Low-cal ketogenic diet slows brain cancer in mice
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A calorically restricted ketogenic diet decreases the growth of malignant brain tumors in laboratory mice, according to an online report in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism.
A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that induces excess production of ketone bodies, which are incompletely burned fat molecules. This diet has been used to control epileptic seizures that do not respond to drug treatment.
Smokers Clock Up Almost 8 Additional Days of Sick Leave Every Year
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Smokers take an average of almost eight days more of sick leave every year than their non-smoking colleagues, suggested research published in Tobacco Control .
The research team analysed nationally representative registry data on sickness absence among more than 14,000 workers in Sweden between 1988 and 1991.
“Weekender” Cialis promises China marital bliss
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Eli Lilly & Co., maker of impotence drug Cialis, hopes that Chinese couples who might resort to traditional aphrodisiacs or divorce court to resolve sexual problems will seek marital bliss with its own remedy.
The U.S. drugmaker launched a marketing campaign for Cialis in the world’s most populous country on Thursday with the release of a survey showing that 45 percent of middle-aged Chinese couples had experienced erectile dysfunction problems.
Airway heat therapy helps with asthma control
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The removal of muscle tissue in the overly active airways of asthma sufferers by exposing the tissue to heat—a procedure called bronchial thermoplasty—can help improve the control of moderate to severe persistent asthma, new research suggests.
The so-called smooth-muscle fibers that surround the airways are what cause constriction of the airways in asthma. Bronchial thermoplasty aims to reduce smooth muscle activity by delivering thermal energy to the walls of the airways. The experimental treatment is given in a series of procedures using a bronchoscope and a device at the end for generating heat in a controlled fashion.
What not to eat
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Once, there were vegetarians and carnivores. Today, there’s a bewildering variety of food regimes. But which diet is really best for us? Kate Craven reports
Many of us have aspirations to eat more healthily, hoping that a better diet will improve our health, and boost how we feel and look. We all know that vegetables are good for us, so would eating more of them and junking meat forever be the answer? And which of vegetarianism’s many derivatives should we opt for? Are each as healthy as their disciples believe or are food faddists doing themselves more harm than good? (To say nothing of the inconvenience they cause to dinner party hosts.)
MRI Detects Most Missed Opposite Breast Cancers in Women
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Up to 10 percent of women newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast develop cancer in the opposite breast. Results of a major clinical trial show that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are highly effective tools for quickly identifying these opposite breast cancers, detecting diseased tissue that other screening methods missed.
In the new trial, conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and funded by the National Cancer Institute, researchers wanted to determine whether MRI could improve doctors’ ability to identify these opposite breast cancers right at the initial diagnosis – boosting the chances for swift and successful treatment.
Aspirin Resistance Is Higher in Diabetics
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Aspirin has long been the industry standard for the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. However, for the more than 20 million Americans living with diabetes, the standard dose of aspirin might not provide adequate protection against future heart attacks. Researchers at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore recently demonstrated that aspirin resistance is higher in diabetics with coronary artery disease (CAD) than in non-diabetics at the standard 81mg dose of aspirin. The study (#1019-179) will be presented in its entirety at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in New Orleans on March 26.
Most CAD deaths are caused by platelets sticking together and forming blood clots (thrombosis) that block blood flow within arteries, resulting in a heart attack. Aspirin inhibits clotting by specifically blocking an important enzyme, COX-1, which keeps platelets from sticking together. However, some diabetic patients may require a higher aspirin dose to achieve sufficient COX-1 blockade.
Impact of Brain Injury on Family Members
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After a traumatic brain injury medical professionals tend to focus on the patient but research shows a great impact on family members as well. Studies in the 1970s began to recognize these issues, while other work in the 1980s documented emotional distress that persisted for up to seven years and many studies in the 1990s identified tremendous levels of stress on caregivers and family members. The special April issue of the journal NeuroRehabilitation sheds light on the substantial advances in the science of family member and caregiver research with six special articles by experts in the field, exploring ways in which interventions can be targeted for optimum effectiveness.
In spite of growing evidence of family/caregiver distress after injury, developing appropriate intervention strategies to help families and caregivers has lagged behind.
Gene Test Shown to Measure Heart Function After Transplant
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New research suggests a genomic test may provide detailed information on how well a transplanted heart is performing. The gene expression profiling (GEP) test, known as the Allomap® test, is currently used to detect the absence of heart transplant rejection instead of routine invasive heart muscle biopsies, but has now been shown to correlate with oxygen saturation levels, the pressure in the heart before pumping, and the electrical properties of the transplanted heart. These measures are crucial to understanding how well the transplanted heart is functioning.
The research will be presented on Tues., March 27, at the American College of Cardiology’s 56th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans by Martin Cadeiras, M.D., postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Mario Deng, M.D., director of cardiac transplantation research and associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. The presentation is based on preliminary data on 80 patients who received the GEP test. Physicians hope to confirm these results in future studies.
Warning: feminism is bad for your health
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Since before Germaine Greer published The Female Eunuch in 1970, and even before Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, campaigners have fought for sexual equality, convinced it is the key to a better society. Now researchers have discovered that gender equality may make people unwell.
Researchers in Sweden, arguably one of the most egalitarian countries in the world, have found that equality could be associated with poorer health for both men and women.
Rare Double Transplant Saves 23-Year-Old Woman
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A new heart, a new liver, a new life. These are the poignant words Robert Jaunsen penned in an email sent to family and friends announcing that his daughter, Kelli, 23, would finally be heading home after a double organ transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center—quite literally, her last hope. After nearly seven weeks of hospitalization, Kelli was discharged Wednesday, to begin a new chapter in a life nearly cut short.
In a 16-hour procedure that spanned Feb. 1-2, two organ transplant teams performed Cedars-Sinai’s second heart/liver transplant—the fifth in the Western U.S. Though many of the nation’s top transplant centers had been contacted by Kelli’s family, only Cedars-Sinai was willing to take on such a complex case with so many inherent risks.
‘Triple negative’ breast cancers linked to the young, minority
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So-called “triple negative” breast cancers, tumors that do not contain any of three significant tumor markers, are aggressive, deadly cancers that affect young, poor minority women, according to a new study. Published in the May 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study suggests that these tumors are more common among women who are African American and Hispanic, under 40 years old, and who have lower socioeconomic status (SES). The study found triple negative tumors are also associated with later diagnosis and shorter survival.
Tumor and tissue markers provide important information, including disease type and prognosis. Three important markers in breast cancer are estrogen receptor (ER), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and progesterone receptor (PR). In particular, these markers are useful in selecting appropriate adjuvant therapy and prognosis. Around 15 percent of breast cancers do not express any of these markers and are generally identified as basal-like subtypes. While these “triple negative” tumors are associated with poor prognosis and survival, hormone adjuvant therapy failure, and are often identified in African American women, little is understood about other associated demographic risk factors.
Many women go off tamoxifen too soon: study
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About one third of women with breast cancer who are being treated with tamoxifen stop taking the medication before the end of the recommended 5 years of therapy, a study shows.
This is a concern, noted Dr. Thomas I. Barron in an interview with Reuters Health given that “the maximum benefit from tamoxifen is gained when it is taken for 5 years.”
WHO says Tamiflu concerns not affecting stockpiling
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Concerns about the safety of Tamiflu are not affecting stockpiles of an influenza drug, which would be used in a potential pandemic, a World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman said.
Health officials widely see Tamiflu as effective in treating the H5N1 bird flu strain if given early enough.
Laryngeal Cancer
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Cancer of the voice box (larynx), a common area of cancer within the head and neck, occurs more often in men than in women. It is linked to cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.
