Archive for June, 2008

Stress During Childhood Increases The Risk Of Allergies

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Moving house or the separation of parents can significantly increase the risk of children developing allergies later on. These are the results from a long-term study correlating life-style, immune system development and allergies, led by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ), the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the "Institut f??r Umweltmedizinische Forschung" (IUF) in Duesseldorf. The researchers had examined blood samples taken from 234 six-year old children and discovered increased blood concentrations of the stress-related peptide VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) in connection with moving house or the separation of parents. The neuropeptide VIP could take on a mediator role between stress events in life and the regulation of immune responses, researchers write in the scientific journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. The fact that stress events can have an influence on the development of allergies has been known for a while. The mechanisms behind this however remained unexplained for a long time. In the study that has now been published, stress events were investigated for the first time during early childhood within a large epidemiological study using immune and stress markers.
Stress events during childhood are increasingly suspected of playing a role in the later development of asthma, allergic skin disorders, or allergic sensitisations. Dramatic life events like the death of a family member, serious illnesses of a family member or the separation of parents, but also harmless events like for example moving house are suspected of increasing the risk of allergies for the children affected. The immune system obviously plays a mediator role between stress on the one hand and allergies on the other. Since these mechanisms had hardly been understood before, researchers attempted to identify stress-related factors showing an influence on the immune system, in the context of an epidemiological study (LISA). At the same time as the blood tests, researchers together with colleagues from the Institute for Social Medicine at the University of L??beck also analysed the most diverse social factors in the children’s environment, in order to find out which factors are causing stress-related regulation deficiencies of the immune system. With children, whose parents had separated over the last year, researchers found increased blood concentrations of the neuropeptide VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) as well as an increased concentration of immune markers, which are related to the occurrence of allergic reactions, like for example the cytokine IL-4. By comparison, serious diseases or the death of close relatives led to no remarkable changes. Likewise, the unemployment of parents was not associated with increased concentrations of the stress-related peptides in the children’s blood. As tragic as these events are, they are obviously however of less significance for the stress reactions of children than for example a separation or the divorce of parents, UFZ researchers have concluded. As was already shown in an earlier publication from the same study, increased concentrations of the stress peptide VIP can also be proven in the blood of children after moving house (similar to the separation of parents). Preceding investigations in LISA showed that there is a relationship between an increased concentration of the neuropeptide VIP and allergic sensitisations among six-year old children. Even if the results were to be interpreted carefully, because of the comparatively small number of children affected, they nevertheless provide valuable indications as to what exactly happens to the body through stress.
generic clomid online buy The investigations are based on data from 6-year old children from the LISA study. LISA stands for "Lifestyle - Immune System - Allergy" and investigates the influences of life-styles on the immune system development in early childhood and the emergence of allergies. In addition to the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ), the Helmholtz Zentrum M??nchen, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, and the "Institut f??r Umweltmedizinische Forschung" (IUF) in Duesseldorf, other universities and clinics are also participating partners, including the Municipal Hospital "St. Georg" in Leipzig. For the LISA study over 3000 newborn children in the cities of Munich, Leipzig, Wesel and Bad Honnef were recruited between the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1999. Parents were repeatedly asked about various lifestyle-reloated factors and disease outcomes. Furthermore, blood tests were carried out at different times. At the age of six a total of 565 children were examined in Leipzig, and for 234 participants, blood analyses regarding stress and immune parameters were carried out. Over the course of the 6-year study nearly one third of the families living in Leipzig were affected by unemployment. For approximately half of all families, severe illnesses were experienced by close family members. By comparison, cases of death among family members or the separation of parents only affected every sixth or tenth child.
HELMHOLTZ CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH - UFZ
Permoserstra??e 15
D-04318 Leipzig

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Men who develop diabetes in mid-life have increased risk of Alzheimer’s

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Men’s Health News
Men who develop diabetes in mid-life appear to significantly increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a long-term study published in the April 9, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"Our results have important public health implications given the increasing numbers of people developing diabetes and the need for more powerful interventions," said study author Elina R?nnemaa, MD, with Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.
The study involved 2,269 men in Sweden who underwent glucose testing at age 50 to test for diabetes, which is caused by abnormal insulin levels. During an average follow up of 32 years, 102 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 57 with vascular dementia and 235 with other types of dementia or cognitive impairment.
The study found that the men with low insulin secretion capacity at age 50 were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than people without insulin problems. The risk remained significant regardless of blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and education.
"Our results suggest a link between insulin problems and the origins of Alzheimer’s disease and emphasize the importance of insulin in normal brain function," said R?nnemaa. "It’s possible that insulin problems damage blood vessels in the brain, which leads to memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease, but more research is needed to identify the exact mechanisms."
Buy generic cialis The study also found the association between diabetes and risk of Alzheimer’s disease was strongest in people who did not have the APOE4 gene, which is known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. R?nnemaa says this shows that insulin problems are an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease when the high risk gene is missing.

