Number of visits to the hospital or respiratory symptoms related to bronchiolitis are not reduced or improved by administration of steroids, respectively.

This finding was disclosed in a study published in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

From News-Medical.Net:

The study compared hospitalization rates for 600 children between the ages of 2 months and 12 months who visited emergency rooms with moderate-to-severe bronchiolitis. Patients were treated with either a dose of dexamethasone (a glucocorticoid form of steroid medication) or a placebo and evaluated after one hour, and again at four hours. The hospital admission rate for both groups was identical at nearly 40 percent. Both groups improved during treatment, but the placebo group did as well as the group treated with active medication. The study was conducted in the emergency departments at 20 hospitals across the United States between November and April during a three-year period. Bronchiolitis is most common during the winter months.

“We learned that a commonly used treatment doesn’t work,” said Howard M. Corneli, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah and the principal investigator on the study. “Now that we’ve demonstrated glucocorticoids aren’t effective in treating bronchiolitis, we can focus our efforts on finding better treatments and better preventive strategies.”

These findings by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) are hailed by the medical community as a set of qualified advice for treating bronchiolitis, one of the most common causes of infant hospitalization.

Nathan Kuppermann, M.D., a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis, chair of the PECARN network’s steering committee, and the senior investigator of the study, was of the view that this study demonstrates the power of PECARN in providing answers to otherwise difficult-to-answer questions.

The use of anabolic steroids can pose a big danger to health of users besides being illegal, according to Aaron L. Baggish, M.D., lead author of the study and instructor in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The use of steroids in long run could weaken the heart more than previously considered along with leading to heart failure, as per a research reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Baggish and his co-investigators used a technique known as Doppler echocardiography to examine the left ventricle’s function and structure. The test uses high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound, to create moving pictures of the heart and its blood flow.

The steroid-using group included 12 male weight lifters, average age 40, who reported taking about 675 milligrams of steroids per week for nine years. The control group was seven age-matched, male weight lifters who reported no steroid exposure. Both groups had similar durations of past and current weight lifting and other physical activity, as well as similar cardiac risk factors other than steroid use. Although the users and non-users had comparable body-mass indices and body-surface areas, the steroid users had more muscle mass than the non-users.

Despite the small sample size, the statistically significant differences in heart function suggest a strong link between steroid use and heart impairment, said investigators who are conducting further studies to confirm their findings.

Co-authors of the study were Rory B. Weiner, M.D.; Gen Kanayama, M.D., Ph.D.; James I. Hudson, M.D.; Sc.D.; Michael H. Picard, M.D.; Adolph M. Hutter, Jr., M.D.; and Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D.

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that plants tends to “pump” as major league baseball players do on steroids when they are given extra shots of the plant steroid, brassinolide. The research team was able to unravel how the growth-boosting hormone performs this job at the molecular level while tracing signal of brassinolide deep into the cell’s nucleus.

The Salk researchers, led by Joanne Chory, a professor in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, published their findings in the journal Nature.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Brassinolide, a member of a family of plant hormones known as brassinosteroids, is a key element of plants’ response to light, enabling them to adjust growth to reach light or strengthen stems. Exploiting its potent growth-promoting properties could increase crop yields or enable growers to make plants more resistant to drought, pathogens, and cold weather.

Unfortunately, synthesizing brassinosteroids in the lab is complicated and expensive. But understanding how plant steroids work at the molecular level may one day lead to cheap and simple ways to bulk up crop harvests.

Likewise, since low brassinolide levels are associated with dwarfism, manipulating hormone levels during dormant seasons may allow growers to control the height of grasses, trees or other plants, thereby eliminating the need to constantly manicure gardens.

Based on earlier studies, the Salk researchers had developed a model that explained what happens inside a plant cell when brassinolide signals a plant cell to start growing.

It was remarked by Chory that the study clarifies what happens in the downstream in the nucleus when a signal is transmitted by the brassinolide to a plant cell to grow.

When triamcinolone is directly injected into the human eye, the progression of diabetic retinopathy can be slowed down to a significant extent as per findings reported in the December issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a condition that characterizes formation of new blood vessels on the optic disc or another retina component.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Corticosteroids have been shown to interfere with the creation of new blood vessels, possibly by reducing the production of compounds that spur their growth, the authors note. However, steroids are also associated with other eye diseases.

“Use of this intravitreal [injected into the eye] corticosteroid preparation to reduce the likelihood of progression of retinopathy is not warranted at this time because of the increased risk of glaucoma and cataract associated with intravitreal steroid use,” the authors write. “Any treatment to be used routinely to prevent proliferative diabetic retinopathy likely needs to be relatively safe because the condition already can be treated successfully and safely with panretinal photocoagulation. Nevertheless, further investigation with regard to the role of pharmacotherapy for reduction of the incidence of progression of retinopathy appears to be warranted.”

This study was conducted by Neil M. Bressler, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues in the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network and involved 840 eyes of 693 participants having macular edema.

Benfotiamene, a form of vitamin B1, can show its efficacy for treating one of the leading causes of blindness in the world as per researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Striking results are possible of being achieved with benfotiamene, a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1, as per the involved researchers in a paper appearing in an issue of the Journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

This ailment is currently treated with antibiotics or steroid eye drops.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“Benfotiamene strongly suppresses this eye-damaging condition and the biochemical markers we associate with it,” said UTMB associate professor Kota V. Ramana, senior author of the study. “We’re optimistic that this simple supplementation with vitamin B1 has great potential as a new therapy for this widespread eye disease.”

