‘Virus Bom’ To Stop Swine Flu

TAIPEI – A Taiwanese government-funded research team Tuesday unveiled an organic compound that it says can kill swine flu and bird flu viruses in the environment to help prevent their spread. The National Taiwan University team said the compound – which it has named “VirusBom” – can be made into a hand wash, a spraying agent or integrated into air filters and fabrics like facial masks to effectively kill a variety of viruses such as A(H1N1) swine flu and avian influenza and stop the spread of bacteria including those responsible for staph infections. The invention was unveiled as the World Health Organization said Tuesday the death toll from swine flu had passed 700 since the outbreak began in April.Researchers said the invention was of special significance amid signs that swine flu had started to develop resistance to Tamiflu, the world’s major anti-viral flu drug. C.K. Lee, a professor of engineering science who leads the NTU team, described the chemical as “a simple, organic compound” developed through “synthetic methodology” in the lab. He refused to give details, saying the team is applying for patents in Taiwan and the United States. Lee said “VirusBom” differed from ordinary antiseptics on the market such as Purellbecause it specifically targets the swine and bird flu viruses while other products do not. “This particular compound prevents the virus (from) entering your body to interact with your immune system,” he said. “All types of viruses, the swine flu, bird flu and intestinal diseases collapse” after being exposed to the compound, he said In a rare scientific breakthrough, he said a dose of between 30 and 300 ppm (parts per million) of the compound can break up the virus and kill it without causing any damage to human cells. The compound has the potential to be developed into a drug, which would require a dose lower than 3 ppm to work in the human body, he said. The team had started research on developing the anti-viral compound back in 2006 in response to the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The technology has been transferred to a local company to mass produce products incorporating it. Lin said the first products using the compound could hit the market in Sept. – Agencies Source: Saudi Gazette

Kids' Lower IQ Scores Linked To Prenatal Pollution

CHICAGO – Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain. The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust. At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure. That's a big enough difference that it could affect children's performance in school, said Frederica Perera, the study's lead author and director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. Dr. Michael Msall, a University of Chicago pediatrician not involved in the research, said the study doesn't mean that children living in congested cities "aren't going to learn to read and write and spell.” But it does suggest that you don't have to live right next door to a belching factory to face pollution health risks, and that there may be more dangers from typical urban air pollution than previously thought, he said. "We are learning more and more about low-dose exposure and how things we take for granted may not be a free ride," he said. While future research is needed to confirm the new results, the findings suggest exposure to air pollution before birth could have the same harmful effects on the developing brain as exposure to lead, said Patrick Breysse, an environmental health specialist at Johns Hopkins' school of public health. And along with other environmental harms and disadvantages low-income children are exposed to, it could help explain why they often do worse academically than children from wealthier families, Breysse said. "It's a profound observation," he said. "This paper is going to open a lot of eyes.“ The study in the August edition of Pediatrics was released Monday. In earlier research, involving some of the same children and others, Perera linked prenatal exposure to air pollution with genetic abnormalities at birth that could increase risks for cancer; smaller newborn head size and reduced birth weight. Her research team also has linked it with developmental delays at age 3 and with children's asthma. The researchers studied pollutants that can cross the placenta and are known scientifically as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Main sources include vehicle exhaust and factory emissions. Tobacco smoke is another source, but mothers in the study were nonsmokers. A total of 140 study children, 56 percent, were in the high exposure group. That means their mothers likely lived close to heavily congested streets, bus depots and other typical sources of city air pollution; the researchers are still examining data to confirm that, Perera said. The mothers were black or Dominican-American; the results likely apply to other groups, researchers said. The researchers took into account other factors that could influence IQ, including secondhand smoke exposure, the home learning environment and air pollution exposure after birth, and still found a strong influence from prenatal exposure, Perera said Dr. Robert Geller, an Emory University pediatrician and toxicologist, said the study can't completely rule out that pollution exposure during early childhood might have contributed. He also noted fewer mothers in the high exposure group had graduated from high school. While that might also have contributed to the high-dose children's lower IQ scores, the study still provides compelling evidence implicating prenatal pollution exposure that should prompt additional studies, Geller said. The researchers said they plan to continuing monitoring and testing the children to learn whether school performance is affected and if there are any additional long-term effects. ___ On the Net: Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org Source: Yahoo Health News