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Using Blood Pressure-Lowering Treatment In Very Elderly Shows Significant Reductions In Mortality

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Lowering the blood pressure of elderly patients could cut their total mortality by a fifth and their rate of cardiovascular events by a third, according to a new study presented at the American College of Cardiology in Chicago and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The 3,845 patient Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET), which is coordinated by scientists from Imperial College London, is the largest ever clinical trial to look at the effects of lowering blood pressure solely in those aged 80 and over. Buy propecia without prescription Patients were given either a placebo or the diuretic indapamide slow release (SR) 1.5mg, with the addition of the ACE inhibitor perindopril in tablet form once a day.
The research shows that the benefits of treatment include a 21% (p=0.02) reduction in total mortality rate, a 39% (p=0.05) reduction in stroke mortality rate, a 64% (pgeneric levitra online buy | Buy acomplia without prescription | Buy diflucan pills

Cook Medical Launches Online Destination To Educate Physicians And Patients On A Leading Form Of Erectile Dysfunction

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Cook Medical , announced the launch of www.MensHealthPD.com, an informational microsite dedicated to educating physicians, men and their partners about the symptoms, treatment options and latest research on Peyronie’s disease, a common form of erectile dysfunction thought to affect more than 80, 000 men in the UK, with one study suggesting 1% of the male population may suffer. MensHealthPD.com is designed to provide the latest information on the painful ailment and also offers medical professionals, patients and their partners public and physician forums for discussing the disease, posting questions and sharing personal experiences about the condition.
For many men and their partners, erectile dysfunctions, such as Peyronie’s disease, are embarrassing and uncomfortable to discuss. It is also often difficult to find a centralised repository on the web with the helpful information needed to obtain answers on these conditions. MensHealthPD.com is changing all this by offering these individuals a one-stop, discreet Peyronie’s resource armed with the following assets:
- Video answers to the most commonly asked questions about Peyronie’s disease provided by some the world’s leading Peyronie’s doctor experts.
- A Q&A forum where patients, partners and doctors can discuss available Peyronie’s treatments, exchange ideas on coping with the disease and more.
- Details of the signs, symptoms and progression of Peyronie’s disease.
- A helpful list of questions to prepare a man afflicted with Peyronie’s for his first doctor’s visit
Many men living with Peyronie’s disease go untreated because so few GPs understand the disease. In fact, a recent study showed that over half of primary care physicians were unsure any effective treatments for the disease existed. Therefore, many men never get referred to a urologist who may be able to treat the condition.
Buy diflucan pills MensHealthPD.com will serve as a single source where GPs, urologists and other physicians from around the world can access the latest peer-reviewed research on Peyronie’s treatment options as well as other relevant published scientific data. The following resources are available on the microsite to educate these doctors on the wide array of treatment options available for Peyronie’s sufferers:
- A summary of current surgical and non-surgical treatment options with links to the most current published research.
- The latest peer-reviewed research on Peyronie’s disease posted in the MEDLINE database of citations and abstracts and indexed through PubMed, offered by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- A secure, physicians-only Q&A forum where doctors can share best practices and increase their collective knowledge with their colleagues.
Raj Persad, a Consultant Urologist at United Bristol Healthcare NHS explains: "This is a distressing disease with huge potential psychosexual impact. In an area such as this where treatment options for different stages of the disease are limited and often confusing for patients we need to share as much information as possible about new management options. This website will benefit both clinicians and patients alike in enabling the sharing of experience and information which could be of benefit to all’
About Peyronie’s Disease
Peyronie’s disease, also known as penile curvature, is estimated to affect nearly four out of every 100 males between the ages 45 and 65[3]. The disease is linked to erectile dysfunction in 20 to 40 percent of the sufferers and is characterised by the formation of a plaque or hardened scar tissue beneath the skin of a man’s penis. The scarring is non-cancerous and may lead to a painful erection and curvature of the penis during erection.

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Biovail Receives FDA Approval For Aplenzin (BVF-033) For The Treatment Of Depression

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Biovail Corporation (NYSE: BVF) (TSX: BVF) announced that it has received Approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Aplenzin™ (formerly known as BVF-033), a once-daily formulation of bupropion hydrobromide developed by Biovail for the treatment of depression in adults.
Buy zithromax without prescription Aplenzin™ is an alcohol-resistant formulation of a new bupropion salt and has been approved in 174mg, 348mg, and 522mg extended-release tablets. The 522mg dosage strength provides patients requiring the maximum allowable dose of bupropion the only single tablet, once-daily option.
Biovail remains in active partnership discussions for the commercialization rights for Aplenzin™ in the United States.
About Biovail Corporation
Biovail Corporation is a specialty pharmaceutical company, engaged in the formulation, clinical testing, registration, manufacture, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products utilizing advanced drug-delivery technologies.
Biovail Corporation
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