The researchers’ data shows benfotiamene works by suppressing the activation of a crucial signaling molecule called NF-kappa B, which is normally triggered by the stress caused by infection. Shutting down NF-kappa B, they said, prevents the runaway production of inflammatory proteins that generates uveitis.

Benfotiamene’s low cost, rapid absorption by the body and lack of negative side effects make it an ideal candidate for uveitis prevention, according to Ramana.

It was concluded by Ramana that the vitamin B1 type is better than thiamine, which was suggested by clinical trials, and has the capability of offering advantages such as significant improvements in terms of diabetic polyneuropathy in patients.

Steroids may prove effective when it comes to the treatment of vestibular neuritis that leads to dizziness due to a viral infection of the vestibular nerve, as per a new study.

This study was aimed to find out if a steroid drug, antiviral agent, or a combination of the two can prove effective for improving the outcome of patients with vestibular neuritis.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

Researchers conducted a study to see if a steroid drug, antiviral agent, or a combination of the two could improve the outcome of patients with vestibular neuritis. For the study, 141 patients who were diagnosed with vestibular neuritis were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups. The treatment groups included the corticosteroid group (that received methylprednisolone, also known as Medrol), the antiviral agent group (that received valacyclovir, also known as Valtrex), a group that received both, and a group that received placebo. Researchers followed up with patients three days after treatment and again 12 months after treatment.

Researchers found that 62 percent of the patients on the steroid improved compared to 39 percent in the placebo group, 36 percent in the antiviral group and 59 percent in the combination group. Researchers say the antiviral drug clearly did not improve the outcome in patients with vestibular neuritis despite the assumed viral cause. In fact, the steroid-alone group had better outcomes than the steroid-antiviral combination group.

It was found by the involved researchers that methylprednisolone alone can significant improve recovery of patients with vestibular neuritis.

Children administered with steroids to treat chicken pox are at a higher risk of a more severe case of the virus leading to death.

The finding was revealed by pediatric oncologists at the Brenner Children’s Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Steroids are used to treat leukemia and they suppress the immune system,” said Thomas McLean, a pediatric oncologist at Brenner Children’s Hospital. “When a child is exposed to the varicella virus (the virus that causes chicken pox) around the time they are receiving steroid treatment, they are more likely to contract a more severe case of chicken pox.”

McLean and his colleagues studied 697 patients with acute leukemia over a nine-year period. About 16 percent or 110 patients contracted chicken pox. Of those 110 patients, 54 had severe disease, including two deaths. Of the patients whose chicken pox was diagnosed within three weeks of taking steroids, 70 percent had severe infection whereas only 44 percent of those who had not received steroid therapy within three weeks had severe infection. Although the study was limited to patients with leukemia, the findings may apply to other conditions for which steroids are used, McLean said.

“One of the things we need to remember to ask before we prescribe steroid treatment is whether the child has had a recent exposure to chicken pox,” McLean said. “If so, we recommend waiting until the incubation period has passed before beginning steroid therapy.”

It was noted that chicken pox, though mild in nature, can result in fatal complications. It is worth noting here that there were approximately 12,000 deaths from chicken pox on a yearly basis before the discovery of varicella vaccine.

A type of Vitamin B1 has been identified by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. This Vitamin B1 type may prove to be an effective treatment form for managing one of the leading causes of blindness in the world.

In a paper that appeared in an issue of the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, the researchers noted that dramatic results can be attained with a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1, benfotiamene.

Presently, the complication is treated with antibiotics or steroid eye drops.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“Benfotiamene strongly suppresses this eye-damaging condition and the biochemical markers we associate with it,” said UTMB associate professor Kota V. Ramana, senior author of the study. “We’re optimistic that this simple supplementation with vitamin B1 has great potential as a new therapy for this widespread eye disease.”

The researchers’ data shows benfotiamene works by suppressing the activation of a crucial signaling molecule called NF-kappa B, which is normally triggered by the stress caused by infection. Shutting down NF-kappa B, they said, prevents the runaway production of inflammatory proteins that generates uveitis.

Benfotiamene’s low cost, rapid absorption by the body and lack of negative side effects make it an ideal candidate for uveitis prevention, according to Ramana.

Benfotiamene is better than thiamine, which was suggested by clinical trials in this regard, and offers benefits such as improvements in terms of diabetic polyneuropathy in patients, as per Ramana.

Luke Troy, the Australian club rugby prop, is in limelight but for wrong reasons this time after a two-year ban was imposed on him for steroid orders.

It was reported that Troy, Newcastle Waratahs club prop, ordered two separate types of steroid drugs (21 packets of testosterone-1 a mixture of Androstenes in February 2006 and 100 capsules of DHEA 200 containing 200 mg dehydropepiandrosterone per capsule in August 2006).

The Australian Rugby Union cleared him at the initial stage because the intercepted drugs were not proven to what the packaging revealed and were not collected from the customs in person.

From Brisbanetimes.com.au:

Troy had told ASADA: ”I acknowledge that I may have been naive to order [over the internet] but did so in good faith with no intention of using any prohibited substance. However at no time did I have possession of such items due to them being seized by Australian Customs.”

However the International Rugby Board appealed against the decision of the ARU and asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to decide the matter.

