The Pulse-March 2012

March is… 
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Endometriosis Awareness Month
National Nutrition Month

—-

The Stroke Belt Virginia is in the “Stroke Belt” of the U.S. where mortality rates for stroke are higher than the rest of the nation. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., where every 40 seconds someone has a stroke.

Can you recognize the symptoms of a stroke? Remember to think and act F.A.S.T. by doing this test:
F: Face – Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
A: Arm – Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S: Speech – Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does the speech sound slurred or strange?
T:Time – If you observe any of these signs, it’s time to call 9-1-1.

Studies show stroke patients who arrive at the hospital by ambulance receive quicker treatment than those who arrive on their own. If you think someone may be experiencing stroke symptoms, act F.A.S.T. and call 911.

—-

There’s Something About Your Lips Lead is one of the all-stars of health hazards. Excessive exposure can damage everything from kidneys to a person’s ability to pay attention. So what the heck is it doing in lipstick?

That’s what the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has been asking since 2004. It claims any lead is a health hazard to both consumers and workers in the cosmetic industry. The Food and Drug Administration gave the group a little boost when it released its latest lipstick test.

The FDA tested some 400 lipsticks it purchased in the first half of 2010. Maybelline’s Color Sensation in Pink Petal contained the highest lead content, 7.19 parts per million. L’Oreal Colour Riche in Volcanic contained 7 ppm.

So is that a carelessly bad thing? Probably not, the FDA said.

Lipstick is applied topically, the FDA explains. Only very small quantities are ingested. “The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities.”

The FDA conducted its first test in 2007, using 33 lipsticks. More than half contained lead. All of the 400 lipsticks tested in 2010 contained lead.

—-

Research Targets Inflammation in Effort to Break Link Between Obesity & Disease
Preliminary results in mice point way to potential new treatment to prevent development of diabetes, heart disease

If you are obese, you are at great risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. But research now underway at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) in Norfolk could drastically improve your odds of avoiding these serious diseases.

EVMS has secured a major, five-year research grant from the National Institutes of Health that may lead to ways to prevent the development of these diseases linked to obesity. The $1.8 million grant supports a multidisciplinary study of how to safely thwart chronic inflammation; scientists believe that inflammation triggers disease in people who are overweight.

“Inflammation is key to why central ‘belly’ fat leads to high risks for diabetes, heart disease and maybe even some forms of cancer,” says Jerry L. Nadler, M.D., director of the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center and principal investigator on the grant.

Inflammation is vital to our health. The immune system uses acute inflammation to battle certain infections and heal wounds; it subsides when no longer needed. But chronic inflammation can cause problems. It is this long-term inflammation that Dr. Nadler and his colleagues are targeting.

Obesity—now at epidemic levels in the United Sates—represents a major public-health challenge for the nation. The risk of having a heart attack triples during obesity. Nearly 80 percent of people who develop type 2 diabetes (often as a result of obesity) also develop heart disease.

To help limit the potentially deadly impacts of these diseases, the scientists are examining a particular chemical pathway in the body involved in chronic inflammation. Obesity activates the protein Interleukin-12 (IL-12) that then signals a gene “switch” called STAT-4 to initiate inflammation.

“As IL-12 goes up, it activates the gene switch, and we think when that is unregulated or not regulated correctly, it leads to excessive inflammation around the blood vessels and in the body. That can lead to heart disease, insulin resistance and potentially to diabetes,” Nadler says.

Nadler, who also is professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, is leading a team of scientists on the research. Also from EVMS are Anca D. Dobrian, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiological sciences and co-investigator on the grant, and Elena Galkina, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and molecular cell biology. The EVMS team is collaborating with other well-known scientists in the field, including Alan Chait, M.D., from the University of Washington, and Mark Kaplan, Ph.D., at Indiana University.

The team already has strong evidence to demonstrate that by controlling STAT-4, they can prevent long-term inflammation and the diseases that often follow.

Preliminary studies over the last two years show that when certain mice are fed a high-fat diet, they develop insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes) and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries that is a hallmark of heart disease). But when scientists eliminate the STAT-4 gene, the mice do not develop disease and otherwise appear normal.

“You can’t take out the gene in people, but you can develop drugs that work the same way,” Nadler says. “We’re not preventing obesity. That has to be a lifestyle change. But what we are able to do is help prevent some of the damaging effects.”

The team will test their theory that the fat around the blood vessels can act as a reservoir of inflammation, feeding the vessel wall with inflammatory cells and leading to the development of vascular disease such as atherosclerosis.

“We have preliminary evidence showing that excess visceral fat can increase inflammation in the fat surrounding the blood vessels,” Dobrian says. “The cross-talk between visceral fat, vascular fat and blood vessels is an exciting, novel concept that may explain better the complex relationship between obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”

The researchers will use mice and donated human tissue—including blood vessels and fat cells—to determine if controlling the STAT-4 switch is safe and effective in preventing the development of disease. They also hope to better understand how IL-12 and STAT-4 work so they can identify targets for drugs that would control the inflammation.

“Right now we don’t have any treatments like this. Nothing is on the market to target that kind of inflammation,” Nadler says. “If this works, it will open up a whole new idea of how to treat people with obesity, with heart disease and maybe even prevent diabetes.”

—-

Melissa Phillips will run for $2,500 prize Twenty-six year old Melissa Phillips has been selected for an opportunity to win $2,500 on Saturday, March 31, as the 2012 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K “AT&T Dash for the Cash” participant. Phillips was chosen at random from over 28,000 people. She will be given a head start on the course and will attempt to cross the finish line before any of the elite athletes running in the full 10k (6.2 miles). If she does out-run them, she will win the $2,500 cash prize. If an elite runner finishes first, that runner will claim this prize as well as the $2,500 first place purse.  “I really didn’t believe it at first,” says Phillips. “I’m very much excited, but very nervous.”

Phillips recently completed the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. This year will be her fourth time participating in the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K.

—-

Donated Dr. Mark Kerner, medical director of Virginia Orthopaedic & Spine Specialists, has pledged $250,000 to the Bon Secours Maryview Foundation to name the newest Hampton Roads Care-A-Van, a mobile health care program serving the uninsured in Hampton Roads, and a future mammography room in memory of his wife, Dr. Anuradha Datyner Kerner, who died of breast cancer Feb. 25, 2009, at the age of 48.

—-

RecertifiedThe Trauma Program at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, as a Level II Virginia Trauma Center.

—-

Rated Sentara Hospitals from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach, among the nation’s top stroke programs.

—-

Recognized Sentara Windermere in Virginia Beach and Sentara Nursing Center Portsmouth, with a five-star overall ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Nursing Homes survey.

—-

FOLLOW freelance writer Susan Acker’s Blog as she embarks on a quest to lose 30 pounds with help from the experts at Riverside’s Medical Weight Loss Centers. Get insights and expert advice gleaned through her weekly blog, “Losin’ it with Susan,” at thehealthjournals.com.

Health Journal: Health Journal's mission is to educate and empower our readers to achieve optimum health. Health care professionals, together with seasoned journalists, partner with us to produce consumer-friendly content on a wide variety of health topics to boost wellness and lead a fulfilling life, including advances in medical technology, ways to manage healthy relationships and recipes to encourage healthy eating.