Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A Study on Vitamin E and Hotflashes
Friday, July 27, 2007
Soft drinks are hard on the body
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is increased among middle-aged adults who regularly drink carbonated soft drinks, even soda that is calorie-free, new research suggests.
The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of several cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excess fat around the abdomen and glucose intolerance, a condition in which the body can no longer process sugar in the blood that often precedes diabetes.
Up until now, theories relating soft-drink consumption and metabolic syndrome have been based primarily on the high sugar content, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan, at Boston University School of Medicine, and associates note in their report, published in the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
To further evaluate this relationship, the authors analyzed data from subjects in the Framingham Heart Study who were in their mid-50s participated in two evaluations between 1998 and 2001 and were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began.
In their analysis, the researchers found that the subjects who consumed one or more soft drinks per day had a 48-percent higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to whose who drank less.
In the second analysis, subjects who drank soft drinks had 44-percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome. Drinking soft drinks also increased the incidence of each component of the metabolic syndrome.
Previous work has shown that consumption of soft drinks is associated with overall dietary behavior, with a diet high in calories and fat, and low in fiber. However, Vasan and associates point out, even after accounting for known risk factors such as diet, smoking and physical activity, the association between soft drink consumption and metabolic syndrome remained statistically significant.
However, because this was an observational study, Vasan's group could not discern any evidence that drinking soft drinks actually caused the metabolic syndrome.
"Public health policy measures to limit the rising consumption of soft drinks in the community may be associated with a lowering of the burden of metabolic risk factors in adults," they conclude.
SOURCE: Circulation, July 24, 2007.
Fishy Eyes?
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Monday, July 10, 2006; 11:49 PM
CHICAGO -- Two new studies give one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish: prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in old age.
The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon are already known to help the heart and brain stay healthy. The new studies, appearing Monday in the Archives of Ophthalmology, add to evidence that fish eaters also protect the eyes.
The new studies aren't the strongest level of scientific evidence, but they confirm the findings of previous studies that also link fish consumption with prevention of macular degeneration.
A study of 681 elderly American men showed that those who ate fish twice a week had a 36 percent lower risk of macular degeneration. In the other study, which followed 2,335 Australian men and women over five years, people who ate fish just once a week reduced their risk by 40 percent.
The U.S. study also found that smokers nearly doubled their risk of the eye condition compared to people who never smoked.
Macular degeneration starts with blurring in the center of what the eye sees. It progresses to blindness, slowly or quickly depending on the type of disease. Six to 8 percent of people age 75 and older have an advanced form of the disease.
"We have a longer life expectancy so the prevalence and burden related to age-related macular degeneration will continue to increase," said Dr. Johanna Seddon of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, lead author of the U.S. study.
The proper balance of essential fatty acids was crucial to preventing eye disease in the study, Seddon said. The men who ate not only more omega-3 fatty acids, but also fewer omega-6 fatty acids, found in vegetable oils and baked goods, got the most benefit.
Both studies on the effect of fish were based on participants' recall of what they ate. The studies were observational, meaning they observed people's behavior and health. Although the researchers tried to account for other risk factors, the people who ate more fish may have had other healthy habits that lowered their risk.
Stronger evidence may come in five or six years with results from a large, randomized study of how fish oil and another nutrient, lutein, affect macular degeneration, said Dr. Emily Chew of the National Eye Institute, who is heading that study.
Volunteers will be assigned randomly to get either fish oil, lutein, or both _ or placebos.
Researchers don't yet know why eating fish seems to protect the eyes. Omega-3 fatty acids may neutralize free radicals in the eye, preventing the formation of new blood vessels, reducing inflammation or all three, Chew said.
Dr. Yu Guang He of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said the new studies confirm findings from other research and will give doctors even more confidence as they advise patients what they can eat to protect their eyesight.
"I always tell them if you like fish, if you enjoy fish, eat more fish. Some people don't like the flavor. I would encourage those people to take (fish oil) supplements," he said.
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On the Net:
Archives of Ophthalmology: http://archopht.ama-assn.org/
Headaches a Big Headache for Sufferers
Ivanhoe Newswire
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women who suffer from chronic headaches end up with more than just the pain associated with the headache.
According to University of Toledo researchers, women whose heads throb on a regular basis are four-times more likely than those who experience fewer headaches to report symptoms of major depression. They're also three-times more likely to report physical symptoms like low energy, difficulty sleeping, nausea, dizziness, sexual problems or bodily pains.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 women, 90 percent of whom were diagnosed with migraine. About 440 of the women reported chronic headache, which is defined as 15 or more headaches each month. The remainder suffered from episodic headache, defined as fewer than 15 headaches per month.
Women diagnosed with the most severe form of migraine headache were 32-times more likely to suffer from major depression if they were also experiencing some of the other physical symptoms noted in the study.
The investigators report they aren't sure how headaches may be causing depression or these other symptoms but suggest the link may lie in a dysfunction of serotonin in the central nervous system.
"Painful physical symptoms may provoke or be a manifestation of major depression in women with chronic headache, and depression may heighten pain perception," reports study author Gretchen Tietjen, M.D. "This relation between migraine and major depression suggests a common neurobiology."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Neurobiology, 2007;68:134-140
