High-carb diet is linked to early Alzheimer's

Older people who load up their plates with carbohydrates have nearly four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a study out Tuesday finds.

Sugars also played a role in the development of MCI, often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, according to the report in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Eating more proteins and fats offer some protection from MCI.

Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 1,230 people ages 70 to 89 and asked them to provide information on what they ate the previous year. Among that group only the 940 people who showed no signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return for 15-month follow-ups. By the study's fourth year, 200 of the 940 were beginning to show mild cognitive impairment, problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment.

Not everyone with MCI goes on to develop Alzheimer's disease, but many do, says lead author Rosebud Roberts, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Alzheimer's affects 5.2 million adults in the nation, numbers that are expected to triple by 2050 as the Baby Boomers age.

"The research field is trying to find things that can help reduce risk factors for pre- dementia problems,'' says Roberts. "If we can stop people from developing MCI, we hope we can stop people from developing dementia. Once you hit the dementia stage, it's irreversible."

Among the foods regarded as complex carbohydrates: rice, pasta, bread and cereals. The digestive system turns them into sugars. Fruits, vegetables and milk products are simple carbs.

"A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad for you because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism," says Roberts. "Sugar fuels the brain, so moderate intake is good. However, high levels of sugar may actually prevent the brain from using the sugar — similar to what we see with type 2 diabetes."

Roberts says high glucose levels might affect the brain's blood vessels and also play a role in the development of beta amyloid plaques. Those proteins are toxic to brain health and are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Researchers don't know what causes the disease, but they suspect the buildup of beta amyloid is a leading cause.

Also among the study's findings:

Those whose diets were highest in fat (nuts, healthy oils) were 42% less likely to get cognitive impairment, while those who had the highest intake of protein (chicken, meat, fish) had a reduced risk of 21%.

Several popular diets, including the Mediterranean (fish, poultry-based protein, and plenty of plant-based foods and healthy fats) and Atkins (low-carb, meat lovers diet), make pitches for the multiple health benefits derived from lowering carbohydrate intake, including reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes and improved brain health.

"This (study) is consistent with what we've seen in past published research on how a lower carbohydrate diet can help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's,'' says Colette Heimowitz, vice president of Nutrition and Education for Atkins Nutritionals Inc.

The authors write that unsaturated fats and proteins might be important to the brain by maintaining insulin sensitivity, the integrity of the neuron structure and the successful firing of neurotransmitters.

There is no treatment for Alzheimer's disease, only drugs to treat symptoms. Roberts says the study offers hope because "it shows a modifiable way we can reduce risk for the disease. It is important to eat a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat."

Storm Relief: Sandy Sufferers Can Head To Gyms For Basic Goods

Need a place to recharge your phone, take a shower or grab some bottled water? If you've been affected by Superstorm Sandy, your local gym or fitness club may be a good bet. Many health clubs have been open yesterday and today and while some were offering workouts as usual, others provided shelter from the storm.

"Gyms should be places where health is nurtured not just in sets and reps, but in dispersement of health to the community on an ongoing basis -- and especially in times of crisis," Jeff Halevy, CEO of Halevy Life and a HuffPost blogger tells us over email. His Upper East Side facility in NYC welcomed anyone stuck without power or water to come for free showers, phone charges and bottled water. About 25 to 30 people took advantage yesterday, many of them from local shelters where showers were unavailable.

New York Sports Club in some parts of Long Island, N.Y., appeared to be doing the same, according to the local Patch. And as of October 31, many branches of New York Sports Club in Manhattan and throughout the tri-state area have opened their doors as well. A press statement said:

In an effort to offer the comforts of home to all those who have been affected, the New York Sports Clubs will be opening its doors to all victims for full use of its facilities, whether it's the need for a hot shower, to charge a cell phone battery, or simply to recharge their batteries with a stress-relieving workout.

Both Halevy Life and NYSC were acting on what is part of a larger tradition in which health clubs, which often have large locker rooms with shower facilities that can handle a crowd, serve as staging areas during hurricanes and other natural disasters. During two storms last year, for example, Planet Fitness offered their facilities to more than 10,000 New England residents who experienced disrupted power and water.

“A lot of our neighbors have been without electricity, water and other important services for an extended period, and there aren’t a lot of businesses that have the facilities to help them,” said Chris Rondeau, the Planet Fitness operations chief at the time. “In a situation like this, we feel that it’s our mission to step up and help.”

Of course, it isn't always possible to offer services -- for example, downtown gyms and fitness centers remained without power.

