Tag Archives: texas

Men who can’t produce sperm face increased cancer risk

"An azoospermic man’s risk for developing cancer is similar to that for a typical man 10 years older," said Michael Eisenberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor of urology at the medical school and director of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. Eisenberg is lead author of the study, published online June 20 in Fertility and Sterility. …

5 low-fat foods that are making you fat

You may know that so-called low-fat and fat-free diet foods are often packed with sugar, salt, and chemical-laden additives. But did you realize that your body digests these “healthy” alternatives in record time, leaving you hungry for more?  That's only part of the problem, according to New York City dietitian Keri Glassman, the author of The New You and Improved Diet. Packaging, no matter how well-intentioned and honest, is another culprit: When people see low-fat on a label, they think they can eat more than they really should and end up chowing down on 28 percent more calories, according to research from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. Below, we've rounded up five common low-fat foods that aren't scoring you a six-pack anytime soon. Chips Low-fat chips taste a whole lot better than they used to, thanks to the addition of more salt, carbs, and other additives. When fat is removed from chips, manufacturers make up for lost taste and texture with the salty stuff. Many bags of low-fat chips contain about 20 percent more sodium and 15 percent more carbohydrates than their full-fat versions—not to mention about twice the number of ingredients. Peanut Butter You already know peanuts are little fat repositories, but this is mostly good fat: Polyunsaturated fatty acids increase protein concentration and the size of muscular cells, adding to your lean muscle mass without a single workout, according to research published in Clinical Science. What's more, old fat stored in the body's peripheral tissues can't get worked off efficiently without new fat to activate fat-burning pathways in the liver, according to research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  What many food companies don't tell you is that they've replaced that healthy fat with maltodextrin, a carbohydrate used as a filler in many processed foods. This means you're trading the healthy fat from peanuts for empty carbs and double the sugar for a savings of a meager 10 calories. So next time you're making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ditch the empty calories in the low-fat alternative and opt for the full-fat original—just be sure to spread it on in moderation. ___________________________________________________ More From Details: 7 Trends You'll Be Wearing Next Fall Foods That Will Make You Look Younger 14 Healthiest Snack Foods You Can Buy 12 Must-See Sneakers ___________________________________________________ Cheese You'll be hard-pressed to find low-fat or fat-free cheese at the deli counter. Why?

Statins linked to muscle pain, sprains

Cholesterol-lowering drugs could be tied to more muscle problems than researchers previously believed, a new study hints. Researchers compared two groups of similar people enrolled in military health insurance and found those taking a statin were about 10 percent more likely to have muscle pain, sprains or strains. Past studies have tied the popular cholesterol drugs to muscle weakness as well as the rare muscle-wasting disease rhabdomyolysis. The new study expands on those findings and suggests the muscle-related side effects of statins might be broader, researchers said. However, they don't prove statins caused the pain and injuries seen among some patients. “I would strongly recommend that no one should stop taking statins based on this study… simply because statins have been life-saving for many patients,” said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Ishak Mansi. However, he said side effects including muscle injuries are something to think about for people who are discussing with their doctor whether they really need to be on a statin. And they're another reason to try to maintain a healthy lifestyle - including exercising and not smoking - to avoid needing drugs in the first place, he added. Mansi, from the VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, and his colleagues compared the health records of two groups of patients who were the same age and had the same types of medical conditions. People in one group had been prescribed a statin in late 2004 and 2005; those in the other group never took statins during the study period. The researchers tracked the medical records of each of those patients - about 14,000 in total - through early 2010 for signs of muscle problems. They found 87 percent of statin users had some type of muscle or joint problem - including arthritis and muscle injuries - compared to 85 percent of people who didn't take a statin. Strains, sprains and dislocations, in particular, were reported for 35 percent of people on a statin, compared to 32.5 percent of those not taking a cholesterol-lowering drug. And medical records showed muscle pain among 73.5 percent of statin users, versus 71.5 percent of non-users, Mansi's team reported in JAMA Internal Medicine. Mansi said those proportions are a bit higher than usual both in the statin and non-statin groups - possibly because his study included military members and veterans, who are more likely to get injured. The researchers calculated that 37 people would have to be treated with statins for one more to have a muscle strain or sprain, and 58 people for one more case of muscle or joint pain. About one-quarter of U.S. adults aged 45 and older take statins to protect against heart attacks and strokes. The drugs are especially recommended for people with diabetes or a history of cardiovascular problems. Dr. Paul Thompson, chief of cardiology at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, said his own research suggests about 5 percent of people will have muscle problems related to statin use. “We think it's a much bigger problem than it's given credit for,” Thompson, who wasn't involved in the new study, said. However, he said, those muscle problems don't seem to be permanent. “I encourage people to not worry about the possibilities of muscle troubles,” he said. “If they get muscle troubles, we'll stop the drug, and it will go away.” Mansi agreed that people “don't need to be excessively worried” about muscle pain or injuries tied to statins, but that they're something to consider. “Patients need to discuss with their doctors the benefit-risk ratio of statins for them specifically,” he said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/statins-linked-to-muscle-pain-sprains/

