Your farts could cure high blood pressure

July 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

London, July 3 (IANS) Though most of us may find it quite embarrassing in case we were caught breaking wind, a new study has in fact suggested flatulence could help patients with high blood pressure.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University, in Bal

timore, Maryland, US, have found that hydrogen sulphide in flatus – informally known as a fart – is also produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure, The Sun reported.

Hydrogen sulphide — a toxic gas generated by bacteria living in the human gut — has been shown to control blood pressure in mice. Those with higher levels of the gas had lower blood pressure than rodents with less.

Researchers at a Chinese university in Nanjing are trying to work out whether this could be used to create a treatment for people suffering from high blood pressure.

Yao Yuyu from the university’s Zhongda Hospital said: “Despite the treatment’s potential, using gas to treat high blood pressure has yet to be tested on humans.

“The effective dosage could prove difficult to establish due to the difference in size between humans and mice.”

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The More Frequently You Log On, the More Weight You Can Keep Off

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

PORTLAND, Ore., July 27 /PRNewswire/ — The more people used an interactive weight management website, the more weight loss they maintained, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study published online today in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

The National Institutes of Health-funded study evaluated an Internet-based weight maintenance intervention involving 348 participants. Consistent website users who logged on and recorded their weight at least once a month for two-and-a-half years maintained the most weight loss, the study found.

“Consistency and accountability are essential in any weight maintenance program. The unique part of this intervention was that it was available on the Internet, whenever and wherever people wanted to use it,” said study lead author Kristine L. Funk, MS, RD, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.

“This study shows that if people use quality weight management websites consistently, and if they stick with their program, they are more likely to keep their weight off,” said study co-author Victor J. Stevens, PhD, senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. “Keeping weight off is even more difficult than losing it in the first place, so the fact that so many people (in the study) were able to maintain a good portion of their weight loss is very encouraging.”

This weight maintenance intervention was part of the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial, one of the largest and longest-running weight maintenance trials ever conducted – lasting three years and including more than 1,600 people at four study sites across the United States. To enroll in the trial, participants had to be overweight or obese based on their Body Mass Index and taking medication for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. For the first six months, participants attempted to lose weight by attending weekly group meetings at which they were weighed, encouraged to keep food diaries, and given extensive information about exercise and healthy eating.

Participants had to lose at least nine pounds to remain in the trial for the weight loss maintenance phase, which lasted an additional two-and-a-half years and included three groups of randomized participants: those with no intervention, those who had monthly contact with a personal health coach, and those given unlimited access to a weight-maintenance website created specifically for the trial.

The Internet group included 348 participants who were encouraged to log in at least once a week. If they didn’t, they received e-mail reminders and follow-up automated phone messages. Once on the website, participants were prompted to record their weight, their minutes of exercise, and the number of days they kept food diaries. If they went longer than seven days without recording their weight other parts of the website were disabled until the weight was recorded. The website included an interactive bulletin board on which participants could talk with others involved in the study and pose questions to nutrition and exercise experts.

During the first six months of the trial, while they were attending group sessions and before they had access to the website, participants who ended up in the Internet group had lost an average of 19 pounds. Once they were given website access, their objective was to keep off as much of that weight as possible. Consistent users who logged in and recorded their weight at least once a month for 24 months maintained the greatest weight loss – keeping off an average of nine of the 19 pounds they’d lost during the initial phase of the trial. Those who logged on less consistently – at least once a month for 14 months – kept off an average of five pounds. Those who logged on even less kept off an average of only three pounds of their original weight loss.

At the end of the study, 65 percent of the participants were still logging on to the website. The study authors were encouraged by this level of participation, noting that it is rare to see that kind of commitment – even in shorter-term weight maintenance studies involving the Internet.

While the study website is no longer available, there are many useful weight management websites that people can access. The study authors advise consumers to look for sites that:

* Encourage accountability by asking users to consistently record weight, exercise and calories consumed
* Offer tailored or personalized information
* Have interactive features that allow users to communicate with each other and with nutrition and exercise experts
* Provide accurate health information.

