Drinking as little as two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week may nearly double the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, say scientists.

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A new investigation sheds light on how heavy backpacks impact children’s spines. According to the study’s authors “this is the first upright MRI study to document reduced disc height and greater lumbar asymmetry for common backpack loads in children.”

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“Lumbar disc herniation is a problem frequently encountered in manual medicine,” note the authors of a new report. “While manual therapy has shown reasonable success in symptomatic management of these cases, little information is known how manual therapy may affect the structure and function of the lumbar disc itself.”

To learn more, the researchers followed the case of an elderly man suffering from lumbar disc herniation with lower extremity neurological deficit including right-sided foot drop.

Electrodiagnostic testing (electromyography and nerve conduction velocity) was performed prior to treatment, and again following treatment. Treatment consisted of spinal manipulation twice weekly and Pettibon Wobble Chair exercises three times daily for 90 days.

Significant improvements were evident in electrodiagnostic testing outcomes following treatment.

Source:
Chiropractic & Osteopathy – September 2006;14:Epub.
http://www.chiroandosteo.com/home

A new study in mice has found that moderate consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This research is slated for publication in the FASEB journal.

Investigators Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti and Dr. Jun Wang write: “This study supports epidemiological evidence indicating that moderate wine consumption, within the range recommended by the FDA dietary guidelines of one drink per day for women and two for men, may help reduce the relative risk for AD clinical dementia.”

Source:
FASEB – November 2006.
http://www.fasebj.org/

Although echinacea is a popular natural cold remedy, research is conflicting as to whether or not it is effective. Now a new report shows that it is, indeed, successful at warding off colds. These findings were presented this week at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology’s meeting in Boston.

The review pooled data on 14 studies including 2,986 patients. Findings showed that taking echinacea cut the incidence of colds by 58% and shortened duration by 1.9 days.

Source:
ACCP – September 21, 2006.
http://www.accp1.org/

According to a report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, a salad a day may keep disease at bay.

The study comprised 9,406 women and 8,282 men who reported their food intake over the previous 24 hours.

Findings showed that consumption of green salads and raw vegetables was associated with heightened blood levels of disease-fighting nutrients.

The use of salad dressing appeared to boost nutrient blood levels, suggesting that a small amount of fat along with vegetable consumption is beneficial.

“The consumption of salads, raw vegetables, and salad dressing was positively associated with above-median serum micronutrient levels of folic acid, vitamins C and E, lycopene, and α- and β-carotene,” write the study’s authors. “Each serving of salad consumed was associated with a 165% higher likelihood to meet the recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin C in women and 119% greater likelihood in men.”

“Salad, salad dressing, and raw vegetable consumption can be an effective strategy for enhancing nutritional adequacy and increasing vegetable consumption in the population at large.”

Unfortunately, only 18% to 38% of the study population reported consuming salads during the previous 24 hours.

Source:
JADA – September 2006;106:1394-1404.
http://www.adajournal.org/

Eight specific prognostic factors are associated with poor outcome from whiplash associated disorder (WAD). These findings are from an analysis of 2,185 patients with acute or subacute WAD presenting to 48 rehabilitation clinics in 6 Canadian provinces.

Specifically, the factors associated with a negative outcome are: 1) older age, 2) female gender, 3) increasing lag time between injury date and presentation for treatment, 4) initial pain location, 5) province of injury, 6) higher initial pain intensity, 7) lawyer involvement, and 8) at work at entry to the clinic.

“Researchers and clinicians should be aware of the potential for non-injury-related factors to delay recovery, and be aware of the interaction between the initial intensity of a patient’s pain and other covariates when confirming these results,” comment the study’s authors.

Source:
Spine – September 15, 2006;31:E759-E765.
http://www.spinejournal.com/

Tylenol® and other products containing acetaminophen account for a staggering 40% to 50% of all acute liver failure cases each year in the United States, says Robert J. Fontana, MD, and fellow researchers.

