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From diabetes to Alzheimer’s?
October 2008
UPPSALA, SWEDEN - Men who develop diabetes in mid-life appear to raise significantly their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a long-term study in Neurologyfound.
"Our results have important public health implications given the increasing numbers of people developing diabetes and the need for more powerful interventions," said study author Dr. Elina Rönnemaa, at Uppsala University.
The study involved 2,269 men in Sweden who underwent glucose testing at 50 to test for diabetes, which is caused by abnormal insulin levels.
During an average follow up of 32 years, 102 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's, 57 with vascular dementia, and 235 with other types of dementia or cognitive impairment.
The study found the men with low insulin secretion capacity at 50 were nearly 11/2 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's than people without insulin problems.
The risk remained significant regardless of blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index/ and education.
BETHESDA, MD - MedPage Today disclosed a planned trial of chelation therapy for autistic children was ended by the National Institute of Mental Health. "NIMH decided resources are better directed at this time to testing other potential therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorders, and isn’t pursuing the additional review required to begin the study," NIMH stated. The trial would’ve tested Chemet, (a.k.a.) DMSA, in 120 autistic children four to 10 years old with detectable but not toxic levels of mercury or lead in their blood. No children had been recruited for the trial. Succimer is FDA-approved for treating lead toxicity. In addition to chelating lead and mercury, succimer scavenges other metals such as zinc, iron, and calcium. The trial was announced in July 2006 and aimed at testing a notion that mercury exposure, from vaccines or other sources, is responsible for Autism. The theory has been rejected by most scientists on the basis of a string of studies finding little or no link between vaccine exposure and Autism.
SAN DIEGO – Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California/San Diego (UCSD) report patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with a gene therapy protocol began making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. The study online at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was led by Dr. Thomas J. Kipps. The team inserted a gene with the potential to activate an immune response - a protocol developed at UCSD - into six patients with CLL, the most common form of adult leukemia. Several patients started making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. When tested in the lab, the antibodies also reacted with the leukemia cells of other patients with the disease. "The patient’s own leukemia cells were modified outside of their body and given back as a vaccine," said Dr. Kipps. "The result raises hope it may be possible to activate a patient’s immune system against their own cancer."
ATLANTA - MedPage Today noted that when a once-loving couple's relationship turns violent, the sequel can stretch to acute and chronic conditions ranging from stroke to sexually transmitted diseases, a survey shows. Women with a history of intimate partner violence had a more than three-fold increase in the likelihood of behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection or sexually transmitted diseases than women with no such exposure, state results in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Partner violence also made women about 30% more likely to have high cholesterol. Men with intimate partner violence have 40% higher risk for stroke than men who don't report a history of intimate partner violence and were 2.6 times more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
SAN DIEGO - Novocell Inc., a biotech company, says its scientists have converted human embryonic stem cells into cells which produce insulin in mice. The newly-formed cells allegedly kept blood sugar in check even after the mice’s own insulin-producing cells were destroyed. "Our data provide the first compelling evidence that human embryonic stem cells can serve as a renewable source of functional insulin-producing cells for diabetes cell replacement therapies," Emmanuel Baetge, Novocell chief scientific officer, told Reuters. Their work was published online at Nature Biotechnology. Scientists used embryos discarded by fertility clinics to harvest them for stem cells. The previous technique used donated pancreases from organ donors, which were used to extract islets of Langerhans inside. The human islets are clusters of hormone and enzyme producing cells in the pancreas, responsible among other functions for the production of insulin.
