Diabetes, Obesity After 60 May Drive Up Breast Cancer Risk

(HealthDay News) -- A woman's risk of developing breast cancer appears to rise if she has diabetes or is obese after age 60, a new study indicates.

Previous research has linked obesity and increased breast cancer risk, but "the diabetes link had not been clearly shown," said researcher Dr. Hakan Olsson, a professor of oncology at Lund University in Lund, Sweden.

He is scheduled to present his findings this week at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The diabetes link held even after he accounted for obesity and levels of blood lipids, such as cholesterol. It is an association, however, not proven cause and effect.

A strength of the study, Olsson said, is that it looked at the population as a whole, not only women with breast cancer. He studied the medical records of more than 2,700 patients for up to 10 years before they developed breast cancer and also records for about 20,500 patients who never developed cancer. Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

Health Tip: Living With Sickle Cell Disease

(HealthDay News) -- Sickle cell disease is characterized by abnormally shaped red blood cells. This can cause the cells to become lodged in blood vessels -- a painful result called a sickle cell crisis.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these recommendations to help prevent a sickle cell crisis:

• Avoid alcohol or drink only very little, and don't smoke.
• Drink at least eight glasses of water every day.
• Keep illnesses and health conditions, such as a simple infection or diseases such as diabetes, treated and under control.
• Avoid stress whenever possible.
• Make time to exercise -- but moderate exercise only.
• Don't let yourself get too cold. Dress warmly in winter or when in air conditioning, and avoid swimming in cold water.
• Talk to your doctor if you snore, or if you have sleep apnea.

The progressive degenerative development can lead the Enderlein to different symptoms

The progressive degenerative development can lead the Enderlein to different symptoms as the "complex of the Endobiosis" designated. All these illness forms against-placed always the largest difficulties to the medical art and resistances.

In addition belong among other things: chronic illnesses, container wall changes, pathological coagulating procedures, Gelosen, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Spondylose, Tonsillitis, Diabetes, Lymphogranulomatose, charge, Tumors of all kinds (also good-like as well as their preliminary states), Anemia, Leukemia, Bronchitis, Cerebral scleroses, paralyses, allergies etc. Read more

Health Tip: Diabetes and Gum Disease

(HealthDay News) -- Diabetes can make it more difficult to fight off gum disease, and in some cases, can make gum disease worse.

The American Diabetes Association says you should see if your dentist if you have any of these warning signs of gum disease.

• Gums that bleed when you floss or brush.
• Soreness, swelling or redness of the gums, or persistent bad breath.
• Gums that have receded from the teeth.
• Pus forming between the teeth and gums.
• Teeth that seem loose or like you are able to move them.
• Any change in your bite, or the way that dentures fit.

Alternative Health - Functional Medicine

When treating a patient we strive to provide more than just rapid relief of your immediate symptoms. We focus on your overall health examining nutritional, metabolic, immune, hormonal, structural, and any toxicological factors in which you may be involved. Through a personal and comprehensive examination, we try to get to the source of your condition enabling you to restore your health. We also look at emotional and psychological factors as these create the background which shapes every aspect of your health and well-being.

Most conditions whether it involves heart disease, fatigue, arthritis, cancer, headache, chronic infections, allergies, elevated cholesterol, depression, anxiety, PMS, menopause, autism, diabetes, osteoporosis, etc. are manageable if the underlying causes are more fully understood. That doesn't mean we only use the latest fad or herb to cover up your symptoms. Rather, we apply scientific principles in a practical and logical way to solve your medical needs.

That means asking the right questions, careful listening, complete examinations of your physical and biochemical state and understanding how you function within your own environment. If necessary, select labs that identify your nutritional needs, allergies, hormonal status, metabolic efficiency, etc. can be performed. When it is all put together, a practical and personalized plan will be agreed upon that is designed to not only get rid of symptoms you don't have to live with but also create a healthier, happier, more vital you.

Dr. Vincent Bellonzi
B.S.,D.C.,C.C.N., C.S.C.S., A.C.S.M. H/FI

Dr. Vincent Bellonzi is a chiropractor and a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. He has been in practice for over 12 years. He received his Doctorate from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1991.

Since 1998, Dr. Bellonzi has practiced in the Austin area. He works with athletes at every level to provide sports conditioning and rehabilitation. He also treats multiple conditions including headaches/migraines, neck and lower back injuries, shoulder, wrist, and knee injuries. As an avid marathoner Dr. Bellonzi developed an interest in optimal nutrition and sports conditioning and as a result sought certifications as a personal trainer, cycling and running coach, and nutritionist. Dr. Bellonzi also provides human performance testing, Sports Rehabilitation, Nutritional Counseling, Personal Training, Coaching and Metabolic Testing services.

