Junk Food TV Ads Should Be Banned, Says Australian Medical Association

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AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said today that Australia should join an international movement to ban junk food advertising in children’s television viewing times.

Dr Capolingua said the ban would exist an important step in a broader national strategy to combat obesity in Australian children and adolescents.

“The primary focus of our obesity strategy has to be on helping our young people increase a healthy and active start in life,” Dr Capolingua said.

“As parents and a community we have to protect them from messages and images that tempt them to an unhealthy premium diet patch and lifestyle.

“The marketing and elevation of food that is energy-dense and nutrient poor should be prohibited, and banning junk food ads put on TV would be a good start.

“A ban would have to dilate to promotion of junk food through other media such as the Internet, food packaging, and production placement in movies.

“Junk food promotion is also saturating popular sports like cricket and the various football codes, so governments should have recourse to strong action to execration this as useful.

“The AMA supports the between nations push to denunciation junk food marketing to children end we should not be staying for others to act - Australia has to exist a world leader in addressing obesity in our young people.”

The AMA urges the Government to:

seek a commitment from the nutrition and retail industry to lay open new ways to present and market healthy, low processed, nutritious foods, help parents make informed choices in what they buy for their children by mandating a simple and uniform ‘front of pack’ system of nutritional labelling for packaged food, similar as the ‘traffic-light’ system, what one. indicates the level of fat, sugar and salt in food by using red, amber and green colour codes, and implement an ongoing public education campaign to nurture the labelling method.

Background

Almost a quarter of Australian children and adolescents are overweight, with approximately one in four of these being obese.

The proportion of obese adults doubled over the fifteen years between 1989-90 and 2004-05 (ABS 2008, Overweight and Obesity in Adults, Australia, 2004-05).

Obesity contributes to shortened life expectancy, and impaired nobility of life.

There is ground of belief that obesity and excess weight loss in childhood and adolescence is a strong predictor of obesity or health problems in adulthood. To allow children to become obese is to shorten their lives.

Obesity costs the Australian community an estimated $21 billion in 2005 (Access Economics, 2006, The economic costs of obesity, Report for Diabetes Australia, October 2006).

Food marketing to children is typically for highly processed, energy dense and nutrient poor products.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there is considerable evidence that food marketing affects children’s consumption and diet-related behaviour (WHO, 2006. The extent, nature and effects of fast-food promotion to children: a review of the evidence, WHO Technical paper. 2006).

Research shows that consumers make choices on the basis of nutritional information, and prefer ‘at a glance’ intelligence.

Evidence suggests that labelling formats such being of the class who the ‘traffic light’ order can influence consumers’ choices toward more healthy products (Gerda, I. J., et. al. 2008, ‘Front of pack nutrition labelling: testing effectiveness of different nutrition labelling formats front-of-pack in four European countries’, Apetite, Vol. 50, pp. 57-70.)

http://www.ama.com.au

Molecular Biology Of Sleep Apnea Could Lead To New Treatments

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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have provided, for the first time, a detailed look at the molecular pathways underlying sleep apnea, which affects again than twelve million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by temporary breathing interruptions during sleep, in which disruptions can fall out dozens or just hundreds of times a night.

The team found that in an animal model of sleep apnea poorly folded proteins accumulate in one compartment of a pain relief/muscle relaxant nerve cell, which, under certain conditions, tells a cell to heal itself or destroy itself. The findings appear in a late issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

“Muscles relax as a normal part of sleep, causing the airway to close,” explains senior author Sigrid C. Veasey, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, at the Penn Center for Sleep. “But in patients with lie in the grave apnea, oxygen levels in cells least bit too low, sending an arousal signal to wake by gasping for air. This happens all night long, so patients experience abandoned quality sleep. In etc. to problems with sleepiness, subtle peripheral neural injustice occurs.”

In a mouse model of sleep apnea, the researchers found that motor neurons of the jaw and look had swollen endoplasmic reticula, the part of the enclosed space to what proteins get folded properly. They surmised that misfolded proteins accumulated as the endoplasmic reticula of mice were exposed to decreased oxygen and oxygen fluctuations during sleep superior eight weeks. The involvement of the endoplasmic reticula has never been shown before in explaining the physiology of sleep apnea on a cellular level, says Veasey.

