Archive for April 2009
New study reveal: Vitamin D ‘is a hormone’
WASHINGTON: A new study has suggested that vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin at all — it’s actually a hormone made inside the body without any
help from the sun.
An international team has carried out the study and concluded that the increase of vitamin D in our modern diets is based on a common belief which is actually a misconception with potential consequences.
“What we have confirmed with our recent research is that vitamin D is a hormone that is made by the body itself. Our bodies hormonal control system was being overwhelmed by the amount of external vitamin D,” lead researcher Prof Trevor G Marshall at Murdoch University in Australia said.
The researchers go on to explode another long held belief about this secosteriod previously known as vitamin D. “You don’t have to ingest any vitamin D in order to be perfectly healthy,” Prof Marshall said.
So no more need for expensive supplements, no more basking in the sun to put us in a better mood? And what about the thinking that suggests vitamin D is vital in production of serotonin, an essential element linked to helping maintaining normal brain chemical function?
“What we’ve shown is that all forms of vitamin D from outside the body are counterproductive to body’s own ability to regulate its own internal production,” he said.
Anti-obesity drugs can make you fatter
Diet pills, which the manufacturers say, can help shed those extra pounds might be making you even fatter, experts
have warned
The anti-obesity drugs sold over the counter cannot be a substitute for healthy living, they suggest.
“Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill,” the Mirror quoted Prof Gareth Williams, of Bristol University, as saying.
“Healthy living is the only long-term escape from obesity,” Williams added.
Two drugs Alli and Appesat that assures weight loss are going on sale this week in Britain.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Alli pill stops the body absorbing fat and is said to cut weight by up to 10 per cent in four months.
The drug creates a laxative effect, which the manufacturers describe as “an urgent need to go to the bathroom”.
“Taking it without medical supervision may achieve a daily energy deficit of only 100 calories – equivalent to leaving a few French fries on a plate, eating an apple instead of ice cream, or having 10 to 20 minutes of sex,” said Williams.
Appesat, is said to help users lose up to 2lb a week. It contains a seaweed extract, which swells to make a taker feel full, but can cause stomach upset.
“The cure for obesity and being overweight will never be found in a pill, packet or wonder drug,” said Dr Jason Hal-ford, of Liverpool University and on the payroll of Appesat’s maker.
“That can only come from enormous changes to our food and physical environment,” he added.
The Department of Health also says, “We do not make statements about slimming pills but the best way to lose weight is to stick to a healthy diet and exercise.”
A pill to make big bellies disappear
A drug that has been used to treat asthma sufferers for 40 years may help fat people shed up to five kilograms a week, say
 Coming soon: a ‘wheezy’ pill that makes big bellies disappear (Getty Images)
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Australian researchers.
The main ingredient in Ventolin could be the key behind the magical weight loss.
A firm Down Under is planning to develop a slow-release capsule form of salbutamol, known as r-salbutamol. The company claims the drug can reduce body weight by 2 to 3 per cent a week and could be on the market in three years.
Stirling Products says it could prove to be a “massive blockbuster” because salbutamol had been proven safe.
Salbutamol administered to asthmatics acts on smooth muscle to reduce bronchial spasms, but managing director Peter Boonen said a capsule form of the drug could “turn off fat receptors”.
“It will move weight fairly rapidly, but it won’t be available over the counter. Doctors will prescribe it for 14 days, then review progress,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.
Salbutamol is a beta-2 agonist, which has the same effect on the adrenergic system as exercise, resulting in weight loss
, an increase in muscle mass and a reduced appetite. It is rapidly excreted in urine but tolerance usually develops within days.
Phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate in the treatment of localized fat: a double-blind, randomized study.
Phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate in the treatment of localized fat: a double-blind, randomized study.
Salti G, Ghersetich I, Tantussi F, Bovani B, Lotti T.
Centro Chirurgico Florence, Florence, Italy.
2008 Jan;34(1):60-6; discussion 66. Epub 2007 Dec 5.
BACKGROUND:
Recent articles have introduced the novel concept of chemical lipolysis through local injections. Phosphatidylcholine is the active drug in the commercial preparation used for this purpose, but some studies have suggested that sodium deoxycholate, an excipient of the preparation, could be the real active substance.
AIM:
We decided to investigate whether phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate have any clinical efficacy in chemical lipolysis and their respective roles. We also studied the safety and side effects of the treatments.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Thirty-seven consecutive female patients were studied for the treatment of localized fat in gynoid lipodystrophy. Each patient received injections of a phosphatidylcholine/sodium deoxycholate preparation on one side and sodium deoxycholate on the contralateral side, each single patient being herself the control. Four treatments were carried out every 8 weeks in a double-blind, randomized fashion. Metric circumferential evaluations and photographic and ultrasonographic measurements throughout the study allowed for final judgment. A statistical evaluation concluded our study.
RESULTS:
An overall reduction of local fat was obtained in 91.9% of the patients without statistically significant differences between the treated sides. Reduction values on the phosphatidylcholine/sodium deoxycholate-treated sides are in the order of 6.46% metrically and 36.87% ultrasonographically, whereas on the deoxycholate-treated sides they are in the order of 6.77% metrically and 36.06% ultrasonographically. Both treatments, at the dose used in the study, proved safe in the short term. The most common side effects were local and few, but were more pronounced on the deoxycholate-treated sides. No laboratory test was carried out.
