Medical Articles by Dr. Ray - Collection of health news, health articles and useful medical information you can use in everyday life.

Apr

2004

Acupuncture For Headaches Found Effective

For many years it was merely a clinical impression that some headache sufferers were helped by acupuncture. Over the years many attempted to show that acupuncture works for headaches, but the studies were done with too few patients to reach statistically meaningful results.

In a recent English study that was published by Andrew J Vickers et al. in the British Medical Journal on March 27, 2004 patients were randomly assigned to a conventional headache treatment protocol or to treatment with acupuncture. 401 patients were enrolled in this randomized study and the patients came from general practitioners in Wales and England. The patients all had similarly severe headaches or chronic headaches and had mainly migraines, but also tension type headaches. Several universities took part in the design of the study to ensure that the Cochrane criteria of evidence based medicine were adhered to. Headaches were measured according to a score that consisted of detailed standardized questionaires. Treatment with acupuncture consisted of 12 treatments over 3 months. The control headache group was treated with the usual care.

The headache sufferers were assessed at the 12 month point. There were significant differences in favor of the acupuncture treated patients. The acupuncture group had on average 22 fewer days of headaches per year than the control group. This resulted in 15% less medication use, 25% fewer doctor visits and 15% fewer sick days.

Acupuncture For Headaches Found Effective

Acupuncture treated headache sufferers felt physically more active, they had more energy and they felt a positive change in their health.

More information about causes of headaches: http://nethealthbook.com/neurology-neurological-disease/common-causes-headaches/

British Medical Journal: BMJ 2004;328:744 (27 March).

Last edited October 26, 2014

Apr

2004

Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Fitness, Health

At the 95th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando / Fla. the results of a study regarding the effect of exercise on breast cancer survival rates was presented. Dr. Michelle D. Holmes and co-workers (Harvard University in Boston) reported about data from the Nurses’ Health Study. About 2000 patients with breast cancer were identified in the period of 1984 to 1996 who were followed until the end of 2002. At that time 209 had died from their breast cancer. The investigators were able to control the data for all the other factors such as smoking, obesity, and many other factors except for the amount of exercise per week that these women were doing. The highest risk group was the one that did not exercise and the death rate of this group was set as 100% as can be seen in this table, which I constructed based on the published data.

The various groups as indicated on the bottom of the table were the hours exercised per week from 0 hours to more than 15 hours per week (this was expressed as metabolic equivalent of a brisk walk). It can be seen that survival from breast cancer can be influenced by as little as 3 to 9 hours of a brisk walk per week (about 20% reduction in death rate) and reaches a plateau at 9 to 15 hours of exercise per week (around 50% reduction in death rate).

Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise

The authors of the study said that when the data was expressed as recurrence of breast cancer, the same results were obtained. This study would indicate that even 30 minutes of exercise per day will reduce mortality in a patient with breast cancer. Also, it is known from other studies that exercise will be more effective in terms of cancer prevention in general including prevention of breast cancer.

Percentage of breast cancer death rates decreases with exercise (hours of exercise per week depicted)

Less Death Rates From Breast Cancer With Exercise1

Breast Cancer Death Rate Decreases With Exercise

Link to breast cancer chapter of the Net Health Book.

Link to Fitness: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/fitness/

Last edited October 26, 2014

Mar

2004

Genetic Manipulation For Terminal Cancer

By Ray Schilling | Cancer

Two publications recently highlighted the importance of the p53 gene that is located on the human chromosome 17, which has been dubbed the “guardian of the genome”.

It appears that its role is to suppress any cell that has damage of the genetic material (of the DNA). If the suppressor gene p53 is not working in a cell, it will continue to divide and become a cancer cell. Only, if the p53 gene is working properly, will the cell go through its normal life cycle, which includes cell birth, a certain period of life and cell death (“apoptosis”).

This sounds all very theoretical, but I will demonstrate with two examples from the current medical literature how this knowledge has already been used and will likely be developed further in a practical sense in cancer patients. The first paper has to do with repairing damaged p53 genes directly with genetic modifications. The second paper approaches this problem from a different angle. It deals with the other half of cancers that originate not from genetic defects of the p53 gene, but from an overproduction of inhibitors that are produced in the cell itself, particularly in many cancer cells. A new class of very promising compounds have been developed that can neutralize the action of the inhibitors and normalize p53 function.

