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High-rise homes have the highest levels of cockroach allergens

Roaches like to live high in the sky in places like Chicago, New York City and the Bronx, according to a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study, conducted by an allergist affiliated with Children's Medical Center Dallas, found high-rise homes in Northeastern cities had the highest levels of cockroach allergens -- leading to a higher incidence of asthmatic episodes.

30 Mar 2005

Vaccine prevents deadly pneumonia in African children

Global health leaders today presented new research showing that vaccinating infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae -- a bacterium that causes deadly pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis -- could substantially reduce death and serious illness among children in the developing world. If used widely, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths each year.

28 Mar 2005

Statins appear to be safe for people with fatty liver disease

Statins appear to be safe for people with fatty liver disease who could benefit from their cholesterol-lowering capabilities, concludes a review paper published in the April 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

28 Mar 2005

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate

Contrary to conventional wisdom, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate than people with many other illnesses, according to the first systematic review of the topic.

22 Mar 2005

Intervention with once-daily budesonide reduces long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events

New data indicated that earlier intervention with once-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma, significantly reduced the long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events as well as the need for other inhaled medication.

21 Mar 2005

Questions about validity of HOPE TOO vitamin E study

A study published in the March 16 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggesting that a "daily-dose" of vitamin E (400 international units) among high-risk (chronically ill) cardiovascular patient populations is associated with a greater risk of heart failure is being challenged by leading health researchers around the country who claim the study lacks the adequate research and controlled sampling audience to justify this conclusion.

16 Mar 2005

Vitamin E may increase heart attack risk - does not prevent cancer

A study by Canadian researchers Eva Lonn, M.D., of the Population Health Research Institute and McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues, has found from examining experimental and epidemiological data, that patients who took vitamin E supplements for 7 years did not significantly reduce their risk of cancer or cardiovascular events and some in fact had an increased risk of heart failure.

15 Mar 2005

Study indicates that vitamin E does not prevent cancer

Patients who took vitamin E supplements for about 7 years did not have their risk of cancer or cardiovascular events significantly reduced, and in fact some had an increased risk of heart failure, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

15 Mar 2005

Study finds spikes in blood pressure, heart rate, adrenaline after 'dipping' snuff

After snuff use, heart rate increased by about 15 beats per minute (25 percent), systolic blood pressure went up by 12 mmHg (10 percent), and measurements of adrenalin in the bloodstream increased by more than 50 percent.

15 Mar 2005

Growth hormone treatment may reduce serious metabolic conditions

Researchers in Sweden have discovered that growth hormone (GH) treatment may result in the reduction of multiple metabolic disorders associated with abdominal obesity in postmenopausal women.

14 Mar 2005

Protopic and Elidel may cause cancer

Protopic and Elidel, two treatments for eczema approved in 2000 and 2001, have now been found to cause cancer in three different animal species.

13 Mar 2005

Investigational drug may help prevent recurrence of ovarian cancer

A drug that may help prevent recurrence of ovarian cancer by inhibiting development of new blood vessels essential to cancer growth is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

9 Mar 2005

Blood pressure treatment could cut risk of strokes and heart attacks

A new treatment strategy for hypertension can cut the risk of strokes by around 25 percent and coronary events by around 15 percent according to the preliminary results of a major international trial announced at the American College of Cardiology Late Breaking Clinical Trials II Meeting in Orlando today.

8 Mar 2005

Growth hormone treatment improves symptoms of metabolic disorder in postmenopausal women

Researchers in Sweden have discovered that growth hormone (GH) treatment may result in the reduction of multiple metabolic disorders associated with abdominal obesity in postmenopausal women.

8 Mar 2005

Use of cilostazol, clopidogrel and aspirin results in a significant reduction of thrombotic complications in the prevention of heart attacks

Three drugs, each of which works in a different way, are used in anti-platelet therapy to help prevent restenosis (the reclogging of blood vessels after they have been cleared with percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI) or thrombosis (obstruction of an artery or vein by a blood clot).

7 Mar 2005

Aspirin does not prevent first heart attacks or death from cardiovascular causes in women

The Women's Health Study is the first large clinical trial to study the use of low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke in women.

7 Mar 2005

$Vitamin B12 after stroke reduces risk of hip fracture$

Vitamin B12 after stroke reduces risk of hip fracture

Patients who took folic acid and vitamin B12 after their stroke had a reduced risk of hip fracture compared to patients who took placebo, according to an article in the March 2 issue of JAMA.

1 Mar 2005

Researchers can now predict who will benefit from cerclage

Doctors treating pregnant women with threatened preterm birth sometimes sew the cervix closed, a procedure known as cerclage. Despite this traditional intervention, many women still lose the pregnancy.

1 Mar 2005

First study to show cost-effectiveness of pre-diabetes intervention

More than 40 million Americans face a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and it would cost a lot to give all of them intensive help with diet and exercise, or medication, to keep them from developing diabetes.

28 Feb 2005

Finasteride prevents prostate cancer

Recent finding show lives could be saved if men are given the drug Finasteride to prevent prostate cancer. New analysis of data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial in the current issue of CANCER confirms this view. These results represent a milestone in cancer research, showing that prostate cancer could be prevented through drugs.

28 Feb 2005