Exercise Alone May Help Those With Type 2 Diabetes

Small study found it helped even if no other lifestyle changes were made

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise benefits people with type 2 diabetes even if they don't make any other lifestyle or diet changes, a new study says.

Dutch researchers conducted MRI exams of 12 patients with diabetes before and after they did six months of moderate-intensity exercise. Each week, the participants, who were an average age of 46, exercised between three and a half and six hours a week during two endurance and two resistance training sessions.

The six-month exercise program ended with a 12-day trekking expedition, according to the study published online in the journal Radiology.

There were no changes in the participants' heart function at the end of the exercise program. But they did have significant decreases in the amount of fat in the abdomen, liver and around the heart, all of which have been shown to be associated with increased risk of heart disease.

"In the present study, we observed that the second layer of fat around the heart -- the pericardial fat -- behaved similarly in response to exercise training as intra-abdominal, or visceral fat. The fat content in the liver also decreased substantially after exercise," study senior author Dr. Hildo Lamb, of the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, said in a journal news release.

He said these exercise-related fat reductions in the liver are particularly important to people with type 2 diabetes, many of whom are overweight or obese.

"The liver plays a central role in regulating total body fat distribution," Lamb said. "Therefore, reduction of liver fat content and visceral fat volume by physical exercise are very important to reverse the adverse effects of lipid accumulation elsewhere, such as the heart and arterial vessel wall."

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'Mobility Shoes' May Help Those With Arthritic Knees: Study

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Special "mobility shoes" might ease the strain on the knees of people with knee arthritis, a small study has found.

This type of flat, flexible footwear is designed to mimic the biomechanics of walking barefoot, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago explained.

The study was funded by the Arthritis Foundation and included 16 people with knee osteoarthritis who wore specially made mobility shoes six hours per day, six days a week. The patients were evaluated after six weeks, three months and six months.

According to the researchers, long-term use of mobility shoes helped the patients adapt their gait (how they walk), which led to a reduction in what's known as "knee loading" -- the force placed on knees during daily activities.

This reduction in knee loading continued even after the patients stopped wearing the mobility shoes, according to the study published in the April 10 online edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Arthritis experts were encouraged by the findings.

"The data show convincing improvements in the 'knee adduction moment,' which is a measure of how the knee moves to the side as the foot strikes the ground," said Dr. Jose Rodriguez, chief of reconstruction arthroplasty at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "By diminishing these forces, the potential is a reduction in the progression of arthritis in the knee."

He added that "the impressive part of the study was the fact that the biomechanical changes in gait pattern were also present using normal shoe wear at the end of the study, indicating a training effect."

Another expert noted that getting the foot and knee to a more "natural" state is often productive.

"Obviously the bare foot is the ultimate shock absorber and mobility footwear allows the foot to absorb the forces during ambulation in a much more natural fashion than other modes of footwear," explained Dr. Richard Iorio, professor and chief of adult reconstruction surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

"There have been similar findings in the 'new running' movement, where distance runners are even going barefoot to avoid the injuries associated with shoes," Iorio added. "Anything that mechanically improves foot and ankle mechanics to minimize load on the knee will help an arthritic knee patient."

Study author Dr. Najia Shakoor agreed. "Our investigation provides evidence that footwear choice may be an important consideration in managing knee osteoarthritis," she said in a journal news release.

"There is much interest in biomechanical interventions, such as orthotic inserts, knee braces and footwear that aim to improve pain and delay osteoarthritis progression by decreasing impact on joints," Shakoor noted.

Rodriguez did have a couple caveats to offer, however.

Further study is needed to see if the benefits persist long-term after people switch back to normal footwear, and while the study "represents excellent science," it "needs to be repeated at a lab not associated with the design of the shoe," he said.

Osteoarthritis, a painful swelling and stiffness in joints (including the hands, feet, knees or hips), affects over 27 million Americans over the age of 25, according to the American College of Rheumatology. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 16 percent of Americans aged 45 and older develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, which is often due to injury or "wear and tear" on the joint.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Richard Iorio, M.D., professor and chief of adult reconstruction surgery, department of orthopaedic surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; Jose A. Rodriguez M.D., chief, reconstruction arthroplasty, and director, Arthroplasty Fellowship Program, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Arthritis & Rheumatism, news release, April 10, 2013

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Mental Illness a Frequent Cell Mate for Those Behind Bars

Title: Mental Illness a Frequent Cell Mate for Those Behind Bars
Category: Health News
Created: 4/5/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/5/2013 12:00:00 AM

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3 Ways to Glide into Those Skinny Jeans

We're pumped to present our favorite story of the week from our pals at POPSUGAR Fitness!

Grab your gliders and slide your way into those skinny jeans -- literally! Using the Valslide or any of these alternatives, you can work your legs and core in a fun, effective way. The idea is rather simple: placing your hands or feet on two smooth pads, you can slide around in any direction -- the key being control. It's a great tool if you prefer using your body weight rather than free weights or if you like to exercise from home. Here are three basic moves you can do anywhere using a pair of gliders. Ready, set, go!

