Exercise Improves Elasticity of Coronary Blood Vessels in Type 2 Diabetic patients

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

A study conducted by the University of Leipzig (Leipzig) and the Paracelsus Medical University (Salzburg) found that exercise and hypo-caloric diet improved the elasticity of the coronary blood vessels in Type 2 diabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

The study looked at the effects of exercise and hypo-caloric diet in 11 patients in the intervention group and compared it with 12 patients in the control group.  After a follow-up period of 5 months, patients in the intervention group have improved coronary blood vessel function.

Furthermore, patients who were randomized in the intervention program had improved fasting glucose, HbA1c, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, total and LDL-cholesterol.

Sixt, S. et al. Eur Heart J 2010, 31(1): 112

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Exercise Improves Elasticity of Coronary Blood Vessels in Type 2 Diabetic patients

IVF May Raise Risk of Diabetes, Hypertension and Cancer in Later Life

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

People who were conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) may be at greater risk of early-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.

A study comparing the genetic composition of 75 IVF-born children and 100 naturally born babies found that children who were born through IVF had genetic changes that are related to development, growth, and metabolism.

The investigators believed that these changes will lead to increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension when those babies reach 50 years old. The investigator also believed that the genetic changes were due to greater oxygen exposure and culture media used in the Petri dish.

This study was presented in this year annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cancer, Diabetes, Hypertension, IVF | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on IVF May Raise Risk of Diabetes, Hypertension and Cancer in Later Life

Good News for Women Who Have HER2-Positive, Herceptin-resistant, Metastatic Breast Cancer

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

A study published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicated that breast cancer patients who have HER2/neu gene, but have failed Herceptin therapy, can now receive Tykerb, in addition to their Hercpetin, to improve their length of time without disease.

The study randomized 296 patients with HER2/neu -positive metastatic breast cancer who have failed Herceptin-containing regimens to receive either Tykerb or Herceptin plus Tyerb. The results indicated that patients who received Herceptin plus Tykerb were superior to Tykerb alone in extending the length of time without disease worsening. Although the combination regimen did not significantly improve overall survival, there was a trend in favor of the combination regimen.

The most common adverse effects for the combination regimen were diarrhea, rash, nausea and fatigue.

The results allowHER2-Positive metastatic breast cancer patients who have failed Herceptin to have another treatment option before starting chemotherapy.

Blackwell K. J Clin. Oncol 29: 1124-1130.

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Breast cancer, Cancer | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Good News for Women Who Have HER2-Positive, Herceptin-resistant, Metastatic Breast Cancer

A New and Better Treatment Improves Survival in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

It is well known that chemotherapy can not be used in a patient for a long time due to its toxicity.  A new study indicated that patients who have stopped chemotherapy can lived longer without disease worsening by adding Avastin® (bevacizumab) to their treatment regimen

In the study (GOG 0218), 1,873 women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who already had surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible were randomized to receive one of the three treatment arms.

The results indicated that those patients who received Avastin in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin plus paclitaxel), and then who also used Avastin as maintenance therapy, lived longer without the disease worsening compared to those who received chemotherapy alone.

This study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, June 4 to 8, 2010.

http://www.gene.com/gene/news/press-releases/display.do?method=detail&id=12647

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cancer, Ovarian Cancer | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A New and Better Treatment Improves Survival in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Former Smokers Protected from Lung Cancer by Eating Green Vegetables

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Experts generally agree that quitting smoking is of key importance in reducing the likelihood of getting lung cancer.  For those smokers who have already quitted, is there anything else they can do to further reduce their cancer risk? 

Now a new study funded by the National cancer Institue suggests that former smokers (as well as current ones) can be protected from lung cancer by eating a diet high in leafy green vegetable or folate.

The findings came from the analysis of data from the Lovelace Smokers Cohort, in which more than 1000 smokers and nonsmokers completed a questionnaire on their dietary habits and provided a sputum sample.  The team found that individuals who have a greater intake of leafy greens or folate and took multi-vitamins were less likely to have the change in genes that repair DNA or foster normal cell function.

Stidley CA et. al.  Cancer Res. 2010; 70[2]; 568-574

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cancer, Lung Cancer | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Former Smokers Protected from Lung Cancer by Eating Green Vegetables

Immune response and stage 4 melanoma

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Stage 4 (Stage IV) melanoma is very difficult to treat.  Even though stage I melanoma has an excellent prognosis; response rate for stage 4 melanoma with palliative biotherapies and chemotherapies is only approximately 10%.

Clinicians and researchers are working hard to find treatment options for patients with stage 4 disease.  Despite treatment failure of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in melanoma, they repeatedly note anti-tumor immune responses with regression of metastases or disease stabilization.  These findings imply that melanoma is immune-related.

I found the article by Dr. Michael Erdmann in the February issue of The Lancet Oncology very interesting.  He discussed findings from recent trials on two anti-CTLA-4 agents, ipilimumab and tremelimumab.  They are both immunomodulating antibodies targeting CTLA-4.  While phase 2 study of ipilimumab has shown some clinical responses with best overall response rate of 11.1%, phase 3 study of tremelimumab was terminated due to lack of superiority compared to chemotherapy (dacarbazine or temozololomide).  Note that response rate of ipilimumab is comparable to chemotherapy.  However, it is important that prolonged disease stabilization in the selected subset of responsive patients is different.  The author explained activation of immune system by blocking CTLA-4 is a double-edged sword.  Ipilimumab has been associated with dose-dependent immune-related adverse events like enterocolitis and hypophysitis with irreversible disability.

Researchers’ next challenge is to prove ipilimumab’s superiority to chemo in phase 3 trials and hopefully they can identify biomarkers to identify or predict melanoma patients whom will respond to these CTLA-4 agents.

