Health Highlights: Oct. 22, 2005

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

Bird Flu Cases Surface in Britain, Croatia

Officials from both Britain and Croatia have confirmed there were cases of bird flu in their countries, as other nations moved quickly to try and stem the spread of the disease.

The Associated Press reported Saturday that six swans found dead in a national park were Croatia''s first cases, while in Britain a parrot that had been imported from South America died of bird flu while under quarantine.

Neither country has determined whether these birds had the deadly H5NI strain that has swept across Asia, wiping out the poultry stocks and killing 60 people in just two years, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) said it was preparing a ban on all poultry imports from Croatia. It has done the same in Russia, Romania, Turkey and one of the Greek isles, where bird flu has recently been discovered among flocks. The EU is also urging countries to start vaccination programs for zoo birds to head off the disease.

World health authorities have long warned that a human pandemic could result if the virus were to mutate, making it easier to spread from person to person.

In a related development, the Bloomberg news service reported Friday that the antiviral drug considered the world''s best weapon against bird flu is likely to remain in short supply.

Roche''s Tamiflu could remain scarce for up to a year, in part because its raw materials are obtained from some 40 suppliers, a spokesman for the Swiss company told Bloomberg. Nations are asking for the drug as the lethal H5N1 bird flu strain continues to appear among birds in more and more countries. On Thursday, Roche agreed to meet with generic drug makers to work out a deal to produce additional emergency supplies.

And ABC reported on Saturday that Taiwan officials will ignore the Tamiflu patent and make their own version of the drug, whether Roche agrees or not. Officials from that country say they are still in negotiations with the drug maker, but they have to address their country''s public health concerns first.

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U.S. Senate Shelves Action on Stem Cell Bill

The sponsors of a U.S. Senate bill that would ease restrictions on publicly funded human embryonic stem cell research have agreed to postpone action on the plan until early next year, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said a deal had been struck to shelve debate on the measure. The harvesting of stem cells from human embryos is controversial because the embryos must be destroyed in the process. In 2001, President Bush banned federal funding for research on all but existing stem cell lines.

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a bill to ease the restrictions, but neither the House nor the Senate has enough votes to override a promised presidential veto, the AP reported.

Proponents of embryonic stem cell research say it could lead to the discovery of cures for diseases such as Alzheimer''s, Parkinson''s, diabetes and cancer.

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FDA Approves Fetal Stem Cell Transplants Into Human Brains

Stanford University Medical Center doctors have received U.S. government permission to conduct the first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains. The transplant patients would be six children with Batten disease, a rare, fatal genetic disorder.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval on Thursday, but the transplant tests must still be approved by an internal Stanford Review Board and that could take weeks, the Associated Press reported.

Batten disease is a degenerative condition that causes blindness, speechlessness, paralysis and then death. The disease is the result of a defective gene then that fails to produce an enzyme that''s required to dispose of cellular waste in the brain. Most Batten disease patients die before they become teenagers.

The stem cells that would be used in the transplants would be immature neural cells programmed to form into mature brain cells. It''s hoped that after these immature neural cells are injected into the children''s brains, the brain will turn them into cells that can manufacture the missing enzyme, the AP reported.

This approach showed promise in mice with Batten disease, but has never been tested in humans.

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Carotid Stent Studies May Prompt More Medicare Coverage

New research results on carotid stents may encourage U.S. health regulators to expand Medicare coverage for the procedure.

Preliminary results released Thursday from a government-mandated study found that a procedure using stents to open carotid arteries in the neck can be done by doctors with limited experience, if they receive training, The New York Times reported.

Results of a separate study released Wednesday found that a carotid stent reduced the need for a second surgery to clear the artery in the same location within three years.

The doctors involved in the studies said their results may help convince federal regulators to expand Medicare coverage to include carotid stent procedures, the Times reported.

Carotid stents offer an alternative to more invasive surgery to clear clogged neck arteries and reduce stroke risk. The carotid arteries carry blood to the brain; stents prop open blood vessels and prevent them from renarrowing after blockages have been removed.

An estimated 200,000 people in the United States have carotid-clearing surgery each year. While federal regulators have approved the marketing of stents to high-risk patients, Medicare covers less than 10 percent of them, the Times reported.

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Mobile Devices Linked to Thumb Injuries

Repetitive stress injuries are afflicting people who use mobile handheld devices.

Some users of Blackberries, Sidekicks, Treos and other devices with miniature keyboards are suffering repetitive stress injuries to their thumbs, the Associated Press reported.

There are no U.S. national statistics on the prevalence of this so-called "Blackberry Thumb," but some doctors report an increase in these kinds of cases, according to Dr. Stuart Hirsch, an orthopedist at St. Joseph''s Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.

"It''s mostly the road warrior who prefers to answer e-mails on a thumb keyboard. If all you did was just answer with a simple ''yes'' and ''no'', it would not be a dilemma," Hirsch told the AP.

Last Updated: Oct. 22, 2005