Effective Nonsurgical Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

A new nonsurgical approach to treating chronic pain and stiffness associated with knee osteoarthritis has demonstrated significant, lasting improvement in knee pain, function, and stiffness. This safe, two-solution treatment delivered in a series of injections into and around the knee joint is called prolotherapy, and is described in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Daily low-dose aspirin may protect against preeclampsia complications

Daily low-dose aspirin beginning as early as the second trimester of pregnancy may prevent complications from preeclampsia, according to an article being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Preeclampsia is a condition characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria during the second half of pregnancy. Poor perinatal health outcomes are associated with preeclampsia, primarily due to increased risk for intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or medically initiated preterm delivery.

Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol

 

Eating one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce "bad cholesterol" and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study has found.

However, most people in North America would have to more than double their consumption of these foods known as pulses to reach that target, said the researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

Drink milk? Women who do may delay knee osteoarthritis

New research reports that women who frequently consume fat-free or low-fat milk may delay the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Results published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, show that women who ate cheese saw an increase in knee OA progression. Yogurt did not impact OA progression in men or women.

Green tea boosts your brain

Green tea is said to have many putative positive effects on health. Now, researchers at the University of Basel are reporting first evidence that green tea extract enhances the cognitive functions, in particular the working memory. The Swiss findings suggest promising clinical implications for the treatment of cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders such as dementia. The academic journal Psychopharmacology has published their results.

Caffeine against Alzheimer's disease

As part of a German-French research project, a team led by Dr. Christa E. Müller from the University of Bonn and Dr. David Blum from the University of Lille was able to demonstrate for the first time that caffeine has a positive effect on tau deposits in Alzheimer's disease. The two-years project was supported with 30,000 Euro from the non-profit Alzheimer Forschung Initiative e.V. (AFI) and with 50,000 Euro from the French Partner organization LECMA. The initial results were published in the online edition of the journal "Neurobiology of Aging."

Latest Health Research

Keeping up on the latest health research is enough to drive someone who models his behavior after findings in earlier reports (me) nuts.  Contradictory reports keep coming in – the last 3 weeks have seen all too many of them.

Here they are:

Latest Health Research: Previous Reports

Previous Reports


2014
 

3/14/14

2/24/14

2/8/14

1/18/14

2013

1/5/13

1/29/13

2/23/13

3/20/13

4/13/13

5/4/13

5/24/13

7/6/13

8/3/13

8/27/13

9/21/13

10/14/13

11/8/13

11/23/13

12/31/13

2012

December 1

October 22

September 13

August 10

June 26

June 2

May 18

May 7

April 24

March 28


3/6/12

2/7/12

1/27/12

1/3/12


2011

12/7/11

11/12/11

October 29

October 7

September 19

August 26

August 11

July 22

June 25

June 4

May 21

May 7

April 13

March 29

March 2

Vitamin D insufficiency sustained over 5 years contributes to increased 10-year fracture risk in elderly women

A study presented today at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases shows that long-term low levels of vitamin D intake are associated with higher 10-year fracture risk in elderly women.

Vitamin D insufficiency in seniors has been shown to contribute to increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. Previous studies have used single vitamin D measurements to investigate effects on bone. However, in elderly women, relatively little is known about the effects of long-term vitamin D insufficiency on bone health.

The study by Swedish researchers used sequential assessment of serum vitamin D to determine if sustained hypovitaminosis D in elderly women leads to increased 10-year fracture incidence.

Study participants at baseline were 1044 Swedish women, all aged 75, with 715 attending at the 5-year follow up. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels (nmol/l) were classified as low (<50 and="" high="" intermediate="">75). Women with values in the same 25OHD category at both samplings were considered to have consistently low, intermediate or high levels. Fracture data was followed for 10 years through X-rays at the radiology department.