Ohio women enter physique competition after getting fit

Tonya Hutzel and Danielle McVey, both of Ohio, joined the growing number of women taking part in physique contests.

HARRISON, Ohio — After three months of training, Tonya Hutzel and Danielle McVey felt ready for the big event.

They'd pushed themselves in the gym, stuck to a strict eating plan and drank gallons of water to get in what both described as the best shape of their lives.

Rather than pulling their hair back, lacing up running shoes and sprinting toward a finish line that Saturday morning, the women styled their hair and put on makeup, got a spray tan, and donned heels and bikinis before taking the stage in a packed auditorium.

Hutzel, 40, of Milford, Ohio, and McVey, 30, of Blanchester, Ohio, were competing in their first National Physique Committee competition, the Oct. 20 Monster Mash Natural in this suburb northwest of Cincinnati on the Ohio-Indiana border. Both competed in the bikini division, the lower-rung of three divisions — bikini, figure and physique — for women in that particular show.

By stepping on stage, they joined a growing number of women across the country taking part in such contests.

Show promoter Rick Ruether, who has been in that role for 20 years and has trained competitors here since 1984, serves as the Pittsburgh-based amateur bodybuilding organization's Ohio vice president. He has seen about a 70% increase in women competing in the sport in the past 10 years or so.

Contributing to that increase was the introduction of the figure division in 2001, followed by the bikini division about seven years later, he said. Those divisions require less muscle mass than traditional bodybuilding, making success more attainable.

"It's become extremely popular (with women) on a national level," NPC President Jim Manion said.

"Between figure and bikini we've probably doubled the amount of women (competing)."

Ruether said the bikini division requires "the kind of body you'd see in Sports Illustrated."

"It's very feminine now," he said. "It's very healthy. With figure and bikini, you have to get lean, but it's very healthy. They're not starving if they do it right. There's weight training and cardio. They're healthy if they do it right."

Months of work

"It's really just a sport like any other sport that you dedicate yourself to," said personal trainer Jen Main, client adviser for Beverly International supplement company that helped both Hutzel and McVey prepare for the competition. "It's not for everyone. It's hard."

To prepare, both women worked out 60 to 90 minutes six days a week, doing both weightlifting — using heavier weights than they'd ever used in the past — and some type of cardiovascular exercise, such as elliptical, stair climber or treadmill machines. They ate five meals a day, consuming lean proteins, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and nutritional supplements; avoiding all sugary and fatty foods; and drinking at least a gallon of water a day.

They were trying to attain a lean and toned physique that judges rate highly in competitions, but they also experienced positive changes in their energy and self-confidence levels.

"Energywise, spiritwise, I just feel really good. ... I feel like I can get up and go," McVey said about two months into her training program. "I feel like I can chase my boys around the yard and not be out of breath."
Both women worked out before starting the training program, but they still achieved noticeable results.

Why they do it

"I've always been fit, but I like seeing how my body is changing just a little bit with the different way I'm training now," Hutzel said.

"It's something that I think that (women) feel they owe themselves," said Main, who has taken part in competitions herself. "A lot of women that I talk to, they say, 'I want to do something for me.' "

Hutzel got to a point where she was scheduling time for everyone else in her life and she wanted to reclaim some of her calendar.

"I had to remove the guilt of taking an hour or an hour and a half out for myself each day," she said. "It made me a happier, more energetic person, so I think my family reaped the benefits."

For both Hutzel and McVey, getting into the sport was also about pushing themselves to meet a new and difficult goal.

"To me, it was the dedication, holding yourself accountable for something," McVey said.

The big payoff

When the competition rolled around, both women felt prepared.

"I'm a little nervous, but for the most part, I'm really excited," Hutzel said just before the event. "Probably for the first time I can look in the mirror and say, 'I like my body.'

"I work out on the 'boys' side of the gym now (using weights instead of just cardio machines). I feel stronger.

I picked a goal, and I can stick to it," she said. "You definitely feel more comfortable in your own skin."
When it came time for them to compete, each woman took to the stage in heels and a light blue rhinestone, crystal and faux pearl-adorned bikini. They completed poses to show off their lean, toned physiques as friends and family members yelled words of encouragement.

The judges look for a number of qualities in each competitor, from their physique to how they present themselves.

"Win or lose, we won because we did it," Hutzel said.

Hutzel placed third in masters bikini for women 35 and up. McVey came in fifth in class A bikini for competitors 5 feet 4 inches and shorter.

As their trainer Main noted, though, winning isn't the true goal: "Each time, you just try to improve personally on the way you look and the way you present yourself."

