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. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

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.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Health experts keep telling us to eat more fish, but fish can be expensive . If you love seafood and you’re trying to eat more of it, this week’s pasta dishes provide a solution. The amount you’ll need is about half what you’d buy if you were serving seafood on its own. Even better, most of these dishes also incorporate vegetables, making for perfect one-dish meals.

And they’re easy: Usually the fish accompaniment takes no more time to make than it takes to boil the pasta water. Most of this week’s recipes call for fresh fish and shellfish, but you can also use canned varieties high in omega-3 fats, like sardines, smoked trout and smoked herring.

Arthritis Doctors Too Often Opt for Drugs, Surgery

Study: Many Osteoarthritis Patients Would Benefit From More Conservative Treatments Such as Weight Loss, Exercise Programs

Jan. 7, 2011 — Many doctors who treat people with osteoarthritis are prescribing medications or choosing surgical options instead of recommending more conservative treatments such as weight loss and exercise programs.

That’s the main conclusion of a new analysis published in the January 2011 issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Researchers who reviewed standard clinical practices say therapeutic options aimed mostly at reducing pain and improving joint function are still first-line treatments.

But such treatments do little to improve joint structure or point toward long-term improvement of disease symptoms, according to the analysis by David Hunter, MD, of the University of Sydney in Australia.

2 Weeks of Antibiotic Therapy Relieves IBS

Study Shows Rifaximin Helps Ease Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Jan. 5, 2011 — A two-week course of the antibiotic rifaximin (Xifaxan) helps to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and the relief lasts up to 10 weeks after stopping the medication, according to new research.

”The major finding was that all IBS symptoms improved,” says Mark Pimentel, MD, director of the GI Motility Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, who led the clinical trial of the drug at Cedars.

The study looked only at those IBS patients with the non-constipation form, he tells WebMD. For those with this type of IBS, symptoms can include abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel function such as diarrhea.

 Sex Reversal: Genetic Women Become Adult Men

Female-to-Male Sex Reversal Found in 3 U.K. Family Members

Jan. 5, 2011 — Two adult brothers and a paternal uncle in the U.K. all appear to be normal males — but genetically are women with two X chromosomes.

Both brothers are married to women, and they and their uncle have the sexual anatomy, behavior, growth, and skeletal development of males. All have normal health and intelligence.

However, all three are infertile and unable to produce sperm. When the brothers responded to testosterone replacement with pain, their testes were removed and replaced with cosmetic prostheses.

Genetic tests showed that both they and their uncle lacked a Y chromosome. Instead they had the two X chromosomes characteristic of women (normal men have one X and one Y chromosome).

Study: Implanted Cardiac Defibrillators Overused

Researchers Say Some Patients Who Get ICDs May Not Meet the Criteria in Guidelines

Jan. 4, 2011 — More than 20% of patients who receive implanted devices that help shock the heart out of dangerous rhythms (arrhythmias) get them when clinical guidelines suggest they are unlikely to benefit from the expensive and sometimes painful intervention, a study shows.

What’s more, these patients have a modestly but significantly higher risk of dying in the hospital compared to those who do meet clinical criteria for the devices.

“I thought it was a very important study, particularly because it captures information about 80% of all the defibrillator implants in the United States,” says Alan Kadish, MD, a cardiologist who is president and chief executive officer of Touro College in New York City. “What it shows is that about one-fifth of these implants were performed in people who are not expected to benefit from them.”

Kadish was the co-author of an editorial that accompanies the study, which is published in the Jan. 5 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

New Evidence on Benefits of Colonoscopies

Study Shows Colonoscopy Exam Can Prevent Colorectal Cancer Throughout Colon

Jan. 3, 2011 — It is considered one of the most effective cancer screening and prevention exams, but recent studies have raised concerns that a colonoscopy may not be useful for detecting certain colorectal cancers.

Now a new study from Germany offers strong evidence that the test can prevent colorectal cancers located throughout the colon — not just those easiest to reach with the fiberoptic imaging scope.

Experts say the findings should reassure patients that a colonoscopy saves lives by detecting and removing precancerous polyps throughout the colon before they can become malignant.

