Health News articles from April 2008

Health News archives from April 2008

Do doctors prescribe too much aspirin for heart attack patients? A lower dose may be as effective--and safer--than a higher dose.
April 1, 2008... Taking aspirin during a heart attack saves lives. This cheap, common drug can halt the formation of blood clots and ease blood flow through the coronary arteries. For this reason, doctors often give aspirin to suspected heart attack victims...

Drug appears to reverse heart attack damage.(IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new drug called KAI9803 being developed at Duke Clinical Research Institute looks promising to reverse damage caused during a heart attack. In animal tests, the drug reduced damage to the heart muscle and restored...

Conflicting conclusions about blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes.(IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Treatment for type 2 diabetes centers on controlling blood sugar levels. Among the benefits of lower blood sugar is reduced risk of death from heart DeVita, attack--or so physicians thought until early February, when...

Better nutrition for cancer patients.(IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Eating a healthy diet can be difficult when you're recovering from cancer treatment, confused about what to eat to maximize your recovery, and unsure how to make food more palatable. But help is just a click away at...

FDA approves generic versions of popular osteoporosis drug.(IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic versions of the popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax (alendronate) on February 6, 2008. Fosamax, made by Merck & Co., is among the top 100 most...

Arthritis foundation exercise program gets an A+: stretching, flexing, range of motion and relaxation exercises are emphasized.
April 1, 2008... An eight-week group exercise program in which participants meet twice weekly for one hour improves the pain and fatigue of arthritis and helps older adults better manage their arthritis symptoms, according to research published in the January...

Insight into Lyme arthritis treatment.(BONES & JOINTS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Lyme disease season is quickly approaching. The standard treatment for Lyme disease is either oral or intravenous antibiotics. But nearly 60 percent of people who don't get antibiotics early in the illness develop intermittent or persistent...

High-trauma fractures linked to low bone mass.(BONES & JOINTS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... New research suggests that high-trauma nonspine fractures--which may occur during a car accident or from falls greater than standing height--are associated with low bone mineral density and increase the risk of sustaining a fracture. The study...

New Rx for chronic neck pain.(BONES & JOINTS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Strength training exercises that focus on the neck and shoulder muscles can help relieve persistent neck pain, according to a study in the Jan. 15th issue of Arthritis Care & Research. The new study included 48 women with chronic neck pain from...

Two new tests may soon predict prostate cancer risk: body fluids contain valuable biomarkers that could predict cancer risk with up to 90 percent accuracy.(INTERNAL MEDICINE)
April 1, 2008... Research conducted at the university of Michigan and Wake Forest school of Medicine has produced non-invasive techniques that could predict the likelihood of future prostate cancer with accuracy as high as 90 percent. [ILLUSTRATION...

Hot spots signal foot ulcers in diabetics.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A study published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Medicine indicated that a special thermometer that measures temperature of the soles of the feet may warn patients of potential foot ulcers. of...

Endovascular surgery best for abdominal aortic aneurysms.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Researchers at Harvard Medical school and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) appears to be the best choice to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). AAA is an enlarged and weakened vessel that...

How to reduce your risk of falling: new guidelines identify those at high risk; simple prevention programs cut incidence.(NUTRITION & FITNESS)
April 1, 2008... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Each year unintentional falls in the united states account for more than 16,000 deaths and 1.8 million emergency department visits, often leading to disability and loss of independence. Certain patients with neurological...

Protein, low-fat diet aids weight training.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Men 49 to 73 years old respond better to weight training if they get adequate amounts of protein and moderate amounts of fat, according to the results of a study published in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of sports...

Oatmeal-cholesterol link still strong.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... The link between eating oatmeal and lowering total cholesterol has been reaffirmed, based on a review of studies conducted over the past 15 years and published in the January/ February 2008 issue of the American Journal of lifestyle Medicine....

X-rays help avoid "dowager's hump.".(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... An X-ray might provide a 15-year window of opportunity for women to avoid a familiar condition known as "dowager's hump," the rounded upper body shape that is a distinguishing characteristic of osteoporosis, according to a study published in...

Depression or anxiety double the risk of heart ailments: people with existing cardiac disease need appropriate mental health treatment.(MIND & MEMORY)
April 1, 2008... Having depression or anxiety doubles the risk of major cardiac events such as heart attack in people with heart disease, according to a study published in the January Archives of General Psychiatry. The results indicate that "It is just as...

Calcium channel blockers may lower Parkinson's disease risk.(MIND & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... High blood pressure drugs called calcium channel blockers may reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the Feb. 6 issue of Neurology. In the study, 7,374 men and women over age 40, half with Parkinson's disease...

Studies find more evidence of genetic link to nicotine addiction.(MIND & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Two specific nicotine receptors are most closely associated with smoking, according to a study which included 14,000 Americans and Europeans published in the February issue of Molecular Psychiatry. The genes both produce brain proteins to which...

Eating fresh fruit has protective effect on brain cells.(MIND & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... Eating apples, bananas, and oranges may help your brain, according to a study in the February Journal of Food science. Researchers investigated the effects of extracts of the three fruits on neuron cells in the brain, and found that the...

Cancer-related fatigue has many treatment options: drugs, hypnosis, exercise, lifestyle modification, and counseling can contribute to a greater quality of life.(CANCER)
April 1, 2008... Fatigue is among the most common and persistent symptoms associated with cancer treatment and advanced disease, according to a November 2007 Health Psychology article. Feelings of exhaustion can last up to a year after treatment, says the...

Anxiety is an independent predictor of heart attack in older men.(CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
April 1, 2008... If you're a male and suffer from anxiety, you may be headed for a heart attack. An analysis of 735 older male participants in the Normative Aging study found that men who suffered from anxiety, but did not have coronary artery disease or...

Q & A.
April 1, 2008... Q I have an enlarged prostate. Are there vitamins or herbal remedies to treat this condition? A Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a benign enlargement of the prostate gland. As it grows, the prostate presses on the urethra, blocking...