Heart attack risk 'raised by bottling-up anger'

BBC News

Men who do not openly express their anger if they are unfairly treated at work double their risk of a heart attack, Swedish research suggests.

Nearly 50 of the studied men died from a heart attack or heart disease

The researchers looked at 2,755 male employees in Stockholm who had not had a heart attack when the study began.

They were asked about how they coped with conflict at work, either with superiors or colleagues.

The researchers say their study shows a strong relationship between pent-up anger and heart disease.

Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the researchers called the various strategies for keeping things bottled up, covert coping.

The men were asked what methods they adopted: whether they dealt with things head-on, whether they let things pass without saying anything, walked away from conflict, developed symptoms like headache or stomach ache or got into a bad temper at home.

Hospital registers

They were checked for smoking, drinking, physical activity, education, diabetes, job demands and their freedom to take decisions.

Their blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels were measured and they were aged 41 on average at the start of the study between 1992 and 1995.

Details of whether any of the men subsequently had a heart attack or died as a result of heart disease in the period up to 2003 were gathered from national registers of hospital treatment and deaths.

Up to 2003, 47 of the 2,755 men had a heart attack or died from heart disease.

The men who coped by sometimes or often walking away or who often let things pass without saying anything, had double the risk of a heart attack or dying from serious heart disease compared to men who challenged and dealt with the situation head-on.

Developing a headache or stomach ache or getting into a bad temper at home, did not increase the risk of heart attack or heart disease.

The researchers believe that anger can produce physiological tensions if it is not released and that these lead to increases in blood pressure which eventually damage the cardiovascular system.

'Conflict situations'

Dr Constanze Leineweber, who led the study from the Stress Research Institute in Stockholm, said: "There has been research before pointing in this direction but the surprise is that the association between pent-up anger and heart disease was such a strong one.

"I think men can't help how they behave in conflict situations - it's not something they think about, it's just how they react instinctively.

"If you are smoking and don't exercise you would be much more conscious of the risk."

Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, said: "Stress itself is not a risk factor for heart and circulatory disease, but some people's responses to stress, such as smoking or overeating, can increase your risk.

"We all find different things stressful and symptoms of stress can vary, but the important thing is that we need to find ways of coping with it in our lives in a positive way, whether at work or home."

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Cannabis spray found to help relieve cancer pain

BBC News

Cancer patients who used a cannabis mouthspray had their level of pain reduced by 30%, a study has shown.

The mouthspray contains derivatives of cannabis

The cannabis-based spray, like a mouth freshener, was used on 177 patients by researchers from Edinburgh University.

They found it reduced pain levels by 30% in a group of cancer patients, all in the Edinburgh area, who had not been helped by morphine or other medicines.

The spray was developed so that it did not affect the mental state of patients in the way that using cannabis would.

The researchers said their findings, reported in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, did not justify smoking cannabis as this could increase the risk of cancer.

Site of pain

They said the spray worked by activating molecules in the body called cannabinoid receptors which can stop nerve signals being sent to the brain from the site of pain.

Professor Marie Fallon, of the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre at Edinburgh University, said: "These early results are very promising and demonstrate that cannabis-based medicines may deliver effective treatment for people with severe pain.

"Prescription of these drugs can be very useful in combating debilitating pain, but it is important to understand the difference between their medical and recreational use."

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Hormone that curbs hunger may guard against Alzheimer's

BBC News

High levels of a hormone that controls appetite appear to be linked to a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, US research suggests.

The hormone leptin controls appetite

The 12-year-study of 200 volunteers found those with the lowest levels of leptin were more likely to develop the disease than those with the highest.

The JAMA study builds on work that links low leptin levels to the brain plaques found in Alzheimer's patients.

The hope is leptin could eventually be used as both a marker and a treatment.

The hormone leptin is produced by fat cells and tells the brain that the body is full and so reduces appetite. It has long been touted as a potential weapon in treating obesity.

But there is growing evidence that the hormone also benefits brain function.

Research on mice - conducted to establish why obese patients with diabetes often have long-term memory problems - found those who received doses of leptin were far more adept at negotiating their way through a maze.

The latest research, carried out at Boston University Medical Center, involved regular brain scans on 198 older volunteers over a 12-year period.

A quarter of those with the lowest levels of leptin went on to develop Alzheimer's disease, compared with 6% of those with the highest levels.

