Scientists find a protein that produces “good” fat. A study by researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center has shown that a protein known for its role in inducing bone growth can also help promote the development of brown fat, a “good” fat that helps in the expenditure of energy and plays a role in fighting obesity. “Obesity is occurring at epidemic rates in the U.S. and worldwide, and that impacts the risk and prognosis of many diseases,” said Yu-Hua Tseng, Ph.D., an assistant investigator in the Joslin Section on Obesity and Hormone Action and lead author of the paper published in the Aug. 21 issue of Nature. “We hope this study can be translated into applications to help treat or prevent obesity.” Tseng noted that obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and is closely linked to metabolic syndrome, a collection of medical problems associated with insulin resistance that can lead to an increased risk of atherosclerosis, the build up of plaque in coronary arteries that leads to heart attack and stroke. In laboratory studies of mouse cells, Tseng and her colleagues identified that a bone-inducing protein called BMP-7 drives precursor cells that give rise to mature brown fat cells. According to Tseng, there are two main types of fat cells in the body – white and brown. “White fat cells are the ‘conventional’ form of fat designed to store energy. By contrast, the main role of brown fat is to burn calories by generating heat. Brown fat cells largely disappear by adulthood in humans, but their precursors still remain in the body,” Tseng explained. In one of the experiments, the mice that developed brown fat tissue gained less weight than those that did not. In another experiment, mice that received injections of progenitor cells – similar to stem cells – that had been pre-treated with BMP-7, also developed additional brown fat tissue. “Diet and exercise are still the best approaches for weight reduction in the general population,” Tseng said. “However, for people who are genetically predisposed to obesity, these approaches may have very little effect.”

Prostate health group to meet next month. The Prostate Health Education Network, Inc., will host its fourth annual “African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit” in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25 to 26, 2008. “Since our very first summit in 2005, this event has proved highly effective in bringing together members of Congress, medical and research specialists, survivors and members of industry to address one of the biggest health crises in Black America,” says Thomas Farrington, the group’s president. African-American men die at a rate of 2.4 times that of all other men from prostate cancer. This is the largest racial disparity for any type of cancer. Because of the overwhelming success of the annual summits on Capitol Hill, the 2008 Summit will be held in conjunction with the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference. Speakers on Thursday will include Tavis Smiley, U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.); U.S. Rep Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); Dr. Edward Benz, president of the American Association of Cancer Institutes; former Major League Baseball star and prostate cancer survivor Ken Griffey, Sr.; and many others. A Friday “Town Hall Meeting” will outline an “action blueprint” to address the prostate cancer crisis in Black America. This blueprint will be presented to the incoming presidential administration in 2009. Panelists will include well-recognized leaders in the war on prostate cancer. The school will work with churches to find out who is pre-diabetic. Mercer University gets $3.1 Million diabetes prevention grant. The National Institutes of Health awarded Dr. John Boltri, a physician at the Mercer University School of Medicine, and his $3.1 million to study a church-based diabetes prevention and education programs. Mercer medical professors will be working with the Medical Center of Central Georgia in a five-year study that will launch in April or May, said Boltri, who conducted earlier research showing that the rate of diabetes was 50 percent higher in Blacks than in Whites. “We’re going into African-American churches and doing screenings for diabetes,” said Boltri, who works as a physician at the Family Health Center in Macon. “We’re looking to see who has pre-diabetes.”

Experimental vaccines based on the theory haven’t worked so far.
Antibodies in infected people could lead to widespread HIV protection. Some long-term survivors of HIV infection produce rare and extremely potent antibodies that keep the disease from progressing to AIDS. Those same survivors might point to protection that might keep uninfected people from the virus, researchers reported in the closing hours of the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The antibodies, against a particular part of a much-studied HIV protein called gp120, might prove useful as a microbicide for blocking infection during sexual intercourse, the Washington Post reports. If researchers could find a way to jump start the immune system to make its own supply of the antibodies before it encountering the virus, they would have a vaccine. “I think the road is long before we reach that point,” cautioned Stephanie Planque, the researcher who presented two studies based on the theory. The search for both an AIDS microbicide and a vaccine has been particularly frustrating. No such drugs are in use, and some candidates tested in recent years have turned out to increase the risk of infection. The antibodies described at the conference attack a small and crucial region of HIV’s outer shell where the virus binds to its chief prey, immune-system cells called lymphocytes. Acting as an enzyme, the antibody clips the attachment point, and falls away undamaged and ready to do the job again. These “catalytic antibodies” have been isolated from people with lupus, a disease in which the immune system malfunctions and produces a large number of unusual antibodies. Catalytic antibodies have also been seen in some long-term survivors of HIV infection, including three people with the blood disease hemophilia, whose cases were described yesterday. People infected with HIV make antibodies against gp120, but in most cases they are not enough to stop or slow the infection. A vaccine consisting of multiple injections of purified gp120 protein did not protect people in a large clinical trial run earlier this decade.

