High-fat diets raise stroke risk in women, study

Good morning friends. Women should listen to this … High-fat diets raise stroke risk in women, Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that's in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds.

The new study is the largest to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat.

It showed a clear trend: Those who ate the most fat had a 44 per cent higher risk of the most common type of stroke compared to those who ate the least.

"It's a tremendous increase that is potentially avoidable," said Dr Emil Matarese, stroke chief at St Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. "What's bad for the heart is bad for the brain."

He reviewed but did not help conduct the research, which was presented yesterday at an American Stroke Association conference.

It involved 87,230 participants in the Women's Health Initiative , a federally funded study best known for revealing health risks from taking hormone pills for menopause symptoms.

Before menopause, women traditionally have had less risk of stroke than similarly aged men, although this is changing as women increasingly battle obesity and other health problems

After menopause, the risk rises and the gender advantage disappears, said Dr Ka He, a nutrition specialist and senior author of the study from the University of North Carolina.

He and another researcher, Sirin Yaemsiri, wanted to see whether dietary fat affected the odds. – The Times of India

Strokes can happen to children too

Good morning friends. Don’t be relax parents, not only older people acquire stroke. Also children can acquire the disease. Parents should be aware of that. Strokes can happen to children too as we least expected.

Children can have strokes too that can be recurrent, according to pediatric researchers.

Unfortunately, boffins said, the strokes often go unrecognized the first time, and the child does not receive treatment before the recurrence.

Pediatric neurologist Rebecca Ichord, MD, director of the Pediatric Stroke Program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, reported the study of arterial ischemic stroke in children at the International Stroke Conference 2010 in San Antonio, Texas.

An arterial ischemic stroke results from a blockage or constriction in an artery in or leading to the brain.

To come up with the findings, Ichord and colleagues at Children's Hospital followed 90 children with a median age of about 6 years old, treated for stroke between 2003 and 2009. Twelve patients (13 per cent) had a recurrent stroke during the study period, most of them within a month of the first stroke. In six of the 12 children with recurrent strokes, no one diagnosed the initial stroke until a recurrent stroke occurred.

"Strokes don't occur only in the elderly," said Ichord. "They can also affect children as young as infants. Our findings reinforce how important it is to diagnose stroke in children as quickly as possible so that medical caregivers can provide emergency treatment and take measures to prevent recurrence."

Strokes can arise in children as a complication of other illnesses, such as sickle cell disease, which obstructs blood circulation, or from an undetected heart condition. A whiplash injury to a child's neck may damage an artery and leave it vulnerable to a blood clot that causes a stroke. Signs of a stroke are the same as in adults—a sudden loss of neurologic functions such as vision or speech, unsteady gait, or weakness on one side of the face or in limbs. What is different in children, said Ichord, is that symptoms may be subtle, examination is difficult and children are less able to describe their symptoms.

Emergency treatment for a stroke typically involves assuring adequate breathing and circulation, supplying intravenous fluids and improving blood supply to the brain.

Medications such as aspirin or blood thinners are given to lower the risk of a recurrent stroke. In the aftermath of a stroke, rehabilitation is critical to promote recovery.

"Because a stroke can recur, we need improved awareness of pediatric stroke among primary health care providers, and more research on the best ways to prevent a recurrence after a child suffers a first stroke," added Ichord. – The Times of India

Early eczema can affect mental health later

Good morning friends. Early eczema can affect mental health later. A new study has discovered an association between eczema in early childhood and psychological problems in children at ten years of age.

Eczema is a non-infectious skin disease characterized by scaling itchy skin rashes. It is the most common skin disease in children and adolescents. Children who suffer from eczema are known to have an increased predisposition for hay fever and allergic asthma. Eczema symptoms are accompanied by a broad spectrum of secondary symptoms, such as sleep disorders.

The prospective birth cohort study was done by scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and colleagues of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Technische Universität München (TUM) and Marien-Hospital in Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The research, which followed 5,991 children born between 1995 and 1998, has appeared in the current issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 125 (2010); 404-410.

Researchers led by Assistant Professor Jochen Schmitt of Dresden University Hospital, Dr. Christian Apfelbacher (Heidelberg University Hospital) and Dr. Joachim Heinrich of the Institute of Epidemiology of Helmholtz Zentrum München, found that children who suffered from eczema during the first two years of life were more likely to demonstrate psychological abnormalities, in particular emotional problems, at ten years of age than children of the same age who had not suffered from the disease.

Dr. Heinrich said, “This indicates that eczema can precede and lead to behavioral and psychological problems in children.”

Children whose eczema persisted beyond the first two years of life were more likely to have mental health problems than children who had eczema only in infancy.

Within the framework of the GINIplus study, scientists tracked the family history of the children, collected data on their physical health and emotional condition at age 10 years and gathered information on their daily lives. Questions were asked about the course of disease – also in early childhood – with special focus on diseases such as eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, stress tolerance and behavioral abnormalities.

Joachim Heinrich said, “We suspect that it is mainly the secondary symptoms that have a long-term effect on the emotions of the affected children.”

The authors of the study therefore recommend documenting the occurrence of eczema as potential risk factor for later psychological problems in the children’s medical records, even if the actual primary disease abates and disappears during the course of childhood. – The Times of India

Childhood stress may lead to brain damage

Good morning friends. Childhood stress such as abuse or emotional neglect can result in structural brain changes, a new study has shown.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers have shown that childhood stress such as abuse or emotional neglect, in particular when combined with genetic factors, can result in structural brain changes, rendering these people more vulnerable to developing depression.

