Many diet supplements may carry heart risk - study
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Three quarters of weight-loss supplements bought online as part of a study contained ingredients that could cause lethal heart rhythm disturbances, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
They tested 12 over-the-counter diet supplements and found eight contained at least one ingredient associated with life-threatening heart complications, such as ventricular arrhythmia and cardiac arrest.
While all of the products included a list of the ingredients, none came with a warning about the potential heart rhythm side effects, leaving most people in the dark about the dangers of their diet pills, the researchers said.
Rash most common side effect in Vectibix trials
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The most common side effect observed in ongoing trials of Amgen Inc’s cancer drug Vectibix is skin rash, according to interim analyses of pivotal trials of the drug in colorectal cancer released on Thursday.
Vectibix is already approved in the United States for treating colon cancer patients who have stopped responding to chemotherapy, and Amgen is studying the drug in earlier stages of the disease, as well as in other types of cancer.
One Phase III study of Vectibix, also known as panitumumab, is looking at its effectiveness as a first-line treatment in combination with a chemotherapy regimen known as Folfox, compared with chemo alone.
Heart risks high in childhood cancer survivors
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Children who survive cancer while they are young are five to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to develop heart disease, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
The finding comes from a study of more than 14,000 survivors of childhood cancers, and suggests that cancer survivors and their doctors need to be vigilant about heart risks.
“This study clearly shows for children, and particularly children treated with radiation therapy to the chest or certain drugs that are particularly toxic to the heart, there are significant risks of cardiovascular disease at a far younger-than-expected age,” said Dr. Richard Schilsky of the University of Chicago.
Vitamin D may lower breast cancer risk
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Breast cancer patients with lower levels of vitamin D were far more likely to die and far more likely to have their cancer spread than women with normal levels, Canadian researchers reported on Thursday.
Women deficient in the “sunshine vitamin” when they were diagnosed with breast cancer were 94 percent more likely to have their cancer spread and were 73 percent more likely to die than women with adequate vitamin D levels, the researchers said.
More than three-quarters of women with breast cancer had a vitamin D deficiency, the researchers reported to an upcoming meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Legislation needed to provide coverage for ED treatment after prostatectomy
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Men who have developed erectile dysfunction (ED) following surgery for prostate cancer usually do not have insurance coverage for ED treatment even though their insurance policies cover surgery for prostate cancer, according to an analysis presented today at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association. In contrast, federal law requires that insurance companies which cover mastectomy for breast cancer treatment also cover breast reconstruction.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common side effect of radical prostatectomy, though not always permanent, and almost all men experience some degree of ED following this surgery. The impact of ED on self-esteem and body image to prostate cancer patients can be as detrimental as the loss of a breast can be to a woman. However, the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act, passed by Congress in 1998, requires that third-party payers who cover mastectomy for breast cancer also cover the costs of breast reconstruction.
“There is compelling evidence that ED treatment leads to improved quality of life for the man and his partner,” said Ira D. Sharlip, M.D., a spokesman for the AUA. Therefore, as in the case of breast reconstruction for women, the cost of ED treatment should most certainly be covered for men.”
Acid problem common at diabetes diagnosis in kids
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When first diagnosed with diabetes, roughly one in four children and teens in the US have a potentially life-threatening condition that makes their blood more acidic than normal, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics.
Known as diabetic ketoacidosis, the condition occurs when insulin levels in the body are so low that virtually no sugar is able to enter cells and provide energy. As a result, the body begins breaking down fat for energy, but this leads to the build-up of acidic chemicals called ketones into the blood. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, chest pain, rapid shallow breathing, and trouble staying awake. Coma and even death can occur if the problem is not addressed expeditiously.
The key finding is that in the United States close to 30 percent of children with type 1 diabetes and 10 percent of those with type 2 diabetes have potentially life-threatening ketoacidosis at the time of diagnosis. “We expected lower rates, given the recent increase in community recognition of childhood diabetes and improvements in treatment,” lead author Dr. Arleta Rewers told Reuters Health.
Unilever says new milkshake helps control appetite
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A new weight loss drink that tastes like a milkshake significantly reduces appetite and could soon join Unilever’s $400 million Slim-Fast weight-loss brand, the company’s researchers said on Wednesday.
A study showed that the drink, which works by trapping gas in foods to make people feel full, worked even better than the company’s Slim-Fast weight-loss drink, they said.
The researchers, who presented their findings at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity, said the company has patented the technology.
