Living Healthy

Antioxidants may prevent cataracts

The antioxidants vitamin E and lutein, from both food and supplements, may reduce women's risk for cataracts, researchers report.

A study in the January issue of The Archives of Ophthalmology enrolled more than 35,000 women who were followed for an average of 10 years.

After statistically adjusting for smoking, alcohol use, body mass index and other variables, the researchers found that the more vitamin E and lutein the women used, the less likely they were to have cataracts. Compared with the one-fifth of women who consumed the least antioxidants, the one-fifth who consumed the most reduced their risk for cataracts by 14 percent with vitamin E and 18 percent with lutein.

Aspirin may reduce colon cancer risk

Aspirin may help reduce the risk of colon cancer, a new study suggests, when taken in large doses over long periods of time.

Researchers studied more than 47,000 men for 18 years. After adjusting for age, smoking, diet, physical activity and other risk factors, they found that men who took more than two standard 325 mg aspirins a week reduced their risk for colon cancer by about 21 percent compared with those who took less. Men who took six to 14 pills a week reduced their risk by 28 percent, and those who took more than 14 pills a week had a 70 percent decreased risk.

The longer the men took aspirin, the more they reduced risk, but taking it for less than five years, or taking the equivalent of less than one and a half pills a week, conferred no advantage.

Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen (Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve) gave similar protections, but not acetaminophen (Tylenol).

The study, in the January issue of Gastroenterology, was not randomized, but a link between aspirin use and a drop in cancer recurrence had been established in other randomized trials.

Study: Tango class helps Parkinson's

When the band strikes up a tango, people with Parkinson's disease may want to head for the dance floor.

That is the lesson from a new study reporting that when Parkinson's patients took tango classes, their balance improved.

Problems with walking and balance are common among people with the disease, and often lead to falls. Among the difficulties, the researchers said, are shuffling and trouble turning while walking.

Patients may experience a sudden "freezing" that can either slow them down or stop them entirely. They also have trouble walking while performing another activity at the same time.

The study appears in the December issue of The Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy.

-- New York Times