New blood test may be best predictor of heart
attack
(CNN) -- Scientists have identified a new simple blood test that may be even better
at predicting heart attack risk than a cholesterol test, according to a study in
this week's New England Journal of Medicine.
The test measures c-reactive protein, an indicator of inflammation
of the arteries.
"We were able to find that the c-reactive protein is a stronger
predictor of risk than were the regular cholesterol levels, and that's very important because almost
half of all heart ttacks occur among people who have normal cholesterol levels,"
said lead researcher Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Researchers believe inflammation of the arteries may explain heart disease in
people without other known risk factors -- people with normal cholesterol, low
blood pressure and in good physical shape. These patients make up a third of all
heart attack cases.
"We've known for years there must be some other cause for coronary artery
disease," said cardiologist Basil Margolis of St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta. But
arterial inflammation has only recently been identified as a possible trigger.
The new blood test, combined with a screening for high cholesterol, could help doctors make
more accurate diagnoses.
The study evaluated blood samples from more than 28,000 healthy nurses. Those with the
highest levels of c-reactive protein had more than four times the risk of having future heart trouble.
High levels of both c-reactive protein and cholesterol could be "one of the most sensitive risk
indicators of coronary artery disease," Margolis said.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the c-reactive protein test last November. It is an
inexpensive procedure that costs about the same as a cholesterol test.
For people who do have high levels of c-reactive protein, a class
of cholesterol drugs called statins may reduce inflammation in the arteries, study authors
found.
Scientists are still trying to understand how inflammation plays a
role in heart disease. In the meantime, researchers believe this new test can help identify
thousands of healthy people who may be at risk of heart attack.
Hope for fat control drug
A new compound could offer hope to obese people.
A compound that appears to switch off appetite in mice may hold clues to a similar
drug for humans.
The scientists, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US, believe that their chemical,
called C75, stops the production of a hormone that makes the mice hungry.
A drug to aid dieting is one of the "holy grails" of medicine, as obesity is one of the major
health problems affecting particularly the developed world.
It dramatically reduces the quality of life - and expected lifespan - of the patient, and
imposes huge costs on health and social care
systems.
The new compound works by a hitherto unknown pathway of chemical reactions in the
brain cells, particularly those in those parts of the brain which are related to appetite.
Scientists have long known that a hormone called neuropeptide Y is a major appetite
regulator - if animals fast, the amount of NPY
increases and stimulates appetite.
The C75 chemical was given to the mice by injection, and the scientists found that their
interest in food ceased suddenly within 20 minutes.
This effect lasts until a few days after the last injection, at which point the mice resume
normal feeding.
Not toxic
However, by then, they had lost as much as 30% of their body weight, more than simply
mice placed on an enforced fast.
The chemical is not thought to be toxic in any other way to mice, although far more rigorous
scientific testing would be needed before any similar compound could be used on humans.
"We are not claiming to have found the fabled weight-loss drug.
"But the mice had a dramatic weight loss. Even more significant were metabolic differences.
"If you try to lose weight by starving, your metabolism slows down after a few days - it's
a survival mechanism which sabotages many diets.
"We see this in fasting mice. Yet metabolic rate in the C75-treated mice doesn't slow at
all."
Surprisingly, the C75 work has emerged as a byproduct of a long term examination of the
abnormal way in which cancer cells metabolise fat.
And it may have an application in diabetes control, as all the modified mice used in the
experiments had insulin-resistant diabetes.
The scientists found that their condition was reversed when the drug was applied.
The paper was reported in the journal Science.
Green Tea Could Aid Weight Loss
Known for its heart protective properties, green tea extract now has been
proven helpful as a weight loss aid. The tea raises metabolic rates and speeds fat oxidation. Researchers at the University of Geneva, Switzerland
attribute the effect to the tea’s catechin polyphenols, which increase the rate
the body burns calories, and a synergistic relationship between the ingredients in green tea.
Lean to mildly overweight male subjects were randomly separated into three
groups, receiving with meals the green tea extract, containing 50 mg of caffeine and 90 mg of epigallocatechin gallate; 50 mg of caffeine, or a
placebo. The men ate a typical American diet, averaging 40 percent fat. The
daily dose of caffeine, 150 mg, equaled about one cup of brewed coffee.
Subjects spent 24 hours in a respiratory chamber designed to measure the
rate calories were burned and energy expenditure. Those receiving the green
tea experienced what researchers consider a significant increase in both tests. Tea extract subjects burned 4 percent more calories, and overall
energy expenditure rose 4.5 percent.
Although previous studies had determined that caffeine could increase
metabolic rates at higher doses, the results of this trial could not be attributed
to caffeine, since the subjects receiving only caffeine, in an amount equal to
that found in green tea, experienced no change in energy expenditure or calorie burning. In addition, researchers said green tea appears safer than
high doses of caffeine for obese patients (who may have high blood pressure
or other heart problems) because it does not increase heart rate.
