October 2015 Health Pearls

Regular Exercise During Pregnancy is Recommended by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG)

For several years now, ACOG has recommended that pregnant women exercise frequently to improve their mood, energy, strength and endurance, to reduce back and pelvic discomfort, and to prevent or control gestational diabetes.  ACOG recently reaffirmed its recommendation of thirty minutes of exercise almost every day. ACOG also shared eight tips for runners to assist in safe running.  Finally, ACOG cited several exercises that pregnant patients should avoid such as downhill skiing, scuba diving and contact sports such as volleyball or basketball. 

World Health Organization (WHO) Recommends Treat All HIV Patients with Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)

WHO has eliminated all limitations to treating HIV patients with ART, citing that by treating all infected individuals as soon as they are diagnosed, these patients will live a longer and more healthy life, and the transmission rate of HIV will be lowered. The new recommendation boosts the number of patients eligible for ART from 28 to 37 million worldwide.  WHO also broadened its definition of high risk population groups who need pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)

By expanding treatment to a wider base of population at risk, and treating as soon as possible all those diagnosed with HIV, WHO believes 21 million AIDS-related deaths and 28 million new case of infection will be avoided by 2030.

For more information, you can go to WHO.int.

Factors that Reduce or Increase Risk of Alzheimer

A review of 323 studies between 1968 and 2014, involving more than 5,000 patients, revealed many factors which can potentially increase or decrease risk of Alzheimer’s.  This reviewed was conducted by the department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. 

Factors that appeared to reduce Alzheimer’s risk include coffee, vitamins C and E, folate, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, statins ,antihypertensives, and estrogen supplementation.

Nine factors cited by the review to increase risk of Alzheimer’s include high body mass index (BMI) in midlife; carotid artery disease; hypertension; depression; frailty; being poorly educated; having high level of homocysteine; smoking and/or having type 2 diabetes (especially in those of Asian ancestry).

Dr. Jin-Tai Yu, the leading researcher, believes it’s beneficial for people to identify the risk factors that they can change to reduce their risk for Alzheimer’s.