CVD Newswatch October 10
October 10, 2008 by Raquel Billiones
Filed under HEART AND STROKE
A round up of heart news for you from all over to mark the end the week.
CVD prevention watch
Pneumococcal vaccination ‘halves MI risk’
This vaccine was developed to protect people from one disease but it has shown additional beneficial effects in another indication - cardiovascular health. The pneumococcal vaccine is meant to prevent acute infections caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, the vaccine seems to lower people’s risk of having heart attacks 2 years (and beyond) after inoculation. The authors interpret their results as follows:
CVD treatment watch
1 dose of EPO may halt cell suicide following a heart attack
A single intravenous dose of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) immediately after a heart attack can significantly reduce cell death and heart damage, according to Japanese researchers. Following a heart attack, damage occurs in two ways: necrosis (normal cell death) and apoptosis (programmed cell death or cell suicide). EPO administration reduced apoptosis as demonstrated in laboratory rats.
CVD clinical trial watch
Northwestern Memorial trials implantable device to manage congestive heart failure symptoms
This aptly named clinical trial called US PARACHUTE evaluates a device to improve the heart’s pumping action in the management of congestive heart failure. The trial tests the efficacy of placing a small device in the main pumping chamber of the heart - the left ventricle. Cardiologists at the Northwestern Memorial physicians has just recently implanted device in the first study participant, so far only the sixth person in the United States to undergo the procedure.
“The goal of the study is to return the ventricle to a normal shape, decrease heart failure symptoms and prevent the heart from further deterioration,” according to the trial’s chief investigator.
CVD stem cell watch
Can stem cells heal damaged hearts? No easy answers, but some signs of hope
In a previous post, I reviewed nonclinical studies on the use of stem cells in treating heart disease. According to experts who reviewed existing data, more research is needed before stem cell therapy can be used in the clinical setting.
CVD patient watch
450kg man dies after pleading for help
He weighed 450 kg but he wasn’t the heaviest man in the world. The online newspaper The Australian reports that Jose Luis Garza died of heart failure shortly after appealing for medical help on national (Mexican TV). The man who holds the record for being heaviest - Manual Uribe is 560 kg - lives just about an hour away.
Photo credit: world news by jayofboy at stock.xchng
CVD News Watch for the Weekend 29 August
August 29, 2008 by Raquel Billiones
Filed under HEART AND STROKE
CVD treatment watch
3 hours max. That’s how long a stroke patient has before major brain damage and death occur. If treated within 3 hours, the patient has very high chances of survival and full recovery. After 3 hours, the brain becomes irreversibly damaged.
Anti-nogo, a new experimental approach can give new hope to patients with high risk for stroke. It can potentially restore brain function weeks or even months after the stroke has occurred. The technique disables the nogo protein which inhibits the growth of nerve fibers. In doing so, Anti-nogo stimulates the growth of nerve fibers, thereby compensating for those damaged by stroke.
CVD test watch
Hearts a flutter as exam includes audio portion for first time
It’s something every medical student in the US has to go through - the 3-part medical test. However, this autumn brings new angle (and sound) to the test - cardiac auscultation or listening to the heart. However, the students will not listen to a real patient’s heart beats but audios specially develop for this test. According to one medical professor, many medical students lack the skills to identify heart conditions using a stethoscope and instead depend mostly on very expensive tests for diagnosis. With the audio tests, it hoped that the students get proper training to know the difference between a healthy and a diseased heart by simply listening.
CVD weight watch
If you are obese, chances are your fat cells are “sick. Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia report differences in fat cells between obese and non-obese individuals.
“The fat cells we found in our obese patients were deficient in several areas…They showed significant stress on the endoplasmic reticulum, and the tissue itself was more inflamed than in our lean patients.“, according to one study author.
CVD treatment watch
Olive leaf extract may help reduce blood pressure
An article in Phythotherapy Research reported that olive leaf extract at a dose of 1000 mg per day can lower blood pressure in humans. However, large-scale tests are needed to confirm these results.
CVD diagnostics watch
FDA Clears Test to Help Doctors Manage Heart Transplant Patients
The US FDA has approved the marketing of AlloMap, an in vitro diagnostic assay that can determine potential organ rejection among heart transplant patients.
AlloMap has been developed by the California biotech company XDx Inc.
CVD News Watch for the Weekend 18 July 2008
July 18, 2008 by Raquel Billiones
Filed under HEART AND STROKE
Your weekend news…Happy reading!
CVD Lifestyle Watch
Alaskan Eskimos’ high rates of artery plaque could be from high smoking
According to a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, Alaskan Eskimos have significantly higher rates of fatty plaques in their arteries compared to the general American population. And this is most probably due to unhealthy lifestyles, especially the high incidence of smoking in this ethnic group.