View a PDF of the study website here:

http://www.kpchr.org/research/public/documents/MultimediaAppendix1.pdf

This study was funded by a grant from the National Health, Lung and Blood Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Authors include Kristine L. Funk, MS, RD, Victor J. Stevens, PhD, Alan Bauck, Jack Hollis, PhD, and William M. Vollmer, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.; Lawrence J. Appel, MD, Janelle W. Coughlin, PhD, Arlene T. Dalcin, RD, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; Phillip J. Brantley, PhD, Catherine M. Champagne, PhD, Betty M. Kennedy, PhD, and Valerie H. Myers, PhD, from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.; Jean Harvey-Berino, PhD, RD, from the University of Vermont in Burlington; Gerald J. Jerome, PhD, from Towson University, Department of Kinesiology, Townson, Md.; and Lillian F. Lien, MD, Carmen D. Samuel-Hodge, PhD, and Laura Svetsky, MD, from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

About the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (http://www.kpchr.org)

Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a nonprofit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. It has research sites in Portland, Ore., Honolulu and Atlanta.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

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Swiss stocks – Factors to watch on July 20

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ZURICH, July 20 – The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Tuesday:

ACTELION (ATLN.VX)

Europe’s largest biotech confirmed its 2010 outlook after stronger-than-expected sales of its key heart and lung drug Tracleer, although quarterly profit lagged forecasts.

For related new click on [ATLN.VX]

BARRY CALLEBAUT (BARN.S)

The SIX Swiss Exchange Sanction Commission said differing expert opinions on accounting meant no sanction against Barry Callebaut.

For related news, click on [BARN.S]

ECONOMY [M-CH]

* June trade data expected at 0615 GMT CHTBAL=ECI

COMPANY STATEMENTS [CNR-CH]

* Uster (USTN.S) posted H1 Positive net result of 4.0 million Swiss francs.

* Partners Group (PGHN.S) has been awarded a mandate by the sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation to invest in a broad range of opportunities in the private real estate market.

* Gottex (GFMN.S) said total fee earning assets for the group were 7.3 billion dollars compared to 7.9 billion dollars at 31 March 2010 largely driven by a 0.4 billion dollar negative impact from foreign exchange movements, performance and the return of cash to investors in run-off share classes.

* Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has been awarded a mandate by the sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) to invest in a broad range of opportunities in the private real estate market.

* Baloise (BALN.VX) said it has acquired the Belgian insurance business of Avéro, a subsidiary of the Dutch Eureko Group. The purchase price amounts to 75 million euros. The purchase is expected to be completed by the second half of 2010.

* Novartis (NOVN.VX) said it had received approval in China for Rasilez, a first-in-class direct renin inhibitor for high blood pressure, the leading preventable cause of death in China.

EQUITY RESEARCH [CH-RCH]

FOR COMPANIES TRADING EX-DIVIDEND, PLEASE CLICK ON:

.EX.S for all Swiss stocks

.EXSMI.S for blue chips

.EXNSMI.S for other stocks

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Is milk from grass-fed cows better for you?

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May 31 (Reuters Life!) – If milk does the heart good, it might do the heart even more good if it comes from dairy cows grazed on grass instead of on feedlots, according to a U.S. study.

Lifestyle

Earlier studies have shown that cows on a diet of fresh grass produce milk with five times as much of an unsaturated fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than cows fed processed grains.

Studies in animals have suggested that CLAs can protect the heart, and help in weight loss.

Hannia Campos of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and her colleagues found in a study of 4,000 people that people with the highest concentrations of CLAs — the top fifth among all participants — had a 36 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to those with the lowest concentrations.

Those findings held true even once the researchers took into account heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking.

Campos said these new findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (here), suggest that CLA offers heart-healthy benefits that could more than offset the harms of saturated fat in milk.

“Because pasture grazing leads to higher CLA in milk, and it is the natural feed for cattle, it seems like more emphasis should be given to this type of feeding,” she told Reuters Health.

Dairy products in the United States come almost exclusively from feedlots, she added, and cow’s milk is the primary source of CLA. Beef contains a small amount.

For their study, Campos and her colleagues looked to Costa Rica where pasture grazing of dairy cows is still the norm.

They identified nearly 2,000 Costa Ricans who had suffered a non-fatal heart attack, and another 2,000 who had not and then they measured the amount of CLA in fat tissues to estimate each person’s intake.

Since CLA typically travels with a host of other fats, the researchers went a step further to tease apart its effects from those of its predominantly unhealthful companions.

The difference in risk attributed to CLA subsequently rose to 49 percent.

“Whole-fat milk and dairy products have gotten such a bad reputation in recent years due to their saturated fat and cholesterol contents, and now we find that CLA may be incredibly health-promoting,” said Michelle McGuire, spokesperson for the journal’s publisher, the American Society for Nutrition.

“Whole milk is not the villain!”

(Reporting by Lynne Peeples from Reuters Health, editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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Old age falling tied to altered blood flow in brain

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 18 (ANI): Altered blood flow in the brain due to high blood pressure and other conditions may lead to falls in elderly people, a new study has shown.

The research has been published in the May 18, 2010, issue of Neurology.

