Sakthi  News -Jan to June 2006

3oth June 2006
Mushrooms As Good An Antioxidant Source As More Colorful Veggies
Portabella and crimini mushrooms rank with carrots, green beans, red peppers and broccoli as good sources of dietary antioxidants, Penn State researchers say.
   The ORAC assay, the most well known test of antioxidant capacity, focuses on the peroxyl radical, the most predominate in the human body. Free radicals, such as the peroxyl radical, are thought to play a role in the aging process and in many diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's and atherosclerosis. Epidemiological studies have shown that those who eat the most fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants have lower incidence of these diseases.

24th June 2006

Common Asthma Inhaler Causing Deaths, Researchers Assert
Three common asthma inhalers containing the drugs salmeterol or formoterol may be causing four out of five U.S. asthma-related deaths per year and should be taken off the market, researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities have concluded after a search of medical literature.
       They base these conclusions on a statistical analysis of 19 published trials involving 33,826 patients. This so-called meta-analysis found that patients who inhaled the long-acting beta-agonists salmeterol (trade names Serevent and Advair, both made by GlaxoSmithKline) or formoterol (trade name Foradil, made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals) were 3.5 times more likely to die from asthma and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized (whether or not death resulted), compared with those taking a placebo.

The reason, say the researchers, is because although these medications relieve asthma symptoms, they also promote bronchial inflammation and sensitivity without warning.
 

24th June 2006
The dirty truth about allergies
18:26 16 June 2006 - NewScientist.com news
    A study that compared lab rodents with their wild counterparts could shed light on whether overly hygienic environments cause allergies and autoimmune disease.
     It is estimated that some 40 to 50 million people suffer from allergies in the US alone. The fact that Western populations appear to have the highest rate of allergies prompted some scientists to come up with the “hygiene hypothesis”, which argues that exposure to more natural environments such as farms early in life helps train the body to respond appropriately to harmless microbes and pollen.
In increasingly sterile Western societies, people are no longer exposed to these allergens, which is why they suffer from so many allergies, the hypothesis claims.
.         Parker speculates that chronically high IgE levels - from exposure to plant particles and non-lethal microbes in childhood - somehow prevent the immune system from overreacting to them.

24th June 2006

Behavioural Therapy Can Restore Ovulation In Infertile Women
Fertility can be restored in some women by the use of behavioural therapy, thus avoiding recourse to expensive medicines and complex procedures, a scientist told the 22nd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Prague, Czech Republic on Tuesday 20 June 2006. Professor Sarah L. Berga, from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, said that her work was the first to show that reducing stress through psychological intervention could restore ovulation in women whose ovarian function had previously been impaired.

"Contrary to what had previously been believed", she said, "we found that multiple small stressors that seemingly would have minimal impact on reproductive competence can play a major role in causing anovulation. Up till now it was thought that failure to ovulate was usually caused by the energy deficits induced by excessive exercise and/or undernutrition, but we asked why women undertake such behaviours. Often dieting and exercise are a way of coping with psychosocial stress, and our previous work had shown that such stress is often increased in women who do not ovulate."

Professor Berga and her team set out to study the causes of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) in women of normal weight who had not had a menstrual period for more than six months. FHA is caused by a prolonged reduction in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which signals the release into the bloodstream of hormones that simulate ovulation.

Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid in women with FHA, as opposed to women who were ovulating normally, showed increased levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress. Chronic elevation of cortisol levels heightens the risk for other health burdens, such as depression or osteoporosis, but chronic cortisol increases can often be reversed with behavioural therapy

 "A staggering 80% of the women who received CBT started to ovulate again, as opposed to only 25% of those randomised to observation", said Professor Berga. "Neither group gained weight nor showed significant changes in their levels of leptin, a hormone involved in regulating body weight and metabolism. This study underlines the important contribution that lifestyle factors play in determining overall health and reproductive health in particular. To reverse stress-induced ovulation, it is not enough simply to address metabolic sources of stress."

Professor Berga told the conference that the recovery of the stress and ovarian axes appears to occur independently of major metabolic changes such as an increase in leptin or thyroxine (a hormone that affects how cells use energetic compounds). Since CBT caused a drop in cortisol and a rise in TSH, it may be that the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, involved in the regulation of metabolism, recovers, but only later.

The current practice in the treatment of anovulatory women is to offer hormonal treatments such as oral contraceptives, if immediate fertility is not desired, or ovulation induction if it is. "Aside from cost, these approaches mask ongoing endocrine disturbance", said Professor Berga. "Since these disturbances pose a risk to overall health, it is important to use a therapy that restores the endocrine system, including the reproductive system. Cognitive behaviour therapy offers a holistic treatment that is safe, cost effective, and easy to implement."

