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Close relatives of women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 35 have a much higher risk of developing other cancers, including brain and lung cancers, research has found.

In the largest study of its kind, Melbourne University researchers looked at the health of 2200 siblings and parents of 500 women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 35 in Australia, Canada and the US.

The researchers found that while the women were not thought to be genetically predisposed to breast cancer, their fathers and brothers had a fivefold increased risk of prostate cancer and their mothers and sisters a twofold increased risk of ovarian cancer, as well as a fourfold increased risk of breast cancer.

Close relatives also had a threefold increased risk for brain cancer, an eightfold increased risk for lung cancer, and a fourfold increased risk for urinary tract cancers.

 Doug

CDIstaffing.com

New research suggests celiac disease can develop at any age — even in seniors who seemed for decades to be able to eat the foods that trigger the autoimmune disease.

According to research published in the Annals of Medicine, there has been a five-fold increase in the prevalence of celiac disease during the past 30 years, and a lot of these new cases are being diagnosed in elderly people.

The findings could prompt doctors to rethink some of their most basic assumptions about the disorder — including that the disease begins in childhood.

Celiac disease is triggered by eating gluten, the protein in many grains including wheat, barley, and rye. The condition prompts the immune system to destroy the lining of the small intestine. That then prevents people from absorbing nutrients and causes diarrhea, weight loss, anemia and fatigue.

It has long been assumed that celiac disease developed during childhood, following the first exposure to gluten, and that patients diagnosed in adulthood had likely had the condition all their lives but hadn’t realized it.

This new research suggests it’s possible that some people can eat gluten with no problems for decades and then suddenly lose their ability to tolerate it.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

About 20 percent of gay and bisexual men are HIV-positive—but nearly half don’t know it, a new study suggests. More than 8,000 men in 21 cities were tested for the virus in 2008, and 44 percent were unaware they were infected, according to the analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Least likely to know they had HIV? Young, sexually active gay men—and those in minority groups.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

Three out of four Americans will be overweight by 2020, unless comprehensive measures are taken to fight the obesity epidemic, says a study released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The study warned that if nothing is done, the United States will be “the fattest country” in the 33-member OECD and will be burdened with associated increases in disease rates and health care spending, the Associated Press reported.

Currently, about 70 percent of Americans are overweight, compared with well under 50 percent in 1980. There are a number of reasons for the increasing numbers of overweight people, including unhealthy eating and lack of physical activity.

The OECD noted that normal-weight people live eight to 10 years longer than obese people, whose loss of lifespan is equivalent to that of smokers, the AP reported.

The United States is not alone. Rates of overweight and obesity are increasing in many other countries, the study said.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

On Wednesday, Abbott Laboratories issued a recall of about 5 million cans of certain Similac-brand powdered infant formula, due to the possible presence of beetle larva.

If ingested, the FDA said that this type of beetle could cause discomfort and irritate the gastrointestinal tract, making infants lose their appetite.

Following the recall, Abbott established a 24/7 phone hotline and directed consumers to a website for more information, including the product lot numbers affected by the recall. Repeated attempts to access both services by CNNMoney have been mostly unsuccessful.

It’s a problem the company is aware of.

“Both the website and our hotline have been increasing capacity … there has been significant volume,” said Melissa Brotz, spokeswoman for Abbott Laboratories.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

A few provisions in the health reform law that will take effect next week include the following, cited from Deparle’s article:

*A requirement that insurance companies allow young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26. 

*Prohibition against imposing lifetime limits on the dollar amount health plans will spend on benefits, such as cancer treatment, and restricting annual limits on benefits until 2014, when they too will be banned. 

*Banning insurance companies from canceling a client’s coverage, a practice known as “rescission,” if said client gets sick or makes a technical mistake on his or her application.  

*Prohibition of discriminating against Children with pre-existing conditions 

And if you purchase or join a new plan after September 23:

Insurance companies must cover recommended preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, pre-natal and new baby care without charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance.

Insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage for needed care without clients having the chance to appeal to an independent third party.

Insured parties will be guaranteed their choice of a primary care provider within the plan’s network of doctors, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians, without having to obtain a referral, as well as out-of-network emergency care.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

An analysis of 10 studies involving more than 3,800 people has found that glucosamine and chondroitin supplements for joint pain are ineffective either alone or in combination.

Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements have been popular for years among people with arthritic knees or hips. According to the authors of the study, worldwide sales of the supplements reached almost $2 billion in 2008. Previous studies on whether the drugs work to relieve arthritis pain, however, have been conflicting. A study publishedearlier this year from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that people who took the supplements for two years had outcomes similar to people who took the prescription pain medication celecoxib or placebo pills.
Doug

CDIstaffing.com

A young adult with severe beta-thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, has responded positively to gene therapy treatment, according to an article published in Nature. The patient, who had been dependent on regular blood transfusions since childhood, has not needed a transfusion for 21 months, or over two years since treatment with the LentiGlobin vector. The authors say he has had no adverse events (undesirable side effects).

The researchers say they also identified a subset of cells with the corrected beta-globin gene that overexpressed a truncated form of a gene called HMGA2. According to study data, the levels of the faulty gene that causes beta-Thalassemia has dropped, and continues falling.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

An expert panel concludes that bone-strengthening bisphosphonate drugs such as Actonel, Boniva and Fosamax can actually raise risks for a rare type of fracture of the thighbone.

The panel is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — which has been awaiting the report — to add a special warning to that effect on the drugs’ labeling.

“Bisphosphonates may be related to atypical femur fractures,” said Dr. Elizabeth Shane, a professor of medicine at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She is the lead author of the report, which was compiled by a special task force at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

Multiple sclerosis patients who have albuterol, a medication used to treat asthma and some respiratory diseases, added to their treatment appear to benefit with improved clinical outcomes, say researchers in an article published in Archives of Neurology.

Multiple sclerosis is a long-term (chronic) inflammatory disease in which the myelin – the coating of nerve cells in the white matter of the CNS (central nervous system) – degenerates. Multiple sclerosis patients have high levels of inteleukin-12, a compound that encourages the generation of a type of helper T cell linked to myelin degeneration.

Alubterol sulfate, which is commonly used for the treatment of constricted airways within the lungs (bronchospasm), might lower levels of interleukin-12, the authors explain.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com