Traditonally, CVD rates are low among American Eskimos. Recent lifestyle changes such as smoking, less physical activity, less consumption of fish and higher consumption of food rich saturated and trans fats have changed all these.
CVD Weight Watch
Evidence for behavioral susceptibility theory of obesity
Is appetite a factor in obesity? In this study on children, those with reduced satiety responsiveness and higher response to food cues tend to have higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. See the abstract of this study in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
CVD Patient Watch
Transplant recipient completes Yosemite ascent
She has done it again! The most sporty of all heart transplant recipients, Kelly Perkins, added Mt. Yosemite to her list of captured peaks last June 29, msnbc reports. I will write an in-depth feature of Kelly’s feats in a future post.
Popular Fish, Tilapia, Contains Potentially Dangerous Fatty Acid Combination
The fish that we are eating are supposed to be good for the heart. This recent report, however, brings bad tidings. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) ratios in popular fish such as catfish and tilapia may actually be bad, even dangerous to our health and are possibly pro‑atherogenic. However, other fish such as the Atlantic salmon and trout are contains the ideal PUFA ratios that are good for our heart. More about this in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
DNR order could impact on hospital HF treatment
DNR stands for “Do not resuscitate” - doctors’ orders to withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation from a patient. Sounds ominous but this order often appears in many patients’ hospital charts for valid reasons. Check it out at MedWire News.
CVD Medical Device Watch
Mini ECG gets heart attack rehab patients mobile
Compliance and completion of cardiac rehabilitation programs remains a big problem, with drop out rates of as high as 80%.This unique ‘Cardiomobile’ monitoring system might just be the answer and is currently being tested among cardiac patients. It enables them to perform six-week walking exercise rehabilitation program anytime, anywhere while having their heart signals, location and speed monitored in real time (ScienceDaily).
Alzheimer’s Drug Flurizan Fails in Late-Stage Testing
July 16, 2008 by Loretta Parker Spivey
Filed under ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Monday, June 30, 2008
Flurizan, an experimental drug that had been undergoing late-stage testing, failed to show benefits for easing the memory loss and thinking problems of Alzheimer’s disease.
The findings are very disappointing because Flurizan was one of a new class of Alzheimer’s medications that work in a new way. Unlike existing Alzheimer’s drugs like Aricept, Exelon and Namenda, which may ease symptoms but do not stop the downward progression of disease, Flurizan was aimed at underlying disease processes and sought to modify the course of Alzheimer’s.
“We are disappointed that Flurizan failed to achieve significance in this study, and we will now discontinue development of this compound,” said Peter Meldrum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Myriad Genetics, the company that makes the drug.
Flurizan is aimed at beta-amyloid, the toxic protein that builds up and forms plaques in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s. Researchers were hoping that it might offer a new avenue of attack for stemming the decline of dementia. But the drug, which goes by the generic name tarfenflurbil, did not improve thinking and memory skills or the ability to carry out everyday tasks compared to a placebo.
The drug had shown promise in mid-stage trials in Britain earlier this spring. [See the www.ALZinfo.org story, “Experimental Drug Flurizan May Slow Decline of Mild Alzheimer’s,” at http://www.alzinfo.org/newsarticle/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=289&zoneid=3.] The most recent trial was larger, involving some 1,700 men and women with mild Alzheimer’s disease who were given the drug over 18 months.
Most scientists believe that beta-amyloid causes the major symptoms of Alzheimer’s. The failure of Flurzan does not, in the opinion of Fisher Center scientists, cast doubt on that hypothesis. However, the latest testing failure does underscore the need to carry on research aimed at answering fundamental questions about Alzheimer’s and what the best therapeutic targets are, a goal that will eventually lead to a cure.
Other companies are testing different drugs in late-stage testing. Wyeth and Elan, for example, are testing a drug called bapineuzumab. The drug is what’s called a monoclonal antibody, an immune-system protein that clears toxic beta-amyloid from the brain in a different way than Flurizan. Dozens more drugs are in development.
It may take years of additional research to find a medication that is safe and effective and that may halt, or even reverse, Alzheimer’s. The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation continues to fund critical research into the underlying causes of the disease and in finding new kinds of treatments – research that may one day lead to a cure. To learn more, visit www.ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site.
By www.ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by William J. Netzer, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source:
Myriad Genetics, Press Release. ClinicalTrials.gov. Gordon K. Wilcock, Sandra E. Black, Suzanne B. Hendrix, et al: “Efficacy and Safety of Tarenflurbil in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease: A Randomised Phase II Trial.” Lancet Neurology: Published online, April 30, 2008
Carcinoid Cancer
July 15, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
Carcinoid Cancer as defined by the American Cancer Society: “carcinoid tumors or carcinoids: tumors that develop from neuroendocrine cells, usually in the digestive tract, lung, or ovary. The cancer cells from these tumors release certain hormones into the bloodstream. In about 10% of people, the hormone levels are high enough to cause facial flushing, wheezing, diarrhea, a fast heartbeat, and other symptoms throughout the body.” These symptoms are referred to as Carcinoid Syndrome.
