Colorado researchers have found that high levels of a specific hormone can predict which kidney patients will develop heart problems, require dialysis or die prematurely.

“This discovery allows us to predict at-risk patients before they require dialysis,” said lead researcher Michel Chonchol, MD. “That’s critical because approximately 23 percent of patients on dialysis die in the first year.”

Chonchol and his colleagues at the University of Colorado studied the blood plasma of patients with advanced kidney disease and found that levels of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor-23, or FGF-23, increased as kidney function deteriorated.

The hormone in question is responsible for regulating phosphorous levels in the body. As the kidneys fail, they are rendered incapable of excreting phosphorous which causes FGF-23 levels to rise.

The higher the level of the hormone in the body, the greater the chance the patient will die, though researchers are uncertain exactly how the hormone affects the body.

By the time the patient is down to 30 or 40 percent kidney function, the levels of FGF-23 can predict who will die, have a heart attack or require dialysis, the researchers said. Nearly 50 percent of deaths in kidney patients are due to cardiovascular problems like heart attacks.

Until now, doctors relied on measuring phosphorous to assess a patient’s condition.
“Prior to a patient going on dialysis the phosphorous levels shoot up,” Chonchol said.

However, the researchers found that FGF-23 levels actually increase long before phosphorous levels jump. Being able to identify problematic conditions earlier will allow doctors to intervene with drugs that can lower phosphorous and in turn lower the levels of the hormone.

“This has provided us a critical marker to look for,” Chonchol said, “A marker that could save lives.”

Kidney disease affects 20 million Americans and is a growing problem due to obesity and diabetes.

“The best ways to prevent kidney disease is through blood pressure control, diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight,” Chonchol said.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

While the legal blood-alcohol limit may be 0.08 percent, no amount of alcohol in a person’s system seems to be safe for driving, according to a new study.

University of California, San Diego researchers found that blood-alcohol levels far below the legal limit were associated with increased risk of injury and death while driving.

The researchers compiled data from nearly 1.5 million fatal car accidents in the United States that occurred from 1994 to 2008.  The results indicated that accidents were 36.6 percent more severe even when alcohol was barely detectable in a driver’s blood.

Even with a BAC of 0.01, there were 4.33 serious injuries for every non-serious injury compared to 3.17 serious injuries for sober drivers.

“Compared with sober drivers, buzzed drivers are more likely to speed, more likely to be improperly seat-belted and more likely to drive the striking vehicle, all of which are associated with greater severity,” explained David Phillips, lead researcher and UC San Diego sociologist.

Furthermore, there was a strong “dose-response” relationship, the researchers said.  The greater the BAC, the greater the average speed of the driver and the greater the severity of the accident.

The findings persist even when taking into account other factors, such as inattention, fatigue and time of day/year.

“We hope that our study might influence not only U.S. legislators, but also foreign legislators, in providing empirical evidence for lowering the legal BAC even more,” Phillips said. “Doing so is very likely to reduce incapacitating injuries and to save lives.”

The study was published in the journal Addiction.

Scientists may be close to discovering developing a blood test to identify lung cancer in its early stages, which would save thousands of lives each year.

Professor Jachim Shultze, M.D., and his team have identified over 480 molecules in the blood which show specific patterns of change when a person develops lung cancer.  The molecules are nucleic acids that form in the body due to certain genes.

The changes in the blood occurs even when the tumor is still in a very early stage.  There are four different stages of lung cancer, and the later stages – stages 3 and 4 – have an extremely high mortality rate.

“The prognosis for patients in stage 3 and 4 is still very poor even today; even with the most modern therapies, the point of death can only be postponed,” said Dr. Shultze in a press release.

While lung cancer in stage 1 can be treated surgically and even be cured in many cases, only about 15 percent of cases are caught that early.  Because the cancer typically goes undetected for so long, over 80 percent of all lung cancer patients die within two years of diagnosis.

The researchers hope their blood tests may someday become part of routine practice.  The method is simple: The doctor takes a blood sample from the patient and within 24 hours knows with a high degress of certainty whether the patient has lung cancer or not, even if no symptoms are present.

Dr. Shultze and his team developed the test by investigating the blood of over 200 smokers.  Half had lung cancer, and the rest were either entirely healthy or had another lung disease.

“It was important to us that a subsequent test not only be able to differentiate lung cancer patients from healthy subjects, but also from persons with chronic lung diseases,” said Shultze.

The researchers then examined the patients’ blood samples for certain nucleic acids and in doing so, a pattern emerged.

The researchers are now planning a much larger study with ten times as many patients, in order to confirm the results.  If the study is successful, a blood test for lung cancer may soon hit the market.

According to a new study, children who see flashing lights during a migraine may be twice as likely to have a hole-in-the-heart, the BBC News reported.

US doctors examined 109 children over six who suffered from migraines.  About half of those with migraines accompanied by a visual disturbance called an aura had the heart defect.

This is nearly double the rate seen in a normal populations.

The medical term for hole-in-the-heart is called patent foramen ovale or PFO.  It is a flap or valve-like opening in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart.

When there is pressure inside the chest, such as that caused by coughing, the flap can open and allow blood to flow through in either direction, bypassing the body’s filtering system.  If there is debris present in the blood it can pass through the left atrium of the heart and lodge in the brain, causing a strock.

Previous studies have found a link in adults with migraines accompanied by aura and PFO.

Around one in 10 patients experience aura with their migraines.  Symptoms include seeing flashing or flickering lights, numbness, tingling sensations and slurred speech.

The study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Click here to read more from the BBC News.

I am nearly 67 years old.  In the last 5-6 months I’ve noticed that my sperm has blood (it’s red) in it.   However, it is not thin like blood but has the consistency of sperm.  Can you please tell me if this is normal or should I see my doctor? – Rich

Rich, this is certainly not a normal finding.  Having blood-stained semen could be an indication of a prostate problem.  I encourage you immediately to see an urologist so that proper work-up can be done.  You may want to check out our section in Healthy Living for more information about prostate health.

Scientists have successfully mapped the genome of the highly aggressive blood cancer multiple myeloma, US News and World Report reported.

The scientist say this achievement will improve understanding of what causes the disease and may lead to new treatments for it.

“For the first time, we are able to see on a molecular basis what might be causing this malignancy,” said Dr. David Siegel, chief of the multiple myeloma division at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.  “We already know what causes many types of cancer, but until now, we had few clues to the causes of myeloma.”

Siegel and colleagues from 20 other research institutions examined genomes of tumor and normal blood cells in 38 people suffering from multiple myeloma and used the data to form a comprehesive molecular picture of myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer formed by malignant plasma cells.  It normally develops in the bone, though it also occassionally can be found in tissues.  People who have the disease often suffer from anemia and weakened bones.

The five year survival rate for mutiple myeloma is about 35 percent.  About 20,000 new cases are diagnosed every year in the U.S.

The scientists’ findings have been published in the journal Nature.

Click here to read more from US News and World Report.