In The Future Our Own Skin Cells Could Be Used To Repair Our Hearts

A heart patient's own skin cells soon could be used to repair damaged cardiac tissue thanks to pioneering stem cell research of the University of Houston's newest biomedical scientist, Robert Schwartz.

His new technique for reprogramming human skin cells puts him at the forefront of a revolution in medicine that could one day lead to treatments for Alzheimer's, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and many other diseases.

Schwartz brings his ground-breaking research to UH as the Cullen Distinguished Professor of Biology and Biochemistry and head of UH's new Center for Gene Regulation and Molecular Therapeutics. He also is affiliated with the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, where he is director of stem cell engineering.

"Professor Schwartz's work will save lives, and his decision to pursue this pioneering research at UH is a big leap forward on our way to Tier-One status," said John Bear, dean of the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. "Together with the many other outstanding scientists we've assembled here, Schwartz will help make this university a major player in medical research."

Schwartz devised a method for turning ordinary human skin cells into heart cells. The cells developed are similar to embryonic stem cells and ultimately can be made into early-stage heart cells derived from a patient's own skin. These then could be implanted and grown into fully developed beating heart cells, reversing the damage caused by previous heart attacks. These new cells would replace the damaged cardiac tissue that weakens the heart's ability to pump, develops into scar tissue and causes arrhythmias. Early clinical trials using these reprogrammed cells on actual heart patients could begin within one or two years.

Although Schwartz is not the first scientist to turn adult cells into such stem cells, his improved method could pave the way for breakthroughs in other diseases. Schwartz's method requires fewer steps and yields more stem cells. Armed with an effective way to make induced stem cells from a patient's own skin, scientists can then begin the work of growing all kinds of human cells.

For example, new brain cells could treat Alzheimer's patients or those with severe brain trauma, or a diabetic could get new insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Generating new kidney, lung or liver tissue is also possible, with scientists even being able to one day grow an entirely new heart or other organ from these reprogrammed cells. Additionally, Schwartz and his team are working on turning induced stem cells into skeletal muscle cells to treat muscular dystrophy.

"We're trying to advance science in ways folks never even dreamed about," Schwartz said. "The idea of having your own bag of stem cells that you can carry through life and use for tissue regeneration is at the very cutting edge of science."

This latest biomedical hire is a major step in the UH Health Initiative, an effort aimed at having the university become a world-class center for medical research. Creating new cross-disciplinary academic and health-related research opportunities for faculty and students is crucial to this initiative, as are collaborations with other Texas Medical Center member institutions. One of its top goals is to increase the amount of sponsored research expenditures awarded to UH, which is a key factor in attaining Tier-One status.

"Dr. Schwartz will expand UH's expertise in promising new areas of scientific discovery to alleviate human disease. By recruiting premier scientists like Schwartz, UH is fast becoming a major player in the regional biomedical research community," said Kathryn Peek, assistant vice president of University Health Initiatives at UH.

Schwartz has decades of experience at the Texas Medical Center. Before coming to UH, he was director of the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, a research component of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. He also was a longtime tenured professor at Baylor College of Medicine and co-directed the school's Center for Cardiovascular Development. The new research center Schwartz heads at UH will be housed in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at the university's Science and Engineering Research Center.

What attracted him to UH was the commitment of administrators and faculty to making the university a premier center for biomedical research. His hiring comes just a year after the arrival of Jan-Åke Gustafsson, a world-renowned scientist and cancer researcher. They join other leading UH faculty, ranging from biochemists to computer scientists and mathematicians, who are deeply involved in cutting-edge medical research.

Low levels of vitamin D linked to muscle fat, decreased strength in young people

First-of-a-kind study by investigator at the Research Institute of the MUHC finds 'epidemic' of vitamin D insufficiency in young, healthy adults
This release is available in French.

There's an epidemic in progress, and it has nothing to do with the flu. A ground-breaking study published in the March 2010 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found an astonishing 59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies (less than 20 ng/ml) of this important vitamin. Since Vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue.

"Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases," explains principal investigator, Dr. Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC. "Because it is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders."

The study by Dr. Kremer and co-investigator Dr. Vincente Gilsanz, head of musculoskeletal imaging at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles of the University of Southern California, is the first to show a clear link between Vitamin D levels and the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue – a factor in muscle strength and overall health. Scientists have known for years that Vitamin D is essential for muscle strength. Studies in the elderly have showed bedridden patients quickly gain strength when given Vitamin D.

The study results are especially surprising, because study subjects – all healthy young women living in California – could logically be expected to benefit from good diet, outdoor activities and ample exposure to sunshine – the trigger that causes the body to produce Vitamin D.

"We are not yet sure what is causing Vitamin D insufficiency in this group," says Dr. Kremer who is also Professor of Medicine at McGill University. High levels of Vitamin D could help reduce body fat. Or, fat tissues might absorb or retain Vitamin D, so that people with more fat are likely to also be Vitamin D deficient."

The results extend those of an earlier study by Dr. Kremer and Dr. Gilsanz, which linked low levels of Vitamin D to increased visceral fat in a young population. "In the present study, we found an inverse relationship between Vitamin D and muscle fat," Dr. Kremer says. "The lower the levels of Vitamin D the more fat in subjects' muscles."

While study results may inspire some people to start taking Vitamin D supplements, Dr. Kremer recommends caution. "Obviously this subject requires more study," he says. "We don't yet know whether Vitamin D supplementation would actually result in less accumulation of fat in the muscles or increase muscle strength. We need more research before we can recommend interventions. We need to take things one step at a time."

Acupuncture may relieve joint pain caused by some breast cancer treatments

Joint pain, stiffness common side effect of routine therapy
NEW YORK (March 4, 2010) – A new study, led by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, demonstrates that acupuncture may be an effective therapy for joint pain and stiffness in breast cancer patients who are being treated with commonly used hormonal therapies. Results were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Joint pain and stiffness are common side effects of aromatase inhibitor therapy, in which the synthesis of estrogen is blocked. The therapy, which is a common and effective treatment for early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer in post-menopausal women, has been shown in previous research to cause some joint pain and stiffness in half of women being treated.

"Since aromatase inhibitors have become an increasingly popular treatment option for some breast cancer patients, we aimed to find a non-drug option to manage the joint issues they often create, thereby improving quality of life and reducing the likelihood that patients would discontinue this potentially life-saving treatment," said Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., senior author of the paper, and co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and an assistant professor of medicine (hematology/oncology) and epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center.

To explore the effects of acupuncture on aromatase inhibitor-associated joint pain, the research team randomly assigned 43 women to receive either true acupuncture or sham acupuncture twice a week for six weeks. Sham acupuncture, which was used to control for a potential placebo effect, involved superficial needle insertion at body points not recognized as true acupuncture points. All participants were receiving an aromatase inhibitor for early breast cancer, and all had reported musculoskeletal pain.

Among the women treated with true acupuncture, findings demonstrated that they experienced significant improvement in joint pain and stiffness over the course of the study. Pain severity declined, and overall physical well-being improved. Additionally, 20 percent of the patients who had reported taking pain relief medications reported that they no longer needed to take these medications following acupuncture treatment. No such improvements were reported by the women who were treated with the sham acupuncture.

"This study suggests that acupuncture may help women manage the joint pain and stiffness that can accompany aromatase inhibitor treatment," said Katherine D. Crew, M.D., M.S., first author of the paper, and the Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine (hematology/oncology) and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center and a hematological oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. "To our knowledge, this is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial establishing that acupuncture may be an effective method to relieve joint problems caused by these medications. However, results still need to be confirmed in larger, multicenter studies."

New Scolioisis Self Help Book!

Health In Your Hands - Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment

The central premise of my book is how to diagnosis and correct scoliosis non- invasively at any stage in order to arrest it progress before it’s too late.

Scoliosis, is a widespread condition in the world. According to available statistics, the spinal disorder, that leads to an curvature of the spine, strikes nearly two to three percent of all adolescents and becomes noticeable between the age of 10 and 15, when an adolescent is very image conscious.