African-American males are still not getting proper prostate checks. New research suggests that roughly one in five American men in their 40s has had a blood test to screen for prostate cancer within the last year. However, screening rates among Black men are still considered less than ideal, the investigators say. “Our findings for Black men are discouraging,” senior investigator Dr. Judd W. Moul from Duke University in Durham, N.C., commented in a written statement. “We’ve been encouraging Black men to get screened at age 40 or 45 for more than a decade, yet only one-third of these high-risk men reported being tested.” Blood levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, typically rise when a man has prostate cancer, so PSA testing is often used to screen for the disease. It is generally recommended that men discuss PSA screening for prostate cancer with their doctors starting at age 50. However, the American Cancer Society recommends screening at age 45 for African-American men, or earlier if there is a strong family history. The new study posted online Monday in the journal Cancer involved an analysis of data collected in 2002 on 58,511 men aged 40 and older. The findings suggest that young Black men are 2.4 times more likely than their White counterparts to undergo PSA screening. Still, the investigators comment that the rate in Black men – 33.6 percent – is disappointingly low considering that they are at higher risk for prostate cancer, Reuters News reports. Overall, 22.5 percent of men aged 40 to 49 and 53.7 percent of older men reported having a PSA screen in the prior year. Predictors of PSA testing in young men included an annual household income of $35,000 or greater, having an ongoing relationship with a physician, and health insurance coverage.

Hoops teams defeat Down Under opposition. Both the men’s and women’s Olympic basketball teams have defeated their Australian opponents. The men’s squad is undefeated in pre-competition during the games in China after putting down Australia 87-76 Tuesday. Australia gave the men their first challenge, but guard Dwyane Wade says there’s no need for concern. “Nothing alarming for us,” he says. “It’s alarming when you lose.” Meanwhile, Lisa Leslie led with 14 points in the United States ’ 71-67 victory over Australia ’s women. The U.S. ladies captured the Diamond Ball tournament title, and will move on to the quest for gold medals at Beijing .

Bulldogs dismiss linebacker after vandalism. The Georgia Bulldogs have suspended Darius Dewberry after he allegedly broke a parking lot barrier and potted plants at a hospital. The linebacker was attempting to visit teammate Donavon Baldwin, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in a fight and receiving stitches following the weekend incident. Dewberry “was very distraught about a teammate getting hurt badly,” says Coach Mark Richt. The player’s discipline follows a string of episodes involving Bulldogs players this season. Dewberry has reportedly agreed to pay for the damages and the hospital is not pressing charges. Richt says the linebacker must perform 20 hours of community service, undergo counseling and work a part-time job while he misses the first two games of the season.

Packers head coach calls out Favre. Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy tells Brett Favre “he needs to jump on the train and let’s go.” Is this finally the end of the Brett Favre era in Green Bay? Read more at Playa Hater.

Black doctors and cancer group join forces to attack disparities. The American Cancer Society and the National Medical Association have joined forces in a three-year effort to improve cancer prevention and early detection practices and treatment among ethnic minority and underserved groups. The effort is aimed at eliminating the difference in cancer care and access to treatment between racial groups by working to improve access to information, screenings, quality care and treatment and end-of life support. “Promoting increased awareness and understanding of cancer prevention, early detection and treatment to help reduce health disparities is a nationwide priority for the American Cancer Society,” said Otis W. Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer, American Cancer Society. “Collaborations with pre-eminent organizations such as the National Medical Association are central to the Society’s strategy to reach racial and ethnic minorities with appropriate health information.” Racial and ethnic minorities can often face numerous obstacles to receiving equal access to quality cancer prevention, early detection and treatment services, the groups say. Many lack health insurance, live in rural or inner-city communities, have low incomes, and experience language barriers, racial bias and stereotyping, recent studies show. “Strategic partnerships with organizations like the American Cancer Society amplify the National Medical Association’s ability to touch and impact lives through community action and healthcare provider education,” said Nelson L. Adams, III, M.D., president, National Medical Association. The groups will start the effort by developing and giving out more culturally sensitive materials that focus on prevention, early detection and treatment of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, as well as proper nutrition and physical activity

Global warming affects African Americans more. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) announced an initiative in Wednesday, calling attention to the impact global warming has on Black Americans. “African Americans are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change – economically, socially, and through our health and well-being,” Clyburn said. The commission Clyburn helped launch contends that Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans was a preview of how global warming will affect African Americans. “While individual storms cannot be linked specifically to climate change, scientists warn that warmer waters may foster more intense storms,” according to the background paper on the commission’s efforts, authored by Michael Gelobter, Carla Peterman and Azebuilke Akaba. “The flooding of New Orleans still highlights the vulnerability of the African-American community to types of extreme weather events expected with global climate change.”