1. The cancer treatment specialists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston/Texas have done several clinical trials where they have proven that with the help of gene transfers into tumor cells of lung cancer patients the survival in these previously hopeless cancer patients can be significantly improved. A summary of these studies has been published in the February 2004 edition of the Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America.

Genetic Manipulation For Terminal Cancer

45% to 75% of these types of lung cancers have the p53 gene deficiency and for this reason are particularly difficult to treat as they are not responsive to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. These researchers and many other researchers in this field have shown that the specialist can transfer the missing p53 gene back into the cancer cells in a number of ways and this way change their growth pattern. These modified cancer cells either stop behaving like cancer and the patient is cured (a certain percentage, but not the majority). On the other hand the changed cancer cells can often be rendered more sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which happens in about 60 to 70% of the genetically treated cases. Overall it is now possible with a combination of gene therapy and chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy to get about a 50% response rate and about 20% cures on the longterm. In the past all of these patients would have died within a few months from the initial diagnosis. The researchers of that publication stressed that these new treatment approaches are not yet routine in cancer treatment, but that with further refinements there will soon be more hope for these difficult cancer patients. This would be applicable not only for the difficult to treat lung cancer patients, but also for many other types of soft tissue cancers that often have p53 gene deficiencies and that up to now have often been untreateable.

2. The second paper that fits into this topic was published recently in the January 2, 2004 issue of the magazine Science. Researchers from the Hoffmann-La Roche labs in Nutley, New Yersey, have found that a new class of smaller molecules is able to inhibit the main group of oncoproteins known as MDM2 inhibitors that interfere with normal p53 function. The molecular oncologists at Hoffmann-La Roche under chief researcher Lyubomir Vassilev have successfully undertaken research in this complex interaction between the life saving p53 gene action and the undermining effects of various oncogene proteins and in particular the MDM2 inhibitors. There are two such substances of a new class of potential drugs that seem to be particularly promising. The new class of drugs was coined “Nutlins” in honor of the site of where they were discovered. Nutlin-1 has been tested in cultured tumor cells and was able to boost p53 activity resulting in sudden normal function. The cancer cells stopped dividing and disintegrated (due to the normal tumor fighting action of the p53 gene).

Another similar molecule, called Nutlin-3, was fed to nude mice who are deficient in their immune system and that are used by cancer researchers as a model to grow various types of tumors. In this model there was a 90% cure rate, which is unheard of as usually 100% of these nude mice would die from any transplanted tumor. There were no demonstrable side-effects in these mice that survived. Drs. Vassilev and David Heimbrook from the Hoffmann-La Roche cancer drug unit pointed out that this type of effect is much better than any cancer drugs that are presently used, however they added that it will be very difficult to predict how quickly this could be translated into the human situation with clinical trials. There is definitely a niche for treating sarcoma, which is one of the more difficult to treat cancers. Other cancers would be malignant tumors of the connective tissues, of nerves, bones, blood vessels, fat, muscles, deep skin tissues and cartilage. Many of these as well as some lung cancers produce high levels of the MDM2 protein. It is these types of tumors that would be the most likely candidates for early human trials with the Nutlins.

References: 1. February 2004 edition of the Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America (Volume 18 • Number 1 • February 2004), published by Saunders, and entitled “Gene replacement therapy for non–small cell lung cancer: a review”. 2. January 2, 2004 issue of the magazine Science.

Comment On Oct. 26, 2014: As can be seen from this reference in 2011 nutlins persist, but likely have to be combined with other specific anti-cancer agents in the future.

Last edited October 26, 2014

Mar

2004

Ankle Blood Pressure Reveals Diabetic Problems

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Prevention, Stroke

One of the complications of diabetes is that ity leads to clogged arteries from peripheral artery disease and this can lead to heart attacks, strokes and circulation problems in the legs.

Recommendations were recently given to physicians in the December edition of the medical journal Diabetes Care that circulation problems in diabetics need to be monitored more stringently to avoid needless amputations.

