New research coming in from Holland shows that expectant mothers who eat nuts (or nut products like peanut butter) daily during pregnancy increase their children’s risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during their pregnancy.
“We were pretty surprised to see the adverse associations between daily versus rare nut product consumption during pregnancy and symptoms of asthma in children, because we haven’t seen this in similar previous studies,” said the study’s lead author, Saskia M. Willers, M.Sc.
The study appeared in the second July issue for July of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Maternal consumption of allergenic foods during pregnancy may increase the risk that the fetuses they carry would become sensitized to certain allergens. Research on the topic, however, has been contradictory and often inconclusive.
Nearly 4,000 expectant mothers from the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Allergy study conducted by the Dutch government completed a dietary questionnaire that asked how often they consumed vegetables, fresh fruit, fish, eggs, milk, milk products, nuts and nut products during the last month. Their children’s diets were also assessed at two years of age, and their asthma and allergy symptoms were assessed yearly until eight years of age. By the end of the eight years, the researchers had complete data for 2,832 children and their mothers. As studies like this go, this one is large and fairly comprehensive.
“The only consistent association between the maternal intake of the investigated food groups during pregnancy and childhood asthma symptoms until eight years of age that we found was with nut products,” said the lead author. “Daily versus rare consumption of nut products—which we assumed was largely peanut butter—was consistently and positively associated with childhood asthma symptoms.”
The association remained even after controlling for the child’s diet.
Additionally, the authors noted, there was a small effect of daily maternal fruit consumption during pregnancy on reducing the risk of wheeze in children, but other factors such as health-consciousness and consumption of prenatal vitamins may have been contributing factors in ways that were undetectable in this study’s design.
Dave
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wham: Botox Shots Appear to Help Migraine Sufferers
The journal Headache is reporting today that Injections of botulinum toxin, better known as Botox, may help prevent migraines in people who suffer frequent migraine attacks that are poorly controlled with oral prevention therapies. There also appears to be some benefit in the reduction of severity of the migraines when they do occur.
Dr. Roger Cady and his colleague Dr. Curtis Schreiber of the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Missouri evaluated the efficacy and safety of a single series of Botox injections over a period of six months, comparing them to placebo shots. They report that Botox had "beneficial, albeit limited, effects on measures of migraine frequency and was not effective in lowering headache pain severity" according to the article.
While the results were modest, these Botox-treated patients did have fewer headaches and fewer headache days than placebo-treated patients. In addition, Botox had what they considered to be a measurable positive impact on the quality-of-life for those patients who received the actual Botox.
One example of this was in the Headache Impact Test, a six-item survey of pain, role functioning, social functioning, fatigue, cognition, and emotional distress. Scores were significantly better for Botox-treated patients than for placebo-treated patients.
The authors conclude that Botox may be worth consideration for headache patients who aren't doing well on other migraine preventive agents.
Dave
Dr. Roger Cady and his colleague Dr. Curtis Schreiber of the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Missouri evaluated the efficacy and safety of a single series of Botox injections over a period of six months, comparing them to placebo shots. They report that Botox had "beneficial, albeit limited, effects on measures of migraine frequency and was not effective in lowering headache pain severity" according to the article.
While the results were modest, these Botox-treated patients did have fewer headaches and fewer headache days than placebo-treated patients. In addition, Botox had what they considered to be a measurable positive impact on the quality-of-life for those patients who received the actual Botox.
One example of this was in the Headache Impact Test, a six-item survey of pain, role functioning, social functioning, fatigue, cognition, and emotional distress. Scores were significantly better for Botox-treated patients than for placebo-treated patients.
The authors conclude that Botox may be worth consideration for headache patients who aren't doing well on other migraine preventive agents.
Dave
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Alzheimers Research: Rapid Progress or Hype?
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is reporting through their news alert service that a potential new type of compound called an "ionophore" has been shown to "reverse Alzheimer's within days." The work was done by a long list of scientists, mainly from Australia, who were studying Alzheimers in mice.
Reading the details on this one, it seemed to be an example of an overenthusiastic person writing up a press release. I don't know why it is, but for some reason the field of Alzheimers research seems to be wide open for incredible claims. When I read words like "reverse Alzheimer's within days," I wince, as we've had other "remarkable developments" that have done nothing other than to hurt caregivers and the families of those who have this terrible ailment. Search for Alzheimers on this forum and you'll see what I mean, with the case of a physician in California and his claims.