A multi-center study that Dr. Fontana and the University of Michigan Health System recently participated in indicated that about half of acetaminophen overdoses that resulted in liver failure were unintentional.

An adult should not take more than 8 Tylenol® Extra Strength pills, which contains 500 milligrams per tablet, in a 24-hour period (i.e. the maximum daily dose is 4,000 milligrams per day). Exceeding that dosage, could lead to inadvertent liver or kidney damage, Dr. Fontana says.

Part of the problem is that so many prescription and non-prescriptive medications include acetaminophen. These medications are often taken in conjunction.
“We’re particularly concerned that health care providers may not be aware of this, and when they prescribe these potent pain medicines, there needs to be greater education of our patients of the total dose it is safe for them to take,” Dr. Fontana cautions. “In addition, patients with severe or chronic pain may take increasing doses of prescription narcotics and not be aware that they contain 500 to 750 milligrams of acetaminophen in each tablet.”

This is a concern not only for adults, but also for children because there’s been a shift toward using acetaminophen products for babies and children. “As parents,” Dr. Fontana comments, “we need to be aware of this so that we avoid inadvertent toxicity in trying to treat our children at home when they have high fevers.”

Source:
University of Michigan – March 2006

A new analysis reviews the history of chiropractic — as well as its current state and projected future.

The researchers explain that “spinal manipulation has been used for its therapeutic effects for at least 2500 years. Chiropractic as we know it today began a century ago in a simplistic manner but has developed into to a well-established profession with 33 colleges throughout the world. During the initial, bumpy years, many people thought it had little more value than a placebo. Nevertheless, there have always been satisfied recipients of chiropractic care during the years, and the profession slowly gained prominence-mostly by word of mouth.”

“More recently, personal opinions based on isolated incidents have given way to the results of numerous clinical and basic science studies, primarily regarding low-back pain. As of 2002, 43 randomized trials of spinal manipulation for low-back pain had been published with 30 showing more improvement than with the comparison treatment, and none showing it to be less effective. Other studies have shown that chiropractic care compared with medical care is safer, costs no more and often costs much less, and has consistently greater patient satisfaction for treatment of similar conditions.

Consequently, there is now better public and professional opinion of chiropractic with coverage by insurance companies and government agencies. That trend is likely to continue.”

Source:
Clinical Orthopedics & Related Research – March 2006;444:243-9.
http://www.corronline.com/

Stress and certain medications appear to rapidly exacerbate the formation of brain lesions that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

In a study with genetically modified mice, Frank LaFerla and a team of researchers found that when young animals were injected for just 7 days with dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid similar to the body’s stress hormones, the levels of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain jumped by 60%. When beta-amyloid production increases and these protein fragments aggregate, they form plaques, one of the two hallmark brain lesions of Alzheimer’s disease.

The scientists also found that the levels of another protein, tau, also increased. Tau accumulation eventually leads to the formation of tangles, the other signature lesion of Alzheimer’s.

“It is remarkable that these stress hormones can have such a significant effect in such a short period of time,” LaFerla comments. “Although we have known for some time that higher levels of stress hormones are seen in individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, this is the first time we have seen how these hormones play such a direct role in exacerbating the underlying pathology of the disease.”

“This study suggests that not only is stress management an important factor in treating Alzheimer’s disease, but that physicians should pay close attention to the pharmaceutical products they prescribe for their elderly patients,” warns co-author Kim Green. “Some medications prescribed for the elderly for various conditions contain glucocorticoids. These drugs may be leading to accelerated cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.”

Source:
Journal of Neuroscience – August 2006;26:9047-56.
http://www.jneurosci.org/

For mothers at low risk, infant and neonatal mortality rates are higher among infants delivered by cesarean section than for those delivered vaginally, say scientists.

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed over 5.7 million live births and nearly 12,000 infant deaths over a 4-year period. Neonatal mortality rates among infants delivered by cesarean section were more than twice those for vaginal deliveries, even after adjustment for socio-demographic and medical risk factors.

