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Statins cut stroke risk by a fifth

April 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr 15 (ANI): Cholesterol-lowering statins can decrease the risk of strokes by about a fifth, a new study has claimed.

The research reviewed some 24 studies, and found lower cholesterol levels were associated with a reduced risk of stroke. The risk fell 21 per cent for every reduction in a defined level of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
What’s more, the study found significant reductions in recurrent strokes and confirmed an effect on those caused by blood clots.

Statins reduce the amount of cholesterol produced and force the body to take up cholesterol from the blood stream, thereby reducing overall levels, reports The Telegraph.

Their side effects can include muscle aches, fatigue, liver problems, sleep disturbance, headaches, sexual dysfunction, amnesia and in rare cases lung disease.

The research, which was published in the Lancet Neurology, examined results involving more than 165,000 patients.

The review’s lead author Dr Pierre Amarenco, from Paris-Diderot University in France, said: “Lipid (blood fat) lowering with statins is effective in reducing both initial and recurrent stroke.

“Because this effect seems to be associated with the extent of LDL cholesterol reduction, the next step is to assess the effectiveness and safety of further reductions in LDL cholesterol after a stroke.”

Two of the studies included in the review looked at haemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by a bleeding blood vessel in the brain as opposed to a clot cutting off blood supply, as it had been thought statin treatment could increase this form of stroke.

However, the studies found no increase in the risk of haemorrhagic stroke except in those patients who had already suffered a brain bleed and the authors recommended caution when prescribing statins in this group. (ANI)

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Two glasses of milk a day can help prevent Alzheimer’s

March 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar 1 (ANI): Just two glasses of milk a day can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease in old age, suggests a new study.

University of Oxford researchers have identified a vitamin that is believed to cut neurological damage to the brain that can lead to dementia.

They have found that older adults with low levels of the vitamin B12 suffer twice as much shrinkage of the brain as those with higher levels of the vitamin in their bodies.

The researchers suggest that increasing vitamin B12 intake in elderly could help slow cognitive decline.

Professor David Smith, from the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing, said drinking just two glasses of milk a day would be enough to increase levels of vitamin B12 to an adequate level.

“Our study shows that consuming around half a litre of milk or more per day, and it can be skimmed milk, could take someone who has marginal levels of B12 into the safe range. But even drinking just two glasses a day can protect against having low levels,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

While meat contain some of the highest levels of the vitamin B12, it was poorly absorbed by the body when eaten.

Professor Smith, along with scientists from Oslo University and Bergen University, in Norway, found the highest levels of vitamin B12 absorbed by the body came from milk, despite having lower B12 concentrations than meat.

The study showed that around 55 per cent of the vitamin in milk entered the blood stream.

“In meat, B12 can be tightly bound to protein and this bond has to be broken down by acid in the stomach before the body can use it,” said Smith.

“Older people have lower levels of acid and so it is much harder for them to get B12 from certain foods. In milk, the binding is readily reversible,” he added.

During the study, brain scans of patients who have a vitamin B12 deficiency have revealed that they suffer more brain loss, or atrophy, than those with higher intake of the vitamin.

“We are currently preparing to unmask a two-year trial of 180 people over the age of 70 with memory problems, who were either given Vitamin B12 or a placebo,” he said.

“We have been taking volumetric MRI scans to look at whether the vitamin treatment has slowed down the atrophy in the brain,” he added.

The research is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: adequate level, atrophy, bergen university, blood stream, cognitive decline, dementia, litre, neurological damage, older adults, oslo university, professor david smith, professor smith, protein, shrinkage, stomach, study brain, Telegraph, university in norway, university of oxford, vitamin b12 deficiency

Insulin chewing gum can help tackle diabetes epidemic

January 15, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

London, January 15 (ANI): Chewing gums can prove very helpful in delivering insulin in the blood stream of the diabetics, say researchers.

Robert Doyle, a chemist at Syracuse University in New York State, is sure that an insulin chewing gum can offer a significant solution to the breaking down of orally-taken insulin by the digestive system.

Past studies have shown that the digestive system breaks down an insulin pill taken orally, and that any surviving enzyme is not easily absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut.

Doyle points out that the body has specific mechanisms for protecting and absorbing valuable molecules that would usually be damaged by conditions in the gut.

Giving an example of vitamin B12, he says that it is protected by a salivary protein called haptocorrin that binds to it in the mouth and protects it in the stomach.

The researcher says that once haptocorrin reaches the intestines, another chemical pathway takes over to help vitamin B12 pass into the bloodstream.

His idea is to bind insulin molecules to vitamin B12 so that it can hitch a ride on this protected supply chain.

Doyle believes that the insulin can ride all the way into the bloodstream, where it is released to do its work.

He claims that tests on rats conducted by his team have shown some promising results, reports New Scientist magazine.

Although the animal study involved a treatment in liquid form, Doyle and his colleagues are of the opinion that chewing gum would be a better delivery method in humans.

The researchers say that chewing would ensure a plentiful supply of saliva, providing the protein needed for the insulin to make its way into the bloodstream. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: animal study, blood stream, bloodstream, chemical pathway, chemist, chewing gum, chewing gums, delivery method, diabetes epidemic, digestive system, hitch a ride, insulin pill, intestines, New Scientist magazine, plentiful supply, promising results, robert doyle, saliva, syracuse university, vitamin b12

Two glasses of milk a day can help prevent Alzheimer’s

Insulin chewing gum can help tackle diabetes epidemic

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