Contents of January 2002 issue:
Vasectomy
Herbs and Spices
Kidney Stones and Diet
Oral Contraception
Tai Chi and Osteoarthritis
Obese England
Obesity Syndrome in US
Saliva Test For Ovulation
Top Ten Research Advances of 2001
Vasectomy
American doctors are experimenting with ultrasound as way of giving
men a vasectomy in just a couple of minutes and without making any incision,
the British weekly New Scientist reports. The pioneering technique entails
placing a plastic clip around a pinched fold of skin in the scrotum. In
that fold are the vas deferens, the tubes that take sperm from the testicles
into the urethra. Built into the clip is a plastic transducer that produces
a 20-to-50 second, five-watt pulse of ultrasound, which penetrates the
scrotum and heats cells in the wall of the vas deferens to 50 degree Celsius
(122 degree Farenheit). That destroys the cells, causing them to coagulate
and block up the tubes permanently. The treatment so far has only been
carried out on dogs. Surgical vasectomy is cheaper than female sterilisation
and has a higher success rate and with fewer complications. In the
United States, more than twice as many women as men get sterilised each
year.
Herbs and Spices
Antioxidants have become synonymous with good health. They are a class
of compounds thought to prevent certain types of chemical damage caused
by an excess of free radicals, charged molecules that are generated by
a variety of sources including pesticides, smoking and exhaust fumes. Destroying
free radicals may help fight cancer, heart disease and stroke, researchers
believe. Fruits and vegetables have long been viewed as a rich source of
antioxidant compounds. Health officials have been urging consumers for
years to eat more fruits and vegetables in order to gain the health benefits
of antioxidants. Westerners still tend to favor diets that are rich in
fats and carbohydrates. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
have found that herbs, in addition to making food tastier, are an abundant
source of antioxidants and could provide potential anticancer benefits
when supplementing a balanced diet. Herbs have higher antioxidant activity
than fruits, vegetables and some spices, including garlic. Their findings
appear in a recent (Nov. 2001) print issue of the Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry. The herbs with the highest antioxidant activity
belonged to the oregano family. In general, oregano had 3 to 20 times higher
antioxidant activity than the other herbs studied. On a per gram fresh
weight basis, oregano and other herbs ranked even higher in antioxidant
activity than fruits and vegetables, which are known to be high in antioxidants.
In comparison to the antioxidant activities of a few select fruits and
vegetables, the potency of oregano ranks supreme: Oregano has 42 times
more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12
times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries. Among the more
familiar, ranked in order, are dill, garden thyme, rosemary and peppermint.
In general, fresh herbs and spices are healthier and contain higher antioxidant
levels compared to their processed counterparts. For example, the antioxidant
activity of fresh garlic is 1.5 times higher than dry garlic powder.
Too much of any food product can carry health risks, herbs should be used
with moderation. Whatever form they take, herbs are no substitute
for a balanced diet. Pregnant women in particular should consult their
physicians before taking herbal supplements, the researchers say.
Kidney Stones and Diet
Health care for kidney stones added up to $1.8 billion in 1993, according
to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
About 10 percent of the U.S. population - and a much larger
percentage of men, who make up 80 percent of sufferers - will have
at least one kidney stone sometime in their lives, and it can be excruciatingly
painful. Most stones can be excreted, but in about 15 percent of cases,
surgery or shockwave treatment to pulverize the stones is needed. Drinking
10 to 12 big glasses of water during the day can keep stones from forming
and push out those smaller than a pea. A diet low in salt and meat can
dramatically reduce the risk of kidney stones, according to an Italian
study that could spell the end for the low-calcium diet that doctors have
been recommending for years. Dr. Umberto Maggiore of the University
of Parma explained that people on a low-calcium diet excrete less calcium
in their urine but more of the other substance - oxalate - that combines
with calcium to form most kidney stones. Maggiore said the diet would
be equally effective in any country, but he noted that it might be harder
to get Americans to stick to it because meat makes up such a great part
of the U.S. diet. The American Foundation for Urologic Disease does not
mention a low-calcium diet on its Web page about kidney stones, but does
say a doctor may suggest a low-meat, low-salt diet.
