Calcium in the news

It's common knowledge that:

Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet. Calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of bones and teeth, and calcium requirements must be met throughout life. Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures. While a lifelong deficit can affect bone and tooth formation, over-retention can cause hypercalcemia (elevated levels of calcium in the blood), impaired kidney function and decreased absorption of other minerals.[5] -Wikipedia

Scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center have genetically modified a carrot which helps people absorb more calcium. From Science Daily:

"If you eat a serving of the modified carrot, you'd absorb 41 percent more calcium than from a regular carrot," said Dr. Jay Morris, lead author on the paper, a post doctorate researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

However, on the flip side, too much calcium can cause these problems:

Hypercalcemia per se can result in fatigue, depression, confusion, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, constipation, pancreatitis or increased urination "Bones, stones, groans, and psychic moans" is a saying which will help you remember the signs and symptoms of hypercalcemia; if it is chronic it can result in urinary calculi (renal stones or bladder stones). Abnormal heart rhythms can result, and EKG findings of a short QT interval and a widened T wave suggest hypercalcemia. - Wikipedia

Researchers in New Zealand have now determined that calcium supplements are also associated with other health risks. From Reuters:

Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in healthy postmenopausal women, a study in New Zealand has found.

The women recruited had a mean age of 74 and had been postmenopausal for more than five years. Those who were receiving treatment for osteoporosis, already taking calcium supplements, or suffering any major ongoing disease were excluded.

Of the 1,471 participants, 732 were given calcium supplements and 739 given placebos. They were followed up every six months for five years. Researchers also checked hospital admissions and reviewed all death certificates for study participants to identify any unreported events.

Heart attacks were more common in the calcium group, with 31 women in that group suffering a total of 36 such events, while 21 women on placebo suffered 22 such events. More strokes were also seen in the calcium group, with 34 women suffering 37 such events, while 25 women on placebo suffered 26 such events.

Back to moderation...

Online health records, brought to you by Google or Microsoft

The idea of online health records is not surprising, but definitely not reassuring.

From Computerworld:

Less than two weeks after Microsoft Corp. announced plans to support online personal health information records, Google unveiled plans to follow suit.

Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, said Wednesday here at the Web 2.0 Summit that Google plans to support the "storage and movement" of people's health records.

...Google became interested in the personal health record market as it watched Hurricane Katrina take aim at the Gulf Coast and all the paper-based records stored in various medical offices and hospitals in the region. "In that moment, it was too late for us to mobilize," Mayer said. "It doesn't make sense to generate this volume of information on paper. It should be something that is digital. People should have control over their own records."

I'm definitely mixed about this. Your personal health records should be something you have access to, and probably even have copies of. Having a copy of x-rays, MRI images, and other objective data could be very useful information for your new health care provider. What worries me is the confidentiality of these records if they become hackable and findable on the internet, and all the fraud that this could propagate. Medicare fraud is already a pretty uncontrolled problem. NPR has a wonderful segment on this.

Here's what I found most striking about the article:

Medicare fraud has now become a favorite career path of many former drug dealers. The FBI has interviewed drug dealers and asked them why they're moving from cocaine to wheelchairs and walkers.

Why the Shift? Malcolm Sparrow of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government says former drug dealers give three reasons.

"There's more money, there's much less chance of being caught and if I do get caught, I'll be treated like a white-collar criminal, not like a drug dealer," Sparrow says. There's also a fourth reason: They're less likely to be killed in a drive-by shooting.

If there was some secure, untamperable way to have access to these records, it could definitely help the health care industry save money by not needing to run the same tests over and over every time a patient goes to a new provider. Of course, there would also need to be some way to guarantee this data does not get into the wrong hands, which is much harder to do. I hear about stolen laptops with employee or customer data almost daily. Fortunately, credit card numbers, bank accounts, and even social security numbers can be changed with effort. How much worse would it be if that laptop also contained your medical files?

