Health News

Genomic Screening For Improved Public Health In The Future

Date: Mar-11-2013
In ten years time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing alongside the now familiar tests for cholesterol levels, mammography and colonoscopy. As genomic testing prepares to enter the realm of general medical care, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is suggesting in a commentary in the May 2013 issue of Genetics in Medicine, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), that now is the time to explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for carefully selected, preventable disease...

Young Women Witth High BMI At Increased Risk For Heart Attack, Stroke

Date: Mar-11-2013
A nationwide study of women in Denmark who are of child-bearing age finds that those who are obese appear to have a much greater risk of heart attack or stroke, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. In fact, women with a high body mass index (BMI) - a measure of the body's fat content - that is indicative of obesity were twice as likely as those of normal weight to suffer a potentially life-threatening heart attack or stroke within just four to five years following childbirth...

Weight Loss In Patients With Implanted Defibrillators Predicts Worse Health Outcomes

Date: Mar-11-2013
Even minor weight loss is associated with worse health outcomes among patients implanted with a certain type of defibrillator known as cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D), according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. People with symptoms of heart failure who have an implantable CRT-D device may believe that losing weight will ultimately improve their long-term health outcomes...

Merck's Long-Acting Niacin Drug Has Serious Side Effects

Date: Mar-11-2013
Tredaptive, Merck & Co's long-acting niacin medication aimed at elevating HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) has unexpected serious side effects, researchers announced on Saturday. This is more evidence against using niacin therapy for heart patients. A major study (HPS2-THRIVE) found that Tredaptive, which consist of the vitamin niacin combined with anti-flushing agent laropiprant, provides no benefit and may even be hazardous for patients with vascular disease...

Scientists Design New Software Aimed At Cutting Hospital Admissions

Date: Mar-11-2013
Experts have devised a computer programme which analyses how many patients in a practice have suffered from different conditions over a particular time period and identifies those who might require hospital treatment in the future. Against a back drop of a drive for NHS efficiency savings, they believe the software will help practice managers to spot patterns earlier and reduce the number of costly hospital admissions for conditions like strokes by providing early intervention treatments...

Targeting Blood Vessels To Treat Alzheimer's

Date: Mar-11-2013
University of British Columbia researchers have successfully normalized the production of blood vessels in the brain of mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by immunizing them with amyloid beta, a protein widely associated with the disease. While AD is typically characterized by a build-up of plaques in the brain, recent research by the UBC team showed a near doubling of blood vessels in the brain of mice and humans with AD...

Redesigned Transcatheter Heart Valve Shows Improvements, Study

Date: Mar-11-2013
Edwards Lifesciences' redesigned non-invasive heart valve replacement system - Sapien XT - showed good performance and was associated with fewer complications compared to the original Sapien, clinical trial researchers explained at the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) 62nd Annual Scientific Session in San Francisco, on Saturday. The Sapien XT valve has been available in Europe since 2010. In Europe, doctors consider the original Sapien to be obsolete, although it is still being used in the USA because it yet has to be approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)...

Study Points To Essential Role Of IL-22 In Lung Repair After The Flu

Date: Mar-11-2013
Results of New Study Published in The American Journal of Pathology Once the initial episode of influenza has passed, the chronic effects tend to be overlooked. The results of a new study indicate that the cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) plays a critical role in normal lung repair following influenza infection. This study is published in the April 2013 issue of The American Journal of Pathology...

Trio Of Biomarkers May Help Identify Kidney Cancer In Early Stages

Date: Mar-11-2013
Biomarkers could help catch otherwise hard-to-detect cancer. Three-marker assay has high sensitivity and specificity. Researchers are seeking FDA approval. A new immunoassay that tests for the presence of three biomarkers appears to be a valid screening method for the early detection of malignant kidney cancer, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research...

HIV Care In Resource-Limited Setting Significantly Improved By Computerized Reminders

Date: Mar-11-2013
A large randomized controlled study is among the first to rigorously demonstrate that health information technology can improve compliance with patient care guidelines by clinicians in resource-limited countries. The study was led by Regenstrief Institute investigator Martin Chieng Were, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and Regenstrief Institute affiliated scientist Rachel Vreeman, M.D., M.S, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine...