Researchers discover new way to reduce anxiety, stress


Two North American researchers have made a major discovery that will benefit people who have anxiety disorders. Bill Colmers, a professor of pharmacology and researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, collaborated with Janice Urban, an associate professor in the department of physiology and biophysics at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. The duo, who have been researching anxiety for five years, discovered that blocking a process in nerve cells reduces anxiety, meaning a new drug could now be developed to better treat anxiety disorders. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroscience in December’s edition.

Genes and smoking play role in rheumatoid arthritis

Recent genetic studies have revealed several new sites of genes that are risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The strongest association with anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive RA (ACPAs are autoantibodies detected in RA that are used as a major diagnostic tool) has been found for the HLA-DRB1 gene, and this site seems to play a central role in susceptibility to the disease in Caucasian populations. Previous studies have shown a high increase in the risk of ACPA-positive RA associated with smoking in those who have certain variations of the HLA-DRB1 gene. There are several types of such alleles related to a particular amino acid sequence known as shared epitope (SE). ACPAs occur in about 60 percent of RA patients and are closely linked to the presence of SE alleles. In fact, SE alleles are the strongest genetic risk factor for ACPA-positive RA.

Of several environmental factors that predispose people toward developing RA, smoking has been found to be the main risk factor and a strong gene-environment interaction between smoking and SE alleles for ACPA-positive patients has been shown in previous studies in Europe. Results in North America have not been as conclusive, however. A new large population-based study examined the gene-environment interaction between smoking and SE alleles in RA and found that all SE alleles strongly interact with smoking in conferring an increased risk of ACPA-positive RA. The study was published in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism .

Led by Emeli Lundström of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, the study consisted of genetic analysis of 1,319 RA cases and 943 controls in Sweden and included Caucasian smokers and non-smokers. Researchers set out to determine whether all HLA-DRB1 SE alleles demonstrated a similar gene-environment interaction or if the interaction was restricted to a particular DRB1 SE group. A total of 972 cases and 488 controls were SE positive.

"Our data illustrate that regardless of the fine specificity of the SE alleles of DRB1, the interaction between these genetic risk factors and smoking is evident," the authors state.

It's a pain to take care of pain


While many studies have looked at the treatment of chronic pain from the patient's perspective, there has been little research on those who provide care for chronic pain.

In a study in the November 2010 issue of the journal Pain Medicine, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine, the IU School of Liberal Arts and the Roudebush VA Medical Center report that chronic pain takes a toll on primary care providers as well as their patients. They conclude that providers' needs should not be ignored if pain care is to be improved.

Most chronic pain is treated by primary care providers and necessitates frequent interactions with the patient. In this study the researchers surveyed 20 primary care providers (15 physicians, four nurse practitioners and one pharmacist) with varying clinical experience in the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. All 10 men and 10 women were asked open-ended questions designed to elicit their experiences with chronic pain management.

Adrenal fatigue - Support your adrenal glands naturally

Adrenal fatigue - Support your adrenal glands naturally

(NaturalNews) Feeling sluggish and low on energy? Are you tired even though you have just got out of bed? If so, you may have adrenal fatigue - a little known condition that manifests itself through a number of seemingly unrelated symptoms such as persisting fatigue, fuzzy thinking, lack of sex drive, mood disorders and cravings for salt or sugar. While you may look normal with no obvious symptoms of acute disease, your unexplainable low energy levels leave you with little doubt that something has gone wrong. Fortunately, you don't have to suffer needlessly because there is a lot you can do to restore and support youradrenal glandsnaturally.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/030781_adrenal_fatigue_energy.html#ixzz18eL5vvzE

The HLA-DRB1 gene and premature death in rheumatoid arthritis

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory autoimmune disease, tend to die younger and, largely from cardiovascular disease (CVD).  One explanation for this increasingly recognized fact is that inflammation promotes atherosclerosis.  A marker of inflammation, elevation of the C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been shown to predict CVD in the general population.  However, other highly inflammatory diseases—Crohn’s, for example—do not carry the same high risk of premature death from heart disease.

To identify other possible suspects, researchers in the United Kingdom investigated whether genetic variants linked to the likelihood of developing RA might also make patients more likely to die from CVD. Led by Dr. Tracey M. Farragher at the University of Manchester and funded by the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc), the study focused on two genes—HLA-DRB1and PTPN22—and their interactions with known RA risk factors.

The evidence, presented in the February 2008 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, implicates HLA-DRB1 genotypes, already associated with RA susceptibility and severity, as a predictor of premature death from CVD for inflammatory arthritis patients. For RA patients in particular, having the shared epitope (SE)—a group of HLA-DRB1 alleles with kindred amino acid traits—plus anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies and current smoking is an especially deadly combination.

The study focused on 1,022 patients with inflammatory polyarthritis (IP) recruited from a primary-care-based register of adults. The subjects were all white and nearly 65 percent female, with a mean age of 54 at the onset of symptoms. Starting anywhere between 1989 and 1994, data on file for each participant included the results of blood tests for rheumatoid factor (RF), elevation of the C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-CCP antibodies; evaluations of joint pain and functional disability; smoking habits; and, when applicable, the cause and date of death. DNA samples were also available. 751 of the total patients met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA.