New York City, were not attributed to people getting to the hospital sooner because that rate remained the same since 1987.

Instead, the researchers say people are controlling their blood pressure and cholesterol more these days, which makes heart attacks less deadly.

Though the news is positive, the decreased mortality rate is only slightly statistically significant. The study looked at data from more than 10,000 first heart attacks that occurred in four separate parts of the country from 1987 to 2002. During that time, the amount of people dying from first-time heart attacks only went down a little more than 5 percent.

Heart Attack Rates Drop After City Bans Indoor Smoking

Hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo, Colo. have reduced significantly three years after the city banned smoking in most indoor places, according to a study released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study found there were 399 hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo in the 18 months before the city's smoke-free ordinance took effect on July 1, 2003, compared to 237 heart attack hospitalizations in the similar period from 18 months to three years after this date, a CDC press release states.

The CDC said indoor smoking bans affect heart attack rates because they limit the amount of second-hand smoke non-smokers are exposed to and they reduce smoking altogether.

"This study adds to existing evidence that smoke-free policies can dramatically reduce illness and death from heart disease," Janet Collins, director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said in a statement.

The CDC says long-term exposure to second-hand smoke is associated with a 25-percent to 30-percent increased risk of heart disease in adult non-smokers. The agency says it estimates second-hand smoke exposure causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths a year in non-smokers.

Bird Flu Death Raises Concerns Of Outbreak In China

A 19-year-old woman in Beijing, China has died of the avian flu, the first human case in the country since February 2008, according to various press reports.

The World Health Organization released a statement that the woman likely became infected while preparing poultry. She died Monday morning of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to the Beijing health bureau.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Health said the government has forecast an increase in the amount of birds carrying the virus this year, making it possible more people in the country will become infected, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Avian influenza viruses typically don't infect humans, according to WHO's website. When they do, they cause severe respiratory problems. In most cases of human infection, the person has come into contact with contaminated poultry or with objects that came into contact with its feces.

Nine Asian countries have reported outbreaks of avian flu since 2003, and the virus has spread to parts of Europe, the Russian Federation and parts of neighboring Kazakhstan and Ukraine, according to WHO.

There were 115 human infections of H5N1 in 2006. Seventy nine of those were fatal. In 2008, there were 40 reported infections, 30 of those were fatal.

Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Strain Circulating the U.S.

A flu strain resistant to Tamiflu, the most frequently prescribed treatment for influenza, has become the most commonly circulated form of the illness in the U.S.

The inhaled powdered drug Relenza is effective in treating the H1N1 strain, but is not recommended for children under 7-years-old or with patients with lung disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending doctors treat H1N1 with a combination of Tamiflu, and an older flu drug, Flumadine, which the strain is not resistant to.

Since this combination does work in treating the strain, and because this year's flu season is slow compared to other years, health officials say they don't see a reason to panic. They believe Tamiflu lost its effectiveness against the strain because of its increased use worldwide to treat upper respiratory illnesses, the Washington Post reported.

The CDC also said that all strains of the flu circulating the United States are preventable if people received the flu vaccine.