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| Home |
Cellphone and cancer 24-
July 2008 |
| Selected
papers |
Red Bull gives you wings - and heart trouble?
15- August 2008 |
| Medical
news |
HIV dates back to
around 1900 02-
October 2008 |
| Members |
Skin changes in postmenopausal women
unaffected by hormone therapy 02-
October 2008 |
| Membership |
Doctors' dress code
18- September
2007 |
| Webwatch |
Cancer risk reduced with vitamin D/calcium
supplementation 19-
October
2007 |
| Skin
Care |
Obesity in
adolescent Tehrani students:a health problem |
| Dermcalender |
Massage can ease pain after surgery
17-
December
2007 |
| Cases |
Psoriasis can be a life-threatening disease 17-
December
2007 |
| Text |
FDA Investigates
Possible Link Between Singulair and Suicidal Behavior
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| Letters |
Be more careful in
holidays! |
| Journals |
Patients with Psoriasis are at Increased Risk
for Developing Other Medical Conditions
02- April 2008 |
| Organizations |
Shisha; more dangerous than cigarette 01- June 2008 |
| Foundations |
Robotic Hair transplant
01- June 2008 |
| General
Sites |
Under eye dark-circles
12-June 2008 |
| Quiz |
Intensive
therapy to target normal glycated hemoglobin levels do not reduce...17-July 2008 |
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Cellphone and cancer
Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, the
director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, notes
that while the evidence about a cellphone-cancer link remains
unclear, people should take precautions, particularly for children.
“Really at the heart of my
concern is that we shouldn’t wait for a definitive study to come
out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later,” Dr.
Herberman told The Associated Press.
Earlier this year, three
prominent brain surgeons raised similar concerns while speaking on
“The Larry King Show.” Their concerns were largely based on
observational studies that showed only an association between
cellphone use and cancer, not a causal relationship. The most
important of these studies is called Interphone, a vast research
effort in 13 countries, including Canada, Israel and several in
Europe.
Some of the research suggests a
link between cellphone use and three types of tumors: glioma; cancer
of the parotid, a salivary gland near the ear; and acoustic neuroma,
a tumor that essentially occurs where the ear meets the brain. All
these tumors are rare, so even if cellphone use does increase risk,
the risk is still very low.
On Wednesday, Dr. Herberman sent
a memo to about 3,000 faculty and staff saying that children should
use cellphones only for emergencies because their brains are still
developing. He advised adults to keep cellphones away from the head
and use the speakerphone or a wireless headset, he said.
“Although the evidence is still
controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to
warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on
cellphone use,” he wrote in his memo.
Source:


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Red Bull gives you wings - and
heart trouble?
Red Bull may claim to “give you
wings” but drinking too much of
the popular energy drink may
also lead to heart damage, a
study suggests.
A
study of 30 university students
aged between 20 and 24 years old
found that drinking just one
250ml sugar-free can of the
caffeinated energy drink
increased the “stickiness” of
the blood and raised the risk of
blood clots forming.
Using tests to measure blood
pressure and the state of blood
vessels around the body, the
Australian researchers said that
after drinking one can
participants had shown a
cardiovascular profile similar
to that of someone with heart
disease.
Scott Willoughby, of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University, said that he was alarmed at the results, and suggested that older adults who already have symptoms of heart disease should refrain from drinking too much of the energy drink. ...
Red Bull, which has the catchphrase “Red Bull gives you wings”, was created in Austria in the 1980s. The company last year sold 3.5 billion cans of the drink in 143 countries. Cans of Red Bull already carry health warnings advising customers not to drink more two cans a day.
Source: Times Online
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HIV
dates back to around 1900
Genetic analysis of tissue
specimen recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo leads researchers to believe the virus that causes AIDS
has been present for more than a century.
The study, led by
evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey of the University of
Arizona in Tucson, puts the date of origin at around 1900,
which is 30 years earlier than previous analyses.
HIV-1, the most common form of
the virus, is known to have originated in chimpanzees because of
close genetic similarities to a simian virus. It now infects an
estimated 33 million people worldwide.
But figuring out when the virus jumped species and became
established in humans has been difficult. The first cases in the
U.S. were recognized in 1981, and the oldest evidence of the
virus is a 1959 blood sample taken from a man who lived in what
was then the Belgian Congo.
