Cardiac device may be less effective in Blacks
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Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) significantly reduce the risk of death in white heart patients, but not in black patients, according to a second look at results from the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT-II).
This was a surprise finding, Dr. Arthur J. Moss of the University of Rochester Medical Center, New York, told Reuters Health. “We do not have a good reason for the lack of benefit of the ICD in black patients,” he said.
Researchers Discover Method in Mice to Restore Tamoxifen Sensitivity in Resistant Breast Cancer
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The widely used breast cancer drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex®), which can become less effective over time, might retain its full strength indefinitely if used along with a second drug, according to new research in mice conducted by investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their partners. The results appear in the December 11, 2006, issue of Cancer Cell*.
Tamoxifen has been used successfully since the 1970s to treat certain types of breast cancer and to prevent them from recurring after surgery. Clinicians observed that tamoxifen treatment initially reduced the rate of recurrence by nearly 50 percent. Over time, however, patients develop resistance to the drug and tamoxifen loses its effectiveness as a cancer treatment.
Non-Drug Treatments for Dementia Show Promise, Experts Say
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Memory training and other non-drug treatments may one day help older adults ward off declines in mental function, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in an editorial in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“The latest research suggests that mental training and physical activity both have promise for preventing declines in cognition,” said Sally A. Shumaker, Ph.D., lead author on the editorial. “It’s possible to envision a future treatment approach that combines lifestyle and drug treatments to meet the specific needs of each individual.”
Cancer risk rises after kidney transplant, study says
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People who have had kidney transplants face a big increase in risk for a variety of cancers, particularly those caused by a virus, according to a study published on Tuesday.
The researchers, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked cancer incidence from 1982 to 2003 in nearly 29,000 Australians who got kidney transplants after serious kidney disease.
They excluded nonmelanoma skin cancer and cancers already known to lead to end-stage kidney disease, and found that the patients experienced an overall cancer risk nearly 3.3 times higher after getting a kidney transplant than before.
U.S. soldiers’ suicide rate in Iraq doubles in 2005
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Suicides among U.S. soldiers in Iraq doubled last year over the previous year to return to a level seen in 2003, U.S. Army medical experts said on Tuesday.
Twenty-two U.S. soldiers in Iraq took their own lives in 2005, a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 soldiers. In 2004, the rate was 10.5 per 100,000 and in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the figure was 18.8 per 100,000.
The figures cover U.S. Army soldiers only. They do not include members of other U.S. military services in Iraq such as the Marine Corps.
Echinacea: Cold-Season Cure or Risk?
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When sneezing and a prickly throat signal an oncoming cold, many people reach for what they believe will be a safe preventative – a tea or capsule containing echinacea. In the first study to examine the effects of a botanical supplement on bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, research at the University of Arkansas suggests people may be risking some unwelcome side effects with this common herbal remedy.
Although various botanical extracts have been shown in the laboratory to have some antimicrobial effects, previous to this research there had been no published information about their effect in vivo – in the human gastrointestinal tract. Research conducted by Jerald C. Foote, assistant professor of food and human nutrition, and graduate student Laura Hill yielded some surprising results and pointed to the need for further research.
Exercise may reduce smokers’ lung cancer risk
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Women who smoke may be able to reduce their lung cancer risk with exercise, a new study shows. But the investigators caution that any relative benefit is dwarfed by the benefits gained from kicking the habit.
In the study, women who reported high levels of physical activity were 23 percent less likely to develop lung cancer than those who were the least active, report Dr. Kathryn H. Schmitz of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and colleagues. And among women who smoked, greater activity was tied to a 28 percent lower lung cancer risk, while women who were ex-smokers showed a 37 percent lower risk with more activity.
Nevertheless, smokers remained at much higher risk of lung cancer than those who had never smoked, or those who had quit, Schmitz and her team note. “Quitting smoking is the single most important action a smoker can take to reduce risk of lung cancer,” they note.
Advances in breast imaging
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A diagnostic device that resembles a mammography unit can detect breast tumors as tiny as one-fifth of an inch in diameter, which may make it a valuable complementary imaging technique to mammography, say researchers at Mayo Clinic, who helped develop the technology along with industry collaborators Gamma Medica and GE Healthcare.
