Month: December 2013

High blood pressure continues to be a bigger problem in Southeastern US

 

One third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, but in the southeastern part of the country the rate is well over half, according to a new study that finds too little is being done to reverse the problem.

The Southeast has been called the Stroke Belt because of well-known high rates of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure. But that knowledge has not led to changes, nor to a full understanding of the reasons for the population’s high risk, the study team reports.

“The rates have not changed,” though the U.S. has had treatment guidelines for high blood pressure since 1977, said one of the authors, Dr. Uchechukwu K. A. Sampson, an assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The number of people who do not know that they have high blood pressure is the same,” he added.

High blood pressure is an established cause of death from cardiovascular disease and accounts for up to 7.5 million deaths worldwide each year, the researchers point out.

To investigate the persistently high rates of high blood pressure in the South, Sampson’s group used a large database with recent information on men and women in southern states covering the years 2002 to 2009.

They focused on 69,000 white and black adults with similarly low income and education levels – to eliminate poverty as a factor – and analyzed what other causes might be contributing to blood pressure problems.

Overall, they found that 57 percent of the study participants had high blood pressure. Blacks were nearly twice as likely as whites to be suffering from the disease, which has no symptoms of its own, but can lead to stroke or kidney damage if untreated.

But the racial difference was seen mainly among women. Fifty one percent of black and white men had high blood pressure, but the rates were 64 percent among black women and 52 percent among white women.

Obesity seemed to be a main driver of the problem, especially among whites, with the most severely obese having more than four times the risk of high blood pressure compared to normal weight men and woman.

Other factors linked to the likelihood of severe high blood pressure included high cholesterol, diabetes, a history of depression and a family history of heart disease.

The numbers Sampson’s group found have not changed from previous studies and that consistency is alarming, he said.

“Are they still the same factors people have found before?” Sampson said. “If they are, that is bad news, then that means we have not done what we should have done in the past few years.”

Of the study participants who knew they had high blood pressure, 94 percent were taking at least one blood pressure medication, which is a good thing, Sampson said. But only 30 percent were taking a diuretic medication that promotes water loss from the body. Diuretics should be one of the first-line medication options, the authors write.

Black people were twice as likely as whites to have high blood pressure without knowing it, Sampson said.

That racial difference did not change even when researchers accounted for differences in income and education, the authors write in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

All of this lines up with what doctors and researchers already knew, Sampson said.

Without specific studies, it’s hard to say why population rates have not gone down, and why so many people still do not know they have high blood pressure, and why so few are on diuretics, he said.

Women may not actually be more predisposed to high blood pressure, Sampson said, but they may be less aware of the risk than men.

Awareness efforts have historically focused on men when it comes to heart and blood pressure problems, but women are equally likely to have problems, he said.

“African American women are known to have a very high prevalence of hypertension and that its onset is significantly earlier than what is seen in white women,” Dr. John M. Flack said.

Flack is chair of the department of medicine at Wayne State University at the Detroit Medical Center in Michigan.

Source: news.nom

Anxiety linked to stroke risk

 

Men and women with severe symptoms of anxiety may have a higher risk of stroke than their more relaxed counterparts, a new study suggests.

“The greater your anxiety level, the higher your risks of having a stroke,” study co-author Dr. Maya J. Lambiase, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Reuters Health.

“Assessment and treatment of anxiety has the potential to not only improve overall quality of life, but may also reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, later in life,” she said in an email.

Dr. Philip Muskin, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York emphasized that the stroke risk identified in the study among overly anxious individuals was not vastly increased.

“What it’s really saying is, you’re a little more likely to have a stroke,” said Muskin, who was not involved in the study. Still, he added, “I would like to be a little less likely (to have a stroke) in my life.”

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., but few studies have looked at psychosocial factors other than depression or psychological stress or distress, that may contribute to a person’s risk of stroke.

Yet, Lambiase and her colleagues point out, anxiety has been linked to increased cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and physical inactivity – all of which are known to increase stroke risk.

