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.
End-of-Summer Stir-Fries
Stir-fried Garlic Green Beans
Stir-fried Tofu With Carrots and Red Peppers
Orange Chicken With Vegetables
Stir-fried Succotash With Edamame
Stir-Fried Rice Stick Noodles With Bok Choy and Cherry Tomatoes
General Medicine/Family Medical
Statins linked to lower rheumatoid arthritis risk
(Reuters) – Israeli scientists have found a significant link between taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor or Crestor and a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers who studied 1.8 million patients registered with the Maccabi Healthcare Services in Israel found that those who regularly used statins were 40 percent less likely to develop the chronic inflammatory condition than those who did not.
“What we have found is very convincing, and we believe that patients who are taking statins should follow the recommendation of their physicians and take them persistently,” said Gabriel Chodick of the Maccabi Center in Tel Aviv, who led the study.
Higher heart risk seen in younger African Americans
(Reuters Health) – African Americans are known to have a higher rate of heart disease and stroke than whites, and a new study suggests that those excess risks emerge at a relatively young age.
Using data from a government health study, researchers found that African Americans between the ages of 35 and 44 had nearly twice the prevalence of cardiovascular disease — a history of heart attack, heart failure or stroke — than their white counterparts.
Extrapolating to the general U.S. population, the researchers estimate that just under 2 percent of white adults in that age group had ever been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, versus just under 4 percent of African Americans.
Multivitamins may not slow colon cancer
(Reuters Health) – Taking a multivitamin is unlikely to help colon cancer patients in battling the disease, suggests a new study.
“There is widespread belief among cancer patients that taking multivitamins will help to treat their cancer and prolong life,” lead researcher Dr. Kimmie Ng of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
Cockroach Brains vs. MRSA
Brains of Cockroaches and Locusts Contain Substances Lethal to Bacteria
Sept. 9, 2010 — Cockroaches and locusts may be annoying bugs, but their tiny brains contain antibacterial molecules that apparently are toxic to drug-resistant infections such as MRSA as well as E. coli germs, new research indicates.
Simon Lee, a post-graduate researcher at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, says he has identified up to nine different molecules in tissues of the brains of cockroaches and locusts.
Researchers Study Virus’ Link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Does XMRV Occur in People With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Studies Yield Mixed Results
Sept. 9, 2010 — An international group of scientists met this week at the National Institutes of Health to discuss a retrovirus that has been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer. XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) was first identified in humans in 2006.
“We are at the very earliest stages” of understanding XMRV, said Cleveland Clinic urologist Eric Klein, MD, part of the team that discovered the virus in men with prostate cancer.
Stress Hormone Predicts Heart Death
High Cortisol Levels Raise Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke 5-Fold
Sept. 9, 2010 — Doctors have long warned patients that stress is bad for the heart. Now new research provides direct evidence to back up the warning.
In the newly published study, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the urine were associated with a dramatic increase in death from cardiovascular disease years later.
Heart Disease Risk Varies by Education Level
Study Also Shows Risk Is Different in Low-Income and High-Income Countries
Sept. 7, 2010 — Risk for stroke and heart disease falls as education levels rise in high-income countries, but not in nations where earnings are considerably lower, a new study shows.
The findings are published in the September 2010 issue of Circulation.
The study examined data on 61,332 people from 44 countries who had been diagnosed with heart disease, stroke, or peripheral arterial disease — or who had cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking or obesity.
“We can’t simply take studies that are conducted in high-income countries, particularly as they relate to socioeconomic status and health outcomes, and extrapolate them to low- and middle-income countries,” says study researcher Abhinav Goyal, MD, MHS, professor at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. “We need dedicated studies in those settings.”
Warnings/Alerts/Guidelines
Risks of old, new diet drugs face U.S. scrutiny
(Reuters) – The risks of a potential new diet pill and a 13-year-old weight-loss medicine face U.S. scrutiny next week as medical experts consider if the drugs’ benefits outweigh possible side effects.
On Thursday, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc goes before an advisory panel that will consider if the pill, lorcaserin or Lorqess, should win approval. The medicine is vital to Arena, a small company with no approved drugs on the market.
On Wednesday, the committee will decide whether to recommend tougher action against Abbott Laboratories Inc’s diet drug Meridia on concerns about heart problems.
The advice on both pills will weigh heavily on the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that will make the final call.
FDA cracks down on 5 makers of e-cigarettes
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warnings to five makers of electronic cigarettes for marketing them illegally as stop-smoking aids and said on Thursday it intends to regulate the products as drugs.
The move is the latest attempt by the FDA to assert its jurisdiction over electronic or e-cigarettes, battery-powered devices that allow users to inhale a vaporized liquid nicotine solution instead of tobacco smoke.
Michael Levy of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research told a news briefing the warnings were for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including making unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.
