THE
PHARMA REVIEW MARCH APRIL 2018
Short workouts
equivalent of going to the gym
Trying to fit exercise into a busy weekly schedule
is far easier said than done. Sometimes there just
isn’t any time to go to the gym for an intense
workout or head out on a lengthy jog around the
neighbourhood. A new study has revealed that doing
short bursts of exercise can be just as beneficial
as longer workouts on your overall health. As it
stands, the current health guidelines as stated by
the NHS dictate that adults aged between 19 and 64
years old should do at least 150 minutes of moderate
aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic
activity a week, in addition to strength exercises.
It recommends splitting the 150 minutes of weekly
physical activity into 30-minute segments. However,
research conducted by William E Kraus, MD, of the
Duke University School of Medicine and investigators
from the National Cancer Institute debunks the
notion that workouts have to be long in duration in
order to be effective. “For about 30 years,
guidelines have suggested that moderate-to-vigorous
activity could provide health benefits, but only if
you sustained the activity for 10 minutes or more,”
Kraus said. “That flies in the face of public health
recommendations, like taking the stairs instead of
the elevator, and parking farther from your
destination. “Those don’t take 10 minutes, so why
were they recommended?” Kraus and his team of
researchers assessed 4,840 people aged 40 and older
with data obtained from individuals who took part in
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
between 2003 and 2006. By 2011, 700 of the
participants had passed away. The study concluded
that a person’s risk of developing disease or dying
prematurely can be greatly reduced with an increased
amount of daily exercise. However, this daily
exertion can be split into smaller durations of
moderate exercise and still have the same beneficial
effect as a longer, more intense workout.
Source:-
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
How
Being Overweight Can Shorten Lifespan
Obese people have shorter lives and even those who
are just overweight spend more years living with
heart disease than individuals who are a healthy
weight, a US study suggests. Researchers examined
data on more than 1,90,000 adults from 10 different
studies conducted in the US over the past seven
decades that looked at weight and other factors that
can influence the risk of heart disease. None of the
participants had cardiovascular disease when they
joined these studies, but at least 70% of men and
about 60% of women aged 40 and older were overweight
or obese. For middle-aged men 40 to 59 years old,
the odds of having a stroke, heart attack, heart
failure or death from cardiovascular causes was 21%
higher for overweight individuals than for those at
a normal weight, the study found. Overweight middle
aged women had 32% higher odds of having a heart
condition or dying from it. When middle-aged people
were obese, men were 67% more likely to have a heart
attack, stroke, heart failure or cardiovascular
death and women had 85% higher odds compared to
normal-weight peers. Extremely obese middle aged men
had almost triple the risk of having a heart
condition or dying from it, compared with
normal-weight men, and extremely obese middle-aged
women had more than twice the risk of normal-weight
women. "Our data clearly show that obesity is
associated with a shorter, sicker life with more
cardiovascular disease and more years lived with
cardiovascular disease," said lead study author Dr
Sadiya Khan of the Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine in Chicago. "Obesity or excess
fat in the body can increase risk for heart disease
in and of itself as well as increasing risk for
heart disease by causing elevated blood pressure,
diabetes and abnormal cholesterol," Khan said. Some
research in recent years has suggested that
overweight people may live longer than their
normal-weight counterparts, a phenomenon often
described as the "obesity paradox." However, the
current study offers fresh evidence linking excess
weight to an increased risk of developing
cardiovascular disease and of dying from it,
researchers note in JAMA Cardiology. The current
study also links obesity to a shorter life. While
overweight men had a similar lifespan to
normalweight men, obese men lived 1.9 fewer years,
and extremely obese men died six years sooner.
Middle-aged women who were a normal weight lived 1.4
years longer than overweight women, 3.4 years longer
than obese women and six years longer than extremely
obese women.
Source:-
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Dental
Health is a Crucial Aspect of Diabetes Management
New Delhi: Periodontal disease has been indicated as
the ‘sixth complication’ of diabetes after others
like kidney disease, damage to the retina, and heart
disease. However, despite this, people living with
diabetes visit the dentist less frequently,
indicates a recent research. It is important to
understand that maintaining good oral health can
help in blood glucose control and prevent
complications in the future. Periodontal disease
refers to chronic inflammation of the gums and
surrounding tissue and bone. Apart from having an
adverse effect on blood sugar levels, it can also
contribute to the progression of diabetes. Speaking
about this, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal,
President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and
Immediate Past National President Indian Medical
Association (IMA), said, “Severe periodontal disease
has been shown to be an independent risk factor for
mortality from ischemic heart disease and
nephropathy. The mouth naturally contains many types
of bacteria. The higher the blood sugar level, the
greater the supply of sugars and starches and the
more acid that damages the teeth. Gingivitis (early
gum disease) is another condition, which if left
untreated, can lead to a more serious infection
called periodontitis, which destroys the soft tissue
and bone that support the teeth. Periodontitis tends
to be more severe among people who have diabetes
because this condition lowers the ability to resist
infection and slows healing. This makes it
imperative for both dentate and non-dentate diabetic
patients to get an annual dental examination done.”
In people with diabetes, the extra sugar in saliva
allows the fungus Candida albicansto cause an
infection called candidiasis (thrush). This appears
as sore white or red areas in the mouth. Adding
further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Vice President
of CMAAO, said, “If you happen to notice any signs
and symptoms of gum disease including redness,
swelling and bleeding, it is better to visit your
dentist immediately. Some other things to watch out
for are a dry mouth, loose teeth, or pain in the
gums. Above anything else, make sure you maintain
your blood sugar levels in the targeted range.”
Artificial Sweetener Could Someday Provide Cancer
Treatments with Fewer Side Effects
Artificial sweeteners are used in diet drinks and
foods but also could someday be used as treatments
targeting carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), a protein
associated with aggressive cancers. Although several
drugs have been approved that target similar forms
of CA, they aren’t selective and may cause side
effects, including vomiting and fatigue. Now
researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal
Chemistry that an artificial sweetener could lead to
development of a more selective therapy. CA IX is a
zinc protein that is typically found only in the
gastrointestinal tract, but it is over expressed in
cancer tissues and contributes to the growth and
spread of malignant cells in lung, brain and breast
cancers. But the body produces 14 other forms of CA
proteins that are involved in the function of
normal, healthy cells. In earlier work, Robert
McKenna and colleagues reported that saccharin, the
artificial sweetener in Sweet’N Low®, was more
selective toward CA IX than other treatments and
therefore could be a promising treatment option. But
the team wanted to know if another artificial
sweetener, acesulfame potassium, would be an even
better cancer treatment. Known as ACE K, this
sweetener is marketed as Sunett® and Sweet One® and
is already widely consumed in processed foods like
sodas and baked goods. The CA IX protein is
difficult to purify, so the researchers created a
genetically engineered version, called “CA IX
mimic.” They then studied the interactions of ACE K
and other inhibitors with CA IX mimic and with a
form found throughout the body called CA II. They
determined that ACE K is more selective than
saccharin, vastly preferring CA IX over CA II. They
also explored the characteristics about ACE K
binding to CA IX that makes it unique compared to
other inhibitors. For example, ACE K completely
fills the CA IX binding site and binds directly to a
catalytic zinc ion, displacing a water molecule that
is still present when approved drugs bind. This
information will help researchers modify ACE K’s
chemical structure to create even more selective
treatments that have fewer side effects.
Source:- www.acs.org
THE
PHARMA REVIEW MAY JUNE 2015
'Liquid
Biopsy' Using Blood Test is Latest Weapon Against
Cancer
In the usual cancer biopsy, a surgeon cuts out a
piece of the patient's tumor, but researchers in
labs in the US are testing a potentially
transformative innovation. They call it the liquid
biopsy, and it is a blood test that has only
recently become feasible with the latest exquisitely
sensitive techniques. It is showing promise in
finding tiny snippets of cancer DNA in a patient's
blood. The hope is that a simple blood draw — far
less onerous for patients than a biopsy or a CT scan
— will enable oncologists to quickly figure out
whether a treatment is working and, if it is, to
continue monitoring in case the cancer develops
resistance. Failing treatments could be abandoned
quickly. "This could change forever the way we
follow up response to treatments but also the
emergence of resistance for really early diagnosis,"
said Dr. Jose Baselga of Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center.
A Drug
Soon to Fix Heart Attack Tear?
A
revolutionary drug that could repair the damage done
by a heart attack, potentially saving thousands of
lives, is now a real possibility, one of the UK's
leading cardiologists has said. Unimaginable only a
few years ago, Scientists have "the groundwork" in
place to begin searching for a cocktail of chemicals
that could awaken cells within the heart,
encouraging it to repair itself, said professor
Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British
Heart Foundation (BHF). As many as 1, 75,000 people
in the UK suffer a heart attack each year. However,
more and more people are surviving such attacks,
thanks to improved emergency treatments, but are
left with irreparable damage to the organ. In severe
cases, this leads to heart failure - a long-term,
debilitating and often fatal condition that affects
around half a million people in the UK. In recent
years, scientists have begun to investigate the
possibility that stem cells or cells within the
heart itself could be used to regenerate the damaged
heart muscle, literally fixing a broken heart. A
major milestone has now been reached with the
publication of two BHF-funded With recent studies
that pointing to the possibility of a drug treatment
that could stimulate the heart's own "repair kit" a
major milestone has been reached, Professor
Weissberg said. told The Independent. One of the
country's most senior cardiologists, Professor
Weissberg said that the studies had separately
identified groups of previously unknown cells in
mice which "can do the job of repairing the damage
that occurs during a heart attack, but for some
reason, do not". Similar mechanisms are likely to
exist in the human heart. "The exciting thing is
that It raises the possibility - in a few years'
time - of identifying the molecular signals that can
wake those cells up," he said. "You would give
someone who has had a heart attack a drug in the
form of an injection, or possibly tablets, which has
a cocktail of the chemicals that home in to the
heart and wake up its dormant repair cells." One of
the studies, carried out at Imperial College London,
identified a group of stem cells in mice hearts that
show great promise in repairing damaged heart
muscle. The second, at the University of Oxford,
revealed for the first time that a group of vessels
grown by the heart after a heart attack can aid
muscle repair - and these can be encouraged to grow
at a quicker rate using a specific protein called
PDGFRa.
Blood
Test Spots Tumors Earlier Than CT Scans
Researchers
caution that more evaluations of the test's accuracy
and reliability are needed. So far, there have been
only small studies in particular cancers, including
lung, colon and blood cancer. But early results are
encouraging. A National Cancer Institute study
published this month in The Lancet Oncology,
involving 126 patients with the most common form of
lymphoma, found the test predicted recurrences more
than three months before they were noticeable on CT
scans. The liquid biopsies also identified patients
unlikely to respond to therapy. Oncologists who are
not using the new test say they are looking on with
fascination. "Our lab doesn't do it, but we are very
interested," said Dr. Levi Garraway of the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "It's exciting," he
added. "It's a top priority." Researchers are
finding out things about individuals' cancers that
astonish them. Mary Susan Sabini, a fifth-grade
teacher from Gardiner, NY, has lung cancer that
resisted two attempts at chemotherapy and a round of
radiation. Her doctors at Sloan Kettering saw cancer
DNA in her blood when she began taking an
experimental drug in October that was her last hope.
Four days later, the cancer DNA shards had vanished,
a sign, the doctors hoped, that the treatment was
working. But they dared not tell her the good
tidings. The blood test itself was so new they were
afraid to rely on it. Within weeks, Sabini began to
breathe easier. Months later, she had a CT scan, an
X-ray test that uses a computer to assemble detailed
images of slices of tumor tissue. It confirmed her
tumors were shrinking. "Every cancer has a mutation
that can be followed with this method," said Dr.
David Hyman, the oncologist at Sloan Kettering who
is leading the study of the experimental drug Ms.
Sabini takes. "It is like bar coding the cancer in
the blood."
THE
PHARMA REVIEW MARCH APRIL 2015
Viagra Could
Help Cure Cancer: Study
New York:
Anti-impotence drug Viagra may help treat certain
cancers and neuro-degenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer's, a new study claims. Viagra in
combination with new drugs can block chaperone
proteins, with anti-cancer, antibacterial, and other
therapeutic effects, researchers said. Chaperone
proteins play an important role in protein folding
in human cells and in bacteria and are promising new
targets for drugs to treat cancer and Alzheimer's
disease and for novel antiviral drugs and
antibiotics. Researchers described how Viagra and a
derivative of the drug Celebrex, for example, can
reduce the activity of a specific chaperone protein,
with the potential for anti-tumour and
anti-Alzheimer's disease effects. Laurence Booth,
Jane Roberts and Paul Dent, from the Virginia
Commonwealth University, US, provided a
comprehensive discussion of the HSPA5/Dna K
chaperone protein and the published evidence for its
role in various human diseases. The authors describe
how OSU-03012, an experimental compound derived from
the drug celecoxib (Celebrex) interacts with Viagra
or Cialis to reduce levels of chaperone proteins.
Reduced levels of HSPA5 and DNA K can interfere with
virus replication, promote bacterial cell death, and
even make drug-resistant "superbugs" susceptible to
existing antibiotics. "Drugs like Celebrex and
Viagra are readily available and generally
recognised as safe. This study by Booth and
colleagues may lead to new applications of these
relatively new medicines," said Carol Shoshkes
Reiss, Professor, Departments of Biology and Neural
Science, New York University. "The potential impact,
if the experiments described are translatable to
human disease, could be paradigm-shifting. The
potential applications are serious antibiotic
resistant infections, chemotherapy-resistant cancers
and neurodegenerative disease ranging from
Parkinson's disease to Huntington's or Alzheimer's
disease," Reiss added. The research was published in
the journal DNA and Cell Biology.
Drinking a Cup of Tea Can Help Prevent Diabetes, New
Research Shows
Drinking cups
of tea can help prevent type-2 diabetes, according
to a growing body of scientific research. A new
study from researchers in the US found that black
tea inhibits the body from absorbing glucose sugars,
too much of which can cause type-2 diabetes. The
researchers, who brewed the tea under laboratory
conditions, said tea could help control diabetes in
humans. “Our findings suggest that black tea and
black tea pomace has potential for carbohydrate
hydrolyzing enzyme inhibition and this activity
depends on high molecular weight phenolic
compounds,” the authors of the paper wrote. The
research, which was conducted by researchers at
Framingham State University in the United States,
builds on work done by Japanese scientists two
decades earlier. A 1995 study from the Hokkaido
Pharmaceutical University School of Pharmacy found
that black tea has what scientists call
“anti-hyperglycaemic effects”. The study found that
rats had “significantly” reduced levels of blood
glocuse and that black tea could both prevent and
cure rats with diabetes. “The study reveals that,
like green tea, black tea also possesses
antidiabetic activity,” the researchers found.
