UC San Diego Study:Prediabetes and Stroke Risk May Be Associated

A new study in the British Medical Journal by researchers at the University of California San Diego found evidence of a link between prediabetes and stroke risk.Prediabetes is the precursor condition for type 2 diabetes and is rampant in the developed world,while spreading through populations in the emerging markets as well.According to the National Diabetes Education Program,an estimated 79 million Americans age 20 and over are prediabetic.In prediabetes,the fasting glucose level is between 100-125 mg/dl.The new study analysed fifteen other studies of a total of 716,000 patients.It showed that patients with a fasting glucose level of 110-125 mg/dl,the upper range of prediabetes,have a 21% greater likelihood of having a stroke.Prediabetes has also been linked to a greater risk of developing heart disease.The good news is,prediabetics who work to reduce their risk factors for type 2 diabetes,such as overeating,poor diet and lack of exercise,have a better than 50% chance of delaying or even preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes.Prediabetes is being taken more and more seriously by health care providers as type 2 diabetes becomes more common,and evidence that prediabetes is harmful in itself gets more voluminous.Health Care Select Sector SPDR(XLV),iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare Sector Index Fund(IYH)

New Warning:Even Slightly High Blood Pressure Is Dangerous

A new study by the University of California San Diego shows a substantially greater risk of stroke for many people who have pre-hypertension,a precursor condition to hypertension,or high blood pressure.The study considered 12 previous studies covering more than 500,000 patients.
Pre-hypertension is a blood pressure greater than 120/80,but less than 140/90,which is hypertension proper.Until this new study was published in the journal Neurology,the amount of risk pre-hypertension posed was unclear.For those younger than 65,the study shows,even a slightly high blood pressure of 121/81 increases stroke risk by 22%.A blood pressure of from 130-139/80-89 increased stroke risk nearly 80%.In general,those with a blood pressure of 120-139/80-89,the range for pre-hypertension,had a 55% greater risk of having a stroke than the rest of the population.
The data for those over 65 did not yield the same result-probably because their stroke risk is determined by other factors,such as other medical conditions they may have.
It is also now believed that patients with pre-diabetes,the precursor condition to diabetes,in which the blood sugar is only somewhat elevated,also may be experiencing significant health impacts.It seems that chronic disease is more of a continuum than was previously understood.

Exercise Counters Cell Damage

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have confirmed that stress can cause physical damage to cell nuclei.In a stressed person,protective strips of DNA called telomeres are shortened,exposing the chromosomes they cap to unraveling.Chromosomes are rod-shaped bodies within the cell nucleus.Short telomeres are believed to be linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease,as well as premature death.
The UCSF study of post-menopausal female caregivers also found that those who engaged in vigorous exercise for as little as 42 minutes over three days did not suffer from shortened telomeres.Their physical activity seemed to protect their immune cells from the corrosive effect of stress.
The Centers For Disease Control recommend that adults get 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week,or 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.