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

Nov

2002

WAVE Trial Failed To Show Benefits Of Estrogen (Premarine) And Vitamins

By Ray Schilling | Health, Heart Disease, Hormones, Prevention, Women’s Diseases

Dr. David D. Waters of the University of California at San Francisco reported in Chicago at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Session 2002 about the WAVE trial. This stands for “Women’s Angiographic Vitamin and Estrogen” trial.

The results of this study were simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA 2002;288:2432-2440). It was a “carefully designed randomized study” where 423 women with established blood vessel damage to their hearts (established by angiography) were put on a therapy and then followed for an average of 2.8 years. Essentially the question was whether or not estrogen (Premarine) and vitamins (Vit.E and C) would have a protective effect on the blood vessels. Surprisingly the worst outcome was in the group with estrogen replacement and vitamins. The placebo group (=no estrogen, only vitamins) had the lowest death rate. The authors felt that the beneficial effect of estrogen (speak “Premarine”) on heart vessels could not been verified in this study. The take home message to the physicians at the conference was that they should concentrate on lowering the known risk factors: weight reduction, blood pressure control, cholesterol lowering and increasing exercise. Estrogen should be given in low doses (Premarine 0.625mg per day) only to those women who are symptomatic with hot flashes, but not to every postmenopausal woman.

WAVE Trial Failed To Show Benefits Of Estrogen (Premarine) And Vitamins

NOTE : This group of postmenopausal women is a selection of women more likely suffering from hyperinsulinism with a higher rate of cardiovascular disease (and also arthritis and possibly a higher risk for cancer as well). The most logical therapy for these women is to work on weight loss, to increase exercise and to change their diet to a zone diet as this is known to lower cholesterol. Hoping to cure these women with estrogen or vitamin manipulation alone does not make “medical common sense” to me. Also, those women who had not had a hysterectomy were not dealt with as a separate group, although they were put on medroxyprogesterone acetate (Prempro). This is called a “confounding bias” and should have been openly discussed, which it was not. This means the WAVE trial made waves, but it was not a properly designed randomized study.

You may want to read these useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook: For links to arteriosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes see this link: http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/heart-disease/atherosclerosis-the-missing-link-between-strokes-and-heart-attacks/
For a link to hyperinsulinism follow this link:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/hormonalproblems_diabetesmellitus.php

Last edited October 25, 2014

Nov

2002

Heart Attack And Stroke Risk Measured With C-Reactive Protein

By Ray Schilling | Heart Disease, Infectious Disease, Prevention, Stroke

An old blood test that has been popular in assessing how aggressive rheumatic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus are, is now considered as the newest test to assess the risk of heart attacks. Up to now subfractions of cholesterol, in particular the LDL cholesterol level, has been used to assess the risk for a heart attack, but this according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine (Nov. 14, 2002) by Dr. Paul Ridker should be supplemented by a blood test checking for the C-reactive protein. What is interesting about the C-reactive protein is that it originates from certain lining cells in blood vessels of liver tissue when inflammatory substances circulate in the body. Other research has shown in the past that arteriosclerosis is in part due to an inflammatory process in the lining of the blood vessels that leads to the production of the C-reactive protein. Unfortunately other chronic illnesses and infections also lead to an elevation of the C-reactive protein as does the common cold or the flu. However, when 28,000 women of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital study were followed for 8 years it turned out that the C-reactive protein was a more reliable predictor for who would eventually suffer from a stroke or a heart attack than the traditional LDL cholesterol. The investigators felt that the LDL cholesterol is predictive for who is more likely to develop fatty deposits (atheromatous plaques). On the other hand the C-reactive protein appears to be more predictive for who is at a high risk for rupture of these atheromatous plaques. The bottom line is prevention by eating a diet with less fatty meats, by eating more fruit and vegetables and by engaging in an exercise program.