The results showed that the incidence of hip fractures within 10 years was significantly lower in those women who were vitamin D sufficient (≥50 nmol/l) at baseline and maintained this level at 5 years. The proportion of women sustaining FRAX fractures was 26.2% and 30% in the group which had consistently high or intermediate 25OHD levels compared to 45.6 % in the group with consistently low levels. The incidence of shoulder, radius and vertebral fractures was not associated with 25OHD status in the study. The majority of fractures occurred between 5 and 10 years after baseline (hip 77%; FRAX 64%) however the time to first fracture (hip and FRAX) did not significantly differ between the three categories of 25OHD using either a single or serial measurement.

Professor Kristina Akesson, Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit at Lund University, Chair of the IOF Capture the Fracture Campaign, stated, "This study concludes that in the population sample of elderly women, vitamin D insufficiency sustained over 5-years was associated with increased 10-year risk of osteoporotic fracture."

She added, "This is part of a body of research which increasingly suggests that falls and fracture risk in the elderly could be lower by having higher vitamin D levels. The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) global recommendations for vitamin D advise daily intakes of 800 to 1000 IU/day in seniors for fracture and falls prevention, and if the on-going research shows that vitamin D levels are increased it may be a relatively simple and low-cost public health measure that could have significant positive effects on the incidence of osteoporotic fractures with aging."

Fracture prevention is a key focus of IOF's global campaign 'Capture the Fracture'. The campaign specifically targets secondary fracture prevention by promoting the implementation of coordinator-based fracture liaison services in hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Depression increases heart failure risk by 40 percent

Reducing stress that triggers depression may improve outlook

Moderate to severe depression increases the risk of heart failure by 40%, a study of nearly 63 000 Norwegians has shown. The findings were presented for the first time today at EuroHeartCare 2014.

EuroHeartCare is the official annual meeting of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). This year's meeting is organised jointly with the Norwegian Society of Cardiovascular Nurses and is held 4-5 April in Stavanger, Norway.

Ms Lise Tuset Gustad, first author of the study and an intensive care nurse at Levanger Hospital in Norway, said: "We found a dose response relationship between depressive symptoms and the risk of developing heart failure. That means that the more depressed you feel, the more you are at risk."

She added: "People who have lost interest in things they used to enjoy, such as reading or watching a television series, may have the early signs of depression. It's a good idea to see your doctor in these early stages for some advice on how to reduce your depression levels."

This is one of the first large, prospective studies to investigate whether depression increases the risk of developing heart failure. Data were collected during the second wave of a large epidemiological study in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway, called the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT study). Nearly 63 000 of the 97 000 citizens in the county agreed to take part.

When the second wave of the HUNT study began in 1995, information was collected including body mass index, physical activity, smoking habits and blood pressure. Depression was assessed and ranked for severity using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Every Norwegian citizen receives a unique 11 digit number at birth which is used at hospitals and the National Cause of Death Registry. The researchers used this number to track which patients were hospitalised with heart failure or died from heart failure during the 11 year study.

During the study period nearly 1 500 people developed heart failure. Compared to residents with no symptoms of depression, people with mild symptoms had a 5% increased risk of developing heart failure and those with moderate to severe symptoms had a 40% increased risk.

Ms Gustad said: "Depressive symptoms increase the chance of developing heart failure and the more severe the symptoms are, the greater the risk. Depressed people have less healthy lifestyles, so our analysis adjusted for factors such as obesity and smoking that could cause both depression and heart failure. This means we can be confident that these factors did not cause the association."

She added: "There is effective treatment for depression, particularly if people get help early. The early symptoms of depression include a loss of interest and loss of pleasure in things that have normally been interesting or given pleasure. If you feel like that, speak to your friends and if it lasts for a month see your doctor or nurse. Depression can be treated easily in the early stages and many people don't need medication. Talking to a professional may be all you need."

Ms Gustad continued: "Depression triggers stress hormones. If you're stressed you feel your pulse going up and your breath speeding up, which is the result of hormones being released. Those stress hormones also induce inflammation and atherosclerosis, which may accelerate heart diseases. Another mechanism could also be because depressed people find it more difficult to follow advice about how to take medications and improve their lifestyle."

