 |
|
|
Popular Taste-enhancer Damages Eye Sight: Study
TOKYO: The controversial taste-enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) is once again in the centre of a debate. A recent research has found it to damage people's eyesight. Scientists found that eating large amounts of MSG, used to flavour oriental and processed foods, can injure the retina and lead to vision loss. Rats fed diets high in MSG in Japan developed thinner retinas and began to go blind. Glutamate is an amino acid which acts as a neurotransmitter, a chemical that sends signals between nerve cells. Previous research has already shown that it causes nerve damage when injected directly into the eye. But the Japanese study at Hirosaki University was the first to show that eye damage can be caused by eating food containing MSG, says a report in Sydney Morning Herald. Men Too Experience Menopausal Symptoms (Go
To Top) LONDON: Menopausal symptoms in men. Sounds strange, but a new research has revealed that one-third of men experience symptoms, which they put down to going through the menopause, reports BBC. Swedish researchers have found that symptoms such as sweating and hot flushes were relatively common in men over the age of 55. The team, from Linkoping University, also found that acupuncture could be used to alleviate menopausal symptoms in women. The scientists believe that the same protein, called CGRP, could be responsible for symptoms in both men and women. CGRP acts to expand the blood vessels, which can lead to both sweating and hot flushes. But production of the protein appears to be disrupted by a decrease in sex hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen. Controlling levels of CGRP may lead to new ways to treat menopausal complaints. The researchers asked more than 1,800 men over the age of 55 whether they had experienced menopausal symptoms. They found that symptoms were more likely among men who also showed symptoms typically associated with low levels of the male sex hormone testosterone. These included reduced muscle strength, poor stamina and low spirits. The researchers further examined their theory by focussing on men who had undergone treatment for prostate cancer. They found that those who underwent treatment with the female sex hormone oestrogen were less likely to experience menopausal symptoms than those who underwent surgery, which leads to a drop in testosterone levels. In a second study, the researchers studied the impact of acupuncture as a potential treatment for menopausal women. They found that in some women it reduced discomfort by about 75 per cent. The researchers say their findings indicate that acupuncture may be a viable alternative for women who cannot or do not want to use oestrogen treatment. 26/12/02 'Diuretics Give Better BP Control'
(Go To Top)
WASHINGTON: Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have stated that blood pressure medications show that diuretics work better than expensive new drugs. The Anti-hypertensive and Lipid-lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack (ALLHAT) trial conducted at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre and several other locations covered 33,000 people aged 55 or above and also at the risk of heart disease. All had high blood pressure treated either with a diuretic or a newer drug which could be either a calcium channel blocker or an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. The ALLHAT comparison ran from February 1994 through to March 2002. The researchers found that the diuretic turned out to be the best drug of the three. It gave better blood pressure control, reduced complications like heart failure, and was ten to 20 times less expensive than the other drugs. However, the researchers caution that people taking drugs that are not diuretics should not stop them. The ALLHAT study also suggested that best control of high blood pressure is achieved by using more than one drug, for most patients, and that one of these drugs ought to be a diuretic. Fast Food Means Prosperity Around the Waist (Go
To Top) SYDNEY: Fast-food meals may not cost you all that much in terms of money, but its cost on your health is much more severe. In fact, if a new study published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia is to be believed, such a meal will cost you about 12 per cent more, but serve you up to 25 per cent more fat and 38 per cent more sugar. Deakin University senior lecturer David Cameron-Smith, lecturer Timothy Crowe and nutrition consultant Shane Bilsborough analysed major meal deals from McDonald's, KFC etc. On measuring the weight, volume as well as nutrient contents of chips and soft drink, they found that "on an average, a 12 per cent increase in purchase cost increased energy availability by 23 per cent, with a 25 per cent increase in fat (10.3g) and a 38 per cent increase in sugars (18.8g)." "Excess consumption of sugar and fat from fast-food meal choices adds mainly empty calories to the diet, with little nutritional gain and with a real risk of expanding the waistline," the researchers were quoted as saying by the Courier-Mail. Eating Oily Fish Could Help Protect Against Asthma
(Go To Top)