24th June 2006

Over-use Of Antibiotics In Fish-for-food Industry Encourages Bacterial Resistance And Disease
The heavy use of antibiotics in the rearing of fish could be detrimental to the health of the fish, but also that of animals and humans, a recent report says. This practice encourages bacterial resistance and could lead to the evolution of resistant strains of bacteria in animals and humans as well as the fish themselves. A more judicious approach to the use of prophylactic (preventative) antibiotics is necessary.
 

24th June 2006
Study Challenges Myth That Sex Late In Pregnancy Hastens Birth
A new study debunks the widely held belief that engaging in sexual intercourse during the final weeks of pregnancy can hasten labor and delivery.

NaNIn fact, just the opposite was true in 93 women studied at Ohio State University Medical Center. “Patients may continue to hear the ‘old wives’ tale’ that intercourse will hasten labor, but according to this data, they should not hear it from the medical community,” concludes Dr. Jonathan Schaffir, an obstetrician at OSU Medical Center and author of the study published in the June issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Schaffir also said the data don’t support a recommendation to engage in sexual activity, either.

24th June 2006

Cherry Juice May Prevent Muscle Damage Pain
The familiar "no pain, no gain" phrase usually associated with exercise may be a thing of the past if results from a study on cherry juice published in the online version of the British Journal of Sports Medicine prove true in future research.

Historically, a number of approaches to prevent exercise-induced muscle pain and damage have been examined, but few have been effective. cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of muscle damage in a randomized, placebo-controlled study in 14 male college students.

"The anti-inflammatory properties of cherry juice have been examined before, but the focus of this research was on a new area – muscle damage repair," said Connolly. "Only two species of mammals suffer this type of muscle damage – horses and humans."

The study participants were asked to either drink a bottle of the cherry juice blend twice a day for three days before exercise and for four days afterwards, or to drink a placebo juice containing no cherries. The 12-ounce bottle of juice contained the liquid equivalent of 50 to 60 tart cherries blended with commercially available apple juice.

There was a significant difference in the degree of muscle strength loss between those drinking the cherry juice blend and those taking the placebo juice.

24th June 2006
Baby Girls Born To Mothers Burdened By Stress May Be At Risk For Fibromyalgia
Stressful or traumatic events experienced during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the fetus, yet these effects may not become apparent until many years later, according to a study suggesting that girls born of such pregnancies may be at greater risk for developing a painful muscle condition called fibromyalgia as adults.

The study, presented at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN 2006), shows how vulnerable a fetus is to “prenatal programming.” Indeed, animal studies presented at ICN 2006 indicate that a synthetic hormone commonly given to pregnant women at risk for delivering early can permanently affect the newborn’s neuroendocrine system and may have even more profound effects on those born in the next generation. ICN 2006 is being held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh June 19 – 22.

Effects of steroid drug during pregnancy can span generations
  For instance, animals whose grandmothers were treated with glucocorticoids exhibit reduced levels of stress hormones and modified activity.
 

24th June 2006
Music Thought To Enhance Intelligence, Mental Health And Immune System
A recent volume of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences takes a closer look at how music evolved and how we respond to it. Contributors to the volume believe that animals such as birds, dolphins and whales make sounds analogous to music out of a desire to imitate each other. This ability to learn and imitate sounds is a trait necessary to acquire language and scientists feel that many of the sounds animals make may be precursors to human music.

Another study in the volume looks at whether music training can make individuals smarter. Scientists found more grey matter in the auditory cortex of the right hemisphere in musicians compared to nonmusicians. They feel these differences are probably not genetic, but instead due to use and practice.

Listening to classical music, particularly Mozart, has recently been thought to enhance performance on cognitive tests. Contributors to this volume take a closer look at this assertion and their findings indicate that listening to any music that is personally enjoyable has positive effects on cognition. In addition, the use of music to enhance memory is explored and research suggests that musical recitation enhances the coding of information by activating neural networks in a more united and thus more optimal fashion.

Other studies in this volume look at music's positive effects on health and immunity, how music is processed in the brain, the interplay between language and music, and the relationship between our emotions and music.

19th June 2006

Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping Boosts Iron In Infants
Just a two-minute delay in clamping a baby's umbilical cord can boost the child's iron reserves and prevent anemia for months, report nutritionists at the University of California, Davis.

Results of the study, conducted by UC Davis nutrition professor Kathryn Dewey and nutrition graduate student Camila Chaparro at a large obstetrical hospital in Mexico City, will be published June 17 in the British medical journal The Lancet.

"By simply delaying cord clamping for this brief time, we can provide the infant with the extra blood, and the iron it contains, from the placenta," said Dewey, an expert in maternal and infant nutrition. "This is an efficient, low-cost way to intervene at birth without harm to the infant or the mother."