According to NHS statistics there are approximately
3.1 million adults with diabetes in the UK, with the
number expected to rise of 4.6 million by 2030. 90
per cent of those suffering from the condition have
type 2 diabetes, which is affect by black tea
consumption. Health officials say the increased
level in type 2 diabetes is due to increasing level
of obesity, a lack of exercise and unhealthy diets.
One study funded by pharmaceutical companies and
carried out by the York Health Economic Consortium
found that the cost of the direct treatment of
diabetes to the NHS would increase from £9.8 billion
to £16.9 billion over the next 25 years.
Diet
Soda Can Give Older Adults Pot Belly
Washington:
People who regularly consume diet soda in later life
are more likely to develop a pot belly, new research
suggests. The study shows that increasing diet soda
intake is directly linked to greater abdominal
obesity in adults 65 years of age and older.
Findings raise concerns about the safety of chronic
diet soda consumption, which may increase belly fat
and contribute to greater risk of metabolic syndrome
and cardiovascular diseases, researchers said.
Metabolic syndrome - a combination of risk factors
that may lead to high blood pressure, diabetes,
heart disease and stroke - is one of the results of
the obesity epidemic. In an effort to combat
obesity, many adults try to reduce sugar intake by
turning to non nutritive or artificial sweeteners,
such as aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose. "Our
study seeks to fill the age gap by exploring the
adverse health effects of diet soda intake in
individuals 65 years of age and older," said lead
author Sharon Fowler, from the University of Texas
Health Science Centre at San Antonio. "The burden of
metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, along
with health-care costs, is great in the
ever-increasing senior population," said Fowler.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015
E-Cigarettes
as Bad for Lungs as Traditional Ones
London: E-cigarettes have for the first time been
found to be harmful to the lungs in the same way as
traditional nicotine cigarettes. Scientists at Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health confirmed
that e-cigarette vapours contain the same
potentially dangerous chemicals. Research has also
found that e-cigarette vapours contain free radical
chemicals previously thought only to be found in
tobacco cigarettes and air pollutants.Free radicals
are highly reactive agents that can damage molecules
within cells resulting in cell death. Cigarette
smoke contains 1014 free radicals per puff.
Though e-cigarette vapour contains far fewer free
radicals than cigarette smoke their presence in
e-cigarettes still suggests potential health risks,
the researchers said.
For their study, researchers divided mice into two
groups: one was exposed to cigarette vapour in an
inhalation chamber in amounts that approximated
actual human e-cigarette inhalation for two weeks
while the other group was just exposed to air. The
researchers then divided each group into three
subgroups. One received nasal drops containing
Streptococcus pneumonia, bacteria responsible for
pneumonia and sinusitis, among other illnesses, in
humans. A second received nasal drops of the virus
Influenza A and the third subgroup did not receive
either virus or bacteria.
The mice exposed to e-cigarette vapour were
significantly more likely to develop compromised
immune responses to both the virus and the bacteria
which in some cases killed the mice, the researchers
found. Experts say that both traditional cigarettes
and e-cigarettes are sources of nicotine.
E-cigarettes contain less nicotine than cigarettes,
but actual nicotine intake by e-cigarette users can
approximate that of cigarette smokers.
Green Tea Can
Fight Side Effects of Supplements
Washington:
Drinking green tea for several weeks or months
before you start taking green tea-based dietary
supplements for weight loss can protect from
potential side effects, a new study has claimed.
As high doses of green tea extract supplements for
weight loss become more popular, potential liver
toxicity becomes a concern, researchers said.
Experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural
Sciences gave mice high doses of the green tea
polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).
The dosage was equivalent to the amount of the
polyphenol that is present in some dietary
supplements taken by humans.
One group of mice was pre treated with a diet
containing a low level of EGCG for two weeks prior
to receiving high doses of the polyphenol.
Another group was fed a diet that did not include
EGCG prior to receiving the high, supplement-like
doses. After three days of high doses, pretreated
mice had a 75% reduction in liver toxicity compared
to untreated mice. The research data shows that
dietary pretreatment with the green tea polyphenol
protects mice from liver toxicity caused by
subsequent high oral doses of the same compound,
said Josh Lambert, associate professor of food
science.
"We believe this study indicates that those who are
chronic green tea consumers would be less sensitive
to potential liver toxicity from green-tea-based
dietary supplements," he said.
"If you are going to take green tea supplements,
drinking green tea for several weeks or months ahead
of time may reduce your potential side effects,"
Lambert said.
Tea is rich in catechins, polyphenols that are
natural antioxidants. A number of animal studies
have shown the preventive effects of green tea
polyphenols against obesity.
Lambert pointed out that a recent analysis of 11
human trials with green tea preparations reported a
nearly three-pound average body weight loss in
intervention groups compared to control groups.
Another recently published research in Food and
Chemical Toxicology, has revealed a unique property
of the green tea polyphenol EGCG.
"It appears that EGCG can modulate its own
bioavailability and that dietary treatment may
reduce the toxic potential of acute high oral doses
of EGCG," said lead researcher Sarah Forester,
assistant professor of chemistry, California State
University, Bakersfield, a former Penn State post
doctoral fellow.
"These data may partly explain the observed
variation in liver toxicity response to dietary
supplements containing green tea," Forester said.
Lambert suggests that people considering green tea
supplements should drink green tea instead.
"Drinking green tea rather than taking supplements
will allow you to realise the benefits and avoid the
risk of liver toxicity," he said.
Optimistic
people have healthier hearts: Study
Washington:
Optimistic people have significantly better
cardiovascular health than pessimistic peers, a
study of over 5,000 adults has found. US researchers
found that people who were the most optimistic were
twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health
with better blood sugar and total cholesterol
levels.
"Individuals with the highest levels of optimism
have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular
health compared to their more pessimistic
counterparts," said lead author Rosalba Hernandez, a
professor of social work at the University of
Illinois.
"This association remains significant, even after
adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and
poor mental health," Hernandez said. Participants'
cardiovascular health was assessed using seven
metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting
plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary
intake, physical activity and tobacco use - the same
metrics used by the American Heart Association to
define heart health.
In accordance with AHA's heart-health criteria, the
researchers allocated 0, 1 or 2 points -
representing poor, intermediate and ideal scores,
respectively - to participants on each of the seven
health metrics, which were then summed to arrive at
a total cardiovascular health score. Participants'
total health scores ranged from 0 to 14, with a
higher total score indicative of better health.
The participants, who ranged in age from 45-84, also
completed surveys that assessed their mental health,
levels of optimism, and physical health, based upon
self-reported extant medical diagnoses of arthritis,
liver and kidney disease. Individuals' total health
scores increased in tandem with their levels of
optimism. People who were the most optimistic were
50 and 76% more likely to have total health scores
in the intermediate or ideal ranges, respectively.
The association between optimism and cardiovascular
health was even stronger when socio-demographic
characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity,
income and education status were factored in. People
who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to
have ideal cardiovascular health, and 55% more
likely to have a total health score in the
intermediate range, the researchers found. Optimists
had significantly better blood sugar and total
cholesterol levels than their counterparts.
They also were more physically active, had healthier
body mass indexes and were less likely to smoke. A
paper on the research appears in the journal Health
Behavior and Policy Review.
Universal Anti-Venom for Snake Bite Planned by
Researchers
London: A
universal life-saving anti-venom against the bite of
every deadly snake is all set to become a reality.
Scientists from Liverpool School of Tropical
Medicine are attempting to develop the first
universal anti-venom in sub-Saharan Africa. LSTM has
more than 400 snakes in its institute using venom
milked from up to 80 of the reptiles each week.
Snake bites kill an estimated 30,000 people a year
in the region.
The current need to give many vials to treat a
patient not only increases the risk of side-effects
but often makes treatment unaffordable to the rural,
impoverished subsistence farmers that are at
greatest risk.
The current limitations to multi-species anti-venoms
arise from the process used to make them. Venom is
extracted from several species before being injected
in low doses into horses or sheep. This does not
cause illness in the animals but induces an immune
response causing the animals to produce antibodies.
These antibodies are then purified from the blood to
create anti-venom.
Using multiple snake species, however, means that
the animals only make a small amount of antibody to
any one species, and the resulting anti-venom is
quite weak.
Dr. Robert Harrison, the lead scientist for the
research, said "Not only do we expect that our
anti-venom will be cheaper, and safer and much more
effective than anything else, but it will be able to
be used anywhere south of the Sahara". "There are
over 20 species of deadly snakes in Sub-Saharan
Africa and doctors often rely on the victim's
description of the animal to help them decide which
treatment to administer," says Dr. Harrison.
"The preferred option therefore is to give a
broad-spectrum or poly-specific, anti-venom to cover
all the possible snake species that could be
responsible. Because these treatments are generally
not very effective against any one species, the
doctor therefore administers many vials. However,
each dose carries a risk of serious side effects and
this risk increases with each additional vial." The
research team at LSTM, and their collaborators at
the Instituto Clodomiro Picado, San Jose, Costa Rica
and the Institute de Biomdedicina de Valencia,
Spain, have devised a plan to vastly improve the
potency of poly-specific anti-venom using a new
technique called 'antivenomics' which will
significantly expand the effectiveness of the
anti-venom, covering all of the most
medically-important snakes of sub-Saharan Africa.
Researchers will use the proteins from all of the
collected venom to make the universal snake bite
treatment. They will add stabilizing chemicals so
that it can be stored in the African heat.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW JULY AUGUST 2014
An Injection
To Permanently Reduce Cholesterol In Humans Soon
London: A single injection may soon
permanently lower cholesterol levels in humans
reducing their risk of heart attack by 90%. Harvard
Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientists collaborating
with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania
have developed a "genome-editing" approach for
permanently reducing cholesterol levels in mice
through a single injection. The work focused on
altering the function of a liver gene called PCSK9.
In 2003, a group of researchers in France studying
families with very high cholesterol levels and very
early heart attacks discovered that PCSK9 was a
cholesterol regulator because they found that
mutations in this gene seemed to be responsible for
the high cholesterol levels and the heart attacks. A
research group in Texas discovered that about 3% of
the population has mutations in PCSK9 that have the
opposite effect. Those with the mutations have
low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad) cholesterol
levels about 15 to 28% lower than the average level.
And the people with that good defect have heart
attack risks that range from about 47 to 88% below
average. The project to turn normal PCSK9 genes into
those with the good defect started last year after a
technology called CRISPR/Cas9, was discovered. "Cas9
is a protein that will create a break in DNA and the
CRISPR is an RNA component that will bind to a
matching sequence. It directs the Cas9 to that
sequence in the DNA in which we are interested. This
creates a break where you want it. The cell can then
repair itself though often with errors which is
useful if you want to disrupt a gene," said Kiran
Musunuru of HSCI. "Our reasoning was that nature has
already done the experiment; you have people who
have won the genetic lottery," said Musunuru. "They
are protected from heart attack, and there are no
known adverse consequences. So that led us to reason
that if we could find a way to replicate this, we
could significantly protect people from heart
attack," the scientist added. "The PCSK9 gene is
expressed primarily in the liver producing a protein
that is active in the bloodstream and prevents the
removal of cholesterol from the blood. Several drug
companies have been developing antibodies to it but
the problem with antibody-based drugs is they don't
last forever; you'd need an injection every few
weeks. The main option for reducing cholesterol is
statin drugs such as Lipitor but many people taking
statin drugs every day still have heart attacks. So
there is still a great need for other approaches,"
Musunuru said.
'Cigarette
Substitutes Too Could Be Cancerous'
Washington: Nicotine patches may have helped many
smokers kick the butt, but new research led by an
Indian-origin scientist suggests that they may
actually do more harm than good. Nicotine is proving
to be a formidable carcinogen, say researchers who
warn that nicotine-infused smoking cessation
products may not be the safest way to help smokers
quit. Nicotine is one of 4,000 chemicals found in
cigarette smoke. While many of these chemicals are
recognized as carcinogens, nicotine has up until now
only been considered addictive rather than
carcinogenic. It is heavily used in smoking
cessation products in patches, gum, and now in the
increasingly popular electronic cigarette, or
e-cigarette. Researchers at the Virginia
Bioinformatics Institute found that nicotine
excessively mutates a cell's DNA. Geneticist Jasmin
Bavarva and Harold Garner a professor of biological
science, computer science, and basic science
affiliated with the College of Scie8nce, the College
of Engineering, and the Virginia Tech Carilion
School of Medicine, found that nicotine causes
thousands of mutations called single nucleotide
polymorphisms in exposed cells, compared with
control cells that were not exposed. These patterns
are similar to those identified in cells
experiencing oxidative stress, which is a known
precursor to cancer, according to the study
published in Oncotarget. A previous study in journal
PLOS One by the researchers looked at gene
expression patterns caused by nicotine. "We now have
a broad picture of genomic effects in nicotine,"
said Bavarva, lead author of both studies. "These
results are important because for the first time
they directly measure large numbers of genetic
variations caused only by nicotine, showing that
nicotine alone can mutate the genome and initiate a
cancer state," said Garner, director of the
institute's Medical Informatics and Systems
Division. "This is particularly timely since
nicotine is used as a smoking cessation
therapeutic," Garner added.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW MAY JUNE 2014
Prostate
Cancer May Be Sexually Transmitted
Prostate cancer could be a sexually transmitted
disease caused by a common infection passed on
during intercourse, scientists are claiming.
Research by the University of California found a sex
infection called trichomoniasis supported cancer
growth when a team of scientists tested human
prostate cells in a laboratory.
Trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral sexually
transmitted infection and is understood to have
infected an estimated 275 million people around the
world. Infected men can experience pain during
urination and thin white discharge from the penis.
In women, the infection may trigger soreness and
itching around the vagina and a change in discharge,
although half of all men and women show no symptoms
at all.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), discusses how
the STI could make men more vulnerable to cancer.
However, Cancer Research UK has said it is too early
to add prostate cancer to a list of other cancers
caused by infections.
This research follows a study conducted by the
Harvard School of Public Health in 2009, which found
a quarter of men with prostate cancer showed signs
of trichomoniasis and were more likely to have
advanced tumours.
A team led by professor Patricia Johnson found the
parasite responsible for causing trichomoniasis,
Trichomonas vaginalis, produces a protein that in
turn promotes the growth and progression of benign
and cancerous prostate cells.
The authors say more research should look into
developing their findings as the cause of prostate
cancer remains unknown and their study is not a
definitive link between the STI and cancer of the
prostate. Nicola Smith, health information officer
at Cancer Research UK, told the BBC: "This study
suggests a possible way the parasite Trichomonas
vaginalis could encourage prostate cancer cells to
grow and develop more quickly. But the research was
only done in the lab, and previous evidence in
patients failed to show a clear link between
prostate cancer and this common sexually transmitted
infection. There are still no known lifestyle
factors that seem to affect the risk of developing
the disease - and no convincing evidence for a link
with infection."'
Strawberries
Lower Cholesterol, Study Suggests
A team of volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries
a day for a month to see whether it altered their
blood parameters in any way. At the end of this
unusual treatment, their levels of bad cholesterol
and triglycerides reduced significantly, according
to the analyses conducted by Italian and Spanish
scientists.
