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Healthcare online Keeping you up-to-date
VOL.  6     ISSUE:  4    29 April 2008 Medical Services Department

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor:

Welcome to this edition of 'e-SQUARE' health care online !

Our current issue focused on some interesting features like

"Testosterone Alert !", "Belly Fat And Dementia !", "Diabetes And Lung Capacity !", "Parkinson's Alert !", "Better Than Pap Smear !", "Stem Cell And Osteoarthritis !".

In our regular feature, we have some new products information of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. as well.

We will appreciate your feedback !

Click on to reply mode.

Yours sincerely,

 

Editorial Team

Reply Mode      : e-square@squaregroup.com

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

 Male Diabetes And Testosterone

Researchers have long known men with type 2 diabetes are more likely to suffer from a deficiency of the male hormone, testosterone. Now, new research shows the same is true for men with type 1 diabetes. Investigators from the University of Melbourne in Australia studied men with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, measuring testosterone levels from blood samples. Testosterone deficiencies were seen in both groups. The authors note testosterone plays an important role in men’s health. Lower levels seen in diabetics could be impacting many areas of functioning and researchers say the hormone deserves more attention from physicians and scientists. “As testosterone deficiency may contribute to impaired performance, mood, and libido, as well as have adverse impact on cardiovascular risk, these findings demonstrate the presence of a significant and unrecognized problem among men with diabetes,” the study author said. But the authors stop short of recommending testosterone replacement therapy for diabetic men, noting the benefits and drawbacks of this treatment will require much more study before it could be used in the general population of diabetics with testosterone deficiency.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, April 2008.

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 Belly Fat And Dementia !

Belly Fat May Linked To Dementia

A new study found people in their 40s with fat abdomens have a higher risk of dementia when they reach their 70s. Scientists at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, measured the abdominal density of 6,583 people age 40 to 45 and found after about 36 years, 16 percent had been diagnosed with dementia. Researchers say overweight participants with large bellies were 2.3 times more likely to develop dementia than individuals at a normal weight and belly size, while those who were obese with a large abdomen were 3.6 times more likely. In addition, participants who were overweight or obese but did not have a large midsection had an 80 percent increased risk of dementia. A research scientist said, “It is well known that being overweight in midlife and beyond increases risk factors for disease. However, where one carries the weight -- especially in midlife -- appears to be an important predictor for dementia risk.”

SOURCE: Neurology, March 2008.

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 Diabetes And Lung Capacity !

Lung Capacity Declines Faster In Diabetics

Diabetes, the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and non-traumatic amputations, can also cause the lungs to deteriorate quicker than they normally do with age, a new study shows. Although everyone experiences a decline in lung function as they grow older, showed that the lungs of people with type 2 diabetes deteriorate more quickly than normal. The Johns Hopkins team that conducted the research, part of a larger investigation known as the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, found in previous research that reduced lung function predicted and preceded the development of type 2 diabetes. In this latest study, there was an average difference of 6 millimeters more decline per year in forced vital capacity (FVC), a measure of how well the lungs fill with air, said study author. The scientists suggest the accelerated reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC) found in people with diabetes could be the result of high blood sugar levels stiffening lung tissue or fatty tissue in the chest and abdomen restricting the lungs. The ARIC is a prospective cohort study of 15,792 adults from four U.S. communities. The present analysis, which looked at 1,100 diabetics and 10,162 non-diabetics, was based on three years of follow-up.
SOURCE: HealthDay News, March 2008.

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 Parkinson's Alert !

Poor Sense Of Smell Might Be Early Sign Of Parkinson's

An impaired sense of smell could be an early indicator of Parkinson's disease, occurring up to four years before motor skill problems appear, recent research shows. In the study 2,267 men who received olfactory testing at the Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu at least once during two periods in the 1990s were followed. They were followed for up to eight years and, during that time, 35 of the men developed the disease. An odor identification problem preceded the development of Parkinson's by at least four years in these men. Decreased odor identification was associated with older age, smoking, more coffee consumption, less frequent bowel movements, lower cognitive function and excessive daytime sleepiness, but even after adjusting for these factors, those with the lowest odor identification scores had a five times greater risk of developing Parkinson's than those with the highest scores. The results strengthen findings from earlier studies that suggest olfactory impairment begins between two and seven years before diagnosis. Why problems with smelling accompany Parkinson's is not completely understood; however, nerve loss and the formation of Lewy bodies -- abnormal clumps of proteins inside nerve cells that are thought to be a marker of the disease -- are known to take place in the olfactory structures of patients with the disease. The study authors noted that one previous study involving brain dissection of deceased patients with neurological disease found that olfactory structures are the earliest brain regions affected by Lewy degeneration, which supports the idea that an impaired sense of smell could be one of the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease.
SOURCE: HealthDay News, March 2008.

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 Better Than Pap Smears !

DNA-Based HPV Tests More Precise Than Pap Smears

 A new study confirms previous findings that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA-based tests are more accurate than Pap smears in detecting precancerous lesions. It was already known that the HPV test uncovered more infections and precancerous lesions than Pap smears (cytology), but it wasn't clear whether HPV tests would lead to the treatment of patients whose immune systems would fight off infections -- meaning that these women didn't require treatment, anyway. In this study of almost 50,000 women, Italian researchers found that the HPV test identified almost twice as many premalignant lesions compared to Pap smears. Among women ages 35 to 60, the HPV test was more likely to detect cervical lesions. In women ages 25 to 34, the HPV test seemed to identify more infections that eventually resolved themselves. Based on their findings, the researchers said it may be best for younger women with a positive HPV test to be retested in 12 months, rather than being immediately referred for a more intensive examination called colposcopy.
SOURCE: HealthDay News, March 2008.

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 Stem Cell And Osteoarthritis !

Stem Cells Can Repair Osteoarthritis Damage

A partially derived stem cell that can be produced in large enough numbers to be a realistic treatment for osteoarthritis has been discovered in adult cartilage by a group of scientists at Cardiff University in Wales, UK. The partially derived cell, also known as ‘progenitor,’ is found within the articular cartilage of adults. Although this particular cell can’t become any cell in the body like a full stem cell, it has the ability to become the cells that make up the body’s cartilage. Researchers first found a partially derived stem cell in bovine cartilage that, in the lab, could be turned into a chrondocyte -- the cells that make up cartilage. The breakthrough came when they found a similar cell in human cartilage with characteristics that could be used to treat cartilage lesions, as well as slow the onset of osteoarthritis. The team has been able to find these cells in people up to and over 75 years of age. Lead researcher from the Cardiff School of Biosciences said that, they have identified a cell which, when grown in the lab, can produce enough of a person’s own cartilage that it could be effectively transplanted.  The researcher also noted there are limitations in transplanting someone’s cartilage cells, but when they are grown from a resident cell, he believes the limitations can be overcome. The next step is to do animal trials. If they are successful, Archer hopes to start clinical trials next year. The scientists say they believe their research could lead to real benefits for arthritis suffers and especially younger active patients with cartilage lesions that can progress to full-scale osteoarthritis.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, April 2008.

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New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
  Product Xcid®
  Generic Name Calcium Carbonate BP
  Strength 1000 mg
  Dosage form Chewable Tablet
  Therapeutic Category Plain Antacid
  Product Uriten®
Generic Name

Alfuzosin HCl BP
Strength

10 mg
Dosage form Extended Release Tablet
Therapeutic Category BPH Product
  Product Optiven®
  Generic Name Bambuterol HCl BP
  Strength

10 mg, 20 mg
  Dosage form Tablet
  Therapeutic Category Long Acting Bronchodilator

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