June 19, 2008, 9:31 PM CT

Allergy expert has advice for flood victims

As if the emotional and financial impact of flood damage isn't bad enough, floodwaters can also bring health problems. H. James Wedner, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says after the water recedes, damp homes and businesses are fertile grounds for mold growth, which can cause allergic reactions and asthmatic symptoms in sensitive people.

"Mold loves water," Wedner says. "When your building is flooded, it's very difficult to dry it out quickly and completely, and that allows mold to grow. Walls made of Sheetrock soak up water far above the floodline, and mold can be hidden under wallpaper, carpet and floorboards and in ceiling tiles, furniture and clothing".

Wedner is a Washington University allergy and asthma specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He has conducted research investigating the molds and other allergens present in homes following the 1993 flood in the Midwestern United States.

Molds (and mildew, a type of mold) are fungi, which reproduce by releasing spores. Inhaling the spores causes allergic reactions in some people. Symptoms of mold allergy include itchy, watery eyes; itchy, runny nose; headaches above and below the eyes; itchy ears and changes in hearing; itchy throat and palate; difficulty breathing; coughing; and shortness of breath. Mold spores may also trigger asthmatic reactions in asthma sufferers......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 17, 2008, 10:04 PM CT

Save Precious Minutes In Deploying Ambulances

Every extra second it takes an ambulance to get to its destination can mean life or death. But how, besides driving faster, can ambulances get emergency services to people in need as efficiently as possible, every day? It's a classic operations research question that three Cornell scientists are tackling in groundbreaking ways.

A National Science Foundation grant of almost $300,000 is allowing associate professor of operations research Shane Henderson, assistant professor of operations research Huseyin Topaloglu and applied mathematics Ph.D. student Mateo Restrepo to work on this problem. They are seeking to perfect a computer program that estimates how best to spread ambulances across a municipality to get maximum coverage at all times.

The scientists are working on a computerized approach to take such available information as historical trends of types and incidences of calls, geographical layout and real-time locations of ambulances to figure out where ambulance bases should be, and where ambulances should be sent once finished with a call.

The whole process is not unlike the puzzle game Tetris, Restrepo said. The easy part is knowing what an ideal system should look like. The hard part is anticipating various outcomes in a limited period of time, like the falling blocks in the video game......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 17, 2008, 9:50 PM CT

Hypertension Treatment To Reversing Vascular Damage

A high blood pressure medicine called olmesartan medoxomil is effective in reversing the narrowing of the arteries that occurs in patients with high blood pressure, as per a new study.

Carlos M. Ferrario, M.D., one of the study's lead researchers and director of the High blood pressure and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said, "We believe the data add to the growing evidence for the role of angiotensin receptor blockers in preventing or reversing vascular damage at a number of stages during this disease process." .

The one-year study, titled Vascular Improvement with Olmesartan medoxomil Study (VIOS), was reported in the current Journal of the American Society of Hypertension. The study reviewed the effects of an angiotensin receptor blocker (olmesartan medoxomil) vs. a beta-blocker (atenolol) on vascular function and structure in patients with stage 1 hypertension.

Olmesartan medoxomil is marketed in the United States as Benicar® and in Europe as Olmetec® by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., which funded the study.

After one year of therapy, olmesartan medoxomil improved the artery abnormalities in hypertension patients and returned arterial architecture to normal levels. This was not seen with the atenolol......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 17, 2008, 9:44 PM CT

People with lower incomes, lower education levels have higher death rates

Scientists have long suspected that socioeconomic factors like education level and income also might affect survival rates following heart attack. In the recent issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic scientists present new data suggesting that people with lower incomes and education levels are more likely to die after heart attack than more affluent, educated people. Over the past several decades, medical research has helped identify a list of factors that increase a person's risk for myocardial infarction, the disruption of blood flow to the heart usually known as heart attack. These factors include behaviors such as smoking or inactivity, and a variety of physical characteristics, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and obesity. Today, better awareness of heart attack signs and symptoms and improved therapys help a number of survive that first heart attack.

Mayo authors examined medical records from 705 patients residing in Olmsted County, Minn. -- the location of Mayo Clinic -- who were treated for heart attack between Nov. 1, 2002 and May 31, 2006. Scientists recorded the years of schooling completed (self-reported by the patients via a questionnaire) and neighborhood income (obtained by linking the participant address to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data) for each participant. Participants were divided into three income groups and three education groups. Scientists analyzed survival data across these different groups......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 17, 2008, 9:34 PM CT

Grape seed extract for Alzheimer's disease

A compound found in grape seed extract reduces plaque formation and resulting cognitive impairment in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease, new research shows. The study appears in the June 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience

Lead study author Giulio Pasinetti, MD, PhD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and his colleagues observed that the grape seed extract prevents amyloid beta accumulation in cells, suggesting that it may block the formation of plaques. In Alzheimer's disease, amyloid beta accumulates to form toxic plaques that disrupt normal brain function.

The scientists tested a grape seed polyphenolic extract product sold as MegaNatural-AZ, made by Polyphenolics, which in part supported the study. Polyphenolic compounds are antioxidants naturally found in wine, tea, chocolate, and some fruits and vegetables. To determine whether the extract could mitigate the effects of Alzheimer's disease, the scientists used mice genetically modified to develop a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease. They exposed pre-symptomatic "Alzheimer's mice" to the extract or placebo daily for five months. The daily dose of the polyphenolic extract was equivalent to the average amount of polyphenolics consumed by a person on a daily basis.