Several studies had already demonstrated the
antioxidant capacity of strawberries, but now
researchers from the Università Politecnica delle
Marche (UNIVPM, Italy), together with colleagues
from the Universities of Salamanca, Granada and
Seville (Spain), conducted an analysis that revealed
that these fruits also help to reduce cholesterol.
The team set up an experiment in which they added
500 g of strawberries to the daily diets of 23
healthy volunteers over a month. They took blood
samples before and after this period to compare
data. The results, which are published in the
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, show that the
total amount of cholesterol, the levels of
low-density lipoproteins (LDL or bad cholesterol)
and the quantity of triglycerides fell to 8.78%,
13.72% and 20.8% respectively. The high-density
lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) remained
unchanged.
Eating strawberries also improved other parameters
such as the general plasma lipid profile,
antioxidant biomarkers (such as vitamin C or oxygen
radical absorbance capacity), antihemolytic defences
and platelet function. All parameters returned to
their initial values 15 days after abandoning
'treatment' with strawberries. As Maurizio Battino,
researcher at UNIVPM and Director of the study,
said: "This is the first time a study has been
published that supports the protective role of the
bioactive compounds in strawberries in tackling
recognised markers and risk factors for
cardiovascular diseases."
The researcher admits that there is still no direct
evidence about which compounds of this fruit are
behind their beneficial effects, "but all the signs
and epidemiological studies point towards
anthocyanins, the vegetable pigments that afford
them their red colour."
The research team confirmed in other studies that
eating strawberries also protects against
ultraviolet radiation, reduces the damage that
alcohol can have on the gastric mucosa, strengthens
erythrocytes, or red blood cells, and improves the
antioxidant capacity of the blood.
In fact, this year they will publish another study
in the journal 'Food Chemistry' in which they will
demonstrate that consuming strawberries increases
the antioxidant function of blood flow, erythrocytes
and mononuclear cells.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW MARCH APRIL 2014
Angry People
at Increased Risk of Heart Attacks
London: Scientists have confirmed hot headed
people with outbursts of anger are more prone to
heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular
problems in the two hours immediately afterwards.
Five episodes of anger a day would result in around
158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low
cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about
657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with
a high cardiovascular risk. The Harvard School of
Public Health researchers say the risk with a single
outburst of anger is relatively low - one extra
heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be
expected among people with low cardiovascular risk
who were angry only once a month, increasing to an
extra four per 10,000 people with a high
cardiovascular risk. Rage often precedes an attack
and may be the trigger, say the US researchers who
trawled medical literature. They identified a
dangerous period of about two hours following an
outburst when people were at heightened risk. The
meta-analysis found in the two hours immediately
after feeling angry, a person's risk of a heart
attack increased nearly five-fold (4.74%), the risk
of stroke increased more than three-fold (3.62%).
Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation
Doireann Maddock said, "This research found that
people's risk of heart attack and stroke increased
for a short time after they lost their temper. It's
not clear what causes this effect. It may be linked
to the physiological changes that anger causes to
our bodies, but more research is needed to explore
the biology behind this.''
Loneliness, Not Obesity, Biggest Killer of Elderly
London: Loneliness is a major health risk for
the elderly and it can increase the risk of
premature death by 14%, warns a new research. A
meta-analysis showed loneliness has twice the impact
on early death as obesity. The consequences to
health are dramatic, as feeling isolated from others
can disrupt sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase
morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol, alter
gene expression in immune cells and increase
depression and lower overall subjective well-being.
John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the
University of Chicagowho conducted the study, said
the impact of loneliness on premature death is
nearly as strong as the impact of disadvantaged
socioeconomic status, which they found increases the
chances of dying early by 19%. It is not solitude or
physical isolation itself, but rather the subjective
sense of isolation that shows to be so profoundly
disruptive. Older people living alone are not
necessary lonely if they remain socially engaged and
enjoy the company of those around them. The research
has identified three core dimensions to healthy
relationships-intimate connectedness, which comes
from having someone in your life you feel affirms
who you are; relational connectedness, which comes
from having face-to-face contacts that are mutually
rewarding; and collective connectedness, which comes
from feeling that you're part of a group or
collective beyond individual existence. But some
aspects of aging, such as blindness and loss of
hearing, place people at a special risk for becoming
isolated and lonely. The study should come as an eye
opener for Indian families as data from India's
health ministry show the number of people in the
60-plus age group in country is expected to increase
from 100 million in 2013 to 198 million in 2030.
India's Planning Commission says the country's
elderly population will rise to 12% of the total
population by 2025, 10% of which would be bedridden,
requiring utmost care.
Simple
Blood Test To Predict Sudden
Cardiac Death Risk
London: A simple blood test can now predict
your risk of sudden cardiac death. Samuel C Dudley,
a lifespan researcher from the Cardiovascular
Institute at Rhode Island in the US has found that a
simple blood test can predict a person's risk for
Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) enabling physicians to
more quickly and accurately assess a patient's need
for an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).
Currently risk assessments are determined by
measuring the fraction of blood ejected from the
heart in any one heartbeat, the ejection fraction.
When the ejection fraction falls below 35%, a
patient may benefit from an ICD. It is believed that
approximately 60% of patients who receive
defibrillators as a result of these assessments may
not actually need one. This blood test will
determine more accurately which patients do in fact
need the defibrillator. Sudden cardiac death is an
unexpected death caused by loss of heart function,
or sudden cardiac arrest. It is the most common
cause of natural death in the US resulting in
approximately 325,000 adult deaths in the country
each year. The incidence rate is quite high in India
- about 10% of all cardiac-related deaths are sudden
while the mean age of the patients who die is lower
than 60 years. Studies have showed that one-third of
the patients who die of SCD had heart attacks in the
past and 80% of them were smokers or had risk
factors like hypertension and diabetes. Dudley said,
"This is the first test of its kind. Never before
have clinicians been able to accurately assess a
patient's risk of sudden cardiac death by performing
a blood test. The primary prevention model for
at-risk patients in the US is to implant an ICD
before a cardiac event happens. While it's better to
be safe this has led to widespread overuse of ICDs
throughout the US and abroad." SCD is a condition in
which the heart unexpectedly stops beating. When
this occurs, blood stops flowing to the brain and
other vital organs. If not treated the sufferer dies
within minutes. Our heart has an electrical system
that controls the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat.
Abnormal functioning of this electrical system can
cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.
During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast,
too slow or with an irregular rhythm. Some
arrhythmias can cause the heart to stop pumping
blood to the body and this leads to SCA. This,
however, is not the same as a heart attack. A heart
attack occurs when the blood flow to part of the
heart muscle is blocked but the heart usually
doesn't stop beating. People who have heart disease
are at higher risk. But people who appear healthy
and have no known risk factors can also fall prey to
this killer.
Alzheimer’s Risk: Blood Test Can Tell
Paris:
Scientists have developed a blood test that can
predict with more than 90% accuracy if a healthy
person will develop mild cognitive impairment or
Alzheimer's disease within three years. The blood
test can identify 10 lipids, or fats, in the blood
that predict Alzheimer's disease onset. It could be
ready for use in clinical studies in as few as two
years, researchers said. "Our novel blood test
offers the potential to identify people at risk for
progressive cognitive decline and can change how
patients, their families and treating physicians
plan for and manage the disorder," said the study's
corresponding author Howard J Federoff , professor
of neurology and executive vice president for health
sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center.
Federoff said that the efforts to develop drugs to
slow or reverse the progression of Alzheimer's
disease may have failed because the drugs were
evaluated too late in the disease process. "The
preclinical state of the disease offers a window of
opportunity for timely disease-modifying
intervention," Federoff said. "Biomarkers such as
ours that define this asymptomatic period are
critical for successful development and application
of these therapeutics," he added. The study included
525 healthy participants aged 70 and older who gave
blood samples upon enrolling and at various points
in the study. Over the course of the five-year
study, 74 participants met the criteria for either
mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) or a condition known
as amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), in
which memory loss is prominent. Of these, 46 were
diagnosed upon enrolment and 28 developed aMCI or
mild AD during the study (the latter group called
converters). In the study's third year, the
researchers selected 53 participants who developed
aMCI/AD (including 18 converters) and 53 cognitively
normal matched controls for the lipid biomarker
discovery phase of the study. A panel of 10 lipids
was discovered, which appears to reveal the
breakdown of neural cell membranes in participants
who develop symptoms of cognitive impairment or AD.
The panel was validated using the remaining 21 aMCI/AD
participants (including 10 converters), and 20
controls. Blinded data were analysed to determine if
the subjects could be characterised into the correct
diagnostic categories based solely on the 10 lipids
identified by researchers.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW JAN FEB 2014
New Stem Cell
Tech May Revolutionize Treatments
New York: A simple lab treatment can turn
ordinary cells from mice into stem cells, according
to a surprising study that hints at a possible new
way to grow tissue for treating illnesses like
diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The feat is being
hailed as a "game-changer" in the quest to grow
transplant tissue in the lab. Researchers in Boston
and Japan exposed cells from spleens of newborn mice
to a more acidic environment that they're used to.
In lab tests, that turned them into stem cells,
showing enough versatility to produce the tissues of
a mouse embryo, for example. Cells from skin,
muscle, fat and other tissue of newborn mice
appeared to go through the same change, which could
be triggered by exposing cells to any of a variety
of stressful situations, researchers said.
Scientists hope to harness stem cells to replace
defective tissue in a wide variety of diseases. By
making stem cells from the patient, they can get
around the problem of transplant rejection. The new
approach - provided it overcomes safety hurdles -
could smash cost and technical barriers in stem-cell
research, said independent commentators. "If it
works in man, this could be the game-changer that
makes a wide range of cell therapies available
usingthe patient's own cells as starting material,"
said Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative
medicine at University College London.
Anxiety
Related to Stroke Risk
Could anxiety boost the risk for stroke? A new
long-term study suggests just that - the greater the
anxiety, the greater the risk for stroke.
Respondents who suffered the most anxiety had a 33
percent higher risk for stroke compared to those
with the lowest anxiety levels, found the research,
published in the online edition of the journal
Stroke. Everyone has some anxiety now and then. But
when it's elevated and! or chronic, it may have an
effect on your blood vessel system years down the
road. Also, people with high anxiety levels are more
likely to smoke and be physically inactive that
further increases the risk of stroke.
Longer
Breastfeeding Tied to Better Development
Children who are breastfed for more than six months
have better developed cognitive, language and motor
skills as toddlers, a new study has found. The
recent study shows there are significant medical
benefits of breast-feeding. When the babies were
nine months old, the mothers were asked when they
started breastfeeding and how long they breastfed.
Children were also tested for cognitive abilities,
language skills and motor development at 18 months.
Children who were breastfed for any amount of time
scored higher on the cognitive, receptive
communication and fine motor portions of the test
than children who weren't breastfed.
Fiber-Rich
Foods Cut Heart Disease Risk
Boosting the amount of fiber in your diet may lower
your risk for heart disease, a new study has found.
With so much controversy causing many to avoid
Carbohydrates and grains, this new study reassures
of the importance of fiber in the prevention of
cardiovascular disease. The researchers analysed
data from various countries to assess different
kinds of fiber intake from sources such as whole
grains, potato skins, legumes, nuts, and oats etc.
The more fiber people consumed, the lower was their
risk of heart disease. Fiber through cereals reduces
the risk of coronary heart disease more than the
risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dark Side to
Beta - Carotene Overdose
New research suggests that there could be health
hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts
of betacarotenethe pigment that gives color to foods
such as carrots, Sweet potatoes and certain greens.
Scientists have found that certain molecules that
derive from betacarotene have an opposite effect in
the body: they actually block some actions of
vitamin A, which is critical to human vision and
immune function. Vitamin A provides its health
benefits by activating hundreds of genes. This means
that if compounds contained in a typical source of
the vitamin are actually lowering its activity
instead of promoting its benefits, too much
beta-carotene could paradoxically result in too
little vitaminA.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW NOV DEC 2013
Baby Born With
HIV May be Cured
Doctors now have convincing evidence that they put
HlV into remission, hopefully for good, in a
Mississippi baby born with the AIDS virus - a
medical first. The case was reported earlier this
year but some doctors were skeptical that the baby
was really infected rather than testing positive
because of exposure to virus in the mom's blood-The
new report, published online by the New England
Journal of Medicine, makes clear that the girl, now
3, was infected in the womb. She was treated
unusually aggressively and shows no active infection
despite stopping AIDS medicines 18 months ago.
Doctors won't call it a cure because they don't know
what proof or how much time is needed to declare
someone free of HIV infection, long feared to be
permanent. "We want to be very cautious here. We're
calling it remission because we'd like to observe
the child for a longer time and be absolutely sure
there's no rebound," said Dr Katherine Luzuriaga an
AlDS expert.
Cancer
Shot Tied to Auto-Immune Conditions?
Paris: One of France's top medical experts appealed
for calm as a scare over a widely-administered
vaccine to prevent cervical cancer gathered
momentum. Daniel Floret, the chair of the national
committee that oversees vaccinations, said there was
no evidence to link Gardasil, a vaccine against, the
human papilloma virus (HPV), with serious
auto-immune conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
Floret was responding to a criminal complaint filed
by an 18-year-Old woman against Gardasil's French
distributor, Sanofi Pasteur MSD. The case was being
given prominent play by France's media. "The fact
that a complaint has been made does not mean there
is a problem. We are putting all the focus on the
Potential side effects and forgetting what this
vaccine brings," said Floret, arguing that the
formula had prevented many deaths from cancer. "None
of the international medical safety controls has
showed up any link between this vaccine and any kind
of auto-immune disease, and millions of doses have
been administered," Floret added. Licensed for use
in 120 countries, Gardasil has been given to 2.3
million French adolescents. It is one of two
blockbuster HPV vaccines used around the world on
the basis of research showing a link between HPV and
cervical, oral and anal cancer. In Britain, where
the vaccine is offered to all girls between the ages
of 12 and 13, the National Health Service estimates
that the programme saves 400 lives per year. The
woman who has initiated criminal proceedings in
France was vaccinated with Gardasil at the end of
2010 when she was 15. Within two months she had
developed symptoms that included vertigo, vomiting,
temporary loss of sight and the use of her legs, and
facial paralysis. According to her lawyer,
Jean-Christophe Coubris, she has been diagnosed as
suffering from either an acute form of
encephalomyelitis, a generalized inflammation of the
inunune system, or multiple sclerosis. Her legal
case seeks to establish the liability of both Sanofi
and France's medicines safety agency (ANSM), arguing
that the latter body failed in its statutory duty of
care when it authorized the vaccine.
Co2
Could Warm Earth for Centuries
Washington: Even if carbon dioxide emissions came to
a sudden halt, the greenhouse gas already present in
the Earth's atmosphere could continue to warm our
planet for hundreds of years, a new study has found.
