Health and Medicine – Page 32

Punched while drunk

It’s usually fairly easy to justify even the most esoteric of scientific research in terms of improving our fundamental understanding of the universe etc etc. But, when a press release pops up announcing that drinking [alcohol] can be dangerous and that “People who drink alcohol are up to four times more likely than non-drinkers to be hurt from physical injuries such as a fall or punch…” you begin to wonder about your convictions. Apparently, this astounding discovery was made by researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, who found that, “any alcohol consumption quadrupled the risk of injury for the first six hours after drinking alcohol and this risk remained at 2.5 times that of a non drinker for the next 24 hours.”

Do you have to have had a drink to be punched, I guess the inhibition inhibiting effects of alcohol can make some people say more provocative things that might offend someone and land them in a fight, but what about someone having a few “tinnies” alone in an armchair watching Aussie soap opera Neighbours or listening to Kylie? Are they more likely to suffer an injury or more weirdly get punched.

Some people might say that if they’re really watching Neighbours or listening to Kylie they deserve all they get, but Kerianne Watt earned her PhD for also discovering that, “people who sustained serious injuries were more likely to have consumed beer and have been drinking in a licensed premises” and “Binge drinkers were more at risk of being injured than regular drinkers”.

“My findings suggest that it’s not a property of the beverage that increases aggression and risk of injury, it’s more a personality characteristic that is attracted to a certain type of alcohol,” Watt says.

I suppose the research can be justified in terms of understanding the nature of alcohol abuse and how it relates to injury rates and it probably is quite useful to know what kinds of drink are most associated with injury, but strewth this still feels like this should have been published in the Australian Journal of the Bleedin Obvious (Aus J Bleed Obv), don’t you think?

You can read the complete press release here.

No plaice like home

The slime that covers the flat-fish plaice contains an antimicrobial agent that kills Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria causing concern in hospitals across the globe as its drug-resistant strains spread.

Chemical engineer Trude Tvete of Nord-Trondelag University College (HiNT) in Norway, has developed a technique for extracting the antimicrobial protein from plaice slime and has tested its biological activity against several types of bacteria. “Previous research has shown that plaice slime kills bacteria, but it didn’t show which substance breaks the bacteria,” says Tvete. “I found that there is a protein in the slime that has the greatest effect.”

Read on…

Hoodia gordonii FAQ

Hoodia gordonii from BBC site This southern African succulent plant tastes nasty but generations of San bushmen in the Kalahari Desert have eaten it to suppress their appetites on countless hunting trips. As such, it has become a focus of quick-fix weight loss programs.

What is Hoodia gordonii?
It’s a prickly succulent plant that grows in southern Africa and resembles a cactus but isn’t one.

What can it do?
Hoodia gordonii can apparently reduce calorie intake and lower body fat. A patented extract known as p57 and owned by Phytopharm is currently undergoing clinical safety and efficacy tests.

Why do the San bushmen use it?
They eat it for food, althouh H gordonii itself is bitter tasting and only eaten when the going gets really tough.

How was Hoodia’s appetite suppressing properties discovered?
It was investigated as part of a scientific research project established by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which tested lots of bush foods and discovered that surprisingly Hoodia extracts made you feel fuller than you really were as well as lowering body weight without toxicity.

Do all Hoodia species reduce appetite?
Only Hoodia gordonii extract has been tested clinically on human volunteers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that whole plant extract or other products won’t work.

So it definitely works?
Phytopharm’s 2001 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of overweight, but healthy volunteers showed a statistically significant fall in daily calorie intake as well as a drop in body fat percentage. [There is anecdotal evidence that products obtained from the plant (rather than isolated extract) can reduce body weigth]

Does it work quickly?
Large doses are needed but it takes just 15 days to see a calorie reduction on average of 1000 (kcal) per day.

What are the side-effects?
None have been found so far, but that does not mean that safety studies are not needed before it can get the green light for safety and efficacy.

Will the San bushmen benefit from the sales of Hoodia?
CSIR has entered a “benefit-sharing agreement” with a San representative organisation to ensure they benefit financially from the commercialisation of patented Hoodia gordonii extract. (Actually CSIR did not, allegedly, enter this agreement voluntarily but did so as a result of legal action).

Hoodia is CITES listed, what does that mean?
It means if you visit southern Africa and steal the succulent plant and try and take it out of the country or otherwise gain from it, you’ll get fined massively and face a jail sentence under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The BBC reported on the Phytopharm trials in May 2003 and was saying then that potential users should be patient. In their report, they pointed out that the Hoodia tablets available via the internet that they had tested did not contain any of the active ingredient. A natural pill for obesity that really works will come, it just may be another few years in the making.

