Lifestyle, diet have little effect on Alzheimer’s: Experts called together by the National Institutes of Health examined scores of studies about whether diet, exercise, nutritional supplements and chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension affect a person's risk of getting the fatal, brain-wasting disease. They found some signs that diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking could raise the risk of Alzheimer's. And they found that eating a Mediterranean-type diet -- high in healthy fats, fruits and vegetables -- and taking folic acid, cutting back on alcohol and keeping the brain and body fit appear to lower the risk. But in every case, the evidence was not strong enough to say for sure, the panel found. Archives of Neurology
Acetaminophen Tied to Blood Cancers: New research shows chronic users of acetaminophen, a top-selling painkiller known as Tylenol in the U.S. and paracetamol in Europe, are at slightly increased risk for blood cancers. Yet the risk remains low, and it's still uncertain what role the drug plays. Journal of Clinical Oncology, May 9, 2011
Even a little exercise may protect against colon polyps: Even a little exercise may ward off polyps in the colon, which are sometimes precursors to cancer. In fact, just an hour a week of low-intensity exercise -- even such seemingly trivial activities as walking on the street or climbing stairs -- reduced risk, especially among individuals who are obese or overweight, according to new research slated to be presented Sunday at Digestive Disease Week in Chicago.
Many People May Benefit from Going Gluten-Free: Researchers screened 3,031 healthy people who were related to someone with celiac disease, a disorder that causes digestive problems in the small intestine when the person eats gluten, but had no symptoms themselves, and selected 40 people who tested positive for antibodies specific to celiac disease. By random selection, members of that group were either put on a gluten-free diet or told to continue with their normal diet, containing gluten. People on a gluten-free diet reported improved gastrointestinal health as well as an overall improvement in their health-related quality of life, compared with the others, according to the study. "We found that regardless of the clinical presence of celiac disease, most screen-detected patients benefited from early treatment of a gluten-free diet," Digestive Disease Week conference
Mindful Meditation Might Ease Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A study, done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that women with irritable bowel syndrome who practiced "mindful meditation" had more than a 38 percent reduction in symptoms, far surpassing a nearly 12 percent reduction for women who participated in a traditional support group. Moreover, meditation helped reduce psychological distress and improved quality of life, the study found. Digestive Disease Week
Jenny Craig Tops Consumer Reports Diet Ratings: Comparing Atkins, Jenny Craig, Ornish, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers and the zone, the overall winner is Jenny Craig, the widely-advertised commercial program that combines personalized motivational counseling with a meal plan consisting of its branded single-serving entrees and snacks, supplemented with sides and beverages you supply yourself. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for you. That’s because the best diet is the one you’ll stick with, and different diets appeal to different people. So the real trick is to find the one the matches your preferences. Consumer Reports
Doctors Rush to Heart Procedure Before Proven Drugs: Fewer than half of Americans with stable heart disease get guideline-recommended medicines before being rushed off for an invasive heart procedure, researchers said Tuesday. Yet the costly procedure, called percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, offers few proven benefits over drug therapy and puts patients at risk of side effects. Journal of the American Medical Association, online May 10, 2011
Fond Memories of the Past Make for a Happier Present: People who remember the past fondly are more likely to experience greater happiness in the present, according to a new study. Similarly, researchers found that people who tend to focus on regrets and negative experiences are not as satisfied with their lives as those who maintain a rosier view of the past. Personality and Individual Differences -
How Fear Changes What we Hear: The new research, published in Nature Neuroscience, sought to explore this "generalization" of fear and its connection with learning. Emotional experience typically improves learning - that's why you remember your first love better than first grade. But in the case of fear, the brain seems to say "better safe than sorry." Rather than fine-tuning the connections you make while under the influence of emotion, fear instead reduces your ability to discriminate between potential threats, impairing learning about them. Time 5/10/11
With complex prescription routines, fewer filled: Patients on heart drugs are less likely to fill their prescriptions if they have to make more trips to a pharmacy or have multiple doctors prescribing them drugs, according to a new study. Archives of Internal Medicine, online May 9, 2011.
Selenium Doesn’t Prevent Cancer: A meta analysis of 65 studies found no convincing evidence that taking high doses of selenium -- a popular dietary supplement -- can prevent cancer. Some of those trials raised the question of whether high doses of selenium might be dangerous, such as by increasing the risk of diabetes. The Cochrane Library, online May 10, 2011
FDA Warning: Don’t buy drugs marketed as antimicrobial dietary supplements: The FDA is warning consumers not to use products marketed as dietary supplements that also claim to be antimicrobial (antibiotic, antifungal or antiviral) drugs. These illegal products are falsely promoted with claims to treat illnesses such as upper respiratory infections, sinusitis, pneumonia, bronchitis and the common cold.
FDA Warns about counterfeit Entenze dietary supplements: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about a potentially harmful product represented as “ExtenZe,” a dietary supplement for male sexual enhancement. The counterfeit product looks similar to the actual product, but contains hidden ingredients that can cause serious harm to consumers. The counterfeit product has the following lot numbers on the packages:
• LOT 1110075
• LOT F050899
Doctors Prescribing Meditation, Yoga More Often: Mind-body therapies such as yoga, meditation and deep-breathing exercises appear to be gaining more acceptance in mainstream medicine, according to a new study. Archives of Internal Medicine May 9
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