Nearly, one in 10 Singaporeans suffers from lumbar scoliosis, according to a recent study conducted by a team of spine surgeons led by Professor Wong Hee Kit, chairman of the Orthopedics and Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery Cluster at the National University Health System (NUHS). Worse, the study also revealed that the condition is 1.6 times more prevalent in women and that it occurs twice more often in Chinese and Malays than in Indians.

Conventional scoliosis treatment involves braces that patients have to wear passively through the day; while surgical procedures carry significant, other risks. My book in contrast draws heavily upon my own experiences as a Chiropractor and Nutritionist, and how I have helped hundreds of scoliosis patients with nothing more elaborate than a highly customized nutritional plan and a structured exercise/stretch program that I’ve explained at length with illustrations in this book.

Among other things, the book explains in simple, layman's language the anatomy and functioning of of the human spine and its relationship to food and exercise. The book is based is painstaking research collected over years of practice with scoliosis patients of all demographics. Testimonials of some of these patients are also appended in the book.

It's my firm conviction that this book will prove a valuable informational resource to the parents, who have children afflicted with scoliosis, as well as adults who suffer from the condition.

Vaccines That Worry Parents Most

(March 1) -- A new study shows that when it comes to getting their children vaccinated, some parents have conflicted feelings. Even though one in four parents believes some vaccines can trigger autism -- a fear rooted in a controversial 1998 study that has since been retracted -- about 90 percent of them follow medical advice to have their children vaccinated.

The study, conducted by the University of Michigan and published in the journal Pediatrics, is based on a survey of 1,552 parents that was conducted last year, well before the autism-vaccine study was retracted last month. But the validity of that study had been under attack for years.

About 12 percent of parents in the Michigan study said they had refused to allow their children to receive a vaccine that a doctor recommended. The chart below shows four inoculations that those parents cited.


The vaccine for human papillomavirus protects against cervical cancer, but is fairly new. Some parents shy away from it because of their concerns about side effects. The vaccine for meningococcal diseases is also relatively new, and some people worry it causes Guillain-Barré syndrome, an immune system disorder. That link is being investigated, but federal health officials still recommend the vaccine.

The shot for measles, mumps and rubella was the subject of the now-discredited 1998 research. The parents who refused to allow their children to get the vaccine said they had heard or read negative information about it. The chickenpox vaccine also made the list, but no evidence ties it to autism, doctors have said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information about common vaccine-safety concerns, including those involving autism.

Low-fat, Mediterranean and low-carb diets 'help heart'

Three diets - Mediterranean, low-fat and low-carbohydrate - are equally effective in helping reverse blocked arteries, say Israeli researchers.

The study of 140 people, reported in the journal Circulation, found diet could reduce the fatty build up in arteries.

The Ben-Gurion University team found that by the end of the two-year study, the arterial wall had been cut by 5%.

Experts said the study was interesting, but diet was not a "magic bullet".

Atherosclerosis is a progressive condition in which the arteries thicken with fatty deposits, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The authors of this Israeli study, which was carried out in collaboration with researchers in the US, Canada and Germany, set out to see if this natural part of ageing can be reversed through diet.

Volunteers followed one of three diets - a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet or a Mediterranean diet, which is based on eating lots of fruit and vegetables, and using olive oil as the main source of fat.

They were asked to stick to the diet for two years, and record what they ate in food diaries.

The study was carried out among overweight volunteers, mostly men, who were aged 40 to 65.

Using three-dimensional imaging, the researchers measured the volume of the wall of the carotid artery, the large artery in the neck which takes blood up to the brain. This was done at the start of the study and again after two years.

Clogged arteries

Lead researcher Iris Shai said: "It was very interesting to see that these very different diets had a similar effect.

"Some people suggest that low-carbohydrate diets are more likely to clog arteries, but we did not see that."

The research paper suggested the link could be related to falling blood pressure caused by the change in diet.

