Health and Fitness News

Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

Cottage cheese is an excellent, low-calorie source of protein – a half-cup of 1 percent low-fat cottage cheese has 14 grams of protein and only 82 calories. But unlike other dairy products, it isn’t an excellent source of calcium; much of that nutrient goes out with the whey during the curding process.

Eat Less Red Meat, Cut Heart Attack Risk

Cutting Back on Red or Processed Meats Reduces Risk of Heart Disease in Women, Study Finds

Cutting back on red and processed meats may significantly reduce heart disease risk in women, a new study says.

Scientists examined data on 84,136 women between the ages of 30 and 55 over a 26-year period ending in 2006. The women were participants in a research project known as the Nurses’ Health Study. Researchers examined medical histories and lifestyle choices of the women, including dietary habits obtained via detailed questionnaires.

This study differs from previous analyses in that the follow-up period was long, repeated dietary questionnaires were administered over the course of the study, and the impact of substituting protein alternatives in place of red meat was evaluated.

Health risks higher among blacks who donate kidney

(Reuters) – Blacks who donate one of their kidneys have a higher risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease compared to white donors, doctors reported on Wednesday.

The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine mean doctors need to pay more attention to the health of donors, said the team, led by Dr. Krista Lentine of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

“We are not proposing any change to donor selection policy based on these data, and do not believe that race and ethnicity should be used to discourage anyone from stepping forward for potential donor evaluation,” she said in a e-mail.

Kidneys from cardiac victims good for donation: study

(Reuters) – Kidneys transplanted from victims of heart attacks and other cardiac deaths are just as good as those from brain-dead patients and could offer a valuable extra source of donor organs, British scientists said Thursday.

The researchers said fears that kidneys from heart death victims may be inferior for transplants are unfounded and they should be treated as equal to kidneys from brain-dead donors.

“The shortage of donor organs remains one of the key challenges faced by the international transplant community,” said Andrew Bradley of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, who led the study. “In view of our findings, cardiac-death donors represent an extremely important and overlooked source of high-quality donor kidneys.”http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67I17B20100819

Genetic signature may lead to better TB diagnosis

(Reuters) – Scientists have found a “genetic signature” in the blood of patients with active tuberculosis (TB) and believe their discovery could help develop better diagnostic tests for the disease, as well as better treatments.

More than 2 billion people, or a third of the world’s population, are estimated to be infected with the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which causes TB, but the vast majority have the infection in latent form and have no symptoms.

The British scientists said they had now found a pattern of genes in the blood which is specific to up to 10 percent of those 2 billion people who develop active TB in their lungs.

Ancient brew may reduce gut damage after chemotherapy

(Reuters) – An ancient Chinese brew may help reduce the intestinal damage caused by chemotherapy given to colon and rectal cancer patients, researchers said on Thursday.

To meet growing consumer demands, researchers in the field of traditional medicine are trying to prove the efficacy of ancient drugs using Western-style animal tests and human clinical trials.

In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers said they fed cancerous mice the Chinese brew after the rodents had been treated with irinotecan, a chemotherapy drug known to be toxic for the gut and a cause of diarrhea.

Coating Kills MRSA Germs

Study: New Coating for Hospital Walls, Surgical Equipment, Other Surfaces Kills MRSA

Aug. 17, 2010 — Biotech scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a coating for use in health care settings that they say kills the deadly MRSA germ.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus, is a virulent bacterium that causes antibiotic-resistant infections, killing about 90,000 patients a year. Because it has been hard to battle, it is sometimes called a “superbug.”

But Rensselaer scientists say their coating, for use on surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces in health care settings, seems to be very effective in eradicating MRSA.

The study is published in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society

Concussions Linked to Condition Similar to ALS

Study Shows Repeated Head Traumas May Raise Risk of Symptoms Seen in Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Aug. 17, 2010 — Repetitive head traumas and concussions, including the type sustained by many professional football players, may increase risk for developing a motor neuron disease that looks and acts a lot like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The disease is calledchronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The new findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.

Tai Chi: Best Fibromyalgia Treatment?

Study Shows Fibromyalgia Symptoms Much Better After 12 Weeks of Tai Chi

Aug. 18, 2010 — Just 12 weeks of tai chi — the slow-motion Chinese martial art — relieved longstanding fibromyalgia symptoms and improved quality of life in a clinical trial.

Compared with patients who received wellness education and stretching exercises, those who practiced tai chi saw their fibromyalgia become much less severe. They also slept better, felt better, had less pain, had more energy, and had better physical and mental health, says study researcher Chenchen Wang, MD, of Tufts University School of Medicine.

