Previous Medical News
2010/06/12
1. FDA Panel Votes to Approve Gilenia, First Oral MS Drug (FDA, 6/10/10)
An FDA expert advisory panel has overwhelmingly recommended approval of Novartis's Gilenia, the first oral drug for multiple sclerosis (MS). Gilenia (generic name, fingolimod) would be used for the relapsing form of MS. The drug significantly reduces MS attacks. However, it has serious side effects, with possible heart, lung, liver, and eye toxicity and increased risk of infection. Patients must be closely monitored.
In MS, white blood cells attack the myelin sheathes that protect nerve cells. Gilenia keeps white blood cells penned up in lymph nodes by taking away the chemical key they need to unlock the lymph-node door. Fewer white blood cells mean fewer MS attacks. But it also means less protection against infections and cancers. In clinical trials, side effects linked to Gilenia included:
- Elevated liver enzymes
- Macular edema (swelling of the central portion of the retina, causing distorted vision)
- High blood pressure
- Shortness of breath
- Bronchitis
- Diarrhea
- Bradycardia (slowing of the heartbeat, seen only upon first treatment. The FDA panel recommends that patients be required to receive their first dose under medical supervision).
2. Doctors urged to warn against cellphone use in cars (New England Journal of Medicine, 6/10/10)
Physicians should tell patients not to send text messages or use cellphones while driving, just as they advise them against smoking or to use seat belts. Texting while driving raises the risk of an accident by 23 times. Talking on a cellphone poses the same risk as driving while intoxicated, even if the driver was not holding the phone.
3. Subway Restaurant Salmonella Outbreak Strikes 60 People (Chicago Sun-Times, 6/9/10)
A salmonella outbreak linked to Subway restaurants in Chicago has gone up to 60. All the patients reported eating at various Subway sandwich shops between May 11 and May 25. They ranged from 3 years old to 88 with seventeen people hospitalized. It's still not clear what might have caused the outbreak.
4. Common Painkillers Raise Heart Death Risk (American Heart Association's journal, "Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 6/10)
High doses of common painkillers raise the risk of heart death in healthy people. NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pain relievers increase the risk of heart disease and death in people without underlying health conditions. The risks are dose related and are mostly associated with high doses of the drug. However, for most of the drugs, the deaths occurred in people who had been taking the drugs for only two weeks. Diclofenac (brand names include Cataflam, Voltaren) is as risky as the now-banned Vioxx. ibuprofen (brand names include Advil and Motrin) increased risk of stroke by about 30%. Low doses of ibuprofen seemed to lower the risk of heart attack risk while high doses (more than 1,200 milligrams per day) increased the risk of heart attack. Naproxen (brand names include Aleve and Naprosyn) does not appear to carry any risk of heart disease or stroke.
5. Study backs heart-healthy effect of dairy fat (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 5/19/10)
Eating dairy foods could help protect your heart.
6. Birth Defects Linked to Valproic Acid (New England Journal of Medicine, 6/10/10)
Women with epilepsy who take valproic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to have children with birth defects than women who took other epilepsy drugs or no medicine to control their seizures during pregnancy.
7. Gene Copy Aberrations May Help Drive Autism (Nature, 6/10/10)
Too many or too few copies of certain genes seems to be a hallmark of autistic people's genomes. There are certain types of genetic abnormalities that are unusually prevalent in individuals with autism. These are either segments of DNA entirely missing from the genome or the same segment repeated several times, known to geneticists as "copy number variations.”
8. Pregnancy may trigger or worsen OCD symptoms (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 5/18/10)
Pregnancy may worsen or bring on symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in some women – suggesting that certain cases of the disorder involve abnormal responses to hormonal changes.
9. CPAP Restores Brain Tissue in Sleep Apnea Patients (24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, 6/7/10)
People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be able to increase the volume of gray matter in their brains by undergoing continuous positive airway pressure therapy, also known as CPAP.
10. Exercise Recommended for Cancer Patients (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 7/10)
Though cancer patients have long been told to take it easy, they can -- and should -- be as physically active as possible before during treatment, according to new guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). New guidelines call for physical activity before, during, and after treatment.
