FDA Approves New Drug to Fight Advanced Prostate Cancer

Xofigo was fast-tracked for approval and is meant for tumors that have spread to the bones

By EJ Mundell

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has approved a drug to help men with advanced prostate cancer whose disease has spread to the bones.

The drug, Xofigo, is targeted to patients with late-stage, metastatic disease that has spread to the bones but not to other organs, the FDA said in a news release. It is meant for patients who have already undergone surgery and/or drug therapies such as hormone-based treatments.

The FDA said Xofigo was approved more than three months ahead of the original August 2013 deadline the agency had set for a complete review. Instead, the drug was reviewed under the agency's "priority" review program, designated for medicines that appear safe and effective in a context where no good alternative therapy exists.

"Xofigo binds with minerals in the bone to deliver radiation directly to bone tumors, limiting the damage to the surrounding normal tissues," Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, explained in the news release.

In a clinical trial involving more than 800 men with symptomatic prostate cancer that was resistant to hormonal therapy and had spread to the bones, men on Xofigo survived a median of 14 months compared to a little over 11 months for men taking a placebo. Side effects from Xofigo included nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and swelling of the legs and feet. Low levels of red and white blood cells, as well as platelets, were also reported among some patients taking Xofigo, the FDA said.

Pazdur noted that "Xofigo is the second prostate cancer drug approved by the FDA in the past year that demonstrates an ability to extend the survival of men with metastatic prostate cancer." The other drug, Xtandi, was approved by the FDA last August for men with hormone treatment-resistant prostate cancers that have spread or recurred, and who had previously been treated with the drug docetaxel.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer remains the leading cancer type among men outside of skin cancer, and about one man in every six will develop the illness during his lifetime. Caught early, it is often curable. About 239,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed among American men each year, and nearly 30,000 men die from the disease annually.

Xofigo is co-marketed in the US by Wayne, N.J.-based Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Algeta US of Cambridge, Mass.

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Muhammad Ali's Daughter Champions Fight Against Parkinson's Disease

By Barbara Bronson Gray
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- At 71, boxing legend Muhammad Ali -- the only three-time World Heavyweight Champion -- continues to fight his most challenging opponent ever: Parkinson's disease. And according to his daughter, he's still facing life straight on.

"This is the man who when he was fighting would say 'I'm going to knock the other guy out in five,'" said Maryum (May May) Ali. "That personality translates to how he deals with Parkinson's. No one's really been that confident as an athlete, and that's how he is with the disease."

May May is Ali's first child. Married four times, the former champion has six other daughters and two sons.

Thinking back, May May believes Ali was showing signs of Parkinson's in his second-to-last fight, a few years before his 1984 diagnosis. "You lose your [sense of] smell, get constipation issues," she said. "Most people have those non-motor symptoms first. But no one knew that back then."

Initially, in 1981, Ali was told he had a form of the condition that would not progress, May May said. But it did. As time went by, Ali learned how to manage the symptoms of his disease. He took his medications a couple of hours before working out, and he saw a neurologist who specialized in movement disorders, she explained.

Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which result from the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The four primary symptoms of Parkinson's are trembling in the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; stiffness of the limbs and trunk; slowness of movement; and impaired balance and coordination. As the disease progresses, patients may have difficulty walking, talking or completing other simple tasks. In the United States, about 500,000 people have the disease.

"Don't wait until you can't walk down the hallway to get the right advice. You may be able to slow the progression of the disease," May May advised. "Make it your business to know everything you can about what it is that's affecting your life." She also encourages people with Parkinson's to work with a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders.

Committed to raising people's understanding of the disease, May May, 44, has supported the Parkinson Alliance as a spokesperson since 2002. This includes helping publicize its annual Unity Walk, which was held Saturday in New York's Central Park. She also works as a program manager in Los Angeles' gang reduction and youth development program. Divorced, with no children, she said she's committed to helping others and is also studying organizational management at Antioch University.

