New Hampshire Health News Digest

Carbohydrate nutrition is associated with changes in the retinal vascular structure and branching pattern in children Objectives: We aimed to assess the associations between intakes of high-GI and high–glycemic load (high-GL) diets, carbohydrate, and the main carbohydrate-containing food groups and retinal microvascular changes in preadolescents. Design: Students aged 12 y (n = 2353) from a random cluster sample of 21 schools underwent detailed eye examinations. Retinal vessel caliber and fractal dimension were measured from digital retinal images. A validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire was administered. Results: After multivariable adjustment, children who consumed soft drinks once or more per day had significantly narrower mean retinal arterioles (∼1.9 μm) than did those who never or rarely consumed soft drinks (P-trend = 0.03). When the highest to lowest tertiles of carbohydrate consumption were compared, girls had significantly narrower retinal arterioles (...

The ketogenic diet as a treatment parad - PubMed Mobile : The ketogenic diet as a treatment paradigm for diverse neurological disorders. Stafstrom CE, et al. Show all Journal Front Pharmacol. 2012;3:59. Epub 2012 Apr 9. Affiliation Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI, USA. Abstract Dietary and metabolic therapies have been attempted in a wide variety of neurological diseases, including epilepsy, headache, neurotrauma, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, sleep disorders, brain cancer, autism, pain, and multiple sclerosis. The impetus for using various diets to treat - or at least ameliorate symptoms of - these disorders stems from both a lack of effectiveness of pharmacological therapies, and also the intrinsic appeal of implementing a more "natural" treatment. The enormous spectrum of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the aforementioned diseases would suggest a degree of complexity that cannot be impacted universally by any single ...

Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production This is an open access article. Volume 4, Issue 2 April/May 2012 Keywords: heliotherapy, nitric oxide, photoprotection, phototherapy, tanning, ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D synthesis Authors: Asta Juzeniene and Johan Moan View affiliations Most of the positive effects of solar radiation are mediated via UV B (UVB) induced production of vitamin D in skin. However, several other pathways may exist for the action of UV (UV) radiation on humans as focused on in this review. One is induction of cosmetic tanning (immediate pigment darkening, persistent pigment darkening and delayed tanning). UVB-induced, delayed tanning (increases melanin in skin after several days), acts as a sunscreen. Several human skin diseases, like psoriasis, vitiligo, actopic dermatitis and localized scleroderma, can be treated with solar radiation (heliotherapy) or artificial UV radiation (phototherapy). UV exposure can suppress the...

Health Care Spending On Unnecessary Tests Discouraged By Major Medical Groups Jeffrey Young Health Care Spending On Unnecessary Tests Discouraged By Major Medical Groups WASHINGTON -- With health care costs growing out of control, medical societies made up of family physicians, cardiologists and other specialists have a message for America's doctors: Don't be so quick to order expensive procedures like CT scans and X-rays. Unnecessary tests and treatments pad the nation's health care bill and expose patients to needless risks, the groups say. On Wednesday, nine doctors' organizations -- including the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Cardiology -- along with business and consumer groups are launching an effort to reduce unnecessary medical tests and treatments, thereby saving costs and cutting back on patients' exposure to stressful and sometimes dangerous procedures. The "Choosing Wi...

Babies treated in the womb for obesity: Overweight mothers-to-be get diabetes pill to cut the risk of having a fat child NHS trial has been started in attempt to halt obesity epidemic If it is a success, treatment could be widespread in five years But there is unease over problem that could be solved by exercise and diet By Julie-anne Barnes and Fiona Macrae Babies are being medicated in the womb in an attempt to prevent them from being born obese. In a world first, dangerously overweight mothers-to-be in four British cities have started taking a diabetes drug during their pregnancy. The doctors behind the controversial NHS trial say that obesity among pregnant women is reaching epidemic proportions and they need to act now to protect the health of tomorrow's children. Overweight mothers-to-be are being allowed to take diabetes drugs to treat their unborn children in the womb to prevent them being born obese Overweight mothers-to-be are being allowed to take diabetes d...