The study led by Princeton University researchers
suggests that it might take a lot less carbon than
previously thought to reach the global temperature
scientists deem unsafe. The researchers simulated an
Earth on which, after 1,800 billion tonnes of carbon
entered the atmosphere, all carbon dioxide emissions
suddenly stopped. Scientists commonly use the
scenario of emissions screeching to a stop to gauge
the heat-trapping staying power of carbon dioxide.
Within a millennium of this simulated shutoff, the
carbon itself faded steadily with 40% absorbed by
Earth's oceans and landmasses within 20 years and
80% soaked up at the end of the 1,000 years. By
itself, such a decrease of atmospheric carbon
dioxide should lead to cooling. But the heat trapped
by the carbon dioxide took a divergent track. After
a century of cooling, the planet warmed by 0.37"C
during the next 400 years as the ocean absorbed less
and less heat.
Milk
May Protect us From Pollution
London: Scottish Scientists are exploring the
Pollution protecting powers of milk produced by cows
in the 48 hours after giving birth. Researchers at
Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland want to find
out whether drinking the milk produced by cows in
the 48 hours after giving birth could protect
athletes lungs from the effects of air pollution.
Known as bovine colostrum, the early-milk which is
rich in antioxidants has already been found to aid
gut problems like diarrhoea and boost athletic
performance. Now, it is hoped it could be used to
protect athletes in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio -
a city known for its elevated levels of air
pollution. Dr Elisa Gomes, who is leading the study,
said," We are testing competitive Cyclists, who will
be given boVine colostrum every day for 2 weeks. We
will then monitor their performance as they cycle in
a Special environmental Chamber which is able to
replicate the hot, humid and ozone-polluted
environment athletes will face in Rio."
THE
PHARMA REVIEW SEPT OCT 2013
Keep Teeth
Clean
"Chronic gum
disease may lead to heart trouble as bacteria from
infected gums often enter the bloodstream and attach
to the fatty deposits in heart, leading to formation
of clots," warns Dr Vivek Soni of DY Patil Duntal
College and Hospital, Mumbai. So brush twice a day.
Get A
Pet
Research by
Dr Warwick Anderson and his team at Australia's
Baker Medical Research Institute suggests that pets
help cut stress, regulate blood pressure and control
triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Playing with
your dog or simply watching your gold fish swim in
his little bowl can slow your heart beat and lower
shooting blood pressure.
Stay
Happy
A Study
published in the American Journal of Cardiology this
June states that happy, cheerful people are less
likely to be afflicted with heart issues. So if you
don't have a natural positive disposition, work
consciously at developing one.
Exercise is Non-Negotiable
It boosts
immunity, makes the arteries supple (bring down BP),
burns calories and helps develop alternate
circulation routes to keep attacks at bay. "Aim for
30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day (like
running jogging, skipping, cross training etc),"
advises Dr Ramakanta Panda, Vice Chairman and chief
cardiovascular thoracic surgeon, Asian Heart
Institute Mumbai.
Get
Musical
A study
presented at this year's European Society of
Cardiology Congress in Amsterdam states that when
you listen to music you enjoy, endorphins released
from the brain improve your vascular health. Choose
your music carefully though. Tunes that makes you
anxious have the opposite effect.
Score
Enough D
People with
the lowest Vitamin D levels are at more than twice
the risk of dying from a heart disease compared to
those who have the highest Vitamin D levels. Get out
in the morning and let your body make some D.
Sleep
Enough
A team of
Netherlands-based researchers have found that adding
daily shut eye of seven hours of more to an already
healthy lifestyle (regular exercise, good diet, no
smoking and moderate alcohol drinking) results in a
massive 65% lowering of cardiovascular disease risk.
Take
More Naps
A 30-minute
nap in the middle of the day may actually save your
heart, according to a 2007 Greek study. Researchers
found that a siesta helps lower stress levels and
fends off heart disease. Find a couch and sign out
for half an hour or put your head down on the office
desk after every office meeting.
Nix
Alcohol
"Not only
does it damage the liver [by increasing triglyceride
levels], it also damages the heart muscles,
weakening the heart's pumping capacity," says Dr
Panda. "If you must drink, draw the line at a single
(30ml) serving for women and two drink, for men per
day. Or switch to red wine (max 60 ml per day) to
soak up its antioxidants."
Grapes
Aren't Sour
If you don't
drink wine, chug grape or munch juice on a bunch of
grapes. A study by the University of Connecticut
(Published in the Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences) found that grapes contain the same
powerful disease - fighting antioxidants that give
wine its heart-friendly benefits. Just skip the
added sugar.
Halt
The Salt
A little salt
is wonderful, but even a little more than your daily
requirement of five grams (or one teaspoon) is bad
for your heart. It triggers high blood pressure,
excess salt calcifies, scars and destroys the
muscles, valves and arteries of the entire coronary
route. Avoid processed foods - the biggest culprit -
even if you have low BP.
Cut
Saturated Fats
Butter,
mayonnaise, pork, red meat, hydrogenated oils (vanaspati),
cheese, full-fat milk are all high in saturated fats
that elevate bad cholestrol, leading to plaque
build-up in arteries.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW JULY AUGUST 2013
Does
Skipping Breakfast Lead to Heart Diseases?
Men who regularly start the morning without a meal
are 27 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack
or develop fatal heart disease, researchers found.
The link could be explained by problems like
obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and
diabetes which are more common in those who miss
breakfast and can lead to heart problems. The study,
published in the Circulation Journal, tracked the
health of 26,902 men aged 45 to 82 over 16 years,
during which time 1,572 developed heart problems.
Previous studies have found that people who eat
breakfast each day are at lower risk of obesity
because they are less likely to snack between meals.
Now,
Ultrasound Via a Skin Patch
London:
Ultrasound could soon be delivered through a Bandaid-like
skin patch. Researchers have successfully tested a
skin-patch ultrasound that heals venous ulcers,
significantly accelerates tissue repair and reduces
costs for chronic wound management.
The team from Drexel University, Philadelphia,
administered a new method for treating chronic
wounds using a novel ultrasound applicator that can
be worn like a sticking plaster. The applicator
delivers low-frequency, low-intensity ultrasound
directly to wounds, and was found to significantly
accelerate healing in five patients with venous
ulcers. Venous ulcers are caused when valves in the
veins mal- function, causing blood to pool in the
leg instead of returning to the heart. This pooling,
called venous stasis, can cause proteins and cells
in the vein to leak into the surrounding tissue,
leading to inflammation and formation of an ulcer.
The technology was developed by the researchers with
funding from the National Institute of Biomedical
Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National
Institutes of Health, itself an agency of the US
Department of Health and Human Services. Standard
treatment for venous ulcers involves a technique in
which patients wear elastic socks that squeeze the
leg to prevent blood from flowing backwards. Despite
these measures, wounds often take months or years to
heal.
Stem
Cells Harvested from Urine
London: A
simple urine sample may soon help doctors harvest
the lifesaving stem cells. Doctors have for the
first time successfully directed stem cells from
urine to become bladder-type cells, such as smooth
muscle which lines the bladder. Researchers at Wake
Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for
Regenerative Medicine in the US have identified stem
cells in urine that can be directed to become
multiple cell types. Doctors say urine-derived cells
could also form bone, cartilage, fat, skeletal
muscle, nerve, and endothelial cells, which line
blood vessels. The multi potency of the cells
suggests their use in a variety of therapies. "These
cells can be obtained through a simple, non-invasive
low-cost approach that avoids surgical procedures,"
said Yuanyuan Zhang, expert of regenerative medicine
in the project. "These stem cells represent
virtually a limitless supply of autologous cells for
treating not only urology-related conditions such
'as kidney disease, urinary incontinence and
erectile dysfunction, but could be used in other
fields as well," he said.
Indian
‘Cigarette Snatcher’ Passes Away in Dubai
An Indian
cancer patient, who campaigned against smoking in
unusual ways such as confronting strangers in public
places and pleading with them to quit smoking,
succumbed to lung cancer in a Dubai hospital.
Abraham Samuel, 53, popularly known as 'cigarette
snatcher' died on Sunday evening. Samuel is survived
by his wife and two daughters aged 22 and 20. He
smoked two packets a day for 35 years and was
diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010. It was then that
he turned to approaching strangers in public places
and pleading with them to quit smoking earning the
title of 'cigarette snatcher', the Gulf News report
said. Samuel's method of taking upon him-self to
"convert" smokers around him instead of indulging in
self-pity had its effect on a lot of people who
chose to stop smoking. "When I see someone smoking,
I simply walk up to them and ask them to give it up.
People don't always like it, but I don't stop
myself. Sometime I even open my shirt and show the
my radiation marks-so they understand the severity
of my condition. "I don't know how much time I have
left in this world, but I will do as much as I can
to tell people to give up smoking," Samuel had told
a newspaper few months back.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW MAY JUNE 2013
Pop
This Pill to Prevent Brain Aging, Prolong Life
New York: A pill that can mimic the beneficial
effects of calorie restriction may help prevent
brain aging and even prolong life span, a new study
has claimed. Previous studies have suggested that
sharply reducing calorie intake, by as much as 40%
could slow aging in cells and may even prolong life
span. Now, researchers say they have found a way to
mimic the beneficial effects of calorie restriction
on the brain with a drug. The pill can activate an
enzyme in brain cells, and the study showed the drug
delayed both the cognitive impairment associated
with aging and Alzheimer's disease, and the loss of
nerve cells that happens with ageing, 'My Health
News Daily' reported. The new study done in mice
suggests scientists could develop drugs that stave
off decline in human brain function. Researchers at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focused on
how calorie restriction affects brain cells. They
showed that restricting the calorie intake of
laboratory mice by 30% boosted levels of an enzyme
in the brain, and delayed the loss of nerve cells
that can accompany decline in brain function. The
calorie-deprived mice also did better on memory
tests, compared with their well-fed counterparts.
Researchers fed the mice a regular diet, but also
gave them the enzyme-blocking drug. These mice had
better functioning brain cells, and did better on
cognitive tests, just as the mice that were fed a
calorie-restricted diet.
Passive
Smoking Can Make Kids Aggressive
Toronto: Children who are exposed to secondhand
smoke in early childhood are more likely to grow up
to be physically aggressive and antisocial, a new
study warned.
Researchers from Univerrsity of Montreal in Canada
found that aggressive behaviour in kids was linked
specifically to secondhand smoke exposure in
childhood regardless of whether they were exposed
during pregnancy or their parents have a history of
being antisocial. "Secondhand smoke is in fact more
dangerous that inhaled smoke, and 40'0 of children
worldwide are exposed to it. "Moreover, exposure to
this smoke at early childhood is particularly
dangerous, as the child's brain is still
developing,” said researcher Linda Pagani.
Smoking
Right After Waking up Raises Cancer Risk
Washington: Smoking a cigarette immediately after
waking up in the morning may increase the risk of
developing lung or oral cancer, a new study has
warned. "We found that smokers who consume
cigarettes immediately after waking have higher
levels of NNAL - a metabolite of the tobacco-
specific carcinogen NNK in their blood than smokers
who refrain from smoking a half hour or more after
waking, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke
per day,"said Steven Branstetter, assistant
professor of biobehavioural health in Pennsylvania
State University. According to Branstetter, other
research has shown that NNK induces lung tumours in
several rodent species. Levels of NNAL in the blood
can therefore predict lung cancer risk in rodents as
well as in humans. In addition, NNAL levels are
stable in smokers over time, and a single
measurement can accurately reflect an individual's
exposure. Branstetter and his colleague Joshua
Muscat, professor of public health sciences,
examined data on 1,945 smoking adult participants
from the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey who had provided urine samples for analysis
of NNAL.
The researchers found that around 32% of the
participants they examined smoked their cigarette of
the day within 5 minutes of waking; 31% smoked
within 6 to 30 minutes of walking; 18% smoked within
31 to 60 minutes of walking; and 19% smoked more
than one hour after waking. In addition, the
researchers found that the NNAL level in the
participants' blood was correlated with the
participants' age, the age they started smoking and
their gender. "Most importantly, we found that NNAL
level was highest among people who smoked the
soonest up on waking, regardless of the frequency of
smoking and other factors that predict NNAL
concentrations," Branstetter said. People who smoke
sooner after waking inhale more deeply and more
thoroughly, which could explain the higher levels of
NNAL in their blood.”
Iodine
Deficiency During Pregnancy
Lowers Child’s IQ
London: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy,
something rampant among Indian women, adversely
affects the child’s mental development. A UK study
published in medical journal The Lancet on Thursday
has shown that iodine - which is consumed mainly via
dairy products and seafood - is essential for
producing hormones made by the thyroid gland, which
have a direct impact on fetal brain development. A
recent Indian health ministry survey conducted in
324 districts across the country found that 263
districts are still endemic with Iodine Deficiency
Disorders (IDD) like brain damage, miscarriages,
dwarfism and mental retardation. A group of
researchers from survey and Bristol universities,
followed 1000 pregnant UK women and measured the
iodine concentration in urine samples taken in the
first trimester. Following WHO guidelines on
recommended concentrations of iodine during
pregnancy, they classified women who had an
iodine-to-creatinine ratio of less than 150 as being
iodine deficient, and those with a ratio of 150 or
more as iodine sufficient. Over 67% of the women
fell into the category of less than 150. Mental
development of the women's children was then
assessed by measuring child IQ at age 8 and reading
ability at age 9. The researchers found that
children of women in the iodine-deficient group were
significantly more likely to have low scores of
verbal IQ, reading accuracy, and reading
comprehension.
Going
Grey too Soon? Finally, There’s a Cure
London: Using hair dyes may soon be a thing of the
past. Scientists have for the first time reversed
premature greying of hair. British and German
scientists have created a new compound that reverses
oxidative stress, thus curing loss of hair or skin
colour. The researchers found that people who are
going grey develop massive oxidative stress via
accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair
follicles, which causes hair to bleach itself from
the inside out. The research now shows that this
massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be
cured with a treatment developed by the researchers
described as a topical UVB-activated compound called
PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase). The study also
shows that the same treatment works for the skin
condition vitiligo-a disease that causes skin
depigmentation to almost 65 million people globally.
Treatment options for vitiligo are presently
limited. Current options include phototherapy, which
needs to be administered for three days every week
for three years to achieve even partial
pigmentation-that too in only 30% of the patients.
“To treat vitiligo, we analyzed an international
group of 2,211 patients with vitiligo,” said Karin
Schallreuter, author of the study from the Institute
for Pigmentary Disorders. Of that group, 57 or 2.4%
were diagnosed with strictly segmental vitiligo (SSV),
and 76 or 3.2% were diagnosed with mixed vitiligo.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MARCH APRIL 2013
Antibiotic Resitance as Bad as Terror Threat?