CONCLUSION:
Both treatments have shown moderate and equivalent efficacy in treating localized fat, with sodium deoxycholate having a slower postoperative resolution, suggesting that sodium deoxycholate could be sufficient by itself to determine fat cell destruction and that phosphatidylcholine could be useful for obtaining a later emulsification of the fat.
Liposuction deaths higher than car crash fatalities
Kanye West's mother, Donda, died from complications from liposuction
The very sad news that Kanye West’s mother, Donda, may have died from complications from plastic surgery — a breast reduction and tummy tuck — makes you think about the real price of vanity. In her case, mortality.According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in 2006, up 7% from 2005. Breast augmentation (329,000) and liposuction (303,000) top the list.
I did some quick searching online and found conflicting reports about the deaths associated with lipo or the combination of liposuction and another procedure. Every association seems to report different numbers. But many isolated incidents of deaths surface. And actually, the combo platter of plastic surgery is grossly popular. Why not get a tummy tuck and a butt-lift at the same time, seems to be the prevailing thinking. (Um, maybe because you won’t be able to sit or stand up for a few weeks? Ouch, indeed.)
Anyway, here’s a link to some info from the FDA’s government website that I found interesting. Notice how inconclusive the findings are because of the unreported fatalities. The study showed that deaths associated with lipo could be as high as between 20 and 100 per 100,000 procedures. Death from car accidents is only 16 per 100,000 crashes.
That’s astounding. If you have a better chance of surviving a car accident than liposuction, maybe it’s safer to do crunches while you drive?
Photo credit: Wire Image
Source: LA Times
Higher risk of death from liposuction than car crashes
According to the Los Angeles Times, liposuction is a bigger killer than car crashes. The American Society of Plastic Surgeon figures show that nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery operations were carried out in 2006 – that’s a 7% increase on 2005 – with liposuction being the second most popular surgery, just after breast augmentation.Although figures are not 100% accurate (due to factors such as unreported fatalities) it appears that liposuction carries a higher chance of death than being in a car crash does – deaths associated with liposuction could be as high as 20-100 deaths per 100,000 operations, compared to death from car accidents at around 16 per 100,000 crashes.
Perhaps these figures will make some people think twice about having cosmetic surgery procedures and indicates that you should always choose a surgeon on his credentials, rather than his prices.
From the FDA website:
- Fatalities Related to Liposuction. There are numerous reports of deaths related to the liposuction procedure. Although it is difficult to be sure how often death from liposuction happens, there are several studies that estimate how often patients undergoing liposuction die during the procedure or as a result of it. None of the studies is perfect so the results are just estimates. Some of the studies indicate that the risk of death due to liposuction is as low as 3 deaths for every 100,000 liposuction operations performed. However, other studies indicate that the risk of death is between 20 and 100 deaths per 100,000 liposuction procedures. One study suggests that the death rate is higher in liposuction surgeries in which other surgical procedures are also performed at the same time. In order to understand the size of the risk, one paper compares the deaths from liposuction to that for deaths from car accidents (16 per 100,000). It is important to remember that liposuction is a surgical procedure and that there may be serious complications, including death.
Top rating: British press investigates Lipodissolve
The British press is well known for their critique and regular tests of new procedures and products on actual patients. Lipodissolve has been a target of numerous surprise trials in the British media, and always ended up with very high patient satisfaction feedback and remarks. In the United States as well, when physicians have received patient feedback from questionnaires from their patients after Lipodissolve treatments, their feedback always come with very high satisfactory remarks.
Here’s some great results with Lipodissolve from one article forwarded to us by one of our physician members in Europe, taken from the Daily Mail News in the U.K. Read extracts from the article and watch the magic happen with Lipodissolve in only two treatment sessions.
Injections to change ‘baggy knees’
Fifty-eight-year-old Patricia Oppizio from Cheshire, who is married to Stefano, 63, a retired businessman, and has three grown-up children, found out about a trial taking placed on the fat-melting injection through a friend who was a nurse. For years she had been paranoid about the fat above her knees, so she was happy to be ‘a guinea pig’ for an Austrian doctor, Dr Rita Rakus.
“I started becoming dissatisfied with my knees about 18 months ago after I saw photos of Demi Moore’s ‘knee lift’,” she says. “My own knees looked just like Demi’s ‘before’ pictures. The rest of my body was in good shape – I’m a size eight – but my knees looked like those of a 70-year-old. They were wrinkly, with a nasty pad of fat above each kneecap. “My husband had never noticed my baggy knees and told me to stop being so silly. But even though I knew he was right, my knees really bugged me, and I hated the thought of having to reveal them on holiday.” She was amazed that the problem could be treated so easily. “I was thrilled because I didn’t think there was much, short of surgery, that I could do about them.
