How running could help your eyesight

Yet another good reason to get out the old running shoes has come a study done at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that tracked approximately 41,000 runners for more than seven years. They found that vigorous exercise, particularly running, can help reduce the risk of both cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness and macular degeneration can cause irreversible vision in older people and so far there have been few suggestions as to how to avoid these conditions. Running, or any vigorous cardiovascular exercise, may be one excellent preventive measure and certainly worth investigating by anyone with a family history of eye disease.

The trial was conducted with both men and women runners they found that men who ran more than 5.7 miles per day had a 35 percent lower risk of developing cataracts than men who ran less than 1.4 miles per day. The study also analyzed men’s 10-kilometer race performances, which is a good indicator of overall fitness. The fittest men had half the risk of developing cataracts compared to the least-fit men.

In the case of macular degeneration the results were even more remarkable. Runners who averaged between 1.2 and 2.4 miles per day had a 19 percent lower risk for the disease, and people who ran more than 2.4 miles per day had an impressive 42 percent and 54 percent lower risk.

If you aren’t keen on running, then the scientists involved in the study believe that it is quite likely that the studies’ results might apply to a lesser extent to smaller doses of more moderate exercise such as walking.

Bone marrow transplants – Good news

Finding a compatible bone marrow donor can be a heartbreaking process. Even if family and friends come forward they are not always an ideal match and the wait for the perfect donor can sometimes be longer than the time available to the patient.

Now there is good news from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation which can effectively bypass the bone marrow route in appropriate cases by using a unit of mismatched blood from umbilical cords.

This work was presented by Duke University Medical Center who reported on a ten year study on children with malignant and genetic disorders, including leukaemia. Using cord blood for transplants offers some advantages over bone marrow because it is more widely available, has more immature cells, involves fewer complications, and donor match is not as important.

The study found that there was a four of six HLA matches of blood given to children and this meant low rates of failure and graft-related disease from the patient’s own body. Survival rates over one, three and ten years were also impressive for this type of patient, being 54.8%, 46.6%, and 43%, respectively which is comparable to those achieved with unmatched bone marrow transplants and substantially better than if the patients had not received transplants at all. In many cases the patients would have died without a transplant and although there was a failure rate in 6.7% of the patients, a slightly higher figure than the norm for bone marrow transplants, this is still low. Nor is that the end of the road for those patients as in many cases they can get a second transplant, something that is rarely available with bone marrow.

The time element is also an important factor and for patients who need an urgent transplant it could be a lifesaver. On average it takes two to three months for an unrelated bone marrow donor to become available and only about two weeks for an unrelated cord blood donor.

This breakthrough opens up the possibility of transplant to many more patients and although considered to be at a preliminary stage will make surgery available for those who previously were unable to find a matched donor.

80 % increased prostate cancer risk with artificial light

In the west, we take for granted that we can have light all day and night – and in our cities we are never away from artificial light. Now, a new study at the University of Haifa, reported on 4 February, 2009, has discovered that countries with the highest levels of artificial light at night also have the highest rates of prostate cancer. This is found worldwide, and confirms previous studies at Haifa that found a connection between exposure to artificial light at night and the incidence of breast cancer.

They studied a database on cancer incidence in men in 164 countries and even at the early stage of the study it was apparent that there is a marked link between the incidence of prostate cancer and levels of artificial illumination at night. Countries with low exposure to such light showed an incidence of prostate cancer of 66.77 patients to 100,000 inhabitants. An increase of 30% was found in those countries with medium exposure, and those countries with the highest level of exposure to artificial light at night shoed a huge leap of 80%: with 157 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.

There could be many reasons for this increase; with high levels of light melatonin production is reduced and this affects our immune system and our own internal biological body clock gets affected as it cannot distinguish between night and day.

It’s not just health that is affected by artificial lighting either. The World Health Organization regards it as a serious source of environmental pollution, so our city planners may need to take this into account in future. On a personal level, turn the lights out at night, and don’t have electronic devices in the bedroom which use lighting such as clocks, televisions and video games.

Life can add years to your face

This definitely comes into the ‘Oh Really?’ category, as I don’t imagine any of my readers think anything else. However, I am always impressed by people’s willingness to dress up the obvious in scientific ‘facts’ and a new study of identical twins claims that despite genetic make-up, certain environmental factors can add years to a person’s perceived age. As this study comes from the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), I do feel there is a vested interest at work here, but apparently factors like divorce or the use of antidepressants are the real culprits when it comes to your face looking like the hide of an elderly elephant.

