(HealthDay News) Contrary to some other findings, new research indicates that mammograms and breast self-exams are useful for the detection of breast cancer, including cancers in younger women…

These authors reviewed data on almost 6,000 women in Michigan, average age 59, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

They found that two-thirds of tumors were found on a mammography and 30 percent by palpation, either from a breast self-exam (90 percent) or from a doctor's exam (10 percent)…

About 73 percent of women who had had a mammography (where cancers tended to be diagnosed at a later stage) had a lumpectomy, vs. only 54 percent of those who had found their tumor by palpation.

Chemotherapy was also given more frequently in the palpation group, said [study co-author Dr. Jamie] Caughran.

Most women (81 percent) who had their cancers detected on a mammogram were over the age of 50. Forty percent of women whose tumors were found by palpation were under 50.

Read more.

Community: Mammography is clearly superior to palpation for finding breast cancer tumors.

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(HealthDay News) There's no link between menopause and increased risk of death from heart disease, says a study that challenges a long-held medical belief that the rate of cardiovascular death in women spikes after menopause.

Aging alone, not the hormonal impact of menopause, explains the increasing number of deaths among older women, according to the Johns Hopkins researchers…

"What we believe is going on is that the cells of the heart and arteries are aging like every other tissue in the body, and that is why we see more and more heart attacks every year as women age. Aging itself is an adequate explanation and the arrival of menopause with its altered hormonal impact does not seem to play a role," [said study leader Dhananjay Vaidya].

Read more.

Community: It’s not just aging alone that causes heart disease. An unhealthy lifestyle is much more important than the aging process, or even genetic susceptibility.

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(HealthDay News) If you've ever wished you didn't have to fold laundry, mow the lawn or stand in line, consider this: Those daily activities may help keep dementia at bay.

New research finds that seniors who expended the most energy doing chores, running errands, taking care of loved ones and simply going about their business were less likely to experience mental declines as they aged.

"All those things that you would never think of as exercise, they get our heart rate up and make our blood vessels pump blood," said study co-author Todd Manini… "But we kind of ignored them in the past and thought mainly about volitional exercise, such as jogging. What this study is telling us is those other activities might also count for health benefits."

Read more.

Community: And there are a lot more ways to stave off cognitive decline, too.

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(Reader's Digest) Cut a rugInvite some pals over, turn on some tunes, and have a 37-minute dance party. You know you haven't forgotten the Macarena.

Say ahh
Give your honey an end-of-the-day massage for 42 minutes and you'll burn around 200 calories. Just make sure you get one in return.

Move things around
Liven up the layout of your favorite room with 30 minutes of furniture rearranging…

Make over your casa
Give your living room a fresh hue. Rolling on a new coat of paint burns 204 calories an hour…

Hit the mini links
When's the last time you played putt-putt? All it takes is about an hour to slash 200 calories.

Weed and seed
Make your yard happy by uprooting those pesky weeds for 25 minutes (127 calories) and planting some new seedlings (77 calories for 15 minutes)…

Get your om on
Unwind with some Vinyasa yoga. Flowing from Sun Salutations to standing poses like Triangle will burn 200 calories in about 25 minutes.

Clean your machine
Wash and wax your ride, and you'll burn 204 calories in 40 minutes. Straighten up the inside of your car, too, and you'll melt those cals even faster.

Tap your toes
Fidget throughout the day and you could burn an extra 200 calories before dinnertime. Researchers say people who fidget burn 350 calories a day more than non-fidgeters.

Read more.

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(Reuters) A mother-to-be hoists a rubber cylinder overhead. A 70-year-old balances on a wobble board and a firefighter grips a medicine ball while lunging across the gym floor.

Called functional training, workouts mirroring the activities of daily life have become a cornerstone of personal training sessions and group fitness classes, even if daily life can encompass anything from lifting a baby to scaling a burning building…

It's basically exercise aimed at improving the quality of life and movement.

Read more.