The umbilical-cord clamping procedure halts blood flow from the placenta to the infant in preparation for cutting the umbilical cord. During the past century, it became common practice to clamp the cord about 10 seconds after the baby's shoulders are delivered. However, there has been little scientific research to justify such rapid clamping.

The previous studies conducted on delaying clamping have indicated no risk and some significant benefits to later clamping. Each mother-child pair was randomly assigned to have the umbilical cord clamped at either 10 seconds or two minutes after the baby's shoulders were delivered.
      The study revealed that a two-minute delay in cord clamping at birth significantly increased the child's iron status at 6 months of age, and it documented for the first time that the beneficial effects of delayed cord clamping last beyond the age of 3 months.

This also was the first study to show that the impact of delayed clamping is enhanced in infants that have low birth weights, are born to iron-deficient mothers, or do not receive baby formula or iron-fortified milk.

"The data show that the two-minute delay in cord clamping increased the child's iron reserve by 27-47 mg of iron, which is equivalent to one to two months of infant iron requirements," Dewey said. "This could help to prevent iron deficiency from developing before 6 months of age, when iron-fortified foods could be introduced."

Trans Fat Leads To Weight Gain Even On Same Total Calories, Animal Study Shows
The "apple" body shape that increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease may be accelerated by eating trans fat such as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, according to new animal research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

"Diets rich in trans fat cause a redistribution of fat tissue into the abdomen and lead to a higher body weight even when the total dietary calories are controlled," said Lawrence L. Rudel, Ph.D., professor of pathology and biochemistry and head of the Lipid Sciences Research Program.

"What it says is that trans fat is worse than anticipated," Rudel said. "I was surprised." According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, levels, which increases the risk of coronary artery disease.

Kylie Kavanagh, said that over six years, male monkeys fed a western-style diet that contains trans fat had a 7.2 percent increase in body weight, compared to a 1.8 percent increase in monkeys that ate monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil.

All that extra weight went to the abdomen, and some other body fat was redistributed to the abdomen. Computed tomography (CT) scans showed that the monkeys on the diet containing trans fats had dramatically more abdominal fat than the monkeys on the monounsaturated fat. "We measured the volume of fat using CT," Kavanagh said. "They deposited 30 percent more fat in their abdomen."

The monkeys all were given the same amount of daily calories, with 35 percent of the calories coming from fat. The amount of calories they got should only have been enough to maintain their weight, not increase it, Rudel said. "We believed they couldn't get obese because we did not give them enough calories to get fat."

One group of monkeys got 8 percent of their calories from trans fat while the other group received those calories as monounsaturated fat. The researchers said that this amount of trans fat is comparable to people who eat a lot of fried food.

"We conclude that in equivalent diets, trans fatty acid consumption increases weight gain," said Kavanagh.

Over the entire course of the study, there was a small but significant difference in weight between the two groups. "In the world of diabetes, everybody knows that just 5 percent weight loss makes enormous difference," Kavanagh said. "This little difference was biologically quite significant."

According to the FDA, trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine by adding hydrogen.

19th June 2006

Gut Microbes' Partnership Helps Body Extract Energy From Food, Store It As Fat
Researchers studying mutually beneficial interactions between members of our vast community of friendly gut microorganisms have shown that two common organisms collude and collaborate to increase the amount of calories harvested from a class of carbohydrates found in food sweeteners.

In the study, conducted in previously germ-free mice, colonization with two prominent human gut microbes led to fatter mice.

To one day consider manipulating gut microbes for medical benefits, such as weight loss or gain, scientists need to know who's living in our digestive systems and how they form strategic alliances with one another to benefit themselves and us. They also have to learn how much this cast of microbial characters varies in different human individuals.

"We are superorganisms containing a mixture of not just human cells but also bacterial cells and cells of another microscopic domain of life known as Archaea,"
One such attribute is the ability to digest commonly consumed complex sugars known as polysaccharides. Many types of polysaccharides pass through the small intestine mostly unchanged because our human genome does not have the genes needed to digest them. Bacterial partners living in our colons, such as Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, begin a fermentation process that breaks down these nutrients so that the stored calories can be liberated and absorbed.

Gordon says the results emphasize the need to consider the nutrient value of the foods we consume in the context of the digestive capacity of our individual gut microbial communities.

19th June 2006

Number Of Children And Teens Treated With Antipsychotics Increases Sharply
A steadily increasing number of patients younger than age 20 received prescriptions for antipsychotic medications between 1993 and 2002, according to a report published in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

19th June 2006
Orange, Grapefruit Juice For Breakfast Builds Bones In Rats
It may sound like Saturday cartoons: a strong-boned rat that can't be broken. But a couple of Texas researchers say the real hero is citrus juice.

