West Newsmagazine 5-24-17

34 I HEALTH I
May 24, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
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Having any unusual spots on the skin examined by a dermatologist is one important
recommendation during Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month.
health
capsules
Spotting melanoma
May is national Melanoma/Skin Cancer
Detection and Prevention Month, sponsored
by the American Academy of Dermatology.
When detected early, all skin
cancer – including melanoma, its deadliest
form – is highly treatable. And because
research has shown that women are nine
times more likely than men to notice melanoma
on others, this year the academy has
launched a SPOT Skin Cancer campaign,
called “Check Your Partner. Check Yourself,”
to encourage women to look over
both their own and their partner’s skin
once every month for signs of skin cancer.
This is especially important for men over
the age of 50, who are at a higher risk of
developing melanoma.
In general, any suspicious-looking spots
on the skin, or any area that is changing,
itching or bleeding, should prompt a visit
to a board-certified dermatologist. Signs of
melanoma often are identified with the letters
ABCDE, and include:
• Asymmetry: one half of the spot is unlike
the other half.
• Border: the spot has an irregular, scalloped
or poorly defined border.
• Color: the spot’s color varies from one
area to another; it may contain shades of
tan, brown or black, and sometimes even
white, red or blue.
• Diameter: melanoma spots are often
larger than 6 millimeters in size, about the
diameter of a pencil eraser, but they can be
smaller.
• Evolving: the spot looks different from
others and is changing in size, shape or
color.
For people already battling melanoma,
researchers at the University of Missouri are
working to add a significant new weapon
to the fight. For many years, research has
concentrated on melanoma cells that are
uniform in size and color, making them
easier to examine microscopically. But
melanomas don’t always come in the same
shape and color, and the focus on one type
of cell can lead to misdiagnosis, according
to Luis Polo-Parada, an associate professor
of medical pharmacology and physiology
and an investigator at Missouri’s Dalton
Cardiovascular Research Center.
The Mizzou team has devised a new tool,
a modification of a special microscope
which uses a laser, to detect and analyze
variations in melanoma cells that are more
similar to cancers developed by most
patients. Through the use of an emerging
technology called photoacoustic [PA]
spectroscopy, their work may eventually
make diagnosing variations in melanoma
cells easier, faster and more efficient. Their
study, which recently appeared in the Royal
Society of Chemistry publication Analyst,
outlines the new techniques.
“Overall, our studies show that by using
modified techniques, we will be able to
observe non-uniform cancer cells, regardless
of their origin,” Polo-Parada said.
“Additionally, as these melanoma cells
divide and distribute themselves throughout
the blood, they can cause melanomas
to metastasize. We were able to observe
those cancers as well. This method could
help medical doctors and pathologists to
detect cancers as they spread, becoming
one of the tools in the fight against this
fatal disease.”
Childhood bullying linked
to adult health risks
Young boys who are bullied, as well as
those who bully them, may suffer long-term
health consequences in adulthood, according
to a new study. Psychology researchers
from the University of Pittsburgh tracked
a group of 300 men who were participants
in the Pittsburgh Youth Study, which began
when they were in first grade and continued
through their early thirties. Along with
regularly assessing the men’s psychosocial,
behavioral and biological risks for poor
health, the researchers collected information
on bullying behavior when the boys
were 10 to 12 years old.
Their results showed that men who
were bullied as kids tended to have lower
incomes and more financial problems.
They also tended to feel unfairly treated by
others, and were less optimistic about their
futures. On the other hand, men who were
bullies during childhood were more likely
to smoke, use marijuana and be aggressive
and hostile more than 20 years later.
Both groups experienced high amounts of
stress as adults. Because earlier research
has linked such psychosocial factors to an
increased chance of health problems like
heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure,
the researchers concluded that both
the bullies and their victims could be at
higher risk for poor health, including cardiovascular
issues, as they get older.
“Most research on bullying is based on
addressing mental health outcomes, but we
wished to examine the potential impact of
involvement in bullying on physical health
and psychosocial risk factors for poor
physical health,” said Karen A. Matthews,
Ph.D., who leads the university’s Cardiovascular
Behavioral Medicine Research
Program. “The childhood bullies were still
aggressive as adults and victims of bullies
were still feeling like they were treated
unfairly as adults. Both groups had a lot of
stress in their adult lives – so the impact
of childhood bullying lasts a long time!”
The study was published in Psychological
Science, a journal of the Association for
Psychological Science.
“Going gluten-free” could
raise health risks for some
For people with celiac disease, an autoimmune
disorder which now affects more
than 3 million people in the U.S., avoiding
gluten from all sources is necessary
to prevent potentially serious intestinal
inflammation and other health problems.
However, among those who do not have
the disease or any known sensitivity,
gluten also seems to have gotten a bad rap
in recent years – the number of Americans
who follow a gluten-free diet for perceived
health reasons has tripled since 2009,
according to national nutrition statistics.
But giving up gluten may not be the best
choice for most Americans, according to
a large new study that sought to find out
See HEALTH, page 36
Eliminating gluten may not be a good idea for
people trying to improve their health, a recent
study suggested.