Unraveling How Children Become Bilingual So Easily

WASHINGTON – The best time to learn a foreign language: Between birth and age 7. Missed that window? New research is showing just how children's brains can become bilingual so easily, findings that scientists hope eventually could help the rest of us learn a new language a bit easier. "We think the magic that kids apply to this learning situation, some of the principles, can be imported into learning programs for adults," says Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington, who is part of an international team now trying to turn those lessons into more teachable technology. Each language uses a unique set of sounds. Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday. Kuhl offers an example: Japanese doesn't distinguish between the "L" and "R" sounds of English — "rake" and "lake" would sound the same. Her team proved that a 7-month-old in Tokyo and a 7-month-old in Seattle respond equally well to those different sounds. But by 11 months, the Japanese infant had lost a lot of that ability. Time out — how do you test a baby? By tracking eye gaze. Make a fun toy appear on one side or the other whenever there's a particular sound. The baby quickly learns to look on that side whenever he or she hears a brand-new but similar sound. Noninvasive brain scans document how the brain is processing and imprinting language. Mastering your dominant language gets in the way of learning a second, less familiar one, Kuhl's research suggests. The brain tunes out sounds that don't fit. "You're building a brain architecture that's a perfect fit for Japanese or English or French," whatever is native, Kuhl explains — or, if you're a lucky baby, a brain with two sets of neural circuits dedicated to two languages. It's remarkable that babies being raised bilingual — by simply speaking to them in two languages — can learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. On average, monolingual and bilingual babies start talking around age 1 and can say about 50 words by 18 months. Italian researchers wondered why there wasn't a delay, and reported this month in the journal Sciencethat being bilingual seems to make the brain more flexible. The researchers tested 44 12-month-olds to see how they recognized three-syllable patterns — nonsense words, just to test sound learning. Sure enough, gaze-tracking showed the bilingual babies learned two kinds of patterns at the same time — like lo-ba-lo or lo-lo-ba — while the one-language babies learned only one, concluded Agnes Melinda Kovacs of Italy's International School for Advanced Studies. While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty. "We're seeing the brain as more plastic and ready to create new circuits before than after puberty," Kuhl says. As an adult, "it's a totally different process. You won't learn it in the same way. You won't become (as good as) a native speaker.“ Yet a soon-to-be-released survey from the Center for Applied Linguistics, a nonprofit organization that researches language issues, shows U.S. elementary schools cut back on foreign language instruction over the last decade. About a quarter of public elementary schools were teaching foreign languages in 1997, but just 15 percent last year, say preliminary results posted on the center's Web site. What might help people who missed their childhood window? Baby brains need personal interaction to soak in a new language — TV or CDs alone don't work. So researchers are improving the technology that adults tend to use for language learning, to make it more social and possibly tap brain circuitry that tots would use. Recall that Japanese "L" and "R" difficulty? Kuhl and scientists at Tokyo Denki University and the University of Minnesota helped develop a computer language program that pictures people speaking in "motherese," the slow exaggeration of sounds that parents use with babies. Japanese college students who'd had little exposure to spoken English underwent 12 sessions listening to exaggerated "Ls" and "Rs" while watching the computerized instructor's face pronounce English words. Brain scans — a hair dryer-looking device called MEG, for magnetoencephalography — that measure millisecond-by-millisecond activity showed the students could better distinguish between those alien English sounds. And they pronounced them better, too, the team reported in the journal NeuroImage. "It's our very first, preliminary crude attempt but the gains were phenomenal," says Kuhl. But she'd rather see parents follow biology and expose youngsters early. If you speak a second language, speak it at home. Or find a play group or caregiver where your child can hear another language regularly. "You'll be surprised," Kuhl says. "They do seem to pick it up like sponges." ___ EDITOR's NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington. Source: Yahoo Health News