But how does this work? Sensor proteins sitting on the surface of the endoplasmic reticula get activated by poorly folded proteins within. The Penn group worked with one of those proteins, called PERK. When PERK gets activated, two things can happen: The cell can take a pathway to fix itself or one that leads to self destruction. The cell makes that decision based on its initial health.

“If a patient has sleep apnea with healthy cells, the cells will take the fix-it path. Then good things happen; the cell activates another molecule called eIF-2alpha, which turns on helpful molecules like anti-oxidants that degrade the misfolded proteins,” explains Veasey.

However if cells are unhealthy to begin with, the PERK pathway can also turn on molecules that cause the cell to turn on itself and activate apoptosis or cell death. “In this event, we predict that patients with sleep apnea may lose motor neurons,” notes Veasey. “Eventually sleep apnea could continue to worsen seeing that the small in number remaining neurons are already stressed when gasping for air for the period of sleep.”

A drug called salubrinal does keep the eIF-2alpha track in operation, thereby preventing vulnerable cells from going down the cell-death path. But salubrinal is a double-edged sword: Just the right amount keeps the cell happy, but too much can close down all protein synthesis, a in a great degree toxic outcome.

The research team is now working put on how to ramp up the eIF-2alpha path with changes in the mouse premium diet patch. “This paper shows which pathways are important for treating sleep apnea, but we’ll need to come up with therapies other than salubrinal,” says Veasey. “Ultimately if we can do healthy things that protect the endoplasmic reticula of cells, then sleep apnea won’t be such an insult, not only to motor neurons, but neurons involved in cognition and alertness.”

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Co-authors are Yan Zhou, Polina Fenik, Guanxia Zhan, Ben Sanfillipo-Cohn, and Nirinjini Naidoo, all from Penn. The research was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

This release can be found at: http://www.pennhealth.com/news.

PENN Medicine is a $3.5 billion activity dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation’s earliest medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is currently ranked #3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of top research-oriented medical schools; and, according to most modern data from the National Institutes of Health, received more than $379 million in NIH research funds in the 2006 fiscal year. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the nearest generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals - its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by the agency of U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s foremost hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center - a faculty practice plan b; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty attendant facilities; and home care and hospice.

Source: Karen Kreeger
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Obese Women Suffer From Breast Cancer More

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Overweight or obese women have more aggressive forms of breast cancer that those with normal weight disadvantage. They also have higher risk for cancer repetition later.

A team of scientists from Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre examined 606 women with ‘locally advanced breast cancer’. Women were divided into three groups according to their body mass index: erect or underweight, overweight, and obese.

"The more obese a invalid is, the more aggressive the disease," said Massimo Cristofanilli from University of Texas. "We are learning that the fat tissue may increase inflammation that leads to more aggressive disease."

Study found that fatty carcass tissues define how aggressive breast cancer be possible to be. Five year survival rate was found to be 56.8% in fat women’s health, 56.3% in overweight women, and 67.4% in normally weighted women. Ten year survival rate was found to subsist 42.7% in obese women, 41.8% in overweight women, and 56.5% in normally weighted women.

The study also showed higher rates of more aggressive types of disease, such in the same manner with inflammatory breast cancer, among overweight women. Obese women have 45% risk for developing IBC, compared to 30% of overweight women and 15% of women with normal weight.

This study means that obesity is not just a matter of how we look. It can seriously affect health and versify diseases worse. The study also urges doctors to be more watchful while treating gross patients, because some of breast cancer treatment drugs even stimulate burden gain. 

Extreme Diets Losing Popularity?

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by Mike Howard

Before I go on, I would like to wish everybody a happy “Break your Diet” day. That’s right - as I draw up this on March 18th, this is the day where the average person who starts a New Years resolvedness recompense diet patch breaks it - 78.6 days. Well a newly released survey shows that more people are opting to measure their diets in years, rather than days - at least in the UK.

The survey of almost 3300 British adults found that system of weighing loss loss plans such as; The Maple Syrup, Atkins and Cabbage Soup diets are becoming less widely followed. According to the survey, a third of people are adopting more of a lifelong approach to weight loss.