11. Do you have 'Low T?' Or is it just hype? (Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, 6/10)
Middle-aged men with "Low T," they are moody and have low libido, and they lack energy. But testosterone replacement therapy is questionable because it has risks, its efficacy is uncertain, and there's no strong agreement about whether low testosterone is really a disease in older age. The symptoms are "nonspecific," and could be linked to diabetes, circulation problems, or depression, as well as aging. Doctors should only make a diagnosis of low testosterone in men with consistent symptoms and signs and unequivocally low serum testosterone levels. Testosterone is not recommended for men with prostate cancer or for African-American men with fathers, brothers, or children with prostate cancer. A man's level of testosterone is considered low when it goes below 300 nanograms per deciliter of blood. But a single test won't do, because 30% of the time tests are normal after you repeat them.
12. Avastin May Help Treat Ovarian Cancer (American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting 2010, 6/7/10)
Long-term treatment with the cancer drug Avastin may help keep advanced ovarian cancer in check. Avastin may reduce the risk of cancer progression in ovarian cancer patients. Avastin, which cuts off the supply of nutrient-rich blood to tumors, is already used to treat breast, lung, and colorectal cancers, typically in combination with chemotherapy. Long-term Avastin therapy did bring more side effects. Nearly 23% of women developed moderate or serious high blood pressure, compared with 7.6% of women on chemo alone. A total of 2.6% of women developed moderate to severe bleeding, perforated intestines, or other serious gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, compared with 1.2% of women getting chemotherapy alone.
13. New Drug Extends Lives of Melanoma Patients: Ipilimumab (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 6/7/10)
A new drug that revs up the immune system to attack cancer cells extended the lives of people with advanced melanoma by an average of nearly four months. Ipilimumab is a human monoclonal antibody that targets a molecule called CTLA-4 on the surface of T-cells. CTLA-4 acts like a brake to the immune system. Blocking the brake with ipilimumab unleashes the T-cells so they can go out and attack cancer cells. Serious immune-related reactions such as rash and colitis occurred in 10% to 15% of ipilimumab-treated patients. Fourteen patients (2.1%) in the study died because of reactions to the treatment, seven from immune system problems.
14. Newer Drugs Beat Gleevec for Leukemia (New England Journal of Medicine, 5/6/10)
Two newer drugs, Sprycel and Tasigna, beat out the groundbreaking cancer drug Gleevec in treating people with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
15. Chocolate Milk Refuels Muscles After Workout (American College of Sports Medicine, 5/4/10)
Fat-free chocolate milk beat out carbohydrate sports drinks at helping to rebuild and refuel muscles after exercise. The combination of carbohydrates and protein in low-fat chocolate milk appears to be "just right" for refueling weary muscles.
16. Exercise May Boost Men's Sexual Prowess (American Urological Association, 6/4/10)
Men seeking to improve their performance in bed might want to give exercise a shot. Men who exercised had substantially higher scores on a sexual-function questionnaire than men who were sedentary. Men who were moderately active -- walking briskly just 30 minutes a day, four days a week, or the equivalent -- were about two-thirds less likely to have sexual dysfunction than their sedentary counterparts.
17. Heart Attacks Down Sharply (New England Journal of Medicine, 6/10/10)
Fewer Americans are having heart attacks, and more people who do have them are surviving. Better management of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol is having an impact, as are efforts to reduce smoking, ban smoking in public places, and get people to eat healthier and exercise.
18. Learning to relax, cope extends cancer survival (Cancer Clinical Research, 6/11/10)
Working with a psychologist to reduce stress can help women whose breast cancer comes back survive longer. Reducing stress during breast cancer treatment can keep the immune system strong and improve a woman's quality of life -- and these two factors help women live longer.
19. Many Americans Sleep-Deprived (Neurology, 6/10)
Almost one in five adults in the United States suffers moderate to excessive daytime sleepiness. About 18 percent of the population said they had fallen asleep or become drowsy in situations like meetings and conversations when they should have been concentrating.
20. Sleep deprivation linked to depression in teens (Associated Professional Sleep Societies, 6/7/10)
The time at which you report to work may have a significant impact on the hours and the quality of sleep you get, as well as on-the-job fatigue. Reporting for duty between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. was not a problem when it came to getting optimal sleep. Reporting to work between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight created the most problems for sleep duration and fatigue. The maximum fatigue occurred when work shifts began at 11 p.m. and minimum fatigue occurred when the work day started at 9 a.m.
