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Hopkins News For You
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May 2004
1. High Testosterone Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk
2. Oxygen Therapy May Improve Vision Worsened by DiabetesGetting
Peering into the Brain
1. Exercising Regularly Helps Breast Cancer Patients Survive Longer
2. Fish Oil is Good for Everyone
Interventional Radiologist J.F. Geschwind
High Testosterone Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk
Men over 50 with high levels of testosterone in their blood have a higher risk of prostate cancer say researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging. The finding throws some doubt on the safety of testosterone replacement therapy, the investigators say. The researchers measured several forms of testosterone in 3,000 blood samples. One form called free testosterone, which is used by the prostate, was associated with increased prostate cancer risk, according to Hopkins urologist J. Kellogg Parsons, M.D., lead researcher of the study. "Since testosterone replacement therapy increases the amount of free testosterone in the blood, older men considering or receiving testosterone replacement should be counseled as to the association until data from long-term clinical trials becomes available," says Parsons.
Oxygen Therapy May Improve Vision Worsened by Diabetes
Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema, fluid buildup in the part of the eye responsible for central vision, say researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Eye Institute. In a study of five diabetic patients with persistent macular edema, breathing supplemental oxygen for three months reduced fluid buildup and swelling in the macula and, in some cases, improved visual acuity. Researchers think the therapy could be used in conjunction with laser treatments that also improve oxygenation in the retina to provide long-term stability in these patients. "The results were really dramatic," says Peter Campochiaro, M.D., senior author and an ophthalmologist at Hopkins' Wilmer Eye Institute. "The likelihood that these measurements would change by such magnitudes by chance is very small," he says.
Peering into the Brain
Thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), doctors have taken a large leap forward in their ability to diagnose neurological problems and treat them. The novel technique allows doctors to watch regions in a person's brain light up at the very moment that part of the brain is used. The lit patterns viewed on a screen can help assess what is working and what is not--after a traumatic injury, for example, or in certain types of mental retardation. And thanks to these novel imaging techniques, neurosurgeons can now enter the operating room with pinpointed information about the individual brains they will operate on. "We are observing phenomena we never saw before," says radiologist David Yousem.
Regular Exercise Helps Breast Cancer Patients Survive Longer
Recent data from an ongoing study has shown that moderate exercise by women who have been treated for breast cancer improves survival. For example, women who walked one to three hours per week at 5km per hour cut their risk of dying from breast cancer by 25 percent, while those who walked more cut their risk even more. Dr. John Groopman, director of cancer prevention at Hopkins, says these findings underscore the well known benefits of exercise. "Whether you are surviving breast cancer or you are trying to prevent cardiovascular disease, exercise has been shown to be beneficial in maintaining better health for people of all ages."
Fish Oil is Good for Everyone
Fish oil, which is high in omega 3 fatty acids, can help reduce deaths from heart disease, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In a review of research completed to date, the agency found that eating fish or taking a supplement helped many people who already had heart disease avoid further cardiovascular problems. Dr. Eliseo Guallar, a doctor and epidemiologist, is not surprised by the finding. "The omega 3 story is actually one of the success stories in nutritional recommendations. If you give omega 3 fish oil supplements to patients who have had a myocardial infarction, that will protect them from dying from another heart attack. " Guallar says that right now there is not enough evidence to recommend fish oil supplements to people without heart disease, but that two servings of a fatty fish twice a week is likely to be of benefit.
Interventional Radiologist J.F. Geschwind
The director of cardiovascular and interventional radiology talks about how his booming field is providing new treatments for a range of conditions.
Question: It's dramatic how rapidly your specialty is offering new treatments for so many conditions.
Dr. Geschwind: It's true, there has been an explosive growth and interest in minimally invasive image-guided therapeutic techniques. In fact, some of them have totally replaced more traumatic surgical procedures. We use high-tech imaging to tell us the story of what is going on in the patient's body, and then we move right in with a treatment. We have learned to shrink tumors and to treat aneurysms. We have given patients easier procedures for draining fluid and for shrinking fibroids.
Question: For which kinds of conditions have these treatments made the most difference?
Dr. Geschwind: The areas that stand out are gynecology, specifically fibroid disease, and some treatments for liver cancer. We are using embolization to break up dangerous blood clots known as arterio-venous malformations. And we are handling more routine problems like varicose veins with endovenous laser therapy.
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