If this is true, this is good news!

The problem is that the press remit and/or the survey lack some detail that inquiring minds would privation to know - such as; by how much did these numbers decline? What do they consider a “quick-fix” diet? When was the last time they conducted this type of survey? These are details I’m curious about.

If there truly is a tendency away from fad diets, this begs the question: Is this a exercise of these fads having run their course, or is it a matter of people becoming wise to the long-term ineffectiveness of these plans?

With the former, we have seen a drop-off in low advantage carb blocker popularity, dating hinder part to about the middle of 2004 (Note: this is belonging to as there are varying degrees of low carb diets). Further, we are a little while ago 15 months removed from the movie Dreamgirls - the role in which Beyonce’s Maple Syrup Diet exploded in popularity.

On a side note, a third possibility to the above is that people are becoming okay with looking greater quantity like Jennifer Hudson than a skinny Beyonce. To that I affirm… Amen!

My hope is that this is the beginning of a paradigm shift towards sensible, sustainable fat loss, with soundness being the central goal. That related, I don’t think the quick-fix mentality will go away anytime soon as new and recycled metabo extreme plans will continuously flood the market.

So why don’t we declare this day “Break the Fad Diets Forever Day!” shall we? Now pass the cabbage-flavored cast down carb maple syrup!

How much people exercise related to neighborhoods

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When it comes to exercise and fitness the neighborhoods people live in can help inspire - or discourage - their residents to exercise and keep physically active.

The neighborhoods the public active in can help inspire - or discourage - their residents to exercise and keep physically active, new research suggests.

Residents of neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty, lower education, and more female-headed families are less likely than others to exercise, according to the study.

It’s not simply that poorer the multitude are less likely to exercise, researchers say.  In fact, the study, which was done in Chicago, found that a person’s individual income wasn’t while important as the neighborhood he or she lived in for determining produce levels.

“We can’t encourage people to exercise more without looking at the vicinity environment in that they live,” said Christopher Browning, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University.

“Some people may have the personal resources and desire to exercise, but don’t live in a neighborhood in which they feel comfortable to go outside for activities.”

The study found that neighborhood context was more important for women than during the term of men in determining how much they exercised.

The findings moreover showed that levels of trust among neighbors, perceived violence in the community, and beliefs that neighbors help each other, all contributed to how a great deal of people exercised in a specific community.

Taken together, the results representation that a wide variety of convivial and economic factors outside of any individual’s control can impact physical mode of action, Browning said.

Browning conducted the study with Ming Wen, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Utah, and Kathleen Cagney, associate professor of health studies at the University of Chicago.  Their study appeared in a recent end of the journal Urban Studies.

The reflect upon looked at levels of exercise among 8,782 residents of 373 neighborhoods in Chicago.  The study combined statistics from three data sources from the 1990s: the Metropolitan Chicago Information Center Metro Survey, the 1990 U.S. Census, and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Survey.

Results showed that the social and economic characteristics of a community – including the level of poverty – were the most important factors in determining levels of physical activity.

Browning said it was somewhat surprising and noteworthy that neighborhood characteristics were more important than any individual’s income in determining how much he or she exercises.

“The result is surprising enough that it needs to be confirmed by other studies,” he said.  “But if the finding is substantiated, it would show just how important neighborhoods are, and would have important implications for any new initiatives aimed at enhancing health and well-being.”

Another important finding was that women’s exercise study habits were affected by the neighborhood more than men.

“This could help us understand why African American women’s hale condition have much higher obesity rates than other groups,” Browning aforesaid.

Contrary to other research, this study found that once neighborhood factors were taken into account, African Americans in general exercised as much as white residents did.  Browning said this finding suggests African Americans will exercise in greater numbers if they live in neighborhoods where they feel comfortable doing so.

While social and economic factors played the largest role in exercise, the findings also showed residents were affected by neighborhood security, their levels of trust by neighbors, and the degree to which they said residents helped each other in their community.

“Neighborhoods where people do not trust each other or help each other and where violent crimes are prevalent may tend to push better-off people away – a process that leaves again the vulgar in poverty and deteriorating neighborhood conditions,” Browning uttered.  “All of this leaves an environment that is not amenable to getting outside to exercise.”

