Painter Fertility; CO Medicine; Dog Pacemaker | Medical Watch | WGNTV.com | WGN TV

Painter Fertility; CO Medicine; Dog Pacemaker

Friday, May 23

On the Medical Watch -- painters face a real problem when it comes to fertility.

Painter Fertility
Male painters and decorators exposed to glycol ethers are more likely to have poor sperm quality. A British Medical Journal study finds sperm shape and movement are compromised when men frequently inhale painting chemicals. In the same study researchers found men who wore boxer shorts and drank alcohol regularly had better sperm quality than those who didn't.

CO Medicine
Breathing in potentially deadly car fumes may help heart patients live. The latest issue of Anesthesiology reports low doses of carbon monoxide actually protect the lungs of patients undergoing heart bypass surgery. The potentially lethal gas in car exhaust fumes offers an anti-inflammatory effect when in controlled doses. Doctors say pre-surgery, carbon monoxide works in short doses that way it can't bind to red blood cells to poison patients.

Dog pacemaker
and offering the best medicine to save the heart of man's best friend. University of Missouri veterinarians implanted a pacemaker in a five-year-old chocolate lab. The life-saving operation was successful with a donated heart pacemaker. The vets believe the search and rescue dog had a heart attack. Her owners said the usually feisty young lab was always tired and out of breath. After surgery, with her new pacemaker, Molly is doing well.