To investigate the association between anxiety and stroke, the researchers analyzed data from 6,019 men and women who were enrolled in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1971-1975 and followed for about 16 years.

The participants were interviewed at the start of the study to determine the presence and severity of any anxiety symptoms, and stroke events were identified by examining hospital or nursing home discharge reports and death certificates.

A total of 419 strokes occurred throughout the study period, but the risk of stroke was higher among those who reported greater anxiety symptoms, including excessive feelings of worry, stress and nervousness, at the initial interview.

Overall, anxiety was linked to a 14 percent higher risk of stroke relative to participants who were not anxious, Lambiase and her co-authors report in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

But stroke risk also appeared to rise in line with increasing severity of anxiety symptoms, the results suggest.

The link between anxiety and stroke risk remained even after the researchers took into consideration other factors that may have influenced cardiovascular health, such as alcohol use, physical activity and smoking. After those adjustments, men and women with higher levels of anxiety were 33 percent more likely to experience stroke than those with fewer anxiety symptoms.

Similarly, the link between anxiety symptoms and increased stroke risk remained when the researchers accounted for study participants’ age, gender and symptoms of depression.

The researchers didn’t analyze the reason for the connection between anxiety and stroke, but they speculate multiple factors are likely to be involved. These could include unhealthy coping behaviors people with anxiety indulge in as well as overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls fight-or-flight responses, such as the release of stress hormones.

“People with high anxiety levels are more likely to smoke and be physically inactive, possibly explaining part of the anxiety-stroke link,” Lambiase said. “Higher stress hormones, blood pressure or sympathetic output may also be factors.”

“However,” she added, “future research is needed to determine the precise mechanisms whereby greater levels of anxiety increase a person’s risk for stroke.”

Dr. Muskin acknowledged that the study findings do point to a greater risk of stroke among overly anxious people, “but there are things you can do about that,” he said.

Noting that “anxiety predicts bad health behaviors,” Dr. Muskin cited the importance of stopping smoking and starting to exercise. He also described the importance of meditation and proper breathing techniques, which he teaches in his private practice with patients.

“Doing nothing leaves you at a higher risk (of stroke),” he said, but breathing exercises have “a psychologically beneficial effect,” with no harm and no addicting qualities, he told Reuters Health.

source: yahoo news

New York facility is ‘last hope’ for girl declared brain dead, family say

The family of Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old girl declared brain dead after complications from routine tonsil surgery, said Saturday a hospital in New York may be able to accept her and keep her on life support.

The girl’s uncle and lawyer wouldn’t provide the hospital’s name, saying they don’t want media attention to hurt her chance of being accepted and transferred there.

“It’s an organization that believes in life,” attorney Chris Dolan told the Associated Press.
“It’s our last, last hope,” he said after two facilities in California that agreed to accept Jahi decided to back out.

A nursing home in the San Francisco Bay Area that had been willing to care for the girl if she had two tubes inserted changed its mind. Dolan said a facility in the Los Angeles area also withdrew its offer because it didn’t want media attention or to jeopardize its relationship with its doctors, who refused to treat someone who’s been declared brain dead.

Time is short for the family, as Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo on Tuesday ruled that the Children’s Hospital Oakland may remove Jahi from a ventilator at 5 p.m. Monday unless an appeal is filed.

Jahi underwent a tonsillectomy at the hospital on Dec. 9 to treat sleep apnea. After she awoke from the operation, her family said, she started bleeding heavily from her mouth and went into cardiac arrest. Doctors at Children’s Hospital concluded the girl was brain dead on Dec. 12 and wanted to remove her from life support. The family said they believe she is still alive.

Before Jahi can be transferred, she must undergo two more medical procedures — the insertion of a breathing tube and a feeding tube.

“Children’s Hospital Oakland does not believe that performing surgical procedures on the body of a deceased person is an appropriate medical practice,” David Durand, its chief of pediatrics, said in a statement Thursday.

Douglas Straus, a lawyer for the hospital, said in a letter made public Friday that before the hospital would comply with the family’s request to move Jahi, it would need to speak directly with officials at any nursing home to make sure they understand her condition, “including the fact that Jahi is brain dead” — and to discuss needed preparations, including transportation.

