Source: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/brain-1.jpg

News related to obesity has recently been splattered all over the news, even more than usual in my opinion.  The latest headline is that obese or overweight patients had significantly less brain matter than those whose weights were considered normal.  The research article, "Brain Structure and Obesity," resulted from a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and was published online this month in the scientific journal Human Brain Mapping.  The senior author on the publication was quoted in the U. S. News & World Report as saying, "The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts while [those of] overweight people looked 8 years older."

An important thing to note about the research article is that their test subjects were an average age of 77 years old; therefore, these specific results are only applicable to the elderly population.  I looked through the research article itself and was happy to see that the genders were fairly represented in the test groups, with women comprising approximately 50% of the patients tested in normal, overweight, and obese groups.  As presented in the paper, authors did not find any striking differences correlated to gender; their results were equally applicable to both men and women.  It was acknowledged that there is some controversy among scientists regarding the association between brain volume and gender, and the authors cited additional published studies from other laboratories.  It was noted in their conclusion that gender effects are an important variable to pay attention to in future studies.  You can access a summary of the research article here.

Obesity is a sensitive issue for everyone, but a 2006 study suggested that it may affect the quality of life of women more than men.  A team led by Dr. Peter Muennig of Columbia University looked at existing data from a 2000 survey on health and quality of life.  More than 13,000 adults participated in this survey administered by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Dr. Muennig and colleagues also incorporated data from 1990-1995 on death rates in the U. S. into their study.  They concluded that health-related drops in quality of life scores were four times higher for overweight women than overweight men, and more than two times higher for obese women than obese men.  More strikingly, the authors found that there were about twice as many deaths among overweight and obese women than for men (when compared to their normal-weight counterparts) for the time represented in their study.  WebMD has a nice summary of the article here (including its caveats), or you can access the full article for free through PubMed Central.

You can help further these studies by participating in ventures such as the Illinois Women's Health Registry, or similar surveys administered in your state (or country, etc.)!  What do you think about these studies and their results?   Has obesity affected you or your loved ones in any way?

Currently 4% of women enrolled in the Illinois Womens Health Registry suffer from this skin condition that causes itchy or sore red patches of skin with silvery scales.

http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/psoriasis.htm

Psoriasis occurs when the normal life cycle of skin cells is accelerated by the immune system, causing buildup of dead skin cells, which form the thick, silvery scale-like appearance.  There are several types of psoriasis, the most common of which include Plaque Psoriasis, causing the red, scaly lesions; Scalp Psoriasis; Nail Psoriasis, causing abnormal nail growth; and Psoriatic Arthritis, causing stiffness and progressive joint damage.  For many people, psoriasis is just a nuisance, however patients usually seek medical advice if their psoriasis causes discomfort and pain, interferes with daily tasks, or causes concern about the appearance of skin.  There is no cure for psoriasis, but many treatments exist to interrupt the overproduction of skin cells and to provide significant relief.

Resources at Northwestern for Psoriasis:

Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Department of Dermatology offers state-of-the-art treatment options for dermatology conditions such as psoriasis.  The department also provides cosmetic treatments to patients with various dermatological symptoms.  Treatment options include laser surgery, microdermabrasion, camouflage makeup, skin peels and phototherapy (PUVA).

http://www.nmh.org/nmh/specialtiesandservices/medicalspecialties/dermatology/main.htm

The Department of Dermatology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine runs a Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic on Tuesday mornings.  The clinic is headed by Prashant Singri, MD from dermatology and by Eric Ruderman, MD from Rheumatology.  The clinic is ideal for patients with both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the clinic at 312-695-8106.

Northwestern Physicians/Researchers Specializing in Psoriasis Treatment:
The Department of Dermatology at Feinberg School of Medicine has active areas of laboratory and clinical outcomes research.  Nearly all of the clinical faculty in the department serve as principle investigators in clinical trials.  Dr. Amy Paller, Chair of the Northwestern Department of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics conducts laboratory research related to Psoriasis and other hyper-proliferative skin disorders.  Also conducting research involving psoriasis is Dr. Prashant Singri, head of the Psoriasis clinic.

