1 January, 2013

7 steps for a healthy heart in your 30s

Getting away from the office or family tensions is not easy, but try to change how you handle them. The more you relax, the more easily your body will be able to regulate stress levels. Research suggests that exercise, in any form, is the best way to de-stress and relax. Select something you enjoy and stick to it.

Exercise regularly whether to deal with stress or to just get fitter. It's a smart move to have a healthy heart in your 30s. Even a 15-30 minutes exercise session, every day, will be beneficial for your heart, and will also prevent you from putting on extra weight and thereby compounding any potential health ailments.

Eat healthy

Try and avoid those unhealthy food items during the weekend with your friends and family. These unhealthy foods can add up to your calorie and cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart problems. Instead opt for a diet full of protein, omega 3 or healthy food restaurants like Gostana.

Sleep well

Sleeping less than five hours a day, can increase the risk of stroke or cardiac arrest. Make sure you sleep well, maintain a daily bed time and wake up time and avoid smoking or consuming alcohol in excess, or heavy food before going to sleep.

Breakfast is essential

Never skip your breakfast. It is indeed very important to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast. A good breakfast gives your body that much needed fuel to get active and stay fit.

Birth control needs some revamping

You should reconsider using contraceptives like pills and the patch, if you have high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease. According to Dr. Goldberg, using these may worsen the case if you have any heart ailments. Hence, talk to your gynecologist before trying any contraceptives. (as mentioned in fitnessmagazine.com)

Limit sugar and salt intake

Intake of sugar can raise your cholesterol and triglycerides level and salt can cause high blood pressure. You don't have to completely avoid salt and sugar but limit your daily intake to avoid heart problems. Cut off from indulgences in cakes, pastries and creamy food items.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

01.01.2013

Tips to help stick to health related New Year resolutions

Forty-five percent of people will make a resolution at the start of 2013, yet less than half of those promises will still be in effect six months later.

Monday is like the January of the week: the day that people can reset their intentions after the weekend and try again. By recommitting to their resolutions every Monday, they get 52 opportunities to stick with it and incorporate healthier habits into their lives.

Plus, having a Monday resolution means people don’t have to do it alone.

The tips to help stick to their new year resolutions are

On Monday, people should eat a more diverse, nutrient-dense diet by swapping meat one day a week for fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

People can take 8-11 quit attempts to kick smoking for good, so they should gain an advantage by recommitting to their quit every Monday

They should add more fitness into their daily life by starting the week with physical activity

They should maintain sexual health, their weekly reminder to call the clinic, set up a preventative health appointment, or restock on condoms and other essential supplies.

People should set aside some time each Monday to plan their needs for the week and ensure that they stay healthy.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

01.01.2013

Faith is: dead to doubts, dumb to discouragements, blind to impossibilities

30 December, 2012

Arthritis drugs may help cure Alzheimer’s

Doctors have found that inflammation linked to the painful joint condition plays an important role in triggering the deadly brain disease.

The inflammation boosts production of toxic cells in the brain called plaques.

"With this link, we have a new path to potentially identifying and attacking this horrible disease," the Daily Express quoted the leader of the research, Dr Douglas Golenbock, as saying.

One expert said the evidence could lead to the "Holy Grail" in the study of the disease.

"As current treatments merely stabilise the condition, finding ways to stop the physical causes building up in the first place is the Holy Grail for researcher," said Jess Smith, of the Alzheimer's Society.

"Studying how the brain protects itself from injury is helping us reach that goal. The next step is to explore how drugs for inflammation and arthritis could be used to combat the condition. One in three people over 65 will develop dementia. Identifying already existing drugs which could be used to treat dementia is vital to get new treatments on the shelf in a fraction of the time it takes to develop drugs from scratch," Smith added.

The study found that an immune process in the body sparks the production of a protein called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1B).  This protein is involved in the body's defence against infection and has also been pinpointed as a drug target for rheumatoid arthritis - which occurs when the immune system attacks joints, causing pain and inflammation.

The study, published in the journal Nature, points to the possibility that drugs that disrupt the production of IL-1B, such as those for rheumatoid arthritis, may also benefit Alzheimer's patients.

Previously, brain inflammation in Alzheimer's sufferers was thought to be a side effect. But increasing scientific evidence suggests that it might be a primary cause, raising the possibility of fighting Alzheimer's with common anti-inflammatories such as aspirin and ibuprofen.