Company sells breast milk flavored lollipops

Mothers looking to give their children a unique, yet familiar, candy treat are in luck.  A lollipop company based in Austin, Texas called Lollyphile is offering new Breast Milk Lollipops, meant to mimic the flavor of a mother’s milk. According to Lollyphile’s website, numerous mothers shared their breast milk with the company’s “flavor specialists,” until they were able to turn the flavor into a candy. “I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, but it seems like all of my friends are having babies these days,” Jason Darling, the owner of Lollyphile, said in a statement. “Sure, the kids are all crazy cute, but what slowly dawned on me was that my friends were actually producing milk so delicious it could turn a screaming, furious child into a docile, contented one. I knew I had to capture that flavor.” Lollyphile maintains that the lollipops do not contain any actual breast milk, joking that it would require “armies of pumping women.”  Other eccentric lollipops available from Lollyphile include Absinthe Lollipops and Chocolate Bacon Lollipops. “Any company can make up nostalgic flavors,” said Darling of the breast milk lollies. “We'd like to think that we're tapping into a flavor our customers loved before they even knew how to think.” For more information on Lollyphile, visit their website.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/04/company-sells-breast-milk-flavored-lollipops/

Avastin fails studies in new brain tumor patients

New research raises fresh questions about which cancer patients benefit from Avastin, a drug that lost its approval for treating breast cancer nearly two years ago. Avastin did not prolong life when used as a first treatment for people with brain tumors like the one U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy died of several years ago, two studies found. In one, patients who were expected to benefit the most from Avastin based on genetic testing had the worst survival rates. Side effects also were more common with Avastin. The drug is approved for treating brain tumors that have recurred for people who already tried chemotherapy or radiation. But that approval was based on studies suggesting it briefly delayed the worsening of the disease. No definitive study shows it helps those patients live longer, either. Something similar happened with breast cancer: Avastin won the Food and Drug Administration's approval after studies suggested it delayed disease progression. But when later research showed it did not prolong life and brought more side effects, its approval for breast cancer was revoked. However, many cancer experts say the same thing should not happen now, and that Avastin should retain its approval for brain cancer patients whose disease has recurred. “I would definitely not want the FDA to take that away from patients,” said Dr. Deepa Subramaniam, director of the brain tumor center at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. “That's very different from the breast cancer story,” where there are many other drugs that can be tried, she said. She had no role in the new studies, which were discussed Sunday at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. Avastin, made by Swiss-based Roche's Genentech unit, acts by depriving tumors of a blood supply. It's also sold for treating certain colon, lung and kidney tumors. Another study discussed Sunday and released previously showed it helped women with advanced cervical cancer live nearly four months longer. The new brain cancer studies tested it as initial treatment for glioblastoma, the most common and deadly type of tumor. About 10,000 Americans each year are diagnosed with these tumors, which are nearly always incurable. In one study, 637 patients received standard chemotherapy plus radiation, and half also received Avastin. Both groups lived about 16 months, and those on Avastin had more side effects - mostly low blood counts, blood clots and high blood pressure. “Our study would strongly suggest that it is not beneficial to do it as front-line treatment but to reserve it as second-line or salvage therapy,” said study leader Dr. Mark Gilbert of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Federal grants and Genentech paid for the study, and Gilbert consults for the company. More troubling, independent experts said, is that patients who were expected to do the best based on genetic and other tests surprisingly had a worse survival trend - 16 months versus 25 months for others in the study. New research needs to be done to better define which patients benefit, said Rakesh Jain, a brain tumor expert at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We just cannot give these agents to every patient,” he said. A second study that tested Avastin as initial therapy with radiation and the drug Temodar found it did not prolong life, but patients on Avastin went nearly five months longer before their tumors appeared to worsen. Avastin costs about $43,000 plus doctor infusion charges for a course of treatment for people whose brain tumors have recurred.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/avastin-fails-studies-in-new-brain-tumor-patients/

Small molecule could have big impact on cancer

In a study published online May 28 in the journal Nature Communications, Ahn and his colleagues at UT Southwestern Medical Center describe the rational design of the molecule, as well as laboratory tests that show its effectiveness at blocking the cancer-promoting function of proteins called androgen receptors. Androgen receptors are found inside cells and have complex surfaces with multiple "docking points" where various proteins can bind to the receptor. …