Health Highlights: Oct. 17, 2005

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Greece Reports First Cases of Bird Flu

Tests have confirmed cases of bird flu on one of the Greek isles, and additional testing is being done to determine whether it''s the same deadly H5N1 strain that''s killed more than 60 people and millions of birds in southeast Asia, European officials told CNN on Monday.

The European Union was drawing up plans to ban movement of live poultry and poultry products from the island of Inousses, EU officials told the network.

Meanwhile, all poultry in Romania known to be infected with avian flu have been destroyed, national officials say, and Turkey says the bird flu outbreak in that country has been brought under control, Agence France-Presse reported.

Romania said that all people living in the two areas of bird flu outbreaks reported Saturday have been vaccinated and are under close medical surveillance, AFP said.

In Turkey, more than 9,000 birds have been killed and the affected area has been disinfected and quarantined until Oct. 29.

In both Romania and Turkey, tests confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain. The issue will be discussed Tuesday at emergency talks of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg and will be at the top of the agenda when EU health ministers meet later this week, AFP reported.

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U.S. Supreme Court Allows Inmate''s Abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday to allow a Missouri inmate to get an abortion, the Associated Press reported.

Without comment, the court lifted a stay imposed last Friday by Justice Clarence Thomas. The temporary stay had blocked a lower court''s ruling that Missouri officials were required to drive the woman 80 miles to an abortion clinic to have the procedure.

Missouri law bars spending tax money to facilitate an abortion, but the lower court had decided that the state prison system was, in effect, blocking the prisoner from exercising that right, the AP reported. The woman has said she couldn''t afford the transportation costs, the wire service said.

The woman, who hasn''t been identified, had been scheduled to have the procedure on Saturday, but Thomas'' stay prevented that from happening. She is running out of time, however, since she is about 17 weeks pregnant and state law prevents abortions after 22 weeks, the AP said.

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Antidepressant Could Cause Liver Problems, Maker Warns

The maker of a recently approved antidepressant has sent a letter to doctors warning of an increased risk of liver disease among some users, according to a letter posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration''s Web site.

The packaging for the Eli Lilly drug Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride), approved in August 2004, has been updated to include post-approval reports of hepatitis and cholestatic jaundice, the company letter said. People with preexisting liver disease and those who are heavy drinkers may be at risk for additional liver problems, the letter added.

Symptoms including dark urine, jaundice (a yellow tint of the skin and eyes), right upper quadrant tenderness, or unexplained flu-like symptoms should be investigated immediately, the letter said.

Another posting on the FDA site warned that a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) could cause serious injury and death if used improperly.

Boston Scientific''s Enteryx system is used to inject medication into the muscle wall of the esophagus. In rare cases, the FDA warned, doctors can inject the medication inadvertently into other nearby organs. This could lead to internal bleeding and reduced kidney function, the agency said. Symptoms of improper injection could also include chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, significant weight loss, fever, fainting, weakness, and fatigue.

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Testimony: Vioxx Maker Considered Heart Additive

Merck & Co. officials once discussed the notion of adding an aspirin-like compound to the painkiller Vioxx to lessen its chances of causing heart attacks, a company researcher testified Monday in the latest product-liability trial.

A 60-year-old Idaho postal worker is suing the company, claiming his 2001 heart attack was caused by the now-withdrawn drug. The lawyer for Frederick Humeston cited an internal company study showing Vioxx users had five times as many heart attacks as those using older painkillers, the Associated Press reported.

Dr. Alice Reicin testified in Atlantic City, N.J., on Monday that reformulating Vioxx was just one of the ideas being considered and that the company believed the drug was safe, the wire service said.

Vioxx was withdrawn last year. In August, the nation''s first Vioxx liability trial in Texas ended with a $253 million jury award, which will be cut substantially due to a state cap on punitive damages, the AP said.

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U.K. Scientists Find Way to Grow Tissue in Minutes

Scientists at University College London in the U.K. say they''ve developed a way to grow new tissue in minutes instead of days.

They said the current lengthy process can be dramatically accelerated simply by removing the water that''s present in the starting material, BBC News reported.

Doing this enabled the scientists to create new tissue within 35 minutes. This may someday enable doctors to make tissue implants at a patient''s beside or in the operating room, the researchers said.

"Our method offers a simple and controllable means of quickly engineering tissue structures. The next stage is to test whether this method could help repair injured tissues," researcher Professor Robert Brown told BBC News.

"Ultimately, the goal is to design a rapid, inexpensive, automatic process for creating strong tissues which could supply hospital surgical units with a tool kit of spare parts for reconstructive surgery," Brown said.

The research appears in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

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Officials Investigating Suspected CJD Cases in Idaho

Nine reported cases of suspected sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Idaho this year are being investigated by state and federal authorities.

Sporadic, or naturally-occurring, CJD is different from variant CJD, which is caused by eating beef infected with mad cow disease. Sporadic CJD, which is fatal, usually affects only about 300 people each year in the United States and the normal rate in Idaho is about one case per year, the Associated Press reported.

CJD is transmitted through a malformed prion found primarily in the brain and spinal fluid of those infected, experts told the wire service.

"One thing is very clear in Idaho -- the number seems to be higher than the number reported in previous years. So far, the investigations have not found any evidence of any exposure that might be common among the cases," Dr. Ermias Belay, a CJD expert with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the AP.

Three of the suspected cases in Idaho this year tested positive for an infectious disease of the nervous system. More tests are being conducted to determine if those cases were actually sporadic CJD. Four possible victims were buried without autopsies and two suspected victims tested negative.

Last Updated: Oct. 17, 2005