BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Body-mass index and existing medical conditions do not explain the decreased cancer survival among blacks compared to whites, U.S. researchers said.

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers say that for many cancers, including colon cancer, African-Americans have lower survival rates than whites; possible reasons behind this disparity — including genetic variation, tumor characteristics, access to healthcare and other factors — are being examined extensively.

Lead author Upender Manne said there was a belief that racial disparity in survival following surgery for colon cancer was related to a high BMI and co-morbidity.

The researchers analyzed data from 496 patients who underwent surgery for colon cancer at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital from 1981-2002.

The study, published online in the journal Cancer, found African-Americans were 34 percent more likely to have died by the end of the study than Caucasians. Among patients with advanced stages of cancer, being underweight increased the risk of death by 87 percent. Being overweight or obese was protective in patients with Stage IV cancer and decreased the risk of death by 42 percent.

That was the surprising finding for us — that a high BMI was actually protective in patients with advanced-stage disease, Manne said in a statement.

CHICAGO, Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Using brain scans, researchers in Poland found men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli.

Dr. Andrzej Urbanik of Jagiellonian University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, and colleagues recruited 40 right-handed volunteers — 21 men and 19 women — between the ages of 18-36. The volunteers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing pictures from a widely used, standardized testing system comprised of several thousand slides of various objects and images from ordinary life designed to evoke defined emotional states.

For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the second run, only positive pictures were shown, Urbanik said.

While viewing the negative images, women showed decidedly stronger and more extensive activation in the left thalamus, which relays sensory information to and from the cerebral cortex, including the pain and pleasure centers, Urbanik said.

Men exhibited more activation in the left insula, which gauges the physiological state of the entire body and then generates subjective feelings that can bring about actions. Information from the insula is relayed to other brain structures involved in decision making.

In men, the negative images on the slides were more potent in driving their autonomic system, Urbanik said in a statement. “This might signal that when confronted with dangerous situations, men are more likely than women to take action.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 30 (UPI) —

children without regular pediatric care have less access to needed services, U.S. researchers found.

The study, scheduled to be published in Pediatrics, found children lacking a usual source of care were more likely to have unmet medical needs including delayed urgent care and problems obtaining dental care or specialty care.

In the current policy debates about health insurance reform, much of the focus has been on the importance of stable health insurance, principal investigator Dr. Jennifer DeVoe of Oregon health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland said in a statement. This study confirmed that having a stable usual source of care is also an important factor in accessing needed healthcare.

Previous studies, DeVoe said, found children with continuing care use more preventive healthcare, less emergency services and if hospitalized, have shorter hospital stays.

DeVoe and colleagues received completed surveys — with questions vetted in national surveys — for 2,681 focal children and applied statistical weights to ensure that these responses were representative of the 84,087 households in the food stamp population.

CAIRO, Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Flax seed oil may help reduce osteoporosis risk, researchers in Egypt said.

Mer Harvi and colleagues at the National research Center in Cairo analyzed the blood and urine of 70 female rats — including some with diabetes and some with ovaries removed to simulate post-menopause as well as controls who did not have flax seed oil added to their diet.

The researchers found the concentrations of serum insulin-like growth factor 1 and the bone-creating protein osteocalcin — could be raised to normal levels by adding flax seed oil to their diet.

The animal study also reported higher levels of deoxypyridinoline in the urine of the diabetic rats. healthy bone retains deoxypyridinoline so its presence in the urine indicates bone is being reabsorbed. However, levels of deoxypyridinoline in the urine fell when the rats were given flax seed oil.

We recommend further investigations using animals and humans to confirm the effect of using dietary flax seed oil to improve bone health and to prevent osteoporosis, the researchers said in a statement.

The findings are published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public health.

NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Infant exposure to metals from residential heating oil combustion and diesel emissions are linked to respiratory symptoms, U.S. researchers found.

researchers at the Columbia Center for children’s Environmental health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public health compared pollutant levels with respiratory symptoms of children between birth and age 2 living in Northern Manhattan and in the South Bronx.

Senior investigator Dr. Rachel L. Miller of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and co-deputy director of at the Mailman School of Public health and colleagues found the airborne metals nickel and vanadium, were risk factors for wheezing in young children.

Residual oil combustion for heating is a major source in New York City of these metals. Elemental carbon, in diesel exhaust, was associated with increased frequency of coughing only during cold and flu season — September through April, the researchers said.

It appears that exposure to ambient metals and diesel-exhaust particles in our air may lead to several respiratory symptoms for young children living in urban areas, Miller said in a statement.

The findings are scheduled to be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in December.

ROCHESTER, Minn., Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Medical errors self-reported by U.S. surgeons are strongly related to both burnout and depression, researchers found.

In a study that promised confidentiality, nearly 9 percent of U.S. surgeons responding said they made a major error in the three months prior to being surveyed.

The study, published online in the Annals of Surgery, found more than 70 percent of the surgeons attributed the error to themselves rather than a systemic or organizational cause.

Lead author Dr. Tait Shanafelt of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues at Johns Hopkins and the American College of Surgeons, said the results showed the components of surgeon burnout — emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and the perception of personal accomplishments — were related to medical errors as was surgeons’ mental quality of life including depression.

Of the 7,905 surgeons participating in the survey, 8.9 percent reported making recent medical errors they considered major. The researchers said they found no relation between errors and the work setting, method of compensation, number of nights on call per week or number of hours worked.

The finding suggests reducing work hours for surgeons may have little impact on limiting errors unless burnout is also addressed, the researchers said.

LONDON, Nov. 30 (UPI) —

Several hospitals in Britain are not meeting patient safety and infection control standards, while others have unusually high mortality rates, a report said.

Dr Foster, a private firm that works with Britain’s National health Service, said in a new report at least 12 hospital trusts in Britain underperform in relation to infection control and patient safety standards, The Times of London reported Monday.

In addition, the company said it determined an estimated 5,000 deaths at 27 other hospital trusts were avoidable in 2008.

The Dr Foster review follows a Care Quality Commission report that criticized the staff and facilities at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Essex County, England.

Care Quality Commission Chairwoman Barbara Young said medical experts were dispatched to Basildon, but she downplayed the need for similar action at other British hospitals.

While we are monitoring closely a number of other trusts where we have concerns, at this stage we have no evidence that there is another trust where we would take action of the kind we have taken at Basildon, Young said in a letter to British health Secretary Andy Burnham.

Hard to believe we are already talking year-end reviews, but here we are on the brink of a new decade. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has released its annual top ten fitness trends, based on its annual survey of personal trainers, group fitness experts, advanced health and fitness specialists and lifestyle and weight management consultants.

<a href="http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2009/11/30/fitness_whats_hot_for_2010.php” title=”Continue Reading: fitness: What’s Hot for 2010″>Continue reading…

U.K. Telegraph

Salt, a pinch here, a “bam” there, and food tastes better. It brings out the flavor, or so says my muumuu wearing grandmother.

But it also raises blood pressure, which explains why she would go into a blind rage, and throw rocks at crows for eating her figs.

And now, a new study confirms the heart risks of salt, and claims a reduction of just 5 grams of salt a day could save 3 million lives.

<a href="http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2009/11/30/how_many_would_be_saved_by_eating_less_salt.php” title=”Continue Reading: How Many Would Be Saved By Eating Less Salt?”>Continue reading…

It might be old news, but I have been hearing about the Sensa weight loss plan. I am asking to hear from anyone that has tried it with either good or bad results.

Does anyone know what it in it? Is it safe?

Thanks!