HEALTH

STUDY SUGGESTS GENE THERAPY MAY SLOW ALZHEIMER’S

WASHINGTON – The first attempt at gene therapy for Alzheimer’s patients appeared to significantly delay worsening of the disease in a few people who have tested it so far, scientists reported yesterday. Far more research is needed to see if the experimental treatment, which requires a form of brain surgery, really helps.

But if the approach pans out, researchers say delivering protective substances, called growth factors, into a diseased brain holds the potential to rescue some dying brain cells. In one patient, the brain tissue showed new growth, which was a first, according to a study published in yesterday’s edition of the journal Nature Medicine. The preliminary success indicates that similar approaches might help other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, the lead researcher, Dr. Mark Tuszynski of the University of California, San Diego, said. “This is in a sense proof of principle for the potential use of growth factors,” he said.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

U.S. PRISONS SWELL BY NEARLY 900 INMATES A WEEK IN 2004

Growing at a rate of about 900 inmates each week between mid-2003 and mid-2004, the nation’s prisons and jails held 2.1 million people, or one in every 138 American residents, the government reported yesterday. By last June 30, there were 48,000 more inmates, or 2.3%, more than the year before, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The total inmate population has hovered around 2 million for the past few years, reaching 2.1 million on June 30, 2002, and just below that mark a year later. While the crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, the report’s co-author, Paige Harrison, said. For example, the number of admissions to federal prisons in 2004 exceeded releases by more than 8,000, the study found.

Ms. Harrison said the increase can be attributed largely to get-tough policies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. Among them are mandatory drug sentences, “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” laws for repeat offenders, and “truth-in-sentencing” laws that restrict early releases.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

SKYDIVER DIES AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION WITH AIRPLANE

DELAND, Fla. – A skydiving cinematographer was killed after his legs were severed in a midair collision with the airplane he had jumped from, authorities said. Albert “Gus” Wing III had already deployed his parachute Saturday when he struck the left wing of the DHC-6 Twin Otter propeller plane at about 600 feet, a witness on the ground told police. Both of Wing’s legs were severed at the knees, but he managed to maneuver his parachute and land near the DeLand Airport, about 40 miles north of Orlando, the DeLand police commander, Randel Henderson, said. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he later died, Mr. Henderson said. Fourteen other skydivers were in the air at the time of the accident, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker said. The plane landed safely. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating. Authorities said they were not certain whether Wing had been filming at the time of the accident and no camera was found.

– Associated Press