Men are being warned against eating soy. Men who eat just half a serving a day of foods made with soy could be risking their fertility, a new report says. That small amount is enough to lower sperm concentrations, according to a new and controversial report from the Harvard School of Public Health. Data were collected on 99 men who visited a fertility clinic for an evaluation. They were asked specifically how much of 15 soy-based foods they had consumed in the previous three months, including tofu, tempeh, tofu or soy sausages, bacon, burgers, soy milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other soy products, like roasted nuts and energy bars. The men who ate the most soy had 41 million fewer sperm per milliliter of semen, compared with men who did not eat soy foods. Normal sperm counts range between 80 million and 120 million per milliliter. The link was especially true for overweight and obese men, who produce more estrogen than thinner men. Lead researcher Dr. Jorge Chavarro, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says the reason isn’t conclusive, but he suspects soy increases estrogen activity, which may have a negative effect on sperm production and also interfere with other hormonal signals, reports HealthDay News. He added that previous research in animals has shown that isoflavones and estrogen can have a potentially negative effect on reproduction, including decreased fertility. However, there has been very little evidence of how these animal findings applied to humans. Although Chavarro considers the results preliminary and inconclusive, he says they lend support to the results of the animal studies.

The nation’s largest doctors group apologizes for discrimination
The country’s largest medical association is about to apologize formally today for its historical hostility toward African American doctors, expressing regret for a litany of transgressions, including barring Black physicians from its ranks for decades and remaining silent during battles on landmark legislation to end racial discrimination, the Washington Post reports. In a commentary in the July 16 Journal of the American Medical Association, Ronald M. Davis, the organization’s immediate past president, noted that many of the organization’s questionable actions reflected the “social mores and racial discrimination” that existed for much of the country’s history. But, he wrote, that mores are no excuse for the organization’s actions. AMA officials would not tell the Post why it chose to make the apology or how it came about. It said that information would be released today. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society and a member of the National Medical Association, a predominantly Black medical association that was established in 1895 in response to the AMA policy allowing the exclusion of African American physicians, welcomed the apology. “Any sort of acknowledgment that Blacks were excluded is a positive step,” Brawley told the Post. “But I’m much more interested in the future than in the past. I would like to see a focus on getting quality care for all people.”

Drugging overweight young people is a bad idea
Vital Signs: The move by the FDA to suggest that doctors give children as young as 8-years-old statins, an adult anti-cholesterol drug, is a bad idea. Vital Signs tell tells you why.

Overweight men have lower sperm counts
Overweight men have lower sperm counts than normal-weight men, a group of researchers told a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, on Wednesday. There is a very long list of health hazards from being overweight,” said Ghiyath Shayeb, the study’s lead researcher at the University of Aberdeen. “Now we can add poor semen quality to the list.”But experts aren’t sure if that necessarily means obese men face major difficulties having children.”If you have a man who isn’t fantastically fertile with a normal partner who is fertile, her fertility will compensate,” said Dr. William Ledger, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Britain’s University of Sheffield, who was unconnected to the study. But if both partners are heavy, Ledger said that could be a problem, since obesity is known to decrease women’s fertility. Shayeb and colleagues analyzed the sperm samples of more than 5,000 men in Scotland, and divided the men into groups according to their Body Mass Index. Men who had an optimal BMI (20 to 25) had higher levels of normal sperm than those who were overweight or obese. Fat men had a 60 percent higher chance of having a low volume of semen, according to Shayeb’s research. They also had a 40 percent higher chance of having some sperm abnormalities. Shayeb and colleagues found that underweight men were just as likely to have the same problems as obese men. “But there were not many underweight men in Scotland,” he noted

Celebs are lining up for HIV testing
On National HIV Testing Awareness Day, Hollywood celebrities and activists are lining up to touch 1 million lives. That’s the number of people Hollywood’s Black elite hope to encourage to take an HIV test so they know their status. Led by the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, The Sentinel newspaper, the NAACP, SCLC and other groups and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, “Test 1 Million” campaign participants also include, Jimmy Jean-Louis (”Heroes”), Tasha Smith (”Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married”), rapper Coolio, Harold Perrineau (”Lost”), Al Reynolds, Darius McCrary (”Family Matters”), Erica Hubbard (”Lincoln Heights”), Oren Williams (”Lincoln Heights”), Zachary Williams (”Roswell,” “The Parkers”), Nicki Micheaux (”Lincoln Heights”), Tequan Richmond (”Everybody Hates Chris”), Landon Brown (”Rock the Cradle”), Nicole Lyons (first female to race professionally in the NHRA Pro Stock and NASCAR Busch Series), recording artist Bobby Tinsley, Brian White (”The Family Stone”, “Stomp the Yard” and “The Game Plan”), NBA veteran Doug Christie & his wife Jackie, Terrel Tilford, Victoria Platt-Tilford, singer Jody Watley, Tasha Smith (”Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married”), Jazmin Lewis (”Barber Shop,” “Good News”), Trenyce (”American Idol” Season 2), Melvin Jackson Jr. Frantz St. Louis (”The Shield,” “Law & Order”), comedian Geoff Brown and : “Eric “Lil E” Wright.” The group will call on 1 million Black Americans to get tested for HIV in the next year. So, what will you do to stamp out HIV/AIDS? And, can you really tell if someone has the disease? Read more at Vital Signs.

