Tampilkan postingan dengan label Weight-Control. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Weight-Control. Tampilkan semua postingan
Minggu, 07 Juni 2009
4 Ways to Shed Belly Fat
1. Exercise. You can't exercise to spot reduce, but it will help you shed excess pounds -- and often, the fat your body sheds first comes from your belly. Abdominal crunches can help tone muscles to make your stomach look flatter, but to truly get rid of fat, you have to burn it off through aerobic activity. Read more
Jumat, 02 Mei 2008
Health Tip: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
(HealthDay News) -- No one knows precisely why people get cancer, and there's no surefire cure.But if you maintain a healthy lifestyle, you can help reduce your risk. Here are some suggestions, courtesy of AARP:
- Eat a healthy diet, including plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Limit intake of red meat, saturated fats, smoked and salt-cured foods, and foods preserved with nitrates.
- Get regular exercise of 30 minutes or more at least five days a week.
- Maintain a healthy body weight.
- If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
- Wear sunscreen and avoid prolonged exposure to direct sun during the midday hours.
- Get screened for cancers for which you may be most susceptible.
Jumat, 04 April 2008
Eating Less May Hinder Immune System
(HealthDay News) -- You may no longer need to remember whether it's "starve a cold, feed a fever" or vice versa. New research suggests you should just eat.A study of deer mice has found that reducing the amount of food the mice ate impaired their immune system. The findings are published in the May/June issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.
The researchers found that decreasing the amount of food the mice ate by 30 percent significantly decreased the number of B cells in their systems. B cells produce antibodies and maintain immune memory, so an immune system lacking B cells must relearn how to fight infection and disease.
"A 30 percent restriction in food intake doesn't affect body mass and only minimally reduces activity in deer mice, but it eliminates the long-term immune protection provided by antibodies," study co-author Lynn Martin said in a prepared statement. "One wonders whether similar moderate food restriction has comparable immune effects in humans."
Martin and fellow researchers cited previous studies that had found that infections were "more frequent and tend to be chronic in malnourished children." Previous studies have also found that vaccines that provoke B cells to protect the body long-term, such as the vaccine for measles, are less effective among the malnourished.
The authors proposed that future research should be done to learn what specific features of diet (calories, protein, micronutrients) affect immune system function.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more on how vaccines work.
Rabu, 26 Maret 2008
Heart Failure Raises Risks After Non-Cardiac Surgeries
(HealthDay News) -- Older people with heart failure face heightened odds of complications and death after non-cardiac surgeries, according to the largest study ever conducted on the issue.
"We're trying to draw attention to this major problem," said lead researcher Dr. Adrian F. Hernandez, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Heart failure, the progressive loss of the heart's ability to pump blood, is widespread among older Americans, but it sometimes is overlooked as a risk factor when surgery is needed, he said.
"Most physicians focus on whether [older patients] have coronary artery disease or have a risk of heart attack," Hernandez said. "Heart failure is by far a more important risk factor, but it doesn't usually have greater weight when they want to identify patients at risk of complications or consider how they want to treat them after surgery."
Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling of the legs.
Hernandez' group published the study in the April issue of Anesthesiology. They used Medicare data on more than 159,000 people undergoing major surgery not involving the heart, such as hip replacement operations. Past estimates have put the incidence of heart failure in the older population between 5 percent and 12 percent, but the new study found the condition in almost 20 percent of those having surgery.
The study divided the participants into three groups: those with heart failure, with or without coronary artery disease; those with only coronary artery disease; and those with neither condition.
Nearly 98 percent of all those who had surgery were discharged soon afterward from the hospital. But 17.1 percent of those with heart failure had to be re-hospitalized within 30 days, compared to 10.8 percent of those with coronary artery disease and just 8.1 percent of those with neither ailment.
In the month after a surgery, 1.6 percent of those with heart failure died, compared to 0.5 percent for those with coronary artery disease and 0.3 percent of those with neither condition, the study found.
Steps can be taken to reduce the toll, Hernandez said.
"The first thing is to check on what the conditions are that might influence the patients outcomes," he said. "We have to identify therapies that lower the risk of a poor outcome and assure that all patients, when they have surgery, are carefully monitored."
Close attention should be paid to be sure that symptoms of heart failure are kept to a minimum, Hernandez said. Medications such as beta blockers and diuretics can be used to keep heart failure under control, he added.
But he noted that it's not certain how effective such measures might be in reducing risks -- only a rigorous, controlled study could answer that question definitively.
"We are planning to do such studies, but our planning is still in the early stages," he said. "We still need to identify sponsors of such a study."
One expert applauded the new research.
The increase in surgery risk due to heart failure has been noted before, but "this is a big study that involves a lot of people. It solidifies that the risk is real, and the risk is substantial," said Dr. Robert Hobbs, a staff cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic whose work covers heart failure and transplant medicine.
Measures that can be taken to reduce the risk include simply not performing surgery, if possible, on someone whose life might be endangered, Hobbs said. "If surgery is necessary for someone with heart failure, there should be targeted use of heart failure medications before the operation and an effort to avoid overloading the body with intravenous fluid during the procedure," he said.
"And we would certainly watch them more carefully in the postoperative period," Hobbs added.
More information
Learn about heart failure, its symptoms and treatment, from the U.S. Library of Medicine.
"We're trying to draw attention to this major problem," said lead researcher Dr. Adrian F. Hernandez, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Heart failure, the progressive loss of the heart's ability to pump blood, is widespread among older Americans, but it sometimes is overlooked as a risk factor when surgery is needed, he said.
"Most physicians focus on whether [older patients] have coronary artery disease or have a risk of heart attack," Hernandez said. "Heart failure is by far a more important risk factor, but it doesn't usually have greater weight when they want to identify patients at risk of complications or consider how they want to treat them after surgery."
Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling of the legs.
Hernandez' group published the study in the April issue of Anesthesiology. They used Medicare data on more than 159,000 people undergoing major surgery not involving the heart, such as hip replacement operations. Past estimates have put the incidence of heart failure in the older population between 5 percent and 12 percent, but the new study found the condition in almost 20 percent of those having surgery.
The study divided the participants into three groups: those with heart failure, with or without coronary artery disease; those with only coronary artery disease; and those with neither condition.
Nearly 98 percent of all those who had surgery were discharged soon afterward from the hospital. But 17.1 percent of those with heart failure had to be re-hospitalized within 30 days, compared to 10.8 percent of those with coronary artery disease and just 8.1 percent of those with neither ailment.
In the month after a surgery, 1.6 percent of those with heart failure died, compared to 0.5 percent for those with coronary artery disease and 0.3 percent of those with neither condition, the study found.
Steps can be taken to reduce the toll, Hernandez said.
"The first thing is to check on what the conditions are that might influence the patients outcomes," he said. "We have to identify therapies that lower the risk of a poor outcome and assure that all patients, when they have surgery, are carefully monitored."
Close attention should be paid to be sure that symptoms of heart failure are kept to a minimum, Hernandez said. Medications such as beta blockers and diuretics can be used to keep heart failure under control, he added.
But he noted that it's not certain how effective such measures might be in reducing risks -- only a rigorous, controlled study could answer that question definitively.
"We are planning to do such studies, but our planning is still in the early stages," he said. "We still need to identify sponsors of such a study."
One expert applauded the new research.
The increase in surgery risk due to heart failure has been noted before, but "this is a big study that involves a lot of people. It solidifies that the risk is real, and the risk is substantial," said Dr. Robert Hobbs, a staff cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic whose work covers heart failure and transplant medicine.
Measures that can be taken to reduce the risk include simply not performing surgery, if possible, on someone whose life might be endangered, Hobbs said. "If surgery is necessary for someone with heart failure, there should be targeted use of heart failure medications before the operation and an effort to avoid overloading the body with intravenous fluid during the procedure," he said.
"And we would certainly watch them more carefully in the postoperative period," Hobbs added.
More information
Learn about heart failure, its symptoms and treatment, from the U.S. Library of Medicine.
Senin, 14 Januari 2008
Depression, Obesity Coexist in Many Middle-Aged Women
(HealthDay News) -- Obesity and depression often go hand-in-hand in middle-aged women, a new U.S. study found.
The research collected information on the height, weight, dietary and exercise habits, and body image of 4,641 women, ages 40 to 65, enrolled in a health plan. The women also completed a questionnaire used to measure depression symptoms.
Women with clinical depression were more than twice as likely to be obese (a body mass index of 30 or more), and obese women were more than twice as likely to be depressed, the study found.
It also found that women with BMIs of 30 or higher exercised the least, had the poorest body image, and consumed 20 percent more calories than women with lower BMIs.
The link between obesity and depression remained intact even when the researchers factored in marital status, education, tobacco use and antidepressant use.
The study was published in the January/February issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
It's likely that depression and obesity fuel one another, said lead author Dr. Gregory Simon, a psychiatrist and researcher at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
"When people gain weight, they're more likely to become depressed, and when they get depressed, they have more trouble losing weight," he said in a prepared statement.
The stigma of being overweight can damage self-esteem and efforts to lose weight.
"It's not that these women are clueless. It's that they're hopeless," said Simon, who suggested that if obese women focus on rebuilding their self esteem, it may help them lose weight.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about women and depression.
The research collected information on the height, weight, dietary and exercise habits, and body image of 4,641 women, ages 40 to 65, enrolled in a health plan. The women also completed a questionnaire used to measure depression symptoms.
Women with clinical depression were more than twice as likely to be obese (a body mass index of 30 or more), and obese women were more than twice as likely to be depressed, the study found.
It also found that women with BMIs of 30 or higher exercised the least, had the poorest body image, and consumed 20 percent more calories than women with lower BMIs.
The link between obesity and depression remained intact even when the researchers factored in marital status, education, tobacco use and antidepressant use.
The study was published in the January/February issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
It's likely that depression and obesity fuel one another, said lead author Dr. Gregory Simon, a psychiatrist and researcher at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
"When people gain weight, they're more likely to become depressed, and when they get depressed, they have more trouble losing weight," he said in a prepared statement.
The stigma of being overweight can damage self-esteem and efforts to lose weight.
"It's not that these women are clueless. It's that they're hopeless," said Simon, who suggested that if obese women focus on rebuilding their self esteem, it may help them lose weight.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about women and depression.
Selasa, 25 Desember 2007
Playing Catch in Winter Could Save Kids' Pitching Arms
(HealthDay News) -- Playing catch with your young pitcher months before baseball season can help prevent an increasingly common pediatric pitching pitfall: torn rotator cuff injuries, according to doctors at Methodist Hospital in Houston.
The data suggest that two factors - a high pitch count and throwing curve balls -- increases the risk of shoulder pain in young pitchers. Easing into baseball season by beginning practice in December may help reduce the risk of such shoulder injuries.
"Most high school athletes go from football to basketball and then start throwing a baseball at full speed," Dr. David Lintner, an orthopedic surgeon who serves as head team physician for the Houston Astros, said in a prepared statement. Lintner reported seeing more and more high school pitchers with torn rotator cuffs. "The problem is that their arms are not in baseball shape, and they open themselves up to serious rotator cuff problems."
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and their tendons that connect the shoulder blade to the upper arm bone. Pain and/or weakness in the shoulder as well as difficulty raising an arm over the head may signal damage to the rotator cuff, which in turn can lead to problems with the rest of the pitching arm.
"Pitchers should play catch, not pitch off the mound, for a few minutes every day beginning in December, and gradually increase throwing as it gets closer to the start of spring training," recommended Lintner.