Medically these circulation problems that affect mainly lower legs and feet are known as “peripheral vascular disease” (or PVD for short). PVD can be detected by the physician checking for ankle pulses. Another valuable and very simple test is to measure the blood pressure in the arm and at each ankle (using the stethoscope just under the inside (medial) ankle bone. If there is a major discrepancy between the arm and ankle blood pressure or if the ankle pulse is missing, this would be a sign of possible PVD. With a diabetic patient it would still be important to get the hemoglobin A1C under control through exercise, a low glycemic diet and possibly anti-diabetic medication. But the patient likely would have to be referred to a cardiovascular surgeon for further testing in order to find out whether there would be hardening of the arteries with circulation problems in the lower leg, the ankle or foot.

Ankle Blood Pressure Reveals Diabetic Problems

Dr. Peter Sheehan, the director of the Diabetes Foot & Ankle Center at the New York University school of medicine, stated that many patients and doctors overlook how frequent this condition is. About 33% of diabetic patients who are older than 50 years have PVD, but only a fraction know about it until it is too late. Once a patient has PVD in one of the legs there is a 4-fold risk of getting a heart attack or a stroke, because the hardening of the arteries is happening simultaneously in all of the body’s arteries. If the blood pressure is normal at the ankle, Dr. Sheehan recommends to check it again in 5 years.

Who should have the blood pressure check at the ankle? Here is a table that summarizes Dr. Sheehan’s recommendations.

Which diabetic needs the ankle blood pressure check?
*High risk group:*	*Remarks or more detail:*
*Anyone with leg PVD symptoms**	legs tired or hurting when walking
Young diabetics with other risks	smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes present for more than 10 years are such risk factors
diabetics 50 years of age and over	particularly when the hemoblobin A1C is high and other risk factors are present

*PVD = peripheral vascular disease

Why is it so important to screen for circulation problems in the lower legs? Because this is the area where diabetics tend to get problems that often result in amputations of a foot or lower leg below the knee. With early detection of these problems and intervention by a cardiovascular surgeon often disastrous outcomes can be avoided.

More info is available at:

Diabetes: http://nethealthbook.com/hormones/diabetes/type-2-diabetes/

High blood pressure: http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/

Last edited October 26, 2014

Mar

2004

Vitamins C And E – A Weapon Against Alzheimers

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Nutrition, Vitamins and supplements

A study in a recent edition of the Archives of Neurology reports about 4740 patients from Cache County, Utah, who were 65 years or older and were followed over 5 years. At the start it was found that those who had taken vitamin C and E on a regular basis as separate supplements had a 78% lesser risk of developing Alzheimers (correct medical term: “Alzheimer’s disease”).

5 years later out of 3227 survivors who were at risk 104 more people had developed Alzheimers, but 64% of those who combined vitamin C and E as a supplement did not develop Alzheimers. Dr. Peter Zandi from the Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University/ Baltimore, Md was the lead author of this study. He stated that this was only an observational study, but that the data was convincing enough to warrant a full-scale controlled trial to examine the value of anti-oxidant agents (such as vitamin C and E) as a preventative against Alzheimers. There were a number of built-in controls such as vitamin C alone, vitamin E alone and multiple vitamins (including vitamin C and E in smaller dosages) that were all ineffective in preventing Alzheimers. The daily dosages that were necessary for the protective effect were vitamin C 500mg to 1000 mg or more per day as well as 400 IU to 1000 IU of vitamin E per day. The U.S. recommended daily allowance was insufficient for the protective effect. These dosages typically are in the order of 22 IU of vit. E and 75 to 90 mg of vit. C. Vitamin B complex alone was also ineffective in protecting against Alzheimers.

Vitamins C And E – A Weapon Against Alzheimers

Comments: There are many unanswered questions about Alzheimers, but this paper gives valuable hints in terms of the protective effect of two vitamins (vitamin C and E taken as separate supplements daily). There are other factors such as genetic ones and perhaps a dysregulation of the cholesterol brain metabolism that lead to the production of a glue-like substance, called “beta-amyloid” ,that causes memory loss in Alzheimers patients. Testosterone has recently also been noticed to be important in the prevention of Alzheimers disease. In addition to these vitamin supplements a low glycemic, low fat diet would likely be very beneficial together with a regular exercise program and calorie restriction to prevent Alzheimers disease in many patients (prevention of the metabolic disease).

