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Sep 24
Diet High in Total Antioxidants Associated with Lower Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Women
Coronary heart disease is a major cause of death in women. A new study has found that a diet rich in antioxidants
, mainly from fruits and vegetables, can significantly reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. The study is published in the October issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

"Our study was the first to look at the effect of all dietary antioxidants in relation to myocardial infarction," says lead investigator Alicja Wolk, DrMedSci, Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. "Total antioxidant capacity measures in a single value all antioxidants present in diet and the synergistic effects between them."

The study followed 32,561 Swedish women aged 49-83 from September 1997 through December 2007. The women completed a food-frequency questionnaire in which they were asked how often, on average, they consumed each type of food or beverage during the last year. The investigators calculated estimates of total antioxidant capacity from a database that measures the oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) of the most common foods in the United States (no equivalent database of Swedish foods exists). The women were categorized into five groups of total antioxidant capacity of diet.

During the study, 1,114 women suffered a myocardial infarction. Women in the group with the highest total antioxidant capacity had a 20% lower risk, and they consumed almost 7 servings per day of fruit and vegetables, which was nearly 3 times more than the women with the least antioxidant capacity, who on average consumed 2.4 servings.

Dr. Wolk notes that trials testing high doses of antioxidant supplements have failed to see any benefit on coronary heart disease and, in fact, in one study higher all-cause mortality was reported. "In contrast to supplements of single antioxidants, the dietary total antioxidant capacity reflects all present antioxidants, including thousands of compounds, all of them in doses present in our usual diet, and even takes into account their synergistic effects," she explains.

In a commentary accompanying the article, Pamela Powers Hannley, MPH, Managing Editor of TheAmerican Journal of Medicine, observes that with the industrialization of our food supply, Americans began to consume more total calories and more calories from processed food high in fat and sugar. As a result, obesity rates began to climb steadily. "Although weight-loss diets abound in the US, the few which emphasize increasing intake of fruits and vegetables actually may be on the right track," she says. "Yet only 14% of American adults and 9.5% of adolescents eat five or more servings of fruits or vegetables a day."

Sep 24
WHO identifies new SARS-like virus
A rare and deadly virus belonging to the same family as SARS virus has been identified in a 49-year-old man, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Sunday.

In a statement issued through its global alert and response system, the WHO confirmed the presence of a new coronavirus in a Qatari patient.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, which include common cold and SARS.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which appeared in China in 2002, killed nearly 800 people before being controlled.

The patient, who was first presented to doctors on September 03, 2012 with symptoms of an acute respiratory infection, was transferred to Britain by air ambulance from Qatar on September 11.
The Health Protection Agency of the UK which conducted laboratory testing confirmed the presence of a novel coronavirus, the WHO said.

Peter Openshaw, the director of the Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College London, said at this stage the novel virus looked unlikely to prove a concern, and may well only have been identified due to sophisticated testing techniques. However, he added: "Any evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission or of contact would be more worrying, raising the worry that another SARS-like agent could be emerging."

The United Nations health body, which is currently in the process of obtaining further information to determine the public health implications, has so far not recommended any travel restrictions.

Sep 22
Soaking in salt water could ease arthritis
Scientists have a simple way to battle the agony of arthritis - soaking in a bath of salt water.

They say the saline solution reduces painful inflammation of the joints.

Even ordinary table salt in high concentrations can be used and, unlike conventional drugs, there are no unpleasant side effects.

"This research opens up exciting opportunities. What we've identified has the potential to be used to help so many patients," the Daily Express quoted Vincent Compan, of Manchester University's Faculty of Life Sciences, as saying.

Dr Compan and Dr Pablo Pelegrin found cells in the bodies of arthritis sufferers expand but salt water can reduce the swelling by dehydrating them. The salt worked the same whether it was injected into the body or absorbed through the skin via bandages soaked in saline or bathing.
"We have found that hypotonic solutions (low in salt) strongly activate inflammation at molecular level. Conversely, the use of hypertonic solutions (high in salt) was a potent inhibitor of such inflammatory signals at molecular level," Dr Pelegrin said.

"Therefore, osmotherapy (dehydration) with hypertonic solutions could be beneficial in the management of inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, either by prolonged soaking or by vapour pressure techniques," he noted.

The results were published in the journal Immunity.

Sep 22
Oil Blend, Yogurt Help Blood Pressure
A blend of sesame and rice bran oil, or making low-fat yogurt a small part of your diet, may help your blood pressure and boost heart health, according to two new studies.

