Editors: Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
The 5th Annual Interdisciplinary Biomeasures Workshop held in Chicago in June 2007 was a success. There were more than eighty participants from seven countries. Presentations covered various aspects of biomeasures collection and data analysis. For more information on Workshop please visit CCBAR website at: http://biomarkers.uchicago.edu/ChicagoBiomarkerWorkshop2007.html. Please contact Karl Mendoza: kmendoza@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu or 773-834-4832 for more information.
• Diabetes
problems 'vitamin link'
A simple vitamin deficiency may be the cause of many of the side
effects of diabetes, a study suggests.
• Sexual
problems of long-term cancer survivors merit more attention
The first study to look at sexual function in very long-term female
survivors of genital-tract cancer found that these women were pleased
with the quality of their cancer care but less satisfied with the
emotional support and information they received about dealing with the
effects of the disease and treatment on sexuality.
• Managing
stress cuts stroke risk
Coping well with stress can cut the risk of a stroke by almost a
quarter, research shows.
• Obesity
'linked to birth defects'
Women who are obese are at a higher risk of conceiving a child with
birth defects, a US study says.
• Metabolic
syndrome in kids ups adult heart risk
Adults who had so-called metabolic syndrome
when they were children have a substantially increased risk of having
heart disease in their 30s, researchers report.
• Caffeine
May Help Women's Memory
Drinking 3 or more daily cups of tea or coffee may help women age 65
and older retain their memory, a French study shows.
• Humor
Hampered By Aging Brain?
Age-related brain changes may make it harder for older adults to
understand humor, a new study shows.
• Smart,
curious, ticklish. rats?
A host of new behavioral studies makes plain that the similarities
between us and Rattus extend far beyond gross anatomy.
• Turning
on the Female Brain
New work in mice suggests a simple genetic switch is all that separates
male and female behavior
• Acid
Blockers Linked to Mental Decline
Long-term use of H2 blockers, including Axid, Pepcid, Tagamet, and
Zantac, may up the risk of mental decline in later life, a study shows.
• No-sex
therapy 'not working'
Sex abstinence programmes do not stop risky sexual behaviour or stop
unwanted pregnancy, a study says.
• Keeping
Aging Eyes In Focus
Saving your sight from the side effects of aging is not just about
needing stronger glasses. As Dr. Jon LaPook reports, new screening
guidelines are out today to detect age-related eye diseases.
• Benefits of tomatoes
still bountiful
If you consider eating tomatoes a delicious way to prevent cancer, a
recent study may have been a shock. Lycopene, a compound found in
tomatoes, is widely touted as a protector against cancer, particularly
prostate cancer. The study found that higher blood levels of lycopene
were not linked with reduced risk of prostate cancer.
• Some
antidepressants may bode ill for bone density
Two new studies have found that the use of the antidepressants called
SSRIs is associated with an increased rate of bone density loss in
older people.
• Exercise
And Mental Stimulation Both Boost Mouse Memory Late In Life
Physical exercise is known to be good for the aging brain, but what
about mental stimulation? Does enrichment that helps older people work
well for the young and middle-aged, or do they need something else? A
new article tells how, in an animal experiment, older adults appear to
benefit from either or both mental and physical enrichment. For the
young and middle-aged, exercise is key.
• Disparities
In Infant Mortality Not Related To Race, Study Finds
The cause of low birthweights among African-American women has more to
do with racism than with race, according to a new article. The
researchers spoke with black women who had babies with normal weights
at birth, comparing them with black women whose babies' birth weight
was very low -- under three pounds. They asked the mothers if they had
ever been treated unfairly because of their race when looking for a
job, in an educational setting or in other situations. Those who felt
discriminated again...
• Race
Plays A Role In Disability In Older Adults With Arthritis
A new study examined the rates at which different racial groups develop
disability, how differences between groups can be accounted for, and
the significant risk factors that predict the development of disability
among older adults with arthritis.
• Low
cholesterol 'link' to cancer
People who significantly cut their cholesterol levels with statins may
raise the risk of cancer, a study says.
• No
safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks
Sodas -- even diet ones -- may be linked with
increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers
said on Monday.
• How
Healthy Living Helps Longevity
Exercise and a healthy diet may boost longevity by keeping the brain
sensitive to insulin, report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston.
• Medical illiteracy
deadly for older people
Plenty of evidence suggests that having trouble understanding medical
information is bad for your health. Now new research says it could even
be deadly.
• Vital
Signs: Aging: Having Moles May Mean Younger Skin Cells
A new study suggests that the cells of people with many moles may age
more slowly than those of people with fewer moles.
• HRT
may prevent heart symptoms in younger women
Younger women who start taking estrogen as soon as
they enter menopause may be protected from heart disease, researchers
said on Wednesday.
• Breast
Cancer Genes Can Come From Father
A deadly gene's path can hide in a family tree when a
woman has few aunts and older sisters, making it appear that her breast
cancer struck out of nowhere when it really came from Dad....
• Mortality
rate for female diabetics rises
Medicine has made life-saving advances in treating and preventing heart
disease, the major killer of people with diabetes, yet female diabetics
are dying at higher rates than three decades ago, researchers reported
this week.
• Alcohol
May Cut Some Arthritis Risk
Consuming three or more alcoholic beverages per week may reduce the
risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a study shows.
• Stress, depression
may hike memory issues
People who are often stressed out or depressed are far more likely to
develop memory problems than those with sunnier dispositions, U.S.
researchers said on Monday in a finding that sheds light on early
predictors of Alzheimer's disease.
• Physicist
Cracks Women's Random But Always Lucky Choice Of X Chromosome
A physicist has uncovered how female cells are able to choose randomly
between their two X chromosomes and why that choice is always lucky.
Human males have both a X and a Y chromosome but females have two X
chromosomes. This means that in an early stage in the development of a
woman's fertilised egg the cells need to silence one of those two X
chromosomes. This process is crucial to survival and problems with the
process are related to serious genetic diseases.
Events
NIH videocast
• Understanding
Cultural and Ethnic Influences on Mental Health: Data from the ...
The NIMH Mental Health Disparities Team (MHDT) is pleased to announce
the second presentation in the Mental Health Disparities Speaker
Series. Drs. Margarita Alegria, James S. Jackson and David T. Takeuchi
will present findings from the Collaborative Psychiatric
Epidemiological Studies (CPES). This collaborative effort, which
includes the National Survey of American Lives (NSAL) and the National
Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) as well as the National
Comorbidity Survey
Cancer and
Inflammation Seminar, October 9-10, 2007. Masur Auditorium, Blg 10,
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
The
Gerontological Society of America’s 60th Annual Scientific Meeting "The
Era of Global Aging: Challenges and Opportunities"
November 16-20, 2007. San
Francisco, United States
Living to 100: Survival to Advanced Ages International Seminar, January 8-9, 2008. Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL
Association for Gerontology in Higher
Education Annual Meeting, February 21-24, 2008. Baltimore, USA
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This Newsletter is
supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, National
Institutes of Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)