Key shift in brain that creates drive to overeat identified

Apr. 29, 2013 ? A team of American and Italian neuroscientists has identified a cellular change in the brain that accompanies obesity. The findings could explain the body's tendency to maintain undesirable weight levels, rather than an ideal weight, and identify possible targets for pharmacological efforts to address obesity.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition this week, identify a switch that occurs in neurons within the hypothalamus. The switch involves receptors that trigger or inhibit the release of the orexin A peptide, which stimulates the appetite, among other behaviors. In normal-weight mice, activation of this receptor decreases orexin A release. In obese mice, activation of this receptor stimulates orexin A release.

"The striking finding is that you have a massive shift of receptors from one set of nerve endings impinging on these neurons to another set," said Ken Mackie, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. "Before, activating this receptor inhibited the secretion of orexin; now it promotes it. This identifies potential targets where an intervention could influence obesity."

The work is part of a longstanding collaboration between Mackie's team at the Gill Center for Biomolecular Science at IU Bloomington and Vincenzo Di Marzo's team at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry in Pozzuoli, Italy. Both teams study the endocannabinoid system, which is composed of receptors and signaling chemicals that occur naturally in the brain and have similarities to the active ingredients in cannabis, or marijuana. This neurochemical system is involved in a variety of physiological processes, including appetite, pain, mood, stress responses and memory.

Food consumption is controlled in part by the hypothalamus, a portion of the brain that regulates many essential behaviors. Like other important body systems, food consumption is regulated by multiple neurochemical systems, including the endocannabinoid system, representing what Mackie describes as a "balance of a very fine web of regulatory networks."

An emerging idea, Mackie said, is that this network is reset during obesity so that food consumption matches maintenance of current weight, not a person's ideal weight. Thus, an obese individual who loses weight finds it difficult to keep the weight off, as the brain signals the body to eat more in an attempt to return to the heavier weight.

Using mice, this study found that in obesity, CB1 cannabinoid receptors become enriched on the nerve terminals that normally inhibit orexin neuron activity, and the orexin neurons produce more of the endocannabinoids to activate these receptors. Activating these CB1 receptors decreases inhibition of the orexin neurons, increasing orexin A release and food consumption.

"This study identifies a mechanism for the body's ongoing tendency to return to the heavier weight," Mackie said.

The researchers conducted several experiments with mice to understand how this change takes place. They uncovered a role of leptin, a key hormone made by fat cells that influences metabolism, hunger and food consumption. Obesity causes leptin levels to be chronically high, making brain cells less sensitive to its actions, which contributes to the molecular switch that leads to the overproduction of orexin.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Indiana University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Luigia Cristino, Giuseppe Busetto, Roberta Imperatore, Ida Ferrandino, Letizia Palomba, Cristoforo Silvestri, Stefania Petrosino, Pierangelo Orlando, Marina Bentivoglio, Kenneth Mackie, and Vincenzo Di Marzo. Obesity-driven synaptic remodeling affects endocannabinoid control of orexinergic neurons. PNAS, April 29, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219485110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/xM2F7rud-Lw/130429154214.htm

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95% Gimme The Loot

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (2)

A thousand-watt jolt of mischief, a spunky, funky, ebullient indie that packs its 81 minutes with cinematic exhilaration.

It may be a slight movie, but it has its sunny charms.

A movie about teenage taggers in the Bronx should be fast and raw, scruffy and loose, and Adam Leon's Gimme the Loot is just that.

As it lopes along, the movie offers a warm but very sharp portrait of New York's have-nots and their uneasy relationship with the haves.

"Gimme the Loot" shouldn't be as appealing and exuberant as it is, it really shouldn't.

Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson are terrific in the main roles. So is Zo? Lescaze as Ginnie, a spoiled white kid who teaches the taggers a thing or two about drift and being dissolute.

Funny and freewheeling, it's a joy.

A slim, low-budget coming-of-age tale whose richness lies entirely in its interstices. A keenly observed work that celebrates the unfettered joys of youth, and rewards by reminding of the power of a simple tale told well.

Simultaneously real and hopeful, "Loot" has almost no plot, but when the setting is so fresh and the characters feel so raw and alive, who needs one?

Ghetto laughs with a sophisticated point of view.

...a magical, summery treat.