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MyRecipes.com:

Tuna Pasta with Olives & Artichokes
Here we toss grilled tuna with pasta, artichoke hearts, green olives and tomatoes. Grilling the tuna gives this ultra-fresh pasta dish a subtle smokiness. But if you’re pressed for time, try canned tuna in place of the grilled fish.

Hanoi-Style Tuna Patty Salad

Tuna-&-Tomato Mac & Cheese

Spaghetti with Tuna & Tomato Sauce

EatingWell:

Maple-Glazed Salmon
Put together a big batch of the spice rub, and keep it in an airtight container; use it to add flavor to meat and fish on weeknights. Serve with Tomato-Dill Couscous.

Indian-Spiced Salmon

Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon

Smoked Salmon Crostini

Washington Post:

Baked Chicken With Tarragon, Mustard and Pear
About 75 percent of all the pears grown in the United States are Bartletts, but this autumnal recipe calls for a couple of the squat and sweet Anjou variety… Serve with couscous or steamed/sauteed baby bok choy.

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(Washington Post) One way to pretend it’s still summer all through September is to eat lots of raspberries, whose season extends into October. It’s obvious why you should eat them: They’re delicious, right? But they’re also really good for you.

Angela Ginn, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says red raspberries are full of antioxidant phytonutrients, particularly tannin, which gives them their purplish hue. (White and black raspberries, she says, are nutritious but don’t have tannin.) Tannin may help protect against some cancers and macular degeneration, she says.

Ginn adds that raspberry seeds provide fiber. And the berries themselves, she says, are an “excellent” source of Vitamin C.

One cup of raspberries has 60 calories, a third of the fiber you need in a day and more than half your daily Vitamin C.

Ginn likes to add raspberries to her morning oatmeal and to yogurt. She recommends you toss some into a salad or “cook them down on the stove to make a glaze for chicken or pork tenderloin.” And be sure to freeze some for winter. Frozen berries are just as nutritious, Ginn says.

Source

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(Andrew Weil, M.D.) If your grocery budget is tight, browse the frozen food section, especially for fruits and vegetables. While fresh foods are generally a better choice, frozen produce can fit the bill when fresh produce is not available or is cost prohibitive. Look for these elements when purchasing frozen foods:

1.    Choose organic produce when possible - the price of frozen organic foods is often lower than that of fresh organics.

2.    Look for foods that may not easily be found fresh, such as edamame.

3.    Read labels. Be selective when it comes to meals found in the frozen section. Many prepared frozen meals, including the ones that are labeled "healthy" or "natural," contain inferior ingredients - especially unhealthy fats - and can be high in sodium.

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(Science Daily) New research shows that chondroitin sulfate significantly decreased pain and improved hand function in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand compared with those in the placebo group. Results of the clinical trial … also show that chondroitin sulfate improves grip strength and relieves morning stiffness…

"Our findings show chondroitin sulfate is a safe and effective treatment for patients with hand OA," concluded [lead investigator Cem Gabay, M.D.]. "Alternative therapies, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), provide similar pain reducing effects, but with considerably more long-term toxicities." Chondroitin sulfate is a naturally occurring molecule and a main component of joint cartilage. The chondroitin sulfate agent used in this study (Chondrosulf®) is licensed as a drug in Europe and not as a nutripharmaceutical; in the U.S. chondroitin sulfate is sold as a supplement and often paired with glucosamine.

Read more.

Community: I stopped taking my glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplement when I saw that several studies questioned their effectiveness. I tried a broccoli extract, based on a British study, but didn’t notice any difference in pain in my hands. So I’ve gone back to glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. I still have some pain and stiffness in my hands, no matter what I do. I bought Loren Fishman’s book on Yoga for arthritis, and there’s a section for hands and wrists, but I haven’t had a chance to check it out. I’ll let you know if it helps.

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(Science Daily) Joint injury can result in irreversible damage of cartilage which, despite treatment and surgery, often eventually leads to osteoarthritis (OA) in later life.

