Features

Testicular Cancer !

Red Meat Alert !

Energy Drink Harms Teeth

Caffeine & BP

Hunger & Taste !

Games Control Pain !

New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL TEAM

OMAR AKRAMUR RAB

MBBS, FCGP, FIAGP,FRSH (UK)

P G Dip. Business Management

LATIFA NISHAT, MBBS

ASHRAFUL ALAM, MBBS

MAHBUBUR  RAHMAN, MBBS

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor:

We hope you are enjoying 'e-SQUARE' healthcare online !

Our current issue focused on some interesting features like "Testicular Cancer, Red Meat Alert, Energy Drink Harms Teeth, Caffeine & BP, Hunger & Taste, Games Control Pain".

Besides we have some new products information of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. as well.

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Editorial Team

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The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of its editor or SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.

New Method Detects Testicular Cancer Early

Researchers in Denmark have discovered a new method of detecting testicular cancer before it spreads. Doctors from Copenhagen have now reported the first diagnoses of pre-invasive testicular cancer. The new study reports about 13,200 new cases of testicular cancer occur each year in Europe and it is the most common cancer in men between ages 20 and 39. More than 90 percent of the cases can be cured, especially if it is caught early. However, it is often difficult to detect the cancer before it starts to spread. Researchers have found a gene, called TFAP2C that is expressed in testicular cancer patients, which provides a marker for detecting the cancer. Semen was analyzed from 12 patients with known testicular cancer and a number of control groups, including men with other types of cancers and infertility problems and a group of healthy men. As the first semen samples were evaluated, the testicular cancer gene marker was detected in a sample from one of the healthy controls. The patient had no indications of testicular cancer. Upon further clinical evaluation, including a biopsy, pre-testicular cancer cells were revealed. Study authors say if further studies confirm this method as a simple, non-invasive screening test, it could be offered in andrology and fertility clinics to young men at risk of testicular cancer.

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Too Much Red Meat Bad for Long-Term Health

Protein from different sources seems to have different health effects and long-term adherence to higher protein intakes without distinguishing between the source of the protein may increase the risk of dying from heart disease. After following nearly 30,000 women for 15 years, investigators found that women were more likely to die from heart disease if they often substituted red meat for carbohydrates. In contrast, swapping vegetable sources of protein for carbs appeared to protect women from heart disease. "Our main finding was that animal compared to vegetable sources of protein seem to have a different effect on dying from heart disease," study author said. For this reason, author recommended that people who want to follow high protein diets should stick with vegetable proteins such as tofu, nuts and peanut butter, or healthier meats like chicken or fish. To investigate, the researchers interviewed 29,017 postmenopausal women about their eating and lifestyle habits, then followed them for 15 years, noting who died and of what cause. All of the women were free of cancer, heart disease and diabetes at the beginning of the study. The investigators found that women who most often ate vegetable protein in place of carbohydrates and animal protein were 30 percent less likely to die of heart disease. But the more red meat and dairy products women substituted for carbohydrates, the more their risk of heart disease increased. Overall, opting for protein over carbs had no significant influence on the risk of dying from any cause. Researcher concluded that vegetable proteins may contain different building blocks, minerals or antioxidants that are good for our bodies and also contain substances that affect hormones in healthier ways.

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Energy Drinks Damage Dental Enamel

All the sportspersons and athletes who live their lives by their sports drinks and energy drinks may just be sacrificing their oral health for sake of athletic achievements. According to a study published in the January issue of Journal General Dentistry, most harm caused to the dental enamel is caused by bottled lemonade, sports drinks and energy drinks. At times the damage caused to the dental enamel by these drinks are as much as 11 times more than cola drinks. Enamel of the teeth is the coating that protects the teeth from normal harmful bacteria and hence fights dental caries. Scientists had isolated the enamel from the teeth and kept them exposed in both coal and non-cola drinks for a period of 14 days, which was supposed to stimulate the exposure of our teeth to these drinks for over a period of 13 yrs. The results showed although the cola drinks may contain certain acids, the organic acids present in the energy and sports drinks are far more damaging to the dental enamel as they can breakdown calcium present in the teeth and cause tooth decay. However, the study comes as a direct contradiction to the earlier research conducted on Ohio State University athletes, that showed no connection between sports drinks and dental caries. Published in the journal Caries Research in 2002, the earlier study had showed that there is no significant difference in dental eroding between athletes who consumed sports drinks and others who didn’t.

