Macular Degeneration and Vitamin D

Vitamin D may help protect women against age-related macular degeneration. ABC World News (4/11, story 8, 1:55, Stephanopoulos) reported that vitamin D may help protect women against age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study. MedPage Today (4/11, Neale) reported that "looked at data from the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), which was conducted under the umbrella of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. In CAREDS, age-related macular degeneration status was assessed an average of six years after serum samples were analyzed for 25(OH)D status." The new analysis, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, "included 1,313 women ages 50 to 79." WebMD (4/11, Hendrick) reported that "in the study, researchers say women under 75 who got the most vitamin D had a 59% decreased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, compared to women with the lowest vitamin D intake." The "researchers also found that the women who had a blood vitamin D level higher than 38 nmol/L had a 48% decreased risk of early" AMD. "A blood level of 50 nmol/L is considered sufficient, according to the Institute of Medicine."

End of Life Study

Dartmouth researchers release report on end-of-life care. The New York Times (4/12, A22, Hartocollis, Subscription Publication) reports, "At the end of life, people with chronic diseases like cancer get more aggressive medical care in the New York area than anyplace else in the country, continuing a trend going back decades, according to a report released on Monday by researchers at Dartmouth College." The researchers, who "looked at federal data from 2007, the most recent year available, found that 46 percent of chronically ill patients in the Manhattan hospital region, which also covers most of Brooklyn and Staten Island, were being treated at hospitals when they died, as opposed to dying at home or in hospices or nursing homes. That rate was the highest in the country." Modern Healthcare (4/12, Barr, Subscription Publication) reports that "in the study, the average patient spent 10.9 days in the hospital during the last six months of life in 2007, compared with 11.3 in 2003." The researchers also found that "in 2003, 32.2% of patients in the last six months of their life died in a hospital; by 2007, the rate had dropped to 28.1%." Meanwhile, "the average number of hospice days per patient in the last six months of life increased to 18.3 days from 12.4 days." The St. Paul Pioneer-Press (4/12, Snowbeck) reports that the researchers found that "Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota are less likely than those in other states to die in a hospital, because doctors and hospitals elsewhere pile on costly -- and perhaps unwanted -- care at the end of life," which is "part of the reason average Medicare spending per beneficiary in Minnesota is significantly below the national average." The Salt Lake Tribune (4/12, Henetz) reports that "Utah residents at the end of their lives spent the fewest number of days in hospitals in the nation -- 6.4 days, compared to a national average of 11.2 days." Just "12 percent of those who died spent time in an ICU, the nation's lowest rate." The researchers also found that "Utahns who died received more days of hospital-related hospice services than any other state except Oklahoma, and close to twice the national average."

Ovarian Cancer Risk

Talc-based powder use may increase ovarian cancer risk by 30%. MedPage Today (4/7, Bankhead) reported that the "use of talc-based powder significantly increases the risk of invasive ovarian," according to findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research. The researchers analyzed data from a "case-control study involving more than 2,000 women with ovarian cancer and a similar number of women without the cancer." Talc applications were estimated from "patient-reported frequency and duration of use." After adjusting for "age, parity, oral contraceptive use, tubal ligation," BMI, smoking or alcohol use, and ethnic/racial or familial breast or ovarian cancer history, the study team performed analyses for cases of nonmuscinous-invasive, nonserous-invasive, and serous-invasive cancer. They found that for all analyses, talc use was associated with "an increased prevalence of ovarian cancer; the magnitude of the difference between users and nonusers ranged between 20% and 40%, most often about 30%."

Ecstasy and Brain Damage

MRI scans show long-term ecstasy users may be at risk for brain damage. HealthDay (4/7, Preidt) reported, "Long-term users of the illegal drug ecstasy" (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) are at risk for "brain damage," according to a study in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. The researchers used MRI scans to measure the "volume of the hippocampus" in 10 men who were long-term ecstasy users and seven men "who had never used the drug." On average, the users had taken an "average of 281 ecstasy tablets" over the previous six years. The scans revealed that compared to non-users, ecstasy users had an average 10.5-percent "less hippocampal volume" and an average "4.6-percent lower overall proportion of grey matter in the brain, which suggests that the effects of ecstasy may not be limited to the hippocampus." According to WebMD (4/7, Hendrick), the study authors said their findings "mirror previous research that has indicated acute swelling and later atrophy of hippocampal tissue in long-term ecstasy users." Notably, the scientists pointed out that hippocampus atrophy "is a hallmark" for progressive cognitive-impairment diseases, such as Alzheimer's. Medscape (4/7, Lowry) noted that the ecstasy users had also "used more amphetamine and cocaine," but there were "no significant differences between the two groups in recreational drug exposure, other than ecstasy. Both groups also drank alcohol regularly." Meanwhile, Jean M. Bidlack, PhD, professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York, who was not involved in the study, said the preliminary trial "needs to be followed up with a larger study that enrolls a greater number of former ecstasy users."

Meditation vs. Morphine

Meditation may be more effective than morphine. The Chicago Tribune (4/8, Cevallos) reports, "Meditation appears to be a powerful way to take away pain -- just a short session is more potent than even morphine, if we're to believe the headlines." According to "a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, meditation rookies reported feeling less pain after meditation training than they had felt before the training." Notably, the "study, from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, echoes other research that suggests clearing your mind can reduce pain, but it's far too early to recommend that chronic pain sufferers toss out their pain-killers." The participants in the study attended 20-minute classes four times, which focused on breathing and relaxation.

Daily alcohol drinking may increase risk for certain cancers. The Los Angeles Times (4/11, Cevallos) "Booster Shots" blog reports that cancer risk "increases with every extra daily drink," according to a study in the British Medical Journal. The analysis of "364,000 people in eight countries," found that "44% of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract" in men and 25% in women "might be linked to alcohol"; liver cancer "(33% in men, 18% in women)"; colorectal cancer "(17% in men, 4% in women)"; and about 5% of "breast cancers in women." The American Cancer Society agrees that alcohol "raises the risk of cancer in the mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus." Alcohol may act as a "solvent," to tissue lining, "allowing harmful chemicals through (especially tobacco from smoking)," ACS explained. Alcohol may also raise drinkers' cirrhosis risk by "further damaging liver cells"; and it may "change estrogen levels," increasing breast cancer risk.

Strawberries and Cancer

Strawberries may inhibit pre-cancerous esophageal lesion growth, study suggests. The Wall Street Journal (4/6, Dooren, Subscription Publication) reported that eating strawberries may halt the growth of precancerous lesions in the esophagus, according to findings presented Wednesday at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Florida. According to the Los Angeles Times (4/7, Cevallos) "Booster Shots" blog, noting that strawberries have "shown promise for inhibiting throat-tumor growth" in rats, researchers from Ohio State University asked "36 people at high risk for esophageal cancer to eat 60 grams (2 ounces) of freeze-dried strawberries every day for six months." They compared tissue samples from the esophagus "before and after" the six months, and found that in "29 people, precancerous lesions...were downgraded on a cancer scale." The Time (4/6, Park) "Healthland" blog noted that in esophageal cancer cases, about 50% of those with "moderate pre-cancerous" lesions and "25% of those with mild" lesions go on to develop malignant tumors, so "finding ways to halt their march can have a major impact on the incidence of the disease," lead researcher Tong Chen emphasized. She pointed out, however, that "gulping down pints of strawberries isn't the answer to fighting cancer. A larger, more rigorous trial that includes both people at risk of esophageal cancer and healthy, low-risk controls....needs to be conducted." The study was also covered by WebMD (4/6, Doheny).