Gout prevalence swells in US over last 2 decades

ΩIncrease in obesity and hypertension are likely contributorsA new study shows the prevalence of gout in the U.S. has risen over the last twenty years and now affects 8.3 million (4%) Americans. Prevalence of increased uric acid levels (hyperuricemia) also rose, affecting 43.3 million (21%) adults in the U.S. Greater frequency of obesity and hypertension may be associated with the jump in prevalence rates according to the findings now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).Gout, an inflammatory arthritis triggered by crystallization of uric acid within the joints, causes severe pain and swelling. Medical evidence suggests that gout is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome—a group of health...

Read more »

Fructose consumption increases risk factors for heart disease

ΩStudy suggests US Dietary Guideline for upper limit of sugar consumption is too highA recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that adults who consumed high fructose corn syrup for two weeks as 25 percent of their daily calorie requirement had increased blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which have been shown to be indicators of increased risk for heart disease.The American Heart Association recommends that people consume only five percent of calories as added sugar. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 suggest an upper limit of 25 percent or less of daily calories consumed as added sugar. To address this discrepancy in recommended consumption levels, researchers examined what happened...

Read more »

Increased muscle mass may lower risk of pre-diabetes

ΩStudy shows building muscle can lower person's risk of insulin resistanceA recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.With recent dramatic increases in obesity worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes, a major source of cardiovascular morbidity, is expected to accelerate. Insulin resistance, which can raise blood glucose levels above the normal range, is a major factor that contributes to the development of diabetes. Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, but until now, no study has examined whether increasing...

Read more »

ANTIOXIDANTS OF INTEREST TO ADDRESS INFERTILITY, ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

ΩThe study this story is based on is available from ScholarsArchive@OSU: http://bit.ly/nNir7EA growing body of evidence suggests that antioxidants may have significant value in addressing infertility issues in both women and men, including erectile dysfunction, and researchers say that large, specific clinical studies are merited to determine how much they could help.A new analysis, published online in the journal Pharmacological Research, noted that previous studies on the potential for antioxidants to help address this serious and growing problem have been inconclusive, but that other data indicates nutritional therapies may have significant potential.The researchers also observed that infertility problems are often an early indicator of other degenerative disease issues such as atherosclerosis,...

Read more »

Blueberries: a Cup a Day May Keep Cancer Away

ΩBlueberries are among the nutrient-rich foods being studied by UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators exploring the link between disease and nutrition. Dieticians there say as little as a cup a day can help prevent cell damage linked to cancer.Why are blueberries considered healthful? They're full of antioxidants, flavonoids and other vitamins that help prevent cell damage. "Antioxidants protect cells by stabilizing free radicals and can prevent some of the damage they cause," says Laura Newton M.A.Ed., R.D., an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Free radicals, atoms that contain an odd number of electrons and are highly reactive, can cause cellular damage, one of the factors in the development of cancer; many believe...

Read more »

Vitamin D relieves joint, muscle pain for breast cancer patients

ΩHigh-dose vitamin D relieves joint and muscle pain for many breast cancer patients taking estrogen-lowering drugs, a new study shows.High-dose vitamin D relieves joint and muscle pain for many breast cancer patients taking estrogen-lowering drugs, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.The drugs, known as aromatase inhibitors, are commonly prescribed to shrink breast tumors fueled by the hormone estrogen and help prevent cancer recurrence. They are less toxic than chemotherapy, but for many patients, the drugs may cause severe musculoskeletal discomfort, including pain and stiffness in the hands, wrists, knees, hips, lower back, shoulders and feet.“About half of patients can experience these symptoms,” says Antonella L. Rastelli, MD, assistant...

Read more »

Zinc lozenges may shorten common cold duration

ΩDepending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition of lozenges, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, according to a study published in the Open Respiratory Medicine Journal.For treating the common cold, zinc lozenges are dissolved slowly in the mouth. Interest in zinc lozenges started in the early 1980s from the serendipitous observation that a cold of a young girl with leukemia rapidly disappeared when she dissolved a therapeutic zinc tablet in her mouth instead of swallowing it. Since then over a dozen studies have been carried out to find out whether zinc lozenges are effective, but the results of those studies have diverged. Dr. Harri Hemila of the University of Helsinki, Finland, carried out a meta-analysis of all the placebo-controlled...