Orange and grapefruit juice regularly given to lab rats prevented osteoporosis, long considered an unavoidable aging disease in which bones become more likely to break, according to a study by Texas A&M University's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center researchers. The article was published in Elsevier's Nutrition journal.

"They drank it with no problem, every morning," Deyhim said. "They drank more fresh juice than I did during that period."

"A reduction in bone density is caused when there is an increase in oxidants. In these studies, both grapefruit juice and orange juice increased antioxidants in the rats' systems," Patil said. "So that is the benefit since oxidants damage bone cells.

"There are about 400 compounds in citrus," he said. "So we need to find out which compound in citrus caused this."

Patil suspects "limonoid,"a natural citrus compound, which has been increasingly studied for its potential to prevent various human diseases. Limonoids will be the next phase of the study, but there are at least 40 different ones, Patil cautioned.

"This study backs up our thoughts about the value of citrus," Patil said, noting that until researchers completely understand the interaction of grapefruit juice and certain medications, a person should ask a doctor.

"In general, people should eat a variety of all the colors (in food) to get all of the beneficial compounds," Patil added. "And eat fresh."

19th June 2006
Loss Of Central Vision With Age May Be Linked To Quality Of Dietary Carbohydrates
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss in older adults and a person's risk may partly depend upon diet. When it comes to carbohydrates, quality rather than quantity may be more important, according to new research by Allen Taylor, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, and colleagues. Their findings were reported in the April 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Women who consumed diets with a relatively high dietary glycemic index had greater risk of developing signs of early age-related macular degeneration when compared with women who consumed diets with a lower dietary glycemic index,".  High total carbohydrate intake, however, did not significantly increase the risk factor for AMD.

"In other words, the types of carbohydrates being consumed were more important than the absolute amount," explains Taylor, senior author. A high-glycemic-index diet is one that is rich in high-glycemic-index foods, which are converted more rapidly to blood sugar in the body than are low-glycemic-index foods.

"The likelihood of having abnormalities characteristic of AMD on eye exam more than doubled for women who consumed diets with the highest glycemic index, regardless of other factors already known or suspected to increase the risk of AMD, such as age, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and obesity."

AMD primarily and irreversibly affects central vision, which is critical for many activities, such as reading and driving. The disease is caused by the gradual breakdown of light-sensitive cells in the region of the eye's retina called the macula. It is estimated that 1.75 million Americans 40 years of age and older have some manifestation of AMD.
 A diet high in high-glycemic-index foods like white bread and french fries has a higher overall glycemic index than a diet based more heavily on low-glycemic-index foods, such as lentils and yams.

19th June 2006

Step By Step, Cancer Patients Use Exercise To Feel Better
When individuals with breast or prostate cancer followed a moderate, home-based exercise program using resistance bands and walking, the patients had less fatigue during radiation treatments, greater strength and could walk farther and faster in only four weeks, researchers discovered in a pilot study.

Exercise is emerging as a new therapeutic weapon to help cancer patients manage and reduce side effects and improve quality of life. Studies are beginning to show that exercise is safe and feasible for many patients.

This amount of moderate physical activity resulted in the exercisers being able to maintain their strength during radiation (when compared to their baseline strength scores), and to improve aerobic capacity, Mustian said. They also reported significantly less cancer-related fatigue than the non-exercise group. Those who were not exercising showed a great decline in muscle strength, as measured by a handgrip dynamometer.

19th June 2006
Low birth weight and Hyperactivity, low attention span, and impulsive behaviour characterise the syndrome known as hyperkinetic disorder, or HKD for short. It is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed among children, say the authors.

Babies born at term, but weighing 1500 to 2499 g at birth were 90% more likely to develop HKD, while those weighing between 2500 and 2999 g were 50% more likely to develop the disorder than babies weighing over 2999 g at birth.

Of the 834 children with confirmed HKD, nine out of 10 were boys. The age at which the children were diagnosed ranged from 2 to 18 years.

Single parenthood, social and economic deprivation, and young age at parenthood were all risk factors for HKD, but the results still held true even after these had been taken into account and the figures adjusted accordingly.

19th June 2006
Study Concludes That Pesticide Use Increases Risk Of Parkinson's In Men
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that using pesticides for farming or other purposes increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease for men. Pesticide exposure did not increase the risk of Parkinson's in women, and no other household or industrial chemicals were significantly linked to the disease in either men or women.

"This confirms what has been found in previous studies: that occupational or other exposure to herbicides, insecticides and other pesticides increases risk for Parkinson's," By contrast, estrogen may protect women from the toxic effects of pesticides."

Overall, the study found that the men with Parkinson's were 2.4 times more likely to have had exposure to pesticides than those who did not have Parkinson's. Women who had Parkinson's, on the other hand, had a far lower frequency of exposure to pesticides than men with the disease.

