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Chemotherapy: Greater potential benefit in overall survival for eribulin compared with capecitabine

The specific patient populations who appeared to benefit from eribulin, in comparison to capecitabine, are as follows: Patients with more than two organs involved with metastatic breast cancer Patients who had not received chemotherapy for six months or longer Patients who had received anthracycline and/or a taxane therapies in the metastatic setting Previous pre-specified exploratory analysis of overall survival and progression-free survival showed women with triple-negative, ER-negative, HER2-negative also had a greater relative benefit in overall survival with eribulin over capecitabine. …

Walking after meals may reduce diabetes risk

Doctors have long recommended exercise to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in those at high risk for the condition. But a new study found that doing a short walk right after you eat may be the simplest and most effective strategy, especially for older adults. The study,  published in Diabetes Care, found that a 15-minute walk about a half an hour after each meal was as effective at reducing blood sugar as a single 45-minute morning or late afternoon walk.  But researchers found that the quick walk after dinner was even more effective than the longer afternoon walk in lowering blood sugars (glucose) over night into the next day. “The post-meal exercise was especially efficient at lowering the 3-hour post-dinner blood sugar glucose,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Loretta DiPietro, chair of the department of exercise science at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. The study also found that the most effective time to go for a post-meal walk was after the evening meal. Dinner is usually the largest meal of the day, causing the greatest rise in blood sugar, which lasts into the night and the next morning. These affects were significantly reduced by the after dinner walk.    This is an important finding for older people. As you age, your insulin response to help shuttle sugar out of the bloodstream becomes sluggish. Insulin levels also start to fall in the afternoon and into the evening, adding to the weaker response to sugars you consume. Many people end up sitting around after dinner and going to bed with very high blood sugar levels – which according to DiPietro – is the worst thing you can do. When you exercise, contracting muscles help to clear sugar from the blood and get it stored in the muscles or liver. In this study, older adults walked at a moderate pace, not a brisk walk and not a leisurely stroll. This study, though small, was one of the first to look at the timing of exercise. The general recommendations are to get 150 minutes of exercise a week or at least 30 minutes five days a week. But the study looked at what happened a half an hour after a meal, during the time when sugar begins to flood the blood stream. “When you look at the data, you can see the blood sugar started to go up after a meal, and the exercise abruptly halted that upward rise in blood sugar,” said DiPietro. Though the findings need to be confirmed in larger trials, they are important for those with prediabetes and older individuals. An estimated 79 million Americans have prediabetes but most have no idea they are even at risk. “It may be easy for older adults to take a short walk or combine walking after a meal with running errands or walking the dog,” said DiPietro. The findings may be important for others including pregnant women who are at risk of gestational diabetes.  And if you overindulged in a meal, going for a brisk walk may help your body get rid of that excess sugar more efficiently.Laurie Tarkan is an award-winning health journalist whose work appears in the New York Times, among other national magazines and websites. She has authored several health books, including “Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility.” Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/walking-after-meals-may-reduce-diabetes-risk/

Girl dying of cystic fibrosis to receive lung transplant

Sarah Murgnahan, the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl dying of cystic fibrosis, is getting a brand new pair of lungs. According to a Facebook post from Sarah’s mother, Janet, the family received word this morning of new lungs that had been made available, and Sarah will be taken to the operating room within the next 30 minutes.  The operation will take many hours. Sarah has been in desperate need of a lung transplant for the past 18 months.  However, under the current guidelines for organ donation, children under the age of 12 must wait for pediatric lungs to become available.  Adult lungs cannot be offered to children under 12, until they are offered to adults and adolescents first. The Murnaghans retained a lawyer last week and filed a lawsuit to have the guidelines changed, arguing the rule keeping Sarah off the list is “discriminatory.” A federal court judge granted a temporary order on June 5 that allowed Sarah to join an adult organ transplant list. It is not clear whether Sarah’s donor is an adult or a child. This story is developing.  source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/girl-dying-cystic-fibrosis-to-receive-lung-transplant-today/

