Health News articles from June 2007

Health News archives from June 2007

Cognitive decline after bypass surgery attributed to unknown factor.(IN THE NEWS ...)
June 1, 2007... Five to 30 percent of people who undergo coronary bypass surgery experience some degree of cognitive decline during the year following their operation. This deterioration of mental functioning in the past has been attributed to the heart-lung...

New painkiller guidelines: steer clear of COX-2 drugs.(IN THE NEWS ...)
June 1, 2007... Due to the increased heart risks seen with some popular COX-2 painkillers, other first line treatments for pain for people with, or at risk for, heart disease should be considered. These include physical therapy, exercise, weight loss to reduce...

Heartburn medicine for ulcers.(IN THE NEWS ...)
June 1, 2007... The same medication you take to quell heartburn--proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) or histamine 2-receptor antagonist (H-2)--can ease the bleeding of a peptic ulcer and reduce the need for surgery and repeated endoscopic treatment, according to a...

Hope for relapsing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients.(IN THE NEWS ...)
June 1, 2007... A Phase II clinical trial of 38 patients treated with the oral drug tipifarnib has shown that the drug "would be especially ideal for the elderly patient who doesn't want intravenous chemotherapy," says lead researcher Thomas E. Witzig, MD, a...

Fighting the fat monster: extra pounds put you at risk for debilitating diseases and early death.(FAT GRAMS)
June 1, 2007... An estimated 66 percent of American adults are overweight or obese: They have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9, which classifies them as overweight, or 30 or higher, which classifies them as obese. BMI is a measure of weight to height. ...

The upside of stress.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... Small amounts of cortisol, a cortico-steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that is involved in the body's response to stress, are known to produce positive effects in stressful situations, such as a burst of energy ("fight or flight");...

Treating kidney stones.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... Kidney stones are painful, common, affect five to 15 percent of the population, and have a 50 percent recurrence rate. They can cause severe pain in your sides or back, nausea, vomiting, frequent or urgent urination, or bloody urine. A recent...

Your 'good health' checklist.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... Eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet, exercising regularly, watching your weight, and not smoking are just some of the things you should do to stay healthy. But many people don't realize that routine screening tests count, too. The federal...

Pancreatic cancer: new studies, new treatments: "periodontal disease," "gemcitabine" and "adjuvant therapy" are the new buzzwords.(CANCER)
June 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Great strides have been made in reducing death from breast, colon, prostate and lung cancer, but 98 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer worldwide die. What causes pancreatic cancer and what changes in...

Better treatment for head and neck cancer.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... A new study has shown that adding the chemotherapy drug cetuximab (Erbitux) to concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy offers extended survival for some patients with locally advanced head and neck skin cancer. This early Phase II trial...

Freezing renal cancers cuts costs, recurrence rates.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... In a recent study of 67 patients with kidney cancer, 48 had their tumors removed laparoscopically and 19 had them killed by freezing (cryoablation). Compared to patients who underwent laparoscopy, cryoablation patients had a slightly lower rate...

Avastin improves lung cancer survival.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)
June 1, 2007... Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) resulted in an increase in response rate, progression-free survival and an improved overall survival, according to a study published in The New...

Aerobic fitness may protect arteries from inflammation: beneficial exercise effects can be tracked via two key mental stress tests.(NUTRITION & FITNESS)
June 1, 2007... We used to think of inflammation in terms of childhood diseases or skin conditions, but now we know it is associated with serious chronic health problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. We also know that...