Visit Dr. Bellonzi's website at
http://www.bewellrx.com

This video was produced by Psychetruth

ALTERED IMMUNITY & THE LEAKY GUT SYNDROME

The leaky gut syndrome is the name given to a very common health disorder in which the basic organic defect (lesion) is an intestinal lining which is more permeable (porous) than normal. The abnormally large spaces present between the cells of the gut wall allow the entry of toxic material into the bloodstream that would, in healthier circumstances, be repelled and eliminated.

The gut becomes leaky in the sense that bacteria, fungi, parasites and their toxins, undigested protein, fat and waste normally not absorbed into the bloodstream in the healthy state, pass through a damaged, hyperpermeable, porous or ÒleakyÓ gut. This can be verified by special gut permeability urine tests, microscopic examination of the lining of the intestinal wall as well as the bloodstream with phase contrast or darkfield microscopy of living whole blood.

Why is The Leaky Gut Syndrome Important?

The leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease and reversing autoimmune disease depends on healing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Any other treatment is just symptom suppression. An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. Diseases in this category include lupus, alopecia areata, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, vitiligo, thyroiditis, vasculitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, urticaria (hives), diabetes and Raynaud's disease. Physicians are increasingly recognizing the importance of the gastrointestinal tract in the development of allergic or autoimmune disease. Understanding the leaky gut phenomenon not only helps us see why allergies and autoimmune diseases develop but also helps us with safe and effective therapies to bring the body back into balance.

Due to the enlarged spaces between the cells of the gut wall, larger than usual protein molecules are absorbed before they have a chance to be completely broken down as occurs when the intestinal lining is intact. The immune system starts making antibodies against these larger molecules because it recognizes them as foreign, invading substances. The immune system starts treating them as if they had to be destroyed. Antibodies are made against these proteins derived from previously harmless foods. Continue reading >>

More informations here:

• Live_blood Analysis
• Live_Blood_Analysis Darkfield Microscopy Courses
• dark field microscopy
• pleomorphism
• Günther Enderlein

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More Vitamin D in Childhood Cuts Later Diabetes Risk

(HealthDay News) -- Children who take vitamin D supplements may be less likely to develop type 1 diabetes later in life, according to researchers who analyzed the findings of five previously published studies.

The researchers found that children who were given additional vitamin D were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children who didn't receive vitamin D supplements. The evidence also indicated that the higher and more regular the dose of vitamin D, the lower the risk of developing diabetes.

The findings were published online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, develops when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's immune system, a process that begins in early infancy, according to background information in the review study.

The incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing by about 3 percent a year, and it's estimated that new cases of the disease will have increased 40 percent between 2000 and 2010. People of European descent are most likely to have type 1 diabetes, which affects about two million Europeans and North Americans.

There's evidence that levels of vitamin D and exposure to sunlight, which prompts the body to make vitamin D, influence the risk of developing some types of autoimmune disorders.

The review authors noted that global rates of type 1 diabetes vary greatly, according to latitude and levels of sunlight. For example, a child in Finland is 400 times more likely than a child in Venezuela to develop type 1 diabetes.

The fact that pancreatic beta cells and immune cells carry receptors for the active form of vitamin D provide further proof of the link between vitamin D and type 1 diabetes, the review authors said.

More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about type 1 diabetes.

No More Type I or Type II Diabetes!

I am so happy to share with you a pH Miracle case study for Type I Diabetes.

The story begins two months ago with a 6 year old child named Gabriel who was diagnosed with onset Type I Diabetes. Through Gabriel's parents I had the honor to meet and work with Gabriel to help him reverse this condition.

When I looked at Gabriel's live and dried blood he had all the markers for the condition he had been diagnosed with by his doctor - Type I diabetes.

The blood showed:

1) White spots on the red blood cells,
2) Targets in the center of the red blood cells,
3) Yeast cells, like candida in the blood plasma, and
4) A dark protein ring in the center of the coagulated blood, indicating bowel congestion.

I shared with Gabriel and his parents that diabetes starts in the bowel not in the pancreas. Balancing blood sugars has everything to do with restoring the alkaline pH of the small and large intestines by eliminating the congestion of undigested chicken, beef, pork and fish. I helped them understand that the major cause of diabetes in children is from protein not from sugar. I knew if Gabriel would clear his bowels of undigested animal proteins his blood sugars would normalize and "No More Diabetes!"

This is exactly what happened - Gabriel cleared his bowels and now has normal blood sugars and "No More Type I Diabetes!"

The following is Gabriel's story as told by his incredible Mother who had the insight and inspiration to look outside the medical box of current medical thought.

Dear Dr. Young,

Two months ago my husband and I were shocked when our family doctor informed us he thought our six year old son, Gabriel, had Type 1 Diabetes. The pediatric endocrinologist we were referred to was reasonably sure he had the disease .Although the specialist said we detected it early, he estimated that Gabriel would be insulin-dependent within six months. When we asked if there was anything we could do, the doctor assured us there was no way to prevent the onset of Type 1 Diabetes. We would just have to wait for the disease to run its course.
Our hearts were grieving for our precious son.

