Health News articles from January 2007

Health News archives from January 2007

Potassium may help fight osteoporosis: potassium citrate increases bone-beneficial calcium retention.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Older women who take potassium citrate supplements may be at reduced risk for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis, according to a study in the November Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Exactly how potassium citrate boosts...

Gleevec may be heart toxic.(IN THE NEWS ...)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Doctors who prescribe the wonder drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia should be especially careful in its prescription following the development of severe congestive heart failure in 10 patients. A study...

Naproxen still rules.(IN THE NEWS ...)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Several years after Merck & Co voluntarily pulled their blockbuster [COX.sup.-2] painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib) from the market due to increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the conversation concerning the risks and benefits of this class of...

Mitral valve surgery beneficial in seniors.(IN THE NEWS ...)
January 1, 2007... Because of improved surgical techniques, mitral valve surgery can be considered "reasonably safe" in certain older patients, according to an editorial on a recent study published in Circulation. Over the course of 15 years, researchers at the...

The word is out: eat your fish! Three ounces, twice a week is still recommended. A new report helps you with further choices.(NUTRITION & FITNESS)
January 1, 2007... During the past decade, we've received mixed messages about eating fish. Government reports have warned that some varieties contain enough contaminants to endanger our health. At the same time, the results of studies and government guidelines...

What you should know ... about PAD and CHD risk.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWS BRIEFS)(Peripheral vascular diseases)(Coronary heart disease)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Several factors are associated with a higher risk for CHD events. Major factors: * nonfatal myocardial infarction * coronary death Others: * older age * male gender * high blood pressure * smoking * abnormal...

Resistance training could slow knee arthritis.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWS BRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Strength training for the legs over a period of time may slow the progress of knee osteoarthritis, according to a study conducted at the University of Indiana School of Medicine and published in a recent issue of Arthritis Care & Research. More...

Prevent bathtub and shower falls.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... University of Michigan researchers have found that falls can occur even among older adults who have safety devices such as grab bars in place. The research team videotaped people ages 60 and older who demonstrated how they normally get in and...

PAD in legs linked to heart attack and stroke: task force recommends against screening, despite risks associated with peripheral arterial disease.(CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease, so people whose legs are affected are highly likely to have atherosclerosis in the arteries of their heart and neck as well. For this reason, cardiovascular physicians were disheartened when the United...

Cardiac benefits of fish oil not widely acknowledged.(CARDIO VASCULAR MEDICINE NEWS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Most European patients leave the hospital after a heart attack with a prescription for fish oil. A concentrated source of omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil has been shown to reduce post-heart attack deaths by as much as 20 percent and sudden...

Sleep apnea increases risk of heart attack.(CARDIO VASCULAR MEDICINE NEWS BRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... People with obstructive sleep apnea tend to snore loudly, then stop breathing during sleep many times every hour. But sleep apnea may be more than a nuisance; it appears to increase the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart attack. In...

Anemia: risk factor for executive function impairment: even mild anemia can greatly affect the quality of your life, but help is available.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... An estimated 13 percent of people 70 and older are anemic, defined as having a hemoglobin concentration below 12g/dL in women and below 13g/dL in men. Hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells, gives blood its color. in many older people, anemia...

Colds prevention.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)(role of fomites)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... It's common knowledge that you can catch a cold by shaking hands with someone who has one. But now, researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have found that the rhinovirus, which is responsible for most colds, also can linger on...

Vision/hearing loss link.(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Vision loss and hearing loss may go hand in hand as you age. Australian researchers followed 1,91l people with an average age of 69.8 for five years; they found that for each line a person couldn't read on the eye chart the odds of difficulty...

Red wine might prevent Alzheimer's disease: moderate consumption could be a factor in reducing or slowing the incidence of AD.(MIND & MEMORY)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... A breakthrough study directed by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that red wine, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon, could help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study, published in the November 2006 issue of the FASEB...

Atypical antipsychotic agents ineffective for ad.(MIND, MOOD & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)(Alzheimer's disease)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... A large government comparison of the effectiveness of atypical antipsychotic drugs such as Zyprexa, Seroquel and Risperdal, used to soothe patients with Alzheimer's disease who are agitated and aggressive, has found that these drugs are not...

Does vitamin D reduce pancreatic cancer risk? Two studies differ in their findings; smoking is seen as a risk factor.(CANCER)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... To date, there is no effective screening tool for pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths. Hence, finding modifiable risk factors that could prevent the disease is extremely important. Apart from smoking, few other...

Intensity modulated radiation therapy safe, effective for prostate cancer.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Because prostate cancer grows slowly and is fatal in just one out of 34 men (though one out of six will develop the disease), its treatment raises many questions. Rising blood PSA levels help doctors diagnose disease and monitor treatment...

Fatty fish reduces women's kidney cancer risk.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... Omega-3 fish oil is known to reduce coronary heart disease risk and improve mental acuity. But a new study has found that one or more weekly servings of fatty fish (salmon, herring, sardines and mackerel) may also reduce risk of renal cell...

Do painful breasts signal HRT cancer risk?(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(hormone replacement therapy)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... To ease menopausal symptoms, some women continue hormone replacement therapy (HRT) well into their 70s and beyond. While other symptoms may abate, HRT increases the likelihood of developing dense and painful breasts. Changes in breast density...

Radiotherapy appears effective in inhibiting ovarian cancer spread.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... More surgery is the standard management of new or recurrent local tumors in women with advanced ovarian cancer previously treated with surgery and chemotherapy. To determine if high frequency electric current (radiofrequency ablation) could be...

New disc bests fusion.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... People with degenerative disc disease who undergo total disc replacement may do better than those who undergo spinal fusion, according to findings presented at a recent meeting of the North American Spine Society in Seattle. Those who...

Pre-surgery exercise gets you home faster.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2007... New research shows that a six-week pre-surgical exercise program of water and land-based exercises can help patients who have had hip and knee replacements to a faster recovery. Such an exercise program significantly reduced the odds of being...

Q&A.(does Coenzyme Q10 gives better cholesterol health with statins)(What is dysthymia and how serious is it?)('floaters' in my vision, especially when I look at bright light. Should I worry? )
January 1, 2007... Q Since my heart attack two years ago I have been taking a statin, and my cholesterol numbers are excellent. My chiropractor suggests I also should be taking CoQ10 for even better cholesterol health. Does that make sense? A With your...