Can Patients with Diverticular Disease Eat Nuts, Corn and Popcorn
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Diverticulosis is a common disease of the large intestine characterized by pouches in the colon that bulge outward through weak spots in the colon musculature. These pouches can become inflamed, a complication referred to as diverticulitis, or they can bleed, often profusely. Patients with diverticulosis, particularly those who have complications, are frequently advised to avoid nuts and seeds; however, there is little evidence to support this recommendation. The aim of this study, conducted by researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, was to prospectively evaluate whether nut, corn and popcorn consumption were associated with complications of diverticular disease.
From the Health Professionals Follow-up Study cohort, investigators selected 47,228 U.S. men aged 40-75 years at baseline (in 1986) and free of diverticular disease, gastrointestinal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Men reporting newly diagnosed diverticulosis or diverticular complications on biennial follow-up questionnaires were sent supplemental questionnaires outlining details of diagnosis and treatment. Recent consumption of nuts, corn and popcorn was determined from a validated 131-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire mailed to the participants every four years. Study endpoints included diverticular bleeding and diverticulitis.
Tomatoes fail as prostate cancer preventive
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A new study suggests that eating lycopene-rich tomatoes offers no protection against prostate cancer, contrary to the findings of some past studies. In fact, the researchers found an association between beta carotene, an antioxidant related to lycopene, and an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
In a written statement, Dr. Ulrike Peters of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said the finding is “disappointing, since lycopene might have offered a simple and inexpensive way to lower prostate cancer risk for men concerned about this common disease. Unfortunately, this easy answer just does not work.”
Chinese college forces pregnancy tests on students
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A Chinese technical college for boarders has defended compulsory pregnancy tests for students as a responsibility to them and their families, local media reported Friday.
The college in Urumqi, capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, had tested new students for several years and would ask those who tested positive to leave, the Beijing News said, citing students.
New Treatment Offers Relief from Chronic Back Pain
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Chronic back pain is a condition that affects a significant part of the population, with patients falling into three major groups; those with herniated discs, spinal stenosis (a nerve affecting narrowing of the spinal cord), and complications from failed back surgery. Radiofrequency thermolesioning is a widespread treatment for chronic back pain, but because of its neurodestructive nature, it is often considered an unsuitable treatment.
High-quality Child Care for Low-income Children Offset the Risk of Later Depression
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Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care, according to a new report. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments.
The report, from the FPG Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uses data from the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal study begun in 1972 in which 111 high-risk children were randomly assigned to early educational child care from infancy to age 5 or to a control group that received various other forms of child care. The study is published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.
Children with both autism and ADHD often bully, parents say
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Children with both autism and attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders are four times more likely to bully than children in the general population, according to a study released today in the journal, Ambulatory Pediatrics. However, the researchers caution against labeling these children simply as bullies.
“This is the first nationally representative study of bullying behaviors among children with autism. The majority of parents of children with autism and ADD or ADHD were concerned about their children’s bullying behaviors, but there is much we do not yet understand. It is too early to label these children as bullies.” said Guillermo Montes, Ph.D., senior researcher at Rochester, N.Y.-based Children’s Institute. “These children may have pent up energy that needs to be properly channeled, or they may have other underlying behavioral or medical issues that have not been addressed.”
Violent Sleep Disorder Linked to a Form of Dementia
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Mayo Clinic researchers and a group of international collaborators have discovered a correlation between an extreme form of sleep disorder and eventual onset of parkinsonism or dementia. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Brain http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/.
Clinical observations and pathology studies, as well as research in animal models, led to the findings that patients with the violent rapid eye movement sleep (REM) behavior disorder (RBD) have a high probability of later developing Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease or multiple system atrophy (a Parkinson’s-like disorder), because all of these conditions appear to stem from a similar neurodegenerative origin.
Post-traumatic stress disorder 10 times higher in New Orleans than in the general public
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Hurricane Katrina was the most significant natural disaster to strike the United States. Thousands of people were exposed to destruction, human violence and desperate circumstances. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was likely to be a significant medical issue in the aftermath of Katrina.
In a paper to be presented at the 2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting, Professor Lisa D. Mills, MD, Director, Section of Emergency Medicine Ultrasound, Louisiana State University at New Orleans, will show that PTSD was diagnosed in over 38% of the people who came to an interim Emergency Department facility in New Orleans. This is more than ten times higher than the 3.6% prevalence in the general US population. Loss of a loved one and simply staying in New Orleans during the storm were associated with PTSD symptoms.
To what extent are emergency departments being used for primary care?
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There is some belief that Emergency Departments are being used for non-emergency medical care. In particular, do Medicaid recipients and uninsured patients overutilize ED for services better provided in other settings” In two studies conducted at Oregon Health and Science University, to be presented at the 2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting, researchers have investigated some common assumptions about ED use and found some surprising results.
To analyze ED usage, a research tool called the “Emergency Department Algorithm” (EDA) has been developed that attempts to categorize all ED visits into four categories: non-emergency; emergency, primary care treatable; emergency, needing ED, but potentially avoidable; and emergency, needing ED, not avoidable.
Gentle yoga may aid migraine sufferers
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A combination of yoga poses, breathing exercises and relaxation may help reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines, a new study suggests.
Researchers in India found that among 72 adults suffering from migraines, patients who were randomly assigned to take part in a yoga therapy program started having headaches less often and endured less pain with each migraine attack compared with the subjects assigned to a self-care group.
Pregnant Indonesian woman dies of bird flu
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A pregnant Indonesian woman from Sumatra Island has died of bird flu, increasing the country’s human death toll from the disease to 76, health officials said.
Two tests had confirmed the 26-year-old woman, who died on Saturday evening in Medan, had the H5N1 bird flu virus, Runizar Ruesin, head of the health ministry’s bird flu centre, said by telephone on Monday.
Anxiety increases mortality risk in heart patients
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Anxiety appears to increase the risk of heart attacks and death in patients who have coronary artery disease, researchers from the United States report.
Coronary artery disease is caused by plaque build-up on the inside walls of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart, causing them to harden and narrow. This can lead to heart attack, angina (chest pain) and other serious complications.
Treating depression may prolong survival in elderly
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Previous research has shown that depression is associated with an increased risk of mortality in older adults; and now new research indicates that this risk can be reduced through primary care-based depression intervention.
Dr. Joseph J. Gallo, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues assessed the 5-year risk of death in 1,226 subjects, 60 years of age or older, who entered into a general practice-based clinical trial. The 20 participating primary care practices provided usual care only or usual care plus a depression “intervention,” which involved assessment by a depression care manager.
Obesity Increases Risk of Injury on the Job
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Having a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obese range increases the risk of traumatic workplace injury, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy. Employer-sponsored weight loss and maintenance programs should be considered as part of a well-rounded workplace safety plan. The study was Advance Access published on May 7, 2007, by the American Journal of Epidemiology.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on an adult’s height and weight. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight, 18.5–24.9 is normal; 25–29.9 is overweight and over 30 is obese.
Most Women Check Medication Labels for Sex Differences, Few Discuss it with Care Providers
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A majority of American women always or frequently read the labels of their prescribed or over the counter medications to see if they might work differently in women, but few discuss this issue with their doctor or pharmacist, according to a new survey released today by the Society for Women’s Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.
“Women are increasingly aware that medications can work differently or cause more side effects depending on whether you are a man or woman, but few women talk to their health care providers about this important issue,” said Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, president and CEO of the Society, which released the survey during National Women’s Health Week on Sex Differences in Health Awareness Day.