She concluded: "Depression is disabling. It blocks people's ability to take their medications as prescribed, stop smoking, improve their diet or exercise more. Hospitals in Norway specialise in either somatic or psychiatric illness and there is little communication between them. Patients at all hospitals should be screened for depression to help them recover from existing illnesses, avoid developing new ones and have a more enjoyable life."

Antioxidants can protect against omega 6 damage -- or promote it

Given omega 6 fatty acid's reputation for promoting cancer — at least in animal studies — researchers are examining the role that antioxidants play in blocking the harmful effects of this culprit, found in many cooking oils. After all, antioxidants are supposed to prevent DNA damage. But employing antioxidants could backfire, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In their study, being reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, researchers found that vitamin E actually increased specific damage linked to omega 6 fatty acids. The vitamin promoted the formation of an "adduct," a structure that links a chemical to DNA, and which may cause mutations.

On the other hand, in the setting of omega 6, the antioxidant green tea polyphenol reduced formation of another commonly found "adduct" from omega-6 fatty acid — suggesting it may have beneficial health effects.

The third antioxidant tested, alpha-lipoic acid — found in spinach and broccoli and proven to have anti-cancer properties — had no effect on either of the two adducts studied.

The study was designed to understand why omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids promote liver cancer, while their cousin, omega 3, helps prevent cancer.

Researchers examined formation of DNA-damaging adducts in liver cells treated with omega 6. One of those adducts, ϒ-OHPdG, is well known, but the research team discovered a second one — DHHedA.

"This study revealed that DHHedA is a novel type of DNA damage, found in the tissues of rodents and humans, that is caused by omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid," says the study's lead author, Fung-Lung Chung, PhD, a professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi and professor of biochemistry and molecular & cellular biology at Georgetown University Medical Center.

In rats engineered to develop liver cancer, green tea polyphenols reduced formation of ϒ-OHPdG adducts, and vitamin E increased production of DHHedA adducts.

Researchers also discovered that although alpha-lipoic acid had no effect on either adduct, rats who ate the antioxidant had a significantly longer lifespan, compared with rats treated with the other antioxidants. "The precise reason why this happened is not yet known," says Chung.

"Our findings are beginning to shed light on why omega 6 fatty acids are believed to have negative health effects," Chung says, "but we have a long way to go before we can make definitive health claims on these antioxidants."

He added, "Not all antioxidants are created equal. They all have different properties, and they play different roles in various tissues. What we find in liver cancer may not hold true for other cancers."

Red meat and processed meat consumption and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis

High consumption of red meat and processed meat has been associated with increased risk of several chronic diseases. A meta-analysis was published in the American  Journal of  Epidemiology Feb 1  2014 t summarizing the evidence from prospective studies on red meat and processed meat consumption in relationship to all-cause mortality.

Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed through May 2013 and by reviewing the reference lists of retrieved articles. Prospective studies that reported relative risks with 95% confidence intervals for the association of red meat or processed meat consumption with all-cause mortality were eligible.

In a dose-response meta-analysis, consumption of processed meat and total red meat was statistically significantly positively associated with all-cause mortality in a nonlinear fashion. These results indicate that high consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, may increase all-cause mortality.  

Can Vitamin A Turn Back the Clock on Breast Cancer?

A derivative of vitamin A, known as retinoic acid, found abundantly in sweet potato and carrots, helps turn pre-cancer cells back to normal healthy breast cells, according to research published this month in the International Journal of Oncology. The research could help explain why some clinical studies have been unable to see a benefit of vitamin A on cancer: the vitamin doesn’t appear to change the course of full-blown cancer, only pre-cancerous cells, and only works at a very narrow dose.

Because cells undergo many changes before they become fully aggressive and metastatic, Sandra V. Fernandez, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, and colleagues, used a model of breast cancer progression composed of four types of cells each one representing a different stage of breast cancer: normal, pre-cancerous, cancerous and a fully aggressive model.