The findings were welcomed by UK experts.

Dr Charles Knight, secretary of the British Cardiovascular Society and a consultant cardiologist, said although the study was "relatively small" and was not able to follow through to find out how many people eventually had heart attacks or strokes, the results were nevertheless "very interesting".

He pointed out that the study adds weight to the growing body of research that suggests that atherosclerosis is a modifiable disease.

Ten to 15 years ago, it was thought that fatty build-up in the arteries was irreversible, but since then drugs trials have shown that it is possible for fatty deposits to be cut.

"This study shows you can do something to reduce plaque build-up, even without pills," Dr Knight said.

"It sends an effective message from a public health perspective."

However, he warned that the scale of reduction in the volume of artery walls was relatively small and that changing diet, although helpful, was "no magic bullet".

Sleep habits linked to fat gain in younger adults

Researchers found that among black and Hispanic adults younger than 40, those who typically slept for five hours or less each night had a greater accumulation of belly fat over the next five years, versus those who averaged six or seven hours.

Those who logged eight hours or more in bed each night also showed a bigger fat gain -- but it was less substantial than that seen in "short sleepers."

The study, reported in the journal Sleep, does not prove that too little or too much sleep directly leads to excess fat gain. But the findings support and extend those of other studies linking sleep duration -- particularly a lack of sleep -- to weight gain and even to higher risks of diabetes and heart disease.

The study adds to past research in part because it focused on black and Hispanic Americans -- two understudied groups who are at increased risk of obesity and its related ills, said lead researcher Dr. Kristen G. Hairston, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

It also zeroed in on the relationship between sleep and gains in abdominal fat -- both the superficial fat layers just below the skin and the "visceral" fat that surrounds the abdominal organs. Deep abdominal fat is believed to be particularly important in the risks of health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, Hairston told Reuters Health.

The study included 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American men and women ages 18 to 81. At the outset, all reported on their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors. The researchers used CT scans to measure participants' abdominal fat, at the start of the study and again five years later.

Among participants younger than 40, the study found, those who said they slept for five hours or less each night gained more belly fat than those who averaged six or seven hours of sleep.

On average, short sleepers showed a 32 percent gain in visceral fat, versus a 13 percent gain among those who slept six or seven hours per night, and a 22 percent increase among men and women who got at least eight hours of sleep each night.

A similar pattern was seen with superficial abdominal fat. Even when the researchers considered factors like calorie intake, exercise habits, education and smoking, sleep duration itself remained linked to abdominal-fat gain.

The findings, according to Hairston, support the belief that sleep habits affect weight, and health in general. "Sleep is an important part of your overall health -- not just in whether you're tired during the day," she said.

Individuals vary in their sleep needs, so there is no one set prescription. But "extremes of sleep," such as less than five hours per night, should raise concerns, according to Hairston. "And if you're concerned about your sleep," she said, "discuss it with your healthcare provider, just as you would discuss diet or exercise."

As for why sleep duration might affect abdominal-fat gain, there are several theories.

There may be indirect effects; people who get too little sleep may be too tired during the day to exercise, while those who spend a lot of time in bed may spend less time being active, relative to people who sleep fewer hours.

Research also suggests that sleep loss alters people's levels of appetite-regulating hormones -- which could, in theory, spur them to overeat.

Depression, which often affects people's sleep and has been linked to weight gain, could also be a factor, Hairston noted. She and her colleagues had no information on study participants' depression symptoms.

An apple a day? Study shows soluble fiber boosts immune system

URBANA – A new University of Illinois study touts the benefits of soluble fiber—found in oats, apples, and nuts, for starters—saying that it reduces the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system.

"Soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells—they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection," said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I's College of Medicine and a faculty member in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences' Division of Nutritional Sciences.

This happens because soluble fiber causes increased production of an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-4, he said.

The study will appear in the May 2010 issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and is available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08891591.

In the experiment, laboratory mice consumed low-fat diets that were identical except that they contained either soluble or insoluble fiber. After six weeks on the diet, the animals had distinctly different responses when the scientists induced illness by introducing a substance (lipopolysaccharide) that causes the body to mimic a bacterial infection.

