Autores al aire

This morning on The Today Show: bestseller Lis Wiehl, co-author of Hand of Fate (Thomas Nelson, 978-1595547064, $24.99; Oasis Audio unabridged CD, $29.99), the second novel in the Triple Threat series, which PW said "offers an exciting if familiar plot."
On The Wendy Williams Show, Father Alberto Cutié discussed his upcoming book Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle with Faith and Love (Celebra, 978-0451232014, $25.95), which pubs in January.

On The Leonard Lopate Show, food journalist Laura Shapiro served up Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century (Univ. of California Press, 978-0520257382, $16.95). PW thought "This serious study is lively entertainment, spiced by the author's wit and wry perceptions."

The Diane Rehm Show chatted with longtime Forbes magazine correspondent Richard Morais, whose debut novel is The Hundred-Foot Journey (Scribner, 978-1439165645, $23). From PW's review: "Morais delves into a rich, imagery-filled culinary world that begins in Bombay and ends in Paris, tracing the career of Hassan Haji as he becomes a famed Parisian chef. Regardless of one's relationship with food, this novel will spark the desire to wield a whisk or maybe just a knife and fork."

This evening, The Daily Show hosts military historian Robert O'Connell, whose new book is The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic (Random House, 978-1400067022, $27; Tantor unabridged CD, $39.99). PW's review declared "O'Connell has established the new standard for studies of the second conflict between Rome and Carthage. In dramatic and comprehensive fashion, he describes the rivalry, based on temperament and territory, that led to the slaughter at Cannae in 216 B.C.E. and beyond."

Jimmy Kimmel Live interviews Lisa Ling, co-author of Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home (William Morrow, 978-0062000675, $26.99).

Due to the nature of live programming, scheduling is subject to change.

Booksellers can order these titles through Ingram at ipage.

Authors on the Air is compiled by Diane Patrick. To be included in this compilation, email author appearance information to dpatrick@publishersweekly.com (at least TWO days in advance, please).

Could Drinking Help Thwart Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Could Drinking Help Thwart Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Early study suggests it might, but that's no reason to imbibe heavily, experts say

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking alcohol may help keep rheumatoid arthritis at bay, possibly because it dampens the body's immune response, new research suggests.

Alcohol consumption may also protect people who already have the autoimmune disease from developing a more debilitating form.

"This actually isn't a new concept. There have been other articles [stating] that alcohol might be protective," said Dr. Guy Fiocco, assistant professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and director of rheumatology at Scott & White in Temple, Texas. "[But] I don't think we're going to be advocating alcohol to prevent rheumatoid arthritis."

Nor do the study authors advise drinking as a cure for arthritis. "We would wish to point out that, at the moment, that our findings are preliminary, and would not recommend that patients drink alcohol with the specific purpose of treating their arthritis," said Dr. James Maxwell, lead author of the study and a consultant rheumatologist at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust in England.

"We would also remind patients to observe recommended government limits for alcohol consumption," he added.

According to background information in the study, published online July 28 in Rheumatology, previous studies were mostly conducted in mice. The benefit of ethanol exposure for these rodents seemed to be due to higher levels of testosterone, the researchers wrote.

For this study, the authors compared 1,004 healthy participants to 873 people with rheumatoid arthritis. Both of those groups were divided into four groups: nondrinkers, those who drank 1 to 5 days a month, the ones who drank 6 to 10 days a month, and those who drank more frequently.

"We found that arthritis was progressively less severe as alcohol frequency increased, with a definite difference compared to nondrinkers even in the least frequent alcohol consumption group," Maxwell said.

The teetotalers had quadruple the risk of having rheumatoid arthritis compared with those who drank in the highest category.

And the more often one drank, the less damaging the rheumatoid arthritis tended to be, including healthier joints as shown on X-rays and less inflammation.

The association was seen in both men and women, though it was stronger in males.

Although no one can pinpoint a reason for the link with certainty, "essentially we think that alcohol may be having an effect by reducing the immune response, which leads to joint inflammation, and also that it may have a mild pain-killing effect," said Maxwell.

"There's a little information that alcohol can suppress the immune system," added Fiocco. "What's been reported is that people who drink excessive alcohol actually have higher levels of the cytokines that lead to the inflammation and moderate amounts of alcohol actually may lower these levels."

This finding is slightly different than what is reported in the current study (that the severity of the disease decreased with more alcohol).

Because the researchers assessed drinking frequency, rather than the amount of alcohol consumed, it is not clear how much alcohol might be helpful, they said.

And Maxwell stressed that their preliminary findings need to be replicated in the future.

"There are limitations to any research which asks patients to report their exposure to something (such as alcohol) over a period of time," Maxwell added. "We would therefore recommend that a future prospective study should be performed to further assess the impact of alcohol consumption on rheumatoid arthritis, a study recording alcohol consumption at the time rather than asking about it later."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more on rheumatoid arthritis.

SOURCES: James Maxwell, M.D., consultant rheumatologist, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, England; Guy Fiocco, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and director, rheumatology, Scott & White, Temple, Texas; July 28, 2010, Rheumatology, online

Last Updated: July 28, 2010

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Solar Activity Surges on the Eve of South Pacific Eclipse

Space Weather News for July 10, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

A LIVELY SOLAR ECLIPSE:  Fast-growing sunspot 1087 is crackling with C-class solar flares.  A spectacular eruption recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory is featured on today's edition of Spaceweather.com.  This surge in activity comes on the eve of a total eclipse of the sun over the South Pacific.  Will eclipse chasers see material blasting away from the sun when the Moon hides the blinding stellar surface?  It's a possibility. Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for updates and pictures from the path of totality.

SUNSET CONJUNCTION:  Look west at sunset.  Venus is passing by 1st magnitude star Regulus. They're only a little more than a degree apart.  Bright Venus catches the eye first. As the glow of sunset fades, Regulus pops out of the twilight a little below Venus. The view through binoculars is superb.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Did you miss the last big solar flare or geomagnetic storm? Don't let that happen again. Turn your cell phone into a full-featured space weather alert system: http://spaceweatherphone.com