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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Alzheimer's hits heavy drinkers early
Heavy drinkers and smokers develop Alzheimer's disease years earlier than those who stay away from alcohol and tobacco, according to a study.
The study looked at 938 people aged 60 or above who were diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers gathered information from family members on drinking and smoking history and determined whether the participants had the a4 gene variant of the APOE gene, which increases the risk of Alzheimer's.
People with the a4 variant also develop Alzheimer's at an earlier age than those who do not have the gene variant.
Seven percent of the study participants had a history of heavy drinking, which was defined as more than two drinks per day.
Twenty percent had a history of heavy smoking, which was defined as smoking one pack of cigarettes or more per day, and 27 percent had the APOE a4 variant.
Researchers found that people who were heavy drinkers developed Alzheimer's 4.8 years earlier than those who were not heavy drinkers.
Heavy smokers developed the disease 2.3 years sooner than people who were not heavy smokers. People with APOE a4 developed the disease three years sooner than those without the gene variant.
"These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time," said study author Ranjan Duara, of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.
These findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago.
The study looked at 938 people aged 60 or above who were diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers gathered information from family members on drinking and smoking history and determined whether the participants had the a4 gene variant of the APOE gene, which increases the risk of Alzheimer's.
People with the a4 variant also develop Alzheimer's at an earlier age than those who do not have the gene variant.
Seven percent of the study participants had a history of heavy drinking, which was defined as more than two drinks per day.
Twenty percent had a history of heavy smoking, which was defined as smoking one pack of cigarettes or more per day, and 27 percent had the APOE a4 variant.
Researchers found that people who were heavy drinkers developed Alzheimer's 4.8 years earlier than those who were not heavy drinkers.
Heavy smokers developed the disease 2.3 years sooner than people who were not heavy smokers. People with APOE a4 developed the disease three years sooner than those without the gene variant.
"These results are significant because it's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time," said study author Ranjan Duara, of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.
These findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Spending long hrs on comp? Beware of asthenopia
Here is a warning for all those computer geeks, who don’t blink an eyelid when in front of a computer screen. A recent study of 440 students studying in computer institutes and surfing in internet cafes, and professionals in the age group of 15-25 years spending long hours before the computer have now started complaining of what is called the computer vision syndrome (CVS) or Asthenopia.
CVS refers to an eye disorder that has symptoms like eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry and irritated eyes, slow refocusing, neck or backache, light sensitivity of eyes and double vision. A study carried out by Dinesh Bhanderi, Sushil Kumar Choudhary and Vikas Doshi of PS Medical College, Karamsad points out that girls were more susceptible to Asthenopia as compared to boys. The study was published in the February edition of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.
The syndrome showed a high prevalence of 47 per cent among students and young professionals working in banks, studying at computer institutes and pursuing computer application degrees. Around 26 per cent reported of strong Asthenopic symptoms while 74 per cent experienced the symptoms occasionally. These students used to spend anywhere between six and 12 hours in front of the computer.
The study also shatters a myth that keeping the computer monitor at eye level or above eye level can reduce Asthenopia. The study advises that the screen should be below eye-level. The study points that nearly 70.2 per cent students and professionals took a break after spending six hours before the computer. However, it warns all those students with spectacles to refrain from spending long hours, as this will increase their susceptibility to CVS. About 60 per cent students who were found with Asthenopia wore spectacles.
Only 33.9 per cent of respondents took precautions of using an anti-glare screen. While 71 per cent of the students, who did not take precautions and complained of one or more symptoms of Asthenopia, did not adjust the brightness or contrast settings of the computer.
The study also warns that Asthenopia was prevalent in all those youngsters, who started before their teens on computers. As against users of computer, the study pointed to the prevalence of CVS among computer users in the age group of 5-10 years.
CVS refers to an eye disorder that has symptoms like eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry and irritated eyes, slow refocusing, neck or backache, light sensitivity of eyes and double vision. A study carried out by Dinesh Bhanderi, Sushil Kumar Choudhary and Vikas Doshi of PS Medical College, Karamsad points out that girls were more susceptible to Asthenopia as compared to boys. The study was published in the February edition of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.
The syndrome showed a high prevalence of 47 per cent among students and young professionals working in banks, studying at computer institutes and pursuing computer application degrees. Around 26 per cent reported of strong Asthenopic symptoms while 74 per cent experienced the symptoms occasionally. These students used to spend anywhere between six and 12 hours in front of the computer.
The study also shatters a myth that keeping the computer monitor at eye level or above eye level can reduce Asthenopia. The study advises that the screen should be below eye-level. The study points that nearly 70.2 per cent students and professionals took a break after spending six hours before the computer. However, it warns all those students with spectacles to refrain from spending long hours, as this will increase their susceptibility to CVS. About 60 per cent students who were found with Asthenopia wore spectacles.
Only 33.9 per cent of respondents took precautions of using an anti-glare screen. While 71 per cent of the students, who did not take precautions and complained of one or more symptoms of Asthenopia, did not adjust the brightness or contrast settings of the computer.
The study also warns that Asthenopia was prevalent in all those youngsters, who started before their teens on computers. As against users of computer, the study pointed to the prevalence of CVS among computer users in the age group of 5-10 years.
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