Yeast and the Weight Connection

Wonder where those extra pounds are coming from?

By Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

If I were to tell you that there is a fungus living in your intestines that produces 180 chemical toxins capable of making you feel dizzy and fatigued, shutting down your thyroid, throwing your hormones off balance, and causing you to crave sugar and alcohol, all of which make you put on weight –would you believe me? You probably wouldn’t –few doctors even realize the extent of damage caused by yeast overgrowth but the above scenario is all too true.

To the great detriment of the health of our society, this fungus does exist and it is growing rampant in a large proportion of the population –mostly women. It’s one of the diseases of civilization – the culmination of the side effects of technology and the disservices of our way of life. The list of chronic diseases is getting longer and longer: heart disease, cancer, Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, auto immune disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Chronic yeast overgrowth not only worsens all the above conditions but it’s in a whole disease category by itself.

The miracle of antibiotics has its downside because it causes an overgrowth of yeast. The refining of sugar and wheat has its downside by creating a simple food source for yeast. The tremendous levels of stress hormones that flood our bodies daily, hourly, and every minute in our sped up world make us prey to yeast. Continue Reading >>

Yeast Infection Cures

A vaginal yeast infection is characterized by burning, itching, soreness, pain during intercourse and/or urination, and vaginal discharge that looks rather like cottage cheese. A diagnosis is confirmed through identification of the yeast under a microscope from a specimen scraped from the vaginal area.

Yeast infections occur when new yeast is introduced into the vaginal area, or when there is an increase in the quantity of yeast already present in the vagina relative to the quantity of normal bacteria. When normal, protective bacteria are eradicated by antibiotics or by immunosuppressive drugs, for example, the yeast can multiply, invade tissues, and cause irritation of the lining of the vagina. Continue Reading >>

Fighting Candida the Natural Way

Dr. Christopher Lepisto explains the causes and symptoms of the yeast infection Candida and how natural treatments can be better than prescription drugs. An educational video exclusive on iHealthTube.

Health Tip: Controlling Foot Odor

(HealthDay News) - Sweaty feet and shoes that don't allow for circulation can lead to fungus and bacteria breeding inside your shoes and socks. These germs can cause an embarrassing odor when you remove your shoes.

Here are suggestions on how to reduce foot odor, courtesy of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

• Wash feet thoroughly each day with soap and water, then dry thoroughly to prevent bacterial growth.
• Change shoes and socks frequently -- at least once a day.
• Apply daily a non-medicated powder, like baby powder or foot powder.
• Check your feet for any signs of fungal or bacterial infection, and treat any symptoms promptly.
• Wear thick, absorbent cotton socks with shoes.
• Wear shoes made of breathable materials, like canvas, leather or mesh, and avoid plastic or nylon shoes.
• Don't wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row.

Fighting a Fungus That Thrives on Tomatoes

(HealthDay News) -- A molecular-based approach to helping tomatoes fight a fungus that causes wilt has been identified by Dutch scientists.

In agriculture, there's an ongoing battle against the ability of plant pathogens to co-evolve along with their host plant's immune system, according to background information in the study. One way to increase protection is through disease resistance genes that strengthen a plant's immune system.

In this study, the researchers looked at tomatoes and the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, which causes fusarium wilt disease.

The University of Amsterdam team found that a suppressor protein secreted by some strains of the fungus enables it to overcome two of the tomato plant's disease resistance genes. However, a third resistance gene specifically targets the suppressor protein, making the plant fully resistant to any fungal strain that produces the protein.

This means that with the right set of resistance genes, tomato plants can defeat the fungus.

"This molecular analysis has revealed a hitherto unpredicted strategy for durable disease control based on resistance combinations," according to a news release about the study, published Friday in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

More information
Ohio State University has more about fusarium wilt.

What is a Yeast Infection ?

This video animation illustrates how bacteria coexists with a yeast fungus in the vagina and when conditions change it will increase or decrease the acidity causing the yeast fungi to multiply and cause irritation.

