Stem cell test to help treat bowel cancer
|
|
Stem cell scientists have developed a new and more accurate way of spotting aggressive forms of bowel cancer, allowing for tailored treatment that should improve patients’ chances of survival.
British researchers said on Wednesday those with the most aggressive kind of cancer could be identified early by testing for a stem cell marker protein called Lamin A.
The team concluded that patients testing positive for Lamin A should be given chemotherapy, in addition to surgery, to increase their chances of survival.
Physical activity may lessen kidney cancer risk
|
|
Being active during adolescence and in adulthood appears to reduce the likelihood of developing kidney cancer later in life, a study shows.
Dr. Steven C. Moore of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues analyzed data on nearly half a million people aged 50 to 71 who responded to a survey about their diet and level of physical activity, currently and in their teen years.
The study collected reports on how often during the previous year participants obtained 20 minutes of strenuous exercise; their current level of sitting, walking, standing, climbing stairs and doing heavy work during routine daily activities; and the physical activities they engaged in when 15 to 18 years old.
Testosterone unproven as yet for women’s sex woes
|
|
Women should not take testosterone to treat loss of sexual desire until there is good evidence it is safe—and that it actually works—a behavioral scientist warns in a new report.
“I think that there is a lot of excitement about the use of androgens (‘male’ hormones) to treat low sexual desire in women that is based on evidence that looks better than it really is,” Dr. Leslie R. Schover told Reuters Health. “I think that the evidence has some significant flaws.”
Shover, a professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the author of the article in the journal Fertility and Sterility, adds: “This area of research is being driven by the incredible profits that pharma companies are expecting, given that one in three women in the US will rate herself as having low sexual desire.”
Preeclampsia may up risk of kidney disease
|
|
Women who develop preeclampsia during pregnancy appear to be at increased risk for developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) later in life—although the absolute risk is small—new research suggests.
Preeclampsia is a potentially serious condition that occurs in pregnancy, characterized by a dangerously high rise in blood pressure, protein in the urine, and an increased risk of having a premature infant.
“The biggest finding in our study is that preeclampsia is associated with a 4- to 5-times increased risk of ESRD. We were surprised that the association was that strong,” lead researcher Dr. Bjorn Egil Vikse told Reuters Health.
Male infertility fix works for men over 40
|
|
A varicocele, an enlargement of veins in the scrotum, can impair a man’s fertility. Fortunately, surgery can correct the problem, and now a new study shows the procedure is just as effective for older men as it is for younger men.
“Older men (in the age range of 35-45) with varicocele do benefit from varicocele repair,” Dr. Armand Zini told Reuters Health, “particularly those men with secondary infertility”—i.e., infertility resulting from the varicocele.
Zini from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and his colleagues investigated the influence of age on pregnancy rates among partners of men who had undergone varicocele repair, comparing outcomes for men older and younger than 40 years.
Brain changes seen in former anorexics
|
|
Young women who suffered from anorexia during their teen years have persistent changes in the structure of their brains, and deficits in cognition, if they haven’t fully recovered from the illness, according to Canadian investigators.
Dr. Debra K. Katzman at the University of Toronto, Ontario and her associates studied 66 young women, 21 years old on average, who had been treated for anorexia nervosa as adolescents. The group was compared with a “control” group of 42 healthy age-matched women.
For the former anorexia patients, the average interval from initial treatment to follow-up was 6.5 years. All subjects underwent a clinical examination, MRI brain scans, and cognitive evaluation.
College students often have suicidal thoughts
|
|
A 2006 survey of roughly 26,000 college students in the US shows that over half have thought about suicide at least once during their lifetime.
Furthermore, 15 percent of students had seriously considered attempting suicide at some point in their lives and that over 5 percent actually had made one or more attempts, the Web-based survey, conducted by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education, found.
The findings were reported at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston.
A Young Woman’s Battle With HIV
|
|
When Tennessee native Marvelyn Brown was diagnosed with HIV at age 19, she didn’t realize that HIV could be transmitted through heterosexual contact. She was hospitalized with pneumonia, and doctors discovered she had HIV during a battery of tests, a mere three weeks after she had been infected. By writing her new autobiography, The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive, the now 24-year-old says she tries to raise awareness among young people of HIV/AIDS and how it’s transmitted.
Since her diagnosis, Brown has toured the country providing HIV education and has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and America’s Next Top Model. On her blog, she says that she persists in promoting HIV awareness despite all the flak she takes from people who believe she is “glamorizing” HIV/AIDS. “I contracted a 100% PREVENTABLE disease, people, which…is my message, not how glamorous I look doing it,” she wrote in a recent blog posting. “Bottom line, HIV sucks, I swear.”
A former high school track and basketball player, Brown worked and partied hard after high school, she says, but didn’t consider herself to be in a high-risk group for HIV.
Fruits and Vegetables, Making it Easier to Eat More
|
|
With back-to-school time just around the corner, the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is calling upon Moms to promote health and combat the national childhood obesity epidemic by focusing on including more fruits and vegetables in meals and snacks. To help Moms instill good eating habits and fight unhealthy food messages on television and in popular culture, PBH is unveiling new sets of strategies and tools for Moms and their families both online and in the retail setting.
