Too much physical activity may lead to arthritis

Middle-aged men and women who engage in high levels of physical activity may be unknowingly causing damage to their knees and increasing their risk for osteoarthritis, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)."Our data suggest that people with higher physical activity levels may be at greater risk for developing knee abnormalities and, thus, at higher risk for developing osteoarthritis," said Christoph Stehling, M.D., research fellow in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and radiology resident in the Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany.Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes pain, swelling and stiffness....

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Long-term physical activity has an anti-aging effect

Intensive exercise prevented shortening of telomeres, a protective effect against aging of the cardiovascular system, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.Researchers measured the length of telomeres — the DNA that bookends the chromosomes and protects the ends from damage — in blood samples from two groups of professional athletes and two groups who were healthy nonsmokers, but not regular exercisers.The telomere shortening mechanism limits cells to a fixed number of divisions and can be regarded as a “biological clock.” Gradual shortening of telomeres through cell divisions leads to aging on the cellular level and may limit lifetimes. When the telomeres become critically short the cell undergoes death. The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology...

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CPR WORKS W/0 M-TO-M BUT NOT W/O OXYGEN

People can survive cardiac arrest if they receive only chest compressions during attempts to revive them – as advised by the current American Heart Association guidelines. But they cannot survive without access to oxygen sometime during the resuscitation effort, research suggests.Scientists tested different scenarios in an animal study of cardiac arrest. Rats received either 100 percent oxygen, 21 percent oxygen – the equivalent of room air – or no oxygen (100 percent nitrogen) at the same time they received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).About 80 percent of the rats survived regardless of the percentage of oxygen they received along with chest compressions. However, in the group receiving no oxygen, only one animal could be resuscitated.Though these animals received the oxygen via ventilation,...

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High salt = strokes and cardiovascular disease

Eating high amounts of salt is linked to a significantly higher risk of strokes and cardiovascular disease, states a paper published today in the British Medical Journal.The research was carried out jointly by the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Nutrition, based at the University of Warwick and University Hospital in Coventry, UK, and the European Society of Hypertension Excellence Centre in Hypertension based at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Medical School in Naples, Italy.The study looked at the relationship between the level of habitual dietary salt intake and the occurrence of stroke and cardiovascular disease by reviewing 13 prospective studies from the UK, Japan, USA, The Netherlands, Finland and China, including more...

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Soy component may be key to fighting colon cancer

A study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientists identifies a new class of therapeutic agents found naturally in soy that can prevent and possibly treat colon cancer, the third most deadly form of cancer. Sphingadienes (SDs) are natural lipid molecules found in soy that research shows may be the key to fighting colon cancer.The study, led by Julie Saba, MD, PhD, senior scientist and director of the Cancer Center at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), will be featured in the December 15, 2009 issue of Cancer Research. Soy has long been touted as protective against colon cancer, but Dr. Saba's team made the groundbreaking discovery that SDs naturally found in soy may underlie the benefits of soy products.Dr. Saba and her team first identified...

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Exercise Fights Strokes

Moderate-to-heavy exercise may reduce risk of stroke for menMen who regularly take part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, such as walking, golfing, or bowling, according to a study published in the November 24, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.However, exercise did not have a protective effect against stroke for women. Women who took part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise did not have a reduced risk of stroke.The study involved 3,298 people living in northern Manhattan, NY, with an average age of 69 who were followed for about nine years. During that time, there were 238 strokes. A total of 41 percent...

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Flaxseed oil and osteoporosis

Animal studies suggest that adding flaxseed oil to the diet could reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and women with diabetes, according to a report to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.Mer Harvi and colleagues at the National Research Center, in Cairo, Egypt, have studied the effect of diabetes on bone health and evaluated how flaxseed oil in the diet might delay the onset of osteoporosis. The researchers studied 70 female albino rats of which 30 had their ovaries removed (ovx) to simulate the post-menopausal state and experimental diabetes was present in one group of rodents.The researchers then classified the rats as control, sham, diabetic, diabetic received flaxseed oil in the diet, ovx, ovx-diabetic and ovx-diabetic...

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Vitamin D Summary

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."On issues ranging from the health of your immune system to prevention of heart disease and even vulnerability to influenza, vitamin D is now seen as one of the most critical nutrients for overall health. But it's also one of those most likely to be deficient – especially during winter when production of the "sunshine vitamin" almost grinds to a halt for millions of people in the United States, Europe and other northern temperate zones.Analogs of the vitamin are even being considered for use as new therapies...

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Beneficial Effects of Aspirin in Cardiovascular Disease

On November 15, 2009, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) researcher Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., the first Sir Richard Doll Research Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science will present at the American Heart Association's Annual Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando, FL, the first data in humans to show that all doses of aspirin used in clinical practice increase nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is released from the blood vessel wall and may decrease the development and progression of plaques leading to heart attacks and strokes.Hennekens was the first to demonstrate that aspirin can prevent a first heart attack or a first stroke.The abstract, titled "Usual Doses of Aspirin Increase Nitric Acid Formation in Humans" is published in the November 2009 issue of Circulation,...

