Health News

After Menopause Calcium And Vitamin D Help Hormones Help Bones

Date: Jun-28-2013
Should women take calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause for bone health? Recommendations conflict, and opinions are strong. But now, an analysis from the major Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial throws weight on the supplement side - at least for women taking hormones after menopause. The analysis was published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society. Among the nearly 30,000 postmenopausal women in the hormone trial, some 8,000 took supplemental calcium (1,000 mg/day) and vitamin D (400 mg/day), and some 8,000 took look-alike placebos...

Lithium Reduces Suicide Risk In People With Mood Disorders

Date: Jun-28-2013
Lithium can reduce suicide risk and help prevent deliberate self harm in people with mood disorders, according a new study in British Medical Journal (BMJ). The research showed that the drug appeared to lower the likelihood of death and suicide by over 60% compared with placebo. The finding "reinforces lithium as an effective agent to reduce the risk of suicide in people with mood disorders," the scientists said...

If Only People Took Their Medicines, We'd Save Billions

Date: Jun-28-2013
Imagine a world where everybody took their medicines and doctors prescribed only generic medications (when available)? According to a report by CVS Caremark, America would save billions of dollars every year. The new report - 2013 State of the States: Adherence Report - suggests that the American health care system would save a fortune in medical costs if drug adherence rates improved. In medicine, drug adherence, also known as drug compliance or concordance, refers to the degree to which a patient correctly follows the doctor's advice when receiving a prescription...

What We Can See And Hear Is Affected By Imagination

Date: Jun-28-2013
Our imagination may affect how we experience the world around us more than was previously thought, for instance, what we imagine seeing or hearing in our head can alter our actual perception, according to new research by a team from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The finding, published in the journal Current Biology, explores the historic question in neuroscience and biology about how our brains puts together information from all the different senses...

"Smart Snacks" To Replace Junk Food In Schools, USDA

Date: Jun-28-2013
Out go junk foods during school hours and in come "Smart Foods". Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the USDA is replacing candy bars and potato chips with granola bars and baked chips as part of the USDA's new "Smart Snacks in School" nutrition standards. Secretary Vilsack said "Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children...

FDA Approves Hemophilia B Drug "Rixubis"

Date: Jun-28-2013
The FDA has just approved the drug Rixubis [Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant)] for people over the age of 16 suffering from hemophilia B. Hemophilia B is an inherited chronic blood disorder where the blood does not clot properly, it is caused by mutations in the Factor IX gene. The symptoms of hemophilia are characterized by serious bleeding (particularly in the joints) and easy bruising. New insights into the root causes of uncontrollable bleeding in hemophilia patients were revealed in a study published in Biophysical Journal...

FDA Takes Action Against 9,610 Illegal Online Pharmacies

Date: Jun-28-2013
Who would think that www.walgreens-store.com was an illegal online pharmacy? According to the FDA, there are thousands of them online, illegal websites masquerading as household names. The FDA took action against them this week, alongside regulatory and law enforcement agencies around the world. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) says that the international "Operation Pangea VI" took action this week against 9,610 online pharmacies that sell potentially dangerous, fake, unapproved prescriptions drugs to consumers illegally...

In Sub-Saharan Africa Hypertension-Driven Disease Rapidly Rising

Date: Jun-28-2013
Based on the experience of a large hospital in Tanzania, Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have discovered a "startlingly" high burden of hypertension in this sub-Saharan African country. In the Journal of Hypertension, the researchers say non-communicable disease -- driven primarily by hypertension, resulting in stroke and other cardiovascular diseases -- accounted for nearly half of the deaths and admissions during a three-year period at Weill Bugando Medical Center, one of Tanzania's preeminent teaching hospitals...

Interference In Circadian, Metabolic Genes May Cause Symptoms Of Prader-Willi Syndrome

Date: Jun-28-2013
Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute and Agilent Laboratories have found that Prader-Willi syndrome - a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity - is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep. The research was led by Janine LaSalle, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology who is affiliated with the MIND Institute...

Sleep Deprivation Protects Runners' Muscles In 200-Mile Race

Date: Jun-27-2013
Runners who complete one of the world's most difficult ultra-marathons experience less neuromuscular fatigue, inflammation, and muscle damage than those who run distances half to one quarter as long. The finding came from new research published in PLoS One and was conducted by Jonas Saugy and team from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. For the purpose of the investigation, experts analyzed twenty-five male athletes before, during, and about 30 minutes after the race...