19th June 2006
Animal Studies Suggest Vegetables May Reduce Hardening Of Arteries
New research suggests one reason vegetables may be so good for us – a study in mice found that a mixture of five common vegetables reduced hardening of the arteries by 38 percent compared to animals eating a non-vegetable diet. Conducted by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the research is reported in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

"While everyone knows that eating more vegetables is supposed to be good for you, no one had shown before that it can actually inhibit the development of atherosclerosis," said Michael Adams, D.V.M., lead researcher. "This suggests how a diet high in vegetables may help prevent heart attacks and strokes."

The study used specially bred mice that rapidly develop atherosclerosis, the formation on blood vessel walls of fatty plaques that eventually protrude into the vessel's opening and can reduce blood flow. The mice have elevated low-density lipoprotein ( LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, which is also a risk factor for atherosclerosis in humans.

Half of the mice in the study were fed a vegetable-free diet and half got 30 percent of their calories from a mixture of freeze-dried broccoli, green beans, corn, peas and carrots. These five vegetables are among the top-10 vegetables in the United States based on frequency of consumption.

After 16 weeks, the researchers measured two forms of cholesterol to estimate the extent of atherosclerosis. In mice that were fed the vegetable diet, researchers found that plaques in the vessel were 38 percent smaller than those in the mice fed vegetable-free diets. There were also modest improvements in body weight and cholesterol levels in the blood.

19th June 2006
Calorie Restriction May Prevent Alzheimer's Through Promotion Of Longevity Program In The Brain
A recent study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that experimental dietary regimens might calm or even reverse symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The study, which appears in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is the first to show that restricting caloric intake, specifically carbohydrates, may prevent AD by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity. "Both clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that modification of lifestyle factors such as nutrition may prove crucial to Alzheimer's Disease management.

Alzheimer's Disease is a rapidly growing public health concern with potentially devastating effects. An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's Disease and the number of Americans with Alzheimer's has more than doubled since 1980. Presently, there are no known cures or effective preventive strategies. While genetic factors are relevant in early-onset cases, they appear to play less of a role in late-onset-sporadic AD cases, the most common form of AD.
       People with AD exhibit elevated levels of beta-amyloid peptides that cause plaque buildup in the brain (the main characteristic of AD).
 

5th June 2006

Exercise Reverses Unhealthy Effects Of Inactivity
Many of the detrimental effects of physical inactivity can be reversed, and in some cases improved, by a similar period of moderate exercise, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found in a new analysis of data from the first randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of exercise in sedentary overweight men and women.
Just as important, the trial participants who exhibited the greatest decline in physical status during inactivity benefited the most from exercise training, according to the researchers.
These findings linking the ability of exercise training to reverse the negative effects of inactivity can be attributed to the exercise alone, because the participants did not alter their diets during the trial, the researchers said.
"Continuing to lead an inactive lifestyle leads to a gradual decline in many important markers for cardiovascular health," said Jennifer Robbins, an exercise physiologist at Duke, who presented the results of the study June 2, 2006, at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver.
"The good news is that a small amount of physical activity can make a big difference in reducing the risks for developing such conditions as heart disease, stroke or diabetes," she said. "Our findings demonstrate that while the cost of choosing a sedentary lifestyle can be high, switching to an active way of life can be beneficial at any time."
 

4th June 2006

Study: Yoga helps breast cancer patients

Women going through treatment for breast cancer felt better when they tried yoga, according to one of the first scientific studies of its kind.

           Our belief is something as simple and brief as a short (yoga) program would be very useful" at combating side effects from cancer treatment, said Lorenzo Cohen, a psychologist who led the pilot study.

Gut Reaction: Researchers Define The Colon's Genome, Describe The Busy Microbial World Inside
For the first time, scientists have defined the collective genome of the human gut, or colon. Up to 100 trillion microbes, representing more than 1,000 species, make up a motley "microbiome" that allows humans to digest much of what we eat, including some vitamins, sugars, and fiber.

"The GI tract has the most abundant, diverse population of bacteria in the human body," remarks lead author Steven Gill, a molecular biologist formerly at TIGR and now at the State University of New York in Buffalo. "We're entirely dependent on this microbial population for our well-being. A shift within this population, often leading to the absence or presence of beneficial microbes, can trigger defects in metabolism and development of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease."

4th June 2006

Researchers Pinpoint Causes Of Adverse Reactions To Popular Type 2 Diabetes Drugs
Used by several million people worldwide, rosiglitazone (RSG) is an oral agent that helps patients with type 2 diabetes maintain good blood glucose levels by improving how their bodies use insulin.

