Entries Tagged 'Lifestyle diseases' ↓

Heavy drinking may increase prostrate cancer risk.

Researchers led by Dr. Zhihong Gong, of the University of California at San Francisco, report the findings in the journal Cancer.

The drug finasteride, which can help lower a man’s risk of the disease, appears unable to undo the damage of heavy drinking.

The findings come from a clinical trial of nearly 11,000 men looking at whether finasteride lowered the risk of prostate cancer over seven years. Of the men, 2,219 were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 8,791 remained cancer-free throughout the study.

The researchers found that men who drank heavily

• four or more drinks per day,
• on at least five days out of the week

were twice as likely as non-drinkers to develop aggressive prostate tumors.

Less aggressive, slower-growing prostate tumors, finasteride cut non-drinkers’ and moderate drinkers’ risk by 43 percent.

Risk factors

Non Modifiable- older age, African-American race and family history of the disease.

Modifiable -obesity, smoking and a high intake of animal fat

Heavy drinking may need to be added to that short list

Limiting drinks to 2 or 3 per day may help men on finasteride to lower their risk for prostrate cancer.

UK doctors believe that cooling could save lives by slowing the release of harmful chemicals from nerve cells, and many hospitals have adopted the idea.

Among the inventions, reported in New Scientist magazine, is a cap that blows cold air across the scalp.

Other innovations include a chilling nasal spray and an icy lung injection. Many intensive care units across the UK now use cooling techniques to help heart attack patients after two major research studies showed significant benefits.

This “therapeutic hypothermia” is normally induced using cooled pads, ice packs or even injecting chilled saline liquid into the blood stream.

New devices such as a helmet which blows cool air across the scalp have been invented which help in reducing brain temperature even faster.Cooling brain significantly reduce brain damage in stroke patients according to studies.

Source: BBC news

A study at National Cancer Institute USA, has linked obesity with Ovarian cancer.According to them,Obese older women who never took postmenopausal hormones are at almost double the risk of developing ovarian cancer compared to their normal weight peers.But among all older women, however, obese women were only at slightly higher risk for ovarian cancer than those of normal weight.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute looked at differences among women who had never used hormone replacement therapy because it may play a role in the development of cancer.“We speculate that what may be driving the increased risk among the obese is the surplus estrogen produced by the fat cells in the body,” said Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann, a former investigator at the National Cancer Institute and first author of the paper.

Oral contraceptive use and having had children are associated with a decreased risk of ovarian cancer, while a family history of the disease and hormone therapy use are associated with an increased risk.

This study has to be conducted in other parts of the world before the findings can be generalised according to the researchers.

The Union Health ministry on Tuesday released the first India-specific guidelines for prevention and management of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

As per the new standards released by the Ministry

A  person with a body mass index of 23 kg/m2 will be considered overweight and below that as one with normal BMI - unlike the cut-off limit of 25 kg/m2 earlier. Now, those with BMI of 25 kg/m2 will be clinically termed obese (as opposed to 30 kg/m2 at the international level) and those with BMI of 32.5 kg/m2 will require bariatric surgery to eliminate excess.

The guidelines were released jointly by the health ministry, the Diabetes Foundation of India, the All-India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Indian Council of Medical Research, the National Institute of Nutrition and 20 other health organisations.

Releasing the guidelines, Dr Anoop Misra, director and head, department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Hospitals, New Delhi and Noida said, “Indians have a very different body, genetic and metabolic composition from westerners. Therefore, the parameters for obesity also have to be very different. This will bring more people under the overweight and obesity bracket. The revised guidelines would benefit 6 to 8 crore people. That in turn would lead to substantial prevention of diabetes and heart disease.”

The new guidelines released by the Health Ministry would soon be compiled and published by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

According to an estimate, those suffering from diabetes in the country would increase by 170% in the next 20 years. At present, India has the largets number of diabetes people in the world.

Obesity is the cause of most of lifestyle related diseases  we deal with. Hypertension ,diabetes,heart diseases are just a few of them.Fighting obesity has been one of the main objectives in controlling these lifestyle diseases.There are many anti obesity pills available in the market but yet a controlled diet and regular exercise has been used mainly to control obesity.

When it comes to anti-obesity pills, there are few choices on the market and no one can guarantee you they will really work. But US scientists have now identified a fatty substance that exists naturally in our body which blocks hunger and weight gain. Mice and rats, and presumably humans, produce the chemical after eating a fatty meal.

