PIERCE 'EM YOUNG People might be able to avoid earlobe keloids by getting their ears pierced before age 11, finds a study in the May 2 issue of Pediatrics. Keloids -- lumps of firm, flesh-colored skin made of fibrous tissue -- often form on the front or back of the earlobes at the site of piercings; they can also develop after injuries. They're most common in African Americans.
The retrospective study found that 80 percent of those who had piercings after age 11 -- used as a marker for the start of puberty -- developed keloids. Just 24 percent of those pierced at a younger age developed them. The study looked at only 34 participants, mostly females, so the results still need confirmation. A larger study is underway.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE Giving vitamin D and calcium supplements to elderly people with osteoporosis does not prevent them from breaking bones, according to two studies published last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.
The reports showed that the supplements did not reduce fractures either among older patients who had already broken a bone or those identified as being at high risk for hip fracture.
Other studies show the supplements, as well as calcium and vitamin D found in food, help build and retain bone density in younger patients who do not have osteoporosis. But once the disease takes hold, the supplements appear to offer no benefit.
Drugs known as bisphosphonates, which have been shown to maintain bone density, could provide a better treatment alternative for these people, researchers said.
-- From News Services
and Staff Reports
