Health Highlights: March 19, 2008

The study was published inNew Scientistmagazine. The Dutch team plans to conduct more studies with larger numbers of people.

One expert toldBBC Newshe has serious concerns about the safety of this kind of treatment.

"The difficulty with carbon monoxide is that there is a fine balance between levels that influence COPD, and toxic levels, and it would be very hard to gauge a safe dose for patients. This makes it potentially quite dangerous," said Dr. Paolo Paredi, of the National Heart and Lung Institute, in Great Britain.

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Gene Variations Influence PTSD Risk

Gene differences may explain why some people recover from a traumatic event while others develop post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), according to a study that included 900 adults who suffered abuse when they were children.

The study found that specific variations in a stress related gene may be influenced by trauma at a young age, and these variations increase the risk of PTSD in adulthood. Among adults who suffered severe child abuse, those with the gene variations scored 31 on a scale of PTSD, compared to 13 for those without the variations, theAssociated Pressreported.

The study, published this week in theJournal of the American Medical Association, is one of the first to show that external, non-genetic factors can affect genes in a way that increases the risk of PTSD, the researchers said.

The findings suggest there are important periods in childhood when the brain is vulnerable "to outside influences that can shape the developing stress-response system," said study co-author Dr. Kerry Ressler of Emory University, theAPreported.

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FDA Delays Decision on New Antibiotic

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants more information about how a new antibiotic called ceftobiprole works before the agency decides whether to approve the medicine. It is designed to treat diabetic food infections and complicated skin infections, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).