Scientists Piggyback Experimental HIV Vaccine on Cold Viruses

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Scientists report progress in their bid to develop ways to piggyback an HIV vaccine on germs that cause colds.

In the new study, Harvard researchers said they successfully used cold viruses to deliver an experimental HIV vaccine to humans.

The approach “appears to be safe and well-tolerated, and the injection induces a moderate immune response against HIV in humans,” said Dr. James Crowe, director of Vanderbilt Vaccine Center in Nashville. He was not involved in the study.

The research doesn’t mean that a long-sought HIV vaccine is near; these scientists focused on developing better ways to deliver a potential vaccine into the immune system.

Researchers have long sought to develop a vaccine against HIV, but the virus is especially stubborn.

“Most experimental vaccines tested to date don’t seem to induce strong or protective immune responses,” Crowe said. Even when they work well, he said, they tend to only prevent infection with a single strain and not the many strains of HIV that infect people.

In the study, the researchers piggybacked an experimental HIV vaccine onto two types of cold virus — adenovirus serotype 26 and adenovirus serotype 35. These cold viruses are rare, Crowe said, so most humans wouldn’t have developed immunity to them.

The researchers then injected 217 healthy people not infected with HIV in Boston and parts of Africa (Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa) with at least one cold virus/HIV vaccine combo or a placebo. Seventy-eight percent of the subjects were black. Seven participants dropped out and didn’t finish follow-up tests.

The findings showed that the cold viruses are a safe way to deliver the vaccine, and the vaccine triggered an immune response in most of the people, said study co-author Dr. Dan Barouch. He is director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

According to the study, nearly 16 percent of those who got the actual vaccine suffered moderate to severe problems near where they were injected. But the study authors said no one suffered severe side effects from the vaccine itself.

It’s not clear if the effects of the vaccine will last past a year. The cost of vaccines using this approach is unknown, although Crowe said it’s “cost-effective” to deliver vaccines into the body via cold viruses.

One expert noted another positive finding that came from the study.

“They also found out that giving two vaccines over three months is just as good as waiting until six months for the second dose,” said Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of the Bridge HIV research unit with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “That is a big advantage, as more people are likely to complete their vaccination if the doses are closer together, and the immune response, if protective, will start protecting them sooner.”

The research was funded by several organizations, including the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Crucell, a vaccine maker that’s part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

What’s next?

More research is needed to determine whether this strategy will protect people at risk of getting infected by HIV, Crowe said. Studies of this type are “quite large and complex,” he said, and they’re likely to require several years before the results are known.

Study co-author Barouch said this research is part of a larger effort to explore ways to piggyback vaccines onto cold viruses. Crucell has said that it’s studying the use of these particular cold viruses to deliver an Ebola vaccine into the human body.

The study was published Feb. 2 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

More information

For more about HIV vaccine research, visit the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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I Tried a High-Tech Running Shoe Designed Just for Women

Photo: Courtesy of Adidas

When it comes to running shoes, I’d consider myself an expert. Not only because I have been a consistent runner for the past 10 years and have tackled the big 26.2 multiple times, but because I have the luxury of road-testing an obscene number of running shoes thanks to my job as Fitness Editor of Health. (Seriously, my sneaker collection runneth over…)

So when Adidas invited me, along with a select group of women, to Los Angeles last week to test a women’s specific running shoe called the PureBOOST X ($120; adidas.com)—which officially launched this week—I jumped at the opportunity. I spent three whole days running with this shoe. We ran through the streets of LA, we ran concrete stairs, we ran to and from different workouts. Basically, we did A LOT of running. So my feet got to know these babies pretty well.

RELATED: How to Buy the Best Running Shoes

Here are my thoughts:

Comfort: Slipping this lightweight, flexible shoe on is like sticking your foot in a cloud— if that were possible. Translation: It is unbelievably cushy. It also feels like it was made specifically for my foot.

Breathability: It has a stretch mesh upper, so all those little holes will help your feet maintain a comfy temperature. Seriously, not once did my feet feel sweaty or clammy as I logged miles in the LA sun. Truth be told, I think I could don these sans socks.