Other studies have found that exercise levels can be increased by improving the physical components of a neighborhood – such to the degree that creating high-quality parks, sidewalks and recreation centers.  But Browning said this study shows that the social environment in a neighborhood needs to be considered along by the physical environment.

“We don’t know the relative role of the pertaining to physics and social environments of a neighborhood,” Browning said.  “However, it seems likely that they are constantly reinforcing and reacting to one another.  When there is high poverty and low levels of give credit to in a community, it is harder to mobilize people to achieve neighborhood goals, such as improving parks and cleaning up streets.”

Panel Calls For Leadership To Protect Children From Targeted Marketing, Canada

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A panel of prominent, independently minded Canadians ranging from educators, Aboriginal, community and youth leaders, journalists, public policy researchers, academics and authors, today released a recommendation in opposition to a made in Canada plan b to render certain that unhealthy food and beverages are not marketed to children. The panel based its determination on presentations by key Canadian and international experts on best available legal, scientific and social evidence on food marketing to children and its impact in succession obesity. The panel examined the evidence both for and against increased adjustment on food marketing to Canadian children.

“Access to our children is a privilege not a right, and as such should be subject to stringent regulation,” said Avi Lewis, conference panel moderator onward the consensus statement. “We believe the status quo is unacceptable, and cannot continue. Complexity is not an excuse for inaction.”

The body of jurors is occupation on the governments of Canada to create and enforce a regulatory regime that ends all marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children.

The consensus statement was delivered as part of the Policy Consensus Forum on Obesity and the Impact of Marketing on Children hosted by the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (CDPAC). The conference, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Government of British Columbia, was planned in response to the March 2007 release of the ‘Healthy weight loss for well Kids’ take down by the Standing Committee on Health which stated that childhood obesity has become an ‘epidemic’ in Canada.

“There is significant debate as to whether or not marketing aimed at children requires additional restrictions and around the role that government and industry should subsist playing to restrict marketing,” related Paul Lapierre, CDPAC Steering Committee Chair. “Our goal is to protect the well-being of Canadian children and the narrative announced today, along with the specific recommendations, will help us make an informed decision as to next steps surrounding policy requirement and provide healthy options to children.”

The Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (CDPAC) is a network of leading health and non-health organizations who share a common vision notwithstanding an integrated system of investigation, surveillance, policies, and programs for maintaining health and preventing chronic disease in Canada. CDPAC consists of national, provincial and territorial organizations and alliances representing hundreds of groups across Canada - including Dietitians of Canada, member of the national Steering Committee. CDPAC’s mission is to lead and promote country-wide efforts toward systems changes that will subdue chronic diseases and improve the health of Canadians.

CDPAC’s role is to spirit of truth for systems change and to facilitate and support denunciation and information exchange by connecting researchers, practitioners and policy makers for improved chronic disease prevention in Canada. CDPAC has hosted two very successful conferences titled Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention: Getting it Together (held in 2004) and Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention: Building it Together (held in 2006).

Dietitians of Canada

Nutrition Month Highlights Healthy Eating, Active Living, Canada

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Your mother was right! Eating your fruits, vegetables and whole grains will make you healthier and help you feel great. That’s the message the Canadian Diabetes Association is helping to diffuse during the month of March, which is National Nutrition Month®, sponsored by Dietitians of Canada.

A good first step is to consult the Dietitians of Canada tip 10 tips for which you need to know about food and nutrition, profitable at http://www.dietitians.ca/eatwell.

‘The importance of healthy eating is a message that the Canadian Diabetes Association actively promotes,’ said Sharon Zeiler, Senior Manager, Nutrition Initiatives and Strategies. ‘I hope these tips will encourage everyone to follow a healthier lifestyle.’

For those who want to prevent chronic disease, such as type 2 diabetes, here are some key points from the dietitians’ list:

- Give your food portions a makeover. Tune in to moderation in serving sizes. Larger servings add up to extra calories that can lead to weight loss gain. Eating for one’s interest with Canada’s fare Guide and the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Beyond the Basics resource can show you realistic bit sizes to hinder keep your body healthy.

