Dr.Dreams A Health,Medical & Wellness Blog » research

Being Fit and Healthy Lessens Threat of Hypertension

Dr Joe — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:29:32 +0000

Although the individuals who have a family past of high blood pressure and hypertension are at elevated threat of progressing the circumstance themselves, physical fitness and regular exercises might prominently reduce the threat, as per the recent study. The findings of the research convey a very practical message which is that even the moderate and Rating: 0.0/ 10 (0 votes cast) Related posts: Exercise—Decreased Hypertension Related Deaths Among Elderly The exercises decreased the threat of death in individuals suffering… Hypertension No Longer ‘Only At Old Age’ Gone are the days when high blood pressure was associated… Stroke Risk Can Be Lowered By Pre-Hypertension Treatment Unhealthy lifestyle habits which include heavy alcohol drinking, chain smoking,…

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Being Fit and Healthy Lessens Threat of Hypertension

Informed Patient: Doctors Ramp Up Type 1 Diabetes Screening

Sean Duffy — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:26:37 +0000

With Type 1 diabetes on the rise, researchers are stepping up efforts to screen patients’ family members, who are at higher risk of also getting the disease, the Informed Patient column reports . More than 100,000 relatives have been screened through a free program offered by Diabetes Type 1 TrialNet , a research network of 18 centers world-wide seeking volunteers to participate in its studies of ways to prevent, delay and cure Type 1, long known as juvenile diabetes. TrialNet Chairman Jay Skyler , a professor and diabetes expert at the University of Miami, tells the Health Blog that the program has grown to about 200 sites and aims to expand testing sites further. “We’ve been broadening our base and the aim is to convince all medical practices to participate,” he says. The goal is to screen at least two to three relatives of patients diagnosed with Type 1 “so we can really make progress” with research. Distinct from the far more prevalent Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that inhibits the body from producing the hormone insulin needed to convert food into energy. It requires lifelong insulin injections. iStockphoto TrialNet uses a simple blood test to determine if patients have antibodies that indicate a risk for developing Type 1. Close blood relatives of people with Type 1 diabetes have 10-to-15-times-greater risk of developing the disease than others in the population. Nevertheless, about 80% of those with the disease have no family history. JDRF , formerly called the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, helps fund TrialNet and hosts mobile-screening units at its fundraising walks. Richard Insel , JDRF’s chief scientific officer, says that new ways to score a patient’s risk can identify those with the highest chance of developing the disease within a couple of years, and can also be used to monitor the disease’s progression. TrialNet provides family members who qualify for the screening testing kits on request and asks for a signed consent form. The kits can then be taken to a local doctor or lab. In addition to grassroots efforts like mobile testing units, TrialNet teams also offer screenings at diabetes summer camps and has even sent a team to test one extended family. If a group asks for a screening, “we will get a team out there to do it,” Dr. Skyler says. Among TrialNet studies underway is the Natural History Study, which is observing people at increased risk for Type 1 diabetes to learn more about the immune and metabolic events that precede actual symptoms. Another is testing whether one insulin capsule a day can prevent or delay Type 1 diabetes in a specific group at risk, after an earlier clinical trial suggested that it might delay the disease for about four years in certain people. Yet a third study is testing whether treatment with the drug teplizumab can prevent or delay the disease in high-risk relatives of people with type 1 diabetes. Earlier studies in people newly diagnosed suggest that the drug reduces the loss of insulin production during the first year of type 1 diabetes. For Type 1 patients with a family history, participation in the study includes close monitoring and the potential to prevent or delay the onset of the disease, says Henry Rodriguez , a principal investigator at the University of South Florida. If diabetes can be delayed, even for a few years, those at risk may be able to postpone the difficult challenges of trying to control their disease and the development of potentially serious complications. “We have the ability to identify those who are at that precipice before developing diabetes and start them on therapy before they get very ill,” Dr. Rodriguez says.

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Informed Patient: Doctors Ramp Up Type 1 Diabetes Screening

A.M. Vitals: Bird-Flu Study Released Despite Terrorism Concerns

Martin Neumann — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:57:09 +0000

iStockphoto Here’s what’s making health news this morning: Terror Fears Fail to Halt Study (WSJ): A government panel had previously recommended against publication of the research on how a bird-flu virus was altered to make it more contagious in animals. U.S. Lags in Global Measure of Premature Births (NY Times): The U.S. does worse than any Western European country, Japan and Scandinavia in the percentage of mothers who give birth before their babies are due, a comparison by the World Health Organization and other groups says. U.S. Charges 107 With Defrauding Medicare (WSJ): Charges were brought in seven cities against defendants for allegedly running fraud schemes involving $452 million in false claims. Deadly Infection Claims San Francisco VA Lab Worker (San Jose Mercury News): The 25-year-old man had been handling bacteria linked to fatal bloodstream infections, raising concerns his colleagues might have been exposed. Vitamins E, C No Help Against Vision Disorder (Reuters): A study published in Ophthalmology , part of ongoing research of more than 14,000 male doctors over age 50, showed the two vitamins — both antioxidants — didn’t help prevent macular degeneration. Analytical Trend Troubles Scientists (WSJ): The popularity of observational studies — as opposed to experimental ones — has raised concerns about the reliability of results. Import Rule Seen Weakening Mad Cow Safeguards, Group Says (Bloomberg News): The USDA rule, proposed in March, would follow criteria set by the World Organization for Animal Health, which farm and rancher groups say would open a loophole weakening protections against the illness.