New research … demonstrates that short term treatment of damaged cartilage with glucocorticoids can reduce long term degenerative changes and may provide hope for prevention of OA after injury.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Neurosurgery researchers at UC Davis Health System have used a new, leading-edge stem cell therapy to promote the growth of bone tissue following the removal of cervical discs -- the cushions between the bones in the neck -- to relieve chronic, debilitating pain.

The procedure was performed by associate professors of neurosurgery Kee Kim and Rudolph Schrot. It used bone marrow-derived adult stem cells to promote the growth of the bone tissue essential for spinal fusion following surgery, as part of a nationwide, multicenter clinical trial of the therapy.

Removal of the cervical disc relieves pain by eliminating friction between the vertebrae and/or nerve compression. Spinal fusion is used following surgery for degenerative disc disease, where the cushioning cartilage has worn away, leaving bone to rub against bone and herniated discs, where the discs pinch or compress nerves.

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(Science Daily) Most people have witnessed otherwise intelligent people doing embarrassing or stupid things when they are intoxicated, but what specifically happens in the brain to cause such drunken actions? A new study testing alcohol's effects on brain activity finds that alcohol dulls the brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self control…

[Said Bruce Bartholow,] "Our study isn't the first to show that alcohol reduces this alarm signal, but contrary to previous studies, our study shows that alcohol doesn't reduce your awareness of mistakes -- it reduces how much you care about making those mistakes."

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) The rate of smoking among U.S. adults has resumed its four-decade decline, and those who continue to light up appear to smoke less than previous generations, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

"For 40 years there was a consistent decline in the number of adults who smoked -- from 1964 to around 2005," CDC director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said during a noon press conference releasing the results of the CDC's new report on smoking prevalence in the United States.

The downward trend stalled after 2005 and has since resumed, but at a pace "much slower than the rate of previous declines," he said.

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(Science Daily) A natural yellowing of the eye lens that absorbs blue light has been linked to sleep disorders in a group of test volunteers, according to a study… As this type of lens discoloration worsened with age, so did the risk of insomnia…

"The association between blue light lens transmission and sleep disturbances remained significant even after we corrected for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking and the risk of ischemic heart disease," [lead author Line] Kessel said.

She said another important factor to consider is that sleep quality has been shown to improve after cataract surgery. "The transmission of blue light currently cannot be improved by any other method than cataract surgery. I´m involved with another research project where we try non-invasively to remove the yellow color of the lens using a laser, but the method is not yet developed for clinical use," Kessel said.

In the meantime, Kessel said it seemed prudent to recommend that physicians reconsider the prescription of sleeping tablets in patients who have undergone cataract surgery.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Early results suggest that using virtual reality (VR) human-computer interfaces might help adult stroke patients regain arm function and improve their ability to perform standard tasks, when compared to patients who don't use VR…

Virtual reality interfaces allow people to become immersed in a computer-generated environment. Most people are used to these in the form of video games, but they show potential as a therapeutic tool. "Virtual reality and interactive video gaming may have some advantages over traditional therapy as they may give people an opportunity to practice everyday activities that cannot be practiced within the hospital environment," says the review's leader Kate Laver.

Read more.

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(Reuters) People with post-traumatic stress disorder appear to have lower levels of a specific kind of brain chemical known as serotonin 1B, and targeting this with drugs could lead to the first treatments specifically targeting the disorder, researchers said on Monday…

The findings, which need to be confirmed by bigger studies, offer a first step in developing drugs specifically designed to target brain changes that occur in people with PTSD.

"Currently, the only medical treatment options for the nearly 8 million American adults with PTSD are anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, which show little benefit in improving the mental health of these patients," [Dr. Alexander] Neumeister said

Read more.

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(UPI) U.S. crisis centers affiliated with the Suicide Prevention Lifeline are funded to develop follow-up services for those at high risk of suicide, officials say…

Each of the six Lifeline crisis centers selected will receive as much as $60,000 per year for as long as three years to develop systems to reach out and help ensure that critical follow-up care is provided for people in need.