The latest study examined the destructive amyloid beta plaques, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's, clumping together in the brain and destroying it, leading to memory loss and confusion.

"The findings are still at an early stage but research into inflammation in Alzheimer's is an important area for the future," said Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research UK.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

30.12.2012

Do not be afraid to give up the good for the great

Kenny Rogers

29 December, 2012

Now, blood test to tell how old you really are

Researchers have come up with a controversial lifespan test that claims to tell people how fast they are ageing.

More than 100 Britons have now taken a ground-breaking blood test to see how fast they are ageing, and which might be used in the future to indicate statistically how long they have got left to live, the Independent reported.

The company behind the lifespan test believes that ten times as many people in the UK will take the 650-pound blood check next year, and millions more worldwide will be tested by the end of the decade.

It also expects the test to be used as part of the standard medical check-up required by insurance companies, just as they now ask about family history of disease and whether someone is a smoker or obese.

However, some experts have warned that there is still not enough known about telomere testing to provide people with any important medical advice, and one Nobel prize-winner has told The Independent that 99 per cent of people who take the test will not gain any benefit.

It is claimed that the blood test estimates how fast someone is ageing by measuring the length of microscopic structures at the ends of each chromosome, called telomeres, which keep each chromosome from falling apart when cells divide, much like the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces stop them from fraying.

Telomeres shorten after each cell division and animal studies have shown that a high percentage of short telomeres in blood cells are associated with a shorter-than-normal life expectancy, which is why blood tests could provide a guide to ageing and life expectancy.

According to the Spanish makers of Life Length, more than 1,000 people worldwide had volunteered to take the blood test since it became commercially available earlier this year.

The company plans to lower the price of the test by 20 per cent a year for the next five years so that it costs no more than about 65 pounds by 2017, bringing it within the price range of millions of new customers.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

29.12.2012

From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own

Publius Syrus

28 December, 2012

‘Cardiac centres should be located every 40 kilometres’

Cardiac care centres should be located within 30 to 40 kms of every citizen for timely action in case of emergencies, a leading cardiac surgeon said on Thursday. ‘After a heart attack, there is a golden period of two hours within which, if proper action is taken, then the heart patient can be saved. Otherwise there is a possibility of permanent damage to the heart muscle. And therefore everybody should have access to a cardiac care centre situated within 30 to 40 kms,’ Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, managing director of Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH) Hospitals, said at a media conference here.

Raghuvanshi, who announced NH Group’s partnership with Westbank Hospital to open a comprehensive cardiac care unit at its hospital in the neighbouring Howrah district, said it was a ‘first step’ in making cardiac facilities accessible at the district level.‘This is a first step that will enable people from the districts to get the best of care in a cost effective manner. We will provide the infrastructure to ensure the cardiac unit becomes a state-of-the-art facility,’ said Raghuvanshi. According to him, the cost of operations will go down as more number of people can avail of premier facilities. ‘There will be a steady fall in the cost as the number of people getting operations done go up,’ said Raghuvanshi.

Source: http://health.india.com

28.12.2012

Being alone as hazardous to health as smoking 15 cigarettes every day

The effect of loneliness on health is equal to that of obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, say experts.

They said being alone could hasten dementia and increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, the Sun reported.

Research revealed that half of all people aged 75 or over live alone and at least one in ten of the ten million over-65s in Britain is badly affected by solitude.

Five million elderly, half of that number, said television is their main companion and more than half a million, 600,000, admitted that they leave their house less than once a week.

Recent research by WRVS, a charity helping older people, identified nearly 400,000 elderly people who say they have children who are too busy to see them.

And the further away from their elderly parents the children live, the worse the situation becomes.

The WRVS research showed that for ten per cent of parents over 75, their nearest child lives more than an hours drive away.

And of those, almost half are visited only once every two to six months

Though Christmas is supposed to be a time for friends and family, many older people will spend it alone, said WRVS chief executive David McCullough.

The charity urge everyone to think for older people in the community who may be spending the festive period alone and invite them to join you to celebrate the Christmas.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

28.12.2012

Failure is not the worst thing in the world -- the very worst is not to try

27 December, 2012

Blood transfusion may up death risk for patients with heart attack

A meta-analysis of 10 studies conducted by researchers, including an Indian origin, has found that receipt of a blood transfusion among patients with myocardial infarction (heart attack) was associated with increased all-cause mortality compared with not receiving a blood transfusion during heart attack.