Read more »

St. John’s Wort No Benefit For Minor Depression

ΩAn extract of the herb St. John's Wort and a standard antidepressant medication both failed to outdo a placebo in relieving symptoms of minor depression in a clinical trial comparing the three. The results of this study, consistent with earlier research, do not in support the use of medications for mild depression.BackgroundSt. John's Wort is a plant whose yellow flowers have been the source of extracts used medicinally for centuries. It is widely used to treat depression, as a nutritional supplement in the United States, and as a prescription medication in Europe. Evidence from clinical trials of St. John's Wort has failed to show effectiveness for treatment of major depression; but research has raised the question as to whether the herb might offer benefit for people with less severe depression.This...

Read more »

Exercise Has Numerous Beneficial Effects on Brain Health and Cognition,

ΩIt’s no secret that exercise has numerous beneficial effects on the body. However, a bevy of recent research suggests that these positive effects also extend to the brain, influencing cognition. In a new review article, “Exercise, Brain and Cognition Across the Lifespan,” highlighting the results of more than a hundred recent human and animal studies on this topic, Michelle W. Voss, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her colleagues show that both aerobic exercise and strength training play a vital role in maintaining brain and cognitive health throughout life. However, they also suggest that many unanswered questions remain in the field of exercise neuroscience—including how various aspects of exercise influence brain physiology and function and how human and animal studies...

Read more »

Jon's Health Tips - Latest Health Research

Ω1. I'll try to remember this the next time I'm hit in a sensitive area while playing soccer:Stand Tall To Reduce PainBy simply adopting more dominant poses, people feel more powerful, in control and able to tolerate more distress. Out of the individuals studied, those who used the most dominant posture were able to comfortably handle more pain than those assigned a more neutral or submissive stance.2. I am making a real effort to move around more at work and at home:Too much sitting may be bad for your healthLack of physical exercise is often implicated in many disease processes. However, sedentary behavior, or too much sitting, as distinct from too little exercise, potentially could be a new risk factor for disease. Sitting for long periods doubles risk of blood clots in the lungsFidgeting...

Read more »

Stand Tall To Reduce Pain

ΩAccording to a study by Scott Wiltermuth, assistant professor of management organization at the USC Marshall School of Business, and Vanessa K. Bohns, postdoctoral fellow at the J.L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, adopting dominant versus submissive postures actually decreases your sensitivity to pain.The study, "It Hurts When I Do This (or You Do That)" published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that by simply adopting more dominant poses, people feel more powerful, in control and able to tolerate more distress. Out of the individuals studied, those who used the most dominant posture were able to comfortably handle more pain than those assigned a more neutral or submissive stance.Wiltermuth and Bohns also expanded on previous research that...

Read more »

Physical activity=lower rates of cognitive impairment

ΩEngaging in regular physical activity is associated with less decline in cognitive function in older adults, according to two studies published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The articles are being released on July 19 to coincide with the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris and will be included in the July 25 print edition.According to background information provided in the articles, previous research has suggested that physical activity is associated with reduced rates of cognitive impairment in older adults. However, much of this research has apparently been conducted among individuals who are generally in good health. Further, many of these studies rely on self-reports of physical activity, which are not always accurate;...

Read more »

Over half of Alzheimer's cases may be preventable

ΩOver half of all Alzheimer's disease cases could potentially be prevented through lifestyle changes and treatment or prevention of chronic medical conditions, according to a study led by Deborah Barnes, PhD, a mental health researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.Analyzing data from studies around the world involving hundreds of thousands of participants, Barnes concluded that worldwide, the biggest modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease are, in descending order of magnitude, low education, smoking, physical inactivity, depression, mid-life hypertension, diabetes and mid-life obesity.In the United States, Barnes found that the biggest modifiable risk factors are physical inactivity, depression, smoking, mid-life hypertension, mid-life obesity, low education and diabetes.Together,...

Read more »

Red wine, grapes may protect against Alzheimer's disease

ΩResearchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that grape seed polyphenols—a natural antioxidant—may help prevent the development or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The research, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, The Saunder Family Professor in Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was published online in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.This is the first study to evaluate the ability of grape-derived polyphenols to prevent the generation of a specific form of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the brain long known to cause the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer disease. In partnership with a team at the University of Minnesota led by Karen Hsiao Ashe, MD,...

Read more »

The secret to successful aging: Focus on the positive

ΩWhether we choose to accept or fight it, the fact is that we will all age, but will we do so successfully? Aging successfully has been linked with the "positivity effect", a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences. New research published in Biological Psychiatry now explains how and when this effect works in the brain.German neuroscientists studied this effect by using neuroimaging to evaluate brain engagement in young and old adults while they performed a specialized cognitive task that included supposedly irrelevant pictures of either neutral, happy, sad or fearful faces. During parts of the task when they didn't have to pay as much attention, the elderly subjects were significantly more distracted by the happy faces. When this occurred, they...

