Olive oil offers best protection from heart attack: study

[LahoreEstate]

Friday, April 03, 2009
LAHORE

PORTUGUESE scientists have identified an anti-oxidant in olive oil that offers the greatest protection from heart attack and stroke.

Their study shows that the anti-oxidant in question, DHPEA-EDA, protects red blood cells from damage more than any other part of olive oil.

“These findings provide the scientific basis for the clear health benefits that have been seen in people who have olive oil in their diet,” said Fatima Paiva-Martins of the University of Porto, who was part of the team that conducted the study.

Paiva-Martins said the findings could lead to the production of “functional” olive oils specifically designed to reduce the risk of heart disease.

The researchers said they have come by evidence that this compound is the major source of the health benefit associated with virgin olive oils, which may make up as much as half the total antioxidant component of the oil.

Heart disease is caused partly by reactive oxygen, including free radicals, acting on low density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol and resulting in hardening of the arteries. Red blood cells are vulnerable to oxidative damage because they are the body’s oxygen carriers.

The study was published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. —Online

Kidney failure big new killer on the horizon: Kidney failure has emerged as a new killer on the horizon in Australia, resulting in more deaths than cardiovascular disease.

Data from 2007 released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show kidney and urinary tract diseases have jumped to 10th on the leading cause of death list with 3,230 deaths being attributed as the single underlying cause.

“Most of this increase appears to be due to an increase in chronic kidney failure deaths that have risen 148 percent in the last decade with a striking 133 percent rise over the last three years,” said Tim Mathew, medical director of Kidney Health Australia (KHA).

This is at a time when cardiovascular deaths have decreased 125 percent in the last decade. The rise in mortality has occurred in both sexes with female deaths accounting for 55 percent of all deaths from diseases of the kidney and urinary tract. An age breakdown of these deaths is not yet available, said a KHA release.

“Explanations for this significant increase in deaths from kidney failure include the ageing population (kidney failure increases with age), an increased awareness of kidney diseases due to better diagnosis and reporting practices and a real increase possibly related to the fall in cardiovascular mortality,” said Mathew. —Online

Scientists switch off nerves to treat high blood pressure: Medical scientists have pioneered a breakthrough that dramatically deflates high blood pressure, based on a new catheter-based treatment for the life-threatening condition.

The results of this highly anticipated study are expected to revolutionise treatment options for high blood pressure (BP) around the world.

High BP is a major health burden globally, causing many debilitating health problems and even sudden death. Around 30-40 percent of the populace is estimated to suffer from high BP out of which about 15 percent are resistant to traditional therapies.

The trial involved inserting a catheter through the femoral artery (in the thigh) of 50 patients suffering from severe and resistant hypertension - a dangerous form of high BP not responsive to traditional medications.

Conducted under a local anaesthetic, the procedure delivered radio-energy frequency through a catheter to “silence” sympathetic nerves in the renal artery supplying blood to the kidneys.

It has long been understood that the sympathetic nerve system and nerves in the renal artery are heavily involved in BP regulation in the way they interact with the kidneys - but until now there has not been a safe way to access and “switch off” these nerves before the damage is done.

This one-off procedure, conducted on both kidneys, has the potential to substantially reduce premature ill health and mortality attributed to high BP. These findings have been published in The Lancet.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=170635