Anesthesia Technique May Affect Survival After Breast Cancer Surgery: Study

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — The anesthesia technique used during breast cancer surgery may affect cancer recurrence and survival, Danish researchers report.

In a small study that followed 77 breast cancer patients, researchers found the combination of a general anesthetic plus injections of a nerve block resulted in increased survival and fewer recurrences, said Dr. Palle Steen Carlsson, a researcher at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

A six-year follow-up found that 13 percent of patients who got the combination had their cancer recur versus 37 percent of those who got anesthesia alone. And 10 percent of those in the combination group died compared to 32 percent of those given anesthesia alone.

The idea that the anesthesia technique used during breast cancer surgery affects results is evolving, anesthesiologists say, and needs more study. Carlsson found a link between the two, but her study didn’t show a direct cause-and-effect relationship. She is scheduled to report her findings Oct. 15 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ annual meeting in San Francisco.

Carlsson acknowledged the study’s limitations. “The weakness of our study is the size,” she said.

During cancer surgery, tumor cells released into the blood can implant in lymph nodes and other organs, she said. The immune system kicks in to fight these cells, but surgery and anesthesia can impair the immune system.

Carlsson can’t say for sure why women who got the nerve block plus anesthesia tended to fare better. One theory is that better pain relief during and after surgery reduces the stress response to the procedure, she said. Or perhaps the need for fewer narcotic painkillers after surgery reduces the risk of cancer spreading.

In the study, Carlsson randomly assigned the 77 patients to general anesthesia plus injections of saline or general anesthesia plus injections of local anesthetic (this is called a paravertebral block) about an inch from the middle of the spine.

Besides differences in recurrence and survival, medical records six years later showed fewer opioids for pain relief were needed by the women who got the combination approach.

In an earlier study, researchers found that the combination of general anesthesia and regional anesthesia reduced recurrences and the spread of breast cancer four-fold, but that study looked back at medical records. Carlsson said her study is believed to be the first to follow patients forward.

The concept has been a hot topic for several years among anesthesiologists, said Dr. Michael Lew, professor and chairman of anesthesiology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif. Lew was not involved in the study.

“

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Bypass May Beat Angioplasty for Diabetics With Heart Disease

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Generally, the less invasive a surgical procedure is, the better. But, that’s not necessarily true for people with diabetes.

Recent research has found lower death rates and fewer heart attacks in people with diabetes who’ve undergone the open-heart procedure known as a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), compared to those who had the less-invasive coronary angioplasty with stents. Angioplasty is also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Now a new study of the same group of patients reports that they also have a better quality of life after the more-invasive bypass procedure.

“Recovery and early quality of life was better immediately with PCI, which is not surprising given the much less invasive nature of that procedure. But, between six months and two years, there was less

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Many Doctors Ignore Guidelines, Order PSA Tests for Elderly Men

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — A new study finds that too many doctors ignore current guidelines that advise against giving PSA tests to elderly men, subjecting many of these patients to needless worry and bother.

Even though no major medical group currently recommends prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests for men older than 75, more than 40 percent of the men covered in the new study were still being screened for prostate cancer in this way.

“Depending on which primary-care physician a man sees, he will be up to seven times more likely to receive the test than if he had seen a different primary-care physician,” said lead researcher Dr. Elizabeth Jaramillo, from the department of geriatrics at the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The findings, published in the Oct. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, are based on Medicare records for more than 61,000 patients and close to 2,000 primary-care doctors.

PSA testing is generally not recommended for men aged 75 and older because the vast majority of prostate cancers are so slow-growing that an elderly man is much more likely to die of another condition in his lifetime than from the cancer, Jaramillo said.

“When used in elderly men, the PSA test can lead to harms, including overdiagnosis,” she said. “Overdiagnosis is when someone who will live for a long period of time will get diagnosed and treated for a condition that normally would never cause symptoms or be detected in their lifetime.”

The treatment, perhaps including surgery, can be riskier than the disease and cause significant emotional stress. “We do not need to be screening elderly men for prostate cancer,” Jaramillo said.

It is estimated that more than 1 million excess prostate cancers have been identified from PSA testing, Jaramillo said.

At least one other expert disagreed with Jaramillo on the screening of elderly men, however.

Dr. Anthony D’Amico, chief of radiation oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said he thinks screening decisions should be based on a man’s overall health and life expectancy, not his age.