The first study showed a sesame and rice bran oil blend reduced blood pressure almost as well as a commonly used medication. And the second study found that people who routinely eat yogurt are less likely to develop high blood pressure.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) High Blood Pressure Research 2012 meeting in Washington, D.C.

"Taken together, the two studies are very supportive of the DASH eating plan," says Rachel Johnson, PhD, RD. She is the Bickford Green and Gold professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington and an AHA spokeswoman. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is loaded with fruits and vegetables, and is low in saturated fat and salt.

"DASH recommends two or three servings of heart-healthy fats a day, and that is where sesame and rice oil fit in," she says. DASH also calls for two to three servings a day of fat-free or low-fat dairy products, including yogurt.
AHA: Healthy Fat Is In, Low Fat Is Out

The new studies "strengthen what we already know about diet and blood pressure," Johnson says.

In the first study of 300 people with high blood pressure, participants either took medication to control their blood pressure, incorporated 35 grams of the blended sesame and rice bran oil each day into their diets, or did both for 60 days. The oil blend lowered the top number of the blood pressure reading by 14 and the bottom reading by 10.8; the medication lowered the top number by 16.2 and bottom number by 12. People who took medication and used the oil had more than twice the drop in blood pressure compared to those who did one or the other.

The oil blend used in the new study is called Vivo and is not yet commercially available. Both types of oil are available commercially on their own, though.

Johnson adds that judicious use of other heart-healthy fats -- including olive oil, avocado, nut butters, fatty fish, and flaxseed -- may have similar benefits. (The AHA recommends limiting the total amount of fat you eat to less than 25% to 35% of your daily calories.)

In the yogurt study, about 2,000 adults without high blood pressure were followed for 14 years. The researchers found that participants were 31% less likely to develop high blood pressure if more than 2% of their daily calories came from yogurt.

They also had lower increases in the top blood pressure reading compared to people who didn't eat yogurt.

The new findings are very much in line with what many dietitians recommend, says Despina Hyde, RD. She is a registered dietitian at New York University Langone Medical Center.
"Yogurt is a good source of calcium, and many studies have shown that calcium can help keep blood pressure levels under control," she says. But steer clear of full-fat yogurt or whole milk because they have more saturated fat, which can raise levels of low density lipoprotein (or "bad" cholesterol), she says.

"Overall, these studies confirm that diet does make a difference in high blood pressure control, and in some cases foods can work almost like medicine to lower blood pressure," says Pao-Hwa Lin,PhD. She is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

More studies are needed to confirm the findings, she says. Lin cautions against too much of a good thing. "Even heart-healthy fats have calories," she says. "You need to be careful how much you include in your diet, as obesity is another risk factor for high blood pressure and heart disease."

Sep 21
Men's suicide risk goes up once they reach 30 as job markets change and families break down
Men in their 30s, 40s and 50s are at the highest risk of suicide, with the changing job market and family breakdowns leaving them in turmoil about their role in life, a study has found.

About 3,000 men aged between 30 and 60 take their own lives each year. This is more than twice the rate among young men those in their late teens and 20s who used to be the highest-risk group.

The group of men most at risk, many born during the Swinging Sixties, are described as a 'buffer generation' unsure whether to behave like their traditionally masculine fathers or younger men who are more in touch with their feelings.

Experts say cultural changes, such as the decline of traditional masculine jobs and lifelong marriages, have challenged the men's sense of 'masculine pride and identity'. Men in the 35-55 age group also tend to be more dependent on their partner for emotional support than women are, and have fewer friends outside marriage, so they take divorce and separation harder, according to the report from the Samaritans.

Working-class men have been affected by recent rises in unemployment and the shift to a service economy which values people skills. They are ten times more likely to kill themselves than affluent men.

Stephen Platt, professor of health policy at Edinburgh University, said: 'We're thinking of the rise in female employment, births outside marriage, the rise in divorce and cohabitation, second and subsequent marriages, lone parent households, step-families, solo living, partnering and de-partnering.

'All these trends mean that men are less likely to be with a lifelong partner, and if you ally that with their difficulties in coping emotionally and being able to go out and establish new relationships with less support to fall back on than women, that makes them more vulnerable to psychological ill health and suicide.'

Until eight years ago, men aged 15 to 35 had the highest suicide rate, along with elderly people, but both of these have gone down, while suicides in mid-life, particularly the 35-to-55 age group, have gone up.

Professor Platt, a trustee of the charity, added: 'One of the problems for men is this need to aspire to a kind of gold standard of masculinity which is often very difficult to meet.

'The current generation of men are often called the buffer generation. They are caught between an older generation which is more silent, more resilient, less expecting to deal with emotions openly and a younger generation who are more used to expressing emotions in an open way.'

