2009 Archives
2009 Archives:
Featured InfoMedLinks
NSAIDs: Take 'Em Early and Often When Competing? Think Again
Passive Smoking and Risk of Breast Cancer in the California Teachers Study (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009) “Conclusion: These results suggest that cumulative exposures to high levels of sidestream smoke may increase breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women who themselves have never smoked tobacco products.”
Radiation Exposure From Annual Mammography Increases Breast Cancer Risk in Young High-Risk Women “The low doses of radiation associated with annual screening mammography could be placing high-risk women in even more jeopardy of developing breast cancer, particularly if they start screening at a young age or have frequent exposure, according to new research presented here at the Radiological Society of North America 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. A meta-analysis of 6 studies found that women with BRCA1 or BCRA2 gene mutations or a family history of breast cancer who were exposed to radiation, either from mammography or chest x-rays, before the age of 20 had a risk for breast cancer that was 2.5 times higher than their counterparts who were not exposed to radiation (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9 - 3.2). The analysis, which examined 9420 high-risk women, also found that 5 or more mammograms increased risk 2.5-fold (95% CI, 1.6 - 3.9), Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide, PhD, from the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, reported.”
Radiofrequency Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: A Guide for Adults
Salmonella Or Other Bacteria Found In Most Chickens Sold In Stores, US “According to a survey by a consumer organization, most chickens sold in US stores carry salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease. The survey report will appear in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine, and describes how an analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought at stores throughout the US showed that two-thirds contained salmonella and/or campylobacter. Consumer Reports bought 382 chickens from over 100 supermarkets, mass merchandisers, gourmet and natural food stores in 22 states, and had them analyzed by outside labs. Altogether they tested three top brands (Foster Farms, Perdue, and Tyson), 30 nonorganic store brands, nine organic store brands, and nine organic name brands. Five of the organic name brands were labelled as "air chilled", a slaughterhouse process that refrigerates and mists carcasses instead of dunking them in cold chlorinated water, they told the press. The tests revealed that: • 62 per cent of the chickens contained campylobacter. • 14 per cent of them contained salmonella. • And 9 per cent of the chickens contained both campylobacter and salmonella. • Only 34 per cent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. • This is double the percentage of clean birds found in the 2007 survey but considerably less than the 51 per cent found in 2003. • Some of the cleanest overall were the air-chilled broilers; about 40 per cent of which had one or both pathogens.”
Study finds over 90 percent of people with gum disease are at risk for diabetes
That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy “The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal.”
What's the best approach to acute low back pain? (J Fam Pract. 2009)
Whole Foods Recalls Hazelnuts Due to Possible Salmonella
The Dangers of High Cholesterol “How does atherosclerosis begin to happen exactly? In a healthy artery, the inner lining, or endothelium, is smooth and intact. But disease or injury -- including diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol -- can damage this lining, paving the way for atherosclerosis. Scientists aren't sure how high cholesterol injures arteries, Gotto says, but he explains one theory: The fatty acids carried by LDL become oxidized and injure blood vessel walls. "The higher the level of LDL circulating in the blood, the more the wall gets injured." An inflammatory reaction ensues, Gotto says. "The blood vessel responds by a reaction to injury. It treats this as if you scratched your finger." Atherosclerosis begins when white blood cells move into the lining and artery wall. They transform into foam cells, which accumulate fat and cholesterol. Other substances, such as calcium, also collect at the site. Eventually, an atherosclerotic plaque, or atheroma, forms. These plaques thicken and harden the artery wall and bulge into the bloodstream to reduce or block blood flow. When an atheroma ruptures, it can trigger a blood clot leading to heart attack or stroke. Most commonly, atherosclerosis affects the left anterior descending coronary artery [one of the main arteries of the heart], the carotid arteries in the neck, and the abdominal aorta, Gotto says.”
Total- and HDL-Cholesterol Levels, Not Triglycerides, Predict Vascular Risk
Vitamin D: What is an adequate vitamin D level and how much supplementation is necessary? (Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2009) “Ideally, the target range for 25-hydroxyvitamin D should be at least 75nmoll(-1), which may need more than 700-1000IU vitamin D in individuals with severe vitamin D deficiency or those overweight.”
West Sweden Asthma Study: Prevalence Trends Over the Last 18 Years Argues No Recent Increase in Asthma “Asthma prevalence, defined as asthma diagnosed by a physician, was 8.3%. Moreover, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms was lower compared to previous studies. The most common respiratory symptom was any wheeze (16.6%) followed by sputum production (13.3%). In comparison with studies performed 18 years ago, the prevalence of asthma has not increased, and the prevalence of most respiratory symptoms has decreased. Therefore, our data argues that the continued increase in asthma prevalence that has been observed over the last half century is over.”
Salt Increases Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease
Serum Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Hospital Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation in Men. (Circulation. 2009) “Conclusions-An increased concentration of long-chain n-3 PUFAs in serum, a marker of fish or fish oil consumption, may protect against AF. Serum docosahexaenoic acid concentration had the greatest impact.”
Smokers Double Their Risk for Heart Disease “Researchers followed 12,152 American and European male and female smokers, formers smokers and nonsmokers for three years. During that time, current smokers were 4.16 times more likely to die of cancer , 2.26 times more likely to die of heart disease and 2.58 times more likely to die from any cause than were former or nonsmokers. Current smokers were also more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.”
Smokers Inhaling Germs With Each Cigarette “The researchers found hundreds of types of bacteria in the cigarettes, including some that cause respiratory disease, lung and blood infections, foodborne illness, as well as infections that people get when they're in the hospital.”
The Association between Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort from the United States (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009)
Differences in brain volume, hippocampal volume, cerebrovascular risk factors, and apolipoprotein E4 among mild cognitive impairment subtypes. ( Arch Neurol. 2009)
Ecstasy Users at Higher Risk of Sleep Apnea “McCann and colleagues conducted sleep tests on 71 people who'd used ecstasy (MDMA) and 62 people who'd never used the illegal drug. Ecstasy users had a more than eight-fold increased risk of sleep apnea compared to non-users. Mild sleep apnea rates were similar in both groups (21 percent of ecstasy users and 27 percent of non-users), but only ecstasy users had moderate (13 percent) or severe (1 percent) sleep apnea. The longer a person used ecstasy, the more sleep apnea episodes they experienced, said the researchers. They also found that ecstasy use was a greater risk factor for sleep apnea than obesity. "Our findings may be explained by how ecstasy damages neurons related to serotonin, a chemical in the brain that is involved in sleep regulation and breathing, among other important functions," McCann said. "Sleep apnea in itself is dangerous, but it can also contribute to thinking problems in people who use ecstasy because chronic sleep disruption is known to have a negative effect on how a person functions during the daytime."”
For bubbly Va. 6-year-old, swine flu's attack came quick and strong “With seasonal flu, 90 percent of the people who die are older than 65; most of those victims are older than 85. The worst outbreaks of seasonal flu are usually reported in nursing homes. But with this year's H1N1 strain, the demographics are reversed. Now, most of those dying are younger than 65, the worst outbreaks are in schools and the highest hospitalization rate is among children younger than 4. Forty to 150 children die from the seasonal flu every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said that it had vastly underestimated the number of children who have died from swine flu. The number of pediatric deaths had previously been reported to be 129. Now, the government estimates that 300 to 800 children died between April 1 and Oct. 17. During that period, 14 million to 34 million Americans came down with swine flu, the CDC said. “
New Review Endorses CV Benefits of Fish Oil “A new review concludes that there is extensive evidence from three decades of research that fish oils, or more specifically the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) contained in them, are beneficial for everyone [1]. This includes healthy people as well as those with heart disease — including postmyocardial infarction (MI) patients and those with heart failure, atherosclerosis, or atrial fibrillation — say Dr Carl J Lavie (Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA) and colleagues in their paper published online August 3, 2009, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "We reviewed everything that was published on omega-3 that was clinically important, and the major finding is that there are a tremendous amount of data to support the benefits of omega-3, not just as a nutritional supplement — people have known that for years — but evidence that it prevents and treats many aspects of cardiovascular disease," Lavie told heartwire . Lavie said he believes physicians are not as familiar with the omega-3 studies as they should be: "Clinicians know the findings of many statin trials even if they do not know all the details — they know that there are a ton of statin data. The omega-3 data may not be as impressive or as plentiful as this, but it should be 'promoted' to clinicians." Omega-3 PUFA, says Lavie, "is a therapy that clinicians should be considering prescribing to their patients. Not just as something healthy but as something that may actually prevent the next event. In HF [heart failure], it may prevent death or hospitalization and the same thing post-MI." He and his colleagues reiterate the advice of the American Heart Association (AHA): that those with known coronary heart disease (CHD) or HF eat four or five oily-fish meals per week or take the equivalent in omega-3 supplements; healthy people should consume around two fatty-fish meals per week or the same in supplements.”
New Vitamin K Analysis Supports The Triage Theory “An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer (1). Vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills. … Vitamin K is known as the "Koagulation" vitamin because about half of the 16 known proteins that depend on vitK are necessary for blood coagulation. The other vitK-dependent proteins are involved in a variety of different functions involving the skeletal, arterial, and immune systems. Average intakes of vitamin K in the United States and the United Kingdom are less even than currently recommended intakes, which are primarily based on levels to ensure adequate coagulation. McCann & Ames' analysis supports recommendations by some experts that non-clotting functions requiring vitamin K may need higher intakes than are currently recommended.”
Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease Protection “The current AHA guidelines recommended combined EPA and DHA in a dose of approximately 1000 mg/day in patients with CHD.17 This dose may also now be appropriate for patients with HF.1,12,14 Since few patients eat four or more oily fish meals per week, this dosage of EPA + DHA would generally require two or three OTC fish oil capsules, depending on the exact concentrations of EPA and DHA (equivalent to one Lovaza, which is not FDA-approved for this indication). In patients with elevated triglycerides, 3-5 g/day of EPA + DHA would be needed, which generally would require between 6-12 OTC fish oil capsules (or 4 Lovaza, the FDA-approved preparation). Conclusions Based on considerable evidence, the target EPA + DHA consumption should be at least 500 mg/day for individuals without overt CV diseases, and at least 800-1000 mg/day for individuals with known CHD and HF. As was recently reviewed in detail, 1 further studies are needed to determine optimal dosing and the relative ratio of DHA and EPA that provides maximal CV protection in those at risk of CV diseases, as well as in the treatment of atherosclerosis, arrhythmias, and primary myocardial disorders. However, the constellation of data suggests that this story represents a "fish tale with growing credibility."1“
Physical Activity Should Be Encouraged Into Advanced Old Age “Physical activity should be encouraged into advanced old age, according to the results of a prospective cohort study reported in the September 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Recommendations encouraging physical activity set no upper age limit, yet evidence supporting the benefits of PA [physical activity] among the very old is sparse," write Jochanan Stessman, MD, from Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel, and colleagues. "We examined the effects of continuing, increasing, or decreasing PA levels on survival, function, and health status among the very old."“
Physical Activity, Diet, and Risk of Alzheimer Disease (JAMA. 2009) “Conclusion In this study, both higher Mediterranean-type diet adherence and higher physical activity were independently associated with reduced risk for AD. “
Polyphenols and health: What compounds are involved? (Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009)
Prenatal and childhood Mediterranean diet and the development of asthma and allergies in children. (Public Health Nutr. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Findings from recent studies suggest that a high level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet early in life protects against the development of asthma and atopy in children.”
Protect Against Colds With Exercise “David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, says that multiple studies have shown a 25- to 50-percent decrease in sick time for active people completing at least 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as walking) most days of the week. "This reduction in illness far exceeds anything a drug or pill can offer," Nieman said. "All is takes is a pair of walking shoes to help prevent becoming one of the thousands predicted to suffer from the common cold this winter."”
Recent, Vigorous Exercise Is Associated With Reduced Breast Cancer Risk “Post-menopausal women who engage in moderate to vigorous exercise have a reduced risk of breast cancer.”
Resveratrol: A Natural Polyphenol with Multiple Chemopreventive Properties. (Curr Drug Metab. 2009)
Tea polyphenols regulate key mediators on inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. (Mediators Inflamm. 2009) “Tea polyphenols known as catechins are key components with many biological functions, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticarcinogenic effects. These effects are induced by the suppression of several inflammatory factors including nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-?B). While these characteristics of catechins have been well documented, actions of catechins as mediators on inflammation-related cardiovascular diseases have not yet been well investigated. … From our results, catechins are potent agents for the treatment and prevention of inflammation-related cardiovascular diseases because they are critically involved in the suppression of proinflammatory signaling pathways.”
Body-Mass Index and Waist Circumference Equally Predictive for CV Events, Mortality
Cancer Society, in Shift, Has Concerns on Screenings ““We don’t want people to panic,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the cancer society. “But I’m admitting that American medicine has overpromised when it comes to screening. The advantages to screening have been exaggerated.” Prostate cancer screening has long been problematic. The cancer society, which with more than two million volunteers is one of the nation’s largest voluntary health agencies, does not advocate testing for all men. And many researchers point out that the PSA prostate cancer screening test has not been shown to prevent prostate cancer deaths. There has been much less public debate about mammograms. Studies from the 1960s to the 1980s found that they reduced the death rate from breast cancer by up to 20 percent. The cancer society’s decision to reconsider its message about the risks as well as potential benefits of screening was spurred in part by an analysis published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Brawley said. In it, researchers report a 40 percent increase in breast cancer diagnoses and a near doubling of early stage cancers, but just a 10 percent decline in cancers that have spread beyond the breast to the lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body. With prostate cancer, the situation is similar, the researchers report. If breast and prostate cancer screening really fulfilled their promise, the researchers note, cancers that once were found late, when they were often incurable, would now be found early, when they could be cured. A large increase in early cancers would be balanced by a commensurate decline in late-stage cancers. That is what happened with screening for colon and cervical cancers. But not with breast and prostate cancer.”
Compress the Chest: Better CPR Improves Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest ”Comment: The promising results of this large study suggest the AHA was on the right track with its renewed focus on basic CPR, including the importance of providing uninterrupted chest compressions.”
Concern over canned foods “Now Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods we tested contain some BPA. The canned organic foods we tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. We even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled "BPA-free."“
Depression, Anxiety Symptoms Common in Preschoolers “The longitudinal study of 1759 children, ranging in age from 5 months to 5 years, found that 15% of study participants had unduly high symptoms of depression and anxiety and that these children were more likely to have mothers with a history of depression. The study also found that difficult temperament at 5 months was the most important predictor of depression and anxiety in children. "As early as the first year of life, there are indications that some children have more risks than others of developing high levels of depression and anxiety. We also found that these symptoms increase in frequency during the first 5 years of life," one of the authors, Sylvana Côté, PhD, from the Université de Montréal in Quebec, told Medscape Psychiatry.“
Diagnosis of asthma in adults (CMAJ 2009)
Diet And Intestinal Bacteria Linked To Healthier Immune Systems “The indigestible part of all plant-based foods pushes its way through most of the digestive tract unchanged, acting as a kind of internal broom. When it arrives in the colon, bacteria convert it to energy and compounds known as 'short chain fatty acids'. These are already known to alleviate the symptoms of colitis, an inflammatory gut condition. 1 Similarly, probiotics and prebiotics, food supplements that affect the balance of gut bacteria, reduce the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, also inflammatory diseases. Until now no-one has understood why. … The conclusions drawn from the current research provide some of the most compelling reasons yet for eating considerably more unprocessed whole foods -- fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. 4 Dietary fibre, of course, has many known health benefits in addition to those discussed above, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers 5, and various health organizations around the world recommend daily minimum levels. 6 It is certain that the majority of people in countries like Australia, the United States and Britain eat much less fibre than they need to stay healthy.”
Diet Beats Drugs for Diabetes Prevention
Diet Rich in Processed Food Linked to Increased Risk for Depression “Patients who consume a diet rich in high-fat dairy products and fried, refined, and sugary foods are at increased risk of developing depression, whereas those whose diet is rich in fish, fruit, and vegetables are at lower risk of developing depression, a new study shows. Although other research has looked at the relationship between single nutrients and depression, this is the first study to investigate the effect of dietary patterns on depression. The results suggest that diet should be considered a potential target for the prevention of depressive disorders…”
Diet Soda and Salt: Destroying your Kidneys? “Researchers studied more than 3,000 women and found those who drink at least two diet sodas daily double their rate of kidney function decline. Sodium also increased their odds, as demonstrated by test results consistent with previous experimental animal testing.”
15 Cancer Symptoms Women Ignore
A possible role of atrial fibrillation as a risk factor for dementia. ( Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009)
Adulthood asthma after wheezing in infancy: a questionnaire study at 27 years of age. (Allergy. 2009)
Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing “Several patient advocacy groups and many breast cancer experts welcomed the new guidelines, saying they represent a growing recognition that more testing, exams and treatment are not always beneficial and, in fact, can harm patients. Mammograms produce false-positive results in about 10 percent of cases, causing anxiety and often prompting women to undergo unnecessary follow-up tests, sometimes-disfiguring biopsies and unneeded treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.”
Lead, chemicals found in toys despite stricter law
Living to 100 to Become Common?
Main Ingredients in Household Dust Come From Outdoors “This outdoor-based dust can contain lead, arsenic and other potentially harmful substances, said the Arizona researchers. For example, they estimated that 60% of arsenic in floor dust may come from arsenic in the surrounding air, with the remainder coming from tracked-in soil. The substances in household dust that originates outdoors may be a special concern for homes with children, who put dust-contaminated toys and other objects into their mouths…”
Meat and Meat-related Compounds and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort Study in the United States. (Am J Epidemiol. 2009) “Red and processed meat may be positively associated with prostate cancer via mechanisms involving heme iron, nitrite/nitrate, grilling/barbecuing, and benzo[a]pyrene.”
Morphine May Help Tumors Spread in Cancer Patients
New advice: Wait until 50 for mammograms “Most women should wait until age 50 to get mammograms and then have one every two years, a government task force said Monday in a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society's long-standing recommendation of annual screening starting at 40. Also, the task force said breast self-exams do no good and women shouldn't be taught to do them.”
New Brain Findings On Dyslexic Children: Good Readers Learn From Repeating Auditory Signals, Poor Readers Do Not “The vast majority of school-aged children can focus on the voice of a teacher amid the cacophony of the typical classroom thanks to a brain that automatically focuses on relevant, predictable and repeating auditory information, according to new research from Northwestern University. But for children with developmental dyslexia, the teacher's voice may get lost in the background noise of banging lockers, whispering children, playground screams and scraping chairs, the researchers say. Their study appears in the Nov. 12 issue of Neuron. Recent scientific studies suggest that children with developmental dyslexia -- a neurological disorder affecting reading and spelling skills in 5 to 10 percent of school aged children -- have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from competing noise.”
New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Opposed by Societies “Several professional organizations and expert groups have voiced their objections to new recommendations for breast cancer screening issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and published in the November 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. "[The American Cancer Society] continues to recommend [mammography] screening annually for women 40 to 49 years of age," Victor G. Vogel, MD, MHS, FACP, national vice president for research at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in Atlanta, Georgia, told Medscape Medical News. "Clinicians should recognize that very few agencies, including the ACS, are altering their screening guidelines based on the USPSTF modeling results, which simply reanalyze previously published data." Based on an evidence review, the updated USPSTF guidelines recommend against routine mammography screening for women before age 50 years, suggest that screening end at age 74 years, and recommend changing the screening interval from 1 year to 2 years.”
Obesity responsible for 100,000 cancer cases annually
Obesity Significantly Cuts Odds Of Successful Pregnancy, Study Finds
Otitis media: viruses, bacteria, biofilms and vaccines (Med J Aust 2009)
Preeclampsia Linked to Reduced Thyroid Function
Primary care management of otitis media among Australian children (Med J Aust 2009)
Red, processed meats linked to prostate cancer “Overall, the researchers found, the 20 percent of men with the highest intakes of red meat, which in this study included beef and pork, were 12 percent more likely than those who consumed the least to develop prostate cancer. That's after a range of other factors, like smoking, exercise habits and education, were taken into account. There was a stronger connection to advanced prostate cancer -- with that risk being almost one-third higher among those who ate the most red meat versus those who ate the least. Similar findings were seen with processed meat. But when the researchers broke the men's diet information down further, they found that red processed meats -- like bacon and red-meat sausage and hot dogs -- were related to higher prostate cancer risk, while white processed meats, like poultry cold cuts, were not. When it came to cooking methods, the only one that was linked to prostate cancer was grilling/barbecuing, Sinha's team found. The finding is in line with the theory that meats cooked at high temperatures may be particularly linked to cancer because the cooking process produces certain chemicals -- including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines -- that are known to cause cancer in animals. Giving further support to that idea, the researchers found that higher dietary levels of a PAH called benzo-alpha-pyrene were related to a higher risk of prostate cancer. A similar pattern emerged when the investigators looked at men's intake of nitrites and nitrates -- chemicals used to preserve and flavor processed and cured meats like ham, bacon and sausage. In the body, nitrites and nitrates can promote the production of potentially cancer-promoting chemicals called nitrosamines.”
Risk of chronic low-dose selenium overexposure in humans: insights from epidemiology and biochemistry. (Rev Environ Health. 2009) “Experimental evidence from laboratory studies and veterinary medicine appears to confirm previous epidemiologic observations that selenium overexposure is associated with an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and a recent large trial indicated no beneficial effect in preventing prostate cancer. Moreover, the pro-oxidant properties of selenium species and the observation that the selenium-containing enzymes glutathione peroxidases are induced by oxidative stress imply that the increase in enzymatic activity induced by this metalloid may represent at least in part a compensatory response. Taken together, the data indicate that the upper safe limit of organic and inorganic selenium intake in humans may be lower than has been thought and that low-dose chronic overexposure to selenium may be considerably more widespread than supposed.”
Screening for Breast Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement (Annals 2009)
Size Matters -- Obesity Leading Risk Factor for Heart Condition “In individuals with high blood pressure, the heart has to deal with greater pressure, which results in a thickening of the walls of the left ventricle. This change also affects the left atrium as the pressure in this chamber ultimately increases as well as resulting in enlargement and loss of function of the atrium. The mechanisms by which obesity might promote the increased size of the left atrium are seemingly more complex. Obese subjects may undergo dilatation of this chamber because of the cardiac output. The heart of an obese person must transport more blood per minute, which may lead to a volume overload in the left atrium.”
To Feel Better, Low-Fat Diet May Be Best “"The exact mechanism for the observed effects on mood still remains largely unknown," Brinkworth said. "However, if the mechanism for the return of mood toward more negative baseline levels following weight loss with a very low-carbohydrate diet is related to this diet being so far removed from normal dietary habits, then a very low-carbohydrate diet may be best recommended for individuals who habitually consume low amounts of carbohydrate foods in their diet." More carbs can increase serotonin concentrations in the brain, whereas added fat and protein can reduce concentrations. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter involved in mood. "Altered mood has been shown to influence interpersonal behavior and, therefore, the consumption of a very low-carbohydrate diet may have psychosocial consequences for interpersonal behavior and relationships," Brinkworth said. "I am not entirely clear as to the effects of mood on long-term weight loss; however a recent review article ... suggested that one of the factors that may pose risk for poor long-term weight maintenance may be 'eating in response to negative emotions and stress.'" "Therefore, since negative mood may promote overeating, this suggests that consumption of a very low-carbohydrate diet over an even longer period beyond one year may have implications for maintaining dietary habits and weight loss maintenance," he added. "Further, longer-term studies would be required to confirm this."”
Wireless Phones Alter Levels of Brain Chemical
Shellfish May Raise Diabetes Risk: Study “Eating white and oily fish regularly may provide protection against type 2 diabetes, but eating shellfish may have the opposite effect, a study from the UK hints. The study team noted about 25 percent less risk type 2 diabetes among men and women who reported eating one or more, as opposed to fewer, servings of white or oily fish each week. Unexpectedly, however, they found that men and women who ate similar amounts of shellfish -- primarily prawns, crab, and mussels -- had about 36 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But "it may not be the 'shellfish' per se which increased the risk for diabetes," Dr. Nita Forouhi, of Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, noted in an email to Reuters Health. Rather, the cooking and preparation methods used in the UK, for example, oils used when frying or butter- and mayonnaise-based sauces served with shellfish, may increase cholesterol intake which, in turn, may raise diabetes risk.”
Study Ties Common Antibiotics With Birth Defects “Researchers studying antibiotics in pregnancy have found a surprising link between common drugs used to treat urinary infections and birth defects. Reassuringly, the most-used antibiotics in early pregnancy -- penicillins -- appear to be the safest. Bacterial infections themselves can cause problems for the fetus if left unchecked, experts said, so pregnant women shouldn't avoid antibiotics entirely. Instead, women should discuss antibiotics choices with their doctors.”
The early prevention of metabolic syndrome by physical exercise. (Antropol. 2009)
What Soft Drinks are Doing to Your Body
During Pregnancy A High Fat Diet Can Lead To Severe Liver Disease In Offspring
Evolution of the human diet: linking our ancestral diet to modern functional foods as a means of chronic disease prevention. (J Med Food. 2009) “The evolution of the human diet over the past 10,000 years from a Paleolithic diet to our current modern pattern of intake has resulted in profound changes in feeding behavior. Shifts have occurred from diets high in fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood to processed foods high in sodium and hydrogenated fats and low in fiber. These dietary changes have adversely affected dietary parameters known to be related to health, resulting in an increase in obesity and chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and cancer. Some intervention trials using Paleolithic dietary patterns have shown promising results with favorable changes in CVD and diabetes risk factors. However, such benefits may be offset by disadvantages of the Paleolithic diet, which is low in vitamin D and calcium and high in fish potentially containing environmental toxins. More advantageous would be promotion of foods and food ingredients from our ancestral era that have been shown to possess health benefits in the form of functional foods. Many studies have investigated the health benefits of various functional food ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, fiber, and plant sterols.”
Fish Oil May Protect Against Stroke From Ruptured Carotid Artery Plaques “Our bodies produce only a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids, so most of what we need has to come from eating omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods like fish (salmon, tuna, trout, herring, etc.) or from supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attack and sudden cardiac death. Dr. Bazan’s team wanted to determine what the association might be with plaques in the carotid arteries, a common cause of strokes. Vulnerable plaques which can rupture in the carotid arteries may lead to transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), strokes, or vision loss by affecting the artery to the retina. The mechanisms leading to plaque rupture are still not fully understood but inflammation within the plaque is beginning to be recognized as an important cause of plaque rupture. … The plaques of asymptomatic patients contained more than twice as much DHA as the symptomatic patients, and about one and a half times as much EPA. Significantly less inflammation was also seen in the carotid atherosclerotic plaques from asymptomatic patients. “In the future, a study to address whether supplementation with dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents carotid-related events in patients with moderate or high-grade carotid stenosis will help answer whether this is a formidable therapeutic target for the prevention of stroke,” says Dr. Bazan.”
H1N1 Critical Illness Mostly Affects Young Patients and Is Often Fatal “Among critically ill patients, overall 28-day mortality was 14.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.5% – 20.7%), and shock and nonpulmonary acute organ dysfunction were common (sequential organ failure assessment mean score 6.8 ± 3.6 on day 1). At 90 days, overall mortality was 17.3% (95% CI, 12.0% – 24.0%; n = 29). At ICU admission, all patients were severely hypoxemic (mean ratio of partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood [PaO2] to fraction of inspired oxygen [FIO2] of 147 ± 128 mm Hg). Median time from symptom onset to hospital admission was 4 days (interquartile range [IQR], 2 – 7 days) and from hospitalization to ICU admission was 1 day (IQR, 0 – 2 days). Most critically ill patients received neuraminidase inhibitors (n = 152 [90.5%]) and mechanical ventilation (n = 136 [81.0%]). Median duration of ventilation was 12 days (IQR, 6 – 20 days) and of ICU stay was 12 days (IQR, 5 – 20 days). Some patients also required lung rescue therapies, including neuromuscular blockade in 28% of patients, inhaled nitric oxide in 13.7%, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in 11.9%, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in 4.2%, and prone positioning ventilation in 3.0%. "Critical illness due to 2009 influenza A(H1N1) in Canada occurred rapidly after hospital admission, often in young adults, and was associated with severe hypoxemia, multisystem organ failure, a requirement for prolonged mechanical ventilation, and the frequent use of rescue therapies," the study authors write. "Our data suggest that severe disease and mortality in the current outbreak is concentrated in relatively healthy adolescents and adults between the ages of 10 and 60 years, a pattern reminiscent of the W-shaped curve previously seen only during the 1918 H1N1 Spanish pandemic."“
Household Insecticides Linked to Lupus and Arthritis “New research out of Philadelphia suggests a link between women’s exposure to household insecticides (including roach and mosquito killers) and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Previous research has shown a link of agricultural pesticides to higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Autoimmune diseases are diseases where the immune system goes haywire and begins to attack the body. Farmers were shown to be a high risk group for this reason. Women who reported applying insecticides had a higher risk of developing the two autoimmune disorders than women who reported no insecticide use, whether or not they had lived on a farm. Those who used the insecticide the most often and most frequently had double the risk.”
Insecticides May Raise Risk of Lupus, RA “Women who spray their homes and gardens with insecticides may be placing themselves at risk for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, a study shows. In a study of more than 75,000 women, those who used insecticides six or more times a year had nearly two-and-a-half times the risk of developing the autoimmune diseases than women who adopted a live-and-let-live attitude toward bugs. Similarly, the risk more than doubled if bug sprays were used in the home for 20 or more years. Hiring a gardener or commercial company to apply insecticides also resulted in a doubling of risk, but only if they were used long-term, says Christine G. Parks, PhD, an epidemiologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Our new results provide support for the idea that environmental factors may increase susceptibility or trigger the development of autoimmune diseases in some individuals," she says. “
Asbestos in Drinking Water:Asbestos in Drinking-water (WHO)
Basic Information about Asbestos in Drinking Water
Asbestos: 400,000 Miles of Drinking Water Pipes May Have Been Made With The Deadly Substance
Aspirin for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Automobile traffic around the home and attained body mass index: A longitudinal cohort study of children aged 10 -18 years. (Prev Med. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: This analysis yields the first evidence of significant effects from traffic density on BMI levels at age 18 in a large cohort of children. Traffic is a pervasive exposure in most cities, and our results identify traffic as a major risk factor for the development of obesity in children.”
Big Air Pollution Impacts On Local Communities: Traffic Corridors Major Contributors To Illness From Childhood Asthma “Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern California (USC).”
Acetaminophen May Be Linked To Asthma In Children And Adults
Alcohol may Encourage Cancer Progression “ "Alcohol consumption is known to increase the risk of several cancers, including cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum, and, in women, the breast," Christopher B. Forsyth, assistant professor of medicine and biochemistry at Rush University Medical Center, was quoted as saying. "We also suspect an association with cancers of the pancreas and lung. However, the mechanisms by which alcohol increases the risk for these cancers have not been established. EMT is an active area of cancer research and growing evidence supports a role for EMT during cancer progression and metastases for several cancer types but previously not for alcohol-associated cancers." “
Anatomy of a Sore Throat Pictures Slideshow: Distinguish Common Sore Throat From Strep
Antiaging, longevity and calorie restriction. (Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009) “SUMMARY: Dietary restriction in rodents has not been shown to be effective when started in older rodents. Weight loss in humans over 60 years of age is associated with increased mortality, hip fracture and increased institutionalization. Calorie restriction in older persons should be considered experimental and potentially dangerous. Exercise at present appears to be a preferable treatment for older persons.”
