Magnetic Implant May Ease Chronic Acid Reflux

By Amy Norton

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- An implanted magnetic device could offer a new treatment option for people with chronic heartburn that is not controlled with medication, a small study suggests.

The study, reported in the Feb. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, tested a newer approach to taming stubborn cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) -- one of the most common health conditions diagnosed in the United States.

GERD arises when the ring of muscle between the esophagus and stomach fails to close properly, allowing stomach acids to splash up into the esophagus. The main symptom is chronic heartburn.

For people who have frequent heartburn -- more than twice a week -- the go-to medications are the so-called proton pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium. But studies estimate that up to 40 percent of people on those drugs do not get enough relief.

The new study included 100 such GERD patients. They all received an implant -- a bracelet-like device composed of magnetic beads -- that wraps around the portion of muscle where the esophagus joins the stomach. The point is to "augment" the muscle and prevent stomach acid reflux.

After three years, researchers found, 64 percent of the patients had their acid reflux cut by at least half. And 87 percent had been able to stop taking their proton pump inhibitors altogether.

"That's huge," lead researcher Dr. Robert Ganz said of the medication reduction.

It's estimated that Americans spend $14 billion a year on prescription proton pump inhibitors. Because of the costs and potential side effects, many people would like to drop the drugs, said Ganz, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

He cited bone-thinning as one potential long-term side effect. "A lot of women do not want to be on proton pump inhibitors for that reason in particular," Ganz said.

The device his team studied is already approved in the United States and marketed as the LINX Reflux Management System by Torax Medical, Inc., which also funded the study.

Ganz said he could envision the device as an option for "some fraction" of the 20 million to 30 million Americans who take a daily medication for GERD symptoms.

There are, of course, less extreme ways to manage your heartburn. Diet changes and weight loss often help, and if your heartburn is milder, over-the-counter antacids or drugs called H2 blockers -- brands like Zantac and Tagamet -- may be enough.

Proton pump inhibitors, which block acid production, are often recommended for people with more frequent heartburn. If that doesn't work, surgery is typically seen as the last-ditch option.

Traditionally, that has meant a 50-year-old procedure called Nissen fundoplication, where the upper part of the stomach is stitched around the lower end of the esophagus.

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Amber Rose gives birth

Amber Rose and rapper fiancé Wiz Khalifa have welcomed their first baby.

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Childhood Bullying Can Leave Lifelong Scars

Title: Childhood Bullying Can Leave Lifelong Scars
Category: Health News
Created: 2/20/2013 4:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/21/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Johnny Depp at the Letterman studios in New York

Browse through Glamour's extensive daily celebrity photo gallery online today. Check out what your favourite celebrity has been up to!

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Dialysis Catheters Tied to Higher Risk for Infection, Death, Study Finds

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Dialysis patients using catheters have a higher risk for death, infection and heart problems than patients using other procedures to access the blood, according to a new analysis.

Researchers examined 67 studies involving nearly 600,000 dialysis patients to compare the risks associated with three procedures used to access the blood: arteriovenous fistula, arteriovenous graft and central venous catheter.

An arteriovenous fistula is formed when a patient's vein and artery are connected to form a site through which blood can be removed and returned. An arteriovenous graft is a plastic channel between an artery and a vein. A third option for dialysis patients is a catheter, which patients often use to avoid surgery or needles or because of declining health.

Because of kidney failure, more than 1.5 million people around the world are treated with hemodialysis. The procedure involves filtering the blood to remove wastes, extra salt and water.

In conducting the study, the researchers assessed the link between these three types of vascular access and death, infection and major heart problems, such as heart attack and stroke.

The study, published Feb. 21 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology , revealed that patients using catheters had a 38 percent greater risk for a major heart problem, a 53 percent higher risk of dying and more than double the risk of developing a fatal infection than patients with fistulas.

Grafts also had an 18 percent higher risk of death and a 36 percent greater risk of serious infections than fistulas. But the researchers noted that patients with grafts did not have a greater risk for a major heart problem than those with fistulas.

Assuming patients on dialysis were of similar health, the researchers concluded that catheters used for hemodialysis have the highest risks for death, infections and heart trouble, while fistulas are the least risky.

