Weeding out genetic defects: New study moves researchers a step closer to transferring DNA to avoid genetic diseases

Can we someday manipulate changes in DNA so that genetic diseases are a distant memory? Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University hope they have completed the first steps to seeing this dream become a reality for many couples predisposed to genetic challenges caused by defects in their mitochondia. A new report describes an experimental procedure that someday could help couples avoid passing certain genetic diseases on to their children, according to an Associated Press report. The researchers transferred DNA between eggs from rhesus monkeys, resulting in the birth of four healthy monkeys, scientists report. The procedure still needs to address safety questions and possible ethical hurdles, but the researchers described the results as "exciting." The report appears online in the journal Nature.

Added sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening is contributing to metabolic illness, Heart Association says

Somewhere across the decades, manufacturers began to add more and more sugar and corn syrup to our soft drinks, cereals, salad dressings and processed food products. Now the American Heart Association is saying enoughy is enough, according to U.S. News and World Report. The AHA claims too many people are on sugar binges, which is helping to increase metabolic changes in the American population, contributing to obesity and diabetes. The organization is recommending an upper limit on daily consumption of sugar, saying women should consume no more than 100 calories per day of added sugars, and men should not top 150 calories per day. To illustrate what that means, let's look at the sugar content of one 12-ounce can of soda. It has 8 teaspoons or 33 grams of added sugar, which equals about 130 calories, the AHA says. So after your first soda of the day, you are already over the limit. OUCH, I am glad I switched to diet soda 30 years ago. But some of those low fat salad dressing have as much as 58 grams of added sugar and a half-cup of ketchup has 20 grams, while the barbecue sauce we're spreading on our chicken and ribs adds another 8 grams of sugar. And that granola bar is supposed to be good for you, but it also has up to 11 grams of sugar. The AHA is challenging Americans to start counting and to make modifications in their diets or risk the metabolic diseases that can lead to serious illness and, in some cases, early deaths.

U.S, FDA warns of possible liver damage from diet pills Xenical and Alli

More than a decade ago, diet pill fen-phen was pulled from the market because it was linked to heart valve problems in users. Then, a few years ago, the weight-loss drug Accomplia failed to gain approval here in the U.S. even though it is approved in parts of Europe, because it was linked to suicidal tendencies. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Aministration is investigating the prescription weight-loss drug Xenical (Orlistat) and its over-the-counter counterpart Alli due to reports of 32 cases of possible liver damage and six cases of liver failure, according to a Newsday report. Thirty of the cases occurred outside the U.S., the FDA said. Orlistat blocks the intestines from absorbing fat when taken up to three times a day with meals, the article says. In 1999, the FDA approved Xenical for weight management in combination with a reduced-calorie diet. Alli, which contains half the dose of orlistat, was approved for nonpresription use in the U.S.in 2007.GlaxoSmithkline markets both drugs, although Roce in Swizerland manufactures Xenical. The FDA, which did not issue a public warning to the companies, will continue to follow reports closely and cautioned users to stop using it if they felt any weakness, jaundice, fever or other signs of liver injury.

FDA cracks down on ibuprofen gels for pain

If you've been feeling pain from that big workout or from a recent injury, you should think twice before using pain gels containing ibuprofen. At least eight companies have been notified that they are selling illegal pain relief ointments because the medicines have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to an Associated Press report. All of the products mix ibuprofen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter medicines such as Motrin and Advil, with other products to produce a topical ointment for pain relief. Some companies that sell these products claim their ibuprofen-based products are safer than ibuprofen pills because they don't cause stomach ulcers, but the U.S. FDA says this claim has not been substaniated. This is the latest in a series of FDA enforcement actions against companies selling bogus or dangerous products since the new FDA head Margaret Hamburg took the reins. In July, the agency warned makers of dietary supplements containing steroids warning them to pull their products from the market.

Life expectancy in U.S. reaches all time high at 77.9 years

Yes, Americans are living longer. The new average life expectancy rate in the U.S. has reached 77.9 years (2007 figures) up from 77.7 years in the prior year, according to statistics released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both men and women gained, but women still live at least an average of five years longer (80 years) than men (75 years), according to the Reuters report. For the first time, Black males reached an average of 70 years. Over the last ten years, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 years in 1997 to 77.9 in 2007." The death rate per 100,000 also dropped. Heart disease and cancer accounted for 48.5 percent of all deaths in 2007. Deaths from lower respiratory illnesses, including emphysema, increased 1.7 percent. But some progress was made for other diseases. Mortality rates declined slightly for influenza and pneumonia, murder and accidents. It's surprising that the richest nation in the world does not have the highest life expectancy. In Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Italy, Australia and Canada, the average lifeexpectancy rates are higher.

