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Coronary artery disease patients consistently fail to take life saving drugs

Nearly half the coronary artery disease (CAD) patients in a seven-year study admitted they don’t consistently take beta blockers, cholesterol-lowering drugs and other medications that could extend their lives, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

10 Jan 2006

Administering stem cells to patients with myocardial infarction leads to a reduction of the size of the infarct

This week, doctors at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital - Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven (SCIL), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), are publishing a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

9 Jan 2006

rhTSH combined with radiation therapy successfully destroys remaining thyroid tissue

A multicenter international study, including Johns Hopkins, has found that after surgery for thyroid cancer, giving genetically engineered human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) before radioiodine treatment avoids the previous need to stop thyroid replacement therapy and the miserable side effects that go with it.

9 Jan 2006

Fatigue in long-term breast carcinoma survivors

Up to one third of women treated for breast cancer report fatigue symptoms up to 10 years after diagnosis, according to a new study.

9 Jan 2006

Obesity increases risk of kidney failure seven fold

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have determined that there is a strong relationship between being obese and developing end-stage renal disease, or kidney failure.

8 Jan 2006

Use of L-arginine following a heart attack provides no benefit

Use of the amino acid supplement L-arginine following a heart attack does not improve certain cardiac functions and measurements and may be associated with an increased risk of death, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Jan 2006

Quality of care for acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients with alcohol-related diagnoses

Older Americans with alcohol problems do not get worse treatment than their sober peers when they are hospitalized for a heart attack, according to new research on Medicare patients across the country.

6 Jan 2006

Statins do not appear to reduce the incidence of cancer

The cholesterol-lowering medications called statins do not appear to reduce the incidence of cancer or cancer deaths, according to a meta-analysis of previous studies in the January 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 Jan 2006

Ethnic minority groups must be included in European health research

Despite the knowledge that ethnicity matters in cardiovascular disease, most studies of cardiovascular disease risk have not been designed to yield results that apply to different ethnic groups, report Meghna Ranganathan and Raj Bhopal (of Edinburgh University) in a new study in the international open-access medical journal PLoS Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice

Researchers from the University of Colorado have shown that mice carrying a genetic mutation that is linked to altered heart growth and function in humans, have significantly worse heart problems if fed a soy diet, when compared to mice fed a soy-free (milk protein-based) diet.

6 Jan 2006

Smoking during pregnancy increases risk of having a child with missing fingers and toes

In the largest study of its kind, plastic surgeons found smoking during pregnancy significantly elevates the risk of having a child with excess, webbed or missing fingers and toes, according to the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

6 Jan 2006

Treating gum disease may reduce heart problems

The Journal of Dental Research has just published the results of a study showing that treatment of gum disease may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

5 Jan 2006

National estimates for 18 specific major birth defects between 1999 and 2001

Cleft lip is a treatable birth defect, but for the families of the estimated 6,800 U.S. infants born with one, it's a heartbreaking experience – not only because of the associated health problems, but because friends and family may ignore the condition or because of social stigma associated with facial defects.

5 Jan 2006

Pharmacogenetics can reduce health care costs

Chances are good that a medication you take is one of several drugs that can be affected by genetic factors, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

5 Jan 2006

MRSA prevalence may be due to over-prescribing and overuse of antibiotics

A dangerous drug-resistant bacterium is becoming more prevalent in many intensive care units, according to an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

5 Jan 2006

Gulf War Syndrome more prevalent in first Persian Gulf War veterans

Comparing veterans deployed in the first Persian Gulf War and veterans deployed elsewhere at the same time has revealed veterans who served in the Persian Gulf have nearly twice the prevalence of chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI), a cluster of symptoms similar to a set of conditions often called Gulf War Syndrome.

5 Jan 2006