Therapeutic measures including anticoagulation and antiplatelet drugs have “revolutionized” the approach to acute coronary syndrome and improved clinical outcomes.

However, some of these therapies may also increase the risk for bleeding, which can lead to patients developing anemia during their hospital stay and requiring blood transfusion, according to the study background.

Saurav Chatterjee, MD, of Brown University and Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Rhode Island, and colleagues conducted a review of studies published between January 1966 and March 2012.

Ten studies, including 203,665 participants, were selected for analysis. Only one study was a randomised trial, while the others were observational studies.

“Analyses of blood transfusion in myocardial infarction revealed increased all-cause mortality associated with a strategy of blood transfusion vs. no blood transfusion during myocardial infarction (18.2% vs. 10.2%), with a weighted absolute risk increase of 12%,” the researchers said.

Other statistical analyses suggest that blood transfusion was associated with a higher risk for mortality independent of baseline hemoglobin level, nadir hemoglobin level and change in hemoglobin level during the hospital stay. Blood transfusion also appeared to be associated with a higher risk for subsequent myocardial infarction (risk ratio, 2.04), according to the study results.

“In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides evidence that rates of all-cause mortality and subsequent myocardial infarction are significantly higher in patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving blood transfusion. Additional outcomes data are needed from randomised clinical trials that investigate important outcomes with adequate sample size and with low risk for bias," the researchers concluded.

The finding was published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

27.12.2012

Cholesterol important for development and function of brain

Two molecules that play an important role in the survival and production of nerve cells in the brain, including nerve cells that produce dopamine, have been identified by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The discovery may be significant in the long term for the treatment of several diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

The same scientists have previously shown that receptors known as “liver X receptors” or LXR, are necessary for the production of different types of nerve cells, or neurons, in the developing ventral midbrain. One of these types, the midbrain dopamine-producing neurons plays an important role in a number of diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

What was not known, however, was which molecules stimulate LXR in the midbrain, such that the production of new nerve cells could be initiated. The scientists have used mass spectrometry and systematic experiments on zebrafish and mice to identify two molecules that bind to LXR and activate it. These two molecules are named cholic acid and 24,25-EC, and are bile acid and a derivate of cholesterol, respectively.

The first molecule, cholic acid, influences the production and survival of neurons in what is known as the “red nucleus”, which is important for incoming signals from other parts of the brain. The other molecule, 24,25-EC, influences the generation of new dopamine-producing nerve cells, which are important in controlling movement.

One important conclusion of the study is that 24,25-EC can be used to turn stem cells into midbrain dopamine-producing neurons, the cell type that dies in Parkinson’s disease. This finding opens the possibility of using cholesterol derivates in future regenerative medicine, since new dopamine-producing cells created in the laboratory could be used for transplantation to patients with Parkinson’s disease.

“We are familiar with the idea of cholesterol as a fuel for cells, and we know that it is harmful for humans to consume too much cholesterol,” said Ernest Arenas, Professor of Stem Cell Neurobiology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet, who led the study.

“What we have shown now is that cholesterol has several functions, and that it is involved in extremely important decisions for neurons. Derivatives of cholesterol control the production of new neurons in the developing brain. When such a decision has been taken, cholesterol aids in the construction of these new cells, and in their survival. Thus cholesterol is extremely important for the body, and in particular for the development and function of the brain.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

27.12.2012

He only is exempt from failures who makes no efforts

Whately, Richard

26 December, 2012

Excessive aspirin use can turn you blind

A new study has found that regular aspirin use ten years ago was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Barbara E. K. Klein, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, and colleagues conducted a study to examine the association between aspirin use and AMD.

The researchers used data from the Beaver Dam Eye Study, a longitudinal population-based study of age-related eye diseases conducted in Wisconsin. Examinations were performed every 5 years over a 20-year period (1988-1990 through 2008-2010).

Study participants (n = 4,926) were 43 to 86 years of age at entry in the study. At subsequent examinations, participants were asked if they had regularly used aspirin at least twice a week for more than 3 months. The average duration of follow-up was 14.8 years.

For the study, the researchers measured the incidences of different types of AMD (early, late, and 2 subtypes of late AMD [neovascular AMD and pure geographic atrophy]).

There were 512 incident cases of early AMD and 117 incident cases of late AMD over the course of the study.

The researchers found that regular use of aspirin use 10 years prior to the retinal examination was associated with late AMD (age- and sex-adjusted incidence, 1.8 per cent for users vs. 1.0 percent for nonusers).

