GRANADA, Spain, Dec. 26 (UPI) — Substances found in virgin olive oil and fish relieve the symptoms of pancreatitis, researchers in Spain said.

Study author Maria Belen Lopez Millan of the University of Granada said oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol — in a particularly high concentration in virgin olive oil — and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish relieve the symptoms of pancreatitis.

The researchers evaluated the role of Mediterranean diet ingredients in the prevention and mitigation of cell damage — specifically how fatty acids and antioxidants affect the cellular mechanisms that respond to local inflammation in the pancreas.

The University of Granada scientists used an experimental model in mice in which cell damage is induced after pretreatment with these nutritional components.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, found oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol can be considered potential functional ingredients — products people may consume to increase their health and/or contribute to reducing their disease burden — because they might prevent or mitigate the disease.

“There is increasing evidence that there are oxidative-inflammatory processes involved in the origin of chronic diseases and that diet plays an important role in such processes,” Millan said in a statement. “The antioxidant (phenolic compounds) and anti-inflammatory (omega-3 fatty acids) effects of diet components prevent/mitigate the pathological incidence of oxidative-inflammatory processes.”

Berries may offer sweet hope in reducing the risk of Parkinson’sdisease, Harvard researchers are reporting.

The Harvard School of Public Health examined the effect onParkinson’s disease of flavonoids, a dietary component found incitrus fruits, chocolate and berries. The study was released lastSunday, and will be presented at the American Academy ofNeurology’s 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu in April.

The exact reason people develop Parkinson’s is not clear, thoughsome genetic and environmental factors are thought to beresponsible.

“The study opens up a whole area of potential future studiesexamining other types of environmental effects on Parkinson’s,”said Dr. Anna Hohler, a neurologist and professor of neurology atBoston University who was not involved with the study.

The study found that the top 20 percent of males who consumedthe most flavonoids were 40 percent less likely to developParkinson’s than the bottom 20 percent of men who consumed theleast amount of flavonoids. In women, there was no correlationbetween overall flavonoid consumption and Parkinson’s.

However, a subclass of flavonoid called anthocyanins, which areprimarily found in berries, were associated with reduced risk ofdeveloping Parkinson’s, said study author Dr. Xiang Gao, researchscientist at Harvard.

“These components we found to have neuroprotective effects,” hesaid. “Anthocyanins are a kind of pigment in food. for example, ina blackberry or a strawberry, when you see the different colors inthese berries, that’s because of anthocyanin.”

The study examined 129,617 individuals – 49,281 men and 80,336women. Participants were followed for 20 to 22 years, and wereasked to periodically fill out questionnaires about their foodconsumption habits. During that period, 805 participants developedParkinson’s. when the study started, the average age of maleparticipants was about 55, and the average age of femaleparticipants was about 51, Gao said.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that affectsmovement. Most people with the disease start to get symptoms intheir sixties, though some people get it much earlier, Hohlersaid.

An estimated 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’sdisease each year, and as many as one million Americans live withParkinson’s, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation in NewYork.

The study did not track the consumption of all types of berries,but looked specifically at strawberries and blueberries.

“We asked about a number of different dietary items – howfrequently they were eaten and the intake per month of each item,”Gao said. “That means we could only list the most consumedfoods.”

Participant’s questionnaires were then stored in a databasewhere researchers could later revisit answers and calculateaverages.

A strength of the study is the fact that people’s eating habitswere tracked before any of them had Parkinson’s, Gao said.

“Otherwise, if you do a kind of study called a case-controlstudy, in which you start with a group of people who already haveParkinson’s disease and ask them to recall their dietary intakefive years later, there may be some error,” he said. “This way wereduce this kind of memory bias.”

Gao said the link between flavonoid consumption on Parkinson’sand gender could not be confirmed until further studies takeplace.

“Our study is the first prospective study in humans,” he said.”So our observations need to be confirmed by other studies to seeif there is a difference. and if the other studies find some sortof gender, the next step is to do some more studies to understandthe mechanism.”

The study raises further questions about the consumption ofanthocyanin as well.

“Future research needs to find out in terms of quantity, howmuch do you need to consume to have a beneficial effect and in whatperiod of time,” Hohler said.