“According to the study, in patients with no

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Popular Morning Sickness Drug Safe in Pregnancy, Study Finds

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — The anti-nausea medication metoclopramide appears to be a safe and effective treatment for morning sickness, Danish researchers report.

More than 40,000 women exposed to metoclopramide while pregnant did not face any increased risk of birth defects or miscarriage, according to a study published Oct. 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“This is by far the largest study on metoclopramide safety in pregnancy, and as such it expands substantially on the published evidence,” said co-author Dr. Bjorn Pasternak of the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen. “It found that metoclopramide use in pregnancy was not associated with increased risk of major adverse outcomes, including major malformations and fetal death, and as such supports what is known about the safety profile of this drug.”

More than half of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting, usually early in their pregnancy, the study authors noted.

Most women deal with these symptoms with little treatment, but about 10 percent to 15 percent eventually will require medication because they face more serious complications such as dehydration or weight loss.

But many pregnant women have grave concerns regarding any sort of nausea medication because of the horrific birth defects associated with the drug thalidomide, which was used to treat morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Thalidomide’s tragic history led to the strengthening of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the development of regulations regarding medication use during pregnancy.

“There’s a general feeling to take no medications during pregnancy,” said Dr. Siobhan Dolan, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City and medical adviser to the March of Dimes. “The truth is in the first trimester when the organs are forming we’re cautious about any medication the women take. But there’s a growing appreciation that there can be risks to not treating symptoms like nausea and vomiting.”

Metoclopramide, sold under the brand name Reglan, is one of the most commonly used prescription medications in pregnancy, the authors noted.

The drug has FDA approval for use as a treatment for patients suffering heartburn and esophagitis due to acid reflux. It’s also used to treat nausea caused by surgery or chemotherapy, and is often recommended as a treatment for morning sickness if other therapies have failed.

Pasternak said there aren’t many alternatives for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. “There appears to be some degree of individual variation in response to drug treatment, so some women may be helped by one drug and others by another. Therefore, different treatment alternatives are needed,” he said.

In this study, researchers reviewed more than 1.2 million pregnancies in Denmark from 1997 to 2011 and compared outcomes between women who used metoclopramide and those who did not.

The investigators compared 28,486 infants exposed to metoclopramide in the first trimester of pregnancy to 113,698 unexposed infants, and found no associations between the nausea drug and any major malformations.

The study also found no increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight or fetal growth restriction associated with metoclopramide use in pregnancy.

Because birth defects are rare, it can be difficult to assess a drug’s safety in small-scale studies, Dolan said. A study looking at tens of thousands of pregnancies is more likely to find patterns and associations between a medication and the risk of birth defects, if such risk exists.

“We can take from this some reassurance” of metoclopramide’s safety, Dolan said. “What’s powerful about a study like this is they looked at all the births in Denmark between 1997 and 2011. That’s a lot of births.”

Regardless, Dolan said further study into the safety of this and other medications used during pregnancy will always be needed.

“We need good data to have good understanding so women can be cared for, and their symptoms can be treated and they can have successful pregnancy outcomes,” she said. “Women need to understand the risks of any medication they choose to take.”

More information

Visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine to learn more about morning sickness.

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Snubbed? Brain Chemicals Might Comfort You

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Your brain releases natural painkillers when you’re rejected by other people, according to a new study.

That this painkiller system acts to ease social hurt as well as physical pain may improve understanding of depression and social anxiety, the University of Michigan Medical School researchers said.

The researchers also found that people with the highest levels of resilience — the ability to adjust to change — had the highest levels of this natural painkiller activation.

The research team focused on the mu-opioid receptor system in the brain. Their previous research on this system showed that when a person feels physical pain, the system releases opioids in order to dampen pain signals.

In this study, the researchers used brain scans to monitor the system’s response in 18 volunteers who experienced social rejection in experiments that mimicked online dating. The findings were published recently in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

“This is the first study to peer into the human brain to show that the opioid system is activated during social rejection,” study lead author David Hsu, a research assistant professor of psychiatry, said in a university news release. “In general, opioids have been known to be released during social distress and isolation in animals, but where this occurs in the human brain has not been shown until now.”

He said participants’ personalities appeared to affect the opioid system’s response to rejection. Those with a high level of resilience tended to have greater levels of opioid release, especially in the amygdala, a region of the brain involved in processing emotions.