When the researchers exposed the four breast cell types to different concentrations of retinoic acid – one of the chemicals that the body converts vitamin A into – they noticed a strong change in the pre-cancerous cells. Not only did the pre-cancerous cells begin to look more like normal cells in terms of their shape, they also changed their genetic signature back to normal. Dr. Fernandez’s pre-cancerous cells had 443 genes that were either up or downregulated on their way to becoming cancerous. All of these genes returned to normal levels after treatment with retinoic acid. “It looks like retinoic acid exerts effects on cancer cells in part via the modulation of the epigenome,” says Fernandez.

“We were able to see this effect of retinoic acid because we were looking at four distinct stages of breast cancer,” says Dr. Fernandez. “It will be interesting to see if these results can be applied to patients.”

Interestingly, the cells that were considered fully cancerous did not respond at all to retinoic acid, suggesting that there may be a small window of opportunity for retinoic acid to be helpful in preventing cancer progression. In addition, the researchers showed that only one concentration of retinoic acid (about one micro Molar) produced the anti-cancer effects. Lower concentrations gave no change, and higher concentrations produced a smaller effect.

The next step will be to try to learn whether the amount of retinoic acid required can be maintained in an animal model, and if that concentration will have the same effects as Dr. Fernandez observed in cells. If those studies show the same effect, the next step would be to test whether these observations hold true in humans.

Hearing loss affects old people's personality

As people approach old age, they generally become less outgoing. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that this change in personality is amplified among people with impaired hearing. The findings emphasize the importance of acknowledging and treating hearing loss in the elderly population.

The researchers studied 400 individuals 80-98 years old over a six-year period. Every two years, the subjects were assessed in terms of physical and mental measures as well as personality aspects such as extraversion, which reflects the inclination to be outgoing, and emotional stability. The results show that even if the emotional stability remained constant over the period, the participants became less outgoing.

Interestingly, the researchers were not able to connect the observed changes to physical and cognitive impairments or to age-related difficulties finding social activities. The only factor that could be linked to reduced extraversion was hearing loss.

'To our knowledge, this is the first time a link between hearing and personality changes has been established in longitudinal studies. Surprisingly, we did not find that declining overall health and functional capacity make people less outgoing. But hearing loss directly affects the quality of social situations. If the perceived quality of social interaction goes down, it may eventually affect whether and how we relate to others,' says Anne Ingeborg Berg, PhD, licensed psychologist and researcher at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg.

The study yields interesting knowledge about personality development late in life, and also points to the importance of acknowledging and treating hearing loss among the elderly.

The utilization of hearing aids did not affect the correlation found, which suggests that there is a need for support in the use of aids such as hearing devices.

'Our previous studies have shown that outgoing individuals are happier with their lives. It is hypothesised that an outgoing personality reflects a positive approach to life, but it also probably shows how important it is for most people to share both joy and sadness with others. Even if we can't conclude anything about causal relationships, we can guess that the link between hearing loss and social withdrawal forms a potential threat to older people's wellbeing,' says Berg.

Morning rays keep off pounds

People exposed to earlier sunlight are leaner than those who get afternoon light

A surprising new strategy for managing your weight? Bright morning light.

A new Northwestern Medicine® study reports the timing, intensity and duration of your light exposure during the day is linked to your weight -- the first time this has been shown.

People who had most of their daily exposure to even moderately bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than those who had most of their light exposure later in the day, the study found. (BMI is a ratio calculated from a person's weight and height.)

"The earlier this light exposure occurred during the day, the lower individuals' body mass index," said co-lead author Kathryn Reid, research associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "The later the hour of moderately bright light exposure, the higher a person's BMI."

The influence of morning light exposure on body weight was independent of an individual's physical activity level, caloric intake, sleep timing, age or season. It accounted for about 20 percent of a person's BMI.

"Light is the most potent agent to synchronize your internal body clock that regulates circadian rhythms, which in turn also regulate energy balance," said study senior author Phyllis C. Zee, M.D. "The message is that you should get more bright light between 8 a.m. and noon." About 20 to 30 minutes of morning light is enough to affect BMI.

Zee is the Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor of Neurology and director of the Northwestern Medicine Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Research Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She also is a neurologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

"If a person doesn't get sufficient light at the appropriate time of day, it could de-synchronize your internal body clock, which is known to alter metabolism and can lead to weight gain," Zee said. The exact mechanism of how light affects body fat requires further research, she noted.