The original Phytopharm FAQ can be found here. More information on the various Hoodia species is available here.

Phytopharm has, I have been told, sold their licence to Unilever.

Celiac disease and food additive

An enzyme added to foods containing gluten could put an end to the misery of celiac disease for many sufferers, allowing them to eat almost anything they fancy without having to worry about the effects on their digestive system.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine in which an abnormal reaction to the gluten protein in wheat, barley, and rye results in inflammation, which causes a temporary flattening of the nutrient absorbing villi that line the bowel. This prevents sufferers absorbing nutrients effectively from their diet. Until now, the only course of action is to avoid all foods containing gluten.

The full story is now available on chemistry news site Reactive Reports

Grape expectations controversy to put you to sleep

Certain Italian grape varieties used in popular red wines may contain high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin, according to an analysis by Marcello Iriti, Mara Rossoni, and Franco Faoro at the University of Milan. However, a melatonin expert in the US is unconvinced by the results citing the undefinitive nature of the analytical procedures used to test the wine.

Until recently, scientists considered melatonin to be a compound produced exclusively by mammals. Some researchers reckon plants too could produce this compound. Melatonin has also been shown to have antioxidant properties. Russel Reiter and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in San Antonio, reviewed the literature and explained how melatonin directly detoxifies the hydroxyl radical (OH), hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, peroxynitrite anion, peroxynitrous acid, and hypochlorous acid.

Find out more in the latest chemistry news round up at Reactive Reports.

Cranberry Against Tooth Decay

Cranberries have a special place in modern herbal folklore, the presence of antioxidant flavonoids in these tart but edible berries are thought to have antimicrobial activity. Now, US researchers have demonstrated that the extracts of the red fruit can prevent Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium responsible for dental caries, from having its wicked way with your teeth and so potentially halt tooth decay.

“We are not offering the solution for the elimination of dental caries,” team leader Hyun Koo of Rochester University told me, “but rather an alternative approach to help to reduce it.”

He adds that using cranberry or its food products for oral hygiene purposes is not recommended because they contain too much sugar (both natural and added) and are very acidic. However, “We have shown that there are some specific compounds that may help to reduce caries. The challenge is to find those that are biologically active. Then, we can think about one day using them in mouthwash or toothpaste,” he explains.

Read the full story in the Reactive Reports Summer Special

Deaf to warnings of mp3 player risk

Are you deaf to the risks of hearing loss from mp3 player aural satisfaction?

According to a survey published today by Deafness Research UK, more than half of 16-24 year olds listen to their MP3 player for more than an hour a day, with almost 20% using for 21 hours a week. Trouble is, 68% of them don’t realise that listening to their MP3 player at loud volume can permanently damage their hearing.

It’s not exactly a new message, as a teenager, I heard the same calls for quiet when the first wave of Walkman cassette players were around and I’m sure generations of wind-up 78 gramophone flappers were told not to put the needle on the record too often or stick their ear too close to that brass cone. It’s a sensible message though, as I am sure many a deaf middle-aged rocker will testify.

Deafness could strike mp3 users 30 years earlier than their parents, the survey says. At least compared with those parents who didn’t overdo it with their Walkmans, one must assume. The survey results are published to mark the launch of a partnership between Specsavers Hearcare and Deafness Research UK to help fund deafness research.

Apparently, 14% of people spend up to “a staggering” 28 hours a week listening to their personal music player. I’m pretty sure some people watch more TV than that and if you go clubbing for five hours three times a week and listen to music on the other days that would quickly add up to far more than any “staggering” 28 hours. More than a third of people who have experienced ringing in their ears after listening to loud music, listen to their MP3 player every day. The news release doesn’t say whether these two facts are actually connected. Every youngster has experience temporary tinnitus after a music gig that usually lasts a day and I suspect that most gig goers listen to their mp3 players fairly frequently too. It would be hard to separate the two issues. Gig tinnitus or mp3 loudness…

Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK, says: ‘Many young people are regularly using MP3 players for long periods of time and are frighteningly unaware of the fact that loud noise can permanently damage your hearing.

‘More than three quarters of people own a personal music player and sophisticated sound systems in their car and homes, which allow them to blast out music day and night. We also spend more time today in bars and clubs where the noise is so loud we can barely hear the person opposite us and few people — particularly the 16-34 year old age group – are aware of the damaging effect all this can have on their hearing.’

