Newsbriefs: Iron & Artherosclerosis; Testosterone Therapy & Heart Attacks; Osteoporosis Screenings

Study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis

A UCLA research team has found no evidence of an association between iron levels in the body and the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that leads to cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the U.S. The discovery, based on a comprehensive study in a mouse model of atheroscle-rosis, contradicts a long-held hypothesis about the role of iron in the disease and carries important implications for patients with chronic kidney disease or anemia related to inflammatory disorders, many of whom receive high-dose iron supplementation therapy. The findings appeared online in January in the journal Cell Re-ports. The observation that men and postmenopausal women have both higher body iron levels and higher rates of atherosclerosis than premenopausal women led more than 30 years ago to the “iron hy-pothesis”—the notion that higher iron levels might promote atherosclerosis by generating more oxidative stress and promoting inflammation. However, subsequent studies noted that in diseases characterized by excessive iron in the body, atherosclerosis rates were no higher than normal.

Testosterone therapy linked to heart attacks in men under 65

You may have seen one of the many advertisements geared toward men asking if they suffer from “low T”—low testosterone levels that, according to the ads, can result in lost sex drive, diminished energy, and moodiness. The answer, they suggest, may be as simple as applying testosterone through a gel or patch. Now, a new joint study by UCLA, the National Institutes of Health, and Consolidated Research Inc., has shown there is a twofold increase in the risk of a heart attack shortly after beginning testos-terone therapy among men under 65 who have a history of heart disease. Further, the study confirmed earlier studies that found a twofold increase in heart attack risk shortly after treatment began in men older than 65. The study, the largest to date examining heart disease in men using testosterone supplements, appeared in the Jan. 29, 2014 online edition of the journal PLOS ONE.

Osteoporosis screening recommendations may miss two-thirds of women aged 50-64

Women who are 65 and older routinely undergo bone-density testing to screen for osteoporosis. But for those between the ages of 50 and 64, it has been unclear who should be screened. Researchers sought to de-termine how well the current screening strategy recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force would perform in identifying candidates in this age range for screening. Using health data on women ages 50–64 from the Women’s Health Initiative study, the researchers found that the current strategy would identify only 34 percent of women who actually had bone-mineral density in the osteoporosis range. Therefore, the USPSTF strategy may not identify the majority of women in the 50–64 age group who would be potential candidates for osteoporosis therapy. As a result, following the strategy may lead to missed opportunities to decrease fracture risk in at-risk women. The research was published online in January in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Researchers ID more pesticides linked to Parkinson’s, gene that increases risk

Studies have shown that certain pesticides can increase people’s risk of developing Parkin-son’s disease. Now, UCLA researchers have found that the strength of that risk depends on an indi-vidual’s genetic makeup, which, in the most pesticide-exposed populations, could increase a per-son’s chance of developing the debilitating disease two- to six-fold. Researchers tested a number of pesticides and found 11 that inhibit the ALDH gene family and increase the risk of Parkinson’s and at levels much lower than they are currently being used. The team also found that people with a common genetic variant of the ALDH2 gene are particularly sensitive to the effects of ALDH-inhibiting pesticides and are two to six times more likely to develop Parkinson’s when exposed to these pesticides than those without the variant. The results of the epidemiological study appeared online Feb. 5, 2014 in the journal Neurology.

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