Investigational study of ustekinumab in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis published
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A group of patients suffering from potentially debilitating psoriatic arthritis showed significant and prolonged improvement after treatment with ustekinumab, according to data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients with moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The Phase 2 study was published in the British medical journal The Lancet.
“This is a positive development for patients living with the joint pain and swelling that characterizes the disease, even as more research is needed to further test the efficacy of this treatment in psoriatic arthritis,” said Alice Gottlieb, MD, Chairperson of the Department of Dermatology at Tufts Medical Center and lead author of the study.
Tufts Medical Center was among several academic medical centers which participated in the study. Tufts Medical Center is a 451-bed hospital in Boston and the primary teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine.
Researchers link obesity to birth defects
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Obese women are more likely to give birth to children with spina bifida, heart problems, cleft palate and a number of other defects, British researchers said on Tuesday.
The findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association underscore obesity’s role as a major health problem and add to evidence that being too heavy while pregnant carries risks for both mother and child.
Katherine Stothard and colleagues from Britain’s Newcastle University combined data from 18 studies to look at the risk of abnormalities of babies whose mothers were obese or overweight.
Weight loss improves mild sleep apnea
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Losing weight through lifestyle changes can improve or even reverse mild cases of the nighttime breathing disorder, sleep apnea, a new study suggests.
The study, of 72 overweight adults with mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), found that those placed on a diet-and-lifestyle regimen not only lost weight but showed significant improvements in their sleep apnea.
OSA occurs when the soft tissues at the back of the throat temporarily collapse during sleep, causing repeated breathing interruptions. Major symptoms include loud snoring and daytime sleepiness.
Exercise boosts older women’s quality of life
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Even modest amounts of exercise can improve older women’s quality of life, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among more than 400 overweight postmenopausal women, those who took up an exercise program for six months showed gains in their physical and mental well-being—measured by factors such as daily energy levels, social life, emotional well-being and physical pain.
The more the women exercised, the greater the improvements in quality of life, the researchers report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
It is often said that exercise can improve a person’s energy, stress levels and overall sense of well-being, but now there is proof of that from a clinical trial, according to the researchers.
Row brews over ecstasy downgrade call
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The government’s narcotics advisory body called on Wednesday for a cut in the penalties for using and selling the dance drug ecstasy, a recommendation the Home Office has already said it will ignore.
The 31-member Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said in a report that ecstasy should be downgraded to a class B drug from the most serious class A category.
“After looking at all the evidence presented to us and considering the harmfulness to individuals and society alongside other drugs within the same classification, the ACMD concluded that (ecstasy) should be reclassified to a class B drug,” said the advisory council’s chairman David Nutt.
Do it for Fido: smokers may quit to help a pet
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People unwilling to quit smoking to improve their own health may consider giving up cigarettes to spare their pets the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Twenty-eight percent of pet owners who smoke said in a survey they would try to quit based on knowledge that second-hand smoke could harm their dogs, cats and other pets, the researchers wrote in the journal Tobacco Control.
Another 11 percent said they would think about quitting.
“It’s not necessarily that people love their pets more than they love themselves or their children, it’s just another motivational factor for people to consider quitting smoking,” Sharon Milberger of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.
Berlusconi accuses rivals over coma woman’s death
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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, jumping into an emotional right-to-die debate over a comatose woman, said she had been killed and accused the leftist president of being among those responsible.
The centre-left opposition accused Berlusconi of trying to reap political capital from the case of Eluana Englaro, who died after 17 years in a coma amid a row over her right to die that has riveted Italy and angered the Vatican.
“Eluana did not die a natural death, she was killed,” Berlusconi told Libero newspaper, blaming President Giorgio Napolitano for rejecting an emergency decree that would have forced doctors to resume feeding her.
Peanut recall has U.S. consumers “spooked”: experts
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“We have temporarily discontinued the use of peanuts,” reads a handwritten sign behind the register at Penny’s Noodle Shop in Oak Park, Illinois.
Although the Asian noodle shop did not get its peanuts from the U.S. peanut plant at the center of a widespread salmonella scare, it has stopped using them anyway. “You just don’t want to take a chance,” said manager Louie Paine.
Penny’s is not alone.
The recall of tainted peanut butter and peanut products made by Peanut Corporation of America is reaching far beyond the businesses forced to recall 1,790 potentially tainted foods ranging from ice cream to pet treats.
