IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Supine sports fans beware

A study of hospital admissions for heart complaints in the Munich area during the 2006 World Cup in Germany has revealed a sharp increase in incidents among men with a history of heart disease.

Doctors at the Ludwig Maximilian University in the Bavarian capital found that the number of patients admitted to hospital with heart rhythm problems or with heart attacks was almost three times up on the same period in 2003 or 2005.

The study, published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that it was not the World Cup as a whole, but rather the games played by hosts Germany that triggered the heart complaints.

Those who had a history of heart complaints were particularly at risk, with their risk being twice as high as that of other football fans.

Drugs can cause weight gain

Certain medicines, including psychotropic drugs and beta-blockers, can lead to undesired weight gain.

Psychotropic drugs and beta blockers affect the body's hormonal balance and can increase appetite while at the same time decreasing one's energy level, according to the German Green Cross based in Marburg.

The weight gain can be countered by switching to another drug or by being more conscious of nutrition. Switching to ACE inhibitors or diuretics can counter the weight gain as long as there are no medical contraindications, such as heart disease, the organization says.

Psychotropic drugs, including neuroleptics and antidepressants, can increase appetite, thus promoting weight gain.

Different strokes for women

Women's strokes are often recognized later than men's, because there are differing symptoms, the Guetersloh-based German Stroke Foundation says.

Women who have just suffered a stroke frequently complain of nausea, headache, pain in the limbs and chest, dizziness and shortness of breath. Men's classic symptoms are sudden difficulties in speaking and seeing clearly or paralysis on one side of the body.

It remains unclear whether men's and women's symptoms are truly different or simply perceived differently by the sexes.

The consequences for women are "shocking", the Foundation says. As their strokes are harder to recognize, women are often hospitalized too late, it points out. As a result, according to a study by Michigan State University in the United States, half of all female stroke patients still require daily assistance after three months, compared with about 30 percent of the men.

Diet tied to female cancers

A new study suggests that women who eat diets rich in meat and dairy may have a decreased risk of breast cancer, while those who bulk up on fiber, fruits and vegetables show a lower risk of ovarian cancer. The findings, published in the International Journal of Cancer, add to questions surrounding the role of diet in women's risk of the cancers.

Alcohol good for prostate

Men who want to avoid developing the benign but bothersome prostate enlargement that typically accompanies aging should cut their intake of fat and red meat, eat more vegetables, and have a couple of drinks a day, a new study suggests.

As many as half of 50-year-old men have benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), which causes frequent and sometimes painful urination, while up to 80 percent of 70-year-olds have the condition, Dr Alan Kristal of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and colleagues note in their report.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/27/2008 page19)