Swine Flu Pregnancy Tips Reissued

The Department of Health has attempted to clarify its guidelines to expectant mothers and parents with children under five on how best to avoid swine flu. Its advice to practise good hygiene by washing hands and surfaces regularly has been re-issued after a woman with the virus died soon after giving birth. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) says all expectant mothers should avoid crowded places and unnecessary travel. But the DoH says only the "particularly concerned" should consider the advice. Concern over the effects of swine flu on new and expectant mothers has heightened since the death of Ruptara Miah, 39, in London's Whipps Cross Hospital on 13 July. Her baby is said to be very ill in intensive care. Good hygiene Another child under six months old, who died in London, is also among the latest victims of the virus. Swine flu advice for pregnant women from the Royal College of Midwives The refreshed DoH advice has been given greater prominence on its website. Health experts say expectant mothers could suffer possible complications if they contract swine flu, such as pneumonia, breathing difficulties and dehydration, because they have suppressed immune systems. Young children are also vulnerable. Most mothers-to-be with swine flu are being prescribed Relenza, an inhaled antiviral drug which treats the virus without reaching the foetus. However, where it is particularly severe, doctors can offer Tamiflu instead. The NHS website stresses that most expectant mothers who contract swine flu will only have mild symptoms and recover within a week. Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), said that while the risks for expectant mothers were low, women needed information to make an informed decision. "If you are pregnant, you are slightly more susceptible to all infections. One of them is swine flu. "It is important that pregnant women know that - and particularly other members of the population know that - so that they behave responsibly and if they are sickthey don't go and put themselves close to a pregnant woman." The Department of Health said it advised women to plan their pregnancy carefully, but was not advising against trying to conceive. "Mums-to-be are more vulnerable to any type of flu. It is particularly important that anyone who has existing health problems and is thinking about starting a family should talk to their GP first, as they normally would," a DoH spokesman said. Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the RCM, said women could not be expected to wait for the first wave of the pandemic to end before trying for a baby. Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, Alan Johnson, the new home secretary, said an unexpected aspect of the virus was that it was attacking the young, not the elderly as with seasonal flu. He called on parents to keep using their common sense, saying the "vast majority" had been following public health advice. Twenty-nine people have now died in the UK aftercontracting swine flu - 26 in England and three in Scotland. The government has warned that the number of deaths from the virus this winter in the UK could reach between 19,000 and 65,000. However, during the 1999 to 2000 winter, seasonal flu deaths reached 21,000 and even during average winters there are normally anywhere between 6,000 to 8,000 deathsWe asked you whether you were concerned about the effects swine flu might have on expectant mothers. Here is a selection of your comments. I am in the third trimester of pregnancy, and I am asthmatic. I am concerned that neither Tamiflu or Relenza will be suitable for me if I contract swine flu. Louise, Nottingham This is such stupid advice. I am pregnant and travel to work every day on a packed Tube. How am I supposed to avoid crowded places and unnecessary travel? It's impossible. I can't just stop going to work can I? Laura, Hertfordshire My daughter has a 4yr old son who has swine flu, she is 4 months pregnant and worried in case she catches it and it harms the baby, we are also worried about the treatments used in pregnant women. There is to much contradiction going around to know what to believe. Tina, Essex I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and have been ill and at home for 5 days now with bad cold symptoms. After consulting the doctor by phone I was told it could possibly be swine flu but how am I to know? I am usually very level headed in these situations but not sure that not swabbing pregnant women with symptoms is wise - at least if we know if we have it we can be better informed! Anonymous, Wales I am 36 weeks pregnant and came into contact with Swine flu last week. I experienced a slight sore throat spoke with a nurse at NHS direct and my GP and was completely reassured that I was fine and not displaying any symptoms. There is definitely some scaremongering going on but if you seek appropriate medical advice your fears can be eased. Jo, Romford, Essex I have got a 14 month old child and am currently pregnant. I'm very worried we could all catch the virus as a lot of people where we live are getting it. Also it is going round schools where my niece goes. I believe there should be vaccinations soon as possible for young children and those who it could endanger more than others Source: Google Health News www.news.bbc.com

