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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Cancer: Can it be prevented? Anti-depressant drug reduces painful tingling feelings How not to lose vision in old age! Health Notes
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Cancer: Can it be prevented? In a recent report from Australia, it is estimated that in 2025 there will be an increase of almost 60 per cent on the present figure. Cancer is becoming an important public health issue in our country. The absolute number of cases is increasing rapidly and the number of new cases may go up to over 1.22 million by 2016. Cancer accounts for over 20 per cent of the total disease burden, With increasing and ageing population, the burden caused by cancer will also rise. It is estimated that only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers are due to genetic or hereditary diseases, the rest being due to environmental and occupational factors, and those related to human behaviour. The increase in cancer incidence is due to several factors: increasing tobacco consumption, life style trends and infectious diseases. Each of these major risk factors pose specific challenges, especially on low and middle-resource countries. Prevention is just one of the several methods for reducing the burden of cancer in the community. Anti-cancer lifestyle choices includes avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol consumption, getting regular exercise and eating a plant-based diet. Tobacco:
The most important lifestyle risk factor is tobacco use. Tobacco smoking dramatically affects lung cancer. However, the increase in cancers of the stomach, esophagus, liver and upper aerodigestive tract (larynx, pharynx, oral cavity) is considerable. Smoking causes 30 per cent of all cancers and 90 per cent of lung cancer. The conservative estimate is that 75 per cent or more of lung cancer cases could be prevented through the elimination of cigarette smoking. Alcohol:
Alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for the cancer of the breast, liver, colon, rectum, mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus. There is no safe drinking in regard to cancer risk, and the total amount of alcohol consumed is the factor determining risk. Increased drinking patterns could lead to a 3.6 per cent rise in total cancer incidence. Higher consumption in men implies that the related cancer burden would be more in men. Heavy drinkers should be encouraged to either stop altogether or cutback to moderate levels. It is reported that taking foliate supplements can help eliminate to some extent the cancer risk linked to alcohol. Obesity: An excess body weight increases the risk of several cancers. Rising levels of obesity have occurred world-wide during the last 20 years. Carrying extra weight has been linked to rising trends of breast cancer and endometrial cancer in women, and colon and kidney cancer in men. Obesity also increases the risk of cancer of the liver, gall bladder and blood cancer. Studies suggest that losing weight may reduce the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Healthy diet:
Dietary constituents related to cancer are difficult to identify. Over-consumption of calories contributes greatly to cancer burden. Cancers with a link to diet include cancer of the breast, food-pipe, stomach, colon, oral cavity, kidney and uterine. The recommended cancer-reducing diet is lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grain and items low in animal products (animal fat, red meat, processed meat) and low in sodium. Plants have less fat, more fibre and more cancer-fighting nutrients. These three factors support the immune system and help body fight off cancer. Try to minimise or reduce the amount of processed food. Eat fresh fruit such as pear, banana, apple, strawberries, citrus fruits and mango. High fat diet has been linked to higher rates of cancer. Physical activity:
Reduced physical activity levels are associated with an increased risk of breast and colon cancer. Regular physical activity has been shown to lower the risk of colon cancer by about 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The benefits of regular exercise for breast cancer seem the maximum for premenopausal women. Post-menopausal women also have lower risks of breast cancer from regular physical activity. The recommended amount of activity each week is 30 minutes of brisk walk five or more days per week. Infection-related cancers:
Infections play an important role in the development of certain cancers. Worldwide nearly 15 per cent of all cancers are linked to infections. In countries marked by poor living conditions and inadequate health care, nearly 25 per cent are linked to infections. Occupational cancer:
Occupational agents represent an important cause for cancer. In a recent study from Norway, a high risk of cancer was seen in waiters, cooks, stewards, beverage workers, sea men and chimney sweeps. Male waiters and tobacco workers have a high incidence of lung cancer attributable to active and passive smoking. However, nearly one-third of cancers are attributable to preventive risk factors. Modifiable risk factors include the use of addictive substances (smoking, alcohol), physical activity, diet (overweight, low fruit and vegetable intake, red and processed meat consumption), and oncogenic infections. A significant proportion of the world-wide burden of cancer could be prevented through the application of cancer-preventing measures — tobacco control, minimising alcohol consumption, healthier dietary patterns, promoting physical activity, and vaccination for liver and cervical cancers. Large-scale preventive efforts have the potential to avoid at least 40 per cent of cancer deaths annually. Unless significant efforts are made to implement the preventive measures, the impact of prevention on reducing the total cancer incidence will be relatively small. The writer, a former Professor and Head, Department of General Surgery, PGI, Chandigarh, is associated with Fortis Hospital, Mohali. |
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Anti-depressant drug reduces painful tingling feelings
Washington: In a new study, the anti-depressant drug duloxetine, known commercially as Cymbalta, has been found to help relieve painful tingling feelings caused by chemotherapy in 59 per cent of patients. This is the first clinical trial to find an effective treatment for this pain. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common side-effect of certain chemotherapy drugs. The tingling feeling — usually felt in the toes, feet, fingers and hands — can be uncomfortable for many patients, but for about 30 per cent of patients, it’s a painful sensation. Previous studies have found no reliable way to treat this type of pain. In the current study, researchers looked at 231 patients who reported painful neuropathy after receiving the chemotherapy drugs oxaliplatin or paclitaxel. Patients were randomly assigned to receive duloxetine or a placebo for five weeks. They were asked to report on their pain levels weekly throughout the study. The researchers found that 59 per cent of patients who received duloxetine reported reduced pain, while only 39 per cent of those taking placebo did. “These drugs don’t work in everyone. The good news is it worked in the majority of patients. We need to figure out who are the responders. If we can predict who they are, we can target the treatment to the people it’s going to work for,” said lead study author Ellen M. Lavoie Smith, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Duloxetine has previously been shown to help relieve painful diabetic neuropathy. This type of anti-depressant is believed to work on pain by increasing neurotransmitters that interrupt pain signals to the brain. In this study, participants received a half dose of duloxetine — 30 milligrams a day — the first week before ramping up to a full dose of 60 mg daily for four more weeks. Few severe side-effects were reported with this approach. The most common side-effect was fatigue. Treating painful peripheral neuropathy is critical because the condition can lead doctors to limit the patient’s chemotherapy dose if the pain becomes too severe. “In addition to improving symptoms and quality of life, treating peripheral neuropathy pain potentially improves quantity of life if it helps patients avoid decreasing their chemotherapy medications,” Smith said. Often, Smith added, patients avoid telling their doctors about pain because they do not want their chemotherapy dose decreased. “Patients make this trade-off sometimes: They don’t want to give up the chemotherapy and decide they’d rather have this pain. That’s a terrible trade-off to make,” Smith stated. The researchers’ next steps are to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from duloxetine.