- Want to feel your best? Eat well and get physical. Healthy eating AND pertaining to physics activity are both essential to maintain and improve health.

- Colour your world with vegetables and fruit. Dark green and deep orange vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, crush and carrots are full of health -promoting anti-oxidants. Most vegetables without sauce are quite low in calories and so may help hold a healthy weight.

- Quality counts. Whether at home, school, operate, or play keep in good case food choices highest part of mind. Your material part needs more than 50 nutrients each day to store it working its best. Make healthy choices such as totality grain breads for the sake of sandwiches, colourful fruits for snacks, and yogurt to tide you over until dinner.

- Be a savvy shopper. Get the nutrition facts on foods from the label. All packaged food in Canada must now include a Nutrition Facts table that gives you important information about serving size and 13 nutrients. For more information on reading labels, see http://www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca

‘National Nutrition Month is the completed measure to make a personal commitment to eat well and be active,’ said Sharon Zeiler. ‘I hope Canadians are encouraged to make and keep their intrusting to healthier living all year long.’

The Canadian Diabetes Association works in communities across the country to promote the freedom from disease of Canadians and eliminate diabetes through our strong nationwide network of volunteers, employees, healthcare professionals, researchers, partners and supporters. In the struggle against this global epidemic, our expertise is recognized around the world. The Canadian Diabetes Association: setting the world standard. To learn more, visit diabetes.ca or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).

National Nutrition Month® is a Dietitians of Canada initiative. Dietitians of Canada represents and supports almost 6000 dietitians over Canada and has led the National Nutrition Month® Campaign for over 27 years. For more information, pay a visit to http://www.dietitians.ca/eatwell.

Canadian Diabetes Association

Boston Bans Trans Fats

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Health regulators in the US city of Boston, Massachusetts, have voted unanimously in favour of banning trans fats in restaurants and grocery stores, according to various media reports.

A number of US cities be delivered of already taken similar steps. New York City’s Board of Health, after a voluntary campaign that did not work, introduced a phasing out of trans fats in restaurant foods that started in July last year and completes in July this year. Philadelphia’s City Council voted unanimously to ban trans fats in eateries and relating to traffic kitchens, but small bakeries can still use them, and the ban does not apply to pre-packaged food.

Others, such as Chicago and San Francisco are expected to follow. San Francisco is publicly trying to get restaurants to follow a voluntary programme.

Trans fats are made when manufacturers hydrogenate vegetable oil to prolong the shelf life of foods like crackers and cakes, and to stabilize flavours in french fries and other fried foods.

Studies have shown that like saturated fats, trans fats raise LDL cholesterol (the so called “bad” cholesterol). However, unlike saturated fats some types of trans fats also reduce the level of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) by that means having a double impact on increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.

during the time that well as increasing cardiovascular risk, trans fats are moreover believed by some experts, although others disagree, to increase the risk of other health problems, such as cancer, diabetes and obesity.

According to the Boston Globe, the first and foremost phase of the ban will take effect in September this year. This phase covers the use of cooking oils, shortening and margarines containing artificial trans fats. Baked commodities have one more year before trans fats are banned in those as well.

The paper said that the Boston ban covers all restaurants, canteens and cafeterias, including those in hospitals and schools. It too covers commercial kitchens inside groceries and delis.

Boston, like New York, will still allow the sale of packaged food containing trans fats, as long as it is clearly labelled; although it is unlikely that many shoppers will furnish too many of these since packaged food producers are gradually phasing out trans fats anyway and most of the major ones have already done so.

Boston Health Commission officer Harold D Cox said the vote to bring in the curse was unanimous, “its the right thing to do”, he told the Boston Herald.

The vote followed a 90 day public consultation exercise that resulted in overwhelming support for the proposed ban.

Anne McHugh, who runs the Boston Health Commission’s chronic disease prevention campaign, said the incorporated town had “stepped into a leadership role” with this move.

Violators face a fine of 1,000 dollars per violation, reports the Herald.

The American Heart Association says healthy Americans over the epoch of 2 should limit their intake of trans fats to less than 1 per cent of their total daily calories. To do this they recommend you:

  • Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grain and high fibre foods, and dairy forage that is mostly fat-free and low fat.