Lintner also suggested that young pitchers start a weight-training program focusing on multiple repetitions of three- to five-pound weights, aiming for flexibility and strength, not bulk. Pitchers will also benefit from strengthening their upper body and legs, adding speed to their fastball but reducing stress on their arm, he said.
More information
To learn more about rotator cuff injuries, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
The data suggest that two factors - a high pitch count and throwing curve balls -- increases the risk of shoulder pain in young pitchers. Easing into baseball season by beginning practice in December may help reduce the risk of such shoulder injuries.
"Most high school athletes go from football to basketball and then start throwing a baseball at full speed," Dr. David Lintner, an orthopedic surgeon who serves as head team physician for the Houston Astros, said in a prepared statement. Lintner reported seeing more and more high school pitchers with torn rotator cuffs. "The problem is that their arms are not in baseball shape, and they open themselves up to serious rotator cuff problems."
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and their tendons that connect the shoulder blade to the upper arm bone. Pain and/or weakness in the shoulder as well as difficulty raising an arm over the head may signal damage to the rotator cuff, which in turn can lead to problems with the rest of the pitching arm.
"Pitchers should play catch, not pitch off the mound, for a few minutes every day beginning in December, and gradually increase throwing as it gets closer to the start of spring training," recommended Lintner.
Lintner also suggested that young pitchers start a weight-training program focusing on multiple repetitions of three- to five-pound weights, aiming for flexibility and strength, not bulk. Pitchers will also benefit from strengthening their upper body and legs, adding speed to their fastball but reducing stress on their arm, he said.
More information
To learn more about rotator cuff injuries, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Sabtu, 01 Desember 2007
FDA Report Says Nation's Health at Risk
(HealthDay News) -- A new report by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration subcommittee says the agency can no longer adequately protect the nation's food and drug supply.
The Subcommittee on Science and Technology lays the blame squarely on inadequate funding, which it says has not kept pace with increasing demands on the agency.
"This imbalance is imposing a significant risk to the integrity of the food, drug, cosmetic and device regulatory system, and hence the safety of the public," the report states.
And things could get worse, the report stresses: "...the Agency suffers from serious scientific deficiencies and is not positioned to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities."
William Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner and an advisor to the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, a group that lobbies on behalf of the agency, called the report "one of the most remarkable reports I've ever seen. They are basically saying the FDA can't protect the public, and they are saying that our future competitiveness in new technology, emerging science and pharmaceuticals and devices is seriously threatened."
Hubbard also thinks that more money is needed for the FDA to do its job. "The number doesn't matter -- it just needs to be a lot," he said. "You would need a steady increase over five years to fix the FDA."
The report started as a review of the science at the FDA, Hubbard said, and mushroomed into something more.
"The committee was horrified that the science wasn't there, then they were horrified that the capabilities weren't there -- and the only way to fix that is funding," he said.
The FDA budget request for 2008 is $1.74 billion, plus another $444 million in user fees. These fees are paid by drug makers and medical device makers to underwrite the approval process of their products.
Another expert thinks that the FDA needs more money, but to really protect the public the agency's culture also needs changing.
"You need not only an overhaul of resources but an overhaul of philosophy on what safety and efficacy really means," said Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, a professor of internal medicine and professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan.
"While a substantial increase in resources will enhance the scientific capabilities and capacity of the FDA, funding alone will not address the inherent tension between America's insatiable demand for immediate access for innovative products and an unwillingness to tolerate products that are anything but perfectly safe," Fendrick explained.
Another FDA supporter also thinks that improving the FDA starts with money.
"There are a lot of problems in the FDA that can't be solved without more resources," said Steven Grossman, a spokesman for the FDA Alliance, which lobbies on behalf of the agency. "All the problems don't go away if you have more money, but there are a whole lot of problems you can't confront without money."
Grossman thinks there is need for another $450 million in unrestricted spending to start bringing the agency up to snuff. That request is currently winding its way through Congress. "We hope to get at least a third of that," he said. It's going to take several years of increased funding to get the FDA to where it should be, he added.
According to the report, the FDA's "inability to keep up with scientific advances means that American lives are at risk." The committee noted that while science had undergone radical changes, the agency' evaluation methods haven't hanged in more than 50 years.
In addition, the food supply is at risk, the report said: "Crisis management in [the] FDA's two food safety centers, [the] Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and [the] Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), has drawn attention and resources away from FDA's ability to develop the science base and infrastructure needed to efficiently support innovation in the food industry, provide effective routine surveillance, and conduct emergency outbreak investigation activities to protect the food supply."
The report also calls for better-trained FDA scientists and improvements in the agency's computer technology. The full report will be presented at a meeting of the FDA's Science Board on Monday.
In recent years, numerous food recalls and the withdrawal from the market of popular medications -- the removal of the painkiller Vioxx in 2004 was one of the most high-profile examples -- have eroded public confidence in the FDA. A recent survey found that 47 percent of Americans rated its performance as fair or poor.
And a study published in September found the number of serious adverse drug events more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 in the United States, as did the number of related deaths. From 1998 to 2005, the number of reported serious adverse drug events increased from 34,966 to 89,842. The number of fatal adverse drug events almost tripled during the same time period, from 5,519 in 1998 to 15,107 in 2005.
The number of adverse events increased four times faster than the total number of outpatient prescriptions, which rose from 2.7 billion to 3.8 billion during that time frame, according to the study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, called the new FDA report a "partial and simplistic view of what is wrong with the FDA."
"There seems to be more importance placed on satisfying industry [at the FDA]. It's not an atmosphere where people are free to express their differing opinions," he said.
Wolfe thinks the agency needs to be changed substantially, including new legislation that would strengthen its ability to regulate food additives, drugs and dietary supplements. He also thinks user fees should be abolished, because the fees make the relationship between the agency and drug companies too close.
More information
For more on what the FDA is doing about drug safety, visit the Food and Drug Administration.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
The Subcommittee on Science and Technology lays the blame squarely on inadequate funding, which it says has not kept pace with increasing demands on the agency.
"This imbalance is imposing a significant risk to the integrity of the food, drug, cosmetic and device regulatory system, and hence the safety of the public," the report states.
And things could get worse, the report stresses: "...the Agency suffers from serious scientific deficiencies and is not positioned to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities."
William Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner and an advisor to the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, a group that lobbies on behalf of the agency, called the report "one of the most remarkable reports I've ever seen. They are basically saying the FDA can't protect the public, and they are saying that our future competitiveness in new technology, emerging science and pharmaceuticals and devices is seriously threatened."
Hubbard also thinks that more money is needed for the FDA to do its job. "The number doesn't matter -- it just needs to be a lot," he said. "You would need a steady increase over five years to fix the FDA."
The report started as a review of the science at the FDA, Hubbard said, and mushroomed into something more.
"The committee was horrified that the science wasn't there, then they were horrified that the capabilities weren't there -- and the only way to fix that is funding," he said.
The FDA budget request for 2008 is $1.74 billion, plus another $444 million in user fees. These fees are paid by drug makers and medical device makers to underwrite the approval process of their products.
Another expert thinks that the FDA needs more money, but to really protect the public the agency's culture also needs changing.
"You need not only an overhaul of resources but an overhaul of philosophy on what safety and efficacy really means," said Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, a professor of internal medicine and professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan.
"While a substantial increase in resources will enhance the scientific capabilities and capacity of the FDA, funding alone will not address the inherent tension between America's insatiable demand for immediate access for innovative products and an unwillingness to tolerate products that are anything but perfectly safe," Fendrick explained.
Another FDA supporter also thinks that improving the FDA starts with money.
"There are a lot of problems in the FDA that can't be solved without more resources," said Steven Grossman, a spokesman for the FDA Alliance, which lobbies on behalf of the agency. "All the problems don't go away if you have more money, but there are a whole lot of problems you can't confront without money."
Grossman thinks there is need for another $450 million in unrestricted spending to start bringing the agency up to snuff. That request is currently winding its way through Congress. "We hope to get at least a third of that," he said. It's going to take several years of increased funding to get the FDA to where it should be, he added.
According to the report, the FDA's "inability to keep up with scientific advances means that American lives are at risk." The committee noted that while science had undergone radical changes, the agency' evaluation methods haven't hanged in more than 50 years.
In addition, the food supply is at risk, the report said: "Crisis management in [the] FDA's two food safety centers, [the] Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and [the] Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), has drawn attention and resources away from FDA's ability to develop the science base and infrastructure needed to efficiently support innovation in the food industry, provide effective routine surveillance, and conduct emergency outbreak investigation activities to protect the food supply."
The report also calls for better-trained FDA scientists and improvements in the agency's computer technology. The full report will be presented at a meeting of the FDA's Science Board on Monday.
In recent years, numerous food recalls and the withdrawal from the market of popular medications -- the removal of the painkiller Vioxx in 2004 was one of the most high-profile examples -- have eroded public confidence in the FDA. A recent survey found that 47 percent of Americans rated its performance as fair or poor.
And a study published in September found the number of serious adverse drug events more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 in the United States, as did the number of related deaths. From 1998 to 2005, the number of reported serious adverse drug events increased from 34,966 to 89,842. The number of fatal adverse drug events almost tripled during the same time period, from 5,519 in 1998 to 15,107 in 2005.
The number of adverse events increased four times faster than the total number of outpatient prescriptions, which rose from 2.7 billion to 3.8 billion during that time frame, according to the study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, called the new FDA report a "partial and simplistic view of what is wrong with the FDA."
"There seems to be more importance placed on satisfying industry [at the FDA]. It's not an atmosphere where people are free to express their differing opinions," he said.
Wolfe thinks the agency needs to be changed substantially, including new legislation that would strengthen its ability to regulate food additives, drugs and dietary supplements. He also thinks user fees should be abolished, because the fees make the relationship between the agency and drug companies too close.
More information
For more on what the FDA is doing about drug safety, visit the Food and Drug Administration.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Minggu, 25 November 2007
Diet Drug Rimonabant Tied to Depression, Anxiety
(HealthDay News) -- People who take the weight-loss drug rimonabant may face heightened risks for severe depression and anxiety, Danish researchers report.
The finding follows a recommendation by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel in June that the agency not approve the diet drug because of continuing concerns about increased risks for suicidal thoughts among some users. Previously, the FDA rejected the drug as an aid to help people quit smoking.
"Up to this point in time, there has been controversy over the rates and severity of psychiatric adverse effects with rimonabant," noted Dr. Philip Mitchell, head of the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and co-author of an editorial that accompanies the study.
This is the first review to examine rates of severe psychiatric symptoms with rimonabant (Acomplia), symptoms severe enough that patients discontinue treatment, Mitchell said.
The report is published in the Nov. 17 edition of The Lancet.
In the meta-analysis, Dr. Arne Astrup, from the department of human nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, collected data on more than 4,100 patients enrolled in four clinical trials. Those trials compared taking rimonabant (20 milligrams a day) against a placebo.
The researchers found that people taking rimonabant did lose weight -- about 15 pounds in a year -- compared to those receiving a placebo.
However, those taking rimonabant were also 40 percent more likely to have an adverse reaction than people not taking it. In fact, those taking rimonabant were 2.5 times more likely to stop taking the drug because of depression and three times more likely to stop the drug because of anxiety, compared to people on placebo.