When examining the relationships by late AMD subtype, neovascular AMD was significantly associated with such use (age-and sex-adjusted incidence, 1.4 per cent for users vs. 0.6 per cent for nonusers), but not for pure geographic atrophy. Aspirin use 5 years or 10 years prior to retinal examination was not associated with incident early AMD.

"Our findings are consistent with a small but statistically significant association between regular aspirin use and incidence of neovascular AMD. Additional replication is required to confirm our observations. If confirmed, defining the causal mechanisms may be important in developing methods to block this effect to prevent or retard the development of neovascular AMD in persons who use aspirin, especially to prevent CVD," the authors conclude.

The study appeared in the latest issue of JAMA.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

26.12.2012

Ultrasound safer than CT scans or X-rays to confirm or rule out appendicitis

A recent American study reveals ultrasound scans relying on sound waves are a safer option than CT scans or X-rays which uses radiation to confirm or rule out surgery to remove the appendix. It is a finger-shaped pouch that extends from the large intestine. Infection or blockage of the appendix causes appendicitis, which can lead to abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. Children suspected of appendicitis are more likely to undergo CT scans if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis has revealed, the journal Paediatrics reports.

Use of either technique can potentially reduce the occurrence of unnecessary surgeries and speed up the diagnosis of appendicitis, according to a Washington statement. But recent reports have suggested that CT scans can magnify children’s lifetime cancer risk, because of radiation. Therefore, researchers are reassessing the role of such scans and seeking ways to reduce their use, according to a varity statement. ‘Appendicitis is a very tough diagnosis, because its symptoms overlap with viral infections and other problems,’ says study co-author Jacqueline Saito, assistant professor of surgery.

‘We don’t want to operate when the appendix is fine, but if we wait too long, an inflamed appendix can rupture or perforate, making recovery more complicated and much slower,’ added Saito. Saito and her colleagues analysed case records of 423 children who had appendectomies or surgery to remove the appendix, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

In 218 patients initially evaluated at Children’s Hospital and 205 at general hospitals, researchers reviewed how the patients were evaluated for appendicitis and whether the surgery’s results confirmed the diagnosis. Using ultrasound to detect appendicitis has recently become more frequent, especially at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. ‘Ultrasound scans are difficult to perform correctly in this context and what specialists can do at children’s hospital may not be realistic or even available in a general hospital, which doesn’t care for children as often,’ Saito says.

Source: http://health.india.com

26.12.2012

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better

Beckett, Samuel

24 December, 2012

Women underestimate their weight more than men do

Women underestimate their weight by almost twice as much as men and by an average of 5lbs, a study has revealed. According to a Health and Social Care Centre report, the average British woman thinks they weigh 10st 11lbs when their actual weight is 11st 3lbs, the Mirror reported.

The report also shows the gap between perception and reality was biggest among women between 35 and 39.

They think they are nearly 8lbs lighter than they actually are Men underestimate their weight by about 3lbs, the report said. They mistakenly think they weigh 13st on average, when they actually weigh 13st 3lbs.

It is not known why women underestimate their weight more than men.

It is the first time the Health and Social Care Centre has examined the issue. More than 8,000 adults were quizzed about their perceived height and weight before their actual measurements were recorded by researchers.

Parents were also asked whether they thought their child was the about the right weight, too heavy or too light before their child was measured Incredibly, nearly half of parents of obese kids thought their child was “about the right weight,” according to the report Health Survey for England.

And four out of five parents of overweight children thought their son or daughter was “about the right weight.

“This survey gives a brand new insight into how the average adult in England has a different idea of their weight compared to what the scales actually show,” HSCIC chief executive Tim Straughan said. “Women appear to misjudge their weight more than men – with women in their late thirties in particular underestimating their weight by nearly 8lb,” he added.

If peoples’ own estimated weight and height were used to classify their weight, 17 percent of men and 20 percent of women would be classified as obese.

But the reality is much worse. Actual measurements put the figures at 24 percent and 26 percent respectively.

The report found that while people are generally close to knowing their actual height, their perception of weight is far less accurate.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

24.12.2012

High expectations are the key to everything

Walton, Sam

22 December, 2012

Desk jobs, obesity trigger knee pain

Surgeons and physiotherapists have blamed rising levels of obesity and desk-based jobs across all age groups for a huge surge in the number of people with painful knee joints, dubbed as 'office knee'.