“This suggests that opioid release in this structure during social rejection may be protective or adaptive,” Hsu said.

The researchers are now investigating if people with depression or social anxiety have an abnormal opioid response to social rejection or acceptance.

“It is possible that those with depression or social anxiety are less capable of releasing opioids during times of social distress, and therefore do not recover as quickly or fully from a negative social experience,” Hsu said. “Similarly, these individuals may also have less opioid release during positive social interactions, and therefore may not gain as much from social support.”

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about anxiety disorders.

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Use of Donor Sperm by Lesbians Rises in Canada, Study Finds

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Use of donor sperm by lesbian couples increased significantly after gay marriage was legalized in the province of Ontario, Canada, a new study finds.

Researchers in Toronto analyzed data from their sperm donor program over the past 17 years and found that the proportion of lesbian couples using the program increased from 15 percent to 20 percent of their patients after gay marriage was legalized in 2003.

The number of units of donor sperm used by lesbian couples increased fourfold, from 133 to 561, according to the findings, which were scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the annual meeting of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and the American Society for Reproduction Medicine, in Boston.

“There is no question that broad social trends have a huge impact on reproduction, and on reproductive medicine,” IFFS President Joe Leigh Simpson said in a federation news release. “It is nice to have some actual data which documents how some of these trends impact our profession and, more importantly, our patients.”

The study also found that 15 percent of single women and women in heterosexual relationships used donor sperm for in vitro fertilization, compared with 7 percent of lesbian women.

Data and conclusions presented at medical meetings typically are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers advice for gay and lesbian parents.

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Study Sees Link Between Psoriasis, Kidney Problems

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — People with moderate to severe psoriasis are at increased risk for chronic kidney disease and need to be closely monitored for kidney problems, a large new study suggests.

Researchers in Philadelphia analyzed data from nearly 144,000 people, aged 19 to 90, with psoriasis, and a comparison (control) group of nearly 690,000 adults without the condition.

During seven years of follow-up, people with psoriasis were more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those in the control group. Those with severe psoriasis had a nearly two-fold higher risk of developing kidney disease and a more than fourfold higher risk of developing kidney failure requiring dialysis, according to a journal news release

Further investigation that focused on the amount of skin area affected by psoriasis showed that people with moderate to severe psoriasis were at greater risk of developing chronic kidney disease. People with moderate psoriasis have 3 percent to 10 percent of skin area affected, while those with severe psoriasis have more than 10 percent of skin area affected.

Psoriasis is a chronic condition involving scaly skin patches that can lead to itching, cracking and bleeding. As many as 7.5 million Americans have the autoimmune condition, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation.

Moderate and severe psoriasis affect more than 20 percent of patients worldwide, according to the study, which appears Oct. 15 in the journal BMJ.

Although the study found an association between having psoriasis and a higher risk of kidney problems, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

The researchers also found that the risk of chronic kidney disease linked to psoriasis increases with age. In patients aged 40 to 50 with severe disease, psoriasis accounted for one extra case of chronic kidney disease per 134 patients yearly. In those aged 50 to 60, it accounted for one extra case yearly per 62 patients.

Further research is needed to confirm the study findings, determine how psoriasis can cause kidney disease and examine how psoriasis treatment affects the risk for kidney disease, the researchers concluded.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about psoriasis.

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IUD Won’t Hurt Future Fertility, Study Contends

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — Intrauterine devices, commonly known as IUDs, do not impair women’s future fertility, according to a new study.

Researchers in Guangdong, China found that once these contraceptive devices are removed, women have relatively high pregnancy rates and normal pregnancy results.

The study’s findings were scheduled for presentation Wednesday in Boston at a meeting of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

“Being able to exercise some control over when they reproduce is a great emancipator for women,” Richard Kennedy, Secretary General of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, said in a meeting news release. “The fact that IUD use has no long-lasting effect on subsequent ability to conceive is reassuring news.”

In conducting the study, the researchers surveyed 562 women who had an IUD removed between 2012 and 2013 because they wanted to have a child.

The researchers found that about three-quarters of the women were able to conceive a child after their IUD was removed. Although the women’s age and how long they used an IUD played a role, on average it took 11 months to get pregnant.

Most of the IUDs used were copper, and pregnancy rates after IUD removal for the copper IUDs was about 78 percent. Pregnancy rates were about 74 percent for women who used IUDs that contained the emergency contraceptive levonorgestrel. The researchers said this difference was statistically insignificant.

