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Lack of aggressive treatment for clogged leg blood vessels means missed heart attack prevention opportunity

Despite the fact that clogged arteries in the legs usually mean clogged arteries near the heart, doctors often fail to give heart-protecting drugs to people with severe leg blood vessel blockages, a new University of Michigan-led study finds.

15 Nov 2005

Study suggests that some patients on beta blockers should not be

A Johns Hopkins study has raised doubts about a long-accepted notion of what's going on in many cases of heart failure, suggesting that nearly half of patients with the disorder may be getting the wrong treatment for their disease.

15 Nov 2005

Tricor disappoints in diabetes trial

Researchers say the results of a large trial of a drug to lower triglycerides failed in its primary goal of significantly reducing heart attacks and coronary deaths among patients with type II diabetes.

15 Nov 2005

Link between eating and pain relief - brain stem blocks pain to protect key behaviors

Certain behaviors, such as eating, drinking and urinating, are so crucial to survival that the brains of all vertebrates contain clusters of nerve cells that can suppress pain long enough to allow the animal to eat, drink - or pee - in peace.

15 Nov 2005

Clinical decision support system reduces overall use of antimicrobials for colds, bronchitis and sinusitis

A clinical decision support system intervention reduced the overall use of antimicrobials for respiratory tract infections such as colds, bronchitis and sinusitis, according to a study in the JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

15 Nov 2005

Blood pressure near the heart is more predictive of cardiovascular outcomes than blood pressure measured in the arm

Results from a new study show that amlodipine-based (calcium channel blocker) treatment is much more effective at reducing blood pressure near the heart than a conventional atenolol-based (beta blocker) regimen.

14 Nov 2005

FLT-1 blockers, cutting the legs of leukaemia

Leukaemia is characterised by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells in the bone marrow (BM).

14 Nov 2005

Seeing under the skin to reveal early signs of heart disease and stroke

A revolutionary diagnostic technique that sees under the skin sounds rooted in the realms of science fiction. But an invention akin to the Star Trek small handheld body scanner that shines light into the skin to detect early signs of heart disease and stroke could be on the market in less than two years.

14 Nov 2005

Norvasc better than beta blockers for lowering blood pressure

According to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association, Norvasc, was more effective at reducing blood pressure near the heart than standard, older treatments such as beta blockers.

14 Nov 2005

For older people, the risks outweigh the benefits of taking sleeping pills and other sedatives

Insomnia can often affect the quality of life for older people and between 5% and 33% of older people in the UK are prescribed sleeping pills such as benzodiazepine.

14 Nov 2005

Role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure

An advanced study launched at Yale School of Medicine is evaluating the role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure, one of the leading causes of hospitalization in people over age 65.

14 Nov 2005

New plan to defeat Malaria in Africa

Achieving victory over malaria in Africa, a disease that each year kills millions and imposes costs that cripple entire economies, requires a new internationally funded effort dedicated to training and supporting a critical mass of African malaria researchers

14 Nov 2005

Researchers can now identify patients likely to respond to cancer drug therapy

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer have identified key characteristics in certain deadly brain tumors that make them 51 times more likely to respond to a specific class of drugs than tumors in which the molecular signature is absent.

13 Nov 2005

Link between diet and epileptic seizures studied

Although the high-fat, calorie-restricted ketogenic diet (KD) has long been used to prevent childhood epileptic seizures that are unresponsive to drugs, physicians have not really understood exactly why the diet works.

13 Nov 2005

Cellular signal may determine life or death for damaged brain cells

Scientists at the Universities of Heidelberg and Ulm and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have discovered that a specific signal within brain cells may determine whether they live or die after a stroke.

13 Nov 2005

Taking either COX-2 inhibitors or NSAIDs after a heart attack increases the risk of death

In recent years, evidence has shown that patients treated with selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors are at increased risk of heart attack and death. COX-2 inhibitors are used primarily to treat pain and arthritis in patients at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

13 Nov 2005

Statins reduce the risk of stroke after carotid artery endarterectomy

Carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) is the most commonly performed operation to prevent stroke in the United States. However, the operation itself carries a small risk of stroke.

13 Nov 2005

Scientists discover why lung, but not skin, anthrax infections are lethal

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin discovered why lung, but not skin, anthrax infections are lethal. As reported in the newest issue of PloS Pathogen (November 2005) Neutrophils, a form of white blood cells, play a key role in anthrax infections.

13 Nov 2005

Zyflamend shows promise in the early treatment of prostate cancer

Data from the Columbia University Department of Urology demonstrates that Zyflamend, a unique herbal extract preparation, suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells and induces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct via a process called "apoptosis."

13 Nov 2005

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may prevent the development of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in patients with Barrett's oesophagus

Barrett’s oesophagus is a metaplastic disorder that develops in about 10% of people with chronic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Every year about 0.5%-1% of patients with Barrett’s oesophagus develop oesophageal adenocarcinoma.

10 Nov 2005