While some promising new approaches to treating Parkinson's loom on the horizon, researchers say the condition is still poorly understood.

"We have no solid theory of what causes Parkinson's disease," said James Beck, director of research for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. "We still know so little about the disease. A lot of basic science needs to be funded."

Beck said the drugs available now are designed to help reduce disease symptoms but don't attack their cause. Late-stage clinical trials are looking at what role so-called "A2A receptor antagonists" might play in reducing movement problems. Scientists are also testing possible gene therapy and stem cell applications, and looking at mutations in cell proteins associated with Parkinson's to understand what part they might play. They're also looking at what role, if any, the immune system might have in fighting development of the disease, he explained.

"There's a lot of hope for people with Parkinson's disease -- and progress is being made -- but it needs to be measured hope," Beck said.

Ali, now in the later stages of Parkinson's, has 24-hour care. His personality hasn't changed and "there's no doom and gloom with him," said May May. "He'll look at you, nod his head, and sometimes he can talk a bit, depending on the time of day and when he last took his medications."

Ali flies to his homes in Arizona, Kentucky and Michigan, and loves going to baseball games, May May said. "He's still enjoying life."

"As for spending time with my Dad, I enjoy his company still," she added.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Maryum (May May) Ali, Los Angeles, Calif.; James C. Beck, Ph.D., director of research, Parkinson's Disease Foundation, New York City, and adjunct assistant professor, department of physiology and neuroscience, New York University

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Clinical Trials Helped One Woman's Fight Against Cancer

By Barbara Bronson Gray
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Monica Barlow, a 35-year-old from Maryland, was training for a half-marathon when she noticed she couldn't shake a bad cough and ongoing fatigue. After a couple of rounds of antibiotics from an urgent care clinic didn't work, she sought another opinion.

A CT scan brought wrenching news: There was a tumor in her left lung.

"I never smoked, I eat well, exercise and had never had any medical problems prior to this," Barlow said. "To say it was a shock doesn't even begin to describe it."

Four years later, Barlow has been through a series of ups and downs. After learning the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and liver, she started chemotherapy, which only shrunk the tumors temporarily. She then joined two consecutive clinical trials, each offering to help control her cancer with novel drugs.

Barlow, who is director of public relations for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, credits her participation in those clinical trials with prolonging her life.

Clinical trials test potentially promising treatments for a wide range of challenging diseases. But it can be difficult to find a good match for your particular situation and tough to know where to start looking. Even when you join a suitable trial, the outcomes are far from a sure thing.

Such has been the case for Barlow.

After she found out the lung cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and liver, she started an 18-week course of intravenous chemotherapy -- carboplatin, pemetrexed (Alimta) and bevacizumab (Avastin). Then there was some good news: The treatment had stabilized or shrunk all of the tumors.

A year later, her doctor found that the liver tumors were back. Because he discovered Barlow carried the ALK gene mutation, he suggested she join a clinical trial for a medication called crizotinib (Xalkori).

Initially, she didn't know if she was taking the real drug or a placebo. "That was a concern," she said. "It wasn't great to hear; it was stressful." Later in the trial, all patients were able to get the actual drug and placebos were no longer given to anyone, she said.

Barlow took Xalkori for two years, but last year the cancer returned yet again, requiring three ablations (localized methods to destroy a tumor without removing it) and two chemoembolizations (which deliver chemotherapy directly to the liver tumor while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues). Those procedures were not effective, and the next step was surgery to remove almost half of her liver.

Then, when tumor growth appeared in the new liver tissue that had grown back after the surgery, her doctors suggested she try a second clinical trial for a drug called LDK 378, which is being developed by Novartis.

The treatment continues to be tough. "This drug is a lot more difficult for me to take [than the drugs in the first clinical trial]," she said. "There are a lot of side effects, like nausea and vomiting."

Although the medication seems to be shrinking her liver tumors, just recently she had problems with a lung infection and a collapsed lung after a bronchoscopy. That has forced her to take a break from the trial; she hopes to restart as soon as the infection is gone.