Probiotics Supplement May Help After Gastric Bypass Surgery

(HealthDay News) -- Taking a probiotics supplement after gastric bypass surgery helps patients lose weight faster and avoid vitamin B deficiency, a new study finds. Probiotics are the "good" bacteria found in yogurt and in dietary supplements that aid digestion. The Stanford University School of Medicine study included 44 patients who had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and were randomly assigned to either a probiotics group or a control group. Both groups received the same bariatric medical care and nutritional counseling and both were allowed to consume yogurt, a natural source of probiotics. Patients in the probiotics group also took one pill per day of a probiotics supplement. After three months, the probiotics group had a 47.6 percent weight loss, compared with 38.5 percent in the control group. Patients in the probiotics group also had higher levels of vitamin B-12 three months after surgery than those in the control group -- 1,214 picograms per milliliter as opposed to 811 picograms per milliliter, a significant difference since B-12 deficiency is common after gastric bypass surgery. The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. More information The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about probiotics Source: Yahoo Health News

Blacks Have Highest Obesity Rate, Whites Lowest, CDC Says

(Bloomberg) -- Blacks were 51 percent more likely and Hispanics were 21 percent more likely to be obese than whites, a disparity that may be linked to cultural attitudes, income and education levels, a U.S. government study found. Thirty percent or more of blacks in 40 states met standards for obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio and Oregon, 40 percent or more of blacks were obese. The prevalence of obesity, a major cause of diabetes, stroke and heart attacks has more than doubled in the past 30 years in the U.S. Certain ethnic groups have been disproportionately affected, said David Katz, the founder of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Connecticut. Members of those groups are less likely to live in neighborhoods with fresh produce and streets that are conducive to walking, he said. “As public health people focused on obesity, we have to ask ourselves, do we look at the disparities in obesity as the icing on the cake, and try to get at the cake?” said Katz, who wasn’t an author on the CDC report, in a telephone interview today. “The differences in education, income, empowerment, resources and community need to be fixed, and it’s not going to happen fast.” Involving Churches Katz said he is working on a diabetes-prevention programthat includes obesity prevention with African-American churches in the New Haven area. Pastors talk to parishioners about research on the health risks of obesity and offer weight-loss advice, Katz said. Any solution to the obesity problem is likely to be complex, he said. “The disparities here are easy to explain,” Katz said. “They’re associated with poverty, less education, areas where you can’t find fresh fruits and vegetables, and some cultural differences.” In these communities, some studies suggest people are satisfied with having a higher body mass. Changing cultural attitudes is important, if difficult, Katz said. The data was collected using phone surveys from 2006 to 2008. Over the three-year period, 25.6 percent of whites, blacks and Hispanics were obese. The obesity prevalence in this study was likely underestimated because people tend to report being taller and skinner than they actually are, the authors wrote. Overall, 36 percent of blacks were obese, 29 percent of Hispanics were obese, and 24 percent of whites were obese. Anyone with a body mass index, an estimate of body fat calculated using a person’s height and weight, of 30 or more is considered obese. To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Lopatto in New York at elopatto@bloomberg.net. Source: Google Health News