“At age 60, 85 percent of people have a normal walking ability. However, by age 85, only 18 percent of seniors can walk normally,” said study author Farzaneh A. Sorond, MD, PhD, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research and Harvard Medical School in Boston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, researchers followed 419 people age 65 or older. Ultrasound tests were used to measure brain blood flow response to carbon dioxide levels, a standard test of blood vessel function in the brain. Walking speed was measured by a four-meter walking test. The seniors and their caregivers reported any falls that occurred over two years.

The study found that the 20 percent of people who had the smallest blood flow changes in the brain were at a 70 percent higher risk of falling compared to the 20 percent of people who had the largest blood flow changes in the brain. Those with the slowest rate had an average of nearly 1.5 falls per year, compared to less than one fall per year for those with the highest rate.

“Our findings suggest there could be a new strategy for preventing falls, such as daily exercise and treatments for high blood pressure, since blood pressure affects blood flow in the brain and may cause falls,” said Sorond. (ANI)

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Low vitamin D tied to depression in older people

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reuters Older men and women with lower levels of vitamin D in their blood are more prone to become depressed over time, new research shows.

Many studies have been published recently on the potential health benefits of vitamin D, and the potential risks of deficiency. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and more severe asthma.

In older people, insufficient vitamin D is quite common, and has been linked to fractures, worse physical function, greater frailty, and a wide variety of chronic illness.

In the current study, Dr. Luigi Ferrucci of the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore and colleagues looked at whether low vitamin D levels and depression in older people might be related.

They followed 531 women and 423 men 65 and older who were participating in the InCHIANTI Study, a long-term investigation of factors associated with loss of mobility in aging people, over six years.

At the study’s outset, 42 percent of the women and 18 percent of the men were depressed, while three-quarters of the women and half of the men had levels of vitamin D below 50 nanomoles per liter, which is generally considered insufficient.

Seventy-two percent of the depressed people and 60 percent of the non-depressed people had vitamin D insufficiency – the level above deficiency — the researchers found. Women with vitamin D insufficiency showed a worse decline in mood at three and six years into the study; their scores on a standardized test measuring depressive symptoms increased more at three and six years compared to the scores for women who had adequate vitamin D. This increase could have tipped the scale into a diagnosis of depression for some people.

Women with low vitamin D who weren’t depressed at the beginning of the study were also twice as likely to become depressed over the following six years as the women who had sufficient levels of the nutrient. While similar patterns were seen for men, the association wasn’t as strong, and in some cases could have been due to chance, according to the researchers.

The study does not prove that low vitamin D levels cause depression, the authors note; people with low levels of the nutrient might have other characteristics that predispose them to the blues.

Still, they suggest that preventing “vitamin D deficiency in the elderly may become in the future a strategy to prevent the development of depressive mood in the elderly and avoid its deleterious consequences on health. In addition, normalization of vitamin D levels may be part of any depression treatment plans in older patients.”

Vitamin D, produced by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight, is also found in certain foods such as oily fish. It helps cells absorb calcium and is important for bone health.

However, the authors conclude, before any strategies to boost vitamin D can be adopted they must be tested in larger and more rigorously designed trials.

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Sickle cell disease ‘affects brain function in adults’

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 12 (ANI): In a new study, adults with sickle cell disease scored worse on memory function tests than healthy adults, suggesting that the blood disorder may affect brain function.

As pert of the research, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists tested cognitive functioning of 149 adult sickle cell disease patients (between the ages of 19 and 55) and compared them to 47 healthy study participants of similar age and education levels from the same communities. All of the participants were African-American.

More sickle cell disease patients scored lower on measures such as intellectual ability, short-term memory, processing speed, and attention, than participants in the healthy group.

The sickle cell disease participants did not have a history of end-organ failure, stroke, high blood pressure, or other conditions that might otherwise affect brain function.

Researchers at 12 sites within the NHLBI-supported Comprehensive Sickle Cell Centers conducted the study.

“This study suggests that some adult patients who have sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems, such as having difficulty organizing their thoughts, making decisions, or learning, even if they do not have severe complications such as stroke related to sickle cell disease,” said NHLBI Acting Director Susan B. Shurin.

“Such challenges can tremendously affect a patient”s quality of life, and we need to address these concerns as part of an overall approach to effectively managing sickle cell disease,” she added.

The results of the study are published in the May 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. (ANI)

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Fluctuating BP linked to cerebrovascular disease risk

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 11 (ANI): Individuals who have fluctuating blood pressure in addition to high blood pressure are at a higher risk for cerebrovascular diseases, according to a new study.