Swap out soda to take control of your teeth

Soda, we’ve long been told, is bad for us. Various studies have linked significant soda consumption with alarming health concerns, such as an increased risk of having a stroke, getting certain cancers, and being one of the main causes for this country’s obesity epidemic. Yet countless people around the world consume soda on a near-daily basis, often multiple times a day. It seems as much an addiction as anything else, only perfectly legal, freely available, and comparatively cheap. Its most recent bout of bad press indicated that regular diet soda consumption does as much damage to the teeth as years of smoking crystal meth or crack cocaine. Though it is free of sugar, diet soda is highly acidic, and acid wears away at teeth’s protective enamel layer, leaving your pearly whites more prone to cavities, cracks or discoloration.   The case study comparing soda drinking to hard drug use only used three test subjects, and the results were not terribly conclusive.  However, it raises the question of how what we eat or drink affects our teeth; how the health of our teeth affects the rest of the body; and the most natural options for oral hygiene care. As your dentist (and mom) probably always told you, sugary, starchy foods and beverages cause tooth decay. This covers a large part of the food spectrum that is unhealthy in other ways, too. Sugary, starchy foods and beverages can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. Fill your mouth and your tummy with calcium-rich foods like organic dark leafy greens, yogurt, or soybeans.  Studies have shown that calcium re-mineralizes damaged teeth, as does phosphorous. You can find the latter in broccoli, garlic, nuts and beans. Coincidentally, all of these foods are great for the rest of your body, providing hefty amounts of vitamins, probiotics and antioxidants that fight and prevent disease. Poor oral hygiene affects the rest of your body as well, as bacterial infections generated in the mouth can spread to other parts of your body, like your heart. According to the Mayo Clinic, research also suggests that heart disease, clogged arteries and stroke might be linked to inflammation caused by oral bacteria. Additionally, people who have gum disease appear to have a harder time controlling their blood sugar levels, which can lead to diabetes. Those looking to take control of their teeth can try implementing a holistic approach to oral care. Natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola recommends a wholesome diet of unprocessed, low-sugar, organic foods to start. As for toothpaste, there has long been a debate over the safety and efficacy of fluoride, a chemical added to toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities.  It is often added to city and community water supplies for the same purpose. But even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that excessive exposure to fluoride may increase the likelihood of bone fracture in adults or cause “pits” to develop in the tooth enamel of children.  If you’re concerned about fluoride’s possible health implications, opt for fluoride-free toothpaste or those with the cavity-fighter xylitol, which are easier than ever to locate.  Many types of toothpaste also contain chemical sweeteners like sorbitol and saccharin; look for those made instead with natural sugar substitutes like stevia or xylitol. We spend so much time and energy thinking about the health of our hearts, lungs, brains, bones and other more obvious body parts. Spend a little more time thinking about your teeth, and chances are you’ll feel better everywhere else, too. Note: Information provided herein is not intended to treat or diagnose any health condition. As always, consult your health care provider with any questions or health concerns.Deirdre Imus, Founder of the site devoted to environmental health, dienviro.org, is President and Founder of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center™ at Hackensack & University Medical Center and Co-Founder/Co-Director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. She is a New York Times best-selling author and a frequent contributor to FoxNewsHealth.com, and Fox Business Channel. Check out her website at dienviro.org. 'Like' her Facebook page& here.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/10/swap-out-soda-to-take-control-your-teeth/

MRI detects early effects of chemotherapy on children’s hearts

Chemotherapy with anthracyclines, such as Doxorubicin, is one of the most effective treatments against many types of cancer, including leukaemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, breast, lung, and ovarian cancer. However it can also lead to irreversible heart damage, which may not be apparent until several years after treatment. Being able to detect this damage at an early stage, in order to initiate preventative therapy of affected people, is especially important in children. Researchers from University of Alberta performed MRI scans on children and young adults (aged 7 to 19) at the Stollery Children’s Hospital who were in remission following anthracycline treatment…

Woman attempting to live on nothing but water and sunlight for 6 months

A Seattle woman is attempting to live without food for six months -- planning to sustain herself on water and sunlight alone. Navenna Shine is calling her experiment “Living on Light.” “This is a paradigm for living in which we as human beings do not have to ingest any kind of food whatsoever into our stomachs in order to thrive,” Shine said. Shine, 65, says her experiment is an attempt to follow an obscure group of yogis called The Breatharians, who for thousands of years have claimed they have the ability to live on light alone. “At 'Living On Light' we propose that we have a nutritional source already embedded within our body/mind/spiritual systems that can give us exactly what we need to be healthy and well,” Shine wrote on her website. “Since we do not yet know exactly what that source is I am symbolically calling it Light.” Thursday marked Shine’s 33rd day without food, although she has lost more than 20 pounds. In order to verify that she is indeed sticking to the diet, Shine has placed several cameras throughout her house to keep a record of the experiment.  She also hopes to begin live-streaming her experience within the next few weeks. Click for more from My Fox 8. To follow Shine's updates, visit her Facebook page.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/07/woman-attempting-to-live-on-nothing-but-water-and-sunlight-for-6-months/