The study will be published April 2 in the journal PLOS ONE. Giovanni Santostasi, a research fellow in neurology at Feinberg, also is a co-lead author.

What's the Magic Number for Low BMI?

Many people do not get enough natural light in the morning, Zee said, because the American lifestyle is predominantly indoors. We also work in poorly lit environments, usually about 200 to 300 lux. In the study, 500 lux was "the magic number" or minimum threshold for having a lower BMI. Even on a cloudy day, outdoor light is more than 1,000 lux of brightness. It is difficult to achieve this light level with usual indoor lighting, the scientists noted.

Light May Be Next Frontier for Weight Loss

"Light is a modifiable factor with the potential to be used in weight management programs," Reid said. "Just like people are trying to get more sleep to help them lose weight, perhaps manipulating light is another way to lose weight."

Santostasi, a physicist by training, developed a new measure for the study that integrates the timing, duration and intensity of light exposure into a single number called mean light timing or MLiT.

He searched for a correlation between light exposure timing, duration or intensity in the study raw data, but none of those factors individually were associated with BMI. It was only when he began combining parameters, that he saw "the strong signal" when all three were examined together.

"I saw that what seemed to be most associated with body mass index was not just how much light you receive but when you get it and for how long," Santostasi said.

The study included 54 participants (26 males, 28 females), an average age of 30. They wore a wrist actigraphy monitor that measured their light exposure and sleep parameters for seven days in normal-living conditions. Their caloric intake was determined from seven days of food logs.

Befriend Your Body Clock – Get Morning Light

The finding emphasizes the importance of "circadian health" in which exposure to light and dark is synchronized with your internal body clock. "We focus on how too much light at night is bad; it's also bad not to get enough light at the appropriate time during the day," Zee said.

As part of a healthy lifestyle, people should be encouraged to get more appropriate exposure to light. Workplaces and schools should have windows. Employees should be encouraged to go outside for lunch or breaks, and indoor lighting should be improved in the school and workplace "This is something we could institute early on in our schools to prevent obesity on a larger scale," Zee said.

While duration and timing of sleep was not linked to the results, "owl" chronotypes, who stay up later and sleep later, would be a population affected by later light exposure. But even "larks," those who wake early, would be affected by lack of early light if they stayed inside in the morning.

While the study wasn't designed to examine how light exposure affects body fat, previous research at Northwestern and elsewhere shows light plays a role in regulating metabolism, hunger and satiety.

Circumcision benefits far outweigh risks

In the United States the rate of circumcision in men has increased to 81% over the past decade. In an important new study just published in advance in Mayo Clinic Proceedings authors from Australia and the United States have shown that the benefits of infant male circumcision to health exceed the risks by over 100 to 1. Brian Morris, Professor Emeritus in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney and his colleagues in Florida and Minnesota found that over their lifetime half of uncircumcised males will contract an adverse medical condition caused by their foreskin.

Whereas circumcision rates have risen in white men to 91%, in black men to 76%, and in Hispanic men to 44%, the study authors found an alarming decrease in infants. To get the true figures they had to correct hospital discharge data for underreporting. This showed that circumcision had declined from a high of 83% in the 1960s to 77% today.

There seemed to be two major reasons for the fall.

One is a result of demographic changes, with the rise in the Hispanic population. Hispanic families tend to be less familiar with the custom, making them less likely to circumcise their baby boys.

The other is the current absence of Medicaid coverage for the poor in 18 US states. In those states circumcision is 24% lower.

Professor Morris stated, “The new findings now show that infant circumcision should be regarded as equivalent to childhood vaccination and that as such it would be unethical not to routinely offer parents circumcision for their baby boy. Delay puts the child’s health at risk and will usually mean it will never happen.”

In infancy the strongest immediate benefit is protection against urinary tract infections (UTIs) that can damage the kidney in half of babies who get a UTI. Morris and co-investigator Tom Wiswell, MD, Center for Neonatal Care, Orlando, showed last year that over the lifetime UTIs affect 1 in 3 uncircumcised males.

