Health News

Death Risk Tripled By Smoking After Stroke

Date: Aug-30-2012
Patients who resume smoking after a stroke increase their risk of death by three-fold, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012 by Professor Furio Colivicchi from San Filippo Neri Hospital. The researchers also found that the earlier patients resume smoking, the greater their risk of death within one year. "It is well established that smoking increases the risk of having a stroke," said Professor Colivicchi. "Quitting smoking after an acute ischemic stroke may be more effective than any medication in reducing the risk of further adverse events...

Promising New Compound Becomes The First Antimalarial To Enter Preclinical Development Stemming From An African-MMV Collaboration

Date: Aug-30-2012
A recently discovered compound from the aminopyridine class, code named MMV390048, caused quite a stir at the MMV Expert Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) meeting in Toulouse, France. The compound shows potent activity against multiple points in the malaria parasite's lifecycle. This means that it not only has the potential to become part of a single-dose cure but might also be able to block transmission of the parasite from person to person...

Researchers Have Decoded Signals That Boost The Burning Of Fat

Date: Aug-30-2012
The numbers of obese people are climbing steeply all over the world - with obvious major consequences for their health. Due to excess food intake and a lack of physical activity, but also due to genetic factors, the risk for overweight people dying from diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes und atherosclerosis increases. "The body's fat reserves are actually used as a place to store energy that allows surviving lean times," says Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer, Director of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Bonn...

Research Team Analyzes Stress Biology In Babies

Date: Aug-30-2012
Pregnancy duration predicts stress response in the first months of life After waking up, the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva rises considerably; this is true not only for grown-ups but for babies as well. A research team from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and from Basel has reported this finding in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. "This gives us a new, non-invasive and uncomplicated possibility to already research the activity of the stress system during infancy," Prof. Dr...

Outcome After PCI Improved By Personalized Antiplatelet Treatment

Date: Aug-30-2012
The findings were presented by Dr Jolanta Siller-Matula from Medical University of Vienna. Standard antiplatelet treatment in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) consists of a dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and an ADP receptor inhibitor such as clopidogrel. But measurements of platelet aggregation in clopidogrel treated patients indicate that one patient in four is a non-responder to the drug...

Improved Treatment Reduces Mortality After AMI

Date: Aug-30-2012
The analysis of four French registries from 1995 to 2010 was presented by Professor Nicolas Danchin from the Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou. Cardiologists recognize two types of myocardial infarction...

Global High Platelet Reactivity Is The Most Effective Parameter For Identifying ACS Patients At High Risk Of Ischemic Events

Date: Aug-30-2012
Global platelet reactivity is more effective than responsiveness to clopidogrel in identifying acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients at high risk of ischemic events, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012. The results from the RECLOSE 2-ACS study were presented by Dr Rossella Marcucci from the University of Florence...

Study Of Malaysian Tribe Could Help Find East Asian Skin Color Genes

Date: Aug-30-2012
Genetic investigation of a Malaysian tribe may tell scientists why East Asians have light skin but lower skin cancer rates than Europeans, according to a team of international researchers. Understanding the differences could lead to a better way to protect people from skin cancer. While the genetics of skin color is largely unknown, past research using zebrafish by Penn State College of Medicine's Keith Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., identified the gene in Europeans that differs from West Africans and contributes to a lighter skin color...

PCI Guided By Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Medical Therapy Alone In Stable Coronary Disease: The FAME 2 Trial

Date: Aug-30-2012
Patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) had a lower need for urgent revascularisation when receiving fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided PCI plus the best available medical therapy (MT) than when receiving MT alone. The results, from a final analysis of the FAME 2 trial, were presented during a Hot Line session of ESC Congress 2012 in Munich. Treatment guided by fractional flow reserve assessment helped reduce the risk of urgent revascularisation by a factor of eight. The FAME 2 (FFR-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Plus Optimal Medical Therapy vs...

Researchers Connect New Genetic Signature To Leukemia

Date: Aug-30-2012
University of Rochester Medical Center scientists believe they are the first to identify genes that underlie the growth of primitive leukemia stem cells; and then to use the new genetic signature to identify currently available drugs that selectively target the rogue cells...