This week the CAS ruled Troy had committed an anti-doping violation by using or attempting to use a prohibited substance. The CAS found that Troy had searched the internet for products, deliberately ordered products believing they contained testosterone and DHEA and that he intended to use those substances personally for ”recovery and meal replacement”.

The CAS said it was not essential that the substances were in fact proven to be prohibited substances.

Troy was banned until May 5, 2011 from playing sports on the accusations of ordering steroids.

The incident is expected to influence other sports drugs tribunal hearings that involve non-analytical evidence.

Steroid hormones‘ intermittent signaling can affect gene expression in rodents according to a research by scientists at the University of Bristol and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA.

The finding is believed to provide invaluable insight to understand as to why steroids work along with creating novel avenues for new therapies.

The findings of this study are published online and expected to appear in the September 2009 issue of Nature Cell Biology.

From News-Medical.Net:

Glucocorticoid hormones, which were investigated in this study, are steroid hormones secreted by the adrenal glands that are involved in a large variety of animal and human physiological responses.

Glucocorticoids act through the glucocorticoid receptor, which is expressed in almost every cell in the body and regulates genes controlling development, metabolism, and immune response.

Studies of the glucocorticoid receptor typically assess gene responses after long-term stimulation with synthetic hormones. However, such treatments may not fully replicate the actual situation in living animals because, in addition to being released from the adrenal glands in a 24-hour circadian pattern, these hormones are also released in a pulsing mode, cycling approximately every hour, in what is referred to as ultradian cycling.

In this new study, the researchers demonstrate that ultradian hormone stimulation induces the pulsed expression of genes (known as gene pulsing) over the same period, both in cultured cells and in animal models. Initially, the researchers administered corticosterone, a naturally occurring glucocorticoid hormone in rodents, in a pulsed manner to cultured mouse cells and then observed that the levels of newly synthesized RNA from glucocorticoid receptor-regulated genes tracked precisely with the hormone pulses.

Professor Stafford Lightman, head of the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, at the University of Bristol, remarked that cortisol gets gradually released in pulses in rodents and humans. It was also remarked that the study suggests this hormonal pattern release is important for sound health and providing a novel concept for new drug design.

A spent syringe that had an undetectable anabolic steroid and was provided to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and the contents delivered to the research team in Los Angeles has been identified as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).

The details of this research were published in an issue of Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.

From News-Medical.Net:

Urine samples were purposely spiked with the newly identified THG and various analyses carried out to determine how the substance could be detected. Although it is not detectable by standard doping control screening, THG was found to be easily detectable by alternate methods. Once detection methods were established, the substance was administered to a baboon both intravenously and intramuscularly, and its excreted urine collected for analysis. It was determined that THG is detectable in urine after both IV and IM administration.

The designer drug identified in this study is different from anabolic steroids previously found in athletes’ urine samples. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that its use could pose health risks, and it cannot be legally marketed without approval.

It was remarked by Catlin that no one will be using this drug from now on as tests to identify have will feature in doping tests. It is worth noting here that THG is detectable in urine after both IV and IM administration.

Pharmacists can considerably reduce worries of patients in relation to the use of steroids by as much as 50 percent through intervening to address patients’ concerns, as per a new research launched at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

The study, which was undertaken by Pharmacy Alliance, the Medicines Management Division of UniChem, investigated the inputs of community pharmacists in collaboration with general physicians for meeting the needs of patients with atomic eczema.

From News-Medical.Net:

The results showed that, following help and advice from a pharmacist, or pharmacy staff:

* Steroid concerns reduced from 68% to 30%

* Poor understanding of atopic eczema fell from 43% to 6%

* The need for lifestyle advice dropped from 51% to 20%

The research also found that:

Community pharmacists identified a total of 1,597 problems. Of these:

* 20% involved steroid concerns

* 15% required lifestyle advice

* 12% of patients had unmet treatment goals

* 11% of patients had poor understanding of atopic eczema

Pharmacist Caroline Tinkler who led the study remarked that it is important for the patients to be appropriately educated about eczema and treatment to derive optimum benefits and relief.

It was suggested that a pharmacist advice can relieve worries of patients who are about to use topical corticosteroids, to a great extent.

After federal officials raided the company’s headquarters and their warehouse in Boise, Idaho, chief executive officer of Meridian, Ryan de Luca, said they decided to recall 65 of their products that matched the list in the FDA’s search warrant.

There was no bargain or agreement between the company and the US Food and Drug Administration. De Luca made it clear that the recall has nothing to do with any agreement or with FDA’s suspicions that Bodybuilding.com sells and distributes steroids.

According to de Luca, the company was not aware of the products containing prohibited ingredients. Manufacturers assured them that the products were properly classified as dietary supplements in compliance with federal law.

The company’s main objective was to distribute and sell safe and effective products.

Steroids can cause a list of long-term side effects such as liver damage, kidney abnormalities, cardiovascular problems and even death.

De Luca is proud to say that the company did not suffer much from the recall since Bodybuilding.com sells more than 12,000 products online aside from those recalled products. They also sell protein powder and multivitamins.

According to the company, instructions on how to return products can be seen on their website, Bodybuilding.com. Customers can also contact the company through email at service@bodybuilding.com or through phone by calling 1-866-236-8417.