Study: Cannabis may prevent brain damage

Marijuana continues to be a paradox as it makes its way from illicit drug to wonder medicine being used to treat a number of symptoms and disorders more safely than traditional pharmaceuticals. In the latest news, cannabis, which has been associated with long-term cognitive deficits in chronic users, is now being tested as a treatment to preserve brain function after traumatic injury. Amidst the many “it-damages-your-brain” studies, some reports have shown that cannabis has neuroprotective effects. Studies have suggested that it has protective effects in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The author of the new study, Dr. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases, theorized that ultra-low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana, induces minor damage to the brain, which may actually “precondition” the brain to protect it against more severe damage from injuries such as lack of oxygen, seizures or toxic drug exposure. In other words, it may act as a sort of vaccine against more traumatic harm. In Dr. Sarne's animal study, published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research, researchers injected mice with a single, very low dose of THC — around 1,000 to 10,000 times less than what is found in a conventional “joint” — either several days before or after exposing the mice to a brain trauma. They found that the treated mice had enhanced biochemical processes, which protected brain cells and preserved cognitive function over time, compared to control mice that were not treated with THC. Specifically, when the mice were examined three to seven weeks after the brain injury, those in the THC group performed better in learning and memory tests. They also showed increased amounts of neuroprotective chemicals compared to the control group. In past laboratory experiments, Sarne’s group found that ultra-low doses of THC affected cell signaling, preventing cell death and promoting certain growth factors.   The researchers concluded that the use of low doses of THC can prevent long-term cognitive damage that results from brain injury in mice, but the drug needs to be tested in human trials. “Since we deal, in this case, in a basic process (THC is protective against a variety of insults, not just a specific condition), I personally believe it will go beyond rodents,” Sarne wrote in an email. Aside from treating patients with traumatic injury to the brain, Sarne suggested several ways of using THC preventively, before an injury occurs. One use could be for patients on cardiopulmonary heart-lung machines used in open heart surgery. These come with a risk of interrupting the blood supply to the brain. Sarne said that THC could be injected beforehand as a preventive measure in case the brain is deprived of oxygen. It could also be tested for use in patients such as those with epilepsy, who are at constant risk of brain injury, or those with a high risk of heart attack. Sarne is currently testing the ability of low doses of THC to prevent heart damage during a heart attack, to prevent the death of heart muscle cells that are deprived of oxygen.Laurie Tarkan is an award-winning health journalist whose work appears in the New York Times, among other national magazines and websites. She has authored several health books, including “Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility.” Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/study-cannabis-may-prevent-brain-damage/

First dual-action compound kills cancer cells, stops them from spreading

Nathan Luedtke and colleagues explain that the spread of melanoma and other forms of cancer beyond the original location — a process called metastasis — makes cancer such a serious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves administering a drug that kills cancer cells when exposed to light, already is available. But PDT works only on the main tumor and has other drawbacks. …

Sunscreen slows skin aging, study shows

Though you may rely on anti-wrinkle creams packed with antioxidants and cosmeceuticals to keep your skin looking young, a new study suggests that you may be better off smoothing on sunscreen.   This is the first large study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, to demonstrate that sunscreen not only slows skin aging, but may also reverse it.  Researchers compared photoaging in 900 men and women from Australia over a four year period between 1992 and 1996. Photoaging is associated with coarser and slack skin, increased wrinkling and dryness, an increase in visible small blood vessels and white and blackheads on the face. The adults, who were all under age 55, were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was told to apply an SPF 15+ sunscreen every day. They were instructed to apply it to their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and to reapply after heavy sweating, swimming, or spending more than a few hours outdoors. A second group could use sunscreen at their discretion. The adults were also randomized to take either a B-carotene supplement, which some believe protects against photoaging, or a placebo supplement. Their skin was assessed at the start and finish of the study.   By the end of the study, 77 percent of the participants told to use sunscreen every day were applying sunscreen at least 3 to 4 days per week, compared to 33 percent of discretionary users. Compared with discretionary sunscreen users, those assigned to daily sunscreen use were 24 percent less likely to show increased aging. The skin-saving effect of sunscreen was observed in all daily-use participants, regardless of age. At the beginning of the study, 58 percent of participants had moderate photoaging, but by the end of the study, that number dropped to 49 percent, suggesting a decrease in photoaging in some of the participants. There was no difference in photoaging among those taking carotene supplement and those taking the placebo. However, the authors said that they could not rule out a small increase or decrease in skin aging as a result of carotene supplementation. Though it was widely believed that sunscreen could delay aging, there has been little evidence of this until now. Notably, an increase in photoaging is also significantly associated with an increased risk of actinic keratoses (thick patches of skin) and skin cancer. Regularly applying sunscreen can prevent cosmetic changes and may reduce the risk of skin cancer as well, the authors wrote. To protect your face from aging, apply a daily moisturizer with an SPF 15 or greater.Laurie Tarkan is an award-winning health journalist whose work appears in the New York Times, among other national magazines and websites. She has authored several health books, including “Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility.” Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/sunscreen-slows-skin-aging-study-shows/