"Our findings suggest that 20 milligrams per day of rimonabant increases the risk of psychiatric events -- i.e., depressed mood disorders and anxiety -- despite depressed mood being an exclusion criterion in these trials," Astrup's team said. "Taken together with the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration finding of increased risk of suicide during treatment with rimonabant, we recommend increased alertness by physicians to these potentially severe psychiatric adverse reactions."
Mitchell noted that depression is common in overweight and obese people, and is something that doctors need to take into account when prescribing weight-loss drugs.
"This increased risk of depression and anxiety is a major safety issue in the treatment of obesity, as obese patients already have an increased risk of depression even prior to treatment," Mitchell said.
As far as rimonabant is concerned, Mitchell believes doctors should consider alternate weight-loss drugs for people who are depressed. "If one is using rimonabant, patients should be monitored carefully for the emergence of depressive symptoms and/or suicidal thoughts," he added.
In June, rimonabant's maker, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, said in a statement that despite the FDA's decision, the company "is confident in the positive benefit-risk ratio of rimonabant 20 milligrams when used in the appropriate population."
Another expert said more data on the safety of rimonabant is needed.
"Rimonabant is potentially beneficial in some patients, but we really need long-term data demonstrating reductions in major obesity-related comorbidities such as heart attack, stroke and sleep apnea and/or mortality, to be completely certain," said Dr. Raj Padwal, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
The drug needs to be avoided in anyone who has a mood disorder, Padwal added. "Since many patients with weight issues have depression, this means that the drug cannot be used in a large number of people. In the remaining individuals in whom the drug is used, the patient and physician must be cognizant of the risk of a mood disorder and monitor accordingly," he said.
In a related study in the Nov. 16 issue of the British Medical Journal, Padwal's team found that long-term users of weight-loss drugs such as orlistat (Xenical), sibutramine (Meridia) and rimonabant experienced only modest weight loss -- less than 11 pounds, which was less than 5 percent of their total body weight.
Padwal's team also noted that the U.S. National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends stopping the use of weight-loss drugs if 5 percent of total body weight is not lost after three months.
Commenting on Padwal's study, Dr. Gareth Williams, dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Bristol in the U.K., wrote in an accompanying editorial: "Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill and could further undermine the efforts to promote healthy living, which is the only long-term escape from obesity."
More information
For more information on obesity, visit the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
The finding follows a recommendation by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel in June that the agency not approve the diet drug because of continuing concerns about increased risks for suicidal thoughts among some users. Previously, the FDA rejected the drug as an aid to help people quit smoking.
"Up to this point in time, there has been controversy over the rates and severity of psychiatric adverse effects with rimonabant," noted Dr. Philip Mitchell, head of the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and co-author of an editorial that accompanies the study.
This is the first review to examine rates of severe psychiatric symptoms with rimonabant (Acomplia), symptoms severe enough that patients discontinue treatment, Mitchell said.
The report is published in the Nov. 17 edition of The Lancet.
In the meta-analysis, Dr. Arne Astrup, from the department of human nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, collected data on more than 4,100 patients enrolled in four clinical trials. Those trials compared taking rimonabant (20 milligrams a day) against a placebo.
The researchers found that people taking rimonabant did lose weight -- about 15 pounds in a year -- compared to those receiving a placebo.
However, those taking rimonabant were also 40 percent more likely to have an adverse reaction than people not taking it. In fact, those taking rimonabant were 2.5 times more likely to stop taking the drug because of depression and three times more likely to stop the drug because of anxiety, compared to people on placebo.
"Our findings suggest that 20 milligrams per day of rimonabant increases the risk of psychiatric events -- i.e., depressed mood disorders and anxiety -- despite depressed mood being an exclusion criterion in these trials," Astrup's team said. "Taken together with the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration finding of increased risk of suicide during treatment with rimonabant, we recommend increased alertness by physicians to these potentially severe psychiatric adverse reactions."
Mitchell noted that depression is common in overweight and obese people, and is something that doctors need to take into account when prescribing weight-loss drugs.
"This increased risk of depression and anxiety is a major safety issue in the treatment of obesity, as obese patients already have an increased risk of depression even prior to treatment," Mitchell said.
As far as rimonabant is concerned, Mitchell believes doctors should consider alternate weight-loss drugs for people who are depressed. "If one is using rimonabant, patients should be monitored carefully for the emergence of depressive symptoms and/or suicidal thoughts," he added.
In June, rimonabant's maker, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, said in a statement that despite the FDA's decision, the company "is confident in the positive benefit-risk ratio of rimonabant 20 milligrams when used in the appropriate population."
Another expert said more data on the safety of rimonabant is needed.
"Rimonabant is potentially beneficial in some patients, but we really need long-term data demonstrating reductions in major obesity-related comorbidities such as heart attack, stroke and sleep apnea and/or mortality, to be completely certain," said Dr. Raj Padwal, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
The drug needs to be avoided in anyone who has a mood disorder, Padwal added. "Since many patients with weight issues have depression, this means that the drug cannot be used in a large number of people. In the remaining individuals in whom the drug is used, the patient and physician must be cognizant of the risk of a mood disorder and monitor accordingly," he said.
In a related study in the Nov. 16 issue of the British Medical Journal, Padwal's team found that long-term users of weight-loss drugs such as orlistat (Xenical), sibutramine (Meridia) and rimonabant experienced only modest weight loss -- less than 11 pounds, which was less than 5 percent of their total body weight.
Padwal's team also noted that the U.S. National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends stopping the use of weight-loss drugs if 5 percent of total body weight is not lost after three months.
Commenting on Padwal's study, Dr. Gareth Williams, dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Bristol in the U.K., wrote in an accompanying editorial: "Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill and could further undermine the efforts to promote healthy living, which is the only long-term escape from obesity."
More information
For more information on obesity, visit the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Rabu, 07 November 2007
AyurDog
Ensure your Dog enjoys Optimal Health and Longevity! Try a Proprietary Formula for Canine Health based on Ayurveda - the Oldest and Most Holistic, Comprehensive Medical System Available.
If you want to maximize your dog's longevity and eliminate fluctuating weight, molting fur, bad odor, anxiety, aggression, or sluggish behavior, there is proven help available. India's domesticated animals have been reaping the powerful benefits of Ayurveda Medicine for the past 5,000 years!
AyurDog is a natural herbal supplement geared towards optimizing your dog's overall health, appearance, and longevity. It will: Fortify Your Dog's Immune System. Reduce Aggression and Stress. Increase Receptivity to Learning. Remove Parasites and Toxins.
Enhance Your Dog's Coat Luster. Rejuvenate Joints and Muscles. Eliminate Bad Odor. AyurDog is a product of: 5000 years of Ayurvedic wisdom. Modern testing and research. Breakthrough encapsulation technique. Laboratory-controlled potency. Doctor-approved, carefully calibrated formula.
http://www.india-herbs.com/aff/dreddyclinic/ayurdog
If you want to maximize your dog's longevity and eliminate fluctuating weight, molting fur, bad odor, anxiety, aggression, or sluggish behavior, there is proven help available. India's domesticated animals have been reaping the powerful benefits of Ayurveda Medicine for the past 5,000 years!
AyurDog is a natural herbal supplement geared towards optimizing your dog's overall health, appearance, and longevity. It will: Fortify Your Dog's Immune System. Reduce Aggression and Stress. Increase Receptivity to Learning. Remove Parasites and Toxins.
Enhance Your Dog's Coat Luster. Rejuvenate Joints and Muscles. Eliminate Bad Odor. AyurDog is a product of: 5000 years of Ayurvedic wisdom. Modern testing and research. Breakthrough encapsulation technique. Laboratory-controlled potency. Doctor-approved, carefully calibrated formula.
http://www.india-herbs.com/aff/dreddyclinic/ayurdog
Minggu, 04 November 2007
New Heart Pump Helps Women Awaiting Transplants
(HealthDay News) -- An implantable device that helps the heart pump blood -- and is about the size of a "D" battery, one-quarter the weight of the traditional device -- benefits women as well as men who are waiting for heart transplants.
That's the conclusion of new research that's expected to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
"In the past, they were not as beneficial in women as in men, partly because of size," said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It didn't match up anatomically."
The new device in question, the HeartMate II, is an implantable left ventricular assist device that helps heart function in people with severe congestive heart failure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing an application to approve the pump-like device.
According to background information for the study, women with advanced heart failure tended to be underrepresented in studies of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Only 9 percent to 16 percent of participants in trials of the first generation of the device were women.
The new trial included 231 patients with heart failure, 23 percent of whom were women being treated at one of 40 different U.S. heart transplant centers and were awaiting heart transplants.
The device serves as a "bridge" to transplantation.
The average age of the women was 56 (the range was 20 to 69 years). Men in the study averaged 54 years old, with an age range of 17 to 68.
Coronary artery disease was more likely to be the cause of heart failure in men -- 43 percent, compared with 31 percent in women.
The women may have suffered a weakened heart because of pregnancy, cancer chemotherapy, a viral infection or some other unknown cause, the researchers said.
Several study participants regained enough pumping power in the heart to have the device removed and no longer needed a transplant. And they've resumed normal physical activities, said the study authors, who are affiliated with such research centers as the Texas Heart Institute in Houston; the University of Rochester in New York; Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; Duke University, in Durham, N.C.; and Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.
Among the study's other findings:
That's the conclusion of new research that's expected to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
"In the past, they were not as beneficial in women as in men, partly because of size," said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It didn't match up anatomically."
The new device in question, the HeartMate II, is an implantable left ventricular assist device that helps heart function in people with severe congestive heart failure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing an application to approve the pump-like device.
According to background information for the study, women with advanced heart failure tended to be underrepresented in studies of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Only 9 percent to 16 percent of participants in trials of the first generation of the device were women.
The new trial included 231 patients with heart failure, 23 percent of whom were women being treated at one of 40 different U.S. heart transplant centers and were awaiting heart transplants.
The device serves as a "bridge" to transplantation.
The average age of the women was 56 (the range was 20 to 69 years). Men in the study averaged 54 years old, with an age range of 17 to 68.
Coronary artery disease was more likely to be the cause of heart failure in men -- 43 percent, compared with 31 percent in women.
The women may have suffered a weakened heart because of pregnancy, cancer chemotherapy, a viral infection or some other unknown cause, the researchers said.
Several study participants regained enough pumping power in the heart to have the device removed and no longer needed a transplant. And they've resumed normal physical activities, said the study authors, who are affiliated with such research centers as the Texas Heart Institute in Houston; the University of Rochester in New York; Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; Duke University, in Durham, N.C.; and Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.
Among the study's other findings:
- Six-month survival was about the same for men and women -- 80.6 percent versus 79.5 percent.
- The study found that 3.3 percent of women and 2.2 percent of men experienced strokes within two days of surgery; 13.6 percent of women and 4 percent of men experienced strokes after that.
- After three months with the device, 76 percent of women and 57 percent of men had increased the distance they could walk in six minutes by more than 200 meters.
- Functionally, it helped women more than men," Steinbaum said.
At the beginning of the study, all patients had Class IV heart failure, meaning they couldn't engage in any physical activity without discomfort. After three months with the device, 84 percent of women and men had only Class I and Class II heart failure symptoms -- no or slight limitations on physical activity. "Eighty-four percent of men and women went from Class IV heart failure -- they couldn't even move without being short of breath -- to Class I and II," Steinbaum said. "It's very exciting."
The trial was funded by Thoratec Corp. of Pleasanton, Calif., which manufactures the device.
One of the study authors is the company's vice president for research and scientific affairs. The other study authors are consultants and serve on a Thoratec advisory board.
More information
The American Heart Association has more on left ventricular assist devices.
Senin, 15 Oktober 2007
Psychiatric Woes Can Postpone Weight-Loss Surgery
(HealthDay News) -- About one in every five people who were candidates for bariatric weight-loss surgery did not receive the recommended psychiatric clearance for the procedure, a U.S. study shows.
Psychiatric evaluations are part of the preoperative screening process in most bariatric surgery programs, notes a team from the Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University in Providence.
The most common reasons why patients did not receive psychiatric clearance included frequent overeating to cope with stress/emotional distress; a current eating disorder; or uncontrolled psychiatric disorders.
The researchers also found that the decision to clear candidates for bariatric surgery is made with high reliability -- meaning that a review of available information by independent psychiatrists would result in the same decision.
"The goal of psychiatric evaluation is not to keep patients from having the surgery. Rather, the goal is to determine if there are any problems that might interfere with the success of surgery, and have the patient get treatment for these problems," study author Dr. Mark Zimmerman, director of outpatient psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, said in a prepared statement.
He said a patient is "more likely to have a positive outcome from surgery that is delayed to allow time to address the problems."
The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
More information
MedlinePlus explains gastric bypass surgery.
Psychiatric evaluations are part of the preoperative screening process in most bariatric surgery programs, notes a team from the Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University in Providence.
The most common reasons why patients did not receive psychiatric clearance included frequent overeating to cope with stress/emotional distress; a current eating disorder; or uncontrolled psychiatric disorders.
The researchers also found that the decision to clear candidates for bariatric surgery is made with high reliability -- meaning that a review of available information by independent psychiatrists would result in the same decision.
"The goal of psychiatric evaluation is not to keep patients from having the surgery. Rather, the goal is to determine if there are any problems that might interfere with the success of surgery, and have the patient get treatment for these problems," study author Dr. Mark Zimmerman, director of outpatient psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, said in a prepared statement.
He said a patient is "more likely to have a positive outcome from surgery that is delayed to allow time to address the problems."
The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
More information
MedlinePlus explains gastric bypass surgery.
Rabu, 03 Oktober 2007
'Virtual' Colonoscopy an Effective Option: Study
(HealthDay News) -- A new study supports the effectiveness of an innovative form of colonoscopy that relies on a CT scanner that's sent through a patient's colon.
When it comes to detecting polyps that might become malignant, this so-called "virtual colonoscopy" is just as effective as the traditional approach of using a fiber-optic device, explained study lead Dr. David Kim, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin.
The real advantage to the technology is that "it can do it in a less invasive manner for less cost and at less risk," he said.
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States among both men and women. It's especially common among people over the age of 50. An estimated 112,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and 52,000 will die.
Colonoscopies are considered essential to preventing the disease, but many people don't get them because of the cost or because of their reputation as being uncomfortable.
Virtual colonoscopies, by contrast, offer patients less discomfort, and Kim said could cost only one-third of the price.
Just as happens with the conventional test, patients using the virtual screen must still cleanse their bowels by using laxatives beforehand and have a catheter inserted into the rectum to expand their colon with carbon dioxide, Kim said.
However, unlike the traditional procedure, the patients aren't sedated, although Kim said they may feel "crampy" until the procedure is over.
CT scanners image the colons to look for signs of trouble. Doctors look at three-dimensional images on computers that "put you inside of the colon so you can navigate your way to look for polyps," Kim explained.
In the new study, Kim's team compared the effectiveness of traditional colonoscopies in 3,163 consecutive patients to virtual colonoscopies in 3,120 consecutive patients.
Reporting in the Oct. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that the two approaches were about equal in terms of detecting potentially dangerous polyps -- 123 were detected by virtual colonoscopy and 121 through the traditional approach. About eight percent of the patients who underwent the new approach had to return for traditional colonoscopies.
In the near future, doctors will need to screen patients using both approaches, he said. "The bottom line is that there's a huge number of people who should be screened but aren't -- 40 million people over age of 50 aren't screened. We're going to need both modalities to make an impact on this number."
Still, there are plenty of unanswered questions, said Dr. David Weinberg, director of gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
For one, he asked, "what does this do to overall colon cancer risk?" The study didn't look at that question, he said, and it's premature to declare that virtual colonoscopy should be a routine first-line screening test.
It's also unclear whether the new test is cost-effective or will be covered by insurance. Still, "it has potential to be useful because patients, when they know nothing about either, think they will prefer virtual colonoscopy," he said. That could lead to more of these potentially lifesaving screenings, Weinberg said.
But once they know the details -- particularly about how laxatives must still be used -- fewer people may think there's a huge difference between the two approaches, he said.
More information
For more about colorectal cancer screening options, visit the American Cancer Society.
more discussion: Forum· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
When it comes to detecting polyps that might become malignant, this so-called "virtual colonoscopy" is just as effective as the traditional approach of using a fiber-optic device, explained study lead Dr. David Kim, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin.
The real advantage to the technology is that "it can do it in a less invasive manner for less cost and at less risk," he said.
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States among both men and women. It's especially common among people over the age of 50. An estimated 112,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and 52,000 will die.
Colonoscopies are considered essential to preventing the disease, but many people don't get them because of the cost or because of their reputation as being uncomfortable.
Virtual colonoscopies, by contrast, offer patients less discomfort, and Kim said could cost only one-third of the price.
Just as happens with the conventional test, patients using the virtual screen must still cleanse their bowels by using laxatives beforehand and have a catheter inserted into the rectum to expand their colon with carbon dioxide, Kim said.
However, unlike the traditional procedure, the patients aren't sedated, although Kim said they may feel "crampy" until the procedure is over.
CT scanners image the colons to look for signs of trouble. Doctors look at three-dimensional images on computers that "put you inside of the colon so you can navigate your way to look for polyps," Kim explained.
In the new study, Kim's team compared the effectiveness of traditional colonoscopies in 3,163 consecutive patients to virtual colonoscopies in 3,120 consecutive patients.
Reporting in the Oct. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that the two approaches were about equal in terms of detecting potentially dangerous polyps -- 123 were detected by virtual colonoscopy and 121 through the traditional approach. About eight percent of the patients who underwent the new approach had to return for traditional colonoscopies.
In the near future, doctors will need to screen patients using both approaches, he said. "The bottom line is that there's a huge number of people who should be screened but aren't -- 40 million people over age of 50 aren't screened. We're going to need both modalities to make an impact on this number."
Still, there are plenty of unanswered questions, said Dr. David Weinberg, director of gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
For one, he asked, "what does this do to overall colon cancer risk?" The study didn't look at that question, he said, and it's premature to declare that virtual colonoscopy should be a routine first-line screening test.
It's also unclear whether the new test is cost-effective or will be covered by insurance. Still, "it has potential to be useful because patients, when they know nothing about either, think they will prefer virtual colonoscopy," he said. That could lead to more of these potentially lifesaving screenings, Weinberg said.
But once they know the details -- particularly about how laxatives must still be used -- fewer people may think there's a huge difference between the two approaches, he said.
More information
For more about colorectal cancer screening options, visit the American Cancer Society.
more discussion: Forum· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Senin, 24 September 2007
Doctors' Office Outreach Boosts Colon Cancer Screening
(HealthDay News) -- Simple, personalized outreach in doctors' offices can improve colorectal cancer screening rates, a new study finds.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common kind of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Most patients don't experience any symptoms until the disease is in an advanced stage, which means that early screening is critical to saving lives.
However, studies show that only 42 percent of Americans have received fecal testing for blood or endoscopy screening for colorectal cancer in the previous five years.
In this study of 1,546 people at risk for colorectal cancer, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia examined the effectiveness of standard and tailored educational interventions in primary practice settings.
The participants were randomly assigned to: no intervention/control; standard intervention (SI) with mailing of education and screening supplies; tailored intervention (TI) with mailing of education and screening supplies; or tailored intervention plus one-year phone follow-up (TIP).
Two years later, colorectal cancer screening rates were 48 percent in the TIP group, 46 percent in the SI group, 44 percent in the TI group, and 33 percent in the SI group.
"These findings provide support for the use of simple, personalized interventions in primary care practice settings to increase CRC screening use among adult patients who are not up to date with CRC screening guidelines," the study authors concluded.
The study was expected to be published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colorectal cancer screening.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Colorectal cancer is the third most common kind of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Most patients don't experience any symptoms until the disease is in an advanced stage, which means that early screening is critical to saving lives.
However, studies show that only 42 percent of Americans have received fecal testing for blood or endoscopy screening for colorectal cancer in the previous five years.
In this study of 1,546 people at risk for colorectal cancer, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia examined the effectiveness of standard and tailored educational interventions in primary practice settings.
The participants were randomly assigned to: no intervention/control; standard intervention (SI) with mailing of education and screening supplies; tailored intervention (TI) with mailing of education and screening supplies; or tailored intervention plus one-year phone follow-up (TIP).
Two years later, colorectal cancer screening rates were 48 percent in the TIP group, 46 percent in the SI group, 44 percent in the TI group, and 33 percent in the SI group.
"These findings provide support for the use of simple, personalized interventions in primary care practice settings to increase CRC screening use among adult patients who are not up to date with CRC screening guidelines," the study authors concluded.
The study was expected to be published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colorectal cancer screening.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Kamis, 20 September 2007
Gene Test Could Boost Myeloma Treatment
(HealthDay News) -- Analyzing the activity of a small subset of genes may help identify patients with the worst cases of multiple myeloma, U.S. researchers say.
It may also help guide their treatment, noted the team from the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer that affects the blood plasma cells in bone marrow that produce antibodies. There is wide variation in how well multiple myeloma patients respond to treatment.
This study included 532 patients who were followed for seven years after they had a blood stem cell transplant. The researchers created a genetic profile of each patient to chart the severity of their multiple myeloma.
They found that the activity of as few as 17 genes could determine whether a patient was at high or low risk for a poor prognosis.
The findings were to be presented this week at an American Association for Cancer Research conference in Atlanta.
"There are enormous differences between how different people fare with multiple myeloma. While most do very well, others have a highly aggressive form of the disease, and this is not recognized well with current prognostic variables," lead researcher John D. Shaughnessy Jr., a professor of medicine at the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, said in a prepared statement.
"If we can categorize a patient's risk early, we can better guide that patient toward therapies that might be more effective for them based on the genetic profile of the disease," he explained.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about multiple myeloma.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
It may also help guide their treatment, noted the team from the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer that affects the blood plasma cells in bone marrow that produce antibodies. There is wide variation in how well multiple myeloma patients respond to treatment.
This study included 532 patients who were followed for seven years after they had a blood stem cell transplant. The researchers created a genetic profile of each patient to chart the severity of their multiple myeloma.
They found that the activity of as few as 17 genes could determine whether a patient was at high or low risk for a poor prognosis.
The findings were to be presented this week at an American Association for Cancer Research conference in Atlanta.
"There are enormous differences between how different people fare with multiple myeloma. While most do very well, others have a highly aggressive form of the disease, and this is not recognized well with current prognostic variables," lead researcher John D. Shaughnessy Jr., a professor of medicine at the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, said in a prepared statement.
"If we can categorize a patient's risk early, we can better guide that patient toward therapies that might be more effective for them based on the genetic profile of the disease," he explained.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about multiple myeloma.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Senin, 17 September 2007
Mouthpiece Could Help Ease Snoring
(HealthDay News) -- A plastic "dental splint" mouthpiece may help keep some people from snoring through the night, Scottish researchers report.
