Inhaled vaporized cannabis does not appear to improve or worsen exercise performance and activity-related breathlessness in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a randomized controlled trial published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

In an international collaboration between Japan and Sweden, scientists clarified how gravity affects the shape of matter near the black hole in binary system Cygnus X-1. Their findings, which were published in Nature Astronomy this month, may help scientists further understand the physics of strong gravity and the evolution of black holes and galaxies.

Thanks to a newly developed computational method, Luxembourg researchers can accurately predict how one subpopulation of cells can be converted into another. “The method has great potential for regenerative medicine when it comes to replacing cell subpopulations that have been lost in the course of disease, for example,” explains Prof. Dr Antonio del Sol, head of the Computational Biology group of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg. In collaboration with Parkinson disease’s researchers of Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, the scientists tested the practical feasibility of their method: they showed that, based on the computational predictions, stem cells from the brain could indeed be reprogrammed and ultimately converted into the desired subtype of neurons. The researchers presented their results in the journal Nature Communications.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a recurring, chronic gastrointestinal disorder. It’s characterised by abdominal pain or discomfort, and changes to bowel habit or consistency. 

There are four different types of IBS: 

1. IBS-C: IBS-Constipation
2. IBS-M: IBS-Mixed (constipation and diarrhoea)
3. IBS-D: IBS-Diarrhoea 
4. IBS-U: IBS-Unspecified (final diagnosis hasn’t yet been made)

Although IBS is a medical disorder, there are still many myths that do the rounds. We busted five:

1. The myth: You don’t need to take IBS seriously – it’s not an important condition

The truth: Although IBS is a fairly common condition, it’s often misunderstood. According to Dr William Chey, a gastroenterologist at the University of Michigan Health System, “Many physicians believe that IBS is not an important condition because it does not affect a person’s lifespan.” However, IBS can have a significantly negative impact on someone’s quality of life, which is why Dr Chey says IBS should be taken seriously.  

For example, IBS-D has negatively affected this 61-year-old man’s life. He* says, “I have had to deal with IBS-D for about 15 years. My first episode was at a football game and I didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. Very embarrassing and traumatic. I thought, ‘What just happened?’ Since then I have had other episodes while travelling that have either been disasters or close calls.” 

Kirsten Kadé, from Taste and See blog, an MSc Nutrition student and IBS sufferer, wrote in an article for HBC Magazine, “The pain and discomfort caused by IBS is highly variable between people and even within the same person on different days and times. Some people find it to be slightly irritating, whilst others can find IBS symptoms to be rather debilitating. This can make symptom management and life in general pretty difficult.”

She adds that IBS “can significantly reduce health-related quality of life, and has an impact on work, social activities, and the ability to live life without fear of having to find the nearest toilet.” 

2. The myth: IBS is all in your head

The truth: IBS is a function disorder, which means a person usually displays no visual signs of an illness. According to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, although IBS does not display any obvious symptoms it is still a medical disorder. They add that although stress, anxiety and depression may increase symptoms, these are not responsible for causing IBS. 

For this 50-year-old woman, symptoms (she frequently suffers from constipation) are evident and embarrassing. “I don’t feel comfortable having to have a bowel movement in public restrooms or at friends’ homes because of the noise from gas and the smell,” she* said. 

3. The myth: Stress causes IBS

The truth: Unfortunately the exact cause of IBS is not completely understood, but it’s believed to be a result of psychosocial and environmental factors, and gut physiology. These factors work together to cause the symptoms of IBS (bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation and gas). Although stress is a psychosocial factor and may increase a person’s symptoms, it’s important to understand that stress does not cause someone to develop IBS.  

4. The myth: You’ll have eat bland food for the rest of your life

The truth: “A lot of patients with IBS end up on these very bland diets, and I think most of the time it is not justified,” says Dr Chey. He asks his patients to keep a food diary and make notes of any symptoms that develop.  

“At the end of a two-week period, it’s possible to get a fairly good idea about whether there are specific trigger foods associated with the onset of symptoms. Those foods then can be easily eliminated from a patient’s diet.” 

Harvard Health Publishing says common foods that trigger IBS symptoms include gas-producing food (such as cabbage or broccoli), caffeine, alcohol, dairy, fatty foods (such as butter, cheese and avocados), raw fruits, and food, gum or beverages that contain sorbitol. 

5. The myth: There is no treatment for IBS

The truth: Dr Chey says IBS can be managed with counselling, dietary and lifestyle intervention and medication. “Treating infrequent or mild symptoms with over-the-counter medication is effective for most patients,” he says. “If symptoms are persistent, however, it’s important to see your physician because the excessive use of over-the-counter medications can actually lead to more gastrointestinal symptoms.”