Promotes robbery and can't be serious in expecting us to care whether Malcolm and Sofia become more than friends.

The winner of the Indie Spirit 'One to Watch' award could never work again and will always have a memorable New York City film to his credit.

An impressive debut feature, Gimme the Loot is also an unusual take on characters who want to leave their stamp on "the city that never sleeps."

Much more grownup than it looks, Gimme the Loot is that rare teen-centric film whose brisk pace is unburdened by sentimentality.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gimme_the_loot_2012/

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Iraq instability tested further with bombing wave

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A wave of car bomb blasts tore through Shiite areas south of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 36 and deepening fears that Iraq is rapidly spiraling back out of control.

The attacks capped a week of turmoil that is posing the greatest test of Iraq's stability since U.S. troops left the country in late 2011. At least 218 people have been killed in attacks and battles between gunmen and security forces that began with clashes at a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq last Tuesday.

The unrest follows four months of widespread protests among Iraq's Sunni minority, who feel they are discriminated against and are being marginalized by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government.

Iraqi officials fear that Sunni feelings of disenfranchisement could be exploited by extremist groups such as al-Qaida and militant organizations such as the Naqshabandi Army, which is linked to Saddam Hussein's former regime.

In a possible sign of mounting worries over the deteriorating security situation, Iraqi authorities announced they plan to close the country's only border crossing with Jordan, beginning on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry said the move is related Iraq's domestic affairs.

The route to the border runs through the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, west of Baghdad, which have been hotbeds of Sunni anger at the government. Many Sunnis in western Iraq have economic, tribal and cultural ties with Jordanians, most of whom are also Sunni.

Sheik Fakhir al-Kubaisi, a protest organizer in Anbar province, blasted the latest closure plans as "another escalation by the Iraqi government to punish the revolting Iraqi people." He predicted the closure would drive up the prices of food and medicine, and might be tied to a coming security crackdown on protest sites in the area.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, Lt. Col. Saad Maan Ibrahim, insisted the border closure was solely a technical matter and is unrelated to ongoing tensions in the country. He did not elaborate, and said it should reopen within 48 hours.

Iraq temporarily shut the same border crossing in January, weeks after anti-government protests erupted along the desert highway heading to the checkpoint. That angered many Sunnis in western Iraq, who saw it as collective punishment for their rallies.

The International Crisis Group recently warned that the standoff between Sunni protesters and the central government has begun a dangerous slide toward confrontation.

"The emergence of an arc of instability and conflict linking Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, fueled by sectarianism and involving porous borders as well as cross-border alliances, represents a huge risk," the conflict-prevention group warned. "Failure to integrate Sunni Arabs into a genuinely representative political system in Baghdad risks turning Iraq's domestic crisis into a broader regional struggle."

Monday's deadliest attack struck the southern city of Amarah. Two parked cars loaded with explosives went off simultaneously in the early morning near a gathering of construction workers and a market, killing 18 people and wounding 42, the police said.

That attack was followed by another parked car bombing near a restaurant in the city of Diwaniyah, killing nine people and wounding 23. At least three cars were left charred and twisted from the blast outside a two-story building, and its facade was damaged. Shop owners and cleaners were seen brushing debris off the bloodstained pavement.

Amarah, some 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad, and Diwaniyah, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital, are heavily Shiite and usually peaceful.

Hours later, yet another car bomb went off in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing three civilians and wounding 14, police said. Two early Islamic figures revered by Shiites are buried in the city, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad.

And in the otherwise predominantly Sunni town of Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a car bomb ripped through a Shiite neighborhood, killing six people and wounding 14, another police officer said.

Ibrahim Ali, a schoolteacher there, was teaching a class when a thunderous boom went off.

"The students were panicking and some of them started to cry," he said, recounting seeing burned bodies and cars on fire at the nearby blast site. "We have been expecting this violence against Shiites because of the rising sectarian tension in the country," he said.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. Like the police, they spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's blasts. But coordinated bombings in civilian areas are a favorite tactic for al-Qaida in Iraq.

Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, condemned Monday's bombings and urged the government to step down "in order to save the country from the specter of civil war and sectarian strife." He called for the installation of an interim government, dissolution of parliament and early elections.