Nail fungal infection (onychomycosis)

A fungal infection of the nail (onychomycosis) occurs when fungi infect oneor more of your nails. Onychomycosis usually begins as a white or yellow spot under the tip of your fingernail or toenail. As the fungal infection spreads deeper into your nail, it may cause your nail to discolor, thicken and develop crumbling edges - an unsightly and potentially painful problem.

Nail fungal infections account for about half of all nail disorders. They usually develop on nails continually exposed to warm, moist environments, such as sweaty shoes or shower floors. The infection isn't the same as athlete's foot, which primarily affects the skin of the feet.

Nail fungal infections may be difficult to treat, and they may recur. But medications are available to help clear up a nail fungal infection permanently.

more information: Nail fungal infection

What are yeasts?

Yeast are unicellular fungi. The precise classification is a field that uses the characteristics of the cell, ascospore and colony. Physiological characteristics are also used to identify species. One of the more well known characteristics is the ability to ferment sugars for the production of ethanol. Budding yeasts are true fungi of the phylum Ascomycetes, class Saccharomycetes (also called Hemiascomycetes). The true yeasts are separated into one main order Saccharomycetales.

Yeasts are characterized by a wide dispersion of natural habitats. Common on plant leaves and flowers, soil and salt water. Yeasts are also found on the skin surfaces and in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, where they may live symbiotically or as parasites. The common "yeast infection" is typically Candidiasis is caused by the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans. In addition to being the causative agent in vaginal yeast infections Candida is also a cause of diaper rash and thrush of the mouth and throat.

Yeasts multiply as single cells that divide by budding (eg Saccharomyces) or direct division (fission, eg. Schizosaccharomyces), or they may grow as simple irregular filaments (mycelium). In sexual reproduction most yeasts form asci, which contain up to eight haploid ascospores. These ascospores may fuse with adjoining nuclei and multiply through vegetative division or, as with certain yeasts, fuse with other ascospores.

The awsome power of yeast genetics is partially due to the ability to quickly map a phenotype producing gene to a region of the S. cerevisiae genome. For the past two decades S. cerevisiae has been the model system for much of molecular genetic research because the basic cellular mechanics of replication, recombination, cell division and metabolism are generally conserved between yeast and larger eukaryotes, including mammals.

The most well-known and commercially significant yeasts are the related species and strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These organisms have long been utilized to ferment the sugars of rice, wheat, barley, and corn to produce alcoholic beverages and in the baking industry to expand, or raise, dough. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used as baker's yeast and for some types of fermentation. Yeast is often taken as a vitamin supplement because it is 50 percent protein and is a rich source of B vitamins, niacin, and folic acid.

In brewing, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, named after the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, where it was first isolated in pure culture by Dr. Emil Christian Hansen (1842-1909) in 1883, is used in the production of several types of beers including lagers. S. carlsbergensis is used for bottom fermentation. S. cerevisiae used for the production of ales and conducts top fermentation, in which the yeast rise to the surface of the brewing vessel. In modern brewing many of the original top fermentation strains have been modified to be bottom fermenters. Currently the S. carlsbergensis designation is not used, the S. cerevisiae classification is used instead.

The yeast's function in baking is to ferment sugars present in the flour or added to the dough. This fermentation gives off carbon dioxide and ethanol. The carbon dioxide is trapped within tiny bubbles and results in the dough expanding, or rising. Sourdough bread, is not produced with baker's yeast, rather a combination of wild yeast (often Candida milleri) and an acid-generating bacteria (Lactobacillus sanfrancisco sp. nov). It has been reported that the ratio of wild yeast to bacteria in San Francisco sourdough cultures is about 1:100. The C. milleri strengthens the gluten and the L. sanfrancisco ferments the maltose. For more information about sourdough see rec.food.sourdough FAQ.

