The benefits of vitamin D supplementation for postmenopausal women have been widely debated. But a new study from Sao Paulo, Brazil, now documents that vitamin D supplementation can significantly increase muscle strength and reduce the loss of body muscle mass in women as late as 12+ years after menopause. The study results will be presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), which begins September 30 in Las Vegas.

Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem in postmenopausal women worldwide, creating muscle weakness and a greater tendency for falling. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted over a nine-month period. Muscle mass was estimated by total-body DXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), as well as by handgrip strength and through a chair-rising test.

At the end of the trial, the women receiving the supplements demonstrated a significant increase (+25.3%) in muscle strength, while those receiving the placebo actually lost an average of 6.8% of muscle mass. Women not receiving Vitamin D supplements were also nearly two times as likely to fall.

“We concluded that the supplementation of Vitamin D alone provided significant protection against the occurrence of sarcopenia, which is a degenerative loss of skeletal muscle, says Dr. L.M. Cangussu, one of the lead authors of the study from the Botucatu Medical School at Sao Paulo State University.

“While this study is unlikely to decide the debate over Vitamin D, it provides further evidence to support the use of vitamin D supplements by postmenopausal women in an effort to reduce frailty and an increased risk of falling,” says NAMS Executive Director Wulf H. Utian, MD, PhD, DSc(Med).

Article Source: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/vitamin-d3-supplementation-helps-women-build-muscle-avoid-falls-even-after-menopause/menopause/

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I contribute biweekly to Science-Based Medicine and could easily devote every post to writing about weight loss supplements, and never run out of topics. As soon as one quick fix falls out of favour, another inevitably replaces it. Some wax and wane in popularity. And pharmacies don’t help the situation. I cringe every time I walk down the aisle where weight loss products and kits are located. Detox? Hoodia? The “fat blaster”? Here are pharmacists, well educated and perfectly positioned to provide good advice to consumers, but standing behind a wall of boxes with ridiculous weight loss promises. Yet pharmacists tell me that these products are not only sought out by customers, but they actually sell well. It’s a lost opportunity to provide good advice, and consumers pay the price.

Perhaps because consumers associate these products with pharmacies, I get regular questions about weight loss programs. I end up developing some degree of familiarity with many of them, if only to be able to credibly redirect away from some of the more harmful plans and approaches. It’s that philosophy that I used recently when I was asked about how to best to manage a “plateau” on the HCG diet. I’d never dispensed human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) before, but knew of its use for the treatment of infertility, where it promotes egg release. But weight loss? I couldn’t think of a mechanism for how HCG could promote weight loss. So I did some digging, and found a long, rich vein of pseudoscience that dates back decades.

HCG is a hormone secreted by the placenta during pregnancy. Its use as a weight loss adjunct has roots that date back to the 1950s, when Italian physican ATW Simeons announced [PDF] case studies of weight loss in patients given HCG injection and placed on very low calorie diets — about 500 kcal/day. Simeons’ data failed to be replicated in later studies, and interest seemed to deservedly fade. The diet leapt back into consciousness when telemarketer and convicted felon Kevin Trudeau started promoting the diet again in 2007, claiming the TRUTH had been suppressed by the American Medical Association and the FDA. Since then, HCG (also called the Simeons method) has been on a bit of tear, and it’s currently enjoying a resurgence of popularity.

The Evidence

With HCG, we’re not facing a situation of unproven efficacy. Rather, there’s good evidence to demonstrate that it does not have any meaningful effect. Multiple studies and meta-analyses have evaluated the HCG diet and found no evidence that HCG injections offer any incremental benefit. The studies date go way back to the 1970s [PDF], and their conclusions are consistent and persuasive: The weight loss effect on the HCG diet is due to the dramatic calorie reduction, and the HCG has no measurable effect on weight loss. Not surprisingly, there are no medical associations that I could find that endorse the use of HCG for weight loss. The American Society of Bariatric Physicians warns,

Numerous clinical trials have shown HCG to be ineffectual in producing weight loss. HCG injections can induce a slight increase in muscle mass in androgen-deficient males. The diet used in the Simeons method provides a lower protein intake than is advisable in view of current knowledge and practice. There are few medical literature reports favorable to the Simeons method; the overwhelming majority of medical reports are critical of it. Physicians employing either the HCG or the diet recommended by Simeons may expose themselves to criticism from other physicians, from insurers, or from government bodies.

So does the HCG Diet Work?

