Health Highlights: June 23, 2008

There are no FDA-approved drugs for premature ejaculation, the wire service said. Behavioral and sexual exercises are among commonly prescribed treatments.

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Chicken Molecule May Improve Understanding of Allergic Reactions in Humans

Chickens may help scientists better understand severe allergic reactions in people and develop new ways to prevent or treat these potentially deadly attacks.

Researchers at King's College London in the U.K. found that chickens have a "fossilized" version of the main molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in people,BBC Newsreported.

The IgY molecule in chickens may be an ancient predecessor of a similar human molecule called IgE, which plays a major role in asthma attacks and anaphylactic shock.

By studying IgY, it's possible to track the evolution of allergic reactions back at least 160 million years, said researcher Dr. Alex Taylor,BBC Newsreported.

The study appears in theJournal of Biological Chemistry.

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NSAID Creams May Top Pills For Knee Pain

Anti-inflammatory creams are better than pills for treating chronic knee pain, say British researchers.

The team at the Queen Mary University of London studied 585 people over age 50 and found the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) topical treatments worked as well as NSAID pills and caused fewer side effects such as indigestion, increasing blood pressure, or worsening asthma,BBC Newsreported.