July 16, 2009

Depression: Internet therapy as effective as face-to-face with a therapist

In a discovery that could lead to new treatment approaches for depression, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have shown that Internet-based therapy programs are as effective as face-to-face therapies in combating the illness.

Patients in a clinician-assisted Internet-based treatment program experienced rates of recovery similar to those achieved by face-to-face therapy, the research found.

Moreover, the program – dubbed the Sadness program – required an average of only 111 minutes of clinician email contact per person over an eight-week period, significantly less than other comparable clinician-based therapies.

"The results will come as a surprise to many people who believed Internet-based programs wouldn't work in treating depression," said lead author of the study, Professor Gavin Andrews, from UNSW's School of Psychiatry.

"We knew that the Internet was successful at treating social phobias and other anxiety disorders but these conditions are, in many ways, low-hanging fruit.

"It was assumed that depression would be more difficult because of the lack of motivation usually associated with the illness," he said.

"But that simply wasn't the case."

In the study, Professor Andrews and UNSW colleague Dr Nick Titov, based at St Vincent's Hospital, randomly assigned 45 people who met diagnostic criteria for depression to the Sadness step program or to a waitlist control group.

Those in the treatment program completed six online lessons and weekly homework assignments, received weekly email contact from a clinical psychologist and contributed to a moderated online forum with other participants. They received an average of eight email contacts each from a qualified psychologist.

After completing the program, more than a third (34 percent) no longer met the criteria to be diagnosed as depressed – a result similar to face-to-face therapy.

A significant majority (82 percent) who completed a post-treatment questionnaire reported being either very satisfied or mostly satisfied with the overall program.

The results replicate those from a pilot trial and are consistent with findings in Internet-based trials for other mental disorders.

The findings suggested that the Internet could overcome many of the barriers to seeking treatment for depression – including the stigma associated with seeing a mental health professional, the limited availability of clinicians for face-to-face treatment, and the difficulties associated with seeking treatment during working hours.

For more information on anxiety and depression visit: http://www.crufad.org/

To see the online therapy program visit http://www.climate.tv

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610091431.htm

July 14, 2009

Laptops Influence Fertility in Males

While fatherhood might be far from the minds of most young men, behavior patterns they establish early on may impact their ability to become a dad later in life. Excessive laptop use tops this list of liabilities, according to one reproductive specialist at Loyola University Health System (LUHS).

"Laptops are becoming increasingly common among young men wired into to the latest technology," said Suzanne Kavic, MD, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology at LUHS and associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and department of medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "However, the heat generated from laptops can impact sperm production and development making it difficult to conceive down the road."

Kavic recommends placing laptops on desktops to prevent damaging sperm and decreasing counts and motility. Other tips to protect male fertility include:

Avoiding hot tubs

Wearing boxers instead of briefs

Refraining from ejaculating too frequently (the recommendation is to only engage in sexual intercourse every other day around ovulation)

Exercising moderately (one hour, three to five times per week)

Avoiding exercise that can generate heat or trauma to the genital area

Eating well

Taking a daily multivitamin

Getting eight hours of sleep per night

Staying hydrated and limiting caffeine to no more than two cups per day

Refraining from smoking

Avoiding drugs and excessive alcohol use

Minimizing exposure to toxins

Avoiding excessive weight gain or weight loss

Practicing stress reduction techniques

Forty percent of fertility issues are attributed to males. Other leading causes of male infertility include varicocoeles or enlarged varicose veins in the scrotum. This condition can raise the temperature in the testicles and damage or kill sperm. Other reasons include genital injuries or defects, certain sexually transmitted infections, prostatitis (an infection or inflammation of the prostate), immune and hormonal disorders and erectile dysfunction. Kavic also notes that underlying health issues and medications may be to blame for fertility issues.

"Medications for depression, blood pressure and certain heart conditions may lower libido or cause impotence," said Kavic. "Men should talk with their physicians to see if medication is necessary or if they can switch to another with fewer side effects."

For more on the topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090612202347.htm

July 13, 2009

Cancer: Diet May Prevent and Treat Prostate Cancer

A new review published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics assessed whether certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer. Results suggest that a diet low in fat and red meat and high in fruits and vegetables is beneficial in preventing and treating prostate cancer.

Robert W.-L. Ma and K. Chapman conducted an evidence-based review of dietary recommendations in the prevention of prostate cancer as well as in the management of patients with prostate cancer.

The researchers found that a diet low in fat, high in vegetables and fruit, and avoiding high energy intake, excessive meat, and excessive dairy products and calcium intake may be helpful in preventing prostate cancer, and for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Specifically, consumption of tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green tea, and vitamins including Vitamin E and selenium seemed to propose a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Consumption of highly processed or charcoaled meats, dairy products, and fats seemed to be correlated with prostate cancer.

For more information on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603103811.htm

July 12, 2009

Chronic Illness: Improving Home Environment May Reduce Risk

The origins of many adult diseases can be traced to early negative experiences associated with social class and other markers of disadvantage. Confronting the causes of adversity before and shortly after birth may be a promising way to improve adult health and reduce premature deaths, researchers argue in a paper published June 2 in The Journal of the American Medical Association. These adversities establish biological "memories" that weaken physiological systems and make individuals vulnerable to problems that can lie dormant for years.

"Improving the developmental trajectory of a child by helping the parents and improving the home environment is probably the single most important thing we can do for the health of that child," says co-author Bruce McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. "Adverse childhood experience is one of the largest contributors to such chronic health problems as diabetes and obesity, psychiatric disorders, drug abuse – almost every major public health challenge we face."

In the report, McEwen and his co-authors distinguish between levels of stress experienced by young children. "Positive" and "tolerable" stress, with the support of adults, help the body and brain learn to cope with brief situations of adversity, while "toxic" stress, which can disrupt brain architecture and other organ systems, increases the risk for stress-related disease and cognitive impairment well into adulthood. Major risk factors for toxic stress include extreme poverty, recurrent physical and/or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, severe maternal depression, parental substance abuse, and family violence.

*Adult disease prevention begins with reducing toxic stress in early childhood, as a reduction in the number and severity of early adverse experiences will lead to a decrease in the prevalence of a wide range of health problems.

*High-quality early care and education programs can benefit lifelong health, not just learning, by providing safe, stable, responsive environments and evidence-based treatments for family mental health problems.

*Child welfare services represent an opportunity for lifelong health promotion by augmenting their exclusive focus on child safety and custody with comprehensive developmental assessments and appropriate interventions by skilled professionals.

*Health disparities linked to social class, race, and ethnicity are not primarily about health care access or quality, since these inequalities persist in countries that provide health care for all their citizens. These disparities are rooted in where and how we live, work, and play. Science is now telling us that they're also about how we as a society treat our youngest members.

For more on this topic, click on:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602181955.htm

July 11, 2009

Parenting: Protect Girl Athletes to Prevent Bone Lose and Heart/Blood Vessel Problems

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O., at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has revealed that young female professional dancers face the same health risks as young female athletes when they don't eat enough to offset the energy they spend, and stop menstruating as a consequence.

"These two components of the female athlete tetrad put them at higher risk for the other two; the cardiovascular and bone density deficits of much older, postmenopausal women," according to Dr. Hoch, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Froedtert & the Medical College Women's Sports Medicine Center.

The researchers studied 22 professional ballerinas, all members of the Milwaukee Ballet Company, to determine the prevalence of disordered eating, amenorrhea (lack of menstruation), abnormal vascular function and low bone density. Study findings were presented at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in Seattle, May 30.

The dancers completed questionnaires on their menstrual patterns and eating habits, and underwent a blood test for hormonal levels. Thirty-six percent of the group had disordered eating habits and 77 percent were in a calorie deficit. Twenty-seven percent were currently amenorrheic, 23 percent had low bone mass density and nine percent were taking birth control.

Arterial ultrasound measurements revealed that 64 percent had abnormal artery dilation in response to blood flow.

"It was unknown if professional dancers without menstrual periods have evidence of vascular dysfunction, yet some characteristics of the tetrad were common in this group," says Dr. Hoch. "Eighty-six percent had one or more components, and fourteen percent had all four."

July 10, 2009

High-dose Folic Acid Supplements Improved Vascular Function in Amenorrheic Runners

In a related study, presented earlier at the American Society of Sports Medicine meeting in Tampa, Fla., researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee found that four to six weeks of high-dose folic acid supplementation could improve vascular function in young female runners who were amenorrheic (not menstruating).

This is the first study to use folic acid supplementation to improve vascular function in young runners, and is important because folic acid may not only decrease cardiovascular risks but also improve athletic performance for these women. The research was conducted at Froedtert Hospital.

"Previous studies have shown that amenorrheic women runners have decreased dilation in the main (brachial) artery of the arm in response to blood flow," says lead author Stacy Lynch, M.D., a women's sports medicine fellow at the College. "Athletic amenorrhea has a hormonal profile similar to menopause, when the earliest sign of cardiovascular disease is reduced vascular dilation, which can limit oxygen uptake and affect performance."

While the benefits for women of an active lifestyle, including running, are profound and well-known, there are nearly three million girls in high school sports and approximately 23 million women who run at least six times a week. The prevalence of athletic-associated amenorrhea among these runners is now estimated at 44 percent.

Vascular function returned to normal in the amenorrheic women after folic acid supplementation, and it remained at normal levels in the control group despite supplementation.

Important Tips for Young Female Athletes

Be aware of components of the female athlete tetrad:

Disordered eating,

Pre exercise carbohydrates and hydration (2 hrs. prior to exercise) and a recovery meal (within 30 minutes of exercise) are very important

Menstrual dysfunction

Average age of menarche in US is 12.5. It's abnormal if periods don't start by age 15.

Osteoporosis

"Irregular" weight bearing exercise, between ages 7 and12, is most beneficial for long-term bone mineral density. Calcium requirements for ages 11 to 24, per the National Institutes of Health, are 1,500 mg of calcium and 400 mg of Vitamin D daily

Early cardiovascular disease risk:

ACL prevention programs are a MUST for female soccer, basketball and volleyball players, 6 weeks prior to season

For more information, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090530094456.htm

July 9, 2009

Pregnancy: Get Sufficient Sunshine to Reduce Risk of Bacterial Vaginosis

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.

A recent study showed that 41% of all enrolled women had bacterial vaginosis, and that 93% had 25(OH)D levels indicative of vitamin D insufficiency.

In summary, these findings suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with BV in the first 4 mo of pregnancy. Further, poor vitamin D status may contribute to the strong racial disparity in the prevalence of BV in US women.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514111414.htm

July 8, 2009

Parenting: Use Science to Convince Teens Not To Drink

Assume that your child will be tempted to drink alcohol at the end of the school year, advises the Science Inside Alcohol Project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). So start talking to your child about alcohol right now.

Instead of just asking your teen not to drink, the Science Inside Alcohol Project suggests explaining how alcohol can affect his or her body. Here are five ways alcohol can ruin prom night or graduation:

They May Not Remember - Teens spend months preparing for prom and graduation and cherish those memories throughout their lives. But if they drink, there's a good chance they may not remember any of it. They May Get Into Fights – Research shows that teens who drink are often more violent than those who do not.

They May Get Really Sick – Who wants to spend prom night throwing up or so dizzy that he or she can't dance? Alcohol can irritate the stomach causing dehydration which often leads to vomiting and dizziness. Throwing up also may be a sign of alcohol poisoning, which causes body systems to break down and requires immediate medical care. That's a good way to ruin everyone's night.

They May Feel Horrible for the Next Couple of Days – Even small amounts of alcohol can cause a hangover which can lead to thirst, dizziness and lightheadedness. Headaches caused by blood vessel expansion and sleepiness due to narcotic effects on the central nervous system are other symptoms of a hangover. Your teen may have to forgo events scheduled for the next day or two while trying to get better. 

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140410.htm

July 7, 2009

Parenting: Musical Wetting Alarm Effective for Toilet Training

A new study appearing in Neurology and Urodynamics evaluates the use of a daytime diaper that uses a musical “wetting alarm” for children in day-care centers. The findings show that wetting alarm diaper training is an effective option for toilet training in a child-friendly way.

Parents or day-care providers are informed quickly by the alarm when the diaper is soiled and wetted. The alarm thus releases caretakers from continuous observation of their charges and allows the adults to carry out their activities as long as they stay within the reach of the signal.

Toilet training is a milestone in a child’s development and rearing. The potential for side-effects such as hygienic problems, skin irritation and social embarrassment continues until a child has acquired the skills associated with toilet training. The age of initiation of toilet training has increased from under 18 months in the late 1940s to 21–36 months today. The convenience of disposable diapers, pull-up diapers and more efficient laundry facilities may contribute to this trend. Parents may also choose to postpone toilet training out of a belief that their child is too young to be trained.

In the U.S., approximately 60 percent of children under the age of 5 receive day care outside the home. As a result, they go through toilet training in day care.

 “We believe that one of the important advantages of the wetting alarm diaper training method is that the child and the caregiver are immediately informed of leakage,” says Wyndaele. “The alarm itself distracts the child out of his activity and strengthens the awareness of bladder behavior. By bringing the child to the bathroom at that moment, further reinforcement of its awareness is given.”

For more on this study and topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603180934.htm

July 6, 2009

Suicide: Sedatives and Hypnotics Associated with Increased Risk in Older Adults

Sleeping tablets have been associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly. Researchers have shown that, even after adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions, sedatives and hypnotics were both associated with an increased risk of suicide.

According to one of the researchers, "Sedative treatment was associated with an almost fourteen-fold increase of suicide risk in the crude analyses and remained an independent risk factor for suicide even after adjustment for the presence of mental disorders. Having a current prescription for a hypnotic was associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the adjusted model".

The researchers speculate that the drugs may raise suicide risk by triggering aggressive or impulsive behavior, or by providing the means for people to take an overdose. Given the extremely high prescription rates for these drugs, a careful evaluation of the suicide risk should always precede prescribing a sedative or hypnotic to an elderly individual".

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603195418.htm

July 5, 2009

Overweight Teens More Apt to Commit Suicide

Being overweight — or simply believing they are overweight — might predispose some U.S. teens to suicide attempts, according to a new study.

The study looked at more than 14,000 high school students to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and suicide attempts, as well as the relationship between believing one is overweight — whether true or not —and suicide attempts.

“Our findings show that both perceived and actual overweight increase risk for suicide attempt,” said lead study author Monica Swahn, Ph.D. That association was as strong for boys as for girls, contrary to what the researchers had originally expected.

Teens who believed they were overweight were at greater risk for suicide attempts compared to those who did not believe they were overweight. Similarly, teens with a BMI that indicated they were indeed overweight were more likely to be at risk for suicide attempts. Those who perceived themselves as overweight and who actually had BMIs that put them into the “overweight” or “obese” category also were at greater risk.

 “Youth feel very pressured to fit in and to fit certain limited ideals of beauty,” Swahn said.

“This study adds another wake-up call to providers, parents, teachers and society about the need for screening for depression and suicide risk in all teens, with special attention to teens with perceived or actual obesity,” Omar said.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520064349.htm

July 4, 2009

Parenting: Helping With Homework Not as Helpful as Tying it to Future Goals

Helping middle school students with their homework may not be the best way to get them on the honor roll. But telling them how important academic performance is to their future job prospects and providing specific strategies to study and learn might clinch the grades, according to a research review.

"Middle school is the time when grades and interest in school decline," said Hill. "Entering puberty, hanging out with friends, wanting distance from parents and longing to make one's own decisions win over listening to parents and studying."

But adolescence is also a time when analytic thinking, problem-solving, planning and decision-making skills start to increase, Hill said. At this age, "teens are starting to internalize goals, beliefs and motivations and use these to make decisions. Although they may want to make their own decisions, they need guidance from parents to help provide the link between school and their aspirations for future work."

