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Global tobacco use remains high

Results from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey suggest that almost 50% of men worldwide consume tobacco in one form or another.

31 Aug 2012

French data highlight women under 60 at risk for heart disease

An analysis of four French registries has shown a dramatic drop in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction mortality from 1995 to 2010, accompanied by a significant change in patient characteristics.

31 Aug 2012

Smoking rates increased in relatives of schizophrenia patients

The unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia are more likely to be smokers than individuals without a family history of the disorder, researchers report.

31 Aug 2012

Quitting could cut SAH risk for some smokers

Stopping smoking may help to attenuate people’s risk for subarachnoid hemorrhage, say researchers.

31 Aug 2012

Researchers identify several genetic factors linked to C-reactive protein

African Americans have higher blood levels of a protein associated with increased heart-disease risk than European Americans, despite higher "good" HDL cholesterol and lower "bad" triglyceride levels. This contradictory observation now may be explained, in part, by a genetic variant identified in the first large-scale, genome-wide association study of this protein involving 12,000 African American and Hispanic American women.

31 Aug 2012

Impulsive and compulsive personality traits linked with traumatic upbringing during childhood

Previous research has shown that personality traits such as impulsivity or compulsiveness are indicators of an increased risk of addiction. Now, new research from the University of Cambridge suggests that these impulsive and compulsive personality traits are also associated with a traumatic upbringing during childhood.

31 Aug 2012

Sosei’s QVA149 Phase III study on COPD meets primary endpoint

Sosei Group Corporation confirms the information released today by Novartis that results from the fifth QVA149 (indacaterol maleate / glycopyrronium bromide) Phase III study, SPARK, met its primary endpoint of a reduced rate of moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations compared to glycopyrronium bromide.

31 Aug 2012

Drug-resistant tuberculosis levels described as alarming by international study

A large, international study published Online First in The Lancet reveals alarming levels of tuberculosis (TB) that are resistant to both first-line and second-line drugs. The findings show high prevalence of resistance to at least one second-line drug (43.7%) among multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB patients from eight countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Worse still, the study found higher than expected overall levels of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB.

30 Aug 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that explains link between trichomoniasis and prostate cancer

Researchers have identified a way in which men can develop prostate cancer after contracting trichomoniasis, a curable but often overlooked sexually transmitted disease.

30 Aug 2012

FAST-MI highlights young women at risk for heart disease

29 Aug 2012

Mortality risk similar for White vs Black diabetics

Diabetes does not lead to an intrinsically poorer survival in African Americans than it does in White Americans, report US researchers.

29 Aug 2012

Where there’s no smoke, there’s less bladder cancer

Giving up smoking can significantly improve clinical outcomes in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, report US researchers.

29 Aug 2012

Study finds decline in 30-day mortality of acute myocardial infarction with improved treatment

Improved treatment after acute myocardial infarction and less severe patient profile have reduced 30-day mortality over the past 15 years, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012.

29 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Adding a middle man to Medicare; Circumcision wars; Who is an extremist on abortion?

Bear in mind that health expenses will still have to be mainly paid for by some kind of insurance; that's in the nature of medical care, with its high but unpredictable cost. So what we're doing here is replacing government insurance with a program that gives people money to buy private insurance - that is, adding an extra layer of middlemen.

29 Aug 2012

Study raises cautionary note about preferential use of endovascular technique for ruptured AAA

A new study raises a cautionary note about the increasing use of a minimally invasive procedure to repair ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms, according to vascular surgeon Dr. Jae Sung Cho of Loyola University Medical Center.

28 Aug 2012

Heart healthy lifestyle could avoid up to 400 cardiac events and 200 deaths in Swedish PCI patients

Up to 400 cardiac events and 200 deaths in Swedish PCI patients could be avoided by following a heart healthy lifestyle, according to research from the SPICI study presented at ESC Congress 2012. The results were presented at ESC press conference by Professor Joep Perk from Linnaeus University and at the scientific session by Dr Roland CARLSSON.

28 Aug 2012

Global platelet reactivity effectively identifies ACS patients at high risk of ischemic events

Global platelet reactivity is more effective than responsiveness to clopidogrel in identifying acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients at high risk of ischemic events, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today. The results from the RECLOSE 2-ACS study were presented by Dr Rossella Marcucci from Italy.

28 Aug 2012

Major decline in early mortality for STEMI patients: French registries

Data from four French nationwide registries of STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) patients initiated five years apart and covering more than 15 years show that mortality rate decreased by 68% over this period, from 13.7% to 4.4%. Around one quarter of this mortality reduction could be attributed to a change in patient characteristics.

28 Aug 2012

Resuming smoking after stroke can increase risk of mortality

Patients who resume smoking after a stroke increase their risk of death by three-fold, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012 by Professor Furio Colivicchi from San Filippo Neri Hospital.

28 Aug 2012

Healthy foods consumed more often by the wealthy than poor

Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, proteins and non-saturated fats are consumed more often by the wealthy while poorer people consume more carbohydrates, concludes a new study involving people from 17 countries.

27 Aug 2012