He issued a similar call in February for the prime minister to step down and for early elections, but there is little sign for now of that happening.

Sectarian violence has spiked since last Tuesday, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija. The move set off a clash that killed 23 people, including three soldiers.

In Baghdad, al-Maliki met on Monday with the prime minister of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region, Nechirvan Barzani.

A statement from the Iraqi leader's office said the two sides discussed their differences "in an atmosphere of frankness and seriousness and with a common desire to find solutions."

Ongoing disputes between Baghdad and the Kurds over sensitive issues such as ethnically disputed territories and how to manage the country's vast oil wealth further undermine Iraq's stability as al-Maliki tries to manage relations with the country's Sunni Arabs.

In other violence Monday, several mortar shells exploded in an uninhabited area near Baghdad International Airport around sunset, but no casualties were reported, police said.

An Iranian exile group whose members live in a refugee camp near the airport described the explosions as rocket strikes. It said they hit water canals at the southern part of the camp.

The group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has been pushing for camp residents, members of its Mujahedeen-e-Khalq militant wing, to be moved back to another camp north of Baghdad. Iraq's government wants them out of the country altogether.

___

Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

___

Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-instability-tested-further-bombing-wave-172820332.html

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Samsung Electronics profit jumps ahead of Galaxy S4 debut

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported on Friday its sixth straight quarter of profit growth ahead of the debut of its latest Galaxy smartphone, the South Korean IT giant's biggest assault on rival Apple Inc yet.

By launching the Galaxy S4 in the United States on Saturday, Samsung is taking aim at Apple's home market at a time when the iPhone maker appears to have hit a snag. Earlier this week, Apple reported its first profit decline in more than a decade and indicated no major product releases until the fall.

Samsung is widely expected to resume posting record quarterly profits, after a hiatus in January-March, as the S4 is dispatched to 327 mobile carriers in 155 countries.

This week, Samsung has kicked off a massive advertising campaign for the S4 and set up mini stores at Best Buy locations to promote the smartphone. Initial orders have surprised on the upside, with the firm expecting a short-term supply crunch.

Early success of the S4 is crucial in determining the extent of the expected second-quarter record earnings for a company that gets more than 70 percent of its overall profit from mobile devices.

The new S4, which sports a host of software-enabled features, is seen as stealing a head-start on what's widely expected to be an upgraded iPhone later this year. But the Galaxy phone has drawn mixed reviews so far.

Profit from Samsung's mobile division jumped 56 percent to a record 6.51 trillion won in the first quarter, accounting for nearly three quarters of the firm's entire profit, the company said on Friday, before the stock market open.

Samsung, which doesn't provide smartphone sales figures, likely sold 68-70 million smartphones in the quarter ended March, up from 63 million in the previous quarter, according to five analysts.

By contrast, second-ranked Apple said on Tuesday it shipped 37.4 million iPhones in the March quarter, up from 35.1 million a year ago, but down sharply from 47.8 million in the previous quarter.

Samsung's first-quarter overall operating profit increased 54 percent from a year ago to 8.8 trillion won ($7.9 billion), broadly in line with its earlier estimate and almost on par with the fourth-quarter's record of 8.84 trillion won.

Shares in Samsung, valued at around $215 billion, have risen 2 percent in the past three months, beating a 21 percent decline in Apple and a 1 percent drop in the wider market.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ryan Woo)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-electronics-first-quarter-profit-jumps-ahead-galaxy-234822201--finance.html

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Climate change inspires a new literary genre: cli-fi

Cli-fi, or 'climate fiction,' describes a dystopian present, as opposed to a dystopian future. And don't call it 'science fiction.' Cli-fi is literary fiction.

By Husna Haq,?Correspondent / April 26, 2013

'Odds Against Tomorrow,' a novel by Nathaniel Rich, is an example of the emerging 'cli-fi' genre.

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Climate change has been cited as the cause behind a raft of recent phenomena, from increasing turbulence on planes to rising rates of malaria, dengue, and even domestic abuse.

And now it?s hit the publishing world.

The next hot trend in books, it turns out isn?t Fifty Shades-esque erotica ? it?s climate change.

That?s according to a fascinating report by NPR, ?Has Climate Change Created a New Literary Genre??

