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Abdominal obesity is a strong independent risk factor for heart disease, and using the waist-hip ratio rather than waist measurement alone is a better predictor of heart disease risk among both men and women, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In the study, researchers also looked at whether the association between fat distribution and heart disease risk was independent of body mass index (BMI), which assesses body weight relative to height, as well as other heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The researchers found, though, that the size of the hips seems to predict a protective effect. A big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to be as great a risk as a big waist with small hips. Men in the top one-fifth of the distribution (those with the biggest waists in relation to their hips) had a 55 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to men in the bottom one-fifth of the distribution (those with the smallest waists in relation to their hips). Women in the top one-fifth, or the highest waist-to-hip ratio group, were 91 percent more likely to develop heart disease than women with the smallest waists in relation to their hips. Waist-only measurements underestimated heart disease risk by 10 percent to 18 percent when compared to risk estimates for waist measurements when hip is considered (waist-to-hip ratio).

Women are more likely to persist with using creams, supplements, and plastic surgery to look younger if they feel these are not yet working, according to researchers at the University of Bath, U.K. A study of 297 women aged 27 to 65 years found that they were more motivated to persist with special diets, vitamins, creams, Botox, or plastic surgery if they believed these had so far failed to make them look significantly younger. The researchers found that women who used these means to look younger were trying to avoid a “feared self”—an image they had of themselves appearing wrinkled and old. They found that when women want to avoid this feared self, they kept trying if they perceive themselves to be failing, but as soon as they began to feel like they were succeeding their anxiety lessened and they stopped trying.

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: SCIENTISTS OVERCOME OBSTACLES TO STEM CELL HEART REPAIR

Scientists at Imperial College London have overcome two significant obstacles on the road to harnessing stem cells to build patches for damaged hearts, according to a presentation at the UK Stem Cell Initiative conference in Coventry. The researchers have been aiming to solve undesirable side effects, such as arrhythmia, that can result from immature and undeveloped heart cells known as cardiomyocytes being introduced to the heart. They have also sought to develop a scaffold that is biocompatible with the heart and able to hold the new cardiomyocytes in place while they integrate into the existing heart tissue. Matching the material to human heart muscle is also hoped to prevent deterioration of heart function before the cells take over. The researchers said they have managed to follow beating embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for up to seven months in the laboratory and demonstrate that these cells do mature. In this period the cells have coordinated beating activity, and they adopt the mature controls found in the adult heart by approximately four months after their generation from embryonic stem cells. These developed cardiomyocytes will then be more compatible with an adult heart and less likely to cause arrhythmias. The team has also overcome hurdles in the development of a biocompatible scaffold by using a new biomaterial with a high level of compatibility with human tissue, tailored elasticity, and programmable degradation.

 

People who eat a lot of red and processed meats have greater risk of developing bowel and lung cancer than people who eat small quantities, according to research from the U.S. National Cancer Institute published in the latest issue of PLoS Medicine. The researchers used data from a large U.S. diet and health study, which began in 1995 and involves nearly half a million men and women aged 50 to 71. Participants—none of whom had had cancer previously—completed a questionnaire about their dietary habits over the previous year. People whose red meat intake was in the top fifth of the range of intakes recorded in the study had an increased risk of developing colorectal, liver, lung, and esophageal cancer when compared to people in the lowest fifth of consumption. People in the highest fifth of processed meat intake had an increased risk of developing colorectal and lung cancer. The incidences of other cancers were largely unaffected by meat intake. 

 

People who have good physical function after the age of 40 may lower their risk of stroke by as much as 50 percent compared to people who are not able to climb stairs, kneel, bend, or lift as well, according to research published in the journal Neurology. For the study, researchers examined 13,615 men and women in the United Kingdom from 1993 to 1997 who were between the ages of 40 and 79 and had not suffered a stroke, heart attack, or cancer. Participants were then asked to complete a self-reported test on their physical function 18 months later that looked at how well they were able to climb stairs, carry groceries, kneel, bend, and lift. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom monitored how many strokes were suffered in this group through 2005. The study found that people who scored in the top quartile on the physical function test had a 50 percent lower risk of stroke than those with the lowest test scores. This finding remained unchanged after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, physical activity, social class, alcohol consumption, and respiratory function.

 

LONGEVITY: MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER DEATH RATE

Eating a Mediterranean diet and following national recommendations for physical activity are each associated with a reduced risk of death over a five-year period, according to two reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Both studies use data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, which began when questionnaires were returned from 566,407 AARP members age 50 to 71 in six states between 1995 and 1996. In one study, researchers at the National Cancer Institute found during five years of follow-up that those who most adhered to a Mediterranean diet were less likely to die of any cause, including cancer or heart disease. In another study, National Cancer Institute researchers found individuals who performed at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week were 27 percent less likely to die and those who achieved the goal for vigorous physical activity of at least 20 minutes three times per week were 32 percent less likely to die. Smaller amounts of physical activity also appeared to be associated with a 19 percent reduced risk of death.