Rapid prostate cancer test does not ease anxiety
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The stress and anxiety associated with receiving results of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer is not relieved by using rapid PSA tests, but men still prefer to have their results quickly, results of a study indicate.
Waiting for PSA results often creates anxiety for patients and their families because of the potential implications, researchers explain. Dr. Simon Wilkinson from Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois and colleagues investigated whether reporting PSA results within 15 minutes of obtaining the blood sample would cause less anxiety to patients than reporting the results 1 or 4 days later.
Adopted kids at increased risk for mental problems
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US adolescents who were adopted as infants are about twice as likely to have a disruptive behavior disorder as their non-adopted peers, research shows.
“Although most adopted American teens are psychologically healthy, adoptees appear to be at greater risk for some behavior disorders, especially among those domestically placed,” Dr. Margaret A. Keyes told Reuters Health.
Keyes, of the department of psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues analyzed the mental health of 540 non-adopted adolescents, 514 internationally adopted adolescents and 178 domestically adopted adolescents. All of the adoptees were adopted in infancy.
Some statins may protect against cancer: study
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High-doses of cholesterol-lowering statins that are “lipophilic”—meaning they are soluble in fats—may offer protection against cancer, according to a new study that found a significant reduction in the incidence of cancer in users of these statins.
Examples of lipophilic statins are atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), lovastatin (Mevacor), or fluvastatin (Lescol).
Anti-cancer effects for statins have been proposed, “although original reports had actually suggested the potential opposite, pro-carcinogenic effects of statins,” Dr. Louise Pilote, of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and colleagues note in the American Journal of Medicine. “Despite massive amounts of data, the issue remains inconclusive.”
Pilote’s team examined the association between lipophilic statin use and cancer occurrence in over 30,000 patients discharged from the hospital after treatment for heart attack in the province of Quebec. The team linked the Quebec hospital discharge summary database to the drugs claims database.
Nerve block cuts hot flashes after breast cancer
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Blocking parts of the nervous system that regulate body temperature can reduce hot flashes and improve sleep in survivors of breast cancer, researchers reported on Thursday.
With the experimental nerve blocker therapy, the average number of hot flashes per week fell from about 80 to just 8. Very severe hot flashes were almost totally abolished and a marked drop in nighttime awakenings was also seen, according to a report in the online issue of the Lancet Oncology.
Hot flashes and sleep dysfunction are common in breast cancer survivors, particularly those who use anti-estrogen agents like tamoxifen. Conventional treatments, such as hormone therapy or herbal remedies, have proven either ineffective or have been linked to important side effects.
China girl’s legs amputated to free her from rubble
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Chinese doctors amputated a teenage girl’s crushed legs on Thursday, the only way they could pull her alive from the wreckage of her school three days after an earthquake flattened swathes of the country’s southwest.
Yang Liu was trapped in what appeared to be a doorway by Monday’s massive 7.9 magnitude quake, near the top of a massive pile of bricks and concrete.
Her position likely saved her life.
Obesity tied to risk of psychiatric disorders
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Obesity is a well known risk factor for certain physical health problems, but a new study suggests that heavy adults also have higher rates of psychiatric disorders.
Using data from a national health survey of more than 40,000 Americans, researchers found that obese adults were up to twice as likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions as normal-weight adults.
In addition, even moderately overweight people had elevated rates of anxiety disorders, the study found.
Racial differences in cancer care still unexplained
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Even though black patients and white patients with rectal cancer are equally likely to consult with an oncologist, blacks are less likely to undergo additional treatment after surgery, according to research findings posted online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The lower rates of radiation and chemotherapy partially explain why long-term survival after rectal cancer surgery is up to 20 percent lower for black patients than for white patients. Dr. Arden M. Morris, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her colleagues hypothesized that blacks may not be referred as often to medical and radiation oncologists.
Using information from a large national database, the researchers identified 2,716 patients 66 years of age or older who had undergone surgery for stage II or III rectal cancer.
Tackle obesity like smoking: researcher
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Tackling the global obesity epidemic will require governments to take similar action to that many used to curb smoking, a top researcher said on Wednesday.
This could include regulations that restrict how companies market “junk” food to children and requirements for schools to serve healthy meals, said Professor Boyd Swinburn, a public health researcher who works with the World Health Organisation.
“The brakes on the obesity epidemic need to be policy-led and governments need to take centre stage,” Swinburn, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia, told Reuters at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity.