Blood pressure drugs may offer treatment for multiple sclerosis

Sometimes existing drugs are found to be helpful for other afflictions and a new study suggests just that. German and American researchers report that the conventional blood pressure drugs in the classes known as ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers can suppress inflammation in mice suffering from an autoimmune disease that mimics multiple sclerosis. Previous research suggests that the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) a set of messengers and receptors that regulates blood pressure also plays a decisive role in immunological processes. As a result of this encouraging data in mice, clinical trials will begin soon to determine the efficacy of ACE inhibitors in MS patients. If these blood pressure medications work to treat MS, it could mean a cheaper, safer alternative to current MS drugs.

Healthcare debate continues: AARP suffers from taking a stand

As the debate over health care reform continues, the prime organization for protecting the rights of older Americans has lost 60,000 members since July 1 over its stance on the health care overhaul, according to the Associated Press. The American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), said at least 60,000 individuals discontinued their memberships, saying they disagreed with the AARP's position on health care reform. AARP has been running ads in support of a health care overhaul and has sponsored an online forum for President Obama, but the organization says it does not support a specific bill and it will not support any plan that reduces Medicare benefits. A spokesman for the organization said it was not unusual for the 40-million strong member organization to lose members who disagree with its position on a particular issue. He said AARP gained almost 400,000 new members during the same period and that 1.5 million members renewed their membership.

Healthy diet helps avoid kidney stones

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston report that a healthy diet that includes fruit, vegetables, nuts and low-fat dairy products and limits salt, red and processed meat and sweetened beverages helps keep kidney stones away. The study was summarized in a release from the American Society of Nephrology and will appear in the next issue of the Society's journal. The study found that those subjects who adopted the components of the healthy diet had fewer kidney stones than those who had more of the "unhealthy" components. They suggest that a healthy diet might be a viable alternative to taking medicine to control kidney stones, since many of the medications cause unpleasant side effects.

Chocolate pleasure: Report says it lowers risk of death among heart attack survivors

Ah, the pleasures of a fine piece of chocolate. We're always happy to hear that something many of us love so dearly actually could have a medicinal purpose. A new study reports that among neart attack survivors, those who ate chocolate two or more times a week had a substantial reduction in the risk of death from heart disease compared with those who never ate the delectable morsels, according to an article in Agence Presse France. Previous reports suggested chocolate could help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and also reduced the rate of heart-related deaths in healthy older men and post-menopausal women. The new study, from Sweden's Karolinska Institute, is the first to report that consuming chocolate can help ward off death for those who have already had one heart attack. So we must be on the right track to love chocolate and perhaps these studies will chase away some of the guilt involved. The report appears in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Healthcare debate is spiraling out of control

The Obama administration thought it had a great idea when it planned a series of "Town Hall" meetings between elected officials in various states and their constituents. The intentions were honorable...involve the public in open discussions and allow them to express their concerns. What the Administration didn't bargain for was the seemingly well-organized machine that has sought to purposely disrupt these meetings and the effective use of fear tactics that have resulted in physical altercations among participants. A simple suggestion that the elderly may want to have an end of life consultation with their doctors to let their doctors know their wishes -- nothing more than a living will discussion -- has been twisted into some sort of "Nazi" plot to euthanize the old and frail. Agitators have compared Obama to Hitler, a ridiculous comparison...an African American congressman awoke yesterday to find a swastika painted on his office sign and derogatory e-mails that no person in the 21st Century should write. This direction shows that America still has many simmering problems that won't be cured by healthcare reform...The actions of the last week tend to reveal America's dirty little secret...that we haven't come as far in civil rights as we pretend we have. The nation may have to pause, take a long, hard look at the hatred and seek a "cure" for that festering wound before it can move forward with a healthcare reform package that helps every American...We need to take a step back and reform civil rights and basic human decency before we can reform healthcare policy. I am hoping we can push the genie of hate back into the bottle before it destroys the progress we have made over the last 40 years.

Another benefit of aspirin: It wards off recurrence of colon cancer, Mass General study says

Aspirin has long been dubbed the "wonder drug," and now a new study indicates another benefit in the cancer area. A study at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston reports that regular use of aspirin after the diagnosis of colorectal cancer results in a lower risk of colorectal cancer–specific and overall mortality, particularly among patients who had tumors that overexpress the enzyme COX-2. Aspirin acts as a Cox-2 inhibitor. In this subgroup, regular aspirin use was associated with a 61 percent decline in mortality rate compared with patients who used aspirin but had tumors that did not express COX-2 or had only weak expression, according to a New York Times article. This is good news for colorectal cancer patients because asprin is an inexpensive treatment, costing about a penny a pill.

