Lead Less Toxic to the Well-Read

MONDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Good reading ability may help protect the brain from damage linked to toxic lead, a new study shows.


Lead was found to be 2.5 times more likely to have negative effects on the brains of adults with limited reading ability than on the brains of good readers, the researchers report in the July 31 issue of Neurology

However, reading ability did not protect individuals' motor skills from the toxic effects of lead

A team at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Neurology, in Baltimore, studied the effects of lead exposure on 112 lead smelter workers in New Brunswick, Canada. The workers took several thinking and motor-speed tests as well as a measure of their reading ability

The researchers then calculated working lifetime lead exposure from historic blood lead levels obtained by the smelter. The workers were divided into groups with "high cognitive reserve" -- defined as a reading level of 12th grade or higher -- and "low cognitive reserve," a reading level of 11th grade or lower

Cognitive reserve refers to the mental abilities, such as reading ability, that are generally not affected by lead exposure in adulthood. They act as a measure of the brain's ability to maintain function despite damage.

This suggests that high cognitive reserve has a protective effect that allowed these workers to maintain their functioning, even though lead affected their nervous system as shown by its effect on their motor skills," Bleecker added.

How might reading protect the brain? According to the researchers, an increased number of cortical synapses in larger brains might provide more brain capacity, the option to use alternative brain circuits if some are damaged, and the ability to process tasks more efficiently.

Inflammatory Joint, Bowel Diseases May Be Linked

MONDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- People whose blood relatives have the joint disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are at increased risk not just for AS, but for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as well, an Icelandic study shows

People with AS often suffer from chronic bowel disease and gastrointestinal distress, and both AS and IBD are known to run in families. However, prior to this study, no link had been identified between the two conditions

According to the researchers, Icelanders provide an ideal study population, because the environmental and lifestyle factors are the same throughout the country. Iceland also maintains an extensive genealogical registry, as well as a half century of records on both AS and IBD sufferers, providing a mine of data for researchers

Researchers at Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, analyzed the databases for the occurrence of IBD and AS among relatives and the risk of inheriting either and both disorders

Health information from more than 200 people with AS and more than 1,350 people diagnosed with IBD, as well as genealogic data from more than 790,000 Icelanders, revealed extensive clustering of AS and IBD in families.

First-, second- and third-degree relatives of people with either disorder had increased risks of developing the same disorder, with the risk decreasing as people moved further out on the family tree. First-degree relatives are immediate blood relatives; second-degree relatives are aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and grandparents; and third-degree relatives are those who share one-eighth of the genetic code, such as first cousins.

The researchers write in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism that the key finding was the increased cross-risk for close relatives of AS and IBD sufferers. In other words, blood relatives of an IBD sufferer also had a greater risk of having AS, and blood relatives of an AS sufferer were at greater risk of IBD. This is the first study to demonstrate a possible hereditary pattern between the two conditions, wrote the researchers, although the specific genetic mechanism has yet to be identified
The Spondylitis Association of America estimates that there are at least 500,000 people in the United States with AS, although many cases go undiagnosed. Inflammatory bowel disease is thought to affect up to 600,000 people every year.

One-Third of Diabetics Have Sleep Apnea

MONDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- People with type 2 diabetes who drag themselves through the day may be among the 36 percent of diabetics suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, according to new research.

Sleep apnea occurs when impaired breathing due to collapsed airways triggers multiple nighttime awakenings.


Researchers at The Whittier Institute for Diabetes in La Jolla, Calif., analyzed health data from 279 adults with type 2 diabetes. They found that one out of three diabetics also suffered from obstructive sleep apnea. Men, particularly those over the age of 62, were more than twice as likely as women to experience interrupted sleep

The researchers published their findings in the current issue of Endocrine Practice

According to previous research, treating people who have both obstructive sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes with "continuous positive airway pressure" therapy not only helps manage the sleep interruptions but also reduces blood sugar levels. The researchers recommend that clinicians screen patients with type 2 diabetes for obstructive sleep apnea

According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 20 million people in the United States have diabetes, with more than one in five adults over the age of 60 suffering from the disease. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes, a disease in which the body does not make or use insulin effectively

The National Sleep Foundation estimates that more than 18 million people suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, although the majority of people have not been diagnosed with the disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea is related to a multitude of health risks, including heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, sexual dysfunction and an increased risk of car accid

Experimental Therapy Reverses Type 1 Diabetes in Mice

MONDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have accomplished what might be a cure of type 1 diabetes -- at least in mice --- and they're taking the first steps toward a human trial.

Type 1 diabetes is the autoimmune form of the disease, affecting about five percent of diabetics. It usually emerges in childhood and occurs when the body's immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

Now, a three-drug regimen that not only stops the destruction of beta cells but also preserves the function of cells that receive and metabolize insulin has eliminated type 1 diabetes in laboratory mice, said lead researcher Maria Koulmanda, director of nonhuman primate research at the Transplant Research Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston

Her team published its report July 30 in this week's online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Another major discovery is that inflammation appears to play a major role in type 1 diabetes, she added. In fact, one drug used in the treatment regimen reduced the inflammation of cells that metabolize insulin.

Some of the cells involved in insulin metabolism were found to be resistant to insulin's effects -- a common phenomenon seen in much more common, adult-onset, obesity-linked type 2 diabetes, Koulmanda said. "This is the first time anyone has seen insulin-resistant cells in type 1 diabetes," she noted


A course of treatment lasting less than four weeks restored normal blood sugar function in the test mice. In contrast, mice that did not get the treatment died during that month-long period
Based on these promising results, the first work need to start a human trial of the regimen are about to begin, said Dr. Terry B. Strom, director of the Transplant Research Center.

We have tried something like this for monkey models," he said. "The results have been very good

The next step will be tests to ensure that the regimen is safe for human use.

"We anticipate toxicology trials very soon," Strom said. "We are making the proteins needed for those trials."

The fact that success was achieved in the mice trials with a relatively short course of treatment indicates that, for humans, "one might be able to use relatively brief periods of treatment to restore normal function," he said

Arthritis Disability More Likely in Older Blacks, Hispanics

MONDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Among older Americans with arthritis, blacks and Hispanics are twice as likely as whites to have a disability that interferes with daily living, new research shows.

They examined data from the 1998-2004 Health and Retirement Study, a national study of older Americans who are not living in health care facilities. They analyzed health and lifestyle data from almost 7,300 respondents who reported arthritis but did not have a disability at the beginning of the six-year study. The group was 85.5 percent whites, 9.3 percent blacks, 2.4 percent Spanish-speaking Hispanics and 2.9 percent English-speaking Hispanics.

The researchers report in the August edition of Arthritis Care & Research that one out of six participants had difficulty performing at least one of those daily tasks by the end of the study. Blacks and Hispanics who spoke Spanish were almost twice as likely to report a disability than whites; Hispanics who spoke English had rates of disability that were similar to whites

The researchers divided Hispanics according to language because of the possible impact that speaking English might have on a person's ability to understand health information and seek out care.

The researchers found that access to medical care and other health conditions accounted for much of the difference in disability rates. They report that, in addition to having fewer economic resources, minorities were more likely to be uninsured or rely on Medicaid coverage, both of which may result in a lower quality of care or difficulty finding care

"At the clinical level, not only should treatment of co-morbid conditions be considered, but also disease prevention, prevention and treatment of functional limitations, and promotion of healthy behaviors should be a priority for all patients with arthritis to prevent the development of disability," the authors said in a prepared statement. Future research should be directed at how to more effectively deliver such programs especially to minority populations