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People With Rosacea at Higher Risk for Alzheimer’s, Study Says

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7 years ago

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People With Rosacea at Higher Risk for Alzheimer's, Study Says

Rosacea, the facial redness affecting millions of Americans, may be linked to a higher risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests.

However, the study authors were quick to stress that people with rosacea should not be overly worried about the finding.

“It is important for patients to remember that having rosacea does not guarantee that they will develop Alzheimer’s disease,” said lead author Dr. Alexander Egeberg.

“In fact, while the risk in rosacea patients may be slightly increased compared with the general population, the absolute risk [to any one patient] is still quite low,” said Egeberg, of the department of dermato-allergology at Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

According to the National Rosacea Society, roughly 16 million Americans suffer from the skin condition, which is characterized by the appearance of often disfiguring redness and acne-like markings on the face. While treatable, there is no known cure for the disease, which has no clear cause.

In the new study, Egeberg’s team looked at 1997-2012 data from the Danish national health registry system. The nation’s entire population — roughly 5.6 million men and women — were included. About 82,000 had rosacea.

The investigators determined that people with rosacea faced a seven percent greater likelihood for developing any form of dementia, and a 25 percent higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease in particular, than people without rosacea.

Women seemed more affected than men. The data showed that women with rosacea had a 28 percent greater risk for Alzheimer’s, compared with a 16 percent higher odds for men with the skin condition.

Age also seemed to play a role. The study found that Alzheimer’s risk for rosacea patients went up significantly — by 20 percent — for those who were 60 or older when they first enrolled in the study.

Still, Egeberg stressed that the study could only point to an association between dementia and rosacea, and “does not necessarily mean that a causal link exists.”

The findings were published April 28 in the Annals of Neurology.

The new study is not the first to link rosacea to neurological disorders. Earlier this year, Egeberg led an investigation that tied the skin condition to a heightened risk for Parkinson’s disease. Those findings were published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Egeberg called the new study “the first comprehensive investigation of Alzheimer’s disease in a large population of patients with rosacea.”

So, what might explain the possible rise in dementia risk for people with the condition?

“Certain proteins and inflammatory processes have been found in increased levels in the skin of patients with rosacea,” noted Egeberg, “These have also been linked to dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s disease,” he added. However, “while this may be one potential explanation, we cannot say for sure that this is the cause.”

Dr. Anton Porsteinsson directs the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, in Rochester, N.Y. He agreed that “there may be common processes that put you at risk for both disorders.”

“The important next step leading from this finding,” he said, “is to better understand the underpinning of both conditions and if treatment targets or lifestyle modifications can be discovered that impact the risk of developing these conditions. It will also be interesting to examine if successful treatment of one condition has an impact on the course of the other.”

In the meantime, Porsteinsson advised patients with rosacea, particularly those 60 and older, to pay attention to any meaningful decline in short-term memory, word-finding, decision-making, and/or navigation in their later years — over 60. “Clinicians should [also] be aware of this risk association,” he said.

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Health

Woman, 24, With Cervical Cancer Given Months to Live After Docs Refused Smear Test Because She was ‘Too Young’

A WOMAN was told that she was “too young” for a smear test – only to be given months to live when docs finally discovered she had cervical cancer.

Published

4 years ago

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June 3, 2019

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Woman, 24, With Cervical Cancer Given Months to Live After Docs Refused Smear Test Because She was ‘Too Young’

A WOMAN was told that she was “too young” for a smear test – only to be given months to live when docs finally discovered she had cervical cancer.

Katie Bourne started to suffer from belly pains, doctors assumed she had Crohn’s disease.

Then aged 24, docs refused to give her a smear test as she was too young.

Katie was finally diagnosed with stage-three cervical cancer back in February, when she was warned that unless she started treatment immediately, she’d only have 18 months left to live.

Katie told Teesside Live that all of her symptoms had pointed towards cervical cancer but that her referrals for smears were turned down because of her age.

She said she started to experience stomach pains in July last year and went her GP in November.

“They took some swabs and said I was booked in for a smear,” she told the site.

“But when I went back they said they weren’t going to do the smear and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.

“The pain never went with the medication they gave me for that.”

In fact, after her cancer was picked up, it turned out that there was nothing wrong with her bowel at all.

In February, Katie collapsed in pain at her job at Next and spent the next three nights in hospital – where she was denied a smear again.

Symptoms of cervical cancer

The devastating thing about cervical cancer is that there are no obvious symptoms during the early stages.

But vaginal bleeding can often be a tell-tale sign – especially if it occurs after sex, in between periods or after the menopause.

Women are offered smear tests from the age of 25 which look for any abnormalities in the cervix, but if you are under the age bracket, and you notice any of the following symptoms, you’ve got to push for testing.