This type of parental involvement works for middle school students because it is not dependent on teacher relationships, like in elementary school. Middle school students have different teachers for each subject so it is much more difficult for parents to develop relationships with teachers and to influence their teenagers through their teachers, Hill said.

Parents' involvement in school events still had a positive effect on adolescents' achievement, Hill said, but not as much as parents' conveying the importance of academic performance, relating educational goals to occupational aspirations and discussing learning strategies.

"Lack of guidance is the chief reason that academically able students do not go to college," said Hill. "So communicating the value of education and offering curriculum advice about what to focus on helps these students plan their long-term goals."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519134711.htm

July 3, 2009

Alzheimer’s & Aging: Fish and Sunshine Helpful for Cognitive Function

Eating fish – long considered ‘brain food’ – may really be good for the old grey matter, as is a healthy dose of sunshine, new research suggests.

University of Manchester scientists in collaboration with colleagues from other European centres have shown that higher levels of vitamin D – primarily synthesised in the skin following sun exposure but also found in certain foods such as oily fish – are associated with improved cognitive function in middle-aged and older men.

The researchers found that men with higher levels of vitamin D performed consistently better in a simple and sensitive neuropsychological test that assesses an individual’s attention and speed of information processing.

 “Interestingly, the association between increased vitamin D and faster information processing was more significant in men aged over 60 years, although the biological reasons for this remain unclear.”

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521084832.htm

July 2, 2009

Diabetes & Heart Disease: Get More Sun

Spending more time in the sunshine could help older people to reduce their risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

Exposure to sunlight stimulates vitamin D in the skin and older people are more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency due to the natural aging process and changes in lifestyle.

His team found a high correlation between low vitamin D levels and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. They found 94% of people in the study had a vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) deficiency or insufficiency. The results showed 42.3% of these people also had metabolic syndrome.

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.”

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511090940.htm

July 1, 2009

Parkinson’s: St. John’s Wort May Help

A research team from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has carried out a study entitled, “Hypericum perforatum. Possible option against Parkinson's disease”, which suggests that this plant with antidepressant properties has antioxidant active ingredients that could help reduce the neuronal degeneration caused by the disease.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511181252.htm

June 30, 2009

Parenting: Using Booster Seats for Kids Safely

While child booster car seat use has increased across the United States, many seats are improperly installed, leading to increased risk of serious injury for their little passengers.

Researchers from the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital for Children and Indiana University School of Medicine have found that an alarming two-thirds of the booster seats observed in a study conducted throughout Indiana were not being used appropriately.

Booster seats raise their young occupants so that an adult seat belt fits correctly, decreasing risk of serious injury in a crash. Forty-four states now require that children who have outgrown a standard car seat with a 5-point harness use a booster seat when riding in a car or truck. Since use of the booster seat has increased, the researchers decided to investigate whether they are being used appropriately. They found major misuses in the transport of 65 percent of the children including such errors as a slack shoulder belt or placement of the shoulder belt behind the child's back, under an arm, or over an arm rest.

Resources to help parents are available from preventinjury.org and http://www.nhtsa.gov," said Joseph O'Neil, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and a Riley Hospital pediatrician, who is the first author of the new study.

According to Dr. O'Neil, children of any age, who have outgrown child car seats, need a booster seat until, when sitting against the automobile's seat back, their knees extend over the seat at a 90 degree angle and ideally their feet touch the floor. As with car seats for younger children, booster seats should only be installed in the back seat of a vehicle. He urges parents to have all children under age 13 ride in the back seat to minimize their exposure to front impact collusions and powerful airbags.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511122418.htm

June 29, 2009

Anxiety: Kava Safe and Effective

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have found a traditional extract of Kava, a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be safe and effective in reducing anxiety.

To be published online this week in the Springer journal Psychopharmacology, the results of a world-first clinical trial which found that a water-soluble extract of Kava was effective in treating anxiety and improving mood. The Kava was prescribed in the form of tablets.

Lead researcher Jerome Sarris, a PhD candidate from UQ’s School of Medicine, said the placebo-controlled study found Kava to be an effective and safe treatment option for people with chronic anxiety and varying levels of depression.

“We’ve been able to show that Kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety, and unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side effects,” Mr. Sarris said.

 “We also found that Kava had a positive impact on reducing depression levels, something which had not been tested before,” Mr. Sarris said. In 2002 Kava was banned in Europe, UK and Canada due to concerns over liver toxicity.

While the three-week trial raised no major health concerns regarding the Kava extract used, the researchers said larger studies were required to confirm the drug’s safety.

“When extracted in the appropriate way, Kava may pose less or no potential liver problems. I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban,” Mr. Sarris said.

“Ethanol and acetone extracts, which sometimes use the incorrect parts of the Kava, were being sold in Europe. That is not the traditional way of prescribing Kava in the Pacific Islands. Our study used a water-soluble extract from the peeled rootstock of a medicinal cultivar of the plant, which is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia and is currently legal in Australia for medicinal use.”

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511122619.htm

June 28, 2009

Infection/Inflammation: Ginseng can reduce inflammation

Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the immunological effects of ginseng. Researchers have now shown that the herb, much used in traditional Chinese and other Asian medicine, has anti-inflammatory effects.

Allan Lau led a team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong who identified seven ginseng constituents, ginsenosides, which showed immune-suppressive effects. He said, "The anti-inflammatory role of ginseng may be due to the combined effects of these ginsenosides, targeting different levels of immunological activity, and so contributing to the diverse actions of ginseng in humans".

The scientists treated human immune cells with different extracts of ginseng. They found that of the nine ginsenosides they identified, seven could selectively inhibit expression of the inflammatory gene CXCL-10. Lau concludes, "Further studies will be needed to examine the potential beneficial effects of ginsenosides in the management of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in humans".

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090513215410.htm

June 27, 2009

Digestion: Hypnotherapy Can Help with Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis can bew a nasty gastrointestinal disease that flares without warning and makes it vital to find a bathroom fast. The disease is often diagnosed when people are in their late 20s and early 30s. The flare-up is like having a severe stomach bug that can drag on for weeks.

Currently, the treatments for ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, include a fistful of pills -- up to a cumbersome 12 a day that reduce the risk of flares but that many forget to take, as well as steroids or surgery to remove their colon.

In an early look at the data for the ongoing study, Keefer, a clinical health psychologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is finding that treatment with hypnotherapy enabled some subjects' to socialize more and get involved in activities such as eating at restaurants, exercising and road trips. Some subjects feel less impaired by their disease and are better at remembering to take their pills.

Participants complete eight weeks of hypnotherapy sessions. As a part of the study, subjects also listen to special relaxation tapes up to five times per week.

While it's too early in the study to know if the hypnotherapy has prolonged their remissions, only two of 12 subjects who have participated in the study for a full year have experienced a relapse, whereas based on their history, all 12 subjects would have been expected to have had two or more relapses within the year.

"These numbers are encouraging because the study specifically targets individuals who flare a couple times a year," Keefer said. Subjects are also expected to take their routine maintenance medication during the trial.

"Managing stress is really important for managing inflammatory bowel disease," Keefer said. "We see young adults about to get married, pregnant women, people worried about losing their jobs in this difficult economy. The body doesn't differentiate between good stress and bad stress. When people are under stress, their disease flares up."

In the experimental hypnosis sessions, Keefer suggests to subjects that they closely monitor their stress and be aware of how it's affecting them. "If they're not getting enough sleep, part of the hypnosis is encouraging them to know this is a trigger and make an effort to take naps and take it easier, " she said. "I also tell them your body can detect slight changes in stress and can adapt easily and not be affected."

Her preliminary data on the overall quality of life for 27 subjects after eight weeks of hypnotherapy showed that 80 percent of them reported an increased belief that they could affect and manage their disease versus 50 percent of subjects in standard care (no hypnotherapy.) In addition, subjects reported a 76 percent increase in the quality of their lives (the improvements were most notable in their bowel symptoms) compared to a 25 percent increase for standard care. In another measure, 73 percent of the subjects experienced a general improvement in their health and well being compared to a 25 percent increase for standard care.

"The preliminary results on the improved quality of life for the 27 subjects in this ongoing study (aiming for a total of 80 subjects) look positive so far," Keefer said.

Once the eight weeks of hypnotherapy are completed, subjects are expected to listen to the relaxation tapes or practice relaxation twice a week to maintain the benefits. They are also encouraged to "step up their practice" of relaxation tapes if they think they are at risk for a flare, Keefer said.

Currently the treatment for the disease is a maintenance medication called 5-ASA. "The problem is most people forget to take the full dose," Keefer said. If that doesn't work steroids are often the next treatment, but long-term use can cause joint problems and other side effects such as anxiety and insomnia. When doctors try to taper the patient off steroids, symptoms tend to flare again.

For more on the topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090513121207.htm

June 26, 2009

Eyes: Risk of Blindness May be Reduced by What You Eat

Regularly eating fish, nuts, olive oil and other foods containing omega-three fatty acids and avoiding trans fats appears to be associated with a lower risk for the eye disease age-related macular degeneration, according to two new reports.

By 2020, as many as 3 million Americans are expected to have late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to background information in one of the articles. AMD is the leading cause of severe vision loss among individuals older than 65 in the developed world. Established risk factors include age, genetic markers and smoking (the only consistently reported modifiable risk factor).

Researchers of a recent study examining the use of foods and blindness reported: "In conclusion, our findings support the hypothesis that increased intake of omega-three polyunsaturated fatty acids and regular consumption of fish and/or nuts in the diet may protect against the development of early AMD," the authors write. These fatty acids may protect the eyes by preventing the buildup of plaque in the arteries or reducing inflammation, blood vessel formation and oxygen-related cell damage in the retina.

Joint effects of protection against AMD were suggested between the consumption of these foods and other factors, such as smoking, intake of unsaturated omega-6 fatty acids or beta carotene and the ratio of total blood cholesterol to HDL or "good" cholesterol. "These findings also suggest that an appropriate balance among various nutrients is essential for maximizing nutritional benefit," they continue. Further studies are needed to determine whether changing an individual's diet or recommending supplementation could prevent or delay the development of AMD.

Individuals who consumed higher levels of trans-unsaturated fats—found in baked goods and processed foods—were more likely to have late AMD, whereas those who consumed the most omega-three fatty acids were less likely to have early AMD. "Olive oil intake (100 milliliters or more per week vs. less than 1 milliliter per week) was associated with decreased prevalence of late AMD," the authors write. "No significant associations with AMD were observed for intakes of fish, total fat, butter or margarine."

Trans-unsaturated fatty acids have been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease through their effects on cholesterol levels and possibly through inflammation. In contrast, omega-three fatty acids are believed to protect against damage to the retina, thereby reducing risk for AMD. Although the primary fats found in olive oil (oleic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids) were not associated with AMD risk, olive oil contains other components that may have a protective effect, such as the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.

"Our findings suggest that people who follow a diet low in processed foods high in trans-unsaturated fatty acids and rich in omega-three fatty acids and olive oil might enjoy some protection from developing AMD," the authors conclude.

For more on the studies, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511164235.htm

June 24, 2009

Infection: You Can’t Catch a Bird Flu Virus

Avian influenza viruses do not thrive in humans because the temperature inside a person's nose is too low, according to research published May 14 in the journal PLoS Pathogens. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and the University of North Carolina, say this may be one of the reasons why bird flu viruses do not cause pandemics in humans easily.

There are 16 subtypes of avian influenza and some can mutate into forms that can infect humans, by swapping proteins on their surface with proteins from human influenza viruses.

Today's study shows that normal avian influenza viruses do not spread extensively in cells at 32 degrees Celsius, the temperature inside the human nose. The researchers say this is probably because the viruses usually infect the guts of birds, which are warmer, at 40 degrees Celsius. This means that avian flu viruses that have not mutated are less likely to infect people, because the first site of infection in humans is usually the nose. If a normal avian flu virus infected a human nose, the virus would not be able to grow and spread between cells, so it would be less likely to damage cells and cause respiratory illness.

The researchers also found that when they created a mutated human influenza virus by adding a protein from the surface of an avian influenza virus, this mutated virus struggled to thrive at 32 degrees Celsius. This suggests that if a new human influenza strain evolved by adopting proteins from an avian influenza virus, this would need to undergo further changes in order to adapt to the conditions in the human body.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514222019.htm

June 23, 2009

Pain: Simulated Acupuncture Can Help Back Pain

Three types of acupuncture therapy—an individually tailored program, standard therapy and a simulation involving toothpicks at key acupuncture points—appear more effective than usual care for chronic low back pain, according to a new report.

Back pain costs Americans at least $37 billion annually, according to background information in the article. Many patients with this condition are unsatisfied with traditional medical care and seek help from complementary and alternative care providers, including acupuncturists. "Back pain is the leading reason for visits to licensed acupuncturists, and medical acupuncturists consider acupuncture an effective treatment for back pain," the authors write.

Several recent studies have suggested that simulated acupuncture, or shallow needling on parts of the body not considered key acupuncture points, appear as effective as acupuncture involving penetrating the skin. To expand on these results, Daniel C. Cherkin, Ph.D., of Group Health Center for Health Studies, Seattle, and colleagues compared four different types of treatment in a randomized clinical trial involving 638 adults (average age 47) with chronic low back pain at Group Health in Seattle and Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland.

"Compared with usual care, individualized acupuncture, standardized acupuncture and simulated acupuncture had beneficial and persisting effects on chronic back pain," the authors write. At the eight-week follow-up, 60 percent of the participants receiving any type of acupuncture (individualized, standardized or simulated) experienced a clinically meaningful improvement in their level of functioning, compared with 39 percent of those receiving usual care. At the one-year follow-up, 59 percent to 65 percent of those in the acupuncture groups experienced an improvement in function compared with 50 percent of the usual care group.

Several possible explanations exist for the effectiveness of simulated acupuncture, the authors note. Superficial stimulation of acupuncture points may directly stimulate physiological processes that result in reduced pain and improved function. Alternatively, the improvement may be due to another aspect of the treatment experience, such as interaction with the therapist or a belief that acupuncture will be helpful. "These findings raise questions about acupuncture's purported mechanisms of action," they write. "It remains unclear whether acupuncture or our simulated method of acupuncture provide physiologically important stimulation or represent placebo or non-specific effects."

"Our results have important implications for key stakeholders," they conclude. "For clinicians and patients seeking a relatively safe and effective treatment for a condition for which conventional treatments are often ineffective, various methods of acupuncture point stimulation appear to be reasonable options, even though the mechanism of action remains unclear. Furthermore, the reduction in long-term exposure to the potential adverse effects of medications is an important benefit that may enhance the safety of conventional medical care."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511164228.htm

June 22, 2009

Pregnancy: Home Birth or Hospital Birth?

Cheyney, who is a practicing midwife in addition to being an assistant professor of medical anthropology and reproductive biology, said she was surprised that physicians, when presented with scientifically conducted research that indicates homebirths do not increase infant mortality rates, still refuse to believe that births outside of the hospital are safe.

"Medicine is a social construct, and it's heavily politicized," she said.

Last year the American Medical Association passed Resolution 205, which states: "the safest setting for labor, delivery and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex…" The resolution was passed in direct response to media attention on home births, the AMA stated.

What is interesting, Cheyney points out, is that 99 percent of American births occur in the hospital, but the United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates of any developed country, with 6.3 deaths per 1,000 babies born. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, where a third of deliveries occur in the home with the assistance of midwives, has a lower rate of 4.73 deaths per 1,000.

One of the biggest problems Cheyney sees is that physicians only come into contact with midwives when something has gone wrong with the homebirth, and the patient has been transported to the hospital for care. There are a number of reasons why this interaction often is tension-filled and unpleasant for both sides, she says.