FDA: Improper Health Claims on 2 Green Teas
Agency Says Manufacturers of Green Tea Beverages Make Unauthorized Nutritional Claims
Sept. 8, 2010 — The FDA has warned the manufacturers of two popular green tea beverages that some of their nutritional claims are unauthorized and in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
The FDA issued warning letters to Dr Pepper Snapple Group of Plano, Texas, about its Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale, and Unilever Americas of Edgewood, N.J., regarding its Lipton Green Tea 100% Naturally Decaffeinated product.
The FDA warned the companies not to make misleading claims about nutrients in products that imply or claim to provide health benefits.
Seasonal Flu/Other Epidemics/Disasters
HIV spread “out of control” among French gay men
(Reuters) – Transmission of the AIDS virus seems to be “out of control” among gay men in France despite an overall fall in the number of new HIV cases in the country, according to a study published on Thursday.
Scientists from the French National Institute for Public Health Surveillance found that nearly half of the 7,000 people newly infected with HIV in the country in 2008 were gay men, and the incidence among homosexual men is 200 times higher than in the heterosexual population.
Experts said the findings showed that French authorities needed to revise and renew prevention strategies and ensure they were properly targeted at groups most at risk of HIV infection.
Women’s Health
Two gene mutations mark deadly ovarian cancer
(Reuters) – Researchers have identified two new genetic mutations that cause a significant number of the hardest-to-treat kinds of ovarian cancer, and say they point to a new “on-off” switch for tumors.
They hope their findings may eventually help doctors better tailor cancer treatments and also lead to the development of drugs to treat these forms of cancer.
The findings, published by two separate teams of researchers in the journal Science and the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggest a previously unknown mechanism for how cancer begins.
Breastfeeding for a month cuts mom’s diabetes risk
(Reuters Health) – Mothers who don’t breastfeed their newborns for at least one month are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives than women who do, a Pennsylvania study finds.
Previous research demonstrated health benefits to moms who breastfed as long as six months or a year. The Pennsylvania results suggest that even a month of breastfeeding can have positive, lasting effects.
“What we found that was somewhat surprising was the pretty dramatic benefits for moms who breastfed as short as a month after the birth of their child,” the lead author, Dr. Eleanor Schwarz of the University of Pittsburgh, told Reuters Health.
Men’s Health
Study backs prostate screening for high risk men
(Reuters) – Men who have a certain genetic variations that put them at higher risk of prostate cancer may benefit from regular screening for the disease, a study by British scientists found Friday.
The findings suggest that by narrowing the focus of prostate cancer screening to those whose genes put them at most risk, doctors would catch more cancers early as well as reducing the potential for costly and damaging overdiagnosis.
“Although these are early results, it appears that (prostate cancer) screening is reasonably accurate at predicting potentially aggressive prostate cancer among men at higher risk of the disease due to a genetic predisposition,” said Rosalind Eeles, who led a research team from Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Royal Marsden hospital.
Testosterone may drive aggressive takeovers: study
(Reuters) – Younger chief executives with high testosterone levels may be more likely to try a hostile takeover — and to get burned in the attempt, Canadian researchers said on Wednesday.
They found age was clearly linked with aggressive takeover behavior, and did a careful but indirect analysis to see if testosterone might be involved.
It likely is, said Kai Li and colleagues at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
“Young male CEOs appear to be combative: they are 4 percent more likely to be acquisitive and, having initiated an acquisition, they are over 20 percent more likely to withdraw an offer,” Li’s team wrote in the September issue of Management Science.
Pediatric Health
Half of “untreatable” asthma cases may be treatable
(Reuters Health) – Good news for kids with treatment-resistant asthma: Their breathing troubles just might be treatable.
Approximately one in every 10 kids in the U.S. has asthma. And about one in 20 has a severe form that doesn’t respond to standard therapies.
But after thoroughly evaluating the evidence to date, Drs. Andrew Bush and Sejal Saglani of the Imperial School of Medicine, in London, think that the true number of problematic asthma cases may be far lower. A lot of children, they say, carry a misdiagnosis of severe asthma or are simply not taking their medications correctly.
“These kids have a lot of problems,” Bush told Reuters Health in an email, “but nurses, working with parents, lead to around half of children being able to manage their asthma better without intensifying medicines.”
Nasal allergies may affect infants too
(Reuters Health) – A new study adds to evidence that infants and toddlers are not too young to develop nasal allergies, particularly if their parents have a history of the bothersome condition.
In a study of more than 1,800 18-month-old children, French researchers found that 9 percent had suffered symptoms suggestive of nasal allergies, also called allergic rhinitis, in the past year. Those toddlers were also more likely than the rest of the study group to show certain objective markers of allergies.
Bigger low-birth-weight babies need extra iron too
(Reuters Health) – Babies at the larger end of the low-birth-weight spectrum are at risk of iron deficiency, and should get iron supplements, according to a Swedish study published Monday in Pediatrics.
These “marginally” low-birth-weight infants tip the scales at 2000 to 2500 grams (4 pounds, 6 ounces to 5 pounds, 8 ounces) when born. They represent a large percentage of newborns; for example, 5 percent of babies born in the US every year are in the marginally low-birth-weight range.