This new technique, Molecular Breast Imaging, uses a new dual-head gamma camera system and is sensitive enough to detect tumors less than 10 millimeters (about two-fifths of an inch) in diameter in 88 percent of cases where it is used. Early findings from an ongoing comparison of the device with mammography show that it can detect small cancers that were not found with mammography, say the investigators. Mayo Clinic physicist Michael O’Connor, Ph.D., will present these results Saturday, Dec. 16, at the 2006 meeting of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
“Our ultimate goal is to detect small cancers that may be inconspicuous or invisible on a mammogram for high-risk women with dense breasts,” says Dr. O’Connor.
Certain Types of Cancer Becoming More Common, While Rates of Others Decreasing
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Nation-wide statistics indicate that while some types of cancer are occurring less frequently, the rates of others are still surging upward. According to a new study published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, incidence of skin cancer is climbing in both sexes - more men are facing prostate cancer, while more women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancers showing a decrease in incidence in both sexes include lung, stomach and colon cancers.
“There are a variety of factors that may explain these numbers,” says study author Elizabeth Ward.
Use of Mammograms in Men
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Many men have breast symptoms, including enlarged or painful breast tissue, but the majority do not need a mammogram, say researchers from Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Mammograms are used to check for the presence of breast cancers, which are very rare in males.
Their study, presented Saturday, Dec. 16, at the 2006 meeting of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, suggests physicians should reconsider ordering mammograms for men, who are most often diagnosed with non-cancerous gynecomastia, a common condition which includes breast swelling, a tender mass or painful breast tissue.
“Mammography is being performed with increasing frequency in men with breast symptoms, but we found that breast cancer in men can be felt as a firm, discrete mass on a physical exam, or seen as changes in the skin or nipple,” says the study’s lead author, Stephanie Hines, M.D., of Mayo’s Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic and Breast Cancer Program in Jacksonville, Fla. Male breast cancer is exceedingly rare—fewer than 2,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with the condition annually, she says.
Treating localized prostate cancer boosts survival
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Survival rates for men with localized prostate cancer are better with either surgery or radioactive seed implantation, a treatment called brachytherapy, compared with no “definitive” treatment, investigators at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City report. This is true even among older men.
Based on the research, reported in the journal Cancer, men undergoing surgery or brachytherapy are much less likely to die of prostate cancer or any cause compared with men undergoing no definitive therapy.
“This study is the first to demonstrate an apparent overall survival advantage for brachytherapy compared with no definitive treatment, and validates prior reports that document a survival advantage for surgery,” Dr. Jonathan D. Tward and associates write.
Growth hormone may be halted in puberty for some
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In children previously diagnosed with a deficiency in growth hormone (GH), retesting of GH levels during puberty—and withdrawal of growth hormone therapy if appropriate—does not diminish adult height, a study shows.
“GH treatment can be safely interrupted, in subjects with non-severe GH deficiency, at mid-puberty if GH secretion has proved to be normal,” Dr. Stefano Zucchini from the University of Bologna, Italy told Reuters Health.
He and colleagues retested 69 individuals with GH deficiency at puberty and, if found normalized, left them untreated until the end of growth. Those with persistent GH deficiency continued GH treatment.
Drop in breast cancer tied to less HRT
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A sharp decline in new breast cancer cases in 2003 in the United States may have come about because millions of older women ceased hormone replacement therapy (HRT) the previous year, researchers said on Thursday.
However, they stressed that because their analysis is based on population statistics, the reasons are not completely certain.
“The investigators report that there was an overall 7 percent relative decline in breast cancer incidence between 2002 and 2003,” the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center said in a statement.
Study finds gender differences related to eating and body image
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Researchers have discovered a subtle new difference between men and women – this one occurring in the realm of eating.
In the new study of observed eating behavior in a social setting, young men and women who perceived their bodies as being less than “ideal” ate differing amounts of food after they were shown images of “ideal-bodied” people of their own gender.
Moderate Drinking May Help Older Women Live Longer
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Newcastle, Australia - December 13, 2006 – A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society finds that moderate alcohol intake (1-2 drinks/day for 3-6 days/week, depending on alcoholic content) may lead to increased quality of life and survival in older women. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health followed nearly 12,000 women in their 70’s over a 6 year period. The group was comprised of non-drinkers, occasional drinkers and moderate drinkers.
The study found that non-drinkers and women who rarely drank had a significantly higher risk of dying during the survey period than did women who drank moderately. Of those who survived, the women who drank the least reported the lowest health-related quality of life. Previous studies have shown that women who have at least one drink per day stand at a lower risk for cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke than non-drinkers.