The device might help many troubled chronic snorers avoid a cumbersome nighttime breathing mask or surgery, the team added.
"The take-home message is that we don't have to operate on all snorers," said study lead author Stuart M. Robertson, a surgical trainee at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, Scotland. "We try first a [mouthpiece], and if that doesn't work, we try the breathing mask, and if that doesn't work, we offer them surgery," he said.
Snoring is often harmless but can be a sign of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing is disrupted during sleep.
The new study looked at patients whose snoring doesn't cause health problems but does aggravate their partners, perhaps forcing a spouse to sleep in another room, Robertson said.
Typically, he said, doctors performed surgery on the snoring patients, but the operations didn't always work. In the new study, conducted over two years, 20 patients were split into two groups. One group underwent three months of treatment with a mouthpiece and then three months using a special breathing mask; the other group did the opposite.
The study findings were scheduled to be released Monday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, in Washington, D.C.
The mouthpiece, known as a splint, is similar to a mouth guard worn by a boxer, Robertson said.
But it protects both the upper and lower teeth and "moves your jaw forward, it allows you to breath more easily at night and reduce your snoring," he explained.
The mouthpieces cost about $400 and have to be replaced about once every two years, he said.
They can cause discomfort and move the teeth around; Robertson recommends that patients regularly see a dentist.
The breathing mask, which costs $400 to $600, is hooked to a machine and sends air through a nasal mask into the throat where it forces the airway to stay open. "The masks do work very well, but they're so uncomfortable that I don't think a lot of patients can wear them, and they don't get the benefit of them," Robertson said.
Eight of the patients preferred the mouthpiece, and five chose the breathing mask. Seven didn't like either treatment.
As compared to Scotland, "a lot of Americans are more keen on the surgery, but they, too, are realizing that they can treat a lot of snorers with a splint or a breathing mask."
Dr. Ronald D. Chervin, a physician who treats sleep disorders at the University of Michigan, cautioned that mouthpieces aren't typically as effective as the breathing masks.
"It would be encouraging if they did even as well" as breathing masks," he said. "But they can be very effective for some individuals."
More information
Learn more about snoring from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
The device might help many troubled chronic snorers avoid a cumbersome nighttime breathing mask or surgery, the team added.
"The take-home message is that we don't have to operate on all snorers," said study lead author Stuart M. Robertson, a surgical trainee at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, Scotland. "We try first a [mouthpiece], and if that doesn't work, we try the breathing mask, and if that doesn't work, we offer them surgery," he said.
Snoring is often harmless but can be a sign of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing is disrupted during sleep.
The new study looked at patients whose snoring doesn't cause health problems but does aggravate their partners, perhaps forcing a spouse to sleep in another room, Robertson said.
Typically, he said, doctors performed surgery on the snoring patients, but the operations didn't always work. In the new study, conducted over two years, 20 patients were split into two groups. One group underwent three months of treatment with a mouthpiece and then three months using a special breathing mask; the other group did the opposite.
The study findings were scheduled to be released Monday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, in Washington, D.C.
The mouthpiece, known as a splint, is similar to a mouth guard worn by a boxer, Robertson said.
But it protects both the upper and lower teeth and "moves your jaw forward, it allows you to breath more easily at night and reduce your snoring," he explained.
The mouthpieces cost about $400 and have to be replaced about once every two years, he said.
They can cause discomfort and move the teeth around; Robertson recommends that patients regularly see a dentist.
The breathing mask, which costs $400 to $600, is hooked to a machine and sends air through a nasal mask into the throat where it forces the airway to stay open. "The masks do work very well, but they're so uncomfortable that I don't think a lot of patients can wear them, and they don't get the benefit of them," Robertson said.
Eight of the patients preferred the mouthpiece, and five chose the breathing mask. Seven didn't like either treatment.
As compared to Scotland, "a lot of Americans are more keen on the surgery, but they, too, are realizing that they can treat a lot of snorers with a splint or a breathing mask."
Dr. Ronald D. Chervin, a physician who treats sleep disorders at the University of Michigan, cautioned that mouthpieces aren't typically as effective as the breathing masks.
"It would be encouraging if they did even as well" as breathing masks," he said. "But they can be very effective for some individuals."
More information
Learn more about snoring from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
more discussion: Forum
· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Minggu, 26 Agustus 2007
Sleepless Kids Are Troubled Kids
(HealthDay News) -- The nightly trip to dreamland is a frustrating one for millions of American children suffering from insomnia, night awakenings and even sleep apnea, experts say.
"Across every study, 20 to 25 percent of children have some kind of sleep problem," said Jodi Mindell, associate director of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "That spans everything from kids who are waking during the night, to resisting bedtime, to sleepwalking, disordered breathing -- the gamut," she said.
One 2004 National Sleep Foundation poll found that, among children under 11, 60 percent experienced some kind of sleep trouble at least a few nights a week, Mindell said. "And 74 percent of parents said they wanted to change something about their child's sleep," she added.
So, parents awakened in the night by a sleepless child have lots of company nationwide. One big culprit: sleep apnea, which occurs when blockages in the airway trigger snoring and frequent nighttime awakenings.
"About 2 to 3 percent of children will have sleep apnea," said Mindell, co-author of Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep. "About 10 to 12 percent of kids snore on a regular basis, but not all children who snore have sleep apnea. In children, the primary cause of obstructive sleep apnea is enlarged tonsils or adenoids."
In most cases, tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy offers a quick fix for pediatric sleep apnea, Mindell said. But there's another contributing factor that's rising in prevalence -- obesity. "In obese kids, what you're getting is the tonsils and adenoids being big, and then the weight on the neck closing the airways," she explained.
The daytime drowsiness that comes with sleep apnea can greatly affect a child's mood, daytime alertness and academics. One 2006 study in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine found that youngsters with sleep apnea scored lower on standard IQ tests compared with unaffected kids -- an average of 85 points vs. 100, respectively.
Left untreated, sleep apnea might even permanently damage cognitive function, the researchers said. "We can only assume that it could turn an otherwise smart kid into a mediocre kid," lead investigator Dr. Ann Halbower, of the John Hopkins University Children Center, told HealthDay.
But there are other sleep woes affecting children, including insomnia, night terrors, and frequent awakenings and sleepwalking.
Many can be fixed with simple behavioral changes at home, Mindell said. Those steps include:
Setting firm schedules. "Get them to bed the same time every night and wake them up the same time every morning," Mindell said. "This sets a child's internal clock and makes it so they'll get sleepy easier and fall asleep easier."
Create a bedtime routine. Implementing a "wind-down" time before bed, perhaps 20 to 30 minutes each night, helps kids of all ages settle down and ready their minds and bodies for sleep, Mindell said.
Ban electronics from the bedroom. According to polls, 97 percent of U.S. kids have some kind of electronic distraction -- TV, cell phone, computer, Gameboy -- in their rooms. "That has a major impact on sleep," Mindell said. "We want to get kid's bedrooms unplugged."
Limit caffeine. This doesn't mean only coffee -- it's ice tea, plus dark- and light-colored sodas. "For some kids it takes much longer to metabolize caffeine," Mindell said. "So, that ice tea at 3 o'clock in the afternoon can still be keeping them up at 10 p.m."
Make sleep-time a solo affair. Kids who get used to a parent being with them as they drift off will need that parent every time they seek slumber. "So, if you're lying down with your 5-year-old at bedtime, be prepared to be lying down with him at 1 a.m.," Mindell warned. Allowing a child to fall asleep on his or her own eliminates that problem.
School boards have an important role to play, too, Mindell said.
"Many high schools are starting now at 7:15 in the morning, and that's completely against what is happening with teenagers' internal clocks," she explained. "Their clocks actually shift later [than adults] -- that's just a simple biological function."
So, later school start times can make a big difference. According to Mindell, school districts that have made such a change "have seen huge, positive responses in their kids' grades."
More information
There's more on helping children get their shut-eye at the National Sleep Foundation.
"Across every study, 20 to 25 percent of children have some kind of sleep problem," said Jodi Mindell, associate director of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "That spans everything from kids who are waking during the night, to resisting bedtime, to sleepwalking, disordered breathing -- the gamut," she said.
One 2004 National Sleep Foundation poll found that, among children under 11, 60 percent experienced some kind of sleep trouble at least a few nights a week, Mindell said. "And 74 percent of parents said they wanted to change something about their child's sleep," she added.
So, parents awakened in the night by a sleepless child have lots of company nationwide. One big culprit: sleep apnea, which occurs when blockages in the airway trigger snoring and frequent nighttime awakenings.
"About 2 to 3 percent of children will have sleep apnea," said Mindell, co-author of Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep. "About 10 to 12 percent of kids snore on a regular basis, but not all children who snore have sleep apnea. In children, the primary cause of obstructive sleep apnea is enlarged tonsils or adenoids."
In most cases, tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy offers a quick fix for pediatric sleep apnea, Mindell said. But there's another contributing factor that's rising in prevalence -- obesity. "In obese kids, what you're getting is the tonsils and adenoids being big, and then the weight on the neck closing the airways," she explained.
The daytime drowsiness that comes with sleep apnea can greatly affect a child's mood, daytime alertness and academics. One 2006 study in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine found that youngsters with sleep apnea scored lower on standard IQ tests compared with unaffected kids -- an average of 85 points vs. 100, respectively.
Left untreated, sleep apnea might even permanently damage cognitive function, the researchers said. "We can only assume that it could turn an otherwise smart kid into a mediocre kid," lead investigator Dr. Ann Halbower, of the John Hopkins University Children Center, told HealthDay.
But there are other sleep woes affecting children, including insomnia, night terrors, and frequent awakenings and sleepwalking.
Many can be fixed with simple behavioral changes at home, Mindell said. Those steps include:
Setting firm schedules. "Get them to bed the same time every night and wake them up the same time every morning," Mindell said. "This sets a child's internal clock and makes it so they'll get sleepy easier and fall asleep easier."
Create a bedtime routine. Implementing a "wind-down" time before bed, perhaps 20 to 30 minutes each night, helps kids of all ages settle down and ready their minds and bodies for sleep, Mindell said.
Ban electronics from the bedroom. According to polls, 97 percent of U.S. kids have some kind of electronic distraction -- TV, cell phone, computer, Gameboy -- in their rooms. "That has a major impact on sleep," Mindell said. "We want to get kid's bedrooms unplugged."
Limit caffeine. This doesn't mean only coffee -- it's ice tea, plus dark- and light-colored sodas. "For some kids it takes much longer to metabolize caffeine," Mindell said. "So, that ice tea at 3 o'clock in the afternoon can still be keeping them up at 10 p.m."
Make sleep-time a solo affair. Kids who get used to a parent being with them as they drift off will need that parent every time they seek slumber. "So, if you're lying down with your 5-year-old at bedtime, be prepared to be lying down with him at 1 a.m.," Mindell warned. Allowing a child to fall asleep on his or her own eliminates that problem.
School boards have an important role to play, too, Mindell said.
"Many high schools are starting now at 7:15 in the morning, and that's completely against what is happening with teenagers' internal clocks," she explained. "Their clocks actually shift later [than adults] -- that's just a simple biological function."
So, later school start times can make a big difference. According to Mindell, school districts that have made such a change "have seen huge, positive responses in their kids' grades."
More information
There's more on helping children get their shut-eye at the National Sleep Foundation.