Read more »

Keeping up your overall health may keep dementia away

ΩImproving and maintaining health factors not traditionally associated with dementia, such as denture fit, vision and hearing, may lower a person's risk for developing dementia, according to a new study published in the July 13, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology."Our study suggests that rather than just paying attention to already known risk factors for dementia, such as diabetes or heart disease, keeping up with your general health may help reduce the risk for dementia," said study author Kenneth Rockwood, MD, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.The study included 7,239 people free of dementia ages 65 and older from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. After five years and again after 10 years, they were evaluated...

Read more »

OMEGA-3 REDUCES ANXIETY AND INFLAMMATION IN HEALTHY STUDENTS

ΩA new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.The findings by a team of researchers at Ohio State University were just published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. It is the latest from more than three decades of research into links between psychological stress and immunity.Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have long been considered as positive additives to the diet. Earlier research suggested...

Read more »

Modified Fat Diet Key to Lowering Heart Disease Risk

Source: Health Behavior News ServiceThe debate between good fat versus bad fat continues, as a new evidence review finds that a modified fat diet — and not a low fat diet — might be the real key to reducing one’s risk of heart disease.A low fat diet replaces saturated fat — such as or animal or dairy fat — with starchy foods, fruits and vegetables, while a modified fat diet replaces saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, found in foods such as liquid vegetable oils, fish, nuts and seeds.Lead review author Lee Hooper, M.D., said she and her colleagues were surprised there was such a clear difference between the effects of the diets.Hooper, a senior lecturer in research synthesis and nutrition at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, in England, said...

Read more »

Too much sitting may be bad for your health

ΩLack of physical exercise is often implicated in many disease processes. However, sedentary behavior, or too much sitting, as distinct from too little exercise, potentially could be a new risk factor for disease. The August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine features a collection of articles that addresses many aspects of the problem of sedentary behavior, including the relevant behavioral science that will be needed to evaluate whether initiatives to reduce sitting time can be effective and beneficial."Epidemiologic and physiologic research on sedentary behavior suggests that there are novel health consequences of prolonged sitting time, which appear to be independent of those attributable to lack of leisure-time physical activity," commented Neville Owen, PhD, Head of...

Read more »

Higher-protein diets can improve appetite control and satiety

ΩA new study demonstrates that higher-protein meals improve perceived appetite and satiety in overweight and obese men during weight loss. According to the research, published in Obesity, higher-protein intake led to greater satiety throughout the day as well as reductions in both late-night and morning appetite compared to a normal protein diet."Research has shown that higher-protein diets, those containing 18 to 35 percent of daily calorie intake from dietary protein, are associated with reductions in hunger and increased fullness throughout the day and into the evening hours," said Heather Leidy, Ph.D., study author and professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri. "In our study, the two groups ate either 25 or 14 percent of calories from...

Read more »

Mortality lower among moderate drinkers than among abstainers

ΩThe author of this paper set out to determine the extent to which potential "errors" in many early epidemiologic studies led to erroneous conclusions about an inverse association between moderate drinking and coronary heart disease (CHD). His analysis is based on prospective data for more than 124,000 persons interviewed in the U.S. National Health Interview Surveys of 1997 through 2000 and avoids the pitfalls of some earlier studies. He concludes that the so-called "errors" have not led to erroneous results, and that there is a strong protective effect of moderate drinking on CHD and all-cause mortality.The results of this analysis support the vast majority of recent well-done prospective studies. In the present paper, non-drinkers had much higher risk of death than did almost all categories...

Read more »

Calcium Plus Vitamin D May Reduce Melanoma Risks

ΩA combination of calcium and vitamin D may cut the chance of melanoma in half for some women at high risk of developing this life-threatening skin cancer, according to a new study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.Using existing data from a large clinical trial, the study zeroed in on women with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer, as people with this generally non-fatal disease are more likely to develop the more lethal illness -- melanoma. The researchers found that women who once had non-melanoma and took the calcium-vitamin D combination developed 57 percent fewer melanomas than women with similar histories who were not given the supplements. Non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell or squamous cell cancers, are the most common forms of skin cancer."In preventive...