  • Keep total intake of fat to within 25 to 35 per cent of daily calories.

  • Source quotidian fat intake predominantly from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as in fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils.

  • In preparing food, use mostly naturally occurring, unhydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil.

  • When buying packaged food, single out only those made through unhydrogenated oil rather than partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated plant oils or saturated fat.

  • Use soft margarine instead of butter, and use soft margarines in preference to hard margarines.

  • When choosing margarine, look for “0 grams trans fat” in the nutrition facts part of the label.

  • Avoid corrosive food high in trans fat, except very occasionally. These may include: french fries, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes.

  • Keep to a low level of saturated fat in your premium diet piece because by eating smaller saturated fat you don’t eat so much trans fat.

  • Avoid or severely limit consumption of commercially fried and baked food made using shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are not only high in fat but also likely to contain a lot of trans fat.

  • Limit your consumption of fried fast food to very occasionally considered in the state of these will continue to be made using commercial shortening and deep-frying fats that bequeath contain trans fats and saturated fats.

Click here for Boston Public Health Commission.

Click here for “Know Your Fats”, webpage from the American Heart Association.

Sources: MNT archives, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, American Heart Association.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to have existence reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Chemical In Artificial Butter Harmful To Lungs

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A new study shows that exposure to a chemical called diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can be harmful to the nose and airways of mice. Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental soundness Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, conducted the study because diacetyl has been implicated in causing obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) in humans. OB is a debilitating but rare lung disease, which has been detected recently in workers who inhale significant concentrations of the flavoring in microwave popcorn packaging plants.

When laboratory mice inhaled diacetyl vapors on this account that three months, they developed lymphocytic bronchiolitis - a potential precursor of OB. None of the mice, however, were diagnosed with OB.

“This is one of the first studies to evaluate the respiratory toxicity of diacetyl at levels relevant to human health. Mice were exposed to diacetyl at concentrations and durations comparable to what may be inhaled at more microwave popcorn packaging plants,” said Daniel L. Morgan, Ph.D., head strong of the Respiratory Toxicology Group at the NIEHS and co-author on the paper that appears online in the journal, Toxicological Sciences. The study was done in collaboration with Duke University researchers.

The authors terminate that these findings suggest that workplace exposure to diacetyl contributes to the development of OB in humans, but more research is needed.

Although exposure of laboratory animals by inhalation closely duplicates the way humans are exposed to airborne toxicants, the study points out that some anatomical differences between the mice and humans may account for why the nasal cavity of mice is added susceptible to reactive vapors than that of humans. Another reason may be that mice breathe exclusively through their noses.

The researchers also speculate that the extensive reaction of diacetyl vapors in the nose and upper airways of mice may have prevented toxic concentrations from penetrating deeper in the lung to the bronchioles or tiny airways where obstruction occurs in humans.

When the mice were exposed to high concentrations of diacetyl using a method that bypasses the nose, the researchers establish lesions partially obstructing the small airways. More studies are under way to determine if these lesions progress to OB in mice.

The National Toxicology Program, headquartered at the NIEHS, plans to do a larger perplex of studies to provide inhalation toxicity data in continuance strained butter flavoring and the two major components, diacetyl and another farrago called acetoin. The NTP studies give by will help pinpoint more definitively the toxic components of artificial butter flavoring and potentially help identify biomarkers for early detection. The NTP data will then be shared with public health and regulatory agencies so they can set safe exposure levels with regard to these compounds and develop guidance to protect the health of workers in occupations where these chemicals are used.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The National Toxicology Program is an interagency program established in 1978 by the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, which today is known as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program was created as a cooperative effort to coordinate toxicology testing programs within the federal administration, strengthen the science base in toxicology, develop and validate improved testing methods, and provide information about potentially toxic chemicals to health, regulatory, and research agencies, scientific and medical communities, and the open. The NTP is headquartered at the NIEHS, for additional information visit http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/

The aboriginal mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/) (NIEHS), one of 27 Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health, is to reduce the burden of human disease and disability by understanding in what manner the environment influences the development and progression of human disease. For additional information, visit the NIEHS Web site at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation’s Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures in quest of both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

Reference: Morgan DL, Flake GP, Kirby PJ, Palmer, SM. Respiratory Toxicity of Diacetyl in C57Bl/6 Mice Toxicological Sciences. Advance Access published on January 27, 2008. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfn016.