Heart Attack And Stroke Risk Measured With C-Reactive Protein

Some patients need their cholesterol reduced with medication such as the statins. You may want to browse through these useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook: For more details regarding the use of the C-reative protein test in rheumatoid arthritis see this link: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/rheumatologicaldisease_rheumatoidarthritis.php Regarding arteriosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes follow this link: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php

Last edited December 10, 2012

Nov

2002

New Blood Test To Predict Breast Cancer Survival Rate

By Ray Schilling | Cancer

Dr. Keyomarsi, a researcher and radiation oncologist from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute in Houston/Texas, has published a very important piece of research in the New England Journal of Medicine (N Engl J Med 2002;347:1546-1547,1566-1575). A group of 394 breast cancer patients were followed for 6.4 years and cyclin E was measured with a special blood test. Cyclin E is a key substance involved in cell division in general and also in breast cancer cells. Dr. Kyomarsi’s research showed that cyclin E, and in particular high levels of its socalled “truncated isoforms”, correlated very well with poor survival. On the other hand low cyclin E levels (truncated isoforms) were a powerful predictor for excellent survival. In the above mentioned breast cancer study 12 patients out of a group of stage 1 patients (= localized breast cancer) died after an average of 4.1 years from the point of diagnosis. All of these patients had high cyclin E levels. In contrast, none of the other stage 1 patients had died within 5 years from the diagnosis and all of their cyclin E levels were low. Other known risk factors for poor survival are lymph gland metastases, negative estrogen receptors on the surface of the cancer cells and late-stage disease. Each of those factors has a risk of about 1.7-fold. A high (truncated isoform) cyclin E level is associated with a 2.1-fold risk when compared to the low risk group with a low cyclin E level. There is a subgroup of breast cancer patients with high total cyclin E levels who have a risk of 13.3-fold of dying from breast cancer.

New Blood Test To Predict Breast Cancer Survival Rate

You may want to read these useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook: A general overview regarding cancer: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cancer_canceroverview.php#cancer This chapter deals specifically with breast cancer: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cancer_breastcancer.php

Last edited December 10, 2012

Nov

2002

Nuts Cut Heart Attacks And Strokes In Half

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

According to Dr. Elliot M. Berry of Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem and Dr. Ram B. Singh of the Medical Hospital and Research Centre, Moradabad/India, the word is out that a Mediterranean diet with walnuts and almonds, fruits and vegetables can safe lives and prevent heart attacks.

In a paper, published in the medical journal Lancet 2002;360:1455-1461, 1000 Asian patients with a high risk for heart disease and strokes were put on two diets: a “control” heart smart diet and the experimental diet,which consisted of the Mediterranean diet.

Surprisingly,not only did the high risk patients benefit from the Mediterranean diet, but also the control group that had already been on a healthy heart smart diet. Over 2 years the heart attack
rates, death rates and heart disease event rates were all roughly cut into half on the Mediterranean diet. Cholesterol levels were significantly reduced,as much as would have been achieved with expensive cholesterol lowering medications. According to Dr.Berry the key to the understanding of this is found in the alpha-linoleic acid found in nuts and almonds. It is a precursor of the omega-3-fatty acids also found in fish oil, which in turn lower cholesterol, prevent blood clotting and are a natural remedy to prevent inflammation in the body.

Nuts Cut Heart Attacks And Strokes In Half

Further investigations will be done by the research team to understand the mechanism of action of the healthy Mediterranean diet. In the meantime Dr. Berry stressed that other lifestyle changes must accompany the Mediterranean diet, namely an active exercise program and regular relaxation exercises such as yoga.

You may want to read these useful related links to chapters of
my free Internet based Nethealthbook:

Hardening of the arteries:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php

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

Last edited October 25, 2014

Nov

2002

New Research Shows That Coffee Drinking Is Healthy

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

Forget what somebody may have whispered into your ear in the past,namely that coffee drinking would be bad for you. Dr. Rob M. van Dam and Dr.Edith J. M. Feskens from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, theNetherlands, have recently completed a prospective study with a large number of participants.

