August 3, 2012 — Evidence suggests a role for vitamin D in the disease process of multiple sclerosis (MS). One large study reports the novel finding that treatment with beta-interferon (IFN-ß) enhances the production of vitamin D from sun exposure in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Two additional reports show that in people with MS, higher levels of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) may reduce the rate of clinical relapse and the number of new lesions. The 3 new reports are published in the July 17 issue of Neurology. << MORE >>

August 6, 2012 — Honey is more effective than a placebo in controlling nighttime cough in children with upper respiratory infections (URI), according to the results from a new randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. The results were published online August 6 in Pediatrics. The World Health Organization recommends honey as a nighttime treatment for coughing in young children with URIs. However, prior studies either tested only a single type of honey or were not blinded.<< MORE >>

August 2, 2012 — A randomized trial shows improvement in objective motor measures with caffeine treatment over placebo in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). These improvements were significant, although treatment led to only an "equivocal borderline improvement" in the study's primary endpoint of change in excessive daytime somnolence in these patients, investigators say. << MORE >>

July 30, 2012 — Marijuana use and low body mass index are among many of the risk factors associated with increased risk for preterm birth, according to the findings of a large prospective study. In particular, marijuana use was associated with a doubling of the risk for preterm birth. "Regarding [tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana], this study provides yet another warning about changing your lifestyle months and months before you try to conceive," principal investigator Gustaaf A. Dekker, MD, PhD, with the University of Adelaide, in South Australia, told Medscape Medical News. << MORE >>

August 1, 2012 (Vancouver, British Columbia) — The dietary supplement citicoline, which is sold over the counter in 70 different countries, including the United States, appears to help memory in patients with vascular mild cognitive impairment (VaMCI) and may hinder cognitive deterioration, new research suggests. Preliminary results from a longitudinal study presented here at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2012 showed that at 9 months, there was a significant difference in Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in citicoline users vs nonusers.<< MORE >>

August 1, 2012 — The prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in the United States may be more common than originally thought, according to findings from the first large population-based study that sampled people from a variety of ethnic groups. Among the survey's key findings are that nearly 2 million people have CD, but most of them are unaware of it. The study was authored by Alberto Rubio-Tapia, MD, from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues, and was published online July 31 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. << MORE >>

All nuts are good for the heart, but researchers found pistachios in a varied and balanced diet may reduce the risk of some cancers, a U.S. food expert says. A study conducted by the University of Texas and Texas Women's University found the presence of gamma-tocopherol in pistachios -- a form of vitamin E -- is thought to be responsible for the benefits, said Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst, trend watcher and creator of supermarketguru.com.<< MORE >>

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hepatitis Weekly -- Adding vitamin B12 to standard hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment significantly boosts the body's ability to keep the virus at bay, indicates a pilot study published online in the journal Gut (see also Hepatitis C Virus). The effects were particularly strong in patients whose infection was proving difficult to treat effectively, the findings showed. Between 60% and 80% of those infected with the viral liver infection HCV will go on to develop chronic hepatitis, and roughly a third of them will progress to cirrhosis and terminal liver disease.<< MORE >>

July 23, 2012 (Cambridge, Massachusetts) — A new study has found that women under a lot of stress at work were almost 40% more likely to have a cardiovascular event over a 10-year period than their counterparts who reported low job strain [1]. Dr Natalie Slopen (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA) and colleagues publish their findings online July 18, 2012 in PLoS One. The higher likelihood of a CVD event applied to both women with high job strain--defined as a highly demanding job but with low control--and those with active job strain--defined as high demand but with high autonomy. This finding is surprising, senior author Dr Michelle A Albert (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA) told heartwire , since most prior research--much of which has been conducted in men--has not found an increased CVD risk in those with "active" jobs.<< MORE >>

