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Study calls for earlier use of ICDs in patients diagnosed with cardiomyopathy

A study presented today at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials presentations at the Heart Rhythm Society's Annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans found that implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD) benefit patients with recently diagnosed cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects the heart muscle's ability to pump and can lead to heart failure.

8 May 2005

Suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression

People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. How well the circuit was connected accounted for nearly 30 percent of their anxious temperament

8 May 2005

Drug combinations improve survival for patients with heart disease

Patients with coronary heart disease who take a combination of three specific drugs have a better chance of survival than those taking single drugs, finds a study in this week's BMJ.

5 May 2005

Survey of ED doctors shows team-based stroke care, risk-reducing measures, needed to increase use of tPA

Forty percent of emergency physicians say they're unlikely to give stroke patients the only FDA-approved drug shown to improve their prognosis, even in an ideal setting, mostly because of the fear of causing brain bleeding.

5 May 2005

Physician assisted suicide and why patients are motivated to seek death

Patients motivated to seek a doctor for their death wish did so after a deliberative and thoughtful process rather than on impulse, according to a research study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine .

5 May 2005

After surgery check colon tumors for signs of syndrome, study suggests

A new study suggests that, after surgery, all colon tumors should be tested to learn if the patient may have an inherited syndrome that carries an extremely high risk of cancer. It also suggests that this prescreening can be done using a relatively inexpensive microscopy test already used in hospital pathology laboratories.

5 May 2005

Controlling a person’s weight after they have given up smoking could help maximise the benefits for their lungs

Lung function normally declines with advancing age, and smoking causes premature onset and acceleration of this age-related decline. Stopping smoking is beneficial for lung function but may lead to weight gain. Previous studies have reported the effects of quitting smoking and weight change on lung function, but the total effect has not been reported in a general population study.

4 May 2005

People may consume more calories after exercising in cold water

Exercise in cold water instead of warm water may increase people's appetites, making it harder for them to lose extra pounds, a University of Florida study finds.

4 May 2005

When sports ads tell you to 'Just do it' they are absolutely right

People who are successful at exercising regularly don't stop to think about it--they really do, 'Just do it', according to Dr. Sandra Cousins, professor of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta.

4 May 2005

New study confirms 'wait and see' approach best for some prostate cancers

Men diagnosed with low-grade localized prostate cancer who opt not to undergo aggressive treatment for the disease are unlikely to die of the disease, even after 20 years, according to researchers in Connecticut.

4 May 2005

Internet may help prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes

A Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center team is launching a high-tech study to determine if early screening using a special camera and images transmitted over the Internet can prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes.

4 May 2005

Genetically modified rice in China benefits farmers' health

Farmers growing genetically modified rice in field trials in China report higher crop yields, reduced pesticide use and fewer pesticide-related health problems, according to a study by researchers in China and at the University of California, Davis, and Rutgers University.

4 May 2005

Heart failure patients do better when treated according to guidelines, but too many doctors still fail to prescribe the best treatments

Heart failure patients who are treated in accordance with established European guidelines do better than patients who are not, yet many doctors are still not adhering to the guidelines, according to pioneering research published in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

4 May 2005

Abnormal heart scans predict higher risks for African-Americans and Hispanics

SPECT imaging scans show that abnormalities in blood flow to the muscle of the heart indicate higher cardiovascular disease risk in African-Americans and Hispanics than similar abnormalities in white patients, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

Diabetes appears to rob women of usual advantage in heart disease risk

For men, a heart attack increases the risk of dying from coronary heart disease more than diabetes does, but for women, diabetes is sometimes the greater threat, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

MRI study shows hormone leptin alters brains, may ease cravings of people with obesity gene

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study finds that the protein hormone leptin promotes development of gray matter in the part of the brain that regulates cravings and the ability to monitor personal behavior.

4 May 2005

$Black women at less risk of fractures$

Black women at less risk of fractures

A recent report from the U.S. surgeon general on bone health and osteoporosis has found that black women have a lower risk of fracture than white women at every level of bone mineral density.

3 May 2005

Study identifies possible marker for efficacy of gefitinib in lung cancer patients

Patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumor cells contain extra copies of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene may be more likely to respond to the drug gefitinib (Iressa), and this high gene copy number may be an effective predictor of gefitinib efficacy, according to a new study in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 May 2005

Study examines influence of celebrity endorsements of cancer screening

More than one-half of adults surveyed nationwide had seen or heard celebrity endorsements of cancer screening tests, and more than one-fourth of those who had seen or heard an endorsement reported that it made them more likely to undergo the promoted screening test, according to a new study in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 May 2005

MDCT highly accurate for diagnosing coronary artery disease in patients with zero to moderate coronary calcification

In patients with no or moderate coronary calcification, 16-slice MDCT allows the reliable detection of coronary artery stenosis with high diagnostic accuracy, say researchers from Tuebingen University Hospital in Germany. Coronary artery stenosis is the narrowing of coronary arteries due to the build-up of calcified plaques.

3 May 2005