Could ‘Star Trek’-Like ‘Tricorder’ for Health Be Near?

MONDAY, May 23, 2016 (HealthDay News) — “Beam us up, Scotty!”

U.S. researchers say they’ve developed a small, wearable health monitor they’re likening to the “Star Trek” tricorder.

The flexible Chem-Phys patch can be worn on the chest and tracks biochemical and electrical signals in the human body. It then communicates all that wirelessly to a laptop, smartphone or smartwatch, said a team of engineers from the University of California, San Diego.

The device also provides real-time data on electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals, plus levels of lactate, a biochemical that helps chart physical effort, the team said.

“One of the overarching goals of our research is to build a wearable tricorder-like device that can measure simultaneously a whole suite of chemical, physical and electrophysiological signals continuously throughout the day,” said project co-leader Patrick Mercier, an electrical engineering professor.

Mercier believes the Chem-Phys has a number of potential uses, such as athletes monitoring their training or doctors managing heart disease patients.

“This research represents an important first step to show this may be possible,” he said in a university news release.

Most commercial wearable devices only measure one signal, such as steps or heart rate, and almost none measure chemical signals, such as lactate, Mercier noted.

The next steps include adding sensors for other vital signs and chemical markers, such as magnesium and potassium, he said.

An article describing the device appears in the May 23 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

More information

There’s more on your vital signs at the U.S. National Institutes of Medicine.

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Fertility Info Lacking for Young Women Who Beat Cancer

MONDAY, May 23, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many young female cancer survivors say they don’t receive enough information about preserving their fertility, a new study finds.

These women are at risk for early menopause because of their cancer treatment. If they want to have children but are not yet ready to start a family, they may be able to freeze their eggs or embryos after treatment, researchers explained.

“The potential loss of fertility has been described in the literature as being almost as painful, if not more so, than the cancer diagnosis itself,” said study leader Catherine Benedict, of Northwell Health on Long Island, N.Y.

In the study, the researchers analyzed the results from an anonymous online survey of 179 women, average age 30, who had completed cancer treatment an average of five years earlier. Their fertility status was uncertain — they either wanted children in the future or were undecided. None had undergone or attempted fertility preservation before or after their cancer treatment.

Up to 62 percent of the women said they had not received enough information about their fertility options, and two-thirds were worried about their ability to have children. Both concerns made it more difficult for women to think about whether to undergo fertility preservation in the future, the study found.

Two-thirds of the women said they wanted more advice about preserving their fertility and one-third wanted more support in making the decision, according to the study published online May 23 in the journal Cancer.

The findings highlight the need for better resources to help young adult female cancer survivors make informed choices about their future fertility, the researchers said.

“Failure to provide information and address concerns with respect to fertility-related decisions may have lasting consequences for young women who hope to move on from their cancer experience to achieve important life goals such as having children,” Benedict said in a journal news release.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about fertility and women with cancer.

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Tai Chi: Rx for Arthritic Knees

By Don Rauf
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 23, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Legions of arthritis sufferers try physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs to no avail. Now, a new study looks East for relief — to the martial art tai chi.

Researchers concluded that tai chi offers an alternative to physical therapy for common knee osteoarthritis — and it might also boost well-being.

This ancient Chinese exercise may particularly benefit overweight older adults, the researchers said. Heavier people are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than people with a healthy weight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This research strengthened the evidence that the effectiveness and durability of both tai chi and physical therapy extend to obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis,” said Dr. Chenchen Wang.

“Such people typically face limited options due to ineffectiveness of osteoarthritis treatments,” Wang said. She is director of the Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine in the division of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

The study authors also noted that tai chi produced significant improvement in depression among patients with knee osteoarthritis.

The researchers followed 200 people, average age 60. Most were overweight or obese and had endured knee osteoarthritis for an average of eight years.

With knee osteoarthritis, the cartilage (or cushioning between the joints) wears away, causing pain, swelling, tenderness and stiffness. Often called “wear-and-tear” arthritis, this is a leading cause of long-term pain and disability among older adults.

Participants in Wang’s study either received tai chi or standard physical therapy. The tai chi group performed the exercise with a trained instructor twice a week for 12 weeks. The others got standard physical therapy twice a week for six weeks, followed by six weeks of monitored home exercise.

Some standard physical therapy exercises target quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles, all of which contribute to healthy knee function and help prevent injury, the Arthritis Foundation says.