Rory O'Connor, one of the authors, a professor of psychology at Stirling University, said this generation may carry a higher suicide risk with them throughout their lives what scientists call a 'cohort effect'.

He said: 'Suicide is the ultimate response to feeling trapped. The male role is less well defined than it was 20, 30 years ago and men have great difficulty responding to the challenge of how we define ourselves as men.'

The report recommends better education to help young people cope with life stresses and helping healthcare workers identify those known to be at high risk of suicide such as heavy drinkers.

Sep 21
More Indians falling prey to Alzheimer's disease
With an increasing elderly population falling prey to it, Alzheimer`s disease, a kind of dementia, stands as one of the biggest health threats in India, say doctors.

The disease, caused by the degeneration of brain cells and nerves, impacts functioning of the brain, effecting day-to-day activities by its victims.

Though the causes of the disease are not completely known yet, India has almost a fourth of the world`s Alzheimer`s patients, with doctors adding that underreporting is the biggest problem.

"The biggest problem with Alzhimer`s disease is that it is highly underreported," says Sanjay Kumar Saxena, head of the neurology department at Fortis Hospital in the national capital.

"There are around 18-19 million dementia patients in the world and around a quarter of them are in India. There is an acute lack of facilities to detect or treat patients with Alzheimer`s, so patients get ignored. In the west, they are much better off," says Saxena.

"In India, one in 20 people over 60 years of age and five in over 80 years age are suffering from AD (Alzheimer`s Disease). With the population of elderly people in our country increasing, prevalence of AD is also going to increase," says Najeeb Rehman, Consultant, Nuerology, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences.

He also highlights that more women suffer from it compared to men.

"Men and women are both equally at risk, but in developed countries more women are suffering from AD. It is a reflection of higher longevity of life among women than men," he says.

According to the Dementia India Report 2010, it is estimated that over 3.7 million people are affected by dementia in our country. This is expected to double by 2030.

N.K. Pandey, CMD, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, says: "The cost of treating AD, a type of dementia, for each patient is around Rs.43,000 per year, which will increase thrice in the coming 20 years".

The doctor adds that the biggest problem in detecting the disease is that the symptoms develop very slowly.

"Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. There is no cure for AD and no treatment to reverse or halt its progression. Available treatment offers small symptomatic benefits, but it is palliative in nature. Other non-medical options include care giving. There are many drug trials that are on but we will have to wait," says Pandey.

The disease causes a total loss of the ability to carry on simple day-to-day jobs like eating, talking, and other things. Patients lose memory, and have to be taken care of continuously. Often, social stigma related to this disease, which is commonly seen as mental illness, creates the biggest problem.

"The stigma attached to the disease effects the family, because the patient is not aware of what is happening to him," says Saxena.

Pandey adds that the focus should be on spreading awareness related to the disease.

"The focus should be on activities such as educational seminars, awareness walks and other programs and events to dispel myths surrounding Alzhiemer`s and dementia and know the facts. This would also enable the communities to become more Alzheimer-friendly," he adds.

Sep 20
New Study: Your Work Stress Isn't Your Boss's Fault
Do you feel stressed at work? Since the global recession hit in 2008, many of us have had to shoulder increased workloads, as our companies have laid off our colleagues and insisted we take on more responsibility. We're working longer hours under more pressure from bosses. Round-the-clock texting and emailing has made things worse. A survey released today by staffing firm Right Management shows that more than one third of workers (37%) regularly get weekend emails from their bosses who expect them to respond. Another third of workers say that they sometimes receive such emails. How could you not feel stressed in such an environment?

You could be hard-wired to stay calm in a stressful situation, suggests a study published in the journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process. The study, which looked at nearly 600 sets of Swedish twins, some identical, some fraternal, who were either raised together or separated early and reared apart, found that being raised in the same environment had little effect on stress and stress-related health problems. Rather, shared genes were four times as important as shared environment.

The paper's lead author, Timothy Judge, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame's business school, said in a statement:

"Assume James and Sandy both work in the same organization. James reports more stress than Sandy. Does it mean James' job is objectively more stressful than Sandy's? Not necessarily. Our study suggests strong heritabilities to work stress and the outcomes of stress. This means that stress may have less to do with the objective features of the environment than to the genetic 'code' of the individual."

According to Judge, changing jobs to get away from stress probably won't work unless you can accept your own predispositions to feeling beleaguered. This doesn't mean that if you feel overwhelmed by stress, that you shouldn't seek out a less stressful job, he says. "However we also shouldn't assume that we're 'a blank slate' and therefore be overly optimistic about what the work environment can and can't do as far as stress is concerned." Judge maintains that the level of stress we feel has more to do "with what's inside of us than what we encounter outside in the work environment."

