Medical News

Because their brains process the world around them in a different way, introverted or shy people respond differently to physical and emotional stimuli than other people, according to a new study.

About 20 percent of people are “highly sensitive,” an inborn trait that can be seen in children who are reserved, need little disciplining, cry easily, ask unusual questions or have especially deep thoughts, explained Elaine and Arthur Aron and colleagues from Stony Brook University in New York and in China.

Adults who are highly sensitive tend to take longer to make decisions, are more conscientious, spend more time alone to reflect and are more easily bored by small talk, the study authors noted.

The researchers used functional MRI to scan the brains of sensitive and non-sensitive people as they tried to identify small changes in photographs. The changes that the study participants tried to identify were either obvious or subtle.

Compared to non-sensitive people, the sensitive participants looked at the photos that had the subtle changes for a longer time and had much greater activation in brain areas involved in associating visual input with other input to the brain, and with visual attention. These areas aren’t used simply for vision, but for a deeper processing of input.

The findings were recently published online in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

People with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease often have clumps of a toxic protein in their brains even though they are perfectly healthy, researchers said on Monday.

They said the findings could lead to new ways to identify people most likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, when there is still time to do something about it.

“The hope is to one day be able to diagnose very clearly the Alzheimer’s disease process before any symptoms occur, when the brain is still healthy. Then the treatments would have the best chance of success,” said Lisa Moscone of New York University Langone Medical Center, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The team wants to continue to follow the people in the study to see whether they develop dementia, and they want to replicate the findings in a much larger study.

Several teams have been working on better ways to detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease in hopes of developing drugs that can fight it before it causes too much damage.

Current treatments cannot reverse the course of Alzheimer’s, a mind-robbing form of dementia that affects more than 26 million people globally.

Moscone’s team used an imaging technique called positron emission tomography or PET with a fluorescent dye called Pittsburgh Compound B that lights up clumps of a protein called beta amyloid that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

The team imaged the brains of 42 people with an average age of 65, all with healthy brain function. Of these, 14 people had mothers who had Alzheimer’s; 14 had fathers with the disease; and 14 had parents with healthy brain function.

Brain scans of all 42 showed that those whose parents — either fathers or mothers — had Alzheimer’s were more likely to have amyloid plaques in their brains.

This was especially true of people whose mothers had Alzheimer’s.

“They have pretty much 20 percent more amyloid beta deposits in their brains. In other words, they had an almost four times greater risk for amyloid beta pathology,” Moscone said in a telephone interview.

The finding confirms other studies that suggest having a mother with Alzheimer’s may be a greater risk factor.

“It looks like if you have maternal history of Alzheimer’s disease, the risk of amyloid beta plaque and a reduction in brain activity is much greater as compared to having a father affected,” Moscone said.

After advanced age, a family history of Alzheimer’s is the single biggest risk factor for developing the disease.

Not everyone who has beta amyloid plaques in their brain develops Alzheimer’s disease, but Moscone said having the plaques does increase the risk.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

New research suggests that extra vitamin D could make a major difference in heart disease risk among people who have low levels of the nutrient.

Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, report in two new studies that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of other chronic diseases, too.

“Vitamin D replacement therapy has long been associated with reducing the risk of fractures and diseases of the bone,” study author Dr. J. Brent Muhlestein, director of cardiovascular research, said in a center news release. “But our findings show that vitamin D could have far greater implications in the treatment and reduction of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions than we previously thought.”

The researchers found that patients who boosted their vitamin D levels to 43 nanograms per milliliter of blood or higher reduced their rates of diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure and heart disease. They were also less likely to die during the study period.

According to the researchers, a level of 30 nanograms per milliliter of vitamin D is considered normal.

“Although randomized trials would be useful and are coming, I feel there is enough information here for me to start treatment based on these findings,” Muhlestein said, adding that increasing vitamin D intake by 1,000 to 5,000 international units a day may be a good idea in some cases.

The findings are scheduled to be presented Monday at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Atlanta.

After 12 months, giving aspirin alone to patients who have had stents implanted seems just as good as giving aspirin along with the blood thinner Plavix, a new study finds.

Researchers discovered that, after an initial year receiving the dual anti-clotting therapy, patients who went off Plavix and just took aspirin had the same rate of heart attacks and death as those patients continuing on the two drugs together.

The findings are unlikely to change what is happening in clinics, however.

“In general, this fits with current guidelines so it’s not going to be practice-changing per se,” said. Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, an interventional cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “The current guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology indicate that people need to be on dual anti-platelet therapy for at least one full year after stent placement and then aspirin after that indefinitely.”

“I don’t think this trial will have any impact on practice in North America and I frankly hope that it won’t because there’s just not enough that we can draw out of this single trial to clarify what we ought to be doing in North American patients,” added Dr. Kirk Garratt, clinical director of interventional cardiovascular research at Lenox Hill Hospital who, like others, is waiting for results from other major trials.

