IN BRIEF (Page 19)

High-carb harmful to obese

Eating a high-fat, high-carb fast food meal produces damaging cellular changes that are greater and longer-lasting in obese people than in normal-weight people, a new study shows. Dr Paresh Dandona and colleagues from Kaleida Health in Buffalo, New York, looked at inflammation and oxidative stress, which occurs when levels of normal byproducts of metabolism known as free radicals exceed the body's ability to neutralize them.

Hospitals report diabetes surge

There has been a significant increase in the number of young adults hospitalized with diabetes-related conditions in the United States over the last decade or so, according to a new study.

"Studies indicate that the burden of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, is substantial and rising among US children," Dr Joyce Lee, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues write in the medical journal Diabetes Care. "We wished to evaluate national trends in hospitalizations associated with diabetes for children and young adults."

Brain disease common in elderly

Results of a brain autopsy study indicate that most older adults have significant brain pathology (disease), regardless of the presence or absence of outward signs of dementia. As part of the long-term Rush Memory and Aging Project, researchers evaluated the spectrum of abnormalities found in the brains of 141 older adults, with and without clinically evident dementia.

X-ray tumor risk dismissed

Children born to women who received an X-ray while pregnant are not more likely than other children to develop a brain tumor, Swedish researchers report based on a study. However, the study hints that abdominal X-rays during pregnancy may raise the risk of a specific type of brain tumor called primitive neuroectodermal tumors.

Alcohol keeps leg arteries healthy

In the elderly, moderate alcohol consumption may protect against leg artery disease, a condition in which the arteries in the legs become narrowed or clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. In a study, researchers found that elderly men and women who reported drinking from one to 13 servings of beer, wine, or liquor a week had a 44 percent lower risk of being hospitalized for leg artery disease, compared with elderly men and women who reported no alcohol consumption.

Hormone disorder weight link

Women who suffer a hormone dysfunction known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) possibly can help their condition by losing weight.

Patients who have PCOS, the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, overproduce the androgen and insulin, says professor Harald Klein of the German society of endocrinologists. A high insulin level in turn promotes weight gain and disturbs the hormonal balance.

"A loss of 5 percent of one's body weight reduces the symptoms of PCOS considerably," says professor Hendrik Lehnert of Schleswig-Holstein's university clinic in Luebeck.

Infertility often is also associated with PCOS. Women with the syndrome have irregular ovulation or no ovulation at all. When women with PCOS lose weight, chances improve for normal ovulation and, thus, a pregnancy.

Yoga has multiple benefits

Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar.

Dr R.P. Agrawal, of the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India, and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in 101 adults with features of metabolic syndrome. In the study, 55 adults received three months of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga, a form of transcendental meditation daily, while the remaining received standard care.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/02/2008 page19)