Tag Archives: Health Studies

Studies: Steep Increase In “Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer”; First Screening At Age 45 Suggested (JAMA)

From a JAMA Network Open online release (Jan 31, 2020):

JAMA Network OPEN LogoSteep incidence increases between 49 and 50 years of age are consistent with previously undetected colorectal cancers diagnosed via screening uptake at 50 years. These cancers are not reflected in observed rates of colorectal cancer in the SEER registries among individuals younger than 50 years. Hence, using observed incidence rates from 45 to 49 years of age alone to assess potential outcomes of earlier screening may underestimate cancer prevention benefits.

Colorectal Cancer Incidence Rates per 100000 30 - 60 Years of age 2000-2016 JAMA

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) incidence rates are increasing, and controversy exists regarding whether average-risk screening should begin at 45 or 50 years of age.1 In 2018, the American Cancer Society recommended that average-risk screening start at 45 years of age.2 Others recommend screening at 50 years of age, although the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer recommends screening African American individuals at age 45 years of age owing to higher incidence, mortality, and earlier-onset disease.36 The American Cancer Society decision incorporated modeling studies that used updated incidence and mortality data encompassing time periods of increasing EOCRC incidence rates; modeling compared life-years gained by initiating screening at 45 vs 50 years.

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Studies: Irregular Sleep Disrupts Pancreatic “Circadian Rhythms”, Leading To Type 2 Diabetes

From a Technology Networks online article:

Technology NetworksBy comparing the pancreatic cells of type 2 diabetic human donors with those of healthy people, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and at the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), Switzerland, were able to demonstrate, for the first time, that the pancreatic islet cells derived from the Type 2 Diabetic human donors bear compromised circadian oscillators.

The disruption of the circadian clocks was concomitant with the perturbation of hormone secretion. Moreover, using clock modulator molecule dubbed Nobiletin, extracted from lemon peel, the researchers succeeded in “repairing” the disrupted cellular clocks and in partial restoring of the islet cell function. These results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, provide a first insight into innovative approach for diabetes care.

PNAS Pancreatic Islets from type 2 diabetes

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The circadian clock system (from Latin “circa diem”, about a day) allows the organisms to anticipate periodical changes of geophysical time, and to adjust to these changes. Nearly all the cells in our body comprise molecular clocks that regulate and synchronize metabolic functions to a 24-hour cycle of day-night changes.

Today, increasing evidence show that disturbances in our internal clocks stemming from frequent time zone changes, irregular working schedules or ageing, have a significant impact on the development of metabolic diseases in human beings, including type-2 diabetes. Such disturbances seem to prevent the proper functioning of the cells in the pancreatic islet that secrete insulin and glucagon, the hormones that regulate blood sugar levels.

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Nutrition Studies: 70% Of U.S. Fast-Food Meals Are “Poor Dietary Quality”

“Our findings show dining out is a recipe for unhealthy eating most of the time,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author and dean of the Friedman School. 

At fast-food restaurants, 70 percent of the meals Americans consumed were of poor dietary quality in 2015-16, down from 75 percent in 2003-04. At full-service restaurants, about 50 percent were of poor nutritional quality, an amount that remained stable over the study period. The remainder were of intermediate nutritional quality.

BOSTON (Jan. 29, 2020, 9:00 a.m. EST)—The typical American adult gets one of every five Tufts School of Nutrition Science and Policy logocalories from a restaurant, but eating out is a recipe for meals of poor nutritional quality in most cases, according to a new study by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

menu-infographic_1280x850_Tufts University_1-29-20_Final(3)

Published today in The Journal of Nutrition, the study analyzed the dietary selections of more than 35,000 U.S. adults from 2003-2016 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who dined at full-service (those with wait staff) or fast-food restaurants, which included pizza shops and what has become known as fast-casual. The researchers assessed nutritional quality by evaluating specific foods and nutrients in the meals, based on the American Heart Association 2020 diet score.

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Studies: Heart Surgery Patients Can Be Safely Discharged In 3 Days

From a News-Medical.net online release:

Northwestern Medicine logo“Patients can go home after a shorter length of stay in the hospital without increased risk of complications and rehospitalizations,” said Dr. Malaisrie. “Because we found no detrimental effect of accelerated discharge, both patients and physicians should not be averse to discharging patients when medically ready.”

Dr. Malaisrie anticipates that the Northwestern Medicine cardiac ERAS program will result in faster recoveries, reduced complications, decreased time in the hospital, lower costs, and improved patient/family satisfaction. In the future, the researchers plan to closely examine both traditional clinical endpoints and patient-reported outcomes from the program.

“Expectations for recovery after cardiac surgery are being reset in the current era,” he said. “What does this mean for patients? It means that prolonged or taxing recovery is no longer required. Patients should know that recovery from heart surgery is not only quicker, but also better with ERAS programs.”

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Studies: Depression Diagnosis Increases Risk Of Dementia For Decades

From a PLOS Medicine online study:

Depression is associated with increased odds of dementia, even more than 20 years after diagnosis of depression, and the association remains after adjustment for familial factors. Further research is needed to investigate whether successful prevention and treatment of depression decrease the risk of dementia.

The risk of dementia is increased for decades after a diagnosis of depression, where those diagnosed with especially severe depressions are at increased risk.

Risk of Dementia increased after diagnosis of Depression chart 2020

Dementia is common among the elderly, causing severe individual suffering as well as societal strain. As the proportion of people aged 65 years and above is rapidly increasing in the world population, the number of individuals with dementia is expected to double within 20 years, and this condition was estimated to have a worldwide cost of US$604 billion in 2010. Effective treatments for dementia remain scarce; however, a preventive approach may be possible through the identification of high-risk individuals and potentially modifiable risk factors.

