A study published in the February 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience offers new hope for multiple sclerosis patients. In tests involving mice, injections of the pregnancy-related hormone prolactin resulted in repair of damage to myelin, a fatty substance that helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses. (In MS, the immune system is believed to attack the myelin protecting the nerve cells, which disrupts the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain.)
Small Babies & Preeclampsia
According to an article published in the March 2007 issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, women who themselves were born small for gestational age experience a markedly increased risk of severe preeclampsia, and women who themselves were exposed to preeclampsia in utero are also at significantly increased risk for developing preeclampsia during their pregnancies. The findings were based on the records of 118,634 Swedish women.
Pregnancy, Smoking, & Kids' Asthma
We've heard before that moms who smoke while pregnant put their babies at risk for developing asthma. Now, a paper published in the March issue of the European Respiratory Journal has found that kids whose moms smoked while pregnant, who also have the gene IL1RN, are especially vulnerable to developing asthma.
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Prevalence of HPV in Women
A paper published on February 28 in The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the overall prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among American women aged 14 to 59 is 26.8%, which translates to approximately 24.9 million individuals. The highest prevalence was among women aged 20 to 24. Also see our trivia item from February 20, 2007.
Findings published early online on February 28 in Human Reproduction suggest that women who eat low-fat dairy products may have a higher risk of infertility that women who go whole hog (i.e., whole fat) on the dairy products. The study looked at 18,555 women who had attempted to become pregnant or become pregnant during an eight-year period.
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Caffeine to Protect Against CVD
Research published in the February issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at 6,594 individuals aged 32 to 85, with no history of cardiovascular disease, and found that among those aged 65+, greater daily consumption of caffeinated beverages, including ground coffee and instant coffee, was associated with a lower risk of CVD-related death. No specific protective effect was found in those younger than 65.
Aspirin to Protect Against CVD in Women
This week, Circulation published new guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention in women, and stated that since virtually all women are at risk of CVD, doctors should more strongly consider prescribing aspirin for their female patients. Other recommendations included: women should get help and quit smoking; women should exercise 60-90 minutes per day, most (but preferably all) days of the week; women should cut saturated fat intake to less than 7% of their calories; women should eat oily fish (e.g., salmon, sardines, mackerel) or other source of omega-3s at least twice a week. The guidelines also included things not recommended, such as hormone replacement therapy and the osteoporosis drug raloxifene.
Cholesterol & Stroke in Women
A report published in the February 20 issue of Neurology warns that, in apparently healthy women, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol"), the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ("good cholesterol") ratio, and non-HDL cholesterol were significantly associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke. The study looked at 27,937 American women aged 45+.
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Emotions, Minds, & Brains
Emotions Following Death of a Loved One
The most common reaction to the death of a loved one from natural causes is yearning, rather than depression, as was previously thought. The research, which was published in the February 21 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, also confirmed the overall sequence of grief popularized by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (disbelief, yearning, anger, depression, and acceptance), and determined that the negative grief indicators all peak within approximately six months post-loss.
Lung Problems = Mental Problems?
A paper published in the February 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, which examined a representative sample of adults aged 25 to 74, found that those who had obstructive or restrictive lung function were significantly more likely to have mental health problems than those who had normal lung function.
An international consortium of researchers in 19 countries pinpointed two genetic links (a region on chromosome 11 and a gene called neurexin 1) that may predispose a child to developing autism. Researchers looked at DNA from 1,168 families, and reported their findings on February 18 online in Nature Genetics.
Perhaps not surprising, since we've long heard how addictive nicotine is, but an article published in the February 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience reports that smoking tobacco causes long-lasting changes in the brain that are similar to changes seen in animals who are given drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
It has long been believed that people with schizophrenia experience the world normally, but don't process the information correctly. However, findings published in the March issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry suggest that these individuals are not experiencing the world normally, and in fact are unable to decode emotional and semantic aspects of speech, that is, they are unable to read social cues, facial expressions, and tone of voice (e.g., pitch changes that differentiate statements from questions).
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Do you take garlic supplements to lower your cholesterol? Don't bother! An investigation published in the February 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine has found that neither garlic supplements nor raw garlic do anything to help lower bad cholesterol. (Researchers did not, however, study garlic's efficacy in repelling vampires, so as far as we know, it's still useful for that.)
Research, which of course has been soundly criticized as flawed by the supplement industry, indicates that taking antioxidant supplements such as beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E as preventives may actually increase mortality, rather than prevent it! The research was published in the February 28 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Stopping the Spread of Disease
Have we been designing modern hospitals poorly to prevent transmission of disease? An article published online this week in Public Library of Science Medicine suggests that a low-tech solution to stopping the spread of airborne infections such as TB may be simply opening the window! According to the findings, it's not negative pressure rooms that work best, but rooms with high ceilings and large windows that open!
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Projections published online on February 21 in Health Affairs state that US healthcare spending is expected to double in 10 years, up from $2.1 trillion in 2006 to $4.1 trillion in 2016.
The Color of Lung Cancer?
Researchers reported in a paper published early online on February 27 in Thorax that they have developed a color test that can reveal the chemical signature of lung cancer by a breath test. The tests involved subjects breathing for 12 minutes into a device with a sensor containing 36 chemically sensitive spots. Of the 143 individuals tested, some with, and some without lung cancer, the machine was correct in diagnosing cancer, even very early tumors, almost 75% of the time. On a related topic, see our article The Nose Knows .