First is the assumption that homebirth must be dangerous, because the patient they're seeing has had to be transported to the hospital. Secondly, the physician is now taking on the risk of caring for a patient who is unknown to them, and who has a medical chart provided by a midwife which may not include the kind of information the physician is used to receiving.

And because the midwife is often feeling defensive and upset, Cheyney said, the contact between her and the physician can often be tense and unproductive. Meanwhile, the patient, whose intention was not to have a hospital birth, is already feeling upset at the change in birth plan, and is now watching her care provider come into conflict with the stranger who is about to deliver her baby.

"It's an extremely tension-fraught encounter," Cheyney said, "and something needs to be done to address it." As homebirths increase in popularity, she added, these encounters are bound to increase and a plan needs to be in place so that doctors and midwives know what protocol to follow.

She is working with Lane County obstetrician Dr. Paul Qualtere-Burcher to draft guidelines that would help midwives and their clients decide when they need to seek medical help, based in large part on Cheyney's research, and another that would ask physicians to recognize midwives as legitimate caregivers.

Qualtere-Burcher said creating an open channel of communication isn't easy.

"I do get some pushback from physician friends who say that I'm too open and too supportive," he said. "My answer, to quote (President) Obama, is that dialogue is always a good idea."

Qualtere-Burcher said he believes that if midwives felt more comfortable contacting physicians with medical questions or concerns, there would be a greater chance that women would get medical help when they needed it.

"Treat (midwives) with respect, as colleagues, and they'll not be afraid to call," he said.

Qualtere-Burcher doesn't expect immediate buy-in, but hopes that if a small group on each side agrees to the plan, it will provide more evidence that a stronger relationship between physicians and midwives will lead to better outcomes for mothers and infants.

"We're having a meeting in early May to propose a draft for a model of collaborative care that might be the first of its kind in the United States," Cheyney said.

Cheyney is also pushing to get hospitals and the state records division to better track homebirths. The department of vital records had no way to indicate whether a birth occurred at home until 2008, and without being able to pull data, Cheyney said it's hard to explore the nature of home birth in Oregon.

For more on the study and home birthing, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511151616.htm

June 21, 2009

Cancer: Diet and Exercise Reduce Decline in Cancer Survivors

A home-based diet and exercise program reduced the rate of functional decline among older, overweight long-term survivors of colorectal, breast and prostate cancer, according to a new study.

Because cancer and its treatment can bring on decline, eating a healthy diet and exercising may be the most important things consumers can do to stay well.

Miriam C. Morey, Ph.D., of Duke University, Durham, N.C., and colleagues conducted a randomized, controlled trial that tested a home-based diet and exercise intervention and its effect on functional decline among 641 older (age 65-91 years), overweight (BMI 25 or greater and less than 40) long-term (5 years or greater) survivors of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer.

Overall health-related quality of life decreased in every subscale in the control group throughout the 12-month period. In the intervention group, who participated in the healthy diet and exercise behaviors, decreases in subscale scores were of lower magnitude and were sustained for overall health and mental health.

"In conclusion, this study provides data on a long overlooked, yet important faction in older long-term cancer survivors. Long-term survivors of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer participating in a diet and exercise intervention reduced the rate of self-reported physical function decline in comparison with a group receiving no intervention," the researchers write.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512192914.htm

June 20, 2009

Weight Loss: Watch What You Drink, Not What You Eat

When it comes to weight loss, what you drink may be more important than what you eat, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers examined the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight loss was positively associated with a reduction in liquid calorie consumption and liquid calorie intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.

“Both liquid and solid calories were associated with weight change, however, only a reduction in liquid calorie intake was shown to significantly affect weight loss during the 6-month follow up,” said Benjamin Caballero MD, PhD, senior author of the study and a professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health.  “A reduction in liquid calorie intake was associated with a weight loss of 0.25 kg at 6 months and 0.24 kg at 18 months. Among sugar-sweetened beverages, a reduction of 1 serving was associated with a weight loss of 0.5 kg at 6 months and 0.7 kg at 18 months.  Of the seven types of beverages examined, sugar-sweetened beverages were the only beverages significantly associated with weight change.”

The results are published in the April 1, 2009, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402104732.htm

June 19, 2009

Cancer: Are Mammograms Worth It?

Women are often told that mammography saves lives. But rarely is the question asked, 'how often?' Researchers set out to examine how often this life-saving event occurs.

Unrealistic expectations may influence a woman's decision whether or not to participate in screening mammography. Over 90% of women think that 'early detection saves lives'. John D Keen and James E Keen, of the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and the University of Nebraska, respectively, aimed to promote informed decision-making by calculating the age-dependent absolute benefit of screening in three traditional ways: the absolute risk reduction from repeated screening, the number of women needed to screen repeatedly to save one life, and the survival percentages with and without mammography. They also estimated the average benefit of a single mammogram. Their novel concept of life-saving proportion is also relevant to economic analyses of screening.

They found there is a 0.1% increased chance of survival with screening than without it.

According to the authors, "We have assumed that a 'life saved' means screening helps cure one woman with breast cancer who would otherwise have died from the disease without screening ... However, all women with breast cancer may theoretically benefit from screening mammography through slowing the disease and therefore slightly prolonging their lives".

"For a woman in the screening subset of mammography-detectable cancers, there is a less than 5% chance that a mammogram will save her life. By comparing mammography's life-saving absolute benefit with its expected harms, a well-informed woman along with her physician can make a reasonable decision to screen or not to screen for breast cancer."

Dr Michael Retsky from the Harvard Medical School praises this study, noting that it is a positive step in the right direction considering that too often women aged 40-49 are asked to sign informed consent for mammography without being properly informed of the potential risks.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090401200439.htm

June 18, 2009

Cancer: Taking Vitamins and Mineral Supplements Can Help for Years After

Individuals who took a dietary supplement called "factor D", which included selenium, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, continued to have lower gastric cancer and overall mortality 10 years after supplementation ceased compared with individuals who did not take the supplements, according to long-term follow-up data from the randomized, double-blind General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial in Linxian, China.

"The persistence of risk reduction for up to 10 years after treatment in this trial reinforces the validity of the original trial findings and is consistent with an emerging new paradigm in cancer prevention, namely, that prevention may be achievable with short-term as opposed to life-long treatment," the authors write.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324215806.htm

June 17, 2009

Cancer: Meat and Fats Increase Risk for Colon Cancer

A typical Western diet, rich in meat and fats and low in complex carbohydrates, is a recipe for colon cancer.

If you eat a healthy diet consisting of high levels of fruits and vegetables, your body will manufactured micro-organisms in your colon that can reduce your colon cancer risk.

However, gut microbes may also make toxic products from food residues. Diets high in meat will produce sulphur - this decreases the activity of 'good' bacteria that use methane and increases the production of hydrogen sulphide and other possible carcinogens by sulphur-reducing bacteria.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330200714.htm

June 16, 2009

Parenting and ADHD: Pine Bark Extract May Help with Overactivity

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric disorder in children. Pycnogenol, an extract from the bark of the French maritime pine, consisting of phenolic acids, catechin, taxifolin and procyanidins, has shown improvement of ADHD in case reports and in an open study. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Pycnogenol on ADHD symptoms. Sixty-one children were supplemented with 1 mg/kg/day Pycnogenol or placebo over a period of 4 weeks in a randomised, placebo-controlled, doubleblind study.

Children were examined at start of trial, 1 month after treatment and 1 month after end of treatment period by standard questionnaires: CAP (Child Attention Problems) teacher rating scale, Conner's Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS), the Conner's Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) and a modified Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children. Results show that 1-month Pycnogenol administration caused a significant reduction of hyperactivity, improves attention and visual-motoric coordination and concentration of children with ADHD. In the placebo group no positive effects were found. One month after termination of Pycnogenol administration a relapse of symptoms was noted. Our results point to an option to use Pycnogenol as a natural supplement to relieve ADHD symptoms of children.

Source: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2006 Sep;15(6):329-35. Epub 2006 May 13. Links

Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol.Trebatická J, Kopasová S, Hradecná Z, Cinovský K, Skodácek I, Suba J, Muchová J, Zitnanová I, Waczulíková I, Rohdewald P, Duracková Z.

Dept. of Child Psychiatry, Child University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Limbová 1, 833 40 Bratislava, Slovakia.

June 15, 2009

Parenting: Children Who Exercise 5 minutes Less Likely to be Obese

Children who exercise in bouts of activity lasting five minutes or longer are less likely to become obese than those whose activity levels are more sporadic and typically last less than five minutes each, Queen’s University researchers have discovered.

Two-thirds of the physical activity measured in the young people took place in short, sporadic sessions that lasted less than five minutes. Within the most active children, 25 percent of those who tended to accumulate their physical activity in bouts were overweight or obese, compared with 35 percent in those who tended to accumulate their activity in a sporadic manner.

For more about this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318113604.htm

June 11, 2009

Cancer: Licorice, the Herb, Not the Candy, Can Inhibit Colon and Rectal Cancer

A chemical component of licorice may offer a new approach to preventing colorectal cancer without the adverse side effects of other preventive therapies, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers report.

In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Raymond Harris, M.D., Ming-Zhi Zhang, M.D., and colleagues show that inhibiting the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2) – either by treatment with a natural compound found in licorice or by silencing the 11βHSD2 gene – prevents colorectal cancer progression.

One promising target for chemoprevention is the enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), which promotes colorectal cancer progression via the action of the enzyme's inflammatory products, the prostaglandins. Inhibiting this enzyme – with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or with selective COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx or Celebrex – reduces the number and size of colon polyps in mice and in patients with an inherited predisposition to colon cancer. However, both types of drugs cause serious adverse side effects that limit their utility for chemoprevention.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324081433.htm

June 10, 2009

Heart Disease & High Blood Pressure: Avoid Energy Drinks

People who have high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid consuming energy drinks, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study to be published online Wednesday in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

Researchers found that healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink experienced an increase in their blood pressure and heart rate. No significant changes in EKG measurements were reported.

"Based on our findings, we recommend that people who have hypertension or heart disease and are taking medication for them to avoid consuming energy drinks because of a potential risk to their health," Dr. Kalus says.

Researchers believe the caffeine and taurine levels in energy drinks could be responsible for increases in blood pressure and heart rate. The brand of energy drink used in the study is not being identified because most energy drinks on the market boast similar levels of caffeine and taurine, a non-essential amino acid derivative often found in meat and fish. The caffeine levels in energy drinks are equivalent to at least one to two cups of coffee.

"Both caffeine and taurine have been shown to have a direct impact on cardiac function," Dr. Kalus says.

Heart rate increased 7.8 percent the first day and 11 percent the seventh day. Blood pressure increased at least 7 percent the first and seventh days. Dr. Kalus says the participants did not engage in any physical activity during the study, suggesting that the increases could have been higher.

For more on the study, click on?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132456.htm

June 8, 2009

Pain: Sufficient Levels of Vitamin D Reduce Need for Pain Medication

Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain.

A recent 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.

Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognized source of diffuse pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning.

“Results the study suggest that patients who suffer from chronic, diffuse pain and are on narcotics should consider getting their vitamin D levels checked. Inadequate levels may play a role in creating or sustaining their pain," says Dr. Turner.

Many people who have been labeled with fibromyalgia are, in fact, suffering from symptomatic vitamin D inadequacy. Vigilance is especially required when risk factors are present such as obesity, darker pigmented skin or limited exposure to sunlight.

Because it is a natural substance and not a drug, vitamin D is readily available and inexpensive.

In addition to the benefits of strong muscles and bones, emerging research demonstrates that vitamin D plays important roles in the immune system, helps fight inflammation and helps fights certain types of cancer.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320112114.htm

June 6, 2009

Cancer: Eating Soy as a Child Reduces Risk of Breast Cancer

Asian-American women who ate higher amounts of soy during childhood had a 58 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Childhood soy intake was significantly associated with reduced breast cancer risk in our study, suggesting that the timing of soy intake may be especially critical," said Korde. The underlying mechanism is not known. Korde said her study suggests that early soy intake may have a biological role in breast cancer prevention. "Soy isoflavones have estrogenic properties that may cause changes in breast tissue. Animal models suggest that ingestion of soy may result in earlier maturation of breast tissue and increased resistance to carcinogens."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131442.htm

June 5, 2009

Arthritis: Vitamin C Can Help Prevent Gout

Men with higher vitamin C intake appear less likely to develop gout, a painful type of arthritis, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Gout is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis in men. In one twenty-year study, the relative risk of gout was

17 percent lower for those with a daily intake of 500 to 999 milligrams,

34 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,000 to 1,499 milligrams per day and 45 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,500 milligrams per day or higher.

Vitamin C appears to reduce levels of uric acid in the blood, the authors note; a buildup of this naturally occurring compound can form crystal deposits in and around joints, leading to the pain, inflammation and swelling associated with gout. Vitamin C may affect reabsorption of uric acid by the kidneys, increase the speed at which the kidneys work or protect against inflammation, all of which may reduce gout risk, the authors note.

"Given the general safety profile associated with vitamin C intake, particularly in the generally consumed ranges as in the present study (e.g., tolerable upper intake level of vitamin C of less than 2,000 milligrams in adults according to the Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine), vitamin C intake may provide a useful option in the prevention of gout," they conclude.

For more about this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309162007.htm

June 2, 2009

Cancer and Heart Disease: Eating Red and Processed Meat Associated with Death

"High intakes of red or processed meat may increase the risk of mortality," write Rashmi Sinha, PhD, from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues. "Our objective was to determine the relations of red, white, and processed meat intakes to risk for total and cause-specific mortality."

The National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study enrolled approximately half a million people aged 50 to 71 years at the beginning of the study. A food frequency questionnaire allowed estimation of meat intake.

Red meat included all types of beef and pork such as bacon, beef, cold cuts, hamburgers, hotdogs, steak, and meats in pizza, lasagna, and stew. White meat included chicken, turkey, and fish along with poultry cold cuts, canned tuna, and low-fat hotdogs. Processed meats could include either red or white meats in the form of sandwich meats or cold cuts as well as bacon, red meat and poultry sausages, and regular hotdogs and low-fat hotdogs made from poultry. The authors note that some of the meats may overlap in the 3 categories, but they were not duplicated or used in the same models in the study analysis.

Cardiovascular disease risk was increased for men and women in the highest quintile of intake of red meat  and processed meat. For the highest amount of white meat intake for both men and women, there was an inverse association for total mortality, cancer mortality, and mortality from all other causes.

"Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality,and cardiovascular disease mortality," the study authors write. "In contrast, high white meat intake and a low-risk meat diet was associated with a small decrease in total and cancer mortality."

To read more about the study, click on:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/590167?sssdmh=dm1.449817&src=nldne

May 30, 2009

Parenting: Make Sure Vitamin D Intake High Enough in Teens

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Researchers found the adolescents with the lowest levels of vitamin D were:

2.36 times more likely to have high blood pressure;

2.54 times more likely to have high blood sugar; and

3.99 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers used a biomarker of vitamin D to measure levels in blood. The biomarker measures vitamin D obtained from food, vitamin supplementation and exposure to sunlight.

The ethnic breakdown was similar to the general U.S. population: 64.7 percent non-Hispanic whites; 13.5 percent non-Hispanic blacks; and 11 percent Mexican Americans.

The study highlights the association between high levels of vitamin D and lower risk of heart disease. The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican Americans. Whites had almost twice as high levels as blacks.

Low levels of vitamin D are strongly associated with overweight and abdominal obesity. Since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it may be sequestered within adipose tissue. This may explain why those who are obese are more likely to be vitamin D deficient, Reis said.

 “These data on serum vitamin D levels in young people raise some concern about their food choices and even the amount of time they spend in the sunshine,” said Robert H. Eckel, M.D., American Heart Association past president. “The American Heart Association recommends an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, and that people get their nutrients primarily from food sources rather than supplements.”