More info on Alzheimer’s disease: http://nethealthbook.com/neurology-neurological-disease/alzheimers-dementia-and-delirium/

Arch Neurol – 01-JAN-2004; 61(1): 82-8

Last edited October 26, 2014

Mar

2004

Less Diabetes With Coffee

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Nutrition, Prevention

A Dutch Study has shown previously that coffee consumption was reducing the risk for developing diabetes. Now Dr. Salazar-Martinez and co-workers have confirmed this in a study involving even larger numbers of both men and women. This was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and the research team is from the Harvard School of Public Health, Channing Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. A total of 41,000 men and 84,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals’ Followup Study were followed between 12 and 18 years. 1,333 men and 4,085 women developed diabetes during the time of observation. All of the data was analyzed carefully by controlling for other factors such as obesity, smoking, high blood pressure etc. to be certain that the only difference in the observed groups was the amount of coffee consumed.

According to the authors the gender differences are probably unimportant and may have to do with the different sample sizes. However, as the graph shows clearly, with the consumption of around 4-5 cups of coffee per day there is a significant 30 % drop in risk to develop diabetes.

The Dutch Study showed a 50% drop in risk with 7 cups or more per day and the study here suggests a similar drop with 6 cups or more.

Less Diabetes With Coffee

Dr. Frank Hu, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, who co-authored this study stated that physicians should still recommend to patients first to exercise and to loose weight to control diabetes. It would be premature to recommend heavy coffee consumption to patients for diabetes control.

Diabetes risk decreases with coffee consumption (%reduction)

This beneficial effect was also observed to a lesser extent with decaffeinated coffee, but not with tea. According to Dr. Hu caffeine, chlorogenic acid and magnesium likely play a role in the protective effect with regard to diabetes prevention. Further studies will be done to see whether diabetes patients who drink coffee have a better outcome when they develop a heart attack.

Reference: Ann Intern Med – 6-JAN-2004; 140(1): 1-8

Last edited December 8, 2012

Mar

2004

Inflammatory Marker Linked To Blindness

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Eye Diseases, Heart Disease, Prevention, Stroke

This outline is about “inflammatory marker linked to blindness”. Up to now age-related blindness or “age-related macular degeneration” (AMD) as it is medically called, has been a mystery. Notably, the retina is the light-sensitive area of the eye similar to the film in a camera. Specifically, the “macula” is that part of the retina that has the highest visual acuity. It is important to realize that several studies have been conducted lately regarding age-related blindness. Most compelling evidence sheds more light on this important health hazard of old age. One day these studies might even lead to a cure or powerful preventative measures to avoid AMD from ever developing.

Macular degeneration related to C-reactive protein

Particularly, one such study is the one by Dr. Johanna M. Seddon and co-workers published in the Feb. 11, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Almost 1000 patients with various degrees of age-related degrees of blindness from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) were classified by the degree of their macular degeneration. As an illustration, I have produced the bar graphs below based on these studies.

Details of AMD in relation to CRP

For one thing, the researchers defined four groups, namely those with no AMD who served as controls. The second group were those with mild AMD, the third group those with moderate AMD. And the fourth group were those with severe AMD who were legally blind. Specifically, they suspected that an inflammatory marker in the blood stream of these patients, called C-reactive protein (CRP), might be present in the more severe cases of blindness when compared to the control group who did not have any inflammatory changes in the macula. Indeed, the bar graphs below show exactly what the test results indicated. Another key point, they also found that smokers (blue bars) tended to have slightly worse blood tests in terms of CRP (more inflammatory substances circulating in the system) within the same severity category of the age-related eye changes.

CRP (mg/L) Levels in Various Degrees of Severity of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Inflammatory Marker Linked To Blindness

Risk of AMD depends on value of CRP

The investigators studied the risk for the highest percentile of the CRP tests within various subgroups of AMD. They found several differences as shown in the next table. First there was a low probability to develop AMD in a person with a normal looking macula. The investigators took this risk as the 1.0 point for comparison. In contrast a person with a normal looking macula who smokes has a 1.5-fold risk of developing AMD later. Patients with a moderate degree of AMD have about a 2-fold risk of getting a severe degree of AMD. This is true for smokers and non-smokers. Once the inflammatory cycle has started, the process of causing a moderate degree of AMD is so strong. This means that the effect of smoking will not add that much in comparison.

