No evidence Tamiflu caused deaths: FDA
|
|
U.S. regulators so far have found no evidence Roche AG’s antiflu drug Tamiflu caused the deaths of children in Japan, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Friday.
The FDA has been studying reports of the deaths of 12 children in Japan as well as other cases of possible side effects in children who had taken Roche’s flu-fighting drug, which is in high demand as a defense against a possible avian flu pandemic in people.
National Flu Expert Available
|
|
Dr. Brian Currie, Senior Medical Director at Montefiore Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a specialist in epidemiology and infectious diseases, and is an exceptionally informed and articulate spokesperson on all aspects of flu viruses and can speak with you about H5N1. He has been quoted frequently by national print and electronic media over the past few months.
Aside from memberships in most of the important national and state infectious disease professional societies, he is a Sentinel (one of 900 worldwide) in the Emerging Infections Network, sponsored by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a fellow and consultant for domestic and international field operations for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Thyroid Dysfunction Linked to Heart Failure in New Research Study
|
|
A new study in rats is giving researchers hope that more aggressive treatment of hypothyroidism and borderline hypothyroidism will result in a reduction of heart disease in human beings. Because roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from hypothyroidism or borderline hypothyroidism, the insufficient production of thyroid hormones, the team’s discovery could potentially lead to improvement in patients with heart disease.
While further research is needed, results from a recent study entitled, “Low Thyroid Function Leads to Cardiac Atrophy with Chamber Dilation, Impaired Myocardial Blood Flow, Loss of Arterioles, and Severe Systolic Dysfunction,” suggest that low thyroid function has the potential to cause heart failure. The study was conducted by the Cardiovascular Research Institute-South Dakota Health Research Foundation, Sioux Valley Health System and The University of South Dakota School of Medicine.
Kids in car crashes may suffer traumatic stress
|
|
Children involved in motor vehicle crashes may show signs of acute stress disorder, even if they experienced only minor cuts and scratches, new research shows.
“Traffic crashes cause more than injuries for many children and their parents,” study author Dr. Flaura K. Winston, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health.
U.S. probes deaths of children who took Tamiflu
|
|
U.S. regulators are studying the deaths of 12 children in Japan who took Roche AG’s flu-fighting drug Tamiflu, officials said on Thursday, but they said it was difficult to tell whether the drug played a role in any of the cases.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was “concerning” that 32 psychiatric events, such as hallucinations and abnormal behavior, also had been reported in children who took Tamiflu, which is in high demand because it is considered to be one of the best defenses against avian flu in people.
Carvedilol may improve heart failure and help prevent sudden death
|
|
Research shows that Carvedilol, a cardiovascular drug, could be useful in reducing cardiac death in high risk patients with prior myocardial infarction and/or heart failure and also in reducing the incidence and/or preventing the occurrence of atrial fibrillation in a number of clinical situations.
A review of this research is published in the journal Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.
Feeling stressed? reach for the sugar!
|
|
Researchers are now saying that reaching for a sugary snack in times of stress may not be such a bad idea after all.
A team of researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found that rats who consumed sweet things had lower levels of the stress-related hormone glucocorticoid.
Decaffeinated coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol
|
|
Decaffeinated—not caffeinated—coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol by increasing a specific type of blood fat linked to the metabolic syndrome, hints a new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005.
The Coffee and Lipoprotein Metabolism (CALM) study included 187 people, randomized to three groups: one that drank three to six cups of caffeinated coffee a day; another that drank three to six cups of decaffeinated coffee a day; and a third, the control group, that drank no coffee.
Good neighbor relations helps prevent teen sex
|
|
Having the right kind of neighbors can help prevent teens from having sex at an early age, according to new research.
A study in Chicago found that some teens were more likely to delay having sex if they lived in neighborhoods where the adults kept a close eye on area children.
Six gene variants predict heart muscle damage after cardiac surgery
|
|
Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients with six specific variants of genes involved in the body’s immune response are significantly more likely to suffer damage of heart tissue after cardiac surgery.
These findings are important because current analytical methods cannot reliably predict who will be likely to suffer from myocardial infarction (MI), or heart tissue death after cardiac surgery. It is estimated that between 7 and 15 percent of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery will suffer from a subsequent MI, the researchers said.
Actos lowers heart attack recurrence in diabetics
|
|
The diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos; Takeda) significantly reduces the risk of heart attack in type 2 diabetics who have already had a heart attack, according to the results of a new study presented here Wednesday.
At the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005, Dr. Erland Erdmann of the University of Koln, Germany, announced the findings of the PROactive study of the effects of pioglitazone on recurrent heart attack. The study involved 2,445 type 2 diabetics who had experienced a heart attack at least 6 months prior to enrollment.
Lifestyle change adds to weight-loss drug’s effect
|
|
Obese patients who took the diet drug Meridia and received intensive weight-loss counseling lost twice as much weight as patients who only took the drug, according to a study released on Wednesday.
Nearly a third of Americans are considered overweight and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regards a diet pill as effective if it helps a 200-pound (90-kg) person lose at least 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a year. Although most obese people need to lose far more than 10 pounds (4.5 kg), doctors contend even a moderate loss has health benefits.
Phenoxodiol Delays Tumor Progression in Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer
|
|
A new study presented today at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Philadelphia shows that phenoxodiol significantly delays tumor progression in men suffering from late-stage hormone refractory prostate cancer. The meeting is sponsored by the American Association of Cancer Researchers (AACR), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).
The anti-tumor effect in this Phase Ib/IIa trial was dose-dependent. The trial was designed to end after 24 weeks of treatment, but had to be extended to the current 90 weeks because of the unexpected extended survival in some patients. Patients have been able to remain on phenoxodiol for this extended time without any evidence of toxicity.
Older people need more vitamin D, U.S. group says
|
|
Older Americans need more vitamin D to help strengthen bones than what current guidelines recommend, a U.S. medical group said on Thursday.
Men and women age 50 and older should take about 800 to 1,000 international units of vitamin D each day - more than the 400 to 600 daily units the Institute of Medicine recommends, the American Medical Women’s Association said.
How Tiny Specks May Provide Powerful Tools Against Cancer
|
|
They’re but a tiny speck, existing in a variety of forms: particles, tubes, shells, even a soccerball-like shape. They also share a common prefix: ‘nano,’ connoting their size, a billionth of a meter or roughly 25-millionth of an inch.
Today, cancer researchers are exploring the potential of such nanostructures to exquisitely target cancer cells without harming surrounding tissue, and to image the formation of tumors long before they have a chance to become life-threatening.