Barlow continues to work, traveling with the team when she can. When she's sidelined by her illness, she's frustrated. "I can't believe I had to miss opening day [for the Orioles] this year," she said.

Because she has what she calls "excellent insurance," Barlow hasn't had to face serious medical bills. There is no charge for the care associated with her clinical trial, she said. But she and her family pay for the cost of traveling to her clinical trial site in Philadelphia, including hotel and meals, which can add up when she has an occasional hospital stay there, she added.

The drug Barlow is taking now wasn't available when she was diagnosed three years ago, she said.

"There are so many new things coming out, changing how cancer is being treated, so it's really important to be your own advocate or have someone who is advocating for you," she said. "The Internet can be a huge way to help you stay on top of the latest resources."

Barlow's fight highlights the potential value of a new system to help people more easily access clinical trials, both near and far from home.

A new Internet resource, MyClinicalTrialLocator.com, has just been launched to make it easier for people to find clinical trials that fit their needs.

Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, an internist in West Palm Beach, Fla., gave $100,000 from the Bruce and Marsha Moskowitz Foundation to help support the development of the free website.

"We made this site to be easy to use and understandable to anybody: patient-centric, not doctor-centric," Moskowitz said. "Hopefully, anyone will be able to receive help if they need it."

The website is designed to help visitors search for trials available by medical condition, treatment, location, medical center or other terms. It's accurate, updated frequently and includes information from clinicaltrials.gov (sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health) and academic medical centers, Moskowitz said.

The site offers information about clinical trials worldwide, provides a mapping function to pinpoint the location of a trial and will notify users when trials matching their needs become available. It also allows patients to email clinical trial researchers directly, and academic medical centers can update and correct information on the site in real time.

Despite her many challenges, Barlow thinks clinical trials will help extend her life. "I know this drug won't work forever. But there will be other drugs out there, drugs [that are now] in the early stage of development, and when I need them, I'll switch to those drugs," she said. "The answers are out there; it's just a matter of researchers finding them."

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Monica Barlow, Ellicott City, Md.; Bruce Moskowitz, M.D., internist, West Palm Beach, Fla.; March 27, 2013, press release, Biomedical Research and Education Foundation and the Bruce and Marsha Moskowitz Foundation

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Zumba Launches Fight Against Hunger

There are things that are good for you (exercise), and things that are good for the world (charity). And there's only so many hours in a day so a girl's gotta multitask, right? Cue Zumba Fitness, the crazy party workout, and its just-launched Great Calorie Drive, that benefits Feeding America and the United Nations World Food Programme. How it goes down: for every class you take, Zumba will donate 750 calories worth of food to these charities. (This means that when you're burning off last night's French fries, you'll be giving someone a bowl of oatmeal).

Zumba is challenging the world to donate 2.6 billion calories, which will mean 3.5 million meals by the time the challenge ends in June. That's a huge amount of food, right? Consider that 870 million people worldwide are affected by hunger, so we need to all do our part -- and all you have to do is dance! Just download the app and check in when you attend a Zumba class. Before you go, snag a cute "Burn Baby Burn" racerback tank or cargo pants -- 30% of the sale of World Hunger Stopper apparel goes to Feeding America and the WFP. Sweat for charity and clothes? Sold.

RELATED LINKS:

Image Credit: Tom Rafalovich

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Clinical Trials Helped One Woman's Fight Against Cancer

And new tool for finding the right match may help others get novel treatments

By Barbara Bronson Gray

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Monica Barlow, a 35-year-old from Maryland, was training for a half-marathon when she noticed she couldn't shake a bad cough and ongoing fatigue. After a couple of rounds of antibiotics from an urgent care clinic didn't work, she sought another opinion.

A CT scan brought wrenching news: There was a tumor in her left lung.

"I never smoked, I eat well, exercise and had never had any medical problems prior to this," Barlow said. "To say it was a shock doesn't even begin to describe it."

