WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking in moderation and keeping physically active is the formula for keeping heart disease at bay, Danish researchers report.

In fact, people who didn't drink and weren't physically active had a 30 percent to 49 percent higher risk of developing heart disease than people who drank, exercised or did both.

"This study is consistent with a number of prior studies which have shown that leisure-time physical activity and moderate alcohol consumption are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"However, it is very important to note that these findings, especially with regards to alcohol consumption, have never been confirmed in randomized clinical trials and need to be before any recommendations can be made regarding the use of alcohol for cardiovascular risk reduction," Fonarow cautioned.

In the study, Morten Gronbaek, director of research at the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen and his colleagues collected data on 11,914 Danish men and women aged 20 and older who took part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study.

During an average of 20 years follow-up, 1,242 people died from heart disease and 5,901 died from other causes, according to the report in the Jan. 9 issue of the European Heart Journal.

Among both men and women, being physically active was associated with a significantly lower risk for fatal heart disease and dying from any other cause compared with being physically inactive.

In addition, drinking was associated with a lower risk of fatal heart disease than not drinking. Moderate drinking reduced the risk of death among men and women. However, among heavy drinkers the risk of dying was similar to non-drinkers, the researchers found.

Among people who were physical active, those who didn't drink had a 30 percent to 31 percent higher risk of fatal heart disease compared with moderate drinkers.

However, among people who didn't drink but had a moderate or high level of physical activity, their risk of fatal heart disease was reduced up to 33 percent compared to those who didn't exercise or drink.

In fact, those who had at least one drink a week and were physically active had a 44 percent to 50 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than those who were physically inactive and didn't drink.

Moreover, people who were physically active and had a drink a week had up to a 33 percent lower risk of dying from any cause, Gronbaek's group found.

"Physical activity and a moderate alcohol intake can lower the risk of fatal heart disease and all-cause mortality. But neither physical activity alone nor alcohol intake can completely reverse the increased risk associated with physical inactivity and alcohol abstention. Thus, both physical activity and alcohol intake are important to lower the risk of fatal heart disease and all-cause mortality," the researchers concluded.

One expert sees physical activity and moderate drinking as parts of a healthy lifestyle.

"The key messages of this study, based on a large cohort, are reaffirmations of what we already know, not revelations," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "Moderate alcohol intake reduces the risk of heart disease. Moderate physical activity does so, too, and even more powerfully. Combine the two, and the benefits are additive."

However, Katz stressed that practices that promote health are most powerful when combined into an overall pattern of healthful living.

"Combing regular physical activity with not just moderate alcohol intake, but a healthful dietary pattern, adequate sleep, effective management of stress, and avoidance of tobacco, and you can slash your risk of heart disease and premature death from any cause, dramatically," Katz said.

More information

For more on heart disease, visit the American Heart Association  .

TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental weight-loss drug helped people shed pounds, but its adverse effects included gastrointestinal distress and psychiatric problems, scientists report.

Called taranabant, the drug was developed by Merck Research Laboratories, which funded the new research published in the January issue of Cell Metabolism.

"It suppresses food intake and increases your metabolism," explained Dr. Steven Heymsfield, global director of scientific affairs, obesity, for Merck Research.

The drug works by blocking the same pleasure centers in the brain that are triggered when marijuana smokers get hungry. Blocking these cannabinoid receptors reduces hunger and helps people lose weight, the researchers said.

Taranabant is in the same class of drugs as rimonabant (Acomplia), which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved due to concerns about the risk of suicidal thoughts among some users. Rimonabant is on the market in Europe, however.

In the new study on taranabant, "no suicidal thoughts were reported," Heymsfield said. But the question was not asked, he added, in a systemic way. For a larger, upcoming trial, it will be, he noted.

In this latest study, Heymsfield's team assigned 533 obese patients to receive either a placebo or one of four taranabant doses: 0.5, 2, 4 or 6 milligrams daily. A total of 358 patients finished the 12-week study.

While the placebo group lost about 2.6 pounds during the study, the 6-milligram taranabant group lost the most.

"Those who took the 6-milligram dose every day for 12 weeks lost about 11 pounds," Heymsfield said. They also followed a reduced-calorie eating plan but had no specific exercise plan.

In a separate study reported by the same group of scientists in the journal, the researchers gave 36 overweight or obese people a placebo or a single dose of either 4 milligrams or 12 milligrams of taranabant, or 30 milligrams of another weight-loss drug called sibutramine (Meridia). Then they tracked food intake over the next 24 hours.

Those who took the lower dose of taranabant reduced food intake 1 percent compared to the placebo group, while those who took the larger dose of the drug reduced food intake by 22 percent compared to the placebo group. The Meridia group reduced caloric intake by 12 percent.

With the higher dose of taranabant, this would drop a 2,000-calorie-a-day intake to about 1,600 calories, Heymsfield said, enough to lead to weight loss.

