Daily Health and Medicine News

Acne Treatment News: Syntopix boosted by green chemical find

Syntopix boosted by green chemical find

ANTI-MICROBIAL specialist Syntopix has identified two new ‘green’ chemicals which could be used to develop new oral healthcare products.

The Bradford-based group has just completed a pioneering research project to help scientists creating new environmentally-friendly cosmetic, pharmaceutical and personal care products.

Syntopix researches, develops and tests ingredients for acne treatments, dental products, deodorants and anti-dandruff shampoos.

The company, listed on the Alternative Investment Market, was one of just two successful applicants to win backing for the 30-day project from support organisation Intelligent Formulation.

The study worked with international chemical experts to create novel surfactants. Used to create emulsions and microemulsions, surfactants help water and oily ingredients bind together and are found in many household goods.

The project focused on surfactants that meet the growing consumer demand for cosmetics and healthcare products which use natural and biodegradable products.

Syntopix said the study successfully measured the “characteristic curvature” (CC) of a range of green chemicals – data which gives valuable clues as to how useful the surfactants will be in forming microemulsions. It believes this data could save time and money in the development of new formulations.

Microemulsions are a mixture of oil and water, but unlike ordinary emulsions, contain very small particles. They are found in foods, cosmetics and medicines as well as inks, lubricants and cleaning fluids.

“The work Syntopix has done to characterise surfactants is a benefit not only to the group but also to the wider scientific community,” said Dr Steve Jones, chief executive of Syntopix.

“The project will help define the parameters for successful formulations and we hope that it will encourage surfactant suppliers to measure and provide CC values to aid their customers in formulation design.”

Syntopix will make the CC data public, which it hopes will help with the development of new cosmetic, pharmaceutical and personal care products.

Dr Jones added: “From our own perspective, we now have new chemical information on two environmentally-friendly surfactants that we can incorporate into our own formulations.

“Following our recent acquisition of Leeds Skin, we now also have the capacity to test our formulations in house using our unique human skin model, LabSkin. As consumers demand more natural ingredients in their personal care products, this will give our products a real edge over competitors.”

Last month Syntopix bought a skin testing centre – Leeds Skin Centre for Applied Research – for £900,000, in what it described as a pivotal transaction. The deal means it no longer has to send potential new acne, dandruff, body odour and gingivitis cures to outside laboratories for clinical trials. Wetherby-based Leeds Skin runs an independent commercial testing facility specialising in human skin microbiology and clinical dermatology research.

Leeds Skin will carry on working for its current clients, which include household names such as Boots, L’Oreal, Stiefel, a GlaxoSmithKline company, and PZ Cussons.

Intelligent Formulation is a not-for-profit company, based in Huddersfield, helping companies innovate in formulation.

Its chief executive, Dr Jim Bullock, said: “We are delighted with the outcome of the project and also with its successful collaborative format.

“The results will not only benefit Syntopix but also the wider formulation community in other industrial sectors. We are also very pleased with the high level of interest from that community now that we are disseminating the results.”

In March, Syntopix reported six months of increasing revenues but deeper losses.

Syntopix said pre-tax losses for the six months to the end of January hit £557,000 from £517,000 a year earlier. Revenues from commercial agreements increased to £161,000 from £104,000.

Syntopix’s library of compounds now stands at more than 3,000, and it is exploring how to commercialise this.

Going skin deep

Syntopix was spun out of the skin research centre at the University of Leeds in 2003.

It was founded by husband and wife team Dr Jon Cove and Dr Anne Eady, two of the leading experts in skin microbiology.

Their academic work focused on the microbiology of skin, antibiotic resistance in skin bacteria and the pathobiology of acne and eczema. It received initial funding of £483,000 from the Wellcome Trust, with further rounds of funding totalling £720,000 from Techtran Group, the Viking Fund and the White Rose Seedcorn Fund.

The group listed on the Alternative Investment Market in March 2006.

UPDATE 1-Cipher acne drug shows comparable safety, efficacy

* Says drug meets non-inferiority efficacy margins

* Company to submit NDA in Q4

* Expects six month review period (Follows alerts)

June 7 (Reuters) – Cipher Pharmaceuticals said a late-stage trial showed that its experimental drug to treat a severe form of acne was as safe and effective as currently available treatment.

The non-inferiority trial, which included 925 patients suffering with nodular acne, was comparing the safety profile of the company’s patented formulation of CIP-Isotretinoin with commercially available isotretinoin product, the company said.

The company is banking on the superior absorption profile of its formulation compared with existing isotretinoin products. To achieve optimal absorption, Cipher delivers its formulation using its drug delivery system Lidose, while current formulations are prescribed to be taken with meals.

The drug also met the non-inferiority efficacy margins set for the late-stage trial.

The company said it will use these results along with previously submitted data to submit a revised new drug application to U.S. health regulators in the fourth quarter.

It expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue a six month review date.

Shares of the company closed at C$1.10 on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

Accutane: The Acne Cure That Costs More

Accutane is a cure that could end up costing you your health, which plaintiffs, either part of the consolidated Multidistrict Litigation, MDL 1626, in the Middle District of Florida or the mass torts in New Jersey, can attest to. The permanent damages associated with this medication have left many who have used it broken both physically and mentally. Is the cure for acne really worth the risk of developing Accutane inflammatory bowel disease, a chronic health problem and one of a number of Accutane side effects?
Severe acne and Accutane side effects

Acne is one of the most common skin conditions effecting between 60%-70% of Americans during some point in their lifetime. It is most commonly seen in teenagers due to the constant fluctuation in their hormones. The condition occurs when pores, the hair follicle opening which contains a secretory gland, becomes clogged or blocked. The pore glands or sebaceous glands secrete sebum which is an oily/waxy substance that naturally lubricates the skin. When the pore is clogged sebum builds up along with dirt, debris, bacteria and inflammatory cells, and this leads to the development of black heads, white heads, pimples, pustules, and cysts.

It is not known for sure how Accutane, generically known as isotretinoin, works. The doctors who discovered it, Frank Yoder and Gary Peck, were investigating it back in 1975 as a possible treatment for serious keratinizing skin conditions when they accidently discovered it could cure acne. The current theory as to its mode of action is that is reduces sebum secretion. It is believed that the inflammatory response generated when the pores become clogged with excess sebum is also decreased. Besides reducing sebum it is also thought that the drug may work by producing an antibacterial protein termed neutrophil-gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) which reduces the amount of bacteria Propionibacterium acnes, which is naturally found on the skin as part of its normal flora and is most commonly associated with acne.

Though Accutane is considered the only “cure” for acne it is a dangerous one, the side effects besides inflammatory bowel disease include: ulcerative colitis, crohns disease, birth defects, mental status changes including depression and suicide, increased pressure inside the skull, serious skin reactions such as toxic epidermal necrolysis, pancreatitis, hearing and vision impairments, clinical hepatitis, osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone fractures, delays in bone healing, excessive bone growth, and premature epiphyseal closure. The Accutane lawsuit trials taking place in New Jersey have been broken up into two groups those who have suffered Accutane inflammatory bowel disease and psychiatric cases related to the drug’s use.
Accutane inflammatory bowel disease

According to court documents, from Accutane lawsuits, plaintiff’s experts have testified that Accutane has a drying effect on the epidural layer of the skin. The intestines are lined and protected by a layer of mucus and an epidural lining, so it is biologically plausible that Accutane could disrupt the mucosal lining of the intestines and allow damage to occur. Researchers recently published a study which reviewed Inflammatory Bowel Disease cases and isotretinion exposure in a large insurance database and concluded that there was an association between the two and that there was a significant risk of developing the condition with higher doses of the drug. The biologically plausible connection made by the plaintiff’s experts may in fact be the causation needed for an Accutane lawyer to prove the case.

Brand New Online Resource Shows Acne Sufferers How To Finally Get Rid Of Blackheads And Whiteheads

A comprehensive resource on blackheads and whiteheads is now available to adolescents and adults who want to get rid of their acne with topical treatments, removal techniques and home remedies.

BlackheadsAndWhiteheads, a new website providing in-depth information about non-inflammatory acne, is showing acne sufferers how to effectively and safely remove their comedones.

“Acne is a condition that affects more than 85% of adolescents and adults. Many of them leave their blackheads and whiteheads untreated and are then experiencing inflammatory acne breakouts and even acne scarring” says Coralie Ecublin, founder of www.BlackheadsAndWhiteheads.com. Treatment of comedones is the first step of effective acne prevention and should be done as soon as some appear on the face or on the body.

Moreover, there are some popular beliefs that prevent acne sufferers from getting rid of comedones. Blackheads, because of their color, are still associated with dirt, which is absolutely not true, and people think they will get rid of them by washing themselves more often, which in fact only leads to more blackheads. Another popular belief is that one can safely squeeze comedones to get rid of them; however doing this can actually lead to more severe acne breakouts and even acne scars.

BlackheadsAndWhiteheads provides acne sufferers with all the necessary information to help them get rid of their embarrassing blackheads and whiteheads. With this information in hand, acne sufferers can make a better choice between the numerous treatment and removal options available.

Pain Management News: Adolor Corporation Completes Enrollment in Phase 2 OIC Program

Adolor Corporation Completes Enrollment in Phase 2 OIC Program

Adolor Corporation (NasdaqGM: ADLR) today announced that it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical evaluation of ADL5945 in chronic, non-cancer pain patients with opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

“Enrollment has progressed quite well in these studies”

Adolor is conducting two Phase 2 studies of ADL5945 in OIC patients in parallel. The first study is evaluating two doses of ADL5945 – 0.10 mg and 0.25 mg – given twice daily versus placebo over a 4-week, double-blind treatment period. The second study, of similar design, is evaluating 0.25 mg of ADL5945 given once daily versus placebo. The trials have enrolled 40 or more patients in each arm, for a combined total of over 200 patients.

“Enrollment has progressed quite well in these studies,” said Michael R. Dougherty, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to reporting results in the third quarter of this year, and to advancing ADL5945 into pivotal testing in the first quarter of 2012. OIC is a frequent and serious consequence of long-term opioid-based pain management and an effective treatment for this condition remains an unmet medical need.”

About ADL5945

ADL5945 is a potent, peripherally-acting mu opioid receptor antagonist intended to block the adverse effects of opioid analgesics on the GI tract without compromising centrally-mediated analgesia. Peripheral mu opioid receptors in the GI tract regulate functions such as motility, secretion and absorption. Stimulation of these GI mu opioid receptors by morphine, or other opioid analgesics, disrupts normal gut motility. Ultimately, this results in constipation, as well as other associated burdensome GI symptoms.

During 2010, Adolor completed single dose and multiple-ascending dose studies of ADL5945 that enrolled both healthy volunteers and chronic non-cancer pain patients on long-term opioid therapy with OIC. At target therapeutic doses, ADL5945 was well tolerated and, in patients with OIC, produced greater increases (over baseline) in weekly average number of spontaneous bowel movements as compared with placebo.