To find the point of origin, the scientists relied on a
well-recognized genetic technique to determine the mutation
rates of different sub-types of the virus. With a known rate of
mutation, researchers could then, in essence, run the clock
backward to find the point where the different sub-types were
the same. That common ancestor would represent the first
appearance of the virus in humans before it mutated.....
SOURCE: Nature
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Skin
changes in postmenopausal women unaffected by hormone therapy
05 September 2008
SOURCE: J Am Acad Dermatol 2008; 59:397-404
Age-related facial skin changes in
postmenopausal women are unaffected by long-term hormone therapy, according
to findings published in the Journal of the American Academy of
Dermatology.
Declining estrogen levels are associated
with a variety of skin changes in postmenopausal women, such as decreased
skin thickness, collagen content and elasticity, increased fine wrinkling
and dryness, and impaired wound healing. Many of these changes are
reportedly reversed or improved by estrogen supplementation.
Phillips and team evaluated the effects
of continuous combined norethindrone acetate (NA) and ethinyl estradiol (EE)
in the control of mild-to-moderate age-related skin changes in 485 women who
were, on average, 5 years postmenopausal. The women were randomly assigned
to receive double-blind treatment with placebo, 1 mg NA/5 µg EE, or 1 mg
NA/10 µg EE, for 48 weeks.
At week 48, there were no significant
differences between placebo and the hormone therapy groups with regard to
the primary endpoints: investigator global assessment of coarse and fine
facial wrinkling, and patient self-assessment of changes in wrinkling.
Instead, slight decreases for both endpoints were observed in all three
treatment groups.
There were also no significant
differences among the three treatment groups for the secondary endpoints.
Secondary endpoints included investigator global assessment and patient
self-assessment of skin laxity/sagging and texture/dryness, as well as
wrinkle depth and skin elasticity.
"It is possible that longer treatment
duration, or different formulations or doses of estrogen, might have more
positive effects," comment Phillips and team. "Differing progestogen
combinations and examination of nonphotodamaged skin might also demonstrate
different outcomes."
Phillips and colleagues note that a
marginally significant overall treatment effect was observed in the subgroup
of women who were less than 24 months postmenopausal (n=57).
Despite the result being unreliable due
to the small sample size, and the fact that the current study was not
designed to look at women who were in the early postmenopausal period, the
researchers say that "future studies in this group would be of interest,
particularly as hormone therapy given close to menopause appears to be
safest."

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Doctors' dress code
Source: New York Times British hospitals are
banning neckties, long sleeves and jewelry for
doctors -- and their traditional white coats -- in
an effort to stop the spread of deadly
hospital-borne infections, according to new rules
published Monday.
Hospital dress codes typically urge doctors to
look professional, which, for male practitioners,
has usually meant wearing a tie. But as concern over
hospital-borne infections has intensified, doctors
are taking a closer look at their clothing.
''Ties are rarely laundered but worn daily,'' the
Department of Health said in a statement. ''They
perform no beneficial function in patient care and
have been shown to be colonized by pathogens.''
The new regulations taking effect next year mean
an end to doctors' traditional long-sleeved white
coats, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said. Fake
nails, jewelry and watches, which the department
warned could harbor germs, are also out.
Johnson said the ''bare below the elbows'' dress
code would help prevent the spread of Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the deadly bacteria
resistant to nearly every available antibiotics.
Popularly known as a ''superbug,'' MRSA accounts
for more than 40 percent of in-hospital blood
infections in Britain. Because the bacteria is so
hard to kill, health care workers have instead
focused on containing its spread through
improvements to hospital hygiene.
A 2004 study of doctors' neckties at a New York
hospital found nearly half of them carried at least
one species of infectious microbe. In 2006, the
British Medical Association urged doctors to go
without the accessories, calling them ''functionless
clothing items.''
....there is also evidence that health care
workers who wear fake nails have more germs on their
fingertips both before and after hand-washing than
those with natural nails.