Ways you can manage IBS symptoms: 

• Follow a healthy diet
• Do regular exercise
• Manage stress 
• Take probiotics and fibre supplement
• Use medications

^{*Names have been withheld by request.} 

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Compiled by Mandy Freeman

If you’re racking up lots of cardio time, you’re probably either a) looking to drop a few kilos or b) a runner hoping to finish your first half or shave time off your next race. But logging 45 minutes on the treadmill every day or slogging through long, steady runs five times a week won’t help you blast fat or get faster.

And after a while, you might become bored and start skimping on sessions (or skipping them entirely), says running coach Jeff Gaudette. Learn what to add and abandon to hit your goal. If you want to…

Read more: The 12 best foods to burn fat and build lean muscle

Want to lose 5kg?

Do this: Prioritise HIIT, advises Gaudette. High-intensity interval training increases the post-workout kilojoule burn by up to 15% compared with steady-state sessions, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

Do two interval workouts of any mode of cardio, spaced throughout the week: Warm up at an easy pace for 10 minutes, then alternate a minute at high intensity with a minute at low intensity for 10 to 15 minutes, then cool down. Add in two moderately paced workouts on the days in between.

Read more: The cardio move you can add to any workout to burn more kilojoules

Drop this: Obsessing over numbers. “If you’re married to your watch, you can’t listen to your body,” says Greg Justice, an exercise physiologist and author of Mind Your Own Fitness. “Sometimes it’s better to go with the flow and let your body dictate the workout.” The same applies for tunnel-visioning on kilojoule displays or the leader board at CrossFit. Sure, it can be motivating to see your effort quantified or how you’re measuring up to everyone else sweating beside you, but it often paints an inaccurate picture of how hard you’re working.

Read more: Maximise your burn by doing this before every cardio workout

Warm up faster

Before any aerobic session, Gaudette recommends doing this lunge matrix: Five reps each of forward lunge, forward lunge with upper-body twist, side lunge and reverse lunge; repeat on the other side. It’ll fire up your quads, core and glutes and help loosen your hip flexors in about three minutes – five, tops – cutting down on the distance you’ll have to run at an easy pace to get all limber.

^{This article was originally published onwww.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Laurel Leicht

When South Africa introduced designated smoking areas in restaurants and bars there was vehement opposition from sections of the hospitality industry. They argued that the public would stop eating out, restaurants would lose revenue and even close down, and jobs would be lost. Besides, they contended, no one would obey the law.

Non-smoking areas the norm

But two decades later, smoking in non-smoking sections of a restaurant has become taboo. Ordinary South Africans and the hospitality sector have policed the legislation. And despite those initial concerns, research from the University of Cape Town shows that none of the 700 restaurants surveyed saw a drop in patrons or profits by marking off designated smoking areas.

Of the restaurants, only 1% allowed patrons to smoke wherever they wanted to while more than 40% followed a no-smoking policy, a little over 40% designated an area outside for smoking, and just 11% had a designated area for smoking inside.  

No-smoking areas within restaurants and other public spaces are the norm. The legislation, and the annual increase in the price of cigarettes, led to a consistent decrease in the prevalence of smokers from about 38% in 1998 to between 16% and 18% in 2012. But South Africa has not seen a significant drop in consumption of tobacco products since 2012 – and what’s more worrying is there’s no reduction in the prevalence of smoking among young people.

The Draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill – which is out for public comment until 9 August – will address this problem.

Legislative shifts

A number of legislative shifts will happen through the legislation. The first declares any enclosed public area 100% smoke-free, and proposes introducing some outdoor public places smoke-free too.  There is good reason for this. Research shows that second-hand smoke is as harmful as smoking. When a smoker lights up in front of a non-smoker, the non-smoker develops a 30% higher chance of getting heart disease.  

Smoke-free public spaces are a well-documented strategy to reduce the number of cigarettes that people smoke and to move them towards stopping completely. An Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) study last year found that about a third of non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke at restaurants. 

The second major shift is around the regulation of e-cigarettes, whichhave become a familiar sight in public places. The current tobacco control legislation was introduced before e-cigarettes were available so there are no laws governing their use or the advertising, marketing and sponsorship of them. This has meant that e-cigarette manufacturers have used the legislative vacuum to promote these devices and make unsubstantiated claims about the impact they have on public health, as well as their efficacy as a quit tool. They have attempted to falsely position the use of e-cigarettes as healthy, sexy and attractive, with a particular focus on getting young people to use the product.  

Text warnings to quit

This is set to change as the bill restricts the use of e-cigarettes in all areas where combustible cigarettes are not allowed. Marketing, advertising and the sponsorship of e-cigarettes will also be banned and their sale will be restricted to adults over the age of 18. 

E-cigarette use has been linked to the development of lung diseases, and if used during pregnancy, can cause sudden infant death syndrome. Studies have also linked e-cigarettes to an increased heart rate and high blood pressure.

Despite claims from the tobacco industry that e-cigarettes help smokers to stop using combustible cigarettes, evidence shows that e-cigarettes are most likely to be used in combination with combustible cigarettes.