The study appears in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Cerebrovascular disease, which includes stroke and other disorders affecting blood vessels in the brain, is associated with cognitive decline and disability in older adults, according to background information in the article.

Elevated blood pressure can cause cerebrovascular disease and has also been shown to be associated with poorer cognitive function and the risk for Alzheimer”s disease. Studies that examine associations between blood pressure and cerebrovascular disease generally consider blood pressure measurements at only one time point.

Adam M. Brickman, Ph.D., of Columbia University”s Taub Institute, New York, and colleagues studied 686 older adults without dementia who had blood pressure measurements taken during three study visits at 24-month intervals and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cerebrovascular disease. The researchers divided the participants into four groups depending on whether their blood pressure was high or low and whether they had high or low fluctuations in blood pressure between visits.

In general, persons in the two high blood pressure groups had either hypertension or prehypertension, whereas those in the other two groups had blood pressure that was considered normal. Those with the lowest fluctuations experienced changes of about 5.5 percent (among those with low blood pressure) and 5.2 percent (among those with high blood pressure), compared with 14.2 percent among those in the high-fluctuating groups.

Over the three-year period, elevated blood pressure and fluctuations in blood pressure were both associated with cerebrovascular disease. Either factor was independently associated with an increased risk, and those with higher average blood pressure and more fluctuation had proportionately more cerebrovascular disease than did those with either condition alone.

Participants who had the highest blood pressure and fluctuation levels were most likely to be treated with antihypertensive medications, suggesting that a lack of treatment compliance may be one source of fluctuation.

“Cerebrovascular disease is associated with a constellation of conditions that lead to disability, including cognitive impairment, mood and movement disorders,” the authors conclude. “Although the control of elevated blood pressure or the treatment of hypertension is an obvious and well-replicated conclusion, these findings suggest that management of blood pressure fluctuations, even in normotensive older adults, may be beneficial in reducing the risk of cerebrovascular disease and in maximizing healthy cognitive aging.” (ANI)

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New study sheds light on potential treatment for Gaucher”s disease

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 10 (ANI): Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shed light on a mechanism that enables a potential treatment for Gaucher”s disease and other lysosomal storage diseases.

In the new study, the researchers revealed how the widely available prescription drugs diltiazem, verapamil, and in some cases dantrolene, acted on cells from patients with Gaucher”s disease.

The drugs increased calcium levels in a subcellular compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum—a convoluted membranous sac within the cell where the folding of many proteins takes place.

“This study is likely to motivate clinical trials for the treatment of neuropathic lysosomal storage diseases, including Gaucher”s disease, where the current standard of care, enzyme replacement therapy, is ineffective,” Nature quoted team leader Dr. Jeffery Kelly, as saying.

“The research is especially promising because we enhanced the cellular folding and function of mutated lysosomal enzymes, whose deficient function is linked to lysosomal storage diseases, using two distinct categories of FDA-approved drugs that have been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of high blood pressure and muscle spasms,” he added.

“We wanted to uncover general principles that could be applied to a variety of loss-of-function protein misfolding diseases. This study reveals how we can enhance the capacity of the cellular machinery to fold and traffic a mutant enzyme, so that the protein can function better,” said Derrick Sek Tong Ong, first author of the paper.

Gaucher”s disease is the most common genetic disease among the Ashkenazi Jewish population of Eastern European ancestry.

Symptoms include bruising easily due to low blood platelets, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and fatigue due to anaemia.

In the new paper, the lab found that the prescription drugs diltiazem and verapamil were effective in restoring partial cellular folding, trafficking, and function to mutant enzymes responsible for three lysosomal storage disorders, including Gaucher”s disease.

The findings were published in an advance, online edition of the journal Nature Chemical Biology. (ANI)

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Doctor’s ”white-coat” effect ‘raises’ blood pressure

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 8 (ANI): A new study has revealed that a clinical visit to a doctor may actually cause blood pressure to rise during the check up.

The ”white-coat” effect, as it is being called, occurs due to patients becoming stressed by being in a doctor”s surgery or a hospital.

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and stroke.

It can either be measured in a clinical setting, or by the patient wearing a cuff as they go about their daily lives – known as ambulatory blood pressure checks.

An Australian team has found out that there may be a difference of 29 units between the ambulatory blood pressure measurements with those taken by doctors during check ups.

The results differed depending upon the usual blood pressure levels, the sex and the age of the patient.

“Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is the tool of choice to correctly diagnose high blood pressure.

“Clearly, if you”re going to be treating a person for the rest of their life, you want to get the readings right, and often the reading in the doctor”s office is much higher,” BBC News quoted Professor Arduino Mangoni, who recently joined the University of Aberdeen from Flinders University in Adelaide, as saying.