We immediately began learning all we could about Type 1 Diabetes. I am an R.N., and I have studied health alternatives and nutrition. I began scouring the internet and researching sources I have studied.
After considering many possibilities, Dr. Youngs's research seemed the most promising. Dr Young generously invited us to visit the research center as a case study for his microscopy course. He confirmed the Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis and started Gabriel on the pH Miracle Living Plan or the COWS Plan as outlined in his book, The pH Miracle for Diabetes.

The day we visited the pH Miracle Center, Gabriel began drinking what he calls "green power". We began the alkaline diet immediately. His blood sugar levels dropped to within normal range and have remained normal. Gabriel says he feels so much better. Overall, his flagging energy has returned to its previous vitality.

Gabriel now tells everyone he wants to be a doctor.
He wants to help other sick people like Dr. Young.
We thank God for the pH Miracle Living program which has been and answer to our prayers. Thanks to Dr.
Young's dedicated research, our mourning has been transformed into hope.

Gabriel's Mom

The key to reversing Type I diabetes is the healing of the small intestine and the intestinal villi or root system of the body. When we have a healthy small intestine we can build healthy red blood cells which can then build a healthy body.

Very few people realize that sugar is a waste product of cellular degeneration or breakdown, not a fuel for energy. Think about it for a moment when you consider a banana as it ripens or ferments - it becomes sweeter with the acid sugar - it is melting into sugar.

This is what is happening to the person doing diabetes.
He or she is melting into sugar.

When we clear the bowels of protein and begin to build blood with chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water and salt we can expect only one thing - incredible health and energy and "No More Diabetes!"

In fact, if more people understood the principals I teach there would be "No More Diabetes" of any type in the world today!"

Lack of Deep Sleep Raises Diabetes Risk

(HealthDay News) -- Failing to sleep deeply for just three nights running has the same negative effect on the body's ability to manage insulin as gaining 20 to 30 pounds, diabetes researchers report.

In fact, young adults who do not get enough deep sleep may be increasing their risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published Dec. 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to the researchers, three nights of interrupted sleep effectively gave people in their 20s the glucose and insulin metabolisms of people three times their age.

Previous studies have demonstrated that not getting enough hours of sleep affects the body's ability to manage blood sugar levels and appetite, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. This current study provides the first evidence linking poor sleep quality -- specifically the loss of deep or slow-wave sleep -- to increased diabetes risk, said the University of Chicago Medical Center research team.

"These findings demonstrate a clear role for slow-wave sleep in maintaining normal glucose control," lead author Dr. Esra Tasali, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. "A profound decrease in slow-wave sleep had an immediate and significant adverse effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance," Tasali said.

The researchers suggested that improving the quality of sleep, especially for people as they age or if they are obese, could be an important step in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers recruited five men and four women, all lean and healthy, who were between the ages of 20 and 31. The researchers first observed the participants for two nights of uninterrupted sleep, during which they slept for 8.5 hours, to establish their normal sleep patterns.

Then they observed the same participants over a three-night study period, during which the researchers deliberately disturbed their sleep when their brain waves indicated the beginning of slow wave sleep.

The sounds used to interrupt the sleep patterns were loud enough to move the participants to a different level of sleep but not loud enough to fully wake them. According to the researchers, the participants could recall hearing between three and 15 noises at night, although they were interrupted on average 250 to 300 times. The interruptions increased in number each night, as the participants' need for deep sleep increased.

"This decrease in slow-wave sleep resembles the changes in sleep patterns caused by 40 years of aging," Tasali said. Young adults spend 80 minutes to 100 minutes per night in slow-wave sleep, while people over age 60 generally have less than 20 minutes. "In this experiment," she said, "we gave people in their 20s the sleep of those in their 60s."

At the end of each study, the researchers gave intravenous glucose (a sugar solution) to each subject, then took blood samples every few minutes to measure the levels of glucose and insulin, the hormone that controls glucose uptake.

When the researchers analyzed the data they learned that the participants were almost 25 percent less sensitive to insulin after nights of interrupted sleep. As their insulin sensitivity declined, they needed to make more insulin to process the same amount of glucose, or blood sugar. However, in all but one subject, their bodies did not make more insulin. As a result, they had 23 percent more blood-glucose, the equivalent of glucose levels in an older adult with impaired glucose tolerance.

The researchers also found that the participants who typically had the least amount of slow-wave sleep during the nights they were not interrupted experienced the greatest decline in insulin sensitivity during the study.

More information
To learn more about sleep, its health benefits and how to improve sleep quality, visit the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Study Finds Cholesterol Fine-Tunes Hearing

(HealthDay News) -- The amount of cholesterol in the outer hair cell membranes of the inner ear can affect hearing, a new U.S. study concludes.

