Self-Exams of Feet Can Catch Early Melanoma

(HealthDay News) -- Taking an extra 60 seconds to examine your feet when you clip your toenails could save your life, says the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Routine self-examination of feet can help detect deadly melanoma skin cancer at an early stage, when it's easiest to cure. Half of people diagnosed with melanoma of the foot die within five years, because the cancer had already spread through their bodies by the time it was diagnosed, the college said.

In cases where melanoma is detected early, 92 percent of patients are still alive after five years.
Doing routine checks of your feet increases the likelihood that you'll spot suspicious moles, freckles or other irregularities. The college recommends you focus on the three most common areas for foot melanoma: the soles, between the toes, and around or under the toenails.

See a doctor immediately if you notice a mole, freckle or spot that starts to change over the course of a month and becomes asymmetrical or changes its border, color, diameter, or elevation.

Melanoma can develop anywhere on the body, including areas that receive little sun exposure, such as the feet and ankles.

More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about melanoma.

Obese Children Miss More School Days

(HealthDay News) -- As children get ready to head back to the classroom, a new study finds school absenteeism is higher among overweight kids.

Obese fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders miss an average of 12 school days over the school year -- about two days more than their normal-weight peers, according to research published in the August issue of Obesity.

"This is the first study of its kind," noted study author Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. "We're not saying that obesity leads to absenteeism, but whatever the relationship is, mathematically, as more kids get obese, more will be absent. That has lots of academic implications."

Foster and his team looked at 1,069 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders in nine inner-city Philadelphia elementary schools. More than 80 percent of these children were eligible for free and reduced-price lunches.

Homeroom teachers recorded the student's attendance for the school year, and the youngsters' weight was measured in the second semester. The kids were put into one of four weight categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese.

The study found that obese children were absent significantly more than normal-weight children: 12 days versus 10 days over the school year. Even after the researchers adjusted for age, race/ethnicity and gender, obesity was still a significant contributor to the number of days a student was absent.

"This study suggests that it is possible that obesity prevention programs could have the effect of improving school attendance in addition to reducing weight-related health risks," said Dr. Thomas N. Robinson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford University and director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. "If obesity prevention also increases school attendance, even small improvements may produce very large benefits across the population as a whole."

The researchers don't know why obesity and absenteeism are linked, but Foster said the reasons are more likely to be psychosocial than medical, since there aren't as many medical issues at this young age. That said, childhood obesity has been linked with health problems such as asthma and type 2 diabetes.

"The most immediate problem for obese children is the reduced self-image and insecurity caused by explicit teasing or implicit disapproval from peers, parents and other family members," said Dr. Michael Dansinger, an obesity researcher at Tufts-New England Medical Center. "Obese children are often teased and bullied by other children, and this could certainly lead to extra days of missed school. Excuses for staying home from school become much easier to find if school is often unpleasant or scary," he said.

Foster suggested that future studies look more closely at the relationship between obesity and absenteeism, particularly since this is the first study to discover the correlation, and the study has some limitations. For example, even though the two extra days of school missed are statistically significant, it's unknown if they will have a great impact on a child's academic performance.

The researchers were also unable to show how obesity and school absenteeism were linked. This is partially because the children's weight and attendance were not recorded over time, Dansinger said.

"The researchers were unable to rule out the possibility that an underlying factor, such as relatively high or low family income, was a contributing cause of both obesity and absenteeism," he said. "Also, the researchers studied only inner-city children, a group with relatively low income and relatively high rates of absenteeism regardless of body weight. The link between obesity and absenteeism may differ somewhat for suburban, rural or private schools."

Still, the findings may encourage parents and the school system to work harder to keep children's weight in check. Foster recommends that parents be good role models, limit TV time, and create a healthy environment, including healthy eating and lots of physical activity.

"This study is just one view of the tip of the iceberg in which childhood obesity may have much more far-reaching negative effects on our society than any of us can imagine, and it should trigger us to be even more vigilant in finding solutions," said Robinson. "If more school absences are occurring now, these cannot be made up for in the future, and we may be losing a generation or two while waiting for action."

More information
For more on childhood obesity, visit the Obesity Society.