About OIC

According to IMS Health, over 250 million opioid prescriptions are written annually in the United States. For those patients treated with prescription opioids for long term pain management, it is estimated that approximately 50 percent will develop constipation. Currently, there are no FDA-approved therapies to treat opioid induced constipation in patients with chronic non-cancer pain.

About Adolor

Adolor Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel prescription pain and pain management products.

Adolor’s first approved product in the United States is ENTEREG® (alvimopan), which is indicated to accelerate the time to upper and lower gastrointestinal recovery following partial large or small bowel resection surgery with primary anastomosis. ENTEREG is available only for short-term (15 doses) use in hospitalized patients. Only hospitals that have registered in and met all of the requirements for the ENTEREG Access Support and Education (E.A.S.E.) program may use ENTEREG. For more information on ENTEREG, including its full prescribing information, the Boxed Warning regarding short-term hospital use and the E.A.S.E.® Program, visit www.ENTEREG.com. The Company co-promotes ENTEREG in collaboration with GSK.

The Company’s research and development pipeline includes: ADL5945 and ADL7445, novel mu opioid receptor antagonists undergoing clinical development for chronic OIC; and several earlier-stage compounds under development for the management of pain and CNS disorders.

Bethany Bodyworks Utilizes CranioSacral Therapy Advanced Pain Management Technique

CranioSacral Therapy, a relatively new holistic pain management system, designed to successfully treat headaches, neck and back pain, TMJ, chronic fatigue, motor coordination difficulties, eye problems and many other central nervous system disorders, is available at Bethany Bodyworks in New Haven, Connecticut.

Bethany, CT (PRWEB) June 03, 2011

The CranioSacral Therapy system, created by internationally renowned osteopathic physician John E. Upledger, has been hailed by one of his students, Bethany Bodyworks’ owner Jennifer Kriz, as a very effective method of holistic pain management that she has found to be highly beneficial to the pain management needs of many of her clients.

Ms. Kriz will be hosting an open house to explain and demonstrate CranioSacral Therapy at Bethany Bodyworks, 41 Village Lane, in Bethany, Connecticut on June 9th and again on July 14th, at 7:30 p.m. Bethany Bodyworks is conveniently located just off Route 63, just minutes north of the New Haven line.

Residents living and working in the greater New Haven, CT area, who suffer from debilitating conditions such as migraine headache, back and neck pain, chronic fatigue and many other nervous system disorders, will be happy to hear that Ms. Kriz effectively administers CranioSacral Therapy to her growing list of satisfied clients.

Jennifer Kriz is a member of the International Association of Healthcare Practitioners, an organization dedicated to advancing awareness and recognition of progressive approaches to wellness among the general public and healthcare providers.

Jennifer Kriz, who has been a trained CranioSacral Therapist for several years, is extremely confident in her ability to detect and correct a variety of imbalances often found in a client’s craniosacral system, which consists of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. “CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on technique that is used to detect and correct imbalances in the craniosacral system. Any imbalances found there may be the cause of many sensory, motor and neurological dysfunctions,” explains Ms. Kriz.

According to Kriz, CranioSacral Therapy has been successfully used to treat headaches, neck and back pain, TMJ, chronic fatigue, motor coordination difficulties, eye problems and many central nervous system disorders.

In addition to CranioSacral Therapy, Bethany Bodyworks also offers many other services, including Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Sports Massage, Hot Stone Treatments, Reiki Energy Massage, and Foot Reflexology Massage.

VUMC Offers Women “Laughing Gas” as Pain Management Option During Childbirth

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering nitrous oxide as a pain management tool for women during childbirth – joining only two other hospitals in the country offering this option.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering nitrous oxide as a pain management tool for women during childbirth – joining only two other hospitals in the country offering this option. Nitrous oxide, also called “laughing gas,” can be administered quickly, is widely known to rapidly ease pain, and has been proven safe for both mothers and their babies.

“Childbirth is not a one-size-fits-all process,” said Frank Boehm, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and vice-chair of the department. “Women deserve to have a wide variety of options available to them. Nitrous oxide is an option that takes the edge off of pain, and I think it may become a popular option for some women who give birth at Vanderbilt.”

The odorless, tasteless gas is inhaled through a mask. For labor, 50 percent nitrous oxide and 50 percent oxygen are blended together by a specialized device. The mixture is then self-administered by the mother through a mask or mouthpiece she controls. This mixture of nitrous oxide mixture is safe for both the mother and baby because it is eliminated from the body through the lungs, rather than through the liver. The 50-50 mix does not cause newborns to be groggy.

“Labor pain is subjective and highly individualized depending on the laboring woman,” said Michelle Collins, M.S.N., a certified nurse-midwife and assistant professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. “So this is a wonderful way to provide a non-invasive option that provides pain relief for many women, particularly those who do not want an epidural or intravenous narcotics for pain.”

Nitrous oxide has many advantages including a quick response time. Most women experience its effects in less than one minute, and then it dissipates fully within five minutes after stopping use. It can be started and stopped at any point during labor, depending on the mother’s preference.

“A hallmark of using nitrous oxide in a labor environment is that the mother is able to self-administer via the mask,” said Sarah Starr, M.D., an assistant professor of Clinical Anesthesiology who works with Obstetrics patients. “This increases her sense of control over the dosage, over her pain and over herself during labor.”

“We want to offer women meaningful and different options. There is so much patient interest, we are happy to be able to provide this,” she added.

Nitrous oxide is commonly used for pain relief during childbirth in European countries. It was used in the United States in the 1950s, but was later replaced by other options including epidurals. At Vanderbilt, the provider and the patient will decide together if nitrous oxide is an appropriate option. If so, it will be initiated by an anesthesia provider who will teach the patient how to self-administer.

“Many women want to work through their labor and birth without medication or epidural anesthesia, but may find that they still need some sort of pain management to get them through the rough spots in their labor. Nitrous oxide is ideal in those situations,” Collins said.

Recently, VUMC has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of childbirths performed at Vanderbilt University Hospital, with an estimated 3,800 this year.

12 Great Physicians in Florida

Here are profiles of 12 great physicians in Florida. Physicians are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Note: Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be on this list. This list is not an endorsement of any individual’s or organization’s clinical abilities.

Lora Brown, MD (Coastal Orthopedics & Pain Management, Bradenton, Fla.). Dr. Brown is a pain management physician at Coastal Orthopedics & Pain Management in Bradenton, Fla., where she has a professional interest in performing spinal injections, facet injections and implantable nerve stimulators. She has also served as the president of the Florida Chapter of the American Society for Interventional Pain Physicians as well as on the organization’s board of directors. During her career, Dr. Brown has also served on the Florida Governor’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, Implantation and Oversight Task Force. She is certified in both pain management and anesthesia. Dr. Brown earned her medical degree at the University of Texas in San Antonio and completed a fellowship in pain management at Cleveland Clinic.

Harold Cordner, MD (Florida Pain Management Associates, Sebastian). Dr. Cordner is the founder and sole physician at Florida Pain Management Associates. He treats a variety of conditions, including arthritic back pain, cancer pain, arthritis, failed back surgery and diabetic neuropathy. He is certified in both anesthesiology and pain management. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Cordner is a member of several professional organizations, including American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, Society of Pain Practice Management, International Neuromodulation Society, and the International Spinal Injection Society. He also has experience lecturing nationally and internationally on pain management subjects. Dr. Cordner earned his medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine in the West Indies and completed his residency in anesthesiology at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J.

Jonathan Daitch, MD (Advanced Pain Management & Spine Specialists, Fort Myers, Fla.). Dr. Daitch founded Advanced Pain Management & Spine Specialists in Fort Myers, Fla., which is dedicated to treating patients with pain conditions. He is a fellow of the World Institute of Pain and an active member of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Prior to opening APMSS, Dr. Daitch served as a major in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. He earned his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed his residency in anesthesiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. His additional training includes interventional pain management experience at Wright Patterson AFB and board certification in pain management and pain medicine.

Richard A. Hynes, MD (Osler Medical, Melbourne, Fla.). Dr. Hynes is a spine surgeon at Osler Medical. He is a consultant for Medtronic and has participated in numerous FDA approved studies. Along with his clinical work, Dr. Hynes is also a director of TXEDAKA, a charity that helps low-income individuals gain access to the medical care they need. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Spine Surgeons and The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Hynes earned his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (then Rutgers Medical School) in New Brunswick, N.J., completed his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu and received fellowship training in spine surgery at Harvard University in Boston.

Carlos J. Lavernia, MD (Orthopaedic Institute at Mercy Hospital, Miami, Fla.). Dr. Lavernia is the medical director of the Orthopaedic Institute and chief of orthopedics at Mercy Hospital in Miami. He also serves as the fist vice president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons and on the board of directors of the Florida Orthopaedic Society. Throughout his career, Dr. Lavernia has published several professional articles on topics such as the relationship of gender to primary hip arthroplasty outcomes, quality of life after total hip arthroplasty and imaging after hip and knee replacement surgery. He has also lectured across the world on knee and hip surgery and participated in Operation Walk, an organization that brings joint replacement surgery to underdeveloped countries, in places such as Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador. Dr. Lavernia earned his medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico and completed his residency at the University of California in Oakland. His additional training includes a fellowship in lower extremity reconstruction at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

James S. Leavitt, MD (Miami Endoscopy Center, Miami). Dr. Leavitt is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine Department of Gastroenterology and a physician at the Miami Endoscopy Center and the Gastroenterology Care Center. He has served as a member of the American College of Gastroenterology’s practice management committee. Dr. Leavitt earned his MD from the State University of New York Downstate Medical School and completed his medical internship and residency and his gastroenterology fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Mary I. O’Connor, MD (Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.). Dr. O’Connor is a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and the president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health for the National Institute of Health. She has a professional interest in hip and knee replacement, computer-assisted surgery, limb-salvage surgery and pelvic tumors. During her career, Dr. O’Connor has published research on several topics, including osteoporosis screening for patients with hip fractures, hip resurfacing arthroplasty and stem fracture of conserve hemiarthroplasty. Dr. O’Connor earned her medical degree at Medical College of Pennsylvania and completed her residency and fellowship in orthopedics at Mayo.

Bharat Patel, MD (Deuk Spine Institute, Titusville, Fla.). Dr. Patel is the director of interventional pain management at Deuk Spine Institute in Titusville, Fla. He has a professional interest in interventional pain management, physiatry, electrodiagnostic medicine and musculoskeletal ultrasound diagnosis and injections. During his career, Dr. Patel has been chosen as an examiner for the national American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians examinations and served as the chair of the Congress RPC’s practice guideline committee. He is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, International Spine Intervention Society and the American Academy of Pain Management. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Patel has conducted research on several topics, including ultrasound-guided trigger point injections into the cervicothoracic musculature. He earned his medical degree at Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, India, and completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at New York University School of Medicine in New York City. Dr. Patel’s additional training includes a fellowship in pain management and rehabilitation at The Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater.

