Colonoscopy with Normal Results Doesn’t Reassure IBS Patients
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FINDINGS: A UCLA/VA study found that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients under age 50 who undergo a colonoscopy with normal results aren’t reassured about their condition or seem to have an improved quality life due to the procedure ruling out a more serious condition.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that 10 percent of all colonoscopies in the U.S. are performed for evaluation of IBS symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome affects 15 percent of the population and is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits.
Dendritic Cells Offer New Therapeutic Target for Drugs to Treat MS
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Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have found that a gene pathway linked to a deadly form of leukemia may provide a new way to treat autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis. Their tests in cell cultures and mice suggest that blocking the pathway by interfering with a blood cell growth gene, known as FLT3, targets an immune system cell often ignored in favor of T-cell targets in standard therapies.
FLT3, which controls the development of healthy blood cells, was identified as a treatment target in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, a blood cell cancer, several years ago by the same Johns Hopkins investigators. In the current work, the Hopkins team has confirmed that the gene is activated in dendritic cells, whose role is to distribute “look here” information about unwanted foreign invaders to soldiering T-cells.
WHO says AIDS may infect 10 mln in China by 2010
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Some 10 million people in China may be infected with the AIDS virus by 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, as it called for stronger political will by Asian governments to stop the spread of the disease.
About 5 million people worldwide were infected last year, bringing to 45 million the number living with the virus despite measures designed to prevent AIDS from spreading, said Shigeru Omi, WHO director for the Western Pacific region.
Job exposure to pesticide may raise cancer risk
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Daily on-the-job exposure to the pesticide diazinon appears to increase the risk of lung cancer and possibly other cancers, according to new findings from the US government-sponsored Agricultural Health Study, a project begun in 1993 to investigate the health effects of pesticides on farm families in Iowa and North Carolina.
By December 2002, 301 of 4,961 men with occupational exposure to diazinon had developed lung cancer compared with 968 of 18,145 with no occupational exposure to diazinon.
Nerve stimulation may relieve fecal incontinence
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Sacral nerve stimulation appears to be an effective treatment for fecal incontinence, the leakage of feces from the bowel, and the benefit is apparently not due to a “placebo effect,” according to the results of a study conducted by French researchers.
This is the first study to examine “the effectiveness of sacral nerve stimulation in a significant number of fecally incontinent patients,” lead author Dr. Anne-Marie Leroi, from Hopital Charles Nicolle in Rouen, and colleagues note.
Feverfew extract can reduce migraine frequency
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A stable extract of the popular herbal remedy feverfew, called MIG-99, appears to be particularly effective in preventing migraine, German researchers report in the current issue of Cephalagia.
“Feverfew in the form of MIG-99 is an effective and safe prophylactic treatment of frequent migraine attacks,” said lead investigator Dr. Hans-Christoph Diener.
Wrist splint can help rheumatoid arthritis patients
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Using a wrist splint can improve performance of some daily activities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to Canadian researchers, but for some tasks splints can be a hindrance.
In a study published in The Journal of Rheumatology, the researchers examined the influence of wearing a wrist splint on performance of daily activities in 30 rheumatoid arthritis patients with wrist involvement. The subjects were an average of 57 years old and had rheumatoid arthritis for about 9 years.
Chronic stress induces rapid occlusion of angioplasty
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Chronic stress can induce rapid blocking of arteries after a balloon angioplasty procedure, according to research performed in animal studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Blocked coronary arteries after angioplasty affect 41 percent of patients who undergo the procedure and can lead to death.
But the Georgetown scientists also demonstrated that this stress-induced atherosclerosis could be prevented by blocking a certain neuropeptide in blood vessels. They say the results, published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, may someday lead to targeted therapy for individuals at risk for the condition.
Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed
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Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed and may improve memory function in some patients, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“To my knowledge this is the first study combining neuropsychological testing and perfusion imaging that screens for silent ischemic stroke events that can occur during stenting,” said Iris Q. Grunwald, M.D., consultant at Saarland University Clinic in Homburg, Germany.
Completion of the genetic sequencing of the 1918 influenza A virus
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An article by Robert Belshe, M.D., of Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the New England Journal of Medicine reviews recent “spectacular achievements of contemporary molecular biology” that hold great importance as the world prepares for a possible flu pandemic.
These achievements, including a recent genetic sequencing and recreation of the virus from the 1918 flu pandemic, “may enable us to track viruses years before they develop the capacity to replicate with high efficiency in humans,” Belshe writes.
FDA Approves New Higher Dose Formulation of FOSRENOL
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new, higher dose formulation of the chewable(1) non-calcium phosphate binder FOSRENOL(R) (lanthanum carbonate). The new, higher dose strengths of 750 milligrams (mg) and 1.0 gram (g) will be available in the U.S. by year end. This formulation will help to reduce the number of pills end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients must take to achieve target phosphorus levels, thereby helping to simplify the treatment of hyperphosphatemia. FOSRENOL(R) is marketed by Shire Pharmaceuticals.
Even with a low phosphorus diet, 60 percent of ESRD patients on dialysis in the United States may develop hyperphosphatemia (high phosphorus levels in the blood) and up to 70 percent are considered noncompliant when using currently prescribed phosphate binders. Without effective treatment, hyperphosphatemia may lead to increased rates of death, renal bone disease, hyperparathyroidism and calcification of tissues. Also, evidence shows hyperphosphatemia may contribute to cardiovascular disease, which accounts for almost half of all deaths among dialysis patients. FOSRENOL(R) is indicated to reduce serum phosphorus in patients with ESRD.
Low doses of aspirin increase chance of developing ulcers
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Aspirin has long been hailed as one of the most effective, low-cost ways to help guard against a heart attack or stroke. However, international medical researchers caution that low doses of aspirin also increase a patient’s chance of developing an ulcer, often without warning signs.
The JUPITER study measured the prevalence and incidence of gastroduodenal ulcers among 187 aspirin therapy patients from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and Spain.
Depression treatment in children - poor data
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When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared in 2004 that certain antidepressants are linked to an increased risk of suicide in adolescents, there was surprisingly little data about how depression was being treated in young patients.
Now new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine provides critical documentation of the potential misuse of these medications in the years leading up to the FDA’s decision to issue the so-called “black-box” warnings.
Mental disorder signs seen in young children-study
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Preschool children can show early signs of mental disorders, which can be diagnosed and treated to prevent problems later in life, a leading psychologist said on Monday.
Children as young as 2 or 3 years old may suffer from depression, anxiety, disruptive behaviour or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
China official HIV count rose 50 percent last year
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China’s confirmed cases of HIV infection rose more than 50 percent in the past year, but poor monitoring and official obstruction still obscure the real scale of the AIDS epidemic, the country’s top AIDS official said on Monday.
The number of Chinese diagnosed with HIV infection, which leads to AIDS, grew to 135,630 by the end of September, Wang Longde, director of the State Council AIDS Prevention and Treatment Work Committee, told a conference of Chinese health officials ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday.