Tai chi, on the other hand, is a traditional Chinese mind-body practice that combines meditation with slow, gentle, graceful movements; deep breathing; and relaxation. The tai chi philosophy and practice date back at least 5,000 years.

Throughout the study, participants in both groups were permitted to take routine medications, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen, and maintain their usual physician visits.

At the end of 12 weeks, Wang and her team used questionnaires to evaluate patients for pain, stiffness and joint functioning. Both groups showed similar significant improvements, which lasted up to a year.

The investigators noted that the tai chi group also had significantly greater relief from depression than those in physical therapy. Past studies have shown that tai chi can be effective in helping sleep, while reducing stress, anxiety and depression.

“The mind component [of tai chi] promotes psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and improved perceptions of health,” said Wang.

Dr. Matthew Hepinstall, an orthopedic surgeon in New York City, agreed that tai chi can be an effective yet conservative treatment option for arthritis.

“Tai chi helps patients preserve and improve function by increasing strength, flexibility, and coordination while avoiding aggravation of arthritic pain and inflammation,” said Hepinstall. He is with Lenox Hill Hospital’s Center for Joint Preservation and Reconstruction.

“Tai chi is a particularly appealing form of exercise, as it is very low impact and emphasizes balance, coordination and strength,” he added. “Tai chi is safe and has been shown to reduce falls in the elderly.”

Moreover, he said, his patients who practice tai chi often report an increased sense of wellness, “which is consistent with the emotional benefits described in this study.”

Arthritis medications can cause serious side effects, the study authors said.

Wang said older patients typically find tai chi very easy to learn and perform. She recommended that seniors get training from an experienced instructor. A local gym or athletic club might be able to recommend a practitioner, she suggested.

The study results were published online in May in advance of print publication the Annals of Internal Medicine.

More information

The Arthritis Foundation has more about tai chi.

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7 Ways to Give Ticks the Slip

SUNDAY, May 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) — While only a few tick species infect people with diseases, the rising popularity of many outdoor activities and the spread of residential developments has upped the odds that one of those creepy parasites might latch on to you.

“Luckily, ticks don’t fly, jump or fall from the sky,” vector-borne disease expert Stephen Wikel said. He’s a professor emeritus of medical sciences at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine, in North Haven, Conn.

“They generally move from grass to a living host, and crawl upwards, looking for a warm, moist area to feed. Ticks also have incredible anti-detection defenses. For example, their saliva is loaded with antihistamines, anticoagulants and other inhibitors that prevent wound healing, and dampen pain and itch responses; unfed nymphs are so small, they can be mistaken for freckles,” he said.

So, how can you avoid becoming a tick’s next meal? Wikel recommends the following preventive steps:

• Protect your ankles. Wear long pants tucked into high socks when doing yard work. Wrap duct tape — sticky-side out — around where the pants and socks meet so that crawling ticks get stuck on the tape.
• Dress properly. Use clothing, tents and other gear treated with repellent, such as permethrin. This repellent kills ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers and mites. These products are available online or at sporting goods stores.
• Wear repellent. Apply topical insect repellent that contains less than 40 percent DEET. Children should use repellent that contains no more than 30 percent DEET, Wikel said.
• Conduct tick checks. “Tick bites are painless, so if you are in an area with ticks, perform a thorough tick check and remove ticks immediately,” he advised.
• Don’t forget pets.“The neurotransmitter blockers in anti-tick treatments and flea collars are very effective in keeping ticks from biting pets,” said Wikel. “When pets come indoors, check for crawling ticks to prevent them from getting off your pet and on to you.”
• Create a tick-free zone. You can make your yard less attractive to rodent, deer and other tick-carriers. Keeping lawns trimmed and creating barriers between your yard and the woods with wood chips, mulch or gravel can eliminate tall grasses where ticks crawl. Remove wood piles and stones where mice, chipmunks and squirrels may hide. These little critters keep tick larva and nymphs circulating in nature.
• Hike carefully. Stay in the center of hiking trails to avoid contact with vegetation.

If despite your best prevention efforts, a tick still attaches to you, there’s a right and a wrong way to remove ticks, Wikel cautioned.

Don’t use matches or the tip of a cigarette to burn off ticks. This could cause them to transmit bacteria more quickly.

The correct way to remove a tick is to lift it gently with thin forceps or tweezers. It’s also a good idea to use a magnifying glass while removing a tick, Wikel advised.

