SYDNEY (AFP) – People who live on vegetarian diets have slightly weaker bones than their meat-eating counterparts, Australian researchers said Thursday.
A joint Australian-Vietnamese study of links between the bones and diet of more than 2,700 people found that vegetarians had bones five percent less dense than meat-eaters, said lead researcher Tuan Nguyen.
The issue was most pronounced in vegans, who excluded all animal products from their diet and whose bones were six percent weaker, Nguyen said.
There was "practically no difference" between the bones of meat-eaters and ovolactovegetarians, who excluded meat and seafood but ate eggs and dairy products, he said.
"The results suggest that vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, are associated with lower bone mineral density," Nguyen wrote in the study, which was published Thursday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"But the magnitude of the association is clinically insignificant," he added.
Nguyen, who is from Sydney's Garvan Institute for Medical Research and collaborated on the project with the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, said the question of whether the lower density bones translated to increased fracture risk was yet to be answered.
"Given the rising number of vegetarians, roughly five percent (of people) in western countries, and the widespread incidence of osteoporosis, the issue is worth resolving," he said.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Court fight over Michael Jackson's children looms
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney
Ap Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, is taking care of the singer's three children and the family will go to court Monday in part to protect her rights to custody, the family's spokesman said.
Londell McMillan, the Jacksons' attorney, said the family hasn't heard from Deborah Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, about custody.
"I don't think there will be anybody who thinks that there is someone better" than Katherine Jackson to have custody, McMillan said Monday on NBC's "Today" show. "She is a very loving host of other grandchildren."
Jackson left behind three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest son was born to a surrogate mother.
Given the secrecy surrounding Michael Jackson's children throughout his life, it's no surprise that there are lingering questions about who will care for them. What is almost certain is this: Their fate will be decided in a courtroom.
Experts say the person who has the strongest legal claim to Jackson's two oldest children is Rowe. As for the youngest child, Jackson's wishes will be more influential. It remains unclear who Jackson designated as potential guardians for his children. Those details — likely contained in the 50-year-old singer's will — have not been released.
Rowe's attorney, Marta Almli, wrote in a statement Saturday that "Ms. Rowe's only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael's family has suffered. Ms. Rowe requests that Michael's family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace."
Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was the one who told the children their father had died.
"They knew when I came into the room," he said. "I'm sure they just saw it on my face. They said, `say it's not true,' and I just said, `I'm sorry.'"
Jackson never told his family who he had in place to handle his business affairs, a person close to the family told The Associated Press on Friday. The person, who requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation, said they were told by the singer's phalanx of advisers that he likely had a will, but it may be many years old.
Prince Michael II's mother has never been identified, and while she may surface, it is likely that she signed away her rights, said Stacy Phillips, a Los Angeles divorce attorney who has represented numerous high-profile clients.
Jackson was by several accounts an attentive and loving father.
"He was a great father," said Raymone Bain, Jackson's former publicist and general manager. "Those kids knew three and four languages. Even the little one. They were well mannered and sweet. I can't imagine these children without him."
He was extremely protective of his children, who weren't often seen in public, and were photographed wearing veils, masks or other items covering their faces when they were.
Rowe, a former nurse for Jackson's dermatologist, married Jackson in 1996 but filed for divorce in 1999. She later gave up her custody rights to the children, but petitioned to have those rights restored in 2003 after Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges, and an appeals court sided with her.
Jackson and Rowe apparently agreed in 2006 regarding her rights, but the terms have never been disclosed. The couple's divorce case that was heard in Los Angeles Superior Court remains closed.
Phillips said if her parental rights remain intact, she's presumed to be first in line to receive custody of her two children. "That could still be contested," she added.
Rowe would have to undergo an evaluation by the court to determine if she's the best person to care for Jackson's children. So, too, would anyone else who applies to become the children's guardian — some of whom may have Jackson's blessing.
"If he did indicate a preference, that will be given great weight, but that will not be determinative," said Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. "Children are not property, they cannot be willed to another person."
Allred agreed that Rowe has better legal standing than others who apply for custody of Jackson's eldest children. "She's definitely going to have an advantage."