Good food sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil, eggs, salmon, sardines, dandelion greens, halibut, liver, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and chunk white tuna.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090311153406.htm

May 28, 2009

Healthy Weight and Lower Perceived Weight Reduce Aging Changes

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.

Two recent papers published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention looked at the length of telomeres, or the repeating DNA sequences that cap the ends of a person's chromosomes. Telomere length is one of the many measures being looked at in the Sister Study. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes and buffer them against the loss of important genes during cell replication. Over the course of an individual's lifetime, telomeres shorten, gradually becoming so short that they can trigger cell death. The papers show that factors such as obesity and perceived stress may shorten telomeres and accelerate the aging process.

"Together these two studies reinforce the need to start a healthy lifestyle early and maintain it," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers who published these papers are from the NIEHS which sponsors the Sister Study.

One of the studies published this week found that women who were obese for a long time had reduced telomere length. The researchers looked at the relationship between various measures of current and past body size and telomere length in 647 women enrolled in the Sister Study. They found that women who had an overweight or obese body mass index (BMI) before or during their 30s, and maintained that status since those years, had shorter telomeres than those who became overweight or obese after their 30s. "This suggests that duration of obesity may be more important than weight change per se, although other measures of overweight and obesity were also important," said Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., epidemiologist and lead author on the paper. "Our results support the hypothesis that obesity accelerates the aging process," said Kim.

"Even so, women who reported above-average stress had somewhat shorter telomeres, but the difference in telomere length was most striking when we looked at the relationship between perceived stress and telomere length among women with the highest levels of stress hormones," said Christine Parks, Ph.D., an NIEHS epidemiologist and lead author on the paper. "Among women with both higher perceived stress and elevated levels of the stress hormone epinephrine, the difference in telomere length was equivalent to or greater than the effects of being obese, smoking or 10 years of aging."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090316151033.htm

May 27, 2009

Heart Disease:  Wear a Mask to Protect Yourself from 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.

Nicholas Mills from the University of Edinburgh worked with a team of researchers to investigate the cardiovascular damage that can be caused by inhaling diesel smoke. He said, "Acute exposure to diesel exhaust is associated with an immediate and transient increase in arterial stiffness. This may, in part, explain the increased risk for cardiovascular disease associated with air pollution exposure".

The authors invited a group of 12 non-smoking young men to cycle on exercise bikes while breathing air that had either been filtered or been contaminated with smoke from a diesel engine. They found that when the subjects were exposed to the polluted air, the blood vessels in their wrists temporarily lost the ability to expand and contract. According to Mills, this can have serious consequences, "Stiff arteries can result in raised blood pressure and reduced blood flow in the heart. Arterial stiffness plays an important role in hypertension and is an independent predictor of mortality."

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."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312205224.htm

May 26, 2009

Weight Loss: Dietary Calcium is Important

Boosting calcium consumption spurs weight loss, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, but only in people whose diets are calcium deficient.

Angelo Tremblay and his team at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine made the discovery in a 15-week weight loss program they conducted on obese women. The participants consumed on average less than 600 mg of calcium per day, whereas recommended daily intake is 1000 mg. In addition to following a low calorie diet, the women were instructed to take two tablets a day containing either a total of 1200 mg of calcium or a placebo. Those who took the calcium tablets lost nearly 6 kg over the course of the program, the researchers found, compared to 1 kg for women in the control group.

"Our hypothesis is that the brain can detect the lack of calcium and seeks to compensate by spurring food intake, which obviously works against the goals of any weight loss program," said Angelo Tremblay, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environment and Energy Balance. "Sufficient calcium intake seems to stifle the desire to eat more," he added.

Consuming sufficient calcium is therefore important to ensuring the success of any weight loss program. According to the researcher, over 50% of obese women who come to the clinic run by his research team do not consume the recommended daily intake.

A second study showed that the more people reduced their consumption of dairy products over the six-year period examined, the more weight and body fat they gained and the bigger their waistlines grew. In 2007, Angelo Tremblay and his team established a direct link between calcium and a lower cardiovascular risk profile among dieters.

For more on this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312115053.htm

May 25, 2009

Relationships: Romance Possible in Long-Term Relationships

Romance does not have to fizzle out in long-term relationships and progress into a companionship/friendship-type love, a new study has found. Romantic love can last a lifetime and lead to happier, healthier relationships.

"Many believe that romantic love is the same as passionate love," said lead researcher Bianca P. Acevedo, PhD, then at Stony Brook University (currently at University of California, Santa Barbara). "It isn't. Romantic love has the intensity, engagement and sexual chemistry that passionate love has, minus the obsessive component. Passionate or obsessive love includes feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. This kind of love helps drive the shorter relationships but not the longer ones."

The review found that those who reported greater romantic love were more satisfied in both the short- and long-term relationships. Companion-like love was only moderately associated with satisfaction in both short- and long-term relationships. And those who reported greater passionate love in their relationships were more satisfied in the short term compared to the long term.

Couples who reported more satisfaction in their relationships also reported being happier and having higher self-esteem.

Feeling that a partner is "there for you" makes for a good relationship, Acevedo said, and facilitates feelings of romantic love. On the other hand, "feelings of insecurity are generally associated with lower satisfaction, and in some cases may spark conflict in the relationship. This can manifest into obsessive love," she said.

This discovery may change people's expectations of what they want in long-term relationships. According to the authors, companionship love, which is what many couples see as the natural progression of a successful relationship, may be an unnecessary compromise. "Couples should strive for love with all the trimmings," Acevedo said. "And couples who've been together a long time and wish to get back their romantic edge should know it is an attainable goal that, like most good things in life, requires energy and devotion."

For more on this review, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317153039.htm

May 24, 2009

Lungs: Overweight Associated with Decreased Lung Function

There's more bad news for people who carry excess weight around their waists: Not only is abdominal obesity associated with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and a host of other health problems collectively known as "metabolic syndrome," a new study has found that a high waist circumference is strongly associated with decreased lung function—independent of smoking history, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other complicating factors.

The results were published in the second issue for March of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Abdominal obesity was defined as having a waist circumference of greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.

This study demonstrated that only mild abdominal adiposity, even with a normal body mass index (BMI), in associated with lower lung function.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090306084400.htm

May 23, 2009

Arthritis: Lose Weight to Reduce Risk of Knee and Hip Joint Replacements

Being fat increases the risk of primary joint replacement in osteoarthritis (OA). A new study found that increased waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were associated with the risk of both knee and hip joint replacement.

Total joint replacement is an effective treatment for severe knee and hip OA, and obesity is recognized as being the most important modifiable risk factor for OA. BMI is the most commonly used measurement of obesity but does not account for the pattern of fat distribution, and cannot discriminate between adipose and non-adipose tissue.

The study determined that there was a 3 to 4-fold increased risk of primary joint replacement associated with body weight, BMI, fat mass and percentage fat. Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were also associated with an increased risk, suggesting that both biomechanical and metabolic mechanisms associated with adiposity contribute to the risk of joint replacement. The group also showed that fat mass and percentage fat were associated with an increased risk of primary knee and hip joint replacement even 10 to 15 years after their measurement.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305080145.htm

May 22, 2009

Parenting: Teens Eating Fish Think Better

Fifteen-year-old males who ate fish at least once a week displayed higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who it ate it less frequently, according to a study of nearly 4,000 teenagers published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica.

Eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of six per cent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 per cent.

"When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled.

"We also found the same association between fish and intelligence in the teenagers regardless of their parents' level of education."

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309092957.htm

May 21, 2009

Cancer: Red and White Wine Both Increase Breast Cancer Risk

The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk. The results of the study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

"We found no difference between red or white wine in relation to breast-cancer risk. Neither appears to have any benefits," Newcomb said. "If a woman drinks, she should do so in moderation – no more than one drink a day. And if a woman chooses red wine, she should do so because she likes the taste, not because she thinks it may reduce her risk of breast cancer," she said.

The researchers found that women who consumed 14 or more drinks per week, regardless of the type (wine, liquor or beer), faced a 24 percent increase in breast cancer compared with non-drinkers.

For more about the study click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309092838.htm

May 20, 2009

Lungs: Spending More Than Two Hours a Day Watching TV Doubles Risk of Asthma

Young children who spend more than two hours glued to the TV every day double their subsequent risk of developing asthma, indicates research published ahead of print in Thorax.

The findings are based on more than 3,000 children whose respiratory health was tracked from birth to 11.5 years of age. The children were all participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which has been following the long term health of 14,000 children and their parents.

The authors comment that the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and asthma is complex. But they point out that recent research has suggested that breathing patterns in children may be associated with sedentary behaviour, sparking developmental changes in the lungs and subsequent wheezing.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302213822.htm

May 19, 2009

Pregnancy: Vitamin B12 Needed to have Health Babies

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.

Women with the lowest B12 levels had 5 times the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect compared to women with the highest B12 levels.

Women who consume little or no meat or animal based foods are the most likely group of women to have low B12 levels, along with women who have intestinal disorders that prevent them from absorbing sufficient amounts of B12.

Neural tube defects are a class of birth defects affecting the brain and spinal cord. One type, spina bifida, can cause partial paralysis. Another type, anencephaly, is a fatal defect in which the brain and skull are severely underdeveloped.

"Vitamin B12 is essential for the functioning of the nervous system and for the production of red blood cells," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the NICHD. "The results of this study suggest that women with low levels of B12 not only may risk health problems of their own, but also may increase the chance that their children may be born with a serious birth defect."

Women with levels in the deficient range (0-149 ng/L ) were at the highest risk: 5 times that of women with higher levels.

The study authors wrote that it is not known how B12 and folate might interact to influence the formation of the neural tube, the embryonic structure that gives rise to the spine and brain. They noted that the two vitamins are jointly involved with several key biochemical reactions, as well as with the synthesis of DNA. Lack of either Vitamin B12 or folate in any of these chemical processes theoretically could increase the risk of a neural tube defect.

"If women wait until they realize that they are pregnant before they start taking folic acid, it is usually too late," Dr. Mills said.

Similarly, he said, it would be wise for all women of childbearing age to consume the recommended amount of Vitamin B12, whether they are planning a pregnancy or not. "Half of the women who become pregnant each year in the U.S. were not planning to become pregnant."

"Our results offer evidence that women who have adequate B12 levels before they become pregnant may further reduce the occurrence of this class of birth defects," Dr. Mills said.

Vitamin B12 is available in milk, meats, poultry, eggs, as well as fortified cereals and some other fortified foods.

Folate is found in leafy green vegetables, fruits, and dried beans and peas.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302090140.htm

May 18, 2009

Parenting: Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction

In another “Freakonomics”-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.

“According to our results, schools that hired more certified teachers and had a curriculum that de-emphasized learning by rote tended to do better on standardized math tests,” Lubienski said. “And public schools had more of both.”

Of the five factors, school size and parental involvement “didn’t seem to matter all that much,” Lubienski said, citing a weak correlation between the two factors as “mixed or marginally significant predictors” of student achievement.

They also discovered that smaller class sizes, which are more prevalent in private schools than in public schools, significantly correlate with achievement.

Lubienski said one reason private schools show poorly in this study could be their lack of accountability to a public body.

“There’s been this assumption that private schools are more effective because they’re autonomous and don’t have all the bureaucracy that public schools have,” Lubienski said. “But one thing this study suggests is that autonomy isn’t necessarily a good thing for schools.”

Another reason could be private schools’ anachronistic approach to math.

“Private schools are increasingly ignoring curricular trends in education, and it shows,” Lubienski said. “They’re not using up-to-date methods, and they’re not hiring teachers who employ up-to-date lesson plans in the classroom. When you do that, you aren’t really taking advantage of the expertise in math education that’s out there.”

Lubienski thinks one of the reasons that private schools don’t adopt a more reform-minded math curriculum is because some parents are more attracted to a “back-to-basics” approach to math instruction. The end result, however, is students who are “prepared for the tests of 40 years ago, and not the tests of today,” she said.

 “Private schools don’t invest as much in the professional development of their teachers and don’t do enough to keep their curriculum current,” she said. “That appears to be less of a priority for them, and they don’t have money designated for that kind of thing in the way public schools do.”

Lubienski hopes that politicians who favor more privatization would realize that the invisible hand of the market doesn’t necessarily apply to education.

Instead, some private schools try to attract parents by offering a basic skills curriculum, or non-academic requirements, such as students wearing uniforms.

Privatization also assumes that parents can make judgments about what schools are the best for their children.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226093423.htm

May 17, 2009

Cancer: Burnt or Charred Meat May Increase Rick of Pancreatic Cancer

Meat cooked at high temperatures to the point of burning and charring may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said the finding was linked to consumption of well and very well done meats cooked by frying, grilling or barbecuing. Cooking in this way can form carcinogens, which do not form when meat is baked or stewed.

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.

"We cannot say with absolute certainty that the risk is increased due to carcinogens formed in burned meat," said Anderson. "However, those who enjoy either fried or barbecued meat should consider turning down the heat or cutting off burned portions when it's finished; cook meat sufficiently to kill bacteria without excess charring. In addition, the precursors of cancer-causing compounds can be reduced by microwaving the meat for a few minutes and pouring off the juices before cooking it on the grill."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421154327.htm

May 16, 2009

Cancer: Walnuts May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer

Walnut consumption may provide the body with essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

 Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at Marshall University School of Medicine, said that while her study was done with laboratory animals rather than humans, people should heed the recommendation to eat more walnuts.

"Walnuts are better than cookies, french fries or potato chips when you need a snack," said Hardman. "We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases."

Hardman and colleagues studied mice that were fed a diet that they estimated was the human equivalent of two ounces of walnuts per day. A separate group of mice were fed a control diet.

Standard testing showed that walnut consumption significantly decreased breast tumor incidence, the number of glands with a tumor and tumor size.

Molecular analysis showed that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids contributed to the decline in tumor incidence, but other parts of the walnut contributed as well.

"With dietary interventions you see multiple mechanisms when working with the whole food," said Hardman. "It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421154325.htm

May 15, 2009

Cancer: Taking Vitamins and Mineral Supplements Can Help for Years After

Individuals who took a dietary supplement called "factor D", which included selenium, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, continued to have lower gastric cancer and overall mortality 10 years after supplementation ceased compared with individuals who did not take the supplements, according to long-term follow-up data from the randomized, double-blind General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial in Linxian, China.

"The persistence of risk reduction for up to 10 years after treatment in this trial reinforces the validity of the original trial findings and is consistent with an emerging new paradigm in cancer prevention, namely, that prevention may be achievable with short-term as opposed to life-long treatment," the authors write.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324215806.htm

May 14, 2009

Cancer: Meat and Fats Increase Risk for Colon Cancer

A typical Western diet, rich in meat and fats and low in complex carbohydrates, is a recipe for colon cancer.

If you eat a healthy diet consisting of high levels of fruits and vegetables, your body will manufactured micro-organisms in your colon that can reduce your colon cancer risk.

However, gut microbes may also make toxic products from food residues. Diets high in meat will produce sulphur - this decreases the activity of 'good' bacteria that use methane and increases the production of hydrogen sulphide and other possible carcinogens by sulphur-reducing bacteria.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330200714.htm

May 13, 2009

Parenting and ADHD: Pine Bark Extract May Help with Overactivity

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric disorder in children. Pycnogenol, an extract from the bark of the French maritime pine, consisting of phenolic acids, catechin, taxifolin and procyanidins, has shown improvement of ADHD in case reports and in an open study. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Pycnogenol on ADHD symptoms. Sixty-one children were supplemented with 1 mg/kg/day Pycnogenol or placebo over a period of 4 weeks in a randomised, placebo-controlled, doubleblind study.