"Two hours after lipopolysaccharide injection, the mice fed soluble fiber were only half as sick as the other group, and they recovered 50 percent sooner. And the differences between the groups continued to be pronounced all the way out to 24 hours," said Christina Sherry, who also worked on the study.

"In only six weeks, these animals had profound, positive changes in their immune systems," she said.

Now Freund has a new question: Could soluble fiber offset some of the negative effects of a high-fat diet, essentially immunizing obese persons against the harmful effects of fat?

Scientists have long known that obesity is linked to inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

Yet, in a recent study, the U of I scientists demonstrated that fat tissue produces hormones that appear to compensate for this inflammation. "There are significant anti-inflammatory components in fat tissue and, if they were strategically unleashed, they could potentially protect obese people from further inflammatory insults, such as a heart attack or stroke. In obese animals, you can see the body compensating in an effort to protect itself," he said.

Not all fat is bad, the researcher noted. The Mediterranean diet, which receives high marks for its health benefits, includes such foods as olive oil; salmon, tuna, sardines, and trout, which contain important omega-3 and -6 fatty acids; and plant sources of fat, such as flaxseed.

"Now we'd like to find a way to keep some of the anti-inflammatory, positive effects that develop over time with a high-fat diet while reducing that diet's negative effects, such as high blood glucose and high triglycerides. It's possible that supplementing a high-fat diet with soluble fiber could do that, even delaying the onset of diabetes," he said.

This study is one of the first to provide two valuable lessons, said Sherry. The first, already noted, is that soluble fiber has direct anti-inflammatory effects and builds up the immune system. The second is that the amount of soluble fiber necessary to achieve these health benefits is a reasonable, not a pharmacological, amount.

The recommended daily dietary recommendation is 28 to 35 grams of total fiber, but most of the FDA's health claims are for insoluble fiber, and that's where things get a bit complicated, she said.

"Not all fiber is created equal, although you wouldn't know that by reading nutrition labels," said Sherry. "Most manufacturers don't tell you how much of each type of fiber a food contains, and we think it's important that this information be included on a product's packaging."

Good sources of soluble fiber are oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, lentils, citrus fruits, apples, strawberries, and carrots. "We used a citrus-based pectin in our study," Sherry said.

Insoluble fiber, found in whole wheat and whole-grain products, wheat bran, and green, leafy vegetables, is also valuable for providing bulk and helping food move through the digestive system, but it doesn't provide the boost to the immune system that soluble fiber provides.

Omega-3, vitamins, minerals may reduce aggressive behaviour

Supplements of omega-3s, vitamins and minerals for prisoners may reduce the number of violent and aggressive episodes in prisoners, according to a new study from The Netherlands.

Nutritional supplements containing vitamins, minerals, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids were associated with a 34 per cent reduction in violent incidents, according to findings of a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial with over 200 young adult offenders published in Aggressive Behavior.

On the other hand, a 14 per cent increase in the number of reported incidents in participants in the placebo group were reported by the Dutch scientists, led by Ap Zaalberg from the Dutch Ministry of Justice.

“The prospect of influencing aggression and rule-breaking behavior with nutrients in moderate doses is important enough to warrant further research,” wrote the researchers. “This is particularly true as adequate supplementation may also have beneficial effects on mental health and cognitive functioning.”

Despite the reductions in violent incidents, which were documented by the prison staff, no significant differences were reported by the prisoners themselves when asked to rate their aggression or general health.

“Yet, the results in terms of a substantial reduction in reported incidents seem promising, as this outcome measure in particular may have practical relevance,” wrote Zaalberg and co-workers.

Commenting independently on the research, Professor Michael Crawford, director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University told NutraIngredients that the study follows on from a study in England by Bernard Gesch at Oxford University (Br J Psychiat, 2002, Vol. 181, pp 22-28) which found that supplementation of young violent offenders with fatty acids and micronutrients reduced violent offences by some 39 per cent or more.

