Briefly 8-5

Diet, exercise win again

            SAN DIEGO - MedPage Today disclosed breast cancer survivors who eat properly and exercise may halve mortality risk despite obesity, scientists found. In a prospective study, women who ate five or more servings of vegetables and fruits daily and got at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise six days a week had significant survival advantage, said Dr. John P. Pierce, of the University of California , and his team. This effect was seen for both obese and non-obese women, but not for women who focused on just one aspect of that healthy lifestyle, they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Prior studies on the impact of diet or physical activity on breast cancer survival had mixed results, but none evaluated both aspects together, scientists said. They analyzed the control group of the Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study investigating a plant-based diet after breast cancer. The 1,490 women volunteered for the trial within four years of early-stage breast cancer diagnosis. All had completed primary therapy, although most were still on tamoxifen. They completed 24-hour dietary recall and physical activity questionnaires at baseline, then filled out health status questionnaires at five clinic visits over six years, with semiannual phone calls to report health events. Average vegetable and fruit intake reported was 4.93 servings a day.

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. disclosed parents of children with special healthcare needs are especially vulnerable to work-family conflicts that family leave benefits might help resolve. In a study in the May issue of Pediatrics, researchers find many full-time working parents of kids with such needs say they need more leave than to which they have access (pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/119/5/e1047).

            ANN ARBOR , MI - About 9,700 U.S. women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year. It may seem a small number, but another 1.2 million women will develop pre-cancerous dysplasia. If left untreated, that becomes cervical cancer. “Because of Pap smears, a huge number of women are no longer dying of cervical cancer, but this is a disease that can be almost entirely prevented,” says Dr. Carolyn Johnston, clinical associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Besides early detection, a new vaccine could help prevent cervical cancer. U-M experts report a common misconceptions: Cervical cancer can’t be prevented. Truth: Infection with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, is an absolute requirement for cervical cancer. This is transmitted sexually, but most worrisome types of infection can be prevented with a new vaccine. Myth 2: I’m too young to worry about cervical cancer. Truth: The average age of patients is 48. While it’s not common, women can be diagnosed in their 20s. Myth 3: I don’t have intercourse, so I don’t need the HPV vaccine. Truth: HPV can be passed from one partner to another through intercourse, plus orally and touching.

            ATLANTA - The Associated Press reported U.S. costs for arthritis and related conditions rose to $128 billion in 2003/ The tab will rise as people age and get heavier, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated. That data included $80.8 billion in direct costs, such as medical fees, and $47 billion in indirect costs, such as lost wages, CDC added. The total was up 48% from 1997’s $86.2 billion, largely because surveys identified 9,000,000 more cases of arthritis or related woes, CDC said. It figured 46.1 million people were treated for arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in 2003, and 29.5 million lost earnings. CDC sees 8,000,000 more people will suffer arthritis 2005-2015, and recommended lowering costs with wider use of self-management, which teaches patients to manage pain and continue working. California had the largest costs from arthritis at $12.1 billion, followed by $8.7 billion in New York and Texas , and $7.6 billion in Florida .

            ROYAL OAK, MI - Anemia and other ills related to chronic kidney disease are tied independently to cardiovascular disease risk; heart disease is tied to a decline in kidney function/kidney disease development, state two reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Chronic kidney disease is much more prevalent worldwide, state the articles. Chronic kidney disease is tied to various complications, including anemia, nerve pain, bone disease, death, and cardiovascular disease. Most patients with chronic kidney disease die of heart disease complications versus kidney failure. In one study, Dr. Peter A. McCullough, of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak , and his team checked 37,153 people screened for kidney disease in a community-based program 2000-2003. Participants (average age 52.9) all reported a personal or family history of diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease on a screening survey. Dr. Essam F. Elsayed, of Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, and his team evaluated 13,826 participants (average age 57.6) in one of two large cardiovascular health studies 1987-1990 and followed up at three-year intervals over 9.3 years. "Our study demonstrates cardiovascular disease is [tied to] subsequent kidney function decline and development of kidney disease," authors conclude.

            BALTIMORE - More than 26 million people globally were seen having Alzheimer’s disease in 2006, found a study led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They found Alzheimer’s global prevalence will exceed 106 million by 2050; 43% of those with Alzheimer’s will need care equal to a nursing home. The findings were published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. “We face [an] epidemic of Alzheimer’s as the world’s population ages,” said lead author Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, biostatistics professor and chair of the Master of Public Health Program at Bloomberg. “By 2050, one in 85 persons worldwide will have Alzheimer’s. However, if we can make modest advances in preventing Alzheimer’s or delay progression, we could have a huge global public health impact.” Interventions that could delay the onset by as little as one year would reduce prevalence by 12 million cases in 2050.

            BETHESDA , MD - Ex-military personnel are twice as likely to kill themselves as people devoid of combat, noted a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. That suggests doctors need to check signs of suicidal intent in soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq . Scientists followed 320,000 men over 18 for 12 years and found those in the armed forces 1917-1994 were twice as likely to die from suicide versus men in the general public. The risk was highest in vets who couldn’t be involved fully in home, work, or leisure activities due to a health problem. Vets who killed themselves were more likely to be older, white, better educated, and less likely to have never been married than other suicides. Ex-soldiers who were overweight were far less likely to kill themselves than those of normal weight. A tour of duty in the military didn’t increase the risk of dying from natural or accidental causes, or of being a homicide victim. Authors concluded: “With the projected rise in functional impairments and psychiatric morbidity among vets of Afghanistan and Iraq , clinical and community interventions directed towards these patients are needed.” Vets were 58% more likely to use a gun. The National Institute of Mental Health funded the research.

            BOSTON - Harvard University 's World Health News noted the New York Times stated: "In the book “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” a group of lab rats acquire human intelligence through a genetic experiment. Every child recognizes the charming tale as pure fantasy, yet something similar is occurring at pharmaceuticals company Wyeth, where rats tested in its labs have taken on some features of the human brain. Unlike the fictional rats that learned to read, write, and operate machinery, Wyeth's animals are slow-witted, confused, and forgetful because they suffer from Alzheimer's disease, which they acquired from a transplanted human gene. Something else extraordinary is going on at Wyeth: scientists not only can give rodents Alzheimer's but also figured out how to take it away. Curing mice is a lot simpler than people, but the results are a tantalizing development that offers hope to humans suffering from the disease. The work advances what Wyeth executives describe as their war on Alzheimer's."

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, DC disclosed an Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities is offered by the National Fire Protection Association. It has general data to assist in identifying the needs of people with disabilities related to emergency evacuation planning. The guide is at www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=824.

            VIENNA - MedPage Today disclosed three drugs, two approved and one in the pipeline, are improving care for patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), clinicians state. The agents - Rituxan, Orencia, and Acterma - all cut RA signs/symptoms, improve physical function and health status, and slow joint damage progression, said Dr. Josef Smolen, of Medical University of Vienna, and his team. RA heterogeneity is a reason why no single therapy is effective for all patients or one patient at all times, authors wrote online at The Lancet. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs such as Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade added to methotrexate have significant anti-inflammatory and joint-protecting activity, they noted. To see if there might be relief for those patients, investigators reviewed action, efficacy, and safety of the three newer agents, each of which has a mechanism of action different from that of established anti-arthritis agents. In clinical trials, rituximab was tied to RA symptoms reduction exceeding 50% for more than 33% of patients.