Handling Stress Properly Increases Good Cholesterol

(HealthDay News) -- A man who keeps his cool in a stressful situation helps himself by increasing blood levels of HDL cholesterol, the good kind that keeps arteries clear, a study indicates.

And he might be adding years to his life.

That finding was a surprise, said Carolyn M. Aldwin, a member of a group presenting the study Saturday night at the American Psychological Association's annual convention, in San Francisco.

The belief has been that a man who invokes a hostile response to stress hurts his cardiovascular system by increasing the level of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind that forms artery-blocking plaques, said Aldwin, who is chairwoman of the department of human development and family sciences at Oregon State University.

"It was thought that the choice of a coping strategy had an immediate effect on LDL cholesterol," she said. But the better copers in the study had higher HDL levels.

The study found no effect on LDL cholesterol levels, she said.

The researchers worked with 716 men, almost all of them white, with an average age of 65, who took part in a long-term study on aging. Each was asked to describe his most stressful situation encountered in the previous week and was asked to choose among 26 strategies for coping with stress. Those strategies were scored on the basis of hostility the men displayed and other characteristics.

Blood samples were taken from the men after an overnight fast and measured for levels of HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and the fats called triglycerides. Lower HDL levels were found in the men who used hostility as a coping strategy and also among those demonstrating self-blame and self isolation. Those strategies did raise levels of triglycerides a bit but had no effect on LDL readings.

The study was not designed to determine the mechanism that affected cholesterol readings, Aldwin said, "but we can speculate a bit."

The speculation is that men who keep cool and control their hostility avoid increasing levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which affect blood fat levels, she said. "The theory is that if you stay calm, you actually decrease levels of stress hormones," Aldwin said.

Loriena A. Yancura, the University of Hawaii psychologist who led the study, said in a prepared statement that she was surprised at the lack of connection between coping strategies and LDL levels.

"One possible reason might be that measures of hostility, coping and lipids were taken at one point in time," Yancura said. "It is possible that changes in LDL might have been apparent in a lab setting or if we had looked at longitudinal relationships among hostility, coping and lipids."

The overall lesson of the study, Aldwin said, is that "the personality trait of emotional stability is protective against mortality. Those men who were good in self-regulation had higher HDL
levels."

In practical terms, a first step toward self-control is to try not to get too upset about stressful things, Aldwin said. "You have to keep problems in perspective. Most problems are not major when compared to life-threatening trauma," she said.

The best way to handle a stressful problem "is to go ahead and fix the problem," Aldwin said. If a problem is not fixable, well, sometimes you just have to learn to let go, she added.

More information
The workings of HDL and LDL cholesterol are described by the American Heart Association.

Dirty City Air Stunts Kids' Lungs

(HealthDay News) -- Long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution causes reduced lung growth and function in children, according to a study of almost 3,200 Mexico City eight-year-olds.

Previous studies have suggested that short-term exposure to air pollution is associated with reversible problems in lung function. The authors of this new study said the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution -- such as that experienced by people who live in cities with major air pollution -- have not been conclusively documented.

"Our study revealed significant deficits in lung function growth in children with long-term exposure to air pollutants. In addition to the important impact of lung health, early lung deficits may increase the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease later in life, as well as cardiovascular morbidity and general mortality," wrote lead author Dr. Isabelle Romieu.

It's not clear whether the lung damage in these children is reversible. The findings were published Aug. 15 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The researchers measured the children's lung function and looked at their exposure to common urban pollutants: ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter (PM10).

"At the beginning of the study and at each phase of follow-up, children exposed to lower O3 and PM10 concentrations had better lung function values than children exposed to higher concentrations," the authors wrote.

They noted that the effect of air pollution on forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) -- a measure of lung function -- among children in the study was greater than the effect of exposure to mothers' smoking among children in the United States.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about air pollution and respiratory health.

Extreme Heat Hits Elderly Harder

(HealthDay News) -- A combination of age-linked factors helps explain why older adults and the elderly are at higher risk on very hot days, experts say.

Due to age-related physical changes, older adults can't cool down as well as younger adults, says the American Geriatric Society's Foundation for Health in Aging. Older people may not feel as hot when temperatures are dangerously high, and they are also less likely to feel thirsty, even when they're almost dehydrated, the experts say.

