Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 23

Tucson, Thursday, November 26, 1998 CEIje Arizona TJailij Slar Section A Page Twenty-three HEALTHSCIENCE Add memory impairment to growing list of stress-induced problems Knight Ridder Newspapers SAN JOSE, Calif. There isn't a name for it yet, but someday this new phenomenon could be known as "burnout brain" or "stress head." It's bad enough that stress has been linked to headaches, strokes, heart attacks, ulcers and even the common cold. Now researchers believe stress has another unforgettable drawback: It impairs our memory. Analyzing the chemical processes that occur in brains under stress, several teams of scientists have concluded that even mild stressors inhibit an important portion of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex. It is thought to facilitate concentration and organization until stress hormones force another region of the brain to take over.

The result? "Where did I leave my car keys this time? What was that phone number?" says Amy Arnsten, a neurobiology researcher at Yale Medical School. Misplacing items and forgetting data might seem minimal compared with cardiac arrest and other serious byproducts of stress. "But it is an important health problem when you're taking a walk with your boss and a client comes by and you can't remember his name," says Dr. Paul J. Rosch, professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College and president of the American Institute of Stress.

Scientists aren't certain how extensive the short-term memory loss can be. But in an experiment with considerable implications for humans, a Palo Alto researcher found that severe stress may cause irreversible brain damage in lab rats. Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biological sciences and neuroscience at Stanford University, discovered the rats' brain neurons which are vital to learning and memory would not function smoothly after being exposed to stress for several hours. After a couple of weeks of stress, their neurons began to atrophy, he says.

After several months, their neurons began to die. Research has yet to determine if similar effects actually do oc cur in humans, Sapolsky emphasizes. But if long-term loss of brain function is in any way a reality, it's not likely to result from sitting in traffic or ending a bad relationship. Only severe, life-altering events such as being in combat are capable of causing such chronic stress, Sapolsky believes. Of course, minor, everyday stressors can also be harmful.

Chronic tension is "stressful for your gonads. It's stressful for your kidneys," says Sapolsky, author of "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers." And if allowed to persist, it can lead to significant health problems. The New York-based American Institute of Stress estimates that 75 percent to 90 percent of visits to doctors are for stress-related conditions. There is ample evidence to suggest that stress can cause ulcers, impotence, irregular menstrual cycles, miscarriages, colitis, diarrhea, cardiovascular disease, dwarfism, heart attacks, rashes, digestion problems -even cancer. Defibrillator advocate is saved by one on jet Brain-altering chemical may play part in alcoholism "I was watching a movie, and I just drifted off," he said.

"I don't remember anything no pain, no gasping, nothing." Tighe's wife was alerted by the way his arm was hanging from his side. She immediately began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and flight attendants soon arrived with the defibrillator. After five electric zaps revived him, they turned Tighe's care over to a doctor who was on the plane. The flight then was diverted to Denver, where he was hospitalized. In July 1997, American became the first domestic airline to install the devices, which are about the size of a laptop computer and cost $3,000 to $3,500 each, said Lloyd Benson of manufacturer Hewlett-Packard Heartstream.

American has since used the devices on five other people, including two who were successfully revived in airport gates. Tighe was the first to be shocked in-flight and survive, said airline spokesman Chris Chiames. The defibrillator used on Tighe had been installed only three days earlier. Of American's 650 aircraft, about three-quarters have the devices. The airline expects to finish the fleet by March.

Similar installations have been announced by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which is being sued by the widow of a passenger who died of a heart attack. The devices are not required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Some international carriers, including Qantas and Virgin Atlantic, have carried defibrillators for years. BOSTON (AP) Michael Tighe, who has pushed for the installation of defibrillators in buildings around Boston, is grateful someone saw a need for the cardiac equipment on planes. When Tighe, 62, went into cardiac arrest last week on an American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles, he became the first person on a domestic flight to have his life saved by a defibrillator.

"He was dead. He wasn't breathing, and he had no pulse," said Dolores Tighe, 53, a nurse who was sitting next to her husband at the time. "I was beside myself. I just kept thinking, 'I can't live without Tighe, director of community relations for the Boston Public Health Commission, recalled little of the incident yesterday from his hospital room in Denver. Thiele, a research psychologist at the University of Washington and lead author of the study appearing in today's issue of the scientific journal Nature.

Repeated injections of the substance cause animals to gorge themselves and grow fat. Higher levels of neuropeptide also relieve anxiety in rats. The newest research has electrified the alcohol research community because it is the first direct evidence that neuropeptide also influences the use of alcohol. Researchers are reluctant to draw conclusions about the complex story of human alcoholism from the simpler biology of animals. But they say dissecting alcoholism into simpler components and then working out the genetics and physiology of those components in animals may eventually lead to drugs to curb alcoholism.

