Handling Pesticides Associated with Greater Asthma Risk in Farm Women
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New research on farm women has shown that contact with some commonly used pesticides in farm work may increase their risk of allergic asthma.
“Farm women are an understudied occupational group,” said Jane Hoppin, Sc.D., of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and lead author of the study. “More than half the women in our study applied pesticides, but there is very little known about the risks.”
Two Genes Are Important Key to Regulating Immune Response
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A research team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City has identified two genes that may be crucial to the production of an immune system cytokine called interleukin-10 (IL-10).
The discovery fills in an important “missing link” in a biochemical pathway that’s long been tied to disorders ranging from lupus and Type 1 diabetes, to cancer and AIDS.
UK tells pregnant women to boost vitamin D intake
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The British government has told pregnant and breastfeeding women to increase their intake of vitamin D during the darker winter months to reduce the risk of seizures and the bone disease rickets in their children.
The Department of Health said doctors were reporting increasing numbers of cases of vitamin D deficiency in children.
Testosterone patch has benefits in aging men: study
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Treatment with testosterone can help curb the gain in abdominal fat as well as the loss of skeletal muscle seen in non-obese aging men, according to a new study.
“Though use of testosterone therapy as a means of defying the aging process is gaining popularity, data from scientific trials have been very limited in this area,” study chief Dr. Carolyn Allan, from Prince Henry’s Institute in Victoria, Australia, said in a statement.
Guidelines aim to keep diabetic athletes healthy
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Athletes with diabetes should be sure to have a game plan to manage blood-sugar highs and lows, according to new guidelines.
The recommendations, from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), focus on athletes with type 1 diabetes, the form of diabetes that usually arises in childhood or by young adulthood and requires insulin therapy.
Diets of Alzheimer’s patients lack many nutrients
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People with Alzheimer’s disease eat less nutritiously than their peers without dementia, even in the early stages of the disease, new research from Canada shows.
This is particularly concerning given that adequate intakes of certain nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, and other antioxidants, could possibly help to preserve mental function, Dr. Bryna Shatenstein of the University of Montreal and her colleagues say.
Statins may reduce risk of sudden cardiac death
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Results of a new study indicate that the so-called statin drugs used to lower cholesterol levels also help prevent chaotic heart beats that can lead to sudden cardiac death.
The study shows that statins are “associated with a significant 19 percent risk reduction for sudden cardiac death.”
NSAIDs won’t protect ultra-marathoners’ muscles
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Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen during endurance events does not help prevent muscle damage or next-day muscle soreness, a study in ultra-marathoners indicates.
In fact, using NSAIDs during competition could actually be bad for muscles, Dr. Steven McAnulty of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and colleagues found.
Breast cancer gene mutation more common in Hispanic, young black women, Stanford/NCCC study finds
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A genetic mutation already known to be more common in Ashkenazi Jewish breast cancer patients is also prevalent in Hispanic and young African-American women with breast cancer, according to one of the largest, multiracial studies of the mutation to date.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Northern California Cancer Center reported the finding from a study of 3,181 breast cancer patients in Northern California. It revealed that although Ashkenazi Jewish women with breast cancer had the highest rate of the BRCA1 mutation at 8.3 percent, Hispanic women with breast cancer were next most likely, with a rate of 3.5 percent. Non-Hispanic whites with breast cancer showed a 2.2 percent rate, followed by 1.3 percent of African-American women of all ages and 0.5 percent in Asian-American women. Of the African-American breast cancer patients under age 35, 16.7 percent had the mutation.
Insulin regimens comparable for diabetes control
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For patients with type 2 diabetes beginning insulin therapy, blood sugar control and quality of life seem to be similar with either flexible intensive insulin therapy (FIT) or conventional insulin therapy (CIT) according to a report in the journal Diabetes Care.
The authors note that CIT is based on fixed insulin dosing and fixed carbohydrate intake, whereas with FIT, the insulin dose is adjusted in accordance with blood sugar levels and desired carbohydrate intake. CIT is easier, but FIT offers more dietary freedom.
Foster care boosts IQ of children in orphanages
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Abandoned children in Romania who were removed from orphanages and put in foster care had far better reasoning, language, and other intellectual skills than those who remained, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
The study is one of the first scientific investigations of the impact of foster care on reversing the damage of severe neglect to a child’s developing brain.
Most Breast Cancer Surgeons Don’t Talk to Patients About Reconstruction Options
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Only a third of patients with breast cancer discussed breast reconstruction options with their surgeon before their initial surgery, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
What’s more, women who did discuss reconstruction up front were four times more likely to have a mastectomy compared to those women who did not discuss reconstruction.
“The surgical decision making for breast cancer is really centered on patient preference. Long-term outcomes are the same regardless of whether a woman is treated with a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.
Mental health linked to amputation risk in diabetic veterans
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For U.S. veterans with diabetes, lower scores on a test of mental health functioning are associated with an increased risk of major amputations, reports a study in the November/December issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
“Our findings suggest that foot care programs need to assess individuals for mental health functioning as a risk factor and to develop appropriate interventions to counteract this higher risk of major amputation,” write the study authors, led by Chin-Lin Tseng, Dr.P.H., of the VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, N.J.
Mental Health Care Needed Before, After Bariatric Surgery
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Bariatric surgery is the most effective weight-loss option for people who are severely obese. However, the surgery involves substantial risks and requires a lifelong commitment to behavioral change. People eligible for the surgery often have a history of mental health problems or eating disorders. Therefore, patients must be prepared mentally as well as physically before surgery, reports the January 2008 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
The psychological aspects of bariatric surgery are less well understood than the physical risks and benefits. Although the surgery is generally associated with improved mental health and quality of life, postsurgical psychological and behavioral changes are less predictable than physical changes.
Menopausal Women May Have an Increased Asthma Risk
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Menopause is associated with lower lung function and more respiratory symptoms, especially among lean women, according to a new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).
The study, “Lung function, respiratory symptoms, and the menopausal transition,” can be found in the articles in press section of the JACI Web site, http://www.jacionline.org. The JACI is the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