Thomas F. Roush, MD (Roush Spine, Lake Worth, Fla.). Dr. Roush is spine surgeon with Roush Spine, which has four Florida offices. He is a member of several professional organizations, including North American Spine Society. Dr. Roush is a co-author of the 2009 book Motion Preservation Surgery of the Spine: Advanced Techniques and Controversies along with several other research publications. He has instructed courses on the anatomy of the spine at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Dr. Roush earned his medical degree from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and received fellowship training in spine surgery and spinal arthroplasty at Texas Back Institute in Plano.

Alan Siegel, MD (Interventional Pain Physicians of South Florida, Plantation). Dr. Siegel is board certified in anesthesiology with a special certification in pain management through the American Board of Anesthesiology. He regularly treats chronic pain conditions and has a professional interest in diagnosis and treatment of spinal pain using minimally invasive techniques. He performs disc depression, discography, facet joint injections and epidural steroid injections. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Siegel serves as a clinical assistant professor at Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Dr. Siegel is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Spine Intervention Society and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Dr. Siegel earned his medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville and completed his residency in general surgery at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

Sanford Silverman, MD (Comprehensive Pain Medicine, Pompano Beach, Fla.). Dr. Silverman is the director of Comprehensive Pain Medicine in Pompano Beach, Fla. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain Medicine. He is also certified in addiction medicine by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Silverman’s additional memberships include the International Spine Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He has a professional interest in interventional and medical treatment for chronic pain, opioid adaptation and complex chronic pain with hyperalgesia. During his career, Dr. Silverman has served as the chief of anesthesia and operative service at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, and the director of its pain clinic. He earned his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his anesthesiology residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Andrea Trescot, MD (University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.). Dr. Trescot is the director of the pain fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville and president-elect of the American Society for Interventional Pain Physicians. She is also a founding director and past president of the Florida Academy of Pain Medicine and a member of the World Institute of Pain. During her career, Dr. Trescot has authored textbook chapters and participated in the writing of four national pain guidelines. She has lectured nationally and internationally on topics such as cryoneuroablation, spinal endoscopy, opioids and peripheral nerve entrapments. Dr. Trescot earned her medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and completed her residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Her additional training includes a pediatric anesthesia fellowship at National Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Asthma Treatment News: Metabolomics brings diagnosis a step closer

Allergic asthma on the breath: Metabolomics brings diagnosis a step closer

Allergic asthma, a sub-type of asthma, is a growing health problem affecting all age groups. The symptoms do not differ between the allergic and non-allergic condition, although the causes do.

The allergens responsible are encountered commonly everyday. They include house dust mites, mould spores, airborne pollen, faeces of the cockroach and dust mite, and food or food preservatives.

They trigger allergic asthma by entering the airways, causing the immune system to overreact. The airways become inflamed and filled with mucus, bringing on coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightening of the chest. The effects range from mild to serious and can result in hospitalisation.

Currently, it has been estimated that 90% of children with asthma have allergies, compared with 50% of adults. They are diagnosed via their symptoms and, in some cases, by measuring biomarkers such as immunoglobulin E. Unfortunately, these markers are non-specific, so moves are taking place in research centres around the world to devise more sensitive and specific diagnoses.

A team of researchers based in Portugal has taken the view that the exhaled breath of a patient is a good place to start, since the disease affects the airways directly. It is also a non-invasive sampling method which children find easy to perform without discomfort.

Silvia Maria da Rocha and colleagues from the University of Aveiro, the University of Madeira and the Children’s Hospital D. Pedro, Aveiro, developed a method using GC/MS to analyse the volatile compounds in breath.

Asthma volatiles identified

Breath samples were collected in gas sampling bags for 22 children with allergic asthma and a further 13 children with the combination of allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis. The allergens of 26 were known to be dust mite (19 patients), dust mite plus cat fur (3), dust mite plus grass pollen (3) and dust mite plus cat fur plus grass pollen (1). Breath from healthy children was also collected as controls for comparison.

The compounds in the breath were sampled by headspace solid-phase microextraction using a divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane fibre in an optimised procedure. The fibre was inserted into the injection port of the gas chromatograph and the trapped compounds were thermally desorbed onto a high-polarity nitroterephthalic acid-modified polyethylene glycol column.

The eluting compounds were analysed by electron ionisation in full-scan mode and identified from their retention times and by comparing the mass spectra with those from the NIST mass spectral library.

A total of 44 compounds were identified, the vast majority being straight-chain and branched alkanes. Other classes included terpenoids, aldehydes, ketones, fatty acids and aromatic hydrocarbons. Many of these had been identified in earlier studies of exhaled breath.

The relative amounts of each compound were quantified from their GC peak areas. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant intra-individual variations throughout each day or between days. However, a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLA-DA) uncovered some variations that were attributed to the effects of diet and circadian rhythm.

Products of oxidative stress characterise allergic asthma

A subset of 28 volatiles was selected for multivariate analysis, ruling out any compounds which were not present on the breath of all the children and those which are known solvents or airborne contaminants. The 28 were not unique to children with allergic asthma but were observed to greater or lesser degrees in healthy children too.

The PLA-DA procedure was used to identify those compounds that best distinguished between healthy children and those with allergic asthma. A successful classification rate of 88% was achieved, the most indicative compounds being those linked to oxidative stress, such as aldehydes and alkanes. So, lipid peroxidation appears to be an important feature in allergic asthma.

The PLA-DA plots also largely discriminated between children with allergic asthma alone and those with allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis. The volatile composition was altered because allergic rhinitis is concentrated in the nose, producing a different profile.

The areas in the plots associated with allergic rhinitis were also positively correlated with cases that had shown positive prick tests.

The volatile profiles also displayed some correlation with the type of treatment received by the patients. Those given corticosteroids and leukotriene receptor agonists to treat the disease were distinguished from those receiving corticosteroids with antihistamines or corticosteroids with bronchodilators.

The results from this study are promising but the researchers acknowledge that the sample size is small. They are now extending the process to a larger number of healthy and allergic asthmatic children to see if the method really can provide a rapid and non-invasive diagnostic tool.

If successful, it will “provide a novel methodological approach to characterise allergic asthma as a function of its metabolomics patterns, which will open new strategies to early diagnosis, therapy monitoring and understanding the asthma pathogenesis that affects millions around the world.”

Asthma Treatment Can Lead to Osteoporosis

If you have asthma, you may be at increased risk of developing the bone disease osteoporosis. Asthma is a chronic condition that makes breathing difficult. During an asthma attack, tissues inside the airways swell and produce extra mucus, which clogs the airways. At the same time, the muscles surrounding the airways can clamp down and make airways even smaller. These things combine to make it hard for the air to move into and out of the lungs.
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Saved My Life

There is no cure for asthma, but many asthma symptoms can be controlled using a variety of medications. Some of the most effective medications are corticosteroids or glucocorticoids, which can be taken as a pill or can be inhaled. Unfortunately, these medications can also cause damage to your bones and lead to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a condition that makes bones brittle and weak. Healthy bone is a combination of bone and small holes that looks similar to a honeycomb. Bone with osteoporosis has larger than normal holes with weak, brittle bone in between. The mineral calcium is a building block for bone. In a healthy person, new bone is constantly being grown to replace old bone. But when the body is low on calcium, bone growth slows as the mineral is pulled out of bones. This can leave bones weak and more likely to break.

When corticosteroids used to treat asthma are taken by mouth, they interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium from foods. They also cause the kidneys to flush more calcium out of the body and limit the amount of bone that is produced. Corticosteroids used as inhalers are safer, but can still cause damage to bones.

In addition to the use of medications, other factors can also make someone with asthma more prone to osteoporosis. Some people with asthma believe milk and other dairy products can trigger an asthma attack. As a result, they avoid calcium rich foods that could help protect their bones. Research has shown that dairy is not a risk for most people with asthma, unless they are allergic to dairy products. Children in particular need calcium because strong bones early in life add some protection against osteoporosis later in life.

How to Treat Asthma with Aromatherapy

This sounds like irony, since generally asthmatics have difficulty with smells and such. But aromatherapy is being utilized to aid those with this type of breathing problem to surmount it.

Asthma is a severe condition that bears upon the breathing of the individual. When an asthma attack is set off, the bronchial passages become inflamed. This inflammation causes them to swell, leaving only a narrow space for air to travel through.

An asthmatic might feel like they can not catch their breath. Wheezing is frequently a characteristic as they try harder and harder to move air. Another consequence of an asthma attack is the smaller passageways in the lungs called bronchioles are likewise congested.

The lungs produce mucus to help engulf the irritant and push it out of the lungs. Only, the inflammation makes it difficult for the mucus to pass.

Asthma is set off by many of the same things that can cause allergic reactions to become unbearable. It may be food, nerve-wracking situations, allergens (dust, pollen, grass) or different causes. Either way, histamine is triggered off in the body and it leads to particular reactions like constriction of the airways. Add to that the inflammation and an asthmatic may scarcely move air.

One way that asthma attacks are being addressed is naturally with aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is a complementary medicine that utilizes different aromatic oils to give rise to positive effects inside the body.

Before beginning any aromatherapy treatment, confer with your physician. If you experience asthma, you’re likely being treated with inhalers and different medicine already. Make certain that none of the complementary treatments will interfere with your medicines. In the event of an asthma attack, always turn to your rescue meds for treatment.

Aromatherapy is one way to help relax the lungs while no attack is in progress or close at hand. If you would like to give this technique an attempt, that’s the finest time. Tell your aromatherapist if any type of aroma is an actual trigger for your asthma attacks.

These oils may be utilized in much the same way as medicines only without the side effects. Here is a good example. Lavender is well-known to relax the mind and alleviate stress. For the asthmatic, it may likewise be used to relax breathing passages, reducing spasms that cause the lungs to contract during an attack. Adding lavender essential oil to a humidifier or vaporizer may promote freer breathing. The results are faster if it’s added to hot water and the steam is inhaled.

Peppermint oil is likewise good for opening the lungs. Make a chest rub with a couple of drops of it to promote deeper breathing at nighttime. Including lavender will likewise steady your nerves.

Have you ever inhaled eucalyptus? You likely thought a freight train could run through your nose after that. It’s a potent oil that has to be used judiciously to relax the bronchioles and permit air to pass.

Aromatherapy may be utilized to help asthmatics savor freer respiration between asthma attacks. Several can even assist in shortening an attack, only that decision is best left up to your physician.

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UK doctors begin pioneering asthma treatment

Doctors in Manchester and Glasgow have begun treating NHS asthma patients with a pioneering treatment described as “melting away” muscle in the airways.

