Passive smoking increases diabetes risk
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A study published on the British Medical Journal website shows for the first time that breathing other people’s smoke raises the risk of developing glucose intolerance, the precursor to diabetes.
The US research also shows that overall, white Americans are more susceptible to this effect than African-Americans.
Researchers examined 4572 men and women in four US cities, dividing them into four categories of smoking status: ranging from those who smoked, to those who had neither smoked nor breathed in other people’s smoke. The study focussed only on those who were white or African-American.
Allergies tied to habitual snoring in youngsters
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Allergies, African-American race, and a parental history of snoring are all associated with an increased risk of habitual snoring in 1-year-old children, new research shows.
Fifteen percent of children in the current study were habitual snorers, defined as snoring at least three times per week, according to the report in the medical journal Chest.
“Given the extent of this problem in very young children and the negative impact of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing on the cognitive functioning of school-age children, we strongly recommend that these high-risk groups be targeted for early identification and treatment,” Dr. Maninder Kalra, from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, and colleagues emphasize.
First-born’s sex has no impact on breast ca survival
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Contrary to earlier reports, there does not appear to be an association between the sex of a woman’s first child and her chances of subsequently surviving breast cancer, according to researchers.
“Given that previous reports advocated the use of the sex of the first child in making decisions related to breast cancer therapy and counseling, our findings are reassuring and clinically important,” write the researchers in the International Journal of Cancer.
Many diabetics can’t define “healthy” weight
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Although weight loss is a cornerstone of managing diabetes, many people who have the disease don’t know what their ideal weight range should be, a study suggests.
About half of the time, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found, overweight diabetics defined their “healthiest” weight with a number that was still too heavy for their height.
Some even considered a weight in the obese range to be their optimal number, according to findings published in the journal Diabetes Care.
New Research Shows Second-Hand Smoke Raises Diabetes Risk
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Active and passive smoking and development of glucose intolerance among young adults in a prospective cohort: CARDIA study BMJ Online First
A study published on bmj.com this week shows for the first time that breathing other people’s smoke raises the risk of developing glucose intolerance, the precursor to diabetes.
The US research also shows that overall, white Americans are more susceptible to this effect than African - Americans.
Women Now Live Longer than Men, Even in the Poorest Countries
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2006 is likely to be the first year in human history when - across almost all the world - women can expect to outlive men, say researchers in this week’s BMJ.
The trend towards this remarkable achievement will probably be confirmed this week in the 2006 world health report.
“We tend to forget that in many countries of the world women could expect, until recently, to live fewer years than men and that maternal death in particular remains a big killer,” write Danny Dorling and colleagues. In Europe, men last outlived women in the Netherlands in 1860 and in Italy in 1889. Elsewhere females’ life expectancy has long exceeded males’: in Sweden since 1751, Denmark since 1835, England and Wales since 1841.
Syria breaks taboo on violence against women
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Syria has broken a taboo by presenting a high profile study on violence against women, which found that one in four married women gets beaten—usually by her husband or father.
The study, released this week by the state-run General Union of Women and funded by United Nations Development Fund for Women, sheds light on the nature and extent of violence against women in Syria.
It also coincides with calls for a campaign to raise awareness of the problem.
Sleeping Pills May Not Be Best Way for Seniors to Get Good Night’s Sleep
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Have trouble falling asleep at night? Before you reach for a pill you should hear the results of a recent study that found sleep medications are twice as likely to cause harm to a senior patient than they are to help them sleep better.
“Probably about 50 percent of older adults complain of sleep related problems,” says Jill Studley, M.D., gerontologist on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.
Millions of seniors ask their physicians for sedatives or sleeping pills or even get them over-the-counter, but new studies demonstrate how dangerous taking these medications can be for older adults. According to recent research, these drugs are twice as likely to cause an accident than they are to help you sleep.
Better Stroke Outcome with High Blood Calcium
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Higher levels of calcium in the blood are associated with less severe stroke and better outcome, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., April 1 - 8, 2006.
Calcium and magnesium are intricately involved in the pathways of cell death in models of stroke, and high dietary intake of these minerals has been associated with a reduced risk of experiencing a stroke according to lead scientist Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, of the Stroke Center and Department of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles. This association led Ovbiagele to ask whether levels of serum calcium and magnesium might predict the severity and outcome in patients presenting with a stroke.