South Africa will join 83 other countries that regulate e-cigarettes.

The next shift is that packaging of tobacco products will change too. The ATIM study found that only 13% of smokers are motivated by the text warnings to quit. Change was needed to ensure that South Africans take heed of the health warnings. The draft bill introduces uniform packaging for all brands and pictorial warnings on all packages. This will remove all advertising on the package, and make it harder to ignore the health warning. Plain packaging, as this intervention is called, has resulted in a significant drop in consumption in Australia where it was introduced in 2012.  

Improving public health

Tobacco use is one of the top-five risk factors that contribute to South Africa’s disease burden. It increases the risk of several chronic diseases including cancers, pneumonia, ischaemic heart disease and stroke. Smokers also face double the risk of developing tuberculosis.

South Africa’s smoking rates are the highest on the continent – and trends show that these figures will increase over the next 15 years. The new tobacco control legislation should be seen as South Africa’s response to the escalating increase in non-communicable diseases such as cancers, heart disease and strokes.  – Health-e News.

*Savera Kalideen is the Executive Director of the National Council Against Smoking. The draft bill is out for public comment until 9 August: send submissions to www.againstsmoking.co.za

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Savera Kalideen

An experimental HIV vaccine is safe and triggers strong immune responses in healthy adults and in monkeys, researchers report.

They say it also protected two-thirds of monkeys against an HIV-like virus.

Though results of animal studies are not always the same in humans, researchers are encouraged by this early-stage study, which included nearly 400 healthy people. For their next step, they are launching a new vaccine trial that will include 2 600 women in southern Africa who are at risk of HIV infection.

According to Statistics South Africa, the estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is approximately 12.6% among the South African population. In addition to that figure, the total number of people living with HIV was estimated to be approximately 7.06 million in 2017. For adults aged 15 to 49 years, an estimated 18.0% of the population is HIV positive.

Caution advised

The experimental HIV-1 vaccine is one of five that have progressed to tests of effectiveness in humans.

While previous experimental HIV-1 vaccines have usually been limited to specific regions of the world, this vaccine combines different HIV viruses. The aim is to trigger immune responses against a wide variety of HIV strains, according to authors of the study published in The Lancet medical journal.

“These results should be interpreted cautiously,” study leader Dr Dan Barouch said in a journal news release.

“The challenges in the development of an HIV vaccine are unprecedented, and the ability to induce HIV-specific immune responses does not necessarily indicate that a vaccine will protect humans from HIV infection,” he added.

Dr Barouch is director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dr George Pavlakis and Dr Barbara Felber of the US Cancer Institute wrote an editorial that accompanied the study.

“Despite unprecedented advances in HIV treatment and prophylaxis, the number of people living with HIV infection continues to increase worldwide,” they wrote.

“Implementation of even a moderately effective HIV vaccine together with the existing HIV prevention and treatment strategies is expected to contribute greatly to the evolving HIV/Aids response,” the editorial continued. “It is therefore essential that a commitment to pursue multiple vaccine development strategies continues at all stages.”

About 37 million people worldwide have HIV/Aids, and there are 1.8 million new cases a year.

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High levels of vitamin D may reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer, a new study suggests.

Vitamin D link

Researchers looked at more than 5 000 women, 55 and older, and found that those with vitamin D blood levels of 60 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) or more had an 80% lower risk for breast cancer than those with levels of 20 ng/mL or less.

The researchers also found that among women with vitamin D blood levels between 20 and 60 ng/mL, the higher their level, the lower their risk of breast cancer.

But the study did not prove that higher vitamin D levels prevent breast cancer, just that there was an association.

Data from clinical trials conducted at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and from GrassrootsHealth, a California-based nonprofit, were included in the study.

Different levels for bone health

“This study provides strong support that vitamin D plays an important role in breast cancer prevention,” said principal investigator Joan Lappe. She is a professor of nursing at Creighton.

“It also demonstrates that blood levels of vitamin D for breast cancer prevention need to be higher than currently recommended levels for bone health,” Lappe said in a university news release.

The study was published online recently in the journal PLoS One.

A vitamin D blood level of 20 ng/mL or above is adequate for bone health, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

First priority

Carole Baggerly, director of GrassrootsHealth, said, “With roughly an 80% reduction in the incidence of breast cancer, getting a vitamin D blood level to 60 ng/mL becomes the first priority for cancer prevention.”

According to Baggerly, “Nutrition and lifestyle factors are certainly important for overall health, but they can’t replace the value of vitamin D level. The safety of this level has been demonstrated within this study as well as others.”

According to the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), in 2013 breast cancer accounted for 0.7% of South African deaths. NGO Marie Stopes notes that, spanning all race groups, one in 31 women is diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. 

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Social media users are being asked to try Scroll Free September, as part of a public health campaign.

Police will carry out a fourth investigation into the deaths of patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.