Older adults with even mildly decreased levels of sodium in the blood (hyponatremia) experience increased rates of fractures and falls, according to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 43rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition. Falls are a serious health problem for the elderly and account for about 50 percent of deaths due to injury in the elderly.

“Screening for a low sodium concentration in the blood, and treating it when present, may be a new strategy to prevent fractures,” comments Ewout J. Hoorn, MD, PhD (Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands). However, hyponatremia does not appear to affect the risk of osteoporosis, as defined by low bone mineral testing, so more research is needed to understand the link between sodium levels and fracture risk.

The study included more than 5,200 Dutch adults over age 55, all with initial information on sodium levels and six-year follow-up data on fractures and falls. “A number of recent studies suggested a relationship between hyponatremia, falls, osteoporosis, and fractures,” Hoorn explains. The authors’ goal was to confirm these possible associations using prospective, long-term follow-up data.

About eight percent of the study participants, all community dwelling adults, had hyponatremia. This group of older participants had a higher rate of diabetes and was more likely to use diuretics (water pills) than those with normal sodium levels. Subjects with hyponatremia had a higher rate of falls during follow-up: 24 versus 16 percent. However, there was no difference in bone mineral density between groups, so hyponatremia was not related to underlying osteoporosis.

Nevertheless, the group with low sodium levels had a higher rate of fractures. With adjustment for other risk factors, the risk of vertebral / vertebral compression fractures was 61 percent higher in the older adults with hyponatremia. The risk of non-spinal fractures, such as hip fractures, was also significantly increased: a 39 percent difference.

The relationship between hyponatremia and fracture risk was independent of the increased rate of falls in the low-sodium group. Subjects with hyponatremia also had a 21 percent increase in the risk of death during follow-up.

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder, usually developing because the kidneys retain too much water. “Although the complications of hyponatremia are well-recognized in hospitalized patients, this is one of the first studies to show that mild hyponatremia also has important complications in the general population,” says Hoorn.

Further study will be needed to clarify the mechanism by which low sodium levels increase fracture risk. In the meantime, “Screening older adults for and treatment of hyponatremia in older adults may be an important new strategy to prevent fractures,” adds Hoorn.

Notes:

Study co-authors are Fernando Rivadeneira, MD, PhD, Joyce B.J. van Meurs, PhD, Gijsbertus Ziere, MD, PhD, Bruno H. Ch. Stricker, MB, PhD, Albert Hofman MD, PhD, Huibert A.P. Pols MD, PhD, Robert Zietse MD, PhD, Andr?© G. Uitterlinden PhD, M. Carola Zillikens MD, PhD (Erasmus Medical Center).

The authors reported no financial disclosures.

The study abstract, “Mild Hyponatremia as a Risk Factor for Fractures: The Rotterdam Study,” [F-FC232] was presented as an oral presentation at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO.

Source:
Shari Leventhal
American Society of Nephrology Continue reading →

Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Previous research had shown that laboratory animals given 30 percent to 50 percent less food can live up to 50 percent longer. Because of those findings, some people have adopted calorie restriction in the hope that they can lengthen their lives. But the new research suggests the diet may not have the desired effect unless people on calorie restriction also pay attention to their protein intake.

In an article published online this month in the journal Aging Cell, investigators point to a discrepancy between humans and animals on calorie restriction. In the majority of the animal models of longevity, extended lifespan involves pathways related to a growth factor called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is produced primarily in the liver. Production is stimulated by growth hormone and can be reduced by fasting or by insensitivity to growth hormone. In calorie-restricted animals, levels of circulating IGF-1 decline between 30 percent and 40 percent.

“We looked at IGF-1 in humans doing calorie restriction,” says first author Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanit?  in Rome, Italy. “For years, we have been following a cohort of people from the CR Society who have been on long-term calorie restriction. We found no difference in IGF-1 levels between people on calorie restriction and those who are not.”

The CR Society members, who call themselves CRONies (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition), had been on a calorie-restriction diet for an average of seven years when Fontana did the measurements, but their IGF-1 levels were virtually identical to sedentary people who ate a standard, Western diet.