The fermentation of wine is initiated by naturally occurring yeasts present in the vineyards. Many wineries still use nature strains, however many use modern methods of strain maintenance and isolation. The bubbles in sparkling wines is trapped carbon dioxide, the result of yeast fermenting sugars in the grape juice. One yeast cell can ferment approximately its own weight of glucose per hour. Under optimal conditions S. cerevisiae can produce up to 18 percent, by volume, ethanol with 15 to 16 percent being the norm. The sulfur dioxide present in commercially produced wine is actually added just after the grapes are crushed to kill the naturally present bacteria, molds, and yeasts.

The yeastlike fungus, Candida albicans, is commonly found in the mouth, vagina, and intestinal tract. Candida is a normal inhabitant of humans and normally causes no ill effects. However, among infants and individuals with other illness a variety of conditions can occur. Candidiasis of the mucous membranes of the mouth is known as thrush. Candidiasis of the vagina is called vaginitis. Candida also causes severe disease in persons with AIDS and chemotherapy patients.

more information:
http://www.yeastgenome.org/VL-what_are_yeast.html

Oral thrush - infection of yeast fungus, Candida albicans

Oral thrush is an infection of yeast fungus, Candida albicans, in the mucous membranes of the mouth. Like most healthy people, you probably have small amounts of the fungus Candida albicans in your mouth and digestive tract and on your skin.

You can't see the fungus and normally won't know it's there - Candida usually doesn't cause problems because normal bacteria (flora) in your body keep its growth in check. But when this balance is disturbed - by medications, stress or illness - Candida can grow out of control, leading to problems such as diaper rash, vaginal yeast infections and a mouth infection called oral thrush.

Oral thrush causes creamy white lesions, usually on your tongue or inner cheeks. The lesions can be painful and may bleed slightly when you scrape them or brush your teeth. Sometimes the infection may spread to the roof of your mouth, your gums, tonsils or the back of your throat.
Although oral thrush can affect anyone, it occurs most often in babies and toddlers, older adults, and people whose immune systems have been compromised by illness or medications.

It's usually a minor problem for healthy children and adults and can be effectively treated with natural remedies or antifungal medications. But for people with weakened immune systems, symptoms may be more severe, widespread and difficult to control.

more information: Oral thrush

Soaking Potatoes Before Frying Cuts Suspected Carcinogen

(HealthDay News) -- Soaking potatoes in water before frying cuts down on the formation of the suspected carcinogen acrylamide, says a a new, British study.

Acrylamide is created when starch-rich foods are cooked at high temperatures, such as frying, baking, grilling or roasting, according to background information in the study. Some research has suggested that acrylamide, which is found in a wide range of foods, may be harmful to health and may cause cancer in animals.

In this study, researchers found that simply soaking potatoes before frying can significantly reduce the formation of acrylamide and any health risks it may pose.

The researchers tried three different approaches. They washed raw French fries, soaked them for 30 minutes, and soaked them for two hours. This reduced acrylamide levels by up to 23 percent, 38 percent and 48 percent, respectively, but only if the fries were cooked to a light color.

It's not clear whether the same reductions could be achieved if French fries are cooked to a deep, dark brown, the researchers said.

The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

"There has been much research done by the food industry looking at reducing acrylamide in products but less so on foods cooked at home, and we wanted to explore ways of reducing the level of acrylamide in home cooking," team leader Rachel Burch, of Leatherhead Food International, said in a prepared statement.

More information
The National Cancer Institute has more about acrylamide in foods.

Vaccine Protects Monkeys from Ebola, Marburg Viruses

(HealthDay News) -- An experimental combination vaccine that uses so-called virus-like particles (VLPs) fully protected monkeys against the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses, U.S. researchers say.

Ebola and Marburg are viral hemorrhagic fevers, the only two known members of the filovirus family of viruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These often fatal infections have triggered highly publicized outbreaks in Africa over the past few decades.

"VLPs are one of the most promising candidates for protecting humans against Ebola and Marburg virus infections," and could be safer than other vaccine candidates, researcher Dr. Kelly Warfield, of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, said in a prepared statement.