More than a quarter of UK workers are suffering from knee pain, a new survey by healthcare provider Nuffield Health revealed has revealed

It found that people over the age of 55 suffer the most, with one in ten questioned claiming they are in constant pain.

And almost a quarter of 1,600 workers aged 16 to 65 surveyed said they have been living with pain for up to two years.

Sammy Margo, a spokesperson for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said the rise of the internet and desk based jobs are to blame for the phenomenon of 'office knee'.

"I have seen a huge surge in the number of people with knee pain and it is down to the sedentary lifestyle people are leading now. It is very much people with desk based jobs, and some of them have been working for ten to 20 years in these roles," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

"I have been a physiotherapist for the past 25 years and in that time we have had the advent of the internet, which has been very much a factor," she stated.

And consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ronan Banim said that surgeons are seeing knees that are 'literally being crushed' by excess weight, which could increase the long-term risk of osteoarthritis.

He warned that if levels of obesity continue to rise the number of people needing knee replacements is likely go through the roof.

According to him, weight control, regular, careful, exercise and healthy eating could help people in avoiding the need for future surgery.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.12.2012

Radio waves to cure high BP?

There seems to be a new cure for high blood pressure. Renal denervation, a minimally invasive surgery, can lower blood pressure (BP) that refuses to yield to drugs, according to the results obtained from a study that was conducted over a year-long period. The findings build on results released in 2010. It showed that six months of treating the arteries around the kidneys with radio waves lowered drug-resistant high BP. Results show that risk of heart attack and stroke could be reduced by 40 percent.

Renal denervation involves inserting a catheter through an artery located near the groin. Once there, a tip at the end of the catheter emits a radio frequency to deactivate hyperactive sympathetic nerves in arteries that deliver blood supply to the kidneys. These nerves contribute to high BP, the journal Circulation reports.

Murray Esler, professor and senior director at the Melbourne-based Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, who led the study, said the findings could have significant public health implications in the treatment of resistant hypertension, which is often a cause for heart attack and stroke. High BP is a major health problem worldwide, causing debilitating health problems and even sudden death. It is estimated that 30-40 percent of the population suffer from high BP and of that group, 15 percent are resistant to traditional therapies, according to the Heart Institute statement.

The results are drawn from Symplicity HTN-2, an on-going, multi-centre, international study sponsored by device manufacturer Medtronic to evaluate renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension. The study found that 83 percent of the treatment group experienced a drop in hypertension at six months, and nearly 79 percent of the group maintained such reductions at 12 months. Critically, the study found that the participants’ kidneys were not damaged or functionally impaired and there were no ill effects on long-term health from the procedure.

Esler commented: ‘Studies will soon determine whether this procedure can cure mild hypertension, producing drug-free normalisation of blood pressure’.

Source: http://health.india.com

22.12.2012

By asking for the impossible we obtain the best possible

Niccolini, Giovanni

21 December, 2012

Delaying childbirth lowers breast cancer risk

Delaying childbirth by 15 years after menarche may lower the odds of an aggressive form of breast cancer by 60%, says a new study.

"We found that the interval between menarche and age at first live birth is inversely associated with the risk of triple-negative breast cancer," said Christopher I. Li, member of Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, who led the study.

The study involved more than 1,960 Seattle-area women between the ages of 20 and 44, 1,021 with a history of breast cancer and 941 without, the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment reports.

While relatively uncommon, triple-negative breast cancer is a particularly aggressive subtype of the disease that does not depend on hormones such as estrogen to grow and spread.

This type of cancer, which accounts for only 10% to 20% of all breast cancers, does not respond to hormone-blocking drugs such as Tamoxifen, according to a Fred Hutchinson statement.

The study by Li and colleagues is the first to look at how the interval between first menstrual period and age at first birth is related to the risk of this particular type of breast cancer.

The study also confirmed several previous studies that have suggested that breast-feeding confers a protective effect against triple-negative disease.

"Breast-feeding is emerging as a potentially strong protective factor against one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer," Li said.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

21.12.2012

New red blood cell genes 'may help research on anaemia and malaria'

Research on conditions like anaemia and malaria is set to get a boost following the identification of a clutch of new genes that influence red blood cells. The discovery comes from an analysis of genetic samples from around 135,000 people, which was carried out by a large international team of researchers.