?Over the past decade, more and more writers have begun to set their novels and short stories in worlds, not unlike our own, where the Earth's systems are noticeably off-kilter,? reports Angela Evancie for NPR. ?The genre has come to be called climate fiction ? 'cli-fi,' for short.?

Among the titles in this emerging literary genre is ?Odds Against Tomorrow,? by Nathaniel Rich, a novel about a futurist who calculates worst-case scenarios for corporations, including the very scenario that landed on the book?s cover: the Manhattan skyline, half-submerged in water. (We should note, the book, and cover, were created before Hurricane Sandy.)?

Other books include Michael Crichton?s 2004 novel, ?State of Fear,? about ecoterrorists; Ian McEwan?s ?Solar,? about impending environmental disaster; and Barbara Kingsolver?s ?Flight Behavior,? about a world turned upside down by climate change.

There are two key points to emphasize in this trend. Cli-fi describes a dystopian present, as opposed to a dystopian future, and it isn?t non-fiction or even science fiction: cli-fi is about literary fiction.

As interesting as this new development is, we shouldn?t be too surprised. After all, whether it?s the Industrial Revolution, the Cold War, or the tech bubble, cultural and environmental milestones have historically shaped the world we ? and by extension, the characters we read about ? live in.?

In this case, literature might actually prove to be a surprise secret weapon of sorts, helping scientists convey the issue to disinterested ? or dubious ? audiences.

That?s because ?when novelists tackle climate change in their writing, they reach people in a way that scientists can't,? says NPR.

"You know, scientists and other people are trying to get their message across about various aspects of the climate change issue," Judith Curry, professor and chair of Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, tells NPR. "And it seems like fiction is an untapped way of doing this ? a way of smuggling some serious topics into the consciousness" of readers who may not be following the science.

We?re fascinated by this emerging genre and if one cli-fi writer is on the mark, we?ll be seeing a lot more of it in coming years.

Predicted Daniel Kramb, the cli-fi novelist behind ?From Here,? the 2012 novel about climate change activists, ?I think when [people] look back at this 21st century ... they will definitely see climate change as one of the major themes in literature, if not the major theme.?

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/SwCeZYqCCm0/Climate-change-inspires-a-new-literary-genre-cli-fi

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Kids Like Bugs: entomology outreach in elementary schools (Part 2 ...

? ? ?On Wednesday, Chris Buddle and Paul Manning posted the first of a two-part series on outreach activities in elementary schools. That post focused on the ?why? - this one (also written by Chris and Paul) is about the ?how?.

How to talk to kids about bugs:

First thing about talking to elementary school kids is stay calm and don?t worry! ?If you have any University-level training in Entomology, you are qualified ? Now, this doesn?t mean you have to be able to speak about all aspects of entomology: play to your strengths! If you are a taxonomists working on Syrphidae flies, bring in your flies and talk about them these magnificent animals.? If your experience is broader and less specialized, browse some notes, look on-line, or peek at a textbook: do a short overview of the main Orders of insects and their characteristics. Although most kids get some entomology in elementary schools, it?s not usually very much (although ALL kids do seem to learn about monarch butterflies!).

One great way to speak to kids about bugs is to make the session thematic.? In addition to bringing in a drawer or two of insects, link the specimens to biology. For example, one of us (Paul) has recently used ?metamorphosis? as a focal point for discussion. The transition from larvae to adult is a biological wonder, and acts as an excellent focal point for discussion. It brings together different facets of biology, from hormones, to physiological development, behavioural adaptations, through to discussion about life history strategies. ?Paul brought galls into the classroom, and demonstrated that there were larvae living inside. The students screamed with excitement when they saw the larvae living within the gall. One student described it as a ?cute white blob?. Several students asked if they could bring the larvae home (wouldn?t Mom and Dad just LOVE that!).

Kids like bugs. And they like to draw them.

Don?t be afraid to say ?I don?t know?.? In fact, kids find it refreshing to hear that an ?expert? doesn?t know all the answers.? Turn it around to illustrate that the world of entomology is so vast that there are a lot of unknowns out there, and many questions still to be answered.

Have patience. With younger grades, asking kids questions, or having them answer questions, can quickly turn into ?stories? from young, enthusiastic students. For example:

Q: Does anyone know what kind of insect a ladybug is?

? ? ? ? [Hand shoots into the air...]

