Health News articles from June 2006

Health News archives from June 2006

New tests for Alzheimer's disease.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Swedish scientists have discovered that levels of certain molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid can identify people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cerebrospinal fluid was taken from 21 patients with a possible diagnosis of AD....

New angina medication approved.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Ranolazine (Ranexa), the first new drug for angina in more than 20 years, has received FDA approval for use in patients with chronic angina who do not respond to other anti-angina medications. In randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials,...

Drinkers and smokers should be screened at younger age for colorectal cancer.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... In comparing smokers and drinkers with colorectal cancer (CRC) to those who never smoked or drank with CRC, researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, discovered that both current tobacco and alcohol...

The tantalizing promise of stem cells: are they the definitive "cure"? These cells can reproduce themselves or become specialized cells.
June 1, 2006... The potential of stem cells is so compelling that scientists now speculate that they may one day provide cures for many diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, replace damaged genes, fight organ rejection, enable researchers to test new...

The dangers of acetaminophen.(incorrect intake of acetaminophen may cause acute liver failure)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Safe and effective, acetaminophen is the most widely-used pain medication in the United States: An estimated 36 percent of Americans take a product containing it at least once a month. But a recent study, published in the journal Hepatology,...

Controlling blood sugar helps your feet.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... People with Type 1 diabetes who undergo intensive treatment to keep their blood glucose levels in check are less likely to suffer neuropathy, or nerve-related foot problems, according to recent research published in Diabetes Care. A common...

Lower your blood pressure with plant-based proteins: lose the carbs in favor of legumes, nuts, seeds, plus poultry and egg substitutes to reduce your risk of CAD.(coronary artery disease)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... If you are using a low-sodium, low-saturated-fat diet to control hypertension, replacing some of the carbohydrates with plant-based proteins such as legumes and nuts might further reduce your risk of coronary artery disease. The Optimal...

Take your meds and prevent heart disease.(medicines)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... People with high blood pressure and high cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart attack and other cardiac events by taking their medications faithfully. In fact, a study presented recently at the American College of Cardiology concluded that...

Ultrafiltration beats diuretics for HF.(heart failure )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Two studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology have shown that removing excess fluid from the blood in a process similar to kidney dialysis, can produce greater weight loss and symptom relief than treatment with...

Potassium may help prevent Alzheimer's disease: potassium could be a possible deterrent for dementia, three new studies suggest.(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... There is mounting evidence from several studies that controlling blood pressure can reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). One, published in a recent issue of Archives of Neurology, suggests that the use of antihypertensive...

Tea sharpens the mind.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Drinking at least two cups of tea a day will sharpen the mind, a recent Japanese study found. Dr. Shinichi Kuiyama, MD, PhD, and colleagues of the department of public health and forensic medicine at Tohoku University Medical School in Sendai,...

Mental stress linked to heart attack.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... The suspicion that mental stress plays a role in heart disease was strengthened by a study from the University of Florida recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. For some patients, mental stress might prove as...

Red wine compound may enhance longevity.(resveratrol)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Good news for wine drinkers--red wine may extend your lifespan. Resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine, is known to protect against ischemia (decreased blood flow) and neurotoxicity, but its effects on the lifespan of vertebrates...

Feeling faint or lightheaded? If you're prone to fainting, here are three simple exercises that may prevent the problem.(NUTRITION & FITNESS)
June 1, 2006... If you are among those given to fainting, you're not alone, and help is on the way. More than 20 percent of the population will faint at least once in their lifetime, and approximately 10 percent will experience fainting episodes (called...

Food combinations may lower cholesterol.(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Combining cholesterol-lowering foods may be more effective than consuming them individually, according to a study of 66 men and women published in a recent issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The volunteers had high cholesterol...

Weight training improves breast cancer QoL.(quality of life )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Weight training significantly improves the quality of life of women recently treated for breast cancer, according to a study published in a recent issue of CANCER. Six months of twice-weekly, supervised exercise increased strength and enhanced...

Raspberries are potent source of antioxidants.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Raspberries' antioxidant concentration is 10 times greater than that of tomatoes and broccoli, according to recent findings published in the scientific journal BioFactors. Antioxidants are known to provide multiple health benefits and may play...

"Needling" away your (aching) back pain: acupuncture and acupresssure both can provide long-lasting relief for low back pain, new studies say.(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... In one recent study of 298 people with chronic low back pain, those who received 12 sessions of acupuncture over eight weeks showed greater improvements in pain compared to their counterparts who were simply put on a waiting list to receive the...

Osteoporosis IV shot may boost med compliance.(denosumab increases bone mineral density)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Twice-yearly injections of a new osteoporosis drug called denosumab increase bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women compared with dummy injections, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. And the new drug may be...

NSAIDS better than acetaminophen for mild-to-moderate OA pain.(non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs)(osteoarthritis)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Even though guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology recommend acetaminophen (Tylenol) as initial therapy for people with mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis (OA), a new review of 15 studies suggests that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory...

IV steroids for sciatica: no long-term relief.(intravenous steroids)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Intravenous (IV) steroids slightly reduce pain in patients with severe sciatica due to a herniated intravertebral disk, but the improvement does not last, according to a new study in the journal Spine. A relatively common form of low back and...

It's sometimes safe to delay prostate surgery: "watchful waiting" plus active surveillance still leaves a window of opportunity if surgery is necessary.
June 1, 2006... Men diagnosed with low-grade, early-stage prostate cancer and their doctors have long faced a conundrum: Must patients be hurried into surgery for immediate treatment to preserve the window of opportunity that may lead to cure? Or is "watchful...

Cancer patients less likely to get kidney-sparing surgery.(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Patients with small primary tumors localized to the kidney are more likely to undergo laparoscopic total nephrectomy (TN), which entails removing the entire kidney despite the availability of less invasive, kidney-sparing surgery, according to...

Octogenarians with NSCLC can benefit from less invasive surgery.(non-small cell lung cancers)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2006... Patients over age 80 who have non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) but are otherwise in relatively good health can successfully undergo minimally invasive surgery, a recent study shows. NSCLC is an umbrella term for about 75 percent of lung...

Botox could improve chemo, radiation delivery.(botulinum toxins)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Some approaches of standard cancer therapy aim to deprive the tumor's blood system of oxygen and nutrients, thereby causing cell death. But as a patient is treated, his or her tumor cells often grow increasingly resistant to chemotherapy and...

High risk candidates for lung cancer should be screened early.(CANCER: NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... A new study stresses the importance of early screening of groups at high risk for developing lung cancer even before they have any symptoms. Because large lung tumors have a greater likelihood of metastasis, early screening could catch smaller...

Questions & answers.(arthrofibrosis disease overview)(Lewy body dementia overview)(coronary angiogram and heart attack risk )
June 1, 2006... Q Nine months after a total knee replacement, my pain is no better than it was before surgery. I was told I may have developed arthrofibrosis. What is that? A Arthrofibrosis is the excessive development of scar tissue and adhesions in a...