Traditional vaccines against viral diseases contain whole viruses -- either dead or weakened versions of the virus that causes the disease or a virus that's genetically similar to the one that causes the disease. But these vaccines do carry a slight risk of viral reactivation and resulting infection of a patient.

"Since the VLP vaccine does not use a whole virus, there is no chance of infection," Warfield said. Some VLP-based vaccines, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, are already in use.
In this study, Warfield and colleagues infected insect cells with specially engineered baculoviruses. The infected cells then produced VLPs for either Ebola or Marburg, which were purified and mixed together to create the vaccine.

Two groups of monkeys were exposed to Ebola and Marburg viruses. The group that had been vaccinated with the combination VLP vaccine showed no signs of infection, while the monkeys in the non-vaccinated group became infected and died.

The findings were presented Tuesday at the 2008 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting in Baltimore. The researchers hope to begin human clinical trials of the Ebola/Marburg VLP vaccine within a few years.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about viral hemorrhagic fevers.

How to Be Heart Smart at the Supermarket

(HealthDay News) -- Taking the time to investigate food labels not only can improve your heart health, but also your overall wellness.

"Reading the labels is a great way to be guided toward healthier choices for your heart, and for general reduction of all chronic diseases today," Cathy Fitzgerald, registered dietitian with MFit, the University of Michigan Health System's health promotion division, said in a prepared statement. "So think about using the front of the package as well as the nutrition facts on the back when you are out shopping."

Start by educating yourself on what food label language truly means. Fitzgerald offered these tips:

• The claim, "May reduce the risk of heart disease." A company can only put this statement on a food if scientific evidence exists that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided is strong enough to support it.
• Nutrient content claims. The government regulates how a company can use terms such as "high," "low" or "reduced." For example, a food must have 3 grams of fat or less to be considered low fat, and a product that is high in a certain nutrient provides 20 percent or more of the daily value suggested by the FDA.
• Foods with fiber. Fiber helps the digestive system and lowers cholesterol. Look for the claims "high in fiber" or "excellent source of fiber," as these products have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. A food listed as a "good source" of fiber has 2.5 grams of fiber or more.
• Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats have been shown to benefit the heart. Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and trout are good sources of omega fats and are low in saturated fat.
• Sterols and stanols. Plant sterols and stanols are cholesterol-lowering substances often added to products like margarine and salad dressings. Review the label carefully to make sure a product states it offers the cholesterol-lowering benefits of plant sterols and stanols.
• Sodium. Look for phrases like "low sodium" or "reduced sodium." This is especially important in processed and canned foods. If a food is labeled as "reduced" in sodium, it has 25 percent less salt than the regular product.
• Trans fats. Eat trans fats sparingly, as they raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Fried foods and processed foods that have a long shelf life are often loaded with them. The term "partially hydrogenated oil" on an ingredient's list indicates the food contains trans fats.
• Saturated fat. Butter, fatty cuts of red meat, and cheese made from whole milk are among foods with the highest amount of saturated fat -- a main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Opt for low-fat or non-fat dairy products, lean meats such as loin or round cuts, and liquid margarines instead of butter.

More information
The American Heart Association offers has more about how to read food labels.

Obesity Raises Cancer Risk

(HealthDay News) -- The more weight you carry on your body, the greater your odds of developing cancer, British researchers report.

This is true not only of fairly common cancers such as colon and breast, but also of lesser known varieties, including gallbladder. Moreover, the degree of risk differs between men and women and among different ethnic groups, report the authors of a comprehensive new paper appearing in this week's issue of The Lancet.

"This is a profoundly important issue. Obviously, the obesity epidemic is a huge problem itself, and the relationship to cancer is only one of the many adverse health effects of being overweight and obese," said Dr. Michael Thun, head of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society. "The evidence has been accumulating now for over 10 years. . . This study tries to provide a quantitative measure of how much the relative risk goes up with each increment, basically jumping from one BMI [body-mass index] category to another."