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(Reuters) The powerful healthcare industry hopes a congressional "super committee" tasked with slashing America's debt will fail and is lobbying instead for automatic spending cuts that will kick in if the panel deadlocks…

Under the trigger mechanism -- a process called sequestration -- automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion will begin in 2013. But programs such as the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and the Social Security retirement program are totally protected from cuts, while Medicare, the healthcare program for the elderly, would face only a 2 percent cut to providers.

Chris Jennings, a former healthcare adviser to Democratic President Bill Clinton, said: "Virtually all healthcare stakeholders would prefer the sequester to take place rather than worry about the near inevitability of the super committee coming up with a package of deeper and broader cuts."

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(U.S.News & World Report) It is easy to forget that the aging of America (and the world) is mostly a good thing for seniors…

Voting power…  More than 70 percent of Americans between ages 65 and 74 voted in the 2008 national elections—the highest turnout of any age group… Older Americans will be comprising growing percentages of our overall population, so senior power at the polls will only grow.

Social Security and Medicare. This voting power represents a strong reason why the rhetoric to cut senior entitlement programs will not be matched by action. Social Security needs only relatively minor changes to regain its long-term financial soundness. Medicare requires a bigger fix, but the odds that older Americans will lose meaningful components of their healthcare benefits are very small. Meanwhile, the percentage of older Americans living in poverty has steadily fallen since Medicare was enacted in 1965. Along with Social Security payments that are indexed to inflation, these twin financial support pillars have helped reduce poverty rates among seniors, from more than 30 percent to less than 9 percent—half the rate of children and the lowest of any age group. Seniors should feel pretty good about this trend, but it's hard to find anyone willing to say anything good these days about senior benefits.

Spending power. Boomer retirements will differ from earlier generations in many ways, not the least of which will be a voracious appetite for continuing everything they've been doing—working, learning, traveling, and other pursuits that cost money. Consumer-product companies are already well into the transition of developing new marketing and advertising strategies to capture the dollars of older consumers. Staying in the materialistic mainstream will have enormous practical and psychological benefits to seniors.

Cultural power. It's fashionable to call 70 the new 50, and to roll out glamorous and virile septuagenarians to prove that point. But well before 2030, when 20 percent of Americans will be at least 65 years old, you won't have to look young to receive support and accolades for being old. Social attitudes toward aging and the elderly are moving steadily to healthier and more accepting norms. It may not feel good some days to be old, but there's never been a better time to grow old.

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(Los Angeles Times) As we age, our bodies change in ways that challenge athletic ability. But exercise also can slow down — and in some cases even prevent — some of the physiological ravages of time. "A lot of things that we thought were just inherent to the aging process and were going to happen no matter what don't really have to happen if you maintain an appropriate lifestyle," says Jim Hagberg, a professor of kinesiology…

How much can exercise slow down the ravages of aging? Potentially a lot.

It will partially, but not completely, prevent arterial stiffening with age and completely prevent the dysfunction of the arterial lining that develops with age, Seals says. "Exercise, it turns out, is probably as powerful as any other kind of prevention strategy or treatment that has been assessed so far."

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(HealthDay News) The intensity of exercise, not the duration, is what's important in terms of improving your chances of living a longer life, a new study suggests…

Currrent guidelines recommend that adults get 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity in their leisure time, preferably every day of the week. The most beneficial levels of intensity, duration and frequency haven't been established.

The findings suggest "that a greater part of daily physical activity in leisure time should be vigorous, based on the individual's own perception of intensity," study author Peter Schnohr said.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Living a healthy lifestyle can cut your risk of diabetes by as much as 80 percent, researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health report.

It has been clear that diet, exercise, smoking and drinking have an impact on whether one is likely to develop type 2 diabetes, but how each individual factor affects the risk had been unclear.

"The lifestyle factors we looked at were physical activity, healthy diet, body weight, alcohol consumption and smoking," said lead researcher Jarad Reis, a researcher from the U.S. Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute…

The more healthy lifestyle factors one has, the lower the risk for developing diabetes, Reis noted. Overall, risk reduction can reach 80 percent, he said.

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(Reuters Health) Gentle yoga classes may help people with type 2 diabetes take off a small amount of weight and steady their blood sugar control, a small study suggests.