 

Patients whose immune system responded to a peptide vaccine for leukemia enjoyed a median remission that was more than three times longer than non-responders, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Immune response to the PR1 vaccine was associated with an 8.7-month event-free survival, compared with 2.4 months for non-responders. Clinical responses ranging from improvements in blood counts to complete cytogenetic remission were observed in 36 percent of the responders, compared with 10 percent of non-responders. The Phase I/II clinical trial that ran from 2000 to 2006 was designed to assess the vaccine's safety and its ability to elicit an immune response. Toxicity was limited to low-grade injection site side effects such as redness, swelling, and some pain. The PR1 vaccine is derived from two myeloid leukemia-associated antigens, proteins that are either over-expressed or aberrantly expressed in cancer cells. Out of 66 patients in the trial, 53 had active disease and 13 were in remission when they entered the trial. Of the 53 with one of the three types of active leukemia, 25 (or 47 percent) had an immune response and 28 did not. 

 

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Sweden’s Lund University have, for the first time, revealed that one way in which BRCA1 mutations cause cancer is by knocking out a powerful tumor-suppressor gene known as PTEN. The study, published online on the Nature Genetics website, provides a target for a form of breast cancer that is both aggressive and difficult to treat. PTEN is now recognized to be mutated in about 30 percent of all cancers, making it the second most mutated gene in cancer after p53. Knocking out PTEN sends a strong growth signal to tumor cells. This is unlike the BRCA1 mutation, which only predisposes the cells to accumulate genetic damage and sends an indirect signal for cell growth. PTEN mutations promote runaway tumor cell growth by increasing the activity of a series of different proteins in the cell known as the PTEN/PI3K pathway. Shutting down any one of those proteins could potentially stop growth of the cancer. Investigational therapies to shut down proteins in the PTEN pathway are currently in early-stage human clinical trials.

 

Investigators at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have created what they believe to be the first accurate model of autism not associated with a broader neuropsychiatric syndrome by introducing a gene mutation in mice, according to research presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting. They said this animal model could help researchers better understand abnormal brain function in autistic humans, which could help them identify and improve treatment strategies. Autism is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repetitive behaviors and by impairment in social interactions and communication skills. These symptoms can coexist with either enhanced or decreased cognitive abilities and skills. The research replaced the normal mouse neurologin-3 gene with a mutated neuroligin-3 gene associated with autism in humans. By doing so, the team was able to create a gene in the mice that is similar to the human autism disease gene. While the result amounted to a very small change in their genetic makeup, it perfectly mimicked the same small change occurring in some patients with human autism.

 

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a controversial phenomenon known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection is suppressed by C1q, a blood-borne immune system compound. The link may give scientists the lead they need to begin untangling a snarl of evidence from decades of puzzling epidemiological and laboratory-based studies of ADE. The researchers, who report on their study in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, said better understanding of ADE will help public health experts and clinicians working to control some viral disease outbreaks and aid efforts to design safe and effective vaccines. 

Telmisartan, a drug widely used to help control blood pressure, may have uniquely potent activity in preventing stroke, according to a new study conducted in an animal model. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, who conducted the research, said whether they used the drug alone or in combination with a different type of antihypertensive medication, ramipril, rats fed a high-salt, stroke-inducing diet were completely protected from the brain attacks while on telmisartan. The study, funded by telmisartan's German maker, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, is published online in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension.

Living longer with obesity can lead to both longer hospital stays and more avoidable trips to the hospital, according to two new studies from Purdue University. The study, which appears in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, suggests that obesity must be addressed at a younger age because the longer a person lives with the disease, the greater the consequences. More than 60 percent of the American population is considered overweight or obese based on the body mass index, which is a formula determined by height and weight. Obesity can lead to chronic conditions, such as heart disease, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, which can affect the quality of life or lead to morbidity. The study shows that people who lived longer as obese stayed in the hospital from a half to one day more than people of average weight. Obesity directly leads to longer stays because of more complicated care or surgery and because obesity can make it harder to use traditional clinical health assessments and measurements.

 

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found how a bacterium, known to cause illness in cattle, may cause Crohn's disease in humans. Crohn’s causes chronic intestinal inflammation, leading to pain, bleeding and diarrhea. The researchers found that a bacterium called Mycobacterium paratuberculosis releases a molecule that prevents a type of white blood cell from killing E. coli bacteria found in the body. E. coli is known to be present within Crohn’s disease tissue in increased numbers. It is thought that the Mycobacteria make their way into the body’s system via cows’ milk and other dairy products. In cattle it can cause an illness called Johne's disease—a wa sting, diarrheal condition that is usually fatal. Until now, however, it has been unclear how this bacterium could trigger intestinal inflammation in humans. The researchers are beginning clinical trials to assess whether an antibiotic combination can be used to target the bacteria contained in white blood cells as a possible treatment for Crohn’s disease.