Mountain Climbers

Similar to running in place, this moves quickly helps you break a sweat while toning your legs. Here's how:

With the gliders under your feet, start in a basic, straight-arm plank position. Then, as if you were actually running, draw one foot into you, followed by your other foot. Quickly continue running or "climbing" in place for one minute.Complete three sets.Side Lunge

This exercise is similar to your average side lunge, but the challenge is heightened when done on a slippery surface. Engaging your core and practicing control will help to improve your balance, too! Here's how:

Stand with your feet a few inches apart, with your right foot on the glider. Make a fist with one hand, and cup your other hand over it. Keep your hands in front of your chest throughout the exercise to help you stay balanced. Put weight into your left leg, and as you slowly bend your left knee and squat down, slide your right foot out to the side. Then, as you slowly straighten your leg, slide the right foot back in. Most of your weight remains in the leg that's not moving. Complete three sets of 10 reps on each side. To change up this exercise, you can also slide your foot diagonally behind you.Pike

Combing a plank with a hip lift, this move will target your core without having to do a single crunch. Here's how:

With your feet on the gliders, start in Downward Dog. Similar to if you were on a slide board, extend (or slide) your legs out into a plank position.Keeping the focus on your core, use your abs to pull your way back into a pike.Complete three sets of 20. More from POPSUGAR Fitness: Follow POPSUGAR Fitness on Twitter
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Image Credit: Courtesy ValerieWaters.com

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Alzheimer's Patients Mimic Emotions of Those Around Them: Study

Findings may have implications for caregivers

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- People with Alzheimer's disease or early thinking and memory problems tend to mirror the emotions of those around them, researchers find.

This transfer of emotions, known as emotional contagion, appears heightened in people with Alzheimer's and related mental decline, according to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) team. And it can be important in the management of these patients, they added.

"Calm begets calm," said Dr. Sam Gandy, associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in New York City, who was not involved in the study.

Emotional contagion is a rudimentary form of empathy, enabling people to share and experience other people's emotions, said lead researcher Virginia Sturm, an assistant professor in the UCSF department of neurology.

"It's a way by which emotions travel across people quickly and even without awareness," explained Sturm. This process can shape behaviors and cause changes in the brain, she added.

In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and in people with mild thinking and memory problems, emotional contagion increases, the researchers found. It is even more apparent in people with dementia, they noted.

"In Alzheimer's disease and other dementia we think some people may have an increased sensitivity to other people's emotions," Sturm said.

"As their memory and thinking abilities decline, it seems this is accompanied by the enhancement of other emotional processes," she said.

This means that if caregivers are anxious or angry, their patients will pick up and copy these emotions.

On the other hand, if the caregiver is calm and happy, patients will emulate these positive emotions, Sturm said.

"This is a way Alzheimer's patients connect with others, even though they don't have an understanding of the social situation," she said. "In order to manage patients, it might be that the caregivers being calm and happy would go a long way in keeping their patient calm and happy."

Alzheimer's disease is an age-related brain disorder that begins slowly and gradually robs people of their ability to lead their everyday lives. In the United States, one-third of the nation's seniors die with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The study, published online May 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved 237 adults. Sixty-two patients had mild memory and thinking problems and 64 had Alzheimer's disease. The others were mentally healthy.

Participants took tests to identify depression and other mental health problems and also underwent MRI scans to identify changes in the brain related to emotional contagion.

The researchers found higher emotional contagion in those with mild mental impairment and Alzheimer's disease, compared with those who did not have these conditions.

This growth of emotional contagion paralleled the increase in damage to the right temporal lobe of the brain, reflecting biological changes in the neural system, the study found.

"The right temporal lobe is important for different aspects of emotion and social behavior," Sturm said.

Depression was also greater among those with mild mental impairment and Alzheimer's disease, the study found.

From a neurologist's perspective, "it is extraordinary that something so complex as emotional perception can be controlled by such a localized part of the brain," Gandy said.

"Also, classically it has been the frontal lobe damage that leads to emotional disturbance," Gandy added. "Now we know the temporal lobes can play similar roles."

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one of those posts: I don't know what to do!

Argh! I'm at this awful phase where I'm really NOT thin anymore, which is great. But. I find that whenever I EAT properly, and don't restrict, I have this most enormous appetite, and I'm never full.. and then it kind of sinks in HOW much I'm eating these days, and I freak out in an irrational way, and then I always purge, or always go and swim in freezing water for ages. Then I think the other alternative, to avoid the freaking out about quantity, would be to... not eat all over again. I'm going to see a psychologist some time - I've been going to my dietician for a year, and I've got to that phase where I really do know exactly what to eat when, and I always DO when I'm in the right frame of mind, but when I'm not, there's nothing she can do to change that. 

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Those Childhood Piano Lessons Should Start Early

Title: Those Childhood Piano Lessons Should Start Early
Category: Health News
Created: 2/14/2013 12:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/15/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Are Those Who Multitask Most the Worst at It?

Jan. 24, 2013 -- Next time you see a driver talking on the cell phone and looking confident, you might want to change lanes.

