Drug effective in smoking cessation studies
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An experimental smoking cessation drug by Pfizer Inc. was more effective than GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s rival medication in important late-stage studies, although the contrast was far less pronounced in the follow-up period, researchers said on Tuesday.
The 12-week studies, which Pfizer is expected to use to seek approval of the drug, showed 44 percent of smokers using Pfizer’s varenicline were able to quit. That compared with 30 percent among those using Glaxo’s Zyban, also known by the chemical name bupropion, and just 17.7 percent in the placebo group, according to data presented at the American Heart Association annual scientific sessions.
Seasonal Depression, Anxiety Affects Hamsters
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A new study suggests that hamsters may suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression during the dark days of winter, just as some humans do.
Using a variety of tests, researchers found more symptoms of depression and anxiety in adult hamsters that were housed for weeks in conditions with limited daylight, as they would find in winter, when compared to hamsters who had days with longer daylight.
Ants eat away woman’s eye in hospital
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A woman receiving treatment for diabetes at a state-run hospital in eastern India lost one of her eyes after ants nibbled away at it, officials said on Tuesday.
The patient recovering from a post-surgery infection shrieked for help as the ants attacked her on Sunday night, but nurses told her it was normal to feel pain from the infection.
Prescription for heart disease: pat a dog
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Just a few minutes spent patting a dog can relieve a heart patient’s anxiety and perhaps even help recovery during a visit to the hospital, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The effects were much more pronounced than when heart failure patients visited with a human volunteer or were left quietly alone, the researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Dallas.
A Meaty, Salty, Starchy Diet May Impact Chronic Lung Disease
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A new study finds that eating mostly meat, refined starches, and sodium may increase the likelihood of developing chronic respiratory symptoms, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Researchers found that individuals whose diets are rich in meat, refined starches and sodium are 1.43 times more likely to report new onset of persistent coughs with phlegm than those who consume a diet high in fruit and soy.
“Understanding all the contributing factors, including the role that diet plays in the incidence and development of chronic respiratory symptoms will lead to better prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases,” said David A. Schwartz, M.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the component of the National Institutes of Health, that supported the study. “We know that cigarette smoking can be a specific cause of COPD, but now we’re learning that avoiding certain foods may help reduce chronic respiratory symptoms, both in smokers and non-smokers.”
Most with heart risk don’t use aspirin
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Fewer than one-third of non-hospitalized U.S. patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease take a daily, low-dose aspirin that could protect their hearts, researchers reported on Monday.
For years experts have recommended an aspirin-a-day for people who have had a heart attack or stroke and others with an elevated risk of heart disease. Aspirin can cut the risk of those problems by reducing blood clots at a cost of only pennies per day.
Lipitor fails to beat Zocor in heart study
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High doses of Pfizer Inc.‘s cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor failed in a high-stakes trial to help heart attack patients significantly more than moderate doses of Merck & Co.‘s rival Zocor, researchers said on Tuesday.
The aim of the study presented at the American Heart Association scientific meeting was to determine whether intensive lowering of “bad” LDL cholesterol with atorvastatin (Lipitor) would reduce the risk of death and other adverse events in heart attack patients more than the moderate, most widely used dose of Zocor, known by the chemical name simvastatin.
Fibrate Fails to Reduce Heart Disease Deaths in Diabetics
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TriCor (fenofibrate) has not panned out as a substitute for statin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Patients randomized to TriCor at 200 mg daily plus standard therapy in the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study had a slight increase in coronary heart disease mortality (P=0.22) and a significant 24% decrease in non-fatal MI (P=0.010) compared with placebo.
Higher Placental Weight and Increased Maternal Breast Cancer Risk
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Women with a higher placental weight in prior pregnancies have an increased risk of breast cancer, possibly from the hormones produced by the placenta, according to a study in the November 16 issue of JAMA.
Hormonal factors play a key role in the development of breast cancer, according to background information in the article. Early menarche (first menstruation), late menopause, and long-term use of hormone therapy have been shown to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Serum levels of estrogens, progesterone and placental growth hormones are many times higher during pregnancy than during other periods of life, and pregnant women also are exposed to elevated levels of insulin-like growth factors. During pregnancy, these markers have been inconsistently associated with subsequent risk of breast cancer in the mother. It has been hypothesized that placental weight could be an indirect measure of hormone exposure during pregnancy.
Nurses, PAs as good as doctors for HIV care
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Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can care for HIV patients as well as doctors specializing in the disease—and may do a better job than non-specialist doctors, researchers reported Monday.
Their study, of 68 HIV clinics in the U.S., found that nurse practitioners and physician assistants offered a quality of care similar to that of doctors specializing in HIV/AIDS. And they generally outperformed generalist doctors in the eight quality-of-care measures the researchers considered.
Asthma Research Shows Lung Function Set Early
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Preschoolers with asthma symptoms have their level of lung function set by the age of six and don’t change much for at least 10 years, researchers here say.
The finding, derived from a long-term follow-up of 826 children in a population-based birth cohort here, eases fears that asthmatic children face years of deteriorating lung function, according to Wayne Morgan, M.D., of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.
More blacks refuse lung cancer surgery than whites
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African-Americans are three times as likely as whites to refuse surgical treatment for lung cancer, a new study shows.
Surgery is the only effective treatment for certain types of early stage lung cancer, and can often cure the disease, Dr. Bruno DiGiovine of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and colleagues note in their report in the journal CHEST.
Roche in talks with WHO to supply flu drug fund
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Drug maker Roche Holding AG is in talks with the World Health Organisation about creating a stockpile of flu drug Tamiflu for poorer countries to be funded by contributions from developed nations.
Governments around the world are stockpiling Tamiflu on fears of a pandemic sparked by bird flu. However, there are concerns that richer nations will take the bulk and leave worst-hit Asian nations scrambling for supplies.
Obesity ups risk of complication after heart surgery
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Obesity is an important risk factor for the development of an irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation (AF) following cardiac surgery, according to a report published online Monday.
This is the first study to find a strong and independent link between excess body weight and the development of AF, a common and potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormality, study investigators say.
Plavix inferior to standard drug in stroke study
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A blood clot preventer sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb Corp. and Sanofi-Aventis was inferior to the most commonly used blood thinner for the prevention of stroke in patients with irregular heart rhythm, according to a study presented on Monday.
The study, which was co-sponsored by the drugmakers, was halted early by independent safety monitors who saw an unacceptably high incidence of stroke and other heart risks in the Plavix (clopidogrel) group compared to those taking the standard oral anticoagulant, warfarin.