This is the first study of this kind that established that CRP is useful as a screening for the risk to develop AMD. Physicians already use CRP as a test for monitoring progress in rheumatoid arthritis or to monitor for the risk of developing a heart attack or stroke.

AMD risk studied by another research group

Another study by Dr. Johanna M. Seddon and co-workers was published recently in the Archives of Ophthalmology. 261 people aged 60 years and older with established AMD were followed for 4.6 years and checked for deterioration. 101 patients had deterioration of their AMD.

Risk of Developing Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) in Highest CRP Percentile

Inflammatory Marker Linked To Blindness1

Omega-3 fatty acids protect against AMD

The authors analyzed the patients’ diet habits and found that increased fat intake was a high risk factor for deteriorating AMD. Both vegetable and animal fat had a 2-to 3-fold increased risk for deterioration of the AMD to a more severe stage (legal blindness). Fish, omega-3 fatty acid and nuts had a protective effect, but only when omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid) intake was low in the same group. The studies showed that the risk of age-related blindness was reduced by 40% when patients ate nuts at least once per week. The authors concluded that a “fat conscious diet” would be good for “maintaining good eye health” and at the same time be beneficial for prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

The authors will do further studies to investigate potential ways of helping patients with AMD and to understand the mechanisms of the disease process better.

References

1. JAMA 2004;291:704-710 2. Arch Ophthalmol – 01-DEC-2003; 121(12): 1728-37

Feb

2004

Less Multiple Sclerosis (MS) With Vitamin D Supplement

By Ray Schilling | Multiple sclerosis, Uncategorized

In multiple sclerosis (MS) the body’s immune system appears to attack the insulation material of nerve cells (called “demyelination”) leading to areas of focal inflammation. These areas can be depicted with MRI scans (see white MS lesions, compared to a normal brain). A new study showed that vitamin D supplementation (as part of a multivitamin supplement) was reducing the risk of developing MS in women when compared to women who did not take supplements. This study was published by Munger et al. from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston/MA, in the Jan. 13, 2004 edition of Neurology.

The study is based on data from two large nurses health studies (NHS with 92,253 women followed from 1980 to 2000 and NHSII with 95,310 women followed from 1991 to 2001). The study material was pooled into one database. Among these 187,563 women 173 developed MS during the course of the original studies. When the group of women who took 400 IU or more of Vit.D supplements (as multivitamins) were compared to the group who took less than 400 IU or none, the investigators found that they were 40% less likely to develop MS. Other factors that can lead to higher frequencies of MS such as smoking or latitude at birth had been adjusted for. There has not been a change in the results of the protective effect of Vit.D. With food being the only source for vitamin D (skim milk, fish) the protective effect against MS was not demonstrable. However, when food vitamin D was combined with additional multiple vitamin tablets (with vitamin D) the protective effect against MS was observed.

Less Multiple Sclerosis (MS) With Vitamin D Supplement

In the introduction the authors pointed out that Vit. D has been shown in other studies to be an immune response modulator weakening autoimmune reactions. This effect has been shown clearly in a mouse model of MS, called experimental autoimmune encephalopathy. There are also data available from human research, which showed that certain cytokines are released in the presence of vitamin D so that the immune cells are less likely to attack the brain tissue. There were also seasonal variations that could be demonstrated in this study, which indicated that MS lesions were progressing at times when vitamin D levels were low and that they were regressing when vitamin D levels were high.

The authors of this study stressed that this is the first study to suggest a protective effect of vitamin D against MS, which would have to be confirmed in other studies that preferably would also include males. It shows a very strong statistical connection, but cannot conclusively prove causation. The investigators said that further studies will also be needed to confirm the notion that vitamin D may be beneficial as part of the treatment in MS patients.

Link regarding vitamins and minerals: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/vitaminsmineralsandsupplements.php#vitaminsandminerals

Last edited December 8, 2012

Feb

2004

Cinnamon A Natural Insulin Booster For Diabetics

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Health, Heart Disease, Nutrition

In a recent edition of the medical journal Diabetes Care an interesting article appeared regarding the healing effects of the spice cinnamon. A medical research team in Pakistan (Dr. Khan et al.) in collaberation with a U.S. research team divided a group of 60 comparable diabetics (males and females) in the age range of 45 to 55 and fed one half different concentrations of cinnamon while the other half served as a placebo control. There were three different concentrations of capsules of cinnamon given: 1g, 3 g and 6 g. The placebo control group got capsules with inert material. Here are the results:

The placebo control group showed no change in blood values. The effect documented in this table was achieved after 40 days of cinnamon exposure and was “washed out” after 20 days. Other experiments had found that the substance MHCP (methylhydroxychalcone polymer) is the active ingredient in cinnamon that stimulates insulin and also acts on insulin receptors similar to insulin.

