MyDailyApple News Alert: Top Stories

Widely Used Cholesterol-lowering Drug May Prevent Progression Of Parkinson's Disease

2009-11-17T04:22:25Z

Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers conducted a study examining the use of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes caused by the disease.

Athletes with Migraines

2009-11-17T04:22:25Z

Migraine headaches strike all types of individuals in all types of professions. Shawn Nelson, rookie tight end for the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, has recently been dealing with a bout of migraine headaches but is finding a way to stay active with his team. Nelson injured his neck blocking in a game a few weeks ago and feels like this was the most recent trigger, but he has suffered from migraines for at least the last 10 years. His mother was also a migraine sufferer

Nelson spoke a little bit about what it feels like to have a migraine, and how athleticism and size are no guarantees for good health:

Some people get injuries and some people's bodies react in different ways. From the outside looking in some players' afflictions look really small. But you won't know unless you've had migraines yourself, especially the way I get them. They are unreal. I can't even move.

This just underscores the fact that migraines can strike anyone and can be debilitating no matter what that person's overall health may be like.

What other headache triggers are out there?

Many NFL players experience concussions, which can be a secondary cause for headaches.

=============================
To keep up on useful information
related to headaches and migraines,
subscribe to the
Headaches and Migraines Newsletter.
=============================

Athletes with Migraines originally appeared on About.com Headaches / Migraine on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 08:53:57.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

News brief: Antitumor activity of nutlin-3 in neuroblastoma with wild-type p53

2009-11-17T04:22:25Z

The small-molecule inhibitor nutlin-3 may be a viable treatment option for neuroblastoma patients with wild-type p53 activity, according to a new study published online Nov. 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

NIH awards $6.8 million subcontract to Kineta to develop vaccine immune boosters

2009-11-17T04:22:25Z

Kineta, Inc. announced today it has been awarded a $6.8 million subcontract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop novel vaccine adjuvants (agents that help boost the immune system). The Kineta subcontract is part of a larger $13 million award to the University of Washington.

US Navy Was Ordered To Listen For Martian Broadcast

2009-11-10T07:01:26Z

MarkWhittington writes "It seems that a SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) experiment happened decades before the Project Ozma occurred in 1960. The historians at the blog Letters of Note have uncovered a telegram sent in 1924 by then Chief of Naval Operations Edward W. Eberle instructing the United States Navy to listen for radio transmissions from the planet Mars."

HealthyWomen Raising Profile of Fibromyalgia Pain

2009-11-10T07:01:26Z

Fibromyalgia isn't typically what comes to mind when you talk about women's health, but about 96% of us who have it are women. On top of that, researchers are learning more about gender differences and pain in general, which point to far more pain problems in women than in men.

The group HealthyWomen, which focuses on many aspects of women's health, is now working to raise awareness of fibromyalgia and chronic pain in women, in the hopes of getting more women properly diagnosed and treated. It has launched a campaign called, "She Said, He Said: Understanding Gender and Pain."

I was able recently to speak with Dr. Leslie Arnold, a psychiatrist specializing in pain-related issues who's involved with HealthyWomen. (Please note: Dr. Arnold does not believe that fibromyalgia is psychologically based or that psychotherapy is a front-line treatment for fibromyalgia.) According to studies, Dr. Arnold says, women have more pain in general, and that difference seems to stem, at least in part, from our hormones.

"If you look at little boys and girls, the prevalence of pain is the same," she says. That prevalence, however, changes at puberty in ways doctors are still trying to understand.

In clinical studies, women show a greater sensitivity to pain than men do -- we have a lower pain threshold. Women typically believe they deal with pain better than men, and while that's not true physiologically because our bodies react more strongly, Dr. Arnold believes that women learn to cope and function better with pain, because it's a greater part of our lives.

Doctors are typically not well trained in evaluating or treating pain. Dr. Arnold says they tend to view all pain as if it were acute pain, such as that from an injury. They need to have a better understanding of chronic pain. "It's a disease, it's not a symptom," she says.

A national survey shows certain gender differences when it comes to perceptions of chronic pain:

Three in 4 women (76%) believe women have a higher tolerance for pain, while just 1 in 3 men (32%) think women have a higher tolerance.
Nearly half of women (46%) think men are taken more seriously when they visit health care providers about chronic pain.
Nearly twice as many women than men (59% vs 36%) feel they are considered a "complainer" because of their chronic pain.

Those are some discouraging perceptions, but Dr. Arnold believes fibromyalgia acceptance is gaining ground. "I've been working in this area since the 1990s and I feel in the last 3 years the level of acceptance has really improved," she says.

You can learn more about HealthyWomen and the new campaign, visit the website: HealthyWomen.org.