London: Resistance to antibiotics is all set to get
listed alongside catastrophic terrorist attacks,
severe gas-rich volcanic eruptions, coastal flooding
and pandemic influenza in UK’s National Risk Civil
Emergencies. England’s chief medical officer
professor Dame Sally Davies has called antibiotic
resistance a “ticking time bomb” with the world
facing an “apocalyptic scenario” where 7% of all
hospital admissions are taking place due to
drug-resistant infections. She has warned that the
global health system could slip back by 200 years
unless the catastrophic threat of antibiotic
resistance is successfully tackled. UK’s Civil
Contingencies Act 2004 (the Act) describes a civil
emergency as “an event which threatens serious
damage to human welfare-loss of human life.”
Professor Davies says globally, in another 20 years,
people will die more often following even a minor
surgery. “A simple cut to your finger could leave
you fighting for your life. Cases of E Coli and
Klebsiella bacteria have increased by two-thirds in
recent years. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland
99,000 cases of bloodstream infections were reported
in 2011-12. E Coli alone accounted for 36% of cases
compared with just 1.6% due to MRSA. Around 5,000
patients a year die from such blood poisoning each
year, half with an antibiotic-resistant organism,”
Davies said. According to her, while a new
infectious disease has been discovered nearly every
year over the past 30 years, there have been no new
antibiotics since 1987, leaving our armoury nearly
empty as diseases become resistant to existing
drugs. Professor Davies said, “Antimicrobial
resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we don’t
act now, routine operations like hip replacements or
organ transplants could be deadly because of the
risk of infection. That’s why governments across the
world, including the World Health Organization and
G8, need to take this seriously”. UK will also
publish a five year UK Antimicrobial Resistance
Strategy shortly which will advocate the responsible
use of antibiotics and strengthened surveillance.
Dame Sally urged the government to raise the issue
during next month’s G8 Summit in London. Resistance
to antibiotics is becoming a serious threat for
India because of a popular habit to pop pills at
will. Even the WHO recently warned that the world is
staring at a post-antibiotic era, when common
infections will no longer have a cure.
Sperm
are Healthiest in Winter
America: Autumn is the time of year most associated
with bumper crops of babies, and according to an
Israeli study, there may be a scientific reason for
it: Human sperm are generally at their healthiest in
winter and early spring. Based on samples from more
than 6,000 men treated for infertility, researchers
writing in American Journal of Obstetrics &
Gynecology found sperm in greater numbers, with a
steady decline in quality from spring onward. “The
winter and spring semen patterns are compatible with
increased fecund ability and may be a plausible
explanation of the peak number of deliveries during
the fall,” wrote lead researchers Eliahu Levitas
from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva
in Israel. If there is a seasonal pattern, they
said, that knowledge may “be of paramount
importance, especially in couples with male-related
infertility struggling with unsuccessful and
prolonged fertility treatments.” For the study,
Levitas and his colleagues analyzed 6.455 semen
samples.
Heart
Diseases not a Modern Ill, Mummies Show
London: Like 4.6 crore Indians at present, ancient
hunter-gatherers also suffered from clogged
arteries, revealing that the plaque build-up causing
blood clots, heart attacks and strokes is not just a
result of fatty diets or couch potato habits.
Ground-breaking research announced on Monday in the
British medical journal ‘The Lancet’ after studying
137 mummies from ancient Egypt, Peru, south-west
America and the Aleutian Island in Alaska, spanning
4,000 years of human history has revealed that
atherosclerosis or hardening and narrowing of the
arteries – the disease that causes heart attacks and
strokes-may have been much more common among ancient
peoples than previously thought. CT scans to look
for the characteristic signs of
atherosclerosis-vascular calcification or build-up
of a hard calcified substance along the walls of
arteries found that over a third (34%) of the
mummies examined showed signs of probable or
definite atherosclerosis. Older people were more
likely to show signs of the disease which was
equally common in mummies identified as male or
female. Professor Randall Thompson, of Saint Luke’s
Heart Institute in Kansas City, said, “The fact that
we found similar levels of atherosclerosis in all of
the different cultures we studied, all of whom had
very different lifestyles and diets, suggests that
atherosclerosis may have been far more common in the
ancient world than it is thought to be.
THE PHARMA REVIEW JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013
Brewing
a Healthy Drink: Tea made from Coffee Leaves
London:
Scientists have discovered a ‘super brew’ – tea made
from coffee leaves – which they claim is healthier
than both of the drinks. The coffee leaf tea, which
is said to have an ‘earthy’ taste that is less
bitter than tea and not as strong as coffee, boasts
high levels of compounds which lower the risk of
diabetes and heart disease, experts said. It also
carries far less caffeine than traditional tea or
coffee and contains antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties, the ‘Daily Mail’
reported. The coffee leaves were analysed by
researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew,
South-West London, together with researchers in
Montpellier, France. They believe the drink – from
the leaves of the coffee plant – has thus far been
overlooked because of the preoccupation with the
plant’s seeds, coffee beans, which are nowhere near
as healthy. While there is evidence coffee leaf tea
is drunk in places such as Ethiopia, South Sudan and
Indonesia, previous attempts to import it into
Britain from as early as the 1800s have been
unsuccessful. After analysing 23 species of coffee
plant and finding many health benefits, the
researchers now hope the coffee tea could rival the
well established types of coffee and black and green
teas in Britain.
3
Babies Per Day Hooked on Heroin in UK
London: Three babies a day born in the UK are
addicted to heroin, crack cocaine and other drugs, a
new study claims. Figures show over the past five
years in Britain, more than 5,500 babies have been
born hooked on the drugs because of their mother’s
own addictions. Statistics from the department of
health show that of all the newborn babies were
showing “neonatal withdrawal symptoms” within the
first few hours of drawing breath, the Daily Mail
said. This can see the babies who need specialist
care to cope with fever, severe vomiting and
diarrhea and are so addicted they fit within the
first few hours of life – given opiates to “wean
them off” heroine. The figures, revealed by
Conservative MP for Enfield North Nick de Bois, show
the highest rate of addicted baby births is in the
North West Strategic Health Authority, which covers
Liverpool and Manchester.
Myth
Busted: Smoking Can’t Relieve Stress
London: Contrary to the popular perception, smoking
does not relieve stress, while quitting does, a
study has found. UK researchers measured anxiety
levels in almost 500 smokers – before and after they
tried to give up and found the claims of benefits
associated with nicotine are a myth. One in five
people said they smoked to help them deal with
stress, the Daily mail reported. All took part in a
National Health Service smoking cessation programme,
which involved being given nicotine patches and
attending two monthly appointments. Six months after
signing up for the course, 68 of the 491
participants were still abstaining – and they were
less anxious than before. However, those who tried
to give up and failed were more stressed than in the
beginning, according to the findings published in
the British Journal of Poychiatry.
Insulin
Code Out, Say Bye to Needles
Melbourne: In a major breakthrough that could help
millions of diabetics, Australian researchers have
solved a 20-year mystery that could which could
spell the end of daily injections. The new knowledge
on how insulin works at a molecular level could be
exploited to develop improved insulin medications to
treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, they said.
Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
of Medical Research have captured the first
three-dimensional images of insulin “docking” to its
receptor, a mystery scientists have been trying to
solve for two decades. Previously, scientists
remained unsure as to how insulin binds to the
receptor on the surface of cells to allow them to
take up sugar from the blood and transform it into
energy. The international research team was led by
scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
(WEHI) in Melbourne, Case Western Reserve
University, the University of Chicago, the
University of York and the Institute of Organic
Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague. Lead
researchers Mike Lawrence, an Associate Professor at
the institute’s Structural Biology division said,
“This discovery could be given in ways other than
injection, or an insulin that has improved
properties or longer activity so that it doesn’t
need to be taken as often. “It may also have
ramifications for diabetes treatment in developing
nations, by creating insulin that is more stable and
less likely to degrade when not kept cold, an angle
being pursued by our collaborators. Our findings are
a new platform for developing these kinds of
medications,” Lawrence said. The insulin is a key
treatment for diabetics, but there are many ways
that its properties could potentially be improved,
the Gizmag website reported. ‘Understanding how
insulin interacts with the insulin receptor is
fundamental to the development of novel insulin’s
for the treatment of diabetes. “We can now exploit
this knowledge to design new insulin medications
with improved properties, which is very exciting,”
he said.
THE PHARMA REVIEW NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2012
Dark
Secret: Gorge on Chocolates to Stay Slim
London: Here’s the perfect excuse to gorge on
chocolates – eating the mouth watering snack
regularly can help people stay slim, say
researchers. The findings come from a study of
nearly 1,000 American people which looked at diet,
calorie intake and body mass index – a measure of
obesity. It found those who ate chocolate a few
times a week were slimmer than those who ate it
occasionally. Even though chocolate is loaded with
calories, it contains ingredients that may favour
weight loss rather than fat synthesis. So, despite
boosting calorie intake regular chocolate
consumption was related to lower BMI in the study,
say the researchers. The link remained even when
other factors, like how much exercise individuals
did, were taken into account. And it appears it is
how often one eats chocolate that is important,
rather than how much of it ones eats. The study
found no link with quantity consumed. And, according
to the researchers, there is only one chance in a
hundred that their findings could be explained by
chance alone. ‘’Our findings appear to add to a body
of information suggesting that the composition of
calories, not just number of them, matters for
determining their ultimate impact on weight,’’ lead
author Beatrice Golomb at the University of
California at San Diego, was quoted by the ‘BBC’ as
saying. Golomb and her team believe that antioxidant
compounds, called catechines, can improve lean
muscle mass and reduce weight at least studies in
rodents would suggest this might be so. Mice fed for
15 days with epicatechin (present in dark chocolate)
had improved exercise performance and observable
changes to their muscle composition. They say
clinical trails are now needed in humans to see if
this is the case.
New
Imaging Tech that Can help Detect Cancer Early
London: A new imaging technique developed at the
University of Oxford may be able to detect cancers
that have spread to the brain even when tumours are
small. The study, carried out on mice, investigated
a new ‘dye’ that shows up in MRI scans, a university
release said. The scientists showed that the dye or
contrast agent, recognizes and sticks to a molecule
called VCAM-1. This molecule is present in large
amounts on blood vessels associated with cancer that
has spread to the brain from other parts of the
body. MRI scans show the distribution of the dye in
the brain, enabling much smaller tumours to be
detected than can be done using current techniques.
Small tumours can be treated with whole brain
radiotherapy or surgery, and there are new
chemotherapy treatments in development. But
currently, it is only possible to detect larger
secondary brains tumours, and these are more
difficult to treat, the release added. Lead
researcher Dr. Nicola Sibson of the Gray Institute
for Radiation Oncology and Biology at the University
of Oxford said: ‘’We urgently need to find ways to
diagnose these cancers at an earlier stage to
improve survival rates. Our research suggests a new
possible approach to do just this. The next stage is
to build on these results and carry out clinical
trails.’’
‘Night
Shift raise risk of Breast cancer in women’
London: Women who regularly work into the early
hours can be nearly four times as likely to develop
breast cancer, scientist have warned. The risk is
highest among women who are naturally early risers.
But even night owls are in danger. The threat rose
with the more night shifts they did, the study
found. And overall there was a 40% bigger risk
compared to women worked days. ‘’The results
indicate frequent night shift work increases the
risk for breast cancer and suggest a higher risk
with longer duration of night shift,’’ the Mirror
quoted Dr. Johnni Hansen, of the Danish Cancer
Society that did study, as saying. ‘’Those with
morning preference tended to have a higher risk than
those with evening preference,’’ Dr. Hansen stated.
Women who worked nights three or more times a week
for over six years were more than twice as likely to
have the disease as those who had not. The risk
almost quadrupled if they were early bird types –
possibly because they are more susceptible to body
clock disruption, said the study. Night owls were
twice as likely to have breast cancer, according to
the findings published online in Occupational and
Environmental Medicine. The results were based on
692 responses, of which 141 were from women with the
disease.
THE PHARMA REVIEW JULY AUGUST 2012
Chest
Pain Not Must For Stroke
Mumbai: For long, a sudden chest pain was considered
the main symptom of a heart attack, but a
comprehensive study conducted by a Florida based
chest pain center has found that many patients taken
to hospitals for heart attacks never had chest pain.
Consequently, they were less likely to be treated
aggressively, according to a report on the NYT
WEBSITE. The study done at the chest pain center of
Lakeland Regional Medical Center, Florida, showed
that of 1.1 million people, 42% of women admitted to
hospital to hospitals for heart attack never
experienced chest pain, while the figure was 30.7%
in the case of men. The study, of which the Center’s
director John G Canto is an author, was recently
published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association. According to leading cardiologist
Ashwin Mehta, well over 20to30% of people admitted
to hospitals in India have had painless heart
attack. ‘’My observation is that people suffering
from hypertension and diabetes may have a painless
heart attack. In such cases, the signals of
discomfort are vague and weak. As a result, they get
less opportunity for treatment,’’ Mehta said.
Endorsing Mehta’s views, JJ Hospital cardiology
professor Anil Kumar said the silent heart attack
phenomenon was not new. In most people suffering
from high blood pressure and diabetes, the tendency
to have no or less chest pain is quite high. ‘’In my
opinion, people with high risk should take more
care. Event if there is a slight doubt, they must be
rushed to a cardiologist for basic treatment,’’ said
Kumar. The Florida survey also revealed that women
were more likely to succumb after a heart attack –
the mortality rate for women was 15% and men 10%.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among
both men and women not just in the US, but around
the world too, killing about seven million people a
year, said the NYT website. Until the 1980s, heart
disease was largely considered a male problem and
many studies that focused only on men drew a narrow
picture of the typical signs of a heart attack. The
researchers used data from a national registry of
people admitted to hospitals for heart attack from
1994 to 2006 to look at differences in symptoms and
mortality rates among men and women. The analysis,
covering over 1.1 million people, showed that while
chest pain was the most frequent symptom of a heart
attack in both men and women, a sizable minority of
patients – about 35% - had suffered heart attacks
without having chest pain.
Humour in Men is Linked to Aggression
London:
Humour in most men develops from aggression – an it
all starts at puberty, says a new study. Researchers
at Newcastle University have based their findings on
an analysis of the reactions of men and women on
seeing a trick cyclist, the ‘Journal of Psychology
Research and Behaviour Management’ reported. The
results revealed big differences between male and
female response – nine out of 10women would make
warm, kind and encouraging remarks, while young
children were interested and curious. But as boys
grew older, their reactions became increasingly
unpleasant. Curiosity typically turned into physical
and they would throw stones or attempt to obstruct
the rider by shouting, ‘’Fall off!’’ Grown men
suppressed the urge to injure the rider, but became
snide and aggressive, and would often make jokes
about the single wheel. In fact, the researchers led
by Prof Sam Shuster, studied data from more than 30
unicyclists aged between 15 and 69, from the UK and
across the world, with up to 40 years’ experience.
