Millions of Americans are being exposed to potentially cancer-causing levels of radiation from medical imaging tests. Per capita radiation doses in the U.S. have risen sixfold since the early 1980’s, and according to Reza Fazel, MD of Atlanta’s Emory University School of Medicine, “Our study shows that a lot of people are getting high doses of radiation.”
Average Americans typically receive no more than 3 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation annually, but increased use of nuclear imaging and CT scans has increased radiation exposure. Myocardial perfusion imaging for heart disease delivers about 15 mSv per test, accounting for the largest single radiation exposure. The highest radiation exposures occurred among women and older adults in the study published in the “New England Journal of Medicine”.
“We don’t want to scare people and have them refuse necessary procedures, but physicians and patients need to be aware that radiation is not benign,” states Fazel. 80% of radiation exposures occured among non-hospitalized patients, with CT scans and nuclear imaging comprising three-fourths of radiation exposure.
News source: http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20090826/too-much-radiation-from-medical-imaging
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A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that root extracts from the vine kudzu help lower cholersterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin levels.
Long used in China and Japan as a health food supplement, kudzu shows promise as a dietary supplement for metabloic syndrome which increases risk for heart attack, stroke and other disease. Individuals with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and problems with their body’s ability to absorb insulin may benefit from kudzu extracts.
Reasearch conducted at the University of Alabama indicates that the fast-growing vine once used to fight soil erosion “may provide a dietary supplement that significantly decreases the risk and severity of stroke and cardiovascualr disease in at-risk individuals.”
News source: http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/104959.html
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Research from the University of Central Florida indentifies a gene that controls the development of fat cells. Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein (MCPIP) gives scientists a new direction for developing drugs that would prevent the body from becoming resistant to insulin and prone to type 2 diabetes.
MCPIP is a regulator of fat cell formation and blood vessel formation that feeds growing fat tissue. Predominance of fatty tissue contributes to the inability to process insulin, potentially triggering type 2 diabetes. Until recently, a different protein, known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) was thought to be the the master controller of fat cell formation.
The creation of new drugs that can block or slow down the formation of MCPIP has the potential to help hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are clinically obese and to dramatically reduce health care costs. Establishing chemical combinations effective at shutting down MCPIP will likely take several years, but researchers are encouraged by recent results.
News source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090826110112.htm
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A study led by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that the antioxidants in cocoa are likely to increase survival of acute myocardial infarction, also known as heart attack. By eating cholcolate two or more times per week, heart attack survivors cut their risk of dying from heart disease threefold compared to those who do not eat chocolate.
Patients who had suffered a heart attack were questioned about their food habits in the year prior to hospitalization and then were monitored for eight years. Data indicated an inverse correlation between the incidence of fatal heart attacks and the amount of chocolate consumed.
Earlier research established a link between chocolate consumption and lowered blood pressure, citing the ability of antioxidants to protect against free radicals which contribute to heart disease, cancer and the aging process.
News source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090813/ts_afp/healthdiseaseheartchocolate
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Research from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis analyzed data to look for trends in cancer survival among patients who are separated, divorced, widowed, and never married. The study, which gleaned data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, concludes that cancer patients who are separated at the time of diagnosis do not live as long as others.
Research shows that personal relationships impact physical health, namely that good relationships are beneficial and poor ones are detrimental. The study authors suggest that the stress of separation may compromise the immune system, creating an increased vulnerability to cancer and poor survival rates.
Gwen Sprehn, Ph.D., states “Identification of relationship-related stress at time of dagnosis could lead to early interventions which might favorably impact survival.” Additional research is needed, but researchers suggest certain actions, such as psychological interventions, might reduce stress, impacting the immune system and survival.
News source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-08/acs-cpw081909.php
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Long thought to be a useless remnant of a larger structure in the human anatomy, the appendix is more likely a helpful aid to gastrointestinal well-being. By storing beneficial bacteria, the appendix can can repopulate a gut depleted of good bacteria by disease.
Researchers from Duke University Medical Center, Arizona State University, and the University of Arizona contend that immune system cells in the appendix protect beneficial bacteria until they are needed in the intestinal tract. In industrialized societies with good hygiene and sanitation, the need for the appendix to release stored bacteria is less frequent than in countries without modern sanitation and endemic diarrhea-causing disease. This “hygiene hypothesis” has supported the fact that removing the appendix has no negative impact on the body.
The newfound understanding of the organ’s purpose may lead to prevention of appendicitis in the future.
News source: http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/34/33054/human-appendix-not-useless-organ.html
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Visceral fat, usually known as belly fat, is the fat surrounding internal organs around the waistline. Commonly thought to be a function of age, research from the Rush University Medical Center shows that it is in fact a change in hormone balance that causes an increase in visceral fat during menopause.
The study measured fat content in patients’ abdominal cavities with CT scans, and blood tests gauged hormone levels. Findings revealed the the level of “bioavailable” testosterone, or testosterone that is active in the body may be the key predictor of visceral fat.
The study broadens an understanding of the role of the hormone testosterone in what is known as metabolic syndrome, a collection of risk factors for heart disease. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women was long thought to be caused by the loss of the protective effect of the hormone estrogen. According to Imke Janssen, lead author of the study, “…it is the change in the hormonal balance – specifically, the increase in active testosterone – that is predominantly responsible for visceral fat, and for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease.”
News source: http://www.healthjockey.com/2009/08/22/experts-discover-testosterone-may-be-responsible-for-belly-fat-during-menopause/
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A worldwide project called NeuroNano seeks to explore the role of human-engineered nanoparticles found in sunscreen and in an additive in some diesel fuels, investigating their connection to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The study being conducted at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in Coleraine aims to better understand the ability of toxic nanoparticles entering the body intravenously or via lungs to reach the brain. Nanoparticles found in the chemicals titanium dioxide and cerium dioxide will be looked at specifically.
The brain is highly vulnerable to long term low-dose toxicity and lacks efficient clearance mechanisms to remove nanoparticles that may lodge there. The research carries significant implications in the growing concern about neurodegenerative disease.
News source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jvQp7EWK__wnNylx2wWFmxLSQcaw http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=16014
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Research from Stanford University School of Medicine explores the role of depression on the immune systems of patients with metastatic breast cancer. The effects of stress and depression may compromise the body’s ability to fight off infection and the ability to deal with the progression of the disease.
Studies show that higher levels of depression correlate with accelerated tumor growth. Elevated and abnormal levels of the hormone cortisol, which acts on the immune system, occur congruent to depression and stress, and the Stanford study sought to illuminate the role of cortisol in cancer prognosis.
The results of the study suggest that both cortisol and depression impact cellular immune response. Although no significant correlation between depression and cortisol was determined, the study did indicate that participants with strong symptoms of depression manifested poor immune response compared to participants with fewer symptoms of depression.
News source: http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Cancer_Issues_660/Depression_s_Effect_on_Immune_System_May_Worsen_Cancer.shtml
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Leisure activities that exercise the brain may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs with the development of dementia in late life. Reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing board or card games, having group discussions, and playing music might help maintain brain vitality and delay memory loss.
In a study supported by the National Institue on Aging, partcipants reported daily participation levels in six activities using a point system over the course of several years. The average level of participation for participants who developed dementia was one activity per day. The onset of rapid memory loss was delayed by 0.18 years for engagement in each additional activity.
The results of the study, published in “Neurology”, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, also factored in the education level of participants. According to Charles B. Hall, PhD, “The effect of these activities in late life appears to be independent of education.”
News source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803172940.htm
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