From NaturalNews.com 

An extract derived from olives may provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to a study published in the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.”Researchers examined the effect of an antioxidant chemical known as hydroxytyrosol, which has previously been shown to be connected to the health benefits of olive oil, such as LDL (”bad”) cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention.In one test, the researchers added oxidative stressors to the brain cells of mice in a laboratory setting. These stressors, such as iron ions and a nitric oxide donor, are damaging to cells because of their oxidizing effects. For some of the cells, researchers also added an olive extract rich in hydroxytyrosol. Among the cells to which only the stressors were added, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was reduced by 40 percent. In the cells treated with olive extract, ATP was only reduced by 15 percent. This effect was achieved at hydroxytyrosol concentrations as low as 0.01 milligrams per milliliter.ATP is a primary energy source for cells, transporting chemical energy for internal cell metabolism.In a second test, the same team of researchers examined how effectively hydroxytyrosol from different sources was absorbed by the body and penetrated brain cells. One of the sources was the wastewater from olive mills.

According to the researchers, a 45.5 percent hydroxytyrosol extract was able to decrease the effects of oxidative stress in dissociated brain cells (DBC). “Polyphenols are being associated to exerting neuronal biological activities and brain biomarkers reflecting antioxidant response,” said Pablo Baena, head of research and development at Genosa, the Spanish company that supplied the olive extract for the study. “Hydroxytyrosol is a low weight molecule with a significant antioxidant potential by acting as a free radical scavenger and non-toxic to DBC under the current experimental design.”In a prior study, researchers from the University of Barcelona found that consuming as little as 25 milliliters (0.85 fluid ounces) of virgin olive oil each day led to significant reductions in LDL cholesterol after only a week.

From   The Boston Globe

Drug makers, including Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co., have deceptively marketed their products to the public, showing the need to limit drug advertisements, lawmakers and the American Medical Association said.

A moratorium should be placed on ads for newly approved drugs until doctors are educated and regulators have signed off on the messages, the medical association, said yesterday at a House subcommittee hearing on drug advertising. Representative Bart Stupak said Congress should consider new restrictions on ads.

Drug makers spent $5.4 billion last year on direct-to-consumer, or DTC, advertising, according to market research firm Nielsen Monitor-Plus. That’s a fivefold increase in the decade since rules about the disclosures required in television ads were changed, allowing drug makers to more easily air commercials. Lawmakers said the ads gloss over risks and may cause overprescribing of expensive medicines.

“Congress needs to decide whether the US should continue to be one of two countries in the world that allow DTC ads, and if we continue to allow such advertising, whether any further limits to DTC ads should be required,” said Stupak, a Michigan Democrat and head of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on oversight and investigations. “It appears that we need to enforce significant restrictions on DTC ads.”

New Zealand is the only other country that allows drug ads on television. Lawmakers criticized New York-based Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, for using the inventor of an artificial heart, Robert Jarvik, to promote its cholesterol pill Lipitor because he isn’t licensed to practice medicine.

They also faulted Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck, and its marketing partner Schering-Plough Corp., for continuing to advertise their cholesterol pill Vytorin while delaying results of a study showing it may work no better than a cheaper pill.

Pfizer, Merck, and Kenilworth, N.J.-based Schering-Plough said the ads contained only information that was supported by research and helped educate patients about medical conditions. Pfizer said Jarvik is a credible spokesman. “Pfizer asked Dr. Jarvik to appear in Lipitor advertisements because he is recognized for his work related to the human heart,” said James Sage, a Pfizer senior director.

AMA guidelines discourage doctors from endorsing products and call for disclosure of compensation for those who do, Nancy Nielsen, AMA’s president-elect, told the committee. Jarvik received $1.35 million, which wasn’t disclosed in the ad, Stupak said.

Researcher trying different drugs to ease condition in water creature

From HealthDay

For millions of Americans, including thousands of Iraq War veterans, ringing in the ears is a condition that is annoying at best and disabling at worst.

Now, a researcher says he hopes to find a cure in a very unusual place — a fish.

Ernest Moore, an audiologist and cell biologist at Northwestern University, said the zebrafish seems to have the ability to suffer from the condition, known as tinnitus. Treatment with drugs appears to help restore electrical activity in the fish’s inner ear to normal.

“If they work in clinical trials in humans, this might offer a cure,” Moore said. “What we’re hoping is that we could perhaps help individuals who have this intractable problem.”

Moore himself is one of those people. He suffers from tinnitus, and said the cause may date back to the years when he hunted for possum with his grandfather without using ear protection.

Later, he worked as an audiologist in the U.S. Army Reserves and remembers “listening to stories about ringing in the ears and telling people why we didn’t really have a cure.”

Moore describes his tinnitus as sounding a bit like white noise. Others, he said, hear a pure tone in a middle frequency.

The American Tinnitus Association says many people suffer from the condition 24 hours a day. William Shatner, the “Star Trek” actor, describes his own case as creating “agonizing screeching in my head,” according to the association.

“Some people have it all the time, and some people have it intermittently,” Moore said. “Some people only recognize it at night, when it’s quiet. You have it in one ear, and you put that ear on the pillow, and you can hear it.”

Causes of tinnitus appear to include noise exposure and genetic susceptibility. The use of some pharmaceutical drugs can cause it, too.

Treatments include the use of devices that mask the noise and surgery, Moore said. Some people find relief through drugs like aspirin and steroids, he said.