Four years later, Barlow has been through a series of ups and downs. After learning the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and liver, she started chemotherapy, which only shrunk the tumors temporarily. She then joined two consecutive clinical trials, each offering to help control her cancer with novel drugs.

Barlow, who is director of public relations for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, credits her participation in those clinical trials with prolonging her life.

Clinical trials test potentially promising treatments for a wide range of challenging diseases. But it can be difficult to find a good match for your particular situation and tough to know where to start looking. Even when you join a suitable trial, the outcomes are far from a sure thing.

Such has been the case for Barlow.

After she found out the lung cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and liver, she started an 18-week course of intravenous chemotherapy -- carboplatin, pemetrexed (Alimta) and bevacizumab (Avastin). Then there was some good news: The treatment had stabilized or shrunk all of the tumors.

A year later, her doctor found that the liver tumors were back. Because he discovered Barlow carried the ALK gene mutation, he suggested she join a clinical trial for a medication called crizotinib (Xalkori).

Initially, she didn't know if she was taking the real drug or a placebo. "That was a concern," she said. "It wasn't great to hear; it was stressful." Later in the trial, all patients were able to get the actual drug and placebos were no longer given to anyone, she said.

Barlow took Xalkori for two years, but last year the cancer returned yet again, requiring three ablations (localized methods to destroy a tumor without removing it) and two chemoembolizations (which deliver chemotherapy directly to the liver tumor while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues). Those procedures were not effective, and the next step was surgery to remove almost half of her liver.

Then, when tumor growth appeared in the new liver tissue that had grown back after the surgery, her doctors suggested she try a second clinical trial for a drug called LDK 378, which is being developed by Novartis.

View the original article here

Healthy fats may fight early-stage prostate cancer

Posted June 12, 2013, 2:38 pm

Each year, nearly a quarter of a million American men learn they have prostate cancer. Most are diagnosed with early-stage cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate gland. Traditional treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, and a “watch and wait” strategy called active surveillance. A new study published online this week in JAMA Internal Medicine indicates that diet may be an important add-on. The study, part of the ongoing Harvard-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study, suggests that eating more foods that deliver healthy vegetable oils can help fight the second leading cause of cancer death in men.

“It’s one of the first studies to look at dietary interventions after men have been diagnosed with prostate cancer,” says Dr. Marc B. Garnick, a prostate cancer specialist at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “It supports the idea that you can potentially modify the behavior of prostate cancer that is still confined to the prostate gland.”

The study involved about 4,500 men who were diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, which means it had not yet spread beyond the walnut-sized prostate gland. Since 1986, they have been reporting what they usually eat by completing detailed food surveys every four years.

Study participants who ate the largest amount of vegetable fats were less likely to die from prostate cancer—or any other cause—than men who consumed the most animal fats. Most of the vegetable fats consumed by the men came from oils in salad dressings and nuts.

The men who consumed the most vegetable oil lived longer, in part because their cancers were less likely to spread beyond the prostate gland. That suggests, but does not prove, that a diet rich in vegetable oils can slow the progression of the prostate cancer.

Earlier studies have implicated the traditional Western diet, which is relatively high in red meat and other sources of animal fats, with a higher risk for developing prostate cancer in the first place, while eating more vegetable oils and vegetable protein may help prevent it.

“One of the things I tell my patients is not to eat animal fat, or to at least limit its consumption,” Dr. Garnick says. He bases this advice on decades-old data that show a direct relationship between the amounts of animal fat consumed and incidence of prostate and other cancers. It’s never been possible to prove cause and effect between dietary fat and cancer, but this new study lends support to the idea that animal fats may modify the characteristics of prostate cancer.

Although the study focused on oils and fats, it’s important to consider what the men who consumed a lot of vegetable oils were not eating: refined carbohydrates, such as processed white bread, white rice, and desserts.

In the study, men who replaced 10% of their total calories from carbohydrates with calories from vegetable oils were 29% less likely to die from prostate cancer or any other cause over eight years of follow-up.