Although extra fat has already been identified by research as a risk factor for several different types of cancer, Thun said, "the problem of obesity is so large and so difficult to solve that there's a very sound reason for ongoing studies of things that have become increasingly well-known, just because it helps the momentum in stimulating approaches that will actually help people maintain a healthy weight."

Last year, a report issued by the American Institute of Cancer Research and the U.K.-based World Cancer Research Fund concluded that body fat is associated with an increased risk for several different types of cancer including esophageal adenocarcinoma, as well as cancers of the pancreas, colon and rectum, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium and kidney.

Although that report was one of the most comprehensive to date, it did leave some questions unanswered. For instance, are there associations between less common cancers and body weight, and do the associations differ between the sexes and people of different ethnic backgrounds?

The issue is a pressing one, with about two-thirds of adult men and women in the United States overweight or obese. That number is only expected to increase as people continue to eat more and exercise less.

This study, from scientists at the University of Manchester, analyzed 141 articles involving 282,137 cancer cases and 20 different types of malignancies to determine the cancer risk associated with a 5 kilogram-per-meter-squared increase in BMI, roughly the increase that would bump a person from middle-normal weight into overweight.

In men, such an increase in BMI raised the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma by 52 percent, thyroid cancer by 33 percent, and colon and kidney cancer by 24 percent each.

In women, the same increase in BMI increased the risk of endometrial and gallbladder cancer by 59 percent each, esophageal adenocarcinoma by 51 percent, and kidney cancer by 34 percent.

In men, there were weaker associations between increased BMI and rectal cancer and melanoma. In women, there were weaker associations between increased BMI and postmenopausal breast, pancreatic, thyroid and colon cancers.

In both genders, there were associations between increased BMI and leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

For colon cancer, the associations were stronger in men than in women (24 percent vs. 9 percent).

There were stronger associations in Asia-Pacific populations between greater BMI and both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancers.

Although the main message is still to maintain a healthy weight, this research might indicate earlier screening for certain cancers, said Dr. Greg Cooper, interim chief of the gastroenterology division at Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland. "If someone is obese, then lower the threshold for screening," he said. "One of the cancers they identified is esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is not as common as colon cancer, but it is increasing in incidence. It is thought to be related to reflux, so as a gastroenterologist, if I have a patient who has reflux and is obese, I might lower the threshold for doing an endoscopy. For other cancers like colon cancer, those guidelines are pretty well-established, and this probably wouldn't change practice."

Experts aren't sure why extra fat can lead to malignancies, but changes in the circulating levels of various hormones (insulin, insulin-like growth factors and sex steroids) might explain the link.
Here's more bad news as the world heads for a smoke-free future: An accompanying commentary from Swedish researchers notes that as people quit smoking (the biggest cause of cancer in developed countries), weight gain may become the main lifestyle factor contributing to new cancers.

More information
Visit the American Cancer Society for more on the different types of cancer.

Muscle Fatigue Drug May Fight Heart Failure

(HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug may help fatigued athletes and patients weakened by heart failure regain their energy, say physiologists at Columbia University Medical Center.

Tests on mice and humans found that, after extreme exercise regimens, tiny leaks of calcium continuously enter the muscle cells, according to the study published online in the Feb. 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The leak weakens the force produced by the muscle and also turns on a protein-digesting enzyme that damages the muscle fibers, leading to the overall feeling of exhaustion for days or weeks afterward.

This same leak was previously discovered by Columbia researchers in the muscles of animals with heart failure.

The researchers then developed an experimental drug to plug these leaks, and tested it on mice subjected to daily three-hour swims over three weeks. Without the drugs, mice were exhausted. With the drug, the mice were still energetic, had lost less exercise capacity after three weeks, and their muscles showed fewer signs of calcium leakage, atrophy and less muscle damage.

While extreme athletes, such as marathoners, often regain their strength and vigor after several days, the findings suggest the drug may provide relief from the severe exhaustion that prevents patients with chronic heart failure from performing simple tasks.