Ovbiagele’s group studied 240 consecutive patients who were seen at the UCLA Stroke Center within 24 hours of their stroke. Patients were classified into four groups, based on the level of calcium and magnesium in their blood. Researchers measured stroke severity at the time that patients were admitted into the hospital and how well they functioned upon being discharged.
Drinking more water does no harm in elderly men
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Increasing fluid intake by about a liter per day appears to have no negative effects in healthy older men, Dutch researchers report.
Dr. Mark G. Spigt of Maastricht University and colleagues note in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society that older people are often dehydrated, partly because their sensation of thirst may be blunted. On the other hand, the elderly can easily become overly hydrated, because their kidneys tend to work less efficiently. Retaining excess water can dilute the level of sodium in the body, which can have serious consequences.
“We did this analysis,” Spigt told Reuters Health, “because it was unknown whether it could do harm to hydrate elderly people. Despite the lack of evidence on this topic many people assume all kinds of effects; some claim positive effects, others warn against overhydration.”
Few get prompt care after mini-stroke
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Most people don’t seek medical attention immediately after suffering a “mini-stroke,” a new UK study shows.
Symptoms of a mini-stroke, known medically as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), are exactly the same as those of a full-fledged stroke, but resolve within 24 hours. While TIAs in themselves cause no long-term problems, they substantially increase the likelihood of having a full-fledged stroke soon afterwards.
“Because they don’t cause any long-term problems themselves, people are inclined often to ignore them or instead put them down to ‘one of those things,’” Dr. Matthew F. Giles of Oxford University’s Stroke Prevention Research Unit in London, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health. “That can be a dangerous action.”
Drug industry spends millions lobbying US states
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The pharmaceutical industry spent $44 million lobbying U.S. state officials during a two-year period with much of the money going to fight proposals that would have reduced prescription drug costs, according to report released on Thursday.
The Center for Public Integrity said industry representatives spent the money in 2003 and 2004, a time when more than half of all states were considering proposals to reduce the cost of medicines. Prescription medicines are one of the fastest-growing expenses for state governments, which are among the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest customers, the report said.
The investigative research center analyzed lobbyist disclosure documents and records from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) as well as conducted interviews with current and former state representatives.
Merck faces punitive phase of Vioxx trial
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The punitive phase of a trial involving Merck & Co.‘s drug Vioxx was set to start on Thursday after a jury found the drugmaker failed to warn Vioxx users of heart risks and ordered it to pay a 77-year-old plaintiff at least $4.5 million in damages.
Merck shares fell 4.2 percent to $34.48 in premarket trade Thursday after the jury in Atlantic City, New Jersey, found that Vioxx had been a substantial contributing cause of a heart attack suffered by John McDarby. The jury determined the drug was not a significant cause of a heart attack suffered by a second plaintiff, Thomas Cona.
Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold said Wednesday’s split verdict should lead to weakness in Merck shares.
Antibiotic May Help Fight Dementia in HIV Patients
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An antibiotic may help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., April 1 - 8, 2006.
“People infected with HIV often develop dementia as part of their illness, but there is currently no specific treatment for this complication,” said the study’s lead author, Jeffrey Rumbaugh, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University. According to the researchers, two HIV proteins, called Tat and gp120, have been implicated in the development of HIV dementia.
One effect of these proteins is to reduce expression of a neuronal membrane receptor, called EAAT-2 (excitatory amino acid transporter-2). EAAT-2 absorbs the neurotransmitter glutamate from the space between neurons (the synapse), thereby preventing excess neuronal excitation which can cause cell death. Researchers believe that by reducing EAAT-2, the HIV proteins increase brain damage, which leads to dementia in patients.
Compulsive Behaviors Are Common from Parkinson Treatment
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People treated for Parkinson disease are prone to pathologic gambling, hypersexuality, and compulsive shopping, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., April 1 - 8, 2006.
Reports have been growing in the past several years of compulsive behavior among patients with Parkinson disease who receive levodopa or dopamine agonists, the mainstays of Parkinson treatment. To examine the true extent of the problem, Valerie Voon, MD, of the National Institute for Neurologic Diseases and Stroke in Bethesda, MD, and her colleagues, conducted a prospective survey in almost 300 Parkinson patients, asking about pathologic gambling, hypersexuality, and compulsive shopping. They followed up with in-depth psychiatric interviews for those reporting any of the three compulsive behaviors.
Among their sample, pathologic gambling started in 10 patients (3.4 percent) after they began treatment, which is double the number expected based on population-wide surveys. These patients had lost an average of $150,000. Hypersexuality was seen in seven patients, and compulsive shopping in two.