The causes of carcinoid cancer are unclear. This type of cancer is very slow growing and has no early signs or symptoms. It is often detected while evaluating other unrelated symptoms.
Risk Factors per the Mayo Clinic:
Diagnosis can be difficult and is usually done through:
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A blood test evaluating for high levels of the protein chromogranin A.
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A urine test for the presence of 5-HIAA.
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A CT scan
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A fine needle biopsy
Treatment is truly individualized depending on the location and staging. If the tumor has not metastasized, surgery may be the treatment option.
Other treatment options:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiofrequency Ablation
- Injections of Sandostatin to slow tumor growth
- Hepatic Artery Embolization-cutting off the blood supply to the tumor
Resources:
The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation offers not only information on carcinoid cancer but online discussion
groups and seek to increase awareness.
Together We Make a Difference
Carcinoid. com is the Novartis website which offers information on carcinoid cancer and managment of the symptoms of Carcinoid Syndrome.
Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Network: CCAN.: A non-profit organization whose mission is to intensify awareness of carcinoid cancer and to assist support groups around the world in providing patients and caregivers access to important information about carcinoid disease.
Battling Books:
Carcinoid Cancer, Zebras and Stardust: My Sister’s Cancer Battle by Mary Girsch-Bock
(May 2008)
Thyroid Cancer Basics
July 7, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
Thyroid cancer is the single most common endocrine cancer and the most curable. If diagnosed before it spreads, thyroid cancer has a 97 % five year survival rate.
Per The American Cancer Society: 2008 about 37,340 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Of those, about 28,410 will occur in women, and 8,930 in men. A three to one ratio. AND…nearly 2 out of 3 cases are found in people between the ages of 20 and 55.
July is National Blueberry Month
July 2, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
What’s not to love about blueberries?
They are the number one antioxidant fruit and they’re delicious.
Need a refresher on antioxidants and cancer ? See the Battling Cancer archives here .
Basically an antioxidant is capable of counteracting the normal damaging effects of oxidation by neutralizing free radicals in the body. The balance of antioxidants to oxidants is disturbed by poor diet, smoking, disease, normal aging, x-rays and many other things. When an antioxidant neutralizes a free radical, the antioxidant becomes oxidized and the body needs to be resupplied with antioxidants.
Blueberries contain high levels of polyphenals which provide antioxidant activity.
Blueberry Trivia:
- 90% of the world’s blueberries are grown in North America, specifically 38 U.S. states and provinces of Canada
- Blueberries were grown by American Colonists and were a staple during the Civil War.
- Today’s blueberries are known as "cultivated" or "highbush" blueberries
- Hammonton, New Jersey is the Blueberry Capital of the World.
Check out this short informational video on Blueberries from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council .
Blueberry Recipes from the Highbush Blueberry Council:
Blueberry Crumble
4 cups fresh or thawed, frozen blueberries
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
3 packages (1.5 ounces each instant oatmeal with maple and brown sugar)
3 tablespoons butter, softened
Preheat oven to 375º F. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss blueberries with sugar. In a small bowl, combine oatmeal and butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs; sprinkle over blueberries. Bake until mixture bubbles around the edge and topping is light brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Yield: 6 portions
Per portion: 197 calories, 3 grams protein, 7 grams fat, 33 grams carbohydrate
Blueberry Lemon Muffins
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat lemon yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg white
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended. In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, eggs, the egg white and melted butter until blended. Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in blueberries. Into each muffin cup, spoon about 1/4 cup batter; sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon of granola, if desired. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove muffins from cups; cool on wire racks. Repeat with remaining batter, partially filling empty cups with water.
YIELD: 18 muffins
Per muffin: 131 calories, 3 g protein, 3.5 g fat, 22 g carbohydrate
Battling Books:
Very Blueberry by Jennifer Trainer Thompson
Check out a Blueberry Festival near you.
Friday Cancer News, June 20, 2008
June 20, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
Upcoming Cancer Events
The 2008 Kaleidoscope of Hope Golf Classic to raise funds for ovarian cancer research.
Announcing the First Annual Kaleidoscope of Hope Golf Classic to be held on June 30, 2008 at the Brooklake CountryClub in Florham Park, New Jersey. The honored guest will be Val Skinner, a six-time winner on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, and currently a golf analyst for CBS Sports and the Golf Channel. Val has been a successful advocate for many years, raising money for The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and her Life Foundation.The Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 by three ovarian cancer survivors, and is dedicated to raising funds for ovarian cancer research and increasing awareness of the symptoms of this silent disease.