"People with chronic heart failure are subject to this same kind of muscle leak and damage constantly, even without doing any exercise," study senior author Dr. Andrew Marks, chairman of Columbia's department of physiology and cellular biophysics, said in a prepared statement. "One of these patients' most debilitating symptoms is muscle weakness and fatigue, which can be so bad they can't get out of bed, brush their teeth or feed themselves."

Plans are under way to test the drug at other medical centers in patients with heart failure to see if it relieves fatigue and improves heart function. Even if successful, it will take several years before the drug will be commercially available.

Fatigue experienced by heart failure patients does not stem from reduced blood and oxygen being supplied to the muscles by the heart, as one might expect. Instead, Marks' previous research in muscles of mice with heart failure suggested the cause is calcium leak in muscle cells, which reduce the ability of a single muscle to contract repeatedly before losing force.

"We then had a hunch that the process that produces fatigue in heart failure patients also may be responsible for the fatigue felt by athletes after a marathon or extreme training," study first author Andrew Bellinger said in a prepared statement. "Our new paper shows that fatigue in both patients and athletes probably stems from the same leak."

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more facts about heart failure.

Stars Don Red to Raise Awareness of Women's Heart Risk

(HealthDay News) -- "Nothing draws attention like a little red dress," noted First Lady Laura Bush, speaking in the heart of New York City's fashion district Friday.

The attention was really focused on a very serious issue -- the threat to American women from the nation's number one killer, heart disease.

The event: a star-studded catwalk kickoff to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) annual "Heart Truth" awareness campaign, which featured celebrities strutting their stuff on the catwalk wearing the symbol of the campaign, a red dress.

As the campaign's national ambassador, Mrs. Bush got right to the point. "The Heart Truth is this -- heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women," she told attendees, who included stars such as Liza Minnelli and supermodel Heidi Klum. Both later showed off red dresses on the runway.

The fashion fun carried a serious message.

"We tend to think of heart disease as a man's disease," said NHBLI Director Dr. Elizabeth Nabel. "But the truth is that since 1991 more women have died each year of heart disease than men. And that's why we began this campaign -- to communicate that, in fact, heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined."

Scheduled amid the semi-annual celebration of couture that is New York Fashion Week, the campaign's Red Dress Collection Fashion Show, now in its sixth year, is held on National Wear Red Day, Feb. 1. On that day each year, the NHLBI encourages women everywhere to don whatever shade of red they wish to champion the fight against cardiovascular disease.

This year's event brought together 15 luminaries from the worlds of film, television and music to brave Bryant Park's tented catwalk in red, one-of-a-kind dresses specifically created by top designers for the occasion.

Working the crimson catwalk were actresses Allison Janney (best known from NBC's The West Wing) and Cheryl Hines (of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm), as well as British soul singer Joss Stone and American R&B singer Ashanti -- all wearing red.

The Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar-winning actress Rita Moreno donned a cherry red tulle hat and matching corsage, dancing down the runway. She was followed soon after by Klum, host of Bravo's Project Runway.

The grand finale: screen legend Liza Minelli, who after her own turn on the runway brought the house down with a rousing rendition of "New York, New York."

The stars and their fashions -- from designers Badgley Mischka, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein, among others -- held the spotlight, but everyone agreed that something much more serious was at stake.

"It's a great cause," Klum said after the show, which was sponsored by Diet Coke. "And it's a great awareness factor. And all these different celebrities are here doing it because it's the number one killer in America, for women. More than all the cancers together. And that's a crazy number."

One in four American women will die from heart disease, Nabel noted, but the campaign's aim is to encourage women to prevent the onset of cardiac illness by leading a healthy lifestyle. That includes eating well, exercising regularly, maintaining an optimal weight, going for routine blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, and avoiding smoking.

