A tie between ALS, dementia?

            ` PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Inquirer noted doctors have long known some people with Lou Gehrig's disease suffer a type of dementia. Some of them develop crippling symptoms like those tied to Gehrig's, gradually losing control of their muscles. A University of Pennsylvania led team says that’s no coincidence. The two distinct diseases are marked by an abnormal accumulation of the same protein - a startling, two-for-one discovery described in the journal Science. "It's huge," said Mike Hutton, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville , Fl, who wasn’t involved with the study. "It completely changes the way in which I think ALS research will focus," he  added, using the abbreviation ALS for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that felled Gehrig. With this find, science has identified at least one faulty protein tied to each of the major neurodegenerative diseases - Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntingdon's, among others. Cures remain years away, but pinpointing an apparent culprit is a major step toward fighting it. The dementia in the new research is a type of frontotemporal dementia, marked by toxic clumps of proteins in the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, which control judgment and behavior. It is less common than Alzheimer's and tends to strike younger people. Scientists aren’t certain whether the protein accumulations described in Science directly cause either disease or play a supporting role. Virginia Lee, a neurobiologist at Penn's School of Medicine and the report's senior author, said they were clearly part of a cascade of events that leads to disease.

            BOSTON - Reuters Health stated findings from a large study indicate patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are at higher risk for migraine, depression, or fibromyalgia, a chronic condition of fatigue, muscle pain, and other symptoms. Research linked IBS with these disorders, but much of the supporting data has come from case reports or from small clinical practices, lead author Dr. J. Alexander Cole and colleagues, of Boston University , note. Plus, issues related study design, such as the lack of a reference group and the inability to account for the possible influence of other risk factors, prevented scientists from reaching definite conclusions. This study in BMC Gastroenterology involved more than 125,000 subjects and had a reference group. The subjects were drawn from a large U.S. health plan and were seen for either IBS or routine medical care (non-IBS group). Compared with non-IBS patients, those with IBS were 60% more likely to have any one of the three disorders, the report shows. Higher risks for depression, migraine, and fibromyalgia were 40%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. These findings support previous reports, which promoted speculation all four disorders share an underlying biological mechanism, the authors conclude.

         ROCKVILLE , MD - MedPage Today disclosed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Risperdal, an adult antipsychotic agent, for symptomatic treatment of irritability in autistic children and adolescents. Risperdal, marketed by Janssen, is the first drug approved for this indication. Aggression, deliberate self-injury, and temper tantrums were the behaviors identified for Risperdal treatment. Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, characterized the approval as part of an FDA initiative to encourage the "development of appropriate pediatric labeling for adult drugs," once the drugs have demonstrated an appropriate risk-benefit profile when tested in children. Risperdal has been approved since 1993 for the short-term treatment of adults with schizophrenia, and since 2003 for the short-term treatment of adults with acute manic or mixed episodes tied to extreme mood swings. Effectiveness in the symptomatic treatment of irritability associated with pediatric autistic disorders was established in two eight-week, placebo-controlled trials in 156 patients ages five to 16, 90% of them five to 12 . The results, which were evaluated using two assessment scales, showed children taking Risperdal achieved significantly improved scores for certain behavioral symptoms of Autism versu children on placebo. The most common side effects of the use of Risperdal included drowsiness, constipation, fatigue, and weight gain.

            VANCOUVER - Reuters Health disclosed people who develop Multiple Sclerosis (MS) later in life don’t always have worse outcomes than those who develop it in early adulthood, states a report in the journal Neurology. It was assumed patients who first develop MS symptoms after around 50 have a poorer prognosis than those diagnosed earlier, Dr. Helen Tremlett said. "Our study indicates this isn’t necessarily the case." She and Dr. Virginia Devonshire, of the University of British Columbia, examined the prognosis and prognostic factors among 132 patients with MS first diagnosed at 50 or older (late onset), and 2,603 patients with first symptoms age 16-49 (adult onset). Motor and brain symptoms were more often the first sign of MS in the late-onset group, authors report, and sensory symptoms and optic neuritis were more common in the adult-onset group. Although disease progression was significantly faster in the late-onset group (16.9 years) than in the adult-onset group (27.7 years), the results indicate, patients in the adult-onset group were significantly younger (58.4 years) than patients in the late-onset group (71.2 years) when they reached the same level of disability. A primary progressive course was associated with more rapid progression in patients with late-onset MS and sensory symptoms were associated with a slower progression, researchers note. Among patients with adult-onset MS, those who had motor and brain symptoms as the first sign had a more rapid disease progression. In this group, progression was slower for women and those with sensory symptoms and optic neuritis at diagnosis.

            NASHVILLE , TN   - MedPage Today disclosed weight, height, and race independently influence prostate-specific antigen ( PSA ) levels, and each may distort the risk of prostate cancer, scientists said. Regardless of race, obese men had lower levels of PSA than normal weight men, while taller men had higher levels of percent free PSA (%fPSA), reported Dr. Jay Fowke, of Vanderbilt University , and colleagues, in the journal Cancer. As a result, an obese man with a slightly elevated PSA might be at higher risk for prostate cancer than a man with a similar PSA and a normal body mass index ( BMI ), they suggested. Prior studies suggested obese men had lower PSAs than leaner men and Caucasian men may have lower PSA levels than African-American men, but the relevance of body size to racial disparities in PSA levels has been unclear, Dr. Fowke said. Epidemiological evidence shows obese patients and African-Americans are diagnosed with more advanced disease. African-Americans are less likely to have a PSA test, while PSA levels may lag in obese patients. Body fat, indirectly measured by BMI , the researchers said, decreases the amount of circulating PSA . In addition, tall height has been shown to affect percent free PSA .