“These findings should be of concern for clinicians and policy makers who are observing the rapid growth in the number of primary cesareans to mothers without a medical indication,” says lead researcher Marian Mac Dorman.
Source:
Birth – August 2006.
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/bir

Patients with low-back pain (LBP) who undergo chiropractic care require significantly fewer office visits for LBP, compared with patients who receive physical therapy. These findings are from an investigation of 195 patients with LBP.

According to the report, patients received 4 weeks of either a form of chiropractic care (flexion-distraction) or a form of physical therapy (exercise program). The subjects were then followed for one year. “Weekly structured telephone interview questions regarded visitation of various health-care practitioners and the practice of self-care for low back pain.”

Findings showed that the physical therapy patients had significantly more health-care visits for LBP than the chiropractic patients. “Self-care was initiated by nearly every subject in both groups.
Source:
Chiropractic & Osteopathy – August 24, 2006;14:19.
http://www.chiroandosteo.com/

Gastrointestinal benefits of probiotics have been well-documented, but more and more research is revealing that probiotic benefits extend to the entire body. “Inflammation is a major factor in a number of chronic diseases affecting millions of people and can cause an unwanted impact on healthy tissue,” explains Dr. Liam O’Mahony, lead investigator. “Past research has shown that the probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 can positively impact the body’s immune defense, and this most recent data suggests that its benefits are not restricted to the gastrointestinal tract.”

Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, a probiotic strain isolated from healthy human gastrointestinal tissue, was administered to mice in freeze-dried powder at least three weeks prior to salmonella infection. Animals that received Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 showed dramatically increased numbers of certain immune cells that control the immune system response to harmful pathogens, in this case Salmonella. Additionally, data show increased numbers of T-regulatory (Treg) cells, or cells that suppress inflammatory disease in a wide range of autoimmune diseases.

Researchers concluded that the introduction of Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 results in enhanced protection from infection, while limiting pro-inflammatory damage caused by superfluous activation of the innate immune system.
Source:
PLoS – August 2008;Epub. www.plospathogens.org

Emotional stress makes seasonal allergy attacks more intense and longer lasting, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Boston.

Jan Kiecolt-Glaser and Ronald Glaser recruited 28 men and women. All of the volunteers had a history of hay fever and seasonal allergies. The volunteers spent two half-days in a research unit at the Ohio State University Medical Center. They were given skin prick tests after engaging in high-stress and low-stress activities. They then looked at allergic “wheals” that formed on the skin.

“The wheals on a person who was moderately anxious because of the experiment were 75 percent larger after the experiment, compared to that same person’s response on the day when they were not stressed,” comments Kiecolt-Glaser. “But people who were highly anxious had wheals that were twice as big after they were stressed compared to their response when they were not stressed. Moreover, these same people were four times more likely to have a stronger reaction to the skin test one day later after the stress,” she adds.

This next-day change — labeled a “late-phase reaction” — is important because it signals an ongoing and strengthening response to the allergens, and even suggests that sufferers may react strongly to other stimuli that previously had not caused them to develop an allergic reaction.
Source:
APA – August 20, 2008. www.apa.org

Culinary spices may help ward off diabetes, say scientists at the University of Georgia, Athens. Specifically, a variety of spices including cinnamon, cloves, sage and rosemary, prevent protein glycation and the formation of AGE compounds. The formation of these compounds is triggered by high blood sugar. AGE compounds then instigate changes leading to atherosclerosis.

When blood sugar is high, as is chronically the case in diabetes, it can lead to the formation of substances known as AGE compounds. These compounds, in turn, cause inflammation and tissue damage, which can contribute to the clogged arteries and heart disease commonly associated with diabetes.

“The most potent inhibitors included extracts of cloves, ground Jamaican allspice, and cinnamon. Potent herbs tested included sage, marjoram, tarragon, and rosemary.”
Source:
Journal of Medicinal Food – June 2008, 11:275-81. www.liebertonline.com/jmf