This one study, of course, can’t prove that a healthful diet fights prostate cancer. For one thing, this type of long-term follow-up study can only show an association between diet and prostate cancer. There were also some differences between the groups. The men who ate the most vegetable oil were healthier to start with. At diagnosis, their blood levels of PSA—a marker for cancer activity—were lower than in the group that ate the most animal fat. Conversely, the men who ate the most animal fats had more unhealthy characteristics. They were more overweight and less physically active, and more of them smoked (7% compared with about 1% in the vegetable-fat group).

Researchers used statistical methods to compensate for these important differences. “Any of these negative influences would independently lead to a worse outcome,” Dr. Garnick says. “Have they accounted for everything? In these studies, you can never be sure.”

So we don’t really know what contributed most to keeping prostate cancer in check—eating more beneficial vegetable oils, eating fewer (or healthier) carbohydrate-rich foods, or eating less meat. It may not matter, since all three are part of a healthful diet.

The JAMA Internal Medicine study, like so many others before it, endorses an overall healthy diet that goes easy on red meat and includes generous amounts of plant foods that deliver healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These come from foods like avocados, walnuts, and soybean, canola, and extra virgin olive oils. That kind of diet has been linked with lower risks of heart disease, cancer, and a host of other chronic conditions.

This week is Men’s Health Week. As we cruise toward Father’s Day, I hope that all men will give themselves the gift of health. One important step in that direction is adopting a diet that may fight prostate cancer and will benefit everything from the head to the feet.

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FDA Approves New Drug to Fight Advanced Prostate Cancer

Xofigo was fast-tracked for approval and is meant for tumors that have spread to the bones

By EJ Mundell

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has approved a drug to help men with advanced prostate cancer whose disease has spread to the bones.

The drug, Xofigo, is targeted to patients with late-stage, metastatic disease that has spread to the bones but not to other organs, the FDA said in a news release. It is meant for patients who have already undergone surgery and/or drug therapies such as hormone-based treatments.

The FDA said Xofigo was approved more than three months ahead of the original August 2013 deadline the agency had set for a complete review. Instead, the drug was reviewed under the agency's "priority" review program, designated for medicines that appear safe and effective in a context where no good alternative therapy exists.

"Xofigo binds with minerals in the bone to deliver radiation directly to bone tumors, limiting the damage to the surrounding normal tissues," Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, explained in the news release.

In a clinical trial involving more than 800 men with symptomatic prostate cancer that was resistant to hormonal therapy and had spread to the bones, men on Xofigo survived a median of 14 months compared to a little over 11 months for men taking a placebo. Side effects from Xofigo included nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and swelling of the legs and feet. Low levels of red and white blood cells, as well as platelets, were also reported among some patients taking Xofigo, the FDA said.

Pazdur noted that "Xofigo is the second prostate cancer drug approved by the FDA in the past year that demonstrates an ability to extend the survival of men with metastatic prostate cancer." The other drug, Xtandi, was approved by the FDA last August for men with hormone treatment-resistant prostate cancers that have spread or recurred, and who had previously been treated with the drug docetaxel.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer remains the leading cancer type among men outside of skin cancer, and about one man in every six will develop the illness during his lifetime. Caught early, it is often curable. About 239,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed among American men each year, and nearly 30,000 men die from the disease annually.

Xofigo is co-marketed in the US by Wayne, N.J.-based Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Algeta US of Cambridge, Mass.

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New Drug May Help Immune System Fight Cancer

Early study found tumor reduction in several forms of the disease

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug that taps the power of the body's immune system to fight cancer is shrinking tumors in patients for whom other treatments have failed, an early study shows.

The drug binds to a protein called PD-L1 that sits on the surface of cancer cells and makes them invisible to the immune system, almost like a cloaking device.

"That [the protein] allows the tumor cell to grow unchecked and cause harm to the patient," said study author Dr. Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at Yale University.

But with the protein blocked, the immune system can see and destroy cancer cells.

