Tulane University’s Dr. Son Nguyen is hoping to raise hepatitis awareness locally by coordinating two West Bank testing events this weekend. Free screenings for hepatitis B and C, as well as blood pressure, blood glucose, and body mass index, will be offered.

The Saturday event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Saint Agnes Le Thi Thanh Church, 6851 Saint Le Thi Thanh St., Marrero. the second event, on Sunday, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Duc Me Len Troi Catholic Church/Assumption of Mary Church, 171 Noel Dr., Avondale. Organizers hope more than 600 will attend.

Inflammation caused by hepatitis can result in liver disease, including cancer and cirrhosis. many people with chronic hepatitis B have no symptoms; those who do often mistake them for the flu — with fatigue, nausea, and stomach pain commonly reported. Vietnamese-Americans are disproportionately impacted by chronic hepatitis B.

According to organizer Chantelle Jabbia, a similar testing event held in January in eastern new Orleans reached 392 people. Of these, 39 were diagnosed with hepatitis B and referred for treatment.

Back to other news for April 2012

Sydney, March 7 : Obesity, which is associated with cardiovascular problems, may also be linked with dementia in later life.

A study found that people who are very underweight, overweight or obese in mid-life (40-60 years) have an increased risk of developing dementia in late-life (60 onwards).Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, forgetting simple words, poor judgement and inability to carry out daily chores.the study was conducted by Kaarin Anstey from the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University.the study synthesised data from high-quality, long-term studies that followed over 25,000 people to see if bodyweight is a risk factor for dementia, according to a Australian National University statement.Anstey said the review produced evidence that a higher body-mass-index (BMI) is associated with chronic diseases that increase the risk of dementia.”We found that, in mid-life, being overweight does in fact increase the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. this risk is even greater for those who fall into the category of obese.”This evidence suggests that, while the hormones present in body-fat were previously believed to protect cognitive function, excess fat in middle age is in fact extremely harmful,” she added.

THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) — Depression appears to increase the risk of kidney failure, according to a new study.

Depression was linked to a higher rate of hospitalization for acute kidney injury (formerly known as acute kidney failure), even after adjusting for heart disease, inflammatory markers, and lifestyle factors such as body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity, according to the investigators.

The study, led by Dr. Willem Kop of the Department of Medical Psychology andNeuropsychology at the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands, included 5,785 people in the United States who were followed for 10 years. At the start of the study, the participants were 65 years and older and were not on kidney dialysis.

The researchers found that depression was also associated with a higher prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at baseline. It was 20 percent more common in people with chronic kidney disease than in those without the disease.

The study appears online March 10 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

“People with elevated depressive symptoms have a higher risk of subsequent adverse kidney disease outcomes. This is partially explained by other medical factors related to depression and kidney disease. but the association with depression was stronger in patients who were otherwise healthy compared to those who had co-existing medical disorders such as diabetes or heart disease,” the researchers wrote in a journal news release.

The researchers are currently examining factors that may explain the link between depression and kidney disease and failure. These could include delays in seeking medical care, the effect that depression has on the immune and nervous systems, and miscommunication between patients and doctors.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression.

SOURCE: Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, news release, March 10, 2011

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. all rights reserved.

If you took a blog break during the holiday, here’s my late December post about creating realistic characters who have survived trauma.

Today I’ll focus on the most lethal eating disorder: Anorexia Nervosa. There’s actually a link between one kind of trauma — sexual abuse — and eating disorders. One study found that 1 out of 4 women with Anorexia Nervosa has been sexually abused. the rates of sexual abuse were even higher for other eating disorders: 1 out of 3 women with Bulimia Nervosa, and 1 out of 2 women with Binge Eating Disorder. I’ll cover Bulimia Nervosa in my next post.

“Anorexia” means a lack of a desire to eat, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of appetite. Individuals who develop this disorder at first have to stave off severe hunger to achieve weight loss. the diagnosis must also include “Nervosa”, referring to psychotic thinking including intense fear of weight gain, distortion of body image, and obsessional preoccupation on food, weight, and shape.

There are four symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa:

1. Severe underweight (less than 85% of expected body weight or less than 17.5 Body Mass Index). For example, a 5’7″ woman would meet criteria if she weighed less than 111 pounds (50.35 kg).

2. Intense fear of gaining weight. Many individuals fear that if they gain one pound, they’ll suddenly gain one-hundred pounds. the eating disorder provides a false sense of control, and individuals fear losing that control.

3. Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight. Individuals determine their self-worth solely based on their weight/shape.

4 Amenorrhea in women (absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles). Individuals meet criteria if they only have menses when on the birth control pill.

When people joke they wish they could get Anorexia Nervosa, I fume inside. This disorder is a personal hell, locking individuals into an addiction that brings so much misery to them and their families. their self-worth is so impaired they don’t feel deserving of caring for themselves — of living, really. It’s selflessness gone awry.

Walter Kaye, M.D. is doing some fascinating research on the brains of individuals with AN, finding logic in the illogical refusal to eat when underweight. He’s shown that individuals with AN have high levels of serotonin activity in their brains. Serotonin is a chemical messenger implicated in sleep and appetite, and the high levels of serotonin activity produce agitation for those with AN. When these individuals stop eating, the serotonin activity decreases, providing a sense of calm and happiness. however, eating a combination of carbohydrate and protein elevates serotonin levels, jacking up their anxiety and the “noise” in their brain. if eating made you feel this horrible, would you eat? probably not.

Individuals with this disorder have difficulty making decisions, tend to be emotionally stoic (not only are they restricting their food intake but they’re also restricting their emotions), perfectionistic (often achieving 4.0 GPA’s), and highly anxious.

Men can and do suffer from Anorexia Nervosa though it’s more common in women. I’m not familiar with fictional heroines suffering from this illness — are you? A famous singer who died from AN is Karen Carpenter:
Her music is is beautiful, and it’s a tragedy the world lost her smooth voice to this illness. In effect, Anorexia Nervosa steals a woman’s voice.

Here are two of my favorite books about eating disorders:

There’s a lot more I could say but I’ll stop here. Please let me know any of your questions or comments.

Now onto the Meet an Author Monday Blog Hop, hosted by Lisa Sanchez.