The study also showed the rate of pelvic inflammatory disease was about 11 percent. Although 12 women experienced ectopic pregnancies, there was no increase in pregnancy complications or negative results, the researchers said.

The IUD is a small, T-shaped device inserted into the uterus.

The stigma associated with IUDs is related to the Dalkon Shield, made by the millions in the 1970s and later linked to infections, including pelvic inflammatory disease, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and some deaths. The Dalkon Shield, which had a design flaw that carried bacteria into the uterus, is no longer on the market.

Data and conclusions presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on IUDs and other forms of contraception.

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Tips to stay fit through the holidays

binge if you must! Don’t hold back, BUT read tip #2

2) Around those holidays, you better be on track. You might suffer cravings for those foods the very next day. Deal with it. Go to the gym. Drink lots of water. Use self talk to walk your way through it. It is healthier to not be the only person at the holidays who is chained to a diet when everyone else is partying and living it up

3) This entire holiday season, cut out ALL high glycemic carbs except for those particular days mentioned in tip #1.

4) Avoid office cakes and cookies. If you eat one of those, perhaps you can arrange a fun activity where everyone has to perform 25 pushups to earn one piece of cake the size of your palm. If you can’t control yourself, then simply don’t do it!

5) Bring healthy foods to the office every day so that when people are eating the junk food, you are eating the healthy food. Try to integrate your healthy behaviours into your office setting. Be the leader (tool #100 in my book, Breaking the Chains of Obesity, 107 Tools.

6) Get that exercise in every week. Workout a minimum of 30 minutes a day or 150 minutes a week. Make it happen. Hire a trainer. Do a class. Do something that will truly regulate your blood sugars this holiday season.

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Blood Test Shows Promise for Cancer Detection, Study Finds

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they’ve developed a blood test that can detect some cases of early stage lung and prostate cancer.

Although the test has limited accuracy and only a small number of people have tried it, it potentially could provide doctors more information when they suspect a patient has a tumor.

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Reebok invites Canadians to Live With Fire like Sidney Crosby

 On Saturday, September 28, Reebok Canada launched its new fully integrated Reebok SC87 marketing campaign alongside its Fall/Winter 13 Reebok SC87 Collection of footwear and apparel. Living under the brand’s global tag line Live With Fire, Reebok officially unveiled its new TV commercial featuring three-time NHL All Star Sidney Crosby. The campaign, which features Crosby working out in his new signature Reebok SC87 performance products, integrates authentic training exercises, selected from Sidney’s personal training routine.

Starting October 1, during the NHL’s 2013 season opener between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, Reebok’s new SC87 commercial will air nationwide for four weeks, showcasing Crosby preparing for the 2013 – 2014 season in his Reebok SC87 collection.

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How Much Alcohol In Your Drink? Stronger Beverages Make It Tough to Tell

By Brenda Goodman
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Thanks to rising alcohol levels in wine and beer, the drinks served in bars and restaurants are often more potent than people realize, a new report shows.

As a result, even conscientious drinkers who stick to a strict one- or two-drink limit could easily find themselves beyond the legal limit for driving or accidentally consuming more alcohol than they want to for good health.

The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association released the new report online Tuesday.

The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans say people who drink should do so in moderation, which means one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men.

The guidelines define a “drink” as 12 ounces of regular beer with 5 percent alcohol, 5 ounces of wine with 12 percent alcohol and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits, which are 40 percent alcohol by volume.

Those reference sizes should shrink as the alcohol content of drinks goes up, but that often doesn’t happen, said report author William Kerr, a senior scientist with the Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, Calif.

“A lot of the wines now are 14 percent or even 15 percent commonly, and the standard 5-ounce glass of wine doesn’t apply to that level,” Kerr said. “Really a 4-ounce glass is more appropriate.”

“And we’ve learned from our studies of bars and restaurants that the average glass is a little bit over 6 ounces,” he said.

As a result, one glass of wine may actually contain about 50 percent more alcohol than a person had bargained for.

Beer drinkers may find themselves in the same boat. A 12-ounce bottle of Bud Light beer has 4.2 percent alcohol, but the same-size bottle of Bud Light Platinum has 6 percent alcohol by volume, a nearly 50 percent increase.

