Health Nutrition and Fitness

Archive for October, 2011

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Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/uk-gives-16320m-to-global-war-on-guinea-worm-2366172.html

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Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/16322m-of-hospital-food-left-uneaten-2368630.html

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Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/staff-cuts-are-putting-babies-lives-at-risk-warn--nurses-2371587.html

Ladakh, literally “the land of high passes”, lies between the Himalayas and the Kunlun mountain range at a height of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). It is a high-altitude desert which has become a popular destination for adventure travellers in the last decade, drawn by its remote culture and extraordinary panoramas.

Now the largest study of visitors to mountainous regions around the world who were previously assessed for their vulnerability to altitude sickness has found that Ladakh presented the biggest threat.

Jean-Paul Richalet, professor of physiology at the University of Paris North, who led the study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, said: “When adjusted for all other risk factors, especially rate of ascent, one location – Ladakh – remained associated with a higher risk of severe high-altitude illness.”

But the researchers were unable to identify why the region had the greatest impact. “No clear explanation, linked to the climate or the difficulty of the terrain is available, although many informal reports mention the higher risk of this location,” Dr Richalat said. The researchers assessed more than 1,300 people who planned excursions to mountainous areas which involved at least three days above 4,000 metres, and sleeping overnight above 3,500 metres.

Before they left, they were given a series of tests to measure their breathing and heart rate at low-oxygen levels – to mimic the effects of high altitude – and the results were compared with their actual experience after they returned from their trip.

Almost one in four (318) suffered a severe altitude illness with symptoms of headache, nausea, fatigue and dizziness, associated in the some cases with swelling of tissue in the lungs and brain.

The study is the first to suggest an association between the geographical location of ascent and altitude sickness. The drug acetazolamide (Diamox) cut the risk of developing the condition among the participants by 44 per cent, the study found. Neverthleless, among the 318 who developed altitude sickness, a third (105) had used Diamox.

The research revealed potential risk factors for altitude sickness. Participants who experienced a significant reduction in the amount of oxygen in the blood when exercising in a low-oxygen environment were more likely to develop symptoms.

A common experience at altitude is how breathing fails to keep pace with the demands of the body which triggers involuntary gasps for air and a feeling of suffocation. A conscious effort to breathe faster and deeper is necessary as part of acclimatisation.

But getting fit is no defence against altitude sickness. The study found that those who took most exercise to prepare for their trip were at increased risk from the condition. “Those who visit high altitudes should realise intense aerobic training is not a predictor of success in high-altitude expeditions,” Dr Richalet said.

Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/altitude-sickness-peaks-in-ladakh-6255045.html

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – All sexually active adolescents should be screened for HIV, the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday in a new policy statement that broadens earlier recommendations.

And in areas with higher rates of the infection, all teens over 16 should get the test, the group added in its statement.

More than 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, and 55,000 of them are between 13 and 24 years old.

“Forty-eight percent of the youth who are infected don’t know they are infected,” said Dr. Jaime Martinez of the University of Illinois in Chicago, who helped write the new report, published in the journal Pediatrics.

“It’s important to realize that those who don’t know they are infected drive the epidemic,” he told Reuters Health.

HIV usually proceeds to AIDS in the absence of treatment, but newer drugs can keep that from happening for many years. And knowing you’re infected may also help stem transmission of the disease to others — a benefit that isn’t seen with cancer screening, for instance.

Today, many doctors only offer testing to patients they deem at risk, such as prostitutes, drug addicts and homosexual men. But since 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged everybody older than 13 to get an HIV test regardless of risk factors in areas with many undiagnosed cases.

The new statement is a bit more conservative, said Martinez, lest pediatricians be uncomfortable testing younger teenagers. He added that in 12th grade, more than 60 percent of adolescents say they are sexually active — and that often they’re having sex while under the influence.

An HIV test costs about $14, according to Martinez, and is accurate more than 99 percent of the time. Overall, less than one percent of the tests sound a false alarm.

Martinez acknowledged that a few people might be treated without harboring the virus, but added that even if the first test is positive, it still needs to be confirmed by a second before a diagnosis is made — so the odds of treating someone mistakenly are very small.

“I hope pediatricians will feel comfortable offering this test,” he said.

But not all experts are convinced screening everybody is the way to go.

Last week, a large study from French hospitals showed more than 1,000 adults would need to be tested for HIV to find just one new infection, making the researchers question routine screening (see Reuters Health story of October 24, 2011).

