Experts recommend men at risk for osteoporosis undergo bone density testing

The Endocrine Society releases new clinical practice guideline on the management of osteoporosis in men

2012-06-19

(Press-News.org) Chevy Chase, MD—Osteoporosis in men causes significant morbidity and mortality. Today, the Endocrine Society released clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for management of this condition in men. "Osteoporosis in Men: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline," is published in the June 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of The Endocrine Society.

Osteoporosis is a silent disorder characterized by reduced bone strength predisposing to increased fracture risk. Approximately 20 percent of Americans with osteoporosis or low bone density are men and studies show this condition increases mortality rates in men between the ages of 50 and 69. Risk factors for osteoporosis in men include low body weight, prior fracture as an adult and smoking.

"For men age 50, one in 5 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime," said Nelson Watts, MD, of Mercy Health Osteoporosis and Bone Health Services in Cincinnati, OH and chair of the task force that authored the CPG. "Mortality after fracture is higher in men than in women. Of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 2 million are men. Of the 2 million fractures due to osteoporosis that occur each year, 600,000 are in men."

Recommendations from the CPG include:

Men at higher risk for osteoporosis (including men aged 70 years or older and men between the ages of 50 and 69 who have risk factors) should be tested using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA); Men with low vitamin D levels [ END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New studies hint at possible approaches to protect those at risk for Huntington's disease

2012-06-19

Amsterdam, NL, 19 June 2012 – In Huntington's disease, abnormally long strands of glutamine in the huntingtin (Htt) protein, called polyglutamines, cause subtle changes in cellular functions that lead to neurodegeneration and death. Studies have shown that the activation of the heat shock response, a cellular reaction to stress, doesn't work properly in Huntington's disease. In their research to understand the effects of mutant Htt on the master regulator of the heat shock response, HSF1, researchers have discovered that the targets most affected by stress are not the ...

Reflected infrared light unveils never-before-seen details of Renaissance paintings

2012-06-19

WASHINGTON, June 18—When restoring damaged and faded works of art, artists often employ lasers and other sophisticated imaging techniques to study intricate details, analyze pigments, and search for subtle defects not visible to the naked eye. To refine what can be seen during the restoration process even further, a team of Italian researchers has developed a new imaging tool that can capture features not otherwise detectable with the naked eye or current imaging techniques. The system, known as Thermal Quasi-Reflectography (TQR), is able to create revealing images using ...

Carbon is key for getting algae to pump out more oil

2012-06-19

UPTON, N.Y. — Overturning two long-held misconceptions about oil production in algae, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory show that ramping up the microbes' overall metabolism by feeding them more carbon increases oil production as the organisms continue to grow. The findings — published online in the journal Plant and Cell Physiology on May 28, 2012 — may point to new ways to turn photosynthetic green algae into tiny "green factories" for producing raw materials for alternative fuels. "We are interested in algae because they grow ...

Pediatric regime of chemotherapy proves more effective for young adults

2012-06-19

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), usually found in pediatric patients, is far more rare and deadly in adolescent and adult patients. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, child ALL patients have a higher than 80 percent remission rate, while the recovery rate for adults stands at only 40 percent. In current practice, pediatric and young adult ALL patients undergo different treatment regimes. Children aged 0-15 years are typically given more aggressive chemotherapy, while young adults, defined as people between 16 and 39 years of age, are treated with a round ...

Key part of plants' rapid response system revealed

2012-06-19

Science has known about plant hormones since Charles Darwin experimented with plant shoots and showed that the shoots bend toward the light as long as their tips, which are secreting a growth hormone, aren't cut off. But it is only recently that scientists have begun to put a molecular face on the biochemical systems that modulate the levels of plant hormones to defend the plant from herbivore or pathogen attack or to allow it to adjust to changes in temperature, precipitation or soil nutrients. Now, a cross-Atlantic collaboration between scientists at Washington University ...

Peaches, plums, nectarines give obesity, diabetes slim chance

2012-06-19

COLLEGE STATION – Peaches, plums and nectarines have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight-off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to new studies by Texas AgriLife Research. The study, which will be presented at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia next August, showed that the compounds in stone fruits could be a weapon against "metabolic syndrome," in which obesity and inflammation lead to serious health issues, according to Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, AgriLife Research food scientist. "In recent years obesity ...

Device implanted in brain has therapeutic potential for Huntington's disease

2012-06-19

Amsterdam, NL, June 18, 2012 – Studies suggest that neurotrophic factors, which play a role in the development and survival of neurons, have significant therapeutic and restorative potential for neurologic diseases such as Huntington's disease. However, clinical applications are limited because these proteins cannot easily cross the blood brain barrier, have a short half-life, and cause serious side effects. Now, a group of scientists has successfully treated neurological symptoms in laboratory rats by implanting a device to deliver a genetically engineered neurotrophic ...

Link between vitamin C and twins can increase seed production in crops

2012-06-19

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Biochemists at the University of California, Riverside report a new role for vitamin C in plants: promoting the production of twins and even triplets in plant seeds. Daniel R. Gallie, a professor of biochemistry, and Zhong Chen, an associate research biochemist in the Department of Biochemistry, found that increasing the level of dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), a naturally occurring enzyme that recycles vitamin C in plants and animals, increases the level of the vitamin and results in the production of twin and triplet seedlings in a single seed. The ...

Research breakthrough: High brain integration underlies winning performances

2012-06-19

Scientists trying to understand why some people excel — whether as world-class athletes, virtuoso musicians, or top CEOs — have discovered that these outstanding performers have unique brain characteristics that make them different from other people. A study published in May in the journal Cognitive Processing found that 20 top-level managers scored higher on three measures — the Brain Integration Scale, Gibbs's Socio-moral Reasoning questionnaire, and an inventory of peak experiences — compared to 20 low-level managers that served as matched controls. This is the fourth ...

This is your brain on no self-control

2012-06-19

New pictures from the University of Iowa show what it looks like when a person runs out of patience and loses self-control. A study by University of Iowa neuroscientist and neuro-marketing expert William Hedgcock confirms previous studies that show self-control is a finite commodity that is depleted by use. Once the pool has dried up, we're less likely to keep our cool the next time we're faced with a situation that requires self-control. But Hedgcock's study is the first to actually show it happening in the brain using fMRI images that scan people as they perform self-control ...