Monkeys have been shown to develop more extensive atherosclerotic changes after vasectomy. Researchers say that latex condoms should be packaged in airtight plastic containers and kept in them until use. Eighteen of twenty condoms exposed to ozone for 72 hours showed perforations in the latex. A study conducted in Georgia suggests a relationship between the use of hair dyes and lupus, a connective tissue disease characterized by joint pain, fatigue, low grade fever, skin lesions, and hair loss. The researchers studied women in four Georgia counties, and conclude that amines in hair dyes may be absorbed via the scalp.
Additional studies are under way to further evaluate the association.
A study from Belgium suggests that children who suffer birth trauma or who are delivered after induced labor may suffer injury to the pituitary gland which is sufficient to produce later growth hormone deficiency. This study suggests that even mild trauma at the time of birth may cause injury to the pituitary gland. A new study carried out in the Soviet Union reports that high milk intake increases the risk of heart disease. Those who drank three or more glasses of milk per day were 1.7 times more likely to have ischemic heart disease. It is of interest that commercial and professional interests in the United States, the National Dairy Council and many universities advise that children and older women drink three or more glasses of milk daily.