Men, Especially Blacks, more often miss their own hypertension
Sure, you think you’re in good health, and that you’ve got it going on. But American men are much more likely than women to be unaware that they suffer from high blood pressure, a new study suggests. And African-American men with the condition are at the highest risk, with only one in seven aware of their illness and able to control it through medication. “The explanation of the disparity, while not clear, isn’t closely associated with perceived discrimination at the doctor’s office, which is a good thing,” said study lead author Ronald Victor, M.D. “The differences also don’t appear to be associated with lack of knowledge about the disease.” Instead, other factors appear to be at work, reports HealthDay.com. Both Whites and Blacks who think they are in good health are especially likely to fail to treat their high blood pressure or even realize they have it, said Victor, chief of the hypertension division at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Researchers have long known that African Americans are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, Victor said. The condition can lead to a variety of ills, including heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure. Still, many have long referred to high blood pressure as the “silent killer” because it often has no outward symptoms. In the new study, designed to examine the causes of the racial disparity, researchers interviewed 1,194 African-American and 320 White adults from the Dallas area between 2000 and 2002 and took consecutive measurements of their blood pressures. No Latinos or members of other racial groups took part in the study. Compared to those without regular doctors, study participants who had a regular physician were almost four times more likely to be aware of their high blood pressure, eight times more likely to undergo related treatment and five times more likely to have the condition under control. Among people with high blood pressure, those who believed they were healthy were “one-third as likely to know they’ve got the condition, half as likely to be treated and two-thirds as likely to have their blood pressure controlled” compared to those who did not believe they were healthy, Victor said. Among both sexes and races, African-American women with hypertension were the most likely to know they had the condition, Victor said. Eighty percent of them were aware, and a third had their condition under control. The findings make sense to Dawn Wilson, a professor of psychology at the University of South Carolina who studies hypertension. Ethnic minorities and the poor often have misperceptions about the health-care system and might actually be aware that they are unhealthy, but deny it because they do not have enough money, she said. Study author Victor suggested doing more to educate men about the importance of regular health checkups. “There’s no such thing as a ‘well-man’ exam, and maybe that’s the issue,” he said. “In our society, women learn to become health conscious in terms of preventive health care, and men don’t have that kind of emphasis from a young age.” The study appears in the June 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Americans are living longer
For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday, although the United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span and in some parts of the country life expectancy actually declined. Life expectancy is up for both men and women, and Whites and Blacks in the United States, but Black men still had the shortest lifespan - 70 years. The increase in life expectancy is planly due to better living and to falling rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005. However, in a report published in last month’s Public Libraries of Science Medicine, government figures reported that life expectancy actually declined by 1.3 years in some regions of the country, particularly for women living in Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. Japan has the longest life expectancy — 83 years for those born in 2006, according to World Health Organization data. Switzerland and Australia were also near the top of the list. “The international comparisons are not that appealing, but we may be in the process of catching up,” said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer. He is co-chairman of a National Research Council panel looking at why America’s life expectancy is lower than other nations’. The new U.S. data, released Wednesday, come from the National Center for Health Statistics. It’s a preliminary report of 2006 numbers, based on data from more than 95 percent of the death certificates collected that year. Life expectancy is the period a child born in 2006 is expected to live, assuming mortality trends stay constant. The 2006 increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates for nine of the 15 leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, accidents and diabetes. “I think the most surprising thing is that we had declines in just about every major cause of death,” said Robert Anderson, who oversaw work on the report for the health statistics center. The overall death rate fell from 799 per 100,000 in 2005 to about 776 the following year. As for the poor life expectancy in the South and Appalachia, health officials say people lacked access to quality healthcare as well as the lack of public health initiatives to control smoking, diabetes and obesity. “It’s probably a sign that things we know how to do extremely well are not reaching the people who need it the most,” Majid Ezzati a Harvard University population and life expectancy expert told NPR. “The fact that its geographically located means that there’s something [going on] beyond individual choice.”