Any weight loss from the HCG diet is actually due to the dramatic calorie restriction required as part of the diet plans — in some cases, as low as 500 calories per day. This near-starvation diet is dramatically below appropriate levels for weight loss or maintenance, and escalates the risk of malnutrition if prolonged. Even if it wasn’t immediately harmful, a 500kcal diet is simply unsustainable. Weight maintenance is the real challenge with obesity.

HCG injections are not innocuous. It may be teratogenic (cause birth defects) in pregnant women. Reported side effects include headache, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, ovarian overstimulation, ascites, and edema.

Regulatory status

The FDA has long maintained that HCG is ineffective for weight loss and in the 1970’s mandated this warning with all HCG diet advertisements:

HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.

What’s appeared over the past several years have been non-prescription (i.e., over-the-counter) HCG products, including “homeopathic” HCG which if you follow the absurd principles of homeopathy, should cause weight gain, not loss. Moreover, HCG is a protein that would be digested if consumed orally. But scientific cogency isn’t a necessary component of a good sales pitch, and you’ll see homeopathic versions sold widely. The FDA noted this and took action this past December, when it began to pull all unapproved HCG products completely off the market. This has put the supplement industry into the positon of creating “HCG-free” versions of their products become infused with “radionics” where the HCG “energy” is transferred to vitamins or amino acids. The FDA emphasizes in its warnings that all non-prescription versions of HCG are fraudulent and ineffective, as non-prescription HCG does not exist. Even “homeopathic” HCG is prohibited:

“Deceptive advertising about weight loss products is one of the most prevalent types of fraud,” said David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Any advertiser who makes health claims about a product is required by federal law to back them up with competent and reliable scientific evidence, so consumers have the accurate information they need to make good decisions.”

The FDA even notes that the infamous Quack Miranda warning is insufficient warning to consumers, when it comes to HCG:

We recognize that a number of pages on your website contain a disclaimer stating that the products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. However, notwithstanding this disclaimer, the claims made on your website for “HCG Fusion 30” and “HCG Fusion 43” clearly demonstrate that these products are drugs as defined by section 201(g)(1) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(g)(1)], because they are intended to affect the structure or any function of the body.

The Alternative Universe

The lack of evidence for HCG, and the explicit FDA warnings haven’t stopped a thriving business model among those that promote alternatives to science-based medicine. In the United States, for example, a naturopath has formed the “HCG Diet Council” and is collecting anecdotes from providers and users as part of their “standardized research program” of both HCG and homeopathic HCG. “Does the FDA Want to Keep America Fat?” the council asks. In Canada, naturopaths at the Northern Centre for Integrative Medicine thumb their nose at the evidence, and Health Canada’s warning:

HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin) is authorized in Canada only for treatment of women with infertility, and only in an injectable form. There is no scientific evidence that the use of HCG either by mouth (as drops under the tongue, as advertised on the Internet) or as a self-administered injection, could promote weight loss.

NCIM honors the intent of Health Canada’s statement, which is protective in nature. Health Canada’s statement does not address the more substantive issue, which is the significant risk of not taking action to reduce your weight and risking future illness. The NCIM HCG Rx+ weight loss intervention cannot make any guarantees, it nevertheless provides a time-tested approach to weight loss that is physician supervised and individually monitored for safety and effectiveness.

And NCIM doesn’t honour the intent of the statement at all. It notes that the prescription it provides for HCG injections may be covered by private drug insurance.

And a post on HCG can’t neglect it’s biggest television promoter after Kevin Trudeau: Dr. Oz, who having recommended against the HCG diet, turned around and subsequently promoted it on his show, prompting obesity specialist Dr. Yoni Freedhoff to ask “Dr. Oz — so corrupted by fame he even sells himself out?“

Conclusion

There’s no persuasive evidence that HCG injections has any meaningful effects on weight loss. And “homeopathic” HCG is quite literally, nothing. If the HCG diet shows one thing at all, it’s the tenacity of an idea once it’s been planted. Despite warnings by researchers, health professionals, and regulators since at least 1976 about the lack of evidence for HCG as a weight loss adjunct, it continues to attract attention and new users, now promoted by naturopaths and television personalities that are indifferent to the evidence. It’s gratifying to see a regulator (the FDA in this case) take off the gloves with supplement vendors and other purveyors of HCG pseudoscience. When it comes to weight loss there are no quick fixes.

Written By: Scott Gavura

Article Source: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-hcg-diet-yet-another-ineffective-quick-fix-diet-plan-and-supplement/

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Exercise may delay age-related elevated cholesterol, among men.