Placebo effect: Why do the sugar pills work for some people?

In yesteday's blog entry, I discussed a study that reported better relief of hot flashes among the placebo group (63%) than among those taking black cohosh (34%) or red clover (57%). Why does this happen? Can the mind really alter how the body will react? Can you really feel better merely by thinking you are going to feel better? Subjects in studies don't know whether they are getting the drug, supplement or placebo, so it's up to the mind to interpret the benefits or side effects. In the HRT/supplement/placebo study from the Univeristy of Illinois and Northwestern, more subjects in the placebo group reported an average decrease in the number of hot flashes they experienced than those who were taking the supplements black cohosh or red clover. Some experts contend that the "placebo effect" is the result of flawed research. Yet, other reports have observed positive effects from placebos, particularly in studies of depression, pain and Parkinson's disease. The study of the placebo effect can lead to understanding how the brain controls bodily processes to promote healing, according to a recent article in Scientific American. The phenomenon suggests that the mind is a powerful link to wellness and that "mind over matter" should be an important component of treating some illnesses.

Studies of HRT and botanicals report HRT better for hot flashes, but worse for women's memories

Two new studies of hormone replacement therapy and botanicals suggest HRT is more effective for treating menopausal "hot" flashes, but can also have more of an adverse effect on women's memory/cognition, according to a release from the University of Illinois. The studies found the botanicals black cohosh and red clover had significantly less effect than HRT and did not work better than the placebo. However, the researchers from the University of Illinois/Chicago (UIC)reported that botanicals were safe to use with no significant differences between botanical treatments and placebo for breast and endometrial safety, liver enzymes, complete blood count, or lipid profiles. The second study from UIC and Northwestern University enrolled enrolled 66 women from the parent trial to study the effects of botanic treatments and HRT on cognitive abilities. The researchers report that none of the botanicals had either a beneficial or adverse effect on memory. The hormone therapy used in the trial, Prempro, had a slight negative impact on memory, according to the study. The bottom line is the supplements won't hurt people but the jury is still out on whether they provide any real benefits.

Finnish study finds mid-life cholesterol levels affect risk for Alzheimer's disease

A new Finnish study reports tht even borderline high total cholesterol levels in mid-live can help some people result in an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia later in life. The researchers suggest that cholesterol control must be addressed in midlife before underlying symptoms appear. They said their findings adds to the current body of evidence showing an overlap between the two dementia types in terms of risk factors, symptoms and neuropathology. As this and other studies have shown, it is never too early to address high cholesterol and to control diet and total cholesterol levels early to possibly avoid or delay AD or dementia later.

New studies show American kids are Vitamin D-deficient

Two new studies in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics report that at least 70 percent of American children and adolescents aren't getting enough vitamin D, and these kids tend to have higher blood pressure and lower levels of good cholesterol than their peers, according to a CNN report. Experts note that low vitamin D levels also may increase a child's risk of developing heart disease later in life. In a study of more than 6000 subjects, aged 1 to 21, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, report that 7.6 million, or 9 percent, were vitamin-D deficient, and another 50.8 million, or 61 percent, had insufficient levels of the vitamin in their blood. Children with low levels of Vitamin D had higher blood pressure and lower levels of HDL or good cholesterol. In the second study, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, exsamined 3,577 adolescents ages 12 to 19. Teens with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to display high blood pressure, high levels of blood glucose, as well as metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors known to increase risk of heart disease) than their counterparts with adequate vitamin D in their blood. Children can get Vitamin D from some foods, but it's usually not enough, but supplements will help. The best option is to allow children to get 10 to 15 minutes of natural sunlight each day.

New HIV strain discovered in Cameroon

French researchers are reporting that a woman from the African nation of Cameroon has a new strain of HIV that may have originated from gorillas, according to the August 3 issue of Nature Medicine. The researchers said the new strain is closely related to gorilla simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVgor. They said it shows no evidence of recombination with other HIV-1 lineages and appears to be the prototype of a new HIV-1 lineage that is distinct from HIV-1 groups M, N and O. The woman has no symptoms of HIV infection, is well and it is believed she was infected by another person, not an animal. The findings suggest that gorillas as well as chimpanzees are likely sources of HIV and that the newly discovered gorilla virus is circulating among people, according to a Reuters report. In the report, the researchers propose to designate the new strain HIV-1 group P. They note that this new finding underscores the continuing importance of continuing to carefully track HIV for emerging variant strains.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------