But judges in California often take into account who is left in the children's lives with a strong bond, said Charlotte Goldberg, a family law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
"It's really a balance between continuity and stability and a biological relationship," Goldberg said.
A judge deciding the matter may even seek input in chambers from Jackson's children about who they feel comfortable with, she said.
But a court will also take into account with whom the children have a relationship bond, and that may not work in Rowe's favor. She wrote in a 2001 petition to sever her parental rights that she thought Jackson was doing a good parenting job.
"Michael has been a wonderful father to the children, and I do not wish to share any parenting responsibilities with Michael because he is doing so well without me," Rowe wrote. She also indicated in court filings during the 2006 custody struggle that she had not seen the children since 2005, shortly after his trial ended in acquittal on all charges and Jackson moved the children overseas.
It is unclear how often Rowe has seen the children since Jackson returned to the Los Angeles area in recent months to prepare for a 50-show concert engagement in London. It is also unclear what role the children's godfather, British child actor Mark Lester, may play in the proceedings.
Whoever wins custody of Jackson's children won't automatically gain control of their inheritance, Phillips said.
"For many people, the person or persons who are taking care of their kids are not necessarily taking care of their money," Phillips said. "There's a benefit to that — a sort of a check-and-balance."
Rowe, or whoever is designated the children's guardian, will receive payments based on Jackson's estate, Phillips said.
More clarity about the fate of Jackson's children will likely come once court proceedings start.
Phillips said the custody issue will now be handled by a probate court. If it is filed at Los Angeles' main downtown courthouse, Phillips said it will be handled by judges with significant family law experience.
Phillips said the looming custody fight could be unlike any other.
"In all the cases I've read all over the country," she said, "I've never seen a fact pattern like this."
AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney
Ap Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, is taking care of the singer's three children and the family will go to court Monday in part to protect her rights to custody, the family's spokesman said.
Londell McMillan, the Jacksons' attorney, said the family hasn't heard from Deborah Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, about custody.
"I don't think there will be anybody who thinks that there is someone better" than Katherine Jackson to have custody, McMillan said Monday on NBC's "Today" show. "She is a very loving host of other grandchildren."
Jackson left behind three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest son was born to a surrogate mother.
Given the secrecy surrounding Michael Jackson's children throughout his life, it's no surprise that there are lingering questions about who will care for them. What is almost certain is this: Their fate will be decided in a courtroom.
Experts say the person who has the strongest legal claim to Jackson's two oldest children is Rowe. As for the youngest child, Jackson's wishes will be more influential. It remains unclear who Jackson designated as potential guardians for his children. Those details — likely contained in the 50-year-old singer's will — have not been released.
Rowe's attorney, Marta Almli, wrote in a statement Saturday that "Ms. Rowe's only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael's family has suffered. Ms. Rowe requests that Michael's family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace."
Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was the one who told the children their father had died.
"They knew when I came into the room," he said. "I'm sure they just saw it on my face. They said, `say it's not true,' and I just said, `I'm sorry.'"
Jackson never told his family who he had in place to handle his business affairs, a person close to the family told The Associated Press on Friday. The person, who requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation, said they were told by the singer's phalanx of advisers that he likely had a will, but it may be many years old.
Prince Michael II's mother has never been identified, and while she may surface, it is likely that she signed away her rights, said Stacy Phillips, a Los Angeles divorce attorney who has represented numerous high-profile clients.
Jackson was by several accounts an attentive and loving father.
"He was a great father," said Raymone Bain, Jackson's former publicist and general manager. "Those kids knew three and four languages. Even the little one. They were well mannered and sweet. I can't imagine these children without him."
He was extremely protective of his children, who weren't often seen in public, and were photographed wearing veils, masks or other items covering their faces when they were.
Rowe, a former nurse for Jackson's dermatologist, married Jackson in 1996 but filed for divorce in 1999. She later gave up her custody rights to the children, but petitioned to have those rights restored in 2003 after Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges, and an appeals court sided with her.
Jackson and Rowe apparently agreed in 2006 regarding her rights, but the terms have never been disclosed. The couple's divorce case that was heard in Los Angeles Superior Court remains closed.