The results were published in the Lancet 2002;360:1477-1478. The goal of the study was to see whether coffee consumption would have a positive or negative effect on the development of diabetes (type 2 or mature onset diabetes). Approximately 17,000 men and women were followed along over a period of time and 306 new cases of diabetes were detected. The average consumption of coffee was 5 cups per day. There was a striking difference between those who drank 7 cups of coffee per day and those who drank 2 cups or less per day: With 7 cups per day there was a 50 % LESSER risk of developing diabetes. The authors pointed out that it is known that some of the active ingredients in coffee are: the bioflavonoids, chlorogenic acid, the minerals magnesium and potassium, and vitamin B3.

New Research Shows That Coffee Drinking Is Healthy

Chlorogenic acid and magnesium have been known in the past to have a stabilizing effect on glucose metabolism thus preventing diabetes.The authors were surprised though about the magnitude of the diabetes protective effect. They suggested that
other authors should do further studies to confirm their findings and to attempt to pinpoint the mechanism of action. In the meantime they cautioned that it would be premature to recommend to increase coffee consumption for everybody.

Useful related link to a chapter of my free Internet based Nethealthbook: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/

Last edited October 25, 2014

Oct

2002

Work Stress Is A Killer…More Than 2-Fold Over A Period Of 25 Years

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Heart Disease, Obesity, Stroke

In mid October 2002 the British Medical Journal(BMJ 2002;325:p.857-860) published a paper by Dr. Mika Kivimäki from the University of Helsinki where 812 healthy factory workers were followed for about 25 years. The issue was whether stress from work would have negative consequences, which could be measured in terms of cardiovascular disease. Various risk groups were defined from low stress to high stress.

Low stress jobs were classified as people who often had more training, more responsibilities, better salaries, physically less strenuous jobs with more job security. High stress jobs involved the opposite(high demand/low job control/low salary/no job security). Depending on which subgroups of high versus low risks were compared, the investigators found a 2.2 to 2.4-fold increase of strokes and heart attacks due to cardiovascular disease.The team measured other cardiovascular risk factors. They found a significant increase of cholesterol in the high stress job group after 5 years. After 10 years there was a marked weight gain in the stressed group with obesity becoming much more frequent. The authors noted that this likely led to a change of metabolism in the sense of hyperinsulinism, which is known to cause high cholesterol levels and leads to hardening of the arteries with heart attacks and strokes.

Work Stress Is A Killer…More Than 2-Fold Over A Period Of 25 Years

Visit these useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook:
Hyperinsulinism or syndrome of insulin resistance:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/hormonalproblems_diabetesmellitus.php

Heart disease:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php

Stroke:
http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/stroke-and-brain-aneurysm/hemorrhagic-stroke/

Last edited October 25, 2014

Oct

2002

Harp Music After Heart Or Chest Surgery Reduces Pain By Seventy Percent

By Ray Schilling | Heart Disease, Pain, Prevention, Stress management, Stroke

Believe it or not: Harp music following serious chest or heart surgery in 17 patients leads to pain relief according to Aragon and colleagues. They reported this mid September 2002 (Altern Ther Health Med 2002;8:p.52-60) and they were measuring blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate as well as pain and anxiety by psychological assessments to measure the effect on pain perception after listening to 20 minutes of harp music. The pain reduction was about 70% at the end of a 20 minute session and lasted at least 10 minutes (when the 20 minute and 30 minute point from the beginning of the harp music session were compared). This experiment documents the relaxation response, which is known from hypnotherapy as well and can also be brought on by meditation, yoga or prayer. The authors suggest that music therapy following surgeries could be utilized to promote healing and to reduce complications. Other health care settings where such a therapy might be useful would be in the treatment of anxiety disorders, where a reduction in anti-anxiety drugs under psychiatric guidance may be achievable.

Harp Music After Heart Or Chest Surgery Reduces Pain By Seventy Percent

Self hypnosis tapes can play an integral part of the mental readiness for an exercise program or a weight loss program as this site explains: On self hypnosis (nethealthbook.com)

Last edited October 25, 2014

Oct

2002

Smog From City Roads Reduces Your Life Expectancy 2-Fold

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Heart Disease, Prevention

Our ancestors already knew the benefits of fresh air and the fact that your grandmother likely knew: country living is healthier than city living. Let me qualify this somewhat: A recent study from the Netherlands showed that smog in cities has a detrimental effect on a person’s health (based on Lancet 2002;360:p.1203-1209). Dr. Gerard Hoek and his team from the Utrecht University revisited a group of about 5000 patients 15 years after the completion of a lung cancer study that was done in 1986 on these patients.