Instead of using drugs such as steroids, a wire probe is inserted into the lungs and then heats the tissue.

Currently, the procedure – called bronchial thermoplasty – is not being used anywhere else in Europe.

The technique uses 10-second bursts of radio waves which heat the lining of the lungs to 65 degrees Celsius.

That destroys some of the muscle tissue which constricts during an asthma attack, making breathing difficult.

Dr Rob Niven, senior lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of South Manchester, who led the team carrying out the procedure at Wythenshawe Hospital, said “bronchial thermoplasty is the first non-drug treatment for asthma and it may be a new option for patients with severe asthma who have symptoms despite use of drug therapies.”

“The operation went according to plan and our patient has responded well. It will be a little while before we are able to say it’s been a complete success, but I am cautiously optimistic,” he said.

Normal airway
Airway of asthma patient has thickened muscle walls restricting the opening
Bronchoscope containing small wire probe passed into lungs
Probe is expanded so it touches walls of airways
Probe is then heated, reducing thickness of muscle tissue. Process is repeated along the airway to increase capacity
‘Encouraging’

The procedure follows six years of trials in the UK, Canada and South America. Patients in the United States have been receiving the treatment for some months already.

Bronchial thermoplasty will not be used on children, says Dr Niven, and its effectiveness decreases as patients age.

Tens of thousands of patients across the UK with the most severe forms of asthma stand to benefit most from the treatment.

Symptoms can worsen to begin with, as the heat also causes damage to the sensitive lung lining. But once this is repaired doctors say asthmatics can be helped for up to five years.

However, cost is a potential problem – it costs around £10,000 per patient, although savings could be made in the longer term through fewer hospital admissions and reductions in the costs of medicines.

It will be up to the local NHS bodies, which buy care for patients, to decide on whether to fund it, possibly on a case-by-case basis.

According to the campaign group Asthma UK, 5.4 million people in the UK have asthma and around 250,000 of these have severe asthma.

The group’s Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Ian Pavord, said of bronchial thermoplasty: “In some people with severe asthma, the symptoms of their asthma have been improved and the risk of them having an asthma attack has been reduced, so it is encouraging to see that the technique has now been carried out outside of clinical trials.”

“However, this kind of procedure will not work for everyone so we would encourage people with asthma to discuss various treatment options with their GP to find the best way for them to keep their asthma managed and under control.”

Diabetes Prevention News: Diabetes forum on Rota draws crowd

Diabetes forum on Rota draws crowd

A total of 110 residents of Sinapalo and Songsong Villages on Rota took part in the third CNMI-Wide Diabetes Health Community Forum: Highway to Better Health held at the Mayor’s Office on May 19.

Organized by the Commonwealth Diabetes Coalition in collaboration with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program of the Department of Public Health and the Ayuda Network, the event was part of a six-part series of community-wide forums that aims to educate the public about diabetes health and prevention.

The goal of the community-wide forums is to involve the “taro roots” to address the need for systems changes, and combat the prevalence of diabetes, non-communicable diseases, obesity, cancer, and poor health lifestyle choices in high-risk populations through targeted social and behavioral strategies.

“The participants were very active in the group discussions and activities,” said Vinycia Seman, Coalition Education and Outreach Committee chair.

Seman said the Rota presenters were Dr. David Hardt, Dr. Jang Ho Kim, Jonathan Kiyoshi of the Northern Marianas College CREES Food Science Program, and Rosa Palacios of the Hinemlo Familia Network.

According to Seman, they gave away incentives to participants such as backpacks, T-shirts, pens, and safety kits as well as healthy lunches.

Seman added that they raffled off prizes, including $20 gas certificates, T-shirts, flash drives, Coral Ocean Point golf passes, PIC Water Park passes, and gift certificates from Herman’s Modern Bakery and Serenity Salon.

“We hope that the people of Rota can instill what they have learned from this community forum and live a better and healthier life. Diabetes can be prevented if we live healthier lifestyles by eating healthier foods and staying active,” she told Saipan Tribune.

Seman said the coalition thanks all the exhibitors, sponsors and supporters, including Ike Mendiola of the local Channel 5 for airing the interview about the event, who all made the forum a successful event.

Diabetes research shows promise

In the past two weeks, we have been considering some of the challenges that people with type 1 or 2 diabetes face on a daily basis. I was, therefore, most interested to attend a lecture on “Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes: Science and Mythology”, arranged by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) a few weeks ago. The lecture was presented by Jim Mann, Professor in Human Nutrition and Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, in New Zealand. Prof Mann, is one of the world’s leading experts in nutrition and its effects on diseases of lifestyle, including diabetes. Prof Mann was visiting South Africa as a guest of North-West University, who have bestowed an Honorary Doctorate on him for his contributions to nutrition.

Historical background

In his introduction, Prof Mann briefly outlined the history of diabetes and its treatment. This disease was known as far back as 400 BC and is mentioned in ancient Chinese texts. In 1889, a Dr Schmée diagnosed type 1 diabetes for the first time and prescribed a low carbohydrate diet for his patients, an approach that persisted for the next 100 years. From what my readers report to me, many doctors and healthcare professionals still only say, “Cut out all sugars and carbohydrates” when they counsel their diabetic patients.

In the 1970’s, a researcher called Hugh Trowell, for the first time suggested that diabetics could eat carbohydrates provided they were rich in dietary fibre. Dr Trowell based his recommendations on the observation that populations eating traditional diets which were rich in plant fibre and relatively high in carbohydrate, had a low incidence of diabetes compared to populations eating western diets containing an excess of highly processed low-fibre foods.

Subsequently a number of scientific studies have produced results showing that diabetics can use carbohydrates in their diet, provided such carbohydrates have a high dietary fibre content and are of the correct type (see below).

Finnish Study

Prof Mann also described the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS), which was conducted with 522 middle-aged, overweight subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. The study achieved significant results that can be applied in everyday life (Lindström et al, 2003) . The goals of the DPS were as follows:
to decrease the body weight of the participants by 5% or more
to get participants to do moderate physical activity of 30 or more minutes a day
to reduce the subjects’ intakes of dietary fat and saturated fat significantly
to increase their dietary fibre intake to 15 g or more per 1000 kcal (a man consuming 2000 kcal per day, would thus be expected to eat 30 g of fibre a day)

The subjects in the DPS were divided into two groups – an experimental group that received intensive lifestyle interventions (individual dietary counselling from a dietician, circuit-training and exercise advice) and a control group who received standard medical care (Lindström et al, 2003).

Prof Mann emphasised the success of this Finnish study, where those subjects who had achieved at least 3 of the above mentioned goals, did not develop type 2 diabetes even 15 years after the initial intervention. The two most important interventions were identified as weight loss and increasing dietary fibre intake.

Perhaps the most encouraging result of the DPS was the finding that type 2 diabetes is the most preventable of all the lifestyle diseases!

What type of carbs should diabetics eat?

According to Prof Mann, it is important for diabetics to eat the right kind of carbohydrate, such as legumes (cooked or canned dry beans, peas, lentils, soya) and pulses, chickpeas, low-GI (glycaemic index) bread, and low-GI vegetables.

In other words, the old idea that all so-called “complex” carbohydrates benefit diabetics by keeping their blood sugar and insulin levels low and steady, such as high-fibre carbohydrates (wholewheat bread, high-bran breakfast cereals, etc), is no longer valid. Prof Mann pointed out that the idea that complex carbs are “good” and simple carbs are “bad”, has been disproved with the introduction of the glycaemic index (GI). So if you are diabetic, it is important to select carbohydrates with a low-GI-value, such as the ones listed above.

Australian study

Other aspects of the dietary treatment of patients with diabetes or insulin resistance, are also being investigated. It has been suggested that the type of fat used in the diet (saturated, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated), can also have an important effect on insulin reactions.

Researchers working in Australia, have investigated the effect of substituting carbohydrates with either monounsaturated fat or protein (Luscombe-Marsh et al, 2005). In this study, 57 overweight or obese subjects with insulin resistance were either given a low-fat, high-protein diet or a high-fat (mainly monounsaturated fat), low-protein diet for 12 weeks, to study the effects of the 2 diets on weight loss, blood fats, appetite regulation and energy output after each test meal.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the amounts of weight the two groups lost – the low-fat, high-protein subjects lost 9.7 kg, while the high-monounsaturated fat, low-protein subjects managed to lose an average of 10.2 kg in the 12-week study period. However, the low-fat, high-protein diet did suppress appetite to a greater extent than the high-fat, low-protein diet.

The researchers concluded that the weight loss and improvements in insulin resistance and other risk factors (e.g. risk of heart disease due to increased blood fat levels), were similar on both diet treatments and that neither diet affected bone turnover or kidney function negatively (Luscombe-Marsh et al, 2005).

It may thus be a good idea for diabetics to use monounsaturated fats in their diets to replace other sources of fat. Avocados, nuts and olives; olive, canola, grapeseed, peanut, sesame, safflower and avocado oils, as well as foods made with these oils, are rich sources of monounsaturated fats.

Different population GI responses to foods
Viagra in Australia
Prof Mann also cautioned that different populations may exhibit different blood sugar and insulin reactions to foods. A study which compared the glycaemic response of people of European and Chinese ethnicity, found that on average the GI of parboiled rice in the Chinese subjects was 20% higher than in the Caucasian group: an average GI of 72 was obtained with the Chinese subjects, compared to an average GI-value of 57 with the European subjects, which would make parboiled rice a high-GI food for the Chinese subjects, while it can still be regarded as a low-GI food for the subjects of European descent.

This indicates that it is important to determine the GI of foods in different populations, particularly staple foods that are used as the basis of a specific population’s diet (rice in China and other Eastern countries, maize meal in large parts of Africa, including South Africa).

It is good to know that scientific researchers are hard at work trying to improve the lives of patients with insulin resistance, and types 1 and 2 diabetes. The most encouraging news is that type 2 diabetes can to a large extent be prevented by losing weight, increasing the intake of dietary fibre from legumes, pulses and low-GI foods, and doing some physical exercise as often as possible.

