Honestmed
Friday, January 19, 2007
Folic Acid is Key
Folic Acid Increases Mental Agility In The Elderly
19 Jan 2007
Taking supplements of folic acid may significantly improve cognitive function in older men and women.
This is the conclusion of a Dutch study to be published in the Lancet.
The study was led by Jane Durga from the Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
Diminshing cognitive functions such as deterioration in memory, reduced ability to process information quickly, and reduced verbal fluency have been linked to risk of dementia in old age.
Dr Durga and colleagues followed a group of 818 over-50s for three years. Some were given 800 micrograms of a synthetic form of folic acid per day, the rest took a placebo. A synthetic version of the vitamin was used because the naturally occurring form degrades more easily, for example with storage and cooking, and that would make any results less reliable.
The scientists found that the group who took the folic acid improved on all aspects of cognitive functioning compared to the group that took the placebo.
Folic acid is a water soluble B vitamin and is found in yeast extract, green leafy vegetables, for example spinach, in dried beans and peas, some organ meats such as liver, fortified cereals, certain fruit and vegetables, and certain seeds, for example sunflower seeds. It plays an important role in the production of new cells, especially in the spinal cord an embryo, which is why it is important that pregnant women have their reference daily intake (RDI).
Adults and children need folic acid to generate red blood cells and DNA, and insufficient daily intake can result in anemia. The vitamin also helps to digest protein and make effective use of the resulting amino acids, and also to produce proteins that the body may be lacking. It also plays a role in regulating appetite.
Because of the discovery of the link between neural tube defects (NTD, such as that occurring in infants born with spina bifida), and insufficient folic acid governments have gradually introduced regulations that require certain foods to be fortified with folic acid, such as cereals, and in some countries bread and flour also.
Different countries recommend different RDI amounts, ranging from 400 micrograms a day in the US to 200 in Japan.
Some research studies have linked folic acid supplement taking with reductions in various age-related impairments such as hearing loss and Alzheimer's. Others are not so clear, but there seems to be consensus that it helps improve cognitive function in elderly people with high concentrations of the amino acid homocysteine in their blood, which could indicate increased riks of stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Concerns have been raised that folic acid interacts with Vitamin B12 and taking too much of it can cause problems, such as masking a deficiency in B12. This is particularly relevant to older people (over 50), who should ask their doctor to check their vitamin B12 levels if they considering taking folic acid supplements. ¶ 2:25 PM 0 comments
19 Jan 2007
Taking supplements of folic acid may significantly improve cognitive function in older men and women.
This is the conclusion of a Dutch study to be published in the Lancet.
The study was led by Jane Durga from the Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
Diminshing cognitive functions such as deterioration in memory, reduced ability to process information quickly, and reduced verbal fluency have been linked to risk of dementia in old age.
Dr Durga and colleagues followed a group of 818 over-50s for three years. Some were given 800 micrograms of a synthetic form of folic acid per day, the rest took a placebo. A synthetic version of the vitamin was used because the naturally occurring form degrades more easily, for example with storage and cooking, and that would make any results less reliable.
The scientists found that the group who took the folic acid improved on all aspects of cognitive functioning compared to the group that took the placebo.
Folic acid is a water soluble B vitamin and is found in yeast extract, green leafy vegetables, for example spinach, in dried beans and peas, some organ meats such as liver, fortified cereals, certain fruit and vegetables, and certain seeds, for example sunflower seeds. It plays an important role in the production of new cells, especially in the spinal cord an embryo, which is why it is important that pregnant women have their reference daily intake (RDI).
Adults and children need folic acid to generate red blood cells and DNA, and insufficient daily intake can result in anemia. The vitamin also helps to digest protein and make effective use of the resulting amino acids, and also to produce proteins that the body may be lacking. It also plays a role in regulating appetite.
Because of the discovery of the link between neural tube defects (NTD, such as that occurring in infants born with spina bifida), and insufficient folic acid governments have gradually introduced regulations that require certain foods to be fortified with folic acid, such as cereals, and in some countries bread and flour also.
Different countries recommend different RDI amounts, ranging from 400 micrograms a day in the US to 200 in Japan.
Some research studies have linked folic acid supplement taking with reductions in various age-related impairments such as hearing loss and Alzheimer's. Others are not so clear, but there seems to be consensus that it helps improve cognitive function in elderly people with high concentrations of the amino acid homocysteine in their blood, which could indicate increased riks of stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Concerns have been raised that folic acid interacts with Vitamin B12 and taking too much of it can cause problems, such as masking a deficiency in B12. This is particularly relevant to older people (over 50), who should ask their doctor to check their vitamin B12 levels if they considering taking folic acid supplements. ¶ 2:25 PM 0 comments
Staph
Staph bug causes new pneumonia
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Thu Jan 18, 5:43 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nasty staph germ circulating in and out of hospitals produces a poison that can kill pneumonia patients within 72 hours, researchers said on Thursday.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria -- or S. aureus -- can pass one another the gene for the toxin and are apparently swapping it more often, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The toxin, called Panton Valentine leukocidin or PVL, can itself cause pneumonia and can kill healthy tissue.
Luckily, people infected with the bacteria quickly develop a high fever and astute doctors can identify it, said Gabriela Bowden of the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston, who led the study.
"This is a scary situation. We are trying to put the word out and to educate people about it," Bowden said in a telephone interview.
S. aureus is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections, and can cause inflammation of the heart, toxic-shock syndrome and meningitis.
A new strain called MRSA resists the antibiotic methicillin, but it can be treated with antibiotics like doxycycline and vancomycin.