Study Reveals Risk With Common Bypass Surgery Procedure

Popular 'Keyhole Technique' For Vein Harvesting May Be Riskier Than Thought When surgeons need veins to replace clogged vessels in the heart, they often use a minimally invasive technique to remove veins from the patient's legs. But a new study suggests that so-called "keyhole surgery" may lead to a worse outcome for bypass surgery patients. Three years after surgery, patients whose surgeons harvested leg veins using keyhole, or endoscopic, techniques had a higher risk of heart attacks, repeat surgeries and death than patients who underwent traditional "open" surgery to remove leg veins, according to a study by Dr. John Alexander of Duke University, published in the July 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Alexander said his results suggest that open harvesting may be the best procedure for removing veins because the process is less damaging to the veins. "If you've ever seen one of these [endoscopic] procedures, there's clearly more tugging on the vein and more rough handling of the vein when it's harvested," Alexander said. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that in 2006, 448,000 coronary artery bypass procedures were performed on 253,000 patients in the United States, and endoscopic harvesting of vein has become the standard technique. The analysis took a look at 1,753 bypass patients who had endoscopic harvesting and 1,247 who had graft harvesting under direct vision. A year to a year and a half after surgery, the rate of vein-graft failure resulting in repeat surgery, heart attack, or death was 47 percent among the patients who received endoscopically harvested veins versus only 38 percent in the open surgery group. In recent years, minimally invasive methods have largely become the standard of care because of advantages such as less pain, shorter hospital stays and substantially smaller scars. Popular Bypass Technique May Have Unforeseen Risks However, the studies that formed the basis for the popularity of minimally invasive vein harvesting had short-term follow-up and other problems that led to little knowledge of long-term effects. This may explain the difference in findings, as the separation in outcomes in Alexander's analysisdid not become apparent until almost one year after these patients underwent bypass surgery. Still, Alexander cautioned against a dramatic shift in practice back to open harvesting, stressing instead the need to discuss these potential long-term risks with patients. Likewise, Dr. Timothy Gardner, president of the American Heart Association and a heart surgeon, wasn't ready to abandon endoscopic methods on the basis of this one study, though he agreed that more care is warranted. "I'm sure that surgeons that use this technique will be much more careful, will take extra steps to avoid trauma to the vein while it's being harvested, and will probably be more inclined to add an extra incision if they find themselves in a situation where it's hard to get the vein out," he said. The focus should be on ways to improve endoscopic vein harvesting techniques "to reduce the trauma associated with it and allow patients to get both the short-term benefits and avoid the long-term risks," Alexander said. Additional studies with long-term follow-up are now needed to settle the issue, Alexander's group explained. Source: Google Health News www.abcnews.go.com

