Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine

As the public has become more educated about the dangers surrounding smoking, the sale of cigarettes has declined. But the rise in electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) has gained momentum. While some people believe that e-cigs can help kick the cigarette habit, experts warn that the research is limited and e-cigs still hold risks.

Here’s some basic information about e-cigs:

How does an e-cig work?

An e-cig is an electronic device designed to deliver nicotine with flavorings and other chemicals in vapor form from a cartridge rather than by smoke through the burning of tobacco. When the user inhales on the end of the e-cig, it generates heat; the heat vaporizes the liquid in the cartridge resulting in a nicotine-filled vapor.

Are e-cigarettes addictive?    

Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes, so e-cigs with nicotine would also be addictive. E-cig liquids formulated without nicotine are unlikely to be addictive.

Are e-cigarettes a safe way to help people quit smoking?

“Data on the successful use of e-cigs to reduce or quit smoking are contradictory and inconclusive,” says SIU researcher Wiley Jenkins, PhD. “The evidence is mostly anecdotal; more studies are needed.” Dr. Jenkins’ research has shown that the success of using e-cigs to quit smoking is likely dependent upon an individual’s motivations to quit and other behaviors.

What other risks do e-cigarettes pose?

Other risks are unclear at this point. “E-cigs have not been studied as much as other tobacco products, but logic suggests that they are ‘safer’ than traditional tobacco products. The chemical compounds found in most tobacco products are absent in the e-cig liquids,” Dr. Jenkins says.

He also warns that e-cigs pose a risk to the younger population. “There’s substantial concern that e-cig liquid flavors can entice youth to use the product, and lead to nicotine dependence and perhaps use of traditional tobacco products. Flavored cigarette have been outlawed in the US since 2009 for this very reason.”

Because e-cigarettes contain nicotine derived from tobacco, they are now subject to government regulation as tobacco products. You must be 18 years of age to purchase these products in-store or online. Go here for more information about this FDA ruling.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Ilinois

Written by Karen Carlson, SIU School of Medicine

Sheryl Crow, Ted Kennedy, Ethel Merman. What do they all have in common? They all had brain tumors.

Brain tumors affect people of all ages. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, it is the most common cancer among children younger than 20 and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Nearly 78,000 new cases of primary brain tumors will be diagnosed this year.

“It’s an overwhelming diagnosis for patients,” says Ali Choucair, MD, neuro-oncologist at SIU School of Medicine. “We care for the total patient. This includes their care givers  and their loved ones.”

Caring for these patients is quite demanding but treatment is getting better with improved therapies, Dr. Choucair says. “The brain is the center of personality, emotions, behavior, memory, speech, and complex functions of daily living. It is no surprise that patients who suffer from brain tumors are in demand of multispecialty expertise coming together as one team.”

His advice to patients:

1. Get the best available multidisciplinary care
2. Be an optimistic fighter and ask many questions
3. Keep as much normal activity as possible
4. Get plenty of rest and good nutrition.

SIU HealthCare provides a team-approach to care, access to clinical trials and symptom management. To schedule an appointment with one of our many providers, call 217-545-8000.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springield, Illinois

Written by Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine

SIU gynecologist-oncologist Dr. Laurent Brard has a message for post-menopausal women: Bleeding after menopause is never normal.

“I sometimes see women in the office who waited up to a year or two before they seek medical care,” explains Dr. Brard. “Women need to know that any vaginal bleeding after menopause isn’t normal, and they should see their gynecologist or primary care doctor as soon as possible.”

Bleeding past menopause could signal endometrial cancer, the most common form of uterine cancer. According to Dr. Brard, no good screening tool exists for endometrial cancer, though many mistakenly think uterine cancer can be found through routine Pap tests.

