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Mesothelioma: A Killer
Lurks in the Lungs |
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Vietnam vets more prone to drug-related deaths
Last Updated: 2004-09-29 15:21:23 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Karla Gale
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Thirty years of follow-up show that the overall death rates in Vietnam veterans are no higher than in veterans who did not serve in Vietnam, according to investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. However, those who served in the Vietnam War have been more prone to accidental and drug-related deaths.
The original Vietnam Experience Study (VES) post-service mortality investigation followed approximately 18,000 US Army veterans from their date of discharge through 1983, Dr. Drue H. Barrett and colleagues note in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Compared with veterans who served during the same period, but not in Vietnam, the initial data showed excess all-cause mortality. However this was the case only during the first 5 years after discharge.
This increased risk "seemed to be mostly due to motor vehicle accidents...which may be related to stress issues," Barrett said in an interview with Reuters Health.
To get a better idea of how chronic conditions with a slower progression have affected the two groups, the team extended follow-up through the year 2000, by which time there were 1138 more deaths.
"We found no significant differences in disease-related mortality," Barrett noted.
During the entire follow-up period, the risk of unintentional poisoning and drug-related deaths were about twice as high in the Vietnam veterans.
For both groups, the primary causes of death were motor vehicle accidents and diseases of the circulatory system, Barrett said.
The main point of this study is that the causes of death among Vietnam veterans are "essentially the same" as the causes of death in the rest of the US population, she added.
However, the increase in motor vehicle accidents within 5 years of their return suggests that this "should be something that is addressed in the group that is coming back from Iraq."
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, September 27, 2004.
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A-Z Illnesses and Conditions
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
By Dr Rob Hicks
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common condition that causes a variety of unpleasant abdominal symptoms.
The exact cause of IBS is not known. It is believed to be due to a combination of factors that include abnormal movements of the intestines and altered sensation of the gut.
Some people develop IBS following gut infections and food poisoning.
IBS does not develop into bowel cancer.
Abdominal cramps that may be eased by passing wind or passing a motion; bloating and abdominal distension; diarrhoea, constipation, or alternating diarrhoea and constipation; or a feeling of incomplete emptying of the rectum are all common.
Other possible symptoms that are not related to the gut include backache, tiredness, headaches, and urinary or gynaecological symptoms.
IBS is the commonest gut condition and affects up to 1 in 5 people at some time.
Those affected are commonly between the ages of 25 - 45 years old. Women are more often affected than men.
It is not possible to prevent IBS from developing.
Certain things can trigger attacks for those with IBS and should be avoided. These include stress, eating irregular meals, and in some cases a lack of dietary fibre.
Peppermint oil and antispasmodic medication relieve abdominal pain.
Anti-diarrhoea medication will stop diarrhoea.
If constipation is a problem then increasing fluid, fibre, activity, plus a gentle laxative may be recommended.
Some people with IBS find that increasing the amount of dietary fibre and reducing caffeine helps.
Reducing stress and taking time to relax is important.
Complementary therapies such as acupuncture and homeopathy are often used.
Herbal remedies 'do work' |
Scientific tests on a range of traditional remedies have shown they have "real benefits", researchers say.
Experts from King's College London said the treatments from around the world had properties which may help treat conditions such as diabetes and cancer.
The remedies included India's curry leaf tree, reputed to treat diabetes.
However complementary medicine experts said full clinical trials would have to be carried out to confirm the treatments' benefits.
The researchers examined Indian diabetes treatments, Ghanaian wound healing agents and cancer treatments used in China and Thailand.
They suggest their findings will help local people identify which plants to recommend and could lead to potential new compounds pharmacists to study.
Wound treatments
One of the plants examined was the curry-leaf tree (Murraya koenigii) from India, which is reputed to have potential benefits in treating diabetes.
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This type of study can only be the first step in a line of research
Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter |
The researchers found extracts from the curry-leaf tree appeared to restrict the action of a digestive enzyme called pancreatic alpha-amylase which is involved in the breakdown of dietary starch to glucose.
A patient with diabetes does not produce enough insulin to cope with rapid rises in blood glucose levels. Slowing the rate of starch breakdown, by blocking alpha-amylase, can lead to a more even trickle of glucose into the bloodstream from the intestine.
The researchers are now looking at which compound in the curry-leaf tree has this effect.
They say that, once it has been identified, it should be possible to evaluate if it could be better than existing antidiabetic drugs.
King's College researchers, working with experts from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, also looked at plants used by the Ashanti ethnic group.
They interviewed traditional healers to identify plants that are used to help wound healing, then tested the plants to see whether there was scientific justification for this use.
They found that an extract of the Commelina diffusa, or climbing dayflower, had both antibacterial and antifungal activity.
This would suggest it could help wounds heal and stop them getting infected.
In a third study, researchers from King's College studied Thai and Chinese plants used as traditional remedies in the treatment of cancer.
The researchers carried out lab tests to see how effective they were in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.
They saw "promising activity" was seen against lung cancer cells, particularly in tests of the Thai plant Ammannia baccifera, an aquatic weed and the Chinese plant Illicium verum, star anise.
'No surprise'
Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, told BBC News Online: "This research is very interesting, very promising. We need much more research of this sort.
"More and more research of this kind is coming out. It is no surprise to those who work in this field."
But he added: "This type of study can only be the first step in a line of research and at the end of this line, it's necessary to have good clinical proof that this works." |
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