April 4, 2006, 9:53 PM CT

Daughters Of Indian Immigrants Giving Birth To Small Babies

U.S.-born Asian-Indian women are more likely than their Mexican-American peers to deliver low birth weight infants, despite having fewer risk factors, say scientists at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford's School of Medicine. The finding confirms prior research that showed a similar pattern in more recent immigrants, and suggests that physicians should consider their patients' ethnic backgrounds when planning their care.

"Now we see that the daughters of foreign-born women have similar issues," said Packard Children's neonatologist Ashima Madan, MD, "and that the indicators we have traditionally used to predict pregnancy outcomes - maternal educational level and age, and access to early prenatal care, for example - aren't reliable for every population." Madan is the lead author of the research, would be reported in the recent issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

Scientists call the previously identified differences in pregnancy outcomes between Indian and Mexican immigrants the "dual paradox." That's because Mexican women giving birth in the United States are more likely than women from India to have healthy-sized newborns, even though they are less likely to have completed high school or to have initiated prenatal care during the first trimester of their pregnancy. In contrast, newborns of Indian immigrants, most of whom have completed college and begun prenatal care early, are more likely to deliver a low birth weight infant.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

April 4, 2006, 9:24 PM CT

Lapatinib In The Treatment Of Breast Cancer

Based on the unanimous recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC), GlaxoSmithKline announced that it has halted enrollment in its Phase III clinical trial evaluating the combination of Tykerb (lapatinib ditosylate) and capecitabine (Xeloda(R)) versus capecitabine alone.

The trial evaluated women with refractory advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have documented ErbB2 (HER2) overexpression and whose disease progressed following treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin(R)) as well as other cancer therapies. A pre-planned interim analysis of 321 patients in the study yielded statistically significant results, exceeding the primary endpoint.

According to the study protocol, the pre-planned interim analysis was reviewed by the IDMC, which is comprised of medical oncology experts and a statistician. The IDMC unanimously recommended halting enrollment in the study because it exceeded its primary endpoint of time to disease progression, or TTP, for women receiving the combination of Tykerb and capecitabine. The IDMC made their recommendation based on pre-specified stopping rules outlined in their charter. All women currently enrolled in the trial will continue to be followed and those who are receiving capecitabine alone will be offered the option of switching to the combination therapy of capecitabine and Tykerb in consultation with their physician. ........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink         Source

April 4, 2006, 8:50 PM CT

Preventing Injury To Muscles

If you're a mouse, then stretching before you exercise is a good thing - even as long as two weeks before your next cheese hunt or cat run. But if you're reading this for yourself, it's a bit more complicated.

When most of us think of stretching, we're imagining at a minimum jogging, and probably something more like downhill skiing or sprints. But when University of Michigan scientists Nicole Lockhart and Susan Brooks talk stretching, their real interest is how to condition older folks' muscles so they'll eventually be willing to do even a little exercise to garner all the benefits that will follow.

"The elderly are far more susceptible to contraction-induced injury," notes Lockhart, lead author in two related papers being presented in American Physiological Society sessions at Experimental Biology in San Francisco. "Sometimes just by normal activity or a sudden movement a leg will jut out too far and they'll suffer a minor injury, but they'll be wary of further damage," she said.

Protect those muscles, as minor injuries may be cumulative

Brooks, her adviser, added: "We believe that cumulative muscle injury may contribute to the loss of muscle mass as we grow old. So protecting muscles at all times is a good thing. And understanding how stretching increases resistance to injury will really help to do this".........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

April 4, 2006, 0:38 AM CT

Even At Rest, Men's And Women's Brains Behave Differently

A key part of the brain involved in processing emotionally influenced memories acts differently in men and women, even in the absence of stimuli, UC Irvine scientists have found.

Larry Cahill, an associate professor of neurobiology and behavior, and Lisa Kilpatrick, a former postdoctoral fellow in his laboratory, have found that the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure found on both sides of the brain, behaves very differently in males and females while the subjects are at rest. In men, the right amygdala is more active and shows more connections with other regions of the brain, even when there is no outside stimulus. On the other hand, in women, the left amygdala is more connected with other regions of the brain. In addition, the regions of the brain with which the amygdala communicates while a subject is at rest are different in men and women.

The finding could be key to determining why gender-related differences exist in certain psychiatric disorders and how to treat a variety of illnesses.

The study appears in this week's issue of NeuroImage.

"These findings are intriguing because they provide the first hint of what could be a fundamental difference in how the brain is wired in men and women," said Cahill, a fellow at UCI's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. "If, even in a resting state, the brain shows such differences between the sexes, it could have far-reaching implications for our study of certain psychiatric and medical disorders".........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink         Source

April 2, 2006, 8:39 PM CT

Juice improves health, No increase Obesity Risk

As per a recent analysis of government data, children who drank 100 percent juice had healthier overall diets than non-juice consumers and consumed more total fruits, fiber and key nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and folate. The juice consumers also had significantly lower intakes of total fat, saturated fat and sodium.

As per the researchers, the group of 100 percent juice consumers also had equal or lower bodyweights and body mass indexes (BMI) than the non-juice consumers, adding to the scientific evidence which shows that 100 percent juices play a role in a healthful diet and are not associated with overweight. The research is being presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2006 meeting.

Using well-established data from the government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researcher Victor Fulgoni, Ph.D., examined the impact of 100 percent juice in children's diets on bodyweight and BMI among more than 7,500 children ages 2-18. This analysis of the most recent NHANES database (1999-2002), combined with growth chart data from the Centers for Disease Control and Promotion (CDC), found that juice consumers had significantly lower z-scores for body mass index for their age than non-juice consumers (body mass index is a relative measure taking into consideration body weight and body size and z-scores represent the distance from the mean or average of the total population studied). While there were no differences specifically in BMI between the juice consumers and non-juice consumers for children aged 2-11, there were differences in children aged 12-18 years -- the juice consumers had significantly lower BMIs than those who drank no juice at all.........