Hepatitis B Drug Fights Liver Fibrosis, Cirrhosis

Study Shows Entecavir Is an Effective, Long-Term Treatment

Aug. 18, 2010 — A new generation of antiviral drugs can help reverse liver fibrosis and even early cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and they continue to work for many years, new research suggests.

In a newly published study, 88% of previously untreated patients who took the drug entecavir for an average of six years continued to show reductions in liver injury, as measured by fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Cancer Patients Live Longer With Palliative Care

Study Also Shows Palliative Care Improves Quality of Life for Advanced Lung Cancer Patients

Aug. 18, 2010 — Offering palliative care, including pain management and counseling services, soon after diagnosis can help people with advanced lung cancer live longer and with a better quality of life, a study shows.

The study is published in the Aug. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Study Unlocks Mystery of Nickel Allergy

Discovery of How Nickel Causes an Allergic Reaction Could Lead to New Treatments

Aug. 16, 2010 — Scientists in Germany have found the biological mechanisms behind nickel allergy, a common cause of contact allergic dermatitis that causes itching, burning, and redness.

Researchers used mice to show how nickel induces an immune system response. Nickel binds to a protein called toll-like receptor 4 or TLR4, which signals the immune system to initiate an inflammatory response.

TLR4, the researchers report, could potentially serve as a molecular target for blocking an allergic reaction to nickel. Their findings are reported in this week’s issue of Nature Immunology.

Study: Anger Can Harm the Heart

People Who Are More Aggressive Face a Greater Risk for Heart Attack and Stroke

Aug. 16, 2010 — Personality type and the ability to control anger may have an effect on heart health and one’s risk for stroke, according to a new study published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Baltimore, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that people who are angry and aggressive showed a greater thickness of the carotid arteries in the neck, a key risk factor for heart attack or stroke, compared with people who were more easygoing.

Patterns in serious in-flight medical emergencies

(Reuters Health) – Medical emergencies on commercial airplanes are not common, but certain passengers — including the elderly and pregnant women — face greater risks of complications requiring flight diversions, a study of one airline finds.

Researchers determined that over five years, one large Hong Kong-based airline logged 4,068 in-flight medical emergencies among paying passengers. That translated to a rate of about 12 emergencies per “billion revenue passenger kilometers” — or the rate per paying passenger per billion kilometers traveled.

Medical emergencies requiring a flight diversion were much less common, at 46 over five years. Thirty passengers ultimately died, with heart attacks and other cardiac complications accounting for two-thirds of those deaths.

In Japan, bystander CPR often not so helpful

(Reuters Health) – A nationwide study from Japan  shows chest compressions did little to help people who’d collapsed but didn’t have underlying heart disease, such as those who had drowned or suffocated.

Only 1.5 percent survived a month or more without crippling brain damage, even though bystanders had pumped on their chests to keep blood flowing. That number was statistically indistinguishable from cases in which no one had performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

But according to the Japanese researchers, led by Taku Iwami of the Kyoto University Health Service, there may still be a role for rescue breathing, even if it’s tiny.

Since 2008, U.S. guidelines have recommended that people without special training stick to chest compressions during CPR, and skip the rescue breathing.

That’s because more and more studies suggest mouth-to-mouth rescue doesn’t improve survival when heart disease causes the ticker to stop. (See Reuters Health story of July 28, 2010.)

Painkiller use linked to stroke risk

(Reuters Health) – Common painkillers that have been linked to an increased risk of heart attack may also elevate risk of stroke, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among nearly 38,000 Taiwanese adults who suffered a stroke over one year, the use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in the prior month may have elevated their stroke risk.

The increases linked to individual NSAIDs were generally modest, the investigators report in the medical journal Stroke. And the findings do not prove that the medications themselves led to some people’s strokes.

Egg Recall Expands; CDC Expects More Illnesses

FDA Activates Emergency Command Center; ‘Extensive’ Investigation Under Way

Aug. 19, 2010 — As the nationwide egg recall expands, the FDA has activated its emergency command center to direct its “extensive” investigation.

So far, some 380 million eggs have been recalled — a number that is “evolving,” Sherri McGarry, emergency coordinator for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said today at a joint FDA/CDC news teleconference.

“We would certainly characterize this as one of the largest shell egg recalls in recent history,” McGarry said.

Through July 17, the CDC has received some 2,000 reports of illness due to Salmonella Enteritidis, the bacteria causing the outbreak. That’s nearly three times more salmonella illness than is usually seen in late summer, says Christopher R. Braden, MD, acting director of the CDC division responsible for food-borne illness.