And because I hate to leave out the men among us, here's a link to a site devoted to you: menwithfibro.com. It's got information and a forum where, for once, you won't be grossly out numbered by the women!

Do you think women cope better with pain than men? Are men taken more seriously when they see a doctor about pain? Have you been labeled a "whiner"? Share your experiences by leaving a comment below!

Learn more or join the conversation!

_{NEWSLETTER
|
FORUM
|
BIO
|
TWITTER
|
FACEBOOK}

Photo &copy Bruce Laurance/Getty Images

HealthyWomen Raising Profile of Fibromyalgia Pain originally appeared on About.com Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 06:00:53.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Has a Doctor Turned You Away?

2009-11-10T07:01:26Z

There are lots of legitimate reasons a doctor may refuse to treat a patient, ranging from unpaid bills to insurance problems to realizing a patient is falsely complaining of pain only to get prescription drugs. A patient who is disruptive or hostile, or who demands a treatment the doctor believes is not what that patient needs, may well find that the doctor will not continue treating him or her.

Then there's the patient who is non-compliant with treatment. In her article Doctors Reject Difficult Patients, Patient Empowerment Guide Tricia Torrey gives the example of an overweight woman with diabetes who makes no effort to lose weight, which is critical to her health. Are psychiatric patients any different?

Many of you have talked about this in our forums. You believe that a drug is not helping you, or the side effects are too difficult, and stop taking the drug without your doctor's approval. Whether you find you were right or wrong about the problems, your doctor may simply feel you are uncooperative and refuse to continue seeing you.

Some of you say that your doctor is arrogant, believing that the drugs prescribed are the only ones that are right for you, no matter what you say. Tricia has written guidelines for dealing with arrogant doctors that may help you.

But sometimes a doctor will refuse to see a patient who never understands why. Do you see yourself in any of these common doctors' complaints?

If you've had a doctor "fire" you, what was the reason? And were you better or worse off afterward? Leave a comment and tell us your story.
~ Marcia

Has a Doctor Turned You Away? originally appeared on About.com Bipolar Disorder on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 00:24:58.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Flaxseed For Lower Cholesterol

2009-11-10T07:01:26Z

Eating flaxseed may help cut your cholesterol, according to a recent research review.

Sifting through 28 studies (with a total of more than 1,500 participants), investigators found that consumption of flaxseed was linked to significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. However, flaxseed did not appear to considerably alter levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. What's more, flaxseed's cholesterol-lowering effects were more apparent in females (especially postmenopausal women) and people with higher cholesterol levels.

Rich in fiber and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed has been shown to benefit people with diabetes, menopausal symptoms, and high blood pressure in previous studies.

Since whole flaxseeds may pass through your intestine undigested, nutrition experts often suggest grinding flaxseed (in a coffee grinder, for instance) before adding it to cereals, smoothies, and other foods.

Flaxseed For Lower Cholesterol originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 06:00:45.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Depression link to processed food

2009-11-03T01:57:30Z

Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests.

'Fit notes' for back pain concern

2009-11-03T01:57:30Z

Plans to replace sick notes with GP "fit notes" may be unrealistic, at least in the case of back pain, say researchers.

NOXXON Pharma commences human dosing in Spiegelmer NOX-A12 clinical trial

2009-11-03T01:57:30Z

NOXXON Pharma AG, the biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel drugs based on its unique proprietary Spiegelmer® technology, announced today the successful initial dosing of healthy volunteers in a first-in-human clinical trial with Spiegelmer® NOX-A12. NOX-A12 is NOXXON’s second drug candidate entering the clinical stage of development within only five months.

Anemia or low hemoglobin levels preceding Parkinson disease: A case-control study

2009-11-03T01:57:30Z

Objective: It has been suggested that anemia may be a risk factor for dementia, for restless legs syndrome, and for Parkinson disease (PD). Thus, we investigated the association of anemia with the subsequent risk of PD using a case-control study design.

Methods: We used the medical records–linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify 196 subjects who developed PD in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1976 through 1995. Each incident case was matched by age (±1 year) and sex to a general population control. We reviewed the complete medical records of cases and controls in the system to detect anemia defined using the World Health Organization criteria.

Results: Anemia was more common in the history of cases than of controls (odds ratio 2.00, 95% confidence interval 1.31–3.06, p = 0.001). The association remained significant after adjustment for cigarette smoking, exposure to pesticides, or hysterectomy (in women). The association was not significantly different between men and women, or between PD patients with or without rest tremor. Analyses stratified by time of onset of anemia showed a greater association for anemia that started 20 to 29 years before the onset of PD. Hemoglobin levels were slightly but consistently lower in cases than in controls across all ages.

Conclusions: Our results support an association between anemia experienced early in life and the later development of Parkinson disease. The interpretation of this association remains uncertain.