Children were examined at start of trial, 1 month after treatment and 1 month after end of treatment period by standard questionnaires: CAP (Child Attention Problems) teacher rating scale, Conner's Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS), the Conner's Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) and a modified Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children. Results show that 1-month Pycnogenol administration caused a significant reduction of hyperactivity, improves attention and visual-motoric coordination and concentration of children with ADHD. In the placebo group no positive effects were found. One month after termination of Pycnogenol administration a relapse of symptoms was noted. Our results point to an option to use Pycnogenol as a natural supplement to relieve ADHD symptoms of children.

Source: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 Sep;15(6):329-35. Epub 2006 May 13. Links

Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol.Trebatická J, Kopasová S, Hradecná Z, Cinovský K, Skodácek I, Suba J, Muchová J, Zitnanová I, Waczulíková I, Rohdewald P, Duracková Z.

Dept. of Child Psychiatry, Child University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Limbová 1, 833 40 Bratislava, Slovakia.

May 12, 2009

Parenting: Children Who Exercise 5 minutes Less Likely to be Obese

Children who exercise in bouts of activity lasting five minutes or longer are less likely to become obese than those whose activity levels are more sporadic and typically last less than five minutes each, Queen’s University researchers have discovered.

Two-thirds of the physical activity measured in the young people took place in short, sporadic sessions that lasted less than five minutes. Within the most active children, 25 percent of those who tended to accumulate their physical activity in bouts were overweight or obese, compared with 35 percent in those who tended to accumulate their activity in a sporadic manner.

For more about this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318113604.htm

May 11, 2009

Cancer: Frankincense May Prevent Bladder Cancer

Originating from Africa, India, and the Middle East, frankincense oil has been found to have many medicinal benefits. Now, an enriched extract of the Somalian Frankincense herb Boswellia carteri has been shown to kill off bladder cancer cells. New research demonstrates that this herb has the potential for an alternative therapy for bladder cancer.

Dr Lin said, "Frankincense oil may represent an inexpensive alternative therapy for patients currently suffering from bladder cancer."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317215312.htm

May 10, 2009

Stroke: Music Can Help Retrieve Sight

Patients who have lost part of their visual awareness following a stroke can show an improved ability to see when they are listening to music they like, according to a new study published March 23 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers believe that the improvement in visual awareness seen in these patients could be as a result of patients experiencing positive emotions when listening to music that they like. The team suggest that when a patient experiences positive emotions this may result in more efficient signalling in the brain. This may then improve the patient's awareness by giving the brain more resources to process stimuli.

Music appears to improve awareness because of its positive emotional effect on the patient, so similar beneficial effects may also be gained by making the patient happy in other ways.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323212120.htm

May 9, 2009

Cancer: Eat Salmon at least Once a Week to Prevent Prostate Cancer

Omega-3 fatty acids appear protective against advanced prostate cancer, and this effect may be modified by a genetic variant in the COX-2 gene, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Previous research has shown protection against prostate cancer, but this is one of the first studies to show protection against advanced prostate cancer and interaction with COX-2," said John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco.

"The COX-2 increased risk of disease was essentially reversed by increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake by a half a gram per day," said Witte. "If you want to think of the overall inverse association in terms of fish, where omega-3 fatty acids are commonly derived, the strongest effect was seen from eating dark fish such as salmon one or more times per week."

For more on this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131444.htm

May 8, 2009

Cancer: Licorice, the Herb, Not the Candy, Can Inhibit Colon and Rectal Cancer

A chemical component of licorice may offer a new approach to preventing colorectal cancer without the adverse side effects of other preventive therapies, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers report.

In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Raymond Harris, M.D., Ming-Zhi Zhang, M.D., and colleagues show that inhibiting the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2) – either by treatment with a natural compound found in licorice or by silencing the 11βHSD2 gene – prevents colorectal cancer progression.

One promising target for chemoprevention is the enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), which promotes colorectal cancer progression via the action of the enzyme's inflammatory products, the prostaglandins. Inhibiting this enzyme – with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or with selective COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx or Celebrex – reduces the number and size of colon polyps in mice and in patients with an inherited predisposition to colon cancer. However, both types of drugs cause serious adverse side effects that limit their utility for chemoprevention.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324081433.htm

May 7, 2009

Heart Disease & High Blood Pressure: Avoid Energy Drinks

People who have high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid consuming energy drinks, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study to be published online Wednesday in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

Researchers found that healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink experienced an increase in their blood pressure and heart rate. No significant changes in EKG measurements were reported.

"Based on our findings, we recommend that people who have hypertension or heart disease and are taking medication for them to avoid consuming energy drinks because of a potential risk to their health," Dr. Kalus says.

Researchers believe the caffeine and taurine levels in energy drinks could be responsible for increases in blood pressure and heart rate. The brand of energy drink used in the study is not being identified because most energy drinks on the market boast similar levels of caffeine and taurine, a non-essential amino acid derivative often found in meat and fish. The caffeine levels in energy drinks are equivalent to at least one to two cups of coffee.

"Both caffeine and taurine have been shown to have a direct impact on cardiac function," Dr. Kalus says.

Heart rate increased 7.8 percent the first day and 11 percent the seventh day. Blood pressure increased at least 7 percent the first and seventh days. Dr. Kalus says the participants did not engage in any physical activity during the study, suggesting that the increases could have been higher.

For more on the study, click on?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132456.htm

May 6, 2009

Pain: Sufficient Levels of Vitamin D Reduce Need for Pain Medication

Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain.

A recent 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.

Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognized source of diffuse pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning.

“Results the study suggest that patients who suffer from chronic, diffuse pain and are on narcotics should consider getting their vitamin D levels checked. Inadequate levels may play a role in creating or sustaining their pain," says Dr. Turner.

Many people who have been labeled with fibromyalgia are, in fact, suffering from symptomatic vitamin D inadequacy. Vigilance is especially required when risk factors are present such as obesity, darker pigmented skin or limited exposure to sunlight.

Because it is a natural substance and not a drug, vitamin D is readily available and inexpensive.

In addition to the benefits of strong muscles and bones, emerging research demonstrates that vitamin D plays important roles in the immune system, helps fight inflammation and helps fights certain types of cancer.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320112114.htm

May 5, 2009

Cancer: Eating Soy as a Child Reduces Risk of Breast Cancer

Asian-American women who ate higher amounts of soy during childhood had a 58 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Childhood soy intake was significantly associated with reduced breast cancer risk in our study, suggesting that the timing of soy intake may be especially critical," said Korde. The underlying mechanism is not known. Korde said her study suggests that early soy intake may have a biological role in breast cancer prevention. "Soy isoflavones have estrogenic properties that may cause changes in breast tissue. Animal models suggest that ingestion of soy may result in earlier maturation of breast tissue and increased resistance to carcinogens."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131442.htm

May 4, 2009

Arthritis: Vitamin C Can Help Prevent Gout

Men with higher vitamin C intake appear less likely to develop gout, a painful type of arthritis, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Gout is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis in men. In one twenty-year study, the relative risk of gout was

17 percent lower for those with a daily intake of 500 to 999 milligrams,

34 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,000 to 1,499 milligrams per day and

45 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,500 milligrams per day or higher.

Vitamin C appears to reduce levels of uric acid in the blood, the authors note; a buildup of this naturally occurring compound can form crystal deposits in and around joints, leading to the pain, inflammation and swelling associated with gout. Vitamin C may affect reabsorption of uric acid by the kidneys, increase the speed at which the kidneys work or protect against inflammation, all of which may reduce gout risk, the authors note.

"Given the general safety profile associated with vitamin C intake, particularly in the generally consumed ranges as in the present study (e.g., tolerable upper intake level of vitamin C of less than 2,000 milligrams in adults according to the Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine), vitamin C intake may provide a useful option in the prevention of gout," they conclude.

For more about this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309162007.htm

May 3, 2009

Cancer and Heart Disease: Eating Red and Processed Meat Associated with Death

"High intakes of red or processed meat may increase the risk of mortality," write Rashmi Sinha, PhD, from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues. "Our objective was to determine the relations of red, white, and processed meat intakes to risk for total and cause-specific mortality."

The National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study enrolled approximately half a million people aged 50 to 71 years at the beginning of the study. A food frequency questionnaire allowed estimation of meat intake.

Red meat included all types of beef and pork such as bacon, beef, cold cuts, hamburgers, hotdogs, steak, and meats in pizza, lasagna, and stew. White meat included chicken, turkey, and fish along with poultry cold cuts, canned tuna, and low-fat hotdogs. Processed meats could include either red or white meats in the form of sandwich meats or cold cuts as well as bacon, red meat and poultry sausages, and regular hotdogs and low-fat hotdogs made from poultry. The authors note that some of the meats may overlap in the 3 categories, but they were not duplicated or used in the same models in the study analysis.

Cardiovascular disease risk was increased for men and women in the highest quintile of intake of red meat  and processed meat. For the highest amount of white meat intake for both men and women, there was an inverse association for total mortality, cancer mortality, and mortality from all other causes.

"Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality,and cardiovascular disease mortality," the study authors write. "In contrast, high white meat intake and a low-risk meat diet was associated with a small decrease in total and cancer mortality."

To read more about the study, click on:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/590167?sssdmh=dm1.449817&src=nldne

May 2, 2009

Parenting: Make Sure Vitamin D Intake High Enough in Teens

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Researchers found the adolescents with the lowest levels of vitamin D were:

2.36 times more likely to have high blood pressure;

2.54 times more likely to have high blood sugar; and

3.99 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers used a biomarker of vitamin D to measure levels in blood. The biomarker measures vitamin D obtained from food, vitamin supplementation and exposure to sunlight.

The ethnic breakdown was similar to the general U.S. population: 64.7 percent non-Hispanic whites; 13.5 percent non-Hispanic blacks; and 11 percent Mexican Americans.

The study highlights the association between high levels of vitamin D and lower risk of heart disease. The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican Americans. Whites had almost twice as high levels as blacks.

Low levels of vitamin D are strongly associated with overweight and abdominal obesity. Since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it may be sequestered within adipose tissue. This may explain why those who are obese are more likely to be vitamin D deficient, Reis said.

 “These data on serum vitamin D levels in young people raise some concern about their food choices and even the amount of time they spend in the sunshine,” said Robert H. Eckel, M.D., American Heart Association past president. “The American Heart Association recommends an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, and that people get their nutrients primarily from food sources rather than supplements.”

Good food sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil, eggs, salmon, sardines, dandelion greens, halibut, liver, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and chunk white tuna.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090311153406.htm

May 1, 2009

Healthy Weight and Lower Perceived Weight Reduce Aging Changes

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.

Two recent papers published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention looked at the length of telomeres, or the repeating DNA sequences that cap the ends of a person's chromosomes. Telomere length is one of the many measures being looked at in the Sister Study. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes and buffer them against the loss of important genes during cell replication. Over the course of an individual's lifetime, telomeres shorten, gradually becoming so short that they can trigger cell death. The papers show that factors such as obesity and perceived stress may shorten telomeres and accelerate the aging process.

"Together these two studies reinforce the need to start a healthy lifestyle early and maintain it," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers who published these papers are from the NIEHS which sponsors the Sister Study.

One of the studies published this week found that women who were obese for a long time had reduced telomere length. The researchers looked at the relationship between various measures of current and past body size and telomere length in 647 women enrolled in the Sister Study. They found that women who had an overweight or obese body mass index (BMI) before or during their 30s, and maintained that status since those years, had shorter telomeres than those who became overweight or obese after their 30s. "This suggests that duration of obesity may be more important than weight change per se, although other measures of overweight and obesity were also important," said Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., epidemiologist and lead author on the paper. "Our results support the hypothesis that obesity accelerates the aging process," said Kim.

"Even so, women who reported above-average stress had somewhat shorter telomeres, but the difference in telomere length was most striking when we looked at the relationship between perceived stress and telomere length among women with the highest levels of stress hormones," said Christine Parks, Ph.D., an NIEHS epidemiologist and lead author on the paper. "Among women with both higher perceived stress and elevated levels of the stress hormone epinephrine, the difference in telomere length was equivalent to or greater than the effects of being obese, smoking or 10 years of aging."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090316151033.htm

April 30, 2009

Heart Disease:  Wear a Mask to Protect Yourself from 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.

Nicholas Mills from the University of Edinburgh worked with a team of researchers to investigate the cardiovascular damage that can be caused by inhaling diesel smoke. He said, "Acute exposure to diesel exhaust is associated with an immediate and transient increase in arterial stiffness. This may, in part, explain the increased risk for cardiovascular disease associated with air pollution exposure".

The authors invited a group of 12 non-smoking young men to cycle on exercise bikes while breathing air that had either been filtered or been contaminated with smoke from a diesel engine. They found that when the subjects were exposed to the polluted air, the blood vessels in their wrists temporarily lost the ability to expand and contract. According to Mills, this can have serious consequences, "Stiff arteries can result in raised blood pressure and reduced blood flow in the heart. Arterial stiffness plays an important role in hypertension and is an independent predictor of mortality."

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."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312205224.htm

April 29, 2009

Weight Loss: Dietary Calcium is Important

Boosting calcium consumption spurs weight loss, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, but only in people whose diets are calcium deficient.

Angelo Tremblay and his team at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine made the discovery in a 15-week weight loss program they conducted on obese women. The participants consumed on average less than 600 mg of calcium per day, whereas recommended daily intake is 1000 mg. In addition to following a low calorie diet, the women were instructed to take two tablets a day containing either a total of 1200 mg of calcium or a placebo. Those who took the calcium tablets lost nearly 6 kg over the course of the program, the researchers found, compared to 1 kg for women in the control group.

"Our hypothesis is that the brain can detect the lack of calcium and seeks to compensate by spurring food intake, which obviously works against the goals of any weight loss program," said Angelo Tremblay, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environment and Energy Balance. "Sufficient calcium intake seems to stifle the desire to eat more," he added.

Consuming sufficient calcium is therefore important to ensuring the success of any weight loss program. According to the researcher, over 50% of obese women who come to the clinic run by his research team do not consume the recommended daily intake.

A second study showed that the more people reduced their consumption of dairy products over the six-year period examined, the more weight and body fat they gained and the bigger their waistlines grew. In 2007, Angelo Tremblay and his team established a direct link between calcium and a lower cardiovascular risk profile among dieters.

For more on this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312115053.htm

April 28, 2009

Relationships: Romance Possible in Long-Term Relationships

Romance does not have to fizzle out in long-term relationships and progress into a companionship/friendship-type love, a new study has found. Romantic love can last a lifetime and lead to happier, healthier relationships.

"Many believe that romantic love is the same as passionate love," said lead researcher Bianca P. Acevedo, PhD, then at Stony Brook University (currently at University of California, Santa Barbara). "It isn't. Romantic love has the intensity, engagement and sexual chemistry that passionate love has, minus the obsessive component. Passionate or obsessive love includes feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. This kind of love helps drive the shorter relationships but not the longer ones."

The review found that those who reported greater romantic love were more satisfied in both the short- and long-term relationships. Companion-like love was only moderately associated with satisfaction in both short- and long-term relationships. And those who reported greater passionate love in their relationships were more satisfied in the short term compared to the long term.

Couples who reported more satisfaction in their relationships also reported being happier and having higher self-esteem.

Feeling that a partner is "there for you" makes for a good relationship, Acevedo said, and facilitates feelings of romantic love. On the other hand, "feelings of insecurity are generally associated with lower satisfaction, and in some cases may spark conflict in the relationship. This can manifest into obsessive love," she said.

This discovery may change people's expectations of what they want in long-term relationships. According to the authors, companionship love, which is what many couples see as the natural progression of a successful relationship, may be an unnecessary compromise. "Couples should strive for love with all the trimmings," Acevedo said. "And couples who've been together a long time and wish to get back their romantic edge should know it is an attainable goal that, like most good things in life, requires energy and devotion."