Phillips said if her parental rights remain intact, she's presumed to be first in line to receive custody of her two children. "That could still be contested," she added.
Rowe would have to undergo an evaluation by the court to determine if she's the best person to care for Jackson's children. So, too, would anyone else who applies to become the children's guardian — some of whom may have Jackson's blessing.
"If he did indicate a preference, that will be given great weight, but that will not be determinative," said Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. "Children are not property, they cannot be willed to another person."
Allred agreed that Rowe has better legal standing than others who apply for custody of Jackson's eldest children. "She's definitely going to have an advantage."
But judges in California often take into account who is left in the children's lives with a strong bond, said Charlotte Goldberg, a family law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
"It's really a balance between continuity and stability and a biological relationship," Goldberg said.
A judge deciding the matter may even seek input in chambers from Jackson's children about who they feel comfortable with, she said.
But a court will also take into account with whom the children have a relationship bond, and that may not work in Rowe's favor. She wrote in a 2001 petition to sever her parental rights that she thought Jackson was doing a good parenting job.
"Michael has been a wonderful father to the children, and I do not wish to share any parenting responsibilities with Michael because he is doing so well without me," Rowe wrote. She also indicated in court filings during the 2006 custody struggle that she had not seen the children since 2005, shortly after his trial ended in acquittal on all charges and Jackson moved the children overseas.
It is unclear how often Rowe has seen the children since Jackson returned to the Los Angeles area in recent months to prepare for a 50-show concert engagement in London. It is also unclear what role the children's godfather, British child actor Mark Lester, may play in the proceedings.
Whoever wins custody of Jackson's children won't automatically gain control of their inheritance, Phillips said.
"For many people, the person or persons who are taking care of their kids are not necessarily taking care of their money," Phillips said. "There's a benefit to that — a sort of a check-and-balance."
Rowe, or whoever is designated the children's guardian, will receive payments based on Jackson's estate, Phillips said.
More clarity about the fate of Jackson's children will likely come once court proceedings start.
Phillips said the custody issue will now be handled by a probate court. If it is filed at Los Angeles' main downtown courthouse, Phillips said it will be handled by judges with significant family law experience.
Phillips said the looming custody fight could be unlike any other.
"In all the cases I've read all over the country," she said, "I've never seen a fact pattern like this."
Jackson ex-wife shows interest in custody of kids
By ANTHONY MCCARTNEY
AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney
Ap Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.
It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainer's death. Jackson's will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children.
Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterized their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. She is the mother of his two oldest children and received $8.5 million in their divorce, according to court records. His youngest child was conceived with a surrogate.
She has spent very little time with her son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11. But Rowe also has opposed the idea of Katherine Jackson getting custody of her children when it came up in the past.
Rowe's attorney, Eric M. George, said Thursday she had not decided whether to seek custody.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rescheduled a guardianship hearing for July 13 at the request of attorneys for Rowe and for Katherine Jackson, 79, who has temporary guardianship of her son's children.
The identity of the surrogate mother of the singer's youngest child, 7-year-old son Prince Michael II, has never been revealed.
Jackson's public memorial was set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family's publicist.
Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Center and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed.
But Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said the Jackson family should consider delaying the public memorial to allow more time to plan. He also said the cash-strapped city doesn't have the money to pay police overtime.
"If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity (at the Staples Center), there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem," he said. With the July Fourth holiday weekend "it's the worst time ... to work something out."
Another court hearing will proceed as planned Monday on who will take temporary control of Jackson's estate. He left all his assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
A person familiar with the details of the trust said it would be shared between his mother, who gets 40 percent, his three children, who together get 40 percent, and charities for children, which would receive 20 percent. The charities will be determined later by the trust.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
Authorities also were investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office was helping Los Angeles police investigate the possible involvement of prescription drugs in Jackson's death.
His Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement is searching a state database that tracks doctors who prescribe controlled substances, how much and to whom.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration also has joined the investigation. The Los Angeles Police Department asked the DEA to help, a law enforcement official in Washington told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the investigation's sensitivity.
