NBC Nightly News - 1999-06-01 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Northwest News Channel 8, where the news

[0:03] comes first.

[0:10] Lifeline. Two medical breakthroughs. New

[0:12] techniques that could revolutionize

[0:14] organ transplants and cure diabetes.

[0:17] Plus, surviving a heart attack when

[0:19] every second counts. A new way to save

[0:22] more lives. The war in Kosovo. Will it

[0:25] ever end? Are these new signs of peace

[0:28] the most promising yet? In depth summer

[0:31] airfares heating up. Major airlines

[0:34] raise ticket prices. How high can they

[0:36] go? The truth about bargain fairs on the

[0:39] internet. And the lying game. Do you

[0:43] know who's telling the truth and who's

[0:45] lying? There are ways to tell.

[0:50] From NBC News World Headquarters in New

[0:53] York, this is NBC Nightly News with Tom

[0:56] Bro.

[0:58] >> Good evening. We begin tonight with two

[1:00] major breakthroughs in medicine that

[1:01] should extend the lives of millions of

[1:03] people. First, a critical development in

[1:06] dealing with organ transplants and even

[1:08] curing diabetes. The immune system is

[1:11] the key here. After all, the body

[1:13] doesn't take to foreign organs, so

[1:15] powerful drugs have been required to

[1:17] make transplants work. Now, genetic

[1:20] engineering altering the immune system

[1:23] could mean dramatic gains. NBC's chief

[1:26] medical correspondent is Robert Bazelle.

[1:29] >> It is a breakthrough in organ

[1:31] transplantation that could have

[1:32] astounding implications for all sorts of

[1:35] diseases, even a potential cure for

[1:37] diabetes.

[1:38] >> This type of approach could

[1:39] revolutionize transplant medicine.

[1:41] >> So far, research in monkeys only, but so

[1:44] promising that human trials start within

[1:46] months. Until now, the problem with

[1:48] transplantation has been that the body's

[1:50] immune system rejects transplanted

[1:52] tissue so vigorously that some

[1:54] transplants are not possible and others

[1:56] require harsh anti-rejection drugs. In

[1:59] the new research, scientists were able

[2:01] to use a genetically engineered drug to

[2:03] retrain the immune system, altering

[2:06] white blood cells so that the body

[2:08] accepts the transplanted tissue without

[2:10] anti-rejection drugs. At the University

[2:12] of Miami, Dr. Norma Kenyon and Dr.

[2:15] Chameleio recordi for the first time

[2:17] successfully transplanted the cells

[2:19] called eyelets that manufacture insulin.

[2:22] Monkeys with a condition like diabetes

[2:24] now can survive and stay healthy without

[2:27] insulin shots.

[2:28] >> This appears to be a significant advance

[2:31] and one step closer into what may

[2:33] eventually lead to a cure for type 1

[2:36] diabetes.

[2:36] >> Amazing news for the almost 1 million

[2:38] Americans like Jane Adams who suffer

[2:41] from the most serious form of diabetes,

[2:43] type 1. To keep their blood sugar at

[2:45] normal levels, most diabetics must

[2:47] constantly monitor their blood and

[2:49] inject insulin several times a day. But

[2:52] even with insulin, diabetes can get out

[2:54] of control, bringing loss of eyesight

[2:56] and limbs, heart attacks, and death.

[2:58] >> There's an everyday um burden of of

[3:02] dealing with your diabetes, but there's

[3:03] also an emotional and kind of

[3:05] frightening burden about what lies ahead

[3:06] in your future. Using the new

[3:08] transplantation technology, other

[3:10] scientists managed to transplant kidneys

[3:12] in monkeys without using anti-rejection

[3:15] drugs. If it works in humans,

[3:17] transplants will become much simpler.

[3:19] >> People could have their organ failure

[3:21] cured and then go about their normal

[3:23] daily lives without being

[3:26] uh tethered by the side effects of

[3:29] imunosuppressive medication. That dream

[3:31] could become a reality as early as this

[3:33] summer when human trials begin of the

[3:35] new kidney transplant technique and the

[3:38] new attempt at curing diabetes. Robert

[3:40] Bazelle, NBC News, New York.

[3:43] >> Another medical breakthrough tonight

[3:45] that offers significant new hope for

[3:47] heart attack victims. A combination of

[3:49] drugs, a one-two punch that has the

[3:52] potential for saving thousands of lives.

[3:54] Details now from NBC's Robert Hager.

