Health News - Tuesday, March 6, 2007
A still-small but growing number of teens are undergoing bariatric surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach, to treat obesity. Although they represent fewer than 1 percent of all the bariatric procedures done, the number of teens having the operation has tripled in three years, a new study found.
"The number of bariatric procedures in adolescents has increased in the time period 2000 to 2003," said lead researcher Dr. Randall S. Burd, an associate professor of surgery in the division of pediatric surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Jersey. "Even though these are a small percent of all the bariatric operations done in the U.S., the increase has been significant." Continue reading
In some people with epilepsy, brushing their teeth may stimulate a certain area of the brain and cause seizures, Australian researchers report.
"The rhythmic act of brushing teeth may excite an already overly excitable area of the brain. This is similar to photosensitive epilepsy, which involves seizures triggered by flashing lights and moving patterns," study author Wendyl D'Souza, with the department of neurology and neurological research at St. Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, said in a prepared statement. They studied three adults with epilepsy who had seizures while they brushed their teeth. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the brains of the three patients and found that they all had lesions in the somatosenory area of the brain, which is near the hand and speech motor areas. Continue reading
Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) do not prevent colorectal cancer, and people should not take these drugs to try to prevent the disease, a new U.S. report says.
Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reviewed the most current research and concluded that the potential harm -- such as increased risk of stroke, intestinal bleeding and kidney failure -- of taking more than 300 milligrams a day of aspirin or NSAIDs outweighs the potential benefits in terms of preventing colorectal cancer. The recommendation is published in the March 6 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Continue reading
Dietary copper may be helpful to ease heart disease, according to U.S. researchers. Researchers at the University of Louisville Medical Center and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center gave copper supplements to mice with over-worked hearts. And their findings showed that copper supplements could ease the stress and prevented heart enlargement.
The study was published online in the latest Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study found that feeding mice copper relieved heart disease and restored proper heart function, even when the animals' hearts were continually stressed. Stressed mice that were not given copper supplements suffered heart failure, said the study. The copper-rich diet increased the production of a protein that promotes the growth of new blood vessels, although exactly how this protein might aid heart recovery is not yet clear, according to the study. Continue reading
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced the approval of Tekturna(aliskiren) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure.
Tekturna, a new molecular entity (NME), is the first high blood pressure drug approved by FDA that inhibits renin, a kidney enzyme associated with the regulation of blood pressure. Tekturna acts at the beginning of the blood pressure regulation process, while other available high blood pressure medications act at later stages. High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 25 percent of Americans and causes increased risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure and death. Continue reading
Obese couples have a more difficult time conceiving a baby than couples of normal weight, according to a study published on Tuesday identifying another consequence of putting on too much weight.
Researchers tracked nearly 48,000 Danish couples between 1996 and 2002, including about 7,600 couples with both the man and woman either overweight or obese according to standards set by the World Health Organization. They measured how long it took couples to conceive a baby once they began unprotected sex in a bid to have a child. Continue reading
People who eat less are more efficient at converting food into energy, which may help them live longer, a new study shows. Scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, studied 36 overweight people for six months.
A third of them ate a diet meeting their energy needs. A second group had their calorie intake cut by 25 percent, and a third group consumed 12.5 percent fewer calories and exercised to increase their energy expenditure by the same percentage. The researchers found that dieting with or without exercise promoted more efficient mitochondria, the cellular structures that convert food into energy. When those tiny power plants function better, they produce fewer free radicals, chemicals that can damage the body's proteins and DNA. Such damage has been linked to aging. Continue reading