Health Highlights: June 7, 2008

A strong "black box" warning about the risk of cancer death has been added to Johnson & Johnson's Regranex Gel, a topical cream used to treat diabetes patients with leg and foot ulcers that aren't healing.

A study found that patients who used three or more tubes of Regranex had a fivefold increased risk of cancer death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

"In announcing this label change, FDA still cautions health care professionals to carefully weigh the risks and benefits of treating patients with Regranex," Dr. Susan Walker, director of the agency's Division of Dermatological and Dental Products, said in a prepared statement. "Regranex is not recommended for patients with known malignancies."

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High-Protein, Low-Fat Dairy Diet Prevents Bone Loss

A high-protein, low-fat dairy diet can help prevent bone loss in people trying to lose weight, according to a U.S. study.

Many people lose bone mass when they lose weight and this can become an issue for middle-aged people, particularly women, said Ellen Evans, an associate professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois,CBC Newsreported.

The study included 130 middle-aged people divided into two groups. One group ate a high-protein weight loss diet that included cheese, yogurt and low-fat milk, while the other group ate a high-carbohydrate weight loss diet. They stayed on these diets for four months of weight loss, followed by eight months of weight maintenance.

At the end of the year, the high-protein diet group had 1.2 percent higher whole body bone density, 2.1 percent higher lumbar spine bone density, and 1.4 percent higher hip bone density than the carbohydrate group,CBC Newsreported.

The study was published in the June issue of theJournal of Nutrition.

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College Teens Less Likely to Have Risky Sex

American teens who attend college are less likely to have risky sex than teens who aren't in college, say researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.

They found that teen college students were more likely to always use a condom and less likely to engage in high-risk sex than teens who weren't in college,United Press Internationalreported.

According to the study:

23 percent of teen college students and 35 percent of non-college teens reported inconsistent condom use.15 percent of college students and 29 percent of non-college teens engaged in casual sex.5 percent of college students and 16 percent of non-college teens had high-risk sex, which included casual sex, inconsistent condom use, having sex with a man who had sex with other men, or having a sex partner who was HIV positive or was an intravenous drug user.53 percent of college students and 70 percent of non-college teens engaged in sex in the previous month.

The study was published in theJournal of Adolescent Health.

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