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Caffeine Intake Tied to Teens' Blood Pressure

The amount of caffeine consumed by teenagers is directly related to their daytime blood pressure - and this effect is especially pronounced among African Americans - researchers from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta report. The new findings, which are based on 24-hour measurements of blood pressure taken with a portable recorder, back up earlier research by the same investigators in which they used one-time readings of blood pressure. In the latest study, 41 African-American and 41 white adolescents selected foods and beverages for a four-day sodium-controlled diet. The subjects were divided into three groups based on caffeine intake, and ambulatory blood pressure measurements were taken during one of the four days. African-American participants had higher daytime and nighttime blood pressures than their white counterparts, researchers found. In both groups, daytime blood pressure rose as caffeine intake increased, with a greater effect seen in African Americans. By contrast, caffeine intake was not associated with nighttime blood pressure, the researchers report in the American Journal of Hypertension. "The present research highlights the need for additional studies that examine the direct effect of caffeine from beverages on adolescent blood pressure, and consider why caffeine's effects may not be consistent across racial groups," the team writes. "If caffeine has a direct effect on blood pressure in youth at risk for hypertension, it may be possible to design relevant intervention strategies and offer a straightforward public health message that could help reduce the risk of hypertension among young African Americans and other vulnerable populations," they conclude.

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Link Between Hunger and Taste

According to a recent study researchers say hunger may be associated with an increased ability to taste. For the study researchers studied 16 men who agreed to skip breakfast. The men had not eaten since 6:30 p.m. the previous evening. Participants were asked to consume sugary, salty or bitter solutions and describe the flavor they tasted. The participants did not swallow the drinks, but instead spit them out after tasting them. One hour after lunch, the men took the test again. Researchers say when the participants were hungry, they were more sensitive to the sugar and salt in the drinks. However, they say hunger did not influence the participants’ ability to recognize bitter tastes. Researchers say, instinctively, sweet and salty tastes indicate edible substances, while a bitter taste may indicate a substance that should not be consumed. They say this may be why participants were more sensitive to the sugary and salty solutions. Researchers say hunger could increase a person’s ability to taste by increasing the sensitivity of the taste receptors in the tongue or by simply changing the way a person perceives the same taste. In conclusion researchers say that short term caloric deprivation decreases recognition thresholds for sweet and salty stimuli but it did not affect the taste sensitivity to a bitter substance.

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Virtual Reality Games Control Pain

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children being treated for severe injuries. This is the result of a preliminary study conducted in Australia. For children with burn injuries, dressing changes are the source of severe pain and anxiety. Often, children are given strong medications, but these are often not enough to alleviate pain and anxiety. At the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, Australia, a study was conducted to investigate whether playing a virtual reality game could help with pain. Virtual reality games are computer games designed to completely immerse the user in a simulated environment. In the recent study, seven burn patients, ages 5 to 18, played a virtual reality game while their dressing was being changed. The children were given the usual amount of painkiller. The researchers assessed the pain the children felt when they were playing the virtual reality game and compared it to the amount of pain felt when just painkillers were used alone. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most severe pain, the children reported their average pain score with painkillers alone was 4.1. When the children played the virtual reality game and had been given painkillers, their pain score decreased to 1.3. Both parents and nurses confirmed these results, saying the children clearly showed less signs of pain when they played the game. The study authors point out this was a small study, and larger trials are needed.

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