But RSG, like all the other thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs that can lower blood glucose levels, can cause fluid retention (edema), a condition that puts patients at greater risk for weight gain, vascular complications and heart failure. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures the drugs, reported cases of new onset or worsening macular edema (an eye disorder that leads to blurred or distorted vision) among patients who took RSG. While reports of these complications remain rare, GlaxoSmithKline has added a warning about the risks to the drugs’ labels.

4th June 2006

Type Of Stress, Not Duration, Key To Heart Enlargement
When judging whether or not an enlarged heart is healthy or potentially at risk for heart disease, the nature of the physiological stress that produced the enlargement is more important than the duration of the stress, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center investigators.

"If you look at the hearts of athletes, they are larger than normal," Rockman said. "On the other hand, patients with high blood pressure also tend have larger-than-normal hearts. So why are some cardiac overloads, such as exercise, good for the heart, while others, such as high blood pressure, not?"

In athletes, the heart's pumping chambers enlarge to compensate for the body's increased demand for oxygen-rich blood. But in patients with heart failure, the heart walls themselves become thicker, heavier and less efficient in pumping blood.

"For more than a century there has been intense debate over why some stresses or overloads on the heart are beneficial and others lead to disease," Rockman continued. "The prevailing wisdom was that since exercise is an intermittent event and high blood pressure is a chronic condition, the duration of the cardiac stress was key. However, our studies appear to demonstrate that it is not the duration of stress that leads to a disease state, but rather its nature."
 

4th June 2006

Passive TV Viewing Related To Children's Sleeping Difficulties
A recent Finnish randomized population-based study shows that TV-viewing, and particularly exposure to adult-targeted programs, such as current affairs programs, TV series and police series and movies, markedly increases the risk of sleeping difficulties in 5-6 year old children. Also passive exposure to TV increases sleeping difficulties.
        Quality sleep is essential for children's wellbeing and health. Therefore reducing the quantity of passive TV exposure and limiting children's opportunities to watch adult-targeted programs might help to reduce children's sleeping problems and increase average sleep duration, which could further lead to beneficial changes in children's daytime behavior. Parents should be advised to control the quantity of TV viewing, to monitor the program content viewed, and to limit children's exposure to passive TV. Watching TV at bedtime should be discouraged.

Reference: Paavonen E Juulia, Pennonen Marjo, Roine Mira, Valkonen Satu and Lahikainen Anja Riitta: TV exposure associated with sleep disturbances in 5-to 6-year-old children. J Sleep Research (2006) 15, 154-161.

1st June 2006

Mayo Clinic Studies Find Association Between Acid Reflux And Esophageal Cancer
Two new Mayo Clinic studies draw attention to the risk factors and possible genetic basis for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer (adenocarcinoma). Their team studied 186 cases of esophageal and stomach cancer (adenocarcinoma) and found a significant association between esophageal cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as acid reflux.

According to Dr. Locke, the research strengthens the understanding of the connection between acid reflux and esophageal cancer.

"But only about 5 percent of individuals who experience acid reflux will develop Barrett's esophagus," says Dr. Romero. "And once Barrett's esophagus is diagnosed, patients have a 30- to 125-fold increased risk of developing esophageal cancer."

Barrett's esophagus is a condition that occurs when acid reflux stimulates changes in the lining of the esophagus so that it resembles the lining of the intestines. Currently, the only way to identify Barrett's esophagus is by performing an endoscopy.

"Acid reflux is such a common problem that it is unrealistic to perform an endoscopic examination on everyone who experiences it," explains Dr. Locke. "Thus, in order to learn what's causing this increase in esophageal cancer, we first need to know what's causing Barrett's esophagus and whether there are any genetic risks for which acid reflux patients could be screened."
 

1st June 2006

Calorie Restriction Appears Better Than Exercise At Slowing Primary Aging
The researchers also found that calorie restriction (CR) decreases the circulating concentration of a powerful inflammatory molecule called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). They say the combination of lower T3 levels and reduced inflammation may slow the aging process by reducing the body's metabolic rate as well as oxidative damage to cells and tissues.

Previous research on mice and rats has shown that both calorie restriction and endurance exercise protect them against many chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. However, the research has shown that only CR increases the animals' maximum lifespan by up to 50 percent. These animal studies suggest that leanness is a key factor in the prevention of age-associated disease, but reducing caloric intake is needed to slow down aging.

For the new study, researchers examined 28 members of the Calorie Restriction Society who had been eating a CR diet for an average of six years. Although the CR group consumed fewer calories -- averaging only about 1,800 per day -- they consumed at least 100 percent of the recommended daily amounts of protein and micronutrients. A second group of 28 study subjects was sedentary, and they ate a standard Western diet. A third group in the study ate a standard Western diet -- approximately 2,700 calories per day -- but also did endurance training. The researchers found reduced T3 levels -- similar to those seen in animals whose rate of aging is reduced by CR -- only in the people on CR diets.