Team Sarcoma Initiatives
12-20 July 2008, worldwide. The 2008 Team Sarcoma Initiative is an internationally coordinated set of events to raise awareness of sarcoma and raise funds to support sarcoma research, clinical trials, and patient and family services. The 2008 Initiative consists of the “core” Team Sarcoma Bike Tour (which will be held in Germany and Austria biking along the Danube River from Passau, Germany to Vienna, Austria during 12-19 July 2008) and various local Team Sarcoma events that will be held worldwide during the same week. For more information visit the Team Sarcoma Initiatives web page to find an event near you.
Climb to Fight Breast Cancer Ventures!
Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elbrus, Volcanoes of Mexico.
“Annually, outdoor enthusiasts join together in honor or memory of loved ones who have battled breast cancer, to ascend some of the world’s most breathtaking peaks.”
The climbs begin in July and end in November. Visit the site, to re-register, register or donate.
Friday Cancer News, June 6, 2008
June 6, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
Friday again.
Perhaps the most exciting cancer news comes out of M.D. Anderson regarding Metformin and cancer response. Metformin is the most common drug prescribed for Type 2 diabetes. It was observed that patients using Metformin had a lower cancer incidence. Findings are preliminary and M.D. Anderson will soon begin a clinical trial with Metformin and hormonal therapy studying metastatic breast cancer patients who are obese. Read the complete article at Science Daily.
Is Nausea and Vomiting an Expected Side Effect of Treatment?
June 5, 2008 by Tina Radcliffe
Filed under CANCER
Next to alopecia, anticipation of nausea and vomiting is one of the biggest anxiety factors for cancer patients. And in fact– Anticipatory Nausea and Vomiting (ANV) is a phenomenon that reportedly occurs in 32% of all cancer patients. Nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy is classified as acute: occurring within 24 hours of treatment, or delayed: occurring after 24 hours
Per the National Cancer Institute, the potential for nausea and vomiting increase if the patient:
- Experienced severe episodes of nausea and vomiting after past chemotherapy sessions.
- Is female.
- Is younger than 50 years.
- Has a fluid and/or electrolyte imbalance
- Has a tumor in the GI tract, liver, or brain
- Has constipation.
- Is receiving certain drugs.
- Has an infection, including sepsis.
- Has kidney disease.
- Experiences anxiety.
In reality while chemotherapy drugs are grouped according to their potential to cause nausea and vomiting, it is your body’s unique response and the dosage of chemo you receive, along with how it is prescribed that will determine the occurrence and severity of nausea and vomiting. Radiation of the gastrointestinal area and brain creates a high potential for nausea and vomiting.
Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapeutic drugs are classified by their potential for inducing nausea and vomiting, mild, moderate and severe. Typically combination therapy causes more nausea and vomiting. Some of the chemo drugs which cause severe nausea and vomiting include cisplatin, high dose cytarabine, dacarbazine, streptozocin, mechlorethamine.
Cancer Net provides a comprehensive table of intravenous chemo drugs and their potential for n/v.
Treatment:
It is widely acknowledged that prevention is the best treatment for nausea and vomiting.
Medical Therapy:
Chemocare.com lists the following prescription medications which are utilized to prevent and combat n/v:
- aprepitant (Emend®)
- dolasetron (Anzemet®)
- granisetron (Kytril®)
- ondansetron (Zofran®)
- palonosetron (Aloxi®)
- proclorperazine (Compazine®)
- promethazine (Anergan®),(Phenergan®)
- lorazepam (Ativan®)
- metoclopramide (Reglan®)
- dexamethasone (Decadron®)
- famotidine (Pepcid®)
- ranitidine (Zantac®)
Marinol is both an antiemetic and an appetite stimulator and is approved by the FDA for patients who do not respond to traditional therapy. It is derived from the marijuana plant.
Alternative and Complementary Therapy:
- Acupuncture
- Aromatherapy
- Music
- Hypnosis
- Distraction (television, video games, conversation)
- Guided Imagery
Self Help For Nausea and Vomiting:
- Avoid fatty, greasy, high carbohydrate food which take longer to digest
- Dry foods such as crackers, toast, or dry cereal can prepare you for more complex meals
- Avoid milk based products until the n/v subsides, instead ingesting clear liquids
- Clear soda such as ginger ale or lemon-lime may settle your stomach but drink them FLAT
- Try sipping sports beverages high in electrolytes
- Suck on small amounts of ice chips
- Cold cloths to the back of your neck can ease your nausea and vomiting centers
- Sip beverages slowly
Above all, contact your health care provider if your nausea and vomiting is severe or contains blood.