“If people are thinking, ‘I can have two beers a day and that’s a healthy amount,’ that’s different if the amount is 9 percent versus 5 percent alcohol,” said Dr. Gerard Moeller, director of addiction medicine at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, in Richmond.

It also matters whether you’re drinking a standard 12-ounce bottle, or downing draft beer in pints, which are 16 ounces each.

Flavored malt beverages and newer flavored beers are muddying the waters even further, the report showed. These drinks, which include brands such as Bacardi Silver, Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Four Loko, range from 5 percent to 12 percent alcohol.

Some of the more controversial varieties, like Colt 45′s fruit-flavored Blast, which is 12 percent alcohol, are not only more potent, but also packaged in 23.5-ounce cans, making one container the equivalent of an entire bottle of a similarly strong wine.

Taken together, these examples suggest that Americans need better guidance about healthy drinking, said Robert Pandina, director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, in Piscataway, N.J.

“The dietary guidelines aren’t very useful,” said Pandina, who was not involved in the report. “They don’t parallel the drinking habits of the American public.”

So what can you do if you’re trying to moderate the amount of alcohol you drink?

In some situations, careful label reading and measuring will help ensure you don’t overdo it.

“For home drinks, you should know what you’re drinking,” report author Kerr said. “You don’t have to measure every time, but if you’re going to be drinking out of the same wine glass, measure a couple of times so you know what a standard drink looks like.”

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Goals for bodyweight strength training

SUNcarycastagna

Recent Posts‘Jump start’ true health and fitnessadidas Sports Performance Store opens in CalgaryFor men only: How to get your wife to lose weight!Reebok launches Canada’s first FitHub retail concept storeFitness-related photos of the weekRecent CommentsAndrewski on For men only: How to get your wife to lose weight!CG on Heavy weights not required to build muscle: studyCary Castagna on U.S. health expert in Alberta this weekCollin on U.S. health expert in Alberta this weekM. on Photo of the week: Madonna at Hard Candy FitnessArchives Select Month October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2013MTWTFSS« Sep   12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Search in blog Search for: Subscribe to blogRSS 2.0Contribute to blogNetiquetteTermsShare Keeping FitMy...My FacebookMy LinkedInMy WebsiteMy YouTubeTags2011: My Fitness Odyssey2013AlbertaAmerican Media Inc.Bob HarperBodybuildingBruce KrahnBulging BridesCalgaryCarrie CampbellCary Castagnachildhood obesityCrossFitDoug VarrieurEdmontonEdmonton Sunexercise of the weekFat to Skinny book giveawayfitnessGenuine HealthGoodLife FitnesshealthHowDoesSheDoItMomJillian MichaelsKeeping FitKeeping Fit Essay ContestLeBootCamp.comMen's FitnessMomFitnessMakeoverNicole BergotnutritionobesityReebokSHRED BOOTCAMPSt. AlbertThe Biggest LoserThe Last 10 Pounds BootcampTommy EuropeTorontoValerie Orsoniweight lossworkout logwww.ebodi.comwww.howdoesshedoitmom.comyoga Other blogs... The Outdoors Guy Keeping Fit Off The Posts The Bookworm The Dean of Speed Courtside Nosey Parker Leafs Now Sun & The City Raise a Little Hell Bomber Beat Scoop on Flames Breaken’ it down with Dave Breakenridge Up in the Nosebleeds Jet Stream Thirsty Writin' Scoundrels The Crime Scene LarSun on the Reds Good Gravy The OutWriters Scene & Heard The Feed Bob’s Your Uncle

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4 Little Things That Can Ruin Any Workout

It takes a lot of time and effort to fit regular exercise into a busy lifestyle–for most of us, getting to the gym is a feat in and of itself. The standard midweek workout requires us to clear our schedules, pack gear in advance, and resist those inevitable last-minute excuses. That’s why nothing is worse than psyching yourself up to sweat it out, only to have a (relatively minor) speed bump derail your entire workout. To make the most of your hard-earned gym time, plan ahead to avoid these workout-ruining problems.

Uncomfortable gear
Everyone has those yoga pants that don’t really fit–the ones we vow never to wear again while pulling them up for the umpteenth time in class. But when laundry day rolls around and they’re the only pair left, we end up slipping them on yet again. In addition to being distracting, ill-fitting clothing can be a serious confidence-buster. Kristen James, area fitness manager for Equinox and creator of CYCLEology, stresses the importance of finding things you feel good in.

