December 6, 1995
Web posted at: 8:00 a.m. EST
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It may be nothing to lose sleep over, but a new survey shows that more Americans are suffering from sleep-related problems.
Nearly half of U.S. adults -- 87 million -- have reported difficulty sleeping, according to a new Gallup survey released Tuesday. The new statistics represent a 15 percent increase in the number of people with sleeping difficulties compared to 1991, when the first "Sleep in America" survey was conducted.
Stress in the workplaces and the frantic pace of modern society are leaving more Americans awake, according to the survey sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation.
Forty-three percent of the people who said they had occasional or frequent insomnia cited stress as the primary cause.
The prevalence of occasional insomnia, defined as difficulty sleeping at certain times, increased from 27 percent of the population in 1991 to 35 percent percent in 1995, according to the survey. Those experiencing chronic, or frequent, insomnia increased from 9 percent of the population in 1991 to 12 percent in 1995.
Many of those surveyed said they are reluctant to seek professional help, usually because they did not think sleeplessness was a big enough problem.
(CNN) - The first drug to treat multiple sclerosis may soon be on the market. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has recommended the sale of Avonex.
Scientists say that it reduces progression of the neurological disease by 37 percent.
The only drug currently available treats the disease's symptoms. The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If vaudeville actors had only opened their mouths when someone threw tomatoes, they might have lived longer.
Harvard University researchers revealed that men who eat at least 10 servings a week of tomato-based foods are up 45 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.
The six-year study of the eating habits of 47,000 men found
that foods such as pizza, spaghetti sauce and other foods
rich in tomato substantially lowered the risk of prostate
cancer.
Scientists say that tomatoes in several forms, sauce, juice, raw or on pizza, seemed to have a protective effect against the cancer.
Those who 10 or more servings a week had a 45 percent reduction in the rate of prostate cancer while those who ate four to seven had a 20 percent reduction.
The study concluded that tomatoes are rich in an anti-oxidant called lycopene, and tomatoes and tomato products accounted for almost 90 percent of the lycopene in the diet of the men studied.
(CNN) -- Two thousand AIDS patients in the United States will get the opportunity to take a promising experimental drug.
Abbot Laboratories is making it available through a lottery. Only patients in the late stages of the disease are eligible.
The drug appears to lower levels of HIV in blood and boosts the immune system.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Food and Drug Administration established new rules Tuesday aimed at improving the safety of the nation's seafood. The new system of regulations is called HAACP, which stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points.
The system will try to identify points along the way at which fish is most likely to become contaminated, and then require steps to prevent problems from occurring.
The regulations primarily cover seafood processing plants from the time the fish is unloaded on the dock to the point at which it leaves the plant.
The rules generally do not cover fishing boats, trucks, restaurants or grocery stores. Among other things, seafood processors will be required to keep records to show that the fish was kept properly chilled.
The new seafood rules are expected to go into effect in about two years or in late 1997, but the FDA hopes to start implementing them in 1996.
The Health Department estimates the regulations will prevent 20,000 to 60,000 seafood poisonings a year, which cost consumers up to $116 million annually.
CHICAGO (CNN) -- A new study shows that one out in every 10 young boys have received a non-sexual genital assault, usually from kick by someone their own age. And very often, it's a girl, researchers say.
The study, conducted by the University of New Hampshire in Durham, also found girls who suffered from the same kind of injuries, but not as frequently as boys.
It said that Hollywood may also be to blame, by depicting a kick or punch to the groin as an effective fighting tool or as entertainment. Researchers say that roughly a quarter of the injuries inflicted on boys did not require medical attention.
The Boys Scouts of America funded the study, which was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
CHICAGO (CNN) -- Folic acid may be one of things to remember when planning your meals, especially if you're expecting a baby.
A new study says that more folic acid in your diet may be the best way to reduce the number of babies born with severe birth defects.
Researchers from University College in Dublin say that a four-year study of blood samples taken from pregnant women showed that those low in folate, a salt of folic acid, in red blood cells had the highest risk of bearing a child with neural tube defect, such as spina bifida.
By increasing their folic acid intake to .4 milligrams a day, researchers found, birth defects theoretically decreased by 48 percent.
They say that folic acid, a vitamin necessary for blood marrow to make red blood cells, is more effective when placed in food rather than taken as a supplement. Folic acid is found in a wide variety of foods, including liver and raw vegetables.
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