“Pap tests only screen for cervical cancer,” Dr. Brard stresses. Cervical cancer can often be found early, and sometimes even prevented entirely, by having regular Pap tests. “If we detect it early, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable gynecologic cancers,” Dr. Brard explains. To lower your risk of developing cervical cancer, use condoms and do not smoke. You can also lower your chances of developing cervical cancer by receiving the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.

Like uterine cancer, an effective screening tool for ovarian cancer has yet to be developed. The American Cancer Society estimates that ovarian cancer accounts for only about 3% of cancers among women, but it causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

Ovarian cancer is more likely to cause persistent, out of the ordinary symptoms, that is, symptoms that occur more often or are more severe. Dr. Brard says women should be on the lookout for these common symptoms of ovarian cancer:

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms such as urgency (always feeling like you have to go) or frequency (having to go often)

Women who have late stage ovarian cancer are more likely to notice these changes. Other, less common symptoms of ovarian cancer might include fatigue, upset stomach, back pain, pain during sex, constipation, menstrual changes and abdominal swelling with weight loss.

“Unfortunately, many of the symptoms – bloating, abdominal pain or urgency, are more commonly caused by other things,” explains Dr. Brard. “By the time women consider ovarian cancer a possible cause, it’s usually already spread beyond the ovaries.”

If you experience symptoms associated with ovarian cancer almost daily for more than a few weeks, and your symptoms can’t be explained by other, more common conditions, schedule an appointment with your gynecologist or primary care provider as soon as possible.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Cindy Yergler, RDN, CDE, SIU School of Medicine

White sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, cane syrup, agave syrup – what’s in a name? It’s all sugar and too much is not a good thing!

Many of us crave “sugary sweetness,” but too much can be sickeningly sweet.

Too much sugar has been connected to tooth decay, heart disease, obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, diseases which are showing up earlier in kids and adults. The American Heart Association recently released new guidelines recommending that children ages 2-18 eat fewer than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day. The guidelines also recommend that children 2 and under receive no added sugar. Sweetness is the only taste humans have a natural preference for, and frequent, early exposure strongly reinforces that preference.

The six teaspoons includes natural sugars in your food or drink and the sugar you add. Six teaspoons isn’t much – and with every heaping spoonful, you’re likely adding 2-4 teaspoons more than you intended. If you are reading food labels, 6 teaspoons is equal to about 25 grams. Find sugar listed under total carbohydrates, and then read the grams listed for “sugars.”

The most common sources of sugar “hiding” out in your foods include:

1. sugary beverages, such as sports and energy drinks, coffee drinks and juice
2. breakfast cereals, especially sweetened ones, but also raisin bran, granola and flavored oatmeal packets
3. regular yogurt, even if it is low-fat
4. dried fruit and applesauce
5. condiments, including BBQ sauce, catsup and honey mustard
6. salad dressings. As little as 2 tablespoons of a salad dressing can contain as much as 2 teaspoons (about 8 grams) of sugar!
7. the obvious – candy, desserts, ice cream, ice cream blended with candy and milk shakes

According to Dr. Miriam Vos of Emery University’s School of Medicine, “. . . the best way to avoid added sugars in your child’s diet is to serve mostly foods that are high in nutrition, such as plain fruits, vegetables, whole grains, reduced fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry and fish and to limit food with little nutritional value.”

Encourage your kids to drink water or milk. Limit processed foods in boxes, bags and mixes such as BBQ potato chips, or cookies pretending to be nutrition bars. Keep food “clean”  –  opt for grilled meats, roasted or steamed veggies, cut up and whole pieces of fruit, whole grain rice or pasta flavored with garlic, low sugar/low fat condiments or a little olive oil.

Enjoy the food and a healthy body you will have!

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine

About three out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with hearing loss in one or both ears, according to the National Institutes of Health. However, approximately 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents. “These parents grew up with oral language as their main mode of communication, so that’s the mode that most will choose if they know it’s an option,” Caroline Montgomery says.