Because calorie restriction is linked to extraordinary increases in maximal lifespan in rats and mice, Fontana and colleagues at Washington University, including principal investigator John O. Holloszy, M.D., professor of medicine, have been involved in a scientific study that compares calorie restriction to exercise and measures many biological factors linked to longevity and health. Called the CALERIE study (Comprehensive Assessment of the Long term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy), the project randomly divided 48 people into three groups: Eighteen cut their caloric intake by 25 percent for one year. Another 18 started exercising to increase their energy expenditure by 25 percent for a year. A third group of 10 people didn’t change anything.

At the end of that year, the investigators measured IGF-1 levels in all three groups. Again they found no reductions in the group on calorie restriction.

“That was puzzling because it was the first time we hadn’t seen agreement between mice and rats on calorie restriction and humans on calorie restriction,” Fontana explains. “But we know there are two major influences on IGF-1 levels: calorie intake and protein intake. So we decided to look at the influence of protein.”

Again, Fontana had a ready-made study group. His team has been following a population of strict vegans for several years. They tend to eat less protein than the CRONies from the CR Society, so he compared IGF-1 levels between the two groups.

“The vegans had significantly less circulating IGF-1, even if they were heavier and had more body fat than CRONies,” he says. “Protein in the diet seemed to correlate with the lower levels of IGF-1. The strict vegans took in about 10 percent of their total calories from protein, whereas those on calorie restriction tended to get about 23 or 24 percent of calories from protein.”

The investigators wanted to take one more look at the relationship between dietary protein and IGF-1, so Fontana asked a group of CRONies to eat less protein for a few weeks. He says it was not easy to cut protein because those on calorie restriction have to do a lot of calculating and juggling to ensure they take in very few calories and still get adequate nutrition. Increasing dietary protein is one way many CRONies guard against becoming malnourished.

“But six of them agreed to lower their protein intake,” Fontana explains, “and after three weeks their circulating IGF-1 declined dramatically.”

Previous research from Fontana’s group had found that a diet lower in protein might protect against some cancers. These more recent findings suggest lowering protein also might be important to longevity. Fontana admits his evidence is preliminary, but the findings suggest that when people adjust their diets to improve health and lengthen life, they should control not only calories and fat but also keep an eye on protein.

Fontana isn’t proposing radical low-protein diets. Instead, he is suggesting the current recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein, which is 0.82 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about 56 grams of protein for an average, adult man and 46 grams for an average, adult woman. Most people, including CRONies, consume much more protein than the RDA recommendation.

“It’s much easier to restrict protein than to restrict calories,” he says. “If our research is on the right track, maybe humans don’t need to be so calorie restricted. Limiting protein intake to .7 or .8 grams per kilogram per day might be more effective. That’s just a hypothesis. We have to confirm it in future studies.”

Until then, Fontana suggests people might want to look at protein consumption and tailor it to RDA recommendations. Traditionally, he says, nutritionists have not worried about people eating too much protein, but these findings suggest perhaps they should.

###

Fontana L, Weiss EP, Villarreal DT, Klein S, Holloszy JO. Long-term effects of calorie or protein restriction on serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentration in humans. Aging Cell vol. 7 (5); Doi: 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2008.00417.x

Published on-line: Sept. 2008

(Related paper)

Fontana L, Klein S, Holloszy JO. Long-term low-protein, low-calorie diet and endurance exercise modulat metabolic factors associated with cancer risk. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 84; pp. 1456-1462, Dec. 2006.

Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s Hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching, and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s Hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Source: Jim Dryden

Washington University School of Medicine Continue reading →

The number of illnesses and injuries related to flood activities has risen,
according to Kirby Kruger, state epidemiologist with the North Dakota Department of Health. As
a result, the department is urging North Dakotans involved in the flood fight or cleanup to take
precautions to ensure their safety.

