Daily Weighing Helps People Lose Weight, Prevents Gain
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People who are trying to either lose weight or avoid gaining do better by weighing themselves daily, according to a new study in the December issue of Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
The research team evaluated self-weighing practices of more than 3,000 people participating in either a weight-loss or a weight-gain prevention program. The study’s key finding: “Higher weighing frequency was associated with greater 24-month weight loss or less weight gain.”
People with Heart Failure at Significant Increase for Death from Stroke
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People with heart failure are twice as likely to die from a stroke as the general population, new research at Mayo Clinic has found. This research will be presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005 in Dallas.
A random sample of 630 patients with heart failure was identified over a 20-year period, from 1979 through 1999, in this community-based study. Stroke risk in heart failure was compared with the risk in the general population using standard morbidity ratios. In the 30 days following a heart failure diagnosis, patients were at a 17-fold increased risk of stroke compared with the general population, and the risk remained elevated during the five years of follow-up.
Talking About Sex with Your Children
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It’s never too early to talk to your child about sex, says a contributing author of a new book.
“Parents should be the primary source of what parents want kids to know,” says Marilyn Maxwell, M.D., professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
Heart Disease is #1 Killer of Women, Could A Simple Test Be a Lifesaver?
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New research from Saint Louis University School of Medicine may give doctors a way to predict life-threatening heart problems in women.
The team studied 421 diabetic women between 49 and 75 who underwent a certain type of stress test for suspected coronary disease. Investigators concluded that the test, known as dobutamine stress echocardiography, provided valuable information that could help doctors predict future fatal heart problems.
Colon cancer screening of little value for some
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The risks of colorectal cancer screening may outweigh the benefits for some patients aged 70 years and older, a group of doctors warn in the journal Gastroenterology.
“Colorectal cancer screening has risks as well as benefits,” Dr. Cynthia W. Ko from the University of Washington, Seattle, told Reuters Health.
Drug effective in smoking cessation studies
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An experimental smoking cessation drug by Pfizer Inc. was more effective than GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s rival medication in important late-stage studies, although the contrast was far less pronounced in the follow-up period, researchers said on Tuesday.
The 12-week studies, which Pfizer is expected to use to seek approval of the drug, showed 44 percent of smokers using Pfizer’s varenicline were able to quit. That compared with 30 percent among those using Glaxo’s Zyban, also known by the chemical name bupropion, and just 17.7 percent in the placebo group, according to data presented at the American Heart Association annual scientific sessions.
Seasonal Depression, Anxiety Affects Hamsters
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A new study suggests that hamsters may suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression during the dark days of winter, just as some humans do.
Using a variety of tests, researchers found more symptoms of depression and anxiety in adult hamsters that were housed for weeks in conditions with limited daylight, as they would find in winter, when compared to hamsters who had days with longer daylight.
Ants eat away woman’s eye in hospital
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A woman receiving treatment for diabetes at a state-run hospital in eastern India lost one of her eyes after ants nibbled away at it, officials said on Tuesday.
The patient recovering from a post-surgery infection shrieked for help as the ants attacked her on Sunday night, but nurses told her it was normal to feel pain from the infection.
Prescription for heart disease: pat a dog
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Just a few minutes spent patting a dog can relieve a heart patient’s anxiety and perhaps even help recovery during a visit to the hospital, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The effects were much more pronounced than when heart failure patients visited with a human volunteer or were left quietly alone, the researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Dallas.
A Meaty, Salty, Starchy Diet May Impact Chronic Lung Disease
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A new study finds that eating mostly meat, refined starches, and sodium may increase the likelihood of developing chronic respiratory symptoms, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Researchers found that individuals whose diets are rich in meat, refined starches and sodium are 1.43 times more likely to report new onset of persistent coughs with phlegm than those who consume a diet high in fruit and soy.
“Understanding all the contributing factors, including the role that diet plays in the incidence and development of chronic respiratory symptoms will lead to better prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases,” said David A. Schwartz, M.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the component of the National Institutes of Health, that supported the study. “We know that cigarette smoking can be a specific cause of COPD, but now we’re learning that avoiding certain foods may help reduce chronic respiratory symptoms, both in smokers and non-smokers.”
Most with heart risk don’t use aspirin
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Fewer than one-third of non-hospitalized U.S. patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease take a daily, low-dose aspirin that could protect their hearts, researchers reported on Monday.
For years experts have recommended an aspirin-a-day for people who have had a heart attack or stroke and others with an elevated risk of heart disease. Aspirin can cut the risk of those problems by reducing blood clots at a cost of only pennies per day.
Lipitor fails to beat Zocor in heart study
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High doses of Pfizer Inc.‘s cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor failed in a high-stakes trial to help heart attack patients significantly more than moderate doses of Merck & Co.‘s rival Zocor, researchers said on Tuesday.
The aim of the study presented at the American Heart Association scientific meeting was to determine whether intensive lowering of “bad” LDL cholesterol with atorvastatin (Lipitor) would reduce the risk of death and other adverse events in heart attack patients more than the moderate, most widely used dose of Zocor, known by the chemical name simvastatin.
Fibrate Fails to Reduce Heart Disease Deaths in Diabetics
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TriCor (fenofibrate) has not panned out as a substitute for statin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Patients randomized to TriCor at 200 mg daily plus standard therapy in the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study had a slight increase in coronary heart disease mortality (P=0.22) and a significant 24% decrease in non-fatal MI (P=0.010) compared with placebo.
Higher Placental Weight and Increased Maternal Breast Cancer Risk
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Women with a higher placental weight in prior pregnancies have an increased risk of breast cancer, possibly from the hormones produced by the placenta, according to a study in the November 16 issue of JAMA.
Hormonal factors play a key role in the development of breast cancer, according to background information in the article. Early menarche (first menstruation), late menopause, and long-term use of hormone therapy have been shown to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Serum levels of estrogens, progesterone and placental growth hormones are many times higher during pregnancy than during other periods of life, and pregnant women also are exposed to elevated levels of insulin-like growth factors. During pregnancy, these markers have been inconsistently associated with subsequent risk of breast cancer in the mother. It has been hypothesized that placental weight could be an indirect measure of hormone exposure during pregnancy.
Nurses, PAs as good as doctors for HIV care
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Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can care for HIV patients as well as doctors specializing in the disease—and may do a better job than non-specialist doctors, researchers reported Monday.
Their study, of 68 HIV clinics in the U.S., found that nurse practitioners and physician assistants offered a quality of care similar to that of doctors specializing in HIV/AIDS. And they generally outperformed generalist doctors in the eight quality-of-care measures the researchers considered.