Sep 20
Snake venom may be 'drug source'
Venomous reptiles may provide a good source for new drugs for human diseases, researchers in Liverpool say.

Venom has already been used to create drugs, but the chemicals in it are often too deadly for human consumption.

However, a study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has shown snakes and lizards have "reclaimed" some toxins and used them, safely, elsewhere in their own bodies.

Scientists think these reclaimed toxins could make safe and effective drugs.

Researchers compared the genomes of venomous snakes and lizards to see how the animals' venoms had evolved.

They said it was an "unexpectedly dynamic" process, with chemicals in venom being formed through evolution and then later being adopted by parts of the body for other uses.

Dr Nicholas Casewell, from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said: "Our results demonstrate that the evolution of venoms is a really complex process."

He said venom seemed to evolve a lot of new functions, possibly to overcome resistance in prey.

"The venom gland of snakes appears to be a melting pot for evolving new functions for molecules, some of which are retained in venom for killing prey, while others go on to serve new functions in other tissues in the body," he said.
Medicine

Dr Wolfgang Wuster, from Bangor University, said: "Many snake venom toxins target the same physiological pathways that doctors would like to target to treat a variety of medical conditions."

The cardiovascular system, heart and blood vessels, is one of the main targets of snake venom when attacking prey and it has played a role in the origins of some blood pressure drugs such as ACE inhibitors.

The nervous system is another similar area. The challenge has been to overcome the toxic effect of the toxins.

"This means that drug developers have had to modify toxins to retain their potency and make them safe for drug use," said Dr Casewell.

However, the scientists involved in the study believe nature may have already done the hard work, with reptiles making the toxins safe for their own use.

Dr Casewell said it would be a "whole new source" for drug discovery.

Sep 19
Kids without siblings more likely to be overweight
Children who grow up without siblings have a more than 50 percent higher risk of being overweight or obese than children with siblings, according to a new study.

This finding is based on the study of 12,700 children in eight European countries, including Sweden.

The University of Gothenburg, Sweden, was one of the participating universities in the study.

The study was conducted under the framework of the European research project Identification and prevention of Dietary and lifestyle-induced health Effects In Children and Infants (IDEFICS), where researchers from various parts of Europe study diet, lifestyle and obesity and their health effects on children aged 2 to 9 years.

The study shows that only children have a more than 50 percent higher risk of obesity compared to their peers with siblings. The results were controlled for other influential factors, such as gender, birth weight and parental weight.
In the study, the children's measured BMI was linked to a parental questionnaire that included questions relating to the children's eating habits, television viewing habits and amount of outdoor playtime.

"Our study shows that only children play outside less often, live in households with lower levels of education more often, and are more likely to have televisions in their bedroom," said Monica Hunsberger, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, who contributed to the study.

"But even when we take these factors into account, the correlation between singleton status and overweight is strong. Being an only child appears to be a risk factor for overweight independent of the factors we thought might explain the difference," she added.

Lauren Lissner, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg continued, "The fact that only children are more susceptible to obesity may be due to differences in individual family environment and family structure that we were not able to measure in sufficient detail. To better understand the causality, a follow-up study of these families will start next year."

Over 22 million children in Europe are estimated to be overweight. The study shows that obesity among children in general is three times more common in southern countries such as Italy, Spain and Cyprus than in Sweden and other northern countries.

Sep 19
Asthmatic kids may suffer severe anxiety
Young children with severe or persistent asthma are more likely to develop many common mental health problems like anxiety and depression, an Australian study says.

University of Western Australia (UWA) psychologist and study co-author Monique Robinson said their findings build on previous studies which have found that as the severity of asthma increases, so do problems such as anxiety and depression.

"We were interested in understanding the link between asthma in early childhood and mental health problems later on as little is known about the relationship," Robinson said, the journal Psychological Medicine reports.

"We looked at whether the link was present for mild as well as severe asthma, and whether the link depended on asthma symptoms being persistent throughout childhood as opposed to asthma that lessens as the child grows older," added Robin, according to an UWA statement.

The study used western Australian data from the Raine Study to determine whether children who had asthma at five years were vulnerable for later mental health problems through to the age of 17 years.

The research team found that having asthma at age five was tied to a higher vulnerability for the later development of problems such as anxiety, conduct problems and affective problems.

When the children with asthma were separated into groups depending on the severity of their condition, children with mild asthma were no different to those without asthma in terms of mental health outcomes, but children with severe or persistent asthma were seen to be the most at risk of future mental health problems.

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