Camp held for youth at risk of diabetes

Qatar Diabetes Association has organised an “At Risk Camp” for students and overweight teenagers with first degree family history of diabetes.
Some 20 overweight teenagers took part in the event.
QDA is at the forefront of efforts in Qatar and the Middle East to promote the prevention, care and management of diabetes.
The association’s effort in prevention field has increased in recent years due to the dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity and diabetes in Qatar, the region and worldwide.
QDA executive director Dr Abdullah al-Hamaq said: “Our aim is to influence young people and youth to take small steps so they can get big rewards. These steps include ‘eating healthy’ by focusing on eating less and making healthy food choices like eating more vegetables and fruits, cutting down on fatty and fried foods.”
Other steps such as “move more” by walking, swimming or playing ball also matter, he said.
“We want to help them achieve their full potential, set goals they can meet and have the power to cut their chances of getting diabetes as well as to spread awareness about diabetes prevention among their families,” Dr al-Hamaq said.
QDA senior dietitian Katie Nahas said: “The camping programmes consisted providing the participants with a healthy diet with reduced calorie accompanied with an active exercise schedule aimed at initiating weight loss.”
In addition, Nahas mentioned that counselling sessions were also included to assist the adolescents in their difficulties to initiate and maintain behavioural changes.
She added that QDA will maintain a monthly follow up with few of the participants who were at risk group.
Camp manager Mohamed Saadi mentioned that the camp was run by a team of professionals made up of various committees that include medical, nutrition, activities and programmes, public relations and safety personnel.

Sleep Disorders: News and Treatments

Asheville Dr. offers natural treatments for weight, fatigue

Dr. Nikolas Hedberg usually draws a crowd when he speaks around Asheville.

With topics such as chronic fatigue, arthritis, fibromyalgia and painful ailments that are not usually well understood, the chiropractor’s talks are always popular.

But even these can’t compare with his talks on thyroid disorders. Those are always standing-room-only.

“I’ve been giving talks all over Asheville the past six years, and every time I did one on thyroid, it was a packed house,” said Hedberg, DC, DABCI.

“Everyone was on thyroid medication, but still they weren’t feeling any better, they weren’t losing weight, they had cold hands and feet, their hair was falling out, they had sleep problems.”

It isn’t just something that caught Hedberg’s attention. Today, an estimated 28 million people — or one in 10 — in the United States are living with a thyroid disorder. Many of them, Hedberg said, are women, and most don’t know they have it.

“Thyroid disorder is an epidemic in this country,” he said. “The fifth most prescribed drug in the U.S. is thyroid medicine, specifically Synthroid.”

Considering the importance of the thyroid — a small gland located about halfway down the front of the neck — Hedberg felt he needed to take action beyond his private practice. So he wrote a book.

His self-published “The Thyroid Alternative: Renew your Thyroid Naturally” has just been released.

“I wanted to write a book about thyroid disorder and help people understand it. One person’s problem is not the same as another’s,” he said.
Little gland, big job

The thyroid produces thyroid hormone and calcitonin. Its main role, Hedberg said, is to control metabolism, or energy production.

“It is important for fat burning, sugar burning, to make energy for everything in your body to function — your brain, heart, liver — everything.”

The most common form of thyroid disorder is known as Hashimoto’s disease, also called hypothyroidism, which is low or underactive thyroid function.

It can produce symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain or inability to lose weight, constipation, depression, sensitivity to cold, slow wound healing, unrefreshing sleep, hair falling out, and others (see box).

Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders can affect your ability to achieve and maintain restful nighttime sleep and can also cause excessive daytime sleepiness. Disorders associated with the daytime sleepiness may seriously interfere with daytime productivity or quality of life.

If you are having trouble sleeping, specialized diagnosis and treatment may be required. That’s why Springhill Medical Center offers state-of-the-art sleep testing and evaluation by experienced sleep disorder specialists to identify individual problems and help patients regain restful sleep.

Sleep disorders fall into four major categories. The first, excessive sleepiness during the day, can be caused by a few things. One of them is sleep apnea or repeated cessation of breathing during sleep. It can occur hundreds of times, and may be associated with snoring, daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, personality changes and impotence.

Narcolepsy is a disease of the central nervous system. It is characterized by “sleep attacks” at inappropriate times. Narcolepsy may also involve episodes of muscle weakness and dream-like experiences while awake.

Nocturnal Myoclonus involves involuntary twitches of the limbs during sleep causing multiple arousals and subsequent daytime sleepiness.

Insomnia is an inability to initiate sleep. It can result from numerous factors including poor sleep hygiene, emotional difficulties/stress, use of certain medications, breathing difficulties or other medical problems.
Disturbances of the sleep/wake schedule include jet lag, frequently changing work schedules and disorders of the sleep/wake rhythm.

Parasomnias are unusual sleep-related behaviors and can include nightmares, bed wetting, sleep walking and kicking, thrashing and hitting.

Because most sleep/wake problems are hidden by sleep, a nighttime sleep study in the laboratory is often required. This non-invasive nighttime study involves the continuous monitoring of the EEG, EKG, eye movements, muscle tension, respiratory activity and blood oxygen saturation.

Michael Ledet, MD is a sleep specialist at Springhill Medical Center. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, Lipidology, and Sleep Medicine. He is available to see patients at two office locations:

Daphne office:
28260 Hwy 98 Suite B
Hours: Monday (morning), Tuesday (all day), & Thursday (morning)

The ‘first step’ after diagnosis

New and recently diagnosed Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients, their families, carers and even aged care staff who look after them, will now be able to access a free information seminar and have the degenerative illness explained.

The recently launched First Steps program, run by Parkinson’s NSW and the Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI), will help PD patients understand what has, what is and what will happen to their body.

Neurologist at the University of Sydney’s BMRI and Mind Research Institute, Dr Simon Lewis, said that the program- a state first- will also enable PD patients to deal with the shock of diagnosis and learn how to cope with the disease.

“It’s about getting those people who are just shell shocked with the diagnosis,” Dr Lewis said.

“They’ve just had life changing news, they have 101 questions and they don’t realise what they have. Two weeks later, it hits them.”

The seminar will also explain some of the early warning signs of PD, such as mood change, loss of smell, constipation and sleep disorders.

“The most dramatic of its symptoms, however is known as Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD). Parkinson patients have been known to start acting out in their dreams, often punching or kicking the person sharing their bed…during one of the phases of sleep – Rapid Eye Movement (REM).

“The way the brain is wired you are not allowed to move during REM. There’s a dead man’s break between the connection of dreaming and moving your arms and legs.

“[If you are at risk of developing PD], that dead man’s break breaks down.

“For some Parkinson patients it comes as a revelation and relief, not to mention their spouses, that the condition may be responsible for things that go ‘bump’ ‘kick’ in the night.

“…What you see [in the seminar] is this look of realisation on the people’s faces- maybe because the husband has punched [his wife] in the middle of the night. Of course the husband may not know as [she finds it] too embarrassing to tell him.

“And now here they are five years down the line. It’s an amazing thing as they may have been hiding this fact and have been feeling guilty about it.

“Through the seminar, we can say, ‘Hey this is part of your disease and understanding the symptoms is part of getting your head around your own condition’.”

Dr Lewis explained that PD patients, families and aged care staff who attend the seminars will also receive information about treatment (including medication which could switch off violent night-time behaviours) and support.

The next seminar will be held in Sydney on Monday June 20th at 1.30pm at the BMRI and will feature talks from local Parkinson’s experts. However, Dr Lewis said that his team aim to run the First Steps program in rural settings throughout NSW, and hopes that it gets picked up and offered throughout the whole country.

Dr Lewis said that BMRI also aims to conduct specific research into predicting the development of PD in people with RBD.

“We believe the disease spreads slowly through the brain and non-physical symptoms can often predate the disease by many years, potentially offering an early way of recognising the condition.”

Problems with thinking and memory are also common in Parkinson’s diseases with patients being six times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

BMRI researchers are therefore also investigating the causes of PD and are trialling memory training.

Anxiety Treatment News: Massage Therapy Lessens Anxiety in Mothers of Asthmatic Children

80-year-old dementia sufferer’s ‘undignified’ treatment at Dundee hospital condemned

A Scottish hospital has been condemned over the treatment of an 80-year-old dementia patient who was not given the “care, dignity and respect she deserved”.

The 80-year-old woman, named only as Mrs V, was taken to Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee, with a chest infection in December 2008. She was given an “unacceptably high” number of sedatives over an 11-day period of treatment after she became anxious and distressed, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland said.

Staff at the hospital administered sedatives rectally 57 times and by injection 29 times before she died of pneumonia.

The woman’s condition meant she was unable to eat and was given no food. But she could see other people eating and could not understand why she was not, leading to further anxiety and distress.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland said her treatment was degrading, unnecessary, and may have breached her human rights. The commission’s report, Starved of Care, said Mrs V was given repeated, uncomfortable and undignified administrations of sedative medication.

It also said staff did not display “the knowledge, behaviour and attitudes” needed to care for her properly. The report found Mrs V had been agitated and distressed before her transfer to the medical ward.

She thought she should be at home to care for her children. Family members told inspectors she was agitated during their visits and she begged them to take her home with them when they left.

But her agitation was heightened by not being able to eat. The report said: “There was a lack of shared understanding, across medical and mental health services for older people, about the best way to manage people with dementia who become physically unwell while in mental health care.

“We consider that Mrs V was not given the care, dignity and respect she deserved. It can be argued that her rights to privacy and dignity and right to be free from degrading treatment (articles eight and three of the European Convention on Human Rights) were infringed.

“While all members of the care team must reflect on our findings and examine their own individual attitudes and practice, we strongly advise the NHS to examine the performance of individual practitioners.

“Poor clinical decision-making and negative attitudes to people transferred from mental health care appear to have played a significant part in the problems we identified with Mrs V’s care and treatment. We consider that Mrs V’s care could and should have been better managed in an acute medical ward.”

The Dundee hospital, which was not named in the commission report, admitted that the standard of care received was unacceptable.

Dr Margaret McGuire, NHS Tayside director of nursing, said: “The standards of care received by this patient were woefully inadequate, wholly inappropriate and utterly unacceptable.

“Since this event we have initiated a number of service improvement programmes for dementia patients.

“As part of these improvements, we have appointed a nurse consultant in dementia care who is leading improvements in care for our dementia patients and ensuring all members of staff who care for dementia patients have appropriate training and education.”

The commission has revisited the hospital twice since the case and has acknowledged improvements in staff training for dementia care.

Music therapy enhances quality of life for patients with fibromyalgia

University of Granada researchers have proven that music therapy combined with other relax techniques based on guided imagery reduces significantly pain, depression and anxiety, and improves sleep among patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Thus, this therapy enhances patients’ quality of life. This pioneer experimental study in Europe has shown that these two techniques enhance the well-being and personal power of patients with fibromyalgia, who are allowed to take part in their treatment.

This research study was conducted with patients suffering from fibromyalgia from the provinces of Granada, Almería and Córdoba, Spain. They undertook a basal test at the beginning of the treatment, a post-basal test four weeks after the intervention, and another post-basal test eight weeks after the intervention, at the end of the study.

Treatment at home

The researchers applied a relaxation technique based on guided imagery and music therapy to patients, in a series of sessions conducted by a researcher. Patients were given a CD to listen at home. Then, researchers measured a number of variables associated to the main symptoms of fribromyalgia -as pain intensity, quality of life, impact of the condition on patient’s daily life, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, self-efficiency, well-being. Then, patients were given the chance to participate in their own treatment through an understanding of their condition.