Of 140 patients in the pilot safety study, 29 (or 21 percent) initially saw significant tumor shrinkage after at least three months on the medication. Researchers say 26 patients have continued to respond over time, including some who have been on the drug for more than a year. One patient saw tumors disappear completely.

The drug also seems to work on a wide range of cancers, including some of the toughest to treat, including non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma skin cancer, colorectal cancer, kidney cancer and stomach cancer.

"This has all the characteristics of a really amazing drug," said Herbst, who has been testing new cancer medications for two decades. "I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen response rates like this."

The study was funded by Genentech/Roche, the company that is developing the drug. The results were presented at a Wednesday news conference organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in advance of its annual meeting, which starts May 31 in Chicago.

Study results presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary because they have not been subjected to the rigorous scrutiny required for publication in a medical journal.

At least four other companies -- Merck, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, MedImmune and Amplimmune -- also are racing to develop drugs that target PD-L1 or the molecule that binds to it (PD-1).

"I don't think in the history of cancer therapy have you had five or more companies virtually simultaneously developing antibodies targeted at the same pathway," said Dr. Drew Pardoll, co-director of cancer immunology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Baltimore.

Pardoll is testing a drug that targets PD-1 for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He was not involved in the current study.

The drugs are part of a wave of new treatments that work by spurring the immune system to take on tumors. These drugs are building on the successes of medications like Provenge, the first cancer immunotherapy, which was approved in 2010 to treat prostate tumors, and Yervoy, which was approved in 2011 to treat metastatic melanoma.

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Social Media May Help Fight Childhood Obesity

Title: Social Media May Help Fight Childhood Obesity
Category: Health News
Created: 12/4/2012 5:19:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 12/5/2012 12:00:00 AM

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Healthy Snacks Help Kids Fight Obesity

Snacks of Veggies and Cheese Leave Kids Feeling Fuller Faster

Dec. 17, 2012 -- Healthy snacks including veggies and cheese can help take the edge off of kids’ between-meal hunger pangs, and may help put a dent in rates of childhood obesity.

In a new study, children who were given cheese and vegetables as a snack ate 72% fewer calories than children who snacked on potato chips, and this effect was even more pronounced among kids who were overweight or obese.

What’s more, these kids needed fewer calories to feel full than those who ate chips.

The study included about 200 kids entering third or sixth grades. They were given chips, cheese, veggies, or a combination of veggies and cheese, and allowed to snack freely while watching a 45-minute TV show.

While children offered the veggies-only option took in the fewest calories, those offered the combo snack or only cheese took in about the same number of calories. But either option meant far fewer calories than those who were served potato chips, suggesting that replacing potato chips even with cheese alone may also be an option.

“Eliminating snacking altogether is impractical, and in some cases can backfire,” the researchers write. But replacing unhealthy snacks with more nutritious choices such as cheese and veggies may result in less backlash.

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.

The good news is that children will accept healthier snacks, says Erin Corrigan, RD. She is a clinical nutrition manager at Miami Children's Hospital in Florida. “Snacks are an important part of a child's diet if you provide nutrient-dense foods,” she says.

Yes, cheese can be high in calories, but it is also high in protein and calcium, she says. “Fruits and vegetables have more fiber, which helps people feel full quicker and longer, and when combined with protein it’s the perfect combination for a well-balanced snack.”

Choices are good and give kids a sense of control, she says. “They should be equally healthy.”

Connie Diekman, RD, says the new findings make sense. She is the director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. “Protein and carbohydrate help elevate blood sugar while sustaining the elevation of the blood sugar, thus aiding [fullness], versus potato chips alone,” she says. In addition, the fiber in the vegetables likely added to the feeling of fullness.

So what are some solid snacking choices for kids? Diekman suggests:

Cheese and fruitCheese and whole-grain crackersYogurt and granolaHummus and veggiesPeanut, sunflower, or almond nut butter with fruit or whole-grain crackers

View the original article here

Healthy Snacks Help Kids Fight Obesity

Snacks of Veggies and Cheese Leave Kids Feeling Fuller Faster
WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 17, 2012 -- Healthy snacks including veggies and cheese can help take the edge off of kids’ between-meal hunger pangs, and may help put a dent in rates of childhood obesity.