“Children’s Hospital will of course continue to do everything legally and ethically permissible to support the family of Jahi McMath. In that regard, Children’s will allow a lawful transfer of Jahi’s body in its current state to another location if the family can arrange such a transfer and Children’s can legally do so,” Straus wrote in the letter.

He also said the Alameda County coroner needed to sign off on the move “since we are dealing with the body of a person who has been declared legally dead.”

Dolan said he had already obtained signed consent from the coroner for Jahi’s transfer. The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau said it had no comment.

He said Saturday he was waiting to hear from the New York hospital after its facility director and medical director speak.

Hospital spokeswoman Cynthia Chiarappa said the hospital has not heard from any facility to discuss how it can accommodate “a deceased body on a ventilator.”

source: Nbc news

Study: Concussions May Lead To Alzheimer’s Plaque Buildup For Some

Concussions have already been linked to the Alzheimer’s-like degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in athletes and military members who have experienced repeated head blows and traumatic brain injuries.

Now, a new study links concussions to Alzheimer’s disease itself.

Mayo Clinic researchers gave brain scans to 141 Minnesotans who had been experiencing memory problems, and found those who had suffered a brain injury that caused them to black-out had more amyloid plaques in their brain than those who hadn’t.

Amyloid plaque is the telltale sign of Alzheimer’s disease, formed by pieces of a sticky protein that break off in the brain and clump together. Some clumps may form in brain regions involved in learning, memory and thinking, the Alzheimer’s Association explains. More plaques form as the disease progresses.

Researchers gave brain scans to 448 people without any memory or cognitive problems, and 141 people who had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition characterized by declines in memory and thinking skills that aren’t caused by aging. They were also asked whether they had ever experienced a brain injury that caused them to lose consciousness. People with MCI are at a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, but not everyone with the condition will get worse.

The researchers found 18 percent of those with MCI had reported a prior brain injury, and on scans, they saw the patients had an average of 18 percent more amyloid plaques than those with no history of head trauma. They found no plaque differences in any of the brain scans of people without memory problems, regardless of whether they’d had a brain injury.

Source: dig triad

Is your yogurt actually healthy?

If there’s ever news in the yogurt world, this is it: Whole Foods Market plans to stop selling Chobani Greek yogurt in 2014 because the product contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

GMOs are a result of a crop’s DNA being altered by scientists to protect it from various environmental threats, according to the National Institutes of Health. They get a bad rap because these combinations of genes can’t occur in nature, and they contain compounds not yet tested for human consumption

While Chobani markets its products as containing only natural ingredients, the company’s use of milk comes from dairy cows fed GMO animal feed.

Whole Foods says they’re making way for more exclusive, local brands, especially those that are organic, according to the announcement.

It’s difficult to say definitively that you should avoid GMOs, Alan Aragon, Men’s Health’s nutrition advisor, said. There is some research that demonstrates their downsides, though: The latest animal studies indicate that genetically modified foods have toxic effects on the digestive and reproductive systems.

They have also been linked to many food allergies, according to the University of Medical Sciences in Poland. However, “for anything to be reasonably deemed dangerous, you’d need abundant and consistent evidence in both animal and human trials,” Aragon said. “In this case, the findings just aren’t there.”

If you want to avoid them, you’re likely safe with organic products—which are not allowed to contain GMOs. But when it comes to your yogurt, stick with your Chobani if you like it, Aragon said. If you want to try something GMO-free, go for it, he adds. Brown Cow Greek Yogurt and Straus Organic Yogurts are both organic and non-GMO verified.

Source: Topix

Why stress is taking a toll on moms and how to handle it

Moms are more stressed out than ever before and it’s taking a toll on their health, their relationships and their happiness.

In fact, a survey from the American Psychological Association shows that women are more likely than men to experience physical and emotional symptoms of stress. Furthermore, moms spend 14 more hours per week on childcare and housework than fathers do, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.

