Blogs / 80beats

An experimental drug has shown promise in preventing emphysema in mice exposed to cigarette smoke, giving researchers new hope that they’ll soon find a way to combat one of the most stubborn, untreatable, and common killers of humans. Even though the study focuses on emphysema in mice, the researchers suggest the drug could work in people by delaying or preventing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which encompasses emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is the fourth most common cause of death in the United States [Science News].

The drug, called CDDO-imidazole, or CDDO-Im, works by activating a gene called Nrf2, explains study coauthor Shyam Biswal. In prior research, Biswal and colleagues found that Nrf2 works as a “master gene,” turning on genes involved in protecting the lungs from pollution and cigarette smoke. “The Nrf2 pathway is the major antioxidant and detoxifying response in the lungs. Therapies targeting this pathway need to be developed and tested in patients,” said Biswal [Reuters].

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The health benefits of eating more fish outweigh the risks of mercury poisoning, according to a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that would revise current federal seafood advisories. The proposal is drawing fire from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental groups that accuse the FDA of pandering to the seafood industry. Richard Wiles, director of an environmental advocacy group, said, “This is an astonishing, irresponsible document…It’s a commentary on how low FDA has sunk as an agency. It was once a fierce protector of America’s health, and now it’s nothing more than a patsy for polluters” [Washington Post].

Currently, the government advises young children, pregnant women, and women of child-bearing age to restrict overall fish consumption to 12 ounces per week and to avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, which are known to have particularly high mercury levels. Mercury in the environment accumulates in fish and studies have linked the element to developmental problems in fetuses and young children as well as cardiovascular disease in adults. However, the new FDA report says recent studies suggest “a beneficial impact on fetal neurodevelopment from the mother’s consumption of fish, even though they contain methylmercury…The net effect is not necessarily adverse, and could in fact be beneficial” [AP]. The report argued that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals could boost a child’s IQ by three points [Washington Post]. The new analysis places ideal fish consumption—for optimal IQ-boosting—somewhere above 12 ounces per week.

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Researchers recently went to an Amish community in Pennsylvania with an odd request: Will you drink milkshakes for the sake of science? In a study about cardiovascular health and genetics that had more than 800 Amish people slurping high-fat shakes, researchers discovered that about five percent of their subjects had a genetic mutation that defends the heart against the effects of a high-fat diet—specifically, breaking down triglycerides, those fats that clog arteries like hair in your bathroom drain [Newsweek].

In the study, published in Science [subscription required], Amish men and women agreed to drink a rich milkshake that was made mostly of heavy cream. Over the next six hours, a group of investigators took samples of their blood, determining how much fat was churning through their bloodstreams. Most of the study participants responded as expected — their levels of triglycerides, a common form of fat in the blood, rose steadily for three to four hours and then declined. But about 5 percent had an extraordinary reaction: their triglyceride levels started out low and hardly budged [The New York Times].

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Cancer will be the world’s leading killer by 2010, edging out heart disease for the top spot, according to the latest report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Though cancer rates in the United States have just recently begun to decrease, elsewhere in the world cancer is on a steady rise. Experts cite tobacco, increasingly Western lifestyles, and inadequate medical care as the factors contributing to the cancer epidemic in developing countries. “In the U.S., we pay a lot of attention to cancer trends, and the trend has been encouraging,” says Dr. Richard Schilsky… “But we have forgotten that there is a big wide world out there. Cancer is a global problem” [TIME].

According to the WHO report, 12 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year and 7 million will die from the disease. The group forecast a 1 percent increase globally each year, with emerging economies such as China, Russia and India being hit the hardest [CNN]. The report also projects a 38 percent population increase in less developed countries by 2030. Taken together, that means by 2030 an estimated 20 to 26 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed annually and 13 to 17 million deaths will be cancer-related.