July 23, 2012 — Higher intakes of the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium could possibly cut the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by up to 67%, according to a study published online today in Gut. Pancreatic cancer kills more than 250,000 people a year worldwide and has the worst survival rate of any tumor. Paul J.R. Banim, honorary researcher in the Department of Medicine, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom, and colleagues analyzed the histories of 23,658 people aged 40 to 74 years who entered the Norfolk group of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) between 1993 and 1997 and compared them with the histories of 3970 control patients. << MORE >>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some women with unexplained fatigue may get a bit more pep from iron supplements - even if they do not have full-blown anemia, a new clinical trial suggests. The study focused on women who were chronically tired and had relatively low iron stores. They did not, however, have full-blown iron-deficiency anemia, in which the body has too few oxygen-carrying red blood cells.<< MORE >>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even relatively clean-living Singaporeans who regularly eat burgers, fries and other staples of U.S.-style fast food are at raised risk of diabetes and significantly more likely than peers to die of heart disease, according to a new study. With globalization, fast food - widely regarded as nutritionally poor - has become commonplace in East and Southeast Asia. But there's been little research into the effects of western junk food on the health of non-western populations, especially those transitioning to more-prosperous lifestyles.<< MORE >>

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hematology Week -- Investigators publish new report on Nervous System Diseases and Conditions. According to news originating from Rome, Italy, by NewsRx correspondents, researchers stated "Several epidemiological studies have shown that high levels of melatonin, an indolic hormone secreted mainly by the pineal gland, reduce the risks of developing cancer, thus suggesting that melatonin triggers the activation of tumor-suppressor pathways that lead to the prevention of malignant transformation. This paper illustrates that melatonin induces phosphorylation of p53 at Ser-15 inhibiting cell proliferation and preventing DNA damage accumulation of both normal and transformed cells." << MORE >>

July 09--Q: For the last two months, I have been taking a green coffee bean extract recommended by Dr. Oz on his show. So far, I've lost 10 pounds without even trying. What's your opinion of it?<< MORE >>

July 13, 2012 — Iron supplements cut fatigue nearly in half for nonanemic women in a randomized placebo-controlled trial published online July 9 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Paul Vaucher, DiO, from the Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and colleagues enrolled 198 women between the ages of 18 and 53 years in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial to receive either 80 mg of oral ferrous sulfate daily (n = 102) or a placebo (n = 96) for 12 weeks. The women were recruited from 44 primary care practices in France. All reported fatigue and had ferritin levels lower than 50(mu)g/L. None of the women had hemoglobin levels of 12 g/dL or less, which would indicate anemia.<< MORE >>

July 13, 2012 (Penrith, Australia) — A large new study of over 40 000 postmenopausal women has found that use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure [1]. The results also show, for the first time, that the risk of hypertension rises with longer duration of HRT use, say Dr Christine L Chiu (University of Western Sydney, Penrith, Australia) and colleagues in PLoS One. And importantly, "the association between using HRT and high blood pressure was more prominent for younger postmenopausal women, aged 45–55 years," senior author Dr Joanne M Lind (University of Western Sydney) told heartwire . "By the time women reached their 70s, the impact was not significant anymore."<< MORE >>

July 15, 2012 (Vancouver, British Columbia) — Physical activity, including resistance training and walking, can increase cognitive functioning in various types of elderly adults, including those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to 4 new randomized trials presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2012. In the first study, which included elderly women with MCI, those randomly assigned to undergo resistance training/weight lifting sessions for 6 months had significant improvements in attention, conflict resolution, and associative memory scores. They also showed functional improvements in memory brain regions compared with their peers who underwent balance and tone (BT) exercises. << MORE >>

July 13, 2012 — When using inhaled corticosteroids to treat patients with persistent asthma, vitamin D levels should be closely monitored and supplemented, if necessary, according to results from a multicenter placebo-controlled study of 1041 children with mild to moderate persistent asthma. Ann Chen, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues found that children with asthma who are deficient in vitamin D show less improvement over the course of a year's therapy with corticosteroids than do children who have more normal levels. << MORE >>

July 9, 2012 — Cranberry-containing products may protect against urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to a recent meta-analysis. However, because there was substantial heterogeneity among the studies, the results of the analysis should be viewed with caution, the researchers say. Chih-Hung Wang, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine in Taipei and colleagues report their findings in the July 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.<< MORE >>

July 6, 2012 — Regular Wii Fit (Nintendo) workouts proved as effective as a robust walking routine in reducing the risk for falling in elderly people with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), a small study published online June 13 in the Journal of Aging Research showed. Kalpana P. Padala, MD, assistant professor, Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, and colleagues assessed fall risk with 3 tests of balance and gait in 22 elderly people enrolled in 1 of 2 exercise interventions. Eleven participants were assigned to a supervised walking program, and 11 used the Wii Fit yoga, strength-training, and balance games. Each group exercised 5 times weekly for 30 minutes over 8 weeks.<< MORE >>