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Combination chemotherapy shows small survival benefit in advanced stomach cancer

Patients with advanced stomach cancer have the best chance of prolonging their survival with a combination of chemotherapies instead of just one, according to a new review of previous studies.

19 Apr 2005

Some Alzheimer’s patients can benefit from drug Memantine

The drug memantine can reduce cognitive deterioration and loss of everyday functions in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new review of studies.

19 Apr 2005

Obesity is straining America's knees

America's expanding waistline is straining its knees--and pocketbook--with hundreds of thousands of overweight people undergoing surgery every year because the extra pounds they pack are leading to tears in their meniscal cartilage.

19 Apr 2005

Vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper, may provide a cancer-fighting benefit

Two new studies suggest that vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper, may provide a cancer-fighting benefit by slowing or preventing the growth of cancerous tumor cells. The findings, being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held April 16 to 20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., looked at the effect of these dietary agents on cancers that have extremely poor prognoses despite advances in surgery and other therapies.

19 Apr 2005

Protein studies may lead to new Alzheimer's test

A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS Press, entitled "Quantitative proteomics of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Alzheimer disease," may lead to a new test for diagnosing the devastating illness. About 4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, characterized by memory loss and an inability to use language.

19 Apr 2005

Survey finds four in ten seniors do not take medications as prescribed

Four in 10 seniors told researchers in a recent national survey that they haven’t taken all the drugs their doctors prescribed for them in the past year – either because the costs were too high, because they didn’t think the drugs were helping them, or because they didn’t think they needed them.

19 Apr 2005

Study explores parents's reaction to discovering a child has diabetes

Discovering a child has diabetes can be a traumatic and life-changing event for parents and researchers doubt whether many of them ever come to terms with it.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Allergic diseases have increased

The rate of allergic diseases (atopy) in adults has steadily increased over the last quarter of the 20th century, but the reason for the increase is still unknown, according to a study published online by the BMJ.

19 Apr 2005

One-meter waistline predicts high risk of diabetes and heart disease

People with a waistline of one meter or more are at serious risk of insulin resistance - an early stage in the development of diabetes and heart disease, finds a study published online by the BMJ.

19 Apr 2005

Obesity in China common - around 18 million adults

Around 18 million adults in China are obese, 137 million are overweight, and 64 million have metabolic syndrome—a condition where a number of risk factors for heart disease are present, suggests a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

19 Apr 2005

Rimonabant appears to reduce risk factors for heart disease in obese people

A new drug could substantially reduce the bodyweight, waist circumference, and risk factors for heart disease in obese people, according to results of a randomised trial published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

19 Apr 2005

Electric toothbrushes best for fighting gum disease

Powered toothbrushes with circular bristle heads that rotate in alternating directions are better at removing plaque and reducing the risk of gum disease than ordinary manual toothbrushes, a review of recent studies concludes.

19 Apr 2005

Statins help cut risk for advanced prostate cancer

In a 10-year study of more than 30,000 health professionals, researchers at Johns Hopkins and Harvard found that the longer men take cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins, the far less likely they are to develop advanced prostate cancer.

19 Apr 2005

Women respond as well as men to treatment with drug-eluting stents

Despite the fact that symptomatic coronary disease afflicts men and women equally, only 33 percent of the 1.2 million interventional procedures conducted in the U.S. each year are done on women.

19 Apr 2005

Family history of obesity increases risk of suffering a serious heart ailment

A Johns Hopkins study finds that people who have a family history of heart disease have more reason than most to keep their weight down. In these families, the Hopkins team found that siblings who were obese or overweight had a 60 percent increased risk of suffering a serious heart ailment, such as a heart attack, before the age of 60.

19 Apr 2005

Neurologists may have foot in the door to preventing Alzheimer’s before it starts

A study led by Mayo Clinic shows for the first time that a drug appears to have a slowing effect -- though limited -- on the progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. The findings will be published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 14.

13 Apr 2005

Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's may be delayed

In a study of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), those who took the drug donepezil were at reduced risk of progressing to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) during the first year of the trial, but by the end of the 3-year study there was no benefit from the drug. Vitamin E was also tested in the study and was found to have no effect at any time point in the study when compared with placebo.

13 Apr 2005

No clear correlation between routine ultrasonic scans and intellectual impairment

Scientists carrying out a major epidemiological study at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University have discovered that there is no clear correlation between routine ultrasonic scans and intellectual impairment.

13 Apr 2005

Low-Income Subsidies for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: The Impact of the Asset Test

An estimated 2.4 million Medicare beneficiaries with incomes low enough to qualify for additional subsidies under the new Medicare drug benefit are expected to be ineligible for these subsidies because they do not meet the asset test required by law, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

13 Apr 2005