Given similar low yields from other studies, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force makes no recommendations to the general public about HIV screening, although it urges high-risk groups to get screened.

Dr. Jason Haukoos at the Denver Health Medical Center is among the critics of sweeping screening programs.

“There is reasonable evidence to support screening, but it is not clear what the best approach is,” he told Reuters Health. “I think the policy statement is a reasonable statement, but I say that recognizing that they don’t take it far enough in terms of how this should be done.”

For example, he said, there are still questions about consent and disclosure when it comes to children. And it’s unclear who would pay for the extra screening.

“The big issue here is, we don’t know if it’s cost-effective,” Haukoos said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/cxXOG Pediatrics, online October 31, 2011.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/group-calls-hiv-screening-teens-sex-083937917.html

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Obama to Tell FDA to Tackle Drug
Shortages

President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Monday directing
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take action to reduce drug
shortages, according to a White House official.

The FDA says there were 178 drug shortages in 2010 and the problem has
become worse this year, putting patients at risk and potentially leading
to price gouging, the Associated Press reported.

Anesthetics, cancer drugs, emergency medicine drugs and electrolytes
required for intravenous feeding are among the drugs that tend to be
affected by shortages.

Quality or manufacturing problems, or drug makers experiencing delays
in receiving components from suppliers, are major reasons for the drug
shortages, according to the FDA. In some cases, drug companies discontinue
older drugs in favor of newer ones that make more profit, the AP
reported.

Also on Monday, Obama is scheduled to announce his support for Senate
and House legislation that would compel drug companies to notify the FDA
six months in advance of a potential drug shortage. Currently,
notification of shortages is voluntary.

—–

Teens 16-18 Should Have HIV Tests:
AAP

All teens ages 16 to 18 should receive regular, routine HIV tests if
they live in an area of the United States where the HIV rate is higher
than 0.1 percent of the population, according to new American Academy of
Pediatrics guidelines released Monday.

The AAP also said HIV tests should be given to adolescents of any age
who are tested for other sexually transmitted diseases, CNN
reported.

The routine HIV testing should be conducted using a rapid response test
that provides a diagnosis within about 20 minutes, the AAP said.

Previously, the academy recommended HIV testing only for teens who said
they were sexually active, CNN reported.

Of the more than 1.1 million HIV-positive people in the United States
in 2006, about 5 percent were teens and young adults ages 13 to 24,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one of
every two HIV-infected teens don’t know they have the virus that causes
AIDS.

—–

World Population Reaches 7
Billion

A baby girl born in the Philippines was the first of a number of babies
chosen by the United Nations as symbols of the world’s population reaching
7 billion people.

Danica May Camacho weighed 5.5 pounds when she was born at two minutes
before midnight Sunday at Manila’s Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. Her
birth was celebrated with a chocolate cake marked “7B Philippines,” a gift
certificate for free shoes, and speeches by local officials, the
Associated Press reported.

Danica, born about a month premature, is the second child for mother
Camille Galura and partner Florante Camacho, a driver who supports the
family on a small salary.

Because it is impossible to pinpoint the actual arrival of the world’s
7 billionth person, the U.N. chose Monday to hold celebrations worldwide
and a series of symbolic 7-billionth babies being born in different
countries.

But the occasion raises serious questions, according to Dr. Eric Tayag
of the Philippines’ Department of Health.

“Seven billion is a number we should think about deeply,” he told the
AP. “We should really focus on the question of whether there will
be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every
child. If the answer is ‘no,’ it would be better for people to look at
easing this population explosion.”

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/health-highlights-oct-31-2011-130605106.html

The Food and Drug Administration says Merck’s cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce heart attack, stroke and related problems in patients with kidney disease, a potential new use for the blockbuster drug.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-seizes-30-million-fake-drugs-143006069.html

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Stem Cell Research;  GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 31 Oct 2011 – 0:00 PDT

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A new study from University of California, Berkeley, researchers demonstrates that adult stem cells can reshape our organs in response to changes in the body and the environment, a finding that could have implications for diabetes and obesity.

Current thinking has been that, once embryonic stem cells mature into adult stem cells, they sit quietly in our tissues, replacing cells that die or are injured but doing little else.

But in working with fruit flies, the researchers found that intestinal stem cells responded to increased food intake by producing more intestinal cells, expanding the size of the intestines as long as the food keeps flowing.

“When flies start to eat, the intestinal stem cells go into overdrive, and the gut expands,” said UC Berkeley post-doctoral fellow Lucy O’Brien. “Four days later, the gut is four times bigger than before, but when food is taken away, the gut slims down.”

