Health News articles from November 2006

Health News archives from November 2006

How to prevent 500,000 heart attacks a year: widespread screening for CVD could pinpoint who's vulnerable.(cardiovascular diseases)
November 1, 2006... Why is cardiovascular disease still the number one killer in the Western World when risk factors are well known and risk-reduction strategies are widely available? The Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force...

From the editor-in-chief.
November 1, 2006... Dear Reader: I welcome you to the first edition of a new partnership between HealthNews and Duke Health! HealthNews, an outstanding and established newsletter, provides easily understood summaries of those recent advances in medicine most...

Statin effective in preventing recurrent stroke.(IN THE NEWS ...)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are highly effective in reducing the risk of heart attack. Now one--atorvastatin--has been found to help prevent stroke in patients with a history of stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIA), but no...

Early Alzheimer's disease diagnosis gives hope: detection in initial stages could slow progression, perhaps lead to prevention.(MIND, MOOD & MEMORY)
November 1, 2006... Half of people who reach the age of 85 will be affected by Alzheimer's disease. Determining who will be affected and detecting the disease in its early stages remains difficult. A number of studies, however, have focused on early detection. ...

High blood pressure treatment may protect against dementia.(MIND, MOOD & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... In the Honolulu Asia Aging Study on Japanese-American men, published recently in Stroke, men who had been hypertensive since midlife and were free of dementia (all types) at the beginning of the study were followed for up to, and over, 12...

Antidepressants plus exercise an antidote to depression.(MIND, MOOD & MEMORY NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... In a recent pilot study, researchers used exercise in addition to antidepressants to help patients with major depression. Complete remission with antidepressant medication alone is generally very low, it has been found. In the study, 17...

Non-surgical way to heal severe heel pain: a new twist on an old exercise might bring relief from chronic plantar fasciitis.(NUTRITION & FITNESS)
November 1, 2006... A relatively common foot stretch performed in a new way gives those who suffer from plantar fasciitis a promising treatment option. Plantar fasciitis is a hard-to-treat condition in which the tough band of fibrous tissue that runs along the...

Vegetable protein lowers blood pressure.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... People who eat more protein from vegetables tend to have lower blood pressure, according to a recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine. A group of researchers at Imperial College, London, England, analyzed data from 4,680 middle-aged...

Four short walks better for hypertension than one long.(NUTRITION & FITNESS NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Watching your blood pressure? Three or four short, brisk walks throughout the day can be more helpful than one continuous bout of exercise, according to an Indiana University study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Hypertension. ...

Help for the sleep-deprived: if counting sheep doesn't work for you, there are other successful strategies.(INTERNAL MEDICINE)
November 1, 2006... Did you sleep well last night? If you didn't, welcome to the club. According to the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) 2005 Sleep in America poll, 75 percent of adults experienced at least one sleep-related problem one or more times per week...

Gene may play a role in macular degeneration.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A genetic variation for the gene known as complement factor H (CFH) may put you at high risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) if you carry it, reports a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. AMD is a leading cause...

A toast to your health.(INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Drinking one to seven drinks a week may help you live longer and lower your risk for cardiac events, according to findings recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers studied the effects of light to moderate alcohol...

New recommendations for fibromyalgia relief: heated pool therapy, certain medications among new treatments.(BONES & JOINTS)
November 1, 2006... Often misunderstood and/or incorrectly diagnosed, fibromyalgia is an arthritis-related condition marked by generalized muscular pain and fatigue. Its symptoms are common and laboratory tests are generally normal, so people with fibromyalgia may...

Biologics--growing knowledge.(BONES & JOINTS NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The advent of biologic drugs known as anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors such as Enbrel (etanercept), Remicade (infliximab) and Humira (adalimumab) have revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other auto-immune...

Uterine cancer could be harbinger of other cancers: an inherited mutation--Lynch syndrome--may lead to higher risk.(CANCER)
November 1, 2006... Women with endometrial cancer are at higher risk for lynch Syndrome, an inherited condition that increases risk for colon, rectum and endometrial cancers, according to an article published in a recent issue of Cancer Research. At particular...

DES ups daughters' breast cancer risk.(CANCER NEWSBRIEFS)(diethylstilbestrol)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Exposure to the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) given to women during the 1940s to 1960s to prevent miscarriage and morning sickness increases their risk of breast cancer. But what of the risk to the one to two million daughters...

A legacy of heart failure.(CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE NEWSBRIEFS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A LEGACY OF HEART FAILURE You have a 70 percent increased risk of developing heart failure if you have a parent who had it, says a report on over 2,200 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, in the New England Journal of Medicine. Heart...

Q A.
November 1, 2006... Q I'm taking bisphosphonates for my osteoporosis, but I've heard it can cause a serious jaw condition. Is this something I should be concerned about? A Bisphosphonates are used to slow the bone loss of osteoporosis, as well as to reduce...