After the five-month period, Alzheimer's mice were at an age at which they normally develop signs of disease. However, the extract exposure reduced amyloid beta accumulation and plaque formation in brains of Alzheimer's mice and also reduced cognitive decline: in comparison to placebo, extract-exposed Alzheimer's mice showed improved spatial memory. These data suggest that before symptoms begin, the grape seed extract may prevent or postpone plaque formation and slow cognitive deterioration linked to Alzheimer's disease......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 17, 2008, 8:55 PM CT

Gene variants linked to metabolic syndrome and HDL cholesterol levels

Nutrition scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified five common genetic variations that increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of factors associated with heart disease and diabetes. Another variant they found appeared to protect against the condition.

People with metabolic syndrome have at least three of the following symptoms: abdominal obesity, high blood triglyceride levels, lower good cholesterol (HDL), elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting blood glucose. They are four times as likely to develop heart disease and at least seven times more likely to develop diabetes as individuals without metabolic syndrome.

The investigators, who report their findings in the recent issue of the journal Human Molecular Genetics, looked for changes in the CD36 gene, which is located in a region of chromosome 7 that has been associated with metabolic syndrome in several genome-wide studies.

The scientists say linking changes in the CD36 gene to the risk for metabolic syndrome and abnormal levels of good cholesterol is important because as more people in the United States become obese, they also become susceptible to these problems. Better understanding of the relationships between obesity, the gene and disease risk may allow for earlier identification of individuals who are more susceptible to develop metabolic syndrome. Treatments such as medicine or changes in lifestyle could begin earlier, perhaps preventing or delaying future problems with diabetes or heart disease......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 16, 2008, 10:21 PM CT

Aging and bone mineral density

"Change in bone mineral density as a function of age in women and men and association with the use of antiresorptive agents".

Older women and men experience increasing rates of hip fracture because of the age-related acceleration in bone loss. David Goltzman and his colleagues studied a large cohort of Canadians and observed that antiresorptive medicine attenuates this loss.

The authors observed that even among women aged 50-54, the range within which the greatest bone loss was noted, the rate was only 1.3% per year. This finding is consistent with rates of loss reported among women in other longitudinal studies. The authors also note that a loss of 1.3% is within the margin of error of most bone densitometry machines.

"The extent of the bone loss that we observed suggests that repeat measurements of bone density could be delayed to intervals of up to 5 years in the absence of other risk factors," conclude the authors.

In a related commentary, Dr. Mark Cooper, Department of Endocrinology, Division of Medical Sciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (m.s.cooper@bham.ac.uk), highlights the 2-phased nature of bone loss, first around menopause and then after the age of 70. He also stresses that the change in bones over time is complex and that bone density is only one of a number of factors that can influence an individual's risk for fracture......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 16, 2008, 10:19 PM CT

Drink and drugs fuel Scottish suicide and homicide rates

Alcohol and drug misuse mean Scots are almost twice as likely to kill or take their own life in comparison to people living in England and Wales, research published recently (Monday, June 16) reveals.

The findings by The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCI) also show that the number of mental health patients committing homicide or suicide was proportionately much higher in Scotland.

The 'Lessons for Mental Health Care in Scotland' report, commissioned by the Scottish Government, blames these higher death rates north of the border on alcohol and drug consumption, both in the general population and among mental health patients.

The NCI examined all suicides and homicides in the general population in Scotland, as well as those committed by people who had sought help from mental health services, and compared them to its findings for England and Wales.

Suicide rates in Scotland equated to 18.7 per 100,000 of the population, in comparison to 10.2 per 100,000 in England and Wales, while homicide rates north of the border were 2.12 per 100,000 people in comparison to 1.23 per 100,000 in England and Wales. The north-south divide was highest among teenagers, the report found......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 16, 2008, 9:23 PM CT

Immune molecule that plays a powerful role in avoiding organ rejection

When a mouse's immune system is deciding whether to reject a skin graft, one powerful member of a molecular family designed to provoke such a response can effectively reduce the visibility of the mouse's own cells and help the graft survive, scientists say.

"This is a molecule with huge potential to regulate immune response," Dr. Anatolij Horuzsko, reproductive immunologist at the Medical College of Georgia Center for Molecular Chaperone/Radiobiology and Cancer Virology, says of HLA-G dimer.

Dimer appears to be the most powerful among several known forms of HLA-G at inhibiting the immune response, scientists have found. Fetuses use this natural mechanism to hide from the mother's immune system and it's at work in some transplant patients as well.

Now that the researchers know which HLA-G is best at down-regulating the immune response and how it works, they believe the molecule's action can be augmented in people with organ transplants and autoimmune disease and turned down to help fight a tumor. Measuring endogenous levels of HLA-G dimer may also help physicians identify which transplant patients require little, if any, immune suppression.

Research published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details that when HLA-G dimer binds with its inhibitory receptor, ILT4, it triggers a signaling pathway in which immune molecules IL-6 and STAT3 play a major role. "Biologically this is an interaction that requires several important suppressive molecules," says Dr. Horuzsko, the study's corresponding author and a faculty member in the MCG Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

June 10, 2008, 8:34 PM CT

First national study to examine golf cart-related injuries

The popularity of golf carts has skyrocketed in recent years, and unfortunately so has the number of golf cart-related injuries. In fact, a new study conducted by scientists in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital observed that the number of golf cart-related injuries rose 132 percent during the 17-year study period.

As per the study, reported in the recent issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (available online), there were an estimated 148,000 golf cart-related injuries between 1990 and 2006, ranging from an estimated 5,770 cases in 1990 to approximately 13,411 cases in 2006.

As golf carts have become faster and more powerful, they are no longer limited to use on the golf course. In addition to their traditional role, golf carts are now routinely being used at sporting events, hospitals, airports, national parks, college campuses, business parks and military bases. While the study observed that the majority of golf cart-related injuries (more than 70 percent) took place at sports or recreational facilities, individuals injured in carts on the street had an increased risk of concussions and were more likely to require hospitalization than individuals injured in other locations......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source