In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Jackson's brother Jermaine said he would be "hurt" if toxicology reports showed his younger brother abused prescription drugs.
"In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to," he said.
___
AP writers Michael R. Blood, Beth Harris in Los Angeles; Michele Salcedo in Washington; contributed to this story.
AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney
Ap Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES – The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.
It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainer's death. Jackson's will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children.
Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterized their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. She is the mother of his two oldest children and received $8.5 million in their divorce, according to court records. His youngest child was conceived with a surrogate.
She has spent very little time with her son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11. But Rowe also has opposed the idea of Katherine Jackson getting custody of her children when it came up in the past.
Rowe's attorney, Eric M. George, said Thursday she had not decided whether to seek custody.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rescheduled a guardianship hearing for July 13 at the request of attorneys for Rowe and for Katherine Jackson, 79, who has temporary guardianship of her son's children.
The identity of the surrogate mother of the singer's youngest child, 7-year-old son Prince Michael II, has never been revealed.
Jackson's public memorial was set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family's publicist.
Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Center and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free. He was not sure how they would be distributed.
But Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said the Jackson family should consider delaying the public memorial to allow more time to plan. He also said the cash-strapped city doesn't have the money to pay police overtime.
"If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity (at the Staples Center), there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem," he said. With the July Fourth holiday weekend "it's the worst time ... to work something out."
Another court hearing will proceed as planned Monday on who will take temporary control of Jackson's estate. He left all his assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
A person familiar with the details of the trust said it would be shared between his mother, who gets 40 percent, his three children, who together get 40 percent, and charities for children, which would receive 20 percent. The charities will be determined later by the trust.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
Authorities also were investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office was helping Los Angeles police investigate the possible involvement of prescription drugs in Jackson's death.
His Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement is searching a state database that tracks doctors who prescribe controlled substances, how much and to whom.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration also has joined the investigation. The Los Angeles Police Department asked the DEA to help, a law enforcement official in Washington told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the investigation's sensitivity.
In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Jackson's brother Jermaine said he would be "hurt" if toxicology reports showed his younger brother abused prescription drugs.
"In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to," he said.
___
AP writers Michael R. Blood, Beth Harris in Los Angeles; Michele Salcedo in Washington; contributed to this story.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Dentist Philippines^^ Does anyone know a good dentist in the beach area of La Union
TaNonG LaNg .... Does anyone know a good dentist in the beach area of La Union
Best answer: Dr. Rommel Hufana in San Fernando City La Union is great. I got him through a recommendation also. You may check his website : http://dentistphilippines.webs.com/
Best answer: Dr. Rommel Hufana in San Fernando City La Union is great. I got him through a recommendation also. You may check his website : http://dentistphilippines.webs.com/
***
15,000 jobs available in Guam soon - DOLE
Here’s good news for Filipino construction workers aching to work abroad.The Labor department said Monday that about 15,000 jobs would soon be made available in Guam for the construction of American military camps and housing for US marines to be relocated from Okinawa, Japan.Labor Undersecretary for employment Danilo Cruz said government and private groups in Guam have expressed their preference to hire Filipino workers as soon as construction of the US facilities begin."The private sector and the government there [favors] the Philippines for the project," Cruz told reporters.Except for local workers, Filipino workers would expect no other competition for the job, Cruz said, noting that the Philippines has an ample supply of skilled Filipino construction workers qualified for the job."I'm sure though that we have enough skilled workers to supply Guam," he said.Last week, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) administrator Rosalinda Baldoz flew to Guam to negotiate the hiring of Filipino construction workers there.Results of such undertaking, however, have yet to be made available."I don't know yet the results of the negotiations but I am very confident that we will be supplying the labor for the construction project in Guam," Cruz said.Cruz said an estimated $15-billion is expected to be released in the next few years for the manpower and the constructions of the facilities, which include the Marine base and a 4,000-housing facility for dependents of the US servicemen.Last year, the Pentagon announced the US has agreed to transfer 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam. About 14,000 Marines are currently in Japan, most of them in Okinawa.At present, the government of Guam is working to revise an existing US federal law that prohibits foreign nationals from working in US bases in Guam. Since World War II, Guam has relied on Filipino workers to solve their manpower inadequacy.There are currently 5,000 local construction workers in Guam, according to its Labor department.
