Low Testosterone Linked to Later Arthritis in Study

Hormonal changes could influence disease severity, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Men with low levels of the hormone testosterone may be at greater risk for rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study.

Both men and women with rheumatoid arthritis have lower levels of testosterone in their blood than people without the disease. But it has not been known whether low testosterone levels are a cause or effect of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis causes pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of joint function. Severe cases can last a lifetime.

In this study, Swedish researchers analyzed blood samples collected from 104 men who were later diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and 174 men of the same age who did not develop the disease. The average time between collection of the blood sample and a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis was just less than 13 years, but ranged from 1 to 28 years.

After taking into account known rheumatoid arthritis risk factors such as smoking and weight, the researchers found that men with lower testosterone levels were more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. They did not, however, prove a cause-and-effect link between the two.

These men also had significantly higher levels of follicle stimulating hormone -- a chemical involved in sexual maturity and reproduction -- before they were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, according to the study, which was published online April 3 in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The findings suggest that hormonal changes occur before rheumatoid arthritis develops and could influence disease severity, the researchers said in a journal news release.

Rheumatoid arthritis results from the immune system attacking the body's own tissues. Previous research suggests that testosterone may dampen the immune system, the researchers said.

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paddle boarding!?!?!

So I really want to try paddle boarding as a form of exercise! Is it easy enough for an overweight person to get the hang of? Is there any weight restrictions? Thanks for the info!

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The First-Ever Quantified Self Notes (Plus: LSD as Cognitive Enhancer?)

The very first Quantified Self meetup, held at Kevin Kelly’s home. Here, Dr. Seth Roberts is speaking, and I’m seated third from the right. (Photo: Kevin Kelly)

Below are the notes I took at the very first Quantified Self meet-up on 9/10/08.

It was held in the picturesque home of Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of WIRED magazine. Surrounded by books, wood paneling, and white boards, we had one hell of a jam session.

From that small, 28-person gathering, “QS” has since grown into a pop-culture term and international phenomenon, with organizations in more than 20 countries. Forbes has even called 2013 “The Year of the Quantified Self.”

Here’s where it started…

Next, just for fun: a term paper (and some random notes) from my sophomore year in college. It’s far from perfect, but it explores some worthwhile questions.

The late Professor Hoebel, a pioneer in food addiction research, was a fascinating man and incredible teacher. This paper was written when I was interested in later joining the lab of Dr. Barry Jacobs, which was focused on brain monoamine neurotransmitters. Alas, I couldn’t hack the requisite animal testing and later switched from neuroscience to East Asian Studies with a focus on language acquisition.

And now to the question: could LSD function as a cognitive enhancer? Hmmm…

For posts on my own self-experimentation, click here and scroll through.

A huge styrofoam robot — one of many wonders in Kevin Kelly’s home. (Photo: Telstar Logistics)

Posted on April 3rd, 2013

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Tweaking Dietary Fat Mix Might Boost Prostate Cancer Survival

Men who subbed vegetable oils, avocados, nuts for animal fats fared better in study

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Men with prostate cancer may boost their survival chances if they replace animal fats and carbohydrates in their diet with healthy fats such as olive oils, nuts and avocados, new research suggests.

Men who substituted 10 percent of their daily calories from animal fats and carbs with such healthy fats as olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds and avocados were 29 percent less likely to die from spreading prostate cancer and 26 percent less likely to die from any other disease when compared to men who did not make this healthy swap, the study found.

And a little bit seems to go a long way. Specifically, adding just one daily tablespoon of an oil-based salad dressing resulted in a 29 percent lower risk of dying from prostate cancer and a 13 percent lower risk of dying from any other cause, the study contended.

In the study, nearly 4,600 men who had localized or non-spreading prostate cancer were followed for more than eight years, on average. During the study, 1,064 men died. Of these, 31 percent died from heart disease, slightly more than 21 percent died as a result of prostate cancer and slightly less than 21 percent died as a result of another type of cancer.

The findings appeared online June 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study can't say for sure that including healthy fats in the diet was responsible for the survival edge seen among men. "The main take-home message is that consuming healthy fats and nuts may have a protective role," said study author Erin Richman, a postdoctoral scholar in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 2013, there will be nearly 239,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 30,000 men will die from the disease, according to estimates from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

"The next step is to plan a randomized controlled trial of these healthier fats and see whether and how they affect the prostate," Richman said. "The novel finding in this study seems to be a benefit on prostate cancer survival." She noted that there is already a large body of evidence suggesting that healthy fats help reduce heart disease risks.