Between March 27, 2009, and April 3, 2009, 155 flood-related injuries were reported to the
Department of Health from emergency rooms across the state. That brings the total to 205 since
surveillance began March 23, 2009. In addition, the number of flood-related illnesses reported to
the department in the same time period was 47, bringing the total to 58. The total number of
flood-related deaths remains at two.

Flood-related injuries and illnesses reported to the department include back injuries, fractures,
cuts, joint and muscle injuries, anxiety and stress, injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes,
and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Department of Health provides the following safety guidelines for people involved in the
flood fight:

- Do not overexert yourself if you are not used to doing strenuous work. Know your
physical limits and take frequent breaks.
- Make sure to lift properly – with your legs, not your back.
- Always wear your seatbelt and drive safely.
- Use alternate heating and power sources according to manufacturer instructions. If
portable generators are used, do not place them in an enclosed area such as a garage or
near a window, door or fresh-air intake.

- When cleaning up after a flood, wear sturdy shoes, protective eyewear and masks, if
possible.
- Dispose of garbage properly.
- Wash your hands before you eat or drink.
- Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
- If you become injured, wash the wound with soapy water and seek medical care if
needed.
- If you have concerns about being exposed to a poisonous substance, call the Poison
Center at 800.222.1222.

The Department of Health began conducting surveillance of emergency rooms across the state on
March 23, 2009, to assess the extent of injuries and illnesses related to flooding. All emergency
rooms report the number of injuries or illnesses seen due to flood-related events.
Flood-related safety and cleanup information is available on the Department of Health’s website
at ndhealth/flood.

Source
North Dakota Department of Health Continue reading →

Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a study at the University of Chicago shows.

The research, presented Sunday at a symposium, “Social Emotion and the Brain,” at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first to use fMRI scans to study the connections between perceived social isolation (or loneliness) and activity in the brain. Combining fMRI scans with data relevant to social behavior is part of an emerging field examining brain mechanisms – an approach to psychology being pioneered at the University of Chicago.

Researchers found that the ventral striatum – a region of the brain associated with rewards – is much more activated in non-lonely people than in the lonely when they view pictures of people in pleasant settings. In contrast, the temporoparietal junction – a region associated with taking the perspective of another person – is much less activated among lonely than in the non-lonely when viewing pictures of people in unpleasant settings.

“Given their feelings of social isolation, lonely individuals may be left to find relative comfort in nonsocial rewards,” said John Cacioppo, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Professor in Psychology at the University. He spoke at the briefing along with Jean Decety, the Irving B. Harris Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at the University.

The ventral striatum, which is critical to learning, is a key portion of the brain and is activated through primary rewards such as food and secondary rewards such as money. Social rewards and feelings of love also may activate the region.

Cacioppo, one of the nation’s leading scholars on loneliness, has shown that loneliness undermines health and can be as detrimental as smoking. About one in five Americans experience loneliness, he said. Decety is one of the nation’s leading researchers to use fMRI scans to explore empathy.

They were among five co-authors of a paper, “In the Eye of the Beholder: Individual Differences in Perceived Social Isolation Predict Regional Brain Activation to Social Stimuli,” published in the current issue of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

In the study, 23 female undergraduates were tested to determine their level of loneliness. While in an fMRI scanner, the subjects were shown unpleasant pictures and human conflict as well as pleasant things such as money and happy people.

The subjects who rated as lonely were least likely to have strong activity in their ventral striata when shown pictures of people enjoying themselves.

Although loneliness may be influence brain activity, the research also suggests that activity in the ventral striatum may prompt feelings of loneliness, Decety said. “The study raises the intriguing possibility that loneliness may result from reduced reward-related activity in the ventral striatum in response to social rewards.”

In addition to differing responses in the ventral striatum, the subjects also recorded differing responses in parts of the brain that indicated loneliness played a role in how their brain operates.

Joining Decety and Cacioppo in writing the Journal of Cognitive Science paper were Catherine Norris, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Dartmouth College; George Monteleone, a graduate student at the University of Chicago; and Howard Nusbaum, Chair of Psychology at the University of Chicago.

