February 2007 (2)

Grandchild Got Colic?
Eighty three breast fed infants with colic (more than 3 hours of crying more than 3 days a week, ugh) received either lactobacillus reuteri (5 drops, once daily, 30 minutes after eating) or the anti-gas medication simethacone. Over 95% of mothers whose infant took lactobacillus reported a reduction in crying to less than 3 hours vs only 7% of those whose infants took simethacone. On day 28, average crying time among those taking lactobacillus as 51 minutes vs 145 minutes for those taking simethacone. The editors of Journal Watch wonder if these results are too good to be true and suggest that controlled confirmatory studies be carried out before this treatment is adopted. But after two and a half hours of watching the baby cry, you may not want to wait.

You May be Sharing More than You Want To
The woman has a vaginal trichomonas infection, her male partner is asymptomatic. She gets treated, gets better, then comes down with it again...and again. Until recently it was difficult to determine if her partner was reinfecting her. New nucleic acid amplifications tests (PRC) enable much better identification of trichomonas in men. A study was carried out of over 250 men whose partner had trichomonas. While the vast majority of men were asymptomatic, over 70% tested positive for trichomonas using PRC compared to only 10% testing positive using traditional tests like culture and microscopic exam of urine and semen. The study justifies the practice of routinely treating the partner of infected women. Condoms can also be used to prevent transmission.

How Much Has Retroviral Therapy Increased the Life Span of Patients with HIV?
A study in Denmark of 400 HIV-infected persons and 400,000 controls found that median survival for a 25 year old HIV infected person treated with retrovirals was 34 years compared with 51 years for controls. Although disheartening for HIV patients and their families, it was an improvement over the 20 years of survival rate before retrovirals were introduced.

Do Anti-depressants Reduce Coronary Mortality in Depressed People with Coronary Artery Disease?
Among patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), depression strongly predicts CAD mortality. Might SSRI's help reduce this mortality? Almost 300 depressed patients (average age 58) with a history of heart attack or angioplasty were treated with either interpersonal therapy (IPT) or no IPT and were given either the SSRI citalopram or placebo. Depression improved in 36% of those taking citalopram and 23% of those taking placebo though those taking citalopram experienced more tiredness and sexual dysfunction than those taking placebo. About 30% of those treated with IPT or no IPT improved. There was no improvement in cardiac mortality or morbidity.

How Long Are Your Telomeres?
Each time your cells divide, their telomeres (ends) get shorter. (Who would have thought it?) Thus the length of your telomeres are a measure of your biological age. Might short telomeres indicate an increased risk of age-associated disease like coronary artery disease? The short answer is yes. The risk of coronary events is nearly 50% higher in people with short telomeres than in those with long telomeres. But, if you are a short telomere person, do not despair. Among short telomere individuals taking statins, there was no significant association with coronary disease. So maybe, if your cholesterol is low but your telomeres are short, you should take statins. At any rate, this study lends credence to animal studies th at have found that slowing cellular aging might lower the risk of atherosclerosis. As you can imagine, there is a lot of research being done on how to age cells more slowly. As soon as you find out how to do it, let me know.

Will Daily Multivitamins Make You Healthier?
The rate of infection was studied in over 750 elderly people who were given either a daily multivitamin or placebo for 18 months. No difference. Multivitamins have never been shown to help any group of well people.