If you can remove the tick intact, you can bring it to your doctor’s office or local health department for identification.

If you develop symptoms within a few weeks after a tick bite, make an appointment with your doctor, advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Warning signs of tick-borne diseases may vary from person to person, said Wikel. Symptoms, which can range from mild to severe, may include: fever and chills, headaches, fatigue and muscle aches.

People with Lyme disease may also develop joint pain, he said.

“Many people think a sign of Lyme disease is a bull’s-eye rash, but rashes don’t always occur,” said Wikel.

If left untreated, Lyme disease can affect the joints, the heart or the nervous system. When diagnosed early, on the other hand, Lyme disease can be cured with antibiotics. This is the case for most tick-borne disease, Wikel said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on ticks.

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Seeing the Sea Soothes Stress

SATURDAY, May 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A view of the ocean is good for the soul, a new study says.

Researchers compared people who lived in various areas of Wellington, New Zealand, and found that having the sea in sight every day was linked with lower levels of stress.

This association remained even after residents’ wealth, age, sex and other factors were taken into account.

However, viewing green spaces — such as grassy parks and forests — did not seem to show the same benefit, according to the study published in the May issue of the journal Health & Place.

That may be due to the fact that researchers did not distinguish between types of green space, said study co-author Amber Pearson, an assistant professor of health geography at Michigan State University.

“It could be because the blue space was all natural, while the green space included human-made areas, such as sports fields and playgrounds, as well as natural areas such as native forests,” she said in a university news release.

“Perhaps if we only looked at native forests we might find something different,” Pearson added.

The findings might prove useful for city planners. For example, ensuring that a certain number of high-rise buildings or affordable homes in coastal cities are built in areas with ocean views might improve mental health, the researchers said.

Further research could determine whether views of large fresh bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, have the same effect as ocean views, Pearson said.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on mental health.

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Updated Heart Failure Treatment Guidelines Issued

FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — An updated guideline adds two new types of drugs to the list of treatment options for heart failure.

In people with the condition, the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body.

The two new treatments in the updated guidelines are an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (valsartan/sacubitril), sold as Entresto, and a sinoatrial node modulator (ivabradine), sold as Corlanor, according to the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society of America.

Previously recommended drugs for these patients include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers and diuretics.

“Treatment options for patients with heart failure have expanded considerably. There is more hope than ever before for patients with heart failure,” guideline update committee vice chair Dr. Mariell Jessup said in a news release from the heart groups. She is a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

“These guideline recommendations will serve as a tool to guide the choice of therapy and, in turn, improve outcomes,” Jessup added.

All the recommended medications are meant to relax blood vessels, reduce (biological) stress and improve the function of the heart, according to the news release.

Dr. Clyde Yancy, guideline update committee chair, explained that “not every patient is a good candidate for every drug; these guidelines can help physicians decide who best fits which treatment.” Yancy is chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“This document details the benefits and risks of these new therapies so that patients at high risk can be directed towards alternative therapies,” he added.

The updated guideline was published online May 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, and the Journal of Cardiac Failure.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on heart failure.

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Could a Low-Salt Diet Hurt Your Health?

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A controversial new study contends that a low-salt diet could be dangerous for your heart health.

Restricting dietary salt to below 3,000 milligrams a day appears to increase the risk for heart disease similar to that of high blood pressure patients who eat too much salt, said lead researcher Andrew Mente.

“Having neither too high nor too low levels of sodium [salt] is optimal for health,” said Mente, an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster University, in Ontario, Canada.

The American Heart Association is highly critical of Mente’s study. The AHA says the study relies on incorrect estimates of sodium intake, and should not lead anyone to relax concerns over excess salt in the average U.S. diet.

“This is an extremely flawed analysis that doesn’t provide new information, and it should not be used to guide public policy,” said Dr. Elliott Antman, immediate past president of the AHA and an associate dean for clinical and translational research at Harvard Medical School.

“The American Heart Association continues to recommend less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day from all sources,” he said.

Most Americans consume about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day, more than twice the recommended amount, according to the heart association.

Mente said, based on his analysis, only people with high blood pressure need to worry about reducing salt intake.

He said his study results showed that a low-salt diet increases the risk of heart attack or stroke 26 percent for people without high blood pressure and 34 percent for people with high blood pressure.

For those with high blood pressure, too much dietary salt increases their risk 23 percent, the study said.