The study is to be presented Monday at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Atlanta and will also be published in the March 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also recommends that patients get the combination therapy for at least 12 months after receiving a stent, Garratt said.

“After 12 months, it’s dealer’s choice. We don’t have any good information to guide us,” he said.

The study was led by researchers at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asian Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, who also called for more trials to confirm or refute the data.

Stents are inserted to prop open arteries that have become narrowed due to plaque build-up. Once in place, though, the stents – tiny mesh scaffolds – can help spur dangerous blood clots.

These new results come not from one study but from two initially separate studies which were combined because both had flagging enrollment.

In all, more than 2,700 Korean patients were randomly assigned to receive clopidogrel (Plavix) plus aspirin for at least 12 months. Patients were followed for a median of just over 19 months.

Not only were there few differences between the two groups, there was even a sign of benefit in the group taking aspirin alone after 12 months.

“This was surprising [that there was no difference between the arms] and that those on aspirin alone even seemed to do a little bit better with respect to heart attack, stroke and death,” Garratt said.

Nor were bleeding complications, always a concern with blood-thinning medications, any different between the two groups.

It is conceivable, however, that the results would not hold up in a different study population.

For instance, Asian populations have a high prevalence of an enzyme which is not very good at metabolizing Plavix, Garratt pointed out. The individuals studied here were likely all or nearly all Asian.

“It’s likely that the Plavix group didn’t have the same effect biochemically that we would have expected in a North American, Caucasian or mixed population,” he said.

“This study essentially shows that you need to continue aspirin and clopidogrel for one full year and after that, you can stop clopidogrel and just keep people on aspirin and that is what people have been doing in general,” Sandhu said. “There are some people who are concerned about the risk of clot formation on stents even beyond one year so many cardiologists and patients do continue with both aspirin and clopidogrel well beyond one year. [But], in the majority of cases, one year is all that is needed.”

Plavix has long been the leader in clot-busting drugs, although new agents are now vying to take its place.

A generic drug widely prescribed for arthritis shows promise in treating type 2 diabetes, according to U.S. researchers.

They found that salsalate — an atypical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, chemically similar to aspirin but easier on the stomach — helps control glucose levels.

The finding came from a three-month clinical trial of 108 people, 18 to 75 years old, who had type 2 diabetes. Those who took salsalate, the study found, had a 0.5 percent drop in levels of hemoglobin A1C, a measure of blood glucose levels. The decrease was in the range of several recently released diabetes treatments, according to the study, led by Joslin Diabetes Center researchers.

The findings are published online March 16 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

“These results are exciting,” Dr. Allison Goldfine, director of clinical research at Joslin and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release from the center. “They indicate that salsalate may provide an effective, safe and inexpensive new avenue for diabetes treatment.”

She stressed, however, that the findings were preliminary. “At this time we do not recommend patients use this medication for their diabetes treatment until further studies are completed,” Goldfine said.

Goldfine added that salsalate also could help combat atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). The study found that people who took the drug had lowered triglycerides and higher levels of adiponectin, a protein believed to help protect against heart problems.

Traveling around the globe can make anyone fall ill, but men and women tend to differ in the types of illnesses they suffer, a new study finds.

In a study of almost 59,000 international travelers, researchers found that women were more likely than men to come down with bouts of diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems, colds, urinary tract infections and adverse reactions to medications, such as those taken to prevent malaria.

Men, meanwhile, had higher risks of fever, including from infections transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks or other such “vectors,” such as malaria, dengue and rickettsia.

Men were also more likely than women to be treated for mountain sickness, frostbite or sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings offer travelers and travel-medicine specialists a clearer idea of how to prepare for international trips, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Patricia Schlagenhauf of the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

For example, they write, female travelers should be especially sure to bring anti-diarrheal medication. And while all travelers need advice on preventing mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria, the researchers note, men may need to pay particular attention to preventive measures, like frequently reapplying insect repellent.

The findings are based on data from 44 travel-medicine clinics throughout the world, all of which are part of a surveillance network designed to track travel-related ills and injuries. Schlagenhauf and her colleagues looked at records for 58,908 patients who visited those clinics between 1997 and 2007.

Of 29,643 women, one-quarter were treated for acute diarrhea, compared with 22 percent of men. When other factors were considered — like the length and destination of the trip — women were still anywhere from 13 percent to 39 percent more likely than men to seek treatment for diarrhea or symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, which include diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain.

Just over 3 percent of men were treated for malaria, and roughly the same number sought treatment for dengue, which is also transmitted by mosquito. That compared with rates of 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, among women.

Overall, just over 17 percent of men had some type of fever-inducing illness, versus 11 percent of women.