Montgomery, SIU’s listening and spoken language specialist, is helping children with hearing loss have a greater chance of having clear speech production and auditory speech perception. She is the only provider within a two-hour radius of Springfield offering this unique therapy.

Her interventional therapy uses modeling and imitation, a method developed by The Moog Center for Deaf Education in St. Louis. “Children are prompted with a question, and if there’s an error in the response, a correct model is provided.  The expectation is that the child then repeats the modeled sentence correctly.” This method helps the child practice using grammatically correct sentences as well as learn to self-monitor and self-correct, according to Montgomery.

This technique develops all areas of language from articulation of sounds to the proper use of parts of speech in a complete sentence. “They really can have normal speech and language skills like their peers who don’t have hearing loss,” Montgomery says. “The goal is to start therapy immediately upon diagnosis of hearing loss.”

Rather than working just once a week on improving listening and language skills, Montgomery empowers parents to work with the child in a way that promotes listening and language-building skills in the home. “Learning happens all the time, and the home is the perfect place to build listening and spoken language with the kids,” Montgomery says. Sometimes, a familiar setting also allows the family to practice with language that would be more regularly used.

While state-provided services are available, Montgomery feels that these services don’t offer the audiological information and language development therapy that many families need. That’s where SIU specialists like Montgomery make an impact.

To learn more about this unique therapy and how it’s helped some of our young patients, read the Aspects article here or watch this video.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Written by Steve Sandstrom, SIU School of Medicine

• Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the U.S.
• More than 25 million citizens between the ages of 20 and 69 have high frequency hearing loss due to noise exposure.
• Roughly 50 million people in the U.S. experience chronic tinnitus ─ a persistent ringing in the ears.

Thanks to the efforts of a corps of scientists and auditory professionals, SIU School of Medicine is working to advance the understanding of hearing. These super scientists approach the problem of hearing loss from almost as many paths as sound enters the human brain.

“Fifty years ago, we thought once you lost your hearing, that was it,” says audiologist and researcher Dr. Carol Bauer. “About all you could do was withdraw from social interactions or learn sign language. Now people who are hearing impaired can get cochlear implants and it’s a whole new world. They can hear again and be part of a community and socialize and work.”

SIU’s researchers are even finding ways to reverse noise-induced or medication-induced hearing loss. A new drug patented by Dr. Kathleen Campbell is in the final phase of research trials for FDA approval. For those who work at the business end of a jackhammer, ride a tractor, serve in the military, or attend a loud concert, this therapy will be cause for celebration.

Dr. Bauer has high hopes for the future of those with hearing loss: “I think within 20 years, we should be able to reverse hearing loss and prevent tinnitus. These potential solutions to hearing loss could originate from right here in central Illinois.”

Learn more about SIU School of Medicine’s world-class hearing researchers and their projects here.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

September 2016 marks the fifth global World Alzheimer’s Month™, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma. Here are some things to know about Alzheimer’s disease.

Written by Laura Bottom, SIU Center for Family Medicine

With so many food choices, it’s sometimes difficult to know which are the healthiest foods. SIU Center for Family Medicine registered dietitian and diabetes educator Gayle Jennings says a great way to remember is to use the ‘Go-Slow-Whoa’ chart below as a helpful reminder.

“The chart is designed for children but can be used by anyone interested in better nutrition,” Jennings says. Most people want straightforward guidelines, and I think the color coding helps.”

How often can we indulge in foods from the “WHOA” column? “Unfortunately, I don’t have a great answer,” Jennings says.  “We all have our favorite foods, but I believe in variety and moderation to promote healthy eating.” 

*Though some of the foods in this row are lower in fat and calories, all sweets and snacks need to be limited so as not to exceed one’s daily calorie requirements.
**Vegetable and olive oils contain no saturated or trans fats and can be consumed daily, but in limited portions, to meet daily calorie needs.

This chart is adapted from CATCH: Coordinated Approach to Child Health

Copyright SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois