Obesity Increases Heart Attacks Risk

Study Suggests Obesity-Heart Attack Link Is Independent of Other Risk Factors Such as Diabetes

Obesity is a risk factor for fatal heart attacks even for people who do not have the conditions normally associated with cardiovascular disease, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, a study shows.

According to researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, it appears that obesity in its own right is associated with an increased risk of fatal heart attacks.

Inflammation is apparently a strong factor in fatal cardiovascular disease, the researchers say, and obesity is now increasingly being recognized as an inflammatory condition.

“We already knew that being obese meant you had a higher chance of having a heart attack,” study researcher Jennifer Logue, MD, of the University of Glasgow, tells WebMD via email. “We also already knew that obese people were more likely to have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.”

She says it was thought that high cholesterol and blood pressure were the reasons obese people had more heart attacks, and that medications can treat those conditions.

But she says the study has shown “two news things: obese, middle-aged men have a 60% increased risk of dying from a heart attack than non-obese middle-aged men, even after we cancel out any of the effects of cholesterol, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular risk factors.”

This means, she says, that “obesity itself may be causing fatal heart attacks through a factor that we have not yet identified.”

Link to Fatal Heart Attacks

Logue notes that the study found that the increased risk is for fatal heart attacks, not nonfatal heart attacks.

“We do not know why this is,” she says. “Possible reasons include particular chemicals that the fat cells are releasing, or perhaps it is related to the fact that obese people tend to have larger hearts to cope with the additional stress of their larger size, and this already stressed heart does not manage to continue to work during a heart attack.”

She and her research team tracked the health of more than 6,000 middle-aged men with high cholesterol but no history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease for about 15 years.

During that time, 214 fatal heart attacks and 1,027 non-fatal heart attacks or strokes were recorded.

The study began 20 years ago, the researchers say, when the prevalence of obesity was lower. Therefore, says Logue, the death risk associated with obesity may be even greater for men now than the study suggests.

Fighting Obesity

She says that the clinical implications of the study are “difficult” and that “the main message should be that further research is urgently required to confirm these findings.”

However, she adds, “it certainly makes me think that we cannot just treat cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes in obese men without also considering their weight. We need to find easier and more effective ways to help people lose weight and see if losing weight can help reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks.”

Logue also says that health providers and public officials “need to dedicate far more resources to preventing obesity.”

Markers of obesity-induced inflammation are more strongly associated with fatal than non-fatal heart attacks, the researchers say.

Therefore, treating conventional risk factors alone may not be enough to counteract the risk of death from coronary heart disease in obese men, the study suggests.

The study is published online in the journal Heart.

Home remedies to prevent migraine

A migraine is a common type of headache that may occur with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. In many people, a throbbing pain is felt only on one side of the head.

Some people who get migraines have warning symptoms, called an aura, before the actual headache begins. An aura is a group of symptoms, including vision disturbances, that are a warning sign that a bad headache is coming.

Aromatherapy: One of the best home remedies for migraine is aromatherapy. A few aromas such as those of peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender and sandalwood, can be really good and helpful for treating migraine.

Massage: Massage is also considered to be a very good home remedy for migraine. Massaging head with certain ayurvedic oils can be very effectual in treating migraine. This is not just effectual for treating migraine but is also very nourishing for all your senses.

Acupressure: A lot of people suggest and have seen the benefits of acupressure in treating migraine. This is also considered to be one of the best suited home remedies for migraine.

Cabbage Leaf Compress: For treating migraine, take few leaves of cabbage and crush it. After that these leaves are to be put in the cloth. Tie this cloth on your forehead overnight. This can be done in the day as well. This is also one of a successful home remedy for migraine.

: Drinking chamomile tea can bring down the migraine symptoms and this is a simple home remedy for treating migraine.

These few home remedies for migraine are very well suited for treating and reducing the symptoms for migraine. Apart from thee other remedies such as primrose oil, ayurvedic remedy ‘nasyam’and juice of ripe grapes are also a few other effectual home remedies for migraine.

Genetic evidence that antioxidants can help treat cancer

Scientists have provided genetic evidence suggesting the antioxidant drugs currently used to treat lung disease, malaria and even the common cold can also help prevent and treat cancers because they fight against mitochondrial oxidative stress-a culprit in driving tumor growth.

For the first time, researchers from Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center show that loss of the tumor suppressor protein Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) induces mitochondrial oxidative stress in the stromal micro-environment, a process that fuels cancer cells in most common types of breast cancer.

"Now we have genetic proof that mitochondrial oxidative stress is important for driving tumor growth," said lead researcher Michael P. Lisanti.

"This means we need to make anti-cancer drugs that specially target this type of oxidative stress. And there are already antioxidant drugs out there on the market as dietary supplements, like N-acetyl cysteine," he said.

In the study, Jefferson researchers applied a genetically tractable model for human cancer associated fibroblasts using a targeted sh-RNA knock-down approach.

Without the Cav-1 protein, researchers found that oxidative stress in cancer associated fibroblasts leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in stromal fibroblasts.

In this context, oxidative stress and the resulting autophagy (producton of recycled nutrients) in the tumor-microenvironment function as metabolic energy or "food" to "fuel" tumor growth.

The researchers report that the loss of Cav-1 increases mitochondrial oxidative stress in the tumor stroma, increasing both tumor mass and tumor volume by four-fold, without any increase in tumor angiogenesis.

"This study provides the necessary genetic evidence that reducing oxidative stress in the body will decrease tumor growth," Lisanti said

These findings were published in the online February 15 issue of Cancer Biology and Therapy.

Extremely Rare Breast Cancer Discovered

Research discovers oncogene that may be a driving force in breast cancer

Researchers have found a new gene that may be the cause of an extremely rare breast cancer that is also very difficult to treat.

The new gene discovered is called ZNF703, and it is the first discovered oncogene in at least five years. Experts from Cancer Research UK explain that this discovery may pave the way for additional treatments in the future.

Normal-functioning oncogenes are the driving factor behind cell division. In normal cells, the division is perfectly fine, but the oncogenes also influence cell division in tumor cells, sometimes causing unstoppable multiplication of cells. In the cases of tumors, the oncogene can be considered “out of control”.

Experts explain in the EMBO Molecular Medicine journal that there is strong evidence alluding to ZNF703 being a new oncogene.

For the study, nearly 1,200 samples of breast tumors were analyzed.

The ZNF703 gene has been considered to be overactive in close to 10 percent of breast cancer cases.

Other cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are considered tumor suppressors. This new ZNF703 acts in a completely opposite fashion.

What happens during Brain Hemorrhage?

Brain hemorrhage is a kind of severe stroke that can kill the patient or can cause paralysis. This can happen inside the brain, between the brain and the membrane that covers it, and in the layers of the brain coverings. Brain hemorrhage happens because of a break in the wall of the blood vessels in the brain and the blood spreads through the tissues, killing them and other cells.

People with conditions like a heavy bulge in the vessels of the brain, inherit weak blood vessels, and those who carry a mutated cystic C gene or vascular malformation should take extra caution to prevent brain hemorrhage.

Some factors contribute in the development of brain hemorrhage: one of these is hypertension which is often the most common contributing factor in brain hemorrhage. Another is diabetes because it can weaken the blood vessels, especially in the eyes. Use of medications such as anti-coagulants that affect blood clotting can also contribute to brain hemorrhage.

Although many cases of brain hemorrhage can occur suddenly, some symptoms can be considered as warning signs like very intense headache, nausea and vomiting. Sometimes the patient will experience sudden paralysis or numbness in different parts of his body. The worst sign of this condition is a leakage of blood in the sensitive areas of the brain and when he starts loosing consciousness or feels dizziness.

The treatment of brain hemorrhage depends on the location and severity of the condition. There are a few treatments available for brain hemorrhage such as Interventional Radiology and Microsurgical Technique. In most cases surgery is done to remove the split of blood and stitch the artery to stop the blood from leaking. By doing this, the patient might successfully come out from this deadly condition or he might give up some functionality of his body organs or he may loose her life.