In a landmark systematic review, Morris, with John Krieger, MD, Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, showed that there is no adverse effect of circumcision on sexual function, sensitivity, or pleasure. This helped dispel one myth perpetuated by opponents of the procedure.

Taken together, the new findings should send a strong message to medical practitioners, professional bodies, educators, policy makers, governments, and insurers to promote this safe, simple procedure, best done in infancy under local anesthesia and to increase access and third party coverage, especially for poor families, who tend to suffer most from foreskin-related diseases. Infant circumcision has, moreover, been shown to be cost saving.

Levels of sodium intake recommended by CDC associated with harmful health outcomes

 A new study published in the American Journal of Hypertension finds evidence that the average daily sodium intake of most Americans is actually associated with better health outcomes than intake levels currently recommended by the CDC and major health departments, which are now being viewed by many in the scientific community as excessively and unrealistically low.

The study, "Compared With Usual Sodium Intake, Low-and Excessive-Sodium Diets Are Associated With Increased Mortality: A Meta-Analysis," concluded that 2,645 – 4,945 mg of sodium per day, a range of intake within which the vast majority of Americans fall, actually results in more favorable health outcomes than the CDC's current recommendation of less than 2300mg/day for healthy individuals under 50 years old, and less than 1500 mg/day for most over 50 years. This study was a combined analysis of 25 individual studies, which measured results from over 274,683 individuals.

Dr. Niels Graudal, the study's lead author, says the results are an important extension of the findings of a major 2013 Institute of Medicine report, which cast doubt on the current CDC recommendations but failed to establish any specific optimum range of intake. "Our results are in line with the IOM's concern that lower levels could produce harm, and they provide a concrete basis for revising the recommended range in the best interest of public health."

"The good news," he says, "is that around 95% of the global population already consumes within the range we've found to generate the least instances of mortality and cardiovascular disease."

Analysis of the results found that, as with all other essential nutrients, there was a U-shaped correlation between sodium intake and health outcomes. When consumption deviated from the 2,645 – 4,945 mg range mortality increased, so that both excessively high and low consumption of sodium were associated with reduced survival.

The study also found that there is little-to-no variation in health outcomes between individuals as long as their consumption remained within the ideal intake range (2,645 – 4,945 mg/day).

Running, cardio activities in young adulthood may preserve thinking skills in middle age

 Young adults who run or participate in other cardio fitness activities may preserve their memory and thinking skills in middle age, according to a new study published in the April 2, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Middle age was defined as ages 43 to 55.

"Many studies show the benefits to the brain of good heart health," said study author David R. Jacobs, Jr, PhD, with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "This is one more important study that should remind young adults of the brain health benefits of cardio fitness activities such as running, swimming, biking or cardio fitness classes."

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well your body transports oxygen to your muscles, and how well your muscles are able to absorb the oxygen during exercise.

For the study, 2,747 healthy people with an average age of 25 underwent treadmill tests the first year of the study and then again 20 years later. Cognitive tests taken 25 years after the start of the study measured verbal memory, psychomotor speed (the relationship between thinking skills and physical movement) and executive function.

For the treadmill test, which was similar to a cardiovascular stress test, participants walked or ran as the speed and incline increased until they could not continue or had symptoms such as shortness of breath. At the first test, participants lasted an average of 10 minutes on the treadmill. Twenty years later, that number decreased by an average of 2.9 minutes. For every additional minute people completed on the treadmill at the first test, they recalled 0.12 more words correctly on the memory test of 15 words and correctly replaced 0.92 more numbers with meaningless symbols in the test of psychomotor speed 25 years later, even after adjusting for other factors such as smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol.

People who had smaller decreases in their time completed on the treadmill test 20 years later were more likely to perform better on the executive function test than those who had bigger decreases. Specifically, they were better able to correctly state ink color (for example, for the word "yellow" written in green ink, the correct answer was "green").

