New Drug Help to decrease Cancer

Prostate cancer kills over 10,000 men a year in Britain alone but new research suggests that a drug originally intended for treating obesity, could be turned into a treatment for the deadly form of cancer.

Dr Ian Mills and his research team from Cambridge University found that tumour cells in the prostate require a specific enzyme to function as well as grow. But by stopping the production of this enzyme, they showed that the growth can be slowed down and even reversed. The hope is to effectively do so by using a trial obesity drug called STO 609 which they found inhibits the enzyme and essentially starves the cancer cells. However, the new drug would not be seen as a cure as yet but rather a management.

“Prostate cancer is a slow growing cancer and if you can slow it down even further you can turn it from a fatal condition to a chronic one that can be managed.” Dr. Mill said in the published work, giving hope to over 36,000 men who are affected each year in managing the disease. But he was optimistic about further possible inroads into treating the form of cancer. “[...] importantly we’ve shown that blocking one of these genes will starve the cancer cells of vital nutrients – and reduce tumour size and spread of the disease. More research to understand how prostate cancer cells generate could open up new routes to detect and treat the disease.”

Dr Lesley Walker director of Cancer Research UK greeted the new research with equal optimism and commented on its value. “This important study shows that investigating the way prostate cancer cells use and generate energy could provide a promising new route to search for ways to detect and treat the disease.” she said.

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Obesity in Australians

A decade ago, only less than 500 people are suffering gastric banding or a similar procedure.
As the nation becomes fatter the demand for surgery has increased.

The number is expected to keep rising, with weight problems affecting 68 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women.

While more men were overweight, almost four in five weight loss operations were for women - 13,300 compared with just 3700.

The most common weight loss procedure is laparoscopic gastric banding, accounting for 72 per cent of all procedures in 2007-08, a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found.

It said the bulk of surgery was performed in private hospitals, but more surgeons in the public system were being trained and offering the operations.

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Obesity surgeon Ken Loi explained that the success and improved safety of surgery had contributed to the increase.

"It's available and accessible," he said.

While the bulk of surgery is performed in private hospitals, more surgeons in the public system are becoming trained and offering the procedures.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's head of hospitals and performance group Jenny Hargreaves said figures were disproportionate to the number of women overweight.

"While many overweight people rely on lifestyle factors - such as improved diet and increased physical activity - to lose weight, the report shows a significant increase in the member of people undergoing weight loss surgery," she said.

As per the National Health Survey, 68 per cent of men are overweight or obese, while for women the figure is 55 per cent."

Source:heraldsun.com.au

Bariatric Bypass Surgery

CHICAGO — A small study has found that morbidly obese patients with HF who undergo bariatric surgery gain long-lasting and meaningful improvements in disease symptoms and quality of life.

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“This tells us that bariatric surgery may become part of the treatment of patients with HF and obesity if there are no major contraindications for the surgery — and that this might be especially important for patients with significant obesity,” Francisco Lopez-Jiminez, MD, said in a press release.

The study results were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010.

Lopez-Jiminez cautioned, however, that because the study tested the effects of bariatric surgery on just 13 patients, “these results should be considered preliminary and suggestive of some benefit, but additional research is needed to confirm these results.”

It appears that cardiologists do not often refer obese patients with HF for bariatric surgery, despite statistics showing that one-third of HF patients are obese, Lopez-Jiminez said.

The researchers reviewed the outcomes of 13 patients, aged 44 to 64 years, who underwent bariatric surgery at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota between 1990 and 2005, as well as six HF patients, aged 52 to 72, who were followed at the Mayo Nutrition Clinic and did not receive the surgery.

In the group that received surgery, the mean BMI was 53, and in the comparison group, it was 42. After 4 years of follow-up, the mean BMI dropped in the surgery group to 37 and rose in the comparison group to 45.

Based on patient surveys, the researchers found that quality of life was significantly improved in those who received weight-loss surgery, compared with HF patients who did not. Researchers also determined that symptoms such as swelling in the legs and labored breathing during exercise improved only in the surgery group.

Lopez-Jimenez said that the health advantages seen in the patients who had bariatric surgery occurred even though most remained obese.

“These patients had very advanced levels of obesity before the surgery, and although they lost significant amounts of weight, most remained obese. So, these good results suggest that the benefit does not require patients to reach a normal weight,” he said.

Obesity Surgery Specialists

You’ve tried every diet and nothing seems to work. You know your health is at risk but you can’t see to find the cure. Obesity is at epidemic proportions and bariatric surgery has become an accepted form of weight loss within the medical community. Now, that acceptance extends to teenagers.

Brittany Lewis, 18, tried everything. At just under 300 pounds she never left the house. She even thought hard about not attending college, afraid people would stare at her.

After months of nutritional and psychological analysis a team of medical experts at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital determined surgery was Brittany’s only option.

Do the health risks really outweigh the risks of surgery? Should teens as young as 13 even have the option of surgery?

News 4 talked to surgeons and nutritionists at Washington University School of Medicine and you’ll hear from the first teen in our area to have the surgery.




Source: kmov

Reduce Obesity – Drive Bike Cycle

Give confidence your child to play outdoor Games. One of the best physical activities you can let your child do is ride a bike cycle. Following are benefits of learning how to ride a bike cycle.

1. It will help them with their sense of balance. Learning how to ride a bike will encourage your child to learn balance. This does not only pertain to biking per se, but also in life. Once a child learns a sense of balance, this will help him in real life when he is presented with choices.


2. It will encourage your child to be fit. Once this has become a habit, your child will love physical activities that he will carry this habit with him when he grows older. His love for exercise will never fade.


3. Your child will develop his hand and eye coordination and motor skills.


4. It will instill a sense of self-confidence. Learning something at a young age and excelling in it will boost the child's self-confidence which he will carry as he grows older.

As parents, we need to make every effort in preventing the development of child obesity. This can greatly affect the child's confidence as he grows up. He will be the center of ridicule in school and anywhere he goes. Other kids will tease him and this will also cause emotional and psychological stress on the child.