Tailored breast cancer care urged for black women
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African-American breast cancer patients may be harder hit by the disease than whites due to the type of tumors they tend to develop, rather than socioeconomic factors alone, a new study suggests.
Based on the findings, more efforts must be made to tailor treatments to the more-aggressive tumor types that frequently occur in black women, Dr. Wendy A. Woodward told Reuters Health.
Risk of Acute Pancreatitis Low with Statins
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New research reveals that while cholesterol-lowering drugs do increase the risk of painful inflammation of the pancreas, the side effect is relatively rare, according to Sonal Singh, M.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
“Acute pancreatitis is a fairly common condition and cholesterol-lowering drugs have been implicated in some cases,” said Singh. “Since millions of people around the world take these drugs, our aim was to quantify the risk.”
Older women with bad vision at greater death risk
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Older women with poor eyesight have a greater likelihood of dying over a given period than similar women with better vision, a new study shows.
Vision loss occurs with aging, and is known to increase the risk of falls and fractures, Kathryn L. Pedula of Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, Oregon and colleagues note in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Too much fish risky for foetuses
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Pregnant women who eat fish more than three times a week could be putting their baby at risk because of higher mercury levels in their blood, according to a study by Taiwanese researchers.
Mercury exposure is especially risky for foetuses when their internal organs are developing, and can result in neuronal, kidney and brain damage, and stunt growth.
Expectant Chinese mothers tend to eat more fish as they believe it is healthier than red or white meat.
Women on osteoporosis drug can discontinue use with no risk
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A long-term study of the most widely used osteoporosis drug has found that many women can discontinue the drug after five years without increasing their fracture risk for as long as five more years.
The study on alendronate was led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and findings are published in the December 27, 2006 issue of the “Journal of the American Medical Association.” The research also showed that women at very high risk of painful spine fractures might be better-off continuing treatment.
“This has important implications as it has not been known whether treatment of osteoporosis should be continued indefinitely,” said lead author Dennis Black, PhD, professor in the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “Because women with osteoporosis, particularly older post-menopausal women, often need to take multiple drugs, this would be welcome news for this group.”
Pain from fibromyalgia is real, experts say
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Many people with fibromyalgia—a debilitating pain syndrome that affects 2 to 4 percent of the population—have faced the question of whether the condition is real.
Based on a review of published studies, there is now “overwhelming” evidence that fibromyalgia is real, report two researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School in the journal Current Pain and Headache Reports.
Genetic Mechanism Helps Explain Chronic Pain Disorders
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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that commonly occurring variations of a gene trigger a domino effect in chronic pain disorders. The finding might lead to more effective treatments for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD) and other chronic pain conditions.
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme that metabolizes neurotransmitters such as epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine and that has been implicated in the modulation of persistent pain, as well as cognition and mood, is regulated by a gene, also called COMT. Previous UNC-led research showed that common genetic variants of this gene are associated with increased pain sensitivity and the likelihood of developing TMJD.
More Nigerian states hit by bird flu infection
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The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread in the last few weeks to two new states in Nigeria and reappeared in two others where it was believed to have been contained, officials said on Friday.
Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem infections among birds and head off a potentially devastating human flu pandemic.
The disease was first discovered in the northwest state of Kaduna in February and it spread rapidly in the early weeks to 12 other states and the Federal Capital Territory, despite culling and quarantine measures.
Balance training may help the elderly avoid falls
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Although the ancient art of Tai Chi has been shown to lower older adults’ risk of falls, exercises that specifically focus on improving balance and speed may be even better, a study suggests.
Researchers found that among more than 200 elderly adults with balance problems, those who went through an exercise program called “combined balance and step training” (CBST) made greater gains in balance and mobility than those who took Tai Chi classes.
The findings, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggest that the CBST approach might be particularly effective at improving older adults’ ability to avoid falls.
Babies with viral infection may respond to antibiotic
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Infants with bronchiolitis caused by RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), may benefit from treatment with an antibiotic, according to results of a Turkish study.
Usually occurring in winter, bronchiolitis is the most common respiratory ailment affecting children under two years of age. The virus RSV is the usual cause and treatment has been largely supportive, consisting of supplemental oxygen, intravenous fluids and use of a ventilator if needed. In cases of viral illnesses such as RSV, antibiotics are typically not given.
Exercise, diet reduce fatty liver in obese teens
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Efforts to help obese children become more active and eat better can help reduce the amount of fatty tissue in their livers.
Known medically as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, this condition is becoming increasingly common as the prevalence of obesity increases, Dr. Ana R. Damaso and colleagues from the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil note in their report. There are currently no drugs available to reverse fatty liver disease, which can progress to cirrhosis, even among young patients, the doctors add.
They set out to determine whether a 12-week program including nutrition education and two one-hour exercise sessions per week would have any effect on fatty liver in a group of 73 obese teens.
Development of gene therapy
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Since the late 1980s, gene therapy, more than virtually any other type of therapy, has given rise not only to high expectations of treatment success but also great concerns regarding health risks. Since the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) issued its first memorandum in 1995, this field of research has developed enormously. Wide-ranging experiments have shown the therapeutic potential as well as the risks of gene therapy. The second memorandum, which has just been presented by the DFG Senate Commission on Genetic Research, makes it clear that gene therapy already shows signs of success in certain areas, such as severe hereditary immunodeficiency diseases, while in other areas there is still considerable need for research. Moreover, the clinical application of gene therapy requires careful risk/benefit assessment, although in this respect it does not differ substantially from other therapeutic approaches.
Even with lung cancer, quitting cigarettes helps
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Once people have been diagnosed with lung cancer they might think it pointless to stop smoking, but in fact it’s not too late to benefit from quitting, a new study shows.
Researchers found that among more than 200 lung cancer patients at their center, those who quit smoking after the diagnosis became less severely impaired by the disease than those who kept up the habit.
Specifically, their “performance status”—a measure of patients’ ability to care for themselves and function in daily life—was generally higher, according to findings published in the medical journal Chest.
HIV Treatments Improve Health, but Nutritional Issues Remain
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Despite the success of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), people with HIV may still be at higher risk for nutritional deficiencies and abnormalities. In two different studies, researchers at the Nutrition/Infection Unit in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and colleagues examined the incidence of metabolic syndrome and existing micronutrient deficiencies among participants in the Nutrition for Healthy Living (NFHL) study, a cohort with HIV. Both studies were published in the December 1st issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, reporting that a high percentage of people with HIV have the same two defining characteristics of metabolic syndrome, and that people with HIV may be at risk for zinc deficiency.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as having three or more of the following medical conditions; low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or ‘good’) cholesterol, hypertension, abdominal obesity, high levels of serum glucose (blood sugar), and/or hypertriglyceridemia, which is an elevation of triglycerides (fatty compounds) in the blood. Metabolic syndrome is often associated with obesity and related diseases like diabetes, but characteristics of metabolic syndrome have been observed among patients with HIV both before and after the introduction of HAART.
Battling bacteria in gut may influence weight gain
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Body weight and obesity could be affected not only by what we eat but also by how it is digested in the gut, American scientists said on Wednesday.
They have discovered that levels of two types of good microbes or bacteria in the gut that help to break down foods are different in obese and lean people and mice.
The finding, reported in the science journal Nature, could lead to a better understanding of why some people may be prone to obesity and help find new ways of preventing or treating it.