A measure of the ability of the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to the skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may be achieved by plentiful aerobic exercise. Yong-Moon Mark Park, from the University of South Carolina (South Carolina, USA), and colleagues analyzed data collected on 11,418 men enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, ages 20 to 90 years, without known high cholesterol, high triglycerides, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at the study’s and during follow-up averaging 36 years. The researchers conducted blood tests to ascertain cholesterol levels, and administered treadmill tests to measure cardiorespiratory fitness. The team observed that the better men did on the fitness tests, the more likely they were to have lower total cholesterol, lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, “bad” cholesterol), and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, “good” cholesterol). Men with higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels had better cholesterol profiles than less fit men from their early 20s until at least their early 60s, though the difference diminished with older age. As well, men with lower fitness levels reached abnormal cholesterol levels before age 40. The study authors write that: “Our investigation reveals a differential trajectory of lipids and lipoproteins with aging according to [cardiorespiratory fitness] in healthy men and suggests that promoting increased [cardiorespiratory fitness] levels may help delay the development of dyslipidemia.”

Article Source: http://www.worldhealth.net/news/fitness-helps-improves-lipid-profile/

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A breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and can spread to other areas of the body. To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer?

Until puberty (on average around age 9 or 10), young boys and girls have a small amount of breast tissue consisting of a few ducts located under the nipple and areola (area around the nipple). At puberty, a girl’s ovaries make female hormones, causing breast ducts to grow, lobules to form at the ends of ducts, and the amount of stroma to increase. Even after puberty, men and boys normally have low levels of female hormones, and breast tissue doesn’t grow much. Men’s breast tissue has ducts, but only a few if any lobules.

Like all cells of the body, a man’s breast duct cells can undergo cancerous changes. But breast cancer is less common in men because their breast duct cells are less developed than those of women and because they normally have lower levels of female hormones that affect the growth of breast cells.

The lymph (lymphatic) system of the breast

The lymph system is important to understand because it is one of the ways that breast cancers can spread. This system has several parts.

Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped collections of immune system cells (cells that are important in fighting infections) that are connected by lymphatic vessels. Lymphatic vessels are like small veins, except that they carry a clear fluid called lymph (instead of blood) away from the breast. Lymph contains tissue fluid and waste products, as well as immune system cells. Breast cancer cells can enter lymphatic vessels and begin to grow in lymph nodes.

Most lymphatic vessels in the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm (axillarynodes). Some lymphatic vessels connect to lymph nodes under the breast bone (internal mammary nodes) and either above or below the collarbone (supraclavicular or infraclavicular nodes).

If the cancer cells have spread to these lymph nodes, there is a higher chance that the cells could have also gotten into the bloodstream and spread (metastasized) to other sites in the body. The more lymph nodes with breast cancer cells, the more likely it is that the cancer may be found in other organs as well. Because of this, finding cancer in one or more lymph nodes often affects the treatment plan. Still, not all men with cancer cells in their lymph nodes develop metastases to other areas, and some men can have no cancer cells in their lymph nodes and later develop metastases.

Benign breast conditions

Men can also have some benign (not cancerous) breast disorders.

Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia is the most common male breast disorder. It is not a tumor but rather an increase in the amount of a man’s breast tissue. Usually, men have too little breast tissue to be felt or noticed. Gynecomastia can appear as a button-like or disk-like growth under the nipple and areola (the dark circle around the nipple), which can be felt and sometimes seen. Some men have more severe gynecomastia and they may appear to have small breasts. Although gynecomastia is much more common than breast cancer in men, both can be felt as a growth under the nipple, which is why it’s important to have any such lumps checked by your doctor.

Gynecomastia is common among teenage boys because the balance of hormones in the body changes during adolescence. It is also common in older men due to changes in their hormone balance.

In rare cases, gynecomastia occurs because tumors or diseases of certain endocrine (hormone-producing) glands cause a man’s body to make more estrogen (the main female hormone). Men’s glands normally make some estrogen, but not enough to cause breast growth. Diseases of the liver, which is an important organ in male and female hormone metabolism, can change a man’s hormone balance and lead to gynecomastia. Obesity (being extremely overweight) can also cause higher levels of estrogens in men.

Some medicines can cause gynecomastia. These include some drugs used to treat ulcers and heartburn, high blood pressure, heart failure, and psychiatric conditions. Men with gynecomastia should ask their doctors if any medicines they are taking might be causing this condition.

Klinefelter syndrome, a rare genetic condition, can lead to gynecomastia as well as increase a man’s risk of developing breast cancer. This condition is discussed further in the section “What are the risk factors for breast cancer in men?”