What sets it apart: This women’s-only shoe, which took three years and seven prototypes (!) to construct, has a floating arch above the midsole. Visually, that gives it a wow factor. Fit wise, the floating arch allows the shoe’s stretch-mesh to wrap snugly underneath the foot for a supported and hugged-in feel. This particular construction also meant that the mesh moved with my foot, so I always felt secure.

What it’s best for: According to the folks over at Adidas, a 10K is the sweet spot for this runner.

The bottom line: I never ran more than 3 or 4 miles at a time, but for those miles I did log, I’d say this is a sleek shoe that gets the job done. I’d definitely wear it again and would think it would be a great shoe for shorter-distance races. (I typically tend to wear shoes with a little added stability.) And while I have always been a fan of the springy-ness of the Boost technology— and no it did not disappoint in this incarnation— I will say that my feet felt a little more fatigued than normal post run. (Not sure if I should blame it on the floating arch or not.) Finally, this shoe is so freaking cute; I was making goo-goo eyes at it as soon as I took them out of the box.

Would I recommend them: I can honestly say yes. But remember, buying kicks is a personal matter, so what might work for my feet might not be the best choice for yours.

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What the Heck Is Nooch and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

Photo: Getty Images

Nooch may sound like the nickname of the dude who brings the beer pong ball to a frat party. But actually, nooch is short for nutritional yeast, which—along with bone broth and ancient grains—is enjoying an everything-old-is-new-again moment.

What is it, exactly?

If you’ve spent any time in your supermarket’s baking aisle, you’ve no doubt seen active dry yeast. (This is the stuff used as a leavener in breads.) Nutritional yeast is deactivated. After it’s cultivated (often from beets or sugar cane), it’s heated and dried. So it doesn’t work as a leavener, but its savory, cheesy, umami flavor makes it a tasty ingredient. Plus, it’s true to its name and packed with nutrients, including fiber, B vitamins, minerals, and protein. Yes, protein! A tablespoon delivers 3 grams.

RELATED: 20 Best High Fiber Foods

How do you use it?

Vegans have long prized nutritional yeast as a cheese substitute, with its Parmesan-like texture and flavor. But you don’t have to be veggie to enjoy it. Sprinkle it on popcorn or kale chips, pasta or vegetables, whisk it into soups, sauces and dressings, or use it to top pizza and baked potatoes. (Check out GoDairyFree for recipes.)

Where can you get it?

You should be able to find nutritional yeast in the bulk foods section of your grocery or health food store, or buy it online. I like an organic brand called From The Fields ($10, amazon.com).

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Patient Care Doesn’t Suffer When Surgical Residents Work More: Study

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Long hours for surgical residents don’t seem to put patients at risk when the doctors-in-training are allowed to work longer shifts, a new study finds.

In fact, patients likely benefit, especially if the residents stay with their patients through the end of an operation or help to stabilize them in critical situations, the study authors said.

“It’s counterintuitive to think it’s better for doctors to work longer hours,” said principal investigator Dr. Karl Bilimoria, director of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“But when doctors have to hand off their patients to other doctors at dangerous, inopportune times, that creates vulnerability to the loss of critical information, a break in the doctor-patient relationship and unsafe care,” he explained in a university news release.

There is ongoing debate about medical resident work hour limits. Some previous studies have suggested that resident duty hour limits introduced in 2003 and revised in 2011 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) have led to worse outcomes for surgery patients, the study authors said.

Residents are limited to 80 work hours per week and their shifts are capped at 28 consecutive hours. The new study compared programs where surgery residents followed those restrictions or had the flexibility to work more than 28 hours at a time if they felt it was in the best interest of their patients.

The research included more than 4,300 residents in nearly 120 residency programs at 151 U.S. hospitals, and nearly 139,000 patients. Outcomes among patients were similar whether residents stuck to the ACGME restrictions or were able to work longer shifts if needed.

Surgical residents who worked longer shifts said doing so didn’t harm their health and improved the quality of their training and patient safety. They were half as likely to leave in the middle of an operation, to miss an operation on one of their patients, or to leave a patient at a critical moment, the study found.

Results from the study were presented Feb. 2 at the Academic Surgical Congress, and is scheduled to appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“These results suggest flexible duty hours are safe for patients and beneficial for residents in numerous ways,” Bilimoria said.

“Residents used the flexibility of their hours strategically at important times. We have had overwhelming support from surgical residents in favor of increased flexibility,” he added.