The study has appeared in the British Medical Journal. (ANI)

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Cardiovascular disease mortality in China to rise by 73 percent by 2030

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 5 (ANI): Researchers have projected that aging, smoking, high blood pressure and other risk factors will increase annual heart disease and stroke rates in China by up to a drastic 73 percent by 2030.

This would mean that 21.3 million more people will die of cardiovascular diseases alongwith 7.7 million related deaths.

The only way to avoid such a situation would be if China dramatically eliminates smoking in men, or lowers high blood pressure in men and women.

“China is a prime example of a middle income nation in transition. The country’s standard of living and life expectancy have improved for many, but aging, dietary changes and less physical activity are leading to more heart disease and stroke,” said lead author Andrew Moran, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, N.Y.

“Our study used a computer model to forecast future cardiovascular disease in Chinese adults, and is the first to project the individual and combined effects of major risk factor trends on a national scale.”

Demographic changes will be the main driver of the CVD epidemic in China in the next two decades, Moran said.

To counter this possibility, Moran advises an aggressive anti-tobacco policy and control of elevated blood pressure.

Moran and colleagues reviewed risk factor surveys of Chinese adults, ages 35-84, since economic reforms in the 1980s, and used them to project future trends in blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes and body weight.

Although smoking prevalence has declined in men by more than 10 percent since the mid 1980s, 62 percent of Chinese men still smoke, and 49 percent of non-smokers, mostly women, are exposed to passive smoke, researchers said. (ANI)

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Protein loss in urine harmful for high BP patients

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 30 (ANI): High blood pressure patients who excrete a slight excess of protein in the urine raise their risk of developing kidney and heart complications, says a new study.

The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

Kidney dysfunction, common in individuals with hypertension, can increase one”s risk of developing heart problems and kidney failure. Therefore, doctors should strive to identify and treat the precursors of kidney dysfunction as a way to maintain hypertensive patients” heart and kidney health.

Research shows that diabetic patients with hypertension who excrete slightly increased amounts of protein in the urine—a condition known as microalbuminuria—have an elevated risk of developing heart and kidney problems. Investigators have wondered whether microalbuminuria (occurring in 10 percent-30 percent of individuals, depending on age and clinical conditions) may have similar effects in non-diabetic patients with hypertension.

Over nearly 12 years, Roberto Pontremoli, MD, PhD (University of Genoa, in Italy) and his colleagues followed the health of 917 hypertensive, non-diabetic patients enrolled in the MAGIC (Microalbuminuria: A Genoa Investigation on Complications) study between 1993 and 1997. The investigators found that patients with microalbuminuria at the start of the study were 7.6-times as likely to develop chronic kidney disease and 2.1-times as likely to develop cardiovascular complications (such as heart disease or stroke) compared with individuals without microalbuminuria. Study participants with microalbuminuria also had a 3.2-fold increased risk of developing both kidney and cardiovascular conditions. Even after the researchers considered and adjusted for various patient characteristics that might contribute to health differences (age, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol level, and kidney function), individuals with microalbuminuria at the start of the study still had a 2.6-fold increased risk of developing both kidney and cardiovascular problems compared with those without microalbuminuria.

These results demonstrate that microalbuminuria has a profound effect on the health of non-diabetic patients with hypertension. “Our findings emphasize the usefulness of a more widespread evaluation of microalbuminuria in an effort to guide the management of hypertension,” said Dr. Pontremoli. (ANI)

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Sex ‘not the equivalent of a cardio workout’

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, Apr 29 (ANI): A steamy sex session is not the same as an intense workout at the gym, says a health expert.

“You”re not going to get the same [physical health] benefit as going out for a 2-mile jog,” Jamie Feldman, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, told ABC News. “Sexual activity provides some degree of modest exercise. But it”s not the same as getting moderate exercise for 30 minutes a day.”

Sex, however, can lower the blood pressure over time, says Israel Helfand, sex therapist and marriage counselor, reports The New York Daily News.

“But for this to happen, it must be done vigorously,” he adds.

Sex also increases the body”s “happy” hormones such as dopamine and cortisol, Helfand says.

“And it counteracts depression, improves energy and improves people”s mood,” he adds.

Consultant sexologist Eric Garrison points out its calorie-reducing benefits.

“And studies show that sex is known to relieve headaches and sinus pressure since it increases blood flow in the head,” he adds. “So the ‘not tonight, I have a headache,” excuse doesn”t really work.”