Swine Flu and Kids: Heed Warning Signs, MDs Say “Flu viruses can damage cilia, the hair-like fibers lining the respiratory tract that move bacteria and mucous "where we can cough them out" of the lungs, he explained. That can make people susceptible to pneumonia and other bacterial infections -- a scenario blamed for many flu deaths in otherwise healthy children and adults, he said. In these cases, flu patients often appear to get better, but then fever and a cough return. Authorities urge parents to seek immediate help if emergency warning signs develop. In children, these are: - Fast or troubled breathing. - Bluish skin color. - Lack of thirst. - Failure to wake up easily or interact. - Irritability so that the child does not want to be held. - Improvement of symptoms, then a return to fever and worse cough. - Fever with a rash. Parents should also seek medical help if flu symptoms develop in children most vulnerable to flu complications: those younger than 5 or with high-risk conditions, including asthma and other lung problems; cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other neurological diseases; heart, kidney or liver problems; and diabetes. A recent report from the CDC found that one-third of pediatric deaths from the new H1N1 virus were in children like Max, with no known underlying condition that would put them at risk. “
Swine Flu Can Move Quickly to Severe Illness "These people were not just a little bit ill. They were spectacularly ill," said Dr. Anand Kumar, the Canadian lead author of one of the JAMA studies. "To see 40 patients like this simultaneously in the ICU, all struggling for their lives, all in the space of a few weeks -- that's really unusual." "Without preparation, there would be some chance that some areas would be overwhelmed," Kumar said. "As long as we prepare, it should be handled." “
Swine Flu May Stress ICUs This Winter “Among ICU patients with swine flu the death rate was 16%. That's the same death rate as Australian hospitals see in ICU patients with seasonal flu. But with seasonal flu, most patients with severe disease are elderly. Most patients with severe H1N1 swine flu were infants under age 12 months or adults 25 to 64. In Australia and New Zealand, swine flu behaves very much as it does in the U.S. and elsewhere. About 30% of those with severe disease have no underlying condition. But the majority of severe cases are among people with underlying conditions. In Australia and New Zealand, a disproportionate number of patients were pregnant, had chronic lung disease, or were morbidly obese. Indigenous populations were also disproportionately likely to be admitted to the ICU with swine flu.”
The Clinical Course of Advanced Dementia (NEJM 2009) “Conclusions Pneumonia, febrile episodes, and eating problems are frequent complications in patients with advanced dementia, and these complications are associated with high 6-month mortality rates. Distressing symptoms and burdensome interventions are also common among such patients. Patients with health care proxies who have an understanding of the prognosis and clinical course are likely to receive less aggressive care near the end of life.”
The effect of electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range on the behaviour of the rat. (Metab Brain Dis. 2009) “These findings suggested that EMR exposure may lead to abnormal brain functioning.”
Transient DNA damage induced by high frequency electromagnetic fields (GSM 1.8GHz) in the human trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cell line evaluated with the alkaline Comet assay. (Mutat Res. 2009) “Our data suggest that HF-EMF with a carrier frequency and modulation scheme typical of the GSM signal may affect the DNA integrity.”
Urinary Incontinence Pictures Slideshow: Foods and Drinks That Make You Gotta Go
Vegetables Can Protect Unborn Child Against Diabetes
When Malignant Melanoma Is in the Family “The guideline authors recommend that families or individuals who have a hereditary pattern of melanoma meet with a genetics counselor. The indicators of a hereditary pattern are 3 or more primary melanomas, or at least 1 case of melanoma and 2 or more other diagnoses of melanoma and/or pancreatic cancer among first- or second-degree relatives on the same side of the family. Affected individuals might also want to take the next step: getting tested to determine if they have mutations of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A). Up to 40% of hereditary melanoma cases have CDKN2A mutations, which are associated with an increased risk for pancreatic cancer, write the international team of guideline authors, led by Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, from the Huntsman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah in Provo.”
WHO Issues Guidelines for Antiviral Treatment of H1N1 and Other Influenza
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Phthalates Hard To Avoid In Food: Junk Food No Worse Than Healthful Food For These Potentially Harmful Substances “Phthalates – the softening agents in synthetic materials – were a hot topic during the last decade and have been linked to deformities in the male genitals, diabetes, premature births and excess weight. Now, a study from ETH Zurich has revealed that they are extremely difficult to avoid, even if you eat healthily. Synthetic materials are omnipresent in our everyday lives. To make them soft, flexible, durable and nicer, PVC or synthetically produced rubber is mixed with an organic compound made up of phthalate ester and alcohol (otherwise known as phthalates), for example. The synthetics industry uses about five million tons of these softeners annually; they are present in conventional flooring, cables and packaging materials, but also medical products and cosmetics. Easy pickings Because they are everywhere, they can easily enter the food chain and the human organism via food and drink. When and where this happens, however, is difficult to ascertain and has barely been researched. “After all,” says Michael Siegrist, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Decisions at ETH Zurich, “often you don’t know where in the food chain the phthalates get into the food – whether they come from the bucket used to harvest olives, the conveyor belt, or elsewhere in the production chain”.”
Suffering Caused By Dialysis For Nursing Home Seniors May Outweigh Its Benefits, Researchers Find “"We have tended to overestimate the benefits and ignore or downplay the negative aspects of dialysis when we counsel patients about their treatment options," Kurella Tamura said. "There's a huge burden of adverse symptoms and physical disability even among the patients who receive dialysis, and these aspects are sometimes easy to overlook." After reviewing the findings, Peter Aronson, MD, a professor of nephrology at Yale University who was not involved in the study, said, "It's a real eye-opener to see how poorly patients do," The study, he added, "will be very useful for clinicians in counseling elderly nursing home patients about their care decisions." Aronson said he recommends increasing the training for nephrologists on end-of-life care issues. "Many patients have false hopes when they start dialysis. When doctors don't have realistic expectations about how their patients will do, I think it is very hard for patients to make appropriate decisions about their care."“
Strategies for Diagnosing and Treating Dehydration in Children “On physical examination, the most helpful individual signs for detecting dehydration in children are prolonged capillary refill time, abnormal skin turgor, and abnormal respiratory pattern. Compared with individual signs, however, clinical dehydration scales based on a combination of physical examination findings are more specific and sensitive for accurate diagnosis of dehydration in children, and they are also useful for categorizing the severity of dehydration. Four factors that most reliably predicted dehydration in 1 study were capillary refill time exceeding 2 seconds, absence of tears, dry mucous membranes, and general appearance suggesting acute illness. When at least 2 of these signs are present, fluid deficit is likely to be 5% or more. Another validated scale in children with acute gastroenteritis suggested that general appearance, degree of sunken eyes, mucous membrane dryness, and lack of tear production were associated with length of hospital stay and the need for intravenous fluids. Complications of dehydration may on occasion include hypernatremia, hyponatremia, and hypoglycemia. Therefore, children with severe dehydration and those with atypical presentations of moderate dehydration should undergo measurement of serum electrolyte levels. Hypoglycemia (blood glucose levels < 60 mg/dL [3.33 mmol/L]) has been reported in 1 study in 9% of children younger than 9 years (mean age, 18 months) who were hospitalized with diarrhea. Because history and physical examination findings were not suggestive of hypoglycemia in these children, blood glucose screening may be indicated for toddlers with diarrhea.”
American future lifespans greatly exaggerated? “First, if people of a given society are to live to 100, on average, smoking rates need to first drop to zero percent. Few smokers live to age 80 let alone 100. Currently about 20 percent of Americans smoke; worldwide the rate in wealthy countries is 20 to 40 percent. So scratch them off the list. Smokers won't get close to 100 unless there are miracle cures for lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and myriad other diseases associated with smoking. Next, obesity and diabetes rates need to drop back to their natural lows, around zero percent. There are no obese centenarians. Currently, two-thirds of Americans are overweight and half of these folks are obese. These rates are predicted to climb, not fall. More than 24 million Americans, or 8 percent of the population, are diabetic, and nearly 60 million are pre-diabetic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While many of these people may live to a respectful old age, none will be living to 100. Diabetes ravages the body, weakening blood vessels and leading to heart disease and sundry vascular diseases.”
Chronic Rhinosinusitis Gateway to Other Illnesses “A new study suggests patients who suffer from CRS also tend to suffer from asthma, arthritis and asthma-like illnesses. Researchers studied 1,970,695 patients to determine if such a relationship existed. The analysis shows an especially high incidence of CRS in patients with asthma, who are also more likely to have nasal polyps. Researchers also noted that patients with high blood pressure and arthritis have high incidences of chronic sinusitis. Results of the study suggest these chronic illnesses and chronic rhinosinusitis may share certain mechanisms that influence how they arise or progress.”
Dementia Is a Terminal Illness, But Palliative Care Often Poor “The presence of distressing symptoms and burdensome interventions of limited benefit are "2 things that are not really indicative of high-quality palliative care," she said. However, when family members understood the poor prognosis and clinical course of end-stage dementia, patients were far less likely to undergo aggressive intervention, Dr. Mitchell added. "For example, if the family felt they both understood the clinical complications that were expected and the poor prognosis, 27% of those patients got a burdensome intervention in the last 90 days of life, compared to 73% of those patients whose family members didn't understand either of those things." "It really comes down to what the goals of care are," she added. When it becomes clear to families that these patients have a poor prognosis, and they understand the types of complications the patients will face near the end, most want the goal of care to be comfort for the patient, she explained. Families can then take the different problems that arise and consider the treatment options, whether they be palliative or aggressive, and decide which one is going to promote that goal of comfort for the patient, Dr. Mitchell said. "I think as soon as the preferences turn toward comfort with an understanding of where these folks are in the end stage of the disease, that's when you can comfortably stop doing some of those things that don't promote comfort," Dr. Mitchell concluded.”
Eating liquorice in pregnancy may affect a child's IQ and behavior “Expectant mothers who eat excessive quantities of liquorice during pregnancy could adversely affect their child's intelligence and behaviour, a study has shown. A study of eight year old children whose mothers ate large amounts of liquorice when pregnant found they did not perform as well as other youngsters in cognitive tests. They were also more likely to have poor attention spans and show disruptive behaviour such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It is thought that a component in liquorice called glycyrrhizin may impair the placenta, allowing stress hormones to cross from the mother to the baby. High levels of such hormones, known as glucocorticoids, are thought to affect fetal brain development and have been linked to behavioural disorders in children.“
Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease “"It's likely that more than one-third of older adults now have vitamin D levels associated with higher risks of death and few have levels associated with optimum survival," said Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine's Division of Emergency Medicine and lead author on the study. "Given the aging population and the simplicity of increasing a person's level of vitamin D, a small improvement in death rates could have a substantial impact on public health."“
High-sugar Diet Increases Men's Blood Pressure; Gout Drug Protective, Study Finds “After only two weeks on the diet, the high-fructose plus placebo group experienced significant average blood pressure increases of about 6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) in systolic blood pressure (the pressure when the heart beats) and about a 3 mm Hg rise in diastolic blood pressure (the pressure between heartbeats). … Fruit, which has just 4 g to 10 g of fructose per serving, also contains many beneficial substances including antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium and fiber that are believed to counter the effects of fructose alone. The main risk for excessive fructose consumption in the Western diet comes from sweetened drinks and foods rich in sugar or high fructose corn syrup, he said.”
Maternal tobacco, cannabis and alcohol use during pregnancy and risk of adolescent psychotic symptoms in offspring (The British Journal of Psychiatry (2009))
Obesity Linked to 124,000 New Cancers in Europe
Over 65s Should Take High Dose Vitamin D To Prevent Falls, Say Researchers “A daily supplement of vitamin D at a dose of 700-1000 IU reduces the risk of falling among older people by 19% according to a study published on the British Medical Journal website. But a dose of less than 700 IU per day has no effect.”
Effects of caffeine on daytime recovery sleep: A double challenge to the sleep–wake cycle in aging (Sleep Medicine 2009) “The combined influence of age and caffeine made the sleep of middle-aged subjects particularly vulnerable to the circadian waking signal. We propose that lower brain synchronization due to age and caffeine produces greater difficulty in overriding the circadian waking signal during daytime sleep and leads to fragmented sleep. These results have implications for the high proportion of the population using caffeine to cope with night work and jet lag, particularly the middle-aged.”
Effects of Dietary Sodium Reduction on Blood Pressure in Subjects With Resistant Hypertension (Hypertension. 2009) “These results indicate that excessive dietary sodium ingestion contributes importantly to resistance to antihypertensive treatment. Strategies to substantially reduce dietary salt intake should be part of the overall treatment of resistant hypertension.”
Even Mild Infections Hasten Decline With Alzheimer's “For people with Alzheimer's disease, even a minor infection can double the rate of memory loss, British researchers report. In this new study, researchers found that Alzheimer's patients who had respiratory, gastrointestinal or other infections -- even minor bumps and bruises -- can have high levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), in their blood. TNF-a is a protein linked to inflammation, and has been associated with memory loss or other types of cognitive decline. "Illnesses that we normally consider to be of little consequence in the healthy aged person need to be taken more seriously in patients with Alzheimer's disease," said lead researcher Clive Holmes, from the Clinical Neurosciences Research Division at the University of Southampton in the U.K. "Short-lived illnesses or conditions that cause inflammation outside the brain are associated with a marked decline in memory function in patients that have Alzheimer's disease. This decline is not a temporary effect, and remains after the illness has resolved," he added.“
Extreme obesity can shorten people's lives by 12 years
Government Finds Higher Autism Figure: 1 in 100 “Greater awareness, broader definitions and spotting autism in younger children may explain some of the increase, federal health officials said. "The concern here is that buried in these numbers is a true increase," said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. "We're going to have to think very hard about what we're going to do for the 1 in 100." “
Hand Washing 10 Times a Day May Help Keep Flu Away
High-Dose Vitamin D Supplement May Reduce Risk of Falling Among Older People “"In several trials of older individuals at risk for vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D supplementation improved strength, function, and balance in a dose-related pattern," write H.A. Bischoff-Ferrari, MD, MPH, from the University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland, and colleagues. "Most importantly, these benefits translated into a reduction in falls. Overall, however, results have been mixed for fall prevention with vitamin D; for example, several trials of vitamin D have had non-significant results."”
Plastics Chemical Tied to Aggression in Young Girls “In the latest study to suggest an association between the plastics chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and adverse effects on humans, researchers report that BPA may affect the behavior of little girls. Girls exposed to higher levels of BPA displayed more "externalizing" behaviors, such as aggression and hyperactivity, according to the study, which is published in the Oct. 6 online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives. "We found almost all of the women [in the study] had detectable levels of bisphenol A in at least one of the tests, and elevated concentrations were associated with externalizing behaviors in female children," said study author Joe Braun, a graduate student and research assistant in epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Not everyone agreed with the study's conclusions, however. "This type of study has no capability to establish cause and effect, only associations. At the end of the study, the authors even point out that the results 'should be viewed cautiously,'" noted Steven Hentges, executive director of the polycarbonate/BPA global group at the American Chemistry Council, which represents the chemicals industry. BPA is a commonly used chemical that's found in hard plastics and epoxy resins. The chemical is used in water bottles, food containers, infant bottles and medical devices. BPA may also be found in the lining of canned foods. Most human exposure comes through diet when the chemical leaches into food and beverages from the containers, according to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Previous studies suggest that more than 90 percent of people in the United States have detectable levels of BPA in their urine.”
Radon: Second Leading Cause Of Lung Cancer, European Study Confirms “Numerous studies worldwide have shown that radon, a natural radioactive gas that seeps into homes in some regions, is the second leading factor (after smoking) in causing people to develop lung cancer…. Sainz points out that radon is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas generated by the decay of uranium-238 (a natural radioactive element present in all rocks and soil in varying degrees).”
Smoking in pregnancy risks psychotic children “Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, British scientists said on Thursday. Researchers from four British universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds and interviewed them for psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. Around 19 percent had mothers who smoked during pregnancy. “
The 10 riskiest foods in America
Trail of E. Coli Shows Flaws in Inspection of Ground Beef “Meat companies and grocers have been barred from selling ground beef tainted by the virulent strain of E. coli known as O157:H7 since 1994, after an outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants left four children dead. Yet tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by this pathogen, federal health officials estimate, with hamburger being the biggest culprit. Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone, including the one that left Ms. Smith paralyzed from the waist down. This summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3,000 grocers in 41 states. … The frozen hamburgers that the Smiths ate, which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria. … Those low-grade ingredients are cut from areas of the cow that are more likely to have had contact with feces, which carries E. coli, industry research shows. … Unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies. Slaughterhouses fear that one grinder’s discovery of E. coli will set off a recall of ingredients they sold to others. “Ground beef is not a completely safe product,” said Dr. Jeffrey Bender, a food safety expert at the University of Minnesota who helped develop systems for tracing E. coli contamination. He said that while outbreaks had been on the decline, “unfortunately it looks like we are going a bit in the opposite direction.” …To finish off the Smiths’ ground beef, Cargill added bread crumbs and spices, fashioned it into patties, froze them and packed them 18 to a carton. The listed ingredients revealed little of how the meat was made. There was just one meat product listed: “Beef.” … In the wake of the outbreak, the U.S.D.A. reminded consumers on its Web site that hamburgers had to be cooked to 160 degrees to be sure any E. coli is killed and urged them to use a thermometer to check the temperature. This reinforced Sharon Smith’s concern that she had sickened her daughter by not cooking the hamburger thoroughly. But the pathogen is so powerful that her illness could have started with just a few cells left on a counter. “In a warm kitchen, E. coli cells will double every 45 minutes,” said Dr. Mansour Samadpour, a microbiologist who runs IEH Laboratories in Seattle, one of the meat industry’s largest testing firms. With help from his laboratories, The Times prepared three pounds of ground beef dosed with a strain of E. coli that is nonharmful but acts in many ways like O157:H7. Although the safety instructions on the package were followed, E. coli remained on the cutting board even after it was washed with soap. A towel picked up large amounts of bacteria from the meat.”
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Watch for depression during and after menopause “The risk for major depression more than doubles while women are going through menopause and afterward, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in San Diego. Recent studies have suggested that the risk for depressive symptoms in women increases in midlife, around the time of menopause, perhaps because of the effects of reduced estrogen on the mind, and the stress of hot flashes and other symptoms. However, less is known about the risk for major depression. … Women were more than twice as likely to have a major depressive episode as they were going through menopause, and almost four times as likely after menopause, compared to before menopause.”
Zinc Deficiences A Global Concern “Other vitamins and nutrients may get more headlines, but experts say as many as two billion people around the world have diets deficient in zinc – and studies at Oregon State University and elsewhere are raising concerns about the health implications this holds for infectious disease, immune function, DNA damage and cancer. One new study has found DNA damage in humans caused by only minor zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world. Even in the United States, about 12 percent of the population is probably at risk for zinc deficiency, and perhaps as many as 40 percent of the elderly, due to inadequate dietary intake and less absorption of this essential nutrient, experts say. Many or most people have never been tested for zinc status, but existing tests are so poor it might not make much difference if they had been. … However, studies have shown that zinc is essential to protecting against oxidative stress and helping DNA repair – meaning that in the face of zinc deficiency, the body's ability to repair genetic damage may be decreasing even as the amount of damage is going up. Two studies recently published, in the Journal of Nutrition and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found significant levels of DNA damage both with laboratory animals and in apparently healthy men who have low zinc intake. Zinc depletion caused strands of their DNA to break, and increasing the intake of zinc reversed the damage back to normal levels.”
Adiposity in Midlife May Reduce Healthy Survival in Women Who Live to Older Ages “"It is important to maintain a healthy weight from early adulthood to enjoy a healthy life in older ages," the study authors conclude.”
Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern With the Incidence of Depression (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009) “Conclusions Our results suggest a potential protective role of the MDP with regard to the prevention of depressive disorders…“
Clinical inquiries. When is it OK for children to start drinking fruit juice? (J Fam Pract. 2009) “Children should be at least 6 months of age and parents should provide only 100% fruit juice in a cup (not a bottle). Intake should be limited to 4 to 6 oz a day until 12 months of age. It's important to reiterate to parents that breastfeeding is the preferred source of infant nutrition for the first 6 (preferably 12) months of life. Sugar-sweetened fruit drinks have been linked to excess weight gain and obesity. Sugar-sweetened beverages provide little nutritional benefit to children and should be restricted.”
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Bipolar Disorder Amongst Children And Adolescents Receive Late Diagnosis “Both diagnostic delay and error with paediatric bipolar disorder are related, according to Escamilla, with the distinct presentation of the disorder in children and adults. Amongst children, the most common mood change is irritability, while in adults a typical manifestation is euphoria and expansiveness. In fact, a symptom like euphoria, related to bipolar disorder, appears in at least half of the paediatric patients. In this vein the specialist points to the fact that the key lies in evaluating the type of irritability, a manifestation that also appears in depression disorders. In paediatric bipolar disorder, the characteristic irritability is explosive and severe. On occasions significant violence happens in short or sporadic outbursts, and often this is not reactive to anything or the trigger is minimum. It can be confused with a tantrum, but is much more disproportionate. Likewise, she added, unlike the progress of the illness amongst adults, the episodes in children are not clearly defined: very frequent changes in mood and these fluctuating rapidly. Rarely does a sufferer have a period of at least two months without symptoms. This form of instability means that the illness is highly disabling. Also, symptoms such as euphoria and expansiveness appear in child patients, but with less frequency than in adults and with other characteristics: expansiveness in a child may manifest itself at school, where it is deemed by the patient that he or she has more authority than the teacher, who is thus defied, and is then interpreted as a behaviour problem. Also observed is social non-inhibition amongst these children. For example, making derogatory or rude comments in a loud voice about other persons in public or even of sexual content inappropriate for his or her age, remarked the specialist.”
Clinical inquiries. When is it OK for children to start drinking fruit juice? (J Fam Pract. 2009) “Children should be at least 6 months of age and parents should provide only 100% fruit juice in a cup (not a bottle). Intake should be limited to 4 to 6 oz a day until 12 months of age. It's important to reiterate to parents that breastfeeding is the preferred source of infant nutrition for the first 6 (preferably 12) months of life. Sugar-sweetened fruit drinks have been linked to excess weight gain and obesity. Sugar-sweetened beverages provide little nutritional benefit to children and should be restricted.”
Cost of surgery? Secret prices confound patients
Daily Bathroom Showers May Deliver Face Full Of Pathogens, Says Study “It's not surprising to find pathogens in municipal waters, said Pace. But the CU-Boulder researchers found that some M. avium and related pathogens were clumped together in slimy "biofilms" that clung to the inside of showerheads at more than 100 times the "background" levels of municipal water. "If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy," he said. … Previous studies by Pace and his group found massive enrichments of M. avium in "soap scum" commonly found on vinyl shower curtains and floating above the water surface of warm therapy pools. A 2006 therapy pool study led by Pace and CU-Boulder Professor Mark Hernandez showed high levels of M. avium in the indoor pool environment were linked to a pneumonia-like pulmonary condition in pool attendants known as "lifeguard lung," leading the CU team into the showerhead study, said Pace.”
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During CPR, more chest compressions mean more saved lives ““There was roughly a 10 percent increase in the chance of survival for every 10 percent increase in the chest compression fraction,” Christenson said.“
Influence of Dermal Exposure to the Pyrethroid Insecticide Deltamethrin on Rat Brain Microanatomy and Cholinergic/Dopaminergic Neurochemistry. (Brain Res. 2009) “These findings indicate that dermal exposure to the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin using an administration module mimicking a possible long lasting occupational skin contact is accompanied by cerebrocortical injury and loss of hippocampal and striatal dopamine and dopamine transporter. The sensitivity of dopaminergic system in our experimental model suggests that dermal exposure to deltamethrin could represent a risk factor for Parkinson's disease.”
Is swimming pool chlorine fueling the allergy epidemic? “Swimming in a chlorinated pool may boost the odds that a child susceptible to asthma and allergies will develop these problems, a study released today indicates. "These new data clearly show that by irritating the airways of swimmers chlorination products in water and air of swimming pools exert a strong additive effect on the development of asthma and respiratory allergies such as hay fever and allergic rhinitis," Dr. Alfred Bernard, a toxicologist at the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium, noted in an email to Reuters Health. "The impact of these chemicals on the respiratory health of children and adolescents appears to be much more important -- at least by a factor of five -- than that associated with secondhand smoke," Bernard noted.”
Meta-analytic Evidence for Familial Coaggregation of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009) “Conclusions This meta-analysis provides direct evidence for familial coaggregation of schizophrenia and BD, a finding that argues against the view that these disorders are entirely discrete diagnostic entities. Rather, a continuum model is supported.”
Noisy Roads Increase Risk Of High Blood Pressure
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy and congenital malformations: population based cohort study (BMJ 2009) “Conclusion There is an increased prevalence of septal heart defects among children whose mothers were prescribed an SSRI in early pregnancy, particularly sertraline and citalopram. The largest association was found for children of women who redeemed prescriptions for more than one type of SSRI.”
Severe H1N1 Infection in Children Linked to Asthma and Other Diseases
Study: HRT Could Be Risky “Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may have a higher risk of developing lung cancer and dying. Data from researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbour-UCLA Medical Center suggest that HRT, oestrogen plus progestin in postmenopausal women, carries more health risks than benefits.”
Ghostwriting: The Dirty Little Secret of Medical Publishing That Just Got Bigger (PLoS Medicine 2009) “If you are an editor, author, reviewer, or reader of medical journals, or if you depend on your doctor or health care provider getting unbiased information from medical journals, then the 1,500 documents now hosted on the PLoS Medicine Web site [1] should make you very concerned and angry. Because, quite simply, the story told in these documents amounts to one of the most compelling expositions ever seen of the systematic manipulation and abuse of scholarly publishing by the pharmaceutical industry and its commercial partners in their attempt to influence the health care decisions of physicians and the general public. Here's just one sample thread [2] that gives an idea of the topsy-turvy world invented by the pharmaceutical and medical writing companies involved. While readers expect and assume that the named academic authors on a paper carried out the piece of work and then wrote up their article or review informed by their professional qualifications and expertise, instead we see a prime example of “ghostwriting”: a writing company was commissioned to produce a manuscript on a piece of research to fit the drug company's needs and then a person was identified to be the “author”: An email from a writer employed by the medical writing company, DesignWrite, to employees of Wyeth, the company that performed the study, and Parthenon (another medical writing company) on November 10, 2003 concerning manuscripts on Totelle (a brand of hormone replacement therapy manufactured by Wyeth) tells the story concisely. “Thanks to all who have reviewed and approved the manuscripts… I have received no word on authors for the Totelle 2 mg bone manuscript P3(2), and need input on this matter before this manuscript can move forwards.” [our emphasis added] PLoS Medicine became involved in this particular ghostwriting story when we intervened in an ongoing court case [1] in which women were suing Wyeth, the manufacturers of Prempro, a hormone replacement therapy. During the discovery process for this case, one of the lawyers representing injured women in the litigation, Jim Szaller of Cleveland, Ohio, became aware of many documents that laid out in detail the company's (mostly successful) attempts to publish papers written by unacknowledged professional medical writers in which the message, tone, and content had been determined by the company but the paper was subsequently nominally “authored” by respected academics—in sum a coordinated and carefully monitored campaign of ghostwriting. Our interest was not in the specific drugs, but in the issue of ghostwriting itself, a topic we have long been interested in and published on [3]–[6]. … This is not the place to review everything written on this topic. Others have written about ghostwriting campaigns concerning single drugs that have led to catastrophic health effects [7], and how even research papers and clinical trials are affected by ghost authors [7],[8]. What's clear is that ghostwriting can no longer be considered one of the “dirty little secrets” of medical publishing that nothing can be done about. While editors, medical schools, and universities have turned a blind eye to, or at the least failed to tackle head-on the pervasive presence of ghostwriting, drug companies and medical education and communication companies have built a vast and profitable ghostwriting industry. Recruitment of academic “authors” appears, within some academic circles, to have come to be considered acceptable, and marketing campaigns are no longer orchestrated around paid display advertisements but instead center on “evidence” provided by seemingly respectable academic review articles, original research articles, and even reports of clinical trials. What, a cynical reader might ask, can I truly trust as being unbiased? The answer is that, sadly, for some or even many journal articles, we just don't know. … It's time to get serious about tackling ghostwriting. As has been shown in the documents released after the Vioxx scandal [7], this practice can result in lasting injury and even deaths as a result of prescribers and patients being misinformed about risks. Without action, the practice will undoubtedly continue. How did we get to the point that falsifying the medical literature is acceptable? How did an industry whose products have contributed to astounding advances in global health over the past several decades come to accept such practices as the norm? Whatever the reasons, as the pipeline for new drugs dries up and companies increasingly scramble for an ever-diminishing proportion of the market in “me-too” drugs, the medical publishing and pharmaceutical industries and the medical academic community have become locked into a cycle of mutual dependency, in which truth and a lack of bias have come to be seen as optional extras. Medical journal editors need to decide whether they want to roll over and just join the marketing departments of pharmaceutical companies. Authors who put their names to such papers need to consider whether doing so is more important than having a medical literature that can be believed in. Politicians need to consider the harm done by an environment that incites companies into insane races for profit rather than for medical need. And companies need to consider whether the arms race they have started will in the end benefit anyone. After all, even drug company employees get sick; do they trust ghost authors?”
Infant Car Seats May Lower Oxygen Levels “Leaving young infants in car seats for extended periods of time may result in low oxygen levels and put them at risk for breathing problems, according to a new study. Researchers say car seats are essential for the safe transportation of infants. But leaving an infant in an upright position for a long period of time can partially compress the chest wall, affecting airway size.”
Most diabetics falling short on healthy eating “But many people in this study were not making healthy diet choices, even if they had long-standing diabetes, the researchers found. "The findings clearly illustrate a need to provide ongoing nutrition education for people with diabetes regardless of the amount of time they've had the disease," Vitolins said. "These people have, within their cupboards and refrigerators, the potential to really manage their diabetes well," she added. "Day to day, the foods they are eating should be considered a vital part of their treatment." “
Only Three Cigarettes a Day Significantly Increases Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Outcomes With "Watchful Waiting" in Prostate Cancer in US Now So Good, Active Treatment May Not Be Better “Outcomes have greatly improved in recent years for men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who opt for "watchful waiting" or "active surveillance," and are now so good that this option of conservative management should be considered as a reasonable alternative to immediate treatment. This is the conclusion from the largest study to be conducted in the United States since the advent of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. The results appear in the September 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “
Prostate cancer linked to sexually transmitted disease “Men with prostate cancer who were previously infected with the sexually transmitted germ Trichomonas vaginalis are more likely to have an aggressive form of the cancer, compared with men who never had the STD, a new study says.”