But their serum concentrations of two other hormones -- thyroxin (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) -- were normal, indicating that those on CR were not suffering from the thyroid disease of clinical hypothyroidism. The findings are published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Interestingly, body fat levels did not affect serum T3 concentrations. The people in the CR group and the endurance athletes had similar amounts and composition of body fat. But although the CR group had lower T3 levels, the exercise group had T3 levels closer to those seen in the sedentary people who ate a standard Western diet.

"The difference in T3 levels between the CR group and the exercise group is exciting because it suggests that CR has some specific anti-aging effects that are due to lower energy intake, rather than to leanness," says first author Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. "These findings suggest that although exercise helps prevent problems that can cut life short -- such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- only CR appears also to have an impact on primary aging."

Primary aging determines maximal length of life. Secondary aging, on the other hand, refers to diseases that can keep a person or an animal from reaching that expected lifespan. Eliminating factors related to secondary aging allows more people to reach their projected length of life. By slowing primary aging, CR may increase maximal lifespan.

In a related study in 1997, co-investigator John O. Holloszy, M.D., professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, reported in the Journal of Applied Physiology that in rats, CR extended life longer than exercise.

"Sedentary rats who ate a standard diet had the shortest average life-spans," Holloszy says. "Those who exercised by running on a wheel lived longer, but animals on calorie restriction lived even longer."

Earlier this year, Fontana's group reported that CR seemed to prevent or delay primary aging in the heart. Ultrasound examinations showed that the hearts of people on calorie restriction were more elastic than those of age- and gender-matched control subjects. Their hearts were able to relax between beats in a way similar to the hearts of younger people.

This latest study targeted another marker of primary aging. The thyroid gland produces critical hormones that play an indispensable role in cell growth and development as well as in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. T4 is the main product secreted by the cells of the thyroid gland, but most actions of thyroid hormone are initiated by T3. Fontana says T3 controls body temperature, cellular metabolism and to some extent, it also appears to be involved with production of free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage cells. All are important aspects of aging and longevity. In fact, a 2002 study in Science magazine from researchers at the National Institute on Aging observed that men with lower body temperatures tended to live longer those with higher body temperatures.

Fontana says lower levels of T3, cholesterol and the inflammatory molecules TNF and C-reactive protein, combined with evidence of "younger" hearts in people on calorie restriction, suggest that humans on CR have the same adaptive responses as did animals whose rates of aging were slowed by CR.

 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, first published ahead of print May 23, 2006 as doi: 10.1210/jc 2006-0328.
 

26th May 2006

One-Third of U.S. Adults Diabetic or Pre-Diabetic

FRIDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has now topped 19 million, and a new study says a third of adults with the disease don't even know they have it.

The researchers found that another 26 percent of adults had "impaired fasting glucose," a precursor to diabetes.

"So, if you add that together with the 9.3 percent of people with diabetes, that means that fully one-third of the adult population -- 73 million Americans -- have diabetes or they may be on their way to getting it," said lead researcher Catherine Cowie, director of the diabetes epidemiology program at the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
The researchers note that about 95 percent of all cases of diabetes in the United States fall under the category of type 2 disease -- a gradual loss of insulin production and sensitivity that's usually linked to overweight and obesity.

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, survey data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2002 indicate the incidence of diabetes among people aged 20 and older has gone from about 5.1 percent of the population in the older survey to 6.5 percent by 2002.
"Since type 2 diabetes is often preventable, almost any is too much," Katz said. "Seeing a steady rise in the rates of this serious and potentially debilitating disease we have the wherewithal to prevent is compelling testimony of past failings and future needs," he said.

This is neither the first, nor the last time this message will be delivered in a scientific paper, Katz said.
"My hope is that we will do what needs to be done to make healthful diets and activity patterns more accessible to all, and diabetes a bit less so," he said.
 

When used indoors under certain conditions, many common household cleaners and air fresheners emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

25th May 2006
Researchers Find Immune-activating Cells In Intestines
University of Minnesota researchers have found a group of cells in the intestinal system of mice that are proven to turn on T-cells, cells that help fight infection.
The research will be published in the May 2006 issue of the journal Immunity, released today.
"This connection between the group of cells and immune response will help in studying and developing treatments for diseases that affect the gastrointestinal system," said Stephen McSorley, Ph.D., professor of medicine and primary investigator on the project.
Researchers at the University developed a tracking system that allowed them to identify when T-cells are activated in response to a salmonella infection. T-cells are one type of white blood cell involved in the body's immune system that helps fight infection.
The researchers found a tiny population of cells in the intestine that signal the T- cells to fight infections. "Without these cells, the T-cells are blind, and the body's immune response in the intestinal system would not engage to fight the infection," McSorley said.

