H pylori infections in stomach  an increased risk of stomach cancer and related diseases but a recent study has suggested that Helicobacter pylori may be protective against diarrhoeal diseases.

The study by Dr. Dani Cohen and colleagues from Tel Aviv University in Israel carried a study in 595 male Israeli soldiers aged 18–21 years, serving in field units and followed up for diarrheal diseases.

177 were grouped as case patients. They were those who visited the base clinic because diarrhea and were positive for either Shigella sonnei (66), enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli  (n = 31) . 80were  negative for bacterial pathogens and were classified into diarrhea of unknown etiology.

Controls (n = 418) were subjects who did not suffer from a diarrheal disease during the follow-up. They were matched to case patients by training unit and period.

Serum samples were obtained from participants at the beginning of their field training and were tested for anti–H. pylori immunoglobulin (Ig) G and preexisting Shigella sonnei lipopolysaccharide IgG and IgA antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results. The proportion of H. pylori infected subjects was significantly lower among case patients with infection of unknown etiology (36.3%) than among controls (56.0%).

Same finding was noted for  H. pylori–infected subjects among case patients with S. sonnei shigellosis

The authors have concluded that H. pylori has active protective role against diarrheal diseases.

Source: Clin Infect Dis. (2011) doi: 10.1093/cid/cir916

First published online: December 9, 2011 .

A new Spanish study of patients with chronic kidney disease and hypertension has suggested that the best time for taking medication for blood pressure is bed time.

The study was published online Oct. 24 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

The study included 661 patients with kidney disease and hypertension. Half of them took their prescribed blood pressure-lowering drugs at bedtime and half took their medications first thing in the morning.

After an average follow-up of 5.4 years, the researchers found that patients who took at least one blood pressure-lowering drug at bedtime had better control of their blood pressure. They were about one-third as likely to suffer a heart-related event such as heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

The authors observed that the cardiovascular event rates in patients with hypertension can be reduced by more than 50 percent with  administering blood pressure-lowering medications at bedtime rather than in the morning.

The study has been published by Dr Hermida and colleagues.

Another advantage would be lesser complaints about side effects as compared to when taken in morning.

Journal of American Society of Nephrology

http://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/06/ASN.2011040361

Vitamin E supplementation in men might increase risk of prostate cancer. This has been reported in the initial report of the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) which found that neither selenium nor vitamin E supplements reduced the risk for prostate cancer.

The updated analysis, that appears in the October 12 issue of JAMA shows that vitamin E supplementation can significantly increase the risk for prostrate cancer.

Study could not find any cause for this increased risk. It says that there is no biological explanation for why those who took vitamin E are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer.

The authors further state that there is no reason for otherwise healthy men to take vitamin E.

The study’s finding are contrary to popular finding that vitamin E prevents cancer of prostate.

The study was conducted on the premise that selenium and vitamin E supplementation might reduce the risk for prostate cancer.

The trial involved 35,533 healthy men from 427 study sites in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico who were randomized from 2001 and 2004.

All participants

• Had a prostate-specific antigen level of 4.0 ng/mL or less
• Digital rectal examination not suspicious for prostate cancer
• > 50 years or older (black men) or 55 years or older (all others).

The men were randomized to 1 of 4 treatment groups-

• 8752 received selenium (200 μg/d from L-selenomethionine)
• 8737 received vitamin E (400 IU/d of all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate)
• 8702 received both agents
• 8696 received placebo.

After 5.56 years of follow-up, there were

• 473 cases of prostate cancer in the vitamin E group
• 432 in the selenium group
• 437 in the selenium plus vitamin E group
• 416 in the placebo group

Findings showed that the rate of prostate cancer detection was higher in all groups that received active treatment than in the placebo group, but only the vitamin E group had statistical significance.

The study was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (

JAMA. 2011;306:1549-1556.

Even mild cognitive impairment has a strong independent impact on life expectancy, a study of  3957 older adults has revealed.

Mild and moderate to severe cognitive impairment at baseline was associated with an increased risk for death over roughly the next decade after controlling for other mortality risk factors.

The study has been  published in the September 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The researchers studied a diverse community-based population of 3957 adults 60 to 102 years of age. They were screened for cognitive impairment with the 10-item Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire and were categorized into groups

• No cognitive impairment (3157)
• Mild impairment (533)
• Moderate to severe impairment (267).

During roughly 13 years of follow-up a total of 2385 of the 3957 patients (60.3%) died

• 1812 patients (57.4%) with no cognitive impairment
• 363 patients (68.1%) with mild impairment
• 210 (78.7%) with moderate to severe impairment.

Both mild and moderate to severe cognitive impairment raised the likelihood of dying.

The study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:300-308.

A case control study published online September 6 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says that nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use in early pregnancy is linked to twice the risk for miscarriage

The authors conducted the study with an aim to quantify the association between having a spontaneous abortion and types and dosages of nonaspirin NSAIDs in a cohort of pregnant women.”

The study consisted of 4705 women who were identified from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry and who had a spontaneous abortion.

For each case patient, 10 matched control participants were randomly selected. Case patients and control participants were compared in use of nonaspirin NSAIDs. The investigators analyzed associations between different types and dosages of nonaspirin NSAIDs and spontaneous abortion

Of the 4705 patients with spontaneous abortion, 352  had NSAID exposure [7.5%]  whereas in control only 12.6% had abortion.

The authors concluded that the use of nonaspirin NSAIDs during pregnancy was significantly associated with the risk for spontaneous abortion, after adjustment for potential confounders.

“Gestational exposure to any type or dosage of nonaspirin NSAIDs may increase the risk of spontaneous abortion,” the study authors write.

Limitations of Study

• Lack of data on exposure to over-the-counter formulations of nonaspirin NSAIDs during pregnancy
• Lack of information on the indications for which nonaspirin NSAIDs were used
• Covariables such as smoking and body mass index.
• The study population covered only 36% of pregnant women in Quebec.

THe authors have cautioned over the use of nonaspirin NSAIDs during early pregnancy.

CMAJ. Published online September 6, 2011.

According to new research findings,a home-based walking intervention improves walking speed and quality of life in people with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease.

The study has been reported by Tracie C. Collins and colleagues in  Diabetes Care online August 2.

A total of 145 participants, of which 100 were men, and who had diabetes and peripheral arterial disease were randomly assigned to receive an intervention for 6 months directed towards levels of readiness. Walking training, weekly group walking classes with an instructor, and biweekly telephone calls for 6 months were also included.

The remaining participants were randomly assigned to a “control” intervention that consisted of twice-monthly telephone calls with the research coordinator.

Both groups also watched a 7-minute educational video about peripheral arterial disease.

No significant difference was observed between groups in treadmill walking distance during the course of the 6-month program. However, among secondary outcomes, average walking speed scores increased by 5.7 units for the intervention group.

The results suggest that home-based walking holds promise for improving walking speed and quality of life in people with diabetes mellitus and peripheral arterial disease.

The study was supported by the American Diabetes Association.

Diabetes Care. Published online August 26, 2011.

A large systematic review confirms that rofecoxib is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events and also suggests thatt diclofenac also poses an equivalent risk to patients.

Ibuprofen and naproxen are the least likely to increase the risk of MI and coronary heart disease death.

The study has been published by Patricia McGettigan  and David Henry on  September 27, 2011 in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.

The systemic review included 31 case-control studies with 184 946 cardiovascular events and 21 cohort studies that include outcomes in more than 2.7 million individuals exposed to the drugs.

The new review confirms the increased risk of cardiovascular events with rofecoxib, as well as an increased risk with diclofenac.  The risk between the two drugs is nearly identical.

The authors recommended that clinicians should  not use diclofenac in certain patients.

The observation does not  matter in people at very low risk of a hea

Diclofenac has been found to increase the risk by about 40%.

[Note: Rofecoxib has already been withdrawn from market]

Naproxen and ibuprofen have been found safe drugs in cardiovascular patients  even at high doses.

The researchers also observed a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients treated with indomethacin.

PLOS Medicine, September Issue

A new research involving more than 50,000 older women, investigators found that who drank 2-3 cups of coffee have 15% decreased risk for depression than those who drink 4 cups have 20% decrease in depression as compared to those who drink only one cup of coffee.

Being a cohort study and thus observational, the present study only suggests the possibility only and does not prove causality.

But authors recommend that it might be okay for clinicians to recommend increasing a patient’s coffee intake.

The authors also observed that caffeine is the world’s most widely used central nervous system stimulant and 80% of this is consumed as coffee.

The investigators examined data on a cohort of 50,739 of the study’s participants who did not have any depressive symptoms in 1996 and were followed-up through June 2006.

In addition to evaluating both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption, the information was procured on their use of tea, caffeinated and decaffeinated sodas, and chocolate.

2607 incident cases of depression were found during the 10 years of follow-up.

It was found that the women who consumed 2 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 0.85 relative risk for depression and those who drank 4 or more cups a day had an relative risk of 0.80 compared with those who drank or 1 or fewer cups per week.

Decaffeinated coffee, caffeinated tea, sugared soft drinks, and chocolate were not significantly associated with depression risk.

It is the first large-scale study to look at this issue in women

The study is published in the September 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:1571-1578

Those who think their adoloscents can drink under their supervision need to rethink. There is enough scientific evidence  that says it is actually harmful for your child.

Drinking is a social phenomenon and manya parents think that it is okay to let their children drink under their supervision.  A recent study reported in Journal of Alcohol and Drugs states that it actually might lead to lead to more drinking and alcohol-related consequences.

Allowing adolescents to drink with adults present but not when unsupervised may send mixed signals.

In contrast the approach of  “zero tolerance” for youth drinking is better in the long run.

The full article can be read here

http://www.jsad.com/jsad/article/Influence_of_Family_Factors_and_Supervised_Alcohol_Use_on_Adolescent_Alcoho/4573.html

Ingredients

• 1 pound salmon (or other fish) fillet
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp spicy seasoning, salt-free

How To Prepare?

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray a casserole dish with cooking oil spray.
2. Wash and dry fish. Place in dish. Mix oil and seasoning and drizzle over fish.
3. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until fish flakes with fork. Cut into 4 pieces. Serve with rice.

Servings

Makes 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 piece (3 oz)

Nutrition Per Serving:

• Calories: 192
• Total Fat: 11 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 63 mg
• Sodium: 50 mg
• Protein: 23 g
• Carbohydrate: ‹1 g
• Calcium: 18 mg
• Magnesium: 34 mg
• Potassium: 560 mg
• Fiber: 0 g