Decety and Cacioppo discussed the new field of brain mechanism in a paper in the current issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, “What Are the Brain Mechanisms on Which Psychological Processes are Based?” The new field extends the work of Charles Darwin, who “regarded the brain as a product of evolution and the science of psychology as concerned with these foundations,” they wrote.

By studying brain mechanisms, researchers hope to gain new insights by examining mental activities surrounding consciousness, perception and thought through an understanding of how columns of neurons stacked next to each other form elementary circuits to function as a unit, they wrote.

New visualization tools such as three-dimensional imaging will help scholars develop a new way of studying psychology, they said.

“Psychological science in the 21st century can, and should, become not only the science of overt behavior, and not only the science of the mind, but also the science of the brain,” they concluded.

###

Source: William Harms

University of Chicago Continue reading →

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday is scheduled to start a multistate campaign to promote Medicare beneficiaries’ use of preventive care, AP/Long Island Newsday reports. Leavitt will visit Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut during the first week of the campaign. The effort is designed to encourage beneficiaries to take advantage of Medicare’s no-cost pneumonia and flu shots, a physical when they enter the program and screenings for osteoporosis, diabetes and certain cancers. Most screenings require beneficiaries to pay 20% of the cost. Leavitt said that U.S. residents spend about $3.8 billion for diabetes-related hospitalizations, about two-thirds of which could be avoided with appropriate preventive care. Leavitt said that about 50% of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes do not have their blood sugar tested — which is available at no cost — in the course of a year. Beneficiaries also are entitled to no-cost supplies and training for managing diabetes. Leavitt said, “Because one chronic disease is often accompanied by complications, this effort will pay dividends for many years to come” (Freking, AP/Long Island Newsday, 4/20).

Medicare Trustees To Issue Warning
In other Medicare news, an upcoming report by the program’s trustees is “likely to contain a first-of-its-kind warning” that its budget is projected to require 45% of general revenues, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports. A provision in the 2003 Medicare law requires that trustees issue a “Medicare funding warning” in the event that funding reaches these levels for consecutive years. Last year’s report contained such a projection for 2012, and a projection for 2013 is scheduled to be released on Monday. If the trustees were to issue the warning, President Bush under the law would be required to propose ways to reduce Medicare’s percentage of general revenues to below 45%. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said that the warning would be “just one way of throwing some water in our faces so we look at this problem.” Ryan added, “In and of itself, the trigger has nothing to do with the long-term solvency. But it serves as a wake-up call to Congress that it better get serious about reforming and saving these programs.” House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said that he largely plans to ignore the warning and would like to propose legislation eliminating it. Stark said, “I’ve heard the trustees tell me that the Medicare trust fund has a one-year survival up to as high as a 26-year survival. It changes every year. It’s sort of like my kids who tell me that if they don’t get dessert, they’re going to hold their breath and die. Well, they’re still kicking” (Freking, AP/Contra Costa Times, 4/20).

“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved. Continue reading →

Robot-assisted therapy has measurable benefits for patients with a weaker arm following a stroke. This is according to new research featured in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation, published by SAGE, which is the first to use accelerometers to track patients’ improvement and compare real world results.

The study authors, Keh-chung Lin, Yu-wei Hsieh, Wan-wen Liao – National Taiwan University, Ching-yi Wu – Chang Gung University, and Wan-ying Chang, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Taipei Hospital aimed to investigate how robot-assisted therapy helps arm function to improve after a stroke. They enrolled 20 patients in a study comparing robot-assisted therapy combined with functional training against an active control treatment group.

Stroke patients usually have difficulties transferring motor skills learned in therapy to their daily living environment because of cognitive deficits. The authors included real-world arm activity in the study by having patients wear accelerometers on both arms daily as they went about their normal tasks.

One of the key findings of the study was that robot-assisted therapy, when combined with functional task training, helps functional arm use and improves bimanual arm activity in daily life. Patients following a stroke often have weakness on one side of the upper body (hemiparesis), which can make daily life more difficult. Robotic rehabilitation is increasingly available, and holds promise for enhancing traditional post-stroke interventions. Because robots never tire, they can provide massive and intensive training in a consistent manner without fatigue, with programming precisely tailored to each patient’s needs.

