Fruit Juice for Aging Skin:

Ever since Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) have been found to reduce tiny facial lines and fade age spots on the skin, beauty products worldwide are including them in skin creams in the highest concentration the FDA will allow. AHA is made from the juices of citric acid fruits. Higher and more effective dosages are used by Dermatologists and other medical professionals for out-patient skin treatments. AHA reverses sun damage and imparts a more youthful glow to the skin but it cannot get rid of deep lines or sags.

Prostate Cancer: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment:

All men should have an annual digital rectal exam beginning around age 40. Another screening technique is a ‘prostate-specific antigen’ blood test which checks for a
special chemical associated with prostate cancer. The test costs about $35 and should be done annually. The newest treatment for prostate cancer and an alternative to surgery, cryosurgery or radiation beams is the implantation of tiny radioactive seeds into the prostate.

Lycopene, a nutrient contained in tomatoes and tomato products such as tomato sauce, tomato paste and ketchup, is an effective prostate cancer deterrent. Studies show that men who eat these foods have less risk of prostate cancer.
Also, studies show that lycopene fights cancer in men who already have the disease. Prostate tumors are smaller and less aggressive in men who are given lycopene.

Teeth Bleaching: Easier than You Think

Safe ways to whiten the teeth are now available in most dentists’ offices. We hear from Dr. Donald Carmona, DDS, past President of Florida Dental Society, that it usually requires just one initial visit to check teeth discoloration and make molds of the teeth and one follow-up visit in about four to six weeks. During that time, the patient applies the whitening paste to the plastic mold that fits around the teeth and keeps it in for 30 minutes each morning and each evening. It’s painless and easy. Yellowed teeth get better results than teeth stained by medication. Costs vary but range between $500 and $1500.

Cheek Implants

Dubbed the “face lift of the 90’s,” cheek implants have caught on and undoubtedly are here to stay right on through the new millennium. Said to restore the youthful lift to the face, the procedure is a favorite of patients but not necessarily of plastic surgeons. Because the surgeon goes in through the mouth in order to place the implants properly, the risk of infection is higher. The mouth houses more bacteria than almost any other part of the body. Another potential complication is post-surgical movement of the implants causing a lop-sided look.

Laser Surgery for Distance Vision

Laser surgery to correct nearsightedness is the latest high tech eye surgery. It has evolved into Lasik, an incisional surgery in the cornea done by a micro-keratone cutter that lifts up an ultra-thin flap of cornea. The laser is then applied to the intact eye beneath the lifted corneal flap. Nearsighted people are treated with Lasik as an office procedure that takes about 10 minutes. Recovery of vision is instantaneous. Possible side effects: two out of a hundred patients may develop minor complications such as inflammation or infection. This procedure replaces the old laser treatment applied to the front surface of the cornea, a sometimes-painful procedure requiring more time to recuperate. The cost for Lasik, the most advanced surgery to correct distance vision, ranges from $1,500 to $4,000. Insurance does not cover it. Due to hormonal changes lasik is not recommended for pregnant women or women who are planning to get pregnant.

Pills That Zap Fat:

Last Spring, the FDA approved the use of Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, for weight-loss management. The 120-mg. capsule works by blocking the body’s absorption of dietary fats. For example, if you down a bag of greasy potato chips followed by an Orlistat pill, the body will absorb only some of the fat that it normally would, therefore saving calories and fat. If you take the pill within an hour after eating a fatty meal, you are going to prevent the body from packing on the pounds.

At first, this sounded like the magic pill for which we’d all been waiting. Wow! Eat what you want but gulp down three pills a day and don’t gain a pound. What a way to lose those unwanted 10 or 20 pounds, especially now in the New Millennium.

Then we discovered the real truth. While this pill is definitely a breakthrough in the weight-loss field, it is recommended for morbidly obese people. It can be obtained only by prescription. Doctors prescribe it primarily for people who have health problems related to their obesity and cannot function normally. For instance, a 300-pound man who can’t walk up a set of steps without getting winded; a 250-pound woman who cannot reach down to tie her shoes or hug her child; a person whose high-blood pressure cannot be controlled by other medication and those with family histories of heart disease and stroke who cannot otherwise lose weight.

Maybe you could talk your doctor into it for losing those 20 or 30 pounds if your health-related reasons are justified. You still must exercise and follow a low-fat, low calorie diet while taking the medication. The possible side effects are: diarrhea, oily bowel movements, gas, discharge, urgency and increased number of bowel movements. Orlistat is not recommended for people with food-absorption problems, diabetes or for pregnant or lactating women and for use with certain other medications.

Leukemia Drug Creates Optimism as Treatment

forMultiple Sclerosis

The drug known as Alemtuzumab, the first monoclonal antibody made for use in humans, may offer new hope in treating early Multiple Sclerosis (MS), even though it was developed and approved for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Alemtuzumab works by seeking out and destroying certain immune cells that, when functioning normally, protect against infection. Since is believed that MS as well as other autoimmune diseases damage these cells, the result is the destruction of healthy tissue.

Initially, Cambridge University scientists tried treating patients suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis with Alemtuzumab, but they had little success. However, patients suffering from early relapsing-remitting MS who were treated with Alemtuzumab experienced significantly fewer relapses as well as a reduced the number of episodes of fatigue and physical impairments that indicate progression of the disease when compared with those patients treated with the currently approved treatment known as interferon beta-1a.

Surprisingly, three years after entry into the study, some patients who received the experimental drug suffered from less disabilities associated with MS than they were experiencing prior to the beginning of the study. This finding offers hope that the treatment may play a role in stopping the progression of the disease and preventing victims from ever reaching its crippling late stages. According to study co-author Alasdair Coles, Ph.D., “The ability of an MS drug to promote brain repair is unprecedented.” He went on to explain, “We are witnessing a drug which, if given early enough, might effectively stop the advancement of the disease and also restore lost function by promoting repair of the damaged brain tissue.”

The success of Alemtuzumab in fighting against MS does not come with out risks. Almost one in four of the patients treated with Alemtuzumab developed thyroid complications, and the disabilities of some patients worsened. In addition, 3 percent of the patients treated with the drug developed a potentially life-threatening autoimmune condition, resulting in the loss of one of the patient’s lives.

According to Genzyme Medical Director Susan Moran, M.D., the patient who passed away during the study died from an autoimmune-mediated blood condition known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Moran said the death could have been avoided if the condition had been recognized as an adverse effect of the treatment. She stated, “Unfortunately, the patient had symptoms of ITP but did not seek medical attention prior to diagnosis because this was not recognized as an adverse event.” The five additional cases were identified and managed with treatment due to close monitoring of study patients once the risk was known.

Coles said that Phase III trials will soon begin and will determine if the benefits of Alemtuzumab outweigh the risks for MS patients. Eighty-five percent of people who are first diagnosed with MS suffer from relapsing-remitting MS according to the National MS Society. Coles noted, “The Phase II results are very exciting, but this is not ready for routine use.” He also acknowledged, “We need to know more about the long-term effectiveness and adverse effects. That is our challenge over the next few years.”

MS has no cure and affects about 400,000 people in the United States as well as almost 100,000 in Britain and millions around the world. The disease is caused by the body’s immune system attacking nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Few effective treatments exist for MS. Symptoms of the disease may include depression, fatigue, cognitive problems and loss of sight and mobility.