Health News - Monday, February 26, 2007
An alarming number of U.S. stroke patients have cholesterol levels that exceed those recommended by experts, new research shows. Published in the Feb. 27 issue of Neurology, the new study assessed the cholesterol levels of 1,040 people hospitalized for stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), often referred to as "mini-stroke."
The researchers found that 27 percent of the participants had cholesterol levels higher than is recommended by national guidelines. "If this high cholesterol had been recognized, and the guidelines been followed, then 93 percent of these people would have been treated with cholesterol-lowering drugs," Dr. Eric Smith, with the Massachusetts General Hospital Stroke Service in Boston, said in a prepared statement. Continue reading
New research in rats suggests that black soya beans may be a wonder food of sorts, helping to prevent obesity, lower cholesterol levels and possibly even reduce risks for diabetes. In a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, a team of Korean researchers studied the effects of black soya in 32 rats.
The researchers allowed the rodents to gorge on a fatty diet supplemented with various levels of black soya. After two weeks, the rats getting 10 percent of their energy from black soya gained half as much weight as those in the control group, and their total blood cholesterol and LDL (so-called "bad") cholesterol fell by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Continue reading
Carvedilol, a newer member of the beta blocker family of heart drugs, saved more lives of patients with heart failure than an older drug and also cut the incidence of heart attacks and other events, European researchers report.
The five-year study of more than 3,000 people with heart failure -- in which the heart progressively loses its ability to pump blood -- found a 21 percent lower incidence of heart attacks and a 25 percent lower incidence of fatal strokes among those who took carvedilol (brand named Coreg) compared to those taking an older medication, metoprolol (Lopressor). Continue reading
The American Heart Association is weighing in on the potential heart dangers of controversial cox-2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers such as Celebrex.
In a statement published Monday in Circulation, the association says these painkillers -- which include two other drugs, Vioxx and Bextra, now withdrawn from the market -- do increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and doctors need to change the way they prescribe these pain relievers to people with, or at risk for, heart disease. Cox-2 pain relievers are so named because they specifically target the cox-2 enzyme. Continue reading
Middle-aged men who regularly take the widely used pain pills acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin appear to have an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure. The three drugs are the most commonly used medications in the United States, according to a study published in the Feb. 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
"People should be aware that these drugs have potential adverse effects," said study senior author Dr. Gary Curhan, a researcher at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. "The risk of bleeding is well-known for aspirin and NSAIDs. I would recommend that individuals limit their use of these medications unless they are clearly indicated. If they have chronic symptoms requiring the use of these drugs, they should discuss alternative treatments with their health-care providers." Continue reading
U.S. researchers reported Sunday a simple breath test device the size of a coin detected three-quarters of the people with lung cancer who the researchers tested. But it had too many false positives -- meaning it indicated lung cancer in people who did not have it. Nonetheless, researchers said their study, published in the journal Thorax, showed such a test is possible in principle if someone developed a more accurate version.
"The unique chemical signature of the breath of patients with lung cancer can be detected with moderate accuracy by a colorimetric sensor array," the researchers wrote. Catching lung cancer early, when it is still treatable, could save tens of thousands of lives a year in the United States alone. It is the most common form of malignant cancer and also kills the most people, in part because it is not usually detected until it has spread. Continue reading
High intakes of vitamin A apparently reduce the risk of developing gastric cancer, Swedish researchers report. Vitamin A comes pre-formed, as retinol in foods of animal origin, or in precursor form, as carotenoids in fruits and vegetables, Dr. Susanna C. Larsson, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues explain in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Vitamin A may influence the development of stomach cancer through its role in controlling cell proliferation, the researchers write. "However, epidemiologic studies of vitamin A, retinol (preformed vitamin A), and provitamin A carotenoids in relation to the risk of gastric cancer have documented inconsistent results." The researchers examined the records of 82,000 Swedish adults who had completed a food-frequency questionnaire in 1997 and were followed through June 2005. Continue reading