An outbreak of methicillin-resistant S. aureus carrying the new toxin killed two patients in a British hospital in December with a new type of pneumonia called necrotizing pneumonia. This infection destroys lung tissue and also kills some of the immune system cells sent to battle it.
Dr. Marina Morgan, consultant medical microbiologist at Exeter Nuffield Hospital in Britain, said the PVL toxin "turbo-charges" an already dangerous bacteria.
"PVL is strong enough on its own to destroy the lungs," she said in a statement.
And the toxin is immune to antibiotics.
"The reason most patients die is that despite killing the bug, PVL toxins already formed continue to digest lung tissue, so we desperately need some way of removing the toxins," Morgan said.
S. aureus, which commonly live on the skin and cause pimples, boils and other minor infections, can cause a serious wound if the toxin-producing strains get into a cut.
WASH THOSE HANDS
Old-fashioned hygiene is the best line of defense, Bowden said.
"This is a community-associated strain, which means that in schools, the kids can carry it. Anybody can be colonized with it," she said.
"I tell my kids if you scrape your knee, go to the bathroom immediately and wash it with soap." Hospitals must impose strict hygiene to control it.
Bowden's team tested the PVL-producing Staph on mice and found that two days after infection, their lungs were filled with immune cells and lung tissue was starting to bleed and die. A stretch of DNA known as a cassette carries the code for the PVL toxin. Such a little segment is easily passed from one strain of bacteria to another, said Bowden, and viruses called bacteriophages can also carry them. Understanding how this happens could provide a way to develop new drugs or vaccines and shed light on how bacteria acquire new and dangerous qualities. "The appearance of PVL toxin in severe Staphylococcal pneumonia is a recent phenomenon. Previously the toxin was only found in less than 5 percent of strains," said Dr. Ronald Cutler of the University of East London. Some companies are working on staph vaccines but none is on the market. ¶ 11:31 AM 0 comments
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Thu Jan 18, 5:43 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nasty staph germ circulating in and out of hospitals produces a poison that can kill pneumonia patients within 72 hours, researchers said on Thursday.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria -- or S. aureus -- can pass one another the gene for the toxin and are apparently swapping it more often, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The toxin, called Panton Valentine leukocidin or PVL, can itself cause pneumonia and can kill healthy tissue.
Luckily, people infected with the bacteria quickly develop a high fever and astute doctors can identify it, said Gabriela Bowden of the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston, who led the study.
"This is a scary situation. We are trying to put the word out and to educate people about it," Bowden said in a telephone interview.
S. aureus is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections, and can cause inflammation of the heart, toxic-shock syndrome and meningitis.
A new strain called MRSA resists the antibiotic methicillin, but it can be treated with antibiotics like doxycycline and vancomycin.
An outbreak of methicillin-resistant S. aureus carrying the new toxin killed two patients in a British hospital in December with a new type of pneumonia called necrotizing pneumonia. This infection destroys lung tissue and also kills some of the immune system cells sent to battle it.
Dr. Marina Morgan, consultant medical microbiologist at Exeter Nuffield Hospital in Britain, said the PVL toxin "turbo-charges" an already dangerous bacteria.
"PVL is strong enough on its own to destroy the lungs," she said in a statement.
And the toxin is immune to antibiotics.
"The reason most patients die is that despite killing the bug, PVL toxins already formed continue to digest lung tissue, so we desperately need some way of removing the toxins," Morgan said.
S. aureus, which commonly live on the skin and cause pimples, boils and other minor infections, can cause a serious wound if the toxin-producing strains get into a cut.
WASH THOSE HANDS
Old-fashioned hygiene is the best line of defense, Bowden said.
"This is a community-associated strain, which means that in schools, the kids can carry it. Anybody can be colonized with it," she said.
"I tell my kids if you scrape your knee, go to the bathroom immediately and wash it with soap." Hospitals must impose strict hygiene to control it.
Bowden's team tested the PVL-producing Staph on mice and found that two days after infection, their lungs were filled with immune cells and lung tissue was starting to bleed and die. A stretch of DNA known as a cassette carries the code for the PVL toxin. Such a little segment is easily passed from one strain of bacteria to another, said Bowden, and viruses called bacteriophages can also carry them. Understanding how this happens could provide a way to develop new drugs or vaccines and shed light on how bacteria acquire new and dangerous qualities. "The appearance of PVL toxin in severe Staphylococcal pneumonia is a recent phenomenon. Previously the toxin was only found in less than 5 percent of strains," said Dr. Ronald Cutler of the University of East London. Some companies are working on staph vaccines but none is on the market. ¶ 11:31 AM 0 comments
It's Obvious, but...
¶ 1:35 AM 0 comments
Texas study suggests link between pollution, cancer
Thu Jan 18, 11:50 PM ET
A University of Texas study found a possible link between childhood leukemia and living close to the city's refinery row along the Houston Ship Channel, one of the study's co-authors said on Thursday.
The study found that living within two miles of elevated levels of 1,3-butadiene around the ship channel's petrochemical complex was associated with a 56 percent increased incidence of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia compared with those living more than 10 miles away, according to a statement from the city of Houston, which financed the study.
"When we looked at distance from the ship channel we find data that suggests there is an association with chemicals in the air and childhood leukemia," said Ann Coker, professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston.
Houston Mayor Bill White said the city would use the study to support efforts to reduce pollution from petrochemical plants.
"The science supports our claim that reducing hazardous air pollutants must be a high priority for Houston," White said in a statement.
White has used the threat of tougher enforcement of anti-pollution laws to win agreements from petrochemical plants to reduce pollution.
The substance 1,3-butadiene is used to make petrochemicals like ethylene.
