Southern states suffer strokes

            WASHINGTON - Strokes are highest in Southern states and least in Connecticut , found a report to Reuters with state listing of the third leading cause of death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported better-educated people are far less likely to have one. Data was from a survey of 350,000-plus Americans to estimate people in all states over 18 who have had a non-fatal stroke. Overall, the figure was 2.6%. Prevalence ranged from 1.5% in Connecticut to 4.3% in Mississippi , the study found. CDC epidemiologist Jonathan Neyer, the lead author, said states with high prevalence tended to have people with more major risk factors; i.e., obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and diabetes. Regional differences reflect poverty, diet, exercise, and access to healthcare, CDC stated. After Misssissippi came Oklahoma (3.4%); Louisiana (3.3%); Alabama and Nevada (3.2%); Tennessee , Missouri , and Kentucky (3.1%); Arkansas , Illinois , Michigan , Texas , and West Virginia (3.0%). After Connecticut , lowest prevalence was in Colorado and Minnesota (1.7%); North Dakota (1.8%); Wisconsin and Wyoming (1.9%); and Arizona , New Jersey , Maryland , Massachusetts , Montana , Rhode Island , and Vermont (2.1%). Stroke in blacks (4%) was far higher than in whites (2.3%).

            NEW HAVEN, CT - Yale University School of Medicine scientists found those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have higher type II diabetes risk, independent of other risk factors. Results were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference. The study of 593 VA Connecticut Health Care System patients evaluated sleep-disordered breathing. Each patient underwent a sleep study called polysomnography. Scientists followed the subjects for up to six years and saw patients diagnosed with OSA had more than 2 1/2 times the diabetes risk versus those sans OSA. Patients were divided into groups based on OSA severity; the more severe the OSA, the greater the diabetes risk. Data exists that OSA is tied to hypertension, stroke, and heart disease. The most effective OSA treatment is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which delivers air through a mask while the patient sleeps, keeping the airway open. It has to be determined whether CPAP treatment for OSA can actually improve conditions such as diabetes.

            LONDON - TIME.com rnoted it took 15 years to get the right gene, neutralize a virus that could carry it, and prove - in test tubes and live animals - the effort was safe for humans. Robert Johnson got the first shot. British doctors announced they put a needle into his retina to replace the faulty gene that blinded him for years. That made him the first person to undergo gene therapy for an eye condition, although it may take months to determine if it worked. A second patient got the same treatment shortly thereafter, and 10 more were to follow in a trial led by Robin Ali, a human molecular genetics professor at University College . All 12 patients have a gene that gives them a form of Leber's Congenital Amaurocis, a major cause of congenital blindness. Born with limited sight, the patients become blind as they age. They have enough photoreceptor cells, which don't work because one gene is a dud. Ali is firing functional versions of the faulty gene into those cells; the one-time process could cure the blindness permanently. Johnson's condition - a faulty RPE65 gene - is incredibly rare, but Ali says the process, if it works, could be used to treat any one of about 100 inherited single-gene sight disorders that, together, affect one in 2,000 or 3,000 people.

            ST. PAUL , MN - A simple personality test could help doctors find dementia with Lewy bodies (often confused with Alzheimer's) sooner, states a study in the journal Neurology. Dementia w/Lewy bodies is the No. 2 most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia and shares Alzheimer's and Parkinson's characteristics. Getting the correct diagnosis is most important because some medications used to treat mental health symptoms of Alzheimer's can be dangerous for people with dementia w/Lewy bodies. The study found even before diagnosis, people with dementia w/Lewy displayed passive personality changes - diminished emotions, disinterest in hobbies, repetitive behaviors, or lack of interest, more often than those with Alzheimer's. Also, people whose blood shows inflammation are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than people with no inflammation, notes a study in Neurology. Participants' blood was tested for cytokines, protein messengers that trigger inflammation. Those with the highest cytokines were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's. "These results provide further evidence inflammation plays a role in Alzheimer's," said study author Dr. Zaldy Tan, of Harvard Medical School .

            ALEXANDRIA , VA - The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) emphasizes the price our military pays, even when it doesn’t cost lives. Gunfire can have a profound impact on hearing and affect post-military lives. An Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery study (2007, Vol. 136, No. 1) found soldiers at high risk of hearing loss from gunfire “impulse noise,” often leading to acoustic trauma in 10-15% of those back from active duty. The study urges better hearing protection for military exposed to gunshots and similar noise. Otolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons are working to help soldiers with balance issues from explosions and gunfire, plus repairing fractures and wounds to the head and neck. “We must understand the long-term impact of active duty,” said AAO-HNS executive vice president/CEO Dr. David R. Nielsen. “Long-term hearing loss is a major concern, and severely impacts our soldiers’ abilities to transition to civilian life. Injuries to the face, head, and neck are serious issues.”

            BIRMINGHAM , AL - The University of Alabama / Birmingham opened one of the few U.S. clinics to offer services to Down Syndrome (DS) adults. Due to gains in diagnosis, treatment, and management while young, DS adults routinely live into adulthood, and have the same risks for diseases as the entire country. “Children’s hospitals, pediatricians, and our medical system have done such a wonderful job in caring for children with [DS] that many live into their 40s, 50s, or more,” said clinic director Dr. Edward J. Lose, assistant professor of genetics. He said ills such as high blood pressure and diabetes are among those adult DS patients face. These adults still need care aimed at complications arising from DS. He said the problem for DS adults in finding a primary care doctor is more acute in rural areas than near large cities. The clinic offers social work, nutrition, psychology, genetics, occupational/physical therapy, and audiology. Dr. Lose hopes to add financial planning soon. The clinic sees patients from Alabama and nearby states.

            NEW YORK - Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is known to delay children's development of movement and coordination, but research shows it may also slow language development, Reuters Health noted. DMD occurs in roughly one of every 3,500 male births, stated the report in the Journal of Pediatrics. DMD is thought of mainly affecting muscles, because kids become progressively weaker; slowness with words has been shown in kids and adolescents with DMD. Dr. Veronica J. Hinton, of Columbia University , and colleagues analyzed parents' reports to assess the achievement of 10 common developmental milestones by 130 kids with DMD and 59 unaffected siblings. The milestones included smiling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, speaking, forming sentences, being bowel trained, being bladder trained, and reading. The team found kids with DMD were more likely than siblings to have delays in motor and language development. Results indicate DMD kids classified as late walkers or talkers had lower cognition scores than those who walked or talked at the expected age. Dr. Hinton and her team conclude, "The initiation of an early intervention may help limit later learning problems, potentially enhancing quality of life for a group of children who face adversity in the form of enormous physical and emotional challenges."