Source: Robin Mackar
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Recent Data Study Suggests Cortisol Could Help Alleviate Suffering For Those With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Fibromyalgia

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Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are two serious and debilitating diseases with no confirmed cause and limited treatment options. However, results of a new wide literature study propose a simplified treatment process that could help alleviate symptoms for patients suffering from these diseases.

Kent Holtorf, M.D., medical manager of the Holtorf Medical Group Center for Endocrine, Neurological and Infection Related Illness in Torrance, Calif., is advising a simplified treatment process that may hinder alleviate CFS and FM symptoms. From an extensive review of more than 50 published studies that assessed adrenal function in CFS and FM patients, Dr. Holtorf found that the majority of CFS and FM patients displayed abnormal adrenal function due to hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. The comprehensive review also showed that the majority of patients could be treated since this adrenal dysfunction. Dr. Holtorf’s analysis, recently published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, demonstrated that patients that were given cortisol as faction of a multi-system treatment experienced momentous improvement in their symptoms.

“My review of existing studies suggests that a treatment protocol of early administration of cortisol may help improve and reduce the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia,” said Dr. Holtorf. “This research provides a new understanding that treating the known causes of illness in CFS and FM can improve the symptoms and quality-of-life of patients who suffer from these conditions.”

CFS and FM primarily affect women’s health in their 30s and 40s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than one million Americans suffer from CFS while it is estimated that FM affects about 2 percent of the U.S. people. Unfortunately, both of these diseases are poorly understood by many physicians and there is no generally accepted test to accurately expose them. In addition, many CFS and FM patients express frustration because there is no clear treatment path for their conditions.

Dr. Holtorf’s research was further confirmed in an observational study following the conditions of 500 patients from his clinic, where all of the patients were given cortisol as part of their method of treating protocol:

— 94 percent showed improvement by the fourth visit;

— 75 percent noted significant improvement;

— 62 percent reported substantial improvement; and

— Energy levels and a general signification of well-being for patients doubled by the fourth visit.

The effectiveness of this multi-system treatment was further confirmed through the analysis of the cumulative findings of over 40 independent physicians and over 5,000 patients.

As shown in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome study, cortisol doses of 5-to-15 mg a day have been shown to be safe, with little or no associated risk while having the potential for significant benefit for CFS and FM patients.

“Cortisol treatment carries significantly less risk and a greater potential for benefit than treatments considered to be the standard of care on this account that both conditions,” Dr. Holtorf explains.

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, is a debilitating and complex disease characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by the agency of bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. Persons with CFS most often function at a substantially lower level of activity than they were capable of before the onset of illness. In addition, patients report various symptoms, such as weakness, pain relief/muscle relaxant pain, impaired commemorative record and/or mental concentration, insomnia, and post-exertional fatigue enduring more than 24 hours. In some cases, CFS can persist for years. The consideration or causes of CFS have not been identified and no specific diagnostic tests are available.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia or FM is a chronic pain condition characterized by generalized muscular pain and fatigue. Fibromyalgia typically involves pain relief/muscle relaxant in the muscles, ligaments and tendons and related sleep and quality of life disturbances. This situation is often referred to as a “syndrome” as it is a set of signs and symptoms that occur together. The disease is often misunderstood inasmuch as its symptoms are quite common; however, medical studies have proven that fibromyalgia does indeed have being.

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Kent Holtorf, M.D. is an expert in the treatment of of long duration fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, complex endocrine dysfunction and chronic infections (including EBV, HHV6 and Lyme disease). Dr. Holtorf received his doctorate of medicine from St. Louis University with residency training at UCLA. He has personally trained numerous physicians across the country to effectively treat chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and chronic infectious diseases. Additionally, Dr. Holtorf was the founding medical director and developed the protocols for Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers and other centers across the country.

Zeno Group
http://www.zenogroup.com

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