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In yet another warning signal of the toll that childhood obesity will take on health and health care budgets, a small study has shown that overweight kids as young as 10 years old have the thickened arteries of 45-year-olds. Researchers say the findings raise the possibility that these kids could develop serious heart disease in their 20s or 30s. “There’s a saying that ‘you’re as old as your arteries,’ meaning that the state of your arteries is more important than your actual age in the evolution of heart disease and stroke,” said [lead researcher] Dr Geetha Raghuveer [Telegraph].

The findings, while preliminary, should serve as a serious alarm bell in the United States, where about one-third of children are overweight and almost one-fifth are obese. Many parents think that “baby fat” will melt away as kids get older. But research increasingly shows that fat kids become fat adults, with higher risks for many health problems. “Obesity is not benign in children and adolescents,” said Dr. Robert Eckel, a former heart association president [AP].

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Researchers have built a honeycomb-like scaffold that resembles natural heart tissue, and found that when they seeded the artificial structure with heart cells from young rats the cells grew and joined together in an approximation of normal heart muscle. The cells had also formed electrical connections with one another, allowing them to contract in coordination – and when an electric field was applied along the long axis of the honeycomb, the cells indeed contracted. “You could see the cells ‘beating’ on the scaffold,” says [study coauthor] George Engelmayr [New Scientist].

Other researchers have constructed biodegradable scaffolding on which to grow different types of tissue, but heart tissue poses particular technical challenges. Heart tissue must be flexible enough to change shape as the heart contracts, but also strong enough to withstand the intense forces generated by these contractions. So, the researchers used a polymer…. “It’s elastic like a rubber band,” Engelmayr says, so it can withstand repeated stretching while only gradually losing strength as it degrades [Technology Review].

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Vice-President Dick Cheney went to the hospital this afternoon after his doctors detected an abnormal rhythm to his heartbeat. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, meaning that the upper chambers of his heart, the atria, weren’t beating properly, and doctors prepared to give his heart an electric shock to restore its proper rhythm.

Atrial fibrillation isn’t an immediately life-threatening condition, unlike ventricular fibrillation, when the heart’s lower chambers stop beating, blood stops pumping, and the body begins to shut down. Patients with atrial fibrillation may feel palpitations or shortness of breath, but often it causes no symptoms at all. When it happens, blood isn’t pumped completely out of the atria. That increases the likelihood that the blood will form a clot, which can then travel into the brain and cause a stroke. That’s the most important reason for treating the condition [The Wall Street Journal health blog].

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An enzyme that helps the human body break down alcohol has another beneficial function, researchers say: In rat studies the enzyme reduces the amount of damage during a heart attack. Researchers also developed an experimental drug that can increase levels of the enzyme in rats, and say these findings could lead to a drug that could prevent damage to the heart from heart attack[s] or during coronary bypass surgery and other events in which the heart does not receive enough blood [Reuters].

During a heart attack, a clot blocks blood flow to the heart. The lack of oxygen and build up of toxins causes tissue to die. This is also a danger during coronary bypass surgery, when blood flow is redirected to allow surgeons to operate [BBC News]. Researchers believe the enzyme works by removing toxic molecules known as free radicals from the cells that are struggling to live through the episode of oxygen deprivation. Although not all cardiac damage is avoided, “any time you can save cells, you have a better chance of recovery,” says study co-author Thomas Hurley [Scientific American].

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California is striking a blow against obesity and heart disease: On Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill outlawing the use of trans fats in all restaurants and bakeries. The bill creates the first state-wide ban of trans fats, but follows the path set out by cities like New York City and Philadelphia, which have already evicted the substance from restaurants within city limits.

Trans fats are created by pumping hydrogen into liquid oil at high temperature, a process called partial hydrogenation. The process results in an inexpensive fat that prolongs the shelf life and appearance of packaged foods and that, many fast-food restaurants say, helps make cooked food crisp and flavorful [The New York Times]. The artificial fats have been shown to increase levels of “bad” cholesterol and decrease levels of “good” cholesterol, and are therefore linked to heart disease.