[3:58] When a severe heart attack first strikes

[4:00] when every second counts, the new study

[4:03] tonight says a new treatment, injections

[4:05] of two clotbusting drugs instead of one,

[4:08] can dramatically improve your chances of

[4:10] survival. Until now, doctors relied only

[4:13] on a drug called TPA to try to stop

[4:15] heart attacks in progress. The new

[4:17] treatment adds a drug called Riop Pro.

[4:20] Some call it super aspirin. The old one

[4:23] drug treatment with tpa alone works

[4:25] about half the time. The study says in

[4:27] combination with Riopro, it works in 77%

[4:30] of cases. A 17% better chance of

[4:33] breaking up a clot like this one, the

[4:35] dark spot on this beating heart, and

[4:38] starting blood flowing normally to the

[4:39] heart. Again, at Mount Sinai Medical

[4:42] School in New York, Dr. David Porsche,

[4:44] >> this is a very important study with very

[4:46] important findings which will likely

[4:48] change the way we practice cardiac

[4:50] medicine, not now, but in the immediate

[4:52] future. Charles Mallister knows

[4:55] firsthand he suffered a massive heart

[4:57] attack. Says the new drug combination

[4:59] saved his life.

[5:00] >> They told me that I'd come in and I was

[5:02] uh ash and gray in color and that they

[5:04] thought that they would they were going

[5:05] to lose me. So I really credit this this

[5:09] drug with opening my uh my vessels and

[5:13] doing just exactly as it was designed

[5:14] to.

[5:15] >> Here again the dark spot is a clot.

[5:18] >> The whole artery up here is filled with

[5:20] this big enormous blood clot. But after

[5:23] treatment with tpa alone, it's only

[5:25] partially dissolved.

[5:26] >> Position, you can still see how the

[5:28] artery is still incompletely open. The

[5:30] blood clot is still partially there.

[5:33] >> Adding ROPro improves treatment by

[5:35] punching holes in the outer surface of

[5:37] the clot makes it easier for the other

[5:39] drug tpa to penetrate and dissolve it

[5:42] completely. But to be sure, there are no

[5:44] unexpected side effects. Many doctors

[5:46] may hold up on largecale use of the new

[5:49] two drug combination until completion of

[5:51] another larger study just now getting

[5:53] underway. But for now, it looks like the

[5:55] two drugs may work just as well as much

[5:57] more complex heart surgery. Why some

[6:00] tonight say it has the potential to

[6:02] revolutionize treatment and save lives.

[6:05] Robert Hager, NBC News, Washington.

[6:08] >> More health news tonight. Good news for

[6:09] women on estrogen replacement therapy. A

[6:12] new study out shows women can take lower

[6:14] doses of estrogen and get the same

[6:16] benefits with fewer side effects if they

[6:19] also take extra calcium and vitamin D.

[6:21] This discovery could help millions of

[6:23] women avoid bone loss from osteoporosis

[6:26] because they're better able to tolerate

[6:28] estrogen at a lower dosage. There's some

[6:31] bad news tonight about the food

[6:32] supplement that is known as andro. It

[6:34] was in the news last year because the

[6:36] home run champion Mark Maguire

[6:38] acknowledged that he was using Andro.

[6:40] It's supposed to work like steroids to

[6:42] build muscle, but a study out tonight

[6:45] shows it is not a muscle builder. In

[6:47] fact, it could lead to serious side

[6:49] effects from enlarged breast tissue to

[6:52] cholesterol and cancer risk. Just ahead

[6:55] here, the students of Coline High and

[6:57] Littleton returning for the first time

[7:00] to the scene of the tragedy that changed

[7:02] their lives. What was it like?

[7:05] >> Hell, that's the the best I can describe

[7:08] it.

[7:09] I never wished this on my worst enemy.

[7:13] >> What it was like to go back inside

[7:15] Coline High after the massacre.

[7:18] >> NBC News in depth tonight. Airfar

[7:20] soaring again. What's going on and the

[7:24] plain truth about those internet

[7:26] so-called bargain airfares?

[7:33] >> Sir, I need your vehicle.

[7:35] I need to get the 84th Adams.

[7:40] Civil STS. Most powerful front-wheel

[7:42] drive car in the world, right?

[7:43] >> Yeah. Beat the 540i in the slow.

[7:46] >> I knew that. Big fan of the Northstar

[7:48] system. Stability track almost beats

[7:49] your mind when it comes to control.

[7:51] >> That was close.

[7:52] >> Trust me. I'm with the government.

[7:54] >> Cabil STS. It's what's next.

[7:56] >> Shouldn't you be getting out?

[7:58] >> Oh, they'll be all right.