?A (from a 6 year old): Um, yes, I know a lot about those things.? Once, when I was 4, I remember that I saw a beautiful bug flying by my garden ? it was really big and black and I think it was a ladybug and my granddad told me about how ones like that eat trees and kill the trees and that makes me sad because we have a big tree in our front yard that I really like but sometimes my little bratty brother hides behind it and scares me when I am walking by. But I really like all bugs especially ladybug ones that are red but they smell funny sometimes and my mom said they can bite ? will they bite me if I play with them? why do they smell funny? why are there so many spots on them? do their spots get bigger when they grow?.

Give kids a chance to tell you these stories, but know that it will take patience?. but heck, if bugs get them talking and excited, that can?t be a bad thing!

(as an aside, most elementary school teachers will typically coach students so that they will ask/answer question instead of tell stories)

Bring a few props: If you can do an event outdoors, try to bring a few sweep nets and vials.? We will often bring extra vials from the lab and give students the vials to keep (heck, plastic vials cost very little!). For MONTHS afterwards, parents will often tell us about how their child packed that vial full of insects and carried it around obsessively for weeks. That?s a great way to inspire entomology.

Beetle galleries are easily found in wood, and can be a great prop to bring to an entomology session with school kids.

If you are doing an indoor talk, make sure to have a lot of photographs of interesting insects, and whenever possible, discuss/show or use examples from your local fauna ? this will allow kids to connect to things they have seen on the playground or in their own yards ? this connection between the content you are discussing and the insects they are seeing on their own, is very powerful.? With a smaller group, you can certainly bring in a few drawers of insects ? if you don?t have any, this becomes a great excuse to make a little synoptic collection of your own to use for educational purposes. Or, ask your local entomology museum, or local naturalist club, about borrowing some specimens.

Whenever possible, bring a few ?real? field guides. One of us (CB) ran a biodiversity challenge at an elementary school and managed to convince the school to buy a couple of sets of field guides. The kids LOVE the look and feel of real field guides and will thumb through them with delight. Part of our own passion about natural history can be traced back to field guides in our houses when we were young.

Don?t dumb down the material: Too often we think kids need to be talked down to, but nothing is further from the truth. As mentioned above, kids are sponges for information and in our experience they want to hear the details. You will want to avoid jargon, but other than that, provide the details whenever you can. Again, doing a ?thematic? talk with school kids becomes quite important because you just won?t have time to cover anything in-depth if you try to cover too much.

Finally, and most importantly, be passionate and enthusiastic. Kids will feel your positive energy and love of entomology; they will feed off of this, take it home with them; they will start asking more questions, start to dream, and fall further in love with the world around them. Spending a bit of time in a classroom is perhaps one of the most important kinds of outreach activities to do.

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Source: http://arthropodecology.com/2013/04/26/kids-like-bugs-entomology-outreach-in-elementary-schools-part-2/

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Washington Redskins 2013 NFL Draft Profile: Luke Marquardt, Azusa Pacific, Tackle

Big man from a little college would make an intriguing pick in the later rounds as a right tackle of the future.

Position: OT
School: Azusa Pacific
Height: 6-9, Weight: 322
Projected Round: 6

? Why he would be a good Redskin
At this point, any right tackle with a shadow would be welcome addition, and this guy casts a huge one. But he?s no stiff. Marquardt came to college as a basketball player and tight end, then proceeded to grow into a box car with arms. But he?s still retained a lot of his athleticism. While he?s not the drive blocker you might like, he has surprising speed and the ability to get to the second level ? a must in Shanahan?s read option running game.

? Why he won?t be drafted by the Redskins
He?s still learning the position and he played college at a school that sounds like the punchline of a long-running Jack Benny gag. ("Now boarding for Anaheim, Azusa and Cuc-a-monga?") Seriously, he has a lot of work to do on his footwork and nothing he?s seen in college is going to prepare him for the first time Jason Pierre-Paul lines up across from him. If the Redskins are looking or an immediate starter, Marquardt isn?t quite as ready as others you might find even this late in the draft.