While iron supplements are recommended for all low-birth-weight babies, these recommendations aren’t always followed for the infants who fall into the marginal range, Dr. Magnus Domellof of Umea University in Sweden told Reuters Health. There is “large variation between different clinics and different hospitals, and there is a lack of guidelines,” Domellof said.
Magnetic fields won’t up kids’ brain cancer risk
(Reuters Health) – Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs)–emitted by anything from power lines to appliances or improperly grounded wiring–is not likely to increase children’s risk of developing brain tumors, the authors of a new analysis conclude.
Researchers have been investigating the health risks of these magnetic fields since 1979, Dr. Leeka Kheifets of the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. There is some evidence that exposure at certain levels may be related to childhood leukemia, they add.
Sleep Linked to Childhood Obesity
Infants and Young Children Who Get Too Little Nighttime Sleep May Have Increased Risk of Obesity, Study Finds
Sept. 7, 2010 — Infants and young children who don’t get enough sleep at night may be more likely to become obese before adulthood, a new study says.
And napping doesn’t seem to be the answer for children who get insufficient nighttime sleep, researchers say. The study appears in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Obesity has doubled among children aged 2 to 5 in the past three decades, and it has tripled among youths between 6 and 11, researchers say. Obesity has also doubled in young people between 12 and 19.
Aging
Strong Grip May Mean Longer Life
Sept. 10, 2010 — If your grip is strong and you’re able to raise from a chair quickly, walk fast, and balance on one leg, chances are you’ll live longer than people who have difficulty doing such things, says a study published in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.
B vitamins found to slow progression of dementia in the elderly
(Reuters) – Daily tablets of large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression toward dementia, data from a British trial showed on Wednesday,
Scientists from Oxford University said their two-year clinical trial was the largest to date into the effect of B vitamins on so-called “mild cognitive impairment” — a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Mental Health
Mental illness alone not linked to violence
(Reuters) – Mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder alone do not make people more violent, but the tendency of people with psychiatric problems to abuse drugs or alcohol does, scientists said on Monday.
Experts have long sought to understand the link between mental illness and violence and these findings suggest that the widespread public perception that psychiatric disorders alone make people more prone to violent crime is flawed.
Researchers from Britain and Sweden who studied rates of violent crime among people with severe mental disorders said it appeared that the higher risk of substance abuse is the key.
Money Can Only Buy So Much Happiness
Study Suggests There Are Limits to Money’s Impact on Your Daily Emotions
Sept. 7, 2010 — Money may shape your outlook on life, but it can only buy so much when it comes to your daily happiness.
“More money does not necessarily buy more happiness,” write researcher Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nutrition/Diet/Fitness
Americans Skimp on Fruits and Vegetables
The CDC Says More Needs to Be Done to Improve Access, Availability, and Affordability of Fruits, Vegetables
Sept. 9, 2010 — Americans aren’t eating nearly enough fruits and vegetables, the CDC says.
The percentage of Americans eating fruit two or more times every day and vegetables at least three times daily declined slightly compared to a decade ago, before health authorities began to sound the alarm about the nation’s obesity epidemic.
The CDC, in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for Sept. 10, said only 32.5% of adults in the U.S. ate fruit two or more times daily in 2009, and just over a quarter of Americans, 26.3%, ate vegetables three or more times per day.
High Cholesterol Linked to Cookware Chemicals
Study Shows Possible Health Risks in Kids From Chemicals Used to Make Nonstick Cookware
Sept. 7, 2010 — Exposure to chemicals used in the manufacture of nonstick cookware and waterproof and stain-resistant products could be raising cholesterol levels in children, a new study suggests.
Researchers analyzed blood levels of the chemicals perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluoroctanesulfonate (PFOS) in more than 12,000 kids living in West Virginia and Ohio.
Those with the highest blood levels of the chemicals were also more likely to have abnormally high total cholesterol and LDL “bad” cholesterol, study researcher Stephanie J. Frisbee, MSc, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine tells WebMD.
The Downside of Weight Loss
Weight Loss May Release Pollutants Into Bloodstream, Researchers Say
Sept. 7, 2010 — There may actually be an unhealthy downside to losing weight.
A new study finds that blood levels of substances known as persistent organic pollutants were higher in people who had lost weight compared to people who maintained or gained weight.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are compounds created by humans in industrial processes and have been linked to a wide range of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, dementia, and heart disease. The study appears in the International Journal of Obesity.
Meat Protein Risky in Low-Carb Diets
Low-Carb Diets Based on Meat Protein Rather Than Vegetable Protein May Raise Death Risk, Study Finds
Sept. 7, 2010 — All low-carbohydrate diets may not be created equal when it comes to your health. A new study suggests that a low-carb diet based on vegetable protein is healthier than one based on meat protein.
Low-carb diets have gained popularity in recent years as research shows they aid in weight loss and may improve some cardiovascular risk factors.
But researchers say their findings suggest that health benefits of a low-carb diet may depend on the type of protein and fat it contains.
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