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RN03 - September 2006
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The Risk Newsletter provides information and links to news items with relevance to risk and benefit in science, health and everyday issues.
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Risk of death from 1918 - 1920 Spanish flu reduced by transfusions
Researchers studied medical literature published shortly after the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and found eight relevant studies. Transfusions with blood products taken from people who had recovered from Spanish influenza may have reduced risk for death and improved symptoms of hospitalized patients who contracted Spanish influenza complicated by pneumonia. Early treatment was superior to later treatment.
[http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/26076/Analysis_of_Spanish_flu_cases_in_1918-1920_suggests_transfusions_might_help_in_bird_flu_pandemic.html]

Fruit and vegetable juice consumption may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease
n a study published in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers followed almost 2000 subjects for up to 10 years and found that the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease was reduced by 76% for those who drank fruit and vegetable juices more than 3 times per week compared with those who drank juices less than once per week. A lower reduction (16%) was obtained for juice consumption once or twice per week.
[http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-08/ehs-ssf082806.php]

Stress at work is an important risk factor for the development of heart disease and diabetes
Researchers examined the association between work stress and the metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes). A dose-response relation was found between exposure to job stress and the metabolic syndrome, even after adjusting for other risk factors. For example, men with chronic work stress were nearly twice as likely to develop the syndrome than those with no exposure to work stress.
[http://www.newstarget.com/020243.html]

The Seven Most Dangerous Ingredients in Conventional Foods
Do you know which seven dangerous food ingredients to watch out for in your groceries? These are the "deadly seven," as I call them, and they can directly promote heart disease, migraines, obesity, outrageous food cravings, osteoporosis, diabetes and even birth defects.
[http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_705.cfm]

Several types of travel increase risk of venous thrombosis
Although the overall risk of developing thrombosis is still low, traveling in general is found to increase the risk of venous thrombosis 2-fold. The risk was highest in the first week after traveling, and the overall risk of flying was largely similar to the risks of traveling by car, bus, or train.
[http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/25936/Venous_thrombosis_after_travel.html]

Light 'risk' to premature babies
Constant exposure to artificial hospital lighting may damage the development of premature babies' biological clocks, research suggests. The researchers say their findings suggest special care baby units should try to minimise a baby's exposure to artificial lighting - possibly by using a day/night cycle.
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4799445.stm]

Deployment To Iraq War Associated With Increased Risk For Adverse Neuropsychological Effects
U.S. Army soldiers who return from military deployment to the Iraq war have an increased risk for mild neuropsychological compromise, including poorer memory and sustained attention performance and greater feelings of tension and confusion, according to a study in the August 2 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112813.htm]

Alarm sounded for farmland birds
Of 26 bird species targeted for special conservation efforts in 1995, nine - including the song thrush - are bouncing back. But the rest - including the skylark and turtle dove - are either still in decline or have only stable numbers. Dr Phil Grice, of English Nature, commented: "Tackling the declines in widespread bird species will require sympathetic land management right across the countryside and not just on nature reserves."
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5261444.stm]

Task force to monitor asteroid threats
Experts say there are about 1,100 comets and asteroids in the inner solar system that are at least a half-mile (1 kilometer) across, and that any one of them could unleash a global cataclysm capable of killing millions in a single blinding flash.
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14395543/]

Genetically modified grass found growing in wild
Creeping bentgrass was engineered to resist the popular herbicide Roundup to allow more efficient weed control on golf courses. But the modified grass could spread that resistance to the wild, becoming a nuisance itself, scientists say. Ellstrand noted the engineered bentgrass has the potential to affect more than a dozen other plant species that could also acquire resistance to Roundup, or glyphosate, which he considers a relatively benign herbicide.
[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_sc/engineered_grass]

Occupational Exposure to Solvents and the Risk of Lymphomas
A number of studies have shown possible associations between occupational exposures, particularly solvents, and lymphomas. A case-control study in Italy suggests that aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons are a risk factor for non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and provides preliminary evidence for an association between solvents and Hodgkin disease.
[http://www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology/abstract.00001648-200609000-00014.htm;jsessionid=GpvRTTC1M2Kv2cwSQrlgqLdq213y9SyS0G4b7zk71lrvl3SGbq7w!869285401!-949856145!8091!-1]

Climate Change Threatens Pollination Timing
Global warming could disrupt the timing of pollination in alpine environments, with serious negative impacts to both plants and pollinators. Inouye reports that flowering time for plants in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is determined by when the snow melts, which is likely to change in response to regional and global climate change. There is some evidence that plants and pollinators are responding differently to climate change, potentially resulting in reduced reproductive success for both groups and possible extinctions.
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809234056.htm]

Evidence of a genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease
Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating neurological disease that affects about 1 million people in the United States. Little is known about its causes and hence there is no cure. Now there is strong evidence that a genetic risk factor (variability in the alpha-synuclein -SNCA- gene) may account for 3 percent of the cause of Parkinson’s disease. It will encourage therapeutic efforts targeting either the alpha-synuclein gene or protein.
[http://www.health.am/ab/more/genetic-risk-factor-for-parkinsons-disease1/]