Back to attitude is what I say, because of course being unhappy does add years to your face, and how anyone can doubt that is a bit beyond me, but I guess if your business is facelifts then you can’t afford to understate the obvious. Anyone who can cry without wrinkling up their face is obviously not in need of their services, but they kindly suggest that you avoid anything that can age you faster – that would be life I guess. The author of this study is Bahaman Guyuron, MD, professor and chairman, department of plastic surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center who wants us all to cheat our biological clock by avoiding things like being divorced because if you do you are going to look nearly 2 years older than your happily married twin – or others of your age who are married, single or even widowed.

This also applies if you are taking antidepressants, or are overweight – you will appear significantly older. To quote the good doctor, “the presence of stress could be one of the common denominators in those twins who appeared older. Researchers suspect that continued relaxation of the facial muscles due to antidepressant use, could account for sagging”.

He’s not a modest man either, as he claims that he has discovered a number of new factors that contribute to aging – which aren’t new to me, or to you – and secondly that his findings put science behind the idea that volume replacement rejuvenates the face. There you have the real reason for the research, as according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistics, there were more than 1.5 million filler injection procedures – such as Botox – performed in 2007 and I imagine they are looking to do more smoothing out of our worried brows, lips, cheeks and necks.

So avoid getting divorced, being depressed or eating too much and you will look younger is his message, though presumably if you don’t do those things he can fix it for you in the flash of a scalpel.

6 times higher health risk with pre-eclampsia

New research is pointing up future problems for women who have pre-eclampsia – a condition where elevated high blood pressure is brought on by their pregnancy. It can occur in 5% to 7% of all pregnancies and now it seems these women run an increased risk of both heart problems and diabetes in the future.

The study was done at the University of Copenhagen, and reported at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the USA. It found that women who had severe pre-eclampsia were more than six times more likely to develop chronic hypertension compared with women with uncomplicated pregnancies and also at higher risk for type 2 diabetes. It seems the risk is increased for women with pre-eclampsia who had premature or smaller babies, as well as in those who had pre-clampsia in two pregnancies.

The study of over 78,000 women who were previously free of any heart condition or diabetes, is intended to be an early warning system for women and their doctors to assess their risk. A woman who has had pre-eclampsia can use this information to monitor her health and be alert to take effective early action if any symptoms of high blood pressure or diabetes occur. It is also helpful to be aware of these risks if future medication will include hormonal treatments of any kind such as the contraceptive pill.

Teenage diabetics choose surgery

Any form of surgery is traumatic to the body, but sometimes it is necessary and unavoidable. My problem is when it’s being sought by the young and vulnerable with no real concept of the consequences. Diabetes is a disease that can be controlled, sometimes easily and sometimes not and the regime of regular medication can be very hard for teenagers – discipline not being a natural characteristic at that age. However a new trend in the USA is for teenage diabetics who are overweight to turn to the surgeon’s knife to help them .

Even more incredible is that this gastric bypass procedure is being suggested by Doctors, despite the fact that the US statistics show that 5 percent of people who have this surgery only survive a year. On the plus side, a study at Cinncinatti Children’s Hospital Medical Center, has shown that in most cases, the teenagers can lose one-third of their weight and come off diabetes medications with remission of their diabetes one year after bypass surgery. It sounds wonderful, but this has not been studied long enough, in my opinion, to suggest it as a viable alternative to diet, medication and lifestyle changes – or is that just me?

How vitamins can help stroke patients

Taking vitamin supplements is an area fraught with controversy. In the red corner are the true believers who think it can cure everything and in the blue corner the sceptics who won’t accept they do any good at all. As ever, I like the balanced view and personally have found supplements very helpful for some things and not much use for others though in general I am more in favour than not.

The following report though gives me hope that the sceptics might see a chink of light as it was carried out in a bona fide hospital by properly qualifed doctors. In fact it was tested at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital for stroke victims at Cornell University in the USA. One of the features of hospital stroke patients is that they are often undernourished and have lost weight and the researchers took 100 people who ‘qualified’ and gave half the standard hospital regime for stroke patients but included a multivitamin and mineral supplement and a drink that which would give them calories, protein and 36 mg of vitamin C which they were given every eight hours. The other half of the group got the same, but with double the quantities, and an increased amount of vitamin C – 90mg.