 

Depression is known to be associated with cancer, yet too many cancer patients are not screened for this mental disorder, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute, and the Roudebush VA Medical Center, all located in Indianapolis. In a study published in the General Hospital Psychiatry, the researchers examined data from the Roudebush VA Medical Center, where 95 percent of veterans in primary care are screened for depression. They report that depression screening was not done nearly as frequently in cancer patients. For example, only slightly over half of veterans with lung cancer received screening. The researchers said when doctors think their patients have a higher risk of death, depression screening is not as big a focus. The researchers said clinicians need to be made aware that depression screening is important even in end-stage cancer.

 

A new study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases suggests that a vaccine targeting Epstein-Barr virus may prevent infectious mononucleosis, commonly known as “mono” or “glandular fever.” EBV is a member of the herpes virus family and one of the most common viruses in humans, with nearly all adults in developed countries such as the United States having been infected. EBV is often asymptomatic, but commonly causes infectious mononucleosis, with 30 percent to 40 percent of adolescents who contract the virus developing the disease. Despite the frequency of EBV infections and infectious mononucleosis, the new study is the first to suggest the efficacy of a vaccine in preventing infectious mononucleosis. The vaccine targets glycoprotein 350, a protein that facilitates the entry of EBV into immune system cells. In this preliminary, mid-stage clinical trial, 181 young adults who had not previously been infected by EBV received three doses of either a placebo or the vaccine. During the 18-month observation period, the proportion of symptomatic EBV infections was reduced from 10 percent (nine out of 91) in the control group to 2 percent (two out of 90) in the vaccinated group, indicating that those who did not receive the vaccine were almost five times more likely to develop infectious mononucleosis. The study was sponsored by Belgian pharmaceutical company Henogen S.A. Authors include employees of Henogen and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

Many primary care physicians may lack the necessary knowledge when it comes to recognizing the signs and symptoms of and making proper diagnoses in cases of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, a recent survey indicates. Researchers at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia said the findings reflect the challenges that primary care doctors face. The findings, reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, were based on a survey of 357 responses to the survey. Respondents showed a lack of knowledge regarding appropriate studies to order for patients presenting with specific lab tests and symptoms consistent with leukemia. While the researchers said the results may serve as a wake-up call for more education and training, they should also point out the need for primary care physicians to be aware of a growing trend: cancer patients increasingly becoming long-term survivors who are at risk to develop second cancers years or decades later resulting from earlier cancer therapies as adults and in some cases, in childhood.

 

The sleep patterns of patients in the intensive care unit are so superficial that they barely spend any time in the restorative stages of sleep that aid in healing, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researchers report. They said current clinical-care protocols routinely and severely deprive critically ill patients of sleep at a time when the need for adequate rest is perhaps most essential. Sleep typically occurs at night in successive cyclical stages. Sleep begins in very superficial stages. These stages are followed by deeper, more restorative states, including rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Although researchers continue to investigate exactly what happens in the brain during REM sleep, they do know that it is critical for restorative sleep. The researchers monitored the sleep patterns and brain waves of 16 patients in the ICU at Parkland Memorial Hospital who had suffered traumatic injuries or had undergone intra-abdominal surgical procedures. They found that patients in the ICU received an acceptable amount of sleep time, but that the sleep patterns were fragmented and significantly abnormal. Patients in the ICU spent 96 percent of their sleep cycle in superficial stages, compared to normal sleep, in which up to 50 percent is spent in the restorative stages. The researchers said some proposed steps to decrease disturbances in the ICU include adjusting monitoring machines so that alarms don’t wake up sleeping patients, providing patients ear plugs and eye shields, dimming the lights, and using pharmacological sleeping aids.

 

Disease management programs that help guide the care of patients with chronic health problems appear to improve the quality of healthcare, but there is little evidence that such efforts actually save money, according to a study issued by the RAND Corporation. The RAND Health study reviewed all past research on disease management programs, which seek to help patients with conditions like diabetes and congestive heart failure by offering a system of coordinated healthcare interventions. These interventions can range from pre-recorded telephone reminders to home visits by medical professionals. Health insurance plans and employers nationally in 2005 spent about $1.2 billion on disease management programs, with 96 percent of the top 150 U.S. health insurance companies offering some form of disease management service. The topic also has become a key point in the national healthcare reform debate, as policymakers search for a way to improve healthcare quality and access, while controlling costs at the same time. The study, which appears in The American Journal of Managed Care, reviewed 29 analyses of 317 studies and found consistent evidence that these programs can improve healthcare quality, improve disease control, and, in the case of patients with congestive heart failure, reduce hospital admission rates, but no conclusive evidence that they can actually save money.

 

President George Bush vetoed a bill to expand the children’s healthcare program known as SCHIP, the second time he has done so, Reuters reported. Bush vetoed an earlier version of the legislation in October. The bill sought to broaden the program to cover about 10 million children in low- and moderate- income families, with the costs to be paid by additional taxes on tobacco products. Bush said the bill extends coverage beyond the original intent of SCHIP and represents a move toward government-run healthcare. The legislation would have boosted the funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to $60 billion over five years, up from $25 billion over the same period of time today.