US Pharm. 2007;32(5):91.
Female Stem Cells Work
Better
It appears that
women have the upper hand when it comes to stem cells. According to a study
conducted at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and published in the
Journal of Cell Biology, female stem cells derived from muscle are better
able to regenerate skeletal muscle tissue than male cells.
According to the study's
senior author, Johnny Huard, PhD, director of the Stem Cell Research Center at
the hospital, the study is considered to be the first ever to report a
difference in regenerative capabilities of muscle stem cells based on sex. He
said it could have a major impact on the successful development of stem cells
as viable therapies for a variety of diseases and conditions.
"Regardless of the sex of the
host, the implantation of female stem cells led to significantly better
skeletal muscle regeneration," said Dr. Huard. "Based on these results, future
studies investigating regenerative medicine should consider the sex of the
stem cells to be an important factor." Dr. Huard says that further
investigations could lead to a better understanding of sex-related differences
in aging and disease.
West Virginia Ranks Worst
in Heart Disease
It may be a
relatively small state, but West Virginia has a big problem when it comes to
heart disease. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, every 10th
adult in West Virginia has had a heart attack or suffers from coronary artery
disease, edging out Kentucky by 1.6% as the state with the highest prevalence
of myocardial infarction (MI) and angina/coronary heart disease (Puerto Rico
had the highest rate of angina/coronary heart disease). According to the
study, many of the states with the highest prevalence were clustered in the
Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Colorado and Hawaii were the two
heart-healthiest states (the U.S. Virgin Islands had the lowest rate of MI).
Some other interesting
statistics from the study include: Men had a significantly higher prevalence
of MI than women; high school dropouts were twice as likely to report one or
more heart conditions than college graduates; and the prevalence of all
conditions was similar among African Americans and Caucasians but
significantly higher for American Indian/Alaskan Native persons and those who
identified themselves as multiracial.
You Are What Your Mother
Eats
Researchers of a
study published in The Lancet claim that higher maternal fish
consumption during pregnancy benefits a child's neurologic development. In
fact, the investigators said that the risk from the loss of omega-3 fatty
acids by not eating enough fish exceeds the risk from trace amounts of mercury
in seafood.
This fact has created a
dilemma for many pregnant women since they were warned by the FDA to limit
their intake of seafood, the main food source of omega-3 fatty acids, to avoid
trace amounts of neurotoxins, especially methylmercury.
Poor outcomes associated with
insufficient intake of omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy could result in
intrauterine growth retardation, delayed or suboptimum depth perception,
adverse neurodevelopmental measures, residual deficits in fine motor skills,
speed of information processing in infants, and irreversible deficits in
serotonin and dopamine release, according to Joseph Hibbeln, MD, of the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and colleagues.
ER Visits Caused by Drug
Misuse Rise
According to the
latest estimate from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
emergency room visits related to the non-medical use of pharmaceuticals,
including prescription and over the counter drugs increased 21% from 2004 to
2005. Three categories of drugs were most frequently implicated in nonmedical
use: antianxiety drugs (benzodiazepines, up 19%), prescription pain relievers
(up 24%), and methadone (up 29%).
Tall Children Have Lower
Cholesterol as Adults
A study published
in recent issue of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
describes a link between taller toddlers and teens and lower cholesterol as
adults. According to the data, every standard deviation greater height at age
two years was associated with .119 mmol/L lower total cholesterol level at 53
years. And each standard deviation greater height velocity in the teenage
years was linked to .073 mmol/L lower total cholesterol in adulthood. However,
the researchers point out that rapid increase in body mass index (BMI) had the
opposite effect. Greater BMI increases from ages 15 to 36 and from 36 to 53
were associated with higher total and LDL cholesterol levels and lower HDL
levels.
Heart Disease in Women May
Be Linked to Variant Gene
Researchers at
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute report that early signs of
coronary atherosclerosis in women appear to be associated with a gene variant
also linked to asthma.
According Edward Lammer, MD,
and colleagues, women with the variant gene have a significantly greater risk
of having elevated levels of coronary artery calcium than women with normal
copies of the gene. The affected women also showed a significant increase in
the thickness of the carotid arteries. The research was published in a recent
issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
David Iovannisci, PhD, lead
study author, said the research is significant be cause it "is one of
the first studies to track the development of heart disease in young people
and not the aftermath of the disease in older populations. Our research
provides critical clues to help us identify people who are susceptible to
heart disease long before the disease presents itself and when treatments may
be most effective."
Passive Smoking Linked to
Increased TB Risk
Researchers at the
Harvard School of Public Health report that passive smoking and exposure to
indoor pollution from burning organic substances is linked to a higher risk of
tuberculosis (TB). When a systematic review of published data was done, the
investigators found 38 studies between 1950 and 2006 that included enough data
for them to calculate a number for the increase in TB risk associated with
smoke, passive smoking, or pollution from the burning of fuels such as wood
and charcoal.
"The evidence suggests that,
when compared to nonsmokers, smokers have about double the risk of
tuberculosis," said Megan Murray, MD, DPH, of the Harvard School of Public
Health.
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