Training tips for everybody

Main offers fitness tips anyone can put into practice right away:

1. Drink, drink and drink some more water. You will notice that you feel refreshed, energized and not craving as much food as you normally do. You will then eat when you are hungry, not when you have an appetite.

2. Get out your planner tonight and schedule 20 minutes of activity time for yourself tomorrow. Whether it's a walk in the park, workout video or a visit to the gym, schedule time to take care of you. Once you schedule time out for you, you are more likely to keep that scheduled appointment. Just start out with 20 minutes, and once you feel confident and your body wanting more, increase to 30 to 45 minutes. This also will help your energy level and release some stress.

3. Plan, prepare and pack. Plan out your meals for the week and go to the grocery store. By having a set meal plan there is no reason to over-buy on foods and buy foods that will not be used. Then pack all of your foods in containers and organize them in the fridge. When the morning comes, all you have to do is open the fridge, grab your food for the day, pack your cooler and go.

4. Seek professional advice and support if you need guidance or help. Even as a fitness professional, Main goes to a nutrition coach for help with a personal meal plan.

5. Surround yourself with positive and motivating people. If you surround yourself with people who you want to be like, people who motivate you, people you admire, you will be successful.

A day in the life

Hutzel takes us through her typical day while preparing for the competition:

8 a.m. breakfast: Half a cup of gluten-free whole oats with a scoop of protein powder

11 a.m. snack: A protein shake

2 p.m. lunch: 4 ounces of chicken; two cups of green salad with two tablespoons of low-fat, low-calorie vinaigrette; half a cup of brown rice

3:30 to 4:30 or 5 p.m. workout: A circuit of weights at the gym, three times, with 10 minutes of cardio (treadmill, bike, elliptical) between each, followed by 10 to 20 minutes of low-intensity steady state cardio, such as the step machine

5 p.m. snack: 4 ounces of chicken and a small apple

8 p.m. dinner: 4 ounces of chicken or fish and half a cup of green veggies

Competition divisions
Bodybuilding shows have several levels for women. Here's how they break down:

Bikini: Curvy, shapely, a lean and toned physique.

Figure: Firm, but not too muscular.

Physique: 20% to 25% larger and more muscular than figure.

Fitness: Firm, but for women with a gymnastics, dance or cheerleading background. Competitors perform choreographed routines with jumps, tumbles and splits.

Bodybuilding: The most muscular, women's equivalent of men's bodybuilding.

 

Another pharmacy recalls products in meningitis cases

A Massachusetts drug firm linked by common ownership to the company blamed for an ongoing nationwide meningitis outbreak has announced a massive recall of all its products.

In a statement released today, Ameridose disclosed that it had initiated a voluntary recall of all its products.
Ameridose is owned by the same two families that own New England Compounding Center, which issued thousands of doses of a spinal steroid tainted with fungus. The drugs are linked to 29 deaths

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday 377 illnesses, including nine joint infections. Nineteen states are affected.

In announcing the recall, Ameridose said that it came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised questions about the company's sterility testing process. Ameridose, which supplies hospitals in Tennessee, already had halted production at its Westborough, Mass., plant.

"This action is voluntary and represents an expansion of our cooperation with the FDA and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy," the company stated.

"Ameridose has not received any adverse reports related to the products subject to this recall and neither Ameridose nor the FDA has identified impurities in any Ameridose products," the statement continued.

Experimental drugs show promise in lowering cholesterol

An experimental class of drugs shows promise as a new way to lower the "bad" cholesterol that can lead to heart attacks.

A man-made antibody — similar to the immune system proteins that fight infections — lowered LDL cholesterol by about 70% when combined with a statin, according to a small, early trial published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Many heart disease experts are enthusiastic about the drugs, which will be featured prominently at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions that begin Saturday in Chicago.

"This is a new era of novel therapies," says William Zoghbi, president of the American College of Cardiology, who wasn't involved in the study.

The drop in cholesterol is "significant" and "much more than we usually see" with other types of drugs, Zoghbi says.

The preliminary study involved 92 patients whose cholesterol wasn't improving with statins. In addition to taking atorvastatin pills, sold as Lipitor, patients got injections of the new drugs, known as monoclonal antibodies, every two weeks.

Significantly, the new drugs haven't yet been shown to actually reduce heart attacks or deaths, says cardiologist Cam Patterson, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. And while the drugs caused few side effects in this study, doctors will need to conduct larger trials to show they're really safe, he says.