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A.M. Vitals: Bird-Flu Study Released Despite Terrorism Concerns

Consuming Cocaine Increases Ageing of Brain

Dr Dreams — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:42:02 +0000

Chronic cocaine consumption might increase the brain ageing, a recent research recommends. British investigators scanned around 60 individual’s brains with cocaine reliance and 60 individuals had no past of substance abuse, and discovered that those with cocaine reliance had elevated levels of age concerned loss of brain’s grey matter. The cocaine consumers lost around 2.08 Rating: 0.0/ 10 (0 votes cast) Related posts: Teen Brain and Cocaine: Research Presents Insights into Addiction When initially uncovered to cocaine, the teenage brain establishes a… Research Report Comes out to Fight the Process of Ageing A prestigious medical research institute of America concludes its… Consuming Berries May Slow Down Brain Decline Females who consume plenty of strawberries and blueberries face slower…

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Consuming Cocaine Increases Ageing of Brain

Kids With ADHD May Be Managed With Diet

Sean Duffy — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:01:38 +0000

Along with kids and the adolescent physiatrists, investigators from the Copenhagen University have just finished a comprehensive report which reviews the research that has been conducted so far on the prominence of diet for young individuals and kids with ADHD. The findings show that there are possible advantages in altering the diets of the kids Rating: 0.0/ 10 (0 votes cast) Related posts: Western-style Diet Linked to ADHD Researchers in Perth, Australia have found that hyperactivity disorders are… Be aware of the adult ADHD signs and symptoms It is generally thought by general masses that ADHD is… ADHD Linked To Depression And Higher Suicide Risk for Teenagers According to recent healthy survey, almost one in 10 people…

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Kids With ADHD May Be Managed With Diet

Violence and Bullying Makes Kids Mature Faster

Dr Dreams — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:01:34 +0000

Kids who are victims of violence and bullying behavior have DNA wear and tear which is generally linked with ageing, a recent research shows. It was discovered that violence concerned stress in kids influences telomeres – which is particular DNA series discovered at the tip of chromosomes. This DNA Telomeres, which avoids DNA from unraveling, Rating: 0.0/ 10 (0 votes cast) Related posts: Kids of Combat Veterans, More Prone To Violence Children of parents who have been deployed in the military… Memory Decline—Faster in the Past 2 Years 2 recent studies which were posted in an online journal… Kids With ADHD May Be Managed With Diet Along with kids and the adolescent physiatrists, investigators from the…

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Violence and Bullying Makes Kids Mature Faster

Schizophrenia – Autism Gene Associated

Sean Duffy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:12:11 +0000

Investigators have discovered 33 genes which are linked to Schizophrenia, autism and many other diseases and they admit many of the genes even seem to be modified in individuals with Schizophrenia. Out of the 33 genes only 22 were ascertained as linked with autism for the initial time, as per the research, which presently appeared Rating: 0.0/ 10 (0 votes cast) Related posts: Obesity During Pregnancy, Puts Baby At Higher Risk for Autism Kids born to overweight or obese mothers are at elevated… Autism – A Complete Overview Autism – A Strange Brain Disorder Autism is a neuro-developmental… Paternal and Maternal Age, Crucial in Children With Autism Older paternal and maternal ages are jointly linked with having…

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Schizophrenia – Autism Gene Associated

