(MCT) SAN JOSE, CA – One of the more difficult challenges faced by sufferers of Parkinson’s… (MCT) SAN JOSE, CA – One of the more difficult challenges faced by sufferers of Parkinson’s is not the disease itself, but rather the jerky, uncontrollable movements caused by the most common treatment for this devastating neurological disorder.

Now, scientists at the Parkinson’s Institute may have found a surprising, even ironic, treatment to reduce those movements: nicotine.

In a study released last week, the scientists report that monkeys treated with nicotine had significantly fewer episodes of the jerky movements, known as dyskinesias, compared to monkeys that did not receive nicotine.

The study appears to be the first to examine nicotine as a treatment for dyskinesia, but it builds on a larger body of research that shows some promise for nicotine’s ability to ease Parkinson’s symptoms and reduce the disease’s progression.

“This is exciting, a good leap forward,” Jonathan Brotchie, a Parkinson’s disease researcher with the Toronto Western Research Institute, said.

However, Brotchie and other Parkinson’s researchers not involved in the study cautioned against making too much of results, even promising ones, in monkeys. And, Brotchie said, because nicotine is potentially toxic in large doses and can create other health problems, researchers may have to develop a different drug that mimics how nicotine acts, rather than use nicotine itself.

“There is a lot that needs to be done to take this finding and turn it into a useful treatment,” Brotchie said.

About 1.5 million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, with an estimated 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

Barbara Feder Ostrov, San Jose Mercury News

(MCT) CHICAGO – In what could lead to significant changes in how parents care for their sick children, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that children under 6 should not take over-the-counter cough and cold medicines.

By a 13-9 vote, the FDA advisory panel said children ages 2 to 6 should not use cough and cold medicines such as antitussives, decongestants and antihistamines because their effectiveness has not been studied in kids, and the risks outweigh their benefits.

The vote comes a week after major manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs agreed to pull cough and cold medicines for children under two from pharmacy shelves, citing the potential for misuse. The panel also said in a more definitive, 21-1 vote that such products should not be taken by children under the age of two.

The danger comes from a high dosage or combination of medicines given in a short period of time. Doctors say problems tend to occur when parents give a child one brand that ends up not working and then try something else.

Echoing past complaints by doctors and previous studies, the panel cited the risks associated with the medicines, including heartbeat irregularities and death.

“The (panel) expressed concerns about the lack of studies that showed positive benefits these products have in children,” said Dr. John Jenkins, director in the FDA’s Office of New Drugs.

Bruce Japsen, Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON – From algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay to heat waves, drought and fires consuming the West, global warming is stirring up public health problems that are likely to worsen, witnesses told a Senate committee Tuesday.

They pointed to as many as 35,000 deaths in 2003 during a summer heat wave in Europe. They cited the spread of the West Nile virus, unseen in the United States eight years ago, to 47 states.

It’s not a question of if there will be health effects from global warming, said Julie Gerberding, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s a question of who, where, when and how,” she said.

The testimony came during the 19th hearing this year on global warming held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Next week the committee’s global warming panel begins work on legislation introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va., to cut emissions by 60 percent by 2050.

The legislation would allow states such as California to move ahead with even tougher laws. California has been fighting the Bush administration over its groundbreaking law and is expected to file a lawsuit this week against the Environmental Protection Agency for delays in issuing a waiver it needs to impose limits on car and truck emissions.

The Senate committee’s chairwoman, Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., cited the raging fires in Southern California as the kind of effects that could multiply if Congress doesn’t act soon to cut carbon dioxide emissions, which are believed to be a cause of rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions.

Gerberding referred to a Centers for Disease Control chart which showed that rising temperatures are likely to affect public health because of heat waves, severe weather, rising air pollution, water-borne diseases, water and food supply disruptions and even refugees resulting from civil conflict.

The chart foretold increasing rates of asthma and cardiovascular diseases, malaria, dengue, malnutrition, migration and premature death. During the 2003 heat wave, the CDC chart showed, 14,802 died in France alone.

David Whitney, McClatchy Newspapers