World briefs 1/24/05

Obesity may hide prostate cancer during screening

ATLANTA -- A new study suggests a man's weight may affect the accuracy of a common test to detect prostate cancer, leading researchers to warn that doctors could be missing the dangerous cancer in obese men. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio studied 2,779 men without prostate cancer between 2001 and 2004. In the study released online today in the journal Cancer, they reported finding that the more obese the men were, the lower their levels of prostate-specific antigen or PSA. A PSA of 4.0 or lower usually means no cancer.

Germany arrests possible al-Qaida members

BERLIN -- German police arrested two suspected al-Qaida members Sunday believed to have plotted a suicide attack in Iraq -- with a side venture in insurance fraud, taking out a policy on the suicide bomber to use the money to fund the terror organization. The chief suspect, 29-year-old Iraqi Ibrahim Mohamed K., is also believed to have tried to obtain nearly two ounces of uranium in Luxembourg.

Viagra may also boost sluggish heart function

WASHINGTON -- Viagra may aid in the treatment of enlarged hearts that can result from high blood pressure, tests on animals indicate. Plans are underway for a trial to determine if similar results occur in humans given the drug widely used to treat erectile dysfunction. The drug, known generically as sildenafil citrate, blocked and even reversed some of the heart enlargement in mice with blood pressure stress, said researchers led by Dr. David A. Kass of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "A larger-than-normal heart is a serious medical condition, known as hypertrophy, and is a common feature of heart failure that can be fatal," Kass said.