SEATTLE – The New York Times News Service noted that manorexia, orthorexia, diabulimia, and binge eating are dangerous variations on eating disorders anorexia and bulimia, and are buzzwords on Web sites, blogs, TV, and in newspapers. As celebrity magazines detail the glamorous and suffering, therapists and more researchers try to treat and understand the conditions. The latest in the lexicon of food-related ills is drunkorexia: self-imposed starvation or bingeing and purging, combined with alcohol abuse. It isn’t an official medical term, but hints at a troubling phenomenon. Among drunkorexics are college binge drinkers, typically women, who starve all day to offset calories in alcohol they consume. The term is tied to serious eating disorders, particularly bulimia, which often involve bingeing on food - and alcohol - and then purging. Anorexics, because they severely restrict calorie intake, tend to avoid alcohol, but some drink to calm down before eating or to ease the anxiety of having indulged in a meal. Others consume alcohol as their only sustenance. Others use drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine to suppress appetites. "There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth but have no problem drinking a beer," said Dr. Douglas Bunnell, director of outpatient clinical services for the Renfrew Center, based in Philadelphia.
TORONTO - Chronic sleep disruption can cause heart and kidney disease, researchers at Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of Toronto General Hospital found. "Disrupted circadian rhythms have a devastating effect on the heart, kidney, and possibly other organs," says Dr. Michael Sole, cardiologist and founding director of the centre and professor of medicine/physiology at the University of Toronto. "This is the first study of its kind to demonstrate sleep cycle disruption actually causes heart and kidney disease." In the study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers found when internal biological clocks in hamsters are out of sync with external rhythm regulators (i.e., light/dark), the heart becomes damaged and enlarged (cardiomyopathy), and the kidney tubules sustain significant scarring. The importance of circadian rhythms - the body’s "hard-wired" 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, is well understood in the regulation of cardiovascular physiology. Earlier studies by Dr. Sole and his team suggested renewal of cardiovascular tissues predominantly occur during sleep; therefore sleep interruption can directly damage organs.
CHICAGO - Some kids with Autism may have a genetic defect that affects the muscles, stated scientists at the American Academy of Neurology 60th annual meeting. The study looked at 37 children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) evaluated for mitochondrial disease, which causes muscle weakness and prevents a child from being able to participate in physical activities and sports. Mitochondrial disease occurs when genetic mutations affect the mitochondria, or the part of the cell that releases energy. Of the children, 65% had defects in the process by which cells produce and synthesize energy in the muscles, or defects in the skeletal muscles. "Most children with (ASD) don’t have recognizable abnormalities when you look at genetic tests, imaging, and metabolic tests," said study author Dr. John Shoffner, MD, of Medical Neurogenetics LLC, of Atlanta, and an AAN member. "But a subset of these children does have significant defects in this area. Identifying this defect is important for understanding how genes that produce (ASD) impact the function of the mitochondria." The study was supported by Medical Neurogenetics, which did the testing.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Reuters Life noted that for married women who can't figure out why they always have so much housework, researchers may have the answer: husbands. A University of Michigan study shows having a husband creates seven hours of extra housework a week for women. A wife saves her husband an hour of chores each week. "It's a well-known pattern. There's still a significant reallocation of labor that occurs at marriage - men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor," said Frank Stafford, of UM’s Institute for Social Research (ISR), who directed the study. "The situation gets worse for women when they have children," he stated. His findings are based on 2005 time-diary data from a study on income dynamics that done since 1968 at ISR. Young single women did the least housework -about 12 hours a week. Married women in their 60s and 70s did nearly twice that, while women with more than three children spent 28 hours a week cleaning, cooking, and washing.
CHICAGO - Heavy drinkers and smokers develop Alzheimer's disease years earlier than people with Alzheimer's who don’t drink or smoke heavily, noted research presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 60th annual meeting. "These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time," said study author Dr. Ranjan Duara, of the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL, and AAN Fellow. "It has been projected that a delay in the onset of the disease by five years would lead to a nearly 50% reduction in the total number of Alzheimer's cases," he said. "In this study, we found the combination of heavy drinking and heavy smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's 6-7 years, making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for Alzheimer's." The study looked at 938 people 60 and older diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's.