From Idaho Statesman:

The Meridian online retailer decided to recall 65 products listed in federal search warrants a few days after federal officials raided the company’s headquarters and Boise warehouse, the chief executive officer said Tuesday.

Clomid, which is predominantly used in the medical world for treating female infertility, is now extending its reach to bodybuilders and professional athletes. The response of bodybuilders as well as non-bodybuilders to this wonder drug with amazing results has been exceptionally well.

Clomid, which is also known as Clomifene and Clomifert, provides great benefits to bodybuilders when it comes to the restoration of natural producing testosterone, the male sex hormone.

Its primary objective is to block the inhibition of estrogen and not the stimulation of hypothalamus or pituitary besides being useful in increasing the amount of fluid during ejaculation.

From Wikiepdia.org:

Clomifene acts by inhibiting the action of estrogen on the hypothalamus. Zuclomifene, the more active isomer (see below), binds to estrogen receptors and stays bound for long periods of time. This prevents normal receptor recycling and causes an effective reduction in hypothalamic estrogen receptor number. Since estrogen can no longer effectively feedback on the hypothalamus, GnRH secretion becomes more pulsatile, which results in increased pituitary gonadotropin (FSH, LH) release. Increased gonadotropin levels cause growth of the ovarian follicle, followed by follicular rupture, otherwise known as ovulation.

Clomifene can lead to multiple ovulation, and hence increasing the chance of twins (3-5% of births instead of normal ~1%). In comparison to purified FSH, the rate of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is low. There may be an increased risk of ovarian cancer and weight gain.

Clomifene is commonly used by male anabolic steroid users to bind the estrogen receptors in their bodies, thereby blocking the effects of estrogen, i.e., gynecomastia. It also restores the body’s natural production of testosterone. It is commonly used as a “recovery drug” and taken toward the end of a steroid cycle.[citation needed] Some users report that taking Clomid increases the amount of fluid produced during ejaculation.

Recent medical studies have suggested that Clomid is an exceptionally useful steroid when taken at the end of a steroid cycle. This is primarily because of the fact that it considerably reduces the risk of risk of gynecomastia during a steroid cycle due to the employment of aromatizable steroids.

As per a new study, adults over 55 years fear Alzheimer’s disease more than the dreaded cancer, and with good reasons. The fact that there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease only adds to their agony.

But now, there have been suggestions from the Georgetown University that spirostenols, which is a new class of Anti-Alzheimer’s disease, can prove to be effective for undoing characteristic pathophysiology of Alzheimer-affected brains. It was further suggested after more clinical tests that Caprospinol (SP-233), which is one such molecule, can actually reverse the course of an Alzheimer-like disease induced in rats.

From News-Medical.Net:

Buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain has been recognized as a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s for close to a century. Significant research points to this buildup as a causative factor in the development and progression of the disease. Until recently this hypothesis could not be tested definitively because of a lack of treatments that eliminate beta-amyloid plaques.

Samaritan Pharmaceutical scientists, working with leading researchers from Georgetown and McGill Universities, have demonstrated in a rat animal model, used to test new innovative drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, that Caprospinol clears amyloid plaque from the brain and restored memory. More impressively, treated rats perform as well or better in standardized behavioral tests than healthy control animals. In addition to eliminating plaque, Caprospinol appears to reverse the damage to memory and cognition that amyloid plaque causes.

Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, of McGill University Health Center, an adviser to Samaritan, and the discoverer of anti-Alzheimer’s spirostenols recently published a paper reviewing current development-stage approaches to treating Alzheimer’s disease (Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery, 2007, 2, 113-123). In this article, he identified amyloid plaque as a key target for therapy. The paper also summarized the research on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as well as beta-amyloid aggregation inhibitors, of which Caprospinol is an example.

Caprospinol, which is a steroid, has now got the go-ahead from the FDA for testing on humans. It is believed to cause no unexpected interactions with other medications that may be taken by an Alzheimer patient.

Conservative treatment for lupus includes topical creams, anti-malarial drugs, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). While more aggressive therapy for patients with severe disease often includes the use of high-dose steroids and other immunosuppressive and cytotoxic drugs, such as Imuran (azathioprine), Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide), methotrexate, and Cellcept (mycophenolate mofetil).

However, the health and survival of lupus patients have steadily improved over the past 35 years despite the fact that no new lupus treatments have been approved since 1970.

From Medpage today:

The average annual mortality rate for lupus during the period from 1997 to 2005 was 1.8%, down from 14% during the period 1970 to 1978, a highly significant (P<0.0001) decline.

They analyzed records from 1,184 lupus patients (representing 10,744 patient-years) who had been followed with clinical and laboratory evaluations every two to six months from 1970 to 2005. They found that survival rates in patients with lupus have been improving, and the overall level of disease activity seems to be improving as well.

He pointed out that there has been a sea change in the prognosis for lupus patients over the last 30 years. “We know people are not dying of lupus as early and signs seem to suggest that we are coming up with better algorithms for treatment,” he said.

Dr. Urowitz and his colleagues reviewed records form 228 lupus patients treated from 1970 to 1978; 363 patients treated 1979 to 1987; 260 treated from 1988 to 1996; and 333 patients treated from 1997 to 2005.

During the 35 years studied, steroid use was fairly constant but the cumulative doses of steroids decreased, while the use of immunosuppressives increased.