"We've known for a long time that cholesterol is lower in the outer hair cell membranes than in the other cells of the body. What we didn't know was the relationship it had to hearing," senior author Dr. William Brownell, a professor of otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

In the study, published Dec. 14 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers manipulated cholesterol levels in the outer hair cells of the inner ears of mice and then measured the rodents' hearing ability.

"Depleting the cholesterol resulted in a hearing loss. Adding cholesterol initially increased hearing but later resulted in a hearing loss. So, you can change an animal's hearing just by adding or subtracting cholesterol," Brownell said.

The fine-tuning of cholesterol in these cells happens naturally during development and doesn't change much after birth. That's different than cholesterol levels in the blood, which can vary with eating habits.

"Will our hearing be affected if we continually eat greasy meals? Right now, we don't see a connection between the two," Brownell said. "The results of the study help us understand the cellular mechanisms for regulating hearing and give us another way to potentially help those with hearing loss."

More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians explains hearing problems.

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Diabetes Linked to Blood Vessel Inflammation

(HealthDay News) -- U.S. researchers say they've identified a new pathway that increases a dangerous inflammation of blood vessels in people with diabetes.

A team at the University of California, Davis, Health System believes that good control of diabetes may reduce this inflammation and possibly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

They found that people with type 1 diabetes have increased expression and signaling of two key receptors within the innate immune system. These receptors (TLR2 and TLR4) are part of a family of pattern-recognition receptors called Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

Increased expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in people with type 1 diabetes contributes to inflammation of blood vessels, the study authors said. Their finding is published in the online issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"It is not unreasonable to speculate that TLR2 and TLR4 promote (cardiovascular disease) by contributing to the pro-inflammatory state in type 1 diabetes," lead author Ishwarlal Jialal, director of the Laboratory for Atherosclerosis and Metabolic Research, and professor of internal medicine at UC Davis, said in a prepared statement.

"Inflammation is central to heart disease, playing a pivotal role in plaque formation and stroke. We may well find that a serendipitous byproduct of controlling diabetes is the simultaneous control of this new pathway, leading to less inflammation and lower risk of heart problems," Jialal said.

The researchers plan further studies to investigate the molecular mechanisms that cause increased TLR2 and TLR4 expression and how these receptors contribute to inflammation in people with diabetes.

More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease has more about diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

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Female Mammals May Select Out Competing Sperm

(HealthDay News) -- Scientists may have proof that female mammals' reproductive systems detect the presence of sperm and react by changing conditions in the uterus.

An international team of researchers say this may be the molecular mechanism behind post-copulatory sexual selection, where females who've mated with several partners can actually influence which sperm fertilizes the egg.

Learning more about this post-mating "ladies choice" may have important implications for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), cloning and animal breeding, according to study author Alireza Fazeli, of the University of Sheffield in the U.K. It also provides a possible explanation for female promiscuity in certain species.

In this study, Fazeli and colleagues found chemical evidence of a sperm-recognition system in the oviducts of female pigs, who have a reproductive system that's similar to humans.

"This study clearly shows that the sperm's arrival in the female reproductive tract triggers a cascade of changes that leads to alteration of protein production in [the] oviduct and a change in oviductal environment. We speculate that this is mainly done to prepare oviduct environment for storing sperm, fertilization and early embryonic development," Fazeli said in a prepared statement.

This can also be used as a detection and selection system that alerts the female to different kinds of sperm, triggering oviduct mechanisms that control sperm transport, binding and activation for fertilization.

"We know sperm selection exists in nature, especially in promiscuous species, when females mate with several males. Baboons are a good example. During one reproductive cycle, if the female mates with several males, most of the time the offspring belong to one of the males -- not a spread between all of them. We are now seeing what can be the molecular basis for this effect," Fazeli said.

More information
Learn more about female reproduction at the American Medical Association.

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Research Can Help Close Cancer 'Race Gap'

(HealthDay News) -- Collaborations between researchers and community groups can help ease cancer disparities among minority populations, researchers report.

They based their conclusions on the results of U.S. initiatives launched in Nashville, Tenn. and among the Navajo Nation.

Such partnerships between researchers and community groups can improve the quality of data collection, provide new insight into social factors/help, and result in sustained health improvements in disadvantaged populations, the scientists said.

The initiatives were to be outlined Thursday in Atlanta at an American Association for Cancer Research conference.

Like many communities across the United States, Nashville has experienced a large growth in its Hispanic population, a group whose health care needs are under-studied and not well documented in the academic literature. In response, a group of Nashville-area researchers partnered with community groups to survey the cancer care and prevention needs of more than 500 Hispanics, whose average age was 35. The information will be used in the development of future community programs and may help improve cancer prevention/care programs for local Hispanics.

Of the respondents, 98 percent were not born in the United States; more than half had emigrated from Mexico. The survey found that 80 percent of respondents didn't have health insurance, two-thirds hadn't completed high school, and 55 percent spoke little or no English.