Jackson's hospital is known for 'raising the dead'
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE,
AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione,
Ap Medical Writer – Wed Jul 1, 6:23 pm ET
When Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest, rescuers took him to a place known for bringing the dead back to life. A world-renowned surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center has pioneered a way to revive people that most doctors would have long written off, including a woman whose heart had stopped for 2 1/2 hours.
Tested on a few dozen cardiac arrest patients, 80 percent survived. Usually, more than 80 percent perish.
"They took people who were basically dead, not all that different than Michael Jackson, and saved most of them," said Dr. Lance Becker, an emergency medicine specialist at the University of Pennsylvania and an American Heart Association spokesman.
Could Jackson, too, have been saved?
It's impossible to know. Doctors at the hospital worked on him for an hour. The UCLA expert, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Gerald Buckberg, said he was not personally involved in Jackson's treatment, and that too little is known about what preceded it.
"We have no idea when he died versus when he was found," Buckberg said in a telephone interview.
However, the results in other patients show that "the window is wide open to new thinking" about how long people can be successfully resuscitated after their hearts quit beating, Buckberg said. "We can salvage them way beyond the current time frames that are used. We've changed the concept of when the heart is dead permanently."
They call it "the Lazarus syndrome" for the man the Bible says Jesus raised from the dead.
Let's be clear: No one is saying that people long dead without medical attention can be revived. The lucky ones in Buckberg's study received quick help, and the reason they suffered cardiac arrest was known and could be fixed: blocked arteries causing a heart attack, in most cases.
Buckberg's method requires:
_Prompt CPR — rhythmic chest compressions — to maintain blood pressure until the patient gets to a hospital.
_Use of a heart-lung machine to keep blood and oxygen moving through the body while doctors remedy what caused the heart to quiver or stop in the first place, such as a drug overdose or a clogged artery.
_Special procedures and medicines to gradually restore blood and oxygen flow, so a sudden gush does not cause fresh damage.
Without all three elements, patients might suffer brain damage if they survive at all.
"You can save the heart and lose the brain," Buckberg explained.
UCLA and hospitals in Birmingham, Ala.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and in Germany tested Buckberg's method on 34 patients who had been in cardiac arrest for an average of 72 minutes. All had failed resuscitation methods with standard CPR and defibrillation to try to shock their hearts back to beating.
Only seven died. Only two survivors were left with permanent neurological damage. Results were published in 2006 in the journal Resuscitation.
Dr. Constantine Athanasuleas (pronounced uh-than-uh-SOO'-lee-us), a surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, treated one man in the study who had been in cardiac arrest for about an hour and a half. The man's wife, a nurse, did CPR until a helicopter brought him to the hospital.
"He was flatlined," with a heart "as still as your dining room table," Athanasuleas said.
Doctors put him on a heart-lung machine, whisked him to the catheterization lab to see if he had artery blockages, then did bypass surgery to detour around them.
"The guy went home and was neurologically perfect" at least two years later, the doctor said.
Buckberg treated a woman who had been in cardiac arrest for 2 1/2 hours.
He would not send her to the operating room until her CPR and blood pressure could be maintained so further treatment could be attempted, he said.
Sadly, the woman survived all this but died several weeks later from an infection.
Buckberg has taken his work further in experiments with pigs in cardiac arrest. He deliberately deprived their brains of blood flow for half an hour, then used his resuscitation techniques to bring them back, with normal or near-normal function. Results presented at a heart association conference last fall stunned many, including Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a cardiologist and chairman of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
"He's doing extraordinary things. You almost don't believe the results that he got," Weisfeldt said of Buckberg. "Most of us carry around in our head that if somebody's brain is deprived of blood flow for 10 to 15 minutes that we're just not going to get them back to any useful function. His data suggest it's possible."
Doctors in Japan, Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia have tried approaches similar to Buckberg's with excellent results, said Becker, who is about to try it in Philadelphia.