'Safe' lead levels harm children “The researchers say the toxic effects of lead on the central nervous system are obvious even below the current so-called safe level of lead in the blood. They are recommending the threshold should be halved.”
Report Finds Toxins Common in Products for Children, Pets “The group tested the products for such chemicals as lead, brominated flame retardants (BFR), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cadmium, arsenic and mercury, which studies have linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer. “The more we test, the more we find that the presence of toxic chemicals is widespread in everyday consumer products," said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center, who created the site. "It should not be the responsibility of public health advocates to test these products. Product manufacturers and legislators must take the lead and replace dangerous substances with safe alternatives." Gearhart said children and pets are especially vulnerable to the chemicals found in these products, which are common in our homes, schools, daycares, offices, and cars.”
Use of oral dimercaptosuccinic acid (succimer) in adult patients with inorganic lead poisoning. (QJM. 2009)
Sunbeds and UV Radiation “An IARC Working Group has classified UV-emitting tanning devices as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1). The Working Group was convened by the IARC Monographs programme and the conclusions are reported in an article and press release issued today by The Lancet Oncology . Combined analysis of over 20 epidemiological studies shows that the risk of cutaneous melanoma is increased by 75% when the use of tanning devices starts before age 30. There is also sufficient evidence of an increased risk of ocular melanoma associated with the use of tanning devices.”
What Are Carbohydrates? What Is Glucose?
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What Is Chlamydia? What Causes Chlamydia?
Zinc Deficiency Affects DNA Damage, Oxidative Stress, Antioxidant Defenses, and DNA Repair in Rats. (J Nutr. 2009) “Approximately 12% of Americans do not consume the Estimated Average Requirement for zinc and could be at risk for marginal zinc deficiency. Zinc is an essential component of numerous proteins involved in the defense against oxidative stress and DNA damage repair. Studies in vitro have shown that zinc depletion causes DNA damage. … These results suggest interactions among zinc deficiency, DNA integrity, oxidative stress, and DNA repair and suggested a role for zinc in maintaining DNA integrity.”
Wider Waist Boosts Asthma Risk “Women with extra fat around their waists are more likely to develop asthma, even if they aren't overweight, a new study finds. The California Teachers Study of more than 88,000 women found the same association between obesity and increased incidence of asthma that has been seen in other research, according to the Aug. 25 online report in the journal Thorax. But it also found a 37 percent increased incidence of asthma among women with a waist circumference of 88 centimeters -- about 35 inches -- even if they were of normal weight. That finding was an offshoot of a study originally intended to look at factors related to breast cancer in women, said study author Julie Von Behren, a research associate at the Northern California Cancer Center. But the researchers also got a lot of other information about the participants, including waistline measurements and asthma risk factors, such as smoking exposure. "We had a lot of detailed information, also on body weight at age 18 and later," Von Behren said. Using the standard designations of "overweight" for a woman with a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher and "extreme obesity" for a body-mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, the study found a doubled incidence of asthma among the obese women and a more than tripled incidence among the extremely obese. While the study was not designed to determine why the location of body fat could play a role in development of asthma, "waist size can be an indicator of the type of body fat," Von Behren explained. "Abdominal fat is visceral fat, which is more biologically active. It has been linked to diabetes and heart disease." Fat around the waist "could be acting in some inflammatory way," she said.”
An evidence-based review of the AMA/AHA guideline for the primary prevention of ischemic stroke (Geriatrics 2009)
Antiviral Drugs Should Be Used Cautiously to Fight Flu, U.S. Says “Antiviral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza, which are effective in treating the H1N1 swine flu, should be taken only by people hospitalized with the flu or those at high risk for complications from the disease, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. Those at risk include people with underlying health conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, as well as the very young, the elderly, and pregnant women, officials said. Because the H1N1 swine flu remains mild for the vast majority of people who get it, most people won't need these medications at all, according to new guidelines for antiviral drug use issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
As Waistlines Widen, Brains Shrink “For every excess pound piled on the body, the brain gets a little bit smaller. That's the message from new research that found that elderly individuals who were obese or overweight had significantly less brain tissue than individuals of normal weight. "The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts while [those of] overweight people looked 8 years older," said UCLA neuroscientist Paul Thompson, senior author of a study published online in Human Brain Mapping. Much of the lost tissue was in the frontal and temporal lobe regions of the brain, the seat of decision-making and memory, among other things. The findings could have serious implications for aging, overweight or obese individuals, including a heightened risk of Alzheimer's, the researchers said.”
Bedtime Aspirin Lowers Ambulatory Blood Pressure “Blood pressure did not change after nonpharmacological intervention or after administration of aspirin upon awakening, the researchers note. In contrast, the authors report, systolic blood pressure decreased by 6 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure decreased by 3 mm Hg in patients who took 100 mg aspirin at bedtime. Nearly three quarters (71%) of the patients who took aspirin at bedtime experienced at least a 3 mm Hg reduction in 24-hour systolic blood pressure, but only 6% showed an increase in blood pressure after treatment. Heart rate was unchanged in all treatment groups. "Aspirin given at the end of the activity cycle, but not upon awakening, could thus target the nocturnal peak of plasma renin activity, while enhancing the nocturnal trough in the production of nitric oxide," the investigators suggest.”
Beverage intake of girls at age 5 y predicts adiposity and weight status in childhood and adolescence. (Am J Clin Nutr. 2009) “CONCLUSION: These findings provide new longitudinal evidence that early intake of sweetened beverages predicts adiposity and weight status across childhood and adolescence.”
Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer in Young Women
Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative “The exposé discusses research on cellphones and brain tumors and concludes: - There is a risk of brain tumors from cellphone use; - Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors, and; - Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors. This report, sent to government leaders and media today, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a 'systemic-skew', greatly underestimating brain tumor risk. The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit the same microwave radiation as cellphones,) as 'unexposed'; exclusion of many types of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died, or were too ill to be interviewed, as a consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable. Lloyd Morgan, lead author and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society says, "Exposure to cellphone radiation is the largest human health experiment ever undertaken, without informed consent, and has some 4 billion participants enrolled. Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cellphones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia. The public must be informed."“
Do High-fat Diets Make Us Stupid And Lazy? Physical And Memory Abilities Of Rats Affected After 9 Days “The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the FASEB Journal, may have implications not only for those eating lots of high-fat foods, but also athletes looking for the optimal diet for training and patients with metabolic disorders. "We found that rats, when switched to a high-fat diet from their standard low-fat feed, showed a surprisingly quick reduction in their physical performance," says Dr Andrew Murray, who led the work at Oxford University and has now moved to the University of Cambridge. "After just nine days, they were only able to run 50 per cent as far on a treadmill as those that remained on the low-fat feed." … The results will be important not only in informing athletes of the best diets to help their training routine, but also in developing ideal diets for patients with metabolic disorders such as diabetes, insulin resistance or obesity. People with such conditions can have high levels of fat in the blood and show poor exercise tolerance, some cognitive decline, and can even develop dementia over time. "These are startling results," says Professor Kieran Clarke, head of the research team at Oxford University. "It shows that high-fat feeding even over short periods of time can markedly affect gene expression, metabolism and physical performance. By optimising diets appropriately we should be able to increase athletes' endurance and help patients with metabolic abnormalities improve their ability to exercise and do more."
Dietary fiber intake and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009) “Conclusion: Our findings suggest that dietary fiber can play a role in preventing breast cancer through nonestrogen pathways among postmenopausal women.“
Domestic use of hypochlorite bleach, atopic sensitization, and respiratory symptoms in adults. (J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009) “CONCLUSION: People who clean their homes with hypochlorite bleach are less likely to be atopic but more likely to have respiratory symptoms.”
How Healthy Is Your Water Bottle?
HPV Vaccine: Debate Over Benefits, Marketing, and New Adverse Event Data “The benefit of vaccinating against human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer is questioned in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "The theory behind the vaccine is sound: if HPV infection can be prevented, cancer will not occur," writes editorialist Charlotte Haug, MD, PhD, from the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. "But in practice, the issue is more complex." HPV is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection, "but the virus does not appear to be very harmful because almost all HPV infections are cleared by the immune system," she explains. In a few women, the HPV infection persists, and some women may develop precancerous cervical lesions and eventually cancer, Dr. Haug writes, "but it is currently impossible to predict in which women this will occur." The net benefit of the HPV vaccine to a woman is uncertain. "The net benefit of the HPV vaccine to a woman is uncertain," Dr. Haug comments. "Even if persistently infected with HPV, a woman most likely will not develop cancer if she is regularly screened [with cervical smear tests]." Dr. Haug has spoken out against HPV vaccination previously. Last year, she urged caution over widespread vaccination programs in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine (2008;359:861–862), as reported by Medscape Oncology at the time. This latest editorial accompanies 2 articles published in the same issue of JAMA. One of the articles is critical of the marketing of the HPV vaccine Gardasil (Merck & Co) in the United States, and the other details adverse events that have been reported with the vaccine since it was launched there in 2006. Dr. Haug comments that, in view of the uncertain benefit from the HPV vaccine, "only a small risk of harmful effects from the vaccine" is acceptable. The balance between the risks and benefits of HPV vaccination should rest only on medical and scientific evidence, Dr. Haug states. However, she warns that this balance is "easily skewed" if other matters weigh in; for example, profit for a company or gains for physicians — issues that are explored in the article on marketing. … Dr. Harper agreed that "HPV vaccination is generally safe for most girls or women," but she also commented that the adverse events reported are "quite significant." However, Dr. Harper was critical of the system in which the reports were collected. "VAERS, by all accounts, is an inadequate reporting system whose function in this form is biased towards not showing causality," she said. The definition of the denominator (those exposed to the vaccine) is very broad — if this figure was divided by 3 for women who received all 3 doses, then the reporting rate would be increased, she added. … Dr. Harper also highlighted another concern about the VAERS data. The majority of the reports (68%) were submitted by the manufacturer (Merck & Co), which the authors say compares with a rate of 40% from manufacturers of other vaccines. But for nearly 90% of these reports, Merck & Co would not provide the CDC with any follow-up information to investigate possible statistical causality link. As the authors pointed out in the article, this is unusual behavior for a pharmaceutical company, Dr. Harper comments.”
Increase in visceral fat during menopause linked with testosterone “"For many years, it was thought that estrogen protected premenopausal women against cardiovascular disease and that the increased cardiovascular risk after menopause was related only to the loss of estrogen's protective effect," said Janssen. "But our studies suggest that in women, it is the change in the hormonal balance – specifically, the increase in active testosterone – that is predominantly responsible for visceral fat, and for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease."”
Lipoprotein(a) Concentration and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Nonvascular Mortality (JAMA 2009) “Conclusion Under a wide range of circumstances, there are continuous, independent, and modest associations of Lp(a) concentration with risk of CHD and stroke that appear exclusive to vascular outcomes. “
Men with angina 'at greater risk' “Men with angina are much more likely than women to develop further serious heart problems, a study suggests. Researchers found male patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack and almost three times as likely to suffer a heart disease-related death. Angina, a type of chest pain, is common and can be the first sign of heart disease - but the risks are unclear. The study of UK patients, led by the National University of Ireland, Galway, appears in the British Medical Journal. Angina is caused by insufficient supply of blood to the heart muscle. Recent estimates suggest that 4.8% of men and 3.4% of women aged over 16 in England have angina. In Scotland, the figures are higher: 6.6% of men and 5.6% of women. “
Mercury in fish is widespread, U.S. survey finds “"This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation's waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. Mercury consumed by eating fish can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children. The main source of mercury to most of the streams tested, according to the researchers, is emissions from coal-fired power plants. The mercury released from smokestacks here and abroad rains down into waterways, where natural processes convert it into methylmercury — a form that allows the toxin to wind its way up the food chain into fish. High levels in Southeast Some of the highest levels in fish were detected in the remote blackwater streams along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, where bacteria in surrounding forests and wetlands help in the conversion. The second-highest concentration of mercury was detected in largemouth bass from the North Fork of the Edisto River near Fairview Crossroads, S.C.”
Neurotoxic Effects of Methamphetamine. (Neurochem Res. 2009) “Results showed that methamphetamine caused significant generation of reactive oxygen species and decreased complex I activity in the mitochondria leading to dopamine depletion in the striatum.”
Obesity and Physical Inactivity May Explain Insulin Resistance With Aging “Insulin resistance is not an inherent characteristic of aging, but rather a result of obesity and physical inactivity, according to a report in the August issue of Diabetes Care. "Since the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is higher among older adults, it has been suggested that aging is associated with insulin resistance," Dr. Bret H. Goodpaster, from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health. "The key question that our paper addresses in a novel way is whether or not insulin resistance is a fundamental characteristic of aging or (an outcome of) lifestyle patterns linked with aging, such as physical inactivity and obesity. … "Many of our older adults have a common belief that some of their ailments, including diabetes, or 'high sugar,' are merely an inevitable consequence of getting older," Dr. Goodpaster said. "Sadly, some health care practitioners share this belief." The "results of this paper and our previous papers clearly show that many aspects of declining health in older age, including insulin resistance, can be prevented or at least attenuated, by regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight," he added.”
Prostate Volume Changes Over Time: Results From the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. (J Urol. 2009)
Proton Pump Inhibitors to Treat GERD Cause Heartburn Problems
Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics “Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why. They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D. "Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages," says principal investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, M.D., a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can't get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis." Macrophages are dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation and often are activated by diseases such as diabetes. Bernal-Mizrachi and his colleagues believe that in diabetic patients with inadequate vitamin D, macrophages become loaded with cholesterol and eventually stiffen blood vessels and block blood flow. … "Cholesterol is transported through the blood attached to lipoproteins such as LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol," Bernal-Mizrachi explains. "As it is stimulated by oxygen radicals in the vessel wall, LDL becomes oxidated, and macrophages eat it uncontrollably. LDL cholesterol then clogs the macrophages, and that's how atherosclerosis begins." That process becomes accelerated when a person is deficient in vitamin D. And people with type 2 diabetes are very likely to have this deficiency. Worldwide, approximately one billion people have insufficient vitamin D levels, and in women with type 2 diabetes, the likelihood of low vitamin D is about a third higher than in women of the same age who don't have diabetes. The skin manufactures vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light exposure. But in much of the United States, people don't make enough vitamin D during the winter — when the sun's rays are weaker and more time is spent indoors. The good news is when human macrophages are placed in an environment with plenty of vitamin D, their uptake of cholesterol is suppressed, and they don't become foam cells. Bernal-Mizrachi believes it may be possible to slow or reverse the development of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes by helping them regain adequate vitamin D levels.”
Study Ties Mini-Strokes to Memory Loss “People with mini-stroke damage were nearly twice as likely to have mild cognitive impairment that included memory loss, whereas those with stroke damage were more likely to have mild cognitive impairment that did not include memory loss, according to the report in the Aug. 11 issue of Neurology.”
Sleep apnea can raise death risk 46 percent
Breast-Feeding May Lower Breast Cancer Risk “Women who breast-feed their babies even for short periods of time may lower their risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer if they have a family history of the disease. "We saw a 59 percent lower risk of breast cancer among women with a family history who had ever breast-fed," stated Dr. Alison Stuebe, lead author of a study appearing in the Aug. 10/24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "It is surprising to see this really strong association with a pretty decreased risk." “
Calcium, vitamin D and cancer. (Anticancer Res. 2009) “A low vitamin D status and inadequate calcium intake are important risk factors for various types of cancer. Ecological studies using solar UV-B exposure as an index of vitamin D3 photoproduction in the skin found a highly significant inverse association between UV-B and mortality in fifteen types of cancer. Of these, colon, rectal, breast, gastric, endometrial, renal and ovarian cancer exhibit a significant inverse relationship between incidence and oral intake of calcium. In addition, lung and endometrial cancer as well as multiple myeloma are considered calcium and vitamin D sensitive.”
Cell phone use and acoustic neuroma: the need for standardized questionnaires and access to industry data (Surgical Neurology 2009)
Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data (Surgical Neurology 2009) “The results indicate that using a cell phone for =10 years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same (“ipsilateral”) side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use. The data achieve statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma but not for meningioma. Conclusion The authors conclude that there is adequate epidemiologic evidence to suggest a link between prolonged cell phone usage and the development of an ipsilateral brain tumor.”
Go PVC-Free for Back-to-School “Toxic PVC plastic is widespread in lots of school supplies. While the chemical industry argues PVC is perfectly safe, PVC is unique among plastics because it contains dangerous chemical additives. These harmful chemicals include phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can be toxic to your child’s health. What’s worse is the danger these chemicals pose- phthalates and other toxic additives can leach out or evaporate into the air over time posing unnecessary dangers to children. That’s why we call it the poison plastic. NY Times columnist Nichols Kristof recently wrote a must read op-ed about the dangers of phthalates. Over 90% of these phthalates are used to soften PVC products such as school supplies - that’s over 5 million tons a year! More and more studies are coming out every month uncovering the hidden dangers of these ubiquitous chemicals.”
Green Tea: The Next Cancer Therapy? “The study included 26 men, aged 41 to 72 years, diagnosed with prostate cancer and scheduled for radical prostatectomy. Patients consumed four capsules containing Polyphenon E until the day before surgery — four capsules are equivalent to about 12 cups of normally brewed concentrated green tea. The time of study for 25 of the 26 patients ranged from 12 days to 73 days. Findings showed a significant reduction in serum levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA after treatment, with some patients demonstrating reductions in levels of greater than 30 percent, according to the researchers. There were only a few reported side effects associated with this study, and liver function remained normal. Results of a recent year-long clinical trial conduced by researchers in Italy demonstrated that consumption of green tea polyphenols reduced the risk of developing prostate cancer in men with high-grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN). "These studies are just the beginning and a lot of work remains to be done; however, we think that the use of tea polyphenols alone or in combination with other compounds currently used for cancer therapy should be explored as an approach to prevent cancer progression and recurrence," Cardelli said.”
H1N1 pandemic spreading too fast to count: WHO (July 16, 2009)
Hormone Therapy Still Risky When Started Soon After Menopause “A further analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trials indicates that the risks of hormone therapy still generally outweigh the benefits, even when initiated soon after menopause. WHI trials examining the use of conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) with or without medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) were stopped early in 2002 and 2004, respectively, after these interventions were linked to increased risks of breast cancer and stroke and appeared to provide little benefit for heart disease.“
If Bipolar Disorder Is Over-Diagnosed, What Are The Actual Diagnoses?
Lead-based Consumer Paint Remains A Global Public Health Threat “In a new study, Scott Clark, PhD, and his team have found that approximately 73 percent of consumer paint brands tested from 12 countries representing 46 percent of the world’s population exceeded current U.S. standard of 600 parts per million (ppm) for lead in paint. In addition, 69 percent of the brands had at least one sample exceeding 10,000 ppm. With the majority of American consumer goods being produced overseas, Clark says that lead paint exposure remains a serious global health threat.”
3 Shocking Facts About the Air in Your Home
Accidental Childhood Poisonings Mostly Due To Medicines
Millions of Children In U.S. Found to Be Lacking Vitamin D “Millions of U.S. children have disturbingly low Vitamin D levels, possibly increasing their risk for bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, according to two new studies that provide the first national assessment of the crucial nutrient in young Americans. About 9 percent of those ages 1 through 21 -- about 7.6 million children, adolescents and young adults -- have Vitamin D levels so low they could be considered deficient, while an additional 61 percent -- 50.8 million -- have higher levels, but still low enough to be insufficient, according to the analysis of federal data being released Monday. "It's astounding," said Michal L. Melamed of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who helped conduct one of the studies published online by the journal Pediatrics. "At first, we couldn't believe the numbers. I think it's very worrisome."“
Mobile phone radiation induces reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage in human spermatozoa in vitro. (PLoS One. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: RF-EMR in both the power density and frequency range of mobile phones enhances mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation by human spermatozoa, decreasing the motility and vitality of these cells while stimulating DNA base adduct formation and, ultimately DNA fragmentation. These findings have clear implications for the safety of extensive mobile phone use by males of reproductive age, potentially affecting both their fertility and the health and wellbeing of their offspring.”
Mosquito-Free Naturally “Duke University research shows that regular use of chemical repellents like DEET may damage brain cells and interact with medications. The pharmacologist conducting the study observed brain cell death and behavioral changes in animals exposed to DEET after frequent and prolonged use. Another study showed that up to fifteen percent of DEET is absorbed by the skin into the bloodstream.”
Role of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in Cardiac disease, Hypertension and Meniere- like syndrome. (Pharmacol Ther. 2009) “Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) is a mitochondrial coenzyme which is essential for the production of ATP. Being at the core of cellular energy processes it assumes importance in cells with high energy requirements like the cardiac cells which are extremely sensitive to CoQ10 deficiency produced by cardiac diseases. CoQ10 has thus a potential role for prevention and treatment of heart ailments by improving cellular bioenergetics. In addition it has an antioxidant, a free radical scavenging and a vasodilator effect which may be helpful in these conditions. It inhibits LDL oxidation and thus the progression of atherosclerosis. It decreases proinflammatory cytokines and decreases blood viscosity which is helpful in patients of heart failure and coronary artery disease. It also improves ischemia and reperfusion injury of coronary revascularisation. Significant improvement has been observed in clinical and hemodynamic parameters and in exercise tolerance in patients given adjunctive CoQ10 in doses from 60-200mg daily in the various trials conducted in patients of heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease and other cardiac illnesses.”
Urinary polyphenols and breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Women's Health Study. (Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009) “Polyphenols, the most abundant dietary antioxidants, also possess many other anticarcinogenic activities. Urinary metabolites of polyphenols could complement dietary assessment of the bioavailability of these nutrients. … In conclusion, high epicatechin may be related to a reduced risk of breast cancer.”
4 Calcium - Cardiovascular Articles:Calcium Intake and Vascular Calcification(2005)
Calcium curious: How much is enough?
Calcium Supplements May Increase Heart Attacks In Older Women
An investigation of vitamin B12 deficiency in elderly inpatients in neurology department. (Neurosci Bull. 2009) “Conclusion Vitamin B12 deficiency is remarkably common in elderly patients in neurology department, with various and atypical clinical manifestations, and the neurological symptoms are more common than megaloblastic anemia symptoms.”
CDC Briefing on Investigation of Human Cases of H1N1 Flu
CDC Issues H1N1 Vaccination Recommendations
Chemical in plastic tied to preemie problems “A chemical used in many plastic products and already under scrutiny for potential health risks is suspected of raising the risk of liver problems in premature babies , according to a new study. The small study in a German hospital suggests a chemical known as a phthalate, used in some intravenous feeding bags and tubing, may raise preemies' chances for liver damage . Rigorous research on phthalates' effects in humans is lacking, and at least one expert found the German study unconvincing. There is no solid proof implicating the phthalate studied, DEHP. “
Drugs With Anticholinergic Properties, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia in an Elderly General Population (Arch Intern Med. 2009) “A 1.4- to 2-fold higher risk of cognitive decline was observed for those who continuously used anticholinergic drugs but not for those who had discontinued use. The risk of incident dementia over the 4-year follow-up period was also increased in continuous users (hazard ratio [HR], 1.65; 95% CI, 1.00-2.73) but not in those who discontinued the use of anticholinergic drugs (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.59-2.76). Conclusions Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs were at increased risk for cognitive decline and dementia. Discontinuing anticholinergic treatment was associated with a decreased risk. Physicians should carefully consider prescription of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people, especially in the very elderly and in persons at high genetic risk for cognitive disorder.”
Eating High Levels Of Fructose Impairs Memory In Rats “Fructose, unlike another sugar, glucose, is processed almost solely by the liver, and produces an excessive amount of triglycerides — fat which get into the bloodstream. Triglycerides can interfere with insulin signaling in the brain, which plays a major role in brain cell survival and plasticity, or the ability for the brain to change based on new experiences. … Although humans do not eat fructose in levels as high as rats in the experiments, the consumption of foods sweetened with fructose — which includes both common table sugar, fruit juice concentrates, as well as the much-maligned high fructose corn syrup — has been increasing steadily. High intake of fructose is associated with numerous health problems, including insulin insensitivity, type II diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. "The bottom line is that we were meant to have an apple a day as our source of fructose," Parent said. "And now, we have fructose in almost everything." Moderation is key, as well as exercise, she said. Exercise is a next step in ongoing research, and Parent's team will investigate whether exercise might mitigate the memory effects of high fructose intake. Her lab is also researching whether the intake of fish oil can prevent the increase of triglycerides and memory deficits.”
Eating seafood while pregnant may boost mood “Compared with pregnant women who ate 3 or more servings of seafood per week - the equivalent of more than 1.5 grams of omega-3 fatty acids -- those who ate no seafood were about 50 percent more likely to report symptoms of depression at 32 weeks of pregnancy, the researchers found.”
Epidemiology of invasive cutaneous melanoma (Ann Oncol 2009) “Approximately 5% of all invasive cutaneous melanomas occur in a familial setting with two or more close relatives affected. This observation indicates that, in a small minority of melanoma patients, low prevalence/high penetrance genes are involved. In addition, the typical phenotype of the melanoma patient, with pale Caucasian skin, red or blond hair and blue eyes indicates that high prevalence/low penetrance genes such as MC1R may interact with environmental factors, particularly with sun exposure. … The likely melanoma patient is a pale-skinned Caucasian. Studies from Australasia [19], North America [20] and Europe [21] have all shown that a high count of banal melanocytic naevi is a major risk factor for sporadic melanoma. Naevus counts vary according to country; high counts are associated with UV exposure and may be used as a surrogate marker for UV-induced cutaneous damage. The presence of large, atypical naevi, termed dysplastic naevi in pathology, is also an independent risk factor adding to melanoma risk. … short, intense episodes of burning sun exposure appear to be a significant risk factor for melanoma [10], but cumulative UV exposure over the years may also contribute to the risk. Studies of place of birth and residence during the first decade of life from Australia [22], Israel [23] and the USA [24] all record that birth and early life spent in a high-UV environment increases melanoma risk for the lifetime of the individual in question. There also appears to be an interaction between chronic UV exposure and the type of melanoma that may subsequently develop. The lentigo maligna variety of melanoma, found most commonly on constantly exposed body sites such as the face, is associated more with possible chronic occupational UV exposure than intermittent burning UV exposure episodes. Whiteman et al. [25] have taken this observation further and postulated two distinct, partly UV-induced pathways to melanoma that give rise to slightly different clinical outcomes. The first pathway involves intense intermittent exposure on the trunk of individuals who have large numbers of banal naevi and have melanoma diagnosed at a relatively young age. The second pathway, probably more related to chronic UV exposure, is found in older individuals who may have a past history of non-melanoma skin cancer. These melanomas develop on sun-damaged, constantly exposed sites. This dual-pathway concept has been strengthened by the observation of Thomas et al. [26] that BRAF gene mutations are more likely in melanoma of younger subjects with large numbers of naevi (type A) than in lesions on sun-exposed skin of older patients (type B).”
Exercise Reduces Risk for Premature Death From Cancer “A study from Finland has shown that men who exercised for at least 30 minutes a day at moderate to high intensity halved their risk of dying prematurely from cancer, mainly gastrointestinal and lung cancer. The results were published online July 28, 2009 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Physical inactivity over a person's lifespan might be a "key factor in the initiation of cancer development," the authors note. This study adds ammunition to the public-health message promoting at least 30 minutes a day of exercise, lead author Sudhir Kurl MD, from the School of Public Health at the University of Kuopio in Finland, told Medscape Oncology. “
Exposure to Common Pollutant in Womb Might Lower IQ “"And here we're talking about extremely common urban pollutants, found all across the U.S. and the world," Perera added. "Traffic emissions from diesel and gasoline vehicles -- like buses, trucks and cars -- are a major source of these pollutants, as is fuel-burning coal. So, certainly the exposure is widespread and not confined to any one population or area, and we have no reason to think that the effects that we see in our study will be any different for other ethnicities or locations. … "Children exposed to prenatal or in-utero air pollution from traffic oftentimes have lower birth weights, somewhat smaller head circumferences, and a number of adverse outcomes," he noted. "There's certainly enough there to suggest an effect. And I think any one of those outcomes -- if they happen early enough in life -- can affect development through childhood and exert an impact on intelligence," Jerrett said.”
FDA Urges Consumers Not to Purchase or Use Certain Gel-Filled Teethers
Flouride in Dog Food: Bone Meal and Cheap Fillers May Deliver Toxic Dose
Longer Life For Milk Drinkers, Study Suggests ““Our findings clearly show that when the numbers of deaths from CHD, stroke and colo-rectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from these chronic diseases due to milk consumption. We certainly found no evidence that drinking milk might increase the risk of developing any condition, with the exception of prostate cancer. Put together, there is convincing overall evidence that milk consumption is associated with an increase in survival in Western communities.”“
Smoking Accelerates Progression of Multiple Sclerosis “Smoking cigarettes not only increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), it also might contribute to more rapid disease progression, new research suggests. However, quitting smoking might at least partly reverse the adverse effects that this addictive habit has on MS.”
Study: Tanning Beds as Deadly as Arsenic “International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as "probable carcinogens." A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal. The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others. “
Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases: Slideshow
Is your house making you sick?
Lifetime consumption of alcoholic beverages and risk of 13 types of cancer in men: results from a case-control study in Montreal. (Cancer Detect Prev. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that moderate and high alcohol intake levels over the lifetime might increase cancer risk at several sites.”
Low Maternal Vitamin D Status and Fetal Bone Development: Cohort Study. (J Bone Miner Res. 2009) “Our observations suggest that maternal vitamin D insufficiency can influence fetal femoral development as early as 19 weeks gestation. This suggests that measures to improve maternal vitamin D status should be instituted in early pregnancy.”
Obesity Contributes To Rapid Cartilage Loss “The results showed that the top risk factors contributing to rapid cartilage loss were baseline cartilage damage, high BMI, tears or other injury to the meniscus (the cartilage cushion at the knee joint) and severe lesions seen on MRI at the initial exam. Other predictors were synovitis (inflammation of the membrane that lines the joints) and effusion (abnormal build-up of joint fluid). Excess weight was significantly associated with an increased risk of rapid cartilage loss. For a one-unit increase in BMI, the odds of rapid cartilage loss increased by 11 percent. No other demographic factors—including age, sex and ethnicity—were associated with rapid cartilage loss. "As obesity is one of the few established risk factors for osteoarthritis, it is not surprising that obesity may also precede and predict rapid cartilage loss," Dr. Roemer said. "Weight loss is probably the most important factor to slow disease progression."“
Predicting risk of dementia in older adults (NEUROLOGY 2009) “Results: Subjects had a mean age of 76 years at baseline; 59% were women and 15% were African American. Fourteen percent (n = 480) developed dementia within 6 years. The final late-life dementia risk index included older age (1–2 points), poor cognitive test performance (2–4 points), body mass index <18.5 (2 points), 1 apolipoprotein E 4 alleles (1 point), cerebral MRI findings of white matter disease (1 point) or ventricular enlargement (1 point), internal carotid artery thickening on ultrasound (1 point), history of bypass surgery (1 point), slow physical performance (1 point), and lack of alcohol consumption (1 point) (c statistic, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.79–0.83). Four percent of subjects with low scores developed dementia over 6 years compared with 23% of subjects with moderate scores and 56% of subjects with high scores.”