In a new study, children who were given cheese and vegetables as a snack ate 72% fewer calories than children who snacked on potato chips, and this effect was even more pronounced among kids who were overweight or obese.

What’s more, these kids needed fewer calories to feel full than those who ate chips.

The study included about 200 kids entering third or sixth grades. They were given chips, cheese, veggies, or a combination of veggies and cheese, and allowed to snack freely while watching a 45-minute TV show.

While children offered the veggies-only option took in the fewest calories, those offered the combo snack or only cheese took in about the same number of calories. But either option meant far fewer calories than those who were served potato chips, suggesting that replacing potato chips even with cheese alone may also be an option.

“Eliminating snacking altogether is impractical, and in some cases can backfire,” the researchers write. But replacing unhealthy snacks with more nutritious choices such as cheese and veggies may result in less backlash.

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.

Slideshow: How to Get Kids to Eat More Veggies

The Kids Are All Right

The good news is that children will accept healthier snacks, says Erin Corrigan, RD. She is a clinical nutrition manager at Miami Children's Hospital in Florida. “Snacks are an important part of a child's diet if you provide nutrient-dense foods,” she says.

Yes, cheese can be high in calories, but it is also high in protein and calcium, she says. “Fruits and vegetables have more fiber, which helps people feel full quicker and longer, and when combined with protein it’s the perfect combination for a well-balanced snack.”

Choices are good and give kids a sense of control, she says. “They should be equally healthy.”

Connie Diekman, RD, says the new findings make sense. She is the director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. “Protein and carbohydrate help elevate blood sugar while sustaining the elevation of the blood sugar, thus aiding [fullness], versus potato chips alone,” she says. In addition, the fiber in the vegetables likely added to the feeling of fullness.

So what are some solid snacking choices for kids? Diekman suggests:

Cheese and fruit Cheese and whole-grain crackers Yogurt and granola Hummus and veggies Peanut, sunflower, or almond nut butter with fruit or whole-grain crackers

 

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

Connie Diekman, RD, director of university nutrition, Washington University, St. Louis.

Wansink, B. Pediatrics, 2012, study received ahead of print.

Erin Corrigan, RD, clinical nutrition manager, Miami Children's Hospital.

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Diabetes Drug Metformin May Fight Cancer

BySalynn Boyles
WebMD Health News Reviewed byLouise Chang, MD

Dec. 3, 2012 -- One of the oldest, cheapest, and most widely used diabetes drugs may be a promising new cancer treatment.

In new research from the Mayo Clinic, ovarian cancer patients who took the drug metformin survived longer than patients who did not take it.

The study is just one of dozens under way worldwide examining the drug -- which costs just pennies a pill -- as a treatment for breast, colon, prostate, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers.

“I happen to be very hopeful that metformin will prove to be a useful cancer treatment,” says American Cancer Society chief medical and scientific officer Otis Brawley, MD.

Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Ovarian Cancer

Diabetes Drug Fights Cancer?

Metformin (also known as Glucophage) has been approved to control blood sugar in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, and it has been used in Europe for more than 50 years.

It is used by millions of people with type 2 diabetes and those at risk for developing the disease.

In the study, Mayo clinic researchers followed 61 women with diabetes taking metformin who also had ovarian cancer, and 178 ovarian cancer patients without diabetes who were not taking the drug.

Even though the metformin-takers and non-takers were matched for age, ovarian cancer stage, and other key variables likely to impact survival, the women who took the drug had improved survival.

After five years, 67% of women who took metformin had not died from ovarian cancer, compared to 47% of women without diabetes who did not take the drug. The researchers also found that among women with diabetes who took insulin or other diabetes drugs, 43% of those taking insulin and 34% of those taking other diabetes drugs had not died from ovarian cancer.