German Shulman, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor of internal medicine and of cellular and molecular physiology at Yale University School of Medicine, gave mice an extra dose of this chemical, called N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE) and found that they ate less and shed weight, with no side effects. Tests will have to be made on larger animals, but if they turn out to be well, humans might be next. 

 He and his colleagues are well known for their work on understanding how insulin resistance develops and leads to diabetes. 

In this study, rats were given NAPE for five days and there was a continuous reduction in food intake and a decline in body weight. To be more explicit, they ate 30 percent less food and lost a quarter of their weight. “It suggests NAPE or long-acting NAPE analogs may treat obesity,” Shulman said. 

The study is the first of its kind. It clearly showed that injecting NAPE into the rats’ bloodstream lowered their food consumption without making food unappealing to them. The study also found a connection between injecting NAPE directly into the rats’ brain and a drop in calorie consumption. 

If these findings apply to humans too, they will be a salvation for the 300 million adults who suffer from obesity worldwide and who are at high risk for life-threatening illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, all consequences of obesity. 

“We have this epidemic of obesity and we have very few agents that are able to effectively treat obesity. We’d be quite interested in trying a clinical trial to see if giving back would reduce food intake in humans,” Shulman said.

Who knows this may develop into a new wonder pill that cures obesiy!

Heartburn is one of those complaints with which older people are associated with. Most of the elderly come to a hospital at least once in their life with complaints of heartburn,which is usually followed by belching.Some people fail to recognize heartburn and complaints only of belching.

The term heartburn is a misnomer because it has nothing to do with heart. The disease got this name because the person experiences pain in the region of heart.This occurs because esophagus is located in the chest and reflux of acid into esophagus is the cause of heartburn.Fortunately, the stomach is protected from its own acid by a special mucous layer. The esophagus, however, does not have any such special protection. If the lower esophageal sphincter does not close completely, the lower part of the esophagus can be damaged by stomach acid. When this happens, heartburn may be experienced.

Continual bouts of heartburn can be a symptom of a more serious condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Frequent or severe heartburn may limit daily activities and lead to further complications such as ulcers in the esophagus.About 30% of adults experience occasional heartburn, while 10% experience heartburn every day. About 25% of pregnant women have heartburn or related symptoms.

Causes of Hearburn

Foods and drinks

Foods and drinks like chocolate, peppermint, caffeine-containing beverages (such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks), fatty foods, and alcohol.

Position of the body

Lying down with head at a lower level or bending over position.

Increased pressure inside stomach

Anything that increases the pressure on the stomach and forces stomach acid backward into the esophagus can also cause heartburn. This is why lifting, straining, coughing, tight clothing, obesity, and pregnancy can worsen heartburn.

Drugs

Certain drugs can loosen the lower esophageal sphincter and cause heart burn.These include blood pressure and heart medications, and the asthma drug theophilline

Many substances directly irritate the lining of the esophagus and can contribute to heartburn. These include spicy foods, citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes and tomato sauces, cigarette smoke, aspirin, ibuprofen , and medicines for osteoporosis.

Symptoms

The pain of heartburn is described as a burning feeling in the chest. Often, the sensation may spread up into the throat, jaw, arms, or back. That’s why heartburn is often mistaken for chest pain due to a heart attack. Stomach acid can also affect the respiratory tract, causing asthma, hoarseness, chronic cough, sore throat, or tooth damage.

Treatment for heartburn

Medical treatment.

Antacids medications, acid production inhibitors(H1 blockers and Prton pump inhibitors) are the mainstay of treatment. If symptoms persist even after these steps, surgery is the next step of treatment.Antacids containing calcium carbonate are the most potent in neutralizing stomach acid.

Lifestyle Modifications

Lifestyle modifications is very much essential for treatment of heartburn.These lifestyle modifications are usufel in case of mild disease and preventing progression into full blown stage.

Stop smoking

Limit alcohol intake.

Avoid large meals.

Avoid caffeinated drinks and chocolate.

Reduce lifting weights and straining immediately after food intake.

Avoid lying down within 3 hours of meals

While sleeping, raise the head end of your  bed a bit using bricks.

Lose weight if you are overweight.

Low doses of Cimetidine, Ranitidine(rantac), Famotidine or Omeprazole or Rabeprazole.

Practice Yoga

By following these simple lifestyle modifications, we can prevent heartburn and lead a full filling life.