Dr K K Aggarwal

eMedinewS Editorial

Just a Little Belly Fat Can Damage Blood Vessels

People who put on even a little weight around their middle hinder the function of endothelial cells that line their blood vessels, increasing the risk for high blood pressure. Endothelial cells are vital as they control the ability of the vessel to contract and dilate, which in turn controls blood flow. Damage to the endothelium can lead to the vessel not functioning properly and eventually high blood pressure.

When people put on a modest amount of weight, in the belly, they tend to have a greater impairment of endothelial function as per Dr. Virend K. Somers, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Endothelial function is a marker of health of the blood vessel.

The researchers randomly assigned 43 normal–weight adults to either gain about nine pounds or keep their current weight. They measured endothelial function in the brachial artery, in the arm and assessed the ability of the artery to dilate. Measurements were taken before the study started, after eight weeks of weight gain and again after 16 weeks of weight loss. People who gained weight showed a decrease in the ability of the artery to dilate. However, when they shed the weight again, the ability of the brachial artery to dilate properly snapped back to normal. It’s only 10 pounds weight gain which can have potentially harmful effects on blood vessels. The Study is published in the Aug. 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Dr KK Aggarwal
Editor in Chief

eMedinewS Editorial

Paracetamol may increase asthma risk in adolescents

Yet another new study has shown a link between asthma and Paracetamol. According to a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 13– and 14–year–olds who take paracetamol are more than twice as likely to have asthma as teens the same age who never take paracetamol.

A team of scientists led by a researcher in New Zealand worked with 322,959 children, aged 13 to 14 years, at 113 centers throughout 50 countries.

The majority of the teens (73%) reported using acetaminophen at least once in the previous year (medium use), and 30% said they had used it at least once a month (high use).

Investigators eventually discovered that those using paracetamol at least monthly had 2.5 times the asthma risk of nonusers. Once–a–year users had a 43% increase in risk of asthma.

Frequent users of Paracetamol were also more than twice as likely to have rhinoconjunctivitis as kids who never took the drug, while medium users had a 38 percent greater risk.

For eczema, frequent users had a 99 percent increased risk, while medium users had a 31 percent increased risk. Frequent users of paracetamol were 2.75 times as likely to say their wheezing was so bad it disturbed their sleep and limited their ability to speak.

However, the study does not show that the drug causes the problems. It is equally likely that the children were taking the drug because they were already suffering from asthma.

Dr KK Aggarwal
Editor in Chief

eMedinewS Editorial

The secret to joint pain relief — exercise

The culprits behind joint pain are osteoarthritis, old injuries, repetitive or overly forceful movements during sports or work, posture problems, aging and inactivity.

Ignoring the pain is not the answer nor is avoiding all motions that trigger discomfort. In fact, limiting the movements can weaken muscles, compounding joint trouble, and affect the posture. Pain relievers and cold or hot packs may offer quick relief but are temporary.

The right exercises are the long–lasting way to tame ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain. Practiced regularly they can even postpone or even avoid surgery. Becoming more active is also good for your heart, sharpens the mind, nudges blood pressure down and morale up, eases stress, shaves off unwanted pounds and lessens the risk of dying prematurely.

Being overweight is risky to the joints. Simply walking across level ground puts up to one–and–a–half times the body weight on the knees. Each knee bears two to three times the body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times the body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped.

Strengthening the quadriceps (the muscles on the fronts of the thighs) and losing weight changes this equation. Each pound lost reduces knee pressure in every step taken. The risk of developing osteoarthritis drops by 50% with each 11–pound weight loss among younger obese women. In older men losing weight to shift from an obese classification to overweight, knee osteoarthritis would decrease by a fifth. For older women, that shift would cut knee osteoarthritis by a third.
(Source Health Beat)

Breaking News: Hepatitis E vaccine appears effective in China trial

A large trial in China published in Lancet has found that an experimental vaccine is shown to be safe and effective in protecting people against hepatitis E infection. In a phase 3 trial involving 97,356 healthy participants in China’s coastal province of Jiangsu, half of them were given the China-made vaccine and the other half placebo. The vaccine — made by Xiamen Innovax Biotech — was given in three doses; the second being a month after the first, and the third six months after the first. Within a year after the third dose, 15 of the participants who were given placebo were found infected with hepatitis E. No one in the vaccine group was infected. The vaccine is well tolerated and efficacious for a general adult population. More studies are needed to assess the safety for pregnant women and for people younger than 15 years or older than 65 years. During a hepatitis E outbreak, or for travelers to an endemic area, protection can be quickly obtained by two vaccine doses given within one month.

Dr KK Aggarwal
Editor in Chief