Researchers have tried to study tinnitus by looking at the rat, which can develop the condition. Moore turned to the zebrafish, a tropical fish that’s often found in aquariums.

Fish, like humans, have two ears, he said, and electrical activity allows the fish to hear. Moore is giving different drugs to the fish and testing how they affect neuronal activity involving hearing.

Moore said he’s submitted a grant proposal to the Department of Defense, which is spending money to support research into tinnitus.

Anthony Cacace, a professor of communications sciences and disorders at Wayne State University, said the key to any research in animals is to determine that they actually hear tinnitus. Research suggests that rats and mice do, he said.

“You have to know if they have tinnitus before you treat it with drugs,” he said.

Research has progressed over just the last couple of years, Cacace said, as scientists have learned new ways to gauge the effectiveness of treatments by doing a better job of monitoring the nervous systems of animals.

Research suggests the beverage contributes to osteoporosis  

From HealthDay

While enjoying a cola or two every day might seem harmless enough, recent research suggests that those tasty drinks could be compromising your bone health.

“There is enough evidence that high consumption of soda and carbonated beverages is associated with somewhat lower bone mass in children, and that’s a real concern and people should be aware of it,” said Dr. Lawrence Raisz, director of the University of Connecticut Center for Osteoporosis.

The exact mechanism behind the problem isn’t clear, but experts believe that drinking soda — particularly colas — affects bone density in several ways. One reason may be that people who drink colas are simply less likely to get enough calcium and vitamin D in their diets, because the soda is replacing more nutritious beverages, such as milk or calcium-fortified juice.

Or, it could be related to the caffeine in colas, because caffeine has been linked to a higher risk of osteoporosis.

The third possible explanation focuses on one of the ingredients found in colas: phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid can cause an imbalance in the body as the body seeks to neutralize the acid with calcium. If there isn’t enough calcium in the diet, the body will take calcium from the bones.

“Phosphate is in milk, but milk also contains calcium and vitamin D. In soft drinks, there is just phosphoric acid and no calcium. Extra overzealous drinking may lead to a phosphoric acid imbalance, and if there’s not enough calcium, the body goes to the bones to restore the balance,” explained Dr. Primal Kaur, director of the Osteoporosis Center at Temple University Health Sciences Center in Philadelphia.

Low levels of calcium are associated with the development of osteoporosis, a disease that thins the bones so much that they’re at risk of fracture. More than half of Americans, especially postmenopausal women, have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

In a study that included more than 2,500 people with an average age of about 60, researchers from Tufts University found that cola consumption by women was associated with lower bone mineral density at three hip sites, regardless of age, menopause, total calcium and vitamin D intake. The women reported drinking an average of five carbonated drinks a week, four of which were colas.

There was less of a problem with decaffeinated cola, but the findings were similar for diet soft drinks. The researchers didn’t find an association between cola drinking and lower bone mass in men.

Results of the study were published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Moderation is really important. If you really like soft drinks, you don’t need to take them out of your diet completely, but limit yourself to one or two glasses” a week, Kaur said.

And, she added, make sure you’re getting enough calcium and vitamin D to protect your bone health. Vitamin D needs vary by age, and where you live, so check with your doctor to find out how much vitamin D you should be consuming each day. Kaur said that if you’re not getting at least 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily from your diet, you should take a calcium supplement to ensure you’re getting adequate amounts of the mineral.

Another important way to prevent osteoporosis, according to Raisz, is to exercise.

“The standard recommendation is a half an hour a day for adults and an hour a day for kids, but anything is better than nothing,” he said. “Try to walk at least a half a mile a day, and engage in a weight-bearing exercise of some sort.”

From Reuters

Drinking less alcohol, eating more vegetables and exercising can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, researchers said on Friday in a study showing that lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

Diet and exercise reduced the incidence of diabetes by about 43 percent over 20 years among 577 high-risk Chinese adults, the researchers reported in the journal Lancet.

At the end of the 20 years, 80 percent of those who changed what they ate and exercised more had diabetes, compared with 93 percent who made no changes, said Guangwei Li of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing and Ping Zhang at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings came as part of a series of studies addressing new research about diabetes, which affects 246 million adults worldwide, and accounts for 6 percent of all global deaths.

“The challenge is to translate research findings into substantial clinical improvements for patients. Although prospects are hopeful, they are not assured,” the Lancet wrote in a commentary.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 percent of all diabetes cases and is closely linked to obesity and physical inactivity. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease often diagnosed at an early age.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates more than 380 million people will have a form of diabetes by 2025 as more developing nations adopt a Western lifestyle.

The researchers followed 577 Chinese adults at risk of diabetes over a 20-year period to see how prodding people to change their lifestyles could affect their health.

The volunteers were assigned to either a control group or one of three groups that included an improved diet, better exercise or a combination of both.

The researchers did not say what specific foods or amount of exercise contributed to the health improvements but said the findings provide an effective strategy to deal with a disease that kills about 3 million people worldwide each year.

“This study has shown that … group-based interventions targeting lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise produce a durable and long-lasting reduction in incidence of type 2 diabetes,” the researchers wrote.

Another team reported that insulin infusions or multiple daily injections given early to people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes helped the body’s insulin-producing cells and restored blood sugar control faster than standard pills.

Too much glucose, or blood sugar, in the blood — a hallmark of diabetes — can damage the eyes and kidneys, and also leads to heart disease, stroke and limb amputations.