For more on this review, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317153039.htm

April 27, 2009

Lungs: Overweight Associated with Decreased Lung Function

There's more bad news for people who carry excess weight around their waists: Not only is abdominal obesity associated with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and a host of other health problems collectively known as "metabolic syndrome," a new study has found that a high waist circumference is strongly associated with decreased lung function—independent of smoking history, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other complicating factors.

The results were published in the second issue for March of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Abdominal obesity was defined as having a waist circumference of greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.

This study demonstrated that only mild abdominal adiposity, even with a normal body mass index (BMI), in associated with lower lung function.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090306084400.htm

April 26, 2009

Arthritis: Lose Weight to Reduce Risk of Knee and Hip Joint Replacements

Being fat increases the risk of primary joint replacement in osteoarthritis (OA). A new study found that increased waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were associated with the risk of both knee and hip joint replacement.

Total joint replacement is an effective treatment for severe knee and hip OA, and obesity is recognized as being the most important modifiable risk factor for OA. BMI is the most commonly used measurement of obesity but does not account for the pattern of fat distribution, and cannot discriminate between adipose and non-adipose tissue.

The study determined that there was a 3 to 4-fold increased risk of primary joint replacement associated with body weight, BMI, fat mass and percentage fat. Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were also associated with an increased risk, suggesting that both biomechanical and metabolic mechanisms associated with adiposity contribute to the risk of joint replacement. The group also showed that fat mass and percentage fat were associated with an increased risk of primary knee and hip joint replacement even 10 to 15 years after their measurement.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305080145.htm

April 25, 2009

Parenting: Teens Eating Fish Think Better

Fifteen-year-old males who ate fish at least once a week displayed higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who it ate it less frequently, according to a study of nearly 4,000 teenagers published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica.

Eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of six per cent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 per cent.

"When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled.

"We also found the same association between fish and intelligence in the teenagers regardless of their parents' level of education."

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309092957.htm

April 24, 2009

Cancer: Red and White Wine Both Increase Breast Cancer Risk

The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk. The results of the study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

"We found no difference between red or white wine in relation to breast-cancer risk. Neither appears to have any benefits," Newcomb said. "If a woman drinks, she should do so in moderation – no more than one drink a day. And if a woman chooses red wine, she should do so because she likes the taste, not because she thinks it may reduce her risk of breast cancer," she said.

The researchers found that women who consumed 14 or more drinks per week, regardless of the type (wine, liquor or beer), faced a 24 percent increase in breast cancer compared with non-drinkers.

For more about the study click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309092838.htm

April 23, 2009

Lungs: Spending More Than Two Hours a Day Watching TV Doubles Risk of Asthma

Young children who spend more than two hours glued to the TV every day double their subsequent risk of developing asthma, indicates research published ahead of print in Thorax.

The findings are based on more than 3,000 children whose respiratory health was tracked from birth to 11.5 years of age. The children were all participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which has been following the long term health of 14,000 children and their parents.

The authors comment that the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and asthma is complex. But they point out that recent research has suggested that breathing patterns in children may be associated with sedentary behaviour, sparking developmental changes in the lungs and subsequent wheezing.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302213822.htm

April 22, 2009

Pregnancy: Vitamin B12 Needed to have Health Babies

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.

Women with the lowest B12 levels had 5 times the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect compared to women with the highest B12 levels.

Women who consume little or no meat or animal based foods are the most likely group of women to have low B12 levels, along with women who have intestinal disorders that prevent them from absorbing sufficient amounts of B12.

Neural tube defects are a class of birth defects affecting the brain and spinal cord. One type, spina bifida, can cause partial paralysis. Another type, anencephaly, is a fatal defect in which the brain and skull are severely underdeveloped.

"Vitamin B12 is essential for the functioning of the nervous system and for the production of red blood cells," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the NICHD. "The results of this study suggest that women with low levels of B12 not only may risk health problems of their own, but also may increase the chance that their children may be born with a serious birth defect."

Women with levels in the deficient range (0-149 ng/L ) were at the highest risk: 5 times that of women with higher levels.

The study authors wrote that it is not known how B12 and folate might interact to influence the formation of the neural tube, the embryonic structure that gives rise to the spine and brain. They noted that the two vitamins are jointly involved with several key biochemical reactions, as well as with the synthesis of DNA. Lack of either Vitamin B12 or folate in any of these chemical processes theoretically could increase the risk of a neural tube defect.

"If women wait until they realize that they are pregnant before they start taking folic acid, it is usually too late," Dr. Mills said.

Similarly, he said, it would be wise for all women of childbearing age to consume the recommended amount of Vitamin B12, whether they are planning a pregnancy or not. "Half of the women who become pregnant each year in the U.S. were not planning to become pregnant."

"Our results offer evidence that women who have adequate B12 levels before they become pregnant may further reduce the occurrence of this class of birth defects," Dr. Mills said.

Vitamin B12 is available in milk, meats, poultry, eggs, as well as fortified cereals and some other fortified foods.

Folate is found in leafy green vegetables, fruits, and dried beans and peas.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302090140.htm

April 21, 2009

Parenting: Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction

In another “Freakonomics”-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.

“According to our results, schools that hired more certified teachers and had a curriculum that de-emphasized learning by rote tended to do better on standardized math tests,” Lubienski said. “And public schools had more of both.”

Of the five factors, school size and parental involvement “didn’t seem to matter all that much,” Lubienski said, citing a weak correlation between the two factors as “mixed or marginally significant predictors” of student achievement.

They also discovered that smaller class sizes, which are more prevalent in private schools than in public schools, significantly correlate with achievement.

Lubienski said one reason private schools show poorly in this study could be their lack of accountability to a public body.

“There’s been this assumption that private schools are more effective because they’re autonomous and don’t have all the bureaucracy that public schools have,” Lubienski said. “But one thing this study suggests is that autonomy isn’t necessarily a good thing for schools.”

Another reason could be private schools’ anachronistic approach to math.

“Private schools are increasingly ignoring curricular trends in education, and it shows,” Lubienski said. “They’re not using up-to-date methods, and they’re not hiring teachers who employ up-to-date lesson plans in the classroom. When you do that, you aren’t really taking advantage of the expertise in math education that’s out there.”

Lubienski thinks one of the reasons that private schools don’t adopt a more reform-minded math curriculum is because some parents are more attracted to a “back-to-basics” approach to math instruction. The end result, however, is students who are “prepared for the tests of 40 years ago, and not the tests of today,” she said.

 “Private schools don’t invest as much in the professional development of their teachers and don’t do enough to keep their curriculum current,” she said. “That appears to be less of a priority for them, and they don’t have money designated for that kind of thing in the way public schools do.”

Lubienski hopes that politicians who favor more privatization would realize that the invisible hand of the market doesn’t necessarily apply to education.

Instead, some private schools try to attract parents by offering a basic skills curriculum, or non-academic requirements, such as students wearing uniforms.

Privatization also assumes that parents can make judgments about what schools are the best for their children.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226093423.htm

April 20, 2009

Cancer: Charred Meat Increases Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Meat cooked at high temperatures to the point of burning and charring may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said the finding was linked to consumption of well and very well done meats cooked by frying, grilling or barbecuing. Cooking in this way can form carcinogens, which do not form when meat is baked or stewed.

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.

"We cannot say with absolute certainty that the risk is increased due to carcinogens formed in burned meat," said Anderson. "However, those who enjoy either fried or barbecued meat should consider turning down the heat or cutting off burned portions when it's finished; cook meat sufficiently to kill bacteria without excess charring. In addition, the precursors of cancer-causing compounds can be reduced by microwaving the meat for a few minutes and pouring off the juices before cooking it on the grill."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421154327.htm

Walnut consumption may provide the body with essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

 Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at Marshall University School of Medicine, said that while her study was done with laboratory animals rather than humans, people should heed the recommendation to eat more walnuts.

"Walnuts are better than cookies, french fries or potato chips when you need a snack," said Hardman. "We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases."

Hardman and colleagues studied mice that were fed a diet that they estimated was the human equivalent of two ounces of walnuts per day. A separate group of mice were fed a control diet.

Standard testing showed that walnut consumption significantly decreased breast tumor incidence, the number of glands with a tumor and tumor size.

Molecular analysis showed that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids contributed to the decline in tumor incidence, but other parts of the walnut contributed as well.

"With dietary interventions you see multiple mechanisms when working with the whole food," said Hardman. "It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421154325.htm

April 16, 2009

Cancer: Two or More Alcoholic Drinks a Day Could Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Men and women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day could increase their risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Unlike the previous studies, this current research pools data collected prospectively from 14 research studies, which included 862,664 individuals (319,716 men and 542,948 women). Data collected prospectively means information about dietary and environmental exposures were collected prior to diagnosis with pancreatic cancer. Researchers identified 2,187 individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during the study.

Although, there was no statistically significant difference between men and women when comparing alcohol intake with risk of pancreatic cancer, the association was seen in women at two or more drinks per day. Comparatively, the researchers observed a higher risk among men who consumed three or more drinks a day.

No difference was observed by type of alcohol when comparing beer, distilled liquor or wine, according to Genkinger.

In addition to chronic pancreatitis and diabetes, smoking is considered the strongest risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303161423.htm

April 15, 2009

Parenting: Make Sure Children and Adolescents Eat Enough Fruits and Vegetables

Children and adolescents aren't meeting guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption, according to researchers at Ohio State University.

The researchers found 2-to-5 year-olds consumed significantly more fruit and juice than children ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 18 year olds. Total vegetable consumption was significantly higher among 12-to-18 year-olds. However, only 8 percent of vegetables consumed by children in all groups were dark green or orange; fried potatoes constituted about 46 percent of total vegetable consumption.

This study was published in the March 2009 Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302183254.htm

April 14, 2009

Infections: Vitamin D May Arm the Immune System Against Colds and Flu

Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston.

In the largest and most nationally representative study of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders, such as asthma and emphysema. The report appears in the February 23 Archives of Internal Medicine.

"The findings of our study support an important role for vitamin D in prevention of common respiratory infections, such as colds and the flu," says Adit Ginde, MD, MPH, UC Denver Division of Emergency Medicine and lead author of the study. "Individuals with common lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, may be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections from vitamin D deficiency."

While vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds and other respiratory disorders for decades, little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, in recent years evidence has accumulated that vitamin D – most commonly associated with the development and maintenance of strong bones – may also play a key role in the immune system. Circumstantial evidence has implicated the wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, in the seasonal increase in colds and flu; and small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections.

Study participants with the lowest vitamin D blood levels – less than 10 ng per milliliter of blood – were about 40 percent more likely to report having a recent respiratory infection than were those with vitamin D levels of 30 or higher. The association was present in all seasons and even stronger among participants with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema. Asthma patients with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection; while among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223221242.htm

April 13, 2009

Digestion: Probiotics Beneficial for Ulcerative Colitis

The animal and clinical studies indicated that gastrointestinal bacteria play an important role in the development of UC, and the supplement of probiotics was beneficial for UC.

This investigation showed that all four strains of probiotics (E.feacalis, L.acidophilus, C.butyricum and B.adolescentis) could relieve symptom of experimental colitis.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217125339.htm

Note: Some of these probiotics are available as a supplement

April 12, 2009

Parenting: Babies Listen to Music While Asleep

Although adult perception has been extensively researched, how, or even if, the brains of newborn babies perceive patterns in the world remained a mystery.

That mystery has been at least partially solved by an EU-funded research project, EmCAP, which brought together what many would consider an unlikely consortium, comprising both neuroscientists and music technologists.

The results were exciting, demonstrating newborns had a sense of pitch from birth, and this was not something learned through experience as had previously been thought. The experiments showed they are even sensitive to the beat in music.

“The bottom line is we come into the world with brains that are continually looking for patterns, and telling us when there is something unexpected we should learn about,” says Denham.

István Winkler, who conducted the baby research, concludes this capability allows babies to learn about their environment and the important actors within it.

 “While it remains unclear whether a capacity for music is rooted in nature, rather than nurture, it is clear that musical competence is a special human capacity, shared across ages and cultures.” says project partner, Henkjan Honing.

Although the ability to detect musical patterns is present from birth, music cognition develops throughout life. However, music cognition is influenced not so much by musical expertise, as by experience. According to Honing, “Frequent listening to a certain musical genre allows listeners without formal musical training to become experts in that musical style.”

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226082517.htm

April 10, 2009

Parenting: More Schooling Means Fewer Teenage Pregnancies

More compulsory schooling results in fewer teenage pregnancies. More school means less time for so-called risk activities, such as getting pregnant. And – the more schooling they have, the smarter the choices girls make.

The results show that one direct effect of more compulsory schooling is that more girls decide to postpone having children. This is entirely positive, believes Professor Salvanes, who points to extensive research documenting the undesirable effects of teenage pregnancies.

The researchers have compared conditions in Norway and the USA. Here in Norway, teenage mothers receive financial support from the state, which they do not in the USA. Teenage pregnancies are nonetheless far more common in the USA than they are here. Professor Salvanes’s research appears to indicate that the extent of compulsory schooling may be an explanatory factor. The researchers have examined the connection between education and child bearing. One hypothesis is that more school means less time for risk activities, such as getting pregnant. This is called the ‘confinement effect.’

Another effect of more school is an increase in human capital. The girls gain insight and knowledge, and this, combined with expectations of even more human capital in future, leads to girls postponing having children. The more education they have, the greater their expectations of their own educational level. Thus, these two effects of more compulsory schooling result in fewer teenage pregnancies. It also affects future choice of occupation and other choices.

One explanation argues that there is a close connection between parents and children as regards education. Parents with higher education have children who take higher education. The other explanation places greater emphasis on parents’ preferences. Some people simply have a higher preference for cognitive knowledge than others.

Professor Salvanes’s findings lean towards the latter explanation, i.e. that the family, and particularly the organisation of the family, is the key to understanding the production of human capital. Even though the parents’  educational level has consequences for the children’s educational level, this has nothing to do with the parents’ educational level as such.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218081132.htm

April 9, 2009

Pain: Exercise the Best Treatment for Low-Back Pain

A systematic review of the literature for high-quality scientific trials published in the February issue of The Spine Journal finds exercise in workplace and community settings effective in preventing new episodes of low-back problems.

Seven of the eight high-quality trials promoting various exercise programs were found

effective, but other common and popular methods failed including: reduced lifting programs, back or ergonomic educational interventions, lumbar supports, shoe inserts and stress management.

"Passive interventions such as lumbar belts and shoe inserts do not appear to work," Bigos said. "And eight trials found ergonomic interventions, of either reducing lifting, or back or ergonomic training sessions to be ineffective in preventing back problems."

For more on the back studies, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090220090750.htm

April 8, 2009

Ears: Supplements Can Help Keep Your Hearing

Many people take a vitamin each morning to maintain good nutrition, energy, bone strength, and overall health. Can popping a pill also protect our hearing against damage caused by loud noise?

The supplements used in recent research studies are composed of antioxidants — beta carotene and vitamins C and E — and the mineral magnesium. When administered prior to exposure to loud noise, the supplements prevented both temporary and permanent hearing loss in test animals.

The research builds on previous studies that demonstrated hearing loss is not just caused by intense vibrations produced by loud noises that tear the delicate structures of the inner ear, as once thought, said Josef Miller, Ph.D., who has studied the mechanisms of hearing impairment for more than 20 years and is a frequent collaborator of Le Prell's. Researchers now know noise-induced hearing loss is largely caused by the production of free radicals, which destroy healthy inner ear cells.

"The free radicals literally punch holes in the membrane of the cells," said Miller, the Townsend professor of communicative disorders at the University of Michigan.

The antioxidant vitamins prevent hearing damage by "scavenging" the free radicals. Magnesium, which is not a traditional antioxidant, is added to the supplement mix to preserve blood flow to the inner ear and aid in healing.

