Coffee consumption may lower blood uric acid levels—the precursor of gout
|
|
High uric acid levels in the blood are a precursor of gout, the most common inflammatory arthritis in adult men. It is believed that coffee and tea consumption may affect uric acid levels but only one study has been conducted to date. A new large-scale study published in the June 2007 issue of Arthritis Care & Research examined the relationship between coffee, tea, caffeine intake, and uric acid levels and found that coffee consumption is associated with lower uric acid levels but that this appears to be due to components other than caffeine.
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world; more than 50 percent of Americans drink it at the average rate of 2 cups per day. Because of this widespread consumption, its potential effects have important implications for public and individual health.
Experimental gene therapy ‘abolishes’ arthritis pain and lessens joint damage
|
|
Early-stage research has found that a new gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain, and significantly reduce long-term damage to the affected joints, according to a study published today in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. While the study was done in mice, they are the first genetically engineered to develop osteoarthritis like humans, with the same genetic predisposition that makes some more likely to develop the disease, the authors said. If all goes well with a follow-up study currently underway, researchers will apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin human trials next year.
Nearly everyone aged 65 or older suffers from the pain, swelling and permanent joint damage of osteoarthritis. The most common form of arthritis, it develops over time following initial joint injuries or just as a result of aging. In the current study, researchers found that one injection of a newly designed gene therapy relieved 100 percent of osteoarthritic pain in the study model. In addition, researchers were surprised to find that the therapy also brought about a nearly 35 percent reduction in permanent structural to joints caused by round and after round of osteoarthritic inflammation.
Sleep Apnea Increases Risk of Diabetes and Hypertension in Pregnant Women
|
|
Sleep apnea is associated with a greatly increased incidence of pregnancy-induced diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Wednesday, May 22.
The study found that when the women’s weight was taken into account, sleep apnea was associated with a doubling of the incidence of gestational diabetes and a fourfold increase in the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Sexual orientation affects how we navigate and recall lost objects, but age just targets gender
|
|
Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that sexual orientation has a real effect on how we perform mental tasks such as navigating with a map in a car but that old age does not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation and withers all men’s minds alike just ahead of women’s.
The University of Warwick researchers worked with the BBC to collect data from over 198,000 people aged 20–65 years (109,612 men and 88,509 women). As expected they found men outperformed women on tests such as mentally rotating objects (NB the researchers’ tests used abstract objects but the skills used are also those one would use in real life to navigate with a map).
Efficacy and safety of Aripiprazole as adjunctive therapy in major depressive disorder
|
|
In adults with major depressive disorder, adding aripiprazole to antidepressant therapy (ADT) resulted in significant improvement in the primary endpoint, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Total Score. In this six-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study presented here at the 160th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole was added to antidepressants in patients who did not have an adequate response to ADT alone. (1)(Berman, 2007, APA Poster)
These findings are from one of two completed studies evaluating adjunctive aripiprazole with ADT.
Healthy Body Weight throughout Adulthood May Help Delay Disability
|
|
Maintaining a healthy body weight throughout adulthood may help prevent or delay the onset of physical disability as we age, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
The study, reported on-line by the International Journal of Obesity, found that older adults with a history of excess weight in midlife or earlier had worse physical performance than those who were normal weight throughout adulthood or became overweight in late adulthood.
Salt increases ulcer-bug virulence
|
|
Scientists have identified yet another risk from a high-salt diet. High concentrations of salt in the stomach appear to induce gene activity in the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori, making it more virulent and increasing the likelihood of an infected person developing a severe gastric disease.
“Apparently the stomach pathogen H. pylori closely monitors the diets of those people whom it infects. Epidemiological evidence has long implied that there is a connection between H. pylori and the composition of the human diet. This is especially true for diets rich in salt,” says Hanan Gancz, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, who presents the research May 22, 2007 at the 107th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Toronto.
Counseling can improve arthritis pain, disability
|
|
Giving people with arthritis the tools to cope with pain can help them feel, and function, better, the authors of a new analysis of research on counseling for arthritis patients conclude.
However, just a session or two isn’t enough to truly help individuals with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis develop the coping skills they need, Dr. Francis J. Keefe of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health. Learning these skills takes time and practice, he added. “It’s like riding a bike.”
Women survive lung cancer better than men
|
|
Elderly women with lung cancer have significantly better survival rates than men, regardless of the type of treatment, according to the results of a new.
It has not been clear if women’s survival advantage “results from better response to treatment, different tumor biology, or a longer life expectancy,” Dr. Juan P. Wisnivesky and Dr. Ethan A. Halm, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, write in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Glaxo’s Avandia raises heart-death risk: study
|
|
Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s widely used drug for treating type 2 diabetes, increased the risk of heart death by 64 percent and the risk of heart attack by 43 percent, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
The news about Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, triggered a freefall in GSK’s shares, which closed off more than 5 percent on the London Stock Exchange. The stock slide continued on the New York Stock Exchange, falling $3.67 per share, or more than 6 percent.
Chromium no help in controlling diabetes
|
|
People with type 2 diabetes often take chromium supplements to help keep their blood sugar levels under control, but new findings from a Dutch study raise doubts about the value of this approach.
“In non-Western diabetic populations, there is some evidence that chromium might be beneficial,” Dr. Nanno Kleefstra, told Reuters Health. “In Western populations ... it does not seem to help in the dosages used.”
Rising obesity a cancer “time-bomb” - expert
|
|
Rising obesity levels mean Britain is facing a cancer “time-bomb”, a health expert said on Monday.
Greg Martin, science and research manager at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), warned that urgent action is needed if the country is to avert a surge in cancer cases.
Bangladesh launches emergency polio vaccination drive
|
|
Bangladesh began immunizing 2 million children against polio on Sunday in an emergency vaccination drive in a southeastern region close to Myanmar, officials said.
The campaign follows confirmation that a polio-infected child from Myanmar had traveled to Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar for treatment in March.
Pregnant South African women set world record
|
|
Over 1,000 pregnant women in South Africa set a new world record on Saturday for the largest gathering of women due to give birth—and there were no early arrivals.
“We were a little bit concerned having all these pregnant women under one roof, but we are happy that none of them went into labor,” said organizer Projeni Pather.
Popcorn back on the menu for diverticular disease; new treatments for ulcerative colitis, perianal f
|
|
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is an umbrella term referring to a group of disorders that cause inflammation of the intestines, including ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease and perianal fistula. Nearly one million Americans experience some form of IBD every year, which is often chronic or recurring. Research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2007 (DDW®) looks at preventative measures and potential treatment options for these painful and debilitating conditions. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.
