Health Watch

AUSON ASHTON
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

CHOLESTEROL COUNT
Low cholesterol can be just as
dangerous as high cholesterol. A
research team at the Bowman
Gray School of Medicine and the
University of Pittsburgh reports
that low cholesterol levels result
in changes in crucial brain chem-
icals and more aggressive be-
havior in young monkeys.
"This phenomenon could be
relevant to our understanding of
the increase in suicide and vio-
lence-related death observed in
cholesterol-lowering trials in peo-
ple," says Dr. Jay R. Kaplan.
Young monkeys who con-
sumed a high-fat, low-cholesterol
diet over a period of eight months
were more antagonistic and less
friendly than those who ate a
high-cholesterol diet.
Monkeys on the low-choles-
terol plan also had lower evidence
of the brain chemical serotonin
in their spinal fluid.
Low levels of that neurotrans-
mitter have been implicated in
impulsivity, violence and in-
creased suicides in people.
Researchers say that there
might be an evolutionary expla-
nation for this.
'While the dietary exacerba-
tion of violent behavior appears
disadvantageous in a modern
setting, it might have been use-
ful during most of human evo-
lution, a period characterized by
hunting and gathering rather
than industrialization," Dr. Ka-
plan says.

CAT AND MOUSE
Cats love to hunt mice, rabbits,
birds and other small prey, and a
feline's wild instinct could en-
danger his human companions.
"Raw meat of birds or rodents
is the primary means by which
cats acquire toxoplasmosis," said
Dr. C.B. Chastain, professor of
veterinary medicine and surgery
at the University of Missouri, Co-
lumbia College of Veterinary
Medicine.
The disease isn't usually harm-
ful to cats, but it can cause a mild
infection in adult human beings.
After being exposed to the disease
once, most people are immune to
subsequent exposures.
`The risk is particularly great
for pregnant women, who may
pass a much more serious form of
the disease to their unborn child,"
Dr. Chastain says.
Pregnant women can protect
themselves by having another
family member change the litter
box since toxoplasmosis is usual-
ly transmitted through exposure
to cat feces.
"Of course, keeping your cat
from roaming outside where it
can catch small animals is rec-

HEALTH WATCH page 74

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