Obesity predicts prostate cancer recurrence
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Obese men have an increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence and death after they have completed radiation therapy, according to results of a study published in the medical journal BJU International.
Obesity is known to predict prostate cancer progression in men who undergo radical prostatectomy, or complete surgical removal of the prostate gland, Dr. David Palma and colleagues from the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada, pointed out.
SIDS linked to early atherosclerosis
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Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) appears to be associated with the early stages of arterial plaque build-up seen in atherosclerosis, sometimes referred to as “hardening of the arteries, according to a study presented on Sunday at the Argentine Congress of Cardiology. However, the mechanism of this association is unclear, the researchers said.
Dr. Jose Milei and colleagues, at the University of Buenos Aires Cardiological Research Institute, analyzed autopsy samples of 52 SIDS victims and 16 babies who had died of unrelated causes, such as meningitis or trauma.
Exercise, housework cut uterine cancer risk
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Premenopausal women who are very physically active—especially those who put in the most work around the house—may be cutting their risk of developing cancer of the uterine lining.
Among 253,023 women followed for more than six years, those who had not yet reached menopause at the study’s outset and were the most physically active were 34 percent less likely to develop endometrial cancer than their more sedentary peers. Three to four hours of household or recreational activity each day produced the greatest benefit.
Nigeria to destroy all foreign-made toothpaste
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Nigeria has asked retailers to hand over for destruction all imported toothpaste on their shelves after its food and drugs watchdog said it had discovered a harmful substance in a Chinese-made brand.
The order followed a spate of scares in the United States about Chinese products, including seafood tainted with antibiotics, and toothpaste and animal food ingredients containing toxic chemicals. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) said it had found diethyl glycol—an anti-freezing agent which can damage the kidney and liver—in Colgate toothpaste.
Duloxetine calms overactive bladder in women
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The drug duloxetine (sold as Cymbalta) relieves symptoms of overactive bladder in women, according to a study.
Dr. Richard C. Bump from Lilly Research Laboratories, Indianapolis, Indiana, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy and safety of duloxetine versus placebo in 306 women with symptoms of overactive bladder.
Infusions may ease severe diabetic nerve pain
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The case of man disabled by diabetes-related nerve damage and muscle weakness suggests that such symptoms can be markedly improved by infusions of immune globulin—a product derived from blood donations that contains high quantities of antibodies.
Japanese researchers describe the case in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Dr. Gen Sobue told Reuters Health that intravenous immune globulin or IVIg “was effective in improving severe pain symptoms and muscle weakness” in this patient.
Obese people tend to pick overweight mates
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A new UK study provides additional evidence that heavy people are more likely to choose other overweight individuals as mates.
This phenomenon is known as “assortative mating” - when men and women tend to select partners according to nonrandom attributes such as height, religion, age and smoking habits.
Control tobacco, food ads to beat cancer -panel
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A new presidential report on cancer takes on not only tobacco companies but the food industry while calling on the federal government to “cease being a purveyor of unhealthy foods” and switch to policies that encourage Americans to eat vegetables and exercise.
The report, issued on Thursday, also urged changes in public and private insurance policies to encourage doctors to spend more time counseling patients on how to stay healthy by eating right, exercising and avoiding tobacco.
Cancer panel attacks U.S. food subsidies
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A new presidential report on cancer takes on not only tobacco companies but the food industry while calling on the federal government to “cease being a purveyor of unhealthy foods” and switch to policies that encourage Americans to eat vegetables and exercise.
The report, issued on Thursday, also urges changes in public and private insurance policies to encourage doctors to spend more time counseling patients on how to stay healthy by eating right, exercising and avoiding tobacco.
Fake dentist has 29-year career in Malaysia
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Malaysian police have arrested a man who practiced as a dentist for 29 years although he had no medical training and treated patients at his home in a cast-off examining chair.
The impostor’s closest brush with the dental profession was during the years 1962 to 1978, when he assisted an army dentist by carrying his bag on visits to plantation workers’ homes, the New Straits Times reported Wednesday.
U.S. OKs heart failure warning on diabetes drugs
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Diabetes drugs made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd will carry new, stronger warnings saying they may or cause or worsen heart failure, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.
The warnings will appear in a “black box” on Glaxo’s Avandia, Avandaryl and Avandamet, as well as on Takeda’s Actos and Duetact, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. A black box is the strongest type of warning in the United States for prescription drugs.
Prostate cancer pamphlets may encourage screening
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Providing easy-to-read educational handouts to men can encourage discussion about prostate cancer and increase screening for elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a standard test used to detect an increased risk of prostate cancer, new research suggests. But, the use of these educational materials does not make men more inclined to undergo rectal examination, which can also detect cancer.
Physicians are advised to discuss prostate cancer with their patients so that they can make informed decisions about screening, note Dr. Sunil Kripalani, from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues. However, “few studies have tested strategies to encourage such discussions.”
Schizophrenia risk may be lower in type 1 diabetics
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The incidence of schizophrenia in patients with type 1 diabetes is less than half of that seen in people without diabetes, according to findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
“Patients with schizophrenia have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus,” Dr. Hannu Juvonen and colleagues from the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, point out. However, no conclusive studies have examined the relationship between schizophrenia and type 1 diabetes.
Ibuprofen may improve liver-related brain deficits
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Treatment with the commonly used over-the-counter drug ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), may reduce the impairments in thinking ability that often accompany severe liver disease, findings from an animal study suggest.
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory agent that belongs to a group of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Previous research has suggested that inflammation plays a key role in the development of brain impairments caused by liver disease, referred to as “hepatic encephalopathy.”
Breast cancer prevention practices vary across Canada
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Breast cancer preventive practices for Canadian women carrying the cancer gene vary across the country, says University of Toronto research, and many women are not taking advantage of the options available.
The study, published in the journal Open Medicine, followed the experiences of Canadian women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation – a genetic mutation that predisposes them to a 87 per cent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Women carrying the gene have several options for cancer prevention including prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention and screening; however, researchers observed significant differences across Canada in the uptake of these preventions, with women in Quebec the least likely to use preventive measures.