Benign breast tumors

There are many types of benign breast tumors (abnormal lumps or masses of tissue), such as papillomas and fibroadenomas. Benign tumors do not spread outside the breast and are not life threatening. Benign breast tumors are common in women but are very rare in men.

General breast cancer terms

Here are some of the key words used to describe breast cancer.

Carcinoma

This term describes a cancer that begins in the lining layer (epithelial cells) of organs such as the breast. Nearly all breast cancers are carcinomas (either ductal carcinomas or lobular carcinomas).

Adenocarcinoma

An adenocarcinoma is a type of carcinoma that starts in glandular tissue (tissue that makes and secretes a substance). The ducts and lobules of the breast are glandular tissue (they make breast milk in women), so cancers starting in these areas are sometimes called adenocarcinomas.

Carcinoma in situ

This is an early stage of cancer, when it is confined to the layer of cells where it began. In breast cancer, in situ means that the abnormal cells remain confined to ducts (ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS). These cells have not grown into (invaded) deeper tissues in the breast or spread to other organs in the body. Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast is sometimes referred to as non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer because it might develop into an invasive breast cancer if left untreated.

When cancer cells are confined to the lobules it is called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). This is not actually a true pre-invasive cancer because it does not turn into an invasive cancer if left untreated. It is linked to an increased risk of invasive cancer in both breasts. LCIS is rarely, if ever seen in men.

Invasive (or infiltrating) carcinoma

An invasive cancer is one that has already grown beyond the layer of cells where it started (as opposed to carcinoma in situ). Most breast cancers are invasive carcinomas, either invasive ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma.

Sarcoma

Sarcomas are cancers that start in connective tissues such as muscle tissue, fat tissue, or blood vessels. Sarcomas of the breast are rare.

Types of breast cancer in men

Breast cancer can be separated into several types based on the way the cancer cells look under the microscope. In some cases a single breast tumor can be a combination of these types or be a mixture of invasive and in situ cancer. And in some rarer types of breast cancer, the cancer cells may not form a tumor at all.

Breast cancer can also be classified based on proteins on or in the cancer cells, into groups like hormone receptor-positive and triple-negative. These are discussed in the section “How is breast cancer in men classified?”

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS; also known as intraductal carcinoma ) is considered non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer. In DCIS (also known as intraductal carcinoma ), cells that lined the ducts have changed to look like cancer cells. The difference between DCIS and invasive cancer is that the cells have not spread ( invaded ) through the walls of the ducts into the surrounding tissue of the breast (or spread outside the breast). DCIS is considered a pre-cancer because some cases can go on to become invasive cancers. Right now, though, there is no good way to know for certain which cases will go on to become invasive cancers and which ones won’t. DCIS accounts for about 1 in 10 cases of breast cancer in men. It is almost always curable with surgery.

Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC)

Invasive (or infiltrating) ductal carcinoma (IDC) starts in a milk duct of the breast, breaks through the wall of the duct, and grows into the fatty tissue of the breast. At this point, it may be able to spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and bloodstream. At least 8 out of 10 male breast cancers are IDCs (alone or mixed with other types of invasive or in situ breast cancer). Because the male breast is much smaller than the female breast, all male breast cancers start relatively close to the nipple, so they are more likely to spread to the nipple. This is different from Paget disease as described below.

Infiltrating (or invasive) lobular carcinoma (ILC)

This type of breast cancer starts in the breast lobules (collections of cells that, in women, produce breast milk) and grows into the fatty tissue of the breast. ILC is very rare in men, accounting for only about 2% of male breast cancers. This is because men do not usually have much lobular tissue.

Paget disease of the nipple

This type of breast cancer starts in the breast ducts and spreads to the nipple. It may also spread to the areola (the dark circle around the nipple). The skin of the nipple usually appears crusted, scaly, and red, with areas of itching, oozing, burning, or bleeding. There may also be an underlying lump in the breast.

Paget disease may be associated with DCIS or with infiltrating ductal carcinoma. It accounts for about 1% of female breast cancers and a higher percentage of male breast cancers.

Inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer is an aggressive, but rare type of breast cancer. It makes the breast swollen, red, warm and tender rather than forming a lump. It can be mistaken for an infection of the breast. This is very rare in men. This cancer is discussed in detail in our document Inflammatory Breast Cancer .

Article Source: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancerinmen/detailedguide/breast-cancer-in-men-what-is-breast-cancer-in-men

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