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In an experiment that could have applications in treating heart disease and strokes, researchers have taken certain cells from the blood and used them to grow entire networks of blood vessels in mice.

“What’s really significant about our study is that we are using human cells that can be obtained from blood or bone marrow rather than removing and using fully developed blood vessels,” said Harvard’s Joyce Bischoff, who led the study.[Reuters].

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The day after the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs to some 8-year-olds, howls of protest arose from many doctors and parents. While the academy maintains that prescription drugs could help cope with the rising tide of childhood obesity and could prevent children from developing heart disease later in life, many observers say the guidelines send the wrong messages to families.

Some doctors said the recommendation would distract from common-sense changes in diet and exercise, which are also part of the new guidelines. “To be frank, I’m embarrassed for the A.A.P. today,” said Dr. Lawrence Rosen [The New York Times]. Childhood obesity expert David Ludwig adds: “My concern is what this is saying about society when we are so quick to prescribe drugs for these conditions before having systematically attacked the problem from the public health perspective” [The New York Times].

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The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines that call for testing at-risk children’s cholesterol levels from the age of 2, and advise giving some children cholesterol-lowering drugs from the age of 8 in hopes of preventing heart disease later in life. Writing in the journal Pediatrics, doctors say that the recommendations have taken on “a new urgency, given the current epidemic of childhood obesity.”

The new guidelines are likely to stir the controversy over prescribing long-term medications to children, especially for treating symptoms related to obesity, which can also be treated with diet and exercise. But proponents say there is growing evidence that the first signs of heart disease show up in childhood, and with 30 percent of the nation’s children overweight or obese, many doctors fear that a rash of early heart attacks and diabetes is on the horizon as these children grow up [The New York Times].

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New York City made another attempt to improve the health of its citizens yesterday, as a ban on trans fats in the city’s restaurants, cafeterias, and even hot dog and pretzel stands took full effect. Trans fat, also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, is linked to clogged arteries and heart disease. But restaurants have found many uses for the man-made vegetable shortenings and oils, which give pastry its flakiness and french fries their crispiness.

It’s the first such ban by a major U.S. city, and most give credit for the idea to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been on a health crusade during his tenure in office. He banned smoking in bars and restaurants during his first term…. New York restaurant chains were recently ordered to start listing calorie information on their menus [Telegraph]. The first phase of the trans fat ban took effect last year, when restaurants were ordered to stop using them in cooking oils and spreads. Now, after a short grace period, any restaurant found using any trans fats will be fined up to $2,000.

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Go ahead, order that latte with a double shot of espresso. Then do it again and again. A new study shows that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day won’t shorten your life span, and for women that daily coffee habit may even protect against heart disease.

The Spanish researchers who conducted the study are excited about their findings, but they stop short of prescribing coffee jolts to all. “Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption does not increase the risk of death and probably has several beneficial effects on health,” said lead researcher Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia…. Lopez-Garcia stressed that the findings may only hold true only for healthy folk. “People with any disease or condition should ask their doctor about their risk, because caffeine still has an acute effect on short-term increase of blood pressure,” she said [HealthDay News].

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NBC newsman Tim Russert died from a massive heart attack on Friday, reminding a nation of the dangers of heart disease, which can kill without warning and is still a leading cause of death in the United States. The American Heart Association reports that over 300,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest each year, and many of those people don’t realize they’re at risk. Unfortunately — and in a 58-year old male [this] is typical — sudden death may be the first manifestation of underlying heart disease [WebMD].

Russert’s doctor, Michael Newman, says the journalist was being treated for coronary artery disease and took prescription medication to lower his cholesterol, but there were no prior indications that he had reached the end of his days at the age of 58. He was carrying excess weight, Newman observed, but he got regular exercise and he performed well on an exercise stress test in April [The Wall Street Journal].

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