IWHR Highlighted Researcher
Dr. Anne Laumann, MBChB, MRCP (UK), FAAD is an Associate Professor of Dermatology in the Feinberg School of Medicine.  She is an active member of many dermatology organizations including the American Academy of Dermatology, the Society of Investigative Dermatology, the Scleroderma Foundation, the Vitiligo Foundation, and the Psoriasis Foundation.  Dr. Laumann is the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials related to Raynaud’s phenomenon, psoriasis, and itching. Currently she is conducting clinical trials to evaluate the use of different medications for the treatment of active secondary Raynaud’s disease. She is the local principal investigator in a study studying the outcome and safety of the use of infliximab and golimumab in patients with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.  This study is a multicenter, prospective, 8-year surveillance study involving patients on biologics.

Useful Links and Resources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/psoriasis.html
http://www.psoriasis.org/

Source: http://www.colourlovers.com/uploads/2007/08/pink_cancer_ribbon.jpg

CNN has posted a very interesting article about blind women in Germany who are being trained to perform breast examinations.  The program, called "Discovering Hands," is based on the theory that the blind have a keener, more sensitive sense of touch and may be able to detect small lumps that may have otherwise been overlooked.

There is some debate about the utility of breast self-examinations.  A 2001 study published by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care argued that self exams do not benefit but rather cause harm to patients.  They associated self exams with a higher incidence of physician's visits and unnecessary biopsies.  (You can access a summary of the article for free here.)

Based on my personal experience, I am an advocate of self exams.  One of my family members discovered a small lump while doing a self exam at home, which indeed turned out to be a tumor.  Luckily, it had not spread and required a lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation to remove.  In our case, there was a family history of breast cancer and my relative was vigilant about doing self exams.  Since lumpiness of the breasts varies from woman to woman and depends on the time of the month, I can see how self exams can also be confounding and unreliable.  What are your opinions on breast self-examinations?

For more information on breast self-examination:

• A guide from the American Cancer Society
• A guide from the Susan G. Komen Foundation

OSA students learning laparoscopic techniques

A priority of the Institute for Women’s Health Research is to develop and deliver educational experiences focused on women’s health for students and professionals at all levels of training and practice.  IWHR has created an innovative educational program call the Women’s Health Science Program for High School Girls and Beyond (WHSP and Beyond).  The purpose of this program is to prepare and inspire a diverse population of high school girls to become the next generation of women leaders in science and medicine.  Despite many efforts over the last three decades to overcome the gender and racial/ethnic disparities the problem still penetrates our society.  Thus, there is a definite need to continue to invest in the exploration and development of approaches that will once and for all change the face of the science and medical community to include more women and minorities.

WHSP and Beyond consists of four academies – Oncofertility Saturday Academy, Cardiology Summer Academy, Infectious Disease Summer Academy, and the Physical Science Summer Academy.  The notion is to provide multiple opportunities for high school students to explore the basic science research, clinical application and career options of a variety of science disciplines.  The academies offered in WHSP and Beyond share four common overarching goals –
➢    To actively engage high school girls in hands-on laboratory and clinical activities, college level lectures and group projects to learn and apply science concepts and inquiry skills.
➢    To empower high school girls by providing relevant and applicable learning experiences on women’s health topics that they can use to make informed, authoritative decisions about their own personal health and share with their families and communities.
➢    To provide high school girls with exposure and the opportunity to explore the wide variety of academic programs and career options in science and medicine.
➢    To support high school girls during the transition from high school into college with an on-going mentoring network of scientists, clinicians, teachers, alumni and family.

To date there have been 47 high school students who have participated in the Oncofertility Saturday Academy and 14 high school students who have participated in the Cardiology Summer Academy.  The plan is to initiate the other two academies during the summer of 2010.

If we project out to 2020, approximately 650 students will have participated in WHSP and Beyond and the girls from the first cohort of 2007 will be 30 year-old women.  How many of the WHSP and Beyond participants will be on track or have reached their goal of becoming scientists, doctors, or engineers? Does WHSP and Beyond have the potential to change the face of the science community?