Out of a list of 25 health topics, cancer was rated the top health concern. Almost 75 percent of respondents said they wanted to learn more about cancer prevention and just over half said they wanted more information on cancer screening. A large majority of respondents said they'd take part in a clinical trial to receive treatment if they had cancer. More than 90 percent of respondents with daughters under age 18 said they'd probably or definitely approve of their daughters receiving the new human papillomovirus virus (HPV) vaccine if it were free. HPV infection is linked with cervical cancer.

"Our local Hispanic community has grown nearly seven-fold over the last decade, yet we do not know much, if anything, about their cancer-related needs," lead investigator Pamela Hull, associate director of the Center for Health Research at Tennessee State University, said in a prepared statement. "Our survey has found that members of the Nashville Hispanic community are overwhelmingly interested in cancer prevention and health care efforts -- including cancer clinical trials and cervical cancer vaccination -- yet the community generally lacks access to care and information."

"Over the last 15 years of so, many smaller cities and rural communities across the interior of the United States have seen a similar growth of Hispanic immigrants moving from the states with traditionally larger Hispanic populations," Hull said. "Our survey, and the participatory methods we use, could help inform these new growth communities about their blossoming Hispanic populations."

In general, Hispanics have lower cancer rates than whites, but have higher rates for certain types of cancers, such as cervical, stomach, liver and leukemia, according to the American Cancer Society. Hispanics also have lower survival rates for most cancers. The Nashville survey found that cancer rates among Hispanics may vary according to their country of origin, Hull said.

The other researcher/community group partnerships outlined at the conference included one to help black Americans stop smoking and another to educate members of the Navajo Nation about colorectal cancer.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about Hispanic health issues.

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Cranberry Sauce May Be Healthy Treat

(HealthDay News) -- The cranberry on your Thanksgiving dinner plate may be more than a pleasant condiment, it may be good medicine, too, scientists say.

Compounds in cranberries may be able to protect against E. coli bacteria, -- which cause a number of human health problems, including gastroenteritis, kidney infections and tooth decay -- say researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

A team led by Terri Camesano, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the institute, has uncovered a number of biochemical and biophysical mechanisms that may explain some of the health benefits attributed to cranberries, including cranberry juice's ability to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs).

For example, they've found that a group of tannins (called proanthocyanidins or PACs) found primarily in cranberries interact with bacteria at the molecular level and prevent E. coli from attaching to cells in the body (a first step in infections) in a number of ways.

Among their findings:

• Chemical changes caused by cranberry juice create an energy barrier that prevents bacteria from getting close to the urinary tract lining.


• Cranberry juice causes compression of tiny tendrils on the surface of the type of E. coli that causes the most serious types of UTIs. Compression of these tendrils reduces the bacteria's ability to attach to the urinary tract lining.


• E. coli grown in cranberry juice or in PACs can't form biofilms, which contain high concentrations of bacteria and are required for infections to develop.

The research has been reported in a number of publications and presentations.

More information
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about cranberry.

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Brain 'Switch' Helps Doctors Deal With Patients' Pain

(HealthDay News) -- Doctors are able to switch off the part of their brain that helps them appreciate the pain patients experience during treatment, and instead turn on a brain area that controls emotions, according a study by American and Taiwanese researchers.

Because they sometimes have to inflict pain on patients while treating them, doctors have to develop the ability not to be distracted by the suffering of patients, explained co-author Jean Decety, a psychology and psychiatry professor at the University of Chicago.

"They have learned through their training and practice to keep a detached perspective; without such a mechanism, performing their practice could be overwhelming or distressing, and, as a consequence, impair their ability to be of assistance for their patients," Decety said in a prepared statement.

In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain responses in 14 doctors and a control group of 14 other people as they watched videos of people being pricked with acupuncture needles around the mouth and being touched with Q-tips.

The doctors showed no response in the area of the brain that registers another person's pain when they saw someone pricked with an acupuncture needle or touched with a Q-tip. The doctors did show heightened activity in the brain region that controls emotions.

When asked to rate the pain likely felt by the patients as they were pricked by the needles, the doctors said it was likely about 3 on a 10-point scale (10 being the most pain), while those in the control group rated the patients' pain at about 7 points.

The study is currently available online and is expected to be published in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Current Biology.

More information
There's more on managing pain at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Caffeine Plus Acetaminophen Toxic for Some

(HealthDay News) -- Very high doses of caffeine and acetaminophen (such as Tylenol), taken together, could lead to liver damage, researchers warn.

This combo produces a byproduct enzyme that's toxic to the organ, researchers from the University of Washington report.

This toxic twosome can occur not only by drinking caffeine while taking acetaminophen, the experts added, but also from large doses of painkillers that combine caffeine and acetaminophen.

These painkillers are often used to treat migraines, menstrual discomfort and other conditions.

"Caffeine can interact with an enzyme that can form a toxic metabolite of acetaminophen in such a way that it increases the formation of that toxic metabolite," said lead researcher Sid Nelson, a professor of medicinal chemistry. "This can result in liver damage," he said.