The findings suggest that the ACGME should revise its resident duty hour policies, Bilimoria said.

“As a patient, you want the person who knows you to take care of you through the really critical parts of your care,” he said. “Once you are stabilized or your operation is done, then the doctors can hand off your care in a responsible way.”

More information

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has more about residents’ work hours and patient care.

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U.S. Gun-Related Murder Rate 25 Times Higher Than Other Nations

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Americans are 10 times more likely to be killed by guns than people in other developed countries, a new study finds.

Compared to 22 other high-income nations, the United States’ gun-related murder rate is 25 times higher. And, even though the United States’ suicide rate is similar to other countries, the nation’s gun-related suicide rate is eight times higher than other high-income countries, researchers said.

The study was published online Feb. 1 in The American Journal of Medicine.

“Overall, our results show that the U.S., which has the most firearms per capita in the world, suffers disproportionately from firearms compared with other high-income countries,” said study author Erin Grinshteyn, an assistant professor at the School of Community Health Science at the University of Nevada-Reno. “These results are consistent with the hypothesis that our firearms are killing us rather than protecting us,” she said in a journal news release.

The review of 2010 World Health Organization data also revealed that despite having a similar rate of nonlethal crimes as those countries, the United States has a much higher rate of deadly violence, mostly due to the higher rate of gun-related murders.

The researchers also found that compared to people in the other high-income nations, Americans are seven times more likely to die from violence and six times more likely to be accidentally killed with a gun.

“More than two-thirds of the homicides in the U.S. are firearm homicides and studies have suggested that the non-gun homicide rate in the U.S. may be high because the gun homicide rate is high,” Grinshteyn said.

“For example, offenders take into account the threat posed by their adversaries. Individuals are more likely to have lethal intent if they anticipate that their adversaries will be armed,” she explained.

Even though it has half the population of the other 22 nations combined, the United States accounted for 82 percent of all gun deaths. The United States also accounted for 90 percent of all women killed by guns, the study found. Ninety-one percent of children under 14 who died by gun violence were in the United States. And 92 percent of young people between ages 15 and 24 killed by guns were in the United States, the study found.

Murder is the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 15 to 24, the study found. The research also showed that murder was the third leading cause of death among those aged 25-34. Compared to those in the same age groups in other wealthy countries, Americans aged 15-24 are 49 times more likely to be the victim of a gun-related murder. For those aged 25-34, that number is 32 times more likely, the research revealed.

The researchers also point out that numerous studies suggest that reduced access to guns would lower the suicide rate in the United States.

“Differences in overall suicide rates across cities, states and regions in the United States are best explained not by differences in mental health, suicide ideation, or even suicide attempts, but by availability of firearms,” said study co-author David Hemenway, professor of health policy at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center, all in Boston.

“Many suicides are impulsive, and the urge to die fades away. Firearms are a swift and lethal method of suicide with a high case-fatality rate,” he noted in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Justice has more on gun violence.

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For Super Bowl Fans, Flu Can Be an Unwanted Catch

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Football fans, take note: You run the risk of being blindsided by the flu if you let your defenses down on Super Bowl Sunday, researchers warn.

They analyzed data from areas that had teams in the Super Bowl between 1974 and 2009 and found that those regions had an 18 percent spike in flu-related deaths among people older than 65, one of the groups of people most vulnerable to the flu.

The findings were strongest in years with more virulent flu strains, or when the Super Bowl occurred closer to the peak of the flu season, according to the study in the winter issue of the American Journal of Health Economics.

“The mechanism that’s driving this is the increased socialization that happens as a result of the team being successful,” study author Nicholas Sanders, an assistant professor of economics at Cornell University’s Department of Policy Analysis and Management, in Ithaca, N.Y., said in a university news release.

“You have friends over for a Super Bowl party. You all go out to a bar to watch the game. A bunch of people are cramped in a small space, and they’re all touching the same napkins and grabbing the same chips. If your team wins, you’re all out in the street celebrating. It’s that kind of disease transmission that we think might be a driving factor,” he explained.

Even though seniors may not be as likely to socialize during the Super Bowl, their chances of coming into contact with someone who had the flu rise as infection rates increase in the overall population, according to Sanders.