According to Dr. Murray Urowitz and colleagues, the credit for the steady improvement goes to three factors. These are aggressive treatment, more use of immunosuppressants, and a reduction in the cumulative dose of steroids.

In a recently concluded study, it was revealed that children suffering from persistent asthma and under the age of 12 years need highly motivated parents in order to attain optimum benefits of regular steroid inhaler treatment therapy.

The study put light on the fact that parents of black asthmatic children rate the involved doctor lower than their white counterparts.

It was discovered that parents of asthmatic children who did not administer prescribed medication to children were known to have an existing war of words and ideology with the doctors, as per Kathryn L. Moseley, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School.

From News-Medical.Net:

For the parents who did not give the medications as prescribed, we found specific characteristics of their experience with the doctor that were associated with less adherence,” says Kathryn L. Moseley, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School.

The U-M results suggest that improved physicians’ relationships with these parents could help reduce the frequency of asthma attacks and hospitalizations among minority children.

One way to improve parents’ trust and confidence is for clinics to make sure that parents with children who have persistent asthma see the same doctor each time if possible, Moseley says. During office visits, doctors could make sure that parents feel that their questions and concerns are fully addressed, says Moseley. The study, which appears in the May issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association, also shows that parents who are not adhering to asthma treatments are in many cases not getting flu shots for their children.

Children who don’t get regular steroid inhaler treatments for their asthma are at higher risk of complications from influenza. So there’s an added reason for physicians to work to increase rapport with minority parents.

Insurers as well as physicians may want to act on the study results. Some insurers target messages to their clients to encourage better preventive care to save costs, Moseley says.

“They might want to create specific interventions to encourage parents to get flu shots for their children and also ask, ‘Any problems with giving the inhaler doses?’”

Study details Moseley and her colleagues interviewed 282 parents of children aged 2 through 12 who had asthma-related physician visits in 2004 and 2005. Parents were asked about their children’s use of steroid inhalers and about vaccination against influenza. The researchers also adapted a well-known questionnaire, the Primary Care Assessment Survey, to measure parents’ perceptions about their encounters with their child’s physician.

Black parents in the survey did not have some of the common obstacles to regular asthma care, such as lack of insurance or a family doctor.

The involved researchers of this study remarked that a better doctor-parent relationship can go a long way in treatment of asthma and reducing hospitalization among the minority child group.

Budesonide, a steroid nasal wash, can help in minimizing the symptoms of chronic sinusitis without affecting adrenal gland functions, as per a small US Study.

Chronic Sinusitis refers to a continuing inflammation of the nose and sinuses behind it that affects up to 14 percent population of the United States.

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis remarked that the study was the first one to scrutinize safety of such a nasal wash. The study also noted that suppression of the functions of the adrenal gland is a known barrier of Budesonide.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

All participants reported at least some improvement in their sinusitis symptoms, and their adrenal gland function was not affected, the study found. The results were published in the March issue of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

“The clinical significance of this study is that budesonide nasal respules appear safe for short-term use for the relief of symptoms associated with chronic sinusitis,” the researchers concluded. “Budesonide respules seem to provide an effective treatment option for the patient with chronic rhinosinusitis with minimal fear of systemic adverse effects.”

The FDA has yet to give nod to this drug as a nasal wash and this means that nasal wash of this study would be an off-label use of Budesonide.

In the meanwhile, researchers advised the medical fraternity to advise patients about the possible risks associated with long-term usage of Budesonide such as decreased bone mineral density.

As per the latest study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, it was found that low doses of hydrocortisone (steroid) can bring slight improvements in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms but at the cost of a possible risk to adrenal suppression.

Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation at NIAID and Senior Author on the study commented that the kind of adrenal suppression in context of the steroid seems to be justified for treatment of CFS patients.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

“The data show that about half the people on placebo and two-thirds of those taking hydrocortisone reported some improvement in well-being,” comments Stephen E. Straus, M.D., chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation at NIAID and senior author on the study. “The greater benefit seen in the hydrocortisone group, however, was modest, and there was clear evidence of adrenal suppression by the drug.” Twelve of 33 patients on the therapy developed laboratory evidence of adrenal insufficiency. “It was manageable and completely reversible,” says Dr. Straus, “but it’s the kind of suppression that in the context of minimal improvement afforded by the drug cannot, in our minds, justify using this treatment for CFS.

The study was closely watched by the medical world with a hope that the troubling woes of CFS patients will finally come to an end. But, the risk of suppression is a bit of a concern. This is the reason why Strauss is further testing fludrocortisone in 100 patients with CFS and neurally mediated hypotension with his team so that the potential danger of adrenal suppression can be completely outplayed.

Health statistics will reveal that close to 37 million Americans suffer from acute sinus pressure, nasal congestion and post nasal drips per year. The most common therapy suggested by the doctors in this regard includes antibiotics which have proved to be a big relief from this acute condition. However this is seen to be followed by a chest cold most of the times.

However, good news associated with its treatment is that a new research has been carried out by Isareli experts which says that steroid nasal sprays can help ease symptoms of sinus in a much better way and also aid in speedy recovery to a great extent. This can prove to be of great advantage for patients suffering from it because sinus is an extremely painful state for the patient.

From news-medical.net:

Every year, nearly 37 million Americans suffer from the sinus pressure, nasal congestion, cough and postnasal drip that accompany sinusitis.