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Green tea may protect liver cells

Green tea may protect liver cells and reduce the deposition of collagen fibers in the liver. Green tea provides a safe and effective strategy for improving hepatic fibrosis.Several studies have shown that lipid peroxidation stimulates collagen production in fibroblasts and hepatic stellate cells (HSC), and plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis. Hepatoprotective effects of green tea against carbon tetrachloride, cholestasis and alcohol induced liver fibrosis were reported in many studies. However, the hepatoprotective effect of green tea in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced models has not been studied.A research article published on November 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team, led by Prof. Hong-Yon Cho from Korea...

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How fish is cooked affects heart-health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids

If you eat fish to gain the heart-health benefits of its omega-3 fatty acids, baked or boiled fish is better than fried, salted or dried, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2009. And, researchers said, adding low-sodium soy sauce or tofu will enhance the benefits. “It appears that boiling or baking fish with low-sodium soy sauce (shoyu) and tofu is beneficial, while eating fried, salted or dried fish is not,” said Lixin Meng, M.S., lead researcher of the study and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “In fact, these methods of preparation may contribute to your risk. We did not directly compare boiled or baked fish vs. fried fish, but one can tell from the (risk) ratios, boiled or baked fish is in the protective direction...

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Acetaminophen (Tylenol)=Liver Damage w/o Vit. U

Common herbal medicine may prevent acetaminophen-related liver damage, says Stanford researcher"I didn't know anything about the substance that was necessary for the pathway's function, so I had to look it up," said Gary Peltz, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology. "My postdoctoral fellow, whose parents and other family members in Asia were taking this compound in their supplements, started laughing. He recognized it immediately."Acetaminophen is a pain reliever present in many over-the-counter cold and flu medicines, especially Tylenol. It is broken down, or metabolized, in the body into byproducts — one of which can be very toxic to the liver. At normal, therapeutic levels, this byproduct is easily deactivated when it binds to a naturally occurring, protective molecule called glutathione....

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Folic Acid = Increased Risk of Cancer, Death

Patients with heart disease in Norway, a country with no fortification of foods with folic acid, had an associated increased risk of cancer and death from any cause if they had received treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA.Most epidemiological studies have found inverse associations between folate (a B vitamin) intake and risk of colorectal cancer, although such associations have been inconsistent or absent for other cancers, according to background information in the article. “Experimental evidence suggests that folate deficiency may promote initial stages of carcinogenesis, whereas high doses of folic acid may enhance growth of cancer cells. Since 1998, many countries, including the United States, have implemented mandatory folic...

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CPR - chest compression alone better

Continuous chest compression-CPR improved cardiac arrest survival in ArizonaStatewide analysis shows bystanders can save more lives when doing chest compressions only instead of mouth-to-mouth CPRThe chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside a hospital was found to be twice as high when bystanders performed continuous chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing than when bystanders performed standard CPR. These are the latest findings reported by the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center and the SHARE Program (Save Hearts in Arizona Research and Education) at the Arizona Department of Health Services.Only 5 percent of cardiac arrest victims survived if nobody performed CPR. In those receiving standard CPR (alternating between 30 compressions...

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Transcendental Med=less heart attack,stroke,death

Patients with coronary heart disease who practiced the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation® technique had nearly 50 percent lower rates of heart attack, stroke, and death compared to nonmeditating controls, according to the results of a first-ever study presented during the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla., on Nov.16, 2009.The trial was sponsored by a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and was conducted at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.The nine-year, randomized control trial followed 201African American men and women, average age 59 years, with...

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Low Vitamin D = stroke, heart disease and death

Study finds inadequate levels of Vitamin D may significantly increase risk of stroke, heart disease and deathWhile mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well – and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 patients who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. The participants had their blood Vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. The patients...

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Zinc reduces dangerous cystein

Judging from the number of juices and teas advertised as containing antioxidants, consumers are aware of the dangers of oxidative stress. But what is the best way to measure it – and fight it?Doctors at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a substance in the blood that may be useful in predicting an individual's risk for heart disease. The substance is cystine, an oxidized form of the amino acid cysteine and an indirect measure of oxidative stress.In a study of more than 1,200 people undergoing cardiac imaging at Emory because of suspected heart disease, people with high levels of cystine in the blood were twice as likely to have a heart attack or die over the next few years.Riyaz Patel, MD, a postdoctoral researcher at Emory's Cardiovascular Research Group, is presenting the...