The study appears in the Jan. 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

CPAP Treatment for Sleep Apnea Fights Fatigue

Study Shows People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Have More Energy After CPAP Treatment

Jan. 3, 2011 — A common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have the added benefits of fighting fatigue and increasing energy as well as helping people sleep better.

A new study shows that use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) decreased fatigue and increased energy in people with the sleep-related breathing disorder after only a few weeks of treatment.

Recall of Albuterol Used in Nebulizers

Mislabeling on Some Single-Dose Vials Could Lead to Possible Overdose

Jan 3, 2011 — The Ritedose Corporation has recalled some single-dose vials of Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Solution because an incorrect label could lead to a possible overdose.

The recall includes 0.083% Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Solution, 3 mL (in 25-, 30-, and 60-unit dose vials) because the 2.5 mg/3 mL single-use vials are mislabeled as containing 0.5 mg/3 mL.

The product is a prescription inhalation solution that is administered with a nebulizer to treat acute asthma attacks and exercise-induced asthma in children and adults.

If someone reads the incorrect concentration, he or she may upwardly adjust the volume, resulting in an administered amount that is five times the recommended dose.

Splitting Pills May Have Risks

Study Shows Patients Who Split Pills May End Up With Doses That Are Too High or Too Low

Jan. 7, 2011 — Pill splitting, a common practice among many people who are looking to cut medication costs or dosages, is risky business, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Some pills can’t be split 50-50 and there can be a narrow margin between a dose that can help you and one that can hurt you, the researchers report.

“Not all formulations are available for splitting, and even when they are, large dose deviation or weight losses can occur [and] this could have serious clinical consequences for medication with a narrow therapeutic-toxic range,” write researchers who were led by Charlotte Verrue, PharmD, PhD, of Ghent University in Belgium.

BMJ Declares Vaccine-Autism Study ‘an Elaborate Fraud’

1998 Lancet Study Not Bad Science but Deliberate Fraud, Claims Journal

Jan. 6, 2011 — The medical journal BMJ has declared the 1998 Lancet study that implied a link between the MMR vaccine and autism “an elaborate fraud.”

Fiona Godlee, MD, BMJ’s editor in chief, says in a news release, “The MMR scare was based not on bad science but on a deliberate fraud” and that such “clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare.”

Driving Convertibles Can Hurt Hearing

Noise From Wind, Passing Vehicles Pushes Decibels Into the Dangerous Range, Study Finds

Jan. 6, 2011 — Driving a convertible with the top down may seem like fun, but people who go 55 miles per hour or faster may be increasing the risk of hearing loss over time, new research indicates.

That’s due in part to the noise of the wind, but also to extreme noise “spikes” heard when passing loud vehicles, such as a bus or motorcycle.

The study used noise level standards of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which says decibel levels greater than 85 are considered excessive.

Antibiotics Not Always Needed for MRSA

New Guidelines Released for the Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphyloccus aureus Infections

Jan. 5, 2011 — The superbug staph infection, MRSA, has become a global health threat for adults and children, but antibiotics aren’t needed to treat all cases, according to new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus, is a bacterium that is hard to kill with the most commonly used antibiotics. The superbug is responsible for about 60% of all skin infections seen in hospital emergency rooms. If the bacteria invade broken skin, life-threatening lung, blood, bone, joint, or nervous system infections can result.

Chemical in Women’s Tears May Be Sexual Turnoff

Study Shows Men’s Sexual Interest Is Reduced After Sniffing Women’s Tears

Jan. 6, 2011 — Chemicals in the tears of women may give off signals that decrease the testosterone levels of men and reduce their sexual interest, new research indicates.

In a study of 24 men, Israeli researchers had the volunteers sniff either tears collected from women who had watched a sad movie or drops of saline that were trickled down the faces of the same women. They were then asked to view pictures of women’s faces that had emotionally neutral expressions.