Doctors often prescribe antibiotics to relieve acute sinusitis, which can develop following a chest cold. However, steroid nasal sprays – either alone or with antibiotic therapy - may better ease symptoms and speed recovery, suggests a new review by Israeli researchers.

In this review, Anca Zalmanovici, a family physician at Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva, and her co-author analyzed data from four randomized controlled trials including nearly 2,000 participants, all with clinical symptoms of acute sinusitis.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library , a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

The research was carried out by taking a sample size of nearly 2000 participants for randomized trials suffering from severe sinusitis. The patients who had to undergo X-ray or nasal endoscopy in order to confirm the diagnosis either received a placebo or intranasal corticosteroids for two or three weeks. They were injected with steroids alone or in combination with antibiotics as well, The Intranasal corticosteroids used primarily included fluticasone propionate (Flonase), mometasone furoate (Nasonex) and the evry well known budesonide (Rhinocort).

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid, which is primarily consumed by athletes to increase body’s capacity to perform optimally, thereby reducing the physical exertion caused because of heavy training. Anabolic steroids are basically synthesized form the male hormone called the testosterone which helps in the building of muscle mass in one’s body. Although the intake of these steroids has been banned by many sports, their precise effect on the human body is still a question of scientific debate.

However, the important issue to be addressed here is whether the tests for the steroid, nandrolone is conclusive or not. Even if the tests reveal that the intake of anabolic steroid is to primarily develop muscle growth and strength in the body, this cannot be held against the athlete who has taken it.

From BBC:

Even though a drug test may indicate that the subject has apparently taken nandrolone to boost muscle growth and increase strength, this does not necessarily prove wrongdoing.

It is possible that the body may naturally create a form of nandrolone, particularly if the subject has eaten large quantities of meat contaminated with the substance.

It is also possible that dietary supplements taken perfectly legally by some athletes are broken down by the body to produce the same substances created when nandrolone is broken down.

This is precisely so because studies reveal that nandrolone can also naturally develop inside the body if one takes in large amount of meat contaminated by this particular steroid. Besides, the compounds into which some dietary supplements are further broken down are also very similar to those formed when nandrolone is synthesized which indeed reveal that the athlete cannot always be held responsible of consuming them.

Some known names which have been tested positive for the intake of steroid nandrolone are Merlene Ottey, sprinter, Mark Richardson, swimmer, Linford Christie, sprinter, Korda, Czech, tennis player, Djamel Bouras, judo player and Igor Shalimov, footballer.

Labeled as a steroid cheater, Justin Gatlin, who is in the midst of his four-year ban, was preparing hard to come back on track. The 27-year-old sprinter is on a four-year suspension from the competitions after testing positive for steroid in April 2006.

After practice session he said, “The track is home and this is where I belong.” When asked about the steroid issue, He also said that he didn’t use steroids intentionally. Gatlin claimed that it was the outcome of a massage done with a steroid cream.

Prior to this, the claim was originally made by Trevor Graham, his former coach, who said that the sprinter, before visiting doping control at the Kansas Relays, was pulled aside for a massage. However, the athlete didn’t make appeal against the penalty from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August of that year.

Earlier, he got suspension for eight years for testing positive for amphetamines at the University of Tennessee. But the ban was cut to four years due to his claim that the test occurred positive because of Adderall, an attention deficit disorder drug.

But it now seems that Gatlin has kept whole issue on backburner and his eagerly waiting for July 2010 when his ban ends. In this period he is struggling to make a come back and once again will give his competitors nightmares.

From The Daily News:

Justin Gatlin has been away from that home for a long time. The 27-year-old sprinter is in the midst of a four-year ban from competition after a positive steroid test in April 2006. Gatlin maintains that he didn’t knowingly take steroids, claims a vengeful masseuse rubbed him with a steroid cream, causing the positive test. It was a claim originally made by Trevor Graham, Gatlin’s former coach and a BALCO defendant, who said the sprinter was pulled aside for a massage moments before visiting doping control at the Kansas Relays. Gatlin has since adopted the argument, although he didn’t fight the penalty from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August of that year. He faced a lifetime ban, thanks to a prior positive test at the University of Tennessee for amphetamines found in the Attention Deficit Disorder drug Adderall, so Gatlin jumped when USADA offered an eight-year ban with an option to appeal if he acknowledged the tests.

Miguel Tejada, the star baseball player, was sentenced for a year’s probabtion and fine of $5,000 by federal court on the charges of misleading the Congress. In a 23-minute hearing on Thursday, the legendary player confessed his misleading act. Though any travel restriction was not put on the star by the court.

Tejada admitted that he withheld information from congressional investigators about the use of performance-enhancing drugs by an ex-teammate in 2005. He told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay that he took full responsibility for not clearing the doubt and confusing the Congress.

Tejada apologized to everyone and said, “I learned a very important lesson.” He also admitted that he himself bought human growth hormone while playing for the Oakland Athletics but threw it without using.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham said, “People have to know that when Congress asks questions, it is serious business.” He also told that if you lie we can prove it that you are lying and then there will be no liability.

From ESPN:

Congress referred Tejada to the Justice Department in January 2008, a little more than a year before it asked that Clemens be investigated to determine whether he lied when saying he never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Tejada was the All-Star sitting in court this day, his chin resting on his right hand while Durham talked. Tejada was the past American League MVP receiving his punishment after pleading guilty last month and admitting he withheld information about an ex-teammate’s use of performance-enhancing drugs when questioned in 2005 by congressional investigators.

