Health Highlights: Oct. 13, 2008

It's also hoped that shark antibodies may treat other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and malaria.

-----

1 in 5 Adults May Use Prescription Drugs for Brain Boost

Up to 20 percent of adults may be using prescription drugs such as Ritalin to increase alertness and brain power, according to a survey of 1,400 people,BBC Newreported.

TheNaturejournal poll found that 20 percent of respondents said they'd taken Ritalin, Provigil (modafinil) or beta-blockers for non-medical reasons such as boosting focus, concentration or memory. Of those, 62 percent had taken Ritalin and 44 percent Provigil, which is normally prescribed to treat daytime sleepiness in people suffering from the sleep disorder narcolepsy, the news service said.

In most cases, users of the drugs got the drugs through prescriptions or bought them online.

Professor Barbara Sahakian, of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, said there's evidence that the use of drugs for cognitive enhancement is becoming more widespread and safety trials are urgently needed,BBC Newsreported.

"We do not really have long-term efficacy and safety data in healthy people. These are studies that really need to be done," Sahakian said. "The use of cognitive enhancing drugs is spreading to younger and younger people. That's a concern."

-----

Ultrasound Law Challenged in Oklahoma Abortion Case

An Oklahoma law forbidding a woman from having an abortion until she has an ultrasound and has a physician give her a description of the fetus is being challenged in court.

According to theAssociated Press, the law, which goes into effect Nov. 1, is being contested on grounds that it violates a woman's privacy, endangers health and assaults dignity. Oklahoma is joining Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi as the states having a mandatory ultrasound and consultation law, the wire service reported.

The lawsuit was filed late last week in Oklahoma County District Court by the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights advocacy group, theAPreported. What makes the Oklahoma law different from the other three states, the wire service reported, is that the ultrasound picture of the fetus is to be turned toward the woman as the doctor describes the dimensions of the fetus to her.

The Oklahoma state Legislature overrode Gov. Brad Henry's veto, and the bill's sponsor, Republican Senator Todd Lamb, told theAP: "I introduced the bill because I wanted to encourage life in society. In Oklahoma, society is on the side of life."

The plaintiff's lead lawyer, Stephanie Toti, told the wire service, "Anti-choice activists will stop at nothing to prevent a woman from getting an abortion, but trying to manipulate a woman's decisions about her own life and health goes beyond the pale."