Massage Therapy Lessens Anxiety in Mothers of Asthmatic Children

Asthma is a common, chronic childhood disease, and when a child is asthmatic the entire family’s anxiety levels can rise. New research shows massage therapy lowers anxiety in mothers of asthmatic children.

Researchers set out to determine if learning to massage their own asthmatic children provided relief from anxiety among the children’s mothers, according to an abstract published on www.pubmed.gov.

“Studies showed a relation between the life quality of children suffering from asthma and the anxiety level of parents,” the researchers noted. “These parents are looking for ways to confront their stress, to reduce their anxiety in encountering with their asthmatic children, and to improve their performance.”

Sixty mothers with asthmatic children aged 5 to 14 years were divided into two groups: One that was trained to massage the head, neck, face, shoulder, hand, leg and back of their children every night before bedtime for one month; and one whose children received standard medical treatment.

The researchers found the daily massage sessions reduced the mothers’ anxiety. “Daily massage helped mothers to have more sense of participation in caring their children and as a non-pharmacological method can be accompanied with pharmacological methods,” the researchers wrote. “The results showed no significant difference in mean anxiety level between the two groups before the intervention but there was a significant difference between them after intervention.”

The study was conducted by personnel at the Department of Pediatrics Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of medical sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Asthma Treatment Today

Asthma Patients Are Over-Prescribed Antibiotics

Asthma treatment often results in unnecessary antibiotics being prescribed to children, says a new study.

One in six children with asthma are prescribed roughly 1 million unnecessary antibiotics to US children with asthma. Another study published in the same issue of the journal Pediatrics noted the similarities between the United States’ over-medication and Belgium, where children with asthma were found to be nearly twice as likely as other children to receive an antibiotic.

“You must have a good reason to prescribe both an asthma drug and an antibiotic,” study author Dr. Kris De Boeck of the University Hospital of Leuven told Reuters Health.

The “overuse” and “incorrect use” of antibiotics will “put pressure on bacteria and drive them to develop survival strategies,” which could prompt new drug-resistant bacteria to emerge, added De Boeck.

For the study, Dr. Ian M. Paul at Penn State Colelge of Medicine and his team examined information collected as part of national surveys about US doctor’s visits. They looked at more than 60 million visits involving children with asthma that had no symptoms presenting suggesting the use of an antibiotic. In one in six of those visits, the children received a prescription for an antibiotic.

De Boeck’s study involved a database from the insurer that covers over 40 percent of the Belgian population and found that 75 percent of children who received asthma drugs also got an antibiotic, which occurred in less than 40 percent of kids who were not given any drugs to treat asthma.

Many doctors are likely offering antibiotics “out of fear, out of habit,” wrote De Boeck in an email to Reuters Health.

“Some physicians state that parents do not want to leave the consultation room before they get a medicine.”

Bacteria May Have Role in Asthma

People with severe asthma are more likely to have antibodies against the disease-causing bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae than the general population and in some cases antibiotic treatment can greatly improve symptoms according to research presented today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

“We conclude that a subset of severe asthmatics harbor infectious C. pneumoniae in their lungs, resulting in antibody production and increased asthma severity,” says Eduard Drizik of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who presented the study.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, whose causes are not completely understood, affecting over 300 million people worldwide, including almost 24 million American children and adults. There is no cure for asthma and the disease is managed by controlling disease symptoms. The recognition that asthma pathogenesis involves chronic inflammation has led to a flurry of studies exploring the prevalence of various infectious organisms in the asthmatic condition.

Having previously demonstrated an increased prevalence of C. pneumoniae in the lungs of children and adults with asthma, the researchers conducted a study designed to determine if the presence of Chlamydia-specific antibodies could predict asthma severity and if these antibody-positive patients would benefit from treatment with antibiotics.

“The data revealed a statistically significant link between Chlamydia-specific IgE antibody production and the severity of asthma,” says Drizik. “Of the asthma patients analyzed, 55% had Chlamydia-specific IgE antibodies in their lungs compared to 12% of blood donor controls.”

Moreover, patients who were treated on the basis of asthma severity with antibiotics had significant improvements in asthma symptoms and some even experienced a complete abolition of these symptoms.

“Physicians should therefore fully explore the involvement of microbes in difficult to treat asthma cases, since there might be a cure for some types of asthma after all,” says Drizik.

Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma

Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma, have advanced so positively in the last 10 to 15 years. The treatment is now so effective that some of the world’s top sports star play sport at the highest level, but at the same time need to take preventive medication to suppress and stop any chance of an Asthma attack.

Some of the current inhalers are so beneficial all one does is take a micro dose inhalation maybe one – two or three times a day, that’s it you get on my life and work and exercise with no side effects.

Plus once you know your prescription as prescribed by a bona fide medical practitioner and/or doctor you now have the option to buy the Asthma medication you need online. Some remedies for the treatment of Asthma are – Homeopathic Spray – Respitrol Oral Drops – Asthma Home Remedies.

One of our work colleagues suffers from Asthma and they tried out the Homeopathic Spray and they found the treatment very effective, the explained the results to their doctor and he concurred no they just use the Homeopathic Spray.

Medical Advances in the Treatment for Asthma are so intrusive and effective now in 2011.

Rise in mercury, dust can trigger asthma attacks

GURGAON: Frequent fluctuation in temperature, dust storms and exposure to grain dust can trigger asthma attack especially during this time of the year. City doctors said that the frequency of asthma attack can go up by 25-30%.

Experts warned that asthma is often wrongly diagnosed as a seasonal cough or cold. This, in turn, leads to a large percentage of patients missing out on proper treatment that can result in a full blown asthma attack.

According to Dr Sushil Upadhyay, Sr Consultant Pulmonology at Artemis Health Institute, “With a change in season, there is a 50% rise in the number of patients who come with asthma or allergy symptoms. Every year, around 10-15% of new asthma cases are reported around this time period.”

As per the doctors, these symptoms may vary with time and also from individual to individual. Doctors also advise that one should look out for warning signals for first timers to prevent an attack. “Patients might experience breathlessness, wheezing and tightness in the chest. A few people may experience episodic coughing which is severe during early morning and late night,” added Dr Upadhyay.

Doctors also advise that patients who have a history of asthmatic attacks must take preventive measures to stay in good health. “People with asthmatic tendencies should avoid a sudden change in temperature like directly stepping into the sun from an air conditioned room or vice versa. One should stand in the shade for some time after coming out of a cool place into the sun and/or switch off the car air conditioner a couple of minutes before reaching office, so that the temperature change is gradual,” said Dr Vivek Singh, consultant pulmonologist at Colombia Asia hospital.

The other seasonal problems at this time of the year include those like allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and allergic asthma. “These differ from patient to patient. While some have a runny nose, others have red, watery, itchy eyes coupled with breathing problems,” said Dr Nevin Kishor, senior consultant, Pulmonology, Max Hospital, Gurgaon.

Stop Smoking News

Kicking the hard-core habit

Meg Dougherty and Darlene Richardson are pleasant, well-mannered women, but in the world of smoking-cessation counseling, they rank among the hard cases.

Dougherty started smoking cigarettes sometime in her 20s. She’s not sure how many attempts she has made to stop, but nothing worked for more than six months.

Richardson remembers exactly how and where she started: at a party shortly after her marriage at 21. And she stayed hooked for decades, even when “it made me feel like I was taking my tongue and licking an ashtray.”

Then, at age 50, both women enrolled in the JeffQuit smoking-cessation program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The program, which instructors offer at sites around the country under the name QuitSmart, is for anyone 18 or older, but especially for those who have tried to stop and failed.

“It’s almost been too easy,” said Dougherty, a nurse who reports being smoke-free since March 2. “It’s the first time I can see myself quitting for years and years.”

Cessation researchers and counselors say that with the growing public awareness of smoking’s health risks, social rejection through smoke-free areas, and the rising price of cigarettes, it’s mostly folks such as Dougherty and Richardson who are left.

“Individuals who have continued to smoke despite pressure to quit tend to be more ‘hard-core’ than were smokers of several years ago,” says Robert Shipley, who developed the QuitSmart program (the parent of JeffQuit) and has led the Duke Medical Center Stop Smoking Clinic since its inception in 1977.

To reach this group, physicians, therapists, and researchers are enlarging their bag of tricks, repackaging old techniques, trying newer ones like acupuncture, and looking for genetic clues to what makes it harder for some people to quit.

They are prescribing antismoking drugs more aggressively while taking a gentler approach in counseling. One might call it “talk softly and carry a big prescription pad.”

“In every smoker, there’s a non-smoker trying to come out,” says Frank Leone, who directs the Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Programs at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “We want to make that as easy and effective as possible. The field has shifted toward being more supportive. ‘You deserve not to smoke and here’s how we’re going to do it.’ ”

Leone drew up the “Quit Smoking Comfortably” curriculum used in the free smoking-cessation classes and workshops offered by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. The mix of prescribing and counseling is similar to that of QuitSmart.

Lorraine Dean, manager of the department’s Tobacco Policy and Control Program, said that about 800 people have taken the program in the last year.

Statistics bear out the need to reshuffle the smoking-cessation deck. As the percentage of adults who smoke has slowly fallen, so has the effectiveness of cessation programs.

At the time of the first Surgeon General’s Report in 1964, about 42 percent of adults over the age of 18 smoked cigarettes. By 2009, the figure was just under half that, although the decline has slowed in recent years.

But at the same time, Shipley says, smoking-cessation programs have proved less successful. He cites one study showing that the success rate (6-12 months of abstinence) grew from about 20 percent in 1965-69 to about 30 percent in 1970-74, but has been declining in recent years, slipping back to around 20 percent.

Prospective quitters may be getting some help on the DNA front.

A new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania indicated that the number of so-called mu opioid receptors in the brain may show why many people find it so tough to quit.

“For the first time, we’ve identified a mechanism that explains why people with a particular genetic background may be more prone to relapse when they try to quit smoking,” said study director Caryn Lerman, a psychiatry professor at the Penn medical school. Nicotine, she said, releases brain chemicals such as beta-endorphins, and those with more of these receptors found nicotine more pleasurable.

Medications that block the activity of these receptors have had mixed results, but further research may show how they can become more effective, Lerman said.

The researchers used positron emission topography (PET), a nuclear imaging technique, to measure the amount of mu opioid receptors in smokers’ brains. The machines are too expensive for use in treating individual smokers, Lerman said. But “eventually, we hope to be able to predict who will have the easiest time quitting” and design programs more tailored to the individual.

Meg Dougherty was sitting in a small circle of chairs in an exercise room in Jefferson’s Center City complex. “I feel like I should be wearing a ’smoke-free’ tiara,” said Dougherty, who lives in Overbrook.