BATON ROUGE, LA - The Seattle Times disclosed proteins in alligator blood could help humans fight illnesses, including AIDS-causing HIV. Researchers say they've discovered unique antibiotic proteins in the blood of American alligators that can kill a wide range of deadly bacteria, halt the spread of common infections, and perhaps even stop HIV, which causes AIDS. If they're right, and able to sequence genetics of 'gator blood, they say superdrugs based on their findings might be available within 10 years. "It's pretty exciting," said Lancia Darville, a LSU researcher. So far, they've determined proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 different types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood. Darville and study co-author Mark Merchant are sequencing the genetic makeup of alligator blood to figure out how to make chemicals based on it - the next step in developing new drugs. Possible drugs include creams that could be used to treat ulcers of diabetes patients or prevent infections in amputees, and pills to fight internal infections and bacteria.
DURHAM, ENGLAND - Simple work schedule adjustments might promote health and help shift workers strike a better balance between work and personal life, a new review of evidence found. Every workplace has its own definition of shift work, but it generally includes nighttime employees, plus anyone who works outside the traditional 7 a.m.-6 p.m. workday. Previous research established shift workers are vulnerable to certain health and social problems, including substance abuse, sleep disturbances, absenteeism, injuries, and accidents. The review found forward-rotating shifts that follow the logical order of the day seem to be less damaging to health and easier on the body. "A forward rotation would be a shift in the morning, then the afternoon, and then maybe a night shift later. That is less harmful to people’s health than starting at night," said lead review author Clare Bambra, a lecturer in the Dept. of Geography at Durham University. The systematic review was in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The review also found rotating workers through shift changes perhaps every three or four days versus every seven days is better for health and work-life balance.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - On average, adolescents living with half- or step siblings have lower grades and more school-related behavior woes, and these problems may not improve over time, says Kathryn HarkerTillman, Florida State University assistant professor of sociology. "These findings imply that family formation patterns that bring together children who have different sets of biological parents may not be in the best interests of the children involved," Tillman said. "Yet one-half of all American step-families include children from previous relationships of both partners, and the majority of parents in step-families go on to have additional children together." Tillman’s study focuses on the composition of the entire family unit. She studied data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a representative study of more than 11,000 adolescents in grades 7-12 in the U.S. Surprisingly, teens who live in the most seemingly complicated family arrangement of all - with half- and step siblings - fare better than those who live with only step-siblings or only half-siblings. Her study was in Social Science Research.
BETHESDA, MD - MedPage Today disclosed a planned trial of chelation therapy for autistic children was ended by the National Institute of Mental Health. "NIMH decided resources are better directed at this time to testing other potential therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorders, and isn’t pursuing the additional review required to begin the study," NIMH stated. The trial would’ve tested Chemet, (a.k.a.) DMSA, in 120 autistic children four to 10 years old with detectable but not toxic levels of mercury or lead in their blood. No children had been recruited for the trial. Succimer is FDA-approved for treating lead toxicity. In addition to chelating lead and mercury, succimer scavenges other metals such as zinc, iron, and calcium. The trial was announced in July 2006 and aimed at testing a notion that mercury exposure, from vaccines or other sources, is responsible for Autism. The theory has been rejected by most scientists on the basis of a string of studies finding little or no link between vaccine exposure and Autism.
SAN DIEGO – Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California/San Diego (UCSD) report patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with a gene therapy protocol began making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. The study online at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was led by Dr. Thomas J. Kipps. The team inserted a gene with the potential to activate an immune response - a protocol developed at UCSD - into six patients with CLL, the most common form of adult leukemia. Several patients started making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. When tested in the lab, the antibodies also reacted with the leukemia cells of other patients with the disease. "The patient’s own leukemia cells were modified outside of their body and given back as a vaccine," said Dr. Kipps. "The result raises hope it may be possible to activate a patient’s immune system against their own cancer."