In another recently reported Japanese study, research supported by the
National Cancer Institute found green tea inhibited cancer cell growth. Breast
cancer patients consuming more than five cups daily remained disease free longer and experienced a lower recurrence rate than patients consuming
fewer than four cups daily.
Vitamin E lack linked to memory loss
Full source: American Journal of Epidemiology 1999;150:37-44
Free radicals, produced during normal metabolic processes, cause
oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been implicated both in the aging process and in the pathological changes associated with
Alzheimer's disease. Antioxidants help provide protection against free radical damage. In this study, investigators examined the association
between blood levels of antioxidants, including vitamins A, C and E, and selenium, and memory in a multiethnic population of senior
citizens. The researchers examined 4,809 people aged 60 or older between 1988 and 1994. They found a connection between poor
memory and low blood levels of vitamin E. Overall, 7% of the group had poor memory. These people were at least twice as likely to report
problems managing their money or preparing meals. Among those with vitamin E levels lower than 4.8 per unit of cholesterol, 11% had
poor memory. In contrast, just 4% of people with levels higher than 7.2 had memory problems. Increasing levels of vitamin E were
associated with better memory performance for this ethnically diverse elderly population. Among those who said they did not eat enough
food or skipped meals, almost 20% had poor memory, as opposed to 7% among people who ate regularly. The researchers report that they
found no connection between the other antioxidants and memory loss. Most previous studies have not found a link between vitamin
deficiencies and memory. However, the researchers noted, many of these studies had a limited range of subjects who were mostly
Caucasian, well-educated and higher income levels -- all factors linked to better memory retention.
Serum Vitamin E Concentrations Inadequate In Many US Adults
WESTPORT, Aug 09 - Data from the third National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES III) suggest that "important proportions" of the adult US population
have low serum alpha-tocopherol levels. This may place them at increased risk of chronic diseases in
which low levels of this antioxidant have been implicated.
Drs. Earl S. Ford and Anne Sowell of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia, report the finding in the August 1st American Journal of Epidemiology.
Among close to 16,300 US adults 18 years of age or older, roughly 27% had low serum vitamin
concentrations, defined as <20 micromoles per liter. "After age standardization, 29% of the men,
28% of the women, 26% of the Whites...41% of the African Americans...28% of the Mexican
Americans...and 32% of the other participants...had this low concentration," the CDC investigators
report.
The finding that African Americans had the lowest vitamin E concentrations of all racial and ethnic
groups represented in NHANES III is "...[p]erhaps the most significant finding in our study," Drs.
Ford and Sowell write, "...in light of the relatively high mortality from cardiovascular disease and
cancer they experience." This group in particular may benefit from increasing the intake of vitamin E,
they add.
Am J Epidemiol 1999;150:290-300.
The Cause of Aging
North Dakota State University Experiment
Longevity Report 33, page 4. By Douglas Skrecky
http://www.anti-aging.org/cause.html
Recently the cause of aging has been discovered by medical researchers. It has
turned out to be quite simple. In an experiment at North Dakota State University
19-month-old aged mice were given an injection of either growth hormone or saline
twice a week. After 13 weeks of treatment 39% of the saline mice were still alive. This
is normal. Of the growth hormone treated mice 93% were still alive after 13 weeks.
This is not normal at all. The injections were then stopped for 6 weeks. During this
period all of the remaining saline treated mice died of old age while only 1 out of 20
mice that had received growth hormone expired. The researchers then reinstituted
growth hormone injections in the remaining 19 animals for a further 6 weeks. At the
end of the experiment 18 mice were still alive. And so with little fanfare the major
cause of age associated mortality was discovered. Experiments with aged humans
have confirmed that the administration of growth hormone brings about signs of
rejuvenation such as reduction of adipose tissue, as well as increases in growth
hormone insulin-like growth factor 1, muscle mass, bone density and skin thickness.
The major project left in the field of aging is to discover why growth hormone secretion
is suppressed with increasing age.
New Study Confirms
CLA's
Anti-Fat Effects
The interest in CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid) continues to grow as more evidence is compiled, in
study after study, detailing its anti-carcinogenic and anti-catabolic
effects as well as its potent antioxidant properties. CLA improves
insulin sensitivity an it is an effective anti-atherogenic
agent.
CLA's ability to reduce body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass was
further documented.
In a study published in Anticancer Research (1998 May-Jun; 18 (3A):
1429-34) it was shown that CLA is also able to inhibit the growth of
protate cancer.
CLA is a unique supplement. Not only does it guard against serious
diseases and health conditions, but it is also an effective tool for one
of the most serious conditions affecting Americans - obesity.
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