Foods To Help You Feel Better

6 ways to add mood-boosting foods to your diet. Are you feeling down in the dumps? Are you irritated at how often you’ve been irritable? Perhaps it’s time to look at the foods and drinks you consume to see if they are trashing your mood. Nutrition experts say that the foods you eat can help you feel better -- or feel worse -- in the short-term and the long-term.  Meal-to-meal and day-to-day, keeping your blood sugars steady and your gastrointestinal (GI) tract running smoothly will help you feel good and energetic. If your blood sugars are on a roller-coaster ride -- hitting highs and lows from too much sugar and refined flour – you are more likely to feel out of sorts. This is also true if your gastrointestinal system is distressed due to intense hunger from a fad diet or constipation because you aren’t getting enough fiber and water. Week-to-week and month-to-month, keeping your body healthy and disease-free makes good moods more likely. For example, key nutrients you get in certain foods can influence the levels of feel-good hormones such as serotonin. Other nutrients can help prevent inflammation so blood circulates well to all of your organs. “Eating a heart healthy diet -- high in fiber and low inFor saturated fat -- is a great place to start to boost your mood. There isn’t any question about it, says Diane M. Becker MPH, ScD, director of the Center for Health Promotion at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Conversely, “a high-fat, high-glycemic load meal can make you physically feel dysfunction in your body. People who eat this type of meal tend to feel bad and sleepy afterwards,” she says. 6 Tips for Foods and Beverages That Help You Feel Good Seek out foods rich in vitamin B12 and folic acid (folate). What’s special about chili made with kidney beans and lean beef? Or a light chicken Caesar salad made with skinless chicken breast and romaine lettuce? Or grilled salmon with a side of broccoli? All these dishes feature one food that is rich in folic acid (folate) and another that is rich in vitamin B12. These two vitamins appear to help prevent disorders of the central nervous system, mood disorders, and dementias, says Edward Reynolds, MD, at the Institute of Epileptology, King’s College, London. The link between higher food intakes of folate and a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms crosses cultures, too. A recent study confirmed this association in Japanese men.  Folic acid is usually found in beans and greens. Vitamin B12 is found in meats, fish, poultry, and dairy. Other dishes that feature B-12 and folic acid-rich foods include: A burrito or enchilada made with black beans plus beef, chicken, or pork A spinach salad topped with crab or salmon An egg white or egg substitute omelet filled with sautéed spinach and reduced-fat cheese 2. Enjoy fruits and vegetables in a big way. Fruits and vegetables are packed with key nutrients and antioxidant photochemical, which directly contribute to your health and health-related quality of life. In a one study, eating two more servings of fruits and vegetables a day was associated with an 11% higher likelihood of good functional health. People who ate the highest amount of fruits and vegetables feltbetter about their health. 3. Eat selenium-rich foods every day. Selenium is a mineral that acts like an antioxidant in the body. What do antioxidants have to do with feeling better and minimizing bad moods? Research suggests that the presence of oxidative stress in the brain is associated with some cases of mild to moderate depression in the elderly population. One study evaluated the depression scores of elderly people whose daily diet was either supplemented with 200 micrograms of selenium a day or a placebo. Although more research is needed to confirm the findings, the group taking selenium had higher amounts of selenium circulating in their blood and significant decreases in their depression symptoms. Try to get at least the recommended daily allowance for selenium: 55 micrograms a day for men and women. Whole grains are an excellent source of selenium. By eating several servings a day of whole grains such as oatmeal, whole-grain bread, and brown rice, you can easily get 70 micrograms of selenium. Other foods rich in selenium include: Beans and legumes Lean meat (lean pork or beef, skinless chicken or turkey) Low-fat dairy foods Nuts and seeds (especially Brazil nuts) Seafood (oysters, clams, crab, sardines, and fish) 4. Eat fish several times a week. Several recent studies have suggested that men and women have a lower risk of having symptoms of depression if they eat a lot of fish, particularly fatty fish like salmon, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s from fish seem to have positive effects on clinically defined mood swings such as postpartum depression, says Jay Whelan, PhD, head of the department of nutrition at the University of Tennessee. Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include: Herring Rainbow trout Salmon Sardines Tuna 5. Get a daily dose of vitamin D. Does a little time in the sun seem to make you feel better? The sun’s rays allow our bodies to synthesize and regulate vitamin D.  Four recent studies showed an association between low serum levels of vitamin D and higher incidences of four mood disorders: PMS, seasonal affective disorder, nonspecified mood disorder, and major depressive disorder. Researcher Pamela K. Murphy, PhD, at the Medical University of South Carolina says people can help manage their moods by getting at least 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day. That’s significantly more than the RDA for vitamin D, which is 200 IU for adults under 50, 400 IU for ages 51 to 70, and 600 IU for people over 70. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. So she recommends we get vitamin D from a variety of sources: short periods of sun exposure, vitamin D supplements, and foods. Vitamin D can be found in: Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel Beef liver Cheese Egg yolks But our primary source of dietary vitamin D is fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, breads, juices, and milk. 6. Treat Yourself to 1 oz of Chocolate “Small amounts of dark chocolate can be a physical upper,” says Becker at Johns Hopkins. “Dark chocolate has an effect on the levels of brain endorphins,” those feel-good chemicals that our bodies produce. Not only that, but dark chocolate also seems to have a heart-healthy anti-clogging effect in our blood vessels. In one study from the Netherlands, Dutch men who ate 1/3 of a chocolate bar each day had lower levels of blood pressure and lower rates of heart disease. The chocolate also boosted their general sense of well-being. How Foods and Beverages May Make You Feel Bad Just as some foods can help you feel better, others can make you feel down. Here are ways to reduce the harmful effects of three foods that can drag you down.   Reduce foods high in saturated fat. Saturated fat is well known for its role in promoting heart disease and some types of cancer. Nowresearchers suspect saturated fat also play a role in depression. The link was found in a study called the Coronary Health Improvement Project, which followed 348 people between the 24 and 81. A decrease in saturated fat over a six-week period was associated with a decrease in depression.  2. Limit alcohol carefully. That “feel-good” drink, alcohol, is actually a depressant. In small doses, alcohol can produce a temporary feeling of euphoria. But the truth is that alcohol is a chemical depressant to the human brain and affects all nerve cells. Depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, people can go quickly from feeling relaxed to experiencing exaggerated emotions and impaired coordination. It’s no coincidence that depressive disorders often co-occur with substance abuse, and one of the main forms of substance abuse in this country is alcohol. Don’t go crazy with caffeine. Caffeine can increase irritability a couple of ways. If the caffeine you consume later in the day disrupts your nighttime sleeping, you are likely to be cranky and exhausted until you get a good night’s rest. Caffeine can also bring on a burst or two of energy, often ending with a spiral into fatigue. Some people are more sensitive than others to the troublesome effects of caffeine. If you are sensitive to caffeine, decrease the amount of coffee, tea, and sodas you drink to see if this helps uplift your mood and energy level, particularly in the latter part of the day. Source: Google Health News www.webmd.com

