Previous Medical News
2009/04/04
1. Stop-smoking lines flooded as tobacco tax rises: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (AP, 3/31/09)
Smokers are flooding the lines in a panic over an increase in the tobacco tax. The per-pack federal tax climbed from 39 cents to $1.01 4/1/09.
2. Once-a-day heart combo pill shows promise: Polypill could become a reality (American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions, 3/30/09)
The polypill is a single daily pill combining aspirin, cholesterol medicine and blood pressure drugs — everything people need to prevent heart attacks and strokes in a cheap, generic form.. The first big test of the "polypill" demonstrates the experimental combo pill was as effective as nearly all of its components taken alone, with no greater side effects. Taking it could cut a person's risk of heart disease and stroke roughly in half.
3. FDA OKs New Kidney Cancer Drug: Afinitor (FDA, Novartis, 4/02/09)
The FDA has approved a new drug called Afinitor to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma after other treatments fail. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. The most frequent side effects in the trial included inflammation in the mouth, loss of strength, diarrhea, poor appetite, fluid buildup in the extremities, shortness of breath, coughing, nausea, vomiting, rash, and fever. Lab tests also showed that at least half of all patients experienced anemia, low white blood cell counts, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high blood sugar, according to the FDA.
4. U.S. panel sees brain cancer benefit with Roche drug: Avastin (FDA, 3/31/09)
Early data for Roche Holding AG's drug Avastin shows enough promise in treating patients with a certain brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) to be considered for quick approval. The drugmaker is seeking accelerated approval to market the drug for patients diagnosed with a recurrence of the particularly deadly disease after trying other therapies first. The most common side effects were fatigue, headache and hypertension.
5. FDA cracks down on unapproved narcotic painkillers (FDA, 3/31/09)
The FDA has ordered 14 unapproved narcotic painkillers off the market/ prescription versions of potent morphine, hydromorphone and oxycodone. To help consumers tell if they have an approved or unapproved version, the FDA posted both lists on its Web site: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/unapproved_drugs/narcoticsQA.htm.
6. Age-related mental decline starts in the late-20s (Neurobiology of Aging, 4/09)
Measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving -- started to dull as early as age 27. Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37. Performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge -- kept improving with age.
7. Cholesterol drug Crestor lowers blood clot risk (American College of Cardiology/ New England Journal of Medicine, 3/29/09)
Statin drugs, taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, also can cut the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that can lodge in the legs or lungs. Crestor cut nearly in half the risk of blood clots in people with low cholesterol but high scores on a test for inflammation (hs-CRP), which plays a role in many diseases.
8. Low inflammation, cholesterol cuts heart risk (American College of Cardiology scientific meeting, 3/29/09)
Patients taking AstraZeneca Plc's Crestor, who saw both their bad cholesterol (LDL) and a protein tied to arterial inflammation (hs-CRP) reduced to very low levels, dramatically cut their risk of heart attack, stroke and death. Study subjects who reached aggressive targets of bad LDL cholesterol below 70 and hs-CRP levels below 1 had a whopping 80 percent lower risk of suffering serious heart problems or death.
9. Bed Bugs Bring No Disease Danger (Journal of the American Medical Association, 4/01/09)
Although bed bugs might prevent you from sleeping soundly, the good news is that their bites don't appear to transmit illness. Researchers reviewed all of the studies done on the pesky critters to date and found no evidence of disease transmission. They did find that some people have reactions to the bites, but these reactions are usually short-lived.
10. The Watchman, Device proves option to warfarin for atrial fib in stroke study (American College of Cardiology, Scientific Sessions, 3/28/09)
A new device implanted in the heart proved in a large clinical study to be a potential alternative to a standard blood thinner for helping patients with irregular heartbeats prevent stroke. The cage-like device, known as the Watchman, reduced the risk of stroke and cardiovascular death by 32 percent compared to warfarin, a widely used blood thinner that is notoriously difficult to manage and carries a high bleeding risk. The Watchman, made by privately held Atritech Inc, had twice as many procedure-related complications -- most of them related to its implantation.