These and other factors mean that extreme heat can lead to serious health problems and increased risk of death for older adults.

Each year in the United States, about 200 people die of health problems caused by high heat and humidity. Most of the victims are age 50 or older.

The foundation also noted that heart disease, diabetes and certain other diseases that are common in older adults can make it more difficult to cope with high heat and humidity. The same goes for a number of drugs, including water pills, allergy and sinus medications, and medicines for depression and nerve problems.

When the temperature reaches 90 degrees F, family and caregivers should check on older adults, said the foundation, which also offered hot weather safety tips for older adults:
Turn on the air conditioner or go to a place that's air conditioned, such as a shopping mall, grocery store, senior center, movie theater, museum, or library. Fans aren't sufficient in extreme hot weather.

Don't walk long distances, lift heavy objects, or do other strenuous activities.

Drink lots of water and other clear drinks that do not contain alcohol or caffeine. If your urine is light yellow, you're drinking enough water. If it's dark yellow, you need to drink more water.

Take cool showers, baths, or sponge baths.

Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.

Stay out of the sun. If you go outside, wear a hat.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about extreme heat.

Researchers Identify Cause of Rosacea

(HealthDay News) -- A combination of two abnormal factors cause the common inflammatory skin condition rosacea, a new U.S. study says.

Rosacea, a chronic condition that causes facial redness, affects about 14 million Americans. Triggers -- such as heat, alcohol, spicy foods and embarrassment -- that can worsen the condition are well known. But this is the first study to identify the actual cause of rosacea, the researchers said.

The researchers concluded that overproduction of two interactive inflammatory proteins leads to excessive levels of a third protein that causes rosacea symptoms.

"Too much SCTE (stratum corneum tryptic enzymes) and too much cathelicidin leads to the abnormal peptides that cause the symptoms of this disease," team leader Dr. Richard L. Gallo, professor of medicine and chief of the division of dermatology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

"Antibiotics tend to alleviate the symptoms of rosacea in patients, because some of them work to inhibit these enzymes. Our findings may modify the therapeutic approach to treating rosacea, since bacteria aren't the right target," said Gallo.

The study results were published in the Aug. 5 online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

More information
The American Academy of Dermatology has more about rosacea.

Health Tip: Understanding Deep Vein Thrombosis

(HealthDay News) -- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot develops in one of the deep veins. The problem most often occurs in the pelvis, thigh or calf, but may also develop in the chest, arm, or elsewhere.
DVT may trigger swelling or pain, and the clot could travel to the lungs, a potentially fatal condition known as a pulmonary embolism.
Here are some possible triggers of DVT, courtesy of the Society for Vascular Surgery:
Poor blood flow, often caused by being unable to move for long periods.
Major surgery on the chest, abdomen, hip, knee, leg, calf or thigh.
A long trip in a car, train or plane, in which you are seated for long stretches.
Inheriting certain blood clotting abnormalities.
Cancer.

Natural Protein May Be Lymphoma's 'Bodyguard'

(HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've spotted a protein that prevents the body's immune system from recognizing and attacking Hodgkin's lymphoma cells.

A team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, are now investigating targeted therapies to disable the protein, called Galectin 1, to improve a patient's ability to fight the blood cancer.

"We're excited about this treatment lead," study leader and medical oncologist Dr. Margaret Shipp said in a prepared statement. "We are currently generating antibodies that can neutralize (Galectin 1), and we'd like to fast-track this experimental therapy into clinical trials," she said.

If the treatment approach proves effective, it may help patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma avoid long-term complications -- such as heart damage and the risk of developing a second kind of cancer -- caused by standard treatments that include radiation, Shipp said.

The research was published online July 30 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and is expected to be in an upcoming print issue of the journal.

Almost 8,200 people (most of them young adults) in the United States will be diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma this year, and about 1,070 people will die from this kind of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Shipp believes Galectin 1 may play a role in other kinds of cancers. She noted that a colleague at the University of Buenos Aires in Brazil has found that blocking Galectin 1 in mice with melanoma skin cancer enabled the rodents' immune systems to eliminate that malignancy.

More information
The American Cancer Society has more about Hodgkin's lymphoma.