Vitamin D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease “UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The early research findings, which appear in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, may lead to new approaches in preventing and treating Alzheimer's by utilizing the property of vitamin D3 — a form of vitamin D — both alone and together with natural or synthetic curcumin to boost the immune system in protecting the brain against amyloid beta. … The synthetic curcuminoid compounds were developed in the laboratory of John Cashman at the Human BioMolecular Research Institute, a nonprofit institute dedicated to research on diseases of the human brain.Researchers found that naturally occurring curcumin was not readily absorbed, that it tended to break down quickly before it could be utilized and that its potency level was low, making it less effective than the new synthetic curcuminoids. "We think some of the novel synthetic compounds will get around the shortcomings of curcumin and improve the therapeutic efficacy," Cashman said. The team discovered that curcuminoids enhanced the surface binding of amyloid beta to macrophages and that vitamin D strongly stimulated the uptake and absorption of amyloid beta in macrophages in a majority of patients. … Fiala noted that this is early laboratory research and that no dosage of vitamin D or curcumin can be recommended at this point. Larger vitamin D and curcumin studies with more patients are planned.”
Benefits of fish oil cancelled by high-fat diet in lab study of heart failure “Study highlights: • In an animal study of heart failure, fish oil supplementation was helpful to animals on a low-fat diet, but not to those on a high-fat diet. • Researchers think that a high-fat diet may block the heart cells’ ability to absorb the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil. “
Carcinogenicity of inhaled nanoparticles. (Inhal Toxicol. 2009)
CDC Briefing on Investigation of Human Cases of H1N1 Flu “We do expect there to be an increase in influenza that occurs this fall, perhaps earlier than what we see with seasonal influenza. In particular, we think there may be challenges when people return to schools and our communities get back into the sort of the regular times with lots of kids congregated together. As you heard last week from the Secretary at the Influenza Summit, we're in an active stage of preparing ourselves with the government, working with the private sector, and we also want individuals and families to be planning and preparing. But we need to remember that influenza is unpredictable, including the new strain, the 2009 H1N1 virus, and we don't know the extent of the challenges that we'll face in the weeks and months ahead.“
Nitrosamine Exposure Causes Insulin Resistance Diseases: Relevance to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, and Alzheimer's Disease. (J Alzheimers Dis. 2009) “In conclusion, environmental and food contaminant exposures to nitrosamines play critical roles in the pathogenesis of major insulin resistance diseases including T2DM, NASH, and AD. Improved detection and prevention of human exposures to nitrosamines will lead to earlier treatments and eventual quelling of these costly and devastating epidemics.”
No Benefit in Lowering BP Below "Standard" 140/90 mm Hg “A new review has found that lowering blood pressure below the "standard" target of 140/90 mm Hg is not beneficial in terms of reducing mortality or morbidity [1]. … "The Lewington meta-analysis of one million patients has convincingly shown that people fare better—ie, have fewer strokes and heart attacks—when their 'usual' BP is 115/70 mm Hg compared with those with a 'usual' BP of 130/80," Messerli adds. "However there are no data and probably never will be that lowering BP from 130/80 mm Hg to 115/70 mm Hg confers any benefits," he says. Attempting to achieve lower BP targets has several consequences, the researchers note; "the most obvious is the need for large doses and increased number of antihypertensive drugs. This has inconvenience and economic costs to patients. More drugs and higher doses will also increase adverse drug effects, which if serious could negate any potential benefit associated with lower BP." There is also the potential that lowering BP too much may cause adverse cardiovascular events, the so-called "J-curve" phenomenon, they observe.”
Obese men have higher-grade and larger tumors: an analysis of the duke prostate center database. (Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2009)
Radial neuropathy due to occupational lead exposure: Phenotypic and electrophysiological characteristics of five patients (Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2009) “The common causes of neuropathy in India include Hansen's disease, diabetes mellitus, Guillain-Barr? syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, genetically-determined neuropathy, and various drugs. [1] Exposure to toxins like acrylamide, carbon disulfide, inorganic mercury, methyl n-butyl ketone, polychlorinated biphenyl, thallium, triorthocresyl phosphate, arsenic, lead, styrene, and toluene could result in neuropathy , and correct diagnosis calls for a high index of suspicion. [2] Patients with lead neuropathy present with weakness that primarily involves the wrist and finger extensors, but which could also spread to involve other muscles. [3] Patients with unusually long exposure to inorganic lead may show mild sensory and autonomic neuropathic features rather than the motor neuropathy classically attributed to lead toxicity. [4] Lead intoxication in humans causes axonal degeneration, but in some other species it causes a primarily demyelinating neuropathy. Diagnosis of lead neuropathy is important because it is potentially reversible and also because its early detection and treatment may prevent other systemic complications. … Environmental exposure to toxic lead levels due to soil, food, and water contamination can also occur. The common sources of lead poisoning are fumes from burnt car batteries, ingestion of flaking paint, inhalation of vehicle fumes, consumption of food cooked in cheap aluminum or brass utensils or in 'kalai,' i.e., vessels that are poorly coated with tin adulterated with lead, and application of 'kajal' (mittal). Tesink et al . reported that poisoning is almost always caused by ingestion. Lead is absorbed from the respiratory tract into the circulation and is transported on the surface of the red cell, which carries most of the absorbed lead. [6] There are three compartments in the body where lead can be stored: the RBC pool, the soft tissues, and the skeletal system (stores 95% of the body lead). Though the kidneys excrete lead, only a small proportion of the total body lead is removed, and continued exposure results in accumulation of the metal in the tissues. Some people, perhaps due to genetic factors, are more susceptible to poisoning than others. About 15% of Caucasians have a variant of a gene which encodes for aminolevulinic acid dehydrogenase, a critical enzyme in the production of haem, which may make them more susceptible to toxicity from retained lead. Low levels of calcium, iron, copper, zinc, or phosphorus in the diet or high levels of fat can increase lead absorption. [1]”
Researchers Find Possible Environmental Causes For Alzheimer's, Diabetes “They found strong parallels between age adjusted increases in death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes and the progressive increases in human exposure to nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines through processed and preserved foods as well as fertilizers. Other diseases including HIV-AIDS, cerebrovascular disease, and leukemia did not exhibit those trends. De la Monte and the authors propose that the increase in exposure plays a critical role in the cause, development and effects of the pandemic of these insulin-resistant diseases.”
Why pesticides could be a common cause of prostate and breast cancers in the French Caribbean Island, Martinique. An overview on key mechanisms of pesticide-induced cancer. (Biomed Pharmacother. 2009)
Critical Link Between Obesity And Diabetes Discovered “The team, led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt, discovered that fat cells release a novel protein called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), which triggers a chain of events and interactions that lead to development of Type 2 diabetes. "When PEDF is released into the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitised to insulin. The pancreas then produces more insulin to counteract these negative effects, " Associate Professor Watt said. This insulin release causes the pancreas to become overworked, eventually slowing or stopping insulin release from the pancreas, leading to Type 2 diabetes."“
Clot risk 'nearly triples' for travellers
Contact With Beach Sand Among Beachgoers and Risk of Illness. (Am J Epidemiol. 2009) “Although evidence shows that beach sand can harbor high concentrations of fecal indicator organisms, as well as fecal pathogens, illness risk associated with beach sand contact is not well understood. … Sand contact activities were associated with enteric illness at beach sites. Variation in beach-specific results suggests that site-specific factors may be important in the risk of illness following sand exposure.”
Danish study looks at link between HRT, cancer “Menopausal women who took hormone replacement therapy increased their risk of ovarian cancer by 38 percent, Danish researchers reported on Tuesday. The study of more than 900,000 Danish women aged 50 to 79 found about one extra ovarian cancer for roughly 8,300 women taking hormone therapy each year. At the time they got sick, 9 percent of the women were taking hormone therapy, 22 percent were previous users and 63 percent did not take it. The researchers calculated that current hormone use conferred a 38 percent higher risk of contracting the disease compared to non-users over the eight-year study. “
Dementia Incidence and Prevalence Continues to Rise Even in the Oldest Old “Results of 2 new studies show that both the incidence and prevalence of dementia continue to rise in a linear fashion among the so-called "oldest old," those in their 80s and 90s and even among centenarians. The results, from the population-based Monzino 80-Plus Study in Italy and the 90+ Study in the United States, would appear to contradict fairly conclusively the previously held idea that conversion to dementia plateaus or even declines in this oldest-old population. "The prevalence and incidence rates of dementia found in the Monzino 80-Plus study continue to rise also in very advanced ages," Ugo Lucca, MD, from the Laboratory of Geriatric Neuropsychiatry at the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, in Milan, Italy. "Age remains the most important risk factor for dementia, and we need to further our understanding of its role if effective therapeutic and preventive strategies are to be developed." Claudia Kawas, MD, from the University of California, Irvine, showed a linear increase in dementia risk from 10% in the 90- to 95-year-olds to a "whopping" 41% for centenarians in the 90+ Study. “
Diabetes and heart attack “People with diabetes are highly susceptible to having heart attacks and therefore sudden death. They have about a four fold higher risk of having a heart attack than people without diabetes. This risk of sudden death is greater in women with diabetes especially those that have attained menopause.”
Exposure To Phthalates May Be A Risk Factor For Low Birth Weight In Infants “A new study soon to be published in the Journal of Pediatrics examines the possibility that in utero phthalate exposure contributes to low birth weight in infants. Low birth weight is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age and increases the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adulthood.”
Fatty fish and fish omega-3 fatty acid intakes decrease the breast cancer risk: a case-control study. (BMC Cancer. 2009)
FDA panel votes to eliminate Vicodin, Percocet “Government experts say prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet that combine a popular painkiller with stronger narcotics should be eliminated because of their role in deadly overdoses. A Food and Drug Administration panel on Tuesday voted 20-17 that prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen with other painkilling ingredients should be pulled off the market. The FDA has assembled a group of experts to vote on ways to reduce liver damage associated with acetaminophen, one of the most widely used drugs in the U.S. “
Breast Cancer Decline “Now a new study out of the Northern California Cancer Center suggests more of this decline occurred in richer and more urban areas, and they point to greater news coverage of the breast cancer-hormone therapy link in those communities as one reason why. A report issued in 2007, for example, correlated the number of news articles on the link with urban residence and a greater likelihood women would either stop using hormone therapy or never begin it in the first place. “
Brown Recluse Spider Bite Manifestations and Management: Slideshow
Hormones may tie caffeine to cancer risk “Coffee and general caffeine intake may affect a woman's levels of estrogen and other sex hormones, a new study suggests -- offering a potential explanation for findings that link caffeine to certain cancers. Several studies have found connections between caffeine and breast and ovarian cancers, though the findings have not always been consistent. For instance, different analyses of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) -- a large, long-running study of U.S. female nurses -- have linked higher caffeine intake to lower risks of breast and ovarian cancers in postmenopausal women, but to a higher risk of ovarian cancer before menopause. No one knows whether caffeine directly affects the risks of the cancers. But since estrogen and other sex hormones play a role in both diseases, it's possible that caffeine affects the risks of the cancers via hormonal influences, note investigators Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos and colleagues at Harvard Medical School.”
New Supplement May Help Slow Sight Loss In Elderly “As the macula of the eye is very rich in antioxidants the researchers wanted to see if a supplement called CARMA (Caroteneoids and Co-antioxidants in Age-related Maculopathy) containing the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin could help slow down AMD. The supplement also contained vitamins C,E and Zinc, which had been used in a previous study. The latest study showed that intake of high levels of both carotenoids preserved the macular pigments, slowing down the progression from early AMD to late AMD.”
Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Protect Against Progression Of Age-related Macular Degeneration “Eating two to three servings of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, shellfish, and herring every week would achieve the recommended daily intake of DHA and EPA. However, the majority of AREDS participants and Americans eat a much lower level than recommended. "If changing dietary habits is not easy, supplementation is an option," says Chiu. The authors stress it is still premature to conclude dietary recommendations for people with AMD and more studies are warranted. "Taken together, these data indicate that consuming a diet with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and low-GI foods may delay compromised vision due to AMD," says Taylor. "The present study adds the possibility that the timing of a dietary intervention as well as the combination of nutrients recommended may be important." AMD is a progressive disease that attacks central vision, resulting in a gradual loss of eyesight and, in some cases, blindness. The NEI reports that AMD is the most common causes of non-remediable vision loss in Americans over 60.”
47,000 senior falls in U.S. tied to walkers, canes
Abused Kids Face Higher Cancer Risk “"One important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production -- the hormone that prepares us for 'fight or flight' -- as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship," she said in a news release from the university. "Few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath," Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto's faculty of social work and department of family and community medicine, said in the news release. "From a public health perspective, it's extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer. This research provides important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship." “
Magic Ingredient In Breast Milk Protects Babies' Intestines “The ingredient called pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor, or PSTI, is found at its highest levels in colostrum - the milk produced in the first few days after birth. The lining of a newborn's gut is particularly vulnerable to damage as it has never been exposed to food or drink. The new study highlights the importance of breastfeeding in the first few days after the birth. The researchers found small amounts of PSTI in all the samples of breast milk they tested but it was seven times more concentrated in colostrum samples. The ingredient was not found in formula milk. “
Melamine in infant formula sold in Canada: occurrence and risk assessment. (J Agric Food Chem. 2009)
Mini-Strokes May Cause Vision Loss “A study of people who suffer the mini-strokes called silent cerebral infarcts could help explain the medical mystery of normal-tension glaucoma, Hong Kong ophthalmologists report. Glaucoma is the progressive loss of vision caused by deterioration of the optic nerves, which carry signals from the eyes to the brain. It is customarily attributed to abnormally high pressure of the fluid in the eye. But glaucoma can occur in some people who have normal intraocular pressure, a phenomenon that puzzles eye doctors. The Hong Kong study of 286 people with normal-tension glaucoma found a high incidence of silent cerebral infarcts among those whose loss of vision progressed more rapidly. The finding is in the July issue of Ophthalmology. "We feel that our study does cast light on the pathogenesis of normal-tension glaucoma," said the study's lead author, Dr. Dexter Y.L. Leung, deputy coordinator of the glaucoma service at Hong Kong Eye Hospital. "We postulate that vascular [blood vessel] risk factors may be interacting with intraocular pressure in causing glaucoma optic neuropathy."“
Mississippi tops U.S. obesity rankings
Mole or Melanoma? Tell-Tale Signs in Benign Nevi and Malignant Melanoma: Slideshow
Most men are deficient in key minerals and vitamins.
Nestle Toll House Prepackaged, Refrigerated Cookie Dough “FDA and the CDC are warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness). The warning is based on an ongoing epidemiological study conducted by the CDC and several state and local health departments. Since March 2009 there have been 66 reports of illness across 28 states. Twenty-five persons were hospitalized; 7 with a severe complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). No one has died.E. coli O157:H7 causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week. Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing HUS, which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death. FDA advises that if consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home that they throw them away. Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.”
New Report Finds Flaws in Sunscreen Protection, Safety “Sunscreens are improving, but three of five brand-name products either don't protect the skin from sun damage sufficiently, contain hazardous chemicals, or both, according to a report by the watchdog organization Environmental Working Group (EWG). "I'd give the industry a C minus," says Jane Houlihan, EWG's senior vice president for research. "They have moved from a D to a C-minus in my book." Overall, however, she says the industry is "not doing enough to protect consumers from UVA radiation."
Overweight in midlife and risk of dementia: a 40-year follow-up study (International Journal of Obesity 2009) “Conclusions: This study gives further support to the notion that overweight in midlife increases later risk of dementia. The risk is increased for both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, and follows the same pattern for men and women.”
Pesticide Residue Common on Kitchen Floors “The most commonly detected insecticide was permethrin, a carcinogen, which was present on 89 percent of the floors. About 78 percent of the floors had measurable levels of chlorpyrifos, a broad-spectrum insecticide used to control pests in the house and garden. About 64 percent had chlordane, one of the organochlorine insecticides that are no longer in use. Other compounds that were found included piperonyl butoxide (52 percent), cypermethrin (46 percent) and fipronil (40 percent), a relatively new residential-use insecticide used to kill fleas and ticks on pets, termites and ants and cockroaches in bait traps, according to the study.”
Pesticide Susceptibility In Children Lasts Longer Than Expected “"Current EPA standards of exposure for some pesticides assume children are 3 to 5 times more susceptible than adults, and for other pesticides the standards assume no difference," said Nina Holland, UC Berkeley adjunct professor of environmental health sciences and senior author of the paper. "Our study is the first to show quantitatively that young children may be more susceptible to certain organophosphate pesticides up to age 7. Our results suggest that the EPA standards need to be re-examined to determine if they are adequately protecting the most vulnerable members of the population."“
Studies Suggest Physicians Should Be Vigilant for Serious H1N1 Infection in Young “The pattern of the swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) seen in March and April of this year suggests that people exposed to H1N1 strains during childhood before the 1957 flu pandemic will be relatively protected from severe illness, according to a study in the June 29 Online First issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which appears along with a case series describing some of the first patients to be hospitalized with confirmed H1N1 and pneumonia, paint a picture of the early days of the pandemic and highlight that the virus can cause serious illness in a younger population. “
What Should A Teenage Girl Do If She Finds A Lump In Her Breast? “Among girls younger than 19, there are fewer than 25 cases of breast cancer per 100,000 per year, according to the National Cancer Institute. The vast majority of breast lumps in adolescents are benign and tend to wax and wane. Over time, many disappear. Many teenage girls undergo biopsy of breast lumps because of parental anxiety and surgeons' concerns, Vade said. Vade and colleagues wrote that for adolescents who present with solid masses that appear benign on ultrasound examination, "we conclude that excisional biopsy may not always be necessary." “
Selenium intake may worsen prostate cancer in some, study reports “Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute the University of California, San Francisco. A higher risk of more-aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant found in about 75 percent of the prostate cancer patients in the study. In those subjects, having a high level of selenium in the blood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of poorer outcomes than men with the lowest amounts of selenium. By contrast, the 25 percent of men with a different variant of the same gene and who had high selenium levels were at 40 percent lower risk of aggressive disease. The variants are slightly different forms of a gene that instructs cells to make manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2), an enzyme that protects the body against harmful oxygen compounds. The research findings suggest that "if you already have prostate cancer, it may be a bad thing to take selenium," … Therefore, they add, it is important to know which type of SOD2 gene a man has when considering the risks and potential benefits of taking selenium supplements. Additionally, the authors say the effects of the interaction between the SOD2 genotype and selenium may help explain apparently conflicting results of previous studies. The results may seem counterintuitive to the public, who have been told for years that antioxidants can help people live longer, healthier lives with a lowered risk of cancer. However, Kantoff says, "There is some precedent to this – research has suggested that antioxidants could be protective if you don't have cancer, but once you do, then antioxidants may be a bad thing."”
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Physical Activity Independently Linked to Insulin Resistance “• A previous study found that each additional daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages for children increased the risk for obesity by 60%. • In the current study, both lower consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and higher physical activity improved metabolic and anthropometric outcomes. The combination of these 2 variables was synergistic in improving insulin resistance and concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.”
Topical application of green and white tea extracts provides protection from solar-simulated ultraviolet light in human skin. (Exp Dermatol. 2009) “RESULTS: Topical application of green and white tea offered protection against detrimental effects of UV on cutaneous immunity. Such protection is not because of direct UV absorption or sunscreen effects as both products showed a sun protection factor of 1. There was no significant difference in the levels of protection afforded by the two agents. Hence, both green tea and white tea are potential photoprotective agents that may be used in conjunction with established methods of sun protection.”
Underweight and extremely obese die earlier than people of normal weight, study finds “"It's not surprising that extreme underweight and extreme obesity increase the risk of dying, but it is surprising that carrying a little extra weight may give people a longevity advantage," said David Feeny, PhD, coauthor of the study and senior investigator for the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. "It may be that a few extra pounds actually protect older people as their health declines, but that doesn't mean that people in the normal weight range should try to put on a few pounds," said Mark Kaplan, DrPH, coauthor and Professor of Community Health at Portland State University. "Our study only looked at mortality, not at quality of life, and there are many negative health consequences associated with obesity, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes."“
U.S. swine flu cases top 21,000 as deaths rise “America's count of swine flu cases has risen to 21,449 cases and the number of deaths have nearly doubled to 87. The continued spread signals the new strain of H1N1 flu is causing “something different” to happen in the United States this year — perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said. … Figures provided by the global body show Argentina, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Philippines and Thailand all reported a large rise in cases. A total of 93 countries had reported cases to WHO by Friday. In the U.S., Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas were the states with the most reported illnesses, and the Illinois count rose more than 500 since the last report. But CDC officials say much of the most recent flu activity has been in the Northeast. A quarter of the new deaths were in New York. An unusually cool late spring may be helping keep the infection going in the U.S. Northeast, especially densely populated areas in New York and Massachusetts, the CDC officials said.”
Women's First-trimester Working Conditions Impact Infant Birthweight
An introduction to headache classification (Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management 2009)
Assisting Seniors With Insomnia: A Comprehensive Approach (US Pharm. 2009)
Athletic Trainers Issue Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for High School Athletes “The guidelines define the heat-acclimatization period as the first 14 consecutive days of preseason practice. Days 1 through 5 of the heat-acclimatization period consist of the first 5 days of formal practice. During this time, athletes may not have more than 1 practice per day and total practice time should not exceed 3 hours in any 1 day, according to the guidelines. During the first 5 days of the heat-acclimatization period, the guidelines allow for a maximum 1-hour "walk-through" -- defined as a teaching opportunity without any protective gear or sports-related equipment -- but a 3-hour recovery period should be inserted between the practice and walk-through (or vice versa). During days 1 and 2 of the heat-acclimatization period, in sports requiring helmets or shoulder pads, a helmet should be the only protective equipment permitted; goalies should not wear full protective gear or perform activities that would require full gear. During days 3 through 5, shoulder pads can be added and on day 6, all protective equipment may be worn and full contact may begin. Beginning no earlier than day 6 and continuing through day 14, a single-practice day must follow all double-practice days. On single-practice days, one walk-through is permitted, separated from practice by at least 3 hours of continuous rest. When a double-practice day is followed by a rest day, another double-practice day is permitted after the rest day. On double-practice days, the guidelines state each practice should not exceed 3 hours and student-athletes should not participate in more than a total of 5 total hours of practice. Warm-up, stretching, cool-down, walk-through, conditioning, and weight-room activities are included as part of the practice time. The two practices should also be separated by at least 3 continuous hours in a cool environment. Because the risk of exertional heat illness during the preseason heat-acclimatization period is high, the guidelines "strongly recommend" that an athletic trainer be on site before, during and after all practices. “
Chemicals in Marijuana Smoke May Harm DNA “The smoke from cannabis, the plant from which marijuana is derived, contains compounds that can damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer just like tobacco smoke, says a new study from the United Kingdom. In laboratory tests, Rajinder Singh from the University of Leicester and colleagues found certain carcinogens in cannabis smoke in amounts 50 percent greater than those found in tobacco smoke. They noted that light cannabis use could possibly prove to be even more damaging because cannabis smokers usually inhale more deeply than cigarette smokers. "The smoking of three to four cannabis cigarettes a day is associated with the same degree of damage to bronchial mucus membranes as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day," the researchers noted in a news release from the university.“
High Daily Consumption of Cola Soft Drinks Can Cause Hypokalemic Myopathy “The authors suggest that one component with the potential to alter potassium metabolism is high-fructose corn syrup, which can cause chronic osmotic diarrhea and potassium depletion. Glucose -- by inducing osmotic diuresis and hyperinsulinemia - or caffeine - by causing potassium redistribution into cells and/or increased renal potassium excretion - may also be responsible. Dr. Elisaf's team cautions that "the cola-induced chronic hypokalemia clearly predisposes to the development of potentially fatal complications such as cardiac arrhythmias." In his editorial, Dr. Clifford D. Packer at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, comments that "with aggressive mass marketing, super-sizing of soft drinks, and the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialized countries drink at least 2-3 L of cola per day."“
Impact of Androgen Deprivation Therapy on Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (Journal of Clinical Oncology 2009) “Conclusion: Continuous ADT use for at least 6 months in older men is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and fragility fracture but not AMI or sudden cardiac death.”
Individuals Who Apply Pesticides Are Found To Have Double The Risk Of Blood Disorder “"As several million Americans use pesticides, it's important that the risks of developing MGUS from the use of pesticides is known," added senior study author and NCI investigator Michael Alavanja, DrPH.”
Living Near Major Traffic Roads and Risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (Circulation 2009) “Conclusions—Living near major traffic roads is associated with increased risk of DVT.”
Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy is inversely associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis in 5-year-old children. (Clin Exp Allergy. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Maternal vitamin D intake from foods during pregnancy may be negatively associated with risk of asthma and AR in childhood.”
Metformin Linked to B12 Deficiency “Researchers found that 40% of type 2 diabetes patients using metformin had vitamin B12 deficiency or were in the low-normal range for the essential vitamin. And 77% of metformin users with vitamin B12 deficiency also had peripheral neuropathy, a common form of nerve damage associated with type 2 diabetes. … They say it’s not clear whether vitamin B12 deficiency may contribute to or cause peripheral neuropathy. But they recommend screening metformin users for vitamin B12 deficiency and supplementing the vitamin, when necessary, to reduce the risk of nerve damage.”
Are everyday products from cosmetics to household cleaners causing the high rates of breast cancer? “Has the key to reducing breast cancer gotten lost in the race for a cure? A new book, No Family History, presents compelling evidence that exposure to everyday products such as cosmetics and toiletries, hormones in food, household cleaners and pesticides is behind the dramatic increase in breast cancer and argues that the solution is simple: prevention. … Breast cancer "hot spots" from Long Island, N.Y., to Northern California have two common threads—industrial pollution and agricultural pesticides. These "hot spots" are pockets of the United States where breast cancer has risen six times faster than the national rate. In Long Island, the incidence of breast cancer is 200 percent higher than the national average. "In our race for a cure for breast cancer, we have ignored the overwhelming body of evidence that demonstrates a link between products from cosmetics to pesticides and breast cancer," McCormick says. "We must focus on prevention by demanding safer products, reducing our exposure to chemicals and urging our policymakers to ban cancer-causing chemicals in everyday products." European governments responded to this scientific evidence by banning cosmetic products with certain chemicals from being sold in their countries. According to No Family History, one American cosmetics company known as much for its "pink ribbon" marketing campaigns as for its pink lipstick removed these chemicals from products sold in Europe, but these same chemicals remain in the products the company sells in the United States. "Women and girls should not have to check the ingredients in every stick of lipstick and each bottle of moisturizer. Better regulation to ensure that these products are safe would go a long way to reducing the incidence of breast cancer," McCormick says.”
Early Bedtime May Help Stave Off Teen Depression “Teens whose parents pack them off to bed at 10 p.m. are less apt to become depressed or have suicidal thoughts than their peers who stay up much later, recent research shows. "This study bolsters the argument that a lack of sleep can cause depression," said study author James Gangwisch, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. "Teens with earlier parental-mandated bedtimes were less likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts."“
ENDO 2009: Use of Artificial Sweeteners Linked to 2-Fold Increase in Diabetes “People who use artificial sweeteners are heavier, more likely to have diabetes, and more likely to be insulin-resistant compared with nonusers, according to data presented here during ENDO 2009, the 91st annual meeting of The Endocrine Society. Results show an inverse association between obesity and diabetes, on one side, and daily total caloric, carbohydrate, and fat intake, on the other side, when comparing artificial sweetener users and control subjects. …Artificial sweeteners activate sweet taste receptors in enteroendocrine cells, leading to the release of incretin, which is known to contribute to glucose absorption. Recent epidemiologic studies in Circulation (2008;117:754-761) and Obesity (2008;16:1894-1900) showed an association between diet soda consumption and the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome.”
Flu During Pregnancy May Increase Risk Of Schizophrenia In Certain Offspring ““The good news is that most fetuses exposed to influenza virus while in the womb will not go on to develop schizophrenia. The bad news is that the prior association between influenza infection and later development of psychotic disorders was supported,” comments John Krystal, M.D., the editor of Biological Psychiatry. This finding has the potential to influence efforts to develop prevention, early intervention and treatment strategies, such as taking steps to maintain careful hygiene and, if clinically appropriate, administration of the influenza vaccination to reduce infection among women prior to pregnancy. Dr. Krystal notes, “It also raises an important unanswered question: How does influenza virus affect the vulnerable developing brain and how can we prevent or reverse the consequence of fetal influenza infection in vulnerable individuals before they develop schizophrenia?”“
Health and well-being in school-age children following persistent crying in infancy. (J Paediatr Child Health. 2009) “CONCLUSION: At school-age, children with a history of hospitalisation for persistent crying in infancy had a significantly higher prevalence of mental health problems and mental disorders, as compared with community samples.”
Health Tip: Understanding Various Types of Insulin “The American Diabetes Association offers this information about insulin's different forms: • "Rapid-acting" insulin, often called Humalog or lispro, begins to work right away after injection and is most effective after about an hour. It's usually taken just before mealtime. • "Regular," or short-acting insulin, may be taken 30 minutes to 45 minutes before meals, but it takes longer to work, and keeps working longer. • "Intermediate-acting" insulin, often called NPH or Lente, is combined with another substance that helps it work more slowly. This type of insulin can last as long as 18 hours. • "Long-acting" insulin, dubbed Ultralente, is commonly taken early in the morning or at bedtime, and can last for up to 20 hours. • "Very long-acting insulin," or glargine, begins working about an hour after it's injected and can remain consistently effective for about 24 hours. “
Newborn weights affected by environmental contaminants “Recent epidemiological studies have revealed an increase in the frequency of genital malformations in male newborns (e.g., un-descended testes) and a decrease in male fertility. The role played by the growing presence in our environment of contaminants that reduce male hormone action could explain this phenomenon.”
Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: The Long-Term Natural History and Comparison With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. (Am J Gastroenterol. 2009) “OBJECTIVES:The source of most cases of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is thought to be the esophagus. We reasoned that if the origin of NCCP is truly esophageal and not cardiac, the characteristics and survival of individuals with NCCP should be similar to those of individuals with benign esophageal disease, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). … CONCLUSIONS:NCCP in most patients seems to be a short-lived event requiring extensive medical evaluation and having clinical characteristics significantly different from those associated with GERD. Patients with NCCP, confirmed by the absence of angiogram-documented coronary artery disease, who are referred for diagnostic endoscopy, have an excellent long-term benign prognosis, similar to patients with GERD.”