Although Gao agreed that more research must be done before anystrong conclusions are made, he said there is certainly no harm ineating more berries.

“Although it’s too early to recommend eating berries to reduceParkinson’s risk, think about the other beneficial effects ofberries,” he said. “If you only eat one cup of berries a month,maybe you can increase to another one.”

Hohler plans to discuss the study with Parkinson’s patients.

“When a study comes out like this, we say, ‘There is one studyso far which is interesting and may suggest that this might besomewhat neuroprotective,’ but that further studies need to be doneto clarify,” she said. “Parkinson’s patients are very eager to trythings that might decrease their chance of developing [thedisease].”

CANBERRA, Australia, Feb. 9 (UPI) — People who have higher vitamin D levels may be less likely to develop multiple sclerosis, researchers in Australia found.

Study author Robyn Lucas of Australian National University in Canberra says the multi-site study involved 216 people ages 18-59 who had a first event with symptoms of the type seen in MS. They were matched with 395 people with no symptoms of possible MS who were similar ages of the same sex and from the same areas of Australia.

The study subjects reported how much sun they were exposed to during different periods of their lives. Vitamin D levels — from sun exposure, diet and supplement use — were measured by blood tests, Lucas says.

“Previous studies have found similar results, but this is the first study to look at people who have just had the first symptoms of MS and haven’t even been diagnosed with the disease yet,” Lucas says in a statement. “Other studies have looked at people who already have MS — then it’s hard to know whether having the disease led them to change their habits in the sun or in their diet.”

The study, published in Neurology, found people with most evidence of skin damage from sun exposure were 60 percent less likely to develop a first MS event than those with the least damage, and those with the highest levels of vitamin D also were less likely to be diagnosed with MS than people with the lowest levels.

(CBSNews) 

NEW YORK – four times a day, for the last 16 years, Maria Brant takes an assortment of supplements and medications to combat the symptoms of exhaustion, lack of concentration and muscle aches.

She has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a disease often dismissed and misunderstood by some medical professionals, even one of her own doctors, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

“He said, ‘lots of women are tired,’” Brant said. “I knew that I was different.”

For Brant and as many as 4 million Americans afflicted with CFS , today science offers tangible proof that they have a disease.

“This study says there is a physical root cause or effect to this disease,” said Dr. Steven Schutzer, with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of new Jersey and a study author.

Researchers examined the spinal fluid of CFS patients, healthy people and patients afflicted with a similar disorder – Lyme Disease. They found over 700 proteins, or indicators of disease, unique to CFS patients alone.

Dr. Nancy Klimas runs a support group for CFS patients in Miami. She can finally tell her patients that science has validated their symptoms, and one day they could be tested for it.

“We haven’t had something we could just draw blood in a tube and let us measure [and say] ‘Ah-ha! you must have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,’” Climas said.

Once researchers design that test, they can zero in on a cause and develop better treatments. and not soon enough for Maria Brant.

“Talk to me in two years about this study, then we’ll see,” Brant said.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) — In a European study that echoes the findings of other scientists, researchers have found that children who grow up on farms are less likely to develop childhood asthma.

The risk of asthma was reduced by as much as 51 percent for children living on farms, and researchers suspect that it's the diversity of exposure to different microbes that may offer protection against the airway disease.

"The risk of asthma decreased with an increase in the diversity of microbial exposure," said study author Dr. Markus Ege, a researcher at Munich University Children's Hospital in Germany.

"Within the microbial spectrum under investigation, several germs with a potential for asthma prevention were identified," he added.

Results of the study are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that causes inflammation of the airways. This inflammation narrows the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest pain and tightness, and shortness of breath, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The exact cause of asthma remains unknown. People with a family history of the disease are more likely to develop asthma, suggesting a possible genetic component to the disease. but environmental exposures, such as encountering certain viruses, are also associated with the development of the condition, according to the NHLBI.

Numerous studies have also found that exposure to a variety of microbes in the environment, such as bacteria or fungi, appear to provide protection against asthma, perhaps by helping the body create a tolerance for allergens.

And, other research has found that children living on farms — especially those exposed to cows, pigs and hay — seem to be less likely to have asthma and allergies.