The exact reasons for the sex difference are not clear. One possibility, according to the researchers, is that men make “more attractive hosts” to mosquitoes because the insects are lured by sweat. Excessive sweating also washes off insect repellent.

As for gastrointestinal ills, women may either be more susceptible to them, or they may be more likely than men to seek treatment for them, according to Schlagenhauf’s team.

Just over 1 percent of men visited a travel clinic for a sexually transmitted disease, with men being one-third more likely than women to do so. Past research, Schlagenhauf and her colleagues note, has shown that men are more likely than women to have sex with someone they meet overseas.

“Safe sex advice is a missing component in most pre-travel practices,” the researchers write, “and our study suggests that male travelers, in particular, would benefit from greater preventive efforts.”

SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Insomnia and sleep disorders affect more than three-quarters of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, a rate nearly three times higher than that of the general population, a new study finds.

The problem is more common in younger patients and in those with lung and breast cancers, said University of Rochester Medical Center researchers, who assessed sleep problems in 823 cancer patients.

Questionnaires completed by patients after their first two chemotherapy treatments revealed that 37 percent suffered from insomnia symptoms and another 43 percent had insomnia syndrome, which means they had difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at least three nights per week, the researchers reported in the Nov. 23 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“These numbers are very high, and something we can’t ignore,” study author Oxana Palesh, a research assistant professor of radiation oncology, said in a news release from the medical center. “The good news is that insomnia is a very treatable problem that can be addressed quickly so it doesn’t compound other symptoms.”

Sleep problems — which are generally combined with fatigue and depression — haven’t typically been studied to determine their causes and impact on patients’ quality of life, she noted.

An outbreak of food-borne illness, linked to dangerous bacteria in ground beef, sickened 28 people and caused at least one death, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

The CDC said a New York adult with underlying medical conditions had died and another possibly related death in New Hampshire was under investigation. State officials attribute the New Hampshire death to the O157:H7 E. coli bacteria.

All but three of the 28 cases listed by the CDC were in the U.S. Northeast and 18 were in the New England states. Sixteen hospitalizations were reported, said a CDC spokeswoman. The bacteria involved were from a common strain, so tests were under way to see if all of the reported cases were related.

Over the weekend, Fairbank Farms of Ashville, New York, recalled 545,699 lbs (248,450 kg) of ground beef products.

The Agriculture Department, which oversees meat safety, said an investigation led it to conclude “there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.” USDA worked with state and federal officials in examining a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses.

A potentially deadly bacteria, E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

A string of food-borne safety scares led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation this summer to require more inspections and oversight of food manufacturers and would give the government new authority to order recalls.

Fairbank Farms announced the recall on Saturday. The beef was produced in mid-September and probably was labeled for sale before the end of the month, said USDA.

It went to retailers including Trader Joe’s, Price Chopper, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Shaw’s, a unit of Supervalu, BJ’s, Ford Brothers and Giant, a unit of Ahold, in eight states — Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Taking health and safety precautions when raking leaves, cleaning gutters and performing other outdoor chores can help prevent injuries, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

“Many people work vigorously in the yard during the autumn season, and it often takes a toll on your body,” AAOS spokesman Dr. Laurence Laudicina, said in a news release from the academy. “Raking leaves and cleaning out the gutters are popular seasonal chores that can lead to falls or strain to your back and upper body.”

In 2008 in the United States, about 617,000 people suffered injuries caused by rakes, other outdoor garden supplies and ladders, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission noted.

So to help avoid becoming one of those statistics, the AAOS offers the following autumn chore safety tips:
Warm up for at least 10 minutes with some stretching and light exercise before beginning work in the yard.
Use a rake that’s comfortable for your height and strength. You can prevent blisters by wearing gloves or using a rake with a padded handle.
Make sure that hats or scarves don’t block your vision, and watch out for large rocks, low branches, tree stumps or uneven surfaces.
Vary your movements and alternate your leg and arm positions often. When picking up leaves, bend at the knees, not at the waist.
Wear shoes or boots with slip-resistant soles.
Don’t overfill leaf bags, especially if the leaves are wet. You should be able to carry bags comfortably.
Don’t throw leaves over your shoulder or to the side. That kind of twisting motion places undue stress on your back.
Inspect ladders for loose screws, hinges or rungs, and make sure it is free of mud, dirt or liquids.
Make sure all ladder legs rest on a firm, level surface. Don’t use ladders on uneven ground or soft, muddy earth.
Always face a ladder when climbing and descending.
Confirm that the ladder is fully open and locked before you climb it.
Angle ladders about 75 degrees from the ground.
Don’t sit or stand on the top of the ladder or on its pail shelf.
Use the right ladder for the job. Step stools or utility ladders are good for working at low or medium heights, while extension ladders should be used outdoors to reach high places.