Women Give Up Sleep to Care for Others

Study Shows Women More Likely to Get Up From Bed to Take Care of Babies or Sick Parents

Jan. 6, 2011 — Science has some new validation for all the women who have enviously eyed their slumbering husbands as they crawled out of bed in the middle of the night to tend to crying babies, sick elders, or even just to let the family pet outside.

A new study shows that women are more likely than men to give up sleep to take care of others, making gender roles a powerful reason — beyond medical problems like depression or sleep apnea — that women don’t get enough sleep.

“If people have problems sleeping, physicians feel they find the problem and treat it with the right drug, technology, or surgery,” says David Maume, PhD, director of the Kuntz Center for the Study of Work and Family at the University of Cincinnati, who was not involved in the study.

Women With MS More Likely to Have Gene Mutation

Study Could Help Explain Rise in Multiple Sclerosis Cases Among Women

Jan 5, 2011 — New research may help explain why multiple sclerosis rates have risen sharply in the U.S. and some other countries among women, while rates appear stable in men.

The study could also broaden understanding of how environmental influences alter genes to cause a wide range of diseases.

The causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) are not well understood, but experts have long suspected that environmental factors trigger the disease in people who are genetically susceptible.

In the newly published study, researchers found that women with MS were more likely than men with MS to have a specific genetic mutation that has been linked to the disease.

Women were also more likely to pass the mutation to their daughters than their sons and more likely to share the MS-susceptibility gene with more distant female family members.

Exercise Cuts Prostate Cancer Death Risk

3 Hours of Vigorous Activity a Week Associated With a 61% Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer-Specific Death, Researchers Say

Jan. 6, 2011 — Men diagnosed with prostate cancer may be able to reduce their risk of death not just from prostate cancer but from any cause by exercising vigorously for at least three hours per week, new research indicates.

A study performed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California-San Francisco examined the records of 2,705 men who had been diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer over an 18-year period in a project known as the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The men in the study reported the time they spent exercising on a weekly basis. This included running, bicycling, walking, swimming, other sports, and even outdoor work.

Male Circumcision Cuts Women’s Cervical Cancer Risk

Study Shows Circumcision May Help Reduce Spread of HPV

Jan. 6, 2011 — Circumcising men can reduce cervical cancer risk in women, a new study shows.

The study involved more than 1,200 HIV-negative, heterosexual couples living in Uganda, where circumcision of male adults is increasingly encouraged as a means of slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Half the men received the surgical procedure at enrollment and the other half were scheduled for circumcision after their participation in the trial ended.

Two years later, the female partners of the men who remained uncircumcised were more likely than the partners of the circumcised men to be infected with human papilloma virus (HPV) types most often associated with cervical cancer.

In earlier trials, Johns Hopkins University researcher Aaron A.R. Tobian, MD, PhD, and colleagues showed that male circumcision reduces HIV infection, HPV in men, and genital herpes.

Kids’ Lifestyle Changes Bring Later Heart Health

Study Shows Changing Unhealthy Habits of Children Can Help Prevent Heart Disease in Adults

Jan 4, 2011 — Encouraging children to make healthy lifestyle changes before they reach adulthood, including regular exercise and not smoking, can help lower the children’s blood cholesterol levels and potentially reverse their risk of developing heart disease as they age.

Growing numbers of U.S. children have high levels of cholesterol and other blood fats called triglycerides, which are considered major risk factors for heart disease, but these numbers are not set in stone, according to a new study in the January issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Advances Made Toward Alzheimer’s Blood Test

Study Shows Synthetic Molecules May Help Detect Alzheimer’s, MS, and Other Diseases

Jan. 6, 2011 — Molecules developed in the lab to seek out antibodies associated with disease could lead to simple blood tests for Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other diseases, researchers say.

The new experimental technology relies on thousands of synthetic molecules known as peptoids to search for antibodies that occur in response to disease.

The hope is that the man-made molecules will lead to tests to identify diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer long before symptoms occur, says Thomas Kodadek, PhD, who is a professor of chemistry and cancer biology at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla.

Study: Newer Antipsychotic Drugs Are Overused

Researchers Say Many Doctors Prescribe Drugs Despite Lack of Evidence of Effectiveness

an. 7, 2011 — Many people taking powerful psychiatric medications that increase their risk of weight gain and diabetes are prescribed those drugs when there’s little evidence that they will get any benefit from them, a new study shows.

