An international team, led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, analysed data collected from over 8,000 men and women from central Norway who had participated in the internationally renowned Nord Trondelag Health Study.Participants underwent forearm bone mineral density scans, as well as completing a questionnaire regarding current depressive and anxiety symptoms.Other factors that may be associated with both psychiatric symptoms and bone, such as body weight and height, as well as physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, medication use, calcium and caffeine intake and current medical conditions were also examined in the study.Team member Dr Lana Williams of Deakin University said they found depressive symptoms, as well as anxiety symptoms in men, were associated with lowerbone mineral density.”Even after taking into account other medical and lifestyle factors, this finding persisted.”Thereare several known risk factors for low bone mineral density, such as advanced age, gender (women are at greater risk than men), familial predisposition, low levels of sex hormones, inadequate calcium intake and vitamin D deficiency,” Dr Williams said.”It is possible that poor mental health could be another one of these risk factors,” Dr Williams added.

Getty ImagesBy Lynne Peeples

WEDNESDAY, February 2 (Health.com) — Boys and young men who receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine appear to be at reduced risk of contracting the virus and developing the genital warts associated with the common sexually transmitted disease, according to a large international study published this week in the new England Journal of Medicine.

In an effort to prevent cervical cancer, which can be caused by HPV, public health officials have been encouraging young women to get vaccinated since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first HPV vaccine, Gardasil, in 2006. The vaccine has been approved for boys and men since 2009, but health officials and doctors haven’t pushed it with the same urgency.

“Because the story started with cervical cancer, the studies started with females,” says the lead author of the study, Anna Giuliano, PhD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa. “The study of HPV in men is a late bloomer.”

Gardasil is given in a series of three injections. In the study, which included more than 4,000 sexually active males between the ages of 16 and 26, roughly 0.5% of the boys and men who received all three shots developed genital warts during the subsequent 2 to 3 years. by contrast, about 2.8% of the study participants who received a placebo vaccine developed warts.

The vaccine also reduced the risk of contracting an HPV case that persists for at least six months, though not as dramatically.

HPV can cause certain cancers of the anus and penis in men, although those diseases are far less common than cervical cancer in women.

The study was designed and funded by Merck, the maker of Gardasil (also known as Silgard). The National Institutes of Health also provided funding.

An estimated 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV. Symptoms are rare, however, so most people have the virus—and pass it on—without realizing it.

“Men are such a vital component of the whole prevention cycle when looking at HPV or any sexually transmitted infection,” says Demetrius Porche, a professor of nursing research and evaluation at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health in new Orleans.

Vaccinating men provides a “double benefit” in that fewer men with HPV will also mean that fewer women are exposed, adds Porche, who was not involved in the current study but has researched HPV in men.

Earlier this week, for the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics included the HPV vaccine on its list of recommended vaccines for boys. Porche and Giuliano also urge boys and men to get vaccinated.

Most health insurance plans cover HPV vaccination for both males and females. if a child between the ages of 9 and 18 is underinsured, the federal program Vaccines for Children may be able to provide assistance.

Date: Wednesday Dec. 1, 2010 7:24 AM ET

CHICAGO — Football players with memory and behaviour problems have no way of knowing for sure if getting hit too many times caused brain damage. the only test to diagnose their condition is done after death in an autopsy.

But now, researchers are experimenting with an imaging technique to detect a debilitating condition caused by repeated concussions.

And a study in Boston of five retired athletes — three National Football League players, a boxer and a wrestler — is being called a preliminary first step toward diagnosis and maybe even treatment.

The imaging found suspicious chemical changes in the former athletes’ brains. They’d suffered multiple hits to the head during play and showed behaviour symptoms indicating possible brain damage. the chemical changes were not found in five healthy study participants.

The results from this noninvasive “virtual biopsy” technique suggest that the athletes had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the study authors said.

The disease is a suspected cause of “punch-drunk” symptoms, memory lapses and behaviour changes in NFL players and others who have had repeated concussions.

The issue has gained scrutiny since autopsies found brain degeneration in a handful of former NFL players who died young. Concerns about the dangers of repeated concussions have led to congressional hearings, policy recommendations from doctor groups and restrictions on how soon professional and student athletes can return to play after being hit in the head.

The study is being presented Wednesday at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Researchers used a specialized type of MRI scan that measures chemicals. Altered levels of certain chemicals in brain tissue signify damage, said lead author Alexander Lin of Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“It tells us that these guys with repetitive head injury do have something that is biochemically abnormal,” Lin said.

There were no “before and after” images of the athletes’ brains, and the research doesn’t prove that repeated head blows caused the damage. But it provides intriguing evidence that needs to be confirmed in additional research, said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, chief director of a neurological sports injury program at the University of Michigan.

“It’s an important step,” said Kutcher, who was not involved in the study.

Currently, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE is diagnosed by pathologists inspecting brain tissue during autopsies.

There is no treatment for the condition. But if it turns out that chemical changes in the brain are a true symptom, then scientists could test drugs that would affect those chemicals to see if that slows or prevents symptoms.

“The only way we can get to the point of studying potential treatments is to be able to diagnose it during life,” said Robert Stern, a study co-author and a director of the Boston University centre studying CTE. Several former NFL players have agreed to donate their brains after death for the research.

If the new imaging proves to be an accurate detection method, then the technique could potentially help determine whether athletes with head injuries can return to sports or should stop playing for good, said Dr. Stefan Bluml, director of an imaging technology lab at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.