But as the dose of taranabant increased, so did the adverse effects, including gastrointestinal and psychiatric problems. In the 6-milligram dose group, more than 53 percent reported some sort of gastrointestinal problem, such as diarrhea, nausea, frequent bowel movements or vomiting.

And more than 27 percent of those taking that dose had psychiatric effects. Anxiety was the most commonly reported problem, but also reported were mood swings, depression, insomnia, irritability or nervousness.

Even so, Heysmfield said, the company plans to ask for FDA approval of taranabant later this year.

"It's a new class of obesity drugs, and it works through a different mechanism," he said. If approved, it would offer those who are obese and unable to lose enough weight through diet and exercise alone more options, he added. Other diet drugs work in different ways, such as decreasing the absorption of food in the gut.

One expert familiar with this class of drugs had mostly praise for the new studies. "This is a new way of thinking about regulation of food intake," said Dr. Steven R. Smith, a professor and assistant to the associate director of clinical research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, La.

"The paper is extremely well-written," said Smith, who was speaking on behalf of the Obesity Society. Besides reporting results, he said, the paper adds information about how the drug works.

But he said the new drug, if approved, won't be for everyone. "This is not going to be a class of drugs that people take because they want to look good on vacation" and lose 10 pounds or so, Smith said.

"I think this class of drugs, should it make it to market, is going to need to be reserved for people who have complications related to their obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or severe osteoarthritis," Smith said. In general, he added, taranabant would be best for those with a body mass index of 30 or higher (classified as obese), or those with a BMI of 27, considered overweight, but with complications.

More information

To learn more about obesity, visit the Obesity Society  .

FRIDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil might play an important role in preventing Alzheimer's disease, according to a research team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Publishing in the Dec. 26 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the scientists demonstrated that the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients. LR11 is known to destroy the protein that forms the plaques associated with the disease, the researchers explained.

The plaques are actually a buildup of a protein called beta amyloid, which is thought to be toxic to brain cells. Higher levels of LR11 prevent the manufacturing of the toxic proteins, which is why researchers believe the low levels found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients may be a contributing factor to the disease.

Alzheimer's is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that causes memory loss, dementia, personality change and ultimately death. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 5.1 million Americans are currently afflicted with the disease. The association predicts that may increase to between 11 million and 16 million people by 2050.

The researchers tested the effects of DHA by adding it directly to human and animal neurons grown in the laboratory.

"We found that even low doses of DHA increased the levels of LR11 in rat neurons, while dietary DHA increased LR11 in brains of rats or older mice that had been genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease," lead researcher Greg Cole, associate director of UCLA's Alzheimer Disease Research Center, said in a prepared statement.

Fatty acids such as DHA are considered essential fatty acids, because the body cannot make them from other sources and must obtain them through diet. Years of research have shown that DHA is the most abundant essential fatty acid in the brain, Cole said, and that it is critical to fetal and infant brain development. Studies have also linked low levels of DHA in the brain to cognitive impairment and have shown that lower levels may increase oxidative stress in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

The research team acknowledged that their work does not identify a dosage of DHA that people could take to prevent Alzheimer's, but they recommend eating more fatty fish or taking a supplement. They did not recommend taking DHA to try to slow the progression of Alzheimer's.

More information

To learn more about Alzheimer's disease, visit the National Institute on Aging.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- To correspond with the new U.S. Department of Agriculture's food pyramid (MyPyramid), Tufts University researchers have updated the content and appearance of their food guide pyramid for older adults.

The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults still emphasizes nutrient-dense foods and the importance of fluid balance but now provides more guidance about the types of foods that best meet the unique needs of older adults and places added emphasis on physical activity.

"Adults over the age of 70 have unique dietary needs," first author Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, said in a prepared statement.

"Older adults tend to need fewer calories as they age, because they are not as physically active as they once were, and their metabolic rates slow down. Nevertheless, their bodies still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health outcomes. The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults is intended to be used for general guidance in print form or as a supplement to the MyPyramid computer-based program," Lichtenstein said.

The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults, which is expected to be published in the January issue of the Journal of Nutrition, includes information about:

• Whole, enriched and fortified grains and cereals such as brown rice and 100 percent whole wheat bread.
• Bright-colored vegetables such as carrots and broccoli.
• Deep-colored fruit such as berries and melon.
• Low- and non-fat dairy products such as yogurt and low-lactose milk.
• Dry beans and nuts, fish, poultry, lean meat and eggs.
• Liquid vegetable oils and soft spreads low in saturated and trans fat.
• Fluid intake.
• Physical activity such as walking, housework and yard work.

"Regular physical activity is linked to reduced risk of chronic disease and lower body weights. Government statistics indicate that obesity in adults 70 years and older has been increasing, [and] physical activity is one way to avoid weight gain in later years and its adverse consequences. In addition, regular physical activity can improve quality of life for older adults," Lichtenstein said.

More information

Here's where you can find the USDA's MyPyramid.