“I take full responsibility for not answering the question,” Tejada told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay.

Standing at a lectern facing Kay, Tejada spoke softly for less than a minute, the talented hands he normally uses to grip a bat or field ground balls stuffed in the pant pockets of his pinstriped, three-piece suit.

Tejada became the first high-profile player whose name come with any sort of steroid issue from baseball. The court also gave a warning to another baseball star, Roger Clemens.

Ed Wade, Astros general manager, said in a statement that the team and whole organization was happy that the issue had been resolved. He also said, “Miguel can now focus on baseball and direct all of his energy toward being a key member of the Astros. It was resolved the way Miguel and his representatives believed it would be, and we can now all move forward.”

Tejada’s steroid issue started in March 2005 when Rafael Palmeiro, one of his teammate, claimed that he was tested positive because of a tainted B-12 vitamin injection given to him by Tejada. And from this point onwards, the needle of suspection moved towards the star player.

The question on everybody’s mind now is if the controversial diuretic bumetanide is also the culprit behind Erik Ainge’s suspension.

The Jets’ rookie quarterback is suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. No mention of the specific substance he tested positive for.

What the league stated was only: “Erik Ainge of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for four games for violating the NFL policy on steroids and related substances”.

“We respect the league’s decision and look forward to Erik’s return,” a Jets spokesman said.
Ainge will serve the suspension without pay. He is eligible to return to team’s roster Dec.15.

A spate of failed dope tests has rocked the league due to the allegedly spiked StarCaps weight-loss pills. Other players who tested positive for bumetanide were New Orleans Saints’ running backs Jamar Nesbit and Deuce McAllister, and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant. Minnesota Vikings’ defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams also tested positive for the loop diuretic, as well as Atlanta Falcons’ Grady Jackson.

Bumetanide is considered to be a masking agent for anabolic steroids.

According to ProFootballTalk, Ainge did test positive for a diuretic but it’s not from StarCaps.

Chris Mortesen of ESPN reports that Jets quarterback Erik Ainge is the previously unknown eighth player who tested positive for a banned diuretic.

But, per Mort, Ainge didn’t take StarCaps.  Instead, he took a diuretic he obtained from his girlfriend.

So the confirmation of the four-game suspension doesn’t necessarily mean that the StarCappers will lose their appeals

The International Olympic Committee thinks that in order to have a clean 2012 Olympics, Britain must first toughen up its legislation with regards to use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. However, Britain seems to be stalling in passing legislation to outlaw the possession, supply and distribution of PEDs.

Still, Arne Ljungqvist, the chairman of the IOC’s medical commission, is optimistic that the British government can accommodate their proposal for stricter anti-doping laws, under which athletes and suppliers can go to jail.

“I think legislation is very important that criminalizes certain offenses as detailed in the WADA code because it allows public authorities to intervene where we cannot,” said  Ljungqvist, who is also a board member at the Word Anti-Doping Agency.

“We as sports authorities have our limited possibilities regulated by our code. We can do testing but we cannot do searches.”

IOC says it will raise the topic later this month in London on the post-Beijing debrief to be participated in by Olympic host and bidding cities. The sports organization may lay out as a pre-requisite that bidding countries for future Olympic Games should have anti-doping laws.

Although Britain is expected to have a new independent anti-doping agency by next year, the host country is still resisting the pressure to criminalize doping.

Former Ontario chief justice Charles Dubin died last October 27 at the age of 87.

Dubin, best known for his heading of the inquiry of the Ben Johnson’s steroid case, was laid to rest at the Holy Blossom Temple with about 300 mourners paying their last respects.

Among the service attendees were the controversial sprinter Johnson and his coach Charlie Francis. Johnson and Francis, who figured prominently at Dubin Inquiry in 1989, expressed their appreciation of the former justice’s fairness.

“He gave me a fair shake,” Johnson said after the service.

“I don’t have no hard feelings towards him. He’s a great man in his environment, the law, and I respect that.”

“He did his best to bring everything out and give a chance to say how things were,” Francis said. “He was a great man.”

After conducting the doping inquiry in 1989, Dubin endorsed significant anti-doping measures. He also voiced out his criticisms “against coaches, doctors, Athletics Canada, the Olympic movement and the governing body of track and field for the events that led to Johnson’s disgrace”, according to Canadian Press.

The Johnson doping case is considered to be the turning point in the history of modern sports – it has opened the eyes of the sports officials, as well as that of the public, about the practice of doping among athletes.

Johnson won the gold in the 100m final in Seoul in 1988 Olympics, beating his rival American Carl Lewis. Three days after his victory, the Canadian sprinter was stripped of his gold medal when his urine sample showed traces of the anabolic steroid stanozolol (Winstrol).

Johnson had vehemently denied he had used any prohibited drug until his testimony before the Dubin Inquiry in I989. Testifying before the inquiry, Johnson admitted using steroids. Francis, his coach, also testified that Jonson had been taking steroids since 1981.

Dubin was born in Hamilton in 1921 and when he was 29-years-old he was made Queen’s Counsel – then the youngest person in the Commonwealth to receive the honor.

He served as Ontario’s associate chief justice in 1987 and chief justice in 1990 until 1996.
In 1997, he was named an officer of the Order of Canada for his “profound and lasting effect upon the Canadian judiciary.”

