Health Highlights: Oct. 28, 2009
Oct. 29 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
High-Fiber Foods May Protect Against Inflammatory Diseases: Study
A high-fiber diet may boost the immune system and help prevent inflammatory diseases such as asthma, diabetes and arthritis, say Australian researchers and their colleagues.
In the gut, high-fiber foods are converted by bacteria into short chain fatty acids, which are known to ease some inflammatory diseases in the bowel. This new study identified a molecule that binds to short chain fatty acids and also functions as an anti-inflammatory, Agence France Presse reported.
The study appears in the journal Nature.
"The important point about our work is that we provide the molecular explanation that links fiber in the diet to the microorganisms in our gut to the effect on the immune response," Professor Charles Mackay told AFP.
"We believe that changes in diet, associated with Western lifestyles, contribute to the increasing incidences of asthma, type 1 diabetes and other auto-immune diseases," he said. "Now we have a new molecular mechanism that might explain how diet is affecting our immune systems."
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Immune-Suppressing Drugs May Boost Bladder Cancer Risk
People who take immune-suppressing glucocorticoid drugs may be at increased risk for bladder cancer, according to a U.S. study.
Glucocorticoids are used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients and to treat diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
Dartmouth Medical School researchers examined the long-term use of glucocorticoids by 786 bladder cancer patients and 1,083 controls, United Press International reported.
The finding that glucocorticoids may increase bladder cancer risk "might indicate the need for closer monitoring of individuals who regularly take glucocorticoids," epidemiologist Margaret Karagas and colleagues said in a news release.