"These changes were significant, and while they may be modest, they were larger than the effect from one year of aging," Jacobs said. "Other studies in older individuals have shown that these tests are among the strongest predictors of developing dementia in the future. One study showed that every additional word remembered on the memory test was associated with an 18-percent decrease in the risk of developing dementia after 10 years."

"These findings are likely to help us earlier identify and consequently prevent or treat those at high risk of developing dementia," Jacobs said.

 

Coffee consumption reduces mortality risk from liver cirrhosis

Drinking tea, fruit juice or soft drinks not found to affect risk of cirrhosis death

New research reveals that consuming two or more cups of coffee each day reduces the risk of death from liver cirrhosis by 66%, specifically cirrhosis caused by non-viral hepatitis. Findings in Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that tea, fruit juice, and soft drink consumption are not linked to cirrhosis mortality risk. As with previous studies heavy alcohol use was found to increase risk of death from cirrhosis.

A 2004 report from The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year 1.3% of total death worldwide is caused by liver cirrhosis. Previous research shows that 29 million Europeans have chronic liver disease, with 17,000 deaths annually attributed to cirrhosis. Further WHO reports state that liver cirrhosis is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.

"Prior evidence suggests that coffee may reduce liver damage in patients with chronic liver disease," said lead researcher, Dr. Woon-Puay Koh with Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore and the National University of Singapore. "Our study examined the effects of consuming coffee, alcohol, black tea, green tea, and soft drinks on risk of mortality from cirrhosis."

This prospective population-based study, known as The Singapore Chinese Health Study, recruited 63,275 Chinese subjects between the ages of 45 and 74 living in Singapore. Participants provided information on diet, lifestyle choices, and medical history during in-person interviews conducted between 1993 and 1998. Patients were followed for an average of nearly 15 years, during which time there were 14,928 deaths (24%); 114 of them died from liver cirrhosis. The mean age of death was 67 years.

Findings indicate that those who drank at least 20 g of ethanol daily had a greater risk of cirrhosis mortality compared to non-drinker. In contrast, coffee intake was associated with a lower risk of death from cirrhosis, specifically for non-viral hepatitis related cirrhosis. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a chronic liver disease related to the metabolic syndrome and more sedentary affluent lifestyle, likely predominates among the non-viral hepatitis related cirrhosis group. In fact, subjects who drank two or more cups per day had a 66% reduction in mortality risk, compared to non-daily coffee drinkers. However, coffee intake was not associated with viral hepatitis B related cirrhosis mortality.

"Our study is the first to demonstrate a difference between the effects of coffee on non-viral and viral hepatitis related cirrhosis mortality," concludes Dr. Koh. "This finding resolves the seemingly conflicting results on the effect of coffee in Western and Asian-based studies of death from liver cirrhosis. Our finding suggests that while the benefit of coffee may be less apparent in the Asian population where chronic viral hepatitis B predominates currently, this is expected to change as the incidence of non-viral hepatitis related cirrhosis is expected to increase in these regions, accompanying the increasing affluence and westernizing lifestyles amongst their younger populations."

Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes

Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up, and scientists are now homing in on what ingredients in chocolate might help prevent obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes. They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight and lowered their blood sugar levels. The report appears in American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.

Andrew P. Neilson and colleagues explain that cocoa, the basic ingredient of chocolate, is one of the most flavanol-rich foods around. That's good for chocolate lovers because previous research has shown that flavanols in other foods such as grapes and tea can help fight weight gain and type-2 diabetes. But not all flavanols, which are a type of antioxidant, are created equal. Cocoa has several different kinds of these compounds, so Neilson's team decided to tease them apart and test each individually for health benefits.

The scientists fed groups of mice different diets, including high-fat and low-fat diets, and high-fat diets supplemented with different kinds of flavanols. They found that adding one particular set of these compounds, known as oligomeric procyanidins (PCs), to the food made the biggest difference in keeping the mice's weight down if they were on high-fat diets. They also improved glucose tolerance, which could potentially help prevent type-2 diabetes. "Oligomeric PCs appear to possess the greatest antiobesity and antidiabetic bioactivities of the flavanols in cocoa, particularly at the low doses employed for the present study," the researchers state.