Diseases & Conditions Archive

White rice is a staple food in some parts of the world, especially Asian cultures. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health evaluated whether the tasty grain is served with a side of risk for Type 2 diabetes. To conduct the study, they pooled data on the diet, lifestyle, and diabetes rates for some 352,000 people from China, Japan, the United States, and Australia.

Trends over 22 years of follow up showed that each daily serving of 5.6 ounces (about � cup) of cooked white rice is associated with an 11% higher risk of developing diabetes. People who ate the most white rice saw a 27% boost in risk, said a study in the British Medical Journal.

A recent study suggests it might, but it isn't the last word.

The wisdom of colonoscopy screening seems obvious. The test enables a physician to examine the lining of the entire colon and to remove small, potentially precancerous growths called polyps during the exam. As a result, it has the potential not only to detect colon cancer early, but also to prevent new cases by removing polyps. It is generally assumed that colonoscopy saves lives because the procedure is good at detecting early disease.

Q. I have been diagnosed with macular degeneration and cataracts in both eyes. Could cataract surgery worsen my macular degeneration?

A. Retina specialists like myself used to be concerned that cataract surgery might worsen macular degeneration. Results from some small studies indicated that there might be a problem. Cataracts act like a filter, blocking light, so when the cloudy lenses are removed and replaced with clear, artificial lenses, more light reaches the retina. It was thought that the additional light might harm the macula, which is the most light- sensitive part of the retina. Or maybe the trauma of the surgery was harmful. But these were just theories based on limited data. In 2009, results of an analysis of a large, NIH-funded study called the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) were reported. The researchers found no association between cataract surgery and worsening of macular degeneration. Often one study isn't enough to settle a medical issue. But the AREDS results pretty much did, trumping the results of those earlier studies because it was large (about 4,500 volunteers) and followed people over a fairly long period (five years or longer).

Within a year or two after treatment for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT)—that is, a blood clot in the leg—up to half of patients develop a serious complication called post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). PTS is a chronic condition that involves pain, aching, swelling, itching, skin discoloration, and in severe cases, ulcers in the affected leg. The causes aren't entirely clear but probably include residual damage and inflammation from the original clot. Obesity, older age, and inadequate anticoagulation therapy may also increase the risk. There's no cure for PTS, so prevention is especially important.

Graduated compression stockings worn for two years after treatment for a first DVT have been shown to reduce the risk of PTS by as much as 50%. ("Graduated" means the stockings are tightest at the ankles and gradually looser toward the knee and thigh.) But the most reliable studies have tested only knee high stockings, so there's been some uncertainty about the best approach. Many clinicians, for example, believe that thigh-highs provide better protection than knee-highs, especially following a DVT above the knee. Now, a multicenter trial has shown that thigh-highs are no better for preventing PTS than knee-highs and more likely to be discontinued because they're less comfortable. Results were published online Dec. 16, 2011, in the journal Blood.

This increasingly common disorder often goes undetected in women until serious problems arise.

Older women are learning that cardiovascular disease isn't confined to the chest. Atherosclerosis, once known as "hardening of the arteries," is the disease process at the root of most cardiovascular problems. It affects not only the vessels that feed the heart but also those that serve the rest of the body. When atherosclerotic plaque and blood clots reduce blood flow to the legs or, less often, to the arms, the condition is called peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD makes walking painful and slows injury healing. In the worst cases, it can result in the loss of a toe, foot, or leg — or even death.

For more information about peripheral artery disease:

American Heart Association

HeartHealthWomen.org

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition

Peripheral Artery Disease Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Society for Vascular Surgery

Vascular Disease Foundation

To find a vascular specialist:

Society for Vascular Medicine

Society for Interventional Radiology

Society for Vascular Surgery

People doing tai chi look like they're moving in graceful slow motion, but something about those carefully controlled movements — and perhaps the mindset they put people in — seems to have health benefits. Tai chi has been tested in dozens of studies, and the findings suggest that it can help people with conditions ranging from heart failure to osteoporosis to fibromyalgia. Now it seems that Parkinson's disease can be added to that list.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Parkinson's study was that it wasn't done sooner. Parkinson's disease, a brain disorder that affects muscle control, causes trembling and stiffness. Balance is adversely affected, so falls are a major problem. Doctors already recommend that Parkinson's patients exercise, although perhaps not as often and as forcefully as they might. This study included 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease (1 to 4 on a scale of 5). They were randomly assigned to twice-weekly sessions of tai chi, strength-building (resistance) exercise, or stretching. After six months, the patients who did tai chi performed better on tests designed to measure balance and the ability to control movement than the patients in the other two groups. The difference was especially pronounced on the movement tests. The patients in the tai chi group also performed better on some secondary tests involving gait and reach and fell less often than those in the stretching group (the difference with strength-building wasn't large enough to reach statistical significance on those measures). The results were reported in the Feb. 9, 2012, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Doing cataract surgery with high-speed lasers may make the operation more precise — but will it be worth the extra cost?

Each of our eyes comes equipped with a lens tucked behind the pupil that focuses light on the retina in the back of the eye. When we're young, those lenses are quite clear. But with age and exposure to light and other harmful factors, they have a tendency to cloud up, as the proteins in the watery mixture inside the lens clump up. Clouding of the lens is called a cataract.

Q. In the past you have discussed blood in the urine. I don't have that problem, but during my annual checkup last week, my doctor found protein in my urine. Is it a serious problem? And what should I do about it?

A. Your kidneys have many functions, ranging from helping to regulate your blood pressure and stimulating the production of red blood cells to converting vitamin D into its active form. But their best-known job is to rid your body of excess fluids and metabolic waste products. To do that, the blood that flows into each kidney passes through about one million tiny vascular filters called glomeruli.