Cinnamon A Natural Insulin Booster For Diabetics

Dr. Richard A. Anderson and his colleagues at the Human Nutrition Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture had already published a number of medical papers on the effects of cinnamon. He was the co-author of this study from the Department of Human Nutrition, NWFP Agricultural University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Effect of cinnamon on blood values of diabetics
Blood component investigated:	% Reduction of blood test:
Blood sugar level	18-29%
Triglycerides (blood fat value)	23-30%
LDL cholesterol (damaging cholesterol)	7-27%
Total cholesterol	12-26%
HDL cholesterol (protective cholesterol)	unchanged

The interesting observation here is that several cardiovascular risk factors (blood sugar, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol) are simultaneously being reduced with something as simple as cinnamon powder. The authors stated that the cinnamon oil is not effective, only the cinnamon powder or a cinnamon stick dipped into tea (the water soluble component of cinnamon or MHCP). Dr. Anderson also warned not to make the mistake to eat more cinnamon buns or apple pie as there would be unhealthy amounts of sugar, starch and fat added. He suggested that the best to do instead would be to simply sprinkle cinnamon powder over whatever you are presently eating, as this will reduce the risk of getting diabetes or will reduce the risk of a heart attack in diabetics.

This article based on: “Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes Care – 01-DEC-2003; 26(12): 3215-8.

Here is a link to diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes).

Last edited December 8, 2012

Feb

2004

Kidney Disease, Another Complication Of Metabolic Syndrome

By Ray Schilling | Hormones, Nutrition, Obesity, Prevention

The metabolic syndrome is a new disease entity that is known to be associated with obesity. In order to make the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome at least 3 of the 5 components listed in the table under this link (hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level or LDL cholesterol, high glucose level, abdominal obesity) have to be present.

Dr. Jing Chen and colleagues of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, La., published an analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the Feb.3, 2004 edition of the Annals of Medicine. Patients with chronic kidney disease were identified in this study where 3, 4 or 5 of the metabolic syndrome criteria were positive. Two criteria for chronic kidney disease were measured:

1. if there was a significant reduction of the filtration capacity of the kidney.

2. if there was critical leakage of blood protein into the urine.

Kidney Disease, Another Complication Of Metabolic Syndrome

Depending on how advanced the metabolic syndrome was (all 5 criteria of metabolic syndrome positive versus only 3 or 4) there was a higher or lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

I have depicted the results of this study in bar graph form here. It shows clearly that chronic kidney damage occurs in a dose-response curve pattern depending on how severe the degree of the metabolic syndrome is.

Risk of developing kidney disease with various degrees of severity of the metabolic syndrome

Kidney Disease, Another Complication Of Metabolic Syndrome1

With 5 factors of the metabolic syndrome present the risk to develop reduction in filtration capacity of the kidneys is almost 6-fold. This is 3-fold higher than in a person with a milder degree of metabolic syndrome where only two factors are present. Such a person would only have a 2-fold risk for developing chronic kidney damage (dark blue shaded bars in graph). A dipstick urine test can measure protein in urine, which is an alternative way to measure kidney damage due to the metabolic syndrome. These values followed a very similar dose-response curve (light blue shaded bars in graph). The authors of this study believe that the kidney damage inflicted by the metabolic syndrome is different from that caused by high blood pressure or by diabetes. Future studies will have to establish whether this type of kidney damage can be repaired by treating the metabolic syndrome with a low glycemic, calorie restricted diet coupled with exercise.

Based on an article published in: Ann Intern Med 2004:140:167-174.

Last edited December 8, 2012

Macular degeneration related to C-reactive protein

Details of AMD in relation to CRP

Risk of AMD depends on value of CRP

AMD risk studied by another research group

Omega-3 fatty acids protect against AMD

References

A Survivor’s Guide to Successful Aging

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Healing Gone Wrong – Healing Done Right

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