“It needn’t be a direct leap, where an older person is at a bar watching the team. It could be that individual’s relative is at a bar and then he visits his parents. Or a worker at a retirement home goes out to get a drink and celebrate her team’s win, and then returns to work the next day. Those are all possible disease transmissions,” he said.

The researchers emphasized that everyone needs to take flu prevention measures at all times, not just on Super Bowl Sunday. These include: washing your hands, not sharing food or drinks, and staying home if you are sick.

“Simply being aware of the situation can make people take common-sense precautions, and say, ‘Well, I’m not going to shove my hand in that bowl of nuts over there.’ I think that’s just good advice in general,” Sanders said.

This year’s flu season has been relatively mild so far, according to federal health officials, but they expect activity to pick up in the coming weeks.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about flu prevention.

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Bedbug Gene Mapping May Yield Critter’s Secrets

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Bedbugs have been making humans’ skin crawl for thousands of years as they creep out of their hiding places in bedding at night to feast on people’s blood, leaving an itchy, tell-tale rash in their wake.

Now, a complete analysis of the pests’ entire genetic structure has provided researchers with fresh insight into the hardy nature of bedbugs — and also highlights some of the weaknesses that humans can exploit to better control the bugs.

Bedbugs have incredible natural defenses that protect them against pesticides, but they also appear to be particularly vulnerable at specific points during their life cycle, researchers report in a pair of studies published Feb. 2 in the journal Nature Communications.

Bedbugs have genes both inside their bodies and in their thick, armored skin that help detoxify insecticides and improve resistance to the pest-controlling chemicals, the researchers found.

But true to the vampiric nature of bedbugs, these protective genes don’t appear to kick into effect until the pests have grown up and feasted on their first meal of human blood, said Christopher Mason. He is an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and senior author of one of the new studies.

“We found in the genetic code some hallmarks of insecticide resistance, and we found that some of those are more vulnerable during early development,” Mason said. “A lot of genetic activity of the organism is really in its first stages of life, right as it’s eating its first blood meal. This is potentially when it’s most vulnerable to insecticides.”

Bedbugs are flat insects ranging from 1 to 7 millimeters in size. Seven millimeters is roughly the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Reddish-brown in color, bedbugs feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep, the CDC noted.

During the past two decades, bedbugs have enjoyed a global resurgence in every continent except Antarctica. In Australia, infestations have increased a whopping 4,500 percent, authors from the second study reported.

To best these pests, dozens of researchers signed onto one of two separate efforts to break down the entire genetic structure of the bedbug.

The genetic examination of the bedbug revealed that the insects’ armor-like outer shell serves as a barrier against pesticides in two ways, said co-author of the second study, Ameya Gondhalekar. He is an assistant professor of entomology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

The shell itself is thick, which keeps insecticide from easily seeping into the bug, Gondhalekar said. But on top of that, the shell contains detoxification genes that help further break down insecticides as they pass through.

“When the pesticide is trying to penetrate into the insect body, it’s getting degraded as soon as it enters it,” he said.

A bedbug also flouts pesticides by relying on bacteria located on its skin and inside its body, Mason and Gondhalekar said. The main role of these bacteria is to help the bedbug break down blood for digestion, Gondhalekar added.

“One of the important characteristics of all blood-feeding insects is when they feed on blood, it’s pretty difficult to digest and contains a lot of chemicals that can be toxic to the insects,” he said. “They need to detoxify it, and at the same time also use it as a source of nutrition.”

But these bacteria also appear to be helping bedbugs by breaking down life-threatening pesticides before the chemicals can do damage, Gondhalekar said.

By pounding away at the resistant pests with insecticide, humans may have unknowingly aided their surge in population, Mason said. That’s because the insecticides are more likely to kill off cockroaches than bedbugs.

“Cockroaches are a natural predator for bedbugs,” Mason said. “If you kill one, you might end up with more of the other.”

From the genetic knowledge gathered by these research teams, pest control experts might be able to reformulate existing pesticides or develop new ones that would target bedbugs early in their life cycle, before resistance is strong, both Mason and Gondhalekar suggested.

Future pesticides might also feature some sort of antibiotic targeting the bacteria that aids bedbugs in their resistance, Mason added, noting that these bacteria don’t serve a role in human health.