Other warning signs include:

  • pain and discomfort during sex
  • unusual or unpleasant vaginal discharge
  • pain in your lower back or pelvis

And if it spreads to other organs, the signs can include:

  • pain in your lower back or pelvis
  • severe pain in your side or back caused by your kidneys
  • constipation
  • peeing or pooing more than usual
  • losing control of your bladder or bowels
  • blood in your pee
  • swelling in one or both legs
  • severe vaginal bleeding

“Because of my age I was still declined a smear and when the pains went they sent me home,” she said.

“My GP had sent two gynae referrals in the December and January but both were declined. All my symptoms have always been the same.

“And when I Googled them they always brought up cervical cancer.”

A third referral was accepted and a smear and scan confirmed Katie’s worst fears.

She was told that she had stage three cancer which had spread to both sides of her pelvis.

Katie began chemo last month, but docs don’t know how well she’ll respond to it yet.

Without treatment, her prognosis is just 18 months.

Now 25, she’s already set about making a bucket list.

Top of her list is marrying her partner of four years, Leighanne Prior.

The couple had planned to get hitched in Las Vegas in the next few years but following Katie’s diagnoses, they’ve decided to get wed next month at Middlesbrough Registry Office.

And in January, they’ll be honeymooning in the Maldives.

Another thing in the bucket list is to “finish all the Real Housewives series!”

Cheers For Smears

Fabulous has partnered with cervical cancer charity Jo’s Trust to launch #CheersForSmears, a campaign aiming to ensure women across the UK attend their screenings, no matter what.

With around 3,200 women in the UK now being diagnosed with the disease every year – a number that is set to rise by around 40% within 20 years – and one in three dying from it, it’s clear we’re facing a cervical cancer time bomb.

Many say they can’t get convenient appointments to fit around their jobs.

In many surgeries, smear tests are only available at certain times or days, making it difficult for some women to book an appointment.

That’s why #CheersForSmears is calling on GPs to offer more flexible screening times and make testing available outside of office hours and at weekends.

We also want employers to play their part in helping to ensure that their female employees can attend potentially life-saving cervical screenings if they are unable to get an appointment outside of working hours.

Help get your employer involved by emailing info@jostrust.org.uk.

Remember:

  • 5,000 women’s lives are saved a year in the UK by cervical screening
  • 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year
  • 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable
  • 870 women die every year in the UK from cervical cancer
  • 1 in 142 UK females will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetime
  • 25-29 years peak rate of cervical cancer cases

Leighanne, 30, has taken time off work to help take care of Katie.

She told Teesside Live that because the pair have a young nephew and another one on the way, Katie is worried about whether they’ll remember her.

“But most of the time, she’s so positive, she’s been amazing.”

All women and people with a cervix are invited for smear tests every three years from the age of 25 to 64.

A smear test isn’t a test for cervical cancer, but detects changes in the cells of the cervix which can be a precursor to the disease.

Finding abnormal changes early means they can be monitored or treated, so they don’t become cervical cancer.

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Health

6 Scientific Tricks to Help you Sleep

Do you have trouble sleeping? Don’t lie in bed and stress about it. These science-proven tricks will help you get to sleep faster…

Published

4 years ago

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October 4, 2018

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6 Scientific Tricks to Help you Sleep - Sostre News

Do you have trouble sleeping? Don’t lie in bed and stress about it. These science-proven tricks will help you get to sleep faster.

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Health

“The Depravity of The Human Condition”

Driven with out love and purpose we lack the necessities to sustain human life. Through eyes of apathy homelessness is normalized as a chosen way of life…

Published

6 years ago

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May 22, 2017

By

"The Depravity of The Human Condition"

 “The Human Condition”

 

Despondency, starvation and lack cover the face of the earth

Driven with out love and purpose we lack the necessities to sustain human life.

Through eyes of apathy homelessness is normalized as a chosen way of life.

Depravity corrupts moral character diminishing compassion, and mercy.

loss of love is loss of life, people crave acceptance, support, love. interpersonal

relationships are opportunities for growth, maturity, insight and wisdom .

life experiences shape and mold character, without the proper elements to support

human life, we are susceptible to diseases both physically and spiritually.

atrocities darken the mind, and its eternal perception to see the good things

in life. destroying hope and potential, enslaving the mind to incorrect ways of

thinking. influencing the degeneration of moral conduct. impacting relationships,

creating heart ache and pain. destroying the fabric of relationships critical to our

emotional well being, drastically affecting emotional health. broken relationships

cripple our capacity to love. a closed unresponsive heart destroys inner life. making

you a slave to your own pain, causing great distress and spiritual blindness. that binds

the spirit that hinders it from expressing itself freely. erosion of love is malignant cancer

to the human soul. our heart is the core of who we are, our heart controls are thoughts

and actions. the heart most be protected and guarded in order to preserve the inner life

within us  the very essence of our spirit. we must be  careful of what we allow to enter

our hearts, music. television, the types of books we read  will mold us over time . like  water

over rocks the heart is a well spring of life’s issues, acting as a compass leading us along the

path of our destiny. the home of the higher self  created in the image of God

 

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