"If our findings our confirmed by others, leptin levels in older adults may serve as one of several possible biomarkers for healthy brain ageing and, more importantly, may open new pathways for possible preventive and therapeutic intervention."

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Previous studies have shown that obesity in mid-life is associated with an increased risk of dementia, but this new research suggests that leptin might have a role to play.

"There is evidence that leptin has functions in the brain - further studies in this area could lead to the possibility that this hormone plays a role in new treatments for Alzheimer's."

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Cancer vaccine implant 'can attack and kill tumours'

BBC News

An implant placed under the skin can instruct the immune system to attack and kill cancer cells, at least in mice, say researchers.

The implant is placed under the skin

It is the first "cancer vaccine" delivered in the form of a plastic implant that can destroy tumours, say the Harvard University team.

It works by attracting certain immune cells and showing them what the tumour in question looks like.

Cancer Research UK said that vaccine research was showing "real promise".

Cancer cells are good at evading the immune system because the body does not recognise them as "foreign".

Plastic disc

The idea of a vaccine to create an immune attack against a tumour is not a new one and there are versions currently in clinical trials.

But most other studies have looked at removing immune cells from the body, reprogramming them to recognise the individual's cancer and then returning them.

In the latest study, researchers developed an 8mm plastic disc that releases chemicals that attract a specific type of immune cell called a dendritic cell.

Immune cells can access the disc, which is implanted just under the skin. Once inside, they are exposed to proteins found on the surface of the cancer cells to be targeted.

With this information, the dendritic cells move on to the lymph nodes where they tell another type of immune cell, known as T cells, to hunt down and kill the cancer cells.

In mice with skin cancer, the implant was shown to successfully eliminate the tumours, the journal Science Translational Medicine reported.

Healthy tissue

The researchers believe such implants could one day be used alongside chemotherapy and surgery to treat cancer.

In theory, the fact the immune system only targets the specific cancer cells avoids causing damage to healthy tissue and it is hoped the technique might produce long-term resistance reducing the chance of relapse.

For use in humans, the structure of the implant itself would need little modification but researchers said the immune activation components would need to be altered.

Study leader Professor David Mooney, an expert in bioengineering, said the technique was a "major step forward" in cancer vaccine design.

"Inserted anywhere under the skin - much like the implantable contraceptives that can be placed in a woman's arm - the implants activate an immune response that destroys tumour cells," he said.

Dr Joanna Owens, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said research into therapeutic cancer vaccines was beginning to show "real promise".

"This study provides some useful insights into how we can effectively train the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells.

"The use of an implant to deliver the vaccine is particularly interesting and the results look encouraging but more research is needed to see if the technology can be scaled up and adapted for use in people."

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Drinking coffee 'will not sober you up' when drunk

BBC News

Reaching for a mug of coffee may be the worst thing you can do to try to sober up, a study suggests.

Coffee can cloud your judgement when you've drunk alcohol, tests found

Research on mice indicates the drink may make you feel that you are coming to your senses - but it is only an illusion.

In fact, it makes it harder for people to realise they are under the influence of alcohol.

The study, by Temple University in Philadelphia, appears in the journal Behavioural Neuroscience.

Lead researcher Dr Thomas Gould said: "The myth about coffee's sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes.

"People who feel tired and intoxicated after consuming alcohol may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk.

"Conversely, people who have consumed both alcohol and caffeine may feel awake and competent enough to handle potentially-harmful situations, such as driving while intoxicated or placing themselves in dangerous social situations."

The researchers tested how well adult mice were able to navigate their way round a maze to avoid unpleasant stimuli, such as bright lights and loud noises.

Nasty shocks

The animals were given doses of alcohol and caffeine in various combination, and their performance on the maze was compared to others who were given a neutral saline solution.

Alcohol made the animals more relaxed, but less able to avoid the unpleasant shocks.

Animals given caffeine were little better at navigating around the maze, but were more alert and uptight.

In combination alcohol and caffeine appeared to produce relatively alert, relaxed animals that were still incompetent at sidestepping nasty shocks.

The researchers believe that in humans the combination is likely to make people feel that they are not drunk, when in fact they still are.

The doses of caffeine given to the mice were up to the human equivalent of eight cups of coffee.

Dr Gould said: "The bottom line is that, despite the appeal of being able to stay up all night and drink, all evidence points to serious risks associated with caffeine-alcohol combinations."

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