Those efforts may be paying off -- on Friday, the NHLBI announced that heart disease deaths for American women declined again in 2005, the last year for which statistics are available. And for the first time ever, that decline has continued for a straight six years, the institute said.
"We're making progress," Nabel said. "Only a third of women in the year 2000 recognized that heart disease is the number one killer. But now, in 2008, half of women recognize this. So we're not absolutely where we need to be yet, but we're making progress."

More information
There's more on women and heart disease risk, at the American Heart Association.

Health Tip: Understanding an Aneurysm

(HealthDay News) - An aneurysm occurs when a weakened portion of a blood vessel balloons or widens abnormally. There may be a throbbing or swelling sensation at the site, or no obvious symptoms.

The expanded portion of the vessel could be at risk of bursting, making immediate evaluation and treatment essential.

Here is additional information about aneurysms, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

• Aneurysms most frequently occur in or near the heart, brain, legs and intestines.
• It's unclear exactly what causes most aneurysms, but cholesterol buildup in the arteries is thought to play a role.
• High blood pressure also may contribute to aneurysms.
• If the blood vessel ruptures, low blood pressure, high heart rate and lightheadedness may result. The likelihood of death after a rupture is high.

New Proteins That Help HIV Grow Identified

(HealthDay News) -- Harvard researchers have identified almost 300 human proteins that help HIV propagate, creating hope for new treatments to combat the virus that causes AIDS.

Using a technique called RNA interference to screen thousands of genes, the team identified 273 human proteins, according to the study published online Jan. 10 in Science Express. These proteins could provide a way to help people with HIV when the virus develops resistance to current antiviral drugs.

"Antiviral drugs are currently doing a good job of keeping people alive, but these therapeutics all suffer from the same problem, which is that you can get resistance, so we decided to take a different approach centered on the human proteins exploited by the virus. The virus would not be able to mutate to overcome drugs that interact with these proteins," senior author Stephen Elledge, a professor in Harvard Medical School's department of genetics, said in a prepared statement.

The expanded list of proteins gives future researchers "a hypothesis generation machine," he said.

"Scientists can look at the list, predict why HIV needs a particular protein, and then test their hypothesis," Elledge explained.

He noted that immune cells -- which are targeted by HIV -- contain high concentrations of many of the 273 proteins.

"We're closing in on a systems level understanding of HIV, which opens new therapeutic avenues. We might be able to tweak various parts of the system to disrupt (HIV) propagation without making our own cells sick," Elledge said.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about HIV/AIDS.

Health Tip: The Dangers of Excessive Drinking

(HealthDay News) - While an occasional glass of wine has been shown to offer health benefits, drinking frequently or drinking too much can trigger serious health problems.

Here are facts about alcohol and your health, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:

• Alcohol can lead to production of more acid in the stomach, which may contribute to gastritis, pancreatitis or ulcers.
• Alcohol can cause the body to retain uric acid, which can lead to gout.
• Excessive alcohol consumption may increase your risk of cancers of the pancreas, liver, mouth, tongue and throat, as well as liver disease such as cirrhosis.
• Too much alcohol can make your body lose needed proteins, minerals and vitamins.
• Too much alcohol can also increase your risks of heart disease and stroke.

Post-Holiday Letdown Can Be Avoided

(HealthDay News) -- Eating a balanced diet and staying active are key to beating the blues this holiday season, say mental health experts.

"I see more cases of depression in January than any other time of year," Dr. Gary L. Malone, medical director and chief of behavioral health at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, Texas, said in a prepared statement.

Once the party is over, and the wrapping paper has been picked up, many otherwise festive people may feel unusually down.

According to Baylor health system experts, the holiday season is fraught with triggers for depression. Eating, drinking and spending too much are among the causes of holiday blues. Add family tension or grief over lost loved ones, and the mix can become potent.