The authors looked up the addresses and classified two groups based on where these patients lived in 1986, either beside a busy congested road in the city or in a rural country area. 11% of the patient population had died of lung or heart disease during this period of time. When all of the other factors were kept constant and only the area where they lived was different, these authors found a significant 2-fold difference, which was attributed to chronic exposure to air pollution from traffic. The main reasons for this difference, they stated, was due to chronic exposure to black smoke and nitrogen dioxide from the exhaust fumes of cars. This study showed that air pollution by itself can double the death rate over a longer time period such as 15 years. In other words: It matters what you breathe! Useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook:

Smog From City Roads Reduces Your Life Expectancy 2-Fold

Cardiovascular Disease:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php

Lung Cancer: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cancer_lungcancer.php

Last edited December 10, 2012

Oct

2002

Endometriosis Is A Cause Of Infertility, Even Without Scarring

By Ray Schilling | Abdominal Pain, Women’s Diseases

When the lining of the womb grows into the Fallopian tubes, this can be a cause of scarring of the tubes and lead to infertility of the woman.

Up to this point in time medical science had no explanation for cases where the surgeon found only a few spots of endometriosis on the surface of the womb inside the abdominal cavity without any disease in the fallopian tubes. Dr.Ovrang Djahanbakhch and his coworkers from the The Royal London Hospital in London found that there is a factor contained in the abdominal fluid of women who have endometriosis (article published in the Lancet 2002;360:p.1221-1222). These investigators looked at fallopian tubes of hysterectomy samples (=wombs that were surgically removed) and studied the movement of the cells lining them under a special microscope.

Hair cells can be seen that are lining the Fallopian tubes and are normally responsible for the transport of the released egg at the time of ovulation. They found that when they added abdominal fluids from women who have endometriosis, the wave like pattern of these hair cells (=known as “ciliary movement”) came to almost a standstill. Abdominal fluids of women with no sign of endometriosis did not cause such a slowdown. This finding sheds important new information on our understanding of the nature of endometriosis and may some day lead to the development of new fertility drugs.

Endometriosis Is A Cause Of Infertility, Even Without Scarring

At this point the chemical factor from patients with endometriosis that is responsible for the slow-down of the normal ciliary movement has not yet been isolated. The authors will pursue this line of research further. Here are some links that are related to this topic:

Endometriosis: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/painfulperiods.php

Infertility: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/infertility.php

Last edited December 10, 2012

Oct

2002

More Exercise Leads To More Health

By Ray Schilling | Fitness, Heart Disease, Prevention, Stroke

Based on an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2002;288:p.1994-2000) Dr. Mihaela Tanasescu and his group from Loma Linda University in California have followed more than 44,000 health care professionals every 2 years for 12 years.

He asked the question whether a difference could be found between light, moderate or heavy exercise in the prevention of heart attacks.

Here is what they found: 1700 new cases of heart attacks as a result from hardening of arteries were mostly found in those who did NOT exercise or were in the LIGHT aerobic category. The more the persons exercised, the more pronounced the heart protective effect was. For instance, the group of men who engaged in a heavy exercise program had developed 17% less heart disease than the group with the light exercise program. Contrary to the marathon runner studies that had reported a detrimental effect at the high end, this study did not find this effect.

Also, this study is one of the first to show that weight training and other muscle strengthening activities also reduced strokes and heart attacks. Up to now the medical community was of the opinion that body building type muscle training might not prevent strokes or heart attacks.

More Exercise Leads To More Health

The authors concluded that a combination of aerobic exercises(brisk walking, running, sports etc.) with muscle strengthening exercises(body building, stretching exercises, weight lifting etc.) will give the most beneficial heart protecting health effect. Try these useful related links to chapters of my free Internet based Nethealthbook:

Hardening of the arteries:
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php

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

Last edited October 25, 2014

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