What’s more, experts say that even when these drugs, which are known as atypical antipsychotics, are prescribed as recommended, they may not be safer or more effective than the less expensive, older medications that they’ve apparently replaced.

“Atypical agents were once thought to be safer and possibly more effective,” says study researcher G. Caleb Alexander, MD, an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals. “And what we’ve learned over time is that they are not safer, and in the settings where there’s the best scientific evidence, they are no more effective.”

‘Depression Gene’ Linked to Response to Stress

Study Shows Gene Plays Role in the Ways People React to Stressful Events

Jan. 4, 2011 — An analysis of 54 studies suggests that there really is a depression gene that can affect how people respond to stressful life events.

The new study, which appears in the Jan. 3 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, should help resolve controversy regarding the role of this gene.

Mediterranean Diet May Keep Aging Mind Sharp

Study Shows Health Benefits of a Diet Rich in Vegetables, Fish, and Olive Oil

Jan. 7, 2011 — A new study shows following a Mediterranean style diet rich in vegetables, olive oil, and fish may keep the mind sharp and slow age-related cognitive decline.

The diet typified by the Italians, Greeks, and other Mediterranean cultures has already been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. But this and other studies are now suggesting that the diet may also have healthy benefits for the mind.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, non-refined cereals, olive oil, and moderate wine consumption, usually at meals.

Green Tea May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Study Shows Green Tea May Also Slow Growth of Cancer Cells

Jan. 6, 2011 — Regular consumption of green tea may offer protection against Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and may also slow growth of cancer cells, new research indicates.

Green tea, an ancient Chinese remedy, has been shown to have protective properties in undigested, freshly brewed forms. But a research team at Newcastle University in the U.K. set out to determine whether the protective substances remained active after digestion. And in the study, they did.

Meat Will Get New Nutrition Labels

New Rule Calls for Listing of Calories and Fat on Labels of Meat Products

Jan. 4, 2011 — Important nutritional facts aimed at helping consumers know more about what they’re eating will be required on labels of 40 of the most popular cuts of meat and poultry under a new rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The rule, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2012, requires nutritional labels on the meat and poultry packages to list the number of calories, grams of total fat, and saturated fat.

Americans Say Their Diet Is Healthy, but Is It?

Survey Suggests Eating Habits Don’t Match the Belief of Most Americans That Their Diet Is Healthy

Jan. 4, 2011 — Close to 90% of Americans say they eat a healthy diet, but their penchant for sugary foods and drinks suggests otherwise.

A new Consumer Reports Health telephone poll of 1,234 adults showed that 52.6% of respondents said their diet was “somewhat healthy,” 31.5% thought their diet was “very” healthy, and 5.6% said they were “extremely” healthy eaters.

But 43% of said they drank at least one sugary soda or sugar-sweetened coffee or tea drink per day, and  around one-quarter said they limit the amount of sweets and fat they get each day.

These not-so-healthy eating habits may sabotage their diets and their waistlines, says Nancy Metcalf, the senior program editor for Consumer Reports Health in Yonkers, N.Y.

Walking Faster May Lead to a Longer Life

Study Shows a Link Between Walking Speed and Life Span

Jan. 4, 2011 — A swift stride puts you on the path to a longer, healthier life, researchers say.

Scientists reporting in The Journal of the American Medical Association say that older adults who typically walk 1 meter per second or faster live longer than expected. A walking, or gait, speed of 1 meter per second is equal to 3.28 feet per second.

Walking speed can be an important sign of someone’s overall health. A slow walking speed may be due to multiple causes including heart, lung, or nervous system problems, or even joint pain. Several studies have suggested that a person with a walking speed slower than 0.6 meters per second (less than 2 feet per second) may be at increased risk for poor health and function.

Stephanie Studenski, MD, MPH, of the University of Pittsburgh, analyzed the collective results of nine previous studies to determine if walking speed explained survival differences among older adults and whether it could be used to predict longevity.