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Cancer risk reduced with vitamin D/calcium supplementation
Both sun exposure and vitamin D status have been linked
to reduced cancer mortality. To investigate this
association, these US researchers identified a
population-based sample of 1180 women older than 55
years without a known cancer. The women, drawn from
rural Nebraska, were all of white ancestry. The women
were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 1400 mg to
1500 mg calcium per day, or calcium plus 1000 IU vitamin
D3 (allocation concealment unknown) for 4 years. This
dose of vitamin D is higher than the typically used dose
of 400 IU. Health status was assessed every 6 months and
reports of cancer were confirmed. Over the 4 years of
the study, 50 women (4.2%) developed a non-skin cancer.
Using intention-to-treat analysis, the incidence of
cancer was significantly lower in the vitamin
D/calcium-treated women (2.9%) than in calcium-treated
women (3.8%) and placebo-treated women (6.9%). One
cancer was presented over 4 years for every 24 women who
received calcium/vitamin D instead of placebo (number
needed to treat [NNT] = 24.3; 95% CI, 18 - 80; P =
.013). Calcium alone did not uniformly change cancer
incidence. After giving the treatment "time to work,"
cancers in years 2 to 4 of the study were also
significantly less in the calcium/vitamin D group (NNT =
20; 16 - 37). These results are good news, but, although
the authors enrolled more than 1000 patients, this is a
relatively small study because of the low number of
cancers (n = 50). Given that they evaluated at least 6
different types of cancer in this composite outcome and
that no single cancer incidence was significantly
reduced, larger studies are necessary to determine
whether a specific cancer likelihood is reduced or
whether this is simply a statistical artifact.
SOURCE: Am J Clin Nutr
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Obesity
in adolescent Tehrani students: an epidemic health problem
iranderma news
Overweight has become a public health problem in most developing
countries. Evidence suggests that adolescence is a critical period in
determining adulthood obesity and its complications.Based on a study done by
Dr.Ahranjani and colleagues (Department of Nutrition Research, National
Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shaheed Beheshti
University of Medical Sciences and Health Services), published recently in
journal of public health (Public Health Nutr. 2004 Aug;7(5):645-648.)
overweitght should be considered an epidemic health problem among adolescent
students, especially girls, in Tehran. In this study, which was conducted in
Tehran, the capital city of Iran, body weight and height were measured and
body mass index (BMI) values were calculated in 2321 Tehrani students.The
results showed that the overall prevalences of overweight and obesity were
21.1 and 7.8%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight among girl
students (i.e. 23.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 20.8-25.4) was
significantly higher than that among boys (i.e. 18.8%; 95% CI 16.5-21.1,
P=0.01) even after adjustment for age .In both sexes, median values of
age-specific BMI in this study were statistically higher than corresponding
values collected in Tehrani adolescents 10 years ago (P=0.03).

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Massage can ease
pain after surgery
December 17, 2007
Massage can ease pain after surgery and may complement the use of
drugs for patients, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
In a study of 605 men 64 years and older who had major surgery, 200
received nightly 20-minute back massages for four days. On a scale
of
1 to 10, those who got massages reported their pain diminished one
level faster than those who did not.
All participants got comparable dosages of pain-relieving drugs such
as morphine. One-third were not comfortable getting massages, so
those who did may have been more appreciative and might have
reported more pain relief, the study said.
"The effectiveness of massage in reducing both the intensity and
unpleasantness of pain suggests that it may act through more than
one mechanism," Allison Mitchinson of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor
Healthcare System in Michigan wrote in the Archives of Surgery.
"Massage may ameliorate suffering by helping to relieve the anxiety
that so effectively synergizes with pain to create distress."
Massage to relieve pain dates to Hippocrates, the Greek physician
recognized as a father of medicine.
Massage can dilate blood vessels, raise skin temperature and relax
the mind and body. It can also reduce lactic acid levels in aching
muscles, stimulate healing of connective tissues and increase
lymphatic and blood circulation.
Massage may also create mood-boosting endorphins that offer a
competing sensation, or may even block pain, the study said.
One problem is that nurses in modern-day hospitals rarely have time
to give massages, it said.
Relieving pain with drugs has been controversial because of wariness
among some care-givers and patients about dependency or addiction.
Some studies have pointed to a tendency to not give patients enough
pain-relieving drugs....
SOURCE: Reuters

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Psoriasis can be a
life-threatening disease
Psoriasis is not generally thought of as life-
threatening, but it just might be for those with the severest forms
of the disease.
People with severe psoriasis had a 50% increased risk of death
compared with people without the inflammatory skin disease in a
newly reported study.