This kind of quote appears to be so out of touch that it’s simply unbelievable, “we also spend more time in bars and clubs…”? Really, when I were a lad, we used to spend at least three nights a week clubbing or at gigs where “we could barely hear each other drink”. And, yes maybe it is having an effect on my hearing, but it really is nothing new and yes we used to “blast out” music from our stereos (unsophisticated or otherwise) and play electric guitars too loud and all the rest. Nothing new under the sun, madam I’m afraid.

Meanwhile, there is a serious message underpinning this Deafness press release hidden among the fogeyness: Vivienne Michael continues: ‘Hearing loss can make life unbearable. It cuts people off from their family and friends and makes everyday communication extremely difficult. We want people to realise that their hearing is as important as their sight and protect their ears against any potential damage.’

Fair enough. Stop playing it at “11” and you might just be okay. Oh, and don’t stay out too late, and remember to say please and thank you and look both ways before you cross the road…

Copper Sulfate Swimming Pool

swimming pool Belgian scientists today reiterated a warning that certain cases of asthma could be linked to swimming in stuffy “chlorinated” indoor pools but chemistry may have the answer, according to charity Allergy UK, which has awarded its ‘Seal of Approval’ to a novel alternative of which hot-tubbing ancient Greek philosopher Archimedes would be proud.

The novel solution involves using copper sulfate at levels permitted for drinking water to temper bacterial blooms in a swimming pool rather than to attempt to destroy them completely. The idea was discovered by the Greeks way back when but is used today by NASA to keep drinking water clean in space.

The product, which goes by the name Pristine Blue, is approved for use in the US, and allows the 1 in 3 kids who suffer an allergic reaction to pool “chlorine” to get in the swim without having to worry about the reaction. It also means an end to stinging eyes, which are caused by pool “chlorine” reacting with nitrogen compounds in sweat and urea that mysteriously make their way into most pools.

The copper sulfate approach also avoids damage to hair, swimming costumes, and pool liners, which normally suffer from the bleaching effects of chlorine.

Allergy UK’s Business Development Director, Jules Payne, said Pristine Blue could transform the lives of millions of families across the UK. ‘We are very excited to present this award to such a groundbreaking and innovative product,” she said, “The benefits to allergy suffers are immense, and as families prepare for their summer holidays the demand for a chlorine alternative is at its highest.”

Cold sore virus blocks immune system

It’s no wonder that sufferers find cold sores so hard to get rid of. A newly identified method deployed by viruses to escape the immune system has been discovered by researchers at Yale University. Writing in the August issue of Nature Immunology, the team describes how many strategies devised by viruses to ‘hide’ or ‘escape’ are well known, but HSV-1 (herpes simplex virus 1) seems to employ an entirely new mechanism.

Immune cells called natural killer T cells are important in detecting and containing HSV-1 infections, which cause cold sores. HSV-1 particles are ‘displayed’ on the surface of infected cells, enabling the natural killer T cells to distinguish between infected and uninfected cells. The molecule CD1d, which presents HSV-1 particles, constantly moves in a loop from the cell surface to the interior of the cell to sample and display of the contents of infected cells to natural killer T cells.

Peter Cresswell and colleagues demonstrate that HSV-1 blocks this loop; specifically preventing CD1d molecules from returning back to the cell surface. As a result, HSV-1-infected cells appear to be uninfected and are therefore nearly ‘invisible’ to natural killer T cells. The researchers concede that they don’t know exactly how the virus blocks CD1d looping, but once they find out this activity could become the target for new drug discovery efforts for treating this nasty infection.

For more on HSV-1 check out Wikipedia

Dietary stress

“Diet is an important part of healthy living,” Jeremy Nicholson of Imperial College revealed to SpectroscopyNOW, “it is just some things that are supposed to relieve stress – and widely touted by healthfood companies as being good for you – do not metabolically ameliorate the effects of even very minor experimental stress.” He and his colleagues have used NMR spectroscopy to analyse marker compounds in blood samples from rats under stress that have had their food switched to included polyunsaturated fats. “No one has actually tested this particular health claim before and this one doesnt stand up well,” Nicholson says. Additionally, the research shows it is possible to accurately measure and quantify how changing diet impacts health. This could ultimately lead to the development of more targeted and more effective products.

You can read the full details in my news round-up on spectroscopynow.com