An editorial by Dr. Stephen Freedland of Duke University Medical Center accompanied the new study.

"We can say for sure that being obese increases the risk of dying of prostate cancer," Freedland said. "The new study gives us some more clues. It suggests that cutting out saturated fats and carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats can also lower the risk of dying from prostate cancer."

Another expert praised the new study while noting that the findings aren't conclusive.

"This study is well-designed and offers some evidence that a diet higher in vegetable fat and lower in carbohydrates might reduce risk of premature death from prostate cancer in men with prostate cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body," said Eric Jacobs, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society. "While these results are exciting, there have been few other studies in this area and more are needed before conclusions can be made about the effect of vegetable fat or other dietary factors on prostate cancer progression."

Moreover, Jacobs said, "there is stronger evidence that smoking and obesity increase risk of prostate cancer recurrence and death from prostate cancer, giving prostate cancer survivors one more reason to avoid smoking and maintain a healthy weight."

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Get Scarlett Johansson's Superhero Bod in One Move

Scarlett Johansson rocks that magic combo of curves, confidence and fitness that somehow inspires a we-can't-help-it obsession in us all. I mean, girl is gorgeous. As femme fatale Black Widow in The Avengers -- which is in the running for an MTV Movie Award this weekend! -- she looks so damn comfortable in that skintight body suit (not to mention this to-die-for burgundy gown), she got us jonesing get a bodacious superhero body, too.

To the rescue: L.A.-based trainers Bobby and Alicia Strom, who worked with Johansson while she was prepping for the role. "She really puts 100% into getting ready for whatever role she needs to play," says Bobby. "When she was going to be in The Avengers, she wanted to be more athletic and toned."

So, what's the first thing you learn in Action Star 101? You need to get a core hovering in that "rock solid" zone. "She was being shot around in a harness, doing kicks and jumps," says Bobby. "She [needed] to be strong enough not to get hurt doing stunts."

The trainer had Johansson strengthening her core with a tough super move that combines the Inchworm with knee tucks. Check out this totally homemade but insanely awesome how-to video featuring Alicia Strom (who's sporting super-chic Victoria's Secret VSX Sport Line, btw). Once we nail this move like Scarlett did -- watch out world, cat suit here we come!

Inchworm with Knee Tuck

Standing straight up, bend to touch your toes, keeping knees straight. Crawling out with your hands, keeping your knees stiff, so that you're stretching glutes and hamstrings. Walk your hands out to a plank position. Do a knee tuck by crossing your right knee toward your left shoulder. Do one knee tuck with each leg, then walk your hands back slowly, stand up and stretch toward the sky. Do the entire move 10 times for some fat-blasting results!

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Image Credit: Fairchild Archive

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Study: Low Blood Pressure May Weaken Brains of Some Heart Patients

Pressure that's too low -- or too high -- might damage brain cells, new research suggests

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- People suffering from cardiovascular disease who have lower-than-normal blood pressure may face a higher risk of brain atrophy -- the death of brain cells or connections between brain cells, Dutch researchers report.

Such brain atrophy can lead to Alzheimer's disease or dementia in these patients. In contrast, similar patients with high blood pressure can slow brain atrophy by lowering their blood pressure, the researchers added.

Blood pressure is measured using two readings. The top number, called systolic pressure, gauges the pressure of blood moving through arteries. The bottom number, called diastolic pressure, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats. Normal blood pressure for adults is less than 120/80, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

For the study, 70 to 90 was considered normal diastolic blood pressure, while under 70 was considered low.

"Our data might suggest that patients with cardiovascular disease represent a subgroup within the general population in whom low diastolic blood pressure might be harmful," said researcher Dr. Majon Muller, an epidemiologist and geriatrician at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

On the other hand, lowering blood pressure in people with high blood pressure might slow brain atrophy, she said.

"Our findings could imply that blood pressure lowering is beneficial in patients with higher blood pressure levels, but one should be cautious with further blood pressure lowering in patients who already have low diastolic blood pressure," Muller added.

The report was published in the June 10 online edition of JAMA Neurology.