Nikki Haskell’s famous line reads: “If I can’t do it in high heels, I’m not interested”.

The question is will she be wearing high heels when she faces possibly multiple lawsuits NFL players might heap on her dainty feet because definitely she should be interested with the suits.

New Orleans Saints’ offensive lineman Jamar Nesbit filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a New Jersey federal district court against StarCaps, a company founded by Haskell.

Nesbit’s camp alleged that the product was ‘improperly stacked with a diuretic’, a compound which is included in the NFL’s list of prohibited substance. Said diuretic is bumetanide prescribed for individuals suffering from edema associated with congestive heart failure, hepatic and renal disease, including the nephrotic syndrome.

According to Nesbit’s lawyer Brian Malloy, the Saints player is seeking $235,000 to recoup his salary lost due his four-game suspension in September when he tested positive for said diuretic. Nesbit has just returned to his team’s active roster late last month from his suspension.

Diuretics are prohibited by most major sports organizations because they are often used to facilitate weight loss via their ability to enhance rapid water loss through urine excretion. They are also utilized as masking agents, i.e. they are used to purposely block or hide the presence of illicit compounds in the system. They do this by rapidly diluting urine by increasing renal flow. The result is lowered levels of the banned substance being excreted from the body.

StarCaps has suspended the sale of its weight loss product which has been alleged to contain bumetanide. Bumetanide is a loop diuretic and is included in the NFL’s list of prohibited compounds.

The company issued this emailed statement: “We’ve received notice of the problem with the NFL. We have referred the matter to our counsels and are taking all necessary steps to ensure that our customers receive product that is safe and effective. We have temporarily suspended shipping pending the result of our investigation.”

The company faces a lawsuit from Saints’ player Jamar Nesbit. Nesbit was slapped with a four-game suspension in September for violating the NFL’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. According to reports, the Saints’s offensive lineman tested positive for bumetanide and he blamed the StarCaps product for the positive test.

Nesbit’s attorney, Brian Malloy, said the product was tainted with the said diuretic. Nesbit is seeking $235,000 in lost salary from his suspension and additional damages to compensate for harm done to his reputation and for the alleged intentional, undisclosed spiking of the product with bumetanide.

StarCaps was founded by socialite and diet guru Nikki Haskell. The StarCaps dietary supplement is advertised as an ‘all-natural dietary supplement’ containing ‘a rare blend of papaya and garlic’.

Several players, prominently from the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, are currently under investigation for testing positive for bumetanide. Among the players are Vikings Pat Williams and Kevin Williams and Saints running back Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant.

It was considered as the biggest doping scandal ever in Sweden.

The crackdown took place last week when Swedish authorities swooped down on suspected drug dealers in a series of pre-dawn raids across the country. The investigation resulted to the arrest of 40 individuals and seizure of anabolic steroids, weapons and ammunition. Persons of interest were also brought in for interrogation.

According to reports, the incident on August 13 in Malmö which has resulted to the arrest of a 25-year-old man triggered the investigation. The man reportedly tried to flee the country with a bag full of cash.

Police were able to get from the suspect the name and address of a 51-year-old Gavle resident. The 51-year-old man was later arrested along with his girlfriend for doping offenses.

“We found large quantities of doping drugs and we received signals that his sales basically encompassed the whole of Sweden and took place over the internet,” said Pär Langer of the Gävleborg police department.
Police were able to retrieve data from the 51-year-old suspect’s computer that led to subsequent raids and interrogations of persons of interest.

“There’s much to suggest that this is the biggest doping scandal to have ever taken place in Sweden,” said Langer.

According to police, majority of drug sales took place at the Stockholm area and most of the buyers of anabolic steroids had associations with fitness and bodybuilding establishments in the area.

Bumetanide is now the buzz word in the National Football League.

According to Fox 31 television channel in Denver, there are six to 10 positive tests of Bumetanide among NFL’s rosters. Another news organization, ESPN.com, provided a bigger number “more than 10 and may exceed 15” it said in its report. Only two athletes have been named so far, and they are New Orleans Saints’ Deuce McAllister and Will Smith.

The sports organization is yet to release official statement on the issue. Similarly, David Cornwell, who has been hired by several of the involved parties, refused to divulge the identity of his clients or the actual number of the athletes involved. Cornwell, however, aired his views regarding how the information was reported by the media.

“These men are entitled to confidentiality and entitled to go through an appeal process, so the (Fox 31) report … is completely unfair,” Cornwell said. “The cornerstone of any workplace testing program, especially one in professional sports with high-profile people, is confidentiality.

“The recent reports about pending appeals by players who are alleged to have used weight loss supplements reflect the most egregious violation of the NFL steroids policy. The foundation of the policy is both a player’s right to appeal and an absolute right to confidentiality. By leaking this story, the ’source’ is clearly attempting to put their thumb on the scale of justice and harm these men.”

Bumetanide is loop diuretic, which means it acts on the ascending loop of Henle in the kidney. Loop diuretics are mainly used to treat hypertension and edema caused by congestive heart or renal insufficiency. Diuretics, such as Bumetanide, are often used as masking agents by some athletes. Masking agents are drugs or compounds that are taken purposely to ‘mask’ or hide steroids and other prohibited substances. This is the reason why diuretics are also tested for in doping controls. So this means that the NFL players who tested positive for Bumetanide have a whole lotta explaining to do.

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