Salmonella Outbreaks Spur Nationwide Egg Recall

Outbreak Traced to Supplier for Major Groceries, Restaurants

Aug. 19, 2010 — Eggs are behind a nationwide salmonella outbreak that caused hundreds of illnesses each week in June and July.

The nationwide egg recall has expanded to include eggs made from five plants owned by Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa. It now involves more than a dozen major brands that got eggs from this company. The New York Times reports that the recall now includes 380 million eggs.

Eggs were traced to the company after the CDC noticed a four-fold increase in Salmonella Enteritidis isolates from people suffering food poisoning. State investigators in California, Colorado, and Minnesota found clusters of illness from this salmonella strain among people who ate eggs at the same restaurants. Those restaurants got eggs that came from Wright County Egg.

Scientists See Serious Health Risks in Gulf Oil Spill

Respiratory, Mental Health Problems Among the Dangers From Exposure to Oil

Aug. 16, 2010 — The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico poses serious health risks for the people who are working to clean it up and others who venture into the coastal area, scientists say in a commentary in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Some components of oil called volatile organic compounds may cause respiratory irritation and nervous system disorders, according to the commentary by Gina M. Solomon, MD, MPH, and Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, MPH, both of the University of California, San Francisco.

Nigeria battles cholera, measles outbreaks

ABUJA (Reuters) – A cholera outbreak in northeastern Nigeria has killed 231 people this year across 11 states and infected more than 4,500 others, the country’s chief epidemiologist said Friday.

Neighboring Cameroon has been suffering its worst epidemic of cholera, a disease generally spread through food and water contaminated with bacteria, since 2004 and there had been fears that the outbreak could spread into Nigeria and Chad.

“Recent cases are mainly from the northeastern part of the country,” said Dr Henry Akpan, head of epidemiology in Nigeria’s ministry of health, adding that 4,665 cases had been recorded in Africa’s most populous nation since January.

U.S. tries to fix slow response to outbreaks

(Reuters) – The U.S. government proposed major changes on Thursday to the way it works with companies to fight new disease threats such as flu, including reform at the Food and Drug Administration and setting up centers to make vaccines quickly.

The report from the Health and Human Services Department said the U.S. ability to respond to new outbreaks is far too slow and it lays out a plan for helping researchers and biotechnology companies develop promising new drugs and vaccines.

“The closer we looked … the more leaks, choke points and dead ends we saw,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a news briefing.

“At a moment when the greatest danger we face may be a virus we have never seen before … we don’t have the flexibility to adapt,” she added. “We saw that we needed better coordination not just within our department but across government.”

Hormone replacement may not save women’s muscle

(Reuters Health) – Despite some earlier evidence that hormone replacement therapy after menopause can help maintain women’s muscle mass, a new study suggests that any such benefit does not last.

That women’s muscle mass declines after menopause has long been known, and researchers have speculated that waning estrogen levels may play a role — raising the question of whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help preserve older women’s muscle mass.

Results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a large U.S. clinical trial looking at a variety of health effects of HRT, found that women who used hormones for three years maintained somewhat more muscle mass than those who had been given a placebo for comparison.

Smoking not tied to risk of early breast tumor

(Reuters Health) – Current and former smokers may have no higher risk of developing an early form of breast tumor after menopause than non-smokers do, a new study suggests.

Cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to increased risks of a number of cancers, including cancers of the lungs, colon, pancreas and bladder. But studies have yielded conflicting results as to whether smoking may boost a woman’s odds of developing breast cancer.

The new study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, looked at the relationship between smoking and the risk of ductal carcinoma in-situ, or DCIS — abnormal cells in the milk ducts of the breast that can progress to cancer that invades the breast tissue.

Study: Diet Sodas May Raise Risk of Preterm Delivery

Researchers See Possible Risks in Drinking Diet Soft Drinks During Pregnancy

Aug. 20, 2010 — Pregnant  women who drink artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks may be at increased risk for preterm delivery, a study shows.

But a spokeswoman for a beverage trade group says the study doesn’t demonstrate cause and effect and unnecessarily alarms pregnant women. And the researchers themselves say more study is needed before firm conclusions can be reached.

The study is published in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Depo Provera tied to small rise in fracture risk

(Reuters Health) – Women who use a certain type of long-acting hormonal contraceptive are at a slightly increased risk of broken bones, new research suggests.