“A surgical lift leaves terrible scars, and although liposuction would remove the fat, it also involves invasive surgery.” Patricia had 12 injections into the fat pads above each knee. Knees are considered by some to be an ideal area to treat because the fat is concentrated in a small area. She suffered no immediate discomfort, other than some temporary bruising and itching.
“I looked as though I had fallen over and banged my knees, and they felt very tender for a week.”
After five weeks, Patricia noticed that the fat pads were shrinking and the skin above her knees had tightened up.
Pictures: When Patricia Oppizio heard clinics were offering a jab that literally dissolved fat, she jumped at the chance to get rid of her 'baggy knees'. Medical experts are concerned about its long terms effects, but as these before and after photos show it certainly seems to have the desired effect.
Jab targets specific areas
Over the past two years, his team have treated around 1,000 patients without any serious adverse reactions.
He says: “The drug has been clinically tested and found safe to be injected intravenously for the treatment of fatty deposits.
“We are putting it into fatty tissue, which will have only a local effect. In the unlikely event of an adverse reaction, it will be limited.” Doctors at his clinics can also decide if a patient is suitable for the treatment. The treatment is not a cure for obesity, and Lipomed clinics turn away would-be patients who are severely overweight and use it only to target stubborn fat deposits.
Eighteen months ago, Justine Tassey, 38, a company director from Worcestershire, opted for a course of flab jab treatments to get rid of a stubborn roll of fat at the top of her stomach.
She says: “I am quite happy with my body generally, but I realised that over a period of about a year I had developed a roll of fat just underneath my breasts that wouldn’t go away no matter what I did.
“I tried daily sit-ups to no avail, and despite going to the gym four times a week, it just wouldn’t shift. “At the time, I was driving 80,000 miles a year as part of my job, and every time I sat at the steering wheel I could feel this extremely uncomfortable roll of fat. It was a horrible thought that I had all that fat just sitting there.” She heard about [Lipodissolve] injections from a friend and went to a clinic in Birmingham.
“The treatment sounded fantastic: just a few small injections and none of the risk associated with invasive procedures such as liposuction,” she says.
“During my first consultation, the doctor told me she thought the treatment would work well on the area and that she could go ahead with the first treatment there and then.
“I had five injections under each breast. Each time, the doctor simply pinched an area of fat and injected straight into it. There was hardly any pain. It was actually less painful than the injections you have for holiday vaccinations.” Afterwards, she suffered some swelling and bruising, but that soon faded.
Client ‘amazed’ by results
“In fact, I was playing golf just hours after my first appointment and I wasn’t bothered by what I’d had done at all,” she says.
“I was amazed when, just a few days after the first treatment, I could already see that the injections were having an effect. There was discernibly less fat.
“I went back a month later for the same number of injections again, and then back a third and final time a month after that. “A few days after the final injections, the whole area was flat. I felt – and still feel – fantastic about it. I feel much more confident and I no longer have the constant feeling that I’m carrying a spare tyre.
“I know that some people are concerned because there is no clinical research on the longterm effects of these injections. “But as far as I’m concerned, this has got to be a much safer option than liposuction, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths in America*.
“Has anyone ever heard of anyone dying from this? The answer is no. It’s quick, virtually painfree, and you can be back at work the next day. I would recommend it to anyone.”
* Liposuction surgery in the USA has a reported 46,000 deaths within a 5 year span, and is warned by the FDA with high risks that includes deaths, organ punctures, bad results, blood cloths and more.
US patients choose non-surgical options during recession
In contrary to the publication of the last ASPS study it seems to be a fact that the recession will touch aesthetic teatments, not only in US. ASAL Lipodissolve (Injection Lipolysis) should be an alternative offer for those patients who don’t want to undergo surgical procedures during this recession times.
The following commentary was written by Eve Oxberry for the Aesthetic Medicine Newsletter:
The impending recession is causing more US consumers to delay plastic surgery and consider non-surgical options, according to the latest consumer survey carried out by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
The association polled 100 women who were considering plastic surgery in March and then again in October and found that 59% said recent changes in the economy have had an impact on their plans for plastic surgery, compared with 50% in March. Also, 48%, of women surveyed during October said that the economic slowdown had made them less likely to book a consultation with a cosmetic surgeon, a marked increase of 18% since March, when 30% felt that way.
Possibly the most significant result for the aesthetic medicine industry, however, is that 27% said they were considering less expensive options, compared with 20% earlier in the year.
Richard D’Amico, ASPS president, commented, “It appears more consumers are choosing the less invasive cosmetic procedures, both to give them a boost or to buy time if they need to postpone a more costly invasive surgical procedure because of the economic downturn.”
In a concurrent survey among its surgeon members, ASPS discovered that while 62% reported a decrease in plastic surgery procedures performed, some 73% reported an increased or stable demand for procedures such as botulinum toxin, chemical peels and dermal fillers.
“It is very clear the economy is affecting the demand for surgical cosmetic procedures. We are hearing that from consumers and plastic surgeons,” said Dr D’Amico. “There is good news here regarding the cosmetic medicine aspect of our members’ practices. And while ASPS member surgeons are feeling the impact of the economy, we anticipate the historic bounce when patients return as the economy improves.”
Aesthetic Medical News 