Scientists report a remarkable improvement in Alzheimer's transgenic mice following treatment with this new drug. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 10th issue of the journal Neuron, provides the first demonstration that an ionophore, a compound that transports metal ions across cell membranes, can elicit rapid and pronounced improvement in neuropathology and cognitive function in mouse models of Alzheimer's Disease.
Recent research has implicated dysregulation of metal ions in the brain, particularly copper and zinc, in the pathogenesis of the disease, and in the damaging accumulation of amyloid beta protein that is characteristic of this devastating disease. This type of compound, an ionophore clioquinol, has been shown to increase intracellular copper and zinc levels and decrease amyloid beta protein levels in cultured cells and in the brains of mice. However, earlier studies in mice and humans demonstrated that brain entry of this compound was quite limited.
When Dr. Ashley I. Bush from the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria in Australia and his colleagues examined the therapeutic potential of a second generation compound designed for easier synthesis (which they are calling PBT2), they found a higher solubility and increased blood-brain barrier permeability in the mouse models. In other words, they believe they are on the right track for getting this compound into the brain.
PBT2 was shown to be a superior ionophore when compared to the earlier version, and the researchers went on to test amyloid beta protein levels and cognitive outcomes after oral treatment with this compund. They found that oral treatment with PBT2 induced a dramatic improvement in learning and memory in both mice models of Alzheimers, accompanied by a marked inhibition of Alzheimers-like symptoms.
"These outcomes were rapid, with reduction of soluble amyloid beta protein occurring within hours, and significant cognitive benefits seen within days of first administration of the compound," says Dr. Bush.
The report indicates that humans are now getting this compound; "recent clinical trials in AD patients taking oral PBT2 have been promising and support PBT2 as a viable treatment for Alzheimers" report the authors.
Any reader of this column who learns more about this and/or who has investigated the compound, please update us with a comment attached to this blog.
Dave
Reading the details on this one, it seemed to be an example of an overenthusiastic person writing up a press release. I don't know why it is, but for some reason the field of Alzheimers research seems to be wide open for incredible claims. When I read words like "reverse Alzheimer's within days," I wince, as we've had other "remarkable developments" that have done nothing other than to hurt caregivers and the families of those who have this terrible ailment. Search for Alzheimers on this forum and you'll see what I mean, with the case of a physician in California and his claims.
Scientists report a remarkable improvement in Alzheimer's transgenic mice following treatment with this new drug. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 10th issue of the journal Neuron, provides the first demonstration that an ionophore, a compound that transports metal ions across cell membranes, can elicit rapid and pronounced improvement in neuropathology and cognitive function in mouse models of Alzheimer's Disease.
Recent research has implicated dysregulation of metal ions in the brain, particularly copper and zinc, in the pathogenesis of the disease, and in the damaging accumulation of amyloid beta protein that is characteristic of this devastating disease. This type of compound, an ionophore clioquinol, has been shown to increase intracellular copper and zinc levels and decrease amyloid beta protein levels in cultured cells and in the brains of mice. However, earlier studies in mice and humans demonstrated that brain entry of this compound was quite limited.
When Dr. Ashley I. Bush from the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria in Australia and his colleagues examined the therapeutic potential of a second generation compound designed for easier synthesis (which they are calling PBT2), they found a higher solubility and increased blood-brain barrier permeability in the mouse models. In other words, they believe they are on the right track for getting this compound into the brain.
PBT2 was shown to be a superior ionophore when compared to the earlier version, and the researchers went on to test amyloid beta protein levels and cognitive outcomes after oral treatment with this compund. They found that oral treatment with PBT2 induced a dramatic improvement in learning and memory in both mice models of Alzheimers, accompanied by a marked inhibition of Alzheimers-like symptoms.
"These outcomes were rapid, with reduction of soluble amyloid beta protein occurring within hours, and significant cognitive benefits seen within days of first administration of the compound," says Dr. Bush.
The report indicates that humans are now getting this compound; "recent clinical trials in AD patients taking oral PBT2 have been promising and support PBT2 as a viable treatment for Alzheimers" report the authors.
Any reader of this column who learns more about this and/or who has investigated the compound, please update us with a comment attached to this blog.
Dave
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Wham: Want to Lose Weight? Write it down!