ATLANTA - MedPage Today noted that when a once-loving couple's relationship turns violent, the sequel can stretch to acute and chronic conditions ranging from stroke to sexually transmitted diseases, a survey shows. Women with a history of intimate partner violence had a more than three-fold increase in the likelihood of behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection or sexually transmitted diseases than women with no such exposure, state results in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Partner violence also made women about 30% more likely to have high cholesterol. Men with intimate partner violence have 40% higher risk for stroke than men who don't report a history of intimate partner violence and were 2.6 times more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
SAN DIEGO - Novocell Inc., a biotech company, says its scientists have converted human embryonic stem cells into cells which produce insulin in mice. The newly-formed cells allegedly kept blood sugar in check even after the mice’s own insulin-producing cells were destroyed. "Our data provide the first compelling evidence that human embryonic stem cells can serve as a renewable source of functional insulin-producing cells for diabetes cell replacement therapies," Emmanuel Baetge, Novocell chief scientific officer, told Reuters. Their work was published online at Nature Biotechnology. Scientists used embryos discarded by fertility clinics to harvest them for stem cells. The previous technique used donated pancreases from organ donors, which were used to extract islets of Langerhans inside. The human islets are clusters of hormone and enzyme producing cells in the pancreas, responsible among other functions for the production of insulin.
SEATTLE – The New York Times News Service noted that manorexia, orthorexia, diabulimia, and binge eating are dangerous variations on eating disorders anorexia and bulimia, and are buzzwords on Web sites, blogs, TV, and in newspapers. As celebrity magazines detail the glamorous and suffering, therapists and more researchers try to treat and understand the conditions. The latest in the lexicon of food-related ills is drunkorexia: self-imposed starvation or bingeing and purging, combined with alcohol abuse. It isn’t an official medical term, but hints at a troubling phenomenon. Among drunkorexics are college binge drinkers, typically women, who starve all day to offset calories in alcohol they consume. The term is tied to serious eating disorders, particularly bulimia, which often involve bingeing on food - and alcohol - and then purging. Anorexics, because they severely restrict calorie intake, tend to avoid alcohol, but some drink to calm down before eating or to ease the anxiety of having indulged in a meal. Others consume alcohol as their only sustenance. Others use drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine to suppress appetites. "There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth but have no problem drinking a beer," said Dr. Douglas Bunnell, director of outpatient clinical services for the Renfrew Center, based in Philadelphia.
TORONTO - Chronic sleep disruption can cause heart and kidney disease, researchers at Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of Toronto General Hospital found. "Disrupted circadian rhythms have a devastating effect on the heart, kidney, and possibly other organs," says Dr. Michael Sole, cardiologist and founding director of the centre and professor of medicine/physiology at the University of Toronto. "This is the first study of its kind to demonstrate sleep cycle disruption actually causes heart and kidney disease." In the study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers found when internal biological clocks in hamsters are out of sync with external rhythm regulators (i.e., light/dark), the heart becomes damaged and enlarged (cardiomyopathy), and the kidney tubules sustain significant scarring. The importance of circadian rhythms - the body’s "hard-wired" 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, is well understood in the regulation of cardiovascular physiology. Earlier studies by Dr. Sole and his team suggested renewal of cardiovascular tissues predominantly occur during sleep; therefore sleep interruption can directly damage organs.