In the study, Nelson's team tested the effects of acetaminophen and caffeine on E. coli bacteria.

These bacteria had been genetically engineered to mimic a human enzyme in the liver that detoxifies many prescription and nonprescription drugs, explained the authors in a report in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

Nelson noted that it takes large qualities of caffeine to produce this reaction.

"Normally people wouldn't be ingesting that amount of caffeine," he said. "It would take 10 times the amount of caffeine found in a couple of cups of coffee," Nelson said.

His team found that caffeine triples the amount of a toxin called N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) produced by the enzyme as it breaks down acetaminophen.

This same toxin is also produced during an interaction between alcohol and acetaminophen that's also well known to damage the liver.

In prior studies, Nelson's team had found that high doses of caffeine boosted liver damage in rats that had already suffered acetaminophen-linked liver damage.

The bacteria used in the study were exposed to doses of acetaminophen and caffeine far higher than most people would be exposed to, Nelson noted. It's not clear at what point such a mixture becomes toxic, he said.

Some people may be more vulnerable to this toxic interaction than others, Nelson said. They might include people who take certain antiepileptic medications, such as carbamazepine and phenobarbital, and people who use the alternative remedy St. John's Wort.

These drugs increase levels of the enzyme that produces NAPQI and may produce even more when mixed with acetaminophen and caffeine together, Nelson speculated.

In addition, because alcohol can boost NAPQI production, people who drink a lot may be at increased risk for this toxic interaction, the researcher said. The risk is also increased for people who take drugs that combine acetaminophen and caffeine, used to treat migraines, arthritis and other conditions.

Still, for most people, there's no reason to panic, since the chances of caffeine and acetaminophen becoming a toxic mixture remains small, Nelson said.

"Almost all people don't need to worry about taking caffeine with acetaminophen," Nelson said.

Exceptions might be, " those [people] taking high does of caffeine, high doses of acetaminophen, who are possibly alcoholic and/or are epileptic and take certain anticonvulsive drugs," he said.

More information
For more on acetaminophen, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Most Women Unaware of Hormone Replacement Study

(HealthDay News) -- Most women are unaware of the results of a large-scale study, released in 2002, that found significant cancer and heart risks associated with long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

That study, called the Women's Health Initiative, generated massive amounts of publicity immediately after it was released. Its data caused many American women to abandon HRT altogether.

But just two years later, in June 2004, fewer than a third of women surveyed by Stanford University researchers said they knew about the findings.

"I was quite surprised by that. Other research had indicated that up to half had heard about it," said senior researcher Dr. Randall Stafford, associate professor of medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., and the senior author of the study.

His team's study is published in the September/October issue of the journal Menopause.

When Stafford and his colleagues interviewed 781 women between the ages of 40 and 60, only 29 percent knew about the study. The question was posed this way: "Have you heard or read anything about the results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a major research study in the U.S. suggesting the health risks of taking hormone therapy outweigh the benefits for most women?"

Those polled included 252 women who had not yet entered menopause, 88 classified as perimenopausal (having irregular menstrual cycles, but at least one period in the past 12 months), 227 women who were in or past menopause, and 196 who had surgically induced menopause after having undergone hysterectomy. For 18 women, menopausal status wasn't known due to missing data.

Next, the researchers ask whether HRT increases, decreases or has no impact on the risk of seven health conditions, including memory loss, heart disease, blood clots, stroke, osteoporosis, breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

Only 40 percent of the women answered more of these questions correctly than incorrectly. While 64 percent knew that hormones were thought to increase breast cancer risk, for example, only 9 percent knew the supplemental hormone regimen increased memory loss risk. Just 34 percent understood that HRT might boost their cardiovascular risk.

When asked if they had talked about hormone therapy with their doctors, the researchers found that 36 percent of women aware of the WHI findings had talked about it with their physicians. But only 15 percent of those who didn't know about the study results did.

"We need to do a better job of disseminating information," Stafford said, referring to the health care system.

But another expert familiar with the study viewed the results a bit differently. Some of the women may not have been even thinking yet about menopause, since the survey included women as young as 40, for whom menopause is typically 5 to 10 years away, noted Dr. William Parker, staff gynecologist and past chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and the Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif.

"The unanswered question is, 'How many women who need to know the information now do not have it?' " said Parker, who is also clinical professor of ob-gyn, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine.

If a woman is not at the point where she has to make a decision about hormone therapy, he said, it would not jeopardize her care if she was unaware of the study and its findings and didn't have a conversation with her physician.

In his own practice, Parker said, "If a woman is, say, age 48, and comes in, says she is having occasional hot flashes but is still having periods, I tell her, 'Let's have a conversation when you need it, because this information changes so quickly.' " Since the original WHI results were released in 2002, numerous re-analyses have been done of the study to confirm or negate the original findings, he noted.