Katrina Alcorn, author of Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink said stressed-out moms are actually a phenomenon, one she knows all too well. After having her third child, Alcorn was busy juggling a full time job, a home, and all of her family’s needs, but it became too much for her to handle.

“On the surface everything looked fine, but I was crumbling inside,” Alcorn said.

Alcorn suffered from panic attacks and sleepless nights for months when finally, on a trip to buy diapers, she had yet another panic attack and realized something had to give. She needed to make changes now if she wanted to be a healthy mom.

Between clocking extra hours at work, caring for spouses and families and managing all of life’s curveballs, it’s not surprising many moms feel like they’re at their breaking points. And if you’re one of them, here’s what you can do to manage your stress now:

1. Say no
You’ll always have obligations, but volunteering on another committee or chauffeuring your kids to extra after-school activities can wear you down.

“We have to figure out what is really important and let everything else go,” Alcorn said.

2. Push back
“Work will take up every inch of your life if you let it,” according to Alcorn who said telecommuting even one or two days a week can help.

Be sure to back up your request with research that shows how working from home can make you more productive and benefit your company.

2. Eat healthy
“Moms tend to snack and grab whatever they can,” according to Christie Rampone, captain of the U.S. women’s soccer team, mother of 2 and spokesperson for EpiCor.

Planning ahead is key to maintaining your energy throughout the day so be sure to decide on your meals ahead of time, if possible, and always have healthy snacks on hand – a handful of almonds or an apple with peanut butter, and a bottle of water.

4. Sleep
Feel like a rock star on just 5 hours of sleep? You might be able to get through the day but consistent sleep-deprivation can make you feel worse. If you have a baby, nap when he or she does or ask your partner to take a nighttime feeding or let you sleep in on the weekends. Or try to go to bed earlier, even if it’s just one night a week, Rampone suggests.

5. Prioritize
“Often when we feel overwhelmed, it’s not because we’re being perfectionists,” Alcorn said. “There really objectively are too many things pulling at our time.”

Instead of trying to do it all, decide on what must be done today, what can wait for tomorrow, and what you can let go of.

6. Swap with a friend
Offering help can be just as powerful as asking for it. So the next time you make dinner, double the recipe, drop off half to a friend and let her reciprocate. Or offer to run errands, swap babysitting, or carpool.

7. Shut down
Your smartphone is always in your hand, you read email incessantly, and can’t go 30 minutes without checking Facebook.

“There’s a mental clutter that we’re all struggling with and we need quiet and peace,” Alcorn said.

It might be hard to step away from work, but if you can check email only at certain times or shut down all your devices at the same time each night, chances are you’ll feel less frazzled.

8. Get help
Hire a babysitter so you can run errands or catch up on your to-do list. Or ask your partner to pitch in on specific tasks and accept what he does as good enough.

9. Exercise
A good workout gives you an endorphin rush, helps to clear your mind and can help you relax – but don’t overdo it or you’ll feel more exhausted than you did before, Rampone said.

10. Make “me-time”
Your needs are last on the list but making time for yourself every day can help you feel less stressed out. Even if it’s just 10 minutes to take a bath, or an hour for lunch with a friend, carve out “me time” every day.

11. Take a break
Rampone suggests establishing an “independent hour,” every day. Sneak into another room to read, watch TV or meditate and have your kids play by themselves—no interruptions allowed.

Source: all voices

Saudi Reports 4 New Cases Of MERS Virus, 1 Fatal

The new infections bring the worldwide total of confirmed cases to 170 with 72 deaths, the WHO said.

Four more people in Saudi Arabia have been infected with the SARS-like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus and one of them – an elderly man – has died, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

The new infections, including in two health workers from Riyadh who have not reported any adverse symptoms, bring the worldwide total of confirmed cases of the respiratory disease to 170 with 72 deaths, the United Nations health agency said.

MERS first emerged in the Middle East in September 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus, can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia.

Cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Tunisia as well as in several countries in Europe, and scientists are increasingly focused on a link between the human infections and camels as a possible “animal reservoir” of the virus.

