News summary

Dietary element to arthritis?

Eating large amounts of red meat is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), say scientists at the University of Manchester. Their research shows that people who eat meat every day are at twice the risk of those who eat it twice a week. The team suggests that something in meat, perhaps collagen, could trigger an immune system response. Another explanation may be that iron taken in with red meat – it has been shown to accumulate in the rheumatoid synovial membrane – causes the tissue damage seen in RA.
(BBC News Online)
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Supplement “aids depression treatment”

Preliminary research suggests that when standard medication fails to improve depression, the dietary supplement S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) may help. SAMe, which is produced naturally in the body, is involved in a number of biochemical processes including the synthesis of neurotransmitters. In a study involving 30 patients whose depression had persisted despite the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the supplement led to an improvement of symptoms in half, and complete remission in 43 per cent. Lead researcher Dr Jonathan Alpert, of Massachusetts General Hospital, points out that the study did not include a placebo group, but says the results are sufficiently encouraging to justify a recently launched larger placebo-controlled trial of combination SAMe and antidepressant therapy.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Antioxidants and cataract risk

There is further evidence that substances in kale, spinach and other green vegetables offer older people protection from cataracts. Scientists at Ohio State University in the US say human eye cells treated with the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin show less damage after exposure to ultraviolet rays, which are considered a major contributor to cataracts. Study author Dr Joshua Bomser says it is difficult to say how much of each substance should be taken in, but he believes there is ample evidence to suggest that people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of age-related cataracts.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Vitamin D effects have a racial element

Increased blood levels of vitamin D are associated with a reduction in the risk of diabetes in whites and Hispanics, but not in blacks, according to researchers in New Zealand. Dr Robert Scragg, of the University of Auckland, says the findings “may offer an explanation, in part, for the generally lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes observed in Caucasian populations around the world [than in] other ethnicities”. The results are based on a study of 6228 subjects, representative of the US population, who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It appears that whites with the highest vitamin D levels have only one quarter the risk of having diabetes of those with the lowest levels. In Mexican Americans, the comparative risk drops even further. The fact that the pattern is not seen in blacks is not explained clearly, but the researchers believe it may “reflect decreased sensitivity to vitamin D and/or related hormones” in this group.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Sleep and obesity

Consistently good sleep may help with the maintenance of a healthy weight, according to the findings of early research at the University of Chicago. Dr Eve Van Cauter and colleagues have found that when men sleep for four hours on two consecutive nights, their levels of leptin are 18 per cent lower, and their levels of ghrelin 28 per cent higher, than they are after two nights of 10 hours’ sleep. The reasons for why hormonal changes should be associated with sleep deprivation are not known, but Dr Van Cauter says the mechanism may have to do with a small area in the brain where neurons respond to both eating and sleeping. She points out that the rise in obesity in the US has coincided with a decline in time spent sleeping.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Call for better diet in the elderly

Scientists say the elderly should improve their diet in an attempt to contain problems like Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis and colon cancer, which threaten to cause increasing difficulty in Europe. Dr Christian Patermann, the EU’s director of biotechnology research, says, “Proper health, nutrition and care can postpone or minimise dependency in old age.” Meanwhile, Dr Tobias Hartmann, a researcher at the University in Heidelberg, says controlled amounts of specific types of fats could prevent Alzheimer’s, which affects 20 per cent of octogenarians and 5 per cent of people over 65.
(The Washington Post Online)
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Men “accepting dieting”

The “low-carb lifestyle” appears to have helped to remove the stigma of dieting for men. Mike Shallcross, associate editor of Men’s Health magazine, says, “Men respond to low-carb better than something that’s calorie-counting, because if you’re talking about carbs and protein, it sounds more like fuel, which is a bit more manly.” According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, obesity is increasing much more rapidly in men than in women. In 1980, six per cent of men were obese, whereas the current figure is 25 per cent. The equivalent figures for women are eight and 20 per cent.
(The Daily Telegraph)
www.telegraph.co.uk