When the patients were studied, the group that had the higher levels of vitamins and minerals were found to have a much better rate of improvement, so that more of them were able to go home after their hospital stay, rather than being moved to a nursing home for more care. The use of supplements for stroke patients is not new, in fact previous researchers have focused on the role of the B vitamins for reducing the risk of strokes by up to 20 percent in those with a genetic predisposition, or who are deemed to be vulnerable.

If this is you, or someone you know then I would first consult a qualified nutritionist who will be able to advise on the dosages required, though the levels of vitamin C in the trial seem woefully to me. Dr Linus Pauling, the Nobel prize winner who pioneered the use of vitamin C for many conditions advocated a minimum of 500 mg a day for healthy people and much higher doses when dealing with chronic illness. Vitamin C is not stored in the body, and is immediately excreted if not used. Increasing the levels needs to be done slowly and with full body awareness as we all have a different tolerance level. Signs that your body has had enough, or that you need to go more slowly are either a tingling sensation on the tongue, or a loosening of the bowels. In either case, cut back your dose and only gradually increase again when things have settled down.

Childrens’ huge cancer risk from processed meats

Processed meats – or rather the sodium nitrate it contains – has previously been linked to cancer of the pancreas and colon, and I have reported on it for you. Now, a study carried out at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, has linked processed meat and a substantially higher risk of leukemia in children. Not a slight chance, but a 74 percent chance of contracting leukemia if the diet regularly includes processed meat like sausages, bacon, salamis, hams and hot dogs. It does not apply to fresh meat.

Sodium nitrate is used to give a more appealing colour to these foods, but it is a chemical which when ingested results in the formation of nitrosamine – a well known carcinogenic. If you buy processed meats for children for their lunchbox or snacks, then check the label to avoid those with sodium nitrate used in the curing or processing and where possible go for organic producers as they are unlikely to use sodium nitrate in their processing.

Blue Honeysuckle – The latest craze?

The natural health world never stands still; in fact it is always out there searching for the next big craze. This time around it looks to be a Russian plant that was first reported on late last year in the journal Molecules, and in other research papers since. It’s remarkable because it produces blue honeysuckle berries that not only taste good but have a host of health benefits too, Gardeners might like to know it’s botanical name which is Lonicera caerulea, and the fruits tastes like a hybrid of blackberry and blueberry and are very high in vitamin C and bioactive flavonoids.

When analysed the berries were found to have antioxidant, anti-platelet, and wound healing abilities and several valuable flavonoids as well. Particularly important is epicatechin which has a role to play in the prevention of some of the largest causes of death, including cancer, strokes and heart failure. This is closely followed by rutin, which is valued for its ability to fight cancer, help keep skin younger and reduce inflammation.

Free radical damage is what the flavonoid quercetin is able to reduce and help to prevent damage to our cellular structure. This means it can keep our hearts healthy and help maintain the health of our lungs and respiratory system. Combats cancer, alleviates bruising and varicose veins, enhances cardiovascular health, prevents oxidation of cholesterol, and also can improve both lung health and respiration.

These are just some of the flavonoids that have been identified in blue honeysuckle and others have been shown by researchers to fight free radicals, have powerful antioxidant qualities, regularise blood pressure and support the nervous system. There is even more, as a recent study using the dried fruit was shown to be effective against intestinal parasites in conditions like E. Coli, Streptococcus and Candida.

All this, and they apparently taste good too. Sounds like a definite winner to add to your morning muesli or as a healthy snack. They are available in the USA, and the dried form can be bought online but I haven’t seen any of the actual fruits in the UK yet. Do let me know if you come across them because planting a bush and harvesting your own fruit will require some patience as it takes around four years.

Can snoring help weight loss?

This almost came into the ‘I don’t believe it’ category, but it is a valid piece of research and I shudder to think how people are going to exploit it. A new piece of research has been revealed that shows you can burn up to an extra 2000 calories a day if you are a heavy snorer. There is of course a known link between being overweight and snoring, but as a weight loss aid it’s a new one on me. I would have thought it’s the partner of the snorer that burns more calories from all that digging them in the ribs and rolling them over onto their backs, but what do I know?

The researchers have, not surprisingly, said they don’t know if the snoring is actually causing people to put on the pounds because they believe it might be. This comes from the fact that disturbed sleep patterns can alter the way your body metabolizes energy, and that could affect your weight. As a dietary regime I don’t think snoring will catch on, and one of the great dangers of heavy snoring is that it can be related to sleep apnoea. This condition needs to be taken seriously because it can reduce the oxygen content in the blood to dangerous levels.

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