Ian Kerner, Ph.D., a certified clinical sexologist, said: “People who have healthy sex lives are likely to have healthier lives overall. People who have sex more often are more likely to go to the gym, eat healthy and take care of themselves. But if you are sedentary and have high blood pressure, this definitely has an effect on libido.” (ANI)

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Brown rice may cut risk of heart disease, high BP

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 27 (ANI): Brown or half-milled rice may reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure by interfering with a protein linked to those conditions, suggests a new study by researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology at Temple University School of Medicine.

The research by Satoru Eguchi, Associate Professor of Physiology, suggests that a component in a layer of tissue surrounding grains of brown rice may work against angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is an endocrine protein and a known culprit in the development of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

The findings are contained in a study conducted by Dr. Eguchi and his colleague at the Temple lab, Akira Takaguri.

Dr. Takaguri will present the team”s findings at the annual 2010 Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, CA on April 24-28.

The subaleurone layer of Japanese rice, which is located between the white center of the grain and the brown fibrous outer layer, is rich in oligosaccharides and dietary fibers, making it particularly nutritious. However, when brown rice is polished to make white rice, the subaleurone layer is stripped away and the rice loses some of its nutrients. The subaleurone layer can be preserved in half-milled (Haigamai) rice or incompletely-milled (Kinmemai) rice. These types of rice are popular in Japan because many people there believe they are healthier than white rice.

The Temple team and their colleagues at the Wakayama Medical University Department of Pathology and the Nagaoka National College of Technology Department of Materials Engineering in Japan sought to delve into the mysteries of the subaleurone layer and perhaps make a case for leaving it intact when rice is processed. Because angiotensin II is a perpetrator in such lethal cardiovascular diseases, the team chose to focus on learning whether the subaleurone layer could somehow inhibit the wayward protein before it wreaks havoc.

First, the team removed the subaleurone tissue from Kinmemai rice. Then they separated the tissue”s components by exposing the tissue to extractions of various chemicals such as ethanol, methanol and ethyl acetate. The team then observed how the tissue affected cultures of vascular smooth muscle cells. Vascular smooth muscle cells are an integral part of blood vessel walls and are direct victims of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

During their analysis, the team found that subaleurone components that were selected by an ethyl acetate extraction inhibited angiotensin II activity in the cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. This suggests that the subaleurone layer of rice offers protection against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. It could also help explain why fewer people die of cardiovascular disease in Japan.

“Our research suggests that there is a potential ingredient in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Eguchi. “We hope to present an additional health benefit of consuming half-milled or brown rice [as opposed to white rice] as part of a regular diet.” (ANI)

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Have more sex to avoid illness, Brazilians told

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 27 (ANI): Engage regularly in physical exercise, and particularly in sexual intercourse, to fight off chronic illness, Brazil’s health minister has advised the general public.

“People need to be active. A weekend football game must not be the only physical activity for a Brazilian. Adults need to do exercise: walk, dance and have safe sex,” said Jose Gomes Temporao.

It was while launching a campaign to prevent high blood pressure, that the minister gave the advice, reports The Telegraph.

Temporao then defended his promotion of sexual intercourse to journalists, according to the G1 news website.

“It”s not a joke. It”s serious. Having regular physical exercises also means sex, always with protection of course,” he said.

“Dancing, having sex, keeping weight under control, changing dietary habits, doing physical exercise” all help keep blood pressure down, he said. (ANI)

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Obesity gene can shrink the brain

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 20 (ANI): The obesity gene, which is carried by over half of all people in the US with European ancestry, is also associated with a loss of brain tissue, say researchers.

The discovery by senior study author Paul Thompson, a UCLA professor of neurology, and his team puts more than a third of the U.S. population at risk for a variety of diseases, such as Alzheimer”s.

Three years ago, geneticists reported that nearly half of all people in the U.S. with European ancestry carry a variant of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene, which causes them to gain weight — from three to seven pounds, on average — but worse, puts them at risk for obesity.

Using magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers generated three-dimensional “maps” of brain volume differences in 206 healthy elderly subjects drawn from 58 sites in the U.S. as part of the Alzheimer”s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative— a large, five-year study aimed at better understanding factors that help the brain resist disease as it ages.

They found that there was consistently less tissue in the brains of those who carry the FTO allele, compared with non-carriers.

Individuals with the “bad” version of the FTO gene had an average of 8 percent less tissue in the frontal lobes, the “command center” of the brain, and 12 percent less in the occipital lobes, areas in the back of the brain responsible for vision and perception.

Further, the brain differences could not be directly attributed to other obesity-related factors such as cholesterol levels, diabetes or high blood pressure.

Thompson called the findings worrying and mysterious.