On the other hand, a diet with excess salt doesn’t increase the risk at all if blood pressure is normal, the study reported.

“Most of the population eats what they’re supposed to eat, based on the data,” Mente said. “They fall in the middle and that’s actually the sweet spot — the safest range of intake.”

Excess salt increases blood pressure in some people by causing the body to retain water, putting extra strain on the heart, the heart association says.

Mente said a low-salt diet can activate the body’s renin-angiotensin system. This is a hormone process that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance.

“If you attempt to reduce your blood pressure by lowering your sodium, you’re lowering your blood pressure but you’re activating your renin-angiontensin system,” Mente said.

For their analysis, Mente and his colleagues pooled results of four studies that measured salt intake and tracked heart health. Together, the studies involved more than 133,000 people from 49 countries.

Each study used a single, morning urine sample from each person to estimate their regular daily salt intake for extended periods of time, an approach the AHA’s Antman called “deficient.”

People with less than 3,000 milligrams of sodium in their urine were assigned to the low-sodium group, while 7,000 or more milligrams of urinary sodium was considered high-sodium.

Antman said, “They (the study authors) make the assumption that a measurement of urine sodium in a spot fashion like this, at one moment in time, can reliably inform us about what the sodium intake was during the course of the study.”

Antman is concerned that news reports of this study will lead people to make diet choices that could prove disastrous to their heart health.

“Unless we point out the deficiencies with this analysis, there could be a major public health problem,” he said.

The study results were published May 20 in The Lancet.

Sharon Zarabi, a registered dietitian at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said salt has been a part of the human diet for millennia. But, the advent of processed foods has led to its use in larger doses for flavor and as a preservative, she said.

“We treat patients with hypertension [high blood pressure] with the DASH dietary approach, a diet which includes a variety of fruits and vegetables and limits added salt,” Zarabi said. “As most dietary research studies claim ‘everything in moderation,’ try to avoid condiments and processed foods that have more salt than you might expect, such as salad dressings, mustard, cheese, sauces and even bread products.”

Dr. Howard Levite, director of cardiology for Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, said the idea that most people are consuming the right amount of salt is “controversial.” This new analysis does not disprove the need to watch salt intake as a means of warding off heart disease, he added.

“The article raises the possibility that once achieving middle age the current sodium guidelines for an individual may need to be liberalized. But, this in no way detracts from the prevention goals that are the raison d’etre of the established protocols,” Levite said.

More information

For more on salt and heart health, visit the American Heart Association.

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Newer Drugs Helping Older People With Eye Disease

FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — New medications are boosting quality of life for many older people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a new study indicates.

The drugs Avastin and Lucentis have significantly increased the number of people with AMD whose vision remains good enough to do daily activities, such as read standard print or drive, researchers found.

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans, the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI) says. Ten years ago, the best available treatment for AMD was photodynamic therapy, which used an intravenous drug and laser treatment to seal off leaking blood vessels in the eye that cause AMD, the researchers explained.

However, one year after diagnosis, less than 15 percent of patients who received photodynamic therapy alone had 20/40 vision, which is typically good enough to read standard print or drive, the researchers said.

Up to 40 percent of those treated with photodynamic therapy declined to 20/200 vision, according to the study authors.

Without treatment, less than 10 percent of patients have 20/40 vision one year after diagnosis, and up to 75 percent have 20/200 vision, the researchers noted.

The new study included nearly 650 patients with a form of AMD known as wet AMD. That means that abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina, and these new vessels leak fluid, the NEI said.

The researchers found that 50 percent of the study volunteers had 20/40 vision or better after five years of treatment with Avastin (bevacizumab) or Lucentis (ranibizumab).

These treatments are known as anti-VEGF drugs. VEGF is a protein that causes the abnormal blood vessels to grow in the eyes. The drugs are injected directly into the eye, the researchers said.

Twenty percent of the patients in the study had 20/200 vision after five years of treatment with the anti-VEGF drugs, and the remainder were between 20/40 and 20/200, the study found.

To keep your driver’s license in most states requires vision of at least 20/40 in one eye, the researchers noted.

“This is the most comprehensive study of anti-VEGF therapy for AMD to date,” NEI Director Dr. Paul Sieving said in an institute news release. “It points to the importance of long-term follow-up in studies evaluating disease treatments.”