[8:02] >> There are those among us with very

[8:03] simple tastes. They only want the best.

[8:07] And for them, there's Fancy Feast

[8:09] gourmet cat food. Exceptionally moist

[8:11] and delicious. Fancy Feast. Good taste

[8:14] is easy to recognize.

[8:36] Also, try new genuine Bear Gel Caps. The

[8:39] only gel cap that can help save your

[8:41] life. New Bear Gel Caps, powerful pain

[8:44] relief, and so much more.

[8:46] >> There's nutrition news about heart

[8:48] disease. The B vitamin folic acid may

[8:50] help reduce homocyine levels in the

[8:53] blood, an emerging risk factor for heart

[8:55] disease. And Centrum Silver has folic

[8:57] acid.

[8:58] >> Centrum Silver, it's a great time to be

[9:00] silver.

[9:01] Hey, Dad. What are you doing up?

[9:03] >> Reliving your mother's stuffed pepsis.

[9:05] >> Heartburn again, huh? What are you

[9:06] taking?

[9:07] >> Thumbs and I'm back for more.

[9:08] >> You still taking that stuff? Look, Dad,

[9:11] take a pepsid AC. One tiny pill controls

[9:13] acid all night

[9:14] >> so I can get some sleep.

[9:15] >> Next time, take one before dinner and

[9:17] you can stop heartburn before it starts.

[9:19] >> Before it starts. You don't see me

[9:20] suffering, do you?

[9:22] >> What are you guys doing, though?

[9:24] >> Uh, nothing, dear. We were talking about

[9:25] your your peppers.

[9:26] >> Peppers?

[9:27] >> I got some in the fridge. You can sleep

[9:29] heartburn free with Peps at AC. Now, two

[9:32] of the area's best forecasters have

[9:34] joined together. The Oregonian and Matt

[9:37] Zapino, voted Portland's best weather

[9:40] caster by the Associated Press. Now,

[9:42] look for Matt's forecast every weekday

[9:44] in the Oregonian and every week night on

[9:47] Northwest News Channel 8, where the news

[9:49] comes first.

[9:52] In Littleton, Colorado, 6 weeks to the

[9:55] day after the massacre at Coline High,

[9:57] students were allowed back into their

[9:59] school building for the first time, it

[10:01] had been sealed off as a crime scene. It

[10:04] was, by all accounts, a strange,

[10:05] unsettling experience. Going back to

[10:08] find book bags, homework, glasses, even

[10:12] halfeaten lunches exactly where they've

[10:13] been left when the gunfire started.

[10:16] Here's how some of those students felt

[10:18] today as they expressed it in their own

[10:19] words.

[10:21] I ran out those doors that I just walked

[10:25] out of.

[10:27] The doors that I ran out of, that's

[10:29] where my friends were hiding.

[10:31] >> It's hard to go back in and know that

[10:33] two of your classmates wanted to ruin

[10:36] you and your school. It was scary, but

[10:39] you know, something that everybody's got

[10:40] to do because it's our school and we

[10:42] can't let them take it away from us and

[10:44] that's what they were trying to do. And

[10:46] I don't think that that's right. I just

[10:47] miss it a lot. And it'll just kind of be

[10:50] like closure cuz when we go back next

[10:53] fall, it's not going to be the same.

[10:55] It's help. That's the the best I can

[10:58] describe it.

[11:00] I never wish this on my worst enemy.

[11:03] Hope it never ever happened again.

[11:06] Really wish this copycat acts would

[11:08] stop.

[11:10] >> Coline High School students tonight in

[11:12] their own words after returning to their

[11:14] building for the first time. And while

[11:15] that was going on in Littleton,

[11:17] President Clinton was in Washington with

[11:18] a fresh attack on violent videos, video

[11:21] games, and movies. He ordered the

[11:23] Justice Department and the Federal Trade

[11:25] Commission to investigate how the

[11:27] entertainment industry markets violent

[11:29] products and whether in fact they

[11:31] deliberately target children.

[11:35] Another big wildfire has nearly 500

[11:37] firefighters from 30 states converging

[11:39] on the Florida Georgia border tonight.

[11:41] Wind-riven flames have burned 53,000

[11:44] acres of the famous Oki Finoi swamp. So

[11:47] far, experts said unless it rains hard

[11:49] soon, it could take two more weeks to

[11:52] put this fire out. And the video camera

[11:55] was rowing near Dodge City, Kansas last

[11:57] night when a big, extremely mean-l

[12:00] looking tornado dropped down. Luckily,

[12:02] it was in an open field, so there was no

[12:05] damage.