In Friday’s update, the WHO said the latest MERS death – a 73 year-old man from Riyadh – had reported having contact with animals but had no travel history outside the Riyadh region.

The fourth case, in a 53-year-old man from Riyadh, was after contact with a previously confirmed MERS case. He was hospitalised on November 26 and is currently receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, it said.

Dutch and Qatari scientists published research earlier this month that proved for the first time that MERS can also infect camels – strengthening suspicions that these animals, often used in the region for meat, milk, transport and racing, may be a source of the human outbreak.

The WHO said people at high risk of severe disease due to MERS should “avoid close contact with animals when visiting farms or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating”.

For the general public it advised normal hygiene steps such as hand washing before and after touching animals, avoiding contact with sick animals and good food hygiene practices.

Source: Gulf Business

Patient doing well with French company’s artificial heart: report

A 75-year-old Frenchman was feeding himself and chatting to his family, more than a week after becoming the first person to be fitted with an artificial heart made by French biomedical company Carmat, one of his surgeons said.

“He is awake, feeding himself and talking with his family. We are thinking of getting him up on his feet soon, probably as early as this weekend,” Professor Daniel Duveau, who saw the patient on Thursday, told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

A more detailed account of the patient’s health would be made public on Monday, the paper wrote.

Heart-assistance devices have been used for decades as a temporary solution for patients awaiting transplants, but Carmat’s bioprosthetic product is designed to replace the real heart over the long run, mimicking nature using biological materials and sensors.

It aims to extend life for patients suffering from terminal heart failure who cannot hope for a heart transplant, often because they are too old and donors too scarce.

 

The artificial heart, which can beat up to five years, has been successfully tested on animals but the December 18 implant in a Paris hospital was the first in a human patient.

Three more patients in France are due to be fitted with the device. The next operation is scheduled for the first weeks of January, the newspaper reported.

In this first range of clinical trials, the success of the device will be judged on whether patients survive with the implant for at least a month.

The patients selected suffer from terminal heart failure – when the sick heart can no longer pump enough blood to sustain the body – and would otherwise have only a few days or weeks to live.

Artificial hearts thus fuel huge hope amongst patients, their families, and investors. Shares in Carmat have risen more than five-fold since floating on the Paris exchange in 2010.

Duveau told the JDD that Carmat’s first patient was very combative and confident with his new prosthetic heart.

“When his wife and his daughter leave him, he tells them: ‘See you tomorrow!’ All he wants is to enjoy life. He can’t wait to get out of the intensive care unit, out of his room, and out of uncertainty.”

Source: Fresh News

Scientists use drug to repair a rare birth defect

University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health scientists have developed a potential cure for a rare eye disease, showing for the first time that a drug can repair a birth defect.

They formulated the drug Ataluren into eye drops, and found that it consistently restored normal vision in mice who had aniridia, a condition that severely limits the vision of about 5,000 people in North America. A small clinical trial with children and teens is expected to begin next year in Vancouver, the US and the UK.

Aniridia is caused by the presence of a “nonsense mutation” – an extra “stop sign” on the gene that interrupts production of a protein crucial for eye development. Aniridia patients don’t have an iris (the coloured ring around the pupil), and suffer many other eye abnormalities.

Ataluren is believed to have the power to override the extra stop sign, thus allowing the protein to be made. The UBC-VCH scientists initially thought the drug would work only in utero – giving it to a pregnant mother to prevent aniridia from ever arising in her foetus. But then they gave their specially formulated Ataluren eye drops, which they call START, to two-week-old mice with aniridia, and found that it actually reversed the damage they had been born with.

“We were amazed to see how malleable the eye is after birth,” said Cheryl Gregory-Evans, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and a neurobiologist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. “This holds promise for treating other eye conditions caused by nonsense mutations, including some types of macular degeneration. And if it reverses damage in the eye, it raises the possibility of a cure for other congenital disorders. The challenge is getting it to the right place at the right time.”