Overused: Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Prostate Cancer “The overuse of ADT has been driven, in part, by clinicians in the United States overestimating the effectiveness of ADT, suggests Dr. Albertsen. "If it's good for advanced disease, there's a good chance it will work for localized disease — that's probably been the thinking," he explained. Money has also been a driver. "Overuse was probably worse a few years ago when clinicians were making a lot of money off of it," Dr. Albertsen said about the administration of ADT and related follow-up care. The desire to take action is another driver, said Dr. Dale. "There is a propensity to 'do something' about cancer that leads to starting a therapy that is not justified. This is particularly true for older men," he told Medscape Oncology. Dr. Dale cited 2 "do something" settings in which data don't support the use of ADT. "Starting it early when PSA [prostate-specific antigen] first rises following surgery or radiation — versus waiting until later to start it — has not been shown to extend life. It is also being used increasingly in older men as primary therapy rather than surgery or radiation therapy," he noted.”
Rear-Facing Car Seats Advised for Children Under 4 Years of Age
Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients (Annals 2009) “Conclusion: Red yeast rice and therapeutic lifestyle change decrease LDL cholesterol level without increasing CPK or pain levels and may be a treatment option for dyslipidemic patients who cannot tolerate statin therapy. “
Red Yeast Rice Reduces LDL-Cholesterol Levels in Statin-Intolerant Patients “The use of red yeast rice and a therapeutic lifestyle change significantly reduced LDL-cholesterol levels in statin-intolerant patients with dyslipidemia and may provide a future treatment alternative for these difficult-to-treat patients, according to the results of a new study [1]. Investigators urged caution about moving these results into clinical practice, however, specifically pointing out that while the chemical composition of red yeast rice was known and controlled in this study, there is a lack of consistency between different manufacturers and an ongoing need for the Food and Drug Administration to better regulate this popular dietary supplement. "If properly regulated, I would say it's time that we began using red yeast rice in these statin-intolerant patients," lead investigator Dr David Becker (Chestnut Hill Hospital, Flourtown, PA) told heartwire . "Instead, right now, it's a promising avenue for research. If patients are going to take it, we'd recommend they use it only under a doctor's guidance."“
Screening at 2 Months Identifies Most Women With Postpartum Depression “Using a well-child visit to screen for postpartum depression 2 months after delivery will catch the majority of women likely to develop the condition within the first 6 postpartum months, new research suggests.”
Alzheimer's and Even Mild Dementia Hasten Death “Those with Alzheimer's disease had a three-fold greater risk of dying compared to those not experiencing cognitive function problems. Those with mild cognitive impairment were 50 percent more likely to die. The risk of death increased as cognitive impairment became more severe.”
Atomoxetine: a review of its use in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. (Paediatr Drugs. 2009) “Atomoxetine (Strattera(R)) is a selective norepinephrine (noradrenaline) reuptake inhibitor that is not classified as a stimulant, and is indicated for use in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). … Common adverse events included headache, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, vomiting, somnolence, and nausea. The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate; there was a very low incidence of serious adverse events. Few patients discontinued atomoxetine treatment because of adverse events. Atomoxetine discontinuation appeared to be well tolerated, with a low incidence of discontinuation-emergent adverse events. Atomoxetine appeared better tolerated among extensive CYP2D6 metabolizers than among poor metabolizers. Slight differences were evident in the adverse event profiles of atomoxetine and stimulants, both immediate- and extended-release. Somnolence appeared more common among atomoxetine recipients and insomnia appeared more common among stimulant recipients. A black-box warning for suicidal ideation has been published in the US prescribing information, based on findings from a meta-analysis showing that atomoxetine is associated with a significantly higher incidence of suicidal ideation than placebo.”
Bipolar Disorder 'misdiagnosed In A Quarter Of Cases' “They found that over 25% of the patients with bipolar disorder had initially had their condition misdiagnosed as unipolar depression. Misdiagnosis often occurs because the symptoms of bipolar disorder overlap with depression and other psychiatric disorders. However, misdiagnosis can cause serious problems. For example, if people are wrongly prescribed antidepressants this can make their bipolar illness worse.”
Colorectal Cancer Rates Up; Blame Obesity “Increasing Westernization is the likely culprit in dramatically increasing incidence rates of colorectal cancer around the world, a new study says. The trend is related to increased consumption of fatty foods in developing countries, and less physical activity -- resulting in obesity, the American Cancer Society’s Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, tells WebMD. Jemal, an epidemiologist and co-author of the study, says more “people are eating the wrong foods and driving to work instead of walking, just not getting enough physical movement generally.” The study found that colorectal cancer incidence rates for both men and women increased in 27 of 51 international cancer registries between 1983 and 2002. “People are eating the wrong foods,” Jemal tells WebMD. “Too much food is being consumed that is high in carbs and fats.” The rise was seen mostly in economically transitioning countries, including those of Eastern Europe, most parts of Asia and some nations in South America.”
Concussion Experts: For Kids -- No Sports, No Schoolwork, No Text Messages “For children and adolescents, the guidance strongly reiterates several key points for coaches, parents, and physicians: • Injury to the developing brain, especially repeat concussions, may increase the risk of long term effects in children, so no return-to-play until completely symptom free. • No child or adolescent athlete should ever return to play on the same day of an injury—regardless of level of athletic performance. • Children and adolescents may need a longer period of full rest and then gradual return to normal activities than adults. For children, "cognitive rest" is a key to recovery. While restrictions on physical activity restrictions are also important, cognitive rest must be carefully adhered to, including limits on cognitive stressors such as academic activities and at-home/social activities including text messaging, video games, and television watching.”
Managing lower back pain: You may be doing too much
More talking, more problems: 'Cell phone elbow' damages nerves “Orthopedic specialists are reporting cases of "cell phone elbow," in which patients damage an essential nerve in their arm by bending their elbows too tightly for too long. When cell phone users hold the phone to their ears, they stretch a nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers. When talkers chat for a long time in that position, it "chokes the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know, there's tingling in the ring and small finger," said Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. When that happens, the advice is simple: Switch hands -- before it gets worse. People who have this condition, called cubital tunnel syndrome, can feel weakness in their hands and have difficulty opening jars or playing musical instruments. “
New Risk Index Predicts Dementia in Elderly “The index items include older age, poor cognitive test performance, body-mass index, 1 or more apolipoprotein E4 alleles, white-matter disease on cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ventricular enlargement on cerebral MRI, internal carotid artery thickening on ultrasound, history of bypass surgery, slow physical performance, and lack of alcohol consumption.”
Nonvertebral Fracture Prevention With Vitamin D May Be Dose-Dependent “Use of vitamin D is associated with reduced risk for nonvertebral and hip fractures in older adults independent of calcium supplementation. • The dose of vitamin D for fracture prevention should be higher than 400 U daily; this dose is effective in both community-dwelling and institutionalized older adults. “
Parkinson's Disease Associated With Pesticide Exposure In French Farm Workers “The cause of Parkinson’s disease (PD), the second most frequent neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease, is unknown, but in most cases it is believed to involve a combination of environmental risk factors and genetic susceptibility. Laboratory studies in rats have shown that injecting the insecticide rotenone leads to an animal model of PD and several epidemiological studies have shown an association between pesticides and PD, but most have not identified specific pesticides or studied the amount of exposure relating to the association. A new epidemiological study involving the exposure of French farm workers to pesticides found that professional exposure is associated with PD, especially for organochlorine insecticides. … Among the three main classes of pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides), researchers found the largest difference for insecticides: men who had used insecticides had a two-fold increase in the risk of PD. “Our findings support the hypothesis that environmental risk factors such as professional pesticide exposure may lead to neurodegeneration,” notes Dr. Elbaz.”
People With Parents Who Fight Are More Likely To Have Mental Health Problems In Later Life
Pesticide Use Linked to Higher Risk of Pre-Cancerous Multiple Myeloma
Pet Therapy Dogs May Carry MRSA And Clostridium Difficile Between Patients “University of Guelph in Canada researchers investigated whether MRSA and C.difficile could be passed between pet therapy dogs and patients. The findings suggested that MRSA and C. difficile may have been transferred to the fur and paws of these canine visitors through patients handling or kissing the dogs, or through exposure to a contaminated healthcare environment.”
Population-based study of risk and predictors of stroke in the first few hours after a TIA (NEUROLOGY 2009) “Conclusion: That about half of all recurrent strokes during the 7 days after a TIA occur in the first 24 hours highlights the need for emergency assessment. That the ABCD2 score is reliable in the hyperacute phase shows that appropriately triaged emergency assessment and treatment are feasible.”
Precancerous Skin Lesions and Skin Cancer Slideshow
Recognizing signs and symptoms of acute HF “These symptoms include: • shortness of breath (dyspnea), found to be evident in 92% of acute heart failure patients • peripheral oedema (in 35%) • cough (in 33%) • breathing difficulty when lying flat (orthopnea, in 30%) • chest pain (in 29%) • nocturnal dyspnea (in 28%) • fatigue (in 17%) • palpitations (in 7%) Shortness of breath, said Professor Follath, is by far the most common presenting symptom, and families should recognise that it can be described in various ways – from "suffocation" to "tight chest" to "heavy breathing". At the same time, he warned that many elderly patients with heart failure may have co-existing conditions with non-cardiac symptoms, and these may be misleading. Careful instruction, therefore, in a simple understandable way is essential to ensure early warning and speedy treatment.”
Relation of Vigorous Exercise to Risk of Atrial Fibrillation (The American Journal of Cardiology 2009) “In conclusion, frequency of vigorous exercise was associated with an increased risk of developing AF in young men and joggers. This risk decreased as the population aged and was offset by known beneficial effects of vigorous exercise on other AF risk factors.”
Research says older people need more sun “He said: "Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a condition that is causing a large burden of disease across the globe with particular deleterious impact among the elderly. Our results are consistent with those found in British and American populations. We found that low vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk of having metabolic syndrome, and was also significantly associated with increased insulin resistance." Dr Franco said there were many factors which could explain why older people had less vitamin D in their blood, including changes in lifestyle factors such as clothing and outdoor activity. He added: "As we get older our skin is less efficient at forming vitamin D and our diet may also become less varied, with a lower natural vitamin D content. Most importantly, however, the dermal production of vitamin D following a standard exposure to UVB light decreases with age because of atrophic skin changes. When we are older we may need to spend more time outdoors to stimulate the same levels of vitamin D we had when we were younger." Vitamin D deficiency exists when the concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D) in the blood serum occurs at 12ng/ml (nanograms/millilitre) or less. The normal concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D in the blood serum is 25-50ng/ml. “
Risk Of Heart Failure Doubled By Obesity And Diabetes -- Patients With Both Conditions 'Very Difficult' To Treat “The pathways by which obesity plays such a role in heart failure are not yet fully understood, but have been shown to have an indirect effect via hypertension, or heart attack, or diabetes - and a direct effect on the heart muscle itself. "We know that the underlying changes in the structure and function of the heart may be different in obese and non-obese patients with heart failure," says Professor McMurray. An even more "intriguing" suggestion, he added, is that adipose cells might act as an endocrine tissue, secreting substances which may have a harmful effect on heart tissue and blood vessels. The relationship between diabetes and heart failure is also a subject of investigation, with the risk of heart failure doubled in diabetics. Heart failure patients with diabetes also have worse symptoms, a higher risk of hospitalisation and a greater risk of death than those without diabetes - suggesting that the underlying pathophysiology of heart failure may be different in diabetics and non-diabetics.”
The course of panic attacks in individuals with panic disorder and subthreshold panic disorder: A population-based study. (J Affect Disord. 2009) “RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of those with panic disorder and 17% of those with subthreshold panic disorder reported panic episodes during more than 75% of the observed time periods in the Life Chart Interview. Forty-three percent of those with panic disorder and 14% of those with subthreshold panic disorder reported over 24 attacks per 3-month period. Male gender, severity of panic and agoraphobia predicted a high proportion of time spent in panic episodes. Low self-esteem, limited positive life events and severity of panic predicted highly frequent attacks.”
Timing and Tempo of First-Year Rapid Growth in Relation to Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk Profile in Early Adulthood (JAMA. 2009) “Conclusion Rapid weight gain in the first 3 months of life is associated with several determinants of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in early adulthood. “
Benefit Of Aspirin For Healthy People Is Uncertain “The authors conclude: ‘Aspirin is of clear benefit for people who already have cardiovascular disease, but the latest research does not seem to justify general guidelines advocating the routine use of aspirin in all healthy individuals above a moderate level of risk for coronary heart disease.’ When prescribing aspirin to healthy individuals, it is important to consider the potential of such a policy to cause harm. Professor Baigent adds: ‘Drug safety really matters when making recommendations for tens of millions of healthy people. We don’t have good evidence that, for healthy people, the benefits of long-term aspirin exceed the risks by an appropriate margin.’“
Diet High in Red Meat Tied to Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Exercise More, Not Less, To Ease Aching Back, Study Suggests “A University of Alberta study of 240 men and women with chronic lower-back pain showed that those who exercised four days a week had a better quality of life, 28 per cent less pain and 36 per cent less disability, while those who hit the gym only two or three days a week did not show the same level of change. "While it could be assumed that someone with back pain should not be exercising frequently, our findings show that working with weights four days a week provides the greatest amount of pain relief and quality of life," said Robert Kell, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus. About 80 per cent of North Americans suffer from lower back pain.”
Fetal exposure to phthalates - a pilot study. (Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2009) “Our results suggest that several phthalates or their metabolites, respectively, reach the human fetus, which might be able to affect fetal health.”
Gain in Adiposity Across 15 Years is Associated With Reduced Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Women. (Psychosom Med. 2009) “Conclusions: An increase in BMI during the menopausal transition and beyond is associated with reduced GMV among otherwise healthy women.”
Serum levels of vitamin D, sunlight exposure, and knee cartilage loss in older adults: The Tasmanian older adult cohort study. (Arthritis Rheum. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Sunlight exposure and serum 25(OH)D levels are both associated with decreased knee cartilage loss (assessed by radiograph or MRI). This is best observed using the whole range of 25(OH)D levels rather than predefined cut points and implies that achieving vitamin D sufficiency may prevent and/or retard cartilage loss in knee OA.”
Smoking Appears Linked With Risk for Poor Memory in Middle Age “Compared with study participants who had never smoked, after adjustment for other confounding factors, smokers had a 37% increased risk of having scores in the lowest quintile on a memory test (they were more likely to recall less than 5 of 20 words), Ms. Sabia told Medscape Psychiatry.”
Strategy Being Devised To Protect Use of BPA: Groups Hope to Block Ban of Chemical “Manufacturers of cans for beverages and foods and some of their biggest customers, including Coca-Cola, are trying to devise a public relations and lobbying strategy to block government bans of a controversial chemical used in the linings of metal cans and lids. According to internal notes of a private meeting, obtained by The Washington Post, frustrated industry executives huddled for hours Thursday trying to figure out how to tamp down public concerns over the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA. The notes said the executives are particularly concerned about the views of young mothers, who often make purchasing decisions for households and who are most likely to be focused on health concerns.“
Study Demonstrates Link Between Appetite And Elderly Mortality “A new study by a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researcher reveals a linkage between elderly people's appetite and mortality rates, with those who report impaired appetite more likely to die sooner.”
Swine Flu Data 'Very Consistent' With Early Stages Of A Pandemic
Total daily sleep duration and the risk of dementia: a prospective population-based study (European Journal of Neurology 2009) “Conclusions: Prolonged sleep duration (night-time sleep and daytime napping) may be associated with an increased risk of dementia.“
Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations EHP 2009 (EHP 2009) “Conclusions One week of polycarbonate bottle use increased urinary BPA concentrations by two thirds. Regular consumption of cold beverages from polycarbonate bottles is associated with a substantial increase in urinary BPA concentrations irrespective of exposure to BPA from other sources.”
Well Water Should be Tested Annually to Reduce Health Risks to Children ”"With few exceptions, well owners are responsible for their own wells," said Rogan. Private wells are not subject to federal regulations and are only minimally regulated by states. With proper care, well water is safe; however, wells can become contaminated by chemicals or pathogenic organisms. Nitrate, which comes from sewage or fertilizer, is the most common contaminant in wells. The presence of nitrates can be a problem particularly for infants under three months who can not metabolize nitrate. Water with a nitrate concentration of more than 1.0 milligrams per liter should not be used to prepare infant formula or given to a child younger than one year. The policy statement suggests using bottled water for infants when nitrate contamination is detected, or when the source of drinking water is not known.“
What Your Skin Says About Your Health Slideshow
WHO chief says world should prepare for severe flu “Countries should be ready for more serious H1N1 flu infections and more deaths from the newly discovered virus, World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said on Friday. The highly contagious strain must be closely monitored in parts of Asia, Africa and South America where the winter season is beginning in case it mixes with seasonal flu and mutates in "unpredictable ways," Chan told the closing session of her United Nations agency's annual congress. "In cases where the H1N1 virus is widespread and circulating within the general community, countries must expect to see more cases of severe and fatal infections," she said. "We do not at present expect this to be a sudden and dramatic jump in severe illness and deaths." “
Women With Hard To Diagnose Chest Pain Symptoms At Higher Risk For Cardiovascular Events “Many physicians are presented with the following scenario: a woman comes into the office complaining of chest pain, undergoes a stress test to evaluate the chest pain, and the stress test results suggest coronary artery disease, a condition in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. She is then referred for an angiogram to look at the coronary arteries and despite her symptoms and the abnormal stress test, she is told that the tests didn't find anything of clinical significance and is sent home without treatment. … The physicians hypothesize that this difficult to diagnose chest pain could be caused by microvascular angina and endothelial dysfunction, affecting blood vessels in which the layers of the cells are not functioning properly and may be undetectable by standard testing. Researchers believe endothelial dysfunction to be the earliest stage of coronary artery disease. The study authors recommend that women with chest pain symptoms undergo initial testing for coronary artery disease. If there is no evidence of coronary artery disease, patients should undergo further assessment for endothelial dysfunction. If detected, patients should then undergo treatment to improve the dysfunction. Women with symptoms, but no presence of endothelial dysfunction, should work with physicians to aggressively modify certain risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking, weight control and cholesterol.”
Among Obese Diabetics, Sleep Apnea May Be Common “Most of those who were undiagnosed also had a larger waist circumference, which the researchers found to be significantly associated with sleep apnea, as is higher body-mass index (BMI).”
BPA, chemical used to make plastics, found to leach from polycarbonate drinking bottles into humans
Elderly Women With 'Dowager's Hump' May Be At Higher Risk Of Earlier Death “Hyperkyphosis, or "dowager's hump" — the exaggerated forward curvature of the upper spine seen commonly in elderly women — may predict earlier death in women whether or not they have vertebral osteoporosis, UCLA researchers have found.”
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Treatment & Medication
High Blood Pressure Could Be Caused By A Common Virus, Study Suggests “A member of the herpes virus family, CMV affects all age groups and is the source of congenital infection, mononucleosis, and severe infection in transplant patients. By the age of 40, most adults will have contracted the virus, though many will never exhibit symptoms. Once it has entered the body, CMV is usually there to stay, remaining latent until the immune system is compromised, when it then reemerges. Previous epidemiological studies had determined that the CMV virus was linked to restenosis in cardiac transplant patients, a situation in which the heart's arteries "reblock." The virus had also been linked to the development of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the heart's arteries. … "Viruses have the ability to turn on human genes and, in this case, the CMV virus is enhancing expression of renin, an enzyme directly involved in causing high blood pressure," says Crumpacker. When the scientists inactivated the virus through the use of ultraviolet light, renin expression did not increase, suggesting that actively replicating virus was causing the increase in renin.”
Marine fish food in the United States and methylmercury risk. (Int J Environ Health Res. 2009) “Confined to this seafood source, trends of landings indicating high concentration species (above 0.7 ppm, tilefish, shark, king mackerel and swordfish) were significantly decreased. People bought stable amount of medium MeHg level species (0.3-0.7 ppm, grouper, Spanish mackerel) but less amount of low concentration level species (below 0.3 ppm, catfish, tuna and southern flounder).”
Memory Takes a Hit During Menopause “"The good news is that when women are finished with the menopause transition and in steady postmenopause, cognitive performance, memory, learning, all that comes back to premenopause levels," said Dr. Arun S. Karlamangla, an associate professor of medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and the study's senior author.”
Mom and Baby Alike May Benefit From Exercise “"We know that women who exercise during pregnancy have less chance of developing certain conditions like gestational diabetes," said Dr. Raul Artal, chairman of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health for the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "Not only that, exercise maintains musculoskeletal fitness. Women can cope with the anatomical and physiological changes of pregnancy better when they're in good shape. They also tolerate labor better and recover more quickly from delivery." The baby also benefits. One study found that when an expectant mother works out, her fetus reaps cardiac benefits in the form of lower fetal heart rates. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day most days of the week. First, though, all women should consult a doctor to make sure it's OK. “
Arsenic In Irrigation Water Is Transferred To Crops
Excessive Cola Consumption Can Lead To Super-sized Muscle Problems, Warn Doctors ““We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralisation and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes” says Dr Moses Elisaf from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Ioannina, Greece. “Evidence is increasing to suggest that excessive cola consumption can also lead to hypokalaemia, in which the blood potassium levels fall, causing an adverse effect on vital muscle functions.” A research review carried out by Dr Elisaf and his colleagues has shown that symptoms can range from mild weakness to profound paralysis. Luckily all the patients studied made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took oral or intravenous potassium. … It appears that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks – glucose, fructose and caffeine. “The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalaemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients” says Dr Elisaf. “However in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role. This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose. “Despite this, caffeine free cola products can also cause hypokalaemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhoea.” The authors argue that in an era when portion sizes are becoming bigger and bigger, the excessive consumption of cola products has real public health implications. “Although most patients recover when they stop drinking cola and take potassium supplements, cola-induced chronic hypokalaemia can make them more susceptible to potentially fatal complications, such as an irregular heartbeat” says Dr Elisaf. “In addition, excessive consumption of any kind of cola can lead to a range of health problems including fatigue, loss of productivity and muscular symptoms that vary from mild weakness to profound paralysis.”
Frequent Feedings May Be Making Babies Fat “Mothers who fail to notice signs that their babies are full tend to overfeed them, resulting in excess weight gain when the infants are between 6 months and a year old, a new study has found. The finding comes from a study by Rutgers University researchers of 96 low-income black and Hispanic mothers who formula-fed their babies. The mothers recorded information about their babies' feedings, and researchers visited the mothers when the babies were 3, 6 and 12 months old to observe feedings and to weigh the babies. The study looked at a number of possible variables linked to infant weight gain and found that the number of feedings a day at 6 months approached significance in predicting weight gain from 6 to 12 months. It also found that mothers who were less sensitive to signals that their babies were full had infants who gained more weight.“
Fructose overconsumption causes dyslipidemia and ectopic lipid deposition in healthy subjects with and without a family history of type 2 diabetes (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009)
Link Between Vitamin D Insufficiency And Bacterial Vaginosis In Pregnant Women “Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Because having BV puts a woman at increased risk for a variety of complications, such as preterm delivery, there is great interest in understanding how it can be prevented. Vitamin D may play a role in BV because it exerts influence over a number of aspects of the immune system. This hypothesis is circumstantially supported by the fact that BV is far more common in black than white women, and vitamin D status is substantially lower in black than white women. This relation, however, has not been rigorously studied.”
Irregular Heartbeat Tied to Alzheimer's Disease “The abnormal heartbeat called atrial fibrillation is associated with later development of Alzheimer's disease, a large-scale study finds.”
Major Depressive Episode and Treatment Among Adults
Chewable Aspirin Is Best for the Heart “Measurements of blood showed clearly that aspirin was absorbed fastest when administered in chewable form and swallowed. "This supports the recommendation to use chewable [aspirin] formulation in the treatment of ACS," the researchers say. ACS refers to "acute coronary syndrome," the general medical term meaning heart attack or sudden onset of angina. Current guidelines call for giving heart attack patients one aspirin tablet and for them to chew it to speed up its anti-blood-clotting properties. Aspirin works within 15 minutes to prevent the formation of blood clots in people with known coronary artery disease. One adult-strength aspirin contains 325 milligrams. The current study suggests that 325 milligrams of chewable aspirin would be preferred in the setting of a heart attack or sudden onset of angina (chest pain). However, aspirin should still be taken under these circumstances if the chewable form is unavailable. Aspirin use in patients with heart disease is common. People with known coronary disease often are told to take a "baby" aspirin (81 milligrams) daily to reduce their risk of heart attack of stroke.”
Early Fetal Exposure to Hong Kong Flu Linked to Low Adult IQ “Maternal infection with Hong Kong influenza during the first trimester in the 1969-1970 season is associated with reduced intelligence in adult offspring, according to a Norwegian study published online by the Annals of Neurology on April 15. Previous research has tied prenatal influenza exposure to mental retardation, explain Dr. Willy Eriksen and co-authors at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo. However, the effect of prenatal exposure to epidemic influenza on mean intelligence in the general population has yet to be explored. The Honk Kong flu, which had antigenic properties from both an avian virus and a human virus, emerged worldwide in the late 1960s. Norway was affected primarily between November 1969 and January 1970, with an estimated attack rate of 15% to 40%.”
Early Warning Signs: When to Call the Doctor about Alzheimer's
Genes Hike Melanoma Risk Even in Those Who Tan Well “If you have dark eyes, dark hair and tan easily, you might think you don't have to worry much about melanoma. But new research shows that variations of a particular gene can raise the risk of this deadly skin cancer, even in people whose ability to tan may make them appear to be at low risk. Having a variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MCIR) puts people who have dark hair, dark eyes and who tan easily at more than twice the risk of getting melanoma as those with similar complexions who don't have the variant. "Traditionally, a clinician might look at a person with dark hair who did not sunburn easily and classify them as lower risk for melanoma, but that may not be true for all people in the population," said Peter Kanetsky, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a co-author of research on the topic. "Just because you tolerate sun exposure fairly well doesn't mean that you're not at increased risk for melanoma." “
Household Chemicals May Show Up in Blood “"In everyone we found fire retardants, Teflon chemicals, fragrances, bisphenol A or BPA, and perchlorate," she tells WebMD. Flame retardants are found in foam furniture, televisions, and computers. Teflon is used in nonstick coatings and grease-resistant food packaging. BPA is a plastics chemical; perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient, can contaminate tap water and food. Fragrances have been associated with hormone disruption in animal studies. Every woman tested positive for up to 60% of the 75 chemicals evaluated, the report found.”
Influenza pandemic alert raised from phase 4 to 5 (WHO) April 30, 2009
25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels Inversely Associate with Risk for Developing Coronary Artery Calcification. (J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009) “In conclusion, lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations associate with increased risk for incident CAC. Accelerated development of atherosclerosis may underlie, in part, the increased cardiovascular risk associated with vitamin D deficiency.”
60 Percent Of Americans Live In Areas Where Air Is Dirty Enough To Endanger Lives “The report finds that air pollution hovers at unhealthy levels in almost every major city, threatening people’s ability to breathe and placing lives at risk. Some of the biggest sources of air pollution, including dirty power plants, dirty diesel engines and ocean-going vessels, also worsen global warming. “The more we learn, the more urgent it becomes for us to take decisive action to make our air healthier,” added Nolan.”
Abnormal cells in cervix raise cancer risk: study “A woman's age and the type of treatment she gets may play a big role in the risk that abnormal cells on the cervix will return or develop into cervical cancer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. The said older women and women treated with a freezing procedure known as cryotherapy have the highest risks of having the abnormal cells come back or progress to cervical cancer. How severe the abnormal changes in cells were in the first place also plays a role. "We now have a much more clear idea of the risks of recurrent abnormal cells and invasive cervical cancer over time after treatment of these cells," said Joy Melnikow of the University of California Davis, whose study appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The condition, known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), can progress to cancer. The main cause is the human papillomavirus or HPV, a common sexually transmitted disease. Pap smears, which women in most developed countries undergo regularly, sample the cervix for these abnormal cells. CIN is grouped into three stages, ranging from mild or grade 1, with just a few abnormal cells, to severe or grade 3, in which there are precancerous cells on the top layer of the cervix. … The researchers found the risk of cervical cancer and recurrence of grade 2 or grade 3 abnormal cells was highest for women who were over 40, who were previously treated for grade 3 or for those who whose cells were frozen using cryotherapy. Women treated with cone biopsy, a way of surgically removing the cells, were the least likely to have CIN again later. In general, they found most recurrences of CIN happened in the first six years after treatment, Melnikow said in an e-mail. She said women who have had treatment for the condition in the past have "a low, but higher-than-average risk of invasive cancer, so they need regular screening over an extended period of time." Melnikow said women treated surgically have higher risks of bleeding and preterm labor if they become pregnant after treatment. "Younger women planning later pregnancies may prefer cryotherapy; their risk of recurrence is lower and a recurrence can be treated again," she said.”
Age of Flu Victims Has Big Implications “The swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that burst into public consciousness a month ago is starting to behave like a mixture of its infamous, pandemic-causing predecessors. It seems to have a predilection for young adults, as did its notorious ancestor, the 1918 Spanish influenza. Many of the young victims who have become deathly ill turned out to have other medical problems -- a phenomenon first clearly seen with the 1957 Asian flu. H1N1 is spreading easily in North America but sputtering in Europe, just as Hong Kong flu did in 1968. And as in the mini-pandemic of Russian flu in 1977, some people appear to have a degree of immunity. Exactly how swine flu fits into the pantheon of flu pandemics will not be known for a while. It will take months -- and many more victims -- for its full personality and behavior to emerge. But one thing is clear: This is a lot more than just seasonal flu out of season.”
Association between chronic dental infection and acute myocardial infarction. (J Endod. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: This study presents evidence that patients who have experienced myocardial infarction also exhibit an unfavorable dental state of health in comparison to healthy patients and suggests an association between chronic oral infections and myocardial infarction.”
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) – CDC May 10, 2009
Influenza A(H1N1) – WHO update 24 May 10, 2009
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) (CDC – USA) April 30, 2009
Health effects of trans-fatty acids: experimental and observational evidence (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009)) “Conclusions: Controlled trials and observational studies provide concordant evidence that consumption of TFA from partially hydrogenated oils adversely affects multiple cardiovascular risk factors and contributes significantly to increased risk of CHD events.”
Health officials prepare for swine flu 'pandemic' “A new swine flu strain that has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico has “pandemic potential,” the World Health Organization chief said Saturday, and it may be too late to contain the sudden outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped up surveillance across the United States. "We are worried," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat.”
Heavy Drinking Doubles Risk for Essential Tremor Later in Life “Drinking 3 units of alcohol a day increases the risk of developing essential tremor, a new study shows. Investigators reporting in the April issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry warn of the potential cerebellar neurotoxicity of alcohol — particularly important information for those who use alcohol to relieve symptoms of essential tremor. Essential tremor affects an estimated 5 million American adults older than 60 years. The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be the result of damage to the Purkinje cells and disrupted signaling between synapses.”
How Healthy is Your Home? The Bathroom.