Men with severe psoriasis died an average of 3.5 years earlier than
men without the condition, while women with severe psoriasis died
4.4 years earlier than women without psoriasis.
Having mild psoriasis was not associated with an increased risk of
death, and the researchers did not have information on causes of
death.
But researcher Joel M. Gelfand, MD, says the findings make it clear
that patients with severe psoriasis are at greater risk than has
been realized.
"To put this in perspective, this finding suggests that more years
of life are lost related to severe psoriasis than to severe
hypertension," he tells WebMD.
Psoriasis and Death
As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis, according to the
National Institutes of Health.
About 80% to 85% of patients have mild to moderate psoriasis, while
15% to 20% have more extensive skin involvement. These patients
generally require treatment with systemic medications like the drugs
methotrexate and cyclosporine or newer biologics such as Enbrel,
Remicade, and Humira.
Using a national medical records database from the U.K., Gelfand and
colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
identified 133,568 patients with mild psoriasis, defined as having a
diagnosis of psoriasis but no history of treatment for the
condition.
An additional 3,951 patients were identified with severe psoriasis.
For each patient, up to five people without psoriasis who visited
doctors for other causes were used for comparison.
During the study period, the death rate among patients with severe
psoriasis was almost twice as high as in patients without psoriasis
(21.3 deaths per 1,000 individuals per year vs. 12 deaths per 1,000
individuals per year).
During the study period, patients with severe psoriasis had a 50%
increased risk of death compared with those without psoriasis. Those
with milder psoriasis didn't have an increased risk of death
compared to those without psoriasis.
The study appears in the December issue of the Archives of
Dermatology.
Is Inflammation to Blame?
Earlier research by Gelfand and others found that people with severe
psoriasis are at increased risk for a wide range of chronic
conditions, including heart disease.
Psoriasis is now widely believed to be an autoimmune disease
involving inflammation and the accelerated growth of skin cells and
blood vessels, which produce the swollen, red lesions characteristic
of the condition.
"One theory is that this chronic inflammation impacts other organs
and systems within the body," Elizabeth Horn, PhD, of the
International Psoriasis Council tells WebMD.
Inflammation within the body is increasingly recognized as a major
contributor to a host of life-threatening conditions.
"We know that chronic inflammation is bad for a variety of organs
and that it is probably involved in a number of chronic diseases,
including cardiovascular disease and diabetes," Gelfand says.
Horn says the latest research should serve as a wake-up call to
patients and their doctors that severe psoriasis is a serious
disease.
"We are learning that there is something happening in people with
severe psoriasis that may not be happening with milder forms of the
disease," she says.
Horn and Gelfand agree that patients with severe psoriasis need to
be especially vigilant about taking care of their overall health.
"It is very important for these patients to see their internist
regularly, to have age-appropriate screenings, and to have their
cardiovascular risks assessed and treated, if necessary," Gelfand
says.
SOURCES: Gelfand, J.M., Archives of Dermatology, December 2007
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FDA Investigates Possible Link Between Singulair and
Suicidal Behavior
The FDA has
issued an early communication about potential associations between the
asthma and allergy drug montelukast (Singulair) and behavior and mood
changes, suicidality, and suicide, based on postmarketing reports.
The agency's
investigation was triggered by three or four reports of suicide since
October, according to the Associated Press.
Until more
information becomes available, healthcare providers should monitor
patients taking Singulair for mood changes and suicidal thinking and
behavior, the FDA says. The agency asks that clinicians and patients
report side effects on its MedWatch site.
In addition,
the agency is reviewing postmarketing reports of similar behavior in
patients taking other leukotriene-modifying medications, including
zafirlukast (Accolate) and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR).

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Be
more careful in holidays!
Americans are more likely to die
on Christmas Day, the day after Christmas, and on New Year's Day than on
any other day of the year.
In a comprehensive study of 53 million U.S. death certificates spanning
the years 1973-2001, researchers discovered significant spikes in both
cardiac and non-cardiac deaths during the holidays. They also warned this
trend is on the rise.
"From the point of view of a public health problem, it's something
that's getting worse over time rather than better," said lead
researcher David Phillips, a professor of sociology at the University of
California at San Diego.