The intravenous drugs could also prove to help people who can't tolerate statins because of side effects, such as muscle pain, says Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association, who wasn't involved in the new research.

"This a promising step forward, especially for the most difficult patients to treat," says Eckel, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Unlike statins, which prevent the liver from making cholesterol, the new drugs target the process by which the liver takes LDL out of circulation, Patterson says.

An enzyme called PCSK9 prevents the body from getting rid of LDL, leaving it in the bloodstream, where it can damage the arteries, he says. The new antibodies block this enzyme.

The study was funded by the drugs' developers, Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Amgen and Pfizer are also developing similar drugs, Patterson says.

If successful, the drugs could be a boost for the drug industry, now that statins are available generically, Patterson says.

Although man-made antibodies are widely used in cancer, they haven't previously had success in heart disease. Man-made antibodies used in cancer, such as Erbitux and Avastin, cost several thousand dollars a month.

Closing schools may help control flu

Schools and flu: Closing schools during a bad flu outbreak may help control the spread of illness, a new study suggests. The study compared two Texas communities during the the H1N1 "swine" flu epidemic of 2009 and found fewer emergency room visits for flu, especially among kids, in the community that closed schools. At the time, skeptics said kids would just congregate in malls and other places and manage to spread the flu anyway. Not answered: whether the decline is worth the cost in lost work days for parents and lost educational time for kids. (Reuters)

Better bandages: Scientists in Boston have built a better bandage -- one that doesn't hurt when you take it off. The strong but easy-to-remove medical tape is especially important for people with delicate skin -- including premature babies -- who can lose skin and get scars from bandage removal. (TIME)

Weight and see: A weight loss program that spent weeks teaching participants strategies for maintaining weight loss before it asked them to lose a pound worked better than a conventional program in a new study. Women in both programs lost an average of 17 pounds, but the women who worked on maintenance first kept more pounds off. (WebMD)

Today's talker: A New York City Hospital that lost its back-up power during superstorm Sandy on Monday night managed to safely evacuate about 260 patients, CNN reports. The nurses at NYU Langone Medical Center who helped carry out patients, including four newborns on hand-operated airbags, are being hailed as heroes, even as questions remain about why the hospital's generators failed. And the New York Daily News reports that the outage did cause some casualties: thousands of mice used in medical research drowned in the hospital's basement. 

Antidepressants and pregnancy: New review finds a risk

Controversial new research suggests that women suffering depression should stay away from antidepressants while pregnant. A number of experts, however, disagree.

Pregnant women who are depressed are generally told that continuing their medication will help them and their babies. A mother who is too sad won't take good care of herself, and the baby will suffer, the thinking goes.

But a new review of the scientific literature questions the assumption that depression is bad for a fetus, and concludes that antidepressants often confer more risk than benefit.

"There's clear and concerning evidence of risk with the use of these medications by pregnant women," says Adam Urato, obstetrician and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass., and one of the authors of the paper published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Despite decades of antidepressant use, no one has ever done the kind of research that would definitively answer the safety question: following the pregnancies of two groups of depressed women, half on drugs such as Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa and Zoloft, and half not.

That kind of research would be extremely expensive and ethically questionable, Urato says, because so many studies link antidepressants to miscarriage, preterm birth, rare heart defects and behavioral problems.

More controversially, Urato and his co-author, Alice Domar, a psychologist and Harvard Medical School assistant clinical professor, also claim that antidepressants have little or no benefit for pregnant women.

Domar, an infertility expert, says that a form of talk therapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy is just as effective as common antidepressants at treating depression.
Many experts disagree, however.

"I would say the authors of this article went overboard in terms of their negativity," says Gregory Moore, director of health services at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' committee on ethics. "Depression can be a fatal disease."

The decision of whether to use these antidepressants during pregnancy should be between a woman and her doctor, says Shari Lusskin, an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Drug companies that make antidepressants declined to comment or did not return e-mailed requests. An industry group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, says the federal drug approval and review process is designed to guarantee drug safety.

Kimberly Yonkers, a Yale University psychiatrist with expertise in women's mental health, says she agrees with Domar and Urato that a mother's depression is not inherently bad for a fetus. And women with mild to moderate disease may do OK weaning themselves off antidepressants during pregnancy.

But women who consistently relapse when they go off antidepressants should be confident that taking antidepressants is best for both them and their babies, she says.

"It's a dangerous message for women who are pregnant and depressed to say that antidepressants don't benefit them," says Yonkers. "To take someone who is stable (on medications) and tell them they shouldn't take it because of all the harm is ridiculous."