Human Swine Influenza Investigation
AGS 2009: Advancing Age Increases Risk for Nonremitting Depression
Angina and gastroesophageal reflux diseases linked “It is well known that non-cardiac chest pain is closely related to gastro-oesophageal reflux diseases (GORD). Chest pain of oesophageal origin can be difficult to distinguish from that caused by cardiac ischaemia because the distal oesophagus and the heart share a common afferent vagal supply, and GORD can cause episodes of non-cardiac chest pain that resemble ischaemic cardiac pain. … The study results suggest that an extra-oesophageal condition causes GORD symptoms and that angina may be misclassified as GORD. Since patients with GORD have an increased risk of angina pectoris in the year after GORD diagnosis, physicians have to be concerned about missing clinically important CAD while evaluating patients for GORD symptoms.”
Autism Diagnosis Often Made Years After It Was Possible “Shattuck says that parents need to trust their instincts. "If there is something about your child's development that concerns you, or if your child is exhibiting some symptoms of autism such as a failure to make eye contact, not speaking one word by 16 months, or not responding to their name, talk to your child's pediatrician," he says. "If the doctor ignores your concerns, seek a second opinion."”
Body Mass Index Above Ideal Range Linked to Large Increase in Mortality Rate “"In adult life, it may be easier to avoid substantial weight gain than to lose that weight once it has been gained," the study authors conclude. "By avoiding a further increase from 28 kg/m² to 32 kg/m², a typical person in early middle age would gain about 2 years of life expectancy. Alternatively, by avoiding an increase from 24 kg/m² to 32 kg/m² (ie, to a third above the apparent optimum), a young adult would on average gain about 3 extra years of life."“
Bullying may make kids psychotic “People who are bullied as children have twice the risk of having delusions, hallucinations or other psychotic symptoms as pre-teens as those who have not been bullied, British researchers said on Monday. They said bullying -- especially when it is severe or chronic -- can have serious consequences for some children, and may even act as a trigger for people who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia. "Chronic or severe peer victimization has nontrivial, adverse, long-term consequences," Andrea Schreier of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Several studies have shown that traumatic events in childhood such as physical or sexual abuse are linked with the development of psychosis in adulthood. And people who display psychotic symptoms in childhood are more prone to develop schizophrenia as adults.”
Cardiovascular Benefits Of Daily Exercise In School Children Are Evident Even After One Year “School children as young as 11 can benefit from a daily exercise programme in reducing their levels of several known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. An ongoing study, which began four years ago in the German city of Leipzig, shows already that children assigned to daily exercise lessons reduced their overall prevalence of obesity, improved their exercise capacity, increased their levels of HDL-cholesterol, and reduced their systolic blood pressure.”
CDC: H1N1 Flu Numbers Represent a "Very Great Underestimate" “"The virus is continuing to spread.... Fortunately, the severity of illness that we are seeing at this point doesn't look as terrible as a category 5 pandemic...but influenza virus is unpredictable," she said. "It can change over time."” May 11, 2009
Killing Flu Germs: What Works? “But before you douse all your possessions with bleach, there’s one thing you should know: Experts say that you really don’t need to bother. “Honestly, if you’re trying to prevent the flu, there’s just not evidence that spraying everything with disinfectant is going to make any difference,” says Christine Hay, MD, assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Why is that? “Outside of the body, the flu is a really wimpy virus,” Hays says. Other flu experts agree. “There may be some transmission of flu through things like tabletops and doorknobs, but it plays a very minimal role,” says William Schaffner, MD, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine in Nashville. … There have been studies of how long significant amounts of flu germs can survive on surfaces. Estimates range from a few minutes up to 24 hours, depending on the type of surface. (It lives longest on hard surfaces.) While 24 hours seems like a long time, experts downplay the significance. “I’ve looked at the data, and there just isn’t good evidence that environmental surfaces have a significant role in the transmission of the virus,” says Trish M. Perl, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore. Instead, the flu seems to depend more on direct transmission from an infected person. … If you’ve got the urge to clean away flu germs, the best place to start is with your hands. “Covering your mouth and washing your hands are the two most important ways to stop the spread of the flu,” Perl tells WebMD. What should you wash with? You might assume that antibacterial soap would be preferable, but that’s the not the case. First of all, flu is caused by a virus, not bacteria. Second, any type of soap will do. “Time and thoroughness are what matters when it comes to washing your hands,” says Schaffner. “Not the type of soap.” It’s the scrubbing that counts. You’re not killing the virus with soap so much as dislodging it from your skin and sending it down the sink drain. The CDC recommends that you wash your hands for the length of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice, about 15 to 20 seconds. Schaffner says that while 30 seconds would be ideal, he admits that this isn’t always possible. … the three most important things you can do to keep flu germs out of your life. • Regularly wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer. • Cover your mouth when you cough, preferably with something other than your hand. • Get the flu vaccine every year. “
Low Vitamin D Causes Problems For Acutely Ill Patients “"Recently, Vitamin D has been recognised for its many roles beyond the musculoskeletal system. It has been implicated in diabetes, in the immune system, in cancers, in heart disease and in metabolic syndrome." "Vitamin D appears to have roles in controlling sugar, calcium, heart function, gut integrity, immunity and defence against infection. Patients in ICU suffer from different degrees of inflammation, infection, heart dysfunction, diarrhoea and metabolic dysregulation – so vitamin D deficiency may play a role in each of these common ICU conditions."“
Meta-analysis: longitudinal studies of serum vitamin D and colorectal cancer risk. (Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2009) “Conclusions: Our results support suggestions that serum 25(OH)D is inversely related to CRC risk.”
More compressions, fewer interruptions lead to higher cardiac arrest survival “Study highlights: • Survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest patients increased when professional rescuers focused on minimizing interruptions to chest compressions during CPR. • Compression rate was increased to 50 compressions followed by two breaths. • Rescuers delayed other interventions, such as intubation and IVs, until enough compressions had been given."
'Too early' to say flu virus mild “It is too early to assume the swine flu outbreak is a mild infection just because no-one in the UK has died, England's chief medical officer says. Sir Liam Donaldson warned against complacency because flu viruses could change character "very rapidly". “
Urinary Incontinence Pictures Slideshow: Foods and Drinks That Make You Gotta Go
What Is Neuropathy? What Causes Neuropathy? “Neuropathy usually causes pain and numbness in the hands and feet. It can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic disorders, and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes of neuropathy is diabetes. … About 30% of neuropathy cases are considered idiopathic, which means they are of unknown cause. Another 30% of neuropathies are due to diabetes. In fact, about 50% of people with diabetes develop some type of neuropathy. The remaining cases of neuropathy, called acquired neuropathies, have several possible causes, including:…”
Obesity Associated With Higher Risk For Urinary Tract Infections “ "Patients with elevated body mass index should be vigilant about urologic health because even the most simple of urinary tract infections can be deadly if left untreated."“
Outcomes of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke in patients aged 90 years or older. (Mayo Clin Proc. 2009) “By the 30-day follow-up, 2 patients (9%) had a favorable outcome (mRS score, 0-2) and 2 (9%) had moderate disability (mRS score, 3). Most patients died (n=10) or experienced severe disability, defined as an mRS score of 4 or 5 (n=5). Asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 3 patients (14%) and was nonfatal. Most patients aged 90 years or older who received intravenous tPA for acute ischemic stroke had poor 30-day functional outcomes or died. Intravenous tPA treatment in this age group does not improve the outcome of ischemic stroke.”
Pesticide Exposure Found To Increase Risk Of Parkinson's Disease “In a new epidemiological study of Central Valley residents who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, researchers found that years of exposure to the combination of these two pesticides increased the risk of Parkinson's by 75 percent. Further, for people 60 years old or younger diagnosed with Parkinson's, earlier exposure had increased their risk for the disease by as much as four- to six-fold.”
PET bottles potential health hazard “Water bottles made from PET plastic leach compounds that mimic the hormone oestrogen raising questions about their safety, say German researchers. Previous research has focused on plastics containing the chemical bisphenol-a (BPA). During that time regular PET plastic water bottles have maintained a reputation as safe, at least as far as human health is concerned. But new evidence suggests that PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, may not be so benign after all. Scientists at Goethe University in Frankfurt found that estrogenic compounds leach from the plastic into the water.“
Surgery for obesity. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Surgery is more effective than conventional management. Certain procedures produce greater weight loss, but data are limited. The evidence on safety is even less clear. Due to limited evidence and poor quality of the trials, caution is required when interpreting comparative safety and effectiveness.”
Swine Flu One Step Closer to Pandemic “Swine flu has pushed the World Health Organization to raise its pandemic alert level to phase 5, which means that a pandemic is imminent. It's the second time in a week that the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level, which ranges from phase 1 (low risk of a pandemic) to phase 6 (a full-blown pandemic is under way).“
What Every Woman Should Know about Alcohol and Pregnancy
Mexico Swine Flu Epidemic Worries World “Mexico's deadly swine flu outbreak is caused by the same virus identified in the U.S., says CDC Acting Director Richard Besser, MD. The CDC is analyzing 14 virus samples sent from Mexico. Seven of them, the CDC learned today, are very similar to the unusual swine flu strain isolated from U.S. patients. … Alarmingly, the flu outbreak in Mexico is striking healthy young people -- a pattern that would be expected if a flu virus new to humans emerged. "Because these cases are not happening in the very old or the very young, which happens with seasonal influenza, this is an unusual event and a cause for heightened concern," Hartl said in a CBC interview.“
Experts: Chances Low of Swine Flu Outbreak Becoming a Pandemic “"We have a lot more tools to combat a pandemic of flu viruses today than we have ever had before," said Dr. Tomas Aragon, who heads the UC Berkeley center for infectious diseases and emergency readiness. Besides the relatively new influenza anti-viral drug called Tamiflu, which is known to be effective against this version of swine flu, Aragon noted, scientists are now able to determine the specific genetic subtype of a flu virus involved in an outbreak, which helps them develop highly specific vaccines. There are also many new antiviral drugs available to fight the virus, as well as antibiotics to combat secondary infections. Tamiflu and another anti-viral drug called Relenza are now stockpiled by the government and are being released as needed, Aragon said. By raising the pandemic alert level on swine flu from phase 3 to 4 Monday, the World Health Organization confirmed that the disease was now spreading through human-to-human contact and that community-level outbreaks outside of Mexico had been found. “
Forcing Cleaner Manufacturers to Come Clean “There's a lot at stake: studies show links between chemicals in common household cleaners and respiratory irritation, asthma, and allergies. Independent research has also documented troubling hormone-disrupting qualities of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) -- commonly found in detergents, disinfectants, stain removers, and floor cleaners. And because many cleaning chemicals survive the sewage system and are released into streams, there is growing concern that such chemicals pose a threat to fish and other aquatic wildlife, causing, among other things, the "feminization" of male fish and throwing ecosystems out of balance.”
Fresh fruit allergies on the rise “It used to be an apple a day kept the doctor away but it seems the reverse can sometimes happen. Immunologists in the UK say fruit and vegetables are replacing the peanut as a major cause of allergies in children. Doctors in Australia agree that more and more people are reacting to fresh produce, particularly bananas.”
Experts: Chances Low of Swine Flu Outbreak Becoming a Pandemic “"We have a lot more tools to combat a pandemic of flu viruses today than we have ever had before," said Dr. Tomas Aragon, who heads the UC Berkeley center for infectious diseases and emergency readiness. Besides the relatively new influenza anti-viral drug called Tamiflu, which is known to be effective against this version of swine flu, Aragon noted, scientists are now able to determine the specific genetic subtype of a flu virus involved in an outbreak, which helps them develop highly specific vaccines. There are also many new antiviral drugs available to fight the virus, as well as antibiotics to combat secondary infections. Tamiflu and another anti-viral drug called Relenza are now stockpiled by the government and are being released as needed, Aragon said. By raising the pandemic alert level on swine flu from phase 3 to 4 Monday, the World Health Organization confirmed that the disease was now spreading through human-to-human contact and that community-level outbreaks outside of Mexico had been found. “
Forcing Cleaner Manufacturers to Come Clean “There's a lot at stake: studies show links between chemicals in common household cleaners and respiratory irritation, asthma, and allergies. Independent research has also documented troubling hormone-disrupting qualities of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) -- commonly found in detergents, disinfectants, stain removers, and floor cleaners. And because many cleaning chemicals survive the sewage system and are released into streams, there is growing concern that such chemicals pose a threat to fish and other aquatic wildlife, causing, among other things, the "feminization" of male fish and throwing ecosystems out of balance.”
Fresh fruit allergies on the rise “It used to be an apple a day kept the doctor away but it seems the reverse can sometimes happen.
Pregnant and Older May Mean More Complications “Although the rate of complications during pregnancy has remained unchanged since 1993, the percentage of pregnant women with preexisting conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, has increased, a new study finds. The scientists speculated that the increase was driven by more obese women and more older women having babies. Both obesity and the mother's age have been linked to increased complications during pregnancy and delivery, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "There's the good news and the bad news," said study co-author Dr. William Callaghan, a senior scientist in the CDC's Maternal and Infant Health Branch in the Division of Reproductive Health. "The good news is that we are seeing some improvements. The bad news is that some of the traditional complications of pregnancy -- hemorrhage and hypertension -- are increasing."“
Risk Factors for Falls Identified in Older Adults With Diabetes “An HbA1c level of 6% or lower vs 8% or higher is associated with falls in older patients with diabetes who use insulin but not in those who use oral hypoglycemic agents. • Predictors of falls in older patients with diabetes are reduced peripheral nerve function, poor vision, weight loss, and poor renal function.”
Risk of incident Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism in essential tremor: a population based study. (J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ET were four times more likely than controls to develop incident PD during prospective follow-up. These data confirm and begin to quantify the link between these two diseases.”
Rocket fuel chemical found in baby formula “Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what’s considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found. … No tests have ever shown the chemical caused health problems, but scientists have said significant amounts of perchlorate can affect thyroid function. The thyroid helps set the body’s metabolism. Thyroid problems can impact fetal and infant brain development.”
Serum Antioxidants and Skin Cancer Risk: An 8-Year Community-Based Follow-up Study. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Relatively high serum selenium concentrations are associated with an approximately 60% decrease in subsequent tumor incidence of both BCC and SCC, whereas serum concentrations of carotenoids or alpha-tocopherol are not associated with later skin cancer incidence. A possible U-shaped association between serum selenium concentrations and SCC of the skin needs confirmation.”
‘Silent’ heart attacks more deadly than thought “For a heart attack that might have occurred in the past, doctors look for changes on an electrocardiogram called a Q-wave, a marker for damaged tissue. But not all silent heart attacks result in Q-waves. "Those are the ones we haven't been able to count because we've never had a good way to document them," Kim said. To spot these, Kim and colleagues used a new type of magnetic resonance imaging technology called delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance, which is especially adept at finding damaged heart tissue. … They found that 35 percent of the patients had evidence of a prior heart attack. And they found that these so-called non-Q-wave heart attacks were three times more common than silent heart attacks with Q-waves.”
Swine flu: How serious is the global threat? “Swine flu is one of the many type A influenza viruses. It's unusual for humans to catch swine flu, but occasional cases occur, usually in people who have contact with infected pigs. Like other flu viruses, the swine flu virus changes its DNA as it spreads, giving rise to a number of subtypes. Health officials around the world are concerned about the current swine flu outbreak because: • It's caused by a new strain of swine flu virus, which means humans haven't had a chance to develop antibodies that could be used to make a vaccine. The new strain is a variant of a recognized swine flu virus — swine influenza virus H1N1. The new form contains DNA sequences from human and avian influenza viruses, as well as from other strains of swine influenza. …”
U.S. Steps Up Alert as More Swine Flu Is Found “The United States declared a "public health emergency" yesterday as countries from New Zealand to Scotland investigated suspected cases of illness that they feared might be a strain of swine flu that has been identified in Mexico, the United States and Canada.”
WHO raises swine flu alert level “The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its alert level over swine flu from three to four - two steps short of declaring a full pandemic. WHO Assistant Director General Dr Keiji Fukuda said it signalled a "significant step towards pandemic influenza", but added "we are not there yet". Mexico earlier said it believed 149 people had now died from the swine flu outbreak - only 20 cases are confirmed. Other, milder, cases are confirmed in the US, Canada, Spain and Britain. The WHO's decision to raise the alert level to four came after an emergency meeting of experts, brought forward by a day because of concerns over the outbreak. “
World 'well prepared' for virus “As the UN warned the outbreak might become a pandemic, Dr Keiji Fukuda said years of preparing for bird flu had boosted world stocks of anti-virals. Canada is the latest country to confirm cases after as many as 81 deaths in Mexico and 20 cases in the US. Washington has warned the flu may yet claim American lives. "I do fear that we will have deaths," Dr Anne Schuchat of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters. Eight cases have been confirmed among New York students, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. Several countries in Asia and Latin America have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms. There is currently no vaccine for the new strain of flu but severe cases can be treated with antiviral medication. “
AACR 2009: Oncologists Should Recommend Exercise, But Not Supplements “Oncologists should recommend exercise to cancer patients; there is accumulating evidence to show that it can improve both prognosis and quality of life, according to Melinda Irwin, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology and public health at the Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut. However, the evidence for supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, is insufficient to make any science-based recommendations on their use in cancer patients, according to Cornelia Ulrich, MS, PhD, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of Washington, in Seattle.“
[Air Pollution and Recent Symptoms of Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, and Atopic Eczema in Schoolchildren Aged Between 6 and 7 Years.] (Arch Bronconeumol. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that air pollutants such as SO(2) and CO increase the risk of recent symptoms of asthma and allergic rhinitis in schoolchildren aged between 6 and 7 years in Spain.”
Atherosclerosis and Disc Degeneration/Low-Back Pain - A Systematic Review. (Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Aortic atherosclerosis and stenosis of the feeding arteries of the lumbar spine were associated with DD and LBP. Cardiovascular risk factors had weaker associations, being clearly apparent only in cohorts on elderly people or in large study samples. More prospective clinical studies are needed to further clarify the association of atherosclerosis and low-back disorders.”
Battle of the Sugars: Fructose vs. Glucose “Results show individuals who drank fructose-sweetened beverages gained the same amount of weight as those who drank glucose, but fructose clearly reduced the body's sensitivity to insulin. Fructose drinkers also showed a rise in intra-abdominal fat and demonstrated signs of dyslipidemia, which is marked by increased levels of fat-soluble molecules known for making lipids in the body. These are all traits of metabolic syndrome, which increases a person's risk of heart attack.”
Breast Is Best: New WHI Data Extend CV Benefits of Breast-Feeding to Mom “Women who breast-fed for a year or more were less likely to develop hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease when postmenopausal than women who were pregnant but never breast-fed, a new analysis of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) has found [1]. … “ … A woman who becomes pregnant and does not breast-feed is actually putting herself at risk. So we can talk about the benefits of breast-feeding but perhaps it is better framed as the risks of not breast--feeding."”
Charred Meat May Increase Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer “Over the course of nine years, researchers identified 208 cases of pancreatic cancer. Preferences for high temperature cooked meat were generally linked with an increased risk; subjects who preferred very well done steak were almost 60 percent as likely to get pancreatic cancer as compared to those who ate steak less well done or did not eat steak. When overall consumption and doneness preferences were used to estimate the meat-derived carcinogen intake for subjects, those with highest intake had 70 percent higher risk than those with the lowest intake.”
Consumption of sweet foods and breast cancer risk: a case-control study of women on Long Island, New York. (Cancer Causes Control. 2009) “These results are consistent with other studies that implicate insulin-related factors in breast carcinogenesis.”
Family History of Asthma Boosts Odds Almost 6 Times “Adults with a family history of asthma are up to six times more likely to develop the disease than an average person, say U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers.”
Too much or too little sleep increases risk of diabetes “Researchers at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine have found that people who sleep too much or not enough are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. The risk is 2½ times higher for people who sleep less than 7 hours or more than 8 hours a night.”
Tourette Syndrome And ADHD Frequently Occur Together “The most disabling aspect of Tourette syndrome is that in 90% of cases, it exists in conjunction with another disorder. The most frequent co-occurring condition in people with Tourette is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), though the cause of this association is uncertain. Having one disorder can be disabling enough, but having two means coping with more than twice the disability. … Tourette syndrome has a great spectrum of severity. People with Tourette have motor and vocal tics -- rapid, repetitive, meaningless movements and sounds. Common motor tics include forceful blinking, opening the eyes wide, head shaking and grimacing, while the most common vocal tics are sniffing, throat clearing and grunting. Some people are very mildly affected, while others have more severe symptoms which make the disorder more noticeable and disabling. It is believed that Tourette syndrome affects about 1 in 100 people; however, many people do not seek medical attention for the disorder because the symptoms are so mild. "There are a lot of misconceptions out there about people who suffer from Tourette. The images we see on TV and movies are completely false. I have some patients who have severe tics, but less than 10% of patients with Tourette syndrome swear. It's uncommon," says Pringsheim.”
High fructose corn syrup: How dangerous is it?
Kids Can Make a Beautiful Marriage Ugly “The birth of children has an immediate negative impact on even blissfully happy couples, raising stress and reducing satisfaction levels of husbands and wives, new research says. Reasons for the negative toll kids take on marriage vary between men and women, but researchers say satisfaction levels start dropping as soon as children are born. … There was a significant decrease in marital satisfaction for both men and women after the birth of a child. Sudden increases in problem intensity and poor conflict management, and decreases in relationship confidence, were seen in mothers after birth; a sudden decrease in relationship dedication was seen in fathers. In the couples without children, declines in marital satisfaction occurred gradually over time. Men had decreased relationship dedication, as well, over time. Mothers with daughters had greater decreases in marital satisfaction compared to mothers who had boys. The authors write that their findings are "consistent with previous studies that have shown that male children are associated with lower rates of divorce and higher marital satisfaction, possibly because fathers of girls are less active in childcare than fathers of boys."
Lead In The Blood Increases Women's Mortality “This study shows that environmental toxicants, such as lead, may account for some of the burden of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. It kills nearly half a million women in the United States every year, more than the next five causes of death combined and nearly twice as many as all forms of cancer, including breast cancer. The authors conclude, "While the damage may already have been done for some older people, it is important that we recognize the harm that environmental exposure to lead can cause. We must remain vigilant and ensure that lead pollution is minimized for the sake of future generations' health".”
Lifestyle Changes Could Prevent More Colorectal Cancer Than Screening “Researchers from the United Kingdom predict that "realistic" lifestyle modifications involving diet and exercise would lead to a 26% reduction in the number of cases of colorectal cancer in the British population. This would be expected to produce at least an equivalent decrease in the number of deaths, they add. "This is considerably greater than what is likely to be achieved by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program," they note. They previously estimated that this project, which involves 2 yearly screenings with fecal occult blood testing, would reduce colorectal cancer mortality in those screened by 13% to 15% over the next 20 years (J Med Screen. 2008:15:163-174). An added bonus from the lifestyle-modification approach is that it would also prevent deaths from other causes, including cancers of the breast and upper gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, the researchers add.”
Maltreatment in Childhood Linked to Depression and Inflammation Later in Life “The study found that depressed people with a history of maternal rejection, or physical, sexual or other abuse were twice as likely to have elevated inflammation levels compared with controls. In contrast, depressed people without a history of maltreatment had similar inflammation levels as controls.”
Maternal positions and mobility during first stage labour (Cochrane Reviews 2009) “There is evidence that walking and upright positions in the first stage of labour reduce the length of labour and do not seem to be associated with increased intervention or negative effects on mothers' and babies' wellbeing. Women should be encouraged to take up whatever position they find most comfortable in the first stage of labour.”
New Sleep Environment Risk Factors for SIDS Identified “Factors associated with an increased risk for SIDS were bed sharing, particularly for infants younger than 13 weeks; use of duvets; sleeping prone on a sheepskin; sleeping in the house of a friend or a relative vs sleeping in the parental home; and sleeping in the living room vs in the parental bedroom. Pacifier use during the last sleep was associated with a significantly decreased risk for SIDS.“
Position in the second stage of labour for women without epidural anaesthesia (Cochrane Reviews 2009) “The tentative findings of this review suggest several possible benefits for upright posture, with the possibility of increased risk of blood loss greater than 500 ml. Women should be encouraged to give birth in the position they find most comfortable. Until such time as the benefits and risks of various delivery positions are estimated with greater certainty, when methodologically stringent trials' data are available, women should be allowed to make informed choices about the birth positions in which they might wish to assume for delivery of their babies.”
Meat consumption is associated with obesity and central obesity among US adults. (Int J Obes (Lond). 2009) “Conclusions:These US national cross-sectional data show positive associations between MC and risk for obesity and central obesity.”
Mental Health Problems In Childhood May Predict Later Suicide Attempts In Males “Most males who commit suicide or need hospital care for suicide attempts during their teen or early adult years appear to have high levels of psychiatric problems at age 8, according to a new report. However, later suicide attempts in females are not predicted by mental health issues at this age.”
Moms-to-be on seizure med may lower baby IQ “Toddlers of moms who took the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy had lower IQs than the children of women who used other anti-seizure medicines, according to a new study. The valproate children had IQ scores six to nine points lower by age 3, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Kimford Meador of Emory University. The drug, also sold in the U.S. under the brand name Depakote, had previously been linked to birth defects, particularly spina bifida. Women of childbearing age have long been advised to avoid it. “
Packing on Pounds Impacts the Gums “Results showed a waist circumference of more than 40 inches upped the risk for gum disease by 19 percent. Waist circumference and obesity remained significant risk factors even after the investigators accounted for diabetes and smoking. The authors say this is the first evidence linking obesity with periodontal disease.“
Persistent chest pain and no obstructive coronary artery disease. (JAMA. 2009) “Two underdiagnosed cardiac causes for persistent chest pain include microvascular coronary disease and abnormal cardiac nociception. Microvascular coronary disease is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and sudden cardiac death, and treatment directed at improving endothelial function can improve outcomes. Abnormal cardiac nociception is also a cause for persistent chest pain caused by heightened coronary pain perception. Coronary reactivity testing allows for direct measurement of blood flow characteristics in response to vasoactive agents for the diagnoses of microvascular coronary disease and can be a useful tool to differentiate causes of chest pain.”
Pregnant Women Who Smoke, Urged To Give Up Before 15 Week 'Deadline'
[Reliability of food labels from products marketed in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil.] (Rev Saude Publica. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: High indices of non-compliance of nutritional data were found on labels of foods aimed at children and adolescents, indicating the urgent need for surveillance practices and other nutritional labeling measures.”
Rhinitis Associated with Pesticide Exposure among Commercial Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. (Occup Environ Med. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to pesticides may increase the risk of rhinitis.”
Air Pollution Exposure May Slow Fetal Growth “The study found that the risk of a small birth-weight baby increased significantly with each increase in particulate matter of 4 micrograms per cubic meter during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Each 10 parts per billion increase in nitrogen oxide exposure was also associated with a large increase in the risk of a small birth-weight baby. The findings suggest that traffic pollution or living close to a major road could be linked to restricted fetal growth, said David Rich and colleagues from the department of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in Piscataway, N.J. They also found that exposure to particulate matter in later pregnancy was associated with a two- to fivefold increased risk of restricted fetal growth among mothers with separation of the placenta before birth and premature rupture of the membrane, compared with mothers who did not have these complications.“
Asperger Syndrome Tied to Low Cortisol Levels “Low levels of a stress hormone may be responsible for the obsession with routine and dislike for new experiences common in children with a certain type of autism. U.K. researchers found that children with Asperger syndrome (AS) do not experience the normal twofold increase of cortisol upon waking up. Levels of the hormone in their bodies do continue to decrease throughout the day, though, just as they do in those without the syndrome. The body produces cortisol, among other hormones, in stressful situations. Cortisol increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels, among other duties, to signal the body's need to adapt to changes occurring around it. It's thought that the increase shortly after waking helps jump-start the brain for the day ahead, the researchers said. “
Aspirin Linked to Brain Microbleeds “And then, "it is not clear at this point what significance we can attach to seeing microbleeds," Greenberg said. Some studies have shown an association between microbleeds and an increased risk of major bleeding events in the brain, but those studies have included only small numbers of people, he added. There also is some data indicating that microbleeds are associated with reduced brain function, but their role is unclear, because "they tend to travel together with other kinds of small-vessel brain disease," Greenberg said. "It's not clear at this point whether microbleeds are doing any substantial harm to the brain, but we do know that antiplatelet drugs help prevent heart attacks and strokes," Greenberg said. The most that can be said is that the study "is a little bit of a warning for us to think about antiplatelet drug therapy as a risk for hemorrhagic damage to the brain," he said. Therefore, there is no message to physicians yet about who should or should not be prescribed antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin, Greenberg said. "It's important not to overreact until we are sure of what gives people the best combination of benefit without much risk," he said.“
Do minor head impacts in soccer cause concussive injury? A prospective case-control study. (Neurosurgery. 2009) “CONCLUSION: A reduced neuropsychological performance was found after minor head impacts in soccer, even in allegedly asymptomatic players.”
Extreme BMI predicts higher asthma prevalence and is associated with lung function impairment in school-aged children. (Pediatr Pulmonol. 2009)
Severe Adverse Effects of Smoking May Be Reversible if Mothers Quit Early in Pregnancy
Steaming hot tea linked to cancer “Drinking steaming hot tea has been linked with an increased risk of oesophageal (food tube) cancer, Iranian scientists have found. The British Medical Journal study found that drinking black tea at temperatures of 70C or higher increased the risk. Experts said the finding could explain the increased oesophageal cancer risk in some non-Western populations. … Oliver Childs, a spokesman for Cancer Research UK, said: "Tea drinking is part of many cultures, and these results certainly don't point to tea itself being the problem. "But they do provide more evidence that a regular habit of eating and drinking very hot foods and drinks could increase your risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus." He added: "People in this region of northern Iran often drink very hot tea as part of their daily routine. We're a nation of tea lovers in the UK, but we don't tend to drink tea at such high temperatures and we usually add milk, which cools it down."“
Study Finds 1 in 5 Obese Among 4-Year-Olds “A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites. The lead author said that rate is worrisome among children so young, even in a population at higher risk for obesity because of other health problems and economic disadvantages. “
Study finds new evidence of periodontal disease leading to gestational diabetes “A new study by NYU dental researchers has uncovered evidence that pregnant women with periodontal (gum) disease face an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes even if they don't smoke or drink, a finding that underscores how important it is for all expectant mothers – even those without other risk factors – to maintain good oral health.”
Three Drinks a Day Doubles Risk of Tremor “Having more than a couple of drinks a day can double the risk of developing involuntary (essential) tremor, a neurological disorder that affects about 5 million people over the age of 60 in the United States. … The researchers noted that alcohol is a known brain toxin, especially in the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain involved in involuntary tremor. Alcohol is often used to relieve symptoms of essential tremor, but this study suggests alcohol may actually speed progression of the condition and worsen symptoms.”