He believes the phenomenon may stem from patients' tendency to postpone
medical care during the holidays, as well as holiday-specific staffing
patterns at hospitals nationwide.
The findings appear in the Dec. 14 issue of Circulation.
Philip and his colleagues found that three days -- Dec. 25 and 26, and
Jan. 1 -- were the worst in terms of deaths from both cardiac and
non-cardiac causes.
"In the case of heart deaths, there's an 11.9 percent excess [of
deaths] on those days" beyond what would normally be expected during
that season, Phillips said.
"In the case of the non-heart deaths for those three days, what
you find is an extra 12.2 percent of deaths," he added.
The observed spikes in death rates were especially sharp among
individuals who died soon after onset of their symptoms -- patients who
were dead on arrival (DOA) by the time they reached emergency care. During
the holidays, DOA rates climbed by nearly 5 percent over normal, the
researchers found.
Why the sharp rise in deaths around the holidays? According to
Phillips, a close examination of data ruled out likely suspects such as
cold weather or changes in diet and exercise patterns. For example, he
said, the rise in holiday deaths was seen even among nursing home
patients, whose diets and activities tend to be strictly controlled.
Kloner suggested that the emotional stress associated with the holiday
season might be to blame -- things like "dealing with relatives
whether you like them or not, financial stresses, and travel during the
holidays."
But Phillips disagreed. He pointed out that the Christmas and New
Year's Day peaks in mortality were also seen among individuals affected by
advanced Alzheimer's disease. "Many of these people don't even
understand anymore that there is a holiday going on," he said. Based
on that finding, "we don't think the evidence points neatly toward
the idea of emotional stress playing a role," Phillips said.
Instead, two factors -- patient attitudes to symptoms and hospital
staffing changes -- appear most likely to blame, he said.
According to Phillips, too many patients adopt an "'I'll take care
of that later'" attitude when presented with unsettling symptoms
during the holidays.
"They underuse urgent-care facilities. That's been shown in
previous studies," he said. There's also the added complication of
holiday travel. According to Phillips, individuals far away from their
doctors may choose to put off needed care until their return.
Holiday staffing patterns at hospitals may play a key role, as well.
"It could be there's reduced levels of health-care staffing, or staff
members who are unfamiliar with individual patients," Kloner said.
According to Phillips, more study needs to be done to see if better
hospital staffing practices can reduce the holiday rise in mortality.
The findings are much more than a minor statistical bump, he said.
According to the study, the "holiday effect" may account for an
additional 42,039 U.S. deaths over the study period.
And it's a trend that's been growing in significance year by year, the
researchers add. According to the study, the first three years of data
(1973-1975) pegged excess holiday mortality at just 0.95 percent above
what would be expected during the winter months. By the study's end,
1999-2001, that bump had risen nearly fivefold, to 4.4 percent above
seasonal norms.
"This effect is getting bigger over time," Phillips said.
"It seems risky to ignore it."
SOURCE: healthday

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Patients With Psoriasis are At Increased Risk For Developing Other Serious
Medical Conditions
It has long been known that
psoriasis, a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly
plaques that itch and bleed, can have a significant negative impact on a
patient's overall quality of life. Now, dermatologists are finding that
psoriasis, especially severe psoriasis, is linked with a number of serious
medical conditions -- including cardiovascular disease, depression and
cancer.
In the report entitled, "National
Psoriasis Foundation clinical consensus on psoriasis comorbidities and
recommendations for screening," published online in the Journal of the
American Academy of Dermatology, dermatologist Alexa B. Kimball, MD, MPH,
FAAD, associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School in
Boston, Mass., led a task force of the National Psoriasis Foundation Medical
Board that explored psoriasis co-morbidities. The group presented a summary
of recently published research on the association between psoriasis and
other medical conditions and recommendations on how dermatologists can help
at-risk patients find appropriate preventative care or treatment.
"Our review found that people with
more severe cases of psoriasis appear to have an increased incidence of
psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer,
depression, obesity and even other immune-related conditions such as Crohn's
disease," said Dr. Kimball. "I advise patients at minimum to follow the
nationally recognized recommendations that are appropriate for their age and
gender. These include getting regular, comprehensive exams from their
doctors and working to make lifestyle changes such as losing weight,
exercising more, quitting smoking, reducing high blood pressure, controlling
cholesterol, maintaining emotional health, and managing diabetes as
needed."