"Our findings are reflected in current clinical practice guidelines, which promote fistulas as the preferred form of bloodstream access in hemodialysis patients," Dr. Pietro Ravani, of the University of Calgary, in Canada, said in a journal news release.

The study's authors noted that patients involved in the study who were using catheters were probably sicker than those using fistulas. They concluded that more research is needed to determine individual patient risk and assess the safety of the various types of blood access used for hemodialysis.

More information

The U.S. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearninghouse provides more information on hemodialysis.

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Mosquitoes Can Become Desensitized to DEET

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Mosquitoes can become desensitized to the insect repellent DEET, according to a new study.

Although most bugs are strongly deterred by DEET, the researchers had previously found that some mosquitoes and flies carry a genetic change in the odor receptors on their antennae that allows them to ignore the smell.

In their new study on a particular type of mosquito, the researchers found that a short-term change rather than a genetic adaptation makes them immune to the repellent's smell for at least a few hours after exposure.

The findings were published Feb. 20 in the journal PLoS ONE.

"Our study shows that the effects of this exposure last up to three hours. We will be doing further research to determine how long the effect lasts," James Logan, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a journal news release.

The study involved Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit dengue fever and bite in the daytime. The researchers found that even brief exposure to DEET was enough to desensitize the mosquitoes to the repellent's smell.

Up to three hours after being exposed to DEET, the mosquitoes were not deterred by the product and were still attracted to heat and human skin.

"We think that the mosquitoes are habituating to the repellent, similar to a phenomenon seen with the human sense of smell. However, the human olfactory system is very different from a mosquito's, so the mechanism involved in this case is likely to be very different," Logan said. "This doesn't mean that we should stop using repellents -- on the contrary, DEET is a very good repellent and is still recommended for use in high-risk areas. However, we are keeping a close eye on how mosquitoes can overcome the repellent and ways in which we can combat this."

More information

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more about DEET.

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1 in 8 Americans Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes: Poll

By Amanda Gardner

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- A staggering one in eight Americans has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll suggests.

And more than one third of those polled have been diagnosed with diabetes or have a parent, sibling, spouse or child with the condition.

"Type 2 diabetes has become one of the most common and fastest growing diseases. Fully one in eight adults -- approximately 29 million people -- now report that they have been diagnosed with this dangerous condition," said Harris Poll Chairman Humphrey Taylor.

Added Dr. Ronald Tamler, clinical director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center in New York City: "Diabetes is very insidious. You don't know you're in trouble until the complications hit or until it's so out of control you have uncontrolled urination and thirst" -- two of the common symptoms of diabetes.

While type 2 diabetes is occurring in epic proportions, the new poll also found that awareness of the disease is still surprisingly low, with only 21 percent of those surveyed considering themselves well-versed on the disease. That means the remaining 79 percent may not know they're at risk or may already have the disease, which is known as the "silent" killer.

But people already diagnosed with diabetes tend to be much more aware of the health risks, with slightly more than two-thirds considering themselves either "extremely" or "very" knowledgeable about the disease, the poll found.

Still, 35 percent of respondents with diabetes said their diabetes was only "somewhat" controlled and 5 percent said it was "not at all" well controlled.

"Because diabetes is a chronic condition, the treatment of which is critically dependent on patient behavior and self-care, this may be the most alarming finding," Taylor said.

On a more encouraging note, many people polled do understand that a number of factors can contribute to type 2 diabetes, including being overweight (79 percent of respondents realize this is a risk factor), diet (74 percent) and physical inactivity (62 percent).

These numbers were greater among people who had been diagnosed with diabetes.

Interestingly, 60 percent of respondents know that genetics can be a component of type 2 diabetes.

"We have a public perception that type 2 diabetes is entirely a disease of lifestyle and that is not true," said Dr. Robert Ratner, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association. "There is no question that lifestyle contributes to it, but the problem is one of biology . . . Environment really does play a role but the biology sets them up."

Indeed, certain ethnic groups, including many Native American tribes, bear a disproportionate diabetes burden, Ratner added.

Most adults, whether they actually have diabetes or not, seem fairly knowledgeable about the long-term consequences of the disease, which can include amputation of limbs, blindness, kidney disease and heart disease, the poll found.

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