Dr Gesch’s study was a double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which used the outcome measure was that used by the UK Home Office and Prisons to assess behaviour for legal purposes such as parole. “The measures were pretty robust,” said Prof Crawford.

Milestone research

The area of fatty acid supplementation and aggression was described as “an important development, and about to become more important”, by Prof Jack Winkler, director of the Nutrition Policy Unit at London Metropolitan University.

Talking to NutraIngredients, Prof Winkler said the Zaalberg study extended the data of Gesch and confirms the basic finding: “A good diet reduces aggression,” he said.

With only 200 subjects, the Dutch study would still be classed as small, said Prof Winkler, and “sceptics” have already “nit-picked it on methodological grounds”.

Answers may be forthcoming, said Prof Winkler, noting that Oxford University researchers are currently conducting a double blind, randomised, controlled trial at three locations and planned to include 1,000 subjects. The study is funded by the Wellcome Foundation and supported by the UK Department of Justice and the Prison Service.

“In my view, this could be milestone research, the research that finally makes the world take seriously the connection between diet and mental ill health, in all its forms,” said Prof Winkler.

No challenge to the methods of the new Oxford study has come forward, noted Prof Winkler. “If the results turn out similar to the Gesch and Dutch studies, then it could be a significant breakthrough,” he said.

Professor Crawford added that the link between diet and aggressive behaviour “makes sense on the basis of evidence of links between major depression, suicide and homicide reported by Dr Joseph Hibbeln at the National Institutes of Health in the USA and of course our stuff demonstrating the absolute dependence of the brain on the long chain essential fatty acids.”

Total fat, trans fat linked to higher incidence of ischemic stroke

The incidence of ischemic stroke also increased by 30 percent in the quartile of women consuming the highest daily amount of trans fat (average intake 7 grams per day) compared to those who consumed the least (average 1 gram/day). Two common sources of trans fat are processed foods and fried foods.

Ischemic strokes are caused by blockages in blood vessels in or leading to the brain.

"We found positive associations between total fat intake and ischemic stroke incidence and between trans fat intake and ischemic stroke incidence," said Sirin Yaemsiri, M.S.P.H., a doctoral student in the department of epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The study is the first to examine the associations of different fats and different subtypes of ischemic stroke in post-menopausal women, who face a higher stroke risk than men of a similar age.

Evidence from other studies shows that different types of fat have different effects on the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), with trans fat implicated in the development of CHD. However, studies of ischemic stroke and fat have been inconclusive, possibly because earlier studies had small numbers of ischemic stroke cases.

The analysis included data on 87,230 post-menopausal women ages 50 to 79 who participated in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study, a project sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The women answered a food frequency questionnaire when they entered the study and were followed for an average of 7.6 years, the researchers said. During that time, 1,049 ischemic strokes occurred.

Researchers looked for links between dietary fat intake and four ischemic stroke subtypes, which were characterized by their size or point of origin. However, the data on ischemic stroke subtypes fell short of statistical significance, perhaps because strokes are difficult to characterize and 43 percent (445 cases) of the ischemic strokes in the study were of unknown type, Yaemsiri said.

Researchers divided the women into quartiles based on the amount of total dietary fat and types of fat (saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat) they reported consuming per day.

Variables included age, race, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol or aspirin use, body mass index, hormone therapy, heart disease history, diabetes, systolic blood pressure and whether the women took medication for high blood pressure or to reduce cholesterol, vitamin E supplementation, fruit/vegetable intake, total calories and dietary fiber.

Women in the top quartile for total fat intake had an average intake of 86 grams of total fat per day. Those in the lowest quartile consumed an average of 26 grams a day.

"I think our findings support the American Heart Association recommendations for keeping trans fat intake at less than 1 percent of energy," said Ka He, M.D., Sc.D., M.P.H., senior author of the study and associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Trans fats can be found in many foods – especially in fried foods like french fries and doughnuts, and baked goods including pastries, pie crusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers and stick margarines and shortenings.