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Editorial |
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e- SQUARE-
Looking
Ahead |
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Dear Doctor:
Happy
New Year 2003!
As
you know, we are providing the longest running online healthcare
information
service in Bangladesh focusing on health, fitness, and nutrition!
We are upgrading our online bulletin with your valuable
opinion. We believe we will keep up with your continuous support.
This
week's e-SQUARE features a variety of contents including Gene
& SIDS, Diabetic
Retinopathy, Smoke
& Vitamin C, CVD
& Diabetes, Aches
& Pain, Nutrition
& BP.
Please send your feedback on our
information service to you. Click on to your reply mode.
With very best wishes from all of
us.
Yours sincerely,
Editorial Team
The views expressed in this
publication do not necessarily reflect those of its editor or
SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS
LTD.
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Gene
& SIDS |
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Genetic
connection in SIDS
Back to
Features |
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A
new study shows a relationship between Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome(SIDS) and a specific gene. The findings may eventually help
to identify infants at risk for SIDS. Researchers collected
DNA samples from 87 SIDS cases in the United States. They also
collected 334 random DNA samples used to determine population
genotype frequencies, and other samples that were screened for
family history of SIDS. The samples were matched to SIDS cases
for ethnicity and gender. The 5-HTT gene regulates serotonin
uptake. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter or brain chemical.
Increased levels of serotonin in the body are known to cause
blood vessels to narrow.
When
this narrowing occurs in the brain, it can lead to headaches
and even strokes from a lack of oxygen and nutrients. Results
show a positive association between SIDS and an alteration of
the 5-HTT gene called the L allele. Results differed across
all ethnic groups. However, SIDS cases were more likely than
the random sampled group to have a long allele in Japanese,
Caucasian and African American cases.
SOURCE:
Published online in the American Journal of Medical Genetics,
January 17, 2003.
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Diabetic
Retinopathy |
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Screening
for diabetic retinopathy Back to
Features |
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Researchers
believe they’ve come up with a good plan to screen diabetics
for the eye disease retinopathy. The disease remains a leading
cause of vision loss. Researchers studied 7,600 patients who
took part in a trial screening program in England, which used
non-stereoscopic photographs to determine optimal screening
intervals. After analyzing the data, they find:
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People
who are not on insulin, have had diabetes for less than 20
years, and show no signs of retinopathy may wait three
years before undergoing a subsequent screening.
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Those
who show no signs of the disease but are taking insulin or
have had diabetes for longer than 20 years should be
retested within one year.
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Yearly
exams are recommended for those who show signs of
background retinopathy, regardless of diabetes duration or
treatment.
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Those
with signs of mild, preproliferative retinopathy should be
screened every four months.
According
to the investigators, this plan would assure, with 95-percent
certainty, that no cases of sight-threatening retinopathy
would be missed.
SOURCE:
The Lancet, 2003;361:195-200
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Smoke
& Vitamin C |
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Smoke
exposure decreases Vitamin C in children
Back to
Features |
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New
research shows vitamin C levels in children exposed to tobacco
smoke may also be diminished. The study involved 521 children
ages 2 to 12. Half of them were exposed to smoke at home
because their parents smoked. Smoke can reduce concentrations
of ascorbate, an important blood antioxidant. Vitamin C,
is one of the strongest determinants of total antioxidant
defense. Researchers found plasma ascorbate concentrations
were lower, by 3.2 micromoles per liter, on average, in
children exposed to smoke than in unexposed children who
consumed the same amount of vitamin C. Researchers say this
reduction occurred even with very low exposure. Study suggest
children exposed to smoke consume increased amounts of foods
rich in vitamin C or be given the equivalent amount of the
vitamin as a supplement.
SOURCE:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003;77:167-172
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CVD
& Diabetes |
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Stroke
risk in diabetics
Back to
Features |
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A
new study finds a high risk of stroke for people diagnosed
with type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes. Doctors have long
known people with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of
dying from cerebrovascular disease. Studies have also shown a
high rate of cardiovascular disease among people with both
types of diabetes. This study included nearly 24,000 people
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before age 30. Investigators
followed the subjects for 17 years, recording deaths from
cerebrovascular causes according to age and gender. The
results were then compared to expected cerebrovascular death
rates in the general population. Overall, death rates from
cerebrovascular disease were about three times higher for men
and nearly four and a half times higher for women. Women
between 20 and 39 had about a seven times higher risk of dying
from cerebrovascular disease, and men that age had about a
five times higher risk. The result suggests that the patients
with type 1 diabetes show that at all ages, death from
cerebrovascular disease is higher in the patients with
diabetes than in the general population.
SOURCE:
Ivanhoe news
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Aches
and Pains |
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Smokers
have more aches and pains
Back to
Features |
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A
new study shows smokers are more likely to complain about pain
in their back, neck, arms, and legs than non-smokers. Smokers
as well as ex-smokers are at higher risk for aches and
pains – especially those that lead to chronic disabilities
and interfere with daily activities. Researchers surveyed
nearly 13,000 adults suffered pain in the low back, neck,
upper and lower limbs in the last 12 months. They found the
percentage of people who reported pain in the past year was
consistently higher among smokers and ex-smokers for all the
parts of the body examined by the study. Researchers conclude
smokers and ex-smokers were at especially high risk for pain
that prevented them from performing daily tasks.
SOURCE:
Annals of rheumatic disease, January 2003. |
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Nutrition
& BP |
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High
blood pressure may begin before birth!
Back to
Feature |
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A
new study found that people with primary hypertension, or high
blood pressure that is not caused by another disease, may have
fewer nephrons in their kidneys than people with normal blood
pressure. The study involved the examination of kidney from 20
middle aged people who had died in accidents, 10 of whom had
high blood pressure. Their findings support the theory
that having fewer nephrons makes a person more
susceptible to high blood pressure. But the most important is
low protein intake during pregnancy may affect the number of
nephrons in the fetus and the risk of high blood pressure and
other types of cardiovascular disease later in life, according
to researchers. This findings points to importance of prenatal
nutrition
in determining the future health of the child.
SOURCE: The
New England Journal of Medicine, January 9,2003;348:101-108
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