Woman
Make Better Bosses than Men
Washington: Woman in management positions are often
perceived as more demanding and difficult to work
with, but a new study has found that they are
actually better bosses compared to men. According to
the Spanish survey, women in top posts are more
democratic, allow employees to participate in
decision – making and establish interpersonal
channels of communication much better than men. ‘’We
find that in workplaces with more women managers,
more individualized employee feedback is carried out
,’’ study author Eduardo Melero, a professor at the
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, said. The
increased communication between management and
employees in companies with women in management
positions has a two – fold benefit. First, these
companies are able to make more well – informed
decisions, since employee feedback will be utilized
in the decision – making process. Also, employees
will also have the feeling of contributing to and
having their opinions heard at work. ‘’Women
managers seem to be more inclined to use these types
of practices, individually, as well as promoting
them among the rest of the management team,’’ Melero
said.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MAY JUNE 2012
Remote-control drugs may spell ends for pills, jabs
Mumbai: Soon,
you may be spared the inconvenience of popping
multiple pills or getting repeated injection.
Instead, medication could be remote controlled to be
dispensed straight into the body through a small
embedded chip. This implantable device was
successfully tested for the first time in human
trials where researchers used it to administer daily
doses of an osteoporosis drug, normally given by
injection. The device was tested on a group of woman
suffering from osteoporosis through a wireless link
which dispensed drugs at regular intervals within
the body.Billed as a ‘pharmacy-on-a-chip’, this
could provide a major breakthrough in treatment to
patients suffering from chronic ailments like
diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and where there
is need to take multiple drugs and frequent
injections. The chip could be filled with a variety
of drugs of treat long-term chronic conditions, and
programmed to dispense them automatically, experts
say. Speaking to TOI, Robert Farra, president and
CEO of MicroCHIPS Inc-the company behind the
implantable drug-delivery device, and the study’s
lead author, said, ‘’The microchip is well suited
for potent drugs. Disease to be treated include
osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and acute
conditions such as treatment after hard attack.
Indian doctors welcomed the development as it would
simplify treatment for people with critical
conditions. The company plans to file for regulatory
approval for its first microchip device in 2014.
Now, a vest
that alerts you of heart attack
London:
Scientists have developed a new cardiac vest that
can diagnose heart attacks as soon as they happen, a
feat they say could lead to new ways of treating
heart patients. The electrocardiograph (ECG)
technology, which has been around for the past 60
years, has its limitations and patients have to face
delays of up to 12 hours for blood test results,
during which continuing damage may be done. But the
new cardiac vest, developed by a British company,
can give doctors detailed information within minutes
about whether a patient as suffering an attack and
where within the heart the problem is situated.
The UK’s Bradford Royal Infirmary will be the first
hospital in the world to use the revolutionary
cardiac vest, which contains 80 sensors attached to
a patient’s chest and back. If trails of the new
‘’heart -scape’’ device are successful, sufferers
could be diagnosed up to 12 hours earlier than
usual, the researchers said. Dr James Dunbar,
consultant physician at the Bradford Royal
Infirmary, said the vest would enable speedier
treatment for heart attack patients and also detect
sings of heart disease. ‘’It will help us gain an
instant in-depth 3D view, making it easier to
interpret if a patient is having a heart attack,
enabling treatment to start earlier,’’ he said.
Synthetic windpipe saves cancer patient’s life
Surgeons in Sweden have replaced the cancerous
windpipe of a Maryland man with one made in a
laboratory and seeded with the man’s cells. The
windpipe, or trachea, made from minuscule plastic
fibers and covered in stem cells taken from the
man’s bone marrow, was implanted in November. The
patient, Christopher Lyles, 30, whose tracheal
cancer had progressed to the point where it was
considered inoperable, arrived home in Baltimore on
Wednesday. It was the second procedure of its kind
and the first for an American. ‘’I’ m feeling
good,’’ Lyles said in a telephone interview. ‘’I am
just thankful for a second chance at life.’’ He said
he hoped to resume his job, as an electrical
engineer as soon as he regained full strength.
‘Exercise’ hormone may help fight obesity, diabetes
A newly discovered hormone produced in response to
exercise may be turning people’s white fat brown, a
ground-breaking new study, suggests, and in the
process lessening their susceptibility to obesity,
diabetes and other health problems. The study,
published on Wednesday in nature and let by
researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and
Harvard Medical school, provides remarkable new
insights into how exercise affects the body at a
cellular level. For the study, the researchers
studied mouse and human muscle cells. Scientist have
believed for some time that muscle cells influence
biological processes elsewhere in the body, beyond
the muscles themselves. In particular, they have
suspected that muscle cells communicate
biochemically with body fat. But how muscle cells
‘’talk’’ what they tell the fat and what role
exercise has in sparking or sustaining that
conversation have been mysteries – until, in the new
study, scientists closely examined the operations of
a substance called PGCI-alpha, which is produced in
abundance in muscle during and after exercise.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MARCH APRIL 2012
Oranges and Grapes Cut the Risk of Stroke : Study
London: Want
to reduce the risk of a stroke? Eat oranges and
grapefruit daily, if possible, says a study.
Researchers at Norwich Medical School in the
University of East Anglia have found that oranges
and grapefruit protect against a ‘brain attack’ due
to anti-inflammatory properties, the Stroke journal
reported. For their study, researchers analysed
69,622 women who were talking part in the ongoing
Nurses’ Health Study in US. They investigated the
strength of protection from flavonoids, a class of
antioxidant compounds present in fruits, vegetables,
dark chocolate and red wine. The study used 14 years
of follow-up data provided by 69,622 women who
reported their fruit and vegetable intake every four
years. The team examined the relationship of the six
main subclasses of flavonoids with risk of ischemic,
hemorrhagic and total stroke. Women who ate high
amounts of flavanones in citrus had a 19% lower risk
of blood clot-related (ischemic) stroke than women
who consumed the least amounts, the Daily Mail
reported.
Painkiller abuse drills holes in teen’s stomach
Mumbai: Nikhil Thorat, a 16 year-old student, paid a
heavy price for popping painkillers indiscriminately
when he started experiencing severe stomach and back
aches early this year. After three months of turning
to over-the-counter painkillers – he had found one
that gave him instant relief and started taking it
4-5 times a day-he landed up in hospital in
debilitating pain, where doctors discovered
perforations in his stomach, caused by the misuse of
the medication. The gastric contents from the
stomach had entered the cavity. In a complicated
surgery, doctors had to use a layer of fat from his
abdomen to cover the perforations, and after one
month recovery period, Thorat was able to give his
Class XII board exams. Doctors say that more and
more youth are self-medicating and overusing
painkillers, unaware of the danger. Depending on the
kind of painkiller-narcotic, non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drug-and the frequency of
ingestion, a person’s gastro-intestinal tract, heart
and kidney can be affected.
Green
Tea Can Beat Bad Breath and Cancer
London: Green tea’s status as a superfood is growing
gradually, as a new study has claimed that drinking
the beverage could help you fight bad breath and
even mouth cancer. The study by a team from Israel’s
Institute of Technology found that antioxidants
found in the tea, called polyphenols, destroy a
number of compounds in the mouth that can lead to
bad breath, tooth decay and even mouth cancer. The
new findings will add to green tea’s status as one
of nature’s so-called “superfoods”, the Daily Mail
reported. Past studies have suggested that green tea
helps prevent cancer and heart disease and lower
cholesterol – and even ward off Parkinson’s and
Alzheimer’s.
In the latest study, the researchers examined the
properties of the polyphenol called epigallocatechin
3 gallate (EGCG) in particular. “EGCG constitute the
most interesting components in green tea leaves,”
the researchers reported in the journal Archives or
Oral Biology. “All together, there is increasing
interest in the health benefits of green tea in the
field of oral health,” they said. Green tea is made
from the same plant as black tea but processed in a
different way that means it retains less caffeine
and more polyphenols. It has been drunk in China and
the Far East for thousands of years and is fast
becoming popular in UK because of its health
benefits. Its drunk without milk, sugar so it is low
in calories.
Statin
Drugs Cut Parkinson’s Risk?
Regular use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may
be associated with a modest reduction in the risk of
developing Parkinson’s desease, particularly among
younger patients, a new study has claimed. Statins
are one of the most prescribed classes of drugs in
the US and some researchers have hypothesized that
the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating effects
of these medications may be neuroprotective.
However, statins also may have unfavourable effects
on lowering the level of plasma coenzyme Q10, which
may be neuroprotective in Parkinson’s patients.
Stressed Women Eat More
Women who are fed up with their jobs may be more
likely to turn to food for comfort in times of
stress, according to a Finnish study. The study,
reported in Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found
that those who reported work burnout were also more
likely to have a habit of “emotional” eating, or a
eating when stressed, rather than just hungry.
THE PHARMA REVIEW JANUARY FEBRUARY 2012
To Stay
Slim, Eat lots of Protein
Melbourne: Want to stay slim? Make sure that you eat
enough protein in your diet, rather than simply
cutting calories, says a new study. Researchers at
the University of Sydney have carried out the study
and found that low protein in diets can lead to
excessive energy intake and drive people to eat more
snacks. On the contrary, they have found that enough
protein in their diets help people in curbing
appetites and preventing excessive eating of fats
and carbohydrates. The results represent the first
scientifically supported evidence that dietary
protein plays an important role in appetite in
humans, and are an important step in addressing the
global obesity epidemic.
“Humans have a particularly strong appetite for
protein, and when the proportion of protein in the
diet is low this appetite can drive excess energy
intake. Our finding have considerable implications
for body weight management in the current
nutritional environment, where foods rich in fat and
carbohydrates are cheap, palatable, and available to
an extent unprecedented in our history” author
Alison Gos by said. Protein is the driving force for
appetite in many animals, say researchers. Although
it has previously been suggested that protein lays
an important role in determining overall energy
intake in humans, until now experimental
verification was lacking.
Men,
Kick the Butt to Light up Your Sex Life
New York: Lighting up could be slowing you drown in
the bedroom. A US study suggests that men who
successfully stopped smoking improved on lab
measurements of sexual health more than those who
relapsed after a quit-smoking program, showing that
smoking may be affecting the sexual health of men
who consider themselves perfectly all right in bed,
researchers said. “With younger men, the risks of
smoking in that population appear more far off. They
think, ‘I don’t really need to worry about this
until much farther down the road,” said study author
Christopher Here, from the VA Boston Healthcare
System. Harte and co-author Cindy Meston from the
University of Texas at Austin enrolled 65 men
without self-reported impotence in an eight – week
quit smoking program using nicotine patches. Before
treatment, halfway through and a few weeks after,
they brought it he men into a locked lab and showed
them a racy film. While they watched, men kept track
of how aroused they were and a device measured how
much their penis grew or shrank. By the end of the
study, there were 20 men that hadn’t lit up in at
least a week, while 45 men were still smoking.
Quitters saw a greater increase in penile growth,
measured by width and not length, compared to
non-quitters. By their own scoring, those men
reached their peak level of arousal sooner than men
who were still lighting up.
Suffering From Bad Body
Odour? Blame it on Genetic Disorder
New York: For some people with troublesome,
unexplained body odour, an uncommon genetic disorder
once known as “fish-odour syndrome” may be to blame,
according to a study. The condition, known
clinically as trimethylaminuria, is caused by
emitting excessive amounts of the compound
trimethylamine (TMA). TMA is produced when people
digest foods rich in a substance called choline
including saltwater fish, eggs, liver and certain
legumes, such as soy and kidney beans. “Individuals
with the metabolic disorder trimethylaminuria may
sporadically to duce malodors despite & hygiene,”
wrote study Lee Paul Wise, at Monell Chemical Senses
Center in Philaadelphia, in the American Journal of
Medicine. “The psychoseology impact of
trimethylaminuria may be considerable. However,
trimethylaminuria is difficult to diagnose without
specialized tests. “Trimethylaminuria is caused by
defects in a gene know as FMO3, which hinder the
body’s ability to metabolize TMA and turn it into
odor-free compounds. TMA itself has strong fishy
smell, but only about 10 to 15% of people with
trimethylaminuria have that specificmalodor, which
may make it tougher to get a diagnosis. For someone
to have the disorder, he or she must inherit a
defective copy of FMO3 gene from both parents, who
themselves would be unaffected “carriers”. Of
course, if either of parents had the disorder, they
would also pass it on.
Flaxseeds Can Cut
Breast Cancer
Heidelberg: Eating a diet rich in flaxseeds can help
cut the risk of dying from breast cancer later in
life by 40%, a new study has claimed. Researchers at
the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg
found that foods including seeds, vegetables and
wheat contain special plant compounds, called
phytoestrogens, which kill off cancer cells and
prevent secondary tumours by stopping the growth of
new blood vessels. Among the most important
phytoestrogens are the lignans which are found
abundantly in flaxseeds, the researchers said.
THE PHARMA REVIEW NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2011
Cardamom
This is a thermogenic herb that increases metabolism
and helps burn body fat. Cardamom is considered one
of the best digestive aids and is believed to soothe
the digestive system and help the body process other
foods more efficiently.
Chillies
Foods containing chillies are said to be as foods
that burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin that helps
in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a
thermogenic food, so it causes the body to burn
calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chillies.
Curry
leaves
Incorporating curry leaves into your daily diet can
help you lose weight. These leaves flush out fat and
toxins, reducing fat deposits that are stored in the
body, as well as reducing bad cholesterol levels. If
you are overweight, incorporate eight to 10 curry
leaves into your diet daily. Chop them finely and
mix them into a drink, or sprinkle them over a meal.
Garlic
An effective fat-burning food, garlic contains the
sulphur compound allicin which has anti-bacterial
effects and helps reduce cholesterol and unhealthy
fats.
Moong
dal
The bean sprouts are rich in Vitamin A, B, C and E
and many minerals, such as calcium, iron and
potassium. It is recommended as a food replacement
in many slimming programmes, as it has a very low
fat content. It is a rich source of protein and
fibre, which helps lower blood cholesterol level.
The high fibre content yields complex carbohydrates,
which aid digestion, are effective in stabilising
blood sugar and prevent its rapid rise after meal
consumption.
Honey
It is a home remedy for obesity. It mobilises the
extra fat deposits in the body allowing it to be
utilised as energy for normal functions. One should
start with about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken
with hot water early in the morning.
Buttermilk
It is the somewhat sour, residual fluid that is left
after butter is churned. The probiotic food contains
just 2.2 grams of fat and about 99 calories, as
compared to whole milk that contains 8.9 grams fat
and 157 calories. Regular intake provides the body
with all essential nutrients and does not add fats
and calories to the body. It is thus helpful in
weight loss.
Millets
Fibre-rich foods such as millets - jowar, bajra,
ragi, etc - absorb cholesterol and help increase the
secretion of the bile that emulsifies fats. Cinnamon
and cloves: Used extensively in Indian cooking, the
spices have been found to improve the function of
insulin and to lower glucose, total cholesterol, LDL
and triglycerides in people with type 2 diabetes.