Selasa, 10 Juli 2007
No Evidence Tomatoes, Lycopene Cut Cancer: FDA
(HealthDay News) -- There's little hard evidence that a diet rich in tomatoes and the tomato antioxidant lycopene can ward off cancer, according to research from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Reporting in the July 10 issue of the Journal of the American Cancer Institute, FDA experts lay out in great detail the evidence -- or mostly lack of it -- behind their November 2005 statement that tomato consumption is not linked to any reduction risk of tumors of the prostate, ovary, stomach and pancreas.
The agency had previously found no evidence that tomatoes could cut risks for lung, colorectal, breast, cervical or endometrial tumors, either.
The November 2005 statement contended that, "there is no credible evidence to support qualified health claims for lycopene, as a food ingredient, component or food, or as a dietary supplement, and reduced risk of any of the cancers in the petition."
The petition for approval of the claims was submitted by a supplement maker, American Longevity.
The FDA has now put the evidence behind its decision in print, said Paul Coates, director of the office of dietary supplements at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the author of a related journal editorial.
The new data review "gives people some idea of what the process is," Coates said. That's important, he said, because "one of the things that people are concerned about is how are these decisions arrived at. Making the process transparent and open will be helpful."
As part of its review, the FDA pored over data from 107 observational studies comparing the level of consumption of either tomatoes or lycopene with people's general cancer risk.
They also looked at 23 studies that focused on blood levels of lycopene, although most of those trials were deemed unreliable, either because there were too many confounding factors or because most focused on cancer patients, not healthy people.
The agency also included dozens of studies comparing lycopene or tomato intake against the risk of individual cancers such as prostate, colon and breast malignancies.
The bottom line, according to the FDA: There's just not enough evidence to recommend that Americans boost their tomato intake to ward off cancer.
However, the new report is certainly not the last word on cancer-preventing claims for lycopene, Coates added.
"It just codifies the fact that the information about lycopene and cancer is not very robust," he said. "It may well be that if more studies are done, a greater effect might be found. But now, when you look at similar studies done by different people, they come to the same conclusion."
For its part, the American Cancer Society prefers to stay away from recommending any one food as a cancer preventive agent, said Marji McCullough, director of nutritional epidemiology for the organization.
"In our guidelines, we encourage people to eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables," she said. "Several studies have suggested a lower risk of cancer with some kinds of foods, including tomatoes, but we encourage variety."
The society encourages consumption of "dark deep-colored vegetables, because some studies have found an association between them and lower cancer risk," McCullough said.
The society also encourages fruit and vegetable consumption, because it helps prevent weight gain, she said.
But endorsement of specific foods won't come until research shows that they clearly are associated with lower cancer risk, McCullough said. As for supplements, "most of the evidence comes from studies of foods," she said.
More information
There's more on lycopene at the American Cancer Society.
Reporting in the July 10 issue of the Journal of the American Cancer Institute, FDA experts lay out in great detail the evidence -- or mostly lack of it -- behind their November 2005 statement that tomato consumption is not linked to any reduction risk of tumors of the prostate, ovary, stomach and pancreas.
The agency had previously found no evidence that tomatoes could cut risks for lung, colorectal, breast, cervical or endometrial tumors, either.
The November 2005 statement contended that, "there is no credible evidence to support qualified health claims for lycopene, as a food ingredient, component or food, or as a dietary supplement, and reduced risk of any of the cancers in the petition."
The petition for approval of the claims was submitted by a supplement maker, American Longevity.
The FDA has now put the evidence behind its decision in print, said Paul Coates, director of the office of dietary supplements at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the author of a related journal editorial.
The new data review "gives people some idea of what the process is," Coates said. That's important, he said, because "one of the things that people are concerned about is how are these decisions arrived at. Making the process transparent and open will be helpful."
As part of its review, the FDA pored over data from 107 observational studies comparing the level of consumption of either tomatoes or lycopene with people's general cancer risk.
They also looked at 23 studies that focused on blood levels of lycopene, although most of those trials were deemed unreliable, either because there were too many confounding factors or because most focused on cancer patients, not healthy people.
The agency also included dozens of studies comparing lycopene or tomato intake against the risk of individual cancers such as prostate, colon and breast malignancies.
The bottom line, according to the FDA: There's just not enough evidence to recommend that Americans boost their tomato intake to ward off cancer.
However, the new report is certainly not the last word on cancer-preventing claims for lycopene, Coates added.
"It just codifies the fact that the information about lycopene and cancer is not very robust," he said. "It may well be that if more studies are done, a greater effect might be found. But now, when you look at similar studies done by different people, they come to the same conclusion."
For its part, the American Cancer Society prefers to stay away from recommending any one food as a cancer preventive agent, said Marji McCullough, director of nutritional epidemiology for the organization.
"In our guidelines, we encourage people to eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables," she said. "Several studies have suggested a lower risk of cancer with some kinds of foods, including tomatoes, but we encourage variety."
The society encourages consumption of "dark deep-colored vegetables, because some studies have found an association between them and lower cancer risk," McCullough said.
The society also encourages fruit and vegetable consumption, because it helps prevent weight gain, she said.
But endorsement of specific foods won't come until research shows that they clearly are associated with lower cancer risk, McCullough said. As for supplements, "most of the evidence comes from studies of foods," she said.
More information
There's more on lycopene at the American Cancer Society.
Kamis, 05 Juli 2007
Adjusting Cabin Pressure Eases Air Passenger Discomfort
(HealthDay News) -- The discomfort some passengers feel on airplanes could be due to the air pressure settings inside cabins, a new study finds.
Most aircraft cabins are pressurized to 8,000 feet above sea level, an altitude that lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood by about 4 percentage points, researchers say.
This decrease in oxygen saturation isn't enough to bring on acute mountain sickness, but pressurizing the cabin to 6,000 feet could help some passengers feel better when flying, concludes a study in the July 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We found that the altitudes did not affect the occurrence of acute mountain sickness syndrome, but it did affect discomfort," said the study's lead author, Dr. J. Michael Muhm, senior occupation physician for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, which funded the study.
"There was no difference in the likelihood of discomfort at ground level and 6,000 feet, but the likelihood increased between 6,000 and 8,000 feet."
He added, "We concluded that passenger and crew comfort would be enhanced" if the cabin was pressurized to 6,000 feet during long-duration flights.
Most commercial aircraft are pressurized to 6,000 to 8,000 feet, not sea level.
"In order to pressurize at ground level, we would have to increase the weight of the aircraft tremendously, because the material as it exists right now couldn't tolerate pressure at ground level," explained Dr. Claude Thibeault, medical director of the International Air Transport Association in Montreal. "We would have to increase fuel, decrease passengers. So, it's an operational sort of factor."
And 8,000 feet, the maximum allowed, is also physiologically acceptable for "normal" people, he added.
"The average Joe in good condition could tolerate 8,000 feet without health effects," Thibeault said. But he noted, "They didn't say without discomfort."
Short-haul flights are usually pressurized at 5,000 to 6,000 feet while long-haul flights are closer to 8,000 feet, according to Thibeault.
But acute mountain sickness, which can involve headache, nausea and vomiting, can occur at altitudes of 6,500 feet and higher.
The authors of the study wanted to see, among other things, if airplane travelers were prone to mountain sickness.
To that end, 502 adult volunteers participated in a 20-hour simulated flight to determine the effect of barometric pressures equivalent to altitudes of 650, 4,000, 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level on arterial oxygen saturation and the occurrence of acute mountain sickness and discomfort.
Mean oxygen saturation went down as the altitude increased, eventually reaching a maximum decrease of 4.4 percentage points at 8,000 feet.
Acute mountain sickness occurred in 7.4 percent of participants, but the incidence did not vary between the different altitudes.
Discomfort rose with increasing altitude and was greater at 7,000 to 8,000 feet than at all the other altitudes combined. Discomfort became apparent 3 to 9 hours into the "flight."
Older people (over 60) were less likely to report discomfort than younger people, and men seemed more affected than women.
"There were no health effects, but the discomfort was there," Thibeault said. "What they were trying to do in this study is isolate one factor, which is altitude, so you can't blame these effects on other factors."
Next week, Boeing plans to launch its newest aircraft, the 787, with cabins pressurized to 6,000 feet.
"The 787 is one of our first airplanes with the fuselage made out of composites rather than aluminum, a structure that allows us to pressurize to 6,000 feet," said Jeanne Yu, director of environmental performance for Boeing. "The findings of this study, as well as the development of materials technology, enable us to fly the 787."
But she added, changing cabin pressures in existing aircraft is not that simple because of their aluminum structures.
"Airplanes are designed to withstand the continuous pressurization/depressurization cycles that occur in takeoffs and landings throughout their service life. To lower the maximum cruise cabin altitude, the pressure difference must be increased between the interior and exterior of the airplane. This change would fatigue (wear out) the structure more rapidly and impact the airplane's service life in an uncertain way, perhaps even compromising the design integrity of the airplane," she said.
More information
For more on staying healthy when you fly, head to the Academy of Family Physicians.
more discussion: Forum· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Most aircraft cabins are pressurized to 8,000 feet above sea level, an altitude that lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood by about 4 percentage points, researchers say.
This decrease in oxygen saturation isn't enough to bring on acute mountain sickness, but pressurizing the cabin to 6,000 feet could help some passengers feel better when flying, concludes a study in the July 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We found that the altitudes did not affect the occurrence of acute mountain sickness syndrome, but it did affect discomfort," said the study's lead author, Dr. J. Michael Muhm, senior occupation physician for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, which funded the study.
"There was no difference in the likelihood of discomfort at ground level and 6,000 feet, but the likelihood increased between 6,000 and 8,000 feet."
He added, "We concluded that passenger and crew comfort would be enhanced" if the cabin was pressurized to 6,000 feet during long-duration flights.
Most commercial aircraft are pressurized to 6,000 to 8,000 feet, not sea level.
"In order to pressurize at ground level, we would have to increase the weight of the aircraft tremendously, because the material as it exists right now couldn't tolerate pressure at ground level," explained Dr. Claude Thibeault, medical director of the International Air Transport Association in Montreal. "We would have to increase fuel, decrease passengers. So, it's an operational sort of factor."
And 8,000 feet, the maximum allowed, is also physiologically acceptable for "normal" people, he added.
"The average Joe in good condition could tolerate 8,000 feet without health effects," Thibeault said. But he noted, "They didn't say without discomfort."
Short-haul flights are usually pressurized at 5,000 to 6,000 feet while long-haul flights are closer to 8,000 feet, according to Thibeault.
But acute mountain sickness, which can involve headache, nausea and vomiting, can occur at altitudes of 6,500 feet and higher.
The authors of the study wanted to see, among other things, if airplane travelers were prone to mountain sickness.
To that end, 502 adult volunteers participated in a 20-hour simulated flight to determine the effect of barometric pressures equivalent to altitudes of 650, 4,000, 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level on arterial oxygen saturation and the occurrence of acute mountain sickness and discomfort.
Mean oxygen saturation went down as the altitude increased, eventually reaching a maximum decrease of 4.4 percentage points at 8,000 feet.
Acute mountain sickness occurred in 7.4 percent of participants, but the incidence did not vary between the different altitudes.
Discomfort rose with increasing altitude and was greater at 7,000 to 8,000 feet than at all the other altitudes combined. Discomfort became apparent 3 to 9 hours into the "flight."
Older people (over 60) were less likely to report discomfort than younger people, and men seemed more affected than women.