"It takes training. It takes rethinking" to get doctors to adopt something this new, and funding for bigger studies to prove it works, Buckberg said.
AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione,
Ap Medical Writer – Wed Jul 1, 6:23 pm ET
When Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest, rescuers took him to a place known for bringing the dead back to life. A world-renowned surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center has pioneered a way to revive people that most doctors would have long written off, including a woman whose heart had stopped for 2 1/2 hours.
Tested on a few dozen cardiac arrest patients, 80 percent survived. Usually, more than 80 percent perish.
"They took people who were basically dead, not all that different than Michael Jackson, and saved most of them," said Dr. Lance Becker, an emergency medicine specialist at the University of Pennsylvania and an American Heart Association spokesman.
Could Jackson, too, have been saved?
It's impossible to know. Doctors at the hospital worked on him for an hour. The UCLA expert, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Gerald Buckberg, said he was not personally involved in Jackson's treatment, and that too little is known about what preceded it.
"We have no idea when he died versus when he was found," Buckberg said in a telephone interview.
However, the results in other patients show that "the window is wide open to new thinking" about how long people can be successfully resuscitated after their hearts quit beating, Buckberg said. "We can salvage them way beyond the current time frames that are used. We've changed the concept of when the heart is dead permanently."
They call it "the Lazarus syndrome" for the man the Bible says Jesus raised from the dead.
Let's be clear: No one is saying that people long dead without medical attention can be revived. The lucky ones in Buckberg's study received quick help, and the reason they suffered cardiac arrest was known and could be fixed: blocked arteries causing a heart attack, in most cases.
Buckberg's method requires:
_Prompt CPR — rhythmic chest compressions — to maintain blood pressure until the patient gets to a hospital.
_Use of a heart-lung machine to keep blood and oxygen moving through the body while doctors remedy what caused the heart to quiver or stop in the first place, such as a drug overdose or a clogged artery.
_Special procedures and medicines to gradually restore blood and oxygen flow, so a sudden gush does not cause fresh damage.
Without all three elements, patients might suffer brain damage if they survive at all.
"You can save the heart and lose the brain," Buckberg explained.
UCLA and hospitals in Birmingham, Ala.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and in Germany tested Buckberg's method on 34 patients who had been in cardiac arrest for an average of 72 minutes. All had failed resuscitation methods with standard CPR and defibrillation to try to shock their hearts back to beating.
Only seven died. Only two survivors were left with permanent neurological damage. Results were published in 2006 in the journal Resuscitation.
Dr. Constantine Athanasuleas (pronounced uh-than-uh-SOO'-lee-us), a surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, treated one man in the study who had been in cardiac arrest for about an hour and a half. The man's wife, a nurse, did CPR until a helicopter brought him to the hospital.
"He was flatlined," with a heart "as still as your dining room table," Athanasuleas said.
Doctors put him on a heart-lung machine, whisked him to the catheterization lab to see if he had artery blockages, then did bypass surgery to detour around them.
"The guy went home and was neurologically perfect" at least two years later, the doctor said.
Buckberg treated a woman who had been in cardiac arrest for 2 1/2 hours.
He would not send her to the operating room until her CPR and blood pressure could be maintained so further treatment could be attempted, he said.
Sadly, the woman survived all this but died several weeks later from an infection.
Buckberg has taken his work further in experiments with pigs in cardiac arrest. He deliberately deprived their brains of blood flow for half an hour, then used his resuscitation techniques to bring them back, with normal or near-normal function. Results presented at a heart association conference last fall stunned many, including Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, a cardiologist and chairman of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
"He's doing extraordinary things. You almost don't believe the results that he got," Weisfeldt said of Buckberg. "Most of us carry around in our head that if somebody's brain is deprived of blood flow for 10 to 15 minutes that we're just not going to get them back to any useful function. His data suggest it's possible."
Doctors in Japan, Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia have tried approaches similar to Buckberg's with excellent results, said Becker, who is about to try it in Philadelphia.
"It takes training. It takes rethinking" to get doctors to adopt something this new, and funding for bigger studies to prove it works, Buckberg said.
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