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Broccoli and cauliflower protect cells from damage

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the body’s inflammatory response to infection and injury. The finding has implications for such inflammation-based disorders as cystic fibrosis (CF), diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegeneration.Through cell-culture studies and a synthesis of known antioxidant biochemistry, Zhe Lu, MD, PhD , Professor of Physiology, Yanping Xu , MD, PhD , Senior Research Investigator, and Szilvia Szép , PhD, postdoctoral researcher, showed that the antioxidant thiocyanate normally existing in the body protects lung cells from injuries caused by accumulations of hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite,...

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Deficiencies in vitamin D = hardened arteries

Heart and Bone Damage From Low Vitamin D Tied to Declines in Sex Hormones; Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency Amplified by Shortage of Estrogen Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando (Poster Abstract #20601a, Poster Hall A2-A3, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.), researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and...

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Niacin - Blood Cholesterol Levels Improved

Vitamin B Niacin - Blood Cholesterol Levels Improved, But Arteries Do Not Show It There were promising gains in bad (LDL) and good (HDL) blood cholesterol levels in those taking niacin. Results showed that in the group taking both niacin and a statin, blood levels of LDL-cholesterol fell 5 percent more than in the group taking only statin medications. And levels of HDL jumped 14 percent more than in the statin-only group. However, there was no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows. In tests on 145 Baltimore-area men and women with existing atherosclerosis, all over age 65, researchers found that after 18 months of drug...

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Migraine Raises Risk of Most Common Form of Stroke

Migraine Raises Risk of Most Common Form of Stroke; Women More at Risk Than Men; Risk Particularly High in Those With Visual Symptoms Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: those occurring when blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off by the buildup of plaque or a blood clot. The risk for those with migraines is 2.3 times those without, according to calculations from the Johns Hopkins team, to be presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando. (Abstract #21106, Poster Hall A2-A3, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.) For those who...

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Too much selenium can increase your cholesterol

A new study from the University of Warwick has discovered taking too much of the essential mineral selenium in your diet can increase your cholesterol by almost 10%.Selenium is a trace essential mineral with anti-oxidant properties. The body naturally absorbs selenium from foods such as vegetables, meat and seafood. However, when the balance is altered and the body absorbs too much selenium, such as through taking selenium supplements, it can have adverse affects. A team led by Dr Saverio Stranges at the University's Warwick Medical School has found high levels of selenium are associated with increased cholesterol, which can cause heart disease. In a paper recently published in the Journal of Nutrition, the research team examined the association of plasma selenium concentrations (levels of...

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Soy, Coffee=+ for Colon Cancer/- for Breast Cancer

A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists.Though the studies have not been conducted to determine recommended consumption amounts, scientists say the compound, called trigonelline or "trig," may be a factor in estrogen-dependent breast cancer but beneficial against colon cancer development."The important thing to get from this is that 'trig' has the ability to act like a hormone," said Dr. Clinton Allred, AgriLife Research nutrition scientist. "So there is a tie to cancer in the sense that we are looking at estrogen-dependent cancer cells. But that doesn't suggest that it would actually cause the disease. I don't believe there should be any concern about drinking coffee at this point."His report was published in the Journal of Nutrition....

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Exercise lowers risk of stroke and cancer

1. Physical exercise prevents stroke. In men, exercise lowers the risk of cerebral hemorrhage by 40%, and that of cerebral infarction by 27%. Rapid walking or cycling suffices to achieve this effect. In women, a statistically significant effect has not been demonstrated.http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/pdf.asp?id=665742. Regular walking lowers the risk of colorectal carcinoma by 40%. Patients with colorectal carcinoma can also improve their prognosis by exercising.http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/pdf.asp?id=66...

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Dark chocolate helps ease emotional stress

The "chocolate cure" for emotional stress is getting new support from a clinical trial published online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. It found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced levels of stress hormones in the bodies of people feeling highly stressed. Everyone's favorite treat also partially corrected other stress-related biochemical imbalances.Sunil Kochhar and colleagues note growing scientific evidence that antioxidants and other beneficial substances in dark chocolate may reduce risk factors for heart disease and other physical conditions. Studies also suggest that chocolate may ease...

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Don't Get Vitamin D From The Sun

When it comes to vitamin D, consumers are bombarded with mixed messages about the best source for this essential nutrient. While some may argue that small doses of intentional sun exposure are safe, dermatologists point out that the risk of developing skin cancer from ultraviolet (UV) radiation far outweighs the benefit of stimulating vitamin D production – particularly when enriched foods and supplements are safe and effective sources of this vitamin.“Despite years of ongoing public education efforts on the dangers of UV radiation, a number of misconceptions remain as to how to best protect ourselves from this known carcinogen and whether or not we absolutely need sun exposure for vitamin D production,” said Dr. Tanzi. “The fact is these myths are harmful because sun exposure is the leading...

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