Can Bone Marrow Help Heart Function Better?

Being the leading cause of death around the world, heart disease could be caused by fats that harden and block arteries, and high blood pressure that damages blood vessel. Other risk factors also include high blood cholesterol, overweight, obesity, diabetes, lack of physical activity, smoking, unhealthy diet, etc. Of course, family history of heart disease could be the cause too.

As reported on May 19, 2009 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, some patients with a chronic form of heart disease could feel better with the injection of bone marrow stem cells into their hearts. The infusions helped blood flow, reduced pain and helped patients exercise more.

Bone marrow stem cell therapy is being tested for a range of heart conditions, including for people with blocked arteries that reduce blood supply to the heart.

The study, carried out by Dutch researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, examined 50 people, with an average age of 64, who had chronic ischemia (blocked arteries). One group received about 8 injections of bone marrow cells while others got a placebo.

After 3 months, those who received the injections showed signs that their hearts pumped better and had improved blood flow, as compared with the others. Meanwhile, they also got greater improvements in the ability to exercise and scored higher on quality-of-life measurements than those men and women taking the placebo.

With the new findings in hand, the researchers would very likely to carry out trials to see whether the bone marrow stem cell therapy would help heart disease patients live longer.

Would Fruit Juice Benefit Women with Type-2 Diabetes?

Eat more vegetables and fruits to stay healthy! You would probably hear this very common statement frequently. How about fruit juice, is it good for health?

A recent study published in July 2008 by Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans indicated that “women with Type-2 diabetes” should stay away from fruit juice. They should eat green leafy vegetables and whole fruits, instead, if they wish to ward off Type-2 diabetes.

The researchers found that with an additional 3 servings of whole fruit daily, or one more serving of spinach, kale or similar leafy green vegetable, the risk of developing diabetes over an 18-year-period was reduced among the 71,346 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study.

The decrease was only modest, so if one with many other risk factors, for example, unhealthy diet, smoking, emotional stress, overweight, etc., then this may not be able to prevent one from diabetes, the researchers added.

Diabetes is a very common disease that affects some 150 million people worldwide. A person with diabetes will have high levels of sugar in their blood. This will lead to heart disease, heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, etc. if it is not managed appropriately.

In the study, 4,529 women, who developed Type-2 diabetes, were being followed and their data on the diets were analyzed. These women were divided into 5 groups based on fruit and vegetable intake, and on fruit juice consumption.

It was found that an additional of 3 servings a day of whole fruit would reduce the risk of Type-2 diabetes by 18 percent, while a single additional serving of leafy green vegetables only cut the risk by 9 percent. When an additional daily serving of fruit juice was introduced, the likelihood of developing diabetes was increased by 18 percent. A possible reason for such an increase in risk could be the big sugar load coming in liquid form that is absorbed rapidly.

The new findings seem to be contradicting with the current national dietary guidelines in United States, which recommend using 100 percent fruit juice to replace a serving of fruit. While the findings must be replicated, the researchers still warn people who wish to replace some beverages with fruit juices as healthier options to implement with caution.

Can Risk of Child Diabetes Be Lowered By Taking Vitamin D?

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which human body does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, or cannot make proper use of the insulin it produces (insulin resistance). A diabetic, who does not manage the condition seriously, could likely become a candidate for heart disease.

There are 2 types of diabetes, namely Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes.

Type-1 diabetes is a condition in which beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed in early childhood by the body's immune system. The disease is very common among people of European descent, affecting around 2 million Europeans and North Americans. The reasons are still unclear.

Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, is associated mainly with an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. It is becoming epidemic in many developed or fast-developing countries.

New evidence reported on March 13, 2008 in specialist journal “Archives of Disease in Childhood” that taking vitamin D supplements in infancy might help a youngster prevent Type-1 diabetes.

Doctors from St. Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in Manchester, northern England looked at 5 studies in which children were monitored from infancy to early childhood to see if vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of becoming diabetic.

The risk of getting diabetes was reduced 29 percent in children who took extra vitamin D as compared to those who had not.