A new study from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research shows that keeping a food diary can double a person’s weight loss. The findings, from one of the largest and longest running weight loss maintenance trials ever conducted, will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study is one of the few studies to recruit a large percentage of African Americans as study participants (44 percent). African Americans have a higher risk of conditions that are aggravated by being overweight; these issues include diabetes, heart disease, and others. In this study, the majority of African American participants lost at least nine pounds of weight, which is higher than in previous studies.
“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” said lead author Jack Hollis Ph.D., a researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.”
In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a heart-healthy DASH (a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, attend weekly group sessions and exercise at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss.
“Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice. It’s the process of reflecting on what you eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior,” says Keith Bachman, MD, a Weight Management Initiative member.
“Every day I hear patients say they can’t lose weight. This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support. And food journaling in conjunction with a weight management program or class is the ideal combination of tools and support.”
Dave
The study is one of the few studies to recruit a large percentage of African Americans as study participants (44 percent). African Americans have a higher risk of conditions that are aggravated by being overweight; these issues include diabetes, heart disease, and others. In this study, the majority of African American participants lost at least nine pounds of weight, which is higher than in previous studies.
“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” said lead author Jack Hollis Ph.D., a researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.”
In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a heart-healthy DASH (a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, attend weekly group sessions and exercise at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss.
“Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice. It’s the process of reflecting on what you eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior,” says Keith Bachman, MD, a Weight Management Initiative member.
“Every day I hear patients say they can’t lose weight. This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support. And food journaling in conjunction with a weight management program or class is the ideal combination of tools and support.”
Dave
Monday, July 7, 2008
Wham: Resveratrol Appears to Suppress Breast Cancer Growth
A common dietary supplement and an ingredient of red wine, resveratrol has been found in new research to suppress the abnormal cell formation that leads to most types of breast cancer. This suggests a potential role for the agent in breast cancer prevention.
As you know from reading this site, resveratrol is a natural substance found in red wine and red grapes. It is sold in extract form as a dietary supplement at many stores and internet shops. Unfortunately, some brands of resveratrol do not have the listed ingredient as promised on the bottle (as an example, one report found that Life Extension brand had only a fraction of its promised resveratrol).
“Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road,” said Eleanor G. Rogan, Ph.D., a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Rogan was the lead author of this report, published in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Rogan and colleagues measured the effect of resveratrol on cellular functions known to contribute to breast cancer.
Scientists know that many breast cancers are fueled by increased estrogen, which collects and reacts with DNA molecules to form what are called "adducts." Rogan and colleagues found that resveratrol was able to suppress the formation of these DNA adducts.
The work was done with fairly low concentrations of resveratrol to stop the formation of these DNA adducts. Although researchers experimented with up to 100 µmol/L of resveratrol, the suppression of DNA adducts was seen with 10 µmol/L. A glass of red wine contains between 9 and 28 µmol/L of resveratrol.
The current study was conducted in laboratory cultures, and will need to be confirmed in larger human trials.
Dave
As you know from reading this site, resveratrol is a natural substance found in red wine and red grapes. It is sold in extract form as a dietary supplement at many stores and internet shops. Unfortunately, some brands of resveratrol do not have the listed ingredient as promised on the bottle (as an example, one report found that Life Extension brand had only a fraction of its promised resveratrol).
“Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road,” said Eleanor G. Rogan, Ph.D., a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Rogan was the lead author of this report, published in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Rogan and colleagues measured the effect of resveratrol on cellular functions known to contribute to breast cancer.
Scientists know that many breast cancers are fueled by increased estrogen, which collects and reacts with DNA molecules to form what are called "adducts." Rogan and colleagues found that resveratrol was able to suppress the formation of these DNA adducts.
The work was done with fairly low concentrations of resveratrol to stop the formation of these DNA adducts. Although researchers experimented with up to 100 µmol/L of resveratrol, the suppression of DNA adducts was seen with 10 µmol/L. A glass of red wine contains between 9 and 28 µmol/L of resveratrol.
The current study was conducted in laboratory cultures, and will need to be confirmed in larger human trials.
Dave
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wham: Appetite Suppressing Effect of Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Omega 3 fatty acids are now showing some importance to those who are dieting.
