Top health stories in 2006

This past year was a rough one by most pundits' accounts. But at least there were more winners than losers on the healthspan front.

In the winning column, there is now a vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can prevent cervical cancer. In the losing column is AIDS. Now 25 years old, AIDS is still an epidemic -- as of last year, there were 40 million people living with AIDS, which is double the number from 1995, and there is no vaccination in sight.

Also in the losing column is our fight against "superbugs" and the reputation of vitamins in general. However, vitamin D makes it into the winning column as do promising treatments for macular degeneration.

Here are the most important health stories of 2006, according to the Harvard Health Letter.

• The battle against cancer has always been one of using screening tests to catch it early. "With the new HPV vaccine, we are seeing the emergence of a different approach that recruits the immune system to the fight against cancer. Approved in 2006 by the FDA, the vaccine is designed to immunize women against infection by two strains of HPV, which are believed to cause 70 percent of cervical cancers. Because of the remaining 30 percent, Pap smear screening will remain important."
• The word has finally gotten out: Trans fats are bad, bad, bad. It increases "bad" LDL cholesterol, increases triglycerides and decreases "good" HDL cholesterol. The FDA now requires trans fats be listed on the nutrition facts label on packaged food. New York City has banned it in restaurants starting this summer.
• Although the wet form of macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in those over 50, there have been few treatments available. "In June 2006, the FDA approved ranibizumab [Lucentis], an anti-angiogenic drug aimed at the blood vessels that cause wet macular degeneration. Studies have found that the drug improves vision, a remarkable result. Up to now, 'successful treatment' of macular degeneration usually meant halting further deterioration."
• Bird flu has now mutated into a form that can be passed from person to person. But, thankfully, only 200 people have died, which does not an epidemic make. Experts are still cautious as a bird flu pandemic "could kill more people in 12 weeks than AIDS has killed in 25 years, and the [bird flu] virus bears many similarities to the 1918 virus that killed 20 to 40 million people."
• Vitamins haven't fared so well lately. Vitamin E hasn't been shown to protect against heart disease and cancer. Vitamin A doesn't help our bones. And the usually reliable vitamin Bs are becoming suspect. Vitamin D gets the star billing for 2006.

Recent observational studies show that vitamin D may protect against cancer. Breast cancer and pancreatic cancer are two beneficiaries of daily amounts of the vitamin. Vitamin D supplements seem promising for other forms of cancer, according to Harvard researchers. Most multivitamin pills contain 400 IU of vitamin D, and researchers are recommending twice as much for beneficial effects.

That's all the space I have for today, but if you want to see the full list of Harvard's top 10 health stories for 2006 (and more detail on each), you can access it by going to my Web site: www.healthspanweb.com

Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh is a Cape Girardeau native who is a licensed clinical psychologist in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.