? Bottom Line (final comments):
Longtime NBA coach Frank Layden used to say you can?t teach 7-foot. Well, you can?t teach 6-9, either, especially when it comes in a 322-pound package. Simply put, Marquardt is a jaw-dropping physical specimen who plays with leverage and technique you don?t always see in players of even average size. Making the transition to the NFL won?t happen overnight, but if the light bulb ever snaps on for this guy, he?ll be an absolute beast.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Source: http://www.hogshaven.com/2013/4/6/4187602/washington-redskins-2013-nfl-draft-profile-luke-marquardt

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Disney halts game development at LucasArts, moves to licensed Star Wars titles

If you're old enough to have played PC games for more than a decade, LucasArts (originally LucasFilm Games) likely has a permanent place in your heart after a string of legendary adventure and flight combat releases. You'll unfortunately have to put the company as you knew it squarely in the past -- Lucasfilm's new owner, Disney, is ending internal development at LucasArts. The software house is shifting to a licensing model for Star Wars games, reportedly "minimizing the company's risk" while expanding the range of games on offer. There's a chance that in-progress titles like Star Wars 1313 will survive with outside help, according to a spokesperson in touch with GameInformer, but talk of layoffs from Kotaku dampens any chances for direct follow-ups to favorites like Grim Fandango. We won't mourn too much when personas like Ron Gilbert, Lawrence Holland and Tim Schafer have long since moved on to other companies -- still, it's unquestionably the end of an era for game and movie fans alike.

Filed under: Gaming, Software

Comments

Via: Joystiq

Source: GameInformer (1), (2)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/e3D85b869SI/

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Airports Are a Beautiful Twisted Mess

Airports are a weird contradiction; labyrinthine roadways and arteries between terminals, surrounded by an expanse of seemingly limitless straightaways. Put both together and you get wonderfully calculated mayhem, and a few killer photos. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/e2stu3yTJ4Q/airports-are-a-beautiful-twisted-mess

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New Research Concludes Statin Side Effects in Question

Research involving the examination of more than 107,000 patients at two Boston hospitals published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that at least some of the side effects associated with statins may be temporary. Statins are the most widely used class of drugs to fight and control the harmful effects of cholesterol.

Discontinuation of Statins in Routine Care Settings

Researchers, performing a retrospective cohort study -- one that studies data previously obtained -- from patient data obtained from more than 107,000 patients at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital , set out to investigate the reason for the discontinuation of statin medications and what role statin medications' side effects or clinical events such as abnormal lab work had on the discontinuation of statin treatment.

What the data revealed was that more than 50 percent of those patients who had once been on statin therapy had had their statin medications discontinued at one point. In 17 percent of those had their statins discontinued by their health care provider, the drugs had been stopped due to either side effects or clinical events attributed to the statins.

More than 6,500 whose initial statin therapy had been discontinued were re-started on statin therapy within 12 months. Ninety-two percent of those who re-started statin therapy were still on it more than 12 months later, with slightly fewer than half of those who were re-started on statins being prescribed the same medication they had been taking originally and nearly one-third of the re-started statin patients were on a the same dose or higher than they had originally been prescribed.

Study authors concluded that although side effects and clinical events related to statin treatment, those episodes may be temporary, be unrelated to statin use or may be specific to a particular medication rather than the entire class of statins.

Importance of Statin Medications to Heart Health

Statins are important weapons in the control and reduction of atherosclerotic heart disease and improving the health status of those with established disease, explained Scott M. Grundy , M.D., Ph.D. in an editorial in today's Annals of Internal Medicine about the statin discontinuation research.

Grundy also explained that people who are prescribed statin therapy stop doing so for a number of reasons:

* Fear of side effects

* Perceived side effects

* Costs of the medication

* Lack of insurance coverage

* Misunderstanding the benefits of statin therapy

* Lack of commitment to treatment

* Loss to follow-up

Grundy suggested that there are two primary questions for clinicians to consider when considering adherence to statin therapy. Why do patients stop taking statin medications? In what portion of patients who stop taking statins do real side effects prevent continued therapy?

Bottom Line

Although it is important that health care providers do more to understand why important statin therapy is discontinued by patients about half the time, it is also important for those who have been prescribed a statin medication to discuss any questions or concerns they may have about the therapy with the prescribing doctor. If you've taken statins in the past and stopped doing so, ask your health care provider if re-starting statin therapy may be in your best health interests now.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/research-concludes-statin-side-effects-213800793.html

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