Commenting on the significance of the findings, Trinity''s Professor Thomas Frodl at the School of Medicine and Trinity Institute for Neuroscience said: "This improved neurobiological understanding shows how stress and genetic variants interact and affect brain structure and function. In turn it demonstrates how it could affect a person''s propensity for depression. These structural alterations of the brain are associated with a higher vulnerability to depression and a more chronic course of the depression might be associated with further structural changes".

"Therefore, early intervention in the case of major depression is necessary to increase the chance of a good disease outcome. Fortunately, depression can be treated very well by psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. Moreover, prevention strategies for childhood neglect and misuse are highly important to increase public health and to avoid in later life for these individuals, the burden of major depression."

The study was conducted on a total of 24 patients (aged 18-65 years) being treated as inpatients for major depression. They were investigated with high-resolution structural MRI and childhood stress asessments. Special analysis programmes were used to measure brain regions. These patients were compared with 27 healthy control subjects from the local community who were matched for age and gender. Further research is needed in a larger number of patients and controls to identify the underlying causes of depression and stress-gene interaction on brains structure as well as function.

The study led by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has just been published in the international scientific journal, Neuropsychopharmacology . – The Times of India

New breast cancer screening technology

Good morning friends. Breast cancers is one of the problem of women. Not only older women acquire this illness. Anyone can have it, even you are still in the peak of you teenage days. There is a New breast cancer screening technology. As early as possible women should have to go to the doctor and have a checked up. They said that prevention is better than cure.

With the number of breast cancer cases on the increase, a new screening technology has been introduced by Siemens Healthcare .

"For the first time in India, Siemens Healthcare introduced a breakthrough innovation called Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS) at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai," D Ragavan, the company's Sector CEO for Healthcare, South Asia, told the media here.

ABVS automatically acquires volume images of the breast, helping in comprehensive screening using ultrasound, he said. "This new technology comfortably images patients with dense breast tissue or with a history of breast disease."

The machine is equipped to ensure accurate and consistent diagnosis, Ragavan said. The one-button locking mechanism simplifies and expedites volume acquisition and addresses the common problem of repetitive stress injuries, he said.

With this technology, images can be acquired in less than 10 minutes, as compared to half an hour in the conventional systems, Ragavan said. – The Times of India

New way to treat prostate cancer

Good morning friends. Prostate cancer is one of the problem of men when they reach the age of 40 and above. Like as in women, they have breast cancer. But there will be a new treatment way of prostate cancer.

Monash University researchers have discovered a new way to treat castrate resistant cells in prostate cancer patients.

The findings of the study, conducted by scientists from the Prostate & Breast Cancer Research Program, have appeared in the medical journal PNAS.

Associate Dean, Research Centres & Institutes and co-author Professor Gail Risbridger said: "The research showed that drugs that activate one of the two estrogen receptors, causes cell death. Most commonly cell death in patients with prostate cancer is achieved by withdrawing androgens (male hormones) which results in castration.

"Although the bulk of the tumor is removed by castration, some cells remain and these castrate-resistant cells are the ones that give rise to recurrent incurable disease."

Using a drug, the team selectively and specifically activated the beta estrogen receptor in the prostate.

Prof Risbridger said: "It not only inhibits the growth of prostate cancer but also kills off cancer cells that are resistant to conventional treatment such as androgen deprivation therapy, more commonly known as castration therapy and does so using a mechanism that is different to castration."

The study group made the discovery in animal models, and then successfully replicated laboratory results using human cells and tissues from prostate cancer sufferers.

Prof Risbridger said: "The team at Monash University has discovered how this compound working through the beta receptors targets a small, but very important, population of cells in the tumor. It is a significant piece of the puzzle that will help medical research in this field - an achievement that could eventually enhance treatment options for patients around the world with advanced prostate cancer."

Risbridger added: "This research also has personal meaning and provides me with the imperative to conduct basic biomedical research where the fundamental outcomes such as those we describe, may ultimately translate into more effective ways to treat prostate cancer." – The Times of India

How does the body heal itself?

Unlocking the secrets of how the body heals itself, especially when organs become diseased, a new study shows that the presence of small particles known as microvesicles helps cellular communication and enables healing.

Microvesicles are much smaller than a normal cell and contain genetic information such as messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA), other species of RNA and protein.

Jason Aliotta, physician researcher at the critical care and hematology-oncology departments at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH), and colleagues focused on these small particles.

During times of cellular injury or stress, or with certain diseases like cancer, infections and cardiovascular disease, these particles are shed and then taken up by other cells in the body.

The genetic information and protein in the microvesicles help to reprogramme the accepting cell to behave more like the cell from which the particle was derived.

Aliotta, also an assistant professor of medicine at the Brown University, said: "What we attempted to understand is how cells within the bone marrow are able to repair organs that are unrelated to those bone marrow cells, such as the lung.

"Our work suggests that when the lung is injured or diseased and cells within it are stressed or dying, they shed microvesicles. Those microvesicles are then consumed by cells within the bone marrow, including stem cells, which are present in small numbers within the circulatory system. Those bone marrow cells then turn into lung cells."

Other researchers have reported similar findings over the last couple of years. Microvesicles have been known for over 40 years and have often been considered irrelevant, says an RIH release.

Aliotta concludes: "We are now recognizing the relevance of microvesicles - they are important mediators of cell-to-cell communication."

Their paper is slated for publication in the March edition of Experimental and is now available online. – The Times of India