3/1/14 Health News: Tests Predicts MS Long Before Symptoms Start - Vitamin E & Selenium Increase Chances of Prostate Cancer - Iron Deficiency Raise Stroke Risk

Blood Sample Might Predict MS Long Before Symptoms Start

An antibody linked with multiple sclerosis (MS) might be detectable in the blood of people with the disease before symptoms appear, a new study indicates. The findings could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of the central nervous system disorder, the researchers said. "If our results can be replicated in larger populations, our findings may help to detect MS earlier in a subgroup of patients," said study author Dr. Viola Biberacher, with Technical University in Munich, Germany. "Finding the disease before symptoms appear means we can better prepare to treat and possibly even prevent those symptoms." .Continue Reading

Vitamin E, Selenium Supplements Might Double Chances of Prostate Cancer

Men taking selenium or vitamin E supplements might double their risk of prostate cancer, depending on the levels of selenium already in their bodies, a new study suggests. Men who already have high concentrations of selenium in their bodies nearly double their risk of aggressive prostate cancer if they take selenium supplements, said lead author Dr. Alan Kristal, associate head of the Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The new study,also found that vitamin E supplements can more than double a man's prostate cancer risk. Continue Reading

Iron Deficiency May Raise Stroke Risk

Low iron levels can raise your risk of stroke by making your blood more sticky, a new study indicates. Investigators looked at data from nearly 500 people with a rare hereditary disease that causes them to have enlarged blood vessels in the lungs. Typically, blood vessels in the lungs don't allow clots to enter the arteries. But in these patients, clots can escape the lungs, travel to the brain and cause a stroke. Those who had an iron deficiency had stickier platelets -- which are small blood cells that trigger clotting when they stick together -- and were more likely to suffer a stroke, according to the researchers at Imperial College London in the U.K. Even those with moderately low iron levels were about twice as likely to suffer a stroke as those with iron levels in the middle of the normal range. Continue Reading