29 July, 2015

Losing weight key to healthy liver

Weight loss through lifestyle modification and bariatric surgery can significantly reduce features of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a disease characterised by fat in the liver, studies said. ‘While the underlying cause of NASH is unclear, we most commonly see this condition in patients who are middle-aged and obese,’ said lead author Giulio Marchesini from the University of Bologna, Italy.

A weight loss of 10 percent or more is necessary to bring about NASH resolution and reverse scarring of the liver in overweight and obese patients. To a lesser degree, modest weight loss (seven to 10 percent) reduced disease severity in certain subsets of patients, including male patients and those without diabetes. Conversely, 93 percent of the patients with little or no weight reduction (less than five percent) experienced worsening of liver scarring, outlined the study that appeared in Gastroenterology.

In the second Gastroenterology study, Guillaume Lassailly and colleagues from France report that one year after bariatric surgery NASH had disappeared from 85 percent of patients and reduced the pathologic features of the disease after one year of follow-up. NASH disappeared from a higher proportion of patients with mild NASH before surgery (94 percent) than severe NASH (70 percent). ‘These two studies provide a benchmark for any future pharmacologic intervention in NASH, across the entire spectrum of obesity,’ Marchesini said.

NASH can over time lead to cirrhosis, in which the liver is permanently damaged and scarred and no longer able to work properly. With no approved therapies available for NASH currently, physicians recommend that patients with NASH reduce their weight, eat a balanced diet, engage in physical activity, and avoid alcohol and unnecessary medications.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.07.2015

What hurts your heart may also hurt your brain

If you thought your alcohol and smoking habits were just affecting your heart, think again. A new study shows that things that raise cardiovascular risk may also damage the brain. Which means, habits such as alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity and diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Vascular risk factors damage the brain and can result in cognitive impairment according to one of the researchers, Kevin King, assistant professor of radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, US. But the new study cements the relationship between specific vascular risk factors and brain health.

The researchers examined the link between cardiovascular risk factors with three main brain regions, including the hippocampus, precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex. Because of each region’s connection to memory retrieval, gray matter volume loss in these areas may be a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The researchers analysed results from 1,629 individuals and divided the participants into two age groups. There were 805 participants under age 50, and 824 of age 50 and above. The study found that risk factors for alcohol use and diabetes were associated with smaller total brain volume, while smoking and obesity were linked with reduced volumes of the posterior cingulate cortex, the area of the brain connected with memory retrieval as well as emotional and social behaviour.

Also, a lower hippocampal mass was linked to both alcohol consumption and smoking. ‘We currently do not have effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, so the focus is on prevention,’ King said. The study was published online in the journal Radiology. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.07.2015

All of us do not have equal talent, but we have an equal opportunity to develop our talents

A.P.J.Abdul Kalam