Health ShortsFebruary 2005Rotator Cuffs-Not for Athletes Only
Rotator cuff injuries are not just for baseball pitchers and tennis players; in fact, the average age of diagnosis is 70. The tendon that is most often injured is one that travels between two bones, leaving it vulnerable to being pinched. If you have a rotator cuff injury, you may feel pain on the front or outside of your shoulder that gets worse when you raise your arm or lift something above your head. If there's a large tear, you'll probably notice a substantial limitation on your range of motion and weakness, as well as pain, very quickly.
[SOURCE: "Shoulder Pain," American Family Physician, March 15, 2003] Diabetes Increases Shoulder Risk
Adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder, a frequent cause of shoulder pain and stiffness, is more likely to occur and more likely to cause permanent problems in persons with diabetes. About 20 percent of diabetics-compared to only 5 percent of the general public-suffer from frozen shoulder. Doctors aren't sure why diabetics have a greater risk but believe it may be because high blood sugar may lead to abnormal deposits of collagen in cartilage and tendons. Even with therapy, diabetics are more likely than others to suffer permanent loss of mobility-sometimes as much as 50 percent-in the shoulder.
[SOURCE: Terri Kordella, "Frozen Shoulder & Diabetes: Frozen Shoulder Affects 20 Percent of People with Diabetes, Proper Treatment Can Help You Work Through It," Diabetes Forecast, August, 2002] Injections Faster but PT Works Too
Shoulder pain patients getting corticosteroid injections tended to have a more rapid response but those treated with physical therapy fared equally well, according to a United Kingdom study. And the physical therapy patients required fewer physician visits. Of subjects getting an injection of methylprednisolone and lignocaine, 52 percent returned with shoulder pain. Only 39 percent of those getting physical therapy returned with pain.
[SOURCE: "Physiotherapy Is As Effective as Steroids," GP, April 28, 2003] Lung Cancer Creates Referred Pain
Shoulder pain in some cases can be referred from the neck, heart, lungs or abdomen. One man with burning shoulder pain so severe it kept him up at night, along with unexplained weight loss, was found to have lung cancer. Unlike shoulder injuries, which usually hurt so much it's impossible to lie on that side, this man's pain was tolerable only when he slept on the affected side.
[SOURCE: Dorothy L. Pennachio and Peter D'Epiro, "Intrinsic Disease or Referred Pain," Patient Care, October, 2002] Lung Cancer-The Smoking Gun
Kentucky, which produces 30 percent of the country's tobacco, also has the nation's highest rate of lung cancer deaths. The lowest lung cancer death rate, 22 per 100,000, is in Utah, a state that bans smoking in most public areas and has a high population of Mormons, whose church is against the use of tobacco.
[SOURCE: Brad Edmondson, "Mind If I Breathe? Lung Cancer Demographics," American Demographics, November, 1994] Smokers at Risk of Aortic Aneurysms
Older male smokers, and even ex-smokers, have a higher than normal risk of suffering an aortic aneurysm, a weakening of the main artery leading out of the heart. If an aortic aneurysm ruptures, the person is likely to die before reaching a hospital. A panel of experts, writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine [February 1, 2005], recommended that smokers, ex-smokers and those with a family history of aortic aneurysms should consider getting at least one ultrasound screening exam as a preventive measure. Women and non-smokers have a much lower risk.
[SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, February 1, 2005; "Scan Older Smokers for Aneurysms, U.S. Group Advises," Reuters Health, January 31, 2005] Progress against Deadliest Cancers
Deaths from lung cancer are declining among men and remaining about the same in women, according to Cancer Facts and Figures, 2005. Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer, however, with 163,500 deaths expected in 2005. Breast and prostate cancer remain the most common cancers, but incidence rates for both are growing more slowly than in the past. About 270,000 women are expected to get breast cancer with about 41,000 deaths. About 232,000 prostate cancers will be diagnosed with 30,000 deaths.