Too Much Salt Hurting Majority of Americans “Americans already eat way more than the recommended amount of salt, and now the CDC finds that even lower recommendations apply to 70% of us. New data show that the average U.S. adult consumes one-and-a-half teaspoons of salt every day. That's a half teaspoon more than the basic daily recommendation of one teaspoon (about 2,300 milligrams of sodium). But the recommendation is much lower for people with high blood pressure, people over 40, and all African-American adults. These groups should be eating no more than two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt (about 1,500 milligrams of sodium) per day. “
Waist Size Found To Be Predictor Of Heart Failure In Both Men And Women “A life-threatening condition that develops when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, heart failure (also known as congestive heart failure) is usually caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among patients 65 and older, and is characterized by such symptoms as fatigue and weakness, difficulty walking, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and persistent cough or wheezing. … "By any measure – BMI, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio or waist to height ratio –our findings showed that excess body weight was associated with higher rates of heart failure," explains Levitan.”
Weight Gain Early In Life Can Lead To Physical Disabilities In Older Adults “"In both men and women, being overweight or obese put them at greater risk of developing mobility limitations in old age, and the longer they had been overweight or obese, the greater the risk," said lead investigator Denise Houston, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor of gerontology at the School of Medicine and an expert on aging and nutrition. "We also found that, if you were of normal weight in old age but had previously been overweight or obese, you were at greater risk for mobility limitations."”
Your Bathroom May Be a Danger Zone
Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data (Surgical Neurology 2009) “The authors conclude that there is adequate epidemiologic evidence to suggest a link between prolonged cell phone usage and the development of an ipsilateral brain tumor.”
Drinking Water Contaminated With Potent Estrogen, According To Study “They detected estrogen contamination in 60% of the samples (12 of the 20 brands) analyzed. Mineral waters in glass bottles were less estrogenic than waters in plastic bottles. Specifically, 33% of all mineral waters bottled in glass compared with 78% of waters in plastic bottles and both waters bottled in composite packaging showed significant hormonal activity. By breeding the New Zealand mud snail in both plastic and glass water bottles, the researchers found more than double the number of embryos in plastic bottles compared with glass bottles. Taken together, these results demonstrate widespread contamination of mineral water with potent man-made estrogens that partly originate from compounds leaching out of the plastic packaging material. The authors conclude: "We must have identified just the tip of the iceberg in that plastic packaging may be a major source of xenohormone* contamination of many other edibles. Our findings provide an insight into the potential exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals due to unexpected sources of contamination."“
FDA Says To Avoid Pistachios Amid Salmonella Scare “The Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling more than 2 million pounds of its roasted nuts shipped since last fall.”
Optic neuritis and risk of MS: Differential diagnosis and management (Cleve Clin J Med. 2009) “Optic neuritis, a cause of sudden vision loss, often heralds the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) within the next few years. It is important to distinguish optic neuritis from other types of optic neuropathy so that treatment can be started promptly, possibly delaying the onset of MS.”
Over-45s ignore sex disease risks “Sexually transmitted infections have doubled in under a decade in people over 45 and have been rising at a faster rate than in the young, recent figures from the Health Protection Agency show.”
Polypill 'could become a reality' “Critics say the problems of high blood pressure and cholesterol should be tackled with diet and exercise rather than by popping a pill. The polypill used in the latest study combines five active pharmacological ingredients widely available separately - aspirin, a statin to lower cholesterol and three blood pressure-lowering drugs - as well as folic acid. “
Pots, Pans, and Plastics: A Shopper's Guide to Food Safety
Fish in U.S. Rivers Tainted With Common Medications “The common antihistamine diphenhydramine (Benadryl), an anticonvulsant and two types of antidepressants were among the seven types of pharmaceuticals found in the tissue and livers of fish from waterways in or near Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Orlando, Fla. Each river is considered "effluent-dominated," because they receive large amounts of wastewater discharge from nearby sewage treatment plants.”
Mayo Clinic Study Suggests Those Who Have Chronic Pain May Need To Assess Vitamin D Status “This study found that patients who required narcotic pain medication, and who also had inadequate levels of vitamin D, were taking much higher doses of pain medication -- nearly twice as much -- as those who had adequate levels. Similarly, these patients self-reported worse physical functioning and worse overall health perception. In addition, a correlation was noted between increasing body mass index (a measure of obesity) and decreasing levels of vitamin D. Study results were published in a recent edition of Pain Medicine.”
Meat Intake and Mortality (Arch Intern Med. 2009) “Red and processed meat intakes, as well as a high-risk meat diet, were associated with a modest increase in risk of total mortality, cancer, and CVD mortality in both men and women. In contrast, high white meat intake and a low-risk meat diet was associated with a small decrease in total and cancer mortality. These results complement the recommendations by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund to reduce red and processed meat intake to decrease cancer incidence.31 Future research should investigate the relation between subtypes of meat and specific causes of mortality.”
MRI of the breast: does the internet accurately report its beneficial uses and limitations? (Breast J. 2009) “The reading level was close to high school graduate. Internet sites describing breast MRI were mostly commercially sponsored, more often described the potential beneficial uses of the procedure than its limitations, and were of variable quality and high reading level. With the lack of enforceable standards for display of medical information on the Internet, providers should encourage patients to direct their searches to the most credible sites.”
Nestlé's Inspectors Saw Rat Droppings, Rejected Peanuts “Nestlé USA, considering whether to buy ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America, twice sent its own inspectors to check out the company. Both times, they rejected the company after finding sanitary problems at its facilities in Georgia and Texas, noting rat droppings, live beetles, dead insects and the potential for microbial contamination. … Kellogg and other companies that bought products from Peanut Corporation of America told lawmakers yesterday that unlike Nestlé, they did not perform their own inspections. Instead, they relied on third-party audits common in the U.S. food industry. David Mackay, Kellogg's chief executive, said his company trusted audits performed by the American Institute of Baking International, the biggest food-inspection firm in the country. The institute conducted scheduled inspections of PCA's facilities and never flagged serious problems. It issued a "certificate of achievement" and a "superior" rating last August, when PCA was getting results from internal laboratory tests that revealed a salmonella problem in its plant in Blakely, Ga., congressional investigators said. "They gave PCA glowing reviews," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The company was selected by PCA, paid by PCA, and realized that if they didn't give PCA a glowing review, they were not going to get hired again. "They gave PCA a certificate of achievement," added Waxman, who held up the certificate in one hand and with the other waved a photograph, taken by federal investigators, of dead rodents inside a PCA facility. "How do you have a company that looks like this getting a certificate of achievement? . . . It really makes you think there must be something wrong."“
One in seven US teens is vitamin D deficient “Of the specific findings, the authors were particularly concerned about the role of weight in deficiency. "Because vitamin D is stored in body fat, simply increasing the dosage of vitamin D may not be effective in overweight adolescents," notes senior author Dr. Linda M. Gerber, professor of public health in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and professor of epidemiology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "As the prevalence of childhood obesity increases, vitamin D deficiency may increase as well. In this group, appropriate nutrition could solve both problems." Another concern is the increased risk of deficiency in girls, some of whom may become pregnant during adolescence. The authors note that a lack of vitamin D may increase maternal risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes and may be associated with reduced bone mineralization in the offspring.“
Study: Lots of red meat increases mortality risk “Over 10 years, eating the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger daily gave men in the study a 22 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That's compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 5 ounces per week. Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less. For processed meats, the increased risks for large quantities were slightly lower overall than for red meat. The researchers compared deaths in the people with the highest intakes to deaths in people with the lowest to calculate the increased risk. People whose diets contained more white meat like chicken and fish had lower risks of death.”
Use of a Fan May Reduce SIDS Risk (Medscape Pediatrics. 2009)
Wipe out the 10 worst germ hot spots “That metal aeration screen at the end of your kitchen faucet reduces water flow, which is good for the environment, but not so much for your health: Running water keeps the screen moist, an ideal condition for bacteria growth. Because tap water is far from sterile, if you accidentally touch the screen with dirty fingers or food, bacteria can grow on the faucet, explains microbiologist Kelly Reynolds, PhD, an associate professor of community environment and policy at the University of Arizona College of Public Health. Over time, bacteria build up and form a wall of pathogens called biofilm that sticks to the screen. "Eventually, that biofilm may even be big enough to break off and get onto your food or dishes," she notes. … The garbage disposal That raw chicken or spinach you're rinsing for dinner is often loaded with harmful bacteria, which can make the young, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system seriously ill. In fact, there are often more than 500,000 bacteria in the kitchen sink — about 1,000 times more than the average toilet has. Although the metal part of the disposal produces ions that can help kill germs, they still love to grow on the crevices in and around the slimy rubber stopper. That means your disposal can become party central for bacteria, contaminating whatever touches it — dishes, utensils, even your hands. … In tests of 100 vehicles from across the United States, the dashboard was found to be the second-most-common spot for bacteria and mold. (Food spills were number one.) The researchers' rationale: When air — which carries mold spores and bacteria — gets sucked in through the vents, it's often drawn to the dashboard, where it can deposit the spores and germs. Because the dashboard receives the most sun and tends to stay warm, it's prime for growth. … Soap that harbors bacteria may sound ironic, but one recent study found that about 25 percent of liquid soap dispensers in public restrooms were contaminated by fecal bacteria. "Most of these containers are never cleaned, so bacteria grows as the soap scum builds up," says Gerba. "And the bottoms are touched by dirty hands, so there's a continuous culture going on feeding millions of bacteria. … It's the rare eatery that regularly bleaches down condiment containers. And the reality is that many people don't wash their hands before eating, says Reynolds. So while you may be diligent, the guy who poured the ketchup before you may not have been, which means his germs are now on your fries.…”
Aspirin: More Evidence That Low Dose is All That is Needed “The new USPSTF recommendations on the use of aspirin for primary prevention of heart disease are also published in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. They also favor low-dose aspirin, pointing out that a dose of 75 mg/day seems as effective as higher dosages, but that the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding may increase with dose. In his editorial, Mehta notes that these guidelines were last published in 2002 and were based on trials with limited data on women, whereas the new recommendations incorporate the results of the landmark Women's Health Study (WHS), which showed no reduction in MI and death with aspirin but a significant reduction in stroke. The new recommendations thus advise use of aspirin in men to reduce MI and in women to reduce stroke. Mehta points out that a valuable feature of the new USPSTF recommendations is the emphasis on shared decision making: discussing the benefits and risks of initiating aspirin and individualizing decision making to the specific patient or situation. But he adds that there is one group of patients who should absolutely avoid aspirin--those who are at relatively high risk for intracranial bleeding.“
Facemasks Help Prevent Adverse Cardiovascular Effects Caused By Pollution “Diesel exhaust causes arteries to lose their flexibility. Researchers found that exposure to engine pollution resulted in arterial stiffness in a group of healthy volunteers. … There is, however, something that cyclists and pedestrians in smog shrouded cities can do to limit the vascular effects caused by diesel exhaust. In a separate article also published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, researchers report how wearing a facemask reduces exposure to airborne pollution particles and leads to a reduction blood pressure and improved heart rate control during exercise in a city centre environment. Jeremy Langrish from the University of Edinburgh said, "We tested a range of facemasks that differed widely in their efficiency as particle filters. In general, those masks designed to reduce occupational exposure to dusts in the workplace were more efficient than those marketed to cyclists and pedestrians." The authors say, "This simple intervention has the potential to protect susceptible individuals and reduce cardiovascular events in cities with high concentrations of ambient air pollution."“
First Sister Study Results Reinforce the Importance of Healthy Living “Women who maintain a healthy weight and who have lower perceived stress may be less likely to have chromosome changes associated with aging than obese and stressed women, according to a pilot study that was part of the Sister Study. The long-term Sister Study is looking at the environmental and genetic characteristics of women whose sister had breast cancer to identify factors associated with developing breast cancer. This early pilot used baseline questionnaires and samples provided by participants when they joined the Sister Study.”
Students Benefit From Depth, Rather Than Breadth, In High School Science Courses “"As a former high school teacher, I always worried about whether it was better to teach less in greater depth or more with no real depth. This study offers evidence that teaching fewer topics in greater depth is a better way to prepare students for success in college science," Tai said. "These results are based on the performance of thousands of college science students from across the United States."“
Richardson Died From Clot That Compressed Brain
Screening and Prostate-Cancer Mortality in a Randomized European Study (NEJM 2009) “Conclusions PSA-based screening reduced the rate of death from prostate cancer by 20% but was associated with a high risk of overdiagnosis.“
Some Doctors Dropping Patients, Turning to 'Boutique' Care “They're fed up cramming enough patients into a day to make money through insurance reimbursements. They're sick of rushing through appointments, not having time to give annual physicals or coordinate patient care with specialists. The average face time a patient gets at a doctor's appointment is seven minutes, according to national studies. "You can't get out of Starbucks in seven minutes and we're trying to treat life-threatening conditions in seven minutes," said Dr. Kevin Lutz, a Denver physician switching to concierge practice next month. "I don't think it's ethical to try and care for somebody in seven minutes."“
'Watchful Waiting' Safe With Low-Risk Prostate Cancers “Refusing immediate treatment can be safe for men with low-risk prostate cancer if they're closely monitored, new research finds. The multi-center study of American and Canadian patients was conducted between 1991 and 2007. "When or if to treat men with low-risk prostate cancer has always been a challenging question that faces patients and urologists," study author Dr. Scott Eggener, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medial Center, said in a news release from the university. "Some men may be rushing into treatment that won't necessarily benefit them, prevent problems or prolong life. Close observation in certain patients may provide and maintain quality of life without increasing the chances of the cancer spreading." Between 20 percent and 50 percent of American men diagnosed with prostate cancer will eventually die from a cause other than their prostate cancer, he noted. This shows that a large number of patients don't benefit from treatment for their prostate cancer. … "Active surveillance is not a total disregard for patients with prostate cancer. Instead, it identifies men unlikely to be affected by their cancer and encourages frequent monitoring, and then starting therapy at a later appropriate time if needed. Cure rates appear to be identical when these men choose immediate treatment or delayed treatment when prompted by new information about their condition," Eggener said.”
Warning: Alzheimer's risk and Anesthetics “ … for Alzheimer's patients, a cool head may make the disease worse. In the research report, scientists show that a protein associated with Alzheimer's (called "tau") builds up in brain cells at an increased rate when temperatures fall, such as when a patient is anesthetized or experiences hypothermia. This finding should be of immediate concern to surgeons, dentists, and any other health care professionals who anesthetize patients with Alzheimer's or patients at an elevated risk for the disease.”
What is Dementia? What Causes Dementia? Symptoms of Dementia
Over Half Of Kids Born Very Early Need Extra Help At Mainstream Schools
Possible Therapy Takes Bite Out of Peanut Allergy
Probable Carcinogens Found in Baby Toiletries “Some of the biggest names on the market, including Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo and Baby Magic lotion, tested positive for 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, or both, the nonprofit Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported. The chemicals, which the Environmental Protection Agency has characterized as probable carcinogens, are not intentionally added to the products and are not listed among ingredients on labels. Instead, they appear to be byproducts of the manufacturing process. Formaldehyde is created when other chemicals in the product break down over time, while 1,4-dioxane is formed when foaming agents are combined with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals. … The European Union has banned 1,4-dioxane as an ingredient in personal care products, but the Food and Drug Administration has not established a safe limit for the chemical in shampoo, lotion and other toiletries. It maintains that the trace amounts found in those products are not harmful. A 1982 study by the FDA showed that 1,4-dioxane can penetrate human skin when used in lotion. Health advocates argue, however, that federal regulators have not considered the cumulative effect of chemicals in personal care products.”
Any Exercise Good After a Heart Attack “Any exercise program can improve blood flow after a heart attack, but the benefit vanishes just four weeks after exercise is stopped, a new Swiss study finds. … One is about the type of exercise that should be done, Lee said. "Most of the time, we tell patients about aerobic exercises -- running, jogging and swimming," he said. "We haven't thought that resistance exercise, lifting weights and the like, can have an equal benefit. This shows that it does. That there was benefit from aerobic exercise was no surprise. What was a surprise was that resistance exercise gave equal benefit." Second, the loss of benefit after exercising stopped that was seen in the study participants, who by definition are in the highest cardiac risk group because they have had heart attacks, carries a message for lower-risk people, Lee said.”
Aspirin for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events: An Update of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Annals 2009) “Limitations: New evidence on aspirin for the primary prevention of CVD is limited. The dose of aspirin used in the RCTs varied, which prevented the estimation of the most appropriate dose for primary prevention. Several of the RCTs were conducted within populations of health professionals, which potentially limits generalizability. Conclusion: Aspirin reduces the risk for myocardial infarction in men and strokes in women. Aspirin use increases the risk for serious bleeding events.”
Aspirin for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement (Annals 2009) “Recommendations: Encourage men age 45 to 79 years to use aspirin when the potential benefit of a reduction in myocardial infarctions outweighs the potential harm of an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage. (A recommendation) Encourage women age 55 to 79 years to use aspirin when the potential benefit of a reduction in ischemic strokes outweighs the potential harm of an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage. (A recommendation) Evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of aspirin for cardiovascular disease prevention in men and women 80 years or older. (I statement) Do not encourage aspirin use for cardiovascular disease prevention in women younger than 55 years and in men younger than 45 years. (D recommendation).”
Baby bottle chemical is removed “The makers of babies' bottles in the US are to remove a controversial chemical from their products, amid growing concern over its possible effects. The six manufacturers say they are reacting to consumer demand by removing Bisphenol A (BPA) from their bottles. But they will continue selling bottles containing BPA in the UK, a decision which has angered campaigners. The Food Standards Agency insists BPA in UK plastic products is "well below the levels considered harmful". The chemical is widely used in plastic manufacture and is commonly found in food and drink containers. “
Chinese-made drywall ruining homes, owners say “Homeowners' lawsuits contend the drywall has caused them to suffer health problems such as headaches and sore throats and face huge repair expenses. The drywall is alleged to have high levels of sulfur and, according to homeowners' complaints, the sulfur-based gases smell of rotten eggs and corrode piping and wiring, causing electronics and appliances to fail. "It's economically devastating, and it's emotionally devastating," said Florida attorney Ervin A. Gonzalez, who filed one of the lawsuits. It would cost a third of an affected home's value to fix the dwelling, Gonzalez said. "The interior has to be gutted, the homeowners have to continue paying mortgages, and they have to pay for a [temporary] place to live," Gonzalez said.”
Dyslexic Children Should Be Diagnosed Early, UK “Some of the signs in a young child which might indicate dyslexia include difficulties with: - sound discrimination - appreciation of rhyme - short term memory for spoken information - letter naming - number naming - shape copying - postural stability - fine motor coordination There are specific tests for identifying weaknesses in these areas in young children. "Too many parents," says Dr. Gardner, "are encouraged to wait until the child is older before seeking help. In general, the earlier the parent takes action the better."
Heavy? You may live three to 10 years less
High IQ Linked To Reduced Risk Of Death “"People with higher IQ test scores tend to be less likely to smoke or drink alcohol heavily, they eat better diets, and they are more physically active. So they have a range of better behaviours that may partly explain their lower mortality risk," says Dr Batty.”
HIV/AIDS Rate in D.C. Hits 3% “At least 3 percent of District residents have HIV or AIDS, a total that far surpasses the 1 percent threshold that constitutes a "generalized and severe" epidemic, according to a report scheduled to be released by health officials tomorrow. … "Our rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District's HIV/AIDS Administration, who once led the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe. "They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya." "We have every mode of transmission" -- men having sex with men, heterosexual and injected drug use -- "going up, all on the rise, and we have to deal with them," Hader said.”
Indoor environmental risk factors and seasonal variation of childhood asthma. (Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2009) “Contributing factors of asthma for children, regardless of seasonality, included younger age, parental atopy, maternal smoking during pregnancy, breast feeding, and perceived air pollution. After adjusted for salient risk factors, water damage was significantly associated with all subtypes of asthma. Presence of cockroaches was related to the summer/fall asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12-2.55). Visible mold on the walls was associated with an increased occurrence of winter and spring asthma (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.26-1.85 and aOR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.10-1.62, respectively). Passive smoking was shown to be related to spring and summer/fall asthma. Water damage is a possible risk for childhood asthma year-round. Cockroaches and visible mold on the walls may play essential roles for seasonality of childhood asthma in Taiwan. Plausible mechanisms and allergic effects should be further determined. Elimination of these allergens is necessary to help prevent the development of asthma.”
Mortality Results from a Randomized Prostate-Cancer Screening Trial (NEJM 2009) “However, we now know that prostate-cancer screening provided no reduction in death rates at 7 years and that no indication of a benefit appeared with 67% of the subjects having completed 10 years of follow-up. Thus, our results support the validity of the recent recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, especially against screening all men over the age of 75 years.”
Long-term association of food and nutrient intakes with cognitive and functional decline: a 13-year follow-up study of elderly French women. (Br J Nutr. 2009) “These results are consistent with a possible long-term neuroprotective effect of dietary fibre, n-3 polyunsaturated fats and B-group vitamins, and support dietary intervention to prevent cognitive decline.”
Losing Weight Can Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Overweight Patients “For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, one of the American Thoracic Society's three peer-reviewed journals.”
Married, With ADHD “Couples who have a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are nearly twice as likely to divorce or separate as couples who do not have children with the psychiatric disorder, according to a definitive new study that is the first to explicitly explore the question. The reason appears simple: Having a child who is inattentive or hyperactive can be extremely stressful for caregivers and can exacerbate conflicts, tensions and arguments between parents.”
Missing Link Between Fructose, Insulin Resistance Found “"There has been a remarkable increase in consumption of high-fructose corn syrup," said Gerald Shulman of Yale University School of Medicine. "Fructose is much more readily metabolized to fat in the liver than glucose is and in the process can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease," he continued. NAFLD in turn leads to hepatic insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes have both reached epidemic proportions worldwide with the global adoption of the westernized diet along with increased consumption of fructose, stemming from the wide and increasing use of high-fructose corn syrup sweeteners, the researchers noted. High-fructose corn syrup, which is a mixture of the simple sugars fructose and glucose, came into use in the 1970s and by 2005 the average American was consuming about 60 pounds of it per year. Overall, dietary intake of fructose, which is also a component of table sugar, has increased by an estimated 20 to 40 percent in the last thirty years.”
Mom's obesity tied to higher infant mortality “Research shows that babies born to obese mothers are at increased risk for dying, particularly in the first weeks of life, compared to babies born to normal-weight mothers. Given high infant mortality rates in the US as compared to other developed nations, the researchers say, if the results are confirmed, "obesity prevention should be explored as a measure to reduce infant mortality."”
More Evidence Prostate Tests Overdiagnose Cancer
Obama bans 'downer' cows from food supply “The Obama administration on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply. The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse and "downer" cows. The Obama administration finalized the ban on Saturday. "As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don't find their way into the food supply," President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. … The Humane Society's president and chief executive, Wayne Pacelle, said he was pleased that the government "is putting a stop to the inhumane and reckless practice of dragging and otherwise abusing downer cows in order to slaughter them for human consumption."”
Obama warns of US food 'hazard' “Mr Obama cited a string of recent food safety scandals including a salmonella outbreak in peanut products this year that has been linked to nine deaths. The president said recent underfunding and understaffing at the FDA had left the agency unable to conduct annual inspections of more than a fraction of America's 150,000 food processing premises.”
Older Americans May Lack Adequate Nutrition “Many middle-age and older Americans aren't getting enough micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C, all of which play an important role in maintaining health, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed data from more than 6,200 people in four ethnic groups -- white, black, Hispanic and Chinese. More than half of the participants took supplements, and those most likely to use supplements were older, women, white and college-educated. The most common supplements were calcium and vitamin C. Dietary intake of calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C was similar between those who took supplements and those who didn't, but there were differences in median dietary intake levels between the different ethnic groups. Chinese Americans tended to have the lowest dietary intakes of all micronutrients, particularly calcium. Blacks also had significantly lower dietary intakes of calcium than whites and Hispanics.”
1 in 3 Common Cancers May Be Preventable
A new, precise definition of acute myocardial infarction (Cleve Clin J Med. 2009) “The cornerstone of diagnosis remains a high level of clinical suspicion, serial electrocardiograms, and troponin levels.”
Allergy-Proof Your Home One Room at a Time
As Obesity Epidemic Spreads, More Patients Feel It In Their Bones And Joints
Bacterial contaminants in carbonated soft drinks sold in Bangladesh markets. (Int J Food Microbiol. 2009) “These findings suggest that carbonated soft drinks commercially available in Bangladesh pose substantial risks to public health.”
Daily dose of TV doubles asthma risk
[Effects of an exercise program on frontal lobe cognitive function in elders.] (J Korean Acad Nurs. 2009)
Fall prevention: 6 ways to reduce your falling risk
High-Fat Diet Dramatically Increases Cancer Metastasis “Although the link between obesity and cancer is well established, exactly why there is a link remains unclear. Now, an animal study shows that a high-fat diet dramatically increases cancer metastasis, and offers a mechanistic explanation for what has been, up to now, anecdotal evidence. … "If the cancer cells don't have excess lipids, they stick together and form very tight junctions in tumors, but increasing lipids causes them to take on a rounded shape and separate from each other," Dr. Le explained. The team further demonstrated that linoleic acid, which is predominant in polyunsaturated fats, causes increasing membrane phase separation, whereas oleic acid, found in monounsaturated fats, does not.”
Indoor air pollution increases asthma symptoms “"We found that substantial increases in asthma symptoms were associated both with higher indoor concentrations of fine particles and with higher indoor concentrations of coarse particles," said Meredith C. McCormack, MD, MHS, lead author of the study and an instructor with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. For every 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) increase in indoor coarse particle concentration, there was a 6 percent increase in the number of days of cough, wheeze, or chest tightness, after adjusting for a number of factors. For every 10 ug/m3 increase in fine particles measured indoors, there was a 7 percent increase in days of wheezing severe enough to limit speech and after adjusting for various factors, a 4 percent increase in days on which rescue medication was needed. In many cases, the level of indoor fine particle pollution measured was twice as high as the accepted standard for outdoor pollution established by the EPA. "Children spend nearly 80 percent of their time indoors, which makes understanding the effects of indoor air very important," said co-author, Gregory B. Diette, MD, an associate professor in the School of Medicine and co-director of the Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment.“
Indoor Air Pollution? Samples From Couch Cushions And Drywall Reveal Chemicals Used In House “The EPA estimates Americans spend roughly 90 percent of their time indoors, and indoor air pollution - caused by sources ranging from paints to cleaning solvents, personal care products to furnishings - has been linked to a wide variety of adverse health effects. Children, the elderly, and those with chronic ailments like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are particularly vulnerable, perhaps in part due to their weaker immune systems and increased time spent indoors. Many people don't realize the amount of chemicals they introduce into their homes every day. For example, dry-cleaned clothes can emit perchloroethylene, a chemical that has been shown to cause cancer in animals. Studies indicate that people breathe low levels of this chemical in homes where dry-cleaned goods are stored.”
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Prevent Medical Complications Of Obesity, Study Suggests “According to a recent study, diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids protect the liver from damage caused by obesity and the insulin resistance it provokes. This research should give doctors and nutritionists valuable information when recommending and formulating weight-loss diets and help explain why some obese patients are more likely to suffer some complications associated with obesity. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in canola oil and fish.”
Periodontitis And Myocardial Infarction: A Shared Genetic Predisposition “Because it has to be assumed that there is a causal connection between periodontitis and myocardial infarction, periodontitis should be taken seriously by dentists and diagnosed and treated at an early stage. "Aggressive periodontitis has shown itself to be associated not only with the same risk factors such as smoking, but it shares, at least in parts, the same genetic predisposition with an illness that is the leading cause of death worldwide.," warned Schaefer. Knowledge of the risk of heart attacks could also induce patients with periodontitis to keep the risk factors in check and take preventive measures.”
Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule --- United States, 2009 (MMWR 2009)
Sick Building Syndrome: is mould the cause? (Med Mycol. 2009)
Sick House, Suffering Family “But over the next year, they noticed a pattern: The more they were out of the house, the better they felt. After doing some detective work, they discovered that the source of their pain was the place they called home. Shoddy construction and unmended leaks had let moisture in, allowing toxin-producing mold to grow and spread through the three-story house, the Mengs said. A Loudoun jury recently awarded the family $4.75 million, among the largest awards in a mold case in Virginia.“
Silent Strokes More Common in Younger People Than Thought “These so-called silent strokes are "really not silent," said lead study author Dr. Jose Rafael Romero, an assistant professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. "What we saw is that the [brain] damage caused by the silent stroke can be seen by the MRI." "We don't really have a way of ordinarily recognizing this sort of thing, but if it's part of the brain that's not directly involved with motion or our speech, it could impact memory or the mood of the person," added one expert, Dr. Norman Kaplan, clinical professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "There are all sorts of parts of the brain that are not so obvious in what they reflect but nevertheless make up who a person really is." Indeed, stroke researchers point out that those who suffer from silent strokes appear more likely to experience other health problems. "By nature, the [strokes are] very small. But if they happen to occur in a specific part of the brain, then they can produce symptoms that may make somebody suspect," Kaplan said. “
Smoking in pregnancy cuts blood flow to the fetus “Smoking during pregnancy reduces blood flow to the developing fetus and, in turn, retards growth, new research suggests.”
Some Sexually Transmitted Infections Increasing In South Dakota; Lack Of Education, Health Services On American Indian Reservations Partly To Blame “The number of gonorrhea and chlamydia cases in South Dakota peaked at record levels last year, and HIV/AIDS cases also are on the rise, according to the state Department of Health's 2008 infectious disease report, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. The number of chlamydia infections reached an all-time high of 2,948 in 2008, up by 328 since 2007, according to provisional data in the report. Gonorrhea infections increased by 29.4% to 370. There were 34 HIV/AIDS infections reported in 2008, compared with 25 in 2007.”
The role of genes in the current obesity epidemic. (Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2009)
Underlying Sleep Problem Linked To Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder In Children “A study in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests the presence of an intrinsic sleep problem specific to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and supports the idea that children with ADHD may be chronically sleep deprived and have abnormal REM sleep.”
Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds “Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brandname food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's. HFCS use has skyrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has replaced sugar in many processed foods. HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels. "Mercury is toxic in all its forms," said IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. "Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.”
Obese mothers 'risk spina bifida' “Mothers-to-be who are obese increase their odds of having a baby with abnormalities including spina bifida, researchers say. Their analysis of data from 39 studies found obese women were more than twice as likely to have a baby with spina bifida or another neural tube defect. The risk of heart defects and cleft lip was also raised, the Journal of the American Medical Association says. “
Occasional Binge Drinking During Pregnancy Linked to Child Mental Health Problems “Any episodes of consuming 4 or more drinks per day were independently associated with greater risks for mental health problems, particularly hyperactivity and inattention, in girls at 47 months and in both girls and boys at 81 months, after adjustment for a range of prenatal and postnatal factors. Binge drinking was not associated with IQ scores at 49 months, after adjustment for confounders. In the absence of regular daily drinking, consuming 4 or more drinks in a day was still associated with a greater risk for mental health problems, particularly hyperactivity and inattention. "The consumption of = 4 drinks in a day on an occasional basis during pregnancy may increase risk for child mental health problems in the absence of moderate daily levels of drinking," the study authors write. "The main risks seem to relate to hyperactivity and inattention problems."”
