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An Estimated 4 Percent Of Older U.S. Men Have Dry Eye Disease
Dry eye disease is common among American men older than 50 and increases with age, high blood pressure, benign prostate disease and the use of antidepressants, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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Daily Women's Health Policy Report Summarizes Studies Examining Ovarian Cancer
The following summarizes recent research related to ovarian cancer.~ Early periods linked to lower survival: Women who start menstruating at an early age or experience more menstrual cycles over their lifetimes appear to have a lower chance of surviving ovarian cancer, according to a study published this month in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Reuters reports. For the study, researcher Cheryl Robbins and colleagues analyzed the medical data of 410 ovarian cancer patients who participated in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone study between 1980 and 1982. The analysis found that the women who had their first period before age 12 had a 51% greater risk of dying than the women who began menstruating at age 14 or older. The women who had the highest number of lifetime menstrual cycles had a 67% greater risk of dying during follow-up than the women with the lowest number of cycles (Reuters, 7/24).~ Lung cancer risk higher for women after hysterectomy with ovary removal: Women who have had hysterectomies in which their uterus and both ovaries are removed to prevent ovarian cancer appear to have a higher risk for developing lung cancer, according to researchers at the University of Montreal, the New York Times reports. The researchers discovered the connection while looking for links between lung cancer and hormones for a study published in May in the International Journal of Cancer. Although they did not find a relationship between lung cancer risk and hormonal factors such as menstruation patterns, child-bearing or breastfeeding, the researchers found that women who had medically induced menopause had 1.92 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than women who had natural menopause (Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 7/24).~ Small tumors present for years before detection: Minute-sized ovarian tumors form and remain in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, which might suggest why ovarian cancer frequently is diagnosed in its later stages, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Patrick Brown of Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and colleagues analyzed the tumors of women whose Fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed because they had family histories of and genetic risk for ovarian cancer. They found small tumors -- most less than three millimeters in diameter -- that previously had not been detected in the women. In a statement, Brown said, "There is a long window of opportunity for potentially lifesaving early detection of this disease, but the tumor spreads while it is still much too small to be detected by any of the tests that have been developed or proposed to date." According to Reuters, blood tests for the compound called CA-125 may help guide therapy but do not indicate whether a woman has a tumor (Reuters, 7/28).
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Radiant Research, Inc. Prepares For Upcoming H1N1 Vaccine Trials
Radiant Research, Inc. announced that it is actively recruiting subjects and establishing operational plans for upcoming H1N1 vaccine trials. The World Health Organization declared the H1N1 influenza outbreak a pandemic, and the CDC has shipped virus samples to several manufacturers with the hope of having vaccine available to the general public by the fall. Manufacturers will need to complete clinical trials prior to release of vaccine to the public.
Nutrition

Protecting Against Obesity And Atherosclerosis By Blocking A Muscle Growth-Limiting Hormone

Knockout of myostatin, a growth factor that limits muscle growth, can decrease body fat and promote resistance against developing atherosclerosis, or "hardening" of the arteries, according to a new study conducted in mice. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. "Obesity increases the risk of atherosclerosis, which accounts for 75% of all cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes," said study co-author Shalender Bhasin, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and chief of the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition at Boston Medical Center. "Current strategies aimed at preventing heart disease consist primarily of lowering cholesterol levels, but patients reaching the desired cholesterol levels are still at risk for atherosclerosis if they have other risk factors, such as obesity." Humans and animals with a mutation in the myostatin gene are extremely muscular and have little fat, past research shows. Also, when the gene encoding myostatin is knocked out in mice, their muscle mass increases. Bhasin and his co-workers wanted to find out if inhibiting myostatin in mice could resist the development of diet-induced obesity and of atherosclerosis, the buildup of lipid deposits called plaque that can narrow and clog coronary arteries. The researchers took mice that were genetically altered to develop atherosclerosis and then cross-bred them with myostatin knockout mice. Ten generations later, they had mice who were genetically predisposed to both atherosclerosis and inactivation of myostatin. For controls, they studied mice with a genetic predisposition for atherosclerosis but with intact myostatin gene. All mice received a high-fat diet for 12 weeks, to spur the development of atherosclerosis. Compared with controls, the mice with deleted myostatin gene had much less body fat and 30 percent lower fasting blood sugar and 80% lower fasting insulin levels, showing a reduction in obesity and a strong resistance to developing diabetes, the authors reported. They also had 50 percent lower low-density-lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol and 30 to 60 percent lower levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood), respectively. These results indicate protection against the development of atherosclerosis, according to Bhasin. More research is needed to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of myostatin inhibitors in humans, Bhasin said. However, he said that that this therapeutic strategy already is possible. Experimental drugs called myostatin blockers or inhibitors are being studied as potential treatments of muscle wasting disorders and limb injuries. Some currently available nutritional supplements are touted as myostatin inhibitors, but Bhasin said he doubts they are effective. Powen Tu, a medical student at Boston University School of Medicine, presented the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Aaron Lohr The Endocrine Society


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