MRI shows brain atrophy pattern that predicts Alzheimer’s
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Using special MRI methods, researchers have identified a pattern of regional brain atrophy in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that indicates a greater likelihood of progression to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings are published in the online edition of Radiology.
“Previously, this pattern has been observed only after a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease,” said the study’s lead author, Linda K. McEvoy, Ph.D., assistant project scientist in the Department of Radiology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla. “Our results show that some individuals with MCI have the atrophy pattern characteristic of mild Alzheimer’s disease, and these people are at higher risk of experiencing a faster rate of brain degeneration and a faster decline to dementia than individuals with MCI who do not show that atrophy pattern.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than five million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease. One of the goals of modern neuroimaging is to help in early and accurate diagnosis, which can be challenging. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but when it is diagnosed early, drug treatment may help improve or stabilize patient symptoms.
Braces improve balance and gait after stroke
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For people who have suffered a stroke, bracing or splinting the ankle and foot can help them regain balance and mobility, according to British researchers.
In a press release, Dr. Sarah F. Tyson notes that physiotherapists have been reluctant to prescribe lower limb splints for stroke patients. However, she adds, “Views have been slowly shifting in the last few years.”
Tyson, at the University of Salford, and Dr. Ruth M. Kent of the University of Leeds identified 14 clinical trials that compared post-stroke use of a splint or brace plus normal management with normal management alone. The devices, technically referred to as orthoses, are designed to keep joints properly aligned.
Kids a possibility for girls with Turner syndrome
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Girls born with a genetic defect that leads to infertility may yet be able to have children when they reach adulthood, according to researchers in Sweden.
Turner syndrome occurs when a female is born with one X chromosome instead of two. Usually they stop growing prematurely and their ovaries shut down at an early age. In some cases, however, it may be possible to retrieve ovarian tissue containing immature eggs, freeze and store it, and later produce eggs for in vitro fertilization.
Puberty starts spontaneously in 15-30 percent of girls with Turner syndrome. However, only 2-5 percent of them start menstruating “with the possibility of achieving pregnancy,” Dr. Birgit Borgstrom and colleagues write in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Few in U.S. see doctor or get medication for flu: study
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Only a small percentage of people who get influenza or a similar illness are ever prescribed drugs shown to help the virus, according to a study released on Monday.
The survey of flu patients also showed that about five percent of U.S. children see a doctor or nurse for influenza-like illness, compared to just about 2 percent of adults.
Thomson Reuters Healthcare surveyed insurance claims covering nearly 20 million people with health insurance over two flu seasons in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.
Anywhere between 5 percent and 20 percent of the population gets flu in a given flu season, the CDC estimates.
Vietnam has new human bird flu case: paper
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A 23-year-old man has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus in northern Vietnam, a state-run newspaper reported on Saturday.
The online Lao Dong newspaper (http://www.laodong.com.vn) quoted health officials as saying the man from Dam Ha district in the northern province of Quang Ninh, about 150 km (93 miles) from Hanoi had fallen ill and tests showed he carried the bird flu virus.
The report quoted doctors as saying the man had high fever and severe respiratory problem.
Booklet helps cancer patients navigate costly care
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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has released a guide to help cancer patients and their doctors communicate more effectively about the costs associated with their treatment and care.
The booklet, available online at http://www.cancer.net/managingcostofcare, provides a summary of the costs associated with treatment and a list of financial resources for patients who need help paying for their treatment and care.
According to ASCO, the cost of treating cancer is increasing at a rate of 15 percent per year—nearly three times the rate of increase of overall health care costs in the country. The latest cancer drugs often cost thousands of dollars per month, putting a strain on many families’ finances, the agency notes.
Mediterranean diet may protect the brain
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Eating a Mediterranean-style diet high in vegetables, fruits and nuts, legumes, fish and cereals, and low in dairy products, meat, and fat, with moderate alcohol consumption, is not only good for the heart, it’s also good for the brain, new research hints.
In a study, “following Mediterranean diet-type habits was associated with reduced risk for getting mild cognitive impairment—a transitional stage between normal cognition and dementia/Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas told Reuters Health.
“Additionally, subjects who already had mild cognitive impairment and had a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet had lower risk for converting to Alzheimer’s disease,” he noted.
