Chicago Tribune (CT) - SUNDAY December 5, 1993 Edition: FINAL EDITION Section: TEMPO Page: 2 Word Count: 854
Ron Kotulak and Jon Van, Tribune Staff Writers

In the U.S. and most other countries, flu vaccines are targeted for the sick and elderly. But a two-year study of a new nasal-spray vaccine showed that by immunizing children first, the spread of influenza to adults can be sharply limited.

During flu season children have a high rate of infection and are a major source for spreading the virus to adults, the researchers reported the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

"The results of this study indicate the feasibility of controlling influenza in the community by vaccinating school-aged children," said the U. of M.'s Dr. A.S. Moto.

Extinct shark could have eaten 'Jaws'

"Jaws" is a piker when it comes to big mouths.

How would you like to meet a 45-foot shark with jaws that could consume a mini-bus? Unfortunately for moviemakers, unless they're planning an undersea "Jurassic Park," such a shark, known as Carcharadon megalodon, is extinct, a prehistoric relative of the modern great white shark.

But fortunately for visitors to the Arizona State University's Museum of Geology in Tempe, the business end of the extinct shark is on display there.

The huge jaws, which open to 7.5 feet wide and 7 feet high, are studded with 210 fossil sharks' teeth collected by amateur paleontologist John Babiarz, who in real life is the owner of Greenfield Citrus Nursery in Mesa. The teeth, which are 6 inches long and cost as much as $300 apiece, are 5 to 15 million years old. Adolescent syphilis an HIV risk factor

Syphilis may be a harbinger of AIDS, according to a New York study. The study, which involved 59 inner-city minority group adolescents with syphilis, found that 15.3 percent also were infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Of the patients with syphilis 57.4 percent were black, 42.6 percent Hispanic, 83.6 percent females and 16.4 percent males.

"The diagnosis of syphilis in an adolescent is a risk factor for HIV infection," said Dr. Edward McCabe of the Staten Island University Hospital. "All sexually active adolescents should be routinely screened for syphilis, regardless of sexual practices," he reported in the journal Pediatrics, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Some fevered infants just cure themselves

One of three infants under 2 months old, who are routinely hospitalized for fevers and given antibiotics, could safely be cared for at home without antibiotics, a team of Pennsylvania researchers has found.

A study of 747 infants showed that those with high fevers but low risk of serious infection recovered promptly at home without the need for antibiotics, said Dr. M. Douglas Baker of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.

Not only was the trauma of hospitalization avoided, but each home-bound infant resulted in a savings of $3,100, Baker reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Aspirin works 2 ways in fighting colon cancer

Several studies suggest that an aspirin a day may help prevent colon cancer. Now University of Michigan scientists think they know how aspirin may produce its protective effect.

Aspirin appears to work in two ways, said Dr. Dean E. Brenner. Preliminary results indicate that aspirin suppresses an enzyme involved in breaking down fat in the colon. Since a high-fat diet is linked to colon cancer, suppressing the enzyme may reduce the risk of cancer, he said.

Another way aspirin seems to work is by causing cells lining the colon to divide in a more normal fashion. Abnormal division of cells also may be a colon-cancer risk factor, he said.

Twins often disagree in choosing spouses

Identical twins often make similar choices when it comes to jobs, vacations, friends and clothes. But, when it comes to picking a spouse, love throws them a curve.

A study of 5,000 pairs of identical twins found that while one member of a pair generally approved of the other's choices in clothes, work and other things, they were as likely to disapprove of each other's spousal choices as to like them.

Furthermore, the twins' spouses were just as likely to disapprove of the other twin as to approve of him or her, said psychologist David Lykken of the University of Minnesota. Identical twins would be expected to pick spouses who are similar, he said. But the study found otherwise.

Severe 'frozen shoulder' helped with morphine

The problem doctors and patients face in treating a "frozen shoulder" is that it usually hurts too much to restore motion by exercising the joint.

But injecting morphine into shoulder joints that have become immobilized because of pain and muscle contractions, relieves the pain so that motion can resume, said Dr. Girish P. Joshi of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

"This techique is simple, requires no special expertise or equipment, and is safe and free from side effects," Joshi reported at the recent meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Washington.

CAPTION: Photo: Amateur paleontologist John Babiarz (left) and Brad Archer, Arizona State's Museum of Geology curator, with re-created shark jaws.

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