"We found that the antioxidant combination of vitamin E and salicylate — the active agent in aspirin —effectively prevented cell death and permanent noise-induced hearing loss even when treatments were delayed up to three days after noise insult," she said.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212093704.htm

April 7, 2009

Ears: Simple Ways to Reduce Tinnitus

Ringing, whining, whistling, hissing or whooshing. Any of those sounds in one or both ears when there is no external noise present could be a sign of tinnitus.

The February issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource provides an overview of this common condition. It’s estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent of adults have prolonged tinnitus that often requires medical evaluation. This form of the problem can interfere with sleep, concentration and daily activities.

Tinnitus -- pronounced as either TIN-i-tus or ti-NIGHT-us, often is caused by age-related hearing loss. Exposure to loud noises also can damage hearing and lead to tinnitus. Tinnitus can be caused by something as simple as a buildup of wax blocking the ear canal. Some medications, certain antibiotics and cancer drugs can cause or worsen tinnitus. Aspirin -- taken in excessive amounts -- can cause temporary ringing in the ears, too.

The treatment depends on the root cause. But so far, there is no cure. A medication change or removal of earwax may diminish symptoms for some people.

Treatment strategies that may be beneficial include:

*Amplifying hearing with a hearing aid. This may help because the brain would rather process external sounds than be distracted by an internal noise.

*Avoiding excessive noise. Ear plugs can be helpful when operating noisy machines.

*Avoiding stimulants. Caffeine, nicotine and decongestants can aggravate tinnitus.

*Adding background noise. Turning on quiet music, a fan or other background noises can distract the brain from the internal noise.

*Using behavioral therapy. Relaxation techniques can help people cope with tinnitus or keep it controlled.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204165913.htm

April 6, 2009

Infection: Vitamin B12 Lowers Risk for Canker Sores

A team of physicians at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has discovered that a nightly dose of vitamin B12 is a simple, effective and low risk therapy to prevent Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS), better known as "canker sores."

According to lead researcher Dr. Ilia Volkov, "the frequency of RAS is as much as 25 percent in the general population, however, until now, there has been no optimal therapeutic approach."

The researchers tested the effect of vitamin B12 on 58 randomly selected RAS patients who received either a dose of 1,000 mcg of B12 by mouth at bedtime or a placebo, and were tested monthly for six months. Approximately three quarters (74 percent) of the patients of the treated group and only a third (32 percent) of the control group achieved remission at the end of the study.

The treated patients expressed greater comfort, reported less pain, fewer ulcers, and shorter outbreaks during the six months while among the control group the average pain level decreased during the first half of the period but increased during the second half.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090210092732.htm

April 5, 2009

Exercise: Gardening Can Help Old and Young Alike

Researchers at Kansas State University already have shown that gardening can offer enough moderate physical activity to keep older adults in shape. The researchers discovered that among the other health benefits of gardening is keeping older hands strong and nimble.

"One of the things we found is that older adults who are gardeners have better hand strength and pinch force, which is a big concern as you age," said Candice Shoemaker, K-State professor of horticulture.

"We found that with gardening tasks older adults can, among other things, improve their hand strength and self-esteem at the same time," Park said.

They are now analyzing data from an eight-week horticulture therapy program that targeted hand strength in stroke patients.

"They did tasks like mixing soil and filling pots," Park said. "They had to use their hands all of the time, so that was good exercise -- and they really enjoyed it.

They found that a task like raking, which uses the whole body, had the most exercise benefit, whereas activities like mixing soil or transplanting seedlings give the most benefit to the upper body.

Shoemaker, who also researches gardening as a prevention strategy to childhood obesity, said that studying the physical benefits of gardening is important for older adults because gardening is a physically active hobby that provides an alternative to sports or other exercise.

"There's a lot of natural motivation in gardening," Shoemaker said. "For one thing, you know there's a plant you've got to go out and water and weed to keep alive. If we get the message out there that older adults can get health benefits from gardening, they'll realize that they don't have to walk around the mall to get exercise."

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203142517.htm

April 4, 2009

Breast Cancer: An Apple a Day May Keep the Doctor Away

Six studies published in the past year by a Cornell researcher add to growing evidence that an apple a day -- as well as daily helpings of other fruits and vegetables -- can help keep the breast-cancer doctor away.

The studies highlight the important role of phytochemicals, known as phenolics or flavonoids, found in apples and other fruits and vegetables. Of the top 25 fruits consumed in the United States, Liu reported in the same journal (56:18) that apples provide 33 percent of the phenolics that Americans consume annually.

In a study of apple peel published in the same journal (56:21), Liu reported on a variety of new phenolic compounds that he discovered that also have "potent antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities" on tumors. And in yet another study in the same journal (56:24), he reported on his discovery of the specific modulation effects that apple extracts have on cell cycle machinery. Recently, Liu's group also reported the finding that apple phytochemicals inhibit an important inflammation pathway (NFkB) in human breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed invasive cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States, said Liu.

"These studies add to the growing evidence that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, including apples, would provide consumers with more phenolics, which are proving to have important health benefits. I would encourage consumers to eat more and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables daily."

For more on the studies, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217125742.htm

April 3, 2009

Depression: Very Young Children Can Identify Depression and Anxiety in Themselves

University of Washington social scientists tracked first- and second-graders for seven years and found that anti-social behavior among girls and anxiety among both sexes predicted depression in early adolescence. Surprisingly, early signs of depression were not predictive of adolescent depression.

Data were collected annually from the children and their parents and teachers when the children were in the first or second grade. The children filled out surveys that measured their levels of depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior, as well as other measures that were not investigated in this study. Parents and teachers filled out questionnaires about the children's anti-social behavior and social competency, which measured such things as the youngsters' abilities to understand other people's feeling, to make new friends and resolve conflicts. Teachers also rated each child's academic performance. In addition, parents filled out questionnaires concerning family and marital conflict, family stress and parental depression.

"One finding from this study that is a mind-grabber is that young children can identify themselves as being anxious and depressed," said Mazza. "When they had scores that were elevated we were a bit surprised because we thought they would say, 'My life is fun and I play a lot.' But they are able to understand and report feeling depressed or anxious, and tell us so. This suggests giving health surveys in early elementary school is a good idea and we should talk to kids in the first and second grades because they can give us valuable information."

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141538.htm

April 2, 2009

Alzheimer’s: Mental Activities Can Delay or Prevent Memory Loss

Participating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or later in life, may delay or prevent memory loss, according to a study released February 17 that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

The study found that during later years, reading books, playing games, participating in computer activities and doing craft activities such as pottery or quilting led to a 30 to 50 percent decrease in the risk of developing memory loss compared to people who did not do those activities. People who watched television for less than seven hours a day in later years were 50 percent less likely to develop memory loss than people who watched for more than seven hours a day.

People who participated in social activities and read magazines during middle age were about 40 percent less likely to develop memory loss than those who did not do those activities.

"This study is exciting because it demonstrates that aging does not need to be a passive process. By simply engaging in cognitive exercise, you can protect against future memory loss," said study author Yonas Geda, MD, MSc, a neuropsychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217173022.htm

April 1, 2009

Menopause: Exercise Can Improve Quality of Life

Exercise appears to improve quality of life in postmenopausal women regardless of whether they lose weight, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Physical inactivity is a risk factor for various chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus, heart disease, stroke and several types of cancers, according to background information in the article. Regular physical activity is often reported to improve mood, reduce stress and increase energy levels, all of which are measurements of quality of life.. All three exercise groups had significantly improved social functioning compared with the control group."

The researchers said, “The exercise doses are easily obtainable and were well tolerated by sedentary women, resulting in confidence that the exercise doses used in this study can be achieved by women in the community."

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209163207.htm

March 31, 2009

Stroke: 4 Things to Do to Lower Your Risk

Four lifestyle behaviors that influence stroke risk are not smoking, physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, and eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Adherence to all 4 health behaviors is associated with a 2.3 times lower risk for stroke vs adherence to none of these behaviors.

For more about the study underpinning these suggestions, click on:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588615?sssdmh=dm1.435854&src=nldne

March 30, 2009

Liver: Weight Loss Can Help

In a recent study, Saint Louis University researchers found that weight loss of at least 9 percent helped patients reverse a type of liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a finding that will allow doctors to give patients specific weight-loss goals that are likely to improve their livers. The finding comes from a study of the diet drug orlistat (also known as Xenical and Alli), which did not itself improve liver disease.

"The bottom line is that weight loss can help improve fatty liver disease," said Neuschwander-Tetri, who is a professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University. "Now we know how much weight loss is needed for improvement, and we can give patients specific goals as they work to improve their health."

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217104439.htm

March 29, 2009

Kidney, Heart Disease, Osteoporosis: Processed & Fast Foods May be Harmful

Advanced kidney disease patients have a list of foods they know to avoid because they naturally contain a high level of the mineral phosphorus, which is difficult for their compromised kidneys to expel. But researchers from MetroHealth Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland have discovered that a great deal of processed and fast food actually contains phosphorus additives which can be just as dangerous for these patients.

High blood levels of phosphorus can lead to heart disease, bone disease, and even death among patients with advanced kidney disease. This is why these patients must avoid foods with naturally high levels of phosphorus – such as certain meats, dairy products, whole grains, and nuts. The research team discovered that it has become an increasingly common practice by food manufacturers to include phosphorus additives, such as sodium phosphate or pyrophosphate, to processed foods. The additives are used to enhance flavor and shelf life –particularly in meats, cheeses, baked goods, and beverages – and it is very difficult for American consumers to know whether or not these additives are present in products.

"Calories, fat, and sodium content are required to be listed on nutrition labels, but phosphorus is not," says Catherine Sullivan, M.S., R.D., lead researcher from the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, a joint center created and operated by MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University. "This makes it impossible for kidney disease patients to know how much phosphorus they are eating. For example, we discovered that while chicken is often on dialysis patients' 'Safe List' of foods to eat, chicken from fast food and sit down restaurants often contains this phosphorus additive."

The researchers found they were able to significantly lower phosphorus levels among advanced kidney disease patients once they were taught to avoid foods containing phosphorus additives.

The study findings are most relevant to the half a million Americans with advanced kidney disease and the 10 million more with moderate kidney disease. However, the study authors note that even people with normal kidney function may be affected by these additives since previous research has found that high phosphorus diets appear to lower bone density and increase fracture risk as well.

"Phosphorus is already abundant in naturally-occurring foods," says study co-investigator Srilekha Sayre, M.D., M.S., MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University. "By adding even more phosphorus to our food supply, we may be exceeding the body's regulatory ability, especially for those with kidney disease. We need to limit the use of these additives until their impact is better understood or at least encourage the Food and Drug Administration to require food manufacturers to report phosphorus content on nutrition food labels."

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090210161912.htm

March 28, 2009

Heart Disease: High-Fat Diets Inflame Tissue Surrounding Blood Vessels

A study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati shows that high-fat diets, even if consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease.

Neal Weintraub, MD, and colleagues examined adipose tissue—or fat—surrounding the coronary arteries of humans.  The researchers found these fat cells to be highly inflamed, suggesting that they could trigger inflammation of the blood vessels, an important component of atherosclerosis.

They also found that the inflammation of fat tissues around the arteries of mice is increased by feeding the animals a high-fat diet for just two weeks.

“This is independent of weight gain or blood lipids—cholesterol levels,” says Weintraub, senior author of the study and chair of the cardiovascular diseases division at UC.

Weintraub says that high fat diets contribute to atherosclerosis—or the hardening of arteries—in a number of ways.

For more on the studies, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218142001.htm

March 27, 2009

Alzheimer’s: Could a Soybean Product Help?

A vegan food renowned in Asia for its ability to protect against heart attacks also shows a powerful ability in lab experiments to prevent formation of the clumps of tangled protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease, scientists in Taiwan are reporting.

Rita P. Y. Chen and colleagues point out that people in Asia have been eating natto — a fermented food made from boiled soybeans —for more than 1,000 years. Natto contains an enzyme, nattokinase, that has effects similar to clot-busting drugs used in heart disease. Nattokinase is sold a dietary supplement to improve the body’s circulatory system.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218223842.htm

March 27, 2009

Allergies, Asthma and Headaches: House Plants Could Help

The toxic gas formaldehyde is contained in building materials including carpeting, curtains, plywood, and adhesives. As it is emitted from these sources, it deteriorates the air quality, which can lead to "multiple chemical sensitivity" and "sick building syndrome", medical conditions with symptoms such as allergies, asthma, and headaches. The prevalence of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) is greater in new construction.

Researchers are studying the ability of plants to reduce formaldehyde levels in the air. A study led by Kwang Jin Kim of Korea's National Horticultural Research Institute compared the absorption rate of two types of houseplants. The results of the experiment on Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) and Fatsia japonica, an evergreen shrub, were published in the Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141419.htm

March 26, 2009

Parenting: Dangerous Effects of Violent Video Games and Movies

Violent video games and movies make people numb to the pain and suffering of others, according to a research report published in the March 2009 issue of Psychological Science.

The report details the findings of two studies conducted by University of Michigan professor Brad Bushman and Iowa State University professor Craig Anderson.

"These studies clearly show that violent media exposure can reduce helping behavior," said Bushman, professor of psychology and communications and a research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research.

"People exposed to media violence are less helpful to others in need because they are 'comfortably numb' to the pain and suffering of others, to borrow the title of a Pink Floyd song," he said.

For more about the studies, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090219202831.htm

March 25, 2009

Multiple Sclerosis: Breastfeeding May Reduce Risk of Relapse

Women who have multiple sclerosis may reduce their risk of relapses after pregnancy if they breastfeed their babies, according to a study released February 18 that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

A total of 52 percent of the women with MS did not breastfeed or began supplemental formula feedings within two months of giving birth. Of those, 87 percent had a relapse after pregnancy compared to 36 percent of women with MS who breastfed exclusively for at least two months after pregnancy.

Sixty percent of the women reported their main reason for not breastfeeding exclusively was to start taking MS treatments again. Women who began taking MS treatments within the first two months after giving birth had significantly higher risk of suffering a relapse than women with MS who did not start taking medications early, regardless of whether they breastfed. Those who breastfed exclusively got their menstrual periods back later than the women who did not breastfeed or began early supplemental feedings.

For more on the study, click on

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090219202716.htm

March 24, 2009

Stroke: The Connection to Fast-Food Restaurants

The risk of stroke increases with the number of fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2009.

Residents of neighborhoods with the highest number of fast-food restaurants had a 13 percent higher relative risk of suffering ischemic strokes than those living in areas with the lowest numbers of restaurants. The relative risk of stroke increased 1 percent for each fast-food restaurant in a neighborhood.

 “The data show a true association,” said Lewis B. Morgenstern, M.D., lead author of the study and director of the University of Michigan’s stroke program and professor of neurology and epidemiology in Ann Arbor. “What we don’t know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of its contents, or whether fast-food restaurants are a marker of unhealthy neighborhoods.”

Neighborhoods with large numbers of the restaurants are prime areas for stroke prevention programs, Morgenstern said. “We need to consider targeting communities that have a lot of fast-food restaurants as places where we can improve health.”

The epidemiological study supports previous research that suggested a link between fast food and cardiovascular disease — to which some fast-food chains have responded by including more nutritious options to their menus.

Adapted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090219202714.htm

March 23, 2009

Parenting: Reducing Child’s Anxiety about Doctor and Dentist Visits

For many children, a trip to the doctor or dentist is a stressful experience. The sensory environment (i.e., the sounds, smells, and lights associated with the clinical setting) can cause a child's anxiety levels to rise. This is especially true in children with developmental disabilities who may have difficulty understanding the unfamiliar clinical environment.

A new study explores the relationship between the sensory environment and anxiety levels in children.