Read more »

Sitting for long periods doubles risk of blood clots in the lungs

ΩWomen who sit for long periods of time everyday are two to three times more likely to develop a life-threatening blood clot in their lungs than more active women, finds a study published on bmj.com today.The new study is the first to prove that a sedentary lifestyle increases your risk of developing a pulmonary embolism – a common cause of heart disease.An editorial published alongside the study says that, although the risk is small – equivalent to seven extra cases per 10,000 person years, and only slightly higher than seen in users of oral contraceptives or long haul airplane travel - the findings could have major health ramifications.Pulmonary embolism develops when part, or all, of the blood clot travels through the bloodstream from the deep veins in the leg and up into the lungs. Symptoms...

Read more »

Satisfaction with the components of everyday life appears protective against heart disease

ΩWhile depression and anxiety have long been recognised as risk factors for heart disease, there is less certainty over the beneficial effects of a 'positive' psychological state, Now, following a study of almost 8000 British civil servants, researchers say that a satisfying life is indeed good for the heart.The results of the study are published online today by the European Heart Journal.(1)The civil servants - who were all members of the Whitehall II study cohort in the UK with an average age of 49 years (2) - were questioned about seven specific areas of their everyday lives: love relationships, leisure activities, standard of living, job, family, sex, and one's self. They were asked to rate their satisfaction in each domain on a scale of 1 ('very dissatisfied') to 7 ('very satisfied')....

Read more »

Healthy lifestyle associated with low risk of sudden cardiac death in women

ΩAdhering to a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, exercising regularly, having a low body weight and eating a healthy diet, appears to lower the risk of sudden cardiac death in women, according to a study in the July 6 issue of JAMA."Sudden cardiac death (SCD) [defined as death occurring within one hour after symptom onset without evidence of circulatory collapse] accounts for more than half of all cardiac deaths, with an incidence of approximately 250,000 to 310,000 cases annually in the United States," the authors write as background information in the study. The authors also note that no prior studies have examined the combination of multiple lifestyle factors and risk of SCD.Using data collected as part of the Nurses' Health Study, Stephanie E. Chiuve, Sc.D., of Brigham and Women's...

Read more »

Vitamin D can help elderly women survive

ΩGiving vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) to predominantly elderly women, mainly in institutional care, seems to increase survival. These women are likely to be vitamin D deficient with a significant risk of falls and fractures. This is the key conclusion in a systematic review published in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library.Up until now there has been no clear view on whether there is a real benefit of taking vitamin D. "A Cochrane meta-analysis published only a couple of years ago found that there was some evidence for benefit, but it could not find an effect on mortality. We were, however, aware that more trials had been published and wanted to assess the effects of vitamin D when you added all the data together," said Dr Goran Bjelakovic, who works at Department of Internal Medicine...

Read more »

Cutting down on salt doesn't reduce your chance of dying

ΩModerate reductions in the amount of salt people eat doesn't reduce their likelihood of dying or experiencing cardiovascular disease. This is the main conclusion from a systematic review published in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library.There is lots of evidence that reducing dietary salt intake reduces blood pressure and the researchers did see some indication of this occurring. "Intensive support and encouragement to reduce salt intake did lead to a reduction in salt eaten and a small reduction in blood pressure after more than six months," says lead author Professor Rod Taylor who works at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter."What we wanted to see was whether this dietary change also reduced a person's risk of dying or suffering from cardiovascular...

Read more »

Higher daily dose of aspirin prevents heart attacks

ΩDoses up to 325 milligrams daily associated with a 23 percent lower risk of death for people with diabetesIn some cases, an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but for people with diabetes, regular, over-the-counter Aspirin may also do the job.A new study by University of Alberta researcher Scot Simpson has shed light on the use of Aspirin as a preventative measure for cardiovascular disease and reoccurrence in patients with diabetes.The study collected data from clinical trials that looked at whether taking Aspirin as a course of treatment would prevent a first or recurrent heart attack or stroke.Using information from diabetic patients in these studies, Simpson discovered that patients with previous cardiac episodes who were taking a low dose of Aspirin daily had very little benefit in...

Read more »

ONE FORM OF NATURAL VITAMIN E MAY REDUCE STROKE DAMAGE

ΩTen weeks of preventive supplementation with a natural form of vitamin E called tocotrienol in dogs that later had strokes reduced overall brain tissue damage, prevented loss of neural connections and helped sustain blood flow in the animals’ brains, a new study shows.Researchers say the findings suggest that preventive, or prophylactic, use of this natural form of vitamin E could be particularly helpful to people considered at highest risk for a major stroke: those who have previously suffered a ministroke, or a temporary stoppage of blood flow in the brain.Of the almost 800,000 strokes in the United States each year, an estimated 25 percent are repeat events, according to the American Heart Association.Vitamin E occurs naturally in eight different forms, and this work led by Ohio State...

Read more »