Erdmann MK, Immunity unleashed in melanoma; Lancet Oncol 2010, 11; 108-109

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cancer, Melanoma | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Immune response and stage 4 melanoma

How to live longer with Stage 4 Melanoma?

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Would you and your loved ones like to fight cancer and fulfill your dreams?  Have you reached your milestones yet?  Here are some suggestions offered by Nekar Lo, a terminal cancer patient who is in his eighth year after his melanoma diagnosis.

Dragon represents longevityMental changes

1) Don’t believe everything you heard especially on how long you are going to live. Nekar was told to have 6 months to live, but he chose to fight the cancer and is still living today, 5 years after his diagnosis of Stage 4 melanoma.  “I told myself I need to live on because I want to attend my son primary graduation, high school graduation and then university graduation…”, Nekar said.

2) Don’t fight the cancer alone but get the support from friends and family members. Encouragement, support and compassion will be the key source of energy to fight the cancer.

3) Be happy and grateful. The best medicine to fight cancer is not chemo- or targeted therapy, but be joyful and grateful.  “After the initial shocks wear off, I did not continue to ask why I have this disease.  I understand God want me to send the messages to people around me to treasure their lives and love their family and neighbors”, Nekar added.

Diet Changes

1) Drink oxygenated water. Dr. Otto Warburg, a two-time Nobel Prize winner for research, found results that suggest oxygen deprived cells are more likely to become cancerous.  Therefore, having cells with enough oxygen is important to prevent cancer.

2)  Eat organic food to avoid pesticides and chemical residues.

 

3) Dink freshly squeezed juices such as apple, tomatoes, carrots and red beets juice. These fruits contain loads of minerals and vitamins and will boost your immune system to fight cancer.

4) Eat raw vegetables to get antioxidants and enzymes to get rid of toxin and free radicals.

5) Consume allalkine food and drinks such as eggplant, lemon-tea, prune juice and “vegetable soup”. Chinese herbalists believe that cancer arise because our body is overly acidic.  Eating alkaline food can neutralize the acidity in the body and fortify our immune system to fight the cancer cells.

The “Vegetable Soup” is a coolant invented in Japan during the late 60s. The product contains 5 ingredients: burdoch turnip, carrot, turnip keaf and mushroom and has been shown to strengthen the immunity.  www.vegetable-soup.com

 

Lifestyle Changes

1) Go to bed before 11:00pm every night. Liver is most active around 11 to 12 pm in detoxification.

 

2) Turn your light off when you go to sleep.

3)  Get involved in making decisions about your future medical therapies and lifestyle changes, but be ready to make compromise with your caregivers. Getting involved in decision making will make you feel empowered, but “going it alone” will create stress with your caregivers.

*Please note the above suggestions are not supported by any clinical study.

Visit us at healthreason.com for more cancer articles like this.

Posted in Cancer, Melanoma | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on How to live longer with Stage 4 Melanoma?

Amlodipine/benazepril (Lotrel) shown to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Antihypertensive combination drug Lotrel (amlodipine/benazepril) was shown to be more effective than benazapril plus diuretics in preventing the development of chronic kidney disease.

The new study, Avoiding Cardiovascular Events in Combination therapy in Patients Living with Systolic Hypertension (ACCOMPLISH), was published in the February 18, 2010 issue of Lancet. 

The study, involving 11,506 patients, showed that the benazepril/amlodipine combination reduced the risk of morbidity and mortality by 20% in high-risk hypertensive patients (systolic blood pressure > 160 mm Hg).  Furthermore, the combination drug also reduced the risk of developing chronic kidney disease by 48%.  

It is important to note that this is not the first study to show an antihypertensive drug is able to prevent the development of kidney disease.  Other drugs such as losartan (Cozaar) and irbesartan (Aprovel) have been shown to prevent the development of kidney disease.

Bakris et. al.  Lancet 2010; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)62100-0. 

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cardiovascular disease | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Amlodipine/benazepril (Lotrel) shown to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease

Hypertension may lead to dementia in older adults

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Hypertension appears to predict progression to dementia in older adults with cognitive deficiency (ability to plan and initiate/inhibit complex behaviors), according to a report published in the February 2010 issue of the Archives of Neurology.

The analysis was based on data from the Canadian study of Health and Aging that included 990 adults, average age 83, who had cognitive impairment but no dementia.

After a follow-up of five-years, investigators found that 58% of the seniors with high blood pressure and cognitive deficiency progressed to dementia, vs. 28% of those with cognitive deficiency but without hypertension.

Since dementia place a large burden on patients, family and society, the author suggested actively treating hypertension in this group of patients to delay progression of dementia.

Oveisgharan S. et. al.  Arch Neurol 2010; 67: 187-192.

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cardiovascular disease, Dementia, Hypertension | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hypertension may lead to dementia in older adults

Chocolate linked to lower stroke and stroke mortality risk

Print pagePDF pageEmail page

Good news for chocolate lovers: a review from researchers suggests higher chocolate consumption may be associated with a lower risk of stroke and stroke-related mortality.

The researchers reviewed the results of 2 cohort studies and found that individuals who consumed one serving of chocolate per week had a 22% reduction in stroke risk and those who consumed 50g of chocolate in a week had their stroke mortality reduced by 45%.

To make a more definite conclusion, investigators indicated that future prospective studies are required to identify the type of chocolate and the amount of flavonoids and other substances included to produce the stated benefits.  Since different types of chocolate contain different load of sugar and fats, the contents of these ingredients may negate the beneficial effects of chocolate. 

Sahib et. al.  American Academy of Neurology 2010 Annual Meeting; April 10-17. 2010

Visit us at healthreason.com for more articles like this.

Posted in Cardiovascular disease, Stroke | Tagged , | Comments Off on Chocolate linked to lower stroke and stroke mortality risk