The rehab robots give sensorimotor feedback via visual and auditory feedback during training sessions, to facilitate patients’ motor learning. However, although stroke patients’ arm motor function and muscle strength have shown to improve during robot-assisted therapy in rehabilitation, previous studies suggested that these improvements did not carry through to the patients’ daily lives. Some reasons for this might include a need for better measurement scales for patients’ real life daily functions, as well as the fact many people compensate by using their non-impaired arm instead. By measuring both arms and following patients with the accelerometers at home, this study addressed these issues.

Two further important findings of the study were that accelerometers are suitable tools to measure real-world arm activity in stroke patients; and that when combined with traditional clinical measurements these can enhance holistic understanding of a patients’ life performance.

Accelerometers provide objective information about physical activity by measuring the acceleration of body movements. Stroke patients can easily wear the portable accelerometers like a wristwatch on each arm. This means researchers now have the accurate information they need to verify the intensity and amount of physical activity the patients actually do in real-life situations.

During the study, both groups received intensive training for 90 to 105 minutes per session, five days per week for four weeks. The training programs were administered by certified occupational therapists during regularly scheduled training sessions, and all other routine interdisciplinary stroke rehabilitation was continued as usual. Therapy in the control group was designed to match the robot-assisted therapy in amount of therapy hours, and these participants served as a dose-matched comparison group. Occupational therapists designed activities for the control group based on neurodevelopmental techniques and contemporary rehabilitative models such as task-oriented training and motor learning theory.

The mean ratio change of the robot-assisted therapy group was 0.047?± 0.047, which beat the 0.007 ?± 0.026 in the control group. The robot-assisted therapy group also handled more daily tasks with their impaired arm than the control group.

“In this study of rehabilitation approaches for patients with mild-to-moderate upper limb impairment six months after a stroke, we found significantly greater benefits of robot-assisted therapy compared with the active control group on the amount and quality of functional arm activity for the hemiplegic hand in the living environment,” said Keh-chung Lin. “Moreover, robot-assisted therapy had superior benefits on improving bimanual arm activity,” he added.

Larger studies along with follow up research to look at whether these improvements are lasting will be the next steps towards making the most of robots for stroke patients’ rehabilitation in future. Continue reading →

In a landmark study, Medical College of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee report that drugs used to inhibit a specific fatty acid in rat brains with glioblastoma-like tumors not only reduced new blood vessel growth and tumor size dramatically, but also prolonged survival. The study is the featured cover story of the August, 2008 Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism.

“These rat model tumors were developed from human glioblastoma tumor cells and closely mimic human tumors in growth patterns and response to therapy,” says lead researcher David Harder, Ph.D., Kohler Co. Professor in Cardiovascular Research. “The concept of targeting blood vessels that feed tumors as an approach to limit tumor growth is not a novel idea,” he says. “However, blocking the specific fatty acid described in this study is novel, and holds great promise for use in humans.”

Malignant gliomas are very aggressive tumors of the central nervous system, resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, and account for about half of the 350,000 brain tumors currently diagnosed in the U.S.

Dr. Harder is also professor of physiology, associate dean for research and director of the Medical College’s Cardiovascular Research Center. He believes that further studies, demonstrating that such drugs work in humans may reveal that higher concentrations or infusions over longer periods of time may be more effective than the results reported in this study.

“If survival time could be extended, with a combination of surgical therapy and infusion with similar drugs, this could be a significant treatment option,” he says.

Earlier studies from the Harder lab have shown that specific fatty acids generated in the brain induce new blood vessel growth known as angiogenesis. Harder and colleagues designed these studies on the premise that all cells, including cancer cells, require oxygen for growth and that blocking formation of specific fatty acids would decrease blood vessel growth and oxygen supply to tumors, retarding their growth.