Just as in humans and other mammals, O’Brien added, the fly intestine secretes its own insulin. In flies, intestinal insulin seems to be the signal that makes stem cells “supersize the gut.”

“Because of the many similarities between the fruit fly and the human, the discovery may hold a key to understanding how human organs adapt to environmental change,” said David Bilder, UC-Berkeley associate professor of molecular and cell biology.

The research was published in the journal Cell.

Stem cells key to adaptability

Many tissues grow or shrink with usage, including muscle, liver and intestine. Human intestines, for example, regrow after portions have been surgically removed because of cancer or injury, and hibernating animals see their intestines shrink to one-third their normal size during winter.

“One strategy animals use to deal with environmental variability is to tune the workings of their organ systems to match the conditions at hand,” O’Brien said. “How exactly this ‘organ adaptation’ happens, particularly in adult animals that are no longer growing, has long been a mystery.”

Following the surprising discovery of stem cells in the intestines of fruit flies five years ago, O’Brien and Bilder decided to investigate the role of adult stem cells in normal intestinal growth in hopes of finding clues to their role in vertebrates like us.

“I looked at stained stem cells in the fruit fly intestine, and they are studded throughout like jewels. The tissues were so beautiful, I knew I had to study them,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien, Bilder and their colleagues discovered that when fruit flies feed, their intestines secrete insulin locally, which stimulates intestinal stem cells to divide and produce more intestinal cells.

“The real surprise was that the fruit fly intestine is capable of secreting its own insulin,” BIlder said. “This intestinal insulin spikes immediately after feeding and talks directly to stem cells, so the intestine controls its own adaptation.”

Stem cells can divide either asymmetrically, producing one stem cell and one intestinal cell, or symmetrically, producing two stem cells. The team found that, in response to food, intestinal stem cells underwent symmetric division more frequently than asymmetric division, which had the effect of maintaining the proportion of stem cells to intestinal cells, and is a more efficient way of ramping up the total number of cells, O’Brien said.

“Adaptive resizing of the intestine makes sense from the standpoint of physiological fitness,” she said. “Upkeep of the intestinal lining is metabolically expensive, consuming up to 30 percent of the body’s energy resources. By minimizing intestinal size when food is scarce, and maximizing digestive capacity when food is abundant, adaptive intestinal resizing by stem cells helps animals survive in constantly changing environments.”

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Article source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/236765.php

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Endocrinology
Article Date: 31 Oct 2011 – 1:00 PDT

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Worldwide, there are more than 1.5 billion overweight adults, including 400 million who are obese. In Australia, it is estimated more than 50 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men are either overweight or obese.

Although restriction of diet often results in initial weight loss, more than 80 per cent of obese dieters fail to maintain their reduced weight.

The study involved 50 overweight or obese adults, with a BMI of between 27 and 40, and an average weight of 95kg, who enrolled in a 10-week weight loss program using a very low energy diet. Levels of appetite-regulating hormones were measured at baseline, at the end of the program and one year after initial weight loss.

Results showed that following initial weight loss of about 13 kgs, the levels of hormones that influence hunger changed in a way which would be expected to increase appetite. These changes were sustained for at least one year. Participants regained around 5kgs during the one-year period of study.

Professor Joseph Proietto from the University of Melbourne and Austin Health said the study revealed the important roles that hormones play in regulating body weight, making dietary and behavioral change less likely to work in the long-term.

“Our study has provided clues as to why obese people who have lost weight often relapse. The relapse has a strong physiological basis and is not simply the result of the voluntary resumption of old habits,” he said.

Dr Proietto said although health promotion campaigns recommended obese people adopt lifestyle changes such as to be more active, they were unlikely to lead to reversal of the obesity epidemic.

“Ultimately it would be more effective to focus public health efforts in preventing children from becoming obese.”

“The study also suggests that hunger following weight loss needs to be addressed. This may be possible with long-term pharmacotherapy or hormone manipulation but these options need to be investigated,” he said.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Article source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/236790.php

More than a quarter of men (26 per cent) enjoy one too many and 18 per cent of women, the study found. Risky drinking is higher among professionals and those with the largest household incomes.

Married people are less likely to show mild alcohol dependence than those who are single, separated or cohabiting (5% against 12-13%).

The research was completed by think-tank 2020health. It urged an increased focus on addressing the problem, saying it could save the NHS £124m, with effective interventions costing only £15 per patient.

Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/cancer-risk-for-drinkers-report-says-6255016.html