Surf the internet with your voice

Doctoral student Brandi House uses Vocal Joystick to control the movement of a robotic arm. The screen on the lower right shows how the software analyzes her vocalizations to create instructions for the arm's movement. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Washington)


From Science Daily:

Vocal Joystick detects sounds 100 times a second and instantaneously turns that sound into movement on the screen. Different vowel sounds dictate the direction:
"ah," "ee," "aw" and "oo" and other sounds move the cursor one of eight directions. Users can transition smoothly from one vowel to another, and louder sounds make the cursor move faster. The sounds "k" and "ch" simulate clicking and releasing the mouse buttons.

Versions of Vocal Joystick exist for browsing the Web, drawing on a screen, controlling a cursor and playing a video game. A version also exists for operating a robotic arm, and Bilmes believes the technology could be used to control an electronic wheelchair.

It's a great idea, using the musical/sounds quality of vowels rather than of actual words. I wonder if someday speech therapists could use this for kids as well?

Better wearable sensors for athlete training and medical rehab

(Pic): A sensor worn behind the ear of an athlete can measure posture, stride length, step frequency, and acceleration using a triaxial accelerometer and activity-recognition software. The data is collected and wirelessly transmitted to a computer in real time. Credit: Imperial College London

Guang-Zhong Yang, Ph.D, and his colleagues at Imperial College in London have been developing a sensor worn behind the ear that tracks a variety of user information, and transfers it to a computer for real time analysis. They hope it may will mass-produced within 12 to 18 months. It's currently being tested in atheletes, and individuals recovering from surgery.

From MIT's Technology Review:

The sensor is about the size of a cuff link and measures the posture, stride length, step frequency, and acceleration of an individual. In addition to being used in applications for training athletes, the device could be employed to monitor a patient's recovery after surgery, such as orthopedic, or injury, such as a fracture. In those cases, an individual will often compensate for the affected area, which impinges movements, says Yang. The device could also be used to monitor an individual suffering from a progressive illness, such as a neurodegenerative disease: it could detect telltale changes in the person's movements.

The sensor uses an accelerometer that allows it to measure motion in three dimensions. For example, when a runner hits the ground, a shock wave is transmitted through his body from his foot. The accelerometer is able to pick up these waves and sense the balance of the body and the changes in the runner's gait, such as the length of strides and the frequency of steps.

This information is processed within the sensor and wirelessly transmitted to a computer...

Bluetooth biofeedback sensor game system for stress reduction

The device is called a PIP, or personal input pod. You hold it in your fingers (see picture), and it measures galvanic skin response (electrical resistance of the skin, an indication of stress levels).

Since this is a bluetooth enabled biofeedback device, it is compatible with any platform that supports bluetooth, though their initial offering of 3 games is only for cell phones and PDAs.

I'm definitely looking forward to this becoming available. If it's effective, it could open up the door to the masses learning to self soothe and calm in many more activities of life.

Implantable biochips to relay vital health info

Pic: Implantable biochip, about the size of a grain of rice. (Credit: Image courtesy of Clemson University)

From Science Daily:

The Department of Defense has awarded $1.6 million to the Center for Bioelectronics, Biosensors and Biochips (C3B) at Clemson University for the development of an implantable biochip that could relay vital health information if a soldier is wounded in battle or a civilian is hurt in an accident.

This chip supposedly can measure lactate levels (an indication of bleeding), glucose levels, and vital signs.

Could be a great solution for diabetics to never have to do a fingerstick again, for fearful parents to know when their children are injured, for loved ones with frail elderly, and countless other uses.

CDC Disease Cards

That's right, the Center for Disease Control has created a set of collectible cards of infectious disesases.

Originally designed for middle school students, these cards have already sold out. Fortunately, you can freely download and print these .pdf files from the CDC website.

Prostitutes, not circumcision are correlated with the spread of AIDS

A couple of months ago, there was a lot of hype in the news about circumcision decreasing the spread of AIDS. This was mostly due to the work of Daniel Halperin, an H.I.V. specialist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development and one of the world's leading advocates for male circumcision.

Though it is hypothesized that circumcision does decrease the risk of contracting HIV in a single sexual encounter by 50-60%, after repeated exposures disease transmission is inevitable.

From ScienceDaily:

...John R. Talbott, has conducted statistical empirical research across 77 countries of the world and has uncovered some surprising results.