Sitting beside her, smoking-cessation counselor Anna Tobia was a verbal streaming billboard of encouraging messages for Dougherty and two others. “You have to try new ways of coping, that’s what this comes down to. . . . You’ve given up so much. . . . I feel like without a doubt you’re going to stay.”

The four-week program costs $249, though many insurance plans will cover $200. It is based on moving slowly into abstinence. Tobia calls it a “warm chicken” approach compared with the “cold turkey” methods used years ago. Participants attend an opening class and then ease down into quitting by smoking progressively weaker brands of cigarettes. They may even have started wearing a nicotine patch before the program begins, flooding their bodies with nicotine the way one might have a large meal to kill the appetite. Nicotine gum and lozenges also are used.

Smokers who have tried and failed to quit are being reached with a program of supportive counseling, drugs, and other techniques.

Other weapons in the program’s arsenal are a tobacco-free fake cigarette with an adjustable draw to help them disassociate the hand-to-mouth movement of smoking from the pleasure sensations that follow – and discounted acupuncture and stress-reduction programs. There is also a self-hypnosis CD that another QuitSmart practitioner, Lafayette Hill and Jefferson University Hospital psychiatrist Francisco Merizalde, finds particularly helpful. “It’s the combination that makes it work,” he says.

The most commonly prescribed drugs are Chantix and Zyban, which contains the same medicine as the antidepressant Welbutrin. (It’s used to help break the addiction; there’s no assumption that smokers are depressed.)

Chantix was prescribed sparingly in past years due to possible side effects including depression and suicide attempts. But Shipley and other cessation experts say it is generally safe if used under supervision and that if nothing else works, it’s still a lot safer than continuing to smoke. He believes that a combination of drugs and mental reinforcement is most effective with most longtime smokers.

Whatever is prescribed for QuitSmart clients, however, it is buttressed by supportive group sessions and a self-hypnosis CD. Tobia makes herself available as much as possible by cellphone and frequently calls or e-mails clients while they are in the program or after completion.

New York City Smoking Ban Starts Today

Beginning today, Monday, May 23, 2011, smoking is not allowed in outdoor public spaces around New York City, including beaches, parks and plazas. (That means Central Park, Yankee Stadium, the Coney Island boardwalk and so on — or everywhere it’s fun to smoke.) Health officials have pointed toward second-hand smoke as the reason for the new policy. But will police actually be patrolling for public smokers? How will the ban be enforced in a city full of smokers? And what will happen to the loosie man?

The city is leaving most of the enforcement responsibility up to us. “We expect the new law will be enforced by New Yorkers themselves, who will ask people to follow the law and stop smoking,” read a joint press release from the Parks, Health and Transportation Departments. So look forward to some shouting matches on the Great Lawn.

But there’s also a $50 fine, if the complainer can get someone in charge to pay attention:
Q: What is the penalty for smoking in a park or other area where smoking is prohibited?

A: We expect that the new law will be enforced mostly by New Yorkers themselves, who will ask people to follow the law and stop smoking. This is how similar laws have worked in other places, including Chicago and Los Angeles. However, people who violate the new law could receive a $50 ticket.

Q: What should I do if someone refuses to stop smoking in a park, beach or other area where smoking is prohibited?

A: New Yorkers are encouraged to inform a Parks Department employee or a Park Enforcement Officer if one is available. Otherwise, complaints can be made by calling 311.

The city is also planning an ad campaign to alert everyone of the changes.

Expert smokers, who still own the sidewalk, to be extra aggressive today, exhaling onto every baby they see.

Reynolds Suggests Snusing As Tobacco Ban Takes Effect

The Wall Street Journal ’s David Kesmodel writes that R.J. Reynolds is “seizing on new antismoking laws in New York City” while the Winston-Salem Journal’s Richard Craver says the hometown tobacco company is merely “attempting to make lemonade” out of the ban on smoking in the city’s parks, beaches, boardwalks, and pedestrian plazas that was signed into law in February and takes effect today.

Whether you see it as an aggressive ploy to fill the void left when the last wisp of cigarette smoke wafted into the ozone layer at midnight, or as defensive move to salvage some sales out of yet-another intrusion on personal freedom, Reynolds has launched a newspaper campaign for Camel Snus this morning in local New York newspapers (except the New York Times, which does not accept tobacco advertising) as well as USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

CSPnet.com has some thumbnail images of the full-page ads, which carry the headlines “NYC Smokers Enjoy Freedom Without the Flame” and “NYC Smokers Rise Above the Ban.” “Smokers, switch to smoke-free Camel Snus and reclaim the world’s greatest city,” reads the copy in one of the ads.

An R.J. Reynolds’ spokesman says the company simply wants to “make adult smokers in the city aware of a smoke-free tobacco product that’s available to them” and that “as trends in tobacco use change, Camel is transforming by offering adult smokers options, like smoke-free Camel Snus, to consider switching to.” It refers to the products as “spit-free, smoke-free, mess-free tobacco that comes in a small pouch” on its website. “Just slide it under your upper lip and enjoy.” It also plays up the two-century-old Swedish heritage of the product.

“Some public-health advocates, pointing to the difficulty of quitting smoking, argue that products like snus could play a role in reducing tobacco-related harm,” Kesmodel writes. “Others say the products may entice more people to take up tobacco, and could keep smokers who otherwise might drop tobacco altogether from doing so.”

Bill Godshall, the executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania, tells Craver that Reynolds is the first large U.S. tobacco company to encourage smokers to quit smoking by urging them to switch to a smokeless product. The ads, however, do not make any claims of reduced health risks, which doesn’t mean that anti-smoking groups find them acceptable.

“These ads continue Reynolds’ irresponsible marketing of snus as a way for smokers to get their nicotine fix in the growing number of smoke-free places,” says Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids spokesman Vince Willmore.

In a separate piece in yesterday’s Winston-Salem Journal, Craver reports that Matthew Carpenter, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the department of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, is conducting a federally funded study that aims to answer two key questions in the debate: 1. Can a smokeless product … contribute to a smoker quitting cigarettes — particularly one who doesn’t want to stop? 2. If it does, could an increase in use of smokeless-tobacco products over cigarettes cause a net harm to the population?

But Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says research should also evaluate whether the marketing of smokeless products result in more people actually using tobacco, “which could result in more deaths, not fewer.”

Craver discusses some prior research that indicates that the use of smokeless products may be effective in curbing withdrawal and craving among smokers who want to quit. But, he points out, “the evolution of some health-advocacy groups from anti-smoking to anti-tobacco is ratcheting up the moralistic aspect of buying and consuming a legal product.”

Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, published an op-ed piece in the Arizona Republic yesterday that calls on Major League Baseball to enact a ban on smokeless tobacco just like one that has been in effect for minor leagues teams since 1993.

“Ballplayers aren’t indulging a harmless habit when they use smokeless tobacco,” he writes. “They’re damaging their health with a product that causes cancer and other serious diseases. And they’re endangering the well-being of countless kids who look up to them and who copy everything major leaguers do.”

Kendrik says that while cigarette sales are down, the promotion of smokeless products as a substitute is having an effect: Smokeless-tobacco use by high-school boys has risen 36% since 2003. “Every time a kid sees a major-league player using smokeless tobacco,” he writes, “baseball is contributing free promotion.”

Tobacco use falls despite cuts to funding

Emily Kecskemety, a senior at Pittsford Sutherland High School, was watching the movie Hairspray one day and was bothered by all the smoking in the film.

The big-screen version of the Broadway musical had scenes with teens smoking in a high school bathroom, teachers smoking in the faculty lounge and pregnant mothers smoking during a dance number, even though it was a PG-rated movie.

She and other members of Reality Check, a high school club aimed at preventing teen smoking, created an awareness-raising activity out of the movie.

“A group of us decided to play a game and stomp our feet every time we saw something smoking-related and we couldn’t believe the significant amount of times we did see something,” Kecskemety, 17.

Pittsford’s Reality Check is one of a few teen-run anti-tobacco efforts still in existence in Monroe County after federal and state funding for such groups were cut. And although teen smoking rates are declining, concern remains that without such peer programs, the rates could again rise.

“These groups have to stay alive because smoking companies target teens and teen awareness efforts are some of the main reasons why smoking has gone down,” said David Walling, former Monroe County coordinator of Reality Check. “When teens educate other teens about the ways that tobacco companies are focusing on younger kids to get them hooked, kids get totally offended because they don’t want to be duped.”

Cigarette use by high school students declined from 27.1 percent in 2000 to 12.6 percent last year, according to the state Department of Health.

Close to 80 percent of adult smokers began before age 18, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

New York budgeted $47 million in 2011-12 for tobacco-prevention initiatives, said Morris Peters, spokesperson for the state budget office, down $17 million from last year. Three years ago, the state spent upwards of $80 million annually on programs.

The New York state Department of Health Tobacco Control Program helps run Reality Check, a statewide initiative empowering youth to participate in reducing tobacco use among peers, removing tobacco advertising from magazines delivered to schools and removing tobacco use from movies rated G, PG and PG-13.

Cancer Prevention News

Volunteers needed for study on cancer prevention

Here’s a chance to be a part of history – by eventually making cancer part of the past, the American Cancer Society hopes.

ACS wants to recruit 500,000 U.S. adults ages 30-65, from all races and ethnic backgrounds, for a massive, lengthy study on cancer prevention. Participants should be willing to commit to the Cancer Prevention Study-3 long-term and should not have previously been diagnosed with cancer. The study’s purpose is to improve understanding of the lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.

People can sign up at today’s Sevier County Relay for Life fundraiser, 6-10 p.m. at Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge. There they will read and sign a consent form, complete a brief survey, provide some physical measurements and give a small blood sample.

Later, at home, they’ll complete a more detailed survey. Then, they’ll periodically be asked to update it.

Coffee for cancer prevention: good idea?

It’s nice when sinful foods turn out to be not so sinful, and coffee has been earning high marks lately on the nutrition front — to the point that some are now calling it a health food. Adding to the growing evidence is a study published yesterday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which found that drinking copious amounts may reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer.

“Those in the study who drank one to three cups of coffee a day had a 30 percent lower risk of lethal prostate cancer,” says study author Kathryn Wilson, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health. “The ones who drank six cups a day had a 60 percent lower risk.”

That’s a heck of a lot of coffee — consumed by just 5 percent of the men in the study, which was comprised of nearly 48,000 male health professionals. But it didn’t matter whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated, Wilson tells me, to get the prostate cancer benefit.

(No way to know, though, whether brewed was better than instant since the vast majority of the participants drank brewed.)

Women coffee drinkers may also have some protection against breast cancer. Swedish researchers reported last week that women who drank five or more cups of coffee a day had about a 55 percent lower likelihood of developing a less common type of breast cancer — that’s not dependent on estrogen — compared with those who drank just one cup.

Being a two-cup-a-day coffee drinker myself, I’m wondering if I should make a point to drink more.