11. Atkins Diet Tougher on Heart After Weight Loss (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 4/09)
In the "maintenance" phase that occurs after initial weight loss, the popular Ornish and South Beach diets seem to be easier on the heart than the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins regimen.
12. White Wine Can Cause Tooth Stains (Annual meeting of the International Association for Dental Research, April 1-4, 2009)
Wine doesn’t have to be red to cause stains on your pearly whites. White wine also can create conditions that enable chemicals in other beverages, such as coffee and tea, to leave tints on teeth.
13. The Dark Side of Vegetarianism (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 4/09)
Twice as many teens and nearly double the number of young adults who had been vegetarians reported having used unhealthy means to control their weight, compared with those who had never been vegetarians. Those means included using diet pills, laxatives and diuretics and inducing vomiting to control weight.
14. 1 in 5 Medicare patients readmitted within month (New England Journal of Medicine, 4/1/09)
One in five Medicare patients end up back in the hospital within a month of discharge. Costs billions of dollars a year. The findings suggest patients aren't told enough about how to take care of themselves and stay healthy before they go home. A few simple things — like making a doctor's appointment for departing patients and reviewing discharge medications— can help.
15. Sleep problems may up suicide risk (World Psychiatric Association International Congress, 3/31/09)
People who suffer chronic sleep problems are more likely to think about suicide or actually try to kill themselves. The more types of sleep disturbances a person had -- such as waking up too early, difficulty falling asleep or lying awake at night -- upped the odds of suicidal thoughts, planning a suicide, or attempting it.
16. Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease (American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions, 3/30/09)
Burning the midnight oil may be hazardous to your health. Men who go to bed after midnight have significantly more arterial stiffening -- an early stage of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries -- than men who turn in earlier.
17. Scientists prove human heart can regenerate cells (Science, 4/2/09)
The human body regenerates heart cells at a rate of about one percent a year, a discovery that could one day reduce the need for transplants. The study of 50 volunteers, using a dating method that detects traces of a carbon isotope left by Cold War nuclear bomb tests, raises the prospect of artificially stimulating the renewal process some day.
18. Plavix plus aspirin helps prevent strokes (American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions/ New England Journal of Medicine, 3/31/09)
Taking the blood thinner Plavix along with aspirin helped prevent strokes and heart attacks in people with a common heartbeat abnormality (atrial fibrillation) that puts them at high risk of these problems. Warfarin (Coumadin) remains first-line therapy. But for those who can't tolerate it, the Plavix-aspirin combo gives a better option than aspirin alone.
19. Muscles Sore After Exercise? Sip Caffeine (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 4/09)
Caffeine eases the muscle pains of exercising. Caffeine intake is associated with pain reduction in young men.
20. Triatholons can pose deadly heart risks (American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions, 3/28/09)
Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the risk of sudden death as marathons do.
21. Heavy pot smoking may trigger psychosis (Schizophrenia Research 2009)
Among individuals who appear to be "mentally well," heavy use of marijuana may predispose them to develop schizoprehenia and other psychoses. Among 92 patients, ages 18 to 65 years, who suffered a first episode of functional psychotic illness, more than half said they smoked marijuana daily or nearly every day and most of these individuals (66 percent) had no pre-existing signs of abnormal neurological development that would put them at risk for psychosis.
22. Recall: Pistachios recalled due to salmonella risk: Avoid all foods containing pistachios (Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc .; FDA, 3/31/09)
23. Recall: Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. Announces a Nationwide Voluntary Recall of All Lots of Digoxin Tablets Due to Size Variability (Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd., 3/31/09)
24. Recall: Evenflo Recalls About 733,000 Envision and Majestic High Chairs Because of Fall Risk, Choking Hazard (Consumer Product Safety Commission and Evenflo Co. Inc., 4/2/09)
