Notes on Health News

Exercise and Fibromyalgia

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:54:45 -0800

Fibromyalgia is being recognized as a brain-related problem. We know that exercise has many positive effects on the brain. A new study presented at the Neuroscience 2011, the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, showed that six weeks of aerobic exercise can relieve fibromyalgia pain when analgesics are discontinued. The exercise also improves working memory. While the study was small with only 9 women, it did make use of functional MRI, and examined the women on medication, after a washout period without medication, after 6 weeks without medications, and then after a 6 week aerobic exercise intervention. Doesn’t this suggest that insurance should pay for exercise therapy rather than medications in these cases?

Dehydration May Contribute to Emotional Problems

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:53:05 -0800

A small study with 25 young women was published in The Journal of Nutrition. That study found that mild dehydration dampened moods, increased fatigue, and led to headaches. People who exercise need to drink more water than people who don’t exercise. Remember, once you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.

Aspirin Not such a Good Idea in Primary Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:52:05 -0800

A new meta-analysis of all the evidence to date of using aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease in those with lower risk suggests that the risks outweigh the benefits. This study was published online January 9, 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. None randomized placebo-controlled trials with a total of 100,000 participants showed that over a mean follow-up of six years, aspirin treatment reduced total cardiovascular events by 10%, primarily due to a reduced incidence of myocardial infarction, but there was a 30% increased risk of nontrivial bleeding events. Nontrivial includes hemorrhagic strokes and gastrointestinal bleeding. This trial affirms what I wrote in an earlier blog post. Another earlier study found that aspirin may reduce the risk of certain cancers. This study was not long enough to show that, and didn’t show that.

Exercise, Dementia and APOE E4

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:51:07 -0800

People with the APOE E4 genetic variant, which can be tested for in most labs, have a greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. A report published in the January 9, 2012 online edition of Archives of Neurology, researchers found that consistent moderate exercise (30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week) reduced brain amyloid deposition, especially in people with the APOE E4 genetic variant. Brain amyloid deposition is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is unclear, but may have to do with exercise increasing brain growth factors, decreasing brain inflammation, and improving brain metabolism in general.

Tamiflu Research Called into Question

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:50:07 -0800

The prestigious Cochrane Library published a review of the data on oseltamivir (Tamiflu), one of the few anti-viral drugs available and found many inconsistencies. the found that the drug’s maker, Roche, failed to provide access to nearly 60% of the research on oseltamivir. Anywhere from 3,400 to 49,000 deaths per year are associated with influenza virus. The range is probably so large because many times the people who die already have other illnesses that compromise their health. Roche admitted that several of the published studies were ghostwritten. None of those show adverse effects. A Japanese study showed Tamiflu to have higher nervous-system-related and psychiatric adverse events than among patients on placebo. The bottom line is that Tamiflu can reduce the time one suffers from influenza by an average of 21 hours. This drug is being stock-piled by many countries, as there are very few anti-virals available. I’m sure that Roche has made a fortune on this drug.