Unless a woman needs the information immediately, Parker reasoned, the office visit time would probably be better spent on other concerns or preventive health.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. The pharmaceutical company was interested in the data due to its black cohosh product for menopausal symptom relief, Stafford said.

More information
To learn more about the Women's Health Initiative, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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Few Americans Know of Leg Artery Danger

(HealthDay News) -- Three-quarters of adult Americans polled recently said they knew little or nothing about peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a very common blockage of blood vessels in the legs that boosts heart risk.

"I don't think that was necessarily a surprise among physicians involved in PAD," said Dr. Timothy Murphy, a professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown University, who co-authored a report on the survey, published in the Sept. 18 issue of Circulation.

"Most of us know that many of the patients at risk don't seek medical attention," Murphy said.

"But it was surprising that the knowledge base was as small as it was, considering that there are 8 million people in the United States with the disease."

Murphy is a member of the Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition, which conducted the survey.

The coalition is funded by grants from the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Aventis Partnership (both members of the Partnership are drug companies) and medical device maker Cordis Endovascular, a division of Cordis Corp.

In PAD, arteries in the legs are narrowed or blocked with fatty deposits. These obstructions can cause leg pain but often produces no symptoms. PAD can damage legs enough to cause amputation, and it can also signal a raised risk of Heart attacks or strokes caused by a narrowing of the arteries elsewhere in the body.

Three-quarters of the 2,051 people aged 50 and over queried via phone in the survey said they were aware of strokes, and two-thirds knew about risks of coronary artery disease and heart failure. But just 25 percent knew about PAD -- far behind awareness levels for much rarer conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease (36 percent) and multiple sclerosis (42 percent).

Among the one in four adults who were aware of PAD, only 28 percent associated it with an increased risk of heart attack, and just 14 percent linked it with amputation and death.

That's no big surprise, Murphy said, since "the link between PAD and heart attacks and stroke is just becoming disseminated among primary-care physicians."

Relatively few family doctors routinely perform the basic diagnostic test for PAD, called the ankle-brachial index, he said. Blood pressure is measured in the arm and at the ankle, with the measurements repeated at both sites after five minutes of walking on a treadmill.

Lower pressure at the ankle indicates PAD. The lower the ankle-brachial index, the greater the danger.

"The test is not often done in a primary-care physician's office," Murphy said. "It is not reimbursed under Medicare unless there are symptoms, and it is hard to ask physicians to do a test unless they are reimbursed. We are trying to get support for Medicare to reimburse for it as a diagnostic test."

Diagnosis of PAD indicates the need for attention to the well-known risk factors for arterial blockage elsewhere in the body, such as smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and lack of exercise, said Dr. Alan T. Hirsch, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, and another author of the report.

Lack of awareness means that even adults who have leg pains or other symptoms of PAD are not aware of its dangers, Hirsch said. "At a time when the public is bombarded with health messages, it would seem wise for those with one of the single most common cardiovascular diseases to be aware of the risk," he said.

The survey also shows that physicians are not doing enough about awareness of PAD risk, Hirsch said. While 26 percent of those in the survey who were aware of PAD said they got information from broadcast media such as television, only 19 percent reported first hearing about PAD from a health-care provider.

Physicians should be aware of PAD symptoms as a major warning sign of potential trouble, Hirsch said. "Denigrating leg pain as unimportant is as logical as avoiding chest pain," he said.

More information
Questions about PAD are answered by the PAD Coalition.

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Constipation's Many Causes and Cures

(HealthDay News) -- If you've tried loading up on fruits, vegetables and whole grains and still can't get relief from constipation, maybe you need more than a boost of fiber.

"The idea that many patients have, and unfortunately their physicians, if we just keep pushing fiber until the grass grows out of their behind they'll have been treated successfully, that's not really true," said Dr. Arnold Wald, a professor of medicine in the section on gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Wisconsin.

Doctors recommend consuming fiber, because it's easy to take and cheap, he explained, but it doesn't work for every patient. That's because constipation is a symptom that can have many different causes.

About 80 percent of people suffer from constipation at some point in their lives, according to the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons. Brief bouts of constipation are normal. But when symptoms persist, people may need to consult a physician.

Anyone who experiences at least two symptoms of constipation for at least three months -- not necessarily consecutively -- over a period of six months is considered chronically constipated, said Dr. Satish S.C. Rao, a professor of internal medicine and director of neurogastroenterology and gastrointestinal motility at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

The symptoms are excessive straining, hard stools, a feeling of incomplete evacuation, a sensation of blockage in the anorectal region, use of digital maneuvers to facilitate a bowel movement, and a stool frequency of less than three bowel movements a week, he said.

People become constipated when the colon absorbs too much water or if muscle contractions in the colon become too slow or sluggish, according to the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Diets that are low in fiber and a lack of exercise are believed to be common causes of constipation.