The study, of 123 middle-aged and older adults, found that those who added yoga classes to standard diabetes care shed a handful of pounds over three months. Meanwhile, their average blood sugar levels held steady -- in contrast to the non-yoga-practicing "control" group, whose blood sugar levels rose.

The findings … do not suggest that yoga should replace other forms of exercise for people with type 2 diabetes -- a disease commonly associated with obesity.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Cognitive impairment, even when detected at an early, mild stage, is a significant predictor of decreased life expectancy.

According to a new, long-term study…, cognitive impairment, especially at the moderate to severe stages has an impact on life expectancy similar to chronic conditions such as diabetes or chronic heart failure…

"Previous studies have associated cognitive impairment with an increased risk for death, but most of this work focused on patients with Alzheimer disease and subjects in research centers. The patients in our study better reflect the general public, displaying no indications of disease or mild, moderate or severe cognitive impairment," said Regenstrief [Institute] investigator Greg A. Sachs, M.D.

Read more.

Community: One of Sunday’s posts had a long list of things that can help prevent cognitive decline.

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(RealAge.com) These two adult beverages -- one that wakes people up in the morning and another that relaxes them in the evening -- may help keep the mind young: coffee and red wine.

According to research, these two beverages -- if enjoyed in moderation -- might help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

The recent news is no reason to start a coffee or wine habit. But if they're already part of your beverage repertoire, you might be interested to know that both seem to contain ingredients that could help ward off dementia. Animal studies show that something in coffee may help trigger the release of a special growth factor -- granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) -- that recruits cells from bone marrow to help sweep out beta-amyloid deposits. (Those are the pesky plaques that cause Alzheimer's symptoms.) And the polyphenols in red wine may have similar benefits, reducing levels of peptides that contribute to Alzheimer's plaques…

The substances in coffee and wine may also help strengthen the brain, either by helping it forge new connections or protecting it from the neurotoxic effects of Alzheimer's plaques.

Read more.

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MyRecipes.com:

Apple and Corn Bread-Stuffed Pork Loin
The pork loin is stuffed with and baked atop apples. The apple wedges that the pork cooks over are discarded, but they contribute lots of flavor. The double-butterfly method used to flatten the pork for stuffing creates an attractive pinwheel pattern, evident when the pork is sliced.

Apple-Poblano Whole Roast Turkey

Chicken with Green Apple-Chipotle Salsa

Veal Medallions with Apple-Thyme Sauce

EatingWell:

Stir-Fried Chile Beef & Broccoli
This quick stir-fry features broccoli and flank steak in a flavorful sauce. This dish is typical of many traditional Chinese stir-fries—the sauce just clings to the beef and vegetables… The moment the beef is combined with the seasonings it is ready to be stir-fried.

Spicy Beef with Shrimp & Bok Choy

Spicy Orange Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Korean Beef Stir-Fry

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(Andrew Weil, M.D.) A member of the nightshade family of vegetables, eggplant is not only delicious, but is a wonderful substitute for meat in most dishes, as it has a toothsome, chewy texture. Plus it has nutritional benefits - it:

1.    Is a low-calorie food

2.    Provides fiber, potassium, manganese and vitamins B1, B6 and folate

3.    Is a good source of phytonutrients and flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties and help neutralize free radicals, which in turn lessens oxidative damage to cell membranes

The pear-shaped eggplant features thin skin and spongy, creamy flesh that is best eaten cooked. When choosing, look for an eggplant that is heavy for its size, firm, with a smooth, unblemished skin and a bright green cap and stem. Avoid eggplants with skin that does not bounce back when pushed with a finger - this indicates it is overripe.

Source

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(SouthBeachDiet.com) Making healthy … meals doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. There are many ways you can shave off minutes in the kitchen and still eat nutritious, delicious food. It’s just a matter of having the recipes and ingredients well in hand before you start cooking, prepping ahead of time, and learning a few other shortcuts. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of preparing healthy meals, here are some simple time-saving tricks to help you get started:

1.    As soon as you get home from the grocery store, prep fruits and veggies and separate them into individual containers to refrigerate or freeze and use during the week. Always keep a bag of prewashed greens on hand to create a healthy salad in minutes.