More than 9 million women worldwide use Depo Provera, an injection of progesterone given every three months, Dr. Christoph R. Meier of University Hospital Basel in Switzerland and his colleagues explain in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Some evidence has suggested that the contraceptive, which suppresses estrogen production, could weaken bones, but it’s not clear whether the drug actually increases the risk of bone fractures, the authors add.

Vaccines for Teens: Some States’ Rates Lag

More U.S. Teens Getting Their Shots, but States Vary Widely

Aug. 20, 2010 – More teens are getting their recommended vaccinations, but rates are still below target levels, the CDC reports.

There are two recommended vaccines for all teens:

   * One dose of menigococcal meningitis vaccine

   * One dose of the tetanus/diphtheria/whooping cough vaccine

One more vaccine is recommended for girls: three doses of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, to protect against cervical cancer and genital warts. Boys who want protection against genital warts may also get the vaccine, but it’s not an official recommendation.

Are kids getting their recommended vaccinations? The overall news is good.

Common acne treatments linked to bowel problems

(Reuters Health) – Acne is a difficult enough burden for a young person to bear. Now there’s evidence that antibiotics commonly prescribed to help control severe breakouts may, in a very small number of patients, lead to inflammatory bowel disease.

Bowel disorders linked to acne treatment are “a rare outcome,” cautioned Dr. David Margolis, a dermatologist and lead author of a study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, in an interview with Reuters Health

Study links pesticides to attention problems

(Reuters) – Children whose mothers were exposed to certain types of pesticides while pregnant were more likely to have attention problems as they grew up, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, adds to evidence that organophosphate pesticides can affect the human brain.

Immaturity Mistaken for ADHD?

Youngest Kids in Class More Likely to Get ADHD Diagnosis; Some Researchers Fear Misdiagnosis

Aug. 19, 2010 — If your child is the youngest in the class and has a diagnosis of ADHD — attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, marked by inattention and impulsiveness — it may be a mistake, researchers say.

What is actually immaturity may be mislabeled as ADHD, according to new studies.

”It’s not just how old you are when you enter kindergarten that matters,” says researcher Todd Elder, PhD, a health economist at Michigan State University, East Lansing. “It’s how old you are relevant to your classmates.”

Likewise, if your child is the oldest in the class and doesn’t have a diagnosis of ADHD, that, too could be wrong, Elder says.

Although recent headlines from his research have focused on the possibility that nearly 1 million children in the U.S. may have been misdiagnosed with ADHD, Elder tells WebMD that there may also be a substantial amount of underdiagnosis among older kids.

The research is slated to publish in the Journal of Health Economics.

Structured Homework Strategy Helps ADHD Kids

Study Shows Homework Problems Improve With a Program That Takes a Structured Approach

Aug. 16, 2010 — Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and homework problems often go together. Now, a simple and structured approach to doing homework appears to cut homework problems by more than half, according to a new study.

”The drop in the problems related to homework were very dramatic,” says researcher George Kapalka, PhD, associate professor and interim chair of the department of psychological counseling at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.

He presented his findings this week at the American Psychological Association annual meeting in San Diego.

Hearing Loss in Teens Is on the Rise

Study Shows 1 in 5 Teenagers Has Signs of Hearing Loss

Aug. 17, 2010 — Hearing loss in teens has gone up, with one in five U.S. adolescents showing some degree of hearing loss in 2005-2006, according to a new study.

Researchers compared hearing loss evaluated in two national surveys, one conducted in 1988-1994 and the other in 2005-2006. ”In the initial assessment back in the early ’90’s, about 15% [of teens] had any hearing loss,” says researcher Gary C. Curhan MD, ScD, associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health.

Obesity, Smoking Linked to Teen Migraines

Study Shows Lack of Exercise Also May Also Increase Chances of Migraines in Teenagers

Aug. 18, 2010 — Teens are more likely to have chronic headaches or migraines when they are overweight, smoke cigarettes, or get little or no exercise, new research shows.

Teenagers in the study with all three negative lifestyle factors had a more than threefold greater likelihood of having frequent, severe headaches than normal-weight, active teens who did not smoke.

Study: Cross-Eyed Kids Less Accepted by Peers  

Study: Cross-Eyed Kids Less Accepted by Peers

Researchers Urge Early Intervention to Align Children’s Eyes

Aug. 18, 2010 — Children with the eye  condition strabismus, often called cross-eyed or squint, are less likely to be accepted by their peers, according to a new study.