People who often talk on cell phones while driving may think they are experts at such multitasking, but they are typically not, says researcher David Strayer, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Utah.

In this case, Strayer and his colleagues found practice does not make perfect, or even close to it.

"The people who multitask the most seem to be the worst at it," he says, citing his study results. The study is published in PLOS ONE.

However, another expert who has studied the effects of distraction takes issue with the finding. It may only suggest that people who are more intelligent don't talk and drive, as they are aware of the risks, says Erik Altmann, PhD. He is an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University.

Strayer measured the multitasking ability of 277 college students. 

He used a test that involves two tasks. The students had to remember a series of two to five letters. Each of the letters was separated by a simple math equation ("Does 2+4=6?") that they had to decide was true or false.

The students also ranked themselves on multitasking ability. They gave themselves a score, from zero to 100, with 50 termed average.

"Eighty percent said they were at or above average at multitasking," Strayer says. That's statistically impossible.

He jokes that it's akin to thinking they live in Lake Wobegon. That is the fictitious town of humorist Garrison Keillor, where the kids are ''all above average." 

Students self-reported their multitasking, including cell phone use while driving. They also reported multitasking with media such as word processing and Web surfing.

They completed questionnaires that measured their impulsivity and sensation-seeking behaviors.

Students who reported most often talking on the cell phone while driving actually scored 20% lower on the multitasking test than did those drivers who talked on the cell phone the least, Strayer says.

"Those who did the best on the multitasking test tended to talk and drive the least," he says. "They have the self-awareness of their own human limitations to realize it's not safe to talk or text and drive."

Strayer found certain behaviors more common among the frequent multitaskers. "The people doing it the most tend to be impulsive, sensation-seeking, and overconfident in their ability to do that," he says. "It validates your worst nightmare."

Impulsivity was related to overall multitasking, but not to talking and driving. Strayer says that indicates cell phone use in a vehicle is a deliberate choice.

Altmann of Michigan State takes issue with the test used to gauge multitasking. "It is purely a test of working memory capacity that happens to correlate very highly with IQ," he says. "It may or may not reflect multitasking ability."

"They may only show that someone who is smarter doesn't use the cell phone as much when they drive," he says.

Strayer, in response, says that the test is valid, one of many ways to measure multitasking. "It basically does measure the ability to juggle two tasks with different goals at the same time." 

The self-reporting of cell phone use is another limitation of the study, Altmann says, as it may not be accurate.

View the original article here

Are Those Who Multitask Most the Worst at It?

Jan. 24, 2013 -- Next time you see a driver talking on the cell phone and looking confident, you might want to change lanes.

People who often talk on cell phones while driving may think they are experts at such multitasking, but they are typically not, says researcher David Strayer, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Utah.

In this case, Strayer and his colleagues found practice does not make perfect, or even close to it.

"The people who multitask the most seem to be the worst at it," he says, citing his study results. The study is published in PLOS ONE.

However, another expert who has studied the effects of distraction takes issue with the finding. It may only suggest that people who are more intelligent don't talk and drive, as they are aware of the risks, says Erik Altmann, PhD. He is an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University.

Strayer measured the multitasking ability of 277 college students. 

He used a test that involves two tasks. The students had to remember a series of two to five letters. Each of the letters was separated by a simple math equation ("Does 2+4=6?") that they had to decide was true or false.

The students also ranked themselves on multitasking ability. They gave themselves a score, from zero to 100, with 50 termed average.

"Eighty percent said they were at or above average at multitasking," Strayer says. That's statistically impossible.

He jokes that it's akin to thinking they live in Lake Wobegon. That is the fictitious town of humorist Garrison Keillor, where the kids are ''all above average." 

Students self-reported their multitasking, including cell phone use while driving. They also reported multitasking with media such as word processing and Web surfing.

They completed questionnaires that measured their impulsivity and sensation-seeking behaviors.

Students who reported most often talking on the cell phone while driving actually scored 20% lower on the multitasking test than did those drivers who talked on the cell phone the least, Strayer says.

"Those who did the best on the multitasking test tended to talk and drive the least," he says. "They have the self-awareness of their own human limitations to realize it's not safe to talk or text and drive."

Strayer found certain behaviors more common among the frequent multitaskers. "The people doing it the most tend to be impulsive, sensation-seeking, and overconfident in their ability to do that," he says. "It validates your worst nightmare."

Impulsivity was related to overall multitasking, but not to talking and driving. Strayer says that indicates cell phone use in a vehicle is a deliberate choice.

Altmann of Michigan State takes issue with the test used to gauge multitasking. "It is purely a test of working memory capacity that happens to correlate very highly with IQ," he says. "It may or may not reflect multitasking ability."

"They may only show that someone who is smarter doesn't use the cell phone as much when they drive," he says.

Strayer, in response, says that the test is valid, one of many ways to measure multitasking. "It basically does measure the ability to juggle two tasks with different goals at the same time." 

The self-reporting of cell phone use is another limitation of the study, Altmann says, as it may not be accurate.

View the original article here