Swearing Makes You Feel Less Pain

That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests. Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain. "Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain.“ Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain. Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance. As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true. The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table. Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word. The researchers think that the increase in pain tolerance occurs because swearing triggers the body's natural "fight-or-flight" response. Stephens and his colleagues suggest that swearing may increase aggression (seen in accelerated heart rates), which downplays weakness to appear stronger or more macho. "Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," Stephens said. The results of the study are detailed in the Aug. 5 issue of the journal NeuroReport. Source: Google Health News www.foxnews.com

Obese Kids May Have Obese Same Sex Parent

A new study from the Peninsula Medical School at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in England indicates that an obese child is most likely to have a parent of the same sex battling obesity as well. The study that involved 226 families showed that obese fathers are six times as more likely to have a son that is also obese. The study also indicated that obese mothers are ten times more likely to have a daughter that is obese. However, there seemed to be no link in obesity to obese parents with children of the opposite sex. More specifically, researchers found that 41% of young girls with obese mothers were also obese in comparison to 4% of obese girls with mothers of a normal weight. There was no difference in the proportion to the obese boys of overweight mothers. Similarly, 18% of obese boys had obese fathers as well compared to 3% of obese boys that had fathers of an average weight. There was no difference in the percentage of obese girls of overweight fathers in comparison to fathers of a normal weight. Popular previous belief is that being an obese child leads to an obese adult. Controversially, they found in the study that eight of ten obese adults were not obese as children. The study also indicates thatobese children don’t cause obese adults, but that obese adults (of same sex parents) cause or leads to obese children. The study also indicates that it highly improbable that the findings are some sort of genetic link. In fact, researchers believe that it’s some sort of behavioral copying or possibly even a behavioral sympathy when a child has a same sex parent that is obese. These findings indicate that we should be focusing more on the behavior and patterns of the parents rather than the eating habits and behaviors of the children. The results of this study are encouraging people to look in a new direction and perhaps tackle the problem of obesity in children from a different angle. Source: Google Health News

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Falls Short In Alzheimer's Trials