In their current study, Dr. Harder and colleagues compared three sets of rats with induced tumors, two groups using either one of two inhibitor drugs, 17-ODYA or miconazole, to block the fatty acid CYP epoxygenase and a control group, receiving a placebo. Drugs were infused directly into the tumors over an extended period of time, using specially-designed miniature osmotic pumps and a very small burr hole in the skull. The pumps, similar to those used in humans, were buried just beneath the skin through a tiny incision.

Compared to the control group, tumor size in the drug-infused groups was reduced by an average 50 to 70 percent, and survival time increased by five to seven days, equivalent to three to four months in terms of human survival.

“These pumps have been used in humans for other diseases and can be designed for delivery of these drugs as well,” says Dr. Harder. “We believe they can be used to deliver drugs to block angiogenesis in complex human tumors such as glioblastomas.”

###

Dr. Harder’s co-investigators in this study were Debebe Genremedhin, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology, and Medical College postdoctoral fellows Drazen Zagorac, Ph.D. and Danica Jakovcevic, Ph.D.

Source: Eileen La Susa

Medical College of Wisconsin Continue reading →

A new report published highlights that 99% of ready-to-eat speciality meats sold in the UK are safe to eat. However the study also reveals that a very small proportion of the meats contained Salmonella or unsafe levels of Listeria monocytogenes.

The year long study into the microbiological safety of the speciality meats was carried out by the Health Protection Agency, LACORS (the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services) and local councils.

A total of 2359 ready-to-eat speciality meat samples (continental sausages, cured/fermented, and dried meats) were collected from markets and specialist food shops in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The samples were tested for Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, other Listeria, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli.

Samples included:

- Strip-dried meats, such as biltong and jerky
- Continental sausages, including salami, chorizo, bologna, pepperoni and mettwurst
- Cured or fermented meats, including ‘raw’ hams (e.g. prosciutto, Serrano, York, Ardennes, Westphalian) and beef (e.g. pastrami and bresaloa)

Dr Jim McLauchlin, Director of the Health Protection Agency’s Food, Water & Environmental Microbiology Services, said:

“Our study shows that the vast majority of ready-to-eat speciality meats tested were safe to eat, but a very small number were found to be contaminated with Salmonella or high levels of L. monocytogenes. These are unacceptable in ready to eat foods and, if consumed, can make people ill.

“The results highlight the generally good control in the manufacture and retail of these meats. However the presence of pathogens in pre-packed ready-to-eat meats suggests that for some meats contamination occurred either during processing or as a result of cross-contamination after processing.

“The long shelf life of some specialty meats may also allow L. monocytogenes to reach unacceptable levels if stored inappropriately. It is important that manufacturers ensure the product doesn’t become contaminated before final packaging and retailers store the meats correctly.”

LACORS Chairman, Councillor Geoffrey Theobald OBE, said:

“Councils across the country are supporting businesses to help ensure that the food we eat is safe. Studies like this are a powerful means of councils working together to protect their communities by responding to emerging trends and potential risks”.

The full report can be found on the Health Protection Agency’s website at hpa/foodsampling

Notes

1) The study was carried out between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009.

2) Samples were collected by sampling officers from 257 Environmental Health Departments, involving 50 Local Authority Food Liaison Groups across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

3) The terms used to express the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat foods are:

Satisfactory – test results indicating good microbiological quality.
Acceptable – an index reflecting a borderline limit of microbiological quality.
Unsatisfactory – test results indicating that further sampling may be necessary and that environmental health officers may wish to undertake a further inspection of the premises concerned to determine whether hygiene practices for food production or handling are adequate or not.

Unacceptable/potentially hazardous – test results indicating that urgent attention is needed to locate the source of the problem; a detailed risk assessment is recommended. Such results may also form a basis for prosecution by environmental health departments, especially if they occur in more than one sample.

Source
Health Protection Agency Continue reading →

Health Discovery Corporation (“HDC”) (OTCBB: HDVY) announced that HDC’s new gene-based molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer has now successfully completed it’s Phase III double-blind clinical trial and is now ready for commercialization to be used by physicians on their patients at risk of having prostate cancer. The new prostate cancer test will be performed at Clarient’s Clinical Laboratory in Aliso Viejo, CA. HDC will receive 30% royalty on each test performed.