2.    Instead of mincing garlic each time you need it, throw a lot of whole cloves into the food processor. Refrigerate in a plastic container and use within one week.

3.    Cook once so you can eat twice (or more). On Sunday, for example, prepare enough food for two or three meals so you can refrigerate or freeze some in microwavable containers and enjoy throughout the week (and take a night or two off from cooking). If you’re grilling, prepare extra for lunch the next day.

4.    Stock up on easy ready-to-eat foods, like canned or pouched tuna, plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt, or ready-made hummus, to grab for on-the-go snacks.

5.    Prepare veggie crudités once a week and keep them in plastic bags or plastic containers in the fridge to snack on or to add to soups, salads, and more.

6.    Clean as you cook — rather than stacking the dishes in the sink to deal with after dinner, get a head start on the mess by washing pots, pans, bowls, and other kitchen utensils as you’re preparing the meal.

Source

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(Health, Wall Street Journal) When you’re sick with the flu, public -health officials want to know what strain has infected you…

The only way to find out what strain is causing an illness is through a sophisticated laboratory test, which isn’t available in a doctor’s office.

Now, the U.S. government has approved a new diagnostic flu test that could help public-health labs pinpoint flu viruses more quickly and efficiently. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it consists of different modules (sort of like three tests in one) that can help labs rapidly identify the specific strain of a flu virus — H1N1, H3N2 or 2009 H1N1, for example — or whether the virus is the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu.

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(Andrew Weil, M.D.) New research from Yale suggests that they may…

The investigators found that the more wrinkles a woman had, the lower her bone density was likely to be. The greater the number of horizontal and vertical wrinkles between the eyes (from squinting), the lower bone density was likely to be in the hip. On the plus side, the fewer wrinkles women had on the face and forehead, the stronger their bones at the hip and spine, the study showed.

These findings may turn out to be meaningful if subsequent studies find the same associations between wrinkles (or lack of them) and bone strength. If so, the condition of a woman's skin could alert doctors to her risk of osteoporosis.

Source

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(Science Daily) [S]cientists … have established a new class of anti-diabetic compound that targets a unique molecular switch.

The finding paves the way for the development of anti-diabetic therapeutics with minimal adverse side effects plaguing currently available drugs such as Avandia (rosiglitazone), scheduled to be removed from pharmacy shelves this fall due to concerns about increased risk of heart attack…

While both the mice treated with Avandia and those treated with SR1664 demonstrated improved blood sugar levels, those treated with Avandia showed weight gain and increased fluid retention within a few days of beginning treatment; those being treated with SR1664 showed none of these side effects. In cell culture studies, SR1664 also appeared to have little effect on bone formation, nor did it increase fat generation in bone cells, another side effect of current therapies such as Avandia.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Increased low-grade inflammation in the body resulting from obesity is widely viewed as contributing to type 2 diabetes. Going against this long-held belief, researchers … report that two proteins activated by inflammation are actually crucial for maintaining good blood sugar levels -- and that boosting the activity of these proteins can normalize blood sugar in severely obese and diabetic mice…

"This finding is completely contrary to the general dogma in the diabetes field that low-grade inflammation in obesity causes insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes," says [Umut Ozcan, MD]. "For 20 years, this inflammation has been seen as detrimental, whereas it is actually beneficial."…

[The findings may also have implications for treating other] inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease, psoriasis and asthma.