Exactly how exposure to a variety of microbes might protect against asthma is still unclear, researchers noted.

"How these microorganisms reduce the asthma risk remains largely unknown," said Ege. "a combination of environmental microorganisms might stimulate the innate immune system and counterbalance an asthma-prone immune status. Alternatively, the diversity of microbial exposure might prevent specific [disease-causing] microorganisms with an asthma-inducing potential."

The current study assessed the incidence of asthma in children living on farms compared to children without farm exposure in two different groups of youngsters. The researchers also tested dust samples from the children's bedrooms and mattresses to get an idea of what type of microbes the children were regularly exposed to.

The first group of children included 6,843 rural and suburban elementary school children from southern Germany. This study, dubbed PARSIFAL, also included dust samples from 489 children's mattresses. The second study, called GABRIELA, included 9,668 elementary school kids from rural areas of Austria, South Germany and Switzerland. Dust samples were collected from 444 children's bedrooms in this study.

House dust from farm homes had a greater variety of bacteria and fungi, a finding that was statistically related to a lower rate of asthma.

In both study populations, youngsters who lived on farms had lower rates of asthma and allergies, according to the study. In the PARSIFAL group, the risk of asthma was reduced by 51 percent in children living on farms. In GABRIELA, the reduction was 24 percent, according to Ege.

The researchers also found that diversity of microbial exposure lowered the odds of asthma by 38 percent in the PARSIFAL population and by 14 percent in GABRIELA, according to the study.

"not all microbes are detrimental; some are beneficial for asthma and allergies," explained Ege. but, he cautioned that this doesn't mean that dirt or microbes in general should be considered healthy, or that parents should try to deliberately expose their children to microbes.

"there are enormous numbers of different microorganisms which affect human health by various measures and in opposite directions. there are still dangerous infections, which should be prevented by vaccination or treated with antibiotics," Ege stressed.

One expert who wrote an accompanying editorial in the same journal noted that it was "of critical importance" to figure out how microbe exposure affects the biology of the lungs and immune system.

"This study shows that kids who grow up on farms are less likely to develop asthma, but I don't think there's anything that can be applied to treatment right now," said Dr. James Gern, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

"As we learn more about what these protective exposures are," he said, "it's possible we could come up with ways to prevent asthma in the future."

More information

Read more about the causes of asthma from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder affecting one in 100 people worldwide. most cases are not detected until a person starts experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations as a teenager or adult. by that time, the disease has often progressed so far that it can be difficult to treat.

In a paper published recently online by the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Columbia University provide the first evidence that brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia risk are detectable in babies only a few weeks old.

“It allows us to start thinking about how we can identify kids at risk for schizophrenia very early and whether there things that we can do very early on to lessen the risk,” said lead study author John H. Gilmore, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UNC Schizophrenia Research Center.

The scientists used ultrasound and MRI to examine brain development in 26 babies born to mothers with schizophrenia. Having a first-degree relative with the disease raises a person’s risk of schizophrenia to one in 10. among boys, the high-risk babies had larger brains and larger lateral ventricles—fluid-filled spaces in the brain—than babies of mothers with no psychiatric illness.

“could it be that enlargement is an early marker of a brain that’s going to be different?” Gilmore speculated. larger brain size in infants is also associated with autism.

The researchers found no difference in brain size among girls in the study. this fits the overall pattern of schizophrenia, which is more common, and often more severe, in males.

The findings do not necessarily mean the boys with larger brains will develop schizophrenia. Relatives of people with schizophrenia sometimes have subtle brain abnormalities but exhibit few or no symptoms.

“this is just the very beginning,” said Gilmore. “We’re following these children through childhood.” The team will continue to measure the children’s brains and will also track their language skills, motor skills and memory development. they will also continue to recruit women to the study to increase the sample size.

This research provides the first indication that brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia can be detected early in life. Improving early detection could allow doctors to develop new approaches to prevent high-risk children from developing the disease. “The research will give us a better sense of when brain development becomes different,” said Gilmore. “And that will help us target interventions.”

Material adapted from University of North Carolina School of Medicine by CFisher.