News Roundup: New and Noteworthy Information
Obesity in adolescence is associated with an increased risk for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study in the November 10 Neurology. Women in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses Health Study II provided information on their weight at age 18, as well as their weight and height at baseline. They then selected silhouettes representing their body at ages 5, 10, and 20. A total of 593 cases of MS were confirmed during 40 years of follow-up in both cohorts. “Obesity at age 18 (BMI >= 30 kg/m2) was associated with a greater than twofold increased risk of MS (multivariate relative risk, pooled = 2.25),” the investigators stated. Large body size at ages 5 or 10 was not associated with risk of MS, but at age 20 it was associated with a 96% increased risk.
The FDA has approved Qutenza (capsaicin) 8% patch, for the management of neuropathic pain due to postherpetic neuralgia that can follow shingles. Qutenza is the first and only product that contains prescription-strength capsaicin. Postherpetic neuralgia pain was reduced for up to 12 weeks following a single one-hour treatment in clinical studies. The drug is locally acting and nonnarcotic, and is unlikely to cause drowsiness or adverse drug-drug interactions. The most common adverse reactions included application site redness, pain, itching, and papules. Qutenza is manufactured by NeurogesX, Inc in San Mateo, California, and will be available in the US in the first half of 2010.
Estrogen replacement therapy is not beneficial to stroke patients who have been without estrogen for a long period, researchers reported in the November 4Journal of Neuroscience. Investigators sought to elucidate the mechanisms of 17 β -estradiol (E2) antioxidant and neuroprotective actions in stroke. It appears that estrogen receptors on brain cells diminish significantly when estrogen therapy is delayed, along with typical neuroprotection effects. “As a whole, the study reveals a novel, membrane-mediated antioxidant mechanism in neurons by E2 provides support and mechanistic insights for a ‘critical period’ of E2 replacement in the hippocampus and demonstrates a heretofore unknown hypersensitivity of the CA3/CA4 to ischemic injury after prolonged hypoestrogenicity,” the researchers concluded.
Moderate to heavy physical activity is protective against the risk of isch emic stroke in men, independent of other risk factors, investigators reported in the November 24 Neurology. In the Northern Manhattan Study, the researchers included a prospective cohort of older, urban-dwelling, multiethnic, stroke-free individuals. In 40.5% of the cohort, physical inactivity was present. Over a median follow-up of 9.1 years, 238 incident ischemic strokes occurred. “Moderate- to heavy-intensity physical activity was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.65). “Engaging in any physical activity versus none (adjusted HR, 1.16), and energy expended in kcal/wk (adjusted HR per 500-unit increase, 1.01) were not associated with ischemic stroke risk,” the authors stated. “There was an interaction of sex with intensity of physical activity, such that moderate to heavy activity was protective against ischemic stroke in men (adjusted HR, 0.37), but not in women (adjusted HR, 0.92).”
—Laura Sassano