"There were no health effects, but the discomfort was there," Thibeault said. "What they were trying to do in this study is isolate one factor, which is altitude, so you can't blame these effects on other factors."
Next week, Boeing plans to launch its newest aircraft, the 787, with cabins pressurized to 6,000 feet.
"The 787 is one of our first airplanes with the fuselage made out of composites rather than aluminum, a structure that allows us to pressurize to 6,000 feet," said Jeanne Yu, director of environmental performance for Boeing. "The findings of this study, as well as the development of materials technology, enable us to fly the 787."
But she added, changing cabin pressures in existing aircraft is not that simple because of their aluminum structures.
"Airplanes are designed to withstand the continuous pressurization/depressurization cycles that occur in takeoffs and landings throughout their service life. To lower the maximum cruise cabin altitude, the pressure difference must be increased between the interior and exterior of the airplane. This change would fatigue (wear out) the structure more rapidly and impact the airplane's service life in an uncertain way, perhaps even compromising the design integrity of the airplane," she said.
More information
For more on staying healthy when you fly, head to the Academy of Family Physicians.
more discussion: Forum· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Rabu, 23 Mei 2007
New Yorkers Get a Sneak Peek at alli®
(HealthDay News) -- Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline isn't wasting any time.
On Monday, about a month before its over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss drug alli® will actually be on store shelves throughout America, the company opened a multimedia exhibit in the much-shopped and often congested Union Square area of Manhattan.
This "look, learn, but don't buy" preview of the only weight-loss medication currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and available without a prescription is getting the same sort of advance media play that kicked off campaigns for prescription drugs such as Viagra and the sleeping aid Lunesta.
But is alli being over-hyped? GlaxoSmithKline doesn't think so.
"We're positioning alli as an honest voice in a category known for hype," said Joe Cadle, marketing director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "The alli experience will teach people the difference between alli and the rest of the weight-loss category." The OTC dosage of alli (orlistat) is 60 milligrams (mg), a dilution of the prescription amount. Orlistat is not a new weight-loss drug; the FDA approved it in 1999.
Cadle said that people currently spend $1 billion a year on ineffective weight-loss products that make unrealistic claims. "alli is much more than just pills in a bottle," he said, adding that GlaxoSmithKline was offering a companion book called Are You Losing It? Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind and other weight-loss material.
But the magic question seeking the magic answer for millions of overweight Americans is, "Does it work?"
Not surprisingly, Cadle said it does, but not by itself. "alli is not a magic pill," he said. "You have to eat a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and be willing to do the work. If you do, you can lose 50 percent more weight. If you lose 10 pounds without taking alli, you could lose 15 when taking it."
Marketed to overweight adults over age 18, alli is expected to cost between $1 and $2 a day. It works by blocking the body's absorption of fat.
It's designed not to have an adverse effect on the cardiovascular system as did other weight-loss products such as ephedra, Cadle said. The FDA banned ephedra after medical evidence indicated it increased heart attack risk.
Alli is not without its critics, however, chief among them Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, D.C., who has spoken against orlistat's side effects before.
When another pharmaceutical company, Roche, marketed orlistat in prescription strength as Xenical, Wolfe spoke out. "Animal studies done by Roche show that rats developed aberrant crypti foci, ACF, precancerous lesions in the colon from Orlistat, which put them at higher risk of colon cancer," Wolfe said in a recent interview. "An independent study by researchers in 2006 found the same thing."
But another expert said Wolfe's concerns are unfounded.
"There are more than 100 clinical studies, including 30,000 clinical trial patients, and nine years of post-marketing surveillance with more than 29 million patient treatments, all showing no such risk with orlistat use," said Dr. Vidhu Bansal, director of medical affairs for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "The FDA concluded the same in their recent review," she added.
Wolfe maintained that the FDA relied heavily on testimony by a panel comprised of pharmaceutical company representatives. But that is only part of the difficulty, he said. The side effects were embarrassing, dramatic and distasteful enough to cause orlistat to lose popularity.
"The RX (prescription) drug's popularity went down, because it caused all sorts of acute problems, mainly gastrointestinal," Wolfe said. "Twenty-five percent of people got oily spotting (from the rectum), because the fat is going in one end and coming out the other. You definitely wouldn't want to take it while on a first date."
Wolfe said some people also experienced gas, loose or more frequent stools, and inhibition of fat-soluble vitamins. "We wanted the FDA to ban the RX version," he said. "It should never have been approved for over-the-counter sales."
But the FDA denied Public Citizens' petition.
This is precisely why GlaxoSmithKline is strongly recommending that a person adopt a low-fat diet when using alli. "These unwelcome side effects will only occur if people eat too much fat while taking the weight-loss drug, Cadle said. "And if they eat too much fat, then they're not following the program."
Cadle said alli will be sold in drugstores, mass market retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, club warehouse stores, and some grocery stores.
More information
The FDA has a location on its Web site outlining the approval process for alli®.
On Monday, about a month before its over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss drug alli® will actually be on store shelves throughout America, the company opened a multimedia exhibit in the much-shopped and often congested Union Square area of Manhattan.
This "look, learn, but don't buy" preview of the only weight-loss medication currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and available without a prescription is getting the same sort of advance media play that kicked off campaigns for prescription drugs such as Viagra and the sleeping aid Lunesta.
But is alli being over-hyped? GlaxoSmithKline doesn't think so.
"We're positioning alli as an honest voice in a category known for hype," said Joe Cadle, marketing director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "The alli experience will teach people the difference between alli and the rest of the weight-loss category." The OTC dosage of alli (orlistat) is 60 milligrams (mg), a dilution of the prescription amount. Orlistat is not a new weight-loss drug; the FDA approved it in 1999.
Cadle said that people currently spend $1 billion a year on ineffective weight-loss products that make unrealistic claims. "alli is much more than just pills in a bottle," he said, adding that GlaxoSmithKline was offering a companion book called Are You Losing It? Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind and other weight-loss material.
But the magic question seeking the magic answer for millions of overweight Americans is, "Does it work?"
Not surprisingly, Cadle said it does, but not by itself. "alli is not a magic pill," he said. "You have to eat a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and be willing to do the work. If you do, you can lose 50 percent more weight. If you lose 10 pounds without taking alli, you could lose 15 when taking it."
Marketed to overweight adults over age 18, alli is expected to cost between $1 and $2 a day. It works by blocking the body's absorption of fat.
It's designed not to have an adverse effect on the cardiovascular system as did other weight-loss products such as ephedra, Cadle said. The FDA banned ephedra after medical evidence indicated it increased heart attack risk.
Alli is not without its critics, however, chief among them Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, D.C., who has spoken against orlistat's side effects before.
When another pharmaceutical company, Roche, marketed orlistat in prescription strength as Xenical, Wolfe spoke out. "Animal studies done by Roche show that rats developed aberrant crypti foci, ACF, precancerous lesions in the colon from Orlistat, which put them at higher risk of colon cancer," Wolfe said in a recent interview. "An independent study by researchers in 2006 found the same thing."
But another expert said Wolfe's concerns are unfounded.
"There are more than 100 clinical studies, including 30,000 clinical trial patients, and nine years of post-marketing surveillance with more than 29 million patient treatments, all showing no such risk with orlistat use," said Dr. Vidhu Bansal, director of medical affairs for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "The FDA concluded the same in their recent review," she added.
Wolfe maintained that the FDA relied heavily on testimony by a panel comprised of pharmaceutical company representatives. But that is only part of the difficulty, he said. The side effects were embarrassing, dramatic and distasteful enough to cause orlistat to lose popularity.
"The RX (prescription) drug's popularity went down, because it caused all sorts of acute problems, mainly gastrointestinal," Wolfe said. "Twenty-five percent of people got oily spotting (from the rectum), because the fat is going in one end and coming out the other. You definitely wouldn't want to take it while on a first date."
Wolfe said some people also experienced gas, loose or more frequent stools, and inhibition of fat-soluble vitamins. "We wanted the FDA to ban the RX version," he said. "It should never have been approved for over-the-counter sales."
But the FDA denied Public Citizens' petition.
This is precisely why GlaxoSmithKline is strongly recommending that a person adopt a low-fat diet when using alli. "These unwelcome side effects will only occur if people eat too much fat while taking the weight-loss drug, Cadle said. "And if they eat too much fat, then they're not following the program."
Cadle said alli will be sold in drugstores, mass market retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, club warehouse stores, and some grocery stores.
More information
The FDA has a location on its Web site outlining the approval process for alli®.
Minggu, 04 Februari 2007
Furor Over Anorexic Models Hits U.S. Fashion Week
(HealthDay News) -- As the U.S. fashion season kicks off Friday in New York City, the headline-grabbing controversy over dangerously thin models will link arms with haute couture on the runway.
The furor began in earnest last year with the deaths of two young models from anorexia nervosa and has since escalated, prompting fashion-show bosses in Europe to ban girls under a certain body mass index from working the shows.
In mid-January, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) issued its own "Health Initiative," stressing voluntary measures to "create an atmosphere that supports the well-being of these young women."
But that may not be enough to protect models -- and the millions of girls and women who emulate them, critics charge.
Too often, "guidelines are things that people just hang on a wall," said Lynn Grefe, chief executive officer of the National Eating Disorders Association.
While she's pleased that the CFDA has "opened a dialogue" on the issue, Grefe said she's waiting to see how these voluntary rules get implemented.
"Right now, I'm not sure how they are going to handle it if they have an anorexic girl in the shows," Grefe said. Given that most eating-disorder sufferers hide the problem, "How are designers going to know about it? And who's going to tell the girl?" she said.
The issue gained renewed prominence with the eating-disorders deaths in 2006 of two young models -- Luisel Ramos, of Uruguay, and Ana Carolina Reston, of Brazil, who was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 88 pounds when she died. Reston reportedly lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes in the weeks before her death.
The outcry over these deaths led to a move in September by government officials in Madrid to ban models with a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 18 from performing in city-sponsored fashion shows.
Milan followed suit, with a similar ordinance passed by government officials last month to restrict runway models to BMIs of 18.5 or more. (For reference, a 5-foot-9 woman with a BMI of 18.5 would weigh 125 pounds). Italian designers have also agreed to demand that all models submit medical proof that they don't suffer from an eating disorder as a condition to work.
The CFDA, which recently appointed designer Diane von Furstenberg as its president, hasn't gone that far. Instead, the group is asking the fashion industry to get better educated about the signs of eating disorders, to have models who are "identified" as having a disorder seek medical help, to ban models under the age of 16 from all runway shows, and to have healthy snacks available backstage at all times.
The council does not advocate any BMI cutoff for runway models. According to its Jan. 12 statement, the group's initiative "is about awareness and education, not policing. Therefore, the [CFDA] committee is not recommending that models get a doctor's physical examination to assess their health or body mass index to be permitted to work."
A representative of the CFDA said the group isn't offering further comment on the issue until after a public meeting in New York City on the problem, scheduled for Feb. 5.
But, BMI-linked policing of future New York shows may still come. On Jan. 31, a Democratic New York state assemblyman, Jose Rivera, said he would propose that a state advisory board be formed to craft guidelines to prevent eating disorders among models and performers under the age of 18. The measure may get support from the state Senate's majority leader, Republican Joseph Bruno, who last year revealed that his granddaughter suffers from anorexia nervosa.
New York City councilwoman Gale Brewer has also said that she plans to introduce a resolution on Friday to keep models with BMIs under 18.5 off the runways. "Women are encouraged to mutilate their bodies in the industry," Brewer told the New York Sun on Thursday.
