EXERCISE POUNDS, CANCER RISK AWAY?
Research suggests exercise may help reduce not only excess pounds but also extra risk of colon and breast cancer. Scientists say lack of physical activity, obesity/body fat distribution and high levels of a cancer-related hormone called IGF-1 each may boost the odds of developing a breast and colon malignancy. "Physical activity may reduce cancer risk by reducing visceral fat that surrounds the internal organs, which, in turn, may reduce IGF-1 levels," says Michelle Martin, preventive medicine specialist at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Martin is studying overweight, sedentary, postmenopausal women to gain insight into the three-way connection. "Study results will help develop specific exercise guidelines and increase public confidence and participation in physical activity as a way to prevent cancer," she says.
GETTING JANE AND JOHNNY TO READ
Educational psychologists say selecting appropriate, appealing material is one way to get a reluctant young reader to pick up a book. Studies have shown the more children read, the better readers, and students, they become. In the Digital Age of fast-track computers and video games, however, some youngsters shun books as boring and unpleasant. Specialist Kathleen Martin of the University of Alabama in Birmingham offers some tips on how parents can encourage resisting children to read. "Find the topics that capture your child's interest," she advises. "Then look for children's books that deal with those topics." If the youngsters have no taste for short stories or novels, parents can try giving them non-fiction books instead. Books should be at an appropriate reading level for the reader, but if he or she becomes engrossed in material too difficult to read alone, the parent should read along, chiming in whenever the child gets stuck.
MELATONIN MAY AFFECT NIGHTTIME BLOOD PRESSURE
New study results point to the hormone melatonin as a potential future treatment for high blood pressure. In a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, Frank Scheer of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School says the hormone's effect on blood pressure may be due to its ability to help regulate the body's biological clock. "It has been reported that people with high blood pressure often have suppressed nighttime melatonin levels," Scheer says. "We have recently found people with high blood pressure have actual anatomical disturbances of their biological clock. This finding might open the door for a new approach for treating hypertension."
VITAMINS MAY EASE ALZHEIMER'S
Vitamins E and C may help protect the aging brain against damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, scientists say. "Our study suggests that the regular use of vitamin E in nutritional supplement doses, especially in combination with vitamin C, may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease," says Peter Zandi, lead author of the study reported in the journal Archives of Neurology and assistant professor of mental health in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers think antioxidant vitamin supplements may benefit the aging population because they are relatively nontoxic and are thought to offer wide-ranging health advantages. In the study, the researchers found a trend toward reduced Alzheimer's in study subjects who took a combination of vitamin E and C. They noted no reduction in the risk for the disease when the vitamins were taken singly or when multivitamins were taken. The researchers speculate the use of vitamins E and C may offer protection against Alzheimer's when taken together in the higher doses. The scientists say further studies are needed to draw any firm conclusions about the vitamins' protective effects.
(Editors: For more information about EXERCISE, contact Hank Black at (205) 934-8938 or [email protected]. For READERS, Gail Short at (205) 934-8931 or [email protected]. For MELATONIN, Carole Bullock at (214) 706-1279. For VITAMINS, Kenna Brigham at (410) 955-6878 or [email protected])