“Negative attitudes appear to emerge at approximately 6 years and increase with age,” write the Swiss researchers in the report of their study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

In most cases, ”parents really should not wait longer than age 5 for surgery,” researcher Daniel Stephane Mojon, MD, head of the department of strabismology and neuro-ophthalmology at Kantonsspital, St. Gallen, Switzerland, tells WebMD.

High School Athletes Hit Hard by the Heat

Study Shows Heat-Related Illnesses Are Most Common During Preseason Football

Aug. 19, 2010 — Thousands of high school athletes, mostly football players, are sidelined every year due to heat-related illnesses, and most occur during the preseason, primarily in August, the CDC says in a new report.

The analysis of heat-related injuries, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for Aug. 20, 2010, examined data for the 2005-2009 seasons provided by the National High School Sports-Related Surveillance Survey Study.

The report also says that heat-related injuries are more likely to occur among overweight athletes.

No Siblings? Your Social Skills Are Just Fine

Study Shows Teens Without Siblings Have Plenty of Friends

Aug. 17, 2010 — Despite concerns that an “only” child may be spoiled by his or her parents, new research suggests that teenagers without siblings don’t seem to be disadvantaged in the development of social skills.

Researchers at Ohio State University, who examined interview data on more than 13,000 middle and high school kids, say they found that those without siblings were chosen as friends by their classmates as often as those with brothers and sisters.

Overweight Kids Risk Weak Bones, Diabetes

Researcher Says Abdominal Fat May Play a Role in Bone Strength

Aug. 17, 2010 — Overweight children who are at risk for developing diabetes before puberty also face greater odds for having weak bones, a new study indicates.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia studied 140 children between the ages of 7 and 11 who got little regular exercise and found that 30% showed signs of poor blood sugar regulation and 4% to 5% less bone mass, which is a measure of bone strength.

The researchers say their new study is the first to suggest a link between weaker bones and childhood risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with inactivity and obesity, is becoming more common in kids. Type 1 diabetes is associated with poor bone health and is thought to be caused by genetic and environmental factors.

Wine May Cut Decline in Thinking Skills

Study Shows Wine Drinkers Perform Better Than Teetotalers on Cognitive Tests

Aug. 18, 2010 — Drinking wine in moderate amounts may reduce the risk of decline in thinking skills  in some people and may even protect against dementia, a new study shows.

Researchers in Norway studied the drinking habits of 5,033 men and women over a seven-year period, including some teetotalers.

More mental disorders treated with drugs only

(Reuters Health) – More Americans with psychiatric conditions are being treated with drugs alone compared with a decade ago, while “talk therapy” — either by itself or in combination with medication — is on the decline, a new study finds.

The implications of the trend, as well as its underlying causes, are not fully clear, according to researchers. But they say the findings indicate that outpatient mental health care in the U.S. is being redefined.

The results, reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry, are based on data from two government health surveys conducted in 1998 and 2007.

More evidence for fibromyalgia, suicide link

(Reuters Health) – A study of more than 8,000 Americans with fibromyalgia suggests that they are not at an overall increased risk of dying over a given time compared to people without the chronic pain condition.

Rates of suicide and accidental deaths, however, were higher than average among people with fibromyalgia in the study. Still, the overall risk of suicide was still low and the findings don’t prove that fibromyalgia symptoms cause suicide, the authors emphasize.

Clues Help ID Depressed People at Risk of Bipolar Disorder

Depression With Periods of Increased Energy and Decreased Need for Sleep Could Raise Risk of Bipolar Disorder, Study Says

Aug. 17, 2010 — Researchers have discovered clues that may help identify which people with depression are at risk of developing bipolar disorder. The new findings appear in the online version of The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Green Leafy Veggies May Cut Diabetes Risk

Study: Putting More Green Leafy Vegetables in Your Diet May Reduce Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Aug. 19, 2010 — People who add more green leafy vegetables to their diet may significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study says.

Patrice Carter, a research nutritionist at the University of Leicester, and colleagues reviewed six studies involving more than 220,000 people that focused on the links between fruits and vegetables and type 2 diabetes.

They conclude that eating one and one half servings of green leafy vegetables per day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14%. However, they also found that eating more fruits and vegetables combined doesn’t seem to affect this risk.

Fish Oil Improves Metabolic Syndrome

Healthy Fats Improve Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels in Metabolic Syndrome, Study Finds

Aug. 18, 2010 — A diet rich in omega-3 fish oil or healthy monounsaturated fats found in oils such as olive and canola may be beneficial for people with metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors known to increase risk for heart attack and diabetes. Features of metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol levels, and abdominal fat. The new findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Nutrition.