(HealthDay News) -- Two trials that looked at whether the omega-3 fatty acid DHA might treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease have produced mixed results. The studies were done because of "a long history of epidemiological studies that related fish consumption to cognitive function," explained Bill Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. Fish is rich in DHA, but the research scheduled to be presented Sunday at the association's annual meeting in Vienna, Austria, used DHA derived from algae. An 18-month study of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease "did not show treatment benefit in the study population as a whole, and does not support use of DHA for treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said study author Dr. Joseph Quinn, an associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health and Science University. However, Quinn added that there was "an encouraging analysis of a subpopulation of the larger study," showing a slower rate of decline in mental function among those who did not have the e4 version of the APOE gene. That version is known to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Between 70 percent and 80 percent of people have that gene version, Quinn estimated. Still, "we're not prepared to conclude that e4-negative people should be on DHA," Quinn said. "We don't know a mechanism that would account for a benefit in e4-negative people and we don't know if our exploratory analysis would be confirmed in future trials.“ His study, funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, included 402 people, average age 76, with a daily dietary intake of less than 200 milligrams a day. Some took 2,000-milligram DHA supplements while others took a placebo. All underwent standard tests of mental function over the 18-month trial. The slower rate of decline seen in e4-deficient participants did not reach statistical significance. The second study was a six-month trial of 900 milligrams a day of DHA in 485 people, average age 70, who did not have Alzheimer's disease but had mild complaints about memory loss. Those taking the supplement made fewer errors on one memory test. That trial was funded by the Martek Biosciences Corp., which markets the DHA used in both studies. The results indicate that DHA supplements are appropriate for "people who have very mild memory complaints, which applies to a large percentage of the population at this age," said Karin Yurko-Mauro, associate director of clinical research at Martek Biosciences. "We're not talking about a disease stage here." The company is "looking at the potential for more trials," but is still evaluating data from the completed study, Yurko-Mauro said. "The results are certainly interesting," Thies said. "There was some improvement in memory. Then you can get into a debate about what the real-world benefit would be of that improvement in memory.“ What is needed, Thies said, is a major trial for people with no Alzheimer's disease but some memory problems. "DHA is a great candidate for such a trial because it is a food supplement that is currently available," he said. Meanwhile, Thies said, "it is too early" to make a recommendation about use of DHA supplements to prevent loss of mental function. "You would want to see more information in normal people before you make a recommendation," Thies said. "In high doses, DHA does have side effects, so you would want to see a benefit to justify the risk you are taking. We need more work for that." More information The latest information on Alzheimer's disease is available from the Alzheimer's Association. Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. Source: Google Health News

Menstrual Periods: Clues To Ovarian Cancer

Those who had their first period before age 12 were 51% more likely to die from ovarian cancer compared to those who had their first period at age 14 or later. In recent years, the age of first period has declined, Robbins and other say. For instance, Wright State University researchers recently found that girls born in the 1980s had an average age of 12.3 years when they had their first period. The study is published in the American Journal of Human Biology. Women with the highest number of lifetime ovulatory cycles were 67% more likely to die of ovarian cancer than those in the group with the lowest number of cycles. The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Other Opinions The new study ''does suggest that some kind of hormonal factors that are tied into lifetime ovulatory cycles and age at menarche may play into a more aggressive ovarian cancer," says Andrew Li, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. However, the study has several limitations, he tellsWebMD. The women in the study may not be representative of a typical ovarian cancer patient, who is often diagnosed in her late 50s or 60s. In the Robbins study, more than 74% of the women were 50 or younger. The women in the study had been diagnosed from 1980 to 1982, Li notes, and today's treatments for ovarian cancer are different and improved. While the study findings primarily point to a need for more research, ''this study would suggest taking oral contraceptive pills [earlier in life] would also improve [women's] survival should they be unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer," Li says. Both risk factors found to be associated with the higher risk of death from ovarian cancer in the study add up to more lifetime exposure to ovarian hormones, says Mary B. Daly, MD, PhD, director of the Personalized Cancer Risk Assessment Program at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, who also reviewed the study for WebMD. "This is the first time I've seen a study to relate those two factors to survival from ovarian cancer," Daly says. Other research has found a consistent link between fewer ovulatory cycles and a lower risk of ovarian cancer, the researchers note, while research on the age at first period and ovarian cancer risk is inconsistent. Daly, too, cites limitations in the study, also pointing out that the average age of the patients in the study is much younger than the typical average age of an ovarian cancer patient. "It is not exactly a representative population," she says. There's no immediate take-home message for women, she says, but the study does pose an important question for researchers to answer next.  And that is: "What is it about hormone exposure that can change the biology of ovarian cancer and make it more aggressive?" Source: Google Health News www.webmd.com