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Health Studies: Marijuana Use Associated With Rise In Cardiovascular Disease

From a Journal of the American College of Cardiology:

Observational data suggest associations between marijuana and a broad range of adverse cardiovascular risks. Marijuana is becoming increasingly potent, and smoking marijuana carries many of the same cardiovascular health hazards as smoking tobacco. Synthetic cannabinoids have been linked to more sustained and deleterious pharmacodynamic effects.

Marijuana Use and Cardiovascular Disease Infographic

Marijuana use is increasing as more states are legalizing cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes. National survey data estimate that >2 million Americans with established cardiovascular diseases currently use or have used marijuana in its variety of forms, including inhalation and vaping. Cannabinoid receptors are distributed in multiple tissue beds and cells, including platelets, adipose tissue, and myocytes.

Highlights

  • • We estimate that >2 million U.S. adults who have reported ever using marijuana have cardiovascular disease.

  • • Observational studies have suggested an association between marijuana use and a range of cardiovascular risks.

  • • Marijuana is becoming increasingly potent, and smoking marijuana carries many of the same cardiovascular health hazards as smoking tobacco.

  • • Few randomized clinical trials have been conducted or are planned to explore the effects of marijuana on cardiovascular risk.

  • • Screening and testing for use of marijuana are encouraged in clinical settings, especially in the care of young patients presenting with cardiovascular disease.

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Studies: Openly Given “Placebos” Are Effective For Chronic Pain Relief

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

Researchers in Germany published a study in the journal Pain in December showing that open-label placebos can help relieve chronic lower-back pain, Placebo Expectation of Benefitsreplicating a 2016 study. A similar study by University of Colorado, Boulder researchers found that placebo saline injections reduce chronic lower-back pain.

Two other recent studies showed placebos openly given to cancer patients helped relieve cancer-related fatigue. And a forthcoming study by German researchers found openly giving placebo to elderly patients helped improve knee pain.

More researchers are looking at the idea of placebos—substances that have no actual pharmaceutical effect—as an alternative to traditional pain medications, which can be ineffective and carry significant side effects. Placebos might have particular potential for difficult-to-treat conditions like chronic back pain, cancer-related fatigue and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, researchers hope.

As many as 30% to 50% of chronic pain patients will respond to placebos, research suggests. And new studies are helping to identify genetic and brain differences that make certain people more likely to respond.

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Study: “Probiotic Drink” Developed That Thwarts Antibiotic Resistance

From a Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News online article:

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News logo“We were able to show that if you can stop the plasmid from replicating, then most of the bacteria lose the plasmid as the bacteria grow and divide. This means that infections that might otherwise be hard to control, even with the most powerful antibiotics available, are more likely to be treatable with standard antibiotics.”

journal.pone.0225202.g001
Fig 1. Anticipated exploitation of pCURE as a probiotic treatment for at-risk individuals. Before treatment, plasmids carrying antibiotic resistance genes are shown as purple circles. After treatment, target plasmids are replaced by pCURE (green circle) which could be engineered to later “self-destruct”. Note that not all gut bacteria carry resistance plasmids but pCURE can enter all Enterobacteriaceae as well as other bacteria. Reduced resistance levels in the gut decrease the chance of treatment failure when infections elsewhere in the body (eg lungs or urinary tract) arise from gut bacteria.

 

Researchers headed by a team at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. have developed a probiotic drink containing genetic elements that are designed to thwart antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in gut bacteria at the genetic level. The drink targets small DNA elements called plasmids that carry antibiotic resistance genes, and which are able to replicate independently and spread between bacteria. By preventing these plasmids from replicating, the antibiotic resistance genes are displaced, effectively resensitizing the bacteria to antibiotics.

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Health Studies: Women’s Blood Vessels Age Faster Than Men’s, Increasing Heart Disease Risks

From a Cedars-Sinai.org online release:

Cedars Sinai logo“Our data showed that rates of accelerating blood pressure elevation were significantly higher in women than men, starting earlier in life,” said Cheng, the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health, who also serves as director of Cardiovascular Population Sciences at the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. “This means that if we define the hypertension threshold the exact same way, a 30-year old woman with high blood pressure is probably at higher risk for cardiovascular disease than a man with high blood pressure at the same age.”

Women's Blood Vessels Age Faster Than Men;s Cedars-Sinai January 15 2020

(January 15, 2020) – New research from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai showed for the first time that women’s blood vessels – including both large and small arteries – age at a faster rate than men’s. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Cardiology, could help to explain why women tend to develop different types of cardiovascular disease and with different timing than men.

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Health Studies: “Head and Neck Injuries Associated With Cell Phone Use”

From a JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surgery article:

JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery JournalCell phone–related injuries to the head and neck have increased steeply over the recent 20-year period, with many cases resulting from distraction. Although the disposition of most cases is simple, some injuries bear a risk of long-term complications. Many of these injuries occurred among those aged 13 to 29 years and were associated with common activities, such as texting while walking. These findings suggest a need for patient education about injury prevention and the dangers of activity while using these devices.

Activities During Cell Phone Use associated with Injury by age group JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg.

Since their invention, cell phones have played a major role in the daily lives of American adults. Approximately 96% of Americans own a cell phone, provoking interest in their role in causing injury. Given that head and neck traumas make up approximately 5% of emergency department (ED) visits in the United States, cell phone use in relation to such injuries could be of public health concern, in particular because of the psychological and financial burdens such injuries may entail. In addition, knowledge of the mechanism of injury is vital for patient risk stratification and trauma management,and understanding the mechanisms of common cell phone–related injuries can aid health care professionals in assessing patient needs. Health care professionals and public safety officials also must be aware of the epidemiologic nature of such injuries in order to provide adequate counseling and give input for legislation to protect the population.

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