According to Malone, there are a few things people can do to avoid post-holiday letdown:

• Eat a balanced diet, which results in more energy and an improved sense of wellbeing.
• Cut back on caffeine if you are having trouble sleeping and cut back on the festive cocktails.
• Go for a walk. Physical activity helps you lose weight and improves your mood. If the winter weather looks foreboding, work out inside. Take advantage of New Year's specials to join a gym or your fellow post-holiday shoppers walking the outer edge of the mall.
• Talk about it. According to Malone, sharing your troubles with someone else can be a relief, and they may be able to offer another perspective that could help you.
  If these steps don't help ease the blues away, consider talking to a physician.

The symptoms of depression include a persistent sad or "empty" mood; sleeping too little or too much; weight loss or weight gain; loss of interest in once-enjoyed activities; restlessness; difficulty concentrating; tiredness; and thoughts of death or suicide.

More information
To learn more about coping with the holiday blues, visit the American Psychological Association.

Lack of Strong Thirst Signals Leads Elderly to Drink Too Little

(HealthDay News) -- Older adults don't drink enough water and become dehydrated during heat waves because their brains and bodies don't coordinate sensory signals about thirst, a new Australian study suggests.

The researchers aren't sure whether thirst signals from the body or the interpretation of these signals by the brain cause the problem, said study author Gary Egan, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne.

Knowledge of this lack of coordination may make it easier to motivate older people "to make sure they are actively re-hydrating because there is a clear reason why they are not necessarily aware of their own need to drink," Egan said.

Deaths of elderly people from dehydration is a well-known public health problem, Egan said. During a French heat wave in 2003, the deaths of 14,000 mostly older people were attributed largely to not drinking enough water, he said. "This issue becomes of paramount public health significance," he added.

For the study, Egan and his colleagues recruited a group of 10 younger men (mean age 23.7) and a group of 12 healthy older men (mean age 68.1). The researchers injected saline solution into the volunteers to make them thirsty. Then they were permitted to drink as much water as they liked, Egan said.

The older men drank less water to quench their thirst. PET scans of areas of their brains activated by thirst showed reactions -- particularly in the cingulate cortex.

"In the elderly, drinking a much smaller volume of water is needed to cause that area of brain activation to subside," said Egan, who is an expert on neuro-imaging. "For some reason, elderly people's attention of awareness of the need to drink to re-hydrate rapidly dissipates after a small amount of ingested water."

One cause of this could be the result of weaker signals from the body, Egan explained. For example, as people age their stomach muscles weaken. So, when they consume water or food their stomach expands more in comparison to volume, he said.

"When muscles are weaker, there is less sensory input telling you have eaten or drunk as much as you have," Egan said. Signals come from other areas of the body, such as the back of the throat, and that is also less sensitive with age, the study noted.

The study concluded that "scheduled drinking may be a strategy to reduce the risk of dehydration in older people, although care should be exercised to avoid excessive water intake and the associated risks of cerebral swelling."

The findings are published in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The work of Egan and his team of scientists from Melbourne and San Antonio, Texas, is one of many studies of thirst in the elderly, said Neil E. Rowland, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida and a thirst researcher. "These studies have had two different results: That elderly people experience less thirst and consequently drink less fluid, or that elderly people experience just as much thirst but still drink less," he said.

"This paper is important because it's really the first study that looks inside the brain to try to find out what might be different" about the thirst mechanism in older people, Rowland said.
The study is also interesting because it looked at the cingulate cortex, a region of the brain that hasn't been studied widely by thirst researchers, he added.

While the findings are important to basic science, they don't have immediate practical consequences, Rowland said. "The authors suggest controlled drinking programs so that [older people] take more drinks across the day. That doesn't follow from this particular research. Those sorts of programs have been around for a long time."

Scheduled drinking isn't always successful with the elderly, added Barb Troy, a clinical assistant professor of dietetics at Marquette University. Anyone who works with the elderly will say that if you prod them to drink beyond their limit, that can be counterproductive, she said.

"They don't ambulate as well. In the middle of the night they don't want to be running to the bathroom, and that catches up with them."

More information
For more on the need to stay hydrated during hot weather, visit Ball State University.