LONDON: If you want to reduce your risk of developing asthma, then better start consuming oily fish, like mackerel or salmon, regularly, says a new British study. Researchers from Cambridge University, led by Dr Bipen Patel, a clinical epidemiologist, asked more than 750 people, some with asthma, and some without the disease, about their diets and in particular how much oily fish they ate each week. They found that people diagnosed with asthma, who were experiencing symptoms such as wheeze, breathlessness or waking up with a tight chest, recalled eating far less oily fish than those who were recognised asthmatics, but not greatly troubled by their symptoms. The research even goes on to suggest that the change in the British diet - often excluding oily fish - could be contributory factor to an apparent rise in asthma rates. "This is an interesting piece of research for people with asthma and at risk of asthma. Oily fish has already been linked with protection from heart disease, arthritis, psoriasis and dementia - and more research is needed to assess the role of dietary factors in the development of asthma. It is safe to say that eating oily fish in moderation every week as part of a well- balanced diet could help reduce the risk of asthma," Dr John Harvey, the chairman of the communications committee of the British Thoracic Society, was quoted as saying by the BBC. However, he added: "I would not recommend over-indulgence since some oily fish can contain dioxins which may be harmful if eaten in large quantities." Carcinogens in Fried Snacks (Go
To Top) WASHINGTON: The US Food and Drug Administration has confirmed the presence of high levels of potentially cancer-causing substance acrylamide in a wide range of fried and baked products, particularly in french fries, potato chips and crackers. The high levels discovered represent the first detailed US confirmation of earlier surprise findings from Europe, and have led to a broad FDA effort to determine whether acrylamide poses a cancer risk that requires changes in how foods are cooked and consumed. Terry C Troxell of the FDA's Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said at a two-day advisory committee meeting on acrylamide that the agency agreed with the World Health Organization's conclusion that the discovery of acrylamide in many foods is a major concern and needs to be aggressively researched. So far, officials say, they have not found acrylamide risks great enough to recommend that consumers avoid any groups of food. The new FDA findings are included in a report on 300 common products the agency has tested since Swedish researchers announced their discovery of acrylamide in many foods seven months ago. The FDA list showed predictably high acrylamide levels in most potato chips and french fries, but also significant levels in some breads, cocoas, almonds, coffees and crackers, says a report in the Guardian. Children Spared Surgery by New Technique
(Go To Top)
LONDON: A pioneering procedure that allows doctors to implant new pulmonary heart valves without opening up the patient's chest has been used in Britain for the first time, writes Sunday Telegraph. Four young patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London have undergone the procedure in the past fortnight with remarkable results. Philipp Bonhoeffer, the inventor of the non-invasive technique, used it to replace a defective valve between the heart and lungs in each of the patients. They were able to return home within days rather than facing the trauma of major surgery and weeks spent in hospital recovering. All say they are already feeling the benefits. One patient, Christopher Ekins, 18, from Lincoln, was discharged from hospital the day after the treatment. "It's as if they have injected me with an energy drug," he said. "It's amazing." Dr Bonhoeffer, who is director of catheterisation at Great Ormond Street, devised the method while working at the Neker hospital in Paris. He said that children born without a proper link between the heart and lungs needed major corrective surgery when they were four or five years old. However, the artificial tube used to connect the heart and lungs tends to narrow after about seven years, and a valve inside it begins to leak blood back into the heart. The patient gets increasingly tired and risks permanent damage to the heart muscle. Until now, the only solution was for the patient to undergo further surgery, during which the tube and valve were repaired. Specialists are reluctant to do this as frequently as they would like because of the risks of the procedure. Dr Bonhoeffer's
solution has been to attach a replacement valve to the inside of a small
collapsible tube made of fine platinum and gold wires, known as a stent.
This is compressed around the tip of a catheter which is fed through
the large blood vessel of the groin up into the heart and on into the
original tube. Once there, a balloon at the tip of the catheter is inflated:
the stent opens up, pushing the tube walls back out. As the stent expands
to its full size, the valve inside it unfolds. "If we can prolong the
life of the conduits we can avoid the need for major surgery," said
Dr Bonhoeffer. "It will save lives, I'm sure. We'll be able to treat
patients who cannot have any more surgery." |
|