Turmeric
Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is an
object of research owing to its properties that
suggest they may help to turn off certain genes that
cause scarring and enlargement of the heart. Regular
intake may help reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL)
or bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, increase
blood circulation and prevent blood clotting,
helping to prevent heart attack.
THE PHARMA REVIEW SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2011
Sleeping with your contact lens on can make you
blind
Here’s a word of caution for those who wear contacts
– going to sleep in your lenses can blind you,
experts have warned. According to them, people
should make it a point to take out and rinse contact
lenses as poor lens hygiene can lead to a range of
nasty eye ailments, including microbial keratitis,
an infection of cornea, the front-al part of the eye
where lenses sit. Left untreated, it can lead to
permanent visual damage – and, in extreme cases,
blindness, they have warned. The eye has natural
protection against the foreign bodies – through a
fluid covering the eye that contains protective
enzymes and by blinking, which prevents anything
sticking to the eye’s surface. Yet minute air and
waterborne microbes sometimes break through these
defenses, penetrating the protective layer of cells
on the cornea. The bacteria pseudomonas is the most
common keratinize-causing microbe, breeds in dirty
lens case, say the experts.
Rude
colleague can disrupt personal life
How cool is your workplace?. A fellow worker’s
rudeness can be so intense that it could ruin your
personal life, scientists say. Researchers at Baylor
University in Taxes found that stress created by
incivility can impact the well-being of a workers’
family and their partner. Since the person comes
home more stressed and distracted, the partner is
likely to pick up more of the family
responsibilities, and those demands may interfere
with the partner’s work life, the researchers found.
Such stress, they said, also affected the worker’s
and the partner’s marital satisfaction. Researcher
Meredith Ferguson said Employees who experience such
incivility at work bring home stress, negative
emotion and perceived ostracism. This affects more
than their family life it also creates problems for
the partner’s life at work.”
Milk
rehydrates better than sports drinks
Active children are better off drinking milk than
water or sports drinks, especially in hot and humid
weather. A part from being a source of high-quality
protein, carbohydrates, calcium and electrolytes,
milk efficiently replaces body salts lost through
sweat and helps the body retain fluids longer. Milk
also provides protein – not found in the other
rehydration drinks – needed by children for muscle
development and growth.
Predicting future clot formation in the veins
UK researchers have developed the first ever primary
care tool to predict a person’s future risk of
developing potentially life threatening blood clots.
The algorithm uses lifestyle factors and medical
history to predict the absolute risk of venous
thromboembolism (blood clots in the veins that can
trigger heart attacks) over one and five years,
expressed as a percentage. The tool is available
online at www. qthrombosis.org. Increasing age,
smoking; obesity, and existing vascular, and renal
diseases are risk factors for clots.
Old age
creeps up on spiders too
Alike humans, old age creeps up on spiders too the
insects lose ability to weave neat webs as they
approach the twilight of their life, says a new
study by French researchers. The researchers at the
University of Nancy have found that while youngsters
produce tidy circles with perfect angles and evenly
spaced gaps, their older counterparts’ efforts
include gaping holes and eccentric patterns. Older
the spider gets, the more chaotic its web becomes.
Wine
for weight loss
A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away.
Light-to-moderate alcohol intake, especially of
wine, lowers your risk of diabetes by 30% and helps
you lose weight, report researchers from the Navarro
University in Spain. They also found that moderate
drinkers are between 16% and 25 % less likely to
develop the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk
factors – high bad cholesterol, low good
cholesterol, high triglyceride (blood fats) and
insulinresistance – for heart attack, stroke and
diabetes. Due to the notion that alcohol causes
weight gain, rather than a weight loss, experts now
want to carry out further research on the role
alcohol plays in people’s diet.
Foods
that interfere with cancer treatment
Acai berry, cumin, herbal tea, turmeric and long –
term use of garlic – commonly believed to be
beneficial to your health – may negatively impact
chemotherapy treatment. US researchers say there is
growing evidence that these popular herbs, roots and
fruits may intensify or weaken the effect of
chemotherapy drugs and in some cases, may cause a
toxic, even lethal reaction. The fact that food and
herbal supplements are natural does not necessarily
mean they are safe, they warned.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MAY - JUNE 2011
In AIDS
fight. Cure may be better than prevention
After 30 years of AIDS prevention efforts. global
leaders may now need to shift their focus to
spending more on drugs used to treat the disease as
new data show this is also the best way to prevent
the virus from spreading. The UN General Assembly
will take up the issue as it assesses progress in
fighting the disease -first reported on June 5, 1981
- that has infected more than 60 million people and
claimed nearly 30 million lives. Guiding the meeting
is ground breaking new data that shows early
treatment of HIV can out its transmission to a
sexual partner by 96 per cent. UNAIDS said at least
$22 billion will be needed to combat the disease by
2015.
Diabetes may shorten working life
New York: People with diabetes may leave the
workforce sooner than employees without diabetes
-suggesting, French researchers say that the disease
could be taking a large economic toll. “Diabetes can
impact individuals’ ability to maintain employment
through different pathways,” said senior researcher
Dr Rosemary Dray-Spira, of the French national
research institute INSERM. For example, diabetes
complications such as vision loss and nerve damage
can lead to mobility problems or amputations that
make it difficult for people to do their jobs. Dray-Spira’s
team found obesity seemed to explain much of the
higher risk of work disability among people with
diabetes.
“Brain
can’t handle more than 150 friends’
London: You may boast of having an impressive list
of friends on social networking sites like Facebook
and Orkut, but a new study suggests that your brain
can’t handle more than 150 friends.
Researchers, led
by Robin Dunbar of Oxford University, have carried
out the study and concluded human beings cannot
develop close bonds with more than 150 people.
Indeed, so intense has been Dunbar’s research of the
magic number that is has earned him a measure of
fame. It is now referred to as “Dunbar’s Number”, a
term ironically coined on Face book among fans of
his work. He has researched societies and businesses
around the world and has found that 150 is the
optimum group for social cohesion and interaction.
From African and Native American tribes to
successful companies, a typical community is about
150 people. The reason 150 is the optimal number for
a community comes form our primate ancestors,
according to Dunbar. Dunbar’s Number faces certain
modern day complications. He said: “You grow up
somewhere, you go to school on the other side of the
country, you get a job, you go to Europe for a
bit-it’s much harder for us to keep those
relationships working and good when they’re that
distributed.
5 cups
of Coffee a day may lead to hallucinations
Washington: Drinking coffee in moderation may be
okay, but downing too much-say five or more cups of
the beverage daily – can cause hallucinations, says
a study. Researchers at La Trobe University have
found that drinking five cups of coffees ore more a
day may be enough to increase one’s tendency to
hallucinate because of caffeine in it. Coffee and
other caffeinated beverages such as tea, soft-drink
and energy drinks access the stimulant and when
taken in large quantities increase tendencies to
hallucinate according to lead researcher Simon
Crowe. In their study, the researchers measured the
effect of stress and caffeine with 92 nonclinical
participants. Five coffees a day or more was found
to be enough to increase the participant’s tendency
to hallucinate, said Crowe.
Drugs
war not winnable, world govts. told
New York: The Global Commission on Drug Policy, a
high-profile group of global leaders which includes
former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and
Switzerland, said the ‘war on drugs’, a decades-long
strategy of outlawing drugs and jailing drug users
while battling cartels that control the trade, had
not worked. The commission urged governments to
consider decriminalizing drugs in a bid to cut
consumption and weaken the power of organized crime
gangs. “lt’s not peace instead of war its a more
intelligent way to fight the use of drugs,” former
Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Chair
of the Commission, told a news conference in New
York.
Pomegranate juice could ease workplace stress
Edinburgh: Drinking pomegranate juice daily could
ease one’s stress at the workplace by reducing blood
pressure and lowering stress hormone levels.
Researchers at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh,
in Britain, studied the physiological effect of
daily consumption of half litre of pomegranate juice
over a two-week period. They found that all 60
volunteers, from a range of working environments,
reported being more enthusiastic and less distressed
after having the drink.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MARCH - APRIL 2011
Breast
Cancer: Lymph node op not a must
Chicago: Women with early breast cancer may not need
to have surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes
under the armpit. The finding may spare many women
the pain and years of side effects related to this
long-standing procedure. Certain women with breast
cancer who had only their sentinel lymph node
removed - the lymph node closed to the cancer –
survived just as long as women who had more
extensive surgery to remove lymph nodes in the
armpit, know as ancillary lymph node dissection or
ALND, researchers found. For the study, published in
the Journal of the American Medical Association,
Armando Giuliano of Saint John’s Health Center in
Santa Monica, California, and colleagues analyzed
the two procedures in women with invasive breast
cancer who had their tumors removed and underwent
radiation and chemotherapy.
Being
nice or nasty is linked to genes
London : Being nice or being nasty is in your genes
particularly is your’re a women, say researchers. A
new study of almost 1,000 pairs of identical and
non-identical twins had found that genetic factors
appeared to how likely one was to do charitable
deeds or work hard in one’s job, the Biology Letters
journal reported. However, the researches at
Edinburgh University in Scotland also said the
environment in which people live still plays a part
in how nice they are, meaning they cannot just blame
their genes if they’re feeling a bit basty. Twins
make good research subjects because, in the case of
identical twins, they have the same genetic make-up.
Comparing them to non-identical twins, whose genes
vary, allows researchers to look at what impact
genetics has in certain situations compared to other
factors such as the environment in which they live.
Late
to bed & rising early ups heart risk
London: Are you among those who get up early but go
to bed very late? Beware, your sleeping habit may be
a “ticking time bomb” for your health and it could
lead to heart attack and stroke, scientists claim.
Going to bed late but waking up early because of
hectic work schedule has become a trend for many,
but scientist said having such a habit means
inviting serious health hazards. Researchers at the
University of Warwick Medical School in the UK found
those who could not afford to sleep for at least six
hours a day are more likely to die from a heart
attack of stroke.
For their study, Cappuccio and colleagues looked at
the sleeping habits of 475,000 participants from 15
previous studies across eight countries. It was
found that those who slept for less than six hours
were 48% more likely to develop or die from heart
disease and 15% more likely to develop or die from a
stroke. According to them, not having enough sleep
decreases the levels of leptin in our blood, which
means we do not feel as satisfied after eating.
Experts recommend adults get at least six or seven
hours’ shut eye a night to stay healthy.
Handheld heath
London: German scientists have developed a new
handheld scanner which they say can tell accurately
in less than 30 seconds how healthy or unhealthy you
are. Developed by a team at the Charite medical
school in Berlin, the device has the ability to
gauge the damage that bad habits such as smoking or
a fondness for junk food are having on the body.
They expected that a version suitable for home use
could be on sale by this summer for as little as $
175, the Daily Mail reported. A similar gadget
called “tricorder” has already been shown in TV
series “Star Trek” in which Dr McCoy aboard the
fictional Starship Enterprise used it to diagnose
and treat the crew.
But, researchers said the real life equivalent will
shock people into leading healthy lifestyles.
THE
PHARMA REVIEW JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2011
Achieve
your Ideal BMI and Aim for a flat belly
Follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly to achieve
an ideal body mass index <23Kg/m2, waist
circumference <80 cms (women) and < 90 cms (men).
Buy yourself a good weighing scale, better still the
kind that gives your body composition analysis.
Practise Mindful Eating
Plan your diet daily – like you plan your budget,
meetings and time. Choose a diet rich in whole
grains like oats, barley, brown rice and whole
wheat; pulses, plenty of fresh fruits and
vegetables, low fat dairy, seafood, lean meats,
nuts, seeds and cold pressed oils.
Include
Functional Foods
Foods that provide special health benefits, which go
beyond nutritional components like energy, vitamins,
minerals etc. Are called functional foods. They are
natural or formulated foods that enhance
physiological performance or prevent diseases. These
include garlic, onions, whole grains, legumes,
flaxseeds, soy and broccoli; grapes, barriers and
nuts.
Maintain A Food Diary
The first step towards improving your diet is
reaching for a pen and paper. A food diary helps to
increase your awareness on what you eat, when you
eat and how much you eat. It’s virtually a ‘reality
check’. You can analyse the foods you’ve listed by
comparing them to the five recommendations for
healthy eating. Undoubtedly, one of the most
powerful tools to start with.
Shop
and Stock Smart
Learn to read labels. Do not buy only on the basis
of claims like ‘fat-free’, ‘sugar-free’ or
‘cholesterol-free’. Buy and stock appropriate snack
food like nuts, seeds, fresh fruits, vegetables and
roasted snacks. Avoid storing unhealthy foods on a
regular basis.
Use
Organic/Locally Grown Foods
Organic is no longer a fashion statement or a fad.
Indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides has
resulted in a number health hazards. Consumed on a
regular basis, these chemicals form deposits in our
tissues and vital organs, particularly liver,
kidney, and brain. Organic food is grown without
pesticides and chemical inputs. Consuming locally
and regionally grown foods too is more sensible
approach as it ensures that food is fresh, more
nutritious, has fewer “travel miles” and less
handling or processing.
Experiment with Healthy Cooking
BE creative and invest in healthy recipe books.
Involve your family to make healthy eating a fun
experience. Getting children involved in menu
planning ad cooking will help them start young.
Exercise Regularly
Exercise is a must. It helps strengthen heart
muscles, improve blood cholesterol levels, decrease
blood pressure, guard against over-weight, obesity,
diabetes, bone loss associated with osteoporosis and
reduce risk for other chronic diseases. In addition,
it can help you manage stress and boost your sense
of well-being.
Manage
Stress
Best time to learn how to manage your stress is
before stress strikes you. Some practical tips
include: Be optimistic and productive 85-10 minutes
of meditation daily* Deep breathing exercises
anywhere * 10-15 minutes of yoga *Try and get 6 to 8
hours of sleep daily *Spend atleas4t 1 hr a day with
family *Take regular breaks. Rmember you are unique.
Good nutrition can play a powerful role in helping
cope with stress along with other stres manaement
techniques.
Get
Regular Health Checks Done
Visit your physician and nutritionist regularly and
review your supplements. These should include a
thorough physical examination, blood pressure
measurement, blood glucose level, fasting lipid
profile, along with a thorough assessment of dietary
& exercise habits and assessment of stress levels.
Identify Problem Areas
Check your diet, exercise, thoughts and habits like
addiction, cravings, alcohol, eating disorders etc.
Which conflict with your health goals. Work on these
to apply corrections and seek professional help, if
necessary.
Source: Indian Express News Paper
THE PHARMA REVIEW NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2010
No
Strong Evidence Dad’s Age Affects IVF Success
While age is key factor in a woman’s chances of
conceiving, naturally or via assisted reproduction,
there is no consistent evidence that a man’s age
affects the chances of success with infertility
treatment, according to a study published in
Fertility and Sterility. In an analysis of 10
studies conducted in the last decade, researchers
from Israel’s Carmel Medical Center found there was
no clear relationship between men’s age and success.