Health experts fault new guidelines
Experts on eating disorders say tougher measures by the fashion industry are desperately needed.
"I feel the new [CFDA] guidelines really fell short," said Dr. Harry Brandt, director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson, Md. His clinic sees more than 800 inpatients a year and treats thousands more for anorexia and bulimia on an outpatient basis.
"I believe that within the industry there has been an implicit encouragement of dramatic measures to maintain a certain body weight for models," he said. "The fashion industry needs to take steps to ensure the health of their employees and, in a broader societal context, to take appropriate measures to see to it that we are providing realistic images to girls."
Images in fashion and gossip magazines of ultra-thin models and celebrities do have an impact on girls' self-image, Brandt said. "We see it in our work with patients on a daily basis," he said. "Patients describe the intense pressure they feel to be thin, to be considered successful and attractive in our culture."
According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), more than 10 million American girls and women may be affected by eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, which carry the highest death risk of any psychiatric illness. And a 2000 British study drew a strong link between women viewing rail-thin models in magazines and an increased tendency for eating disorders.
One fashion industry insider agrees these images can do harm.
"The majority of women look at magazines, and they do not see themselves reflected," said Emme, a plus-size supermodel who made fashion history in the 1990s as the first full-figured model ever awarded a major cosmetics contract (Revlon). She's also a long-time NEDA ambassador, calling for more industry action on eating disorders.
The New York-based model said much more needs to be done to empower young models to retain control of their own bodies. "They are so impressionable, and you don't know where these pressures are coming from," Emme said. While she does not support a BMI cutoff, she does support stronger industry self-regulation. "I want us to say, 'That is too thin, and, no, you will not walk in my show,' " she said.
Emme said she was shocked recently by photos sent to her of especially emaciated models appearing in a glossy fashion layout. "I was horrified to look at these pictures," she said, describing the models as "bags of bones dressed in haute couture."
"I was astonished, too, that these girls were booked, that there were obviously people around to see them, that they had to be fitted for the clothes. So, all of this had to be approved," Emme said. "And these girls are skeletal."
Some skinny models born that way, editor says
Of course, not every model has an eating disorder, and the fashion world does have its defenders. Memsor Kamarake, a former stylist and modeling agency executive, is now fashion director at Vibe magazine. Speaking from the Paris runway shows this week, he said he's against any BMI threshold for models.
"At the end of the day, just making sure that models are healthy should be the first priority," Kamarake said. "I think that when we get into this territory of 'this certain body type is right, this isn't,' that it opens the door to something a bit scary."
He also believes that many super-thin models are genetically geared to stay skinny and healthy. He cited the example of a model used in a recent Vibe photo shoot, a willowy 16-year-old named Chanel Iman.
"I saw her on the set, and she had a plate of food and ate all day," Kamarake said. "We actually were teasing her about it, but she said, 'I eat like this all the time.' "
So, Kamarake added, "if [a model] has accomplished something, why should we not include her? Because her body type makes people uncomfortable?"
But the Center for Eating Disorders' Brandt called that argument "a cop-out."
"Yes, there are exceedingly thin people who are perfectly healthy and normal -- I'm the first to acknowledge that weight falls on a bell curve of distribution," Brandt said. "But the reality is that, in the modeling industry, there are case examples of very famous models who've come forward only later to say, 'I had to starve myself to maintain my appearance.' "
That's why the CFDA's pledge to help models who are "identified" as having a problem won't work, Brandt said. "Nobody goes to their employer and says, 'Oh, by the way, I have a significant health problem, and I probably shouldn't be doing this job.' That's just not the way it works."
Brandt believes models below a certain BMI should undergo mandatory medical reviews to check for eating disorders -- a relatively easy diagnosis, he said.
All of this means that models, rather than clothes, could face the toughest scrutiny during the New York shows, which conclude Feb. 9.
"I really hope that this is not just a case of 'let's satisfy the public by saying we are going to educate people,' " Emme said. "I want to know what else they are going to do. We are going to find out next week where we are with designers really self-regulating."
But Kamarake appeared dubious about industry-wide change.
"I can't imagine a designer who's doing shows now who isn't thinking about the controversy," he said. But other heated issues have also come and gone, he noted.
"Remember the whole controversy about fur use? I'm sure designers think about it, but there's still a lot of lynx around. There's still a lot of chinchilla out there."
More information
For more on eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association.
The furor began in earnest last year with the deaths of two young models from anorexia nervosa and has since escalated, prompting fashion-show bosses in Europe to ban girls under a certain body mass index from working the shows.
In mid-January, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) issued its own "Health Initiative," stressing voluntary measures to "create an atmosphere that supports the well-being of these young women."
But that may not be enough to protect models -- and the millions of girls and women who emulate them, critics charge.
Too often, "guidelines are things that people just hang on a wall," said Lynn Grefe, chief executive officer of the National Eating Disorders Association.
While she's pleased that the CFDA has "opened a dialogue" on the issue, Grefe said she's waiting to see how these voluntary rules get implemented.
"Right now, I'm not sure how they are going to handle it if they have an anorexic girl in the shows," Grefe said. Given that most eating-disorder sufferers hide the problem, "How are designers going to know about it? And who's going to tell the girl?" she said.
The issue gained renewed prominence with the eating-disorders deaths in 2006 of two young models -- Luisel Ramos, of Uruguay, and Ana Carolina Reston, of Brazil, who was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 88 pounds when she died. Reston reportedly lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes in the weeks before her death.
The outcry over these deaths led to a move in September by government officials in Madrid to ban models with a body-mass index (BMI) of less than 18 from performing in city-sponsored fashion shows.
Milan followed suit, with a similar ordinance passed by government officials last month to restrict runway models to BMIs of 18.5 or more. (For reference, a 5-foot-9 woman with a BMI of 18.5 would weigh 125 pounds). Italian designers have also agreed to demand that all models submit medical proof that they don't suffer from an eating disorder as a condition to work.
The CFDA, which recently appointed designer Diane von Furstenberg as its president, hasn't gone that far. Instead, the group is asking the fashion industry to get better educated about the signs of eating disorders, to have models who are "identified" as having a disorder seek medical help, to ban models under the age of 16 from all runway shows, and to have healthy snacks available backstage at all times.
The council does not advocate any BMI cutoff for runway models. According to its Jan. 12 statement, the group's initiative "is about awareness and education, not policing. Therefore, the [CFDA] committee is not recommending that models get a doctor's physical examination to assess their health or body mass index to be permitted to work."
A representative of the CFDA said the group isn't offering further comment on the issue until after a public meeting in New York City on the problem, scheduled for Feb. 5.
But, BMI-linked policing of future New York shows may still come. On Jan. 31, a Democratic New York state assemblyman, Jose Rivera, said he would propose that a state advisory board be formed to craft guidelines to prevent eating disorders among models and performers under the age of 18. The measure may get support from the state Senate's majority leader, Republican Joseph Bruno, who last year revealed that his granddaughter suffers from anorexia nervosa.
New York City councilwoman Gale Brewer has also said that she plans to introduce a resolution on Friday to keep models with BMIs under 18.5 off the runways. "Women are encouraged to mutilate their bodies in the industry," Brewer told the New York Sun on Thursday.
Health experts fault new guidelines
Experts on eating disorders say tougher measures by the fashion industry are desperately needed.
"I feel the new [CFDA] guidelines really fell short," said Dr. Harry Brandt, director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson, Md. His clinic sees more than 800 inpatients a year and treats thousands more for anorexia and bulimia on an outpatient basis.
"I believe that within the industry there has been an implicit encouragement of dramatic measures to maintain a certain body weight for models," he said. "The fashion industry needs to take steps to ensure the health of their employees and, in a broader societal context, to take appropriate measures to see to it that we are providing realistic images to girls."
Images in fashion and gossip magazines of ultra-thin models and celebrities do have an impact on girls' self-image, Brandt said. "We see it in our work with patients on a daily basis," he said. "Patients describe the intense pressure they feel to be thin, to be considered successful and attractive in our culture."
According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), more than 10 million American girls and women may be affected by eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, which carry the highest death risk of any psychiatric illness. And a 2000 British study drew a strong link between women viewing rail-thin models in magazines and an increased tendency for eating disorders.
One fashion industry insider agrees these images can do harm.
"The majority of women look at magazines, and they do not see themselves reflected," said Emme, a plus-size supermodel who made fashion history in the 1990s as the first full-figured model ever awarded a major cosmetics contract (Revlon). She's also a long-time NEDA ambassador, calling for more industry action on eating disorders.
The New York-based model said much more needs to be done to empower young models to retain control of their own bodies. "They are so impressionable, and you don't know where these pressures are coming from," Emme said. While she does not support a BMI cutoff, she does support stronger industry self-regulation. "I want us to say, 'That is too thin, and, no, you will not walk in my show,' " she said.
Emme said she was shocked recently by photos sent to her of especially emaciated models appearing in a glossy fashion layout. "I was horrified to look at these pictures," she said, describing the models as "bags of bones dressed in haute couture."
"I was astonished, too, that these girls were booked, that there were obviously people around to see them, that they had to be fitted for the clothes. So, all of this had to be approved," Emme said. "And these girls are skeletal."
Some skinny models born that way, editor says
Of course, not every model has an eating disorder, and the fashion world does have its defenders. Memsor Kamarake, a former stylist and modeling agency executive, is now fashion director at Vibe magazine. Speaking from the Paris runway shows this week, he said he's against any BMI threshold for models.
"At the end of the day, just making sure that models are healthy should be the first priority," Kamarake said. "I think that when we get into this territory of 'this certain body type is right, this isn't,' that it opens the door to something a bit scary."
He also believes that many super-thin models are genetically geared to stay skinny and healthy. He cited the example of a model used in a recent Vibe photo shoot, a willowy 16-year-old named Chanel Iman.
"I saw her on the set, and she had a plate of food and ate all day," Kamarake said. "We actually were teasing her about it, but she said, 'I eat like this all the time.' "
So, Kamarake added, "if [a model] has accomplished something, why should we not include her? Because her body type makes people uncomfortable?"
But the Center for Eating Disorders' Brandt called that argument "a cop-out."
"Yes, there are exceedingly thin people who are perfectly healthy and normal -- I'm the first to acknowledge that weight falls on a bell curve of distribution," Brandt said. "But the reality is that, in the modeling industry, there are case examples of very famous models who've come forward only later to say, 'I had to starve myself to maintain my appearance.' "
That's why the CFDA's pledge to help models who are "identified" as having a problem won't work, Brandt said. "Nobody goes to their employer and says, 'Oh, by the way, I have a significant health problem, and I probably shouldn't be doing this job.' That's just not the way it works."
Brandt believes models below a certain BMI should undergo mandatory medical reviews to check for eating disorders -- a relatively easy diagnosis, he said.
All of this means that models, rather than clothes, could face the toughest scrutiny during the New York shows, which conclude Feb. 9.
"I really hope that this is not just a case of 'let's satisfy the public by saying we are going to educate people,' " Emme said. "I want to know what else they are going to do. We are going to find out next week where we are with designers really self-regulating."
But Kamarake appeared dubious about industry-wide change.
"I can't imagine a designer who's doing shows now who isn't thinking about the controversy," he said. But other heated issues have also come and gone, he noted.
"Remember the whole controversy about fur use? I'm sure designers think about it, but there's still a lot of lynx around. There's still a lot of chinchilla out there."
More information
For more on eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