Results from Phase I, Phase II and Phase III double-blinded clinical validation studies now completed with prostate tissues obtained from multiple sites, including those tested in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center, demonstrated a very high success rate for identifying the presence of Grade 3 or higher prostate cancer cells (clinically significant cancer), as well as, normal and BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) cells. To date, 322 prostate tissues have been tested. The combined results of the recently completed double-blinded clinical validation studies demonstrated that the new gene-based molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer achieved a Sensitivity of 90% for correctly identifying the presence of Grade 3 or higher prostate cancer cells, and a Specificity of 97% for correctly identifying non-cancer cells (normal and BPH), representing an overall test accuracy of 93%.

“We are very pleased with the final results of the double-blind clinical trial and are excited to have our first revenue producing molecular diagnostic test ready for commercialization,” stated Stephen D. Barnhill, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Health Discovery Corporation. “The successful development, validation and commercialization of this new molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer proves that HDC, by combining our patented SVM and SVM-RFE technology and our expert Scientific Team, has the ability to produce new molecular diagnostic and prognostic tests which are the future of personalized medicine. Our patent protected discovery method allows us to develop molecular diagnostic and prognostic tests that are free of outside intellectual property rights and thereby allows HDC to fully patent protect our molecular diagnostic gene signatures. Using the same expertise of our Scientific Team and the HDC patented technology, we are currently developing additional new molecular diagnostic tests in a variety of other cancers some of which we hope will be commercially available in Q4 of 2008.”

Dr. Barnhill continued “We are pleased to have HDC’s new gene-based prostate cancer test enter the market like similar molecular diagnostic tests based on unique gene expression profiles such as OncotypeDX from Genomic Health, Inc. (NasdaqGM:GHDX) and MammaPrint from Agendia.”

In the United States alone there are over 1 million prostate cancer tissue biopsy procedures performed annually. Approximately 25% of these tissue biopsies are reported “positive” indicating the presence of prostate cancer. The other 75% of prostate cancer tissue biopsies are reported as “negative” for the presence of cancer. However, one-third of the men with initial prostate cancer tissue biopsies that are reported as “negative” for prostate cancer (roughly 25% of men at risk of having prostate cancer) actually do have prostate cancer that was missed by the first biopsy (False Negative). These men actually have prostate cancer that was missed by the initial tissue biopsy for a variety of reasons. Health Discovery Corporation’s prostate cancer molecular diagnostic test is a genomics based test that should be performed on the 75% of men (approximately 600,000 men annually in the US alone) with initial biopsies reported as negative to assist physicians in identifying those men who could have prostate cancer that was missed by the first biopsy.

“The excellent results seen in Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III double-blinded clinical trials validate the scientific accuracy and robustness of the HDC gene-based molecular diagnostic test for prostate cancer,” stated Dr. Herbert Fritsche, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Chief of the Clinical Chemistry Section at The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. “Physicians that are diagnosing and treating prostate cancer patients will be greatly assisted by the additional information that this new prostate cancer test will add to their decision making process.”

In a Press Release issued yesterday, Ron Andrews, CEO of Clarient stated “We are very impressed with the results from these validation studies, and I applaud the development teams from both Clarient and HDC for their diligent efforts in bringing this new test through the validation phase significantly ahead of schedule. The early results from these studies confirm our belief that this powerful genomics-based test may provide physicians with useful information to ensure that men with prostate cancer get a more accurate diagnosis sooner and minimize the need for unnecessary biopsies.”

HDC plans to immediately begin presenting papers for publication and presentations at upcoming meetings as we initiate the marketing phase of commercialization. Because of the clinical trial success of this prostate cancer test, the company plans to initiate a study utilizing urine samples to potentially expand the indication of this new prostate cancer test to be used as a screening tool, which could significantly expand the current market opportunity to include all men at risk for prostate cancer.

