But they said it's possible to reduce them further. The new drug, called Zantac 75, will be available in early 1996. But, unlike those two drugs, Mantic 75 is approved only to treat heartburn, not prevent it. A study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association shows that middle-age men with high blood pressure can have reduced cognitive functions in later life. Functions that can be affected include memory, calculation ability, simple communication abilities, and mental functioning.
Researchers believe elevated blood pressure affects the brain's blood vessels.
A new study by the National Cancer Institute says this regional variation in U.S. cancer rates derives from known risk factors, not from mysterious environmental hazards. Researchers in the study, published in the Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, using 1987 data, found that most of the differences stem from such known risk or prognostic factors as family history, age at first childbirth ,and scheduled mammograms. For example, women in the Northeast tend to have their first child later than women in the South. Although the study does not rule out dietary factors in the regions, it strongly suggests that there are no unknown causes in the variations. Researchers say that the findings should alleviate fears that unknown environmental hazards are the causes of breast cancer in the Northeast.