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For men only: How to get your wife to lose weight!

Andrewski says:October 16, 2013 at 11:19 am

You want your wife to lose weight, lead by example! NOTHING else will work in this VERY SENSITIVE topic. You can try to say loving things, but no matter what, your wife will NOT take it in the way you meant it.
Men, get off your posteriors and if you do no exercising now, start small and go for walks, then you can ask your honey bunny to come along.
The only area that I personally would discuss, would be how I feel so much better, and how I have more sexual stamina & how I’d love for her to feel that same way. When done right, sex is the best, but there’s no way out of shape & overweight couples are getting/giving their best when in between their sheets with their partner!
Good luck.

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DMV-Based Campaign Helped Boost Organ Donations

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — An organ-donation campaign based in Illinois Department of Motor Vehicle offices boosted the number of people who registered as donors, according to a new study.

Surveys show that more than 90 percent of Americans support organ donations, but less than half register as donors. The University of Illinois researchers wanted to assess the effect of promoting organ donation at DMV offices, where most people make their decision about organ donation.

The study included 40 DMV offices in the state. Brochures, counter mats and posters were placed in 20 of those offices for four months in 2011. The researchers also trained volunteers at those offices to hand out materials and provide information to visitors. A media campaign with radio, roadside and bus ads took place in the areas served by the offices.

The other 20 offices in the study served as a comparison group.

A significant reduction was seen in the downward trend for organ-donation registration at the 20 offices targeted by the campaign, compared to the other offices, according to the findings in the current issue of the journal Clinical Transplantation.

The improvement was not dramatic but was meaningful because most of those who registered had likely been asked before and declined as part of previous license renewals, said Brian Quick, a professor in the department of communication and in the College of Medicine.

“We were not going after the lowest-hanging fruit

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adidas Sports Performance Store opens in Calgary

CrossIron Mills made the most sense for us to amplify the adidas brand in what we see as dynamic and growing community.

adidas opened its first Sports Performance Store in Toronto in 2008 before making a bicoastal move opening doors in Vancouver in 2010.  Additionally, adidas Originals stores can be found in the heart of Montreal and Toronto respectively.

“Adding adidas to our store directory is a major coup for Calgary,” said James Moller, General Manager, CrossIron Mills. “Our consumer deserves the very best and adding a global brand of this magnitude speaks to that.  It’s sure to be a crowd favourite.”

The interior of the store was an internal concept design, covering 1,870 square feet of retail space.

The store officially opens to the public on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m.  Regular business hours are 10 a.m.

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Can Cinnamon Help a Common Cause of Infertility?

By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — Cinnamon has long been used to add flavor to sweet and savory foods. Now, preliminary research suggests the spice may also help jump-start irregular menstrual cycles in women affected by a common infertility disorder.

A small study by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York City found that women with polycystic ovary syndrome who took inexpensive daily cinnamon supplements experienced nearly twice the menstrual cycles over a six-month period as women with the syndrome given an inactive placebo. Two of the women in the treated group reported spontaneous pregnancies during the trial.

“There is a lot of interest in homeopathic or natural remedies for this condition,” said study author Dr. Daniel Kort, a postdoctoral fellow in reproductive endocrinology at the medical center. “This may be something we can do using a totally natural substance that can help a large group of patients.”

The study was scheduled for presentation Wednesday at a meeting of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston.

An estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of women of childbearing age have polycystic ovary syndrome, with up to 5 million Americans affected. Polycystic ovary syndrome, which involves many of the body’s systems, is thought to be caused by insensitivity to the hormone insulin. Typical symptoms include menstrual irregularity, infertility, acne, excess hair growth on the face or body, and thinning scalp hair.

Treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome currently includes weight loss, ovulation-inducing drugs such as clomiphene (brand name Clomid) and diabetes medications such as metformin, said Dr. Avner Hershlag, chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

Kort said that it’s not yet clear exactly why cinnamon may work to regulate menstrual cycles in those with polycystic ovary syndrome, but it may improve the body’s ability to process glucose and insulin. Prior research among diabetic patients suggested the spice can reduce insulin resistance.

Of the 16 patients who completed Kort’s trial, 11 were given daily 1,500-milligram cinnamon supplements and five were given placebo pills. Diet and activity levels were monitored, and patients completed monthly menstrual calendars.