What Can Tempt Researchers to Tackle a Tough Job? Try Offering a Prize

Dr Joe — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:19:54 +0000

Associated Press Cell lines are critically important to cancer researchers, but developing them is frequently time-consuming, frustrating and unglamorous work. Cancer cells originate in a patient’s tumor and are then grown in plastic containers in the lab. The failure rate is high and, as WSJ reported , apparently successful lines frequently turn out to have been misidentified. Even when success beckons, scientific journals aren’t always keen on publishing papers on the work. So how can patient groups eager to spur development of new treatments tempt scientists to tackle the vital task? How about offering a prize? That’s the solution that came to Josh Sommer, co-founder and executive director of the Chordoma Foundation , a group trying to accelerate the search for treatments for the rare bone cancer. Sommer was an undergraduate at Duke when he was diagnosed with chordoma in 2006. Interested in learning about the disease and helping find treatments, he started working on chordoma cell lines in the lab of Duke cancer researcher Michael J. Kelley . During the course of the research, the scientists became suspicious that some of the cell lines might not be chordoma at all. Testing confirmed their hunch: Only two of the six they tested was actually chordoma. (One of the misidentified cell lines wasn’t even human; it turned out to be from a mouse. They published the results of their tests in 2010 .) They sent the two confirmed cell lines out to 44 labs, hoping to interest researchers in using them to study chordoma. But, “a sample size of two is not very meaningful and two cell lines isn’t enough for some labs to whet their appetite,” says Sommer. So, the foundation launched a contest. Sommer says he was inspired by Prize4Life , a nonprofit founded by a group of Harvard Business School students after one of them, Avichai Kremer, was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Hoping to speed up the development of a treatment, the group offers $1 million prizes to scientists who come up with effective solutions to the different problems thrown up by the hunt for a cure. Sommer didn’t have the same financial clout, so he turned to InnoCentive , a firm that offers a platform for organizations to put up challenges to “crowd source” solutions to knotty issues. In 2010, the chordoma cell-line challenge went live. A spokeswoman at InnoCentive says that there were 11 submissions. Kelley’s lab at Duke checked each one to make sure they met the criteria. And now, there’s a winner: Beate Rinner at the Medical University of Graz, Austria is getting the $10,000 priz e, Sommer tells the Health Blog. Rinner says she plans to use the prize money to further the group’s research on the biology of chordoma. She adds that, upon request, she has already provided the chordoma cell line to labs in the U.S., Netherlands, Germany, and the U.K. Sommer says the goal is to get 10 cell lines reflecting “the diversity of the disease,” and that the Chordoma Foundation plans to continue to offer a $10,000 prize for each validated cell line. “We want many people to try, and to get people to use different approaches,’’ says Sommer. The prize, he says, “gives them some incentive.”

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What Can Tempt Researchers to Tackle a Tough Job? Try Offering a Prize

Simpler Language, More Access to Results Sought for Clinical-Trial Volunteers

Dr Dreams — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:13:20 +0000

Pressure is growing on researchers to do a better job of communicating the results of clinical trials to the volunteers who participated. As WSJ’s Informed Patient reports , groups like the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research are stepping up programs to help match patients to clinical trials. Meanwhile, new FDA regulations that went into effect last month require that trial results be included in the federal ClinicalTrials.gov website after studies are completed. A number of summaries are already posted on the site, but they tend to be technical and aimed primarily at experts. Deborah Zarin, director of ClinicalTrials.gov, tells the Health Blog that the Department of Health and Human Services is now considering whether consumer summaries can be developed in a way that is “non-promotional, complete and accurate.” Zarin adds that ultimately ClinicalTrials.gov will have to depend on industry and research sponsors to provide such information, “and no amount of regulation will get us to the point of it being part of the professional culture” to provide such summaries for lay readers. According to a report published in the March issue of Expert Review in Clinical Pharmacology, preparing lay studies is feasible and generally easy to do. However, while most study volunteers are extremely receptive to receiving clinical trial results, most of them never do. For the report, The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation and Pfizer’s Center for Discovery and Development Sciences translated technical clinical results of two Pfizer drugs into lay-language summaries, and added extra touches like sending thank-you cards to volunteers and updating them on the progress of reporting the results. Volunteers appreciated the thanks and the updates. And a majority felt they understood the results of their trial very well or somewhat well after reviewing the lay summaries. “People who agree to participate in clinical research want to know that their involvement informed medical knowledge about disease and how to treat it,” says lead author Kenneth Getz , an assistant professor at the Tufts University Center for the Study of Drug Development. He also heads the nonprofit CISCRP and owns CenterWatch , a for-profit publisher of information and data used by clinical research professionals. In addition to helping patients search for clinical trials through its website or with a call to 1-877-MED HERO, CISCRP creates easy-to-understand results for certain trials. Deb Faculak, a 62-year-old interior designer with Parkinson’s, enrolled in a trial she found through the Fox foundation’s Fox Trial Finder studying the effectiveness of a drug to treat uncontrollable tremors that can be a side effect of Levodopa, the primary treatment for Parkinson’s. Her participation consisted of eight visits of about two hours each to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in Michigan, and she kept a diary of her symptoms. She doesn’t know which arm of the study she was in, but she is convinced she received the drug rather than a placebo and is eager to learn about the results and participate in future research. “I was happy to be a guinea pig,” says Ms. Faculak. “The only way these drugs are going to be approved is to go through these trials, and if we don’t do it, who will?”

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A.M. Vitals: Advocacy groups playing matchmaker for drug research

Dr Dreams — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:08:17 +0000

Here’s what’s making news this morning: Advocacy groups are finding patients for drug trials. (WSJ). The matchmaking comes as shortages of volunteers have slowed trials of new treatments for cancer and other diseases. Researchers identify the part of the brain that concentrates attention on a particular speaker. (WSJ). The finding explains the accidents people can have while multi-tasking during driving or the failures to observe events within one’s field of vision. Measles deaths world-wide drop by 74%, saving 9.6 million kids between 2000 and 2010. (AP). The drop, reported in Tuesday’s Lancet, is the result of vaccination campaigns, but fails to meet a World Health Organization target of a 90-percent reduction. Social Security will exhaust its reserves three years earlier than had been estimated. (WSJ). Funds for the retirement and disability benefits will run out in 2033, increasing the pressure on Washington to find a fix.

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A.M. Vitals: Advocacy groups playing matchmaker for drug research