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Vast majority of heart attacks may be predicted by nine easily measurable factors

A major Canadian-led global study has found that the vast majority of heart attacks may be predicted by nine easily measurable factors and that these factors are the same in virtually every region and ethnic group worldwide.

29 Aug 2004

New study confirms benefits of rimonabant in weight loss

Phase III clinical study comparing placebo to rimonabant, the first agent in a new therapeutic class known as selective cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) blockers, showed that overweight or obese people taking rimonabant 20mg once daily benefited from a significant reduction in their body weight

29 Aug 2004

No benefit from early PCI/CABG in high risk unstable angina patients

Patients with chest pain are recognized as being at high risk of subsequent adverse cardiac events when their plasma levels of cardiac troponin are elevated as evidence of myocardial damage.

29 Aug 2004

Dronedarone is effective and well-tolerated in the prevention of atrial fibrillation

New anti-arrhythmic agent, dronedarone, is highly effective in the prevention of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter recurrence, serious disorders of cardiac rhythm, and is well-tolerated by patients.

29 Aug 2004

Atrial fibrillation patients often receive needless treatment

Results of the Euro Heart Survey on atrial fibrillation (AF), demonstrate that many AF patients receive clot-preventing drugs while not at risk for stroke.

29 Aug 2004

U.S. FDA study shows Canadian drugs to be more expensive

If you think all drugs from Canada are cheaper than U.S. drugs, think again. In the United States, generic drugs - roughly half of all prescriptions - are often cheaper than both Canadian brand-name drugs and Canadian generic drugs, according to a study by the Food and Drug Administration.

29 Aug 2004

Streptococcal bacteria disrupts blood clotting to infect humans

University of Michigan researchers have captured a glimpse of the endless arms race between infectious agents and the human immune system in a bacterium that uses a mimic of a human blood-clotting enzyme to advance its infection.

27 Aug 2004

Black women may not be getting mammograms as often as white women

Black women may not be getting mammograms as often as white women, despite a widespread belief that this particular racial disparity has been overcome, a University of Rochester Medical Center study shows.

27 Aug 2004

Tomato juice may help type 2 diabetics

Tomato juice may be the key to decreasing hyperactive platelet aggregation, which can lead to heart disease, according to the latest nutrition and dietetics study by HMRI researchers based at the University of Newcastle.

27 Aug 2004

Solid evidence that best treatment for multiple sclerosis is pregnancy

For years, doctors have suggested the best treatment for multiple sclerosis is pregnancy. Now, an Oregon study is delivering solid evidence to support the theory.

27 Aug 2004

High tech implants to aid facial reconstruction

Loughborough University researchers have been awarded more than £200,000 to develop state-of-the-art tailor made implants for people requiring facial reconstructive surgery.

27 Aug 2004

More women are surviving advanced breast cancer

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, (Vol. 22, No. 16: 3302-3308), doctors from 3 French hospitals reported on 724 women whose first diagnosis was breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (stage 4). It is rare for women to be diagnosed with such late stage disease.

27 Aug 2004

Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse

“Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse,” says Dr. David Graham, professor of medicine and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. “Stress causes the body to produce higher amounts of acid, which can irritate preexisting ulcers.”

27 Aug 2004

Nobox gene key to proper egg development

While humorists ponder the old saw about the chicken and the egg, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine focus on the egg, which would not exist without the master geneNobox, which they describe in this week’s issue of the journal Science.

27 Aug 2004

Yogurt, unfortunately, is not the answer for thrush

The curative power of yogurt to prevent cases of thrush when taking antibiotics has been debunked by a University of Melbourne researcher.

27 Aug 2004

Two new findings in the field of primary prevention for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

The first is that both high and low blood pressure increase the chances of developing dementia. The second is that an active and socially integrated lifestyle protects against dementia.

27 Aug 2004

Ephedra substitute - Seville orange may have risks

People taking “ephedra-free” weight loss products that contain the herb Citrus aurantium, or Seville orange, may be doing more harm to their body than good, according to a new review published by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers.

27 Aug 2004

Statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors), are effective long term

Statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors), a class of drugs that block production of cholesterol in the liver, lower total cholesterol and LDL and are also associated with cardiovascular benefits, are effective in the long term, conclude authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

26 Aug 2004

Surgeons remodel and replace man's jaw bone allowing him to eat first dinner in 9 years

“By the 4th week post-transplantation the patient enjoyed his first dinner in 9 years (bread and sausages); before reconstruction he had only been able to eat soft food and soup”.

26 Aug 2004

Emergence of drug resistant influenza viruses more common than previously thought

Results of a small study from Japan in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that the emergence of influenza viruses which are resistant to a widely used influenza drug may be more common than previously thought.

26 Aug 2004