“Don’t change your habits based on the results of single study,” Wilson tells me. While accounting for potentially confounding factors like PSA screenings and smoking habits, the study, which simply observed dietary and lifestyle habits, can’t show for certain whether one particular habit really made the difference in disease risk.

On the other hand, Wilson adds, “people who drink a lot of coffee shouldn’t feel guilty about it. For many, it’s their best source of antioxidants.”

That’s likely because they’re not eating the recommended five to eight servings a day of fruits and vegetables — which also protect against cancer.

Besides containing antioxidants, coffee appears to improve the action of the hormone insulin, Wilson says, which could add to its cancer protective effects. And those same attributes might also explain coffee drinkers’ lower risk of Parkinson’s, strokes, gallstones, colon cancer, and liver disease.

If you do decide to up your intake of java, you might want those extra cups to be decaffeinated to avoid disrupting your sleep. (Skimping on sleep, which raises your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, could negate the benefits of coffee.)

And avoid those frothy mocha, caramel concoctions that contain hundreds of calories, or you could find yourself packing on pounds. Not a good idea if your goal is to lower your risk of cancer.

Report outlines successes, challenges in cancer prevention efforts

A new report from the American Cancer Society details cancer control efforts and outlines improvements as well as gaps in preventive behavior that contribute to cancer mortality. Increasing rates of obesity observed since the early 1980s appear to have slowed in the past decade, particularly among women and girls, but nearly one in five adolescents and about one in three adults is obese. Vaccination against the virus that causes cervical cancer is up, but smoking declines have stalled. Meanwhile, proven cancer screening tests remain underutilized, particularly in un- and under-insured populations. The report, Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures (CPED), says social, economic, and legislative factors profoundly influence individual health behaviors, and that meeting nationwide prevention goals will require improved collaboration among government agencies, private companies, nonprofit organizations, health care providers, policy makers, and the American public.

Since 1992, the American Cancer Society has published CPED as a resource to strengthen cancer prevention and early detection efforts at the local, state, and national levels. Below are highlights of this year’s report.

Tobacco Use

Smoking rates in U.S. adults and youth have stalled. Among adults, the smoking rate remained unchanged in the past 6 years (2009: 20.6%). Among high school students, the smoking prevalence did not change significantly between 2003 and 2009 (19.5%), but use of smokeless products is increasing in some groups. Smoking among middle school students also did not change between 2006 and 2009 (5.2%).

States’ funding for tobacco control ($517.9 million) in 2011 was the lowest amount allocated since the 1999 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), with only 2% of states’ revenue from tobacco taxes and the MSA allocated for tobacco control.

Federal tobacco control funding to some extent offset declines in states’ funding. Several federal tobacco control initiatives, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations and funding for tobacco control, went into effect in 2010. Provisions for tobacco dependence treatment coverage in the Affordable Care Act for previously uninsured individuals, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients either went into effect in 2010 or will be implemented in upcoming years.

As tobacco marketing and sales become more restrictive due to regulations, the industry is moving toward unregulated venues and products. For example, point-of-source advertising and promotions are increasingly being targeted by the industry, as are products such as small cigars that are not subject to the same regulations governing cigarette sales and marketing.

Overweight and Obesity, Physical Activity, and Nutrition

Currently, an estimated 18.1% of adolescents and 34.3% of adults are obese. Increasing rates of obesity observed since the early 1980s appear to have slowed in the past decade, particularly among women and girls.

In 2009, the prevalence of obesity among adults exceeded 20% in all states except Colorado (19.3%).

HPV Vaccination for Cervical Cancer Prevention

To prevent cervical cancer, vaccination against certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended for adolescent girls. The initiation of the HPV vaccination series among U.S. females aged 13 to 17 increased from 25% in 2007 to 44% in 2009, and nearly one in three completed the entire series.

Cancer Screening

Mammography usage has not increased since 2000. In 2008, 53% of women aged 40 and older reported getting a mammogram in the past year. Women who lack health insurance have the lowest use of mammograms (26%).

In 2008, 78.3% of adult women had a Pap test in the past three years. However, there is persistent under-use of the Pap test among women who are uninsured, recent immigrants, and those with low education.

Colorectal cancer screening rates increased from 38% in 2000 to 53.2% in 2008; however, rates remain substantially lower in uninsured individuals. To date, 26 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation ensuring coverage for the full range of colorectal cancer screening tests.

Improving these numbers, says the report, will require coordinated efforts. “For example,” the authors write, “the price and availability of healthy foods, the incentives and opportunities for regular physical activity in schools and communities, the content of advertising aimed at children, and the availability of insurance coverage for screening tests and treatment for tobacco addiction all influence individual choices.”

Dental Care Today

New Jersey Dentist Expands Sleep Apnea Expertise at Prestigious Dental Institute

As a cosmetic dentist in New Jersey, Dr. Jerry Strauss focuses on the overall oral health of his patients as he strives to create and maintain the smiles they desire. As part of his commitment to complete oral care, he often treats symptoms of sleep apnea to help his patients avoid common side-effects ranging from hypertnesion to heart disease, which is why he recently completed a comprehensive 3-day sleep apnea course at the internationally recognized Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies.

Fairfield, NJ (PRWEB) May 17, 2011

At his New Jersey cosmetic dentistry practice, Jerry Strauss, DMD says he strives to provide comprehensive dental care to enhance his patients’ overall oral health. While he specializes in improving their smiles with procedures such as teeth whitening or porcelain veneers, he stresses the need to address patient concerns on a case-by-case basis, which can include a variety of concerns, from sleep apnea to TMJ treatment. As part of this dedication to providing complete oral care, Dr. Strauss recently traveled to the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) for a post-graduate course on successful treatment of sleep apnea.

At LVI, Dr. Strauss says day-1 of the sleep apnea program included a comprehensive presentation that not only focused on the effects of sleep apnea on adults, but also how this deadly disease can affect children. Day-2 of the LVI course concentrated on obstructive sleep apnea, and the need for immediate treatment to help patients manage the disease and improve overall quality of life. And finally, Dr. Strauss says day-3 included a presentation from the Dr. Brian Allen, an expert in dental sleep medicine. Ultimately, Dr. Strauss says he has a new appreciation for the disease, adding that the course will be helpful in his practice and personal life, as he too suffers from the effects of sleep apnea.

Whether enhancing a patient’s smile with porcelain veneers, treating the host of medical problems associated with sleep apnea, or reducing his patients’ level of anxiety with sedation dentistry, Dr. Strauss says he constantly strives to create a positive experience with each office visit. Maintaining a steadfast commitment to continuing education courses is yet another essential element of his New Jersey practice’s success. As Dr. Strauss returns to his practice from the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, he says he believes he is better equipped to treat and manage sleep apnea, and help his patients continue to share their beautiful smiles.

About Dr. Strauss

Jerry M. Strauss, DMD earned his dental degree from Boston University’s School of Graduate Dentistry. He then completed a general practice residency at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, where he also served as a clinical instructor. Dr. Strauss has achieved Master Status with the Academy of General Dentistry by completing 1100 hours of continuing education, which is the highest honor the academy offers. He is also a member of the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation.

Expanding 40 years of necessary medical care

The growing pains forcing expansion of the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center confirm how much the Southbridge health care agency has become a gem to the city of Wilmington.

Monday’s kickoff of a $4 million campaign to more than double its response to growing demand for dental care, women’s health screenings, prenatal and pregnancy care and routine family health services secures HJMC’s role as a “medical home” for the unemployed and uninsured.

And the campaign will prepare HJMC for the coming federal health reform mandates that begin in 2014.

In the last five years, requests for service grew 17 percent. Nearly 7,000 patients were serviced, with 66 percent falling below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline and 84 percent of that group below 100 percent of the guideline. Inadequate exam and treatments rooms prevent hiring new medical staff, and women’s services are busting at the seams.

The numbers tell much about trends in unmet health needs in northern Delaware. For example, dental visits increased by 83 percent, but 10 percent of slots are reserved for walk-in emergency cases. The expansion will provide for another dentist and dental hygienist and help HJMC continue to provide health care to homeless families at no cost.

But most important, for those fortunate enough to have medical insurance, this campaign allows HJMC to continue to be a buffer against a rise in their premiums as well. Health insurers typically pass on the costs of caring for uninsured patients to those who have insurance.

Amerigroup Foundation Supports Health Services for Virginia’s Uninsured

The Amerigroup Foundation announced that it will provide more than $150,000 in support of the delivery of health care services to uninsured Virginians. The majority of this donation will be directed toward the southwest region of the state and the 2011 Remote Area Medical® Health Expedition in Wise County, Va., this July. Organizations receiving funds include The Health Wagon, the Virginia Dental Association Foundation and The University of Virginia Office of Telemedicine.

The Remote Area Medical® Volunteer Corps is a nonprofit, all-volunteer medical relief corps serving remote and impoverished areas of the United States and abroad. In Virginia, the Virginia Dental Association Foundation (VDAF), a local free clinic, The Health Wagon, and The University of Virginia annually team up with RAM to spearhead a three-day event, providing eye, dental and medical care to the uninsured and underinsured in the region.

“This project represents positive and worthwhile endeavors that promote and enhance access to health care delivery for citizens of Southwest Virginia,” said Teresa Gardner, RN, FPN, DNP, executive director of The Health Wagon. “We are very thankful for Amerigroup’s support for us to continue valuable and needed services.”

“Amerigroup has allowed us to expand our reach into underserved communities,” said Dr. Terry D. Dickinson, executive director of the VDAF. “Their support will create $1.28 million in free dental care, benefit the community at large, decrease the disparities in health care, increase health literacy and encourage better personal choices through not only the RAM Health Expedition, but also VDAF’s additional Mission of Mercy projects.”

“The University of Virginia is delighted to partner with the Amerigroup Foundation to expand access to high-quality specialty care services via our telemedicine network. We have facilitated more than 22,000 clinical encounters sparing patients more than 6.5 million miles of travel for access to health care services. In many cases, the patients we have served might otherwise never receive care in a timely fashion. This partnership enhances our ability to serve patients in need when they need care, regardless of geographic and financial barriers to access,” said Dr. Karen Rheuban, medical director of the University of Virginia Office of Telemedicine.

Last year’s RAM Health Expedition event was the largest of its kind in the nation, drawing individuals from more than 16 states. Run with the help of 1,746 volunteers, $2.3 million in free care was provided to more than 2,800 patients with 5,683 distinct encounters. This year’s event is expected to draw more than 3,000 patients.

“The Foundation is thrilled to be able to provide not only funds, but also volunteers, to support the amazing work of the RAM,” said John E. Littel, chairman of the Amerigroup Foundation. “We will be able to directly connect, better understand and strengthen the long-term health needs for individuals who are uninsured or underinsured.”