The association between soy nut consumption and decreased menopausal symptoms.

Posted on June 17, 2007 by Maurice Preter MD
 
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2007 Apr;16(3):361-9. Related Articles, Links
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The association between soy nut consumption and decreased menopausal symptoms.

Welty FK, Lee KS, Lew NS, Nasca M, Zhou JR.

Division of Cardiology, Beth Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. fwelty@bidmc.harvard.edu

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies suggest a low incidence of hot flashes in populations that consume dietary soy. The present study examined the effect of soy nuts on hot flashes and menopausal symptoms. METHODS: Sixty healthy postmenopausal women were randomized in a crossover design to a therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) diet alone and a TLC diet of similar energy, fat, and protein content in which one-half cup soy nuts divided into three or four portions spaced throughout the day (containing 25 g soy protein and 101 mg aglycone isoflavones) replaced 25 g of nonsoy protein. During each 8-week diet period, subjects recorded the number of hot flashes and amount of exercise daily. At the end of each 8-week diet period, subjects filled out the menopausal symptom quality of life questionnaire. RESULTS: Compared to the TLC diet alone, the TLC diet plus soy nuts was associated with a 45% decrease in hot flashes (7.5 +/- 3.6 vs. 4.1 +/- 2.6 hot flashes day, respectively, p < 0.001) in women with >4.5 hot flashes/day at baseline and 41% in those with <or=4.5 hot flashes/day (2.2 +/- 1.2 vs. 1.3 +/- 1.1, respectively, p < 0.001). Soy nut intake was also associated with significant improvement in scores on the menopausal symptom quality of life questionnaire: 19% decrease in vasomotor score (p = 0.004), 12.9% reduction in psychosocial score (p = 0.01), 9.7% decrease in physical score (p = 0.045), and a trend toward improvement in the sexual score, with a 17.7% reduction in symptoms (p = 0.129). The amount of exercise had no effect on hot flash reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Substituting soy nuts for nonsoy protein in a TLC diet and consumed three or four times throughout the day is associated with a decrease in hot flashes and improvement in menopausal symptoms.

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PMID: 17439381 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Posted in Aging |

Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.

Posted on June 17, 2007 by Maurice Preter MD
Phytother Res. 2007 Jun 11; [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles
Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.

Sarris J.

School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

This paper reports a critical review of 27 herbal medicines and formulas in treating a broad range of psychiatric disorders (in addition to anxiety and depression), including obsessive-compulsive, seasonal affective, bipolar depressive, psychotic, phobic and somatoform disorders. Ovid Medline, Pubmed and the Cochrane Library were searched for pharmacological and clinical evidence of herbal medicines with psychotropic activity. A forward search of later citations was also conducted. Whilst substantial high-quality evidence exists for the use of kava and St John’s wort in the treatment of anxiety and depression respectively, currently there is insufficient robust clinical evidence for the use of many other herbal medicines in psychiatric disorders. Phytotherapies which potentially have significant use in psychiatry, and urgently require more research are Rhodiola rosea (roseroot) and Crocus sativus (saffron) for depression; Passiflora incarnata (passionflower), Scutellaria lateriflora (scullcap) and Zizyphus jujuba (sour date) for anxiety disorders; and Piper methysticum (kava) for phobic, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. While depression and anxiety are commonly researched, the efficacy of herbal medicines in other mental disorders requires attention. The review addresses current issues in herbal psychotherapy: herbal safety, future areas of application, the relationship of herbal medicine with pharmaceuticals and the potential prescriptive integration of phytomedicines with synthetic psychotropic medicines. Particular attention is given to clinical and safety issues with St John’s wort and kava. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PMID: 17562566 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Posted in Health |

The role of sleep in declarative memory consolidation: passive, permissive, active or none?

Posted on June 4, 2007 by Maurice Preter MD
 
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Dec;16(6):716-22. Epub 2006 Nov 7. Related Articles, Links
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The role of sleep in declarative memory consolidation: passive, permissive, active or none?

Ellenbogen JM, Payne JD, Stickgold R.

Center for Sleep and Cognition, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Feldberg 866, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jeffrey_ellenbogen@hms.harvard.edu

Those inclined to relish in scientific controversy will not be disappointed by the literature on the effects of sleep on memory. Opinions abound. Yet refinements in the experimental study of these complex processes of sleep and memory are bringing this fascinating relationship into sharper focus. A longstanding position contends that sleep passively protects memories by temporarily sheltering them from interference, thus providing precious little benefit for memory. But recent evidence is unmasking a more substantial and long-lasting benefit of sleep for declarative memories. Although the precise causal mechanisms within sleep that result in memory consolidation remain elusive, recent evidence leads us to conclude that unique neurobiological processes within sleep actively enhance declarative memories.

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PMID: 17085038 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Posted in News | Tagged |

When did neurologists and psychiatrists stop talking to each other?

Posted on June 4, 2007 by Maurice Preter MD
 
Epilepsy Behav. 2003 Dec;4(6):597-601. Related Articles, Links
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When did neurologists and psychiatrists stop talking to each other?

Kanner AM.

Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA. akanner@rush.edu

Patients with epilepsy have a significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbid disorders involving depression, anxiety, psychotic, and attention deficit disorders. Accordingly, one would expect that psychiatrists would be actively involved in the evaluation and management of these patients. This, however, is hardly the case. Patients who undergo temporal lobectomies, for example, are known to experience postsurgical depression and occasionally psychotic disorders. Yet, most epilepsy centers in North America do not include a psychiatric evaluation as part of the presurgical work-up. Collaboration between epileptologists and psychiatrists is often sparse, despite the intimate relationship between psychiatric comorbidities and epilepsy. The purpose of this paper is to highlight this bizarre phenomenon and to identify some of the reasons behind it.

PMID: 14698691 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Posted in Psychiatry/Neurology |

"treatment of depression has become an integral part of the management of these neurologic disorders"

Posted on June 4, 2007 by Maurice Preter MD
 Epilepsy Behav. 2005 May;6(3):303-11. Related Articles, Links
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Should neurologists be trained to recognize and treat comorbid depression of neurologic disorders? Yes.

Kanner AM.

Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Rush Epilepsy Center and Rush University Medical Center, 1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL, USA. akanner@rush.edu

Depression is a relatively common psychiatric comorbidity of most neurological disorders, with prevalence rates ranging between 20 and 50% among patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Furthermore, depression is an independent predictor of poor quality of life in these patients and has a negative impact on the response to treatment, course and recovery of neurological deficits. Thus, treatment of depression has become an integral part of the management of these neurologic disorders. This article discusses the rationale for neurologists to be trained in recognizing depressive disorders in neurologic patients and identifies the type of mood disorders in which neurologists can provide pharmacotherapy and those that need to be referred to the care of the psychiatrist.

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PMID: 15820336 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Posted in News | Tagged |