Blood Test For Heart Disease
One of the best ways to treat heart disease is preventing it from developing. A new study shows that this may be easier with the development of a blood test that can indicate levels of heart disease indicators.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Diego, who used data from the Rancho Bernardo (California) Heart and Chronic Disease study, which was started more than 25 years ago. This study involved 554 men and 902 women, none of whom had diabetes.
The researchers examined the participants' medical history, including cardiograms and blood samples. They measured the participants' blood levels of insulin, proinsulin and C-peptide. C-peptide is a natural chemical byproduct of insulin production. Proinsulin is a hormone that helps the body make insulin.
About 25% of the participants were found to have heart disease, and all of these had much higher levels of proinsulin than the participants with healthy hearts. This was true for both men and women. An increase in proinsulin levels more than doubled the risk of heart disease in the male participants, and this was only slightly less for women. These results are presented in the online version of the journal Circulation (February 2002).
More research is needed to determine if high proinsulin levels really are indicative of heart disease risk, and if so, how the two are linked.
  
Stop Smoking To Stop Kidney Failure
Although there are drugs available to slow the progression of kidney disease, new research shows that these positive results can be counteracted if a person chooses to smoke.
Doctors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock recently conducted a study of 33 people with Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. All participants were on ACE inhibitors, which are drugs that can lower blood pressure and slow diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease). They found in the participants who smoked that kidney disease progressed at a much faster rate than those who did not smoke.
The researchers have published their findings in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (volume 39, pages 376-382, February 2002), and encourage people with kidney disease to stop smoking in order to better maintain their health.
Diabetes DrugMetformin Incorrectly Prescribed
Because certain drug combinations or health conditions can make it dangerous for particular drugs to be prescribed, physicians must be aware of potential complications. A recent study points out that the diabetes drug metformin is often being incorrectly prescribed.
This six month study was conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The researcher found that over 25% of 204 patients at the hospital who had been given metformin had at least one condition which made it dangerous to take the drug. These people were at risk for a complication called lactic acidosis, which is a build-up of lactic acid in the blood and can cause deadly damage to vital organs.
Those who are at the greatest risk for lactic acidosis are those with kidney disease, those taking medication for congestive heart failure, those with liver disease, and those with conditions that limit oxygen supply to the body. The results of the study have been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (volume 162; pages 434-437; February 25, 2002).
Radiation Therapy May Increase Stroke Risk
Those with head and neck cancer are often treated with radiation therapy. While this is usually a successful way of fighting cancer, a new study shows that it might increase the risk of stroke.
The study took place at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, and involved 367 people with head and neck cancer who were treated with radiation before they turned 60. According to their medical records, 14 of the study participants had an ischemic stroke an average of eleven years after the radiation.
Those who had the radiation were about six times as likely to have a stroke compared with people of the same age and gender in the general population. In five out of six people who had a cancer called a parotid tumor, the stroke occurred on the same side of the brain that was treated with radiation. In addition, stroke risk was increased almost ten times in people who were younger than 50 at the time of their radiation treatment. Other risk factors for stroke were diabetes and high blood pressure.
The results of the study have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (volume 20, pages 282-288, February 2002).
Angioplasty May Be Risky For Thin People
Angioplasty is a procedure used to clear out clogged artieries by inserting a balloon-tipped catheter into a blocked artery and inflating it to flatten fatty plaques against the artery wall. Surprising results of a recent study show that this procedure may not have positive results in people who are thin.
Researchers at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC recently conducted a retroactive study of 9,000 people who had undergone the angioplasty procedure. The researchers divided up the participants into three groups based on body mass index (BMI). Thin people of low BMI had more complications like major bleeding after the angioplasty than did those who were overweight or obese, and were more likely to die after the treatment. This risk was the highest in women with a BMI of less than 18.5.
Study authors, who have published their findings in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (volume 39; pages 578-584; February 20, 2002), note that this was a retroactive study, which is based on data that has already been collected. Researchers believe that their findings about the effectiveness of angioplasty would be more accurate in a prospective study. This type of study could exclude people from the study who are thin due to chronic debilitating diseases.
Better Vision Through Vitamins?
Cataracts, which create a clouding of the lens of the eye, are common with age and certain health conditions. However, new research shows that there may be ways of preventing them from developing.
The latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ( volume 75; pages 540-9; March 2002) includes a study led by doctors at Tufts University. The researchers examined data from the Nurses Health Study, which includes 492 women in the Boston area between the ages of 53 and 73. The women's diet and health information has been tracked since 1976.
The women who participated in this study filled out questionnaires between the years of 1980 and 1995. They provided information about their long-term vitamin supplement use, smoking, long-term exposure to sunlight, and alcohol use, which are all believed to be risk factors for cataracts. The women also had eye exams to determine whether or not they had cataracts. The researchers found that 34% of the participants' eyes had cortical opacities, which are cataracts located on the periphery of the lens. Also, 39% of the eyes had other types of cataracts.
Upon examination of the data, the researchers found that the women under the age of 60 who took at least 362 milligrams of vitamin C per day had a 57% lower risk of developing cortical cataracts, as compared to those who took 140 milligrams or less of vitamin C per day. If the women took vitamin C supplements for ten years or more, they had a 60% reduction in their risk of developing cataracts, as compared to those who didn't take the supplements. The women who never smoked and who took folate and carotenoids for at least ten years had an 81% reduction in the development of cataracts.
Socioeconomic Influences On Diabetes
Those with the greatest risk of developing diabetes are most likely obese, don't eat a healthy diet, and don't exercise regularly. New statistics released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that those with the disease may also have socioeconomic status in common.
The CDC statistics are based on findings of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which included telphone surveys of 110,000 women in the year 2000. According to the statistics, almost 28% of women with diabetes have not completed high school, and 40% live in households with an income of less than $25,000 per year. By contrast, 12% of women without diabetes had not finished high school, and 22% lived in households with an income under $25,000 per year.
The researchers found that their results remained the same even when they took into account factors like age, ethnicity, marital status, size of household, and employment status. They note that people who have a higher income might have better access to healthcare, and those with higher educations might be more aware of the importance of eating right and exercising.
These statistics can be found in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (volume 51; pages 147-148; February 22, 2002).
Information provided by The Diabetes Mall @ http://www.diabetesnet.com
Books, gram scales, and more: (800) 988-4772 or (619) 497-0900 |