About Health Discovery Corporation

Savannah-based Health Discovery Corporation (OTCBB: HDVY) is uniquely positioned in the field of pattern recognition technology. Through the application of its patent protected technology, HDC is a leader in SVM-based molecular diagnostic and prognostic test development in genomics and proteomics, as well as, digital image analysis in pathology and radiology. The Company’s SVM and FGM pattern recognition tools have significant application potential in other sizable commercial markets such as oil exploration, financial markets, Internet search and spam, homeland security, and other areas where analysis of large volumes of complex data is required.

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Acts of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the management team of HDC believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct.

Health Discovery Corporation Continue reading →

As people live longer their chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease also grows – however, researchers from UCLA have found that fish oils can really reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s. More importantly, they have found out why this is so.

You can read about this in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Greg Cole, professor of medicine and neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA and associate director of UCLA’s Alzheimer Disease Research Center, and team say that omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is found in fish oil, raises the production of LR11. LR11 is a protein which exists at excessively low levels among Alzheimer’s disease patients. LR11 is known to destroy the protein that forms the plaques linked to the disease.

These plaques are deposits of beta amyloid, a protein that experts say is toxic to neurons in the brain – these deposits, as their numbers grow lead to Alzheimer’s. If high levels of LR11 protect people from developing Alzheimer’s, it is logical that levels that are too low will have the opposite effect.

Alzheimer’s is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that brings with it memory loss, dementia, personality change and eventually death. Approximately 5.1 million people in the USA suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, according to the national Alzheimer’s Association. The Association estimates that there may well be about 11 to 16 million sufferers by the middle of this century.

The scientists looked at the effects of fish oil, or its constituent DHA, in multiple biological systems and administered the oil or fatty acid by diet and by adding it directly to neurons cultivated in the lab.

Cole said “We found that even low doses of DHA increased the levels of LR11 in rat neurons, while dietary DHA increased LR11 in brains of rats or older mice that had been genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

To demonstrate that the benefits of DHA were not confined to nonhuman animal cells, the scientists also confirmed that DHA has a direct impact on human neuronal cells in culture as well. Consequently, elevated levels of DHA, which in turn lead to an abundance of LR11 appear to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, while low LR11 levels have the opposite effect as they allow the formation of the amyloid plaques.

Fish oil and its significant component, omega-3 fatty acids, have been a bastion of alternative health practitioners for years and have been sanctioned by the American Heart Association to decrease the chances of developing cardiovascular disease.

DHA is considered an ‘essential’ fatty acid because our bodies cannot make it from other sources – we have to obtain it though diet. DHA is the most abundant essential fatty acid in the brain, according to several studies, Cole explains – it is crucial for the healthy brain development of the fetus and infant. Studies have also indicated an association between low DHA levels with cognitive impairment. Low DHA levels have also been linked to raised oxidative stress in the Brains of patients with Alzheimer’s.

As a result of these findings, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently carrying out a large-scale clinical trial with DHA in patients with established Alzheimer’s disease. For those patients it may be too late in Alzheimer’s progression for DHA to make much difference. However, Cole hopes trials are eventually conducted on patients who are in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s. He doubts the pharmaceutical industry will carry out such trials as fish oils are abundantly available already.

We have yet to decide, says Cole “What the optimal dose should be. It could be that a smaller amount might be helpful, especially in a place like the south of France, where people are already on a Mediterranean diet.”

Perhaps the dose would need to be higher in the USA where fish consumption is comparatively low.

Cole said “There’s a deficiency of DHA to begin with. And this may contribute to the low LR11 seen in many Alzheimer’s patients.”

“Omega-3 Fatty Acid Docosahexaenoic Acid Increases SorLA/LR11, a Sorting Protein with Reduced Expression in Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD): Relevance to AD Prevention”
Qiu-Lan Ma, Bruce Teter, Oliver J. Ubeda, Takashi Morihara, Dilsher Dhoot, Michael D. Nyby, Michael L. Tuck, Sally A. Frautschy, and Greg M. Cole
The Journal of Neuroscience, December 26, 2007, 27(52):14299-14307
doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3593-07.2007
Click here to view Abstract online

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