“The results are curious. If you have the bad FTO gene, your weight affects your brain adversely in terms of tissue loss. If you don”t carry FTO, higher body weight doesn”t translate into brain deficits; in fact, it has nothing to do with it. This is a very mysterious, widespread gene,” he said.

People who carry this specific DNA sequence are heavier on average, and their waist circumference is half an inch bigger.

This is a large percentage of the population, said Thompson.

“This is a shocking finding. Any loss of brain tissue puts you at greater risk for functional decline. The risk gene divides the world into two camps ? those who have the FTO allele and those who don”t,” he said.

But Thompson said that the news is not necessarily completely negative, because “carriers of the risk gene can exercise and eat healthily to resist both obesity and brain decline.”

“The gene discovery will help to develop and fine tune the anti-dementia drugs being developed to combat brain aging,” he said

The study has been published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

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Dark chocolate good for liver disease patients

April 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Doctors could soon be prescribing a dose of dark chocolate to help patients with liver disease, according to a new Spanish research.

The study suggests that dark chocolate can benefit patients suffering from liver cirrhosis and from dangerously high blood pressure in their abdomen.

It contains potent anti-oxidants, which reduce the post-prandial (after-meal) blood pressure in the liver (or portal hypertension) associated with damaged liver blood vessels (endothelial dysfunction).

“As well as advanced technologies and high science, it is important to explore the potential of alternative sources which can contribute to the overall wellbeing of a patient,” Professor Mark Thursz, MD FRCP, Vice Secretary of EASL and Professor of Hepatology, at Imperial College London said.

“This study shows a clear association between eating dark chocolate and portal hypertension and demonstrates the potential importance of improvements in the management of cirrhotic patients, to minimise the onset and impact of end stage liver disease and its associated mortality risks,” he added.

Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver as a result of long-term, continuous damage to the liver. In cirrhosis, circulation in the liver is damaged by oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant systems. After eating, blood pressure in the abdominal veins usually increases due to increased blood flow to the liver.

This is particularly dangerous and damaging to cirrhotic patients as they already have increased blood pressure in the liver (portal hypertension) and elsewhere, which, if severe, can cause blood vessel rupture.

Thus, eating dark chocolate may ultimately prevent this potential threat to cirrhotic patients.

In the study, 21 patients with end stage liver disease were randomised to receive a liquid meal containing white chocolate or one containing dark chocolate. Various measurements were taken before the meal and 30 minutes afterwards.

The dark chocolate meal caused a smaller rise in blood pressure in the liver than the white chocolate meal.

White chocolate does not contain any cocoa flavonoids, which have the anti-oxidant properties.

The study has been at the International Liver CongressTM 2010, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Vienna, Austria.

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Dark chocolate good for liver disease patients

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 16 (ANI): Doctors could soon be prescribing a dose of dark chocolate to help patients with liver disease, according to a new Spanish research.

The study suggests that dark chocolate can benefit patients suffering from liver cirrhosis and from dangerously high blood pressure in their abdomen.

It contains potent anti-oxidants, which reduce the post-prandial (after-meal) blood pressure in the liver (or portal hypertension) associated with damaged liver blood vessels (endothelial dysfunction).

“As well as advanced technologies and high science, it is important to explore the potential of alternative sources which can contribute to the overall wellbeing of a patient,” Professor Mark Thursz, MD FRCP, Vice Secretary of EASL and Professor of Hepatology, at Imperial College London said.

“This study shows a clear association between eating dark chocolate and portal hypertension and demonstrates the potential importance of improvements in the management of cirrhotic patients, to minimise the onset and impact of end stage liver disease and its associated mortality risks,” he added.

Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver as a result of long-term, continuous damage to the liver. In cirrhosis, circulation in the liver is damaged by oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant systems. After eating, blood pressure in the abdominal veins usually increases due to increased blood flow to the liver.

This is particularly dangerous and damaging to cirrhotic patients as they already have increased blood pressure in the liver (portal hypertension) and elsewhere, which, if severe, can cause blood vessel rupture.

Thus, eating dark chocolate may ultimately prevent this potential threat to cirrhotic patients.

In the study, 21 patients with end stage liver disease were randomised to receive a liquid meal containing white chocolate or one containing dark chocolate. Various measurements were taken before the meal and 30 minutes afterwards.

The dark chocolate meal caused a smaller rise in blood pressure in the liver than the white chocolate meal.

White chocolate does not contain any cocoa flavonoids, which have the anti-oxidant properties.

