Power from blood could lead to 'human batteries'/Unemployed 'more likely to commit suicide'/Alert over taking Prozac during pregnancy

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Power from blood could lead to 'human batteries'

August 4 2003

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/03/1059849278131.html

 

A device that produces electricity from blood could be used to turn people

into " human batteries " .

 

Researchers in Japan are developing a method of drawing power from blood

glucose, mimicking the way the body generates energy from food.

 

Theoretically, it could allow a person to pump out 100 watts - enough to

illuminate a light bulb.

 

But that would entail converting all the food eaten by the individual into

electricity. In practice, less power would be generated since food is needed

by the body.

 

However the scientists say the " bio-nano " generator could be used to run

devices embedded in the body, or sugar-fed robots.

 

 

The team at electronics giant Panasonic's Nanotechnology Research Laboratory

near Kyoto has so far only managed to produce very low power levels.

 

But the scientists ultimately expect to gain much greater performance from

the device.

 

The battery is based on an enzyme capable of stripping glucose of its

electrons, The Engineer magazine reported.

 

Dr Kazuo Eda, heading the research, said: " It is like the metabolism of

food. Human bodies can process glucose and obtain energy. When glucose is

oxidised, electrons can be obtained. "

 

He believed bio-nano fuel cells were the next step for researchers after

generators powered by hydrogen, natural gas and methanol now being developed

for the car and energy industries.

 

 

 

Unemployed 'more likely to commit suicide'

July 30 2003

 

 

 

Unemployed men and women are up to three times more likely to commit suicide

than those with jobs, research has revealed.

 

Not being married, having fewer academic qualifications and a lower

household income also increased the risk of suicide, according to a report

in the latest edition of Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

 

Researchers studied more than 2 million people living in New Zealand, basing

their findings on the 1991 census, with suicides tracked over the following

three years.

 

They found that unemployed men and women aged 25 to 44, and 45 to

64-year-old men were two to three times more likely to kill themselves than

their counterparts who had jobs.

 

The authors of the report said the findings held true even when risk factors

other than employment - such as income, education and marital status - were

taken into account.

 

 

While the researchers took account of rates of mental illness among the

population, the relative risk of mental illness among the unemployed and the

attendant risk of suicide, mental illness could be a factor in up to half of

the increased risk, the authors said.

 

But they pointed out that the possibility that mental illness explained the

link between unemployment and suicide was weakened because most people

forced to quit work due to ill health would be classified as non-active,

rather than unemployed.

 

The researchers, from the Wellington School of Medicine, suggested that

unemployment rates in a society might indicate a lack of social cohesion

which in turn was associated with more suicides.

 

PA

 

Alert over taking Prozac during pregnancy

August 4 2003

 

 

 

 

 

Women who use Prozac and similar anti-depressants during pregnancy and

breastfeeding could expose their babies to withdrawal and toxic effects, a

federal government drugs watchdog has warned.

 

The Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee says it has received 26

reports of infants with withdrawal symptoms.

 

The effects were attributable to mothers taking the selective serotonin

reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs Aropax, Zoloft, Prozac and citalopram. The

babies' symptoms included agitation, poor feeding, stomach upsets,

convulsions, tremors, fever and respiratory disorders. They began within the

first four days of birth and lasted two to three days.

 

There were also 13 reports of adverse effects probably resulting from the

transfer of SSRIs from breastmilk to the baby.

 

Many of the symptoms of toxicity were similar to those of withdrawal but in

two cases involved babies sleeping for prolonged periods.

 

 

The watchdog's August bulletin quoted a study published in the Archives of

Paediatric Medicine which found that almost one quarter (22 per cent) of

newborns who were exposed to paroxetine (marketed in Australia as Aropax)

from their mother in the third trimester needed prolonged hospitalisation

associated with neonatal complications.

 

The committee recommends the lowest dosage of the drugs be used during

pregnancy and that mothers should consider not breastfeeding.

 

" It is probable that neonatal withdrawal effects would be minimised by using

the lowest effective maternal dose, " it advises.

 

" Breastmilk transfer can be treated by stopping or reducing the dose of

SSRIs or by using formula milk. "

 

AAP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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