Health News

Treatment With Antidepressant Results In Lower Rate Of Mental Stress-Induced Cardiac Ischemia

Date: May-21-2013
Among patients with stable coronary heart disease and mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), 6 weeks of treatment with the antidepressant escitalopram, compared with placebo, resulted in a lower rate of MSIMI, according to a study in the May 22/29 issue of JAMA. "A robust body of evidence has identified emotional stress as a potential triggering factor in coronary heart disease (CHD) and other cardiovascular events," according to background information in the article...

Early Use Of Tracheostomy For Mechanically Ventilated Patients Not Associated With Improved Survival

Date: May-21-2013
For critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, early tracheostomy (within the first 4 days after admission) was not associated with an improvement in the risk of death within 30 days compared to patients who received tracheostomy placement after 10 days, according to a study in the May 22/29 issue of JAMA. "A tracheostomy is commonly performed when clinicians predict a patient will need prolonged mechanical ventilation," according to background information in the article...

Bed-Sharing With Parents Puts Babies At 5 Times The Risk For SIDS

Date: May-21-2013
Co-sleeping with a newborn increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) fivefold, a new study in BMJ Open suggests. The likelihood applies even if parents are not smokers, drinkers, or drug users - other factors that raise the risk of SIDS, according to the study led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. A previous study conducted by a research team at the University of Calgary, Canada, suggests that premature infants born to mothers who smoke are at a higher risk for SIDS than premature babies born to non-smokers...

Genetic Variation Among Patients With Pulmonary Fibrosis Associated With Improved Survival

Date: May-21-2013
Variation in the gene MUC5B among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was associated with improved survival, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society international conference. "Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive disease with a median [midpoint] survival of 3 years," according to background information in the article...

Shorter Duration Steroid Therapy May Offer Similar Effectiveness In Reducing COPD Exacerbations

Date: May-21-2013
Among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring hospital admission, a 5-day glucocorticoid treatment course was non-inferior (not worse than) to a 14-day course with regard to re-exacerbation during 6 months of follow-up, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society international conference...

Few Simple Steps To Prevent Skin Cancer This Summer

Date: May-21-2013
Skin cancer remains the most common cancer in the U.S., and as summer is quickly approaching, Americans are encouraged to take a few simple steps to protect their health and prevent skin cancer throughout this upcoming season. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is calling the Friday before Memorial Day "Don't Fry Day" hoping to motivate people to stay safe outdoors...

Aging Brains May Benefit More From Mediterranean Than Low Fat Diet

Date: May-21-2013
Brain power in older people at risk for vascular dementia seems to improve more from a Mediterranean diet with added mixed nuts or extra virgin olive oil than from a low-fat diet that is typically followed to prevent heart attack and stroke, according to the results of a Spanish trial. People on a Mediterranean diet consume virgin olive oil as their main source of fat, and eat lots of fruits, nuts, vegetables and pulses foods...

Vitamin D May Help Treat Asthma

Date: May-21-2013
Researchers in London have identified a mechanism through which vitamin D can significantly reduce the symptoms of asthma and suggest it may offer a new way to treat the debilitating condition, which in the UK alone affects around 5.4 million people and costs the NHS around £1 billion a year. Catherine Hawrylowicz of King's College London, and colleagues, write about their discovery in a paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology this month...

Software May Allow Doctors To Track Progression Of Cancer, Response To Treatment, And Risk Of Relapse

Date: May-21-2013
In their quest to learn more about the variability of cells between and within tissues, biomedical scientists have devised tools capable of simultaneously measuring dozens of characteristics of individual cells. These technologies have led to new challenges, however, as scientists now struggle with how to make sense of the resulting trove of data. Now a solution may be at hand...

New Study Pinpoints Biochemical Mechanism Underlying Fibrosis Following Glaucoma Surgery

Date: May-21-2013
Findings Suggest VEGF Inhibition via TGF-β1 May Be Beneficial, Reports The American Journal of Pathology The most common cause of failure after glaucoma surgery is scarring at the surgical site, so researchers are actively looking for ways to minimize or prevent scar formation. Previous work had suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activates fibrosis, whereas VEGF inhibition results in reduced scar formation and better surgical results...