Peanut Corporation of America Expands Nationwide Recall of Peanut Butter “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Lynchburg, Va. (January 16, 2009) -- Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies, today announced an expanded recall of peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia processing facility as well as the voluntary recall of peanut paste produced in the same plant because these products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The company on January 13, 2009 previously announced the recall of 21 lots of peanut butter produced on or after July 1, 2008. Today's announcement and voluntary recall affect all peanut butter produced on or after August 8, 2008 and peanut paste produced on or after September 26, 2008 at the Georgia facility. The peanut butter being recalled is sold by PCA in bulk packaging in containers ranging in size from five to 1,700 pounds. The peanut paste is sold in sizes ranging from 35 pound containers to tanker containers. PCA is notifying customers who received the recalled product by telephone or in writing, as well as through the news media and a toll-free 24/7 hotline number. None of the peanut butter or peanut paste being recalled is sold directly by PCA to consumers through retail stores. "Today, the FDA informed PCA that new product samples in unopened containers tested positive for Salmonella," said Stewart Parnell, President of Peanut Corporation of America. The FDA has not yet confirmed the DNA fingerprints of these positive samples to match the strains causing the outbreaks of food borne illness in several states. PCA is immediately stopping all production at the Blakely, Georgia facility and notifying its customers to recall and retain all affected product produced during these dates at this plant.”
Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products “The Georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday. … The outbreak, which has spread to 43 states and Canada, is ongoing, but the pace has slowed "modestly," Tauxe said. Half the people made ill have been children. Major-label peanut butter is not suspected to be contaminated with salmonella and is considered safe to eat, according to the FDA. The makers of several major brands, including Peter Pan, Jif and Smuckers, are worried that panicky consumers will stop buying their products, and they have been taking pains to point out that their peanut butters are not part of the outbreak.“
Residential Exposure to Urban Air Pollution, Ankle-Brachial Index, and Peripheral Arterial Disease. (Epidemiology. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS:: This study adds to the evidence that long-term residential exposure to traffic is associated with atherosclerosis.”
Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls “Note: This list includes food products subject to recall in the United States since January 2009 related to peanut butter and peanut paste recalled by Peanut Corporation of America. This list will be updated as new information is received. This information is current as of the date indicated. Once included, all food recalls will remain listed. If we learn that any information is not accurate, we will revise the list as soon as possible.”
Breast Cancer Risk Declines Quickly After Stopping Hormone Therapy: WHI Data in NEJM
Childhood obesity in Australia remains a widespread health concern that warrants population-wide prevention programs (Med J Aust 2009) “Some commentators downplay the health implications of childhood and adolescent obesity,8,11 but there is considerable evidence that obesity results in immediate and longer-term health consequences in children, and especially adolescents. These range from orthopaedic complications, sleep apnoea and hepatic steatosis to more common manifestations of cardiovascular disease risk factors, type 2 diabetes and psychosocial problems, including low self-esteem and depression.12 There are also the problems associated with the common pattern of obesity progressing into adulthood, leading to earlier development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.13 More recent data have indicated clearly that many of these ill-health consequences of excessive weight are present in children and adolescents who are defined as overweight.14 As a consequence, early intervention in overweight children and adolescents appears justified, and highlighting the extent of the problem of overweight should not be dismissed as an attempt to exaggerate the level of weight problems in children and adolescents.”
Cognitive decline in early Parkinson's disease. (Mov Disord. 2009) “We found that 31% of newly diagnosed idiopathic PD patients have measurable cognitive decline at an early stage of disease. Higher education is protective while depression may be predictive of cognitive decline.”
Education Doesn't Slow Alzheimer's Decline “Education does not slow the rate of cognitive decline among the elderly, new research shows. The finding contradicts several earlier studies that suggested more education lowered the risk for Alzheimer's disease and dementia. "Your rate of cognitive decline really doesn't depend on the number of years of schooling you've had," said study author Robert S. Wilson, a professor of neuropsychology at Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. However, more education "does give you the advantage of having a higher level of cognitive functioning in old age. You have to decline for somewhat longer to reach the effect where you're no longer able to be independent and engage in self-care," he noted.”
Feds Open Criminal Probe of Peanut Producer “Federal officials have launched a criminal investigation into the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) -- the company at the heart of the salmonella outbreak -- for allegedly shipping peanut products it knew had tested positive for that bacteria.”
Imaging strategies for low-back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis (The Lancet 2009) “Lumbar imaging for low-back pain without indications of serious underlying conditions does not improve clinical outcomes. Therefore, clinicians should refrain from routine, immediate lumbar imaging in patients with acute or subacute low-back pain and without features suggesting a serious underlying condition.”
'Inoculating' Elderly Against Slip-related Falls “Training people to avoid falls by repeatedly exposing them to unstable situations in the laboratory helped them to later maintain their balance on a slippery floor, according to new research.”
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Are Bioidentical Hormones Better? (Dr. Weil)
Bioidentical hormones: Are they safer?
Oprah and Bioidentical Hormones: FAQ
Steer Clear of "Bioidentical" Hormone Therapy
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Air Pollution and Childhood Respiratory Allergies in the United States. (Environ Health Perspect. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence of adverse health for children living in areas with chronic exposure to higher levels of O(3) and PM(2.5) compared with children with lower exposures.”
Cell Phones, Traffic a Deadly Combo for Kids “"The change has to be with the parent," Dr. Judy Schaechter, director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami, said at the time of the April presentation. "Parents need to consider the risk before they buy the young child a cell phone, and parents need to lay down rules and clear consequences for cell phone use, which includes not using it when crossing the street or not on sidewalks. The research provides an opportunity to teach children responsible behavior before they get behind the wheel of a car."“
Dead athletes' brains show damage from concussions “Until recently, the best medical definition for concussion was a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness. It has been considered an invisible injury, impossible to test -- no MRI, no CT scan can detect it. But today, using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”
Fifteen-year longitudinal trends in walking patterns and their impact on weight change1,2,3 (Am J Clin Nutr 2009) “Conclusion: Walking throughout adulthood may attenuate the long-term weight gain that occurs in most adults.“
Food, Cosmetic Labels to Note Dye Derived From Bug “Foods and cosmetics containing the color additives carmine and cochineal extract, which are made from an insect, must list those ingredients on their labels starting on Jan. 5, 2011. The FDA published that new rule in yesterday's edition of the Federal Register, citing reports of "severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis" in a "small subset" of people with allergies.”
Girls Twice As Likely As Boys To Remain Victims Of Bullying, Study Finds “Girls targeted by bullies at primary school are two and a half times more likely to remain victims than boys, according to research from the University of Warwick and University of Hertfordshire. Researchers found girls being directly victimised by bullies (being beaten and suffering physical or verbal threats) at six years old were significantly more likely to still be a direct victim at age ten. … Professor Wolke said: “These findings indicate that even at an early age some victims of bullying remain victims over a long period of time. The development and implementation of intervention programmes that help victims to escape further victimization in primary school are called for.” He added that the findings suggested school professionals, health practitioners and parents should be aware of children showing signs of both physical and emotional health problems, as these appeared to be important risk factors for becoming and remaining a victim.”
Heart Disease: The World's Number One Killer “Heart disease is the number one killer in the world. By 2010, India's population is expected to account for 60 percent of the world's heart disease cases. One percent of the world's population has a genetic mutation that makes them almost guaranteed to have heart trouble, but in South Asia, the frequency of the mutation reaches four percent. The mutation on the heart protein gene MYBPC3 was discovered five years ago in two Indian families with cardiomyopathy, but its significance was not realized until a broader study including almost 1,500 people across India was done. "The mutation leads to the formation of an abnormal protein," Kumarasamy Thangaraj, study leader of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, India, was quoted as saying. "Young people can degrade the abnormal protein and remain healthy, but as they get older it builds up and eventually results in the symptoms we see."”
Hy-Vee Inc. Recalls Bakery Products With Peanut Butter Distributed in Seven States Due to Possible Health Risk “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- WEST DES MOINES, IA -- January 17, 2009 -- Hy-Vee Inc. is voluntarily recalling the following products made in its bakery departments because they contain peanut butter that has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella: Peanut Butter Cookies, Monster Cookies, Peanut Butter Reese's Pieces Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lunchbox Reese's Pieces Cookies, Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies, People Chow Party Mix and Assorted Truffle Fudge. All sell-by dates are included in this recall. The products are sold in various packaging and quantities and have a Hy-Vee price label attached. All items should be destroyed or returned to Hy-Vee for a full refund. The action was taken immediately after Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), the company that supplies bulk peanut butter to Hy-Vee, issued a recall of the peanut butter ingredient used to make the Hy-Vee bakery products. The recall is a precautionary step because of an unresolved nationwide outbreak of salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare cases, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses, such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. The identified items, sold in all Hy-Vee stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota, have not been directly linked to the salmonella outbreak and there have been no reported cases of the illness.”
Lifestyle, genes, and cancer. (Methods Mol Biol. 2009) “It is estimated that almost 1.5 million people in the USA are diagnosed with cancer every year. However, due to the substantial effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on the most prevalent cancers, it has been estimated that 50% of cancer is preventable. Physical activity, weight loss, and a reduction in alcohol use can strongly be recommended for the reduction of breast cancer risk. Similarly, weight loss, physical activity, and cessation of tobacco use are important behavior changes to reduce colorectal cancer risk, along with the potential benefit for the reduction of red meat consumption and the increase in folic acid intake. Smoking cessation is still the most important prevention intervention for reducing lung cancer risk, but recent evidence indicates that increasing physical activity may also be an important prevention intervention for this disease. The potential benefit of lifestyle change to reduce prostate cancer risk is growing, with recent evidence indicating the importance of a diet rich in tomato-based foods and weight loss. Also, in the cancers for which there are established lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity for breast cancer and obesity for colorectal cancer, there is emerging information on the role that genetics plays in interacting with these factors, as well as the interaction of combinations of lifestyle factors.”
Melanoma Rates on the Rise in U.S. “"I believe, since I treat patients with melanoma, that the incidence is increasing not because of increased surveillance and picking up of pre-lesions or over-reading of borderline lesions," Ashinoff said. The public, especially fair-skinned people who are at higher risk for all skin cancers, need to be taught to monitor themselves and seek medical care if they have any questions, she said. "Older patients may lack mobility or are just tired of seeing so many doctors, and may oftentimes come in with thicker, more advanced lesions," Ashinoff said. "I have seen an increase in melanoma in younger patients, especially women, and tanning may play a significant role in this." It is "ominous" that the study showed that incidence of thicker lesions is increasing, Ashinoff said.”
Metabolic syndrome linked to vascular dementia “Individuals with metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes -- may also have an increased risk of developing "vascular" dementia, but not Alzheimer's disease. Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, is a step-wise deterioration in intellectual powers that becomes apparent as different areas of the brain are damaged by a loss of blood supply. Vascular dementia is often associated stroke; high blood pressure and smoking are well known risk factors. Metabolic syndrome is typically diagnosed when a person has three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (another type of blood fat).“
More Americans obese than merely overweight “The number of obese American adults outweighs the number of those who are merely overweight, according to the latest statistics from the federal government. Numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight. It said just under 6 percent are "extremely" obese.”
Assisted living residents face more bone risks “Men and women residing in assisted living facilities are more likely than their peers who are still living independently to have three key risk factors for brittle bones and fractures. But the good news is that all three of these risk factors -- low bone density, low levels of vitamin D, and worse physical function -- can be reversed, Dr. Anne M. Kenny of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington told Reuters Health. And people in assisted living, she added, have special advantages when it comes to tackling these problems.”
Autistic traits 'spread widely' “Seeing autism as a "distinct illness" was probably wrong, they said. Even at this mild level, however, these characteristics - particularly problems communicating with peers and teachers - can be a disadvantage. The findings confirmed that IQ was not an issue - the traits could be present regardless of levels of intelligence. However, it cast some light on the differential in the numbers of boys and girls diagnosed with autism. Girls with autistic traits appeared to be able to compensate for social communication problems if they had sufficient "verbal IQ" - a natural ability to use language well. However, even boys with high "verbal IQ" seemed less able to overcome their communication problems.”
CDC Issues Annual Report on Sexually Transmitted Diseases “The new annual report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for 2007 shows a high burden of STDs, especially among women and racial minorities. In the United States, reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea exceeded 1.4 million in 2007. These illnesses continued to be the most frequently reported infectious diseases nationwide. These STDs may be complicated by loss or impairment of fertility. For example, pelvic inflammatory disease may result from nearly 40% of all untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea infections, causing infertility in up to 50,000 women annually. Ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and other complications may also result from untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea. These complications may be preventable if the disease is diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. Diagnosis and treatment are not difficult, but asymptomatic cases often go undetected, and estimates suggest that more than half of all new infections with chlamydia and gonorrhea remain undiagnosed. The CDC therefore recommends that all sexually active women younger than 26 years be screened annually for chlamydia, and the agency supports the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force for gonorrhea screening in high-risk, sexually active women.“
Chinese Experts Confirm Melamine-Kidney Stone Link “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says melamine-tainted food was not imported into the U.S., though anecdotal — meaning real-life — evidence suggests some products containing the chemical did in fact make it to U.S. shores. In 2007 thousands of U.S. pets were killed or sickened because of melamine contained in pet food that imported from China. Unexplained animal deaths and illnesses continue to this day, without noticeable action or concern by agencies responsible for protecting the public. In the kidney stone study, Chinese researchers analyzed urine sample of 15 Chinese children with kidney stones. The samples were compared to those from other children who consumed the tainted milk but did not develop kidney stones. They concluded that melamine alone can lead to the creation of kidney stones, whose size are directly related with the amount of melamine that is consumed. Not everyone who comes in contact with melamine develops kidney stones, however. The researchers say there is a "safe level," above which the risk escalates.”
Common Oral Osteoporosis Drugs Linked To Serious Jaw Necrosis “Researchers at the University Of Southern California, School Of Dentistry release results of clinical data that links oral bisphosphonates to increased jaw necrosis. The study is among the first to acknowledge that even short-term use of common oral osteoporosis drugs may leave the jaw vulnerable to devastating necrosis, according to a new report.”
Dangers may be lurking in home’s cabinets
Delusions Associated With Consistent Pattern Of Brain Injury “Often bizarre in content and held with absolute certainty, delusions are pathologic beliefs that remain fixed despite clear evidence that they are incorrect. "Delusions are common problems in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders," said Dr. Devinsky. "Psychiatric disorders with delusions, for example- schizophrenia, have been proven to have functional and structural brain pathology. But now improved diagnostic techniques are allowing us to have increased identification of neurologic disorders among other patient populations with delusions." In the study, the author finds that most neurologic patients with delusions usually have lesions in the right hemisphere and/or bifrontal areas. For example, the neurological disorders of Confabulation (incorrect or distorted statements made without conscious effort to deceive), Capgras (the ability to consciously recognize familiar faces but not emotionally connect with them) and Prosopagnosia (patients who may fail to recognize spouses or their own face but generate an unconscious response to familiar faces) result from right sided lesions.”
Doctors report 'alarming' rise of MRSA in kids “Researchers say they found an "alarming" increase in children's ear, nose and throat infections nationwide caused by dangerous drug-resistant staph germs. Other studies have shown rising numbers of skin infections in adults and children caused by these germs, nicknamed MRSA, but this is the first nationwide report on how common they are in deeper tissue infections in the head and neck, the study authors said. These include certain ear and sinus infections, and abscesses that can form in the tonsils and throat. … Sobol said MRSA head and neck infections most likely develop in MRSA carriers, who become susceptible because of ear, nose or throat infections caused by some other bug. Symptoms that it could be MRSA include ear infections that drain pus, or swollen neck lymph nodes caused by pus draining from a throat or nose abcess. Unlike cold and flu bugs, MRSA germs aren't airborne and don't spread through sneezing. … MRSA does not respond to penicillin-based antibiotics and doctors are concerned that it is becoming resistant to others.”
Evaluating the Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Life Expectancy
Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States (NEJM 2009) “Conclusions A reduction in exposure to ambient fine-particulate air pollution contributed to significant and measurable improvements in life expectancy in the United States.”
FDA confirms salmonella in Kellogg's crackers
FDA urges people to avoid peanut butter products “Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination. Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center. "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall," Sundlof told reporters in a conference call.“
Physical Activity and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009) “Conclusions: Physical activity was associated with reduced postmenopausal breast cancer risk, particular to ER-negative tumors. These results, along with heterogeneity in the physical activity-breast cancer relation for subgroups of menopausal hormone therapy use and adiposity, indicate that physical activity likely influences breast cancer risk via both estrogenic and estrogen-independent mechanisms.”
Radon gas action needed across UK “He said: "One of the problems is that the radon level can vary widely from house to house - one can be greatly above the 'action level', while next door the levels are significantly below. "What we need to do is to get the right health messages out there about measuring radon and remedying the problem where it exists."“
Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak “January 17, 2009: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting a very active and dynamic investigation into the source of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. At this time, the FDA has traced one likely source of Salmonella Typhimurium contamination to a plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which manufactures both peanut butter that is institutionally served in such settings as long-term care facilities and cafeterias, and peanut paste—a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts—that is distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal and ice cream. The FDA has notified PCA that product samples originating from its Blakely, Ga., processing plant have been tested and found positive for Salmonella by laboratories in the states of Minnesota, Georgia and Connecticut. The state of Minnesota reported to FDA that its samples of King Nut peanut butter are a genetic match to the strain of Salmonellathat has caused illnesses in the state and around the country. King Nut is a distributor of PCA product.”
Smoking During Pregnancy Fosters Aggression In Children
Survival after 100 years of age: a multivariate model of exceptional survival in Swedish centenarians. ( J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2008) “Hereditary factors, social relationships, marital status, and personality did not contribute to survival prediction in this exceptional age group.”
Top Medical Stories of 2008 (as chosen by the editors of Journal Watch.)
Virginia Child's Kidney Problems May Be Due to Melamine-Tainted Candy
Vitamin E intake, -tocopherol status, and pancreatic cancer in a cohort of male smokers (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009) “Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that higher -tocopherol concentrations may play a protective role in pancreatic carcinogenesis in male smokers.“
Warning Signs and Symptoms of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (Southern Medical Journal 2009) “Results: Overall, 28 cases of spontaneous SAH were identified during the study period. A history of headache as the most frequent warning symptom was present in 64.3% of the cases. Transient loss of consciousness (42.8%), difficulty in walking (21.4%), hemiparesis (14.2%), ocular signs (14.2%) and seizure (3.6%) were the next most frequent symptoms. Hypertension and smoking, the most frequent risk factors for SAH, were found in 39.3 and 32.1% of the cases, respectively. … An atypical headache of abrupt onset should be recognized as an important warning symptom for spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage.”
Women Need 400 Micrograms of Folic Acid Every Day “CDC and the US Public Health Service urge every woman who could become pregnant to get 400 micrograms (400 mcg) of synthetic folic acid every day.”
Workers Exposed To Lead Show More Cognitive Problems Later In Life “Both the developing brain and the aging brain can suffer from lead exposure. For older people, a buildup of lead from earlier exposure may be enough to result in greater cognitive problems after age 55, according to a follow-up study of adults exposed to lead at work. … Among the lead-exposed workers, men with higher cumulative lead had significantly lower cognitive scores. The clearest inverse relationships – when one went up, the other went down – emerged between cumulative lead and spatial ability, learning and memory, and overall cognitive score. This linkage was more significant in the older lead-exposed men, of at least age 55. Their cognitive scores were significantly different from those of younger lead-exposed men even when the researchers controlled for current blood levels of lead. In other words, even when men no longer worked at the battery plants, their earlier prolonged exposure was enough to matter.”
2009 Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedules
Alternative Vaccine Schedule Stirs Debate “A popular book that presents an alternative vaccine schedule for infants and toddlers is flawed, misguided, and puts children at significant risk of preventable diseases, the journal Pediatrics reports in a harshly-worded article. The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, by the widely-followed Robert Sears, MD, of Capistrano Beach, Calif., contains recommendations for vaccines that are at odds with those of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is dangerous, Paul Offit, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, tells WebMD. The book also undermines recommendations by the CDC and the American Academy of Family Physicians, Offit says. His analysis of the book is published in the latest edition of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Sears' book, which has become a best seller and is popular among parents leery of vaccines, has induced many to change vaccine schedules or avoid recommended vaccinations for their children, Offit tells WebMD. … Any delay of vaccines increases the likelihood that children will develop controllable diseases such as pneumococcus, pertussis, and chickenpox, Offit says, and the evidence that vaccines work is overwhelming. "If you withhold or separate or delay vaccines, those children suffer the consequences, and children suffer." … He writes that "recent outbreaks of measles in 15 states" were caused by groups of concerned parents who fell prey to unjustified fears. Offit writes that many parents are wary of accepted recommendations in part because they harbor "a suspicion of profit motive driven by pharmaceutical companies" as well as "misinformation on the Internet." "It's very easy to scare people," Offit says. "It's very hard to unscare them."
Alzheimer's risk upped in senior smokers “Smoking may contribute to dementia in the same way that it affects cardiovascular health -- by damaging the blood vessels and impairing blood flow. As people age, this may accelerate damage to the brain tissue. On an encouraging note, Peters and her colleagues found that while current smokers had a higher Alzheimer's risk across the studies, former smokers did not. It's not clear what this means, according to Peters, but it is possible that the excess risk of Alzheimer's declines once smokers quit.“
Go green for your health and the planet’s “We live in a chemical stew. The average woman uses 12 different personal care products containing 168 different chemicals, according to a 2004 survey of more than 2,300 people by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) — and very few of the items have been tested for safety. When you hang a new shower curtain, you may inhale 108 chemicals over the course of a month, depending on the type of curtain you choose — and many are known to be risky. And if you take a swig of water, you could be sipping chemicals that leach from your plastic grab-and-go bottle, some of which are believed to mimic or interfere with your hormones.“
High Blood Pressure Climbs in Winter “Falling temperatures in winter may cause an unhealthy rise in high blood pressure in elderly people, according to a new study linking cooler temperatures with higher blood pressure. Seasonal variations in blood pressure have been noted for years, but few studies have looked at these temperature-related effects in one of the most at-risk populations: the elderly. Now a large study from France has shown that blood pressure in elderly people varies significantly with the seasons, with rates of high blood pressure readings rising from 23.8% in summer to 33.4% in winter. Blood pressure increases were seen in both the systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom) numbers. "Elderly persons may be particularly susceptible to temperature-related variations in blood pressure," … Researchers say the findings may help may explain the well known seasonal variations in illness and death from stroke, blood vessel rupture, or aneurysm. “
Impact of diet on breast cancer risk. (Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2009) “SUMMARY: Numerous epidemiological studies on diet and breast cancer have been published during our review period. Still, only alcohol intake, being overweight and weight gain have shown consistent and strong positive associations with breast cancer risk.”
High Blood Pressure Climbs in Winter “Falling temperatures in winter may cause an unhealthy rise in high blood pressure in elderly people, according to a new study linking cooler temperatures with higher blood pressure. Seasonal variations in blood pressure have been noted for years, but few studies have looked at these temperature-related effects in one of the most at-risk populations: the elderly. Now a large study from France has shown that blood pressure in elderly people varies significantly with the seasons, with rates of high blood pressure readings rising from 23.8% in summer to 33.4% in winter. Blood pressure increases were seen in both the systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom) numbers. "Elderly persons may be particularly susceptible to temperature-related variations in blood pressure," … Researchers say the findings may help may explain the well known seasonal variations in illness and death from stroke, blood vessel rupture, or aneurysm. “
Lack of sleep 'raises cold risk' “The less an individual slept, the more likely they were to develop a cold. The quality of sleep also appeared to be important. Volunteers who spent less than 92% of their time in bed asleep were five-and-a-half times more likely to become ill than those who were asleep for at least 98% of their time in bed. The researchers believe that lack of quality sleep disturbs regulation of key chemicals produced by the immune system to fight infection. Professor Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at the University of Cardiff, said sleep and the immune system were closely linked. He said: "The immune system may control the sleep-wake pattern and lack of sleep or sleep disturbance may depress the immune response to infection. “
After the fire, other health concerns “She says air quality can be hazardous close to a burning bushfire, with fine particles, such as ash and smoke combining with gases like carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Those who are close to the fire and exposed to this smoke can suffer long-term health effects, such as cardio-respiratory problems and reduced lung function. But while fine particles can remain in the air for many days after the fires, most toxic gases will disperse or react very quickly, and are less likely to be an ongoing problem, she says. One exception is ozone produced by atmospheric reaction with toxic gases – this can affect people many kilometres downwind from the fire and can cause respiratory health problems in those vulnerable. “
Child abuse 'alters stress gene' “Abuse in early childhood permanently alters how the brain reacts to stress, a Canadian study suggests. Analysis of brain tissue from adults who had committed suicide found key genetic changes in those who had suffered abuse as a child. It affects the production of a receptor known to be involved in stress responses, the researchers said. The Nature Neuroscience study underpins the impact of stress on early brain development, experts said. Previous research has shown that abuse in childhood is associated with an increased reaction to stressful circumstances.“
Chinese Drywall a Threat to Homeowners? “The drywall, installed in homes in Florida, may be emitting sulfuric odors, potentially exposing homeowners to respiratory health problems. The emissions can also corrode air conditioning coils and wiring, posing a potential risk of electrical fire. Although a number of drywall manufacturers may be implicated, the most commonly-cited is Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., Ltd. (KPT), a China-based producer. The company regularly prints its name on the back of its drywall, making it the most easily identifiable potential culprit. Florida homeowners have submitted almost 100 complaints to the Florida Department of Health about problems relating to their drywall, prompting U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to petition the CPSC and Environmental Protection Agency to investigate. In a statement, Nelson called for the agencies to determine the number of homeowners potentially affected by the problem, and to decide whether a recall needs to be initiated. Nelson also directed the CPSC to promulgate drywall safety standards to avoid a repeat of the issue in the future. … Homeowners have complained of headaches, dry eyes, and bloody noses, among other allergy-like symptoms. The Florida Department of Health says that preliminary tests show no “immediate health threat,” but is reportedly conducting further tests to determine the extent of health risks. The problem was originally blamed on a shortage of American-manufactured drywall, ostensibly due to the housing boom and extensive construction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Recently, however, suspicions have arisen that the problem dates back further. Some Florida experts have suggested that the defective drywall was installed as early as 2004. “
Common household chemicals tied to infertility “The chemicals Fei and colleagues looked at belong to a group called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, which appear in a variety of common products, from upholstery to pesticides. In particular, the researchers focused on perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, which are respectively called PFOS and PFOA. Studies have linked PFOS and PFOA to toxic effects in the livers, immune systems, and reproductive systems of animals. In people, Fei and colleagues previously found that women with many children had lower blood levels of PFOS and PFOA than did women with fewer children.“
Consumption Of A High-fat Meal Increases Production Of RONS Or "free Radicals" In Young, Obese Women “A new study published in a recent issue of the journal Oxidative Medicine & Cellular Longevity, now links diets with high fat content to the release of excess free radicals in the body. Elevated free radical release in the body, also known as oxidative stress, is sometimes targeted by antioxidants and has been tied to a number of disorders such as heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. The study, which was confined to women, also demonstrated that women who were obese were more likely to have higher and prolonged release of free radicals in the body when compared to non-obese counterparts.”
Drink a day increases cancer risk “A glass of wine each evening is enough to increase your risk of developing cancer, women are being warned. Consuming just one drink a day causes an extra 7,000 cancer cases - mostly breast cancer - in UK women each year, Cancer Research UK scientists say. The risk goes up the more you drink, whether spirits, wine or beer, the data on over a million women suggests. Overall, alcohol is to blame for about 13% of breast, liver, rectum, mouth and throat cancers, the researchers say. They estimate that about 5,000 cases of breast cancer in the UK - 11% of the 45,000 cases diagnosed each year - can be attributed to women's consumption of alcohol. The study looked specifically at women who consumed low to moderate levels of alcohol - defined as three drinks a day or fewer.“
Household Exposure to Paint and Petroleum Solvents, Chromosomal Translocations, and the Risk of Childhood Leukemia “Conclusions: The association of ALL risk with paint exposure was strong, consistent with a causal relationship, but further studies are needed to confirm the association of ALL and AML risk with solvent exposure.”
Household peanut consumption as a risk factor for the development of peanut allergy. (J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: High levels of environmental exposure to peanut during infancy appear to promote sensitization, whereas low levels may be protective in atopic children. No effect of maternal peanut consumption during pregnancy or lactation is observed, supporting the hypothesis that peanut sensitization occurs as a result of environmental exposure.”
Systematic review on the effectiveness of caffeine abstinence on the quality of sleep. (J Clin Nurs. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that caffeine abstinence for a whole day could improve sleep quality. Thus, health practitioners were recommended to include caffeine abstinence in the instructions for sleep hygiene. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of caffeine abstinence in improving sleep quality. It provides evidence for the practice of including caffeine abstinence in sleep hygiene advice.”
Twin study: Diabetes significantly increases risk for Alzheimer's disease and other dementia “Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer's disease — the most common form of dementia — and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins. The risk of dementia is especially strong if the onset of diabetes occurs in middle age, according to the study. "Our results . . . highlighted the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle during adulthood in order to reduce the risk of dementia late in life," explained Dr. Margaret Gatz, who directs the Study of Dementia in Swedish Twins. “
Victim of 2007 Outbreak: 'Salmonella Ruined Me'
Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with coronary artery disease in an Indian population. (Clin Chem Lab Med. 2009) “Conclusions: We believe that, when vitamin B12 is deficient, homocysteine is rapidly metabolized via the transsulfuration pathway leading to increased cysteine levels.”
Vitamin D 'is mental health aid' “They found that compared to those with the highest vitamin D levels, those with the lowest were more than twice as likely to have impaired understanding. Alzheimer's charities said the research was interesting, but more work was needed to understand vitamin D's role. … Dr Iain Lang from the Peninsula Medical School, who worked on the study, said: "For those of us who live in countries where there are dark winters without much sunlight, like the UK, getting enough vitamin D can be a real problem - particularly for older people, who absorb less vitamin D from sunlight. "One way to address this might be to provide older adults with vitamin D supplements. "This has been proposed in the past as a way of improving bone health in older people, but our results suggest it might also have other benefits.“
Women With High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Face Future Of Complications
World's Highest Drug Levels Entering India Stream “Last year, The Associated Press reported that trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals had been found in drinking water provided to at least 46 million Americans. But the wastewater downstream from the Indian plants contained 150 times the highest levels detected in the U.S. … At first, Joakim Larsson, an environmental scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, questioned whether 100 pounds a day of ciprofloxacin could really be running into the stream. The researcher was so baffled by the unprecedented results he sent the samples to a second lab for independent analysis. When those reports came back with similarly record-high levels, Larsson knew he was looking at a potentially serious situation. After all, some villagers fish in the stream's tributaries, while others drink from wells nearby. Livestock also depend on these watering holes.”
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