After six months, women receiving cinnamon had significant improvement in menstrual cycle regularity, having an average of nearly four menstrual periods over that time compared to an average of 2.2 periods among the placebo group. Two women reported spontaneous pregnancies after three months of cinnamon treatment, meaning they became pregnant without additional help.

Polycystic ovary syndrome “is one of the most common causes why women don’t have regular menstrual cycles,” Kort said. “But the clinical consequences later in life are truly great — from an increased risk of diabetes and glucose intolerance to endometrial cancer. Many women can go their whole lives without regular menstrual cycles, and it doesn’t necessarily bother them until they want to have children.”

The 1,500-milligram cinnamon dose was chosen for this trial because it was between the 1,000 to 2,000 mg daily that seemed to have metabolic effects on diabetic patients in earlier research, Kort said. But all doses in that range are cheaply obtained, costing pennies per capsule.

“Compared to most medical therapies these days, the cost is very small,” he said.

Although the study suggests a link between cinnamon and improvement of polycystic ovary syndrome, it doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Still, Hershlag called the study “welcome and interesting” and said he sees no reason women with polycystic ovary syndrome shouldn’t use more cinnamon in their food or take cinnamon supplements.

“Any work that’s something nutritional in nature and seems to affect the abnormal physiology of polycystic ovaries is welcome,” Hershlag said. “If they want to spice up their life and take it, that’s fine . . . but I think the best thing to do when you have polycystic ovaries is to be under the control of a physician.”

Some women with polycystic ovary syndrome from Kort’s clinic are already trying cinnamon supplementation at home in the hopes of regulating their own menstrual cycles, he said, although he acknowledged the spice wasn’t likely to be a cure-all for the condition.

“It’s unlikely to be the sole source of improvement or to change entire (treatment) protocols,” he said. “It’s not going to regulate every patient who takes it, but a good percentage who take it may experience some benefit, and the side effects are low. It’s relatively cheap and well tolerated.”

Some day, Kort added, he hopes to organize a larger trial examining the issue.

Data and conclusions presented at scientific conferences are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The PCOS Foundation offers more information about polycystic ovary syndrome.

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Blood Test May Tell If Lung Nodule Is Cancerous or Benign

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — Developers of a new lung cancer blood test say the screening method can discern with high accuracy whether a suspicious lung nodule is cancerous or benign.

Data from a new study “suggest we have achieved a 90 percent probability with this diagnostic classifier,” the study’s senior author, Paul Kearney, president and chief science officer of Integrated Diagnostics, said in a company news release.

Lung cancer remains the leading cancer killer of men and women. Every year, thousands of patients with lung nodules undergo diagnostic CT scans. When their doctors determine that a nodule has a higher probability of lung cancer, patients are often then required to undergo invasive biopsies or surgeries to look for cancer. These procedures, the researchers noted, are costly and often unnecessary.

The new blood test relies on a very sensitive technique, called multiple reaction monitoring mass spectroscopy, which measures the presence of different proteins in a person’s blood. These proteins may be associated with several cancer pathways, such as cell growth and proliferation.

Rather than look for a single sign (or “biomarker”) of cancer, the blood test looks for certain groupings of proteins, the company explained. When these arrays of proteins are detected, their concentrations are measured to determine if a lung nodule is benign or an early stage cancer.

The study, published Oct. 16 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, involved blood samples from 143 patients with either benign nodules or early stage lung cancer. The researchers examined the potential of 371 lung cancer biomarkers in millions of different combinations before determining the most effective grouping to use for the test.

Two lung cancer experts with no connection to the study were cautiously optimistic.

“CT scans detect early stage, curable lung cancers and save lives,” noted Dr. Jeffrey Schneider, director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. “However, these same scans also frequently identify small lung abnormalities that are not cancer, thus producing false-positive results.”

Schneider said the new test “is reported to distinguish benign from malignant lesions seen on CT scans. If prospectively validated and appropriately priced, this test could enhance the safety and efficiency of CT scan screening for lung cancer.”

Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said that “patients often ask whether there is a blood test to diagnose cancer.”

The new test suggests “a way of identifying proteins in a blood sample that would indicate that a nodule found on chest X-ray is benign and therefore can spare that patient a diagnostic invasive procedure,” Horovitz said. “This is an exciting development that could hopefully be applied to other cancers as well in the future.”

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about lung nodules.

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