Cardiovascular Risk
Dr. Kimball noted that psoriasis has
been associated with increased cardiovascular disease for decades.
Initially, this was attributed to the increased prevalence of behavioral
risk factors -- such as obesity and smoking, which are thought to be linked
to the psychosocial burden of psoriasis. However, two recent studies have
enhanced dermatologists' understanding of cardiovascular risk in
psoriasis patients. "One large population-based study demonstrated an
increased risk of myocardial infarction in patients with psoriasis
--particularly those with severe cases of the disease -- even when
accounting for major cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, smoking,
diabetes and hypertension," explained Dr. Kimball.
"Similarly, a small study of a
well-defined population of patients with very severe psoriasis demonstrated
that these patients had ahigher frequency of coronary artery disease
compared to a control group of patients, even when controlling for known
risk factors for atherosclerosis. Taken together, these studies suggest that
psoriasis itself may be a risk factor for developing atherosclerosis and
myocardial infarction."
Other factors that may increase the
risk of cardiovascular disease include behavioral-driven risk factors such
as obesity, smoking and depression. These risk factors can be modified by
changes in lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight (often measured
by Body Mass Index (BMI) < 25), physical activity for 30 minutes of moderate
intensity several times a week and healthy eating habits. Dr.Kimball also
recommended that psoriasis patients who smoke stop smoking.
Depression
Psoriasis has long been known to
cause considerable emotional stress for patients, including a lack of
self-esteem and an increased incidence of mood disorders, such as
depression. One study estimates that approximately one-fourth (24 percent)
of psoriasis patients suffer from depression.
"Depression in patients with
psoriasis is a serious concern that should be addressed, as it may
significantly impact a patient's overall emotional and physical well being,"
said Dr. Kimball. "Another concern is that depression may be a contributing
factor to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which as we know is
already an increased risk in psoriasis patients."
Cancer
A number of studies have found an
increased risk of certain types of cancer in psoriasis patients, such as a
form of skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma and lymphoma. In some
instances, these cancers have been associated with specific psoriasis
treatments which suppress the immune system. "Following the recommended
routine health screenings for cancers and avoiding high-risk behaviors that
increase the risk of developing some cancers, such as smoking, alcohol
abuse, and intentional sun exposure, must be a high priority for
psoriasis patients who may be at an increased risk for these potentially
life-threatening diseases," said Dr. Kimball.
Article URL:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101524.php
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Shisha;
more dangerous than cigarette
June 01, 2008
A new study finds that the use of
water pipes may be on the rise among college students. Some believe that
smoking tobacco this way is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes
—which is not the case, the researchers say.
The study, which appears in the
May issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health, looked at water-pipe use
among students at Virginia Commonwealth University. It found that of
more than 700 students surveyed, more than 40 percent reported having
used a water pipe in the previous year.
The pipes, often called hookahs
or shishas, are perhaps best known in the Middle East and are used to
smoke flavored and sweetened tobacco. The tobacco is heated over
charcoal, and then is cooled as it passes through a bowl of water and is
inhaled from a hose.
Despite the belief of some
students, water pipes may expose users to more toxic materials than
cigarettes. Each puff has as much as 100 times the smoke as a puff from
a cigarette, the study said. And smokers are also inhaling fumes from
the charcoal.

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Robotic Hair
transplant
June 2008
A robot that
can pluck and move individual hair follicles on a person's head makes
hair transplants look more natural than those performed by humans, a US
company claims. 
The robot can
also perform the procedure twice as fast as human clinicians, with less
pain and scarring for the patient, says Restoration Robotics of Mountain
View, California.
Standard hair
transplants typically take 8 to 10 hours. A strip of healthy, hairy
scalp 1 centimetre wide and 15 cm long is removed from the back of the
head under local anaesthetic.
After the gap
is sewn up, medical staff then manually separate the strip into 2000
individual hair follicle "bulbs". These are painstakingly implanted in
1-millimetre wide incisions across bald parts of the head.
"It's a lot
like gardening," says Rogers. "Removing the strip is like pulling turf
and implantation is like planting bulbs."
But Frederic
Moll of Restoration Robotics says the expensive (from around £3000, or
$5800), time consuming and repetitive task needs automating.