The first trip for the children included the typical sensory experiences of a dental office, including fluorescent lighting and the use of an overhead dental lamp. During the second trip, however, the researchers created a sensory adapted environment that modified the experience of the children. No overhead lighting was used, a slow moving repetitive color lamp was added, and the dental hygienist wore a special LED headlamp that directed the light into the child's mouth. The children listened to soothing music and were wrapped in a heavy vest that created a "hugging" effect. The dental chair itself was also modified to produce a vibration.

Dr. Shapiro and her colleagues found that anxiety levels decreased in all children when the sensory adapted environment was used. The duration of anxious behavior dropped significantly, from an average of 3.69 minutes to 1.48 minutes in typical children. The decreased anxiety levels were even more notable in children with developmental disability, with averages dropping from 23.44 minutes to 9.04 minutes. Dr. Shapiro and her colleagues are hopeful that this new method may have a potential use in other medical settings as well. As Dr. Shapiro notes, "This new approach may even replace sedatives and other invasive procedures in the future."

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090220074822.htm

March 22, 2009

Pain: Meditation Can Help

Zen meditation – a centuries-old practice that can provide mental, physical and emotional balance – may reduce pain according to Université de Montréal researchers. A new study in the January edition of Psychosomatic Medicine reports that Zen meditators have lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state compared to non-meditators.

"While previous studies have shown that teaching chronic pain patients to meditate is beneficial, very few studies have looked at pain processing in healthy, highly trained meditators. This study was a first step in determining how or why meditation might influence pain perception." says Grant.

During the meditation-like conditions it appeared meditators further reduced their pain partly through slower breathing: 12 breaths per minute versus an average of 15 breaths for non-meditators.

"Slower breathing certainly coincided with reduced pain and may influence pain by keeping the body in a relaxed state." says Grant. "While previous studies have found that the emotional aspects of pain are influenced by meditation, we found that the sensation itself, as well as the emotional response, is different in meditators."

The ultimate result? Zen meditators experienced an 18 percent reduction in pain intensity. "If meditation can change the way someone feels pain, thereby reducing the amount of pain medication required for an ailment, that would be clearly beneficial," says Grant.

For more on the study, click on: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203110514.htm

March 21, 2009

Relationships: How to Judge Whether a Date is Really Interested

When it comes to assessing the romantic playing field -- who might be interested in whom -- men and women were shown to be equally good at gauging men's interest during an Indiana University study involving speed dating -- and equally bad at judging women's interest.

"The hardest-to-read women were being misperceived at a much higher rate than the hardest-to-read men. Those women were being flirtatious, but it turned out they weren't interested at all," said lead author Skyler Place, a doctoral student in IU's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences working with cognitive science Professor Peter Todd. "Nobody could really read what these deceptive females were doing, including other women."

Readers can see how successful they are at judging romantic interest by participating in a new online study that contains the same task as the one described here.

To learn more or to participate in the 20-minute experiment being conducted by Place and his research colleagues, visit this site: https://www.indiana.edu/~abcwest/webexp/

 For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090130084155.htm

March 20, 2009

Breast Cancer: Taking Estrogen and Progesterone for More than Two Years Increases risk

A new large study of 68,369 postmenopausal women who were cancer-free at the beginning of the study confirms that the use of estrogen plus progesterone increases the risk of both ductal and lobular breast cancer far more than estrogen-only; suggesting a two-year "safe" period for the use of estrogen and progesterone; and finding that the increased risk for ductal cancers observed in long-term past users of hormone replacement therapy drops off substantially two years after hormone use is stopped.

The researchers confirmed the findings from previous work that estrogen and progesterone increases the risk of both ductal and lobular breast cancer far more estrogen alone. They also found the risk associated with use of estrogen and progesterone increases significantly and substantially within three years of beginning hormone use. The data showed no increased risk for women who used estrogen and progesterone for less than two years, potentially identifying a "safe" period for estrogen and progesterone use.

They also found no increased risk of breast cancer in women who had stopped using estrogen and progesterone two or more years ago, suggesting a window of two to three years for the risks of estrogen and progesterone both to become apparent after initial use and to diminish after cessation.

The use of estrogen and progesterone was associated with a doubling of risk of lobular cancer after three years of use, and a doubling of risk of ductal cancer with 10 years of use. Estrogen-only use was not associated with increased risk of ductal cancer, even after 20 years of use, but was associated with a 50 percent increase in risk of lobular cancer after 10 years of use.

Sources:

Eugenia E. Calle et al. Postmenopausal hormone use and breast cancer associations differ by hormone regimen and histologic subtype. Cancer, Published Online: January 20, 2008 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24101

Adapted from materials provided by American Cancer Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS

March 19, 2009

Pregnancy: Zinc Supplements Can Protect Against Developmental Difficulties Associated with Alcohol Drinking

A recent animal study had three major findings: "One, fetal abnormalities caused by acute alcohol exposure in early pregnancy can be prevented by dietary zinc supplementation. Two, dietary zinc supplementation throughout pregnancy can protect against post-natal death caused by acute alcohol exposure in early pregnancy. Three, dietary zinc supplementation increases the mother's blood zinc to overwhelm the transient drop in zinc caused by alcohol, which we believe prevents the fetal zinc deficiency and subsequent fetal damage."

“What our studies do indicate is that dietary zinc supplementation could be as important as folic acid and applied as a simple prophylactic treatment in the human setting to prevent the effects of a range of insults in pregnancy."

While zinc supplementation is relatively common, and zinc tablets can easily be found in herbal shops, Coyle cautioned that zinc can also affect the absorption of other trace elements and cause anemia if taken in excess. "So one must be wary of taking zinc supplements without professional oversight, and this is particularly so in pregnancy," he said.

"Furthermore," he added, "although dietary zinc supplementation has been used in human pregnancy, we do not have any information regarding the dose that would be required to protect against damage from alcohol nor even the dosage that could be harmful to fetal development. Indeed, we have not tested our hypothesis in humans and so it would be unwise to extrapolate any of our findings to humans. We would predict that zinc supplementation would only be effective around the time of alcohol intake to prevent fetal zinc deficiency. Taking zinc supplements a day after alcohol consumption would probably be too late to prevent fetal damage. Obviously more research is needed."

For more on this story, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202174452.htm

March 18, 2009

Cancer: Physical Activity Can Enhance Quality of Life for Lung Cancer Survivors

Survivors of early-stage lung cancer who take part in regular physical activity have a better quality of life, according to a study in the February issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, available online now. Patients who are more physically active report better mood, more vigor, and greater physical functioning, the study shows.

"Unfortunately, we see that most lung cancer survivors do not meet guidelines set for physical activity, especially in the six months following surgery," Coups says. "While it is certainly understandable that people might not be able to exercise as vigorously as they had done before lung surgery, our study suggests that healthcare providers ought to discuss the potential benefits of moderate physical activity among early-stage lung cancer survivors as a means of increasing their quality of life."

For more on the topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203130702.htm

March 17, 2009

Heart Attack: 40% More Likely When Living in Environments with High Levels of Road Noise

Once people with impaired hearing or exposure to other sources of noise had been eliminated from the study, it was found that there was a 40 per cent higher risk of myocardial infarction in people exposed to road traffic noise exceeding 50 decibels. This relationship applied independently of other known risk factors for myocardial infarction, such as exposure to air pollutants.

"More research will be needed to establish a definite correlation between road traffic noise and myocardial infarction, but our results are supported by other studies showing the cardiovascular effects of noise, such as those concerning high blood pressure," says Professor Göran Pershagen, who led the study. "Councils should already be taking these results into account when planning new roads and residential areas."

Noise is a serious and growing environmental problem.

For more about the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202135936.htm

March 16, 2009

Stress, Not Heart Disease

Each year, many people seek emergency treatment for unexplained chest pains. Several common factors among those affected, including stress at work, anxiety, depression and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to chest pain.

Chest pain is a common reason for patients to seek emergency treatment. A considerable number of patients who go to emergency departments are diagnosed with unexplained chest pain, which means that the pain cannot be linked to biomedical factors such as heart disease, or some other illness.

”The main difference between women and men with unexplained chest pain is that men were more likely to perceive their lives and jobs as being stressful, while women tended more to suffer from symptoms of depressions and anxiety,” says Annika Janson Fagring.

The patients, both men and women, experienced more symptoms of depression and anxiety, and work-related stress when compared with a reference group of people who were not suffering from heart disease. The male patients were more physically active in their spare time than the female patients, but compared with the reference group, both the men and the women with unexplained chest pain led a more sedentary lifestyle.

For more about this study, click on: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209094551.htm

March 15, 2009

Parenting: Adolescent Girls Need Vitamin D for Muscle Strength

Vitamin D is significantly associated with muscle power and force in adolescent girls, according to a new study. Although vitamin D is naturally produced in the body through exposure to direct sunlight, vitamin D deficiency has become widely common in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.

A recent study found that “vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls."

"Vitamin D affects the various ways muscles work and we've seen from this study that there may be no visible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency," said Dr. Ward. "Further studies are needed to address this problem and determine the necessary levels of vitamin D for a healthy muscle system."

For more on vitamin D and adolescent girls, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203080730.htm

March 14, 2009

Breast Cancer: Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Help to Combat It

News Researchers of the Catalonian Institute of Oncology (Spain) and the University of Granada (Spain) have discovered that extra virgin olive oil may help to combat breast cancer, according to a paper published in a recent issue of ‘BMC Cancer’. The scientists have confirmed the bioactivity of polyphenols (this is, natural antioxidants) present in olive oil in breast cancer cell lines.

For more about this study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205113743.htm

March 13, 2009

Osteoporosis: Eat Less Meat and Cereals

A new study funded in part by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) suggests that neutralizing an acid-producing diet may be an important key to reducing bone breakdown, or "turnover," while aging. The study comes on the heels of several ARS-reported studies suggesting that consuming more-than-recommended amounts of calcium may not be the main answer to protecting bone.

Fruits and vegetables are metabolized to bicarbonate and thus are alkali-producing. But the typical American diet is rich in protein and cereal grains that are metabolized to acid, and thus are acid-producing. With aging, such diets lead to a mild but slowly increasing metabolic "acidosis."

The authors concluded that increasing the alkali content of the diet, for example by consuming more fruits and vegetables, merits further study as a safe and low-cost approach to improving skeletal health in older men and women.

For more on this topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131124439.htm

March 12, 2009

Parenting: Encourage Children to Play Instruments to Up Reading and Math Achievement

A new study in the journal Social Science Quarterly reveals that music participation, defined as music lessons taken in or out of school and parents attending concerts with their children, has a positive effect on reading and mathematic achievement in early childhood and adolescence.

Music is positively associated with academic achievement, especially during the high school years.

For more on this story, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090210110043.htm

March 11, 2009

Weight Loss: Arginine May Help

A Texas AgriLife Research scientist and fellow researchers have discovered that arginine, an amino acid, reduces fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and could help fight human obesity.

The research found dietary arginine supplementation shifts nutrient partitioning to promote skeletal-muscle gain, according to the researchers. The findings were published recently in the Journal of Nutrition.

Arginine-rich foods include seafood, watermelon juice, nuts, seeds, algae, meats, rice protein concentrate and soy protein isolate.

For more about this story, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204161848.htm

March 10, 2009

Lungs: Laser Printers May Damage

The identity and origin of tiny, potentially hazardous particles emitted from common laser printers have been revealed by a new study at Queensland University of Technology.

Almost one third of popular laser printers emit large numbers of ultrafine particles. These tiny particles are potentially dangerous to human health because they can penetrate deep into the lungs.

Professor Morawska said the latest study found that the ultrafine particles formed from vapours which are produced when the printed image is fused to the paper.

"The printer with better temperature control emitted fewer particles."

Professor Morawska said this research provided information which would help consumers better understand the risks of laser printers and would help the printer industry to design low or no emission printers.

For more information, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090211094043.htm

March 9, 2009

Kidney Disease: Linked to Drinking Fructose-Sweetened Sodas

Women who drink two or more cans of soda pop per day are nearly twice as likely to show early signs of kidney disease, a recent study has found.

In recent years, diabetes, obesity and kidney disease have been increasing, along with consumption of high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener used in most sodas.

But what's most important is the amount of sugar, not the type, Shoham said. "I don?t think there is anything demonic about high fructose corn syrup per se," Shoham said. "People are consuming too much sugar. The problem with high fructose corn syrup is that it contributes to over consumption. It's cheap, it has a long shelf life and it allows you to buy a case of soda for less than $10."

Shoham and colleagues concluded that additional studies are needed to determine whether the elevated risk of kidney disease is due to high fructose corn syrup itself, an overall excess intake of sugar, unmeasured lifestyle factors or other causes.

A recent pilot study by other researchers, reported in the journal Environmental Health, found that nine of 20 commercial samples of high fructose corn syrup from three manufacturers contained detectable levels of mercury. "This adds the intriguing possibility that it is not just the sugar itself in high fructose corn syrup that is harmful, because mercury is harmful to kidneys as well," Shoham said.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209125821.htm

March 8, 2009

Overweight: Eat Fish and Use Canola Oil to Protect the Liver

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.

"Doctors are always looking for simple and easy ways to counter the harmful effects of obesity, and the great thing about this study is that the information can be used at dinner tonight," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "It's not unlikely that eating lots more fish or a simple switch to canola oil will make a difference."

For more on the topic, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212150842.htm

March 7, 2009

Parenting: Be a Role Model for Eating

There may be a reason teenagers eat more burgers and fries than fruits and vegetables: their parents.

In a new policy brief released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, researchers found that adolescents are more likely to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day if their parents do. Contrarily, teens whose parents eat fast food or drink soda are more likely to do the same.

Educating parents about unhealthy food choices, as well as how to plan and prepare healthier fare, would help in reducing teen obesity, according to the authors of the policy brief. They also recommend employment policies that promote a better work-life balance. Given a more flexible schedule, more families might have time to prepare food at home and engage more often in family meals — an activity that has been linked to healthier lifestyles.

Healthy "food environments," such as supermarkets, farmers markets and other retail food outlets that offer fruits and vegetables instead of fast food, are also important in helping parents and teens practice healthy behaviors, the brief's authors said.

For more details of the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209125824.htm

March 6, 2009

Overweight: Linked to Migraines

Overweight people who are between the ages of 20 and 55 may have a higher risk of experiencing migraine headaches, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

"These results, while still in the early stages, suggest that losing weight in the stomach area may be beneficial for younger people who experience migraine and especially so for women," said study author B. Lee Peterlin, DO, of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Men and women have body tissue distributed in different ways. After puberty women show more fatty tissue deposits in the hip and thigh area while men predominantly have more fatty tissue in the belly region. After menopause, women show more fatty tissue in the belly area as well. For some diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, excess fat around the waistline appears to be a stronger risk factor than total body obesity," Peterlin said.

For more on the study, click on:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212161812.htm

March 5, 2009

Pregnancy:  Women Hoping to Become    Pregnant Not Following Healthy Lifestyles

Very few women follow the nutritional and lifestyle recommendations before they become pregnant, even when pregnancy is in some sense planned. Nutrition and lifestyle advice is widely available for women during pregnancy, but much less emphasis is given to advice for women who may become pregnant. Yet promoting good health and nutrition before pregnancy may be at least as important as during pregnancy as the time around conception is vital for the development of the baby.

In a recent study, participants were equally likely to consume five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day, but only 57% of those who became pregnant had taken any strenuous exercise in the past three months compared with 64% of those who did not become pregnant.

In conclusion, our data show limited evidence of changes in health behaviours before pregnancy, say the authors. They call for greater publicity for pre-pregnancy recommendations, but point out that substantial unplanned pregnancy rates mean that greater efforts are needed to improve the nutrition and lifestyles of all women of child-bearing age.

In an accompanying editorial, public health experts from the University of Southern Denmark believe there is a need to reconsider the timing and setting for public health campaigns aimed at improving the conditions for the developing fetus. They also suggest that it is time to not only focus on women, but include men as targets for health promotion too.

For more specifics on the study, click on: