What not to eat
Once, there were vegetarians and carnivores. Today, there’s a bewildering variety of food regimes. But which diet is really best for us? Kate Craven reports
Many of us have aspirations to eat more healthily, hoping that a better diet will improve our health, and boost how we feel and look. We all know that vegetables are good for us, so would eating more of them and junking meat forever be the answer? And which of vegetarianism’s many derivatives should we opt for? Are each as healthy as their disciples believe or are food faddists doing themselves more harm than good? (To say nothing of the inconvenience they cause to dinner party hosts.)
Gene Test Shown to Measure Heart Function After Transplant
New research suggests a genomic test may provide detailed information on how well a transplanted heart is performing. The gene expression profiling (GEP) test, known as the Allomap® test, is currently used to detect the absence of heart transplant rejection instead of routine invasive heart muscle biopsies, but has now been shown to correlate with oxygen saturation levels, the pressure in the heart before pumping, and the electrical properties of the transplanted heart. These measures are crucial to understanding how well the transplanted heart is functioning.
The research will be presented on Tues., March 27, at the American College of Cardiology’s 56th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans by Martin Cadeiras, M.D., postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Mario Deng, M.D., director of cardiac transplantation research and associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. The presentation is based on preliminary data on 80 patients who received the GEP test. Physicians hope to confirm these results in future studies.
Impact of Brain Injury on Family Members
After a traumatic brain injury medical professionals tend to focus on the patient but research shows a great impact on family members as well. Studies in the 1970s began to recognize these issues, while other work in the 1980s documented emotional distress that persisted for up to seven years and many studies in the 1990s identified tremendous levels of stress on caregivers and family members. The special April issue of the journal NeuroRehabilitation sheds light on the substantial advances in the science of family member and caregiver research with six special articles by experts in the field, exploring ways in which interventions can be targeted for optimum effectiveness.
In spite of growing evidence of family/caregiver distress after injury, developing appropriate intervention strategies to help families and caregivers has lagged behind.
Aspirin Resistance Is Higher in Diabetics
Aspirin has long been the industry standard for the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. However, for the more than 20 million Americans living with diabetes, the standard dose of aspirin might not provide adequate protection against future heart attacks. Researchers at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore recently demonstrated that aspirin resistance is higher in diabetics with coronary artery disease (CAD) than in non-diabetics at the standard 81mg dose of aspirin. The study (#1019-179) will be presented in its entirety at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in New Orleans on March 26.
Most CAD deaths are caused by platelets sticking together and forming blood clots (thrombosis) that block blood flow within arteries, resulting in a heart attack. Aspirin inhibits clotting by specifically blocking an important enzyme, COX-1, which keeps platelets from sticking together. However, some diabetic patients may require a higher aspirin dose to achieve sufficient COX-1 blockade.
MRI Detects Most Missed Opposite Breast Cancers in Women
Up to 10 percent of women newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast develop cancer in the opposite breast. Results of a major clinical trial show that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are highly effective tools for quickly identifying these opposite breast cancers, detecting diseased tissue that other screening methods missed.
In the new trial, conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and funded by the National Cancer Institute, researchers wanted to determine whether MRI could improve doctors’ ability to identify these opposite breast cancers right at the initial diagnosis – boosting the chances for swift and successful treatment.