In a survey conducted earlier this year, Moms expressed deep concern about how obesity might affect their kids now and when they are adults—and for good reason. Data shows one in three children in this country are overweight and news reports point to scores of American children taking drugs to treat high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and other conditions related to obesity. According to the same survey, many Moms also feel society is too full of messages encouraging unhealthy eating; a sentiment underscored by recent government reports of increases in product placements in television story lines, and a spend of $1.6 billion by the food and beverage industry to market soda, sugary cereal, and other less nutritious foods to kids.
Childhood ear infections may predispose to obesity later in life
|
|
Researchers are reporting new evidence of a possible link between a history of moderate to severe middle ear infections in childhood and a tendency to be overweight later in life. Their study suggests that prompt diagnosis and treatment of middle ear infections — one of the most common childhood conditions requiring medical attention — may help fight obesity in some people. The findings were presented today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Study leader Linda M. Bartoshuk, Ph.D., noted that chronic, repeated ear infections can damage the chorda tympani nerve, which passes through the middle ear and controls taste sensations. Damage to this nerve appears to intensify the desire for fatty or high-energy foods, which could result in obesity, she said.
Other research has shown that middle ear infections, or otitis media, are becoming more common in children. Childhood obesity is likewise on the rise and has reached epidemic levels, particularly in the United States. Although scientists have known for years that ear infections can lead to hearing loss in children that can result in speech and language impairment, a possible link between ear infections and obesity has been largely unexplored until now, said Bartoshuk, who is with the University of Florida’s Center for Smell and Taste in Gainesville.
Why Only-Children Rule
|
|
I have one older brother, and when I was growing up our family was considered tiny. Only-kids were freaks.
I’m afraid there’s a puppy in my future. It’s not because one of my daughter’s first complete sentences was “I want a puppy.” Or because my 16-year-old Siamese cat still acts as though my kid is an intruder in our home. It’s certainly not because I actually believe that my dear child will take responsibility for walking a dog three times a day. Nope, we will probably end up with a labor-intensive pet because my 7-year-old is a wizard at spotting and exploiting my maternal guilt. (That’s a sign of intelligence, isn’t it?) “If I can’t have a brother or sister to play with,” she asks, “can’t I at least have a puppy?” Her strategy is transparent, yet effective because I feel guilty that my daughter is an only child. I worry that she won’t learn to share. I can’t escape the desire for an “heir and a spare,” especially after watching the anguish of Chinese parents who lost only-children in the recent earthquake. I wish my kid had a built-in playmate, or, if my own sibling relationship is any guide, someone to fight with in the back seat of the car.
Surgery May Be Considered for Extreme Face Pain
|
|
A new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology finds surgery may be considered for people who suffer from extreme, electric shock-like pain in their face and do not respond well to drugs. The guideline on treating trigeminal neuralgia is published in the August 20, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“There are very few drugs with strong evidence of effectiveness in treating trigeminal neuralgia,” said guideline author Gary Gronseth, MD, with the University of Kansas in Kansas City and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. “If people fail to respond to these drugs, physicians should not be reluctant to consider referring the patient for surgery. Often surgery is considered a last resort and patients suffer while the well-intentioned physician tries other medications with limited effectiveness.”
Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that causes extreme, stabbing pain throughout the face. The pain normally doesn’t last more than a few seconds or a minute per episode, but the episodes can last for days, weeks, or months and then disappear for months or years. The intense pain can be triggered by shaving, applying makeup, brushing teeth, eating, drinking, talking, or being exposed to the wind. It is more common in women than in men.
Arsenic Exposure May Be Associated With Type 2 Diabetes
|
|
In a study involving a representative sample of U.S. adults, higher levels of arsenic in the urine appear to be associated with increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, according to a report in the August 20 issue of JAMA.
Arsenic from inorganic sources is highly toxic and causes cancer in humans, according to background information in the article. Millions of individuals worldwide are exposed to drinking water contaminated with inorganic arsenic, including 13 million Americans whose public water supply contains more than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard of 10 micrograms per liter. Exposure to high concentrations of the element in drinking water and in the workplace has been shown to be associated with diabetes, but little is known about the effect of lower levels on diabetes risk. In contrast, arsenobetaine—an organic arsenic compound derived eating seafood—is considered non-toxic.
Ana Navas-Acien, M.D., Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleagues studied 788 adults age 20 and older who had their urine tested for arsenic levels as part of the government-conducted 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Want to live a long life? Run
|
|
People who want to live a long and healthy life might want to take up running.
A study published on Monday shows middle-aged members of a runner’s club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run.
Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, researchers at Stanford University in California found.
Healthy lifestyle cuts stroke risk: study
|
|
A person’s odds of suffering a stroke might be significantly reduced by maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes not smoking, exercising daily, consuming a healthy diet, drinking alcohol in moderation and maintaining a healthy weight, according to a study released today.
In the study, people with these five healthy lifestyle habits had about an 80 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to people with none of the healthy habits. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain becomes blocked; it is the most common type of stroke.
This study shows that a “low-risk” lifestyle recommended to lower the risk of multiple chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, may also help ward off stroke, the study team notes in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
