Above: Photomicrograph of the distal right coronary artery, showing complex atherosclerosis (thickening of the artery wall due to the accumulation of calcium and fatty deposits). Photo: Nephron, Wikimedia Commons.
We've been away for a long time, but now we're back to report on some new findings that shed a new light on some long-held medical beliefs.
* New study casts doubt on the link between saturated fats and heart disease. Saturated fats are a major contributor to heart disease, we've long been told. Not so fast, says a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. As explained in an article by the CBC, the researchers draws on more than 70 studies to conclude that "Current evidence does not clearly support guidelines that encourage
high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of
total saturated fats."
In addition, two studies have found that taking daily fish oil supplements may not help your heart health, either. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements "showed consistently little or no significant effect on reducing coronary heart disease events," said the lead author of one of the studies.
* Alzheimer's deaths may be five times more than reported. Cases of Alzheimer disease are projected to grow dramatically in the coming years, but the disease may already be causing many more deaths than are reflected in the official stats. Researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center say that hhis is because death certificates often neglect to mention Alzheimer as a contributing cause of death. The new numbers would make Alzheimer disease the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
What's more, a new report from the Alzheimer's Association says that women over 60 "have a 1 in 6 chance of getting Alzheimer's disease in their lifetime, and are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's compared with breast
cancer.
* Colon cancer rates decline sharply. The incidence of colorectal cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, is down more than 30% among Americans due to increased use of colonoscopy for screening. "Xolonoscopy rates among adults ages 50 to 75 rose steeply — from 19 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2010," says an article in Health.com drawing on a study from the American Cancer Society.
The decrease was highest among older people: those 50 and older saw a decrease in colon cancer of 3.9% per year. There was bad news for younger people, however, as there's been a 1.1% per increase in colon cancer in persons under 50.
Some interesting news from the world of health and medicine:
* Scientists see link in depression and four other disorders: Five disparate mental-health disorders may have a common genetic link, according to a new study that's getting lots of attention. The research has found that a number of genes are shared by people who have major depression,
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, and attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder. The study was published in the edition of The Lancet publishing on Wednesday (abstract).
The researchers found that "four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells," according to an article in the Boston Globe. Also, "They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap."
They also
found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
had the most overlap. - See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
They also
found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
had the most overlap. - See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
four spots
in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric
disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication
between brain cells. - See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
found
four spots in the genome that were more common among those with
psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in
communication between brain cells.
They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.
- See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
found
four spots in the genome that were more common among those with
psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in
communication between brain cells.
They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.
- See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
found
four spots in the genome that were more common among those with
psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in
communication between brain cells.
They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.
- See more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf
Although this is an exciting development in brain research (rats on different continents were even able to communicate via the Internet), the article notes that "the exact information being communicated between the rats' brains is not clear."
* Tech giants seek public's help for cancer cure: British cancer researchers are joining forces with Google, Amazon.com, and Facebook to enlist the public's assistance in finding cures for cancer. Cancer Research U.K. is teaming up with the tech firms to get the public to perform tasks that can help in efforts such as "working out the exact sequence of a tumor's DNA,"according to a BBC News article.
Programmers, game designers, and others are set to meet this week to figure out how to create a game-life way to put the collective eyeballs and computer power of everyday citizens to solve problems in cancer research. The concept is similar to volunteer-computer efforts from the BOINC project, such as SETI@Home and medical-related endeavors such as RNA World and Malariacontrol.net. It's hoped the project will be up and running by summer.
* Coronary calcium indicates stroke risk: A coronary artery calcification score can predict the risk of stroke, independent of other factors, at least in cases of people with lower risk of cardiovascular disease. An article in MedPage Today says that this may or may not change how clinicians work, since it's already been established that stroke and coronary artery disease have some of the same disease processes.
What's more, the measure of calcification is done by an electron-beam CT scan, so any potential benefit of the rest must be weighed against the additional radiation exposure.
Today's Wall Street Journal offers some less-than-encouraging news on one of the nation's leading killers and most-studied health problems: heart disease.
One article notes that for all the research that goes into heart disease, "just 11% of more than 2,700 recommendations approved by cardiologists for treating heart patients are supported by high-quality scientific testing," according to a new study published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association. The research says that much of the recommended advice for cardiac patients is based on subjective expert opinion.
Another article says that a hotel may be the worst place for your heart to stop beating, because of the lack of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The story explains that while AEDs have become standard equipment on airplanes, health clubs, and even some shopping malls, hotel chains are hesitant to adopt them because of concerns over liability. Some of the chains the Journal talked to either cited low percentages of defibrillators in their hotels, or didn't want to say how many they had.
Eating a low-fat diet full of fruits and vegetables is not only good for the heart and for high blood pressure, it can also decrease women's likelihood of having a heart attack and stroke.
As reported by WebMD and other sources, women following the DASH diet (short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) have been found to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease than women not on the diet. The study showing these results was in the April 14th issues of Archives of Internal Medicine.
The DASH diet is not really a diet per se, but rather a method of eating that emphasizes fruits and vegetables, along with reducing intake of fats and sodium.
The DASH diet has been recommended by the American Heart Association. The book The DASH Diet for Hypertension, first published in 2001, outlines the basics of the DASH diet and offers recipes and menu plans for following the diet.
