The Chernobyl nuclear plant fire in Soviet Ukraine may have something in common with the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania and the Bhopal chemical leak in India. All three occurred in the wee hours of the night and involved human error, said Dr. Martin C. Moore-Ede, director of Harvard`s Laboratory of Circadian Physiology. Studies show that shift workers are more accident-prone in the middle of the night, when they normally would be sleeping, he said. Shift workers can be taught to be more alert at night with new programs that reset their biological clocks, including changes in their napping, eating and recreational behavior, he said.
SCIENTISTS GAIN ON BRAIN-SWELLING
Swelling of the brain is one of the most common and deadly complications of head injury, stroke, infection and cancer. But scientists at the University of California at San Francisco hope they are on the track to preventing this brain-crushing aftermath. The researchers have found that compounds called oxygen free radicals produced by injury and the other events make brain tissue more permeable, allowing the brain to swell with water. Tests with a compound called superoxide dismutase that neutralizes free radicals showed that it reduced brain swelling by 50 percent in animals, said Dr. Robert Fishman, chief of neurology.
TREMORS MAY NOT BE PARKINSONISM
When anti-Parkinson medication doesn`t seem to work anymore on some patients diagnosed as having Parkinson`s disease, those patients may have been misdiagnosed, the United Parkinson Foundation says. They may have
”Parkinsonism plus,” a group of rare neurologic disorders that mimic the tremors, rigidity and other symptoms of Parkinsonism in their early stages, said Dr. Harold L. Klawans, president of the Chicago-based foundation. Furthermore, standard anti-Parkinson drugs are effective against the other disorders in the early stages but tend to lose their effect as the diseases progress, Klawans said. Among the Parkinson-mimicking diseases are Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Shy-Drager Syndrome and calcification of the basal ganglia. People seeking help for more definitive diagnoses of these disorders can call the UPF (312) 664-2344 for a nationwide list of specialists.
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BRINE SHRIMP BIG FOR ENZYME RESEARCH
Brine shrimp have come to the rescue of important medical enzymes used to start or speed up chemical reactions. Most of these enzymes are destroyed when frozen or freeze-dried. Brine shrimp, on the other hand, can be frozen or completely dried without any damage. They come back to life when thawed out or when water is added. Studying how brine shrimp do this has led Steven Hand and John Carpenter of the University of Southwestern Louisiana to a way to protect enzyymes. Dissolving enzymes in a sugar solution containing a small amount of zinc protects them from the damage ordinarily caused by freezing, the scientists said.