The study was published online today in the journal Cancer.

“The survival difference in the two groups was striking,” says researcher Sanjeev Kumar, MBBS.

William Cliby, MD, agrees. He directs the department of gynecologic surgery at the Mayo Clinic.

While it was not clear if taking the diabetes drug caused the women with diabetes to live longer, Cliby says the data certainly pointed in that direction.

“Every way we looked at this, the metformin group always did better,” he says.

 

More Study Needed, Researchers Say

The researchers say the findings illustrate the need for clinical trials to determine if the diabetes drug really does have a place in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Until these trials are done, metformin is not likely to be included in the drugs now used by patients with the disease, even though it has been used by tens of millions of people and has a long safety record.

Common side effects include problems such as diarrhea, bloating, gas, and indigestion.

While these complaints are not often serious, Brawley points out that they mimic symptoms commonly associated with ovarian cancer relapse.

“I could easily see a woman having a lot of unnecessary anxiety because she thinks her cancer is back, or her doctor being fooled into ordering a lot of unnecessary diagnostic tests,” he says.

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Social Media May Help Fight Childhood Obesity

BySalynn Boyles
WebMD Health News Reviewed byLouise Chang, MD

Dec. 4, 2012 -- Kids and teens increasingly keep in touch through social media, and all that texting, tweeting, and online networking can be a powerful tool for combating childhood obesity, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

In a newly released statement, the group calls for more research to help doctors and health policy makers incorporate social media into existing obesity prevention and management programs.

“Almost all kids have Internet access and many have smartphones,” says Duke University chief of pediatric cardiology Jennifer S. Li, MD. “We need to take advantage of social networking to connect with them because it is the way they are connecting with their friends.”

Social Networking Can Fight Fat

An AHA committee led by Li evaluated the research on Internet-based interventions designed to promote weight loss, physical activity, and healthy eating.

The group concluded that the studies have been mixed, and more research is needed to develop strategies for optimizing the use of Web-based interventions in the fight against childhood obesity.

Greater involvement by parents, counselors, and peers was linked to better weight loss outcomes among overweight children and teenagers who participated in one online program, Li says.

She adds that the traditional methods of attempting weight loss, such as seeing a doctor or joining a support group, lack the immediacy of going online.

But the statement warned of potential downsides to social media, including possible exposure to cyber bullying, privacy issues, and spending too much time in front of the screen.

“Because of their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, adolescents can be at risk as they navigate social media,” the AHA writing group noted.

The report was published Dec. 3 online and it will appear in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Circulation.

Half of Teens Use Social Media Daily

According to a recent survey of 13- to 17-year-olds, 9 out of 10 teens have used social media, and more than half (51%) use it daily.

Seattle pediatrician Robert Pretlow, MD, created the web site Weigh2Rock more than a decade ago to help children and teens struggling with weight issues. He says the site averages between 50,000 and 100,000 hits a month.

Last May, he discussed the potential power of social networking to help children and teens lose weight and stay active at the European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France.

“What most kids who are overweight can’t do in the real world is talk about their weight with anyone,” he says. “They don’t talk about it at school, or with their friends, or at home because they are too embarrassed. They don’t want to call attention to it. Ever.”

He says the kids and teens who visit Weigh2Rock seem to like the anonymity of the site, which offers online forums, chat rooms, success stories, and tips for healthy eating and weight loss.

He adds that more than 99% of visitors never post on the site but are content to view the postings of others.

But that doesn’t mean that these "lurkers," as he calls them, don’t benefit.

“Kids who are overweight often feel like they are all alone,” he says. “When they go on the site and see post after post from kids who have the same experiences and problems they have had, it makes them realize this isn’t true. Even if they never post a word, this can be very powerful.”

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

Li, J.S. Circulation, Jan. 15, 2012.

Jennifer S. Li., MD, division chief of pediatric cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.

Robert Pretlow, MD, pediatrician, Seattle, Wash.

News release, American Heart Association.

Common Sense Media: "Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives."

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