21. Your Job's Start Time Affects Fatigue Level (American Journal of Epidemiology, 6/1/10)
The time at which you report to work may have a significant impact on the hours and the quality of sleep you get, as well as on-the-job fatigue. Reporting for duty between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. was not a problem when it came to getting optimal sleep. Reporting to work between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight created the most problems for sleep duration and fatigue. The maximum fatigue occurred when work shifts began at 11 p.m. and minimum fatigue occurred when the work day started at 9 a.m.
22. Chronic Insomnia May Cut a Life Short (Associated Professional Sleep Societies, 6/7/10)
Chronic insomnia may be associated with premature death, even independently of other chronic medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. Four types of insomnia were identified: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty getting back to sleep, waking repeatedly, and waking too early. Mortality was three times higher among people with chronic insomnia than among people who did not have insomnia. The risk of premature death was two to three times higher.
23. 'Sexsomnia' More Common Than Previously Thought (Associated Professional Sleep Societies, 6/7/10)
Sexsomnia, the disorder that causes people to engage in sexual acts while they are asleep, is more common than previously thought. One in 12 patients reported engaging in sexual activity while sleeping.
24. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Linked to Dementia (Archives of General Psychiatry, 6/10)
Older veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other age-related dementias as veterans without PTSD. The study is among the first to link combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder to dementia later in life.
25. Heart Disease Risk Higher for Short People (European Heart Journal, 6/9/10)
Short people have a higher risk of heart health problems than tall people. Short people also had an increased risk of heart attacks and earlier death than taller people.
- Short men were defined as those less than about 5 feet 5 inches tall, while short women were those below about 5 feet.
- Tall men were those over about 5 feet 9 and 1/2 inches, and tall women over about 5 feet 5 and 1/2 inches.
26. Genes May Play a Role in Vitamin D Deficiency (Lancet, 6/10)
Having too little vitamin D may not be due solely to diet or lack of sunlight, but may be due to your genes. Four gene variants may play a role in vitamin D deficiency, a condition which may affect up to half of all healthy adults in the developed world. It can contribute to poor musculoskeletal health as well as potentially increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of common cancers.
27. Problem gambling likely in the genes (Archives of General Psychiatry, 6/10)
Odds are good that if one of your parents is addicted to gambling, you might be too.
28. Exercise May Ward Off Anger (American College of Sports Medicine's 57th Annual Meeting, June 1-5, 2010)
Exercise may alleviate an angry mood. Exercise acts like a drug protecting against angry mood induction, almost like taking aspirin to prevent a heart attack.
29. Passive smoking leads to poor mental health (Archives of General Psychiatry, 6/10)
Second hand smoke affects your mental health. Exposure to second hand smoke is associated with psychological distress and risk of future psychiatric illness. Second hand smoke exposure is associated with psychological distress and risk of future psychiatric illness in healthy adults.
30. More evidence preterm birth can run in families (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 6/10)
Women who were born prematurely or had siblings who were may be at increased risk of having a preterm baby themselves.
31. Domestic Violence Linked to Obesity in Kids (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 6/10)
Kids exposed to domestic violence were more likely to be obese by age 5.
32. Moms' full-time work tied to childhood obesity (American Journal of Epidemiology, 5/20/10)
The growing number of full-time working moms in the past few decades could be one of the factors contributing to the concurrent rise in childhood obesity.
33. Childhood constipation often lingers into adulthood (Pediatrics, 6/7/10)
Stubborn cases of chronic constipation in childhood may become an adulthood problem for a significant percentage of kids. Children should see their doctor if they have constipation problems that last more than two weeks. Typically, treatment involves diet changes -- such as eating more fiber-rich grains, fruits and vegetables -- and, with a doctor's approval, stool softeners or laxatives. The new findings suggest that children whose symptoms do not improve with initial treatment might benefit from earlier referral to a specialist for "intensive" treatment that includes medication and behavioral therapy.
34. Recall: Ikea Recalls Over 3 Million Window Blinds, Shades (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 6/10/10)
Ikea is recalling 3.4 million window blinds and shades after a child nearly strangled on a cord. The recall includes all Roman shades and roll-up blinds that were sold at Ikea stores nationwide in more than 11 years, from January 1998 to June 2009. It also includes another style — roller blinds — if they don't have certain tension devices sold during this time period.