Oral Contraception Protects Women
against Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women, excluding
the skin cancers. It accounts for about 4 percent of all cancers in women,
with more than 23,000 new cases diagnosed in 2001, according to the American
Cancer Society. Progestin is the ingredient in oral contraceptive
pills that provides the highest level of protection against ovarian cancer,
researchers have found. Analysis by the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
of a 20-year-old study that showed the pill can help prevent ovarian
cancer found that the cancer risk was cut by about 50 percent in
all women taking pills containing the hormones estrogen and progestin.
However, women who took pills containing high levels of progestin
reduced their risk of ovarian cancer by an additional 50 percent,
The take-home message from this study is that oral contraceptives are protective
against ovarian cancer and our finding that the high progestin potency
effect is a scientific (result) that might lead to new protective drugs
against ovarian cancer, said Patricia G. Moorman, a Duke University Medical
Center researcher and the co-author of the study in the Journal of
the National Cancer Institute.
Tai Chi and Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the deterioration of cartilage that cushions bones
in the joints and is usually associated with middle-aged and older people.
According to American College of Rheumatology, based on a study by Department
of Nursing, Soonchunhyang University, a Tai Chi exercise program may result
in less pain and fewer difficulties with daily activities, according to
research. A randomized study that examined the changes in pain, balance,
muscle strength and physical functioning in older osteoarthritis patients
indicated the Tai Chi exercise improved physical functioning. There were
significant improvements in abdominal muscle strength and balance for the
Tai Chi group, though no significant differences were found in flexibility,
upper muscle or knee muscle strength.
Obese England
Obesity is a difficult to tackle lifestyle issue that calls for a change
in attitude not only from people of UK, but also from doctors and a focus
on ensuring schoolchildren received enough exercise each week. A
report by the Public Accounts Committee, a House of Commons committee,
said that an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and changes in eating patterns
meant most English adults were now overweight, and one in five was obese.
A lack of exercise in schools, changes in eating patterns and doctors who
did not perceive it as their role to advise patients on weight issues were
all blamed for contributing to the rising numbers of obese people. Obesity
had reached shocking levels in England and was contributing to 30,000 deaths
each year. The committee said the problem was costing the economy 2.5 billion
pounds (dlrs 3.6 billion) in health care and lost work days as people took
time off for related illnesses.
Obesity Syndrome in US
According to the NIH definition, the Obesity Syndrome is present if
a patient has any three or more symptoms: a waist measuring at least 40
inches for men and 35 inches for women; levels of triglycerides -fats that
circulate in the blood - of at least 150 milligrams per deciliter; HDL
levels of less than 40 mgs in men and less than 50 mgs in women; blood
pressure of at least 135/80; and blood sugar of at least 110 mgs. At least
47 million American adults, more than one in five, have the disorder that
often includes a beer belly, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol readings
and high blood sugar, according to a disturbing new study. Though experts
say the syndrome may be caused by a combination of genes and lifestyle
factors, lifestyle - including overeating and a lack of exercise -
are probably the most important factors, said Dr. Earl Ford of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, who led the study.
Saliva Test For Ovulation
The Associated Press reports that the Food and Drug Administration
has approved the first in-home test, the TCI Ovulation Tester, developed
by TCI Optics, which uses saliva to detect when a woman has ovulated.
To find out if she is fertile, a woman would take a small sample of her
saliva, place it on a slide, and examine it with a handheld microscope
to detect certain types of salts. As ovulation approaches and estrogen
levels rise, so does the salt level in saliva. So, the greater the
amount of salt in the sample, the closer to ovulation a woman is.
Sreenivasarao Vepachedu, January 2002
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