Our weekly roundup of the latest developments in the world of health. This week we look at how common non-prescription medications may ward off Alzheimer's disease, how hormone replacement may affect vision and how extra radiation may improve the prognosis for young women with breast cancer. We also look at what sperm shape says about a man's fertility and why some doctors say kids need more protection during air travel.
Stay well.
This Issue:
NSAIDs And Alzheimer's HRT And Dry Eyes Extra Radiation For Breast Cancer Sperm Shape And Fertility Airline Safety For Kids In The News:
NSAIDs And Alzheimer's A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug a day may keep Alzheimer's at bay. A report published in the journal
Nature finds that taking common over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen may protect against the degenerative disease. In studies in mouse cells, researchers found that some NSAIDs inhibited production of a protein called amyloid-beta 42, a component in the plaques that kill brain cells in Alzheimer's patients, by as much as 80 percent, The Associated Press reports. But not all NSAIDS have this protective effect, the researchers found. The connection between NSAID use and reduced Alzheimer's risk had previously been noted by scientists, but the new study is the first to offer an explanation for the phenomenon, the AP says. The researchers say high doses of NSAIDs should not be used to prevent the illness, the AP says.
HRT And Dry Eyes
Taking hormone replacement at menopause may cause dry eyes. In a study published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital find that HRT may significantly increase the risk of dry eye syndrome, a condition that can impair vision but does not usually cause blindness. The researchers looked at 25,389 women 49 and older. They found that the women taking estrogen-only hormone supplements were about 70 percent more likely to develop dry eye syndrome than women who did not take hormones. Women taking combination estrogen-progesterone hormone supplements had a 30 percent greater risk. The researchers could not say exactly how hormone replacement might cause dry eyes, but speculate that estrogen might inhibit functioning of a gland that produces an oily substance in tears, The Associated Press reports. The researchers caution that women should not make the decision about whether to take hormones based solely on results of this study, the AP says.
Extra Radiation For Breast Cancer
Extra radiation can significantly cut the risk that new tumors will form in some breast cancer patients. A European study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine finds that younger breast cancer patients who receive extra doses of radiation at the spot where their tumor was removed are half as likely to have a recurrence compared to women who don't get those "booster" doses. The study involved 5,569 breast cancer patients from the Netherlands, France and Belgium. All the women had had their tumors surgically removed and got five weeks of follow-up whole-breast radiation, the standard treatment. The researchers had 2,661 of the women undergo a second radiation treatment aimed at the spot where their tumors had been. They found that overall, 7.3 percent of the women who received the standard treatment developed new tumors, compared to 4.3 percent of the women who got extra radiation. But the effects were more dramatic for women under 40 years old, who have the highest risk of breast cancer recurrence, The Associated Press reports. Of the 228 younger women who got standard treatment, 19.5 percent had a recurrence, while among the 221 younger women who got extra radiation, 10.2 percent developed new tumors, the AP says. The researchers say their findings suggest that extra course of radiation, already standard practice in the United States, should become standard treatment for both older and younger breast cancer patients.
Sperm Shape And Fertility
What's the best way to figure out whether a man is infertile? The shape of his sperm, say researchers from eight universities. In a study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers say that the number of well-formed sperm a man has -- that is, sperm that have an oval-shaped head and whiplike tail -- is the best indicator of fertility. The findings, based on examination of the semen of men in 765 infertile couples and 696 couples who'd had children, challenge current guidelines for evaluating semen quality, The Associated Press reports. According to World Health Organization standards, "normal" semen contains 20 million sperm per milliliter, with at least half of them motile, the AP says. The new study finds that men are more likely to be fertile if they have more than 48 million sperm per mL, with more than 63 percent motile and 12 percent normally shaped. Men were more likely to be infertile if they had fewer than 13.5 million sperm per mL, with fewer than 32 percent motile and fewer than 9 percent well-formed. The researchers point out that their guidelines are not absolute indicators of whether a man will be able to father a child, but they say they may give fertility specialists a better tool for evaluating semen, the AP says.
Airline Safety For Kids
Airline travel isn't as safe as it should be for small children. That's what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say. In a policy statement published in its journal
Pediatrics, the AAP recommends mandatory child safety seats on all airplanes. The policy recommends that young children weighing less than 20 pounds be required by law to be seated in rear-facing safety seats and that those over a year old and weighing 20 to 40 pounds be mandatorily placed in forward-facing safety seats. The AAP notes that while the overall risk of injury or death on commercial flights is very low, it is significantly higher for infants who aren't properly restrained than for adults, The Associated Press reports. The organization suggests that airlines offer lower fares for children who are restrained in safety seats. The AP quoted a Federal Aviation Administration representative as saying the FAA is drafting a proposal for mandatory safety seats for kids on planes.
Used with the permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. The above summaries are not intended to provide advice on personal medical matters, nor are they intended to be a substitute for consultation with a physician.