“This helps us understand the biological mechanisms of what determines formation and function of red blood cells,” ABC News quoted Dr Manuel Ferreira from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane as saying.

Red blood cells are important because they contain haemoglobin, which carries oxygen

According to Ferreira, understanding the genes that impact the formation and function of red blood cells not only helps in basic understanding of biology, it will also help in research on diseases such as anaemia To investigate the genetic factors influencing red blood cells, Ferreira and colleagues combined the results of a number of genome-wide association studies.

These studies looked at 2.6 million genetic variants to find out which ones show an association with 6 different red blood cell characteristics, including red blood cell count and haemoglobin concentration. “There were 75 positions on the genome that were strongly associated with one or more of the red blood cell characteristics,” Ferreira said.

He says of the genetic variants identified, 43 had not been previously identified.

Interestingly, says Ferreira, some of the implicated genes are known to be involved in a number of rare blood diseases. He says this shows variation in the same gene can lead to either slight differences in red blood cell count or haemoglobin concentration, or much more drastic conditions.

Fellow co-author Professor Peter Visscher of the University of Queensland says the team also carried out an RNA-silencing experiment in drosophila and compared the results with those from published mouse studies.

These animal models confirmed the influence of a number of the genes on red blood cells.

“It’s interesting because it shows those genes were already important so many hundreds of millions of years ago when a common ancestor of drosophila and humans lived,” Visscher said.

The study has been recently published in the journal Nature.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

21.12.2012

The quality of expectations determines the quality of our action

Godin, Andre

20 December, 2012

Antibiotics ineffective for treating coughs

Antibiotics are ineffective in treating patients with persistent coughs caused by mild chest infections, researchers say.

The new study found that the severity and duration of symptoms in patients treated with antibiotics were no different to those given a placebo.

But experts caution that if pneumonia is suspected, antibiotics should still be used due to the disease's severity.

"Using the antibiotic amoxicillin to treat respiratory infections in patients not suspected of having pneumonia is not likely to help and could be harmful," the BBC quoted Paul Little, lead researcher from the University of Southampton, as saying.

"Overuse of antibiotics, dominated by primary care prescribing, particularly when they are ineffective, can lead to the development of resistance and have side effects like diarrhoea, rash and vomiting.

"Our results show that people get better on their own. But given that a small number of patients will benefit from antibiotics the challenge remains to identify these individuals," Little said.

In the study, the researchers randomly divided patients into two groups - one received the antibiotic and the other was given a placebo, an inert treatment in the form of a sugar pill, three times a day for seven days.

The study found little difference in the severity and duration of symptoms reported between groups. This was also true for older patients - those aged 60 years or over - who made up nearly a third of the study.

And those taking antibiotics were reported to have more side effects including nausea, rash and diarrhoea than those given the placebo.

The study has been published in the Lancet journal.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

20.12.2012

Unhealthy snacks up cancer risk

Loading up on snack foods may increase cancer risk in individuals with an inborn susceptibility to colorectal and other cancers, researchers say.

The new study suggests that an eating pattern low in snack foods could help these individuals, who have a condition called Lynch syndrome, lower their risk.

Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition characterized by a high risk of developing colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer and other cancers, at an early age.

The syndrome is caused by mutations in genes involved with repairing DNA within cells.

Numerous studies have investigated associations between certain foods and colorectal cancer, and now there is general agreement that red and processed meats and alcohol consumption can increase individuals' risk.

Only a few studies have evaluated lifestyle factors and colorectal cancer in patients with Lynch syndrome, though.

To investigate, Akke Botma from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and her colleagues collected dietary information from 486 individuals with Lynch syndrome. During an average follow-up of 20 months, colorectal polyps (precancerous lesions) were detected in 58 people in the study.

"We saw that Lynch syndrome patients who had an eating pattern with higher intakes of snack foods—like fast food snacks, chips, or fried snacks—were twice as likely to develop these polyps as Lynch syndrome patients having a pattern with lower intakes of snack foods," Dr. Botma said.

The findings of the study suggest that certain dietary patterns have an influence on the development of polyps in individuals with Lynch syndrome.

"Unfortunately, this does not mean that eating a diet low in snack foods will prevent any polyps from developing, but it might mean that those Lynch syndrome patients who eat a lot of snack foods might have more polyps than if they ate less snack foods," Botma added.

The study has been published online in the journal CANCER.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

20.12.2012

The noblest search is the search for excellence

Johnson, Lyndon B.