The study has been at the International Liver CongressTM 2010, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Vienna, Austria. (ANI)

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Take Care Clinics at Select Walgreens Now Offering Free Blood Pressure Screenings

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Available at All Locations Nationwide Through May 31
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.–(Business Wire)–
According to the American Heart Association, hypertension, or high blood
pressure, affects more than 73 million people in the United States, but is
widely undiagnosed and untreated. To help patients identify if they are at risk,
Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ:
WAG) and the nation`s largest and most comprehensive provider of convenient care
clinics and worksite health and wellness centers, is now offering free blood
pressure screenings at all 359 Take Care Clinics nationwide through May 31.

“Nearly 22 percent of individuals in the United States with hypertension are
unaware of their condition according to the American Heart Association,” said
Sandra Ryan, RN, MSN, CPNP, FAANP and chief nurse practitioner officer for Take
Care Health Systems. “Take Care nurse practitioners and physician assistants
will provide free blood pressure screenings to identify at-risk patients, and
refer them to the appropriate level of care for treatment. In addition, Take
Care health providers will serve as an educational resource to answer questions
about hypertension and risk factors associated with the disease.”

Free blood pressure screenings are available to all patients 18 years and older.
If a patient`s blood pressure is elevated, the provider will recommend a return
visit to a Take Care Clinic or follow-up with a primary care provider to rule
out or confirm a diagnosis of hypertension. If a patient does not have a primary
care provider, the Take Care health provider will offer a list of area providers
accepting new patients.

A majority of Americans with hypertension are untreated or undertreated,
potentially unaware that their current behavior and treatment may not be
generating adequate results. There are several lifestyle modifications a person
can make, including smoking cessation, weight loss if overweight and an increase
in physical activity.

“High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke,
and kidney disease. Given the accessibility and convenience of Take Care Clinics
across the country, we can play a vital role in identifying individuals with
undiagnosed or untreated hypertension, helping to decrease the risk for
cardiovascular disease,” said Peter Miller, president and CEO of Take Care
Health Systems. “These free blood pressure screenings reinforce Take Care
Clinics` commitment to offering quality healthcare services that meet the needs
of patients and their families.”

Take Care Health Systems is dedicated to battling the prevalence of serious
chronic healthcare conditions which impact millions each year. In February,
Walgreens and Take Care Clinics offered free blood glucose screenings at
thousands of locations across the country, offering a convenient access point to
receive diabetes awareness and education. Additional efforts by Take Care
Clinics to screen, diagnose and treat hypertension will be unveiled later this
summer.

Take Care Clinics are walk-in, professional health care centers located at
select Walgreens drugstores across the country. Board-certified family nurse
practitioners and physician assistants treat patients 18 months and older for
common illnesses and are licensed to write prescriptions when necessary that can
be filled at the patient`s pharmacy of choice.

About Take Care Health Systems

Take Care Health Systems (http://www.takecarehealthsystem.com), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) and part of Walgreens Health and
Wellness division, is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite
health and wellness centers and convenient care clinics in the country. TCHS is
comprised of Take Care Consumer Solutions (www.takecarehealth.com) and Take Care
Health Employer Solutions (www.takecareemployersolutions.com). Take Care
Consumer Solutions manages Take Care Clinics at select Walgreens drugstores
throughout the country. Patient care at each of the Take Care Clinics is
provided by Take Care Health Services, an independently owned state professional
corporation established in each market. Take Care Health Employer Solutions
manages primary care, health and wellness, occupational health, pharmacy and
fitness centers at large employer campuses. Combined, Take Care Health Systems
manages more than 700 worksite and retail health care centers.

Take Care Health Systems
Gabe Weissman, 484-351-3040
gabriel.weissman@takecarehealth.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Patient demands more emergency dept doctors

April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There are claims the Warragul Hospital’s emergency department needs more than one GP at night-time, after a woman who was twice sent home later found she had gangrenous bladder stones.

Newborough woman Yasmin Plichta says she was sent home from the hospital twice last month, despite having excruciating pain in her stomach and high blood pressure.

She says a surgeon later found her bladder stones had turned gangrenous and said it could have turned into the potentially deadly disease septicaemia.

Ms Plichta says an ultrasound would have detected the gangrene.

“I focus on the emergency department, there’s one GP taking care of the entire Baw Baw Shire externally and internally doing the hospital rounds that is humanly impossible,” she said.

The West Gippsland Healthcare Group’s CEO, Ormond Pearson, says the Warragul Hospital cannot afford more than one doctor in the emergency department at night.

“There’s no doubt that we would like to have more senior medical officers available in our emergency department 24-hours-a-day but we are a public health service and we have funding issues and if the Government was able to fund more senior staff to be available in our emergency department we’d be absolutely delighted,” he said.

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