Talbott's new study suggests that the reason is that Africa as a whole has four times as many prostitutes as the rest of the word and they are more than four times as infected. Some southern Africa countries have as many as 7% of their adult females infected and working as prostitutes while in the developed world typically this percentage of infected prostitutes is less than .1%. If these 7% of infected prostitutes in Africa sleep with five men in a week that means they are subjecting 35% of the country's male population to the virus weekly.

Read his article here.

Sunscreen summary: screening 800 sunscreens

This website, developed by the Environmental Working Group, has a comprehensive report reviewing a great plethora of sunscreen products.

It also has a sunscreen search sidebar, and any information you ever wanted to know about sunscreen.

There is also a Top 118 sunscreens list, as well as the Worst 37. Too bad I recognize more names on the worst list than the best list.

What more could Oral B add to the toothbrush?

Apparently, enough bells and whistles to make their next flagship toothbrush $150.

Here's engadget's blurb:

Proving that adding an LCD screen and a radio transmitter are sure-fire ways to improve even the lowliest of products, Oral-B has unveiled the latest in its Triumph line of intelligent toothbrushes.

The multi-head brush, which has 4 programmable cleaning patterns, communicates with a mirror-mounted LCD display that instructs you on where and how long to brush, and warns you if you're brushing too hard -- just like mom.

The handle keeps track of data if you step out of range of the dispay and re-syncs when you come back to spit, so you'll never miss a stroke.

http://www.oralb.com/us/products/power/triumph/

Party Timer Clock Decibel Meter

Cute. Not entirely sure how useful this is, but I'm entertained.

No party (0-10 db)
Romantic Party (11 to 20 db)
Talking Party (21 to 50 db)
Lite Party (52 to 70 db)
Music Party (71 to 90 db)
Dance Party (91 to 100 db)
Club Party (101 to 120 db)
Mega Party (121 to 160 db, which is up near hearing damage levels)
Atom Party (above 161 db, and can result in permanent hearing damage).
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/28/party-timer-clock-tells-you-how-rockin-your-rave-actually-is/

Soft drinks are unhealthy, especially for your mitochondrial DNA

Apparently, the culprit is sodium benzoate, a preservative which is used to prevent mold in soft drinks, and found in Coca Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and others.

All about sodium benzoate, from The Independent:

"Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.
Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.
He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing.""

It's also suspected of worsening ADHD in kids.

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2586652.ece

Exercise! It reverses aging (in skeletal muscle)

Good to see studies that support what we already intuitively know.

A summary from physorg:

"A Buck Institute faculty member Simon Melov, PhD, and Mark Tarnopolsky, MD, PhD, of McMaster University Medical Center in Hamilton, Ontario, ran a study that involved before and after analysis of gene expression profiles in tissue samples taken from 25 healthy older men and women who underwent six months of twice weekly resistance training, compared to a similar analysis of tissue samples taken from younger healthy men and women.

Results showed that in the older adults, there was a decline in mitochondrial function with age. However, exercise resulted in a remarkable reversal of the genetic fingerprint back to levels similar to those seen in the younger adults. The study also measured muscle strength. Before exercise training, the older adults were 59% weaker than the younger adults, but after the training the strength of the older adults improved by about 50%, such that they were only 38% weaker than
the young adults. "

The full study is published at: http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000465

Today's reason to exercise? Reduce your risk of Parkinson's disease

"Science Daily — The risk of developing Parkinson's disease may be reduced with moderate to vigorous exercise or other recreational activities, according to recent research presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 -- May 5, 2007."

Big study, 143,000 people over 63 years old, over a ten year period. Moderate to vigorous exercise is defined as at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. They found these people were 40% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease than the low to no activity group. No explanations for this yet.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423185735.htm

India's Government Dropping Question About Menses

"The Indian civil service is dropping part of a new appraisal form requiring female employees to detail their menstrual cycles, a top official says. "

Yay! At least it didn't take them very long.
See previous post on 4/11/07 about this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6553567.stm

New requirement in India: When was your last period?

Crazy but true, apparently.