Studies indicated that men do have a biological
clock of sorts. Sperm quality may decline after age
40, and also the chances of having a baby; a study
also found that a couple’s risk of miscarriage was
higher with a man above 40.
Early
Hearing Screening Improves Child Development
Screening for hearing problems within the first
weeks of life benefits children, especially when
interventions quickly follow, suggests a new study
published in the journal of the American Medical
Association. Analyzing the test reports of nearly
600,000 babies, researchers from Leaden University
Medical Center compared children born in regions in
which newborn hearing screening is the norm to those
not screened. They found that newborn screening led
to more spoken and fewer signed words, as well as
better social and motor development at 3 to 5 years
of age.
Fathers
on Fatty Diet May Give Diabetes to Daughters
Fathers who eat a high fat diet may give their
daughters diabetes, a study using rats has
suggested. But if this is true in humans, it may be
potentially contributing to the obesity and diabetes
epidemic, report researchers from the University of
New South Wales in Nature. Past studies found that a
pregnant woman’s weight and the father’s health and
lifestyle may also be important. Fathers have been
advised to stop smoking and consume less alcohol
around conception but maybe the advice ought to be
stronger.
Vitamin B12 Tied to
Alzheimer’s Disease Control
Vitamin B12 may help protect against Alzheimer’s
disease, according to a new study published in
Neurology. The researchers from the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm took Blood Samples from 271
seniors without Dementia. At a second examination
about seven years later, they found 17 had developed
Alzheimer’s, Those who did no, had higher levels of
holotranscobalamin—the active portion of vitamin
B12—and lower levels of homo cysteine, an amino acid
tied to mental decline, stroke and heart disease.
Conception is a rare event, fertility study shows
Fewer than 8% of all tries at making a baby in a lab
dish will succeed. Researchers from shady Grove
Fertility Center in Maryland, US reviewed all IVF
cycles at their center between 2004 and 2008, out of
110,000 fertilised egg cells, only 31,437 resulted
in viable embryos. Usually just one or two embryos
are implanted at a time, and the others are frozen.
But assuming that all the frozen embryos would
eventually be used, 8,366 babies would theoretically
be born-just 7.5 percent of all fertilised eggs.
When do
babies start sleeping through the night?
Sleep deprived new moms and dads can’t wait to have
their baby sleep through the night. A study
conducted at the University of Canterbury in New
Zealand suggests that about half of babies will be
sleeping through the night after about two or three
months. After looking at the sleep patterns over the
first year of life for 75 healthy, full-term
newborns, the researchers concluded that from five
months on, parents can realistically expect to
experience an uninterrupted sleep. But there will
still be an unlucky few who won’t get reprieve until
after their child’s first birthday, the researchers
reported in Pediatrics.
‘Evening types’ more likely to smoke
Night owls may be more likely than early birds to
smoke, and less likely to kick the habit over time,
Researchers from University of Helsinki found that
among over 23,000 twin pairs followed for 30 years,
those who described themselves as "evening types"
alert at night and bleary-eyed in the morning were
more likely to be current smokers and less likely to
quit over time. The findings, reported in the
journal Addiction, do not necessarily mean that
there is something about being a night person that
raises smoking risk. One possibility is that
nicotine, which is a stimulant, tends to keep
smokers up at night, the researchers reported.
Brisk
walkers have lower breast cancer risk
Women who take brisk walks regularly have a lower
risk of developing breast cancer after menopause and
it’s never too late to start. Reviewing data
collected from nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women,
researchers from the Harvard Medical University
found that women who scheduled at least an hour of
brisk walking per day were 15% less likely to get
breast cancer. Those boosted activity levels after
menopause were 10% less likely to develop the
disease, the researchers said in the study published
in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
THE PHARMA REVIEW SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
Quitting Smoking Helps After Serious Heart Attack
Damage
It’s never too late for smokers to do their hearts
good by kicking the habit – even after a heart
attack has left them with significant damage to the
organ’s main pumping chamber, say researchers from
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Among 2,231
patients with left ventricular dysfunction – where
damage to the heart’s main pumping chamber
significantly reduces its blood – pumping efficiency
– those who quit smoking within six months of heart
attack were less likely to die within five years of
suffering a repeat attack than smokers who continued
the habit. Smoking cessation itself was linked to a
40% reduction in the risk of death compared with
persistent smoking, the team reported in American
Journal of Cardiology.
Even
when Prostate Cancer Returns, Most Survive
Men who show signs that their disease has returned
after prostate cancer treatment are still more
likely to die of other causes. Researchers from VA
Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven and Yale
University School of Medicine in New Haven looked at
623 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and followed
them for up to 16 years after treatment. Only 12% of
them died of prostate cancer. The risk of dying for
these men were found to be was 11% at 5years, 20%
10, and 42% at 15years, the researchers reported in
Archives of Internal Medicine.
Vitamins C, E Show no Effect on Preterm Birth Risk
Taking high doses of vitamins C and E during
pregnancy may not change a woman’s risk of preterm
delivery. Past studies found a connection between
vitamin C deficiency and an elevated risk of preterm
birth. Plus, Vitamin C has been thought to play a
role in maintaining the placenta and the membranes
that surround the fetus. The study – a new analysis
from a clinical trial published earlier this year –
show no benefit of vitamins C and E in lowering
preeclampsia risk. The researchers randomly assigned
10,154 pregnant women to take either a combination
of vitamins C and E of inactive placebo pills. All
of the women had uncomplicated pregnancies and only
7% of women in both the vitamin and placebo groups
had a preterm birth, reported the study, published
in Obstetrics @ Gynecology.
Parten
Abuse Tied to Corporal Punishment in Children
Violence and psychological abuse between parents
often go hand in hand with corporal punishment of
their kids, reports a new study published in
Pediatrics. The children who had the highest odds of
being spanked were those whose parents were
aggressive toward each other, found the researchers
from Tulane University School of Public Health and
Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. Interviewing a
broad swath of families from 20 big cities, the
researchers found that mothers were more likely to
be the one swatting the kid, although both parents
tended to use spanking more if they had been victims
of aggression by their partner.
Sugar
Does not Relieve Pain in Newborns: Study
Contrary to international guidelines sugar given to
newborn babies does not ease pain, according to a
study published on Thursday in the Lancet. In 2001,
doctors published recommendations, based on a series
of trials, that oral sucrose be administered to
newborns to help relieve pain from invasive
procedures. But a new look suggests that sucrose
does not reduce pain signals in the brain of spinal
cord, but merely changes the babies; facial
expression, which gives a false impression that pain
is being relieved. Rebecca Slater of University
College London and colleagues pricked the heels of
59 newborns with a small blade and monitored pain
activity in the brain and spine using electrode
caps. The infants were assigned either sterile water
or a sucrose solution, placed on the tongue by a
tiny syringe. Pain activity did not differ
significantly between the two groups.
2-Year-Old Gets Artificial Lung
A two-year-old boy has made medical history by
becoming the world’s youngest person to receive and
artificial lung. Owen Stark seemed a happy and
healthy toddler until his collapse during a shopping
trip near his home in Missouri, US. Doctors at St
Louls Children’s Hospital took Stark off the
heart-lung bypass machine and fitted him with a
German-built artificial lung.
Antibiotics Concept 2000 Years Old
Scientists have discovered green fluorescence in
Nubian skeletons indicating a tetracycline-labeled
bone, a finding that shows that antibiotics were
already in use nearly 2,000 years ago. A chemical
analysis they were regularly consuming tetracycline,
most likely in their beer. "It’s becoming
increasingly clear that this prehistoric population
was using empirical have no doubt that they knew
what they were doing" said Emory anthropologist
George Armelagos.
THE PHARMA REVIEW JULY-AUGUST 2010
A Big
Nose can Shield from Cold, FLU
Here’s some good news for people with a big nose. It
offers greater protection from illnesses, says a new
study. Researchers have carried out the study and
found that although commonly mocked, a prominent
nose helps prevent one from catching cold and flu
viruses. And, the bigger the nose, the larger the
natural barrier which can physically stop dust
particles and airborne bacteria from entering the
body. The study found larger noses inhaled almost 7%
fewer pollutants and they also act as a barrier to
deflect germs away form the mouth and could even
reduce the effects of hayfever.
Zero to
Twenty Dog Bites can Leave Children with Emotional
Scars too
When animals attack, some children might develop
post traumatic stress disorder, of PTSD. That’s the
message of a new study that followed children
suffering from animal bites. Researchers from the
Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing
studied 358 kids aged 5-17 years who were attacked
by animals. Most had dog bites, but some had been
bitten by cats, rabbits, rats, or guinea pigs. After
three months’ observation, 19 children were
diagnosed with PTSD. Those hospitalized for severe
bites were most at risk-10 out of 38 of them
developed PTSD. The study – published in the journal
Pediatrics – underscores the need for psychological
evaluation of children after animal bites, said the
researchers.
Eating
Walnuts Every Day Keeps Dementia Away
Want to stave off dementia? All you need to do is to
eat walnuts everyday, according to a new study, led
by an Indian-origin researcher. Dr. Abha Chauhan and
his colleagues at New York State Institute have
carried out the study and found eating walnuts on a
regular basis can keep one’s mental skills up.
According to the researchers, vitamin E and
flavonoids in walnuts actually help in destroying
harmful free radical chemicals that cause dementia.
Cholesterol Tests Must for Kids, Say Docs
Tens of thousands of kids may benefit from
cholesterol-lowering medication, but no one would
know because screening guidelines exclude too many
children, US doctors said on Monday. In a report
published in the journal Pediatrics, they call for
screening of all children, expanding one set of
current recommendations that target only those whose
parents of grandparents have heart disease or high
cholesterol.
Twenty
to Forty before Going on A Diet, Watch your Vitamin
Intake
When weighing the benefits of one weight–loss plan
over another, dieters should consider what else
might get cut along with the calories. The focus of
popular diets rests on the amount of food consumed
and the quantities of proteins, fats and carbs.
Vitamins and minerals tend to be overlooked. As a
result, deficiencies arise that increase the risk of
serious health problems, including low blood count,
osteoporosis and neurological damage. After
analyzing data form 300 women following a
weight–loss diet–Atkins, Zone, LEARN (Lifestyle,
Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships, Nutrition) of
Ornish-researchers from California’s Standford
University found them at risk of inadequate levels
of these nutrients. Vitamin E posed the biggest
problem, said the report in The American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
Now, A
Jab to Stop Cancer in Tracks
In what could be called a major breakthrough,
scientists claim to have created a jab which can
cure even the most deadly cancers – by shrinking
tumors and stopping them from spreading. The
injection, which is already being tested on patients
with breast, bowel, pancreatic, cervical and ovarian
cancers, could hit the market in as little as five
years, its creator Prof Ray Iles of Middlesex
University said. The drug, which is being developed
in conjunction with US firm Celldex Therapeutics,
revs up the immune system, directing it to destroy
Human chorionic gonadotropin of hCG which is made by
some breast, bowel, ovarian, cervical tumours and
around half of bladder and pancreatic cancers. The
drug shrinks tumours and, crucially, stops them from
spreading, or metastasizing, the ‘Daily Mail’
reported. Prof IIes said: "Not only are you causing
the cancer to shrink, it is not metastasizing. If
you come in with chemotherapy and surgery, you’ve
got a cure." Tests on animals have already had
"extremely good" results and preliminary trials on
people show it to be safe. The jab is now being
given to 60 men and women newly diagnosed with
bladder cancer. Further, larger trials will be
needed before it is deemed suitable for wide
fertility spread se. professor Iles said: "The
vaccine has the potential to help us make rapid
advances in the treatment of this inversive cancer."
The destruction of hCG would also mean the jab acted
as a contraceptive. However, women’s fertility
should return to normal within a year after
completing treatment.
THE PHARMA REVIEW MAY-JUNE 2010
Preemies May Face Lifetime Lung Trouble
Children born extremely early at 25 weeks or before
may risk a lifetime of lung problems, including
asthma, suggests a study published in the American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Researchers from University College London found
that extremely pre-term babies who lived to age 11
often had abnormal lung function and were twice as
likely as children born at a full 39 or 40 weeks to
be diagnosed with asthma. They studied all babies
born at or before 25 weeks gestation. The children
were examined and their lung function and
respiratory health checked when they were 2, 6 and
11. 56 per cent had abnormal spirometry results -a
test of blowing into an instrument to assess lung
strength. One in four had asthma. But 65 per cent
had not had any respiratory symptoms for the last 12
months.
Hospitalisation for Choking Rare, Deadly
While it's extremely rare for a child to be admitted
to the hospital after choking on food, tiny toy
pieces or other foreign bodies, they are
"surprisingly likely" to die in hospital, suggests a
study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology
Head & Neck Surgery. Researchers from Children's
National Medical Center at The George Washington
University Medical Center, Washington, found about
one in 30 children hospitalized for choking, die.
Discharge reports from 3,438 hospitals suggest that
procedures performed most often were bronchoscopy
(52%) esophagoscopy (28%). Tracheotomy is done in 2%
cases.
Too
Much Sugar Increases Heart Risks
Eating a lot of sugar not only makes you fat it may
also increase a person's risk for heart disease,
suggests a study published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association. Researchers from the
Emory School of Medicine found that people who ate
more added sugar were more likely to have higher
risk factors for heart disease, such as higher
triglyceride and lower levels of protective
high-density lipoprotein or HElL cholesterol. Too
much sugar not only contributes to obesity, but also
is a key culprit in diabetes, high blood pressure,
heart disease and stroke, according to the American
Heart Association.
Diet
may be linked to lower Alzheimer's Risk among the
elderly
Older adults appear to be at lower risk for
Alzheimer's disease if they eat a diet rich in fish,
poultry, fruit, nuts, dark leafy greens, vegetables
like broccoli and cauliflower, and oil-and-vinegar
dressing, suggests a study published in the Journal
Archives of Neurology. Researchers from Taub
Institute at Columbia University found that among
older people whose diet included most of these
foods, the risk for Alzheimer's was more than
one-third lower over the course of four years than
among those who ate the least such foods and more
high-fat dairy products, butter, red meat and organ
meat. The food combination associated with lower
risk is low in saturated fat and rich in nutrients
like folate, vitamin E and Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty
acids.
Four
Bad Habits add 12 Years to Your Age Smoking,
Drinking, Inactivity and a Poor Diet Combine to Pose
Huge Health Risk: Researchers
Four common bad habits combined-smoking, drinking
too much, inactivity and poor diet - can age you by
12 years, sobering new research suggests. The
findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000
British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet
another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy
behaviors. Among them, 91, or 29%, died during the
study. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of
the four habits, only 32 or about 8%: died. The
risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more
than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more
than two daily for women; getting less than two
hours of physical activity per week; and eating
fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.
These habits combined substantially increased the
risk of death and made people who engaged in them
seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest
group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the
University of Oslo. The study appeared in Archives
of Internal Medicine. The healthiest group included
never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers,
women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men
who had fewer than three; those who got at least two
hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate
fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.
|