Jim Fredericks, chief entomologist and vice president of technical and regulatory affairs for National Pest Management Association, praised the efforts of the two research teams.

“This is important research despite the fact that the findings won’t be immediately applicable in the field as part of bedbug management efforts,” Fredericks said.

“Research like this is an integral part of the scientific process of elucidating the underlying genetic basis for bedbug biology and behavior. By identifying genes that are unique to bedbugs, research can continue toward identifying new, highly effective control methods that pest control professionals can employ against bedbugs,” Fredericks added.

More information

For more about bedbugs, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Child Abuse at Daycare, Youth Groups Rarer Than Thought: Survey

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Children are often taught to be wary of people outside their family. But, a new survey finds that adults at school, daycare and organizations such as churches and scouting groups are less likely than relatives to abuse or mistreat children.

In general, organizations that serve young people “do not look like particularly risky environments,” said study co-author David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center. This contradicts perceptions by some people who “think these are magnets for molesters,” he said.

At issue: Who’s most likely to mistreat and abuse kids, and how much risk do children face at home and in the outside world? The investigators looked specifically at physical
assault, sexual abuse, verbal aggression, and neglect.

“We know the fear about strangers is exaggerated, and family members, acquaintances and other youth are bigger risks than previously thought,” Finkelhor said. “But we still don’t know enough about the relative safety of different specific environments, like daycare and summer camps.”

To gain more insight, Finkelhor and colleagues examined the results from the U.S. National Surveys of Children’s Exposure to Violence. The researchers looked at information from 2008, 2011 and 2014. The study focused on answers from more than 13,000 kids aged 17 and younger. Children aged 10 to 17 answered the telephone survey questions themselves, while caregivers answered for younger children.

Fewer than a half percent said they’d experienced any type of abuse over the past year by an adult they know from an organization, “such as a teacher, coach, or youth group leader.” Nearly 1 percent said they’d suffered such abuse over their lifetimes, the findings showed.

Sexual abuse seemed to be rare among these children, although kids may be more unwilling to acknowledge such an intimate crime, the study authors pointed out. Five children said they’d been abused sexually by an adult from an organization; 70 said they’d suffered verbal abuse and 33 reported physical assault, the survey found.

“We might want to be as concerned about emotionally abusive leaders, teachers and coaches as about molesters,” Finkelhor suggested.

In contrast, 11 percent of kids said they’d experienced any type of abuse by a family member over their lifetimes and nearly 6 percent said they’d suffered such abuse over the past year.

Finkelhor said talking to children directly is a better way to uncover abuse than asking adults about events in their childhoods. “We want to get information as close to the events as possible,” he said. “Debriefing adults trying to remember back 20 or 30 years is not accurate.”

And children seem to respond instead of resisting the questions, he said. “Family abuse is generally thought to be the most serious and difficult to disclose. Yet we got many such disclosures,” Finkelhor said.

Dr. Carole Jenny, professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital, said the study findings reflect her experiences working with abused children. “Most of the sexually abused kids that we see are abused by family members, mom’s partners, close friends and neighbors,” she said.

“One of the reasons that people have this fear of children’s service organizations is that it’s a tremendous violation of trust,” Jenny added. “And they get a lot of attention, much more than when a father or uncle molests a child in the home.”

Finkelhor said organizations that serve young people could focus more on the threat of emotional abuse. “Educate kids and staff to call out and report staff and other kids who are being emotionally abusive, denigrating, hostile and mean,” he said.

As for the risk of sexual abuse, Lucy Berliner, director of Seattle’s Harborview Center for Sexual Assault/Traumatic Stress, gave this advice to parents: “Talk openly about what is allowed and what is not in terms of sexual conversation and contact, or the use of physical coercion. These conversations should be ongoing in families to encourage children to come to their parents if something worries them.”

In addition, Berliner said, “there are definitely red flags when youth service providers start cultivating private relationships with a particular child or a particular group of children without parental involvement. In addition, parents should ask the organization about policies regarding background checks and education for youth leaders about what is allowed and what isn’t.”

The study was published in the February issue of JAMA Pediatrics.