Study principal investigator Maureen Maguire is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. She said, “Although anti-VEGF treatment has greatly improved the prognosis for patients overall, we still need to find ways to avoid poor vision in these patients and to decrease the burden of ongoing treatment.”

The study was funded by the U.S. National Eye Institute. The findings were published recently in the journal Ophthalmology.

More information

The U.S. National Eye Institute has more about age-related macular degeneration.

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Concussion Tied to More School Problems Than Other Sports Injuries

FRIDAY, May 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Students who suffer a concussion may face more school difficulties than their peers with other sports-related injuries, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that concussed high school and college students had more trouble performing at a normal academic level one week later compared to students who injured their arms or legs.

“Concussed students typically return to school within a week after injury, while their brains are likely still recovering,” said Erin Wasserman and colleagues from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, in New York.

The study authors said their findings “emphasize the need for return-to-learn guidelines and academic adjustments based on gender and concussion history.”

For the study, the researchers analyzed visits to three emergency departments by high school and college students between September 2013 and January 2015. All of the students had a sports-related concussion or a musculoskeletal injury involving an arm or leg.

Using telephone surveys, the researchers compared self-reported academic problems after one week. The assessment was repeated one month after each student’s trip to the emergency room.

The study showed that concussed students faced more challenges. For instance, they were more likely to need tutoring and extra time to take tests.

The investigators also found that young women and students who had two or more previous concussions were more vulnerable to these negative effects.

However, the learning difficulties did not persist long-term, the study authors noted in a news release from the American Public Health Association.

According to the team led by Wasserman, who is now with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, one month after visiting the emergency room, students with a concussion no longer had worse academic performance than those with other injuries.

The results were published May 19 in the American Journal of Public Health.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about returning to school after a concussion.

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Nutritional Label Overhaul Will Include Added Sugar Counts, Against Industry Complaints

Photo: Getty Images

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 required that all food manufacturers use a standard nutritional facts label. The law went into effect in 1994, and since then, those labels have stayed pretty much the same. The only significant change came in 2006, when trans fat was added under saturated fat. Today, Michelle Obama will announce an overhaul of that familiar nutritional label, and many of the changes reflect the way our understanding of health has evolved since 1990.

Here’s what you need to know about the changes to the label, which will take effect in two years.

Added sugar: This is the most significant change. The new labels will still list grams of total sugar, but they will also now break out the amount of added sugar, along with the percentage of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of added sugar. (The RDA for added sugar in a 2,000 calorie diet is 12 teaspoons.) That means, for instance, that 20 ounces of Coca-Cola would likely be labeled as containing 130% of your RDA of added sugar for the day. Total sugar includes the sugar that is naturally occurring in the food; added sugar is the amount of sweetener that was added.

RELATED: The Truth About Salt in Your Food

This change was fought vociferously by beverage and baked good industry groups who claim that there’s no meaningful difference between the sugar that’s naturally occurring in foods and the sugar that’s added. It’s true that there’s no chemical difference between the sugar that’s naturally occurring in grains, for instance, and the sugar that’s added, say, to Gatorade. But the FDA says that Americans currently get 16% of their total calories from added sugars, mostly from sources like soda, energy, sports and juice drinks, baked goods, and candy. The regulators argued that foods with lots of added sugars often have low nutritional value, and groups like the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Organization recommend that people cut their intake of added sugar. These new nutritional labels will make it easier for consumers to identify which products they should avoid.

Calories are easier to read; serving sizes are more realistic: Up top, you’ll notice right away that the number of calories per serving is in a larger, bolder font that’s easier to read. And the serving sizes have been adjusted from “ideal” size to a more realistic amount: One serving of ice cream will increase from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, for instance, and the calories and fat per serving will bump up correspondingly. Similarly, the serving size for sodas will increase from 8 ounces to 12 ounces.

RELATED: What Do ‘Healthy’ Food Labels Really Mean?

Removing calories from fat: Calories derived from fat will no longer be listed because current research suggests that the type of fat you consume is more important than the total amount of fat you consume. For instance, an avocado gets about 80% of its calories from fat. But that information isn’t very meaningful because the kind of fat that avocados contain is now understood to be healthful.

Vitamin D and potassium counts are mandated: Some vitamin and mineral counts are required to be listed on labels and some are optional. Vitamin D and potassium will no longer be optional because Americans tend to not get enough of them. Vitamins A and C are switching from required to optional because Americans do tend to get enough of them.

This article originally appeared on CookingLight.com.

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