— ANI |
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How not to lose vision in old age! The May issue of the Harvard Health Letter reports that excessive use of electronic devices with screens — TV sets, computers and mobiles — increases exposure to blue wavelengths, especially after sunset. This throws the body’s circadian rhythm — out of gear. Sleep suffers especially in the case of the elderly. The combination of poor sleep and exposure to artificial light may contribute to a number of eye problems like eye strain, headache, difficulty in focusing on the paper, red eyes, glaucoma, watering, dry eyes, etc. Age-related delay in dark adaptation may also contribute to night vision problems. The aging lens and cornea cause glare by light scattering, leading to poor quality vision. But can you give up the use of computer/TV/mobile? It goes on to suggest that most problems can be minimized by restricting the use of these gadgets, more so before a few hours of sleep. What may cause visual disability with aging? Common causes of visual disability include cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Early cataract can interfere with focusing and cause eye strain. Cataract can be treated with a simple operation to replace the opaque lens. Glaucoma causes irreversible blindness due to optic nerve damage. The visual loss can be avoided if the disease is detected and treated early. Diabetes is associated with damage to the blood vessels in the retina, resulting in loss of vision. Regular eye examinations and timely treatment can prevent loss of vision in diabetic retinopathy. Age-related macular degeneration is the most common disorder in the group of non-avoidable causes of visual loss. It involves the progressive degeneration of macula, and is seen in around 25 per cent of people aged 80 years. Although it cannot be effectively treated, the resulting visual disability can be alleviated by means of optical devices and counselling. The vitreous gel undergoes liquefaction and its opacities — visible as floaters gradually increase in number. It may also cause posterior vitreous detachment and retinal holes. Pterygium — a layer of tissue that grows over the eye, starting at the inside corner of the eye occur due to excessive exposure of the eyes to sunlight, just one of many problems the sun can cause in human eyes. Aging also causes laxity and downward shift of eyelid tissues and atrophy of the orbital fat, leading to several eyelid disorders such as ectropion, entropion, dermatochalasis, and ptosis. How not to lose your vision? Good lighting can make all the difference between seeing and not seeing for the aged. Use good light for reading. While reading or writing light should be concentrated on the paper, not toward the eyes. Naked bulbs are worst for older eyes, producing a glare that can be disorienting and confusing. Fluorescent lamp with an opaque cover to block glare and distribute light upward and outward is better. The light exposure should be avoided during the night. Some other suggestions are:
The writer is a Chandigarh-based eye specialist.
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Health Notes Washington: Regular exercise is highly effective for the prevention and treatment of many common chronic diseases, and improves cardiovascular health and longevity. But a recent research has suggested that chronic training for, and competing in, extreme endurance exercise such as marathons, iron man distance triathlons, and very long distance bicycle races may cause structural changes to the heart and large arteries, leading to myocardial injury. Researchers review the literature and outlines in detail for the first time the mechanisms, pathophysiology, and clinical manifestations of cardiovascular injury from excessive endurance exercise. “Physical exercise, though not a drug, possesses many traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. A routine of daily physical activity can be highly effective for prevention and treatment of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and obesity,” said lead author James H. O’Keefe of Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, MO.
— ANI Chia seeds back in demand — this time for nutritional value
Washington: Chia seeds, which are dietary staples of the Maya and Aztecs, are catching on in America due to their omega-3 fatty acids and fibre content. Chia seeds have become popular for their omega-3 fatty acids and fibre content. With their neutral taste, they can be consumed in many ways - now they’re even showing up in processed foods such as chips and spreads. Eaten by the Maya and Aztec people, chia seeds have long been reputed to be nutritional powerhouses. “They were basics when we grew up,” LA Times quoted Ramiro Arvizu, a chef at La Casita Mexicana in Bell, as saying. “Now it’s becoming a fashion, and I love it,” Arvizu said. His restaurant has served lemonade with chia seeds for more than a decade, says Arvizu, whose grandmother made him a similar drink in his childhood. The seeds become gelatinous when soaked in liquid, sort of like tapioca. In 2009, a book by Christopher McDougall called ‘Born to Run’ focused on the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico — long-distance runners who consume chia in food and drinks.
— ANI
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Cancer is a global disease and its burden is growing fastest in low and middle income countries. In a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, about 12.7 million cases and 7.6 million deaths are estimated to have occurred in 2008 worldwide with 50 per cent of the cases and 64 per cent of the deaths in economically developing world. It is projected that by 2030 there will be 26 million new cancer cases and 17 million cancer deaths per year globally.