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(Andrew Weil, M.D.) Ovarian cancer is almost completely curable if caught in its earliest stages. Unfortunately, it has few early symptoms and there is no reliable screening test, making early diagnosis difficult. To help identify problems when they first start, women should talk with their physician if the following symptoms are persistent, even if they seem trivial:

1.    General abdominal discomfort or pain (gas, indigestion, pressure, swelling, bloating, cramps)

2.    Nausea, diarrhea, constipation or frequent urination

3.    Loss of appetite

4.    Feeling of fullness or abdominal swelling after a light meal

5.    Weight gain or loss with no known reason

6.    Abnormal bleeding from the vagina

7.    Pelvic pressure (a feeling that one needs to urinate or defecate all the time)

8.    Constant back or leg pain

A pelvic exam and an ultrasound can determine whether the ovaries require further evaluation.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) A new saliva test can measure the amount of potential carcinogens stuck to a person's DNA -- interfering with the action of genes involved in health and disease -- and could lead to a commercial test to help determine risks for cancer and other diseases, scientists reported…

"The test measures the amount of damaged DNA in a person's body," said Professor Hauh-Jyun Candy Chen, Ph.D., who led the research team. "This is very important because such damaged DNA -- we call this 'DNA adducts' -- is a biomarker that may help doctors diagnose diseases, monitor how effective a treatment is and also recommend things high-risk patients can do to reduce the chances of actually getting a disease," said Chen.

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(Science Daily) A bacterial strain that specifically targets tumours could soon be used as a vehicle to deliver drugs in frontline cancer therapy. The strain is expected to be tested in cancer patients in 2013…

The therapy uses Clostridium sporogenes -- a bacterium that is widespread in the soil. Spores of the bacterium are injected into patients and only grow in solid tumours, where a specific bacterial enzyme is produced. An anti-cancer drug is injected separately into the patient in an inactive 'pro-drug' form. When the pro-drug reaches the site of the tumour, the bacterial enzyme activates the drug, allowing it to destroy only the cells in its vicinity -- the tumour cells.

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(Science Daily) Human colon stem cells have been identified and grown in a petri dish in the lab for the first time. This achievement … is a crucial advance towards regenerative medicine…

Scientists … discovered the precise location of the stem cells in the human colon and worked out a method that allows their isolation and in vitro expansion, that is their propagation in lab-plates (petri dishes)…

[The] team has also established the conditions for maintain living human colon stem cells (CoSCs) outside of the human body.

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From the South Loop of Chicago

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(USA Today) Two of three older adults experienced only a small amount of cognitive decline during a decade-long study, according to new research.

The findings challenge the perception mental deterioration is normal in seniors, the authors say. The study, done on 1,049 adults who initially had no dementia, was published Friday in the journal Age and Aging.

"This research is important," says Richard Jones…, "because the focus for seniors can be on living independently for as long as possible and putting less of a burden on our health-care system."

Read more.

Community: Here are some things that may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline:

Suggestions from Dr. Weil (staying mentally challenged, taking low-dose aspirin, use healing spices like turmeric in cooking, eating a diet rich in omega-3s, eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding polyunsaturated vegetable oils),

RealAge.com’s recommendaions (exercise—especially outdoors, not smoking, getting enough sleep (more here), keeping blood pressure within normal limits, taking classes, keeping body weight within normal limits),

Dealing with minor ailments rather than letting them pile up,

Eating a Mediterranean style diet, especially when combined with exercise, and especially aerobic exercise,

Eating carrots, beets, and asparagus,

Eating tomatoes,

Drinking coffee and tea, especially coffee,

Reducing salt in the diet if you’re inactive,

Taking a fish oil supplement,

Taking grape seed extract or drinking red wine,

Healthy living (getting enough exercise, keeping blood pressure and body weight within normal levels, and not smoking),

Keeping cholesterol within normal limits,

Getting enough vitamin B-12 and vitamin D (more here on vitamin D),

Minimizing stress,

Getting enough sleep,

Performing routine chores,

Socializing (more here),

Developing spirituality,

Spending time in green areas,

Mental agility training,

Learning a new language,

Taking huperzine A,

Using an insulin nasal spray,

Avoiding allergy medications and sleep aids containing diphenhydramine,

Moderate drinking,

Keeping weight down,

Keeping arteries clear, and

Avoiding diabetes and heart disease.

Seems like almost everyone ought to be able to find a few things they’re willing to do to maintain their cognitive ability. And fortunately, many of these same substances and activities are good for delaying or preventing diabetes and heart disease, too.

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