Posted by: Mark      Permalink         Source

April 1, 2006, 8:27 AM CT

Vegetarian Diet Help To Lose Weight

Adhering to a strict vegetarian diet is an effective way of reducing your diet, according to findings from a scientific review published in April's Nutrition Reviews. This review shows that a vegetarian diet is highly effective for weight loss. Vegetarian populations tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, and they experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to overweight and obesity. The new review, which is a meta-analysis, compiling data from 87 prior studies, shows the weight-loss effect does not depend on exercise or calorie-counting, and it occurs at a rate of approximately 1 pound per week.

Rates of obesity in the general population are skyrocketing, while in vegetarians, obesity prevalence ranges from 0 percent to 6 percent, note study authors Susan E. Berkow, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Neal D. Barnard, M.D., of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

The authors found that the body weight of both male and female vegetarians is, on average, 3 percent to 20 percent lower than that of meat-eaters. Vegetarian and vegan diets have also been put to the test in clinical studies, as the review notes. The best of these clinical studies isolated the effects of diet by keeping exercise constant. The scientists found that a low-fat vegan diet leads to weight loss of about 1 pound per week, even without additional exercise or limits on portion sizes, calories, or carbohydrates.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

March 29, 2006, 10:54 PM CT

Tiny water purification packet may save lives

Chemists have developed a powerful household water purification system that puts the cleansing power of an industrial water therapy plant into a container the size of a ketchup packet. The scientists have shown that the tiny packet, which acts as a chemical filter, can be added to highly contaminated water to dramatically reduce pathogen-induced diarrhea - the top killer of children in much of the developing world.

The packets also show promise for boosting water safety during emergencies and natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, where water purity is suddenly compromised, the scientists say. The lifesaving packets, whose use is being expanded globally, was described today at the 231st national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Worldwide, approximately 1.5 million children under age five die each year from simple diarrhea acquired from pathogens found in drinking water, as per public health experts. That translates to about 4,000 children dying each day as a result of contaminated water.

"It's like a 9-11 catastrophe happening everyday worldwide, but this is a tragedy that can be prevented," says Greg Allgood, Ph.D., director of Procter & Gamble's Children's Safe Drinking Water program, which manufactures the packets. The company has been developing the packets since 1995 in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink         Source

March 28, 2006, 11:33 PM CT

Lost Sleep In Teens

A new poll of teenagers across the US finds that a number of of them are losing out on quality of life because of a lack of sleep. The results, announced recently by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), cite sleeping in class, lack of energy to exercise, feelings of depression, and driving while drowsy as only some of the consequences for insufficient sleep.

The poll data support prior work by three Rhode Island scientists who are at the forefront of sleep research. Prior studies from Brown Medical School, and Lifespan affiliates Bradley Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital, have found that adolescents are not getting enough sleep, and suggest that this can lead to many physical and emotional impairments.

Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, with Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School, chaired the National Sleep Foundation poll taskforce and has been a leading authority on teen sleep for more than a decade. Her research on adolescent circadian rhythms indicates that the internal clocks of adolescents undergo maturational changes making them different from those of children or adults. Nevertheless, teens must adhere to increasingly earlier school start times that make it nearly impossible for them to get enough sleep.

"Our results show that the adage 'early to bed, early to rise' presents a real challenge for adolescents," says Carskadon, who directs the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Sleep Laboratory and is a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source

March 28, 2006, 11:20 PM CT

Addictive Effects Of Frequent Tanning

Frequent users of tanning beds may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin, as per scientists from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. New evidence suggests that ultraviolet light has "feel-good" effects that may be similar to those of some addictive drugs.

"We had previously shown that ultraviolet light has an effect on mood that tanners value," said Mandeep Kaur, M.D., lead author. "Now, in this small study, we've shown that some tanners actually experience withdrawal symptoms when the 'feel-good' chemicals are blocked."

The research - published in the recent issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology - involved eight frequent tanners and eight infrequent tanners. Frequent tanners were those who tan eight to 15 times a month, or more than necessary to maintain a tan. Infrequent tanners were those who use tanning beds no more than 12 times a year.

The research was designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light may produce endorphins, brain chemicals that are linked to pain relief and euphoric feelings, and could play a role in tanning behavior. UV light occurs naturally in sunlight and is responsible for the tanning and burning effects of the sun. Artificial UV light is used in tanning beds and sunlamps.........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink         Source

March 28, 2006, 10:44 PM CT

How Men And Women Use News Media To Manage Anger

When men and women are angry, they both choose the news media articles they read with the goal of regulating their moods, a new study suggests.

But, in some circumstances, men choose to read articles that will fuel their anger, while women choose articles that will dissipate it.

Scientists found that when men were angered and anticipate the chance to retaliate, they chose to read negative online news stories, presumably to sustain their anger until their opportunity to get even.

Women faced with the same situation, however, chose to read more positive news to help dissipate their anger before a possible confrontation.

"For women, it is not seen as appropriate for them to retaliate when they're angry, but it is OK for men. And that's reflected in their selection of media content," said Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University.

"This shows that even our news consumption is not motivated just by information concerns. We use news to regulate our moods."

Knobloch-Westerwick conducted the study with Scott Alter of the University of Michigan. Their results were published in a recent issue of the journal Human Communication Research.

The study involved 86 college students. Participants thought they were participating in two unrelated experiments.........

Posted by: JoAnn      Permalink         Source