Bad vision at birth, worse vision later: Aniridia is apparent at birth because of the missing iris. Toddlers with aniridia need eyeglasses to see, sunglasses or darkened contact lenses to protect their eyes from overexposure to light, and cannot read small text. Their eyes are continually moving, making it difficult for them to focus, and have higher internal pressure (glaucoma), which damages the optic nerve as they get older. They are also prone to corneal damage in their teens and early adulthood. Eventually, most people with aniridia are considered legally blind, and must resort to Braille or expensive electronic aids to read.

An eye affected with aniridia on the bottom compared to an unaffected eye.

The plasticity of the eye: The reversal of tissue damage in young mice, published by the Journal of Clinical Investigation, fits with the fact that mammals’ eyes aren’t fully formed at birth. Human babies don’t discern colours until they are six months old, and their depth perception isn’t fully developed until the age of five.

Nonsense suppressor: Ataluren, made by the New Jersey-based PTC Therapeutics, is thought to be a “nonsense suppressor” – it silences the extra “stop codon” on the gene and allows a complete protein to be assembled. The drug is currently being tested as a treatment for cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which are also caused by nonsense mutations.

Clinical trial: The forthcoming clinical trial, involving about 30 patients, will be led by Gregory-Evans in Vancouver, and is being supported by the Vision for Tomorrow Foundation, a US-based charity focused on aniridia and albinism (an absence of pigmentation in skin, hair and eyes that results in poor vision). If START is proven to be safe and effective, children with aniridia would use the drops twice a day for the rest of their lives. The drug would probably not reverse the condition in adults because their eyes would already be damaged beyond repair.

A gritty solution: Gregory-Evans’ first attempt at creating Ataluren eye drops proved unsuccessful. The drug didn’t dissolve, and thus irritated the mice’s eyes. So she turned to Kishor Wasan, a professor and associate dean in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who ground the drug into a very fine powder and combined it with a solution that adhered better to the eye.

A multidisciplinary team: Gregory-Evans also collaborated with her husband, Kevin Gregory-Evans, the Julia Levy BC Leadership Chair in Macular Research and an ophthalmologist at the VCH Eye Care Centre, who treats BC patients with aniridia. He administered the vision tests for the mice used in the study.

Funding from a UBC alumna: Cheryl Gregory-Evans’ position and this research were funded by the Sharon Stewart Testamentary Trust. Stewart, of Victoria, was born with aniridia, and at the time of her graduation from UBC in 1968, she only had five per cent of her vision. She died in 2008 and donated over $6 million to UBC for aniridia research.

Source; India Medical Times

 

60-year-old woman in China gives birth to twin girls

A woman in China who gave birth to twin girls after an IVF treatment at the age of 60 in 2010 following the death of her only child has commented to the media on the birth. She may be the oldest person in the country to give birth.

Fox News reported that because of China’s the birth is extremely unusual in the country because of the country’s one child policy. She gave birth after the death of her only child.

Clinics and countries throughout the world impose limits on IVF treatment. The treatment is less effective with age. Such treatments also cause concerns for the welfare of children who are born after the treatment.

Sheng Hailin, is now 63. She lost her first daughter after an accidental gas poisoning case in 2009, according to the China Herald.

“To survive and free myself of the loneliness, I decided to have another child in my old age,” the newspaper quoted Hailin as saying.

The Daily Mail reported she and her husband gave birth to survive and be “free from loneliness.” Because of the births, Mrs. Hailin has not been able to retire and instead has had to increase her work schedule.  She said she is sorry she is not able to spend as much time with her children as she would like.

“‘For the baby girls, I have given out all I have,” she explained to the China Daily.
The Chinese government in November granted couples the right to have children if one parent is an only child.

According to an estimate, one million families in the country have lost their sole descendant after the beginning of the one child policy in the late 1970s. Another estimate calculates that four to seven million more are expected to do so in the next thirty years.

A portion of the couple’s earnings and pension is used to pay two babysitters, the Christian Post
reported.

Mrs. Hailin works as a health lecturer said some of her “lectures may only last one day, but sometimes I
have to stay three or four days in one place.”

Source: Digital Journal