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Not enough evidence that multivitamins prevent infections in the elderly

Role of multivitamins and mineral supplements in preventing infections in elderly people: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials BMJ Online First.

3 Apr 2005

Aspirin safer than Warfarin for treating blocked arteries

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have shown for the first time that aspirin works as well as warfarin in reducing blood clotting. Until now doctors have lacked good evidence for choosing one therapy over the other.

30 Mar 2005

First North American trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer

Today, a new clinical trial evaluating a novel approach to breast cancer prevention launched in the United States and Canada. Called the ExCel research study, this is the first North American clinical trial to evaluate the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of breast cancer.

30 Mar 2005

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

Conventional wisdom could be wrong in primary care

A study by Mark Hall, J.D., professor of law and public health sciences at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre, is suggesting that conventional wisdom could be wrong in that primary care doctors who coordinate the care of their patients by specialists may actually have lower liability risk than primary care doctors who do not attempt care coordination.

29 Mar 2005

Coordinating care of chronically ill patients does not increase liability

Conventional wisdom is wrong: primary care doctors who coordinate the care of their patients by specialists may actually have lower liability risk than primary care doctors who do not attempt care coordination.

29 Mar 2005

Study links colic, maternal depression to family problems

Some families with new babies face excessive infant crying, or colic. And some new mothers go through maternal post-partum depression (PPD) following childbirth. Neither situation is considered healthy, but a recent study published in the Infant Mental Health Journal has found that the combined impact of colic and PPD can have a highly toxic outcome. Researchers have linked colicky babies and maternal depression to decrease in overall family functioning.

29 Mar 2005

Role of uric acid in heart disease

In this month's premier open access medical journal PLoS Medicine, John Danesh and colleagues from the University of Cambridge, along with investigators from the Icelandic Heart Association, report the single largest prospective study addressing the role of uric acid in heart disease.

29 Mar 2005

An overconfident physician will not seek help or may ignore help that is offered

Physicians' often do not have correct perceptions of the accuracy of their diagnoses at the time they make them, and in significant numbers of cases they may be overconfident - wrong when they believe they are right; or underconfident - right when they believe they are wrong--about their diagnostic assessments, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

29 Mar 2005

Pcsk9 gene - new target for cholesterol-lowering drugs

Mice lacking a key protein involved in cholesterol regulation have low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, levels more than 50 percent lower than normal mice, and researchers suggest that inhibiting the same protein in humans could lead to new cholesterol-lowering drugs.

29 Mar 2005

Depression and anxiety affects one in two breast cancer patients

Almost half of all women with early breast cancer experience depression or anxiety in their first year after diagnosis, reveals a study published in the current issue of the British Medical Journal.

29 Mar 2005

Girls more active with sports they enjoy

The more enjoyable a physical education program can be made for adolescent girls, the more likely they are to be physically active, according to new research in the March issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

29 Mar 2005

Academic medical centres need to monitor advertising

Similar advertising practices by pharmaceutical companies have been criticized for creating demand for services and failing to present balanced information, but academic medical centres have not been criticised, says Dr. Robin Larson, instructor in medicine at DAMS and lead author of the study.

28 Mar 2005

Smoking can harm your sexual health

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare today released survey findings that decisively refute the myth that smokers are "sexy." In fact, in a national survey of 784 adults aged 18-44, an overwhelming majority of respondents - 87% - disagreed with the sentiment that smoking is sexy. Adding insult to injury, among all adults, almost one quarter (24%) have actually turned down sex because the potential partner was a smoker.

28 Mar 2005

Poor survival rates in some cancers related to lack of clinical trial participation

In a new study Archie Bleyer, M.D. of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston and colleagues have discovered that mortality and poor survival rates among young adults and older adolescents with some cancers may be explained in part by the lack of participation in clinical trials.

28 Mar 2005

Diffusion MRI gives early indication if brain cancer therapy is effective

A special type of MRI scan that measures the flow of water molecules through the brain can help doctors determine early in the course of brain cancer regimen if a patient's tumor will shrink, a new study shows.

28 Mar 2005

Social and cultural factors play a significant role in the treatment decisions of patients with prostate cancer

Marital status, high school education, and race/ethnicity may play a far greater role in patients' treatment decisions than previously believed.

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

Benefits of lung cancer screening with CT questioned

Annual screening with helical computed tomography (CT) can help radiologists detect lung cancers at their earliest, most curable stage, but has not been shown to reduce mortality from the disease, according to a study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.

28 Mar 2005

Use of DNA-damaging agents revolutionizes chemotherapy against a wide variety of cancers

A new study demonstrates the potential effectiveness of treating tumors by combining agents that damage DNA with a drug that sensitizes cancer cells to these agents.

28 Mar 2005