But constipation can also be a side effect of other health problems, Rao explained. Many medications, including painkillers and antidepressants, can cause constipation, for example. And, the NIDDK noted, certain neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease; metabolic and endocrine conditions, including diabetes; and systemic disorders, such as Lupus, also can cause problems by slowing the movement of stool through the colon, rectum or anus.

For some people, constipation is the direct or "primary" result of colonic nerve or muscle dysfunction. This group of people includes patients with "dissynergy defecation," a problem that has only been recognized in the last 15 years, Rao said.

"The problem is that the individual has the inability to coordinate the pelvic floor muscles and anorectal muscles to evacuate stool, so many of them have a sense of stooling, but they can't pass, or they only pass small amounts, or incompletely and so on," he said.

Rao and his colleagues recently examined a technique for teaching these patients to improve bowel function. The study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, compared the use of biofeedback therapy with either sham biofeedback sessions or standard treatments consisting of diet, exercise and laxatives. The biofeedback group came out "far, far superior" to the other two groups, he reported.

Dr. Henry P. Parkman, a professor of medicine and director of the GI Motility Laboratory at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said he uses biofeedback -- a form of complementary medicine in which the patient uses the mind to control the body -- quite a bit in his own practice. "It has a response rate of 50 to 75 percent," he said.

Another type of "primary" constipation, called "slow-transit constipation," takes patients longer to pass stool. There's also irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation, which causes abdominal pain or discomfort.

Until recently, Zelnorm, a drug made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, had been approved for treating both groups of patients. But on March 30, the company pulled it from the market after new data indicated an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and death. Gastroenterologists say the move leaves a gap in treatment options, particularly for treating women with IBS with constipation.

Like anything else, constipation can vary in frequency and severity, and only when it becomes "a real problem" will people need to seek referrals for specialty tests and treatment, Wald said.

In fact, he added, most people may find relief on the shelves of their local pharmacy or grocery store. They can try stimulant laxatives or polyethylene glycol, an over-the-counter stool softener. There are also natural stimulants like raisins and prunes.

And there's always fiber.

"Diet doesn't work in every scenario," Rao said, "but for occasional constipation, that is the group that I think diet will be effective for."

More information
For more on constipation, visit the American Gastroenterological Association.

Molecule Signals Heart Disease in Early Stages

(HealthDay News) -- A molecule that could be a powerful new marker for heart disease and stroke has passed its first real-world test, researchers report.

In an eight-year study, high blood levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) were closely associated with the early development of heart disease, and its predictive abilities were independent of classic risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. The finding is detailed in the July 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"This is the first time this particular marker has been looked at in an apparently healthy population," said Dr. Stanley L. Hazen, head of the section of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic. His group has been working on MPO for more than a decade.

Hazen has filed for patents on MPO as a biomarker for cardiovascular disease. MPO tests now are available commercially and "at least five pharmaceutical companies are working to develop inhibitors of MPO," Hazen said.

MPO is a protein secreted by white blood cells. It signals inflammation and releases a bleach-like substance that damages the cardiovascular system. "Over a decade ago, our group showed that it is involved in tissue damage," Hazen said. "There are very large research and genetic studies that link MPO to the development of heart disease."

The new report describes use of MPO levels as a screening tool in a healthy population living in Norfolk, England. MPO readings were taken from thousands of residents at the start of the study. Eight years later, the researchers compared those readings in the 1,138 people who had developed coronary artery disease and 2,237 people, matched for age and sex, who had not.

The incidence of heart disease was 49 percent higher in people ranked among the top 25 percent of MPO levels, compared to those in the lowest quarter. Their risk was 36 percent higher when traditional risk factors including cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes were taken into account.

"Even if your other biomarkers were normal, if MPO levels were high, you were at higher risk," Hazen said. "The magnitude of the risk is roughly comparable to the risk of elevated LDL cholesterol."

LDL cholesterol collects in fatty plaques that eventually block arteries. It is a major target of medications aimed at reducing risk of heart attack and stroke, most notably statins.

The first commercially available test for MPO levels was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a year ago, Hazen said. "Its first intended use is for evaluating people with a history of chest pain, people who go to the emergency room or cardiologist," he said. His hope is that it eventually will become a standard screening tool.

"We believe it is potentially of utility for people who you don't know may be at risk," he said.
A high MPO reading now indicates that the physician should concentrate on reducing known risk factors, but MPO itself could eventually become a target of drug treatment, he said.

"One fascinating aspect of this study is that this marker of inflammation precedes by nearly a decade the development of clinical coronary disease," Dr. Christopher Cannon, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement. "This suggests MPO could be used to catch the disease in a very early stage and help in true prevention of coronary artery disease."

MPO might also be a marker for unstable plaque, deposits that can erupt to emit artery-blocking fragments, Cannon added. "More study is needed, but among hundreds of markers tested to date, MPO looks like a keeper that will one day become part of clinical care," he said.

More information
The known risk factors for cardiovascular disease are described by the American Heart Association.