A U.S. expert noted the complex effects of blood pressure levels on the brain.

"High blood pressure has been shown to increase the risk of vascular brain lesions and brain atrophy. Trials of blood pressure lowering in patients with hypertension have shown reduced risk of brain lesions," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

However, in patients with hypertension, the relationship between the levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and brain atrophy has been less clear, he said.

This new study suggests that low diastolic blood pressure levels were associated with brain atrophy regardless of blood pressure levels after patients developed dementia, Fonarow said.

"These findings suggest that while treatment and control of high blood pressure is very important for brain and cardiovascular health, caution is needed in patients who have low diastolic blood pressure levels," he said.

To see what changes blood pressure would make in the progression of brain atrophy, Muller's group studied 663 patients who suffered from heart disease, cardiovascular disease, peripheral artery disease or abdominal aortic aneurysm. The average age of participants was 57 and most were men.

People whose diastolic blood pressure was below 70 had more brain atrophy over time, the study found. For people with higher-than-normal blood pressure, brain atrophy decreased when their blood pressure did. When blood pressure rose, however, atrophy increased.

Another expert, Dr. Sam Gandy, associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in New York City, said that the finding "is an important cautionary tale."

"This implies that one must adapt the approach to the individual patient. Correction of hypertension is helpful, but reducing blood pressure in patients with normal blood pressure is risky and complicated," Gandy said.

Although the study found an association between low diastolic blood pressure and the risk of developing brain atrophy for people with artery disease, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

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Melanoma Rates Rising in U.S. Children

Deadly skin cancer still rare in kids, but long-term study found 2 percent yearly increase among whites

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, doesn't usually occur in kids, but a new study shows that it's happening more often.

While melanoma in children is still extremely rare, the rate increased by about 2 percent per year from 1973 to 2009 among U.S children from newborns to age 19. Melanoma accounts for up to 3 percent of all pediatric cancers, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

According to the study, 1,317 children were diagnosed with melanoma during the study time frame. Of these, 1,230 children were white. Because the number of melanoma cases among other racial and ethnic groups was so small, researchers focused the analysis on white children.

The biggest jump in melanoma rates was seen among adolescents aged 15 to 19, especially girls, the study showed.

The new findings were published in the May print issue of Pediatrics.

Recent studies have also shown that melanoma is on the rise among adults as well. Exactly what is driving these trends is not fully understood, but increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation from both the sun and tanning booths as well as greater awareness of melanoma may be responsible, according to study authors led by Jeannette Wong of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

The researchers used a database to capture trends in childhood melanoma, but they did not have any information on participants' tanning habits or sun exposure history.

Boys were more likely to develop melanomas on their face and trunks, while girls were more likely to have melanoma on their lower legs and hips, the investigators found. Other risks for melanoma among children and adults include fair skin, light-colored hair and eyes, moles, family history of melanoma and a history of sunburns.

Dr. Amy Forman Taub, a dermatologist in Lincolnshire, Ill., said that tanning behaviors have a lot to do with the increasing rates of melanoma in children and adults. "It's the tanning booths and the fact that we go away on vacation where we are exposed to a lot of intense sun," she said.

Genes may also play a role, suggested Taub, who was not involved in the new study.

Melanoma in kids looks pretty similar to melanoma in adults, Taub said. They have irregular borders, are asymmetrical -- if you cut them in half, you would not get two equal sides -- have uneven colors, and a diameter that is greater than 6 millimeters (about one-fifth of an inch). "Parents should be aware of any new or changing moles in their children," she advised.

Choosing a sunscreen that blocks both ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays and reapplying it frequently is important, she said. Sun-smart clothing can also help protect children.

Dr. Ana Duarte, director of pediatric dermatology at Miami Children's Hospital, agreed. "Early diagnosis of melanoma is beneficial," she said, and the importance of protection can't be overstated. "Sunscreen and or sun protection are so important for children," Duarte said, and whatever you do, "don't ignore changing moles, even in children, because melanoma can occur in kids."

Dr. Michele Green, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the new study puts childhood melanoma on the radar, and that's a good thing.

"It is rare, but children do get melanoma," Green said. "When in doubt, get it checked out. The good news is that we know how to prevent melanoma, and when we catch it early, we have really good cure rates."

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