More information

For more about child abuse, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Seafood Might Protect Brain in People at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Seafood lovers, a new study delivers good news on two fronts: Mercury found in fish doesn’t lead to mental decline, and for certain people, a diet rich in fish might stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers who examined human brains confirmed that people who eat more seafood have more mercury in their brains. But, they found no link between higher brain levels of that neurotoxin and the kind of brain damage that is typical of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Everybody’s saying seafood has so many health benefits, but everybody’s afraid of the mercury,” said lead study author Martha Clare Morris, professor of nutritional epidemiology at Rush University in Chicago.

“We saw absolutely no evidence that higher levels of mercury in the brain were associated with any of the neuropathologies associated with dementia,” she said.

The researchers also found that eating moderate amounts of seafood may have a protective effect for people with a specific genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

The study is published in the Feb. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an editorial in the same issue, Edeltraut Kroger and Dr. Robert Laforce of Laval University in Quebec, Canada, said the finding suggests “that seafood can be consumed without substantial concern of mercury contamination diminishing its possible cognitive [mental] benefit in older adults.”

But why? Is there something about the so-called long-chain “n-3” fatty acids in fish that protects the brain?

Fish intake, particularly as part of a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, has been linked with decreased Alzheimer’s disease or slower disease progression, Kroger said.

“It is to this day not quite clear whether the reason for the benefit of fish is to be found in its n-3 unsaturated fatty acid content, or whether the benefit from fish-containing diets is more complicated to understand,” she added.

The data come from participants in Rush’s Memory and Aging Project who died between 2004 and 2013. The average age at death was almost 90, and 67 percent were women. All were free of dementia at enrollment and agreed to undergo annual neurologic evaluations and brain autopsies at death.

To calculate participants’ weekly seafood consumption, researchers relied on food questionnaires, begun an average of 4.5 years before death. The questionnaire included four seafood items: a tuna sandwich; fish sticks, cakes or sandwich; fresh fish as a main dish; and shrimp, lobster or crab.

Tissue samples from 286 autopsied brains were taken to measure brain metal concentrations. Researchers also examined tissue samples for evidence of dementia, including strokes or “micro” strokes; plaques and tangles in the brain that are indicative of Alzheimer’s disease; and Lewy bodies that are associated with Parkinson’s disease.

The finding that higher levels of seafood consumption was associated with higher levels of mercury in the brain was a small but significant correlation, Morris said.

The investigators also found that eating one or more fish meals a week was linked to less Alzheimer’s damage in the brain, but only among people with a gene variant called apolipoprotein E (APOE).

People who inherit this “allele” — or variation — of the apolipoprotein gene are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We did not see that protective association in people who didn’t have the APOE allele,” Morris said.

However, higher dietary levels of alpha-linolenic acid, a fatty acid found in plants, was associated with less stroke in the total population, not just those with the APOE variation, she added.

More information

Learn more about risks for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia at the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Millions of Pregnant Women Put Their Babies at Risk With Alcohol: CDC

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Drinking before and during pregnancy can cause lifelong physical, behavioral and mental problems for a child. Yet more than 3 million U.S. women risk exposing their baby to alcohol, federal health officials reported Tuesday.

An estimated 3.3 million women ages 15 to 44 who are sexually active are drinking and not using birth control. And, three in four women who want to get pregnant don’t stop drinking when they stop using birth control, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

“Alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat, said during a media briefing.

“We think 2 to 5 percent of children may have a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder,” she said. “We believe that up to 5 percent of American schoolchildren may have a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“We realize that women do not drink during pregnancy to intentionally hurt their babies,” Schuchat added. “They are either not aware of the risk or they need help to stop drinking.”

The disabilities caused by alcohol are called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders — FASDs. No known amount of alcohol is safe to drink during any stage of pregnancy — beer and wine included, the CDC says.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are the leading cause of preventable mental retardation and are 100 percent avoidable if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Each year an estimated 40,000 babies are born in the United States with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, making it more common than autism. These disorders result in lower IQ, difficulty learning and functioning, and possible damage to the heart, brain and other vital organs, SAMHSA says.

For the new CDC report, agency researchers used data from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth.

To prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, the CDC advises that doctors tell women who want to get pregnant to stop drinking alcohol as soon as they stop taking birth control. Since most women don’t know they’re pregnant until four to six weeks into their pregnancy, they could be exposing their developing baby to alcohol, the agency says.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

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