A new study shows that obese people receiving supplements of omega-3 fatty acids while following a weight loss program experienced a feeling of fullness. It is clear after this research that those who are on weight loss programs should consider asking their doctor about adding these healthy fatty acids to the daily regimen.
"We show that the long chain omega-3 fatty acids can affect postprandial appetite sensations in volunteers during a period of weight loss induced by energy restriction," wrote lead author Dolores Parra in the journal Appetite, to be published on July 14th.
NutraIngredients reports that additional omega-3 fatty acid studies are being developed to test this theory, by researchers from the University of Navarra (Spain), University of Iceland (Iceland) and University College Cork (Ireland).
In this case, the researchers recruited 232 overweight and obese volunteers with an average age of 31 and randomly assigned them to an energy restricted balanced diet, supplemented with either low (260 mg per day) or high dose (1300 mg per day) omega-3 for eight weeks. The appetite measurements were taken during the last two weeks of the study.
Consumption of the weight loss diet and the high-dose omega-3 led to fewer hunger sensations immediately after the test meals, as well as two hours later. Blood sample analysis also showed that a higher omega-3 concentration, and an improved omega-3 to omega-6 ratio were associated with a higher "feeling of fullness."
"The most important finding of this study is that subjects who eat a dinner rich in long chain omega-3 fatty acids feel less hunger and more full directly after and 2 hours after then their counterparts fed with the low long chain omega-3 fatty acids diet," wrote the authors. This observation indicates that these healthy omega-3 fatty acids modulate hunger signals.
Dave
A new study shows that obese people receiving supplements of omega-3 fatty acids while following a weight loss program experienced a feeling of fullness. It is clear after this research that those who are on weight loss programs should consider asking their doctor about adding these healthy fatty acids to the daily regimen.
"We show that the long chain omega-3 fatty acids can affect postprandial appetite sensations in volunteers during a period of weight loss induced by energy restriction," wrote lead author Dolores Parra in the journal Appetite, to be published on July 14th.
NutraIngredients reports that additional omega-3 fatty acid studies are being developed to test this theory, by researchers from the University of Navarra (Spain), University of Iceland (Iceland) and University College Cork (Ireland).
In this case, the researchers recruited 232 overweight and obese volunteers with an average age of 31 and randomly assigned them to an energy restricted balanced diet, supplemented with either low (260 mg per day) or high dose (1300 mg per day) omega-3 for eight weeks. The appetite measurements were taken during the last two weeks of the study.
Consumption of the weight loss diet and the high-dose omega-3 led to fewer hunger sensations immediately after the test meals, as well as two hours later. Blood sample analysis also showed that a higher omega-3 concentration, and an improved omega-3 to omega-6 ratio were associated with a higher "feeling of fullness."
"The most important finding of this study is that subjects who eat a dinner rich in long chain omega-3 fatty acids feel less hunger and more full directly after and 2 hours after then their counterparts fed with the low long chain omega-3 fatty acids diet," wrote the authors. This observation indicates that these healthy omega-3 fatty acids modulate hunger signals.
Dave
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
New Shower Curtains Can Be Dangerous!
Vinyl shower curtains purchased at WalMart, Sears, Target and other stores appear to be quite toxic for their first month of use. These vinyl curtains are manufactured with volatile organic compounds that come out when you open the product, and remain in your house for up to 28 days.
A Canadian research team was responsible for the recommendation to ban the manufacture of these dangerous household products. These PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) products were examined in this study entitled "Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell." Evidently, they contain more than 100 chemicals known to be toxic to humans and they release these toxic chemicals into the air, starting with the moment you bring it home from the store, open the package and take that first great big breath of that chemical smell . . .
The Canadian research team is attempting to persuade the government so that the Canadian Hazardous Products Act can be amended to include these PVC-based vinyl shower curtains as dangerous consumer goods. The scientists have recommended a complete ban.
Dave
A Canadian research team was responsible for the recommendation to ban the manufacture of these dangerous household products. These PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) products were examined in this study entitled "Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell." Evidently, they contain more than 100 chemicals known to be toxic to humans and they release these toxic chemicals into the air, starting with the moment you bring it home from the store, open the package and take that first great big breath of that chemical smell . . .
The Canadian research team is attempting to persuade the government so that the Canadian Hazardous Products Act can be amended to include these PVC-based vinyl shower curtains as dangerous consumer goods. The scientists have recommended a complete ban.
Dave
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