Knight Ridder Newspapers An intriguing brain chemical linked to obesity, anxiety and depression may also play a key role in alcoholism, according to new research to be published today. The substance, called neuropeptide is a wisp of a chemical that powerfully shapes behavior by altering brain cell activity. The new findings show that mice genetically engineered to lack the gene responsible for neuropeptide production drink more alcohol than normal mice. And like human alcoholic counterparts, the mice have a higher tolerance for alcohol. Mice engineered to overproduce neuropeptide meanwhile, drank less alcohol and were more sensitive to its sleep-inducing effects.

"This strongly suggests that neuropeptide is an important player," said Todd E. PUBLIC RECORDS DEATHS BUY AN 0RECK XL AND PICK YOUR OWN LISTO, Juan Sylvester, 55, laborer, Big Fields, Nov. 22, Evergreen. LOPEZ, Cecilia Madeline, 77, cook, Sells, Nov. 21, Evergreen.

MARTIN, Edith Douglass, 86, educator, Nov. 20, Evergreen. MASON, Shirley, 70, homemaker, Nov. 22, Bring Broadway. MATHON, William, 63, dentist, Nov.

22, Bring Broadway. RIOUX, Dorothy, 86, homemaker, Nov. 24, Bring Broadway. WELCH, Janet, 59, homemaker, Nov. 24, Bring Broadway.

WIMBERLY, Adela 96, homemaker, Nov. 23, Tucson. (The deceased are from Tucson unless otherwise noted. Occupations are stated when available.) BRIGHTENFIELD, Violet Pauline, 82, homemaker, Nov. 20, Evergreen.

CARSON, Charlotte, 61, tavern owner, Nov. 23, Bring Broadway. EDWARDS, Robert B. Ill, 52, Insurance salesman, Nov. 22, Bring Broadway.

FINEFROCK, Ray Dean, 71, driver, Nov. 22, Evergreen. JONES, Masako, 68, homemaker, Nov. 18, East Lawn. LANPHEAR, Clyde Chipman, 80, accountant Nov.

5, Evergreen. FREE GIFT FOR CHRISTMAS. Don't let another holiday go by without trying the incredibly light, incredibly powerful 8-lb. Oreck XL. STARFACT: Use it for 5 days, risk free.

Decide to keep it and you can pick an Oreck Don't Know What to Give Your Outdoors Give Them a Caving Rescue Climbing Rappelling Backpacking Compact Canister or an Oreck Tidy up Carpet Sweeper or an Oreck power brush Gift Certificate! as your free gift. II I IV The typical American gobbled up 15 pounds of turkey in 1996, no doubt much of it at Thanksgiving. Per capita consumption didn't increase much since 1990 (6 percent), but was 80 percent higher than in 1980. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

It's one more way Oreck helps you Mountaineering The "Going Somewhere" bag featured in our After Thanksgiving Sale Circular should have stated that the 19.99 Event price is only valid with any additional JCPenney retail store purchase. We apologize for any inconvenience. JCPenney EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES Mill have a happy holiday season jO 5 Mil I 4HR 751-4212 Family owned Tue Fri 1 0am to 7pm and Operated Sat 9am to 2pm Outdoor Gear J' jtr, mtmmZ: 7445 E. 22nd St. 6 Prudence 12 Mile East of Kolb Rd.

1 S3 1 H2EI Serving Tucson for Over 25 Years Retirement Plans http:www.financial-architects.com fiinckl Architect's 2311 East Broadway 884.7550 Securities via KMS Financial Services, Inc. 1101 N. Wilmot Rd. 115 Tucson (NW corner of Speedway Wilmot) 751-0000 EMM Oreck Holdings. LI C.

Alt right reserved. All trademark are owned anO uwd under the author! ration ot Oreck Holdings. l.l.C I 01996 James Walker, CFP mm bit mm sis piece to toy ft! You can have all the comfort, quality, selection warranties that you expect from LaZBoy, But with Alexander's down-to-earth prices and service! DINING LIVING ROOM BEDROOM LEATHER A Downtown Valencia Tucson International UPHOLSTERY SLEEPERS RECLINERS GLIDERS 1-19, West on Valencia 5 miles 1 Reclining Sofa IPS rom 5849 CASINO All-You-Can-Eat Thanksgiving Day Feast Lunch: $5.95 plus tax Dinner $6.95 plus tax Kick-off the holiday season at Casino of the Sun with a special All-You-Can-Eat Thanksgiving Day! It's our way of saying "Thanks" to all our customers for another great year! Roasted Turkey Stuffing Glazed Hot baked Fish Mashed Potatoes Cranberry Sauce Yams Soups Salad Bar Desserts Buffet Opens Daily 11:00 a.m. p.m. Monagemnt reserves the right to modrfycancel any promotion.

OCCASIONAL TABLES CURIOS Of THE Ik PWCUA YAQU1 TRIBE A1' 1 IF1NE FURNITURE! 2636 E. BROADWAY 323-0747 Just east of Tucson Blvd. subject to ovoiiobiiity Open Mon. Sat. 9-5 Closed Sunday..