[SOURCE: National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Health Statistics, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicials, Vol. 55, No. 1; American Cancer Society "Death Rates from Many Cancers Dropping," January 19, 2005] Autism Increase Puzzles Experts
Autism has increased rapidly in the United States since the late 1980s, and the increase is occurring at varying rates in different areas of the country, leading some scientists to suspect environmental factors. Autism cases diagnosed in California more than doubled between 1987 and 1998 while they increased 10-fold in Atlanta from 1986 to 1996. Some experts say at least some of the increase can be attributed to inconsistencies in reporting and changing criteria for diagnosis.
[SOURCE: Diana Parsell, "Assault on Autism: Scientists Target Drugs and Other Environmental Agents That May Play a Role," Science News, November 13, 2004] [SOURCE: "New Hope for IBS," Better Nutrition, January, 2005] One-on-One Sessions Help Autistic Kids
A small pilot study found that high functioning autistic fourth graders benefitted from individualized, one-on-one sessions helping them learn to initiate relationships and respond socially to their classmates. By definition, a high functioning autistic individual has an IQ greater than 70. While they are able to function in regular classrooms, those in the study had fewer friends and poorer quality friendships. After the individualized intervention, focusing on greetings and maintaining conversation, these students "went from being peripheral to peer networks to being a nuclear member of them," the researchers noted.
[SOURCE: Jeff Evans, "Study on High-Functioning Autism Underway," Clinical Psychiatry News, October, 2004] Autism Link to Allergies Explored
Mothers of autistic children were more likely than other mothers to have suffered from asthma or allergic disorders, according to a controlled study of 2,500 children. About 16 percent of the mothers of autistic children-but only 11 percent of mothers in the control group-had asthma during the five-year period surrounding their pregnancies. About 25 percent of the mothers of autistic children-but 18 percent of controls-had an allergic disease during the same period. Researchers believe the link could be due to the immune response of the mother during pregnancy, which could cross the placenta and disrupt the development of the child's neurological system. Another explanation could be that autism shares environmental risk factors with asthma and allergic disorders.
[SOURCE: Kerri Wachter, "Autism May Be Linked to Maternal Asthma, See a Doctor? Or Suffer in Silence?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common reasons for a visit to a primary care physician. It's also the reason for one third to one half of all referrals to a gastroenterologist. Nevertheless, the majority of persons with IBS suffer in silence, perhaps because they're too embarrassed to discuss the problem or believe there's no effective treatment.
[SOURCE: Christine Frissosa, "Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Symptoms-Based Approach to Diagnosis," Consultant, November, 2004] Curry for Irritable Bowels?
Many Americans blame spicy foods for causing their stomach upsets. Now an ingredient found in curry-turmeric-is being studied for its ability to improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. A study conducted at the University of Reading in England found that 66 percent of persons who took a supplement containing 72 milligrams of dried turmeric extract reported definite or some improvement in IBS symptoms. The dose is large enough that you won't be able to get a therapeutic dose from a bowl of curry.
Allergy," OB GYN News, October 15, 2004] IBS and Surgery Risk
Undiagnosed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with its abdominal pain and discomfort, often results in unnecessary surgery, especially in women. According to data from the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, hysterectomy and ovarian surgery have been reported in 47 to 55 percent of female patients with irritable bowel syndrome, a much higher rate than would be expected in the general female population.
[SOURCE: "Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Overview," NWHRC Health Center, March 10, 2004] BP: Even 'Normal' Not Low Enough
If your blood pressure is 129/78, your doctor probably says you're doing fine. Both the systolic and diastolic are within the normal range, even though the 129 is just below what is considered "high normal." However, when nearly 2,000 heart disease patients with blood pressure averaging 129/78 were given hypertension medication, they showed a rather dramatic benefit - a 15 to 31 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, death, hospitalization for chest pain and the need for angioplasty or heart surgery. "Previously, only cholesterol-lowering drugs have been shown to slow disease progression. The current study demonstrates that blood pressure lowering drugs have similar benefits," the authors wrote.
[SOURCE: Steven Nissen, JAMA; "Is 'Normal B.P. Low Enough?" Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, February, 2005. | 
