Volunteers Needed for MS, Insomnia Study

DERBY - The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center, both located at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, are seeking volunteers for a study on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and insomnia.

 

The study will involve using mindfulness meditation to address insomnia. Volunteers will receive $200.

 

To participate, volunteers must have a diagnosis of MS and suffer from chronic insomnia, come to Griffin Hospital for three assessments throughout the study, be willing to attend a weekly, two-hour training session for eight weeks and wear a Fitbit activity monitor (provided to volunteers).

 

For information, call Sue at 203-732-1265 x220 or Rockiy at x300.

 

About The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center

The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC) is committed to research pertaining to the primary, secondary, & tertiary prevention of chronic disease that is responsive to the priorities of the Lower Naugatuck Valley residents, the residents of Connecticut 's major cities, and other communities throughout the state. The center is dedicated to participatory research methods, to a robust research agenda inclusive of developmental/determinant, intervention, and translational research; to community involvement in public health; to the eradication of disparities in health and health care in the communities served; and to the dissemination of effective interventions in support of the national objectives of Healthy People 2010.

 

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)

Yale-Griffin study: Walnuts help protect against diseases

Promising results from a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition provide convincing evidence that walnuts can help protect against heart disease.

This study, conducted by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, explored the health effects of daily walnut consumption by a group of adults at risk for developing diabetes or heart disease.

These results are consistent with findings of a prior study conducted by the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center team, which found a significant improvement in blood vessel function among people with diabetes who consumed two ounces of walnuts per day for eight weeks.

“Our work to date has shown clear benefits of adding walnuts to the diet for people with, and at risk, for diabetes,” said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and principal investigator of the study. 

“To some extent, this is because walnuts are concentrated in a variety of health-promoting nutrients, including omega-3 fat. The results are also probably due to the fact that eating more walnuts, which tend to help us feel and stay full, means eating less of other, less nutritious foods - so there are benefits both from what is added to the diet, and what is bumped out. We now move on to the next question: Do walnuts improve overall diet quality, and help with weight control, for healthy adults? I think so- but the study we are now running will tell us for sure.”

The adults who took part in the study were overweight, had an average age of 57 years, and had at least one of several conditions (high blood pressure, high blood glucose, high triglycerides, or low HDL cholesterol) that can raise the risk for diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Diabetes, in turn, can raise the risk for cardiovascular disease. 

Study participants were asked to practice their usual eating habits for one eight-week period called the control phase. 

Participants were then instructed to continue their usual eating habits for another eight-week period called the walnut phase, with one exception - eating two ounces of walnuts per day while adjusting for the extra calories from the walnuts so their daily calorie intake would be consistent with the control phase. The researchers found that after eight weeks of daily walnut intake, the study participants’ blood vessel function improved significantly compared to the control phase, their body weight and waist circumference remained stable, and they experienced a beneficial trend in reduction of systolic blood pressure (the upper number in a blood pressure reading), however that did not quite reach statistical significance.

The study results provide evidence that walnuts can play a role in protecting against heart disease in at-risk individuals.

The study was funded by the California Walnut Commission. The researchers are conducting another study to see if the beneficial health effects of consuming walnuts hold true for a six-month time period for adults who are at risk of developing diabetes.

About the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center

The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center was established in 1998 through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal of the PRC is to develop innovative approaches to health promotion and disease prevention that will directly benefit the public's health, first locally, and then nationally. For information, visit www.yalegriffinprc.org.

Katz named to 100 most influential people in health, fitness list

DERBY -  David L. Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness by the health website Greatist. 

An internationally renowned authority on nutrition and weight control Katz earned the 19^th spot on the list for his significant contributions in the field of health and wellness, including founding the Prevention Research Center, creating fitness and nutrition education programs for elementary school students and their parents, and for writing hundreds of medical articles in well-known publications such as O Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Glamour, and Prevention.

In assembling the list, Greatist looked at many factors such as social reach, trends set, products created, research contributed to, media coverage, and professional certificates and degrees.

Located at Griffin Hospital, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center was established in 1998 through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  
One of 35 such centers nationwide, each of which represents an academic/community partnership, the Yale-Griffin PRC is the only center in the network based in a hospital. 
The goal of the Yale-Griffin PRC is to develop innovative approaches to health promotion and disease prevention that will directly benefit the public's health, first locally, and then nationally.

Headquartered in NYC, Greatist is a health and fitness media startup on a mission to make better choices easier for everyone.

Katz writes a weekly column for the New Haven Register. The above was taken from a press release from Griffin Hospital.