Never Marrieds Run Highest Risk of Early Death
Unsurprisingly, older age and poor health were the strongest predictors of death by 1997, but a surviving marriage appears strongly associated with a longer life. The never married “penalty” is larger for those in very good or excellent health, and smallest for those in poor health, and it was greater among men than women.
[http://www.health.am/ab/more/never-marrieds-run-highest-risk/]

``Gambling circuit`` in human brain discovered
A unique information processing structure in human brain is responsible for decisions linked with risk and reward in gambling. These findings, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of people's brains, distinguish the gambling function of the brain structures from their functions in learning, motivation, and assessment of the salience of a stimulus.
[http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=803447]

One In Five Crashes Caused By Distraction
Findings from an Australian study on driver distraction found that drivers engage in a distracting activity on average once every six minutes, which frequently results in driving errors and road accidents. Policies that include driver education and innovative enforcement practices are essential to decrease the prevalence of these behaviours and thereby, reduce the adverse outcomes," said Professor Stevenson.
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060806083115.htm]

Ultraviolet radiation from sunlight prevents 16 different types of cancer
A new study by researchers at the University of California found solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation can significantly reduce the risk of 16 different types of cancer by naturally stimulating the production of vitamin D in the skin.
[http://www.newstarget.com/019881.html]

Heavy kids show signs of metabolic syndrome
Overweight children and adolescents often show signs of the metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors that raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes. These include, in addition to excess body weight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol levels.
[http://www.newstarget.com/019874.html]

Sex may increase risk of mono virus
Most adults worldwide are infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) - the cause of mononucleosis, known as the "kissing disease" - which, after first infecting a person, remains dormant in the body for life. Most of the time, the initial infection causes no apparent symptoms, especially when it's contracted in childhood. In developed countries, however, EBV infection often doesn't occur until adolescence or young adulthood, when it's more likely to cause symptomatic illness, mono -- a condition marked by fever, fatigue, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes.
[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=51F3EB940FD73A19119534C063967BFF]

Sleep apnea increases stroke risk in elderly
People with sleep apnea experience episodes when their breathing stops during sleep. Previous studies of the link between stroke and sleep apnea have focused on middle-aged people, but it's older people who face more than twice the risk of stroke than people with mild sleep apnea or none. Sleep apnea is typically treated with behavioral changes, such as losing weight or sleeping on your side. There are also oral devices that help keep the airway open.
[http://www.cbc.ca/cp/HealthScout/060803/6080310U.html]

Swedish nuclear reactors stopped
The shutdown in Forsmark - some 75km (46 miles) north of Stockholm - came after a short-circuit in a unit supplying power to the reactors. There was "no danger of a meltdown" at Forsmark, but while four backup generators had failed to start, two were sufficient to run the plant's cooling system. In addition, the plant has gas turbines that can be used to supply power in an emergency. Sweden plans to phase out all of its reactors in the next few years.
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5241780.stm]

Vitamin B6 found to slash risk of Parkinson's disease
A study with around 5,300 participants over the age of 55 revealed that those who had the highest intake of vitamin B6 had up to a 50 percent reduction in Parkinson's disease risk. researchers believe that vitamin B6 may prevent the disease by decreasing levels of homocysteine -- an amino acid that is potentially toxic to brain cells. Vitamin B6 could also have an antioxidant effect that might aid in preventing Parkinson's.
[http://www.newstarget.com/019868.html]

Patients set off airport bomb detectors after radioactive iodine therapy
A British man who received radioactive iodine treatments for an overactive thyroid was recently detained at the Orlando airport and strip-searched after he set off an airport alarm.
[http://www.newstarget.com/019882.html]

Human Tampering Threatens Planet's Life-Sustaining Surface
Critical zone sites include an extraordinary diversity of soils and ecosystems ranging from the tropics to the poles, from deserts to wetlands, and from rock-bound uplands to delta sediments. "Because the critical zone includes air, water and soil and is the focal point of food production, it has a major effect on human life," Sparks said. "It is imperative that we better understand the interactions that occur there."
[http://www.physorg.com/news73667685.html]

Mutated Bird Flu Virus Might Not Spread Easily
Although many scientists have been concerned that the H5N1 bird flu virus may mutate one day and become easily human transmissible, a recent study seems to indicate that it might not spread easily among humans. This could mean that the mutated virus may not be such a giant threat to global human health.
[http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=48478&nfid=crss]

Allergy Risk Tied to Early Solid Foods
New moms should breastfeed exclusively for six months to help protect their babies against developing food allergiesallergies later on, one of the nation's leading allergy and asthmaasthma groups says. Solid foods of all types should be avoided for the first six months, and certain items -- like cow's milk, eggs, fish, and nuts -- should not be introduced until even later, according to a consensus statement on infant feeding released this week by the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).
[http://www.webmd.com/content/article/125/116080.htm]

Menopause hormone therapy linked to breast cancer risk
Data from nearly 122,000 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study, indicate that women currently using estrogen and testosterone in their hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a 77 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who never used HRT.
[http://www.newstarget.com/019807.html]

Home nutrigenetic DNA tests meaningless
Home DNA kits that claim to warn people of their risk of diseases ranging from cancer to osteoporosis offer little real guidance and are often misleading. An investigation into 14 companies that sell the tests showed many gave meaningless information, and some then tried to sell consumers expensive "customized" supplements that were little different from grocery store vitamin pills.
[http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=12995838&src=rss/scienceNews]

compiled by PBP
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