Arsenic poisoning increases risk of heart problems

Arsenic contamination in water has been a long standing problem since the start of industrial revolution. Arsenic poisoning in our bodies can lead to heart problems, darker skin, and even cancer.
But now a new study has revealed that arsenic can even change the structure of the heart. If arsenic-laced-water is consumed, the heart’s main pumping chamber can be thickened by up to 50 per cent, revealed the news. Thicker artery walls put the person at risk of hypertension, heart attacks and strokes.

Several parts of a country are showing symptoms of arsenic poisoning due to consumption of contaminated water. The symptoms start showing only after several years of consumption. WHO’s guideline for acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water is 0.01mg/litre.

Immediate effects of drinking contaminated water is stomach pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. Long term effects like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been observed in people.

The study, found that a two-fold increase in arsenic levels in urine resulted in nearly 50 per cent chances of the heart’s chamber thickening. A 2017 study revealed that around 2.1 million people in the US source their drinking water from private wells and they have dangerously high levels of arsenic.

For the study, urine samples were taken from more than 1,300 adults and the arsenic levels in them were measured. Then, electrocardiograms were done on these adults to determine the shape, size and function of their hearts. This study was done over a five year period and none of the participants suffered from diabetes at the start of the study.

In the study period, the research team discovered that the arsenic levels in the water increased two-fold and the left ventricle of the heart thickened by a whopping 47 per cent. The participants who had hypertension prior to the start of the study recorded a 60 per cent thickening of the ventricle. A thicker heart chamber means it can’t pump enough blood, thus possible resulting in a heart attack or a stroke.

 This study is important as cardiovascular disease till today is a leading cause of adult premature death around the world, and millions of individuals today are exposed to arsenic and other metal contaminants.

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Bottle feeding linked to stomach obstruction in infants

New research says that bottle feeding appears to increase the risk of babies developing hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, a form of stomach obstruction characterized by severe and frequent projectile vomiting and most common among infants in their first 2 months of life.

Surgery, called pyloromyotomy, may be needed to clear the hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS), which occurs when the smooth muscle layer of the pylorus (the "gateway" between the stomach and small intestines) thickens.

Doctors say in the study that although this is a fairly common condition - it occurs in approximately 2 in 1,000 births - the cause remains unknown.

This study,  sets out to establish if bottle feeding during early infancy increases the risk of developing HPS, and if so, how the risk is modified by other factors.

Largest study to date

The study reports that breastfeeding became a target of interest in the 1980s, as researchers noted that an upsurge in the breastfeeding rates coincided with a decrease in the number of cases of HPS.

The doctors claim that this study analyses the largest group of HPS patients with data on infant feeding practices yet studied.

Participants in the study had to be singleton babies under 6 months old who had been both diagnosed with HPS and undergone corrective surgery.

During the time period selected, researchers identified 714 such infants and matched them to "control" babies - ones without HPS.

The researchers do note that as the study is observational, all associations should be interpreted "with caution." They also point out the data of how a baby was fed is based on information provided when the mother and baby were discharged from the hospital.

Some babies who were breastfed initially could have switched to bottle feeding (or vice versa) prior to developing HPS, the researchers say.

There are many reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding their babies, including cracked and sore nipples or mastitis. A report, published by UNICEF, reports that 60% of women did not manage to breastfeed for as long as they would have wanted.

Another potential pitfall in this research is that babies bottle-fed expressed milk are coded as bottle-fed in the data, so interpretations regarding formula milk versus breast milk may also be skewed.

Bottle feeding 'may play a role in HPS'

The researchers found that the incidence of HPS decreased from 14 per 10,000 births in 2003 to 9 per 10,000 births in 2009. They note that the popularity of breastfeeding also increased during that time from 80% in 2003 to 94% in 2009.

The study revealed that bottle-fed infants were more likely to develop HPS, compared with controls (19.5% vs. 9.1%). The odds of an infant developing HPS also increased if they were male, and when mothers were 35 years and older and multiparous (having given birth more than once before.).

The study concludes:

"These data suggest that bottle feeding may play a role in HPS etiology, and further investigations may help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the observed effect modification by age and parity."

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. writes:

"While the data seem convincing that bottle feeding increases the risk, the reason is not clear."  

"Further understanding of the pathogenesis of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis will come from both basic research and more detailed epidemiologic studies," Dr. concludes.

Dr. and his colleagues agree, adding:

"Further studies are warranted to validate these findings and to look more closely at the speculative mechanisms, including possible hormonal effects, underlying the bottle feeding-HPS association."

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

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Breastfeeding reduces chances of breast cancer,says expert

 Experts of a Cancer institute threw light on the treatment of breast cancer on Saturday. .

Director and head of department of medical oncology,  said that breast cancer is the most common cancer among women with an estimated 1.38 million new cases diagnosed in 2008 (23% of all cancers) and ranks second overall (10.9% of all cancers).

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer worldwide. It accounts for 16% of all cancers among women and 22.9% of invasive cancers among them. Around 18.2% of all cancer deaths worldwide are from breast cancer.

He added that the breast cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and is the second leading cause of death (next to cervix) among women in India with 1,15,251 cases and mortality of 53,592 as per the GLOBOCAN data.

One in 58 women are affected by breast cancer in the age group 30-70 years and are mainly from the urban population.

It is found to be the most frequent cancer among women in cosmopolitan cities.

Breast cancer rates are much higher in developed nations compared to developing ones. There are several reasons for this, with possibly life-expectancy being one of the key factors this type of cancer is more common in elderly women, women in the richest countries live much longer than those in the poorest nations.

Dr. said that the first symptoms of breast cancer are usually an area of thickened tissue in the breast. Majority of lumps are not cancerous, however, women should get them checked regularly.

Women are usually diagnosed with breast cancer after routine breast cancer screening or after detecting certain signs and symptoms and seeing the doctor.

Breast cancer stages range from early, curable breast cancer to metastatic breast cancer, with a variety of treatments.

The main breast cancer treatment options are radiation, known as radiotherapy, surgery, biological therapy (targeted drug therapy), hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

Some lifestyle changes can help significantly reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer like avoiding alcohol consumption, more physical exercise, balanced diet, post menopausal hormone therapy, management of body-weight, breast cancer screening and breastfeeding after deliveries.

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