Monday, May 28, 2012

Novel Method to Effectively Combat Oxidative Liver Damage


By Kirk Stokel
Image

Little known to the general public is the silent epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD, which afflicts up to 40% of all Americans.1 NAFLD particularly targets those who carry around excess weight. For the nearly 70% of Americans who are overweight or obese,2 that figure rises to a shocking 50-100%.3,4

Ominously, NAFLD sets the stage for a progression of lethal diseases that can include cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.5,6 Risk of death from all causes skyrockets more than four-fold in NAFLD sufferers - and more than eight-fold for early cardiac death.7

Because of both physician and patient ignorance, most victims of NAFLD are entirely unaware they have it.

No drug can halt this widespread disease's potentially lethal progress.3

The exciting news is scientists have recently identified a novel intervention to halt two of NAFLD's core pathologic processes - lipid peroxidation, wherein excess liver fat turns rancid under continuous assault from free radicals, and rampant oxidative damage from disease-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Readmore…


Monday, May 21, 2012

Study Compares Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Methods


(HealthDay News) -- A less-invasive method of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair reduces the short-term risk of death, according to a new U.S. study.

The interim findings are from a nine-year multicenter trial comparing patient outcomes after endovascular and open surgical repair of AAA. The report included postoperative outcomes of up to two years (average 1.8 years of follow-up) for 881 patients, aged 49 or older, who had endovascular repair (444) or open repair (437).

Endovascular repair is performed through a catheter inserted into an artery. Open repair involves an abdominal incision. Of the 45,000 patients in the United States who undergo elective repair of an unruptured AAA each year, more than 1,400 die in the perioperative period -- the first 30 days after surgery or inpatient status. There's limited data available about whether short-term survival is better after endovascular repair compared to open repair. Readmore…

Monday, May 14, 2012

Scientists Say Sunshine May Prevent Cancer


Scientists Say Sunshine May Prevent Cancer
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE

Scientists are excited about a vitamin again. But unlike fads that sizzled and fizzled, the evidence this time is strong and keeps growing. If it bears out, it will challenge one of medicine's most fundamental beliefs: that people need to coat themselves with sunscreen whenever they're in the sun. Doing that may actually contribute to far more cancer deaths than it prevents, some researchers think.

The vitamin is D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays. Sunscreen blocks its production, but dermatologists and health agencies have long preached that such lotions are needed to prevent skin cancer. Now some scientists are questioning that advice. The reason is that vitamin D increasingly seems important for preventing and even treating many types of cancer. Read more…

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Reversing Diabetes: Harnessing the Power Within Ourselves


By Janice S. Lehet, Titusville, NJ

"There is no failure, except in no longer trying; no defeat, except from within; no insurmountable barrier, except our own inherent weakness of purpose." Anonymous

Four months ago, I was grossly overweight, had triglyceride and cholesterol levels of nearly 400, and received reports that my liver function tests exceeded the normal range by 25%. Experiencing numbness in my face and foot, I checked into the emergency room at a local hospital fearing that I might have been experiencing a stroke. I don't think I had a stroke since I was released after an overnight stay, but my admittance to Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey changed my life.

After ten years of knowing that I had diabetes, I had regressed to a position of taking three daily potent time release pills to manage my glucose levels in spite of my sincere efforts to manage the disease as carefully as possible. I found that as my pill intake increased so did my glucose levels. Still, my doctors continued to increase the medicine's dosage in spite of my discussions with them about articles in the New York Times and other publications revealing that the drug could potentially cause heart failure and kidney disease. One doctor dismissed the articles and touted the benefits of taking the drugs, again weighing such "benefits" against the deleterious effects of the disease. Read more…

Monday, April 30, 2012

Antioxidants help arteries stay healthy in people at risk for heart disease


Antioxidants are substances that protect cells against the effects of free radicals -- molecules produced when the body breaks down food or is exposed to environmental toxins and radiation. Free radicals are believed to play a role in heart disease, cancer and other disorders. So it makes sense that antioxidants could help protect or even treat many health problems.

However, some poorly designed studies have given antioxidants mixed results (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3214&p=3892&sid=258fe62f53a591185a259925b7c55ca3&sid=7e828fa71f84a9557d08255f34ff89c9#p3892) and resulted in the mainstream media reporting that antioxidants are virtually worthless. But new research provides hard evidence that taking antioxidant supplements long-term produces dramatic benefits in people with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

That's the conclusion of a randomized, controlled trial of vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules. The research results, just reported in BioMed Central's journal Nutrition and Metabolism, show these dietary antioxidants produce multiple positive effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility (which allows blood to move freely through the body).

The study was conducted by scientist Reuven Zimlichman and his research team at Wolfson Medical Center in Israel. They randomly divided 70 high blood pressure patients into two groups. One group was given antioxidants supplements and the other took placebo capsules for six months. Those taking the antioxidants received vitamin C (1000 mg/day), vitamin E (400 i.u/day), coenzyme Q10 (120 mg/day) and selenium (200 mcg/day). Read more…