"The questions at the root of the controversy are on page 58 of the new appraisal forms for the current year issued by the federal Ministry for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Women officers must write down their "detailed menstrual history and history of LMP [last menstrual period] including date of last confinement [maternity leave]," the form says. "

It supposedly started out as an extension to mandatory annual health check ups, but this is absolutely ridiculous on so many levels.

Should be interesting to see how it gets sorted out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6545115.stm

"Meth kills", and cocaine too. Mostly by causing strokes

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have done an analysis of "more than 8,300 stroke patients — ranging in age from 18 to 44 — at more than 500 Texas hospitals in the years 2000 through 2003."

Their conclusion? “Using amphetamines or cocaine significantly increases an individual’s risk for a stroke,”

And more data: "The study focused on two kinds of strokes: hemorrhagic and ischemic. Most strokes — which involve a sudden interruption in the blood supply of the brain — are ischemic, caused by an abrupt blockage of arteries leading to the brain. Hemorrhagic strokes, on the other hand, result from bleeding into brain tissue when a blood vessel bursts.
An evaluation of patient study data from 2003, the first year that U.S. hospitals were required to make a distinction between the two types of strokes in their diagnoses of stroke victims, showed that young people who abuse amphetamines are five times more likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke than non-abusers. If cocaine is abused, the person’s likelihood of having either a hemorrhagic or an ischemic stroke more than doubles."

Well, Mr. Mackey was right, "Drugs are bad, m-kay?"

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070402233734.htm

Converting blood to a universally usable type

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have found a way to convert all blood to type O.

There are 2 possible antigens that may appear in blood, A and B. Blood types are thus either A, B, AB, or O, where O has no antigens on it.

Additionally, blood also has a rhesus (Rh) factor associated with it. The presence of Rh creates a +, and the absence creates a -.

All possible combinations of blood types are: A+, B+, AB+, O+, A-, B-, AB-, O-.

For blood transfusions, people cannot accept blood that has antigens that individual does not already have. For instance, a person with O+ blood can only accept transfusions of O+, or O-.
A person with AB- blood can accept: A-, B-, AB-, and O-, but no Rh+ blood. See also wikipedia's blood compatibility table. Blood type O is known as the universal donor, because their blood can be transfused to anyone.

Researchers discovered two bacteria: Elizabethkingia meningosepticum and Bacterioides fragilis, which can be used to strip away the A and B antigens from blood cells. As of yet, they have not found a way to remove the Rh factor yet, so that means that if you are Rh-, you will still need blood from and Rh- donor. The Rh+ can accept blood from both + and -.

If this pans out, it will drastically reduce blood supply problems, and greatly decrease risk of transfusion incompatibilities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6517137.stm

Even more reasons to get a good night's sleep

2 articles from WebMD that cite additional disadvantages of insufficient sleep.

Less sleep may mean less testosterone.
The study looked at older men, ages 64 to 74. Too bad they had such a small sample size (n=12), but they did manage to get published in the journal Sleep. The less they slept, the lower the concentration of testosterone in their systems.

Sleep disturbances heighten pain.
This study, also published in the journal Sleep, studied sleep patterns of 32 healthy women. Their findings:

"Our research shows that disrupted sleep, marked by multiple prolonged awakenings, impairs natural pain control mechanisms that are thought to play a key role in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of chronic pain," says Smith."

In particular, new parents, shift workers, and especially insomniacs are at risk for lower pain thresholds, chronic pain, and less pain inhibition.
Makes me wonder if there are many studies on the relationship between pain and fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Don't smoke, exercise!

"As little as five minutes of exercise seems to help smokers curb their craving for a cigarette, a review of a dozen studies found.
The research showed that moderate exercise, such as walking, significantly reduced the intensity of smokers' nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
"If we found the same effects in a drug, it would immediately be sold as an aid to help people quit smoking," said Dr. Adrian Taylor, the study's lead author and professor of exercise and health psychology at the University of Exeter.

Their hypothesis: "Nearly anything that distracts people from smoking is thought to help, but scientists have long suspected that exercise might have a more potent effect. Taylor theorized that exercise could produce the mood-enhancing hormone dopamine, which could, in turn, reduce smokers' nicotine dependence."

Sounds like it's time to teach exercise in smoking cessation programs.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/13/fitness.smoking.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health