Health News

The Extreme Elderly Suffer Nearly Two-Thirds Of American Osteoporotic Hip Fractures

Date: Jun-09-2012
A new American study presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, calls for more aggressive management of osteoporosis in the extreme elderly as the true impact of osteoporotic hip fractures in those aged 80 years or older is unveiled. Via the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 4.3 million patients over the age of 65 with osteoporotic hip fractures were studied. Results showed that 67.3% of hip fractures occurred in the extreme elderly, increasing from 172,209 in 1993 to 180,428 in 2008...

Study Finds Treatment With Anti-TNFs Reduces The Risk Of Cardiovascular Events In Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Jun-09-2012
Results from a retrospective analysis of contemporary data presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, predict, based on estimates from a multivariate regression model, that the cumulative use of anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs (anti-TNFs) for one, two, or three years is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular events by 24%, 42% and 56% in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) respectively, compared to not using anti-TNF therapies (adjusting for background use of methotrexate or other disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs [DMARDs])...

Anti-TNFs For Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases Can Increase The Risk Of Shingles By Up To 75 Percent

Date: Jun-09-2012
Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor medications (anti-TNFs) have a 75% greater risk of developing herpes zoster, or shingles, than patients treated with traditional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), according to a meta-analysis presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism...

Ulcerative Colitis Patients Can Improve Remission Rates By Adding VSL#3 Probiotic To Traditional Therapies

Date: Jun-09-2012
As one of the few probiotics with medical food designation for specific illnesses, VSL#3® has been the subject of a collection of more than 80 studies that have demonstrated its use in the dietary management of IBS, ulcerative colitis, and an ileal pouch. Ulcerative colitis patients, in particular, have been shown to benefit from adding VSL#3 medical food to their prescription drug regimen...

Discovery Alters Traditional View Of How Prostate Cancer Develops

Date: Jun-09-2012
A team of UC Davis investigators has found that a genetic mutation may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer. The mutation of the so-called p53 (or Tp53) gene was previously implicated in late disease progression, but until now has never been shown to act as an initiating factor. The findings may open new avenues for diagnosing and treating the disease...

68 Percent Of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy Patients Achieve Seizure-Freedom In

Date: Jun-09-2012
A 25-year follow-up study reveals that 68% of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) became seizure-free, with nearly 30% no longer needing antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), report that the occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures preceded by bilateral myoclonic seizures, and AED polytherapy significantly predicted poor long-term seizure outcome. Patients with JME experience "jerking" of the arms, shoulders, and sometimes the legs...

Increasing Fruit And Vegetable Consumption May Help In Smoking Cessation

Date: Jun-09-2012
If you're trying to quit smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables may help you quit and stay tobacco-free for longer, according to a new study published online by University at Buffalo public health researchers. The paper, in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, is the first longitudinal study on the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and smoking cessation. The authors, from UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions, surveyed 1,000 smokers aged 25 and older from around the country, using random-digit dialing telephone interviews...

What Is Anabolic Steroid Abuse?

Date: Jun-08-2012
Anabolic steroids, also technically known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) have existed since the 1930´s. They are regarded as prescription-only synthetic substance medications that imitate the effects of the male hormone called testosterone. On many occasions, anabolic steroids are consumed unlawfully, either as water-based and oil-based injectable solutions, tablets, capsules, sublingual-tablets, liquid drops, subdermal implant pellets, transdermal patches, creams, or gels applied directly to the skin - the aim being increase muscle mass and athletic performance...

Fish Oil Prevents Age-Related Loss Of Vision

Date: Jun-08-2012
Loss of vision due to age can potentially be prevented by DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish. The study, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science demonstrated that lab models fed with DHA did not accumulate the toxic molecule that usually builds up in the retina with age and therefore preventing age-related loss of vision. Yves Sauve and his team from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, declared: "This discovery could result in a very broad therapeutic use...

How Cancers Spread At Cellular Level - Scientists Find Clues

Date: Jun-08-2012
The fact that different types of tumors only spread to particular, select organs has been known to cancer researchers for longer than a century. However, so far scientists have been unable to determine the 'soil and seed' theory of 1889, which is the underlying mechanism behind organ-specific metastasis. Weill Cornell Medical researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and their collaborators may have discovered an explanation that could provide a new insight into the 'soil and seed' theory...