CHICAGO - Some kids with Autism may have a genetic defect that affects the muscles, stated scientists at the American Academy of Neurology 60th annual meeting. The study looked at 37 children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) evaluated for mitochondrial disease, which causes muscle weakness and prevents a child from being able to participate in physical activities and sports. Mitochondrial disease occurs when genetic mutations affect the mitochondria, or the part of the cell that releases energy. Of the children, 65% had defects in the process by which cells produce and synthesize energy in the muscles, or defects in the skeletal muscles. "Most children with (ASD) don’t have recognizable abnormalities when you look at genetic tests, imaging, and metabolic tests," said study author Dr. John Shoffner, MD, of Medical Neurogenetics LLC, of Atlanta, and an AAN member. "But a subset of these children does have significant defects in this area. Identifying this defect is important for understanding how genes that produce (ASD) impact the function of the mitochondria." The study was supported by Medical Neurogenetics, which did the testing.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Reuters Life noted that for married women who can't figure out why they always have so much housework, researchers may have the answer: husbands. A University of Michigan study shows having a husband creates seven hours of extra housework a week for women. A wife saves her husband an hour of chores each week. "It's a well-known pattern. There's still a significant reallocation of labor that occurs at marriage - men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor," said Frank Stafford, of UM’s Institute for Social Research (ISR), who directed the study. "The situation gets worse for women when they have children," he stated. His findings are based on 2005 time-diary data from a study on income dynamics that done since 1968 at ISR. Young single women did the least housework -about 12 hours a week. Married women in their 60s and 70s did nearly twice that, while women with more than three children spent 28 hours a week cleaning, cooking, and washing.
CHICAGO - Heavy drinkers and smokers develop Alzheimer's disease years earlier than people with Alzheimer's who don’t drink or smoke heavily, noted research presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 60th annual meeting. "These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time," said study author Dr. Ranjan Duara, of the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL, and AAN Fellow. "It has been projected that a delay in the onset of the disease by five years would lead to a nearly 50% reduction in the total number of Alzheimer's cases," he said. "In this study, we found the combination of heavy drinking and heavy smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's 6-7 years, making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for Alzheimer's." The study looked at 938 people 60 and older diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's.
BATON ROUGE, LA - The Seattle Times disclosed proteins in alligator blood could help humans fight illnesses, including AIDS-causing HIV. Researchers say they've discovered unique antibiotic proteins in the blood of American alligators that can kill a wide range of deadly bacteria, halt the spread of common infections, and perhaps even stop HIV, which causes AIDS. If they're right, and able to sequence genetics of 'gator blood, they say superdrugs based on their findings might be available within 10 years. "It's pretty exciting," said Lancia Darville, a LSU researcher. So far, they've determined proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 different types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood. Darville and study co-author Mark Merchant are sequencing the genetic makeup of alligator blood to figure out how to make chemicals based on it - the next step in developing new drugs. Possible drugs include creams that could be used to treat ulcers of diabetes patients or prevent infections in amputees, and pills to fight internal infections and bacteria.
DURHAM, ENGLAND - Simple work schedule adjustments might promote health and help shift workers strike a better balance between work and personal life, a new review of evidence found. Every workplace has its own definition of shift work, but it generally includes nighttime employees, plus anyone who works outside the traditional 7 a.m.-6 p.m. workday. Previous research established shift workers are vulnerable to certain health and social problems, including substance abuse, sleep disturbances, absenteeism, injuries, and accidents. The review found forward-rotating shifts that follow the logical order of the day seem to be less damaging to health and easier on the body. "A forward rotation would be a shift in the morning, then the afternoon, and then maybe a night shift later. That is less harmful to people’s health than starting at night," said lead review author Clare Bambra, a lecturer in the Dept. of Geography at Durham University. The systematic review was in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The review also found rotating workers through shift changes perhaps every three or four days versus every seven days is better for health and work-life balance.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - On average, adolescents living with half- or step siblings have lower grades and more school-related behavior woes, and these problems may not improve over time, says Kathryn HarkerTillman, Florida State University assistant professor of sociology. "These findings imply that family formation patterns that bring together children who have different sets of biological parents may not be in the best interests of the children involved," Tillman said. "Yet one-half of all American step-families include children from previous relationships of both partners, and the majority of parents in step-families go on to have additional children together." Tillman’s study focuses on the composition of the entire family unit. She studied data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a representative study of more than 11,000 adolescents in grades 7-12 in the U.S. Surprisingly, teens who live in the most seemingly complicated family arrangement of all - with half- and step siblings - fare better than those who live with only step-siblings or only half-siblings. Her study was in Social Science Research.