25th May 2006

Simple Lifestyle Changes May Improve Cognitive Function And Brain Efficiency
A UCLA research study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that people may be able to improve their cognitive function and brain efficiency by making simple lifestyle changes such as incorporating memory exercises, healthy eating, physical fitness and stress reduction into their daily lives.

"We've known for several years that diet and exercise can help people maintain their physical health and live longer, but maintaining mental health is just as important," said lead investigator, Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "The UCLA study is the first to show the impact of memory exercises and stress reduction used together with a healthy diet and physical exercise to improve brain and cognitive function."

Researchers found that after just 14 days of following healthy lifestyle strategies, study participants' brain metabolism decreased in working memory regions, suggesting an increased efficiency -- so the brain didn't have to work as hard to accomplish tasks.

Participants on the healthy longevity plan incorporated the following into their daily routine:

To stimulate the brain, memory exercises such as crossword puzzles and brainteasers were conducted throughout the day.
To improve physical fitness, participants took daily walks, which have been found to increase life expectancy and lower the risk of Alzheimer disease.
To improve their diet, study participants on the plan ate five small meals a day, which prevents drops in blood glucose levels since glucose is the main energy source for the brain. In addition, they ate a balanced diet full of omega-3 fats, antioxidants and low glycemic carbohydrates like whole grains.
To manage stress, participants performed daily relaxation exercises. Small notes that stress causes the body to release cortisol, a hormone that can impair memory and damage brain memory cells.
Brain function was tested before and after the 14-day study, using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to measure brain activity. Participants who followed the healthy longevity lifestyle plan demonstrated a five percent decrease in brain metabolism in the part of the brain directly linked to working memory called the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex.

"The finding suggests that for participants who had followed the healthy longevity program, the brain functioned more efficiently and didn't need to use as much glucose to perform effectively," Small said.

In addition, compared to the control group, participants also performed better in verbal fluency, a cognitive function controlled by the same brain region.

"The research demonstrates that in just 14 days, simple lifestyle changes can not only help overall health, but also improve memory and brain function," Small said.

21st May 2006

Study Finds That A Woman's Chances Of Having Twins Can Be Modified By Diet
An obstetrician well known for his care of and research into multiple-birth pregnancies has found that dietary changes can affect a woman's chances of having twins, and that her overall chance is determined by a combination of diet and heredity. By comparing the twinning rate of vegan women, who consume no animal products, with that of women who do eat animal products, Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, found that the women who consume animal products, specifically dairy, are five times more likely to have twins. The study is published in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, available May 20.
 

21st May 2006

Heal Thyself: Systems Biology Model Reveals How Cells Avoid Becoming Cancerous
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and three other institutions have described for the first time a web of inter-related responses that cells use to avoid becoming diseased or cancerous after being exposed to a powerful chemical mutagen. The group led by UCSD bioengineering professor Trey Ideker describe in the May 19 issue of Science an elaborate system of gene control that was triggered by chemical damage to DNA. The information could be used eventually to develop drugs to boost DNA repair and possibly treat xeroderma pigmentosum, a disease in which the body's ability to repair DNA damage caused by ultraviolet light is disabled, Werner syndrome, a premature aging disorder, as well as certain immune deficiencies and other degenerative diseases.
 

20th May 2006

Broccoli, Cauliflower And Genetic Cancer
Need another reason to eat vegetables? A new study at Rutgers shows that certain vegetables -- broccoli and cauliflower, in particular -- have natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary cancers. The widely consumed cruciferous vegetables -- so called because their four-petal flowers resemble crosses -- are abundant in sulforaphane (SFN). This compound had previously been shown to inhibit some cancers in rodents induced by carcinogens -- substances or agents external to the body. The sulforaphane is one of the most powerful anticarcinogens found in food. "It works by increasing the enzymes in your liver that destroy the cancer-inducing chemicals you ingest in food or encounter in the environment."

20th May 2006

Vitamin E In Plant Seeds Could Halt Prostate, Lung Cancer, Says Purdue Scientist
The form of vitamin E found in many plant seeds -- but not in most manufactured nutritional supplements -- might halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells, according to a Purdue University study.

A team led by Qing Jiang (pronounced "ching zhang") has found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells. The vitamin's presence interrupts the synthesis of certain fatty molecules called sphingolipids, important components of cell membranes. However, the gamma-tocopherol leaves healthy human prostate cells unaffected, which could give it value as an anticancer agent.
In 2000 another study by Jiang and colleagues found that gamma-tocopherol inhibits inflammation, which had already been implicated in cancer development. "Foods rich in gamma-tocopherol are also rich in fats, and some products bring other hazards as well," she said. "Corn oil, for example, is rich in linolic acid, which has been shown to promote certain types of cancer in some studies. But sesame seeds and pecans seem to be good all-around choices."week of Dec. 13) online edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2004.