Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Federal study planned on children drugs
WASHINGTON, Jul 01, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A U.S. study is planned into Ritalin and other stimulant drugs for children to determine whether these drugs increase the risk of cancer in later life.
The concern has been raised by a recent University of Texas and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center study. The study said it found damage to the chromosomes of 12 children who took Ritalin for three months, the New York Times reported Friday.
A team of experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency went to Texas last month to examine the methods used in the study.
Dr. David Jacobson-Kram at FDA's Office of New Drugs said the Texas study had flaws in its methodology but that its results could not be dismissed.
Other scientists cautioned that the study was far too small and its finding far too preliminary to cause alarm.