Instead of
removing a strip of scalp, which is painful and carries the risk of
infection, his robot plucks healthy follicles individually, at a rate up
to 1000 an hour...
...The robot
has another advantage over manual transplants – the ability to design
somebody's hairline on a computer. This can help give the transplanted
hair a more natural look...

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Dark Circles
In
recent years, the drumbeat against under-eye circles
has grown louder.
“Dark circles
around the eyes can be unsightly,” declares one
advertisement for an eye cream. An advertisement for
Hylexin cream features a pale model with black
stripes under her eyes, like a football player, for
dramatic effect. And just in case you think you are
overreacting, the ad reinforces the notion that dark
circles are indeed a flagrant shortcoming.
Roughly 53
percent of the 13,000 Clinique users surveyed by the
company in 2006 cited under-eye circles and
puffiness as their No. 1 beauty concern.
“We were really
shocked,” said Dr. Mammone, who has a Ph.D in
molecular and cellular biology. “We knew many of our
people in distribution and sales suggested that it
was a concern, but we didn’t really know until the
survey that it is a major issue.”
Sales of
anti-aging skin care treatments, which include
products designed to get rid of dark circles,
increased to $1.08 billion in 2006, up from $588
million annually in 2001, according to Mintel, a
market research firm. No one specifically tracks the
market for dark-circle remedies.
Taming dark
circles is tricky.
There are a lot
of factors that contribute to quote-unquote dark
circles.
Most people
think dark circles are a telltale sign of tiredness,
or the unsightly evidence of a binge involving one
too many margaritas. That is true to a certain
extent, as fatigue makes skin dull, and drinking
alcohol dehydrates and thins the skin.
But the most
likely culprit causing chronic dark circles,
dermatologists say, is excess pigmentation in the
skin. Dark circles are prevalent on all skin colors
and types, but they especially trouble
African-Americans, Southeast Asians and Southern
Italians. Beach bunnies should note: sun exposure
exacerbates dark circles.
Dilated blood
vessels that sit close to the thin under-eye skin
are another cause, doctors said.
Aging, which
causes skin to thin, can darken the eye area, as can
certain medications such as birth control pills,
which can dilate blood vessels.
The problem is
that few, if any, of the creams on the market are
formulated for people with excess pigmentation or
dilated veins.
Multiple creams
are available, however it is unclear how effective
they are!
Source:

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Intensive
therapy to target normal glycated hemoglobin levels do not reduce major
cardiovascular events.
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have
shown a relationship between glycated hemoglobin levels and
cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. We investigated
whether intensive therapy to target normal glycated hemoglobin levels
would reduce cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes who
had either established cardiovascular disease or additional
cardiovascular risk factors.
METHODS: In this randomized study,
10,251 patients (mean age, 62.2 years) with a median glycated hemoglobin
level of 8.1% were assigned to receive intensive therapy (targeting a
glycated hemoglobin level below 6.0%) or standard therapy (targeting a
level from 7.0 to 7.9%). Of these patients, 38% were women, and 35% had
had a previous cardiovascular event. The primary outcome was a composite
of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from
cardiovascular causes. The finding of higher mortality in the
intensive-therapy group led to a discontinuation of intensive therapy
after a mean of 3.5 years of follow-up.
RESULTS: At 1 year, stable median
glycated hemoglobin levels of 6.4% and 7.5% were achieved in the
intensive-therapy group and the standard-therapy group, respectively.
During follow-up, the primary outcome occurred in 352 patients in the
intensive-therapy group, as compared with 371 in the standard-therapy
group (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 to 1.04;
P=0.16). At the same time, 257 patients in the intensive-therapy group
died, as compared with 203 patients in the standard-therapy group
(hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.46; P=0.04). Hypoglycemia
requiring assistance and weight gain of more than 10 kg were more
frequent in the intensive-therapy group (P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
As compared with standard therapy, the
use of intensive therapy to target normal glycated hemoglobin levels for
3.5 years increased mortality and did not significantly reduce major
cardiovascular events. These findings
identify a previously unrecognized harm of intensive glucose lowering in
high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes. (ClinicalTrials.gov
number, NCT00000620.)
SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine.
2008; 358(24):2545-59 (ISSN: 1533-4406)

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